Welcome back, Shawn Michaels.
The Heartbreak Kid, in his first match in more than eight years, was the star of the D-Generation X versus the Brothers of Destruction tag team match in the main event at the controversial Crown Jewel pay-per-view in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Friday.
The match was sloppy at times, there were botches and Triple H — who was thrown through an announcer table by Kane — may have hurt his arm, but then there was Michaels.
He reminded you of the charm and in-ring ability that puts him in the conversation for being the greatest ever. This wasn’t Michaels of the Attitude Era, but there were glimpses.
Michaels embraced the fact that this was his first match in so long. After a move in the very early stages he turned to yell at Michael Cole as to say, “See, I still got it.” He sold everything with his usual flair and even gave a “What the heck” look before performing a moonsault to the outside. Michaels also wore NXT patches on the back of his pants in a tip of the cap to the brand for which he now works.
The match ended with DX avoiding a double Tombstone attempt. Michaels hit the Undertaker and then Kane with Sweet Chin Music. It caused Kane to walk into an awkward Pedigree from Triple H, leading to the pin.
When it was over, Michaels was sitting in the corner, tired, blood on his face, but also a big smile. Triple H eventually joined him down there and they exchanged some words.
There was no indication if Michaels’ story with Undertaker and Kane would end here. There were rumors he and the Deadman may step in the ring together one more time at this year’s WrestleMania. We will have to wait and see.
It is a shame it had to happen at an event many felt should have been canceled or relocated after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi embassy in Turkey. It was one that also saw the return of Hulk Hogan to WWE programing for the first time since 2015.
Hogan, who was reinstated to WWE this summer after a little more than three years’ suspension after new portions of a sex tape, which was part of his multimillion dollar lawsuit against Gawker over its publication, revealed him using the N-word in discussing his daughter Brooke’s sex life. Hogan’s short open to Crown Jewel, which included his usual schtick, was all we saw of the Hulkster.
Speaking of getting old.
Brock Lesnar as Universal champion is just that. His match with Braun Strowman for the vacant championship grabbed your attention from the start when acting Raw general manager Baron Corbin smacked the Monster with the belt.
Strowman would survive three F5s and pins, but what followed was another Lesnar squash match. He tossed Strowman out of the ring with an F5 and shortly after hit him with another and got the pin. He won back the belt Roman’s Reigns vacated after announcing his leukemia had returned.
So what does this mean? Yes, you protected Strowman a bit with Corbin’s interference and set him up for a weekly baby-face feud with the acting general manager. But now we are stuck with A.J. Styles-Lesnar of the second straight year at Survivor Series and likely more no shows for the Universal championship on Raw now that Lesnar has it back.
The cringe-worthy booking continued with the final of the World Cup tournament. The Miz, before the bell was rung, hurt his ankle and was ruled unable to compete against Dolph Ziggler. A double-heel final made little sense also.
Instead of a forfeit, SmackDown commissioner Shane McMahon convinced a blue-brand official to allow him to compete in the final instead. The crowd did eventually get into seeing McMahon wrestle. He hit the Coast-to-Coast and won. A McMahon is “the best in the world” and he sold the joy well.
Still, while it may have added a small bit of fun, it made an already silly tournament worse, gave us no payoff to McMahon’s threat of firing the SmackDown superstar who potentially lost in the final and negated a chance to give one of the real participants some momentum from winning the tournament. Even if Miz is really hurt, you could have brought Rey Mysterio back for the final.
Mysterio vs. Orton was the cream of the early crop thanks to the fast pace and drop kick Orton delivered to a leaping Mysterio from the top rope. Orton attacking Mysterio’s ribs even more after the match allowed The Miz to beat Mysterio in the semifinals. Bobby Lashley losing to Seth Rollins took a small amount of his momentum away. Kurt Angle looked OK in his match with Ziggler, who took out Rollins in a good semifinal.
Shinsuke Nakamura over Rusev to retain the U.S. Championship (Kickoff show)
The Nakamura low blow is back, this time in the headbutt variety. After the underhanded moved, Nakamura eventually hit Rusev with a Kinshasa to get the win. Not much new to see here.
A.J. Styles over Samoa Joe to retain the WWE championship
It was the physical clash we have seen many time from these two during their recent feud with plenty of back and forth and counters to keep it interesting. The crowd was loudly behind Styles throughout the match. They got what they were looking for when Styles, now the ninth longest reigning WWE champion, hit a Phenomenal Forearm to get the 1-2-3.
The Bar over The New Day to retain the SmackDown tag team title.
A punch from Big Show to Big E in the corner allowed Sheamus to hit the Brogue Kick to end an OK match. The titles stay with The Bar.
Match of the night: DX vs. Brothers of Destruction
Biggest winner: Brock Lesnar
Biggest loser: Braun Strowman and Dolph Ziggler
Grade: D