Smackdown Spoilers for 3/26/15

[victor]

Taped last night, because of Wrestlemania related activities. This show will be heavy with Mania build not much else.

 

It should be noted right away that this is a super toned down show that will be heavy on clips and hype for WrestleMania 31.

 

- Jimmy Uso def. Cesaro, Big E, & Fernando in a four way match. Cesaro ate the pin.

 

- AJ Lee cut a promo saying that because she loves the Divas championship and the Bella twins used it to turn her and Paige against each other. That brought Paige out and they went back-and-forth before making up. The Bella twins came out and I'll be damned if they didn't have Brie explain that she has forgiven Nikki for what happened between them because they're sisters. They had some more back-and-forth before the segment ended.

 

- John Cena & Mark Henry & Daniel Bryan & Roman Reigns def. Big Show & Kane & Bray Wyatt & Seth Rollins in the main event with Bryan pinning Show to end the match. There were apparently plenty of boos for Reigns and a lot of chanting for Bryan, who ended the show with his "YES" chanting.

 

[Brian Fowler]

So the go home show ends with the guy they moved aside getting the triumphant moment?

[Burgundy LaRue]

Vince is a kind soul, and he is offering the naysayers an olive branch, though deserve it not.

 

I'm hearing Reigns and Cena got booed a lot in the beginning, but it died out quickly.  Also, the divas section was really good. Take that for what you will.

[Hagan]

Main event finish is hilarious. This company can neither push nor bury anymore. I think they are so afraid of exposing Reigns that they've basically hid him for months now. How the hell is he going to work as champion? They're gonna have to book him like Goldberg and have him out there for 2 minute TV squashes and short PPV matches.

 

I've hit this point before but for all the talk about the company "giving up" on Bryan, he's clearly going to be asked to carry the TV and house shows for the rest of the year.  It's pretty likely that, if Reigns wins, he spends half the year defending against Cena and Bryan anyway. 

[Charlie M.]

I think the idea is that Bryan wins the IC title and becomes the Smackdown guy.

[JCM]

So the guy in the sixth most important match at Mania has to be the one to send the fans home happy because they hate the other top faces? You can't make this shit up.

[Brysynner]

Main event finish is hilarious. This company can neither push nor bury anymore. I think they are so afraid of exposing Reigns that they've basically hid him for months now. How the hell is he going to work as champion? They're gonna have to book him like Goldberg and have him out there for 2 minute TV squashes and short PPV matches.

 

Is that the worst thing in the world? Arrive, Superman Punch, Spear, Leave. I mean it's not like we've had the champion on TV all the time the past year. From WM to now we've had what like 5-6 months total of not having a champion or not having the champion show up.

[NikoBaltimore]

 

Main event finish is hilarious. This company can neither push nor bury anymore. I think they are so afraid of exposing Reigns that they've basically hid him for months now. How the hell is he going to work as champion? They're gonna have to book him like Goldberg and have him out there for 2 minute TV squashes and short PPV matches.

 

Is that the worst thing in the world? Arrive, Superman Punch, Spear, Leave. I mean it's not like we've had the champion on TV all the time the past year. From WM to now we've had what like 5-6 months total of not having a champion or not having the champion show up.

 

Put that on a shirt and it would have sold tons more than that atrocity he's got now.  Also would have been a smart play on Brock's shirt leading to WM.  Good one, sir.

 

Also, at this point I'm much more interested in the Divas tag match than the main event.  And that's not meant as a knock on the Divas as much as it's a knock on the build for the title match.  Never thought I'd say that, but they're actually doing a good job with the build.

[Andrew POE!]

I think the only thing that can save Roman Reigns is for the WWE (and Vince McMahon) to admit they were wrong. They clearly aren't interested in giving the WWE fans what they want, so the WWE fans aren't interested in giving them the reaction the WWE wants. I wouldn't be surprised if the crowd started chanting "Michael Cole," "JBL" and "Jerry" during the main event just to fuck with the WWE. Of course the WWE's very own echo chamber will have a hard time explaining the boos Roman Reigns will get when he shows up for the match and the overwhelming reaction to Brock Lesnar.

 

If Dave Freakin' Batista calls an audible and insists upon Bryan having his WrestleMania moment and the WWE does it again but with a different person, then they clearly have problems.

 

IMO, Roman Reigns should be in the IC title ladder match or doing a triple treat match with Orton and Seth Rollins. He's clearly not ready.

[jstout]

Someone really wants to see Brock-Cena again?

 

I just wonder how differently this whole deal would've played out if Lesnar had re-signed months ago.

 

Does Lesnar vs. Bryan really need the title involved? Have Reigns beat Lesnar in a tight match, then have Rollins cash in on Reigns and do Lesnar-Bryan and Rollins-Reigns for the title (with Ambrose in the mix) going forward.

 

Roman would have been better suited for the vs. Rusev role, but they had to think there was a good chance Lesnar was UFC bound when they started all this way back when.

[Brian Fowler]

Someone really wants to see Brock-Cena again?

Yes

[piranesi]

 

Someone really wants to see Brock-Cena again?

Yes

 

 

 

I'm down for the Max Landis version.

[ebbie]

I'd be down with John Landis version tbh.

But the only Brock match I want to see is him versus Orton. Orton does surprisingly well in violent situations..

[Cristobal]

But the only Brock match I want to see is him versus Orton.

[bink_winkleman]

I think the idea is that Bryan wins the IC title and becomes the Smackdown guy.

 

I get these vibes, too.  A lot of the "they rushed Bryan out" talk seems to forget that it was because the long-term plan (don't laugh) is for him to be the Smackdown guy. 

 

I also think it'd be a cool little stretch to see Cena with the U.S. title headlining with Rusev on Raw, Bryan with the Intercontinental having amazing matches on top of SD, and Brock retaining and keeping the main belt off of TV for months out of the year.

[Greggulator]

 

I think the idea is that Bryan wins the IC title and becomes the Smackdown guy.

 

I get these vibes, too.  A lot of the "they rushed Bryan out" talk seems to forget that it was because the long-term plan (don't laugh) is for him to be the Smackdown guy. 

 

I also think it'd be a cool little stretch to see Cena with the U.S. title headlining with Rusev on Raw, Bryan with the Intercontinental having amazing matches on top of SD, and Brock retaining and keeping the main belt off of TV for months out of the year.

 

 

What better way to build up every title in the promotion than to have the IC Title in the hands of everyone's favorite and the US Title controlled by the best wrestler of his generation?

[Brysynner]

 

 

I think the idea is that Bryan wins the IC title and becomes the Smackdown guy.

 

I get these vibes, too.  A lot of the "they rushed Bryan out" talk seems to forget that it was because the long-term plan (don't laugh) is for him to be the Smackdown guy. 

 

I also think it'd be a cool little stretch to see Cena with the U.S. title headlining with Rusev on Raw, Bryan with the Intercontinental having amazing matches on top of SD, and Brock retaining and keeping the main belt off of TV for months out of the year.

 

 

What better way to build up every title in the promotion than to have the IC Title in the hands of everyone's favorite and the US Title controlled by the best wrestler of his generation?

 

So Rusev retains?

[Patrick B.]

 

 

I think the idea is that Bryan wins the IC title and becomes the Smackdown guy.

 

I get these vibes, too.  A lot of the "they rushed Bryan out" talk seems to forget that it was because the long-term plan (don't laugh) is for him to be the Smackdown guy. 

 

I also think it'd be a cool little stretch to see Cena with the U.S. title headlining with Rusev on Raw, Bryan with the Intercontinental having amazing matches on top of SD, and Brock retaining and keeping the main belt off of TV for months out of the year.

 

 

What better way to build up every title in the promotion than to have the IC Title in the hands of everyone's favorite and the US Title controlled by the best wrestler of his generation?

 

 

Mark Henry's in the battle royal, not the ladder match.

[Jamal]

Glad to see that they kept the Divas segment in tact. Really good mic work from all of the women but especially Nikki. This is the first WM Divas match with real build up in forever.

[Matt D]

I want the ridiculous US spinner belt back. The WWE Title one was terrible but it was fine for a mid level belt.

[Curt McGirt]

Yeah, that back and forth between the Divas was great. Some extremely snide comments from each side and I was ready for them to start fighting. There were some good video segments and the first match was a pretty ridiculous spotfest. This came off better than Raw as far as getting over Wrestlemania.

[NikoBaltimore]

So am I the only one that saw Paige not-so-subtly giving the middle finger after AJ talked?  Not reading anything into it, but it sure was odd seeing that made TV.  Great talking segment though.  And my wife loved AJ/Paige to begin with, but that speech about being normal woman really drove that home ten-fold.  They have a great thing going on, and I'm glad that there's going to be a Divas match that's worth a damn at WM.

[Jamal]

So am I the only one that saw Paige not-so-subtly giving the middle finger after AJ talked?  Not reading anything into it, but it sure was odd seeing that made TV.  Great talking segment though.  And my wife loved AJ/Paige to begin with, but that speech about being normal woman really drove that home ten-fold.  They have a great thing going on, and I'm glad that there's going to be a Divas match that's worth a damn at WM.

 

The last WM Divas match that really meant something was probably Mickie/Trish. And it's good that this is happening again with 4 women that can also have a good match. 

[Greggulator]

Kudos to the Bellas from stepping up their game a lot this past year.

They were utterly worthless for years. They had absolutely no idea what to do in or out of the ring and at times looked like they actively were sabotaging anything that could "harm" them in some fashion. The biggest example of this was the AJ Pipe Bombshell. That was a huge moment for the division and got a giant live reaction... and those two nitwits and garbage person Eva Marie were busy screaming over it. SAY IT TO MY FAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCCEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Nikki's feud with Steph this year was fun but her acting in it was absolutely atrocious. But Brie plays a really good awful human being and Nikki did a good job being exasperated as her servant. That was a good turn.

They've also gotten decent in the ring, too.

I really wonder if someone sat them down and said, "Hey. You're on Total Divas. You're two of our most famous personalities now. You two also date/married all-time great wrestlers. Learn the craft and take this seriously because you'll make some money."

I really love AJ. She was the only Diva forever who showed like she actually cared about what the hell she was doing. I loved the Bryan/Punk/Kane love quadrangle and thought she stole the show those few months. But out of the four at the WM match, she's probably now the worst in-ring since she doesn't have the athleticism the Bellas and Paige have. She's still very good at conveying emotion and an in-ring character, though. It's not a knock on AJ at all -- it's just a lot of others stepped up, and good on them.

[NikoBaltimore]

Noticing people say that AJ is the weakest of the four I hesitantly agree on that.  Not sure why that's the case, but she should try and up her game in the ring.  But it's easy for me to forgive that because she's so damn great in different ways.  She did come back recently, so hopefully things improve in time.