WWE 5 Best Segments This Week: Ronda Rousey Destroys Everyone

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Daniel Bryan vs. Big E vs. Samoa Joe vs. The Miz vs. Rusev Gaunlet Match

If this were any other week, this would probably be number 1. Nonetheless, this was a fantastic gaunlet match. I dare even call it a perfect gaunlet match. From how it was booked to the performances from all five guys, this was genuinely flawless.

SmackDown’s whole 2nd hour of TV was given to this gaunlet match, and I loved that. It’s always great when we get a large amount of wrestling on our wrestling show. The winner of this match would challenge AJ Styles for WWE Title at Extreme Rules. The match starts with Daniel Bryan being the first to enter, encountering the Bludgeon Brothers on his way to the ring. The three have a stare down, but Bryan ultimately goes to the ring unharmed. Bryan is perfect for the role of starting this match, playing the under dog baby face that everyone wants to see win having the odds stacked against him coming out first.

Big E would enter next, making it Daniel Bryan vs. Big E to start the match. This was really a star-making performance by Big E. A great match put on by him and Bryan, with the story of the match being the contrasting styles between the two. Bryan would try throughout the match trying to work a technical and submission based style, while Big E would try to use his raw power and size to defeat Bryan.

Some of the highlights included Big E’s death-defying spear through the ropes to the floor, and some excellent transitions of submission moves from Bryan. Bryan ultimately would outlast Big E and win via pin off of the running knee.

Out next was Samoa Joe, in what was probably my favorite part of this gaunlet match. Bryan having already been worn down, Joe could look to punish Bryan, having the size advantage, but also being the submission specialist that he is. There was one spot I particularly enjoyed where Joe would hit Bryan with a power bomb, then transition that into a modified Boston crab, then transitioning that into an STF, then transitioning that into a cross face. Beautiful stuff.

There was one scary moment where Bryan took a power slam from Joe where he appeared to land on his head. Knowing Bryan’s history, any time we see something like this it’s scary, but thankfully he was okay. The finish of this match was brilliant. Joe had Bryan in the Coquina Clutch outside the ring. Joe’s strategy appeared to be to put Bryan to sleep, leave him outside the ring, and get the count out victory. Bryan however would counter out by climbing up the barricade and forcing Joe to the ground by flipping over him. Bryan ran back into the ring, and Joe was unable to get back in before the 10 count. Excellent finish.

This led to The Bludgeon Brothers coming back to the ring, taking out Bryan with a double power bomb. This was perfectly timed as then The Miz would make his entry to the match, quickly hit Bryan with a Skull Crushing Finale, pinning Bryan for the win. This was absolutely wonderful booking. Having Bryan fight through two grueling matches with Big E and Samoa Joe, only to have Miz come in and take advantage when Bryan was down, furthering their potential feud. Wonderful.

This led to the final match of this gaunlet, Miz vs. Rusev. Both guys obviously were fresh, so there was no advantage there. This ended up being a pretty good match too. Not as good as the two Daniel Bryan matches earlier, but still good finish to the gaunlet. Rusev ended up getting the win via submission from the Accolade. It’s great to see Rusev finally get a shot at the WWE Title, even though I think this should have happened long before now. Regardless though, I’m quite excited to see Rusev and AJ Styles at Extreme Rules, and how they book Rusev going forward and if they start to turn him face.