5 takeaways from WWE Super Showdown in Australia

The 5 biggest takeaways from the WWE PPV Super Show-Down held in Melbourne Australia on the October 6, 2018. This event was attended by a crowd of over 70,000 making it one of the biggest WWE events of all time.

1. We are only going to see John Cena at Major Occasions:

John Cena was back in Melbourne Australia in a tag match partnering Bobby Lashley against the team of Kevin Owens and Elias.

Sporting hair and a lean frame “The face that runs the place” was seldom called into action but when he did, he entered the match to devastating effect, ending the contest with his new 6th move of Doom recently devised under the tutelage of Jackie Chan in China.

Most telling was Cena’s speech post-match. Addressing the crowd, he acknowledged his absence from the WWE and his burgeoning movie career which is gaining significant momentum with the release of major movies recently like Blockers, Daddy’s Home 2 and the upcoming Bumblebee a Transformers prequel.

Ala the Rock he restated that the WWE will always be home and rather then think about what the future brings he wanted to think about and be in the moment now. In front of 70,000+ people it felt like a semi goodbye from the man most synonymous with the WWE over the last decade.

John Cena

The Iconics

2. The “Iconic’s” aren’t so Iconic:

Billie Kay and Peyton Royce the team known as the “Iconics” returned home to Australia to perform in front of their largest ever Australian crowd.

It is a remarkable rise for the Australian duo who were scouted by the WWE on a previous Australian tour in 2014. In the last 4 years they have developed through the internal WWE farm system known as “NXT” and on to the main roster joining the Smack Down brand post the last set of call ups from NXT.

However even with a win on the night against Nyomi and Asuka their performance was tinged with nerves and would be far from the polished performance that the WWE would have liked from the duo on the night.

It is hard to see these two being more then mid card fodder on Smackdown. That said if a rumoured women’s tag division is created post the all-female Evolution pay per view later this month it could be the salvation and opportunity these two are looking for to advance their career. At the moment it’s hard to see them constructing a hall of fame career or even a memorable WWE run.

Ronda Rousey

3. Ronda’s Redemption:

The RAW Women’s champion teaming with the Bella Twins showed a lot of emotion pre and post-match. Melbourne, the city must be a location which haunts the Rowdy one’s dreams on a consistent basis or take centre stage in her nightmares when she closes her eyes at night.

It was in Melbourne that she was knocked out by Holly Holmes ending her undefeated streak in the UFC relinquishing her Bantamweight title.

Her MMA career effectively ended that night, she would go on to fight Amanda Nunes 13 months later but only to suffer her second professional defeat. Returning to Melbourne and winning against the RIOT squad was the culmination of her career rebirth in the WWE.

At the end of the match you could see Ronda was deeply touched by the reception that she received from the Australian crowd who have always been highly supportive of her career. Repeatedly saying thank you, staying in the ring for a considerable time after the match to soak in the crowd and reception with the Bella’s.

Maybe the nightmare has finally ended and Ronda can proudly declare she is once again the “Badest Women on the Planet”.

Buddy Murphy

4. Australia has a legitimate WWE Super Star:

The best kept secret “Buddy Murphy” may no longer be a secret at all. Winning the cruiserweight championship tonight against Cedric Alexander. The match was fast paced, electric and had a plethora of high-flying manoeuvres executed by two 205 pounder's at the top of their respective games.

Buddy, who was born and raised in Melbourne Australia soaked up the home town advantage, which was palpable. Adding to an atmosphere which must have intimidated Cedric Alexander as he looked to retain his title. Cedric, executing a number of his signature moves could not put away the Australian who rallied to ultimately get the win in front of his home crowd.

The crowd rewarded the new champion with a celebration befitting the coronation of the new 205 king. Buddy is the only Australian to hold WWE titles having first captured the NXT tag team championships and now adding the WWE Cruiserweight Championship to a career you feel is about to legitimately take-off.

Undertaker

5. Shawn Michael's will come out of Retirement:

The main event from Super Show Down was billed as the final showdown between Triple H and the undertaker but it should have been billed as the return to in-ring competition in the WWE for Shawn Michael's

Shawn was as active in a match as we have seen him since his retirement and whilst assisting Triple H to pick up the win on the night both the Undertaker and Kane who accompanied Taker to the ring left their mark on both Triple H and Shawn Michael's after the match.

The PPV ended with Shawn being driven through the announcers table to surely setup his official in-ring return later on in the year at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia.

The deal that WWE has with the Saudi Arabian government to host a series of PPV’s in the country means that WWE has the financial clout to lure retired legends back to the squared circle. Regardless of the 'why?', I think we would all genuinely be excited to see the Heartbreak Kid go around one more time.