Kalisto, Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado def. TJP, Gentleman Jack Gallagher and Drew Gulak (Kickoff Match)Of the three matches on the Kickoff show, this was the match that needed to go on first when there was essentially no one in the arena. Doors didn't open until the Kickoff show started, further proving that a two-hour Kickoff show is unnecessary and WWE should wait until more people are in the seats to hold a match. This was completely inconsequential, and although the effort was there, it did nothing to make me care about the Cruiserweight division. The Revival def. Karl Anderson and Luke GallowsThis was a rematch from Raw 25, and that was the only build that it had. As a result, it felt formulaic. Nothing about it screamed special at all and I simply sat on my hands. And this is coming from someone who is a fan of both teams! The Revival needed this victory way more, so while I was glad they picked up the win, I wouldn't be surprised to see them face off in a rubber match sometime soon.
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NXT Tag Team Champions Undisputed Era def. Authors of PainKyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish have always been exceptional professional wrestlers, but it was unknown how they would translate to the WWE style when they signed last year. Well, it hasn't taken them long at all to come into their own as wonderful heels, doing anything it takes to retain their titles and find a way to escape unscathed. Here, they focused on the "hurt" leg of Akam, and in the end, that was what helped them walk away with their titles intact. Authors of Pain continue to make great strides and should be main roster bound as soon as this coming week. The Velveteen Dream def. Kassius OhnoFor a match that had next to no build aside from a brief backstage segment that aired on WWE's YouTube channel after NXT this past week, this was a ton of fun. The start to the bout with Dream teasing that he would knock out Ohno in a matter of 30 seconds was especially entertaining. The guy just has the complete package, whereas Ohno is the perfect person for up-and-comers like Dream to go up against and prove their worth. It might have lasted a little longer than it needed to, and there were a few flawed spots here and there, but on the whole, this was a good match.
Matt Sydal def. Ethan Carter III to Win the Impact Grand ChampionshipI've been thoroughly enjoying the feud these two have been having over the last month or so with Sydal being portrayed perfectly as the underdog and EC3 constantly throwing his shortcomings in his face. They told a real solid story here with that in mind, and the in-ring action itself was also entertaining. It was merely a matter of time before Sydal captured the championship, so it was a cool moment when he did. This was way better than any other Impact Grand Championship match in recent memory, so please let this mean the rules with the rounds and whatnot will be abolished permanently going forward. Impact Knockouts Champion Laurel Van Ness def. AllieI have been critical of Van Ness' in-ring abilities in the past because I feel the "crazy" character she has limits her considerably, but this was definitely one of her better outings in a while. The pace was a little slow early on and not too exciting, but Allie worked well fighting from underneath and the final stretch was good. Van Ness retained the title by hitting Allie with the title belt when the referee was down, so Allie was protected in defeat.
No Way Jose def. Cezar BononiI like Jose and I dig his harmless act, but this was really one of those "been there, done that" type of matches. He was on a pretty major roll in the summer of 2016, but he was never the same after that loss to Austin Aries at TakeOver: Brooklyn II and he has been treading water ever since. It's extremely evident by this point he is nothing more than an undercard act that will probably never get called up to the main roster. Plus, I wouldn't be this surprised if this was merely meant to give him a hint of credibility before he gets squashed again soon. Bianca Belair def. Latoya AllsoppBelair was one of the biggest standouts of the Mae Young Classic late last year in my opinion, and the coolest thing is that she had no prior wrestling experience before signing with WWE. She is still very green, mind you, but she has plenty of potential and is already making great strides. This wasn't the prettiest outing ever, but she had a decent enough showing to at least leave an impression.
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