It’s Over
It’s not easy getting over the past. That much is obvious in several facets of American life as we’re a collective obsessed with days gone by. It’s even harder moving on from those days when they involve a haunting trauma. Seth Rollins’ betrayal lived rent free in Roman Reigns’ head for a decade plus. His obsession with Seth cost him so much and so often, including on WWE’s biggest stage. Going into this match,
the question lingered: Can Roman move on for his own good?
Yes. Resoundingly yes.
I normally complain about a match like this starting with a collar and elbow tie-up but it made sense here. These are two guys who cannot stand in the same space without edging out the other for space. A collar and elbow tie-up is psychological as much as it’s physical. It symbolized them overpowering each other and looking for a mental edge. They spent the entire build arguing over who is smarter and who is one step ahead. Funny enough, the match came down to who was a step ahead emotionally.
After both men took turns Power Bombing one another through announce tables, that’s when everything really kicked off for me. Side note: I understand the reason for the Power Bombs but no, Michael Cole, they’re not “Shield Bombs” if done by one person.
That’s when the match found its emotional core as it wasn’t the last time they’d harken back to their SHIELD days.
I blocked out WWE calling that a “Wacky Line” and my life is better for it. They not only homaged Jon Moxley, but showed how much they learned from one another. Roman countered Seth’s Superplex Falcon Arrow combination. Seth countered a Spear into a Pedigree. Both men used each other’s finishers while taking time to slow down the pace through talking trash to one another. The mind games never stopped, which made the ending more rewarding.
Once the ref went down, Seth figured it was Bloodline time. Roman assured him it was not; this was, and always will be, about the two of them. It showed just how bad Roman wanted this win with no asterisk. No caveat. No excuse. He wanted nothing from Seth one year or three years from now about how he couldn’t get it done without outside help. That extended to the match’s true turning point.
The ref got back up and then, like the boys in Chumbawamba, he got knocked down again.
Seth went to the floor and looked at a host of weaponry. Amongst said weaponry stood a chair. With Roman gasping for air against the ropes, he couldn’t help but to grab that chair and reenact their inciting incident. But he hesitated. He took far too long to finish the job and Roman made him pay for it. When the tables turned, Roman also hesitated. But then he tossed the chair aside. Roman finally let the past be the past. Of everything that’s happened to Roman since losing the WWE Undisputed Championship, this was his true babyface moment. He refused to cheat, explained why, and wanted to square up Mano y Mano. Seth happily obliged and the two went to war again.
Eventually, Seth went down to not one, not two, but three Spears. Oh and that ref who laid prone outside the ring for what felt like 15 minutes just magically regained his faculties right when Roman went for the pin to end it. This was a perfect match minus that one aspect. I’d rather not pick that nit in the face of something that went so well in every other facet.
I said before The Bloodline saga was WWE at its best because it allowed for character growth. That extended here not just in the action but after the match. It was Roman who extended the olive branch to the man who, it seems, he once again sees as his brother. They bumped fist as the SHIELD once did, while hovering above a mask they once donned to let everyone know business did indeed pick up.
The SHIELD, WWE’s longest running story, is finally finished. Seth’s look at the end of the match showed regret but they lingered on him long enough to make me so curious as to what comes next. He lost to Roman fair and square. What’s worse, Roman showed he might be a bigger and better man. How does he bounce back from this?
As for Roman, how does the new emotionally mature Tribal Chief handle new challenges? Who is his new challenger?
Those are questions for later. For now, I’m reveling in a match that provided everything I want in my professional sports entertainment and sacrificed nothing. Roman showed change is possible and there’s nothing wrong with killing the past to give the future life.
B-Sides
- Welcome back, Kevin Owens! Nick Aldis shocked a small part of the world when he added not only GUNTHER to the WWE Championship number one contender’s match, but also KO. Minneapolis erupted, GUNTHER and Finn Balor looked stoic, while Sami Zayn froze in disbelief. He went from irate when GM Nick added The Ring General to utter shock when he heard his best friend’s music. He remained that way after the bell rang and KO went to work on GUNTHER and Finn. Sami didn’t move until after KO cleared the ring. The two embraced in the middle of the ring as only best friends can, and then traded fists, also as only best friends can. That was the emotional eruption during the match that everything else flowed from. It was filled with near falls by way of count interruptions, with both Sami and Finn coming extremely close to winning. That was the perfect way to illustrate how both men got the short end of the stick with this match. Taking that even further, guess who KO pinned for the W? I really hope you said “Sami Zayn” because if not, I’ve clearly misunderstood our relationship. KO gets a shot at the title and he earned it by Stunning his best friend in the middle of a ring in a match he wasn’t scheduled for. Poetry.
- CHELSEA GREEN! If you read my words with any consistency, you know I love Chelsea Green. If you don’t read my words with any consistency, how dare you? Also, why don’t you? I can be better, I swear. But I digress. Chelsea is now the interim WWE Women’s Champion after surviving an excruciating ladder match that saw Tiffany Stratton Powerbombed from the top rope into a ladder. This was a car crash like most ladder matches but a satisfying one. And the way Minnesota roared for Chelsea had to fill her heart with joy. I’m ecstatic for her win. May she reign forever.
- Trick Williams and Baron Corbin drew the short straw. They followed the opening Fatal 4 Way that saw KO return triumphantly while getting greeted like Jesus in Jerusalem. It didn’t help that the match plodded along as neither man is the fastest in the ring, and Trick is still limited in what he can do. I’m burying the lede though: Baron Corbin is the new United States champ. He won through chicanery, which gave Trick an out and sets up a rematch if they so choose, but it’s still a shock for me. I don’t understand taking the title off the young upstart and giving it to the extra grizzled vet who doesn’t really need it. Trick should lose the title to another young wrestler so he can make them, not transfer it to someone for whom the title won’t really do much for.
- Danhausen and Dirty Dom did their human monies on a pole match. Of all the matches I watched this weekend, it was certainly one of them. Danhusen won, Joe Hendry helped, guitars were smashed and poles were ignited.
- On the flip side of that was Chad Gable vs. Penta. Thankfully, WWE didn’t overthink this one. The early story was Penta working Chad’s shoulder, which neutralized Chaos Theory. From there, it was about Chad surviving and finding another way to win. And he did when he made Penta tap to an Ankle Lock in the middle of the ring. Another great match made better through Chad celebrating the biggest win of his career with his family. This was always the right way to end this story in front of Chad’s hometown audience. Like I said, the territory didn’t get cute with it, which only made the match and the aftermath better.
Night Two was a vast improvement over Night One. Chad’s big win, Chelsea Green’s bigger win, KO’s return, and everything Seth and Roman did. Monday and Friday nights are must see tv now thanks to WWE making surprising and smart choices up and down the card.
Grade: A
What say you, Cagesiders?
