WWE The Shield's Final Chapter (April 2019)

 

Original Airdate: April 21, 2019

From Moline, Illinois; Your Hosts are Michael Cole, Renee Young, and Corey Graves

Opening WWE Intercontinental Title Match: Finn Balor v Elias: Balor interrupts Elias' song, getting him beat up before the bell. Elias keeps that going after the bell, and holy shit, they have the announcers sitting at a table right up against the corner of the ring for this! Wow, haven't seen that since Nitro was around, and haven't seen it in the WWF in almost thirty years. Not that it's such a big deal, but we're so starved for ANY difference from the normal presentation, that we're at the point where I'm almost marking out for a stupid table pushed up against the ring apron. Interesting times. Anyway, Elias works the arm for a while, until Finn gets sick of him, and starts doing the same to trigger a comeback. Schoolboy gets two, but Elias counters to a fujiwara armbar, and Balor is in trouble. He can't makes the ropes, but manages to escape, and hits a quick double stomp. Sling blade hits, but Elias counters the follow-up with a clothesline, as the announcers note that people on social media are going crazy about the table as well. Knew it wasn't just me. Plus, it gives us a nice view of Michael Cole's bald spot whenever they go to a wide shot - what's not to love? Balor with a slingshot sunset flip for two, and then a magistral cradle at 6:34. Nothing to the match, but the TABLE, you guys! ½*

Bayley and Ember Moon v Ruby Riott and Sarah Logan: No Morgan = No Buys. Bayley and Logan start, and Logan quickly gets her down in an armbar. Bayley gets into the ropes and throws chops, so Liv Morgan distracts her from the outside, allowing Sarah to clobber her again. Tag to Ruby, but Bayley fights them both off, and passes to Ember. Ruby charges, but gets taken down, and Moon uses a rollup for two. Schoolgirl gets two, so Ruby tags out, and Logan tries a hiptoss, but gets countered with an armdrag. She adds a reverse Russian legsweep, and it's back to Bayley to throw a knee in the corner. She goes up, so Morgan shoves her down off the top, and Logan tackles for two. That allows the Squad to cut the ring in half on Bayley, but they suck at it, and Bayley gets away for the hot tag to Ember. Fitting. Moon with a springboard bodypress on Ruby for two, but she misses a charge in the corner, and gets hooked in a leveraged cradle (with an assist from Liv) - only for the referee to bust them. That gets Morgan ejected, and Moon finishes Ruby with the Eclipse at 7:09. ¾*

Main Event: Six-Man Tag Team Match: Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, and Dean Ambrose v Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre, and Baron Corbin: Old school gear for the Shield tonight. Seth and Baron start, measuring each other for a while in the early going. Over to Dean for a combo, but a charge misses, and Bobby gets the tag. The camera work is all over the damn place here, and I'm going to get sick if it doesn't calm the fuck down soon. Lots of nothing happens as both teams measure each other for a while, until Dean gets caught in the wrong part of town out on the floor, and the heels take over. They cut the ring in half on Dean, until he manages a neckbreaker on Drew, and he gets the tag off to Seth. Rollins comes in hot, focusing most of his stuff on Corbin, but eventually gets overwhelmed fighting three guys. Bobby and Baron take him up for a tandem superplex, but Seth fights them both off, and dives with a flying bodypress on Baron. Tag to Roman so he can run wild for a bit, but Bobby ducks the Superman Punch, and they end up colliding for a double knockout spot. That allows a final hot tag to Dean to bring it full circle, and Roseanne Barr the door. Bobby tries to drop Dean with a dominator, but Roman saves, and everyone trades signature moves. Ambrose drops Corbin with the Dirty Deeds, and Shield hold the high ground - triple powerbombing Baron at 13:35. And then afterwards, we get the big farewell speech (which Dean basically turns into an inspirational speech about the power of believing in yourself), and hugs. ½*

BUExperience: For a Network special, there was really nothing special about this whatsoever.

DUD