#AskGSM Edition #339: Double or Nothing Recap, Matt Riddle on SmackDown, Hana Kimura, More5/27/2020 #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:
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Ace Austin def. Hernandez in an Impact World Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament Semifinal MatchAustin has largely been positioned as an X-Division player for the past year, so it's cool to see him getting chances to shine against some bigger competition. He and Hernandez had a pretty good match where the size difference worked to their advantage. Austin is the IMPACT regular, so it made more sense for him to advance than Hernandez, not to mention his history with Trey (who went on to beat Elgin in the main event). Chris Bey def. Cousin JakeI'm a fool for not realizing sooner that Cody Deaner is based out of Canada, which is why he hasn't been a part of these tapings (at least in the building with the rest of the talent) and why Cousin Jake has been flying solo recently. It's out of their control, but I couldn't care less about Jake on his own. On the bright side, it was impressive for Bey to beat someone significantly bigger than him. This was a fun match, but I could do without Johnny Swinger as Bey's manager (?). Here's hoping he dumps him before long. I'm looking forward to Bey and Willie Mack eventually clashing for the Impact X-Division Championship.
Natural Nightmares def. The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds & John Silver)Natural Nightmares is the new team name for Dustin Rhodes and QT Marshall. They've grown on me as a duo and it's a good way to get Marshall relevant since he bores me to tears on his own. Reynolds and Silver have never been established as anything more than punching bugs for Dark Order, so I can't say I'm surprised that they lost (again). Allie scouting Marshall from the crowd was interesting, though. I say Marshall and not Natural Nightmares on the whole because of how she was eating an apple. I'd ask what happened to The Butcher and The Blade, but that would be implying that I care. Michael Nakazawa def. Brandon Cutler by count-OutYes, you read that correctly. Nakazawa beat Cutler by count-out, which is a first in AEW (thanks to the commentators for making note of that). Cutler's growing frustration and how he's never won a match in AEW was the story of the match, so his latest loss furthered that. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary whatsoever, but I am mildly curious to see where it leads. A heel turn would be something new, but who knows if it would actually work.
Bianca Belair def. Ruby RiottRiott hasn't won a match since February 2019, so it's safe to say that the outcome to this contest was never in doubt. However, that didn't at all hinder my enjoyment of the outing. This was as entertaining as their original encounter and the addition of the wrestlers in the audience helped with that. Belair is coming along nicely, but it's a shame she's already been relegated to Main Event purgatory less than two months after being called up to the main roster. Shelton Benjamin def. Akira TozawaThese two have had terrific chemistry any time they've faced each other on Main Event in recent months. Despite not being given a ton of time here, they once again did their best and contested a super fun match. Benjamin scoring the victory didn't surprise me as he tends to occasionally win on Main Event, but I wouldn't at all be opposed to more matches between them because they never cease to work well together.
Kevin Owens Hosted The Kevin Owens Show with Raw Women's Champion Asuka, NXT Women's Champion Charlotte Flair, Natalya and Nia JaxThis was basically a last-ditch effort to get viewers to care about the Raw Women's Championship number one contender's match later on in the night. Owens and Asuka were entertaining together, but the rest of the segment with Flair, Natalya and Jax was nothing special whatsoever. Flair is overexposed, Natalya is insufferable, and Jax's mic skills are below average. Asuka brawling with Jax and not the other two made it obvious who was winning that Triple Threat. Apollo Crews def. Andrade to Win the United States ChampionshipIt's rare that Crews is given a chance to showcase his skills and prove to people just how talented he truly is, so I'm glad he and Crews were able to have the match they were capable of here. It was an enjoyable outing and Crews taking the title was pleasantly surprising. He has been constantly looked over in WWE over the last five years, so this was a cool moment. Granted, the United States Championship means absolutely nothing, so I don't have a ton of faith that he'll be any better of a champion than Andrade was (and we all know how many non-title matches Andrade lost while champ).
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