Dana Brooke & Lacey Evans defeated Boss N' Hug Connection and Bliss Cross Applesauce
5.75/10
- Bayley and Sasha Banks come out and talk some trash, but are confronted by Dana Brooke and Lacey Evans.
- I love Lacey and Dana teaming, and Dana getting more of a role.
- Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss join the fray and we have a TAG TEAM MATCH.
- Alexa has her pinning combination down pat.
- Sasha's dropkick missed by a mile, but this is good and fast paced.
- Dana Brooke is getting some good reps here, and landing a lot of suplexes.
- Bayley 2 Belly hits, but the pin on Lacey is broken up by everyone.
- Alexa and Nikki have some nice double team offense.
- Women's Right and then a NASTY Swanton land on Sasha. Dana Brooke gets the win. My god, man. That Swanton was nasty.
Chad Gable defeated Dash Wilder (w/ Scott Dawson)
5.5/10
- Elias isn't funny as a babyface. He talks about STDs and the Royal Rumble
- The Revival aren't happy about their Miracle On 34th Street Fight. Chad Gable says they shouldn't worry what other people have to say. Somehow a match gets set here.
- Scott Dawson is on commentary.
- Gable does a flying head scissors, but lands on his back.
- Belly to back superplex from Dash hits perfectly.
- Electric chair into the ropes, then a roll through, leads to Gable tapping out Wilder.
- Sheamus returns to stop the beat down. Sheamus' last babyface run wasn't something I really liked, so I'm glad it didn't go that direction. He Brogue Kicks gable.
- The Fella is such a dumbass nickname lol
Kofi Kingston (w/ Big E) defeated The Miz
5/10
- We see a lot of video packages to kick things off.
- Miz does a ra-ra speech that I'm not quite buying, as he delivers it to Daniel Bryan.
- Miz sees New Day backstage, who try to cheer him up. Big E says he watched the BALLS drop.
- Miz isn't happy about all the jokes, and he has a face-off with Kofi.
- Kofi and Miz have a match, and have some solid chemistry. But Kofi Kingston wins pretty quickly.
- Miz attacks Kofi and gets RUNNOFT'd by Big E.
- The crowd chants "Miz sucks" and Miz is in disbelief. He's not happy.
- John Morrison is backstage, and says Miz has nothing more to say.
- Morrison teaming with Miz again would absolutely be the right call for all involved
Otis (w/ Tucker Knight) defeated Drew Gulak
SQUASH-ISH
- Mandy Rose tried to talk to Otis, but his mom saw what happened last week.
- Drew Gulak is trolling Otis, and gets attacked.
- We see Dolph Ziggler talking to Sonya and Mandy backstage.
- "MANDY ROSE WOULD NEVER DATE YOU" - Drew Gulak, with all the conviction of someone in a third-grade play.
- Otis wins with a Vader Bomb.
Braun Strowman defeated Cesaro (w/ The Artists)
5/10
- Braun goes into the commercial with a ton of clotheslines.
- Nakamura eats a left hand trying to distract Strowman. I guess they're a full time thing now.
- Cesaro gets a little bit of offense, but it doesn't do too well.
- Strowman goes around the world and pins Cesaro after a powerslam.
- Nakamura attacks Strowman after the match. This was good advancement of their story.
- This wasn't great, but it did what it was supposed to do.
Daniel Bryan & Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin & Dolph Ziggler
5/10
- DB says he's unbreakable, unlike the Miz. Roman Reigns says he's going to win the Royal Rumble, and they're going to face each other. Reigns brings up that he never lost his title.
- Daniel Bryan gets the upper hand in the match, then the Bray Wyatt laugh plays over the speaker.
- Dolph Ziggler doing the stupid "DO SOMETHING" gimmick. We saw that with Gulak.
- Back-to-back matches with the heel grabbing the babyface and screaming at them is lame in general, but seems like something that should have been avoided.
- Bryan applies the Yes Lock, but Corbin breaks it up.
- Corbin has adjusted his chokeslam after last week, and gets speared.
- A bad looking running knee hits for Bryan.
- The Fiend appears at ringside. Bryan is sent through the barricade with a Mandible Claw.
- Wouldn't hate Fiend vs. Bryan vs. Reigns at Mania, honestly. I would quite like that.
- Ziggler and Corbin attack Reigns when he checks on Bryan.
- The Usos saving Roman Reigns. I got chills. I've wanted a Reigns/Usos faction for years
Rating Guide
10- Perfect, 9- MOTY Territory, 8- Excellent, 7- Great, 6- Good, 5- Average to above average, 4- Slightly below average, 3 or below: Poor
Each match starts at a 5 and slides up and down based on entertainment, execution, time, environment, reaction and stakes. The ratings are in no way an indication of a "star rating," which is a completely different system. A standard, non-offensive "TV match" lands at a 5. The gap between 5.75-6 is generally the largest, with anything reaching 6 being recommended viewing.
These are opinions, and incredibly inconsistent ones that may change upon a second viewing, or sitting on the match for a period of time. Don't take them too seriously, and have (and share) your own!
