Well, these shows feel like they're going to be enjoyably quick to blast through. This show was a lot of fun, and the opener was legitimately very good.
The Wyatt Family vs Sin Cara & Los Matadores
Well, this was really great. This was shortly before the Wyatts took on the Shield at Elimination Chamber, and they still had all their aura. Here, they beast the high-flying face team, but allow them some well-timed moments of hope to keep this competitve, and the crowd do get behind the face team. The Wyatts dominate Fernando, tagging quickly and hitting some nasty looking offence. I loved Bray just unloading with nasty looking body shots in the corner. Sin Cara looks great as the hot tag, all kinetic energy as he uses every side of the ring to bounce back at Luke Harper with crossbodies and elbows, but gets caught springboarding in by a big boot to the face. Bray was so explosive here, it's really easy to remember why everyone was so hyped for the big Shield match. Loved Bray's big avalanche in the corner. Diego is the matador who gets the hot tag, and as the least-beaten down face, it makes sense for him to look solid, outsmarting Rowan (again, the right choice of Wyatt to outsmart). He gets a really close nearfall on Rowan after Cara kicks him in the face. After a fun series of dives and nasty bumps, we end up with Bray and Cara in the ring, with Sister Abigail picking up the win in short order. Really fun competitive squash.
Natalya vs Aksana
I had totally forgotten Aksana existed, so it took me a few seconds to place the porno sax theme tune. This is shortly after she shattered Naomi's eye socket with a clumsy knee, so she keeps patting her knee to taunt Nattie with it as a weapon. Early on, Aksana downs Natalya with a sudden clothesline that looked really good, and a match I had no hope for actually turned out pretty fun. Aksana used to be a powerlifter and Natalya has always been one of the more powerfully built divas, so there were moments here where both girls collided with greater gusto than you normally see. There's a spot where they both try a crossbody that looks suitably hurty. Aksana is actually pretty good at cutting off Natalya's comebacks, and I thought her getting a 2 count by snatching a small package off a Sharpshooter looked smooth. The end saw Aksana try to knee Nattie in the face, only for Natalya to catch the leg and swiftly lock in the Sharpshooter for the win. This surprised me.
Big E vs Drew McIntyre
We've lost the "Langston" surname this week, the second week in a row the IC champ has been on Main Event. They play up Big E facing former IC champs back-to-back weeks. Loved the start as Drew gets more and more frustrated at Big E avoiding his attacks, and thus getting more sloppy with each attempt. Drew takes control and hits a lovely clothesline from the top rope. A lot of Drew's control work is based on working Big E's arm on the mat, which doesn't really go anywhere, but things heat up towards the end with Big E's lovely running splash, Drew nailing a big boot to the face and an excellent finish with Big E grabbing a running McIntyre with a tilt-a-whirl straight into the Big Ending for the win.
Big E vs Jinder Mahal
After the match, Jinder demands a match right away. With the slider showing 2 minutes left, I knew this would be quick, and Big E shakes off some blows, hits a huge clothesline and the Big Ending to squash Mahal. Harmless fun.
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