Why “James Harden” — unless it was sheer coincidence, which then God bless them/him — was involved in this match is beyond my ken, unless the goal was to make people feel less bad when he (spoiler alert) won the match over Curt Hawkins/deprived the entire arena of what appears to be a catering order from a Moe’s ripoff for a mid-sized department meeting.
Thankfully, before Houston was forced to relive into the Great Taco Riot of Aught-Five, Baron Corbin performed perhaps my favorite wrestling trope: getting someone intentionally disqualified by attacking their opponent.
It’s nearly always disorientating (in a good way) as it often takes everyone involved — from the performers in the ring, to the announcers, to the fans watching at home — a second to realize what’s happening, like we are watching a present being open from incrementally farther way. That it led to Curt Hawkins 200th loss is just icing on the cake. Or, the choco taco? Let me workshop this and I’ll get back to you next week.
***
Finally giving Baron a storyline reason to be a total dick feels like the absolute perfect direction for a character that is no longer a big enough deal to challenge for the IC title (because of the title moreso than him), never has been important enough to challenge for the Universal title but is still integral to their long term plans. Even if it lasts just a few weeks before he gets his comeuppance, giving each character a purpose is the only thing worth bringing back from the Vince Russo era of wrestling.
