Photo Credit: WWE
GREAT: The New Day defeated Bobby Lashley, AJ Styles & Omos in a great six man tag to open the show. This came about after the six got into a brawl on the preshow due to their feuds going on Raw. Lashley, Styles & Omos seemed to have it won until miscommunication caused Styles to eat a spear from Lashley and that allowed Big E to pin Lashley for the win.
Result – New Day Win By Pinfall
Dakota Cohen WR Star Rating – 4 Stars
MUST WATCH: The Usos defeated the Street Profits in an absolutely fantastic tag team match to retain the Smackdown Tag Team Championships. The story in this match was that Montez Ford was limited due to his injured ribs. This match hit all the right spots.
Result – The Usos Retain By Pinfall
Dakota Cohen WR Star Rating – 4.5 Stars
GREAT: Bobby Lashley was shown backstage, furious about Big E beating him & challenged Big E to a WWE Title match tomorrow on Raw. Lashley came across like a real threat here.
GOOD: Charlotte Flair defeated Alexa Bliss in a good match, which was probably Bliss’ best in a long time. In defeating Bliss, Flair retained her Raw Women’s Championship.
Result – Charlotte Flair Retains By Pinfall
Dakota Cohen WR Star Rating – 3.5 Stars
GREAT: After the match, Alexa Bliss had a meltdown due to Flair destroying Lily, Alexa Bliss’ doll. She began crying and screaming hysterically. This seemed to be the end of Lily and moved forward Bliss’ character very well.
GOOD: Damian Priest defeated Sheamus and Jeff Hardy in a very good match to retain the United States Championship. The match was very exciting and only hurt by the fact Priest botched twice.
Result – Priest Retains By Pinfall
Dakota Cohen WR Star Rating – 3.5 Stars
MUST WATCH: Bianca Belair defeated Becky Lynch by disqualification after Sasha Banks made her return to attack Belair. This match was fantastic and very well paced, with the crowd going wild for both women.
Result – Lynch Retains By Disqualification
Dakota Cohen WR Star Rating – 4.25 Stars
GREAT: After the match, Banks continued to attack Belair and then made her way to Lynch. The crowd did not seem upset with the DQ finish, which means they pulled this off great.
GREAT: Roman Reigns defeated The Demon Finn Balor in the match of the night to retain the Universal Championship. This match was nearing five star territory, until with about 2 minutes to go in the match, Balor’s music started playing, signifying the heartbeat of The Demon & he got straight up and started attacking Reigns. When Balor got to the top rope for a Coup De Grace, the ropes collapsed, which made him fall & get hit with a spear. Very strange end to an otherwise flawless match.
Result – Roman Reigns Retains By Pinfall
Dakota Cohen WR Star Rating – 4 Stars
Overall, this was a very, very good show, despite the last two matches not having fantastic finishes. The action in this show was very consistent and not a single match disappointed, as even the worst match was still very enjoyable. This was one of WWE’s better paced pay-peere-views this year, which was good considering that SummerSlam was poorly paced. The best match of the night was the main event, but the best match of the night with a great finish was the Smackdown Tag Team Championship match.
Show Theme and Presentation: 7/10
Watchability: 9/10
Crowd Reaction: 9/10
Storyline Progression: 9/10
Production: 7/10
Overall Rating: 8.2/10
