WWE Survivor Series 2018 Results and Review

Survivor Series underwent many changes in its final week. Becky Lynch was replaced by Charlotte due to injury, and AJ Styles being replaced with Daniel Bryan after Bryan won the WWE Championship.

The New Day, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson, The Colons, Sanity & The Usos (Team Smackdown) vs. The Revival, Lucha House Party, The Ascension, B-Team & /Bobby Roode & Chad Gable (Team RAW) (20-man Tag Team Survivor Series Match)

On the kickoff show a backstage segment revealed that Mandy Rose would be the fifth Smackdown Women’s team member. The first match happened on the kickoff show with the Smackdown tag division facing the RAW tag division. Smackdown’s New Day came out and introduced their team. Kofi Kingston sat out this match for the New Day with Alexander Wolfe doing the same for Sanity. A rule in this match that sets it apart from the traditional Survivor Series match is that if someone gets pinned their teammate is eliminated as well. Kalisto started against Epico. Dash Wilder eliminated The Colons after hitting a Shatter Machine. Something happened where Kalisto landed awkward then got replaced by Lince Dorado. Anderson took out the B-Team next, evening the matchup. There was a good spot between Roode and Gable where Roode did a Backbreaker while Gable frogsplashed onto Eric Young. This eliminated Sanity. Big E took out The Ascension by pinning Viktor. Lince Dorado took out Gallows & Anderson after a combination of moves including a Moonsault. The Usos did a double team to take out Lince Dorado for the pin. Dorado got dropped on his head during that spot.

The final four teams were New Day, The Usos, Roode & Gable and The Revival. Big E got a hot tag from Woods and did three Belly-to-belly Suplexes to Dash Wilder. Big E’s thunder was taken once Gable tagged in while Big E was going off of the ropes. Gable did an impressive Deadlift German Suplex into a Neckbreaker with the help of Roode. After a few more moves later everyone did a dive to the outside spot. Roode got Superkicked by Jey Uso, then Jey did a dive of his own. Gable did a German Suplex to Jey off of the top rope to everyone on the outside. As everyone laid wasted outside of the ring, Xavier was fighting off Gable and Roode. Gable did a flip off of the top rope because he assumed that Xavier was hurt, but instead went into the arms of Big E for an Up Up Down Down. This eliminated the RAW captains. Woods went off the top rope for a dive but instead got caught in a Shatter Machine to eliminate New Day. The final two teams were The Usos and The Revival. Dash Wilder did a Superplex with Scott Dawson hitting a Splash right after. Jey Uso came in to split up the pin. The Usos gave both guys a Superkick. After that Jimmy Uso hit a Frogsplash onto Dawson to end the match.

This match had lots of botched spots. Kalisto also might have hurt himself? I don’t understand why it had to be 10 people for each team. Couldn’t it just be 5 from each brand? When it became the final four wrestlers, the match became much more entertaining. The first half of the match was hurrying through pinfalls. Why not just not do this match in the first place? Because there were some teams in this match that we hadn’t seen in months on TV. Despite the majority of the crowd being present it felt like nobody was there.

Carmella w/ R-Truth, Naomi, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville & Asuka (Team Smackdown) vs. Mickie James, Tamina, Nia Jax, Sasha Banks & Bayley w/ Alexa Bliss (Team RAW) (Women’s Survivor Series Match)

The first match on the actual show was the women’s RAW versus Smackdown match. When Nia Jax came out she was welcomed with a massive amount of boo’s because she sidelined Becky Lynch on Monday. Banks and Bayley replaced Natalya and Ruby Riott after a brawl happened backstage earlier. Early in the match everyone was brawling in the ring. Naomi got roll-up pinned to be the first elimination. Carmella responded with a roll-up pin to Tamina to eliminate her. Carmella had a dance break to celebrate this elimination. Deville was on a roll against James, but Mandy tagged herself in and did nothing except land a pin, taking credit for the work that Deville put in. Deville was offended by this. Carmella was eliminated by Bayley after a Bayley-To-Belly Suplex.

The crowd started out loud for this match but was sitting on their hands at this point. Rose tapped to a Banks Statement from Sasha. When Nia finally got involved in the match the hate came back to her. Asuka got a pop for going after Jax. Outside the ring Asuka was hit with a Meteora from Banks off the ring apron. Bayley and Sonya Deville were brawling to the outside with both of them being counted out and eliminated. Asuka was the final member for Smackdown and fought Banks first. As Sasha went to the top rope Nia pushed her off, making her fall into an Asuka Lock to eliminate her. Nia was the last one left for RAW. Nia hit a Samoan Drop to win the match.

I can only assume that they want to reap the benefits of the heat that Nia got from actually injuring Lynch, but this finish didn’t seem right. She beat Asuka clean? Did something happen to Asuka recently that made her a very weak wrestler? After the match a scoreboard appeared showing that team RAW was up 1-0, so maybe the match on the Kickoff show just didn’t count.

Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

The first of many Champion versus Champion matchups of the evening was Seth Rollins versus Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura came out in nearly all-blue attire. This match was also the first time that these two fought each other. Mid-way through the match Rollins dumped Nakamura to the outside then did three Suicide Dives in a row. Later on Rollins got put in a Triangle Choke but escaped by throwing Nakamura into a Buckle Bomb. Rollins did a Superplex and then a Falcon Arrow for a two count. After a Reverse Exploder, Nakamura tried for a Kinshasa but instead Rollins responded with his Rainmaker Knee move. Rollins went to the top for a Frogsplash but Nakamura dodged then hit a Kinshasa. Rollins kicked out. A combo of moves ended with Rollins hitting the Curbstomp for the win. Good match with the crowd waking up near the end. I didn’t like how the Kinshasa was a throwaway move in this match.

The Bar (Sheamus & Cesaro) w/ Big Show vs. Authors of Pain (Akam & Rezar) w/ Drake Maverick

The two tag teams who are champs on the main roster faced off next. As the match was starting former WWE employee Enzo Amore tried to hijack the crowd while sitting in the first few rows. He was escorted out of the building only moments later. Drake Maverick got put in a choke by Big Show after putting an AoP member’s leg on the rope during a pin. Big Show stopped choking Maverick after he peed himself. This distraction let AoP give Sheamus a double team move to win the match. From inside the ring to outside, this was a lame 10 minutes.

Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy (WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match)

The next match was the only brand neutral match. Mustafa Ali challenged for Buddy Murphy’s Cruiserweight Championship after he won the belt in Australia. This match was explosive from start to finish. Ali went to the top rope at one point for a Backwards 450 but got thrown to outside the ring. Outside the ring Murphy tore apart a commentary table. Ali regained control and did a Spanish Fly off the table onto the floor. When trying for another Reverse 450 in the ring Ali got a Superkick and then two Powerbombs for a two count. Murphy got the win with a Murphy’s Law. One of the shorter matches on the show but still a great match. Sad that the Cruiserweights remain the side show.

Bobby Lashley w/ Lio Rush, Finn Balor, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre & Braun Stroman vs. The Miz, Jeff Hardy, Samoa Joe, Rey Mysterio & Shane McMahon (Men’s Survivor Series Match)

The next match was the men’s RAW versus Smackdown Survivor Series match. Braun was very insisting on starting the match. Drew tagged himself in and took out Samoa Joe with a Claymore Kick. Very quick start to the match. This first pinfall caused Smackdown to strategize outside of the ring. After McIntyre tagged out Ziggler came in. Hardy was replaced with Shane McMahon moments after. This was a rematch from the World Cup finals from weeks ago. Ziggler gave Shane a Famouser for a close pin attempt. Ziggler landed a Zigzag after being thrown into the ropes. The Miz intervened to save Shane. The Miz tagged in a and tried for a Figure Four but Ziggler escaped. Ziggler landed a Dropkick at the end of an exchange with Braun tagging himself back in. He stood in RAW’s corner for a moment only to get tagged out by McIntyre. Stroman and McIntyre started brawling with the rest of the RAW teaming coming over in attempt to restore order. Mysterio landed a 619 on Stroman with the fight going to the outside afterwards.

McMahon took apart the middle commentary table, and then three Smackdown members put Stroman on the table. Shane did an Elbow Drop off of the top rope, through the table. On the replay it was funny seeing Baron Corbin scream “No!” as he saw Shane dive. Back in the ring now The Miz was fighting McIntyre. Balor tagged himself in and then kicked McIntyre in the head. Balor did a Stomp to The Miz and then a roll-up for a two count. Balor tried a Coup De Grace but Miz left the ring. Outside the ring Balor attacked Miz and Hardy. Mysterio came in the ring and gave Balor a Crossbody. Balor reversed a move and then scored a two count on Rey. Balor dodged a 619 and then landed a Swingblade. Mysterio avoided a Coup de Grace and then actually landed a 619 with the Frogsplash follow-up to eliminate Balor.

Minutes later Hardy tried for a Swanton Bomb but Ziggler reversed it by putting his knees up. Shane did a Coast To Coast onto Ziggler while heavily selling his table spot from earlier. This eliminated Ziggler. An even more fatigued Shane McMahon tried for another Coast To Coast, this time on Lashley, but Stroman hit him out of mid air to interrupt it. Shane kicked out of a pin by Lashley and tagged in Hardy. Stroman came in as well. Hardy tried for a Twist of Fate but got reversed into a Powerslam to eliminate him. Mysterio got a Powerslam shortly after to be eliminated as well. The Miz was given a Powerslam to be eliminated as well. The final Smackdown member was Shane McMahon.

McMahon was hit with a Running Powerslam to end the match. Although the same spot over and over from Stroman was a lame finish, this match in general was really fun. The constant chaos was what you like to see in a match like this. It felt like an all star game, which I’m surprised WWE doesn’t promote these matches as.

Backstage Seth Rollins is told that at TLC he will defend his IC belt against Dean Ambrose.

Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey

The second last match on the card was Charlotte versus Ronda Rousey. There was awkward “brawling” at the start where it looked like nothing was actually happening. Charlotte threw Ronda head first into the bottom turnbuckle. Ronda got cut open around the lip at some point in the match. Off the top rope Ronda rolled into an Armbar, which turned into a Triangle Choke. Charlotte reversed it into a Boston Crab which Ronda escaped. After doing a Fireman’s Carry Ronda shouted at the crowd. When she turned around Charlotte Speared her for a two count. Charlotte put in the Figure Four but Rousey escaped it. Rousey hit a move called the “Piper’s Pit” and then tried for a move but Charlotte fought it off. Outside the ring Charlotte hit Ronda with a Kendo Stick to end the match via DQ. She continued to tee off on Ronda after the bell.

The angle after the match made sense to me but the match itself wasn’t very good. It’s usually the other way around when I criticize a segment. Since the current program is to allegedly have Ronda face Becky at Wrestlemania, maybe these two can fight each other on another PPV in the future in the meantime. I know they are on different brands, but it’s not impossible. Charlotte fought off referees and then wedged a steel chair in between Ronda’s head and torso. She stomped the chair, with people finally pulling away Charlotte after this.

Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar

The main event of the evening was Daniel Bryan versus Brock Lesnar. As usual Heyman did the introduction for Lesnar. After about three minutes of the match Lesnar started to dominate Bryan. This happened for way too long, with Lesnar hitting all of his spots. Bryan got F5’d for like the 500th time, but hit the ref on the way down. After noticing this, Bryan kicked Brock in the groin then went for a pin, but only got a two count. After going in and out of the ring for spots Bryan caught himself in another F5 attempt but reversed it into a Yes Lock. Bryan turned it into a Triangle Choke that Brock turned into an F5 to end the match. After the match a scoreboard shows that RAW beat Smackdown 6-0. Oh, that’s why the pre-show match doesn’t count, because Smackdown won.

It felt somewhat uncharacteristic for Bryan to do a Triangle Choke. And hold on, didn’t Bryan turn heel on Tuesday? It’s nice to see that Brock worked hard in this match. By no means was this a night off for him. I don’t understand why I would cheer for either of these guys in this match. I thought it was a disappointing main event.

NXT TakeOver: WarGames 2 Results and Review

The Saturday night before Survivor Series played host to one of the wildest gimmicks that has been brought back in recent years: War Games. NXT had their big show of the recent weeks with most of their titles on the line. The show began with Matt Riddle coming to the ring to talk. Since he was on the left ring the commentary team probably had a bad view. Riddle said that was not scheduled to fight on this show. He called out Kassius Ohno, who interrupted him on the Takeover Pre-show. They are scheduled to fight on Wednesday, but he wants to fight now. Ohno came out and accepted the challenge.

Matt Riddle vs. Kassius Ohno

Riddle hit Ohno with a flying knee to end the match instantly. It looks like on top of Riddle’s “Bro” thing that he’s got going that they will try to push his MMA background and how he could KO people.

Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler (2 Out of 3 Falls Match) (NXT Women’s Championship Match)

After the very quick first segment we went head on into the Women’s Championship match. No promo video or anything, we just got right to it. The match was the third title bout between these two, with their past dating back even farther than that. Their first big bout was in the finals of the Mae Young Classic. Fitting that the two finalists of the women’s prospects tournament are now on top of the NXT Women’s division. Sane was hot out of the gates getting lots of moves in. After Sane pushed Baszler into the ring Baszler’s friends appeared and attacked Sane while the ref was distracted. Baszler landed the first point after putting in a Rear Naked Choke. A little later Sane found herself in the move again but made it to the ropes. Sane almost got her first fall with a roll-up. Sane reversed a Rear Naked Choke into a pin but Baszler got out of it. Baszler tried for a move on the apron but it got countered into a DDT. It looked like Baszler legitimately landed on the top of her head from this. Sane did an Elbow Drop off of the top rope to the outside onto the trio. After that she rolled Baszler back into the ring for an Insane Elbow for her first pinfall, and to tie it up. Sane reversed a move into a Sunset Flip Powerbomb off the top rope for a close count. When Sane tried to go to the top rope for another Elbow Drop, Baszler’s two friends interfered with one pushing Sane off of the top rope. Dakota Kai and Io Shirai came out to even the odds with Shirai doing a Moonsault to everyone (including Dakota?). Baszler dodged another Elbow Drop from Sane and turned it into a Roll-Up Pin to win.

A few things about this match rubbed me the wrong way. For one, the finish seemed out of place since Sane had her friends come out there to make it more fair. Also, I don’t like ring apron spots. They always make me cringe. The 2 out of 3 falls gimmick doesn’t really make sense to me under any context (unless it’s a tag match). X-Pac was shown at ringside before the next match. Is he signing with NXT? Just kidding.

Johnny Gargano vs. Aleister Black

The next match had no stipulation and no title involved. This match was explosive from the very start. Here was some of my favourite parts of the match. Black did a front flip off the apron onto Gargano who was on the outside. Gargano did a Tope Suicida into a DDT outside the ring, which looked insane. It was all happening so quickly that I couldn’t write a lot of it down. At one point when they were both laid out the crowd was cheering loud in appreciation. Gargano threw Black head first like a dart into the second rope at one point. As Gargano was setting up for a move Black sat up and said “give me your best shot.” Black kicked out from a Running Knee that happened after another quick combo of moves. After both wrestlers traded blows Gargano sent Black to the ropes then pushed him to the outside. Gargano did a dive to the outside but went head first into a knee. Back in the ring Gargano was holding Black’s leg out of mercy. Black got tricked into thinking that Gargano wanted to get finished, with Gargano reversing a kick into a roll-up and then a submission move. He eventually escaped and then landed a Spinning Knee. Black did a Step-Up Knee and two Black Mass’ for the finish.

This match was fast and wild. It went so fast that I missed like 90% of it. Even if I had a play-by-play written down, it’s worth watching in its entirety. Both wrestlers absolutely tore the house down and exceeded my expectations.

Velveteen Dream vs. Tommaso Ciampa (NXT Championship Match)

The Velveteen Dream got a title shot against Tommaso Ciampa before the main event. He came out dressed as Hollywood Hulk Hogan. Early on in the match Ciampa took Velveteen’s weightlifting belt, so in return Velveteen took his Championship. After Velveteen was dominating in the ring Ciampa tried to escape outside the ring. Ciampa was given no breathing time as Dream dove onto him seconds later. Velveteen tried doing something on the ropes but was thrown to outside the ring. Later on, Velveteen hit a trio of Legdrops and a Spinebuster for a two count. Velveteen did another Figure Four after doing one on the ringpost outside the ring. As the match was nearing its end a Project Ciampa was hit for a very close pinfall. Velveteen hit a Sister Abgail onto the title which was in the ring. Velveteen went for a pinfall but Ciampa kicked out. After that Dream was thrown out of the ring by Ciampa then was given a Draping DDT for a close count. Ciampa tried for a Draping DDT on the outside without the ring mat, but instead Dream pushed Ciampa into the commentary table seats. Ciampa swung at the commentators which got him distracted. He was given a Rolling Fireman’s Carry on the floor and then was brought into the ring for an Elbow drop. Ciampa kicked out. Ciampa then took Dream to the metal grid in-between the two rings for a Draping DDT for the win.

This match was amazing, maybe even better than the match before. We saw in two bouts with two completely different styles. One was of a very fast, sometimes hard to keep up with style. The second one was slower and more dramatic match, but might have even gotten the attention even more from the crowd than the match before. I didn’t have any complaints whatsoever about this match. The crowd went nearly silent once Ciampa had officially won.

The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly) vs. War Raiders (Hanson & Rowe), Pete Dunne & Ricochet

The main event was of course the War Games match. The match starts with one member of each team, with more joining throughout the match. The starting wrestler for The Undisputed Era was Adam Cole. The other team had Ricochet starting. With five minutes on the clock, Ricochet and Cole were in a standoff deciding who goes to whos ring. Ricochet did an amazing Springboard Uppercut from the rope of the ring beside the one that Cole was in. The next entrant was Kyle O’Reilly. Three minutes later Hanson came out, holding back Dunne who wanted to come out instead. Hanson did a spot where he took turns clotheslining Cole and O’Reilly in their respective corners. After that he did a Bronco Buster onto both wrestlers. I was surprised that he wasn’t dead after this spot because it looked extremely tiring. Ricochet did a Shooting Star Press onto O’Reilly, jumping off of Hanson’s back. The next wrestler to join the ring was Roderick Strong. I thought it was somewhat awkward each time a door was opened because the referees would take a good five seconds to open the door. Rowe got in next for his team. Rowe did an amazing spot where he slammed O’Reilly and Strong at the same time. Bobby Fish was taken out of his cage and went over to Pete Dunne’s cage. He attacked Dunne’s arm through the cage and then put his lock on Dunne’s lock and threw away the key. Fish brought in Undisputed Era branded chairs and was using them liberally on his opponents.

Dunne’s countdown eventually ended but he still couldn’t come into the ring. The referees eventually found a wrench and broke the lock. Dunne came in with a kendo stick. Before Dunne entered the ring Ricochet did a Crossbody off the top rope onto all of The Undisputed Era. Dunne threw two trash cans and two tables into the ring as well. After The Undisputed Era had the momentum for the longest time Dunne’s team was finally getting it back. Rowe bodyslammed Hanson onto O’Reilly then did a double team Clothesline onto Cole. UE regained control after throwing a garbage can at a War Raiders member. Cole gave Ricochet a Backstabber. This laid out all members of a team except for Dunne. Pete Dunne fought all four of them off, putting Fish into a Leg Lock. UE put Dunne in an Ankle Lock while everyone else from Dunne’s team were seperated in the other ring. Ricochet broke into enemy territory by going flying. Ricochet and Dunne both did a spot off of the top turnbuckle at the same time. After War Machine set up the two tables, Rowe got speared through one by Fish.

O’Reilly put Ricochet in a Triangle on a table, but Hanson broke it up by diving onto O’Reilly and going through the table. The pinfall was broken up by a garbage can hitting them. Ricochet and Cole both climbed to the top of the cage and traded blows. Cole was turned into a Superplex spot that included everyone except for Ricochet. Ricochet did a 450 Backflip onto everyone in the ring. Once everyone was up the two teams were separated by the two rings. They joined each other in the middle and started slugging it out once again. War Raider did a Fallout, then shortly after Hanson did a Handstand Double Back Elbow which was unexpected. Dunne tried for a move but Cole countered it into a DDT. Two moves later Cole did a Last Shot for a two count. Dunne hit a Bitter End, then Ricochet hit a splash for the three count.

This match was nothing short of madness. Absolute madness, and I loved every second of it. This really put the war in War Games. This didn’t win match of the night for me, but it was still great. The crowd was engaged from start to finish, much like they were for every other match on this show. I’d give match of the night to Gargano vs. Black since it was great wrestling with no gimmick stipulations. It’s been a while now since an NXT show was a let down to viewers. Dunne and Ricochet posed on top of the ring as the show went off air.

Smackdown Live 11/13/18 Results and Review

This week Smackdown started by doing something that they don’t do often as the opening of the show: play a clip of RAW. It all made sense though because on RAW was when the Smackdown women’s roster invaded RAW. After the recap the commentary team confirms the already broken news about Becky Lynch being injured during the segment. They pose the question of who will fill in Lynch’s spot in her match on Sunday. I could sense during the day that they would hold off on reporting the story until Smackdown because it made sense.

AJ Styles came to the ring after this announcement. Styles was there to talk about his Champion versus Champion match against Brock Lesnar this weekend. He said that he fights Lesnar at Survivor Series for the second year in a row this year. He realised while talking that Paul Heyman had entered through the crowd. Announcer Mike Rome was persistent at keeping the mic away from Heyman until Styles told him to give Heyman a mic. After both exchanged words, Daniel Bryan came out to the ring because his name was mentioned in the conversation. Bryan said that if AJ mentioned his name again he would get punched in the face. AJ did just that and got punched in the face. Shane McMahon came out and tried breaking up the brawl. The brawl was broken up by the time we went to commercial break.

After the break Bryan was arguing with Shane backstage. Styles and the many referees separating them came in seconds later. Shane shouted over everyone saying that he will book a WWE Championship match for later in the show. But why? Bryan lost completely clean only a few episodes ago. What gives him another shot? Because he punched the champ in the face?

Andrade “Cien” Almas w/ Zelina Vega vs. Jeff Hardy

The first match of the evening was Andrade Almas versus Jeff Hardy. Before the break Almas was kicked out of the ring by Jeff after doing his tranquilo pose. Hardy hit the Twist of Fate followed up by a Swanton Bomb to win the match. This was a very short match. This wasn’t a bad match, but to show how insignificant it was, as the replays were rolling Corey Graves was back to talking about AJ Styles. The Miz is now sole captain of the Smackdown team, with Bryan off the team. The Miz added Jeff Hardy to the team and took Rey Mysterio off the team since Rey was Bryan’s pick when he was co-captain. Paige didn’t let this fly immediately, saying that for Rey to be taken off the team The Miz has to beat him in a match. As a reminder, these two just fought on October 23, AKA three weeks ago.

The Miz vs. Rey Mysterio

When The Miz made his entrance he walked out with a copy of The Marine 6: Close Quarters like how Toru Yano enters with his DVD. Late into the match The Miz did a Powerbomb for a two count. Mysterio was on a roll and went for a Frogsplash but The Miz put his knees up to reverse it. The Miz did a roll-up for a two count, then Rey did a roll-up of his own to get the three count. Mysterio stays on the team. After the match Randy Orton tried sneak attacking Mysterio. Rey avoided it but The Miz found himself caught in the crossfire, with Orton RKO’ing him. After the match we got a sneak peek of USA Network’s show “Real Country.”

After the break Paige brings out the Smackdown live women’s roster. Paige brought out Becky Lynch after everyone was in the ring. Lynch said that she has to pick who will replace her. She makes Charlotte take the spot, then they hugged afterwards.

Sheamus & Cesaro and Big Show vs. The New Day

Sheamus, Cesaro and The Big Show faced The New Day in the next match. Mid-way through the match Xavier Woods did a missile dropkick off the top to Cesaro then gave Kofi Kingston a hot tag. After a series of moves involving everyone in the match, Kofi did an SOS for a two count. Big Show got tagged in and KO punched Kofi as he was coming down from the top rope to end the match. Backstage we see The Usos give Smackdown Live shirts to The Colons, The Good Brothers and Sanity. It’s interesting that the Survivor Series matches forces the bookers to use people who otherwise would be out of work.

Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles (WWE Championship Match)

The main event of the evening was Daniel Bryan versus AJ Styles for the WWE Championship. The match started quick with Bryan being thrown outside the ring in the first minute. Styles did a forearm off the top rope onto the floor before the broadcast went to a break. After the second break Bryan was closing in on a win. He landed a Hurricanrana off of the top rope for a two count. Bryan did a Belly-to-back Superplex off the top rope moments later for another close count. Styles tried a Springboard 450 but Bryan put his knees up. Bryan then transitioned into a Yes Lock which Styles escaped by getting to the ropes. Styles tried for the Calf Crusher in the center of the ring but Bryan reversed it into an Armbar and then another Yes Lock. Styles escaped the Yes Lock and put Bryan into the corner. Styles tried for the Phenomenal Forearm, but Bryan dodged it making Styles run into the ref. As the ref was down Styles got kicked in the groin. Bryan hit a running knee to become the new WWE Champion. After the match Bryan continued his beatdown on Styles. Looks like heel Bryan is back. I was expecting Bryan to win, but by no means was I expecting a heel turn here.