Wow‘s Bad Blood is one of the last PLEs of an incredibly successful year for the company. On A card packed with heated matchesCM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre opened the night with a match that will be talked about for years. Bloody, inventive, and suitable for their emotion-feud, Punk and Drew provided a classic in waiting. Nia Jax survived Bayley’s challenge and the threat of a Tiffany Stratton MITB cash-in to remain Women’s Champion and Damian Priest overcame Finn Balor to win their match.
Raquel Rodriguez returned to give Rhea Ripley a DQ victory that kept Liv Morgan as Raw’s Women’s Champion, and Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns defeated Bloodline in a frantic final match. Jimmy Uso returned to align with Roman and The night ended with the return of the rockwho stood on Kadia and Roman to leave.
Hell in a cell
CM Punk and Drew McIntyre restore a WWE classic
After years of unclear matches and diluted spectacle, Hell In A Cell has been in desperate need of a makeover. Cheapened by being over-used in its own PLE, the unforgiving structure was used throughout the PG-13 era, where it was eventually watered down to the point it was to grueling professional wrestling what Hotel Transylvania is to grueling. As promised, CM Punk and Drew McIntyre put on a clinic in violence and told a story for the ages. Both men had a lot of blood, tables were broken and a backpack and a tool box were used as weapons.
Ultimately, “Hell in a Cell” should sound like a threat when a WWE Superstar wants a match in the cage. After AEW’s Gore-centric encounter between Swerve Strickland and Hangman Adam Page, WWE showed that there’s more than one way to tell a blood-soaked story in a cage. Page and Swerve’s match was about extremity and how far each other would go to hurt each other. Triple H called the match an “instant classic” in his press conference. He is not wrong. It was a masterclass in callbacks and psychological warfare.
Punk would get the victory over Drew McIntyre, But it was a win for both. Drew feels like a threat to everyone after this. He is a player at the head table for the foreseeable future. Now that any question about his ability to deliver a five-star match has left town, what’s next for CM Punk? Seth Rollins is heavily mentioned as his potential WrestleMania opponent, but that’s not for five months. Both men are open to new opponents. Let’s see what Raw brings.
New Jax
The queen retains her crown
People have doubted Nia Jax her entire career. It makes it all the sweeter than you Victory over Bayley means Jax is still WWE Women’s Champion on SmackDown. She has not been beaten in nearly six months and is believed to be the immovable object in the women’s division.
After beating Bayley for the second time this year, Nia’s attention will now turn to Tiffany Stratton. Ms. Money in the Bank attempted a cash-in during Jax’s match, but the clerk was too slow and flustered to react quickly enough. Their friendship is frayed and shows no signs of recovery. How much more will Tiffany Stratton be satisfied in this situation?
Dear Morgan
Raw’s reigning, defending champion lives to fight another day
After all is said and done, even with her boyfriend locked in a shark cage, the Liv Morgan Revenge Tour keeps on rolling. Rhea Ripley picked up the victory over Morgan by disqualification, only this time no members of Judgment Day interfered. The match would be decided by the returning Raquel Rodriguez after Dominic Mysterio fell from his Shark Cage and was hit like a piñata with a kendo stick by replay. No, seriously.
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Rodriguez has many reasons to be involved in this game. In truth, it surprised the crowd and the audience, resulting in a flat reaction, but there are layers of history here. Ripley and Rodriguez had a heated NXT feud, including a Last Woman Standing match. Morgan and Rodriguez held the Tag Team Championships last year. It may have left everyone a little cold on the night, but if the demand is for long-term storytelling, it makes a lot of sense and sets up an intriguing future.
Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns
It turns out they can co-exist
The closest thing to A modern-day Mega Powers As it is possible to get, Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns took the win over the Bloodline, buried the hatchet, and focused their own stories. The matches’ climax seen Jimmy USO return To pledge allegiance to Roman Reigns, superkicking Tonga Loa and Tama Tonga and making the save on behalf of Cody Rhodes. The Bloodline family affair is about to go into overdrive, especially with the arrival of the Rock at the end of the match.
After picking up the victory with his new tag partner, Cody Rhodes was attacked outside his bus by Kevin Owens In the parking lot after the match. KO’s frustration and hurt at the hero’s reception for Roman Reigns finally boiled over and now there will be hell to pay. This Friday’s Smackdown will be essential viewing.
The stone
Not everyone is playing ball with the return of the final boss
It’s been a strange 2024 for the Rock era in WWE. First, the good. Dwayne Johnson has always recreated his WWE personas brilliantly, and Final Boss is an excellent character in his repertoire. His social media promos and presence made WrestleMania season feel electrifying. His tag match was excellent and taking the Undertaker’s chokeslam when Cody finished his story was an all time great Mania moment.
Then there is the other side of things. In the revisionist history of the documentary behind the curtain, he became a memeAnd the men’s champ was asked to leave WrestleMania’s main event by the men themselves. The latest storm came as a tag team match that felt more like a SmackDown main event than a closer from PLE, skipping the pay-per-view of Punk and Drew’s nine-month feud and two championship matches because of The Rock’s presence. This will be managed in the Netflix era. Dwayne’s perceived ego could earn him the tidal wave of hate He is so desperate to avoid.
Finn Balor
Another L for the Irish superstar
For the first time since his long-standing feud with Edge, Finn Balor finally has a meaningful rivalry. Balor’s feud with Damian Priest dates back to their time at Judgment Day, but this is the first time in a while Finn has been able to showcase his character. His “Backstabber Balor” persona is interesting. The Prince has had more mic time in recent weeks and his entrance to Bad Blood was outstanding. All the pieces are there for him to push for major honors.
Here’s a sobering stat. Finn Balor is 0-5 in singles competition on PLEs Dating back to November 26, 2022. Even holding the tag team championship as much as he has in the last year, he is one of the few Paul Levesque guys waiting for a moment in the spotlight. Everyone is getting their shot but Finn’s moment is long overdue.
The Crown Jewel Championship
A new Championship belt has been revealed, but what’s the point?
One of the most significant improvements made by WWE in 2024 is how most things make sense. The announcement that Crown Jewel’s main event will now be Raw’s World Heavyweight Champion vs. SmackDown’s WWE Champion For a new and very extravagant championship belt does not make much sense. Gunther comes out to berate Bill Goldberg and hype the match, but there’s a big question to answer here: Why?
At the time of writing, The crown jewel match is set to be Gunther vs Cody Rhodes. After two years of being involved in the business end of the Royal Rumble and never going one-on-one, using this dream match for a made-up title that has no lasting value feels wasteful. Wrestling is an art form that tells its story over weeks and not in an instant. There is still time for stakes to be added to this match. Here’s hoping.
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The three previous Bad Blood PPVs were headlined by The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels, Triple H vs. Kevin Nash, and Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels.
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Major WWE moments to happen in Atlanta include Triple H returning from his quad injury at the 2002 Royal Rumble and Ric Flair’s farewell ceremony the night after WrestleMania XXIV.
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This is the first time CM Punk has been in the first match on a WWE PLE since the Elimination Chamber match in 2011.
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Nia Jax is undefeated since losing to Liv Morgan on Raw on April 29.
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James Fatou vibes to Solo Sikoa’s music in their entrance.
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Long live Michael Cole’s hip-hop gimmick.