By Graham "GSM" Matthews The Mack def. PJ Black, Jeremiah Crange and Cage in a Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match to Win the Battle of the Bulls Tournament I would go so far as to say that few promotions do Fatal 4-Ways better than Lucha Underground. The qualifying matches were all awesome and this matchup might have been the best of the bunch. Of course, the elimination stipulation helped and each of the competitors shined at one point or another. I would assume Texano costing Cage the match would constitute as a heel turn for him, but honestly, I couldn't care less either way. Crane continues to appear more motivated than he ever was in WWE, Black had a solid showing, and Mack was the right person to win considering his friend's Sexy Star's history with Johnny Mundo. And on that note... Lucha Underground Champion Johnny Mundo def. Sexy Star in a Steel Cage Match I haven't been kind to the matches these two have had in the past, but this was easily the best bout they have contested to date. Usually, the cage hinders what the wrestlers can do, but I actually thought it added to my excitement for the match because it gave them something to work with, and Star's leap off the top was impressive. The lack of interference from The Worldwide Underground was a refreshing change of pace and I thought this was Star's second best matchup in Lucha Underground next to her "No Mas" match with Mariposa earlier this year and I liked the finish with Mundo grabing Star's mask. Now that she's lost three straight times to Mundo, I imagine she will now move on to feuding with Taya.
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By Graham "GSM" Matthews Adam Cole, Dalton Castle and Bobby Fish Interrupted ROH World Champion Kyle O'Reilly O'Reilly's celebratory speech was perfect in that he was showered with "You deserve it!" chants and his mic work was kept short and sweet. He isn't known to be the greatest talker, so that was wise. It was a pretty formulaic segment with the other three staking their claim at the ROH World Championship, and each of them played their roles well. Castle's logic about pinning Cole in a random tag team match weeks earlier was a bit questionable, but he is a fresh face in the title picture, nevertheless. Christopher Daniels def. Mark Briscoe Decade of Excellence Tournament Round 1 Match I really like the idea of this Decade of Excellent tournament as it gives the veterans of ROH some shine and an ROH World title match at the 15th Anniversary Show being on the line is an added bonus. I was going to question why Daniels was back to being a heel after seemingly turning face a few weeks ago, but he and Frankie Kazarian actually did not cheat here and Daniels won as clean as a sheet. They even shook hands afterward. This was a fun little match and you would never know Daniels is almost 50-years-old with what he can still do in the ring. By Graham "GSM" Matthews John Morrison Confronted WWE Champion The Miz The ghosts of Christmas past/present/future stuff was total sports entertainment nonsense, though thankfully WWE's typical holiday silliness was relegated to that one segment. Michael Cole and Alex Riley looked completely ridiculous, but it was all worth it for CM Punk on commentary questioning whether Riley had a toothache. Punk was total gold behind the booth. Morrison was the first babyface to stand up to the heels, yet he was an afterthought later on in the main event. Despite that, I liked how he went face-to-face with the champ here one night removed from his huge win over Sheamus at TLC. Melina def. Alicia Fox and Eve Torres in No. 1 Contender's Triple Threat Match For the Divas Championship Natalya was fresh off her feud with LayCool, so it was a welcome change to have a different group of girls contending for the championship (however, LayCool would go for the gold again at the Royal Rumble the following month). The match itself wasn't all that good, but it was cool to see Melina return to relevance by scoring the win and subsequently turning heel. It was random, yes, albeit a smart way of getting people to talk about the Divas. By Graham "GSM" Matthews Ariya Daivari def. Lince Dorado Darivari has been positioned as such a loser in the Cruiserweight division for so long that it will take some time to build him back up as a heel fans can take seriously, but this win was a step in the right direction. It's also encouraging that his feud with Jack Gallagher is not yet over and Gallagher will likely get his win back at some point. As for the match itself, it was well-wrestled, but as great as Dorado is in the ring, he needs more of a character fans can identify with before they can get behind him. Cedric Alexander def. Drew Gulak I realize he's known for being a talented performer on the independent scene, but Gulak has done absolutely nothing for me since coming to WWE. He comes off as just another competitor at this point. Alexander, on the other hand, is much more of a star, and they progressed his story with Alicia Fox and Noam Dar nicely. Dar exhibited babyface tendencies by "saving" Fox, only to flash that douchebag smirk to Alexander. He seems to be more comfortable in the heel role. |
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