Smackdown Date: June 30, 2016
Location: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, David Otunga, Byron Saxton
We’re running out of Smackdowns on Thursday nights as we only have two more weeks before heading over to the live world for a major change. It’s also interesting to see how things go without Roman Reigns around, though the more interesting thing will be seeing how he is when he comes back. Let’s get to it.
Tonight it’s Cesaro vs. Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Apollo Crews for a US Title shot later in the night.
Cesaro arrived earlier and said he’ll win after his uppercut party.
Apollo Crews says this is a huge opportunity and sometimes the impossible is possible.
Sheamus is glad Crews is in this match because he can have some fun before winning the title.
Del Rio doesn’t know who Crews is but he’ll win the title tonight.
Opening sequence.
Cesaro vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Apollo Crews vs. Sheamus
Winner gets a US Title match later tonight. Cesaro and Crews actually pair off to start before Sheamus and Crews fall out to the floor. Cesaro hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on Del Rio before heading to the apron for a flip dive to take out Sheamus. Del Rio sends Cesaro into the barricade and then the post before getting Sheamus to help with some double teaming back inside. The Brogue Kick is broken up as Crews comes in to cross body both heels, leaving Alberto to hit a Backstabber on Sheamus.
Back from a break with Crews breaking up the top rope double stomp, allowing Cesaro to hit a high cross body for two on Del Rio. Sheamus breaks up a Swing with the Irish Curse but Del Rio superkicks Sheamus to break up the Cloverleaf. The cross armbreaker has Sheamus in trouble until Crews makes another save. It’s time for the uppercut party until Sheamus plants him with a tilt-a-whirl slam. Crews hits a cross body to put Sheamus on the floor, leaving Cesaro to Swing Del Rio into the Sharpshooter for the tap out at 9:44.
Rating: C. Crews looked good here but more importantly he looked like he belonged. I’m sure we’re going to get Cesaro vs. Del Rio at Battleground so it’s nice to have them do something different before we get there. The same is true of Crews vs. Sheamus, which is just continuing because that’s how feuds work in WWE.
Post match Del Rio sends Cesaro into the steps as Rusev comes out for the title match.
US Title: Rusev vs. Cesaro
Rusev is defending and Cesaro has a banged up shoulder from going into the steps. Cesaro fires off uppercuts to start but gets stomped down and kneed in the ribs. Rusev pounds on his own chest but Cesaro muscles him over with a suplex for two. The champ grabs a bearhug but Cesaro fights out and hits the springboard uppercut.
Rusev goes up top, only to get dropkicked to the floor for another cannonball off the apron. Back in and a swinging Rock Bottom puts Cesaro again and sets up more Bulgarian shouting. Cesaro uppercuts and clotheslines his way back out but can’t get the Sharpshooter as Rusev kicks at the ribs. A kick to the head sets up the Accolade and Cesaro taps at 6:13.
Rating: C+. Well that happened. This whole thing took about half an hour and now we’re done. I mean, Heaven forbid they let Cesaro have this match on pay per view when we can have Del Rio vs. Cesaro and maybe even Titus vs. Rusev all over again. Instead Cesaro earned a title shot and lost it in the span of about forty minutes. All nice and clean, just like that.
Post break, Rusev thinks Independence Day should be renamed Rusev Day. However, this Monday he’ll be defending the US Title against Titus O’Neal. Lana doesn’t seem worried and she really shouldn’t be.
Special Olympics video.
Dana Brooke vs. Billie Kay
Kay is from NXT and gets a jobber entrance. I really can’t imagine this is a full callup. Dana shoves her around with ease and says playtime is over. Kay gets dropped face first on the top turnbuckle before Dana chokes her in the corner. A cartwheel splash gets two but Billie gets in a discus lariat and big boot for two. Not that it matters as the Samoan Driver ends Billie at 2:53.
Sasha Banks says she’s ready for Charlotte because the Boss isn’t just a nickname. If Charlotte wants to throw Dana in her way, it’s just going to delay the inevitable. Summer Rae comes in to say she’s sick of Sasha so a match is made for tonight.
It’s time for MizTV with guest Dean Ambrose, who comes out with a paper bag in his hand. Miz yells at him for coming out early as Dean pulls out a sandwich for a snack while talking about Maroon Five: Battleground. Miz tries to correct him while Dean sucks up to the crowd. Dean plugs Battleground and talks about his own talk show. Miz doesn’t think much of the Ambrose Asylum because it just had a stupid plant.
That’s not cool with Dean and the fans get in an argument over which show is better. That turns into which title is better and Miz brings up Stephanie hating Ambrose as champ. A fight is teased so Miz takes off his jacket, which Dean uses to wipe his mouth. Maryse offers a distraction and Miz decks Dean before leaving. That’s your main event I’m sure. Dean keeps chewing despite holding his head.
Erick Rowan/Braun Strowman vs. Aaron Hale/Mike Dewotty
Rowan hammers both of them in the head to start before it’s off to Strowman, who slams Aaron onto Mike for the double pin at 55 seconds.
Post match New Day comes up on screen ala the Wyatts to ask what Bray fears. Big E. thinks it’s either soap or the ghost from Conjuring 2. Woods doesn’t have much to say as Big E. thinks Bray may be afraid of being exposed. Bray notices that Woods isn’t laughing so he should tell his friends what he already knows. The devil calls for Woods so it’s time to pray. Or maybe run.
Sasha Banks vs. Summer Rae
Post Wrestlemania Raw rematch, which somehow was Sasha’s last singles match on the two main shows. Sasha wristdrags her off the top to start but gets sidestepped out to the floor. A big boot knocks Sasha off the apron and we take a break. Back with Summer yelling a lot which is better than her wrestling a lot. Some rollups get a series of near falls for Sasha and it’s time for the clotheslines because that’s what faces in WWE do. Summer avoids the double knees in the corner and kicks Sasha in the head for two, only to be sent into the middle turnbuckle, setting up the double knees. The Bank Statement ends Summer at 8:52.
Rating: C-. This was a bit better than I was expecting though Summer has probably peaked as Fandango’s dance partner. She’s good as a jobber, though you could argue that more than half of the women in WWE are jobbers to the handful of bigger names. Summer using her legs for most of her offense makes sense too so this was almost a nice little surprise.
We look at Monday’s matches with AJ Styles and John Cena failing to get into the pay per view title match.
Dean Ambrose vs. The Miz
Non-title and Miz comes out second for some reason. Dean hammers away to start as Mauro says Dean is the man with the championship. So Miz is Dean? Miz buries a knee to the ribs to take over but Dean comes back with a cross body and right hands to the head. Maryse pulls Miz out of the way of a suicide dive but Miz saves himself from the top rope elbow. See? He can be self sufficient too.
Neither finisher can hit but Dean clotheslines him on the floor and gets in more right hands. Dean is sent into the barricade and we take a break, coming back to see Miz working on the leg. It’s off to a basic leglock but Miz takes too long going up, only to break up a superplex attempt and hit the top rope ax handle. A neckbreaker gives Dean a breather and comes back with his basic comeback package, including La Majistral for two. You wouldn’t expect lucha rollups when you look at Dean.
Dean’s middle rope dropkick is countered into the Figure Four. Ambrose gets over to the ropes and knocks Miz to the floor for a suicide dive. So much for the selling, just like Monday. The Rebound Lariat is countered into the Skull Crushing Finale for two. Miz is frustrated so he makes the mistake of trying another ax handle, only to have Dean step aside and grab Dirty Deeds for the pin at 14:35.
Rating: B. Now this was the nice surprise I was waiting for earlier. Miz losing here isn’t exactly my favorite idea but at least it was to a bigger star. It really does say something about WWE when I couldn’t think of anyone else to take this loss. We’ve seen Ambrose vs. Owens and Del Rio and Jericho so many times that it means nothing so somehow Miz is the last remaining option.
Overall Rating: D+. I don’t remember the last time I saw a show that was so thrown together. This felt like they took whoever they could find and put them into a card five minutes before the tapings started. Look back at this show and tell me if you see a TV episode or most of a pretty bad house show. It looked like they had something unique going at the start but that was all done after about thirty minutes. The main event was fine but the rest of the show felt slapped together, thereby continuing the tradition of Smackdown to its final shows on Thursday.
Results
Cesaro b. Alberto Del Rio, Apollo Crews and Sheamus – Sharpshooter to Del Rio
Rusev b. Cesaro – Accolade
Dana Brooke b. Billie Kay – Samoan Driver
Erick Rowan/Braun Strowman b. Aaron Hale/Mike Dewotty – Strowman slammed Hale onto Dewotty
Sasha Banks b. Summer Rae – Bank Statement
Dean Ambrose b. The Miz – Dirty Deeds
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
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Monday Night Raw Date: June 27, 2016
Location: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Byron Saxton
We’re getting closer to Battleground but things have changed a bit because of Roman Reigns’ suspension. It should be interesting to see if that’s actually referenced during the show as they could just as easily say Rollins attacked him off air or that he was injured during last week’s match. Let’s get to it.
Here’s Seth Rollins to open things up. He talks about the upcoming triple threat but stops to talk about the Roman Reigns scandal. What he did to get himself suspended soiled the Shield’s name and then he even put out a statement about it. We see the Tweet from Reigns saying he violated the Wellness Policy and apologizing for it, which Rollins doesn’t buy. What about an apology to the fans?
As for the last part where Reigns says he owns it, all that matters is Rollins owns him. Reigns doesn’t deserve a second chance or forgiveness or to be in the main event of Battleground. Based on the suspension, we might as well just make it a singles match because that’s what Rollins deserves.
Cue Ambrose to say everyone makes mistakes, like being Seth’s friend or Rollins wearing skinny jeans. As far as Dean is concerned the triple threat is still on. This brings out AJ Style to say it should still be a triple threat with himself taking Reigns’ place. Dean doesn’t make the decisions around here but thinks it’s still a triple threat.
They all bicker with each other when John Cena comes out as well. He’s held that title fifteen times and had his first match in WWE fourteen years ago today. Cena won the last time he beat Ambrose so let’s make it a fatal fiveway. Now it’s Stephanie McMahon to say she doesn’t like Ambrose standing in the ring as champion. She does however like the idea of Cena and Styles in the Battleground title match. Therefore tonight it’s Cena vs. Rollins and Ambrose vs. Styles. If Cena and AJ win, they can be added to the title match at Battleground.
Paige/Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte/Dana Brooks
This is Sasha’s first match on Raw or Smackdown since April because WWE has no idea how to book more than one story in this division at a time. Sasha sends Dana into the corner to start but Brooke reverses and does the pat on Sasha’s head. That just earns her an ejection out to the floor and we take a break.
Back with Charlotte putting Paige in a chinlock, apparently due to kicking her in the face during the break. A running flip neckbreaker allows Charlotte to taunt Sasha a bit and draw the hot hotheaded Banks in. Paige dives for the tag but settles for a superkick to the champ’s face, allowing her to bring in Sasha. Everything breaks down and double knees in the corner sets up the Bank Statement to make Dana tap at 8:46.
Rating: C-. The ending made sense and it’s a good sign that Paige’s win over Charlotte wasn’t just a one off plot device. Sasha going through Charlotte’s lackey to get to the big title showdown makes sense though I could see them waiting until Summerslam to go there. Unfortunately this makes the whole Natalya series seem like a waste of time as there was no real reason to wait on Sasha getting this run. Oh and please don’t have them put Ric Flair in Sasha’s corner for some stupid reason.
Titus O’Neil vs. Rusev
Non-title and we actually get a match here despite Titus attacking before the bell again. Titus misses a charge in the corner and gets stomped down, setting up a chinlock that goes nowhere. A dropkick puts Titus down and a few knees to the ribs keeps him in trouble, only to have the threat of a big boot sends Rusev outside. We get a double clothesline before Titus throws Rusev over the timekeeper’s area for the countout win at 4:09.
Rating: D. Why in the world are we getting another of these matches? Titus vs. Rusev was one of the lamest title matches I’ve seen in a long time and now we’re getting another despite Rusev already beating him? WWE really needs to comprehend the idea of a one off match. Not everything needs to be part of a big story, despite what WWE seems to think.
Stephanie runs into Kane, who is still trying to get a chance at running Smackdown. Miz and Maryse come in to complain about the lack of a red carpet and the limo driver not opening the door for them. Kane mentions his own acting career before bringing up Miz not defending the title in a long time. That’s accurate actually so Stephanie makes a title match against a mystery opponent. It’s like a cliffhanger you see.
As usual, every single word Stephanie says feels like it comes off a teleprompter. I don’t know if it’s that she sucks as an actress or what, but she’s sounded like that for over fifteen years now and it almost never changes. She can rant and rave very well but anytime she tries to sound natural or spontaneous, she sounds like an eight year old in a school play.
Seth Rollins vs. John Cena
If Cena wins he’s in the title match at Battleground. They start fast with Seth actually getting the better of it off some right hands. A dropkick and Blockbuster get two each on Cena but he initiates his finishing sequence to come back. Of course it’s WAY too early for that so the Shuffle is broken up with a kick to the face.
Back from a break with Cena hitting the shoulders into the Protobomb again but catching the kick that would break up the Shuffle. A third Protobomb sets up the Shuffle but the AA is countered into the low superkick for two. Cena comes right back with a tornado DDT for two of his own, only to have Seth kick him in the face.
The great looking frog splash misses though and Cena heads up top but Seth runs the ropes for a superplex and rolls into a Falcon’s Arrow for two. A quick AA gets two more with Seth getting his foot on the ropes. Another AA doesn’t work so Cena grabs the STF but cue the Club for a distraction, setting up the Pedigree for the pin at 16:00.
Rating: B. It’s nice to have these two feel fresh after all those matches they had back in the fall. Cena losing this close to clean is kind of surprising but Rollins needs wins like these to really look like a top player again after the injury. I mean I know he won the title but does that really mean much anymore? Good match here though, despite the somewhat obvious ending.
Enzo Amore/Big Cass vs. Carlos Kershing/Mitch Walding
Enzo says they’re riding a wave and the wave is these people. Therefore he wants the fans to do the wave as soon as the bell rings. The Bada Boom Shakalacka ends we’ll say Kershing at 25 seconds.
Post match Cass loads up the spelling but the Social Outcasts interrupt. Dallas says the Outcasts are H-A-R-D so Cass asks which is the hardest. A big boot drops Slater and the other two aren’t so willing to get in the ring.
Bob Backlund/Darren Young segment with Backlund saying it’s time for the Darren Young Era. This sounds like the last one.
Some Special Olympians got to train at the WWE Performance Center. Nothing wrong with that.
The Special Olympians are here and get a presentation to the crowd.
Becky Lynch vs. Summer Rae
Natalya is on commentary and there’s no match as Becky goes right after her, earning a pretty loud BECKY chant as a result.
It’s time for the Highlight Reel with guests Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. After Jericho blames both of them for that maniac Dean Ambrose being WWE World Champion, he brings them out and brings up their careers being put on hold because of this feud. Sami wants to end everything at Battleground because they might wind up on different shows without anything being settled.
Owens won’t say anything so Sami accuses him of being a coward. Sami wants to hear Owens admit that he’s jealous of Sami for getting to WWE first in NXT. Owens says he’s told Sami the truth many times: what he did was to advance his own career. Everything they did was to get to WWE and Sami should have done is congratulate Owens for using him as a stepping stone. The fact that he doesn’t shows that Owens is a better friend than Sami ever was, but the match is on for Battleground.
Jericho loves the idea but says Owens is just trying to follow Jericho’s path. Chris doesn’t think much of Sami either and would love to shut up his stupid idiot face right now, but he’ll leave Owens to do that at Battleground. We get the Gift of Jericho pose but both Sami and Owens kick him in the face at the same time. The fans seem really intrigued at the idea of these two working together.
We recap the opening segment.
Intercontinental Title: The Miz vs. ???
Miz is defending against…..Kane. I had it being Cesaro but why do that when you can do someone not quite that interesting who hasn’t had a match since Wrestlemania? Kane throws him around to start but can’t get a chokeslam. Instead it’s a big boot to the champ’s face, followed by a side slam for two. Maryse gets on the apron to break up another chokeslam attempt, only to get knocked to the floor for some screeching. Miz is nice enough to check on her and her injured ankle, drawing our second countout for the midcard champions of the night at 3:27.
Rating: D. I’m glad Kane didn’t win here but tell me we’re not going to see a rematch between these two at Battleground. I really don’t need to see Kane getting a second title shot but since they did this match here we absolutely need to see them do it again because HOW ELSE CAN WE POSSIBLY DO A STORY???
Post break Maryse shows Miz that she was faking. Miz is impressed.
Apollo Crews/Cesaro vs. Alberto Del Rio/Sheamus
See, Del Rio and Cesaro had a match on Smackdown (not shown of course) so they’re in a heated rivalry now. Sheamus wants nothing to do with Crews to start so Apollo grabs a quick suplex on Del Rio and brings in Cesaro. Some kicks stagger Cesaro and a DDT gets two for Alberto.
Sheamus comes in for the Irish Curse before slapping on a chinlock to keep things slow (not a bad thing here). Cesaro throws him down and the double tag brings in Crews to clothesline Del Rio a few times before Alberto intentionally enziguris Sheamus and walks out. A dropkick sends the steps into Sheamus, setting up the toss powerbomb to give Crews the pin at 5:00.
Rating: D+. Well ok then. I’m not sure where they’re going with this but it’s a good sign that Crews is just in the midcard without too many questions. I really don’t need to see them waiting around while he has a nothing feud to introduce him to the roster. The short thing against the Social Outcasts was bad enough but he seems to actually have a place now. Not exactly a character or that much of a story but he’s got something.
Dean Ambrose is disappointed that he didn’t get a parade for winning the title but he’ll settle for a match with Styles tonight. Stephanie comes in and talks about how she wants to get the title off Dean as fast as she can because he’s a disgrace to the company. Oh and no one would want his autograph because he’s not worth it.
Ok, this is just stupid now. Stephanie just keeps going from one side of the spectrum to the other and you can pretty much guess which one she’ll be on a given week. It’s either the fun loving one who dances with kids and wants to make WWE great or the one who is basically Vince with better legs. At some point you need an actual motivation for your character and “I want WWE to be respected” isn’t enough.
We get that because she tells you every single week but just saying it and giving no reason for why someone isn’t worthy of your praise isn’t enough. Pick a side or at least tell us why you’re doing something. Just having Stephanie go all over the place because she’s Stephanie and the rules don’t apply to her. This has been going on for years but she’s a self made woman and empowering or whatever their line is.
The Wyatts are here…..and it’s New Day in costumes, with Kofi as Rowan, Woods as Harper and Big E. as Bray, complete with cowboy hat, gray beard with a string to hold it on, overalls and a lantern made up of light up unicorn horns. We even get a New Day themed Wyatt style montage. Kofi throws the mask off and wants to know how Rowan can breathe in that thing. They get in the ring and Big E. plays up to being born in Tampa. Big E.: “Tampa General Hospital anyone?”
They make fun of the outfits until the real Wyatts interrupt. Bray says it’s a new day and tells the fans to vilify him. How can the power of positivity help someone who just lost his job and can’t put food on his table? Kofi calls the power of positivity a way of life and Big E. agrees but Bray focuses on Woods. Xavier looks a bit shook and Bray says Woods can confide in him. They’re just playing one of Woods’ games but there are no winners or loses. There’s just malice and destruction and New Day will fall. Remember when Bray was going to be a face and he was looking awesome? Is there a reason that was canceled?
Post break New Day thinks it’s a great idea to keep messing with the Wyatts. Kofi: “It was the best idea we’ve had since we went and saw Finding Dory the other day.” Woods looks shaken and walks off.
Dean Ambrose vs. AJ Styles
Non-title and Rollins is on commentary. Feeling out process to start with Ambrose getting taken down in a headlock. Back up and Dirty Deeds doesn’t work so we take an early break. We come back with AJ hitting a good looking dropkick and slapping on a chinlock. A hot shot breaks up AJ’s momentum and a fisherman’s suplex of all things gets two for the champ.
AJ gets the same off a faceplant but takes too much time getting to the top, allowing Dean to grab a butterfly superplex. Styles is back up though and grabs a torture rack into a spinning powerbomb, only to miss the Phenomenal Forearm. Dean wrenches his knee though and that means the Calf Crusher. You don’t have the champ tap though so he grabs the rope instead.
Dean sends him outside and OF COURSE he can still do the suicide dive on the bad leg. Back in and AJ rolls through the top rope elbow, followed by the Pele. Dean is JUST FINE and hits the rebound lariat to put both guys down. This brings out the Club so AJ can get two off a brainbuster. Cena comes down to fight Gallows and Anderson but the distraction sets up Dirty Deeds to put AJ away at 15:45.
Rating: C-. Completely ignoring the leg injury aside, is there a reason why Seth didn’t come in and attack Dean to keep it a triple threat like he wanted? He’s supposed to be all smart and he was fine with letting Dean be in the Calf Crusher while he just sat there. I know it’s not how you do a match like this, but it goes against Seth’s intelligence to have Dean in that much danger and not do anything about it. This match had too many holes it in for me to work, despite it being entertaining at times.
Post match the Club beats up Cena as Rollins hits two Pedigrees on Ambrose. Is there ANY reason he’s still using that move? He’s not associated with HHH anymore and it really doesn’t fit his style but that’s what he was using before and nothing is allowed to change for a main eventer so I guess that’s what we’re getting for good. Cena gets a Magic Killer on the stage and Dean takes another Pedigree to end the show.
Overall Rating: C. This wasn’t quite the same as last week as the wrestling was just there for the most part. The bigger problem though is how weak Battleground is looking aside from the main event. It looks like a lot of rematches and then some nothing matches like Kane vs. Miz and Titus vs. Rusev. On top of that there’s also the impending Draft, which really makes so much of this stuff seem like filler. The show certainly wasn’t horrible but it was really just there, and that’s rarely a good sign. Oh and next week is the Fourth of July, meaning the biggest throw away show of the year. Have fun with that one.
Results
Sasha Banks/Paige b. Charlotte/Dana Brooke – Bank Statement to Brooke
Titus O’Neil b. Rusev via countout
Seth Rollins b. John Cena – Pedigree
Enzo Amore/Big Cass b. Carlos Kershing/Mitch Walding – Bada Boom Shakalacka to Kershing
Kane b. The Miz via countout
Apollo Crews/Cesaro b. Sheamus/Alberto Del Rio – Toss powerbomb to Sheamus
Dean Ambrose b. AJ Styles – Dirty Deeds
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
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And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Smackdown – June 23, 2016: The Smackdown Gravestone
Smackdown Date: June 23, 2016
Location: Tucson Arena, Tucson, Arizona
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Mauro Ranallo, David Otunga
It’s an interesting time in WWE as we’re less than a month away from the new era really taking hold as the Draft takes place and separates the two shows into different entities. On top of that though, Roman Reigns has been suspended for thirty days, meaning the build towards the triple threat match at Battleground could be interesting. Let’s get to it.
The opening video focuses on the recent issues with the World Title.
Opening sequence.
Here’s Seth Rollins to get things going. He talks about how when he was a kid, his parents would tell him that he could do anything if he worked hard enough. Well obviously that was a lie because no one works harder than he does but Dean Ambrose is the WWE World Champion. Ambrose should have given him his rematch one on one but instead we’re coming up on this triple threat at Battleground to make it as hard on him as possible. As for tonight though, Seth is going to prove that he’s more man than Ambrose ever could be by issuing an opening challenge.
This brings out Sami Zayn and the fans seem interested. Rollins: “Did your master Kevin Owens let you off your leash for a couple of hours?” Cue Dean Ambrose, who has his guys turn this into an impromptu Ambrose Asylum. Actually wait because Dean needs to draw a title on the sign because this is now the championship edition. Sami is thrilled to be on the show but Rollins freaks out because he hates this show. Dean says Rollins has always has a poor attitude as Seth storms out to get ready. This was a pretty long way around to set up Sami vs. Rollins.
Cesaro vs. Alberto Del Rio
OH COME ON. Money in the Bank is over! I shouldn’t have to deal with these pairings anymore. They get some inset promos with Del Rio claiming Cesaro cost him the briefcase and Cesaro telling him to do something about it. Del Rio grabs a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker to start so Cesaro hits one of his own.
The uppercut train sends Del Rio outside for the flip dive off the apron, only to have Alberto go after the apron as we take a break. Back with Del Rio slapping on an armbar and taking the arm out to block another uppercut. Alberto goes up but dives into an uppercut from the good arm. The corkscrew uppercut gets two (ok do something else) followed by a double stomp for the same on Alberto.
Del Rio comes back with a Backstabber for two of his own but Cesaro comes back with yet another uppercut. Cesaro gets crotched while trying a superplex but is still able to lift himself up and armdrag Del Rio down. A quick cross armbreaker attempt is countered into the Neutralizer for the pin on Alberto at 10:26.
Rating: B-. This was better than most of the Money in the Bank pairings but there’s almost no reason to care about any of them anymore. We’ve seen this so many times now and without a reason to fight, these matches are even less interesting than they were in the first place. At least the match was better this time around.
Apollo Crews vs. Sheamus
Sheamus hammers away and tells Apollo to smile now, only to have Crews cross body both of them over the top to the floor. Crews sends him into the steps before having to fight out of the Irish Curse back inside. An enziguri sets up the standing moonsault for two on Sheamus but he comes back with the ten forearms to the chest. The Regal Roll on the floor has Crews in trouble and Sheamus makes it worse by loading up the steps. Crews dropkicks him into the barricade, only to have Sheamus kick him off the apron. A whip into the steps is enough to get Crews counted out at 3:55.
Rating: D+. Well that means it’s time for a rubber match because the fans are dying to see a rematch from a sub-four minute TV match on a show not many people watch that ends in a countout. The idea of Crews beating Sheamus is fine but there really wasn’t much of a reason for a rematch, save for maybe Sheamus getting pinned again. I really hope we get somewhere new with the Brand Split because this stuff is getting old.
Recap of AJ Styles vs. John Cena on Sunday as well as Monday’s fallout.
The Club is happy with what happened on Monday but the Usos return. PLEASE not this match again. Jey calls the bald guys head and shoulders in an unfunny line and we’re getting Jimmy vs. AJ for later.
Jimmy Uso vs. AJ Styles
Mauro bills this as a Smackdown first. This is joined in progress after a break with Jimmy running Styles over and dancing a bit. That’s fine with AJ who takes him down into a headlock but Jimmy reverses into one of his own. Jimmy sends him outside but the baseball slide is countered as AJ grabs the feet and sends him head first into the steps.
Back in and AJ catapults him throat first into the bottom rope. Jimmy comes back with an enziguri so Styles Peles him right back. The Phenomenal Forearm is broken up with a superkick but the running Umaga attack hits buckles. Cue the Club to go after Jey, causing Jimmy to dive over the top and take them out. AJ hits a slingshot forearm to the back of Jimmy’s head and the Phenomenal Forearm puts Jimmy away at 6:02 shown.
Rating: C. For reasons that I’ll never understand, this means more Usos vs. the Club. I’m a big Usos fan but there’s little interest for them as singles wrestlers and they’ve done everything there is for them as a tag team, especially fighting the Club for probably the tenth time in a few months. AJ looked good but this was just a step above a squash for him.
New Day vs. Vaudevillains
Non-title. Kofi and Gotch start things off but it’s off to English inside of twenty seconds to start in on Kofi’s arm. Aiden’s running spin kick in the corner staggers Kofi but he runs English over with a clothesline. The hot tag brings in Big E. to clean house with a string of suplexes. Kofi takes out English and a quick tag sets up the Midnight Hour to pin Gotch at 2:28.
Post match the Wyatts pop up on screen to say everyone fears them and that New Day will fall.
Bob Backlund wants to review Darren Young’s goals. Darren wants to be a singles champion and then main event Wrestlemania. Backlund has wrestled at Wrestlemania and won singles titles but he’s already had his era. Now it’s time to start the Darren Young Era.
Sami wants to win so he can make a statement. He isn’t worried about Kevin Owens.
Charlotte and Dana Brooke are ready to take out Becky Lynch before showing Sasha that Charlotte is the queen because playtime is over.
Dana Brooke vs. Becky Lynch
Dana starts fast with some knees and shoulders to the ribs before avoiding Becky’s charge. Charlotte eats a forearm though, allowing Brooke to roll Becky up for the pin at 1:21.
Post match Becky gets beaten down until Sasha Banks makes the save.
Dean follows Seth to the ring to get on his nerves.
Seth Rollins vs. Sami Zayn
Dean is on commentary. Rollins scores with a shoulder to start and they pause early on. Some armdrags put Seth down and Sami gets in a nice headscissors. A good right hand puts Sami outside before a clothesline takes us to a break. Back with a fight over a suplex until Rollins gets two off a Falcon’s Arrow. Seth slowly stomps away as Dean talks about not sleeping for six or seven days.
A big clothesline drops Rollins and it’s time to pound some right hands in the corner. Sami gets two off a high cross body and Seth loses an elbow pad. That’s not exactly interesting stuff so Sami gets in the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. The Helluva Kick is blocked so Seth scores with the buckle bomb. Sami counters the Pedigree and scores with the tornado DDT. Rollins bails so Sami hits the big flip dive. Not that it matters as Seth grabs the Pedigree as soon as they get back in for the pin at 8:42.
Rating: B-. The ending was really odd as Sami hit two big moves in a row before Seth just hit the Pedigree with nothing in between. It was like they had to go home really fast and had to cut out a few minutes in the middle. The match was what you would expect from these two, albeit a few steps slower than I thought it would have been.
Seth and Dean brawl post match with Rollins running from the threat of Dirty Deeds.
Overall Rating: C+. Another acceptable but totally forgettable show. When they’re boasting an AJ Styles vs. Jimmy Uso match, you know your show is in trouble. Again though it’s not like any of this matters when you consider everything resets three more shows. At least it’s not bad and we got some decent wrestling here though. That’s about all there is to say, which is going to be the legacy of this era of Smackdown: it wasn’t bad, but I can’t remember much about it.
Results
Cesaro b. Alberto Del Rio – Neutralizer
Sheamus b. Apollo Crews via countout
AJ Styles b. Jimmy Uso – Phenomenal Forearm
New Day b. Vaudevillains – Midnight Hour to Gotch
Dana Brooke b. Becky Lynch – Rollup
Seth Rollins b. Sami Zayn – Pedigree
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
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Money in the Bank 2016 Date: June 19, 2016
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, John Bradshaw Layfield
You always hear about how any particular show is supposed to be the best ever but in this case they might actually have a chance at the best Money in the Bank of all time. There are three major matches tonight with AJ Styles vs. John Cena, Roman Reigns defending the WWE World Title against Seth Rollins and of course the Money in the Bank ladder match. Let’s get to it.
Pre-Show: Breezango vs. Golden Truth
Breezango has severe sunburns due to some shenanigans before the match. Fandango and Truth start things off with Truth chopping at the very raw chest. It’s off to Breeze vs. Goldust as the chop-a-thon continues. Fandango comes in and ducks a chop, only to have Truth slap him on the back. Breeze offers a distraction so Fandango can stomp away, much to his own severe pain. We hit a leg crank on Truth for a bit before it’s back to Goldust for more chops and atomic drops. Everything breaks down and the Final Cut (suplex into a neckbreaker) puts Fandango away at 5:00.
Rating: D+. Sure it was stupid but I’ve got a soft spot for this angle as they’re just having goofy fun. The wrestling obviously wasn’t the point here and that’s ok when the entire point of this match is to fill in some time before we get to the actual pay per view. It’s nothing worth watching again but it’s funny enough to do its job.
Pre-Show: Lucha Dragons vs. Dudley Boyz
Bubba and Kalisto start things off before Cara comes in for a dive, followed by a double dive to take the Dudleyz down. Back from a break with Bubba working on Cara’s arm as the fans want tables. D-Von’s big elbow drop gets two before it’s back to Bubba who threatens to rip Cara’s mask off. The jab sequence is countered by a dropkick from Cara and the hot tag brings in Kalisto. The hurricanrana driver and kick to the head have the Dudleyz rocked and we get some heel miscommunication for good measure. A 3D is broken up and it’s the Salida Del Sol and the Dragon Bomb (swanton) for the pin on Bubba at 8:50.
Rating: C+. This was WAY better than I was expecting and a rather snappy little tag match. The Dragons never getting the titles is actually a bit surprising but at least we get a few nice matches like this every now and then. I’d still like to see Kalisto get an extended singles run but if this is the best I can get, so be it.
The opening video looks at the history of Las Vegas and the idea of chasing the dream. Everyone here tonight is going all in for the sake of reaching their goal, whatever that may cost.
Tag Team Titles: Enzo Amore/Big Cass vs. Vaudevillains vs. The Club vs. New Day
New Day is defending. Enzo’s attire looks like it’s covered with a bunch of miniature license plates. He’s sorry but he’s a bit tired tonight because he and Lady Luck were up all night. New Day does some impressions on the way to the ring, including calling Enzo and Cass a sawed off Han Solo and a hairless Chewbacca. The Vaudevillains are the Monopoly Men and the Club is being sent back to Japan to cure their male pattern baldness.
One fall to a finish here and it’s Kofi vs. Karl to start things off. It’s quickly off to Gallows who eats a quick pendulum kick in the corner before Enzo comes in to help clean house. Kofi grabs a rollup for two on Amore and that’s not quite cool. We get the big showdown between Cass and E. but Gotch tags himself in instead. Everything breaks down and all eight stare each other down in a cool visual.
The heels are sent outside and it’s Enzo/Cass vs. New Day, only to have the Vaudevillains jump Kofi from behind to take over. Gallows tags himself in but a double clothesline drops both Luke and Kofi. A double tag brings in English and Enzo (odd choices for tags) but it’s quickly back to Gallows, who low bridges Enzo to the floor. Amore grabs a tornado DDT on Luke and another double tag brings in Cass and Anderson. Cass cleans house and throws Enzo onto a pile at ringside.
The Rocket Launcher gets two on Anderson with Gallows pulling Enzo out at the last possible second (or maybe a bit too late). Kofi tags himself in but misses Trouble in Paradise. The Whirling Dervish gets a very close two on Kofi (I bought that as the finish for a second) and Big E. spears Gotch to the floor. Kofi grabs a DDT on English but Karl makes a blind tag. There’s a Magic Killer to English, only to have Big E. make a quick save. The Midnight Hour connects on Anderson and Kofi pins English at 11:47.
Rating: B+. It’s not quite the four way from last month but sweet goodness they were on fire here. This was a great back and forth match where I actually bought that all four teams could have gotten the belts at any time. In theory this sets up the Club vs. New Day for the titles at Battleground after New Day sets the record for the longest title reign.
Kevin Owens is in the back and brags about being awesome when he powerbombed John Cena on the apron last year. See, you have to specify what he does because everything he does is special. Owens: “That’s what my mom tells me.” Jericho comes in and does his usual speech about inventing Money in the Bank but Owens calls him out for never winning the thing.
Alberto comes in (Owens: “Most likely to speak some Spanish.”) and they discuss the meaning of perro. Del Rio brags about being the only one to win Money in the Bank but Owens cuts him off to say he needs new material, like Owens, who is always doing cool stuff. Jericho: “The only perros I see here are this pair-o idiots.” Jericho offers them the gift of Jericho but both guys leave, allowing Jericho to call them stupid idiots. If Owens was any more golden, he’d be a prize in the Olympics.
Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler
Because this won’t die. The threat of a superkick sends Corbin backing off so he pops Dolph with a right hand to take over. Ziggler tries to send him under the ropes but Corbin swings around the post and comes in with a hard clothesline. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Corbin just stomps away. The fans call this boring so Corbin takes a bit of a bow and picks Ziggler up even slower.
Dolph comes back with some dropkicks but can’t follow up. The Fameasser and superkick are both broken up and Corbin blasts him with another clothesline for two. Back up and Ziggler avoids a charge to send him shoulder first into the post, setting up the Fameasser for two. The fans alternate between Bayley and Ryback chants as Corbin bails to the floor to avoid the superkick. That thing better hit at some point.
A Deep Six on the floor gets a nine count. Back in again and End of Days is countered into the superkick for two. Ziggler heads up top but gets caught by a running right hand. Well that’s a bit more simple. Ziggler jumps back down and tries another superkick, only to run into End of Days for the pin at 12:24.
Rating: B-. This is a good example of a quality match where the fans just weren’t interested and I really can’t blame them. These two have fought so many times and there’s no reason to want to see them again. That’s where WWE gets in trouble so many times: they get something interesting and then don’t know when to stop, laving us with crowd reactions like this. It was good with the nice little story of teasing the superkick but I had no interest in watching them.
Charlotte/Dana Brooke vs. Becky Lynch/Natalya
The announcers point out Natalya losing title match after title match this year. Natalya shoves Dana to the ropes a few times to start so Dana shouts a lot. Becky comes in and we get a Hart Attack on Dana, followed by a baseball slide to put Charlotte on the floor as well. Back in and Natalya gets beaten down as the announcers push the idea that Charlotte has been teaching Dana to get better. Apparently she needs to do more teaching as Natalya gets over for the tag off to Becky for the house cleaning.
The Bexploder sends Charlotte flying and a double missile dropkick drops the villains. Natalya comes in for the discus lariat on Charlotte, who comes back with a rollup for two with her feet on the ropes. The Sharpshooter has Charlotte in trouble but Dana makes the save, only to have Natalya and Becky collide. Natural Selection ends Natalya at 7:00.
Rating: C. Much like the previous match, I never want to see Charlotte vs. Natalya again. That’s like five straight losses for Natalya and there’s no reason to see them go at it again. Just let Sasha come up and get the title in a better match like everyone wants to see instead of just doing the same stuff over and over again. Why can’t WWE get that simple logic?
Post match Becky apologizes but Natalya blasts her with a forearm for a heel turn. Yeah because that’s going to make her interesting. Again, if you want us to care about a character more, DON’T HAVE THEM JOB IN EVERY SINGLE MATCH BEFORE YOU TURN THEM.
Dean Ambrose says we’re in the jungle tonight and he’s walking out with the title. He doesn’t have a comment on the main event other than Reigns is going to have fun beating on Rollins. “Beating up Seth is fun.”
Sheamus vs. Apollo Crews
Veteran vs. newcomer. Sheamus jumps him to start and headlocks Crews down. Back up and Crews sends him out to the floor, only to get caught in Irish Curse off the apron and out to the floor. Back in and we hit the chinlock as the fans break out the YOU LOOK STUPID chants again.
The ten forearms to the chest get two for Sheamus and we hit another chinlock. Crews pops back up for his running clotheslines and an enziguri before belly to belly suplexing Sheamus over the top. A moonsault from the apron gets two but Sheamus runs him over again. Sheamus takes it to the top for a super White Noise and two but an argument with the referee allows Crews to grab a rollup for the pin at 8:44.
Rating: C+. I liked this more than I was expecting to as Crews got the win after hanging in there long enough. It’s kind of a fluke but Crews kicked out after a big move and got to show off enough to make it look like a big win. This is what people like Sheamus and Ziggler are good for: having quality matches and putting people over while it still means something.
We recap AJ Styles vs. John Cena. This has been billed as a dream match and that’s not too far from the truth. Styles attacked Cena a few weeks back like so many others have done but Cena was more impressed by a moment when the fans were chanting LET’S GO CENA/AJ STYLES. Tonight AJ has his chance to prove that he belongs and has agreed to have the Club barred from ringside.
AJ Styles vs. John Cena
The fans are just coming unglued for this before the bell. They trade takedowns to start and AJ is all fired up. Cena comes right back with some armdrags and a monkey flip of all things but it’s way too early for the AA. You Can’t See Me is answered with a forearm to the face and AJ starts sticking and moving. That earns him a belly to belly before they head outside. Cena tries to send him into the steps but AJ jumps over them in a sweet counter that leaves Cena shocked.
Back in and a knee drop gets two for AJ, followed by a suplex. AJ: “Is this all he’s got?” Cena keeps going simple with a stiff right hand and a backdrop but the flying shoulders are countered with a dropkick. We hit the chinlock for a bit before another comeback is countered by an enziguri.
The Protobomb plants AJ but the Shuffle is broken up as well with Cena being knocked outside. A big flip dive misses though and Cena finally has an opening. Back in and the AA is countered again with AJ hitting the strike rush, only to get caught in the STF. A rope is grabbed so Cena tries a top rope AA but Styles reverses into something like Snake Eyes. Cena tries it again (with some LOUD spot calling, which has been an issue all night) but AJ escapes one more time.
The Phenomenal Forearm is countered into the AA but Cena takes too much time turning to face the camera, allowing AJ to reverse into the Calf Crusher. John gets to the ropes and hits that big running clothesline to make the comeback when he needs to hit a big move to make a comeback. The AA is countered AGAIN but Cena just muscles him up, only to have AJ kick out again.
Cena is shocked so he goes up top, only to have the Fameasser countered into a powerbomb to put both guys down. That’s only good for two as well so it’s a Pele into the Styles Clash for two more with the fans getting more and more into the kickouts. The springboard 450 only hits knees though and both guys are down. Neither can hit finishers with AJ landing on his feet to escape the AA but missing the Pele. The Forearm misses and Cena tries another AA, only to have the ref get bumped. Now the AA connects but there’s no one to count. Cue the Club for the Magic Killer to give AJ the pin at 24:09.
Rating: A-. I was hoping for a clean finish here as they were nailing it near the end. They were working the big match formula here and the key thing is AJ looking like he belonged in there and even frustrating Cena like few others have been able to. I don’t know if I’d say it lived up to the expectations but I don’t think anything really could have. Still though, excellent stuff as you had to know was coming..
JBL calls this a cheap victory but it’s not clear if AJ knew what happened. I mean, him looking up while the Club ran in would suggest otherwise but I’ve heard worse storyline explanations. As expected, JBL drives the point into the ground like no one else can.
We get a really cool video on the ladder match with a theme of what the briefcase can mean for you and how it means the world to someone’s career.
Chris Jericho vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn vs. Cesaro vs. Dean Ambrose
The fans seem split between Owens and Ambrose. Huge brawl to start as you would expect with Ambrose taking Owens down, followed by Sami hitting a big flip dive to take out most of his opponents. Owens kicks Sami in the face though and it’s Jericho with a front suplex to send Cesaro ribs first into the ladder. Dean gets back in but gets suplexed onto the ladder for his efforts. Jericho tries to crush him 69 times with the ladder but Del Rio comes in for the save.
That means it’s time for an uppercut party until Owens makes the save and busts out the Cannonballs. Sami comes back in and makes the first real climb but Del Rio makes the save and ties him in the Tree of Woe. Del Rio gives Cesaro the top rope double stomp onto a ladder but makes the slow climb, allowing Jericho to come in for a save. Chris gets pulled down and might have hurt his knee.
Del Rio goes up again but Cesaro makes a save this time, only to get caught in the cross armbreaker on the ladder. Kevin superkicks Del Rio but eats the spinning uppercut. Now it’s Ambrose and Jericho back inside with Jericho hitting a Codebreaker but only getting his hand on the briefcase as Sami makes a save.
They’re both knocked onto the ropes by an intervening Owens, who is taken down just as quickly with a Backstabber. There’s a Cesaro Swing for Del Rio and one for Jericho as a bonus with Cesaro letting him fly into the ladder for a big crash. Ambrose hits the elbow drop on Cesaro but Owens makes another save and crushes Dean with a frog splash onto the ladder.
Sami’s Michinoku Driver onto the side of an overturned ladder freaks the fans out all over again and breaks Owens at the same time. Del Rio hits Sami with a ladder over and over for the save before bridging one ladder into the other and draping the end on the middle turnbuckle. Cesaro does the same thing on the other side to make two platforms and all six are on ladders at the same time.
Cesaro and Del Rio fall off and the four others climb the middle ladder at once, only to have Del Rio and Cesaro set up another ladder. That results in a huge crash with Del Rio taking a very nasty fall. Everyone else falls down and Sami goes up, only to have Jericho run across the platform and make a save. Now it’s Dean stopping that one and planting Jericho with Dirty Deeds. Owens pulls Sami down and powerbombs him onto the platform. Dean and Kevin fight on the ladder with Owens falling backwards through the ladder and Ambrose gets the briefcase at 21:36 as JBL goes ballistic.
Rating: B+. See, this is what I was hoping for when they announced a six man match. Instead of fighting to get time, this was all about everyone going for the briefcase and surviving until the end when someone could get the briefcase. The ending isn’t a shock as you had two main options with Ambrose and Owens and it’s hard to argue with Dean winning. Really fun brawl though with some awesome spots, though nothing we haven’t seen before.
Long pre-show recap.
US Title: Rusev vs. Titus O’Neil
Rusev is defending and Titus’ kids are in the crowd. Rusev goes straight outside and gets in their faces, setting up a double clothesline on the floor. Titus just erupts on Rusev against the barricade before throwing him into said barricade. Rusev sends him into the post for a seven count before getting two off a spinwheel kick back inside. A hard knee has Titus’ ribs in trouble and we hit the chinlock.
Titus fights back with elbows to the ribs and a shoulder. Something like a reverse slam gets two but Titus has to get out of the Accolade. A pumphandle powerslam gets two more on the champ, who comes right back with the jumping superkick. Now the Accolade retains the title at 8:15.
Rating: D+. It’s almost like the idea of crushing the former champion over and over left Rusev with no one credible to defend against here. Oh wait Titus won some dad award a year or so ago so now he’s supposed to be interesting. Boring match here with zero doubt about the end result but that’s what midcard titles mean these days.
Rusev laughs at Titus’ kids and PLEASE don’t mean we get a rematch.
We recap Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins with 15 minutes left in the show. They’ve been involved forever and things were made even worse when Rollins cashed in Money in the Bank to end Wrestlemania XXXI. Then Rollins hurt his knee and Reigns took the title in Seth’s absence, setting up this showdown.
WWE World Title: Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns
Reigns is defending and the bell rings at 10:54 EST. Feeling out process to start until Reigns drops him with a shoulder. A second shoulder does the same but a third is blocked with a dropkick. Reigns is sent outside for a suicide dive but comes right back with a Samoan Drop for two. The fans don’t give Roman an inch as he hits that running clothesline and pounds away in the corner.
It’s past 11pm as regular pay per views now have overruns. Roman asks if Seth is ready for this so Rollins slaps him in the face. The comeback is stopped with a right hand and Roman sends him over the announcers’ table. Seth whips the champ into the steps but Roman comes right back with a Razor’s Edge into a sitout powerbomb for two. The Superman Punch is avoided though and Seth dropkicks him outside for another suicide dive. A big flip dive over the top is followed by a Sling Blade for two back inside.
The Pedigree doesn’t work though and the Superman Punch gets two for the champ. Seth enziguris Reigns away and hits the springboard knee to the head. A frog splash gets two on Reigns, allowing JBL to get in his second Eddie Guerrero reference of the night. Rollins is scared to go for the sunset bomb so he switches to a buckle bomb and low superkick for two instead.
Seth has to try three times for a superplex before getting him down, setting up a Falcon’s Arrow for two. The Pedigree is broken up again and Rollins gets two more off a powerbomb. The slugout goes to Rollins and there’s another buckle bomb, only to have Reigns come out with a Superman Punch for two. Since this hasn’t gone on long enough, Rollins goes outside, only to avoid the spear into the barricade.
Medics come out to check on Reigns until Rollins throws him back inside for the Pedigree. That’s countered as well and we get a ref bump, followed by the spear for a delayed near fall. The spear is countered into a Pedigree for two and Rollins is stunned. There’s a second Pedigree and Rollins is champion at 26:04.
Rating: B+. It was long but the end was a surprise and a good way to wrap things up with Reigns getting pinned clean. This sets up a lot of interesting stuff with the potential Shield triple threat that should headline Summerslam but more importantly….I hear music so we’ll cut this short.
We’re not done yet! Ambrose comes in through the crowd and hits Rollins with the briefcase for the cash-in.
WWE World Title: Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins
Ambrose is champion off Dirty Deeds in 9 seconds. More importantly: NO MONEY IN THE BANK FOR A YEAR!!!
JBL sounds like he wants to cry as Ambrose celebrates to take us off the air.
Overall Rating: A-. If not for some of the midcard stuff not exactly living up to the same standards and what seems to be the introduction of overruns on a pay per view (because ten matches over four hours and then three hours and ten minutes tomorrow night isn’t enough), this would have been a classic. As it is it’s just great and a bit beneath the 2011 edition, though still very good.
That being said, if WWE actually runs the Shield triple threat at freaking Battleground and not on the big stage of say Summerslam’s main event, I think my head might explode. That’s a Wrestlemania main event level match and there’s a chance they’ll waste it on the nothing July pay per view. Either way, it’s a really good show worth watching, but have your fast forward button ready.
Results
New Day b. The Club, Vaudevillains and Enzo Amore/Big Cass – Kofi pinned English after a Magic Killer
Baron Corbin b. Dolph Ziggler – End of Days
Charlotte/Dana Brooke b. Natalya/Becky Lynch – Natural Selection to Natalya
Apollo Crews b. Sheamus – Rollup
AJ Styles b. John Cena – Pin after a Magic Killer from the Club
Dean Ambrose b. Cesaro, Sami Zayn, Alberto Del Rio, Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho – Ambrose pulled down the briefcase
Rusev b. Titus O’Neil – Accolade
Seth Rollins b. Roman Reigns – Pedigree
Dean Ambrose b. Seth Rollins – Dirty Deeds
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
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It’s another big time pay per view but more interestingly it might be the last pay per view of this era with the Brand Split changing everything a month after this show airs. They’re building this up as the greatest Money in the Bank of all time and while I have a really hard time believing they can top the 2011 edition, it could be interesting to see what they could do here. Let’s get to it.
The card has actually undergone a few changes so we’ll start with the new pre-show matches, beginning with Golden Truth vs. Breezango. I know it’s not the most popular feud in the world but I’ve been digging this story as it’s gone on for months. The interesting thing here though is I’m not sure who wins goes over. They could finally have Golden Truth get a win but that kind of wraps up the feud. On the other hand they could go with Breezango winning and further the split between Truth and Goldust.
I actually think Breezango goes over as Golden Truth doesn’t exactly have much of a future while Breezango could actually be built into a low level team of some value. Yeah I’ll take Breezango but I wouldn’t be surprised if I was wrong. Either way, this is a good example of how to get WAY more than should be gotten out of a stupid comedy story and I could actually go with these teams going somewhere else.
The other pre-show match is the definition of “here’s a match thrown together for the sake of making this show even longer” as the Dudley Boys face the Lucha Dragons. It’s really sad to see the Dragons thrown back together after Kalisto lost his US Title and the writers threw him out of their crib like they do with all of their new toys.
I guess we’ll go with the Dragons here because…..well because they were heads when I flipped a coin in my head. There’s really no reason for either team to go over the other so yeah we’ll pick the Dragons with at least a 50% confidence rate. This really feels like background noise while you’re getting your pizza ready for the main show and that really doesn’t need to happen, especially when you already have a pre-show match with so little importance.
Now on to the main card and we’ll start with the four way for the Tag Team Titles as New Day defends against the Vaudevillains, the Club and Enzo Amore/Big Cass. In theory this is the Club’s match to lose but the more I think about it, the more I think that they’re going to let New Day break the record for the titles, which they would by the time Battleground rolls around.
So yeah I think New Day escapes here to set up the big showdown with the Club, though again Club could wind up pulling it off here. I think we can forget the idea of Enzo/Cass or the Vaudevillains getting the titles here though I can go with the idea of the other two teams being added on to save the big showdown for later. As easily as I could see the Club getting the belts, I’ll go with New Day surviving one more month and getting the record before dropping them at Battleground.
I’m sorry for being so back and forth with the picks here but it’s that kind of a card. That’s not a bad thing either.
In another match that doesn’t need to exist, we have Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler yet again because this is what you do with a young name after you bring him up and give him a big win at Wrestlemania: give him the exact same match over and over again with no one getting anywhere as a result.
In theory this should go to Corbin in what better be this final match of the feud. I can barely remember why they’re fighting at this point because they’re in the horrible trap of “well we’ve been fighting for a long time now so let’s just keep fighting”. Ziggler has nothing to lose at this point but Corbin could move on to fighting for a midcard title after this feud so there’s really no reason to not go with Corbin. Yeah Corbin and I’m moving on to the next match before I can change my mind again.
Next up we have what should be a squash in a title match with Rusev beating the barks out of Titus O’Neil. I know he’s like the best father ever or whatever that nothing award they gave him was and the show is on Father’s Day but I can’t imagine they put Titus, who hasn’t actually won a match on Raw or Smackdown since February. Of course that’s enough for a title shot, mainly because Jack Swagger is too busy in theory.
So yeah, Rusev wins here and absolutely crushes Titus while Lana stands around looking hot. I’m not looking forward to this but it’s better than watching Rusev squash Kalisto all over again. They really need to actually have someone built up to challenge him instead of just picking someone off the roster and letting Rusev crush them on pay per view. Still though, at least Titus’ energy should help carry some of the match.
In a match I’m actually looking forward to, Apollo Crews will be facing Sheamus in his first major match in the company. This is your standard “I’m big and you’re small” match and that’s a style that is almost always going to work no matter what you do. Again there’s no reason for Crews to lose as Sheamus has the ability and the resume to pop back up after anything that happens to him. Crews wins here and there’s no reason for Sheamus to even be considered.
One more match before we get to the big stuff as we look at the women’s tag match. What in the world has happened to this division since Wrestlemania? The triple threat there was an absolute spectacle but this never ending Charlotte vs. Natalya feud while the fans are just waiting for Sasha to come out there and take the title has completely burned through all of the momentum they had built up. The wrestling is definitely better and it’s a lot more entertaining than it was but there’s no fire to the matches and that’s not a good thing.
I’ll go with Charlotte/Dana over Becky/Natalya because the latter two are just not allowed to win a big match no matter what they do. There’s no need for this feud to continue but it seems like we’re waiting for August to actually have Sasha come in and win the title she should have gotten at Wrestlemania in the first place. Either way it’s time for some fresh energy (not blood, which is a different thing) in the division, which shouldn’t be the case after one of the best women’s matches in American history just two and a half months ago.
Now we get to the important stuff and we’ll start with probably the least important of the three main events as Seth Rollins faces Roman Reigns. To say this one is confusing is an understatement as Rollins was built up as the sympathetic face with the big documentary and returned to the big face pop at Extreme Rules. On the other hand you have Roman Reigns who certainly does have his fans but is being pushed as one of the awkward faces in history despite being a natural heel while getting booed out of several buildings around the country.
The thing is, there’s almost no way this is going to be the last match between the two, but possibly more importantly it’s going to be the last time they might be on pay per view on the same brand. I’m almost sure there’s not going to be a cash-in but I’d bet on a DQ or countout finish here with Reigns holding onto the belt. Rollins will probably need some more seasoning before being put back on top of the card, but this should be one heck of a match as Reigns is always good to great once the bell rings.
Next up we have the namesake match with Dean Ambrose, Cesaro, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho and Alberto Del Rio in the Money in the Bank ladder match. In another instance of me having almost no idea who is winning here, this match is basically a pick em save for Alberto who should have as much chance of winning this match as I do of winning Miss Nevada 1973.
I think I’m going with Owens, who would be the best choice for the briefcase long term for the promos alone. Ambrose is a real option too but I can’t really picture them going with him actually winning a big match. The same is true of Cesaro and it’s too early for Sami. There’s a slight chance to get it on Jericho, who they’ve talked about as never winning the match he’s created. Of course that would be ridiculous and not really help anyone but that didn’t stop them at Wrestlemania. I’ll stick with Owens here but Jericho is a dark horse. Oh and one last thing: well done on keeping it at six. For once I can remember everyone involved.
That leaves us with the main event and sweet goodness this should be fun. There aren’t many actual dream matches out there but AJ vs. Cena really is one of them. The buildup has been excellent with that contract signing more than pushing me over the top, which really wasn’t hard after the setup.
I’m not sure what else there is to say here as it’s AJ Styles vs. John Cena in a featured match on a WWE pay per view. I’ll take AJ to win in a masterpiece to set up a bunch of rematches down the line which is fine. Yeah Cena would lose in his big comeback match but it makes the most sense here, meaning it’s more than likely to be wrong. The thing is there’s no wrong answer here and that’s a good sign going into tomorrow night.
It’s a rare thing but I actually got more excited for the show going through the preview. This really is one of the most stacked cards I’ve seen in a very long time and it has the potential to be some incredible stuff. Maybe not the best Money in the Bank ever but it’s going to be a heck of a night of wrestling and that’s what these shows should be. Pay per views are almost always awesome these days and I see no reason why that trend won’t continue here.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
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Smackdown Date: June 16, 2016
Location: Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Mississippi
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Jerry Lawler, Byron Saxton
It’s the final show before Money in the Bank so just set up the big six man main event already. This week’s Raw had some strong story building moments for the coming pay per view but the go home Smackdowns can be all over the place quality wise. Hopefully they don’t just bore us with nothing matches that don’t fire up the fans for Sunday. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
We open with Chris Jericho in the ring for the Highlight Reel. Jericho says quiet about seventeen times and unveils the new Jeritron 6500 and the new $2000 carpet. He promises to win Money in the Bank because he created it (“You’re welcome.”). Tonight his guest is Dean Ambrose, even though Jericho hates him. Dean comes out with a cup of coffee but first we have to look at the clip of the Ambrose Asylum on Monday. Jericho isn’t cool with the coffee because this carpet is made of Serengeti yak hair. Dean’s coffee is like the Gift of Jericho man. He’s just drinking it in.
Jericho says Dean won’t be Shawn Michaels tonight and shove his head through the screen so Dean’s Jeritron privileges are revoked. Actually everyone has so raise the screen. Chris brings up the thumbtacks and says the holes don’t combine to equal the hole left in Dean’s spirit by never being World Heavyweight Champion. Dean isn’t winning the briefcase or the title on Sunday but here’s Kevin Owens to interrupt. That case is HIS and he might cash in at any time.
Cue Del Rio to speak Spanish and say no one understands how this works except for him but here’s Cesaro to interrupt as well. Nothing is said before Sami cuts them off and announces tonight’s six man, triggering an argument with Cesaro over the interruption. Jericho calls them stupid idiots and says they’ll win tonight so Dean pours the coffee on the carpet to start the brawl.
Kofi Kingston vs. Aiden English vs. Luke Gallows vs. Big Cass
Enzo’s entrance is cut off by New Day and that’s not cool. I guess New Day are haters now? Other than Kofi riding in on Big E.’s shoulders, there’s no special entrance from New Day. Enzo and Woods are sitting in on commentary. Gallows powerbombs Kofi to start but Cass clotheslines Luke down and knocks Aiden outside as well. The Club gets Cass to the floor and sends him into the barricade as the guest commentators both get up and we take a break.
Back with Aiden and Gallows taking turns beating on Kofi before naturally fighting over who gets the pin. Cass breaks up what looks like a Doomsday Device with big boots and clotheslines all around. Gotch tries to interfere but Gallows pulls Cass to the floor. Kingston dives off the top to take out Gallows and Cass, followed by Big E. running over Gotch. Back inside it’s Kofi hitting Trouble in Paradise for the pin on English at 7:44.
Rating: C. This didn’t have time to go anywhere and Kofi winning isn’t exactly a great sign for New Day’s reign going forward. The Club winning the titles makes the most sense which is probably why the Vaudevillains will win the titles. I’m really hoping they don’t split up New Day or Enzo/Cass in the Draft but leave it to WWE to go with the worst possibly choices.
Natalya and Becky Lynch are ready for their tag match on Sunday and insist that the truth is out there: Charlotte can’t win a match on her own. Dana and Charlotte come in so bickering can ensue.
Baron Corbin vs. Zack Ryder
Dolph Ziggler is on commentary. Corbin chokes to start but goes outside to yell at Ziggler, allowing Ryder to get in a dropkick off the apron. The Broski Boot gets two (on Baron if that wasn’t clear) but End of Days wraps Ryder up at 1:46.
Corbin walks away from a fight with Ziggler post match.
Rusev vs. Kalisto
Non-title and Lana does Rusev’s intro. They show Rusev beating Titus O’Neal down on Raw to basically guarantee the post match shenanigans. Kalisto gets jumped during the entrances and put in the Accolade. No match.
Sin Cara tries to make a save and gets the same treatment. Titus runs in for the save and cleans house.
Recap of the Styles vs. Cena contract signing.
AJ Styles says he’ll prove he can win on his own this Sunday. New Day comes in to laugh at AJ’s lack of style and a match is set up between Woods vs. Styles.
Xavier Woods vs. AJ Styles
No seconds at ringside. Feeling out process to start with AJ sending Woods off the ropes and saying Xavier can’t see him. AJ cranks on a wristlock and says he does this better than Cena. Woods comes back with a strike to the forehead, only to have AJ chop block him down. AJ takes his time to let the referee check on Woods, who catches AJ with a jumping knee to the head. The Pele drops Woods for two though and it’s off to the chinlock.
Woods finally gets up and grabs an O’Connor Roll for two, only to get caught in a backbreaker. We take a break and come back with Xavier punching his way out of a superplex and getting two off a high cross body. A reverse suplex drops Styles and a discus forearm puts him on the floor. Woods follows him out with a big flip dive before walking across the top rope for a LONG elbow drop and a near fall. AJ escapes a superplex and scores with the Phenomenal Forearm setting up the Calf Crusher (Styles: “THIS IS WHAT I’M GOING TO DO TO JOHN CENA!”) for the tap out at 12:21.
Rating: B-. Woods can go when he wants to but most of the time he’s just there for comic relief. Granted it might have helped that the match was against AJ Styles and Woods only had to do the basics to get through this one. The ending made perfect sense as they set up the injury at the beginning and then paid it off at the end. Why is that so complicated?
Post match AJ says that’s just a taste of what Cena is getting when his time is up.
This week’s lesson with Bob Backlund is about Darren Young reading more. Bob says they’re like dumbbells for the brain but Backlund doesn’t like the idea of Darren taking advice from anyone, including Backlund himself. That’s because Backlund doesn’t give advice. Instead he gives orders, like 100 high knees right now.
Natalya vs. Charlotte
Non-title with Becky and Dana at ringside. Charlotte takes it to the mat with a headlock which is countered into a headscissors. The hold is quickly broken but Natalya breaks up the strut. Charlotte gets caught in a surfboard but it’s too early for the Sharpshooter. Natalya will have none of this waiting on the floor and takes Charlotte out with a baseball slide. Dana offers a distraction though, allowing Charlotte to kick Natalya in the face to take over. The advantage doesn’t last long though as Natalya throws her over with a German suplex for two.
Nattie By Nature gets two as the announcers talk about video games. Lawler: “The only video game you should be talking about is WWE2K16.” That’s some veteran shilling. Charlotte goes up for the moonsault but gets caught in a sitout powerbomb for two, only to have Dana hold up the title as a distraction. Becky and Dana slug it out and Charlotte chop blocks Natalya, setting up the Figure Eight for the submission at 5:48.
Rating: C+. I’m not sure how this is supposed to help set up Sunday but I’m not really sure why these women are still fighting. You would think Natalya losing like five matches to Charlotte would be enough to end the feud but let’s just keep it going anyway. It’s not like there’s anyone else around to challenge for the title. One last note: I’d like to point out that the loss to Paige on Monday seems to mean absolutely nothing, barring a surprise Paige title shot coming up after Money in the Bank.
Long video on Roman vs. Rollins.
Dean Ambrose/Sami Zayn/Cesaro vs. Alberto Del Rio/Chris Jericho/Kevin Owens
It’s a big brawl to start until Del Rio and Cesaro are left alone in the ring. Alberto misses the corner enziguri but still lands on Cesaro’s back. That means it’s time for the uppercut train (and Mauro’s uppercut party line) before Del Rio avoids the Codebreaker to the arm. Cesaro can’t hook the Swing though and has to settle for a flip dive off the apron. The running European uppercut sends Jericho into the timekeeper’s area.
Del Rio gets one as well and Cesaro stays on him with a high cross body for two. Cesaro Swings all three heels with Jericho getting the last one and a Sharpshooter to go with it. Jericho taps but isn’t legal, allowing Del Rio to superkick Cesaro down for two as we take a break. Back with Jericho posing over a fallen Cesaro before handing it off to Owens for a stomping in the corner. Del Rio tags himself in to hammer Cesaro even more, only to get dropkicked off the top and out to the floor.
The hot tag brings in Sami to take on Jericho as everything breaks down. Sami’s high cross body gets two but Owens gets in a cheap shot to let Jericho take over. That means a long and obvious spot call in the corner until Sami gets in a clothesline to set up the hot tag to Dean. Everything breaks down again and Dean sends Del Rio to the floor for the suicide dive.
The standing elbow misses though and Alberto gets two off a Backstabber. Dirty Deeds is broken up and it’s Cesaro cleaning house with uppercuts, including one to Ambrose. Del Rio tags out to Owens, earning himself a superkick. Jericho gets one from Owens as well, setting up Dirty Deeds for the pin on Kevin at 13:50.
Rating: C+. This was exactly what I was expecting but that’s to be expected when you do the same building process year after year. It’s a fine Smackdown main event with enough good action and a grand total of almost no storyline advancement. In other words: a big part of why no one watches Smackdown at the moment.
Overall Rating: C. You can feel the show being stuck in a holding pattern until we get to the Brand Split and Smackdown possibly starts meaning anything again. This didn’t do anything to make me want to see Sunday’s show but Raw already took care of most of that. The show wasn’t bad or anything but it was so horribly average with nothing memorable whatsoever. If this doesn’t change after the split, this show is in major trouble.
Results
Kofi Kingston b. Big Cass, Aiden English and Luke Gallows – Trouble in Paradise to English
Baron Corbin b. Zack Ryder – End of Days
AJ Styles b. Xavier Woods – Calf Crusher
Charlotte b. Natalya – Figure Eight
Dean Ambrose/Cesaro/Sami Zayn b. Chris Jericho/Kevin Owens/Alberto Del Rio – Dirty Deeds to Owens
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
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Monday Night Raw – June 13, 2016: Someone Give Me A Good Title For A Strong Go Home Show
Monday Night Raw Date: June 13, 2016
Location: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Byron Saxton, Michael Cole
It’s the go home show for Money in the Bank so it’s hard to say how much will actually happen this week. In this case we’ll have the buildup to the actual ladder match but one of the participants will be crossing over to the main event as well as Dean Ambrose hosts a special Ambrose Asylum with Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
We have a moment of silence for Orlando.
Here’s New Day to get things going. During their entrance we see a sign in the crowd reading “The guy behind me can’t see.” That actually made me groan and furthers my loathing of most wrestling fans. They talk about the upcoming four way but stop to make fun of Kofi for wearing the new Steph Curry shoes, which apparently look old. Kofi: “These shoes are hot on the streets!” Woods: “What streets? The streets of Greenwich, Connecticut?” Kofi: “Those are some mean streets.” They promise to keep the titles but here are Enzo and Big Cass to interrupt.
Cass says they’re going all in on Sunday and walking out with the titles. He implies that the unicorn horns are made for her pleasure and asks if Kofi is serious with the Jerry Seinfeld shoes. After New Day makes fun of the shoes as well, Cass wants to talk about Francesca. Woods: “That’s my girl.” Cass: “Well where was your girl last night?” Apparently she was with Enzo, who had his lips all over her like Satchmo.
Woods gets very serious and says he’s the only one who blows his girl. Kofi introduces the verbal joust of wits between New Day and Enzo/Big Cass but the Vaudevillains interrupt. English sings about how the new era but Anderson and Gallows cut them off. Gallows makes fun of the New Orleans Saints so Cass calls them S-A-W-F-T.
New Day/Enzo Amore/Big Cass vs. The Club/Vaudevillains
This is joined in progress with Kofi working over Gotch before bringing in Big E. for the Unicorn Stampede. Cass throws in some elbows before Enzo tags himself in so Cass can throw him at Gotch. English shoves Gotch out of the way of a high cross body, only to have Gotch run Amore over. It’s time for Enzo to take a beating as all of the villains take a shot at him. English gets kicked out to the floor though and a kick to the chest is enough for the hot tag off to Cass as everything breaks down. Kofi dives on everyone and we take a break.
Back with Big E. in trouble but countering a sunset flip and dropping Gotch with an elbow to the jaw. Gallows gets in a clothesline though and Big E. is in trouble again. The Vaudevillains chop away before it’s off to Karl for a kick to the face in the corner. Big E. gets in a shot to the ribs though and it’s off to Kofi as things speed up again. A high cross body gets two on Anderson as Enzo and Gotch are sent out to the floor. English does the same to Cass, only to have Big E. LAUNCH him with a belly to belly. Gallows comes in off a blind tag and the Magic Killer puts Kingston away at 13:26.
Rating: C+. That break in the middle hurt this a lot as it felt like nothing more than a way to fill in time rather than something that the match actually needed. That being said, Kofi was on fire here, which is why he just had to take the pin. Big E. or Enzo were available, though they were smart to keep Cass looking strong as he’s possibly the biggest prospect in the whole match.
We look back at the debut of the Shield at Survivor Series 2012 to help set up the Ambrose Asylum later tonight.
Bob Backlund/Darren Young segment from Smackdown with Backlund telling him to save money, including only having one pair of clothes.
Shane and Stephanie are bickering over who should run Raw and/or Smackdown when Kane comes in to offer his services. He has a resume and a letter of recommendation from Undertaker so Stephanie lets Shane handle this one.
Zack Ryder is laughing with some random people about Apollo Crews knocking Sheamus down on Smackdown. Sheamus comes in and says he’ll beat Ryder up tonight, just like he’ll do to Crews on Sunday. Ryder says hi to Crews…..who isn’t there, allowing Ryder to run away like any former United States and Intercontinental Champion would do.
Clip of Shield’s face turn.
The Shining Stars brag about Puerto Rico’s water. How is this supposed to make money?
Titus O’Neil comes out for a match but Rusev jumps him from behind and beats him down on the stage. The referees have to come out and break the Accolade.
Clip of Shield breaking up. So to recap: they arrived, they turned face, and they split with nothing in between.
It’s time for the Ambrose Asylum with special guests Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. Before they come out though, Ambrose says he feels like he’s just woken up from a coma because this Sunday feels like Wrestlemania. There are two major matches and we’re focusing on one of them here. Therefore, let’s bring out his first guest, the scum of the Earth, Seth Rollins.
Reigns is brought out as well and we get the big visual of the three of them standing there. Ambrose: “This is great huh?” He asks Rollins about the knee and Rollins is stunned that Ambrose hasn’t watched his special on the WWE Network (he should because it’s awesome). Dean thinks Seth’s face must be hurt because it’s killing him. Reigns on the other hand had a great time on Bourbon Street last night.
Dean wants Rollins to calm down and stop being a party pooper. After the party pooper chant dies off, Rollins lists off some fun moments they’ve had like Wrestlemania XXX, flying in on a helicopter to fight Undertaker and HELL NO in London and finding Dean unconscious next to a dumpster in…..what town was that? Seth brings up the matches against Evolution and we get a BLUETISTA chant.
Rollins gets to the Wrestlemania XXXI cash-in and violence starts boiling over. Dean breaks it up and says Reigns beat Ambrose for that title in the first place. Yeah Reigns accomplished a lot in Rollins’ absence but he’s never beaten Seth one on one. Rollins rants about how he’s going to get the title back on his own but Dean laughs the idea off. Reigns actually says Rollins is right because it’s going to be one on one Sunday and then they’ll call him the guy because he beat Seth. Dean asks the fans which one it’s going to be but offers a third option: he wins the Money in the Bank contract and cashes in on either of them.
The music plays and the brawl is on with Reigns throwing Dean away so he can beat Seth up himself. That earns Seth a Superman Punch but Dean gives Reigns Dirty Deeds because that’s what friends do to each other. Ambrose looks up at the briefcase and the fans seem to like the idea.
Back from a break and Stephanie makes Ambrose vs. Jericho for the main event. Over the weekend I made a comment about how Smackdown is worthless because the matches mean nothing and there’s a good chance that they’ll just repeat a match on Monday anyway and I had a feeling it would be this one because it’s the one that didn’t need to happen again.
Paige vs. Charlotte
Natalya and Becky Lynch are at ringside. Non-title and the second match of the show starts an hour and twenty one minutes in. Paige runs her over with a knee to start but gets small packaged for two. Charlotte yells at Natalya and walks into the Rampaige for the pin at 2:31. I’m not even going to bother getting mad about this.
Cesaro is about to talk about Money in the Bank when Sami Zayn comes in to give the real answers. Cesaro is ticked off and says Sami is acting like a child but Sami says Cesaro can’t talk down to him like this. Apparently they’re in the same match tonight so Cesaro says he’ll see him out there.
Charlotte yells at Dana for failing and implies that Dana is her assistant. Dana is of course mad but Charlotte says her payment is to be part of Charlotte’s legacy.
Sheamus vs. Zack Ryder
This is the second match in a row with no entrances, likely for the sake of more backstage stuff. Sheamus attacks early to start but gets caught by a quick dropkick and the Broski Boot. The Elbro gets two but the Rough Ryder is easily blocked. The Brogue Kick puts Ryder away at 1:53.
Sheamus beats him up even more until Crews runs out for the save.
We get a video of Kane winning Money in the Bank in 2010 and cashing in the same night.
Kevin Owens interrupts Kane and Shane’s talk but he wants to talk to Stephanie. Apparently Alberto Del Rio just arrived twenty minutes ago and should be taken out of the Money in the Bank match as a punishment. Del Rio, already in his gear, comes in to blame Owens for calling airport security to get him delayed for five hours. They start yelling in Spanish and French until Kane cuts them off with an idea. How about a tag match against the Lucha Dragons with the winners getting the spot in the ladder match? Shane likes the idea and makes the match.
Sami Zayn vs. Cesaro
Feeling out process to start with Cesaro nipping up out of a wristlock but getting armdragged right back down. A nice tilt-a-whirl backbreaker plants Sami for and Cesaro sends him into the post as we take a break. Back with Cesaro hitting a corner uppercut and stomping on Sami’s chest for two. A quick Michinoku Driver gets two for Sami but he takes too long going to the top, allowing Cesaro to power through the apron superplex for another near fall. Back up and the Blue Thunder Bomb gets two, followed by the sunset bomb for…..actually for three on Cesaro at 8:06.
Rating: C+. That’s one of the few booking ideas I’ve seen tonight that I really like. Sami (and a lot of other people) have those big moves that never win anything so it’s a really good idea to have one get a pin every now and then to make you believe that it could get another one later. The loss doesn’t hurt Cesaro either as none of these wins really mean anything heading into the big gimmick match.
It’s time for the contract signing between John Cena and AJ Styles as moderated by Michael Cole. Cena hypes up Money in the Bank as a show bigger than Wrestlemania with a match fifteen years in the making. For years, the WWE bosses had told AJ Styles that he didn’t belong here. That’s nonsense because from PWG to New Japan to Ring of Honor, AJ Styles has been the best everywhere he’s gone. Sidebar: Is there any real reason why they won’t say TNA? Ring of Honor is arguably bigger and New Japan is definitely bigger but TNA isn’t allowed? Unless there’s some legal reason, I see no logical justification for not saying it.
Anyway Cena tells Cole to leave because this is going to get rowdy. AJ comes out and says he’s turned Cena’s world upside down. Cena agrees that it’s been done but there’s something up his sleeve. There are two contracts here, one of which says John Cena vs. AJ Styles and the other which says John Cena vs. AJ Styles w/The Club. Cena would love to sign the first one so we can have one heck of a fight on Sunday but if they sign the second one, AJ will win on Sunday and then start complaining the very next night when he doesn’t get the same respect.
AJ thinks Cena is so confident because of all the things he’s won but Styles wants to know what would have happened if AJ had been here fifteen years ago. My guess is not much because he still would have been a nothing tag guy but I get his point. AJ says he would have been the one on the covers of magazines and in all the movies. Cena cuts him off and says he’s heard this before and AJ doesn’t get it because he has the chance to prove it on Sunday.
AJ can sign one contract and prove how great he is or sign the other one and be put on a bullet train back to Japan because that’s where he left his balls. AJ grabs a pen and looks at the contracts before signing the one on one version. Styles says after Sunday, Cena’s time is up. As usual, this was AWESOME stuff.
We see Randy Orton winning Money in the Bank in 2013 and cashing in on Daniel Bryan at Summerslam.
Kevin Owens/Alberto Del Rio vs. Lucha Dragons
The winners are in Money in the Bank. Del Rio beats on Kalisto to start before it’s off to Owens who isn’t happy with the way Alberto is acting, only to calm down at the threat of a DQ. Owens teases walking out but comes back in when Alberto is rolled up for two. Kevin and Alberto get in a shoving match and get dropkicked to the floor, setting up a double dive from the Dragons as we take a break.
Back with Kalisto eating a clothesline but Del Rio won’t tag out. Owens and Alberto get in another argument, allowing Kalisto to hit a quick Salida Del Sol to send Del Rio outside. Kevin throws his partner back in and it’s off to Sin Cara for the Swanton, only to have Owens breaks it up at two. The Pop Up Powerbomb ends Cara at 8:15.
Rating: C. I liked the idea of having something on the line here. Of course it wasn’t going to happen but it was nice to have a reason to care about the match. The Dragons are just so nothing these days and it’s sad to see the promise that Kalisto showed wasted as much as it has been.
Del Rio superkicks Owens post match.
Back from a break with Owens telling Stephanie that Sami Zayn is going to be on commentary for the main event. Stephanie is furious because that’s something so horrible so she makes Owens a commentator as well. Del Rio comes in and says he wants to be out there too so Stephanie makes him guest timekeeper.
Stephanie yells at Shane about his decisions so Shane makes Cesaro guest ring announcer. On another note, Kane isn’t getting the job running Smackdown. Kane comes in and asks if this is about electrocuting Shane’s testicles with a car batters. Shane tells Stephanie they’ll keep running Raw but he’ll run Smackdown on his own. This is getting old in a hurry and it’s only going to get worse.
Chris Jericho vs. Dean Ambrose
All of the other Money in the Bank participants are at ringside. Dean chops him down to start and scores with a quick suplex. Jericho is sent to the floor for a suicide dive before Dean knocks Owens’ headset off. Back in and Dean flips out of a Walls attempt but eats an enziguri. The corner dropkick puts Dean on the floor and it’s time for the announcers, timekeeper and ring announcer to stare at each other.
We come back from a break with Dean fighting out of a chinlock. Some clotheslines stun Jericho but he counters the top rope standing elbow drop into the Walls. Owens: “I taught him that!” Dean grabs the ropes but can’t get Dirty Deeds. Instead Jericho takes him down for two off the Lionsault, only to have Dean get up top for the elbow.
Byron asks how Kevin would handle not winning Sunday. Owens: “I would handle it the same way: I would come out here and slap your face.” Dean tries to put on the Walls but settles for a catapult out to the apron. Jericho runs to the top but dives into a kick, only to have the Codebreaker countered into Dirty Deeds for the pin at 11:58.
Rating: C. This would be the standard reversal of the match we saw on Smackdown because that’s what Smackdown is for: a dry run for the following Raw without any mention of the first match. It doesn’t help that these two have fought WAY too many times and it’s getting less and less interesting every single time.
Everyone brawls after the match with Owens bringing in a ladder, only to have Sami flip dive off the top onto the pile of people. Jericho wasn’t in that group though and goes up the ladder to pull down the briefcase to end the show.
Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling (and lack thereof at times) brings down what was an otherwise very strong show with two excellent talking segments. I’m more invested in the pay per view than I was coming in and that’s the point of a go home show. The Cena vs. AJ stuff was excellent as Cena is still the best hard seller in the business and the Shield segment made things feel more personal, especially with Dean at the end to add some flavor. As has been the case so many times, if this was a two hour show, it would have been one of the best in a long time. As it is though, it’s still good enough.
Results
The Club/Vaudevillains b. New Day/Enzo Amore/Big Cass – Magic Killer to Kingston
Paige b. Charlotte – Rampaige
Sheamus b. Zack Ryder – Brogue Kick
Sami Zayn b. Cesaro – Sunset Bomb
Kevin Owens/Alberto Del Rio b. Lucha Dragons – Pop Up Powerbomb to Cara
Dean Ambrose b. Chris Jericho – Dirty Deeds
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FWZZ2UA
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Smackdown Date: June 9, 2016
Location: Intrust Bank Arena, Wichita, Kansas
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Mauro Ranallo, Byron Saxton
We’re pretty much at business as usual here as Money in the Bank is a week from Sunday and most of the big stories are starting to round into form. AJ Styles is going after John Cena, the Tag Team Titles are in a big mess of a match and we’ll see yet another combination of the six Money in the Bank participants tonight because just having them be announced over time isn’t an option for whatever reason. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Here’s the Club to get things going. AJ talks about how this Money in the Bank may be the best ever with the Club winning the Tag Team Titles and AJ himself taking care of John Cena. For ten years it’s been the John Cena Era and the New Era can’t really get started until he takes Cena out. When he came to WWE in the first place, he made it clear that the Club was a package deal. The Club has transcended countries, continents and companies. As for Cena, you can’t beat him.
Cue Enzo and Big Cass with the latter reminding AJ that there are two other teams going after the Tag Team Titles. The Mr. Clean Dream Team isn’t taking those belts but Karl says they’ve been traveling the world for ten years while Enzo was managing a Hooters. Enzo basically says “Well yeah. What’s wrong with that?” before saying the Club has wrestled everywhere but Antarctica.
Enzo would love to walk a mile in Karl’s shoes because then he’d be a mile away from him. The last time Enzo and Cass had a big match, Enzo fell asleep on the job. Enzo thinks that makes them a couple of haters so in Vegas, money will talk and money will walk. That makes Anderson and Gallows S-A-W-F-T.
Enzo Amore/Big Cass vs. Karl Anderson/Luke Gallows
New Day is on commentary with Woods eating BootyO’s and Big E. holding a broom. Anderson runs Cass over a few times to start before it’s off to Gallows for a big boot. For some reason this makes New Day talk about pasta. The Enzo beating continues as Kofi puts Byron on grape duty, meaning he has to feed Kofi grapes on demand. Anderson throws him down to stop a tag attempt, making Kofi think Enzo should switch to Alfredo instead of the marinara.
Big E. does his nerdy commentator voice as Enzo Stuns Anderson over the top rope. A diving tag attempt is stopped by a running boot to the head as the Vaudevillains come out to watch. Back from a break with Gallows suplexing Enzo for two as the fans chant for Cass. Amore punches away but is shoved away, only to get caught by the jumping DDT. Now it’s the hot tag to Cass as house is quickly cleaned. A very big boot puts Gallows on the floor as New Day gets up to cut off the Vaudevillains. They all get in the ring and that’s a no contest at 10:54.
Rating: C. Cass continues to look like the biggest star out of all these guys and that big boot was awesome. I really can’t imagine the New Day keeps the titles after Money in the Bank and the Club would be the logical way to go with the belts. Enzo and Cass are hot right now though and you would have to expect Cass to get a big singles push soon.
Enzo and Cass clear the ring post match.
We recap Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho, who will be facing each other tonight, focusing on the battle over the talk shows.
Muhammad Ali tribute.
The announcers talk about the Money in the Bank card.
Lana and Rusev aren’t worried about Titus O’Neil because Rusev is the real greatest of all time instead of Muhammad Ali. Titus comes in and says he’ll take the title at Money in the Bank by floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee.
Cesaro/Sami Zayn vs. Alberto Del Rio/Kevin Owens
Sami and Owens start things off with Zayn spinning him around and sending him into the corner for a tag off to Del Rio. That’s fine with Alberto who kicks Sami’s leg out but lets the tag bring in Cesaro. Alberto takes over and asks Owens for a tag but Kevin says Del Rio is doing fine by himself and walks out. Sami chases him up the ramp so we’re down to a singles match.
A shot to the back puts Del Rio on the floor and it’s time for a break. Back with Del Rio getting two off a Backstabber. We hit the chinlock but Cesaro is up in less than five seconds. Well he’s certainly not lazy at least. Cesaro muscles him up into a suplex as Sami and Kevin fight back down the aisle. Del Rio isn’t cool with Owens walking out on him and now it’s Alberto walking out. Owens won’t let that happen so Sami dives over the top to take him out, leaving Cesaro to suplex Del Rio on the floor.
Back in and Del Rio starts in on the arm but can’t get the armbreaker. Everything breaks down and Swiss Death drops Del Rio again. Owens and Zayn are sent outside again, leaving Del Rio to take the Swing. Owens breaks up the Sharpshooter and crotches Cesaro on top, setting up the top rope double stomp from Del Rio, only to have Owens throw his partner out and steal the pin at 13:29.
Rating: C+. I’m normally not a fan of the way the build towards Money in the Bank goes but this was kind of a creative way to do more than just another tag match. I’m sure we’ll see something else like that next week because there’s almost no way around seeing those matches over and over but at least this was something fresher. The wrestling is all fine and having only six people keeps the match from being such a mess but a change to the build could be an improvement.
We look at Jericho destroying Mitch.
Dana Brooke vs. Becky Lynch
Natalya and Charlotte are at ringside. Dana immediately bails to the ropes but Becky snaps off some armdrags to send her outside. Back in and Lynch misses a charge, allowing Charlotte to get in a forearm like a good heel should. Becky comes back with a kick to the ribs but she has to go after Charlotte, triggering a brawl between Charlotte and Natalya on the floor. That earns them both an ejection, leaving Becky to make Dana tap with the Disarm-Her at 3:04.
Rating: C-. You know, I wouldn’t be opposed to them actually announcing the women’s match for the pay per view. I’m assuming it’s going to be a fatal fourway or a non-title tag match (which actually fits for a change) but anything is better than another Natalya title shot. Whatever gets us past this and on to Sasha FINALLY getting her title shot would be a good idea though.
Bob Backlund asks to see Darren Young’s victory celebration. Young starts doing the Millions of Dollars dance but Bob tells him to bring it back down to earth. Backlund tells him to save money, which Darren interprets as not going to the movies and no popcorn. Darren asks how Bob saves so much money, which apparently is all about wearing only one set of clothes. Young agrees to cut down on the shopping. Backlund: “How do you feel about a bow tie?”
Baron Corbin vs. Kalisto
Dolph Ziggler is on commentary because this thing just won’t die. Kalisto is still listed as one half of the Lucha Dragons despite them almost never teaming together anymore. Some quick kicks put Corbin on the floor to start but he shrugs off even more kicks and tosses Kalisto onto the barricade to take over.
We get the staredown with Ziggler, who says he’d love to take off his jeggings and get right in there. Back in and we hit the chinlock on Kalisto for a bit before he comes back with the corkscrew cross body. The headscissors driver gets two but Corbin just blasts him in the back of the head. End of Days puts Kalisto away at 3:45.
Rating: C. You can definitely add Kalisto to the long list of people who started fast until the company got bored with him and threw him to the side for their new favorite toy. The match was your normal boring stuff as Ziggler vs. Corbin is a feud that needed to wrap up two months ago but for some reason the thing just keeps going.
We look at Ambrose ripping up Jericho’s jacket. This feud really isn’t big enough to warrant this kind of attention.
Another chat about AJ Styles vs. John Cena with Lawler telling a story about having to face the top ten contenders in order to get a shot at NWA World Champion Jack Brisco. Why can’t we hear those stories more often?
Sheamus brags about the success of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Zack Ryder/Golden Truth aren’t all that impressed. Apollo Crews (Remember him?) comes in and Sheamus suggests that Crews get him a latte. Sheamus gets knocked through some well placed boxes.
Chris Jericho vs. Dean Ambrose
Ranallo says this is the first time these two have ever fought on Smackdown. Why is that supposed to be something interesting or appealing? I’ve never gotten that concept. Jericho shouts about the thumb tacks Dean put into his back and the chase is on outside. Back in and Dean strikes away, only to get clotheslined down. That means it’s time to yell about the tacks even more but a clothesline puts Jericho outside for the suicide shove.
Dean loads up the announcers’ table for Dirty Deeds but gets catapulted onto the floor for a big crash as we take a break. Back with Jericho suplexing him for an arrogant two, followed by the chinlock. Dean’s comeback is stopped with a clothesline and it’s time to choke on the ropes. Another comeback attempt works a bit better as Dean scores with a clothesline and elbows but Dirty Deeds is countered into a failed Walls attempt.
Jericho dives into a forearm to the jaw for two but comes back with a middle rope enziguri (looked like a missed dropkick) for two of his own. Dean breaks up a superplex attempt and grabs la majistral for two more before both guys collide to put them down. The Codebreaker and Dirty Deeds are broken up but Dean has to stop himself from running into the referee, allowing Jericho to grab a one legged Codebreaker for the pin at 13:46.
Rating: B-. Well so much for Dean’s hot streak. The match was fine but that cage match destroyed a lot of my interest in this feud. Jericho only has so much interest these days and it makes sense to have him win a match here or there since he has almost no chance of winning the ladder match. Then again that’s what people were saying before he fought AJ at Wrestlemania.
Post match Jericho grabs a ladder but gets sent face first into it for his efforts. The standing elbow drop from the ladder crushes Jericho to end the show.
Overall Rating: C. Totally run of the mill Smackdown here as it was missing most of what I liked about the show last week. Most of the Money in the Bank card (which is looking stacked) is set so this was a bunch of supplemental material. To be fair though, we’re five weeks away from the end of Smackdown before it gets turned into something new, which hopefully turns the thing around for a change.
Results
Enzo Amore/Big Cass vs. Luke Gallows/Karl Anderson went to a no contest when New Day and the Vaudevillains interfered
Kevin Owens/Alberto Del Rio b. Sami Zayn/Cesaro – Top rope double stomp to Cesaro
Becky Lynch b. Dana Brooke – Disarm-Her
Baron Corbin b. Kalisto – End of Days
Chris Jericho b. Dean Ambrose – Codebreaker
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Monday Night Raw – June 6, 2016: My Least Favorite Time Of The Year
Monday Night Raw Date: June 6, 2016
Location: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Byron Saxton
As we head into June, the big story is AJ Styles vs. John Cena as Styles rejoined his Club buddies to attack the returning Cena last week. A match at Money in the Bank has already been signed and it should be interesting to see the big time promos leading up to the match at the pay per view. Let’s get to it.
We open with Dean Ambrose coming to the ring to join the rest of the Money in the Bank participants, all of whom are sitting on top of a ladder. Owens says he doesn’t need to be introduced because he’s already more famous than everyone else. Some insults are thrown out with Owens cutting off Jericho because Jericho says the same thing every week. He’ll win the Money in the Bank contract and give title shots to anyone who wants one, from Jean-Pierre Lafitte to Waylon Mercy to the Four Horsemen to anyone else you can see on the WWE Network (“There’s your plug.”).
Sami says he’s willing to fight anyone on the roster but Dean just wants to get to the fighting. Jericho brags about winning one of these before but Sami asks where the match was. Jericho: “Apple. Appleton. The Big Apple. It was in Stupid Idiotville!” The fight finally breaks out but TEDDY LONG returns to cut it off. He wants to take the longest weekly wrestling show (he butchers the names, meaning he’s probably fired) and make this a sixty minute iron man no DQ fatal fourway match and there must be a winner.
Cue Stephanie to say that made no sense but Teddy says he wants to run Smackdown. Stephanie says no so Teddy wants to see Shane. Well Shane isn’t here tonight so Stephanie tells Teddy to get to steppin. Ah so she’s a witchy heel tonight instead of the friendly one like she was last week. Just pick one of them already. She makes singles matches for the night, starting with Jericho vs. Cesaro for after the break.
Cesaro vs. Chris Jericho
Jericho grabs a wristlock to start but Cesaro keeps nipping up, befuzzling Jericho so much that he can just stand there watching. Cesaro powerslams Jericho for two before the big uppercut knocks Jericho outside. Jericho dropkicks him out of the air though and we take a break less than three minutes in.
Back with Cesaro firing off the uppercuts to send Jericho into the corner followed by one to knock Chris out of the air for two. The springboard uppercut is countered into a Codebreaker but it sends Cesaro outside to delay the cover and allowing Cesaro to get out again. The apron suplex gets two more for Cesaro before he just blasts Jericho with a clothesline. Jericho backdrops out of the Neutralizer but can’t get the Walls. Instead Cesaro reverses into the Swing and slaps on the Sharpshooter for the clean win at 12:08.
Rating: B-. Just two guys with talent having a TV match and there’s nothing wrong with that. This would be the latest time Cesaro got a win that isn’t likely to mean anything but I’m sure he’ll be just on the verge of breaking through the glass ceiling for the next six months or so because that’s what he does.
We look back at AJ attacking Cena last week.
Quick tribute to Muhammad Ali.
Video on Rollins vs. Reigns from Rollins’ perspective. Yeah the time with the Shield was fun but Reigns was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. There was no moment to steal from Roman at Wrestlemania because the moment belonged to Rolling the whole time. Then he tore up his knee and had to work even harder to get back to the top. Watching Reigns win the title at Wrestlemania killed him because he deserved that spot. Rollins came back early and attacked Reigns at Extreme Rules so he can take back the title he deserves.
Rusev vs. Jack Swagger
Since Smackdown means nothing and we haven’t gotten to destroy Swagger in his home state in a few months. Non-title with Titus O’Neil on commentary. Swagger takes him down until Rusev gets in a kick to the head. Titus talks about wanting to face anyone he has to face because that’s what being a champion means. A powerslam gets two for Swagger and it’s off to the Patriot Lock, only to have Rusev get outside. They COLLIDE off a double clothesline and Rusev throws Swagger into Titus to win by countout at 3:40.
Rating: D+. Yeah we know. This is another match that never needs to happen again so WWE chooses to air it twice in a week to remind us that Swagger still has a job. Nothing to see here of course but I’m pretty sure we’ll be getting Rusev vs. Titus for the title at Money in the Bank. Eh actually throw Swagger in there for the perfect WWE logic.
Here’s John Cena to talk about last week’s incident with AJ Styles. Last week was something special because normally we have a rowdy crowd with the LET’S GO CENA/CENA SUCKS chants but last week it was LET’S GO CENA/AJ STYLES. For over two minutes, Cena felt the same kind of energy he’s only felt when he was in the ring with the Rock. For fifteen years we’ve asked the question of “what if” but last week we saw it happen. Now though Cena needs an answer to Why AJ Why.
This brings out the Club with AJ saying he had a plan: get in the ring, shake Cena’s hand and punch him in the face. Cena has that Hollywood lifestyle and his movies are entertaining. Maybe not the ones he stars in but his cameos are always great. However he insults AJ as soon as that bell rings. Even on Cena’s best day, he can’t beat AJ. When he goes home, AJ’s kids ask why he never wrestles John Cena but AJ can’t tell them that he’d run circles around Cena.
John isn’t pleased that the best AJ can do is say the same thing that everyone else says. Those insults are as outdated as the jorts. When Cena looks at AJ, he sees someone who spent years getting here and then failed at everything he’s done. AJ looked at him and saw the one guy that he thought might get him noticed. That makes AJ sound desperate but Styles says he’s not about to get buried like everyone else who fights Cena and loses. The Club comes to the ring but New Day makes the save. This was EXCELLENT and made me want to see the match even more, which is saying a lot.
Vaudevillains vs. Enzo Amore/Big Cass
Before the match, Enzo and Cass quote a little Muhammad Ali by saying they’ll make medicine sick. Enzo may have been injured at the pay per view but he doesn’t remember it so it doesn’t count. They’re about to prove that the Vaudevillains are S-A-W-F-T. Enzo and Gotch start things off before it’s quickly off to English. Aiden doesn’t do as well as it’s off to Big Cass for the house cleaning. The Empire Elbow gets two and everything breaks down. Aiden gets all evil by trying to throw Enzo’s head into the ropes ala Extreme Rules, only to have Big Cass go NUTS and destroy English in the corner until it’s a DQ at 2:30.
Cass beats up Gotch as well.
Sami Zayn says he’s the underdog in this match because Alberto Del Rio has actually done the things that everyone else is talking about doing. Del Rio comes in to say that he’s going to show that Sami is just a perro.
Teddy Long comes in to see Stephanie and gets on her nerves. His idea is a four way for the Tag Team Titles at Money in the Bank with New Day defending against the Club, the Vaudevillains and Enzo/Cass. Stephanie throws him out and then calls marketing to make the match.
Alberto Del Rio vs. Sami Zayn
They’re quickly on the floor with Sami hitting a moonsault off the barricade and we take a break less than a minute in. Back with Sami fighting out of a chinlock but getting caught by a Backstabber and the low superkick for two each. Del Rio spends too much time slapping his arm though, allowing Sami to hit his hard clothesline. Sami charges into two raised boots in the corner though and Del Rio puts him in the Tree of Woe for the delayed double stomp and the pin at 8:22.
Rating: C-. That finisher is just so stupid. Even the 619 doesn’t require that much cooperation and it gets really tiring watching people have to sit up for it because something like the cross armbreaker or ANY OTHER MOVE is off the books for Del Rio. Nothing to see here of course, other than Sami losing to keep everyone equal.
Owens and Ambrose bump into each other with Kevin saying Dean has been crazier than usual recently. Dean thinks that’s a compliment and offers to beat Kevin up tonight and at the pay per view.
It’s time for a video from Reigns’ perspective. Reigns was the explosive part of the Shield while Seth was the brains. It was Seth’s idea to break up the Shield so he could go on his own, which meant him cashing in the Money in the Bank contract at Wrestlemania to take everything away from Reigns. Every time that Rollins has attacked him, it’s been from behind. At Money in the Bank, there’s nothing to keep them apart and it’s head to head.
Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens
Cole calls this a rivalry despite their last match being nearly two months ago. They quickly head outside with Owens jumping in on commentary to say he’ll win at Money in the Bank. Back in and Owens stomps Dean in the head before saying the briefcase is his. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Owens elbows him in the jaw instead. Kevin takes too much time going up though and gets superplexed down, only to catch Dean in a German suplex.
The Cannonball is blocked with a hard clothesline. The second Cannonball attempt works better but Dean sends him outside. That’s it for this offensive flurry though as Dean’s suicide dive is caught and rammed into the apron. Owens drops a frog splash off the apron but Dean just grabs Dirty Deeds for the pin at 6:36.
Rating: C. I really don’t like that ending as Owens was dominating for at least eighty percent of the match but got caught with one move for the pin. I like that they’re keeping Dean looking strong and can continue to do so without having him win the ladder match but Owens losing always gets on my nerves.
Post match Dean gets a ladder but Owens shoves it over.
Bob Backlund/Darren Young video from Smackdown with Backlund taking his car keys and telling him to walk eight hours to the next town.
Here are Dana Brooke and Charlotte with the latter talking about how she only got rid of her father from her professional life. She’d still love to work out with her father or spend Christmas with him. This brings out Natalya and Becky to talk about how horrible Charlotte was a few weeks back. Charlotte refers to Dana as her protege but that doesn’t sit well with her. Becky and Natalya mention all the backstabbing and manipulation that Charlotte has done over the years and Dana is thinking about something. That lasts all of ten seconds before she helps Charlotte (with the title still on) beat down Becky and Natalya.
The Shining Stars brag about some drink from Puerto Rico.
Tyler Breeze vs. R-Truth
Breezango now has matching fur vests. Earlier today, Breeze was shaving Fandango’s back to make him more arrowgigantic. Fandango: “It’s when your body has no hair and you fly through the air like a giant arrow.” Truth starts with some hip thrusts but the partners get in an argument on the floor, only to have everyone come in for the no contest at 1:00.
Post match Teddy Long comes out to say “let’s make it a tag team match” but that’s not happening because he has no authority. Teddy goes to the back where Stephanie does her best Stephanie impression to get rid of him because SHE wants to run Smackdown. And that is a good example of why I can’t stand Stephanie. That segment could have been fun but no, let’s have Stephanie go all evil again because it lets her get TV time after a month or so of being all smiles and nice. I’m sure she’ll be back to “normal” again next week, or at least until there’s someone else she can emasculate.
We get a long tribute to Muhammad Ali and his connections to wrestling, including emulating Gorgeous George and throwing punches at Gorilla Monsoon, who put him in the airplane spin. Of course the big moment was Ali refereeing the main event of the first Wrestlemania, even though it was just a glorified cameo. The video gets a standing ovation.
The Club vs. New Day
New Day wants to know what kind of club this is. It’s certainly not the Hair Club For Men. Kofi wishes it was the Mickey Mouse Club because they all want autographs. However, the only club that really matters is the club of WWE World Tag Team Champions because NEW DAY ROCKS.
They start slugging it out before the bell with only Woods and AJ being left inside. Big E. is sent into the steps and Gallows punches Kofi out of the air. Woods flip dives over the top to take Gallows out though and we’re still waiting on a bell. Anderson gets in a kick to Woods on the apron, followed by the Styles Clash on the floor to knock Xavier silly as we take a break.
Back with Big E. and Kofi agreeing to fight three on two as we finally get the opening bell. Kofi charges at Gallows to start before it’s off to Big E. The fight is sent outside where AJ gets in a Pele Kick, followed by a big clothesline from Gallows to really take over. We hit the chinlock on Big E. for a bit until E. gets in a belly to belly. The hot tag brings in Kofi to go after AJ, including the Boom Drop. The SOS gets two with Anderson making the save, allowing AJ to get in the Phenomenal Forearm for the pin at 5:16.
Rating: C. This didn’t have the time to go anywhere and it’s fine to have New Day lose when they’re facing a handicap. It would seem that the Club takes the titles at Money in the Bank as New Day has almost outgrown them at this point. Fine main event here, though more time would have helped.
Post match the beating continues but the fans want Cena. That’s exactly what they get as well with Cena charging down for the save, only to be beaten down by AJ from behind. New Day gets back in though and the good guys clean house to end the show.
Overall Rating: C-. This is easily one of my least favorite times on the WWE calendar as I’ve never been a fan of the mostly meaningless matches between the Money in the Bank participants. You could always just do the qualifying matches over the course of a few weeks as the ladder match itself is going to sell things, but why do that when you can do the exact same thing every year?
The wrestling tonight was watchable and the AJ vs. Cena promo was outstanding but the Stephanie stuff where she yelled at Teddy came off as cruel instead of anything else. It’s not a bad show or anything like that but I had a hard time sitting through a lot of the same reason I have every year: the matches between these guys means nothing but it’s all they do all the time. Find something, ANYTHING, different for a change because I really don’t care about this stuff.
Results
Cesaro b. Chris Jericho – Sharpshooter
Rusev b. Jack Swagger via countout
Vaudevillains b. Enzo Amore/Big Cass via DQ when Cass wouldn’t stop attacking in the corner
Alberto Del Rio b. Sami Zayn – Top rope double stomp
Dean Ambrose b. Kevin Owens – Dirty Deeds
The Club b. New Day – Phenomenal Forearm to Kingston
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
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Smackdown Date: June 2, 2016
Location: BMO Harris Bank Center, Rockford, Illinois
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Mauro Ranallo, Byron Saxton
Things are rapidly changing around here as we have the new Brand Split in less than two months. More importantly for now however is the freshly heel AJ Styles who has set his sights on the returning John Cena, likely setting up a huge showdown at Money in the Bank. This show will likely focus on the build towards the ladder match so let’s get to it.
The opening recap focuses on AJ Styles and the Band reuniting on Monday and Styles turning full heel.
Opening sequence.
Here’s the New Day to open the show. Woods mentions Smackdown going live on July 19 and then it’s time to talk about the Club. Yeah they’re big and tough but they’ll never be your WWE World Tag Team Champions. This brings out Gallows and Anderson with New Day asking what kind of club they are exactly. Do they meet in a tree house? Do you have to pay dues?
New Day wants a fight but the Club says no. Woods: “They don’t want none.” Cue AJ to say the WWE belongs to the Club but Kofi doesn’t seem to get that. Kofi lists off all their accomplishments and laughs that AJ took ten years to get here. AJ talks about what he did to Cena but gets a NEW DAY ROCKS chant.
Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte
Non-title. Becky sends her into the ropes to start before Charlotte reverses in the corner and grabs a neckbreaker. Dana offers a distraction and Charlotte kicks Becky in the face to put her on the floor as we take an early break. Back with Becky hitting a running forearm in the corner and getting two off the exploder suplex.
Becky misses a knee though and hurts her leg (Did the Flair family find a lucky charm a long time ago or something? It’s uncanny how many in match knee injuries their opponents have.) but it doesn’t seem to bother her that much. Instead Becky grabs a triangle choke but gets lifted into a Batista Bomb for two. Charlotte misses the moonsault but lands on her feet anyway, only to have the Figure Eight countered into the Disarm-Her, drawing in Dana for the DQ at 8:45.
Rating: C+. It’s nice to have Becky not lose a match for a change though at some point she needs to actually win something of note. I’m assuming they’re gearing up for a four way or something like it at Money in the Bank though I can’t imagine they’ll take the title off Charlotte this soon. Good match here though.
Post match Natalya comes out but Charlotte and Dana get away before they can be put in submissions.
Dean Ambrose and Sami Zayn are having a friendly argument in the back when Kevin Owens and Alberto Del Rio come up with Owens saying Sami is trying to manipulate Ambrose. Owens: “He’s Canadian remember? You can’t trust him.” More trash is talked and Dean wants to fight now instead of waiting for their scheduled tag match later.
Golden Truth vs. Dudley Boyz
Breezango is in the VIP area. The Goldust music hits and the Golden Truth graphics come on but the Dudley Boyz video is still playing. Truth’s remix now has the lyrics on screen with a bouncing Goldust head telling you what to say. Also it’s apparently “Goldentruth”.
Truth drives Bubba into the corner to start and a double suplex puts the big man down. The Dudleyz take over and D-Von’s spinning elbow to the jaw gets two. Everything breaks down and Goldust catches D-Von with a spinebuster, only to have Tyler get on the apron for a distraction. Goldust goes to deal with him but gets rolled up by D-Von for the pin at 4:04.
Rating: D. I hate to admit it but I’m digging this story more and more every week. It’s a naturally developing story and it’s actually entertaining me every time they go out and do something else. I’m not sure where this ends but it’s been FAR more entertaining than it had any right to be the whole way through.
Post match Breezango laughs at Golden Truth. Fandango: “Just like a game of shooty hoops, three strikes and you’re out!”
Recap of Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler.
Corbin is standing outside because he won’t grace the fans with his presence after they cheered what happened on Monday. The next time he comes into a WWE arena, it’s to end Dolph Ziggler. Or on Raw next week.
Dean Ambrose/Sami Zayn vs. Alberto Del Rio/Kevin Owens
Owens goes after Sami to start before it’s quickly off to Del Rio, who is rolled up for two. Dean comes in for a shot to the ribs and it’s right back to Sami but he walks into a Backstabber for another two. Owens is happy to come in and pick Sami’s bones but quickly hands it back to Del Rio for a kick to the ribs. The fast tags continue as Dean is brought back in to dive on Del Rio as we take a break.
Back with Alberto stomping on Dean’s chest in the corner before the heels take Ambrose outside for a beating. Unfortunately it’s in front of the announcers’ table so Sami flip dives onto both of them. Sami gets pulled off the apron though and the beatdown continues on Dean, only to have him escape the armbreaker. The Dirty Deeds attempt is broken up though and the running enziguri hits Owens instead. Sami gets the tag and scores with the Helluva Kick to put Del Rio away at 9:24.
Rating: B. Nice fast paced tag match here with both teams working well together and doing some things you don’t normally get in the tag team formula. I’m not wild on having these tags where the good guys always team with the bad guys leading up to the ladder match but at least it was an entertaining match this week.
Post match Owens grabs a headset and says he’s tired of his partners screwing things up. He goes under the ring and finds a ladder so he can climb up and pull down the briefcase, only to have Cesaro run down and hit the spinning uppercut while still wearing his suit. Cesaro climbs the ladder and pulls down the briefcase instead.
Jack Swagger vs. Rusev
Non-title and Rusev attacks before Jack can get in the ring. Swagger says ring the bell and has the Patriot Lock on about two seconds in. Rusev bails to the floor and eats a hard clothesline but Jack’s shoulder is banged up from the attack. Back in and Swagger makes a quick comeback but misses the running Vader Bomb. Instead he clotheslines Rusev again with the shoulder mostly fine. Rusev escapes another Patriot Lock attempt and sends Swagger outside for a whip into the steps. The Accolade is countered into the Patriot Lock but Rusev gets the rope and puts on the Accolade so Jack can pass out at 4:43.
Rating: C. I know it’s been a long time since this happened but it’s still not something I’m going to get into. They’ve had the same match over and over and it’s really kind of hard to care about when there’s no way Swagger is going to do anything noteworthy. Swagger really needs a change and jobbing to Rusev again isn’t a good sign.
Rusev won’t let go until Titus O’Neil runs out for the save.
Bob Backlund asks Darren Young for a training update. Young says his running has been great so far but Backlund only wants him running in case he misses the bus. Apparently Backlund has stolen Young’s car keys and Young can walk to the next town in eight hours. Backlund: “And if you get there any faster, I’ll know you ran!” I freaking love these things.
We look at Rollins and Reigns not fighting on Raw.
AJ Styles vs. Kofi Kingston
Kofi flips him away to start but AJ snaps off some armdrags and poses a bit. The announcers speculate that the Club’s breakup was staged to set Cena up, which is a better explanation than I would give it. Kofi takes him into the corner for a basement dropkick and that means it’s time for a musical interlude. All six guys get in and it’s a standoff until we take a break.
Back with Kofi elbowing Styles in the jaw and putting on an armbar. Styles is sent to the floor and it’s a standoff between New Day and the Club, allowing AJ to post Kofi to take over. Woods starts running his mouth and apparently motivates Kofi to get in a jawbreaker, only to have Styles hit that strike rush of his to drop Kingston again. Kofi grabs a monkey flip of all things to put Styles down.
The Boom Drop makes a rare appearance and something like a knee drop to a standing AJ gets two. Styles is sent to the apron and Woods starts playing some trombone, causing AJ to miss the Phenomenal Forearm. The SOS gives Kofi two but the Club and New Day get into it at ringside. Kofi dives over the top to take out Gallows, only to have AJ score with the Pele coming back in. The Styles Clash gives AJ the pin at 13:35.
Rating: B+. For all his goofiness, I think it’s often forgotten just how good Kofi can be in the ring. No he’s not likely to ever become a World Champion but he’s definitely someone who can wrestle a good to very good match against almost anyone. I miss watching Kofi in singles stuff and I’d love to see him as more of the solo act on the team.
Overall Rating: B-. This was a stronger show than usual as it feels like Smackdown is starting to mean something again heading into the Brand Split. There was enough good wrestling here and Club vs. New Day got a strong focus to start what could be an entertaining feud going forward. I liked this show for a change and that’s not something I can often say these days.
Results
Becky Lynch b. Charlotte via DQ when Dana Brooke interfered
Dudley Boyz b. Golden Truth – Rollup to Goldust
Sami Zayn/Dean Ambrose b. Kevin Owens/Alberto Del Rio – Helluva Kick to Del Rio
Rusev b. Jack Swagger – Accolade
AJ Styles b. Kofi Kingston – Styles Clash
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