The John Report: WWE Bash In Berlin 2024 Review

It’s WWE Bash In Berlin featuring Gunther facing Randy Orton, CM Punk in a Strap Match against Drew McIntyre, and plenty more.

The first-ever WWE Bash In Berlin has arrived one night after WWE SmackDown took place in Berlin, Germany on Friday. They’re in the same Uber Arena for Bash In Berlin as well for a five-match card, which has been the usual number of matches for PLE shows that aren’t the bigger ones like SummerSlam, which had seven matches earlier this month. I thought the Berlin crowd was strong on Smackdown. They might not have been as great as the Backlash France crowd in Lyon earlier this year, but it was still a nice crowd.

There was a WWE Bash In Berlin Countdown show for two hours before the show. That’s become a new standard in this era of WWE. The Countdown show featured a panel hosted by Michael Cole with Big E & The Miz. Jackie Redmond replaced Cole in the second hour. They also aired interviews with top stars like Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens, and others. Bash In Berlin has a 7 p.m. local start time in Germany, which means it’s a 1 p.m. start time here in the Eastern time zone where I live. I’m all for afternoon shows. I don’t mind them at all. Let’s get to it.

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WWE Bash In Berlin
From Uber Arena in Berlin, Germany
Saturday, August 31, 2024

They showed some arrivals earlier in the day including World Heavyweight Champion Gunther and his opponent Randy Orton. CM Punk was also shown arriving and so was Drew McIntyre, who was wearing the infamous bracelet on his left wrist. The Terror Twins duo of Damian Priest & Rhea Ripley were also shown and so were Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan with Dominik Mysterio.

Kevin Owens was shown getting ready backstage for his match up first. That match is against the Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, who was shown in his gear getting ready for the match.

A video package aired focusing on the big matches taking place at Bash In Berlin while also covering how international crowds love WWE. The video featured some of the big names wrestling on the show.

Michael Cole welcomed us to the show saying it was sold out with 13,149 fans in attendance. Cole is on commentary with Wade Barrett. Starting Monday, the Raw commentary team is Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett while Smackdown will have Michael Cole and Corey Graves. In January, that will change.

Kevin Owens made his entrance to a big ovation. Cole noted it was eight years ago when Owens won the WWE Universal Title and it’s been seven years since Owens held a singles title in WWE. They showed Cole & Barrett on commentary at ringside along with the German commentary team.

Cody Rhodes got a huge ovation as usual as the Undisputed WWE Champion. As Barrett pointed out, Cody didn’t take a knee during his entrance like he usually does, which Owens mentioned on Smackdown last night. The fans loved Cody for his whole entrance and popped for the “WHOA-OH” part of the song as well. Samantha Irvin handled ring announcer duties for this show and did an awesome job of getting us ready for this championship match. There was also a Prime logo in the ring, which we know for WWE PLE shows. It took about 13 minutes to get the first match started.

Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes vs. Kevin Owens

The fans were chanting “Cody, Cody Rhodes” to start the match. The fans were cheering loudly to start the match without the wrestlers even touching eachother. Barrett: “This place is rippling.” Good way to describe it. Cody and Owens shook hands as a sign of respect to start the match.

Cody got a lockup by grabbing the arm leading to Owens pushing him into the ropes. The fans were chanting for both guys. Owens was sent into the ropes and hit a shoulder tackle to knock Cody down. Cody did a leapfrog to avoid Owens and Cody jumped off the ropes for a move, but Owens caught him. Owens gestured with his hand as if to say “no” to Cody trying that move. Cody went off the ropes for a Disaster Kick, but Owens moved and Owens hit a senton splash onto the body. Owens hit Cody with forearms to the lower back. Cody flipped over behind Cody teasing Cross Rhodes, Owens avoided that, Owens tried a Stunner, Cody got out of that and then Cody shoved Owens back. Cody sent a charging Owens to the floor. Cody dove, Owens caught him and Owens shoved Cody into the ring apron. Owens hit a cannonball off the apron onto Cody on the floor. Back in the ring, Cody hit a Disaster Kick while Owens was on the floor. Cody hit a suicide dive to drive Owens into the barricade. Back in the ring, Cody applied a short arm scissors on the left arm. When they got back up, Cody hit Owens with a knee to the ribs. Cody hit a dropkick followed by a Figure Four Leglock in the middle of the ring for about a minute until Owens got his hand on the ropes to break the hold. Owens sent Cody over the top to the apron followed by Owens knocking Cody off the apron into the barricade. Owens hit a Frog Splash off the apron onto Cody on the floor. Owens worked over Cody’s ribs with a headbutt and kick to the body as the fans chanted “this is awesome” for them. Owens hit a side Russian legsweep for two. They did a spot where Owens bounced off the ropes for a double headbutt and then they did a double clothesline so that both guys were knocked down to sell for about a minute on the mat.

Owens hit an atomic drop. Cody knocked down Owens with a shoulder tackle and then Cody hit a powerslam. Cody jumped off the middle rope with a Disaster Kick for two. Cody jumped off the middle rope again, Owens caught him and Owens hit a German Suplex. Owens hit a superkick, but Cody jumped off the ropes again with a Cody Cutter for two. Nice nearfall for a two count even though Cody never wins with that move. It’s a good nearfall spot. Owens and Cody exchanged forearms to the head. Owens hit a cradle suplex into the knee so it’s like a neckbreaker-type move for a two count. Owens went up top, Cody went after him, Owens had Cody on his shoulders and Owens hit a rolling senton off the middle ropes for a two count. The fans chanted “this is awesome” as Owens thought about what to do next. Owens sent Cody into the ropes, Cody held onto the ropes, Cody kicked Owens and Owens went for a Stunner, but Cody got out of it leading to Cody hitting a Cross Rhodes for two. The fans were really loud for that nearfall. Cody set up Owens on the turnbuckle, which is never a good idea leading to Owens countered Cody with a brainbuster off the middle rope and Owens covered for a two count. Owens was in control with strikes, but Cody was fighting back and then it turned into a slugfest as they exchanged punches. Cody with a superkick, Owens with a superkick, Cody with another superkick and Cody hit an uppercut punch. Cody jumped to the top rope, but then he collapsed while favoring the left knee injury. Owens was about to attack, but then he stopped himself. Owens went after Cody on the floor and Cody said he’s okay, so Owens kicked Cody in the front of the left knee. Barrett said it’s completely fair in a championship match. Owens teased an apron Powerbomb and stopped himself. Barrett wondered what KO was doing, so Owens told Barrett to shut up. Back in the ring, Cody got an inside cradle on Owens for two. Owens was back up with a Stunner for just two. The fans were chanting “this is awesome” for the match as they were about 20 minutes into it. Owens said that Cody asked for this and then Cody countered Owens leading to a Cross Rhodes. That led to a second Cross Rhodes by Cody. Owens blocked a third Cross Rhodes and Owens hit a Stunner for a two count. Owens went up top and went for a Swanton Bomb, but Cody got his knees up. Cody hit Cross Rhodes for the pinfall win at 23:15.

Winner by pinfall: Cody Rhodes

Analysis: **** I thought it was an excellent match like most of Cody’s title defenses. I think I have rated most of them around the four star level as well, so it’s similar to some of those other matches he had. The story was that Owens did attack the left knee a bit when Cody was on the floor, but Owens was reluctant to attack it further in the ring and he also refused to do a Powerbomb on the apron. Barrett did an excellent job of getting the point across that Owens’ lack of aggressiveness is why he failed to win the match. There were multiple finishers kicked out of throughout the match, which does put over Owens as a strong challenger while Cody is obviously a strong champion. Some people might complain that it’s predictable for Cody Rhodes to beat Kevin Owens and I get that, but you’re also establishing Cody as a credible WWE Champion by beating top talent in these big matches. It’s also better than having an absentee champion like we have seen in the past.

After the match, the announcers summed it with Barrett saying that Owens lacked the killer instinct. They replayed the key moments of the match.

When Kevin Owens got back to his feet, he turned his back to Cody at first. Owens turned around and hugged Cody. Owens raised Cody’s right hand while Cody tried to raise Kevin’s arm and then they hugged. No heel turn.

Analysis: I know there were some people expecting a heel turn by Owens after the loss. I thought it was possible, but I’m glad it didn’t happen because I like Owens as the lovable babyface wrestler. Could Owens turn soon because of this loss? Maybe. I’m just saying he’s good in the role he’s in right now too.

There were some commercials for various WWE things like next year’s WrestleMania, legacy titles, and Smackdown going to USA Network on September 13th.

The Women’s Tag Team Title match was next, so there was a video setting it up.

The babyface duo of Jade Cargill & Bianca Belair were up first with separate entrances. The Unholy Union of Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn made their entrance together.

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn vs. Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill

The team of Belair & Cargill each had green outfits on although they weren’t identical. Jade hit a backbreaker on Dawn and Belair hit a stomach breaker on Fyre as the two legal women in the match. Jade tagged in with stomps for Fyre. Belair connected with a vertical suplex while showing off her power. Belair charged at Fyre with a shoulder tackle to the ribs along with hammer punches. Dawn distracted Belair so Fyre managed to send Belair shoulder first into the ring post. Jade checked on Belair on the floor, so Fyre hit Jade with a suicide dive on the floor. Dawn tossed Belair into the barricade. Dawn and Fyre made some quick tags as they worked over Belair in their corner. Dawn hit a running knee on Belair while Belair was against the ropes. Dawn connected with a knee strike to Belair’s ribs. Dawn hit the double knees on Belair while Fyre tagged in for a two count. Fyre chopped Belair followed by the knee to the ribs. Fyre applied a submission on Belair’s upper body and then Dawn tagged in as the champions pulled Belair by the hair to send her into the turnbuckle. Belair tried to break free, but Fyre hit an impressive Tornado DDT for two. Fyre hit a front suplex on Belair and legal woman Dawn missed a knee attack because Belair moved. Belair sent Fyre over the top to the floor and Belair hit a belly-to-back suplex on Dawn.

Jade got the hot tag with a double clothesline for the champions as the crowd came alive. Jade hit a spinebuster on Dawn and a fallaway slam on Fyre across the ring. Jade hit running splashes on both women and a superkick on Dawn. Jade hit a Jackhammer slam on Dawn for a two count. Jade sent Dawn into the corner, Fyre made the tag and Jade superkicked Dawn to knock her down. Belair tagged in, Fyre caught Belair and the champions hit a double neckbreaker slam on Belair for two because Jade made the save. Jade hit a pump kick knocking Dawn off the apron to the floor. Fyre tried to take on both challengers, but she was caught leading to Belair & Jade double-teaming Fyre with a slam. Jade did a powerslam on Belair onto Fyre, so Belair covered for two. Dawn kicked Jade to knock her out of the ring. Fyre connected with a headbutt on Belair. Dawn was back in as she hit a backstabber and had double knees on Belair’s back. Fyre jumped off the top with a Swanton, but Jade pulled Belair out of the ring to save her. Jade caught Fyre and Jade sent Fyre into the barricade. Belair hit a spinebuster on Dawn. Jade tagged back in leading to the double team move where Belair hit double knees on Dawn and Jade hit the German Suplex. Jade covered Dawn for the pinfall win at 12:02. New champions!

Winners by pinfall AND NEW WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions: Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill

Analysis: *** I thought it was a solid match. There were some sloppy moments and some spots where people were in the illegally for too long, but it wasn’t as bad as other companies. The match followed the smart formula of having Belair as the face in peril while Jade got the hot tag and it picked up after that. The key spot was Jade saving Bianca during the Swanton attempt by Fyre. That led to Jade slamming Fyre into the barricade and the double team by Jade & Bianca led to the win. I predicted the title change because there’s more star power with Jade & Bianca as the champions. I like Fyre & Dawn, I’m happy they had the titles, but I think it’s the right move to have Jade & Bianca as the champions.

A commercial aired about the WWE NXT move to The CW for those of you in the US. That is happening on October 1st in Chicago with CM Punk at the show.

CM Punk was shown getting ready in the locker room. That led to the CM Punk-Drew McIntyre video package for their Strap Match.

The “Scottish Warrior” Drew McIntyre made his entrance looking serious and confident as always. The movie “The Killer’s Game” was the sponsor for the match. The match starts WWE legend Dave Bautista aka Batista and also stars Drew McIntyre. CM Punk made his entrance to a huge ovation as usual.

When CM Punk was on the apron posing, Drew punched him in the back to knock him down. Drew slammed Punk onto the German commentary table. Dre went Punk into the ring and punched him repeatedly. Drew grabbed the leather strap and hit Punk’s back with the strap. Drew put the leather strap on his left wrist. Drew hit Punk in the back with the strap again. Drew put the strap on Punk’s wrist, so referee Rod Zapata called for the bell.

Strap Match: Drew McIntyre vs. CM Punk

The only way to win is by touching all four corners in the ring uninterrupted in succession. There is a red and green light by the four turnbuckles. The red light was for Drew and the green light was for Punk.

Drew was in control using the strap as a weapon with a Russian legsweep to take Punk down. Drew sent Punk ribs-first into the ring apron. Drew whipped Punk repeatedly in the back with the strap. Drew touched a turnbuckle and then chopped Punk to knock him down. Punk finally got some offense by picking up Drew and hitting the Go to Sleep knee to the jaw. Punk teased touching the turnbuckle, but he wanted to punish Drew instead. Punk used the strap to hit Drew a few times followed by a neckbreaker. They left the ring to continue the fight while Drew tried a move on the commentary table. Punk countered it with a back body drop on the table. It didn’t break the table. Barrett was very biased supporting Drew, which was great. Punk brought out a table, but Drew knocked Punk down and Drew put the table under the ring. Drew hit Punk in the ribs with a chair. They were back in the ring where Drew slammed Punk onto a steel chair. Drew punched Punk a few times while Punk had a cut above his eye. I’m not sure when he got cut, but he was bleeding. Drew set up a chair against the turnbuckle, but Punk came back with a jumping knee to the head. Punk followed up with a bulldog. Punk used the strap to pull Drew into the ring post. Punk pulled out a table from under the ring and set it up on the floor. When they got back into the ring, Drew hit Punk with a Claymore Kick. Drew touched three turnbuckles in a row as the lights went on, but Punk left the ring and pulled Drew into the turnbuckle so Drew hit the chair against the turnbuckle. Punk hit three turnbuckles in a row, but Drew stopped that with a strike. Punk came back with a running knee. Punk picked up Drew and slammed Punk through the table that was against the ring apron. That led to a “holy shit” chant from the fans.

Drew picked up Punk on his shoulders and Drew touched three turnbuckles while Punk touched the three turnbuckles as well. They teased a fourth turnbuckle touch, but they exchanged punches and that reset the turnbuckle touching. The strap actually went off Punk’s left wrist, so the referee put it back on. Punk and Drew exchanged punches followed by each man connecting with a boot to the face, so both men were down. Punk applied the Sharpshooter that one of his wrestling heroes Bret Hart made famous. Drew was tapping out to the hold repeatedly, but there are no submissions in a match like this. Drew sold it like he was in a lot of pain as Punk hit two turnbuckles in a row. Drew held the strap to prevent Punk from touching a third and then Drew hit a neckbreaker. Drew did a kip-up to show he was doing well and Drew put the CM Punk bracelet on his right hand. Drew pulled it out of the top of his trunks. Drew nailed Punk with the Claymore Kick. Drew touched three turnbuckles quickly, but Punk was back up to stop a fourth turnbuckle touch. Punk hit Drew with another GTS. Punk saw the bracelet on Drew’s right hand, so Punk hit another GTS to Drew. Punk touched two turnbuckles and hit another GTS to Drew’s head. That was the fourth GTS of the match. Punk hit a third turnbuckle and then Punk slowly picked Drew up again. Punk hit another GTS to put Drew down. Punk took the coveted bracelet and Punk touched the fourth turnbuckle to win the match. It went about 19:15.

Winner: CM Punk

Analysis: ***3/4 I thought it was a very good match that I liked more than their match at SummerSlam. Punk looked sharper and in better shape probably because he had four more weeks to get ready for this match and feel healthier after having triceps surgery earlier this year. The win was a decisive one for Punk because he hit the GTS five times in the match including four times in the final few minutes on his way to the win. With that said, winning a match by touching four turnbuckles isn’t as decisive as getting a pinfall win, so the rivalry should continue. I expected and predicted Punk to get the win here since Drew won at SummerSlam, so this evens things up. I liked the match and you could tell the crowd was into it as well.

It was noted by Cole that it was Punk’s first win in WWE in over 10.5 years. They showed replays after that.

CM Punk celebrated the win with the fans, who loved him. Punk also celebrated with his friend, UFC fighter Oban Elliott, who was at ringside.

Analysis: I think the rivalry will continue with Drew attacking Punk on Raw this Monday or the week after. That should set them up for a Hell in a Cell Match at October’s Bad Blood PLE show in Atlanta.

There was a commercial for The Killer’s Game movie starring Dave Bautista with Drew McIntyre in it as well. It’s in theatres on September 13th.

German announcer Sebastian Hackl was in the ring speaking in German for the fans. A graphic said that Hackl said this was the highest-grossing arena show in WWE history.

It was time for the mixed tag team match, so there was a video package to set that up.

The Judgment Day’s Dominik Mysterio and the Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan were up first. The fans didn’t like them, which is expected. Damian Priest was up first and then Rhea Ripley was next. The fans loved Priest and Ripley.

Terror Twins – Damian Priest & Rhea Ripley vs. The Judgment Day – Dominik Mysterio & Liv Morgan

It’s men against men and women against women in a match like this. Priest nailed Dom with a boot to the face followed by a jumping back elbow. Drew nailed Dom with another boot to the face. Liv tagged in, so Rhea was legal with a dropkick to knock Liv down. Rhea hit a fallaway slam and tossed Liv across the ring. Rhea worked over Liv with punches along with a headbutt. Ripley connected with a vertical suplex on Liv, who left the ring while Dominik checked on her. Priest tagged in, so he brought in Dom and Priest clotheslined Dom out of the ring. Priest nailed Dom with an elbow followed by Priest sending Dom onto the apron. Priest was on the apron, Liv grabbed Priest’s foot and Dominik knocked Priest off the apron into the commentary table. Dominik hit a running shoulder tackle to send Priest into the steel steps. Dominik jumped over the top with a senton splash on Priest and Liv did a cheap punch on Priest as well. Priest charged at Dom, who got a boot up and Dominik hit a Tornado DDT for two. Liv did an eye gouge to Priest. Priest hit a Falcon Arrow slam and brought Rhea into the match. Rhea was dominant with a clothesline on Liv followed by a running dropkick. Rhea hit a German Suplex along with a running knee to the face. Rhea confronted Dom in the ring, Dom wanted a hug and Rhea elbowed Liv to knock her down. Rhea nailed Dom with two clotheslines and a powerslam sending Dom into the mat. Rhea did a leg scissors around the throat and the fans were going crazy with cheers. Rhea dropkicked Liv again. Liv saved Dom from a Riptide and Liv hit a jumping kick. Liv hit a backstabber with double knees along with a running knee. Liv hit a Crucifix Bomb for a two count. Great move. Ripley hit a kick to the face to break three.

Priest tagged against Dom with a forearm, splash against the turnbuckle, and an elevated flatliner. Priest bounced off the ropes leading to a running clothesline for two because Liv broke it up. Rhea and Liv were both in the ring too, so Priest & Rhea hit a double Razor’s Edge on their two opponents. The Judgment Day’s JD McDonagh and Carlito were at ringside, so Priest and Ripley knocked them down. Liv gave Rhea sunset flip Powerbomb into the barricade. JD distracted the referee, so Balor hit Slingblade on Priest. Dominik hit a 619 kick on Priest followed by Dominik going up top and he hit a Frog Splash for one…two…no. Priest got his shoulder up. Nice nearfall. Liv tagged in leading to a suicide dive on Ripley on the floor. Liv went for Oblivion, but Ripley blocked it and hit a backbreaker. JD was on the apron again, Ripley went after JD, who jumped to the floor. Liv hit a jumping knee smash on Rhea. Priest punched JD and Carlito on the floor. Priest wanted to slam Balor through the commentary table, but Dominik saved Balor because Dominik hit a suicide dive on Priest. Dominik ran at Priest at the table, so Priest hit a clothesline and Dominik did a flip bump onto the table. It wasn’t enough to beat the table. Ripley headbutted Liv and Ripley hit Riptide on Liv for the pinfall win at 14:22. The way Ripley pinned Liv is sure to make some people happy. Just saying.

Winners by pinfall: Terror Twins – Damian Priest & Rhea Ripley

Analysis: ***1/2 I thought it was an entertaining tag team match. The presence of The Judgment Day guys was obviously needed to give Dom & Liv some nearfalls to make it look like they had a shot even though it was pretty obvious who was going to win this match. The win by Ripley should set her up for a Women’s World Title match soon since she beat the champion Morgan clean. It’s not an easy match to do because Morgan & Dominik are cheap heels, but I think they got enough offense to make them look credible and made it look like they had a shot to win. I predicted Rhea & Priest and I’m sure most people did too.

Damian Priest & Rhea Ripley celebrated the win while The Judgment Day retreated in the aisle. The fans popped big for Priest & Ripley as the winners of the match.

There was a commercial for WWEShop.com merchandise items.

A commercial was shown for NXT No Mercy on Sunday night. I’ll review that one for TJRWrestling as well. Four straight days of WWE live reviews, my friends. It’s what I do.

This Monday on Raw on Labor Day:

* Sheamus vs. Bronson Reed vs. Ludwig Kaiser – Triple Threat Qualifying Match in Intercontinental Title tournament.

* Ilja Dragunov vs. Dragon Lee vs. Dominik Mysterio – Triple Threat Qualifying Match in Intercontinental Title tournament.

The winners of those two matches join Jey Uso & Pete Dunne in a Fatal 4-Way match on the September 9th edition of Raw. The winner of that match earns an Intercontinental Title match against Bron Breakker.

A video package aired for the Gunther-Randy Orton match in the main event.

Randy Orton made his entrance to a huge ovation from the fans. The fans also sang his “Voices” song the whole way, so they were similar to what the amazing French crowd did earlier in the year. Good job by the announcers staying quiet so we could hear the singing. It took about five minutes for Orton to finish his entrance and the fans loved it. Cole did a good job talking about Orton as a 14-time World Champion and Cole said that on the Countdown show, Orton said he’ll break the 16-time World Champion record held by John Cena and Ric Flair. Cole said that Orton told him to get his weight right at 285 pounds.

The World Heavyweight Champion “The Ring General” GUNTHER was up next. Gunther was born in Austria, but he spent a lot of years and lived in Germany as well. Cole mentioned Gunther was a wrestling icon in Germany and considered a local hero by fans. Samantha Irvin did a great job with the championship introductions as usual. Samantha said that Orton was 290 pounds, so that’s five pounds more than what Orton told Cole to say. For Gunther’s entrance, his best friend and German wrestler Ludwig Kaiser was in the ring. The fans popped for that. Kaiser did a terrific job of introducing his buddy, “The Ring General” World Heavyweight Champion Gunther, who was cheered by the fans even though he’s a heel everywhere else in the world.

Analysis: That was a nice touch to use Ludwig Kaiser in that spot.

World Heavyweight Championship: GUNTHER vs. Randy Orton

The fans spent nearly two minutes singing some song to get fired up. Orton applauded the fans for showing their passion like that. They locked up leading to Orton pushing Gunther into the turnbuckle. The great referee Charles Robinson was the referee here and that’s a great choice since Charles has a lot of big match experience. The fans broke out in song again with some arm swinging as well and we could see Barrett doing it too. Gunther applied a chinlock and the fans were doing the wave all around the building. It was four minutes into the match where they have barely done anything, yet the fans were absolutely on fire for it. Orton even lifted his arms for the wave, so the fans popped for that. Gunther chopped Orton down a few times along with an uppercut. Gunther used his feet to do a neck twist on Orton. There was more singing by the crowd as Gunther unloaded with another chop to the chest. Orton delivered some punches, Gunther punched back and Gunther chopped Orton hard in the chest. They left the ring where Orton countered Gunther and Orton sent Gunther hard into the steel steps. Orton broke the referee’s count and then Orton wrenched on the right arm while on the floor. Orton sent Gunther right shoulder-first into the steel steps. Orton picked up Gunther and slammed Gunther onto the commentary table. Orton did another belly-to-back suplex/slam onto the table. Orton hit a third belly-to-back suplex/slam onto the table and Orton went back into the ring to break the count. There was a fourth slam onto the commentary table. The fans were chanting for Gunther and booed Orton a bit.

The match returned to the ring where Gunther delivered a chop, but Gunther sold the pain. Orton caught Gunther’s right hand and wrenched on the arm. Orton slammed Gunther’s right arm into the mat. Orton applied a single-arm slam into the mat, but that was the left arm going into the mat. Orton picked up Gunther leading to a fallaway slam across the ring for just a one count. Gunther was sent into the ropes, Gunther held on and got a kick to the chest. Gunther hit two clotheslines while selling the right arm injury. Gunther connected with a boot to the face. Orton blocked a clothesline attempt and hit his own clothesline. Orton hit his patented powerslam for a two count. Orton wanted the DDT off the apron, but Gunther used his left arm to deliver a chop and Gunther did a necksnap across the top rope. Orton delivered chops along with a headbutt. Orton delivered the superplex off the middle rope for a two count. Orton has been doing that move for over 20 years (also a move his dad Bob Orton loved to do) and usually does it off the top rope, but Orton went off the middle rope this time. They were back on their feet exchanged punches as Gunther sold his right arm/hand injury with every strike. Gunther fought back with kicks to the gut, so Orton did an eye poke to the face. The referee saw it and Barrett suggested a disqualification, but it’s not like that leads to a DQ. Orton hit the vintage draping DDT off the ropes. Orton hit the mat repeatedly setting up for the RKO, Gunther was back up and Gunther caught Orton leading to a German Suplex. Gunther hit a running dropkick. Gunther went up top with a Superfly Splash for a two count. It was about 20 minutes into the match at this point.

Gunther and Orton slowly got back to their feet with Gunther even saluting the crowd, which led to cheers. Gunther went for a lifting move like a Powerbomb, but Gunther sold the hand injury so he couldn’t hit it. Gunther hit a lefty clothesline. Gunther tried to lift Orton again, but he couldn’t do it and then Orton held onto Gunther’s leg to stop the move. Gunther managed to power Orton back up and hit a Powerbomb for two. Gunther went for a second Powerbomb, but Orton was able to get out of that leading to Orton hitting an RKO for one…two…no! Gunther kicked out. I wouldn’t say it was “out of nowhere” since he was standing in front of Gunther, but it’s the thought that counts. Orton left the ring to clear off the German commentary table. Orton set up the steel steps against the German commentary table as Gunther left the ring to confront Orton on the floor. Orton punched Gunther a few times leading to Orton slamming Gunther back-first onto the steel steps. The referee Charles Robinson was doing a very slow count. Gunter went back into the ring and went back out. Orton set up the steel steps against the commentary table. Orton broke the referee’s count again and Orton rammed Gunther’s head into the top of the steel steps a few times. Orton picked up Gunther on the steel steps and gave him a belly-to-back suplex through the table. Referee Charles Robinson checked on Gunther through the broken table while Orton posed on the steel steps. They slowly got back to the ring with Orton going for an RKO, but Gunther shoved him down. Gunther applied a sleeper like a rear naked choke, Orton got back out of it and Orton backed Gunther into the turnbuckle a few times. Gunther held onto the sleeper and then Orton was able to power out of it. Gunther chopped Orton in the back of the neck and Gunther applied a sleeper again. Orton lifted up Gunther on his back and Orton fell back down like a piggyback slam onto the mat. Gunther applied the sleeper again followed by elbows to the neck. Gunther wrapped up Orton with his leg around Orton’s right arm and referee Robinson checked on Orton’s left arm as Orton sold it like he was passed out. It went 34:28.

Winner by submission: GUNTHER

Analysis: ****1/2 It was a slow-paced, hard-hitting fight between two big dudes who took their time and put on a classic championship match. Gunther selling the right arm injury throughout the match made for an interesting story. The right arm injury by Gunther was something he sold for the entire match and it makes for a great story since Gunther’s right hand delivers those chops as well as all of those power moves that he does. Some parts of this match were slow and maybe some people don’t like that, but I don’t mind it at all because it adds to the story. I thought Gunther was going to win by pinfall or something like that, so to have Gunther get the win by making Orton pass out in the sleeper submission is going to make Gunther look like more of a badass because we haven’t seen many guys make Orton pass out in a match like that. That’s putting Gunther over in a big way.

There were replays shown of the key spots in the match.

Gunther celebrated with the World Heavyweight Championship, which he put around his waist. Gunther extended his left hand and Orton shook the hand. The fans cheered that. Gunther posed for the fans, so the fans cheered again. Gunther continued to celebrate the win.

Analysis: A sign of respect to end the feud. Orton is a Smackdown guy and Gunther is on Raw, so I don’t think we’ll see the rivalry continue.

RESPECT.#WWEBashpic.twitter.com/YnD9lXWzaQ

— WWE (@WWE) August 31, 2024

The runtime of Bash In Berlin was 3 hours, 7 minutes on WWE Network/Peacock.

They went right to the Bash In Berlin post-show with the panel of Jackie Redmond, The Miz, Big E & Peter Rosenberg. Gunther was also interviewed in the ring.

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Five Stars of the Show

1. Gunther
2. Cody Rhodes
3. Kevin Owens/Randy Orton
4. CM Punk/Drew McIntyre
5. Damian Priest & Rhea Ripley

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Final Thoughts

I’m going 8 out of 10 for this show.

It’s an 8 out of 10 from me, which makes it one of the best WWE PLEs of the year. There were five matches on the show and they were all fun to watch for their own reasons. I also want to credit the German fans for making noise for the whole event and showing a lot of passion throughout Bash in Berlin. These international crowds never let us down because they really get into the events and it makes them fun to watch.

I thought Gunther’s win over Randy Orton was the best match. They got the most time on the show while also ending it in a decisive way with the sleeper submission. Orton put up a fight and nearly won a few times, but this was all about putting over Gunther. Cody Rhodes won over Kevin Owens in another great match on the show. It didn’t have that much of a storyline, but I enjoyed it a lot.

CM Punk getting his first televised win in a WWE match in 10.5 years was an enjoyable match with Drew McIntyre. You don’t see Strap Matches very often, but I thought it was well booked with Punk getting the decisive win. I assume Drew will attack Punk soon and that will set up Hell in a Cell.

They did a nice job with the mixed tag team match as Damian Priest & Rhea Ripley beat Dominik Mysterio & Liv Morgan. That was perhaps the most obvious result on the show and the fans loved it. The “worst” match was the Women’s Tag Team Title match with Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill, but I certainly didn’t mind it. They worked hard and I’m glad Bianca & Jade are the champions again. It’s the result that was the right finish.

There will probably be people who complain about this show saying it was a predictable event. Yes, it was. I got all five match predictions right. It doesn’t bother me if a show is predictable because I think the matches are so strong and that match quality really carries the show.

Here are my rankings of WWE PLE’s in 2024 so far:

WrestleMania 40 – 8.5 (out of 10)

SummerSlam – 8.5

Backlash France – 8

Bash In Berlin – 8

Clash at the Castle – 8

Money in the Bank – 7.75

Royal Rumble – 7.75

King And Queen Of The Ring – 7.75

Elimination Chamber – 7.5

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As a reminder, I have a listing of every WWE PPV that I reviewed in order by year. Thank you for supporting us at TJRWrestling. We appreciate you.

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Email: mrjohncanton@gmail.com

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