This review was commissioned by Ryan over on my Ko-fi account.
You can smell the bullshit a mile away with this one. Not in terms of any kind of quality, but just the sheer number of stipulations call to mind some of the more over the top Memphis or Mid-South angles. Two on three mixed handicap match with the spear banned? Shall we add a coalminer’s glove to the proceedings while we’re at it?
The stipulations in themselves aren’t the problem here. The problem here stems from the fact that isn’t an 80s territory with a lot of hatred and raucous crowds, this is 2011 WWE. This is a time in the company, lest we forget, so bland and miserable to watch on a week-to-week basis that someone on the roster became an industry legend later in the year for basically just saying so out loud. Punk’s pipebomb isn’t half as well remembered if it happens in a good company, it sticks because the TV was dogshit and him saying so made fans feel like they weren’t insane.
This match though is fine.
Really, it is. Edge and Ziggler, despite ostensibly being the primary rivalry at work here, are side characters to babyface Kelly Kelly and her catty bullies in LayCool. Edge and Ziggler kick off the match here with some perfectly decent action before Dolph tags out, and the match essentially transforms into a women’s handicap match from there.
Structurally, the match is laid out in a somewhat unconventional way. For one, it’s hurt by the 2010s WWE house style cutting out babyface shines more and more. One sees it with Dolph getting the early jump on Edge to start, and the World Champion having to instigate something of an early comeback for the men’s segment. With the women, Kelly Kelly tags in already expressing fear and distress on her face and the show cuts to a commercial before coming back mid-heat segment with LayCool already getting their licks in. The action, and Kelly’s expressions, condition us to see her as something of a victim. Even her initial attempts at a comeback after the commercial break get instead cut off by a fantastic Samoa Joe-esque swing into the barricade by Michelle McCool. McCool especially stands out in this match, having a lot of crisp work and bullying swagger that adds a lot of weight to the LayCool heel act.
Most of this match really is just a classic southern tag heat segment, even complete with an unseen hot tag as a false hope spot.
The match attempts something different here with the hot tag being something of a red herring. The release doesn’t come from Kelly Kelly finally escaping her tormentor’s clutches and getting in the fresher champion, but rather sticking around in the ring to overcome on her own. It’s a choice that has mixed results. Yes, it gives Kelly some agency back after just getting battered all match long, a sorely needed compensation from her lack of babyface shine. But it also leaves the Edge/Ziggler aspect of the match feeling unresolved (even for a bullshit heel build up tag) in a way that leaves that match feeling limp as a whole.
Even then, it’s fine. It’s whatever. Inoffensive WWE TV bullshit clearly pointing towards something bigger more important with Vicky immediately setting a singles rematch for the next week. Indicative of the larger systemic problems with WWE house style but harmless.
More than anything, I’m left wanting to live a life where $15 is dispensible enough to spend it on this match.
Rating: **½
