While the Smackdown show airing tonight in Canada made no mention of Brock Lesnar at all (after Raw had advertised Lesnar’s opponent being announced on the show) Randy Orton was finally announced as Lesnar’s SummerSlam opponent during the Aftermath show that airs on Canada’s Sportsnet channel.
It is not clear if WWE failed to put the Lesnar announcement on the Canadian version of Smackdown show in fear it would break before airing in the U.S., or there was a change in plans.
The two started together in OVW, but have never had a major program in WWE.
Of course, this is all dependent on Lesnar’s health coming out of UFC 200 where he and Mark Hunt have been moved to the main event as Jon Jones was pulled from the show due to an potential USADA anti-doping violation. You can get more on that breaking news story here.
We’ll have more on this very busy newsday in combat sports on tonight’s Wrestling Observer Radio for subscribers.
The Big News: The Revival defeated American Alpha in a 2-out-of-3 Falls match to retain the NXT Tag Team Championships.
The Medium News: Rhyno returned and seemed to be really angry that Blake and Murphy tried to team again.
The Little Beaver Sized News: Bayley and Nia Jax agreed to one more match.
Bayley pinned Alexa Bliss
This match was set up last week when Alexa beat Carmella and made a challenge to Bayley, who is fully recovered following her match with Nia Jax.
Bayley gave Alexa a lot, establishing her as more than just another girl on the roster. Alexa used a really nice punch to the face to take over, with Bayley selling it as possible death. Alexa went for Twisted Bliss, but Bayley cut her off and Alexa actually came back with a Code Red for a near fall.
The finish saw Alexa go for the Vader Bomb, but Bayley got her knees up and won with the Belly to Bayley.
After the match, Bayley said she was ready to take her title back. Nia Jax came out in “normal clothes” to confront her. They stood face to face and Bayley challenged her to one more match. Nia agreed and it is on.
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We had a TM61 video package.
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Dash & Dawson said they will beat American Alpha tonight and have no fear in losing their belts so soon after regaining them.
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The Hype Bros vs. Blake & Murphy ended in a No Contest
Blake and Murphy are teaming again. Remember when I said like two months ago that they would break up at least five times before it counted?
Blake and Murphy literally couldn’t even agree on who would start the match. They argued mid-ring as Mojo Rawley tried to get them to wrestle. However, before we saw any wrestling, Rhyno appeared out of nowhere to Gore Blake, Rawley and Ryder. Murphy got away scot-free.
Yes, this really happened.
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We got the video package for next week’s Finn Balor-Shinsuke Nakamura match. I got half a second of screen time when they showed Nakamura’s entrance in Dallas. Tye Dillinger, Neville and American Alpha talked about what a dream match it would be.
This was the first thing they have done to make me excited for the match since the original angle announcing it.
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American Alpha said they will execute their game plan to win the belts back.
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Samoa Joe will be on NXT next week, apparently for the first time since Takeover. Is it sad that I didn’t notice?
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Rhyno was walking around Full Sail University (literally) and a cameraman ran up to ask why he was back. Rhyno snorted at him and walked away.
I have a theory that Rhyno has no clothes. All that he owns are his wrestling singlets, a few hoodies and Rhyno t-shirts that companies have been nice enough to give him.
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NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival took 2 out of 3 falls from American Alpha
This is the third time these two teams have wrestled. American Alpha won the first at NXT Takeover: Dallas, while The Revival evened the score at Takeover: The End. With a win, Alpha would become the second team to win the NXT Tag Team Titles twice.
The start of the first fall saw the champs work over the knee of Jordan, which is backwards because normally they get the heat on Gable. Jordan’s knee slammed off the ring post and both members of the Revival took turns using leg and knee holds.
Gable was able to get the hot tag and suplexed Dash and Dawson all over the place. Everything was going great for him until Dash pulled down the top rope, causing Gable to go flying over it and crashing on the ground outside.
Despite beating on him for close to 10 minutes, the Revival just could not put Gable down for the first fall. Gable showed resilience as Jordan managed to recover from the earlier attack on his knee.
Jordan got the second hot tag of the first fall and went all suplex crazy on both men again. Jordan got a near fall on Dash with a spear. The first fall finally ended with Dash tapping to Jordan’s ankle lock.
The second fall saw Dawson and Jordan reverse roll-ups on each other until Dawson got on a reverse figure four for the tapout, showing that Jordan’s knee didn’t fully recover from the beginning of the match.
The third fall started with more roll-ups. Alpha went for Grand Amplitude, but it got broken up. Revival went for Shatter Machine, and that got broken up too.
Gable got a tag, but was hit with a knee to the face as he tried getting into the ring. Gable and Dawson fought on the apron until somehow the Revival hit the Shatter Machine on it.
By the way, shouldn’t it have hurt the Revival just as much since they bumped on the apron? Anyway, they rolled Gable in, pinned him and retained the titles.
So that does it for this week. Next week it is the much anticipated showdown between Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura. Until then, remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers.
On Wednesday, the road to the WWE Cruiserweight Classic gets a little closer with Bracketology, a one-hour WWE Network special akin to the NCAA tournament selection show, featuring bracketing and officially putting all 32 competitors in their slots for this summer-long tournament.
The competitors are a wide array of talent from all over the world.
Some of the faces and names involved are already familiar to the WWE audience like veteran cruiserweights Brian Kendrick and Tajiri. Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa and Rich Swann have also already competed in front of the crowd at Full Sail University as members of the NXT roster.
Most of the talent in the tournament has never before competed in a WWE ring. Independent stars from the United States like Drew Gulak, T.J. Perkins and Cedric Alexander that are looking to make a good first impression to the WWE and its audience.
It also includes international stars like Kota Ibushi, Gran Metalik and Zack Sabre Jr. that are looking to further establish themselves in the United States.
With such a diverse group of both known and unknown talent, the first 16 matches could lead to some real gems.
Tonight’s bracketing show will be hosted by Mauro Ranallo and Daniel Bryan, and with the show purportedly going for a more sports like atmosphere, it will be interesting to see what they say about the competitors.
Join us at 9 PM EST as the brackets get revealed!
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The show starts with Triple H cutting a speech at the performance center, basically a pep-talk to those competing in the tournament.
Mauro welcomes us to the show and asks Daniel how he feels being back after his retirement in February. When he heard about the Cruiserweight Classic, he felt he had to be a part of it as there are tons of people coming in from all around the world competing in one tournament. Mauro says it reminds him of the birth in MMA.
They go over the story of Alejandro Saez and how he was 25 pounds overweight before the tournament, but managed to make weight before deadline. Daniel Bryan questioned if he’ll gain that weight back before the tournament starts.
Zack Sabre. Jr profile video. He says he grew up watching guys like Chris Jericho and Dean Malenko who were well known for their technical skill. “Harry Potter isn’t the only wizard in this tournament” he notes.
WWE Senior Director of Talent Relations Canyon Ceman is interviewed, saying how he traveled around the world in search for competitors. The goal is to bring someone for everyone.
Jack Gallagher is interviewed, putting over the British style. He has to use his mind and his techniques to beat his opponents. He’ll keep it gentlemanly as long as his opponents keep it gentlemanly. He considers himself a classic English gentleman.
Harv and Gurv Sihra are profiled next. They are from Vancouver, but their parents are from India. They call themselves the Bollywood Boys, as Bollywood creates this idea of fantasy. To be in the biggest wrestling company in the world, that is a great accomplishment within itself. They both have what it takes to be here, but what it comes down to is who is the better man.
Rich Swann is profiled next. He mentions pro wrestling saved his life. His father passed away when he was 12, his mother at 16. He went down a dark path, but wrestling changed him. He never thought he’d make it, but he did. The perfect ending for him would be him winning the first ever Cruiserweight Classic.
Daniel Bryan likes Rich Swann because of his story – he’s used wrestling to be successful in life. He’s a small guy, but he has done things a lot of people haven’t.
They switch it to Corey Graves at the control center, where he goes over the left side of the bracket:
Kenneth Johnson vs. Akira Tozawa
Jack Gallagher vs. Fabian Richner
Tajiri vs. Damian Slater
Alejandro Saez vs. Gran Metallik (aka Masacara Dorada)
Harv Sihra vs. Drew Gulak
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tyson Dux
Noam Dar vs .Gurv Sihra
Arya Davari vs. Hoho Lun
Next up is a look at Tomasso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano, and how they are a tag team but going into this tournament as opponents in the opening round.
Gargano says they clicked instantly. Gargano says he might even talk to Ciampa more than his fiance. But when it comes down to them facing off, Gargano will shake his hand and will see who comes out on top. Ciampa says he always goes in there with the intent to hurt, not injure. Says he doesn’t want to see Gargano get hurt, but he doesn’t want to lose.
TJ Perkins is profiled next. He’s the one that likes to make it look good. He started wrestling when he was 13, and lucha libre was a big influence on his style, growing up in LA.
He mentions how he was homeless for a while, mentioning it was tough and that wrestling was the only way to get out of that and it creates a lot of mental toughness. He feels like he’s representing the Philippines and he’s out to inspire others.
Mauro and Daniel are joined by Perkins, and ask him about his story. He brings up mental toughness again and Murphy’s law, and those experiences changed him as a man. Daniel Bryan mentions he was the youngest trained wrestler to ever compete in New Japan.
Perkins mentioned that this is akin to the Super J-Cup in that 10 years from now people will be looking at this tournament. He’s proud to represent the Philippines, mentioning that they don’t have a lot of heroes there so he wants to represent them.
Graves is back and goes over the right side of the bracket:
Raul Mendoza vs. Brian Kendrick
Anthony Bennett vs. Tony Nese
Kota Ibushi vs. Sean Maluta
Cedric Alexander vs. Clement Petiot
TJ Perkins vs. Da Mack
Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa
Mustafa Ali vs. Lince Dorado
Rich Swann vs. Jason Lee
They go over the two veterans in the tournament, Tajiri and The Brian Kendrick. Kendrick says wrestling is what he loves and what he is passionate about. When he has the world in his hands, he let it go. He mentions he was released because “he was an animal” and deserved to be released. He’s been wrestling consistently since 1999 for his moment, and if he falls short…then it’s his life that will fall short.
Kendrick joins Daniel and Mauro. Daniel brings up his first match ever was against Kendrick, and how Kendrick came out to “Genie in a Bottle” and how Bryan came out to “Born in the USA”.
Daniel asks him what he wants from this tournament. Kendrick says he wants to win because he’s never won a tournament before. In terms of the age factor, he says that is a downside, but he is smarter now and is used to this environment.
Mauro asked about both Daniel and Brian Kendrick were trained by Shawn Michaels and what that was like. Daniel Bryan talks about his passion and brings up a story about how Kendrick’s mom came in during a training session and let Shawn have it. Kendrick says he wants to beat them all when it comes down to who he wants to face the most.
Mauro brings up how Daniel Bryan has faced Kota Ibushi in the past and they go to a profile on him. Kota says he doesn’t need to represent Japan, but wants to show how good Japanese wrestlers are. He mentions his experiences with Finn Balor, Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura and he has an advantage over others in this tournament because he’s faced them all.
He will win the tournament because he loves pro wrestling the most above other wrestlers. Bryan brings up that Kota Ibushi has just come back from a herniated disc and questions if he’ll be the same.
Strong style is brought up, and Mauro asks what that is. Bryan says its an ideology about striking and hitting hard, and contrasts it to Zack Sabre Jr.’s ideology of escaping and outmaneuvering his opponents.
Triple H is brought in. Mauro says he’d never thought he’d see something like this under the WWE umbrella. Triple H mentions there are so many out there, but there was no platform for them to come into the WWE and this is the platform.
Mauro asks if this is where the future lies. Triple H mentions Daniel Bryan and how he was part of the paradigm shift and how you don’t have to be a 300 pound guy to be successful in this industry. Triple H says he doesn’t want this to be about flips and high flyers and wants to show diverse styles – mat based, striking, flyer, whatever.
Mauro asks if this is one and done and if there are futures for the athletes involved. Triple H says no, this isn’t one and done and the opportunity for the cruiserweights will be there after the tournament.
They show footage of guys training at the Performance Center and Hunter says he’s really excited. Mauro thanks Triple H for this Cruiserweight Classic and is excited to see it. Hunter mentions he wanted them both to commentate for this tournament, day one.
And that’ll do it! The first matches will air next week at this time.
While WWE set an all-time record low for Raw on Monday, the rating can’t be viewed negatively given the number and the night.
The show averaged 2.66 million viewers, down only 14 percent from the near record low from the prior week. The past two times Raw has aired on July 4th (2011 and 2005), the ratings fell 23 percent and 41 percent respectively from the prior week.
Raw was far and away the most watched show on cable, since all the shows on cable that usually provide competition took the night off. It also beat the FOX network programming head-to-head. Only four other shows on cable hit 1.5 million viewers.
From the hourly breakdown, it appeared to be the most loyal/hardcore audience since there were no upswings or downswings from start-to-finish:
8 p.m. 2.66 million viewers
9 p.m. 2.67 million viewers
10 p.m. 2.64 million viewers
The show featured Dean Ambrose vs. The Miz, another John Cena/Club confrontation, and a 16-man elimination match to close the show.
The WWE Universe will have to remain on #BrockWatch a little longer.
Despite teasing that Brock Lesnar’s SummerSlam opponent would be announced on this week’s SmackDown, the live crowd in Toledo, OH, left Tuesday’s taping with no more knowledge of who Lesnar would be facing at the August pay-per-view than everyone at home. Instead, the announcement will be inserted into the SmackDown broadcast in post production.
WWE Main Event
– Cesaro beat Curtis Axel with the Sharpshooter
– Baron Corbin beat Sin Cara with the End of Days
– The Golden Truth beat the Ascension with their finish
– WWE United States Champion Rusev submitted Apollo Crews with the Accolade
SmackDown
– Seth Rollins beat Jey Uso after hitting the Pedigree. WWE Champion Dean Ambrose was the special guest ring announcer and egged on Rollins during the match. Ambrose and Rollins got into an altercation after it was over, but Rollins backed off.
– Zack Ryder beat Sheamus with an elbow drop. Ryder came out to an updated version of his theme music. Ryder challenged Rusev after the match, and the match was later announced for this Monday’s Raw. Rusev did an promo mocking both Ryder and the United States.
– Natalya ambushed Becky Lynch in the ring before Lynch’s match could get started. The two women brawled with Natalya getting the upper hand with the Sharpshooter until refs pulled them apart.
– Enzo Amore and Big Cass came out doing their usual schtick. They talked about teaming with John Cena against The Club at Battleground. The Club interrupted them and set up a match between Enzo and Styles.
– AJ Styles beat Enzo Amore with the Styles Clash.
– Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens went at it verbally in a mostly comedic segment backstage.
– I-C Champion The Miz beat Kalisto after hitting the Skull Crushing Finale
– Sasha Banks did a backstage interview, and was interrupted by WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte and Dana Brooke. Brooke vs. Banks was announced for Raw.
– In the show’s main event, Sami Zayn beat Chris Jericho with a roll-up. Kevin Owens was on commentary and got involved with the finish, inadvertently giving Zayn the win. Owens beat down Zayn after the match.
– The dark match was Ambrose, Enzo & Cass going over The Club.
The hits were thin on the ground on Monday night’s holiday edition of RAW, to say the least. Read on as I search for the positives in the carcass of a dead-as-a-doornail, completely phoned-in edition of the WWE’s flagship show.
— The Hits —
Food fight!
Beginning a holiday edition of RAW with a comedy segment like this is tantamount to telling your audience not to bother, but I’m only mildly ashamed to admit that I loved it. While I understand that Bo Dallas inadvertently pouring punch over himself is change-the-channel heat for many, I firmly believe that wacky bits like this help to add color to the WWE’s cast of characters and get them over.
Remember, it was a holiday edition of SmackDown on which John Cena began his transformation from a ruthlessly aggressive bore to the Vanilla Ice wannabe that ultimately broke the glass ceiling.
Little touches like Cesaro dispassionately arm-wrestling Apollo Crews through the chaos, or Kevin Owens eating chips under the table to avoid the melee, make me laugh and more inclined to watch those involved again in the future. Even Fandango sensually spraying whipped cream on himself raised a chuckle as did the ultra-wacky first-person pie-facing that Owens sustained at the segment’s conclusion. This would never happen on Canada Day, indeed.
Xavier’s apprehension about a trip to the woods
I enjoyed the contrast between Big E and Kofi Kingston’s naivete and Xavier Woods’ apprehension in the face of the Wyatt’s invitation. Woods, who has looked far more uncertain than his wisecracking buddies in recent weeks, did a great job of angrily warning against the dangers of complacency ahead of their impending trip to the Wyatt compound.
One can only assume that the WWE are looking to outdo the viral buzz garnered by the Hardy’s recent exploits in TNA with this New Day excursion. Let’s hope it doesn’t turn out as poorly as things usually do when this company tries to piggyback on a trend.
— The Misses —
Team USA vs. The Multi-National Alliance
Look, there were positives to this 16-man omnishambles, namely the Pop-Up Powerbomb delivered by Owens to Mark Henry, and the heartstring-tugging Real Americans callback. Those aside, I find it difficult to care about a match that involves a large part of one’s roster getting pinned in short order with recent US champion Kalisto getting squashed by Henry like a bug being a particular lowlight.
Not that I was very keen on the lesser-spotted, retirement-verging Big Show quickly pinning Chris Jericho and Alberto Del Rio, especially given the fact that his mobility appeared even more limited than the last time we saw Mr. Wight. Cesaro and Sheamus were also both sacrificed at the altar of giving Zack Ryder his biannual moment in the sun with the former’s elimination generating strong boos from a bemused crowd.
Protecting Owens by having him disqualify himself for using a chair on Sami Zayn was fine, but it was hilarious to see Kane be given the same treatment. God forbid Kane is pinned.
Cena/Club rehash
Once again, AJ Styles and John Cena had impeccable delivery, but the material they had to work with again left much to be desired. An unnecessarily long talkfest saw both men rehash prior arguments, including Styles breaking out the “shovel” references again.
Credit goes to Cena for trying manfully to rouse a crowd that had sat through an appalling first two hours of RAW. “You’re not as fired up as you normally are!” complained the weary 15-time champ. And hey, at least Karl Anderson got to brag about his “hot Asian wife” again.
On a positive note, the Enzo & Cass rescue of Cena, paired with the later announcement of a 6-man tag for Battleground is good news. The prospect of another Cena vs. Styles singles match so soon after the first was not an enticing one if you recall how much the quick turnaround hurt Owens last year after his debut victory over the unseeable one.
Throwaway matches befitting of a throwaway show
Main event aside, this show featured six matches, four of which – including the Rusev U.S. title defense against Titus O’Neil – were total squashes. The other two, featuring the remaining unsuspended participants in the Battleground triple threat, were unnecessarily long 10 minute-plus affairs given their totally predictable outcomes.
Both Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose surprised no one by emerging victorious from competitive back-and-forth matches against Dolph Ziggler and The Miz respectively. Ambrose then predictably equalized Rollins’ beatdown from last week by giving him a Dirty Deeds on the Spanish announce table. Boring.
Vickie Guerrero’s appearance goes nowhere
In a further sign that the writing staff were phoning it in, Vickie Guerrero’s appearance on Monday’s show was easily the weakest of the recent ex-SmackDown general manager cameos.
She basically said her “Excuse Me!” catchphrase several times and screeched for a bit about running SmackDown before being carted off by security. Even Ziggler’s St. Peter-esque denial of his former squeeze couldn’t save this. Although I did enjoy that Dolph’s phone conversation featured an admission of another defeat: “I tried very hard…I was close!”
The definition of a Boss
While Charlotte’s whiny heel delivery was again effective, I was not a fan of the confrontation the Women’s champion had with Sasha Banks. Banks’ scripted promo, in which she rapped on the definition of a Boss was the definition of cringe for me, only matched by the awful Dana Brooke’s inability to get removed from the ring competently.
Banks’ air kick to a prone Brooke whiffed just as much as the material the writing staff stuck her with. Keep this up and they won’t be able to manufacture those “We Want Sasha” chants for much longer.
Submitted by Jeff Caldwell and Chris Featherstone from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH
– Shining Stars d. Breezango
The Stars cut a heel promo on the city before the match, and won with a dropkick/leg sweep combination on Fandango.
– Usos d. The Ascension
Usos come out to a chorus of boos. Crowd becomes split after their chant, and even more in favor of them when the Ascension comes out. “Let’s go Usos!” chant during the match. Usos win after the top rope splash from Jimmy to Konnor.
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Crowd was moderately into the show with the biggest pops (in descending order) going to New Day, Enzo/Cass and John Cena.
It may just be me but I didn’t remember there being so many commercials on the TitanTron during the show. Basically any time a commercial break was made and wasn’t during a match, there was a commercial break on the TitanTron. It seemed a lot more than usual, but it never killed the crowd.
The only thing that may be of note that may or may not have made the show was during the 16-man tag. What I think happened was during a commercial break, the guys really were just supposed to entirely stop what they were doing and essentially stand around doing nothing after some integral spots were blown. I can’t remember ever seeing a match look more like it went to commercial than this one. Half the guys standing outside the ring looked dazed while the other half stood in the ring looking dazed. It was like one of those typical spots where you expect a dive to take place but it never did.
Enzo and Cass & John Cena vs. The Club
Dark match after the show wasn’t promoted, so I think it caught much of the crowd off guard and many left during it. It was a good match although a bit sloppy, and the crowd was awkwardly quiet during much of it to the point Anderson was taunting the crowd by putting one finger to his mouth to signal for them to hush to which there was little reaction.
I think this feud will be a fun one because much of the crowd actually boos The Club, and Enzo and Cass are actual babyfaces people cheer. Cena got the pin and won the match, then proceeded to celebrate with a kid from Make a Wish.
The Big Takeaway: Two more matches announced for Battleground. They aren’t rushing the John Cena-A.J. Styles singles rematch. Instead, it will be a trios match with Enzo Amore, Big Cass and Cena vs. The Club. Also announced for the show was Natalya vs. Becky Lynch.
It was a holiday-themed Raw where the company knew beforehand it would get a low rating, perhaps the lowest in show history. So they handled it like a throwaway show. No Shane or Stephanie McMahon. Names like Mark Henry, Jack Swagger and Zack Ryder were in the main event. And the zany opening would have fit right in during a 1985 Saturday Night’s Main Event episode.
Show Recap:
They signed on with a scene straight from Tuesday Night Titans. Almost the entire roster was sitting around eating a Fourth of July meal together. R-Truth led the group in singing Naughty by Nature’s “Hip Hop Hooray.” Then the Vaudevillains asked them to leave the stage and Aiden English started singing the Declaration of Independence. Bubba Ray Dudley threw guacamole on him, but before a food fight could start, The Miz and Maryse got up to plug the July 19th draft live on SmackDown.
Miz said that tonight was not about food fights, which led to Dolph Ziggler spraying chocolate syrup on him. Someone threw macaroni onto Maryse, and the food started flying everywhere while the “War of 1812” played. While everyone was pelting each other with anything you can think of, Apollo Crews and Cesaro were oblivious to it all, focusing solely on their arm wrestling match. Bo Dallas was about to dump the punch bowl over Enzo Amore, but Big Cass stopped him and Dallas got the punch dumped on his head instead. Kevin Owens hid under a table in an attempt to escape the madness.
The Big Show was enjoying chicken wings when Kalisto doused him with cake. Show threw a chicken wing at Kalisto, but he ducked and it hit Kane instead. Kane and Show teased choke slamming each other when they saw Heath Slater laughing at them. So Kane and Show gave Slater a double chokeslam through a table. Everyone laughed as Slater was down and out, and then the room cleared. Owens got up from under the table unscathed and said, “This would never happen on Canada Day.” Then a cake wound up in his face. Owens screamed, stopped to lick the icing, then screamed some more.
Lillian Garcia performed the National Anthem.
United States Champion Rusev defeated Titus O’Neal via submission to retain the U.S. Championship (5:42)
Rusev got the clean submission with the Accolade after two roundhouse kicks. Titus O’Neal stayed in it for about 35 seconds before he tapped. O’Neal hit Clash of the Titus but Rusev kicked out. It appeared Rusev was supposed to get his hands on the ropes to force a break, but he was too far away. After he won, Rusev denounced America as Lana smiled. Lana was an afterthought here, she didn’t come out with Rusev during his ring entrance and only stood in front of the hard camera when the match went to the floor.
The Bella Twins were pictured on the cover of the new Latina Magazine.
Dallas, Curtis Axel and Slater came out dressed as minutemen. Slater had the complete Spirit of ’76 gear on, and was selling the chokeslam from earlier with his arm in a sling and his head bandaged. Enzo and Cass interrupted Dallas for their routine. Amore said it was the Fourth of July so it was only right to give the fans some Star Spangled Banter. Amore actually reeled off all the presidents of the United States in order, which had to take his entire Independence Day to memorize, and said they would all be insulted if they saw the Social Outcasts dressed like they were.
Enzo & Cass defeated Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel (2:04)
Enzo pinned Dallas after the Bada Boom Shaka Laka. Axel and Dallas wrestled with blue robes and British court dress wigs on. Enzo posed in the wig after the win.
Charlotte and Dana Brooke came out. Charlotte said Sasha Banks gets a lot of people to chant “We Want Sasha,” but chants don’t pay the bills. Charlotte said Banks was all hype. Banks came out to interrupt the two and said Charlotte would never be her. Charlotte said she didn’t want to be Banks, but Banks said that Charlotte has done almost everything she can do over the past year except beat her. Banks said Charlotte would have never won at WrestleMania if it wasn’t for her father and said she would dominate Charlotte when they meet.
Charlotte said next week would be the one year anniversary of their debut on the Raw roster and she’s held the WWE Women’s Championship almost that entire time, so that makes her the boss. Banks started saying all the things that make her a true boss. Brooke tried to give Banks a forearm, but Banks easily ducked that and sent Brooke out of the ring. Charlotte kicked Banks in the head and said her reign had only begun. Charlotte tried to lift Banks up, but Banks escaped and hit the Back Stabber, followed by the Bank Statement. Brooke pulled Charlotte out of the ring for the save.
WWE Champion Dean Ambrose defeated I-C Champion The Miz in a nontitle match (9:35)
Ambrose won with Dirty Deeds after a series of near falls following a small package, a victory roll and a schoolboy cradle. Miz clamped on the Figure Four, which they’re still trying to get over as a submission finisher. Ambrose sold the leg effectively for the rest of the match as Miz attempted the Skull Crushing Finale but failed, leading to the finish. Miz was down for a long time after the match and the referee checked on him outside the ring.
Post-match, Seth Rollins came out for his match with Ziggler. Rollins and Ambrose had a face off as Rollins passed by him on the ramp. Ambrose ran back to the ring like he was going to attack Rollins, but instead went to the commentator’s table, where he started doing analysis at the Spanish table.
Brock Lesnar’s opponent for SummerSlam will be announced on this week’s SmackDown. If you’re wondering how much Saturday’s UFC fight was mentioned, the answer is zero.
Seth Rollins defeated Dolph Ziggler (11:15)
Rollins won with the Pedigree. Ziggler hit his jumping DDT, but Rollins was up within five seconds of taking it. Immediately, Ziggler tried for the Zig Zag, but Rollins blocked it and hit the finish. Solid match.
Post-match, Rollins stood on the announcer’s table and cut a promo on Roman Reigns, saying that Reigns needs to take shortcuts in order to achieve anything in life, just like all of the fans. Rollins said Reigns should be ineligible for the main event of Battleground, which got cheered.
Rollins walked past Ambrose at the commentator’s table dismissively, then started talking about how he was going to take his championship back from Ambrose at Battleground. Ambrose stood on the Spanish announce table and said that Rollins could have it, he threw the belt at Rollins, then jumped him. It ended with Ambrose giving Rollins Dirty Deeds onto the Spanish announce table.
The Wyatt Family have a new vignette look. Bray Wyatt said New Day comes from a world that doesn’t exist because the power of positivity doesn’t actually exist. In the world he comes from, the pains of the real world are apparent. Wyatt invited them into their world where he would deliver them the truth, because the power of positivity is nothing but a fairy tale.
They aired another Baron Corbin video where JBL called him a future world champion.
Vickie Guerrero came out for the first time in two years as the latest authority figure. She was a total heel, still using her “Excuse Me” catchphrase. She reminded the fans she was the former general manager of SmackDown and Raw. She said that while Shane and Stephanie McMahon are handling Raw, SmackDown can’t be left in the hands of Teddy Long or Kane, but it should be left for her to run. She submitted her name for the job of SmackDown COO and dropped in her famous cackle. Security had to force her out.
Big Show lined up members of his American team for the 16-man elimination tag like he was General Patton addressing his troops. His team consists of the Dudley Boyz, Kane, Zack Ryder, Jack Swagger, Crews and Mark Henry. He gave them a rah-rah speech about how this would not be a walk in the park, but they wouldn’t be afraid, they would never back down, this was the Fourth of July and they were Americans. They were going to show the same fight against the International Alliance that soldiers showed 240 years ago to win America’s freedom.
Vickie was being hauled out when she ran into Ziggler. She claimed that she was invited by Shane and Stephanie. Ziggler said he had never seen that woman before in his life, then hopped back on the phone with someone to say, “Yeah, I lost but I tried really hard.”
The Golden Truth defeated The Vaudevillains (1:25)
R-Truth pinned English with Solid Gold, which is a Powerbomb/Final Cut combination. R-Truth now has the lyrics to his rap song on the screen so fans can try to follow along. Fandango and Tyler Breeze watched from ringside.
Life Lessons with Bob Backlund is next. Backlund wanted to know what Darren Young’s finisher was. He said the Gut Check. Backlund wanted to know what his submission finisher was, but Young said he didn’t have one. Backlund gave him permission to use the crossface chicken wing, which was the last move Randy Savage sold before he left the WWE. Young was thrilled that Backlund would give him his finisher.
John Cena came out and actually chided the fans for lack of crowd heat. Fans started the usual dueling chants, and Cena started in on A.J. Styles. Cena said he knew Styles would bring out the best in him. But he was disappointed when Styles couldn’t stand on his own two feet and leaned on the shoulders of Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows to defeat Cena at Money in the Bank. Now he has to worry about The Club every time he steps into the ring. Cena said he was sick of looking over his shoulder and challenged them to come out.
Styles, Anderson and Gallows came out. Styles said Cena was pathetic for crying about a personal setback. If he wanted to talk about something being unfair, Styles said they arrived in Japan this past weekend for a heroic return. Instead, all they saw was Cena’s face all over posters and walls. But The Club proved they ran Tokyo this weekend and soon they would run the WWE.
Styles said the reason why The Club always stays by his side is because Cena could bury him at any point, just as he’s done many times before. Styles also mentioned how no WWE superstar is coming out to help Cena because Cena has put himself on an island. No other WWE superstar can relate to Cena, but they can relate to The Club. He said most superstars would love to beat up Cena, but they were the only ones who had the balls to get it done.
Styles said they would continue to beat up Cena because there was nothing more fun to do. They vowed to do it week after week after week for the rest of the year. When Labor Day rolls around, Styles asked Anderson what he was going to do? He said beat up Cena. Styles asked Gallows what he was going to do for Halloween. Gallows said he was going to dress up as Bushwhacker Luke and beat up John Cena. Styles said he was thinking about dressing up as Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake, do some strutting and cutting, and beat up John Cena. Anderson said for Christmas, he would hang out with his hot Asian wife and beat up John Cena. Then they said for the Fourth of July, they were going to beat up John Cena.
The Club surrounded the ring and immediately put the boots to Cena. Styles laid in the punches, as did Gallows. Enzo and Cass came out for the save. Cass gave Gallows a big boot while Cena threw Styles out of the ring and Enzo disposed of Anderson.
The Shining Stars said Puerto Rico wasn’t over-commercialized like the United States.
Becky Lynch defeated Summer Rae via submission (2:58)
Becky Lynch won with Dis-arm-her. They botched a vertical suplex spot where Lynch fell right on top of her head. She looked shaken up but finished the match. Natalya watched the match from backstage.
The multinational team of Chris Jericho, Sin Cara, Sami Zayn, Kalisto, Cesaro, Owens, Alberto Del Rio and Sheamus were backstage. Jericho was the captain. Del Rio wanted to know who made him the captain of the team. Jericho started speaking Spanish to Del Rio. Everyone started talking until Owens, deadly serious, said he was ready to beat some American ass after what happened to him earlier tonight in the food fight. Jericho told the rest of the team to “watch out for it.” Zayn asked, “What is it?” Jericho said “It” and walked off. Zayn, Cara, Cesaro and Kalisto vowed to stay together in unison because the rest of the team made them look bad.
Enzo and Cass did a product placement for Sonic restaurants. There’s now a “How You Doin?” lunchbox. They’re naturals as product guys.
New Day came out. Kofi Kingston said a lot of people think the Wyatt Family are weird looking hillbillies. Big E said rumor has it the Wyatt’s don’t stray far from the family tree, they keep it Archie Bunker, as in “All in the Family.” Kingston said they like the Wyatts and the Wyatts like them because why else would they invite them to their world.
Erick Rowan popped up on the TitanTron. He said the sound of laughter is a precious thing. Braun Strowman said the sound of a scream is music to his ears. Wyatt said the New Day should come to his world and seek the truth like men. Wyatt said it’s a challenge to see if they’re men or cowards. He wanted to know how far they would go to fight for what they believe in. Wyatt said the New Day started this, and he must end it.
Kingston said they accept and they would spray positivity all over the place. Big E started to quote Lil’ John and said they would spray positivity “to the windows to the wall,” but Xavier Woods screamed at his cohorts and said Wyatt is a true threat. He couldn’t understand why Kingston would fight them on their grounds. Woods said everything up to now has been fun and games, but if they don’t see the threat that Wyatt poses to them, he doesn’t think the New Day will survive. Woods walked off while Big E and Kofi watched on.
Team USA (The Big Show, Zack Ryder, The Dudley Boyz, Jack Swagger, Mark Henry, Kane and Apollo Crews) defeated the International Alliance (Chris Jericho, Lucha Dragons, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Cesaro, Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio) in a 16-man elimination tag team match in 22:14.
Bubba Ray eliminated Cara after a 3-D in 1:05. In an instant, Sheamus gave Bubba Ray a Brogue Kick, and Kalisto pinned Bubba at 1:16. Cesaro eliminated Devon Dudley via submission with a Sharpshooter after a 10-rep Giant Swing at 5:34. Jericho (who was born in New York while his father played for the Rangers) pinned Jack Swagger with a Codebreaker after he broke up a Swagger Bomb at 7:44, which made it 7-on-5 in favor of the Internationals.
The 12 remaining men filled the ring for a brawl to go into a commercial. Mark Henry eliminated Kalisto after the World’s Strongest Slam at 13:18. There was another instant elimination when Owens got Henry up for the Pop-Up Power Bomb at 13:34. Owens threw Ryder into Zayn, and then Zayn ran in to start brawling with Owens. Kane was about to give Zayn a choke slam, but Owens ran in with a chair and popped Zayn in the back. That got Owens disqualified at 14:46, even though he did it to his own partner. Then Kane grabbed the chair and hit Owens with it. That got Kane disqualified at 15:13. Kane choke slammed Zayn anyway. Crews ran in and gave Zayn a splash for the pin at 15:45. Then Sheamus gave Owens a Brogue kick and pinned him at 15:56.
At this point, the Internationals began arguing with each other and Cesaro started throwing forearms against his heel partners. Cesaro went for the Neutralizer on Ryder, but Ryder turned it into a jackknife cradle for the surprise pin at 18:31. So it was 3-on-2 for the Internationals, with Jericho, Del Rio and Sheamus vs. Show and Ryder. Show eliminated Jericho with the Knockout punch at 20:05. Show pinned Del Rio with a choke slam at 20:26. Suddenly it was 2-on-1 for the Americans. Sheamus gave Ryder a powerslam, but Ryder kicked out. Show grabbed Sheamus by the throat and threw him into the Rough Ryder, and Ryder got the pin on Sheamus for the American victory. Show and Ryder did the woo-woo-woo chant as a giant American flag came down above the ring.
From the Big Sandy Superstore Arena courtesy of reader Lou Pickney
– Golden Truth over Breezango
– Apollo Crews over Heath Slater (w/ Bo Dallas)
Slater got a local guy pop which Crews seemed confused by.
– Darren Young (w/Bob Backlund) def. I-C Champion The Miz (w/ Maryse) by DQ when Maryse interfered.
– Enzo and Cass def. Dudley Boyz
– Sasha Banks def. Summer Rae
Pretty much a squash.
– United States Champion Rusev (w/ Lana) retained in a five-way match with Kalisto, Sami Zayn, Cesaro, and Sheamus when Rusev forced Kalisto to submit.
Everybody hit a finisher except Cesaro who was the only off the mat to the outside move all night.
– Kane and Big Show def. Wyatt Family (Bray/Erick Rowan/Braun Strowman)
Notes:
– The 6000 seat arena was about 1/3 full, probably due to the holiday weekend, lack of big names, and the other West Virginia house show the night before.
Match was a simple television tag match. Nothing special. The crowd was hugely hot for Zo and Cass.
– Apollo Crews defeated Bo Dallas
Crews broke out a finisher that I hadn’t seen before: a belly to back alley oop to a sit down power bomb. Decent match. Much better than expected.
– Sasha Banks defeated Summer Rae
Once again, the crowd was hot for Sasha. Match was a snoozer, though.
– Golden Truth defeated Breezango
Boring match aside from Breezango playing their parts perfect.
– Sami Zayn won a 15 man battle royal, last eliminating Cesaro
After it was down to Cesaro and Sami, they basically had a 5-7 minute singles match which totally lifted the whole battle royal. Good match.
– I-C Champion The Miz w/ Maryse defeated Darren Young to retain
Really good match. Darren can always go when given the chance. About 10-15 minutes of back and forth, solid.
– US Champion Rusev w/ Lana defeated Sami Zayn
Probably the best match of the night. Lana got tossed for interference. Match was about 20 minutes. There at a point you would really think Sami was about to win the title, but with it being Pikeville, that wasn’t happening. Both guys played their parts well, and got in their key spots.
Big Show & Kane defeated The Wyatts
Bray actually wrestled this match, but not very much. Bray got in some of his usual offense, then Rowan and Strowman took it from there. Rowan ate the pin after a double choke slam, so everyone could go home happy.
Thanks also to Kevin Slone and Vick Kavelish for also sending in notes
