Skip to main content

My Thoughts on SmackDown (8/2/16): The Kevin Nash Special

  • Before the show, Shane McMahon condemns Randy Orton for attacking Brock Lesnar on RAW and says Orton will be punished tonight. He does admit that it was pretty awesome, though. He also tells the security team to not let Brock Lesnar in the building, which means Brock Lesnar will definitely be showing up tonight. Shane & Daniel Bryan walk down the hall and run into the Miz & Maryse. Miz gives out about being mistreated by Shane & Bryan, so Bryan books a #1 Contenders match between Baron Corbin, Kalisto, and Apollo Creed. That's not a typo, that's what Bryan said. I guess Carl Weathers is making a special appearance tonight. They then run into Dean Ambrose, who says he's going to address the crowd next.
  • We officially kick off the show with Dean Ambrose coming out to address the crowd. He says he got  where he is today by busting his ass and beating his former brothers, and he plans on staying on top. He addresses Dolph Ziggler and asks him to come down to the ring. Ziggler says they are a lot alike, but Ambrose says they aren't. Ambrose says that he had to work his way from the bottom to the top, but Ziggler points out he came in and was almost at the top immediately with the Shield. Ziggler brings up that he had to start at the bottom as a cheerleader and he's scratched & claw his way to the top. Ambrose says Ziggler is trying to make everyone feel bad for him, says Ziggler cares too much about pleasing everyone instead of winning, and that he'll lose at SummerSlam. Ziggler says he's been disrespected by WWE for seven years and that he's going to go into SummerSlam and beat Ambrose for the title because he's that damn good. Ambrose ends the convo by saying that's not going to happen, and Ziggler's going to realize he's not as good thinks he is. Ambrose leaves when suddenly, Bray Wyatt pops up and hits Sister Abigail on Ziggler. Wyatt grabs the mic and says Ziggler stole the #1 Contendership and challenges Ziggler to a match tonight, with the winner facing Ambrose at SummerSlam. Great promos by everyone involved, especially Ziggler, who had a fire in him we haven't seen in a long time.
  • Backstage, Ziggler asks Shane & Bryan to book the match with Wyatt tonight. Bryan correctly questions why Ziggler would risk his #1 Contendership and Ziggler says he's going to prove to everyone he deserves his spot.
  • Kalisto vs Baron Corbin vs Apollo Crews for the #1 Contendership for the Intercontinental Championship with The Miz on commentary-Just a quick thing, Miz is great on commentary. He actually tried to put over his opponents on commentary instead of just talking sh*t about them like some people, and is a great talker. The match kicks off with the three going back and forth until Corbin gets knocked out of the ring off an enziguri by Crews. Corbin pulls the ropes down, sending Crews to the outside and allowing Kalisto to hit a suicide dive on Corbin before the commercial break. We come back to the three going back and forth until Kalisto tosses Corbin from the ring with a hurricanrana, only for Crews to hit him with a Samoan drop for a near fall. Corbin then runs in and hits the Deep Six on Crews for a near fall. Corbin counters another hurricanrana attempt, but Crews dropkicks Corbin out of the ring and rolls up Kalisto for the win. Fine match, but I felt like it ended rather abruptly. After the match, Corbin attacks Kalisto and Crews runs back to make the save, only to take a Skull Crushing Finale from Miz. Miz then eats an End of Days from Corbin.
  • Becky Lynch vs Eva Marie-Luckily, Eva Marie's amazing entrance from last week seems to be permanent. Although I do wish we had Corey Graves on commentary going mental when she came out like he did in NXT. Before the match, Eva tells the referee hurt her leg climbing down off the second turnbuckle. Ah yes, the second rope, the most dangerous of course. The referee calls the match off and Eva makes the referee and the trainer carry her to the back. God, she is great. Wait a minute. Hurting your leg doing a basic action? It's the Kevin Nash special!
  • We go to Renee Young who interviews Carmella on a new interview set. She says Eva was probably faking, but Natalya interrupts questioning why she isn't interviewing her. Carmella & Natalya bicker for a bit.
  • The Vaudevillians vs American Alpha-Oh boy, the best tag team in WWE is finally here! Although this match probably won't be as lit as it was in NXT.  Chad Gable works over Gotch before tagging in Jason Jordan, who hits a beautiful dropkick. American Alpha continues to work over the Vaudevillians, booting them from the ring with dropkicks and soccer sliding for the hard camera. The Vaudevillians eventually get the heat on Gable by double-teaming him, but he escapes and tags in Jason Jordan. Oh baby, for the first time on a main roster show...get ready for this...IT'S JASON JORDAN HOT TAG TIME BITCHES!!! Jordan destroys the Vaudevillians with suplexes before tagging in Gable to hit Grand Amplitude, a belly-to-back pop up by Jordan into a belly-to-back suplex by Gable for the win. God, these guys are great. I see big things for them in the future.
  • Outcomes AJ Styles to talk about John Cena, only to be interrupted by Cena. Styles says Cena is trying to make this about him and says maybe he should #BeatUpJohnCena. Instead, he tells Cena what his problem with him is. He says that he doesn't want Cena in the WWE and that he doesn't belong in the same ring as him. Styles calls Cena's fans weak and dumb, even unintentionally calling them "Stupid Idiots." Hey, that's Jericho's thing. He also calls Cena delusional for thinking what his fans think is true; that you deserve an award just for showing up. Styles says Cena is a fraud and asks why he's still in WWE. Cena says he's here because he loves the WWE and all his fans, and that he'll never leave no matter how big he gets. Styles mocks Cena and throws down the challenge; AJ Styles vs John Cena at SummerSlam. Cena accepts.
  • Fandango vs Randy Orton-All the security is at ringside for this match, so Brock Lesnar is definitely showing up now. Orton dominates the majority of the match until a distraction by Tyler Breeze allows Fandango to take control with a dropkick. Orton quickly regains the heat and runs wild, even taking down an interfering Tyler Breeze with a power slam. Orton hits the hanging DDT and calls for the RKO, but from the crowd comes Lesnar. Because all the security guys are half his size, Lesnar goes right through them and F-5's Orton. Shane runs down with more security and makes Lesnar leave.
  • Backstage, Daniel Bryan is on the phone when he is interrupted by Heath Slater, who snuck in because of the Brock Lesnar distraction. Slater asks for a contract, and Bryan decides to give Slater the opportunity next week against Rhyno, who Gores him. Bryan calls for a medic
  • Renee Young interviews Dean Ambrose. He says tonight has been full of surprises, but Wyatt attacking Ziggler wasn't surprising. He says that Ziggler normally doesn't self-destruct this quickly before walking off.
  • Orton walks away from an interview after leaving the trainer's room
  • Carmella vs-Nevermind, Natalya attacks Carmella from behind before locking in the Sharpshooter on the outside.
  • Backstage, Ziggler is preparing for his match when Bryan & Shane try to talk Ziggler out of putting his title shot on the line. Ziggler says they don't believe in him and walks off
  • Bray Wyatt vs Dolph Ziggler-Ziggler starts off the match fast and furious, hitting the Famouser but Wyatt rolls out when he goes for the superkick. Ziggler goes out after him, only to eat a nasty clothesline on the outside. They go back in the ring and Ziggler gets a one count off a roll up before the commercial. We come back to Wyatt hitting a superplex on Ziggler for a near fall. Wyatt continues to work over Ziggler while Ambrose says he wants Ziggler to be the best him he can be. Ziggler breaks free and runs wild, hitting a Stinger Splash, a neck breaker, and an elbow drop for a near fall. Wyatt blocks a superkick and throws Ziggler across the ring with a suplex before hitting a running senton for a near fall. Wyatt tries to take off the turnbuckle, but that allows Ziggler to hit the Zig Zag for a near fall. Ziggler then goes to take off the turnbuckle, but Wyatt catches him and hits an Uranage after a series of reversals. The two exchange strikes before Wyatt pummels Ziggler down and throws him into the corner. Ziggler dodges a charging Wyatt and slams his head into the exposed turnbuckle before hitting the superkick for the win. Fine match, nothing special. After the match, Erick Rowan attacks Ziggler. Ambrose runs in to make the save, but Rowan plants him with a side slam. How funny is it that after getting squashed by the Rock at WrestleMania, Rowan is throwing Rock Bottoms now. Wyatt hits Sister Abigail to end the show.
And that's about it. Overall, a pretty weak show in my opinion. There wasn't a lot of wrestling on the show and not much important happened outside of the Intercontinental Championship scene. RAW definitely had the better show this week, same as last week.
Thanks for reading. Be sure to share if you enjoyed. Also, check out my Patreon

Comments

More from The Wrestling Section

Worst in the World: The Gimmick Battle Royal-WrestleMania X-Seven

(Special thanks to Frost for suggesting this match. If you'd like to see a match covered on the Worst in the World, leave a comment down below.) WrestleMania X-Seven. Heavily considered the not just the best WrestleMania, but the greatest wrestling show of all time, WrestleMania X-Seven took place during the hottest period in the WWF's history, and features just about every one of the hottest acts in wrestling at the time. An undercard featuring the likes of Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, William Regal, Kane, and the Big Show. One of the biggest female stars in the history of wrestling in Chyna. A killer TLC match between the Dudley Boyz, the Hardy Boyz, and Edge & Christian. A wild brawl between The Undertaker and Triple H. A massive main event between Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. Hell, even the father vs son Street Fight between Vince & Shane McMahon. It's a star-studded affair. However, there's one match that sticks out like

Worst in the World: The Last Rites Match-TNA Destination X 2007

(Special thanks to an anonymous user for suggesting this match. If you'd like to see a match covered on the Worst in the World, leave a comment down below.) An often discussed aspect of professional wrestling is the backstage politicking of Hulk Hogan. Throughout his career as a major attraction in wrestling, Hogan's philosophy has always been to protect Hulk Hogan...OK, sometimes he'd help Ed Leslie, but most of the time it was to protect Hulk Hogan. Because of that philosophy and Hogan's influence as a top guy, there have been multiple instances where a company's booking and other wrestlers have suffered as a result. Would having Mr. Perfect win the 1990 Royal Rumble made sense and could have elevated a rising star and potentially created a new main event player? Yes, but that would require Hogan to not win, and that doesn't work for Hogan, so he wins the Rumble even though he doesn't need elevating. Would booking Randy Orton to beat Hogan at SummerSlam 20

Worst in the World: D-Generation X vs Brothers of Destruction-Crown Jewel

This match didn't need to happen. After Triple H and the Undertaker had one of the most brutally bad matches of 2018 at Super Show-Down not even a month earlier, nobody wanted to see them try to wrestle again. Also, nobody wanted to see Shawn Michaels come out of retirement after his fantastic sendoff in 2010, especially for a match like this. But here we are, Triple H & Shawn Michaels facing The Undertaker & Kane in 2018. The combined ages of these four at the time is 206. That's a number you'd expect to see from a match at Heroes of Wrestling. And anyone can come up with their own reason as to why this match is happening, but that would just be ignoring the actual reason. For those of you who don't know, Crown Jewel was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. That might not seem like important information, but you can't really discuss this match without mentioning it. Despite the numerous reasons that running shows in Saudi Arabia is morally wrong (their abuse

Worst in the World: Nia Jax's Worst Matches

Click the link here to vote in the poll and help decide the next edition of the Worst in the World. Nia Jax's first run with the WWE can really only be described as hard to watch. Sure, she had a few stand-out matches, most notably (and surprisingly) her match with Ronda Rousey at Money in the Bank, and an underrated gem with Bayley at NXT TakeOver: London, but those were always outshined by her most infamous matches and moments. She's since returned to WWE and, for the most part, seems to have improved a bit, but the reputation she got from her initial run is gonna be hard to shake off. This week, I'll be looking at some of Jax's worst matches. These include just flat-out bad matches, and matches that have become infamous examples of her reckless in-ring work. Match #1: vs Charlotte Flair-April 10th, 2017 Raw The first match we'll be looking at is from the April 10, 2017 episode of Monday Night Raw, when Nia took on Charlotte Flair. The two had been on the losing e

Worst in the World: Eric Young & Shark Boy vs Generation Me-TNA Destination X 2011

Click the link here to vote in the poll and help decide the next edition of the Worst in the World. Throughout the late 2000s and 2010s, few tag teams made as much noise on the independent scene as the Young Bucks. Really breaking out at a time when WWE made their tag division a borderline afterthought, Matt & Nick Jackson were almost unmatched in terms of elite matches on the indys, most notably in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla & Ring of Honor before joining New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Bullet Club, becoming mainstays of the group as it reached its peak throughout the mid-2010s. Sure, their style hasn't endeared them to old-school wrestling fans, but you can't deny their impact on wrestling. And with the arrival of All Elite Wrestling in 2019, North American fans would finally get to see the Young Bucks on national television for the first time... However... In what has become somewhat of a footnote in their careers, the Young Bucks had been on a nationally televised wrestlin