WWE Live from MSG Results 2015: Top Highlights and Low Points
For the first time in nearly four years, WWE emanated live from Madison Square Garden in New York City on Saturday night. The stacked show featured three championship matches and plenty of excellent in-ring action.
From Chris Jericho celebrating 25 years in the wrestling industry to Brock Lesnar making quick work of Big Show, it was a night of epic proportions. It was only the second house show to be broadcast on the WWE Network—and likely one of many more to come.
As enjoyable of an event as it was, however, it wasn't without its flaws. The finish to the WWE Tag Team Championship match fell flat, and Kane's interference in the main event Steel Cage match was fairly predictable.
Nevertheless, a televised WWE event in the world's most famous arena was long overdue, and there's no question that the show lived up to the lofty expectations. Here's hoping WWE can only improve the quality of the live specials going forward.
Let's look back at the biggest highlights and low points from the historic evening.
Highlight: Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho
1 of 5
It's only been two weeks since Kevin Owens captured the Intercontinental Championship, but he's already brought back prestige to the long-forgotten title.
Only 48 hours removed from a successful title defense against Ryback on SmackDown, Owens was forced to defend the belt against Chris Jericho at Saturday's live special at MSG. What Jericho did to earn a title opportunity was never made clear, but it was a special occasion, with Y2J celebrating 25 years in the wrestling business.
Before the bout, Jericho thanked his supporters for coming out as well as his close friends who were seated in the front row, but Owens had none of it. He battled valiantly against Jericho and proved his worth as a star on the rise.
Although Y2J came close to taking home the gold, Owens emerged victorious after outsmarting his adversary and rolling him up to retain his title. The match could have benefited from more time, but it was a highly enjoyable encounter while it lasted.
Seeing as how this could be the only time we'll ever see them face off inside the squared circle, it was cool for it to be featured on such a blockbuster special.
Low Point: Sheamus Destroys Rusev
2 of 5
Originally, Randy Orton vs. Sheamus as well as Rusev vs. Dolph Ziggler were set to take place at MSG, but thankfully the four competitors clashed in a tag team match instead.
They contested a very well-wrestled match that kicked off the night in exciting fashion. Orton was above and beyond the most popular Superstar in the bout, and he took full advantage of that by playing to the crowd the entire time.
In the end, it was Orton and Ziggler who had their hands raised after Sheamus ate both a superkick and an RKO at the hands of the dynamic duo. The action didn't end there, though, as Rusev took exception to Sheamus taking the pinfall loss for their team.
Similar to how he tends to treat Lana and Summer Rae, Rusev berated Sheamus after the matchup, before paying for his sins by taking a Brogue Kick from The Celtic Warrior moments later.
It's strange to think that, at one point, Rusev was a force to be reckoned with. Now he's nothing more than a comedy character, and Sheamus doesn't look too good coming out of this, either.
Highlight: Brock Lesnar vs. Big Show
3 of 5
When it was initially announced that Brock Lesnar would be taking on Big Show at MSG, there was quite a bit of backlash from fans online who believed he should be facing a fresher face. While that's absolutely a valid argument, there's nothing wrong with him taking Big Show to Suplex City instead.
Of course, next to nobody saw Big Show as a legitimate threat to Lesnar. He's been overexposed for so long that it was essentially a foregone conclusion that he would fall short of victory against The Beast Incarnate.
Furthermore, although they contested classics back in the day, neither of them is the same competitor he was then, so it was wise to switch up the formula of the match and have Lesnar look strong by destroying The World's Largest Athlete with ease.
Basically, the match consisted of Lesnar kicking out of three consecutive chokeslams only to hit Show with a handful of suplexes and finish him off with an F5. As brief of a bout as it was, the New York faithful ate it up and gave Lesnar a hero's welcome.
For good measure, Lesnar went back down to the ring after the match and hit Show with another F5. With Lesnar going up against The Undertaker inside Hell in a Cell in a few weeks, this was the best possible way for him to build momentum as he heads into that highly anticipated matchup.
Low Point: Team PCB vs. Team Bella
4 of 5
It's safe to say that WWE's "Divas Revolution" has been a bust over the past few months. It's not at all a reflection on the talent involved, but rather WWE's booking of the women and how they haven't allowed them to live up to their full potential.
A major part of the problem stems from the countless six-woman tag team matches we've seen recently, pitting factions against one another. Team Bella vs. Team PCB was a decent match at the MSG special, but the in-ring action wasn't the issue.
Rather, it was Paige parting ways with Charlotte and Becky Lynch two weeks ago and how they continue to trust her and team with her. It's made everyone involved look foolish, and holding this match yet again didn't help matters.
In response to Paige bailing on them at Raw, Charlotte and Lynch jumped off the apron as Paige was about to make a tag to them, leading to Nikki Bella hitting her with the Rack Attack for the victory.
Again, the match wasn't a major offense, but the way WWE has handled the Divas has been disappointing. This bout was no exception, but we'll see how they follow up on Raw this week.
Highlight: John Cena vs. Seth Rollins
5 of 5
Likewise, John Cena and Seth Rollins are no strangers to each other, either, but at least you can always count on them for an incredible performance.
What made this match stand out from their previous encounters was the steel cage surrounding the ring. The cage has long been known to serve as the blow off to top-tier level programs, and thus, there was no better stipulation for this match to have than that.
As expected, they contested a highly entertaining matchup with the momentum constantly shifting between the two competitors, but it wasn't until Kane's inevitable interference that Cena was able to capitalize and put away Rollins with an Attitude Adjustment to successfully retain his title.
The outside interference continues to be a problem in cage matches, but it didn't take away from the enjoyment of the contest. It also helped further the feud between Rollins and Kane while closing out the event on a high note with a great main event.
Also, Jon Stewart sitting at ringside for the match was a nice touch considering his important involvement in Cena vs. Rollins at SummerSlam in August.
Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is a journalism major at Endicott College. Visit his website, Next Era Wrestling, and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.
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