Orton and Kane celebrate with an explosive Bryan. Photo credit: WWE.com
Kane pinned Seth Rollins in a fine effort by both men. Granted, it won't be a match you'll be looking up a year from now, but it was still enjoyable and the best contest these two have put on together so far.
Roman Reigns won via disqualification versus Daniel Bryan after Kane was provoked into slapping Reigns in the face, this caused the former tag champs to argue all the way down the ramp. The match itself had been a stellar one, largely thanks to the hard work of the superb Bryan.
Roman also played his part well here, although I worry when he eventually goes on his own his shortcomings will be more visible, but hopefully I'm proven wrong and he's more capable by then. And I do appreciate what he's done so far, but he still has a bit of work to do in the ring.
Damien Sandow reminded us all of Sheamus' brutish actions last week when he attempted to untie the Gordian knot, and then revealed his latest challenge in the form of the shell game. Soon Sheamus came out and decided to try the game so he could hurry and get Sandow out of the ring and shut him up, so the 'Intellectual Saviour' accepted.
Unfortunately for "Damo" (as Sheamus calls him) he was caught cheating the 'Celtic Warrior' as he had removed the ball he had to find under the cup, so Sheamus responded with a Brogue Kick. Much like their segment last week I enjoyed it, it was a bit of simple fun and Sandow is always entertaining on the mic. Hopefully the feud can develop and deliver Damien a much needed win against the Irishman on PPV.
Before his following match Curtis Axel bragged about his wins against Cena and Triple H, claiming that no one had made an impact like him in such a short time in WWE (we're obviously meant to forget his first few years there, right?). Axel was solid on the mic, and is definitely showing more charisma than when he was first introduced by Heyman.
Curtis Axel beat Sin Cara in a fair encounter. It was a fun enough watch, although nothing outstanding about it. Hopefully Axel moves on to defeat more varied opponents on the blue brand in the near future. I also hope he brings back his running swinging neckbreaker finisher as apposed to the bridging cradle suplex he's adopted from his dad, he's his own man and should have a more unique finisher like the neckbreaker.
Big E Langston pinned Alberto Del Rio in a worthy enough effort from both men. For me this was the best bout in their series so far, and surprisingly enjoyable, maybe that's just because I wasn't expecting much from it. For the finish AJ Lee attacked the eyes of Del Rio, allowing Big E to ram him skull first into a ringpost and apply the Big Ending for the big (no pun intended) win.
Ryback beat Kofi Kingston in an uninspiring and pretty forgettable match up. Kofi as usual was decent enough, but the match just felt flat for me. Afterwards Ryback decided to send a message to Cena and put Kofi through not one, not two, but three tables. Now that was memorable. Maybe WWE could make the most from this for Kofi and actually reinvent him or turn him heel after he makes his return, he really needs something to change.
Chris Jericho defeated Cody Rhodes in a passable contest. Unfortunately I was a bit disappointed here, as a fan of both men and their talents I was expecting a bit more but it never seemed to going, with the sequences feeling too forced and unnatural. Maybe I'm being more critical than normal, but I just didn't really get into to be honest.
Randy Orton won via DQ versus Dean Ambrose in a solid main event and match of the night. Both men gave worthy efforts here and worked well together, with the US Champion more than holding his own against 'The Viper' as they battled back and fourth.
The disqualification occurred when Rollins and Reigns ran down and attacked Orton. This cued Team Hell No to also come out and help take out The Shield trio, with Bryan becoming a one-man tank as he tore through all three men in a ferocious fashion, it was awesome. And the fans loved it too as they almost all chanted along with his signature "Yes!" chants. I'm really liking this new aggressive direction Bryan is taking as of late, and hoping it'll bring him a World strap again at some point.
Overall it was a pretty unremarkable show for the most part, but fortunately Orton versus Ambrose, the Sandow and Sheamus segment and anything involving the very much in-form Bryan made it worth watching. And to be fair there weren't any terrible matches outside of the ones mentioned, so I'll take that for a SmackDown.
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