Spoilers for 6/28/13

[CM Punk]

Smackdown SPOILERS 6/28

The ring crew brought out an Irish flag, three bars complete with Bud Light taps (come on, no Guiness?), green bar stools, and green kendo sticks for the Dublin Street Fight. They also hung a donkey piñata with Dolph Ziggler's head pasted on it for Del Rio's fiesta.

Tony Chimel introduced "Columbia's own" Lilian Garcia. She sang the National Anthem, then introduced Cole and JBL.

Orton vs. Kane was announced for later.

But, first, Sheamus vs. Damien Sandow in a Dublin Street Fight. Sheamus was out first to a large pop. They replayed Sandow's attack last week. Lots of heat for Sandow. Sandow had a mic. He said South Carolina was the first state to secede, and after spending time here, he thinks it should secede again. He said South Carolina is like a third world country full of ignoramuses, and after he defeats the ignoramus in the ring, they will rename the match a Sandow Street Fight.

(1) Sheamus beat Damien Sandow in a Dublin Street Fight. After one kendo stick shot from Sandow, Sheamus dominated early. He gave Sandow 10 Clubbing Blows over one of the bars. Sheamus then pulled a keg out from under the bar and threw it at Sandow, knocking him over. Next, a sack of potatoes from under the ring. (I won't ask what a sack of potatoes would be doing under a wrestling ring.) As Sheamus brought Sandow back in the ring, Sandow slammed him head-first into the stairs. Sandow on the attack. More weapons were involved, then Sandow hit Terminus, but Sheamus kicked out. Lots of kendo stick shots to Sheamus's head and back. Then, Sheamus dished out kendo stick shots. He tried to hit White Noise onto two chairs, but Sandow blocked. Sandow then threw Sheamus into the ropes, but put his head down too soon, allowing Sheamus to knee-lift Sandow into the chairs. Sheamus followed with the Brogue Kick for the pin. Good match.

- Kane was in the back, and Daniel Bryan approached whistling. Kane thinks he's in a good mood just because he finally beat Randy Orton, although Kane was impressed. Kane called it an upset, but Bryan did not agree. He said Kane has a match with Orton, and in spite of the various things Kane has said, Bryan will be on commentary during the match and will help Kane if Kane needs him. He then hugged Kane, who not impressed.

- Miz TV segment. They replayed the Heyman-Punk segment from Raw. Heyman was Miz's guest and while the video played, a fan loudly yelled "Miz sucks!" Miz mockingly gave him a thumbs up.

Miz challenged Heyman's explanation from Raw in his annoying, grating way. He said he won't be bullied like Heyman bullied Renee Young last week. Heyman introduced someone who can bully Miz - Curtis Axel. Miz's vocal detractor in the crowd was unrelenting during this. Miz said Heyman fooled him by making him think it was a one-on-one interview, just like he fooled everyone on Raw. Miz said Axel is uninvited, but Heyman said he invited him and now Miz won't ask intimidating questions. Miz told some unfunny Star Wars jokes, then tried to create friction, but Axel did not bite and doubted that Miz can take the Intercontinental Title from him. Axel said he is very possessive of the Intercontinental Title (and proceeded to take the belt off and throw it on the ground), then Miz challenged him to a title match tonight. Heyman spoke up that his client doesn't fight for free. Axel then attacked Miz and hit a neckbreaker. Axel and Heyman walked off, leaving Miz lying in the ring to end the segment.

- Lilian led the crowd in a "Game ... Cocks" chant during the break.

- A.J. vs. Natalya was next. A.J. came skipping down to the ring as they replayed A.J.'s spoof of Kaitlyn on Raw. A.J. was very amused by this. Natalya came down, but then A.J.'s music started playing again. Kaitlyn came out dressed like A.J. She went through all of AJ's relationship and said she sure knew her way around the back. She added that there were rumors A.J. also had relationships with the timekeeper, the ringside doctor, and Lilian Garcia.

(2) Natalya pinned Divas champion A.J. Lee in a non-title match. The match started with Kaitlyn watching at the top of the ramp. A.J. took control, but Kaitlyn came skipping down and skipped around the ring. This enraged and distracted A.J. Natalya then rolled her up from behind and pinned her. A.J. started arguing with the referee and Kaitlyn came into the ring and speared her. Big E. then scraped A.J. off the mat and took her to the back while Kaitlyn celebrated in the ring.

- Teddy Long was backstage. Vince McMahon came into the office and asked him what he was going to do about the World Title MITB match. Teddy said that while the WWE championship MITB match was all about all stars, this MITB match would be for young up-and-comers, which, just between him and Vince (even though it was on the Titantron for all to see) was something Booker T had never thought of. The participants in the World Title MITB match are Wade Barrett, Jack Swagger, Antonio Cesaro, Dean Ambrose, Fandango, Cody Rhodes, and Damien Sandow. (I hope I'm not forgetting anyone, but it was all heels.) Vince was pleased and then they argued over how to pronounce Fandango.

- Kane vs. Randy Orton was next. Daniel Bryan was out first for commentary, then Kane came out to ridiculously loud pyro. Orton was out next to a massive pop.

(3) Randy Orton beat Kane. Slow-paced, back-and-forth match. I think the crowd sensed that nothing important would happen until Bryan got involved. The crowd was more behind Orton than Kane. Suddenly, Bryan jumped up on the announce table and led the crowd in a "Yes!" chant. When Orton took control, he started a "No!" chant. Neither wrestler in the ring paid him any attention, and he sat back down to resume commentary as the match continued. After more back and forth, Orton hit the hangman DDT and Kane rolled to the outside to regroup. After taking his sweet time, Bryan got up to "help" Kane by rolling him back into the ring to avoid a count-out. Unfortunately, he rolled him back right into an RKO for the pin. Bryan sold shock and dismay as he walked up the ramp while Kane sold frustration in the ring.

(4) Ryback beat Justin Gabriel. Jobber entrance for Gabriel and still some cheers for Ryback, who won in a virtual squash.

After the match, Ryback sold a leg injury. So, Chris Jericho came out and expressed fake concern over the apparent injury, saying Ryback was just setting up another excuse. He got a "Cryback" chant going. He came down and attacked Ryback, then rolled him into the ring and attacked the injured leg. He went for the Walls of Jericho, but Ryback blocked it and bailed up the ramp.

- The de facto main event is up next: Christian & The Usos vs. The Shield in a six-man tag match. Presumably, this match was set up by what occurred on Main Event.

- Another Wyatt Family promo aired, and then the 1-800-FELLA spot from Raw. I don't understand the point of those.

- They replayed the events from Main Event on the video screen leading into...

(5) Christian & The Usos beat The Shield in a six-man tag match. Yes, Shield lost another six-man tag. Shield worked over one of the Usos until he got the lukewarm tag to Christian. The Usos and Reigns and Rollins took each other out with some aerial maneuvers outside the ring. Ambrose got up with his back to Christian and turned around into a spear. Christian pinned Ambrose to a somewhat decent pop. Christian was elated while the Shield sold anger and frustration in the ring. I can understand the loss to Bryan a few weeks, but not this one.

- Time for Del Rio's fiesta. There were Mexican flags, balloons, a buffet table with Mexican food, and the Ziggler piñata. Ricardo Rodriguez (sans bucket) leads a mariachi band to the ring. Ricardo mocked South Carolina and then introduced Del Rio, who gloated a little and then vowed to speak in Spanish the rest of the night while confusing closed captioning with subtitles. After several minutes's worth of remarks in Spanish, he reverted to English, then whacked the Ziggler piñata and broke it. He wondered where Ziggler is, since Ziggler had promised to ruin the fiesta.

As if on cue, Ziggler emerged on-stage (sans A.J. and Big E.). He then took off his jacket and walked down to the ring. Del Rio swung at him with the piñata stick and missed, then Ziggler attacked Del Rio and Rodriguez. He clotheslined Ricardo over the top rope and fought Del Rio while the mariachi band fleed. Ricardo went to the top rope, but Ziggler caught him and threw him through the buffet table. He grabbed a guitar left behind by the mariachi band and swung for Del Rio, but he ducked and retreated through the crowd. Ricardo recovered just in time to get a guitar shot in the back.

Ziggler grabbed a sombrero and the now-broken guitar and proceeded to play a song with the mariachi band on the ramp. His music hit and a bunch of red, white, and green balloons descended from the ceiling. Ziggler walked up the ramp as his music played. Then, all of a sudden, Del Rio re-emerged from backstage and attacked Ziggler from behind. He beat him down the ramp and back into the ring, where he and Ricardo worked him over. However, Ziggler soon turned the tables and Del Rio ate a fame-asser. The heels retreated up the ramp and Ziggler celebrated in the ring with the World Title.

There was no dark match after the show concluded.

FINAL THOUGHTS: It was a somewhat late arriving crowd, but by the time Smackdown started, pretty much every available seat was filled. The crowd stayed pretty hot for a while, but seemed to die after the Kane-Orton match. Overall, it was a decent show, except for The Shield loss. I can excuse having them lose to Bryan, since he's the hottest act in the company right now, but having them lose to a mildly-over Christian and the not-over-at-all Usos makes me fear that they're losing their mystique and turning into run-of-the-mill heels who trade pointless wins and losses with uninteresting babyfaces while feuding over meaningless secondary titles.

Biggest Pops:

- Orton
- Jericho
- Sheamus
- Bryan

Biggest Heat:

- Sandow
- Shield
- Del Rio
- Colter/Cesaro

Looks like a decent/good show.

 

[Snowman1]

Great details, this looks awesome.

-Opener should be a good match and sounds quite humorous, but it's' a Sheamus match. More on that later.
-The only thing I could think of during MizTV is how much Senhor must be loving this feud. This is made just for him.
-Nattie going over AJ? :robbie: Dirty or not, holy crap I marked just reading that. THANK YOU!
-All heels in one MITB and all faces in the other? Cool! Love how they're actually saying "these guys are up and comers" though, calling it like it is. Nice dose of realism there. Really curious about the crowd reaction to that match as plenty of guys will wind up being cheered. Maybe they're seeing who they can turn face, Fandango and Cody seem likely.
-Don't know if I should complain about "ho hum, more of the same from Hell No and Orton", or just try to enjoy it. Probably the 2nd. Bryan doing the chants sounds humorous though.
-Cryback, lol, nice.
-Obligatory joke about Crayo's battery dying and 1-800-Fella
-Really, the Shield losing in six-man-tag action again? I don't know how to feel about that. On one hand it's stupid to have these three great talents jobbing to a career midcarder and a jobber tag team, but with as much as I bitch about predictable matches/superbooking we need an upset like this every now and then. Shame it's coming at the expense of the Shield who haven't been hurt by the overbooking when Sheamus is right there. Still, the Usos needed the win much more than Christian did.

 

[seabs]

Ziggler finally main events a smackdown. Also it's odd that Sheamus seems to always be in or around the biggest pops despite doing nothing since he dropped the strap to show.

 

[Captain Charisma]

That first match can be good. I actually like Sheamus' matches if he isn't dominating too much. Fandango & Swagger returning? So good, go Barrett. Shield lost? Actually that's a good move. They had added some hype & belief on Usos. In other case they were just too weak for The Shield. Ziggler & Guitar... Reminds me Jeff Jarrett! And Ricardo, cost Alberto the match at MITB! Book it!

 

[Crayo]

Looks diabolical. Shield beat BoD + Bryan in a six-man tag not so long ago, and now they lose a meaningless match against Christian + The Uso's. Ambrose isn't even going to feud with Christian it seems since Christian is in the RAW MITB match, and Ambrose is in the SmackDown one. They really took another loss to sell The Uso's as a threat? A tag-team that is not over and will probably be off RAW after MITB. This feud is completely filler, so why waste another loss? Come on. WWE are slowly dropping the bomb with Shield.

Don't care about Sheamus at all so have no interest in his shitty match. Looks like they could be turning Bryan from "weak link" - which was working so wonderfully - to cocky asshole. No need at all. Del Rio bores me tot ears but the ME doesn't sound that bad.

 

[Stopspot]

Looks good

 

[THG?]

Above average show, by the looks of it. The Usos and Christian beating The Shield furthers the proof that The Shield angle is on a decline. Perhaps it's just me, but I feel that The Shield are doing less important stuff by the week.
The SD MITB looks really good. All heels, which is kinda weird, but I'm fine with that. It's also pretty cool to see Sandow in his second MITB in a row. My pick would have to go to Barrett though.

 

[Brad.]

I said it at the time, putting the titles on The Shield was a very bad decision. Now, things like this are happening to keep them fresh but damaging the group in the process. Either split the group up completely so they can be singles competitors or have them only fight as a trio. Mixing between the two ideas doesn't work.

 

[CM Punk]

Looks diabolical. Shield beat BoD + Bryan in a six-man tag not so long ago, and now they lose a meaningless match against Christian + The Uso's. Ambrose isn't even going to feud with Christian it seems since Christian is in the RAW MITB match, and Ambrose is in the SmackDown one. They really took another loss to sell The Uso's as a threat? A tag-team that is not over and will probably be off RAW after MITB. This feud is completely filler, so why waste another loss? Come on. WWE are slowly dropping the bomb with Shield.

I guess it was an upset loss? Still, dat unpredictability and if they keep losing, a break up is coming soon aka summer storyline. :robbie:

 

[Crayo]

I guess it was an upset loss? Still, dat unpredictability and if they keep losing, a break up is coming soon aka summer storyline. :robbie:

gay

 

[Nano]

Gabriel :yay:

He may lose but I like him.

AJ losing :sad:

 

[CM Punk]

gay

marrk

 

[Stopspot]

I guess it was an upset loss? Still, dat unpredictability and if they keep losing, a break up is coming soon aka summer storyline. :robbie:

It's furthering a storyline started last week on Main Event/Smackdown. It's setting up for Christian/Ambrose down the road and Shield/Usos at MITB I guess

 

[Lockard 23]

Looks like they could be turning Bryan from "weak link" - which was working so wonderfully - to cocky asshole.

I'm afraid the way they're probably going with it is that after defeating The Shield and after defeating The Viper (a guy who's had Hardcore and HIAC and I Quit matches with the best of 'em like Cena, Taker, HHH, Foley, etc.) in his own style of match, he becomes too confident and too assured that he can defeat pretty much anyone, especially after winning the MITB match as well, with all the kind of participants he's up against in that match. And, of course, John Cena gets to be the one to humble him a little and he falls back to earth. It wouldn't mean he's gonna go back to being near-maniacal in his pursuit of proving he was never the weak link of Team Hell No (or a weakling in general) but it would make him understand that while he is capable of defeating just about anyone on any given night, he knows he's not infallible and he shouldn't get too cocky just yet. And afterwards, they can build to a world title victory for later on.

I would much rather they had him defeat Cena at Summerslam and then lose it back in a rematch at Survivor Series, though. That small title reign accomplishes so much IMO. But I've never been completely convinced that Bryan winning the title at SS was set in stone anyway.

 

[Stopspot]

I'm afraid the way they're probably going with it is that after defeating The Shield and after defeating The Viper (a guy who's had Hardcore and HIAC and I Quit matches with the best of 'em like Cena, Taker, HHH, Foley, etc.) in his own style of match, he becomes too confident and too assured that he can defeat pretty much anyone, especially after winning the MITB match as well, with all the kind of participants he's up against in that match. And, of course, John Cena gets to be the one to humble him a little and he falls back to earth. It wouldn't mean he's gonna go back to being near-maniacal in his pursuit of proving he was never the weak link of Team Hell No (or a weakling in general) but it would make him understand that while he is capable of defeating just about anyone on any given night, he knows he's not infallible and he shouldn't get too cocky just yet. And afterwards, they can build to a world title victory for later on.

I would much rather they had him defeat Cena at Summerslam and then lose it back in a rematch at Survivor Series, though. That small title reign accomplishes so much IMO. But I've never been completely convinced that Bryan winning the title at SS was set in stone anyway.

A set up with Bryan getting cocky, then getting humbled before finally getting his big win could actually be a good story to see and follow. Good call.