Smackdown
Date:
October 10, 2014
Location:
Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators:
Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Tom Phillips
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
Tonight
is the 15th Anniversary Special for Smackdown, meaning
we're likely to get a lot of cameos and clips from great Smackdowns
over the years. These shows are always hit or miss and could range
from a really fun show to PLEASE LET IT END. The flashbacks should
be fun though. Let's get to it.
We
open with a montage of great Smackdown moments. The old man taking
off his face to reveal Bischoff blew my mind.
Here's
Stephanie for our first long chat of the night. She talks about the
origin of the word Smackdown, saying it was made by the man who lost
to her husband on the first episode of Smackdown, the Rock.
Smackdown has always been about the people, so here's BIG JOHNNY ACE!
We actually get a PEOPLE POWER chant and Johnny talks about how
great his era really was.
Johnny
has been doing his research on the WWE Network (Stephanie: “Proof
that anyone can use it.”) and has some matches to make tonight.
Cue Teddy Long (with JBL doing the Teddy Dance!) who says he was
Smackdown GM for six years and he's not letting Ace take it away
again. Ace cuts him off though and says he's making a tag match with
Miz/Cesaro vs. Sheamus/Swagger. Teddy would make it a six man tag
with Bo Dallas and Mark Henry being added. Ace: “TEN MAN TAG! TEN
MAN TAG! TEN MAN TAG!”
Johnny
adds the Dusts and Usos to the mix, but Teddy says let's make it a
FIFTEEN MAN TAG MATCH! Ace says that doesn't make sense. Teddy
takes the previous ten guys and add the Mini Gator, Slater, O'Neil,
Torito, Los Matadores and......TITO SANTANA? Stephanie likes the
idea, even though Santana isn't here. Apparently the Gator and Bull
count as one guy between the two of them in case the math didn't make
sense. Stephanie adds a stipulation: each guy picks a team and the
winning captain is named the best GM of all time. This was totally
fun and the battling tag match ideas was a nice idea.
Stephanie
isn't done though as she announces John Cena and Dean Ambrose
appearing on MizTV later in the night. This brings out Adam Rose and
the Rosebuds to with Smackdown a Happy Birthday. He invites
Stephanie onto the Exotic Express but instead she makes Rose vs. Kane
next. Stephanie does her own dance and of course Teddy joins in.
Even Ace dances a bit.
We
get the first great Smackdown moment: the debut episode with Rock vs.
HHH. So the pilot has been written off I guess.
Kane
vs. Adam Rose
Kane
says he isn't a cheeseburger or Rosebud and tonight he's going to
crash the party. Rose tries to speed things up to start before
grabbing a sleeper. That goes nowhere so he goes up top, only to
dive into an uppercut. The chokeslam gives Rose his first loss at
1:03. That's kind of a waste of the last six months but at least he
wasn't given any kind of a push.
Kane
goes after the Exotic Express post match as they all go into the ring
to check on Rose. He beats some of them up until it's only the Bunny
left. JBL is thrilled but some of the Rosebuds get back in to
distract Kane so the Bunny can escape.
From
June 27, 2002: John Cena answers Kurt Angle's open challenge.
Undertaker shook Cena's hand after the match.
AJ
Lee vs. Alicia Fox
Non-title.
Paige is holding AJ's title on the announcers' table during the
match. Fox scores with some kicks to start before getting two off a
great looking northern lights suplex. We're in the chinlock less
than forty seconds into the match. AJ counters a backbreaker into
the Black Widow for the submission at 1:22.
Paige
and Fox go after AJ but she fights them off without much effort.
The
next moment is a bunch of big dives and crashes, capped off by Lesnar
and Big Show breaking the ring. In a nice touch, each package is
introduced with a different Smackdown theme from over the years.
Seth
Rollins vs. Kofi Kingston
Noble
and Mercury are at ringside to watch out for Ambrose. Seth
immediately stomps Kofi down in the corner to start before whipping
him hard into the barricade. Kofi's face is dropped onto the apron
before he gets another beating back inside. Kingston finally gets a
knee up in the corner and scores with a dropkick. Seth just hammers
him again and hits the Buckle Bomb. There's a second buckle bomb and
the Curb Stomp gives Seth the pin at 3:35.
Rating:
C-. In
the words of Big Zeke's theme song, this here's what you call
domination. Seth squashed Kofi here and it's kind of sad to see
Kingston having such little direction that this is all he can do
anymore. There wasn't anyone else that can take a loss like this?
Granted it's not like it's going to be remembered in like a day
though so it's not that big of a deal.
Luke
Harper release video.
Another
video package on Money in the Bank cash-ins.
Rusev
vs. Dolph Ziggler
Non-title
again. Rusev powers him
into the corner to start and kicks Ziggler in the back before choking
on the apron. Ziggler fights out of a chinlock but misses a Stinger
Splash as we take a break. Back with Dolph hammering away but
getting caught with the knees to the ribs and fall away slam. Rusev
hooks a front facelock with a body scissors but
Ziggler finally rolls forward to escape.
A
hard shot to the face staggers Rusev and there's a dropkick for good
measure. The running DDT is blocked but Rusev misses a charge,
setting up a bad looking Fameasser for one. Back up and the running
superkick sets up the Accolade to make Dolph tap at 8:20. This was
only a few steps above a squash save for that one flurry.
Rating:
C. But I thought Rock buried
Rusev on Raw and there was no way he could ever recover. Those
comments still make my head hurt but that's another story for another
time. This was a big win for Rusev and they're getting more and more
common. I know the logical story was to have him go over Sheamus for
the US Title, but they're getting to the point where he needs to go
into the World Title picture with wins like these. He's not there
yet, but they can't ignore him much longer.
Post
match Lana says Philadelphia being the birthplace of America explains
a lot of things about this country. She brings up meeting Rock on
Monday and starts ranting in Russian. Rusev takes the mic from her
and says Rock will pay the consequences. He issues a challenge to
Big Show for Raw.
We
look at Austin vs. Booker T. in a grocery store. I loved that.
After
Raw went off the air, Rock came in to see HHH and Stephanie to talk
about the upcoming Smackdown special. They
bring up the main event of the first Smackdown and
Rock giving him a Rock Bottom the next week.
HHH thinks it was Road Dogg that got beaten up because HHH kept
giving Rock Pedigrees and leaving him looking up at the lights.
Rock wonders what would happen if they headlined Wrestlemania one
more time.
Both
guys talk trash and HHH says name the time and Wrestlemania so he can
turn off the electricity on Mr. electricity. They get nose to nose
and Rock asks why they're this close because it's kind of weird.
Rock: “One of us has to
back up.” HHH: “Well I can't do it. I'm the Game.” Rock:
“Well I'm the People's Champ.”
They
agree to do it at the same time but neither guy moves. They finally
back up and HHH again says name the time and stadium. Stephanie
breaks it up and suggests they go to dinner. HHH: “How about we go
to Wrestlemania?” Rock: “How about you pay the bill you cheap
bastard?” HHH says Rock is cheap because he made all those #1
movies and won't pay for dinner. This was a really funny segment but
I'm not sure I want to see these guys headline a Wrestlemania. Then
again, it's not the worst idea in the world either.
The
announcers get a birthday cake and it winds up on Tom's face since
he's the rookie. It wouldn't be Smackdown if that didn't happen.
Booker
T. comes out to do commentary on the main event.
Another
clip of Austin leaving a rattlesnake in the McMahons' office and then
destroying the DX bus.
Team
Teddy vs. Team Johnny
Teddy:
Usos, Los Matadores, Mark Henry, Sheamus, Jack Swagger, El Torito
Johnny:
Miz, Heath Slater, Titus O'Neil, Goldust, Stardust, Bo Dallas, Damien
Mizdow, Mini Gator
Goldust
and Fernando get things going and don't seem all that interested in
doing much for the first thirty seconds or so. Fernando finally
takes Goldust over with a hurricanrana and it's off to Stardust who
is quickly sent to the floor. Everyone gets in for a staredown as we
take a break. Back with Titus knocking Jey into the Johnny corner
but the Usos clean house, only to have Stardust kick Jimmy out to the
floor. Jimmy gets caught in the corner and takes a splash from the
Gator.
The
fans want Mizdow and get their wish with a right hand to Jimmy's
head. We hit a chinlock for a bit before it's off to Titus as things
slow down. Titus charges into Jimmy's foot in the corner but Cesaro
breaks up a hot tag attempt. We take another break and come back
with Jimmy fighting out of Slater's chinlock and nailing an enziguri.
He backdrops Cesaro down and makes the tag off to Sheamus for very
little reaction. Cesaro takes the ten forearms to the chest, just
like Slater and Stardust.
Sheamus
has all three of them in a row and goes down the line to hit each of
them over and over. Everything breaks down and the Usos pull Slater
and O'Neil to the floor for suicide dives from Los Matadores,
followed by a double dive from the Usos to take out everyone. The
minis go at it until Bo powerbombs Torito onto the pile on the floor.
Henry
can't hit the Slam on Dallas and gets low bridged out to the floor.
There's a Brogue Kick to Dallas but Sheamus gets swung by Cesaro
until Jey superkicks Cesaro down. Mizdow gets the tag and tries the
Skull Crushing Finale but gets driven into the corner. The Brogue
Kick to Mizdow sets up Jimmy's Superfly Splash for the pin at 17:48.
Rating:
C+. This was nothing but fun
and that's all it was supposed to be. Was there really any doubt
that Teddy was going to win this in the end? He's the definition of
the feel good character and it's hard not to like him. The match was
fine and the big dives were fun as always. Nothing great but a fun
way to celebrate fifteen years.
Teddy
is lifted onto the winners' shoulders.
Rowan
is free video.
Time
for MizTV to close the show. We
recap the events from Monday before Miz announces the match at Hell
in a Cell as an anything goes contract on a pole match. Ambrose
and Cena come out, with Cena hugging a Make-A-Wish kid on the way to
the ring. Dean says he
doesn't care who Cena is because no one crosses him. Seth
Rollins tried to end his career and Ambrose wants his revenge. John
wants to take that from him and no one steals from Dean Ambrose.
Cena
talks about how the WWE brass is scared of Dean Ambrose because he'll
say whatever is on his mind out of a love for this business. On
Monday, Ambrose showed the balls (and Cena has an actual pair of
baseballs in his hand) to leave Cena laying because it gets Cena
towards what he wants. To Miz: “Why are you looking at these? You
don't even know what they are.”
Cena
knows that Dean is going to make him earn it at the pay per view
because they're cut from the same cloth. There's a reason Cena can
come to this ring every night for twelve years: he has a pair of
these and doesn't break his word for anyone. Ambrose better bring
his a-game to Dallas because Cena likes his chances.
Miz
hypes up Cena's career and asks Ambrose is he thinks he can beat him.
Ambrose: “Yep.” Dean knows he can do it and Miz keeps talking
until Cena threatens to slap the glasses off his face. Cena goes to
leave but Miz says that's not how this works. The guests are
supposed to fight and I think you know what's coming. Miz gets
beaten down and takes a DDT from Ambrose, only for Dean to get AA'd.
Rollins smiles in the back
to end the show.
Overall
Rating: C. I had a good time
with this show and that's all that it needed to be. They had a good
time with the Smackdown anniversary, even though they pretty much
blew by the last ten years or so. The ending was a nice touch and
helps set up the match even better. I like it being a contract on a
pole match as it gives Ambrose a better chance to win, even though he
isn't going to pin Cena. That being said, he almost has to win
inside the Cell, even though I'm not sure he will. Nice show here
and that's an upgrade for Smackdown.
Results
Kane
b. Adam Rose – Chokeslam
AJ
Lee b. Alicia Fox – Black Widow
Seth
Rollins b. Kofi Kingston – Curb Stomp
Rusev
b. Dolph Ziggler – Accolade
Team
Teddy b. Team Johnny – Superfly Splash to Mizdow
Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com and head over to my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:
http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6
HHH vs Rock would be fine if it were Hunter's last official match.
ReplyDeleteBest episode of SD in forever, although that's to be expected given that it's the 15th anniversary episode. Highlights were the HHH/Rock segment and Steph's rather … bouncy dancing.
ReplyDeleteAlso it can't be understated how great Cena was in putting over Dean and their match at HiaC.
ReplyDeleteIt was one of those times, where I wish Cesaro would have taken the pin instead of Sandow.
ReplyDeleteI loved how it was the first time that anyone made Adam Rose's party come to a screeching holt. Having Kane beat up the Rosebuds was a nice touch as well. Wish he would have gotten the Bunny.
ReplyDeleteWasn't really feeling the HHH/Rock match, but then I envisioned an I Quit match, and started drooling.
ReplyDeleteKane catches bunny at Mania, Tombstone.....and you can probably write who is inside.
ReplyDeleteALL THE BUYS.
ReplyDeleteI was actually hoping the Bunny would take advantage of all the Rosebuds distracting Kane and land one of his spin kicks.
ReplyDeletePete Rose might be a little too old to take that bump now.
ReplyDeleteWM always has a legends/part-timers match. Rock-HHH could work.
ReplyDeleteThe crowd was silent during the big swing.. if that doesn't show you how far he's fallen...
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't, because trying to glean things from the crowd noise of a taped show is a fool's errand.
ReplyDeleteHHH-Rock could be great if they don't take it the least bit seriously and just have fun with the feud. No fake "angry" promos and sign-pointing, just sarcasm, insider references and slowly increasing tensions until someone throws a punch and the match is on.
ReplyDeleteThey get nose to nose
and Rock asks why they're this close because it's kind of weird.
Rock: “One of us has to
back up.”
HHH: “Well I can't do it. I'm the Game.”
Rock:
“Well I'm the People's Champ."
More of this, please.
If even the canned crowd noise was silent, that's a bad sign.
ReplyDeleteAw, man. No buys. The comedy would be fine for a while but then it would have to get serious or it'd die a death. Rock/Cena did a decent job of when to be funny (or not in Cena's case) and when they needed to get serious.
ReplyDeleteI agree, following the template of the WM28 Rock/Cena match would be perfect. These two can absolutely find that balance between "Hey, we *are* fighting each other at our industry's biggest event, shit's about to get serious" and "We're two of the most secure, accomplished people in wrestling history and we can crack jokes about this."
ReplyDeleteI guess. I don't think it's anything, personally. Even if it was real, I don't think the reaction of any single crowd means all that much, really.
ReplyDeleteAnd Cesaro's been on the back burner for months and wasn't a made man anyway, so to speak, before that. So of course he isn't getting the same reactions he was getting back in March. I think we're reversing the cause and effect here. If they push him hard again, he'll get reactions again. But as much as I like him as a worker, he's still mostly a bland, blank slate of a character.
It sucks if the writers don't give you anything to work with, but talent's job is to present something to creative to give them a reason to work with. I'm a big fan of Cesaro, but I don't know that he's done that.
Sure, they can be serious at the very end, but otherwise it'll just come across as phony. Why should either of them be angry? Rock's an A-List movie star and HHH's is running WWE. Both men have achieved their dreams and are wealthy and accomplished in their fields. What's there to be pissed about? As much as we deride Cena for not selling his losses, Vince Jordan does have a point about him being on top of the world and thus having no reason to be angry. That goes double for HHH and Rock.
ReplyDeleteHowever, there's ton of history between the two and I'd much rather see a slow build that starts off "friendly" and slowly escalates because ultimately these two are complete egomaniacs who always have to get the last word and come out on top. In other words, this feud should be everything Flair/HBK wasn't.
Aye, it doesn't have to be a contrived shift, where it's all fun and games until HHH runs Rock over in the parking lot. Just a slow realisation from both that they, this does matter, people will remember this, and I'm not gonna be the guy they remember on the bottom.
ReplyDeleteBoth men became wealthy and acheived their dreams a decade ago though, that stuff needs to be left at home as much as possible in storyline terms, because then the whole edifice comes down. Half the guys on the roster are richer than we could ever dream to be, but that shouldn't really come up. They should always be motivated by wins and losses and titles and proving who's the best, because that's the whole point of wrestling.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm talking in kayfabe terms as well. HHH is firmly established as the new Vince and Rock is openly acknowledged as a mainstream megastar.
ReplyDeletePlease understand that I'm not advocating the return of stuff like "DX vs. The Little People's Court" or breaking kayfabe left and right. I just like the idea of two old successful rivals being frienemies and having respect for one another and yet always being one insult away from beating the crap out of each other.
If we must have a special attraction type deal with part-timers, Rock vs. HHH is fine. I think it's a good opportunity to get Austin involved too. Stone Cold is the biggest rival of both Rock and HHH and would be the only guy who could "call it down the middle". Rock can make the point that HHH is the COO and Hunter is obsessed with being as big a star as him (Rock), so he can't trust any WWE official to call the match fair. But there IS one guy who would be impartial....*glass breaks*
ReplyDeleteGo all in on Attitude Era goodness and have Stone Cold as referee/enforcer.
ReplyDeleteSee, I'm not sure we even disagree about this. Maybe we would take different roads to get there, but we still end up at the same destination.
ReplyDeleteYeah, you'e right. I think we are pretty much on the same page. But yeah, my first thought was DX and Cena comedy stuff in 2006 or 2007 and how it was nothing but comedy and it just felt pointless.
ReplyDeleteI have no desire to see Undertaker, Sting, or Austin wrestle in 2015, but you know we are getting a part-timer attraction of some sort. Rock vs. HHH is OK, but I fear it would only serve to add to the "HHH is as big a star as Rock/Austin/Hogan" myth
ReplyDeleteWrestling is pretty much entirely based on myths and illusion. Within kayfabe, yeah, he kind of is that big of a star. It's fine if you don't want to see old guys wrestle (for the record, I vote yes on Rock/HHH, yes on Austin v. anyone, and no on Sting and Taker) but that seems like a puffed-up way of simply saying "I don't like Triple H." Which is fine to say by itself.
ReplyDeleteI know it's kind of off on a tangent now, but as silly as it was I enjoyed the '06 DX comedy stuff *because* it felt pointless, and I think it was supposed to feel that way.
ReplyDeleteI stopped watching at that point completely for about 4 years. Goddamn did I not enjoy this stuff.
ReplyDeleteExactly. They're both good enough performers to nail this. I really hope they actually do this match.
ReplyDeleteEh. I'd like the hate to be seething from the outset. Vince might be off a bit off here. Highly successful people like Rock and H tend to be hyper competitive assholes. It takes a special kind of psycho to want to keep working like a dog after amassing a fortune. Sure they can respect one another, but let the hate flow.
ReplyDeleteThe feud must continue.
ReplyDeleteNever doubt the ability of Pete Rose!
ReplyDeleteWhy is Rock hugging HHH and Steph and going out to dinner with them? Aren't they the two biggest heels in the company?
ReplyDeleteFans don't care about anything that happens in WWE because they make it clear that they don't care. Ridiculous.
What reason would The Rock currently have to hate Triple H and Stephanie?
ReplyDeleteThis show gets an F. IC Champ losing. Jobber tag. HHH/Rock hanging out. Kane squashing a new talent. Shit writing.
ReplyDeleteThey're dicks?
ReplyDeleteSo is Rocky.
ReplyDeleteBecause they're the #1 heels in the company?
ReplyDeleteAny good reasons, or just that?
ReplyDeleteBesides, I'm actually watching the segment now. Not only was it obvious that everyone was being phony nice to each other, but they almost immediately started insulting each other.
Triple H is now a real-life authority figure playing an authority figure on TV. And he's acted accordingly as this character, being professional and corporate. It took him seven months to snap and flip out on Daniel Bryan, after all.
For them to have been at each other's throats like it was still 2000 would have been incredibly stupid.
Uh...HHH isn't? I never got that memo...since when, precisely? He is bigger than they are...he is running the company. It is really hard to be more successful than that...
ReplyDeleteThat's a plenty good reason. HHH is positioned as a heel. The rock is supposed to be a face. So no, they shouldn't be hugging and joking and going out to dinner. It just confuses both their characters. It's just 100% dumb and screams "don't take anything on face value." Would you have babyfaces just hugging 1989 Ted Dibiase? It's so self defeating.
ReplyDeleteIt also tells the audience that Rock hasn't paid attention to wwe at all the last two years, otherwise he should have some problem with HHH and Steph screwing over the faces at every turn. It's the same as why the hug that first night was such a retarded move for then babyface Batista.
ReplyDeleteMan, Cena was heel as fuck to end the show.
ReplyDeleteCesaro is old-school in a lot of good ways, but in a quite horrible way, he's old-school in the sense that the only character he has is related to his physical prowess.
ReplyDeleteRock was on point in that segment, proving that his best comedy is character based, no just dick jokes. I also thought Triple H did pretty good work, yeah there was the subtle digs at guys (i.e. Road Dogg) but Triple H as this history rewriting, petty, insecure cock is pretty much his current character.
ReplyDeleteI mean, both guys were pretty much making fun of themselves in that segment, and I think that works way better than "Soviet Street Walker".
Rock/Austin/Hogan weren't contemporaries. Rock/Austin/Triple H were. If anything, I'd say that Triple H was the Attitude Era's Randy Savage, number 2 face, number 1 heel.
ReplyDeleteTheir careers (or rather their peaks) overlapped, but were not parallel. Austin hit the main-event in 97, Rock in 98 and Triple H in 99. And Triple H may not have been as big of a deal because WWE is a face-based company, but Triple H being the top heel would put him in that circle.
Because heels aren't criminals? They're people that the good guys (and fans) don't like. They may even be bad people, but it's not unreasonable to socialize with bad people, especially if they're powerful/influential.
ReplyDeleteYou're saying you've never gone out to dinner with an asshole that happens to be a co-worker or school associate or a friend of a friend?
Regardless of your political beliefs and who'd you consider to be face/heel in America's political system, politicians of both sides do socialize with each other, because at the end of the day two politicians of different political orientations have more in common than an average citizen and a politician of the same political orientation. Just as two wrestlers of the Attitude Era have more in common than a Rock fan and the Rock.
I like this gimmick.
ReplyDeleteKayfabe-wise, it should make sense to the audience that Rock isn't tuned in to everything happening in WWE. He's doing other things. And since Rock works in Hollywood, even if he does know all the bad HHH is doing, we should assume Rock is used to playing nice with bad people (slimy executives, agents, etc.).
ReplyDeleteCena's Baptist preacher voice is really awful.
ReplyDeleteAnd I still don't get Dean Ambrose. He's below average in the ring and his gimmick comes across as a guy who thinks he's a rebel cause he shops at Hot Topic.
Like they did with Batista?
ReplyDeleteI much prefer cocky, dickhead, 'knows he's the best' vet Cena.
ReplyDeleteDean Ambrose was a smug little shit and the 15-time world champ put him in his place.