WWE Bash in Berlin results: McGuire’s review of Gunther vs. Randy Orton for the World Heavyweight Title, Cody Rhodes vs. Kevin Owens for the WWE Championship, CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre in a strap match

By Colin McGuire, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@McGMondays)

WWE Bash in Berlin
Berlin, Germany at Uber Arena
Streamed live August 31, 2022 live on Peacock

Pre-show Notes:

– Michael Cole sat down with Randy Orton for an interview that ran in two parts. Among the things discussed were his comeback on the same night as CM Punk, Orton’s growth as a person, being a babyface and more.

– Video packages on all five matches aired.

– A segment featuring The Miz walking around Berlin eating food aired. Not a single word in that sentence was made up.

– At one point, Byron Saxton sat down with Paul Levesque and Levesque touted the event’s numbers.

– Liv Morgan and Dirty Dom had a bit of an awkward backstage interview with Jackie Redmond.

– Cody and Kevin Owens sat down with Corey Graves for a joint interview. For as much as WWE seems to despise AEW, WWE sure does like to bring up that company in vague ways each time Cody hops into a new story. At this point, turns out, KO might just be single-handedly responsible for starting AEW, if some tacit statements from Cody are to be believed.

McGuire’s Musings: The College Gameday-ification of these things continues. That’s not a bad thing, but it is a little jarring. Two hours of a pro wrestling pre-show without matches is quite the evolution of the business. As I had watched this installment, though, it did get me thinking: They really are treating this like College Gameday, aren’t they? A two-hour show heavy on video packages. A live rabid crowd behind the panel. A program that precedes a three-hour athletic event. It’s not essential, but it’s not not essential. It’s easy to understand the value in these things; I’m just not sure how much value there is. Anyway, onward, we go.

Bash in Berlin Main show:

After an introductory video package, Kevin Owens’s music hit for the first match. Wade Barrett and Michael Cole worked as the broadcast team.

1. Cody Rhodes vs. Kevin Owens for the Undisputed WWE Championship. The crowd was white hot as the bell rang. Owens and Cody stood in the middle of the ring and soaked it in. Owens and Cody shook hands and locked up. Dueling “Kevin Owens/Cody Rhodes!” chants broke out. Cody worked a head-lock until Owens countered it and shoulder-blocked Cody to the canvas. Cody went for a Disaster Kick early, but Owens ducked it and hit a Senton. From there, Owens worked Cody’s back and neck. The two went for their finishers at about the five-minute mark and both guys got out of the finisher attempts. Intensity between Owens and Cody picked up a bit.

Cody went for a Suicide Dive on the outside, but Owens caught Cody and Owens landed a Cannonball on Cody. With Owens on the ring apron, Cody was successful in a second try for both a Disaster Kick and a follow-up Suicide Dive. Back inside the ring, Cody had the upper hand and worked a short-arm scissors. Before long, Cody sank in a figure-four on Owens in the middle of the ring. Owens got to the ropes for a break. With Cody on the apron, Owens shoulder-blocked Cody to the outside. Owens followed that up with a frog splash from the apron onto Rhodes.

Back in the ring, Owens hit a side Russian Leg Sweep for a two-count. Owens kept control with a waist-lock. The two hit dual clotheslines on each other and both guys went down, resetting the match at about the 12-minute mark. Cody got in his snap powerslam and fired up the crowd before hitting another Disaster Kick for a two-count. Cody went for a Cody Cutter, but Owens caught him for a German Suplex and a super-kick. Even so, Cody responded with hitting that Cody Cutter for a two-count. The two stood up and traded blows. Cody got the best of it until Owens dropped Cody on Owens’s knee with a package suplex.

Owens went to the top and Cody cut him off. The result was a rolling Senton from Owens from the second rope, and it was good enough for a near-fall. Cody eventually came off the second rope and Owens caught him, setting up a Stunner attempt. Cody thwarted it and hit a Cross-Rhodes for a good near-fall. Owens was placed on the top turnbuckle, but instead of Cody getting the best of it, Owens landed a Fisherman’s Brain-Buster from the second rope, which led to another good near-fall. The two went back to trading strikes on their feet. The spot ended with each of them hitting super-kicks and Cody running to the top, but Cody couldn’t capitalize because Cody’s knee buckled, playing off the seed Owens planted about Cody’s knee on SmackDown.

At first, Owens didn’t attack the knee, but ultimately, Owens said f– it and kicked Cody’s knee. Owens considered a power-bomb on the apron, but decided against it. Back inside the ring, Owens hit a Stunner and Cody actually kicked out of it. Owens said something to Cody and went for something, but Cody countered into the Cross-Rhodes twice. When Cody went for a third one, Owens telegraphed it and hit a Stunner. Cody kicked out of said Stunner again. Owens went to the top and went for a Swanton, but Cody got his knees up. From there, Cody got up, sold knee pain and hit one Cross-Rhodes for the win.

Cody Rhodes defeated Kevin Owens to retain the Undisputed WWE Championship in 23:16. 

After the match, Cody extended a hand to help Owens up, but Owens ignored Cody. Owens eventually hugged Cody and slapped a camera away from them, which was kind of funny. The two raised each other’s hands to end the segment.

McGuire’s Musings: A very slow pace, but an expected pace. At points, you could even argue it dragged, but they got to where they needed to go by the time the match ended. I couldn’t help but think as we got near the 20-minute mark that things will only get fun with Cody’s title defenses once it feels like he might actually drop that belt. But until he and Roman and/or The Rock cross paths again, it’s really hard to believe that title is coming off Cody’s waist. I was surprised to see the Stunner kicked out of – twice, even! – because WWE has done a great job protecting that move ever since Owens took it from Stone Cold. But if there is a guy who can probably get away with doing the kicking-out, Cody is that guy. My hopes for an Owens heel turn fell on deaf ears, but it does make me wonder where he Owens goes from here. Back to the Bloodline? A heel turn when SmackDown moves to USA in two weeks? Time off? It should be interesting to monitor.

2. Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair vs. “The Unholy Union” Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles. The four women started by brawling in the ring. Things settled into Belair and Fyre mixing it up briefly until Cargill tagged in and stomped on Fyre and tagged Belair back into the match. Belair hit a vertical suplex on Fyre while holding Fyre and running in place. Belair and Fyre fought over possession of Belair’s braid, but Dawn ran in and the heels took over. All four women were on the outside after Fyre hit a suicide dive onto Cargill and Dawn threw Belair into the barricade.

Back inside the ring, Fyre and Dawn worked a series of double-team moves on Belair. Dawn worked over Belair’s midsection with a series of kicks. Fyre tagged in and hit a Meteora for a two-count. Belair attempted a tag, but Fyre stopped Belair via Belair’s braid. Dawn tagged in and the heels dragged Belair back to their corner via Belair’s braid and before long, Fyre landed a Tornado DDT on Belair while kicking Cargill off the apron. The heels then worked over Belair in their corner. Dawn went for a double-knees, but Belair moved. Belair followed that up with a back suplex on Dawn and finally got the hot tag to Cargill.

Cargill took out Dawn and Fyre and hit a series of splashes on both. Cargill then suplexed Dawn for a two-count. Fyre was the legal woman, but Cargill kept working over Fyre, until Belair tagged in and Fyre ran into to cut Belair off. Fyre and Dawn hit their finisher, but Cargill broke up a pin attempt on Belair. Cargill kicked Dawn to the outside. Belair and Cargill planted Fyre and got a two-count out of it. Dawn tagged in and went for a splash on Belair, but Belair moved and Fyre landed on Dawn. Cargill and Belair then hit their finisher on Dawn for the win.

Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair defeated “The Unholy Union” Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles in 12:02. 

McGuire’s Musings: The crowd was flat for this, but the women worked hard and this was much more competitive than I thought it would be. As such, Dawn and Fyre had a pretty good outing and they came away from this looking stronger than they did going in, even though they lost. That said, this was the expected outcome – Cargill and Belair are stars and it’s best to have some type of titles on their shoulders, even if it is a set of belts that don’t have much fanfare – but you can tell WWE is trying to get these titles over. The problem is the women’s tag division doesn’t have enough regularly featured tag teams to really get a program heated up. Alba and Fyre, for as good as they are, don’t feel like serious contenders for Belair and Cargill … but then again, who does? The answer to that question is part of the problem with a tag division that has very little infrastructure.

3. Drew McIntyre vs. CM Punk in a Strap Match. Green and red lights were set up at each corner of the ring to keep track of the corners touched by each wrestler in their attempts to win the match. McIntyre jumpstarted the match as Punk was posing on the ring apron. McIntyre pushed Punk off the apron and slammed Punk onto the commentary table. McIntyre worked a ground-and-pound. McIntyre whipped Punk repeatedly with the strap. This was all before the match officially started and the referee could attach the men by the strap. Finally, the bell rang and the wrestlers were bound by the strap. McIntyre hit a Russian Leg Sweep and used the strap for an assist. The crowd was loud with “CM Punk!” chants. McIntyre whipped Punk’s back with the strap.

McIntyre went for a chop, but Punk ducked and hit a GTS early. Punk teased wanting to touch a corner, but instead whipped McIntyre with the strap. Punk followed that up with a neck-breaker. The action spilled outside and Punk went to look under the ring, but McIntyre cut Punk off. The two stood on the commentary table and McIntyre set up for a Future Shock DDT, but Punk countered with a back-drop onto the table. Punk then went back to whipping McIntyre on top of the table. Punk again looked under the ring for something and pulled out a table. After Punk pulled the table out, McIntyre came back, whipped Punk and put the table back underneath the ring.

McIntyre grabbed a chair, hit Punk with it, and then chopped Punk repeatedly until Punk fired back. McIntyre gauged Punk’s eyes and rolled Punk back into the ring. McIntyre slammed Punk onto a chair and Punk was bleeding from his head. McIntyre set up a chair in between turnbuckles, but Punk cut McIntyre off and hit a running bulldog. The two went back outside and Punk used the strap to run McIntyre into the ring post. Punk, for a third time, went under the ring and pulled out a table. This time, Punk got as far as setting up the table. McIntyre pulled Punk back into the ring and hit a Claymore Kick to even things out.

McIntyre touched three corners, but Punk stopped McIntyre by pulling McIntyre, via the strap, into the chair McIntyre had set up earlier. It was then Punk who touched three of the four corners, but McIntyre cut Punk off with a chop. McIntyre then lifted Punk and just sort of dead-dropped Punk through the table Punk set up on the outside of the ring. McIntyre then lifted Punk onto his shoulders and tagged the turnbuckles as Punk did the same, too. It then became a struggle for who would touch the fourth corner and things reset after the two traded blows. Both guys kicked each other in the head at the same time and both guys went down.

Punk worked a Sharpshooter and McIntyre tapped out, but it didn’t matter. McIntyre tried for a rope break, but that didn’t matter either. As a result, McIntyre passed out and Punk touched the first corner. Punk followed that with the second buckle, but McIntyre cut Punk off with a neck-breaker. McIntyre brought out Punk’s bracelet and put it on his own wrist. McIntyre set up for a Claymore Kick and hit Punk with it. McIntyre touched the first corner. And then the second corner. And then the third corner. And right as McIntyre went for the fourth, Punk grabbed McIntyre and landed another GTS. Punk went to touch a corner, but Punk saw the bracelet on McIntyre’s wrist and gave McIntyre another GTS. Punk touched the first corner. The second corner. And instead of the third corner, Punk hit another GTS and touched that third corner. Before going for the fourth corner, Punk went back to Drew and landed yet another GTS. Punk then took his bracelet back and touched the fourth corner for the win, complete with bracelet on the winning wrist.

CM Punk defeated Drew McIntyre in a Strap Match in 19:15. 

McGuire’s Musings: I liked this one better than the SummerSlam match, but to me, there’s still something lacking in the actual matches between these two. The build has been so good over all these months, I always seem to expect more once they finally get around to having an actual match. This time, the intensity was up a bit, with Drew attacking Punk before the bell rang – and with Punk getting color, even though that color didn’t really stick around for long – but at the end of the day, even the crowd felt a little quieter than I thought they’d be for a match like this. With the series tied at one, you have to think a third match is on the way at some point; I’m just not quite sure what stipulation that will carry and I’m also not quite sure that I even have much interest in seeing it. That is, unless the build continues to fantastic … which it probably will be … and I’ll be sucked in for a third time. Here’s hoping that actual match lives up to the lofty expectations it will garner.

WWE German commentary team member Sebastian Hackl was in the ring and spoke in German. Bash in Berlin is the highest grossing arena show in WWE history, or at least so Hackl said.

4. “The Judgment Day” Dominik Mysterio and Liv Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest. Dom retreated immediately as Priest came after him to start the match. Priest had control early, working a wrist lock and lifting Dom by his arm at one point. Priest booted Dom and went to tag in Ripley, who was all to excited to get the tag, but Dom tagged in Liv first. The women fought, with Ripley dominating Morgan. Ripley suplexed Morgan and Morgan tagged in Dom. The heels stood on the apron, looking in rough shape, and Priest came over to their corner and flipped Dom into the ring. Priest then clotheslined Dom over the top and to the outside. Priest dropped Dom onto the ring apron. Priest tried to get back into the ring, but Morgan distracted Priest and Dom pushed Priest off the apron and into the commentary table. Dom then ran Priest into the ring steps and rolled Priest back into the ring.

Dom hit Priest a few times until Priest came back with some tough strikes of his own. Dom responded with a Tornado DDT, which was good enough for only a one-count. Morgan got in a cheap shot on Priest and Dom worked a chin-lock. Dom teased a Three Amigos, but Priest countered into a Broken Arrow. Ripley then received the hot tag, and the crowd ate it up. Ripley beat the hell out of Morgan in a variety of ways, including using a German Suplex and a running knee. Dom then got to his feet and Ripley confronted him. Dom extended his arms for a hug, but Ripley hit some clotheslines and awkwardly slammed Dom before working a leg-scissors on him. Morgan broke it up, but Ripley stayed in control. Ripley set up for Rip-Tide, but Morgan broke things up again and hit a Codebreaker on Ripley.

Morgan took control back for the heels and slowed things down – until Ripley quickly kicked Morgan in the head. The men then tagged in and Priest, much like his partner did, beat the hell out of Dom. Priest hit a Flatliner and fired up the crowd before hitting a clothesline, but Morgan broke up a pin attempt. Priest and Ripley hit dueling Razor’s Edges on Dom and Liv. Priest set up for his finisher, but the rest of the Judgment Day appeared at ringside. Liv took out Rhea with a Destroyer and with the referee distracted, Finn Balor hit a Slingblade on Priest. Dom took advantage with a 619 and a Frog Splash, but Priest kicked out at 2.5. Morgan landed a suicide drive on Ripley on the outside. Inside the ring, Morgan with for Oblivion, but Ripley blocked it. JD McDonough disrated Ripley and Morgan took advantage. Priest then took all the Judgment day fellas out on the outside until Dom hit a suicide dive on Priest. Priest clotheslined the hell out of Dom on the commentary table. Inside the ring, Ripley headbutted Morgan and hit the Rip-Tide for the win.

Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest defeated “The Judgment Day” Dominik Mysterio and Liv Morgan in 14:20.

McGuire’s Musings: This was a lot fun and actually a lot better than I expected it to be. Speaking of “expected,” I was also convinced Dom and Liv would somehow get the win after Priest and Ripley dominated so much of the match. But with the babyfaces winning this, I sure do wonder where they go from here. Rhea will probably want that women’s title back, but Priest … does he pursue a rematch with Gunther? It’s hard to think this program is over because it feels like it just began and Ripley and Priest were such a huge part of The Judgment Day for such a long time, but after a win like this, where they dominated the entire faction and came away victorious in the actual match, I’m curious to see how they keep things going.

5. Gunther vs. Randy Orton for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The world loves Randy Orton, but Germany sure does love it some Gunther. Out of nowhere (pun intended), as Gunther’s introduction was about to take place via Samantha Irvin, Ludwig Kaiser showed up and formally introduced the champion himself. The bell rang and that crowd lost its mind. The two felt each other out before locking up. Nothing much came of it. Things picked up a little as Gunther and Orton exchanged side-head-lock takedowns. Orton and Gunther soaked in the still-crazy German crowd. Gunther tired to wear Orton down while the crowd did the wave. Nearly six minutes into the match, not much had really happened between the actual wrestlers.

Gunther took control, led by a chop and some work on Orton’s arm. Gunther chopped Orton to the canvas and Orton rolled to the outside. Gunther went to throw Orton into the ring steps, but Orton countered and ran Gunther into them. From there, Orton zeroed in on Gunther’s arm and threw Gunther into the ring steps again. Orton back-body-dropped Gunther onto the commentary table four times over. Back in the ring, Gunther tried to chop Orton, but Gunther’s shoulder was in pain because of the commentary table drops. As a result, Orton continued to single out Gunther’s arm.

Orton hit a Fallaway Slam and sold neck pain himself. Orton pinned Gunther and Gunther kicked out at one. Orton went back to work on Gunther and the crowd fired up again. Gunther came off the ropes and kicked Orton. Gunther then clotheslined Orton multiple times, but Orton didn’t go down. Orton came back and clotheslined Gunther to the mat. From there, Orton landed his signature snap-powerslam. Orton set up for his draping DDT, but Gunther worked out of it, chopped Orton and hit a neck-breaker over the top rope. Gunther went to the top rope, but Orton cut him off. Orton chopped Gunther and hit a super-plex from the second rope to reset things.

Gunther chopped/slapped the hell out of Orton. Orton returned the favor and the two went back and forth for a bit. Gunther started to gain control, but Orton poked Gunther in the eyes to settle Gunther down. Orton followed that up with his draping DDT. The crowd actually chanted “RKO,” which was kind of surprising. Orton set up for an RKO, but Gunther countered into a German Suplex. Gunther then hit a shotgun dropkick and went to the top to execute a splash, which led to a good near-fall. “This is awesome!” chants broke out. Gunther fired up and tried lifting Orton, but Gunther sold arm damage and he couldn’t keep Orton up. Gunther then used his good arm for a clothesline. Gunther tried to lift Orton again, but he couldn’t do it. This happened again. Finally, Gunther landed that fateful powerbomb for another good near-fall.

Gunther went back to a powerbomb attempt, but Orton countered that attempt into an RKO, which the crowd loved, but it only resulted in a good near-fall. Orton rolled to the outside, went to the German announce table and cleared it at about the 25-minute mark. Orton moved the ring steps to place them near the table. Gunther rolled to the outside and attacked Orton, but Orton came right back and back-body-dropped Gunther onto the ring steps. Orton grabbed more ring steps and carried them over to the other ring steps. Orton placed the steps on the steps and bounced Gunther’s head off the steps. Orton lifted Gunther onto the top of the steps and back-dropped Gunther through the commentary table (which I guess is legal in Germany?).

Back inside the ring, Orton soaked up the crowd for the 63rd time and set up for an RKO. Gunther shoved Orton away and worked a sleeper. Orton tried to break it, but Gunther hung on. Gunther then chopped the back of Orton’s head and went back to the sleeper. Gunther followed that with some elbows and another sleeper attempt. Orton stood up with Gunther on his back and slammed Gunther, who popped right back up and went back to the sleeper. Gunther hit some more back elbows and went back to the sleeper. Orton passed out and that was it.

Gunther defeated Randy Orton to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in 34:28. 

After the match, Gunther stood in the ring as Orton got to his feet. Gunther extended his hand and Orton shook it, much to the delight of the live crowd. Gunther posed and tried to leave the ring but the referee told him not to. The main show then ended and the post-show began. Hopefully, Gunther was eventually allowed to leave the ring.

McGuire’s Musings: What’s that about work rate? This was a modern day Randy Orton match on steroids, which is what it was expected to be, but too often, this felt like it was plodding along just a little too much. Of those 35 minutes, I’d say at least a third was dedicated to walking around, playing to the crowd, setting up stairs, and at one point, if you’re Orton at least, pretending to do the wave. I don’t mind slower paces, but a snail could have outrun this thing. That said, both guys worked very hard and Gunther gave a lot to Orton, which was nice to see. It wasn’t exactly Hogan vs. Rock in Toronto, what with the face and heel trading places, but Orton certainly did lean into his bad guy tendencies and Gunther played as much a babyface as we’ve seen him play in WWE. Both guys looked like they took a beating, too, which made for a strong, more affecting match. I’m just not sure how much of an impact that toughness had on the end product when the end product tired itself out.

All told, they filled the three hours of Raw nicely … er … I mean. OK, all kidding aside, the only thing that sets these international PLEs apart from anything else is the fact that they are international and international crowds can take a seven to a nine or an eight to a ten. Germany was hungry for WWE and rightfully so. Ditto for France. Scotland. That list is growing by the New York Stock Exchange minute. I do wonder how long that novelty will last, though, because it’s already easy to view these secondary shows as lesser than; once they start feeling as regular and predictable as a weekly TV shot, WWE might have a problem. For now, this was a solid show. Five matches for something that was once dubbed a pay-per-view just rubs me the wrong way, but if recent reports are to be believed, this format for these B-level PLEs isn’t going away any time soon. ‘Tis a new era, indeed. The truth is, if you missed this due to any one of the plethora of reasons someone could miss this show live, you didn’t miss much. Now, it’s off to overthink all this and get ready for Monday’s column.