This is a very dull time for WWE as so much of the Summerslam build is already done and there are still four weeks to go before the show. They’re already running out of things to put on the shows so you can expect a lot of filler instead of interesting ideas. Also you can see the Network plugs coming from here. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Orton attacking Reigns last week.

Here’s the Authority in full force to open things up. HHH talks about how we can watch Summerslam in two weeks on the WWE Network for just $9.99. He lists off a few more matches and mentions the Network price three or four more times. As for tonight, there’s going to be a Beat the Clock Challenge between Rollins (vs. Van Dam) and Ambrose (vs. Del Rio) with the winner picking the stipulation for the match at Summerslam (“Available on the WWE Network for just $9.99!”).

Stephanie talks about signing the contract with Brie tonight and how that’s going to be on the Network for….well you know the idea by now. So does the crowd as they’re finishing HHH’s lines for him. Lawler is cracking jokes about it as well, even though HHH is clearly hammering it home to play up the heel heat.

Orton says that what he did last week was nothing compared to what he’s going to do to him at Summerslam. This brings out Reigns who says that he wants to fight tonight, but HHH has another idea. They’ll fight at Summerslam (“On the WWE Network for just $9.99!”) but tonight, it’s Reigns vs. Kane in a last man standing match.

Kane vs. Roman Reigns

Last man standing. Reigns hammers away to start as the announcers talk about the Network even more. They head outside with Reigns being hammered up against the barricade and then sent into the steps for a five count. Reigns is sent into the post a few more times as the announcers continue to hammer the $9.99 joke into the ground to the point where I’m laughing at it.

We take an early break and come back with Reigns reversing Kane into a chair wedged into the corner. Some charges into the corner have Kane in even more trouble and Roman hammers away with right hands. There’s the apron boot but Kane blocks a spear. A table is brought in and Kane counters a Superman Punch into a quick chokeslam to put Reigns through the wood for nine.

Kane is frustrated and sets up a chair in the middle of the ring. The tombstone is countered and Reigns hits a DDT onto the chair. Reigns hits the Superman Punch but charges into another chokeslam. Reigns slips out again and nails a bad spear to keep Kane down for the ten count at 15:16.

Rating: C-. Well that happened. I have no idea why but it happened. This idea of throwing gimmick matches onto the card is a really bad idea. It wasn’t a very good last man standing match either as there was no way Kane was going to win. Reigns beating Kane is a good thing, but not in an unnecessary gimmick match.

We get a LONG (as in about five minutes) video on Brock vs. Cena, with sitdown promos from both guys, talking about how awesome they are and saying this is going to be the fight of their lives, even though Brock knows he’s going to win. This is a really solid video with clips of the Extreme Rules match and the Streak being broken. We even get stills from some UFC fights. Brock says if he had stayed in the WWE, Cena would be sitting at home eating Fruity Pebbles instead of getting paid to eat them on TV. Lesnar promises to leave Cena in a pool of his own blood.

Network plug.

Here’s Damien Sandow as an Oklahoma Sooner football player. He rips on the Texas Longhorns before his opponent is announced as a former Longhorn.

Mark Henry vs. Damien Sandow

World’s Strongest Slam, Henry walks around, pin in 40 seconds. Not quite the battle to save Christmas.

Adam Rose is in the back and looks at the Oculus Mirror. He says it shows your nightmare, so we see him in a suit as a businessman. Rose and the Rosebuds leave after this STUPID segment.

Beat the Clock: Dean Ambrose vs. Alberto Del Rio

Jerry: “I hope this match goes 10:39.” Cole: “Why?” Jerry: “Then it would be 9.99!” Del Rio takes over with some kicks including a dropkick to the back of the head for two. Some choking in the corner has Dean in trouble but he comes back with some right hands of his own. They head outside with Del Rio sending Ambrose hard into the barricade. Back in and Del Rio hammers away on the bad arm and sends it into the post.

An armbar goes nowhere and Del Rio jumps into a boot. Dean makes his comeback but gets caught by the low superkick for two. Alberto sends him out to the floor and we take a break. Back with Deal fighting out of another armbar but getting taken right back down. Del Rio accidentally kicks the post instead of Dean’s shoulder and gets caught in a DDT.

Del Rio counters the Dirty Deeds and hits a VERY low reverse superplex for two. The Rebound Clothesline gets two on Alberto but he counters Dirty Deeds into a Codebreaker on the arm. The armbreaker over the ropes has the arm in even more trouble but Dean nails Dirty Deeds for the pin at 15:42.

Rating: D+. WAY too long here as they could have done this in about half the time. The arm stuff is fine but it gets annoying to see it week after week after week. Del Rio being down in the midcard is a good thing for him as he just does not fit in the main event. Ambrose vs. Rollins should rock, as long as they keep the energy up.

Long recap of Stephanie and Brie last week.

Rusev vs. Sin Cara

This match took place during the break on the WWE App with Rusev winning a squash in about 45 seconds via the Accolade. Uh….sweet?

Post match we get pictures of Obama holding a dog and Putin holding what looks like a cheetah. Lana sings Happy Birthday to Obama in Russian until Colter and Swagger interrupt. Colter goes on a rant about how everyone is sick of Lana’s Russian ramblings and shows some photos of American men and women Swagger is fighting for. He cranks it up by showing stills of American soldiers and the USA chant begins. Rusev and Lana pretend to back off but Rusev nails Swagger with the Russian flag. Colter is left alone but Lana calls Rusev off.

The big Network announcement: it’s going international on August 12 and to England on October 1.

Cesaro vs. Dolph Ziggler

Miz is on commentary drinking tea because he has a hoarse voice. Cesaro throws Ziggler around with ease but has a suplex reversed into the Zig Zag for the pin at 2:58. Nothing match but Cesaro gets to job AGAIN.

Post match Miz gets in the ring but runs from a superkick.

After a clip of Paige knocking AJ off the stage last week, Paige says she admires AJ and that she can’t wait for their match at Summerslam.

Stardust/Goldust vs. Ryback/Curtis Axel

Goldust hammers on Ryback to start but gets taken into the wrong corner for some quick double teaming. A suplex gets two on Goldust and it’s off to Axel, who quickly allows Goldust to roll over for the tag to Stardust. Everything breaks down and Dark Matter (Downward Spiral) to Axel gets the pin at 2:50.

Kane comes in to see the Authority and takes off his mask, hands it to Stephanie, and leaves.

Chris Jericho vs. Luke Harper

If Jericho wins, Harper is barred from ringside at Summerslam. Jericho gets taken down into the corner but comes back with chops, only to get run over with a forearm. Off to the Gator Roll but Jericho fights up again with chops. An enziguri gets two on Luke but he comes back with a Michinoku Driver for the same.

There’s a big sitout powerbomb for the same and Harper calmly smiles. Back up and Jericho grabs the Walls but Bray comes out for a distraction. Harper is down so Jericho has to hit the Codebreaker on Harper. The distraction….doesn’t work as a Codebreaker puts Harper on the floor, only to have Bray come in for the DQ at 5:20.

Rating: C. This was fine and sets up Jericho vs. Bray one on one at Summerslam, but I really would have liked to see Harper vs. Jericho get about fifteen minutes instead of five. The ending was kind of surprising, but at least Bray’s distraction wasn’t the cause of a pin. It seems like they’re almost mocking that now, so maybe its time is almost over.

Sister Abigail lays out Jericho post match.

AJ Lee returns tomorrow night on Main Event. In other words, she missed Raw and has been gone for three days?

Diego vs. Fandango

Because THIS needed a trilogy. This time, Fandango has Hornswoggle as his new dance partner. Diego easily takes Fandango down but gets distracted by Hornswoggle. It backfires on the dancer though and another Backstabber gets the pin on Fandango at 48 seconds.

Hornswoggle joins Diego, Torito, and the girls but Fandango gets annoyed. That goes nowhere and Fandango is dispatched again, because this story needed to be done three times.

Orton looks at a video of his attack on Reigns last week and says that he’s going to do even worse at Summerslam.

Bo Dallas vs. R-Truth

Now how did I know it would be R-Truth again? Truth shoves him around to start but misses the ax kick. Dallas rolls him up with a handful of tights for the pin at 1:05.

JBL now has a $9.99 sign.

Bray comes up on screen and asks why the man does what he does. Why does the man say what he says and why don’t the sheep run from the hungry wolf? At Summerslam, he enters battle without his brothers. He won’t be alone though because her hand guides him and the world leaves him behind. How can Jericho save what is already dead? What is Bray? He’s the nightmare at the end of Jericho’s dreams and he stands beyond time. Time to sing.

The announcers plug Brock vs. Cena from Extreme Rules airing immediately after Raw on the Network.

More from the Lesnar and Cena interviews in another solid video. This is a nice way to cover Brock and Cena not being there tonight. This time Brock says he’s back to be WWE Champion and is coming off the biggest win of his career. Why shouldn’t he have been able to beat Undertaker? The Undertaker wasn’t a god and Brock Lesnar is a beast. Now why can’t he beat Cena? John talks about how he knows what kind of a beating he’s in for but he knows what it takes to beat Brock. If Lesnar wants some, come get some. We get some of the same clips from the first video as well.

Beat The Clock Challenge: Rob Van Dam vs. Seth Rollins

I forgot this was happening. Seth has to beat 15:42. JBL actually picks Van Dam to win here because Seth is going to be thinking about the clock. Actually scratch this as the Authority has a replacement for Van Dam.

Beat The Clock Challenge: Heath Slater vs. Seth Rollins

Rollins allows Slater to leave but Heath fires off some right hands. Ambrose comes out for a distraction, allowing Slater to get a VERY close two off a running neckbreaker. Now Dean takes the briefcase and starts looking through it, even ripping up Seth’s contract. This distraction lets Slater hit a side kick for an even closer two. Dean starts drinking a fan’s soda and pours it into the briefcase. He follows it up with popcorn and JBL’s hat as Rollins keeps shouting at him. Dean gets up on the table, and you know that’s enough for Slater to get a rollup pin at 4:56.

Rating: D+. I’m skeptical to rate this as a wrestling match but it was really solid as an angle. Dean playing the mind games before the showdown is nothing but gold and the showdown is going to be awesome. The stipulations could make or break the match though as they need to have an all out brawl.

One more Network ad, this time for the Cena vs. Lesnar match from 2012 airing after the show.

Time for the main event segment: Brie and Stephanie’s contract signing. HHH comes out to back up his wife and Brie of course has Nikki. HHH says that he’s the COO and would usually be in charge of this, but since he has a conflict of interest, it’s Michael Cole in charge. The bosses kiss a bit so Brie says let’s get to it. Stephanie finally brings up Daniel Bryan, who is still recovering.

Brie shows us Stephanie being arrested two weeks ago to drag this out even more. She makes some bizarre references to Stephanie being with some woman during her time in jail before saying she’ll humiliate Stephanie in front of the universe at Summerslam. This is going to be for Daniel Bryan, Vickie Guerrero, the Rhodes Family, and every other person on the roster that Stephanie has tortured. A quick Punk chant starts up as Brie talks about karma coming around onto Stephanie.

Now it’s Stephanie’s turn as she calls Brie a wannabe reality star who stole the spotlight from her sister and abandoned her husband. Stephanie is already embarrassed to be in the same ring as Brie and isn’t going to let her make history at Summerslam. She slaps Nikki and shoves the table into Brie’s stomach, sending her into the corner. A Pedigree from Stephanie lays out Nikki but Brie slaps HHH. Stephanie nails Brie and lays her out with a Pedigree as well. The Authority kisses some more to end the show.

Time for the main event segment: Brie and Stephanie’s contract signing. HHH comes out to back up his wife and Brie of course has Nikki. HHH says that he’s the COO and would usually be in charge of this, but since he has a conflict of interest, it’s Michael Cole in charge. The bosses kiss a bit so Brie says let’s get to it. Stephanie finally brings up Daniel Bryan, who is still recovering.

Brie shows us Stephanie being arrested two weeks ago to drag this out even more. She makes some bizarre references to Stephanie being with some woman during her time in jail before saying she’ll humiliate Stephanie in front of the universe at Summerslam. This is going to be for Daniel Bryan, Vickie Guerrero, the Rhodes Family, and every other person on the roster that Stephanie has tortured. A quick Punk chant starts up as Brie talks about karma coming around onto Stephanie.

Now it’s Stephanie’s turn as she calls Brie a wannabe reality star who stole the spotlight from her sister and abandoned her husband. Stephanie is already embarrassed to be in the same ring as Brie and isn’t going to let her make history at Summerslam. She slaps Nikki and shoves the table into Brie’s stomach, sending her into the corner. A Pedigree from Stephanie lays out Nikki but Brie slaps HHH. Stephanie nails Brie and lays her out with a Pedigree as well. The Authority kisses some more to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. This show felt REALLY long and had far too much stuff that ate up a lot of time. When you have your third meetings between Fandango and Diego and then Bo Dallas and R-Truth, you can tell they’re just filling in time. It’s also proof that Cena really picks up a show as there was almost no energy to so much of this stuff. Is Kane unmasking for like the third time supposed to get my attention? That’s the best they’ve got?

Of course I have to mention all the $9.99 stuff. I get what they were going for with the evil boss plugging stuff like a businessman would, but later on when the announcers were doing it seemingly of their own free will, it takes away the evil and comes off like a lame commercial. This is WWE in a nutshell though: if something doesn’t work, keep doing it until someone buys it out of pity.

Results
Roman Reigns b. Kane – Kane couldn’t answer the ten count
Mark Henry b. Damien Sandow – World’s Strongest Slam
Dean Ambrose b. Alberto Del Rio – Dirty Deeds
Rusev b. Sin Cara – Accolade
Dolph Ziggler b. Cesaro – Zig Zag
Goldust/Stardust b. Curtis Axel/Ryback – Dark Matter to Axel
Diego b. Fernando – Backstabber
Bo Dallas b. R-Truth – Rollup with a handful of tights
Heath Slater b. Seth Rollins – Rollup

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We’re a week closer to Summerslam and the major match is already set. The interesting thing coming out of last week is Stephanie being arrested for her battery against Brie Bella last week. Other than that the stage is being set for Summerslam, including Reigns vs. Orton which should be announced soon.  Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Brie and Stephanie’s issues from last week. I have a feeling they’re going to make this a far bigger deal than it should be. We also see Reigns attacking Orton and Brock being announced as the #1 contender. The latter two things are almost tacked on.

Here’s an upset Cena to get things going. He talks about how he’s usually excited to be here in Houston but he’s very worried about what’s coming. The Authority has marked him, and now he has to face the ultimate beast Brock Lesnar. Cena hoped it would never come to this, but now his nightmare has come to life. Brock Lesnar’s destruction is precise and he destroys what he wants, when he wants. Forty men have been WWE Champion but one man has defeated the Streak.

For once Heyman is telling the truth: at Summerslam, Cena will receive the beating of a lifetime. He’s going to get hurt but he’s going to fight. Cena beat Brock in 2012 and he can do it again here. No one can control Brock Lesnar. Not the people, not the Authority, and not Paul Heyman.

This brings out Heyman, with the fans saying the catchphrases along with him. Paul very slowly says that Brock will win the title at Summerslam, but he commends Cena for understanding that a beating is coming his way. However, the words about fighting are mighty strong from someone about to become a victim. Cena may have come back from beatings before but they’ve never been like this.

The Undertaker knows what it’s like to be a victim, but no one can ask him because no one has seen or heard from him since Wrestlemania. Cena is looking to survive, but Brock is looking to conquer. Brock doesn’t just want to F5 and pin John Cena. He wants to victimize him ruthlessly and mercilessly. Lesnar can’t wait for Cena to no longer be WWE Champion and be nothing more than beaten, victimized and conquered.

Cena wants to have a real talk for just a few seconds. Paul said the word passion and that’s a word that even he can understand. Every once in awhile, you can hear something start and then hear it grow louder and louder. It’s the fans chanting ECW and it brings a smile to Heyman’s face. Cena and Heyman share a passion about this business because it’s Cena’s life. Good, bad or indifferent, he shows up and fights because he loves it. Brock can beat him but he’s going to have to beat every breath out of his body because Cena is walking in champion and walking out.

This brings out Cesaro who says he may no longer be a Paul Heyman Guy, he won’t allow Cena to insult Paul like this. Cena isn’t a wrestler. He’s a muscled up walking billboard. Cena gets on the floor and Cesaro insults his shoes. Not only can Cena not wrestle in sneakers, but he can’t wrestle period. We get a challenge for a match and Cena is ready. The promos here were really good as you would expect from two masters like these guys.

Cesaro vs. John Cena

Non-title of course and joined in progress after a break. They fight over a test of strength to start until Cena takes him down into a headlock. Cesaro reverses into one of his own before catching Cena in a gutwrench suplex. Cena gets stomped down in the corner but comes back with a hurricanrana for two. His comeback is short lived though as he charges into an elbow, allowing Cesaro to hammer away. Some forearms put Cena on the floor but he comes back in and starts a brawl, only to have his bulldog shoved off.

Back from a break with Cena fighting out of a chinlock and hitting the shoulder blocks. Cesaro counters what looked like a backdrop into a DDT for two and Cena is down again. We get some very loud spot calling before the Swing is countered into a sunset flip for two. A powerbomb gets the same on Cesaro but he’s able to hit the apron suplex for two of his own. Cena tries a tornado DDT but gets countered into the Swing (so much for the reports of him being asked to stop).

Something resembling an ankle lock but with Cena’s legs intertwined has John in trouble but he rolls out and hits the Shuffle. The AA is countered and Cesaro goes up, only to have Cena roll through a cross body into the AA. Cesaro lands on his feet and kicks Cena in the face, setting up Swiss Death for two. Now the Neutralizer is countered but they trade big boots to send Cesaro to the apron. He takes too long going up though and a top rope AA is good for the pin at 14:00.

Rating: B. If you give Cesaro a big stage to have this match on and a better chance of winning, this is a near masterpiece. They have great chemistry together and Cesaro is one of the few guys that can show some freakish streak when he’s given the chance. I’d like to see him actually win a big match now and then though.

Stephanie is in the back freaking out about having to apologize to Brie tonight. She can’t bear the look in their daughters’ eyes again when they look at her. HHH says it’s going to be fine but Orton comes in to interrupt. Randy says the original plan was supposed to be Cena vs. Orton at Summerslam but Reigns broke it up. He wants HHH to break up the main event but HHH says no. If Orton wants another shot, take out Roman Reigns. Tonight, Reigns is facing Kane, so now Orton has a problem with Kane. He says he has a problem with HHH too.

Here’s the skipping Paige with something to say. She says her emotions get the better of her sometimes but she still thinks of AJ as her best friend. However, AJ took her title and crossed a line. Paige will never act that way again. Cue AJ who says she doesn’t like people who lie to her.

If Paige wants to be like her, then do it and stop making this stuff up. Paige cuts her off and talks about AJ being crazy, and that’s not ok with the champ. She tells Paige to say that again but Paige says this kind of stuff happens to everyone, even people off their rockers. AJ smacks Paige and the brawl is on with Paige running off and screaming that AJ needs to calm down.

Here are HHH and Stephanie to apologize about what happened last week. We see the full incident with Brie Bella and Stephanie says she’s truly sorry. All the charges have been dropped and they’re going to move on from this unfortunate incident. Stephanie would like Brie to come down here and clear the air. Instead here’s Jericho, who sings the COPS theme song (which might be a reference to the joke about COPS reruns replacing Impact).

HHH growls at him but Jericho cuts him off and brings up HHH not coming to Stephanie’s aide until Raw had been over for fifteen minutes. Jericho says it’s because HHH is finally realizing that Stephanie is a filthy, dirty, bottom feeding trashbag ho. HHH yells but Jericho asks for Bray Wyatt tonight. That match is being saved until Summerslam, but as for tonight…..and HHH is cut off by Seth Rollins nailing Jericho in the head with the MITB briefcase. I still think they missed a HUGE story by never having Stephanie and Jericho fall for each other.

We recap the Heyman/Cena/Cesaro stuff.

Ad for Summerslam 1998 airing this Sunday night on the WWE Network. I don’t know why they’re doing this when you can watch it right this second on demand on the Network.

Usos/Dolph Ziggler vs. Miz/Ryback/Curtis Axel

Miz is in his sunglasses. Woods, Kofi and Big E. are all watching in the back. Dolph gets knocked down by Ryback for two early on. Everything breaks down for a bit and the Usos chase all three guys to the floor as we take a break. Back with Miz coming in to kick Jimmy in the ribs as Woods and company have come to ringside. Axel gets two off a running knee to the head and it’s back to Miz to work on the ribs.

The Reality Check is countered into a suplex but Jimmy still can’t make the tag. He finally kicks Miz away and the tag brings in Ziggler to dropkick Ryback. The Fameasser gets two and Miz makes a very last second save. Everything breaks down and Jey dives onto Axel. Jimmy charges into a neck snap across the top rope to take him to the floor. Miz distracts Ziggler but Dolph counters a Ryback powerbomb into the Zig Zag for the pin at 10:12.

Rating: C. Just an easy way to combine a few matches here and there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m glad Miz didn’t get pinned again, but I’m not sure why the new Nation is at ringside. Miz continues to play his role well and I’m digging the new character. Then again I’ve always been a Miz fan.

R-Truth vs. Bo Dallas

Bo says that Truth has lost a lot but will win again if he Bolieves. Dallas does his usual stuff and hits a clothesline before running a victory lap. Back in and Truth rolls him up for the pin at 32 seconds for Bo’s first loss.

Post match Bo says he can’t Bolieve that and nails Truth. The beating stays on

Here are Lana and Rusev to do their thing, this time with a focus on the American flag. Lana is about to insult George W. Bush (from Texas) but here’s Colter to interrupt. He talks about the American flag meaning something everywhere in the world. Colter brings up the Stars and Stripes and the symbolism behind them before Rusev and Swagger have their usual fight with Rusev being run off. The fans give a LOUD USA chant.

Damien Sandow vs. Adam Rose

Sandow is an astronaut this week. He gets cut off by Rose and pinned in 36 seconds with the Party Foul. Nothing to see here.

Kane vs. Roman Reigns

Reigns is on the way to the ring but Orton jumps him in the crowd. Reigns takes over and heads into the ring for a Superman Punch to Orton, but walks into a chokeslam. Kane leaves and Orton hammers away with free shots on Reigns. He nails an Elevated DDT on the floor and rams Reigns’ head into the steps over and over. An RKO onto the announcers’ table (didn’t break) has Reigns down and a second RKO through the table knocks him senseless. The bell never rang so no match.

Back from a break and Reigns is still trying to get up.

Fandango vs. Diego

Diego has Layla and Summer as sexy bullfighters this week. Fandango hammers away and goes up for the legdrop but Torito gets up on the apron for a distraction. The dancer goes after him but the bull dives onto the girls’ shoulders. Diego hits a springboard spinning sunset flip for the pin at 1:30.

Stephanie tries to find Brie in the Divas locker room but gets Nikki instead. Brie is going to be here later and Stephanie hopes things will be reasonable. Nikki laughs at the idea.

The Dusts are at a chalkboard and trying to figure out what the Cosmic Key is. Goldust says calm down and points Stardust off into the distance. He writes THEY HAVE “IT” in for the answer to the question. No idea what that means.

Alicia Fox/Cameron vs. Natalya/Naomi

Natalya and Fox get things going with the blonde nailing a seated dropkick for an early two. Naomi dives at Cameron for a brawl but Fox nails an ax kick for two. Fox hammers on her for a bit before it’s back to Cameron, who is caught in a freaky looking body scissors for the submission at 2:33. This was nothing.

Chris Jericho vs. Seth Rollins

They quickly fight to the floor with Jericho getting in trouble, only to block a suicide dive with a right hand. Back in and a suplex gets two on Seth but he stomps on Chris in the corner. Jericho jumps over him and nails an enziguri for two on Rollins, only to have Seth dropkick him down. Jericho snaps his neck over the ropes and we take a break.

Back with Jericho fighting out of a chinlock but being sent shoulder first into the post. Seth talks trash about him but Chris fights back and nails a top rope ax handle for two. A Slingblade gets two on Jericho and Rollins goes up, only to have to block some superplex attempts.

Rollins tries a powerbomb but gets countered into a top rope backdrop followed by a high cross body for two. Rollins gets elbowed in the face but avoids the Lionsault and nails a buckle bomb. The Curb Stomp misses but Rollins gets to the ropes to escape the Walls. Rollins goes up but gets caught in a Codebreaker….and we’ve got Wyatts for the DQ at 13:20.

Rating: C+. Another good match from these two but the ending was somewhat obvious. They need to make the Wyatts look tough again though and beating up Jericho is a good way to start. However, without a huge win at Summerslam it doesn’t really matter. Bray can still be saved though.

Here’s Stephanie for the big showdown with Brie to end the show. She looks at the clip from last week and apologizes to Brie again. Brie comes from the crowd to the ring and says she wants some revenge. Stephanie offers to give Nikki a raise but Brie wants her job back. The boss isn’t sure but Brie offers to drop all of the charges. Stephanie agrees but Brie wants something else: a match at Summerslam.

That’s fine with Stephanie who offers her a Divas Title shot or a Total Divas Spectacular. Brie says the obvious: she wants a match with Stephanie. The boss freaks out and says she isn’t a wrestler anymore (too easy) before finally saying she won’t lower herself to do this. Brie says she’ll see Stephanie in court. Stephanie finally breaks down and agrees before slapping Brie off the apron. The brawl is on but HHH and agents break it up. Fans: “THIS IS AWFUL!” I’m fine with the match taking place, but there is NO reason this should have closed the show.

Overall Rating: D. Other than the two long matches, this felt like a long series of short vignettes with very little going on. I don’t get the idea of Dallas losing in a meaningless match but it might be better to get it out of the way rather than letting him get crushed later on. The rest of the show felt pretty worthless, with one thing really glaring.

This show opened with a pretty awesome promo from Cena and a good match, but ended with a segment involving Brie Bella and Stephanie McMahon. I’m fine with Stephanie and Brie having a match at Summerslam, but it REALLY shouldn’t be a feature. Unless Bryan is in Brie’s corner, this really does feel like the most useless match I’ve seen built up in a very long time.

Results
John Cena b. Cesaro – Top rope Attitude Adjustment
Dolph Ziggler/Usos b. Ryback/Curtis Axel/The Miz – Zig Zag to Ryback
R-Truth b. Bo Dallas – Rollup
Adam Rose b. Damien Sandow – Party Foul
Diego b. Fandango – Spinning sunset flip
Natalya/Naomi b. Alicia Fox/Cameron – Leg scissors to Cameron
Chris Jericho b. Seth Rollins via DQ when the Wyatt Family interfered

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

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HHH opened the show and talked about the Authority not getting the title back last night. He then went on a hilarious rant against internet fans, saying he was so mad that he might have to Tweet until his fingers bled or, Heaven help him, SEND OUT AN INSTAGRAM! I cracked up at that line because of the voice and the way he delivered it.

Anyway the point of this was that HHH isn’t sure who is going to face Cena at Summerslam but everyone in the back is going to have the chance to prove their worth to him. This brings out Orton, who HHH says is the frontrunner for a title shot. Kane comes out and says he’s the best option. Roman Reigns appears and says no one wants to see Kane vs. Cena and NO ONE wants to see Cena vs. Orton again. Kane gets laid out with a Superman Punch and HHH makes Reigns vs. Kane/Orton right now.

The handicap match was fine with Reigns pinning Kane after a spear. It’s a bit of a stretch but the team got in an argument at the end and Reigns capitalized. They kept it moving as well so it never got beyond the suspension of disbelief. Reigns pinning a former World Champion is a good thing for him.

Now we get to the other big story of the night. Stephanie McMahon gave Nikki Bella a four on one handicap match but noticed Brie Bella in the front row. She wanted Brie ejected but Brie had a ticket. They yelled at each other a lot and Stephanie slapped her, which somehow got Brie dragged off. Nikki was of course destroyed in the four on one handicap. Stephanie said that Nikki was going to quit soon, which seems to be her big plan.

Later in the night, Stephanie was arrested for battery and taken away in handcuffs. HHH promised he would get Stephanie out of jail in five minutes (and for some reason asked the cops if they were driving a hybrid), but instead stayed at the arena to make his announcement on the main event. We haven’t yet heard any backlash against HHH for not being there for his wife but you can imagine the sort of thing you’re going to hear.

The Bella vs. Stephanie segments were entertaining for the most part as Brie is actually a decent actress. Stephanie is perfect in her role and the story is acceptable enough. The problem is without Bryan, a lot of the interest goes down. I’d assume he’d be in Brie’s corner when we get the match at Summerslam though. One last note: I’m not sure if it’s the hair color or the more natural look, but Brie comes off as much more beautiful than Nikki. She did on Total Divas and she did again on Raw.

Bo Dallas beat Damien Sandow. It seemed like Bo had turned face here but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Jericho was going to do the Highlight Reel but the Wyatts laid him out in the back. Apparently this was filmed at Battleground because Jericho wasn’t at the arena. That’s a basic idea and a trick that worked fine. Bray did his usual schtick about war and Abigail. He really needs to be a monster again.

Dolph beat The Miz because Miz is the Intercontinental Champion and therefore he must be defeated any time he wrestles. It’s life in the WWE.

Seth Rollins was told he shouldn’t face Cena at Summerslam. Cesaro came in and confirmed that he was no longer a Payl Heyman guy and asked to be put in the title match. HHH said Cesaro can get in if he beats Dean Ambrose tonight. Cesaro as a mercenary is an interesting idea.

AJ Lee and Paige beat Emma and Natalya. Post match Paige turned heel and beat up AJ before skipping away. Paige with a big smile and skipping away is rather appealing to look atl.

Zack Ryder beat Fandango with help from the girls. Let this one sink in for a bit. I’m not sure what the endgame is here but Layla and Summer dancing is never a bad thing.

Flo Rida knocked Heath Slater down, just like he did at Wrestlemania a few years back. He then performed a medley of songs and no one cared. I have no idea why WWE thinks this is a good use of TV time.

Kofi Kingston/Big E. lost to Ryback/Curtis Axel in a nothing match. The interesting thing here though was Xavier Woods coming out and saying that these two deserve better. It sounded a lot like the start of a new Nation type stable, but heel turns were only implied. Granted something like this almost naturally turns you heel as face stables rarely last long term. Kofi and Big E. getting something to do is a good thing though and Woods has the credentials to pull off the intellectual leader.

Rusev beat Great Khali in a better match than you would have expected. Same stuff here though.

The Dusts, Cosmic Key.

Cesaro and Ambrose had a nice brawl that ended with Ambrose hitting Cesaro with a chair. Dean caring more about violence and hurting Cesaro fits him fine as all that matters is Rollins right now.

The big ending to the show was of course HHH coming out to reveal the opponent and Reigns taking out Orton. HHH was left alone until Paul Heyman came out with Lesnar. HHH agreed that Lesnar gets the shot and Heyman talked for a good while about how awesome Brock was and how he’ll conquer John Cena at Summerslam. Good promo, even though we knew he was coming about a month ago.

Raw was good for the most part but again could have used an hour being cut out. Lesnar being spoiled hurt it a bit as the Orton and Kane stuff was just a big waste of time. To be fair though, WWE had put out a lot of stuff from Heyman so they acknowledged the spoilers and took away some of the shock intentionally.

You can see the top of Summerslam’s card already and a lot of it looks solid enough. We’ll have Brock destroying Cena, Reigns vs. Orton, Rollins vs. Ambrose and probably Brie vs. Stephanie. That’s not a bad card for a huge show and things should be entertaining enough. Raw was good enough this week but it was little more than setting the stage for the upcoming shows.

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The pre-show matches saw Adam Rose, with Layla and Summer, beating Fandango and Cameron beating Naomi. There’s nothing to say about either of these except that Cameron was horrible in the ring. I mean like REALLY horrible.

The pay per view opened with an awesome Tag Team Title 2/3 falls match with the Usos defending against the Wyatt Family. The first two falls were there so the match could be 2/3 falls. They weren’t bad but they could have been on any given Raw or Smackdown. The story of the match was that the Usos were barely bale to hang in there against the monsters and could only beat them with a quick rollup.

Then the third fall happened and everything went nuts with some INSANE near falls. Stuff like this is what makes tag team wrestling so fun as the drama is incredible and leaves you wondering when it’s going to end. The double splash from the Usos was a great big finisher and there was no way Harper was kicking out after it. The feud needs to be over now as they’re probably not going to be able to top this, but who do the Usos fight now? Ryback/Axel? I’d love to see them against the Ascension but WWE doesn’t seem to want to call them up.

I’ll cover all of the Rollins and Ambrose segments at once. Rollins was in the back when Ambrose attacked him. HHH ejected Ambrose from the building and said the match wasn’t happening. Later, Rollins came out and had himself declared the winner by forefit, but Ambrose attacked Seth again because wrestling security sucks. HHH came out again and had Ambrose handcuffed, allowing Rollins to jump him again. Finally, Rollins was trying to leave but Ambrose popped out of the trunk of his car and attacked Rollins one more time but Seth got away in said car.

Obviously there was no match and the more I think about it the less I like it. It felt like a cheap way to get people to watch the show and probably pop some Network buys. That’s a common wrestling practice but it doesn’t mean it’s something that I want to see happen all the time. The match will be fine when it happens, but you could have easily done a quick double DQ or countout and still had the match without a conclusive ending. This felt like a cop out and that’s not a good thing.

AJ Lee retained the Divas Title against Paige with a Shining Wizard. This was an odd match as they were trying to do something special but it came off sloppy. I can understand this not working better than I can most other matches as the girls don’t have anyone at this level to practice on. Paige has spent weeks fighting Paige and Cameron so doing anything complicated is out the window. Here she tried to do something a few steps higher and clearly needed more practice. AJ was far from perfect though.

Orton talked to Kane and tried to form an alliance but got nowhere.

Rusev and Swagger had a watchable match that ended in a Rusev countout win. The story of course was Lana’s promo before the match, saying you can’t blame Vladimir Putin for “current world events”, referencing the Malaysian plane crash. This caused a bunch of bad mainstream publicity for WWE, whose response was “we’ve been doing this story for weeks.” That really doesn’t make it any better, but it puts WWE in a strange place.

Rusev and Lana are going to get real heat because Putin is a real life crazy and possibly evil man who may be responsible or at least linked to the death of nearly three hundred innocent people. Whether the characters are directly referencing it or not, people in the media are going to complain. Why? Because media has a tendency to run off at the mouth and not understand the vast majority of what they’re talking about and complain before they know what’s going on. WWE had to know this was coming and really has no right to complain about the negative attention. Yeah a lot of the complaints are stupid, but they were coming no matter what Lana said.

Goldust and Stardust continue to talk about the Cosmic Key. This is starting to intrigue me.

Chris Jericho beat Bray Wyatt in a disjointed match. The chemistry really didn’t work and neither guy seemed to be on the same page. I still haven’t heard a logical reason for Jericho to win. The next night on Raw would see Jericho laid out by Bray, but Wyatt already lost a clean match. Yeah I’m sure Bray will win the blowoff match, but why didn’t he win both matches? I see absolutely no reason for Jericho to win at all. He has nothing to lose and there’s no need for Bray to lose to a guy in his third or so match back. The Summerslam win will help, but it’s taking a few weeks to get there.

Miz won the Intercontinental Title in a battle royal. The match was nothing special, much like most battle royals. I was hoping for Bo Dallas, but Miz’s Hollywood character is growing on me. The biggest surprise here was Slater dumping Cesaro which seems to have gone nowhere. It seems like Miz vs. Sheamus to unify the titles might be coming, even though that would be the stupidest thing they could do. One interesting note here: Del Rio went under the ropes before being knocked to the floor.

The main event was exactly what you would expect as the match started slow, got hot at the end saw Cena pin Kane to retain the title. Reigns looked like he was destroying everyone, though he’s not ready to be the top guy. That’s where WWE is in a good place, as they can build him up for several months. In theory he gets the title at Wrestlemania, but at least he’s got eight months to get there.

Overall the show was a disappointment as the buildup was far better than I was expecting but the execution really failed. Only the opening and closing matches were any good with the rest of the show being worthless. This is a show that could have been eliminated and used on a longer build to Summerslam, much like Fully Loaded 1998. It wasn’t the worst show ever, but it was pretty easily the worst show of the year. That’s saying a lot given that this really wasn’t horrible.

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We’re past Battleground and officially heading towards Summerslam. The show is in less than four weeks and the main event, while pretty obvious, has the potential to be awesome. Tonight we’re likely finding out what HHH’s Plan C is and who will be challenging Cena at Summerslam. Other than that Flo Rida is performing tonight for reasons that aren’t exactly clear. Let’s get to it.

Here’s HHH to open things up. He talks about how no one wants to look him in the eye because they think he’ll blow a gasket over the Authority losing last night. HHH goes off, saying he hasn’t been this mad in a long time but he has options. He says he’s going to Tweet about how upset he is. He’s so mad he might even send an Instagram or a VINE. If he doesn’t get what he wants, hes’ going to riot. And if THAT doesn’t work, he and his friend Mark are going to stop watching. Or another option is to fire everyone backstage.

HHH calms down and says he could lay back because he has options. He even guarantees that Cena won’t leave Summerslam as WWE Champion. The only question is who gets to take it from him. This brings out Randy Orton who wants a one on one match with Cena. HHH says Orton is the frontrunner, but the entire roster is going to get a chance to impress him. Randy blames Kane and here’s the monster himself. Kane says he can beat Cena if he doesn’t have to babysit Randy Orton.

Cue Roman Reigns who says no one wants to see Cena vs. Kane, and for sure no one wants to see Cena vs. Orton AGAIN. It sounds to him like everyone wants to see Roman Reigns vs. John Cena. Reigns gets in and lays out Kane with a Superman Punch but Orton bails to the floor. HHH makes Kane/Orton vs. Roman Reigns right now.

Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton/Kane

Randy starts for his team and gets popped in the jaw with a right hand. Kane comes in and walks into a Samoan drop so it’s back to Randy. Reigns finally gets slowed down with a knee to the ribs and the heels start making fast tags. Roman quickly fights out of a nerve hold and raises a boot to stop a charging Kane. The monster gets sent to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Reigns fighting out of a chinlock but getting stomped down to the mat. Kane comes in again with an elbow to the jaw for two and it’s back to Orton for another chinlock. Reigns fights up again with another Samoan drop before knocking Kane into the ropes for the running boot. Kane clotheslines Reigns down but Orton won’t tag in. Orton gets grabbed by the throat but Reigns uses the distraction to hit the Superman Punch and the spear for the pin on Kane at 12:18.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t the worst match in the world but a handicap match where the ending is pretty obvious doesn’t help much. Reigns getting the win is a good thing for his career, though I’m thinking he needs to swap his finishers or just use the Superman Punch. The spear is good for a middle of the match move but it doesn’t work as well as a finisher.

Orton teases getting in the ring but backs down from Reigns.

Stephanie gives Alicia Fox/Eva Marie/Cameron/Rosa Mendes a pep talk before their four on one handicap match against Nikki Bella.

Alicia Fox/Cameron/Rosa Mendes/Eva Marie vs. Nikki Bella

Brie is in the front row so here’s Stephanie to say everything that is happening to Nikki because Brie is a quitter. Brie calls Stephanie a very mean name and holds up her ticket. They yell at each other some more and Stephanie slaps Brie again before Brie gets dragged out. The bell rings and Nikki is of course destroyed. Alicia calls off the dogs before pinning Nikki in 32 seconds.

Stephanie says Nikki is going to quit soon.

Damien Sandow vs. Bo Dallas

This week Sandow is in a Miami Heat jersey with the word Miami crossed off and Cleveland written below it. Damien starts fast but Bo fights back wit a backdrop and clothesline to send Sandow outside. Back in and Bo hammers away with right hands. Bo is wrestling more like a face this week. Sandow knees him in the ribs and nails a suplex before putting on a chinlock. The Wind-Up Elbow misses and a Bodog keeps Bo undefeated at 2:30.

Back from a break with the Highlight Reel but Bray and the Family have laid out Jericho in the locker room. Bray shows us a clip of the attack and him telling Jericho that sooner or later, they all fall down. In the arena, Bray says Jericho isn’t here but Bray Wyatt is. The fans may think that Chris Jericho is a better man than he is, but a loss in a battle means nothing to him.

The war is all that counts and he was the man that created war. It hasn’t been long since the Wyatts brought heroes to their knees. You cannot measure him like a normal man because society does not make him and he lives a hundred years a day. Abigail told him to never chase vengeance or he would have to dig two graves: one for his enemy and one for himself.

Jericho is in the back and bleeding from the ear.

The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler

Non-title. Miz runs to the floor to start and Ziggler finally chases after him, only to fail at sending Miz into the steps. Back in and Miz stomps away but Ziggler takes him down and drops nine straight elbows. Miz trips Dolph up and puts on a chinlock before Miz catapults him over the top. Ziggler skins the cat and pulls Miz to the apron with him, only to be sent into the post as we take a break.

Back with Ziggler grabbing his arms but still not being able to nail a right hand to the face. Miz stomps on him even more and we hit the chinlock. Ziggler fights up and sends him into the buckle, followed by clotheslines and a neckbreaker. The Fameasser is countered into a rollup for two and a Side Effect gets the same for Miz.

Ziggler kicks him in the jaw and grabs a running DDT for two more. Miz’s short DDT gets two and it’s time to go after the leg. The Figure Four goes on but Ziggler finally dives for the ropes. Back up and a Fameasser gets another near fall on Miz but Ziggler can’t hit the Fameasser. Miz loads up the Skull Crushing Finale, only to get rolled through into the Zig Zag for the pin at 13:35.

Rating: C+. Now didn’t we all see this coming? I mean, I know the joke is that the Intercontinental Title is a death sentence, and now it’s looking more and more truthful every time the champion fights. Ziggler will lose the title match and then people will see Miz about the same as they do now. In other words, everyone loses.

HHH is telling Seth Rollins that there’s no reason for him to face John Cena at Summerslam because he’s got a title shot whenever he wants it. Rollins says there’s no way this can happen because Dean Ambrose keeps interfering. Cesaro comes in and says he’s no longer a Heyman Guy. Instead he’d rather be HHH’s guy. Rollins says HHH already has a guy, but Cesaro says he’d be a great choice to face Cena at Summerslam. HHH says it would be very impressive if Cesaro could beat Dean Ambrose tonight.

Emma/Natalya vs. AJ Lee/Paige

Emma trips AJ down to start and they trade rollups for two each. Paige comes in and walks into the Emma Lock before it’s off to Natalya for two off a rollup. Natalya puts on the Sharpshooter but Paige crawls over for the tag to AJ. A Shining Wizard and the Black Widow make Natalya tap at 2:25.

Post match Paige turns full heel and destroys AJ, including throwing her over the announcers’ table. Paige skips away.

Fandango vs. Zack Ryder

Ryder comes out with Summer Rae and Layla this time. Ryder hammers away to start but Fandango nails him with a dropkick. Fandango takes him down but gets caught in a faceplant. Ryder’s middle rope dropkick misses but Fandango doesn’t follow up. Ryder comes back with a Rough Ryder for the pin at 1:47. Layla shoved Fandango’s foot off the rope to give Ryder the win.

We recap Brie and Stephanie from earlier.

Flo Rida thinks he might get the title shot against John Cena. Heath Slater comes up and wants revenge from Flo Rida attacking him at Wrestlemania XXVIII. Slater shoves him and is shoved down to the ground.

Flo Rida performs. Stephanie was in the ring to introduce him and is arrested after the performance for attacking Brie earlier. Brie pops up and yells at her before being dragged off again. Stephanie is taken to the back and HHH tries to calm her down as Stephanie is put in the police car. HHH: “Is this a hybrid?” He promises to have her out of jail in five minutes.

Back from a break and HHH is about to leave but a guy (maybe Joey Mercury) says HHH has to decide on Cena’s opponent. HHH says family is more important but realizes that it’s going to take awhile to process Stephanie. He keeps the car on standby.

Ryback/Curtis Axel vs. Kofi Kingston/Big E.

Ryback and Big E. get things going with Ryback hammering away against the ropes. Big E. runs him over but walks into a spinebuster and gets double teamed in the corner. A side slam gets two for Ryback and he throws Big E. down with a belly to belly. The Meat Hook is countered by a clothesline from Big E. and he makes the hot tag to Kofi. Kingston speeds things up and gets two off the SOS as everything breaks down. Ryback rolls through a high cross body and pins Kofi at 3:25.

Rating: C-. This was mostly Big E. vs. Ryback foa few minutes before the ending came out of nowhere. Big E.’s collapse continues and it’s really kind of sad to see. Kingston only got to jump a few times and it wasn’t much to see. At least they’re building up another team to fight the Usos.

Big E. and Kofi are upset post match but Xavier Woods, now in glasses and a white suit, comes in and says they’re not getting anywhere by shaking hands and kissing babies. Instead of asking, now they’re going to be taking. Kofi and Big E. seem to agree. That was a very heelish promo from Woods.

We look back at the Wyatts attacking Jericho earlier.

Rusev vs. Great Khali

Rusev is still selling the ankle lock from last night. The big chop stuns Rusev and a big boot stops his charge. More chops in the corner have Rusev breathing deep but he nails Khali in the throat. The big chop puts Rusev down but he pops up and kicks Khali in the shoulder. A running superkick to the face sets up the Accolade for the submission at 2:27.

Clip of Sheamus on Royal Pains this week.

Stardust and Goldust talk about the Cosmic Key some more. It’s calling them.

We recap Brie and Stephanie again. Renee Young reports that Stephanie is going to be arraigned tonight and may be charged with resisting arrest.

Dean Ambrose vs. Cesaro

Ambrose hammers away to start and takes Cesaro to the floor to keep up the beating. Back in and Cesaro kicks him in the face before sending Ambrose shoulder first into the post. HHH is on the phone in the back while Orton and Rollins watch on. Cesaro cranks on the arm and the match slows down a lot. Back up and Cesaro nails him with a right hand, only to be sent to the floor. Ambrose tries a dive but lands on an uppercut as we take a break.

Back with Cesaro still on the arm before getting two off a German suplex. Cesaro’s superplex is countered and Ambrose nails a missile dropkick followed by a cross body. Ambrose suplex is countered but he sends Cesaro into the corner to escape a cross face chicken wing.

Cesaro heads outside but gets wiped out with a suicide dive. Back in and the rebound clothesline gets two on Cesaro but he comes back with a clothesline of his own. Dean gets a boot up in the corner but goes up and gets crotched into the Tree of Woe. Cesaro charges into the post twice in a row and Ambrose throws him in a third time. With the insanity setting in, Dean grabs a chair and blasts Cesaro in the arm for the DQ at 12:32.

Rating: C. The match was fun and the ending was the right call. Cesaro seems ready for a push and the split from Heyman is the right way to go about it, but a loss would hurt him right out of the gate. Ambrose going crazy and wanting to hurt Cesaro rather than pin him fits the character well. Everyone comes out in a good place here.

Renee asks HHH if he should be with his wife right now and gets glared at.

HHH is in the ring and brings out Orton as the challenger, but Reigns intercepts Orton on the way to the ring and brawls with him into the crowd. This brings out Paul Heyman who says HHH needs to consider Plan C. Cue Lesnar and HHH isn’t sure what to do. Brock stares him down and HHH shakes his hand. The boss leaves and Heyman gets to do his greasy promo about how Lesnar conquered the Streak. Now it’s time for Lesnar to conquer John Cena and take the WWE Championship at Summerslam.

Heyman says it doesn’t matter if you chant LET’S GO CENA or CENA SUCKS because Brock Lesnar is going to destroy Cena one way or another. We get a clip from Wrestlemania where the Streak was conquered and Paul talks about how that same beating is awaiting John Cena. Lesnar is going to punch, hurt, injure and F5 John Cena before taking the WWE Championship from him. He pledges loyalty to Brock Lesnar and promises Brock will take the title from Cena at Summerslam.

Overall Rating: C. This show tried to start up some new stuff, but at the same time it had a lot of moments that felt really slow. It’s the first stop on the road to Summerslam so there’s a lot to go in the coming weeks, but this was only a decent start. To be fair though, the ending was as obvious as it could possibly have been so it’s hard to complain much about it not being awesome.

Results
Roman Reigns b. Kane/Randy Orton – Spear to Reigns
Alicia Fox/Cameron/Rosa Mendes/Eva Marie b. Nikki Bella – Fox pinned Nikki after all four attacked her
Bo Dallas b. Damien Sandow – Bodog
Dolph Ziggler b. The Miz – Zig Zag
AJ Lee/Paige b. Natalya/Emma – Black Widow to Natalya
Zack Ryder b. Fandango – Rough Ryder
Curtis Axel/Ryback b. Big E./Kofi Kingston – Ryback rolled through a high cross body
Rusev b. Great Khali – Accolade
Cesaro b. Dean Ambrose via DQ when Ambrose used a chair

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This show isn’t much more than a bridge to Summerslam but it’s a very nicely decorated bridge. The main event is Cena defending his title against Roman Reigns, Randy Orton and Kane in a fourway. Other than we’re getting the first showdown between Ambrose and Reigns, Bray Wyatt vs. Chris Jericho and an Intercontinental Title battle royal. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Fandango vs. Adam Rose

I would have bet on this being instead of Fandango. The match is sponsored by Mountain Dew Kickstarter. Layla and Summer are with Adam Rose, who is celebrating his birthday tonight. Fandango jumps him to start and grabs a quick belly to back suplex for two. The party dances around the ring but Fandango stops to yell at them, only to get slapped by Summer and Layla. Adam brings him back inside for a spinebuster and the Party Foul for the pin at 1:25.

Pre-Show: Cameron vs. Naomi

Naomi tries to fight at the bell but Cameron hides in the corner. A kick sends Naomi to the floor and Cameron drives her back first into the barricade. Back in and Cameron puts Naomi in a bow and arrow hold with her feet in Naomi’s back. Naomi gets out but misses a dropkick. Cameron doesn’t follow up and gets hammered with right hands. She tries to leave but Naomi rams her into the barricade before ripping at Cameron’s hair. Cameron elbows her in the face and grabs a rollup with a handful of trunks for the pin at 3:13.

Rating: D-. This was awful. Do you know why it was awful? Because Cameron has no business being in a wrestling ring. Naomi is talented but isn’t a miracle worker and couldn’t do anything with Cameron here. I don’t know what WWE was expecting from this match but it couldn’t have been much higher than this.

The opening video talks about war and focuses on the fourway and Rollins vs. Ambrose. Nothing special.

Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Wyatt Family

Usos are defending and this is 2/3 falls. Jey pops Rowan in the jaw to start but Erick just looks annoyed. Off to Harper who chokes Jey on the ropes but gets dropkicked out to the floor. Rowan gets knocked off as well and the challengers have to regroup. Back in and Luke sends Jey throat first into the bottom rope. Rowan cranks on Jey’s neck before it’s back to Luke for a chinlock. Jey finally rolls free and tags in Jimmy who gets kicked in the face for the first fall at 4:47.

Rowan puts Jimmy in the double fist vice as Jey is finally back up on the apron. Jimmy fights up but fails at a slam attempt to keep the challengers in control. Back to Harper who rubs his forearms over Jimmy’s face but Jimmy backflips out of a belly to back suplex. Jey comes in off the hot tag and rolls Harper up for the pin at 8:07 title.

Erick throws Jey with a fall away slam for two and Luke catapults him into the ropes. Jey dives over a charging Rowan to send him into the post, setting up a hot tag to Jimmy. Both Wyatts get taken down by big dives to the floor before Jimmy walks the barricade to take Luke down again. Back inside and a high cross body gets two on Harper. The running Umaga attack in the corner gets two and Jimmy is getting frustrated.

A superkick is blocked and Harper hits a running big boot. Jimmy is sent outside for a suicide dive from Harper. Jey sends Rowan into the barricade and Erick is grabbing at his arm. Harper’s suicide dive is blocked by a superkick and Jey grabs a rollup for two. Back up and Harper plants Jey with a sitout powerbomb for a VERY close two and the fans are into it. Rowan goes up top but misses a splash. Harper goes up but gets crotched, allowing Jimmy to get the tag and hit the Superfly Splash for two on Rowan.

The Usos get crotched on the top and Rowan is up top to superplex both of them down for two on Jimmy. Everything breaks down again and Luke nails Jimmy with a superkick. Jimmy hits one of his own but Harper nails the discus lariat, only to have Jey break up the pin. Double superkicks drop both Wyatts and a double Superfly Splash pins Luke at 18:50.

Rating: A. Well that was worth the $10. This has to set up the Ascension coming up to challenge the Usos because there’s no one left for them to beat. The first fall could be reason to give them another match but it seems a bit too long at this point. I’m surprised by the ending but it was an excellent match with those near falls getting better and better every time.

We recap Ambrose vs. Rollins. Seth claimed that he founded the Shield and broke up the team by turning on Ambrose and Reigns while joining forces with the Authority. Rollins then won Money in the Bank but Ambrose has promised to never let Seth cash in the briefcase. The Authority has helped Rollins beat Ambrose down multiple times now and this is the first chance for a one on one match.

Rollins talks about how he’s not worried about this match and is ready to show Ambrose that he’s the best. Then, with Ambrose out of the picture, Rollins is going to be watching the fourway. Ambrose jumps Rollins and lays him out so HHH throws Ambrose out of the building. Apparently the match isn’t happening tonight, or at least not right now.

Divas Title: Paige vs. AJ Lee

Paige debuted the night after Wrestlemania and took the title from AJ in a huge upset. A few months later, AJ returned and took the title from Paige in an impromptu title defense. Paige has since been saying she and AJ are now frenemies. A loud CM Punk chant starts up and so do the Network plugs. Paige gets two off an early rollup and drives some knees into AJ’s chest for two.

We hit the chinlock on the champion as the fans aren’t sure who they like more. Back up and Paige tries to spear AJ to the floor but they stop at the ropes and it goes into very slow motion. They head back inside for a not great looking sunset bomb for two from Paige. For some reason Paige looks like she’s about to cry and shouts COME ON AJ. Back up and AJ stops a charge in the corner but gets caught in mid air. Paige tries to spin her around but gets caught in the Black Widow. She powers out again though and hits the Paige Turner for two. The PTO is countered into a rollup for two but AJ nails a Shining Wizard for the pin at 7:14.

Rating: C. Not great here but it’s so far and away better than the stuff from Alicia Fox and the Bellas that it’s hard to not be pleased. They’re making Paige look like a flash in the pan at this point but there will be more matches in this feud. It wasn’t bad save for some awkward looking spots and that’s acceptable for girls that don’t get to try this kind of stuff that often.

Summerslam ad.

Randy Orton goes into the depths of the building to make amends with Kane for the RKO on Monday. Kane isn’t pleased but Orton says their enemies are Cena and Reigns. The monster says those two aren’t leaving as champion because the winner is right here.

The panel (Booker T., Christian and Alex Riley) talk about the show so far and pick winners for the World Title match.

We look back at Colter and Lana’s detente from Raw.

Rusev vs. Jack Swagger

Lana does her usual schtick before the match, talking about how American propaganda has led to what happened in Iraq and Afghanistan. Colter comes out to talk as well but gets slapped, triggering a brawl between Rusev and Swagger. The bell rings and Swagger goes for the Patriot Lock but Rusev bails outside. Rusev hammers away but gets knocked back to the floor. Another Patriot Lock doesn’t work and Rusev throws Swagger over in a fall away slam.

Off to a nerve hold for a bit before Rusev fires off kicks to the thighs and chest. Swagger stomps on Rusev’s bare feet and hits a Vader Bomb for two. Swagger is sent to the apron and does a very bad job of sticking his head back in so Rusev can kick him in the chest. The superkick is caught in the Patriot Lock but Rusev finally dives forward to the ropes. They head outside with Swagger chop blocking Rusev and putting the hold on again. Rusev crawls up the steps and rolls Swagger face first into the post before beating the count at 10:00.

Rating: C. This was fine and lets the feud continue when the real life tensions have calmed down a little bit. They did a good job of making Swagger look good and the more wins Rusev gets over big names, the better off he’s going to be. It was nothing great but it extends the feud and that’s all it needed to do.

Rusev puts the unconscious Swagger in the Accolade.

Goldust and Stardust talk about the cosmic key. Stardust thinks they should watch the stars tonight.

Here’s Seth Rollins for his match, even though HHH has officially tweeted that Ambrose will not be in the arena again tonight. He says Dean behaven irresponsibly earlier tonight and insists that he is named the winner by forefit. Rollins goes up the aisle but Ambrose attacks him because wrestling security sucks.

Dean sends him onto the Spanish announce table but security pulls him off. Ambrose breaks through again as Rollins shouts at him. HHH comes out as they’re fighting again and tells security to get Ambrose out of here. Security literally picks Ambrose up to carry him out but Rollins dives on Dean. HHH finally gets Rollins calm and holds up his arm.

We recap Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt. Jericho came back again but got beaten down by the Wyatts. Jericho wisely ran away instead of fighting all three of them but tonight it’s one on one.

Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt

Jericho takes him into the corner to start but gets knocked back by a single right hand. A clothesline puts Jericho down again and a kick to the chest gets one. Jericho fights out of a neck crank and dropkicks Bray to the apron for the springboard dropkick to the floor. The Family helps Bray up so Jericho dives onto all three of them.

The referee ejects the Family and Bray isn’t happy. He lets some of his anger go by knocking Jericho off the apron and onto a cameraman. Back in and Jericho is sent to the ropes but he hangs on and nails a top rope ax handle. Bray pops back up and they botch a belly to back suplex into a gutbuster spot. The second attempt works better and Jericho is in trouble again. Bray’s backsplash hits knees and both guys are down.

Bray puts Jericho on the middle rope and brings him down with a kind of jawbreaker for two. Jericho comes right back with the bulldog but the Lionsault hits knees. Bray spider walks to the corner before slamming Chris down for two. Jericho whips him into the corner and Bray hits his head on the bottom buckle. They head to the apron and Bray tries a DDT but Jericho lands on the middle rope instead of the edge of the ring. The Walls are countered but Jericho hits the Codebreaker for the clean pin at 15:00.

Rating: D+. Ummm…WHAT? Why in the world did this happen? Bray is supposed to be this new young guy and he’s jobbing clean to Chris Jericho? The match was awkward throughout and it felt like they were on different pages. Maybe Jericho isn’t back to his level, but the ending is beyond questionable.

Rollins leaves and says he doesn’t need security. He goes into the parking lot but Ambrose pops out of the trunk of a car and beats Rollins up again. Seth finally gets away in the car.

Intercontinental Title: Battle Royal

Big E., Alberto Del Rio, Cesaro, R-Truth, Ryback, Curtis Axel, Damien Sandow, Titus O’Neal, Heath Slater, Diego, Sin Cara, Xavier Woods, Great Khali, Kofi Kingston, Bo Dallas, Zack Ryder, Dolph Ziggler, Sheamus, The Miz

No Rob Van Dam for some reason. Bad News Barrett comes out and says the new champion will be like an old couple retiring here in Florida. Initially it will be great, but it’s delaying the inevitable. Everyone goes after Khali to start but he shoves them off and cleans house before throwing out Woods and Ryder. A Brogue Kick stuns Khali and everyone puts him out. Dallas eliminates Sin Cara and Ryback does the same to Truth.

Axel is tossed as they’re going through this match quickly. Damien Sandow (a beach bum here) gets thrown out by Diego to no reaction but Ryback throws out the Matador a second later. Ryback slams Dallas down and all of a sudden only Ryback and Sheamus are standing. A quick slugout ends with a Brogue Kick for the elimination. Miz can’t throw Sheamus out and gets a Zig Zag for trying. He slides out to the floor under the ropes and everyone goes back to brawling.

Titus throws Sheamus around like he’s nothing but Bo eliminates him for a big celebration. Kofi and Cesaro go at it with Kofi missing Trouble in Paradise and getting backdropped over. He hangs on like he’s trying a sunset bomb but pulls himself back in. Cesaro grabs Kofi’s dreadlocks but gets dropkicked down. Both guys are still in. Del Rio and Ziggler go at it with Alberto putting on the armbreaker over the ropes. Del Rio tries the low superkick on the apron and gets his neck snapped across the top rope for an elimination.

We’re down to Kofi, Dallas, Slater, Cesaro, Big E., Sheamus, Ziggler and Miz. Cesaro suplexes Big E. out and throws Kofi out but Big E. catches him on his shoulders. Cesaro suplexes Kofi off Big E.’s shoulders and back into the ring (why?) before poking him in the eye and suplexing him to the floor. Slater dumps Cesaro in a huge upset but gets thrown to the apron by Sheamus. A Brogue Kick puts him out and a slingshot shoulder knocks Bo silly. The ten forearms to the chest have Dallas in trouble and Ziggler dropkicks him out.

We’re down to Sheamus vs. Ziggler and Miz is somewhere on the floor. They slug it out and no one can hit a big move. Sheamus loads up a powerbomb and they botch a counter with a very awkward landing. Thankfully they seem to be fine and Sheamus catapults Dolph over the top but he hangs on. Dolph pulls Sheamus out but he hangs on as well. Sheamus loads up the slingshot shoulder but gets superkicked out, allowing Miz to come in and throw out Ziggler to win at 14:20.

Rating: D+. Erg. Why go with something interesting when you can go with someone who has held the title multiple times before? I’m glad they didn’t unify the titles but I would have loved to see someone like Dallas get this for the promos alone. At the end of the day though, this is a death knell for Miz’s push, as is the custom in WWE.

We recap the main event. Cena refused to side with the Authority so HHH put him in this match with Orton, Kane and Reigns, who HHH hated a month ago but now is ok with being in a title shot. He explained it in an interview on WWE.com but it still doesn’t hold up.

WWE World Title: John Cena vs. Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns vs. Kane

Cena is defending and has both belts again here. It’s a brawl to start and Orton is in blue instead of black. Randy sends Orton into the steps but Reigns fights off both Authority members. A double suplex drops Reigns and gives Orton two as Kane seems to play defense against Cena. The champion comes back in and Orton takes him down for two more as Kane guards against Reigns.

Kane breaks up an AA attempt on Orton as the early going continues. Reigns and Kane fight on the floor so Cena can start up his finishing sequence on Orton. The AA is blocked so Cena throws Orton to the floor before turning around to see Reigns. Kane and Orton break it up before anything happens and Kane gets two on Reigns to annoy Randy. They start to shove each other and a YES chant starts up.

Orton says it’s supposed to be Kane watching his back but Kane uppercuts him. Kane loads up a superplex but Cena and Reigns come in to make it a Tower of Doom. Now we get Cena vs. Reigns but Kane sits up to stop it again. They stop Kane to the floor but Orton sneaks in with a backbreaker to Roman. A double Elevated DDT puts down both heroes but Kane breaks up a pin.

Cena and Reigns send Kane to the floor before Cena grabs an STF. Reigns adds a half crab at the same time but Kane makes the save. An AA sends Kane back to the floor and Orton is put in the STF again. Reigns pulls Orton to the ropes and throws him over the announce table, FINALLY giving us the showdown. They slug it out and Reigns tries a clothesline but Cena goes the wrong way so it’s kind of an old Vader body attack. The STF is countered and Reigns hits a Samoan drop. The Superman Punch misses and Cena hits the ProtoBomb.

Reigns pops up and hits the Superman Punch followed by the spear but Kane makes the save (with Cena’s head up and watching Kane come in the entire way). Kane gets hammered down and Reigns hits the jumping kick to all three guys. Orton gets speared through the barricade and the fans think this is awesome. Back in and Reigns spears Kane down but Cena makes the save.

Cena throws Roman to the floor and hits the AA for two as Reigns makes the save. Reigns and Cena slug it out again and an AA gets two with Kane breaking it up. Both heroes get chokeslammed but Reigns kicks out at two. The tombstone is countered and another spear connects until Orton makes the save. The RKO puts Reigns down but Cena comes in with an AA to Orton before pinning Kane to keep the title at 18:15.

Rating: B. Good match but the ending never being in doubt hurt things a bit. Some of the near falls did have me thinking we might get a surprise but at the end of the day this was the best option they had. Cena keeps the title and now we’re heading to his showdown with Lesnar where Brock gets his win back next month.

Overall Rating: C. This was underwhelming due to some of the booking. Miz winning is acceptable but not very exciting. On the other hand, I see absolutely no reason for Bray to lose to Jericho. At this point, Jericho should be there to put people over, not pin guys in featured matches at Wrestlemania three months ago. Other than that there was some good stuff here and it was miles better than last year, but it felt a lot more like a filler show than it should have. Granted it was a filler show so my expectations hit a hard ceiling during the build up. The opener and main event were both good so the show was worth the $10, but the middle pretty much sucked. Summerslam has potential as the big blowoff show though.

Results
Adam Rose b. Fandango – Party Foul
Cameron b. Naomi – Rollup
Usos b. Wyatt Family – Double Superfly Splash to Harper
AJ Lee b. Paige – Shining Wizard
Rusev b. Jack Swagger via countout
Chris Jericho b. Bray Wyatt – Codebreaker
The Miz won a battle royal last eliminating Dolph Ziggler
John Cena b. Roman Reigns, Randy Orton and Kane – Cena pinned Kane after a spear from Reigns

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The pre-show is Cameron vs. Naomi and unfortunately I think Cameron wins because WWE thinks she’s a star because she’s on a reality show they produce. Hopefully Naomi wins because she has some talent.

Cena retains the title in the obvious match of the night. There’s never been anything that makes me think he doesn’t win and there’s nothing wrong with that. This is a token title defense and a way to get us to the big showdown with Lesnar at Summerslam. That brings us to the two major questions about this: does Rollins cash in and does Lesnar appear on Sunday? No.

Time for my pick that makes no sense and it’s likely to happen: Dallas wins the Intercontinental Title. This is more something I want to happen that has any possibility to happen. Battle royals are really hard to predict though so it’s pretty much random guessing. Either Dallas, Cesaro or Diego. You don’t want to sleep on him.

Bray over Jericho. There’s no reason for Jericho to win and I really don’t think there’s a logical argument for it.

The Wyatts take the Tag Team Titles. Again, there’s really no reason for them not to and the Usos have had a nice title reign already.

I’ll take Paige to get the Divas Title back from AJ to complete her heel turn and set up a submission match at Summerslam.

Ambrose vs. Rollins is likely going to a non-finish to set up another match at Summerslam, perhaps for the briefcase. This is going to be the best match of the night and there’s no reason for it not to tear the house down.

That brings us to the match where I have no idea what to expect. I know I’ve said for weeks that Rusev is going to snap Swagger in half and sprinkle over him his Russian pizza, but then real life intervened. In case you haven’t heard, a Malaysian Airlines flight was blown out of the sky, killing nearly 300 people a few days ago. There’s a chance that that the Russian military had something to do with it, and that’s REALLY not something you want to mess with. I can’t imagine Rusev getting pinned or submitting, but maybe losing by countout or DQ. There’s also a chance they have a non-finish to set up a rematch when real life has calmed down.

Overall, Battleground actually looks pretty awesome. The main event should be a fun fifteen minutes and Rollins vs. Ambrose should be a war. The battle royal actually has me intrigued and that’s not something I would have imagined coming in. It’s just a bridge heading up to Summerslam, but it’s a nicely constructed bridge that should be an entertaining show. I know this is short, but most of the matches range from obvious to really obvious. That doesn’t leave me much to talk about.

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Cena opened things up with an in ring commercial for the Network and the pay per view airing on it this Sunday. This is something that has been getting a lot of complaints since Monday, but let’s think about this for a minute. The Network hasn’t shown the best numbers so far and WWE is scrambling to find as many subscribers as it can. Therefore, it’s putting on a very strong effort and trying to make every show as important as it can.

Why is this something to complain about? We’re getting effort put into meaningless shows that make them far more interesting than they would be otherwise. Flash back a year ago to Battleground. Do You remember how worthless it was? It ran away with Worst Show of the Year and that’s what you would rather have than some thirty seconds of advertising for the Network? And what about all the sweet content we’re getting this week? Saturday Night’s Main Event, the Punk documentary and the Best of Nitro? If I have to sit through those things in exchance for some commercials, I think I’ll survive.

Anyway Cena and Reigns had a meeting before their six man tag against the Authority later, but their partner Dean Ambrose got laid out in the back. Rollins gave him a curb stomp onto a wooden pallet in a cool visual.

Miz beat Sheamus in a big upset. This is the kind of thing Sheamus needs to have: losses to big names. Now it means more when he comes back with a Brogue Kick and knocks Miz’s head back to Cleveland.

Let’s stop for a second and look at this match. It was one of FIVE matches between guys in the Intercontinental Title battle royal. For once, the midcard title got a solid build with about half the people in the match getting some focus. It’s so nice for a change and made the match on Sunday feel much more important than it did coming in.

Ziggler beat Fandango and got to dance with Summer and Layla. I have zero issue with good looking women in tight dresses dancing.

Adam Rose and Damien Sandow did a commercial for Sonic. You have to make up that $20 million deficit somehow. Again, if a minute long commercial bothers you that much, you’re beyond my help.

The Usos got jumped by the Wyatt Family. Another basic way to build a match on Sunday.

One of the longest segments of the night was a showdown between Zeb Colter and Lana. This was a lot of the same stuff they’ve been saying, but it was really well done and made me want to see the match. Swagger is going to tap, but the build has been fun. After this, I’m thinking Rusev goes after the US Title. It’s all that makes sense at this point.

Alberto Del Rio beat Rob Van Dam in a short match. Van Dam needs to win a match or two in the near future.

Cameron and Alicia Fox beat Nikki Bella in a match set up by Stephanie McMahon. They’re clearly setting up Brie’s return, but I’m not sure if it’s against Stephanie or Nikki. As long as the Bellas don’t have their SERIOUS talks, I don’t really care.

The big moment of the night was Cole introducing a special character in WWE 2K15. It was Sting, who appeared in a video where they threw it to a video where there was an orchestra playing Sting’s old music (from Starrcade 1997) with their backs to the cameras. They turned around to reveal they were all in Sting masks. Sting showed up and looked at the camera but didn’t say anything. He was NOT in the arena but the place erupted when they saw the masks. It appears that you’ll be getting both Surfer Sting and Crow Sting. Sting likely will debut one day, but it’s bizarre to see his face on Raw.

Cesaro has fired Paul Heyman, and lost to Big E. This is either moving towards Cesaro admitting he needs Heyman, or him winning the battle royal on Sunday to prove he doesn’t need Heyman and likely turning face. Word on the street is that WWE doesn’t want to push Cesaro and Reigns as big faces at the same time. I really hope this isn’t true, because if it is, I’ve lost a lot of faith in basic human intelligence and wrestling in particular.

Jericho and Wyatt had their weekly chat and Bray sent the Family out to attack him. Thankfully Jericho ran away before it got too bad. The interesting thing in this feud is that Bray can win every match and Jericho isn’t going to be diminished all that much. The question is where does Bray go after that.

AJ and Eva Marie had a watchable match where Marie wound up tapping. The girl is just there for how she looks in tight outfits but she’s not the worst in the world. Paige and AJ’s odd friendship continues, at least until Battleground.

Bo Dallas remained undefeated against Great Khali. He’s at the point where he needs to win something important soon, and the battle royal might be that something.

Paul Heyman offered a Plan C to the Authority. If it wasn’t obvious that Lesnar was coming back soon, I don’t think they could make it any more clear. There’s nothing wrong with that either and it’s going to be awesome.

Ric Flair returned and seemed to be at least a little bit buzzed. He hit on Renee Young (at least his vision still works) and picked John Cena for the fourway at Battleground. The interesting part was Cena handing Flair the World Heavyweight Championship on his way to the ring. This seems like it may be the last we see of that belt. It was obvious they were going to the new WWE Championship only at one point and handing it to Ric Flair in Virginia is as easy a way as any to get rid of the thing. I’m sure it’ll appear again someday.

The handicap main event was exactly what you would expect it to be. There really isn’t much to say about these things as they’re almost always the same.

Reigns stood tall to end the show. Seth Rollins seemed to injure his knee at the end of the show but it was fake. I bought it though so he did a good job.

Overall this was a solid go home show as I believe every match on Sunday’s show got some build. That’s exactly what you want out of a show like this and I want to see Battleground now more than I did. Nothing on the show was all that great, but I can accept a show that is mostly good for three hours.

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We’re at the go home show for Battleground, and things are getting interesting around here. The big story continues to be the rise of Roman Reigns, even though it seems highly unlikely that he gets the belt on Sunday. Other than that the Authority is back tonight and likely not happy as is their custom. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Cena to get things going. The Champ is here and if you haven’t done so yet, go sign up for the WWE Network because the preview ends tonight at midnight. You should order now because next week, the Champ may not be here. Cena talks about the fatal fourway on Sunday and says he doesn’t have to get pinned to lose the title. This brings out Reigns to a very solid reception.

Cena thanks Reigns for what happened last week and thinks that they should join forces to take out the Authority tonight and then find out who the best man is on Sunday. Ambrose pops up on screen and says they need to be on the same page. Dean has a plan tonight and it’s called Operation Screw The Authority. Kane, Rollins and Orton beat him down but Dean of course keeps fighting. They destroy Dean but he asks if that’s all they’ve got. This only earns him a worse beating and we got to a break.

Sheamus vs. The Miz

Non-title. Sheamus says he won’t hit Miz in the face, but he’ll kick it off his shoulders. Before the match, Miz talks about winning the Intercontinental Title on Sunday and gives us a present: his face on the screen throughout the match. Sheamus runs him over to start before dropping Miz with an elbow to the jaw. They head outside with Miz whipping Sheamus into the barricade before a top rope ax handle gets two back inside. Sheamus nails the rolling fireman’s carry and we take a break.

Back with Miz putting Miz in a chinlock as we cut away to a graphic showing twenty two participants in the battle royal on Sunday. Sheamus fights up and hits his running ax handles but misses the knee lift. Instead he hits fifteen forearms to the chest followed by a powerslam for two. Sheamus goes up top but gets taken down by the leg, allowing Miz to hit a short DDT for two. The Skull Crushing Finale is countered but Miz avoids the Brogue Kick, allowing him to grab a rollup for the completely clean pin in a shocking upset at 10:50.

Rating: C-. Well the ending surprised me and I still maintain that Miz isn’t as bad as people think he is. I would prefer the champions to not get beaten clean in the middle of the ringA but at least it’s to another former World Champion and not to some no name. Sheamus losing isn’t going to kill him though.

Orton and Kane bicker about who wins the title on Sunday but HHH comes in and tells them to drop it because they’re partners tonight. They leave and Stephanie comes in and seems turned on by HHH’s authority.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Fandango

Ziggler leapfrogs Fandango to start as Cole recaps the love triangle between Layla, Summer Rae and Fandango. The dancer whips Ziggler into the corner and takes over with an early chinlock. Back up and Ziggler hammers away but misses an elbow drop to put both guys down. It’s Fandango up first but here are the girls on the table for a distraction. Fandango of course can’t focus on a match while someone is twenty feet from him, allowing Dolph to dropkick him down. A Fameasser gets Dolph the pin at 2:58.

The girls dance with Ziggler post match.

Sonic seems to be a sponsor and we have a waitress delivering food in the back. Damien Sandow comes up in a Sonic uniform on skates (as is the case for Sonic employees). He’s about to have something to eat when Adam Rose and the Rosebuds come up and get in an argument over a hot dog. Sandow of course rolls off and crashes into something. Rose eats the foot and one of the Rosebuds steals something. Harmless commercial.

The Usos come out for a match but the Wyatts jump them from behind and leave the champions laying.

It’s time for a detente between Zeb Colter and Lana. Cole is hosting and talks about how this is designed to ease some of the tension. Lana tries to talk but gets cut off by a USA chant. She finally gets something out but it’s all in Russian. Lana compares Colter to the USA, saying they both see violence as the answer. America wants to save the world but they can’t even save themselves.

The crowd hating her gets on Lana’s nerves and she tells everyone to shut up. We get a history lesson about how the Americans won freedom and then fought each other like savages. Russia however, has always loved peace. Colter talks about being in a jungle in Vietnam and vowing to defend this country against all enemies, foreign and domestic. He calls Rusev Bullwinkle and talks about how arrogant Lana is being.

Lana praises Putin but Colter calls him ugly. We get a shot of Obama with Colter talking about how he’s elected every four to eight years, drawing a rather solid reaction for the President. Colter wants to talk to Rusev instead of Lana, asking Rusev if the challenge has been accepted for Battleground. Rusev says it’s war.

The Russians leave and Colter does a WE THE PEOPLE, making Lana very angry. She slaps Zeb but the guys go at it instead. Swagger easily takes Rusev down but Lana pulls him off. Rusev sends him into a podium and nails a corner splash but the jumping superkick is countered into the Patriot Lock. Rusev finally gets to the floor and the fans are WAY into this. Swagger hasn’t looked this good in years.

We look at Ambrose getting beaten down. Dean has been taken to a hospital and his return is unlikely.

Reigns is getting ready when Cena comes in. Cena tells him to get up, so Reigns says they take out all three of their opponents (Kane, Orton and Rollins) tonight.

Flo Rida performs next week.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Rob Van Dam

Del Rio starts fast by sending RVD to the floor and tying him up in the ring skirt. Back in and Del Rio goes after the spine before putting on a chinlock with his knee planted between Rob’s shoulders. Van Dam fights up and hits some clotheslines followed by a quick hurricanrana. A superkick drops Del Rio and Rolling Thunder gets two. Del Rio gets kicked down but gets his knees up to block the Five Star. The armbreaker goes on and Rob immediately taps at 4:33.

Rating: C-. Not bad here and I can’t begin to tell you how glad I am that Del Rio is in the midcard. The guy is talented in the ring but he needs a lot more than what he has to be in the World Title hunt. The match didn’t have time to do much, but Van Dam needs to win something, even a small match, to keep up his credibility.

Ad for the CM Punk documentary airing tomorrow night on the Network.

Nikki Bella comes out for her match but Stephanie interrupts her. She talks about Brie not being here for the tag match so Nikki has to go it alone again. Stephanie says Nikki should blame Brie for being selfish.

Cameron/Alicia Fox vs. Nikki Bella

Alicia gets things going for her team but is quickly rolled up for two. Cameron gets the tag and is a little more serious tonight. She slams Nikki down and Cameron vs. Naomi is announced for the pre-show on Sunday. Nikki knocks Alicia off the apron and hits an Alabama SLam on Cameron with Fox making the save. Alicia hammers on Nikki but gets elbowed in the jaw. Cameron offers a distraction and Nikki gets slammed off the middle rope. Fox hits something like a Fameasser for the pin at 3:34.

Rating: D+. We get the idea and now it’s just waiting until Brie returns for the showdown that almost no one is going to care about. However, I have a bad feeling we might have to see the Bellas fight at some point. Or even worse, talk to each other. Thank goodness the Funkadactyls are going to fight on the pre-show instead of the full version.

Cole tells us about a special character in WWE 2K15. They threw it to a video where there was an orchestra playing Sting’s old music (from Starrcade 1997) with their backs to the cameras. They turned around to reveal they were all in Sting masks. Sting showed up and looked at the camera but didn’t say anything. He was NOT in the arena but the place erupted when they saw the masks. It appears that you’ll be getting both Surfer Sting and Crow Sting.

HHH tells Randy Orton to calm down.

Goldust and Stardust talk about the Yellow Brick Road and going to the place where all that glitters isn’t gold.

Cesaro vs. Big E.

Kofi is with Big E. but there’s no Heyman with Cesaro here and the announcers say he’s been fired. Big E. runs him over to start and they head outside, only to have Big E. get sent into the barricade. Back in and Cesaro escapes a gorilla press and nails a hard clothesline for two. A butterfly suplex drops Big E. but he fights out of a chinlock and hits some belly to belly suplexes of his own. The Warrior Splash connects and he takes down the straps but Cesaro goes outside. He throws a chair at Kofi and brings another into the ring, only to have Kofi take it away. The Big Ending gets the pin at 4:23.

Rating: D+. This felt more like an angle than a match with Cesaro being lost without Heyman there to show him what to do. These guys are all in the battle royal again, as that match continues to be the focus of the show. It’s not likely to last but it’s a nice change of pace for once.

We look back at the Wyatts beating up Jericho two weeks ago.

Here’s Jericho to talk about having been in the WWE for a long time. He lists off a lot of people and things he’s seen with a long series of comedy and serious characters. He’s done a lot of things including getting in a fight with Bob Barker (“I’ll still fight you anytime, anywhere”) and beating Austin and Rock in the same night. Yeah he’s seen it all, but then there’s Bray Wyatt.

Bray is unlike anything he’s ever seen before because Bray is crazy. Jericho can get crazy too though, and if that’s what Bray wants to do, he can do it at Battleground. The fans want to get crazy but here’s Bray on screen to respond. Bray talks about frail little minds getting struck by the hands of life and making them different. He wants to know where Chris was when we needed him. Chris was going to save us but we remember it all. Bray has done a lot of bad things and gone to war with powerful men but on his journies he’s noticed a constant: no matter how tough they are or what they’ve been through: they all scream.

We go back to the arena but Bray is still on the screen laughing. He blows out the lantersn and the lights in the arena go out. Something happens and the Family is in the ring around Jericho. Chris is cornered but goes after Harper, only to get double teamed. He ducks under a big boot and wisely runs to fight another day. Bray pops up behind him and lays Jericho out with Sister Abigail on the ramp.

We look at the opening segment again.

AJ Lee vs. Eva Marie

Paige is on commentary and this is non-title. AJ nails a spinwheel kick as Paige declares them frenemies. They head outside with Eva kicking her into the apron to take over. Back in and Eva cranks on the arms. That goes nowhere as AJ comes back with the Black Widow for the win at 2:28.

Post match AJ sits on the announcers’ desk in front of Paige and they compliment hair. And that’s that.

Kane comes in to yell at the Authority about not liking Randy Orton. HHH says it doesn’t matter who gets the title as long as it’s part of the Authority.

Bo Dallas is in the ring and talks about beating El Torito, the biggest little man in the WWE. He may be small, but he has a huge heart. Bo hopes his opponent tonight has as big a heart.

Great Khali vs. Bo Dallas

JBL: “Bo’s streak is like Lou Gehrig’s or Cal Ripken Jr.’s!” Cole: “But all of those ended.” JBL: “…..ok.” Khali chops away in the corner but no sells all of Dallas’. Bo gets sent out to the floor but actually hits a Bodog off the apron for the countout win at 1:48.

Post match Bo gives Khali a pep talk and gets chopped down with ease. Bo: “OW!”

Preview for the Best of Nitro, airing after Raw goes off the air.

The Authority tells Rollins they have a Plan B. Seth leaves and Heyman comes in, saying he’s been picking his spots and making his moves. He hopes their Plan B works, but if they need a can’t miss plan, he’s the man to talk to. The Authority isn’t sure what to think of what he says.

Here’s Ric Flair for a big guest spot. His suit looks great if nothing else. Flair immediately hits on Renee who looks to be having a great time and says Virginia is for lovers (state motto). After he getting done wooing, Renee asks him for his pick in the fourway at Battleground. Flair says there’s only one man that can strike like a viper and one man that can walk through hellfire and brimstone, but John Cena is walking out with the title. This brings out Reigns to shake Ric’s hand. Flair leaves and that’s it for him.

John Cena/Roman Reigns. vs. Randy Orton/Kane/Seth Rollins

Cena hands Flair the World Heavyweight Championship as they meet on the stage. During the entrances, Rollins vs. Ambrose is set for Sunday. Rollins and Cena get things going but it’s quickly off to Orton before much happens. A back elbow puts Randy down and it’s off to Kane. Cena is ready to go but Reigns tags himself in. The monsters go at it with Reigns getting the better of it but he stops to nail Rollins. The Authority takes over and we go to our last break.

Back with Reigns fighting out of a chinlock and nailing a running clothesline. Cena gets the hot tag and cleans house but a Kane distraction lets Rollins get in a shot to take over. Orton comes back in with the backbreaker before it’s back to Kane. Cena’s attempt at an AA literally falls flat with Kane crashing down onto his head. Rollins puts on a sleeper but Cena powers out of it and makes the tag to Roman. Reigns cleans house and sends Rollins to the floor where he comes up clutching his knee. Kane and Orton double team Reigns and it’s a DQ at 14:28.

Rating: C-. Just your basic main event match here but that knee issue with Rollins is a scary scene. Hopefully it’s either a story or he’s not too badly hurt. It would be a huge blow if he was seriously injured. The match was nothing great but it worked well enough to get the job done.

Orton and Kane beat up Cena but Kane accidentally knocks Randy to the floor. Reigns gets back up but spears Cena by mistake. Kane kicks Roman in the face and Randy lays Kane out with an RKO, only to get speared down to end the show. The camera never looked at Rollins after he went down.

Overall Rating: C+. This show had three stories to it. In a distant third was the Jericho vs. Bray match, which should be good as Bray can get a win on pay per view and look much more like a monster. The other major stories were a combination of the fourway/Rollins vs. Ambrose and the Intercontinental Title. The battle royal had four or five matches dedicated to it tonight and was made to look like a really big deal. It was a nice change of pace and I really hope the title gets more attention going forward. Overall I’m more excited for Battleground than I was coming into tonight and that’s a good thing.

Results
The Miz b. Sheamus – Rollup
Dolph Ziggler b. Fandango – Fameasser
Alberto Del Rio b. Rob Van Dam – Cross armbreaker
Big E. b. Cesaro – Big Ending
Paige b. Eva Marie – Black Widow
Bo Dallas b. Great Khali via countout
John Cena/Roman Reigns b. Seth Rollins/Kane/Randy Orton via DQ when Kane and Orton double teamed Cena

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The blue show is in Canada tonight as we’re getting closer to Battleground. The announced main event for tonight is Roman Reigns vs. Rusev which is going to be a war. It’s a war destined to end due to interference but it’s still going to be good while it lasts. Other than that there’s Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho which should be good stuff. Let’s get to it.

Opening video.

We look at Rollins and Cena from Monday in a long video package.

Here are Lana and Rusev to open things up. Lana rips on the leaders of America and Canada, saying they’re just like Roman Reigns: all style and no substance. Reigns cuts her off and stares down the evil foreigners. This is his ring and Rusev actually thinks he can crush Reigns. Reigns says try it and threatens to put his fist across Rusev’s face.

Lana says be careful what you wish for but Reigns wants a referee out here right now. The look on Rusev’s face is hilarious as he looks surprised with his mouth wide open. A referee comes out and is ready for the match but Lana says not on Reigns’ terms. Roman didn’t sound good on the mic here. He’s still finding his style.

JBL and Cole schill the Network.

AJ Lee vs. Cameron

Non-title and Paige vs. AJ for the belt is set for Battleground. The bell rings but Cameron wants to put on lip gloss. Cameron takes her down and tries to put makeup on AJ, which JBL thinks is a foreign object. A double chicken wing has AJ in trouble and Cameron shouts a lot. Back up and AJ sends her into the corner for a running clothesline followed by a shot to the face for two. Cameron tries to leave because AJ messed up her face, only to have Naomi run down and throw her back in. The Shining Wizard gets AJ the pin at 3:12.

Rating: D+. I get that Cameron is supposed to be annoying, but man alive I can’t stand watching her. She isn’t the kind of character where I want to see what’s coming to her. She’s the kind of character that makes me think of how much I can’t stand modern celebrity culture and makes me want to go read a good book.

Orton says Chris Jericho has won everything there is to won and that makes him a legend. That leaves Orton with one thing to do: introduce Jericho to the Legend Killer.

Fandango vs. Adam Rose

Layla comes out with Fandango but Summer Rae is one of the Rosebuds. Rose jumps over Fandango to start and gives him a little spank. Summer Rae and Layla go at it about thirty seconds into the match and Fandango gets nailed trying to break it up. Rose wins by countout at 1:02.

Rose hits the Party Foul on Fandango post match.

We look at Bray and Jericho’s discussion from Raw.

Jericho says his match with Bray has a chance to be a classic because they’re from opposite sides of the spectrum. Bray says save us Y2J but Wyatt is too far gone to save. Jericho is going to follow Wyatt’s advice and let actions do the talking tonight against Randy Orton. Maybe it’s time to crush the head of the serpent. As for Wyatt, Jericho is coming. He blows very gently in a nice touch.

Later tonight it’s Layla vs. Summer Rae with Fandango as guest referee in a Money in the Bank rematch.

Usos vs. Heath Slater/Titus O’Neil

Non-title. Jimmy pounds on Titus to start but it’s quickly off to Slater who gets kicked in the face for two. Heath takes him down into a chinlock but gets caught in a bad looking Samoan drop for two more. Everything breaks down and Slater jumps into a superkick, setting up the Superfly Splash for the pin at 1:59. Nothing match but I like them throwing random low level guys together as jobbers. It’s better than having Ryback/Axel job here.

Post match the Usos say they love the rivalry with the Wyatts. Jey imitates a stereotypical commentator while Jimmy acts out a lot of the moves he describes. Odd but kind of entertaining actually.

Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton

Before the match Bray pops up on screen and sings his song before telling Chris to save himself. Cole actually gives us some backstory here, talking about Orton arrived in WWE in 2002 and called Jericho to pick him up at the airport because Jericho was the only person he knew in WWE. Now Orton only cares about himself and isn’t like his old self. Jericho quickly sends Randy to the apron and dropkicks him out to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Jericho hitting a running knee to the back for two as Cole brings up Orton punting Jericho out of WWE back in 2010. I’m digging this storytelling from Cole. Chris misses a charge and falls out to the floor where Orton sends him into the steps. It’s good for two back inside and the fans loudly chant for Y2J. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Orton slams Jericho’s head down onto the mat.

Back to the chinlock as the fans chant for the Canadian again. He fights up with a belly to back suplex and a dropkick but Orton kicks away from the Walls. A powerslam gets two for Orton but Jericho comes back with a running clothesline in the corner. Orton crotches him on the top, only to have Jericho come back with a top rope cross body for a close two.

The backbreaker puts Chris down again and Randy loads up the Elevated DDT but Jericho counters into the Walls. Orton makes the rope and now the Elevated DDT connects. Jericho blocks the RKO and hits the Lionsault but the Wyatts seem to be coming. The lights come up and they’re nowhere in sight, allowing to hit the RKO for the pin at 11:50 shown of 14:20.

Rating: B-. Solid match here as you would expect from two top level guys when they’re given the time. They didn’t go outside their comfort zone here but even the basics from these guys is still good stuff. Unlike Ambrose, Jericho losing isn’t going to affect his status due to how established he is. It’s why he’s been brought in and that’s the right idea.

Layla vs. Summer Rae

Fandango is refereeing again and gets kissed by both girls to start. The bell rings and Fandango stops both girls from charging at the other. Apparently he wants to dance but the girls aren’t impressed. Instead they both beat him up and knock him to the floor before dancing together as Fandango is stunned. This wasn’t a match.

More Network talk.

Goldust vs. Curtis Axel

Feeling out process to start with Goldust breathing at Curtis. Stardust gets on the barricade and seems to be conducting the crowd as Axel takes over on Goldust. A dropkick sends Goldust outside and Stardust is now laying on the announcers’ table. He puts on JBL’s hat as the match heads back inside where Goldust kicks Axel in the head. A powerslam gets two for Goldust and the Final Cut gets the pin at 2:28.

Ryback goes after Goldust but Stardust blows gold dust into his eyes and sends Ryback to the floor.

Bo Dallas vs. El Torito/Diego

Bo promises to be handi-capable against Diego and his Bo-vine friend. The big guys start but Diego stops him to shout OLE. Dallas hammers away in the corner but gets sent into the buckle, setting up the Bodog for the pin at 1:17.

Torito gets pulled into the ring post match but Bo helps him to his feet, only to give him a Bodog.

Rusev vs. Roman Reigns

They lock up to start until Rusev kicks at the legs to take over. Reigns cleans house with right hands and knocks Rusev to the floor as we take a break. Back with Rusev controlling with a nerve hold before he drops Reigns with a spinwheel kick. We hit the nerve hold again before Reigns’ comeback is squashed by a kick to the chest. The fans think Russia sucks and help Roman fight out of the third nerve hold. A running clothesline drops the Russian and a Samoan drop does it again. The apron kick has Lana freaking out and there’s the Superman Punch, drawing in Orton for the DQ at 6:55 shown of 9:25.

Rating: C. This was decent while it lasted but there was no way either guy was getting a clean win here. Also, a nine and a half minute match on Smackdown doens’t have nearly the same atmosphere that these two had in the battle royal. Build these two up a bit more and make it mean something and the match will be much better.

Rusev lays Roman out but Lana orders Rusev out of the ring instead of CRUSH. Orton heads inside and hits an RKO to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Reigns finally having to deal with some adversity is a nice thing to see, but the rest of the show wasn’t much. Orton vs. Jericho was good but doesn’t mean much, and the rest of the show was just there. Unfortunately Smackdown is slipping back into its old pattern of meaning nothing at all and that makes it hard to sit through.

Results
AJ Lee b. Cameron – Shining Wizard
Adam Rose b. Fandango via countout
Usos b. Heath Slater/Titus O’Neil – Superfly Splash to Slater
Randy Orton b. Chris Jericho – RKO
Goldust b. Curtis Axel – Final Cut
Bo Dallas b. Diego/El Torito – Bodog to Diego
Roman Reigns b. Rusev via DQ when Randy Orton interfered

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