The Undercard
Damien Sandow defeated Dolph Ziggler. Sandow picks up the win in a quick and boring contest. The past few weeks we have seen these men work great matches with different stipulations. This one lacked a real intrigue, aside from the fact that the winner would face Big E Langston at WWE TLC. Sandow is the logical choice, but it is not like he is going to win. We saw Sandow get pushed to such a high level, only to lose to John Cena and fail his cash-in attempt. I wanted to see face vs. face, Ziggler vs. Langston, because that storyline is easy to make up in two weeks. Instead, we get a thrown together feud for Langston and Sandow.
Grade: C
Natayla and The Bellas defeated AJ Lee, Tamina Snuka and Summer Rae. I found it very surprising that Natalya picked up the clean pinfall over AJ Lee. Natalya is going to get an opportunity at the Divas Championship and I think this is the right call for now. Natalya is a veteran in the company and deserves her shot. I really do not expect her to win, unless WWE wants the footage for the season premiere of next season of Total Divas. That is obviously more important and much more meaningful for Divas in the WWE right now than a title. Maybe they give Nattie the chance to carry the division? There is no Diva better in an overall picture than AJ Lee.
Grade: C
Daniel Bryan's Future Could Change
Bryan defeated Erick Rowan in an average match. Sometimes, you have to wonder what WWE sees in a guy like Erick Rowan. He is very bland and generic. Was he the only other option for The Wyatt Family? I had my eyes peeled on his performance tonight, hoping that he would win me over. He did not. In fact, his weaknesses were exposed much more than I would have hoped for. The match was your typical big man versus little man, with Bryan fighting back with multiple kicks to Rowan on the mat. After a suicide dive, Bryan is met with a big boot. Bryan escapes a maneuver and rolls up Rowan. After the match, Bray Wyatt cuts a compelling and haunting promo. He talks to Bryan about basically joining and taking down everyone else. I loved the fact that WWE is giving us a little glimpse into what could happen. Bryan has been beaten down by The Authority for so long. Maybe he aligns himself with Bray and we finally get these guys to be faces. Think of the possibilities! I will say this: WWE should have kept Bryan off television for at least another week. HE WAS KIDNAPPED LAST WEEK! PLAY IT OUT LONGER!
Grade: B-
Xavier Woods and R-Truth defeated Tons of Funk. Much like Smackdown, Tons of Funk controlled most of the offense. Truth took a beating from Clay and Tensai throughout the match. They would hit a few splashes and Brodus connected with an inverted suplex. Woods would finally sneak a pin on the big man and get the victory. The finish was very sloppy. Woods did not impress me. He has charisma and a personality. WWE needs to let him showcase that sooner rather than later.
Grade: C-
