 Kurt Angle secures the ankle lock on Bobby Roode. By Graham "GSM" Matthews
Bully Ray Interrupted Dixie Carter The announcement of a tournament for the vacant TNA World Heavyweight Championship was interesting, but as I stated last week, it is way too reminicent of what WWE did with the Summer of Punk two years ago. That being said, TNA has the potential to have a lot more fun with this storyline than WWE did (i.e. having AJ Styles defend the belt elsewhere). I am glad Ray wasn't inserted into the title tournament, as he lost his rematch last week against Styles and it was logical for Dixie not to put him in since she let him down. Mr. Anderson's brawl with Ray was well done that helped further their feud. TNA World Tag Team Champions Robbie E and Jesse def. James Storm and Gunner After putting on a pleasantly surprising match at Bound For Glory, these two teams failed to have as good of a match on this show. It was decent for what it was, but it abruptly ended and involved a flat finish. I was fine with Robbie and Jesse cheating to win, but only if it means Storm and Gunner are now allowed to go their separate ways and move onto bigger and better things. There are other teams that can contend for the straps. Storm belongs in singles competition, plain and simple.
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 By Graham "GSM" Matthews
Alexander Rusev and Sylvester Lefort def. Enzo Amore and Colin Cassidy Considering the rivalry between these two teams from over the last few months, I was surprised to see this match cut short. By the way, whatever happened to Scott Dawson? Not that I care, though, as I would much rather see Lefort in the ring than Dawson. Anyway, this was a disappointing bout with an abrupt finish designed to make Rusev look strong. Amore and Cassidy are one of the most entertaining acts in all of NXT right now, so why they continue to be overlooked and underutilized is mind boggling to me. A woman managing Rusev is intriguing, but will she be the mouthpiece that Rusev need? Aiden English def. Jason Jordan This was a basic squash match to showcase the tremendous talents of English, but it didn't accomplish much more than that. The live crowd are still very much into his character, so it appears they couldn't care less he continues to take on enhancement talent. As enjoyable as English is in the ring and on the mic, he will need to be inserted into a real program soon in order to prevent his gimmick from getting stale.  Ryback stands over a fallen Kofi Kingston. By Graham "GSM" Matthews
Ryback def. Kofi Kingston It was nice to hear the commentators reference the fact that it was Ryback who put Kingston on the shelf a few months back. I was hoping that would lead to a feud between the two upon Kingston's return to the ring, and while it didn't ultimately come to fruition, I don't see why they can't rekindle the rivalry now. This was a fun match that the live crowd was into and it made for a good opener. Ryback's feud with CM Punk appears to be over, so why give him something to do in the form of a feud with Kingston? I would love to see more matches from these two down the line. Santino Marella def. Heath Slater Did we not just have to suffer through this garbage last week on Raw? I am not sure what purpose this was supposed to serve, as this was essentially a house show match that only the kids will find entertaining. Don't get me wrong, Marella can be funny at times, but his overexposed antics have grown tiresome with this viewer and I didn't find anything about this bout to be comical. If nothing else, it was a relatively painless match that didn't overstay its welcome.  Damien Sandow taunts John Cena before attacking him. By Graham "GSM" Matthews
Damien Sandow Interrupted World Heavyweight Champion John Cena After two solid months of Cena not being on Raw, I didn't mind his lame jokes as much in this promo. Then again, he didn't joke around too much here, kept it serious for the most part and delivered some strong mic work. Sandow interrupting as well as his subsequent attack on Cena was a pleasant surprise. Cena sold Sandow's offense greatly and Sandow announcing that he would cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase made for a very suspenseful hook going into the commercial break. World Heavyweight Champion John Cena def. Damien Sandow Without a doubt, this had to be the best match in Sandow's WWE career to date. Sandow targeting the arm of Cena was the central focus of this match and they played up Cena's injury to perfection. Sandow, despite ultimately coming up short, scored an impressive amount of offense over Cena and looked strong in defeat. The live crowd was hot for the exciting action and it was a great way to open Raw. I am mildly disappointed that WWE didn't do more with Sandow prior to his cash-in, and one can only hope that they push him in some form or fashion after this excellent match. In retrospect, Sandow winning the Money in the Bank match was a complete waste, but this match with Cena did more to benefit Sandow more than anything else he did with the blue briefcase beforehand.  CM Punk puts Paul Heyman to sleep atop the cell. By Graham "GSM" Matthews
Damien Sandow def. Kofi Kingston (Kickoff Match) I give props to WWE for pulling together this match at the last minute with Curtis Axel coming down with an injury. Sure, it wasn't a barn burner of a bout, but it was probably better than what we would have gotten out of Axel and Big E Langston. It was a nice match while it lasted that saw the right person go over. It was essentially something you would see on WWE Main Event and did nothing to convince fans to purchase the pay-per-view, but again, this match wasn't even supposed to take place in the first place. WWE Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes and Goldust def. Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns and The Usos in a Triple Threat Tag Team Match I knew this match was going to be great going in, but I never expected it to be as awesome as it ended up being. All three of these tandems have had excellent matches with each other in the past, but those paled in comparison to this gem of matchup. The action was slow early on, but they picked up the pace down the stretch and delivered on all cylinders. The live crowd was hot for the contest and everyone involved was able to their signature spots. The finish was very well done and it was a nice win for the Rhodes brothers. They have been breathing new life into the tag team division as of late and I looked forward to seeing who will challenge them next. This was a fantastic opener for the show and undoubtedly the match of the night. |
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