By Graham "GSM" Matthews United States Champion Roman Reigns vs. Rusev Ended in Double Count-out The match quality may not have been up to my standards (more on that momentarily), but I absolutely loved how they kicked off the night with in-ring action for a change and not a drawn-out talking segment as they usually do. It's such a simple thing, but it makes a major difference. That said, this bout bored me to tears. Their Clash of Champions match was good and their pre-SummerSlam match was great, but they just couldn't capture that same magic here for whatever reason. Giving them 25 minutes and then ending it on a double count-out seemed like a waste, but I assume it was done to set up a Hell in a Cell match between them. As I've said before, I'm content with that given the feud has lasted long enough to justify taking place inside the steel structure. Raw General Manager Mick Foley Addressed Sheamus and Cesaro I heard the idea thrown around of the Best of 7 Series between Sheamus and Cesaro ending inconclusively to set up a WWE Tag Team Championship match, and that was exactly what we got in this segment. I can't say I'm excited about that merely because Cesaro should be in singles competition and higher up on the card, but maybe it will be fun, so I'll reserve judgement until we see more from them. If they're as excellent of partners as they are opponents, they could be a surprisingly pleasant tandem.
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By Graham "GSM" Matthews Nia Jax def. Alicia Fox (Kickoff Match) Given that this has been nothing short of a ruthless rivalry in recent weeks, it made sense for the two to attack each other from the get-go instead of the bout starting out like a standard singles match. It's those little things that make the biggest differences. The match itself wasn't anything too special, but it was refreshing for Jax to have something along of the lines of a competitive contest for a change. Beating Fox won't lend her too much credibility, but it's a small step above an enhancement talent and I appreciate the slow build they've been giving her thus far. Raw Tag Team Champions The New Day def. The Club The Club brutalizing New Day immediately after the bell rang was a nice touch. I don't believe I've seen them that aggressive since their WWE debut back in April. This was easily the best bout these two teams have contested to date, though I realize that isn't saying much considering their past encounters were merely mediocre. The final few minutes were fun with each teams hitting their signature spots, and I must say I was shocked that New Day retained. I really thought this would be their night, and now they are officially dead in the water. At any rate, New Day's reign rolls on past 400 days, and it's likely WWE might have them break Demolition's record-setting run. By Graham "GSM" Matthews Darren Young def. Curtis Axel It's really a shame WWE wasted any momentum Young had coming off his hot re-debut over the summer. Now, he's back to where he was before, just with Bob Backlund in his corner. Meanwhile, Axel is irrelevant as ever. Thankfully, both guys are good workers and they contested a pretty decent match here with Young scoring the win as he should have. Does this mean the painful feud between Young and Titus O'Neil has finally come to an end? The Golden Truth def. Jinder Mahal and Titus O'Neil Putting four people I couldn't care less about in one match is never a positive thing. It didn't help that the match was mediocre at best and nothing special stood out about it. As a result, it was difficult to get invested in the action and the match felt like it dragged. I guess this answered the question of whether Mahal would be pushed coming off his rare Raw win over Jack Swagger last week. By Graham "GSM" Matthews Drew Galloway def. Eddie Edwards in an Impact Grand Championship Semifinal Match Maybe it was because the first round matches mostly featured undercard competitors and therefore I couldn't have cared less about them, but this was the best Impact Grand Championship qualifying match up to this point. I haven't been too high on the MMA-esque rules, but maybe I'm starting to grow accustomed to them. Of course, it certainly helps when you have two great wrestlers facing each other and it was a fresh matchup as well. I also really liked how they went the full three rounds and waited until after the commercial break to announce who won, so that was a cool cliffhanger (although there was zero doubt who would win). TNA World Heavyweight Champion Lashley and Mike Bennett Attacked Ethan Carter III and Moose Having EC3 confront Galloway following his win only to transition into him getting assaulted by his Bound for Glory opponent was wonderful. You don't see that type of thing too often, but it was done very effectively here. The face-to-face with EC3 and Galloway was well done given their history, and the subsequent attack from the heels on the babyfaces set up the already announced main event nicely. |
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