Never have I felt so disappointed in a match before. Never have I felt so cheated.
I was really excited for Motor City Machine Guns (MCMG) and #DIY’s 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the WWE Tag Team Championships — I really was! By the time the dust settled over their tag title bout, however, I couldn’t help but feel like I was cheated of a match I should’ve easily Loved. To be clear, the match itself was fine. It was good, even. What I hated — what I perceive to be an absolute waste of the time and talent of everybody involved — was the ending.
The match was reaching its climax, with both teams holding falls to their name after minutes of fierce combat. This was the tiebreaker, and tensions were high. Johnny Gargano accidentally struck Tomasso Ciampa in the face with a stray kick, and before Ciampa could regain his sensibilities, MCMG had nailed Gargano in the face with an assisted basement dropkick and were setting up for the Skull and Bones. Victory was certain.
Their loss came in the form of two hooded figures: one who distracted the referee from counting MCMG’s pinfall attempt, and another who struck MCMG with a crutch. This distraction allowed for #DIY to Meet in the Middle for a pinfall victory, and while I don’t think I would’ve been mad about a #DIY retention otherwise, the fact that the freaking Street Profits were the ones to help them get the victory infuriated me.
Didn’t #DIY attack the Street Profits and sideline them however long ago? They sure did, and Michael Cole had to give an explanation that was nothing less than verbal gymnastics in order to justify the Profits’ “assist” to #DIY. Then, the Profits beat down #DIY because they still hate them, and — I’m utterly exasperated. When you have to explain to me that the Profits helped #DIY retain because they wanted to beat Gargano and Ciampa specifically for the titles, you’ve already lost me.
Sure, as revengers in this maniacal spectacle we call professional wrestling, it makes sense that the Profits would want to rob #DIY of the objects they consolidate their power in: the titles. However, I’m just so incensed that it had to come at the cost of MCMG. It feels unfair to Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin to use such a cheap finish for such a sophisticated wrestling match in such a personal feud (a feud, mind you, that also positions Shelley and Sabin as revengers).
How do you expect me to get behind the Profits when they ruined a perfectly good match? If this finish wasn’t for the Profits, how do you expect me to get behind #DIY as victors? If this finish wasn’t for #DIY, how do you expect me to take the idea of an MCMG rematch seriously? Nothing here works out for anybody.
Just as I’ve been cheated out of a satisfying match, so too have these men been cheated out of a compelling finish and storyline.
Written by Angeline Phu
