 Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Bianca Belair and Shotzi def. Damage CTRL (Bayley, WWE Women's Champion IYO SKY, Asuka and Kairi Sane) in a WarGames MatchAs good as this was, a big reason why I wish WWE didn't do two WarGames matches in the same night is because the women get overshadowed almost every year and that was once again the case here. They all put forth a strong effort and delivered some really cool spots. My biggest issue with it was the overuse of weapons, per usual. Not every single person who enters needs a weapon, but I understand WWE wants that to be a part of the WarGames gimmick. Bayley had a strong showing and having her take the bullet for her team plants the seeds for that inevitable babyface turn. Being a Raw Superstar, Lynch didn't need to win for her team, but that's a minor criticism. Intercontinental Champion Gunther def. The MizI don't think it'd be a stretch to say this was one of Miz's best bouts in recent memory, despite it not being among Gunther's top-tier title defenses during this run. He's far from a full-fledged babyface as he cheated on multiple occasions, but the crowd was behind him regardless and it led to some suspenseful nearfalls down the stretch. The outcome was never in doubt, but it was what it needed to be and it was a fun time on the whole. Santos Escobar def. Dragon LeeLee was a last-minute replacement for Carlito, who WWE ran an injury angle with on SmackDown. Here's hoping Carlito's not legitimately hurt and that it's not too serious if he is. These two could've stolen the show with more time, but what we got from them was still very enjoyable and Lee had yet another standout performance. Perhaps WWE didn't want this to be too competitive with Escobar in the midst of a big heel turn at the moment, but Escobar winning decisively was what mattered most. Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley def. Zoey StarkI hoped that the Chicago crowd would be able to get into the action despite the heel vs. heel dynamic, but that didn't end up being the case. Ripley and Stark still had a solid, hard-hitting match, but the fans in attendance seemed to sit on their hands for most of it because they (understandably) never bought into the possibility of Stark winning. I also don't think Stark had an impressive enough performance to get the audience to see her in a new light. She's skilled, but WWE needs to make more of an effort to get her over. Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, World Heavyweight Champion Seth "Freakin" Rollins, Sami Zayn and Jey Uso def. The Judgment Day (JD McDonagh, NXT North American Champion "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio and Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Finn Balor and Damian Priest) and Drew McIntyre in a WarGames Match; CM Punk ReturnedThis was the better of the two WarGames matches, but not by much because both were great for different reasons. The first half followed the usual WarGames formula, but Judgment Day saying several times throughout that they had a plan piqued my interest and I thought the idea for Priest to attempt to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase halfway through was brilliant. It was also brilliant for the focus to be Orton's return only to swerve everyone with the shocking Punk appearance. Orton looked terrific, the crowd ate up everything the babyfaces did, they went over as they should have. I genuinely did not think WWE would bring back Punk so soon, so that took me by surprise. That pop was seriously an all-timer. What an amazing moment. It was an exceptionally-executed ending to the event and one of the strongest show-closing cliffhangers WWE has ever produced. Overall ShowThe middle of the show wasn't anything special, but the two WarGames matches delivered and that Punk return was special. Orton's return was awesome as well and, hell, we even got R-Truth back in a backstage segment! All in all, these three hours were a blast, and the bigger accomplishment was that they left a lot of fans looking forward to what's next. That can be tough with the Royal Rumble two months away, but having Punk and Orton back in the fold will help WWE maintain momentum until then.
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