Pay-Per-Views

This was an excellent Takeover event, even though there weren’t any title changes. Mauro Ranallo was bouncing all over on commentary as usual with references to people like Kawhi Leonard and Rick Ross (not to mention the “Mamma Mia” chants from the crowd).

Johnny Gargano’s rivalry with Adam Cole can be described in one word: legendary. Tommaso Ciampa should be incredibly proud that this great story ensued immediately after his neck injury. It’s also very interesting to find out that Adam Cole loves to scuba dive courtesy of Mauro Ranallo.

It’s also fascinating that Shayna Baszler is not getting stale at all as NXT Women’s Champion. She is a two-time Women’s Champion and has held the gold for quite a while during both reigns. Candice LeRae and Io Shirai also had one of the best women’s matches in quite some time despite the fact that it was not set up to be one of the primary attractions on the card.

It also appears to be a sign that WWE will incorporate their partnership with Evolve into future storylines given that Austin Theory was shown on camera to be in attendance at Takeover. It also got some big pops from the crowd to see Matt Riddle do a little tribute to CM Punk by giving one security guard a GTS during his battle with Killian Dain and Montez Ford doing a tribute to The Rock with a Rock Bottom.

Rollins possible character development after SS Brian or women’s tag title great idea to develop uncertainty regarding Roman Reigns and get people speculating.

The three most surprising events which took place at the pay-per-view were:

• Brock Lesnar cashing in
• Shinsuke Nakamura becoming Intercontinental Champion
• And all three members of The New Day leaving the event as champions

Let’s start with Lesnar, shall we?

We all have no choice but to give Lesnar major credit because every time he makes an appearance, although everyone wishes it was more often, he draws major excitement, and everyone pays attention to whatever he does. I personally love him, I simply wish he was around more often, but why would he be if WWE is willing to pay him the kind of money they are? He is once again the reigning defending undisputed Universal heavyweight Champion, and the entire WWE universe has to feel for Seth Rollins. It is anyone’s guess in terms of what direction Seth’s character development goes from here. One proposal I do have for Brock Lesnar is for his first challenger at SummerSlam to be Bobby Lashley. I make this proposal now because both men are getting older (Lesnar 42, Lashley 43) and there may not be a whole lot of time left for WWE to take advantage of this.

There are two reasons why this would be an epic confrontation:

• Lashley is one of the few superstars who looks like he would stand a chance in a real fight on the street with Brock Lesnar
• Lashley is one of the few WWE superstars (besides Lesnar) with extensive MMA experience – the only other one I can think of off the top of my head is Matt Riddle

He has put together an impressive 15-2 Bellator record. Seth Rollins is very deserving of a rematch against Lesnar for the Universal Championship and he will surely get it, but WWE would be unwise to not capitalize on the Lesnar-Lashley match while they are both still young and agile enough to make it a great match. Fans have been talking about this potential match since Lashley returned to WWE in April 2018.

Another major surprise was the fact that all three members of The New Day walked out as champions.    Big E and Xavier Woods won the SmackDown Tag Team Championships from the champions Daniel Bryan and Rowan to become six-time champions. We also saw some Caterpillar action from Otis of Heavy Machinery.

It will be interesting to see what direction WWE chooses for Daniel Bryan in the coming months. He may get thrown into the upper midcard title scene or before into contention for the WWE Championship. What is even more unbelievable is the fact that Kofi Kingston was able to retain the WWE Championship by surviving Samoa Joe. Personally, I thought Joe should have won the title, being 40 years old and in the wrestling business for two decades and never having won a major title in WWE. It was a great opportunity for Joe, and frankly, I’m surprised WWE opted not to pull the trigger.

The final surprise from the pay-per-view was something that I saw coming, but it’s always a nice surprise to see when it actually happens: Shinsuke Nakamura won the Intercontinental Championship from Finn Balor, who has been largely forgotten about and is in a state of creative limbo. But this victory will absolutely get Nakamura’s career back on the right track and give him a solid position on TV for probably the remainder of 2019. This move may coincide with him re-signing with the company, although I don’t know that for sure. His deal that he signed with WWE in 2016 expired right around the same time AJ Styles’ contract expired, so maybe.

What may indeed be a smart idea is for WWE to have this sudden push of Kevin Owens individually (without Sami Zayn) be the start of a massive Daniel Bryan-like push for Owens culminating in a WWE Championship match at WrestleMania. His quick victory over Dolphh Ziggler was the perfect way to kick off a major push like this.

Ricochet is going to be a massive star in the WWE, but it is a great idea for WWE to implement a heel faction again, because we all know how well it worked the last time there was a dominant one by the name of The Shield, maybe you have heard of them.

There were no real surprises in the Undertaker match. It made absolutely no sense for Roman Reigns to be his partner, because as Cole said, they are bitter rivals (because Reigns beat The Undertaker at WrestleMania two years ago). That said, I love all aspects of WWE, even the ones that don’t make sense.

I also am amazed each time I see Shane McMahon do elbow on somebody through the announce table.

It is somewhat disappointing that Braun Strowman has not won more titles in his basically three years on the main roster. The only thing he has won is a Tag Team Championship with a kid, and he only held it for one day. He is simply not viewed as someone who is trustworthy enough to represent the company. He did look fantastic in his last man standing match with Bobby Lashley.

Aleister Black and Cesaro put together a great match (let’s be honest, did you expect anything different?). This match, however, was clearly a stepping stone for Black, as he will be launched possibly into WWE Championship contention with this victory.

It was also a smart move on WWE’s part to book Bayley to win her match against Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss. The rivalry between Cross and Bliss will surely culminate in a match between the two at SummerSlam and it does not need the title involved to make it interesting.

Side Note: The Revival put on a surprisingly entertaining performance in their successful title defense against The Usos.

There was a very old-school type vibe given off by the Super Showdown event in the way the event was paced because nothing felt like it was rushed (WWE is guilty of this at times as they continue to expand as a business). The Saudi Arabia government has to be slightly disappointed that a Brock Lesnar cash-in didn’t happen because that would have had major implications on the future of the WWE for at least several months.

The reason that the time between WrestleMania and SummerSlam is to be valued is that events within the company start to lose a little bit of steam, which then gives younger up-and-coming superstars the opportunity to gain momentum by connecting with a crowd to show what they can do physically in the ring.

One of those up-and-comers I’m talking about is obviously Mansoor, who made his in-ring debut in NXT not too long ago. His victory in the 50-Man Battle Royal, which was heavily emphasized as being the largest in WWE history, will surely accelerate the trajectory of his career. This was very well thought out by WWE to have a superstar from Saudi Arabia win the event. It may even improve WWE’s presentation to the contrary of Saudi Arabia, who is giving them a very lucrative deal to be able to put on these events. Mansoor could become like a version of Ali. Sadly, this would most likely mean that WWE would have to let go of one of these two men because their look is nearly identical. I guarantee, however, that whichever one of these men gets released by WWE will go on to have success with some other organization in the wrestling industry.

The greatest match of the night was easily Randy Orton vs. Triple H. We don’t know what The Game is capable of given that he just produced a match of this quality with Batista at WrestleMania, but this is one of the best matches that Randy Orton has had in a long time (the fact that he got the victory to add to with legacy is simply icing on the cake).

This is a great example of just how important storytelling skills, as well as the timing of body language, are in the WWE. These two men are certainly not the most gifted superstars in the ring anymore (maybe they were at one time), but they had the innate ability to tell a quick story – and that is the scale of major value in the WWE.

The main event of Takeover: XXV was the number one reason why the WWE universe gravitates toward NXT so much, and that is because of the level of focus and attention to detail regarding the in-ring work. Each move of matches is easily better thought out and the performers pay special attention to the detail and precision with which they approach their work in the ring because they are still trying to make a name for themselves and build their reputation within WWE. They put extra effort in to make the WWE universe resonate with them and give them an adequate amount of respect for their abilities.

In terms of storyline, Adam Cole may gain even more cockiness to the point where he becomes just flat out annoying, and the entire Undisputed Era becomes turned off by it, ultimately leading to their demise.

As for Johnny Gergen, this is most likely all part of the plan for Tommaso Ciampa’s return, in which he returns to take the NXT Championship from Adam Cole and return to his heel persona, only for Gargano to regain the title. I’m just spitballing here, and I have absolutely no sources to back this up, however I do know that a storyline has already been devised for Ciampa’s return, so Gargano losing the title was probably the initial event to give the storyline momentum.

Matt Riddle and Roderick Strong had a fantastic match to kick off the show and get the crowd into it. It is very underestimated just how important the first match of a wrestling show is as it sets the tone for the rest of the show, so it’s a very big deal to be put in the #1 spot. The loss may be enough to send Roderick Strong’s frustrations over the edge and cause him to part ways with The Undisputed Era, becoming the last man to join the group and the first to leave.

As for Matt Riddle, the former UFC fighter has proven that he has the potential to be a reliable champion. He came into NXT a little less experienced than most, having gotten out of UFC in 2013 and getting into wrestling the following year, but he has proven to be a fast learner and has impressed many fans, including me. A potential retirement match at WrestleMania next year between Brock Lesnar and Matt Riddle, maybe even for the Universal Championship, would be guaranteed to be a massive moneymaker for WWE, Pitting two former UFC fighters against one another.

Congrats to the Street Profits on winning the NXT Tag Team Championships (and to Angelo Dawkins on a victory and a great performance in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. One has to admit that he looks eerily similar to Demarcus “Boogie” Cousins. I’m only kidding of course). Absolutely no one can argue that the Street Profits deserve it. They are obviously an extremely entertaining team. It’s a little bit of a strange phenomenon that the ladders that are used in NXT appear to be harder and less forgiving than the ladders that are used on the main roster.

One other topic of discussion is the fact that Jaxson Ryker appears to have been established as a force at Takeover: XXV. Maybe he could develop a rivalry which leads to a match at Takeover: Brooklyn with someone like Keith Lee. Ryker’s look has also been changed slightly to appear a little more rugged. He reminds me a little bit of Kane: we will see however if, and that’s a big if, he can have anywhere near that amount of success.

Tyler Breeze’s attitude about returning to NXT is very admirable. He views it as a lateral move within the company that many NXT fans have wanted to see for quite a while rather than a demeaning move being sent back somewhere, he has already been. He could easily view it as proof that the company does not believe in him, but it is a great attitude that he has of returning somewhere where his talent will be truly appreciated. He will have an opportunity to develop a newfound sense of aggression to his character.

As for the match between Breeze and Velveteen Dream, this was the point in the show where the crowd calmed down. This was not the most exciting match or the best performance by a longshot from Dream, but it was plenty interesting enough. The result was exactly what it should have been, as Velveteen Dream needs to be kept in a prominent position if WWE is seriously considering putting him in a marquee WrestleMania match next year with John Cena, which would indeed be awesome.

Shayna Baszler is without question the dominant force in the NXT women’s division and has been for quite some time now. WWE has a major attraction to these former UFC fighters, men or women. That looks to continue because Triple H is determined to make it so that WWE is viewed by major sporting organizations as a legit sport. This will benefit WWE greatly in the future and get them more time on networks like FS1, since they are moving to Fox in October. They have AEW beat in that department. Io Shirai, however, gave a very impressive performance which should bode well for her in the future. She has a much better look and feel to her in-ring style than Kairi Sane. I wasn’t sure what to make of her first couple months in NXT as Kairi Sane’s sidekick, but now that I’ve seen what she can do on her own, I have developed a liking towards her style.

Before I even discuss the pay-per-view, it needs to quickly be addressed how the Viking Raiders demonstrated some selfishness by relinquishing the NXT Tag Team Championships rather than putting over a deserving team like Street profits. I could be dead wrong about this, however, and they could have been instructed by management to relinquish the titles rather than defend them at Takeover on June 1. It will definitely help the careers of Ivar and Erik by avoiding a loss and adding to their mystique (not like Undertaker). They will surely be a dominant tag team for at least several years.

To begin the discussion of MITB, the men’s ladder match was probably the greatest we have ever seen, capped off by the beast. First of all, Finn Balor deserves some extended time off after taking a brutal beating last night. Secondly, it was a good idea to replace Braun Strowman with Sami Zayn, and a fantastic one to replace Zayn with Brock Lesnar, because no one was expecting it, with Lesnar being a part-timer and all. As we wrestling fans know, Lesnar will be at WWE Super Showdown on June 7 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and presumably cash in the Money in the Bank contract for a Universal Championship rematch against Seth Rollins.

There will undoubtedly be a lot of pushback on this decision by WWE (there already has been a whole lot) considering the point of the Money in the Bank ladder match is to create new stars who win over with the crowd, and Lesnar clearly doesn’t need it. However, no one can refute that he is money. The same people who complain about him never being present for TV are the people who rush to watch him when he does decide to show up. WWE does absolutely need to get Lesnar out of the title picture within the next year, because they have more than enough potential champions who are not being used as top draws, as evidenced by the incredible in-ring work which was on display at the pay-per-view.

Kofi Kinston retaining his WWE Championship against Kevin Owens was a smart decision, although that one could have gone either way and WWE would have had a good story to work with no matter what. Kofi still will probably not hold the title past SummerSlam.

It’s also no surprise that Seth Rollins retained his Universal Championship against AJ Styles in a match that absolutely delivered. The post-match handshake was somewhat disappointing as AJ did not turn heel, as many members of the WWE universe thought he might. Becky Lynch also lost one of her championships which was expected. Charlotte Flair isn’t the story though, Bayley is. Now that she is away from Sasha Banks, she finally has an opportunity to prove what she is capable of doing on her own and management will be able to adequately determine whether she possesses any real drawing power.

Congrats to Rey Mysterio on winning the United States Championship from Samoa Joe. The conflict between him and Joe may culminate in a handicap match at SummerSlam pitting Joe against Rey and Dominic, since Joe has been trying to give Dominic advice and be intimidating at the same time. Joe could always find a partner too. Fans have to admit that, despite the fact that Shane McMahon is old (49 to be exact), he still has the ability to give a surprisingly good match. With some older wrestlers, there is a lot of lag time between moves because they need to catch their breath (Undertaker is a prime example).

Side Note: Aiden English is doing very well on commentary for 205 Live. Tony Nese is a great champion too by the way, not as great as Buddy Murphy, but very good. He struggles a little bit on the mic, but 205 Live is mostly about in-ring work anyway.

It’s also very sad that Alexa Bliss was unable to go to the pay-per-view presumably due to her concussion issues. Corey Graves had to be upset by that, and so was I. It was a little surprising to see no Bray Wyatt at Money in the Bank, but Firefly Funhouse will shortly air on Raw.

Mick Foley’s announcement of a new title coming to WWE will also be anxiously anticipated. I almost forgot to mention that Roman Reigns beat Elias in a squash match (I nearly forgot because it wasn’t very interesting). Reigns should return to the title scene very soon. Maybe he shouldn’t challenge Kofi Kinston right away (maybe someone like Ali could challenge him, or someone else too since there are a plethora of guys on the roster who are both deserving and who could give a phenomenal (no disrespect to AJ Styles) match. However, it seems as though WWE is trying desperately to postpone Reigns’ inevitable return to the title scene. WWE has some great behind-the-scenes photos for this event.

Here is the card for WWE Super Showdown as of now:

• Triple H vs. Randy Orton
• Undertaker vs. Goldberg (snooze, two old guys)
• 50 Man Battle Royal
• Braun Strowman vs. Bobby Lashley
• Finn Balor (Demon) vs. Andrade for Balor’s Intercontinental Championship
• Roman Reigns vs. Shane McMahon
• Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler for Kofi’s WWE Championship

This last match is the only one that appears particularly interesting. At these Saudi Arabia shows, matches are not well thought out and it seemed to be scrapped together in order for WWE to gain international exposure.

Many stars from the past are also used because they are demanded by the people who run the show in Saudi Arabia. Andrade and Finn Balor are the only ones that garner any interest from me because these two actually have a little bit of history. Andrade beat Balor in a non-title match on the first night of the Superstar Shakeup before Balor moved to SmackDown and it appeared that Andrade was moving to Raw (which has since been reversed to keep him on the same brand as his fiancée Charlotte Flair.

WWE usually tries to keep couples on the same brand during each Superstar ShakeUp. There is also a very foreseeable scenario where Brock Lesnar cashes in his Money in the Bank contract on Seth Rollins for a Universal Championship rematch. I won’t be able to cover this event because it will be taking place while I am on vacation in Sedona Arizona.

This was a truly epic WrestleMania, and it doesn’t even feel like a massive venue when WWE holds WrestleMania at these gigantic Football stadiums; rather, it just feels normal. This is the vision though that Vince McMahon always had for his brainchild. Fans have to be overwhelmingly ecstatic that all three of the major babyfaces this year, being Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch and Kofi Kingston, won. On a personal note, that would have been my ideal scenario; I just never anticipated for that to happen, given that last year all the major faces failed to win their matches. It is huge that Seth Rollins was able to bring the Universal Championship back to Monday Night Raw. Brock Lesnar may be finally headed back to UFC to fight Daniel Cormier in August (or at least that’s the deal for now). Seth may go on to hold the title until at least SummerSlam. I am almost certain that he will go on to feud with Roman Reigns in the near future (everyone saw that coming).

Randy Orton should go on to have an extended feud with AJ Styles because the beef between them has gotten very personal. As far as the match goes, I would have never foreseen AJ winning (I may have drawn up a scenario where Orton hits an RKO outta nowhere). WWE needs to either completely change the character of Lacey Evans or simply stop trying altogether. There’s no doubt that she’s extremely talented, but this character which could be put into a time machine, transported back 50 years and fit right in is hurting the product and wasting people’s time.

The Usos are one of the greatest tag teams in WWE history, and it’s a smart decision to keep the titles on them. Ricochet and Aleister Black also deserve mentioning as they had a busy weekend for working two matches. The Miz and Shane McMahon had a crazy finish to their match, however Miz will probably move on to bigger and better things because Shane usually takes a leave of absence from in – ring work after WrestleMania. It’s hard to believe that the IIconics won the Women’s Tag Team Championship. They can be a bit annoying so no one should get their hopes up that they will hold the titles for any extended period.

KofiMania is here! This was a very intelligent booking decision by Vince McMahon. It’s a very good thing that he listened to his audience and made Kofi Champion (he learned from his experience with Daniel Bryan). Kofi may be simply a transitional champion who does not hold the title for very long, maybe a month or two, but at least he can add that to his resume. The biggest storyline development that may result from this title victory is that it may plant the seeds for the New Day to split, unfortunately. This is truly one of the great tag teams in WWE history, so it’s important to appreciate them and what they’ve done for the company.

Samoa Joe is a man who, I expected, was largely favored to retain his championship. Rey Mysterio is someone who can afford a loss like this. At this stage of his career he is mainly still doing it to give back to the business because he has done everything there is to do. Joe, however, is still working in a win at his first WrestleMania is huge for him. He should go on to hold the United States Championship for quite some time, until SummerSlam at least. Personally, I would have booked Drew McIntyre to beat Roman Reigns because a loss wouldn’t have hurt Reigns that much and it would’ve catapulted McIntyre into the top heel role on Raw immediately, but the feel-good story of Roman Reigns coming back so soon from his illness can be appreciated for sure. Vince McMahon has to be thrilled that Reigns has been solidified into the top babyface role after years of his push not working the way Mr. McMahon envisioned.

 Reigns’ next task will be positioning himself as the unquestioned owner of the title by defeating Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship. I’m unsure of the direction of Elias, and it’s genius for WWE to have the Doctor of Thuganomics return. This is the last thing anyone would have guessed as far as the plans for John Cena. I wasn’t sure if WWE would still allow John to do this character since WWE has gone PG, but it is very creative.

It was very unselfish of Kurt Angle to put over Baron Corbin in his retirement match. WWE looks to be giving it one final attempt with the push of Corbin. I am less than optimistic because a couple other tries have failed thus far and he is not resonating with fans particularly well. If this attempt does not work, then maybe WWE should consider releasing him.

The Demon gave a good performance and won the Intercontinental Championship. Maybe he could have a feud in the future with someone like Apollo Crews. One has to appreciate how much Ronda Rousey has elevated the women’s division in WWE over the course of the last year. She may be the quickest superstar to headline WrestleMania after just one year. This also virtually guarantees that Becky Lynch will remain at the top of the card in the women’s division for the next several years, because she has agreed to an extension with WWE. Lastly, the value of Charlotte Flair cannot be underestimated because she gives the best performance in every match she participates in and is simply a gifted athlete.

Side Note: This was a great show WWE put on. It was apparently a stress filled nightmare putting it on, but it was very well done and seemed to go on without a hiccup.

War Raiders are proving to be great NXT Tag Team Champions, so NXT’s Tag Team division looks to be in excellent hands. NXT truly is a special environment as evidenced by the fact that every superstar who leaves for the main roster seems to get emotionally choked up at their final Takeover event. Ricochet and Aleister Black are the two latest examples. Great things should be in store for them on the main roster.

Velveteen Dream had another excellent match with Matt Riddle. It was a good decision for Dream to keep his title due to his popularity as well as Matt Riddle being slightly new to the NXT universe. I am positive that Riddle is a future champion in NXT, but the universe will take a while to get acclimated to him.

Some superstars have the ability to come into an organization and resonate with fans very quickly and become champion in just a couple of months. This is not the case with Riddle, so Triple H made a very intelligent booking decision here.

It was incredibly shocking to see Walter dethrone Pete Dunne. Dunne held the title for nearly two years (as far as I am aware, only Bruno Sammartino and Bob Backlund have had longer WWE title reigns). As WWE’s NXT brand in the United Kingdom continues to grow, the significance of this title reign will begin to gain more prominence.

The NXT women’s division looks to be prospering, and Shayna Baszler is a good champion but not a great one. WWE has a very strong attraction to these UFC/Bellator types of people, probably because of how well Brock Lesnar has worked out.

Johnny Gargano has finally done it! It has been a long and tumultuous journey for him but I (and the entire NXT universe) is thrilled to see all of his hard work finally paying off.

It would not surprise me at all if Adam Cole ends up splitting from the Undisputed Era before the end of this calendar year.

Overall, Takeover: New York did not quite live up to the billing Adam Cole gave it as possibly being the greatest Takeover in the history of Takeover events. In my mind, Takeover: Phoenix was slightly better. Takeover: New York was still an excellent event and I have no complaints; it just probably wasn’t the best I’ve ever seen.

It’s a good thing that The Miz and Shane McMahon did not win the SmackDown Tag Titles. A WrestleMania match between Miz and Shane draws more intrigue without a doubt. It should be very interesting to see how it all plays out.

Mandy Rose is sure to be a future champion in WWE, and Corey Graves is sure to go nuts when she does.

One can’t but feel awful for Kofi Kingston after being mutilated by The Bar. If WWE is smart, they will book a WrestleMania match featuring Kofi Kingston challenging Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship. Not that I am upset or anything, but I am a little surprised

The Revival retained their Titles. I would have thought that Ricochet and Aleister Black would walk out of Fastlane with the belts, but I trust Vince with this decision. Samoa Joe is proving to be an extremely entertaining champion in WWE. He has the potential to become the most relevant United States Champion since John Cena.

All I have to say about the women’s Tag Team situation is that a WrestleMania match may be added pitting Nia Jax and Tamina versus Natalya and Beth Phoenix. Beth is not too old either, as she is only 38 years old.

It was encouraging to see Mustafa Ali added into the WWE championship match. Prior to his injury, WWE was pushing him.

The booking of Kevin Owens has been very strong since his debut on the main roster back and 2015. It’s just icing on the cake to have him add that Stunner to his repertoire. It’s still smart booking though to keep the title on Daniel Bryan, who seems to be getting more acclimated to his new character by the week.

It’s good that Becky Lynch was finally added to the Raw women’s championship match at WrestleMania, as this has been hinted at for quite some time. WWE may be officially running out of ideas in terms of ways to use Elias.

AJ and Orton should be a solid ‘Mania match, even though it feels like it was scrapped together to get them both on the card.

Lastly, it warms my heart to see The Shield teaming up again, even if it’s only for one night. Maybe WWE could fill the to a Reigns-Ambrose WrestleMania match where all three Shield members embrace in the ring. Ambrose and Reigns could also aid Rollins in his effort to win the Universal championship, ensuring that the future of Monday Night Raw will be in good hands.

The Elimination Chamber was a very well done and well–paced event for WWE. The women’s tag team championship match inside the Chamber had to create a little bit of impotence for Corey Graves since Mandy Rose’s team lost. The team that was expected to win did just that. I’m happy for Sasha and Bayley (even though I am not that entertained by Bayley), but no big surprises there.

On a side note, Naomi and Carmella have established themselves as the most entertaining tag team in the women’s division. I suspected that The Miz and Shane McMahon might have a short reign as tag team champions as I never imagined that Shane’s body would be able to hold up for a long time in the ring, but I suspected it might last at least until WrestleMania. But I guess it does make sense in hindsight since it is written in Shane’s contract that he is only required to wrestle twice a year and he has already fulfilled that. I have never seen Miz do a springboard move off the top rope. Congrats to him and Maryse on having a second baby.

I was very happy, and a little surprised, to see Finn Balor win the Intercontinental championship. It’s not surprising at all to see relations dwindle between Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush. I could see that one coming from a mile away. I hate to admit this, but Michael Cole and Corey Graves are right – Becky Lynch is starting to appear like the bad guy in her storyline, as she is starting to act a bit entitled just like the typical millennial. It’s a bit of a shame too because WWE could have really had something special in her and probably could have positioned her as the face of the women’s division. It seems that WWE is sacrificing Becky’s reputation (as well as Charlotte’s to a lesser degree) at all costs to protect Ronda Rousey’s persona as a babyface.

I also question the degree to which WWE is humanizing Braun Strowman. The whole reason he got over in the first place is because he was so much of a monster. Now WWE seems to be totally doing away with that, and as a result he won’t be nearly as over when he actually does become champion.

I have no idea what was up with Lacey Evans coming out for about 10 seconds – WWE is odd sometimes. I don’t imagine her character going over with the WWE universe. I could easily take her character and put it in a time machine, transport it back 50 years, and it would probably fit right in.

Everything impressed me about the main event, from Daniel Bryan’s promo right before the match to the way the match was paced. The only thing I’m a little disappointed in is that Kofi Kingston did not become champion. I don’t care when it is, he needs to become WWE champion before he retires, with or without The New Day. Vince McMahon always talks about how he likes to listen to his audience and give them what they want – well, they clearly want Kofi. He missed the boat in terms of capitalizing on Rusev Day and he needs to learn from that mistake.