Antonio Cesaro Defeats Zack Ryder To Retain The United States Championship
What I Liked:
I will talk about the match first, with Cesaro hitting some unique moves. He looked strong here against Ryder, which showcased his scrappy mentality. He deadlifts Ryder off the mat, and send him into an inverted suplex. What a great display of strength. Also, it was excellent to see the European Uppercut in mid air, and really had Cesaro in what I thought was his breakout match so far. The crowd said some "awes" and began to see why he is the United States Championship. Ryder was a good pair for him, and the finish gave Cesaro a quick victory, thanks to Aksana.
What I Disliked:
It still seems like the crowd does not care about either of these guys. Ryder gets the pop still, but we never expect him to win. I did not think for one second he would beat Cesaro and win the title on this night. I also think that Cesaro's character is extremely boring on the microphone and does not connect with his talents in the ring. You need to have him more aggressive on the microphone and less of a whiner. Not all heels need to do the same thing and complain. The match was thrown together, not dramatic, and did not get over with the crowd. Was it because of how it was booked, or because these guys did not get enough television time to make the US Championship interesting? I think both.
Grade: C
Randy Orton Defeats Dolph Ziggler
What I Liked:
This was the match of the night for me, like I expected. Orton starts off the match working on Ziggler's upper body, which included numerous uppercuts to ground Ziggler. With the fast and athletic pace Ziggler portrays, Orton needed to keep his pace from the very beginning. As the match progressed, Orton and Ziggler would exchange offensive manuevers, including a picture perfect springboard suplex that followed with a backbreaker from Orton. The pace of the match was perfect, and it picked up at the right time. As the match slowed down a bit, both guys would slug it out in the ring, back and forth. This was my favorite part of the match, with the crowd getting really hot. This physicality and personal hatred reached a boiling point with punch after punch. I was shocked and happy to see Ziggler finally with the exchange, and continue his show off type of offense. With a sleeper hold, Ziggler combined old school moves with new ones of his own. The finish came after a DDT and a few reversals, and Orton caught Ziggler with an RKO for the victory. A match that lasted close to 20 minutes, Ziggler and Orton hit all of their moves and really stole the show from every aspect. They are both so complete in the ring, in every facet. There may not be two better opponents for one another than this pairing. Well done.
What I Disliked:
Ziggler needed the win more. Another PPV, another loss.
Grade: A-
