The Undercard
Kaitlyn defeated Eve via Countout. The Divas Championship has been a title with little meaning the past year. Instead of building a division, they have used their best talents in other major storylines. Eve is a Diva who people know, but are not completely sold into her. She is not important enough right now to hold the championship with any meaning. If she had another role in the storylines, this could be much better. The match with Kaitlyn would have been a good opportunity to spice things up a bit, and give a younger Diva the chance to hold the title. They have had an odd feud over the past few months, and this would have been a great twist. The match was alright, with Eve controlling the beginning portions of the match. She would then get attacked by a very aggressive, yet sloppy, Kaitlyn. Eve ducked out of the ring and headed to the back. I expect this to be the middle of the road, with the conclusion of these two at Royal Rumble. Kaitlyn has the door left open for her, and Eve will continue to play a mediocre role. Grade: C
Team Rhodes Scholars defeated Team Hell No. As another feud is showcased here, this one has some longevitiy to it. Rhodes and Sandow will become champions sooner rather than later. Kane and Bryan are still excellent in the ring together, but they are getting tiresome. There has not be a serious threat for their championship titles, until now. Kane and Bryan ( as we would find out later) will get an evaluation from Dr. Shelby next week. I think this will be a chance to try and resurrect their comedy angle, but still keep the fact going that their split is near. The action inside of the ring was solid, with Sandow hitting a beautiful Russian Leg Sweep to gain the upper hand. The action spilled to the outside, and it was very clever for Bryan to "injure" his knee. This was an easy target for his opponents to focus their attacks on. I love the fact that they are keeping this logical, simple, and letting the ring work do much of the talking. Grade: B
Randy Orton defeated Heath Slater. This stemmed from a very poor backstage segment, where Orton said Slater will be playing the harp after his match. Heath Slater did some good things in the ring, and continues to stand out from the other two men. His personality will keep him in the WWE for quite some time, and his ring work continues to get better. He executes a wonderful neckbreaker, but it is all about making Randy look strong. He hits an RKO on Slater, picks up the win, and then hits RKO's on Drew and Jinder. Now, I said the WWE wants to make Orton look strong. Did this really do that for him? This is basically a lower to mid card type of match, and Orton looks like he is sputtering quicker than usual. Maybe WWE will just keep him fresh for February and into Mania. Grade: B-
