WWE Smackdown review
March 12, 2015
Taped 3/10/15 in Detroit, Mich.
Aired on SyFy
By Greg Parks, PWTorch Columnist (Twitter: @gregmparks)


- WWE Open.

- Smackdown Open.

- Daniel Bryan came out first. As he did, they showed how the Intercontinental Title continued to hot-potato on Raw. Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, and Byron Saxton were shown on-camera as Cole gave the appropriate hash-tag to use when discussing this segment on Twitter. Bryan said he has tried to ignore the Wrestlemania sign, but he has to acknowledge he can’t repeat his success last year. He did, however, put over the I.C. Title and upcoming Ladder Match at Wrestlemania. Bryan brought up past I.C. Champions like Mr. Perfect, Ricky Steamboat, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, and Randy Savage. He said they were I.C. Champions at Wrestlemania and were always more exciting than anything going on in the Heavyweight Championship division. Bryan also said since he’s been in WWE, the Intercontinental Title is the only one he hasn’t won. He officially entered himself into the I.C. Title Ladder Match at Wrestlemania 31. That news brought out Bad News Barrett with a mic.

Barrett said he’s the I.C. Champ going into Mania like all the others Bryan mentioned, so that should make him Bryan’s new hero. Dolph Ziggler was next out. He said Barrett may not be Bryan’s hero, but he’s his. He said he’s never seen someone so delusional and desperate to be relevant his entire life. Ziggler basically said Barrett has no shot at retaining at Mania. Luke Harper came to the ring. Cole called him a dark-horse in the I.C. Title match. Harper said he wanted his Wrestlemania moment. I don’t know…should a guy like Harper be talking about Wrestlemania moments? Shouldn’t he just want to beat people up? Dean Ambrose came out, mic in hand. Ambrose said if people in the ring think they’re going to throw hands without inviting him, they’re wrong. Just as they were about to go at it, Stardust came out. He yelled at searched around ringside for his “white stallion of the milky way.” He asked where the “ivory enterprise” was. So R-Truth then came out with the title. In a burlap sack.

Truth stood on the stage and talked about how beautiful the title was. He said he’d hold onto the title for safe keeping. Even though he’s scared of heights, he said he’d climb the ladder. Barrett said Truth won’t make it further than the second rung before he pulls him down. Before Barrett could came after Truth, the wrestlers in the ring paired off and brawled. Only the babyfaces were left in the ring. The Smackdown theme then played as everyone kept their eye on each other.

- Tonight, an exclusive interview with Randy Orton in his return to Smackdown.

- Backstage, Cesaro, Tyson Kidd, and Natalya were walking. The tag champs participate in an eight-man tag match, teaming with Los Matadores against The New Day and The Usos.

[Commercial Break]

- The Usos were on their way to the ring out of break. The New Day and Los Matadores were already in the ring, which is odd in that one full team didn’t come out before the next full eight-man team. They also showed clips of The Usos vs. Los Matadores from Raw. Los Matadores did an inset interview. They said they’re willing to do whatever it takes to become tag team champions and claim their Wrestlemania moment.

1 – KOFI KINGSTON & XAVIER WOODS & THE USOS vs. LOS MATADORES & CESARO & TYSON KIDD

As Eden Stiles was introducing the tag champs, they focused the camera on her and put her name on the screen in a bit of rarity. Springboard dropkick from Kofi Kingston, who made a cover for a one-count. Xavier Woods then tagged in. Spinning forearm shot by Woods for two. A blind tag was made by Jimmy Uso and he chopped away at one of the matadors. A distraction by Diego allowed Fernando to capitalize in the ring. They went to break with Uso recovering at ringside at 1:58 of the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 5:55 of the match. Los Matadores continued to dominate over The Usos. Jimmy Uso missed with an enziguiri but hit it on a second try. Jey tagged in, as did Tyson Kidd. Samoan drop by Jey. Kofi tagged himself in and hit a springboard cross-body on Kidd, but Cesaro broke up the pin. The match broke down at this point with everyone getting involved. Woods wanted to dive on the heels, but Uso did it before him. Woods followed, but took out Uso. Both Kidd and Kingston kicked out of roll-ups. Cesaro came out of nowhere to give Kingston an uppercut. Switcheroo by the matadors, and they ended up getting the win with the back-stabber.

WINNERS: Los Matadores & Kidd & Cesaro, at 9:03. Basically, everybody was a jerk in this match. And instead of focusing on an intriguing two-on-two tag-team feud, we get it watered down with a bunch of teams and no one gets over.

They replayed the finish.

- The announcers sent it to the Sting video package from Raw.

- Tonight, Roman Reigns will address comments made by Paul Heyman on Raw.

- Next, we’ll see what went down between John Cena and Rusev on Raw.

[Commercial Break]

- This just in: A six-man tag match for tonight has been made, featuring Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, and Daniel Bryan taking on Luke Harper, Bad News Barrett, and Stardust. I assume R-Truth will be on commentary again.

- We got a video package on John Cena vs. Rusev, focusing on this past Monday’s Raw.

- Ryback came out for a match with The Miz. It’s next.

[Commercial Break]

- The Warrior Award Recipient at the Wrestlemania Hall-of-Fame ceremony will be Connor “The Crusher” Michalek.

- Backstage, Renee Young was backstage with The Miz and Damien Mizdow. Young said Ryback was one of the favorites of the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. Miz interrupted her and discussed his credentials, saying he can get anything he wants which makes him the odds-on favorite. Miz put down Ryback and Mizdow reminded Miz of how tough Ryback is and worried Miz was underestimating him. Miz told Mizdow that he can win alone and asked Mizdow to press his pants and get him a latte.

2 – RYBACK vs. THE MIZ

Miz made a big production of taking off his sunglasses, so Ryback started a “feed me more” chant in response. Cole brought up Miz’s and Ryback’s time together on Tough Enough and tied it into this match. Impressive. Miz ran into a back elbow from Ryback. Vertical suplex from Ryback, and he let Miz think about it. Mizdow was watching the happenings on a monitor backstage. Ryback ran shoulder-first into the ring post when Miz moved. “We want Mizdow” chant as Ryback delivered a spinebuster, then a spear. Shell Shock finished it.

WINNER: Ryback, at 3:00. Fine build to the battle royal, with WWE setting up Ryback as the favorite (at least this week).

They replayed the high-impact moves in the match.

- Next, Roman Reigns responds to Paul Heyman’s Raw comments

[Commercial Break]

- Lawler thanked Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth for “See You Again.” It was never stated exactly WHY Lawler was thanking them for this song.

- Roman Reigns came to the ring. A clip of Heyman’s speech from Raw was shown, discussing Brock Lesnar’s dominance. Reigns said Heyman keeps claiming he knows Reigns and his family. But really, he’s just disrespecting them. He said Heyman takes every opportunity to tell Reigns he “can’t.” Reigns said he can, and he will at Wrestlemania. Before he could give his “Believe that” catchphrase, Mark Henry’s music interrupted. Henry walked out, looking noticeably more svelte.

Henry said he was sitting in the back listening to Reigns. He said Reigns is either a comedian or one too many coconuts fell on Roman’s head. That’s a weird thing to say. Henry said Heyman is getting under Roman’s skin. He also told Roman he can’t beat Lesnar. Henry said he knows who he is and he has an identity, but that’s more than he can say about Reigns. Henry said Lesnar broke his arm and damn near killed him F5’ing him on the floor. He asked Reigns if he was ready for that. Henry asked Reigns if Lesnar or the people respect Reings. The fans apparently cheered at that because Henry stopped and reacted. It was an extreme close-up so you couldn’t really tell if the audio was sweetened or if they were really cheering.

Henry said Reigns has to earn the respect of the boys in the back because no one will give it to him. Reigns tried to just walk away but Henry stopped him. Henry said that’s the problem with youngsters is they think they’ve done it all and know it all. Henry shoved Reigns and Reigns responded with a Superman punch. Henry rolled out of the ring, so Reigns built a head of steam and speared Henry through the barricade into the timekeeper’s area. Reigns stood on the announce table to celebrate. He asked for a mic and said “I can, and I will.” He finished with his “believe that” catchphrase. The Superman punch and spear were replayed.

- The announcers reacted on-camera to what they had just seen. Then they sent it to footage of Bray Wyatt’s segment from Raw this past week.

- Still to come, the six-man tag main event.

- A.J. Lee and Paige were heading to the ring from backstage. They’re in tag action next.

[Commercial Break]

3 – SUMMER RAE & CAMERON vs. A.J. LEE & PAIGE

The heels were already in the ring. The Bella Twins were at ringside. Eva Marie was at ringside with the heels. Quick take-down of Cameron by the faces. Lee splashed Cameron in the corner then gave her a neck-breaker. A distraction by Summer led to Cameron taking out Lee from behind. A.J. fought out of the heel corner and made the tag at 1:51. Paige took down Summer with a series of short-arm clotheslines. Cameron was knocked off the apron and Paige locked in the PTO on Summer for the victory.

WINNERS: A.J. and Paige, at 2:24. They need to re-establish A.J. and Paige as being on the same page enough for them to compete against the Bellas at Wrestlemania, so this worked.

A.J. and Paige taunted the Bellas as they left the ring. Nikki tossed her hat at Paige and the two Divas had to be held back by their partners.

- They replayed Henry badmouthing Reigns from a segment earlier, and Reigns’ physical response.

- Henry was being checked on backstage by WWE medical. Renee Young walked up and Henry calmly said he invested his whole career in WWE and tonight, Roman Reigns made a believer out of him. He said he’s not saying Reigns will beat Lesnar, but he thinks he can.

- The six-man tag main event is still to come.

- Next, Michael Cole talks to Randy Orton in a sit-down interview.

[Commercial Break]

- The exterior of The Joe in Detroit was shown.

- A puff piece partnering Cricket Wireless and WWE was shown. Dolph Ziggler gave away ringside seats for the show at Smackdown to a few young fans, who were then show in the crowd.

- The announcers talked about the Seth Rollins-Randy Orton situation. After an intro focusing on Orton, they aired Cole’s sit-down interview with Orton from earlier in the week. Cole asked about having to live with being excommunicated from The Authority for four months. Orton said a change was made in him and he could only think about getting revenge on Rollins. Orton talked about his return at Fastlane (clips were spliced in whenever he discussed a specific moment) and how he eventually got The Authority to trust him. He said mind games are fun. Cole asked about Orton helping Rollins to beat Roman Reigns. Orton said he and Reigns never have and never will be friends. Orton said he used Reigns to get to Rollins. Then they turned their attention to Raw this Monday and the mind games Orton continued to play throughout the show. “I just really enjoyed beating the holy hell out of Seth Rollins.” Orton acknowledged there will be hell to pay, but it will be worth it. He said the first thing he’s going to do on Raw is to find Seth Rollins, spit in his face, and challenge him to a match at Wrestlemania.

- Daniel Bryan came out for the six-man tag main event. The match is next.

[Commercial Break]

4 – DANIEL BRYAN & DOLPH ZIGGLER & DEAN AMBROSE vs. BAD NEWS BARRETT & STARDUST & LUKE HARPER

Everybody was in the ring out of break. The faces worked over Barrett’s arm, but Barrett made the tag to Stardust. Stardust was annoyed by the “Cody” chants. Bryan hit a double axe-handle off the top rope. Surfboard from Bryan to Stardust. Bryan and Barrett had another go as legal men. It was short-lived, however. Bryan hit a hurricanrana off the top onto Stardust. Stardust ducked out of the ring before any further damage could be done. The show continues after break, taken at 3:34 of the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 6:56 with Harper getting a one-count on a cover of Bryan. Gator roll followed. Stardust tagged in and stomped away at Bryan. Bryan surprised Harper with a roll-up for two. After a kick, Bryan crawled and made the tag to Ambrose at 8:57. Stardust also tagged in and fell victim to a running bulldog. Stardust was low-bridged out of the ring by Ambrose. He climbed to the top rope and took out Stardust and Harper with a diving elbow. Back in the ring, a clothesline by Ambrose took Stardust down. Ambrose and Barrett began to brawl at ringside until Harper took out Ambrose. They went to break again at 10:30 of the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back just shy of 13:20 into the match with Barrett holding Ambrose in a rear chinlock. R-Truth was shown watching backstage on a monitor. Ambrose blocked a Stardust top-rope suplex and gave him a front suplex from there, then dove off the top with a dropkick. Harper and Ziggler both tagged in, with Ziggler holding the advantage. Ziggler and Harper were running at quick pace when the match broke down. With the heels outside the ring, the faces went to perform a trio of suicide dives. Ambrose and Bryan connected, but Harper ran in and booted Ziggler down. He got a near-fall with a sit-out powerbomb. Ziggler got out of a Torture Rack and hit the Zig Zag. Bryan tagged himself in and hit the running knee for the win.

WINNERS: Bryan, Ambrose, and Ziggler, at 16:59.

The finishing sequence was replayed. Michael Cole entered the ring and was set to conduct an interview. He congratulated Bryan on the win when Ziggler interrupted and said Bryan stole the win. Ziggler said Bryan won’t have lady luck on his side this year like he did last year. Ambrose thanked the other two for the help in the win. Ambrose took the credit for the idea to “steal” the I.C. Title. He said Dolph has an inferiority complex because he thinks he’s not as good as Bryan. Ambrose said a lot of people think Bryan is a nice guy, but he and those in the locker room know Bryan is a turd. As Ambrose walked to the back to his theme, Ziggler interrupted. Ziggler seconded Ambrose, in calling Bryan a turd. Then they played Ziggler’s music as he left the ring.


Did you watch Thursday’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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