Csonka’s WWE Smackdown Review 6.18.15

Introduction
As a reminder, this will not be another traditional recap, but instead it will be a mash up of the Rs, Instant Analysis and my usual Twitter ramblings I would do during the shows; completely uncensored and as the ideas flow unfiltered to the old keyboard. Remember, this is a review; and I am here to review the show. As always, I encourage discussion and even disagreement, just do so in a respectful manner. I will be doing the review for Raw and most PPVs and iPPVs going forward.

Thursday Night Smackdown 6.18.15

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Sheamus and Kane defeated Dean Ambrose @ 1:30 via DQ [NR]
– Brie Bella defeated Paige @ 5:25 via pin [**]
– Dolph Ziggler defeated Bo Dallas @ 1:10 via pin [NR]
– Neville defeated Xavier Woods @ 2:55 via pin [NR]
– Non-Title Match: Champion Kevin Owens defeated Cesaro @ 9:05 via pin [**¾]
– Sheamus and Kane defeated Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose @ 9:20 via [**¼]

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Sheamus Came Out To Talk: Sheamus mocked the crowd for calling him stupid, noting that he’s the MITB holder now and will become world champion. We got some B-roll footage showing off his actions from Raw, and then he vowed that no one would stand in his way of becoming champion. This led to Ambrose coming out, using shitty dialogue (SHEAMUS IS IRISH SO HE MUST LOVE POTATOES OMG LOL) reminding him that he beat him on Raw and this all led to Kane coming out to book a handicap match; Ambrose vs. Kane and Sheamus. Same old same old and it wasn’t even all that entertaining.

Sheamus and Kane defeated Dean Ambrose: Ambrose tried to stay away from the 2 on 1 attack, it worked for a bit but then the heels got the advantage, They kicked the shit out of Ambrose until big brother Roman Reigns arrived and saved the day. And you know what this all means…

It’s like Smackdown is a parody of itself at this point.

Brie Bella defeated Paige: Paige is fighting her war against the Bellas alone, due to her past actions against the rest of the ladies along with the fact that Nikki made sure to note that she’s tight with Stephanie McMahon. They worked through the commercial, and they had a good match here. Not a great match, but it had a nice pace, they worked well together and there wasn’t the miscommunication issues that a lot of recent divas matches have had to work through. Alicia Fox ran out and shoved Paige off the top rope, allowing Brie to pick up the win. Paige is a lonely island, and we’ll see if she can find some help as the feud continues. If this leads to a couple of the NXT ladies being brought up and a real revamp of the division, I am all for it.

* We get highlights of Cena vs. Owens, and then Owens powerbombing Machine Gun Kelly. Owens met with Renee backstage, and Owens said he apologized for the incident on Raw. He said Kelly put his hands on him first, and also blamed his little buddy John Cena. When asked about his match on Raw being a non-title match, he says he won and says he doesn’t pander to the crowd like Cena. Cesaro arrived and mocked Owens for talking and not fighting. Cesaro challenged him to a match tonight and jokingly touched him, to make sure there were no communication issues between them.

Dolph Ziggler defeated Bo Dallas: Dallas cut a pre-match promo, noting that Lana was on the rebound and that she broke Rusev’s heart. Dallas ran down Ziggler and made a Tinder joke. Typical Bo Dallas match, he was aggressive early but lost in under two-minutes. Rusev watched on from the back. Ziggler gets the rehab win, to make up for the fact that he lost MITB and also on Raw. It was fine but very rushed. Lana and Ziggler kissed, which pissed off Rusev.

Neville defeated Xavier Woods: Woods controlled early, as the rest of the New Day cheered him on. Neville fought back, and hit a dive. The rest of New Day tried to get involved, but the PTP arrived to even the odds and to reinforce the relationship started on Raw. New Day and the PTP brawled on the floor, and Neville then hit the red arrow to score the win. The action was fine but chaotic with all of the extras involved. It also continues the narrative that New Day wins when they have the advantage, but when all the odds are even, they can’t pull off the win.

Seth Rollins Talks: Rollins came to the ring, and ran off his usual speech about being the biggest star in the company and the future of the business. The fans cannot relate to him because of the pressures he’s under, and feels disrespected. He was shocked when Lesnar returned, but also understands that this is the way that things need to be. He’s beaten everyone lese, and beating the man that ended the streak will cement his legacy. Rollins then said Lesnar didn’t do a thing to him because he remembers WrestleMania, the fact that he’s a dangerous man and that Lesnar lost his mystique because he kicked his teeth down his throat. Rollins came off well here, and again shows that he has grown a lot on the mic. This was good overall.

* We see highlights from Wyatt’s promo from Raw.

* Ambrose and Reigns prepare backstage for their match. Ambrose wanted to make sure that Reigns was on his a-game tonight, and when he brought up Wyatt, Reigns was noticeably upset and said that they had business to handle tonight.

Champion Kevin Owens defeated Cesaro: Cesaro ran wild early with the suicide dive and running uppercut on the floor, but Owens posted him and demanded the ref count because he doesn’t care how he wins. They worked through the commercial, and Cesaro made his comeback with the springboard uppercut. They had a fun back and forth match, and while not a criticism, it felt like a Reader’s Digest version of a better and more complete match. They worked well together, and I really want to see them work a longer and complete match down the line. Owens crotched Cesaro late and then hit the pop up powerbomb for the win. Owens continues to roll along and has been a lot of fun to watch. On a side note, I really hope that they do something with Cesaro; he’s too good to just toss out there in meaningless matches while Kidd is out injured.

* Miz talks about movies, moving along.

* We get a Dusty Rhodes tribute video.

Sheamus and Kane defeated Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose: Reigns and Ambrose controlled early, as we predictably went to the commercial break. When we came back Ambrose was in control, but then Sheamus pulled him to the floor and slammed him on the announce table and that started the heat for the heels. They targeted the leg on Ambrose, which was injured at MITB. Kane and Sheamus worked over Ambrose for several minutes, I would go back to calling it the heat was it was really lacking. It wasn’t bad, but really felt as if they were going through the motions. Ambrose eventually got his top rope elbow to a standing Kane and got the hot tag to Reigns. Reigns ran wild and worked over Sheamus and fought off Kane. Ambrose also got involved and took Kane to the floor but ate the brogue kick. Reigns looked to have the match under control after a Superman punch to Sheamus, when Wyatt appeared on the big screen singing “I’m a little teapot” and holding the picture of Reigns and his daughter like he did on Raw; that distracted Reigns enough for Sheamus to hit the brogue kick and score the win. Wyatt laughed at Reigns post match and wished him a happy father’s day to close the show. The lights went out and when they came back on THE PICTURE WAS IN THE RING WITH REIGNS. That’s some voodoo shit right there. This was a solid and conservatively worked main event to advance the Reigns vs. Wyatt feud. It was perfectly fine.

* End scene.

* Thanks for reading.

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”

6.0

The final score: review Average

The 411

Like most editions of Smackdown, it wasn’t bad and they did some fine things to advance some angles, but it simply existed. It’s easier to sit through than the usual Raw episodes, but I just don’t feel like much of what happens matters. Smackdown continues to be a show that is average and simply exists so that WWE can collect TV rights fees. It’s good business to make that money, but unfortunately it doesn’t make for a must see TV show. Owens vs. Cesaro was the highlights of the show, but it wasn’t must see; if you missed the show you missed nothing.