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WWE Smackdown Report
PARKS'S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 7/2: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Thursday show, including Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose, Ryback vs. Mark Henry

Jul 2, 2015 - 9:00:11 PM
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WWE Smackdown review
July 2, 2015
Taped 6/30/15 in Hershey, Pa.
Aired on SyFy
By Greg Parks, PWTorch Columnist (Twitter: @gregmparks)



- WWE Open.

- Clips aired of Seth Rollins playing Oprah on Raw, giving gifts to J&J Security as well as Kane. They also aired highlights of the main event tag match from Monday night.

- In the arena, Seth Rollins came out accompanied by J&J Security. Tom Phillips, Jerry Lawler, and Jimmy Uso, back for his second week, were at ringside on commentary. Rollins recapped the gifts he gave J&J, even though we just saw a video package of this. Rollins played up how we’re living in historic times, presumably given his attack on Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns in recent weeks. Then we got a brief recap video of the beat-down of Lesnar from Raw two weeks ago. At this point, power briefly went out in my apartment, knocking the TV out of service. Once the cable box reset, the show was at commercial. I’m sure if I missed something important, it will be recapped 9,000 times before the end of the show.

[Commercial Break]

1 – DEAN AMBROSE vs. BRAY WYATT

By the sounds of it, Ambrose interrupted before the break and wanted to fight The Authority, but instead, Seth Rollins gave him Wyatt. Ambrose had the advantage early on, until Wyatt propelled himself through the air and knocked Ambrose off his feet. Suplex by Wyatt, and Wyatt didn’t even leave his feet, just tossing Ambrose behind him. Ambrose hit a spinning neck-breaker and proceeded to the top rope. Wyatt rolled out of the ring. Ambrose caught his foe with a clothesline outside the ring. They went to break at 2:43 of the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 6:43 of the match. Ambrose came off the top, but Wyatt gave him a punch to the gut. Ambrose reversed Sister Abigail into a roll-up for two. Low-bridge sent Wyatt flying over the top and outside. Suicide dive by Ambrose onto Wyatt. Tornado DDT delivered by Ambrose on Wyatt, good for a two-count at 8:06 of the match. Phillips said no one has heard from or seen Roman Reigns all week. Ambrose tried to do his patented rebound clothesline, but Wyatt caught him with one first. He later hit the move and went to the top, hitting his flying elbowdrop. A “this is awesome” chant erupted from the crowd. Outside the ring, Ambrose tried to jump off the announce table onto Wyatt, but Wyatt caught him and delivered a uranage into the barricade. He hustled Ambrose back into the ring, landed Sister Abigail, and picked up the win.

WINNER: Wyatt, at 10:58. With Wyatt taking on Reigns at Battleground, it makes sense he won here. Despite being in the previous PPV main event, Ambrose is positioned as “friend of Reigns” at this point.

They replayed several key moments of the match.

- Seth Rollins will supposedly face Roman Reigns tonight, despite the rumor being Reigns isn’t even in the building.

- Mark Henry vs. Ryback is also still to come tonight.

[Commercial Break]

- Adam Rose and Rosa Mendes were in the ring out of break, with Rose cutting a promo saying the fans will never “get it” because they’re “jelly” of Rose and Rosa. Then “King” R-Truth came out and apparently we’ve got a match. Truth did an inset interview as a King (with a plunger) and talked briefly about his version of Independence Day, wanting to make WWE independent of King Barrett, I guess.

2 – ADAM ROSE vs. R-TRUTH

Truth did some dancing and thrusting in Rose’s general direction in between spurts of offense. He missed a corner dive, allowing Rose to take over. Truth blocked a few punches in his comeback and hit the Lie Detector out of nowhere for the win.

WINNER: Truth, at 1:58. Hey, gotta give Truth credit, he’s committed to the bit. And he’s picking up some wins in the process.

- The announcers were shown on camera, then discussed The Rock’s surprise house show appearance in Boston. They even showed clips of it via The Rock’s Instagram and WWE’s YouTube channel.

- Next, we’ll see the new battle lines drawn between Kevin Owens and John Cena from Raw.

[Commercial Break]

- John Cena has been nominated as a Sports Humanitarian of the Year Award by ESPN.

- The announcers sent it to video from Raw of Kevin Owens working the mic before Cena vs. Cesaro. Then, Owens interrupted the match himself.

- Graphics were shown for Cena vs. Owens at Battleground, as well as the Triple-Threat Intercontinental Title Match. Part of Ryback’s exclusive interview from WWE.com aired, where he talked about Shell Shocking Mark Henry tonight on Smackdown.

- Mark Henry was standing by with Rich Brennan backstage. Henry gave his thoughts on Ryback’s comments. He said Ryback was disrespectful in that interview, and maybe he has amnesia from the beating he took last week. Henry said Ryback is out of his mind if he thinks he’ll be put up in the Shell Shock. Instead, he plans on putting Ryback in the Hall of Pain.

- Henry made his ring entrance. The match against Ryback is next.

[Commercial Break]

3 – MARK HENRY vs. RYBACK

The two men battled over a collar-and-elbow tie-up, with Henry shoving Ryback out of the ring. He then began to work the lower back area of Ryback. Lawler surprisingly brought up the Ryback vs. Henry Wrestlemania match from a few years ago. Ryback tried to pick Henry up for the Shell Shock, to no avail. Ryback was able to knock Henry off his feet and deliver a splash for a near-fall. A “feed me more” chant broke out. Henry taunted the fans by yelling “feed me more!” Jimmy Uso said his first match ever was against Henry – Lawler said Henry’s first match ever was against HIM. That’s an interesting connection. Henry missed a clothesline and, with Ryback coming off the ropes, both men connected on simultaneous clotheslines. Once back to their feet, Ryback plowed through Henry with right hands. Bodyslam by Ryback. Meat Hook clothesline found the mark. Spinebuster by Ryback. Ryback took down the straps and picked Henry up for a Shell Shock.

WINNER: Ryback, at 6:53. Impressive strength there by Ryback, as it wasn’t just a pick-up and drop situation with Henry in the Shell Shock. Solid effort by both men, and it did a nice job putting Ryback over heading into the Battleground Triple-Threat.

They replayed a few of Ryback’s feats of strength during the match.

- Rollins, Mercury, and Noble were backstage with J&J Security still admiring their new watches. Mercury said Reigns still hasn’t arrived at the building tonight.

- Rollins vs. Reigns is still scheduled to occur tonight.

[Commercial Break]

4 – NAOMI vs. BRIE BELLA

Naomi did not get an entrance. Nikki Bella and Tamina were not at ringside as they are on the overseas tour. Alicia Fox, however, did accompany Brie. Naomi ducked an attempted attack by Fox outside the ring, but Brie did clothesline her. Middle rope dropkick by Brie for two at 1:36. Brie delivered a running knee to the face of Naomi. She had to be warned by the ref for not breaking in the corner after kicking Naomi over-and-over without breaking at the ref’s count. Naomi fought back, but was tripped by Fox as she was tied in the ropes. Face-buster by Brie finished it.

WINNER: Brie, at 3:53. I though Brie was the babyface heading into the match, but with that finish, I don’t know. I’m not sure how we’re supposed to care about these Diva characters when there’s no consistency in what they do.

- Bray Wyatt cut a promo from wherever he cuts promos. He addressed Roman Reigns, saying he’s the reason Reigns isn’t in the arena. He said he thinks Reigns is sitting in a cave, licking his wounds, like an injured animal. But that’s not the Reigns he feeds to the people. Wyatt said Reigns cares for too many people, which makes him weak. He made Reigns a promise that everything he loves in the world will be burned down around him. And then, Wyatt vowed to show Reigns the ultimate mercy by finishing him last.

- Reigns vs. Rollins is the announced main event tonight.

[Commercial Break]

5 – THE ASCENSION vs. THE PRIME TIME PLAYERS

A couple chops by Viktor had no effect on Titus O’Neil. After a tag to Darren Young, O’Neil suplexed Young right onto Viktor. Konnor was able to tag in and have a little more success against Young. Young ended up suplexing Viktor back-first onto the apron. Young, however, was sent face-first into the ring post by Konnor. The match rolled on at 2:25.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 6:26. Young was trying to work out of the heel corner, but was unsuccessful. Lawler said Reigns had still not arrived at the arena at this point. Konnor took the leg out from Young to stop him from making a tag. Sunset flip attempt by Young, but Viktor made the tag, which Young did not see. Jumping knee to the face by Viktor, however, Young created an opening by back-dropping The Ascension member outside the ring. Young made the hot tag at 8:49. Titus showed off his power against the heels. Corner splash to Konnor. Young took out Viktor and Titus gave Konnor the Clash of the Titus, which led to the pinfall.

WINNERS: The Prime Time Players, at 9:54. That’s right, TWO secondary title-holders won in non-title matches tonight.

- Rusev and Summer Rae were heading to the ring from backstage. They’re out, next.

[Commercial Break]

- Hulk Hogan is in the latest Sports Illustrated “Where are they Now?” issue.

- Rusev came out, still using a crutch. Summer Rae came out behind him. They showed Summer Rae’s mic work attacking Lana on Raw, and Lana physically attacking Summer following that. In the ring, Rusev paused for “USA” chants, then told the fans to shut up because Summer had something to say. She said she wanted to be the bigger person and to apologize for her actions on Raw. Rusev held the mic for her as she spoke. He’s no Gene Okerlund when it comes to that job. Summer said she shouldn’t have stooped to Lana’s level on Monday, and that Lana’s loss is her gain. Rusev kissed Summer’s hand. Rusev hilariously shrugged off the crowd’s chants and said Summer is a real woman. But also a woman who knows her place.

He said he doesn’t need Lana anymore, and never needed her. Loud “we want Lana” chant. “Summer Rae, no Lana!” shouted Rusev. Rusev addressed Dolph Ziggler next, saying Lana is poisoning his brain. He said he will no longer tolerate Ziggler’s jokes or threats. He said Ziggler went public on Raw so now he will go public. He said he’d eat Ziggler’s heart and pull out his intestines to hang them in his backyard. Rusev said there was a time when he lost everything and soon, Ziggler will find out how it feels.

- Seth Rollins, with J&J Security, was walking backstage. They were all smiles as they headed to the ring.

[Commercial Break]

- Rollins, Noble and Mercury came out for the main event. Rollins, on the mic, said he wouldn’t normally burden fans with the formality of the ten-count while waiting for Roman Reigns. But he really wanted to see those Apple watches at work. Rollins ordered the bell rung to start the match. At the count of seven (23 on my stopwatch), the music of Reigns played. He descended the stairs and came to the ring. The two brawled as soon as Reigns entered the ring, as Phillips noted the match had already started. Well, if the match really DID start, then Reigns really SHOULD’VE been counted out. Referee’s discretion, I guess.

6 – SETH ROLLINS vs. ROMAN REIGNS

As noted above, Reigns hit the ring and Rollins jumped right on him. Reigns picked him up and slammed him into the corner. Reigns held his back as he went after Rollins. Rollins did a Flair flip in the corner after being sent in. Joey Mercury was brought into the ring and Roman set him up for a powerbomb, but Rollins kicked him in the stomach. Buckle bomb by Rollins for two. Mercury got involved behind the ref’s back with a cheap shot. Rollins, from the top, did a double-stomp onto the back of Reigns as Reigns was situated throat-first across the middle rope. Reigns fought back as the crowd vocally got behind him. Rollins cut off the comeback with a bodyslam. A right hand by Reigns caught Rollins coming off the top. Reigns clobbered Rollins with clotheslines in the corner. He socked Mercury with a right hand when Joey got on the apron. Powerbomb by Reigns. Noble pulled the leg of Reigns in the corner when Reigns readied for the Superman Punch. Mercury recovered to hit the ring and take out Reigns as well.

WINNER: Reigns, via disqualification, at 5:58.

Before the beat-down could reach Raw-like proportions, Dean Ambrose came out with a Kendo stick and went to town. Superman Punch by Reigns as Rollins attempted to Pedigree Ambrose. J&J pulled Rollins out of harm’s way and they exited through the crowd. Well, two of them did – Mercury was apprehended by Reigns and Ambrose. Ambrose gave him a shot with the stick and Reigns Superman punched him. More shots from the Kendo stick. Spear by Reigns. After a few replays, the babyfaces celebrated in the ring 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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