February 20, 2018 – Phoenix, Arizona
Buddy Murphy def. Ariya Daivari {First Round Match}
This was the shortest match of the first round and I think it actually could have been shorter. Daivari doesn’t have the talent of the rest of the field and Murphy could have gained a lot, especially as the biggest guy in the tournament, if he’d squashed the guy. He did kick out of Daivari’s finisher, so there’s that. Murphy hit Murphy’s Law at 7:46 for the win. **½
Mustafa Ali def. Jack Gallagher {First Round Match}
There was a weird botched dive where Gallagher moved out of the way too early and the whole thing looked bad. The commentator and a second camera angle tried very hard to cover it up, but it was for naught. The rest of the match was terrific, though; it was probably the best match of the first round. Ali’s selling in the last few seconds was kind of hinky, as he blocked a German superplex and strung together enough offense to win at 17:08, but used his injured arm quite a bit to do so and never seemed like he was in any trouble. That, more than the weird dive, is what held this back from being a classic. ***¾