Cody Interrupted ROH World Champion Christopher DanielsThis was a fantastic segment. I like how Daniels has been more of a serious competitor since capturing the ROH World Championship, and Cody continues to thrive as a heel. We all knew he had it in him from his WWE days (pre-Stardust, obviously), but he just keeps killing it every time he has a mic in his hands. His promo about not being a full-timer for ROH and how him winning the belt would be a disgrace to the title was brilliant. There's a pretty good chance Cody leaves War of the Worlds the new champion and I wouldn't be opposed to that happening at all. Shane Taylor def. Lio RushAs noted, I'm almost certain Rush officially left ROH weeks ago, so I'm actually shocked he wasn't straight-up squashed by Taylor here. They had a pretty competitive contest with Rush scoring an ample amount of offense, and as a result, it was a fun match. If this wasn't Rush's last televised matchup, I could see him teaming with The Motor City Machine Guns to take on The Rebellion on an upcoming episode, given that was what was teased afterward.
0 Comments
Akira Tozawa and Rich Swann def. The Brian Kendrick and Noam DarBoth of these feuds have overstayed their welcome at this point (more so Swann vs. Dar than Tozawa vs. Kendrick), but it was wise to combine them in one entertaining match. I enjoyed the high energy action and there never seemed to be a dull moment in the time they were allotted. The babyfaces continue to get the best of the heels, but Kendrick is established enough where he doesn't lose anything in defeat. Tony Nese def. Mustafa Ali by DisqualificationAdmittedly, the angle with Drew Gulak and his "Cruiserweight crusade" has me mildly intriguing. Hey, at least they're finally doing something of note with the guy, not to mention he fared well on commentary. As for the match, we've seen it a few times before, but Ali and Nese work well together and it was fine while it lasted. Unfortunately, the finish was flat and the crowd sat on their hands during the matchup. Nese continues to flounder, but I'm glad Ali and Gulak have finally found some direction.
Dolph Ziggler Interrupted Shinsuke NakamuraOne of the biggest reasons I was looking forward to this feud was so Ziggler could do most of the talking for Nakamura, which is what we got in this segment. Nakamura was short and sweet with what he had to say (is there a reason why he's talking with his mouthguard in?), but Ziggler's mic work does nothing for me when he's making outdated references that don't make any sense. I'm sorry but he just isn't funny. They progressed the feud nicely, but I continue to not care about Ziggler in any meaningful way. AJ STyles def. Baron CorbinI liked the match these two had last week and this was an equally enjoyable encounter from them. I don't know what the rush was in doing a rematch so soon, but on the bright side, Corbin continues to prove that he can hang with the top-tier talent and is a star on the rise. Him losing isn't optimal, but he isn't beaten decisively all that often and it was by a roll-up, anyway. Plus, Styles is the No. 1 contender to the United States Championship, so he needed the win more. Sami Zayn coming to Styles' aid afterward should mean that he'll be headed for a feud with Corbin for Backlash next month.
Rhyno def. Titus O'NeilRhyno and Heath Slater had yet to wrestle since joining the Raw brand via the Superstar Shake-up earlier this month, so I was glad we got a fresh match with the undercard guys for a change on Main Event. Although it wasn't anything special, I was happy it wasn't O'Neil against someone such as Curtis Axel for the millionth time. My only complaint about this was that Rhyno didn't use the Gore to win (he beat O'Neil with a standard spinebuster), which the crowd was obviously waiting for before the abrupt finish. Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado def. Tony Nese and Drew GulakThis is a tag team match I know for a fact has been done a few times before on Main Event, but it's hard to complain when the matches are getting better by the week. Maybe it's because they're finally finding chemistry together, and additionally, the crowd was somewhat engaged in the action (more so than usual). It was a pretty nice match on the whole and I was happy the babyfaces scored the victory for a change. Furthermore, I'd really like to see Metalik used more prominently on 205 Live in the future.
The Highlight Reel Became Miz TV Before Becoming Ambrose AsylumTaking up the first 20 minutes of Raw, this segment was a total train wreck in the best way possible and I loved every second of it. I might be alone in saying that because I personally enjoy the chemistry Chris Jericho, The Miz and Dean Ambrose have together, but it was the little things such as Ambrose apologizing to Jericho for destroying his light-up jacket last year before presenting him with a new one that made this so fun. That said, I wish Jericho was a bit more serious heading into his upcoming United States Championship match with Kevin Owens, but that's merely nitpicking. Raw Tag Team Champion Matt Hardy def. SheamusI find it hilarious Matt keeps switching between his "broken" and his Version 1 personas, though I'm sure he will go all in with the "broken" stuff eventually, probably after he and Jeff drop the straps. This was a good, well-wrestled match from Matt and Sheamus with an interesting finishing sequence. I don't know if Cesaro and Sheamus are headed for a heel turn, but even if not, I'm glad tension has been established between the two teams. The tag team title match at Payback is much more intriguing now that there is a possibility Sheamus (and/or Cesaro) might cheat to win on Sunday.
|
Categories
All
Archives
January 2025
|