By Graham "GSM" Matthews Impact Grand Champion Aron Rex and Eli Drake def. Ethan Carter III and Jessie Godderz When did Rex officially turn heel? It was weird that the commentators were talking about how Godderz and EC3 weren't on the same page yet Rex and Drake were working together no problem despite being at odds last week. Meanwhile, the crowd didn't know exactly how to react to him until the ending. That said, they did cement his heel turn (or at least further it) by having him cheat to win here. Additionally, I really liked how they kicked off the show with a lengthy, well-wrestled match for a change, though I get a kick out of Josh Mathews (who is absolutely awful) saying Godderz was a "big star" in TNA. DCC Attacked Robbie E and Grado Some people dig Grado's comedy, others don't. I like the guy, but I think he's creatively stiffled in TNA compared to other companies he's worked for. He seems to be a bigger deal overseas, but this audience was hot for him. I really couldn't care less about Robbie E at their point, and I thought DCC executed a face turn when they cut this stupid segment short. As I said last week, I'm intrigued to find out who the mysterious masked men are.
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By Graham "GSM" Matthews DIY def. Tian Bing and Hoho Lun in a Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round Match It's been a while since we've seen Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa on NXT, and you wouldn't have even known. That's a tremendous testament to how well NXT cycles guys in and out each week for their shows. Nevertheless, Bing is still relatively unfamiliar with the WWE style and Lun was one of the weaker workers in the Cruiserweight Classic, but they had an impressive outing here. DIY went over as they should have, setting up an anticipated clash with The Revival in the quarterfinals. Aliyah def. Billie Kay Aliyah has come a long way since we saw her on Breaking Ground for the first time almost exactly a year ago. She isn't quite the caliber of an Asuka or even Ember Moon yet, but she's getting better. Kay isn't undefeated, so I was fine with her losing on a fluke in this match only for her and Peyton Royce to attack Aliyah and Liv Morgan afterward. Morgan just can't seem to catch a break, can she? On the bright side, NXT is finally doing something of note with its women outside of the title picture. By Graham "GSM" Matthews Marty "The Moth" Martinez def. Ivelisse Ivelisse is the one woman in Lucha Underground that I don't mind having inter-gender matches because she legitimately looks like she can hang with the guys. That isn't meant to be a knock against Sexy Star or Mariposa or anyone else, but Ivelisse constantly comes across like a total badass both inside and outside the ring. Marty's matches are rarely exciting (that's just the nature of his character), but this was a lot of fun for what it was. I didn't have a problem with Ivelisse losing simply because Sami Callihan came to her aid afterward and set up their onscreen relationship (although they did have a backstage segment together a few weeks ago). They should be a cool couple as the season progress. Texano def. Cage in Match 3 of the Best of 5 Series While I still couldn't care less about Texano, I will admit that his chemistry with Cage has improved since the start of this series. This was a well-wrestled match and both guys looked good here. I will really hoping that Cage would win in a clean sweep, but alas, no such luck. Has that ever happened in wrestling before? At any rate, if the next one/two matches are equally solid, then this series won't be as dull as I thought it was going to be originally. By Graham "GSM" Matthews Colt Cabana and Dalton Castle def. The Tempura Boyz I had not heard of The Tempura Boyz prior to this point, but given that this was their ROH debut, they had an impressive outing against a team that has grown on me fairly quickly. Their entertaining antics immediately made me a fan of them when I saw them live at All Star Extravaganza last month and they are the perfect pairing. It's also an excellent use of both men considering they weren't doing anything of note before they joined forces. Kevin Kelly Interviewed The Briscoes I'm as big of a Briscoes fan as the next guy, but I'm curious to know what earned them a future shot at the ROH World Tag Team Championship at Final Battle. Did they win some sort of No. 1 Contender's match at a live event or something? Because they're coming off a loss in the Six-Man Tag Team Championship Tournament at All Star Extravaganza and they were the last team I expected to get a title shot at the pending pay-per-view. Nevertheless, this was a good promo from them and I liked how they mentioned their past wins over Cabana and Castle as well as The Young Bucks. |
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