(1) OMOS (w/ MVP) vs. BROCK LESNAR
Brock Lesnar and Omos came to blows almost immediately. Omos grabbed a waist lock and tossed Lesnar with a Gutwrench throw. Brock just smiled and shot to his feet. Omos dropped him with a quick headbutt, then a body slam. Brock struggled to his feet. Omos slammed him again. Cole wondered aloud if there’s any other time in Brock’s career where he’s been manhandled this early and this often.
Omos lifted Brock into the air and locked in a bear hug. Cole said he’s been covering Lesnar’s career for nearly twenty years and he’s never seen anything like this. The crowd began to will Brock to life. Omos slammed him in the corner, breaking his own hold. Brock wandered out back into Omos’ grips. He delivered another big body slam. “That’s it!” MVP screamed from the outside. Omos gave Lesnar a Chokeslam and covered him for a two count.
As the match approached 4:00, Omos charged at Lesnar in the corner. Brock side-stepped him and delivered his first German Suplex of the match. The crowd rose to its feet in excitement. Brock hit a second German Suplex. Omos wandered to his feet. Both men grabbed at their lower backs. Brock hit a third German Suplex. Omos used the ropes to steady himself. Lesnar scooped him up for an F5, but his back gave out and he dropped Omos to the mat. Omos tried to grab Lesnar, but Brock blocked him. He hoisted Omos into the air, screaming as he did it. He hit an F5 and covered Omos for a three count.
WINNER: Brock Lesnar in 4:55
(Not much to see here. Omos man-handled Lesnar for four of the match’s five minutes. Cole and Graves sold it like a monumental event, but the crowd just kind of waited for Lesnar’s inevitable comeback. Omos, now years into his career, is still so incredibly limited that he can only piece together a small string of spots before things start to fall apart. To his credit, he took this about as far as he could go, but I’d contend his WrestleMania match last year with Bobby Lashley was still a bit better than this. Lesnar sold the beat down effectively, even after the match concluded. The crowd loved the brief appearance of Suplex City and they got out of dodge before any of the facade had a chance to great. This worked out about as well as it could have. You have to wonder what’s left for Brock at this point, and whether there’s truth to the rumor that he told people he was “winding down.”)
(2) LIV MORGAN & RAQUEL RODRIGUEZ vs. NATALYA & SHOTZI vs. SONYA DEVILLE & CHELSEA GREEN vs. RONDA ROUSEY & SHAYNA BASZLER – 4-Way Women’s Tag Team Showcase match
Sonya Deville began the match with Liv Morgan. Deville went for a quick bicycle kick, but Liv ducked it and hit a Backstabber. Sonya rolled to her feet and leapt to the middle rope. She dove, but Liv dropped her with a Codebreaker. Sonya rolled to the corner and tagged in Natalya. Natalya caught a leaping Liv Morgan, who managed to flip her into a quick ‘rana. Liv tagged in Raquel Rodriguez. Raquel set Nattie up for a Powerbomb, but Natalya countered it into her own Hurricanrana.
Natalya looked poised to lock up with Raquel. Instead, she begged off and tagged in Chelsea Green. Green didn’t want to enter, so Nattie pulled her in the ring. Green dove at Raquel, who caught and slammed her. Shotzi tagged herself in on the back of Rodriguez. She took Green down with a Headscissor and went for a quick cover. Shayna Baszler broke it up before the referee could even get started. Shotzi got tossed to the outside of the ring, where Ronda Rousey was waiting to talk to some trash. Meanwhile, the babyfaces dropped Shayna Baszler with a triple Powerbomb in the ring. Baszler rolled to the safety of her partner on the floor.
Deville and Green wound up alone in the ring briefly. Shotzi climbed to the top rope and took them both out as the match crossed 3:20. She dove through the middle rope onto a number of women waiting below. Chelsea Green climbed to the top turnbuckle, but Raquel Rodriguez entered to come after her. Green, in fear, dove out of the ring onto a waiting crowd below. Rodriguez then lifted her partner into Powerbomb position to launch her into the field on the floor.
Shotzi wound up in the ring with Raquel. getting caught by a Fallaway Slam. Raquel leapt to the middle rope and delivered a nice looking Corkscrew elbow for a cover and two count. Raquel lifted Shotzi into the air, but Sonya Deville tagged herself in off of Raquel’s back. Green cut Raquel’s leg out from underneath her and the two worked together to kick Raquel to the mat and then out of the ring. Natalya entered the fold and executed a double team flip on Green with Shotzi. Nattie wound up covering Deville after a slam, but Green broke it up. Natalya body slammed Green onto her own partner. She turned both women over for a double Sharpshooter.
Liv Morgan dove off the top rope with a missile dropkick to break Natalya’s submission. She dragged Deville to the corner and tagged herself in. Liv caught Shotzi with kick kicks. Shotzi shrugged it off and hit her with a double underhook Suplex. They traded near kick-misses. Morgan caught Shotzi with a Codebreaker, then followed it up with Oblivion. As Liv leapt off the middle rope, Ronda Rousey tagged herself in. Shayna hopped in to cut Shotzi’s legs out. Rousey grabbed Shotzi’s arm and played to the crowd. They booed her heavily. Ronda locked in the Arm Bar and Shotzi tapped quickly.
WINNERS: Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler in 8:22
(Like the men last night, the women seemed motivated to get creative and keep the actions fast and furious. I thought the results were a little mixed, especially compared to last night’s counterpart. There were some creative spots and neat moments, but no one stood out in any particular way. Baszler and Rousey, the obvious favorites, barely saw any action throughout. In fact, Rousey didn’t even touch the ring until she applied the Arm Bar as the very end. This may have been by design, to elicit even more heat on she and Shayna, but it wound up making the finish feel a little anticlimactic. Overall, not bad, but it could’ve benefited from a couple extra minutes, slowing things just down just a bit.)
