WWE Roadblock 2016 Results: Full Grades for Each Superstar

WWE Roadblock was the first live WWE Network special of 2016, and it was designed to help make the long stretch between Fastlane and WrestleMania 32 easier to handle.

These special events have all been fun shows, and Roadblock continued that trend. It might not have come off as being as important as a regular pay-per-view, but it was a great way to showcase some entertaining matches.

It almost feels like these shows are the new version of Saturday Night's Main Event. WWE tries to make every match at a PPV seem important, but that is not the case with WWE Network specials.

Instead, we get a mix of major title bouts mixed with midcard contests, just like SNME used to do. Having Triple H defend the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a rare wrestling appearance helped make the show feel important, and adding Brock Lesnar to the mix gave it an extra layer of hype.

This slideshow will go through each match an assign grades for each performer.

The New Day vs. Sheamus and King Barrett

The New Day retained the WWE Tag Team Championships in a relatively uneventful match against Sheamus and King Barrett.

There was nothing wrong with anyone's performance, but it felt like a bout we would see on Raw or SmackDown.

Rusev and Alberto Del Rio were performing at a WWE live event in Atlantic City, New Jersey, so The League of Nations found themselves at a disadvantage with Xavier Woods outside the ring causing trouble.

The biggest misstep came when Kingston jumped off the top rope onto Sheamus. The spot was botched, and Kingston narrowly avoided a scary injury.

It was a decent bout to kick off the show, but nothing stood out as memorable other than the aforementioned mistake. Come Monday night, nobody will be talking about this match.

New Day: C+

League of Nations: C+

Chris Jericho vs. Jack Swagger

One of two surprise matches to take place during Roadblock was a showdown between former rivals Jack Swagger and Chris Jericho.

This is about as random as it gets, folks. Swagger has been all but forgotten in recent months, so to see him shoehorned into a random fight against Y2J felt totally out of place.

Jericho delivered an entertaining promo before the bout, insulting his home country of Canada, which obviously upset the Toronto crowd.

He mentioned Swagger in his speech as someone who beat him for the World Championship before fading into obscurity. The All-American American and Jericho wrestled a mediocre contest that lasted just under eight minutes.

Jericho's pre-match promo helped him get a higher grade than Swagger, but just like the tag title bout, nobody is going to care about Y2J's win in a day or two.

Chris Jericho: B

Jack Swagger: C-

The Revival vs. Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady

Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder successfully defended the NXT Tag Team Championships against Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady in the first memorable match of the evening.

Dawson and Wilder have come into their own as a tag team since they won the titles from The Vaudevillains roughly four months ago.

Everyone played their part expertly, including Carmella outside the ring. Amore took big risks, Big Cass used his power to dominate and the champions used teamwork to overcome NXT's most popular tag team.

Some bouts just follow a pattern, but these four men told a story inside the ring. The crowd showed its appreciation with "this is awesome" chants as the fight progressed, and they made everyone in NXT proud by representing their brand with a fun title match.

This was a big opportunity for both teams to prove they can hang with the main roster, and they took full advantage of the chance to show off their skills.

The Revival: B

Colin Cassady: B

Enzo Amore: B+

Charlotte vs. Natalya

Natalya was able to bait Charlotte into defending the Divas Championship, but Ric Flair's presence at ringside was too much for Bret Hart's niece to overcome.

When these two outstanding athletes first met at the original NXT TakeOver in May 2014, they stole the show with a Match of the Year candidate.

They proved it wasn't a fluke at Roadblock by delivering another standout performance. Everyone always talks about how good Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch are, but Charlotte and Natalya's talents cannot be denied.

Their technical ability was on full display as they countered each other's finishers several times throughout the match. The action was great, but it was the narrative that made it special.

One of the best parts of this encounter was how Natalya kept trying to apply the Sharpshooter, only for Charlotte to escape her grasp several times. When Nattie eventually got the hold locked in, the Canadian crowd exploded.

Natalya has been criminally underused since the Divas Revolution began last summer, so hopefully the clinic she put on with Charlotte helped remind management of how valuable she is.

Charlotte might not be great on the mic, but she is an excellent heel inside the ring. She has reached a point where she no longer needs Ric Flair by her side to legitimize her career.

Charlotte: A

Natalya: A

Brock Lesnar vs. Luke Harper and Bray Wyatt

WWE flip-flopped on this bout a few times leading up to the event, and it ended up becoming a handicap match—but in name only.

Brock Lesnar dominated Luke Harper for the majority of the contest while Wyatt stood at ringside, refusing to enter the ring to help one of his loyal followers.

Wyatt is a great character, but this was another example of WWE dropping the ball with him. He looked scared of Lesnar, which totally contradicted the promo he delivered before the match about how he wasn't afraid to face The Beast Incarnate.

While Lesnar is always fun to watch, Harper was the real star here. Not only did he manage to put up a good enough fight to keep this from being a totally one-sided beating, but he used every trick in his arsenal to keep things interesting.

Harper's speed, flexibility and agility are off the charts for a guy of his size. You never see 300-pound Superstars using superkicks and suicide dives, but Harper performs those moves with seeming ease.

In the end, Lesnar took Harper to Suplex City and picked up the win, but this might not be the last we see of The Wyatt Family vs. Lesnar. Erick Rowan and Braun Strowman could have made the difference, which is likely why they were left out of the equation.

Brock Lesnar: B

Luke Harper: B+

Bray Wyatt: D-

Sami Zayn vs. Stardust

The second surprise match at Roadblock featured Sami Zayn taking on Stardust. These are two talented performers, but something about this encounter didn't click.

It was like they were never able to get out of second gear. Nobody made any mistakes, and both men hit some exciting moves, but there was no momentum.

It's a shame this wasn't a better match because they had almost 13 minutes to work with, which is more than enough time to put together an entertaining contest.

Zayn picked up the win, but it was meaningless because Stardust is not being booked as a threat to anyone at the moment.

Sami Zayn: C+

Stardust: C+

Triple H vs. Dean Ambrose

The main event of WWE Roadblock saw Triple H defend the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Dean Ambrose in what was easily the best match of the night.

This is the first time they have ever faced each other in singles competition, but you wouldn't have known it from how well they worked together.

It wasn't a spot fest or a bloody brawl. This felt like an old-school bout. There was logic to everything they did, and both men took risks to make the match entertaining.

The crowd went wild when it looked like Ambrose won the title, but when the ref waved off the pin because Ambrose's foot was under the rope, the elation turned to anger.

The Game played the heel to perfection, while The Lunatic Fringe was the crazed hero we have come to love over the years. Everything about this match worked, and it proved Ambrose deserves to be in the main event scene more often.

Triple H: A+

Dean Ambrose: A+

As with all things, everyone is going to have their own opinion on the matches we saw at Roadblock. How would you grade each Superstar's performance?

Thanks for reading, and follow me on Twitter: @BR_Doctor.