Smackdown
Date:
February 5, 2015
Location: World Arena,
Colorado Spring, Colorado
Commentators: Jerry
Lawler, Michael Cole, Byron Saxton
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
This week's Raw changed
a lot of things about the Fast Lane and potentially Wrestlemania
cards. The big story was Daniel Bryan defeating Seth Rollins to earn
a shot against Roman Reigns at Fast Lane with the winner facing Brock
Lesnar for the World Title at Wrestlemania. This is due to the Rock
interfering in the Royal Rumble when Rusev was still involved and
somehow was announced without ever mentioning Rusev's name. Let's
get to it.
We
open with a recap of the “earth shaking” announcement from Raw.
Rusev is still not mentioned by the Authority. That's downright
impressive. Bryan pinning Rollins to earn the shot is shown as well.
Opening sequence.
It's
time for MizTV with special guests Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan.
Miz has Mizdow sit at ringside to further his new role as assistant.
The fans of course want Mizdow and Miz says they have him, sitting
outside where he belongs. The guests come out and Reigns lays out
Miz with a Superman Punch before anything can be said. Well that's
one way to make fans like him. Reigns grabs the mic and says he went
through 29 wrestlers to get here and he'll go through one more to go
to Wrestlemania. Wouldn't it be one of them again since Bryan was in
the Rumble?
Reigns is going to go
to Wrestlemania by beating Bryan at Fast Lane but they should just do
it right here. Bryan is game but here are Rollins and the Stooges to
interrupt. Seth blames Reigns for taking his spot in the main event
of Wrestlemania but he'll get there one day on his own, even though
Reigns is scared to face him one on one. As per the Authority, Bryan
will be in action tonight against himself and the Stooges.
Post break Miz says he
should be in the main event of Wrestlemania instead and
wants to fight Roman tonight.
Goldust/Stardust vs.
Ryback/Dolph Ziggler
Thankfully
they come out to Ziggler's music this time. An inset interview from
Ziggler and Ryback says for Goldust and Stardust, it's too bad that
they're too good. Stardust jumps over Goldust to start for the team
and is quickly slammed down by Ryback. Off to Ziggler who gets two
off a dropkick and brings Ryback in again to hammer on Stardust even
more. Ziggler drops the big elbow (after a quick strut) and Ryback
follows with the splash for two. Stardust tells Goldust he has this
and we take a break.
Back with Goldust
choking Ryback on the ropes before it's back to Stardust for a front
facelock. Ryback finally backdrops Goldust out to the floor and
punches Stardust out of the air, allowing the hot tag to Ziggler.
Things speed up and the running DDT gets two on Stardust. The
Disaster Kick drops Ziggler and Goldust wants a tag, calling his
brother Cody again. He tags in by smacking Stardust in the head,
causing Cody to walk out. The solo Goldust walks into a Shell Shock
for the pin at 9:14.
Rating:
D+.
You know, I kind of wish these teams would just split in a hurry
instead of doing these weeks long drawn out buildups to the big
showdown. It should be an interesting match and feud, but again I'd
like to know who else they have to fill out the division, which is
currently about three teams deep. Maybe it's Ryback and Ziggler, who
aren't the worst combination in the world and at least they have
something in common.
Ernie Ladd Black
History Month video.
Curtis Axel vs. Dean
Ambrose
Axel
uses the “don't change the channel” line again, which is
somewhere between brilliant and depressing. He wants everyone to
join the movement and of course he has a hashtag for it. Curtis
tries to jump Dean to start and gets stomped down into the corner for
his efforts. He spins Dean around in the corner and hammers at the
back but makes the mistake of sending Dean outside. As he throws
Dean back in, Ambrose comes back out with a dropkick to the face,
setting up the rebound lariat. Dirty Deeds is good for the pin at
2:44 after Axel got in far more offense than I was expecting.
Barrett
pops up on screen with the BNZ: Bad News Zone. The bad news this
week: Ambrose is much too insane to receive a title shot.
Fandango vs. Adam
Rose
The
Trust Fall fails and Rose blames the Rosebuds for doing it on
purpose. That earns the hot dog a right hand and kick to the knee in
something I never thought I would have to type. Fandango pulls him
inside and chops Rose in the corner, only to get stomped down in the
corner for his efforts. A belly to back suplex onto the apron has
Fandango in even more trouble. Back in and Fandango hits a spinwheel
kick, yells to the crowd like a good guy would, and drops the
guillotine legdrop (finally named the Last Dance) for the pin at
2:07. Fandango was wrestling entirely like a face here.
Miz vs. Roman Reigns
They're
flying through these matches tonight. Miz gets in a good line before
the match with “You want to headline Wrestlemania? Come face
someone who actually did it.” That's Miz's “I beat the Rock and
Austin in the same night.” He knocks Reigns off the apron during
the entrances and sends Reigns into the steps. Roman says ring the
bell and Miz pounds away as soon as he can. Reigns ducks his head
for a backdrop and gets kicked in the face, so he opts for just
running Miz over with a shoulder.
After a quick beating
on the floor, Miz comes back inside with even more left hands as he's
come to play. Cole says a loss here would really hurt Roman Reigns.
Like the one on Monday where Big Show beat him in less than three
minutes? Or is that an exception because it's Big Show who is in
fact big? Miz puts on a neck crank followed by a chinlock but
charges into a big clothesline. The low DDT is countered into a
bearhug and then a Samoan drop, setting up the spear to pin Miz at
5:47.
Rating:
C-.
This was much better than I was expecting with Miz having more fire
in him than I've seen in years. It's also a good idea to have Reigns
have to come from behind instead of just running people over,
especially over former World Champions. Yeah Miz is on the low end
of that list, but it's better than beating up jobbers or Kane all
over again. Also at the end of the day, it's not Big Show, meaning
it's a better match by definition.
Rusev vs. Erick
Rowan
Non-title.
They slug it out to start with Rowan kicking him in the face as a
huge USA chant starts up. A shoulder sends Rusev outside but he
scores with a spinwheel kick back inside to take over. We hit the
chinlock for a bit before Rowan clubs him down and beals Rusev across
the ring. A middle rope back elbow to the jaw drops Rusev again but
Rowan gets kicked off the ropes. The Accolade makes Rowan tap at
3:20.
Rating:
D.
Standard brawl here to make Rusev look good by beating up
Cena's.....buddy I guess? I mean who remembers Rowan helping to
steal the souls of children last summer or whatever you call it?
After all, they had a 45 second chat that one time on Raw and those
things bury all hatchets. This was your run of the mill Rusev match.
We
look at the Bellas putting spray tanner on Paige from Monday.
Somehow this is the most interesting feud in the division in months.
Paige
was actually embarrassed on Monday because she isn't your standard
Diva. She's also not a conformist and the Bellas will be the
embarrassed ones at Fast Lane. Not a bad thirty second promo,
especially given what she has to work with.
Paige vs. Alicia Fox
In
case you didn't get enough of it on Raw. Paige erupts on her to
start and hammers on Fox, only to walk into a tilt-a-whirl
backbreaker. The Bellas are watching in the back as Fox sends Paige
outside. Back in and the northern lights suplex gets two on Paige
and it's time for the chinlock.
Saxton
says the Bellas have been the faces of the Divas division for the
better part of seven years. That would make my soul hurt if it was
actually true, but I think Laycool, Mickie James, Kelly, Melina, AJ
and even Paige might have a bit to say about that, especially given
that before this title reign, the Bellas had combined to hold titles
for about two and a half months in those seven years. Anyway, Paige
fights up and hits a dropkick, setting up PTO for the win at 2:32.
We
go to the double date with Jimmy Uso/Naomi and Natalya/Kidd, but
Tyson thought he'd be coming with Cesaro because they're partners.
Natalya facepalms and eats at the same time while Cesaro and Kidd say
FACT at the same time. Naomi yells at Natalya for being rude and
letting her husband be a jerk. Jimmy doesn't like what Kidd says
about Naomi and gets knocked out by Cesaro. Natalya blames Jimmy and
Naomi.
Network/Fast Lane hype.
Bray
Wyatt says a man is defined by his actions but he is no man. He is
the reaper, so what makes you think your actions towards him mean
nothing? You are blinded by your pride and the devil is knocking on
your door. He just wants you to come home, so just let him in. Let
him in. Let Bray in.
Daniel Bryan vs.
Jamie Noble/Joey Mercury/Seth Rollins
Mercury
offers a test of strength to start but gets kicked in the leg
instead. Daniel rides him on the mat with ease so it's off to Noble
to get abused as well. A cross armbreaker sends Noble running to the
ropes and it's off to Rollins for a smattering of applause before the
YOU SOLD OUT chants begin. A dropkick puts Seth down but he gets
Bryan into the corner for the triple team. Back to Noble as the
announcers recap Wrestlemania from last year. Rollins takes Bryan
outside and sends him into the barricade as we take a break.
Back
with Bryan getting German suplexed for no cover. Seth does Brock's
bounce before throwing another German suplex. The Stooges take turns
stomping away with Noble throwing some shadow punches. Mercury gets
two off a dropkick (people might forget how young the Stooges really
are. Noble is the older of the two and is only 38. This is hardly
Patterson and Brisco II) before Seth comes in for some cocky
stomping.
Daniel fights up for a
double cross body to put both guys down. Back up and Seth sends him
into the buckle to take over again but makes the mistake of setting
up the Triple Bomb out of the corner. Bryan counters into a
hurricanrana and Daniel speeds things up. A top rope double dropkick
puts the Stooges down and it's time for rotating YES Kicks. Bryan
clotheslines Rollins to the floor and throws Noble out with him,
setting up the YES Lock for the submission on Mercury at 13:58.
Rating:
C.
This was fine and again it helps that the Stooges are still more than
capable of having a passable match. Considering they're wrestling in
business casual clothing, this wasn't too bad. Bryan winning here
makes sense and there's no need to have him pin Rollins again. As I
said in the Wyatts' feud against Cena (before it was resolved with
one of those 45 second backstage chats), a good villain needs lackeys
for situations like this one.
Post
match Kane comes out and beats down Bryan because THIS FEUD WILL NOT
FREAKING DIE ALREADY. Bryan gets a big beating to end the show,
including a chokeslam and curb stomp. There is no reason for Kane
and Bryan to keep fighting, especially after last week.
Overall
Rating: C.
This show was rolling along to a decent rating and then they do this
stupid thing again where they can't just let a feud end and move on
to ANYTHING else because for some reason, writers in WWE don't get
that it's ok to end a story at some point. There's no reason for
this thing to keep going but they're just going to keep it going
because they have no idea where else to go with Kane.
Unfortunately, this
show felt like an old Friday night episode of the show with nothing
really interesting and a decent match here and there. It's not bad
or anything, but at least they had the two most important names
featured here. At the end of the day, any show that doesn't have
Cena on it all the time doesn't feel like a major show. The company
really does revolve around him and you can notice when he's gone.
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
"Post match Kane comes out and beats down Bryan because THIS FEUD WILL NOT FREAKING DIE ALREADY."
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing else I can add to this. I'm just.............fuck.
I liked Smackdown and the fact there was not Big Show and Kane. Then Kane shows up. Despite last week being "the end", he attacks Daniel Bryan. Still a fine show from start to finish, but for one week. ONE FUCKING WEEK. No "Big Show and/or Kane" to ruin a good time. I love Kane... but Corporate Kane has sucked all enjoyment I've had for him.
ReplyDeleteStill hoping they can have a WM match together because when you book badly, you might as well go all the way with it.
ReplyDeleteIt'd be the one match that's an even worse idea than pairing him with Sheamus.
ReplyDeleteWhy is a guy going up against Brock Lesnar selling for the Miz? Squash this geek in 1 minute and get out.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Reigns took way too much of a beating in that match
ReplyDeleteAnd somehow, it was by far his most impressive performance of the week, because Big Show gets to pin him because Big Show is in fact, big.
ReplyDeleteYou really can't appreciate how big he is unless you see him in person and look at what size ring he wears and also his hands are like frying pans, don'tchaknow?
ReplyDeleteIn Vince's crazy mind the constant booing of Show and Kane must mean they're great heels and not GTFO of the arena and retire already heat.
ReplyDeleteWould still hit the **1/2-*** territory... not that I'm OK with the possibility of MORE Kane/Bryan, because they promised the end last week and I jumped with joy it would be over.
ReplyDeleteWell, so would Bryan/Sheamus. We hate a lot on the guy, but Sheamus is a good worker and it's easy to forget that he and Bryan put on a hell of a 2/3 falls match.
ReplyDeleteIt's my personal favorite, even more than 1992.
ReplyDeleteI loved how they covered the smaller promotions, and I'd mark out when someone would debut in WWF/WCW and be like 'oh yeah, I know that dude'
ReplyDeleteI used to be a big supporter of Kane. That's pretty much died over the last 12 months. PLEASE RETIRE.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, between that and selling a bloody lip in the Rumble like he took a Foley bump off the Cell, how is anyone supposed to buy him beating Brock Lesnar, who was all FUCK YOUR TABLE/BARRICADE/FINISHERS/BRIEFCASE et al against both the top face and arguably top heel at the Rumble?
ReplyDeleteHey, remember when people were all "They're moving to Thursdays and the first night they had big time stuff on it? SMACKDOWN'S GONNA BE IMPORTANT AGAIN!"
ReplyDeleteNow comes the part where we throw our heads back and laugh, ready? READY! HAAHAHAHAHAHAHA
The cynic in me wonders if Bryan is being constantly put up against Kane because, regardless of how much they love him, the crowds will struggle to show enthusiasm in those matches, so it dulls his reception a bit.
ReplyDeleteAm I just too cynical?
#After I knew what I wanted, I started talking to people about it. Most of people didn't take me too seriously. I didn't even know if my 'dream job" existed anywhere. Still, I made the decision to look for it. Then I met a man who worked at home, part-time and had done so for years. He told me how he did it and shared with me how to get started. **************►►►http://facebook/Home/Career/Jobs//Get-Start/Profit••...
ReplyDeleteThanks for watching..
I'm very much on board with the Anti-Kane and Anti-Big Show sentiment. I didn't mind either in the late 90's and I was fine with both through around 2002 but after that it gets dicey. Since 2011 thought both have been nearly unbearable.
ReplyDeleteNow if only one of the bad guys would fall in poop.
ReplyDeleteThat would be correct. Staks chose Mania VI, Apter went with Von Erich beating Perfect, Peters with Nasty/Steiner match at Havoc, Rodriquez picked Flair/Sting at Bash, Bob Smith chose Gilbert running Lawler over with a car and Ellner picked Hansen beating Luger.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you're too cynical as much as you are wrong, as heir apparent Reigns also spent way too much being putting up against a similarly big slug in Big Show.
ReplyDeleteThe fans need to start a please retire chant so that the message will get across.
ReplyDeleteRollins is really killing it with his trash talks : "You want to face Brock Lesnar at WM ? Here's how it feels !" *German Suplex Bryan* this is pure gold.
ReplyDeleteAlso how come Reign is suppose to main event wrestlemania yet have still to score a definitive win over Big Show and is working programs with a midcard comedy act (the Miz) in the undercard while Bryan put his nemesis Kane in a casket and is working with the top heel beside lesnar in main event matches ? It make me wonder if they really going with Reign for this WM.
ReplyDeleteReigns pinned Big Show clean last week on the live Smackdown.
ReplyDeleteThe heat in the first 10 minutes that culminates with the two-minute texas tornado between Piper/Snake vs. DiBiase/Savage was off the charts.
ReplyDeleteThere's a tag match that should've been a Coliseum exclusive. DiBiase/Savage vs Piper/Roberts.
ReplyDeleteIt's a bit worrying that Seth made sure to suplex Bryan to the side so Bryan landed on his upper back as opposed to his head.
ReplyDeleteMethinks Bryan is still hurt.