The 37-year-old Punk (Phil Brooks) said he had just gotten clearance to train after back surgery and would debut in Cleveland, a show headlined by Stipe Miocic vs. Alistair Overeem for the UFC heavyweight title. Fabricio Werdum vs. Ben Rothwell is also on that show.
Assuming the fight goes off as planned, his debut would happen nearly two years since he first signed with UFC, a timetable far longer than expected. Reasons included delays due to head trainer Duke Roufus not wanting him to fight too early, as well as shoulder and back injuries, both of which date back to his days as a pro wrestler.
Gall is 2-0 in his young MMA career, and won his February UFC debut convincingly against Mike Jackson.
– Air Date: June 23, 2016 – Location: Tucson Convention Center in Tucson, AZ
– The Big News:
There was no acknowledgement of the Roman Reigns wellness policy violation or suspension. There was also no mention of what happened with Jerry Lawler this week. Smackdown did feature Sami Zayn vs. Seth Rollins for the first time ever, and it delivered.
Show Recap:
They started with a video package recapping Dean Ambrose’s night at Money in the Bank and Raw. They officially announced Ambrose vs. Rollins vs. Reigns at Battleground. The commentary team was Mauro Ranallo, Byron Saxton and David Otunga. The Raw/Smackdown podiums were on the stage too, even though they were never used.
Seth Rollins Promo
Rollins said all of our parents told us that we can accomplish our goals if we work hard, but MITB was proof that they’re all liars. Nobody works harder than him and he proved it when he came back early from his injury and pinned the paper champion Roman Reigns. Rollins said Ambrose snuck up behind him and stole his title.
Rollins said he would prove again that he was, and always will be, the best member of the Shield. Tonight, he wanted to prove he was the man and issued an open challenge, which brought out Sami Zayn. Rollins asked him of his master Kevin Owens let him off his leash. Rollins was taking Zayn lightly and called him the perfect opponent.
Before Zayn could say anything, Dean Ambrose interrupted. Ambrose called for the production guys to bring his Ambrose Asylum set into the ring, which they did. Ambrose has a cactus now. He also (poorly) drew the WWE title belt on the bristol board sign. Rollins thought this was crap and didn’t want to be a guest on his show, but Zayn played along, acting overly excited and honoured to be on.
Ambrose’s first question was for Rollins, asking him why he’s such a jackass. Rollins didn’t want to be there, so Zayn challenged him to a match right now. Rollins was pissed about this whole thing and stormed off. Ambrose announced the match for the main event, and Ranallo called it a first-time ever match. Perfectly fine opening segment.
Cesaro beat Alberto Del Rio via pinfall
They went to commercial one minute into the match. The story behind this was that Del Rio blames Cesaro for costing him the ladder match. Cesaro won an 8-9 minute match after reversing the armbar into a Neutralizer. Really good match and the crowd got into it the more it went.
Sheamus beat Apollo Crews via countout
Otunga said he understood Sheamus’ position because when Otunga himself was out, he was afraid somebody else would take his spot, and Sheamus must be worried about the same thing.
Crews had control until Sheamus gave him a rolling senton on the outside. Sheamus grabbed the steel steps, stood them up, and eventually hit Crews with a Brogue kick, sending him into the steps. This was somehow not a DQ, and Sheamus got in the ring as the referee counted out Crews.
The announcers discussed the Draft and the AJ Styles/John Cena program.
Backstage with The Club
Gallows said there’s no better feeling than beating Cena, which Styles did. Anderson said there was no better feeling than beating up Cena, which they all did on Raw. The Usos interrupted and told Styles he can’t win without his boys “Head and Shoulders.” Styles couldn’t tell the Usos apart. Jimmy said they’ve fought Gallows and Anderson before, but not Styles one-on-one, and challenged him.
Styles agreed to a match and would take him on without the Club at ringside. Jimmy wanted to shake on it, but when Styles went to shake his hand, Jimmy pulled his hand back and dabbed. The crowd laughed. They cut to Ranallo who said the match was made official, even though the segment literally just ended a second earlier. Whoever runs Smackdown works quickly, I guess.
AJ Styles beat Jimmy Uso (w/Jey Uso) via pinfall
Otunga picked Jimmy Uso to win this match. He also mentioned listening to the Stone Cold podcast and thought Styles was insecure about his size, which is why he hangs out with such big guys. Amazing. As Styles held a headlock, the younger portion of the audience chanted “AJ sucks.” Jimmy made his comeback and hit a superkick.
At this point, Gallows and Anderson ran down through the crowd to attack Jey. Jimmy nailed them both with a dive, and Styles followed with slingshot forearm on Jimmy. Styles pushed him back in the ring and hit a Phenomenal forearm for the win. The action was good but this was too short. The story, of course, was that Styles won thanks to the Club.
Non-title: WWE Tag Team Champions Kofi Kingston & Big E (w/Xavier Woods) beat The Vaudevillains via pinfall
New Day won very quickly after hitting Gotch with Midnight Hour.
After the match, the Wyatts appeared on the screen. Bray said the measure of a man is what he does with power, but New Day used their power of positivity to interrupt the eater of worlds and that would be a grave mistake. New Day falls… Run.
There was a new segment with Bob Backlund and Darren Young. Young said his goals were to win a singles title and main event WrestleMania. Backlund said his era was called the “Bob Backlund era” and this will be the “Darren Young era.”
Backstage Interviews
Sami Zayn told a new interview man that it was time to move on from Kevin Owens, which is why he accepted Rollins’ challenge. He said the earlier segment may have been fun and games, but it was time to get serious. Zayn said he wouldn’t be worried about Owens tonight, and he hoped Rollins wouldn’t be worried about Ambrose, because Zayn would kick his face off. This was great.
Elsewhere, Renee Young asked Charlotte and Dana Brooke about Sasha Banks, which led to “We want Sasha” chants in the background. I missed Charlotte’s response. I’m sure it doesn’t matter. Brooke said she would beat Carrot Top Becky and playtime was over. One of the announcers (or someone) coughed into their mic during this segment and they didn’t bother editing it out.
Dana Brooke (w/Charlotte) beat Becky Lynch via pinfall
After Lynch hit a reverse DDT, Charlotte jumped on the apron, so Lynch knocked her off. The distraction allowed Brooke to apply a small package for the win in less than 2 minutes. Stupid. Another short women’s match and it was the only one on the show.
Afterwards, the heels doubled teamed Lynch. Lynch gave Brooke an Exploder, but Charlotte nailed her with a big boot. Sasha Banks came down for the save. Charlotte bailed and Brooke attacked Banks from behind, but she gave Brooke the Bank Statement as she stared at Charlotte.
Backstage, Rollins walked toward Gorilla when Ambrose showed up behind him. Ambrose said he wasn’t about to miss this match and casually walked along behind Rollins. Rollins was annoyed and responded by just walking really fast to get away. Funny.
Seth Rollins beat Sami Zayn via pinfall
Dean Ambrose joined commentary. Ranallo called him the new kingpin of WWE, and Ambrose really liked that. There were dueling chants of “Let’s go Rollins” and “Sami Zayn.” After a break, Rollins stomped a mudhole into Zayn. They each tried to hit a vertical suplex, but Rollins got the better of it and hit a Falcon Arrow.
Ranallo asked Ambrose what it was like to get “You deserve it” chants. Ambrose said you can’t outsmart the people and, “to quote John Cena, even though I don’t want to, real recognizes real.”
Zayn began making a comeback but Rollins escaped to the outside. Zayn went right after him with a clothesline, followed by a crossbody back in the ring for two. Zayn then hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a near fall.
Zayn went for the Helluva kick but Rollins countered with a jumping kick and turnbuckle bomb. Zayn countered into a school boy for two, then reversed a Pedigree into a tornado DDT. Zayn went for Helluva kick again, but again Rollins escaped the ring. Zayn hit a flip dive, but as they re-entered the ring, Rollins immediately hit the Pedigree for the win. Very good match, although it was only about 12 minutes.
After the match, Rollins confronted Ambrose, but when Ambrose got in his face, Rollins backed off. Ambrose went to sit back down so Rollins gave him a cheap shot. With Ambrose down, Rollins celebrated, but Ambrose wildly attacked him. Ambrose went for a Dirty Deeds in the ring but Rollins bailed.
– Final Thoughts:
Based on normal Smackdown standards, this show was pretty good, especially with what felt like a light crew. Del Rio vs. Cesaro and Zayn vs. Rollins were both really good and the talking segments were entertaining too. I love that Seth Rollins seems like he’ll be perpetually annoyed as long as Dean Ambrose is WWE champion.
A Wellness policy violation by Roman Reigns (31-year-old Joe Anoa’i), who WWE has been pushing for years as the heir apparent for John Cena’s role as top star, has changed short-term plans for the company.
Editor’s Note: Most of this was written before the news of Roman Reigns’ wellness policy violation and suspension.
Since WrestleMania, I’ve been thinking about Dean Ambrose’s WWE career, about how the company missed their chance with him, about how he could’ve been a big star, and about how he may never reach his potential. Then, Ambrose won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Sunday night at Money In The Bank.
Here’s a look at his wild ride to the top.
Leader of The Shield
During The Shield’s run, Ambrose was the de facto leader of the group, mostly because he could cut a promo significantly better than the other two. He was frequently positioned front and centre, and held a singles title (the U.S. Championship) while Rollins and Reigns were tag team champs. (Trivia note: the Undertaker’s last ever TV match not on PPV was against Ambrose.)
It seemed like when The Shield would finally break up, Ambrose would be a top heel coming out of it because he was a natural. Reigns would be a babyface and pushed as a top star and Rollins, a fantastic wrestler but mediocre on the mic at the time, would end up a babyface as well, but one who would probably get lost in the shuffle. Of course, that’s not what happened.
WWE teased the breakup of The Shield several months before it happened, and it looked like Ambrose would be the catalyst. They decided not to pull the trigger, because The Shield still had life. After feuds with the Wyatt Family and Evolution, Rollins surprised everyone when he pulled the trigger that ended the partnership. Rollins–not Ambrose–was the heel.
Missed Opportunities
As it turned out, Ambrose made for a great babyface. Ambrose, not Reigns, started a summer-long blood feud with Rollins that resulted in plenty of highlights, including Ambrose busting out of a giant birthday gift to wildly attack his foe. He desperately wanted Rollins to pay for what he did, and the fans were into it. Ambrose was red hot, and the fans wanted to see him get revenge.
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. The Ambrose-Rollins feud culminated in a Hell in a Cell match (which notably headlined that show over a John Cena vs. Randy Orton HIAC match). On Chris Jericho’s podcast, Ambrose once said he likes doing things differently, things that may not make sense to everyone. Hell in a Cell was evidence of that. Ambrose started the match not in the ring, but on top of the cell.
Ambrose should have won this match and his feud with Rollins. Rollins was being protected anyway as Mr. Money in the Bank, a member of the Authority, and destined to win the WWE Title regardless of what happened in this feud. But a win for Ambrose would have put him on another level. The fans deserved to have their faith rewarded.
Instead, he lost after some bizarre interference by Bray Wyatt. Not only did Ambrose lose the feud to Rollins, he lost the following feud with Bray. This was the first big example of the company dropping the ball with him.
Up and Down the Card
After losing feuds to Rollins and Wyatt, Ambrose found himself fighting for the Intercontinental title. In the 2015 Royal Rumble, after Daniel Bryan was unceremoniously eliminated, Ambrose was someone the fans fell back on, hoping he would win instead of Reigns. Of course, he was dumped out of the ring like nothing by Big Show and Kane.
Ambrose continued on in the mid-card, fighting for the IC title in a ladder match at WrestleMania won by Daniel Bryan. Then, somewhat out of nowhere, Ambrose finally beat Rollins in a match on Raw. The win earned himself a title shot in a Fatal 4-Way that included Reigns and Randy Orton, but, of course, Ambrose didn’t win.
He did find himself in another singles feud with Rollins with the title on the line. After getting screwed at Elimination Chamber, Rollins barely defeated Ambrose at MITB to retain his title. Ambrose came close, but again, came up short. After this, he found himself feuding with the Wyatts again, and again, came up on the losing end.
Anyone But Roman
After Rollins got hurt and had to surrender the WWE title, Ambrose was put in a tournament to crown a new champion. This led to a match they’ve never done, a match they perhaps should have never done — Dean Ambrose vs. Roman Reigns. Reigns won the title by defeating Ambrose, but it was somewhat forgettable considering what happened next — Sheamus cashing in his MITB briefcase to win the title.
While Reigns feuded with Sheamus over the strap, Ambrose returned to the IC title mix. It was around this time Ambrose started to gain momentum again. When his popularity was rising, he was getting comparisons to Steve Austin. Maybe that’s absurd, but fans were desperate for a new star.
With Reigns still not clicking with the audience, there was the thought, or hope, that maybe Ambrose should take his spot at WrestleMania. When Reigns lost the WWE title in the Royal Rumble, it was Ambrose–not Reigns–who was last eliminated by Triple H.
At the next PPV, Ambrose was again pinned by Reigns, this time for the number one contender spot. A few weeks later, Ambrose fought Triple H for the title at Roadblock in Toronto and came up short…again. To be fair, he got screwed, but there was basically no follow up, and in the end, the story was that Ambrose failed to win the big one.
Losing Steam
I was at that Roadblock show and there really was a feeling among fans that Ambrose could win and change the WrestleMania plans the way Daniel Bryan did two years earlier. Instead, Ambrose was roundly beaten by Brock Lesnar, both throughout the feud and in the actual Mania match.
To this point, Ambrose had lost almost every big match he has been in with Rollins, Wyatt, Reigns, Triple H and Lesnar all getting their hands raised at the end. Yes, he’s been U.S. and IC champion, and yes, he beat Jericho, but a lot of guys can say both of those things.
After WrestleMania season, Ambrose lost a lot of steam. Instead of being the unhinged lunatic who would wildly attack Rollins at any opportunity, he became a caricature. He was acting crazy, but it was just that: an act.
There were complaints about Ambrose feuding with Jericho over a fake talk show and plant, but this is the same guy who once used ketchup and mustard as weapons, and at the time, that worked. But Ambrose was losing the authenticity and credibility he once held with the audience, and feuding over plants and jackets was sad more than it was fun.
A Second (or Third) Chance
I suppose it shouldn’t be surprising that WWE put the title on Ambrose when he is at his least interesting point. He’s not red hot anymore. The comparisons to Austin have stopped. But, the opportunity still exists to make Ambrose a top guy. All of the losses and times he got screwed over can add to his story, and WWE would be smart to take advantage and tell that story. Cashing in on Rollins was the perfect start.
Ambrose went from being the de facto leader of The Shield to the odd man out. But now, it seems as though all three Shield members are back on the same level. I certainly don’t think Money in the Bank was a sign that they’ve given up on Reigns. If anything, Ambrose winning was just a way to set up an angle through SummerSlam and nothing more.
It’s possible Ambrose will go back to where he was before this all happened, but that would be a mistake. This company seems filled with top heels who get cheered and top faces who get booed, but Ambrose is a face who gets cheered and seems genuinely well-liked. Hopefully he’s trending upward again.
Learning from The Shield
You could argue that all three members of The Shield should be bigger stars than they are — If only they had turned Reigns heel, if only they brought back Rollins as a babyface, if only they didn’t do all that stuff I just mentioned with Ambrose. Still, all three guys have done pretty well for themselves.
It’s important to note how protecting The Shield for as long as they did really make all three guys. Smackdown is frequently advertised and centred around these three men, while guys like John Cena are given the night off. Headlining shows with any combination of The Shield members would have been impossible if they hadn’t been booked so strongly (or if they had debuted on their own as individuals).
That’s why it’s totally fine getting upset when AJ Styles or Kevin Owens or Bray Wyatt or whoever loses a big match. Ambrose’s struggle to make it through poor booking isn’t a new story. WWE has a long history of ignoring a guy when their popularity peaks. Whether it’s because that guy wasn’t in the plans or because they like to prove the fans wrong, it’s self-destructive.
But as we’ve seen, plans can change. If the plan is to keep the title on Ambrose for any length of time, which I know is unlikely, I hope the shows feel different with him on top. During his initial rise, Ambrose’s segments were often a breath of fresh air on dreary Raw shows that are always too long.
We already knew that Dean Ambrose had the ability to be a biggest star of The Shield. Maybe now, especially in light of recent news, he will be.
The Wednesday night wrestling block will get a bit more crowded this summer as WWE announced that the much-anticipated WWE Cruiserweight Classic will debut on the Network starting Wednesday, July 13th at 9 PM EST, airing for 10 weeks through a live two-hour finale on Wednesday, September 15th.
Current Smackdown lead man Mauro Ranallo and former WWE Champion Daniel Bryan were announced as “hosts” for the Classic, but we confirmed they are indeed calling the action.
Also announced was a preview special — CWC Bracketology — for Wednesday, July 6th at 9 PM EST where we should get the actual tournament brackets and all 16 first round match matchups.
The Classic will feature 32 talents (some under WWE contract & some not) from around the world in a single-elimination tournament including Zack Sabre Jr., Gran Metalik, Noam Dar, Kota Ibushi, Rich Swann, Akira Tozawa, Johnny Gargano, Cedric Alexander, Tommaso Ciampa, and more. Here’s the full list of participants.
Monday night’s post-Money in the Bank edition of WWE RAW certainly had its moments including the new World Heavyweight champion Dean Ambrose grabbing the spotlight impressively and Big “Johnny Laryngitis” (thanks, Enzo) making his glorious return. As always however, those diamonds were surrounded by a lot of rough spots too.
— The Hits —
DTA Ambrose
While it’s probably too early to tell, Monday’s RAW showed encouraging signs that the WWE may see Dean Ambrose as more than just a transitional champion. Ambrose was given ample opportunity to play to his strengths, demonstrating his natural line delivery in the opening segment and shining on commentary at the end of the show.
While his in-ring work remains a frantic and often sloppy work-in-progress, Ambrose’s bountiful charisma, paired with a new harder edge to his character, makes him a very realistic candidate for the role of top babyface. That added grit, which saw Dean back up his threats to take out Roman Reigns if necessary, must remain if the transition from upper-midcarder to main eventer is to stick. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin wasn’t exactly too interested in making friends or being wacky either.
Fight Forever
No, I’m not referring to the en vogue crowd chant. Rather, the seemingly neverending beef between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, complete with the always hilarious, and cartoonish, fist-flailing dust-ups.
Although only five minutes aired, the match between these two, who the announcers again claimed are “destined to fight forever”, was a very enjoyable taster for what will presumably be a rubber match at Battleground. The finish, with Zayn reversing the Pop-Up Powerbomb into a cradle, was particularly enjoyable.
Angry Dad
I’ve been as critical of the paint-by-numbers Rusev/Titus O’Neil feud as anyone, but Monday night’s resumption of hostilities between the two was a major improvement.
Titus’ impassioned backstage hollering about the Bulgarian having the temerity to disrespect his kids was excellent, ensuring that the former Prime Time Player actually received a reaction for running off the US champion for a change. While I’m not crazy about the idea of another PPV match for a guy that has no business working matches of that calibre, one must award credit where it’s due.
People Power!
Recent unsolicited auditions of Teddy Long and Kane for the role of Smackdown general manager were both leading to this glorious moment — the return of John “Big Johnny” Laurinaitis. Hearing the hoarse one protest that “Big Johnny loves change!” was music to my ears, as was his hurried “People Power!” before Shane McMahon ushered him off the stage. What a preview for those of us literally counting the days to his debut on Total Bellas.
— The Misses —
The Apology Club
Following on from the crummy finish to their match on Sunday, everything about the Cena/AJ Styles dispute fell completely flat on this show.
While AJ’s promo delivery remains great, the material he, Cena and The Club had to work with was wafer-thin, centering mostly around an insincere Styles looking to extract an “apology” from his buddies. Cena of course rejected it, but not in nearly as brief a manner as might be expected. The subsequent 3-minute encounter between he and Karl Anderson was also terrible, with Cena making his opponent look like a geek by destroying him despite gawking at the entrance ramp the entire time. Weak.
Rollins’ characterisation (again)
Seriously?! Let’s get this straight — Seth Rollins works the Money in the Bank main event as a babyface, reverts to whiny heel mode in Monday’s opening segment, and then cuts a rousing “prove myself” promo in the second hour!? The characterisation of The Man/The Future is even more inconsistent than that of his former leader Stephanie McMahon at this stage.
The kind of predictability we saw in his plodding main event against Reigns — complete with Chekhov’s (unbreakable) Spanish announce table and obvious double countout finish — would be very welcome here.
“Oooh, the Wyatts are mad at me. I’m so scared! Oooh, the Wyatts!”
The Wyatts, sans the injured Luke Harper, made their return on Monday night, threatening to ensure that “New Day Falls”. Colour me underwhelmed. The fun-loving New Day should be too, given that Bray Wyatt and co. have delivered on precisely zero of their threats to date.
In fact, it’s difficult to think of a non-jobber heel group with a lower success rate than these jamokes. Hey, at least our tag champs’ interruption prevented us from enduring some of Bray’s patented rambling windbaggery. No buys for anything involving him until the way he’s booked improves drastically.
In a shocking story, WWE announced they have suspended Roman Reigns (Joe Anoa’i) for 30 days effective immediately due to a violation of the company’s talent wellness policy.
WWE.com wrote: “WWE has suspended Joe Anoa`i (Roman Reigns) for 30 days effective immediately for his first violation of the company’s talent wellness policy.”
On Twitter, Reigns simply said, “I apologize to my family, friends and fans for my mistake in violating WWE’s wellness policy. No excuses. I own it.”
The 31-year-old Reigns dropped the WWE championship Sunday at Money In The Bank. On RAW Monday night, a match was made between he, Rollins, and new WWE Champion Dean Ambrose for Battleground, the next WWE PPV event on July 24th.
That fact raises an interesting quandry. The 30 day window would expire before Battleground, so does WWE leave an off-TV Reigns in the match and just roll with it? If they did, what type of backlash could they expect?
To that end, WWE gave the following quote:
“The suspension runs through July 20. He is eligible to return on July 21. Battleground is on July 24. We are considering all of our creative options.”
Whatever decision is made regarding the main event will likely be announced tonight in Tucson
Positioned as the new face of the company, Reigns has had many stops and starts in the past few years in an attempt to have the fans win him over. A former college football player, Reigns has been in the business for nearly six years.
Growing up as a way-too-hardcore-for-my-age wrestling fan, I looked forward to watching whatever flavor of wrestling from the Dallas Sportatorium was on ESPN and in syndication at the time. The ESPN show was perfect for kids who loved pro wrestling: It aired at 4 p.m. eastern time, so it was perfect for after-school viewing.
The Big Takeaway: The main event of Battleground will be Dean Ambrose defending the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns in a Triple Threat match. That match was ordered after Reigns and Rollins fought to a double countout in tonight’s main event. The Wyatt Family made their return to set up a new program with The New Day. Xavier Woods appeared to be put in a momentary trance by the Wyatts. Sasha Banks also returned and went after Charlotte. The show also built up the draft on Smackdown. It was a show run by Shane McMahon as Stephanie McMahon had the night off.
Show Recap:
Dean Ambrose opened the show in a pretape, getting out of a taxi cab wearing all black. He really is a lunatic because it reached 120 degrees in Phoenix this weekend. He tossed the cab driver a wad of bills. Just as the cab pulled away, Ambrose stopped him and pulled the WWE World Heavyweight Championship out from the backseat.
Ambrose did an interview with “You deserve it” chants. He said last night was a long night and dropped a reference to the Cleveland Cavaliers winning the NBA World Championship. He told Seth Rollins that last night was a lesson where what goes around comes around. He said if Roman Reigns called himself “The Guy,” does that make him “the dude?” He said the reason why he patched himself together after getting knocked down every time was because he wanted to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Reigns came out. He got booed before he started speaking. Reigns said last night wasn’t his night, it was Ambrose’s night. He congratulated Ambrose, then asked “What did it feel like to cash in against Seth?” Ambrose said he would have cashed in against Reigns, too. Fans started a loud “You can’t wrestle” chant. Reigns told all the dudes to relax, take a sip out of their beer and shut up. Reigns brought up that he had a rematch clause. Then Rollins showed up saying he rehabbed his injured knee for seven months, beat Reigns fair and square, but Ambrose had his championship moment stolen from him. Reigns said “it doesn’t feel good, does it?” Rollins said at least he did to to Reigns’ face.
Rollins claiimed he never lost the championship. Reigns wondered why it was then on Ambrose’s shoulder. Reigns said there was an easy way to settle this and wanted to fight Rollins, who shot back there was nothing to settle because he beat Reigns. Shane McMahon came out and said Reigns and Rollins should wrestle to determine who faces Ambrose first. Rollins wanted to know if Shane consulted Stephanie first. Shane pretended Stephanie was there, then said she wasn’t here tonight so he’s running the show tonight. So Shane ordered Reigns vs. Rollins tonight for the #1 contendership tonight.
Michael Cole announced the draft on Tuesday, July 19th. JBL told Byron Saxton that he could get drafted to ECW.
They aired the HHH tweet congratulating the Cavaliers on winning the NBA Championship. They’ll be getting the next custom made WWE World Championship strap. They also showed LeBron James getting off the airplane wearing an Ultimate Warrior t-shirt. That led to one writer tweeting that Stephen Curry should wear a Renegade t-shirt.
Sami Zayn defeated Kevin Owens (8:47)
Sami Zayn won when Kevin Owens attempted the Pop-Up Power Bomb, but Zayn reversed it into a victory roll. They opened with a hockey fight sequence which Zayn got the better of. Owens spent the first part of the match trying to walk out, including trying to get away through the crowd. Zayn chased him back in, but was thrown into the dasherboards. Owens hit a Superkick at the end for a near fall.
Postmatch, Owens attacked Zayn as he was celebrating. Owens tried to power bomb Zayn off the ramp to the floor, but Zayn blocked it with a double-leg takedown and they had a pull-apart brawl. They continued to fight backstage, where Owens threw Zayn into trunk cases. Zayn recovered, then took a page from Larry Holmes’ brawl with Trevor Burbick where he ran onto the cases and jumped on Owens again. Finally, Fit Finley came in and pulled Zayn off.
John Laurinaitis was this week’s throwback authority figure. He came out wearing a red blazer, red pants and white shoes. JBL said he looked like Craig Sager. Shane wondered what John was doing there. Laurinaitis said he wanted to run Smackdown. Shane said SmackDown wouldn’t be run by a corporate yes man. Shane said he was running SmackDown. John said he wanted to run Raw and mentioned “People power” as he disappeared.
Enzo and Big Cass came out with Enzo Amore comparing sneakers with Shane. Enzo called him Johnny Laryngitis and did his “No dimes” line saying that’s the amount of money he would have every time something worthwile came out of Laryngitis’ mouth. Cass said Laurinatis may have been “Ace Dynamic Dude” back in his day, but in the new era he was “Sawft.”
Enzo and Big Cass defeated the Vaudevillains (2:55)
Amore pinned Aidan English after the Rocket Launcher, which has been redubbed the “Bada Boom Shaka-Laka.” Vaudevillains lost in less than three minutes and didn’t get a ring entrance.
Returning to the Cleveland celebration, they showed Kevin Love in the locker room copying Steve Austin where he guzzled two beers at once.
A.J. Styles came out after his win over John Cena. Styles said he should be happy because he’s envisioned beating Cena for years, and then it became a reality. But the win was tainted. Styles maintained he beat Cena and repeated it twice. But it didn’t go down the way he dreamt it would because Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson had no business in his business. He called Gallows and Anderson to come to the ring and give him a public apology.
Anderson and Gallows came out. Styles said he didn’t need their help. Anderson said they were just trying to help. Styles said they gave Cena an excuse. They dragged his name through the mud by interferring. Styles asked for Karl to look him in the eye and apology. Anderson looked at Styles and, in the most condescending way to the fans and Cena, apologized to Styles. Gallows did the same. Styles acted like that was proof he had no idea he knew about it and then asked them to apologize to Cena.
Cena came out in his new t-shirt designed after the PBR logo. Cena said he didn’t need an apology because he and Styles had a signed agreement and Styles broke it. Gallows said Styles didn’t know about the interference. He apologized. Anderson said Cena and Styles signed a contract last week, but he and Gallows didn’t. Anderson said he was sorry. Styles tried to pass that off as proof.
Cena wasn’t hearing any of it. He said Styles is struggling to survive in the WWE and got a win last night by any means necessary. Styles said he was using the apology only to hide he isn’t as good as he says he is. Styles says he was using the Club as an excuse because Cena isn’t as good as he says he is.
Cena says he respects the win because that’s how you advance in the WWE. But above the win is your win. And when you’re a champion and your back is against the wall, you have two things: your balls and your word. Last night, Styles proved he had neither one of them. That got loud “Cena” chants.
Styles said Anderson and Gallows did Cena a favor by giving him an excuse. Styles said he would give Cena a chance to fight any member of the Club he wanted. Cena immediately said Styles. But Styles said he couldn’t fight him because he has to do the Stone Cold Podcast. And he’s already beaten Cena. Cena asked if it even mattered because one will be in the ring and the other two will be at ringside. Styles said Cena was wrong. The Club huddled and Styles said Anderson would fight Cena one-on-one and would prove Cena isn’t as good as he thinks he is.
John Cena defeated Karl Anderson by DQ (2:22)
Match was a total squash with Cena getting all of the offense. He hit the AA on Anderson before Styles and Gallows ran in for the DQ. Anderson and Gallows delievered the Magic Killer on Cena, following Styles orders. Styles followed with the Styles Clash on Cena and they posed over him to mostly boos.
JoJo interviewed Rollins about his match with Reigns. Rollins said last night was about proving things to the world, and when he defeated Reigns he proved he was the best and Reigns didn’t deserve to be champion. He said Ambrose also proved something last night. When he stole the WWE Championship from him, Ambrose proved he was a cockroach and a thief. Rollins said he’ll beat Reigns tonight and prove who the best member of the Shield really is.
Becky Lynch did an interview with Renee Young after Natalya turned on her last night. Lynch said she’s had three friends turn on her since debuting on Raw. She said she was going to start looking out for herself when Natalya came up and jumped her from behind. Natalya said for the first time in years, she’s going to worry about herself.
Baron Corbin defeated Zack Ryder (3:02)
Baron Corbin won with the End of Days. Zack Ryder had a chance to do the Randy Savage elbow before losing.
They showed the press conference in China. It was the first appearance by HHH on Raw since the Monday before WrestleMania. Cena was also featured. They also highlighted the first Chinese athlete signed to a developmental contract, Bin Wang.
Paige started to do an interview with Young, but Charlotte and Dana Brooke interrupted her. Charlotte said when Team PCB broke up, she rose to the top of the women’s division while Paige sank like a rock in the ocean. Brooke said “Timber!” Paige treated her like an airhead and said Charlotte’s championship would look great around her waist when she beats her tonight.
Charlotte (C) defeated Paige to retain the WWE Women’s Championship (8:23)
Finish appeared to be somewhat screwed up. Paige hit the Rampage. Brooke was supposed to put Charlotte’s boot on the rope. But Brooke couldn’t do that before the referee finished the three count. So whent the referee looked up, he had to pretend he didn’t see Brooke holding on to Charlotte’s boot, which the viewers at home did. The referee looked like he had someone screaming in his earpiece because he belatedly ordered Brooke to the back. Brooke didn’t go to the back. In the midst of all this, Charlotte hit Natural Selection for the win.
After the pin, Sasha Banks came out to a huge pop. Charlotte ordered Brooke to go after her, but Banks decked her with one punch. Banks went after Charlotte, but Brooke jumped Banks from behind. Paige awakened and sent Charlotte and Brooke out of the ring. So they’re finally getting to the Charlotte-Banks program.
Reigns did a promo with Jojo saying tonight he would be the guy for defeats Rollins.
Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan and Braun Strowman made their return. They got “Welcome Back” chants. Wyatt asked if the fans missed him? Wyatt said they had been locked away, but through it all they have never forgotten what they stand for. He said the Wyatts are as strong as they have ever been. Then the New Day came out with their regular routine. They have rainbow socks now.
Xavier Woods siad Bray had been talking way too long “you need to cut it.” Big E. said Rowan has a big, ole booty. Kofi Kingston said whenever the New Day comes out, the fans have fun. It wa the power of positivity that allowed them to be WWE Tag Team Champions. However, as Kofi talked, Woods walked towards the ring like Wyatt had put him in a trance. Big E. had to snap him out of it, but Woods again looked like he had fallen under Wyatt’s spell.
Wyatt said he saw the New Day’s future. And it goes “New Day Falls. New Day Falls.” The segment abruptly ended. So they’re forgetting about Wyatt’s face turn when he teamed with Reigns just before his injury in April.
The newest Life Lessons with Bob Backlund featured Darren Young saying that he had been reading lots of poetry that motivated him. Backlund said Young shouldn’t take advice from anyone. Young asked if that includes Backlund, who said he doesn’t give advice, he gives orders. He then ordered Young to do 100 knee raises.
Lana was in the ring, as Ric Flair would say, looking as only as she can look with a black dress. She introduced Rusev. This led to a Titus O’Neal interview. He was furious over Rusev telling his kids last night that their father was a loser. He screamed that Rusev should never disrespect his family. He would have made his point much better if he had looked in the right camera when delivering that line.
Rusev vs. O’Neal never started. It was simply a brawl around ringside. O’Neal was much more intense as they traded hard knees and punches. O’Neal ended it when he whipped Rusev towards the timekeepers table and clotheslined him over the barricade. Rusev walked to the back.
The Miz and Maryse did another promo from the set of the Marine 5. Miz talked about how he liked to enjoy lunch with the members of the crew. Then someone walked up to him with a plate of food. Miz threw it back in his face because the plate didn’t contain quail. Maryse fired him. Miz screamed how no one on the set can do anything right as the rest of the crew stared at him blankly as they were eating. Miz did an about face saying everyone was doing a great job, but everyone still glared at him.
Chris Jericho met Shane backstage. Jericho claimed that Shane had hated him for 16 years. Shane cancelled the Highlight Reel and hadn’t made him #1 contender for Ambrose’s championship. Shane brought up that Jericho didn’t win the Money in the Bank match last night and lost to Ambrose at Extreme Rules. Jericho said he had 60 thumbtacks in his back after that match. He went on to say he’s drafted to the brand that Shane isn’t on because he would rather work with 10 Stephanie McMahons than one of Shane. Shane warned him that he would be running both brands and Jericho would be a loser either way.
Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins went to a double countout (17:26)
Very good match that ended with the Spanish announce table coming into play. Reigns speared Rollins onto the table. I’m not sure if the table was supposed to break, but it didn’t. Neither man could get back in the ring before the ten count. Lots of good near falls, including Rollins kicking out of the Superman punch. Rollins hit a springboard knee that Reigns escaped from. Earlier, Rollins attempted a kneedrop off the apron, but missed and Reigns gave him a big boot. Fans had a loud “You can’t wrestle” chant aimed at Reigns early on. Ambrose was on commentary. Though he threw in a few jokes, he wasn’t acting like Reigns’ little buddy anymore.
After the finish, Shane came out and said there had to be a number one contender. Ambrose’s stepped in and said he would face Reigns and Rollins on the same night. Shane then ordered a triple-threat match between the three as the main event for Battleground. Reigns looked like he had something to say to Ambrose, but Ambrose gave him Dirty Deeds, then started to leave. Rollins was about to deliver the Pedigree on Reigns, but Ambrose ran back in and gave Rollins Dirty Deeds, as well.
WWE announced Monday that its talent draft for splitting up talent between RAW & Smackdown will take place on July 19th at the live Smackdown from Worcester, MA.
A press release stated that the draft will be conducted by the respective General Managers, which would indicate official naming of those people shortly.
The WWE stated that for the first time in history on back-to-back nights, two distinctive brands will compete with each other for television ratings, live events and PPV.
“This is an exciting new era for WWE in which we will yet again reinvent ourselves by creating a second night of compelling live television,” said Executive Producer Kevin Dunn.
The decision to put the draft on Smackdown rather than Raw shows the emphasis is on building the Smackdown audience, since the draft should be one of the most anticipated and watched shows of the year. Putting the draft on Smackdown means giving up what would be one of the highest rated Raws, and instead trying to establish Tuesday night as important immediately to the fan base.
In previous years, the draft shows were some of the highest rated shows the company would do at the time, although as the years went on, the draft show felt less important because there was less differentiation of the brands.
