We won’t see Gunther and Ilja Dragunov rekindle their NXT rivalry in the semifinals of the King of the Ring tournament, thanks to Jey Uso defeating The Mad Dragon in a phenomenal headliner Monday.
Dragunov lost nothing in defeat having delivered the same tenacity and hard-hitting offense that is a trademark of his in-ring work. He was great and clearly the better wrestler in the match.
However, Uso caught him with a Spear late and delivered the Uso Splash to set up a rematch with Gunther on next week’s show.
In their first encounter, Uso fell short of winning the Intercontinental Championship thanks to interference from his brother, Jimmy. With him out of the picture, it will be interesting to see if WWE capitalizes on Uso’s popularity and books him in the finals or if Gunther rolls to Saudi Arabia, one step closer to claiming the crown.
Result
Uso defeated Dragunov
Grade
B+
Top Moments and Takeaways
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- The fireflies are definitely a fixture in Uso’s entrance after Backlash in France.
- Dragunov tried for the H-Bomb off the guardrail and through the announce table, but Uso rolled out of the way. Jey responded by rushing around the ring and driving The Mad Dragon into the table.
- Some may argue that he oversells, but Dragunov does a great job of putting his opponent’s offense over and is not afraid to consistently sell injuries from earlier in the match.
- A closeup showed blood emerging from the ear of Uso, who appeared to have his earring torn off.
