WWE Smackdown review
October 10, 2014
Taped 10/7/14 in Philadelphia, Pa.
Aired on SyFy
By Greg Parks, PWTorch Columnist (Twitter: @gregmparks)


- WWE Open.

- A video package aired chronicling some of the most memorable moments from the past 15 years of Smackdown.

- In the ring, Lilian Garcia introduced Stephanie McMahon as one of the principal owners of WWE, as well as the first Smackdown General Manager. The announcers were shown at ringside, and Michael Cole noted Tom Phillips was ten years old when Smackdown debuted in 1999. Stephanie brought up that The Rock coined the phrase “Smackdown,” and said that The Rock lost to Triple H on the first episode of Smackdown. Have they started posting early Smackdown episodes without telling anyone? Stephanie said fans can relive that moment as well as others like it on the WWE Network. Before Stephanie could get much further in her promo, John Laurinaitis came out to his People Power theme.

Fans started chanting “People Power” as Johnny began his promo. Laurinaitis got a WWE Network plug in and Stephanie said he’s living proof that anyone can use the WWE Network. He wanted to make a match tonight, but was instead interrupted by the Godfather of Smackdown, Teddy Long. JBL got up from the announce table and danced in celebration of Long’s returning, even running over to shake his hand. “Teddy” chant from the Philly fans. That proves just how far removed we are from ECW, I guess. Johnny said he was better than Teddy, and still is today. They went back-and-forth until Laurinaitis finally got around to making his match, a tag match: Cesaro & The Miz vs. Sheamus & Jack Swagger.

Long asked if that was all he had. He upped the ante by making it a six-man match, adding Bo Dallas to the heel team and Mark Henry to the babyface squad. Johnny raised the bar again to a ten-man tag, with Goldust & Stardust added to one side and The Usos on the other. Long proposed something that had never been done before, in honor of the 15th anniversary of Smackdown: A 15-man tag match. Laurinaitis proclaimed it wasn’t possible. Along with the previously mentioned heels, mini Gator and Slater Gator were added. For the babyfaces, Los Matadores, El Torito, and Tito Santana. Steph said Santana isn’t even in the building. Long argued that Torito and mini Gator were basically half men, leading to the 15. Stephanie suggested they each captain a team to vie for title of greatest General Manager of all-time.

Stephanie turned her attention to the big Hell in a Cell matches announced Monday. Stephanie said Miz would host a face-to-face with Dean Ambrose and John Cena. Out came Adam Rose and the Rosebuds. They entered the ring and Rose wished Smackdown a happy birthday. When Rose was cutting his promo, his Rosebuds were still dancing despite no music, which looked quite awkward. Rose invited Steph to dancing with them. She said Rose should be in action and put him in a match with Kane, next. The partying ceased when that announcement was made. Steph said to hit his music. She started dancing while Rose and the Rosebuds did not look happy. Even Johnny and Long began to cut a rug. A lot going on in that segment, with some nice Smackdown nostalgia thanks to Long and even Laurinaitis.

- A video recap of The Rock vs. Triple H with Shawn Michaels as the ref from Smackdown 1999.

[Commercial Break]

1 – ADAM ROSE vs. KANE

Kane had a mic and on his way to the ring said he’s not a cheeseburger, bunny or lemon and is certainly not a Rosebud. He said from time-to-time he’s a demon but tonight, he’s a party-pooper. Rose tried to keep things light early in the match and encouraged his Rosebuds to be upbeat. Cross-body attempt was unsuccessful, as Kane caught him. Rose came off the top rope, but was felled by an uppercut. Chokeslam by Kane for the victory.

WINNER: Kane, at 1:02. Strange to have Rose suffer his first loss on an episode in which, theoretically, they’d want to spotlight his party-time character in a positive way.

The Rosebuds checked on Rose after the match and Kane, who had already exited the ring, re-entered and beat up some of the Rosebuds. He was left alone with the Bunny until the other Rosebuds sacrificed themselves, getting chokeslammed in defending the bunny. It allowed the bunny to leave the ring unscathed.

- A graphic aired for the a rematch (in a way) of Wrestlemania 28: Team Johnny vs. Team Teddy.

- Another Smackdown 15 video: John Cena’s debut in June 2002 against Kurt Angle. Before anyone asks, no, this clip airing does not necessarily signal Angle returning to WWE.

- A.J. Lee skipped out to the ring for a Divas match. She’s in singles competition, next.

[Commercial Break]

- Tweets were shown from Chris Jericho, R-Truth, and The Rock, giving nods to the 15th year of Smackdown.

2 – A.J. LEE vs. ALICIA FOX

No entrance for Fox. Paige was at ringside standing near the announcers. Northern lights suplex by Fox for two before settling into a chin-lock. Tilt-a-whirl back-breaker for two at 1:02. Paige cheered on Fox from ringside. Another tilt-a-whirl move by Fox was turned into the Black Widow from Lee for the submission win.

WINNER: A.J., via submission, at 1:20. Quick win to further the Paige/Fox vs. A.J. story.

Paige attacked A.J. after the match, but Lee successfully fended off both of them.

- The announcers plugged WWE’s partnership with the Susan G. Komen Foundation. They replayed the Joan Lunden promo (that was weird to type) from Raw.

- Dolph Ziggler takes on Rusev tonight.

[Commercial Break]

3 – KOFI KINGSTON vs. SETH ROLLINS

Kingston was already in the ring. Joey Mercury and Jamie Noble accompanied Rollins to the ring in order to protect him from possible attacks by John Cena and/or Dean Ambrose. They showed Ambrose returning Rollins’ booby-trapped briefcase to its rightful owner two weeks ago on Raw. Rollins was aggressive in going after Kofi, attacking him and throwing him into the barricade outside the ring. Kingston was dropped face-first into the apron. Rollins put the boots to Kingston in the corner, then launched him out of it. Kingston surprised Rollins with an inside cradle for two. Kofi fought back with chops and a dropkick. Neck-breaker by Rollins snuffed out the rally. Buckle bomb by Rollins, and another. Rollins put Kofi out of his misery with a curb stomp.

WINNER: Rollins, at 3:35. Good, forceful win by Rollins. Sad to say, this would’ve been more meaningful had it occurred on Raw.

The finish was replayed.

- The Luke Harper vignette aired.

[Commercial Break]

- The Smackdown flashback featured two Money in the Bank cash-ins: The first was from May 2007, in which Edge cashed in against Undertaker after Taker’s match with Mark Henry. Then, April 2010, Jack Swagger cashes in against Chris Jericho.

- The announcers acknowledged JBL for being the longest reigning WWE Champion in Smackdown history.

4 – DOLPH ZIGGLER vs. RUSEV

Neither man got an entrance, but they did have time to show Rusev responding to The Rock on the mic from Raw, and The Rock responding physically (after a bit of his promo). Cole noted Rusev didn’t even look back to the Titan-Tron when they showed that video recap. Instead, he was focused on Ziggler and it showed once the bell rang. Ziggler dropkicked Ziggler, but missed a corner splash and took a bump to the outside. They cut to break at 1:09 of the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 4:15 with Ziggler again trying to fight back. Rusev caught him on a cross-body attempt and laid in kicks to the short rib area. Ziggler mounted Rusev to punch away in the corner, but Rusev threw him off. Rusev missed a corner charge and Ziggler gave him a fameasser. Rusev kicked out at one. Jumping side kick out of nowhere, followed by The Accolade.

WINNER: Rusev, via submission, at 7:02. I thought this might be a shorter match, showing Rusev dominating a credible foe after losing his confrontation to The Rock Monday. Either way, I think the reports of Rusev’s ruination after Monday night have been greatly exaggerated.

The finishing sequence was replayed.

Lana took the mic after the match to call The Rock a coward and other presumably nasty names in Russian. Rusev claimed Rock will “pay for the consequences.” Big Show will also pay, apparently. He challenged Show to a match on Raw (wait, weren’t they supposed to have one this past week? Are we just going to ignore that?). Rusev vowed to crush Show Monday night.

- Tonight on Miz TV, John Cena and Dean Ambrose go face-to-face.

- Next, Triple H and The Rock, together, celebrate the 15th anniversary of Smackdown.

- From Smackdown, December 13, 2001: Steve Austin attacks Booker T. in a grocery store. “Not the citrus!” Jerry Lawler says worriedly.

[Commercial Break]

- The exterior of the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia was shown.

- Some members of the Philadelphia Eagles were shown at ringside, including Vinny Curry.

- They showed what happened last Monday after Raw. The Rock walked in on Triple H and Stephanie McMahon having a conversation in which HHH was presumably negative about The Rock. They reminisced about the debut of Smackdown, with Triple H being all smiles. Rock said Hunter did beat him (though he cheated) and Rock talked about the next week in which he beat Hunter and everybody was so happy. Both of them, jokingly, brought up each man’s success against the other. Rock proposed one more match at Wrestlemania between the two. Hunter got agitated first and claimed that he’d end up whooping Rock’s ass. Rock said no way that would happen. Hunter looked suspiciously like Dean Norris from a side view when he went face-to-face with The Rock. Both men recognized how awkward it was for them to be face-to-face like that and they spent a long time making jokes about it, easing the tension. When they finally backed away, Stephanie stepped in and called them both winners. She just wanted to go get something to eat. The guys couldn’t stop arguing and each had to get the last word in. Rock told Hunter to pay the bill and called him a cheap bastard. Rock walked out and Hunter complained about Rock wanting him to pay. Thankfully, the announcers saved their cackling for after the segment.

- They had a Smackdown 15 cake at ringside with the announcers and in record time, JBL chucked it in the face of Tom Phillips.

- Lilian Garcia introduced Booker T. He was to join the announcers on commentary for the next match.

- Team Teddy came out for the 15-man tag match. It’s next.

[Commercial Break]

- Edge, Jerry Springer, and Snoop Dogg Tweets about 15 years of Smackdown were shown.

5 – MARK HENRY & JACK SWAGGER & THE USOS & LOS MATADORES & EL TORITO & SHEAMUS vs. GOLDUST & STARDUST & SLATER GATOR & THE GATOR & BO DALLAS & DAMIEN MIZDOW & CESARO – 15-MAN TAG MATCH

Stardust and one of Los Matadores gave the match a dose of athleticism early on. All the men entered the ring at the 1:25 mark. The heels backed down and left the ring as the show cut to break at 1:43 of the match.

[Commercial Break]

The show returned 6:08 into the match. It was Titus O’Neil and one of the Usos as the legal men. Goldust tagged in and raked the back of the Uso, which is theoretically less effective when the one being raked wears a t-shirt. Goldust and Stardust took the fight to one of the Usos on the outside of the ring. Heath Slater had one of the Usos in the heel corner and the fans chanted “We want Mizdow.” Slater obliged. When Mizdow tagged out to O’Neil, the crowd booed. Overhead back-breaker by O’Neil to the Uso. Next was a “Thank you Mizdow” chant. Cesaro tagged in and put a stop to Jimmy Uso trying to make a tag. Gutwrench suplex found the mark. The heels kept the advantage as they went to break again at 10:45 of the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 14:21 of the match with Jimmy Uso still in there, fighting out of a Slater rest-hold. Uso caught Slater with a kick to the side of the head. Cesaro tagged in and knocked Henry off the apron. However, he got back-dropped by Jimmy and Uso tagged Sheamus in at 15:04. Sheamus took the fight to Cesaro and the rest of the heels. Cesaro, Stardust and Slater were lined up on the apron and Sheamus took turns hitting them with forearms to the chest. Mizdow broke up a near-fall. The finishing sequence began with everyone getting involved and hitting their stuff. The Usos held open the top and middle ropes so that Los Matadores could fly through them. The Usos then dove over the top rope and onto the heel team, including John Laurinaitis. Hornswoggle the Gator and El Torito were left, with Torito dropkicking Horny. Dallas tossed Torito onto the heels at ringside. Dallas celebrated low-bridging Henry out of the ring, which allowed Sheamus to Brogue Kick him. Cesaro swing to Sheamus. Fifteen swings by JBL’s count. Mizdow tagged in, to the delight of the crowd. Brogue Kick to Mizdow, then a Jey Uso splash ended it.

WINNERS: Team Teddy, at 18:46.

They showed Johnny selling being upset at the loss at ringside. Sheamus and Henry put Long on their shoulders in celebration.

- The Erick Rowan vignette aired.

- The Miz and Stephanie McMahon were chatting backstage with the announcers talking over them. Miz TV is next.

[Commercial Break]

- The final Smackdown blast from the past video was from the September 13, 2001, two days after the tragedy of 9/11.

- Miz was in the ring for Miz TV. He talked about what an honor it was for the fans to see him for the 15th anniversary of Smackdown. Miz sent it to video from Raw of Ambrose hitting Cena with a double-underhook DDT. Miz announced that Ambrose vs. Cena at Hell in a Cell would be a No Holds Barred, Contract on a Pole match. Dean Ambrose was then brought out first. Directly after him, Miz brought out John Cena. Cena went into the crowd to hug a fan of his from the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Miz asked Ambrose why he ambushed Cena Monday night. Ambrose said it was a reminder to Cena that nobody crosses him. Ambrose said his own personal code is that he doesn’t take crap from anybody. He said Cena is coming dangerously close to stealing his opportunity to get at Seth Rollins, and no one steals from him. Cena said he watches everything that goes on in the ring, and decision makers backstage are afraid of Ambrose. He said Ambrose showed Monday he has “it,” and then said he has his own definition for “it”: Cena took out two baseballs. Cena said Ambrose showed he has a pair.

Cena said Ambrose is going to make him earn it at Hell in a Cell. He said the two of them are cut from the same cloth and said there’s a reason he can walk to the ring with his head high every night. He told Ambrose to bring his “A” game at Hell in a Cell, and said he likes his chances. Miz told Ambrose that Cena likes his chances and that he has defeated everybody in his path. He asked if Ambrose thinks he really has a chance against Cena. “Yep,” responded Ambrose. Miz fired Cena up and tried to stir the pot, but Cena put a stop to it. Cena said he’d see Ambrose at Hell in a Cell and started to walk away. Miz stopped him and said that’s not how it works. Miz told them how the show works, where they’re supposed to end up fighting. He said they’re ruining Miz TV. Cena said Miz is right, and the people do want to see him and Ambrose fight. But instead of fighting each other, they fought Miz. Cena had him up for the Attitude Adjustment, but passed him off to Ambrose, who gave him the double underhook DDT. That allowed Cena to AA Ambrose. Seth Rollins was shown watching, and laughing, backstage. Cena’s music played to end the segment and the show.


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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