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The WWE Super Show-Down event took place in Melbourne, Australia on Saturday.
From the Raw brand, the featured match saw The Undertaker (w/Kane) face Triple H (w/Shawn Michaels) for the final time, while The Shield took on Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre in a six-man tag.
John Cena also appeared on the show, joining forces with Bobby Lashley against Elias & Kevin Owens, and Ronda Rousey teamed with The Bella Twins against The Riott Squad.
From the SmackDown Live brand, AJ Styles put his WWE Championship on the line against Samoa Joe in a No Disqualification match, Charlotte Flair challenged Becky Lynch for the SmackDown Women’s Championship, and SmackDown Tag Team champions The New Day faced The Bar.
Elsewhere, Daniel Bryan went one-on-one with The Miz in a WWE Championship #1 contender match, Asuka & Naomi took on the Aussie duo of Billie Kay & Peyton Royce, and Melbourne’s own Buddy Murphy challenged Cedric Alexander for the Cruiserweight Championship.
In this article, let’s break down every match and analyse what was good and bad about the show.
#1 SmackDown Tag Team Championship: The New Day (c) def. The Bar
Match: The New Day had plenty of offence early on but The Bar turned it around by slamming Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods into the ring post. Cesaro locked in a lengthy sharpshooter on Woods but Kingston was able to break it up. Sheamus was then taken out at ringside, while Cesaro was unable to kick out after being hit with a backstabber from Woods and a double stomp from Kingston.
Verdict: This wasn't a bad match by any means but it wasn't quite as action-packed as The New Day's recent matches. Kingston's unique acrobatics were a highlight. Other than that, this was the kind of encounter you'd expect to see on Raw or SmackDown Live.
Grade: C+
#2 SmackDown Women's Championship: Charlotte Flair def. Becky Lynch (c) via disqualification
Match: Becky Lynch got off to a flying start, rag-dolling Charlotte Flair out of the ring before throwing her back in moments later to put her in an armbar. The rest of the match was back-and-forth, full of heavy strikes and great sequences. Lynch tried to walk away with her title but she was prevented from doing so by Flair, who hit her rival with a second spear before attempting the Figure Eight. Lynch then struck Flair with the title to cause a disqualification.
Verdict: It seemed strange that this match was second on the card, but the finish explained it all. Lynch is the biggest fan favourite the women's division has seen in years, yet she tried to walk out with her title like a cowardly heel in front of 70,000 people who were chanting "Let's go Becky!". The match itself was very good but the storyline development was underwhelming.
Grade: B
#3 John Cena & Bobby Lashley def. Kevin Owens & Elias
Match: After a couple of insults towards the crowd pre-match, Kevin Owens and Elias dominated Bobby Lashley for much of this encounter. John Cena then finally tagged in and hit his vintage Cena sequence on Elias, followed by his new "Sixth Move of Doom", before pinning him for the 1-2-3. The 16-time world champion got on the mic after the match, saying he has no idea what his WWE future holds.
Verdict: Super Show-Down was expected to be a glorified live event and this match summed that up perfectly. Cena was in the match less than a minute and didn't have a single bit of offence thrown his way.
Grade: C
#4 The IIconics def. Asuka & Naomi
Match: It looked like this match could go either way until Billie Kay threw Asuka into the barricade at ringside. The IIconics then hit a double-team move on Naomi in the middle of the ring, with Peyton Royce pinning the former SmackDown Women's champion to pick up a rare victory for the Aussie duo in front of their home fans.
Verdict: This was better than expected. Asuka and Naomi performed well together as a team, despite the loss, and will surely be in the reckoning to win the Women's Tag Team titles when they're inevitably introduced. From a storyline perspective, it's disappointing to see the once-unstoppable Asuka lose matches like this, but it makes sense given the opposition and location.
Grade: B-
#5 WWE Championship No Disqualification: AJ Styles (c) def. Samoa Joe
Match: Both men were more fired-up than ever at the start of this match, with Samoa Joe especially aggressive with a series of chops, elbows and heavy strikes. AJ Styles used his athleticism to get plenty of offence in but Joe countered multiple times with his sheer power. Once the weapons were introduced, Joe used the chair to good effect before he was dropped through a table by Styles, causing the challenger's knee to 'pop'. In the end, despite a resurgence from Joe, Styles made his opponent submit to the Calf Crusher.
Verdict: There was nothing 'glorified' or 'live event' about this. Styles and Joe had the crowd hooked from start to finish to produce one of the best WWE Championship matches in a very long time. Joe looked like a possible winner throughout, making this a lot more compelling than the rest of the matches on the card.
Grade: A
#6 Ronda Rousey & The Bella Twins def. The Riott Squad
Match: The Riott Squad were in control for much of this match against both Bella Twins, especially when Liv Morgan got her revenge on Brie Bella with a couple of heavy kicks. The momentum changed when Ronda Rousey entered and rag-dolled all three members of The Riott Squad before making Morgan and Sarah Logan tap out to armbars at the same time.
Verdict: This was way better than it had any right to be. The sequences between Brie and Morgan were very good and, unlike in her match at Hell In A Cell against Alexa Bliss, Rousey looked like the megastar here that she truly is. The only hint of dissension between Rousey and Nikki came at the start when they were deciding who should begin the match, so we'll have to wait until Monday's episode of Raw for an update on their rumoured encounter at Evolution.
Grade: B
#7 Cruiserweight Championship: Buddy Murphy def. Cedric Alexander (c)
Match: Buddy Murphy almost got the win within seconds when he caught Cedric Alexander with a knee to the face. Both men had lots of impressive offence, notably Alexander when he landed a Michinoku Driver from the top rope and Murphy when he hit a sit-out powerbomb from the corner. In the end, Murphy kicked out of the Lumbar Check before connecting with another knee, followed by a Pumphandle Death Valley Driver, to win the title in front of his hometown crowd.
Verdict: This was the biggest match of Murphy's career and he didn't disappoint. WWE's "Best Kept Secret" received the most passionate crowd reactions on a night that he will never forget. Alexander has been a decent champion for 205 Live but the high-flying Murphy showed here that he is perfectly capable of being the brand's top guy.
Grade: A
#8 The Shield def. Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre
Match: The biggest moment came when Roman Reigns delivered an accidental Superman Punch to Dean Ambrose, who then teased an alliance with his opponents before joining forces with The Shield again. After several finishers, including Reigns hitting a spear on Braun Strowman through the barricade, Ambrose got the win for The Shield following a Dirty Deeds on Dolph Ziggler.
Verdict: This match had a chaotic start and finish but the rest felt very flat. There's something about The Shield right now that just isn't clicking like it should with the audience. If all four male titles are involved in one storyline, you'd expect it to be the hottest angle in the company, but this doesn't feel that way. The sooner some title changes take place on Raw, the better.
Grade: B-
#9 WWE Championship #1 contender: Daniel Bryan def. The Miz
Match: The Miz mocked Daniel Bryan in the early stages by doing the "Yes!" taunt and hitting him with a running knee. Bryan then reversed a Skull Crushing Finale into a roll-up to pick up a surprisingly quick victory in just 2 minutes and 25 seconds.
Verdict: That was abrupt! Did Miz try to get his shoulder up between the 2-count and 3-count and fail to do so in time? Or was this really the planned finish?! Roll on Bryan vs. AJ Styles, I guess, but this was a very underwhelming outcome.
Grade: C
#10 No Disqualification 'Last Time Ever': Triple H (w/Shawn Michaels) def. The Undertaker (w/Kane)
Match: Triple H put Kane through a ringside table with an elbow drop before kicking out of a tombstone from The Undertaker, who reacted by punching the referee. A second referee was set to count to three after HHH landed a knee drop on The Undertaker but Kane dragged him out of the ring. In the end, after some sledgehammer strikes, Shawn Michaels hit 'Taker with a superkick and HHH followed it up with a Pedigree to pick up the win.
Post-match: Triple H and Michaels showed respect to Undertaker and Kane, and the show looked set to end with all four men raising their arms in the middle of the ring. However, Undertaker then hit HHH with a tombstone before chokeslamming HBK through the announce table.
Verdict: From a storyline perspective, this was very good. Triple H finally defeated his long-term rival and the finale perfectly sets up the inevitable tag match between the four men at Crown Jewel. The match quality wasn't the best, but that was to be expected. Overall, this was an entertaining main event, even if it did go on far too long.
Grade: B
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