![]() By Graham "GSM" Matthews Mike Bennett and Maria Called Out Ethan Carter III This reminded me of when each of the WWE Championship match competitors at WrestleMania 24 ran Raw in the weeks leading up to the event. Sorry, totally random side note. Anyway, it was fun to see EC3 give Bennett his comeuppance after all this time, but not in a way where fans aren't anticipating seeing him avenge his loss at Slammiversary. This was a pretty standard segment that set the tone for the rest of the show with EC3 in charge, though I will note EC3 is much better on the mic when he's in serious mode. That's not to say he isn't funny, but his humor can be very hit or miss more often than not. King of the Mountain Champion Bram def. Lashley by Disqualification (Non-title) It's a shame the apparent friendship between Drew Galloway and Bram hadn't been established on TV prior to this point. In fact, I don't think it had ever been acknowledged until now. Perhaps Creative thinks all Europeans are friends. The match wasn't anything of note and Lashley walked out unscathed as he should have, though his attack on Bram set up the subsequent match nicely without making Bram get beaten.
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![]() By Graham "GSM" Matthews Enzo Amore and Big Cass def. The Vaudevillians The pre-match verbal exchange between the two teams was well done and it was nice for them to touch upon how it was The Vaudevillians who put Enzo out of action with a concussion last month at Payback instead of leaving it to the announcers to mention on commentary. That said, I would have saved their first match against each other until it meant more. In other words, I wouldn't have wasted it on Main Event. The match was actually pretty good and the crowd was engaged in the action, but I would have rather held off on their first match since Payback until later down the line. Zack Ryder def. Viktor We saw this match on Superstars last week and this was virtually no different. I commend Ryder for always putting forth a strong effort in every one of his outings, regardless of who his opponent is, but Viktor is just beyond boring. The "demonic" face paint is kickass, but obviously, he won't be on the receiving end of a push on his own, nor should he be. I don't see much changing when Konnor comes back from suspension, either. ![]() By Graham "GSM" Matthews The New Day Interrupted Shane McMahon and Stephanie McMahon This should have been the segment that answered all of our questions regarding SmackDown going live, the Brand Split and the rumored WWE Draft, but this was nothing but comic relief with New Day. I enjoyed their interaction with the McMahons and I guess it's good they addressed it instead of ignoring it (then again, I don't know how they could have), but this was a disappointment, and thank god the dance-off was cut short. I assume not even WWE knows what the hell is going on right now with the impending Brand Split, though we should get answers before long. WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day def. The Vaudevillians by Disqualification (Non-title) I feared The Vaudevillians would earn a non-title victory over New Day here and build to another title match at Money in the Bank, but I'm happy that isn't the case. This was a pretty formulaic tag team match and Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson attacking New Day was a pleasant surprise. I hoped they would be the next challengers to the WWE Tag Team Championship coming out of Extreme Rules, but I wasn't certain following their angle with AJ Styles last Monday night. It will be a different dynamic for sure for New Day, but I have confidence both teams can make it work. ![]() 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:
![]() By Thomas Brunt Going into both WWE Payback and WWE Extreme Rules, most fans with common sense knew Champion Roman Reigns was going to emerge victorious over rival AJ Styles in their program. How it was going to happen was another matter, a matter that many feared for the former IWGP Heavyweight champion. Make no mistake about it, Styles once again proved why he is indeed "The Phenomenal One" in his latest series of matches with Roman Reigns, but this was never the concern. Roman Reigns winning wasn't even the issue. The issue was a concern of whether or not the former TNA star would be buried, or at least how he would look in defeat to the hated champion. The concern, unfortunately became more a reality as week after week until the go home Raw for Extreme Rules, both AJ Styles and his (now) former stable, the Bullet Club continued to look weak and painfully so to both the leader of the Roman Empire, and his cousins, The Usos |
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