Dudleys got a lot of heat ripping up signs and yelling at kids. Cass wrestled most of the match, but Enzo did quite a bit as well. Right away, Enzo took a double team back body drop/neckbreaker which definitely shows that he’s fully cleared, I would assume. He took a bunch of head hits and hard clotheslines, so I’d assume he’s fully ready to go. E&C won when Cass takes the hot tag and cleans house, tagging Enzo back in to hit their double finisher pinning Bubba. Decent match. Crowd was INSANELY LOUD for Enzo and Cass. I’d say biggest pop of the night, honestly.
– Viktor vs Titus
Crowd really got behind Titus. Nothing big here. Just a bunch of hard chest slaps to Viktor to get the crowd cheering. Titus wins with his spinebuster and poses with the little fans on his way back.
– Tyler Breeze vs Goldust
Not really much reaction for either person. Match was pretty slow up until Fandango ran out to help Breeze which quickly brought R-Truth’s music and him running out for the save. Goldust picked up the win and R-Truth and Goldust danced in the ring for what seemed like 20 minutes.
– Gallows and Anderson vs The Hype Bros
Mojo spent about 75% of the match in the ring. Ryder hits the Broski Boot on Anderson, but was quickly attacked by Gallows drawing the double team finish. Gallows and Anderson pick up the win here. Side note–Anderson’s trunks looked very similar to all of the Balor Club logos.
– Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens
Owens got a huge crowd reaction. Zayn did as well, but not as big as Kevin’s. Really good match. Zayn went over completely clean. Hits Owens with the Helluva kick after countering the pop-up powerbomb. Pinned him 1-2-3. No false finishes in this match. Was really good.
– Sheamus vs Apollo Crews
Sheamus cuts a promo apologizing for his actions on Raw then immediately attacks Crews once Crews gets into the ring. Really fun match between the two of them. Looking forward to seeing them work a program together. Sheamus hit a beautiful chokeslam/powerbomb, but Crews gets the win with a classic school boy roll up.
– Natty vs. WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte
Natty, by far, had the second loudest crowd reaction of the night. Not surprising as every time she’s in Peoria, the crowd loves her. This match was 10x better than the Extreme Rules match. Charlotte retains with a roll up while putting her legs on the second rope for leverage. It got the heat she needed and still puts Natty over as she can’t beat her clean. Very good match. Natty also hit a wonderful Batista Bomb on Charlotte.
– WWE Champion Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles
Almost identical to the match at Extreme Rules, and that was just fine! Great match! Roman looked extremely strong and AJ looked like a threat to pull away a victory the whole match. Roman went for the Superman Punch and AJ countered with the shoulderblock into Roman’s leg like at ER. Roman sold the leg injury for most of the match. AJ rolled him up into the calf crusher and had it broken up once Roman grabbed the ropes. The crowd was really into the match the whole time.
AJ never hits a finisher, but Roman wins after dodging the Phenomenal Forearm and turning it into a spear — the same ending as the Payback match — for the clean win. Both looked absolutely amazing. Those two work so well together. Crowd loved AJ and was very indifferent to Roman. The last two years Roman has loudest cheers, this visit was equal in boos and cheers.
Overall wonderful show, they never disappoint in Peoria.
The first match saw Enzo and Cass taking on the Dudley Boyz. Everyone was into Enzo and Cass’ mic work and shouted along to their catchphrases. Bubba Ray got hear before the match by taking a sign from a fan but Enzo saved the day before he could rip it. Enzo and Cass went over in the end with the rocket launcher.
– Titus O’Neil defeated Viktor of the Ascension with the Clash of the Titus
– Goldust defeated Tyler Breeze
Fandango ran down to distract Goldust. R Truth ran down to even the odds and Goldust put Breeze away with the Final Cut. Afterwards Golden Truth danced to R Truth’s theme song and did some comedy work.
– Gallows and Anderson defeated the Hype Bros
Anderson and Gallows won with the Magic Killer on Mojo. Lots of Bullet Club chants and Wolfpack/Too Sweet handsigns. Okay for what it was.
– Sami Zayn defeated Kevin Owens
Owens got some heat especially after doing some mic work after bailing to ringside at the beginning. He even threw in a Simpsons reference by saying Shelbyville was better than Springfield. These guys click. It was more tame than previous matches the two of had because it was a house show, but these guys have such good chemistry together, that it makes even simple matches really good. Owens played such a good heel. The match was built like most of their matches with Owens beating Zayn up, Zayn getting in a few hope spots only to be cutoff by Owens again. In the end, Owens went for a pop up powerbomb, Sami turned it into a drop kick in mid air and then hit the Helluva Good Kick in the corner for the win.
– Apollo Crews defeated Sheamus
Sheamus got on the mic before the match and said he was going to defeat the New Era because it was garbage. He tried to get some heat by saying that even if Abraham Lincoln was alive today, he would be ashamed of calling Springfield his hometown. This match was just there. Lots of rest holds. In the end, Sheamus went for White Noise and Crews slipped out and rolled him up for the three.
– WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte defeated Natalya to retain
Charlotte got heat early on by ripping up a fan’s sign in the ring that Natalya had brought in. They worked the match around both of them trying to lock in their submission moves with Charlotte getting the figure four on once and Natalya reversing it, and Nattie sinking in the sharpshooter once and Charlotte making the ropes. In the end, Natalya was thrown into the turnbuckles and Charlotte schoolboyed her from behind, placing her feet on the ropes for the win. Afterwards, the crowd gave Natalya a good ovation and chanted her name.
– WWE Champion Roman Reigns defeated AJ Styles to retain
This match was pretty decent for a house show match. The crowd was actually pretty split in who they were rooting for. Reigns played a somewhat cocky heel, not fully committing to it but doing some heelish mannerisms. The match was built around both guys going for their big moves and each time falling short. At one point, Reigns went for the Superman punch only to be met with a Pele kick from AJ.
AJ went for the Phenomenal Forearm three times, each time getting countered. He even teased a Styles Clash at one point. In the end, AJ went for the forearm, Reigns countered it with a Superman Punch and then hit the spear to retain the championship.
First time taking my youngest kid to see wrestling and he really enjoyed it. The building was maybe half to three fourths full. The crowd seemed to be into mostly everything. Overall, it was an entertaining show that the people around me were entertained by including my son. I went in expecting a house show and that’s what I got which isn’t bad. The Owens-Zayn match and the main event were actually good matches and there really wasn’t any terrible matches as they all had fun elements in them.
Just three weeks after Payback, we’re right back into the big event mix for WWE with Extreme Rules, their annual WWE Network show where nearly every match has a stipulation or twist added onto it. This year’s show emanates from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey — the second time the event has been hosted in the Garden State.
This is the eighth Extreme Rules show in company history as they began back in 2009, headlined by Edge vs. Jeff Hardy in a ladder match. Last year’s show featured then-WWE Champion Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton in a steel cage match.
We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s show so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.
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There was an angle where Big Cass laid out both Dudleys in the ring. He gave Devon the East River Crossing.
DOLPH ZIGGLER VS. BARON CORBIN — NO DQ
A basic match with Ziggler getting a series of near falls until Corbin did a blatant low blow (legal in a no DQ match) and got the pin with the End of Days. Not as good as their match last month.
DOC GALLOWS & KARL ANDERSON VS. USOS IN A TORNADO MATCH
Fast paced match, fairly short. It was all four in the ring at the same time and no DQ. The crowd was totally behind Gallows & Anderson and booed the Usos. Gallows & Anderson got the clean win. Gallows brought in the ring bell, but Jimmy superkicked him. Jimmy went to the top rope and Gallows moved, so Jimmy landed on the ring bell. Gallows & Anderson then used the Magic Killer on Jimmy for the pin and win.
US CHAMPION KALISTO VS. RUSEV
Good match. Rusev won the title after slamming him off the top rope onto the apron. They sold it like Kalisto reinjured his back from Raw on Monday and they were checking on him. Rusev then jumped in and put the Accolade on for the submission. Kalisto had gone to the top rope after delivering a moonsault to the floor. They were pushing like Kalisto was injured at the end, and was coming into the match injured. The EMTs came out after the match.
WWE TAG CHAMPIONS THE NEW DAY (Big E & Xavier Woods) VS. VAUDEVILLAINS
Another short match: 6:00. Match was okay for the time it had. The Vaudevillains used the Whirling Dervish on Woods but he kicked out. For the finish, Big E tackled English to the floor. Kofi Kingston hit Gotch with an enzuigiri which led to Woods pinning Gotch with the shining wizard.
– A.J. Styles interview vowed to walk out as champion.
I-C CHAMPION THE MIZ VS. CESARO VS. SAMI ZAYN VS. KEVIN OWENS
This was a super match with tons of near falls and saves. Cesaro and Zayn, in particular, were great. Michael Cole called it a match of the year candidate, a previously banned Vince McMahon term. The finish saw Zayn hit Cesaro with the Helleva Kick, but Owens pulled Zayn out of the ring when he went for the pin. Zayn threw Miz into the barricade, and then Miz crawled into the ring and pinned Cesaro.They did everything in their arsenals including Cesaro doing a 16-rep swing on Miz. Cesaro had Miz in the Sharpshooter and he tapped but ref Dan Engler was distracted by Maryse. Owens did cannonballs on everyone. Cesaro did running uppercuts on everyone three times on each guy alternating.
DEAN AMBROSE VS. CHRIS JERICHO — ASYLUM CAGE MATCH
The short matches earlier led to this match running more than 26:00 in the cage. It was a weird match that didn’t have much heat for a long time as they traded climbing up and getting the different weapons. They were also hurt following a great match. It was just too long with too many weapons although they did pick it up at the end with Ambrose pulled down a bucket that had thumbtacks. They wrestled for along time after with Jericho using a codebreaker for a near fall. Ambrose came off the top of the cage with an elbow for a near fall.
Jericho used the Walls of Jericho but Ambrose used a kendo stick to break it. They also used a leather strap, fire extinguisher, and then saved a barbed wire board until late with Jericho using it. The match ended Jericho going for a Codebeaker, Ambrose blocking it and slamming Jericho into the thumbtacks, then giving him the Dirty Deeds into the tacks. Jericho’s body had thumb tacks sticking to him everywhere and he was selling it tremendously, bleeding from his triceps.
WWE WOMEN’S CHAMPION CHARLOTTE VS. NATALYA — SUBMISSIONS MATCH
Dana Brooke came out dressed as Ric Flair (wig, robe) and distracted Natalya when she had Charlotte in the sharpshooter. This allowed Charlotte to get Natalya from behind and put her in the figure eight for the submission. During the match, they traded submissions but were just getting the crowd just as the match was ending. Match wasn’t as good as last month. The crowd has never recovered since the four-way which tore down the house. Ric Flair, Brooke and Charlotte celebrated together at the end. So, the story of this match was to elevate Brooke into the top mix. It’s clear they are putting Charlotte and Brooke into a duo to eventually set them up as rivals.
WWE CHAMPION ROMAN REIGNS VS. A.J. STYLES IN AN EXTREME RULES MATCH
The big spot at the end was after Reigns won, Seth Rollins jumped in and hit the Pedigree. The crowd went totally nuts for him as a babyface and chanted “Thank you Seth.” He posed with the belt so Reigns vs. Rollins is the probable Money in the Bank main event.
The match ended with Styles going for the phenomenal forearm but Reigns nailed him with the spear for the pin. Styles had a death wish, taking some crazy (and I mean crazy) bumps including a high backdrop through a table where he landed on his tailbone. Anderson & Gallows interfered first and laid out Reigns but he still kicked out of the pin. The Usos came out and laid out Styles with superkicks and a splash off the top but he kicked out.
Reigns hit Anderson and Gallows with Superman punches. Reigns kicked out of a Styles clash, and Styles used a Styles Clash on a chair but Jey Uso pulled Styles off him. Styles got a chair and destroyed Reigns and the Usos with more than a dozen chair shots before going for the spingboard forearm. Another super match.
With the WWE roster close to being as strong as it’s been in a while thanks to the imminent returns of John Cena, Seth Rollins and more, how will the main event scene shake out? That’s just one of the topics of discussion on Wrestling Weekly today for Vic and Les!
– The show begins by talking about the late Mac York (Ricky Morton’s uncle) and a bit of a health update on Johnny Walker, better known as Mr. Wrestling II.
– That leads us into some talk on the careers of Mr. Wrestling 1 (Tim Woods) and 2, as well as some of the deepest rosters in the territory days (15:45) and why that was not uncommon back in the day.
– From there, we discuss what the main event scene in WWE could look like (30:01) with all those returning from injury to go alongside AJ Styles, Roman Reigns and the guys featured currently on TV.
– We close by opening the mailbag (45:49) to answer your questions about whether or not the art of wrestling has been lost, recruiting mainstream sports stars into wrestling (49:03)and how much longer are the McMahons going to dominate the main storylines in WWE (51:47)?
Submitted by James Girouard from the Denny Sanford Premier Center
– Dolph Ziggler b. Baron Corbin with a superkick and zig zag
Surprisingly good match. From a mechanical perspective, Corbin is much improved from where he was even a year ago.
– Titus O’Neil b. Fandango with a powerbomb
Fandango attacked Titus before the bell. Match itself probably went about a minute. Not much to it.
– WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte b. Natayla with a rollup after putting her feet on the ropes
Other than one or two mistimed spots early, the work was very good. However, the ring announcer (Eden Stiles) did ask the crowd before the match if they “wanted to see some beautiful women in the ring” so apparently old stereotypes die hard.
– Sami Zayn b. Stardust with the Blue Thunder bomb
Stardust stalled for most of the match and got quite a bit of heat. Zayn had a loyal, vocal minority really into him but Stardust was more over as a heel than Zayn was as a face. Match was fine, nothing special.
– AJ Styles b. Kevin Owens with the Phenomenal Forearm
Very good match, best of the night. Owens got a lot of heel heat early but was so great that as the match wore on he was getting as many cheers as boos. AJ’s in-ring timing is even more amazing live than it is on TV.
– Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows b. Darren Young & Mark Henry with the Magic Killer
Not much to the match, although it was weird to see Mark Henry as the babyface in peril. For not having been on TV very long Anderson & Gallows did get a decent reaction.
– Big Cass b. Primo with his East River Crossing sidewalk slam
Primo jumped Cass as he was cutting a promo before the match, but Cass ended up wiping him out quickly. Crowd was really into the singalong.
– IC Champion Miz (w/Maryse) b. Cesaro after throwing him into an exposed turnbuckle
Miz got tremendous heel heat from the second he walked out from the curtain until the match was over. Match was all sorts of overbooked with run-ins and interference from Maryse.
– WWE Champion Roman Reigns b. Sheamus with the spear
Hard hitting but the two have had much better matches. Both men were heavily booed at the start, but as the match wore on the reactions to Roman were probably 50-50. It is interesting because the last time Reigns was in Sioux Falls against Bray Wyatt he was pretty much universally cheered.
All in all, one of the better house shows I’ve seen from WWE since they started coming back to Sioux Falls regularly about 15 years ago. None of the matches were bad and the stuff that wasn’t as good was kept short. A lively crowd that was into the talent helped.
Ziggler wins by pinfall after a DDT and a kick to the face. Before the event begins, Baron Corbin cuts a promo on the screen saying he’s going to “give Ziggler a beating like he’s never had before.”
– Mark Henry & Darren Young vs. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson
Anderson pinned Darren Young after the Magic Killer.
– Kevin Owens cuts a promo on the videoboard, saying AJ Styles sports the worst hair cut, he doesn’t deserve to be in the same ring as him, and if anyone is phenomenal, it’s him. He says he’s going to beat him like you’ve never seen another man beat someone before.
– Titus O’Neil vs. Fandango
O’Neil wins by pinfall after a power bomb.
– Sami Zayn vs. Stardust
After the bell rings, the crowd bursts out into Sami and Cody chants. Stardust goes a bit ballistic and exits the ring to raise his hands to the crowd asking “What the heck?” Stardust then grabs a chair from under the ring but drops it as he tries to enter from the ref telling him not to bring it in. Zayn and Stardust then jump on the turnbuckles for a cheering contest in which Zayn wins after large amounts of boos for Stardust. As the match goes on, Stardust tries to pin Zayn multiple times. Each time he fails, the crowd puts up two fingers and Stardust shows three to each section. Zayn wins after a jump splash from the turnbuckle by pinfall.
– Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles
Right as the bell rings, Owens leaves the ring and walks around and rips up a fans sign. Styles wins by pinfall after the Phenomenal Forearm.
– WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte vs. Natalya
As Natalya goes after Charlotte in the turnbuckle, Charlotte counters and throws Natalya down and then rolled her up with her feet on the ropes to retain the title.
– Big Cass vs. Primo
Cass comes out with a mic and states that his partner is out with a head injury, but as long as he’s here, he’ll be doing it for the both of them. He goes on to say that he has one word for anyone who gets in his way. Before he can spell out “Sawft,” Primo attacks him from behind. Cass wins by pinfall and picks up the mic again and continues his speech, including spelling out “Sawft.”
– IC Champion The Miz (with Maryse) vs. Cesaro
While Miz is tapping from Cesaro’s submission, the ref is busy arguing with Maryse. Cesaro lets go of the submission to celebrate though no bell is rung. The ref explains and Cesaro starts to complain at Maryse. Then Miz throws Cesaro into the turnbuckle from behind and Cesaro falls. Miz then wins by pinfall.
Submitted by Nicholas Gronos from the Civic Center
– Dolph Ziggler def. Baron Corbin
Dolph wins via pinfall after a superkick. Dolph gets crowd into it right away.
– Gallows & Anderson def. Mark Henry & Darren Young
Heels win via pinfall after hitting the Magic Killer.
– Titus O’Neil def. Fandango
The crowd got quieter as the match went on. Titus was dominant, and got a big pop coming out.
– Sami Zayn def. Stardust
There were lots of “Cody” chants, and many Olé chants. Stardust kicks out of Blue Thunder Bomb, but Sami won via pinfall. Zayn hit the Exploder Suplex to set up the Helluva Kick.
– Intercontinental Champion The Miz (w/ Maryse) def. Cesaro
Miz and Maryse cut a promo to start. Cesaro uppercuts Miz into barricade, and big swings Miz. He puts him in the Sharpshooter, but Maryse distracts the ref while Miz taps out. Miz wins via pinfall after hitting the Skull Crushing Finale. After the match, Miz attempts to hit Cesaro with his belt. Cesaro ducks and puts him into the swing again, then hits the Neutralizer.
– Women’s Champion Charlotte def. Natalya
Charlotte won via roll-up with her feet on the ropes. Earlier in the match, Charlotte puts Nattie in the Figure 8, and Nattie put Charlotte in the Sharpshooter. Charlotte attempts back flip on Nattie, but Nattie rallies and power bombs Charlotte.
– Big Cass def. Diego
Big Cass wins via pinfall after hitting the East River Crossing. Pre-match Cass cuts promo dissing Diego and threatened to give him a “Bismarck beatdown”. Lots of “How you doin” chants throughout the match.
– WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles
All three got a huge reaction, and more cheers for Reigns than I expected. Reigns and Styles go after KO to start Roman attempts to suplex AJ off the top rope, KO runs up underneath and powerbombs them both. Lots of near falls. AJ does the Phenomenal Forearm to Roman, KO pulls the ref out of the ring, Roman kicks out of a frog splash from Owens. Roman hits the Superman Punch to knock AJ out of the ring, spears KO to win via pin.
A fun mix of classic and current talk on the show this week! Les gives us the latest on his friend and great wrestler back in the day Billy Wicks to start us off. From there, we’ll tackle a question sent to us regarding a match from the Memphis territory (9:31) featuring two very inexperienced guys and the way it was laid out. We’ll segue into a little talk about WWE Payback (16:05) with some thoughts Vic shares that come from a very new, pretty casual wrestling fan who has the kind of background that gives her views a unique perspective. Of course, the missive that Ryback fired off this week (33:12) gets a going over, as does the comments Yoshi Tatsu recently made (55:48) about WWE in a Japanese magazine. We’ll close the show looking at the powerbomb AJ Styles took to end Raw and whether or not AJ should have a gripe with Roman Reigns (72:10) for the way he was tossed onto the announcer’s table on Monday night. Thanks for listening and have a great weekend~!
– Air Date: May 5, 2016 – Location: Sprint Center in Kansas City, MO
– The Big News:
Roman Reigns and the Usos got some revenge over AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. Also, The Vaudevillains vs. The New Day was made official for Extreme Rules.
– Show Recap:
Chris Jericho came out for the Highlight Reel. He said Dean Ambrose thought he could be funny and zany when tangling with him, but it got serious when Jericho smashed the 20-pound pot over Ambrose. Jericho claimed that Ambrose spent the night in a St. Louis hospital with contusions, whiplash and bulging discs.
Jericho said Ambrose wasn’t here tonight, wasn’t going to run out to make a surprise appearance, and he should stay home for good. Jericho said it is a new era in WWE – his era. The crowd chanted “You suck” at Jericho, who introduced his guest Sami Zayn.
Jericho said his good friend Kevin Owens beat Zayn fair and square but Zayn continues to attack him, which makes him a sore loser. He also called Zayn a thief for posing with The Miz’s Intercontinental title. Jericho asked Zayn what kind of human being he is, and Zayn responded, “Actually, I think I’m a pretty good human being, honestly.” Zayn thought people would agree, just like they would agree that Jericho’s scarf makes him look stupid.
Zayn said he didn’t have a problem with Owens beating him, he had a problem with Owens slapping him in the face after the match and tossing him out of the ring like garbage. He also wasn’t trying to steal the IC Title. Miz interrupted.
Miz said he’s the only one who’s earned the right to hold the IC title belt and called Zayn a serial coattail rider. Miz warned Zayn not to lay a finger on the title again, so Zayn repeatedly touched the title with his finger, which was funny. The crowd chanted for Zayn. Jericho said if someone laid a hand on his $15,000 jacket, he would do something about it, and told Miz he should do something about it.
Zayn couldn’t believe Jericho spent $15,000 on his jacket. Jericho started raging, tossed his stools down and left. Zayn called them jackasses. Miz said Zayn has no respect and called himself the biggest, baddest shark in WWE. Zayn touched the title again and challenged Miz to a fight, but Maryse got in his face. Zayn challenged him to a fight again but Miz bailed.
This segment was good enough. The biggest positive was that Sami Zayn, surprise surprise, came off very likable.
Non-title: Sami Zayn beat IC Champion The Miz (w/Maryse) via DQ
Miz tried tossing Zayn into the barricade, but Zayn leapt onto the barricade and nailed a moonsault. The highlight of that spot was the reaction of a girl in the front row. Kevin Owens came out (to his music) and joined commentary after a break.
Mauro Ranallo asked Owens what brought him to ringside and Jerry Lawler responded, “Obviously his legs brought him down here Mauro, don’t be an idiot!” Owens enjoyed that. Owens then mocked Miz for hitting an axe-handle off the top, calling him a great “athlete.” Zayn hit a dive to Miz on the outside, then got in Owens’ face.
Zayn went back after Miz, but Owens jumped Zayn from behind for the DQ. Miz and Owens double teamed him but Cesaro made the save (he stripped off his suit as he ran to the ring). Cesaro did the uppercut parade to both Miz and Owens, while still wearing sunglasses. Cesaro also caught Zayn with one by accident, which knocked him out of the ring. Cesaro tried to swing Miz but both Maryse and Owens got in the way and all the heels bailed. Cesaro posed with the title.
They showed a replay of the main event angle from Raw. Backstage, AJ Styles asked Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson if they were ready for round two. Anderson said Styles would have broken the chair over Roman Reigns if this was back in the day. Styles said it wasn’t, and reminded them he beat Reigns twice at Payback before Reigns beat him.
Styles said he would become champion, but would do it his way. Gallows and Anderson said Reigns may not see it that way after he put Styles through a table. Styles decided to go have a chat with Reigns. Anderson and Gallows were happy to hear it.
Promo for Primo and Epico. They also replayed the footage of Enzo Amore being knocked out, and announced The Vaudevillains vs. The New Day at Extreme Rules for the Tag-Team titles.
The Vaudevillains beat Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas via pinfall
The Vaudevillains did an inset promo, calling the New Day clowns and called themselves real men. They won in under two minutes with the Whirling Dervish.
Afterwards, Big Cass came out to tell the Vaudevillains they look like they came off the set of Sherlock Holmes. He said he was going to give them a whooping and called them soft. He knocked both guys out of the ring, when Axel jumped in and called them soft too. He tried to buddy up to Cass, but Cass hit him with the swinging side slam. Axel was pretty amusing here.
Natalya & Becky Lynch beat Emma & Women’s Champion Charlotte (w/Ric Flair) via submission
They worked over Natalya until she made the hot tag to Lynch, who ran wild on Emma until she was pulled out of the ring by Charlotte. They double teamed Lynch to gain control and worked her over until she made the hot tag to Natalya, who hit Charlotte with clotheslines, a low dropkick, and discus clothesline.
Natalya applied the Sharpshooter but Charlotte crawled to her corner and Emma tagged in. Emma knocked down Natalya and hit a running crossbody. Lynch broke up the cover and knocked Charlotte off the ring. Natalya applied the Sharpshooter to Emma who tapped. Average match that went about 10 minutes. Emma didn’t need to be in this match.
Backstage, Reigns and the Usos were chatting when they were interrupted by AJ Styles. Reigns told Styles he had guts coming in there. Styles told Reigns he had him dead to rights on Raw. He took the high road, but he won’t next time. Styles asked if Reigns was going to be in the Usos’ corner in the main event. Reigns called himself the champ, called the Usos family, and he would be wherever he wanted to be. Styles said he would see them out there.
There was a really bizarre vignette with Darren Young. Young spoke about searching for a life coach. He said the answer was right in front of him, when the screen split and Bob Backlund appeared. Young asked Backlund if he would be his life coach.
Backlund said yes, he would be his “wrestling coach.” Young was glad, but he wanted a life coach, not a wrestling coach. Backlund screamed that the first lesson was “wrestling is life.” The segment ended with the words “Make Darren Young Great Again” on the screen. No idea what to make of this.
Rusev (w/Lana) beat Zack Ryder via submission
Ryder didn’t get an entrance. Also, Charles Robinson was the referee. Ranallo said Rusev claimed he would eat Kalisto’s big heart, and Rusev beat Ryder in just over a minute with the Accolade. The only thing to note was Rusev developed a hematoma after being sent face-first into the steel post. Lana wasn’t happy about that.
Afterwards, Kalisto ran in and attacked Rusev for basically no reason. They claimed it was because Lana was mocking the Lucha chants. He hit Rusev with a few kicks, springboard corkscrew crossbody, and then he left to pose with his title on the stage. Rusev vs. Kalisto should be pretty great.
The announcers plugged Camp WWE by reading the same script the announcers did on Raw.
Backstage, Fandango taught Goldust some new dance moves. After some “comedy,” Fandango challenged Truth and Tyler Breeze to a tag match next week. This is so dumb.
Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson (w/AJ Styles) beat The Usos (w/Roman Reigns) via DQ
As Gallows and Anderson made their entrance, Ranallo put them over as one of the best teams in Japan and Lawler responded, “Who cares about Japanese wrestling?” After Jey Uso was sent outside a couple minutes into the match, Reigns went to check on him, at which point Anderson used his boot to face-wash Reigns. Reigns jumped in the ring and attacked Anderson for the DQ, which led to a big brawl.
A bunch of officials ran down to break it up. Styles grabbed a mic and said, “I thought this was a new era – or his that just for Raw? This is Smackdown, and we’re going to finish what we started, now!” Normally these setups to turn a singles match into a tag match (or a tag match into a six-man in this case) feels really phony, but this was done well and the crowd was into it. It was chaotic and the fans just wanted to see them fight.
WWE Champion Roman Reigns & The Usos beat AJ Styles, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson via pinfall
Reigns and Styles started as they did on Raw, and there were dueling chants from the crowd. Reigns seemed to be getting the better of it until Styles backed him into the corner for Anderson to make a tag. Reigns and the Usos triple-teamed Anderson but he eventually backed Jey Uso into the corner for Gallows to make a tag. The Usos double teamed him, but Gallows gained control with a big boot on Jimmy Uso.
Reigns made a hot tag and hit Anderson with a jumping clothesline and clotheslines in the corner. He knocked Styles off the apron with a right hand as well. Reigns superman punched Gallows off the apron. He tried to hit Styles with one as well, but Styles hung him over the top rope, and Anderson followed with a school boy for a near fall.
An Uso hit Gallows with a suicide dive and Reigns hit Anderson with a superman punch. Reigns went for a spear but Styles cut him off with forearm. An Uso dragged Styles out of the ring and Anderson made a cover on Reigns for a close near fall. Anderson followed with a spinebuster for another near fall, but Reigns popped back with a spear for the pinfall win.
Styles tried to make the save before the pinfall, but was held back by an Uso. As soon as Reigns got the 3 count, he and Styles stared at each other, perhaps acknowledging how close this was. After they showed a replay of the finish, Styles and Reigns were still in a staredown. Styles pointed at the title saying “That’s mine” and Reigns held it up to end the show.
– Final Thoughts:
This was a mostly mundane show again until the main event stuff, which I thought was really good. Not a fan of Gallows/Anderson losing already, but at least it was to the champ.
WWE’s first big event since Wrestlemania plays out Sunday night with Payback where an Internet fan favorite battles an Internet scourge for what was once the biggest prize in the business in the main event. Five titles will be on the line tonight at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, IL, outside Chicago. This is the fourth Payback event in company history, and Reigns has been in the main event for the last three.
Pre-Show:
DOLPH ZIGGLER VS. BARON CORBIN
Corbin took most of the match, had Ziggler up for a power bomb but flipped him backwards instead into the post. Corbin then started stalling and celebrating and they were totally teasing the idea that Corbin was taking it for granted. Corbin got in the ring and Ziggler pinned him with a schoolboy. It was fine for a preshow match.
U.S. CHAMPION KALISTO VS. RYBACK
They went really fast and did a lot of near falls ending with Ryback missing a splash off the top rope and Kalisto pinned him with Salida del Sol. A few botched spots but it was okay. Kalisto did a tope and some spinning moves.
New Day did an interview saying they were going to be at ringside for the tag team tournament final later tonight.
Main Card:
WWE TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT FINALS: ENZO & CASS VS. VAUDEVILLAINS
There was a legit injury a few minutes into the match. Simon Gotch threw Enzo Amore out of the ring. Amore’s left arm caught the middle rope as he was sliding and his head hit the middle rope and then the back of Enzo’s head hit the apron and he fell to the floor. Ref Dan Engler immediately put up an “X” and they stopped the match. It was legit as the cameras quickly went to the announcers while medical personnel were working on Enzo and he was carried out. No announcement was made and JBL and Byron Saxton looked pretty concerned.
They said that Enzo can move his extremities and is talking and was rushed to the hospital.
SAMI ZAYN VS. KEVIN OWENS
Excellent match. Owens, who a bloody nose, won clean with a superkick and the pop up power bomb. Owens stepped on him after the match. Owens slapped him in he face and threw him out of the ring when it was over. They worked this more like a Japanese match than a WWE match with the pacing and Zayn popping up from moves as opposed to long term selling. The crowd was going pretty nuts in spots, particularly the usual Zayn dive from the floor into and out of the ring with the DDT on the floor. Owens did a cool frog splash.
Owens wanted Byron Saxton to come in the ring. Owens teased opening the ropes for him but then didn’t. Saxton asked if the rivalry was over. Owens said he beat Zayn. Owens said he finally put to rest the question after 14 years, he’s the better man. Now he wants the IC title back. Saxton noted the match was next. Owens said he didn’t know the match was next but he’s staying to do commentary in the match.
I-C CHAMPION THE MIZ VS. CESARO
The match was good. It was a set up for a four-way program for the title with Owens and Zayn. Zayn ran down to ringside during the match. Zayn attacked Owens. They were fighting. In the ring Cesaro used a giant swing and had the crossface on. Miz was tapping but ref John Cone was distracted by breaking up Zayn and Owens. Cesaro let go of the move and knocked both Zayn and Owens off the apron and Miz schoolboyed him for the pin to keep the title.
After the match, Cesaro laid out Miz with the neutralizer. Owens superkicked Cesaro. Owens also power bombed Zayn again and went to power bomb Miz, but Maryse pulled Miz out of the ring to safety. Owens grabbed the belt.
They announced Enzo was in the hospital and able to communicate with the medical staff and move his arms and legs. He was knocked out at one point before waking up backstage before they rushed him to the hospital.
CHRIS JERICHO VS. DEAN AMBROSE
Another excellent match. Ambrose did a tope and may have hit Jericho head first because he came up bleeding from the nose. Jericho also hit the back of his head on the German table. Ambrose won clean with Dirty Deeds after Jericho went for the quebrada but Ambrose got his knees up and threw a seris of knees to set up the finish. This was more Americanzied than Zayn vs. Owens. There were several spots coming off the Walls of Jericho used.
Mauro Ranallo interviewed A.J. Styles, and he asked about Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. He said it’s one-on-one tonight.
They showed Shane McMahon talking to Sasha Banks.
WWE WOMEN’S CHAMPION CHARLOTTE (WITH RIC FLAIR) VS. NATALYA (WITH BRET HART)
The match was going well when they redid the 1997 Survivoir Series finish. Charlotte put Natalya in the sharpshooter and ref Charles Robinson called for the bell even though Natalya didn’t submit After the match, Bret Hart knocked down Ric Flair, Charles Robinson ran off, Natalya put Charlotte in the sharpshooter and Flair and Charlotte both tapped. Natalya was doing a great job of selling the knee most of the way refusing to submit to the figure four. The match was designed to build a rematch more than be a great match building to a conclusion. Not sure if there weren’t better ways to get where they were going but that’s the way they know.
Vince McMahon called out Stephanie and Shane. Will update later as we had technical issues on the site but the end result was Vince chose that both would have to get along and run Raw together and it starts a new era. Obviously they needed a shock and change to Raw with the ratings the way they were, but more McMahons isn’t new but the same thing they’ve been doing for two decades. Stephanie did a big speech about all she accomplished. Shane had newspaper clippings claiming he was doing a great job and Vince said he didn’t care what the media thought or anyone thought.
– Enzo had a concussion but all other tests have come back negative. He is believed to be out of the hospital right now.
WWE CHAMPION ROMAN REIGNS VS. A.J. STYLES
The match was designed to get over Stephanie and Shane. Fans hated Reigns of course with “Roman sucks” chants. After Reigns got to the ropes after the calf crusher, he was out of the ring. Styles did the springboard forearm to the floor and they all went through one of the announcers tables. It was an amazing spot, particularly in slow motion. Styles barely got up, tried to get Reigns in the ring but Styles couldn’t get him in, jumped in himself and won via count out.
Shane came out and restarted the match as a no count out match. They went about two minutes and Styles came off the top rope into a punch by Reigns which was low. The ref DQ’d Reigns so again Styles won but didn’t win the title. Of course, Stephanie came out and restarted the match.
The third match had some cool stuff. Styles kicked out of a Superman punch. Reigns hit a second Superman punch and Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson ran in and pulled Styles out of the ring. They double teamed and laid out Reigns with the boot of doom since this was a no DQ match. Then they left. Styles hit the springboard forearm but Reigns got his foot on the ropes. The Usos came out to fight Anderson and Gallows. Styles went to the top rope but Reigns shoved him off and Styles flew to the floor but landed on everyone. Reigns then did a running dive over the top. The match continued and Styles hit a springboard 450 but Reigns kicked out. Styles went for the Styles Clash, but Reigns backdropped him over the top rope. Reigns went for a Superman punch but Styles snapped his neck on the top rope. Reigns then speared Styles and pinned him. The announcers put over how Reigns earned the win.
It felt more like a TNA main event with all the overbooked stuff at the end. Styles was excellent in his timing. When it was over, the stars were the McMahons who were all together and Vince said the match was great, asked Stephanie & Shane if Styles deserved a rematch, they both said he did, and it’s an Extreme Rules match in three weeks on the Extreme Rules PPV.
