Matt Hardy vs. Braun Strowman
Braun Strowman’s monstrous tear through the roster continued at the expense of Matt Hardy, who had the unfortunate task of facing The Monster Among Men one-on-one, but The Gift of Destruction went from hunter to hunted in the blink of an eye when The Shield came knocking.
Hardy turned in a gritty, turn-back-the-clock effort against Strowman that saw him land a Twist of Fate, only Strowman to kick out at one, retorting with two chokeslams and a Running Powerslam for the win. After the match, Strowman looked primed to put Hardy through the LED screen a la Curt Hawkins, but he was quickly interrupted by The Hounds of Justice, who met him on the stage, overwhelmed the monster and plunged him through the announce table with an incredible Triple Powerbomb
But The Gift of Destruction’s fate will remain entwined with The Shield’s for the foreseeable future. Not only did Kurt Angle sanction Strowman vs. Reigns in a Steel Cage next week, but Ambrose’s offhanded remark that The Shield could take out four or five opponents at once were noted by The Miz, who recruited The Monster Among Men to be that very same fourth man at WWE TLC.
Credit: WWE.com
Matt Hardy & Jason Jordan vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
Forced together by circumstance, Matt Hardy & Jason Jordan caught lighnting in a bottle by claiming a tag team win last week, and after running afoul of Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson in the backstage area tonight, a few fighting words were exchanged — “nerd” chief among them — leading them to join forces one more time for an effort against the good brothers. If only it went as well this time around.
Much like last week, Hardy pulled Jordan out of the fire following an extended isolation at the hands of Gallows & Anderson. But the end result was as different as could be, as Anderson disposed of Jordan by hurling him into the barricade, and Gallows rammed Hardy into a turnbuckle he had discreetly exposed earlier in the match, weakening Matt for the ring-shaking Magic Killer.
While it would obviously be a shame for an impromptu team as fun as Hardy & Jordan to go one and out, it’s fair to wonder after tonight if the more established tandems of Team Red have them figured out.
Credit: WWE.com
463 Screen Captures | 11 Digitals | Match Video
Matt Hardy & Jason Jordan vs. The Miztourage
So Jason Jordan lost his Intercontinental Title bid and Matt Hardy is down a tag team partner thanks to his brother’s injury. That doesn’t mean either is showing any signs of slowing down, however, as the impromptu squad dispatched The Miztourage in Raw’s opening contest.
It was an inspired showing from Jordan, who took out his frustrations on the meddlesome Miztourage with an impressive array of suplexes. When Jordan found himself overwhelmed by Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel, Hardy swooped in to bat cleanup. Jordan resurfaced at the moment of truth, though, blasting both Miztourage members with a double charge into the corner after Axel tried to interfere. The maneuver took the former Intercontinental Champion out of commission, and Dallas was left to suffer the Twist of Fate.
Credit: WWE.com
433 Screen Captures | 13 Digitals | Match Video
Six-Pack Challenge
After weeks of near misses against Raw’s most decorated Superstars, Jason Jordan powered past Elias, The Hardy Boyz and The Miztourage to send himself to WWE No Mercy, where he’ll challenge The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship.
Admittedly, however, the early MVP of the match was Elias, who showcased his intellect and athleticism in the early goings. And Jordan was nearly taken out of the high-stakes bout when The Miztourage and The Hardys — who occasionally fought each other in the match — administered a double Tower of Doom to the former SmackDown Tag Team Champion, and Elias almost stole the pin.
The Miz himself even got involved twice in an attempt to hand the match to The Miztourage, throwing Jordan into the crowd and breaking up a Jeff Hardy pinfall attempt after The Charismatic Enigma hit Curtis Axel with the Swanton Bomb.
And then, Jordan sprang again, catching The Axe Man in the Angle Slam-neckbreaker to punch his ticket to WWE No Mercy. The Miztourage quickly punched back, with all three members trouncing Jordan in short order before The Miz delivered some choice words to his upcoming challenger. He can have gold in his blood. It’ll take more than one win to put it around his waist.
Credit: WWE.com
383 Screen Captures | 15 Digitals | Match Video
8-Man Tag Team Match
Cesaro & Sheamus predicted that, when it came down to it, Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins would turn on each other and cost themselves the Raw Tag Team Titles, but that day didn’t come on Raw. In fact, “The Bar” ironically couldn’t keep their own impromptu alliance together for Team Red’s main-event, an Eight-Man Tag that teamed them, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson against Ambrose, Rollins & The Hardy Boyz.
True, the former champs were initially a well-oiled machine alongside the good brothers, despite fighting them for two straight weeks. They even managed to cut Ambrose off from his allies for almost the entire match. But once Seth Rollins tagged in, all bets were off: The Kingslayer singlehandedly took the fight to both Gallows & Anderson, and a pair of Twists of Fate to The Suntan Biker Man were enough to prompt “The Bar” to call it a day and make their exit.
With Anderson left alone in the ring, a unified one-two of Rollins’ ripcord knee and Ambrose’s Dirty Deeds spelled the end of the match, a display of perfect teamwork that nonetheless didn’t seem to shake “The Bar’s” confidence as their title match nears… at least, not yet.
Credit: WWE.com