The Big Takeaway: The Dudley Boyz dismissed The Ascension with ease in a formulaic tag team match and Jack Swagger got his win back against Tyler Breeze in the main event. The Social Outcasts cut an oddly placed, weird promo at the end of the show.
Show recap:
The Dudley Boyz beat The Ascension (5:31)
Bubba Ray and Viktor lock up and Rich Brennan notes that at WrestleMania it will be The Dudley Boyz 20 year anniversary as a team. They could really make something of this in storyline, if they wanted. Bubba Ray, particularly, is being utterly wasted here.
Bubba breaks his hold at the ropes, but a cheap shot from Viktor gets him some heat. He uses a huge forearm, a clothesline and some chops until a back suplex by Bubba Ray breaks things up. He works over the left arm and then hits Viktor with a big boot and tags D-Von in. He covers Viktor but kicks out at two. D-Von hits a rolling shoulder tackle, but again Viktor kicks out at two. Konnor tags in and trash talks Bubba on the apron.
Watching Superstars every week, I’ve seen The Ascension A LOT and I have never seen Konnor do what he did next: a Samoan drop. It was a little sloppy but it looked pretty devastating. And as soon as he hit it, I stopped to look at his sheer size again. He’s one big dude and his gimmick should just be him hitting big power moves. He covers D-Von for two. After choking him on the bottom rope and using a nice running elbow drop he puts on a rear chin lock.
D-Von eventually gets out and dodges Konnor’s charge so that he gets posted. Bubba Ray gets the hot tag. He comes in with punches and clotheslines on Konnor, followed by a running splash. He uses a Rock Bottom and then Viktor runs in, so Bubba uses the Bionic Elbow on him and then scoop slams him to set up for the Wassup. Viktor rolls outside and they hit the 3D on Konnor for the win.
Tyler Breeze beat Jack Swagger (7:22)
In a rematch from last week, they gave Swagger his win back. I wouldn’t say I was surprised to see Breeze on this show again so soon, but I was pretty disappointed to see him here again.
They lock up and Breeze breaks off and goes to do his lay across the ropes. Swagger takes him down and then hip tosses him across the ring, clotheslines him over the top rope to the outside and then goes to mock Breeze by laying across the ropes himself. He even does a ‘we the people!’ for good measure. Breezes comes back in and is shoulder tackled and covered but kicks out at two. He tries to toss Swagger outside, but doesn’t have the momentum. They patch up their mistake and Breeze missile drop kicks Swagger so that he falls to matting outside. We go to a break.
Breeze has Swagger in a half Boston crab as we come back but Swagger is able to get to the ropes. Breeze goes for a figure four, but Swagger kicks him off and he rolls outside. When Breeze comes back in, Swagger tries for the Patriot Lock, but Breeze kicks him off. Swagger sells his leg from the crab. Breeze tries an Unprettier but it is reversed. Breeze then hits Swagger with an enzugiri for two. Breeze stomps a mud hole in Swagger and then goes up top and goes for a cross body but gets caught and is power slammed for two. Breeze scouts the Swagger Bomb and gets his legs up.
Swagger then counters and then hits it, following it up with the Patriot Lock in the middle of the ring. Breeze taps immediately. This was a good match.
We go to the back where Jojo is surrounded by The Social Outcasts. They grab the mic and cut a weird promo. They essentially told everyone to tune in because they were going to change the outcome of the Royal Rumble. Adam Rose kept touching Jojo’s hair and being creepy. The others all just said their catch phrases while Heath Slater tried to hold it all together. It felt like something from a Survivor Series c1991 where a bunch of people who had never spoken to each other before we all of a sudden best friends.