Paypress testing

Tag: smackdown

  • WWE Smackdown results: Sami Zayn & Neville vs. Kevin Owens & Miz

    – Air Date: March 10, 2016 (Mar 9 in Canada)
    – Location: Bradley Center in Milwaukee, WI

    – The Big News:

    Sami Zayn made his Smackdown debut and Chris Jericho explained why he turned on AJ Styles.

    – Show Recap:

    They announced The Wyatts vs. Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler and The Usos as the main event.

    The Miz came out for MizTV and introduced Sami Zayn. He asked Zayn to tell us about himself, but as Zayn started, Miz yelled “cut!” repeatedly and asked him to get to the good stuff and make it more dramatic.

    Zayn was annoyed, but continued, saying he and Kevin Owens started 13 years ago in Montreal. They traveled the world and made it this far by sticking together. They weren’t just friends, it was like a brotherhood, and Zayn was even the best man at Owens’ wedding.

    Zayn said Owens debuted the night he won the NXT Title, and the powerbomb on the apron caused a lot of the injuries that led to his shoulder surgery. Zayn said the thing that hurts most is that he doesn’t understand why Owens did it.

    Owens came out (but never got in the ring) and said he’s already explained why he turned on Zayn – it was all business, but Zayn made it personal when he eliminated Owens from the Rumble. Zayn said he was going to take the Intercontinental Title from Owens at WrestleMania.

    Owens told him that wasn’t happening because this is the Kevin Owens show. Zayn challenged him to a fight right now since they were both there. Owens said Zayn didn’t deserve a fight with him and was about leave, but Neville interrupted. Neville said he and Owens had unfinished business, and the IC Title would look good around his waist.

    Miz said Zayn and Neville don’t deserve a title shot, but he does, because he main evented WrestleMania while those two were main eventing bingo halls. Zayn informed Miz that his years main eventing Mania are far behind him. Miz attacked him from behind, but Zayn fought back and Miz bailed. Good segment. Owens and Zayn were both great.

    Sami Zayn & Neville beat The Miz & Kevin Owens via pinfall

    Zayn and Owens never touched. There was a bit early where Neville tagged in Zayn with Owens in the ring, but Owens quickly scrambled to tag out. The heels got the heat on Neville, but Zayn made the hot tag and hit Miz with a springboard crossbody, ten punches in the corner and tornado DDT. Zayn waited for Miz to tag Owens but Owens bailed. Zayn hit Miz with an Exploder suplex into the turnbuckle and a Helluva Kick for the win. Good match.

    Toilet humour segment with Goldust and R-Truth. Goldust still doesn’t want to be his partner. Afterwards, they aired a video package for the Triple H-Dean Ambrose stuff.

    Brie Bella beat Summer Rae via submission

    Lana joined commentary by sitting on top of the announcer’s table, not in a chair. Saxton wanted to know why she attacked Brie on Raw and Lana told him to shut up. Brie did Yes kicks and won quickly with the Yes Lock and did the Yes chant afterwards. Summer tried to attack her, so Brie knocked her down, yelled “Brie mode!” and hit a running knee. Lana jumped in from behind and gave Brie an X-factor again, and did mocking Yes chants.

    They aired the Shane McMahon highlight package from Raw.

    Chris Jericho came out wearing dark maroon pants, a black blazer with no shirt, and a black scarf. He carried out a “Y2AJ” t-shirt, and the ring had a garbage can and lighter fluid in it already. Hmm I wonder what he’s planning. The crowd booed Jericho and he explained that he was mad at the fans for chanting for AJ Styles instead of him.

    Jericho said they’ve forgotten that he’s the best in the world. He said he can do whatever they want – be the world champion, work the opener, invent a new idea like Money in the Bank. He said they had a classic tag match on Raw but people still chanted for AJ. He’s been told many times that a new guy was coming in and would be a future world champion, only to disappear three months later.

    Jericho repeatedly admonished the crowd for chanting “AJ Styles.” He began pouring lighter fluid into the trashcan and said we were about to watch AJ’s career go up in flames. Jericho lit the shirt on the fire and tossed it in the can, which went up in flames. This resulted in a great visual, with Jericho standing the rising flames as he did mocking “AJ Styles” chants.

    This was really good. The only problem – every time Jericho got mad at the crowd for chanting “AJ Styles,” they weren’t really doing that. And a few people chanted “Y2J,” which kind of ruined the effect. Still, a good segment.

    They showed members of the Milwaukee Bucks at ringside and announced Big Bossman for the Hall of Fame.

    King Barrett & Sheamus (w/Rusev) beat Lucha Dragons via pinfall

    Barrett & Sheamus vs. New Day for the tag titles was announced for Roadblock in Toronto. Ryback was shown backstage watching the match. Kalisto took out Sheamus with a dive and Sin Cara had Barrett set up for a senton, but Rusev tossed him off the top and Barrett followed with a Bullhammer elbow for the pinfall win. Barrett did a forward roll in celebration. Backstage, Ryback called Lucha Dragons little guys and said size matters or whatever.

    They aired a clip of Seth Rollins winning the title at WrestleMania last year. After a break, they plugged The Rock for this year’s Mania and aired a video package for Shane and Vince. Shane’s brawl with security featured at least a dozen camera cuts.

    Backstage, Renee Young asked the Usos about the Dudley Boyz. They talked being 10 years old and watching the Dudleys in 1996, and that their recent actions were nothing new. They wanted to be like the Dudleys when they were growing up, but they no longer respect them. Ziggler and Ambrose jumped in and Renee asked if Ziggler was expecting and repercussions from The Authority.

    Ziggler said there would be, but he’s going to bring the fight tonight and referred to their team as “Milwaukee’s best.” Ambrose said he would beat Triple H for the title on Saturday, but tonight they were hunting dem Wyatt boys, one of his favourite things to do, and they all ran off together. This was good.

    8-Man Tag Match: Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler & The Usos beat Wyatt Family via pinfall

    Saxton said the Wyatt family were like clones of Bray, because “They exude the evil that’s flowing through the veins of the eater of worlds,” to which Lawler responded, “They do his bidding alright.”

    They had the heat on Ziggler until he hit Harper with a sunset flip powerbomb and jumping DDT. He made the hot tag to Jey Uso who hit Harper with a Samoan drop. Each Uso did running hip attacks to Harper and Rowan, and followed with dives. Jey tried a splash but Harper got his knees up.

    Jey made a hot tag to Ambrose who hit Rowan with a running forearm, bulldog and swinging neckbreaker. He did a flying elbow but Harper broke up the cover, so Jimmy took him out with a kick. Bray gave Jimmy a uranage and Ziggler superkicked Bray. Ziggler gave two superkicks to Strowman, but Strowman no-sold it and clotheslined him.

    Ambrose tossed Strowman out of the ring, and Rowan tried a school boy near fall. Ambrose ducked a spin knick and hit Dirty Deeds for the win. Bray stared a hole through Ambrose as the good guys celebrated to end the show.

    – Final Thoughts:

    This was a strong show, and a big improvement over the last two weeks. Zayn, Owens and Jericho were all great, and Ambrose came off like a star in the main event.

  • Smackdown spoilers: Dean Ambrose & Dolph Ziggler & Usos vs The Wyatt Family

    – At a WWE press conference today, John Cena said that he would not be ready to return at WrestleMania.

    – A New Day vs. King Barrett & Sheamus tag team title match has been added to Roadblock on Saturday in Toronto.  We are checking to see if this change in the show is related to a change in WrestleMania plans where this match was originally scheduled.

    – The show opened with Miz TV with Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens.  Owens tried to walk out and Neville showed up and then Miz attacked Zayn to set up a tag team match.

    – Sami Zayn & Neville beat Owens & Miz. Owens walked out and Zayn pinned Miz.

    – Brie Bella beat Summer Rae and then Lana attacked Brie and once again hit the X Factor on her.

    – Chris Jericho came out and set fire to a Y2AJ T-shirt.  Jericho said he hates people cheering Styles.  Styles went after Jericho but The Ascension came out and Styles laid them both out. 

    – Wade Barrett & Sheamus beat Lucha Dragons when Barrett pinned Sin Cara.

    – Ryback did an interview challenging Sin Cara

    – Dean Ambrose & Dolph Ziggler & Usos beat The Wyatt Family (Bray, Harper, Rowan, Braun)

  • WWE Smackdown spoilers: Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens, AJ Styles vs. Kofi Kingston

    From Atlanta, GA’s Philips Arena, taped for Wednesday in Canada and Thursday in the U.S.

    Dean Ambrose opened the show sitting on a chair in the ring. He said that some people have five-year plans, but he has a five second plan. He said it sometimes gets him in trouble like when Brock Lesnar throws him through a windshield or HHH beats him down, but it sometimes works because he’s got a world title match. He wondered if he’d have to defend against Lesnar or HHH after he wins the title.

    Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens came out and said he’s the IC champion and there are no contenders for him around. Owens insulted Ambrose and tried to attack him, but Ambrose nailed him with a chair.

    – Sheamus & Rusev beat The Usos when Sheamus pinned Jimmy after a Brogue kick. After the match, the Dudleys came out and attacked the Usos. The Dudleys had a table but refused to use it.

    – Dolph Ziggler beat The Miz for revenge for Raw.

    – R-Truth was at catering. He apologized for how he’s been treating Goldust and said he would be his partner. Goldust refused and threw food in his face.

    – Sasha Banks DDQ Becky Lynch when Charlotte attacked both of them.

    – WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day did a promo building up their match with A.J. Styles & Chris Jericho on Raw on Monday.

    – A.J. Styles beat Kofi Kingston

    – Dean Ambrose beat I-C Champion Kevin Owens in a non-title match with the Dirty Deeds.

  • WWE Smackdown results: Triple H promo, Styles/Jericho/Henry vs. New Day

    – Air Date: February 25, 2016 (Feb 24 in Canada)
    – Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN

    – The Big News:

    Unless Chris Jericho is swerving us, he and AJ Styles appear to be headed for a tag title match at WrestleMania. Also, Triple H had some words for Roman Reigns.

    – Show Recap:

    Triple H came out wearing a suit, holding the WWE Title, to plenty of fake booing. The ring was covered in black carpet and there was a podium for WWE Title so the champion doesn’t have to hold the belt for too long. He quoted the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy For The Devil,” saying he stole many a man’s soul. (Don’t give me any credit for picking up on the song – he proudly told us the reference.)

    Triple H called his beat down of Roman Reigns retribution for Reigns’ attack months ago, and they replayed the video from Raw. He mentioned Reigns’ surgery and showed the “post-surgery” photo on the screen. Triple H called himself the law and rambled on about bowing to authority.

    He said he had to step over a lot of people to get where he is, spilling a lot of blood, sweat and tears. He said Reigns has the sweat part of that down, because he does work hard. Triple H then pulled out his wrist tape which was covered in Roman’s blood, so he’s got the blood part down too. Finally, he said he would get Reigns’ tears at WrestleMania, because he’s the king of kings, game of games, etc.

    This was pretty boring and the crowd didn’t seem to care. He’s also forgetting that we’ve seen Roman’s tears before. More than once. Mauro Ranallo said there was no timetable for Reigns’ recovery. For a busted nose?

    8-Man Tag Match: League of Nations beat Lucha Dragons, Neville & Dolph Ziggler via pinfall

    This was only about 8 minutes and was almost all action. Neville really shined here, but Sheamus hit him with a Brogue kick for the win. Wade Barrett finally worked and looked fine.

    Renee Young had Kevin Owens backstage because he asked for the time to speak. Owens told her to stop rambling so he could talk. Owens was inspired by Dean Ambrose on Raw and wanted to give Ambrose his rematch for the Intercontinental title. Renee told Owens that Ambrose wasn’t there.

    Owens acted surprised, but figured he has the night off since Ambrose is the only one who deserves a title shot since he’s defeated everyone else. Big Show appeared and said Owens hasn’t beaten him. Owens said he’s on the road to KO-Mania, but Show was on the road to retirement. Show grabbed Owens and said maybe he would “K.O. K.O.” (knockout Kevin Owens). This was good.

    D-Von Dudley (w/Bubba Ray Dudley) beat Jimmy Uso (w/Jey Uso) via pinfall

    Bubba repeated, again, that the Dudleys are not a nostalgia act. D-Von said they’re the best tag-team ever, and Bubba told the fans to shove it. Jimmy Uso hit a superkick almost immediately and went to the top rope. Bubba grabbed a table so Jey chased after him. As the referee stopped Jey, Bubba tripped Jimmy off the top rope. D-Von clumsily picked Jimmy up to his feet just so he could pull him back down with a school boy for the very quick win. This was lame.

    They aired a video package for the Shane McMahon angle, and announced the return of Undertaker to Raw in Nashville.

    Backstage, Chris Jericho (wearing an Usos t-shirt) told AJ Styles, again, that he didn’t like him at first, but he does now, and they even became a team on Raw. Jericho said he’s been WWE Tag-Team champion five times with five different guys. He called the New Day clowns and said beating them tonight could get them a title shot and lead to a WrestleMania moment for Styles.

    Styles said that’s why he came here, to be in a meaningless match the best. Styles said they needed a partner tonight for the six-man. Jericho asked if he got Funaki’s number while he was in Japan. Mark Henry showed up and thought WSM should join Y2AJ. That’s what he said.

    Henry doesn’t like New Day either and firmly shook Jericho’s hand. Jericho was in pain and comically asked him to lighten up on the handshake. Henry didn’t like Jericho joking around like New Day. Jericho got in his face and said it would be an honour to have a former world champion on their team. Henry agreed, let go of Jericho’s hand, smacked Styles on the chest, and left. The stuff with Jericho and Henry was good, but Styles felt a little out of place.

    Non-title: I.C. Champion Kevin Owens beat Big Show via countout

    Owens looked small next to Big Show, which was quite a visual. Owens got some offense but it didn’t have much of an effect on Show, who followed with a chokeslam. Show tried to do a chokeslam off the top, but Owens slipped out and crotched him on the rope. Show fell to the outside and referee Mike Chioda did the fastest 10-count ever for the countout. The match was only 4 minutes long. Regardless of how Owens won, this should eliminate Show from title contention. (It won’t.)

    Becky Lynch NC Natalya

    Ranallo and Byron Saxton talked about Natalya and Lynch, but Jerry Lawler wanted to talk about Charlotte, to which Ranallo responded, “She’s not involved in the match, King. I like to focus on the action in the ring.” After about 2 minutes, Natalya hit a German suplex, sending Lynch to the outside. At this point, Naomi and Tamina ran out and attacked Natalya for the DQ/no contest.

    Sasha Banks made the save, and she cleared the ring with help from Lynch. Charlotte came out and announced that the Lynch vs. Banks match for the number one contendership will be this Monday, and she will be at ringside. Natalya disappeared and was totally forgotten about. This sucked.

    R-Truth beat Heath Slater (w/Social Outcasts) via pinfall

    Truth came out alone, but Goldust came out as soon as the bell rang. He told Truth he just wanted to watch from ringside, and fans chanted “Golden Truth.” The Social Outcasts tried to interfere, but the distraction allowed Goldust to smack Slater, allowing Truth to use a backslide for the win. Truth was pleased and was smiling until Goldust winked at him. This was… fine, but it was another crap finish and another short match.

    They aired a long video package for the Brock Lesnar/Dean Ambrose stuff from Raw, and officially announced their No Holds Barred match at WrestleMania.

    New Day came out. Big E questioned Mark Henry’s claim as world’s strongest man, and Kofi Kingston wondered how he can still call himself that. They cackled like hyenas. And then they kept cackling. Kingston said there was someone in the ring who was stronger than Henry – Xavier Woods.

    Woods said Jericho and Styles aren’t a real team. New Day travel together, they eat together, they take baths together. Big E and Kingston acted alarmed, and then they quickly chanted New Day rocks. Like most New Day segments, there was some funny stuff in here, but a lot of unfunny stuff too.

    6-Man Tag Match: AJ Styles, Chris Jericho & Mark Henry beat The New Day via submission

    Mark Henry came out last, if that sort of thing matters to you. The good guys sent New Day to the outside, so Mark Henry did Big E’s hip swivel dance. Jericho decided to join him and did a dance of his own… and so did AJ Styles. Yes, Styles danced. It was something else.

    After a break, New Day gained the heat on Jericho. There was a nice spot where Kingston hit a seated Jericho with a kick, Woods followed with a low dropkick, then he and Big E hit a combination leg drop and splash. Jericho came back with an enziguri and made the hot tag to Styles, who hit Woods with a clothesline, forearm and springboard moonsault inverted DDT.

    Kingston took out Mark Henry with a Trouble in Paradise. He almost got Styles with one too, but Jericho pushed Styles out of the way and ate Kingston’s kick instead. Styles clotheslined Kingston and applied the Calf Crusher on Woods, who tapped out immediately. Good match. The announcers played up Jericho saving Styles from Kingston’s kick.

    – Final Thoughts:

    Despite a fun opener and main event, this was probably the worst Smackdown since they switched networks. The Triple H promo was terribly uninteresting, and the middle of the show was pretty dreadful, full of short matches and bad finishes. Sometimes when they shoot a big angle on Raw, they seem to have no immediate plan beyond that show, and Smackdown tends to suffer as a result.

  • WWE Smackdown results: Brock Lesnar returns

    – Air Date: February 18, 2016 (Feb 17 in Canada)
    – Location: Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, CA

    – The Big News:

    Brock Lesnar stood tall over both Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose, who may not be on the same page anymore.

    – Show Recap:

    Kevin Owens joined Michael Cole, Byron Saxton and Jerry Lawler on commentary for the opening match. Cole explained that Mauro Ranallo was attacked with a crowbar ill but would return next week. Owens accused Cole of firing Ranallo because he realized Ranallo was better. After Cole repeated that Ranallo was sick, Owens said he’s sick because he heard Cole’s commentary on Raw.

    League of Nations (w/King Barrett) beat Dolph Ziggler & Lucha Dragons via pinfall

    Cole confirmed that Kalisto would be defending the U.S. Title on the Fastlane kickoff show in a 2 out of 3 falls match against Alberto Del Rio. Kalisto and Sin Cara did suicide dives to Del Rio and Sheamus. Ziggler followed by doing Dean Ambrose’s flying elbow to Rusev. LON worked over Sin Cara and his shoulder after a break.

    Ziggler made the hot tag, ran wild, and did the air guitar thing. Owens accused him of stealing that from Eva Marie, which is amazing. Del Rio and Rusev laid out the Dragons outside the ring, while Ziggler got a near fall on Sheamus after a fameasser. Owens jumped off commentary to distract Ziggler. It worked, and Sheamus killed Ziggler with a Brogue kick for the win. Dumb finish. Owens was great on commentary.

    They plugged Brock Lesnar for tonight as well as the main event.

    Sasha Banks beat Tamina (w/Naomi) via submission

    Tamina came out to the Team BAD theme, unlike on Raw last week. After 2 minutes, Naomi jumped on the apron but Banks knocked her off and hit Tamina with a wheelbarrow bulldog into a crossface for the tapout win. Naomi and Tamina attacked Banks afterwards, but Becky Lynch made the save. As Lynch helped Banks to her feet, she pushed Lynch away and left.

    Backstage, Lynch confronted Banks. She said they need to get along at Fastlane, otherwise they’ll lose to Team BAD who will carry that momentum into WrestleMania. Lynch has dreamed about getting her WrestleMania moment, but has had enough of Banks’ ego. Lynch was about to leave, but Banks pulled her back and said they’d never be friends, but she hates to lose. They shook hands. This was not great and it felt overwritten.

    Chris Jericho came out and got some “Y2J” chants. He called out AJ Styles to give him an answer, but got The Miz instead. Miz said everyone was tired of Jericho and Styles playing footsie and said he had an announcement. Jericho hoped the announcement was that Miz would take two weeks off and quit.

    He asked the crowd if Miz should quit and they chanted “Yes!” Miz said he wasn’t quitting and mentioned something about being at a Grammy party at the Playboy Mansion. His announcement was that Jericho had to face him right now. Jericho punched him with the mic and Miz bailed, leading to a commercial break. Good thing Jericho was in his gear.

    Chris Jericho beat The Miz via submission

    Jericho won with a Walls of Jericho after a good 12-13 minute match. Afterwards, Jericho grabbed a mic, gave Miz a hand and called him a great performer, but said Y2J came out on top again. He called out Styles again and this time he came out.

    Jericho said Styles wants a rematch because he wants to make a name for himself, but it’ll have to come at the expense of someone else. Jericho respects Styles more than anyone in the locker room, calling him one of the best in the business, but Jericho doesn’t like him, so the answer was no.

    Styles wasn’t happy and attacked Jericho with strikes, knocking him out of the ring. Jericho jumped back on the apron and Styles tossed the mic back at him, asking if he changed his mind. Jericho said Styles made a stupid mistake. He accepted the match but said Styles would regret it.

    Backstage, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose stood in a hallway (waiting for the camera to start rolling, I guess). Reigns chose this exact moment to ask Ambrose if he was alright after losing on Raw. Ambrose said he was fine, it was just a rough week. They bumped fists and Reigns was about to leave to get ready for their match, but stopped to tell Ambrose not to try Dirty Deeds again. Ambrose said it was a joke and thought it was funny.

    They parted, and the camera followed Ambrose who immediately ran into Paul Heyman, conveniently standing around the corner. Ambrose was being his usual self, which made Heyman uncomfortable. Heyman told Ambrose that Lesnar was here looking for him. Ambrose feigned concern and asked for advice. Heyman didn’t have any, so Ambrose smiled and said he’d have to figure it out on his own. He told Heyman to make sure Lesnar doesn’t keep him waiting. This might sound fine on paper, but like the Banks-Lynch segment earlier, it felt phony and overwritten.

    Elsewhere, Jo-Jo asked New Day about Edge and Christian. In a promo where New Day mocked Edge and Christian for being out of date, Xavier Woods mimicked Allen Iverson’s famous “practice” speech, and Kofi Kingston made a Chappelle’s Show reference. They said it wasn’t the ‘90s, it’s 2016 – the year of the GIF, and they debated the proper pronunciation of “GIF” (both are correct). They sent Jo-Jo away and so they could play the trombone and dance. I didn’t like this.

    Non-title: WWE Divas Champion Charlotte (w/Ric Flair) beat Natalya via submission

    Charlotte won with the Figure Eight. Afterwards, Charlotte did the Yes chant so Brie Bella ran out. She hit Yes kicks and went for a running knee, but Flair pulled Charlotte out of the ring. Brie held up the title and did more Yes chants and Charlotte yelled “No! No! No!” This was fine.

    Another Goldust and R-Truth segment backstage. Truth did a rap informing Goldust he didn’t want to be partners.

    The Wyatt Family vs. Big Show, Kane and Ryback was made official for Fastlane. Bray will be in his clan’s corner, not in the actual match.

    Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose beat The Dudley Boyz via DQ

    Reigns came out last. The Dudleys worked over Ambrose forever until he made the hot tag to Reigns. Reigns sized up D-Von for the superman or spear or whatever when Brock Lesnar’s music hit. Lesnar and Heyman came out, so Ambrose and Reigns faced the stage. The distraction allowed the Dudleys to attack them from behind, but Reigns hit D-Von with a superman punch and Ambrose caught Bubba with a flying elbow. Ambrose hit a suicide dive on D-Von but was attacked by Lesnar for a DQ (I guess).

    Reigns and Ambrose ganged up on Lesnar, but Lesnar hit both men with suplexes. Reigns punched Lesnar and went for a spear, but Lesnar moved and Reigns collided with Ambrose. Reigns was about to go back after Lesnar but Ambrose attempted a Dirty Deeds, so Reigns countered with a Samoan drop. Lesnar then picked up Reigns and nailed an F5.

    Triple H came out with the title to pose on the stage and Lesnar stood tall at the bottom of the aisle.

    Final Thoughts:

    Having Brock Lesnar on Smackdown is nice and it appears they really are taking a greater interest in the show. The final angle was fine, but the show overall was just ok.

  • Why Mauro Ranallo wasn’t at Smackdown Tuesday

    Additional details/reporting from Dave Meltzer

    It hasn’t been two months and already, Mauro Ranallo has become a fan favorite for those tuning to WWE Smackdown every week. That’s why there was a lot of concern at Tuesday night’s Smackdown tapings in Ontario, California, when Michael Cole came out to announce with Jerry Lawler and Byron Saxton instead of everyone’s favorite Canadian wrestling personality (outside Lance Storm of course.)

    Fear not: the actual story is that the 46-year-old Ranallo came to the building, but was sick with the flu and the company made the decision to send him home rather than work the show. He’s still with the company, still on Smackdown, and all is still right with the world.

    Some of the concern was heightened because there were so many questions asked via Twitter that got no response from the social media-friendly and president of #RetweetCity.

    Ranallo signed with WWE in mid-December and debuted on Smackdown when the show moved to USA Network in early-January.

  • WWE Smackdown spoilers: Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns vs The Dudleys

    No Mauro Ranallo announcing.  Michael Cole was in his place.

    Kevin Owens makes his way down the ring to do color commentary.

    Lucha Dragons and Ziggler vs Del Rio & Sheamus and Rusev. Barrett watches from ringside. Sheamus kicked Ziggler with interference from Owens.

    Tamina accompanied by Naomi vs Sasha Banks.  Sasha over Tamina via cross face. Short match. After the match Team Bad attacks Sasha, Becky Lynch makes the save. Becky attempted to help Sasha when on the mat but Sasha pushed her away. Sasha and Becky shown backstage, talking about their WrestleMania moment.

    Jericho comes out and says he will give AJ Styles his answer and asks him to come out so he can tell him face to face. Out comes Miz and says he’s tired of Jericho and AJ playing footsies. Miz says Jericho has a match with him. Miz goes for the offense but Jericho blocks and hits miz with the mic on the head.  Jericho beats Miz via walls of Jericho.  Jericho invites Styles come out again, out he comes. Jericho says the answer is No, AJ hits Jericho out of the ring. Jericho comes back to the apron and says that was a stupid move. Gives AJ his rematch at fast lane. By the way AJ’s left eyelid is swollen.

    Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns are shown backstage. Says let’s do our thing in the ring. Ambrose continues to walk and runs into Paul Heyman and mentions Brock Lesnar is here and looking for Ambrose.

    Jo Jo backstage interviewing New Day regarding Sunday on Edge and Christian’s peep show.

    Out comes Natalya. Followed by Charlotte and Ric flair.  Charlotte over Nattie Brie’s music plays and she rushes the ring to attack Charlotte. Charlotte attemps figure  four, Brie blocks it and does the kicks. Got the whole arena chanting yes.

    Truth and Goldust backstage segment

    Wyatt’s come out next, Bray cuts short in ring promo regarding Sunday’s match.

    Promo shown from Mondays main event

    Wyatts vs Show, Ryback, and Kane at fast lane.

    Ambrose and Reigns vs Dudleys up next.  Crowd is ecstatic for Ambrose.  During the match Lesnar appears and attacks both Reigns and Ambrose. Roman about to super man punch Lesnar but Lesnar pushes Reigns into Ambrose . Lesnar f5s reigns.

    Triple H music plays and stands by the stage with the belt staring at Lesnar.

    Reigns and Ambrose play to the crowd.

    Challenge the dudleys to come back out, they do and baby faces clean them out quick.

  • WWE Smackdown results: AJ Styles vs. Chris Jericho – the rematch

    – Air Date: February 11, 2016 (Feb 10 in Canada)
    – Location: Moda Center in Portland, OR

    – The Big News:

    Chris Jericho beat AJ Styles in a great match.

    – Show Recap:

    No fireworks to start Smackdown this week, unless you count Chris Jericho’s entrance. Jericho said he respects AJ Styles but doesn’t like him after Styles punched him in the face on Raw. Jericho wondered who would call themselves phenomenal on their very first night, which has to be a reference to his own WWE debut. Jericho recalled having one his best matches in this building in Portland – the World Title ladder match with Shawn Michaels. Finally, he called out Styles for their match. The crowd liked Jericho but booed when he put down Styles.  

    Chris Jericho NC AJ Styles

    The bell rang but the Social Outcasts, minus Bo Dallas, came out immediately. Heath Slater said Dallas was still making his rap album. Adam Rose did some bad comedy, called the team the “Social Housecats” and made cat noises. Axel wanted the two of them to be called “Axel Rose.” They all bickered until Jericho called them idiots and told them to shut up. He punched Slater with the mic and the Outcasts bailed. Jericho said he and Styles would still wrestle later, but right now they’re teaming up.

    Chris Jericho & AJ Styles beat Curtis Axel & Adam Rose (w/Heath Slater) via pinfall

    The story early on was Jericho and Styles took turns doing moves on Axel. Jericho hit a delayed vertical suplex, so Styles hit a snap suplex. Styles hit a chop, so Jericho hit a chop. They got into an argument in the ring however, allowing Rose to knock down Styles for the heat.

    Styles came back quickly with a Pele kick and strikes. He made the hot tag to Jericho, who hit a double axe handle and Lionsault. Styles tagged himself in and hit a springboard forearm for the pinfall win on Rose. Jericho smirked as he stared down Styles. The referee raised their hands, but Jericho nailed Styles with a Codebreaker. The crowd booed.

    I initially didn’t like the opening segment because you could smell angle as soon as Jericho came out for what advertised as the main event. However, the match told a story and it was good by the end. This was probably done to stretch things out thanks to a light crew at Smackdown, but they made the most of it.

    The announcers talked about Daniel Bryan. Jerry Lawler said it felt like Bryan was only around a short time but it was unforgettable. Mauro Ranallo said there wasn’t a dry eye in the building on Raw. They showed tweets from Brie Bella, Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns. They also announced Bryan would be thanking the fans tonight. Anyone who watches Smackdown regularly would realize this meant they’d be showing a replay from Raw, but I could see more casual viewers thinking this meant Bryan would be there live.

    They announced Brock Lesnar would be on Smackdown next week.

    The Dudley Boyz came out in street clothes with tables surrounding the ring. Bubba said they made a statement on Raw, but it seemed like people only want to hear about Daniel Bryan. The crowd cheered and chanted Yes. Bubba said they’re sick of hearing about Bryan and sick about a lot of things around here. D-Von said they’re not nostalgia act, they’re the baddest team around.

    Bubba told the crowd to take a good look at the tables because it’s the last time we’re going to see them. He called for some stagehands to take the tables away. Bubba wanted the fans to chant for them, not the tables. “What about us? What about the Dudley Boyz?” There was one table left, so Bubba and D-Von folded it up nicely and took it away. This was good.

    Sasha Banks beat Naomi (w/Tamina) via submission

    Becky Lynch did commentary. The crowd chanted “Let’s Go Sasha” and they went to commercial two minutes into the match. Naomi got the heat after yanking Banks off the apron and she landed back-first against the edge of the ring. Yikes. Banks made her comeback but was tripped by Tamina with the referee distracted. Naomi followed with a leg scissors driver for a near fall.

    Tamina and Lynch brawled on the outside. Naomi missed a split-legged moonsault, allowing Banks to go out and knock down Tamina with a big boot. Naomi tried a roll up as Banks reentered the ring, but Banks reversed into a crossface for the win. This was good, and Banks in particular came off really well. Not only did the interference not work, but she took out Tamina and still won the match.

    Backstage, Styles told Jo-Jo he might be a redneck, but he’s no rookie. He called Jericho one of the best in the world, and knows what he’s trying to do, but Styles would show Jericho tonight why he’s the Phenomenal One.

    Bray Wyatt and his friends came out for a promo. Bray said men got sent into battle but never returned. He’s the king of gods. Each Wyatt member was given a line, including Braun Strowman saying the earth will shake and the oceans will boil. That’s bad. Bray said the apocalypse is all around us and the war against our gods has just begun.

    6-Man Tag Match: Neville & Lucha Dragons beat Stardust & The Ascension via pinfall

    This match was like 3 minutes, and consisted mostly of the babyfaces doing their high spots. The bad guys attacked the good guys before the match started, allowing them to get the heat on Neville immediately. Neville quickly made a hot tag to Kalisto who ran wild on the Ascension. Ranallo confused Konnor and Viktor so Saxton had to correct him. Kalisto hit Konnor with Salida Del Sol, Sin Cara followed with a senton, and Neville finished it off with Red Arrow for the win. It was a fun 3 minutes.

    They showed more tweets about Daniel Bryan, this time from Becky Lynch, Christian, Jerry Lawler and Stephanie McMahon. They aired a video package of his speech from Raw and spliced it together with his career highlights, as well as the roster doing the Yes chant. They came back to the Smackdown audience doing the Yes chant. Lawler said Bryan’s announcement was the most emotional moment he’s ever seen in wrestling.

    Chris Jericho beat AJ Styles via pinfall

    Ranallo put this over as a classic battle and the match started with loud dueling chants. Ranallo put over Styles’ past accomplishments, calling him a former IWGP Champion and NWA Heavyweight Champion. They went back and forth early, but Jericho cut off Styles with his springboard dropkick and they went to commercial. During the break, Jericho launched Styles shoulder-first into the barricade.

    Jericho very briefly had the heat after the break, but this was mostly a back and forth match. Jericho used a backbreaker and tried the Walls, but Styles countered with strikes. Jericho hit an enziguri and went to the top, but Styles caught him with a dropkick. They traded strikes and Jericho hit a Lionsault for a near fall.

    Styles hit a neckbreaker and went for the Styles Clash but Jericho reversed it into a Walls. Styles crawled towards the ropes but Jericho pulled him to the middle of the ring. Styles countered into the Calf Crusher. Jericho was about to tap out but was able to grab the bottom rope. “This is awesome” chants broke out.

    Styles dropkicked Jericho to the outside and followed with a flying forearm. There were more dueling chants, but the Styles chants seemed louder. Styles tried for another springboard move, but Jericho tripped him off the rope. Jericho then whipped Styles into the corner and nailed a Codebreaker for the clean win. Great match, which went about 17-18 minutes.

    They plugged Lesnar on Smackdown next week one more time to end the show.

    – Final Thoughts:

    I cringed when I heard Smackdown would have a skeleton crew, but they still pulled off a good show considering. The main event was excellent. I don’t agree with the finish, but we know how this goes.

    Also, for whatever reason, this was a much hotter Smackdown crowd than usual.

  • WWE Smackdown results: AJ Styles vs. Miz, Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose have tension

    – Air Date: February 4, 2016 (Feb 3 in Canada) 
    – Location: FedExForum in Memphis, TN

    – The Big News: 

    Chris Jericho and A.J. Styles will have a rematch next week on Smackdown. Also, the main event actually had a real finish, but not before some tension between Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns. 

    – Show Recap: 

    Roman Reigns beat Rusev (w/Alberto Del Rio & King Barrett) via DQ 

    Less than 3 minutes into the match, Del Rio and Barrett pulled Reigns out of the ring and tossed him into the barricade for a DQ. Ambrose immediately ran out and attacked Rusev. He tried a diving elbow on Barrett and Del Rio but they moved and he nailed Reigns instead. 

    Ambrose was stunned, so Barrett grabbed him and Del Rio hit a superkick. They dragged him in the ring and Rusev applied the Accolade, but Reigns jumped in the ring with a chair and the League of Nations bailed. Lawler accused Ambrose of intentionally attacking Reigns, but Reigns very obviously did not see it that way. After a break, they announced a tag match with these men for the main event. 

    Backstage, Renee Young asked Ambrose if his attack on Reigns was a preview of Fastlane. Ambrose said it was an accident, because sometimes he gets wild. He added, “Trust me, when I come after Roman, he’ll know it.” Ambrose finished by saying they’d be on the same page tonight. 

    U.S. Champion Kalisto beat Kevin Owens via pinfall in a non-title match

    In an inset promo, Kalisto said he’s fighting for himself, the legacy of the title and the honour of the fight. Dolph Ziggler did commentary. This was a good match. Owens took Kalisto to the outside and bounced him off the barricade. He cleared the table and set up for a powerbomb, but actually powerbombed Kalisto into Ziggler. 

    Owens then superkicked Ziggler, and took Kalisto back in the ring. Ziggler miraculously popped up to distract Owens, so Kalisto applied a school boy for the pinfall win. Owens knocked Kalisto down from behind but bailed as soon as Ziggler jumped in the ring. 

    Owens powerbombing Kalisto into Ziggler was the funniest thing on Smackdown in a while, but it was sort of meaningless considering he lost anyway and Ziggler was totally fine afterwards. Still, Owens was great here and he acted distraught afterwards because of the loss. 

    Backstage, Jo-Jo interviewed The Miz, who said everything he always says. I was distracted by the “Smackdown” sign behind Miz, because it had a sizable rip along the bottom. Do they only have one “Smackdown” sign? 

    Ryback beat Erick Rowan (w/Braun Strowman) via pinfall 

    Ryback has new gear, and yes, he’s basically dressed like Goldberg – plain black trunks, gloves, kneepads and boots. Strowman tried a distraction, but Ryback tossed Rowan into him to knock him off the apron. Ryback followed with a meat hook clothesline on Rowan for the win. Strowman clumsily pushed Ryback out of the ring and he slowly backed down the aisle as they all stared at each other. 

    They showed some members of the Memphis Grizzlies in attendance, including Vince Carter. 

    Backstage, Renee asked Becky Lynch why she would help Sasha Banks who is after the same title as her. Before Lynch could explain, Banks jumped in and said if she saw Lynch on fire, she wouldn’t help. They bickered back and forth until they sort of begrudgingly agreed to help each other to take out Team B.A.D. before moving on to Charlotte. Renee was confused. 

    They announced Brock Lesnar for Raw in Seattle this Monday.

    A.J. Styles beat The Miz via submission 

    Chris Jericho joined commentary and was very good.  Byron Saxton wasted no time in reminding Jericho that he lost to Styles on Raw, and Jericho and threatened to slap him. Jericho said Styles came into WWE the same way as him, completely on his own with no friends. Lawler repeated Miz’s “redneck rookie” line, and Jericho said he’s not a rookie and accused Miz and Lawler of having ego problems. 

    Styles won with a Calf crusher (that’s what they called it) in a good match. I’d complain about Miz getting too much offense, but Styles kicked out of most of his pinfall attempts at a one count. 

    After the match, Jericho went in the ring and said everybody knows Styles is good, otherwise he never would’ve gotten to WWE or beaten him. Jericho said Styles was good, but wondered if he was great. Jericho has been lying awake at night thinking about it, wondering if Styles could beat him again, so Jericho challenged him to a rematch on Smackdown next week. Styles shook Jericho’s hand and brought him in close, telling him “I’m better than great. I’m phenomenal, Chris, and you’re going to find out – again.” This was good, and the crowd was into A.J. 

    Backstage, Reigns told Jo-Jo that he and Ambrose are never really on the same page, because Ambrose is crazy, but that’s what he likes about him – they’re different. He said what happens in Fastlane will be no accident, but tonight they’ll fight together. 

    WWE Tag Team Champion The New Day beat Social Outcasts via pinfall in a six-man tag

    New Day did a promo about how great it is having gold. The Social Outcasts interrupted and Adam Rose informed New Day that the tag titles were bronze, not gold. Rose said they would take the bronze off their wastes. New Day told him not to touch their wastes. They did some more “comedy” and then the match started. 

    The end of the match was a bit of a mess, but I did like the finish. Axel tried to win with his feet on the middle rope, but Woods knocked him off. Kingston then rolled up Axel and put his feet on the middle rope for the pinfall win. 

    WWE Divas Champion Charlotte (w/Ric Flair) beat Alicia Fox (w/Brie Bella) via submission in a non-title match

    As soon as the match started, I wondered if they would do the double big boot spot, and they did. That led to a comeback by Fox, which the crowd didn’t care about. Charlotte hit a “chop block” and applied the Figure Eight for the submission win. Match was about 4 minutes. 

    Another “comedy” segment with Goldust and R-Truth. Truth was at the hotel and Goldust showed up dressed as a barhop. Some stuff happened and then it was over. Goldust should seek out El Dandy. He’s a great wrestler. 

    WWE Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns beat Rusev & Alberto Del Rio via pinfall 

    Lawler mentioned all night that we would see Ambrose and Reigns implode tonight. That led to the key spot in this match. Reigns made a hot tag and ran wild, but was taken outside the ring by Del Rio. Ambrose went for a suicide dive, but Del Rio moved, and Ambrose went right into Reigns. However, they didn’t collide because Reigns caught him. 

    Reigns looked annoyed and asked Ambrose what he was doing. Rusev tried to jump Ambrose, so Reigns hit him with a superman punch, shoved him back in the ring and hit a spear for the win. Afterwards, Reigns and Ambrose got along just fine and chuckled about what happened. 

    As the show ended, they plugged A.J. Styles vs. Chris Jericho for next week. 

    – Final Thoughts: 

    This show was a mixed bag. The main stuff was good, but it really dragged after the Styles match. I am glad they pushed a big match for next week and we finally had a main event end with a real finish. 

    Best of luck to Bret “The Hitman” Hart. 

  • WWE Smackdown results: Highlight Reel, Styles Clash, 6-Man Tag Main Event

    – Air Date: January 28, 2016 (Jan 27 in Canada)
    – Location: Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL

    The Big News:

    A.J. Styles made his Smackdown debut and yet another main event had a crap finish. Oh, and Big Show is a babyface again.

    Show Recap:

    They aired a video package recapping the finish to the Royal Rumble match and Stephanie McMahon’s announcement of the Fastlane main event. The final shot was of Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns staring at each other. They announced a Highlight Reel for tonight with those two men, as well as Kalisto defending his U.S. title against Neville. (I checked WWE.com earlier today and this match was listed as an I.C. title match. It has since been corrected.)

    The New Day came out and Mauro Ranallo pretended to forget Byron Saxton’s name. This was a segue to show The Rock’s interaction with New Day and the Usos on Raw. After all the replays and plugs, Smackdown was about 8 minutes old by the time New Day spoke.

    They said Rock should feel shame, and despite all of his accomplishments, he doesn’t have gold like they do. Big E could smell what the Rock was cooking – doodoo. That’s what he said. They were interrupted by the Miz, who could feel their pain. Miz said he never gets upstaged, which brought out the Usos. They laughed at Miz for wearing a dress.

    Xavier Woods told them not to disrespect Miz because he main evented WrestleMania and has the best mouth in the business. New Day pointed out their numbers advantage, but the Usos were somehow ready for this and brought out Titus O’Neil and Dolph Ziggler to even up the odds. This wasn’t good, and because of the guys involved, just wasn’t that interesting.

    The Usos, Titus O’Neil & Dolph Ziggler beat New Day & The Miz via pinfall

    They showed a video of O’Neil giving 150 tickets to young students and their families for tonight’s show. Jerry Lawler said Rock embarrassed a lot of people on Raw, including the terrible things he said to Lana.

    O’Neil had the match won after a powerslam to Miz, but Kingston and Big E broke up the cover. Usos took them out with superkicks and dives to the outside. Ziggler gave Woods a Zig Zag, superkicked Miz, and O’Neil finished Miz off with Clash of the Titus for the win. The match was about 11 minutes and it was fine. O’Neil went into the crowd and danced with all the families he gave tickets to, which was nice.

    They showed a graphic claiming that Raw was the number one show “socially” on Monday. Ok.

    U.S. Championship: Kalisto beat Neville via pinfall

    They explained on commentary that Alberto Del Rio is owed a title rematch, but Kalisto wants to be a fighting champion and will give Del Rio his rematch whenever he’s ready. Lawler said a luchador being U.S. champion doesn’t sit well with him. Ranallo called him on that statement and Lawler didn’t really have an explanation. Ranallo compared Neville and Kalisto to Dynamite Kid and Tiger Mask.

    These two could very obviously have a great match, but they weren’t given the time as this match was only about 8 minutes long. They did do some impressive stuff, including Kalisto doing a super hurricanrana. Kalisto won after reversing a German suplex into a Salida Del Sol. I was disappointed this didn’t get more time, and there’s no reason why it didn’t, especially since it was a title match.

    That stupid graphic they showed earlier about being the number one show “socially” on Monday? They showed it again. Two segments later.

    Chris Jericho came out for the Highlight Reel. He called the Rumble one of the greatest of all time, and even though he lasted 52 minutes, Triple H still came out on top. He also put over his match with A.J. Styles on Raw. He plugged the main event of Fastlane and brought out Ambrose and Reigns (separately). Ambrose brought flowers. Lawler killed Reigns for not being able to win the big one.

    Ambrose said Jericho’s set could use some jazzing up which is why he brought flowers. Reigns found a stool to put them on. Jericho was excited for the flowers and said he used to have a much nicer set. This was amusing.

    Jericho asked if Fastlane would create any animosity between the two of them. They basically said no. Jericho asked what would happen when the bell rings, and Ambrose said he’ll punch Reigns in the face. They made some light-hearted cracks about what they would do to each other. Jericho moved on and asked about Brock Lesnar.

    Ambrose called Lesnar the most destructible force in WWE, but Ambrose called himself indestructible and has no reason to be scared of him. Reigns warned Ambrose about Lesnar, recalling how he got thrown around at Mania. He called Lesnar a beast. Ambrose said he doesn’t have to beat Lesnar, he can just beat Reigns. The crowd gasped. Reigns said it would be the first time, because he’s never done it before. More gasps.

    The Wyatts interrupted and talked about putting down Lesnar. Bray ranted and Reigns said they don’t know what he’s talking about. Reigns challenged him to a fight but Bray laughed. Bray instead challenged the three good guys to a 6-man match. He had some reasoning but, you know, it doesn’t matter.

    This segment was what it needed to be. Ambrose and Reigns very slightly teased dissension, but with a smirk. The Wyatts interrupting means we’ll have to wait to see more, and that’s fine.

    They plugged that A.J. Styles would make his debut next. Perhaps they should’ve mentioned this earlier. After a break, the Social Outcasts said they should’ve been trending after Raw but everyone is talking about Styles. Curtis Axel is mad that Styles finally eliminated him from the Rumble by tossing him out from behind. Axel called him down so the Ax-man can rip him apart. That seems unlikely.

    A.J. Styles beat Curtis Axel (w/Social Outcasts) via pinfall

    Ranallo put over Styles’ accomplishments but Lawler said what he did before WWE doesn’t matter. The Social Outcasts tried to interfere so Styles knocked Adam Rose off the apron and took out the other two with a dive. Styles sold his back after the dive. Axel went for a Perfect Plex, but Styles countered with a Pele kick and Styles Clash for the pinfall win. Crowd wasn’t exactly hot for this but they did chant for A.J.

    Non-title: Divas Champion Charlotte (w/Ric Flair) beat Natalya via submission

    Charlotte won in barely 2 minutes. Natalya did an inset promo saying there’s nothing worse than being injured, but you can’t keep down a Hart, and the Queen of Harts was back. Charlotte used a big boot and chops, but Natalya countered with a discus clothesline and German suplex. Natalya had to toss Charlotte back in the ring, so Flair wooed in her face. This gave Charlotte enough time to recover, hit a chop block and apply Figure Eight for the tapout win. Charlotte put the hold on again but Becky Lynch ran out to make the save.

    They showed R-Truth in a park, stretching to get ready for a run. Just when you thought they were about to treat Truth like a serious athlete, Goldust showed up in his wrestling gear, with neon green women’s running attire over top. They weren’t even trying to be subtle with Goldust’s comedy. For example, he strained his groin while stretching and told Truth, “I think my groin needs a massage.” Truth left.

    Chris Jericho, Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns beat Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan & Luke Harper (w/Braun Strowman) via DQ

    Jericho and Ambrose did not get entrances. Wyatts worked over Jericho, including Harper using a Michinoku Driver. He booted Reigns off the apron, but Jericho hit a Codebreaker and made the hot tag to Ambrose. (You knew this meant Reigns was getting a second hot tag later.)

    Ambrose used two separate dives on Bray and Rowan, but Rowan was able to knock him down with a heel kick. Ambrose came back with a rebound clothesline and made a second hot tag to Reigns.

    Reigns hit clotheslines on Harper, and a big boot of his own. Rowan broke up the cover so Ambrose knocked him to the outside, and Jericho dropkicked Bray to the floor. Ambrose and Jericho followed with springboard dives. Reigns hit a superman punch on Harper but Strowman pulled him out of the ring and the referee called for a DQ.

    Strowman tossed around all three babyfaces, and the Wyatts ganged up on Reigns in the ring. They were about to do bad things but Big Show ran out. He slammed Rowan and clotheslined Harper. He faced off with Strowman in the ring but was mauled by Harper and Rowan.

    Reigns tried to make the save but was caught by Strowman, so again Show had to save Reigns by tossing Strowman to the outside. Reigns gave Bray a superman punch, Jericho and Ambrose tossed out Rowan, and Reigns speared Harper. They played Reigns’ music as he posed with his old friend the Big Show (and Ambrose and Jericho).

    Final Thoughts:

    Like last week, I mostly enjoyed this show until the finish. This main event was obviously much better than last week, but yet another crap DQ basically neutered the whole thing. I will say, additions like A.J. Styles, Chris Jericho and Mauro Ranallo make the show feel more important.

    Here’s how Smackdown main events have ended the last five weeks:

    Jan 28: DQ (Wrestler gets pulled out of the ring by a non-participant)
    Jan 21: DQ (Wrestler attacked by opponent who was not the legal man)  
    Jan 14: DQ (Wrestler attacked by opponent with light piece of cardboard)
    Jan 7: Double Count Out (Opponents fight outside and don’t bother returning to the ring)
    Dec 31: DQ (Wrestler slams opponent into ring post)