8/13 WWE in Sydney, Australia – Detailed Report on Reigns vs. Rollins, Cena vs. Styles, Women’s Title match; crowd reactions

WWE Live Show Results
August 13, 2016
Sydney, Australia
Report by PWTorch correspondent Antonio

WWE packed out the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia. I estimate about 17,000 in attendance because average arena capacity is 18,000 and the private box seats were 50 percent full. The event began at 7:30 p.m. and finished at 10:30 p.m. with a late intermission at 9:15 p.m. The crowd was noticeably tired following the seventh match, but half were still hot, so it was a great atmosphere all night. It was a very family-friendly crowd, but I noticed more adult males compared to 2014.

I purchased merchandise several hours prior to the event as there was one open stand. Items were relatively cheap compared to my last event in 2014. I got A.J. Styles gloves and a t-shirt and there were a very nice variety of items ranging from John Cena shirts to Roman Reigns vests. Overall, I noticed merchandise from about 15 different talent. According to one consumer, Sasha Banks merchandise sold out at one stand at 5:30 p.m, two hours before the show begun.

Also of note, lines were slow to get in. We had to check our stuff with one security guard, then another security guard with a detector than go through the ticket entrance. I understand the justification but maybe if they had one security guard, then another alongside the ticket entrance.

(1) Apollo Crews beat Sheamus. This was a fun opening match. Sheamus looked motivated and was clearly enjoying himself with angering the crowd through taunts and mid-match mic work. Crews got a solid reaction and Sheamus actually got a good amount of boos. Crews won by roll-up in anti-climatic fashion. It wasn’t too long and set a good tone for the evening.

(2) Braun Strowman beat Jey Uso (w/Jimmy Uso). Strowman got a subpar reaction for his entrance. Usos had more cheers than boos. It was essentially a five-minute squash match with Strowman winning via The Yokosuka Cutter.

(3) WWE tag champions The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) beat The Club (Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows) to retain the WWE Tag Team Championships. This was an entertaining comedy match. The match structure was continuing their TV feud of The Club targeting the private parts of New Day. New Day got a strong reaction, not as hot as I have usually seen on TV, but probably due to the absence of their pre-match routine. The Club got loud boos. Big E. came out at the end of the match with his pre-entrance routine distracting Anderson while Woods hit a flying knee to win the match.

(4) Finn Balor beat Chris Jericho. At this point, Jericho got the loudest reaction of the night. Balor got a good positive reaction but it wasn’t great, though second best reaction at this point. Jericho did a pre-match routine that was both hilarious and generated heat. They both had a very solid back and forth match with a bunch of near falls that made the crowd react big. Balor won with Coup De Grace. I think Balor needs something to add to his entrance other than popping his jacket and posing when the lights brighten. It’s not that what he has is bad, it just doesn’t feel special.

(5) U.S. champion Rusev (w/Lana) beat Titus O’Neil to retain the United States Championship. Lana cut a very dull pre-match promo. Rusev had a decent reaction, and O’Neil got less of a reaction. It felt like the first filler match of the evening. It went about three minutes with Rusev winning with The Accolade.

(6) John Cena beat A.J. Styles. This was my match of the night. They both had a great match that went back and forth, had very strong near falls, and engaged the crowd the entire match. The structure was similar to Money in the Bank. There was a referee bump, The Club interfered, and they hit Magic Killer to a nearfall. Club held up Cena for the Phenomenal Elbow and A.J. hit Anderson, then Cena cleared them and won with the AA.

Overall, A.J. held his own throughout this match and came out looking like a star. He got a very strong reaction with more boos than cheers but audible cheers. And, obviously, Cena got pop of the night. I noticed the crowd is starting to cheer Cena more and have fun with him than furiously boo him, which is a great sign because Cena deserves the credit.

[Intermission. WWE announced NXT is coming to Australia and New Zealand soon. Yay.]

(7) WWE Women’s champion Sasha Banks beat Charlotte (w/Dana Brooke) to retain the Women’s Championship. My sister and I enjoyed this match because I found it refreshing to watching a competitive women’s match with a high-quality standard compared to a few years ago. In saying that, the match was good. They were holding back but still put in a great effort. Banks won with the Bank Statement. Banks got a great reaction and Charlotte got a large amount of boos. It felt like a main event match.

(8) Sami Zayn beat Kevin Owens. Firstly, the crowd started to become tired at this point, which was about two hours in. I completely forgot this match was on the line-up, so it did surprise me hearing Owens theme. Owens got a star reaction with a lot of cheers in his entrance that quickly turned to boos when the match begun. Zayn got a strong pop as well. The match itself was a really good with high intensity. It was similar to their TV matches, with less drama, but the action was clearly there. Zayn won with the Helluva Kick.

(9) Roman Reigns beat Seth Rollins. This was second best match of the night with a lot of cockiness from Rollins and serious and direct expressions from Roman. I found the match to be entertaining, but honestly was tired at this point. Regardless, both put in a good effort and Roman won with a Spear. Roman got a loud amount of boos that turned more to cheers than boos at the end of the match and Rollins got a massive reaction. Before and after the match, Roman’s theme was turned up very loud to counter the boos, like it was here in 2014. It was way too loud. Following the match, Roman high-fived members along the ramp and left fairly quickly. Jojo thanked everyone for coming.

Overall, I really enjoyed this event. It was superior compared to WWE Live in 2014 headlined by Roman Reigns vs. Kane with Ric Flair as special guest referee and Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt. The crowd provided a great atmosphere all night and there was great matches with only one filler match and the rest delivering.

Most Cheers

• John Cena
• Seth Rollins
• Sasha Banks

Most Boos

• Roman Reigns
• A.J. Styles
• Kevin Owens