00:00Kevin Owens doesn't turn heel...yet. We have new Women's Tag Team Champions.
00:04That German Crab was someone else wasn't it? I'm Pete Quinnell and this is my review of
00:08Bash in Berlin 2024. Before we dive into the review of the show,
00:14I want to talk about the pre-show. Now, I know, there's not any wrestling on the pre-show,
00:18but I want to give a massive shoutout to the sit-down interviews they had with Randy Orton,
00:21Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens. I know Triple H being in control of WWE isn't new anymore,
00:26but I keep finding things, big or small, that are much better than they used to be.
00:30Everything feels so much more natural, and it's not a big ask, but them referencing that if Orton
00:35wins the belt he'll be a 15 time world champion, and Owens and Cody talking candidly about Cody
00:40leaving the company and Owens' role in that departure, and how they tie that back into the
00:44very natural and relatable feelings going into the title match, everything just feels so much easier
00:48to connect to on every level. And this also might be a good time to talk about the crowd in Berlin.
00:54They were electric all night. Insane chants, big cheers, boos, they had it all. Counting
00:59the referee's count in German is very fun, I like that, more of that. Once again,
01:04an international crowd have elevated what would have been a good show into one of the better ones.
01:08It's honestly a recipe for success in WWE. Have every single B-Show be an international show,
01:13it's a cheat code on how to make them feel more important. And it allows for fans across the world
01:18to come to shows, makes WWE feel like more of a global company, it makes your shows better,
01:22it can allow your international wrestlers to have big hometown pops,
01:25which is not what Gunther had on the show because he's not from Germany.
01:29So now, the wrestling. We begin with Cody Rhodes vs. Kevin Owens for the undisputed WWE
01:34Championship. While the build could be argued to be a little jank getting to this point,
01:38the potential story of Kevin Owens vs. Cody Rhodes was enticing. Once again,
01:42I enjoy when a wrestler's own continuity is referenced. It makes every single wrestler have
01:47their own story, it makes every single story unique. Owens turns on people, that's what he
01:52does, but spoilers, he didn't this time. The match itself was really fun, with the crowd
01:56helping the atmosphere feel electric the whole time, with the pair even getting a standing ovation
02:01before the match began. They started feeling each other out, babyface vs. babyface stuff,
02:05but then they started getting a little too into it later on. Owens kept looking pissed off
02:09throughout, meaning they both got into hockey fights and brought the intensity in what could
02:13have been a bland babyface matchup on paper. After a few big moves like a rolling senton
02:18off the middle rope and a Cody Cutter that was counted into a stunner that was counted
02:20into a crossroads for a near fall, the intensity picked up even more, spilling to the outside,
02:25and the story Owens had brought up came to the fore as Cody went for a top rope Cody Cutter,
02:30but his knee gave out. The target had been set, the target that Owens said he knew about but
02:35hadn't hit a single move on the whole time so far. Cody was struggling, Owens had the
02:41opportunity to take advantage, but stopped himself. He didn't want to taint his victory,
02:45he didn't want an asterisk next to his win like it was when he won the Universal Championship.
02:50He allowed Cody to recover, Cody yelling at him that he's fine so keep fighting,
02:54so Owens kicked his knee in response. After hesitating and not wanting to take advantage,
03:00he succumbed, which you'd think might be the heel turn, but then he went to do the apron
03:04powerbomb and stopped himself again. He couldn't bring himself to regress to his darkest point,
03:08but he does hit a stunner for a near fall. Cody gets back into it though, hitting two crossroads,
03:13and on the third it was counted into another stunner for another near fall. Owens went for
03:17a Swanton Bomb, but Cody got the knees up, hit another crossroads, and won.
03:21The match was great. They're both great wrestlers and can always put on a good match at minimum. I
03:26think the match hit its climax at the knee attack in a banded apron powerbomb spot, where I feel
03:31like Cody should have just hit a crossroads and won, rather than hitting two, then a stunner,
03:35then a counter swanton, then another crossroads to win. The finish felt a little superfluous,
03:40but regardless, I had fun. I don't think the symbolism of using the knees, the thing that
03:44Owens was targeting in the finish was worth the extra few moves and going past the climax, but
03:49it was a very fun opener and the crowd had set the tone for the night. Post-match, Owens didn't turn
03:53heel, showed his respect to Cody, and in a nice little detail, refused Cody showing him respect
03:58back and didn't let him raise his hand. Up next was Isla Dawn and Alba Fire vs Jade
04:03Cargill and Bianca Belair for the Women's Tag Team Titles. The magic of video editing was fully
04:07present here, as it actually made it look like Dawn and Fire had actually won some matches
04:11sometimes. The video package was trying to put over how rough these past few months for the
04:15babyfaces have been, and aside from not winning the title matches by not being pinned in a triple
04:19threat and losing via DQ respectively, I failed to see how it's been rough for them. The match
04:24itself was okay, nothing super special unfortunately. My biggest issue with the match is that
04:29if you're so concerned with protecting Bianca and particularly Jade as your big stars, then there are
04:34no stakes for them, there's no peril. They need to have equals or close to equals to deliver some
04:39challenge to them, and this match wasn't booked to make the champs look like equals.
04:42I think there was one point where the champs actually looked like a dominant force,
04:46and that was when Alba Fire hit a Tornado DDT on Bianca Belair while also kicking Cargill
04:51off the turnbuckle. That was just a good move by a good wrestler that gave her team the advantage.
04:55Every other time the champs got control or maintained it, it was through underhanded
04:59tactics or by cheating or just generally feeling inferior but sneaky. If they're your tag champs,
05:04make them more imposing. It also means Cargill and Bianca look better when they win,
05:10and the finish was fine, and the match was decently worked, I just wasn't particularly
05:14invested and the booking of the match didn't do enough to hook me in.
05:16Following this was CM Punk vs Drew McIntyre in a strap match, and yes,
05:20it was the version of a strap match where you have to tap all four corners to win
05:24uninterrupted whatever that means, which is bad. I do not like this version,
05:28and you'll see why when I talk about the match, which in spite of that, was very good.
05:33Drew attacked Punk before the bell and took the early control, but Punk came right back
05:36into it with a GTS. Now at this point CM Punk could touch one of the turnbuckles and try to win,
05:41but opts not to because he wants to beat up Drew some more. One of the lights stays on that Drew
05:45had turned on earlier and the commentary can't decide whether it should stay on or turn off,
05:49I do not like this version of a strap match. After lots of weapons and brawling on the outside
05:52with chairs and a back body drop on the commentary table, Drew hits a Claymore on the inside of the
05:56ring and manages to turn on three of the four lights, but Punk managed to roll to the outside
06:01and pull Drew across the ring into a chair that was set up in the corner. But Drew comes back
06:05into it again when he drops Punk from inside the ring to the outside through a table. Drew revealed
06:11he still has the bracelet and hits another Claymore, but he can't get all four lights before
06:15Punk comes back into it and hits a GTS. Punk notices the bracelet and gets fired up once more,
06:20hitting another GTS, and he starts turning the lights on, hitting a GTS after each light for a
06:26total of five in the match, taking the bracelet back before tapping the fourth and final light.
06:31Now it sounds like the whole red light green light thing was fine really, what am I complaining
06:35about? And you know what, it was fine, you're right, I should stop being such a baby. But
06:40would the match really have been worse if it just ended in pinfall? Was the match really
06:45enhanced by the red and green lights, or Drew managing to turn on three lights, or Punk choosing
06:49to hurt Drew over turning lights on? Or would all of those story beats have been just as good,
06:54if not better, in a match with a strap where it's just won by pinfall or submission?
06:58It's a rhetorical question, having the lights added nothing. Aside from that though,
07:02this was a great match. I do wonder how Drew will react to this now that the feud is seemingly
07:06wrapped up, with Punk getting not only the win, but the bracelet back too, in dominant fashion.
07:11Similarly with Owens and Rhodes, it felt like this match reached its climax and then carried
07:15on for just a bit too long. I don't know if we needed to see Punk hitting four GTS's with each
07:19tap of the corner, it felt a little overkill, especially if the feud is continuing, but still,
07:24good stuff. Next was the mixed tag match of Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio vs Rhea Ripley and
07:28Damian Priest, and this one was a lot of fun. It's exactly the match you'd think it would be,
07:33babyface is standing tall for a while, heels being sneaky and coming back into it,
07:36teases of spots you want to see, before the heels shut them down. They did do a good job of drawing
07:40out the finish here, and this time I think it was actually done quite well. Lots of soap opera
07:44drama nonsense. The crowd went absolutely ballistic, probably the loudest they were all
07:50night for a single spot, when Ripley got her hands on Dom-Dom and did the headscissor choke
07:54in the corner thing that she did to him before he was recruited to Judgment Day. I mean hey,
07:58if that's what got him to join originally, who's to say he might not turn on Liv again and rejoin
08:02Rhea? Don't do that WWE, it was a joke. But Rhea then went for a Riptide on Dom,
08:06and Liv saved him, but that's fine, Rhea will just get to hit it later, right?
08:10Judgment Day came out to cause a distraction with Finn Balor hitting a Slingblade on Priest behind
08:14the referee's back, allowing Dom to hit a 619 and a Frog Splash for a very good nearfall,
08:18and they continued to wreak havoc at ringside, but Priest overcame them all,
08:21while Ripley in the ring hit the Riptide on Morgan to get the win. It was a feel good moment,
08:26and the pair of them hugging after the match was great, but they did tease the moment of Rhea
08:30hitting the Riptide on Dom, and they didn't do it, which means they probably still will do it,
08:34so...this feud must continue I guess? But does it really need to just for that?
08:41And finally it was the main event of Gunther vs Randy Orton for the World Heavyweight Championship,
08:45and the crowd were absolutely insane here, singing Randy's theme, giving Ludwig Kaiser's
08:50introduction all the gravitas it deserved, and doing all sorts of chants and songs for
08:54the entire duration of the match. But quick note to German crowds and all crowds going forward,
08:59don't do the wave, it makes me feel icky because it used to be used to show boredom,
09:03and it feels weird seeing an excited and invested crowd do it too.
09:06The story of the match was a very simple one, Orton targeted Gunther's right arm so Gunther
09:11had to adapt, and when I say that Gunther is a perfect wrestler, I do mean it. Every single time
09:17he did anything with that right hand, he sold it. Every. Single. Time. Constantly reinforcing what
09:23a toll it was to use it. So when he can't get Randy up for a powerbomb three times in a row,
09:27it makes sense you're invested in his struggle. So then when he does hit that powerbomb,
09:31the release is even bigger, an RKO was counted into a German suplex, Gunther hit a big old
09:36smash from the top rope and immediately sold his hand again because he's a perfect wrestler,
09:39the finish was a tried and tested one with Gunther locking in a sleeper hold,
09:43Orton powering out of it, Gunther locking it in again, Orton countering it again,
09:47and Gunther locking it in a third time to make Orton pass out, even featuring some nice elbows
09:51to make it that much more effective. Gunther retained in a very fun match, and that was
09:56Bashing Berlin, a good show that was elevated into a pretty great one courtesy of a wonderful
10:00German crowd. I don't have too many more thoughts on it, but you can be sure I can extend it out to
10:04an hour when I do the podcast review with Dan Layton later today. I'll give this show a solid
10:084 out of 5. For now though, why not check out a new episode of Survival Series on Cutscene,
10:13where the competitors have to name every single Pixar animated movie.
Comments