SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan announced a United States Championship TournamentBryan declared that because Ziggler fell off the face of the earth and no one has heard from him, he has been stripped of the star-spangled prize. Basically, WWE is pulling a CM Punk with him circa 2011. Anyways, he was interrupted by Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin, The New Day, and Rusev and Aiden English with each tandem staking their claim at a SmackDown Tag Team Championship match. Everyone involved in the segment was entertaining, and it tied nicely into the No. 1 Contender's match. Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin def. The New Day and Rusev & Aiden English in a SmackDown Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Triple Threat MatchSmackDown's tag team division is killing it at the moment and these three teams maintained that momentum by putting together a terrific match. The pace was non-stop from start to finish and the crowd was engaged in the exciting action, but they were especially behind Rusev. If WWE was smart, they would listen to their audience and push him as a singles star coming out of this, but I'm not getting my hopes up. By the way, Gable and Benjamin appear to be full-fledged heels by this point.
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Kalisto def. Tony NeseKalisto has more or less become a regular on Main Event since leaving the WWE Cruiserweight Championship picture last month, but this was one of his better bouts on the program in recent memory. Nese had a solid showing as well and they worked well together, having a real nice match on the whole that the crowd was surprisingly alive for. It's hard to take Nese seriously whenever he wins, however, because then he goes right back to losing matches like this. The Revival def. Apollo Crews and Titus O'NeilI was disappointed The Revival were nowhere to be seen on Raw this week, but I guess this explains why. What was cool about this was that it was set up last week with Titus Worldwide scouting The Revival backstage during their match. It wasn't the most exciting outing, mind you, but it was fun any time Crews was in the ring with either member of The Revival. Needless to say, The Revival scoring the victory was the right call.
John Cena def. EliasElias saying WWE stands for "Walk With Elias" was absolutely brilliant, and his interaction with Cena here was beyond entertaining. Cena was in total over-the-top mode and said nothing about what the future holds for him (or when his next appearance will be), but I firmly believe Elias gained something from the segment and subsequent match with Cena considering he was on offense for a majority of it. Between this and his outing against Roman Reigns for the Intercontinental Championship, I think it's safe to say Elias has proven himself as a star on the rise. Hideo Itami def. The Brian KendrickCorey Graves really hammered home how Itami was the one who invented the GTS, which was timely given they were in Chicago (home of the other man who helped popularize the move, CM Punk) for this show. The match was a showcase for Itami and nothing more, but it's important to establish Itami as a threat this early into his run. He hasn't been getting great reactions so far, but I'm hoping that will improve in time.
Undisputed Era def. SAnitY to Win the NXT Tag Team ChampionshipMost of SAnitY's matches have been entertaining this year, especially when they're in the ring with the right opponents. Needless to say, Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish got a great match out of them here and the second half was especially enjoyable. I would argue that the interference from Adam Cole and Nikki Cross at ringside actually added to the action because Undisputed Era will typically do whatever it takes to win, and the title change was a genuine surprise because it's rare championships change hands on NXT TV. However, it was the right move to make and I'd keep the straps on O'Reilly and Fish for a while. Lars Sullivan def. Roderick Strong in an NXT Championship No. 1 Contender's Qualifying MatchSullivan has really impressed me thus far in his NXT run with what he's capable of given how green he still is. Obviously, having him work with Strong was a huge benefit because Strong is such a believable babyface and his offense is awesome. He sold like a champ for Sullivan, who came across like an absolute beast. The undefeated Sullivan advancing was the correct call, but I hope Strong gets back to being in a steady program in the near future.
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