The Undercard
Austin Aries defeated Jeff Hardy in an excellent match pitting two opponents of the X-Division championship match at Bound For Glory together. Aries took the early advantage onto Hardy which included him hitting multiple elbows and dropkicks. He was able to taunt Hardy and really play it up to the crowd, one of the little things that makes watching Aries a treat. We come back from break seeing Jeff hit a dropkick to the neck of Aries and begin to use his offense. Hardy ducks a dropkick from the top rope and hits a flying forearm. Aries was able to reverse Hardy and hit a backdrop to the outside. That move looked excellent and was sold perfectly by Jeff. Hardy tries to end up by going up top only for Aries to hang him up in the ropes and finally connect with a Brainbuster for the win. What an excellent, fast paced and entertaining match between the two guys. I was happy there was a clear winner and not a distraction. Out comes Samoa Joe, who says he wants to be the 5th man in the Ultimate X Match at Bound For Glory. He says he is going to kill them. Joe in this match is very intriguing. You need a heavyweight who has the athleticism and endurance to keep up and slightly alter the game. He becomes the big wild card and that is a great thing for the match.
Grade: A-
Jesse Godderz vs. ODB ends in No Contest. Lei'D Tapa comes out and spears ODB. She kicks her in the head and then hits a fireman's carry. It looks like Tapa will immediately get involved with the Knockouts Champion. That is a good thing for the division. New blood spells new feuds and more interesting character development for ODB. ODB has not looked vulnerable in quite some time in feuds. This may be a good time for her to tap into that.
Grade: C
Brooke Tessmacher defeated Velvet Sky to become the Number One contender for the Knockouts Championship. Sky is in full control of the match until Chris Sabin tells her to come over and talk strategy. With a bulldog knocking out Brooke, she gets up and rolls up Sky for the cheap win.
Grade: D