Daniel Bryan vs. Ted DiBiase (U.S. Title): Can Daniel Bryan open every show he's on? And of course, give him about 15 minutes to wow the crowd. I wish DiBiase would have tried to target Bryan's shoulder after that suicide dive to the outside. Again though, Daniel Bryan shows he can have a great match with just about anyone on the roster. ***1/4
John Morrison vs. Sheamus: Another very nice match. Morrison is able to show his acrobatic style against a larger opponent. Nice counters in this one. Looks like this feud will continue. **1/2
Dolph Ziggler vs. Kaval (Intercontinental Title): This was Kaval's longest match in the WWE, to my knowledge. They finally give him time to do his thing by letting him have his title match...and WWE books him to lose. Kaval's moves are awesome, they just need to have faith in him as much as WWE apparently now has in Daniel Bryan. I will say the last few minutes of the match had some awkward slow points. But anyway, the best thing right now, in my book, is for Kaval to turn heel. **3/4
Rey Mysterio, The Big Show, Kofi Kingston, MVP, & Chris Masters vs. Alberto Del Rio, Jack Swagger, Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre, & Tyler Reks: It was OK, although I wish I got to see more of Del Rio in there instead of seeing him get knocked out by Big Show. Swagger played a very nice role, as did Mysterio. Great Survivor Series matches have basically gone the way of the dinosaur, though. **3/4
Natalya vs. Michelle McCool & Layla (Divas Title): And finally, Natalya gets her Divas Title reign. I was pleasantly surprised to see Beth Phoenix return (of course, looking more muscular than ever). Does this mean Laycool gets sidetracked with Beth now? The match had some physicality to it, which is nice.
*
Kane vs. Edge (World Heavyweight Title): Real good for what it was. A double pin? That works to keep the feud going. With the chaos after the match, a gimmick match will eventually be in order. Last man standing? Street fight? We'll see. **1/2
Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel vs. Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov (Tag Team Titles): Typical tag team match that you would see on free TV. Crowd really loves Santino, that's for sure. *1/4
Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett (WWE Title): The buildup for "Free or Fired" was done extremely well. All participants told a great story. Unfortunately, the match itself was fairly average -- a huge letdown. No swerves, no controversies. There was really even no chaos at all. Too bland for me. And trust me, Cena will be back soon anyway. See comments below for more. **
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MVPs: Daniel Bryan won the best match on the card, and he wins MVP honors tonight.
Overall Rating: Yet another PPV where it needed way more. Things started promising with three solid matches. And did I mention that Daniel Bryan should open every show he's on for at least the foreseeable future? And you know what, make Bryan vs. Kaval happen eventually (if not Bryan vs. Punk).
However, the main event is what people should remember. In that sense, the last images (for now) of John Cena amongst the crowd is a vivid one indeed. But the problem is Cena was the referee in the match. Generally, the wrestlers should be remembered more than the ref (think Austin/Dude Love when Vince was the ref). I'm not a fan of when the referee is clearly more important than the two actual wrestlers -- and especially in such a match like this, with all the buildup. **1/4