#17: The Creed Brothers vs. DIY, WWE Raw (3/18/2024).
This was a Qualifying Match for the Six Team Ladder Match at WrestleMania XL.
I'm very aware of Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano of DIY. As a team, they had classic matches with The Revival in 2016, and as rivals, they had a bitter feud that is one of my favorite storylines in all of wrestling. Here, they're facing Julius and Brutus Creed. At first glance, I thought I would like the Creeds. They're dressed like they just came from a Kurt Angle Costume Party, which means that they probably wrestle really well.
Ciampa starts out with Julius. They exchange some smooth ground transitions, which I'm a sucker for. Ciampa chops Julius, and he responds by taking Ciampa down with little difficulty. I'm noticing right away that the commentary in WWE has improved tremendously since I stopped watching in 2020. Michael Cole sounds fucking awesome here. Pat McAfee is also there.
Brutus tags in, and he has Ciampa's arm trapped. He transitions quickly to the head and midsection. Gargano tags in, and DIY double team big Brutus, and then do the same to Julius. DIY hit a double crossbody to the outside onto both Creeds. Brutus tags back in, and he's throwing DIY around like they're pieces of paper.
He rolls Ciampa up, and hits a Northern Lights suplex at the same time and tries to pin them both! Both Creeds toss the other onto poor Ciampa. Julius lifts Ciampa up for a suplex...all while on his knees. That was impressive as hell. Brutus suplexes Gargano, and both men hit standing moonsaults. Both teams are just trading shots in the middle of the ring. Julius hits a running knee, and Brutus hits a nice spinebuster to Gargano.
Brutus pounces Ciampa over the announcer's table. Another thing I have to add is that the overall presentation during this match is a welcome sight. I'm glad that WWE remembered how to be a great company in my absence as a fan. I'm not even being condescending - I genuinely mean that. Gargano is a house of fire now, going through both Creeds. Ciampa hits the White Noise from the top rope on Julius. Both men are now slugging away inside the ring.
Julius gets the Ankle Lock in, and then powerbombs Gargano with one freaking arm! DIY reverses with submissions of their own - Ciampa with a crossface, and Gargano with the Gargano Escape. The Creeds lift DIY up and then quite literally toss them into each other in the air. Amazing. Dueling moonsaults aren't enough to put DIY away. Gargano kicks Julius and Ciampa rolls him up for the win to go to WrestleMania.
That was the first main roster TV match I've watched since Adam Cole's NXT Title defense against Daniel Bryan on that Smackdown episode in 2019 where the Saudi government held the main roster hostage after Crown Jewel. I went into this with zero expectations, and an open mind. And you know what? This fucking ruled! This reminded me of a match I'd see during an NXT TakeOver in 2018. I knew DIY could bring it, but the Creeds blew me away. I hope I get to watch more of their work, because they are awesome. They almost remind me of what American Alpha would've been, had Jason Jordan not found out he was Kurt Angle's kid.