Finn Balor beat Viktor of the Ascension. Good match. Balor also cleaned house on Conor at ringside. Fans knew who Balor was and popped big for him. They also loudly chanted NXT.
WWE Main Event —
– Jack Swagger beat Adam Rose with the ankle lock. Before the match, Rose cut a promo blaming all the fans for nearly killing his career, by making him believe the Exotic Express gimmick was a good idea.
– Damian Sandow beat Heath Slater
– Sasha Banks beat Becky Lynch with the Banks Statement. Okay match.
WWE Smackdown —
— It opened with a Wyatt Family promo. Bray challenged the Undertaker & Kane to a 2-on-2 match at the Survivor Series, with Bray’s two being any of his choosing. He demanded an answer by the end of the night.
— Braun Strowman squashed Fandango, defeating him with his sleeper finisher in 90 seconds.
— Neville beat King Barrett in a WWE title tournament match. Good match. Neville had some great spots, including walking the ringside barricade and doing a somersault senton on to Barrett. Neville win with the Red Arrow.
— Next came a dark segment, just for the fans in arena. This was the highlight of the show. Barrett remained in the ring and said the last 48 hours had not gone to plan. He said he normally would’ve beat Neville without breaking a sweat but had Wayne Rooney on his mind. He said he will go to Stamford to see Vince at the end of the week and implore him never to return to Manchester ever again. Undertaker came out to a huge reaction. He did his big entrance and entered the ring. Barrett was hilarious here. He said, to much crowd laughter, “Can I help you mate? Are you lost? You’re not in Death Valley now you know, you’re in the mean streets of north west England. You’re on the wrong side of the tracks mate. They don’t call me the Preston Panther for nothing! I’m sick of outsiders coming into my yard. You’re not even worth my time!” Barrett went up walk out, then attacked Taker. Taker then laid him out with a choke slam & two Tombstones. This was all great.
— Kalisto beat Ryback in an upset in the WWE title tournament. Surprisingly decent match. Kalisto used Ryback as a base to do all his flying around. Crowd popped big for the upset.
— Alberto Del Rio & Zeb Colter did a promo. Usual stuff about the English being hated and how Manchester had two soccer teams that divided the city, and it would be better if we were all ‘united in humanity’.
– WWE U.S. Champion Alberto Del Rio beat Stardust in the WWE title tournament. Not much heat, given it was heel vs heel. Del Rio won after a double foot stomp on Stardust in the corner.
— Roman Reigns did a backstage promo, vowing to beat Cesaro in the quarter finals next week on Raw and then win the title at Survivor Series. He once again said he wasn’t interested in shortcuts or selling out.
— In the main event, the Usos beat Luke Harper & Erick Rowan via DQ, when Bray Wyatt & Strowman interfered.
— The Undertaker’s music played, and then audio of Taker’s voice played over the PA system, accepting Wyatt’s challenge for the Survivor Series.
Post-Show —
– After the show, in a dark main event, Roman Reigns beat Bray Wyatt in a short match. This was an abridged version of their Liverpool house show match a few days ago. They exchanged Kendo stick shots and Reigns won with a spear.
– Overall, a fun show. Nothing outstanding or spectacular but everyone went home happy. The Barrett/Undertaker exchange was the highlight of the show. I think with Reigns continually vowing not to sellout or take a shortcut, I really think a swerve, with him winning the title with the Authority’s help and turning heel (on Ambrose) would be for the best. That would set up a years worth of programmes – first with Ambrose, then maybe Lesnar at WM32, and perhaps Rollins as a babyface next summer. Throw in a programme with Cena too at some point. Seems the best direction to me.
– Air Date: November 5, 2015 (Nov 4 in Canada) – Location: World Arena in Colorado Springs, CO
The Big News:
Kevin Owens escaped a non-title match with Dean Ambrose by tricking the referee.
Show Recap:
They announced two matches for tonight – a “traditional” four vs. four Survivor Series tag match, and Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens non-title (as usual, they didn’t mention that it was non-title).
Alberto Del Rio and Zeb Colter came out to start. Colter said there was no room for hate in MexAmerica and he called the people haters. He said everyone has people they hate, and he called those people black hearts. Ok? Del Rio said Viva MexAmerica. Jerry Lawler and Rich Brennan were both confused. Me too. Why are they heels if they want to bring people together and eliminate hate?
Non-Title: U.S. Champion Alberto Del Rio (w/Zeb Colter) beat Neville via pinfall
Lawler said he wasn’t sure if Neville has faced anyone with the experience of Del Rio. Neville almost beat John Cena a few months ago. Neville hit a hurricanrana and had control early until Del Rio used a back stabber. During a commercial break, Del Rio launched Neville into the barricade. Neville fought out of a headlock and used kicks and a moonsault to the outside, followed by a rana into a pin attempt for a near fall.
Del Rio was able to knock Neville off the top and hit a weak-looking double footstomp for the win. After the match, Del Rio jumped back in the ring and superkicked Neville and applied the arm bar. Neville tapped wildly until Jack Swagger ran out to make the save. The two men faced off but Del Rio wagged his finger and left. Neville sat up at this point and I wondered why he didn’t just run after Del Rio. The match was alright.
The Usos beat The Ascension via pinfall
The Usos got a good reaction and people were doing their chant as the match started. Ascension worked over Jimmy briefly until he made the hot tag. Jey used a Samoan drop and running hip attack on Viktor but Konnor broke up the cover. Jimmy hit Konnor with a superkick, but Konnor bounced off the ropes, so Jimmy and Jey did a double superkick to knock him out of the ring. They also did a double superkick to Viktor and Jey finished him off with a flying splash for the win. Booker called the Usos the most exciting tag-team in history.
8-Man Elimination Tag Match: The Wyatt Family beat Prime Time Players & Lucha Dragons
The Wyatts took turns working over Darren Young. Eventually, Braun Strowman applied the head-and-arm choke, with the ropes separating himself and Darren. Strowman let go after the referee counted to four, and Darren dropped to the outside where he was counted out. Titus went to check on him so Strowman attacked him from behind. The Lucha Dragons just stood there and watched.
After a break, they worked over Titus until he made a tag to Sin Cara, who used a hurricanrana on Harper and suicide dive to Rowan. Sin Cara did a rana into a pin for a two count and a tornado DDT, but Rowan broke it up. Harper came back with a discus clothesline for the pinfall.
Kalisto used kicks on Harper but got nailed with a suplex and the Wyatts took over again. Kalisto crawled for a tag but two Wyatts took Titus off the apron. Kalisto came back anyway with a spike hurricane on Harper and springboard kick to Bray. Titus was still out, allowing Rowan to hit a tackle and full nelson slam. Rowan pinned Kalisto.
Titus made his comeback on Harper, including a power slam for two. He followed with a sitout powerbomb but Bray and Rowan broke up the cover. Strowman put him in the head-and-arm choke, Bray tagged himself in and hit Sister Abigail for the win. Clean sweep for the Wyatts.
Recap: Braun Strowman eliminated Darren Young via countout, Luke Harper eliminated Sin Cara via pinfall, Erick Rowan eliminated Kalisto via pinfall, Bray Wyatt eliminated Titus O’Neil via pinfall. This wasn’t much of a match outside of Kalisto’s offense.
Backstage, Dean Ambrose told Renee Young that he prepared for tonight by waking up early, around 11:00 AM, taking in some fresh Colorado air and by speaking with John Denver (who’s dead.) Owens walked up asking what Ambrose was talking about. Owens said he was annoying Renee and told him that he’d be facing the greatest Intercontinental champion of all-time. Ambrose laughed and said he can pin Owens tonight just like he did on Raw. Owens said tonight wouldn’t be a 10-man circus like Raw and Ambrose said we’ll see. Owens walked away.
Ryback beat King Barrett via pinfall
Barrett had the heat for a few minutes but Ryback won with a shell shocked.
Backstage, Sasha Banks told Renee that they gave Natalya the attention she wanted by attacking her. Renee said Natalya challenged the “leader of Team B.A.D.” tonight. Naomi said that stuff might work on Team P.C.B. but it won’t work on them, because they know who their leader is. Sasha intimated that it was her who would accept the challenge and walked off. Naomi gave her a look before following. Tamina gave Renee a look, but Renne just smirked because she’s not intimidated I guess.
Natalya beat Tamina (w/Naomi & Sasha Banks) via pinfall
Tamina stepped in and took the challenge. Naomi and Sasha were just fine with this. Tamina had the heat for a while until Natalya came back with a clothesline. She went for a sharpshooter but Sasha distracted her, allowing Tamina to hit a Samoan drop. Tamina went for a splash but Natalya got her legs up and followed with a school boy for the win. Tamina is bad so this was not good. The crowd didn’t care either, outside of some light chants for Banks.
Non-Title: IC Champion Kevin Owens beat Dean Ambrose via DQ
After a break, Owens had control after tossing Ambrose into the barricade twice, hitting a senton and gutbuster. Ambrose came back with a superplex and tornado DDT for a near fall. Owens tried a pop-up powerbomb, but Ambrose jumped over him. Owens hit a superkick, but that sent Ambrose into the ropes and he bounced back with a clothesline.
Ambrose kicked Owens in the gut (to set up Dirty Deeds) but Owens dropped down and sold it like he was kicked in the nuts. The referee checked on him and called Ambrose for the DQ. They showed two replays and Ambrose clearly kicked him in the gut. The referee saw the replays and began yelling at Owens, who grabbed his title and began leaving since the match was over.
As Owens left, Ambrose nailed him with a suicide dive, then hit another one on the other side of the ring. Ambrose went after him but Owens bailed through the crowd. Ambrose was pissed but posed in the ring as the show ended. Match was good while it lasted.
Final Thoughts:
Thanks to a skeleton crew, this was basically a straight wrestling show with only two backstage interviews and the usual Raw highlights. And not a particularly good one.
Since not much happened, a minor point: The Lucha Dragons should not have been fed to the Wyatts. They just come off two big wins in a row (Smackdown last week and Monday’s Raw) and this was a total setback. The Wyatts winning their match in a clean sweep is perfectly fine, it just should’ve been against some other team with PTP.
Also, if you care, at least five different wrestlers used superkicks tonight.
There was a skeleton crew at tonight’s Smackdown tapings in Colorado Springs, given the injuries and half the crew on the way to Dublin, Ireland:
Alberto Del Rio & Zeb Colter opened with a promo.
Alberto Del Rio beat Neville – Jack Swagger attacked Del Rio after the match.
Usos beat The Ascension.
The Wyatt Family won a Survivor Series match in four straight falls over The Prime Time Players & Lucha Dragons. Young was counted out in the first fall. Luke Harper pinned Sin Cara to win the second fall. Erick Rowan pinned Kalisto to win the third fall. Bray Wyatt pinned Titus O’Neil when it was four-on-one.
Ryback beat King Barrett clean with the shell shock.
Natalya beat Tamina in a fast match.
Kevin Owens beat Dean Ambrose via DQ. They used a Lucha Libre finish as Owens sold a low blow that the ref didn’t see, but he sold it so well the ref DQ’d Ambrose for it. Owens ran away after the match.
The Bryan & Vinny Show is back tonight with a random hodgepodge of shows — the Halloween edition of WWE Smackdown, ROH on Sinclair with all sorts of fun, and TABLE FOR 3 with BO DALLAS, SAMOA JOE AND NEVILLE. A fun show as always so check it out~!
– Air Date: October 29, 2015 (Oct 28 in Canada) – Location: Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, AZ
The Big News:
Cesaro got pinned again as the Wyatts defeated him, Dean Ambrose and Ryback in the main event. Also, Natalya returned unceremoniously, and the U.S. Title might have a new name.
Show Recap:
“Halloween Smackdown” means pumpkins on the stage and orange graphics and lighting instead of blue.
The show started with a ridiculous recap of the Wyatts taking out Undertaker and Kane. Rich Brennan did the voiceover, claiming that the Wyatts escaped with the souls of Taker and Kane. I know it’s Halloween, but this is still a real storyline that will continue beyond October 31st.
Bray Wyatt did a promo backstage, claiming to own the souls of Taker and Kane. He had what looked like Taker’s hat. Bray challenged any three brave souls to go against his three monsters. Rowan said he couldn’t dress up for Halloween as a kid because he was told it was too sinful. Ok. Harper said they weren’t costumes, evil is very real. Bray gave his condolences to whoever takes the challenge, and pulled out Kane’s mask. Strowman told them to run.
Roman Reigns came out and they recapped his win over Bray at Hell in a Cell, as well as the fourway win on Raw. Reigns said he’s had one goal since day one, to win the WWE Title. He’s been knocked down along the way but he’s back in the fight and now he’s the number one contender. He said Rollins is the only man in his way, and there’s no one who wants him to fail more.
That brought out Kevin Owens. (There was a sloppy edit here. Owens’ music hit and the crowd reacted audibly as they usually do for him, but the camera was still on Reigns who didn’t react and the crowd didn’t budge. Most likely, they cut out some of Reigns’ promo and just didn’t put this together properly.)
Owens said Reigns stole one from him on Raw and sarcastically encouraged the fans to cheer for him. Owens said Reigns didn’t overcome any odds, it was a fluke, because Owens was a split second away from hitting a pop-up powerbomb and winning the match, “and you can believe that.”
Reigns, who just talked about getting screwed earlier this year by Rollins and Bray, said Owens was just making excuses. He said his win on Raw was all skill and challenged “Talk Owens Talk” to a fight. Owens got in the ring and went face-to-face with Reigns. He hesitated but accepted the match.
Non-Title: Roman Reigns beat IC Champion Kevin Owens via countout
There were dueling chants of “Let’s Go Roman” and “Fight Owens Fight.” After a break, Owens gained control after hit a fallaway slam into the barricade. Damn. Reigns came back with clotheslines in the corner and a big boot. Lawler pointed out that the boot was something new from Reigns. Owens hit a back drop and superkick for a two count, but Reigns popped back with a leaping clothesline.
Owens bailed so Reigns went after him and tossed him back in the ring. Owens was able to hit a German for a two. Reigns then knocked Owens to the outside of the ring with a superman punch. Owens was able to get up well ahead of the 10 count, but grabbed his title and walked out through the crowd for the countout. The match was fine but the walkout finish was telegraphed from the beginning. The crowd was into Reigns.
Backstage, Renee Young, dressed as Tinker Bell I think, got ready to interview Dean Ambrose. Ambrose introduced himself as “ruggedly handsome Dean Ambrose” before Renee could say anything. Renee froze, so Ambrose asked himself a question, “Are you going to accept Bray Wyatt’s challenge?” Ambrose answered yes. He said he exorcises demons and smashes zombies, and was going to take down the Wyatt family.
Bo Dallas, dressed as a ghost, tried to scare Renee Young but it didn’t work. He said someone would be scared by the end of the night. He said “boo-lieve” instead of “bo-lieve.” Because it’s Halloween.
Fatal Four Way Tag-Team Match: Lucha Dragons beat Ascension, Dudley Boyz and Sheamus & King Barrett via pinfall
Big E and Kofi Kingston came out before the match wearing unicorn horns on their foreheads and shamed the competitors in the ring because they weren’t wearing costumes and don’t believe in magic. They joined commentary and Kingston told Booker he could be old school Kofi Kingston. Booker did a bad Jamaican accent, so Kingston told him to go back to being Booker T.
The faces sent the heels to the outside and, in his generic play-by-play voice, Big E said, “The good guys are rallying!” After a break, New Day begged Brennan to take off his headset, and he did. Sin Cara came in on a hot tag and made a nice comeback but Barrett and Sheamus broke up a pin attempt. Bubba and D-Von held down the heels for the “whassup” headbutt spot, with the Lucha Dragons hitting the diving headbutts.
The Dudleys then launched the Lucha Dragons over the top onto the Ascension. Sheamus and Barrett ran away, so the Dudleys dumbly ran after them, allowing the Kalisto to get the pin on [Ascension member] for the win. It wasn’t a number one contender’s match, but they made it seem like the Lucha Dragons would be next in line. New Day danced to the Lucha Dragons’ theme.
Backstage, Dean Ambrose ran into somebody who was off-camera. He asked if they were dressed as Lex Luthor, the Transporter or James Bond. It was Cesaro, who said that’s just how he dresses. He compared Ambrose to Mad Max and Ambrose responded “This is a nice jacket, alright?” Ambrose wanted him to swing the Wyatts, unless he’s afraid. Cesaro said he’ll be the scariest guy out there. They made some Halloween movie references before Ambrose left. Bo Dallas tried to scare Cesaro, but Cesaro put on his shades and walked away.
Trick Or Treat Street Fight: Dolph Ziggler beat The Miz via pinfall
Jack-o’-lanterns surrounded the ring apron and they had some other decorations around the ring. Miz grabbed a toy lightsaber so Ziggler grabbed a kendo stick and got in a couple of shots. Ziggler also made Miz bob for apples and put a pumpkin over his head. Ziggler then superkicked the pumpkin which shattered.
After all the comedy, we had to get serious for a minute, because Miz pushed Ziggler into the steel steps and used the kendo stick and a chair on his leg. Miz tried a figure four but Ziggler countered into a small package for the win. Nothing match. (Ok, Ziggler superkicking the pumpkin off Miz’s head was funny.)
As Ziggler sold his leg, Tyler Breeze came out with Summer Rae. Ziggler attacked him, but Breeze used the kendo stick and stomped away until referees broke it up. Breeze broke through and attacked him again until the refs broke it up one more time. No heat for this.
Paige beat Natalya via pinfall
Uh, so I guess Natalya’s fine. She did an inset promo saying she doesn’t know who attacked her, but Paige can’t treat people the way she has and Natalya would make her pay. The bell rang and Paige immediately hit a superkick. Natalya came back with a clothesline and German, sending Paige to the outside.
Team B.A.D. came out to Sasha Banks’ music. Banks did all the talking, mocking Nattie for getting attacked and said she has their attention. The distraction allowed Paige to hit RamPaige for the win. Team B.A.D. attacked Natalya after the match, concluding with a Bank Statement. Natalya tapped. Booker T, who has two working legs, said someone should go in there and do something about this.
Backstage, Ryback told Ambrose he’d join their team.
Non-Title: U.S. Champion Alberto Del Rio (w/Zeb Colter) beat R-Truth via pinfall
Before the match, Alberto Del Rio and Zeb Colter basically said the U.S. Title is now the MexAmerica Title. Colter called it official. This didn’t get much of a reaction. Del Rio won quickly with a double foot stomp off the top. Meh.
Backstage, Bo Dallas (still in ghost costume) hid in a box. Mark Henry walked by and Bo popped out of the box to scare him. It worked, so Henry knocked him out. The box closed on Bo, who is presumably (hopefully) dead. Henry picked up his phone and walked away. This was amusing.
The Wyatt Family (w/Bray Wyatt) beat Dean Ambrose, Cesaro & Ryback via pinfall
Ryback ripped Luke Harper’s shirt, which seemed to annoy Harper, so he tagged in Strowman. Ryback attacked him but Strowman managed to hit a vertical suplex. After a break, Wyatts had the heat on Ryback. Ryback hit a spinebuster and made the hot tag to Ambrose. Ambrose went wild, sending both Harper and Rowan to the outside, followed by a top rope elbow drop.
Rowan cut off Ambrose with a spinning kick, but he made the hot tag to Cesaro who hit uppercuts and a dropkick to Harper. Cesaro then did uppercuts outside the ring to Rowan and Harper as the crowd cheered. Cesaro applied a crossface on Harper, but Strowman pulled him out of the ring. Ambrose caught Strowman with a suicide dive but he remained on his feet. Ryback then flew in and took Strowman out over the announce table.
Ambrose hit Rowan with a rebound clothesline and Harper took out Ambrose with a superkick. Cesaro nailed a spinning springboard uppercut on Harper and went for the swing, but Strowan rose from the dead and tossed the table on its side. This distracted the referee, so Bray punched Cesaro and Harper finished him off with a discus clothesline for the win.
Final Thoughts:
A pretty normal Smackdown show that also had pumpkins.
The main event was good but they should probably find something more productive for Dean Ambrose.
Smackdown spoilers from tonight’s show in Phoenix, AZ.
Bray Wyatt came out holding Undertaker’s hat and Kane’s mask and challenged any three guys to come out and face his team.
Roman Reigns beat Kevin Owens via count out when Owens walked out after being hit with a Superman punch.
Renee Young interviewed Dean Ambrose, who said he would face the Wyatts. Young was dressed like a fairy for Halloween. Bo Dallas then showed up trying to scare her, dressed like a ghost.
The Lucha Dragons won a four-way over The Ascension, The Dudleys and King Barrett & Sheamus. The Dudleys brawled with Barrett & Sheamus to the back.
Cesaro said he would face the Wyatts.
Dolph Ziggler beat The Miz in a trick or treat street fight. The ring was surrounded by Halloween themed objects including a number of pumpkins. Ziggler put a pumpkin on Miz’s head and superkicked him. Tyler Breeze attacked Ziggler after the match until it was broken up by the referees.
Paige beat Natalya. After the match, Sasha Banks & Naomi & Tamina all beat down Natalya.
Alberto Del Rio & Zeb Colter came out and said that the U.S. title would represent both the U.S. and Mexico.
Alberto Del Rio beat R-Truth with the double foot stomp off the top.
Luke Harper & Erick Rowan & Braun Strowman beat Ryback & Dean Ambrose & Cesaro. Wyatt interfered and Harper pinned Cesaro. Reigns ran in on the Wyatts after.
– Air Date: October 22, 2015 – Location: Frank Erwin Center in Austin, TX
The Big News:
Tyler Breeze made a strong debut.
Show Recap:
Smackdown started with a cold open – Seth Rollins walked around backstage wearing a smile, until he ran into a gleeful Kane and stopped smiling. Rollins and asked why he’s here if he’s been suspended and Kane said his suspension was just for Raw.
Rollins told Kane he should enjoy his last night as director on Smackdown. Kane told him the fans will get one last chance to see Rollins as champion and he will open the show against a mystery opponent. Kane told Rollins not to feign another injury because you never know who will show up to stop him.
Kane kept walking and greeted Kofi Kingston and Big E, who looked very upset. Kane loved New Day’s positivity but they were both upset over their precious Xavier Woods going through a table on Raw. They both wore poorly made “XW” armbands in Woods’ honour. Kingston said they were supposed to be three unicorns spreading magic throughout WWE, but now they’re only two unicorns.
Kane faked playing a sad trombone (Xavier Woods must be spinning in his grave) and put them in a match against Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns. New Day didn’t like this idea so Kane did the sad trombone noise again and left. Kane did this poorly and Kingston made sure to point that out. Kingston and Big E were great. Somewhere in here, Big E said Kane wasn’t the D.O.O. (Director of Operations), he was “B.O.O… T.Y. Booty!”
Seth Rollins beat Cesaro via pinfall
Rollins escaped a crossface early and bailed. He grabbed his title and they showed Stardust and The Ascension watching the match from the first row. Rollins began walking out, but as the referee’s count got to eight, he jumped back in the ring. Cesaro hit him with uppercuts and a dropkick and Rollins bailed again. Cesaro went after Rollins but Rollins tossed him into the barricade and steel steps.
Rollins had the heat after the break and hit a flying knee. Rollins went to the top but Cesaro dropkicked him to the outside and followed with a running uppercut. Cesaro posed in the crowd and they cheered loudly, including Stardust whose reaction was great. Cesaro caught him with a flying crossbody in the ring for a nearfall. Rollins connected with an enzuigiri and superkick for two.
Cesaro came back with a pop-up uppercut and followed with a crossface but Rollins squirmed to the ropes. Cesaro tried a superplex but Rollins slid out, wiped out Cesaro by the feet, and hit a pedigree for the win. This was really good. The finish was a little abrupt but the champ winning clean with his finisher is not a bad thing.
Backstage, Renee Young interviewed The Miz about interviewing Summer Rae and Dolph Ziggler. Miz said Summer had a huge announcement that would be trending everywhere. He asked Renee who does her hair and, before she could answer, told her to call his people.
They aired a video for their [corporate sponsor] cancer awareness month. It was actually a nice video and people cheered.
In the ring, Paige said she’s been accused of attacking Natalya but nobody believes that she didn’t do it. Paige said she only cares about the opinion of two people, Charlotte and Becky Lynch, and called them out. Paige started to ramble so Becky told her to hurry up and finish her empty speech.
Paige claimed to be sincere when she said she was happy that Charlotte and Becky got called up. Becky reminded Paige that she said Charlotte only won the title because of her father and called Becky irrelevant. Paige admitted she said some mean things but they’re a family.
Charlotte stopped her there and said she couldn’t understand where Paige was coming from. She said Paige should understand what it’s like winning your first [women’s] title but Paige was making it about herself again.
Team Bella interrupted. Nikki said nothing got in her way when she was champion and Brie asked if this was Smackdown or an episode of Pretty Little Liars. They cut to the ring and Paige mouthed “I don’t even know what that is.” Nikki called Charlotte “little miss Flair” and Paige “baby Beetlejuice.”
Nikki said she would win her title back, and Charlotte reminded her who the champion was. Charlotte offered to put the title on the line right now, but Paige stepped in and said Nikki would have to face her instead. Nikki accepted. Paige, Charlotte and Lynch were good here. The Bellas were the Bellas. Fox said nothing.
Nikki had the heat for a while but Paige came back with knees in the corner and a superkick. Nikki used the tights to toss Paige into the ropes and tried a cover holding the tights for a two count. Nikki hit a spinebuster and went for the rack attack but Paige tried a roll up with the tights for two. Paige followed with a fallaway slam for two.
Nikki came back with an Alabama Slam for two. Booker called it a sidewalk slam. Nikki tried an elbow smash, Paige ducked and tried another superkick, but Nikki countered into the elbow and nailed the rack attack for the win. Good match. Aside: Nikki’s pants are impossibly small and she looked down at her own boobs about five times.
The Miz was out for MizTV. He called out Ziggler and asked what it’s like to be tossed aside. Ziggler said Lana can do whatever she wants, but Summer was using him and he didn’t want any part of it. Miz called her out. Summer said it’s clear she proposed to the wrong man. Ziggler stopped her and said “I’m just not that into you, bro.” Summer laughed and said she was over Ziggler and she found a real man, which brought out the debuting Tyler Breeze.
Breeze came out in purple with his full entrance and selfie stick. He didn’t get a big reaction but people were chanting NXT. Breeze accused Ziggler of being stuck in 1985 because of his outfit and called himself the Gorgeous One, the King of Cuteville and the Sultan of Selfies, but introduced himself to Ziggler as Tyler Breeze.
Breeze said when he heard his Summer was being mistreated by some uggo (ugly person), he had no choice but to fly in from Monte Carlo to be with her. People chanted “Tyler’s gorgeous.” Breeze said he and Summer would give WWE a facelift and they took a selfie, which showed up on the big screen. “Prince Pretty has arrived.”
Ziggler said he’s seen guys like Breeze come and go and called him a lazy millennial. Breeze attacked him with a forearm for saying something so stupid and they brawled. Breeze got the better of it when he put Ziggler’s throat against the selfie stick and smashed it into a turnbuckle. He beat down Ziggler some more until referee broke it up. Breeze hit a spinning heel kick and took another picture with Summer. This was a good debut and it seems like the WWE crowd will get into Breeze as a heel if they keep him strong.
Sheamus & King Barrett (w/Rusev) beat The Lucha Dragons via pinfall
In an inset promo, Barrett said he and Sheamus have shared plenty of pints and have had many scraps, but they always emerge victorious when fighting back-to-back. Sheamus said they’ve decided to take their arse-kicking stills off the street and into the ring. Rusev screamed about crushing their opponents on Sunday. Barrett and Sheamus were amused.
Heels worked over Sin Cara until he tagged Kalisto who did his usual impressive-looking offense on Sheamus. The highlight of the match came next. Sin Cara went for a dive on Barrett to the outside, but Rusev ran and aggressively pushed Barrett out of the way, and Sin Cara splatted onto the mats. Kalito then hit a dive on Rusev as he argued with the referee.
Kalisto avoided an attack by Barrett but Sheamus caught him with a Brogue kick for the win. The finishing sequence was great and I like this heel trio. Kalisto was impressive too.
The announcers pushed the WWE Network and explained why you’re stupid if you order Hell in a Cell on pay per view.
Ryback beat Bo Dallas via pinfall
Bo cut a dumb promo about nothing before the match until Ryback interrupted. I was hoping Ryback would just kill him but they actually had a match scheduled. Bo got some offense, which is too much offense, but Ryback beat him with a clothesline and shell shocked.
Backstage, Kevin Owens told Renee that Ryback is a freak of nature and shows respect for previous champions. Owens said he’s not like that, but he’s the champion and asked Renee what that says about him. Renee said arrogance can be a dangerous tool. Owens said she can call it arrogance, but it actually means he’s better than Ryback. Owens said, as far as he’s concerned, the Intercontinental Title didn’t exist before he had it. HIAC would be the Kevin Owens Show and he will walk out as champion. Good promo.
They aired a video for Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker
Non-Title: Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose beat WWE Tag-Team Champions Kofi Kingston & Big E via pinfall
Kingston touched his “XW” armband and pointed to the sky. Ambrose chopped Kingston and Big E yelled, “Protect yourself, Kofi!” Reigns tagged in and got a nice reaction and hit Kingston with a clothesline. Kingston immediately tagged out and Big E did his little dance at Reigns.
They went back and forth but Big E got the heat after pushing Reigns off the ring into the barricade. Reigns waited until after a commercial break to battle back and tag in Ambrose, who nailed a dive on Big E outside the ring. Kingston used a referee distraction to take out Ambrose and New Day regained control.
Kingston played hopscotch before doing his jumping leg drop. He tried a crossbody but Ambrose ducked and tagged in Reigns. Reigns used clotheslines in the corner and took out Big E with an apron dropkick. He gave Kingston one too, but used the announce table.
Ambrose hit a missile dropkick on Big E and both New Day members were sent to the outside. They bailed and went backstage, but The Dudleys backed them towards the ring. Ambrose and Reigns used a doomsday device on Big E, Reigns hit Kingston with a superman punch and spear for the win. This was fun.
Reigns and Ambrose posed and it seemed like the show was about to go off the air, but Bray Wyatt appeared on the screen. Bray said Reigns can’t outrun his fear and would see him in hell.
Final Thoughts:
Thumbs up for this show. Good wrestling up and down, and Tyler Breeze’s debut was well done. I’m also glad they did it on Smackdown instead of Raw.
Submitted by Travis Banks from the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, TX
Pre-Show Notes:
– Arena is roughly 3/4 empty. Maybe 4000 total in attendance. Security telling everyone to only stand and make noise during entrances.
Dark Match:
– Dudley Boyz def. The Ascension with the 3D
– Mark Henry def. Brad Maddox with the World’s Strongest Slam. Henry gives his shirt to his family in the crowd.
Main Event:
– Sasha Banks w/ Team BAD def. Brie Bella w/ Team Bella with the Bank Statement
– Braun Strowman and Erick Rowan def. The Prime Time Players with a Strowman bearhug on Titus
– WWE Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens def. Neville with a Pop Up Powerbomb. During the match, Owens tried to run around ringside and hide. Security forced anyone who stood up to sit back down, some almost violently.
Smackdown:
– Show begins with Seth Rollins arriving backstage. He is booked in a match against a mystery opponent by Corporate Kane. New Day asks Kane for the Dudleys but get booked against Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose.
– WWE Champion Seth Rollins def. mystery opponent Cesaro with the Pedigree. Stardust is in the crowd in the “Stardust Section”.
– Paige is out to explain that she didn’t attack Natalya last week. She invites Becky and Charlotte out, and they accuse Paige of being jealous. Bellas come to the stage and ask if they’re watching Pretty Little Liars. Paige challenges Nikki to a match, which is next.
– Miz TV with Dolph Ziggler and Summer Rae is announced. Miz is backstage with Renee Young and says Summer has a bomb to drop.
– Nikki Bella def. Paige with the Rack Attack. Both have their teams at ringside but neither get involved.
– Miz TV with Dolph Ziggler and Summer Rae. Summer introduces her new man, Tyler Breeze. He says he and Summer Rae of Sunshine will give WWE a makeover. Dolph calls Breeze a lazy millennial but Breeze attacks and does a beatdown.
– Sheamus and Wade Barrett (w/ Rusev) def. The Lucha Dragons with a Brogue Kick.
– Ryback def. Bo Dallas. Owens is interviwed backstage and says he is better than Ryback and will prove it Sunday.
– Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose def. New Day with a spear on Kofi. Post match Bray Wyatt on the tron tells Roman he will see him in hell.
After the show Wyatt and Rowan come out and fight Reigns and Ambrose and get thrown out of the ring.
It’s the weekend BRYAN AND NO VINNY SHOW, coming to you from beautiful Malibu, CA! Two big shows to review, Smackdown with the latest build to Hell in a Cell and Ring of Honor with a great opening match, some wacky characters and a TV Title defense in the main event. And is Brent getting married? Find out. A fun show as always so check it out~!
There were lots of “New Day Sucks” chants and of course plenty of “Whoo!” yells. The hard camera area was tarped off, along with a few other rows and the entire upper bowl.
Dark Match —
– Tyler Breeze beat Damien Sandow. Damien is finally is just Damien. Breeze hit the Beauty Shot for the win in about four and a half minutes.
Smackdown —
Roman Reigns beat Bo Dallas
Before the match, Bo cut a promo about Roman’s match with Bray Wyatt at Hell in a Cell, and mentioned going to Suplex City. He told Roman the only way he would leave Hell in a Cell is on a stretcher. Bad move. After some initial offense by Bo, Roman ended up destroying him in five minutes… Big Pop for Reigns. Roman cut a promo about the Hell in a Cell Match. Several in Cincinnati gave him the “What?” treatment. Bray appeared on the Titantron, and said that next Monday he will make a promise of some sort. “Anyone but you.” That was it.
King Barrett and Sheamus beat Cesaro and Neville
After a couple great false finishes down the stretch, it ended when a ref distraction by Sheamus with the MITB briefcase, allowing Barrett to hit the Bull Hammer on Cesaro, then Sheamus pinned him…
Summer Rae was interviewed regarding being a special referee for Rusev vs Dolph Ziggler. She promised to be impartial.
WWE Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens beat Zack Ryder
Ryback was out at ringside. This was the expected Owens squash in about three minutes. Afterward, Ryback rushed the ring and then Owens bailed quickly.
Dolph Ziggler beat Rusev with Summer Rae as special referee
Summer called it down the middle at first, but then gave Ziggler the faster count and either wouldn’t count pins or gave slow counts for Rusev. It ended with Summer slapping Rusev, leading to Dolph hitting Zigzag for the fast three count. Post match, Summer cut a promo, saying Lana and Rusev did them dirty. Summer ended up asking Ziggler if she could be with him…which led him to saying no because, as he said it, “When it comes to those kind of games, I’m not playing them.”
The Dudleys and Dean Ambrose did a backstage interview for the main event. The Dudleys put over Dean as combustible. They hyped the Hell in a Cell Tag Team Championship match, then Dean went for the cheap hometown pop and ended by saying New Day was going to get 3D’ed.
After a Susan Komen video, Prime Time Players came out for the next match.
Braun Strowman and Luke Harper beat The Prime Time Players
Hard hitting match, but I knew how it would end. Sure enough, Harper and Strowman won by submission in about five minutes…
WWE Divas Champion Charlotte (w/Becky Lynch) beat Alicia Fox (w/Nikki Bella, Brie Bella) in a non title match
Team BAD was shown backstage watching. Charlotte won with a Figure Eight in about four minutes. After the match, Team Bella started a beat down of Charlotte and Lynch until Paige ran out to make a save
A backstage segment showed Paige repeatedly saying she would make everything up to Becky and Charlotte. We soon saw why as Natalya was found laid out in another room.
The Dudley Boyz and Dean Ambrose beat WWE Tag Team Champions New Day by DQ
Before the match, New Day cut a promo talking about all of the people they’ve put down in the past. As usual, Cincy blew the roof off US Bank Arena for Dean Ambrose and the hometown boy soaked it in. The match was a normal six-man tag until New Day used the trombone to cause the DQ and laid waste to the Dudleys. No save by Ambrose. A replay followed and the New Day stood tall concluding the Smackdown taping.
Dark Main Event —
Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns beat Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper
Reigns took the punishment for much of the match until he could explode out of the corner with a clothesline and make the hot tag. Ambrose cleaned up from that point onward, except a brief comeback by the Wyatt Family. It ended with Reigns spearing Wyatt while Dean hit Dirty Deeds on Harper for a pin in about seven minutes.
