Noam Dar def. Rich SwannYou could have aired a replay of the Raw match these two had on Monday night and very little would have been different outside of the outcome. Swann and Dar have good matches, but the issue is that we've seen them face off so many times in the past that it's hard to care at this point. Plus, 50/50 booking does no one any favors, especially in the Cruiserweight division where virtually nobody is over. Sasha Banks and Alicia Fox fighting at ringside popped the crowd a bit, but it was a far cry from the brawl the women had on SmackDown Live just an hour earlier. Cedric Alexander def. Corey HollisI liked that Alexander was given some mic time before the bout to talk about his return from injury and how he'll be making up for the lost time by racking up victories. Similar to last week, this was a straightforward squash match, though Hollis scored more offense over Alexander than I thought he would. Nevertheless, it was a decisive win for Alexander and I look forward to seeing him find direction again soon.
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Sami Zayn Saved Shinsuke Nakamura From the United States Champion Kevin Owens and Baron Corbin on The Highlight ReelI didn't think anything of it when he did it a few weeks ago, but Owens hosting The Highlight Reel yet again this week has to mean Chris Jericho will be back on WWE TV sooner rather than later, right? I know he's working WWE's tour of Japan in early July. At any rate, this was a solid segment that set up the tag team match that followed. It might have been better had we not seen the exact same thing on Monday's Raw, but the mic work from everyone involved was good, so I can't complain too much. Shinsuke Nakamura and Sami Zayn def. United States Champion Kevin Owens and Baron CorbinNakamura and Zayn had a hell of a match at NXT TakeOver: Dallas last year, so hopefully we see a repeat at some point on the main roster. As for this matchup, it was fairly formulaic for the first half, but they picked up the pace coming out of the commercial break and delivered a fun final stretch. Owens and Corbin teasing tension of course plays into the narrative of it being every man for themselves at Money in the Bank. Meanwhile, Nakamura pinning Owens for the second straight week must lead to an eventual title shot for The King of Strong Style. Otherwise, Owens is being totally devalued as champion.
Drew Gulak def. Lince Dorado by Referee StoppageGulak has actually been more entertaining to watch in the ring since he started this "No Fly Zone" gimmick, but this wasn't one of his better bouts in recent memory. However, I blame that more on Dorado, who appeared to be "off" throughout the contest, slipping up on simple spots. And then the match was called off because Dorado was unable to continue. I'm not exactly sure what he got hurt off of, but it might have either been the botched backbreaker or when he hit his head awkwardly on the mat immediately before that. Heath Slater and Rhyno def. Curt Hawkins and Bo DallasSlater and Rhyno remain over with the audience despite not receiving nearly as much television time as they did in the fall, and Hawkins and Dallas were good foils for them here. Dallas looks more and more like his brother Bray Wyatt with each passing week and I wish WWE would hurry up and put them together as an on-screen unit already. This was a formulaic albeit fun tag team match where Rhyno once again used the spinebuster to win, so I guess he's slowly phasing out the Gore as his finisher.
The Miz Hosted Miz TV with Sheamus and CesaroSheamus and Cesaro cut the same promo earlier this month about The Hardy Boyz being the WWE Universe's "new toy" and that's why they turned heel, but it was nice to hear from them at all heading into Extreme Rules. This segment was more entertaining for Miz's mic work and him hyping up his own Extreme Rules match with Dean Ambrose. Speaking of whom, Ambrose and The Hardy Boyz interrupting the heels was logical and it effectively set up the subsequent six-man tag team match. Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose and Raw Tag Team Champions The Hardy Boyz def. The Miz, Sheamus and CesaroThere were a few sloppy spots and especially at the end where there appeared to be some miscommunication between Miz and Matt Hardy when it came to the Twist of Fate, but on the whole, this was a fun six-man tag team match where the crowd was invested in the action throughout. Sheamus and Cesaro haven't been able to win at all against The Hardy Boyz, but part of that actually makes me happy because it keeps The Hardy Boyz special and establishes them as an unstoppable unit.
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