not everyone moves on

We begin the show with clips of Derrick Cole and TJ Frost in their post-match press conference following the Apex Title contest last week. It is clear TJ Frost is not done with Derrick Cole yet but the champ has other things to worry about as he’ll get a new #1 contender in the main event tonight. One thing’s for sure though: Cole is not worried about the miscommunication with Marco Diaz last week.

In the first match, Braddock takes on Max Ultimate in a battle of veteran vs. up and coming star. And as good as Ultimate is and will get, he doesn’t have enough tools yet to beat the Underground legend. Braddock sent a real statement to Garrett Gibson with a running knee that cut Ultimate down for the win.

After the match, Omega Woods came out for an incredibly passionate speech that is well worth the watch. For Woods, he’s not worried about Lancelot or Santanico because, in his mind, he knows the weakness of both men and he knows he can beat them both. For Woods, there is no doubt he will be the next RAW Champion after Battle at Broadway. We’ll get to see this hyper-motivated version of the Gunslinger next week against Lee Carr.

Yamamoto puts her Rise Title on the line for the first time against former champion and rival Katherine Sakamoto. It was an even match, clearly demonstrating the two women’s knowledge of each other. But when Katherine went for the Stare at the Lights, Moto knew exactly what to do. The champ moved straight out of the way, caught Katherine with a spinning backfist and finished her off with a punishing Rainmaker. After the match, Kaitlyn Dunlap came on the big screen standing over the body of Katherine’s sister Kristin. Clearly Dunlap represents a different threat entirely.

Next up, Lancelot returns to action for the first time since the Three Strikes match against Devon Andrews. The most dangerous free agent has gone through an absolute gauntlet since coming to GAW and it’s not getting any easier against the former champ. Lancelot needed to make a statement after that Omega Woods speech and he did, defeating Devon with a vicious lariat despite obviously being injured following his war with Gibson.

Backstage, Pretty Bad Deal made another challenge for the tag team titles but, this time, it didn’t go quite as well as planned. Two unknown men assaulted the LVC team, laying them out in brutal fashion goaded on by Jon Gotti. The head of the Gotti Crime Family introduced the two brutes as the Demon Wolves and warned LVC not to stand between them and the tag team championships.

In the main event, Kurt Andrews takes on MidNight for Apex Title #1 contendership. As dangerous as MidNight is, no one should sleep on Andrews, a former two time champion in his own right. MidNight hit a Yankee Destroyer early but it wasn’t enough. What was enough, however, was the Dream State dragon sleeper submission… at least it seemed like it would be enough. Dagonite came out and drew the referee’s attention away, allowing Igris to sneak into the ring and hit MidNight with a Reaper’s Embrace. Andrews, ever the opportunist, took the opportunity to hit the Eye of the Storm and win the match.