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*Massive pop for Shane. Bigger one for Daniel Bryan. They did a lot to hype Ambrose vs. Ziggler. I thought the match itself was really good and really competitive but it was obvious that the crowd here was burned out from the AJ Styles John Cena match and in a lot of ways has not recovered. Dean and Ziggler worked a bout that looked like two guys trying to fight to get the win and I loved how they taunted the other. A good match for sure. Ziggler looked good and he certainly moved up a notch. AJ Styles has to be next in line for Dean.
*The women's tag was OK but nothing memorable. The highlights inside the ring or when Becky and Natalya had their exchanges. The Eva Marie introduction and announcement she needed a vacation was just tremendous. Huge pop for the Bella return. In terms of a response from the crowd, that was the highlight. Bella looked beyond relieved and happy when she was through the bout.
*Stephanie and Foley revealed the Universal championship. NYC booed the look of the belt and loudly chanted "No." I don't blame them since you can't have a xerox of the World belt and expect fans to react like it's the Big Gold Belt.
The fans saw Finn Balor as the real deal as he got a massive reaction for his entrance. Nice reaction for Rollins as well.
Brooklyn booed the belt during the ring announcements and chanted "That Belt sucks." There were all sorts of anti belt chants early detracting from the match despite some great early work. I felt bad for Finn and Seth. There was even a sizable DELETE chant!
Thankfully, the crowd got into the work and the match itself was great. They loved all the near falls and the work but every time the belt was nearby or shown, it was booed. I have never seen a match where the fans liked the work but rejected what the competitors were fighting for. Balor, probably wisely, did not hold the belt over his head after. Brooklyn popped for Balor embracing his family after. He went from NXT to top of Raw and it is deserved.
As an angle, the Roman vs. Rusev segment worked. Charles Robinson slipped while running to the ring. Thankfully he was OK. Crowd rejected Roman but liked him more than new belt.
There was a sizable CM Punk chant in the middle of this.
The main event was certainly unique in how it ended. The TKO finish was certainly something that did not include the fans in Brooklyn and the real question is whether that was the originally planned finish or whether they went to an early or even changed the Finish because of the blood. As of this posting, obviously I don't have the answers but will do what I can to find out. The physicality in the match was very entertaining as Brock basically manhandled the hell out of Randy Orton. The RKO on the table was a great spot that the building loved. Obviously the finish took the wind out of the sails of the audience and not even Shane McMahon coming out and getting F5'd brought that back.
After the show went off the air, Randy Orton was held up by Shane McMahon and his music was played as he quietly walked out. The crowd booed and there were some scattered chants for NXT.
A really newsworthy interesting night and I'll have a lot more to say about this when I appear later tonight on the Taz Show as well as my live perspective audio for Elite subscribers.
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