 By Graham "GSM" Matthews
World Tag Team Champions Shawn Michaels and WWE Champion John Cena Won a 10-Team Battle Royal I always wondered why WWE opted to put the World Tag Team Championship on Cena and Michaels. I guess it made for a good story heading into their WrestleMania 23 match, but it was a major marquee match regardless, so did they really need to add that extra wrinkle to it? And then I had my question answered by watching these back-to-back Battle Royals: the state of tag team wrestling was mediocre at best. There were a handful of solid tandems, but a majority of the teams in these matches were makeshift duos, and there wasn't enough depth across all three brands. I would have just had them drop the straps here as opposed to going through a second Battle Royal. The Hardy Boyz Won a 10-Team Battle Royal to Become the New World Tag Team Champions The idea was that Cena and Michaels were tired from already going through one Battle Royal, but it wasn't their fatigue that cost them the titles. Rather, HBK turned on Cena, causing Cena and himself to get eliminated. Again I ask, what was the point? I wouldn't have changed that, but this must have been WWE's way of getting everyone across all three brands on the post-WrestleMania Raw. The Hardy Boyz were a nice choice to bring excitement back to the tag division and they would go on to feud with Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch over the straps.
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 By Graham "GSM" Matthews
Christian and Tyson Tomko Interrupted Chris Jericho and WWE Champion John Cena on 'The Highlight Reel' After watching this segment, I went back through various wrestling archives to see if anyone accurately predicted Cena's move to Raw, and it didn't seem like anyone honestly thought that would happen. Vince McMahon did tease it when he announced the Draft shortly beforehand, but it still came as a complete shock. Therefore, it is remembered as one of the most monumental moments in Raw history, and for good reasons considering Cena went on to become the face of the flagship show for the next decade. Jericho subtlety planted the seeds for a future heel turn while Christian held his own against Cena in a war of words, building toward the tag match between the two teams the following week. Intercontinental Champion Shelton Benjmain def. Muhammad Hassan and Khosrow Daivari in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match Hassan's huge singles push got cut short in July as a result of terrible timing (another story for another day), but even by this point he wasn't being prominently pushed. Yes, he was in contention for the Intercontinental title, but lost even when the odds were in his favor. If nothing else, the "controversy" with the referee played into the story that there was a conspiracy against Hassan and Daivari, which led to Stone Cold Steve Austin returning to Raw the subsequent week to confront them.  By Graham "GSM" Matthews
Sin Cara def. Bo Dallas Sin Cara had his own entrance music before he started teaming with Kalisto, so why is he still using the Lucha Dragons song even though they have since split up? At least Bo Dallas is back to using his "motivational" music following the dissolution of The Social Outcasts. Dallas can be entertaining on his own, but Cara, despite being a passable performer, bores me to tears. The guy was damaged goods years ago, and without Kalisto, I fear the writing is on the wall for him. This was a pretty bland bout and I would have rather seen Dallas score the victory because he has more of an upside at this point. Titus O'Neil and Jack Swagger def. The Dudley Boyz I would have stuck with the team of Swagger and Mark Henry, who teamed up on a recent edition of Superstars or Main Event (I forgot which one) and have been joining forces on-and-off all year. O'Neil should be doing his own thing, but that's merely nitpicking. I found this to be more enjoyable than the previous match if only because The Dudley Boyz are extra entertaining as heels and know how to work a crowd. I applaud them for putting over younger talent, though I wouldn't have had them lose to a duo that isn't even a regular tandem.  By Graham "GSM" Matthews
Ethan Carter III Interrupted Matt Hardy; EC3 def. Matt Hardy in a Bound for Glory Playoff Semifinals Match This totally slipped my mind until someone reminded me of it, but TNA did a storyline similar to this with EC3 and The Hardyz last year when Jeff acted as EC3's servant. TNA TV was such a blur last year that I completely had forgotten about that. Although they are technically recycling the same storyline, it is significantly more entertaining this time around simply because Matt has evolved immensely since then (needless to say). The subsequent match was well-wrestled, and given the history and chemistry these two have together, that came as no surprise. Jeff "unintentionally" costing Matt the match helped further their feud along and put EC3 in the finals of the tourney. Gail Kim def. Madison Rayne The commentators kindly reminded us how far these two go back as allies and as adversaries, but to me, that was virtually a sad reminder of how far Rayne has fallen in recent years. She is still a pretty passable worker and this wasn't a bad bout whatsoever, but rather it's difficult to care about her turning for the umpteenth time, and Kim dominating the entire Knockouts division doesn't do anyone any real favors.  Zack Sabre Jr. and Tyson Dux go to war. By Graham "GSM" Matthews
Zack Sabre Jr. def. Tyson Dux in a First Round Match I have heard plenty about Sabre through the grapevine and specifically through an article written by JJF earlier this year. That said, I had yet to see any match of his in its entirety. He may be a cruiserweight, but he doesn't wrestle the same style as everyone else, which makes him stand out from the get-go. Rather, he is one of the best mat-based wrestlers in the game today, and had a stellar showing versus an equally excellent Dux. This was properly placed in the opener and as much experience as Dux has, it was a no-brainer that Sabre would go over. Drew Gulak def. Harv Sihra in a First Round Match Gulax are one and the same in terms of their wrestling styles, and Sihra had an infectious personality, but this match just didn't do anything for me for whatever reason. The crowd wasn't all that engaged in the action and didn't seem to take as kindly to the contets as they did the previous match. Perhaps they knew that neither would advance far in the tournament considering they would have to go up against Sabre in the next round. |
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