Matt Riddle and Timothy Thatcher vs Imperium-NXT Tag Team Championships
This was a solid match to start off the night and I enjoyed it for the most part. However, we kind of all saw this Thatcher drama coming from a mile away so it fell a little flat in the match itself. Even the post-match brawl was a little meh. I’m happy about the title change; it’s a crime that it’s taken this long for Imperium to get their hands on one of the sets of tag titles.
Winner: Imperium
Grade: C+
Tegan Nox vs Indi Hartwell
This was a cakewalk of a match for Nox but Hartwell sold that shiniest wizard so well!
Winner: Tegan Nox
Grade: Not Graded
Rhea Ripley, who’s not in Australia
I don’t care if I have to wait until the pandemic lessens. Give me that Charlotte Flair vs Rhea Ripley vs Io Shirai triple threat. Inject it into my veins!
Grade: B
Jake Atlas vs Tony Nese
This match was still much shorter than it should’ve been but it least wasn’t two blinks and a sneeze like last week’s. Atlas looked pretty good here, getting a win over a former Cruiserweight Champion and all of his abs.
Winner: Jake Atlas
Grade: C+
Video Packages
I miss seeing Undisputed Era together, though I am getting my fix through watching their streams of playing games together. Also what if Roddy loses to Dexter Lumis and he gets kicked out of the group? Or what if they replace Roddy with Lumi? The betrayal!
I don’t know much about Karrion Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux but there’s a lot of buzz around them and I hope I like what I see.
Isaiah Scott ‘s “I’m going to win” promo was okay, nothing special.
Grade: B
Cameron Grimes vs Finn Balor
Yo, we finally figured out who attacked Balor! I’m not exactly surprised since Damian Priest has been swinging that nightstick around for a few weeks but this is still pretty good storytelling. Grimes got to look good with a victory over the Prince and we just started a rivalry between Balor and Priest. Double win!
Winner: Cameron Grimes
Grade: B+
Isaiah Scott vs Jack Gallagher
Oh my gosh, these two were completely screwed on time! They get some bonus points for trying to bang out a good match but it’s just so hard to do when you don’t even get five minutes. And now Scott’s eliminated from the tournament too.
Winner: Jack Gallagher
Grade: C
Aliyah vs Kayden Carter
Poor Aliyah…they really teased her joining the Robert Stone Brand and then she just lost in about 3 minutes. This girl is gonna be on NXT forever.
Winner: Kayden Carter
Not Graded
Dinner at the Garganos
I really like cheesy drama so these dinner vignettes are absolutely perfect for me. And they’re helping establish the Garganos as heels in a creative, and safely distanced, way. I love that they use references from both their opponents and the IWC in these videos too.
Grade: B
Matt Riddle vs Timothy Thatcher
The only real negative I have for this match is that we went straight from the heel turn to a singles match. Judging from the fact that an arm bar ended the show, we’re most likely not done with this rivalry but I still would’ve preferred a bit more time between the turn and the first singles match. On the positive side, Riddle and Thatcher had great chemistry and the ring work was superb! It probably comes from having worked together and also having similar ring styles.
Winner: Matt Riddle
Grade: B+
Final Thoughts
It really sucks that the Interim Cruiserweight Championship tournament has been completed gutted of proper length matches. There’s too many short matches in general and some of them have added nothing and easily could’ve been cut to allow the tournament competitors more time. It kind of undercuts what they can do if they to try to throw everything in a match that’s shorter than five minutes.
Overall Grade: C+
