January 1, 2022, WWE brings in the new year with their first PPV of the year. WWE is switching things up a little bit for this PPV by having it on a Saturday. The only other time we have seen them do this is on night 1 of Wrestlemania the past few years.
WWE Championship — Big E (c) vs. Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Brock Lesnar: Unfortunately, Roman Reigns tested positive earlier today for Covid-19 which is how Brock Lesnar was added to this match. We wish the Big Dog a speedy recovery and look forward to this fatal 5-way match now.
SmackDown Tag Team Championship — The Usos (c) vs. The New Day: These 2 teams have battled each other hundreds of times, but it never seems to get old. Going in, I know these 2 teams will put on a show like they always do.
Raw Women’s Championship — Becky Lynch (c) vs. Liv Morgan: The rivalry we didn’t know we needed. The ultimate underdog Liv Morgan, going against one of the hottest stars of the past 5 years in Big Time Becks.
Raw Tag Team Championship — RK-Bro (c) vs. The Street Profits: RK-Bro gets to test their chemistry against the tournament winning, team chemistry having Street Profits.
Edge vs. The Miz: This match has the best storyline of the entire show. These 2 men know how to get the crowd emotionally involved. I expect this to be a show-stealing kind of match.
Drew McIntyre vs. Madcap Moss: This match is missing purpose in my opinion. I know for the sake of the match, both competitors will do what needs to be done, but it will leave us asking what’s next for either man at the end.
Time to get into the results and reaction…
In the first match of the night, we see the Usos defend their titles against New Day. King Woods and Jimmy Uso started the match off in the ring. King Woods gets the crowd involved early by yelling “Atlanta!!” for an enormous cheer. King Woods got the upper hand first and made the tag to Kofi.
Kofi goes for multiple pins after hitting signature move after signature move coming closer to winning the titles for The New Day with each pin. The Usos break out a 3D to seal the victory over New Day.
As expected, these 2 teams set the bar extremely high by being the first match of the night.
In the second match of the night, Drew McIntyre takes on Madcap Moss. Madcap is the only benefactor of this match in my opinion. McIntyre starts the match showing his dominance as expected. Madcap was able to get some offense in to showcase his abilities, but it was known going into this match that he didn’t stand a chance.
McIntyre lands his Claymore kick to get the 3-count to end the match. As stated above, what is next for these 2?
RK-Bro and The Street Profits both bring their A-game for this match. RK-Bro plays to being the fan favorites by bringing Migos to the ring with them. During the match, I kept looking for the Migos to get involved, but the match worked without their involvement. Even though the Street Profits have been a team longer than RK-Bro, Orton and Riddle have formed great chemistry in their time together. Their finishing move where Riddle launched Montez Ford into the air to be met with an RKO on his way down was a work of art. RK-Bro picks up the victory after this move.
After the match, the 2 teams show good sportsmanship and we are taken backstage to Drew McIntyre looking for the locker room. In the midst of a backstage interview, McIntyre is jumped by Madcap and Corbin. Leading to this feud continuing for another few weeks.
Miz and Edge put on a technical showcase. Reversal after reversal, each man trying to find the advantage over their opponent. Edge was looking for every chance to lock in his cross-face submission, but Miz finds a way to slide out of it each time.
The Miz locks in a figure 4 leg lock and this is the switch that sets the rage off inside of Edge. Miz and Maryse try to find a way to cheat their way into a win, but instead of a win, they get an angry Viking wife that is Beth Phoenix comes to the ring looking for blood. She chases Maryse away from the ring and creates enough of a distraction for Edge to hit a spear for the win. Personally, I hope this leads to us seeing Miz and Maryse vs. Edge and Beth Phoenix in the near future. This would be an amazing way to continue/end this rivalry.
Liv Morgan came out on fire and focused. This is the best match I have seen her in. Becky was looking for every way to get out of the match using the champions’ advantage. Liv had a great opportunity in this match to show what she can do, she got to show that she deserves to be in the title picture. Unfortunately for Liv, Becky had too many tricks up her sleeve tonight. Liv made 1 mistake, leading to Becky hitting the Manhandle slam for the win.
This match was high octane from the start. Owens and Rollins teamed up to try to take out Lesnar. Unfortunately for those 2, they were on the receiving end of 5 german suplexes. Big E finally made an appearance to get Lesnar on the ground outside the ring. Each man was given 2 minutes to showcase their signature moves before Brock Lesnar hit Rollins, Owens, and Big E with F5s. Lashley rolled into the ring hitting Lesnar with a spear only to get a 2 count. Lashley then locks in the hurt lock to have it broken up by Big E. Big E hits Lashley with the big ending, then tries the same on Lesnar, to have it reversed into an F5 for the victory.
Overall I thought the show was good. The Usos and New Day stole the show, their in-ring chemistry went unmatched tonight. Montez Ford and Liv Morgan gave memorable performances. I think Drew McIntyre needs to be involved in a strong storyline that adds purpose for him. The fatal 5-way match was a huge letdown, but it wasn’t surprising. The reason it was such a letdown was by Vince once again crowning Lesnar at the cost of his full-time talent. A victory by any of the other 4 men would have been a welcome sight. This is what leads to talent not wanting to return or asking for a release from their contracts.
Halftime Fan Banter 