So with post-WrestleMania fever behind us now, this will be the post of reviews for the first batch of brand-exclusive PPVs. Payback (Raw), Takeover Chicago (NxT), and Backlash (Smackdown)
The WrestleMania review will be finished very soon, and when you see this post, all results will have been recorded from each event.
Pre Show
Enzo and Cass def. The Club
-Enzo and Cass are admittedly getting stale. The Club needs to either re-align with Finn or bring someone into the good brothers, because they're on the rocks too.
4 out of 10
Finn Balor on Miz TV was cool. I was ok with it.
Chris Jericho def. Kevin Owens for the WWE United States Championship
-Surprise ending with Jericho winning the Championship, but fantastic psychology at the end with the finger becoming an important part of the narrative of the match.
7 out of 10
The Hardy Boyz def. Cesaro and Sheamus for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championships
-Solid match with the Hardyz coming out on top. Sheamus and Cesaro turning heel, while unexpected, had a good dynamic to continue the feud. There's still a possibility of Broken Matt, especially with the emphasis on head shots by Sheamus during the match.
-6.9 out of 10
Bray Wyatt def. Randy Orton in a House of Horrors Match
-If the camera work was more crappy, it would have actually helped the match. The house seemed like a normal house at night, minus all the things hung up. You would have expected more of a tornado-caused mess. But among other things, the point of the match was gone the moment the WWE Championship was taken out of the stipulations. Wyatt I guess wins the war, but he still gets help, not from his mystical powers and his house, but from Jinder Mahal and the Singh Brothers. For something that was supposed to be campy and unrealistic....this would be the type of match that pushes away casual viewers. It didn't even have the endearing "it was so bad it was good" vibe like the Final Deletion. WWE, this was bad. Orton isn't hurt by the result, but by the participation, and Wyatt continues to come off weak.
-2 out of 10
Austin Aries def. Neville via DQ for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship
-Not as good as their WrestleMania Opener (yes it was on the kickoff show but honestly it was arguable the best match in terms of straight up ringwork), but still a great match. The ending continues the feud in a way that keeps both men strong. Neville couldn't submit, so he attacks the referee to retain his Championship
7-10
Braun Strowman def. Roman Reigns
-7 out of 10.
It would have been more if Reigns had been less competitive in the match. Logic folks seriously.
Seth Rollins def. Samoa Joe
-Weirdly enough, I liked the match and found myself underwhelmed at the same time. This would be the other Purist wrestling match on the card other than the Cruiserweight Championship. Good story but could have had more aggression from both sides. Smart way to finish, but Samoa Joe's shoulder was up.
7 out of 10 also (Yes, they're the same. The 3 points for all the good matches are due to lack of ability to get me invested during the match)
Alexa Bliss def. Bayley for the Raw Women's Championship
-For a good match, the ending rubs me the wrong way. They spent all the videos before the PPV emphasizing Bayley's hometown prescience and how she gets to come home and wrestle. And then you make her lose to Alexa Bliss, when Bliss won in her hometown. Hopefully long-term it will do wonders for both women and not just for Bliss. But honestly, whoever keeps suggesting to Vince McMahon to have hometown heroes lose in their hometown needs to not only go fuck themselves, but to also be fired in front of their hometown as poetic justice. It's overkill at this point (yes Naomi won in her hometown at WrestleMania but that's 1 instance in what feels like 26 opportunities over the last year). Seriously, Screw off with the hometown hero loses crap.
NxT Takeover Chicago
1)Bobby Roode def. Hideo Itami for the NxT Championship
-Fantastic NxT Championship match. Roode winning is the correct decision, Itami is most likely going heel, I can't complain at all for this.
7.75 out of 10
2)The Authors of Pain def. #DIY for the NxT Tag Team Championships in a Ladder Match
-Match was great, post match was PHENOMINAL. No more DIY, Ciampa turns heel, Gargano taken out, AoP keep the championships.
8.5 out of 10
3)Asuka def. Ruby Riot and Nikki Cross for the NxT Women's Championship (Ember Moon taken out due to injury)
5.5 out of 10
Asuka is cursed. It wasn't a bad match at all. The rating is more so for the lack of heat from the crowd and the ill-timed finish. Cross will have her day hopefully. Riot did well in her first opportunity for singles gold.
4)Pete Dunne def. Tyler Bate for the WWE United Kingdom Championship
10 out of 10
Dear Lordy Geordy, we had a match of the year Candidate. The only complaint would be that there were too many rest spots, but considering the quality and risk of the offense, this can be overlooked.
5)Roderick Strong def. Eric Young
Fantastic Opener
Backlash (Smackdown)
1)Jinder Mahal w/The Singh Brothers def. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship
-Jinder Won. Still Shocked. Freaking Ridiculous. And surprisingly Happy.
2)The Usos def. Breezango for the WWE Tag Team Championship
-Most entertaining comedy match I've seen in YEARS. Absolutely Loved It.
3)Kevin Owens def. AJ Styles via Countout for the WWE United States Championship
-Logical booking prevents this from being a bummer. Fantastic storytelling
4)Shinsuke Nakamura def. Dolph Ziggler
-Fantastic WWE Style debut.....lost its legs otherwise.
5)Sami Zayn def. Baron Corbin
-Sami Zayn Won! What else do I need to say?
6)Natalya, Carmella, and Tamina (w/James Ellsworth) def. Charlotte Flair, Naomi, and Becky Lynch
-Becky really isn't strong enough to continue to absorb the loss in a tag....would have had someone pin Carmella honestly.
7)Luke Harper def. Erick Rowan
-Admittedly the match with the least amount of steam....But Luke Harper won so it's automatically great.
8)Tye Dillinger def. Aiden English
-Solid opener, and developed English as a possible threat.
Also, future PPV designations have been announced:
The Raw PPVs after Payback
Extreme Rules (BALTIMORE MD) June 4th
Great Balls of Fire (Dallas Tx....(WTF with the Name)) July 9th (Brock Lesnar defends the Universal Championship)
The Smackdown PPVs after Backlash
Money in the Bank (St. Louis Missouri) June 18th (potential Rusev WWE Championship Opportunity)
Battleground (Philly) July 23rd
NxT Takeover Brooklyn III will be SummerSlam weekend and Summerslam will be the first joint PPV since WrestleMania.
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