WWE Smackdown review
August 1, 2014
Taped 7/29/14 in Corpus Christi, Texas
Aired on SyFy
By Greg Parks, PWTorch Columnist (Twitter: @gregmparks)


- WWE Open.

- Smackdown Open.

1 – JACK SWAGGER vs. CESARO

As Swagger and Zeb Colter came out, the verbal (and physical) sparring between the Americans and Russians from Raw was shown. Swagger went for the Patriot Lock early, to no avail. Swagger punched away at Cesaro, who then turned the tide with a thumb to the eye. Gutwrench suplex by Cesaro for barely a two-count. Slam and a double-stomp followed, again for two. Back elbow caught a charging Cesaro. Big boot by Swagger with Cesaro coming out of the corner. Cesaro caught a Swagger bomb attempt and tossed Swagger out of the ring. They went to break at 3:16 of the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 7:10 with both men perched on the top rope. Cesaro tried a superplex, but it was blocked. Swagger came off the top, but was met with an uppercut. Cover got two. Cesaro came off the ropes and this time, Swagger caught him and slammed him. Swagger Bomb found the mark for two. Double underhook powerbomb (you don’t see that often enough these days) by Cesaro. A blocked kick by Swagger led to the Patriot Lock and a tap-out win.

WINNER: Swagger, via submission, at 9:34. Somewhat surprising finish, but it’s Swagger currently embroiled in a feud, not Cesaro. I didn’t sense a real flow to the match, but it wasn’t bad by any means.

After a replay or two, Rusev and Lana came out. Lana, with Vladimir Putin looking on on the Titan-Tron, challenged Swagger to a Flag Match on behalf of Rusev. Colter said America never backs down from a challenge, and accepted. It’s on for Summerslam.

- Chris Jericho vs. Erick Rowan happens tonight on Smackdown. If Jericho wins, Rowan will be banned from ringside at Summerslam.

- Randy Orton was walking backstage. He is expected to address the attack on Roman Reigns from Raw, next.

[Commercial Break]

- Randy Orton came to the ring. Orton took issue with the announcement that Brock Lesnar would be facing John Cena at Summerslam, while also noting he has no problem with Lesnar himself. He laid the blame for the lack of a title match at the feet of Roman Reigns. Orton called his attack on Monday “delivering a message.” They showed a clip of Orton’s assault on Reigns. Orton dared Reigns to step into the ring against him at Summerslam. “And Roman…you can believe in that.” Good close to a quick promo.

- The announcers reacted to Orton’s comments. Michael Cole said throughout the show tonight, WWE would reflect on the Stephanie McMahon-Brie Bella situation. From Payback “last month,” the slap to Stephanie was shown.

- A graphic aired previewing the face-to-face Steph and Brie had on Raw.

- Also tonight, Dean Ambrose in a 2-on-1 match against Kane and Seth Rollins.

[Commercial Break]

2 – R-TRUTH vs. BO DALLAS

No entrance for Truth, though JBL did say, “R-Truth is the ‘one’ in 17-1,” referring to Bo Dallas’ record. After extending his hand, Bo Dallas was tackled by Truth. Outside the ring, Truth shoved Dallas back-first into the apron then into the barricade. Running splash in the corner missed and Dallas took advantage. There looked to be a miscommunication spot where they switched the camera angle about three times in one sequence of running the ropes (including an angle they rarely ever use). In the end, Dallas attacked Truth in the ropes, not heeding the referee’s count, thus getting disqualified.

WINNER: Truth, via DQ, at 1:46. I can’t imagine why Truth was selected to break Bo’s streak, but at least it gives him something to do – he is a valuable mid-carder if used correctly.

Dallas continued his attack after the match, yelling to put punctuate it. Bo said he Bolieved that Truth got what was coming to him. He said he knows the fans haven’t lost faith and that they still Bolieve in him.

- A.J. Lee was skipping backstage. She’s in action next.

[Commercial Break]

3 – ROSA MENDES vs. A.J. LEE

No entrance for Rosa, but she was touted as being the newest cast member of Total Divas. They showed a bit of A.J.’s promo battle with Paige, and the subsequent attack. Rosa yelled at A.J. to start, and A.J. responded by kicking her in the stomach and applying the Black Widow for the win.

WINNER: A.J., via submission, at :16. You would think they’d give a Total Divas spot to someone who has a little more value to the company (in-ring wise, anyway) than Rosa.

As A.J. celebrated at the top of the ramp, Paige came out and knocked her to the floor below. As referees and medics came out to check on A.J., Paige yelled at them to “be careful with my best friend.” She also told A.J. to call her later.

- Dean Ambrose was backstage. He addressed the camera, talking about his handicap match tonight. He said it was another obstacle put in his way in order for The Authority to protect Seth Rollins. Ambrose said he has no problem going through Kane to get to Rollins. He said he hoped Kane brought another mask, because when he’s done with Rollins, Seth will need one.

- A graphic was shown for the handicap match, which comes up after the break.

[Commercial Break]

- A replay of the Paige attack on A.J. from before the break was shown. During the break, she was placed in a neck-brace and on a stretcher and taken to the back. Cole urged fans to check WWE.com during the weekend for updates on A.J.

4 – KANE & SETH ROLLINS vs. DEAN AMBROSE – 2-ON-1 HANDICAP MATCH

During Ambrose’s entrance, they replayed Ambrose’s roll-up pin over Cesaro on Smackdown last week, followed by the post-match attack by Rollins. It’s good to see Rollins back after being disappeared by the Wyatts on Raw before they attacked Jericho. Ambrose went after Rollins when the bell rang, but Rollins ducked out of the ring and allowed Kane to start the match. Big boot from Kane. With Ambrose at a disadvantage, Rollins tagged in and took the fight to Ambrose. Ambrose was able to take Rollins down, but he favored his injured (and taped-up) shoulder in the process. It allowed Rollins to tag out to Kane. Kane sent Ambrose shoulder-first into the ring post. JBL claimed Rollins brought Ambrose out of a “psych ward” when he created The Shield. Ambrose desperately fired back against Rollins, but Rollins was able to kick away at him, then tag out to Kane. Side slam by Kane, cutting off a comeback attempt by Ambrose. Of course, Rollins wanted a tag. Ambrose attacked both men outside the ring and tossed Kane into the steps. Ambrose realized it was now just him and Rollins. Ambrose had to be restrained by the ref when he got too aggressive. Rollins tried to escape and Kane made the save, sending Ambrose into the timekeeper’s area. Ambrose returned with a chair and whacked Kane and Rollins with it.

WINNERS: Kane and Rollins, via disqualification, at 6:38. A little surprised they gave away so much physical interaction between Ambrose and Rollins, but perhaps it was just enough to whet the whistle of fans anticipating their upcoming Summerslam match.

Ambrose dodged a chokeslam and DDT’d Kane onto the chair. Rollins was able to retreat. Ambrose used the chair again on Kane before standing tall in the ring.

- Renee Young welcomed Chris Jericho in for an interview backstage. They replayed the Wyatt Family attack on the WWE App two weeks ago. And this past Monday, The Wyatts attacking Jericho during his match with Seth Rollins. Jericho said he has paid the price for beating Wyatt at Battleground. Jericho vowed to beat Erick Rowan tonight and said he’d get crazy if he needed to. He said that after Summerslam, the Wyatt Family will never be the same again.

[Commercial Break]

- More bizarreness from Stardust and Goldust. Goldust had on a cowboy hat. Stardust had a riddle for Goldust, which Goldust answered incorrectly. The answer was written in the star…dust.

5 – FANDANGO vs. DIEGO

Fandango danced in the ring to his music, which was the extent of his entrance. Like on Raw, Diego brought out Layla and Summer Rae with him (and El Torito). They showed the ladies celebrating Diego’s victory over Fandango on Raw and Torito goring him. Fandango attacked Diego right at the bell, short-arm clothesline included. Torito distracted Fandango and when Fandango chased, the women stopped him. Fandango went back in the ring when his music played and the ladies danced at ringside with Torito. That allowed Diego to hit the Backstabber for the win.

WINNER: Diego, at 1:28. If you put any time into attempting to apply logic to that segment, you’d get a quick headache.

- On Raw, John Cena cut an impassioned promo previewing his title match against Brock Lesnar, a promo that was interrupted and match in intensity by Paul Heyman. A graphic showed the Lesnar vs. Cena match at Summerslam.

[Commercial Break]

- Hey, Tazz made it to the latest “Exclusively on WWE Network” graphic! It was for his match against Sabu on ECW Barely Legal 1997.

6 – ALBERTO DEL RIO vs. DOLPH ZIGGLER

No entrance for Del Rio, nor The Miz, who was doing guest commentary. They showed Ziggler beating Miz on Raw two weeks ago in a non-title match. Del Rio blasted Ziggler with a kick, but was felled by a dropkick from Ziggler. Miz talked about how he has a lot of hot movie projects coming up. Del Rio lifted Ziggler high into the air, then dropped him down. German suplex for a very near fall by Del Rio. Missed superkick from Del Rio turned into a DDT by Ziggler. Miz stepped onto the announce table and said he had more people to thank from his acceptance speech last week. Del Rio rolled Ziggler up for a two-count. Miz kept going. Fameasser by Ziggler for two. Miz thanked Ziggler because he just isn’t as good as Miz. That set Ziggler off as he chased Miz, who escaped through the crowd. Back on the apron, Ziggler received an enziguiri from Del Rio. Cross arm-breaker for the tap-out.

WINNER: Del Rio, via submission, at 3:56. Well…at least Ziggler was able to stave off distraction for a short while before succumbing.

- Next, we’ll see what happened when Stephanie McMahon and Brie Bella went face-to-face on Raw.

[Commercial Break]

- Cole thanked Fozzy for “Lights Go Out,” one of the official Summerslam themes.

- Shown on-camera, the announcers updated A.J. Lee’s condition, saying she’ll be held overnight at a local medical facility for observation.

- The Raw Rebound aired.

- The graphic for Brie Bella vs. Stephanie McMahon was shown.

- A clip of Cole’s WWE.com interview with Brie Bella was shown.

- The Wyatts made their entrance into the arena. Bray, in his rocking chair, asked why Jericho keeps coming back. He surmised that Jericho came back this time because he knew Wyatt would be waiting for him. Wyatt said “she” warned him about Jericho. He said Jericho makes empty promises from his white horse, promising to save us all. Bray said he’d destroy the “impostor” that is Jericho at Summerslam.

[Commercial Break]

7 – ERICK ROWAN vs. CHRIS JERICHO – IF JERICHO WINS, ROWAN IS BARRED FROM RINGSIDE AT SUMMERSLAM

Before long, Jericho rolled out of the ring, on the defensive, but right in front of Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper. Nothing happened this time. Rowan manhandled Jericho on Y2J’s reentry into the ring. Rowan charged at Jericho, but Jericho low-bridged him out of the ring. Springboard dropkick by Jericho followed. Rowan caught hold of the ref to distract him and Harper took advantage, tripping Jericho. Harper was summarily dismissed from ringside by referee Mike Chioda. They went to break at 2:50 of the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 6:02 with Rowan massaging the temples of Jericho. But, you know, in a heelish manner. The offensive onslaught continued with Rowan ramming Jericho spine-first into the ring post. Back in, a cover got two at 8:03. Jericho turned things around with a DDT for a two-count. Jericho’s comeback was stunted when Rowan hit an impressive spin kick. A missed kick led to a roll-up by Jericho for two. Lionsault by Jericho for two. In response, Rowan simply ran over Jericho. Rowan set up for a fall-away slam from the second rope, but did not succeed. Jericho went to the top rope, but came down right into a big boot. A two-count at 12:06. Bear-hug by Rowan. One of the camera angles caught Cole looking very comfortable at ringside, sitting way back in his seat and tenting his fingers. Jericho fought out of the bear-hug and hit the Codebreaker for the pin and the win.

WINNER: Jericho, at 13:04.

Wyatt stood up as if he were ready to fight Jericho after the match. Jericho was ready for him, but Wyatt backed away. The show closed with Wyatt slowly walking up the ramp and Jericho celebrating in the ring.


Did you watch Friday's Smackdown episode? Send your 0-10 score & Reax to pwtorch@gmail.com for our TV Reax feature.

Greg Parks has been covering WWE Smackdown for PWTorch.com since January of 2007. He is the host of “Moonlighting with Greg Parks,” a PWTorch VIP-exclusive audio show posted each weekend. Follow him on Twitter @gregmparks for live Tweeting during Raw, Impact, and PPVs, as well as other bits of wisdom. Comments, questions and feedback are welcome, and can be sent to g_man9784@yahoo.com.

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