Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler: Excellent match. Good array of holds by Ziggler to keep Bryan grounded. Great counters. Crowd was hot for DB all night. I could watch DB kick his opponent's head in all night. This was the right match to kick off the show, and these two delivered. ***3/4
John Cena & David Otunga vs. Cody Rhodes & Drew McIntyre (Tag Team Titles): If anything, this match attempted to set the tone that it would be Nexus' night. Just your standard tag match here, nothing too special. *1/2
Ted DiBiase vs. Goldust: The match was average with a weird ending. Guess the feud over the Million Dollar Title continues. *1/2
Layla vs. Natalya (Divas Title): This was also average. Crowd didn't really care and the finish was dirty again. And people wonder why the women's matches aren't taken seriously anymore. *
Kane vs. The Undertaker (Buried Alive; World Heavyweight Title): Not bad, but not that great, either. I didn't even understand why Nexus was out to dismantle Taker. Either way, I dislike non-clean finishes. Again, Buried Alive matches would likely thrive more in the Attitude era. *3/4
The Big Show, Edge, Kofi Kingston, Rey Mysterio, Jack Swagger, Alberto Del Rio, & Tyler Reks vs. The Miz, CM Punk, Sheamus, John Morrison, R-Truth, Santino Marella, & Ezekiel Jackson (Elimination): Well, right off the bat, Santino and Reks were basically thrown in to do a couple moves and then get pinned later on. Not sure if Rey leaving due to injury was planned, but he at least came back later. Del Rio had his moments as well, but I wish he had more time. I liked Big Zeke in the final four. Although Miz's team lost, he earned his stripes again tonight. ***1/4
Wade Barrett vs. Randy Orton (WWE Title): Well, who didn't see this one coming? Right when Barrett said he must win or Cena is fired, that instantly called for a DQ on Orton. The way it was done was quite simple: Cena able to take his frustrations out on Nexus at the right time. Cena will be able to explain his actions and at the same time be able to extract his revenge. Match was good for what it was. Good storytelling. **1/4
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MVPs: Easy here. I have to give it to both Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler for their top-notch performance to open the show. Definitely near four-star material for me.
Overall Rating: I thought the PPV was good, but not spectacular. The Bragging Rights elimination match provided some nice drama at the end, but I felt some quick pins and talent I felt were "jobber fodder" (i.e. Santino) hurt the match and the rating. And why don't team members break up pins in elimination matches?! I realize there are storylines within the teams, but couldn't team members who are NOT in a feud with the person being pinned break the count? Oh right, this is WWE, we're supposed to be not paying attention to things unless brought up by the commentating crew.
Interesting to have Smackdown win again after all the free TV shows had Smackdown with the momentum (usually the supposed underdog would come back and win at the PPV). The Buried Alive match was not too appealing to me. **1/4
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