The new standard five-game format after returning to the bumper summer slam, wweThe first German PLE, Berlin Carnivalis another great show with a variety of matches and some key story moments.
Overall, these five game cards have been wrestling maniaruns the event with a clear story, clear stakes, and great on-field action. With only five matches, not every talent will get a spot on the card – in that regard, there’s a division between who works on PLE matches and who accordingly only works on promotions and segments raw or smack downwho is wrestling on these weekly shows already makes a lot of sense.
Guntherfor example, work promotional videos and clips raw Because his performance is good enough, his weekly screen time can be devoted solely to character and story work. In contrast, ludwig kaiser Currently doing promotions and There are matches every week because he hasn’t reached a stage where he’s good enough to wrestle on the PLE – he still needs time on the mic and in the ring every week to continue to connect with the audience. There’s no shade here – it’s a system that mostly works. For more information, see CM Punk and Drew McIntyre In contrast, for example Bronson Reed.
That said, there are some other patterns at play. The most glaring of these to me is the difference in treatment of the top singles champions (the “WWE” and “World” champions) in the men’s and women’s divisions. Six PLEs since WrestleMania XLthere have been ten men’s championship matches, while there have only been five women’s championship matches. snort.
Now, I’m not necessarily advocating for every top singles title holder to compete in every big tournament, but I am advocating for better gender equality in this conversation. Once we start thinking about the Intercontinental Championship and the United States Championship, things get even more imbalanced – because No Women’s Intermediate Championship.
The idea behind Stray PLE is summarized below Berlin Carnival card!
Undisputed WWE Champion – Cody Rhodes (c) def. Kevin Owens: tone Will Osprey! I don’t think this was entirely serious, but Owens’ hesitation in using his devastating apron powerbomb was certainly reminiscent of Osprey’s recent crisis of conscience when using his Tiger Driver ’91. early warning aircraft – At least for now, there are different results. Aside from the tension in Owens’ character, the match was decent but never reached the highest possible level. However, Cody’s fairly easy win here does raise the question: How would Cody fare if KO decided to get really mean again?
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship – Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill def. Alba Farrey & Dawn Island (c): After the shock of Fyre and Dawn taking home the belts (and a healthy dose of hometown pop) castle clash and their subsequent meaningless and lackluster title run, order has been restored. Fyre and Dawn are both great talents, but it’s obvious from their inconsistent appearances on weekly television that they have no real creative direction as champions.
The story here is that Fyre and Dawn have never properly defeated the superheroes, and they probably can’t. In fact they can’t. The best moment here was when Cargill showed off some boxing skills, breaking up Belair’s attempts through LaBianca’s long braids. It might be interesting to add more to Cargill’s demo besides “powerful.”
Shoulder Match – CM Punk def. Drew McIntyre: Dog collar vibration detected! It’s the perfect, intense second installment in the Fed’s biggest battle of the year. The tone is completely different from before summer slam Contest by Seth Rollinsthis strap match gave Punk some much-needed narrative comeuppance, as he finally got his legendary charm bracelet back. Just as importantly, this decisive victory reestablished him as a tough, tenacious and dangerous opponent in the ring. As the midpoint of the show, this fierce strapping match also served as Berlin CarnivalVariety on the cards.
Mixed Tag Team Match – Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley won. “Dirty” Dominique Mysterio and Liv Morgan: Another match that was a little unusual, this mixed tag team match was a lot of fun. Everyone’s character work is fantastic, and everyone is better than their previous roles.summer slam betray.
Another flawless performance from the dastardly Dom Mysterio and supporting Liv Morgan as she continues to expand her repertoire with a brilliant display of highway The bomb is here. Despite losing the world heavyweight title, Priest now looks to be enjoying himself. His boxing is also very good, which I don’t think I’ve commented on before. Rhea Ripley is simply charming. She’s definitely one of those people who “doesn’t need to wrestle every week” because she’s so big – and that’s right.
World Heavyweight Championship – Gunther (c) def. Randy Orton: Randy Orton knows how to single-handedly start the “fight feeling” through his demeanor and body language. Watching his pacing, selling and character work in this game was truly watching a master at work. In 2024, with so much power in his physique and real, meaningful promos, Randy Orton has truly never been better in my opinion.
Orton’s performance here actually helped end the show thematically, subtly reminiscent of Kevin Owens’ performance at the top of the card. Orton clearly enjoyed connecting with the crowd and wrestling like a babyface, and after sending Gunther over the announce table, Orton spent a long time posing and soaking in the moment. Orton ultimately lost the match. Knowing his character history, the results here leave some delightful lingering questions: Okay, so theme-singing Randy Orton failed to win the Universal Championship, but using a double kick didn’t What about the moral Randy Orton? Does that Randy still exist? Can the returning man summon him? John Heenan?
Character-wise, what Gunther has been doing lately is adding snobbish European classicism to his promos, which is a positive development. That’s funnier and less problematic than “has a German name and wears a long black coat” (yes, I know those things are not a million miles apart). That said, the game didn’t bring any new dimensions. His performance here is still very good, and certainly not lacking in intensity – but I’d be happy to see him put more of his personality into his in-ring work going forward.
take a bow: This is another really exciting big international show from WWE. As we move further and further away from the PLE calendar, the locale changes really keep the PLE calendar feeling fresh. wrestling mania.
This drama doesn’t feel like anything gapand gap dislike The Lord of the Rings and the Queen. The audience is a major part of a pro wrestling show (because it’s theater!) and different crowds do create different atmospheres. This in turn affects the performer (that’s how magic happens!). Combined with tighter cards, WWE PLE has a new feel, but they still maintain a beautiful and fresh feel thanks to the variety of locations and match types.
