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Roman Reigns vs. LA Knight
I loved the match. There is a way that some talents make it look like they are actually fighting, while working, and both of these guys do just that. They also do a great job of selling and storytelling. They show how you don't have to do every move in the book in a match. You just have to get the fans to invest and they did that, and then some. The fans were totally into this one and wanted Knight to win SOOOOO badly.
I know some may not like the drop him by the jewels on the top rope move that led to the finish but is that any more "illegal" than Knight putting Reigns through the announce table? No, it wasn't. And, it gave Knight a valid thing to complain about in the loss, even though at this point it would just really be complaining. He picked his shot and he missed. Where does he go from here?
Speaking of the table, I was a little worried when LA lost control of Roman on the floor before the spot. Glad they got control before a catastrophe happened.
Man, the crowd was really behind Knight (and of course some were for Reigns too because that is what WWE crowds do in 2026). But man, he was their guy and they wanted to see him bring home the belt. Roman gave Knight props after the match, which was cool, but I do wonder if they can ever get us to believe in Knight as a guy who can win the big one again. Like I said, he called his shot and he missed.
I expect 946 and The Fatu brothers to show up and brawl. It wouldn't have made sense if they didn't. It will be interesting to see where it goes. Does Knight join them?
Women’s MITB
I can’t say I loved the match. Every woman in it worked super hard and is way tougher than I am, for sure. But when Tiffy came up short on the ladder spot and her head with that sickening thud, it took me out of the match. I was worried she concussed herself (and maybe she did) so it was hard to get into the bout for me. When the other women laid there selling it gave me hope that she was OK. Thankfully she was OK (at least OK enough). She is one tough human being.
All of the women killed themselves there. They took bumps that were often scary to watch for me. I am getting old I guess because I much prefer watching matches like Knight-Reigns than the super dangerous stuff. But, that is the nature of the match. I would never want to work one of those.
Tiffy winning seemed the most obvious to me. The story with her and Chelsea should be very interesting as it goes forward. There is a lot that they can cover with those two.
I think other than Tiffy, the crowd wanted Roxanne to win. That's on merit. She is awesome.
The crowd reactions were interesting. I felt bad for Lola. Eps and I said it was probably too soon to have her in the match and it seemed that way from the reaction. Jacy Jayne got a similar reaction but as a heel she could play it off.
Bronson Reed vs. Oba Femi
This was exactly what I expected it to be and what it should have been, two monsters pounding the crap out of each other. Those two did exactly that.
Reed's weight loss has helped him a lot. He moves with a lot more fluidity. I always liked the guy and now he has taken himself to a new level.
Oba is indeed the next big thing. They just have to be careful to not make too invincible. For instance, I would have preferred no Vision hijinx in the match. Oba has already taken them down as a group so I would have preferred that Reed didn’t get the brass knuckles and just got to lose a close match without any interference. Using them and still losing didn’t give him the respect that his work here deserved. He was great.
Stepanie Vaquer vs. Becky Lynch vs. Liv Morgan
We had three stud performers here and they all gave it all they had. I do question having a no rules match on a card with two other no rules matches. Matches like this can be hard to have continuity and that was the case here for me at times. It was a solid, but I would have preferred two women in there as opposed to three.
I love the way Liv plays her character. She's about way more than just wrestling. She has made Liv Morgan a breathing character, more than just a wrestler. She's so, so good. Her having the belt makes more sense going into Rumble season so I see why they did it, especially given that she really didn't lose it in the first place.
Becky is an all-time great. She doesn't ever need to win a Title again but she should at some point. She deserves it.
I feel bad for Stephanie. She comes out looking like a dope as a character. She tells Becky and Liv to figure out who gets the shot and then like a dope she puts herself in a three way. Now, she won the Title via a screwjob and then was the one who took the pin. Ugh. At least she got to win the belt in front of her home fans. That is something she will have forever.
Men's MITB
I liked this match a lot more than the women's match because the crazy spots weren't quite as crazy. This match was more storyline driven. Punk and KO hate each other so they kept going back and taking themselves out, which is the right call because neither of them needed the briefcase. Trick Williams and Je'Von Evans? It is way too soon for both of them so they used them the way that they should have. That left Bron Breakker and Penta.
They did all they could to remember that Breakker is a bad, bad man. He was dominant in the match. They booked him well enough that if he had won, I would have believed it. I hope that momentum keeps up for him because he is a STUD.
With all of that said, I am glad that they went with Penta. I remember when HHH used to refer to Shinsuke Nakamura as a rock star. Every time I see Penta, I see a rock star. The guy has the it factor. I am interested to see where they take him now that he has the case.
Did ANYONE really believe that J'von wasn't coming back? I am glad that they took him out for a while though. I could have seen him do some things that were really nuts. Well, other than parking the ambo RIGHT next to the ring and then climbing a ladder that was nowhere close to the case. He was there to do a crazy spot and he delivered. Was it contrived? Sure. Did the fans love it? Oh yeah.
They did good work here. They rehabbed Bron (which they should have never had to do, but at least it appears Creative is trying to fix their error) and Penta has a chance to go to the top. Good job.
Other Notes:
Agent Shadows looks...uh....interesting. Michael Hayes in a short?
The New Orleans crowd was LIT from the get go.
After all of the concerns about the weather it was nice to see it was sunny in New Orleans.
If WWE is going to do commercial breaks they shouldn’t have actual commercials to air. Even if it’s for WWE Shop it’s better than seeing the commercial break graphic.
Byron Saxton did a good job ring announcing. He is a jack of all trades.
On a sad note, I have serious concerns about WWE going to Saudi Arabia (or the Middle East at all) at this time given what happened at the airport in Riyadh today. I hope WWE is making contingency plans.
One last thing, I LOVE PLEs that start at 3 p.m.
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