Ceasro v. Jericho: The lack of chemistry, more than anything, hurt this match. Cesaro winning makes sense but I still wish this would’ve been better. Credit to Jericho for still putting on a good show 99% of the time but this time around it wasn’t that great.
Rusev v. Jack Swagger: I am not a fan of wrestlers that deserve better jobbing to wrestlers I couldn’t care less about. Granted, neither Rusev or Swagger are “my guy” but I don’t find Rusev that interesting anymore and Swagger could’ve picked up the win, if only for the fact that it was his hometown crowd. When Rusev first started in WWE he was unstoppable and then that momentum died and he was shuffled around, sent to the dog house and is now champion again. I just can’t get behind him. And I can’t get behind talent that deserves better being mismanaged. While I’m doubtful the brand split will be amazing I’m tentatively hopeful that it benefits stars like Swagger.
John Cena & AJ Styles Promo: Ya know what? I was pleasantly surprised by this promo. Letting some more fire into Cena, a throwback to some of his “Thuganomics” character and allowing Styles to come across as a true, conniving heel, was a great way to go. While I wished there had been some more physicality it was smart to hold off on it this time as the words these men exchanged hit all the right notes. The New Day making the save for Cena also boosted the tension between the tag teams. P.S. Cena making fun of his own jorts made me snort/laugh since I wasn’t quite ready for it.
The Vaudevillians v. Enzo Amore & Big Cass: The concussion angle here, born out of Amore’s real injury, could be better handled. It makes Gotch & English look like they’re just bored bullies bringing up past triumphs rather than doing anything current. The fans of the main roster don’t know the Vaudevillians that well and WWE needs to change that if they want fans to care when they get in the ring. Having them attack/ scare Amore in the same way as his injury made my stomach drop but honestly seeing Cass lose his mind made it somewhat salvageable if only to show the bond between Enzo & Cass.
Albert Del Rio v. Sami Zayn: I was happy with this match because the chemistry was good and the banter was on point. These guys don’t need deep jabs at each other to make it work. They just need to work together. If this becomes a rivalry down the road it will be a good one but either way I’m just glad this match worked so well. Disappointed that Zayn lost but hopefully he won’t enter Money in the Bank with a losing streak.
Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns Promo Package: One of the better video packages by far that WWE has put out in a while. They do great work with these packages but the advantage here is that the fans cared about the Shield, were saddened by the end of the Shield and have, in varying degrees, supported the ex-Sheild members since the split. The recap of this friendship gone bad was a great way to promote the match coming up at Money in the Bank.
Kevin Owens v. Dean Ambrose: Another good match from these two. Despite the fact that JBL was right, Ambrose is always so close to winning big matches, the fans have not lost faith in the Lunatic Fringe. Owen’s post match freak out was in character as well and honestly helped book him as a bit more unstable too going into the big match. We’ll see how a Ambrose and Owens fair with these ever present “unbalanced” presentations of their character. So far, both men are selling it perfectly.
Charlotte Explains: Honestly, I’m tired of hearing her talk. Also, Becky and Natalya coming out to try ans “save” Dana from Charlotte seemed cheesy. Hopefully though these four women get a good chance to shine without the “team this/ team that” labels. Not really impressed by this, it could’ve all been handled better.
Tyler Breeze v. R-Truth: This needs to end. This is worse than Charlotte’s promo. This match did nothing for either team or any of the men involved.
The New Day v. The Club: Good chemistry here, coupled with new heat on Styles and the growing battle for the Tag Titles made this a great match. With Woods taken out before the match could actually begin we had the New Day on the opposite side of the numbers game for once. The Club winning wasn’t a surprise and boosted the heels up. When the post match attack started Cena made the save, returning the favor to the New Day and making sure that the babyface team wasn’t completely wiped out.
