The Undercard
Ryback defeated Antonio Cesaro in a phyiscal match. Ryback picked up the offense early on, but Cesaro took the advantage into the commercial break. We come back from break and it looks like Cesaro is in full control, that is until Ryback hits a leg drop and a body slam to get it going. He would hit with the Meat Hook Clothesline, and Cesaro escapes after that. He heads to the outside, in which Ryback follows him. Cesaro reverses a few moves, but eventually falls to the Shell Shock finisher. I liked the pace and the execution of this match for a few reasons. Ryback was able to add a new piece of offense in, even if it was an ugly looking leg drop. It shows you that he is going to continue to get better and make sure he adds new moves to his game. Cesaro looked great in this match because they let him. I was worried Ryback would squash someone, but this was a competitive matchup. I am not crazy about the United States Champion, who was on such a roll, losing to Ryback, but I will take it for what it is worth. This won't kill Cesaro, but a loss to Ryback would devalue what they are trying to do with him. Grade: B
Jack Swagger defeated Santino Marella in a glorified squash match. Swagger came out looking better than he did on Smackdown, changing his tights to all black. He was able to ground Santino with some amateur wrestling holds, scoop slam him, and then basically lock in the Patriot Act, which is his the name for the Ankle Lock. After the match, Swagger looks at Booker T and basically tells him he is a different man now. His aggressive and scary look with his beard and hair actually is growing on me. There has to be a difference in his look, in the way he speaks, and I think a dark and scary character is something he can pull off. It would be a complete overhaul with music and lights also. Grade: C+
Alberto Del Rio defeated Cody Rhodes . Isn't it funny how much Ricardo Rodriguez means to Del Rio's popularity? Did you listen to the crowd reaction in Atlanta? They could have cared less about ADR when his music hit. They did give Cody a loud boo, which is always a good sign. I cannot wrap my head around why Rhodes Scholars broke up. There is NO OTHER COMPETITION in the Tag Team Division, and a match like this frustrates me. Rhodes hits a few moves, but loses to the champion in about 4 minutes by tapping out. How horrible does this make Cody look, while Del Rio still did not get a rise out of the crowd. After the match, he makes a lousy promo about how he is a common man and respects the people. THIS. WAS. SO. FORCED. I am in support of the face turn, but this was a huge step back for him. It was just too cheesy. Grade: C-
Daniel Bryan defeated Rey Mysterio in a solid bout between two common opponents. First off, Daniel Bryan is fantastic week in and week out. He connected with a crazy looking inverted Belly to Belly Gutbuster, which was timed out perfectly. He would get a few quick falls, but Mysterio would fight back. Rey would hit a hurricanranna and a seaton senton, but Bryan kicked out. The pace began to pick up when Bryan was able to counter Rey and make him tap out to the No Lock. I really enjoyed this match, well done. Grade: B+
