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Tag: smackdown

  • WWE Smackdown results (10/8): Roman Reigns & Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt & Braun Strowman

    – Air Date: October 8, 2015 (Oct 7 in Canada)
    – Location: Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA

    The Big News:

    The Smackdown main event ended with a non-finish. Also, they let us know what happened on Raw.

    Show Recap:

    They announced Roman Reigns and Randy Orton against Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman.

    The New Day came out and they recapped the big angle from Raw. Kofi Kingston said John Cena, Dolph Ziggler and The Dudleys could not stop the power of positivity. They claimed to be more dominant than The Shield, Wyatts, Nexus, The Corre, Los Boricuas, Legion of Doom and nWo.

    Woods said Philly knows nothing about being champions. He said Eagles head coach Chip Kelly called them asking for advice after losing to the Washington [football team]. They called the Eagles booty.

    Kingston said the Dudleys conned their way into another title shot. Big E said they would defeat the disgusting and dirty Dudleys and they changed New Day rocks. Dolph Ziggler interrupted, calling them the three stooges. Ziggler said they cost him a chance at the U.S. title against his “good friend” John Cena.

    Ziggler said he asked the Authority for a match with Big E, and he referenced their past together. Woods wished him luck and insincerely said it would be a fair fight. Ziggler said “you’re damn right it will be” and the Dudleys came out. Good opening segment.

    Big E (w/New Day) beat Dolph Ziggler (w/Dudley Boyz) via pinfall

    Ziggler immediately hit a dropkick and jumping DDT, but Big E escaped the ring and they went to commercial. Big E had the heat after the break as Kingston and Woods yelled and did mock commentary. Big E went shoulder-first into the post and Ziggler hit (missed) a fameasser for two.

    Big E came back with a belly-to-belly and a jumping splash. Ziggler hit a superkick, but everything came apart after that. New Day sent Bubba into the steel steps, distracting D-Von. Kingston bounced Ziggler off the rope and D-Von took out Woods. Big E covered Ziggler and Kingston held Ziggler’s foot down, allowing Big E to pick up the pinfall win.

    Big E winning makes sense to keep their momentum going from Raw, but Ziggler might be getting the next U.S. title shot and looked really weak here. Worse than that, as New Day posed on the ramp, the Dudleys and Ziggler just stood there watching after getting their asses beat on Raw.

    They recapped Big Show vs. Brock Lesnar at MSG. They followed by letting us know a Raw recap would air after commercial. After the break, they replayed the Lesnar/Show stuff from Raw and also the Summer Rae/Rusev angle.

    Backstage, Summer talked about her future wedding plans with the makeup women. Rusev joined and told them to leave. He asked Summer why she’s telling everyone about their engagement when they had a plan for Rusev to win gold first. Summer said she got Rusev a match with Ryback, presuming that if he wins he’ll be first in line for the Intercontinental title. Rusev liked this and hugged her. As Summer left, he smacked her ass. Rusev seemed pleased.

    Charlotte, Becky Lynch & Natalya beat Team Bella via submission

    They said that Charlotte and Lynch would get to pick their partner, and the announcers had to act like they didn’t know who it would be, as if there’s anyone else it could have been. Jerry Lawler said no woman has ever had a friend that she didn’t dislike a little. Ok.

    The heels worked over Lynch forever until she made the hot tag to Charlotte, who was quickly cut off with a kick off the middle rope by Nikki. Charlotte came back with a spear and applied the Figure Four but was kicked by Brie, allowing Nikki to reverse the hold. Natalya clotheslined Fox on the outside and Brie clotheslined Natalya. With the referee distracted, Lynch kicked Nikki, allowing Charlotte to apply the Figure Eight for the tap-out win.

    Total nothing match but at least Charlotte won over Nikki. This was the fourth straight 6-woman tag match they’ve done on Raw/Smackdown in the last two weeks, all involving the Bellas. Maybe do something else next week?

    Backstage, Renee Young caught up to Paige who was shown watching the match. Renee wanted to know her thoughts on “Team NBC.” Paige said it’s Team PCB and Nattie is horning in on her girls. Paige doesn’t like it and she doesn’t like Nattie.

    Ryback beat Rusev (w/Summer Rae) via pinfall

    Kevin Owens joined commentary and they announced that he would defend the IC title at Hell in a Cell against Ryback. Lawler asked Owens if he would run again and Owens asked Lawler if it looks like he runs anywhere.

    Brennan asked Owens about an interview he did with Renee who accused him of not being a proper Canadian. Owens asked Brennan if he gets tired of people telling him that he looks like Milhouse from The Simpsons. Owens said Rusev was motivated because the IC title brings money and prestige, not because he wants to marry Summer.

    The match was slow, but they did trade some impressive power moves. After going back and forth near the end, Rusev hit a superkick and went for the cover. Ryback’s foot was on the rope so Summer knocked it off. This didn’t matter, because not only did the referee not see any of it, but Ryback kicked out anyway.

    Rusev went for the Accolade but Ryback grabbed his leg and easily hoisted him up to hit shell shocked for the win. Unfortunately for Rusev, the finish made sense. Summer was upset that Rusev didn’t get the win.

    Before going to commercial, they again plugged that a Raw replay would air after the break. They always do this on Smackdown but they don’t usually do it more than once. The video package was for Seth Rollins/Kane.

    In his dark room backstage, Bray Wyatt said he and Roman would be trapped inside Hell in a Cell and Bray would put him down. Tonight, Roman and Orton would face the wrath of he and the black sheep. Strowman told a story about making rabbits run as a kid.

    King Barrett beat Neville via pinfall

    Barrett came out holding his crown and wasn’t wearing the goofy outfit. They did a quick video package for Barrett with clips of him laying people out with the Bull Hammer. Barrett got the heat almost immediately and Neville eventually came back with a top rope moonsault to the outside.

    Barrett tried Wasteland but Neville reversed into a DDT. Neville went up for Red Arrow but Barrett got up and got in between the ropes for safety. Neville went after him but the referee backed him off. This allowed Barrett to hit the Bull Hammer elbow for the win. If Barrett isn’t supposed to be in the ropes, why didn’t the referee get him out before he could hit his move? (I know, wrestling is fake.) Crowd was dead for this.

    In his dark room backstage, Stardust played Pick A Card by himself. The card he picked is presumably a reference to his next opponent (or partner, I couldn’t tell), but we didn’t see the card so who cares.

    Randy Orton & Roman Reigns beat Bray Wyatt & Braun Strowman via DQ

    Reigns did an inset promo before the match saying they’d be going to Hell in a few weeks so they can call tonight Purgatory. I think what he meant to say is that this match doesn’t matter because we just saw Team Reigns beat Team Wyatt on Raw, and Reigns is getting what he really wants at the pay per view. I could be wrong.

    They went to break after entrances, which is better than doing it a minute into the match. Orton and Bray started. Orton had his way with him so Bray tagged Strowman who got no reaction. Strowman knocked down Orton with a shoulder block so he tagged in Reigns who ate a shoulder block as well.

    Orton tagged himself in and they tried a double team move but Strowman knocked them both down with a double shoulder block. Strowman and Bray worked over Orton for a bit until he made the hot tag to Reigns. Reigns hit a flying clothesline but couldn’t get Strowman up for the Samoan drop. With Strowman on the apron, Reigns clubbed away at him and knocked him off the apron with a superman punch. Reigns then went after Bray and tossed him into the time keeper area.

    Reigns followed with an apron dropkick on Strowman but Bray hit him in the gut with a steel chair for a disqualification (this wasn’t actually announced). Bray hit him again with a chair and tossed him in the ring.

    Orton made the save but Strowman caught him with the hugging submission move. Reigns saved Orton and tossed Strowman to the outside. Bray tried Sister Abigail on Reigns but Orton saved him again, hitting an RKO. Reigns finished off Bray with a spear to send the fans home somewhat content.

    Final Thoughts:

    The opening segment was good and it’s a positive that they’re keeping the momentum going for New Day, who were the highlight of this show as usual. Unfortunately, that was it for them and the rest of the show was no good. Reigns speared Bray Wyatt through a table last week on Raw, defeated the Wyatt family this week on Raw, and laid out Bray again here tonight. Why are they having a Hell in a Cell match, exactly?

  • WWE Smackdown 10/6 spoilers: Randy Orton & Roman Reigns vs Bray Wyatt & Braun Strowman

    The New Day came out.  They showed the ending of Raw and talk about how they’ve destroyed everyone, Cena, Ziggler and the Dudleys.  Ziggler came out and said that they cost him his shot at the U.S. title.  He challenged Big E.  The Dudleys then came out as well and say they’ll make sure the match is fair.

    Big E beat Bubba Ray Dudley due to help from Kofi Kingston.

    Becky Lynch & Natalya & Charlotte beat Bella Twins & Alicia Fox.

    Ryback beat Rusev.

    The Wyatt family did a promo talking about the Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns Hell in a Cell match.

    King Barrett beat Neville.

    Stardust came out and cut a promo on Neville, so their program is continuing.

    Randy Orton & Roman Reigns beat Bray Wyatt & Braun Strowman via DQ when Wyatt used a foreign object.  The New Day attacked Reigns after the match and The Dudleys made the save, with the segment ending with the Dudleys putting Woods through a table.

  • WWE Smackdown 10/1 spoilers: Seth Rollins & Kane in six-man main event, new HIAC match announced

    Submitted by David Spalding

    Dark matches/taping:

    – Dolph Ziggler over Heath Slater.  Might have been a dark match.

    – Braun Strowman over Curtis Axel.

    – Cesaro over Bo Dallas with a sharpshooter.

    – Dean Ambrose over Wade Barrett with Dirty Deeds. 

    Smackdown —

    – Interview segment with Seth Rollings and Kane sets up New Day and Seth vs. The Demon Kane and Dudleys.  They are, in fact, doing the gimmick where Corporate Kane is injured and on crutches, but Demon Kane is totally fine.

    – Team Bad over Team Bella.   Sasha made Nikki tap out.

    – Ryback over WWE I-C Champion Kevin Owens by countout.

    – Lucha Dragons and Neville over Stardust and Ascension. 

    – Interview segment with the Wyatts and Roman Reigns to set up a challenge from Roman to Bray for a Hell in the Cell match at the HIAC PPV.

    – The Dudleys and Kane over WWE Tag Tean Chapions The New Day and WWE Champion Seth Rollins in a six-man tag.  Starts off with the Dudleys in a handicap match.  Corporate Kane was sitting ringside during the match and gets attacked by Seth and has to be taken to the back.  Kane comes back from commercial break as the Demon Kane before the finish happens. After the match Kane chokeslammed everyone involved in the match except for Seth.

    Notes:

    – Very bad attandance with about 60 percent blocked off with a tarp.

    – Advertised dark match of Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt and Seth Rollins didn’t happen.

  • WWE Smackdown 9/24 TV results and recap: Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins

    By Steve Khan, WrestlingObserver.com

    – Air Date: September 24, 2015 (Sept 23 in Canada)

    – Location: American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, TX

    The Big News:

    Dean Ambrose beat Seth Rollins, which will presumably leads to Kane against Rollins for the title. Also, Natalya confronted Paige but it didn’t go very well.

    Show Recap:

    They started with an almost 3 minute long recap of the Kane-Seth Rollins storyline. Kane was in the ring after the video and gleefully welcomed everyone to Smackdown. He said WWE was on fire and wanted to come back and help with the heat by using all his administrative experience. He announced Kevin Owens and Rusev against Ryback and Dolph Ziggler, as well as Luke Harper against Roman Reigns with all their friends banned from ringside.

    Before Kane could announce another match, Rollins interrupted. Rollins told Kane to cut the crap, comparing him to Bruce Banner. Kane invited him to talk in the ring, but Rollins called him crazy and complained about everything he went through at Night of Champions. Kane said he was watching at home on the network.

    Rollins freaked out about Kane dragging him under the ring, but Kane played dumb. They bickered back and forth for a while with Kane smiling through most of it. Rollins told Kane that he needs help. Kane announced Rollins against Dean Ambrose for tonight.

    Booker T said he has sources who say Kane has split personality disorder. Jerry Lawler called Booker and Brennan nuts for believing this and said Kane was just playing with everyone. I’m glad they cut to the announcers who attempted to explain the story.

    Roman Reigns beat Luke Harper via pinfall

    Harper came out to his singles music and video. Reigns got him up for a Samoan drop but Harper countered with a series of elbows to the head. Reigns basically no-sold it and came back with clotheslines in the corner. They went to the outside and Harper cut off Reigns with a big boot.

    In the ring, Harper followed with a senton, superkick and powerbomb, which Reigns kicked out of. Harper went for a discus clothesline but Reigns countered with a superman punch and spear for the win. Basic match and Reigns was booked to look strong. And by that I mean he no-sold most of Harper’s offense.

    Backstage, The New Day dunked a basketball on some guy. The guy initially saw it coming, so Big E gave Kingston a perfect alleyoop for the basket.

    6-Man Tag Match: The New Day beat Neville & The Lucha Dragons via pinfall

    New Day said they would put an end to the Dudley Boyz once and for all at the MSG show. They called Bubba “Booty Ray” and chanted “Save the tables.” Brennan said the the Dudleys came back for the tag titles, but Booker said they came back for the money. Uh, ok. Despite this being a 6-man, Woods took a moment to play trombone.

    With all three members of New Day on the outside, the three good guys hit dives — Neville and Kalisto hit moonsaults off the top and Sin Cara did a senton. Crazy spot. However, like Harper’s offense in the previous match, none of that mattered. Kingston distracted Sin Cara and Woods hit him with shining wizard for the abrupt win. New Day celebrated on the announce table and Woods played the trombone. This was fun despite the finish.

    Cesaro beat Bo Dallas via pinfall

    They showed a replay of Big Show beating Cesaro on Raw. I can see why they would do that if Show was having a match, but they didn’t have to show it here. Bo Dallas said he survived Suplex City but Cesaro can’t get off Big Show Boulevard. Bo said Cesaro should bo-lieve. Lame.

    Cesaro beat the crap out of Bo for a while until Bo was able to pull the ring skirt out from under Cesaro, who slipped and landed back-first against the edge of the ring. Bo took control and used a headlock. Cesaro got up and applied the same roll-up he did to Rusev last week on Raw and got the pinfall win. Another pretty abrupt finish.

    After the match, Cesaro went into the crowd next to a fan holding a “Cesaro Section” sign. I would’ve prefered Cesaro just kill Bo Dallas, but at least he won and was able to show off a bit.

    They recapped Charlotte’s title win at Night of Champions and her promo with Ric Flair from Raw. They didn’t show the Paige stuff.

    Charlotte and Becky Lynch came out. Lawler wondered where Paige could be and Brennan said, “She could be anywhere.” That’s nice. Charlotte said her title win was a dream scenario and put over Nikki as a great champion. She thanked Becky and the fans for believing in the revolution. That brought out Paige.

    Paige admitted she wasn’t a team player. She got in the ring and insincerely tried to apologize. Charlotte said Paige sucks at this. Becky tried to interrupt so Paige told her to shut up. Natalya interrupted and Paige called her a crazy cat lady.

    Natalya said she was proud of the new generation and thinks this is the best their division has ever been. Natalya said she’s excited, just like she was when Paige won the title for the first time. She likes Paige and doesn’t understand why they’re fighting.

    Paige said she’s better than Nattie, who let the revolution pass her by and is now just clinging on. Paige slapped Natalya and left. This was ok. I’m not sure why they didn’t just beat the crap out of Paige by the end of it.

    Ryback & Dolph Ziggler beat Rusev & IC Champion Kevin Owens (w/Summer Rae) via pinfall

    As Rusev did his warm-up before the match, Owens held up his title behind him. Ryback and Owens were in to start, but Owens tagged in Rusev. Rusev demanded Ryback tag Ziggler, so he did. (What a fighting babyface.) As Rusev beat up Ziggler in the corner, he yelled, “I beat you on Raw, I’m the best! I’m the best! I’m the best!”

    Lawler said, in WWE, a relationship is a success if it outlasts milk. Heels had the heat on Ziggler, who was able to hit Rusev with a jumping DDT. After a break, they still had the heat on him. Rusev used a scoop slam and tagged out. Owens hit a scoop slam and told Rusev to do another. Rusev tagged in but Ziggler slammed him instead. Ziggler slammed Owens too and made the hot tag to Ryback.

    Ryback made a brief comeback but Rusev cut him off with a spinning heel kick (he missed). Ryback used a spinebuster and knocked Owens off the apron. Rusev used the distraction to hit a superkick, but Owens grabbed his title and left. He pointed at the title and said “This is what matters!” Ziggler hit a superkick on Rusev and Ryback followed with shell shocked for the win. If you’re a fan of watching Ziggler sell, this is the match for you.

    There might have been something wrong with Rusev during the match. He kept talking to the referee and completely missed on the spinning heel kick.

    They aired a video package for Big Show.

    Backstage, Bubba told D-Von that he was tired of the New Day, especially “the kid with the trombone.” Renee Young asked them about New Day. Bubba said he knows she likes them, but they don’t care about the fans like they claim, and they don’t act like champions. D-Von said this isn’t about tables, this is about titles.

    Prime Time Players interrupted saying they were next in line. They seemed insincere and Bubba wanted to go after them, but D-Von stopped him.

    Elsewhere, Seth Rollins told Jo-Jo there’s something wrong with Kane and he needs help. He’s fine with facing Ambrose tonight because he’s destroyed him before and will do it again.

    Dean Ambrose beat Seth Rollins via pinfall

    During a break, Rollins hit Ambrose with a double foot stomp on the apron. Ambrose tried a dive but Rollins countered with a forearm and flying knee strike. Ambrose fired back with a million hard chops but Rollins countered with a superkick for two.

    Ambrose followed with a rebound clothesline, which Brennan called a “lunatic lariat.” Ambrose made his comeback, with chops, running forearm and double underhook suplex off the ropes. They traded small packages and Ambrose nailed a suicide dive.

    Ambrose did a fisherman suplex for two but Rollins came back with an enziguri and a slingblade. Rollins almost ran into the referee and used the distraction to thumb Ambrose in the eye and hit the turnbuckle bomb. The announcers called it like Ambrose was done, but Kane’s pyro went off and the lights when red. Ambrose used the distraction to apply a roll up for the win.

    They showed corporate Kane watching backstage on a monitor. A pissed off Rollins grabbed the mic and said Kane doesn’t know who he’s dealing with and referenced what he did to Sting at Night of Champions. Rollins said he would do the same to Kane and no matter what, he’s still the man and the WWE champion.

    Really good match, but perhaps they shouldn’t have given Ambrose the buckle bomb if he was just going to bounce back and get the win.

    Final Thoughts:

    Pretty much a normal Smackdown show with some good wrestling and nothing really important happening. I did like the 6-man and main event in particular.

    On a side note, Booker T is really awful on commentary. Lawler was better than usual tonight, perhaps because he spent so much time correcting Booker.

  • Smackdown Spoiler Report 9-22: Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins

    Kane came out live talking about how glad he was to be back at work.  He said the WWE was on fire.  He announced two matches for tonight, Kevin Owens & Rusev vs. Dolph Ziggler & Ryback, and Roman Reigns vs. Luke Harper with everyone banned from ringside.  Seth Rollins came out and told Kane to cut the crap, because everyone knows what he did last night.  Kane still pretended he was a different person.  He said he wanted to make up with Rollins, but Rollins turned him down.  Kane showed flashes of being a monster, and announced Rollins vs. Ambrose non-title as the main event.

    Reigns beat Harper with a spear.

    New Day beat Lucha Dragons & Neville. 

    The New Day pushed the 10/3 Network special and their match with the Dudleys for the title.

    Cesaro beat Bo Dallas.  Dallas did his usual promo.  Cesaro won with a roll-up.

    They showed clips of the Charlotte celebration and Paige turn from Raw.  Charlotte & Lynch came out and thanked everyone for their support.  Paige came out and took credit for everything saying she was the catalyst.  Natalya came out and asked Paige why she’s so mad because the Divas division is the best it has ever been.  Paige and Natalya argued and Paige slapped her and left.

    Ryback & Ziggler beat Rusev & Owens when Owens walked out on Rusev, who was pinned after Ryback hit the shell shock.

    The Dudleys cut a promo about the Madison Square Garden match with the New Day for the WWE Tag Team Titles.  The Prime Time Players wished them luck.

    Seth Rollins did an interview talking badly about Kane, not knowing Kane was right there watching it.

    Dean Ambrose beat WWE Champion Seth Rollins in a non-title match.  The finish saw Kane’s pyro distract Rollins, who was then pinned.

    Rollins cut a promo after, saying he was fed up and will make Kane’s life miserable if he keeps up the mind games.  The pyro went off again, and Rollins ran off scared while Kane was shown on the screen laughing.  

  • WWE Smackdown 9/17 TV results & recap: Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins & Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler vs. Kevin Owens, Bellabration

    By Steve Khan, WrestlingObserver.com

    – Air Date: September 17, 2015 (Sept 16 in Canada)
    – Location: Verizon Arena in Little Rock, AR

    The Big News:

    Big Show beat Cesaro clean, and they teased big dissension between Seth Rollins and Sheamus.

    Show Recap:

    Smackdown started with a video package of Sting’s first Raw match(es). They also announced Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins & Sheamus for tonight.

    Seth Rollins came out and said he would make history at Night of Champions when he successfully defends both of his titles against two legends. Crowd chanted “We want Sting.” Rollins said he would crush John Cena’s spirit and show why Sting is the past.

    Rollins moved onto tonight’s tag match. He’s fine with teaming with Sheamus because he’s the man and isn’t that worried. Rollins said he keeps his friends close and his enemies closer (zzz), which brought out Sheamus. Sheamus said Rollins doesn’t want him as an enemy.

    Sheamus claimed Rollins won’t see it coming when he cashes in. Rollins laughed and said it would hard not to see him coming. The crowd chanted “You look stupid,” and Sheamus yelled “R.T.H.!” — Respect the Hawk.

    Sheamus said he just wants them to be friends and would love a fight with Reigns and Ambrose. Immediately after saying he wanted to be friends, Sheamus said he would be scouting Rollins and would be the next WWE Champion whether Seth sees it coming or not.

    If this sounded like every opening segment ever, that’s because it was.

    Naomi & Sasha Banks (w/Tamina) beat Paige & Becky Lynch (w/Charlotte) via pinfall

    Team BAD came out to Naomi’s music. Rich Brennan plugged the upcoming NXT Iron Man match with Banks and Bayley. After a break, Team BAD had the heat on Lynch. Naomi and Banks did the Benjamin and Haas leapfrog guillotine spot, except they used the bottom rope.

    Lynch kicked away both heels and made the hot tag to Paige. Paige used knees and a superkick but was momentarily distracted by Banks on the outside allowing Naomi to roll her up for the win. Paige was pissed and the commentators discussed how poorly things are going for Paige lately.

    Backstage, Stardust said he and The Ascension would defeat Neville and the Lucha Dragons. He didn’t quite phrase it that way.

    The New Day came out with their usual protest signs. Big E had a sign that said “Wait for it…” on one side and “Booty!” on the other. Jerry Lawler seemed concerned by the “Broken Wood is No Good” sign.

    Xavier Woods said a table is a terrible thing to waste. He emphasized that the Dudleys were “boys” and they were disrespecting every man and wo-man. Woods said they were disrespecting one wo-man in particular — Mother Nature.

    Big E wanted to help the Dudleys by having them sign a petition to save the tables. The petition was on a wooden clipboard, which Kingston said was like a mini table. They chanted “Save the tables” but the Dudleys interrupted.

    Kofi Kingston (w/New Day) beat D-Von Dudley (w/Bubba Ray Dudley) via pinfall

    D-Von broke the clipboard over his knee and hit a flapjack on Kingston. Big E pulled out a table but Bubba tossed him down. Woods distracted D-Von so D-Von went after him. Kingston used the distraction to apply a school boy for the win. (Yes, this was basically the finish of the previous match.) New Day ran off with a table. New Day were entertaining as usual but the match was just an angle and it didn’t really get over.

    Backstage, Alicia Fox, Brie and Nikki Bella prepared for their “Bellabration.” Brie went over the checklist and Alicia said they got 298 champagne bottles shipped from France. That’s a lot of bottles. Brie said they would end up in Brie Mode. Nikki exclaimed “I’m such a queen!”

    Nikki had a few crazy demands, including the attendance of “Kim and Kanye.” Brie tried to tell her they weren’t coming but Nikki wouldn’t hear it. Nikki said they should be able to handle any issues and left. Brie and Alicia looked on concerned. All three were good in their roles as vacuous ninnies that nobody could possibly like. So this was… good, I guess?

    As Big Show walked backstage, The Miz handed him a confidential document. Miz politely asked him to looked at it and walked away. Show looked at the document, rolled his eyes, groaned, and tossed it away. Show’s total disgust towards Miz was amusing.

    Big Show beat Cesaro via pinfall

    Cesaro immediately hit a dropkick and proceeded to work over the arm. Show was able to overpower Cesaro and tossed him aside. Booker called Show “a giant guy” and Lawler said Show used Google Earth to take a selfie. Booker added something a bit more insightful when he said he’s known Show since he started and hasn’t lost a beat.

    Cesaro came back with uppercuts, a running knee and flying crossbody for two. Show went for a chokeslam but Cesaro countered and tried a Neutralizer, but Show used a back body drop and a KO punch for the win.

    As painful as it sounds, I can see why they protect Big Show, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of Cesaro. We know this already, and they obviously don’t care.

    Reigns and Ambrose were backstage and were interrupted by Renee Young, which seemed to annoy Ambrose. Renee said she was just doing her job and asked who their partner would be. Reigns wasn’t going to tell her but did say it was Ambrose who made the call. Ambrose said she would find out when the Wyatts do and they won’t be outgunned anymore. Reigns said they would beat Rollins and Sheamus tonight to prepare for war on Sunday.

    Kevin Owens beat Dolph Ziggler via DQ

    Rusev did an inset promo, calling Ziggler a sissy. He said Summer wasn’t impressed by skinny abs or gift bags but she would be impressed when he crushes Ziggler in half. Speaking of getting crushed, Owens gained control after hitting a senton to Ziggler’s back. Owens taunted Ziggler who tried to make a comeback, but Owens cut him off with a DDT.

    After a break, Ziggler fought out of a headlock and used a backslide for two and a Fameasser for two. Ziggler blocked a superkick and hit a jumping DDT for a near fall. Outside the ring, Owens used a fallaway slam, sending Ziggler into the barricade. Ziggler beat the 10-count so Owens tossed him into the post and over the barricade into the timekeeper area. Ziggler again beat the 10-count.

    Owens followed with a superkick and went for a powerbomb on the apron but Ryback ran out for the save. Ryback tried to get him with shell shocked but Owens bailed. They announced Owens as the winner by DQ and he seemed content.

    Brie and Alicia went over the guestlist for the Bellabration but realized that nobody was showing up. They blamed it on traffic.

    They plugged Connor’s Cure and played a video package.

    Outside of an arena boardroom, Nikki showed up for her Bellabration. Brie and Alicia tried to stop Nikki from going in, but she went in the room, opened her champagne and realized nobody was there. She freaked out and Brie/Alicia said they tried to warn her. They said they would try to fix it and left.

    Charlotte, Paige and Becky showed up (the latter two in party hats). Charlotte said Nikki wouldn’t be able to pull any crap at NOC and Paige told her not to eat too much cake. Team PCB left and Adam Rose showed up to tell Nikki that her party sucked. He left and Nikki tossed away her cake, which landed on Brie and Alicia.

    Elsewhere, Summer Rae asked if Ziggler was okay and asked about the expensive earrings he got her. Ziggler said he was done with the drama and wanted to let bygones be bygones. He said sometimes a rose is just a rose, but added, “sometimes it’s more.” So he’s not done with the drama.

    Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose beat WWE & US Champion Seth Rollins & Sheamus via pinfall

    Rollins was sent to the outside and Ambrose was about to go for a drive, but Rollins comically ducked. Ambrose just stopped at the ropes and Reigns clotheslined Rollins instead. That was funny. Ambrose then hit a dive on Sheamus and they went to commercial.

    Sheamus and Rollins argued during the break but were able to gain control after each tossed Ambrose into the barricade. As they worked over Ambrose, Booker said he would not be their mystery partner at NOC and wouldn’t answer the phone if they called.

    Ambrose came back with a swinging neckbreaker and made the hot tag to Reigns, who hit Rollins with a clothesline, shoulder block, Samoan drop and ten clotheslines in the corner. Rollins tried a school boy but Reigns countered into a one-armed powerbomb.

    Rollins used a chop block and superkick and tried to tag out, but Sheamus jumped off the apron. Rollins grabbed his briefcase so Sheamus went after it, allowing Rollins to tag him. Sheamus stalked Rollins on the outside, so Ambrose hit a suicide dive. Reigns hit Sheamus with a superman punch and Ambrose followed with Dirty Deeds for the win.

    The lights went out and they showed a Wyatt video package that emphasized on Strowman. Bray said it doesn’t matter who was foolish enough to join Ambrose and Reigns because they all fall down. This bit was good.

    Final Thoughts:

    This show was perfectly fine even if nothing terribly newsworthy happened. Paige turning seems like a lock unless they decide to swerve us.

  • WWE Smackdown spoilers: Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins & Sheamus

    Notes for Thursday’s show, taped in Little Rock, AK:

    – WWE Champion/U.S. Champion Seth Rollins came out for a promo and said on Sunday he would be beating two first ballot Hall of Famers.  He pushed the main event on the show: he and Sheamus against Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose. Sheamus noted that he could cash in his briefcase at any time.

    – Naomi & Sasha Banks b Paige & Becky Lynch when Naomi pinned Paige with an inside cradle.

    – Brie Bella and Alicia Fox were backstage preparing for the “Bellabration” of Nikki Bella’s setting the record as the longest reigning Divas champion of all time.

    – WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day cut a promo regarding their match with the Dudleys.

    – Kofi Kingston b Devon Dudley

    – Big Show b Cesaro with the knockout punch

    – Kevin Owens b Dolph Ziggler via DQ when Ryback attacked Owens

    – Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose b WWE Champion/U.S. Champion Seth Rollins & Sheamus when Ambrose pinned Sheamus with Dirty Deeds.

  • WWE Smackdown 9/10 TV results & recap: Seth Rollins vs. Ryback lumberjack match

    By Steve Khan, WrestlingObserver.com

    – Air Date: September 10, 2015 (Sept 9 in Canada)
    – Location: Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre, PA

    The Big News:

    The Wyatts took out another friend of Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins got his win back over Ryback.

    Show Recap:

    They announced the two main events for tonight, including a Seth Rollins vs. Ryback lumberjack match. They pushed this with a graphic reading “Champion vs. Champion” in big, gold lettering as if the titles are at stake, but they’re not.

    Bray Wyatt and his friends came out for a promo. Bray said Roman Reigns is sick—infected with the desire to become “the one.” Bray claimed that Roman didn’t care about the fans because he’s a smart man.

    Bray said Dean Ambrose is cursed, cursed by his loyalty to Reigns who doesn’t care about him. Bray warned anyone who wanted to join their team that they are the modern day Hatfields and McCoys, destined to fight forever.

    He reminded us what they did to Randy Orton and showed a clip. Bray warned Jimmy Uso not to make the wrong decision, “and you can believe that.” Braun Strowman finished off by saying, “They all fall down.” This was nothing special and the crowd didn’t care.

    The new commentary team is Rich Brennan, Booker T and Jerry Lawler.

    Cesaro beat The Miz via submission

    The Miz got an entrance. Cesaro did not. Cesaro’s ribs were taped so Miz took control working them over. Miz applied a weak leg scissor and Cesaro impressively countered into a vertical suplex. Miz regained control briefly, but after trying a running kick, Cesaro caught his leg and again did an impressive counter, this time into a Sharpshooter for the tap-out win. Short match.

    Backstage, Renee Young asked Ambrose and Reigns about Jimmy Uso. Reigns said it was Ambrose’s idea to bring in Jimmy Uso, but Reigns was hesitant to involve more of his family. Ambrose thought he was the perfect fit and said Jimmy got him so excited he almost painted his face. Jimmy showed up, excited to return to action. He and Ambrose did the “Uce-O” routine and Reigns looked at them like they were nuts.

    Paige NC Sasha Banks

    They showed a replay of the finish from Raw and said the shoulders of both women might have been down. In an in-set promo, Paige told Sasha it was time to tap. Sasha responded, saying she was the boss of this house. The teams almost got into a brawl before the match so the referee kicked out the peripherals.

    Booker and Brennan reminded us that Stephanie McMahon started this revolution and that women have taken the centre stage all over the sports world. Banks had control for a while and Paige started selling an eye injury. As the referee checked on her and backed off Banks, Paige shot out of the corner with a spear and attacked her wildly. The two of them brawled to the outside, ramming each other into the barricade.

    Eventually, Team BAD and Team PCB ran out to pull them apart. As with every wrestling brawl, Paige and Banks each broke through a couple of time until this was finally settled when referees ran out and Team BAD left. The crowd was into the brawl and we even got a “P-C-B” chant. I did like the angle, especially if Paige is turning heel.

    Backstage, Seth Rollins told Byron Saxton that Sting caused him to have, perhaps, the worst night of his career. Rollins screamed about the statue before calming down to explain that Sting is burying himself into a bigger hole. Rollins said he would crush Sting the way his statue was crushed.

    Rollins wanted the locker room to watch him beat Ryback to prove he only lost because of a distraction. He said he would beat Cena and Sting at Night of Champions when Sheamus showed up. Sheamus said something uninteresting and then wished Rollins luck. Same old.

    The New Day NC Jimmy Uso, Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns

    The crowd was pretty quiet to this point but there were loud “New Day sucks” chants here. Ambrose had control until he was cut off by a Big E clothesline. Kingston knocked Reigns off the apron so Ambrose tagged in Uso who hit Kingston with a superkick and Samoan drop.

    Ambrose took out Woods with a suicide dive and Uso took out Kingston and Woods with an Uso dive. With the referee distracted, Big E hip tossed Uso to the outside to regain control.

    After a break, New Day stomped a mudhole in Jimmy and Woods stopped in the middle of it to grab his trombone to play a few notes. Crowd popped for that. Xavier ran at Uso but ate a superkick and Reigns made the hot tag.

    Reigns hit Woods with ten clotheslines and an apron dropkick, clotheslining Kingston along the way. Big E tried to interfere so Reigns gave him a Samoan drop. Woods hit a spinning DDT on Reigns and presumably had him beat but Ambrose broke it up.

    Ambrose hit Dirty Deeds on Kingston, and a rebound clothesline to Big E on the outside. Reigns hit Woods with a superman punch and tagged in Jimmy Uso who went up for the big splash but the lights went out.

    When the lights came on, Strowman had Uso in his hugging maneuver on the stage (with Bray and Harper looking on). Ambrose and Reigns went after them but the lights went out and the Wyatts disappeared. Ambrose and Reigns checked on Jimmy as the phrase “They all fall down” played over the speakers.

    The Ascension (w/Stardust) beat The Lucha Dragons via pinfall

    Ascension came out with Stardust to their own music. Viktor gave Kalisto an STO and they used Fall of Man for the win. Ascension and Stardust attacked Lucha Dragons after the match so Neville ran out to make the save. He tossed out Konnor and Viktor and chased away Stardust. If they’re going to do a six-man they shouldn’t have killed the Dragons so easily.

    Backstage, Nikki Bella told Renee that Charlotte is jealous and afraid of her. Charlotte showed up and said none of those things are true. Charlotte asked if Nikki was excited because Nikki was about to become the woman who was almost the longest reigning champion ever. Charlotte said Nikki would be calling her champion after Monday. This is all they did to build the title match on Raw and it wasn’t good.

    Non-Title Lumberjack Match: WWE & US Champion Seth Rollins beat IC Champion Ryback via pinfall

    After Stardust and Ascension just ran away from Neville and the Lucha Dragons, they were all out here together as lumberjacks. Ziggler, Show, Henry, Dudleys and Owens were among the bigger names out there.

    Ryback was tossed to the outside and the heel lumberjacks jumped him for no reason. The good guys backed them off and they went to commercial.

    In the middle of his comeback, Show blatantly pulled Ryback out of the ring and tossed him into the barricade. This was not a DQ. Show knocked out Mark Henry for good measure. The good guys backed off Show and he left.

    Ryback knocked away some lumberjacks and nailed Rollins with a forearm to counter a suicide dive. Ryback gave him a spinebuster and sent him flying onto the babyface lumberjacks on the outside.

    The heel lumberjacks jumped Ryback again, this time in the ring, until the faces made the save. The Dragons hit suicide dives and Neville took out a bunch of them with a moonsault off the top.

    With everything presumably clear, Rollins and Ryback traded counters. Ryback had Rollins up for the shell shocked but Kevin Owens hooked Ryback’s leg (ref happened to be distracted) and Seth countered into a pedigree for the win.

    This match was nonsense. Booker called this a clean win.

    Final Thoughts:

    I was almost going to call this show a positive. I like that Paige is slowly losing it and the six-man tag was really good. But two non-finishes and a crappy, overbooked main event sure made the show feel like a waste.

  • WWE Smackdown 9/10 spoilers: Seth Rollins vs. Ryback with a stipulation

    From Wilkes Barre, PA:

    – The show opened with the Wyatt Family doing a promo, mostly just showing the clip from Raw where they took out Randy Orton.

    – Cesaro b The Miz with the sharpshooter.

    – Renee Young spoke with Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns and third man Jimmy Uso.

    – Paige NC Sasha Banks. Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Tamina, and Naomi were booted from ringside. Paige and Banks were brawling and two referees were trying to break them up.  Naomi and Tamina ran back out and attacked Paige. This brought Charlotte and Lynch back out and they were brawling until the referees tried to break them up. 

    – WWE Champion/U.S. Champion Seth Rollins did a backstage interview about Sting destroying the chocolate statue.  Sheamus came out and they argued as well.

    – WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day (all three) vs. Reigns & Ambrose & Uso looked to be a non-finish. The Wyatts destroyed Uso on the stage. Reigns and Ambrose tried to save him but the lights went out, Uso was laid out, and the Wyatts were gone.

    – The Ascension b Lucha Dragons due to distraction from Stardust and the fall of man. They were beating down the Lucha Dragons until Neville made the save

    – Renee Young interviewed Team Bella. Charlotte came in and said she would win the Divas title on Monday.

    – WWE Champion/U.S. Champion Seth Rollins b I-C Champion Ryback in a lumberjack match. Big Show interfered and attacked Ryback. Mark Henry then attacked Show. The Lucha Dragons did some dives and Neville did a moonsault out of the ring on the heel lumberjacks. Rollins then got the pin after the pedigree.

  • WWE Smackdown 9/3 TV results & recap: Cesaro vs. Sheamus, Reigns & Ambrose vs. The New Day

    By Steve Khan, WrestlingObserver.com

    – Air Date: September 3, 2015 (Sept 2 in Canada)

    – Location: AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, FL

    The Big News:

    Nikki Bella vs. Charlotte might be happening before Night Of Champions, and Cesaro lost again.

    Show Recap:

    The New Day came out to start the show holding up protest signs reading “Booty!”, “#SaveTheTables”, “#GivesTablesAChance”, and “Breaking Wood is No Good”. They said the pilgrims sat around a table and the Declaration of Independence was signed at at table. New Day even signed their contracts at a table, which gave everyone their current Tag Team Champions.

    Big E implored the crowd to chant “Save The Tables” to the tune of “New Day sucks” and it seemed like they did. The Dudleys interrupted. D-Von reminded them of another great tables moment, when they put Xavier Woods through a table last week. Bubba said history repeats itself and they would beat the New Day and become 10-time tag team champions.

    Prime Time Players came out. Titus O’Neil said you have to earn a title shot. Titus said PTP earned their shot and told the Dudleys to go to the back of the line. Bubba said they’re the Dudleys, they win championships and put people through tables.

    Titus and Darren threatened to send the Bubba and D-Von to Dudleyville. And then a match started.

    Dudley Boyz beat Prime Time Players via pinfall

    New Day joined commentary and Woods complained about Titus screaming for no reason when he’s on commentary. New Day took over commentary completely and Big E spoke like a generic sports play-by-play guy/Tom Phillips/Rich Brennen.

    The Dudleys used a back suplex/neckbreaker combo and Brennan called it a German into a neckbreaker. Woods immediately corrected him, screaming “That’s not a German suplex, that’s a back suplex!”

    Dudleys had the heat on Darren until he made the hot tag to Titus, who hit a big boot and scoop slam. Dudleys cut him off and hit a 3D pretty easily for the win. Different finish you’re used to see with two babyface teams. Dudleys basically outclassed PTP here.

    After the match, Kingston ran in the ring, slapped D-Von in the back of the head, and ran out with New Day as they carried away their bubble-wrapped table.

    They pushed that The Rock would be on Total Divas. I mean, there are clips of him with Eva Marie, so I guess that counts.

    Backstage, Renee Young caught up with New Day as they celebrated with their trombone. Renee told them they had a match, but they didn’t think so. She told them it was against Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose and they stopped celebrating, and Woods did the sad trombone.

    Stardust vs. Neville

    The match never happened. Stardust came out first, but as Neville made his entrance, The Ascension attacked him from behind. They tossed Neville into the ring, Stardust told him he’s flying too close to the sun, and Ascension finished him off with Fall of Man. “Welcome to the Cosmic Wasteland.” So this team is a thing now.

    Backstage, Cesaro told Jo-Jo he would bounce back from his loss to Kevin Owens but he was interrupted by Sheamus. Sheamus said Cesaro was good, just not good enough. He said all the fans want to see Cesaro reach the next level but he keeps letting them. Cesaro told Sheamus he looks stupid.

    Sheamus beat Cesaro via pinfall

    Sheamus grabbed the mic to tell the crowd they look stupid. Cesaro’s ribs were taped after slamming into the announce table on Raw. As Sheamus worked over Cesaro, the commentators discussed Night Of Champions as a good opportunity to cash in MITB since Seth Rollins has matches against both John Cena and Sting.

    Cesaro came back with uppercuts, alternating between both arms. He used a jumping uppercut with Sheamus sitting on the ropes and then dropkicked him out of the ring. Cesaro followed that with a running uppercut on the outside into the barricade.

    Sheamus came back with a shoulder thrust to the mid-section and a backbreaker. Sheamus used a cloverleaf but Cesaro rolled him up for a nearfall. Cesaro followed with a crossface and double foot stomp. He beat up Sheamus in the corner and the ref kept backing him off. Sheamus then popped out of the corner with a Brogue kick for the win.

    Good match. Cesaro looked good despite the loss, but he shouldn’t be losing, and this is three in a row in singles matches.

    Miz was out for MizTV and compared the situation with Dolph Ziggler, Lana, Summer Rae and Rusev to Days of Our Lives. Ugh. He showed a replay of what happened on Raw and brought out Summer who he called the real victim. Summer had a bruise the left side of her face, which Miz (eventually) attributed to the brawl on Monday.

    Summer said more happened in Ziggler’s locker room than she originally let on — that Ziggler kissed her. The crowd chanted “We want Lana.” Summer said it went from passion to guilt and she started crying. She called Rusev the most amazing man in the world but Ziggler seduced her and that’s why she ran.

    Ziggler and Lana came out. The graphic read “Dolph Ziggler with Lana” (instead of Dolph Ziggler and Lana) even though they were both guests on the show and Ziggler wasn’t coming out for a match.

    Anyway, Ziggler said he and Lana trust each other. Before Lana could say anything, Summer said herself and Dolph have been into each other for a while and showed a clip from June 2014 of Summer and Dolph making out after Summer ditched Fandango.

    Lana attacked Summer but Ziggler pulled her off and Lana left. Summer yelled “You bitch!” twice at Lana. It wasn’t on the mic but it definitely made TV. Summer and threw her shoe at Lana. This is all pretty dumb, but Summer has been pretty good this week. And I’m glad Rusev wasn’t really involved in any of this. Hopefully there’s a good pay off.

    Bo Dallas beat R-Truth via pinfall

    They showed a replay of Brock Lesnar tossing Bo around two weeks ago and the crowd chanted “Suplex City” at him. Bo eventually won with a rolling cutter variation with Truth hanging off the ropes. Meh. Bo Dallas beating anybody is hard to believe.

    They did a video package recapping the Beat the Clock stuff from Raw.

    Backstage, Renee introduced Charlotte and Team PCB to which Charlotte responded, “Thanks, woman.” Charlotte said that she couldn’t have gotten this shot without Paige and Becky Lynch. Paige said even though herself or Becky couldn’t get the shot, they were happy for Charlotte. Becky said they all won when Charlotte did. Charlotte said she would beat Nikki and do it with style and flair.

    Team Bella interrupted. Nikki said something. Charlotte said she asked The Authority to move their match to before Nikki is set to break the record. Nikki freaked. I’m glad they did this.

    Charlotte (w/Paige & Becky Lynch) beat Tamina (w/Naomi & Sasha Banks) via pinfall

    Tamina had control using power moves and the worst chop ever. Charlotte came back with a big boot, chops, neckbreaker, spear and Natural Selection for the win. Brennan made sure to call her finisher by name. After the match, Team Bella came out on the stage so Nikki could pose in front of the Bellatron 5000.

    They recapped the Sting/Seth Rollins/John Cena angle from Raw.

    Backstage, Kevin Owens said he silenced the Cesaro Section by beating him at SummerSlam and on Raw. Owen said he now wants to silence all of the wrestlers, fans and commentators who make fun of him for the way he looks. He’s been looked down on for 15 years but he still made it there on talent. Owens finished by saying “Feed me more,” and winked at Renee.

    Non-Title: Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns beat WWE Tag-Team Champions Kofi Kingston & Big E (w/Xavier Woods) via DQ

    Reigns tagged himself and and they hit Big E with a double vertical suplex. Big E came back with a belly-to-belly. Big E and Kofi tagged in and out while stomping on Reigns in the corner and Woods played the trombone in unison.

    Reigns hit a flying clothesline and tagged in Ambrose who used a bulldog on Big E. Ambrose nailed all three New Day members with a flying clothesline to the outside.

    During a commercial, they plugged the final 10 episodes of Monday Night War on the Network including a new interview with Eric Bischoff.

    After a break, New Day worked over Ambrose, but he came back with headbutts and a missile dropkick. Reigns made the hot tag and hit Kingston with a Samoan drop, clotheslines in the corner and side slam.

    Reigns used a one-armed powerbomb but Big E broke it up. Ambrose took out big E with a rebound clothesline and suicide dive. Reigns had the match won with a superman punch on Kingston but Woods broke up the cover for the DQ. Ambrose and Reigns took out the New Day, finishing it off with the assisted powerbomb spot on Woods.

    Ambrose grabbed the mic and said they’re not done yet and wanted another shot at Wyatt’s black sheep. Reigns asked the Miami crowd if they want to see more and called out the Wyatts.

    The Wyatts appeared on the screen. Bray said this was his game and he makes the moves. He said Reigns and Ambrose were outnumbered and wanted to have a match at Night of Champions. Bray said it would be their doomsday. The camera zoomed in on Braun Strowman’s face and he told them to run.

    Final Thoughts:

    This show was perfectly fine save for the DQ in the main event, which assured us that the match had no bearing on anything whatsoever.