The Undercard
Velvet Sky defeated Tara to retain the Knockouts Championship. I was surprised to see this match start off the night, besides the talking segment with Bully Ray and Jeff Hardy. Sky is going to continue to be pushed immensely and I am alright with that. As you see her progress, you have to give credit to Tara for being able to sell the moves in the ring to make Velvet look much better. Velvet uses a distraction from Jesse, hits Tara with her finisher, and picks up the victory. My biggest questions after the match are 1. What is Jesse and Tara going to do next to stay relevant? and B. Who will face Velvet next? A quick squash like this basically seals the fate for Tara, right? Grade: C
Austin Aries defeated Hernandez in a match that showcased how good Aries can be as a heel. Once again, the fans love to cheer him, but he does a great job getting cheap heat by trying to leave the match. Aries misses a mockery of Chavo's frog splash, so he tries to leave. Hernandez comes right after him and beats him down. Hernandez is a beast of a man, so it was somewhat hard for me to see him lose clean to Aries. We did not need to worry, since Aries used a foreign object to knock him out. The referee does not see it and Aries picks up a cheap win so it will not crush the rematch for the tag titles. Nobody wants to see a rematch where the challengers already lost to the champions multiple times. That is illogical, and this was simple and effective logic to end the match. Grade: B
Kenny King defeated RVD to win the X-Divison Championship. I absolutely love seeing the athleticism and unique offense from King. At first, I was not sure if RVD would be the best opponent for a feud with King, but it worked tonight. RVD has done all he could with the title and it was time for Kenny King to take the division by storm. They brawl to the outside to pick up the pace and RVD hits his patented spinning legdrop. This was a great spot and really made you think that King would still love his opportunity. I love the combinational strikes from King, switching from kicks and punches to suplexes and submission holds. He is so smooth and a joy to watch. He hits Royal Flush for the victory and I hope this is a sign of a huge push for him. Grade: B+
Ivelisse Velez defeated Lei'd Tapa. Another Gut Check challenge, and another way for me to tune out. They already have a bunch of Knockouts, so why try and add more? Whatever happened to Tayler Hendrix? Why wasn't she used in some sort of capacity. Until I see consistency in building young talent who already should have gotten their chance, I am over Gut Check. Grade: D
