December 9, 2015 – Winter Park, Florida
Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady def. John Skylar & Corey Hollis
No catchphrases from Amore & Cass, and they’re immediately more over with me than usual. Hollis & Skylar seem to be ripping off Dash & Dawson’s interim gimmick, which the commentators actually call out. I don’t review squashes, but this serious mode for the Jersey lunks actually bodes well for the quality of their match at Takeover. Then they cut an “intense” promo after the match that honestly felt like a homework assignment. N/A
Asuka def. Deonna Purrazzo
Dana Brooke & Emma try to distract Asuka during this squash, but Asuka just casually turns around and KOs Purrazzo with a roundhouse kick. N/A
Zack Ryder & Mojo Rawley def. Wesley Blake & Buddy Murphy
Blake & Murphy are doing a Freddy Krueger thing over a month after Halloween, and Murphy sort of reveals his personal relationship with Alexa Bliss in a backstage promo before the match. This wasn’t too bad. It was a LOT of Rawley to handle, but everyone was working hard. **½
Bayley def. Peyton Royce
Not much doing here. They got across that Bayley is a little shaken after Nia Jax’s attack on her last week, so that’s good. Jax and Eva Marie come out after the match. Jax cuts off Marie and pretty much renders her useless, then cuts her own promo on Bayley. This angle was just a total mess. N/A
Samoa Joe & Baron Corbin def. Finn Balor & Apollo Crews
Both teams had backstage segments earlier in the show. There’s a weird underlying racism to Corbin’s promos on Crews. “I don’t like where you come from and I don’t like what you represent.” Why do this? On the babyface side, Crews was sure to remind Balor that he wants another title shot. This had a strong start, with the heels keeping the heroes from being able to attack their respective enemies, and a strong finish, which was a wild brawl that showed us that Balor is very susceptible to the Coquina Clutch. But the bulk of this rather short match was pretty boring. ***