Csonka’s WWE Smackdown Review 3.17.16

Csonka’s WWE Smackdown Review 3.17.16

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Dolph Ziggler defeated The Miz @ 10:55 via pin [**½]
– Bubba Ray Dudley defeated Goldust @ 2:20 via pin [NR]
– Kofi Kingston King Barrett @ 5:50 via pin [*½]
– Non-Title Match: Champion Kevin Owens defeated AJ Styles @ 10:48 via pin [***¼]

– We get highlights of the Roman Reigns vs. Triple H brawl from Raw.

Roman Reigns Talks: Roan Reigns made his way to the ring, from the entrance ramp like on Raw; the crowd entrance looks to be gone. The live videos from the tapings let you in on the real reaction, which was not good, as the crowd hated him. They juiced up his intro with some high-pitched cheers, but you could still hear the boos. Reigns said that Triple H got what he deserved on Raw for running his mouth and for what he did to Reigns. Who ever laid this out did not think this out well, because he said that he beat down Triple H, but that because he’s about the fight, he is here tonight. If you’re about the fight, your character wouldn’t have been gone for so long after your beat down, let alone walked away for a nap at the Rumble, but I digress. Reigns said he’s in Triple H’s arena, eating his catering and standing in his ring, because he can. He then vowed to destroy the Hs at Mania and win the title. They kept it short here, and he was fine overall. In a way I feel having him talk here was a mistake; he should remain the more silent ass kicker and just leave a path of destruction to look more like a bad ass. This was a solid start to the show.

– We get highlights of Jericho turning on Styles, and then from last week’s Jericho promo. That was a damn fine piece of business.

– Renee Young interviewed Styles backstage. Styles says that Jericho being upset at the fans for chanting for him is ridiculous, because the fans can chant anything they want. Jericho made things personal, and it felt good to get some revenge on Raw. Kevin Owens came out and compares Styles to Zayn, and says they should get a WWE Network show where they hold each other and cry. Styles then said Owens was like Jericho, a smug jackass. They will face in the main event tonight, and Styles will shut his mouth. Owens then informed Styles that he and Renee have the same haircut.

Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz: Ziggler tried to use his ground game early, Miz laughable pulled guard and they sort of rolled around. Miz took a shortcut to gain an advantage, which did not last long as Ziggler worked side headlocks. They did some back and forth, and Ziggler got a near fall off of a roll up. Ziggler had control until Miz shot him to the corner, and Ziggler took the Bret Hart bump. Miz sent him to the floor as we took a commercial break. Post break, Miz controlled and worked the heat. Nice and clean work thus far, Miz’s heat is fine, but while they discussed him being more aggressive, he really wasn’t as compared to past outings. Ziggler started his comeback, hitting clotheslines and a slam; the cover got 2. They then went back and forth, including some counters and then Miz hit a big boot for the near fall. Ziggler would counter the skull-crushing finale, but Miz got the figure four. For those wondering, he did no work on the legs to set that up at all, and Ziggler got the ropes for the break. Ziggler then hit the desperation superkick to pick up the win. That was a rock solid little TV match, it had it’s problems, but it was clean and then kept a good pace overall.

– We see highlights of Ryback defeating Sin Cara on Raw, and The Ryback’s challenge for a match at WrestleMania.

– Kalisto has accepted in this week’s special WWE.com interview with Michael Cole.

– We see highlights of Brock Lesnar confronting Dean Ambrose on Raw. We also see Foley pass on his barbed wire baseball bat to Ambrose.

– Dean Ambrose went back to the streets of Cincinnati, back to his roots, to prepare for this fight with Lesnar. Lesnar trained to be a champion, while he fought to stay alive, to get ahead in life. Cincinnati made Den Ambrose, and he plans to share this experience with Lesnar at Mania.

– Miss Jackie is headed into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Goldust vs. Bubba Ray Dudley w/Devon: Before the match even started, Devon brought out a table to distract Goldust. Bubba attacked and took control right away, slamming Goldust from corner to corner while yelling at him the entire time. Bubba was actually really funny here as he self commentated the match, and yelled at Goldust for wearing face paint like the Usos. Bubba then went into the flip, flop and fly while yelling, “just like your daddy.” Goldust got fired up and made his comeback, because you don’t fuck with the Dream. Bubba bailed to the floor, Goldust followed and he took out Devon, but when he tried to get back in the ring, Bubba caught him with a kick and covered for the win. It was entertaining, with a flat finish. Post match, the Dudleyz beat down Goldust, but R-Truth hit the ring to try and make the save. Truth was quickly cut off, and then the Usos made their way to the ring and we got a brawl between the two teams, but the Dudleyz bailed. This was a fine little segment to add some heat to the Usos vs. Dudleyz match at Mania, and to continue the angle between Truth and Goldust.

Charlotte, Sasha and Becky Talk: Charlotte and Ric Flair made their way to the ring, I think Charlotte is wearing Nikki Bella’s hand me downs because that shirt looks familiar. Charlotte spoke about her relationship with Sasha and Becky, but admitted that she wouldn’t be here today without them and invited them to the ring. Becky came out first, they bantered back and forth and Becky made it clear that she wanted to win the title at Mania. Sasha then entered the fray, and Charlotte spoke about how she would talk about how they came together and how she thought of them as the Horsewomen. Charlotte spoke about wanting to apologize, she told Ric she was sorry for thinking that “those two” could be thought of as Horsewomen. Charlotte cackled like a villain, and then ran down Sasha and Becky for not deserving the Horsemen name. Good stuff from Becky followed, telling Charlotte to take the name and call her anything she wants, because at Mania she will be ripping her arm off and taking the title. Sasha reminded everyone that she defeated Charlotte for the NXT title, and since her main roster debut, is undefeated. This led to Becky and Sasha arguing over who deserved the match more, with Becky dropping bombs on Sasha, saying that she had Dollar Store jewelry. Charlotte thought her plan worked and laughed maniacally; Sash and Becky dropped their beef and beat her down for some revenge and Charlotte had to bail. I liked that; Charlotte came off a bit more naturally here instead of forced and wooden as she has in the past. Sasha was fun, and Becky killed it. She’s been the most consistent woman on the mic in the division.

– New Day came out to the ring, and they had trash bags with them. They joked about being mad at the League as Big E cut a Hulk Hogan/Warrior style promo, and then accepted the League’s challenge for Mania. The League is nothing but four bags of hot garbage, and kicked the bags to the floor while mocking each of them and calling them booty.

Kofi Kingston w/Big E and Woods vs. King Barrett w/Sheamus, Rusev and Del Rio: Kofi controlled right away, doing the one-man stampede in the corner. Barrett bailed and we took a commercial break. Post break Kofi was in control, but a distraction from the League allowed Barrett to hit a big boot and send Kofi to the floor. Barrett took the heat, and it was pretty lackadaisical. Thankfully Kofi started his comeback and hit a great high cross, and then a DDT for a near fall. Kofi was really fun here, it felt as it he was taking advantage of the single opportunity here. All the guys in the floor started to brawl and it broke down as Kofi and Barrett were down in the ring. The League got the better of Woods and Big E at first, but they fought back and the middle of the shenanigans, Kofi rolled up Barrett (with the tights) for the win. New Day then escaped and celebrated. That was a pretty bland match out of Barrett, Kofi had a good outing, but I felt as if there was way too much bullshit going on; at least it’s setting up for the Mania match.

– They hype Mania week, and we then see Ambrose at a bar getting his drink on. Ambrose reminisced about his fights in this bar, some he lost and some he won; but he always fought for pride and where he came from. Ambrose promised to bring Cincinnati with him when he faces Lesnar at Mania.

– We get highlights from Raw, focusing on the McMahon family saga.

– The Social Outcasts are still a thing, and they were there to say that they are top grade talent and that they are entering the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. Bo claimed that they would win together, which led to them arguing over who would win. Dean Ambrose returned from binge drinking, and he had a kendo stick with him. Ambrose beat the hell out of the Outcasts, which was fun and allows Ambrose to actually look like a threat a she heads into the match with Mania. Ambrose spoke about his little walk around the city, and noted that Lesnar would be on Smackdown next week. So next week, he will stand in this ring and challenges Lesnar to meet him there.

Non-Title Match: Champion Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles: Nice pacing to open the match, with Styles hitting the dropkick combo. Styles looked to run wild, but Owens cut him off when he went for a springboard, hit a neck breaker and then the senton to send us to the break. Post break, Owens had control as some woman from the crowd yelled that he looked pregnant. Owens yelled at Mauro, because “I can hear you from here.” Owens has tremendous banter. Styles was able to send Owens to the floor, and when he came back in Styles hit a striking combo to take Owens down. Styles would low bridge Owens to the floor, and the forearm plancha followed. Styles then busted out the Ushigoroshi. Lawler had no idea what this was, and Mauro explained where AJ got the move to him. Owens would avoid the asai DDT, and hit the modified package powerbomb for a near fall. Owens completely turned Styles inside out on a clothesline spot. These two had a nice back and forth after that, Owens hit the superkick but Styles countered the pop up powerbomb into the PELE. A back breaker into powerbomb by Styles scored a good near fall. Styles headed up top, got cut off but he knocked Owens to the mat and would then go for the springboard forearm, but Jericho’s music hit and he arrived to distract him. Styles ate a big boot and pop up powerbomb, and that was that. That was a good match overall, I think they can easily do better, but they accomplished their goal here I felt. Owens mockingly clapped for Styles and then stole one of his gloves. Owens bailed and Jericho came to the ring add to the loss by hitting a codebreaker on Styles. Jericho got the mic and mockingly chanted “AJ STYLES” repeatedly. He’s such a complete dick in the best way possible. This is a match that really needed a better build. It’s a first time match for WWE, and also has the history that Owens tossed AJ from the Rumble. The fact that this didn’t even get a proper week’s build is really poor, and I don’t want to hear about the Network era or any of that bullshit, there is no reason not to build properly to this. As for AJ losing, it’s not idea in my opinion, but he was distracted and Owens as a champion needs to win, even if by shenanigans.

* End scene.

* Thanks for reading.

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”