The “Paul Levesque Era” of WWE continues in full effect.
Not only is this another international pay-per-view event, with Scotland getting their shot to host a show this time around, but there are only five matches on the card. That type of thing was a major staple of NXT Takeover shows when ol’ Hunter was in charge of things there.
Yes, there are only five matches, but all five of them feature titles on the line, and three of them feature Scottish wrestlers attempting to become champions. This has the potential to be a lot of fun. Let’s see if that potential is reached, shall we?
Cody Rhodes vs AJ Styles – “I Quit” Match for the Undisputed WWE Title
After some complaints that the Scotland crowd that we got for Smackdown wasn’t quite on the same level as crowds from places like France and Puerto Rico, this was a smart decision for an opener. Sure enough, the crowd is on fire with Cody Rhodes being involved. To be fair, they’re already chanting for AJ, as well. I mean… they’re calling him a wanker, but it’s a chant nonetheless.
It is always endlessly funny that we get the Prime Hydration Station at every WWE event, only for it to get destroyed, and usually in the first match or two. Cody just sent AJ flying over the ring steps, and AJ knocked the drinks over in the process. It’ll get put together once again, like it always does, but someone else will end up knocking it over before long.
This is definitely another rowdy soccer (please don’t start with me) crowd. At this point, there’s only like five cities in the United States that deserve to host WWE pay-per-views.
We have blood! After AJ slams Cody’s head on the timekeeper’s table, Cody comes up with a bloody face. This new era has been a beautiful thing.
A “f*ck you, AJ” chant breaks out, with tons of fans shown on-camera flipping the bird to AJ. Unlike previous times when WWE crowds were not exactly family-friendly with their chants, this one wasn’t censored at all.
I love how vicious AJ has been so far. He has used several weapons in his assault, and has spent the last few minutes beating Cody relentlessly with a kendo stick and a belt. It’s almost as if AJ wants to win the WWE Title or something.
AJ grabs a velvet bag from underneath the ring, and the crowd is abuzz, thinking that it contains thumbtacks or something along those lines. Instead, AJ pulls out handcuffs, and the crowd boos. AJ cuffs Cody and continues wearing him out.
Cody has gotten the key to the cuffs and has freed himself. He then uses the cuff as a weapon, bashing AJ in the face, leading to… AJ coming up bloody. This is really, really good stuff.
With the tables turned and AJ now cuffed to the ropes, Cody grabs the ring steps and threatens to hit AJ. To save his hide, AJ quits… only to get bashed with the steps, anyway. Such a good match. So brutal, so physical, and everything made sense. 4.25 Stars. Cody now has back-to-back matches against AJ that are among the best matches of his entire career.
As Cody is headed up the aisle, he is attacked by The Bloodline, only to be saved by Randy Orton and Kevin Owens almost immediately. Seems like a six-man tag is on the horizon, and it also seems like Solo Sikoa might be next up as an opponent for Cody. Interestingly enough, though, as Orton was giving Cody a pep talk, it sure looked like The Viper was eyeing the WWE Title belt. There’s tons to work with for a story there.
Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill vs Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark vs Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn – Triple Threat Match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles
The hometown girls get a really solid crowd reaction, and they appear to be having a ton of fun. On a related note, I am a really big fan of Isla Dawn. No particular reason.
Bianca is out here looking like a beautiful stegosaurus with a long row of spikes woven into her braid. It’s a cool look for her. On commentary, Corey Graves mentions the braid, and then mentions that Jade Cargill is rocking face paint, comparing them to the Road Warriors and their combination of spikes and face paint. Unfortunately for Bianca, though, it seems like at least one spike seems to pop out each time she does something. Every few moments, ref Jessika Carr has to sweep a spike or two out of the ring with her feet.
I really like the way this match has been put together so far. Bianca and Jade have some great double team offense, and they’ve gotten to showcase that. The majority of the match has been the two teams of challengers handling the heavy lifting, both against each other and teaming up to neutralize the champions.
Shayna has Jade locked in the Kirifuda Clutch, and Jade tapped out… multiple times… out of the view of the ref. It didn’t look like a planned spot, and seemed more like Jade reacting to the move and trying to build a reaction from the crowd.
After the champions looked like they were about to win the match, Isla throws Jade out of the way, and the Scottish crowd pops huge for their girls becoming the new Women’s Tag Team Champions. I really didn’t see that coming. Like most people, I assumed Isla and Alba would look strong, but that they weren’t going to win, and instead, the champions would retain by pinning Shayna or Zoey. I am pleasantly surprised, both by the result and the match itself. That was one of the best women’s tag matches that WWE has put on recent memory. With another couple minutes to work with, I think this could’ve reached “great” territory. Kudos to all six women involved. 3.75 Stars
Sami Zayn vs Chad Gable – Intercontinental Title Match
Otis and Maxxine Dupri are at ringside with Gable. Akira Tozawa is not. Important? Perhaps not. Worth mentioning? Perhaps. Also worth mentioning is Maxxine in a walking boot, which would make her one of 14 women under WWE contract that are currently out of action. Three of them are out due to maternity leave, but that’s still 11 injured women.
This crowd is REALLY behind Otis. They’re absolutely dying for him to officially stand up to Chad Gable. If he does it here, the roof may blow off of the OVO Hydro.
I really dig the drama here. WWE keeps building and building Gable as this complete prick of a heel, and he is doing everything possible to win the title here after chasing it for the majority of the last year. The story is there for him to do it, and it adds drama to each pin attempt.
Good stuff here. Sami whips Gable into Maxxine’s injured leg, but all Otis saw was Gable hitting Maxxine. This nearly causes Otis to lose his mind, but instead of attacking Gable, he carries Maxxine out of harm’s way. The distraction allows Sami to pick up the win, and now, Gable has lost his last 859 Intercontinental Title matches. 3.75 Stars. Another strong match to keep the momentum going on what has been a really fun show. Now, we await Gable flipping the switch and having The Creed Brothers and Ivy Nile attack Otis, Tozawa, and Maxxine at some point.
Bayley vs Piper Niven – WWE Women’s Title Match
The first Scottish homecoming ended well for the hometown favorites. Will this be more of the same?
Chelsea Green with the matching kilt and Tam O’Shanter hat, showing love to her tag team partner. Nice touch. Piper’s crowd reaction was nowhere near what Alba and Isla received earlier. The crowd might just be tired after being loud for the last two hours, though, because Bayley didn’t get much of a reaction, either.
Piper got a better reaction during the pre-match introductions than she did during her entrance. She was clearly fighting back tears as she was announced as hailing from Scotland.
Even with the hometown favorite in the match, the crowd really wants to know if Bayley will be their girl.
This has been… slow… to put it mildly. It makes sense to have the challenger on the offensive for large portions, but Piper Niven’s move set isn’t going to be confused with 1997 Rey Mysterio Jr. Lots of stretches where we get one move, then walking around, then one move, then more walking around.
LMAO @ Chelsea Green running back to ringside in a Rey Mysterio mask a few minutes after being thrown out of the ringside area for arguing with Lil’ Naitch. Chelsea is fantastic in her current role.
Bayley retains the title. The match wasn’t terrible. As I said, it was just really slow for lengthy stretches. Too slow for my liking. 2.75 Stars. Fine for what it was, but it was never designed to be an all-time classic or anything.
Damian Priest vs Drew McIntyre – World Heavyweight Title Match
Drew’s entrance sees him led to the ring by the Inveraray And District Pipe Band, playing bagpipes and drums. The band gets a nice reaction from the crowd. McIntyre, of course, gets the hero’s welcome and the huge pop. The decibel meter is shown on-screen, reaching 107 at the peak. It is said that anything above 85 decibels can be harmful to our hearing.
Nearly ten years to the day since he was released from his first WWE contract, McIntyre is competing for the World Title in his home country, and is a much bigger star and a much better wrestler than he ever was. What a story.
A fan holds up a sign that says “Priest Eats Dry Cereal.” I see this sign as I am eating a handful of dry Fruit Loops. f*cking hell.
GOOD LORD, Damian Priest nearly killed himself as he performed a dive over the top rope, only to catch his foot and get it tied up in the ropes. His entire body bent over, causing his leg to bend at a bad angle. Sure, he didn’t fall on his head, but it’s damn near a miracle that he didn’t completely snap his leg right there. Ugly, ugly spot.
Priest has been limping more and more as we get further away from that spot. Man, he has been doing such good work. I really hope he’s not injured.
This has been a really hard-hitting match. These guys are beating the sh*t out of each other.
Priest kicks out of a Claymore at 2.99999999, and you can HEAR the air leave the lungs of the fans in the arena. Wow. What an amazing near fall.
After the initial ref is taken out, we get a wide shot of another ref running to the ring to count a fall after a Claymore. One… two… and the ref is revealed to be CM Punk, who refuses to count the three. He ends up kicking McIntyre in the little Drews, and it leads to Priest picking up the pin and the win. CM Punk has cost Drew McIntyre yet another match. That was very well done, right down to the great camera work to hide Punk’s identity. I’m glad Kevin Dunn is dead. He f*cking sucked.
Damian Priest may very well be injured, but he remains the World Heavyweight Champion. CM Punk, on the other hand, may have signed his own death warrant. That match between Punk and McIntyre is going to be pure insanity.
4.25 Stars
If you didn’t check this one out, I suggest you do so. Great matches bookend the show, and two more matches nearly reached that level. A big win for WWE here.
