One of the major positives seeing the WWE PLE calendar unfold this year post-WrestleMania XL has been a sense of freshness to these events. There’s still a big show near enough once a month, and the big four (WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, Royal Rumble) remain set in stone, but the other pit stops have been much less predictable than in previous years.
Shorter, more manageable cards and an increase in international shows have been the decisive factors in this feeling of openness – but the rotation of event titles (and their associated aesthetics and feel) has played a great supporting role. The last Bad Blood show had been in 2004, but it returned here because it felt right for a bunch of the card’s specific stories. None more so than the opening bout…
Hell In A Cell – CM Punk def. Drew McIntyre: This brutal, cathartic cage match was the perfect conclusion to the Punk / McIntyre program. A story told over numerous months and across three distinct, distinctive matches, this has surely been WWE’s feud of the year, maybe even global pro wrestling’s feud of the year.
In addition to capping off their feud, Punk and McIntyre also effectively re-established the seriousness of the Hell In A Cell match. Gone was the silly red cage of recent years and here was a bloody, shenanigans-free settling of a score. McIntyre bleeding the hard way, and good lord so profusely, after Punk’s shot with the toolbox was one of those instances where unanticipated chaos elevates proceedings to the utterly profound. Drew throwing away the referee’s towel, like Becky Lynch’s pose with a busted nose that made her The Man, only cemented him as an intense performer with unbelievable wherewithal in the moment.
One of the thematic hallmarks of both the Attitude and Ruthless Aggression eras was that babyfaces just being genuinely earnest was naff or uncool – and often enough it would cost them. It’s not Steve Austin’s fault per se, but the success of Stone Cold’s badass persona changed the mold for top babyfaces in the WWE. There’s a parallel here to the impact of Watchmen on superhero comics, where publishers have often defaulted to a “grim and gritty” vibe in the wake of a very singular adult book’s runaway success.
A common refrain on WWE commentary over the last twenty years has been this idea that you shouldn’t let your emotions get in the way. But Punk’s victory returns us to an earlier era of wrestling storytelling and, alongside the advent of Cody Rhodes as a top babyface, helps usher us into a new one. Punk doesn’t have to sacrifice catharsis or put his feelings aside in order to vanquish McIntyre – in fact, his emotions actually propel him to glory. CM Punk’s emotional attachment to a bracelet made for him by a fan isn’t embarrassing, it’s meaningful – and with the win here, he reminds us that it’s okay to feel your feelings.
WWE Women’s Championship – Nia Jax (c) def. Bayley: I’ve lost track of how many times Bayley’s been given the toughest spot on the card and still pulled in the live audience with her frankly unparalleled storytelling. But following the cell match and working with Jax, when Jax’s current focal point is her relationship with Ms. Money In The Bank Tiffany Stratton – who wasn’t even at ringside to start, was too much for even Bayley to hold together.
The match wasn’t poor, but it had a few goofy spots that didn’t quite work – the Niacanrana could’ve been great but came off clumsily. Anticipation for Stratton’s inevitable run-in dominated proceedings and while her not cashing in yet again does extend the intrigue, it meant that this match never quite went anywhere in and of itself.
Damian Priest def. Finn Bálor: Given the brilliant storyline build to this meeting, and the Bad Blood theme, this match felt fairly flat and might have benefited from a stipulation of some kind. Judgement Day shenanigans were inevitable of course, but Priest dispatching Carlito and JD McDonagh, eating three coups de grâce and then hitting South Of Heaven for the win wasn’t quite carried off with enough gravitas from the performers in the moment.
Bálor wearing just a little face paint and losing could lead us somewhere interesting though…
Women’s World Championship – Rhea Ripley def. Liv Morgan (c) by disqualification: This match suffered because of its dual focal points, with Ripley and Morgan in the ring and “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio in a shark cage hovering over the entrance aisle. The position of Mysterio’s pod was awkward (and presumably the result of the Hell In A Cell cell having to be directly above the ring), but the issue here was a lack of storytelling clarity. The audience needed to be cued more precisely as to when to focus on the ring and when to focus on the shark cage.
This match also suffered because of an indecisive (and possibly botched) finish. The return of Raquel Rodriguez and her addition to The Judgement Day is a very welcome development, but her involvement here should’ve resulted in a Morgan win rather than a clumsy DQ.
Somewhere down the line Ripley vs. Rodriguez is going to be a hossfest for the ages though.
Cody Rhodes & Roman Reigns def. Solo Sikoa & Jacob Fatu: Like Rhea Ripley, Roman’s physical storytelling carries a true “big fight feel” and it was a treat to have him back in action in this decent tag match. His work here was also a great reminder of how good his face-acting is – and how much his subtle comedy was a major part of the original Bloodline saga taking off as it did.
As far as The Rock’s return, I think we’ve all been suspecting he’d be a part of Bloodline Civil War at some point, but his appearance here actually felt like too much storyline movement on the night. Cody and Roman teaming successfully and especially, the return of Jimmy Uso as both Roman’s most loyal comrade and his conscience felt like more than enough on the night. Rock’s return overshadows that slightly. That said, there’s no denying that he’ll bring more viewers to the product as WWE builds to Survivor Series.
Curtain Call: Alongside King And Queen Of The Ring, Bad Blood was probably the most uneven PLE since WrestleMania XL but the opener and headliner both did everything they needed to and more. In particular, CM Punk and Drew McIntyre closed out a captivating program with a stunning modern classic.
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