By Graham "GSM" Matthews

WWE World Heavyweight Champion John Cena Confronted The Authority

As I've said time and time again, The Authority kicking off the show has grown tiresome over the last several months. It feels so repetitive, though you had to expect they'd confront Cena in some form and fashion following his title victory at the Money in the Bank. That aside, it was a logical follow-up to the events that occurred on Sunday night and it also built toward Battleground with the announcement of the Fatal 4-Way WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at the next pay-per-view, hyping up the main event match featuring the same four competitors at the same time. On a side note, I'm fine with Cena being on the cover of the upcoming WWE 2K15 video game. He's the face of the company and there's no one else that makes sense right now except for Daniel Bryan (who I believe was on the fan art cover for last year's game). At least he consistently appears on WWE TV unlike The Rock with WWE 2K14.


Seth Rollins def. Rob Van Dam

I mentioned last week that I wished to see a rematch between these two after their match last week ended in a disqualification, so I was glad to see the rematch held on this show. They work well together and produce enjoyable action. RVD received big reactions for his high-flying maneuvers and it was certainly a sight to see. Coming out of his Money in the Bank win on Sunday, Rollins needed to pick up a big victory on his own and this win over RVD provided that for him. It gave him the credibility as a singles star, so props to RVD for doing the favors. Dean Ambrose's post-match promo was great as expected and it was nice to see him establish that Rollins won't be able to cash in his briefcase without Ambrose being present to prevent it from happening.

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Michael Cole Interviewed Daniel Bryan (Kickoff Show)

It feels like it's been forever since we last saw Bryan on WWE TV, yet it's only been four weeks since we saw him at the Payback pay-per-view. He was in good spirits and perhaps that's a good thing, but I would have liked to see him cut a more serious promo considering he was just stripped of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Either way, the live crowd was obviously very happy to see him and he received a great reaction from them. Bo Dallas' interruption gave him a good rub and it was cool to see the two cross paths for the first time. I don't think it'll lead to anything later down the line, but it was fun for what it was. I surely hope Bryan isn't in need of a second surgery, but I'd rather have him back 100% and not anything less.


WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos def. Luke Harper and Erick Rowan

One of the two Money in the Bank Ladder matches usually kick off the annual event, but I was happy with this match in the opening slot seeing how there weren't any other world title/major matches on this show aside from the main event. These two teams have always worked well together and this match was no exception. The action was entertaining from start to finish and they quickened the pace down the stretch. I really liked how it took two splashes to take out Rowan instead of the usual one. I was content with the titles remaining with The Usos if only because I hope to see The Ascension called up to the main roster soon to feud with them. The Wyatt Family and The Usos have feuded for so long that I hope this was the blowoff, but I could certainly see more matches between the two tandems in the near future, and that's not a complaint since their matches are always great.

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Authority Opened the Show

I cringe whenever The Authority open Raw or SmackDown if only because it's not only necessary and their drawn out talking segments have grown tiresome with this viewer. Thankfully, this segment didn't take up too much time and effectively hyped up the Money in the Bank pay-per-view. Tension was also teased between Randy Orton and Seth Rollins, so I'm glad they addressed the logic if they both win their respective matches on Sunday. HHH introducing Bad News Barrett was a nice tie-in to the subsequent match.


Dean Ambrose def. Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett (Non-title)

Similar to their Raw match last week, Ambrose and Barrett work well together and had a solid match. I guess I missed the part when Barrett was named The Authority's official hitman. Ambrose hasn't won many matches lately, so this victory was a nice momentum booster. On the same token, I hate to see Barrett lose non-title matches, especially when I'm afraid Ambrose will never contend for the belt. Seth Rollins' attack afterward furthered his feud with Ambrose nicely. On a side note, I wish Barrett a quick recovery after separating his shoulder upon making impact with the barricade.

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Adam Rose def. Heath Slater

I liked how a replay was shown of the last matchup together, giving this match a bit more meaning in the process. Obviously, both Rose and Slater are good workers and are capable of having a much better match than this, but for what this was, I enjoyed it. They worked in a few fun spots and the crowd was invested in the action. It was slightly better than their Superstars encounter from two weeks ago, but not by much. The part with Rose taking the wig off Hornswoggle on the ring apron was repetitive since it was done the last time as well, but for anyone curious, Hornswoggle has since shaved his head completely bald. This marks the second time that Rose has worked Superstars in recent weeks. I really hope this isn't a sign of officials souring on the character already.


Rybaxel def. R-Truth and Xavier Woods

We've seen this match countless times before and it never gets any more interesting. Heck, we saw this same exact match on Main Event this week? Granted, they tried to make mention of that in the backstage pre-match promo (which I liked), but the end result of this match was never in doubt. Usually I enjoy long matches, but not when it's the same match all the time. If nothing else, Woods shined throughout the bout considerably, further proving why he deserves much than he's getting right now. The win also gave Rybaxel some momentum going into their match with Goldust and Stardust at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view.

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Vaudevillians def. T-Perkins and Matt Sugarman

Matt Sugarman? The in-ring names for the local athletes just keep getting worse and worse. It was a pretty basic squash match, but The Vaudevillians managed to make it fun. As noted last week, they're a unique act and they're a welcome addition to the tag team division. It was a nice win for them, but here's hoping that them competing against nameless jobbers doesn't become the norm for them like it did for The Ascension.


Bull Dempsey def. Xavier Woods

It's nice to finally hear Woods' new entrance theme in its entirety. The "Somebody Call My Momma" song grew tiresome and I hope The Funkadactyls stop using it soon as well. It's a shame that Woods is still being utilized as an enhancement talent, but I was intrigued by the debut of Dempsey. He's been on NXT before but this was his first real introduction to the NXT Universe. The match went longer than it needed to, but he impresses me with his skills in the ring and on the mic. If booked correctly, he could be a real force to be reckoned with in NXT.