6/25 WWE Smackdown in Everett, Wash.: 2nd detailed report on Nakamura challenging Jinder for WWE Title, Naomi vs. Carmella, Owens vs. Zayn vs. Rusev

WWE LIVE EVENT REPORT
JUNE 25, 2017
EVERETT, WASH. AT XFINITY CENTER
REPORT BY JIM P., PWTORCH CORRESPONDENT

I attended the WWE Summerslam Heat Wave Tour house show on Sunday, June 25th. The show was at the Xfinity Arena in Everett, WA and featured the Smackdown Live roster.  The crowd was small and the percentage of families with children was very high. Floor seats were full, lower bowl was a little over half full, and the upper bowl was closed off. In general, the crowd was cheering babyfaces and booing heels, but not overly loud at any point.  Notable pops during entrances were Shinsuke (probably the biggest), Breezango, Charlotte, Becky Lynch, New Day and Sami Zayn. I didn’t time the matches, but they all pretty much went 15-20 minutes. Alright, on to the matches:

(1) New Day beat Sin Cara & Mojo Rawley and The Usos in a Triple Threat Match for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship. New Day was out first (no Xavier Woods) to cut a typical promo. Sin Cara & Mojo out second to a bland reaction. Seemed like an awkward pairing and it frankly didn’t work all that well. Usos out last (only time all night that the champs came out last) to a solid chorus of boos. The work between New Day and the Usos was very good.  The Usos are proving their worth as heels. They pulled off multiple cheats to proper reactions from the crowd. Eventually, an Uso (who can ever tell them apart) rolled up Sin Cara for the pin. Very good opening match. Well-paced and got the crowd pumped up for the rest of the show.

(2) Aiden English beat Tye Dillinger. Aiden did well getting heat and Tye did a fun gimmick holding up “10” signs that Aiden would take away and then Tye would pull out another smaller one from his trunks. I think he had four signs tucked away in there. Okay match, nothing special here. Dillinger by pin after his finisher. (Side note: Once Tye came out, the crowd would chant “10” for everything. All night. C’mon people!)

(3) Breezango & American Alpha beat The Ascension & Erick Rowan & Epico.

(4) Naomi pinned Carmella (w/James Ellsworth) to retain the Smackdown Women’s Title. Naomi out first (was just getting back to my seat) to a fair pop. Carmella and Ellsworth out second. Ellsworth cut  prematch promo praising Carmella for being the first woman to win a Money in the Bank match. Plenty of boos here. Thought it was strange to have Carmella in a title match the same week she was stripped of the briefcase. Ellsworth was really the star of this match. His antics at ringside were great! Naomi wins by pin.

(5) Kevin Owens beat Sami Zayn and Rusev when Owens pinned Zayn to retain the US Championship Match)

This was my favorite match of the night. Of course Owens and Zayn are going to give you a great work. Rusev was an interesting pairing for these guys. Started off with Owens and Rusev playing a one-upmanship game with Sami selling great for both of them. Rusev eventually turns on Owens and hit him with a powerful clothesline. Really fun match, Owens pins Zayn after a pop up power bomb.

(6) Baron Corbin pinned Luke Harper. This match started the second half after intermission. These two standing in the ring next to the ref; holy cow, they are large men. Yes, Harper did a topé. Not much else to say here. Corbin by pin after End of Days.

(7) Tamina & Natalya beat Charlotte & Becky Lynch. Lots of “woos.” Charlotte and Becky borrowed some “woo” signs from the crowd to encourage more wooing until Nattie ripped one of them up. Tamina struggled to get any kind of reaction and in ring work was sub par. She got a couple moves in, but I don’t think she actually bumped but once or twice. The rest of the women did great. Ref was distracted trying to keep Charlotte out of the ring, Tamina super kicked Becky while the ref had his back turned, Nattie pins Becky.

(8) Jinder Mahal (w/The Singh Brothers) beat Shinsuke Nakamura to retain the WWE Championship. Jinder out first to cut the same promo. First in English, then Punjabi. Shinsuke’s entrance is always great and this time was no different. This was a fine match, but the pairing of these two wasn’t the best. Jinder still seems mediocre and Shinsuke sunk closer to his level as opposed to bringing Jinder up to his. The Singh Brothers were very active at ringside, causing distractions and getting involved when Jinder would distract the ref. Mahal by pin after his finisher.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Overall, a fun show. I liked the format of the show compared to a Raw or SD taping. One match leads right into the next, no run on promos, and some different pairing of workers…