WWE Divas Championship
Eve def. Layla (c)
A surprisingly technical wrestling match from a Divas contest that didn’t involve Beth Phoenix or Natalya. I have to tip my hat to Eve and Layla, this match was probably better than what was originally booked. It’s hard to tell if management didn’t think Kaitlyn was ready, or whether this was their plan all along. I tend to think along the lines of the later; a Kaitlyn/Eve feud might actually be pretty fun!
I like Eve. She’s really impressed me in 2012, starting out by holding in her own in a program with John Cena and Zack Ryder, and pulling her own weight in the “People Power” era. She apparently just won some sort of NBC reality show, and now she’s the Divas Champion and assistant to Booker T on Smackdown. She’s also one of the better in-ring talents for her division, so this title switch is something I don’t mind at all.
Rating: 3/5 – Despite the crowd (that’s getting redundant), I enjoyed this Divas match. No roll-ups, half-assed bulldogs or noticeable botches. Solid work.
World Heavyweight Championship
Sheamus (c) def. Alberto del Rio
Alberto del Rio impressed me more in this match than he had at any point in his career going into Night of Champions. He didn’t win (a questionable decision if you ask me), but this was the first time I thought del Rio actually put everything he had into the match. Sheamus actually seemed to be a part of del Rio’s story, as he slowly picked apart Sheamus’ injured arm throughout the match, throwing his entire arsenal at the Champion. There’s one thing ADR has always done really, really well, and that’s lock in the armbar from just about any position. He made full use of that ability in this match, but in the end came up just short.
I had originally said this feud had a perfect set-up going into next month’s Hell in a Cell PPV, but with yet another Sheamus loss I’m questioning that. Had del Rio won the title, or at least lost in a questionable fashion they could have milked another quality match out of this feud and ended it all in the Cell. But even with how good he’s been, somebody needs to step up and say “enough is enough”. You can’t lose four times to the same Champion in a calender year – and remember it would have been FIVE without that untimely concussion – and still be given chance after chance.
Sheamus should have lost here if they wanted to keep things going; del Rio has to be out of mulligans.
Rating: 4/5 – Great match, and if it’s the last in their series I’m happy with the conclusion.
