Quote:
Originally Posted by SarcasticRat
It felt like a clear character shift/change to me, but yeah, I don't think he's going to be a full heel who is tearing down the fans and trying to get heat. Hopefully just a cooler persona that is more natural and less jamming him into the Cena box.
Absolutely this. The excessive chair shots on Braun (almost ten?) and the taunting of Bray, "you're just a freak in a mask", were definitely supposed to represent some sort of shift. What they do with it is another question though.
Other thoughts:
-Sasha/Asuka was the best match of the night imo. Way better than Bayley/Asuka. Curious to see how they split Sasha and Bayley. Hopefully it's Bayley that turns on Sasha though. I think that works way better for a number of reasons.
-Drew/Randy seemed to drag a little, and the ending was as pathetic as Phillips' call of the ending. Drew McIntyre is supposed to be arguably the strongest wrestler in the business, and is fighting Randy Orton who has, in kayfabe, murdered 5 legends. Winning with a backslide rollup not only isn't Randy getting what's coming to him it also just makes Drew look weak.
-Mandy/Sonya match was standard, good for them for even going through with it. Sonya deserves some time off.
-Tag team match was entertaining but it's no good that the only story is between the individuals in the challenging tag team. The Street Profits won and it felt like they just were sort of there.
-Rollins/Dominic was the 2nd best match of the night, a lot of cool spots and bumps, Dominic didn't look super green in the ring. Another one I'm curious to see where they go with, because I couldn't help but think the match would have been more compelling (and just better for Dominic) if Rey wasn't a part of the match at all.
-Braun/Fiend was whatever. I don't get not having Alexa be involved at all when she was involved in the build. There doesn't seem to be much of a story between these two going forward which makes me think they're gonna end up reuniting in some way.
Solid PPV, way better than Wrestlemania which I think was the last one I watched.