WWEhosted a PLE in Germany for the first time at Bash In Berlin, continuing the increasingly international feel of the company in 2024. Cody Rhodes successfully defended his WWE Championship against a dejected and compromised Kevin Owens, but the Women’s Tag Team Championship changed hands with Bianca Belair and Jade Carghill defeating Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre. Rhea Ripley and Damien Priest had their revenge on Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio, overcoming a run-in from The Judgment Day to score the victory.
CM Punk hit three GTS’s to defeat Drew McIntyre in their strap match to avenge his loss at SummerSlam. The night’s Main Event saw Gunther retain his World Heavyweight Championship with victory over Randy Orton in a grueling and hard-fought title defense. As usual, Winners & Losers recaps the night’s action with facts, context, and opinions about the current state of WWE, during one of the hottest eras in the company’s history. Bash In Berlin aired from the Uber Arena in Berlin, Germany.
Cody Rhodes
The American Nightmare Retains His WWE Championship With Integrity And Grit
Let people talk.Cody Rhodes' WWE Championship title reigncontinues to deliver, drawing from his past on the independents while leaning on his current popularity to create future stories. On the surface, Solo Sikoa and more clashes with The Bloodline await Rhodes, butthe smell of uneasiness in the air as KO and Cody embraced at the end of the match suggests that this story isn’t overyet either.The figure of Roman Reigns looms large over Cody Rhodes too, meaning there are no shortage of intriguing matches for the WWE Champion.
Online discourse is so loud and obnoxious that it forces a conversation. Still, you would never know there is an undercurrent of skepticism to what Cody has done since being crowned at WrestleMania 40.His crowd reactions are at an all-time high, and this barn-burner of a match continues to mock the naysayers.
CM Punk
Punk Levels The Score In His Feud With Drew McIntyre
CM Punk was victorious in his strap match with Drew McIntyrein a night filled with pluses for The Best In The World. Chiefly,it is a win that leaves he and The Scottish Warrior at 1-1following their first meeting at SummerSlam.
This match was also a more exciting, cohesive, and better-received affair, leading into their rumored rubber match at the upcoming Bad Blood PLE.Punk also reclaimed the bracelet with his wife and dog’s name on itafter three GTS’s on McIntyre.
This was CM Punk’s first singles victory in WWE since beating Billy Gunn on the January 20th, 2014 edition of Monday Night Raw.
Most reassuringly for his fans,CM Punk’s body feels a lot more durable after a brutal strap match.This stipulation was picked for its intense physicality. Punk was dropped over the top rope, through a table, and onto the floor outside, all while attached to his opponent by a strap, and he lived to tell the tale.CM Punk’s health is good news for everyone at the top of WWE’s cards.
Jade Carghill and Bianca Belair
The Duo Become Two-Time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions
Jade Carghill and Bianca Belair recaptured the Women’s Tag Team Championship, defeating The Unholy Union of Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre in a rematch from Clash At The Castle. Going on directly after the red-hot reaction to Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens opening the show, the relentless pace, creative offense, and overall fluidity meant this match did not get lost in the shuffle.
Jade Carghill is yet to be pinned or submitted in a WWE ring and her partnership with Belair is something we can look forward toprogressing in the coming months. WrestleMania 41 might be another story.
Spare a thought for The Unholy Union, though. It wouldn’t be right to put them in tonight’s Losers column after a great in-ring showing and being truly infuriating champions. If the pair are to move on from Carghill and Belair after this loss, it will be intriguing to see who is next and how the coming months look for them without the Women’s Tag Team Championship.
The Terror Twins
Rhea Ripley And Damien Priest Come Out On Top
Rhea Ripley and Damien Priest scored a win over Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio in their first tag team match togetheras The Terror Twins. The chemistry that they’ve shown in every TV segment since leaving The Judgment Day continued in their in-ring work in an entertaining back-and-forth match. Ripley mauling Dominik Mysterio felt incredible and like it should be a regular fixture of WWE programming in the months ahead.
In the wider picture,Ripley pinning Morgan feels like a marker being thrown down ahead of Bad Blood in October. The women’s feud of the year is coming to a head and the victor is anybody’s guess. With Dominik Mysterio’s involvement in the upcoming Intercontinental Championship number one contender’s tournament,this leaves Damien Priest finally able to settle the score with Finn Balorfor double-crossing him at SummerSlam.
Gunther and Randy Orton
A Brutal World Heavyweight Championship Main Event For Berlin To Savor
Gunther winning in Europe during the first month of his reign as World Heavyweight Champion is not a shock, no matter who the opponent might be.The big Austrian had to dig deep and overcome an onslaught to an injured right arm,but choking out 14-time World Champion Randy Orton for a TKO victory felt inevitable. He will take some stopping, and it will be very interesting to see who fancies the challenge on Monday night’s edition of Raw.
Will Smith slapping Chris Rock, Taylor Swift beginning to date Travis Kelce, Barbenheimer, and CM Punk coming back to Pro Wrestling in AEW. These are all things that have happened since Randy Orton last won a singles match on a PLE at WrestleMania 37. YetThe Viper can still go to Berlin and garner a hero’s reception. That is why he can still be considered a winner despite coming up short.He needs a win at a big show soon, but nothing can taint Randy Orton in the eyes of the audience.
The Five Match PLE
WWE’s New Format For PLE Has Satisfying Benefits
When done correctly,each match on a WWE PLE event should be the resolution or furthering of the story/stories that each character is trying to tell. Each feud has weeks or months of build up that leads to a match at a PLE. These matches need time to fulfill the significance of their build-up.With five matches taking place, everything feeld like it matters.
Take The Unholy Union as an example. Since winning the Women’s Tag Team Championship in May, Dawn and Fyre have elevated their standing in the eyes of the audience. If they are to pass up those titles to Carghill and Belair, it feels more significant when it isn’t lost in the shuffle.Only five matches occurring at WWE’s big payoff event for the month help achieve the ethos that everything matters.
Losers
Kevin Owens
As was mentioned more than a few times in the run-up to the match and during it,Kevin Owens hasn’t held the WWE Championship for seven long years. Considering the agony of his numerous near misses against Roman Reigns,this latest setback felt disastrous.His hesitancy to hit Cody with the powerbomb-to-the-apron causes questions about whether he has the temperance or guts to be WWE Champion.
Kevin Owens is now one of the most intriguing characters in WWE. Arguably, nobody has suffered at the hands of both versions of The Bloodline more than Owens. His fury at the idea of Roman being gifted a rematch after four months away puts him at odds with the feelings of WWE’s audience.Something is brewing and something has got to give if KO is to ever overcome his habit of falling at the final hurdle.
The Judgment Day
A Rough Night For The Most Despised Faction In WWE
Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio vs Rhea Ripley and Damien Priest was arguably the most difficult match to predicton the Bash In Berlin card. From that perspective,a loss wasn’t a disaster for The Judgment Day. But losing when the numbers game is five-to-two in your favor? That loss looks a lot more damning.
It’s early days for the “no leaders” version of The Judgment Day.This is less than a month since the big reveal of their union at SummerSlam. But with Rhea Ripley up next for Liv Morgan, Dominik Mysterio in a tournament where the prize is to face notorious face-smasher Bron Breakker, and Finn Balor on a collision course with Damien Priest,they’ve got to get their house in order and fast.
