WWE Midcard Madness: Opening Round Results, Second Round Matchups

After almost 3,700 votes, the first round of the Midcard Madness tournament is over. In the end, we have eight fewer superstars, narrowing the field to a standard 32-man tournament from here on in.

My thanks to those who have voted to help contribute to this project. There's also a special thank you for Charlie Groenewegen, who designed the graphic to accompany this article. Check him out, especially if you need to satisfy a TNA fix. He is also running a TNA-based tournament.

As for this tournament, there were some close matchups and some absolute blowouts. In the end, our field was thinned out a bit more and the WWE's midcard king is a little bit closer to being crowned.

There are plenty of intriguing matchups ahead for round two, but here are the results of round one (nicknamed the "Dark Match Round") as well as a round two preview.

Primo Rolls over Titus O'Neil

(25) Primo: 81.1%

(40) Titus O'Neil: 18.9%

Primo had no problem with Titus O'Neil, justifying that high seed he was given. Due to being the highest seed that particpated in this round, he got the lowest seed in the entire tournament: Titus O'Neil. O'Neil may have the most Redemption Points on NXT Redemption, but that meant absolutely nothing here.

With all of his supposed popularity, Titus could not even crack 20 percent of the vote. The Great Khali's opponent in the first round had more than twice the amount of votes that Titus O'Neil did—and Khali had no opponent. There were just that many votes for the BYE that was "opposing" Khali.

Both of The Usos Advance to Round 2

(26) Jey Uso: 73.6%

(39) Derrick Bateman: 26.4%

(27) Jimmy Uso: 72.2%

(38) Camacho: 27.8%

Over 70 percent for both Uso brothers put the two sons of Rikishi into the next round. Derrick Bateman and Camacho had no chance against the Samoan brothers.

Then again, it was never much of a debate. Bateman's popularity from his original NXT appearance has lessened over time. As for Camacho, there isn't anyone who even knew much about him. It should be noted that Camacho had more votes than Bateman, but I don't think it was a knock on Jimmy to get fewer votes than his brother.

Yoshi Tatsu Flying High over JTG

(30) Yoshi Tatsu: 70.7%

(35) JTG: 29.3%

Yoshi Tatsu produced great numbers in his victory over JTG. Tatsu has never had much of a chance to show his stuff over the past few years, but he still managed a nice win over JTG, who has never had much of a connection with fans over the years.

Darren Young Suffers Disappointing Loss to Epico

(28) Epico: 76.5%

(37) Darren Young: 23.5%

Did you know that Epico had so many fans? Me either. Even still, Darren Young is sent packing from the tournament with a lackluster performance. Young has been known to fans for longer than Epico has, but that doesn't mean anything in this event. It isn't that Epico really won this one as much as Darren Young seems to have lost it.

Alex Riley Survives Against Trent Barreta

(33) Alex Riley: 55.3%

(32) Trent Barreta: 44.7%

It was the matchup with the two closest seeding numbers and the results were just as close. In a slim margin, Alex Riley pulled out a victory from a very game Trent Barreta. Neither man is seen much by many WWE fans and it is a difficult way to judge how fans feel about them. Honestly, it is a testament to both. Neither man suffered a bad showing.

Tyler Reks Takes Care of Johnny Curtis

(31) Tyler Reks: 77.4%

(34) Johnny Curtis: 22.6%

Tyler Reks is on to the Round of 32 after taking care of Johnny Curtis, the winner of NXT's fourth season. That's been the type of result on NXT Redemption, where both men are featured. Curtis can't catch a break while Reks is piling up victories and recognition. How much further will this go for Reks? Let's see what he can put together in the next round.

Curt Hawkins Outlasts Michael McGillicutty

(29) Curt Hawkins: 51.9%

(36) Michael McGillicutty: 48.1%

The veteran Curt Hawkins moves past the opening round, honoring his seeding and taking care of Michael McGillicutty. In a battle of former tag team champions, Hawkins squeaked out a victory in the slimmest margin of any of the eight opening round matches.

Hawkins' victory prevents an intriguing matchup in round two. Had McGIllicutty won, his next opponent would have been David Otunga, his former tag team partner with whom he won the tag team title. They have since parted ways seemingly for no reason. It would be interesting to see their first interaction since the split in this matchup.

Santino Marella Busts the Brackets

Santino Marella, of all people, may have done the most damage to the reality of this bracket before he even took part in a matchup within the tournament. His United States Championship victory Monday night took the title away from Jack Swagger, who was a top seed in the tournament based solely on wearing that title.

In fact, just for being the champion on RAW in the mid-card, Swagger drew the top overall seed in the tournament. Does this mean that Santino and Swagger switch spots? No. Those spots were set in stone before any of this insanity took place. Not even if a superstar was injured (Wade Barrett), fired in storyline (Drew McIntyre) or released in real life (nobody just yet), the seeds are finalized and there is only one way to be eliminated: losing a vote.

Round 2 Matchups

The round of 32 has all remaining superstars competing against one another. In italics are the eight superstars who played into this round by winning in the opening round.

(1) Jack Swagger vs (17) Mason Ryan

(9) Brodus Clay vs (25) Primo

(5) Dolph Ziggler vs (21) Drew McIntyre

(13) David Otunga vs (29) Curt Hawkins

(3) Christian vs (19) Ezekiel Jackson

(11) Zack Ryder vs (27) Jimmy Uso

(7) Kofi Kingston vs (23) Ted DiBiase

(15) Hunico vs (31) Tyler Reks

(33) Alex Riley vs (16) Tyson Kidd

(24) The Great Khali vs (8) R-Truth

(28) Epico vs (12) Evan Bourne

(20) Santino Marella vs (4) The Miz

(30) Yoshi Tatsu vs (14) Sin Cara

(22) Heath Slater vs (6) Wade Barrett

(26) Jey Uso vs (10) Justin Gabriel

(18) Jinder Mahal vs (2) Cody Rhodes

The Miz vs Santino Marella Headlines Matchups

There are many interesting matchups in round two. Here are some compelling storylines to think about:

• (3) Christian and (19) Ezekiel Jackson will be a reenactment of the final matchup in ECW history. Jackson won that matchup, becoming the final champion in the brand's history. Will history repeat itself?

• (28) Epico looks to try and upend (12) Evan Bourne, just like he and Primo did to Bourne and Kofi Kingston for the tag team championships at a house show weeks ago.

• (22) Heath Slater faces former ally and fellow NXT rookie (6) Wade Barrett. Barrett won last year's NXT Madness tournament, while Slater had a bye and lost in the second round.

• (30) Yoshi Tatsu and (14) Sin Cara would be an intriguing matchup to see in person, and will take place for the first time in this tournament.

• The top overall seed, Jack Swagger, is no longer the United States Champion. It was the belt that gave him his high seed. Will Swagger show that he doesn't deserve such a high spot and fall to Mason Ryan?

• Can (20) Santino Marella upset (4) The Miz, who some felt didn't even belong in this tournament? The Miz can't buy a victory lately, while Santino is the new United States Champion. Can the former champion take down the current champion?

Voting for this round, as well as all other rounds, will be done via the bracket on the Bracketeers website. Click here to proceed to voting.

NOTE: No votes cast via comments on this article will be counted.

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