WWE Raw Review: 22.08.2016

Sooooooo…. Summerslam was weird, right? The matches weren’t terrible and there wasn’t a major problem with the results either, but the show was just off in some way. Going into Raw there are some big events that need to be addressed. The ordeal that was the main event, the lack of a US title match and most importantly the Universal Title. The belt may look like trash but my boy Finn Balor ascended to the top of the mountain and has earned his first WWE world championship, let’s pray for a long fruitful reign.

OPENER

Well fuck. The show opens with the announcement that last night Finn Balor injured himself during his match with Seth Rollins. Due to this injury, Finn will be out for 6 months and therefore has to vacate the title. This is fucking terrible news and I am praying Finn gets better ASAP. Balor gives a moving speech announcing that he has to leave but when he comes back he will be back in the hunt for the title. Before the Demon even has the chance to make his way to the back, the herd of challengers make their way into the ring. First Seth Rollins, followed by Zayn, Owens, Jericho, Enzo & Cass, and Roman Reigns. Foley announces a short tournament for the title that will end with a fatal 4 way next week.

SETH ROLLINS vs SAMI ZAYN

Before the rest of the wrestlers were able to make it to the back, Seth decides to ambush Zayn to get the first match of the tournament started. The match went as all the previous Rollins/Zayn matches did, which means it was very good.  Zayn eventually takes a nasty bump on his ankle which looked like a legitimate injury but as it turns out this was a worked spot that completely fooled me. Zayn was almost able to pull off a comeback to grab the win but in the end, a pedigree from Seth was able to seal the deal and made Crossfit Jesus the first man in the finals next week.

KEVIN OWENS vs NEVILLE

Well, we know who is winning this match right? I mean, no offense to Neville but he is far from the main event picture at the moment. Whereas Kevin Owens seems like the next in line for his moment. Despite the predictable outcome, Owens and Neville put on a really great match. Owens worked wonders selling the insane offense of Neville, and despite the unnecessary Jericho involvement the finish worked well as it allowed Neville to look slightly stronger than he would with a clean loss.

• The New Day come down to the ring and discuss their title reign. They celebrate retaining the title to make their reign officially over a year. The club comes down and demands their rematch which they are entitled to as they won the match last night even if it was by DQ. This segment sets up the next match Big E vs Karl Anderson, but honestly… I don’t care. This feud has managed to make what used to be one of the freshest teams feel stale, and weaken the reputation of the Club.

BIG E vs KARL ANDERSON

This was a short pointless match that had no purpose and only made The Club look ridiculous and gave little momentum to the New Day. Most of the action happened outside of the ring with the other members of both respective teams at ringside. Woods and Kingston brawled with Gallows and Big E hit the Big Ending for the win.

• Titus O’Neil delivers one of the worst promos I have ever heard. I mean Jesus Christ this was bad. He stumbled over his words like they were Olympic hurdles and the actual meat of the promo wasn’t anything special to being with. The promo ended with a Titus vs Darren confrontation.

RUSEV vs BIG CASS

Rusev is obviously worse for wear after the events of the previous night with Roman Reigns, which can be seen by the taped up ribs. Throughout the match, Rusev tries to act like his usual bullying self but the injury to his ribs prevents him from doing so. Rusev does a great job of selling the injury to his ribs and the damage done to Rusev obviously impacts his ability to go in the ring. The Bulgarian Brute walks out of the match halfway due to his injuries, meaning that Cass picks up the victory by count out. I feel like this was the right decision as the count out victory does not hurt Rusev too badly and even though he will not win the match, just being involved elevates Cass.

• Tom Phillips interviews JeriKO who as usual make fun of the interviewer and then argue about who will win the title.

CHARLOTTE DOESN’T LIKE HUGS

Fresh off her title win last night Charlotte delivers a promo detailing how she was able to beat Sasha Banks all by herself, without the help of her dad or Dana. Charlotte once again, top of the female division, decides that she is the queen of the WWE roster and tells Sasha that there is no point in her coming back to WWE. As she is about to leave Mick Foley decides to once again get overly involved in women’s wrestling and announce the new signing Raw has made, BAYLEY! The hugger herself has made her way to the main roster finally! Who would have thought that Alexa, Dana, Mojo, American Alpha and Nia Jax would get called up before her? Bayley is her usual babyface self as she hugged  Foley and even stole his cheap pop which made me laugh out loud. Charlotte is furious at this addition to the roster so she decides that Bayley has to make her way through the Women’s division the good ole fashioned way. By wrestling. Foley agrees to this and sets up Dana vs Bayley.  The pop for Bayley was great and her involvement will give the roster a fresh new feel.

BAYLEY vs DANA BROOKE

Bayley vs Dana Brooke was a solid match which is to be expected when you have a great worker vs a not so great worker. The hugger surprisingly had a 50/50 match with Brooke, considering this was her debut I expected her to bury Dana or whoever she would be facing, but it looks like they are committed to this babyface underdog story which is a good choice. Despite Charlotte’s involvement Bayley is able to pick up the win.

• Reigns says he is a big man with a big fist
• Cruiserweights are coming to Raw September 19^th. Excited to see my favourites such as Swann, Alexander, and THE Brian Kendrick.
• The best of 7 series continues next week. Sheamus says Cesaro will fold like New York sports teams (cheap heat).

BRAUN STROWMAN vs GAY RIGHTS

So we see the latest victim of Braun ‘I piss my pants’ Strowman, who is in an interview with Byron Saxton. His reasoning for fighting Braun is that he likes big sweaty men….. Is this the LGBT stories we had been told to expect? I can’t say I am surprised. Obviously, Strowman wins.

DUDLEYZ SAY GOODBYE

The Dudleyz come out to the ring in their hometown of Brooklyn, New York to say their goodbyes. I was certain that we would be seeing a Bubba heel turn on D-Von (come on Reverend D-Von I need you). However, it seems that the teasing we have been getting over the last few weeks will have no payoff. The Dudleyz go through their career bringing up the famed TLC match and their opponents like Edge and Christian and The Hardys (DELETE). The Club come out and they attack the retiring legends, earning the Club some cheap heat and possibly setting up a final match for the Dudleyz at Clash of Champions?

ROMAN REIGNS vs CHRIS JERICHO

This matchup has a rocky first half. The match seemed like it was just going through the motions from spot to spot. Nothing was visibly impressive despite both men being good in the ring (Jericho especially is an all-time great). Y2J played the part of an over cocky heel who really had no reason to be while Roman played the part of a dominating beast, beating down Jericho and hitting big moves. Kevin Owens arrives to help out his pal Chris but while he is able to hit the Samoan Badass with a superkick he is ultimately unsuccessful at securing the win for Jericho as Roman is able to get the W after taking out Owens and hitting Y2J with a spear.

FINAL NOTES AND SCORE

• Tonight’s MVP: Kevin Owens
• Match of the Night: Zayn vs Rollins
• Moment of the Night: Bayley debut
• So the title 4 way next week is Owens vs Reigns vs Rollins vs Cass. My prediction now is Owens to win and for us to get Reigns vs Owens up until Survivor Series.
• Finn you will be missed, I pray for a Demon return at the Rumble.
• The Club needs to be given wins soon, they are quickly becoming a joke.

So this Raw was once again weaker than its blue counterpart, but it wasn’t as bad as last week’s go home show. Good matches that actually meant something saved this Raw earning a 6/10.

WWE Monday Night Raw Recap July 25, 2016

The night starts off with a bang! A new set for the show with a brand new logo. Honestly they didn’t change much, looks the same. Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley start in the ring, bringing every RAW wrestler on stage. They announce that there will be a new belt introduced on RAW. Calling it the WWE Universal Championship. Two huge fatal 4-way matches are announced with the winners facing each other in the main event. A winner from that match will go on to face Seth Rollins for the new title at SummerSlam. The 8 men announced are Sami Zayn, Sheamus, Chris Jericho, Roman Reigns, Cesaro, Rusev, Kevin Owens and……the Demon! Finn Balor!! Pittsburgh erupts with an ovation well deserved. Also announced is a WWE Women’s Championship between Charlotte and Sasha Banks. A great opening segment to a new era in the WWE. I have loved Stephanie since I was 10 years old and I won’t stop. On a side note the commentators are now reporting live from the entrance area. A new team of Michael Cole, Byron Saxton and Corey Graves.

Fatal 4-Way
Kevin Owens vs Rusev vs Cesaro vs Finn Balor
Overall the match was really good interrupted by too many commercials. All guys got their move sets in hitting every signature move. Rusev and Owens worked together at one point. Owens called the match in the middle out loud telling Rusev what to do next. Cesaro was impressive with his swiss upper cuts and big swing, that he successfully hit on Rusev. They used every space in and out of the ring, which I always appreciate. Near falls for all men involved finally concluding with Finn Balor taking advantage at the end. Vintage Balor moves, sling blade, Pele’ kick, double dropkick into the ropes setting up Rusev for the Coup De’ Grace. Jumping High into the air stomping both feet on Rusev for the 1,2,3! Pittsburgh goes crazy as we will see who faces Finn Balor in the Main Event?!!!

Nia Jax Debut
Nia Jax fought a jobber in a match that took about 2 minutes. You can picture the match probably in your head right now, Nia Jax winning in dominate fashion. I actually like Nia Jax and think she can shake up the division if they use her properly.

Fatal 4-Way
Chris Jericho vs Sami Zayn vs Sheamus vs Roman Reigns
Roman of course gets booed like crazy on his entrance. All 3 men attack Reigns to start which is entertaining to me. Sami Zayn is clearly the crowd favorite almost by default. Slow paced match that was brought back to life by Roman, hitting a flying move over the top rope on the 3 other wrestlers,  outside of the ring. Sami seems to be a much better wrestler showcasing it in this match. Sami had a near fall on Roman via blue thunder bomb. Roman hits a spectacular razor’s edge powerbomb to a very close near fall on Sami. Roman superman punches every guy in the ring multiple times. Jericho botches a spot with Roman, interesting. Roman very athletically leap frogs over Jericho and hits a spear moments later. 1….2…..3! Reigns with the victory! Roman was actually pretty impressive in this match showing off his power and strength. Setting up Finn Balor vs Roman Reigns in the main event! I’m not a Reigns guy but I do appreciate when a wrestler puts on a good performance and he did tonight. I am not mad with Roman Reigns winning even though I am a Sami Zayn fan.

New Day Celebration
I like New Day but they never wrestle. I can not remember the last time they defended their record-breaking tag team titles? A title reign should be vindicated with at least a few defenses. But the fans still are behind them as they celebrate in a decent segment revealing their new cereal Booty-O’s. (PG show though right?) They show a video package which I personally couldn’t care less about. They choose an honorary New Day member from the crowd which is obviously a plant. The audience members name is Sonny Boy? Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows interrupt the celebration! Thank You!! Destroying each member of New Day. Hitting magic killer on Big E, ripping off their outfits embarrassing them. A segment to kill time in my view.

Neville vs Curtis Axel
JoJo Introduces Curtis Axel as Mr. Irrelevant. Neville makes his ring return which I am excited about. He is more than talented and has tremendous experience all over the world. Another wrestler who deserves more of a shot than he gets. A match in which Neville almost looks like he is facing a jobber, showcasing his move repertoire. Hitting Red Arrow which all fans should love! Neville should at least be thrown into the Intercontinental or United States Championship picture. This new era could definitely use a fresh face like him. Go Neville!

WWE Women’s Championship
Charlotte vs Sasha Banks
First off, I think Sasha Banks needs to change her entrance music. Sasha is super talented but I don’t understand why she has sky rocketed to the top? All because she likes Eddie Guerrero and is cousins with Snoop Dogg? (I want to hang out with Snoop Dogg one day) Charlotte enters with her protegé Dana Brooke. They grapple and roll around for the beginning of the match. A distraction by Dana gives Charlotte the advantage. Sasha hits bank statement into a different type of straight jacket submission. Charlotte breaks out, another bank statement attempt. They spill to the outside of the ring with Sasha hitting her double knees off the apron which is always fun to watch. Moments later Charlotte violently kicks Sasha into thew barricade teasing her with the Women’s Championship. Charlotte rolls into the ring and in a very good homage to Eddie Guerrero, she tosses the belt to Dana Brooke acting as if she was hit with the belt. We Lie, We Cheat, We Steal! Mike Chioda of course sees this and ejects Dana Brooke from ringside. A great moment destroyed by a commercial break! (bad timing with commercials tonight WWE) Some decent wrestling after the break concludes, with a near fall after double knees in the turnbuckle by Sasha. Moments later, Sasha botches another suicide dive landing very awkwardly. (hopefully she is okay) Charlotte lands a moonsault from the top rope, to the outside onto Sasha! Holy S–T! Echoes through Pittsburgh. Near falls climax after Charlotte hits natural selection to a 2 count! Figure Four attempt on Sasha as she holds the submission attempt rolling onto the apron. Sasha continues with another bank statement attempt broken up by a rope break. Another backstabber into a bank statement in the center of the ring! Charlotte taps to everyone’s surprise! And Neeeeewwwww! Women’s Champion! Sasha Banks! If I am being realistic it wasn’t the great of a match. Charlotte outperformed her in my opinion hitting a majority of the big spots and not botching anything. Byron Saxton comes to the ring to interview her, as the crowd goes wild chanting YES!

Braun Strowman Debut
Braun Strowman comes out to a new look, and pretty cool entrance music. James Ellsworth, a local competitor the size of a cockroach is set to face him. Strowman destroys him in less than 2 minutes with a reverse chokeslam. A dominating performance similar to Nia Jax earlier in the night.

Throughout the night Goldust and R-Truth walk around backstage looking for Pokémon! Pretty funny segments in-between matches.

Enzo and Cass vs Shining Stars
Enzo comes out and does his thing on the mic. Big Cass is interrupted by Primo and Epico promoting their beautiful paradise in the Caribbean, Puerto Rico! Enzo and Cass dominate the match fairly quickly after a big boot by Big Cass. During the match R-Truth walked through the match looking for Pokémon haha! I thought that was genius writing for once by WWE. A funny moment which brought a smile to my face. Maybe a tease for Golden Truth to face off against Jersey’s finest! Another quick segment match which makes 3 for the night. If you combine this match with Nia Jax and Braun Strowman, it would take longer to say the alphabet. You need balance and variety which is the only defense I can come up with to explain these matches.

They announce Brock Lesnar will return next week on RAW!

Main Event
Roman Reigns vs Finn Balor
This has the potential to be an amazing match! I am very enthused to see who will fight Seth Rollins at SummerSlam for the WWE Universal Championship. Finn receives a great response. Reigns, obviously again getting booed. Reigns tosses Balor viciously like a rag doll to start. Reigns exuding his power in an angry mood. The match displays quickness against strength. Size against strategy. Big clothesline in the corner by Roman. Leaving Finn displayed on the ropes. Roman looks for his double dropkick on the apron, Finn jumps over the ropes and double foot stomps onto the outside! Finn dropkicks Roman into the barricade followed by another bad commercial break just as the match was picking up! ( Did I mention I hate commercials) Headlock in the middle of the ring on Finn Balor. It feels as if Roman Reigns is trying to slow the match down using slow power moves. I remind you this is the second match for both of these men. A missed superman punch moments later clears Finn Balor for a running knee on the apron to Reigns. Leading to a high-flying coupe de grace to the back of the head by Finn Balor for a 1….2…kickout! Both guys are physically exhausted following Balor’s sling blade. They rise to their feet, Finn runs into a superman punch! 1….2………Kickout!! I can’t believe he kicked out from the destructive punch by Roman Reigns! Reigns power bombs Finn twice, almost breaking him in half to another near fall! Looking for the spear, runs into another sling blade, double dropkick into the corner! Finn climbs to the top rope! Coup De Grace!!!! 1…..2……3!!! Happy Birthday Finn Balor!!! An amazing ending to a decent match. Baylor being the much appreciated victor in this one. I am shocked Finn Balor won! Thank You Stephanie and Mick!! It is a New Era in WWE!! Another post-fight interview with Roman Reigns. Seems like they are just copying UFC with the interviews following the matches. They have better writers than that, I think. Finally a good Monday Night RAW with the winner being the fans going home happy. Don’t count your chickens though, we will see who is the first Universal Champion at SummerSlam!!

WWE BATTLEGROUND Results/Recap

Kickoff Show
Usos vs Breezango
Jimmy and Jey Uso arrive first on the kickoff entrance. I still believe they have one of the more entertaining entrances even though it has lost some steam over time. Breezango enter right after to a few spots of cheers. It feels like Breezango might win the match. Fandango starts against Jimmy, getting caught in a decent double team move followed by some chops. Tyler Breeze and Fandango show some decent teamwork with a slingshot elbow hopping over the top rope by Fandango. Frequent tags by Breezango leads to an opening by the Uso’s after they miss a window of opportunity. The Uso’s try to pump up the crowd with an US-O chant but it is followed by a sea of boos. The match is slow-paced with the crowd waiting for something to happen. Crowd cheering for Breezango after some near falls. A confusing outside spot leads to a super kick fiasco by the Usos. Jimmy sets up for a big splash, as Jey spears through the ropes with a suicide dive taking out Fandango on the outside. Jimmy jumps and hits the splash on Tyler Breeze but being the legal man, he wisely rolls Jimmy into a small package ending in a 1,2,3 count victory! Received well by the crowd to a moderate cheer!
Winners-Tyler Breeze and Fandango (Breezango)

Main Match Card
Charlotte and Dana Brooke vs Sasha Banks and ????
Sasha Banks enters to an eruption of cheers after Charlotte and Dana are already in the ring. Sasha’s mystery partner is……BAYLEY!!! Thank You GOD!!! WWE finally did something for the fans!! My heart is racing from the enormous reception she received. I have donned Bayley the female Daniel Bryan. Charlotte and Dana cutoff their celebration attacking both Sasha and Bayley knocking them outside the ring. Referee Mike Chioda settles things down and they ring the bell! Charlotte and Bayley begin the match with the crowd cheering for every move done by Sasha and Bayley. Sasha botches a hurricanrana off the top rope but still manages some effectiveness. Dana Brooke and Charlotte control the majority of the match for a good five minutes. A vicious double clothesline by Bayley and Dana allows the hot tag to Sasha who cleans house against Charlotte. Sasha hits double knees on Charlotte but again botches a cross body off the top rope barely connecting. Charlotte hits natural selection but Bayley makes the save! Sasha hits a bank statement but Dana makes the save. A squirm ends, with Sasha hitting another bank statement, Charlotte tapping fairly quickly! Sasha and Bayley have a moment with a hug after to a huge reaction! I was happy for Bayley, especially starting out the night on a great note and a gift from WWE. An ok match in which you kind of wanted more from Bayley but WWE did not allow it.
Winners – Sasha Banks and Bayley

Second Match
A New Day vs The Wyatt Family
New Day come out to a big crowd reaction as they immediately make a Taylor Swift joke while referencing Bone Crusher’s “Never Scared” hit song entering the ring. As they spew out the giddiness of being drafted together to RAW. The Wyatt Family disrupts them as the crowd turns into a sea of fireflies. New Day tags each member in before the match starts, while Xavier Woods is still hypnotized by Bray Wyatt. Frequent tags by both teams as every member appeared in the ring, in the first 30 seconds. Erick Rowan and Kofi Kingston end up as the beginners of the match. There has been 2 headlocks with no real action to begin with, other than a mean clothesline by Bray Wyatt on Kofi. Wyatt family clearly in control for the first part of this match. Big E gets the crowd back into it with his Big Splash chanting “New Day Rocks.” Kofi moments later hits a flip over the top rope on Strowman on the outside. Bray goes to hit Sister Abigail and Xavier Woods interrupts, to a standoff with Bray again hypnotizing Xavier. Eventually he breaks out of it and attacks Bray to a crowd cheer. Strowman grabs a hold of Xavier choking him and Big E hits his suicide spear on Strowman landing really awkwardly. Hopefully he is alright. In the blink of an eye you see Bray Wyatt in his spider walk, freezing Xavier in time which allows him to hit sister abigail for the 1,2,3 count! I am a fan of the Wyatts but it doesn’t matter as the winner of this match means nothing. Only time will tell where all these Wyatt Family superstars wil go. Bray Wyatt got the pin so I am satisfied with it.
Winners – The Wyatt Family

Third Match
United States Championship
Rusev vs Zack Ryder
Lana is in the ring pretty much wearing a wedding dress outfit and tiara. I am already falling asleep. Zack Ryder comes out in an american flag Randy Savage looking outfit. Rusev is dominating with a series of wrestling moves and headlocks. Zack Ryder fights back to a desperate crowd cheering USA! trying to will some energy into this match. Rusev has done nothing but hug Zack up until this point. Ryder again trying to fight back with some forearms. Crowd chanting Woo! With every connection. The first attempt for a Broski Kick is stopped short by Rusev. Zach reverses a suplex into a neck breaker which is quite a good move on the eye. They tangle outside for a minute ending with Zack Ryder hitting a dropkick off the barricade. They enter the ring with Zack Ryder hitting a Rough Ryder and missing a Macho Man-esq elbow off the top rope. Rusev then locks in the “Rusev Crush'” applying major pressure, ending in a Zack Ryder tap out. Snooze Button Please….Rusev attacks Zack after the match with Mojo Rawley coming out for the save! I don’t know what this does for WWE but maybe just a segment that the writers did not want to work too hard on.
Winner – Rusev

Fourth Match
Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens
Let’s Go! Sami Zayn receives a great reaction as the vignette done by WWE was actually pretty good in-between matches. Kevin Owens musics hits to an equally big pop from the Verizon Center dawning a clean look. Sami immediately goes for a helluva kick, but misses as they spill to the outside exchanging aggressive moves, with Sami having the upper hand. The crowd going back and forth cheering both amazing wrestlers. Owens hits his cannonball to a near fall. You can feel the energy with crowd again starting an Ole’ chant, to Kevin Owens mocking them. Owens has had the advantage for most of the match so far. A 2 minute headlock by Owens allows the crowd to build behind Sami as he fights back with a big clothesline. A Michinoku driver out of nowhere to a near fall. Sami botches a flip off the rope, which looked like a botch on purpose so Owens can work on that limb. A blue thunder bomb, again out of nowhere to a near fall. Sami clutching that arm, again looks like a work on the botched move. Each wrestler struggles on the top rope teasing a superplex. Sami fights off Owens ending with a super kick into a crossface. Pretty good match so far I must say. Sami moments later hits a exploder suplex missing a helluva kick again. Both men fight on the apron with Sami hitting an amazing Suplex on the side of the apron to a “This Is Awesome” chant. Exchanging right hands to the crowd, being again half and half on the cheering meter.  Violently trading right hands. Later, Sami goes for the tornado ddt through the ring post and is met by a super kick followed by a cannonball, followed by a frog splash! What A Sequence! Only a 2 count as Sami Keeps fighting! Sami hits a tornado ddt, walking on the ropes Undertaker style. Walking into a super kick by Owens followed by dragon suplex and then another, for a 2 count! The Crowd Is Standing Up Chanting YES!! Sami goes for a helluva kick running into a pop-up power bomb to a really close 2 count with Sami’s foot on the rope. Again “This Is Awesome” chant! Kevin Owens slaps the s**t out of Sami, with him begging for another. Sami stands up and hits Kevin with an exploder suplex, followed by 2 vicious helluva kicks for the 1…2…3!!! An amazing match!! By far the best match in a while put on by WWE, finally giving the crowd a great match stealing the show! A match for the ages, story telling, good wrestling and a finish sequence that had the crowd cheering the whole time. I really wish they would fight forever every week for the rest of my life!
Winner- Sami Zayn

Fifth Match
Natalya vs Becky Lynch
Every time Natalya’s music hits I get a nostalgia moment for my favorite wrestler Bret Hart. They grapple for the advantage with Natalya leaving the ring in a heel move. Becky is the crowd favorite, as Natalya methodically stays outside the ring every chance she gets. Whipping Becky into the steel steps hurting her leg. Natalya works on that leg Bret Hart style setting her up for the infamous sharpshooter hopefully. Becky is doing a fantastic job of selling her leg injury as Nattie continues to attack it. Natalya does a very acrobatic flip showboating, which is quite impressive. Becky comes back with an enziguiri, followed by some clotheslines. They trade submission attempts but Natalya locks the sharpshooter in with Becky crawling to a rope break. Moments later another sharpshooter hold is applied in the center of the ring. Strategically dragging her back into the center everytime Becky crawls to the ropes. Becky taps painfully with the winner Natalya! This match will go unnoticed because of the short segment they had. I like both female wrestlers and believe they are both at the top in terms of talent. Obviously Natalya is the best given her experience and background. Once again they deserved a better rivalry and more time to expand this feud!
Winner- Natalya

Sixth Match
Darren Young vs The Miz
What the hell is Miz and Maryse wearing?!?!? All I can say is google it. Darren Young looks good to start the match executing his holds well. Backlund shouts some words of encouragement as again he performs his maneuvers very technically. Maryse with a distraction, allowing Miz to push Young off the top rope. Headlock by Miz allowing the crowd to pick sides, they clap for Darren to come back. Miz talks trash to Backlund, which I think is a dumb move, if you know who Bob Backlund is. Both guys try a backslide and fail for about 10 seconds. Miz hits the boots in the corner stomping out Darren Young showboating. Young explodes with a suplex. Pumping up the crowd Young drops Miz on the apron. Miz tries to leave the arena as Backlund cuts him off. Maryse comes over and slaps Backlund pretending that Bob hit her. Miz comes outside the ring to confront Bob as Darren Young hops down and applies the crossfire chicken wing! The ref rings the bell in a disqualification because of a 10 count! Darren holds the submission attempt while referees try to break it up. Darren Young pushes a referee, which the commentators say will lead to a fine. I thought Darren Young looked good but we didn’t get a good enough sample size for these wrestlers which stinks! Darren Young does have potential with Bob Backlund but again a segment which felt rushed, and a terrible ending on a PPV!
Winner- The Miz

Seventh Match
John Cena, Enzo Amore and Big Cass vs The Club
Cena, Enzo and Big Cass gets a big crowd reaction! Enzo and Cass do their thing with the crowd behind them echoing every word. Enzo actually tells a few good jokes which are pretty funny. The crowd is 100% behind them. Well, all I can say is if there was a mic war, this match is already over. S-A-W-F-T SAWWWFFTTT! Great mic work by both men. Enzo Amore starts against Karl Anderson. Karl immediately tags AJ Styles to the crowd’s favored chant. Cass and Anderson enter, off both teams tagging. A minute later Cass sends Enzo outside into The Club minus AJ. Right after Cass sends AJ into The Club as well knocking everyone down. Cena chants, back and forth as you could imagine. Great teamwork by The Club attacking Enzo every moment they get. Enzo five minutes later is still getting beat up by The Club. Enzo fights them off and flies for a tag, which he is met mid-air, by a fantastic knee by Karl. Finally a tag to Cena, with the five moves of death coming. Every wrestler gets their hits in, finishing with a sit down choke bomb by Gallows on Cass. I am not sure what just happened as Cena used Enzo as a kendo stick almost. Every wrestler is hitting their spots, while it concludes with Enzo jumping off the steel steps hitting a ddt on Karl Anderson. Cena makes it into the ring, with the count of 8, falling into a styles clash disrupted by Cass. The Club takes control of the ring. Enzo is left in the ring hulking up against Anderson and Gallows. He takes out Anderson. Him and Gallows stand toe to toe eating a boot to the face. It is now Gallows and Cena in the ring with John knocking Gallows outside the ring. Styles mounts the top rope as Cena hits an amazing Attitude Adjustment for the 1…2….3! An entertaining match/segment that any fan would appreciate. All wrestlers had their good moments as Enzo stole the show again with his microphone skills! It’ll be interesting to see where Enzo and Cass go after this.
Winners-John Cena, Enzo Amore, Big Cass

Highlight Reel with Randy Orton
Randy’s music hits and everybody reacts positively! Randy is enjoying the response and he deserves it. He makes a joke about Y2J and the crowd immediately chants, RKO! RKO! They exchange insults which is pretty entertaining. Chris Jericho recalls the asylum match involving the 69 thumbtacks. Randy makes a pretty good Ellen DeGeneres joke as well. They show a vignette of Brock Lesnar. Randy explains he needed to make an epic return not like Jericho did against Fandango. Randy introduces he only needs 1 RKO a.k.a. Viper Ville, and says he does not need any enhancement!! WOOOO!! Jericho talks some more and they tease the RKO, followed by an RKO outta nowhere!! At SummerSlam it will be Suplex City vs Viper Ville!! Another segment which did not need to be on a PPV. It would have been much more exciting to see Randy return interfering in a match or interrupting a segment. But I did enjoy seeing him back as his mic skills have greatly improved.

Main Event
WWE Championship
Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins vs Roman Reigns
They introduce all the GM’s with Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan getting huge reactions. Seth Rollins has a good reaction. Roman Reigns gets booed like crazy. Dean Ambrose gets a pretty decent pop, but Seth wins the crowd reaction. The crowd is anticipating a great match. Mike Chioda rings the bell here we go! Roman Sucks! Chants echo through the Verizon Center! Reigns shoulder tackles Rollins to begin. Rollins taking the damage from both guys to begin. Quick schoolboy on Roman by Ambrose. Dean against Reigns to start. Boo! Yeah! Chants as Dean and Roman exchange right hands. Seth gets back involved in the match attacking both men. All 3 men go at it, fighting for control hitting intermediate level moves on one another. Rollins and Ambrose take the ring as Seth mocks Dean by slapping him. You can feel the crowd ready to explode! Reigns then goes after Rollins with Ambrose interfering. Running knee off the apron by Rollins on Ambrose. All men are outside the ring. Back body drop into the time-keeper on Rollins by Roman. Dean runs across all 3 announce tables colliding with each member of the former Shield. Dean and Roman scramble into the ring, with Ambrose having the upper hand. After a near fall Seth Rollins hits a splash on Dean following the pin. Roman takes advantage knocking out both men looking for a spear on both guys. Superman Punch on Seth, Clothesline from Dean on Roman! In a triangle, the former Shield members exchange punches. Concluding with Dean and Seth stomping out Roman to a YES! chant. Roman falls to the outside, suicide dive by Dean, Flip over the rope by Seth! Seth and Dean rip the spanish table off..YES! YES! YES! Dean sets up Roman on Seth Rollins for a power bomb Shield style! Through the table goes Roman! Seth grabs a chair and deja vu, nails Dean in the back with it! They get back in the ring with a turnbuckle power bomb, reversed into a hurricanrana by Dean. They fight on the top rope with Seth hitting his vintage superplex into another suplex pin. “This Is Awesome” chants ring again. Reigns is back, powerbombing Seth, knocking out Dean to a close 2 count! Roman teases, superman punch misses, Dean teases dirty deeds, Roman teasing Razor’s Edge, Seth hits the pedigree 1…..2….kickout! Seth turnbuckle powerbomb, reacted with a superman punch by Roman, Dean breaks the count up and hits dirty deeds on Roman Reigns! 1…….2……..3!!! Dean Ambrose retains!! Smackdown Wins!! The whole Smackdown roster comes out and lifts Dean up, ironically it is the Uso brothers lifting him. A great match with a good finish!  Dean winning is fine with me as long as Roman did not win. Smackdown has the championship which will keep the fans interested in the new product. The PPV as a whole only had a few good moments, but it was the first ppv after the draft. Give them time to get acquainted. I am fine that I took time to type this all out and appreciate the good wrestling that took place. RAW should be interesting tomorrow!

Smackdown 30/6/16

Welcome back to our Smackdown reviews. This week’s Smackdown follows on from a promising Raw that didn’t deliver on the potential plot progression it supplied with AJ and Cena. Tonight we have a Fatal 4 Way to decide the #1 contender for the US title and a title match later on. I doubt that Rusev will drop the title but I hope we have a set up

We go into the Fatal 4 Way immediately, with Del Rio and Cesaro focusing on each other and Sheamus immediately dragging Apollo out of the ring. This later evolves to Sheamus helping Del Rio attack Cesaro while Crews sprints between opponents like a tank. I’m glad that the feuds are intermingling in this match since usually feuds just exist in their own place without showing any impact on any other wrestlers. Here we see the feuds affecting each other in ring which is refreshing to see. While this 4 way lacks the urgency and energy of the 4 ways shown in the run up to MITB, the winner of this match was hard to determine as the match went on. I’m glad that Cesaro managed the win by submission, I think that him and Rusev can put on some good matches down the line. Obviously tonights match will be hindered by Del Rio’s attack of Cesaro immediately following the match.

Winner by Submission: Cesaro

Rusev vs Cesaro US Title Match

Rusev stalks down to the ring after the match to congratulate Cesaro for achieving mans greatest glory, facing him for the title. Rusev challenges Cesaro to have the match there and then, while Cesaro is still on the ground. Cesaro looks hesitant before Rusev calls him a coward

Typically, Cesaro gets into the ring and actually manages a good match even following the 4 way. Most of my focus in this match was on the crowd chanting ‘USA’ in a match between a Swiss and a Bulgarian. Although he was *injured , Cesaro manages some great high flying moves, with the European uppercut always pleasing the crowd.  The end of the match is a game of submissions with a sharpshooter from Cesaro proving ineffective before Rusev manages the Accolade to force a win from Cesaro. This match was a lot better than I expected .

Winner by Submission: Rusev

We get some a promo with Rusev earning some more heel points as he suggests that Independence Day be renamed to Rusev Day. He is then told that his holiday will be interrupted as he has to defend the title against Titus O Neil on the July 4^th Raw. What’re the odds that Rusev has to end his great Title run in match against the Floridian? I hope he ruins another public holiday like he did on Father’s Day to retain.

Dana Brooke vs Billie Kay

You know things aren’t going well when we need to recruit NXT Stars to the main roster to job to Dana Brooke. No other main roster star is willing to lose to Botchmaster Brooke. At least  Kay has the chance to see how things are run on the main roster matches. Kay knows how to sell at least while Brooke spends the entire match yelling rather than fighting properly. Kay is allowed to use like four moves and they’re all interesting, impressive spots. Then she takes a Samoan Driver and that’s it. One day I think Brooke could be good, I have no idea how she’s gonna do it but she through some magic she could.

Winner by Pinfall: Dana Brooke

Sasha Banks put on a good promo attacking Charlotte and Brooke before… Oh My God theyre actually letting Summer Rae continue appearing on the main roster. Thank God. Sometimes you can be forgiven for thinking that there are six people on the womens roster, hopefully with Summer coming back to stay we can expect some more women staying for multiple feuds at the same time.

The Miz is back from Monday’s destruction to put on an episode of Miz TV, potentially the last one we’ll see on Smackdown with the brand split coming, maybe the first of many. Ambrose comes out halfway through his introduction holding a paper bag. While Miz yells at him for coming out early he begins to dig in to the sandwich. I’m enthralled. I don’t know how he can get so many inanimate objects over with the WWE Universe. I hope the sandwich comes in at number 30 for the next Royal Rumble.  Anyway, no one wants to read my fantasy booking, back to Miz Tv. Ambrose reminds the Universe about his championship win, before talking about how he came out to see how other talk shows run. Ambrose needs to be champ for a long time, bullying Miz or his $40 director’s chairs before starting a match due to a complaint about Mitch from Miz. As a true champ would, he gives Miz one last chance at the sandwich before he gets into the big arguments. Dean wipes his mustard coated face on Miz’s suit, starting another feud over a ruined jacket. Ambrose takes a kick to the face before returning to his sandwich.

Oh my god I just remembered that Jerry Lawler isn’t here.  Last week David Otunga replaced Lawler as commentator and is here to stay, although he doesn’t have the same presence as Lawler, he’s doing a pretty good job filling his shoes on the commentary team.

Erick Rowan and Braun Strowman vs Jobbers

The Wyatts have come out to do some Wyatt things. They are out tonight fighting –LOCAL COMPETITORS-. Seriously, they’re even listed as that on the official WWE Youtube video of the match.  They are fed to The Wyatts in about 2 minutes before Strowman drops one on the other before pinning both at the same time. I’m not sure if –LOCAL COMPETITORS- are the same Jobbers that Enzo and Cass murdered earlier on Raw  but I don’t think it matters.

Winner by Pinfall: Erick Rowan and Braun Strowman

Kofi Kingston comes out on the Titantron with a still fearful Xavier and an excited Big E. They question what Bray fears. Big E thinks it might be women with big bootys. I wonder if Sister Abigail had a big booty. Bray questions why Woods isn’t laughing before revealing that the devil calls for him in particular.  I’m actually really happy with this feud, can’t wait to see where it’s going… I miss Luke Harper.

Summer Rae vs Sasha Banks

Sasha Banks is just so good to watch in the ring. Her moves are just so impressive in comparison with the other stars on the roster. She can also actually sell properly in ring. That being said, Summer definitely holds her own in this match up, giving as much as she gets. I’m glad that there’s room on the card for multiple woman’s matches, something that isn’t seen very often in main roster cards. The impressive match comes to an end with a bank statement before we move on to the main event.

Winner by Submission: Sasha Banks

The Miz vs Dean Ambrose

We end the night with a match between champions.  Following on from the Miz TV segment from earlier we have Ambrose proving to The Miz why he’s champion. I’m glad that Ambrose isn’t trapped in an endless cycle of Rollins matches before Battleground, this respite is interesting as it is refreshing.  After all those months of Reigns only fighting feud matches, we have a champion that fights matches that aren’t exclusively story driven. We haven’t had a champion vs champion match in a while either so this is interesting anyway. I’m glad that this match was saved for the main event rather than the US Title match taking the spot. We’re definitely seeing that the WWE is putting more value into the brand with 3 champions fighting in one night. We aren’t seeing them save their bodies for Raw either, they all put on risky moves to make the best show possible.  How does Ambrose always seem to be the underdog in matches even while he’s the champ? I think it’s because of his sheer ability to sell convincingly in his matches, something that Reigns lacked during his championship run. It definitely makes his matches more convincing and engaging to the viewer.  I’m glad that The Miz is being allowed a match that goes to the finish rather than running away like he did on Monday, it gives him the chance to show of everything in his arsenal  rather than being overshadowed by the great competitors around him. The match ends with a Dirty Deeds finishing The Miz to close out Smackdown tonight.

Winner by Pinfall: Dean Ambrose

Overall I’d say that was a good Smackdown, with most of the matches performing above my expectations for each of them, even the Brooke match. The world is a brighter place with no ‘Make Darren Young great again’ segments.

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