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WWE Smackdown Report
PARKS'S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 6/25: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Thursday show, including Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler, Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins

Jun 25, 2015 - 9:00:00 PM
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WWE Smackdown review
June 25, 2015
Taped 6/23/15 in Toledo, Ohio
Aired on SyFy
By Greg Parks, PWTorch Columnist (Twitter: @gregmparks)



- WWE Open.

- The opening video package chronicled Brock Lesnar’s night on Raw this past week.

- Seth Rollins was out with Kane and Joey Mercury. I liked the suggestion on Twitter of Billy Kidman temporarily replacing Jamie Noble while he’s injured. Tom Phillips, Jerry “The King” Lawler, and Jimmy Uso were shown on commentary, with Byron Saxton absent due to a Tough Enough commitment. Rollins was in rare form on the mic, talking about how The Authority burned Suplex City to the ground Monday night. He talked about how leaving The Shield was tough, but now he’s WWE World Champion. In stark contrast to two weeks ago, Rollins heaped compliments onto Mercury and Kane. Rollins discussed the injury to Noble on Monday to explain his absence. They showed a replay of how the injury happened, and in slow-motion to boot. Rollins said he and Mercury spent “last night” in the hospital with Jamie. Wonder if they meant to say “Monday night.” Rollins dedicated this episode of Smackdown to Noble.

Rollins talked about how Kane chokeslammed Dean Ambrose straight to Hell Monday night. He said Kane proved he is in fact the Devil’s Favorite Demon. Kane took the mic and said the extended family member of The Authority, Big Show, was not there because of the attack by Ryback during Raw. They showed the backstage confrontation. This entire segment has basically been a Raw recap. Kane called out Ryback, who walked out immediately. Kane demanded an explanation for Ryback’s actions. Ryback said Show wanted to see what he could do, so he showed him. Rollins chastised Ryback for how he conducted himself as a champion. Ryback said there’s a difference between a champion and a sellout. Ryback called Rollins “gutless,” among other things. Kane made a match for tonight: Ryback vs. Kane. The heels left the ring. Ryback looks to be in incredible shape, even for him. I feel like he’s cut some weight.

As they headed to the back, Rollins stopped and said he was tired of the lack of respect he has faced. He said he annihilated Ambrose at Money in the Bank, but since Ambrose is still walking around, he’d like to finish the job. He put himself in a match with Ambrose, one-on-one, for tonight. He said he’d show The Authority always wins.

- Dolph Ziggler and Lana were walking backstage, arm-in-arm. Ziggler faces Sheamus, next.

[Commercial Break]

- Dolph Ziggler was finishing up his entrance out of breaking, and helping Lana let her hair down. Well, into a pony-tail anyway.

1 – DOLPH ZIGGLER vs. SHEAMUS

Sleeper immediately applied and shrugged off by Sheamus. Jimmy Uso struggled to complete a simile on commentary. Not off to a great start. About thirty seconds into the match, Rusev hobbled out on his crutch with a mic, once again begging Lana to come back. “I will kiss you the right way,” he promised her. Lana turned her back on him. Apparently, the match had come to a complete halt while this was going on. A missed Brogue Kick led to a roll-up for two by Ziggler. Sheamus kicked Ziggler out of the ring as they cut to break at 2:05 of the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 6:06 with Sheamus holding Ziggler in a rear chinlock as a frowning Lana looked on from ringside. Tilt-a-whirl back-breaker by Sheamus. Sheamus went to the top, but Ziggler climbed up and brought him down to the mat, face-first. Ziggler with another surprise roll-up for two, followed by a superkick for two. Uso declared it a “superkick party.” Ziggler with another sleeper on Sheamus. Ziggler was placed on the top rope, and as he tried to stand, Sheamus tripped him up and crotched him. Brogue Kick with Ziggler hung up on the top rope. Sheamus dragged him away from the ropes and made the pin.

WINNER: Sheamus, at 9:48. Despite the constant losing and rumors of an impending departure, I don’t see a lack of effort at all on the part of Ziggler.

The finish was replayed.

- Rusev was walking backstage on his crutch. He approached a production assistant and asked if he liked Lana. He barely gave the guy time to respond before shouting for the man to get out. Rusev angrily shook some fencing when Summer Rae walked up and put her hand on his shoulder. She simply told him that Lana is not worth it.

- Ryback vs. Kane is on the books for tonight.

- They showed a replay of Seth Rollins turning on The Shield last summer.

- Rollins vs. Ambrose, a PPV main event, is the main event of Smackdown this evening.

- Alicia Fox and The Bellas came to the ring. Fox is in action. I can’t wait for The Bellas to turn on her.

[Commercial Break]

2 – ALICIA FOX vs. NAOMI

No entrance for Naomi. Fox dropkicked Naomi, but Naomi came back with a kick to the head and a nice headscissors take-over. Bulldog into the middle turnbuckle by Naomi. On commentary, Jimmy noted that he lets his wife do her own thing when questioned about Naomi’s recent heel leanings. Tamina was also ringside for Naomi. Legdrop on Fox for a two-count at 1:10. Tilt-a-whirl back-breaker by Fox. A running tackle sent both women out of the ring, right in front of the Bellas. Naomi rammed Fox back-first into the apron. Naomi got into an animated argument with the Bellas. Tamina superkicked Brie, leading to Nikki attacking Tamina. Naomi pulled her off and Tamina superkicked Nikki, too. Fox caught Naomi with a kick coming in, then put her leg around Naomi’s neck and slammed her face-first into the mat for the win.

WINNER: Fox, at 3:10. Not always smooth, but fun to see two of the most athletic Divas in the division square off one-on-one.

- Up next, we’ll see what went down on Raw between John Cena and Kevin Owens.

[Commercial Break]

- Tom Phillips talked about how WWE is the most influential brand on Twitter. The announcers discussed the Owens-Cena situation. Stills from their MITB match were shown. Also, two weeks ago on Raw, Owens powerbombed noted lyricist Machine Gun Kelly off the stage and through a table. They followed that up with part of the Owens-Cena promo battle this past week. The U.S. Title is on the line in match three of their series at Battleground last month.

- Also at Battleground: The Prime Time Players defend the tag titles against The New Day.

- JoJo was backstage with The New Day. Xavier Woods interrupted her first question and said focusing on losses and negatives is not how they roll. Big E. gave JoJo a sermon of strength, as Kofi Kingston put it. He said they’d reclaim what is rightfully theirs at Battleground. An off-camera whistle signaled the presence of The Prime Time Players. Titus O’Neil and Darren Young walked on-camera and sang “New Day Sucks.” Titus imitated Big E. and said one of New Day’s members would have to sit on the sidelines, and be noted as the weak link, at Battleground. PTP walked off and Bo Dallas walked up to New Day. Dallas said they inspire him. He said he asked The Authority if he could team up with New Day against PTP and whoever else they can find. The four men bonded over their positivity. They all clapped together, with Dallas being quite off on the timing.

- Kane came out. He faces Ryback next.

[Commercial Break]

- As Ryback came onto the stage for his match against Kane, Big Show attacked him. Actually a pretty smart set-up her by The Authority. Show continued the beating on the ramp while the crowd chanted “feed me more.” Show and Ryback made it to ringside where Show continued to kick Ryback while he was down. You know, would it kill the ref to leave the ring to attempt to break this up? He’s just standing there. FINALLY he made it out as Show kept kicking Ryback. “Big Show sucks” chant from the Toledo faithful. Show tossed Ryback into the barricade. Show picked Ryback up and rolled him into the ring. Even though Ryback was down, Kane instructed the ref to ring the bell. So he did.

3 – KANE vs. RYBACK

Kane went for an immediate pin, and Ryback kicked out at two. Kane choked Ryback on the middle rope. Ryback attempted to fight back, but he just didn’t seem to have enough left in him. Uppercut by Kane found the mark. Kane missed a shoulder charge in the corner, giving Ryback some much-needed breathing room. Spinebuster by Ryback as he seemed to be getting a second wind. He got to his feet and leveled Kane with a Meat Hook clothesline. Show distracted Ryback, but Ryback avoided a chokeslam. He put Kane up for the Shell Shock, but Show ran in and kicked Ryback to draw the disqualification.

WINNER: Ryback, via DQ, at 2:25. The match told the story it needed to tell.

Show and Kane continued their two-on-one attack after the match while the ref helpfully stood and watched at ringside. Show chokeslammed Ryback twice.

They replayed Show’s attack on Ryback before the match and the chokeslam post-match.

- On-camera, the announcers switched gears to the Dean Ambrose-Seth Rollins rivalry. They went back to Elimination Chamber and the Dusty Finish that ended their match. Ambrose and Rollins square off tonight.

[Commercial Break]

- Some clips from the first episode of Tough Enough were shown.

4 – THE NEW DAY & BO DALLAS vs. THE PRIME TIME PLAYERS & THE LUCHA DRAGONS

No entrances for the heels. Titus chucked Kingston into the corner and chopped him hard in the chest. Sit-down splash by Darren Young on Kofi. Eventually, Kofi was able to take Young over to his corner and tag out to Dallas. Dallas wasn’t on offense for very long. Side headlock take-over by Young to ground the excitable Dallas. The heels had to re-group outside the ring and they clapped along to get positive. The babyfaces simply looked on from the ring as they cut to break 2:43 into the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 5:57 with Kofi and Sin Cara as the legal men. Cara caught Kofi with a dropkick as Kofi came off the middle rope. Some double-teaming by New Day members Woods and Kingston led to Cara being felled outside the ring. “How’s your brother doin’?!” shouted Woods at Jimmy Uso. Frequent tags by the heels, all of whom took turns stomping Cara in the corner. Abdominal stretch from Big E. Kingston set up to powerbomb Cara off the middle rope, but Cara turned it into a hurricanrana. Both men made tags and Kalisto flew around the ring while Woods provided the base. Dallas broke up a pin as everyone began to get involved. Cara dove onto Big E., Kingston, and Dallas outside. Springboard 450 splash by Kalisto for the win.

WINNERS: Prime Time Players & Lucha Dragons, at 10:03. A good use of all men involved here.

- The announcers sent it to Bray Wyatt’s latest creepy promo, distracting Roman Reigns from his match against Sheamus from Raw.

- Backstage, Reigns was approached by Dean Ambrose. Ambrose said Wyatt was really ticking him off the way he’s messing with Reigns. Ambrose proposed a multi-pronged attack plan to go after Wyatt. Reigns told Ambrose to let him worry about Bray. Reigns told Ambrose to worry about The Authority. Ambrose went away and Reigns found another taunting picture stuck in his ring gear. “Enough is enough,” said Reigns as he stormed away.

[Commercial Break]

- Reigns was backstage searching for Wyatt. He told a PA to get on his headset and find out where Wyatt is. Kane walked up and said Reigns has been a danger in the workplace ever since Wyatt got in his head. Kane accused Reigns of “flying off the handle,” and summoned security to haul Reigns away in the name of a safe working environment. Reigns did not take kindly to this ejection.

- As Dean Ambrose came to the ring for the main event, stills of the finish of the MITB Ladder Match for the WWE World Title were shown. Ambrose vs. Rollins is next.

[Commercial Break]

5 – DEAN AMBROSE vs. SETH ROLLINS

As Rollins approached the ring, they once again showed part of Brock’s attack on Raw, as well as the attack on Brock. Once the match began, it was back-and-forth early, though Ambrose retained the first advantage by clotheslining Rollins over the top and to the outside. They went to break 1:35 into the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 5:17 of the match with Rollins bringing Ambrose back into the ring with a dragon-screw leg-whip as Kane and Mercury looked on from ringside. Rollins continued to work the left leg of Ambrose. Rollins went to the top rope, but Ambrose put the brakes on that idea. Ambrose brought Rollins down the hard way. Ambrose picked up the pace. Rollins missed a splash and a magistral cradle led to a two-count from Ambrose. Face-first suplex for a near-fall at 8:34. Tornado DDT was dodged by Rollins, and he delivered a superkick for two. Ambrose rolled through a cross-body and hit a neck-breaker. Elbowdrop off the top by Ambrose. Ambrose had the pin, but Mercury was on the apron distracting the ref. Rollins then rolled Ambrose up for two. Mercury again got on the apron, and Ambrose propelled Rollins into him. Cover by Ambrose for two. Tornado DDT connected for a near-fall at 11:20. Rollins tried a powerbomb, but Ambrose head-scissored him over the top rope. He climbed to the top rope and took out all three heels at ringside. Back in the ring, an Ambrose clothesline turned Rollins inside-out. Mercury got the legs of Ambrose and Ambrose set him up for Dirty Deeds. Rollins turned Ambrose around and hit the Pedigree for the pinfall win.

WINNER: Rollins, at 13:18.

Some of the high-impact moments from the match were replayed. The Authority celebrated over the fallen Ambrose to end the show.


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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