I was excited for this match, especially after it earned such high praise. I’m a fan of both wrestlers, and remain baffled at the notion that Balor isn’t still performing at an incredibly high level. He’s positioned to succeed here too, opposite RAW’s top babyface in his first match back on television. After months of debate, Rhodes returned to a hero’s embrace at the Royal Rumble and that continues here, providing increasing evidence that this is simply where he belongs.
Speaking of such, ‘Cody’ chants emerge at the bell, arming this matchup with an invested, energetic crowd. Balor and Rhodes share a tight lockup, going to work as you’d expect, with the latter having a very brief shine before an early ad break. In picture-in-picture, the pair mostly wrestle for position, keeping things neutral before returning to a completion of that stuttered shine. Balor soon turns the tide though, catching Rhodes’ familiar uppercut thingy and targeting his infamous pec.
As usual, Balor is excellent here, giving his work space and room to breathe but remaining aggressive, attacking that weak point with bad intentions. Rhodes doesn’t just die in response either, firing back with some strikes and a dive, selling along the way. This is a wonderfully produced little comeback, with Rhodes dispatching Judgement Day and earning a strong false finish before Balor’s inevitable cut-off. That puts us back in picture-in-picture, with Balor grabbing a hold or four, at least targeting Rhodes’ shoulder in the process.
Even in this portion though, Rhodes is always fighting, attempting comebacks to no avail. They eventually settle on the top rope, trading blows and coming back from the break with an awesome delayed superplex. That levels the playing field, setting the stage for a shootout. The result is your typical modern finish, with increasing near falls until the end itself. That brings out Edge and Beth Phoenix, who deal with the surrounding Judgement Day members, advancing their own programme.
Edge isn’t done yet either, also distracting Balor and allowing Rhodes to close the show with three consecutive Cross Rhodes. In many ways, I wish that I watched this without reading a single review. Unfortunately, this received such praise that through no fault of either wrestler, I almost expected too much. Don’t get me wrong, it’s certainly good, maybe even very good but for me at least, it never quite fully found its footing for me.
Again, it’s rock solid but I don’t know, there was nothing that really hooked me beyond the unsurprisingly professional work. Balor’s work on the shoulder was good but came and went awful quick, almost completely irrelevant by the match’s conclusion. Eventually, it became rather formulaic in my view too but again, I suppose that’s the point really. This match was incredibly familiar in structure and tone but in this setting at least, Rhodes supplies a novelty.
He’s fresh in every which way, the kind of male babyface that WWE hasn’t had in years. This is also unchartered territory for Rhodes, truly filling the role that he flirted with in AEW’s early days. The result is something that’s inherently engaging, an interesting scenario by default. That’s not to take away from Balor and Rhodes as wrestlers either, as they’re who you know them to be here, turning in enjoyable performances with ease.
I suppose that at core, my slight disappointment is rooted in what I believe this match’s ceiling to be but nonetheless, it’s a good time. As usual though, your mileage may vary with Rhodes in this role, playing the pure babyface that leaves little wiggle room. I certainly have my own moments in that regard but the crowd hasn’t wavered yet, which makes for an especially smooth television main event.
Bing Bong's Match Reviews 