Nashville, Tennessee
Hello to all wrestling fans, what a difference a week can make in the WWE Universe. I can’t speak for anybody else but I am only now starting to get back to a state of normality. It has been the craziest week of wrestling since the longest time. We have seen titles change hands, streaks broken and new talent pushed to the moon. On top of all of that we were sadly informed of the tragic news about the death of the Ultimate Warrior. Like so many others I was a huge fan of the Warrior as a child one of my favourite wrestling moments of all time is Champion versus Champion at Wrestle Mania 6. It’s an exciting time to be a wrestling fan, it really feels like we are witnessing the birth of a whole new product with a lot more to offer than in previous years. Make sure you listen to this week’s podcast with Dean and Mike for a more in depth analysis of all of the action since Wrestle Mania 30.Â
This week’s episode of Smackdown kicks off with Big E vs Alberto Del Rio.Â
Pretty average good opening match, the crowd are into the match for the most part. Nothing we haven’t seen before from either guy but an entertaining match nevertheless. The match ends with Del Rio getting disqualified for failing to break a hold before the refs five count. After the match Del Rio attacks Big E but Big E manages to overpower Del Rio and hit him with the Big Ending.Â
Triple H makes his way down to the ring. He explains to the WWE Universe that part of his job is to find talent and turn them into superstars and eventually watch them gain success. He says that The Shield have power because he saw something in them and he gave them the power. Triple H said that Evolution needed to humble The Shield because they were getting too big for their boots. Triple H continues and says that at Extreme Rules The Shield will face Evolution and find out what true power actually is. This was a pretty decent Promo from Triple H.Â
This is followed by another great promo from Paul Heyman which pretty much consisted of him screaming the same seven words over and over again. Paul repeatedly shouted out ‘My client Brock Lesnar conquered the streak’. Only Paul Heyman can cut a promo of so little words and still manage to get an amazing reaction from the crowd.Â
Paige vs AksanaÂ
After talking so much about Paige over the last couple of months it brings a smile to my face to see her finally on the big stages of Raw and Smackdown working her way towards her first big PPV. Her wining the belt on her debut on Monday night Raw was a big surprise, and I only hope she still continues to get the stories and push that she needs to keep her relevant to the fans. Paige is a very talented wrestler and I do not want to see her quickly become nothing like so many other women wrestlers that have came before her. This match was fine I thought Paige looked pretty good and defended the title well. She also got a chance to show off her awesome submission the Scorpion Cross Lock. I can’t wait to see the Scorpion go up against the Black Widow again sometime in the future.Â
El Torito accompanied by Los Matadores vs Hornswoggle accompanied by 3MB
This match was a lot longer than I was expecting. Both guys managed to get a decent amount of time to show off some offence. I can’t say it was a good match but I’m sure some little kids out there loved it. Torito pins Hornswoggle after he lands a Moonsault off the top rope.Â
R-Truth vs Alexander RusevÂ
Another quick squash match to put over the new big guy Alexander Rusev. R-Truth does not last more than a couple of minutes before he is placed in Rusev’s finisher, The Accolade. After the match Xavier Woods tries to attack Rusev but finds out the hard way that that is not a good idea. Â
Fandango accompanied by Layla vs Santino Marella accompanied by EmmaÂ
I really did not enjoy this match. After seeing these guys face each other every week for what feels like an eternity now. This match was no different or better. I feel sorry for Emma who has been dumped in this non story angle. After three or four minutes Santino rolls Fandango up for the win.Â
Sheamus vs BatistaÂ
This match started out really slow for me and only really picked up in the last few minutes. Typical stuff from Sheamus and Batista still looks like he is carrying around some ring rust. I was not blown away by this match by any means and that is mainly because it all just seemed a bit pointless. After a couple of near falls towards the end Batista manages to land the Batista Bomb and picks up a clean win over the Irish man.Â
Despite not all the matches being great on tonight’s episode of Smackdown, I can’t really complain because I have been spoilt rotten over the last couple of weeks with all of the other action in and outside of the ring. It won’t be too long before we see Bo Dallas and Adam Rose making their way down to the Smackdown ring to try to earn their stay on the main stages. The future looks bright for the WWE and I have never been more excited to be a fan of the product. With the addition of the network there is so much content to look back at and relive. It’s going to be interesting to see what effect the Network has on PPVs over the course of this year. There is lots of new talent ready to try and become superstars like the legends that came before them, and for sure will be ready to watch them.
– By Sebastian Bowen
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