This was a Falls Count Anywhere match.
As it’s a WWE TV main event, this is pretty standard stuff before the big obviously fake and well known spot at the end of this. They get a token brawl through the crowd to the stage, some chairs, a table, and the kendo sticks. It’s far from new, it’s sort of the stock WWE TV gimmick match allotment no matter what the gimmick actually seems to be. Like anything else, it’s up to the guys in there to make it good or bad. The Miz and John Morrison had a decent one through Morrison’s offensive creativity. Daniel Bryan and Sheamus had one of the best ever, because it’s a great physical pairing and Daniel Bryan is the best wrestler of all time. There have been so many forgettable ones too, done by mediocre wrestlers who don’t care.
This is one of the better ones, almost entirely because it’s such a fun Dean Ambrose performance, really one of the last before he figures it all out.
It’s not ANGRY, but there’s some anger and energy to it. Rollins is incapable of such a thing, but whenever Ambrose has a say in the matter, the match feels a little wilder and less under control than usual. It’s the sort of thing very badly lacking from all the matches like this that Ambrose gets thrown into for most of his WWE run, that spark of something that makes them a little more interesting. In matches like these and with a guy like Ambrose, it’s real easy to see when he cares and when he doesn’t or at least when he’s willing to give a full effort and when he isn’t, and he’s still putting a big time effort forward. They’re also a little more inventive with the little things, even if they stick to basic “superplex through a table” style setpieces. In regards to the stock weapons, he also changes it up a little bit in fun ways. It’s primarily little indie tributes like the Necro Butcher style chair-assisted bodyslam or using the old Sandman White Russian Legsweep, these nice little thrills. Nothing that alone makes the match, but a little bonus added onto something that was already great.
Seth Rollins is also in this match.
He does what he normally does from here on in. There’s a handful of athletically impressive things that he does, maybe a nice bump or too, but it’s mostly a fairly soulless and robotic performance. The majority of the value comes from the other side of the match, you get bells and whistles added on to make sure the pet project actually delivers (always a good sign), and then he wins anyways.
Kane interferes, there’s a fake curb stomp on the table, and then in an incredibly ludicrous bit, Seth curb stomps Ambrose “through” a pile of “cinder blocks” for the win. It’s wrestling, it’s the WWE, you know it’s all bullshit, but this one’s an eye roller. There’s no universal standard, but there’s a line for everyone where their brain immediately rejects something and goes “no, obviously not, what the fuck?”. This is one of those.
It’s at least something that writes him off for a month, during which he’ll film a movie and without the last interesting and over character who also wrestles every show, the show somehow gets even worse. Which is to say nothing of what he’ll be doing when he comes back.
In fact, one might say Seth puts a little extra mustard on the finish of this match.
HANDWERK 