A review so fast I didn’t bother to edit, so please excuse any errors, omissions or rambling. Just read this as a mostly solid stream of consciousness and it’ll make most of the sense.
WWE Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair (c) vs. Iyo Sky
San Juan loves them some Iyo. Great athletic opening from both women before Iyo takes control by working over the arm. Great counters in the heat, Belair selling the injury tremendously. But she still managed to hoist up Sky in a military press then hold her up with one arm. Granted, Iyo fell face-first out of that but impressive none the less. Just when you thought Belair would take over and snag the win, Sky got a second wind to unload offense. The super-sitout bomb was a ridiculous spot but it looked like Iyo definitely got her skull bounced off the mat there. Of course Damage CTRL got involved but this was a star-making performance from Sky. The seeds of the breakup have been planted in an incredible opening match.
RATING: 4.5/5
Seth Rollins vs. Omos
I feel like I’m gonna say this a lot tonight, but San Juan loves them some Seth Rollins. But it was low-key brilliant putting these two together because Omos looks so good in there with Rollins. This man pressed Rollins from the floor over the top rope. I don’t know if I’ve seen a better built big man vs. little man match. Not that Rollins is really a small man but next to Omos, everyone is little. Rollins flew around the ring for Omos and finally got the win with a suuuuuuuuper stomp from the top. I would actually not be opposed to them running this one back down the line with the big man getting his win back. I think that he eventually has to have as signature win so he doesn’t become the equivalent of a video game boss that the good guy always vanquishes.
RATING: 3.5/5
Triple Threat Match for the WWE United States Championship: Austin Theory (c) vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Bronson Reed
I have high hopes for this one, since the last time Theory and Lashley were involved in a triple threat match for this belt, it was an absolute banger at Survivor Series ’22. All three guys got spots to impress in this one. Reed and Lashley alone is a matchup will all sorts of big men doing big men things potential. Reed with a Vader Bomb-like move to an All Mighty standing on the floor that was kind of insane. They packed so many near falls, saves and triple threat spots into what was a surprisingly short match. With both Theory and Lashley heading to Smackdown, Bobby will one day take that strap back and do it in a one-on-one confrontation, but they are quickly becoming great at multi-man matches while Theory keeps winning however he has to. This one wasn’t as good as the Survivor Series match but it was not bad at all.
RATING 3/5
WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship: Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Zelina Vega
I don’t want to be the downer here, but I don’t think the crowd is getting a happy ending in this one with Zelina. Vega with the offense early and the crowd all the way behind her, but the champ changes the momentum with a power bomb with a little extra stank on it. Holy shit, they let Cole reference Vega’s shoot cousin Amazing Red. Those things still amaze me, but I was steeped in the era where there was no other wrestling besides WWE.
Zelina did get a moment, hitting a 619 and a meteora but this one was inevitable. Riptide and a three count and you can barely hear the announcement over the boos. An alright match that had a lot of heat to it because of the venue. If they do it again on SD next week, it probably won’t feel as hot.
RATING: 2.75/5
San Juan Street Fight: Bad Bunny vs. Damian Priest
Surprisingly, the first half of our double main event is up next. I kinda thought they’d finish the night with this one to send the crowd home happy. Bunny makes his way to the ring with a shopping cart full of plunder and business just picked up. It takes us some time to get there but the weapons come into play all over the ring.
You have to be impressed with Bunny taking the Broken Arrow through a couple of tables in the tech area. He’s willingly taken any and all the bumps necessary in a match like this. Bunny makes the right moves and chops down the big man’s knee before this match devolves into pure fan service. Out comes the Judgment Day, out comes Rey Mysterio, out comes…Carlito of course. Who still looks to be in great shape. Savio Vega makes his way out to trap the JD in the aisle before summoning the rest of the lWo and the brawl is on. Back to the ring, Bunny slaps on a figure four on the injured knee of Priest, who almost has to tap. Bunny goes for a Sliced Bread #2 and looks like he didn’t get all the way over and bounced off his head. This thing is finally over after a Bad Bunny destroyer. Was this a great match? Eh, it wasn’t bad but it got sloppy at times because of course it did given one of the participants. Bunny put everything out there, good and bad. Priest worked his ass off. It got overbooked, which is almost a necessity with a special attraction match like this. If you skipped it, you didn’t miss a mat classic, but there was enough fun in this one to make it worth while.
RATING: 3/5
Matt Riddle, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn vs. The Bloodline (Jey and Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa)
It’s going to be hard to come down off a high like the street fight (which is why it should have been the ME) but these six men draw that short straw. Methodical is the best way to describe this one, especially early on. There’s some obvious tension between the Usos and Sikoa, some unease between the brothers. Holy hell Kevin, please don’t take that back bump onto the pointy part of the steps. A ton of story told in this near-fall spot-fest. The seeds have once again been planted but the real question is how long will it take them to grow into the dissolution of the Bloodline.
RATING 3.5/5
Brock Lesnar vs. Cody Rhodes
We got us some pre-match shenanigans as Cody hits a suicide dive during Brock’s entrance and he beats on the Beast with most of the ringside area before the bell rings. Cody gets some of the hits off but then Brock does Brock things, targeting the ribs he injured and throwing the Nightmare around the island. Now, just as it looked like things were settling in to unfortunately become what Brock’s matches have been boiled down to over the last year or so, Peacock crapped out on me and I’ll have to pick up the finish whenever the replay gets posted. So for now, I have to give this one an incomplete, although I know its a Cody victory in a relatively short main event. So you’ll have to tune into the next episode of The Finisher for my final thoughts.
RATING: Incomplete
FINAL GRADE (minus the main event): B-
This was a far better show than we really expected and while most of the destinations were exactly as we expected, the ride was more thrilling than anticipated.
The Finisher 