Smackdown
Date: August 1, 2014
Location: American Bank Center, Corpus Christi, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

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

Opening sequence.

Jack Swagger vs. Cesaro

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

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

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

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

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

Bo Dallas vs. R-Truth

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

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

AJ Lee vs. Rosa Mendes

Black Widow, 17 seconds.

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

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

Dean Ambrose vs. Kane/Seth Rollins

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

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

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

Ambrose destroys Kane with the chair post match.

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

The Dusts have a talk about cowboys.

Diego vs. Fandango

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

Clips from Heyman and Cena’s exchange on Monday.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler

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

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

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

AJ has been taken to the hospital.

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

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

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

Chris Jericho vs. Erick Rowan

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

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

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

Bray backs away from Jericho to end the show.

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

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

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Smackdown
Date: May 16, 2014
Location: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

We’re back in WCW country now but the interesting thing is the lack of a healthy WWE Champion. Daniel Bryan has been forced out of action by neck surgery, meaning we’re likely to have the title vacated in the near future. Other than that we’re still focused on the Shield vs. Evolution which will likely get a lot of TV time tonight, along with Cena vs. Wyatt. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Daniel Bryan announcing his neck surgery from Monday. He promises he’ll be back.

Here’s Cena to get things going. We get a quick video of Bray Wyatt mentioning a last man standing match on Raw. First up though, Cena wishes Daniel Bryan the best and hopes he gets back soon. That brings Cena around to Bray, who he knows can’t want a last man standing match. Bray doesn’t have the heart to get into a match where there are no rules and you have to beat your opponent so senseless that they can’t answer the count of ten. Cena has been in those kind of matches before and knows what they’re like.

Bray is a far more intelligent person than that because he doesn’t have any of the dozen words Cena uses for testicles. Cena accepts the challenge for a last man standing match at Payback. However that leaves us with nothing to do tonight, so Cena thinks we should have a fight. He makes an open challenge to any member of the Wyatt Family and Bray gets to make the pick. Cena bets that Bray won’t pick himself but here’s Wyatt to answer.

Bray says Cena doesn’t know him as well as he thinks he does. Wyatt walks with monsters and sings with spirits while Cena’s world begs on its knees for mercy. Now comes the end of the story. Whoever shall be the last man standing will conquer all, but whoever loses will be trapped in the prison of his own thoughts. Cena can make all the jokes he wants but Bray wants to thank him. John has opened Bray’s mind and shown him the key to all of Bray’s problems. His cure will take the air from Cena’s lungs. The challenge for tonight is accepted.

Bolieve!

Cody Rhodes/Goldust vs. Usos

Non-title. Goldust and Jey get us going with the Uso being run over by a shoulder block and taking an atomic drop. Some armdrags take Goldust down as Cole tells us about Cody celebrating about his win over Sandow on Raw. Speaking of Cody he comes in off a missile dropkick and cranks on a hammerlock. It’s not good enough to prevent a tag though as Jimmy comes in and works on an armbar of his own.

The champions start their fast tags to stay on Cody with a double elbow drop for two. Cody fights over and tags in Goldie for some elbows of his own. Rhodes low bridges Jey to the floor to take over in a rather heelish move. We take a break and come back with Cody whipping Jey into the corner for another near fall. Goldust sends Jey’s weakened arm into the post and gets two off a powerslam.

Back to Rhodes who stays on the arm but gets caught by a shot to the ribs. Goldust saves the hot tag but gets sent to the floor, allowing Jimmy to come in. The Samoan drop and running Umaga attack are good for two on Rhodes. Everything breaks down with Goldust and Jey fighting to the floor. The Disaster Kick lays Jimmy out but Jey makes the save. Jimmy comes back with the superkick and the Superfly Splash is good for the pin at 8:20 shown of 10:50.

Rating: C. Basic but well done match here with both teams looking fine. This was much more interesting than watching Cody have a two minute singles match that goes nowhere for the same purpose. It could also play up the idea of Cody not being able to do anything with Goldust around and wanting to do everything on his own.

Cody is upset post match and leaves on his own.

El Torito vs. Heath Slater

Slater holds up a cape for no apparent reason and gets gored from behind. Heath slams him down and kicks Torito around with his boot before posing a bit. Torito tries to fight back but Slater holds him back with one hand. Horny tries to come in but hits Slater by mistake, allowing Torito to hit a moonsault press for the pin at 2:18.

We recap Shield vs. Evolution on Monday.

Natalya vs. Nikki Bella

Eva Marie is guest referee for no apparent reason. Natalya takes her down to start and we get a nice bridge up into an attempted backslide. A discus lariat gets two on Nikki but she comes back with a kind of facebuster for two. Natalya comes back with a surfboard but Nikki rolls backwards into a cradle for the pin at 2:30. Again they were there for how they looked in their outfits, but this was WAY better than Raw.

Dolph Ziggler is in the back and says that Batista is the weak link of Evolution. He can’t just come back and be the star that he once was. Tonight the Show Off is going to show Batista up.

Batista vs. Dolph Ziggler

Feeling out process to start with Ziggler actually knocking Batista out to the floor. Big Dave pulls him out as well and sends Dolph hard into the steps. Back in and Dolph is whipped into the corner before a suplex gets two. We hit the chinlock for a few seconds, followed by a wicked spinebuster to put Ziggler down. Ziggler punches out of the Batista Bomb and comes back with a DDT to put both guys down. Batista misses a charge into the post and Dolph hammers away until Batista hits him low for the DQ at 4:32.

Rating: C-. These guys have always had good chemistry together, even back when Dolph was first starting out in the WWE. This didn’t have the time to go anywhere but it’s nice to see Ziggler hanging in there with Batista. I really wouldn’t mind seeing these guys get a nice long match someday which isn’t something I’d think I’d say about Batista.

Batista lays out Ziggler post match, powerbombing him onto the barricade.

Titus O’Neil vs. Sheamus

Non-title and fallout from a few weeks ago when Titus jumped Sheamus before a match, only to get beaten in about 40 seconds. Before the match this time, Titus says Sheamus didn’t even pin anyone for the title. He shouldn’t be US Champion because he’s not from the United States. On top of that, everyone in the company is tough, including Titus. He gives Sheamus a chance to get out of the ring before the match. Bell, Brogue Kick, Sheamus laughs, pin at 15 seconds. According to a live report, Titus called Sheamus “hot mayonnaise white”, which must have been edited out.

Byron Saxton tries to interview Adam Rose but Adam is more interested in a cheeseburger. He has no issue with Jackie Swagger, even though he finds Zeb and Jack boring. A big lemon comes out of the bus and Byron declares himself a Rosebud. Someone puts a clown wig on Saxton’s head and he starts dancing.

Bolieve!

Santino Marella vs. Damien Sandow

This is the result of Sandow’s open challenge. Sandow hammers away to start but misses a charge into the corner, gets caught with the Cobra and pinned in 40 seconds.

Post match Sandow goes on a rant about what a great soldier he is and how the fans love it when the smart guy loses. However someone keeps leaving the mic on, which cues the mic guy to cut the sound. This might go somewhere if Sandow ever got to say anything.

Video of Cena at the Susan G. Komen rally in Washington DC.

R-Truth vs. Cesaro

Truth is a North Carolina boy so the fans are even more into him. Before the match we get the usual schtick from Heyman, this time focusing on the truth of Brock Lesnar conquering the Streak, and Cesaro winning the Andre battle royal being what’s up. Cesaro jumps Truth during WHAT’S UP but Truth does his backflip into the side kick for two. The ax kick misses though and it’s Swiss Death into the Neutralizer for the pin at 1:15.

The Raw ReBound talks about Bryan being attacked after his announcement of requiring neck surgery. The update says Bryan’s surgery was a success. Another update will be coming on Monday, along with an announcement on the future of the title.

It’s time for the main event and all three Wyatts surround Cena. This brings out the Usos to even things up as we take a break.

John Cena vs. ???

Bray selects Erick Rowan to do the dirty work tonight. Rowan takes it right to Cena in the corner before slamming him down in the middle of the ring. John fights back with right hands but runs into a back elbow to the jaw. Cena is thrown to the floor and then into the steps, right in front of Wyatt. Back in and Erick does the two fist head vice before throwing him right back to the floor.

John gets back in and Rowan runs him over again before we hit the bearhug. A modified Boss Man Slam gets two on Cena but he fights back with the ProtoBomb and Shuffle. Cena dives into a fall away slam followed by a splash in the corner. Not that it matters as Cena grabs the STF, drawing in Harper. Jey easily takes him out though and a dive to the floor drops Harper again. Rowan busts out a claw slam of all things for two, only to walk into the AA for the pin at 8:23.

Rating: C. That’s the beauty of minions for Wyatt. On top of that it was a decent power match with Rowan continuing to look fine. He and Harper have a future as a tag team and likely will get the shot against the Usos at Payback. It’ll be a solid power vs. speed match and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Overall Rating: C-. This was another meaningless Smackdown but there are far worse ways to spend a Friday night. Like reading through all the people running off at the mouth about the stock falling. The short matches worked in a way as I didn’t have time to get annoyed or bored with a lot of the lame acts. Some story progression took place, but everything is kind of in limbo due to the impending announcement about the title and the European tour.

Results
Usos b. Cody Rhodes/Goldust – Superkick to Rhodes
El Torito b. Heath Slater – Moonsault press
Nikki Bella b. Natalya – Cradle
Dolph Ziggler b. Batista via DQ when Batista hit him low
Sheamus b. Titus O’Neil – Brogue Kick
Santino Marella b. Damien Sandow – Cobra
Cesaro b. R-Truth – Neutralizer
John Cena b. Erick Rowan – Attitude Adjustment

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This is the match I’m looking forward to more than anything else.This is the match that they’ve put some thought into as you have Bray ripping away at Cena’s legacy by saying Cena is lying to himself when he puts all of this out there.  THis goes right in the face of everything Cena believes and plays up an interesting idea for Cena: what is Cena going to be remembered as?  It’s clear that he’s nearing the end of his career with all of the injuries, but how does he let go of something that he’s built his entire life around.  That’s some very interesting psychological stuff to get into and could be awesome stuff down the line.

As for tomorrow though, Bray Wyatt gets a chance to get the biggest win of his career on the biggest stage he’ll get for a long time.  He has the potential to be a huge star and a win over John Cena on the biggest stage of them all is a great way to do that.  Cena isn’t in the main event here and it’s kind of interesting to see him going there.  That being said, I’m not sure who I see winning here.  Cena doesn’t need the win, but at the end of the day I’m not sure I can see Bray getting the pin.  However, I think that’s where they’re going, leading to an incredibly violent rematch at Extreme Rules.

The good thing is both guys are capable of having some excellent matches against anyone as Bray is the evil calculating one who lets his talented minions do his work for him and only gets his hands dirty for the big matches (or the occasional squash).  This should be outstanding all around and the potential for psychological stuff as a result are absolutely incredible.  Does Cena start to doubt himself as we head into his final years?  I can’t imagine they end Bray this early, as once he loses a lot of the mystique goes with it.  I’m looking forward to the war though.

 

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