WWE Money In The Bank 2018: Star Ratings For All 10 Matches
More Washingtons than Franklins.
As ever, NXT TakeOver made fans believe in the inimitable power of pro wrestling on Saturday night.
An atypically ugly Chicago crowd atoned for their rude reaction to Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan by the time they lost an emotive all-action war to the Undisputed Era. Burch wrestled like a warrior; Lorcan wrestled like a madman. It was heart-in-mouth greatness that made a mockery of Vince McMahon's mockery of tag team wrestling.
The Velveteen Dream and Ricochet wrestled a very good match that only reached greatness at the finish - but what a finish it was. Punctuating the thread of Ricochet's unreal athleticism and Dream's hubristic attempt to equal it, the distance Ricochet travelled - only to meet the cruel knee of fate - was jaw-dropping, as was the arrogant character work that undid Dream in the end. But not before Ricochet, in another key thread of Dream's journey to immortality, had to acknowledge it by stealing his repertoire. Nikki Cross literally found the euphoria in defeat, crucial in maintaining her bond with the audience. Aleister Black did well with Lars Sullivan in a match better than it had any right to be. The main event between Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano was more raw, more violent and even more powerful than their New Orleans classic. Ciampa spat on Gargano's wedding ring. Heels are heels again.
Wrestling is amazing.
Sports entertainment...not so much.
For a reminder of the star ratings criteria, please click here.
10. KICKOFF: Bludgeon Brothers Vs. The Club
In a Kickoff show most notable for Booker T throwing barbs at CM Punk, this SmackDown Tag Team Title match wasn't half-bad. It didn't matter - the mere stage on which it was wrestled all but confirmed no switch was forthcoming - but it's difficult not to appreciate the brutal tandem offence doled out by the Brothers Bludgeon, even in an environment that borders on the inconvenient.
They bounced Karl Anderson's face off the apron before, and this was trees-do-make-a-sound brilliant, levelling Luke Gallows with stereo dropkicks on the ramp. It's a shame that the creativity stuttered soon after; the comeback spot materialised, as it it too often does, with Rowan clattering into the ring post. Still, the stiff kick-based onslaught delivered by Gallows following his hot tag raised the temperature in the arena, which grew louder as Harper responded with gruesome-sounding kicks of his own.
This earned extra points for the protection of the Club's Magic Killer, itself set-up brilliantly via standing suplex reversal; instead of kicking out of it for an ultimately meaningless cheap pop, the Bludgeon Brothers worked it into the finish by countering with 'The Bludgeoning' and, in the process, the inevitable result.
Star Rating: **1/2