The Undercard
The Uso's defeated The Real Americans in a quick match. Yes, The Uso's are the only face tag teams. Yes, The Shield are heels. This does not mean WWE cannot build other teams to look dominant. The Uso's lack so much in terms of relevance. Swagger and Cesaro should have won this match and should have been the guys that WWE want to build. They actually have a gimmick, a character, and great in ring abilities.
Grade: C-
Christian defeated Damien Sandow. Sandow will now become the Ziggler ala 2012. He is going to hold the briefcase but still suffer losses. I am not sure this is a great idea because Ziggler was established to a point last year. Sandow is still very new and still a guy who desperately needs to get over on a consistent basis. What better way than to beat a former World Heavyweight Champion? Maybe WWE wants Christian to step in and face Del Rio now that Ziggler seems out of the picture for the time being. Cody Rhodes came out and attacked Sandow, which was very well done. He is continuing to take advantage of all the cheers from a night ago. WWE is beginning to realize that Rhodes could be a really good main event guy. He shows the tools needed to succeed. I have always been a fan of his work and he is slowly going to be pushed to the top.
Grade: C+
Naomi defeated Brie Bella in a quick Divas match. All that I saw here was the ability and athleticism of Naomi. She can be marketable and interesting in this division due to her size and athleticism. It is still very early, but she does need her own music and not piggyback off of Brodus and Tensai. I would love to see WWE try and separate her from them, giving her a realistic look in the ring.
Grade: C+
Rob Van Dam defeated Chris Jericho in a match of the year candidate. Think about this: this was a mid card match about ten years ago and now both guys are back reinventing themselves. Yes, RVD still uses a majority of his offense, but he is not afraid to slightly tweak things that got him over. Jericho looks completely different than a decade ago and has a newer set of offensive moves. Both men put on an incredible match that had the perfect combination of speed, high flying moves, and drama. After multiple reversals and kickouts, RVD would head up top and connect with a sunset flip. He landed on Jericho, but Jericho kicked out. I loved how RVD missed his back flip from the rope only to get hit with a Lionsault. The mentality of this match was perfect for both guys. Similar styles and similar approaches in the ring are what makes these guys so great. RVD hit a massive 5 Star Frog Splash for the win. These guys are ageless and brilliant.
Grade: A+
