Opening sequence.

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

Dean Ambrose vs. Miz

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

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

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

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

Battle Royal

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

Network talk.

The Usos have everything ready to get their titles back.

Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Goldust/Stardust

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

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

We recap Ambrose stealing the briefcase.

Layla/Summer Rae vs. Natalya/Rosa Mendes

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

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

Intercontinental Title: Dolph Ziggler vs. Cesaro

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

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

WWE2K15 stuff.

Lana and Rusev say their usual.

Rusev vs. Big Show

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

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

Results

Dean Ambrose b. Miz – Dirty Deeds

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

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

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

Dolph Ziggler b. Cesaro – Rollup

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

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

Opening sequence.

Reigns vs. Rusev. Just get to the DQ now.

Jimmy Uso vs. Stardust

Goldust gets kicked as well.

Sheamus/Dolph Ziggler vs. Miz/Cesaro

Adam Rose vs. Heath Slater

Slater decks him with a right hand and Rose is in early trouble. He gets a boot up to stop a charging Heath in the corner and a high cross body gets two. Slater stomps him down in the corner again but misses a knee drop. Rose comes back with some forearms and a spinebuster but Titus trips him up. This brings in the Bunny who dives on Titus, setting up the Party Foul for the pin at 2:55.

We recap Henry and Rusev from Raw. This eats up over a minute.

Los Matadores/Big Show vs. Wyatt Family

We look at Reigns vs. Rollins from Monday.

Reigns is ready for tonight and Sunday because the Punch is ready.

Paige vs. Nikki Bella

Non-title and AJ comes out to do commentary. Nikki shoves her down to start and nails a middle rope spinning kick to the head for two. Paige gets knocked to the floor but she knocks Nikki off the apron just as quickly. Back in and Paige kicks her in the ribs but gets caught with some dropkicks. Not that they matter as the Paige Turner is enough to pin Bella at 2:57.

Post match Paige and AJ do their usual with AJ holding the title. Nikki lays them both out and holds up the belt, despite getting pinned about a minute earlier.

Bo Dallas vs. Jack Swagger

Long package on Cena vs. Lesnar with clips from the brawl on Monday spliced together with the sitdown interviews from Lesnar and Heyman.

Henry feels good about his rally on Monday but admits he lots to a Russian in 1992. Another Russian defeated him in 1996 even though he was injured. This Sunday, he will crush Rusev.

Roman Reigns vs. Rusev

They lock up to start and fall out to the floor before heading right back inside. Reigns nails a big running elbow to the face but gets caught with a kick to his own face. Rusev puts on a quickly broken bearhug before dropping Roman with a spinwheel kick. We take a break and come back with Reigns caught in a reverse bearhug. Reigns fights up and hits a running clothesline to put both guys down.

Results

Jimmy Uso b. Stardust – Superkick

Sheamus/Dolph Ziggler b. Miz/Cesaro – Brogue Kick to Miz

Adam Rose b. Heath Slater – Party Foul

Wyatt Family b. Los Matadores/Big Show – Sister Abigail to Diego

Paige b. Nikki Bella – Paige Turner

Bo Dallas b. Jack Swagger – Bodog

Rusev b. Roman Reigna via DQ when Seth Rollins interfered

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

We open with a recap of the end of Raw and Reigns taking a Curb Stomp onto a chair.

Usos/Big Show/Mark Henry vs. Wyatt Family/Goldust/Stardust

Not that it matters though as Jimmy is able to Samoan drop Rowan on the bad knee. Goldust comes in and gets superkicked, allowing for the hot tag to Big Show for some house cleaning. Stardust takes the worst of it but the Dusts are actually able to suplex Big Show down. The Wyatts take Henry to the floor, allowing Jimmy to dive onto everyone. The Disaster Kick staggers Show but he comes back with the KO Punch and a Superfly Splash from Jey pins Stardust at 11:04.

We recap Heyman and Cena from Raw.

Bo Dallas vs. Justin Gabriel

After a minute and a half of talking, Gabriel starts firing off kicks and rolls Dallas up for two. A hard whip sends Gabriel into the buckle and we hit the chinlock. Gabriel comes back with a springboard cross body and an STO but the moonsault misses, setting up the Bodog for the pin at 4:10.

Dallas runs from Swagger post match.

Paige vs. Summer Rae

Non-title. AJ is on commentary of course. Summer stomps away in the corner to start and puts on a full nelson leg lock. Paige fights out with a headbutt and some clotheslines followed by a series of knees to the ribs. A Black Widow makes Summer tap at 1:46.

AJ comes in and lays out Summer with the Paige Turner before skipping away. Paige freaks out again.

Miz/Damien Mizdow vs. Dolph Ziggler/R-Truth

We look at the Bellas and Springer segment from Raw.

Chris Jericho/Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins/Randy Orton

Chris cleans house and sends Rollins into the buckle before putting on the Walls. He has to let go to take care of Orton but comes right back with a bulldog. Orton breaks up the Lionsault though and the Authority takes over again. Randy hammers away and gets two off the powerslam. Rollins comes back in and gets backdropped to the floor, only to circle around and break up the tag to Reigns.

Jericho fights up and dropkicks Randy, allowing the hot tag to Roman. The big man cleans house and sends Rollins to the floor before tagging in Jericho for a high cross body on Orton. The former Shield members head into the crowd as Orton loads up the Elevated DDT, only to have Jericho counter into a rollup for the pin at 12:09.

Results

Usos/Big Show/Mark Henry b. Wyatt Family/Goldust/Stardust – Superfly Splash to Stardust

Bo Dallas b. Justin Gabriel – Bodog

Paige b. Summer Rae – Black Widow

Dolph Ziggler/R-Truth b. Damien Mizdow/Miz – Ziggler pinned Mizdow after a Zig Zag from R-Truth

Chris Jericho/Randy Orton b. Seth Rollins/Randy Orton – Rollup to Orton

Cesaro vs. Dolph Ziggler

Rating: C-. The match was the decent action you would expect from these two, but the booking continues to make my head hurt. You either job a champion or you job a guy that is getting a title shot in a few weeks. Why WWE felt the need to book this is beyond me, but the fact that they see nothing wrong with pushing the Bellas this much and jobbing Cesaro clean before he gets a title shot should tell you everything you need to know.

Cesaro pounds on Ziggler post match but Sheamus makes the save. They yell at each other until Sheamus throws the belt at Cesaro and lays him out with a Brogue Kick.

Stardust talks about needing what they have and about one of the Usos being hurt. He keeps turning around and changes his tone every time. Apparently they have a title shot at Night of Champions.

Jimmy Uso vs. Heath Slater

Jey is on a crutch. Jimmy misses a quick superkick attempt and gets caught in a neckbreaker for two. Slater stomps away and hooks a chinlock before sending Jimmy into the corner. Uso fights out and nails a Whisper in the Wind for two. He has to kick Titus down though and walks into a side kick for two. Cole: “The Gator is down!” JBL: “Call Skinner!” Back up and the superkick knocks Slater out of the air and the Superfly Splash is good for the pin at 2:59.

We look back at the Divas segment from Raw.

Stephanie announces Nikki vs. AJ vs. Paige for the title at Night of Champions.

Jerry Springer will be having an intervention with the Bellas on Raw. Oh dear.

Paige vs. Brie Bella

Rating: D+. The catfighting makes me think the Bella showdown is going to be an even bigger disaster than I thought. Brie can be passable in the ring but Nikki has never proven herself capable of having more than a bad match. This was nothing special and was more about the drama than the wrestling, which is better in a way but still bad.

Bo Dallas vs. Zack Ryder

Ryder dropkicks him at the bell and nails a faceplant, only to have Bo pop up for the Bodog and the pin at 43 seconds.

We see the Rollins/Ambrose/Reigns stuff again.

Roman Reigns/John Cena/Chris Jericho/Big Show/Mark Henry vs. Wyatt Family/Kane/Seth Rollins

Big Show suplexes him down and finally makes the tag off to Reigns to clean house. A Samoan drop to puts Harper down but they head to the floor where the numbers game results in Reigns being sent into the barricade. We take another break and come back with Rowan holding Reigns in the skull crusher. Reigns is sent to the floor and Rollins whips him into the barricade while talking trash. Back in for another chinlock but Reigns powers up, only to get kicked in the head.

The running cross body gets two but Bray is down as well. Wyatt spiders up but Jericho elbows out of a Rock Bottom. A dropkick puts Bray down and we FINALLY get the tag to Cena. Everything breaks down and the parade of secondary finishers begins. With everyone else down, Cena puts Rollins in the STF but the Wyatts all come in for the DQ at 17:49 shown of 28:19.

The good guys all hit their finishers with Cena planting Rollins with an AA to end the show.

Results

Dolph Ziggler b. Cesaro – Rollup

Jimmy Uso b. Heath Slater – Superfly Splash

Paige b. Brie Bella – Rampaige

Bo Dallas b. Zack Ryder – Bodog

John Cena/Big Show/Roman Reigns/Mark Henry/Chris Jericho b. Seth Rollins/Kane/Wyatt Family via DQ when the Wyatt Family attacked Cena at the same time

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of ECW Pay Per Views at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

I can’t believe I’m saying this but Smackdown might be the best thing I could sit through right now. To say Raw wasn’t that great is an understatement and WWE really doesn’t seem to be the most interesting right now. However, two hours of decent wrestling and far less nonsense might be the cure for some of their issues. Let’s get to it.

We open with a clip of the eulogy from Raw, Reigns cleaning house and the match that followed.

Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt

Reigns takes him into the corner to start and runs Bray over with a hard clothesline. Bray sends Reigns out to the floor and hits a big running charge to knock him off the apron. Back in and we hit the chinlock for a bit before Bray hammers on him even more. Roman comes back with right hands and the jumping clothesline but Bray elbows out of the Samoan drop. The backsplash gets two for Bray but he goes to the middle rope, allowing Roman to hit the Samoan drop for two. He loads up the apron boot but gets in a fight with the Wyatts for the DQ at 3:20.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t bad for the most part and WAY less annoying than what I sat through on Raw. Bray looked like he was on equal footing for the most part and wasn’t dominated during the match. It wasn’t anything special but it kept both guys looking strong and set up stuff for later. That’s the best you can ask for out of a match that isn’t even three and a half minutes.

Big Show and Mark Henry make the save, setting up a six man tag later on I’m sure.

Rob Van Dam vs. Seth Rollins

Rollins immediately stomps Van Dam down in the corner to start but runs into an elbow to the jaw. Rob’s middle rope kick drops Seth and he flips over Rollins’ back, only to walk into a dropkick. We take an early break and come back with Rollins splashing him in the corner and mocking Van Dam’s pose.

Rollins puts on the chinlock for a bit before Rob fights up and kicks him in the head. A superkick sets up Rolling Thunder but Rollins gets out of the way. The Curb Stomps misses and Rob kicks him in the face again. The Five Star misses as well and Rollins nails an enziguri for two. Seth goes up top and breaks up a superplex attempt with a running buckle bomb. There’s another buckle bomb and the Curb Stomp is enough to pin Van Dam at 4:40 shown of 8:10.

Rating: C. It’s a nice back and forth match with both guys getting to look good. Word on the street is this was Van Dam’s last match and thankfully he got to go out with a decent match. Rollins getting a decisive win is a nice touch and he looks even better before he gets to his big match with Reigns.

We look back at the Bella Twins segment from Raw and are lucky enough to see family photos to make it even more SERIOUS.

Paige vs. Emma

Non-title. Paige slaps her down to start but Emma gets in a kick to the head. She goes up top, only to get pulled down to the mat. The PTO makes Emma tap at 58 seconds.

Post match AJ comes out with a box of chocolates for Paige. AJ says that it’s because Paige is her friend and Paige said she loved her. She demands that Paige eat one and gets her wish. Paige spits it back at AJ but AJ eats it anyway. Paige is freaked out again.

Lana and Rusev come out to do their usual.

Rusev vs. Jack Swagger

Submission match. Swagger immediately goes after the ankle but he can’t suplex Rusev because of the bad ribs. With that not being an option, Swagger kicks him in the ankle and puts on the Patriot Lock, sending Rusev crawling to the ropes. They head outside with Rusev whipping Swagger into the barricade. We take a break and come back with Swagger being sent back outside but Rusev’s ankle is hurting too badly to follow up. Swagger blocks a kick and puts the Patriot Lock on outside.

Rusev crawls back inside for the break so Jack kicks at the leg in the corner. The Vader Bomb connects but the ribs are hurt even worse. Now Rusev puts Swagger in a Patriot Lock until Swagger rolls through into one of his own. The ropes save Rusev again and he nails the jumping superkick. Rusev hooks the Accolade but Jack gets an arm free and grabs a rope. The hold goes back on in the middle of the ring but Jack powers to his feet. A towel comes flying in and Bo Dallas trips up Swagger to put him back in the full hold, making Swagger tap at 7:03 shown of 10:33.

Rating: C. This is an interesting one as they keep Swagger looking as strong as they can, but having him tap defeats the purpose. It continues to set up Swagger vs. Dallas, but that doesn’t really do as much for me with Swagger submitting. Have him pass out again, or let it be a regular match ending in a pin but the tapping out hurts this. It does however keep Rusev strong and that’s more important long term.

Dallas says he threw the towel in because Swagger hasn’t learned to Bolieve. Swagger takes a Bodog for good measure.

Miz is on the phone with his agent and says he can be on set within the hour. Reigns already had a match so there won’t be a trilogy. Someone keeps tapping him on the shoulder (Miz: “Autographs will be signed LATER!”) but it’s Kane, who makes Miz vs. Sheamus for tonight. Why does Kane have it in for Miz lately?

Jimmy Uso vs. Stardust

Jey is at ringside with a taped up knee, making him I believe the fourth current wrestler with a nagging injury (Swagger, Rusev, Ambrose, Jey). Again, GET SOME NEW WRITERS. Before the match, Goldust apologizes for freaking out on Monday but the Usos don’t seem convinced. Jimmy hits a loud chop in the corner to start but Stardust hits the drop down uppercut to take over. He drives some shoulders into Jimmy’s ribs but gets rolled up for the pin at 1:02.

The Dusts go nuts and attack after the match again.

Sheamus vs. The Miz

Pause for stunt double.

Sheamus vs. Damien Mizdow

Non-title. Miz offers a distraction to give Damien an early distraction. Some knees to the chest have Sheamus in trouble but he pops up with the running ax handles. He nails the ten forearms to the chest and pulls Mizdow back in for White Noise and the pin at 1:48. Another nothing match.

Miz gets in a cheap shot post match and runs, only to have Dolph Ziggler throw him back into the ring. Sheamus tries a Brogue Kick but hits Damien instead. Nice setup for a future tag match.

Clips of Lesnar and Heyman’s pretaped interview from Raw and the Hall of Fame forum.

Wyatt Family vs. Big Show/Mark Henry/Roman Reigns

They all pair off because the bell rings with Reigns and Wyatt fighting out to the floor. We get started with Big Show and Rowan slugging it out in the ring. Big Show actually busts out a sunset flip for two before cranking on a hammerlock. Reigns comes in and drives Rowan down by the arm. It’s quickly off to Henry to stay on the arm as the big guys make some fast tags.

Big Show hits the loud chop on Rowan before allowing Harper to come in for one of his own. Harper takes another in a different corner before asking Big Show to hit him again. Big Show gives him a running basement dropkick of all things, much to Cole’s shock. Off to Henry who gets dropkicked down by Harper, allowing Bray to come in for a beatdown.

We take a break and come back with Henry countering a Rowan suplex to put Erick down. There’s the hot tag to Big Show for some clotheslines but Rowan nails him with a clothesline to take over. Harper Gator Rolls Big Show to Wyatt’s delight. Back to Bray for two off a DDT and Rowan gets the same off a splash. Erick cranks on the neck but lets Big Show up, allowing the giant to get a boot up in the corner. Harper keeps Big Show down and puts on a choke.

Big Show stands up and drops Luke down on his back, only to have Bray come in and hammer away. A huge clothesline drops Wyatt and there’s the real hot tag to Reigns. Roman cleans Harper’s house and hits the apron boot. There’s the Superman Punch for two as Rowan makes the save. Big Show takes out Rowan with a chokeslam but Bray runs Big Show down. The World’s Strongest Slam drops Bray but Harper kicks Mark in the face. Harper loads up the discus lariat but Roman nails a great looking spear for the pin at 12:17 shown of 15:17.

Rating: C. That spear really did look great and had the kind of impact that Reigns needs every time. Roman is continuing to get his strong push, but the way Bray has been treated since Summerslam doesn’t sit well with me. He’s just another heel at this point, which is really annoying considering how thin WWE is at the top of the card.

They need to build someone up instead of having him be cannon fodder for the big stars or the latest SUPER STRONG TEAM THAT WE’VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IN THE HISTORY OF OUR SPORT THAT IS GOING TO SPLIT UP FOR A BATTLE OF THE GIANTS IN LIKE THREE MONTHS AFTER WINNING AND LOSING THE TAG TITLES! I’ll give them this though: all of these guys move amazingly well for their size.

Overall Rating: C-. This worked well enough but the short matches got on my nerves. But hey, at least we got to sit through a bunch of recaps of boring segments from Raw. The Bella segment just kills the show dead and doesn’t make for entertaining television. Well at least not entertaining for the right reasons. The show was a decent enough use of two hours and I kind of like the tag match they set up with Sheamus and Miz’s stuff. Not a bad show this week but nothing worth checking out.

Results
Roman Reigns b. Bray Wyatt via DQ when the Wyatt Family interfered
Seth Rollins b. Rob Van Dam – Curb Stomp
Paige b. Emma – PTO
Rusev b. Jack Swagger – Accolade
Jimmy Uso b. Stardust – Rollup
Sheamus b. Damien Mizdow – White Noise
Big Show/Mark Henry/Roman Reigns b. Wyatt Family – Spear to Harper

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of ECW Pay Per Views at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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

We’re already on the way to Night of Champions and the main story is going to be Cena vs. Lesnar III. Lesnar destroyed Cena on Sunday so now the question is how can Cena survive. Other than that we might be in for an update on Ambrose’s condition after his head was crushed against a conveniently placed pile of cinder blocks. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Summerslam. I believe this is the same one we saw on Monday.

Tom Phillips from NXT has joined the announcers’ booth.

Here’s Randy Orton to get things going. He says that just winning a battle doesn’t mean you win the war. One match doesn’t define either himself or Roman Reigns. He’s been a legend killer, an apex predator and the Viper, but he’s never been a loser. This just made him that much more focused, which leads to things like this happening.

We see Orton RKOing Reigns through the announcers’ table last month. Reigns will get what’s coming to him at some point but first up, Orton has a match with Rob Van Dam. RVD is nothing but collateral damage. He’ll be an example of what happens to anyone that crosses his path. Orton demands the fans’ respect and poses to cap off a quick promo.

Jack Swagger vs. Seth Rollins

Rollins shakes Orton’s hand on the way to the ring. Before the match we get a long package on Ambrose vs. Rollins from Monday night. This was actually set up on Main Event with Rollins saying Swagger has been dropping the ball. Swagger quickly takes Rollins down with a nice amateur move but Seth bails to the floor for a breather. Back in and Seth puts a bodyscissors on the bad ribs but Jack fights up with the powers of America. Rollins goes to the middle rope but dives into a belly to belly suplex.

Jack gets kicked in the ribs again and we take a break. Back with Swagger hitting a wheelbarrow suplex and getting all fired up. The Vader Bomb connects but he re-injures the bad ribs. Swagger backdrops Rollins to the apron but gets kicked in the head for his efforts. Rollins dives into a quickly broken Patriot Lock. Both guys fall to the floor and the Patriot Lock goes on again. Seth rolls away though and Swagger accidentally posts himself. Swagger rolls back in but Rollins nails a Curb Stomp to send him back outside for the countout at 6:50 shown of 10:20.

Rating: C. The match was nothing special but the most important thing here is the addition of a new midcard guy for the main eventers to beat. Yeah Swagger has been in this spot for awhile but the new character makes him feel fresh instead of the same guy that has lost over and over again.

Post match Bo Dallas comes out to tell Swagger the usual. Dallas is willing to pick up the pieces and become the new American sweetheart.

Video on the Bellas splitting and the slap from Raw.

Miz is on the phone ordering a latte when Kane comes up. Miz: “Unless this is about my sequel for the Intercontinental Title, talk to my agent.” Kane doesn’t like the sequel line so he makes Miz vs. Reigns again for tonight. Miz rubs his face in a funny bit.

Rusev vs. Sin Cara

Rusev pounds him down in the corner but Cara actually gets in some shots to the bad ankle. A missile dropkick puts Rusev down but he comes back with the jumping superkick. Accolade and we’re done at 1:53.

Lana talks trash post match but Mark Henry comes out to chase the evil foreigners off.

RVD is in the back with Renee Young and says Orton needs to chill out. Orton pops up from behind and nails Van Dam. He tells Renee to tell Van Dam that he’ll be waiting at the ring.

Rob Van Dam vs. Randy Orton

Van Dam charges to the ring but calms down long enough for the opening bell. Orton takes over very quickly and stomps Rob down in the corner. The springboard kick to the jaw drops Orton and he gets clotheslined out to the floor. A big flip dive puts Orton down again but Van Dam misses the spinning apron kick. Randy throws him into various objects, including the steps over and over. The match is thrown out at 2:57.

Randy plants him with an Elevated DDT on the concrete and an RKO onto a chair, likely writing Van Dam off TV. That’s DDT is the same move that originally put Van Dam out back in 2007.

Reigns says he knows what Orton and the Authority are capable of. He saw what Rollins did to Ambrose and promises revenge. Orton talked about methodically decimating him, right until Reigns speared him in half. If that’s what Orton wants, it’s fine with Reigns.

Natalya vs. Paige

Non-title. They trade smacks to the face to start with Natalya taking over via a butterfly suplex to send Paige outside. A baseball slide puts her down again but Paige nails her in the face. Natalya gets posted and Paige does the slow crawl back in the ring. We hit a bodyscissors on the Canadian but here’s AJ for the traditional distraction. She takes the Divas Title and skips around the ring, allowing Natalya to grab a rollup for two. AJ leaves with the title but lays it down so Paige can take it back. She comes back in and walks into the Sharpshooter for the submission at 3:55, even though she was inches from the ropes.

Rating: D+. Well at least it wasn’t the usual way of distracting the champion. I’m hoping Natalya at least gets a PPV title match of her own out of this instead of another lame triple threat. Paige vs. AJ is a feud that needs to have some more creative developments, but that’s the same for every long feud anymore.

Goldust/Stardust vs. Wyatt Family

Stardust jumps over his brother to start with Harper. Luke drives him into the corner and hammers away before getting caught by the drop down uppercut. Harper rakes the eyes across the ropes and it’s off to Rowan who lets Stardust make a blind tag to Goldie. Rowan slugs him down in the corner and we take a break.

Back with Harper throwing Goldust across the ring before Rowan comes in for a hard slam. A legdrop gets two and it’s back to the evil corner for Goldust. There’s the Gator Roll from Harper but Goldust gets to the middle rope for a hurricanrana. Harper slugs him right back down and nails a sitout powerbomb for two. Stardust comes in without a tag and the distraction lets Goldust roll up Harper at 6:04 shown of 9:34.

Rating: C-. What the heck has happened to the Wyatts? They went from the hottest team on the roster to this in less than two months. So I guess the Dusts are now the new “it” team, even though Henry/Big Show were last week. Odds are it’s a fourway title match coming up because that’s the go to move for most of the titles.

The Wyatts beat up the brothers post match, including Harper throwing an announcer’s chair at Stardust.

We get a clip from Main Event where HHH announces Lesnar vs. Cena III at Night of Champions.

Here’s the title presentation and Heyman promo from Raw to eat up a lot of time.

Roman Reigns vs. The Miz

Orton comes out to watch just after the bell. Reigns sends Miz into the corner to start and hits a Samoan drop. Miz gets in a running knee but Roman easily escapes the Skull Crushing Finale. A spear ends Miz at 2:06. Squash.

Reigns tells Orton to bring it on and the fight is on. They head outside with Orton being sent into the steps and the German announcers’ table. Randy comes back with some chair shots and takes the chair inside. The RKO through the chair is countered though and Reigns nails him with the chair. A Superman Punch sends Orton to the floor to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. The wrestling wasn’t the best here but the action and storytelling stuff was solid enough. This was a VERY quick two hours and that’s more than you can say about the three hour Raw. They didn’t let anything stay out there long enough to drag and it was a good fallout show from Summerslam. More than anything else though, we saw the Bellas ONCE. That’s such a nice change of pace.

Results
Seth Rollins b. Jack Swagger via countout
Rusev b. Sin Cara – Accolade
Rob Van Dam vs. Randy Orton went to a no contest
Natalya b. Paige – Sharpshooter
Stardust/Goldust b. Wyatt Family – Rollup to Harper
Roman Reigns b. The Miz – Spear

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of ECW Pay Per Views at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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

It’s the very final show before Summerslam and man alive does it feel like it’s taken awhile to get here. The main story coming off of Monday is Cena standing toe to toe with Lesnar and being ready to fight on Sunday. Unfortunately tonight is likely going to be about an hour and forty five minutes of filler and a few minutes of good build. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

MizTV gets things going with the host in a red suit. He talks about how awesome it’s going to be when the Hollywood icon gets to defend his title in Hollywood. Nice touch. His guest tonight is Roman Reigns to a solid ovation. Miz mentions his mom being a big Reigns fan and asks if Roman is nervous about his match on Sunday. If Reigns loses, he’s going to be a guy remembered in a vest that was once on MizTV.

Miz keeps cutting him off and bragging about his movie career, so Reigns punches him out without standing up. The replays make it look even better as Reigns made perfect contact. Reigns stares Miz out of the ring and says he respects the titles Orton has won, but he’s coming at Summerslam.

Dean Ambrose vs. Cesaro

Cesaro is going to be a lumberjack on Sunday. A quick knee to the ribs puts Cesaro down and Dean hammers away in the corner. Cesaro comes back with a right hand of his own and a big clothesline. Dean’s cross body is caught but he slips over Cesaro’s back and clotheslines him out to the floor. Dean follows him out with a plancha and hammers away again. They head back inside for more punching as it’s pretty clear we’re not getting their A stuff tonight. Cesaro whips him shoulder first into the post and suplexes him on the floor as we take a break.

Back with Ambrose fighting out of a chinlock and sending him to the floor, setting up a suicide dive to take Cesaro down. A tornado DDT gets two for Dean but his arm gives out when he tries for a butterfly suplex. Another clothesline and Swiss Death get two each for Cesaro. Ambrose starts to get on his nerves so Cesaro busts out a Burning Hammer of all things for two. Naturally the announcers ignore it and keep chattering about the lumberjack match. Cole tries to get “Lunatic Fringe” over as the name for Dean’s comebacks as he hits the rebound clothesline and Dirty Deeds out of nowhere for the pin at 7:45 shown of 10:15.

Rating: B-. This started slow but got WAY better after the break. I can’t believe we got a Burning Hammer, but I can easily believe that Cole and JBL didn’t bother to notice it. It’s nice to see Ambrose get a pin over a name but I don’t like that it’s at Cesaro’s expense. The problem though is who else could Dean beat? The midcard has been so beaten down that there’s almost nowhere else to go.

Post match Rollins comes out and explains the idea of a lumberjack match before declaring himself better than Ambrose. They were never friends, they were never brothers, and Seth never cared about Ambrose one bit.

Miz is holding an ice pack to his face when he runs into Kane. Miz complains a lot so Kane makes Miz vs. Reigns tonight.

Titus O’Neil vs. Dolph Ziggler

Before the match we get a clip of Titus and Heath Slater ruining Hogan’s cake after Raw went off the air this week. Dolph swivels his hips to start and sends Titus charging over the ropes. Slater yells at O’Neil to get back in, earning Titus a dropkick to the face. Titus hammers away in the corner but charges into two boots to the face. A Stinger Splash has Titus in trouble, only to have him kick Dolph’s head off for two. The advantage is short lived though as Ziggler escapes a fallaway slam and hits a Zig Zag for the pin at 3:09.

Rating: D. Nice job here of making Ziggler look good heading into the match on Sunday. I can’t imagine they take the title off Miz this soon, even though Dolph has been ready for a push now longer than most people have careers. Titus and Slater are fine as a harmless tag team, even though I can’t imagine them ever going anywhere.

Video on Jericho vs. Wyatt.

Mark Henry vs. Luke Harper

This actually has potential. Big Show is out with Henry. They circle each other to start until Luke tries his luck against Mark’s power. It goes as badly as you would expect with Henry shoving him out to the floor and staring down at Harper. Back in and a big boot drops Mark for two before we hit the chinlock. Henry powers up again and loads up the World’s Strongest Slam, drawing in Rowan for the DQ at 3:07.

Rating: D. This didn’t have time to go anywhere but there’s something interesting to another team. Granted I’m not wild on having yet another pairing of big power guys but that’s life in the WWE. Big Show vs. Henry down the line doesn’t do anything for me, but you can almost sense it coming.

Big Show clears the ring.

Mark Henry/Big Show vs. Wyatt Family

This is joined in progress after a break as Kane made the match on the fly. Points to WWE for doing that during a break and not wasting two minutes of TV time. Big Show chops Harper in the corner and Luke bails to the floor to avoid a chokeslam. Show goes after him and Rowan gets in a cheap shot to take over. Erick comes in legally and drops an elbow for two before choking away on the ropes.

Harper’s superkick gets two and a big reaction from the crowd. Big Show fights out of another chinlock and plants Harper with a side slam. The hot tag brings in Henry who cleans house and loads up Rowan in the World’s Strongest Slam. Big Show nails Erick with the KO Punch before Henry plants him with the slam for the pin at 5:00.

Rating: C. I’m kind of in shock but this was actually pretty good. The Family can wrestle the power style very well and have the size to match up with Show and Henry but are lanky enough that they can sell the big power moves like smaller guys. I wouldn’t mind seeing this again and I can’t believe I’m saying that.

LONG recap of Stephanie vs. Brie. They say Stephanie hasn’t had a match in ten years, even though she competed (very technically) against Vickie in the mud pit match a few months back.

AJ Lee vs. Eva Marie

Non-title again. AJ charges and sends Eva out to the floor but she’s able to snap AJ’s throat across the ropes. Back in and AJ snaps, even ripping Eva’s extensions out. Paige comes out but takes a beating as well, but it causes AJ to get counted out at 2:07.

Paige kicks AJ in the head and nails a Paige Turner.

Jack Swagger vs. Bo Dallas

Dallas takes him into the corner to start and hammers away. That’s the extent of his offense as Swagger shrugs off a spear and grabs the Patriot Lock for the submission at 53 seconds. So much for Dallas meaning anything.

Rusev and Lana come out post match (with Cole calling the Gold Star the Bronze Medal) and do their usual. Nothing to see here.

Post break we get a video of Bo saying he was crawling for the ropes and not tapping out.

Video on Lesnar vs. Cena.

Roman Reigns vs. The Miz

Non-title. Miz runs from Roman to start, earning a calm smile from the big man. Miz’s hammerlock doesn’t work and a left hand has about the same effect. Now it’s time for a chase scene and Reigns is ready for the sneak attack as they get back in. He pulls Miz to the floor and sends him into the barricade as the beating begins. Back inside and Miz goes for the leg to take over. He wraps it around the post and hammers away on Reigns’ back.

Cole and JBL debate if Miz is really an A-lister as Miz slaps on the Figure Four. It doesn’t stay on long though as Miz opts to punch him in the head, only to get kicked into the corner. There’s the Samoan drop followed by the apron boot, but Miz rolls away to avoid the Superman Punch. Ziggler comes out to block Miz’s way, allowing Reigns to NAIL the Superman Punch on the floor. Back in and the spear gives Reigns the pin at 7:00.

Rating: C. This was fine and another former World Champion to add to Reigns’ pile. I’m not wild on another active champion getting pinned but at least it’s not a way to set up a title defense. Miz has a good character but he still isn’t the best in ring worker. A few alterations to his offense and look could do wonders for him, including tights instead of trunks. The trunks just don’t look right on him and never have.

Overall Rating: C+. I liked this one more than I thought I would as they did a nice job of setting up the pay per view on Sunday. Thankfully there was far less Brie vs. Stephanie which has been one of the major drawbacks to Raw lately. It also helps that this show doesn’t have the extra hour of filler matches to dull your brain. Good stuff here and Cesaro vs. Ambrose was a solid match.

Results
Dean Ambrose b. Cesaro – Dirty Deeds
Dolph Ziggler b. Titus O’Neil – Zig Zag
Mark Henry b. Luke Harper via DQ when Erick Rowan interfered
Mark Henry/Big Show b. Wyatt Family – World’s Strongest Slam to Rowan
Eva Marie b. AJ Lee via countout
Jack Swagger b. Bo Dallas – Patriot Lock
Roman Reigns b. The Miz – Spear

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of ECW Pay Per Views at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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

We’re continuing to Summerslam and the main story continues to be Stephanie vs. Brie. With Cena and Bray gone, there really isn’t much of interest on the shows. Thankfully we do have something to look forward to tonight as Ambrose gets to pick his stipulation for the match against Rollins at Summerslam. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Ambrose to select his stipulation for the match at Summerslam. Ambrose talks about how the Authority thought they had a plan but they found out you can’t plan for insanity. Dean pulls out a list of options for the match: Cole Miner’s Glove, Alligators Around The Ring, JBL’s Hat On A Pole, Fight in the Parking Lot, Boxing, Good Housekeeping, Loser Washes HHH’s Car match (“But Seth already does that”) but all of those are off the table.

This brings out Rollins who wants Dean to just get to the chase. Dean introduces Seth as Mr. Money in the Bank and suggests the briefcase get a good detailing. Seth says Dean thinks with his heart instead of his head, but it’s only going to get Dean so far. In two weeks, everyone is going to get to see the end of Dean Ambrose, “on the WWE Network for the low low price of $9.99.”

Dean asks if they’re going to pay to see Seth run again. Not this time actually, because it’s going to be a lumberjack match. Seth says he’s not going anywhere at Summerslam because he still has the briefcase, and that makes him the future of this company. As for Ambrose’s future, he has a match of his own, against Randy Orton. We get a clip of Orton attacking Reigns and Dean seems pleased.

Ryback/Curtis Axel vs. Mark Henry/Big Show

Henry and Axel get things going with Curtis bailing out to the floor. Ryback comes in and tells Henry to hit him so they shove each other around a few times. Ryback shoves him down and goes after the leg as the heels start tagging to stay on the leg. For some reason Ryback tries a powerbomb but is backdropped with ease. Big Show comes in to clean house and it’s a World’s Strongest Slam to Ryback and a chokeslam to Axel for the pin at 3:20.

Rating: D+. So which monster turns on the other first to set up a huge showdown on pay per view while the fans get nachos? This is the fallback option for all of the big monsters and it gets very tiring after awhile. Also, nice job of building up Ryback and Axel so you can job them out over and over.

Ziggler is with the Divas and Rosebuds as they watch Rollins’ briefcase get destroyed. Rollins comes up and they insult each other a bit before making a match between the two of them for later.

Network ad.

Damien Sandow vs. Sin Cara

This time Damien is a border patrol agent, which is probably a jab at the immigration issues down in Texas. Sandow easily takes him down and drops the Wind-Up Elbow for two but Sin Cara’s handspring elbow gets the same. Damien comes back with an Edge-O-Matic for two but Cara takes him down with ease and hits the Swanton for the pin at 2:02.

Six minute video on Lesnar vs. Cena from Raw.

Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler

Rollins quickly takes him down and puts on a chinlock followed by Three Amigos for two. Back to the chinlock for a bit until Dolph fights out with a jawbreaker. The Fameasser is countered though as Ziggler is sent out to the floor. We take a break and come back with Seth kicking Ziggler in the face for two before heading outside for more right hands to the head. Ziggler fights out of yet another chinlock and gets two off a neckbreaker.

A small package gets the same and Dolph grabs the running DDT for a third near fall in a row. Rollins counters the Zig Zag but gets sent out to the apron. Dolph avoids a springboard dive and grabs the Fameasser for two. Seth throws him shoulder first into the post to put Ziggler on the floor again before sending him into the barricade. Back in and the Curb Stomp is good for the pin at 10:55 shown of 13:25.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t bad but it was just a step above a squash with Ziggler having almost no chance for the entire match. Ziggler’s start and stop push continues as he gets to run circles around Miz one week then gets screwed out of a win against Bo Dallas and now gets beaten by Rollins.

Randy Orton says Ambrose will find out who the truly sadistic one is in WWE.

Paige vs. Natalya

Natalya quickly takes her down into a Sharpshooter but Paige crawls out to the floor. The Paige Turner on the floor has Natalya mostly out but she still grabs a rollup for two. The PTO makes Natalya quit at 2:09.

Rusev vs. Big E.

The Bulgarian hammers away with shots to the face and a kick to Big E.’s chest. Big E. tries his Rock Bottom out of the corner but gets elbowed in the face. The belly to belly puts Rusev down but he misses the Warrior Splash. A kick to the face sets up the Accolade to make Big E. tap at 1:51. Speaking of pushes disappearing, have Woods, Kingston and Big E. appeared together on a major show since uniting?

Lana does her usual while the hold is still on.

Jericho talks about how he’s going to rid the WWE of the disease that is Bray Wyatt. The antidote is spelled Y2J and he’s going to shove the buzzards down Bray’s throat.

After another Network plug, we get a recap of Brie vs. Stephanie on Raw.

Dean Ambrose vs. Randy Orton

Randy goes right for the bad arm as you would expect but Dean hammers him into the corner, also as you would expect. Ambrose takes him down into a headlock and hammers away with right hands to the head. Randy is sent outside and nailed with a suicide dive as we take a break. Back with Randy holding an armbar before sending Ambrose chest first into the buckle. The bad arm is bent around the ropes so Dean fights back with right hands to the jaw.

Randy takes him right back down by the arm but gets caught in a quick DDT. Dirty Deeds is countered but Randy is sent out to the floor. Another suicide dive is countered by a forearm to the head and Ambrose is sent into the steps. The Elevated DDT is reversed with a backdrop over the top and now the suicide dive connects. Back in and the Rebound Clothesline drops Orton. Dirty Deeds connects but Rollins comes in for the DQ at 9:40 shown of 13:10.

Rating: C+. This is interesting as the spoilers said this was nearly a thirty minute match, so either the commercial cut out a lot of things or the reviewer couldn’t tell time. The match was nowhere near the match they had on Raw a few weeks back but at least Ambrose didn’t do a job here. It’s decent enough, but lumberjacks don’t do much for me.

The brawl is on until Orton takes Dean down with an RKO. Rollins pours a soda on Ambrose’s face and shouts that this isn’t a game. A Curb Stomp ends Ambrose to close the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This was just ok but it gave Ambrose vs. Rollins a focus that it hasn’t had in awhile. Other than that though, the lack of star power is really hurting things. Thankfully Monday is the go home show and the main event guys will be back. The Australian tour didn’t help things either but it’s something you have to deal with. This wasn’t a bad show but it was a totally meaningless two hours of television.

Results
Big Show/Mark Henry b. Curtis Axel/Ryback – Chokeslam to Axel
Sin Cara b. Damien Sandow – Swanton Bomb
Seth Rollins b. Dolph Ziggler – Curb Stomp
Paige b. Natalya – PTO
Rusev b. Big E. – Accolade
Dean Ambrose b. Randy Orton via DQ when Seth Rollins interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of ECW Pay Per Views at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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

This is another request that was so long ago I don’t remember why someone wanted to see it. Smackdown in 2004 is an odd time as they’re clearly the B show but they have John Cena tearing up the midcard and chomping at the bit to become World Champion. Undertaker is also hunting for JBL so expect them to be a huge part of the show. This is however the go home show for Summerslam. Let’s get to it.

JBL comes out in his longhorn limo to get things going. Both he and Jordan high five fans on the way to the ring but stop to use some sanitizer once inside. I love little things like that. JBL mentions attacking an Undertaker midget last week and promises to exploit Undertaker’s weaknesses at Summerslam. Undertaker may have beaten men like Bret Hart and HHH, but that won’t be the case this year. The smile on JBL’s face is great. As for Orlando, he is now JBL’s Chief of Staff. Oh joy it’s Cabinet time. Jordan praises JBL like the suckup that he is but is told he has to face Undertaker tonight.

Spike Dudley vs. Paul London

Non-title. Spike is Cruiserweight Champion and turned heel last week, revealing that he was the Dudley Boys’ boss. London is half of the Smackdown Tag Team Champions so here are the Dudleys to stare down Paul’s partner Billy Kidman. London cranks on an armbar but gets sent over the top. A dropkick puts Paul on the floor where Kidman stands guard against Bubba and D-Von. Back in and London counters a Dudley Dog with a reverse DDT followed by a dropsault. Bubba gets in a cheap shot on Kidman and pulls Spike out of the way of a 450, giving Spike a rollup pin.

Rating: D+. This was a setup for Sunday’s six man tag where Rey Mysterio would join the small guys. Spike’s heel turn was different but didn’t really do much for me. At the end of the day, it’s hard to buy a guy that small bossing around the most successful tag team of all time. The match wasn’t terrible though.

The Dudleys lay out London and Kidman post match. Bubba goes over to the announcers table and yells even more about the Dudleys being dominant. Again, Spike doesn’t work in this role but it’s the danger of having a tag team have a boss out of nowhere.

After a break, Scotty 2 Hotty asks Spike what happened to him. Spike says he’s got the title and his brothers so he’s a happy man.

Kurt Angle yells at Teddy Long for letting Eddie sell his stuff for a charity auction. Teddy tells him to go explain this in the ring.

Nunzio vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr.

Chavo gets caught in a quick waistlock before they trade arm holds. A headscissors puts Guerrero down and Nunzio is very pleased with himself. They hit the mat for more arm work from Chavo but he stops to slap Nunzio’s lackey Johnny Stamboli. A slugout goes nowhere until Nunzio takes him down with a hurricanrana. Nunzio escapes a Gory Bomb but gets rolled up with Chavo grabbing the ropes. Johnny knocks his hands away though and pulls Nunzio’s hands for a very quick pin. This was odd indeed.

We run down the Summerslam card.

Undertaker vs. Orlando Jordan

That’s not a bad way to start a second hour. The big man dominates to start with shoulders and a backdrop. Old School is countered with rights and lefts in the corner but Undertaker hammers away, knocking Jordan senseless. Undertaker avoids a charge in the corner and nails the chokeslam but JBL offers a distraction. That’s fine with Taker as Old School plants Jordan again.

A running DDT gets two on Orlando but he slips out of a tombstone attempt and hits Undertaker low. They head outside with Orlando managing to whip Undertaker into the steps. Back in and Jordan hammers away with more punches (actually fits because he used to be a boxer) but Undertaker nails him and loads up the tombstone, only to get nailed by the Clothesline From JBL for the DQ.

Rating: C+. Shockingly good match here with both guys working hard, even though the match was short. Jordan would of course never amount to anything while Undertaker was still getting his wheels back under him after becoming the Dead Man again. Not a great match or anything but it was a big surprise.

JBL and Jordan stomp on Undertaker until he sits up.

Here’s Teddy Long to hype up Angle vs. Guerrero on Sunday. He brings out Angle for a chat but Eddie interrupts. Whatever Angle has to say, Eddie wants him to say it to his face. Angle says he had a legitimate injury that kept him from wrestling. He asks if Eddie knows what that feels like, which sends Eddie into a rant about Angle costing him the WWE Championship.

Kurt is amused by Eddie being stolen from and says it was like Eddie stealing his stuff for the charity auction. Angle takes Eddie’s anger as a compliment because Guerrero knows he can’t beat Angle in a fair match. Eddie says he can beat Angle because Kurt has been hiding behind his spot as GM and an injury. It makes Eddie think Angle knows he can’t win and Eddie can’t wait to prove it. Teddy is all fired up and wants to see a handshake. They finally shake but also butt heads.

Team Cena vs. Team Booker T.

John Cena, Rob Van Dam, Charlie Haas
Booker T., Rene Dupree, Luther Reigns

This is a very interesting idea. It’s called a Summer Relay match. The match is one fall to a finish and it’s going to be Rob Van Dam vs. Booker T. to start. They’ll wrestle for five minutes (assuming there’s no fall) and then Booker’s team can send in a replacement (due to winning a coin toss) for another five minute period. After those five minutes (ten minutes total), Cena’s team can send in a replacement. After five more minutes (fifteen total), Booker’s team gets to send in a replacement. These five minute periods alternate until someone gets a fall. To my knowledge, this is the only time this gimmick was ever used.

Cena has a rap about his team before the match and hits on Jackie Gayda a bit. It’s Rob Van Dam vs. Booker to get things going and the clock begins. Booker takes over in the corner to start and chops away before hitting a bad looking hot shot. A hook kick to the face gets two on Rob and we hit the arm hold. Some chops in the corner have Rob in even more trouble but he comes back with a hard kick to the face. Rob nails some more kicks for two before kicking Booker in the jaw again. He heads up top and connects with the Five Star but stays down too long, allowing the clock to run out.

Luther Reigns comes in next as another five minute period begins. He hammers on the downed Van Dam and we take a break. Back with a minute left in the period and Rob coming back with some right hands. A springboard kick to the jaw sets up Rolling Thunder but the delayed cover only gets two. Reigns nails a spinebuster but misses a knee drop as the period ends and Charlie Haas comes in.

Charlie goes after the leg and puts on a kind of Indian Deathlock to take over. He cranks on the knee even more but Luther fights up and hits a release butterfly suplex. A big belly to back suplex gets two for Luther and we take a break. Back with Dupree getting two on Haas before chopping away in the corner. Rene goes up but gets armdragged down to put both guys on the mat. A good looking series of Rolling Germans get some two counts for Charlie as frustration is setting in.

Booker gets in a cheap shot from the floor and Dupree puts on an STF (Cena hadn’t started using it yet) until the period ends. It’s Cena coming in but he checks on Charlie before going after Dupree. Cena hammers away but gets caught by a neckbreaker for two. Off to a camel clutch on John for a minute or so before Cena comes back with a kind of cutter to escape. A big clothesline puts Dupree down but he plants Cena with a spinebuster. It’s time for the French Tickler (a stupid dance) but Cena avoids the punch and grabs a flapjack. There’s the Shuffle but Rene grabs the ropes to counter the FU.

Booker comes in for the showdown with Cena as they’re about to start a best of five series for Booker’s US Title. It’s Booker in early control and he does You Can’t See Me before dropping a knee for two. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Cena avoids a side kick, sending Booker out to the floor. Van Dam gets in a few shots (Tazz: “That’s not kosher!”) before Booker is sent back inside for a rollup and the pin by Cena.

Rating: C. Well that was…..something. It was basically a series of hot tag sequences which makes for an odd match. I can see why they didn’t go back to the idea as it’s pretty easy to understand but doesn’t work for a match concept. This wasn’t a disaster but it’s pretty clear why we never saw it again.

The winning team cleans house to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This was different but it really doesn’t make me want to see Summerslam. 2004 was such a hit and miss time for WWE as they needed someone new on top (ESPECIALLY on Raw) but at least they were trying something new here. JBL as champion would drag Smackdown through the floor for awhile but Cena’s star is clearly on the rise.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of ECW Pay Per Views at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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

Hopefully things pick up a bit after Monday’s fairly meaningless show. The problem here is with Summerslam almost entirely set (or matches just waiting to be made official), there isn’t much to do on television. Maybe we can get something better than 40 second Adam Rose matches though. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Jack Swagger vs. Cesaro

Cesaro easily takes him down but gets sent to the floor very quickly. Back in and Swagger gets slammed down for two followed by the gutwrench suplex for the same. We hit the chinlock and take an early break. Back with Cesaro standing on the top rope but getting punched down to the mat. Swagger dives into the uppercut in a great looking collision but is able to catch Cesaro coming off the top in a belly to belly. A Vader Bomb gets two for Jack but Cesaro nails him in the face. Back on the mat and Cesaro’s big boot is countered into the Patriot Lock for the submission at 9:53.

Rating: C-. Again, WWE’s booking makes no sense. Cesaro goes from a grueling back and forth war with Cena on Monday to tapping out clean to Jack Swagger in less than ten minutes here. I have no idea what they’re doing with him, and the worst part is I don’t think WWE does either.

Post match Lana and Rusev come out to challenge Swagger to a flag match at Summerslam.

Here’s Orton with something to say. He rants about Reigns costing him the title shot at Summerslam and we see him attacking Reigns on Monday. Randy promises to take Reigns down at Summerslam. Very short stuff here.

We see Brie quitting at Payback. Again, they’re trying to make this WAY bigger than it really is.

Bo Dallas vs. R-Truth

Rematch from Monday. JBL: “Truth is the 1 in 17-1.” Dallas offers a handshake to start but is shoved to the mat instead. Truth pulls him to the floor for a beating but misses a charge into the corner. Some elbows to the head have Truth in trouble but he rolls Bo up for two. Back up and a bad looking cross body gets the same before Bo hammers away in the corner, drawing a DQ at 1:40.

Post match says it’s true that everyone Bolieves in him.

AJ Lee vs. Rosa Mendes

Black Widow, 17 seconds.

AJ poses on the stage but Paige shoves her onto the concrete. Paige: “AJ, I STILL LOVE YOU! BE CAREFUL WITH MY FRIEND!”

Dean Ambrose likes the idea of Daddy HHH sending Uncle Kane to help save Seth Rollins in a handicap match tonight. Dean hopes Kane is bringing two masks because he’s going to punch Seth Rollins in the face a lot.

Dean Ambrose vs. Kane/Seth Rollins

Kane starts and hammers away to take over before Rollins is willing to come in and stomp Dean down in the corner. Back to Kane who slams Ambrose face down into the mat and sends his bad shoulder into the post. Rollins comes back in and slaps him a few times, only to have Dean get in a right hand. Rollins stomps him down again and makes the tag off to Kane for more double teaming.

The side slam gets two on Dean but he comes back by sending both guys to the floor for a double suicide dive. They head back inside and Dean goes off on Rollins in the corner but Kane makes the save and sends Ambrose into the timekeeper’s area. Ambrose comes back in with a chair for the DQ at 6:45.

Rating: C-. The match was what you would expect from it and there’s nothing wrong with that. It gave us the preview of Rollins vs. Ambrose that we’ve been waiting for and gives us another reason to watch Summerslam. The beating is going to be awesome and it’s bound to set up an awesome gimmick rematch.

Ambrose destroys Kane with the chair post match.

Jericho says he’s ready to take Erick Rowan out tonight, because once he does, Rowan is barred from ringside for the match at Summerslam.

The Dusts have a talk about cowboys.

Diego vs. Fandango

I could really get used to Summer dressing like this from now on. Diego tries a sunset flip but dives onto Fandango’s knee. Torito offers a distraction and hides behind the girls before they start dancing. Diego hits a Backstabber for the pin at 1:28.

Clips from Heyman and Cena’s exchange on Monday.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler

Miz is on commentary. Del Rio charges to start but gets knocked down so Ziggler can hammer away. Ziggler tries the running DDT but gets slammed down on his face. A chinlock doesn’t get Del Rio anywhere but he gets two off a wicked German suplex. Now the running DDT connects for two on Alberto but Miz gets up on the announcers’ table to thank some more people for his success.

The distraction lets Del Rio grab a rollup for two. Ziggler nails the Fameasser out of nowhere for two of his own. Miz keeps talking and Dolph chases him into the crowd. Back in and Del Rio nails the running enziguri. The armbreaker makes Ziggler tap at 4:00 as Miz comes back to ringside.

Rating: D+. Remember my issues with Cesaro? Here they are again. You have Ziggler pin the Intercontinental Champion a few weeks back and now you have him submit. Yeah there was a distraction, but Ziggler came back in and submitted. Do we really need to protect Alberto Del Rio? It’s not like he’s done anything in like ever, but we have to have Alberto beat Ziggler before Dolph gets a PPV title shot because Heaven forbid a midcard challenger go into a title shot looking strong.

AJ has been taken to the hospital.

We see the Stephanie vs. Brie showdown from Monday. They’re described as “two powerful women.” Thankfully this is just a package instead of the full thing.

The WWE.com interview this week is with Brie Bella, who says if she wins at Summerslam, nothing else matters because she can look back on it fondly. I’m still trying to figure out why in the world I’m supposed to care. Brie was brought in as basically a pawn in the Authority vs. Bryan feud and now it’s a huge story because Brie threw a curve at Stephanie? Somehow that’s worthy of featured time on Raw? Really?

Here are the Wyatts before the main event. Bray talks about Jericho coming back for the thrill of the crowd. Today Jericho is dirty but after Summerslam, he will be just dirt. Abigail warned Bray of Jericho being a liar who rode in on a white horse, shouting about saving us all. There is no dignity left in Jericho’s martyrdom and he will save no one at Summerslam, especially not himself.

Chris Jericho vs. Erick Rowan

If Jericho wins, Rowan is barred from ringside for Jericho vs. Wyatt at Summerslam. Rowan knocks Jericho to the floor to start but Chris slides back in and baseball slides Rowan into the barricade a few times. Harper offers some interference and gets ejected for his efforts. Back from a break with Rowan hammering away and getting two off a big elbow to the jaw.

We hit the chinlock for a bit before Jericho counters a slam into a DDT for two. A spinning kick to the face gets the same for Rowan but Jericho comes back with an enziguri and dropkick to the side of the head. The Lionsault to Rowan’s back gets two and Bray is looking anxious. Jericho jumps into a big boot from Rowan and Erick is looking annoyed. We hit the swinging bearhug on Chris but he escapes and sends Erick into the buckle, setting up a Codebreaker for the pin at 13:06.

Rating: C. Decent power vs. speed match here as Rowan continues to show how good he is in the ring. That being said, Harper still totally blows him away with everything he does and it’s a very pale comparison. Jericho getting rid of the monsters is a good way to set up Bray vs. Chris, especially if Bray wins a fair fight.

Bray backs away from Jericho to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. The show wasn’t much better than Monday but at least it had some story development and was an hour shorter. I still can’t get over the hype that Brie vs. Stephanie is getting. It’s being treated as big if not bigger than Ambrose vs. Rollins and Orton vs. Reigns. What happens if Brie wins anyway? Is she going to challenge for the Divas Title, which she’s held before? Do they think a win over Stephanie is some huge rub? The rest of the show wasn’t bad, even though they’re in cruise control as we head to LA.

Results
Jack Swagger b. Cesaro – Patriot Lock
R-Truth b. Bo Dallas via DQ when Dallas attacked Truth in the ropes
AJ Lee b. Rosa Mendes – Black Widow
Kane/Seth Rollins b. Dean Ambrose via DQ when Ambrose used a chair
Diego b. Fandango – Backstabber
Alberto Del Rio b. Dolph Ziggler – Cross armbreaker
Chris Jericho b. Erick Rowan – Codebreaker

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of ECW Pay Per Views at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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