Smackdown
Date: June 22, 2007
Location: Bobcats Arena, Charlotte, North Carolina
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

It’s the go home show for Vengeance: Night Of Champions and the card is set. It isn’t a show that needs a lot of setup, so it’s a good thing that we have one of the biggest storylines in years to help pad things out. Other than that, we likely have Batista/Ric Flair vs. MVP/Edge. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open fast with the Cutting Edge, with Edge saying he had Vince McMahon’s final interview on this very show. There will be a special tribute to Vince on Raw, even if Vince made him face Batista in a Last Chance match at Vengeance. For now though, let’s bring out someone brand new to the show, and someone you wouldn’t expect as a suspect: Torrie Wilson.

Torrie isn’t sure what Edge is talking about, but Edge accuses her of being scored by Vince and put into a match with Carlito. Edge sees one liar in the ring but here is MVP to cut them off. MVP doesn’t think Torrie should have to go through this…because she should be going through a lie detector test! Cue Ric Flair to go after both of them but the beatdown is on. Batista runs in for the save, setting up a likely tag team main event.

Post break, Teddy Long and Vickie Guerrero have made the tag match.

Jimmy Wang Yang/Shannon Moore vs. Chavo Guerrero/Jamie Noble

Not this tag match. Noble headscissors Moore down to start and grabs a rather early chinlock. That’s broken up so Noble hits a running shoulder before it’s off to Chavo. A dropkick gives Moore two and it’s off to Yang, who gets a bit of a response (which may be canned but it’s better than nothing). Noble comes back in and gets caught in a jumping hurricanrana, only to stomp Yang down without much trouble.

Chavo comes in and stomps away before it’s right back to Noble to work on the arm. Yang fights up but Chavo avoids a charge to send Yang’s shoulder into the post. That doesn’t stop Yang from hitting a dropkick though and the hot tag brings in Moore. House is cleaned in a hurry and Chavo is dropped face first onto the buckle. Yang hits a big dive onto Noble but Chavo Gory Bombs Moore for the pin.

Rating: C. It’s the least valuable title this side of the Texas Hardcore Title but there is something about putting four high fliers out there and letting them go for a few minutes. Chavo needed the win to get him back on track before the title match so at least there is a bit more set up for Sunday. Now just do something with the title already.

Maryse welcomes us back to the show.

Mark Henry vs. Funaki

Henry throws him around a few times to start as commentary raves over the power. The bearhug goes on and Funaki is out in a hurry.

We see more of the same clips of Vince’s explosion and people talking about it that we’ve seen for a week and a half now.

Vickie Guerrero comes in to see Teddy Long because she has set up all of the travel for everyone to go to Raw next week. Long is happy but seems to have some special plans for himself and Kristal. Cue Kristal, and Long seems nervous about something he has planned in public tonight, with Kristal joining him in the ring.

Finlay vs. Matt Hardy

They take turns powering the other into the corner to start until Finlay hits him in the face. Matt sweeps the leg and grabs a headlock on the mat so Finlay rips at his face. A belly to back suplex has some more success at getting Finlay out of trouble and we hit the chinlock. That’s eventually broken up and Matt sends him face first into the corner over and over.

They head outside where Finlay is sent into the barricade, which draws out Hornswoggle from under the ring. The distraction lets Finlay run Matt over and we take a break. Back with Finlay pulling him down by the hair and going back to the chinlock. With that broken up, Finlay’s Vader Bomb hits raised boot but Finlay goes after the knee. Some kicks to the knee set up a leglock, followed by a kneeling half crab.

Hardy makes the rope so Finlay takes him outside and drops him knee first onto the steps. Back in and Finlay rips the knee brace off and sits on the leg again. Finlay grabs the leg but gets caught with an enziguri to start the comeback. The Side Effect gives Matt two and he manages the middle rope elbow to the back. Hornswoggle offers a distraction but Matt shrugs off the Shillelagh shot and hits the Twist of Fate for the pin.

Rating: B-. This got some serious time and it’s a good sign to see Matt pick up this kind of a win. Matt fought through an injury and interference to win clean. That’s the kind of a win that can help build someone up and it came over someone with enough credibility. It helps to have people like this who can eat up a lot of time and have a rather effective match and they did so here.

We look at Stephanie McMahon’s appearance on Raw, where she remembered her dad and swore vengeance for whoever blew him up.

Here are Teddy Long and Kristal for a chat in the ring. Long says he didn’t know what it meant to be happy before he met her. He has a question for her and proposes, but she starts crying and walks away without saying anything.

Chris Masters vs. Danny Shanley

We get a Masterlock highlight reel before the match, which is pretty much all of Masters’ career. Shanley can’t Irish whip him to start so Masters hits a hard clothesline. Masters snaps him throat first across the top and starts pulling on Shanley’s head. A slam plants Shanley again and we hit the neck crank. Masters switches up to the Masterlock for the easy win.

Rating: D. Yeah it was a squash and yeah it played to Masters’ strengths, but it was the same Masters that we have seen since he debuted. That’s why his career stalled: he looked great and had a good full nelson, but what else did he have? There was little more than a physique and eventually you need something more than that to have a successful career.

In Memory of Sherri Martel. How nice of them to get to this almost three fourths of the way through the show.

Teddy Long finds Kristal in the back and she’s still in tears. He apologizes and she puts the ring on to accept. Well that was anti-climatic.

We run down the Vengeance card.

We get a press conference from the lead investigator in the Vince McMahon case. They have found DNA from Vince, the limo driver and one more well known (and unnamed) personality. This apparently warranted a full press conference (minus press).

Michelle McCool…plays tennis? She gets to take her aggression out on tennis balls and wear these cute outfits (her words). Not their most subtle work here.

Ric Flair/Batista vs. MVP/Edge

Flair gets the big hometown entrance, which is rather well received, and Little Naitch gets to hold the ropes for him. Edge’s pyro leaves the arena a bit smoky to start so Flair chops him in the corner for lowering the air quality. JBL says you don’t want to wrestle someone in their hometown, showing that JBL has no idea how WWE works. Flair cranks on the arm so it’s off to Batista, who gets to run over MVP.

With MVP down, Flair comes in to drop the elbow for two and it’s right back to Batista. MVP kicks Batista in the face and gets plowed over for his efforts as we take a break. Back with Edge stomping on Batista and grabbing a waistlock. MVP’s crossface forearms get two but Batista catches him in the swinging Boss Man Slam. The tag brings in Flair (POP) and house is cleaned, only to have Edge come in with a quick spear to cut him down. Batista makes the save and it’s Flair getting stomped this time.

MVP grabs a seated abdominal stretch but Flair fights up and hits a chop. JBL: “That’s like getting hit with a frying pan.” How many times has he been hit with a frying pan? MVP kicks Flair in the head to cut him off and Edge comes back in to talk a lot of trash. A backdrop gets two as Batista is pacing on the apron. MVP misses a big running boot in the corner though and Flair goes for the leg, allowing the hot tag to Batista. Everything breaks down and Batista counters Edge’s spear into a spinebuster. The Batista Bomb finishes Edge off.

Rating: B. This was good and egads it was nice to not see the hometown star get crushed to end a show. Flair didn’t need to get the fall here because having him get to celebrate to end the show was more than enough. Batista gets some momentum before the title match and Flair gets to pose. That’s how this should have gone and it was a good match too.

Overall Rating: B. Rather strong show here, with the only thing close to bad being a Chris Masters squash. Other than that, it was a pair of good, long matches and a way to make me want to see both Vengeance and Monday’s big show. I liked this one a lot and it’s one of the better TV shows WWE has had in a long time. Nice job.

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Smackdown
Date: November 19, 2021
Location: XL Center, Hartford, Connecticut
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

It’s the go home show for Survivor Series and that means it is time to hype up the Battle Of Brand Supremacy. We don’t have anything else to talk about on the show because there are no title matches or really anything personal to build towards, but maybe Big E. can show up to avenge his friends. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of last week’s main event, with the Usos getting Roman Reigns DQ’ed against Xavier Woods. Reigns got the crown anyway.

Here are the Usos to promise to win on Sunday and gives a passionate introduction to Roman Reigns. The throne is set up and Paul Heyman talks about how much he deserves to be crowned king more than anyone else. Heyman says Xavier Woods should never be king, nor should Big E., who will be smashed this weekend by the Tribal King. Reigns asks for the mic and wants to know whose idea this was. He has no idea why anyone would want this because he has already put in the work. Reigns: “HARTFORD, ACKNOWLEDGE ME!”

Cue Xavier Woods to say he challenges Reigns for tonight, with the Usos (referred to as the goons) staying in the back, but the stuff in the ring doesn’t matter. Reigns likes that and tells the Usos to destroy the throne and everything else. Only the crown is left, so Reigns gives him one more change to save it. Woods charges in and gets beaten down. Reigns has him dragged to the middle and says he doesn’t need props. The crown is destroyed and Woods is sent into the pieces. This is one of the best feuds going in WWE today and I’m looking forward to Woods challenging Reigns at Day One in Atlanta.

Post break Woods can’t walk through the back but he’ll be in the ring to face Reigns tonight. Everyone knows the Roman Empire wasn’t built in a day but it will fall tonight.

Cesaro vs. Sheamus vs. Ricochet vs. Jinder Mahal

The winner gets the final spot on the Survivor Series team. Cesaro and Sheamus knock the other two down to start so Sheamus can clothesline him. Sheamus does the Bar pose and then beats Ricochet up, only to get sunset flipped for two. Mahal is back up with a knee to Ricochet’s head and they pair off again. Ricochet is tied in the ropes so Sheamus can hit the forearms but Mahal rolls Sheamus up for two. That sets up the forearms to Mahal’s chest but Ricochet is back in to clear out Sheamus and Cesaro. A crazy high springboard flip dive takes out everyone and we take a break.

Back (with a graphic showing everyone’s name and face, which is a REALLY nice thing to have and something that should have been around a long time ago) with Sheamus superplexing Mahal, followed by Ricochet’s super hurricanrana to Cesaro. We hit a parade of taking each other down, leaving Cesaro to Swing Mahal.

The parade of secondary finishers is on but Mahal can’t Khallas Ricochet. Instead it’s Ricochet up with the 630 to Mahal but Sheamus Brogue Kicks him down. Sheamus gets two on Mahal with Cesaro making the save before uppercutting Sheamus out of the air. The Neutralizer is loaded up but here’s Ridge Holland for a distraction, allowing Sheamus to Brogue Kick Cesaro for the pin at 11:01.

Rating: B-. There were some awesome spots in here and Ricochet looked like a star. You could go with a few different choices for the win here and Sheamus works well enough. You can always use a big brawler on a team and while it would be nice to see Ricochet getting the spot, at least it isn’t trying to shine Mahal up again.

Jeff Hardy is excited to team with some very talented people this year, but Happy Corbin is in his own world. Cue Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss, with the latter calling Hardy a redneck. Adam Pearce comes in to say he wants Smackdown to win on Sunday (Since when?) but for tonight, it’s Moss vs. Hardy. That makes Hardy point and laugh in a nice moment.

Sheamus is happy to have Ridge Holland in his corner and can’t believe he was Holland’s inspiration. To the bar they go.

Commentary introduces a long video on Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch, with an acknowledgment of their feud that the media has been talking about. This is a really weird feud as the most of the thing is about something that didn’t officially happen on WWE TV but everyone has heard about it and WWE is running with the thing. I could go with some kind of a direct acknowledgment, but this is feeling more like the AEW model where “yeah but everyone knows what we mean.” You can’t do it all the time, but it’s working here.

Anyway, we see the awkward title exchange and get a talk about how their careers will always be intertwined, including the first women’s match to main event Wrestlemania. Then we move into their on-screen stuff as of late, which is more of a traditional feud between two titans of the division.

Natalya/Shayna Baszler vs. Aliyah/Naomi

Aliyah starts fast with a hurricanrana to Natalya and everything breaks down in a hurry. Shayna grabs the Kirifuda Clutch on Naomi but Natalya tags herself in. That’s broken up and Natalya grabs a rollup for a fast count pin at 1:03 (with the referee bolting to the back). I don’t know if you’re picking up on this, but we might have a corrupt authority figure around here.

Sami Zayn tells Sonya Deville that everything is wrong with his documentary but Sonya has an idea: let’s have a 25 man battle royal at Survivor Series in honor of 25 years since the Rock’s debut. Hold on though as the referee pops in to ask if she did a good job in the women’s tag. Sonya has no idea who she is because she doesn’t associate with crooked referees so get out of here.

Madcap Moss vs. Jeff Hardy

Happy Corbin is here with Moss, so Hardy brings out Drew McIntyre to be in his corner. Hardy starts fast and takes Moss down, setting up the Swanton in a hurry. Corbin goes for a distraction so McIntyre throws him over the announcers’ table. Moss catches Hardy on top and tries a suplex but gets reversed into into a small package to give Hardy the pin at 1:45.

Post match McIntyre kicks Corbin in the face and Hardy adds the Swanton to Moss.

We recap the opening sequence.

Kayla Braxton scares Paul Heyman again and yes he has heard Xavier Woods’ challenge. He is tired of this idea that Roman Reigns needs the Usos. Reigns loves the challenge like Kayla loves Heyman, so tonight Reigns will face Woods later tonight.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Angel

Non-title and Angel TAKES OFF HIS PANTS before the bell. Nakamura starts fast and kicks Angel down, only to dive into a dropkick. We see Los Lotharios photoshopped onto People Magazine as the Sexiest Men Alive as Nakamura hits a knee off the apron. Rick Boogs beats up Humberto and the distraction lets Nakamura hit Kinshasa for the pin at 1:43. This was really messy with too much going on at once despite how short it was.

Post match, Humberto jumps Nakamura and runs off.

We look back at Shotzi turning on Sasha Banks a few weeks ago.

Shotzi and Banks glare at each other in the back with Sonya Deville cutting them off. Shotzi goes on a rant about how payback is a….and she’s cut off. Banks says everyone tries to make a name off of her and yeah, payback is a b****, and so is she. Sonya wants them to shake hands after their match.

Sasha Banks vs. Shotzi

Shotzi drives her into the corner to start but Banks cools things down with a headlock. Banks grabs Three Amigos but has to bail out of the frog splash attempt. Shotzi misses a charge to the floor, where she avoids Banks’ dive off the apron. The arm gets caught in the steps so Shotzi can kick away, allowing her to dive back in and break the count. Back to the floor and Banks gets sent inside for one before sending Shotzi back outside.

The Meteora off the apron drops Shotzi and we take a break. Back with Shotzi working on the arm but Banks kicks her away and hits a really good looking top rope Meteora for two of her own. Shotzi is right back with another arm snap over the top and a ram into the post. Back in and the Ball Pit connects, only to have Sasha roll outside. Banks is fine enough to grab the Bank Statement, but uses her leg to pull Shotzi’s head back for the tap at 11:09.

Rating: B-. This felt like a fight and that’s how they should have been going at each other. Banks nailed some of those Meteoras and the Bank Statement at the end was a cool finish. It would be nice to not have Shotzi lose all the time, but beating Banks is a career win that she isn’t quite reach for yet. Good match though as Shotzi continues to be treated like a somebody.

Post match Sonya Deville comes out to watch the handshake. They do shake hands, but Banks pulls Shotzi into a Backstabber.

Roman Reigns asks Paul Heyman if it is time, with Heyman confirming that it is. The Usos are told to stay in the back for this one.

We get a vignette from Xia Li in the form of a comic book. She talks about her dad protecting her as a kid and then dying for some reason. It made her feel vulnerable and their landlord was all over them. He threw their stuff out of their house and into the street, which made her hate vultures. Now she is the protector and she is coming to Smackdown. Cool.

Toni Storm is fired up for Survivor Series, but also after challenging Charlotte last week. We see Charlotte turning her down last week and Toni thinks that makes Charlotte vulnerable. After Survivor Series, she still won’t be scared of Charlotte. Cue Charlotte to say Toni can be next on the list after Becky Lynch. Charlotte makes threats of destruction and walks away, which Toni interprets as fear. Of note: Toni’s 80’s deal was nowhere to be seen here and she was just a normal person.

Here is Xavier Woods to call out Roman Reigns. Last week the Usos interfered when Woods has Reigns beat, because Reigns can’t beat him. Cue Reigns and Heyman, with the latter calling for the Usos. They don’t come out but do get tossed through the entrance….because Big E. is here. The fight is on in the aisle and Reigns is sent into the barricade. Big E. sends Reigns inside and the beating is on.

The Usos come in and get beaten up as well, setting up Woods’ big dive. Reigns is back up with the Superman Punch to Big E. but the spear is countered into a Big Ending attempt. Reigns bails away (while seeming to favor his left arm a lot) to end the show. This was a hot segment and what they have been waiting to do for a long time now.

Overall Rating: B. This was a heck of a show with the Woods vs. Reigns stuff being flat out great. It’s a story that anyone can identify with as they would want to see Woods get some revenge on Reigns. Other than that, they did a nice job of setting up the pay per view, plus whatever is coming next. They were focused this week and that has been lacking over the last few weeks.

Results
Sheamus b. Cesaro, Ricochet and Jinder Mahal – Brogue Kick to Cesaro
Natalya/Shayna Baszler b. Naomi/Aliyah – Rollup with a fast count to Naomi
Jeff Hardy b. Madcap Moss – Small package
Shinsuke Nakamura b. Angel – Kinshasa
Sasha Banks b. Shotzi – Bank Statement

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Smackdown
Date: June 15, 2007
Location: Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

It’s the first Smackdown after the Draft, but more importantly it is the first one after Vince McMahon lost to a car bomb. That was the dominant story on ECW and it is likely going to be the case again this week. There are some new wrestlers to get to meet though and that needs to be done well. Let’s get to it.

Here is the Draft if you need a recap.

We get a parental discretion advised notice due to issues involving Vince McMahon’s death. That’s a very specific reason.

Opening sequence.

We open with a long recap of Vince McMahon’s bad Monday, though the explosion isn’t shown. Yet.

The Smackdown roster (or at least most of it) is on the stage for the ten bell salute.

Earlier this week, a lawyer gave a statement at WWE Headquarters, saying federal officials are investigating what happened, but the show will go on.

Paul London/Brian Kendrick vs. Deuce N Domino

Non-title and it’s always a good idea to start a NEW era with a match that has been done to death. Kendrick and Domino lock up to start but London comes in for a double dropkick. Kendrick gets in a few shots to the face but gets low bridged to the floor as commentary talks about the greatness that was Vince McMahon. Back in and Deuce cranks on Kendrick’s arms but Kendrick enziguris his way to freedom. London comes back in for some kicks to the face as everything breaks down. With Kendrick and Domino on the floor, Crack Em In Da Mouth finishes London.

Rating: C. Yes, again. I’m not sure how they have no fresh tag matches after the Draft but somehow here we are again with these same teams with the same results. Not a bad match of course as these teams know each other well, but can we please never see these teams fight again? You need more than two teams for a division, and you wouldn’t guess that at the moment.

We get some sitdown interviews about Vince, starting with William Regal talking about how much he enjoyed being inducted into Vince’s special club. And something about Al Snow and clowns.

Teddy Long talks about how he had been around wrestling for fourteen years before he came to WWE and Vince gave him his first real chance to show him what he can do. The photos on his office wall are of Vince McMahon and Martin Luther King. Vince made it happen and King made it possible.

Matt Hardy vs. William Regal

The rather popular Hardy headlock takeovers him to start and grinds away for a bit. They fight over a top wristlock as JBL goes on about Torrie Wilson coming to Smackdown in the Draft. It’s too early for the Twist of Fate though and Regal hits Hardy in the face to take over. They head outside where Regal gets in a few shots to take over, meaning it’s time to stomp away back inside.

Regal starts tying up the limbs in the middle of the ring before switching to a simple kick to the back. Hardy flips out of a double arm crank and the Side Effect connects for two. Regal is right back with a belly to back suplex into a tiger driver for two. Not that it matters as Hardy gets a boot up in the corner and hits the Twist of Fate for the pin.

Rating: C+. This isn’t a match you see very often and they had a pretty solid match. I’m still not sure why we’re watching two people who were on Smackdown before the Draft rather than showcasing some of their new acquisitions, but at least it was a fresh pairing. Matt continues to seem to be someone WWE wants to push on his own, though beating Regal isn’t the fast track to the main event.

Jillian Hall is devastated at being there in person to see Vince’s final moments.

We see footage from after Raw, with firemen putting out the limo fire.

JBL and Cole talk about what could have caused the explosion, which is under investigation.

Chavo Guerrero talks about how Vince was a jerk but that is what you have to do to be successful in wrestling.

MVP vs. Batista

Non-title. In the back, Ric Flair, who is challenging MVP at Vengeance, wishes Batista luck in a reunion. MVP has to dodge a few leg dives to start but Batista blocks MVP’s own attempt. A big shove sends MVP outside where he wants a twenty second timeout. Back in and Batista hits some Razor Ramon shoulder blocks while holding MVP’s arm, sending MVP straight to the ropes. They talk trash to each other until MVP hits him in the face to take over.

MVP gets knocked outside again but this time Batista follows, only to miss a charge into the steps. A posting and whip into the barricade rock Batista again and we hit the chinlock back inside. Batista powers up and blasts MVP with a clothesline for a breather. Cole: “Can you imagine what it feels like to be hit by a cannonball?” JBL: “I know what it’s like to be hit by Batista!” A side slam gives Batista two but MVP gets in a shot of his own. The spear cuts MVP off though and the Batista Bomb gives Batista the pin.

Rating: B-. There’s a double shot for the show: a champion gets pinned clean and it’s a match we saw last week, before the Draft. It’s kind of amazing to see how inconsequential the Draft has been, as you would think this was any given episode without something special going on. I know the Vince angle changed things, but can they at least play with some of their new toys?

Sgt. Slaughter talks about how the WWE has lost its commanding officer. Vince was no ordinary general because he was on the battlefield with them and jumped in the foxhole with them. Everyone owes Vince a thank you and Slaughter promises to keep fighting for WWE and Vince’s American way.

We see some footage of the charred and destroyed limo.

Lead investigator Daniel Beck isn’t answering questions at this time.

Edge isn’t sure where he goes from here after everything has changed. He isn’t sure who becomes the rudder or the foundation around here and maybe it’s him.

Kristal talks about how her last interaction with Vince was a little strange as he went off the deep end. He’ll be missed.

Jimmy Wang Yang vs. Daivari vs. Jamie Noble vs. Shannon Moore

For the Cruiserweight Title shot at Vengeance, champion Chavo Guerrero is at ringside and Moore is looking normal. The four of them pair off to start until Noble and Yang are left alone in the ring. Yang is sent outside though and it’s Noble coming in to beat on Moore. Noble dives onto Daivari but Yang dives onto all of them for the big crash. Back in and the Tower of Doom puts everyone but Daivari down so he comes in for some near falls. Moore and Noble are sent outside, leaving Yang to moonsault press Daivari for the pin and the title shot.

Rating: C. They kept this fast and that’s all they needed to do. Yang had more or less become the #1 contender weeks ago and now he is officially getting the title shot. There was little need to do more than that and they got in and out in a hurry. Yang vs. Guerrero isn’t going to light the world on fire but at least they have a bit of a history set up.

Edge vs. Ric Flair

Non-title. Feeling out process to start and Flair slicks the hair back with a WOO. Edge grabs a headlock takeover but gets rolled up, sending him bailing to the ropes. Back up and Edge slaps him in the face in the corner, meaning it’s time to get serious. There’s a hiptoss to send Edge outside as commentary goes into a discussion of the New York Yankees. Flair chops him down but the threat of the Figure Four sends Edge bailing to the rope.

Some more chops set up a half crab of all things, with Flair eventually laying back onto the mat to pull on it even more. Another Figure Four attempt is broken up and they head outside, where Edge scores with a backdrop. We take a break and come back with Edge unloading in the corner, setting up a suplex for two. Edge chokes away but Flair kicks him in the knee, which only just annoys Flair more. An enziguri cuts Flair off again so Edge goes up, only to get chopped out of the air. Now it’s time to go after the knee again and this time the Figure Four has Edge in more trouble…and here is MVP for the DQ.

Rating: C+. This was a perfectly good Flair formula match as he went after the leg, got in trouble, then went back after the leg again before we got to the ending. I can go with MVP interfering to cost Flair the match as Edge can escape while keeping some dignity. Good enough main event and at least they finally had one of the new stars included.

Post match the double beatdown is on but Batista runs in for the save. Batista gets rid of MVP but Edge hits the spear down and runs to end the show. There’s your tag match for next week.

Overall Rating: C. The Vince stuff is the kind of a story that is going to change everything but it made this show more of a skippable week than anything else. That’s kind of annoying when they had such a huge story on Monday, but I’m not sure how else they could have done this. The biggest change they needed to make was having more of the new Smackdown stars included, but for some reason we only had Flair around, which made for a bit of a less than inspiring show.

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Smackdown
Date: November 12, 2021
Location: Scope Arena, Norfolk, Virginia
Commentators: Pat McAfee, Michael Cole

We are nine days away from Survivor Series and it would be nice if they talked about the show a little bit more. The show has been acknowledged more than once, but the champion vs. champion matches have gotten almost no attention whatsoever. I’d love to see the show built up some more, but we have too many other things to get to first. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is Sonya Deville, with the Smackdown women’s Survivor Series team: Shotzi/Natalya/Shayna Baszler/Aliyah, but they need a fifth. That would be the captain of the team: Sasha Banks. Shotzi isn’t happy with this though and is ready to fight Banks, but here is Naomi to come out and get in Sonya’s face. Naomi hits Baszler and the fight is on.

Sasha Banks/Aliyah/Naomi vs. Natalya/Shotzi/Shayna Baszler

Banks bulldogs Natalya down to start so it’s off to Baszler in a hurry. That earns her some running knees from Banks and it’s off to Aliyah, who gets taken into the corner for some alternating stomps. Aliyah gets a small package but has to fight out of a Kirifuda Clutch attempt. The tag brings in Naomi to clean house but Natalya gets in a tag of her own, allowing Baszler to knock Naomi outside.

There’s a suplex to drop Naomi hard on the floor and Natalya does it again for good measure. Naomi gets sent hard into the barricade and we take a break. Back with Naomi caught in Shotzi’s front facelock before Baszler comes back in to work on the arm. Naomi fights out of the corner, including a kick to the face to put Baszler on the floor. Natalya breaks up the tag again though, only to get rolled up.

The kickout sends her into Aliyah for the hot tag, meaning a high crossbody can get two on Natalya. Some Thesz presses and a neckbreaker get two on Natalya as everything breaks down. Banks hits the Meteora off the apron to drop Baszler and Naomi superkicks Shotzi. Back in and Natalya get the Sharpshooter on Aliyah, only to have Naomi shove it over to give Aliyah the pin at 12:48.

Rating: C. I can go for the idea here, but ultimately it is a little hard to buy that Aliyah, who still looked very nervous out there (fair enough) can pin Natalya by more or less leaning on here. There is also the Naomi factor, as you would think she would be on the team somewhere, but that might be too much for WWE to ask. At least they’re giving the team some time. Granted it’s time fighting among themselves, but it’s something.

Sami Zayn is practicing his leadership speech in front of a mirror but Jeff Hardy interrupts. Zayn asked what Hardy thinks, and Jeff says it sucked.

Aliyah is rather excited over her win but Sonya Deville comes in. Sonya asks how long Aliyah has known Naomi and then pulls her off of the team. No replacement is named and Aliyah is crushed.

We look back at Roman Reigns and the Bloodline attacking New Day last week, which has left Kofi Kingston on the injured list.

Kayla Braxton comes up to Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman. Reigns thinks it’s either to acknowledge him or to flirt with the wise man. That makes Reigns laugh, so he tells Heyman to smarten her up. Heyman says that is going to be a hard task but promises that Reigns will make Xavier Woods acknowledge him tonight. If that doesn’t happen, Reigns will take a knee. If Reigns breaks that promise, you can strip him of the Universal Title and ban him from Smackdown.

We look back at Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss getting into it with the Viking Raiders.

Moss has a new joke about Viking Raiders, which suggests that Erik is fat.

Los Lotharios vs. Shinsuke Nakamura/Rick Boogs

Boogs busts out some air drums to start and gutwrenches Humberto up for a spinning suplex. Angel gets in a cheap dropkick though and some running knees in the corner give Humberto too. Angel’s dropkick to the side of the head connects but Boogs muscles him up for a face first drop onto the buckle gets him a breather. The hot tag brings in Nakamura to clean house as everything breaks down. Angel posts Boogs and pulls Humberto out of the way of Kinshasa. Humberto uses an Angel distraction to kick Nakamura, setting up a springboard High/Low for the pin at 4:52.

Rating: C. This is the kind of result that is rather annoying. Why in the world would you not have Boogs take the pin here over the Intercontinental Champion? It makes all the sense in the world, but for some reason Nakamura takes a pin rather than his goofy sidekick. That’s one of the (many) reasons why the title means nothing anymore and it’s really annoying to see. Again.

NXT’s Von Wagner is in Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville’s office when Sami Zayn comes in. Zayn wants Jeff Hardy off of the Survivor Series team, so Pearce makes Sami vs. Hardy, with the loser off the team.

Video on the Wrestlemania tickets on sale party at AT&T Stadium. I’ll be there so this is always cool to see.

Here is Charlotte for a chat. Charlotte says it’s nice to see everyone before moving on to talking about her Survivor Series opponent, Becky Lynch. She talks about all of Becky’s different monikers but they add up to making Becky a manufactured champion. Becky has had her great moments, like winning at Wrestlemania XXXV (with Charlotte’s help) and beating Bianca Belair in 26 seconds. At Survivor Series, her new name is going to be Becky Uh Oh, because Charlotte is going to beat her.

Before Charlotte can move on, here is Toni Storm (hokey smoke I had forgotten she actually works here anymore) to interrupt. Toni wants to know about anyone getting an opportunity, so why not Charlotte vs. Toni for the title tonight? That’s a no and Charlotte leaves as Toni glares a lot. Again: slight build for the pay per view and then we move on to something else.

Xavier Woods talks about what a rough week it has been for New Day but promises to make Roman Reigns bend the knee tonight.

Aliyah is on the phone to complain about being thrown off the team when Mustafa Ali comes in. Ali says he knew this would happen but Ricochet comes in to say Aliyah did well and to keep her head up. Aliyah leaves with him and seems to feel better.

Sami Zayn vs. Jeff Hardy

Sami goes after the arm to start but Hardy is back with a hiptoss, much to the pro-Hardy’s crowd’s delight. Hardy sends him face first into the buckle but Sami is back with right hands to take over. They head outside with Jeff sending Sami into the barricade but missing Poetry In Motion. We take a break and come back with Sami grabbing a chinlock. Hardy fights up and hits the basement dropkick for two, with the kickout being quite the surprise. Whisper in the Wind gets two more and there’s the Twist of Fate. The Swanton finishes Sami at 9:13.

Rating: C-. There wasn’t much doubt about the winner here as Sami is the kind of guy who can talk a lot but rarely backs it up in the ring. I’m not sure who is taking Zayn’s place, but it would be nice to see someone fresh get the chance. This is supposed to be the new Smackdown, so let it be someone new for a change.

Post match Sami is all upset.

Hit Row raps about how awesome they are.

Jinder Mahal and Shanky rap about their own greatness. Eminem and Vanilla Ice references are made. Shanky also has to drop a beat for Mahal, setting up a rap about Hit Row. Well so much for Hit Row meaning anything.

Xia Li is coming.

Ridge Holland still thinks Sheamus is rather neat. Cesaro comes in to say he knows Sheamus well, because they didn’t just set the bar, but they were the Bar. Holland says he and Sheamus will be a much more successful team when Sheamus is back next week.

Raw Rebound.

Roman Reigns vs. King Woods

The loser takes a knee/acknowledges the other. Paul Heyman is here with Reigns but Woods is on his own. Reigns goes right after Reigns to start but gets knocked to the floor for a surprise. A dropkick through the ropes rocks Reigns again until he drops Woods onto the announcers’ table.

We take a break and come back with Reigns hitting the rapid fire clotheslines in the corner. Woods gets in a shot of his own for a breather and a side kick to the face gets two. Reigns plants Woods coming off the ropes but the spear is cut off with a superkick. The Limit Break gets two…as the Usos pull Woods out for the DQ at 10:48.

Rating: C+. This was another good one as Woods continues to be on the roll of a lifetime. It would not shock me at all to see him turn this into a Day 1 challenge for the title in his hometown of Atlanta, as I’ve heard far worse ideas. Solid match here with the ending keeping Woods looking very strong.

Post match the big beatdown is on and the Usos put the crown on Reigns’ head to end the show. Again: you can see how they have Big E. pulled into this but it still hasn’t happened yet.

Overall Rating: C. The show had the same problem as Raw: there is almost nothing done to set up the matches at Survivor Series. There are some points where it feels like they are getting the teams ready, but the lack of personal issues is dragging things down. It’s another case of WWE trying to build towards multiple things at once and as a result, nothing feels important.

Results
Sasha Banks/Aliyah/Naomi b. Sonya Deville/Natalya/Shotzi – Rollup to Natalya
Los Lotharios b. Shinsuke Nakamura/Rick Boogs – Springboard High/Low to Nakamura
Jeff Hardy b. Sami Zayn – Swanton Bomb
King Woods b. Roman Reigns via DQ when the Usos interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Smackdown
Date: June 8, 2007
Location: Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

One Night Stand has come and gone and not a lot has changed around here. Edge beat Batista to retain the World Title again and other than that….yeah that’s about it really. It wasn’t a major show, but now we need to get ready for Vengeance, which will be focused on the titles. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is Edge for the Cutting Edge to get things going. Before we get started, Edge calms the people down by saying that he’ll be in action tonight. Well at least he should, as Vickie Guerrero is making a double main event and he better be involved. As for the Cutting Edge though, he has a guest who requested to be on the show: Vince McMahon! Vince is still looking all shaken up so Edge asks how he is feeling. He quotes the 23rd Psalm before changing the ending to say that thou aren’t with me.

Edge brings up the Draft and how Smackdown needs to be shaken up. Vince looks like he is having severe stomach pains as Edge sucks up to him, even handing him the World Title. That’s too far for Vince, who gets up to say that Edge is no better than John Cena or Bobby Lashley. Vengeance will be his, so at Vengeance, Edge is defending the title against Batista. Vince: “Life sucks and then you die.” The match is a Do Or Die match, though we don’t actually get an explanation of what that means. Vince is still rather odd here and it’s kind of awesome, though it still feels like it came up really fast.

Boogeyman vs. Mark Henry

Little Boogeyman is here too. Henry headbutts Boogeyman to start but seems to stagger himself a bit. We’re already in the bearhug on Boogeyman but Henry lets go to beat up Little Boogeyman. The World’s Strongest Slam finishes for Henry in a hurry.

Post match Henry beats up Little Boogeyman, including a World’s Strongest Slam and a splash.

Vickie Guerrero announces our main events: Edge vs. Chris Benoit and Batista vs. MVP.

Post break, Kristal comes in to see Vickie Guerrero to praise her for her work so far. Teddy Long says Vickie wasn’t bad for her first time but here is Vince McMahon to be all nuts and say that Kristal is Long’s problem. She’s half his age! Vince leaves and Teddy isn’t happy.

Jamie Noble/Daivari/Chavo Guerrero vs. Jimmy Wang Yang/Brian Kendrick/Paul London

Yang and Noble start us off as the Jung Dragons explode (or at least wrestle). Noble gets armdragged into an armbar before it’s off to London to twist the arm as well. Chavo comes in and gets armdragged as well as they’re certainly moving fast. A monkey flip allows the tag to Yang, who comes in off a high crossbody.

Daivari comes in and stomps Yang down, followed by Noble doing the same. The chinlock goes on for a bit before Chavo grabs a suplex for two. Yang finally kicks Noble away though and the hot tag brings in Kendrick to clean house. Noble gets in a cheap shot though and everything breaks down. Yang hits a springboard dive to the floor, leaving Chavo to get caught in an assisted Sliced Bread for the pin.

Rating: C+. This was the kind of fun six man tag you would expect with the champion taking the pin, as you would probably also expect. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a title as intentionally devalued as the Cruiserweight Title, but it would be nice if WWE did anything to try and make it seem valuable.

Edge vs. Chris Benoit

Non-title and we’re told that Edge vs. Batista is on no matter what happens in the Draft. Feeling out process to start with Benoit working on an aggressive wristlock. An armdrag sends Edge into the corner so Benoit just stares at him. Benoit takes it to the mat again and grabs a chinlock, followed by an armbar. Back up and a hard whip into the corner gets two but Edge is in the ropes before the Crossface can go on. Edge has to fight his way out of a German suplex from the apron and we take a break.

Back with Benoit holding a cravate so Edge rakes the eyes to escape. Benoit sends him outside and hits a baseball slide into the barricade to put Edge right back in trouble. Edge is fine enough to whip him hard into the corner but Benoit headbutts his way out of a superplex attempt.

The Swan Dive misses though and Edge gets two. A big boot connects for the same and Edge works on the arm but Benoit scores with an enziguri. Benoit rolls the snap suplexes and then rolls the German suplexes for a bonus. The Swan Dive connects but Benoit can’t get the Crossface. Edge is back up for the spear but that gets countered into the Crossface, sending Edge to the rope. Back up and now the spear can connect to give Edge the pin.

Rating: B. This felt like a big time main event level match so well done at making something work. Sometimes you need to have two talented people wrestle a long match and that’s what we got here. These two have some great chemistry together and Benoit made Edge work hard to survive.

Ashley is getting her hair and makeup done when Jillian Hall comes up to say Ashley can’t look as good as she does. Jillian says if Ashley had talent, she wouldn’t have to interfere in other people’s matches. Ashley threatens violence if they wind up on the same show (tonight has no consequences apparently). A slap lets Jillian run away, with Ashley in pursuit.

Matt Hardy is signing something for charity when Vince McMahon comes up to ask how he is doing. Hardy talks about how brutal things have been for him lately but here is Ashley to knock Vince’s coffee onto him. This earns Matt a handicap match with Deuce N Domino. Matt leaves to get ready so Vince asks how Ashley is doing. She feels terrible but Vince laughs a lot and suspends her. Ashley breaks down in tears as Vince leaves.

Matt Hardy vs. Deuce N Domino

Non-title. The double stomping is on in a hurry but Matt manages to knock Domino outside. That leaves Deuce to kick Matt in the bad ribs for two and here’s Domino to clothesline Matt down again. Double stomping sends us to a break and we come back with Matt crotching Domino on top. A clothesline gets two on Deuce but Matt has to deal with the returning Domino. Matt can barely get up so Domino kicks him in the face for the pin.

Rating: C-. Matt tried to make this competitive but it was a match that didn’t need to go as long as it did. The Tag Team Champions shouldn’t have that much trouble beating up a banged up Matt Hardy, though it was nice to see him fighting back for a bit. There was a story of Matt fighting his way through the pain but just coming up short, so this could have been a lot worse.

MVP brags about how great he is and how he has everything these people don’t, including a title. He is straight up ballin and he’ll prove it to Batista tonight.

Commentary recaps Vince McMahon’s insanity.

MVP vs. Batista

Non-title. They start slowly with MVP getting in a quick shot and posing, earning himself a drive into the corner. MVP starts kicking at the leg and gets knocked down again as Batista is right back with a clothesline. We take a break and come back with MVP getting whipped hard into the corner. A suplex gives Batista two but he misses a charge in the corner so MVP can kick away.

MVP’s big running kick sends Batista outside and it’s a bunch of right hands back inside. The catapult sends Batista throat first into the bottom rope for two and there’s another kick to the head to send him outside. Back in again and MVP grabs a chinlock with a knee in the back, followed by some knees to the face. Somehow that’s enough to make Batista fight back, including the running clotheslines in the corner. The swinging Boss Man Slam connects but here is Edge to jump Batista for the DQ.

Rating: C+. This was a bit of a surprise as they got some time to set up a good match. I was worried that they were going to have MVP take the pin here so well done on going with the good ending. Edge vs. Batista doesn’t quite need to go to a third match but that’s about all they can do at this point. Pretty good main event here, mainly due to not making any dumb decisions.

Post match Batista goes after Edge, who runs from the threat of a Batista Bomb to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Another fairly strong show here, though your taste in the latest Vince stuff may vary. Vince being so out of it after losing the ECW World Title is a way they can go, but it still feels really rushed. That being said, crazy Vince walking around tormenting people is something that can work out well and it’s adding some spice to what has otherwise been a pretty dull start to the summer.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Smackdown
Date: November 5, 2021
Location: Ford Center, Evansville, Indiana
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

We’re just over two weeks away from Survivor Series and it might be time to start talking about the show. Since it absolutely has to be Raw vs. Smackdown, it shouldn’t be that hard to get things going. The show almost has to be better than last week’s so at least they have a clear bar to clear. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Here is the Bloodline to get things going. Roman Reigns talks about taking last week off after smashing Brock Lesnar, but now he’s back so this tiny little no name town can acknowledge him. He was on a private island running around sans clothes last week (his wife loved it), but not everyone had a good time. Brock Lesnar got fined a million bucks, but there was one more thing.

Reigns asks Paul Heyman what happened to the Usos, with Heyman talking about how it was a non-title match. When flat out asked though, Heyman has to admit that the New Day won the match. Reigns likes the New Day, even though the Bloodline is better. He wants to know what happened, with both Usos blaming the other for taking the pin. Eventually it’s Jimmy who admits he lost, so Reigns wants to know how he’s going to fix it.

Jimmy promises to make everyone acknowledge the head of the title and the Universal Champion, but here is New Day to interrupt. Woods thinks the King is supposed to be at the head of the table, but Reigns hasn’t stopped talking about sitting there for a long time now. Kofi thinks the table has been forgotten on Reigns’ island of relevancy. As for tonight, Woods has an idea: Woods vs. Jimmy, and when Jey loses, he has to bend the knee to the King. Jimmy says the Bloodline bows to no one but Reigns accepts for him, with Woods having to bend the knee if he loses.

We look at Sonya Deville cheating Naomi out of a match with Shayna Baszler last week.

Naomi vs. Shayna Baszler

In the back, Sonya Deville insists that it has been tough love on Naomi. They start fast with Naomi hitting a Thesz press and then kicking Baszler in the face. Baszler snaps off a German suplex though and they fight outside, with Naomi sending her into the apron. Back in and a good high crossbody gets two on Baszler but she drops Naomi onto the apron.

We take a break and come back with Naomi hitting a Heatseeker onto the apron. A sunset flip gets two but Baszler switches into the Kirifuda Clutch. That’s broken up with a rope break so Naomi grabs a rollup for the pin at 6:33. Hold on though because here’s Sonya Deville to say that should have been a rope break, so restart the match. Cole: “WHERE’S JACK TUNNEY???” The Kirifuda Clutch finishes Naomi at 7:30.

Rating: C-. Yeah we know. It’s the kind of story that we have seen over and over again: a corrupt authority figure does something to mess with a wrestler. The good thing here though is that it could bring Sonya back into the ring and that is certainly a positive. It has been a while since we’ve seen this so it’s far from the worst thing, but they might as well have had a big NOPE sign as soon as Naomi got the pin.

Roman Reigns is ranting to the Usos about what happened last week, saying he took a week off and this place is almost as bad as Raw. Jimmy laughs so Reigns gets in his face, saying they don’t lose.

Remember how Xia Li was coming? She still is.

Ridge Holland is here to meet his idol, Sheamus, because he would fight right in back home. He and his friends were all big fans and everything he knows he learned from watching Sheamus. That is bad news for everyone around here. Quite the interesting backstory.

We look back at Shotzi attacking Sasha Banks.

Shotzi talks about how she has lost everything, from matches to the support of the WWE Universe. That was her breaking point and she is going to run over everyone, even without the tank. This was a good example of someone writing a promo for a wrestler, even if it is not something that fits with their personality. Someone like Shotzi would never say “the support of the WWE Universe” but that’s how WWE people talk so here we are.

Los Lotharios vs. Mansoor/Cesaro

Mansoor takes Garza down by the arm to start but gets caught in a spinebuster as we get an inset interview from some bragging Lotharios. Carrillo comes in to punch Mansoor into the corner and a backdrop allows Garza to TAKE OFF HIS PANTS. The half crab goes on but Mansoor escapes and brings in Cesaro to start cleaning house. The springboard corkscrew elbow sets up the Swing but Carrillo makes the save. Mansoor breaks up the near fall and Cesaro gets knocked into Mansoor. Something like a Muta Lock from Carrillo sets up a basement dropkick from Garza (The Cero de la Silla?) for the pin at 4:59.

Rating: C. You can always use a team like Los Lotharios and they were doing their thing well enough here. The tag divisions have been dying for new talent so this is a perfectly fine addition. Now just let them win some matches and go somewhere with it and they might be on to something.

Aliyah hits on Jeff Hardy but leaves so Jeff can have his interview. Hold on though as Jeff goes over to Aliyah, who runs into Sami Zayn. Sami wants to help her out, so he has one suggestion: pants suit.

Here’s Drew McIntyre for this week’s open challenge.

Drew McIntyre vs. Ricochet

Ricochet says Drew needs to watch his mouth or someone is going to come out here and slap him in the face. That’s what Ricochet does so Drew starts fast, including a heck of an overhead belly to belly. Drew is knocked outside but he catches a running hurricanrana and drops Ricochet onto the apron. Back in and another belly to belly has Ricochet sprawling into the corner.

We cut to Mustafa Ali, who seems interested because he and Ricochet have a lot in common. Back to full screen with Ricochet dropkicking McIntyre out of the air. A standing shooting star press is blocked though and a brainbuster gives Drew two. Ricochet hits some superkicks but a middle rope moonsault press is Claymored out of the air (DANG) for the pin at 3:41.

Rating: B-. WWE is getting the hang of these awesome short matches as of late, as they packed in so much stuff that I thought they had gone twice as long. I’m glad to see Ricochet on the show again and that finish looked great. Then there’s the Ali stuff and while I’m still nervous, they might have shifted away from what it seemed to be in the first place.

New Day is ready for the main event and dancing ensues.

Mustafa Ali comes up tor Ricochet and proposes a team. Ricochet turns him down though, because Ali complains all the time, was mean to his last partner, and is just a jerk. Ali isn’t pleased.

It’s time for Happy Talk, with Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss laughing about how they have no competition. That brings them to their guests this week, the Viking Raiders, who seem to impress McAfee. The Raiders say they aren’t here to be guests but to raid this corny show. Corbin laughs at the idea of two guys in their Halloween costumes. Moss tells them a joke about how bad vikings smell so the set is wrecked.

Viking Raiders vs. Happy Corbin/Madcap Moss

Erik powers Corbin around to start so it’s off to Ivar to work on Moss’ arm. A Corbin distraction lets Moss come back with a spinebuster to Erik though and it’s time to stomp away in the corner. Ivar has to make a save of his own but Moss shoves him through the ropes for something you don’t see very often.

Deep Six gets two on Erik but he knocks Corbin away and brings in Ivar to start breaking people. A crossbody hits Moss for two and there’s the seated senton in the corner. Ivar cartwheels away from Corbin (McAfee: “A VIKING DID A CARTWHEEL!”) and drives Erik into the corner. Corbin is sent outside and Erik powerbombs Moss (after almost dropping him at first) but Corbin pulls Moss to the floor. The threat of an Ivar dive sends Moss and Corbin away for the countout at 5:41.

Rating: C-. This didn’t have much time to go anywhere but they followed the formula so it wasn’t that bad. The Raiders getting pushed again is a good idea and I could go for seeing them face the Usos for the titles. Corbin and Moss are more likely to get the push though, which isn’t surprising and also not the most exciting. Odds are the rematch is next week and a Nakamura/Boogs cameo wouldn’t surprise me.

Raw Rebound.

Hit Row runs into Sami Zayn, who is giving them some advice as the locker room leader. Zayn thought their entrance a few weeks ago sucked, but with some work, they could be stars. Top Dolla asks him to demonstrate a big entrance and the team is rather excited to see this.

Here is Sami Zayn, who is rather fired up during his entrance. With that out of the way, here is Hit Row, who seems to get a bit of a more positive reaction, to send Sami away in some shame.

The Usos ask if Roman Reigns is coming to the ring with them. Reigns asks how many of their mistakes does he have to fix.

King Woods vs. Jimmy Uso

Kofi Kingston and Jey Uso are here too and the loser has to bend the knee. Woods starts fast by knocking Jimmy outside to start. Back in and Woods dropkicks him out of the air for two but Jimmy drops him on the top. We take a break and come back with Jimmy stomping away in the corner before grabbing the chinlock.

Woods fights back up and knocks Jimmy down for a change, setting up a heck of a top rope legdrop for two. Jey offers a distraction though and it’s a super Samoan drop to give Jimmy his own near fall. The Superfly Splash hits raised boots so Jey offers a hand but the referee catches the cheating. Woods grabs a rollup (and pants) for the pin at 9:21.

Rating: B-. I was getting into this one by the end and they had me on a few of the near falls. Woods winning is the right call as he is getting some energy out of the crown, so you don’t want him losing so soon. The match was good action with solid drama and that’s not bad for a total midcard main event.

Post match Jimmy reluctantly starts to bend the knee but here is Roman Reigns to jump Woods and set up the beatdown. Woods’ leg gets taken out and Reigns promises violence next week. New Day is going to need some backup, perhaps in the form of the WWE Champion, who is probably going to be facing Reigns at Survivor Series later this month anyway. That’s some amazing timing.

Overall Rating: C+. Yeah last week was a one off as this was definitely a return to course after last week’s near train wreck. This week had better matches and some good story advancement, so well done on getting things closer to Survivor Series. I want to see what happens when a serious Big E. comes after Reigns and Naomi get to beat up Sonya, plus wherever they are going with Drew McIntyre’s open challenges. Good show here, and that’s nice to see again.

Results
Shayna Baszler b. Naomi – Kirifuda Clutch
Los Lotharios b. Cesaro/Mansoor – Assisted basement dropkick to Cesaro
Drew McIntyre b. Ricochet – Claymore
Viking Raiders b. Madcap Moss/Happy Corbin via countout
Xavier Woods b. Jimmy Uso – Rollup with a handful of pants

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Smackdown
Date: June 1, 2007
Location: John Labatt Centre, London, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

It’s the last Smackdown before One Night Stand but we also have to finish the build to Saturday Night’s Main Event, because the one thing that WWE needed at this point is more content. Last week saw Batista become the #1 contender again, meaning he gets a shot at Edge and the World Title in a cage on Sunday. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Chris Benoit/Matt Hardy vs. MVP/The Miz

The graphic says Mike Mizanin but commentary calls him the Miz. Benoit and MVP lock up to start with MVP getting pummeled into the corner. It’s off to Hardy for a back elbow and elbow drop for two so Miz comes in to get beaten up as well. A backbreaker gives Benoit two, followed by a snap suplex for the same. Miz sends Benoit into the corner though and rams him head first into the mat for two.

The Mizard of Oz gets two on Benoit, who suplexes his way out of trouble again. That’s enough for the tag to Hardy, who pulls Miz out of the corner into a sitout powerbomb for two of his own. Everything breaks down and the villains are cleared out as we take a break. Back with Miz hammering away and cutting off Matt’s comeback with a clothesline. MVP’s cheap shot from the apron keeps Matt in trouble and it’s time for a nerve hold to keep things slow.

The running boot to the face in the corner gets two more on Matt as the beating is on in full. Miz snaps Matt’s throat across the middle rope for two and the chinlock goes on. MVP comes back in but Matt finally gets up an elbow in the corner, setting up the running bulldog. The hot tag brings in Benoit to clean house but Miz kicks off the Sharpshooter attempt. That’s fine with Benoit, who settles for the Crossface and the tap as Matt dives onto MVP.

Rating: C+. This got some time and it makes a lot of sense to put Miz in there with some talented people. Miz needs ring time and a way to get built up, with a match like this working rather well. It’s a good sign that he was able to hold up his part of the match, as the new, serious version is working much faster than I would have expected.

Finlay gives Hornswoggle a pep talk for his match with Little Boogeyman, because that’s a thing.

Jillian Hall vs. Michelle McCool

Feeling out process to start with Michelle flipping out of an early headscissors. Michelle grabs a cradle, which is in no way a reason for her to twist and contort. Jillian sends her outside and chokes away inside as the fans are not exactly interested. We hit the backbreaker for a bit before Michelle comes back with a belly to belly for two. Jillian takes her down and hits the front flip legdrop for three near falls but here is Ashley Massaro for a distraction. That’s enough for Michelle to grab a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for the pin.

Rating: D+. This is a case where you have to consider the particulars. It wasn’t a very good match, but it felt like a match. They were doing actual moves and looking fairly competent at them, which is a lot better than a series of hair pulls and brawling. You can see the women coming a long way and that’s rather impressive.

Boogeyman fires up Little Boogeyman.

Little Boogeyman vs. Hornswoggle

Boogeyman is here too. JBL: “Koko B. Ware would look like Andre the Giant in this match.” Little Boogeyman spits worms into Hornswoggle’s hat to start and then knocks Hornswoggle down. The gyrating elbow gets two and it’s time to throw worms at Hornswoggle. That’s fine with Hornswoggle, who spits mist back at Little Boogeyman.

Cue Finlay from underneath the ring to throw Little Boogeyman back inside, setting up a brawl with Boogeyman. Hornswoggle dives off the apron to hammer on Boogeyman for a weird visual, leaving Finlay to Shillelagh Little Boogeyman. Hornswoggle debuts the Tadpole Splash for the pin to end a surprisingly wild match.

Mark Henry is going to hurt Kane tonight.

Raw Rebound.

Kane vs. Mark Henry

Kane kicks him to the floor so Henry comes back in for the drive into the corner. The clubbing forearms into the running powerslam plants Kane and there’s the running splash in the corner. Henry misses a splash though and Kane drops an elbow into a legdrop for two. Kane scores with the top rope clothesline but Henry bails to the floor at the threat of a chokeslam. That’s fine with Kane, who dropkicks him through the ropes, only to get caught in a bearhug. Henry drives him hard into the post and that’s enough for the countout.

Rating: C-. This was a way to keep Henry strong while also protecting Kane for a future rematch so they covered two ideas at once. Henry is being built up as a major force on Smackdown and a big win over Kane would go a long way to get him there. This was the first step on that path so not a bad start, even if the match wasn’t great.

Post match Kane sits up and chases Henry off.

Edge isn’t scared of Batista and is ready for him on the Cutting Edge later tonight.

Deuce N Domino aren’t worried about the Draft because they aren’t going into the army and getting buzzcuts. The interviewer explains it and the champs aren’t happy.

Tag Team Titles: Brian Kendrick/Paul London vs. William Regal/Dave Taylor vs. Deuce N Domino

Deuce N Domino are defending. Regal elbows Domino in the face to start and hands it off to Taylor to uppercut Domino down. London comes into headlock Taylor before shifting to the arm, with Kendrick coming in off the top to stay on it. Taylor uppercuts his way to freedom though and it’s off to Deuce via a blind tag. That’s fine with London, who armdrags Deuce down and hands it off to Kendrick in a hurry. Taylor punches him in the face to escape (as you do) but Kendrick crossbodies him over the top for the crash to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Kendrick and Deuce slowing things back down until Kendrick has to try to skin the cat. Domino breaks that up with a kick to the ribs though and the champs take over on Kendrick. Back in and Domino grabs a cobra clutch until Taylor tags himself back in. Kendrick is tossed outside in a crash but Regal is smart enough to throw him back inside to break up the countout.

We hit the chinlock back inside with Kendrick having to put a boot on the ropes for a break. An enziguri finally gives Kendrick a breather but Regal comes back in to wreck him with a half nelson suplex (that landing was nasty). The villains get in a fight of their own though and Kendrick gets over for the tag to London. House is cleaned in a hurry but Cherry hits London with her rollerskate so Domino can steal the pin to retain the title.

Rating: B-. This got time and was enough of a different kind of match to keep things feeling fresh. You don’t see triple threat tag matches very often around here so it was nice to have something different for a change. Deuce N Domino have established themselves as champions, though I’m not sure who they are supposed to face next, as depth isn’t really a priority for the tag division.

One Night Stand rundown, including Mark Henry vs. Kane in a lumberjack match.

Teddy Long congratulates Vickie Guerrero on coming up with the lumberjack match. Kristal is worried about being Drafted to another show, but Long would give up being GM to be with her. Vickie says she would run the show in his honor if he had to leave. She even lets the two of them leave early tonight and volunteers to run the show (all ten minutes left of it) for Teddy. Sure why not.

It’s time for the Cutting Edge and Edge wastes no time in bringing out Batista as his guest. Edge makes it clear that this is not going to get physical but he isn’t scared of Batista. Maybe Batista is the one intimidated….so he takes off his jacket. He’s just a bit hot, but Edge is looking a bit scared.

Batista talks about how Edge stole the title from Undertaker but Edge says he’s the champ. Batista: “Until One Night Stand.” Edge wishes him luck, so Batista does the same and slaps him in the face. Edge says he doesn’t need it so Batista says he does and slaps Edge again. We go back and forth with YES YOU DO/NO I DON’T plus some shoving. Edge says he isn’t scared, but Batista says he should be and punched Edge down to end the show. They’re doing what they can with almost no story here and it’s going as well as can be expected.

Overall Rating: C. This show took a different path from last week in that they were trying to build things up as well as they could while also giving us a good amount of in-ring action. What we got here was entertaining enough, though I’m really looking forward to getting past Sunday and on to something fresh. For now though, it a nice go home show for a not so great looking pay per view.

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Smackdown
Date: October 29, 2021
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Pat McAfee, Michael Cole

We’re still on the way to Survivor Series and this week seems likely to be the Halloween themed show. That means we get a Trick Or Street Fight, because the world was waiting on another chapter in Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Happy Corbin. At least this version is a tag match though so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is Charlotte for a chat, with commentary referencing last week’s “feisty” title exchange with Becky Lynch. She talks about how great she is and how no one can do what she does, because her winning another title is just another Friday. Cue Sasha Banks to interrupt and laugh at the idea of Charlotte being a leader around here. She wants another title shot but Charlotte thinks it should be someone new. Cue Shotzi in the tank to say she’ll have a shot and Charlotte says ok. Shotzi shoots the tank to celebrate.

Shotzi vs. Charlotte

Non-title but a Champions Contenders match with Sasha Banks on the floor. Charlotte throws her into the corner to start but gets a little too cocky, allowing Shotzi to roll her up for two. A kick to the head cuts that off though and it’s time for some more WOOing. Charlotte gets sent outside though and Shotzi hits a quick dive (which barely cleared the ropes) as we take a break.

Back with Shotzi hitting a super hurricanrana (McAfee: “LIKE A SPIDER MONKEY!”) and knocking Charlotte back to the floor. Shotzi grabs a rollup for two more but Charlotte sends her into the corner to take over. The double jump moonsault gets two but Shotzi fights back up. Banks gets on the apron to yell at Charlotte so Shotzi has to stop to avoid a collision. That’s enough of a distraction for Charlotte to grab Natural Selection for the pin at 11:30.

Rating: C-. Shotzi was looking off in a lot of this and it brought the match down. At the same time, Charlotte getting to be her usual self and winning again didn’t help things either, but that’s just what you have to deal with when it comes to anything she is doing. Not the best way to get going, as tends to be the case with Charlotte these days.

Post match Charlotte leaves as Shotzi is livid at Banks and beats her down. Banks gets sent into the tank a few times and Shotzi hits the Ball Pit. Howling ensues.

Jeff Hardy is glad to be back, even with Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss coming in to laugh at him.

We look back at Brock Lesnar wrecking everyone last week, earning himself a suspension.

Adam Pearce isn’t happy with what Lesnar did, so Lesnar is being fined $1 million.

Paul Heyman finds this amusing and here is Kayla Braxton to ask what Lesnar will think. Heyman won’t answer so Braxton flat out asks him, sending Heyman into a near rant about how great Lesnar is. He calms down though and leaves before saying anything else.

Here is Drew McIntyre for a chat. It’s Open Challenge time (just like the opening match) so get someone out here.

Drew McIntyre vs. Mustafa Ali

Ali talks about how much more athletic he is than McIntyre but the chops have no effect. One chop sends Ali into the corner and McIntyre sends him flying with a suplex. The Futureshock is countered but so does Ali’s 450. McIntyre can’t hit the Claymore but he can counter a tornado DDT into a Kimura to make Ali tap at 2:01.

Post match Ali goes on a rant about how the people only boo him because his name is Mustafa Ali. Oh screw off with doing this stupid angle again.

Kofi Kingston is singing King Xavier’s praises when they run into Hit Row, who deem themselves not worthy. Then they sing for him.

Here are King Xavier and Kofi Kingston for a knighting ceremony. Xavier talks about how great Kofi is, even quoting the Golden Girls theme song, before giving him a special pin. Cue the Usos (because THESE TEAMS MUST FEUD FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER AND EVER) to say they’re the real royalty around here. They take shots at each others’ clothes until Xavier says we’ll have a Trial By Fire match tonight. I’m sure the match will be good but I can’t bring myself to be interested in going back to this feud again. You have a brand new roster and the best you can come up with is the rehash of rehashes for a tag feud?

Raw Rebound.

Happy Corbin/Madcap Moss vs. Shinsuke Nakamura/Rick Boogs

Trick of Street Fight. It’s a brawl to start (as it should be) with Boogs hitting the swinging gutwrench suplex on Moss. Boogs busts out the guitar for Good Vibrations until Corbin breaks it up with a kendo stick. Commentary makes Halloween puns and here are the 24/7 goons to make their Smackdown debut.

Boogs and Corbin clothesline each other so here is Moss again, only to have Boogs sends him into the bucket of apples. Moss comes up with an apple in his mouth and it’s time for the good guys (including McAfee) to enjoy some apples as we take a break. Back with Boogs getting double teamed but Nakamura makes the save with some candy. Nakamura kicks the post by mistake so it’s time to break up a pumpkin.

The villains try a double powerbomb through a table but Boogs makes the save with pumpkins and a skeleton. Moss breaks up a cover and sends Nakamura flying with a fall away slam. Deep Six plants Boogs but Nakamura kicks Corbin in the head. Moss puts a pumpkin over Nakamura’s head but Boogs posts Corbin. Cue two masked men to kendo stick Boogs down though and Moss hits his neckbreaker onto the pumpkin for the pin at 10:19.

Rating: C. I’m surprised at the winners and I think that’s a good thing. This was the kind of wacky themed match that is fine for a show like this, though it was reaching the point of no return with the time. I never need to see Nakamura and Corbin in the same ring again, so odds are we’ll see it again for the next several months.

The masked men are Angel Garza/Humberto Carrillo.

Sonya Deville denies stacking the deck against Naomi. Sami Zayn comes in to talk about Survivor Series….and we go to Naomi’s entrance. No transition or anything and Sami was in mid-sentence.

Naomi vs. Shayna Baszler

Hold on though as here is Sonya Deville to say that since Brock Lesnar injured a referee last week, she’ll be taking the referee’s spot this week. Baszler takes her down by the leg to start but Naomi fights up for a ram into the corner. Deville offers a distraction but Naomi is fine enough to kick Baszler in the head. That’s not good for a count, so Baszler reverses and Deville counts three in half a second to give Baszler the win at 1:13.

Post match Naomi yells at Deville and gets Kirifuda Clutched.

New Day promises to take out the Usos.

Naomi says she’d love to fight Sonya Deville if she ever gets back in the ring. She’ll fight Shayna Baszler one on one too. Didn’t she just do that?

New Day vs. Usos

Non-title. Woods takes Jimmy down to start and hands it off to Kofi for the house cleaning. A dropkick puts the legal Jey on the floor so Kofi tries the dive, which is pulled out of the air. Kofi is sent over the barricade and we take a break. Back with Kofi in trouble, including a side slam planting him down hard.

Jey stomps away in the corner but Kofi hits the jumping stomp for a breather. It’s oft to Woods to clean house until a kick to the head slows him down. A exchange of forearms allows Kofi to come in off a blind tag. The top rope ax handle hits Jey but Jey grabs a Samoan drop for two. Everything breaks down again and Jey superkicks Kingston. Woods makes a blind tag though and grabs a rollup to pin Jey at 10:19.

Rating: B-. Yeah of course the match was good and yeah of course the champions lost. I’m not sure why any of this should be a surprise, because it’s what happens between these teams. Since WWE can’t come up with anything better, it is time to just play the hits again and I’ve heard of worse ideas than New Day vs. Usos. Not many less interesting, but several that are far worse.

Overall Rating: C-. The wrestling itself was mostly good, but e pluribus gads this company feels dead creatively. This was a big collection of stuff we’ve seen before and not in a good way. How this could be the second show with the new roster is beyond me, but WWE really needs to figure this out. The lone hope I have is that they were punting because the World Series was on as well, but it’s not like there is a reason to give them the benefit of the doubt over the last….well years really.

Results
Charlotte b. Shotzi – Natural Selection
Drew McIntyre b. Mustafa Ali – Kimura
Madcap Moss/Happy Corbin b. Shinsuke Nakamura/Rick Boogs
Shayna Baszler b. Naomi – Rollup with a fast count
New Day b. Usos – Rollup to Jey

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Smackdown
Date: May 25, 2007
Location: Wells Fargo Center, Des Moines, Iowa
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Michael Cole

We’re done with Judgment Day and now we have less than two weeks to go before One Night Stand. Edge cheated to defeat Batista and retain the Smackdown World Title so we might be in for a rematch at the next pay per view. I’m not sure what else we’ll be getting but building to a low level pay per view can be rough. Let’s get to it.

Here is Judgment Day if you need a recap.

The opening video, set to Ozzy Osborne’s I Don’t Wanna Stop, looks at Edge becoming World Heavyweight Champion, and retaining against Batista on Sunday.

Here is Edge to get things going. Edge talks about the praise Batista vs. Undertaker has been receiving but where did it get them? Nowhere, other than leaving them vulnerable for the Ultimate Opportunist. Edge beat Undertaker and Batista 1-2-3 and here he is as the World Heavyweight Champion. This is the Rated R Era and it DOES NOT SUCK, despite what the fans say. Cue Teddy Long to announce a #1 contenders match for tonight, with Kane vs. Finlay vs. Mark Henry vs. Batista. Edge can go with that, but Teddy ups the ante by putting the title match inside a steel cage.

Paul London/Brian Kendrick vs. William Regal/Dave Taylor

Hold on though as here are Deuce N Domino and Cherry to watch from their car. Taylor headlocks Kendrick down to start but gets monkey flipped for his effort. A dropkick puts Taylor on the floor but he counters a headscissors into a toss out to the floor. Regal comes in to fire off some knees to the face (simple yet effective), setting up the wishbone split. Kendrick manages to dodge a shot though and the hot tag brings in London to clean house. A spinwheel kick drops Regal but Domino shoves London off the top for the DQ.

Rating: C. London and Kendrick vs. Deuce N Domino needs to go far away but I’ll take this over half of a team vs. half of a team. Regal and Taylor are the kind of team who can always have a place on the roster as you can always use some brawlers. This was a perfectly fine match and that’s all they could hope for with so little time.

Post match the big brawl is on.

We look back at Randy Orton injuring Shawn Michaels at Judgment Day.

Hornswoggle has stolen the World Heavyweight Title and Edge is giving chase. They run into Finlay, who makes Hornswoggle give it back to Edge, for now.

Jillian Hall is singing in the ring when Boogeyman, with full entrance, comes out but she somehow doesn’t notice him until he’s in the ring. Jillian bails but Michelle McCool throws her back in for the worming.

Teddy Long officially makes Vickie Guerrero his assistant and she’s rather happy. Vickie leaves and Krystal offers to thank Teddy for his decision.

Matt Hardy vs. Miz

Feeling out process to start with JBL ranting about how evil the Guerreros are. Miz elbows his way out of a hammerlock and bends Matt’s neck around the rope. The cravate goes on and Hardy can’t even roll his way to freedom. An elbow drop misses but Miz is fine enough to pull him down by the hair for two more.

Matt fights up with forearms to the face but gets caught with the running corner clothesline for another near fall. The chinlock goes on so Matt fights up with right hands and the clothesline. Matt’s middle rope elbow gets two and the Side Effect is good for the same. A right hand sets up the Twist of Fate (which Miz takes like a swinging neckbreaker) for the pin.

Rating: C+. This was a perfectly basic but nicely done match and I’ll absolutely take that. Above all else, Miz looked WAY more comfortable in there, even if Matt was probably walking him through every step. That’s why you put him in there with a veteran like Hardy. Well done here, and one of Miz’s most impressive performances, just because of how big a step forward it seemed to be.

Mark Henry is ready to hurt people and wants the World Title match at One Night Stand.

Here is MVP for his United States Championship celebration. In quite a few words, MVP says he told us so and now he’s right here as US Champion. Then he just flat out says “I told you so”. There is one thing missing from this celebration, so here is Chris Benoit to look really serious. MVP sticks out his hand and Benoit gives him a very firm shake but MVP goes into a bragging speech about beating Benoit two straight falls. Now he wants Benoit to raise his hand because he is better than Benoit on any given day. Instead it’s some rolling German suplexes to send MVP bailing.

We look at John Cena surviving against Great Khali at Judgment Day.

Maryse throws us to the Throw It On Me video.

Kane promises to win tonight.

Jimmy Wang Yang vs. Chavo Guerrero

Non-title. Yang takes him into the corner to start but Chavo slips away for a standoff. They fight over arm control until Chavo takes him down, only to get reversed into a headlock. Back up and Chavo dropkicks the knee out and starts cranking away on the leg. Yang fights up but gets pulled down into a stretch muffler. Make that a half crab as Chavo is at least mixing things up a bit. Back up and Yang hits an enziguri to start the comeback in a hurry. Chavo manages to grab the Three Amigos but the frog splash is broken up. Yang gets knocked away so Chavo tries a sunset bomb, which is reversed into a hurricanrana for the pin.

Rating: C-. I don’t care. This is the same thing that WWE has done for the better part of ever with this title and it isn’t going to change a freaking thing. The champ loses to set up a title match where the title is retained and it is forgotten days later as we start the whole thing over again. Both guys are completely acceptable in the ring but this is the most tired and played out idea WWE has had in years.

Batista promises to win.

Batista vs. Mark Henry vs. Finlay vs. Kane

The winner gets a title shot against Edge, on commentary, at One Night Stand in a cage. It’s a brawl to start with Batista and Henry fighting on the floor as the other two stay inside. We take a break and come back with everyone in the ring again until Kane and Finlay head outside. That leaves Henry to hit a quick World’s Strongest Slam on Batista with Finlay making the same.

Kane goes up top for a clothesline to put Henry down and Batista’s top rope shoulder hits Henry as well. That’s still not enough to keep Henry down as he fights up and hammers on Kane. Batista drops Henry and spinebusters Kane but Henry is back up again. Finlay is back in and cleans house with the Shillelagh but Batista is fine enough to hit the Batista Bomb for the pin and the title shot.

Rating: C+. Take four monsters (or at least a good brawler in Finlay’s case) and have them hit each other over and over again. That’s what we got here and it was a solid way to set up the rematch. Batista had to get around Henry and the Shillelagh, plus the always dangerous Kane to get back at Edge. It feels like he had to do something here and the match worked.

Batista stares down at Edge to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Much like Raw, this felt like a bridge between pay per views, neither of which was all that important in the first place. The wrestling was mostly ok at best and they set things up, but it isn’t like any of this felt important. They need to get done with One Night Stand so we can move on to something fresh, because this crop of stories is pretty much out of gas.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Smackdown
Date: October 22, 2021
Location: Intrust Bank Arena, Wichita, Kansas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

We’re done with Crown Jewel and that means it is time to start getting ready for Survivor Series. The big story coming out of the show is Roman Reigns retaining the Universal Title as Paul Heyman managed to stay in the middle while still interfering in the match. That could mean more than a few things going forward so let’s get to it.

Here is Crown Jewel if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Roman Reigns retaining the Universal Title over Brock Lesnar, albeit with an assist from the Usos and a title belt shot.

Here are Reigns and Paul Heyman for a chat to get things going. Reigns isn’t happy with Heyman, as he doesn’t get why the title was thrown into the middle of the ring last night. Reigns: “Shall we work on this?” He demonstrates how to put the title in his hand and says that Heyman isn’t good as his job. We hear Reigns’ various monikers, including the greatest Universal Champion of all time (that has been a long five years). Reigns lists off all of the people he has smashed while champion, including Brock Lesnar.

Speaking of Lesnar, wasn’t he supposed to be here tonight? Reigns has Heyman pull out his phone to read Lesnar’s promise to beat up Reigns as soon as he arrives tonight. Reigns: “He’s tweeting now!” That makes Reigns laugh and he wants Lesnar out here for his second beating in a row. He faces the Titantron but no one shows up, so Reigns thinks Lesnar must be scared. Reigns makes it clear: he isn’t leaving the ring until Lesnar gets here.

We take a break and come back with Reigns and Heyman still in the ring, with the former talking about how great he is. The fans want Lesnar but Reigns says Lesnar is scared of him, just like everyone else. Reigns is ready to leave but here is Lesnar to cut him off. The fight is on with Lesnar knocking him to the floor but stopping to look at Heyman. One heck of a steps shot knocks Reigns silly and it’s time to load up the announcers’ table.

Cue the Usos for the save so Lesnar beats them up, allowing Reigns to get back up. Lesnar drives Reigns into the post and then steals a camera, which he throws at the post to break it into pieces. Someone gets sent over the announcers’ table so Adam Pearce sends out various wrestlers to calm Lesnar down but they’re beaten down as well. Cesaro, Jeff Hardy and the Viking Raiders finally calm things down, leaving Lesnar to hold up the Universal Title. Now that was a hot angle and it felt like Reigns was running scared for the first time.

Post break, and post a bunch of replays, Adam Pearce gets in the ring to say Lesnar’s actions were unacceptable. Therefore, Lesnar is suspended indefinitely. Cue Lesnar again and Pearce knows he messed up. Lesnar grabs him by the shirt and wants Pearce to say it again. Pearce, while struggling to breathe, repeats the suspension. Lesnar: “Is that right?” Lesnar hits an F5, hears his music start, and hits another F5, with Pearce’s pants being ripped in the process. That’s not enough for Lesnar, who grabs the mic and tells Pearce to say it again. Since Pearce can’t move, Lesnar hits him in the face with the microphone to some rather strong praise from the crowd.

The locker room is worried about what happened and here is Naomi to get in Sonya Deville’s face. Sonya yells at her and since Naomi is a face on the WWE roster, she calmly walks away without any rebuttal. Drew McIntyre pops in to say he’s here to make a difference so it’s open challenge time.

Here is Drew McIntyre in the ring and it is still open challenge time.

Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn

Sami has a new theme and says he’s used to being forgotten around here. He is actually the longest tenured member of the Smackdown roster and he is kind of a locker room leader. McIntyre may be a former WWE Champion, but he’s a newbie around here. Sami will accept the challenge and drops to the floor at the opening bell. McIntyre follows him outside and sends Zayn into the barricade for a big crash.

We take a break and come back with Zayn hammering away in the corner but McIntyre snaps off an overhead belly to belly. Sami snaps Drew’s throat across the top rope but the Glasgow Kiss gets McIntyre out of trouble. A charge hits post to put him back in trouble though and Sami sends him into said post again. The Helluva Kick, complete with the countdown, is cut off with the Claymore to finish Zayn at 6:50.

Rating: C-. It wasn’t a great match or anything but they kept it short as they should have. I was expecting this to be bell, Claymore, bell and it was only just a little bit more than that. It was a good way to debut McIntyre on his new show and it worked out well enough. Zayn can lose over and over and talk his way right back into being fine so this worked out in a short span.

It’s time for the official coronation of King Xavier Woods, with Kofi Kingston making the presentation. Woods comes to the ring and Kofi puts the cloak onto him, allowing the fans to hit a YOU DESERVE IT chant. Woods: “ME???” The scepter is presented, and that just leaves the crown. Kingston gives Woods a huge over the top introduction and puts the crown on his head to a rather positive reception. Woods promises it will be a fair and fun reign, with Kofi reading a proclamation and waving the robe behind him. Goofy fun here and it’s great to see Woods getting the chance to do something on his own.

Becky Lynch isn’t interested in trading titles with Charlotte, so maybe she should be Becky Two Belts again.

Xia Li is coming soon.

Mansoor vs. Mustafa Ali

Rematch from Crown Jewel where Mansoor won. Ali misses a charge in the corner and walks into a backdrop. There’s a clothesline to the floor and Mansoor backdrops him from the apron to the floor. Back in and a high crossbody gives Mansoor two but Ali is back in with a Batista Bomb for two. A tiger suplex of all things drops Ali but he is back up with a sunset flip. That’s fine with Mansoor, who sits down on it for the pin at 2:37. Mansoor was certainly energetic here.

Ridge Holland isn’t surprise he made it here.

Aliyah is ready to give Smackdown a makeover.

Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo say that winning is easy when you look this good.

Sheamus delivers nothing but bangers. These were short and to the point and a lot better than what I would have expected from introductions.

Here is Hit Row to rhyme about how great they are and now they need a big bag for all of their nice things.

Hit Row vs. Dustin Lawyer/Daniel Williams

Swerve takes Lawyer down in a hurry and hits a running elbow to the back. The backsplash gives Dolla two and it’s a Wasteland/World’s Strongest Slam to Williams and Lawyer at the same time. A side slam/running kick to the head finishes Lawyer at 1:12. Simple, to the point, get the idea over, wrap it up before you overstay your welcome. Not a thing wrong with that.

We recap Lesnar’s destruction earlier, including that of Adam Pearce.

Sonya Deville says Pearce is going to be ok eventually and she told him what would happen. For now though, we have to keep going and she’ll take care of things on her own.

Happy Corbin vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Non-title Champions Contenders match and Corbin thanks Nakamura for sending him into the downward spiral that eventually made him happy. Madcap Moss and Rick Boogs are here too as Corbin powers Nakamura into trouble to start. Nakamura is back up with some shots in the face to take over and Good Vibrations (with Boogs accompanying on guitar) makes it worse. Back up and Corbin shoves Nakamura to the apron before dropping him face first…well close enough to the apron as we take a break.

Back with Corbin hammering away on the mat until Nakamura fights up and hits a running knee. Nakamura strikes away and hits the running knee in the corner for two. End of Days is broken up but the Deep Six gives Corbin two of his own. Boogs guitars Nakamura back to life and he knees Corbin down. Kinshasa is loaded up but Moss goes after the guitar, drawing Nakamura out for the save. Corbin sends Nakamura into the steps though and End of Days finishes Nakamura at 9:38.

Rating: C. Sweet goodness I can’t stand that finish and it’s the kind of thing that WWE loves to do. Not only did they not hide how the match was going to end, but a champ takes a fall to set up a title match which could have been set up any of about a dozen other ways. That’s not how WWE likes to do things though, because why put in the work when you can be lazy instead?

Charlotte says Becky Lynch can hand over the title really easily. Just pretend it’s Charlotte’s suitcase that Becky carried for years. We aren’t even done with the first “THE ROSTERS ARE FINALIZED” show and we already have a guest star from Raw.

Here are Becky Lynch and Charlotte, in their gear, to exchange titles. Sonya Deville tells them to hand it over but Becky drops hers. They trade the titles but Charlotte issues the challenge for winner take all. Cue Sasha Banks to call Charlotte a b**** so Becky leaves, saying she’ll see one of them at Survivor Series. Sasha and Charlotte insult each other and Banks wins a quick brawl to end the show. Just like it was last year, this was hardly anything that helped the titles, but that is long past the point of mattering.

Overall Rating: C+. This felt like a new era and that appears to be what they were going for here. There were new people introduced doing new things and it made for a good way to set things off. I liked how they introduced a lot of new people and set things in motion, with a hot opening segment making it that much better. This might not have been a classic, but it was a good way to make things interesting for the future.

Results
Drew McIntyre b. Sami Zayn – Claymore
Mansoor b. Mustafa Ali – Cradle
Hit Row b. Dustin Lawler/Daniel Williams – Side slam/running kick to the head combination to Lawyer
Happy Corbin b. Shinsuke Nakamura – End of Days

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