Pre Show: American Alpha and The Hype Bros vs. The Vaudevillains and The Ascension
This served as nothing else but as a way of getting the crowd going. And thankfully it didn't drag on for too long. You could see all the spots coming from a mile off, there were bodies popping around everywhere without the excitement to match it. The quicker Alpha are away from matches like this the better - although a win is a win, and Hypo Bros get another one under their belt too. For the heels, simply more jobbing. Vaudevillians just haven't got over - I think Aiden English is actually quite good and could probably succeed if they repackaged him in a singles role. Anyway, I digress... *1/2
AJ Styles (c) vs. John Cena vs. Dean Ambrose for WWE World Championship
Two things of note here even before the match started, we have the main event kicking off the show and there is a no DQ stipulation. I was cool with it starting, not everyone wants to wait until the end of the show when they're already worn out from the action - i.e. Mania. You had to fast forward all the way to the finish to see why the stipulation was there. The finish wasn't in keeping with the rest of the match - which was excellent. The three guys gelled brilliantly. I wasn't a fan of the false finish either. They would be better off leaving these extra elements out and just let the match do the talking. That said, the result was as expected, AJ coming out on top, and using heel tactics to win just as I expected he would. ***3/4
Nikki Bella vs. Carmella
I thought this a bit messy. Carmella still needs a lot of work, but there is still a lot to like about her, and some of her offense is good. Nikki sold for most of the match but came out on top as expected. Not sure where this feud goes now. They're running out of depth on the women's side already. *3/4
Heath Slater and Rhyno vs. The Usos for the Smackdown Tag Team Titles
I would say this was marginally better than the match they had at Backlash. Slater and Rhyno are over and it would be counterproductive to take away that heat. For a change it was Rhyno that took most of the punishment, and Slater made the big comeback. That powerslam he pulled out from the top turnbuckle was really impressive. This result doesn't work out for the Usos though - it would have made more sense to keep them away from the title picture and have them feud solely with Alpha imo, but I guess the lack of division depth means there are few credible challengers. ***
The Miz with Maryse vs. Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental Title: Career vs. Title match
The last time the Intercontinental Title felt genuinely this important was when HBK had to forfeit the belt through injury back in 1995. The whole feud has been phenomenal and this was a perfect payoff. I really thought Miz would win up until mania, but as the match went on I changed my mind. The storytelling was excellent - all the odds stacked against Dolph but his pure desire to remain in the business helping him overcome all of them. I was totally invested in Zolph winning. The match was brilliant - they incorporated elements from their previous two matches. They botched a little on the powerbomb spot but that's really the only criticism. Hopefully this can kickstart Dolph's career. ****3/4
Jack Swagger vs. Baron Corbin
This was a basic continuation from TV, and I believe it only made the card because the Lynch match didn't go ahead? Again, I can only be so invested in a match that has had such a limited back story. Corbin still needs a lot of work, Swagger tried hard to make the match better but it was just TV quality in the end. Corbin does have a lot going for him though. His entrance and finisher are both excellent, and he has charisma. He really needs to work on his ring action and mic skills though. As for Swagger, there is not real change in character at all which is a shame because they had an opportunity for this when he made the move over. **1/4
Alexa Bliss vs. Noami
First thing to note is that Bliss has genuine heat. The crowd want to boo her so badly because she comes across so naturally as a b***h. She's also very good on the mic and just as good in the ring. She's made adjustments and improvements in a very short period of time. I expect big things from her in WWE. As for the match, I'm not sure the loss hurts her too much, it was booked in the sense that Bliss got a bit too cocky and got caught out. I expect a rematch on SD where Bliss goes over. **
Randy Orton vs. Brayy Wyatt
I didn't really concentrate too much during this one and I wasn't too invested in the feud either. The match was okay, nothing special. Imo they've tried to insert too much of the psychology/mind games element, rather than just focusing on them getting in the ring and fighting. I hated the finish - it's too gimmicky. Good win for Bray though, and one he really needed. Randy can lose and people will still love him. **3/4
Conclusion
This was a decent PPV with two excellent matches. If WWE are gonna run PPV's this regularly though, they're really gonna struggle to sell the other matches as anything but a continuation of TV. This felt like an extended version of SD with two title matches. This isn't helped by them giving away title matches on SD in between PPV's. But I guess this is how they are doing things now. All in all, this was good fun, but there is the danger that the dearth of talent will start to show more in the next few months. How they address that I'm not too sure.
