Blahhhhhhhhh.
An average show at best. All of the matches went exactly as expected. Not always a bad thing, but when the expected outcomes aren’t all that compelling, the result is a flat event.
WWE oversold the Bron Breakker and Oba Femi match when there was no way for the company to go through with a real finish. In theory, this match was the biggest of the show, but didn’t feel like it due to the disqualification.
Here are my Brass Ring Ratings for the event and here’s how they work … I call it like I see it and grade accordingly. One brass ring = bad. Five brass rings = epic, all-time greatness, and perfection.
Baron Corbin vs. Lil Yachty - If Yachty lasts five minutes, Trick Williams gets an immediate WWE Men’s United States Championship match
A five-star classic, this was not. The worst match on the AEW All In PPV event beat this by nearly two brass rings. Now, with that said, this did what it needed to do. Yachty hanging on captured the attention of the crowd. They seemed into the story and popped when Yachty made it — even if he did because he cheated. Why is a babyface winning that way? Gonna save my breath on that one, but it’s nonsensical.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - O
Baron Corbin vs. Trick Williams - WWE Men’s United States Championship
Well, as soon as Yachty lasted the five minutes, it was obvious that a title change was on the way. Corbin and Williams did a halfway decent job of creating some drama around that finish with two different near-falls. In the end, Yachty helped Williams win the title annnnnnnnnd scene. This was better than the opening match, but not by as much as you’d think.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO
Oba Femi vs. Bron Breakker
Not a bad match while it lasted. Actually a pretty good tease. And all of it a waste of time. Bronson Reed made his return and destroyed Femi with a chair to help Breakker. Breakker didn’t really get a win. Femi didn’t really get a loss. Reed is back and that’s about it. Femi and Breakker having a meaningful first match together was important. You can only do it the first time once and they sacrificed it here for an angle that could’ve happened on any random episode of Raw. We’ll see how Paul Heyman reacts to it this week on Raw, but if that’s the most intriguing story coming out of your “future of WWE” match, something went wrong. Sidebar — WWE has to do something about the crowd chanting “one more time” during what are supposed to be beatdown segments for heat. The babyface looks awfully silly getting obliterated as the shocked announcers sell it, but the audience cheers it on. They need to pick their spots better and be smarter. Femi didn’t feel as hot in this as he has at other points this year.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO 3/4
Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, and Tatum Paxley vs. Jade Cargill, Michin, and B-Fab
Oh, it was a fine little match. Cargill missed some spots again, but the rest gelled for the most part. The hot tag to Flair was well-worked, but it only served to build up a moment where the damn babyface team couldn’t co-exist. A yawner of a storyline. Paxley and Flair may get it over, but it’s a story we see everywhere on WWE television.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - O 3/4
Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton
I liked the steadiness of the match and the vicious nature of it with the blood, but the story didn’t land. By the end of the match, the audience was cheering and chanting for Orton as Rhodes stalked him. That reaction didn’t jive with the story the announce team was telling about Rhodes finally getting a victory over Orton after nearly 20 years. A lot was made by the announce team regarding Orton having quit the match prior to Rhodes losing. How about an “I Quit” Match for their trilogy fight?
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO
What as your favorite match of the show? Let us know in the comments!
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