WWE Bash In Berlin: What Stood Out From This German PLE?
WWE’s Bash in Berlin PLE gave us many terrific moments. The fans in Germany, like those we saw from Scotland, France, and Puerto Rico, really brought it. They made the show fun for those of us watching from home. For years, WWE has been asked to go to specific European nations for PPVs or PLEs, and thankfully, the company has listened to this. Due to that, WWE has really earned the “World” part of its name since 2023.
While the show itself was not perfect, no show can be entirely without problems. Overall though, one could give this show a rating of perhaps 7 or 8 out of 10. For any event like this, that is a very good rating. Of course, WWE has kept to its formula of having fewer matches on the card. This has worked very well under the Triple H regime and will likely remain the formula for all future PLEs.
What were the hits and misses from Bash in Berlin? Let’s discuss each match and examine what stood out the most!
BIANCA BELAIR & JADE CARGILL vs THE UNHOLY UNION (c) – WWE WOMEN’S TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS
Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill proved to be a great tag team. This was a good way to bring Jade to television, as it gave her someone to work with who could take the pressure off of her as she continued to develop in the ring. Bianca is the perfect person to work with for Jade, as the two are both very strong women with incredible athletic abilities. They both look impressive and come across as superheroes. Both are also great role models for young women, which is very nice to see.
However, we all knew this tag team needed to end one day. When the duo lost the tag team titles at the Clash in the Castle PLE back in June, most expected the new champions, The Unholy Union (Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn), to remain champions for a while. Some assumed they only won the titles initially because it was a triple-threat tag match in Scotland. Fyre & Dawn are from Scotland, so that made sense. Of course, Belair & Cargill “technically” did not lose that match. The Unholy Union pinned the team of Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark to get the victory.
Yet they held the titles nearly twice as long as Cargill & Belair did before dropping them back to them at the Bash in Berlin. Many wonder what the logic was in having Jade and Bianca drop the titles only to win them back a few months later. It is widely assumed that WWE is still not seeing enough improvement in Jade to remove her from the tag team realm. WWE might have just confirmed that with this decision.
CM PUNK vs DREW McINTYRE – STRAP MATCH
Before this, Drew McIntyre and CM Punk had been in strap matches in their respective careers. However, WWE has rarely done them. While the match is great for ending rivalries, WWE chooses to do cage or TLC matches more often. Strap matches are very old school, often utilized by the NWA to end rivalries during the infamous “territories era.” The match has sometimes been called something else, such as a Bullrope or Chain match. The rules can sometimes differ, but usually, they are the same in each version. Each person is connected to their opponent by a strap, rope, or chain in every version.
To win, a wrestler has to touch all four top turnbuckles consecutively. If their opponent hits an offensive move to stop this motion before one reaches all four, then the wrestler has to start over. Of course, while the rules are simple, staying strapped up and hitting the turnbuckles are the only rules.
CM Punk and Drew McIntyre hate each other. Punk has cost Drew a World Title three times this year, but he also bragged about injuring Punk during the 2024 Men’s Royal Rumble match. He also took a bracelet that has the names of Punk’s wife and dog on it. This is very important to the Second City Saint, and Drew knew it. At Bash in Berlin, we knew they would beat the crap out of the other, and they lived up to the hype.
This match was grueling and hard-hitting. Each strike seemed to get worse, and the fans loved every second of it. Punk won his first WWE match in 11 years on this night and claims his rivalry with Drew is over. He then claims that he has set his sights on the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
DAMIAN PRIEST & RHEA RIPLEY vs DOMINIK MYSTERIO & LIV MORGAN
Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley, collectively now known as the “Terror Twins,” were unceremoniously kicked out of the Judgment Day faction during the SummerSlam PLE. It was made official on WWE Monday Night Raw a few days later, as we saw the new-look version of the group. Now, it appears that Finn Balor is leading the group and is accompanied by Carlito, JD McDonagh, Dominik Mysterio, and the WWE Women’s World Champion, Liv Morgan.
While we’ve discussed at length that Liv Morgan was in the right to try and get revenge on Ripley, there is a limit to this. She went from trying to get revenge to actively taking as much as possible. It made sense for Liv to try to win the Women’s World Title, as Rhea had to vacate it, allowing Liv a chance to win it from Becky Lynch. It then made sense to try to take her “man” from her and even the group. Yet, she still wants more because her greed has taken over.
“Dirty” Dom, for his part, fell for Morgan. No one can blame him for that, as Rhea needed to treat him better. Liv is ironically showing what a healthy relationship looks like. However, the way Dom chose to end things with Ripley and Finn’s attempt at revenge against Priest led to this match at Bash in Berlin. Balor and Priest will fight later, but for now, Rhea needed to get her hands on Liv and Dom. She did just that as the two secured a victory against them, but this story is far from over.
CODY RHODES (c) vs KEVIN OWENS – WWE UNDISPUTED UNIVERSAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Cody Rhodes felt that Kevin Owens deserved a World Title opportunity. KO has been his friend for many years. However, his recent aid against The Bloodline has been incredibly helpful for the champion. Due to this, Cody offered Owens a title match at the Bash in Berlin PLE. Unlike KO in the past, he decided to decline the option. Owens said he had not earned it and did not want just to be handed a title opportunity.
He did not help Rhodes because he wanted a title shot; he did it because he was his friend, and it was the right thing to do.
SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis claimed that if he did not take the title shot, he’d give it to Roman Reigns instead. KO still has a lot of unresolved problems with Reigns, and Owens did not want to give Roman a title shot, so he took it. During the match, we saw glimpses of the old KO who would attack any vulnerable body part. Owens has been sadistic in the ring and did not mind ending careers if it meant he’d win a championship. Cody knew that and did not sign up for a match with Owens to be given friendly jabs.
However, several times in the match, Owens hesitated to do some of the sadistic things he is known for. He refused to hit Cody with the powerbomb onto the apron or attack his ankle injury. He hit several big moves on the champion. Yet everyone watching knew this was not Kevin Owens at his absolute best. We saw a hesitant, unanimalistic KO. While Cody won, something tells us that Rhodes will not accept this version of KO.
GUNTHER (c) vs RANDY ORTON – WWE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
After winning the King of the Ring tournament, Gunther earned a World Heavyweight Championship shot against Damian Priest at the SummerSlam PLE. He won this tournament after supposedly pinning Randy Orton. However, most people could see that Orton’s shoulders were not down during the three count. While most felt this botch or mistake would just be ignored, credit to Triple H for finding a way to make sense out of it.
Orton came out on Monday Night Raw to claim Gunther never truly beat him, so he feels he deserves a World Title shot. Gunther agreed as this was a true blemish on his record. Of course, this match was taking place in Berlin, Germany. While Gunther was born in Austria, Germany’s next-door neighbor, he cut his teeth as a wrestler in Germany for years. Gunther wrestled all over Europe as an independent performer, but he was legendary for his work in wXw, or Westside Xtreme Wrestling.
Bash in Berlin would be a home game for Gunther, but Orton is known for killing legends. Their match was incredibly physical, which is to be expected from a Gunther match. Orton brought his A-Game, but the Ring General managed to get Orton into a sleeper submission. That led to a Gunther victory, removing the blemish from his record book. Gunther remains the World Heavyweight Champion, but he’ll have challengers lining up for a shot at the title very soon.
