WWE Bash In Berlin 2024 Review | GUNTHER'S VICTORIOUS HOMECOMING!

what is going on you guys this is Derek J speaks and we are talking about WWE bash in Berlin 2024 live from the Uber arena in Berlin Germany WWE's latest International plle and yet again an amazing International crowd going absolutely insane all throughout the night well day for me night for them but an unbelievable crowd I still think that the crowd in Leon France earlier in the year for backlash was a smidge louder but this one was on fire particularly for the two big world title matches that bookended the show the one at the very beginning and of course the one at the end which featured Randy Orton challenging gother for the World Heavyweight Championship of course Gunther is Austrian but he has spent a significant portion of his career wrestling in Germany it is his adopted Hometown so therefore this was basically a homecoming for Gunther here and he got to close the show with one of the all-time greats in Randy Orton and they put on a damn good Main Event match for the World Heavyweight Championship nothing overly flashy nothing nothing crazy like no hugee high spots no finishing spams and all that kind of stuff it was just a straight up fight between these two and they were beating the hell out of each other all throughout this entire match Randy was working over Gunther's arm in the match of course Randy has his surgically repaired back which gother targeted at different points with his chops and just very Smashmouth kind of violence between these two but it was great and more importantly the crowd bought into all of it they were going crazy this was the main event of this show and they were treating this like it was the opener with how crazy they were going at one point early on in the match they were doing a wave and at that point I'm like okay maybe they're going a little too far but no they were still with the match even Randy Orton was playing along with it they were really into it this was not an overly Pro Gunther anti Randy Orton crowd either like they they cheered for Gunther but at different points it sounded like Randy Orton was getting bigger cheers than even Gunther was but then other points in the match where Randy was on top for a longer period of time and Gunther was fighting from underneath Randy was getting small booze you could hear some small booze for him but that's just because they love Gunther so much but these two mesh well together they had their match back at King of the Ring and that was a really good match this one even better even better and it ended far more decisively than that one did of course Randy had the shoulder up on the the pinfall during that match at King of the Ring this one here after a huge back and forth after at one point Randy Orton very slowly oh all the be it but he still took the time to place the steel steps next to the announce table cleared off the announce table and dragged Gunther all the way over there and backd dropped him down through the announce table which the effort that it took to set that up was quite interesting but I still thoroughly enjoyed it and that was just a taste of a lot of the brutality between these two at one point gother was setting up to deliver a Power Bomb on Randy Orton but because Randy was working over gother arm all throughout the match he was struggling to lift him up so there was some drama with that something that simple you know a lot of these matches which I I tend to enjoy you know a lot of the matches with the big moves and the the Dives and all that kind of stuff and people kicking out of each other's finishers we had a match or two like that on this show in fact you know and there is a time and place for that but I do enjoy when you get guys who are true professional who can go out there and just do the the basics and get it over and really sell it speaking of selling these two sold each other's stuff like death every time Gunther hit a chop on Randy Orton Randy Orton his body his facial expressions everything sold it like it hurt which you would hope that they would do but so rarely do we see that very often Gunther same thing he looked like he was in pain throughout this match and that added to the drama of it but as we wind down of course Randy did hit an RKO which Gunther kicked out of gother did eventually Hit That Power Bomb and Randy Orton also kicked out of that but what it came down to was a good oldfashioned sleeper hold Gunther locked in a sleeper he couldn't get it fully applied due to his arm injury that was getting worked over throughout the entire match but Randy he was trying to fight out of it at different points he did fight out of it but Gunther was able to quickly reapply it and put it right back on and in the end it was too much for Randy to overcome and Gunther is still the World Heavyweight Champion and a nice show of respect in the postmatch when gother shook hands with Randy Orton and then as they went into the post show they very quickly cut to Gunther getting interviewed by Kathy Kelly and he spoke to the crowd in German of course and whatever he said it popped the crowd so sent them home happy and sent me home happy with a a great main event on a great show like this and this was just one of two great world championship matches on this show because the other world title opened the show that being Cody rhods and Kevin Owens for the WWE championship I thought this too was a great match it was a great way to open the show it was our first real sign of how great this crowd was going to be of course Smackdown the previous night was also but on this particular show this was a great first glimpse of what this crowd was going to be bringing to the table and they were up for this entire match and I appreciated the storytelling in this match of course Cody and Kevin Owens two great athletes Cody rhods more often than not Comes Out Swinging with great pay-per-view matches or PL matches I should say say but Kevin Owens no slouch either his first shot at winning his first championship in seven years which is insane that it has been seven years since Kevin Owens has held a singles championship and unfortunately for him that weight is going to last a little little bit longer because he could not get the job done against Cody rhods mainly because he could not pull the trigger when it counted the most the previous night on Smackdown Kevin Owens introduced this idea that Cody rhods has a knee injury he injured his knee during the international Tour on the house shows and so here in this match Cody really wasn't selling it that much but it got to a point where he started to sell it a little bit more and then the real breaking point was when he went up top looking to come off and deliver the Cody cutter he kind of winced and his knee buckled and Kevin Owens looked like he was about to charge at it but he didn't do it so then they go to the outside Kevin Owens then does go after the knee but then when he gets Cody in position to hit him with the apron Power Bomb he hesitates and he decides not to do it he can't do it Wade Barrett on commentary is really hyping up the fact that Kevin Owens doesn't have that killer instinct right now that Killer Instinct that led him to all those Championship victories that he had seven and eight years ago it wasn't showing up here when it should have but back in the ring they're going back and forth they're trading some finishers Cody hits the crossroads Kevin Owens hits the stunner at one point Cody is going for the Triple Crossroads and he hits two of them but then Kevin Owens escapes hits his own stunner only good for a two count and then as KO goes up top for a Swanton Cody gets the knees up and then he hits one more Crossroads and gets the win after the match he helps up Kevin Owens and Kevin is looking dejected he's very disappointed in himself but a great sport like he is goes over and he raises Cody's arm and he gives him a hug it's interesting because with the way this was handled they they hug but we only see Kevin owens's facial expression and he looks just very done very disappointed and he kind of shoes he pushes the camera away to like almost not even focus on his face in that moment and then when Cody's trying to raise Kevin's arm he refuses and he just raises Cody's arm again so really great match but the storytelling was Top Notch here with them really forcing the idea that Kevin Owens you know he just couldn't get that he couldn't get the job done because he refused to go for the kill he had the opportunity to hit that apron bomb that he's hit on so many people before but he couldn't do it here the whole story heading into this match is can Kevin Owens be trusted to not turn on Cody rhods seeing as how he has done it countless times with countless other people in the past they brought that up and it didn't happen here you thought maybe they they might do it in the postmatch but they did the hug and the handshake and then they cut away setting up for the next match so we didn't get the heel turn on this show does that mean we are not going to get it at all that question is yet to be answered we'll see how television plays out this upcoming week and the weeks to come smackdown's moving over to USA Network in about a week and a half from now from this recording so I'm sure that show will be loaded up with something what I hope is on that show is Solo seoa getting a championship match against Cody rhods because for some reason WWE is pushing the idea that solo seoa once again wants to go after the Championship I think we all suffered enough from the match at SummerSlam it was boring and it's one of the rare blemishes on Cody rhs's pay-per-view record this year in his championship title matches that have all really been great aside from that one which was not how one would look at that match and think we would want to see it again is beyond me and I hope they don't try to save it for the bad blood pay-per-view in October if you're going to do that match if you must do that match to set up yet another Roman Reigns return do it on that Smackdown show and just do it there so we don't have to waste another month of building up to a pay-per-view match that there if you want to see what I would like to see is one of two things either you stay on the Kevin Owens stuff I would love to see Cody and Kevin Owens go at it yet again in a big match so you can play off of that you can have Kevin Owens pull the trigger and actually turn heel and then you set up a rematch at Bad Blood where in that match Kevin Owens does hit the apron Power Bomb or even if it's not until that match he hits it at some point building up to that match to set that up and to turn heel so Kevin Owens newly fresh turned heel Kevin Owens is a great baby face but he's an even greater heel and SmackDown right now needs some top heels so I think Kevin Owens would fit that bill very nicely so that's one option another option is Randy Orton who just lost to gother Randy Orton is a Smackdown guy that's one thing another thing on this show had a great match with Gunther but he lost this is yet another loss for Randy Orton on pay-per-view this year he has lost every single match he has had on a plle this year in 2024 he has not won a plle match since his return at Survivor Series last year so it's been a while since Randy Orton's gotten a victory he could return to SmackDown and see how Cody handed out a championship match to Kevin Owens and think to himself that he is entitled to a match as well and that coupled with all the losing they didn't really focus on Randy Orton too much during the postmatch but they did kind of look at him a little bit and he also looked very dejected which he should he lost in the main event of the show that should matter but I think and maybe I'm looking too deep into it but I think that could be setting up that maybe Randy Orton also is a little pissed off and he might be looking to let out some frustration on Cody rhods because there's no doubt the biggest match to do with Cody rhods currently with your current roster on Smackdown is Cody rhods and Randy Orton the only the only thing that could top it is Cody Rose versus Roman Reigns which they're not going to do but in terms of a heel Babyface Dynamic turning Randy Orton heel and having him Feud with Cody rhods would be one of the bigger matches you can do on Smackdown right now outside of that continuing on with the Kevin Owen stuff could also be a really good idea and I'm kind of torn on which one I would want to do because you can do either or and I think it would be very entertaining I think either heel Kevin Owens or heel Randy Orton can really add a nice extra element to SmackDown that it has been lacking for a few months now even with Roman returning for a few weeks and then immediately leaving again there is just a little bit of something missing on Smackdown and I think it's that extra top heel again you have Solo seoa in the bloodline but that's its own isolated thing you either take it or leave it outside of that when it pertains to Cody and who he's programmed with there's not a whole lot of interesting options there so turning a Kevin Owens heel or turning a Randy Orton heel and having them cut these deep cut promos and having them be vicious and sadistic and selfish and all of that stuff that we know those two can pull off individually as great heel car on the show I think that would be something very nice to have on the show so we'll see if they go that route I hope either one and I will also add either option either Kevin Owens or Randy Orton heal against Cody rhods you set the match up for bad blood and whoever it is I say they beat Cody Rhodes for the WWE championship at bad blood I am cool with either Randy Orton or Kevin Owens as the heel beating Cody for the championship at bad blood in October in Atlanta I think that would be great I don't need Cody rhods to be Champion all throughout the year if they want to do that fine but if they want to spice things up a little bit turn someone heal and give them the championship and let Cody Chase to get it back I think that would work and I think either man would be perfect for that role outside of those two matches another big match on this show was the strap match between CM Punk and Drew McIntyre this blood Feud is continuing over onto this show and I thought they had a great match I enjoyed their SummerSlam match I did think it lacked a little bit of the intensity that was expected heading into it based on the buildup and the feud heading into it but I still enjoyed it this match I enjoyed far more for that very reason that it w it did feel more intense and the added element of the leather strap helped it because these two were whipping the mess out of each other throughout this match at one point Punk was busted open on the forehead it looked like it was hard way I don't think he bladed it looked like a real legit cut on his head but the blood while he wasn't gushing blood or anything it did add an extra element to this match and made it more enjoyable even more so than all that the way WWE does their strap matches is you touch the four corners in succession and you have to touch all four to get the win usually not a big fan of that I I personally find it a little bit goofy especially with the lights and all that but in this particular match with the way these two men worked within the confines of that stipulation I thought they did a tremendous job and there was some really cool drama spots with this stipulation added into it you know along with them whipping each other with the strap and tossing each other around using the steel chairs at one point McIntyre dumped Punk through a a table I thought the drama of who's going to reach the corners in succession I thought that was really cool there was one part where McIntyre had Punk on his shoulders and as McIntyre's walking around touching all four corners Punk is also doing it and so once they reach that fourth one and they're both trying to get to it they're fighting over it and there's a tug-of ward type of moment there where they're trying to reach for it so I thought that worked very well and the Finish was very cathartic for CM Punk as he was able to hit Drew McIntyre actually before he hit him with the GTS he locked in the Sharpshooter of course Bret Hart is one of his all-time favorites he locked him in the Sharpshooter McIntyre's tapping out he's grabbing the Rope none of it's working because of course there's no rules here so with McIntyre out punk goes for the turnbuckles but Drew is able to revive himself he gets up once he gets back up he pulls out the bracelet of course the bracelet that has AJ's name on it and Larry the dog's name on it and he hits Punk with a claymore and as Drew is walking around hitting the turnbuckles he hits three three he goes for the fourth one and that's when punk pulls him back in hits him with the GTS and then Punk starts to go to grab the turnbuckles but then Drew grabs onto his leg and so Punk lifts him up hits him with another GTS and then Punk he hits one turnbuckle he hits a second one then he lifts McIntyre up and hits him with yet another GTS and then he hits the third turnbuckle and then once again he lifts him up on his shoulders hits him with the go to sleep and then he pulls off the bracelet from McIntyre's wrist puts it back on and using that same hand with his bracelet on it hits that fourth turnbuckle and he gets the win huge Ovation for CM Punk here who the crowd loved and great match again I thought with the way the stipulation works I thought they did a great job of really adding the drama to it and I thought punk I mean it was pretty funny it was a little ridiculous but it was pretty funny seeing him just constantly get McIntyre up on his shoulders and hit him with a go to sleep it did get to a certain point where it's was like oh man he has the match one here it was when he was on that final Buckle where it's like you got the match won go ahead and do it but and you're think thinking in the back of your mind like oh is he going to get screwed is he going to screw himself out of this is somebody going to come out so I think that they that was intentional and they were adding that in there for you to think that in the back of your mind but nope he got the win now as you all know as many people know the longstanding rumor for the past several months is that the Bad Blood pay-per-view in October is going to set up a Hell in a Cell match and the rumors and the speculation is that that Hell in a Cell match will be between Drew McIntyre and CM Punk you can conceivably see that with how personal of a blood Feud this has been all year but with this outcome in this particular match I'm not sure right now how that gets set up I'm very curious to see on TV these next few weeks how they set the gears in motion for that type of stipulation match at the next pay-per-view so I'm curious to see how that works out but as for now with this show great stuff and then the other two matches on the show were tag team matches one of them was for the women's Tag Team titles as Alba fire and Isa Dawn defended against Jade Cargill and Bianca belir pretty decent match nothing Grand or special about it but we got new Champions Jade Cargill and Bianca belir regain their belts not a very inspiring reign as champions for Isa and Alba but such is the the state of the women's tag team Division I suspect Jade and Bianca will hold on to these belts until they start to build the sension between the two of them and we will lead to an eventual singles match between jade Cario and Bianca belir at WrestleMania 41 next year in Vegas so a long road headed towards that match but I do think that is the other side of this tag team title run for them so we will see if that is the direction they head into and then of course we had a mixed tag team match where Dominic Mysterio teamed up with Liv Morgan to take on Ria Ripley and Damen priest and what was an overall fun match it had the spots that you would expect of course the two baby faces super over crowd loves priest the crowd is obsessed with RI Ripley and they absolutely detest and despise Liv Morgan and Dominic Mysterio so that played a role here of course the heels got some heat but the baby faces beating the crap out of the two heels was working here at one point we did get to see Ria Ripley beat up Dominic Mysterio including a nice call back where she got him in the corner and had him in a leg scissors while she was sitting on the top turnbuckle a nice very nice call back to way before Dominic ever joined the Judgment Day and he and Rey Mysterio were going up against them a very very different looking Judgment Day back then and Ria was tormenting Dominic heading into that so the crowd erupted it almost blew the volume of my TV with how loud the crowd got for that spot and of course we had Judgment Day interference Caro JD MCD Finn Balor himself self at one point priest almost got him for a choke slam but Dominic interfered with it so we didn't get to see priest lay out fin in this match still building that match up for the future but in the end the baby faces did get the win with priest taking out Dom on the announced table and then back in the ring Ria hit Liv with the Rip Tide so she pinned the world champion the faces win the terror twins get the win here the crowd loves it and this clearly sets up RI Ripley to once again get a shot at Liv Morgan and the world championship she pinned her so clearly that's going to set that match up I suspect that bad blood where I think we will get not only Ria regaining her Women's World Championship but in that match we will see what we did not see in this one which is Ria laying out Dom with the rip tide and and as for Balor and priest they could have their match at bad blood but I'm very curious as how long they're going to go with keeping Balor and priest apart we have bad blood we also have crown jewel in early November and we have Survivor Series I'm curious to see if they could potentially hold off until WrestleMania but I don't think they can hold off on the first match all the way until WrestleMania maybe they can prolong this out make an interesting enough to where you can blow this off at WrestleMania but I suspect on one of these next three in fact the last three shows of the year I suspect one of those shows is where we will see the first Finn Balor Damian priest match and that'll be cool too so that wraps this show up top to bottom five match card very tight card the reports came out this week that WWE is very pleased with these shorter paper PL cards and they look to continue them I think stretching it out to six or seven is not bad I also think adding a tag team championship a men's Tag Team Championship Match onto one of these shows once in a while might not be such a bad thing either but even still this was a very good show I enjoyed it not a bad match on this entire show and the fans were're into all of it especially those two really big world title matches at the start and at the end and speaking of the end that is the end of this review so if you like what you heard like what you saw hit that like button subscribe to the channel and follow me on Twitter SLX Dereck jpaks next time I'm coming at you guys is next week next Saturday night for aew allout that is three straight weeks of pay-per-view ples so much wrestling but I'm enjoying it so far so I'm not going to compare Allin to this show either but I enjoyed all in and I enjoyed this show and I hope to enjoy all out next week shaping up to be a good card for that so we will talk about that when we get to it but as for now thank you guys for listening take care