Johnny Gargano def. Tino sabbatelliI thought Riddick Moss had a fine showing versus Gargano last week, but Sabbatelli is a much more polished competitor than he is and thus I wasn't surprised this was a much better bout. It was slightly slow at various points, but all things considered, Sabbtelli fared well for himself and Gargano fought from underneath nicely as he usually does. Gargano continues to build momentum on his own, but I'm curious as to whether he will eventually rekindle his rivalry with Andrade "Cien" Almas or not. Bianca Belair def. Lacey EvansThis match tried too hard to focus on both women and suffered as a result. We were able to get a glimpse of what they're capable of in the Mae Young Classic, and while I believe Belair and Evans should be considered top prospects, they are still early on in their development. That said, this wasn't the prettiest outing, but it was crucial in giving them more experience. Belair continues to impress me considering she hasn't been wrestling long and is already better than most.
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Dante Fox def. TexanoIt's been well-documented that Texano has rarely ever done anything for me, and I could've sworn he turned heel at one point in the last few months, but this was an enjoyable outing from him and Fox. Fox is one of the most incredible athletes Lucha Underground has on its roster and he shines in these opening matches. Famous B costing Texano the match made sense from a storyline standpoint, but it was a lousy finish. If nothing else, it set up Famous B vs. Texano at Ultima Lucha 3. Marty "The Moth" Martinez and Mariposa def. Fenix and Melissa SantosI don't know how long Santos has been training in the ring, assuming she has been training at all, but she looked a lot better in this bout than I thought she would. Granted, perhaps that's the magic of editing and post-production along with how she wasn't in the ring for too long, but she didn't embarrass herself (not to mention she looked smoking in that attire she was wearing). The heels won as they should have, but I loved the closing moments with Martinez and Mariposa double-teaming her (does that sound wrong?) while Fenix was forced to look on. It made you want to see Fenix beat their asses that much more.
Kenny King def. Adam PageHangman... er, Adam Page has been conspicuous by his absence on The Young Bucks' "Being the Elite" show on YouTube in recent weeks, and although he appeared here, I guess their excuse would be that this was taped a while ago. At any rate, this was a great opening match. I liked the story they told with King wanting to get revenge for The Bullet Club ruining his first shot at the ROH World Television Championship and he did just that. King has been an awesome breakout babyface and I would not at all be opposed to him taking the title from Kushida, especially considering the event will emanate from his hometown. Marty Scurll def. Rocky RomeroIt's been well-documented on ROH TV that Romero and Chuck Taylor aren't the best of friends (see what I did there?), but they both do have an association with Trent Barreta, so this match did make sense, which I appreciated. Not only that, but it was very fun while it lasted and Scurll's win gave him a bit of a momentum boost heading into Death Before Dishonor. He also busted out a new finishing move it looked like, and I always applaud anyone who adds more moves to their arsenal that they can beat opponents with.
Cedric Alexander def. The Brian KendrickThese two were well on their way to having a very good match last week before Gentleman Jack Gallagher interfered, so I was glad they were able to deliver the match I knew they were capable of contesting here. It was far from a barn-burner and the crowd wasn't exactly electric for it, but I personally enjoyed the bout and thought Alexander shined once again. Gallagher and Kendrick attacked him afterward, but it was weird that we didn't hear from Alexander or Gallagher before this match took place. Akira Tozawa def. Noam DarBefore this bout, Drew Gulak graced us with his greatness for the third straight week by bringing back his PowerPoint presentation. Unfortunately, it was rudely interrupted by Tozawa's music. In all seriousness, Gulak is quickly winning me over with this new gimmick of his and I'm happy that it's helping him elicit genuine heel heat. As for Tozawa vs. Dar, it was fun while it lasted and gave Tozawa a nice victory.
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