For the first time in Baltimore, the normally scheduled intermission was moved from before the third TV taping to after, presumably to allow some rest time for the Survival of the Fittest main event in the final taping.
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Match 1 – (Survival of the Fittest Qualifying Match) Roderick Strong (with Truth Martini) def. Homicide in 11 minutes. I didn’t love this. Technically, there was nothing wrong with it, but it just lacked a certain spark.
The match begins with some standard back-and-forth and whips into the barricade. Homicide chokes Roderick with a camera cord and, in the corner, punches him in the head diez times. Roderick escapes. Homicide charges but gets two boots to the face. Roderick responds with nine shots of his own. Homicide avoids the tenth, hits an uppercut and bites Roderick. Roderick comes back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Two count.
Roderick bends Homicide’s head under the bottom rope arms over the middle rope, then stretches him. Two count. Homicide comes back with one of the three amigos, but his back gives out on the second. Roderick capitalizes. He goes for a delayed suplex, but drops Homicide over the top rope instead. Homicide rallies with a knee to the side of Roderick’s head. Two count.
After a tussle on the top turnbuckle, Roderick hits a backbreaker on Homicide. Roderick tries for the Gibson Driver, but Homicide throws a shoulder to the gut and places Roderick on the top turnbuckle. Roderick sets up Death by Roderick from the middle turnbuckle, but Homicide reverses into a hurricanrana. Two count.
Homicide hits an exploder suplex. He tries for Da Cop Killa, but Roderick reverses and hits Death by Roderick. He launches off the ropes, hits a double boot to Homicide’s face and then nails the Gibson Driver for the three count.
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Match 2 – (Survival of the Fittest Qualifying Match) Mike Mondo def. Kyle O’Reilly in 12 minutes. This was a really good match. There were a lot of technically proficient moves and counters executed quickly and fluidly. The result of the match was always in question. Good stuff!
Almost immediately, Davey Richards brings a chair to ringside to observe. Kyle and Mondo exchange a series of moves and counters too quickly to write down, but trust me, they’re a lot of fun.
A test of strength puts Mondo on his back. He bridges up and forces Kyle down into the bridge. Their hands stay linked as Kyle fights up, drops down, puts his knees in Mondo’s gut and flips him over onto his back.
