Sami Zayn (c) vs. Trick Williams – U.S. Title Match
Result: Trick Williams Dethroned Sami Zayn To Become The New United States Champion
Sami Zayn and Trick Williams teased their double turn in this match. Zayn was even willing to retain the title via countout, which was a heel move. The biggest highlights for Zayn were when he hit the Blue Thunder Bomb to Williams in the ring, a Brain-Buster to Williams on the apron outside the ring, and taking down Lil Yachty for mocking him and calling him Gingerbread Man.
The biggest near-fall was when Trick delivered a Trick Shot to Zayn after a distraction from Lil Yachty, which would have been a nefarious victory.
The ending of the match came when Zayn delivered the Exploder Suplex and charged for the Helluva Kick, but Williams countered the charge with the Trick Shot for the pinfall and the victory to become the new champion. Those Lemon Pepper Steppers will definitely be selling even more on the WWE Shop after that victory.
This was a big moment for Trick Williams, as WWE really needed to strike while the iron was hot with him, especially since KFC asked for it. He really made a name for himself after getting called up from NXT.
Granted, it would have been nice for Zayn to humble Williams, as he promised in January, and retain the title so soon after winning the belt from Carmelo Hayes. In fact, it was unfortunate that Hayes did not get involved here since he has a history with both men and deserved to be in this U.S. Title Match.
This match really felt like a summarized showcase rather than an actual match; it was way too short for the story that was supposed to be told. WWE teased signs of a double turn, but shamefully did not please the fans with it.
Rating (Grade): 3.0 Stars (C+)
Finn Balor vs. Dominik Mysterio – Street Fight
Result: “The Demon” Finn Balor Got His Revenge On Dirty Dom
Finn Balor was always going to leave the Judgment Day. It was just a matter of when, and it finally happened. After the Demon was buried by Edge at WrestleMania 39 inside Hell in a Cell to solidify leadership in the Judgment Day, it returned to solidify his departure from the Judgment Day.
A major moment in the match was when Balor kicked out at 1 after Dirty Dom delivered a 619 and a Frog Splash. The match got even better when both men used steel chairs, and they definitely were not using them for musical chairs.
Since this was a No Disqualification Match, the formula for their match followed the format of Drew McIntyre and Jacob Fatu’s Unsanctioned Match. It started with a bridged chair spot and ended with a table spot.
Balor delivered his patented maneuvers of the Inverted DDT, Shotgun Dropkicks, and SlingBlades, but none of that was enough to take down Dom. This was surprising because it was expected that this would be a one-sided beatdown by the Demon, just like Balor did to Corbin back in 2017 at SummerSlam.
The turning point was when Dom 619’d Balor with the chair wrapped around his neck. It was the biggest nearfall in the match, as fans actually believed that Dom would defeat The Demon there. However, Balor rallied back by trapping Dom’s tattooed neck in the steel chair and Coup De Gracing him through the table for the victory.
This was a fun match with amazing spots, but it did not have the in-ring psychology it needed to show the Judgment Day dissension that occurred between these two throughout the calendar year.
Rating (Grade): 3.5 Stars (B-)
