Smackdown
Date: July 28, 2023
Location: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We are eight days away from Summerslam and that should make for a pretty big show. At the very least, Roman Reigns is here and that will boost things up a lot, as we now know he’s in for Tribal Combat against Jey Uso. Other than that, we need a #1 contender to the US Title so let’s get to it.

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

Here is Jey Uso to get things going but Roman Reigns and the Bloodline cut him off. Reigns says this is his show so he’ll kick it off. Reigns says he made Jey the right hand man because he has that kind of power. Does Jey think he can run this place? Jey says he stood beside Reigns for years but now Reigns has broken the family, the Bloodline and Jimmy Uso. Reigns says that’s Jey’s fault and Jey was only the right hand man because Jimmy was hurt. After Summerslam, Jey is wiped off the face of the earth and no longer part of this legacy.

Reigns asks what happens if things get crazy and Jey beats him….but nah because Jey can’t do it. So why does he think he can? Jey: “Because I already beat you.” He says he’ll do it again at Summerslam and walks off, leaving Reigns bewildered. This was Jey countering the mind games that have destroyed him for years now and that’s a smart road to take.

Post break Jey runs into Grayson Waller, who offers to give him the Grayson Waller Rub after he loses at Summerslam. Jey slaps him in the face and walks off.

Rey Mysterio vs. Santos Escobar

For a future US Title shot. They shake hands to start with Escobar taking him down by the leg. Back up and they trade slaps until Rey sends him outside for a big running flip dive. We take a break and come back with Escobar hitting a running forearm as US Champion Austin Theory is watching in a sky box. Escobar kicks him in the head and hits a high crossbody for two, followed by a rollup for the same.

The tilt-a-whirl backbreaker gives Escobar two more but Rey sends him outside. The sliding splash misses though and Escobar hits a big dive as we take another break. Back again with the match paused and a trainer checking on Rey. Apparently he hit his head on the landing from the dive before the break. The referee calls the match at 14:13 and Escobar gets the win and the title shot.

Rating: B-. This is a hard one to rate but we’ll go with what we got to see here. What matters with this one is that Rey is ok, and the fact that he seems to have gotten his bell rung more than anything else is a good sign. In theory, Escobar was moving on anyway here and we do have a #1 contender. They were starting to rock near the end, but there is nothing else you can do when someone is hurt.

Post match Escobar checks on Rey and pays homage to him. Escobar stares at Theory, who he will face for the title in two weeks.

Bianca Belair is ready to win her title back but Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville interrupt to make fun of her for not having a title anymore. Belair offers to fight both of them but here is Charlotte to call Deville and Green bullies. Charlotte wants Belair at 100% so we’ll do the tag match thing later.

Here is Hit Row to mock the fans but LA Knight interrupts, apparently for a scheduled match. Knight didn’t know Uncle Phil was a rapper and thinks B Fab has a thing for him. For now though, Ashante Thee Adonis can be the next to get dropped on his head.

LA Knight vs. Ashante Thee Adonis

Adonis starts fast and Top Dolla gets in a cheap shot. With Dolla dispatched, Knight hits a powerslam, the spelling elbow and Blunt Force Trauma for the pin at 1:32. That’s how Knight should be used at the moment if they don’t have anything bigger for him.

Adam Pearce tells Jey Uso he has to face Grayson Waller tonight. Works for Jey.

Bobby Lashley is with the Street Profits in a rather nice looking lounge. He likes the team, but thinks they need to dress better. Well, that Angelo Dawkins does at least. Courtesy of Lashley, here are some rather nice suits. Dawkins seems appreciative and I continue to be curious about where this is going.

Bianca Belair/Charlotte vs. Sonya Deville/Chelsea Green

Non-title. Belair and Green start things off with Belair easily taking over. Charlotte comes in for the figure four necklock faceplants before handing it back to Belair. The handspring knocks Green off the apron and there’s a dropkick to Deville for a bonus. We take a break with the champs in trouble and come back with Belair suplexing both of them at the same time.

The crawling tag brings in Charlotte to clean house, including a clothesline for two on Green. Charlotte spears Green down and Belair adds a delayed vertical suplex to Deville. Some right hands in the corner miss for Belair but she breaks up the Unpretty-Her. The KOD is loaded up but Charlotte tags herself in and kicks Green in the face for the (delayed) pin at 10:25.

Rating: C. Why does WWE insist on doing this? They act like they want the titles to mean something and then do something like this. I get that Belair and Charlotte are more talented than the champs, but that doesn’t mean the match has to be booked. Just leave the champs out of this or have some kind of screwy finish that doesn’t involve them being pinned clean. That shouldn’t be too hard to figure out.

Post match the argument is on.

Iyo Sky asks Bayley why she left so fast last week. Bayley says something about wanting to leave quickly before finding a note from Shotzi in her bag. They rush to leave but Asuka comes in and promises to retain at Summerslam. Sky teases the briefcase and leaves with Bayley.

There is going to be a Summerslam Battle Royal, featuring stars from Raw and Smackdown.

LA Knight tells Adam Pearce that he wants in the battle royal. The Brawling Brutes come in and mock Knight, earning them spots in the battle royal and Sheamus vs. Knight next week.

Karrion Kross vs. Karl Anderson

Before the match, Anderson asks the rest of the OC to stay in the back because this is personal (they’re cool with that). Kross takes him into the corner to start but Anderson gets a boot up to stop a charge. The middle rope neckbreaker gets two but Kross suplexes him down. A powerslam swung into a DDT (the Final Prayer) finishes Anderson at 2:04. I’m still not sure why Anderson and Gallows remain employed other than maybe HHH feeling sorry for how they were cut so fast last time.

Post match Kross stays on Anderson until AJ Styles makes the save.

Jey Uso vs. Grayson Waller

They circle each other a bit to start until Waller manages to knock him into the corner for a running knee. Back up and Jey kicks him into the corner but cue the Bloodline for a distraction. Waller runs him over again and we take a break. Back with Jey fighting out of a cravate but getting dropped again as the fans seem rather interested in this Roman fellow.

Waller hits the springboard elbow and a spinebuster, setting up a People’s Elbow (with some personalized features) which takes way too long. The rolling Stunner is cut off by a superkick and Jey hits a spear (which might replace Christian’s as the least convincing ever). The Superfly Splash finishes Waller at 11:17.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t about the match itself but rather about a way to get Reigns and Jey out there at the same time again. In that sense it worked well and gave Jey a bit of momentum, but it isn’t like this was some kind of great main event. Jey is going to need all of the momentum he can get and this gave him just enough to get by this week.

Post match Solo Sikoa runs in to beat Jey down but the Spike misses. Jey hits the superkick so Reigns comes in, only to get speared as well. Sikoa breaks up the Superfly Splash and lays Jey out and a spear/Spike combination puts him down again. It works so well that they do it again to end the show. That’s a nasty combination and thankfully it made me forget that I’m supposed to buy a Jey Uso spear putting Reigns down for more than half a second.

Overall Rating: C+. Not their greatest show but they’re also in a weird place with most of Summerslam already booked. There isn’t much left for them to do before the show so there wasn’t much to cover here. Reigns vs. Jey is still built around a lot of mind games and Charlotte vs. Belair vs…..oh yeah Asuka is in there too. Other than that, Summerslam is fairly light on the Smackdown side, but that battle royal is promising. They did what they needed to do this week and I’ll take that so close to Summerslam.

Results
Santos Escobar b. Rey Mysterio via referee stoppage
LA Knight b. Ashante Thee Adonis – Blunt Force Trauma
Charlotte/Bianca Belair b. Chelsea Green/Sonya Deville – Big boot to Green
Karrion Kross b. Karl Anderson – Final Prayer
Jey Uso b. Grayson Waller – Superfly Splash

 

 

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Smackdown
Date: May 26, 2023
Location: Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, South Carolina
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We are less than twenty four hours away from Night Of Champions and that means this week’s show is taped in advance. Tomorrow’s show is all but set and that should make for a card built around getting everything finalized. I’m sure there will be some extra stuff pushed as well so let’s get to it.

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

US Title: Sheamus vs. Austin Theory

Sheamus, with the Brawling Brutes, is challenging. The power game drops Theory early but Theory goes to the leg to take over. Theory tries his own forearms to the chest and gets cut out almost immediately. Sheamus gets posted hard and dropped onto the apron as we take a break. Back with Theory elbowing him in the face for one, followed by the chinlock.

Sheamus is right back up with a running corner clothesline and the Irish Curse gets two. A torture rack powerbomb puts Sheamus back down but a rolling something is cut off by Sheamus’ knee. The ten (and more) forearms to the chest rock Theory and the Brogue Kick is loaded up. Cue Pretty Deadly to go after the Brutes though and Theory rolls Sheamus up to retain at 12:18.

Rating: C+. Not a bad title defense for Theory and a six man isn’t out of the question as a result. Sheamus might not have felt like the biggest threat to take the title, but he’s still a former World Champion so it wasn’t completely out of the question. What matters is Theory gets another win over a big name to add to his rapidly growing resume in a completely watchable match.

Post match Sheamus chases Pretty Deadly off.

We look at the Bloodline’s recent issues.

The Bloodline is in the back, where Paul Heyman says the Usos won’t be at Night Of Champions but they can join Roman Reigns for the 1,000 day title celebration next week. Jimmy Uso doesn’t know what Reigns’ problem is and goes to leave but Reigns tells him to sit down.

Jimmy doesn’t sit, so Reigns gets up in front of him and asks if Jimmy is standing up to him. Reigns tells him to let it out and reminds him of the whippings he gave Jimmy back in the day. He can give Jimmy another one now but Jey gets up and says he and Jimmy will see Reigns next week as the Usos leave. This is the kind of thing that actually feels like we’re getting somewhere, but the big stuff is tomorrow and next week.

Shotzi/Raquel Rodriguez vs. Damage Ctrl

Rodriguez powers Bayley around to start before it’s off to Sky. A chokeslam is broken up as Bayley comes in off a blind tag and a dropkick gives Sky two. We take a break and come back with Rodriguez fighting out of the corner and handing it back to Shotzi for the house cleaning. Shotzi dropkicks Bayley for two but Sky’s distraction lets Bayley rake the eyes. Stereo kicks to the head knock Shotzi silly with Rodriguez having to make a save of her own.

A tiger suplex gives Shotzi two and it’s back to Rodriguez, who is sent face first into the middle buckle. Rodriguez powers Sky into the corner where Bayley tags herself in. Bayley tries a middle rope sunset flip but Sky comes in off the top with a dropkick to Shotzi/backsplash that…lands on Rodriguez’s back as she was sitting on Bayley. Rodriguez stays on Bayley and gets the pin at 9:07. It was described as “miscommunication” so we’ll go with that.

Rating: C. That ending was kind of a mess but the result was the right way to go. Somehow Sky cost Bayley the pin and that is another step towards Damage Ctrl’s split. The team isn’t doing well right now and there is a good chance that they won’t be around that much longer. Shotzi is Rodriguez’s latest short term partner and I can’t imagine they’ll be a team long term anyway.

We see part of the Seth Rollins interview where he talks about what the World Title means to him.

Video on AJ Styles’ WWE career.

Video on Grayson Waller.

Cameron Grimes vs. Ashante Thee Adonis

The rest of Hit Row is here with Adonis. Grimes drops him to start and hits a running shooting star press for an early two. A Top Dolla distraction lets Adonis hammer away with some knees to the back. Grimes flips out of a suplex and hits some running forearms into a hurricanrana. The Cave In finishes Adonis at 2:10. Short and Grimes won so no complaints here.

Post match Baron Corbin jumps Cameron Grimes and lays him out.

Video on Asuka vs. Bianca Belair.

Here is Bianca Belair to talk about Asuka. She doesn’t like what Asuka has been doing and it isn’t the same Asuka from Wrestlemania. If Asuka wants to fight she can come do it, so cue Asuka….from behind, to jump Belair. Asuka gets a cross armbreaker but referees and agents break it up. Belair tries a KOD but the agents catch Asuka, who slips away. It’s better than their Wrestlemania build at least.

Rick Boogs vs. LA Knight

The Street Profits join commentary as Boogs throws Knight outside to start. Boogs drops him onto the announcers’ table but takes too long to get back inside, allowing Knight to hammer away. The running knee connects in the corner and Knight slams the back of Boogs’ head into the mat. Boogs powers him away again and hits a backdrop. The Boogs Cruise is broken up though and Blunt Force Trauma finishes for Knight at 3:17.

Rating: C. Much like Grimes, what matters here is that the result went the right way. Beating Boogs might not be the biggest victory in the world, but it is a lot better than Knight taking another loss. The fans are into Knight and seeing him get any kind of momentum is a good thing. He could use more, but I’ll take what I can get.

Post match Knight promises to smoke the Street Profits.

Karrion Kross is ready to hurt AJ Styles.

Video on Isla Dawn/Alba Fyre.

Karrion Kross vs. AJ Styles

Scarlett is here with Kross. Styles gets powered into the corner to start but comes back with a kick to the face. Scarlett breaks up a springboard though and Kross superkicks Styles off the apron. Cue Michin to chase Scarlett off and we take a break. Back with Kross elbowing him in the face and grabbing a chinlock. Styles fights up with the Pele into a basement forearm, followed by the fireman’s carry backbreaker for two. Kross misses his running forearm to the back of the head and gets knocked backwards, setting up the Phenomenal Forearm for the pin at 9:24.

Rating: B-. Good enough match here as Styles needed a win to get some momentum heading into Night Of Champions. Styles is a legend in his own right but he has been out of action for a long time and has more or less been the other guy as Rollins marches to his title. Kross continues to just be kind of there, and I’m not sure what can be done to fix that.

Post break Styles says he’s ready to win the title.

Night Of Champions rundown.

Video on Brock Lesnar vs. Cody Rhodes.

Here are Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for the KO Show. They want Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa out here right now but here is Paul Heyman to interrupt. Heyman says Reigns will be here when he wants to be but here are the Usos to interrupt (Heyman isn’t sure about this). The Usos get in Owens/Zayn’s face but Owens points out that Zayn has been right about Reigns the entire time.

Owens says Reigns can call himself the head of the table, but the Usos are the heart of the table. The reality is that Reigns treats them more like the appendix. They went from being the best team ever to Reigns’ errand boy. Jimmy says that when it comes to the Usos, he is the Tribal Chief….and Heyman knows Jimmy just screwed everything up.

Cue Reigns and Owens can’t help but smile. Zayn: “Roman, you know it’s over right? The Bloodline is collapsing and it’s all your fault.” Reigns goes after Zayn but walks into a Stunner, meaning the fight is on. Solo Sikoa is here with the Spikes though and Reigns is back up to break a bunch of stuff. Zayn gets speared and Jey hands Sikoa some Tag Team Titles.

Jimmy won’t hand the others to Reigns but Jey takes them from him and hands them over. Reigns holds up all four titles as Jimmy walks around in the back (Jey does the pose) to end the show. That was another pretty big storytelling moment and the split is getting closer. Usos vs. Reigns/Sikoa down the line sounds like a pretty good main event.

Overall Rating: B-. There wasn’t any really great match on the show, but it hyped up Night Of Champions and gave us more of the Bloodline drama. The Night Of Champions Tag Team Title match and next week’s celebration are going to be interesting and we could be in for something big no matter what happens on Saturday. The rest of the show advanced enough stuff to stay interesting and while it wasn’t must see, it was good enough for a watch.

Results
Austin Theory b. Sheamus – Rollup
Raquel Rodriguez/Shotzi b. Damage Ctrl – Rollup to Bayley
Cameron Grimes b. Ashante Thee Adonis – Cave In
LA Knight b. Rock Boogs – Blunt Force Trauma
AJ Styles b. Karrion Kross – Phenomenal Forearm

 

 

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

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

AND

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