#AskGSM Edition #113: Royal Rumble Returns, AJ Styles' WWE Debut, Tyler Breeze in NXT, More1/26/2016 By Graham "GSM" Matthews #AskGSM is a weekly Q&A video where I, Graham "GSM" Matthews, answer fan questions from Facebook, Twitter and YouTube in regards to the world of wrestling. Nothing is off limits, and this week’s edition touches upon a variety of topics including:
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By Graham "GSM" Matthews Kevin Owens def. Jack Swagger It's amazing to me that despite how big of an afterthought Swagger has become, he is still capable contesting some damn good matches when he is motivated. I guess I was foolish to underestimate his abilities. Owens is always excellent, but it takes two to tango and Swagger more than held his own in this matchup. From the get-go, I never took Swagger as a threat to beat Owens, but there were several points throughout this matchup where Swagger appeared to have a shot at winning. Although this deserved to take place in the main event slot, it made for a highly entertaining opener. The Dudley Boyz def. The Ascension Although The Dudley Boyz are rather directionless at the moment, it's a good thing their matches are usually fun, or at least for me they are. They're a perfect team for the PG crowds because they're so fan-friendly. That was the case with this contest, so while the in-ring action wasn't anything out of the ordinary, they put forth a decent effort and the crowd was somewhat engaged if nothing else. By Graham "GSM" Matthews WWE World Heavyweight Champion Triple H Addressed Roman Reigns As I've noted time and time again, I'm never a fan of long Authority promos opening Raw, and while I would have cut this short by a few minutes, everyone that was a part of this segment played their roles extremely well. The McMahons really heeled it up for the first time in a while instead of blurring the lines with their characters. Say what you will about Triple H being champion, but even his promo was very good. They set the stage nicely for his rematch with Roman Reigns, which will obviously be taking place at WrestleMania. The outcome of their match isn't in doubt whatsoever, but they've built it up so well in recent months that I'm actually looking forward to it. Kevin Owens def. Dolph Ziggler Yes, we've seen Owens vs. Ziggler more times than I can count, but at the very least, they can always be counted on for a quality performance. They have great in-ring chemistry and this was another fun outing from them. Ziggler has never meant less, but this was all about Owens getting his win back coming off his Last Man Standing loss at the Royal Rumble. I was hoping for an appearance from Sami Zayn afterward, but no such luck. Perhaps they're saving that feud for later down the line. By Graham "GSM" Matthews Mark Henry and Jack Swagger def. The Dudley Boyz, Darren Young and Damien Sandow, and The Ascension in a Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Royal Rumble Qualifying Match Needless to say, this was a nothing match, and you couldn't expect much else when it featured four teams (two of which you can't call regular "teams") the crowd couldn't have cared less about. The Orlando audience sat on their hands the whole time, but if nothing else, at least WWE bothered to advertise a match for the Kickoff show this month and there was enough at stake for it not to feel completely inconsequential (even if Henry and Swagger lasted no more than a minute in the Royal Rumble). Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose def. Kevin Owens in a Last Man Standing Match Damn! I've said since the moment this match was announced that I hadn't seen this hot of a feud over the Intercontinental Championship in years and it definitely deserved this stipulation. They more than made the most of it by putting forth an incredible effort and incorporating a handful of awesome spots. The use of tables by both men was excellent and the crowd was solidly behind them every step of the way. Sometimes, in a match featuring two wrestlers that the crowd loves, they don't know who to cheer for, but that was far from the case here. I really liked how Owens was protected in defeat as well. This was one of the best Last Man Standing matches I've seen in ages and Ambrose and Owens deserve a tremendous amount of credit. |
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