By Graham "GSM" Matthews Breezango def. The Usos (Kickoff Match) The Usos are staler than month-old bread and Breezango have zero credibility, yet they still managed to produce a fun match. That should have come as no surprise given both tandems are excellent athletes and they had the advantage of being the first match of the night. Breezango going over was quite the shocker, but I'll take it. SmackDown's tag team division needs all the help it can get and wins such as this one will make Breezango more of a threat. Either way, these two teams should have a hell of a series of matches with the debuting American Alpha on the blue brand. Sasha Banks and Bayley def. WWE Women's Champion Charlotte and Dana Brooke Rumors had been running rampant for weeks as to whether Bayley would be named Banks' partner or not, and as "obvious" as a choice as it was, she was the only person the crowd would have been happy to see. She received a raucous reaction when she came out and that monumental moment was a long time coming for her. The match was highly enjoyable as a result of the chemistry the three of the Four Horsewomen have together and I liked Banks forcing Charlotte to tap out for the victory as it sets up a championship clash between the two for SummerSlam.
0 Comments
By Graham "GSM" Matthews Summer Rae def. Alicia Fox Fox returned to the ring a mere week ago and I'm already confused as to whether she's supposed to be a babyface or a heel. She was a heel when she faced Becky Lynch on last week's Main Event, yet was a babyface here. Virtually no one cares, anyway, so oh well! On the bright side, both her and Summer are underrated athletes, so they were able to showcase their skills a bit with this bout. Unfortunately, it was cut short by several minutes and the clunky finish seemed to come out of nowhere. The Usos def. The Dudley Boyz Both of these teams ended up on separate shows in the WWE Draft (Dudley Boyz to Raw, Usos to SmackDown), so I suppose it was only fitting we had one final face-off between them. I especially liked how this followed their clash in the six-man tag team match on last week's episode of Main Event and Bubba Ray even alluded to that at the onset of this contest. The Dudleyz' heel antics, such as teasing the crowd with tables and name-dropping The Usos' relatives, was excellent and enhanced my enjoyment of the matchup for sure. Hell, this might have been better than what we saw from them at WrestleMania 32! By Graham "GSM" Matthews TNA World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Lashley Calls Out Moose There is little doubt that Lashley has been TNA's MVP throughout 2015 as a heel, but I'm beginning to fear that they're on the verge of turning him babyface in order to feud with Moose and/or Mike Bennett. Thankfully, the main event later on showed he is remaining a full-fledged heel for now (which he absolutely excels at), and maybe a tweener turn could work, but turning him face would be the worst way to kill the hot momentum he has had going lately. At any rate, this was a jam-packed opening segment that furthered the Lashley/Moose feud, added an extra stipulation to the main event, and led into the subsequent match between Bennett and Jeff Hardy. Mike Bennett def. Jeff Hardy in a Bound for Glory Playoff Match While I would have held off on the first ever in-ring meeting between these two because it is one of the few big matchups TNA can do at the moment, I would hardly count this because it had barely gotten underway before Bennett won in decisive fashion. Furthermore, Jeff was "injured" coming into the contest, so Bennett was on offense throughout and it was perfectly in line with his character to take advantage of the injured Charismatic Enigma. By Graham "GSM" Matthews Tajiri def. Damian Slater in a First Round Match Other than a short-lived run in TNA in 2014, I honestly haven't seen much of Tajiri's work (outside of archived footage, obviously) from recent years. That said, it was a treat to see him back in action in front of a WWE crowd, and it seemed like he hadn't lost a step whatsoever. It's a shame Slater got knocked out out the tourney so early because he had a good look and had a fine showing here, but of course, Tajiri is a bigger priority. And no green mist, either! Here's hoping he doesn't use it all for as long as he's a part of the bracket. I don't want any stupid sports entertainment-esque finishes to these matches. TJ Perkins def. Da Mack in a First Round Match For those unaware, Perkins is the former Suicide/Manik in TNA, where I always thought he was highly underutilized under the mask. Thankfully, he had his chance to truly showcase his skills in this match and he made the most of the opportunity. Mack was another individual I would have liked to see go further simply because he's so damn fun to watch in the ring, and I'm glad he was able to share the spotlight with Perkins here. |
Categories
All
Archives
May 2024
|