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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