WrestleRant
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Store
  • About
  • Contact
Picture

WWE Day 1 Review - January 1, 2022

1/1/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Kickoff Show: Sheamus and Ridge Holland def. Cesaro and Ricochet

After Sheamus broke his nose multiple times last year, Holland broke his nose on an errant knee at the very beginning of this match, so he went to the back almost immediately and never returned. That was unfortunate, but Sheamus didn't miss a beat being in there the entire time from that point forward. He basically won a Handicap match, and while that didn't do Cesaro and Ricochet any favors, it was very well wrestled and enjoyable.

​SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos def. The New Day (King Woods and Kofi Kingston)

Usos and New Day have had what has felt like a million matches over the last six years, and yet they're still capable of making magic together. Trust me, I'm as tired as anyone of WWE revisiting this rivalry when they could be building up new teams, but at least the matches are always excellent and this was no exception, especially down the stretch. There were plenty of strong nearfalls and it sure looked like New Day were going to win until they didn't. I'm glad Usos retained because New Day don't need the belts. Usos winning with The Dudley Boyz' 3D finisher was a nice touch.

Drew McIntyre def. Madcap Moss

The fact this made the pay-per-view (sorry, "Premium Live Event") and not Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship makes zero sense. This feud has been lousy, and as big of a star as McIntyre is, fans had no reason to think Moss posed any sort of a threat to him. They had a fine match, but it was essentially elongated squash that didn't need to happen. Per PWInsider, Happy Corbin attacking him backstage afterward was WWE's way of writing McIntyre off for the time being as he deals with lingering neck issues. Hopefully he isn't out for too long as SmackDown is supremely lacking in star power as it is at the moment.

Raw Tag Team Champions RK-Bro def. The Street Profits

RK-Bro continue to be one of the best things on Raw right now and I'm glad their reign as Raw Tag Team Champions isn't over yet. Street Profits always deliver as well, so this was quality stuff. Both teams are babyface, but that didn't seem to hinder them at all. That assisted RKO for the finish was fantastic. I'm curious how much longer RK-Bro will remain champions for as I still think they're headed for a one-on-one match at WrestleMania 38. I wouldn't be opposed to this feud continuing and Street Profits taking the titles from them ultimately.

Edge def. The Miz

Edge coming out to the Brood entrance music again was awesome. I'd love if he did that every so often for his pay-per-view entrances. I'm probably in the minority on this one, but I actually liked this match. It was definitely slower paced and not on the same level as any of Edge's matches from last year, but I thought it was solid. That said, we were all waiting for Beth Phoenix to come out and thwart Maryse's interference and that's exactly what happened. A mixed tag team match seems inevitable and I'd rather see it happen at Royal Rumble rather than wait until WrestleMania.

Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch def. Liv Morgan

I don't think it would be a stretch to say this was Morgan's best bout to date. She continues to improve and make terrific strides, so props to her on that. They were given a ton of time and it was a damn good match. The ending didn't come off the best as it looked like Lynch was supposed to cheat to win, but she missed the rope and beat her clean instead. Morgan was over with the audience here, but I don't think it was the right time to take the title off Lynch. With the storyline they're telling, she should be champion heading into WrestleMania. Now it becomes a question of whether Morgan will remain a regular on Raw or if WWE will push her to the back of line and put her on the shelf until the next time they need someone to challenge for the championship.

Brock Lesnar def. Big E, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens and Bobby Lashley in a Fatal 5-Way to Win the WWE Championship

Roman Reigns announced hours before the event that he was unable to appear after testing positive for COVID-19. Here's hoping he'll be okay and will be back soon. Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship was the most anticipated match on the show, so losing that was a big blow to the show. WWE made up for it by inserting Lesnar into the WWE Championship matchup instead, making it more exciting than it already was. It definitely should have lasted longer, but what we got was a blast. The Lesnar and Lashley interaction was what I was looking forward to more than anything and it did not disappoint. What I hated, however, is that Big E took the losing fall. Couldn't Owens or Rollins have been pinned instead? Why the champion? I fear that Big E's time in the title picture is over, but we won't know for sure until we see what WWE does with him. I don't love the idea of Lesnar being champion yet again, but we'll see where they go with it and if it ends up leading to Lesnar vs. Lashley at WrestleMania, which I'd be in full favor of.

Overall Show

I didn't have super lofty expectations for this event going into it, but I thought it ended up being an entertaining three hours. There were no bad matches and the more important ones delivered, specifically the opener and the main event. If they wanted to kick off the new year with a bang and get people talking, well, they certainly did that with Lesnar's title win. I have no clue what this means for the road to WrestleMania, so if their goal was to leave me looking forward to Raw and SmackDown this coming week, well, mission accomplished. This was a thumbs-up show and exactly what it needed to be as WWE's premiere pay-per-view of 2022.
SEE MORE: WWE Reviews
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    Categories

    All
    #AskGSM
    Battle Of The Belts
    Cruiserweight Classic
    Halftime Heat
    Hidden Gems
    Interviews
    Lists/Rankings
    Mae Young Classic
    Mixed Match Challenge
    News
    NJPW
    NWA Shockwave
    NXT PLEs
    Opinion
    Previews
    Retro Reviews
    Reviews
    RJ's Two Cents
    Satire
    Slammy Awards
    SNME
    SummerSlam Recall
    The Deadly Draw
    The World Is A Vampire
    Tribute To The Troops
    Women's Eliminator
    Worlds Collide
    WrestleMania Recall
    WWE Draft
    WWE Network Specials
    WWE PLEs
    WWE Starrcade


    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010

    RSS Feed

©2025 WrestleRant. All Rights Reserved.
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Store
  • About
  • Contact