Friday, June 7, 2019

WWE Super Showdown Aftermath

By Steve Ward

WWE presented it’s latest Saudi Arabian cash-grab today from the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia with Super Showdown.  This show aired at 2 PM ET/11 AM PST while most of North America was at work  -including myself. Despite the time difference, it was still about 100 degrees in the stadium at the start of the show which certainly would create an additional dynamic for the Superstars. The ridiculously stacked card was arguably as good as, if not better than, this year’s installment of Wrestlemania as it featured nine matches with three titles contested, including a 50 man over-the-top battle royal thrown in for good measure. As has been the case with all of the previous Saudi Arabian shows, there were no women’s matches featured on the card, however, Renee Young was still featured on the commentary team - my one question here is with her present and her long blonde hair fully exposed, did this earn a TV-MA rating on Saudi television???

WWE Universal Championship
Seth Rollins (c) vs. Baron Corbin
Winner: Seth Rollins via pinfall

Lesnar made his way to the ring after the contest with a referee and The Advocate with the intention of cashing in his Money In The Bank contract, however, Paul Heyman “tripped” over the ropes. This mishap distracted Brock long enough for Rollins to low blow The Beast. With Lesnar subdued, Rollins subsequently laid waste to him with a steel chair before he finally finished him off with a curb stomp that drove Lesnar’s skull into his own briefcase.

WWE Intercontinental Championship
“The Demon” Finn Balor (c) vs. Andrade
Winner: Finn Balor via pinfall

Roman Reigns vs. Shane McMahon
Winner: Shane McMahon via pinfall

While Shane McMahon continued to impress me with his ability to hang in with some of WWE’s top talent at age 49, he needed the assist in the form of a brutal Claymore Kick from Drew McIntyre to score the pinfall.

3 on 1 Handicap Match
Lucha House Party (Gran Metalik, Lince Dorado, & Kalisto) vs. Lars Sullivan
Winner: Lars Sullivan via DQ

Triple H vs. Randy Orton
Winner: Randy Orton via pinfall (RKO Outta Nowhere)

Bobby Lashley vs. Braun Strowman
Winner: Braun Strowman via pinfall (Running Powerslam)

WWE Championship
Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler
Winner: Kofi Kingston via pinfall (Trouble In Paradise)

50-Man Over-the-Top Battle Royal
Winner: Mansoor

Once the luster of the spectacle that was 50 men in the ring at one time faded, this match turned into kind of an uninspired cluster. Essentially, the WWE threw in all of the Superstars who haven’t been on tv in quite a while with those they didn’t book a match for (except for The Revival and The Usos who squared off on the kick-off show) and allowed the bodies to start flying. Another disappointment was the lack of  any legends in the contest along with the continued burial of EC3 as he was the first participant eliminated. The match concluded as virtual unknown and the first Saudi born WWE Superstar Mansoor (Am I the only one who immediately thinks of Mantaur when I see this name? Look him up if you need to, you won’t regret it.) eliminated Elias to walk out victorious in front of his fellow countrymen.

Goldberg vs. The Undertaker
Winner: The Undertaker

Two legends collided in the main event, unfortunately it was twenty years beyond the time this collision should have occurred. I give the utmost respect to these two 50+ year old men for still stepping into the ring, however, The Undertaker (54) and Goldberg (52) both appeared to be slowed by the intense heat and Goldberg by the blood he lost from a gash to his forehead early in the contest. Late in the match, Goldberg hoisted up the near seven foot Undertaker for the Jackhammer, however, he was unable to land all of it as it essentially turned into a Brainbuster. After The Undertaker kicked out of the subsequent pinfall attempt, Goldberg appeared to attempt a Tombstone but both men fell to the canvas seemingly exhausted. As soon as they returned to their feet, The Undertaker quickly executed a chokeslam (barely lifting Goldberg off the canvas) and covered him for the pinfall. Personally, the ending of this bout left me and seemingly many of the fans in attendance dissatisfied so I would not be opposed to seeing a rematch in an air conditioned venue with about five minutes shaved off of it.

Fun fact: Before Goldberg debuted in WCW way back in 1997, his now famous entrance theme had been used by Pat Tanaka - best known as a member of the Orient Express in his WWF days and Badd Company in the early days of ECW.



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