Sheamus ultimately came up short in his quest to snare the Intercontinental title from Gunther in one of the most physically punishing matches in WWE for many a year.
It was classic WWE in many ways – baiting the crowd superbly with numerous near-falls as the two powerhouses pounded away at each other relentlessly.
After slams on the floor, on steel steps and countless beats and chops proved ultimately not enough to get the job done, the Irishman looked to have triumphed having broken out his trusted White Noise and an Irish Curse, only for Gunther to kick out at the last on both.
In the end, The Ring General would just about edge the match with a crunching clothesline, but it would be Sheamus who stood tall in the ring to soak up the adulation of the fans who’d been firmly behind him.
That had followed a lively six-person tag-team opener that saw Bayley, Dakota Kai and Io Sky defeat Asuka, Alexa Bliss and Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair.
It was Asuka who bore the brunt of the offence, but the real star of the show was Bayley – the massive crowd found her impossible to hate and serenaded her throughout what was her first major match back after injury.
Easily the biggest upset win of the night came as Liv Morgan retained her SmackDown Women’s gold against Shayna Baszler. The challenger had been tipped for a one-sided victory in many quarters but, in truth, it was arguably Morgan who got in the most offence.
As is so often the case, Baszler spent a fair amount of time straining and stretching at her opponents extremities, but couldn’t force a submission from the incumbent, who in turn nailed Baszler with a great looking powerbomb en route to a pinfall victory.
WWE legends Edge and Rey Mysterio enjoyed a mixed night in Cardiff. A thoroughly entertaining tag team match saw them overcome The Judgement Day, thanks to a 619 and Spear Combo, which also saw the Canadian hit a passable 619 of his own.
As the pair celebrated post-match, Rey’s son Dominik shocked all by nailing Edge with a low blow, before wiping out his father with a clothesline – much to the amusement of Judgement Day who watched with glee. The heel turn has been long-awaited and was well executed, leaving options aplenty for the future.
Matt Riddle and Seth Rollins saw their intense rivalry reach a climax in a battle that struggled to find rhythm in its infancy before blossoming into a match of the night candidate.
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Riddle survived a Pedigree and a hanging DDT before eventually succumbing to a second-rope stomp. The two left it all out there with offence in the ring and out in what ended up as breathless encounter, Rollins finally picking up a major win after being starved of big-match successes in recent months.
A confirmed crowd of in excess of 62,000 were vocal throughout as, even without a happy ending or a major surprise to remember, the symbolic start to the tenure of Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque as Head of Creative went off with a bang.
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