WWE Smackdown review
August 8, 2014
Taped 8/5/14 in Laredo, Tex.
Aired on SyFy
By Greg Parks, PWTorch Columnist (Twitter: @gregmparks)


- Smackdown Open.

- Dean Ambrose was introduced to the live crowd, and he came to the ring. As he did, Ambrose’s hijinks during the Seth Rollins match from Raw were shown. Ambrose told the Authority they can’t plan for Dean Ambrose. He took out a piece of paper and talked about some possible stipulations, including JBL’s hat on a pole match, a Coal Miner’s Glove match, Good Housekeeping match, a match in which alligators would surround the ring (the logistics were too complicated for that, according to Ambrose), and others. Seth Rollins interrupted.

Rollins told him to “cut the crap.” The crowd chanted, “you sold out.” Rollins painfully admitted that Ambrose was pretty clever on Monday. He said he knows Ambrose knows what stipulation he wants, so he told Ambrose to get to it and be done with it. Ambrose told Rollins he may need to take that MITB briefcase for a detailing, as it’s looking in rough shape. Rollins responded by saying Ambrose always follows his heart rather than his head. Rollins plugged Summerslam being on the WWE Network for the low price of $9.99. The fans booed. So WWE has turned their own Network heel thanks to the plugs by The Authority and Rollins.

Ambrose reminisced about their time in The Shield and he said their enemies will make sure they tear each other apart. Therefore, Ambrose selected a Lumberjack Match. That’s one of the least-inspired stipulations they could come up with for this one. Ambrose vowed that at Summerslam, Mr. Money in the Bank would go broke. Rollins claimed he’s the future of the company. And The Authority granted him the option to choose Ambrose’s opponent for tonight. Rollins cued up the video package of Randy Orton destroying Roman Reigns a few weeks ago on Raw. So it’ll be Orton vs. Ambrose tonight.

- JBL and Michael Cole reacted to Ambrose’s chosen stipulation for Summerslam.

- Tonight, we’ll see what happened during the Stephanie McMahon-Brie Bella contract signing on Raw.

- Next, Mark Henry and “Whatever Happened To” The Big Show vs. Rybaxel.

[Commercial Break]

1 – RYBAXEL vs. MARK HENRY & THE BIG SHOW

No entrance for Rybaxel. Axel unwisely made fun of Henry. Ryback came in and called out Henry. After Henry won a collar-and-elbow tie-up, Ryback walked up and shoved Henry. Again, I wouldn’t advise that. Henry caught Ryback for a slam, but Axel made a blind tag and kicked the leg of Henry. Ryback tried to powerbomb Henry, or something like that, but Henry back-dropped Ryback. Show made the hot tag and destroyed Axel. Ryback ran in and was thrown into Henry for a World’s Strongest Slam. Chokeslam on Axel for the pinfall.

WINNERS: Henry and Show, at 3:29. Not one of the brightest performances there by Rybaxel.

- Dolph Ziggler was chatting up some Divas backstage, watching footage of Dean Ambrose destroy Seth Rollins’ contract on Raw. He was making some jokes about the situation when Rollins walked up and the Divas disappeared. Rollins made fun of Ziggler’s career tailspin, but Ziggler zinged Rollins right back. Rollins said The Authority wouldn’t mind if he picked his own opponent for tonight. Ziggler said it sounded like a challenge. Ziggler said there won’t be anything funny about what he does to Rollins in the ring.

- Tonight, a profile of the Biggest Fight of the Summer, John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar.

[Commercial Break]

- Cole and JBL talked about the WWE Network.

- Sin Cara was in the ring for a match. Strange music brought out Damien Sandow, dressed as a border patrol agent. I thought he was playing Duke “The Dumpster” Derose at first. Sandow basically spewed Zeb Colter’s old schtick.

2 – SIN CARA vs. DAMIEN SANDOW

Sandow beat down Cara and dropped a few knees into Cara’s chest. Cara came back with a springboard headbutt, then a springboard cross-body. Headscissors by Cara, but a neck-breaker by Sandow got two. Angle Slam from Cara, the he went to the top. Swanton by Cara for the victory.

WINNER: Cara, at 1:51. It would be nice if they’d get Cara on a roll, then call up Kalisto and add them as a tag team on the main roster. Don’t worry, I’m not holding my breath on that.

- Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins is still to come.

- They aired a few Brock Lesnar comments to tease the video package, next.

[Commercial Break]

- Cole and JBL made small talk about the Occulus ad that had just aired, before Cole turned their attention to Lesnar vs. Cena. They aired the great video package from Monday night on the match.

- Still to come, highlights of the Stephanie McMahon-Brie Bella contract signing from Raw.

- Dolph Ziggler made his entrance for his match with Seth Rollins. It’s next.

[Commercial Break]

3 – DOLPH ZIGGLER vs. SETH ROLLINS

Rollins began the match by dropping Ziggler throat-first across the top rope. Rollins settled into a chin-lock 41 seconds into the match. That’s a little absurd, but then again, Sandow did the same thing even earlier in his match with Cara. Three Amigos suplexes by Rollins for a near-fall. Another rest-hold from Rollins, two minutes in. Ziggler broke the hold with a jawbreaker. Dropkick felled Rollins, and another. Rollins dodged a fameasser and propelled Ziggler over the top and to ringside. They cut to break 2:39 into the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 5:45 with Ziggler putting his head down after whipping Rollins into the ropes, and Rollins responding with a kick to the jaw. Running boot to the head by Rollins. JBL put over the possibility that angry Shield victims of the past would get their revenge as Lumberjacks in the Ambrose vs. Rollins match at Summerslam. Another cover by Rollins and another near-fall. Ziggler began to build momentum and splashed Rollins in the corner. He followed it up with a number of punches in the corner. Neck-breaker for a two-count. Small package by Ziggler for two and he and Rollins engaged in fisticuffs in the middle of the ring. Jumping DDT planted Rollins. A cover got him a two-count at 10:09. Rollins used the tights on a roll-up, but it wasn’t enough. He brought Ziggler throat-first across the top rope, then waited for Ziggler to get back to his feet. Springboard missed and Ziggler connected with the fameasser for a very near-fall. Rollins fired back by throwing Ziggler shoulder-first into the ring post, with Ziggler bumping to ringside. Ziggler was then thrown into the ringside barricade. Next was a trip into the steel steps. Ziggler was thrown back into the ring and Rollins gave Ziggler the curb stomp. That was all she wrote.

WINNER: Rollins, at 13:49. Interesting finishing sequence, in that there were no counters to the finish first or late hope spots by Ziggler. Changing up the formula is usually a good thing, as it was in this case.

Replays of some major moments of the match were shown.

- Renee Young was backstage with Randy Orton. She asked Orton how he felt heading into tonight’s match. Orton said he’s uncontrollable and sometimes he doesn’t even know what he’s going to do. He said Dean Ambrose will find out who the truly sadistic superstar of WWE is.

[Commercial Break]

4 – NATALYA vs. PAIGE

Natalya was finishing up her entrance as Cole was doing sponsor reads. They replayed Pagie shoving A.J. Lee off the stage last week on Smackdown. Paige offered a handshake as the bell rang, then pushed Nattie a few times and slapped her. Nattie responded with her 360 spin clothesline. She applied the Sharpshooter, but Paige made it to the ropes. Natalya couldn’t successfully drag her away. Paige went to ringside to recover, but Natalya went after her. Paige gave Nattie the Paige Turner at ringside. Back in the ring, Paige skipped around. Natalya rolled back into the ring at a count of seven. Surprise roll-up by Nattie for two. Paige kicked Nattie in the chest and applied the PTO for the win.

WINNER: Paige, via submission, at 2:11. It’s weird to see Natalya doing great work with Tyson Kidd on NXT, and then on Raw and Smackdown she’s a nobody.

The kick to the chest and PTO were replayed.

- In tonight’s main event, it’s Dean Ambrose vs. Randy Orton.

- Rusev and Lana were walking backstage. Rusev is in action, next.

[Commercial Break]

5 – BIG E. vs. RUSEV

Truncated entrance for Big E, and no sign of Xavier Woods. Rusev pummeled Big E to start the match. Big E blocked a corner splash and ran through Rusev. Belly-to-belly suplex found the mark. Big splash missed and Rusev floored Big E with a kick. Accolade from Rusev and Big E tapped out.

WINNER: Rusev, via submission, at 1:51. So, are we just going to pretend the whole Xavier Woods/Big E/Kofi Kingston deal never happened?

- Rusev’s kick and submission finish were replayed. The Russian flag was unfurled from the top of the arena as Rusev showed good heel fire in his celebration.

- Cole and JBL talked about Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt at Summerslam. Jericho was standing by, but first, they sent it to clips of what happened in the Jericho vs. Luke Harper match on Monday, sponsored by Popeye’s.

- Jericho was backstage with Tom Phillips. Jericho wasn’t in a joking mood, as he said the symptoms are gone (Harper and Rowan), but the infection (Wyatt) remains. He talked about the poison of Sister Abigail, and that he’s the antidote. He promised to purge the WWE of the Wyatt plague at Summerslam. Jericho said he’d follow the buzzards and stuff them down Wyatt’s throat. He wanted to get crazy against Wyatt at Summerslam.

- Next, Stephanie and Brie’s contract signing from Raw.

[Commercial Break]

- The exterior of the arena in Laredo was shown. Cole thanked viewers for making Smackdown the #1 show on cable TV for the last nine weeks.

- WWE Network will be available in 170 different countries beginning Tuesday.

- The Raw Rebound aired.

- They showed a Tweet from Nikki Bella throwing her support behind her sister in her match against Stephanie McMahon at Summerslam.

- Dean Ambrose made his ring entrance. He takes on Randy Orton next. Shoulder tape: Present.

- Cole hyped the hour-long Wrestlemania XXX special on the WWE Network directly after Smackdown. They even showed a sneak peek before going to break.

[Commercial Break]

- This Monday night, both John Cena and Brock Lesnar will be on Raw in some capacity.

6 – DEAN AMBROSE vs. RANDY ORTON

They’ve been using smaller graphics for Summerslam matches where applicable throughout the show; for instance, as Ambrose was standing in the ring, they showed a graphic at the bottom of the screen for Ambrose vs. Rollins. Orton worked the injured arm/shoulder of Ambrose, but Ambrose came back with punches in the corner. Headlock take-over by Ambrose, but Orton head-scissored out of it. Standing suplex by Ambrose followed by an elbowdrop for a one-count. Orton gave Ambrose a boot to the shoulder. Ambrose fired out of the corner with more right hands, then clotheslined Orton over the top and to ringside. Ambrose launched himself over the top and onto Orton. They went to break 2:42 into the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 5:53 with Orton in control, but the fans getting behind Ambrose. Ambrose fought back with rights and a headbutt. It was short-lived. Orton continued to work over Ambrose’s shoulder. Ambrose challenged Orton to put more pressure on his injury. Ambrose planted Orton with a DDT and both men were down at 8:40. Cross-body took Orton down, as did a Tornado DDT. Hook of the leg and a cover got him two. Orton again was sent to ringside and as he went for a suicide dive, Orton stopped him with a punch to the face. Orton threw Ambrose around at ringside. He ripped Ambrose’s t-shirt, but Ambrose countered a draping DDT by back-dropping Orton to the floor. Suicide dive followed. Once the match went back into the ring, Seth Rollins appeared on the apron out of nowhere. Ambrose knocked him off and hit Dirty Deeds on Orton. As the ref went to count the pin, Rollins pulled Ambrose out of the ring for a disqualification.

WINNER: Ambrose, via DQ, at 12:20.

Ambrose and Rollins brawled at ringside. Ambrose put Rollins into the ring and continued his assault. Orton came in and clotheslined Ambrose, then gave him an RKO. “He’s all yours,” said Orton to Rollins. Rollins took a drink from someone in the crowd and came into the ring with it. He poured it on the face of Ambrose. More “you sold out” chants for Rollins. Rollins yelled that it’s the end for Ambrose at Summerslam. A curb stomp followed. The camera focused tightly on the face of Rollins as the show closed.


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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