Smackdown Spoilers for 4/9/15

[victor]

* Dark match: Finn Balor defeated Xavier Woods.

* Dark match: Los Matadores defeat two local wrestlers.

* JoJo from NXT is doing ring announcing. She gets a pop after an intro from Jerry Lawler.

* Tonight’s match with Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler vs. Sheamus and Bad News Barrett has been changed to Bryan, Ziggler and Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus, Barrett and Big Show. It will be the main event. Bryan started off in the ring talking about what happened last Thursday night. He was interrupted by Sheamus and Barrett but Ziggler made the save. Big Show attacks Ziggler and then Reigns makes the save. That sets up the six-man for later. It was said that Reigns got the biggest pop but Bryan was very close.

* The New Day comes out with a mic and they get booed. “New Day sucks” chants start up when Big E takes the mic. WWE Tag Team Champions Cesaro and Tyson Kidd come out with Natalya to somewhat of a pop. They get the win in a good tag match. The heat for The New Day is definitely there now.

* Curtis Axel comes out to a good reaction for Axelmania. Neville is out next to a big pop and the NXT chants start up. Neville gets the with Red Arrow and was over.

* Backstage segment with Natalya, Alicia Fox and Cameron to set up a match. Alicia disrespected Natalya in the locker room and Natalya is upset.

* Natalya defeated Alicia Fox with Cameron as special referee. Natalya beat down Fox for disrespecting her earlier. Cameron laid them both out after the match.

* Bray Wyatt vs. Erick Rowan is next. The arena lit up as Wyatt made his entrance. He cut a promo but got the “what?” treatment from a lot of the crowd at one point. Wyatt won what was said to be a good physical match but Wyatt won easily.

* The Miz comes out for Miz TV with Summer Rae. Damien Sandow interrupts and gets a pop after faking a handshake. Sandow looks to apologize to Miz but ends up knocking Miz down and then out of the ring. He grabs Summer and kisses her to a big pop. She seems to enjoy it and the fans definitely did.

* Roman Reigns, Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler defeated Big Show, Sheamus and Bad News Barrett. The heel controlled most of the match until Reigns got the big tag. The crowd went nuts after Reigns came in. The babyfaces got the upperhand and cleared the ring. Reigns hit a spear on Barrett for the pin.

 

 

 

[caley]

I wonder if that Bryan/Ziggler-Barrett/Sheamus match will ever happen, or if they'll keep hyping it every week, then changing it every time.

[Overly Critical Man]

Reigns getting the biggest pops of the night? Talk about bizarro land.

[The Green Meanie]

Reigns getting the biggest pops of the night? Talk about bizarro land.

 

It is Dallas.

[glfpunk]

Already looks better than the last Raw

[JonnyLaw]

I wonder if that Bryan/Ziggler-Barrett/Sheamus match will ever happen, or if they'll keep hyping it every week, then changing it every time.

It will keep getting hyped and then delayed, and then, they'll eventually hold the match on Planet Funk.

[caley]

Watched 3/4s of this one.

 

-New Day-Kidd/Cesaro was a lot of fun with Kidd/Cesaro working pseudo-face.  I do love that WWE accidentally stumbled into developing a heel team with New Day.  Crowd loves to boo them, and now they're reacting to it.  Big E.'s promo was great.

-Axel-Neville was pretty much the same match, so good but...you know.  Right now Neville's got a handful of spots that would be better if he busted them out every once in a while rather than finding contrived ways to get them into every match.  He can do a lot of stuff, he doesn't have to hit every move every match!

-The Cameron-Nattie-Alicia thing was just awful, made even worse by Jerry Lawler channeling his Attitude-era persona.  So while you've got divas/announcers talking about give divas a chance, you've got Lawler talking about how watching them is his dream come true and how he's mesmerized.  It's a bit like running #becauseimagirl ad narrated by Benny Hill.

-Speaking of the announcing, it's just awful here.  But, with how low Byron Saxton talks, and the way everything is mic'ed, you can get the volume on your TV just right (At least I did) where you can hear what's going on in the ring/promos and the like, but the announcing just blends into the background as a muted murmur.  Highlight of my night was when I realized I hadn't heard a single phrase any of them had said in about ten minutes.

-I like both guys but Rowan-Wyatt was terrifyingly heatless.  No boos, no cheers, mild pop for Wyatt's clothesline outside, Rowan's weird karate kick and Sister Abigail.  But this was the sound of silence.

-I fast-forwarded most of the Miz, Mizdow, Summer Rae stuff.

[Jiji]

Watched 3/4s of this one.

 

-New Day-Kidd/Cesaro was a lot of fun with Kidd/Cesaro working pseudo-face.  I do love that WWE accidentally stumbled into developing a heel team with New Day.  Crowd loves to boo them, and now they're reacting to it.  Big E.'s promo was great.

-Axel-Neville was pretty much the same match, so good but...you know.  Right now Neville's got a handful of spots that would be better if he busted them out every once in a while rather than finding contrived ways to get them into every match.  He can do a lot of stuff, he doesn't have to hit every move every match!

-The Cameron-Nattie-Alicia thing was just awful, made even worse by Jerry Lawler channeling his Attitude-era persona.  So while you've got divas/announcers talking about give divas a chance, you've got Lawler talking about how watching them is his dream come true and how he's mesmerized.  It's a bit like running #becauseimagirl ad narrated by Benny Hill.

-Speaking of the announcing, it's just awful here.  But, with how low Byron Saxton talks, and the way everything is mic'ed, you can get the volume on your TV just right (At least I did) where you can hear what's going on in the ring/promos and the like, but the announcing just blends into the background as a muted murmur.  Highlight of my night was when I realized I hadn't heard a single phrase any of them had said in about ten minutes.

-I like both guys but Rowan-Wyatt was terrifyingly heatless.  No boos, no cheers, mild pop for Wyatt's clothesline outside, Rowan's weird karate kick and Sister Abigail.  But this was the sound of silence.

-I fast-forwarded most of the Miz, Mizdow, Summer Rae stuff.

I don't think that's up to him. WWE likes to have their Superstars, particularly babyfaces, to have recognizable and over moves. They establish them through repetition.

[caley]

 

Watched 3/4s of this one.

 

-New Day-Kidd/Cesaro was a lot of fun with Kidd/Cesaro working pseudo-face.  I do love that WWE accidentally stumbled into developing a heel team with New Day.  Crowd loves to boo them, and now they're reacting to it.  Big E.'s promo was great.

-Axel-Neville was pretty much the same match, so good but...you know.  Right now Neville's got a handful of spots that would be better if he busted them out every once in a while rather than finding contrived ways to get them into every match.  He can do a lot of stuff, he doesn't have to hit every move every match!

-The Cameron-Nattie-Alicia thing was just awful, made even worse by Jerry Lawler channeling his Attitude-era persona.  So while you've got divas/announcers talking about give divas a chance, you've got Lawler talking about how watching them is his dream come true and how he's mesmerized.  It's a bit like running #becauseimagirl ad narrated by Benny Hill.

-Speaking of the announcing, it's just awful here.  But, with how low Byron Saxton talks, and the way everything is mic'ed, you can get the volume on your TV just right (At least I did) where you can hear what's going on in the ring/promos and the like, but the announcing just blends into the background as a muted murmur.  Highlight of my night was when I realized I hadn't heard a single phrase any of them had said in about ten minutes.

-I like both guys but Rowan-Wyatt was terrifyingly heatless.  No boos, no cheers, mild pop for Wyatt's clothesline outside, Rowan's weird karate kick and Sister Abigail.  But this was the sound of silence.

-I fast-forwarded most of the Miz, Mizdow, Summer Rae stuff.

I don't think that's up to him. WWE likes to have their Superstars, particularly babyfaces, to have recognizable and over moves. They establish them through repetition.

 

You're right, I had it written better before but accidentally deleted it.  What I meant is he has a lot of moves, he doesn't have to use all of them every match, but it's clear WWE wants him to get everything in every match.  The problem with that is the moves begin to look more and more contrived, plus it's a ticking clock as to when Neville either injures himself or botches one, at which point he'll get buried by Vince on commentary.

[NikoBaltimore]

-Speaking of the announcing, it's just awful here.  But, with how low Byron Saxton talks, and the way everything is mic'ed, you can get the volume on your TV just right (At least I did) where you can hear what's going on in the ring/promos and the like, but the announcing just blends into the background as a muted murmur.  Highlight of my night was when I realized I hadn't heard a single phrase any of them had said in about ten minutes.

 

Thank you for this tip, going to try that tonight.

 

As for Neville, a new guy is usually going to have that set moveset starting up.  As long as he finds success he'll be able to do more.  Can't wait for him to go against a big guy so he can bust out the German Suplex.

[Pete]

Reports are that Laredo Kid was one of the enhancement dudes in the dark match.

[Hail Sabin]

I wanting for Neville to do his rebound German Suplex he used to do on the indies on WWE TV.

[Eivion]

The main event was great. I'm really enjoying Bryan takign the lead on Smackdown.

[Biz Smarkie]

The only thing I really don't like from Neville on the main roster is him busting out the multiple front flips to the corner spot he did in NXT a few times. Way too goofy for me. I do want to see him deadlift german a few dudes though.

[caley]

Main event was a lot of fun.  Everyone playing to their strengths.

 

Forgot to give a shout-out to Cesaro's amazing dead-lift gut-wrench of Big E.  That was bannaners

[JCM]

Yeah Cesaro was awesome here. Neville is using like 10% of what he can do right now so I don't get the argument that he's doing too much.

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

Agreed that gutwrench was absolutely ridiculous, Cesaro is a superhero: I kinda think they should pair him with Neville rather than Kidd, have him start busting out the UFO as well.

[Nice Guy Eddie]

Using the UFO will get Cesaro over again with the fans. We can't have guys get over on their own. That's not how it's done in WWE anymore.

[Jiji]

Thinking about how heels aren't allowed to cheat all that much, how WWE has canned low blows, and Cesaro stopped doing the swing for a while because he was getting babyface reactions, guys are really at the mercy of the writing team to get any sort of heat as a villain now more than ever.

[Cole Miner]

Thinking about how heels aren't allowed to cheat all that much, how WWE has canned low blows, and Cesaro stopped doing the swing for a while because he was getting babyface reactions, guys are really at the mercy of the writing team to get any sort of heat as a villain now more than ever.

You are right and it is ridiculous. Wrestling desperately needs more heel cheating. Time limit draws would be a major improvement as well. This win trading does nothing for anybody. Time limits enhance matches and gives the near falls more heat as the time limit approaches. When someone finally does win the win means more. Whether it be a frustrated heel finally giving in and cheating or the upcoming babyface getting over. It also makes the new wrestler that gets his wins without hitting the time limits look stronger.

 

WWE needs to get their workers to acknowledge and work the crowd again as well. WWE guys aren't taught to work the crowd. Indy workers don't learn how to work a crowd since the idiot "this is awesome" chanting fans overreact to everything. It is frustrating that all the minor details that make wrestling work are slowly being expunged. These things are in danger of being gone completely once this generation of workers are the ones working as agents and bookers.

[Skeeball Wizard]

Thinking about how heels aren't allowed to cheat all that much, how WWE has canned low blows, and Cesaro stopped doing the swing for a while because he was getting babyface reactions, guys are really at the mercy of the writing team to get any sort of heat as a villain now more than ever.

You are right and it is ridiculous. Wrestling desperately needs more heel cheating. Time limit draws would be a major improvement as well.

WWE needs to get their workers to acknowledge and work the crowd again as well. WWE guys aren't taught to work the crowd. Indy workers don't learn how to work a crowd since the idiot "this is awesome" chanting fans overreact to everything. It is frustrating that all the minor details that make wrestling work are slowly being expunged.

How is anyone a heel if they aren't allowed to cheat? You almost never see any genuine heels in WWE anymore for that reason. Like when Rusev punted Cena in the stones, it stood out because it was a heel actually behaving like one.

From what I have gathered, the WWE doesn't want people playing to the crowd, it's too "bush league" to the higher ups. The extent of everyone playing to the crowd now is hitting the second rope and posing during their intro.

[Jiji]

While I think some cheating is a good thing, I do remember the days where you'd have entire cards end with fuck finishes and heel tactics and that's probably worse than no cheating at all. There's a happy medium to be found.

[Eivion]

Wrestling desperately needs more heel cheating.

In an era where heels are cheered by half the audience it doesn't seem like there would be much of a point save for particular moments like Cena/Rusev at Fastlane.

 

 

Time limit draws would be a major improvement as well.

They don't do them because audiences despise them. They tried testing it out on house shows, and it was responded well to at all.

 

WWE needs to get their workers to acknowledge and work the crowd again as well. WWE guys aren't taught to work the crowd. Indy workers don't learn how to work a crowd since the idiot "this is awesome" chanting fans overreact to everything.

You do realize a decent portion of the audience have already fallen in line with the indy crowds you mentioned, right?

[Curt McGirt]

Smackdown on NBC Universo EN ESPANOL~! My thoughts:

 

New Day as delusional heels thinking they are faces is fantastic; they really have something going with this. It's the only way I can accept Kofi's pillow-soft offense in any case. Cesaro came off like a beast, as always.

 

Smackdown makes watching Authority/Orton (okay, all main Raw stuff in general) so much more edible in video package form. 

 

I've never seen Neville/PAC before. Is he doing some kind of Superman gimmick? Did Vince watch Man of Steel with the grandkids? If so he pulls it off damn well given his athletic talents. Good on Axel for keeping himself alive with the Axelmania stuff too, it might be out of desperation but it's working so far.

 

Alicia and Nattie had a really good match! Lots of cool spots in this one, Alicia is a great heel, and thankfully the Spanish commentary covered up what caley said King was saying in the buildup. Keep him far away from anything involving the Divas please.

 

Are they working on a Wyatt Family reunion here, like he beats up the former members to draw them back into the fold? I wonder. It'll be shitty for Harper if so because he deserves better if they're going nowhere with it but Rowan has to do something. He bumped like a maniac here too, so congrats. 

 

No idea what they do with Miz or Mizdow after this. Damien as the Face Miz and Miz as... well... himself? Summer Rae could make this interesting. Damien is great at doing what he does and is deserving of the cheers he gets now. I loved the Brock Lesnar flashback Miz had with the chair throw.

 

It took me a minute but I'm actually down with Sheamus' facial hair. Him and Barrett are a mean tag team even though Barrett didn't do much in the six-man. It was awesome though, the crowd was nuclear for Reigns who only got in at the dead end of the match after Ziggler pinballed and Bryan attempted to end his career again while the heels played to the crowd (anyone who says that doesn't happen anymore in WWE should watch this match). A bit too much talking but otherwise good stuff.

 

This was the best Smackdown I've seen in ages. Maybe it's because I've missed TV wrestling for a week or two now for the most part (especially Lucha Underground), but this was great and they should keep it up.

[Rev Ray]

I don't know where they go with Damien after the MMidow angle. I heard a funny suggestion where you do a one off feud with Rollins where he has the blond streak and torito and swaggle as j and j security. Of mix is going to go away for another movie they could do name vs name then have mizdow win keep the gimmick and have mix become Mike mizanin until he wins it back.