Big Pete
Referee
- Messages
- 29,124
Finally got through it.
Spent all day avoiding spoilers, waiting for a release just to see this show without my opinion being tainted.
Good show.
RVD vs. Ion was an ok opener. Not a whole lot to say other than Van Dam hitting a nice flip drop kick spot right before the finish. Van Dam going over is fine with me, X-Division needed a name and Van Dam needed something to do. Seems like a good fit to me.
Samoa Joe vs. Magnus was solid. I liked what I saw from Magnus, good psychology to work the arm and his spots were good but a lot of Joe's offence left a lot to be desired. Enjoyed the finish though with Magnus finally succumbing to a 3rd choke.
Storm vs. Roode was really good. Storm's blade job was the sickest I've seen since Eddie back in 04 and these two worked a good street job match. Lived up to 12 months of story which isn't an easy thing to do.
Joey Ryan vs. Al Snow was surprisingly solid. Good veteren vs. brash up-comer story with Snow moving surprisingly well for a guy who hasn't been active in a long while. Loved that Snow gave the fans what they wanted (head) and the return of Morgan. Pretty much as good if not better than it had any right to be.
Triple threat tag was a nice spot-fest match. That powerbomb from the apron from Hernandez on Kaz was sick otherwise it's basically what you'd expect. Chavo + Hernandez going over was a surprise. Crowd didn't care for it but moving forward it was the better option as AJ + Angle should move on & Kaz + Daniels can keep doing whatever they want.
Tara vs. Tessmacher was plain meh. Typical diva match really.
Aces & 8s was just a fun ol' brawl. Bully Ray was the star, loved how he embraced the Sting gimmick what with the face paint and beating the chest and everything. He was a damn good partner constantly watching Sting's back and was a bunch of fun watching. Finish was as lackluster as it could get and there were some spots that I thought, y'know these guys have brutally beaten some of your friends and you're BOTH getting distracted from Parks beating up a much smaller dude? Table spot was kind of similar but by that point I was just embracing this being an 'entertainment' match. The D'Von swerve was good in my books, whether he can handle it remains to be seen but I was honestly like 'oh damn' when he was revealed.
Hardy/Aries was a really good main event and what you'd come to expect from Aries this year. The booking leaves a bad taste in my mouth and it seems like the crowd hated it too but otherwise it delivered about where it had to without being overly amazing. Found the finish kind of funny, seemed like Aries was going ol' HBK circa SummerSlam 05 to get in position for the Swanton Bomb. Otherwise, I really like Aries style and I thought Hardy worked well off the back of it.
Like I said, it was a good show and enough happened to keep me interested in what's going to happen in the future.
Spent all day avoiding spoilers, waiting for a release just to see this show without my opinion being tainted.
Good show.
RVD vs. Ion was an ok opener. Not a whole lot to say other than Van Dam hitting a nice flip drop kick spot right before the finish. Van Dam going over is fine with me, X-Division needed a name and Van Dam needed something to do. Seems like a good fit to me.
Samoa Joe vs. Magnus was solid. I liked what I saw from Magnus, good psychology to work the arm and his spots were good but a lot of Joe's offence left a lot to be desired. Enjoyed the finish though with Magnus finally succumbing to a 3rd choke.
Storm vs. Roode was really good. Storm's blade job was the sickest I've seen since Eddie back in 04 and these two worked a good street job match. Lived up to 12 months of story which isn't an easy thing to do.
Joey Ryan vs. Al Snow was surprisingly solid. Good veteren vs. brash up-comer story with Snow moving surprisingly well for a guy who hasn't been active in a long while. Loved that Snow gave the fans what they wanted (head) and the return of Morgan. Pretty much as good if not better than it had any right to be.
Triple threat tag was a nice spot-fest match. That powerbomb from the apron from Hernandez on Kaz was sick otherwise it's basically what you'd expect. Chavo + Hernandez going over was a surprise. Crowd didn't care for it but moving forward it was the better option as AJ + Angle should move on & Kaz + Daniels can keep doing whatever they want.
Tara vs. Tessmacher was plain meh. Typical diva match really.
Aces & 8s was just a fun ol' brawl. Bully Ray was the star, loved how he embraced the Sting gimmick what with the face paint and beating the chest and everything. He was a damn good partner constantly watching Sting's back and was a bunch of fun watching. Finish was as lackluster as it could get and there were some spots that I thought, y'know these guys have brutally beaten some of your friends and you're BOTH getting distracted from Parks beating up a much smaller dude? Table spot was kind of similar but by that point I was just embracing this being an 'entertainment' match. The D'Von swerve was good in my books, whether he can handle it remains to be seen but I was honestly like 'oh damn' when he was revealed.
Hardy/Aries was a really good main event and what you'd come to expect from Aries this year. The booking leaves a bad taste in my mouth and it seems like the crowd hated it too but otherwise it delivered about where it had to without being overly amazing. Found the finish kind of funny, seemed like Aries was going ol' HBK circa SummerSlam 05 to get in position for the Swanton Bomb. Otherwise, I really like Aries style and I thought Hardy worked well off the back of it.
Like I said, it was a good show and enough happened to keep me interested in what's going to happen in the future.
