This was not a good PPV. My hand hurts from angrily punching the couch. WWE kept touting that change was coming in the form of a new Champion. We certainly got a new Champion last night but only because it was telegraphed and predictable, much like the rest of the card. This was a chance to not only have a new Champion but to just do something completely new and different in the absence of Rollins, Orton, and Cena. And they went with the safest route possible.
Here are the match results:
- Roman Reigns defeated Alberto Del Rio
- Dean Ambrose defeated Kevin Owens
- Ryback, The Lucha Dragons, and The Usos defeated The New Day, Sheamus and King Barrett
- Charlotte defeated Paige
- Tyler Breeze defeated Dolph Ziggler
- The Brothers of Destruction defeated The Wyatt Family
- Roman Reigns defated Dean Ambrose
- Sheamus defeated Roman Reigns
I'll be honest, the only matches I cared about were the WHC tournament finals. Everyone knew that Reigns was going to win over Del Rio. While Owens advancing would've given a true heel vs face match, it was also obvious that Ambrose was going to advance. The main event for this whole PPV lasted under 10 minutes. 10 FREAKING MINUTES. The match ended abruptly with Reigns winning the title, which left the audience stunned and they were gearing up for Ambrose or Reigns to turn heel. Instead, Ambrose shared a touching moment with his brother and left the ring to let his brother have his moment as confetti and streamers rained on Reigns. HHH, being in best for business mode, went out to congratulate him. Reigns responded by spearing HHH. And then Sheamus runs in to cash in and brogue kicks him. Their match lasted under 40 seconds.
You know what else was infuriating? The whole tournament was essentially pointless. It was obvious that Reigns was going to win but it was also obvious that he was going to get booed too. WWE probably saw how this wasn't going to work out (again) and made the decision for Sheamus to cash in, so the fans can boo him instead. When Survivor Series went off the air, they cut back to Reigns being tearful in the ring and walking back slowly up the ramp. The arena was booing him. The fans are booing WWE's top babyface. That is a big fucking sign that Reigns has to change his character. We are seeing a repeat of Daniel Bryan's "YES" movement but they are putting Reigns in the underdog role instead of Ambrose, the true underdog in all of this mess.
Speaking of which, Ambrose was very different tonight. The backstage segments showed Ambrose being serious, even pissed, as they were nearing the main event. Hell, Ambrose didn't even change shirts and fought against Reigns with his torn tanktop. He was acting heelish, which seemed like a dead giveaway that he really did accept HHH's offer. But that whole attitude change disappeared when Ambrose fist bumped Reigns and left the ring. The last 2 weeks showed a more focused Ambrose who opted for technical moves instead of his wild brawler style. It would be a shame to see him go back to that or worse, go back to being Reigns' buddy again.
I'm unsure if I want to watch RAW live tonight. Do I want to see The Authority and Sheamus do an opening monologue? Do I want to see Reigns come down and do another recap of what happened to him last night? I can't imagine how to even feel invested in any of the matches going forward unless they continue with Ambrose going after Owens for the IC title. The next PPV is TLC for December and it's already shaping up to have Reigns going after Sheamus for the WHC title. Nothing really changed last night, so I don't expect RAW to be any different.
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