This week's main event featured CM Punk and the New Age Outlaws teaming to face the Shield. Before the match began, Roman Reigns declared that his victory over Punk on Monday made him the new Best in the World, and surprisingly neither Ambrose nor Rollins took umbrage to the claim, with Ambrose instead talking about how much he hates snakes, and Rollins saying the New Age Outlaws had gotten involved in their business and would be taken out. Reigns won the match with a spear on Billy Gunn mid-FameAsser on Ambrose.
The show opened with Harper and Rowan facing the Usos, a match that went to a double countout. There was no sign of Bray Wyatt or Daniel Bryan before or during the match, but after the match as the Usos attempted to retreat, Bryan and Wyatt came out of nowhere to attack and the four on two beatdown was on. It was a bit of an odd beatdown, as they kept it locked on the far cameras throughout, even as Bryan mugged for a ringside camera and Michael Cole talked on commentary about how his facial expression was just like Bray Wyatt. Maybe someone was bleeding? Later in the show, there was a Wyatt promo where Bray's threats to the Usos were interrupted by a Bryan outburst talking about how the world was a lie, and the lies made him want to slam people's heads into a wall. Bray seemed quite pleased. Later, the Usos even got their own interview time, as they promised that on Monday they wouldn't back down before Bray and Bryan, that they'd fight and they'd inflict the pain they felt now on the Wyatts.
In other matches, Los Matadores, Sin Cara and Rey Mysterio defeated the Real Americans and The Rybaxel with a Mysterio 619/splash on Swagger. Big E Langston took on Randy Orton in the lengthy mid-show match, with Orton winning via a thumb to the eye into the RKO. Finally, Xavier Woods (using Brodus Clay's entrance) beat Fandango with a unique rollup launching himself through the ropes into the ring to hook the schoolboy. There was some post-match brawling between the Funkadactyls and Summer Raw.
MizTV also took place, with Miz interviewing Big Show to talk about Brock Lesnar. Show's trash talk brought out Paul Heyman, who teased Lesnar's presence but didn't deliver. Lesnar would answer Big Show's challenge at the Royal Rumble, however.
And yes, lots of WWE Network hype between all of the above.
We're two weeks out from the Rumble, but only have two official entrants, Batista and Alberto Del Rio. Hopefully the build intensifies, or else everyone's going to expect the possibly inevitable Batista win just because!
(eek, I mixed up last week's Smackdown number. Last week should be 750 and this week 751. Can any mods fix that?)
There was a LOT of very noticable re-recorded commentary, presumably to hype the WWE Network using info Cole didn't have yet on Tuesday night when they taped SD! You could tell it was done in the studio and not live. Some other bits of commentary too, I believe during the opening match about Bryan and the Wyatts, was taped after the fact as well.
I'm disappointed I missed the chance to see Kaitlyn's Last Match, but I would've been *really* upset if I had missed hearing the Greatest Theme Song Of All Time...sadly, if you merely had "better call somebody" nowadays, I doubt we'll ever hear about how "B.A." Billy Gunn is a lover of every kind but the best surprises always sneak up from behind.
Seriously, 15+ years later and I still can't believe that "Ass Man" is a real song.
Ambrose's post-snake-ing reactions were magnificent.
On a different note, did anyone else notice that everytime they play a "Batista returns"-clip, before or after that, something Brock-related seems to happen; e.g. Brock comes out, a Brock-video is shown, they talk about Brock, etc. Coincidence or are we going to see Brock/Batista - maybe even for the championship - at Mania?
Originally posted by Tyler DurdenHow can it be that I absolutely love CM Punk as a heel, whereas he bores the hell out of me as a face? The same goes for Jericho and Edge, by the way.
Same here, but not to the same extreme. He's so much fun as a smartass that when he's smiling, kissing babies, and helping out worthless mid-carders or being Cena's bff, I can only know that he's going to have a great match.
Originally posted by Spiraling_ShapeI'm disappointed I missed the chance to see Kaitlyn's Last Match, but I would've been *really* upset if I had missed hearing the Greatest Theme Song Of All Time...sadly, if you merely had "better call somebody" nowadays, I doubt we'll ever hear about how "B.A." Billy Gunn is a lover of every kind but the best surprises always sneak up from behind.
Seriously, 15+ years later and I still can't believe that "Ass Man" is a real song.
I wasn't the only one who missed hearing "Ass Man" this week. From Bill Simmons' NFL playoffs column:
"You learn new life lessons every week. I learned last weekend that, when your young son becomes a huge wrestling fan, you shouldn't ask him, "Hey, did you ever hear Billy Gunn's entrance song when he wrestled as 'Mr. Ass'?" Now we have a 6-year-old kid stomping around my house yelling "I'M AN ASS MAN!" and belting out lyrics like, "So many asses, so little time … only a tight one can stop me on a dime." He's definitely getting kicked out of school soon. Do you even need schooling when you're an Ass Man? I guess we'll find out."
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I think they have a great chance to build for the future. I think the lottery is going to be a good shot in the arm. As long as they keep the feeling of each show roughly the same it can't hurt to freshen things up.