Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows def. The Miztourage (Kickoff Match)I'm all for giving Anderson and Gallows some wins, but this belonged on Raw. It was beyond basic and, quite frankly, a waste of time, especially when you consider The Revival wasn't on this card and they have been feuding with The Balor Club for weeks. There wasn't anything technically wrong with this match and the crowd was behind Gallows and Anderson throughout for the most part, but it's not worth going out of your way to watch. Raw Women's Champion Alexa Bliss def. Sasha Banks, Bayley, Mickie James, Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose in an Elimination Chamber MatchI felt like the ladies almost had to deliver given this was the first-ever women's Elimination Chamber match, and similar to at the Royal Rumble, they definitely did. This was laid out wonderfully with Absolution dominating Bayley early on and Banks evening the odds once she entered the fray. The rest of the match was equally entertaining, especially when it came down to Bliss, Bayley and Banks. Banks turned on Bayley as expected, but since it was every women for themselves anyway, I wouldn't consider it a full-blown heel turn just yet. Bliss retaining her title was pretty predictable, but she did it in perfect fashion. She nearly got me during her post-match promo when she embraced the audience and "thanked" them before reverting back to her evil core. This was fantastic all around and evidence that it should be brought next year.
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United States Champion and Unified Tag Team Champion The Miz Interrupted Daniel BryanQuite honestly, when Bryan said during his debut promo that he would one day headline WrestleMania and win a world title, I laughed, never thinking that would actually happen. To be fair, I wasn't aware of him whatsoever before he arrived in WWE. Nevertheless, Bryan mentioned in his book years later that almost everything that happened promo-wise on NXT was a shoot, so if Bryan's dialogue wasn't scripted, then he did fairly well for himself here. I enjoyed his interaction with his pro Miz, and those two would have far and away the most compelling story on this season of NXT. Christian and Heath Slater def. Carlito and Michael TarverI liked the video packages that aired before the bout highlighting both Tarver and Slater. It gave us a good albeit brief look at what they were all about, and Tarver's vignette impressed me more. That said, neither of them did anything to impress me in the ring here, but it did help that they had seasoned veterans Christian and Carlito to fall back on. It was a nice little matchup on the whole, but Christian pinning Tarver in Tarver's debut match may not have been the best booking decision.
Cult of Lee def. Impact World Tag Team Champions LAX (Non-title)The layout of this match was very well done with a hot beginning, a solid middle, and a fun finishing sequence. It felt like there was a ton of bad blood between the two teams, so that added intensity was appreciated. Of course, I appreciated the show kicking off with a match as always. With this win, Cult of Lee will vie for the Impact World Tag Team Championship in two weeks at Crossroads. Brian Cage def. Hunter LawFor the second straight week, Cage had an impressive performance where he made quick work of his unknown opponent. In fact, the commentators actually timed the match after he won last week in under a minute. It definitely looks like he'll be a babyface to start, which is fine considering the crowd is behind him as a fan favorite. I could see him squashing a few more nobodies before moving into a real rivalry with someone on the roster.
The Velveteen Dream def. No Way JoseJose rarely shows up on NXT TV these days and his act grew old a year ago, so it was no surprise that the fans in attendance sided with Dream here. This was an impressive performance from Dream while Jose certainly held his own, but the result was what it needed to be. Afterward, Dream called out NXT fan favorites such as Aleister Black, Asuka and Tyler Bate, hinting at a possible future feud with the last individual. Nikki Cross def. Vanessa BorneWe haven't seen much of Bourne in NXT since the Mae Young Classic, but at least she's improving. It will be a while before she's a real player in the division, but she has shown some signs of potential, which is good. As for Cross, this was another nice showcase for her as she continues to build momentum. She seems to be in a holding pattern since the NXT Women's Championship picture is stacked at the moment and the rest of SAnitY is busy with Undisputed Era.
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