This was an interesting show but the big story is the crowd. These people were absolutely annoying all night long and most of it came from one section. This would be the section that seemed to get its tickets due to buying the travel package which included a hotel stay at the Sheraton. I know this because they started multiple SHERATON chants followed by multiple TRAVEL PACKAGE chants.
Then during the Corbin match, the fans brought out a beach ball and eventually lost it. This led to TEN MINUTES of beach ball related chants (“Beach Ball City!” “WE WANT BEACH BALLS!”) which continued all night long. This was in addition to all the aforementioned travel package/Sheraton chants.
Overall though it was a fun night with some nice surprises (namely Cesaro, Crews and what seemed to be a Wyatt face turn) but the runaway winner of the night was Enzo and Cass. The place came unglued for those guys and the reaction was amazing. Those guys are going to be over huge and a lot of it is due to how great Enzo is on the mic. Some guys just have it and he’s one of them.
Unfortunately it looks like Sami is hurt again as he landed off that flip dive and BOLTED to the back, clearly in a lot of pain. I’m not certain he’s hurt though as it would have been hard to fit Cesaro in there otherwise, assuming that wasn’t a last minute change. I also have an issue with him taking a table powerbomb if he was hurt fifteen minutes earlier so we’ll have to see.
I’ll go more into my issues with the lack of logic to the booking later, probably in a column.
Good show, though again I’m curious to see how it holds up on a regular viewing.
Post Wrestlemania Raw
I’ll be at the show again so use this if you want to talk about it. I’ll be back tonight with a quick live recap and then hopefully the NXT review tomorrow (I’ve started it).
KB
Smackdown – March 31, 2016: A Necessary Evil
Smackdown Date: March 31, 2016
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Mauro Ranallo
This is one of the most unique shows of the year as it’s mostly going to be about building up Wrestlemania. The few matches that will be on here were taped on Monday at Raw so the crowd is going to be hotter than usual. Expect a lot of video packages here though as that’s the point of the show. Let’s get to it.
AJ Styles vs. Heath Slater
Before the match, the Outcasts talk about how the four of them are going to win the battle royal. Axel dubs the team the Phenomenal Four. Rose: “You really racked your brain to come up with that one didn’t you?” Slater gets in a boot to the head to knock AJ outside, sending him head first into the steps. I’ll go on a limb and say that’s the extent of his major offense in this match.
We hit a chinlock back inside followed by a jumping heel kick (Lawler: “That was fournomenal!”) for two on Styles. Slater misses a splash though and AJ makes his comeback with the speedy strikes, including a Pele to Rose. The Phenomenal Forearm puts Slater away at 4:45.
Rating: D. I really wasn’t feeling this one as Slater shouldn’t be beating AJ up for any given amount of time. I’m fine with him getting in a little offense here and there but this as about 80% Slater and that’s a really bad sign with Wrestlemania just a few days away. Bad match planning here and that’s not good.
Byron Saxton and Renee Young are at AT&T Stadium to introduce a lot of videos throughout the night. Yeah that’s going to be the big bulk of the show.
Long video on Shane vs. Undertaker, mostly stuff we’ve seen on Raw already.
Network shill.
Hall of Fame ad.
Video on Ambrose vs. Lesnar.
Pre-show preview.
Video on HHH using the Dudley Boyz to trap Reigns from Raw and the ensuing brawl.
Video on Snoop Dogg being inducted into the celebrity wing of the Hall of Fame.
Jey Uso vs. D-Von Dudley
Jey pounds in the corner to start and clotheslines D-Von out to the floor, earning himself a jawing session with Bubba. Back in and Jey’s charge goes into the post, allowing Bubba to get in a right hand to really change control. A top rope splash misses though and it’s time for the kicks, followed by a Samoan drop. The running Umaga attack causes Bubba to start a D-Von chant, which works far better than it should for the heel act. Bubba and Jimmy get into it on the floor, allowing D-Von to get in a spinebuster for the pin at 4:25.
Rating: C. Believe it or not this was fine. It’s kind of hard to screw up a match that only goes four minutes and has someone as capable as D-Von in there. The match is going to be fine but it’s just not a story that I really want to see. It’s also interesting that the Usos are the same in singles matches that they are in tags. You don’t often see two wrestlers who are so similar and really change nothing when they’re in the same match.
Video on the Divas Title triple threat.
Ad for Thank You Daniel on the WWE Network, which really is entertaining.
Clip of Del Rio vs. Kofi on Monday and Coach’s post match cameo.
Byron and Renee talk about the World Title match.
Video on Reigns vs. HHH.
Dean Ambrose vs. Erick Rowan
Bray and Strowman only come to the stage so Rowan is on his own here. They slug it out to start with Rowan getting the better of it off a back elbow. Dean sends him outside and knees him from the apron as we take a break. Back with Rowan getting two off a reverse powerslam (ala Lucha Underground’s Matanza) and slapping on the chinlock. Dean’s comeback is stopped by a boot to the face and it’s time for that head vice.
Erick mixes things up with a middle rope back elbow to the jaw (ala Bayley of all people) but takes too long going up and gets superplexed down. Dean gets in the suicide shove and the standing elbow drop gets two. A sitout Rock Bottom (Matt Hardy’s Side Effect) and a spinwheel kick give Rowan a pair of near falls but Dirty Deeds ends Rowan at 13:58.
Rating: D. Yeah this was nothing. It was a lot of rest holds before we got to the exact ending everyone knew we were getting. Then again, this isn’t exactly a show that is going to be held to a high standard. Rowan is nothing more than the guy you send out there to look big and intimidating and then lose every time. That’s going to keep him employed for a very long time though as it’s a role that has to be fulfilled.
A quick plug of the Austin Podcast with Mick Foley takes us out.
Overall Rating: D. Like I said in the main event, this wasn’t supposed to be a regular show. The wrestling was there for the sake of saying there was wrestling on the show in between the videos. That being said, the show accomplished its goal of being a big commercial for Wrestlemania, which means it’s good if you don’t watch regularly but a huge waste of time if you watch every week. I’d call it a necessary evil and that has to be expected with this meaningless episode every year.
Results
AJ Styles b. Heath Slater – Phenomenal Forearm
D-Von Dudley b. Jey Uso – Spinebuster
Dean Ambrose b. Erick Rowan – Dirty Deeds
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of the Intercontinental Title at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
We’re home and exhausted from a VERY long show, which was an absolute blast live. I’ll have a more in depth discussion of the show tomorrow but here are some highlights in no order.
1. The floor was literally shaking for Rock. I’ve never felt that before.
2. Reigns went from villain to hero(ish) by spearing Stephanie. Who knew it was that simple?
3. The video screen was WEIRD. The big screen that most people watched on (the 80 yard long one) kept going to three mini screens and then did things like starting a WOO whenever Charlotte went for the Figure Eight and keeping a count of Brock’s suplexes (picture coming later).
4. That stadium is one of the most impressive things I’ve ever seen. It really has to be seen to be believed.
5. Really fun show live, though I don’t think it topped XXX.
6. Austin’s pop was amazing and I had to hold my wife back when Shawn came out.
7. I’d love to hear their explanation for the show going so long. It couldn’t have been planned to last that long, or at least not that I heard.
8. I was genuinely scared for Shane when he was on top of that Cell. I don’t like feeling like that and I shouldn’t at a wrestling show.
Wrestlemania XXXII
I’ll be at the show tonight so use this to discuss the show if you like. I’ll be back tonight (hopefully not too late) with a post about anything major that happens. Full reviews of Smackdown (yeah I know), NXT, Wrestlemania and then Raw later this week, probably once we get home.
KB
Went To Axxess Again
And it was roughly a 1938% improvement.We’re about to get ready for Wrestlemania so this is going to be quick.
Met New Day and they’re every bit as funny as they are on TV. They kept people laughing the whole way through, Big E. did his funny voices, Kofi is made for the live crowd (as he kept pointing and smiling at fans) and Woods is just entertaining in general.
Met Hillbilly Jim and Gene Okerlund. Both of them were very nice and talked to me about being from Kentucky. I mentioned that we were on our honeymoon and Okerlund looked at her and said he could see why. So Okerlund thinks my wife is attractive. I think I can live with this.
Then it was off to the Shawn Michaels line which took awhile but was more than worth it. Shawn couldn’t have been nicer and smiled when I said he was the only person to ever make me jump out of my chair. On top of that he hugged my wife as she was crying over meeting him. That’s easily the highlight of the weekend for her, if not of her life.
Also saw the Bellas, Eva Marie, Emma and Sharmell at various points. The camera doesn’t do Emma justice.
FAR better experience overall today with multiple people at most booths, better names in the second section (New Day was there for an hour, were replaced by Sami Zayn for the second hour and then it was Ted DiBiase and Gerald Brisco for the second half. NXT had Samoa Joe instead of the low level women.) and far fewer people. That was the major problem yesterday: too big of a crowd with not a lot they wanted to do. Great day here and the Axxess that I loved from a few years back.
Wrestlemania XXXII Preview: Overall Thoughts
And false hope.
Overall, Wrestlemania is going to be…….interesting. The problems that we’ve been going over for months are still around and the double main event has the potential to be anywhere from a pleasant surprise to an all time mess. This is a show that is being held together by super glue and duct tape at this point and there’s a very real chance that it’s all going to come falling apart at the seams from the moment the show starts. I’m not sure what all we can expect from it though there’s certainly potential for this to be good.
That being said, I don’t think they can pull off last year all over again. Last year was a borderline miracle with WWE pulling off one of the biggest surprises of all time with a great show that looked horrible on paper. I don’t think this one is quite that bad but it certainly could fall apart if they don’t treat things properly.
At the end of the day though, it’s Wrestlemania. There’s going to be something good and memorable (probably New Day’s entrance) and we’re getting Undertaker in the Cell, possibly in his last match. I don’t think we’re going to see the greatest show of all time but that attendance record (which you know is coming down) is going to be something special to see. I’m still excited to go again and I’m going to have a good time no matter what because, no matter how bad it might look, this is Wrestlemania. That makes it a big deal and there’s no way it’s not going to be fun.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of the Intercontinental Title at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
Wrestlemania Preview: Undertaker vs. Shane McMahon
And yes it’s really likely the main event.
That leaves us with one main event in the form of Undertaker vs. Shane McMahon inside the Cell with Undertaker future vs. control of Raw on the line. Let me repeat this: the Undertaker vs. Shane McMahon inside the Cell is at worst the co-main event of Wrestlemania XXXII. I understand that the injuries had a lot to do with this but that’s a main event that only has limited potential. Given that this was going to be Undertaker vs. John Cena I could understand the idea, but maybe that was enough of a reason to change the plan up.
The big question here isn’t what happens or who wins but rather who interferes. You can almost guarantee Vince and the Authority, but the big question is about the surprises. There’s a rumored name that I won’t mention here (if you’ve heard the rumor you know who it is) but I don’t quite buy him as a big surprise for Wrestlemania. I mean, he would be a surprise but it’s not something I expect to actually happen.
I see the big problem here that most people see: how in the world is this supposed to fill in thirty to forty minutes? Shane is old and hasn’t wrestled in years while Undertaker is old and only wrestles a handful of times a year. This feels like the match that’s going to be gimmicked to death (and it should be) but I’m not sure that’s something you can use to close the biggest show of the year.
At the end of the day though, I think Shane somehow pulls it off. I don’t want him to as I have a major problem with Shane McMahon being the second person to knock off Undertaker at Wrestlemania, especially a year after Undertaker beat Bray Wyatt up so badly. There’s a chance this match could be fun but there’s also a strong chance that this could be a lot of sitting around begging for it to finally wrap up as we wait for anything interesting to happen because Shane is so blown up that he can’t move five minutes in. Either way, it’s going to be interesting. Scary but interesting.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of the Intercontinental Title at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
So it’s off to the main events and we’ll start with the match I actually think won’t close the show. This is a really hard one to get into and the story continues to plague everything they’re trying to do. Thankfully that seems to be one of the general consensuses: it’s been the story they’re telling and not the people themselves.
Here’s the thing: Roman Reigns is going to get booed and he’s going to get booed loudly. It doesn’t matter what he does here but he’s going to get booed out of the building. The match could be Steamboat vs. Savage II and the fans just will not accept it or care. They do not want Roman Reigns to be the main star of the company no matter what he does, even though he’s done some better stuff in the last few months. HHH on the other hand has done some great mic work of his own to help set up this feud and I’m really buying the story they’re going with.
The problem is I don’t think they’ve done enough to make up for all the months of horrible and worthless stuff that Reigns has done. I know Reigns is a two time World Champion but I don’t buy him in this spot at the moment. The story makes sense and almost everything has been good but it’s not the conclusion I want out of this. Having this not go on last would be a huge help but it’s not going to fix the underlying problem: people don’t like Reigns.
As for the winner, I just can’t picture Reigns losing, at least not if the match goes on last. HHH winning and then setting up a title match with someone else (maybe Dean) for the next pay per view could work, especially if Shane wins control of Raw and turns the tables on HHH as champion. If this goes on last though, Reigns wins with probably the fourth spear and 100,000 people boo very, very loudly. I’m not sure WWE is smart enough to realize that’s going to happen but if they do, this isn’t closing the show.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of the Intercontinental Title at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
