The Undisputed Era posing for the crowd with all their belts gets an automatic A+. I don’t make the rules.
Keith Lee vs Dominik Dijakovic
When two big dudes get up to the top rope, you just know something wild is about to happen. When Dijakovic hit the avalanche Canadian destroyer, I was in shock that it didn’t end the match. I really liked this match and thought it was a strong opener for the shows. This series is now at 1-1-1 and I’d very much like for it to continue, perhaps onto a Takeover as a street fight.
Winner: Keith Lee
Grade: B+
Dakota Kai vs Taynara Conti
Kai had so much emotion on her face as she made her entrance! I would’ve preferred her to have an easier win for her first televised match post-injury but Taynara is no slouch and I’m glad they didn’t make her look like a chump.
Winner: Dakota Kai
Grade: C+
Matt Riddle vs Killian Dain-#1 Contender’s Street Fight
Street fights on regular television can be tricky. There’s a bit more of a time constraint but it also has to have some impact or it’s pretty much a wasted stipulation. Here, the match started off on the slow side but it picked up nicely. It looked brutal and Riddle came away with a hard-fought victory. As an aside, how does Riddle manage to not hurt his feet while wrestling barefoot?
Winner: Matt Riddle
Grade: B+
Rhea Ripley vs Kayden Carter
Ugh, I hate Lacey Lane’s new name change. Other than that, Ripley basically dominated this match and she continues to look like an absolute monster.
Winner: Rhea Ripley
Not Graded
Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch vs Ever-Rise
I am not too familiar with Ever-Rise but they did look good here. And it seems as though they have lots of potential. This was a solid, straightforward tag team match with no bells or whistles.
Winner: Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch
Grade: C+
Cameron Grimes vs Raul Mendoza
Despite a rough beginning, Grimes and Mendoza put on a decent match. I am a bit puzzled by the booking of this though. Grimes had a ridiculously short win last and now this week we’re back to some kind of weird 50/50 booking. It seems as though there isn’t a clear direction for Grimes at this moment.
Winner: Cameron Grimes
Grade: C+
Kushida, Fandango, and Tyler Breeze vs Fabian Aichner, Marcel Bartel, and Alexander Wolfe
There’s a few things to unpack here. First of all, the match itself was pretty good. I can’t complain about any of the ring work and there wasn’t any sloppiness. However, I think Breezango as the mystery partners didn’t quite live up to everyone’s expectations. Kushida won, which is great because he keeps him in good light, but he really didn’t participate in the match all that much. But I definitely liked Walter showing up to lay out Kushida. It keeps the people on their toes.
Winner: Kushida, Fandango, and Tyler Breeze
Grade: B
Final Thoughts
This episode was really good and a strong showing for the second week of television. I also didn’t have issues transitioning over to the network. I can’t wait to see how this goes as they are now able to air the full two hours on television!
Overall Grade: B+
