Roadblock: End of the Line — BrandWiki

Roadblock: End of the Line

Overview

Roadblock: End of the Line

tagline	End of the Line
promotion	WWE
brand	Raw
date	December 18, 2016
venue	PPG Paints Arena
city	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
wwenlast	TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs
wwennext	United Kingdom Championship Tournament
event	Roadblock
lastevent2	March 2016
nextevent2	2022

Roadblock: End of the Line was a 2016 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was the second Roadblock and took place on December 18, 2016, at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw brand division. While the first Roadblock was streamed exclusively on the WWE Network, this second event also aired via traditional PPV outlets. The name of the event was a reference to it being WWE's final PPV of 2016. This was the final Roadblock until 2022 when WWE revived the event as a television special for the NXT brand.

Seven matches were contested at the event, including one on the Kickoff pre-show. In the main event, Kevin Owens retained the WWE Universal Championship against United States Champion Roman Reigns by disqualification when Chris Jericho attacked Owens. In the opening bout, the team of Cesaro and Sheamus defeated The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston) for the Raw Tag Team Championship, ending New Day's reign 483 days, the longest tag team championship reign on WWE's main roster until November 2022. In other prominent matches,

Event

Pre-show

During the Roadblock: End of the Line Kickoff pre-show, Rusev (accompanied by Lana) faced Big Cass (accompanied by Enzo Amore). The match ended when Lana feigned an ankle injury and Rusev attacked Amore during the distraction. As a concerned Cass checked on Amore, he was counted out, giving the win to Rusev.

Preliminary matches

The actual pay-per-view opened with The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston, accompanied by Xavier Woods) defending the Raw Tag Team Championship against Cesaro and Sheamus. Throughout the match, all four competitors executed their respective moves and finishers, but could not get the win. Also, Woods interfered in the match on a few occasions, but the match continued. In the end, as Sheamus was reaching for a tag, Cesaro pretended to tag in and entered the ring. Kingston, assuming Cesaro was the legal man, executed Trouble in Paradise on Cesaro and attempted to pin him only for Sheamus to roll him up for a pinfall victory. This ended The New Day's reign at 483 days, the longest reign for a tag team championship on WWE's main roster until The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) broke the record with the SmackDown Tag Team Championship in November 2022.[19]

Next, Sami Zayn faced Braun Strowman in a match in which he had to survive the 10-minute time limit. Strowman dominated most of the match. At about four minutes remaining in the match, Mick Foley appeared and presumed to throw in the towel for Zayn but Zayn threw the towel into the crowd. Zayn then sent Strowman into the ring post. Moments later, Strowman charged at Zayn, who moved out of the way, causing Strowman to crash into the timekeeper's area. When Strowman beat the count, Zayn executed a top-rope Crossbody for a nearfall. Zayn then performed a Helluva Kick on Strowman as the time limit expired. Zayn was declared the winner.

After that, Seth Rollins faced Chris Jericho. At the climax, Kevin Owens came out to distract Rollins, allowing Jericho to roll up Rollins for a nearfall. Jericho then argued with Owens and told Owens to leave. Jericho attempted a Codebreaker but Rollins countered into a Pedigree to win the match.

In the fourth match, Rich Swann defended the Cruiserweight Championship in a triple threat match against T. J. Perkins and Brian Kendrick. In the end, after Swann and Perkins performed a double superkick on Kendrick, Swann executed a Spin Kick on Perkins to win the match and retain the title. After the match, Neville returned and attacked Swann and Perkins, turning heel.

In the penultimate match, Sasha Banks defended the Raw Women's Championship against Charlotte Flair in a 30-minute Iron Man match. After Banks dominated, the momentum shifted when Charlotte caused Banks to fall face first on the steel ring steps. Later, Charlotte executed Natural Selection on Banks for a nearfall. Charlotte attempted a Moonsault, but Banks cut her off. However, Charlotte executed Natural Selection off the top rope on Banks to score the first point. Banks then rolled up Charlotte to make the score 1–1. Charlotte attempted a Moonsault, but Banks moved out of the way and applied the Bank Statement. Charlotte tried to make it to the bottom rope, but Banks brought her to the middle of the ring and reapplied the submission to force Charlotte to submit and make the score 2–1. Charlotte then focused on injuring Banks' leg for the remainder of the match. Banks managed a nearfall, but Charlotte applied the Figure Four Leglock. However, Banks was able to reverse the pressure, only for Charlotte to un-reverse it moments later. Banks attempted to get to the bottom rope, but Charlotte pulled her to the middle of the ring every time. Eventually, Charlotte bridged into the Figure Eight, and Banks submitted with just two seconds left on the clock, tying the score at 2–2 as the time expired. The referee ruled the match would continue in sudden death overtime. Banks managed two pinning combinations, but both resulted in nearfalls. In the end, Banks applied the Bank Statement, but Charlotte escaped by going after Banks' injured leg and applied the Figure Four Leglock. Charlotte bridged into the Figure Eight, and Banks, who had a bloodied nose at that point, eventually submitted. As a result, Charlotte won the match 3–2, and the title for a fourth time. This also ended their long rivalry, since it was stipulated that after the match, as long as one of them was the champion, the other could not challenge for the title.

Main event

In the main event, Kevin Owens defended the WWE Universal Championship against United States Champion Roman Reigns. During the match, Owens performed two Frog Splashes off the barricade on Reigns, with the second one through the German broadcast table. After Reigns made it back in the ring before he was counted out, Owens performed another Frog Splash in the ring for a near-fall. Reigns attempted a Spear, but Owens countered and rolled-up Reigns for a near-fall. Owens performed a Pop Up Powerbomb on Reigns but Reigns placed his foot on the bottom rope to void the pin. In the end, Owens attempted to hit Reigns with the title belt, but Reigns responded with a Spear. Chris Jericho appeared and performed a Codebreaker on Owens, causing Owens to win by disqualification and retain the title. Jericho handed a shocked Owens the title belt and congratulated him, revealing that it was his plan to ensure that Owens won. As Owens and Jericho attempted to leave, Seth Rollins blocked their way. Reigns then attacked Owens with a Spear and Rollins executed a Pedigree on Jericho. Reigns and Rollins then put Jericho through the Spanish broadcast table with a Double Powerbomb. Afterwards, Owens tried to retreat, but Reigns and Rollins stopped him and performed another Double Powerbomb on Owens through the other broadcast table.

Reception

The Raw Tag Team, Universal, and Raw Women's championship matches were considered highlights of the event while the other matches received mixed-to-negative reviews.

Ryan Dilbert of Bleacher Report panned the Kickoff pre-show match, giving it a D− grade, stating that the "first act of this feud" was "underwhelming", "lacked the intensity it needed", and "did little to entice fans to stay tuned in". He also mentioned that "this storyline remains uncomfortable and off-the-mark", and that there was no reason to "root against Rusev". Also, "Amore's character, meanwhile, is veering off in the wrong direction".[20]

For the Raw Tag Team Championship match, Bleacher Report stated that "more hype and better buildup would have made this an even bigger moment", but "it's huge for Cesaro and Sheamus" to end The New Day's then-record tag team title reign, and "high-octane action kicked off the PPV the right way". Dilbert concluded by stating that "the Raw tag team division did well to keep interesting heading into 2017".[20] Wade Keller of Pro Wrestling Torch gave it 3 stars, stating that it was a "good match with a handful of convincing near-falls", but "the worst part of this title change is that it happened right after New Day set the record, so it just felt a little too convenient".[21]

As for the Universal Championship match, Pro Wrestling Torch gave it 2.75 stars, stating that "it's tough to give a good review to a match where the crowd reacted the opposite of all TV time invested in both characters and the intent of the promoter". However, Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens "told a good story and executed the match well".[21] Bleacher Report gave it an A grade, stating that "a more aggressive Owens, playing a menacing, serious heel again, was refreshing", and that "he and Reigns put on a strong effort, although a lot of rest holds hurt the action early". Also, despite the disqualification finish, it "made perfect sense with the story", and the powerful sights were "Jericho and Owens' reunion" and "Reigns and Rollins working together again".[20]

For the Raw Women's Championship match, Pro Wrestling Torch gave it 3.25 stars, stating that it was a "good match", but "not without some issues. The Iron Man stip worked against it for the first 20 minutes or so", but "the overtime was well played and the recall of how important the bridging by Charlotte was right before regulation added drama to the actual finish in overtime".[21] Bleacher Report gave it an A+ grade, the highest rated match of the event, stating that "time flew by in a lengthy, dramatic work of theater" and "a compelling story played out on the canvas as the rivals pushed each other to their limits once again". The match also "deftly used the Iron Man stipulation to add intrigue". However, Dilbert and Anthony Mango, also of Bleacher Report, disliked Sasha Banks' title reign ending early again. Dilbert stated that "WWE switching the title back so many times has hurt the power of each title win", making it "hard to get invested in the new champion this point", and that "WWE must let someone hold on to the gold for a sustained stretch now".[20] Mango stated that "the purpose of an Iron Man match is to allow multiple decisions", and the most frustrating part is WWE always preferring to "allow none". He stated that "the first decision didn't come until 20 minutes into the action, meaning the first two-thirds of the match was just setup", and if it had "culminated in something epic, it would have been worth it, but the final third of this was only a slight improvement over the rest of it". Also, this Iron Man match "was just another one added" to the list of Iron Man matches that "kept the score at 0–0 for nearly its entirety", and "it just felt like a drag that didn't need to go into overtime", as well as Banks and Bayley having "a much better matchup back in NXT. Mango stated that the worst part of the storyline was Banks' unsuccessful title defenses on pay-per-view after winning it on Raw three times in a row. This is why "this doesn't matter as much as it potentially could have", and that Banks and Charlotte would start something new. Mango concluded by stating the fans to "rinse and repeat what you've seen the past few months–but with Bayley's name instead of Banks'.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter gave the Raw Women's, Universal championship, and the Seth Rollins vs. Chris Jericho matches 3 stars. The Raw Tag Team Championship match received 3.5 stars, the highest of the event, the Cruiserweight Championship match received 1.75 stars, the Sami Zayn vs. Braun Strowman match received 1.25 stars, and the pre-show match was the only-non rated match at the event.[23]