Kofi Kingston vs. Drew McIntyre (IC Title): Great match. Excellent crowd reaction and the match told a great story. Very nice moves as usual from Kofi, and McIntyre worked well on Kofi's arm. These two gel very well. I like that McIntyre is getting tremendous heel heat right now, and I loved the pop for Long when he stood up to McIntyre. ***1/2
Alicia Fox vs. Eve vs. Gail Kim vs. Maryse (Divas Title): A very decent showing by all participants. Maryse seemed to be the whipping girl tonight, victim of the double submissions and those armbars. Finish was similar to how Miz won the U.S. Title. *3/4
Evan Bourne vs. Chris Jericho: Thank you, WWE, for pushing Evan Bourne. And you picked the right man to elevate him. The best match of the night, and easily the best these two have had -- including a couple of false finishes. The crowd loved it, and Bourne's star is indeed shining brighter than ever. My favorite match tonight. ***3/4
Rey Mysterio vs. Jack Swagger vs. CM Punk vs. The Big Show (World Heavyweight Title): And the pushing of the little guys continues! Vince McMahon really must have turned a complete 180 from before, when it was only the huge guys being pushed. Yet again, WWE pulls off a good match. This one wasn't as good as Kingston's match and Bourne's match (mainly due to Kane's interference and fewer false finishes), but it was still a fine showing. ***
The Miz vs. R-Truth (U.S. Title): Good match for what it was worth. Good action and counters from both men. The right person won here, in my opinion. If Miz lost the title here mere days after winning it in a fatal four way, that would really have made the title change pointless. **
Tyson Kidd, David Hart Smith, & Natalya vs. Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, & Tamina: This match was fine. The Usos did a decent job, but they still have a ways to go. Natalya was solid in her in-ring work, although I would have preferred she use the Sharpshooter to defeat Tamina. The announcers had been talking so much about the second-generation and third-generation links that it would have been better to pay tribute to Bret (kayfabe injured) by utilizing his finisher. **
Sheamus vs. John Cena vs. Randy Orton vs. Edge (WWE Title): This had one of the most chaotic finishes in quite some time, but for the wrong reasons, in my book. You knew the NXT Season 1 graduates would be appearing either during or after the match, and once WWE cut to some of the midcard babyfaces watching the match backstage, the more it became obvious that the NXT group would interfere during the match. Before the chaos, the match was pretty good. And then of course, all hell broke loose with the NXT graduates. In the midst of it all, Sheamus scored the pin and won (due to no DQ rules). I have mixed feelings about interfering during the match, but I guess it did make a bigger statement to do so. **3/4
The one thing I did like: Sheamus running for his life and the NXT group chasing him. Never thought I'd see Sheamus run so fast. If anything, this angle will make me want to tune in tomorrow to see what becomes of this.
__________________
MVP: Evan Bourne gets my vote. He really became a star tonight.
Overall Rating: The crowd was very amped for this PPV, and that helped make this show better. I thought the opener was excellent, but it was Chris Jericho doing it again. Evan Bourne should really be stoked that the best worker in the company is putting him over -- Jericho sincerely wants to elevate the younger stars, and the past few weeks have been proof of that. And yes, Vince really seems adamant on pushing the smaller guys. Rey got his second world title reign tonight, and I hope to God that it's much better than his previous run.
Now I really can't wait for Bryan Danielson to show up on WWE TV again. ***1/4
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