Just finished watching one of the replays.
So it's a WWE Network exclusive show where we showcase a house show from Madison Square Garden, the Mecca of WWE. Why is this house show airing on the Network? Because it features Brock Lesnar, of course! And who is his latest, greatest opponent to send to Suplex City, Bitch?
Big Show.
Really? This is what we're going with?
Say, remember back in 2002 when they had that one match on Smackdown and the ring broke? WOW, that was amazing. Back when Big Show was a bit of a threat and back when Brock Lesnar was interesting and not just the modern-day equivalent of 2003 Scott Steiner.
Anyway, it's a MSG house show - low-key setpiece and Titantron for the entrance - and your commentary team comprises JBL and two other guys who don't matter. All things considered, I would've preferred Michael Cole because left to his own devices and without the hindrances of his colorful folks or Vinnie Mac's screaming instructions, he could have done a better job of it. One only needs to watch the other WWE Network live special featuring the Brock when they had that show in Japan.
JBL, on the other hand, has fallen into the same trap that befell Jerry Lawler; used to provide good color and now just sucks wind. Oh well, I wasn't expecting much from commentary anyway.
Randy Orton and Dolph Ziggler defeated Sheamus and Rusev in a tag match when Randy hit Sheamus with an RKO... no, I'm not going there. This was a pretty typical tag-team match featuring four guys that I care little about these days. Let's be honest; Ziggler vs Rusev is done to death and the last time I had any semblance of interest in Randy Orton vs. Sheamus was back in 2010 when they were vying for the WWE Championship (that would eventually be taken by Miz... the less said, the better, I say.) The match itself was typical tag team stuff.
Hey, look. It's Renee Young interviewing Joseph Park on crutches... and oh look, we've got the typical "Let's show the crowd watching the interview on screen" garbage that we get on regular televised programming. WHY?!
Neville defeated Stardust in a pretty decent match. Nothing mind-blowing or anything, but for a little house show match, it was perfectly fine.
Oh goodie, Paul Heyman is here to cut a promo and continue to make Brock sound like a complete bitch by pushing the completely stupid "Suplex City" thing as a thing... of course, it works, because people are stupid.
There's a Divas match. With Bellas. I don't care. So it's time for a piss break... though I would be remiss not to mention that the six women involved in this match are so impressive and so powerfully interesting that the MSG crowd is chanting for Sasha Banks... who ISN'T in this match.
Also, JBL talks boxing for a bit during this match... because sure, why not?
Viva #LOLDivasRevolution!
Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens defeated Chris Jericho to retain the title. Fun Fact; Chris Jericho is celebrating the 25th anniversary of his first-ever wrestling match with Lance Storm, who just so happens to be in the front row, along with Don Callus (Jackyl in WWF, Cyrus in ECW) and some other guy I don't know. This was a fun little match and it was nice to see KO get another win over a notable legend like the JeriChurl. Would like for it to have been longer, but I'll take what I can get with these guys.
The Dudley Boyz defeated WWE Tag-Team Champions The New Day via DQ when Xavier Woods interfered. I liked this match better when it was on PPV, but given the circumstances, this was fine for what it was. Woods eventually gets to eat wood... see, I made a funny.
Up next is the Brock Lesnar vs. Big Show match and if you really need me to tell you who wins this match, then you probably haven't been watching WWE for the past few years. Seriously, it's the same match they always have these days. Suplex City? More like Lame Ass City. Why does anyone in WWE think people would care about Big Show long after his point of relevancy? There's no mystique to a giant who spent more time on his back looking at the lights than towering in victory. It's just... I got nothing.
United States champion John Cena defeated WWE World champ Seth Rollins in a cage match to retain the US title. Rollins' world title was not on the line. Pretty damn good cage match to close out the show as Cena and Rollins produce another good outing among themselves. The end came when Rollins was prevented from escaping the cage thanks to Abyss showing up and scaring the poor guy off into the waiting arms of a Cena AA. Abyss then entered the cage and gave Rollins a chokeslam and tombstone to end the show...
Oh wait, I'm sorry. Did I say Abyss? I meant "Demon Kane." I'm so terribly sorry. For a second there, I thought I was watching a horrible TNA angle from a couple years ago... you know, as opposed to a horrible TNA angle from a couple months ago.
Speaking of which, Bound for Glory is tonight... I wonder if anything interesting will happen there... but I digress.
So the MSG show, understandably, was not as strong a showing as, say, a typical WWE PPV event and when you set that aside and see it for what it is - a televised house show event that wouldn't have been televised if not for Lame Ass City - you'll get some mild entertainment out of it. The steel cage match is probably the best match on the card (as expected) and the rest of the show was pretty entertaining fare for the most part.
That having been said, I actually enjoyed the Tokyo show a little better than this. The run time was shorter, but the few matches on there were of much higher quality and entertainment value... not to mention more stuff happened there (i.e. new champion crowned) than it did here.
Still, not a bad way to kill off 2 1/2 hours.
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