Jim Cornette has given his thoughts on Roman Reigns following his WWE Universal Title victory over Daniel Bryan on SmackDown.
Cornette gave his thoughts as part of his ‘Jim Cornette’s Drive Thru‘ podcast, where he also discussed Paul Heyman’s promo on the show.
The outspoken Cornette shared his thoughts on the match between Reigns and Bryan that saw Bryan ‘banished’ from the blue brand after his loss.
Cornette stated:
“They started it off hot and the only thing I could think of is they look so good and they look so smooth. While they’re not doing smooth, effortless choreographed shit, they’re working in a smooth fashion. They’re actually grabbing the holds and shoving each other into the ropes to throw them off. But they’re just so talented at doing it. And both guys looked like a couple of athletes. Daniel Bryan’s smaller but obviously in this case he’s the babyface, it works because there’s that big bully Roman Reigns.”
“The way they were working it was that Daniel Bryan would be aggressive, he has to be aggressive, he’s gotta be faster, he’s gotta be all over this big f*cker. But then Roman Reigns might shut him down with one big shot.”
Cornette continued, explaining why the pace of the match worked for him:
“[…] Reigns got heat on him, and slowed it down and heeled on him. Roman Reigns, his sh*t is sharp, he follows through with it, he’s got heel attitude and body language and facial expressions. You understand what he’s f*cking doing. Daniel Bryan for all his experience at being the underdog, the smaller guy, he’s great at fighting back from underneath with a big bully.”
“These guys are doing the big moves but they’re registering them like it half kills them and they’re taking the time to sell it. There’s a plausible way they get out of something. It’s not stupid or insulting, over and over like a drum solo that never ends. There’s peaks and valleys. Daniel Bryan goes for the hurricanrana off the top and Reigns catches him because he’s f*cking strong and powerbombs him off the top. That was a heck of a false finish but it was also a break spot. They didn’t need to pop back up and go into cartwheels.”
As for the ending of the match, Jim Cornette has a philosophical difference in terms of villains prevailing, but otherwise, he says it was a great match:
“It’s modern WWE style, I never like to see a heel beat a top babyface, just beat him without any kind of out, distraction, a mistake, or whatever. But it was a great match and Bryan hung in their every bit of the way. Then finally he got the long Yes Lock, Reigns couldn’t get out of it, he rolled through it or whatever the f*ck, finally he turned out and powerbombed him, grounded and pounded him. […] Another powerbomb and a front face lock and Daniel Bryan passes out.”
“[…] Great match. No weapons, very minimal out of the ring. they didn’t bury the referee. Everything made sense here and it was done in a professional, serious manner.”
Following the match, it has emerged that Daniel Bryan’s ‘banishment’ from SmackDown might be more than storyline. Reports suggest that his contract with WWE has expired, although they are trying hard to get the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion to re-sign.
Credit: Jim Cornette’s Drive Thru