ROH World Champion Dalton Castle Addressed the AudienceAs much as I like Castle, I can't help but feel that he's been slightly underwhelming as the ROH World Champion over the past six months. He's definitely had a good run, but Bullet Club has overshadowed him in a major way. That said, I was pleased he was given the time to talk here and hype up his title defense for Best in the World this Friday night. By the way, while at the taping, The Kingdom interrupted Castle during this promo with Matt Taven bringing up how he never received his rightful shot at the strap, but for whatever reason, that part of this segment was cut from the broadcast. Jay Lethal def. Chuckie T.While watching this at the taping, I didn't understand what purpose it served other than giving Lethal a momentum boost ahead of Best in the World, but the commentators set the stage nicely by bringing up how Lethal is attempting to avenge all of his recent loses. Despite the goofy gimmick, Chuckie T. is great in his own right, and thus it should have come as no surprise that this was a very well-wrestled matchup with a nice pace. Lethal continues to roll on and his Best in the World bout with KUSHIDA should steal the show.
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Moustache Mountain def. Undisputed Era to Win the NXT Tag Team ChampionshipIt was evident from their interaction in the six-man tag team match the night prior that these four guys have exceptional chemistry together and that they were going to kill it when clashed for the tag team titles. Sure enough, they opened the event on the hottest note possible with such a stellar matchup that blew the roof off the joint. This was all action and an absolute blast, to say the least. I would have loved the title change more than I did if WWE hadn't spoiled it on social media ahead of time, but even still, it was an amazing, feel-good moment. Tyler Bate and Trent Seven's post-match celebration with the fans was just the icing on the cake. Charlie Morgan def. Killer KellyThis is the type of match that would have benefited big time from being preceded by video packages highlighting the ladies and their respective backgrounds. Kelly was briefly in action the night before and I've never heard of Morgan, so I can't say I was surprised that the crowd sat on their hands for this. It was only seven or so minutes long, but it felt like it dragged on forever despite not being bad at all. Here's hoping those a part of the women's division on this new NXT UK brand receive more character development in the future.
Akira Tozawa def. Tony NeseI feel like I've seen this match no less than a dozen times over the last year or so, and over time, all of their encounters start to blend together. Although this was nothing new from them, it was a nice little match while it lasted, designed to get Tozawa back on track with another victory. It was weird for Buddy Murphy to be in Nese's corner if he wasn't going to factor into the finish at all, so we'll see where that leads. Lio Rush def. Dewey JamesRuhs is as incredible and athletic as they come, but in addition to showcasing his skills in this match, he showed some personality by taking his time removing his jewelry and coming across like an arrogant prick. This was fairly brief, but even in that short span of time, Rush proved to the audience just how exciting he is to watch in the ring. His post-match promo was also effective in establishing him as a hated heel and one to watch on 205 Live.
The Miz Hosted Miz TV with SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon BrothersAs expected, Miz carried this segment on his back by revisiting the tension teased between The Bludgeon Brothers and Daniel Bryan on last week's show. Bryan also played his role well here, setting up his match against Harper for later in the night nicely. One has to wonder whether Miz was merely a mouthpiece for the Bludgeons here or if it will eventually lead to him and Bryan engaging in a full-fledged feud. Rusev def. Xavier WoodsNeedless to say, Woods stood no chance of beating Rusev, but more than anything this was an opportunity for him to showcase his skills as a singles competitor and I'd argue he succeeded. It has been reported for a while that WWE plans on branching New Day off into one-on-one competition and this might have been the next step in seeing how Woods will fare on his own, and based off his performance here, I think he'll be just fine. This was an enjoyable outing designed to further Rusev's momentum ahead of his WWE Championship match at Extreme Rules.
Chad Gable def. Mike KanellisKanellis matches are far and few between in WWE these days, even on Main Event, but he really should be commended for getting into excellent shape over the last year. He had a good showing here, but this was largely a showcase for Gable. The guy can go and I really wish he had more of a chance to shine on Raw instead of losing to Jinder Mahal every other week. He is so much better than the company gets him credit for. Bobby Roode and Breezango def. Curt Hawkins and The AscensionIt goes without saying, but Roode working Main Event with the likes of Breezango, Ascension and Hawkins is not a great sign for his future whatsoever. Didn't he recently compete in the final match on the Money in the Bank card, and now this? Anyway, this was fun while it lasted and featured some entertaining antics. It felt like a glorified house show much, sure, but at least the audience enjoyed it.
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