WWE Smackdown review
July 16, 2015
Taped 7/14/15 in Birmingham, Ala.
Aired on SyFy
By Greg Parks, PWTorch Columnist (Twitter: @gregmparks)


- WWE Open.

- Smackdown Open.

- After fireworks, Roman Reigns was the first out, through the crowd as usual. Clips of Roman’s attack on Bray Wyatt from Raw were cued up during his entrance. Reigns vs. Wyatt is on the books for Battleground on Sunday. Reigns explained that this feud began when Wyatt cost him Money in the Bank. He assured fans Wyatt isn’t in his head and can’t break his focus. The visual evidence of the past few weeks would seem to indicate otherwise. Reigns set the stage for tonight, in which he and Dean Ambrose team up to face Big Show and Sheamus. Before he could hype the match too much, Wyatt appeared on the Titan Tron.

Wyatt said it appeared the prophecy is true: Reigns is the perfect combination of brutality and brains. He wasn’t happy Reigns has tried to make a fool of him. Wyatt said on Monday, he knew Reigns was behind him before the attack; he could feel Roman’s presence. He said Reigns is the unattainable, a monument that represents everything that should be good in the world. At Battleground, Wyatt promised that his hammer would destroy the monument and leave it crumpled on the ground. Reigns invited Wyatt to bring his hammer to the ring.

Wyatt called Reigns a “fool,” saying he has no power over him. He chided Reigns for standing out amongst the people simply because they cheer for him. Wyatt said he’s backstage with everyone Reigns actually cares about. He said he’s capable of horrific things and that their game has just begun. Reigns got fired up and said the whole world saw Wyatt run from him on Raw. Wyatt was happy to pull that intensity out of Reigns. He compared Reigns to a vicious dog that he has cornered. He told Reigns to surround himself with the people he loves the most, and tell them that he’s sorry, because he won’t be able to promise them he’s coming home from Battleground. “Anyone but you,” Wyatt finished up.

[Commercial Break]

1 – LUCHA DRAGONS vs. BIG E. & KOFI KINGSTON

The Prime Time Players were on commentary. They continued to talk about Titus O’Neil running over JBL on commentary a few weeks ago on Raw. Springboard cross-body by Sin Cara. He couldn’t capitalize, as Kingston brought Cara to the New Day cornered and tagged Big E. Cara took out both Kingston and Big E., bringing in Kalisto for a double-team move. New Day managed to dump Cara to ringside while Xavier Woods laughed like a hyena. They cut to break at 2:37 of the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 6:32 with Big E. stomping Cara in the corner. The New Day continued to keep Cara grounded in the heel corner while Woods worked the crowd. Cara finally made the hot tag at 9:11 of the match. Kalisto fought off Big E., then Kofi. Cara hit a suicide dive on Kofi through the legs as Kalisto held the ropes open for him. Salida del Sol by Kalisto, but Woods caused a distraction. Cara was pulled off the apron just before Kalisto could tag him in. Big E. caught Kalisto on a moonsault attempt, leading to the New Day’s double-team finish for the win.

WINNERS: Kingston & Big E., at 10:35. Selfishly, I wish we’d get a little more Kalisto in these matches, as he’s usually reserved for only a few seconds of offense after a hot tag. It’s a good role for him, but I’d like to see it expanded a bit.

The New Day, in the ring, had some pointed comments on the mic directed toward the Prime Time Players. Big E. implored the fans to clap because at Battleground, they’ll take what is rightfully theirs. “Prime Time is our time,” he said. They started a “New Tag Champs” chant. The Players entered the ring and ran off The New Day.

- Tom Phillips, Jerry Lawler, and Jimmy Uso were shown at ringside where they talked about the WWE Network hosting Battleground this Sunday.

- Backstage, Dean Ambrose approached Roman Reigns in the locker room. Reigns said he can’t wait ‘til Sunday because he’s tired of Bray Wyatt’s crap. Ambrose wanted to take care of Show and Sheamus tonight but also keep their eyes peeled for Wyatt. Reigns said if Wyatt shows up tonight he won’t make it to Battleground on Sunday.

- Cesaro vs. Rusev is still to come.

[Commercial Break]

2 – KING BARRETT vs. JACK SWAGGER

No entrance for poor Swagger. In fact, I doubt he has much swagger left. Rear waist-lock held by Swagger, who turned Barrett over for a pinning combination. Swagger continued to work Barrett over with amateur moves. Barrett responded with punches and kicks. A missed charge by Barrett led to a running clothesline by Swagger. Barrett took a break at ringside, but it wasn’t much of one, as Swagger chased him down. Barrett caught Swagger with a mule kick as Swagger hopped onto the apron. A knee to the face stopped Swagger in his tracks, and a Bull Hammer elbow finished him.

WINNER: Barrett, at 2:36. At this point, an underdog Swagger may be able to garner enough sympathy to get over as a babyface fighting from the bottom rung of the ladder. Built right, his first win in a long time could really get a pop and mean something.

R-Truth came out in his royal garb. Barrett would let him speak and kept interrupting him. He was tired of Truth’s nonsense. He said he beat three Superstars in 24 hours to earn the King of the Ring, while Truth lost in the tournament and makes a mockery of it with what he’s doing. Barrett said the jokes and the laughter ends Sunday, as he’ll beat Truth so badly that the fake king will bow down to the one true king. Nice, intense promo from Barrett. Too bad it’s wasted on a joke of a feud over who’s allowed to call themselves “King.”

- Next, a Battleground preview of Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins for the WWE World Championship.

[Commercial Break]

- Tom Phillips narrated still photos of Todd Frazier winning the Home Run Derby and hoisting a WWE Title over his head.

- And yes, the J&J Security Cadillac is still being hauled to the arenas. It was out by the stage again on this night.

- The announcers sent it to a video package chronicling the Lesnar vs. Rollins feud, which began at Wrestlemania.

- Cesaro was walking backstage. As he did, he came upon Kevin Owens. Owens sarcastically wished Cesaro luck, then walked past him.

- Rusev and Summer Rae came out for Rusev’s match against Cesaro. It’s next.

[Commercial Break]

3 – RUSEV vs. CESARO

As Cesaro came to the ring, they showed clips of the Triple-Threat match from Raw featuring these two and Owens, plus clips of Rusev vs. Cena. Cesaro wrestling Rusev to the mat looked like he was wrestling a small bear. It was back-and-forth in the early going. Cesaro gave Rusev an impressive standing suplex, but didn’t keep him up there too long so as not to be believable. It was right in that sweet spot of time. Rusev delivered a knee-lift to Cesaro, then suplexed him. They kept cutting to Summer Rae quite often, despite her not really serving any kind of purpose at ringside. Right hands from Cesaro, followed by a German suplex. Rusev denied another attempt, and hit a fall-away slam for two. They went to break at 5:12 of the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 9:12 with Rusev in control via rear chin-lock. Springboard European upper-cut by Cesaro, and it looked incredibly smooth for a guy his size. Standing dropkick by Cesaro and Rusev rolled out of the ring. Back in, a spinning heel kick by Rusev found the mark. Rusev back-dropped Cesaro out of a Neutralizer attempt. Cesaro landed on his feet, but was taken down with a jumping side-kick. An Accolade was avoided by Cesaro. Cesaro low-bridged Rusev out of the ring, then kicked him through the ropes. Cesaro charged at Rusev, but Rusev side-kicked him again. In the ring, Cesaro was laid out and Rusev went to the top. Cesaro jumped up and gave him a European uppercut as Rusev came off the ropes. He followed that with a Neutralizer for the win.

WINNER: Cesaro, at 13:58. Aside from the European Uppercut on the flying Rusev at the end, which didn’t look good, the rest of the match was pretty fun. Cesaro excels against bigger opponents.

The announcers really put over the win by Cesaro, and Cesaro celebrated like he scored the game-winning goal in soccer. Replays of several moments of the match were shown, as the announcers said this was the first time Rusev had been pinned on Smackdown.

- Sheamus was backstage when he was approached by Rich Brennan. Brennan asked him about the upcoming challenges Sheamus has to face. He said they may seem like challenges to a little man like Brennan, but for him, it’s just another day at the office. Sheamus said he can’t wait until he can pick through the carnage tonight. He wanted to send a message to Randy Orton tonight. He invited Orton to watch what he’ll do to Reigns and Ambrose. Sheamus said this Sunday, it’s personal.

- Neville vs. Stardust is next. I like the comic book-inspired graphics for Neville matches.

[Commercial Break]

- Phillips thanked The Glorious Sons for “Heavy,” the Battleground theme song.

4 – STARDUST vs. NEVILLE

During Stardust’s entrance, they did a video package splicing in Stardust comments with his match with Neville on Monday, as well as keeping with the comic graphics motif. Neville dropkick Stardust, then quickly nipped up. Flying forearm by Stardust took down Neville. A running knee to the face kept Neville down. Neville leap-frogged a charging Stardust, sending Stardust tumbling through the ropes. Springboard moonsault by Neville. Stardust sat down on a sunset flip attempt by Neville, but the referee saw him trying to use the ropes for leverage and admonished him. That led to Neville rolling up Stardust for the victory.

WINNER: Neville, at 2:20. I could get behind an extended Neville vs. Stardust feud.

A few replays of the end of the match were shown.

- The announcers talked about Battleground, and Lawler put over how excited he is to be on the call. Phillips plugged WWE Network’s free month for new subscribers.

- Ambrose & Reigns vs. Sheamus & Big Show is tonight’s main event.

- Next, we’ll see the Diva Revolution that began on Raw.

[Commercial Break]

- Neville was walking backstage when Rich Brennan stepped in for an interview. He asked for Neville’s strategy during the match. As Neville explained, you could see Stardust creeping up in the background. He attacked Neville from behind and laid him out. He then spoke to Neville, saying there’d be turbulence and said, “be my hero,” before laughing maniacally.

- The announcers tossed it to the introduction of Charlotte, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch on Raw.

- Tamina, Naomi and Sasha Banks were backstage watching that replay on the monitor when JoJo came up and…well…she didn’t really ask a question. But she talked about how the Divas division was turned upside down on Raw. Sasha said it was their time to run the Divas division. She scoffed at the other six they shared the ring with on Monday. Naomi said they were bad, “Best At Dominating.” She said they were the trifecta and that they didn’t come there to play nice. Naomi said playtime is over and Sasha said they could bank on that. JoJo spent most of the interview looking like she was trying to stop herself from laughing or smiling.

- Dean Ambrose came out. The main event is next.

[Commercial Break]

5 – DEAN AMBROSE & ROMAN REIGNS vs. SHEAMUS & THE BIG SHOW

Phillips talked about the Ryback injury and told fans to stay tuned to WWE.com for more information. So, no clarification on the situation here. Ambrose and Sheamus started things off. Flying forearm by Ambrose, then one of the running variety on Sheamus. After a clothesline, Sheamus tried to take solace at ringside, but found none as Reigns dropkicked him into Big Show. Ambrose then came off the top with an elbowdrop on both men at the same time. Show and Sheamus were laid out at ringside as the show went to break at 2:22 of the contest.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 6:00 with Reigns tagging himself in to go toe-to-toe with Show. Show set up for his chop in the corner, but Reigns fought out. Ambrose tagged in and drilled Show with jabs and chops. It seemed to have no effect, as Show bulldozed Ambrose with a shoulderblock anyway. This allowed Sheamus to tag in and work over Ambrose. Sheamus and Show traded off assaulting Ambrose. A missed elbowdrop by Show gave Ambrose some breathing room. He made the tag at 11:10 of the match. Reigns clobbered everyone in sight. Show grabbed Reigns by the throat and pushed him into White Noise by Sheamus. Ambrose broke up the pin and dove onto Show at ringside. Show caught him and tried to chokeslam him through the announce table. Ambrose turned it into a DDT through said table, which broke. Reigns and Ambrose were on their knees, exchanging blows. Sheamus climbed to the top rope but rolled through (or appeared to try to) when Reigns moved. Superman punch to Sheamus. He set up for the spear, but Bray Wyatt came out of nowhere to attack Reigns, drawing the disqualification.

WINNERS: Reigns and Ambrose, via DQ, at 14:01.

Wyatt set up for Sister Abigail, but Reigns gave him the Superman punch. Then he speared Sheamus. The DDT on Show was replayed, as was Wyatt’s attack and Reigns’ comeback. Wyatt, from the apron, stared at Reigns, staring back at him from 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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