By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The New Age Outlaws def. Cody Rhodes and Goldust to Win the WWE Tag Team Championships

Despite their age, the New Age Outlaws are still capable of having pretty good matches, and this was one of them. This was much better than the initial encounter between the two teams and made for one of the best Kickoff matches in quite some time. I was surprised to see the New Age Outlaws so over with the crowd, but was it really wise on their part to act like babyfaces even though they turned on CM Punk a few weeks ago? I welcome the title change, as it opens up the doors for a potential Cody Rhodes vs. Goldust match at WrestleMania. The New Age Outlaws are more than a nostalgia act at this point; whoever takes the titles off them (hopefully The Usos) will receive a huge boost.


Bray Wyatt def. Daniel Bryan

Going in, I expected this to be nothing more than a solid matchup on the card. Boy, was I (and many others) wrong or what? This match undoubtedly stole the show. It could be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it, as everything that followed paled in comparison. The action was exciting from bell to bell and both competitors truly brought their A-game. Wyatt had yet to have a memorable match since re-debuting in July, but proved he can hang with the best of them in this contest. The finish was fantastic with Wyatt catching Bryan on the outside and hitting the Sister Abigail on the barricade. It was a big, clean win for Wyatt and one that will certainly boost his stock as a singles guy on the road to WrestleMania.

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Big Show and Rey Mysterio def. The Real Americans

It was a decent enough tag team match, but the ending outcome could be seen from a mile away. I understand they want to make Show look strong going into his Royal Rumble match against Brock Lesnar, but does it really need to come at the expense of The Real Americans, a tandem with actual potential? The loss didn't do much damage to the act, but it was still unnecessary. On the bright side, I like the idea of Mysterio feuding with the duo, but he would need a partner. Sin Cara, perhaps? Paul Heyman's post-match promo was good, but I am still not looking forward to Lesnar vs. Show.


The Miz def. Brodus Clay

No one was going to care about the match anyway, but did they really need to have Bad News Barrett go out there and crap all over it? Maybe it is because I am a fan of both Miz and Clay and see them as competitors with upside, but this was just flat out stupid. People couldn't care less about Miz or Clay as it is right now, yet they had to have Barrett remind us all of that. Job well done, WWE.

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

TNA World Heavyweight Champion Magnus Confronted Sting

Magnus and Sting had a solid segment that helped hype their title match for later in the show. I was glad to see them make mention of the fact of their history in Main Event Mafia as well as Magnus' victory over Sting at last year's Bound For Glory event. I was also pleasantly surprised to see Dixie Carter and company not distract from their verbal exchange. However, the backstage segment that aired prior to this was downright awful for the atrocious actor that was hired to play the attorney and took away from anything that came after it.


Gunner def. James Storm in a Briefcase on a Pole Match

I haven't enjoyed the feud between these two up thus far, but it appears to be continuing past this point. The match was fine for what it was, but they weren't given enough time for it to feel special at all, especially since it has been built up for close to three months. While the match may have been decent, the stupendously stupid finish ruined it all. It could be seen coming from a mile away when Mike Tenay said on commentary that one would have to get "full possession" of the briefcase. It still looks like Storm will be the one to go heel, which is a mistake because I have zero reason to care about Gunner being a world title contender.

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Ethan Carter III def. Tommy Dreamer in a Tables Match

Carter's pre-match promo was effective in getting heat on him and making the crowd get behind Dreamer that much more. EC3's television matches as of late have been too short to really give fans a glimpse of what he is actually capable of in the ring, but this match was given good time and was by far EC3's best bout to date. It started out slow, but all the tables spots were well done and EC3 went over strong with a clean win for a change. Kudos to Dreamer for putting the kid over, but more should have been done to hype his upcoming match against Bully Ray at the next One Night Only event.


Austin Aries def. Chris Sabin in an X-Division Xscape Match

I said back in July that a feud between these two had the potential to be great, and while that has yet to transcend on television, they definitely proved that here. The biggest problem with their latest series of TV matches has been that they haven't been given enough time to shine. They righted that wrong here and put on an excellent matchup that told a solid story. Sabin was clever in tying Aries to the bottom rope and resorting to dirty tactics, in what the commentators fittingly called "desperate measures". Isn't it funny that the best match between these two to date wasn't even for the X-Division Championship?

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Adrian Neville def. Wesley Blake

Blake wasn't your typical enhancement talent, as he appeared to have a cowboy gimmick. He was pretty generic aside from that, but at least he held his own against Neville. It was a basic showcase for Neville, who was extremely over with the Full Sail University crowd. His brief feud with Tyler Breeze already appears to be over and he now looks to reset his sights on the NXT Championship.


Alexander Rusev def. Xavier Woods

This was better than their first encounter from a few weeks ago (which was no more than a minute long), but not by much. Woods was able to score some offense on Rusev this time around, but the ending result was still never in doubt. It is such a shame that Woods is being saddled with Brodus Clay's old gimmick. Why not have him establish his own identity? Sin Cara received a mild reaction upon making the save for Woods, and I don't blame the live crowd at all. Fans have been given very little reason to care about Sin Cara as of late, but at least he can take a loss by Rusev and not be hurt by it (what damage is there left to be done?). What happened to Rusev's apparent feud with Kingston?