Smackdown
Date: November 21, 2014
Location: Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

It’s the final show before Survivor Series and we’re all the way up to five matches for Sunday. With the addition of the always treasured Divas elimination match, the card….is pretty much exactly the same as it was on Monday. There’s a major change to Sunday’s main event announced though so things aren’t all finalized. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the Authority forming their team and decimating Team Cena. This turns into a music video like you would see on a pay per view.

Cole brings out HHH to open the show. We recap Sunday’s main event in case the video you saw two minutes ago didn’t get the message across. HHH basically tells Cole to shut up but Cole goes into a list of various sports teams winning that would be similar to Team Cena winning on Sunday. The boss sucks up to the fans before saying their opinions are worthless.

Cole asks if this is all about the Authority’s egos but HHH goes into a rant about his legacy and how he became a huge star in the Attitude Era and lists his name alongside Hart, Austin and Rock. Now some people could argue that some of them were bigger stars than him or that that they were more popular, but he’s the only one still around. He’s still here because he’s always been smarter than all of them, just like Vince.

HHH talks about how brilliant Vince was and how he’s been the constant in WWE all these years. There are only two people that can follow Vince’s footsteps: the Authority. Without them, this place has two years max. Without them, the WWE has no future. HHH brings up Cole’s sitdown interview from earlier in the week with John Cena but he’d like Team Cena to come out and see it for themselves.

The clip is Cole asking Cena if he’s responsible for what happens to his teammates at Survivor Series. Cena says he’s asking his teammates to put their livelihood on the line. If they lose, the Authority will be all over them and that’s something they have to risk. He doesn’t actually answer the question though. Back in the arena, HHH says that when Team Cena loses on Sunday, they’re all fired. Well other than Cena of course because he’s good for business. Team Cena is all stunned as Rusev and Lana come out for the first match.

Rusev vs. Dolph Ziggler

Non-title. Rusev quickly knocks Ziggler out to the floor but Dolph comes back in and hammers away. That’s fine with Rusev who throws Dolph into the corner and stomps Ziggler down, only to eat a dropkick. Another dropkick puts Rusev on the floor but he whips Ziggler hard into the steps as we take a break. Back with Dolph fighting out of a chinlock and avoiding a charge in the corner.

Rusev’s powerbomb is countered into a sunset flip for two before a superkick gets the same for Ziggler. JBL talks about how he’d turn on Cena to keep his job as Rusev throws Dolph out of the corner to take over again. Ziggler escapes the Accolade and nails a quick Zig Zag for a delayed two. Back up and Rusev avoids the Fameasser before the jumping superkick ends Dolph at 10:18.

Rating: C+. This was about what I expected. At least Ziggler has lost the title so the belt isn’t hurt by another loss and Rusev gets to rack up another big win. That superkick as a finisher is going to work better for him as he rises up the card as some guys just aren’t going to lose to a submission hold no matter what.

Rusev Accolades him for good measure.

Kane is on the phone when an unseen someone comes in for a talk.

Kofi Kingston’s New Day video.

After a break, Cesaro is in the back with Kane. Cesaro may not be an official member of Team Authority but his loyalty will be rewarded after Sunday. Kane needs one more thing from Cesaro though: slaughter Erick Rowan.

Miz/Damien Mizdow vs. Los Matadores

The Dusts and Usos are on commentary to give us a seven man booth. Miz works on Diego’s arm to start but gets chopped to the ropes. We get a criss cross until Fernando knocks Mizdow off the apron, only to eat a forearm from Miz. The Reality Check is countered but Mizdow tags himself in and hits it with ease. That’s too much for Miz who tags himself in and has the Finale countered. The masked men send them outside and Miz is thrown onto the Usos. Of course Mizdow launches himself onto the Dusts, leaving Diego to hit a high cross body on Miz for the pin at 2:40.

Here’s Dean Ambrose to talk about his survival kit for Bray Wyatt. Dean talks about having a screw loose and how he isn’t going to change for anyone. When he was a kid, his mom gave him a $20 bill to go buy her cigarettes and lottery tickets. He ran into some older guys who beat him up and robbed him.

Dean went home and told his mom what happened, so she gave him a pair of brass knuckles. They were his survival kit back then but now his survival kit is every single part of his body. On Sunday, Dean is going to use every part of his body to send Bray running back to the woods. Now he’s the hunter and Wyatt is the prey. On Sunday, he’s going to be put down.

Wyatt pops up on screen from inside a prison cell. He asks Dean if this is how he remembers his father, locked inside a cage like an animal. Maybe Bray reminds Dean of his father right now. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, so this is Dean’s future: being trapped inside a prison of his own design, begging for freedom that he’ll never receive. It doesn’t have to be like this though. Dean is trapped inside a cell full of filth and it’s never going to end.

AJ Lee vs. Brie Bella

Non-title and AJ is dressed as Nikki, complete with strategic stuffing. Brie takes her down to start but AJ uses her enlarged hips to take over. Back up and Brie sends her face first into the buckle a few times before AJ does the same to her. Some right hands have Brie in trouble and it turns into catfight mode until Brie counters into a half crab.

AJ grabs the ropes and slaps on a guillotine choke. That goes nowhere so Brie dropkicks her down and hits a running knee against the ropes. A missile dropkick gets two on AJ but Nikki gets on the apron. AJ rams them together for the pin on Brie at 3:23. You could see that one coming a mile away.

Rating: D. This would be the second match in a row where the story was about someone dressing up as someone else in the match. Aside from that though, what happened to the whole personal servant thing between the Bellas? They seem to be fine here and Brie has a reason to fight AJ after AJ beat her up on Monday, so Nikki really didn’t need to be there. I’m actually not clear on who I’m supposed to cheer or boo in this feud and I have a bad feeling we’re just getting a Bellas reunion out of it, three months after they first split. It would make for quite the Total Divas season finale though right?

Video on Sheamus’ injury.

Erick Rowan vs. Cesaro

Cesaro slaps the mask off his face but Rowan easily knocks him outside. Back in and Cesaro scores with a running dropkick, only to get caught in a bearhug. Cesaro snaps Rowan’s throat over the top rope and grabs a sleeper. That goes nowhere so he heads to the top, only to be slammed down. A pumphandle backbreaker and torture rack make Cesaro tap at 2:40. This was just a step above a squash.

Harper comes out to stare down Rowan post match but leaves before any contact.

Big E.’s New Day promo.

Team Cena, minus the captain and with Rowan playing with a Rubik’s Cube, talks about how everything is on the line on Sunday. HHH’s tactics didn’t have the intended effect because it just fires them up more. Ryback says actions have consequences and his job being on the line just makes him hungrier. Tonight, he and Big Show are feeding on Kane and Rollins. Ziggler talks about the Authority costing him the Intercontinental Title, which he shared with the entire WWE Universe. He has nothing left to lose so he has nothing to fear. They can put the Authority out of power and he isn’t backing down now. Rowan: “Freedom.”

Seth Rollins/Kane vs. Ryback/Big Show

Ziggler and Rowan are banned from ringside. Ryback drives Rollins into the corner to start and Seth bails to the floor. Back in and Rollins hammers away but Ryback takes him down with a Thesz press. Off to Big Show for the loud chop in the corner before Ryback no sells Seth’s chops. He shoves Rollins into the corner and calls him stupid before planing Seth with a powerslam.

Kane gets knocked off the apron and Seth gets backdropped…..next to him as Kane completely missed catching him. That one might be worthy of an ice pack. Cue HHH and the rest of Team Authority as we take a break. Back with Show slamming Kane for two but ducking his head and taking a running DDT. Off to Rollins for some running kicks to the face for two. Kane gets the same off an elbow drop and we hit the chinlock. Show powers out of it and makes the hot tag so Ryback can clean house, only to have Team Authority come in for the DQ at 10:25.

Rating: C. This was your standard main event tag and it was fairly obvious that we were getting a run-in finish. It’s a good sign that the fans were into Ryback but there wasn’t much interest outside of him. Granted the fact that two of the others were Big Show and Kane probably had something to do with it.

The Authority beats down Ryback and Show until Ziggler comes out for a failed save. Rowan comes out as well to take down Rusev and Henry before going inside for the showdown with Harper. That goes nowhere though as Kane chokeslams Rowan, only to have Ryback and Ziggler get back in it. Henry and Rusev are back up as well though and the Authority’s advantage takes over. Big Show does his war cry to alert the Authority that he’s coming. The Stooges get chokeslammed but HHH comes in with a chair to take down the giant. All of Team Cena takes chair shots and Ryback takes a Pedigree to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This was a pretty standard go home show when the entire pay per view is about one match. They aren’t even trying to hide the fact that they don’t care about anything else on the card and it’s been old for weeks. I’m so sick of hearing about the match that even if it’s good, which it likely could be, I’m so burned out on that I’m not going to care as much as I should. Thankfully some of the other matches on Sunday (as in the four others) got some hype save for the Divas elimination match, but that might not have been announced when this show was taped.

Results

Rusev b. Dolph Ziggler – Superkick

Los Matadores b. Miz/Damien Mizdow – High cross body to Miz

AJ Lee b. Brie Bella – Rollup

Erick Rowan b. Cesaro – Torture rack

Big Show/Ryback b. Seth Rollins/Kane via DQ when Team Authority interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NPPH0WI

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Smackdown
Date: November 14, 2014
Location: Echo Arena, Liverpool, England
Attendance: 2,500
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tom Phillips, John Bradshaw Layfield

We’re wrapping up the European shows here with the blue show over in Liverpool. By now most of the Survivor Series main event is set as I believe we have five guys apiece. It should be interesting to see if any of them are swapped out again. They’ve done a nice job so far of building up the people in the match other than Cena, which should be the point of something like this. Let’s get to it.

We open with a long recap of Raw’s events and all the changes to the teams.

Here’s the returning Chris Jericho for a British Highlight Reel. Jericho has one burning question: Who is Adam Rose’s Bunny, because he’s AWESOME. He thinks it’s Funaki, drawing the first Funaki chant in WWE history. That’s enough hijinks though so let’s get our guests out here. This brings out HHH and Stephanie, with Steph doing Jericho’s pose in a cute bit.

Jericho would like to know why the Authority wanted to be on the show. Stephanie says it was because it’s been too long since Smackdown had the Highlight Reel and they like to have fun. She sucks up to the fans and calls them the most important part of the show. We get a YES chant, which shows how important the fans are because they keep him that popular. However, he wouldn’t be there without the Authority. Who could run the WWE without the Authority? Jericho: “I could.”

Actually he has a better idea: the fans run WWE. He lists off some humiliating ideas for HHH, such as cleaning Jericho’s boots, before showing us a clip of Vickie Guerrero shoving Stephanie into the mud in her retirement match. That’s enough for HHH who says the wolf doesn’t ask to be embraced by sheep. The Authority is going to be laughing when they win at Survivor Series. Jericho should learn that when he calls again to come back and get his WWE fix, because he might be erased from the WWE history books by then. Chris thinks this is an arena full of Jericholics and starts singing the Goodbye song.

Video on Wyatt costing Ambrose the Cell match.

Bray Wyatt vs. Sin Cara

Bray nails him a few times to start but misses a charge. Cara goes up for the Swanton but only hits mat. Back up and the charge hits this time, setting up the suplex slam. The Spider Walk sets up Sister Abigail for the pin at 2:16. Total squash.

Post match Bray says he can feel Ambrose screaming for help in his heart. Dean used to feel unloved and woke up every Christmas morning, hoping that daddy would come back. But when he came downstairs, only darkness was waiting for him. That’s what life has become for Dean, but Bray is the light he’s been searching for his entire life.

Salvation is at hand so let Bray fix him. Cue Ambrose but Bray bails and calls Dean predictable. All he has to do is push the right buttons and Dean will be there right on time. Ambrose wants to punish him, just like he wants to punish his daddy. Bray gets in but gets knocked out by a single right hand. As he walks away, Bray says Dean is crying out for help and that he is the key.

Xavier Woods’ new day is coming.

Goldust/Stardust vs. Adam Rose/The Bunny

Non-title. Rose is a bit less energetic on the way to the ring this week. We get a clip from Main Event where the Bunny took out Goldust, allowing Rose to roll up Stardust for a surprise pin to get back in Adam’s good graces. Adam runs over Goldust to start but gets thrown into the corner for a tag off to Stardust. The Express tries to fire up Rose as he fights out of a chinlock. Goldust and Rose bang heads and the hot tag brings in the Bunny. Stardust gets taken down and won’t tag out, allowing Stardust to block a splash with knees. Dark Matter ends the Bunny at 2:03.

Rose Party Fouls the Bunny post match.

WWE2K15 stuff.

Dolph Ziggler looks at what the Authority has put him through in recent weeks and isn’t worried about his triple threat elimination title defense tonight. He says he’s survived everything they’ve thrown at him and if this is the night he loses, he’s going down with a fight and staying on Team Cena. All he has to do is survive until Survivor Series and then the Authority is gone.

Video on Ryback.

Ryback says he’s on his own team and the only person who needs to worry about survving is Kane, who he faces tonight. What you saw on Monday was just an appetizer and unfortunately for Kane, it’s almost feeding time.

Intercontinental Title: Tyson Kidd vs. Cesaro vs. Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler is defending under elimination rules. Kidd gets shoved away to start and Cesaro kicks Dolph in the face. The smaller guys dropkick Cesaro down but Dolph has to kick out of a rollup from Tyson. They trade rapid fire rollups for two each until Dolph dropkicks Cesaro down again. We take a break and come back with Cesaro suplexing both guys at the same time in a nice power display. A powerbomb plants Dolph and Kidd comes back in with a springboard elbow drop.

Cesaro throws Tyson down to cover Ziggler for two and the fans think this is awesome. Dolph gets two off a Fameasser to Kidd but gets caught in the Tree of Woe. Now it’s Kidd with some delayed dropkicks to Dolph’s face but Cesaro nails a clothesline for two on the Canadian. The champ comes back in with a high cross body to Cesaro as JBL rips on Ziggler for complaining too much. Ziggler neckbreakers Kidd and DDTs Cesaro at the same time for two each. Kidd pops back up with a neckbreaker of his own to the champ but gets caught with an uppercut on the top.

They all head to the corner and grapple up top until Cesaro superplexes Ziggler while Kidd powerbombs Cesaro for the Tower of Doom. Cesaro covers Ziggler but Kidd slaps on the Sharpshooter to the European at the same time. Pure leg strength breaks the hold though and Cesaro counters the running DDT with Swiss Death. We take another break and come back with Kidd hitting a Blockbuster on Cesaro, driving him into Ziggler’s raised knees at the same time.

For once that hurts the knees so Kidd puts on the Sharpshooter with Cesaro adding a Crossface at the same time. In what JBL calls a very stupid move, Kidd lets go of his half and stomps on Cesaro, earning him a Cesaro Swing. Ziggler comes back with the running DDT for two on Cesaro but Kidd kicks the champ in the face, right into a German suplex from Cesaro. Back up and a Zig Zag nails Cesaro but Kidd dropkicks the champ down and steals a pin to eliminate Cesaro at 18:17.

So it’s Ziggler vs. Kidd for the title now with the champ on the floor. Tyson headscissors him down into the steps before running the barricade for a kick to the face. Back in and Kidd chokes on the ropes but gets rolled up for two. A Moss Covered Three Handled Family Credenza gets two for the challenger so Kidd springboards with a dive only designed to get superkicked down for two. Tyson pops back up and grabs the Sharpshooter, only to have Dolph roll through into the Zig Zag for the pin at 21:43.

Rating: B+. This had the time to get going and worked out quite well by the end. I like that Kidd is getting a solid push and getting to show off his skills instead of just being an accessory to Natalya. This feud is doing a great job to build up Ziggler, and more importantly the Intercontinental Title, which have been needed for a long time now. Really good, long match here.

Natalya vs. Layla

Layla steals the shirt Natalya is about to throw into the crowd. Natalya rolls out of a wristlock ala Owen Hart but Layla rolls out of an early Sharpshooter attempt. They trade some hard forearms until Layla just kicks her in the head. Some choking on the ropes gets two for Layla and we hit a figure four neck lock. Off to a body vice instead as we keep cutting to Summer Rae on the floor, even though she hasn’t done anything. Layla poses a lot but gets dropkicked down for two. Natalya gets thrown out to the floor but slaps Summer hard in the face. Back in and a quick Sharpshooter makes Layla tap at 3:55.

Rating: D+. Eh Summer looked good in a short black dress and Layla is always good looking. I’m not sure why I’m supposed to care about this though but I’m assuming it’s something related to a show that doesn’t air with the rest of WWE’s shows and is about four months removed from current events.

Recap of the opening segment.

Kofi Kingston’s new day is coming as well.

We recap Bray’s promo on Dean earlier.

Ambrose shouts about being sick of Bray Wyatt. Bray jumps him from behind and lays Ambrose out. He says this world isn’t made for people like them and labels are the way the world puts them in a box.

Ryback vs. Kane

HHH and Stephanie are at ringside. Kane grabs a headlock to start as we’re already in the slow power counters stage. Ryback runs him over with a shoulder but eats an uppercut for his efforts. Cole wants to know what HHH and Stephanie could possibly do if they lose at Survivor Series because it’s all the know. A suplex puts Kane down and we take a break. Back with Ryback hitting his Thesz Press and slamming Kane’s head into the mat.

The Meat Hook is stopped by a big boot and an elbow drop gets two for Kane. Ryback fights back with chops but gets whipped hard into the corner. We hit the chinlock for a bit but Ryback powers up and breaks a chokeslam attempt. Now the Meat Hook connects but Kane escapes the Shell Shock and takes it to the floor where a chair to Ryback’s ribs draws a DQ at 11:45.

Rating: C-. Watchable power match here with neither guy doing anything of note but enough big crashes to make it work. Ryback continues to look good in the ring and capable of doing more than big spots, though I’m not sure why they couldn’t have Kane take a pin here. I don’t know why they keep letting him lose by DQ but it’s not going to kill him to lose to a fairly big name.

Ryback shrugs off the chair shots and nails Kane with the chair. He stares HHH down to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Smackdown and WWE continue to pick up steam as they let the wrestlers do their thing tonight. It’s almost like interesting stuff happens here, including Ambrose vs. Wyatt which has mainly been built up on Fridays. This wasn’t a must see show or anything but it had a great TV match that got a lot of time. What more can you ask for from Smackdown anymore?

Results

Bray Wyatt b. Sin Cara – Sister Abigail

Stardust/Goldust b. Adam Rose/The Bunny – Dark Matter to the Bunny

Dolph Ziggler b. Cesaro and Tyson Kidd – Zig Zag to Kidd

Natalya b. Layla – Sharpshooter

Ryback b. Kane via DQ when Kane used a chair

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NPPH0WI

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Smackdown
Date: November 7, 2014
Location: Times Union Center, Albany, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Tom Phillips

As we switch from red to blue this week, the big story has Randy Orton being thrown out of the Authority and laid out with a pair of Curb Stomps. Other than that we have Cena and the Authority trying to firm up their teams for Survivor Series. So far both teams have only a few people but we have a few weeks to get ready. Let’s get to it.

Tag Team Titles: Stardust/Goldust vs. Usos

The Dusts are defending and this is inside a cage with pins, submissions or escape to win. Stardust tries to escape early but Jey makes a save. All four come in and we have an early standoff. We settle down to Goldust getting double teamed in the corner until Jimmy gets two off a standing flip splash. Jimmy sends him into the cage for the same result but his cross body only hits steel.

We take a break and come back with Goldust rubbing Jimmy’s face against the cage. A chinlock doesn’t get Goldust anywhere as Jimmy fights up and climbs the cage, only to be taken down with an electric chair. The second chinlock has Jimmy in more trouble but he fights up and climbs again. Goldust makes another stop but gets nailed by Whisper in the Wind.

Jey comes in off a hot tag to clean house and sends Stardust into the cage, setting up a superkick for two. Everything breaks down and Cross Rhodes gets two on Jey. Stardust goes up but Jey makes a save. All four guys get on turnbuckles, allowing Jimmy to superplex Goldust, setting up a Superfly Splash from Jey. Goldust is done but the legal Stardust grabs a rollup out of nowhere to retain at 12:15.

Rating: B-. That kickout of the Cross Rhodes helped this a good deal but I’m tired of seeing these guys fight so many times. Hopefully this wraps things up and we can get onto some new challengers. That brings us to the big problem though: who else can fight them? Los Matadores? Or are we stuck waiting on another thrown together team?

Network hype time.

We recap the Authority’s issues from Monday, culminating in Orton being knocked out so badly that he thinks he’s an actor.

Kane is in the ring to talk about handling Orton before Survivor Series. Randy should serve as an example of what’s coming to anyone else stands up to the Authority. Dolph Ziggler thinks he can survive Team Cena, but tonight he has to survive against Kane inside that steel cage. Back to Survivor Series, Team Authority has an open spot.

Kane wants to bring out a man that has everything they’re looking for but Cesaro cuts him off. Cesaro says he can survive everything WWE has thrown at him and would love to be on Team Authority. Kane says he wasn’t thinking about Cesaro, but if he can beat the guy Kane was thinking of, he can be on Team Authority.

Cesaro vs. Ryback

This is joined in progress after a break with Cesaro driving him into the corner and putting on a chinlock. A low dropkick to the face gets two on Ryback and a suplex gets the same. Back to the chinlock but Ryback fights up and flips Cesaro down. A big spinebuster puts Cesaro down and there’s the Meat Hook, only to have Cesaro escape Shell Shock.

Ryback is sent shoulder first into the post and a top rope elbow gives Cesaro two more. Cesaro loads up a suplex but Ryback counters into one of his own, only to have Cesaro drive upside down knees to Ryback’s head. Ryback grabs Cesaro’s leg as it comes down though and Shell Shocks him for the pin at 3:53.

Rating: C. Nice power match here with a good ending. I like stuff like that instead of just picking someone up and hitting your finisher as it looks like the guys are thinking instead of just following a script to a match. Ryback is starting to get momentum again and that’s a good thing for the weak face side of the roster.

Kane applauds Ryback but Ryback walks away without acknowledging him.

R-Truth vs. Adam Rose

This is a result of Truth saying the Bunny was the real star of the team. Truth nails a shoulder to start and does a quick Bunny hop. Rose puts his hand up and jumps into Truth’s arms, only to be thrown down. The Bunny jumps up on the apron, allowing Truth to roll up Rose for the pin at 1:24.

Rose lays out the Bunny post match and dances with the Rosebuds. The Bunny looks stunned. Well, as stunned as a Bunny can look.

Here’s the returning Christian for one more…..episode of the Peep Show. He asks the fans who they think is winning at Survivor Series and of course the people are behind Team Cena. Guest Dean Ambrose cuts him off though as he doesn’t like being patience. Christian asks what it’s like to be Dean now, because the last thing Christian remembers is Dean ticking off the entire roster as a member of the Shield.

Dean says he has no friends and is always looking over his shoulder but he wouldn’t have it any other way. As for Bray Wyatt, Dean doesn’t really know why he’s coming after him. Dean doesn’t have a title that Bray wants or anything like that, so maybe Bray is just preying on people like he always does. Bray likes to manipulate people’s minds, but Dean is just crazy enough that it doesn’t work. It’s a thrill to live the way he does, riding the edge of a lightning bolt. He loves living this way…and here’s Wyatt to cut him off.

Bray says Dean has nothing to fear because he has nothing to lose. There was a time when Dean had the security of the Shield around him but that was taken away, leaving Dean like a fish on land, gasping for air. Bray however, is a healer. He healed Harper and Rowan and now he can heal Ambrose. Wyatt can take Dean’s hand and heal all his pain, but not everyone can be saved.

Daniel Bryan once defied him and now Bryan is nowhere to be seen. What does Dean have to lose? His own father turned his back on him. Does he still send Ambrose postcards from prison? Bray invites Dean to prove him wrong, so Dean goes up the ramp as the lights cut off again. Ambrose gets to the stage and there’s no one in sight.

Video on preacher Xavier Woods.

We look at Rusev beating Sheamus on Monday’s post show. Since it’s an “exclusive”, we only see the last three minutes or so. After the match, Lana said they were taking the title back to Russia for Putin.

AJ says Brie slapped her on Monday but it was the evil twin that made her do so. Brie comes in to apologize, but it’s a ruse so Nikki can get in a cheap shot.

Summer Rae vs. Natalya

This is due to Summer spending too much time around Tyson Kidd earlier today. Considering how much Tyson and Natalya hate each other on Total Divas, it’s odd that Natalya would be annoyed at all. Kidd is on commentary and takes credit for weakening Sheamus for Rusev. Summer takes Natalya down with a bodyscissors until Nattie comes back with a slam. Cole suggests Kidd support his wife, so he gets up and tells her to put on the Sharpshooter. The distraction lets Summer grab a rollup for the pin at 1:34.

2K15 hype.

Cena vs. Ryback on Raw in England.

Dolph says he’ll do whatever it takes to get rid of the Authority. Cue HHH, who is surprised Ziggler is here after the beating Rollins gave him on Monday. Orton isn’t here tonight though, so who is going to save him tonight? Maybe he should save himself by joining the Authority.

Cole brings out the founder of an organization called Soldier Socks and a wounded soldier named Dan Rose. The founder talks about the organization as Rose is put into a different wheelchair. We get a news clip about some new technology that allows wounded soldiers to walk again. Back in the arena, Rose talks about losing the use of his legs due to a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. Using the new equipment, Rose is able to stand up and walk across the stage using two walking sticks. Rose gets a well deserved standing ovation. That’s a very cool moment to see and one of those things that is almost hard to believe.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Kane

Inside a cage and non-title. Before the match, we get the eyes vignette from Raw. Ziggler looks at the screen and isn’t sure what to make of it. Kane slugs away to start but gets caught in a faceplant for two. Dolph tries to climb out a few times but gets sent into the cage for his efforts. We take a break and come back with Dolph getting kicked in the face for two.

Kane takes off a turnbuckle pad but misses a charge into another corner, setting up Ziggler’s running DDT. Both guys climb to the top rope and both quickly get crotched for their efforts. Ziggler dives into an uppercut but escapes the chokeslam. He tries to escape and gets slammed down, setting up the chokeslam to knock him silly. Kane calls for a tombstone but takes WAY too long, allowing Ziggler to hit the Zig Zag for two.

Dolph takes too long going for the door, setting up a collision to put both guys down again. Back up and Kane misses a charge into the exposed buckle. Dolph climbs his back and over the cage but Kane kicks the door open to break Ziggler’s balance and leave him hanging on the door. Kane goes to escape but Dolph kicks the door onto his head and drops down to win at 11:36.

Rating: B. I liked this far better than I was expecting to as Ziggler got to look like a big deal in a showdown instead of having to have a bunch of run-ins to water the match down. Kane is a good guy for something like this as he looks intimidating and is a good monster to conquer. One thing I don’t get though: why not make this a title match? Kane is more than worthy of a midcard title shot and you can give Ziggler a win in a fairly big match. That could happen far more often than it does but you rarely see it. Good match though with a solid ending.

Overall Rating: B. This was the best Smackdown in probably months with two good matches that felt big and some promos that made the show feel like it mattered. It didn’t feel like it was a boring show that just there to fill in a few hours and then mean nothing. We even got something resembling an explanation from Wyatt for why he interrupted the Cell match. While most of the stuff isn’t going to go anywhere, it’s nice to treat this show like it matters for a change. Fun stuff tonight and the kind of show Smackdown needs to be more often.

Results

Stardust/Goldust b. Usos – Rollup to Jey

Ryback b. Cesaro – Shell Shock

R-Truth b. Adam Rose – Rollup

Summer Rae b. Natalya – Rollup

Dolph Ziggler b. Kane – Ziggler escaped the cage

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Smackdown
Date: October 31, 2014
Location: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tom Phillips

We’re onto a new set of new stories for a change now with a focus on Cena vs. the Authority and Ambrose vs. Wyatt. That isn’t the best pair of stories in the world but we’re stuck with this until we get to the Rumble and the wrestling actually matters to the company anymore. It’s also Halloween so hopefully things aren’t all that campy tonight. Let’s get to it.

We open with….Vince. He tells us about the big news from the conference call: November is a free month of the WWE Network (for new subscribers), meaning Survivor Series is a free show. That’s quite the incentive and the lack of a commitment should help them in the long run.

Battle Royal

Paige (Summer Rae), Natalya (Queen of Hearts), Naomi (paratrooper), Summer Rae (schoolgirl nerd), Layla (clown), Emma (Tarzan), Rosa Mendes (zombie nurse), Cameron (cop), Alicia Fox (firewoman), Nikki Bella (cat)

They’re in costumes of course and the winner gets a Divas Title shot so AJ is on commentary. We get a video from earlier today of Brie dressed as Daniel Bryan but Nikki sending her to get her Louis Vaton bag in San Antonio. Naomi quickly kicks Rosa out to the floor and Natalya kicks out Summer (AJ: “There goes the sexy D-Von Dudley.”).

Emma gets tossed as well as Layla pulls the stuffing out Paige’s top. That earns her an elimination before Cameron and Naomi go out one after another. We’re down to Natalya, Paige, Nikki and Fox but Alicia quickly kicks Natalya out. Fox dumps Paige but eliminates herself in the process, giving Nikki the win at 2:43.

Here are Kane, Rollins and the Stooges for a chat. Kane loves this time of year because he gets to torment little kids but the fun keeps going into November with Survivor Series. Tonight though it’s Ambrose vs. Cesaro in a Trick or Street Fight but Rollins thinks Bray Wyatt might interrupt. If that happens though, Dean will fall just like he did on Sunday inside the Cell. Rollins laughs at the YOU SOLD OUT chants before taking the focus back to Survivor Series. Who could Cena possibly get on his team? Who would be willing to team with him against the Authority and risk their careers in the process? Kane can think of one man so get out here Dolph Ziggler.

Kane vs. Dolph Ziggler

Non-title again. Ziggler dropkicks the knee but the DDT is countered with Kane just throwing Dolph down. A clothesline gets two for Kane but Dolph avoids an elbow drop. Back up and Kane uppercuts Dolph off the top and out to the floor as we take a break. Back with Kane missing a big boot and taking a Fameasser for two. Jamie Noble gets on the apron for a distraction though, allowing the big boot to connects for another two count. The chokeslam is countered into a sunset flip just like Monday but Kane pops up. Ziggler’s Stinger Splash is caught in the chokeslam for the pin at 8:27.

Rating: D+. Kane. Beat Dolph Ziggler. Clean. In 2014. I’m sure this has nothing to do with Ziggler saying legends can’t just come in and get handed big matches at Wrestlemania earlier this week. If that’s true, and given the company’s track record it wouldn’t be all that shocking, WWE needs to get over itself already.

Post match Kane hits another chokeslam and makes Ziggler vs. Rollins.

Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler

Curb Stomp, 23 seconds.

Heath Slater vs. Ryback

Slater is a scarecrow. He hammers away with right hands but loses his fake hand so it’s time for air guitar. Ryback plants him with a spinebuster, setting up the Meathook and Shell Shock for the pin at 1:28.

The Exotic Express is looking for people to party with and find Goldust, Stardust, Sin Cara as a Ninja Turtle and R-Truth as a ghost. Truth asks what it’s like to have the Bunny upstage Rose all the time and thinks Adam should have been the Bunny for Halloween. Rose laughs it off so Truth gives him a rock. The Bunny hops around Rose and that’s it. If there was a point here, I must not be smart enough to get it.

Time for MizTV with Miz saying he may be available to join Team Cena. However that’s not what we’re here to talk about. Instead, let’s focus on the special guest tonight: Mark Henry. Miz asks Mark what happened on Monday but Henry says it was exactly what should have happened. Miz shows us a clip of Rusev making Show tap, which Henry says was a result of Show trying to upstage him.

Show didn’t help Henry on Sunday and Mark gets annoyed at the WHAT chants. Henry says Show has been acting like he knows everything for months but he’s just a nosy guy with an overactive pituitary gland. It’s all about strength but here’s Big Show for a brawl. They fight at ringside with Henry sending him into the post and through the barricade.

We recap the Authority vs. Cena on Monday.

Stardust/Goldust vs. Los Matadores

Non-title. Before the match the champs say they’d listen to offers from either team at Survivor Series. So the Authority team might not be Authority members? Fernando works on Stardust’s arm to start and sends him over to Diego for a dropkick. A slingshot hilo gets two on Stardust but he comes back with a springboard dropkick of his own. The champs send Fernando to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Torito getting knocked off the apron but Fernando plants Stardust, setting up the hot tag to Diego. A hurricanrana sends Diego outside and the masked men hit a huge double suicide dive. Stardust jumps backwards onto both guys before throwing Torito inside. Torito will have none of that though and dropkicks Stardust to the floor, distracting Goldust long enough for Fernando to roll him up for the pin at 7:24. That match needed a commercial?

Rating: D. Why do we have titles anymore? The only way they set up a title match is to have the champion lose (or in this show’s case, lose TWICE to set up a match where Ziggler is just a piece), meaning we need a title match later where Los Matadores can lose. You have a roster so full of people not working and you don’t have ANYONE else for Los Matadores to beat to earn a shot? This is getting old in a hurry.

Rusev vs. Great Khali

The fans chant USA so I guess they’re neutral. Khali immediately chops Rusev in the head so the Russian hammers away in the corner. Another chop has the same result so Rusev kicks him in the face and Accolades him for the submission at 47 seconds.

Post match Lana talks about new orders from Russia: crush the US Champion and give the title to Putin as a present. This brings out Sheamus who says he’s been waiting on for a long time. The challenge is accepted because Sheamus takes personal pride in what this title represents. Sheamus comes to the ring and tries a Brogue Kick, sending Rusev running. This would be the most logical feud in the world at the moment and exactly what they should have done. It shouldn’t be surprising as Rusev’s story has been one of the few well done thing in the WWE for months now.

Here’s Bray Wyatt for a chat. Today is a special day because all of the people here get to pretend to be something that they aren’t. Have you ever wondered why costuming yourself makes you feel so comfortable? Do you wear a mask to hide from the horrors of the world? Or is it because everyone hates everything about you? You can’t pretend forever though because tomorrow morning you’re just another one of those anonymous souls.

Dean Ambrose is different though because he never takes off his mask. Ambrose is like Wyatt: a creature, an animal and a monster. Bray understands what it felt like to have someone at a point like Rollins had Ambrose on Sunday. He knows what that power feels like and it makes you feel immortal. You have the power to take everything away from someone and Dean can’t just wash away his sins. They will stain him forever and she still cries for him. Follow the buzzards.

Dean Ambrose vs. Cesaro

Street fight. There are a bunch of Halloween items at ringside, including about twenty pumpkins inside the ring, because we’ve got a theme match. Ambrose brings out a candy corn themed kendo stick because even he can make candy corn look cool. Dean hammers away to start and drops Cesaro with a bulldog.

Cesaro comes back with some kendo stick shots to the ribs and right hands to the head followed by a big swing to the chest. More stick shots have Dean in trouble but he blocks a big swing and hammers away with right hands. Cesaro comes right back with a tiger bomb for two followed by more stick shots. He piles up a bunch of pumpkins but can’t quite suplex Dean onto the pile.

Instead Dean sends him out to the floor, only to take some more stick shots. A dropkick destroys a bucket full of candy but Cesaro throws him over the announcers’ table. Ambrose pops up with a stick of his own before throwing him back inside for a backdrop on the pumpkins. They head outside again with Cesaro nailing him out of the air with a kendo stick.

Dean’s head is shoved into a bucket of apples and water but he comes back with a skeleton. Cesaro grabs a chair but gets knocked onto a table with some broom shots. A middle rope elbow with the broom sends Cesaro through the table on the floor. They head back inside where Ambrose puts a pumpkin on Cesaro’s head and Dirty Deeds is good for the pin at 7:18.

Rating: C+. This was your usual fun main event with all the weapons and props being used in the right way. Ambrose getting a pin is a good thing and makes him look stronger going into the PPV showdown with Wyatt. Bray can get by on his talking alone and Dean can look good in matches like this one.

Another Dirty Deeds ends the show.

Overall Rating: D+. Decent wrestling aside, this was one of the most frustrating shows I can remember in along time. We had three losses for champions and Kane of all people getting his win back instead of laying down like he should be doing at this point. Hopefully the audience for this show is so low that most people don’t watch and this doesn’t mean much. This is a decent show but it’s more frustrating than anything else.

Results

Nikki Bella won a battle royal last eliminating Alicia Fox

Kane b. Dolph Ziggler – Chokeslam

Seth Rollins b. Dolph Ziggler – Curb Stomp

Ryback b. Heath Slater – Shell Shock

Los Matadores b. Stardust/Goldust – Rollup to Goldust

Rusev b. Great Khali – Accolade

Dean Ambrose b. Cesaro – Dirty Deeds

Smackdown
Date: October 24, 2014
Location: Intrust Bank Arena, Wichita, Kansas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tom Phillips, John Bradshaw Layfield

It’s the final show before Hell in a Cell and things are all set. The main story coming out of Raw is Seth Rollins finally attacking Randy Orton, his partner on Monday, by Curb Stomping him to end the show. This is likely going to help set up Orton’s face turn and then Orton vs. Rollins, which could be some very interesting stuff down the line. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Ambrose to open things up. Ambrose talks about defying the laws of physics because he keeps getting back up no matter what the Authority does to him. Yeah it hurts to get knocked down so many times, but the difference between someone like he and Mick Foley is that Foley is a nice guy. Dean doesn’t have anything to live for beside hurting the people that hurt him. He’s been waiting for this day since Rollins stabbed him in the back for business so if Rollins has any final words, come out here and say them now.

Rollins pops up on screen and says Dean can’t call him out. Seth is the one that does the calling out and he’ll be doing that later tonight. It was always Dean believing that something special was coming from the Shield but Seth was just using it to get ready for his big moment. On Sunday, Dean Ambrose goes away and Rollins can cash in his contract to become World Champion. Dean wraps it up by saying they’ll burn together on Sunday, but Seth will burn alone.

Miz/Damien Mizdow vs. Los Matadores

Sheamus is on commentary. Damien hammers on Diego to start and it’s quickly off to Miz who gets chopped in the corner. Miz comes right back with ten forearms to the chest to annoy Sheamus but the champ is just bored. It’s back to Damien, but Fernando kicks him in the face to take over and make the tag to Diego. They head outside for a Figure Four on Diego as Miz puts one on Fernando for the submission at 2:56.

Bo Dallas interrupts the Dusts’ odd chat of the week. They’re in a six man later and Bo thinks they just need to Bolieve. Goldust: “What a weirdo.”

AJ Lee vs. Alicia Fox

Still non-title despite Fox pinning AJ on Monday. Fox takes her down to start but gets caught in a guillotine choke. Paige, in Fox’s corner, shouts instructions to get out of the hold and Fox takes over for the first time. Lee fights out of a chinlock but gets slammed down with ease. Paige gets on the apron but AJ slams them together, setting up a rollup for the pin at 2:04. So AJ now needs heel miscommunication to beat Alicia Fox?

Remember that Wyatt Family video where the Family is free but Bray is never free? Well it’s airing again here.

We get a sitdown interview from earlier in the week with Big Show to talk about what happened with the soldier on Monday. Show asked for the interview and we see a clip from the incident to get things going. Big Show talks about how personal some of the things Rusev say can get but Rusev attacked the soldier when the incident was over. He has a lot of friends who are Russians (seriously) and he’s had to apologize to them more than once.

Show has been lucky enough to go around the world and meet some wealthy people, but those aren’t his heroes. He gets to meet his heroes when he goes around the world and meets the servicemen and women who defend this country. A few years back he met a two star general who broke down when meeting Big Show because it was such a big deal.

Now we get a clip of Big Show’s “idol” (to be fair Show laughs this off) Hulk Hogan saying no one is more American than the Big Show. On Sunday, Show is going to feel the power of America and it’s going to carry him to victory. We close out the interview where Show says he can’t keep his emotions under control but he’ll knock Rusev out for a pin on Sunday. This was longer than it needed to be and I see no reason for it not to take place in the arena.

Intercontinental Title: Dolph Ziggler vs. Cesaro

Cesaro is challenging after pinning Dolph on Monday. Why the Divas didn’t do the same isn’t quite clear. They hit the mat to start with Ziggler actually in control but getting nailed in the ribs. Dolph flips out of a monkey flip attempt and gets two off a rollup. A nice pinfall reversal sequence ends with Ziggler nailing a dropkick for two but Cesaro sends him shoulder first into the post.

Back from a break with Cesaro putting on a sleeper but having to break up Ziggler’s sleeper a few seconds later. Dolph’s hurricanrana is countered so he comes back with a sunset flip for two instead. The running DDT is countered into a spin out slam for two as Cesaro is getting frustrated. A big boot and powerbomb get two more but the Swing is countered into a small package for two. Cesaro loads up an uppercut but gets Zig Zagged to retain the title at 11:25.

Rating: C+. Nice match but was there a need to have Dolph lose via pin on Monday? Couldn’t you accomplish the same thing by having them both get counted out or something like that, setting up a big match on Sunday? Heaven forbid of course because we need to give Cesaro another win over a champion to make him strong, even though you could do the same by having him Neutralize Ziggler on the floor and win by countout. That might be too much creativity though so it’s clear why it didn’t happen.

Nikki Bella/Cameron/Summer Rae vs. Brie Bella/Naomi/Natalya

Only Brie gets an entrance because we need BRIE MODE. Brie and Cameron get things going and Cameron actually manages to not botch anything in the first ten seconds. She elbows Brie down and starts a YES chant before it’s off to Summer for a clothesline. We get a totally genuine Brie chant as she kicks Summer down but Cameron takes Naomi off the apron. Nikki comes in for the Rack and the pin on Brie at 2:02. Well that happened.

Post match Nikki says for thirty days, she’ll be the evil sister and Brie can be the Cinderbella. This is what I sit through for you people. Remember that.

Hell in a Cell by the numbers.

Video on Orton vs. Cena.

Hogan picks Cena to win on Sunday.

Usos/Mark Henry vs. Goldust/Stardust/Bo Dallas

Dallas runs from Henry to start so it’s Stardust and Jey starting instead. A headbutt has Stardust in trouble so it’s off to Jimmy vs. Goldust. The Usos clothesline Goldust out to the floor and we take a break. Back with Stardust clotheslining Jimmy before it’s off to Goldist for some choking. We hit the chinlock for a bit but Jimmy fights up for an enziguri. The hot tag brings in Henry for clotheslines as everything breaks down. Jey dives onto Goldust and it’s Dallas alone with Mark. Henry throws him into the corner but has to World’s Strongest Slam Stardust, allowing Bo to hook the Bodog for the pin on Henry at 8:00.

Rating: D+. This was every six man tag with two different people to supplement the standard tag match that we’ve seen a half dozen times now. I don’t know what there is to gain by having Dallas pin Henry again as you would think we got the idea when he beat him twice in a row, but that might require a fresh thought from creative.

Ziggler is in the back bragging about his wins when Cesaro comes in and says Dolph got lucky. Cesaro calls the title the most prestigious in the company and asks for a 2/3 falls match for the title on Sunday.

Here are Rollins and the Stooges to the ring where there are some tables covered with weapons. Rollins says he bought in for the millionth time and says it’s foreign to everyone here in Kansas. There are no rules on Sunday so let’s have a preview of what Ambrose is in store for on Sunday. Seth starts with the handcuffs because Dean has surprised him from different places. Now he can have Ambrose in one place.

Next up is a screwdriver to prove that Dean has been a screwup all along. Seth picks up a lead pipe to prove that Dean is indeed destructable before moving on to a chair which stared the whole thing. We get to the point now as Rollins calls Dean out because this is his chance to have things one on one.

There’s no Ambrose though so maybe he’s smarter than Seth thought he was. We see a clip from the end of Raw as Ambrose sneaks up behind Seth and nails him with a kendo stick shot. The Stooges come in but Dean fights them off and tries a powerbomb through a table. The Stooges finally do their job and take Dirty Deeds before being elbowed through the tables to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This was about everything other than the Orton vs. Cena match which makes me think that it’s getting the main event slot, despite it having no need to do so. The problem with Ambrose vs. Rollins is they have to go insane with the violence to justify everything they’ve talked about and I don’t think that’s going to be allowed. The show should be entertaining but I don’t know if they’ll be able to take it far enough or be able to resist going with Orton vs. Cena as the main event. Nice build show this week but it’s clear that these stories are almost out of gas.

Results

Miz/Damien Mizdow b. Los Matadores – Figure Four to Fernando

AJ Lee b. Alicia Fox – Rollup

Dolph Ziggler b. Cesaro – Zig Zag

Nikki Bella/Summer Rae/Cameron b. Brie Bella/Naomi/Natalya – Rack to Brie

Goldust/Stardust/Bo Dallas b. Usos/Mark Henry – Bodog to Henry

Smackdown
Date: October 17, 2014
Location: Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center, Birmingham, Alabama
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

We now have the obvious PPV main events set and for some reason the question is which match goes on last. I can defend a lot of what they do with Cena but there is almost no justification for Rollins vs. Ambrose not going on last. It has a story and the constant interference makes the Cell appropriate. Orton vs. Cena is happening because of history that people are tired of, Orton wanting a match and the calendar saying it’s time for the Cell. Let’s get to it.

We open with the now standard long recap of the main stories from Raw.

Here’s Rollins to get things going. The fans greet him with a YOU SOLD OUT chant and he seems to agree by shouting I SOLD OUT. Yeah he used to have honor, but that’s not going to pay his bills. Anyone here would sell out their parents, dog, grandparents, brothers and friends for an opportunity to be like him. The problem though is you’ll never be like him because selling out is the best thing you could ever do in your life.

That brings him to his match with Ambrose inside the Cell. Ambrose doesn’t belong inside the Cell because he belongs in a straitjacket. Dean may walk into the Cell but he’s going to be carried out and left as a hot smelly mess. Rollins has sold out, but at the pay per view, he’s going to put Dean out.

Cue Dolph Ziggler to a big ovation. Ziggler says that sound was what you hear when people want to see you. Granted Rollins wouldn’t know what a pop sounds like because Ambrose isn’t out here. Dolph talks about how you get everything when you sell out, but when you earn it, you get all that plus self respect. Seth laughs it off and says self respect got Ziggler curb stomped on Monday. Dolph dropkicks him to the floor and wants to start their match right now.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins

A clothesline puts Dolph on the floor and we take a very early break. Back with Ziggler in trouble and Seth pounding away with right hands. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Seth sends him face first into the buckle for two. Rollins drives some knees into the ribs and talks trash to him about self respect. Back up and Dolph sidesteps a charge to send Seth outisde. Rollins comes up limping a bit so Dolph loads up a Figure Four around the post, only to get sent face first into the steel instead.

Rollins tries to come back in off the top but gets pulled down into a faceplant as we take another break. Back again with Seth missing a charge into the corner to put both guys down. Dolph pops up and hits ten very fast punches in the corner but Seth snaps his throat across the top. He heads up top again but this time is able to block the faceplant. Ziggler’s jumping DDT gets two and the Zig Zag and Curb Stomp are both countered. The Fameasser is countered into the buckle bomb though and a Curb Stomp gives Dolph his third straight loss at 15:22.

Rating: C+. It’s the decent match you would expect from these two but these losses for champions are getting annoying. WWE has such a big roster but only Ziggler can take these losses? Were Kofi and Big E. too busy for this match? It gets really old watching these titles lose what little prestige they can build up for the sake of Mr. Money in the Bank. Build up a better midcard or get the title off Ziggler already.

Here’s Ambrose after the match with his contract. Rollins runs so Dean lets us know how happy he is to get his hands on Rollins inside the Cell. He can’t even say everything he’s going to do to Rollins on this show but here’s Kane to cut him off. Kane wants a match of his own because the screams of pain make him sleep better at night. Ambrose vs. Kane later tonight.

Erick Rowan is free.

Layla vs. AJ Lee

Paige and Fox are on commentary. We get an inset interview where AJ says the Divas Title is the only friend she needs and it will never betray her. A quick spinwheel kick gets two on Layla and a pair of rolling neckbreakers gets the same. Layla makes a comeback with some kicks and a headlock, only to miss a cross body and get Black Widowed for the submission at 2:00.

Fox is easily dispatched but Paige lays out AJ with the Rampaige.

Seth comes in to ask Kane to save him a piece of Ambrose but Kane goes into the annual “the Cell is evil” speech. Kane throws out that it’s himself/Rollins/Orton vs. Cena/Ambrose in a street fight on Raw.

Sandow dressed up as Sheamus on Main Event and got beaten up.

Sheamus and the Usos are ready for their six man tonight. We get lots of talk about kicking heads off and twin references are made.

Sheamus/Usos vs. Miz/Stardust/Goldust

Goldust actually takes Sheamus down to start but the pale one comes back with a shoulder block. Off to Stardust who takes a few elbows from the twins and a double elbow drop gets two. Miz comes in and actually takes his glasses off, only to get slammed down by Jimmy for two. Jimmy misses a charge and falls out to the floor, followed by a baseball slide from Jimmy for good measure.

Back from a break with Jey getting caught in a Goldust spinebuster for two. Off to Stardust but Sheamus chases Miz up the ramp. This goes nowhere but gets us away from the match going on in the ring. Goldust goes over to punch Jimmy off the apron but walks into a Samoan drop from Jey. The hot tag brings in Sheamus to clean house, including pulling the top rope down so Jimmy can dive on Stardust. Miz gets knocked off the apron and into the announce table but Goldust catches Sheamus in a powerslam for two. Everything breaks down as the Usos kick Stardust, setting up a Brogue Kick to Goldust for the pin at 11:42.

Rating: C-. You know every six man match you’ve seen with the tag team and midcard title feuds combined? Well this is the most recent I’ve seen. There was nothing different, interesting, or remotely special about this match. It’s not bad but I can’t count how many times we’ve seen this exact same stuff.

Video on WWE in Malaysia.

Here’s Big Show with something to talk about how he sticks out in a crowd. We hear the same stats we’ve heard about Big Show for years as he talks about having more weight on his shoulders. He’s knocked Rusev out twice now and is going to do it again at the PPV. Right now though, he’d like Mark Henry to come out here. Here’s Mark, complete with Big Show dancing to his music.

Show tells a story about he and Henry flipping a car over because it cut them off at Waffle House. They’re family, which means it’s ok for them to take the weight on each others’ shoulders in the battles against Rusev. Show gave Henry the space he needed to fight Rusev and now he needs Henry to do the same for him. Henry says that Rusev isn’t human but it’s going to be hard to see Big Show beat Rusev when he couldn’t. He’ll give Show what he wants though. The Russians come out for some fat jokes and insult trading between Show and Rusev. Nothing we haven’t heard before.

We get a clip from after Raw with the Bellas getting in an argument over being fat. The loser of their match will be the winner’s assistant, which I’m sure will be HILARIOUS.

Nikki Bella vs. Naomi

Nikki shoves her around to start and puts on a very early chinlock. Back up and Naomi scores with a few dropkicks followed by a Rear View for two. That goes nowhere and the Rack ends Naomi at 2:11.

Wyatt is alone video.

Ambrose says he can give Kane all the screams he wants to put him to sleep.

Kane vs. Dean Ambrose

Kane throws him around to start but Dean fires off right hands and clotheslines Kane out to the floor. Back in and a big boot drops Ambrose and they head right back to the floor. Kane rams Dean’s hand into the steps before sending the hand into the corner back inside. Dean comes back with a top rope dropkick and a bulldog for two. He starts the comeback and loads up the Rebound Clothesline but Rollins drags him to the floor for the DQ at 5:44.

Rating: D. The match wasn’t anything of note but the ending is just stupid. Dean should be heading for the main event of a PPV but he can’t pin KANE nine days before? I can understand not pinning Cena, but Kane’s entire job at this point is to put people over and not cause any major disasters.

Rollins and Kane go after Dean but he fights them off with a chair to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. This was the least interesting Smackdown I can remember in a long time. The show flew by and felt more like a setup for Raw than ever. It’s not a horrible show but when Ambrose can’t even get a rollup on Kane and we see the same Divas match we’ve seen for months now, it’s really hard to get into things. Smackdown is at its best when it has self contained stories and some decent matches. As soon as it becomes a supplement for Raw, most of the good goes away. Not much to see this week.

Results

Seth Rollins b. Dolph Ziggler – Curb Stomp

AJ Lee b. Layla – Black Widow

Sheamus/Usos b. Goldust/Stardust/Miz – Brogue Kick to Goldust

Nikki Bella b. Naomi – Rack

Dean Ambrose b. Kane via DQ when Seth Rollins interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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The review will be delayed as I’m in England and have been awake for the better part of 35 hours.  Use this thread to discuss all the riveting stuff that happens tonight.  Like a tag match.  Playa.

Smackdown
Date: October 10, 2014
Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Tom Phillips

Tonight is the 15^th Anniversary Special for Smackdown, meaning we’re likely to get a lot of cameos and clips from great Smackdowns over the years. These shows are always hit or miss and could range from a really fun show to PLEASE LET IT END. The flashbacks should be fun though. Let’s get to it.

We open with a montage of great Smackdown moments. The old man taking off his face to reveal Bischoff blew my mind.

Here’s Stephanie for our first long chat of the night. She talks about the origin of the word Smackdown, saying it was made by the man who lost to her husband on the first episode of Smackdown, the Rock. Smackdown has always been about the people, so here’s BIG JOHNNY ACE! We actually get a PEOPLE POWER chant and Johnny talks about how great his era really was.

Johnny has been doing his research on the WWE Network (Stephanie: “Proof that anyone can use it.”) and has some matches to make tonight. Cue Teddy Long (with JBL doing the Teddy Dance!) who says he was Smackdown GM for six years and he’s not letting Ace take it away again. Ace cuts him off though and says he’s making a tag match with Miz/Cesaro vs. Sheamus/Swagger. Teddy would make it a six man tag with Bo Dallas and Mark Henry being added. Ace: “TEN MAN TAG! TEN MAN TAG! TEN MAN TAG!”

Johnny adds the Dusts and Usos to the mix, but Teddy says let’s make it a FIFTEEN MAN TAG MATCH! Ace says that doesn’t make sense. Teddy takes the previous ten guys and add the Mini Gator, Slater, O’Neil, Torito, Los Matadores and……TITO SANTANA? Stephanie likes the idea, even though Santana isn’t here. Apparently the Gator and Bull count as one guy between the two of them in case the math didn’t make sense. Stephanie adds a stipulation: each guy picks a team and the winning captain is named the best GM of all time. This was totally fun and the battling tag match ideas was a nice idea.

Stephanie isn’t done though as she announces John Cena and Dean Ambrose appearing on MizTV later in the night. This brings out Adam Rose and the Rosebuds to with Smackdown a Happy Birthday. He invites Stephanie onto the Exotic Express but instead she makes Rose vs. Kane next. Stephanie does her own dance and of course Teddy joins in. Even Ace dances a bit.

We get the first great Smackdown moment: the debut episode with Rock vs. HHH. So the pilot has been written off I guess.

Kane vs. Adam Rose

Kane says he isn’t a cheeseburger or Rosebud and tonight he’s going to crash the party. Rose tries to speed things up to start before grabbing a sleeper. That goes nowhere so he goes up top, only to dive into an uppercut. The chokeslam gives Rose his first loss at 1:03. That’s kind of a waste of the last six months but at least he wasn’t given any kind of a push.

Kane goes after the Exotic Express post match as they all go into the ring to check on Rose. He beats some of them up until it’s only the Bunny left. JBL is thrilled but some of the Rosebuds get back in to distract Kane so the Bunny can escape.

From June 27, 2002: John Cena answers Kurt Angle’s open challenge. Undertaker shook Cena’s hand after the match.

AJ Lee vs. Alicia Fox

Non-title. Paige is holding AJ’s title on the announcers’ table during the match. Fox scores with some kicks to start before getting two off a great looking northern lights suplex. We’re in the chinlock less than forty seconds into the match. AJ counters a backbreaker into the Black Widow for the submission at 1:22.

Paige and Fox go after AJ but she fights them off without much effort.

The next moment is a bunch of big dives and crashes, capped off by Lesnar and Big Show breaking the ring. In a nice touch, each package is introduced with a different Smackdown theme from over the years.

Seth Rollins vs. Kofi Kingston

Noble and Mercury are at ringside to watch out for Ambrose. Seth immediately stomps Kofi down in the corner to start before whipping him hard into the barricade. Kofi’s face is dropped onto the apron before he gets another beating back inside. Kingston finally gets a knee up in the corner and scores with a dropkick. Seth just hammers him again and hits the Buckle Bomb. There’s a second buckle bomb and the Curb Stomp gives Seth the pin at 3:35.

Rating: C-. In the words of Big Zeke’s theme song, this here’s what you call domination. Seth squashed Kofi here and it’s kind of sad to see Kingston having such little direction that this is all he can do anymore. There wasn’t anyone else that can take a loss like this? Granted it’s not like it’s going to be remembered in like a day though so it’s not that big of a deal.

Luke Harper release video.

Another video package on Money in the Bank cash-ins.

Rusev vs. Dolph Ziggler

Non-title again. Rusev powers him into the corner to start and kicks Ziggler in the back before choking on the apron. Ziggler fights out of a chinlock but misses a Stinger Splash as we take a break. Back with Dolph hammering away but getting caught with the knees to the ribs and fall away slam. Rusev hooks a front facelock with a body scissors but Ziggler finally rolls forward to escape.

A hard shot to the face staggers Rusev and there’s a dropkick for good measure. The running DDT is blocked but Rusev misses a charge, setting up a bad looking Fameasser for one. Back up and the running superkick sets up the Accolade to make Dolph tap at 8:20. This was only a few steps above a squash save for that one flurry.

Rating: C. But I thought Rock buried Rusev on Raw and there was no way he could ever recover. Those comments still make my head hurt but that’s another story for another time. This was a big win for Rusev and they’re getting more and more common. I know the logical story was to have him go over Sheamus for the US Title, but they’re getting to the point where he needs to go into the World Title picture with wins like these. He’s not there yet, but they can’t ignore him much longer.

Post match Lana says Philadelphia being the birthplace of America explains a lot of things about this country. She brings up meeting Rock on Monday and starts ranting in Russian. Rusev takes the mic from her and says Rock will pay the consequences. He issues a challenge to Big Show for Raw.

We look at Austin vs. Booker T. in a grocery store. I loved that.

After Raw went off the air, Rock came in to see HHH and Stephanie to talk about the upcoming Smackdown special. They bring up the main event of the first Smackdown and Rock giving him a Rock Bottom the next week. HHH thinks it was Road Dogg that got beaten up because HHH kept giving Rock Pedigrees and leaving him looking up at the lights. Rock wonders what would happen if they headlined Wrestlemania one more time.

Both guys talk trash and HHH says name the time and Wrestlemania so he can turn off the electricity on Mr. electricity. They get nose to nose and Rock asks why they’re this close because it’s kind of weird. Rock: “One of us has to back up.” HHH: “Well I can’t do it. I’m the Game.” Rock: “Well I’m the People’s Champ.”

They agree to do it at the same time but neither guy moves. They finally back up and HHH again says name the time and stadium. Stephanie breaks it up and suggests they go to dinner. HHH: “How about we go to Wrestlemania?” Rock: “How about you pay the bill you cheap bastard?” HHH says Rock is cheap because he made all those #1 movies and won’t pay for dinner. This was a really funny segment but I’m not sure I want to see these guys headline a Wrestlemania. Then again, it’s not the worst idea in the world either.

The announcers get a birthday cake and it winds up on Tom’s face since he’s the rookie. It wouldn’t be Smackdown if that didn’t happen.

Booker T. comes out to do commentary on the main event.

Another clip of Austin leaving a rattlesnake in the McMahons’ office and then destroying the DX bus.

Team Teddy vs. Team Johnny

Teddy: Usos, Los Matadores, Mark Henry, Sheamus, Jack Swagger, El Torito

Johnny: Miz, Heath Slater, Titus O’Neil, Goldust, Stardust, Bo Dallas, Damien Mizdow, Mini Gator

Goldust and Fernando get things going and don’t seem all that interested in doing much for the first thirty seconds or so. Fernando finally takes Goldust over with a hurricanrana and it’s off to Stardust who is quickly sent to the floor. Everyone gets in for a staredown as we take a break. Back with Titus knocking Jey into the Johnny corner but the Usos clean house, only to have Stardust kick Jimmy out to the floor. Jimmy gets caught in the corner and takes a splash from the Gator.

The fans want Mizdow and get their wish with a right hand to Jimmy’s head. We hit a chinlock for a bit before it’s off to Titus as things slow down. Titus charges into Jimmy’s foot in the corner but Cesaro breaks up a hot tag attempt. We take another break and come back with Jimmy fighting out of Slater’s chinlock and nailing an enziguri. He backdrops Cesaro down and makes the tag off to Sheamus for very little reaction. Cesaro takes the ten forearms to the chest, just like Slater and Stardust.

Sheamus has all three of them in a row and goes down the line to hit each of them over and over. Everything breaks down and the Usos pull Slater and O’Neil to the floor for suicide dives from Los Matadores, followed by a double dive from the Usos to take out everyone. The minis go at it until Bo powerbombs Torito onto the pile on the floor.

Henry can’t hit the Slam on Dallas and gets low bridged out to the floor. There’s a Brogue Kick to Dallas but Sheamus gets swung by Cesaro until Jey superkicks Cesaro down. Mizdow gets the tag and tries the Skull Crushing Finale but gets driven into the corner. The Brogue Kick to Mizdow sets up Jimmy’s Superfly Splash for the pin at 17:48.

Rating: C+. This was nothing but fun and that’s all it was supposed to be. Was there really any doubt that Teddy was going to win this in the end? He’s the definition of the feel good character and it’s hard not to like him. The match was fine and the big dives were fun as always. Nothing great but a fun way to celebrate fifteen years.

Teddy is lifted onto the winners’ shoulders.

Roway is free video.

Time for MizTV to close the show. We recap the events from Monday before Miz announces the match at Hell in a Cell as an anything goes contract on a pole match. Ambrose and Cena come out, with Cena hugging a Make-A-Wish kid on the way to the ring. Dean says he doesn’t care who Cena is because no one crosses him. Seth Rollins tried to end his career and Ambrose wants his revenge. John wants to take that from him and no one steals from Dean Ambrose.

Cena talks about how the WWE brass is scared of Dean Ambrose because he’ll say whatever is on his mind out of a love for this business. On Monday, Ambrose showed the balls (and Cena has an actual pair of baseballs in his hand) to leave Cena laying because it gets Cena towards what he wants. To Miz: “Why are you looking at these? You don’t even know what they are.”

Cena knows that Dean is going to make him earn it at the pay per view because they’re cut from the same cloth. There’s a reason Cena can come to this ring every night for twelve years: he has a pair of these and doesn’t break his word for anyone. Ambrose better bring his a-game to Dallas because Cena likes his chances.

Miz hypes up Cena’s career and asks Ambrose is he thinks he can beat him. Ambrose: “Yep.” Dean knows he can do it and Miz keeps talking until Cena threatens to slap the glasses off his face. Cena goes to leave but Miz says that’s not how this works. The guests are supposed to fight and I think you know what’s coming. Miz gets beaten down and takes a DDT from Ambrose, only for Dean to get AA’d. Rollins smiles in the back to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. I had a good time with this show and that’s all that it needed to be. They had a good time with the Smackdown anniversary, even though they pretty much blew by the last ten years or so. The ending was a nice touch and helps set up the match even better. I like it being a contract on a pole match as it gives Ambrose a better chance to win, even though he isn’t going to pin Cena. That being said, he almost has to win inside the Cell, even though I’m not sure he will. Nice show here and that’s an upgrade for Smackdown.

Results

Kane b. Adam Rose – Chokeslam

AJ Lee b. Alicia Fox – Black Widow

Seth Rollins b. Kofi Kingston – Curb Stomp

Rusev b. Dolph Ziggler – Accolade

Team Teddy b. Team Johnny – Superfly Splash to Mizdow

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Smackdown
Date: October 3, 2014
Location: Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Commentators: Michael Cole, Todd Phillips, John Bradshaw Layfield

The Ambrose/Cena vs. Authority feud is picking up steam and that’s a good thing so far. It looks like they’re also setting up Ambrose vs. Cena which should be a solid match if they don’t have Cena beat him and call it a rub. Hopefully they keep up the trend of not having a ton of recaps tonight. Let’s get to it.

We open with a long recap of Ambrose giving away shirts and sliming Rollins.

Here’s a fired up Cena with something to say. He talks about how different people refer to Milwaukee in different ways but Cena sees it as the place that is ready for Smackdown. This brings him to Ambrose who wants to beat up Rollins just like he does. He talks about the loss at Summerslam and having the worst beating of his life. Everyone from Michael Cole to his family wanted him to hang it up but he had to fight Lesnar one more time.

He got that chance at Night of Champions but Seth Rollins had to take his chance to become the future of the WWE. Well if that’s what Seth wants, he can do it tonight right here in the ring. Cena doesn’t want the briefcase or the contract as long as he can get his hands on Rollins tonight. Instead he gets Ambrose, who says he has his own issues with the Authority and Seth Rollins, but he’s going to work those out by making Rollins pay. Cena says he doesn’t want to do this with Ambrose and Dean says that’s right.

However, Cena got in his way on Monday and that’s not cool. Cena brings up Night of Champions again but Ambrose says that was one night while he almost lost his entire career. John says there’s no reason for them to keep going after each other when they both want the same things. He offers a truce and says whoever gets to Rollins first gets to him first.

Dean isn’t sure about shaking hands when the Authority pops up on screen. Orton talks about how the two of them deserve each other and brings up what Ambrose used to say about Cena when he was in the Shield. Apparently Cena is full of himself and can’t wrestle his way out of a box of cereal. Cena on the other hand said Ambrose is only getting over by pretending to be crazy. Kane thinks it doesn’t matter though because it’s going to be Cena and Ambrose vs. Orton and himself tonight. So glad I watched that Raw main event this week.

Sheamus/Dolph Ziggler vs. Miz/Damien Mizdow

Sheamus takes Miz into the corner to start but misses a big right hand. Cole keeps talking about Mizdow vs. Sheamus from last night as Sheamus slams Damien for two. Sheamus sends him out to the apron and takes out Miz before hitting a few forearms to the stunt double. That’s fine with Sheamus as he dives off the top with a double clothesline.

We take a break and come back with Miz hitting a Reality Check for two on Sheamus before tagging Mizdow. Damien stomps away for two of his own and it’s very quickly back to Miz. Sheamus plows him down with a clothesline and makes the hot tag to Ziggler to clean house. The running DDT gets two on Mizdown and a dropkick gets the same. Sheamus and Miz fight on the floor until Miz nails him in the ribs with a chair. Not that it matters as the Zig Zag is good for the pin on Damien at 8:28.

Rating: D. This really didn’t do anything for me as it was the champions dominating for most of the match, shrugging off all of the heels’ offense and then beating Mizdow with ease. The problem with an act like Miz and Mizdow is there’s nothing to fear. Miz’s big move is the Figure Four which has won him one match in over a year and that was in NXT. Sandow….has he ever won anything with that full nelson slam? Why would two World Champions be afraid of that?

Sheamus swings the chair at Miz post match but has to lay out Sandow instead.

Luke Harper video from Raw.

Long recap of Henry/Big Show/Rusev including the Russian flag being ripped down. WWE already officially apologized because Heaven forbid anyone ever get even slightly offended by anything. They had to know this sort of reaction was coming. Either do the angle and don’t apologize or don’t do it at all. It makes WWE look like a five year old admitting to stealing cookies.

Paige vs. Naomi

Paige quickly takes her down into a chinlock before cranking on both arms at the same time. Back up and Naomi snaps off a headscissors to send Paige to the apron. Alicia Fox tries to help Paige to the floor but Naomi dives onto the new best friend. It goes badly for her though as Paige kicks Naomi in the head and hooks the PTO for the submission at 1:43.

Post match AJ hits the ring and beats up Fox as Paige bails to hide behind JBL. Putting his hat on doesn’t really work for her.

Here’s Big Show in a suit to address the flag deal on Raw. He talks about holding himself accountable for his actions and officially apologizes to the Russian people for what happened. The fans aren’t pleased but here are Rusev and Lana to interrupt. Lana says WWE and Big Show apologizing doesn’t appease them because they want a personal apology.

Big Show reiterates his apology to the Russian people but not to Lana and Rusev. We get more English from Rusev who accuses Big Show of wiping his nose on the flag. He nails Rusev with the flag and drops him with the jumping superkick. Show gets up and the Russians bail. This segment made me feel better about this as it feels like the apology was intended to be a plot point and not WWE cowering away from any criticism.

Heath Slater/Titus O’Neil vs. Usos

Hornswoggle Gator is at ringside. Jey takes Slater into the corner to start but misses a charge and gets kicked in the face. Cue the Bunny to hop over Hornswoggle and send him face first into the post. The distraction lets the Usos hit stereo superkicks and a triple splash (the Bunny dives on Horny) is enough for the pin at 1:45. This is setting up Horny vs. the Bunny isn’t it?

WWE still hates breast cancer.

Ambrose talks about how he embarrassed Rollins on Monday and that’s a lot worse than a beating. He’ll go through everyone from Kane to Orton to the Gator to the Bunny to get his hands on Seth Rollins.

Cesaro vs. R-Truth

This is due to Cesaro making jokes about Ziggler earlier tonight and Truth calling him an unfunny nincompoop. Before the match Truth makes sure he has the town right and Cole thankfully explains the joke. That’s not sarcasm for once as that line wouldn’t might not have made sense to a lot of fans. Cesaro hammers Truth down with European uppercuts and a gutwrench suplex. Truth’s comeback goes as well as you would expect before the Neutralizer ends him at 2:12.

The Dusts are in the back and I believe this is the same vignette from Raw. The belts are the Cosmic Key and the rest is science fiction.

Bob Uecker is here.

Hulk Hogan hates breast cancer.

Kane/Randy Orton vs. John Cena/Dean Ambrose

Orton and Ambrose get things going with Dean quickly taking him down for a basement clothesline and two. Off to Kane vs. Cena for the power showdown and our resident hero takes over with right hands. Dean comes back in for the running dropkick against the ropes before clotheslining Orton down as well. An STF attempt from Cena doesn’t work but a belly to belly gets two on Randy. Ambrose dives on both Authority members and we take a break.

Back with Kane nailing a big boot for two on Ambrose and bringing Randy in again. Randy stomps away and sends Ambrose outside before whipping him into the steps. They head back inside and Dean nails a middle rope dropkick to put both guys down. Kane breaks up a hot tag and we hit the chinlock.

Dean quickly fights up by biting the hand before getting punched into the Rebound Clothesline. As he’s inches away from the hot tag, Rollins comes down the aisle and Cena drops down to go after him. Ambrose is left alone and gets caught in the Elevated DDT for two. Dirty Deeds is broken up and Kane kicks Dean’s head off. The double teaming is enough for a lame DQ at 13:13.

Rating: D+. The match wasn’t terrible but man alive is it going to kill the Authority to have Kane lose a fall? Just mixing up how they get disqualified isn’t enough to make things interesting. Ambrose and Cena fighting should get interesting, but I hope Dean doesn’t start yelling about Cena leaving him in a handicap match like Nikki Bella has been doing.

Ambrose gets beaten down even more until Cena finally makes the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: D-. This was one of the most worthless shows I can remember in a long time. There were five matches, three of which combined to be less than six minutes long. Other than that there was a segment to build up to Big Show losing another big match and the same main event we saw on Raw. This was a worthless two hours of TV with some dull matches wrapped around three matches that didn’t go long enough to rate. Nothing to see here.

Results

Sheamus/Dolph Ziggler b. Miz/Damien Mizdow – Zig Zag to Mizdow

Paige b. Naomi – PTO

Usos b. Heath Slater/Titus O’Neil – Double Superfly Splash

Cesaro b. R-Truth – Neutralizer

John Cena/Dean Ambrose b. Kane/Randy Orton via DQ when Orton and Kane double teamed Ambrose

Smackdown
Date: September 26, 2014
Location: Verizon Arena, Little Rock, Arkansas
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

Things are in a state of flux right now with Roman Reigns out of the picture for the time being, leaving Dean Ambrose to take his spot. Dean has already been dealing with Cena, which puts him in about as big a spot as you could ask for. Ambrose still needs to rack up some wins though so hopefully that starts tonight. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

We open with a recap of the events from Raw with Ambrose, Cena and the Authority.

Dean Ambrose vs. Miz

This is due to Ambrose attacking Miz on MizTV on Main Event. Miz bails to the floor to start before getting caught in a headlock and rollup for two. Ambrose sends him outside again but chases after him this time, eventually taking him down in the ring and hammering away. Miz begs him not in the face so Dean rakes at the Moneymaker. A bad looking Reality Check gets two for Miz and he stomps away as the fans are all behind Dean.

Ambrose comes right back with a dropkick to send Miz to the floor, followed by a big plancha. Mizdow offers a distraction though and Miz takes over as we take a break. Back with Dean blocking the corner clothesline with a forearm to the face. Cole actually gives us an explanation for how Dean got out of the room on Raw: “He went out the back door.”

Dean sends him to the floor and hits a suicide dive before a tornado DDT gets two. A missile dropkick is countered into the Figure Four but Dean is right by the ropes. The Rebound Clothesline drops Miz but here are Rollins and Kane for a distraction. Thankfully Dean is too smart for that and hits Dirty Deeds for the pin at 10:13.

Rating: C-. The match was fine and Dean getting a clean pin over a former World Champion is nothing but good for him right now. Miz isn’t exactly John Cena but he’s a guy that Dean should be beating like this. Also how nice is it that a good guy comes off looking smart for a change? Nice enough match.

The Authority comes in for the beatdown but Ambrose fights both of them off and runs off with the briefcase.

Stardust and Goldust are all insane and say the Gemini Usos can’t have the Tag Team Titles. The rematch is tonight.

Battle Royal

Cesaro, Heath Slater, Diego, Titus O’Neil, Fernando, Bo Dallas, Zack Ryder, Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, Sin Cara, Damien Mizdow, Justin Gabriel, Jack Swagger, Big E.

The winner gets an Intercontinental Title shot later tonight. Fernando is quickly tossed out and Bo dumps Cara. Cesaro tosses Diego but the new Nation can’t eliminate Dallas. Instead Kofi low bridges Gabriel out before Cesaro dumps Woods. Big E. has the power battle with Cesaro and is lifted up in a very impressive gorilla press. Titus breaks it up for no apparent reason so Cesaro lifts him up, only to have Big E. return the save. Cesaro is tired of all this and just muscles Big E. out.

We take a break and come back with no eliminations during the break. Titus and Ryder fight on the ropes and Zack gets tossed. Swagger eliminates Titus a few seconds later, leaving us with Cesaro, Slater, Swagger, Dallas, Mizdow and Kingston. Swagger throws Heath out and everyone surrounds Mizdow. The big beatdown is on and Mizdow is quickly out.

Kofi gets thrown over the top but skins the cat to pull Dallas to the apron with him. A kick to the head is enough to eliminate Bo as Swagger hits the Vader Bomb on Cesaro. Kofi tries to come back in with a hurricanrana but Jack catches him and drops Kofi into the opposite corner. Another Vader Bomb is blocked by Cesaro to send Swagger to the apron. Kofi hits a springboard shot to Jack’s head but has to save himself from Cesaro. Swagger gets back in but Cesaro throws Kofi at Swagger to eliminate both guys for the win at 11:25.

Rating: C. This wasn’t bad and thankfully they kept things moving with only about eight minutes shown on TV. Cesaro is becoming a beast in these battle royals which could become a thing for him going forward. Also those displays of strength of his are hard to ignore with the gorilla presses and ending sequence being very impressive.

Network talk.

The Usos have everything ready to get their titles back.

Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Goldust/Stardust

The Dusts are defending in a rematch from Night of Champions. We get some big match intros and start with Jey and Stardust. A rollup gets a quick two for Jey and he slams Stardust down before sending him outside. Goldust is sent outside as well, setting up the double dive from the Usos as we take a break. Back with what looks like a hot tag to Jey who backdrops Goldust for two. Jey is sent into the buckle and out to the floor so Stardust can get in a few cheap shots of his own. Stardust: “WHERE’S THE KING???” Back in with Goldust dropping an elbow and cranking on the arm.

Jey loses his shirt and gets beaten on even more until he nails a forearm to drop Stardust. Goldust gets backdropped to the floor but he charges back in to a Samoan drop. The hot tag brings in Jimmy to clean house with a t-bone suplex to Stardust. The superkick misses though and Stardust sends him to the floor. Goldust tries a dive but the Usos catch him and toss him into the barricade. Stardust dives backwards onto both of them and all four are down. Back in and the Usos nail a Doomsday Device of all things on Stardust. Jimmy hits the Superfly Splash but Goldust comes in with the title belt for the DQ at 10:13.

Rating: C+. These teams have good chemistry and the match was working here. It sets up a third match, likely at the PPV, which should be just as good as this with extra time. The Usos are getting close to being a great team and having opponents like this and the Wyatts are only going to make them better.

We recap Ambrose stealing the briefcase.

Rollins is ticked off but Kane says the briefcase doesn’t matter because it’s all about the contract. Seth gets that but says if the briefcase isn’t returned, the cinder blocks will look like child’s play.

Layla/Summer Rae vs. Natalya/Rosa Mendes

Summer runs from Natalya to start so it’s quickly off to Layla. They trade rollups and Layla has to kick away from the Sharpshooter. Off to Summer who gets suplexed down and kneed in the corner but Layla makes a blind tag. She nails one kick and immediately tags back out to Summer. The villains ask Natalya if she’s going to cry as Rosa tries to play cheerleader on the apron.

Layla hooks a figure four neck lock and bends back over the ropes before hitting a dropkick to the side of the head. Summer comes back in for a bodyscissors and slams Natalya head first into the mat. Natalya kicks Summer away and makes the tag to Rosa (Cole: “Latina Heat!”) for a bad dropkick on Layla for two. Everything breaks down and Natalya kicks Summer to the floor, allowing Layla to roll Rosa up for the pin at 4:16.

Rating: D. There are a bunch of problems with this whole story. To begin with, why did Natalya wait about three months to go after Summer? Second, it’s really hard to care about these catty fights the girls are having, especially when some of them are capable of having good matches. The words “some of them” is the final key point. Rosa Mendes is about as worthless of a Diva as there has ever been. As far as I know, she has never won a singles match on TV. Why should I think it’s a big deal when she comes back?

We look at Main Event where Mark Henry wasn’t going to apologize to America again because he thinks they don’t appreciate him. Big Show came out and promises to knock Rusev out on Smackdown.

Big Show says he and Henry are brothers from another mother so he’ll knock Rusev out in Henry’s honor tonight.

We get the video on Reigns in the hospital and hear from the doctor on his prognosis.

Intercontinental Title: Dolph Ziggler vs. Cesaro

Dolph is defending. Feeling out process to start with Ziggler taking him up against the ropes. Cesaro actually tries a monkey flip but Dolph lands on his feet and hiptosses him down. After a quick trip to the floor, Cesaro cranks on a chinlock and drops the champion with a belly to back suplex.

Ziggler gets caught in an abdominal stretch to stay on his ribs before a middle rope elbow gets two for Cesaro. Off to a modified cobra clutch on Dolph but he jawbreaks his way to freedom. A nice dropkick puts Cesaro down but he counters the Fameasser into a powerbomb, only to have Dolph climb over the shoulder into a rollup for the pin at 6:22. Cesaro clearly had the rope at two so there’s likely going to be a rematch.

Rating: C. Nice power vs. speed match here with Cesaro keeping the champion down and using his power to negate the high flying. The ending is a good way to keep Cesaro’s credibility and set up another match down the line. They could do better with more than six minutes so hopefully they’re given a good deal of time later.

The announcers point out the rope grab and Cesaro yells at the referee.

WWE2K15 stuff.

Lana and Rusev say their usual.

Rusev vs. Big Show

Show goes right at him to start and nails a running clothesline in the corner. There’s a loud chop and another clothesline but Rusev blocks the whisper chop. Big Show comes back with a sunset flip for two and knocks Rusev out to the floor. We take a break and come back with Big Show hitting a few loud chops in the corner but getting his leg taken out.

Rusev goes after the leg with some elbows before cranking on it on the mat. Show fights up with a side slam for two but misses the Knockout Punch. The jumping superkick drops Big Show for two and it’s off to a side choke. Back up and the giant hits some clotheslines followed by the chokeslam but Lana grabs his foot before the Knockout Punch. The distraction lets Rusev hit him with the Russian flag for the DQ at 9:52.

Rating: D. This was ten minutes of “Big Show chops, they do nothing, Big Show chops again, they do nothing, finish.” Rusev beating up Big Show next is another good win for him as he’s getting closer to the top of the card with these wins. He’s still waiting for the big feud but he’s still working well enough. As for Big Show, anything that keeps him away from the main event scene is a good thing.

Big Show knocks him out and Lana is stunned to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Tonight was a different kind of episode as some stuff seemed to matter. We set up a new challenger for Dolph and had Ambrose steal the briefcase which will likely be dealt with on Raw. The wrestling was nothing to see but more than anything else Smackdown needs to have stuff that actually matters. Smackdown needs to be a show that people want to see and two title matches and a battle royal are good ways to get to that point. Granted I have little reason to believe this is going to last as it almost never does but it was an easy show to sit through.

Results

Dean Ambrose b. Miz – Dirty Deeds

Cesaro won a battle royal last eliminating Kofi Kingston and Jack Swagger

Usos b. Goldust/Stardust via DQ when Goldust hit Jimmy with a title belt

Layla/Summer Rae b. Rosa Mendes/Natalya – Rollup to Mendes

Dolph Ziggler b. Cesaro – Rollup

Big Show b. Rusev via DQ when Rusev hit him with the Russian flag

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