![]() By Graham "GSM" Matthews Goldust def. Alberto Del Rio Goldust and Del Rio worked a nice match in the time they were allotted, but the bout was given even less time than Cody Rhodes vs. Del Rio from Monday's Raw, which was strange. Goldust's clean victory over the former WWE and World Heavyweight Champion was a pleasant surprise and told the story that he could defeat Del Rio when Cody couldn't. I also liked their post-match interview with Renee Young, as it gave this storyline the mic time it deserves. A lot of things get lost in the shuffle on Raw, so I'm glad it was given some focus on this show. Both Goldust and Cody played their parts well and their split, of course, is only inevitable. Divas Champion Paige def. Alicia Fox (Non-title) The match was kept short and sweet and was basically a showcase for Paige going into her Divas title defense at Extreme Rules. The victor was never really in doubt, so I have no issues with the short match time. It was nice of Paige to debut yet another finisher (which looks very cool) that can be used as an alternative to the submission. WWE hasn't done this in years (with the exception of AJ Lee vs. Kaitlyn last year), but why not give Paige and/or Tamina Snuka a segment to sell their upcoming match? Snuka, while a good wrestler, has very little personality, so perhaps that's why, but at least they encountered one another as Paige was on the stage (though the live crowd couldn't have cared less).
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![]() By Graham "GSM" Matthews John Cena Addressed the WWE Universe Cena standing inside the Steel Cage was cool a nice touch given that he'll be fighting Bray Wyatt in the same structure at Extreme Rules, but I couldn't take some of his early mic work seriously. Trust me, folks, that's the closest we'll ever get to seeing a heel Cena, as I don't think any of this leads to him turning. Nevertheless, I figured he'd go from being somber to being fired up and confident going into Sunday, but that didn't end up being the case. Wyatt coming down with the chorus of kids was eerie and straight up awesome. The visual of them all wearing sheep masks as they went to commercial gave me goosebumps. I really hope this doesn't mean Cena wins the rematch, as WWE has struck gold with Wyatt and another loss could really damage his act. WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos def. Curtis Axel and Ryback The crowd was flat for the matchup early on (and I don't blame them given that Axel and Ryback hardly have any heat on them), but they came alive down the stretch. It was a well-worked match and the final few minutes were very fun. I expected the match to have some sort of a wacky finish to set up a gimmick match for Sunday, but apparently not. I'm glad The Usos went over without any shenanigans, but why not save this match for the pay-per-view instead? ![]() By Graham "GSM" Matthews The Wolves def. The Bro-Mans in a 3-on-2 Handicap No Disqualification Match to Win the TNA World Tag Team Championships After weeks of getting disqualified and count-outed, why were The Bro-Mans given the advantage in this match with the odds being in their favor? Granted, the no DQ stipulation benefited The Wolves, but why wasn't that stipulation added prior to tonight? Regardless, the two teams delivered a very good matchup with tons of fun action from start to finish. As much as I despise the gimmick, The Bro-Mans can go in the ring and The Wolves were awesome per usual. I was glad to see The Wolves finally win the belts, though it probably would have meant more had they not held those same straps for a week last month. Mr. Anderson def. Samuel Shaw in a Committed Match This feud has had its moments over the last two months, but it desperately needs to end. This match wasn't necessarily bad, but it wasn't anything special and the stipulation was stupid to begin with. The biggest head scratcher in this match was why Christy Hemme was at ringside when it's very possible that Shaw might get to her. Anderson going over gives me hope that this rivalry is finally over and that he can move on to bigger and better things. As for Shaw, I don't look forward to seeing footage of him in the mental hospital in coming weeks on Impact. ![]() By Graham "GSM" Matthews Zeb Colter and Paul Heyman Engaged in a Debate Both Heyman and Colters are undoubtedly great talkers so this made for a great segment. Heyman was his annoying self when boasting about his clients winning at WrestleMania, but I was glad that he at least mentioned Cesaro's victory in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal for once. Colter not spewing his usual patriotic lines was a refreshing change of pace and I really liked how he was straight to the point in his promo. Based of their reaction, the crowd desperately wanted to see Heyman and Colter go at it despite the fact they're both heel managers. Furthermore, this led into the subsequent match of Cesaro vs. Jack Swagger nicely. Cesaro def. Jack Swagger Not counting their match the night after WrestleMania, Cesaro and Swagger really haven't worked with each other at all in singles competition, so this was a fresh matchup with a lot of enjoyable action. As of now, both are still heel, but Cesaro played to the crowd at times and he was the obvious fan favorite. They developed very good chemistry with each other down the stretch and I was happy to see Cesaro pick up the clean victory. I'm not disappointed this match didn't go down at Extreme Rules if only because I expect Cesaro to face Rob Van Dam instead (or a Triple Threat match with Swagger). |
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