After sitting through Cena's non-confrontation with his
pyrokinetic therapist, Kane, patient viewers were rewarded with a pretty
fantastic opening match: World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan vs.
Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes. These are definitely two of my favorite
guys currently working in WWE, and I'm having a blast watching them grow and
develop - especially Rhodes, who if you had asked me months ago, I would have bet
on him sinking without the mask gimmick.
The Champion vs. Champion match-up was an extremely solid
bit of actual wrestling, with Rhodes repeatedly working over Bryan's left
shoulder. Nothing groundbreaking, just the kind of well-thought-out,
psychological performance that we should expect every time any wrestler on
television gets into the ring. If I was being picky, I'd want Bryan to get a
better win than a roll-up over Rhodes, especially going into his first
Championship defense against Big Show on Friday, but the silver lining is that
the finish kept Rhodes looking like a real threat as he continues to elevate
the IC Title.
