The Undercard
Sheamus defeated Cody Rhodes. Sheamus and Sandow continue their feud with the addition of Rhodes. Cody puts on a pretty good fight against Sheamus, although he would miss a disaster kick and wind up tapping out to the Texas Cloverleaf. I am not sure I love the idea of Sheamus applying submission moves as a finisher. It would benefit him if he was able to add more physical moves. This one does not really fit his character. After the match, Sandow attacks. It was simple and very logical to build up their feud. I expect them to both be involved in a Money in the Bank Ladder Match. That will also help them feud without having to face one another on a week to week basis in the ring.
Grade: B-
Curtis Axel defeated Wade Barrett to retain his Intercontinental Championship. Barrett basically controlled the offensive portion of the match. He worked over Axel with simple kicks and punches to her sternum. Wade goes up top to connect with an elbow drop but misses. Axel clothesline him and then hits a neckbreaker for the win. Axel continues to take steps backwards in my mind. He goes from Triple H/ John Cena to Sin Cara/Wade Barrett/Miz. He also needs to come up with a new finisher. He really needs to separate himself from the normality. What makes him special? There needs to be more than just Paul Heyman in his corner.
Grade: C+
AJ Lee defeated Natalya with the Black Widow. There was a random commercial break in here, which made no sense to me. Nonetheless, AJ shows why she is so valuable. Her size is not holding her back, but her acting is pushing her forward. She is really dramatic but not "over" dramatic. She needs a submission hold to make her win more believable. The matches will never be 5 star, but at least we are getting relevance and meaning to the divison.
Grade: C
Christian defeaetd Drew McIntyre. This was just a simple match that gave us another view of Christian back in the WWE. He cuts a promo after the match about becoming World Heavyweight Champion again. He is interrupted by The Shield, who attack him like usual. I think this tells us that Christian could very well feud with Ambrose for the United States Championship or that Christian could find a partner and try his turn at the tag titles. I can see Christian in the MITB Ladder match, but after that will be where we really appreciate him in the WWE. He can get young guys over and produce excellent wrestling matches.
Grade: C+
