Intercontinental Champion The Miz and Asuka def. Finn Balor and Sasha BanksThis was easily better than any of the recent matchups we've seen on Mixed Match Challenge, though that shouldn't be surprising when you consider who was involved. The timing of Miz vs. Balor on Monday's Raw couldn't have been any better given they were on opposite teams here, while Banks and Asuka clashed one-on-one just last month. They all work very well together, and what also made this match enjoyable was the dynamic between Miz and Asuka and the latter fearing Miz would cause her undefeated streak to be broken. They're my pick to win it all, so I was happy they advanced. Overall ShowI'll usually recommend this show based off the quality of the sole match that's featured, and because this was the most entertaining one I've seen in a while, I'd certainly suggest you seek it out when you have a few minutes to spare. It helps that Miz and Balor are apparently feuding now anyway, so this progressed their storyline as well. The format is short, sweet and to the point with no filler, which I appreciate.
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SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon and SmackDown General manager Daniel Bryan Confronted John Cena"Desperate John Cena" is a great new character for Cena, if only because he's delusional to think that he won't have a road to WrestleMania. Everyone expected him to be apart of the WWE Championship picture somehow, but I'm glad he wasn't just handed a match with Shinsuke Nakamrua at Fastlane simply because he's John Cena. That said, I understand that SmackDown Live is the "land of opportunity," but a Six-Pack Challenge WWE title match? Really? Worse yet, with Cena vs. AJ Styles being as big as it is, that should have been advertised at least one week out, not thrown together at the last minute for the night's main event. Baron Corbin def. Sami ZaynThe commercial break dominated a majority of this match and Kevin Owens was more entertaining on commentary than the action was, but what we did see was good. It's just hard to care about anyone in this WWE Championship match coming up at Fastlane when no one can win consistently. For example, Corbin won two weeks ago, lost last week, and picked up a victory this week. 50/50 is what's killing SmackDown right now. Also, how obnoxious were those cut-ins from Shane and Bryan from the back?
Akira Tozawa def. Ariya DaivariIt never ceases to amaze me how hot Tozawa was last summer during his feud with Neville over the WWE Cruiserweight Championship, and then how he completely fell off the face of the earth. He's still a lot of fun to watch in the ring, but the crowd sat on their hands for this. I partially blame Daivari, not because he's bad in the ring but rather because he's the ultimate enhancement talent in the Cruiserweight division. Thus, it's hard to care about anything he's involved in, no matter how decent it might be. Goldust def. Curt HawkinsWe have seen this match a handful of times in recent months, so while it was nothing new, this mostly consisted of comedy that I enjoyed. For example, I got a good chuckle out of Hawkins laying down for Goldust only to reveal he was playing possum (to no avail, of course). I've seen that spot from them before, but it always makes me laugh. This was hardly anything worth going out of your way to see, but for the time it was allotted, it was a nice little matchup.
Asuka, Sasha Banks and Bayley def. Raw Women's Champion Alexa Bliss, Mickie James and Nia JAxBliss' pre-match promo was excellent as usual as she ran down her opponents at Elimination Chamber and played up her partnership with James. I thought she would turn on James right then and there, or at least during/after the subsequent six-woman tag team match, but apparently not. James is a heel now despite never actually turning, so I'm interested to see if their alliance sticks or if it'll be short-lived. The match itself was super solid and furthered several storylines with Jax and Asuka as well as Bayley and Banks with Bayley refusing to take the tag from Banks. No, Bayley didn't turn heel, but I guess she didn't understand that it was every woman for themselves inside the Chamber and that Banks was merely doing what had to be done. John Cena Challenged The Undertaker to a Match at WrestleMania 34The notion that Cena doesn't have a road to WrestleMania even though he hasn't missed an installment in a decade a half is absolutely ridiculous. The match with Undertaker has been rumored for many months, so it was hardly a surprise when Cena brought up his name as a potential opponent for the show. He then said it would be "impossible" for that to come to fruition before announcing that as a "free agent," he will be appearing on Tuesday's SmackDown Live to find a different route to WrestleMania. He is currently advertised for Fastlane after all, but 'Taker will resurface at some point to make that 'Mania match official.
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