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.
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By Graham "GSM" Matthews Gran Metalik def. Alejandro Saez in a First Round Match I wasn't aware of either of these athletes coming in, but I surely won't forget them after their performances here. Wow. For a four minute match, this was a hell of a lot of fun. Metalik seemed to be the fan favorite out of the gate, but to his credit, Saez had an impressive outing and incorporated his own flavor into the match (that Shooting Star Press on the outside was incredible). This perfectly set the tone for the rest of the show as well as the tournament on the whole. Ho Ho Lun def. Arya Daivari in a First Round Match Daivari reminded me far too much of his brother based off his appearance alone, so it might have been best that he played the heel role here by not going through with the handshake before the bout. He actually seemed to be more of a complete package than Lun, so I was slightly surprised he didn't advance to the next round. Then again, maybe not because WWE did just broker a deal with China. Either way, Lun showed signs of potential, but he has a long ways to go before he is on the same level as others in this tournament. |
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