Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
KO was yelling at AJ when he got nailed with a Pele kick. AJ hobbled up and went after the champ. But KO suplexed him from the top, two count only. KO went to suplex AJ on the apron but got reversed in a STIFF spot by AJ. This is awesome, easily by far the best thing on the show.
KO threw AJ past the announce table but AJ came from out of nowhere with the Forearm. While the ref was counting, AJ realized he couldn't get KO back in so he went for the Styles Clash on the table but KO got out. AJ fell and got his leg caught in the wires from the monitor. KO made it back in the ring and got the win by countout. He then came out and kicked the defenseless Styles before leaving.
This was a fantastic match. Sure, the work was great but they also told an amazing story. That is wrestling at its best, when the booking matches the work that the folks are doing in the ring. I know some will hate the finish but it makes perfect sense. AJ can't just win the title the first time out. He has to fight for it and overcome adversity. They accomplished that here.
It's time for Erick Rowan vs. Luke Harper. The battle of the family started with Rowan in control, working over Luke Harper for the first few minutes. The crowd is quiet as this seems like a placeholder, even though they are working hard. On the floor, Harper came after Rowan and started to abuse him. Then he did a dive through the second and third tope. He threw him back in and hit a senton and a boot for a two count. He got another two with a side slam.
Harper was going for the kill when Rowan came back with a powerbomb for a two. The crowd hasn't been this quiet all night, which is a shame for these two. Finally Luke came back with a big discus punch to get the win. The match was solid. Given how great the crowd has been through the bad stuff, I can't kill them here. They put two guys with no issue out there in the come down spot.
Randy Orton vs. Jinder Mahal for the WWE Title is next. If they really want to get Jinder over, he needs to look really strong here. Instead, they will probably look weak and luck into a win. I hope I am wrong. If Jinder is going to take the Title, a little chicanery is fine. A lot does nothing for him.
The challenger out first. He is angry. Orton next.
Orton went nuts on Jinder before the bell, attack him and throwing him into the announce table. For some reason Randy didn't want to hurt JBL's hat. The crowd is cheering for Randy and he threw Jinder into the ring. The red asked if he wanted to continue and he said yes.
The bell rang and Randy went for the RKO quickly so he bailed to the floor. Randy chased and beat him up some more. But Jinder turned it around and took him into the ring and worked him over. There are actually dueling chants and as they happened, Randy took control. Jinder came back and worked hard on Randy's arm and shoulder.
They went to the floor, as the chants for both continued, and Randy did a side suplex on the announce table. They got back in the ring before ten when Randy threw Jinder in, but he caught the champ and went to work on him. After a few minutes, Jinder charged the corner but Randy moved and hit the post instead. Randy slowly built to a SuperPlex but only got a two.
Randy got a few suplexes but was selling the injured shoulder and only got twos.
Randy was in control but the arm kept him from winning. That was the story He did the DDT off of the ropes and then set up for the RKO so Jinder rolled out. Randy chased and the Singhs got in the way and it allowed for Jinder to attack the shoulder. Randy still hit the RKO. The Singhs pulled Jinder out.
Randy killed the Singhs then took Jinder in the ring. The Singhs came back in and Randy went to work on them which allowed Jinder to come in and nail his finisher and win the WWE Title.
If this were an established star beating Orton it would have felt different to me. But given it was a guy that was not even in the plans a few months ago, I thought that he needed to do more than to take advantage of Orton's "injured" arm and the help of Singh and Singh Security. But, now it's done so let's see how they book Jinder and where they take him from here.
Thanks for reading.
If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!
Bang On Casino
