Phoenix Convention Center
Phoenix, Arizona
15 Man Battle Royal
It's interesting to see WWE in a Ring Of Honor type atmosphere. Tyler Bate, Velveteen Dream and Adam Cole get the biggest pops as expected. Humberto Carrillo and Zack Gibson are the first two eliminated, which means they will meet in the first round. Cedric Alexander is eliminated shortly after, which is a surprise. Honestly, the best way to go about a battle royal is to clear out at least close to half of the guys within the first 2 or 3 minutes. Otherwise, it's just a bunch of guys punching and kicking each other waiting for their spot to be eliminated. Tyler Bate is the next one to be surprisingly eliminated early. This match is already 5 minutes too long and we are nowhere near the ending. Adam Cole is eliminated to some huge boos. I can't emphasize how much longer this match is than it should have been. The two big men, Keith Lee and Dominik Dijakovic are both eliminated and we are FINALLY down to 4. Someone in the crowd shouts out "Anyone but TJP". Nese and TJP are working together here. Velveteen throws out TJP. A few minutes later he knocks out Nese and almost himself. He gets back in and Devlin is there to eliminate him and pick up the victory. That was a poorly constructed opener. It can only go up from here.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Charly Caruso explains that they are only showing the key matchups here and the rest can be seen on WWE.com and YouTube. I will only be covering this special.
Zack Gibson vs. Humberto Carrillo
This is my first time seeing Carrillo in the ring. Right from the get go, it is clear Carrillo is an athlete. I truly feel like I am back in 2008 and watching a ROH DVD. Carrillo hits a nice reverse somersault into a moonsault for a nearfall. Carrillo is impressing here, but then Gibson hits an awesome move to turn the tables. Carrillo then hits a handstand into a springboard elbow drop for the victory. I liked what I saw from Carrillo. Gibson was mostly just average.
Match Rating: **1/2
We now see the quarterfinals bracket followed by a highlight package of all the other first round matches.
Drew Gulak vs. Jordan Devlin
This is a quarterfinals matchup. We get some mat wrestling to start off. Devlin finally gets some offense in after some hard hitting forearms. I am a little surprised they are showing this match, as the crowd is pretty much dead silent here. Devlin goes the sunset flip, but Gulak grabs the ropes and gets caught. Then Devlin tries to pin Gulak with his feet on the ropes and he gets caught as well. We get some dual slaps and they both eventually are down. Devlin with a springboard moonsault, but Gulak catches him and puts him in the Gu-lock. Devlin is able to get out of it. I will say these guys are beating the crap out of each other. We get some nearfalls and they are slowly winning over the crowd here. Devlin hits Ireland's Call for the pin.
Match Rating: **1/4
Adam Cole vs. Tyler Bate
We are in the semi-finals now. Not sure if they'll be going 110% like they would at a Takeover, but regardless this should be an awesome match. Both of these guys should be huge stars on the main roster sooner rather than later. Bate gets the early advantage after a couple of hip tosses and a dropkick. Cole recovers and hits him with a big running kick. If you don't know a lot about Adam Cole, I highly recommend listening to his interview on the E&C Pod of Awesomeness. Bate gets Cole up for an airplane spin followed by an uppercut. Standing Shooting Star Press gets a 2 1/2 count. Bate hits him with a big left hand, but Cole follows that up with a superkick. Cole hits a knee for a near 3 count. Cole rolls down his knee pad but misses the knee and Bate turns that into a Tyler Driver for the victory. Good match, but it never got into the next gear.
Match Rating: ***1/4
Jordan Devlin vs. Velveteen Dream
It's clear WWE is high on Devlin, as they gave him a match against Finn Balor at the NXT UK Takeover and gave him a nice run here. Velveteen Dream of course has a lot ahead of him in the near future. Dream's ribs are wrapped here. This is an odd nitpick, but I think Dream needs to either tape his wrists or wear wristbands. Yeah, I'm crazy. Dream is selling the ribs all the way here, which is nice to see from such a young performer. Devlin is doing a nice job as well targeting the ribs, even if isn't resulting in the most impressive match. Dream lifts him up for a Dream Driver, but Devlin hits him in the ribs to get otu of it. Devlin stops Dream from going upstairs and goes for a sunset flip powerbomb, but Dream hangs onto the ropes. Dream then hits him with a moonsault. Crossbody by Dream, but Devlin rolls through for a 2 count. Backstabber by Devlin and it's still not enough. Dream hits his version of a DDT and Devlin is able to kick out. Devlin goes for a moonsault, but Dream blocks hit and hits the Dream Driver. Dream is up top and hits the Purple RainMaker. Dream will go on to take on Bate in the finals.
Match Rating: **1/2
Tyler Bate vs. Velveteen Dream
Interesting that they went with two fan favorites despite them having Dream sell the rib injury. Also interesting that they show a close up of someone wearing a Young Bucks shirt. Bate has Dream in an abdominal stretch and is working the elbow on the injured ribs. The fan shots they have shown during the show have been even more pointless than usual. Bate hits a suplex from the second rope while Dream is on the apron, which is quite impressive. It's definitely kind of strange seeing Bate playing this role of dominating the match. Dream hits him with a knee to the face and both are dazed. Dream hits a couple of clotheslines followed by a huge back body drop. Superkick and Fameasser gets him a 2 1/2. After some big moves by both, Dream hits the Dream Driver and Bate kicks out. Bate has Dream in a Boston Crab and Dream is screaming in agony. Dream attempts to crawl to the ropes but Bate puts his foot on his head. Dream nearly passes out, but snaps out of it, but Bate drags him back to the center of the ring. Dream reverses and after multiple kicks finall gets out of it into an inside cradle for a 2 7/8 as Nigel said. Crowd is chanting "This is awesome", but it looks as if they are at a golf outing instead of a wrestling match. Dream dumps Bate outside the ring and then hits him with a double ax handle. Dream up top again, but Bate hits him with a jumping headbutt. Dream appears to be out. Bate is climbing up top but Dream stops him. Dream going for a superplex, but that too is blocked. Bate with a big left hand. Bate is going for a Tyler Driver 97, but falls to the mat and Dream hits the Purple RainMaker for the pinfall and the opportunity for a title match of his choosing.
Match Rating: ***1/4
Well, this was essentially the quality of a house show. A couple solid matches, but lacking the excitement we expect from a bigger event. I'm always happy when they decide to do Network Exclusive shows and even though I didn't love it, I am glad they gave something a shot. Don't go out of your way to watch it, but if you do, just skip the first half hour or so.
Overall Rating: 52%
Charly Caruso explains that they are only showing the key matchups here and the rest can be seen on WWE.com and YouTube. I will only be covering this special.
Zack Gibson vs. Humberto Carrillo
This is my first time seeing Carrillo in the ring. Right from the get go, it is clear Carrillo is an athlete. I truly feel like I am back in 2008 and watching a ROH DVD. Carrillo hits a nice reverse somersault into a moonsault for a nearfall. Carrillo is impressing here, but then Gibson hits an awesome move to turn the tables. Carrillo then hits a handstand into a springboard elbow drop for the victory. I liked what I saw from Carrillo. Gibson was mostly just average.
Match Rating: **1/2
We now see the quarterfinals bracket followed by a highlight package of all the other first round matches.
Drew Gulak vs. Jordan Devlin
This is a quarterfinals matchup. We get some mat wrestling to start off. Devlin finally gets some offense in after some hard hitting forearms. I am a little surprised they are showing this match, as the crowd is pretty much dead silent here. Devlin goes the sunset flip, but Gulak grabs the ropes and gets caught. Then Devlin tries to pin Gulak with his feet on the ropes and he gets caught as well. We get some dual slaps and they both eventually are down. Devlin with a springboard moonsault, but Gulak catches him and puts him in the Gu-lock. Devlin is able to get out of it. I will say these guys are beating the crap out of each other. We get some nearfalls and they are slowly winning over the crowd here. Devlin hits Ireland's Call for the pin.
Match Rating: **1/4
Adam Cole vs. Tyler Bate
We are in the semi-finals now. Not sure if they'll be going 110% like they would at a Takeover, but regardless this should be an awesome match. Both of these guys should be huge stars on the main roster sooner rather than later. Bate gets the early advantage after a couple of hip tosses and a dropkick. Cole recovers and hits him with a big running kick. If you don't know a lot about Adam Cole, I highly recommend listening to his interview on the E&C Pod of Awesomeness. Bate gets Cole up for an airplane spin followed by an uppercut. Standing Shooting Star Press gets a 2 1/2 count. Bate hits him with a big left hand, but Cole follows that up with a superkick. Cole hits a knee for a near 3 count. Cole rolls down his knee pad but misses the knee and Bate turns that into a Tyler Driver for the victory. Good match, but it never got into the next gear.
Match Rating: ***1/4
Jordan Devlin vs. Velveteen Dream
It's clear WWE is high on Devlin, as they gave him a match against Finn Balor at the NXT UK Takeover and gave him a nice run here. Velveteen Dream of course has a lot ahead of him in the near future. Dream's ribs are wrapped here. This is an odd nitpick, but I think Dream needs to either tape his wrists or wear wristbands. Yeah, I'm crazy. Dream is selling the ribs all the way here, which is nice to see from such a young performer. Devlin is doing a nice job as well targeting the ribs, even if isn't resulting in the most impressive match. Dream lifts him up for a Dream Driver, but Devlin hits him in the ribs to get otu of it. Devlin stops Dream from going upstairs and goes for a sunset flip powerbomb, but Dream hangs onto the ropes. Dream then hits him with a moonsault. Crossbody by Dream, but Devlin rolls through for a 2 count. Backstabber by Devlin and it's still not enough. Dream hits his version of a DDT and Devlin is able to kick out. Devlin goes for a moonsault, but Dream blocks hit and hits the Dream Driver. Dream is up top and hits the Purple RainMaker. Dream will go on to take on Bate in the finals.
Match Rating: **1/2
Tyler Bate vs. Velveteen Dream
Interesting that they went with two fan favorites despite them having Dream sell the rib injury. Also interesting that they show a close up of someone wearing a Young Bucks shirt. Bate has Dream in an abdominal stretch and is working the elbow on the injured ribs. The fan shots they have shown during the show have been even more pointless than usual. Bate hits a suplex from the second rope while Dream is on the apron, which is quite impressive. It's definitely kind of strange seeing Bate playing this role of dominating the match. Dream hits him with a knee to the face and both are dazed. Dream hits a couple of clotheslines followed by a huge back body drop. Superkick and Fameasser gets him a 2 1/2. After some big moves by both, Dream hits the Dream Driver and Bate kicks out. Bate has Dream in a Boston Crab and Dream is screaming in agony. Dream attempts to crawl to the ropes but Bate puts his foot on his head. Dream nearly passes out, but snaps out of it, but Bate drags him back to the center of the ring. Dream reverses and after multiple kicks finall gets out of it into an inside cradle for a 2 7/8 as Nigel said. Crowd is chanting "This is awesome", but it looks as if they are at a golf outing instead of a wrestling match. Dream dumps Bate outside the ring and then hits him with a double ax handle. Dream up top again, but Bate hits him with a jumping headbutt. Dream appears to be out. Bate is climbing up top but Dream stops him. Dream going for a superplex, but that too is blocked. Bate with a big left hand. Bate is going for a Tyler Driver 97, but falls to the mat and Dream hits the Purple RainMaker for the pinfall and the opportunity for a title match of his choosing.
Match Rating: ***1/4
Well, this was essentially the quality of a house show. A couple solid matches, but lacking the excitement we expect from a bigger event. I'm always happy when they decide to do Network Exclusive shows and even though I didn't love it, I am glad they gave something a shot. Don't go out of your way to watch it, but if you do, just skip the first half hour or so.
Overall Rating: 52%
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