WWE Bragging Rights is the first Pay-per-view I’ve ordered since Wrestlemania (though I got some of the others on DVD and attended SummerSlam) so I figured I should right a quick rundown/review of the show (similar to what I did with SummerSlam a little while back). So let’s get started.

The WWE seems to be going in a new direction in its pay-per-views, replacing its relatively uneventful “lesser pay-per-views” with brand new events, each one with a different theme (sometimes gimmick). I think this is a good idea, since they already have Wrestlemania and SummerSlam to be the big supercard shows, along with the Royal Rumble and Survivor Series (both of the latter being the original themed pay-per-views), the other pay-per-views seemed lackluster and uneventful by comparison. But now WWE has decided all of the pay-per-views that aren’t a part of the “big four” should all have a theme of their own in order to make them stand out more.

Amongst these new themed pay-per-views are Extreme Rules, Breaking Point, Hell in a Cell, the upcoming TLC (that’s Tables, Ladders and Chairs for those unfamiliar with pro-wrestling) and Bragging Rights.

Most of these new pay-per-views are based around particular match types and stipulations, Extreme Rules revolves around various types of hardcore matches (no DQ, anything goes matches) and Breaking Point is based on different kinds of submission matches. I think those concepts work as pay-per-views, though I think the Hell in a Cell and TLC events may be overkill in the fan service department. Don’t get me wrong, I love TLC matches and whatnot, but the event will have every main even be a TLC match, which may prove to be too much of a good thing, you don’t want to be beaten over the head with one particular match type, no matter how good it may be, because then it may lose its impact. I think the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view proves this point, since the Hell in a Cell match, along with the Iron man match, is like the match that usually ends only the most intense of wrestling rivalries. But the Hell in a Cell event featured three of its titular match types, I think that kind of cheapens its effect as the “most diabolical match in all of the WWE ” (as the commentators constantly refer to it).

However, of all these new themed pay-per-views, I think Bragging Rights had the best concept. Instead of being based around a particular match type, it instead is a Smackdown Vs. RAW themed pay-per-view, pitting two of WWE’s brands against each other (though the ECW brand is absent, further proving that the WWE simply doesn’t care about that brand). Three of the five matches on the pay-per-view card were Smackdown vs. RAW themed (the other two were world title matches), with whichever brand claiming two out of three victories being declared the superior brand. I feel this concept isn’t as limited as the other themes of recent pay-per-views and has some potential of being one of those pay-per-views any huge wrestling buff will want to order each year (time will tell).

And with all that said, it’s time now for a rundown of the show!

• The first match of the night was RAW’s United States Champion, The Miz vs. his old tag team partner and Smackdowns Intercontinental Champion, John Morrison. This was a good match to open the show with, but it could have gone on a few minutes longer. The match itself was good, with solid wrestling and some cool moves thrown around. The Miz won the match after avoiding Morrison’s “Starship Pain” maneuver. A good match overall, but just a wee bit on the short side. Raw is 1-0 against Smackdown.

• The second match was the Smackdown vs. RAW  “divas” tag team match. This was destined to be the worst match of the night, though it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. I mean, it wasn’t exactly good, but it wasn’t awful. And unlike most women’s matches in the WWE, it actually tried to be a wrestling match. Smackdown’s team wins and ties the score at 1-1 (like we didn’t see that coming).

• After that we took a break from the Smackdown vs. Raw matches and had Smackdown’s World Heavyweight Championship match. It was a fatal four-way match between the current champion, The Undertaker against former champion CM Punk, Rey Mysterio and Batista. Like the Miz/John Morrison match, it was shorter then it should have been, which is  especially a shame here given that it’s a world title match. But it was still an exciting match with a lot of counters, finishing maneuvers and nearfalls.  The match ended with The Undertaker pinning Batista to retain the World Championship. I’m glad the match ended this way, I almost thought The Undertaker would lose given that the WWE has practically been playing hot potato with its world titles recently. This may actually end up being a good title reign (I hope). After the match, Batista blamed his “best friend” and tag team partner, Rey Mysterio for him being pinned and not winning the title. Then Batista made a long overdue heel turn and attacked Mysterio. I have been wanting either John Cena or Batista to turn heel for a while now, as one of those two becoming a villain would actually make an impact on their respective shows. A Batista/Rey Mysterio rivalry may add something great to the show.

• Up next was the final Smackdown vs. RAW match, which was a seven vs. seven tag team match. Team RAW consisted of co-captains Triple H and Shawn Michaels, Big Show, Mark Henry, Kofi Kingston (now with 100% less Jamaican accent), Cody Rhodes and Jack Swagger. Team Smackdown consisted of co-captains Chris Jericho and Kane, Matt Hardy, R-Truth, DH Smith, Tyson Kidd and Finley. Smackdown’s team previously consisted of completely different wrestlers (save Jericho and Kane) but on the Smackdown before Bragging Rights was completely revamped for reasons I don’t know (though I liked the newer team better anyway). I thought it was a really good match, although I think it might have been made more interesting if it was an elimination tag match (though that may cheapen the effect of Survivor Series’ elimination tag matches, so maybe it’s for the best). There was a good variety of different wrestling styles clashing and a lot of very exciting moments. The ending saw The Big Show betray team RAW to help his tag team partner, Smackdown captain Chris Jericho, pick up the win. I really liked this ending, and it was good to see Smackdown win since they have had consistently better and more original matches and rivalries for a while now. And Jericho getting the pin is always awesome.

• The final match of the show was an hour long, no disqualification  Ironman match between John Cena and WWE Champion Randy Orton. For those who are unaware, an Iron man match is a match set to a particular time limit (usually an hour) with whoever getting the most pinfalls/submissions in the allotted time being the winner. This was another really good match, and it’s nice to know that this was the “final chapter” in the Cena/Orton rivalry (though I expect it will probably come back in a few months, at least we have a break for now). The match had a lot of suspense and Cena and Orton both kept tying the score as soon as the other would get a pinfall. One cool spot saw Cena and Orton both use their finishers at the same time and subsequently pin each other at the same time. Of course, Randy Orton had his lackeys come out and help him get a pinfall on Cena (no DQ after all), only to have Kofi Kingston chase them away moments later (steel chair at hand of course). The problem with this match is that, after a few shots to the head from various objects early on in the match, Cena was a limp, injured husk for a good portion of the match. This led to a few good “storyline” moments, such as Randy Orton trying to blow John Cena up using the pyrotechnics used for the wrestlers’ entrances (ridiculous yes, but very fun). The problem with it was that it just happened too early, and too much of the first half hour was Randy Orton plotting how next to destroy John Cena. I think it would have worked better if there was more wrestling early on, with some story segments later and back to wrestling at the end.  They did, thankfully, do some good wrestling at the end, and overall it was a very good match. The finish saw John Cena make Randy Orton tap out with five seconds left on the clock to become the new WWE champion (though I use the word “new” almost sarcastically, since not only has John Cena been a world champion for the better portions of the last couple of years, but he just lost the title three weeks ago). Afterwards, the commentators hailed it as “one of the greatest matches they have ever seen.” That is a bit of a stretch, especially considering the truly amazing Undertaker/Shawn Michaels match that took place just earlier this year at Wrestlemania. But it was still a great match nonetheless.

So overall, I think Bragging Rights was a really good pay-per-view, and was a good debut for a new pay-per-view with a lot of potential. Pretty much all of the matches had good, solid wrestling and they all had a good finish in one way or another. The Smackdown vs. Raw idea was fun and some storylines and rivalries ended on a good note, while we were introduced to others with great potential (Batista’s heel turn for example). I hope the WWE starts to produce more quality pay-per-views like this and hopefully Bragging Rights will become something every fan can look forward to. A thumbs up for WWE Bragging Rights.