By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Bash in Berlin Hits
Cody Rhodes vs. Kevin Owens for the WWE Championship: Great storytelling and wrestling. I guess the moral of the story is to give into the temptation and listen to the devil on your shoulder. No? Anyway, Owens fighting off his heelish instincts while facing his good friend was really well done. The late theme of Cody potentially battling a knee injury was a nice addition. I could have done without both men kicking out of the other’s finishers as frequently as they did. I especially disliked Owens not selling after he took back-to-back CrossRhode. Rather, he escaped Cody’s third attempt and hit him with a Stunner for a near fall. Ultimately, though, Owens stayed down once Cody eventually hit with a third CrossRhodes, so it’s not like the champion’s finishing move was damaged too significantly. Owens has turned a lot over the years and I get that some fans don’t want to see it happen again. But if that’s what it takes for more strong storytelling and a full on feud, then I would welcome it.
CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre in a strap match: They teased the overdone strap match finish of both men touching three corners before the more weary wrestler steals the pin by somehow touching the fourth corner. It was refreshing to see them take a different approach. Punk won decisively after hitting McIntyre with the GTS three times. One can only assume that McIntyre will point out that Punk has yet to pin or submit him, which may set up the blowoff match in a Hell in a Cell. Either way, both men worked hard and they’ll be feeling this one in the morning. It wasn’t flawless, but it was better than their SummerSlam match.
Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest vs. Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio in a mixed tag match: My hope for a Mami vs. Dom singles match grew while watching Ripley rough up Dom at one point during the match. The crowd popped huge for those spots and there’s real money in that spectacle match if WWE wants to go with an intergender match. Things seemed to be playing out as expected with the babyfaces showing their dominance before the other Judgment Day members interfered. I thought the right move to have the heels steal the win to add heat to the depleted Judgment Day faction, but they surprised me by having Priest and Ripley go over strong.
Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn vs. Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles: The now familiar formula of Belair doing the bulk of the selling and working toward a hot tag. It’s an effective approach because Belair and Cargill both play their roles well. This was the only match on the show that struggled from a live crowd investment standpoint, though they had a tough act to follow with the WWE Championship match going on first. I was actually hoping they would stretch this out one more month by having the champions escape with the belts in a non-clean finish. The tough part about the title change is that there are no credible challengers ready for Belair and Cargill. Here’s hoping that Fyre and Dawn don’t just slip into the abyss of women’s teams that trade meaningless wins and losses on the weekly television shows.
Gunther vs. Randy Orton for the World Heavyweight Championship: A soft Hit. Orton set expectations high by talking about having a Flair vs. Steamboat level match for this generation. Rather, we were treated to a slow match that overstayed its welcome. Granted, the live crowd loved it, but they are not the only audience that matters during a premium live event. I ultimately enjoyed the match, but there’s no denying that it lacked suspense and dragged.
WWE Bash in Berlin Misses
None: A sold B grade show that played to another excitable international crowd.