The American Nightmare came out to the usual huge ovation and the crowd singing his sing, but he wasn't here just to shake hands and kiss babies. He was there to talk about Lesnar, although he did shake plenty of hands on his way to the ring.
He got the crowd riled up and talked about his connection to the WWE Universe. This was a standard Rhodes promo. He did a good job and it ended without interruption, so it was a short segment that didn't overstay its welcome.
The next bout was between two former allies as Ciampa battled The Miz in a No Disqualification match.
Ciampa pulled The Miz out of the ring and started throwing him around before the ref could even call for the bell. It finally rang once they got into the ring and kept brawling.
For the first several minutes, the only weapon that came into play was a steel chair that Ciampa brought with him to the ring. He used it to take control right before a commercial.
The A-Lister got some heat by putting away a table that Ciampa was going to use, so Ciampa cleared off the announce table instead. They fought on top of it but never actually broke it.
The Black Heart used a trash can lid to obliterate The Miz before he set up a table in the middle of the ring. He put The Miz through it but before he could get the pin, Bronson Reed attacked him.
Reed hit the Tsunami on Ciampa and left him so The Miz could make the cover and get the win. The first half of this match didn't do much to use the simulation, but the second half really picked up and turned this into an entertaining bout. With The Miz getting the win, we will likely see another match at some point that lets Ciampa finish this feud for good.
Winner: The Miz
Notable Moments and Observations
- Rhodes comparing Lesnar to everyone's biggest hurdle was a really good way to describe his dominance in a new way.
- Every single time the announcers say Ciampa is The Miz's former protege, a rookie breaks their leg.
- The Miz launching Ciampa over the announce table with a baseball slide dropkick looked awesome.
