Adam Cole def. Carmelo HayesCole was supposed to pick his opponent here like Kyle O'Reilly did with Kushida last week but opted not to because he didn't want to follow William Regal and Samoa Joe's rules. That brought out Hayes, who just debuted as part of Kushida's open challenge a few weeks ago. As I've said before (because I followed his work on the independent scene), the dude is an absolute star in the making. I'm glad he got this opportunity and it was a very fun match to boot. He got to look credible in defeat, which I appreciated. This was a little too similar to John Cena's debut against Kurt Angle back in 2002 (20 years from this Sunday), but it was a top-notch piece of business, nonetheless.
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Lance Archer def. Rex LawlessArcher did the deal where he charged the ring and laid out Lawless before the bell even rang. Lance Archer matches are my absolute favorite. I thought he would put him away right then and there, but he dragged this out for another two minutes by beating him up some more before hitting his finisher in impressive fashion for the victory. We still haven't gotten any indication what's next for Archer following his loss to Miro at Double or Nothing.
Kyle Davis Interviewed Strictly BusinessAll of Strictly Business were present here, but instead of going around the horn and each of them addressing their own issues (which is what usually happens), this segment mostly served to set up what we would get in the three-way main event with Chris Adonis and Thom Latimer. It was solid on the whole and didn't overstay its welcome. I still feel like these Powerrr shows focus too much on Strictly Business, but at least they're telling the story that they want all the gold.
The New Day Interrupted WWE Champion Bobby Lashley and MVP on The VIP LoungeI'm glad WWE didn't forget about Kofi Kingston beating Lashley a few weeks ago. The only other person to beat him one-on-one this year was Riddle and that was back in January, so it makes sense to go back to Kingston as a WWE Championship contender in time for Money in the Bank. Granted, it was a fluky win and Lashley even acknowledged that here, but I guess Kingston would rather forget about that. I liked the general direction of this segment, but it felt like it was all over the place with Lashley specifically stumbling over his words. Also, another barely-advertised Hell in a Cell match on free TV? Why?! That's four in three days! My guess is that USA Network wanted one of their own after FOX had one on SmackDown this past Friday, but that's still a stupid excuse. What a waste. If I didn't see another Hell in a Cell match from this company for the next five years at least, you wouldn't get any complaints out of me.
FTR def. Royce Isaacs and Jorel NelsonI feel like Isaacs and Nelson are a bit of a throwback team, so I liked that they were the duo that FTR faced off with here. Granted, there wasn't nothing flashy or special about the match, but it served its purpose in showcasing FTR. I was actually surprised that it got as much time as it did. The enhancement guys and girls taking some of the talent to the limit can work sometimes depending on the situation, but with FTR being a top tag team in AEW, I don't know if I would have made this so competitive. It didn't bother me too much, but it was an interesting booking choice.
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