Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Natalya (Lumberjack Match for the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship)
Reactions: I’ve never watched a 4-Star Lumberjack match and to be honest, I don’t think that will ever change. What we got here was bits and pieces of your usual Charlotte/Natalya bout with a bit too much Lumberjack assaults sprinkled in. Watching Charlotte get assaulted on the outside got a bit too repetitive for my tastes. The match itself wasn’t all that intriguing, to be honest. Naomi and Charlotte’s high-flying splashes to the Lumberjacks on the outside was a bit entertaining, plus Carmella’s tease of a cash-in intrigued me. But overall, this match was a bit too plodding and fragmented to fully enjoy. And judging by Natalya’s post-match promo, it looks like Natalya is on the verge of retiring…
Rating: 1 & a Half out of 5 Stars
Baron Corbin (c) vs. Bobby Roode vs. Dolph Ziggler (Triple Threat Match for the WWE United States Championship)
Reactions: I have to stop setting my expectations so low for matches involving Baron Corbin. He’s steadily improving both on the mic and in the ring. This Triple Threat Match was proof of that. Corbin may have had two quality dancing partners across the ring from him, but he more than held up his portion of the matchup. This US Championship bout was a very fun opener. Roode was super over as expected, Corbin was the world beater he’s been built up to be and Ziggler dealt out his fast paced offensive offense as always. After Roode’s comeback, this match got kicked up a notch. Me and the live crowd came unglued after Roode landed his Glorious DDT! Everything got better from that point forward and led to an exciting finishing stretch that led to…ZIGGLER WINNING? Yep! The match was good, the outcome was unexpected and I can’t wait to see the follow-up.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
AJ Styles (c) vs. Jinder Mahal (WWE Championship)
Reactions: AJ Styles may be the best wrestler in the world, but he’s no magician. He may have given Jinder his only halfway entertaining match on SD Live last month, but that wasn’t the case here. What we got here was more of Jinder’s heatless, plodding and always sleep inducing offense. Jinder focused on AJ’s midsection and worked it over with some incredibly slow paced maneuvers. The overall match layout was smart and made a ton of sense, but the actual work from Jinder did nothing for me. AJ played his part as the weakened but still resilient champion perfectly – he fought off the pain done to his ribs and made several comebacks. While this match wasn’t an all-out eyesore, there still wasn’t enough here to keep me interested. Hey, at least AJ still wields the WWE Championship! I hope this whole “Jinder contending for the WWE Championship” facade has finally come to an end. All in all, this was decent to a point.
Rating: 2 & a Half out of 5 Stars