Retro Rowe: WWE Bragging Rights 2010 Review

WWE Hell in a Cell 2010

by Samoa Rowe

October 24, 2010

-From Minneapolis, MN. Our hosts are Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, and Matt Striker.

-Vickie Guerrero is the first person through the curtain. She is the proud girlfriend of Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler.

Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler (with Vickie Guerrero) vs. United States Champion Daniel Bryan

Ziggler holds his own while exchanging holds with Bryan. Bryan leaps over Vickie to wipe Ziggler out at ringside. Running drop-kick by Bryan, but Ziggler snaps Bryan into the ropes to take control. Bryan counters a backbreaker and sneaks in some pinning predicaments. Ziggler delivers an inverted body slam to regain control. Cue the chinlock! Bryan misses a running drop-kick and crashes into the turnbuckles. Ziggler wears down Bryan for a while until suffering a chin breaker counter. Bryan mounts a comeback with hard kicks. Leg lariat by Bryan gets 2. Springboard drop-kick by Bryan but Ziggler kicks out. Super-kick by Ziggler gets a near fall. The Zig Zag is blocked and Bryan delivers a nasty head kick. Bryan creatively sets up a back superplex, but Ziggler counters in mid-air! Bryan counters the cover! They wipe each other out with cross body attempts. They trade pinning predicaments until Ziggler nails the Fame-asser. Ziggler thinks he’s won, but Bryan had the ropes. Cue the sleeper! Ziggler spends too much time talking smack and gets trapped in the Labell Lock! Ziggler taps at 16:11! Bryan and Ziggler pulled out all the stops to have a good match within the confines of the WWE mid-card formula, ***¼.
Winner: Daniel Bryan

-The Miz and Alex Riley were watching backstage and Miz takes credit for Daniel Bryan’s success. Sheamus interrupts and questions why anyone would take orders from Miz. They’re going to have to get along because they’re on Team Raw in the Bragging Rights match. CM Punk interrupts, claiming that Miz is barely Captain Crunch, let alone their team captain. Santino Marella wanders in looking for snacks and beverages. Punk believes he should be the leader because he just came from Smackdown and knows them like the back of his hand. Marella wants Sun Chips. Everyone leaves Miz and Punk alone to discuss unity. Riley is worried, but Miz thinks Team Raw is exactly where they need to be.

-Our new tag team champions, Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre come to the ring seemingly just to brag. As you might have expected, the anonymous Raw GM makes them put their titles on the line against a Nexus team. Wade Barrett appears and reveals the challengers to be David Otunga and (against his own) John Cena.

WWE Tag Team Championship:
Dashing Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre © vs. John Cena and David Otunga

Cena rushes to the ring, apparently hoping to win the match without interacting with Otunga. Cena gets talked into letting Otunga start the match. McIntyre and Rhodes quickly take control by making frequent tags. Otunga makes a tag and Cena takes his time entering the ring. Cena squares off with Rhodes and quickly gains the advantage. Otunga illegally enters the ring, giving McIntyre the opportunity to blindside Cena. The champions isolate Cena for a bit. Cena makes his routine comeback and plows through both Rhodes and McIntyre. Cody taps to the STF at 6:25. The match was pretty dull, but this was all about progressing the Nexus angle, *.
Winners and new WWE Tag Team Champions: John Cena and David Otunga

-David Otunga celebrates with both tag belts (despite not doing anything in the match) and eats an Attitude Adjustment. Cena departs with both title belts.

-Replay of Goldust revealing that he wasn’t stalking Ted Dibiase’s girlfriend, Maryse, he just wanted the Million Dollar Championship.

-Maryse has a lot to say about Goldust but Ted Dibiase tells her to shut up. Dibiase plans on beating Goldust, regaining his property, and having Dust’s girlfriend deported.

Ted Dibiase (with Maryse) vs. Goldust (with Aksana)

I guess the Million Dollar Championship is on the line. Dibiase is aggressive, but Goldust holds his own, tossing the youngster to the floor. Dibiase kicks Goldust off the turnbuckles and takes control. Cue the chinlock! Goldust counters but they both go down. Goldust makes the obligatory comeback. Goldust takes a bad spill to the floor but rebounds with a neck snap on the ropes. Goldust flies into a drop-kick. Dream Street is blocked, but Dibiase nails a spinebuster. Maryse attacks Aksana and tosses her into the ring. Goldust checks on his lady, leaving him vulnerable to a DDT. Dibiase wins at 7:27. This was Superstars-level stuff, *½.
Winner: Ted Dibiase

-Aksana poses with the Million Dollar Belt and tries to seduce Dibiase. It’s a trap as Goldust plants Dibiase to gain a measure of revenge.

-Michelle McCool and Layla come to the ring and make fun of Minneapolis. The segment reaches Wrestlecrap levels of badness before it’s over.

Divas Championship:
Layla (with Michelle McCool) vs. Natalya

Michelle is officially the champion, but Layla is defending it on her behalf. Natalya quickly reverses a wristlock and delivers a delayed vertical suplex. Layla drop-kicks Natalya out of the ring but gets pulled out herself. Natalya thwarts Michelle’s interference attempt initially but gets pulled off the apron. Layla takes control with some wear down offense. Natalya makes her comeback, delivering clotheslines and a double underhook suplex. Layla blocks the Sharpshooter and takes a hike. Natalya forces her back, but Michelle delivers a big boot from the floor, giving Layla the win at 4:47. Perfectly acceptable filler here, *½.
Winner: Layla

World Heavyweight Championship (Buried Alive match):
Kane © (with Paul Bearer) vs. The Undertaker

It’s funny thinking that this would prove to be Undertaker’s final non-Wrestlemania match (at least as of January 2013). Undertaker initiates a brawl during Kane’s entrance. They fight in and out of the ring and into the crowd. Taker throws a bunch of chairs into the ring and directs the one-sided fight back onto the canvas. They head back into the crowd for no apparent reason. After 7 minutes of action, Kane finally scores some offense with some chair shots. Choke slam in the ring by Kane, far away from the cartoonish graveyard set. Kane nails a second choke slam and carries Taker over his shoulder. Undertaker fights back right by the hilarious dirt pile. Kane runs away up the mound and they duke it out next to the grave. Kane taps out to Hell’s Gate, but it doesn’t matter in this match. Undertaker rolls Kane into the grave as Paul Bearer hides behind the tombstone. Taker shoves Bearer’s face into the dirt and is about to put him in the hole when the Nexus runs in! Undertaker single handedly fights off the group initially, but the numbers game catches up to him. This sets up an Undertaker vs. Wade Barrett feud that never happened. Nexus holds Undertaker still so Kane can nail him with the urn and knock him into the hole. Kane uses his magic powers to summon pyro from the tombstone and for an unmanned bulldozer to drop dirt on the hole. Kane retains at 16:48 and this hideous feud is finally over. This was hardly even a match, just meandering, directionless brawling, and a terrible finish, ¼*.
Winner and still World Heavyweight Champion: Kane

-Undertaker’s music hits and lighting strikes. The Undertaker’s symbol rises from the grave. I’m sensing apathy from the live audience.

-WWE Champion Randy Orton is interviewed backstage. It’s not his best promo.

Bragging Rights match:
Team Raw (The Miz with Alex Riley, CM Punk, “Mr. Hardcore” John Morrison, Ezekiel Jackson, Santino Marella, R-Truth, and Sheamus) vs. Team Smackdown (Big Show with Hornswoggle, Rey Mysterio, Jack Swagger, Tyler Reks, Kofi Kingston, Alberto Del Rio with Ricardo Rodriguez, and Edge)

A really big trophy that would never be seen again is what’s at stake in this match. Apparently, this is an elimination match as well. Since it was later revealed that Hornswoggle was the anonymous Raw GM, I can only guess he’s acting as a double agent as Smackdown’s mascot. Reks and Morrison start things off. Santino tags in and whips Reks into a Morrison drop-kick. Reks blocks the Cobra and delivers a Burning Hammer to eliminate Santino at 2:35. Ezekiel Jackson storms the ring and body slams Reks. Big Show tags and dukes it out with Jackson. Show power slams Jackson and tags Rey for a springboard leg drop. Kofi tags but Jackson shoulder tackles him and Rey. Kofi gets beaten up by Sheamus but makes a quick comeback. S.O.S. by Kofi, but Sheamus gets the ropes. The Celtic Cross eliminates Kingston at 6:49. Mysterio enters but quickly finds himself trapped in Raw territory by CM Punk. Del Rio tags himself in, playing up recent tension with Rey. Del Rio is just as interested in beating up Rey as he is in CM Punk. Big Show berates Del Rio as Swagger takes control of Punk. Morrison gets a somewhat hot tag and unloads on Swagger before getting his momentum reversed. The Swagger Bomb is blocked so he goes for the ankle. Morrison’s “hardcore training” allows him to hit Starship Pain to eliminate Swagger at 13:03. Reks storms the ring and tries to put Morrison away quickly. Sheamus tags and plows through Reks before running into a big boot. The Brogue Kick finishes Reks at 14:26. Big Show enters and dumps Sheamus over the ropes. Sheamus takes a moment to punish Hornswoggle for being so annoying, but that only angers Big Show. Sheamus and Show brawl up the aisle and they’re both counted out at 15:25. Since Mysterio never came back, we’re down to Edge and Del Rio vs. most of Team Raw. Edge and R-Truth are both fresh and sprint through a nice exchange. The spear ends Truth at 16:37. Morrison misses Starship Pain and the spear eliminates him at 17:05. CM Punk rushes in but Edge nails his DDT. Punk leaps over the spear and Del Rio tags himself in and capitalizes. Punk reverses with a backslide pin to put Del Rio away at 18:00. Del Rio shrugs off the loss and is attacked by a returning Rey Mysterio. Miz prevents Edge from making a tag and isolates him in Team Raw’s corner. Edge counters Punk with an electric chair and Rey gets the hot tag. Rey and Punk exchange counters until Rey hits 619 and a frog splash to score the pinfall at 24:01. Jackson storms the ring and methodically beats Mysterio down. Jackson blocks 619 but eats a DDT. 619 on Jackson, but trips on his springboard attempt, getting the elimination despite the botch at 26:05. Miz is the lone survivor on Team Raw. Riley blocks 619 on Miz’s behalf, giving Miz an opening. Edge gets a tag and spears Miz to win the match for Team Smackdown at 27:38. This was a long, solid match, with very little downtime. This gets some extra points for advancing some feuds and giving some fresh talent some exposure, ***½.
Winners: Edge and Rey Mysterio

-Hornswoggle waves the Smackdown flag while Rey and Edge celebrate with their trophy. I think this win also proves that Team Raw’s mothers are whores.

WWE Championship:
Randy Orton © vs. Wade Barrett (with John Cena)

If Barrett doesn’t win this match, Cena will be fired, as now Nexus owns his contract. They start with a main event lock-up and Orton wins the exchange. The men in the crowd chant “fire Cena” as Orton gets tossed to ringside. Cena has his sad face on. Barrett delivers a big boot to take control. Barrett takes a moment to bark orders at Cena, allowing Orton to retake control. Barrett reverses a whip into the steps. Barrett beats Orton up for a while but can’t get the pinfall. Orton battles out of a chinlock, of all moves, and makes his comeback. The ref takes a bump and Barrett orders Cena onto the apron. Orton whips Barrett into Cena and nails the backbreaker. The rest of Nexus run in and attack Orton. Cena attacks Justin Gabriel, allowing Orton to nail Heath Slater with the RKO. They dump David Otunga to the floor and Barrett demands to know what Cena is doing. Cena argues that the Nexus run in would have caused a DQ. Barrett attempts Waste Land on Orton but it’s blocked. The referee wakes up in time to see Orton making a comeback. Cena sneaks back in and hits Barrett with the Attitude Adjustment! The referee calls for the DQ at 14:29. Barrett wins, so Cena isn’t fired. This felt like a house show main event until the overbooked Nexus shenanigans too over, **.
Winner via DQ: Wade Barrett

-Randy Orton is bemused by what just happened so he puts Cena down with the RKO. Orton serves an RKO to Barrett too, for good measure.

Final Thoughts: This was a throwaway pay-per-view if I’ve ever seen one. There was a lot of filler and set up for storylines wouldn’t go anywhere. Throw in a flat-out awful World title match and an unsatisfying WWE Championship match, and skip this one. Thumbs down.