They aired a so-so video package on Darren Young, who really hasn’t established any sort of a character yet. He mentioned his favorite superstars were Ricky Steamboat and Shawn Michaels. Backstage, CM Punk mentioned that Darren Young won when he had the help of the straight edge society, but lost when he didn’t. Young walked in and said he respected Punk’s lifestyle but asked if he could live his own lifestyle.
Justin Gabriel v. Wade Barrett
The match started at 11:00, so this isn’t going long. Gabriel slipped out of a hip toss attempt and went into a leg sweep in a cool spot to start the match. Barrett took the advantage in the corner as Chris Jericho went over the broadcast table and took credit for Barrett. Gabriel came back, slipping over the back of Gabriel and hitting a spinning heel kick. As the Briton and the South African battled, the crowd began to chant “USA”; presumably to support Matt Hardy or maybe the referee. Gabriel got another near fall off of a sunset flip. Barrett came back with a backbreaker for a one count. Barrett tried for a superplex but Gabriel pushed off and hit a 450 splash for the victory. This was a good for a 4 minute match.
After the match, Jericho hit Hardy and Gabriel from behind and used the codebreaker and Walls of Jericho on Gabriel. That got a good amount of heat. Another fun show this week.
Gabriel d. Barrett
