WWE Live at MSG Review - December 26, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Kevin Owens Interrupted Edge

Mike Rome announced as the show started that several Superstars were unable to appear due to COVID reasons, though he didn't specify who exactly (more on that at the end of this review). Rome wasn't even finished making the announcement when Edge's music hit and the crowd exploded. That's saying something considering the building was half empty and they weren't very lively throughout the night. Edge wasn't advertised and was only rumored to appear earlier in the day, so the fact he flew in at the last minute was really cool.

Finn Balor def. T-Bar

Much like when these two went one-on-one on Raw recently, I know these two are capable of much more given how talented T-Bar is. The dumb name and gimmick severely limit him and it's rare he's afforded the opportunity to showcase his skills. This was a nice little match while it lasted with T-Bar scoring some offense before eating defeat. I assume Balor would've faced Austin Theory had he made the show.

Alpha Academy def. The Dirty Dawgs

Yes, this pitted two heel teams against each other and I don't know why. I assume this was always the plan seeing as how the Raw Tag Team Championship was defended in a Triple Threat match a little bit later on, but you'd think they'd want to put one of those babyface teams up against Alpha Academy or Dirty Dawgs instead. Regardless, this was a solid match. Dirty Dawgs were the babyfaces by default and the crowd was behind Dolph Ziggler specifically, which amazes me after the many years of bad booking he's endured.

NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa def. Pete Dunne

Getting two top stars from the NXT brand was a pleasant surprise and a welcome addition to this show. I know they've faced off in a handful of multi-man and tag team matches, but I don't recall ever seeing a one-on-one match between them. Maybe we still will at some point, though it would have fit better in the old NXT. I was disappointed in the crowd for being as quiet as they were early on, but they came alive once they picked up the pace down the stretch. These post-Christmas MSG house shows have had a tendency of featuring NXT talent over the years and I'm glad we got them on this one.

Natalya def. Nikki A.S.H.; Rhea Ripley def. Natalya

Like Edge, SmackDown star Natalya was also reportedly flown in at the last minute for this show since Becky Lynch, Liv Morgan, Bianca Belair, Carmella and Queen Zelina were unable to appear. Natalya notoriously does nothing for me, but to her credit, she played her role well here. After beating Nikki is a fine albeit forgettable match, she then claimed she could break another MSG record by beating two women back-to-back. Her match with Ripley also wasn't anything special, but the crowd was happy to see Ripley win. She was far and away the most over person of these three.

Raw Tag Team Champions RK-Bro def. The Mysterios and The Street Profits in a Triple Threat Steel Cage Match

This match definitely didn't need the Steel Cage stipulation, but it was a cool visual, if nothing else. All three of these teams are very popular, so putting them in one match together was an interesting choice. Despite the stipulation, there were still tags in and out and I don't recall anyone trying to escape at any point. They didn't get a ton of time, but all six stars had quality chemistry together and it was a delightful multi-team affair. RK-Bro will be defending their Raw Tag Team Championship against one of these teams at Day 1 depending on who wins the finals of the RK-Bro-nament on Monday's Raw.

United States Champion Damian Priest def. The Miz

There was an intermission in between the Steel Cage match and this. Right before the match started, I thought to myself that this would be a fun feud over the United States Championship before remembering that Priest and Miz already had a million matches earlier this year before Priest became champion. That said, this was much more enjoyable than any of those because they goofed off, pretended to dance (playing off Miz's recent run on Dancing with the Stars), and had more freedom to do what they wanted. Priest got a great reaction due to being a New York native.

AJ Styles def. Omos by Disqualification

I assume this was a test run for their upcoming match on Monday's Raw. I truly hope WWE starts booking Styles like the star he is going forward. The tag team stuff overstayed its welcome and they could use more top talent on Raw. As for Omos, he's shown signs of improvement this year on his own, but he is absolutely not run for a real push on his own and I fear WWE may be fast-tracking him to a prominent position on Raw heading into the new year. He dominated this entire match and Styles sold for him like a champ. Styles won after pulling an Eddie Guerrero (pretending Omos hit him with a chair when the referee wasn't looking). It made no sense because usually the referee has to see what happened in order to make a judgement call, but oh well, the crowd seemed to like it, not to mention it was better than Omos pinning Styles. Omos attacked him afterward as well.

Edge def. Kevin Owens in a Steel Cage Match

This was a good glimpse of what we can expect when these two inevitably feud, which I hope happens sooner rather than later. Owens destroyed the blow-up Santa Claus and the other Christmas props on the stage beforehand, which was hilarious. It was pretty standard stuff for a house show main event, but the crowd was into the action and it was well worked. Toward the end, Miz attempted to interfere and cost Edge the win, only for Priest to thwart his interference and aid Edge to victory. Edge and Priest celebrating to close out the show was a fitting way to end the evening and they sent the crowd home happy. I don't know how many (if any) other house shows Edge has worked since returning to the ring last year, so this was a hell of a treat for everyone in attendance.

Overall Show

I believe this was the first WWE house show I've attended since October 2018 and I'm glad I went. I was skeptical going in when I heard so many notable names (Big E, Seth Rollins, Bobby Lashley, Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, Austin Theory, etc.) would be missing, but they made up for their absences as well as they could and put on an entertaining three-hour event. Edge making an unadvertised appearance was the highlight and it was cool being there for his first-time-ever encounter with Owens. As previously noted, it was far from a full crowd (perhaps the recent COVID outbreak was a factor) and they weren't nearly as energetic as the MSG crowd for SmackDown in September, but hopefully they have a better turnout for the next house show on March 5th.