WWE
January 10th (Taped January 7th)
Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia, PA)
Watching Road Dogg do his usual pre-match spiel live in person at the RAW previous to the show, it was as if he had not missed a beat. You only needed to watch that to see why the New Age Outlaws were one of the hottest acts of the WWE’s “attitude era”. Their pre-match hype routine is so infectious that I left the Baltimore Arena that night ready to sign up for a possible NAO reunion tour. Watching the New Age Outlaws wrestle on Smackdown, maybe that sentiment was a bit premature.
This was a fine match but Road Dogg was limited in what he did and while Billy Gunn is certainly in fine in-ring shape, a decade away from the WWE as an active competitor certainly hasn’t improved his already-average in-ring ability. As a one-time deal, however, there was nothing at all wrong here. The fans enjoy the Outlaws and Punk was way over in Philadelphia as usual. The endgame was to get Roman Reigns another big win, which was accomplished when he speared and pinned Billy Gunn. As far as trios matches involving the Shield goes, the match was not exactly memorable, but that says more about the high in-ring standard that group has set over the past year and counting.
Trios Match | Skippable | Novelty
