Match #1: Donovan Dijak vs. Dalton Castle
Things get intense during the pre-match handshake. Castle spanks Dijak, which doesn’t go over well. Castle connects with a running knee strike and multiple headbutts. Dijak lariats him off the apron and takes control. Castle snaps off his hurricanrana onto the floor and the crowd goes crazy. Castle lands a dive as we head to commercial. Back from break, Dijak has taken over in the ring. Castle finds life with a hard right hand and hits a dead-lift german suplex for a nearfall. Castle follows with a spinning gourdbuster but Dijak won’t stay down. Truth Martini gets involved from ringside, allowing Dijak to hit Feast Your Eyes for the win at 9:18. So I guess Dijak kind of has to win via Martini interference at least sometimes to actually make it seem like Dijak is receiving a benefit from being in the House of Truth. Still, this match was all about Castle and the crowd’s continued fascination with him. **½
Match #2: Ray Rowe and Hanson vs. Andy Dalton and Ken Phoenix
The jobbers do not receive an entrance. Put in your Vegas bets now. Rowe punches Dalton in the face and War Machine hit Fallout for the victory in 25 seconds.
reDRagon come out for a live edition of The Fish Tank. O’Reilly introduces Jay Lethal by reminding everyone that he made Lethal tap out. Lethal talks some trash on O’Reilly in anticipation of their upcoming title match. Lethal also plugs his new compilation DVD. reDRagon markets the DVD as something to help insomniacs sleep. Fish mentions Jay Briscoe and Lethal explodes. Lethal says that Briscoe was born on the highway, as that’s where most accidents happen. Briscoe tries to charge the ring but referees hold him back. They start brawling and take the fight to the back. Members of the KRD rush the ring and attack reDRagon. They get ready to do the Kingdom’s finisher when Christopher Daniels and ACH make the save.
Match #3: Michael Elgin vs. Cedric Alexander
Elgin backs off from a test of strength. Alexander connects with a dropkick but quickly gets taken down by a shoulder tackle. They botch a round-the-world headscissors. Alexander quickly recovers with a dive to the floor. Back in, Alexander misses Overtime. Elgin hits his flipping leg drop in the ropes and takes control. Alexander back drops Elgin onto the floor. In the ring, Alexander hits a brainbuster and transitions into rolling suplexes. Elgin elbows out of the sequence but eats a knockout kick. Alexander connects with a springboard lariat. Elgin blocks a charge and comes off the middle rope with a lungblower. Alexander responds with a michinoku driver. Elgin turns him inside-out with a lariat. Alexander connects with a few dropkicks in the corner and lands a top-rope splash. Elgin blocks a second splash with knees. He connects with a double stomp to the back of the head. Elgin hits a michinoku driver for a nearfall. Alexander tries a desperation jackknife pin to no avail. Alexander hits the Lumbar Check for a two count. Elgin lariats Alexander off the top rope, hits a powerbomb, connects with a backfist, and hits the spinning powerbomb for the win at 14:05 (shown). Steve Corino did an excellent job of making me believe that Alexander needed to win this match. I have no idea why, but I believed it. Aside from a few moments of miscommunication, this was the solid main event match that you’d expect from these two. The crowd has been great for the entire episode but really helped here in making this contest feel like something special. ***¼
Overall: While nothing was frustrating, the only notable part of this week’s episode was the main event. Alexander has been breaking out this year with a series of great singles matches. This main event would be a good opportunity to check him out if you haven’t done so lately.
