August 24, 2015
From the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY
Your hosts are Byron Saxton, JBL, and Michael Cole
Before the show, we are shown HHH and Seth Rollins in Stamford, CT at WWE Headquarters. HHH congratulates an ecstatic Rollins for retaining the WWE World Title (draped over his shoulder) and for winning the U.S. Title (Which he wore around his waist) as he then tells Rollins that he is not the future but rather “the man.” HHH then tells Rollins they will unveil his statue to put alongside greats like Bruno Sammartino, Ultimate Warrior, and Andre the Giant. Rollins thanks HHH and hugs him as the segment ends.
Live show starts with Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman coming out to the ring. Cole puts over how his match against the Undertaker last night at SummerSlam had one of the most controversial finishes in WWE history. Heyman refers to Lesnar as the “Beast of the Barclays” before discussing the finish to last night’s match at SummerSlam. Heyman tells us how Lesnar took the Undertaker to “Suplex City” then shows us the clip of the Undertaker tapping out while being in the Kimura. Heyman tells us that the Undertaker tapping out means that he knows Lesnar is the better man. Heyman even points out the timekeeper (Berkley Ottman, son of former WWE wrestler Tugboat) and how he was compassionate by ringing the bell as he knew Lesnar would break off the Undertaker’s arm. Heyman also brings up the video circulating the internet showing the Undertaker collapsing as he walked backstage after the match last night. Heyman gets the crowd going nuts by saying he has material to fill up all three hours tonight before telling us that Undertaker desperately uses low blows and is an “old gunslinger” who can shoot it out with everyone in the locker room except for Lesnar. Heyman then says that he is here to issue a challenge for tonight, not any other date, as the crowd goes mental. A loud “Suplex City” chant echoes through the arena until Bo Dallas comes out. He tells Lesnar the bad news, that he passed out last night, and the good news, he woke up and dreamed he beat the Undertaker last night. Lesnar laughs before clotheslining Dallas out of his shoes. He then destroys Dallas with a few German suplexes before walking away. However, Heyman tells Lesnar he needs to hit another suplex and he runs back in to hit another one before leaving, until Heyman begs him to inflict more punishment. Lesnar runs back in and hits an F5 as Heyman grabs the mic and yells at a barely conscious Dallas that Lesnar does in fact “Bo-Lieve.” I thought Heyman was terrific here and the crowd got to see Lesnar destroy someone but they didnt really accomplish a whole lot, although a rematch against the Undertaker seems inevitable.
Later tonight, MizTV will feature guests Paige, Charlotte, and Becky.
Lucha Dragons vs. Kofi Kingston & Big E w/ Xavier Woods
The New Day put their own spin on Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” song as they sing while Woods plays the trombone. This was fun but not as good as their song-and-dance from last night, although Woods on the trombone was great. The Prime Time Players are on commentary. Match starts with Sin Cara and Kofi as they badly mistime a rollup spot. Kalisto tags and the Lucha Dragons take out the New Day with dives as we head to break. We return with Sin Cara fighting back and tagging Kalisto, who runs wild. Big E breaks up a sunset bomb and New Day beat on Kalisto until they put him away with their finisher as Woods was playing the trombone in a hilarious touch (6:15) *1/2. After the match, the Dudley Boyz pyro goes off and they come out as the crowd explodes. They head into the ring and attack the New Day. They even hit Woods with the Wassup! before D’Von gets the table and put Woods through that with the 3-D. After that, the Dudleys and Prime Time Players start jawing at each other then the Dudleys celebrate as Cole notes that the entire Tag Team division better take notice.
Thoughts: The match was fine for what it was and Kalisto looked solid. However, the Dudleys returning is big news and the fans loved them. They looked okay but they are a fun opponent for the New Day, who do not have a whole lot to work with in the Tag Division.
We are shown news headlines regarding Jon Stewart’s involvement in the John Cena vs. Seth Rollins match. Stewart will be here tonight to explain his actions.
Clips of John Cena granting his 500th wish for the “Make-a-Wish” Foundation.
HHH and Stephanie are backstage admiring the new Seth Rollins statue. Rollins himself comes in as they close the curtains on the statue while Rollins thanks the Authority and kisses their asses as they return the favor. Stephanie tells him to leave as they have to set up the statue in the ring.
Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper
Harper and Ambrose start off going back-and-forth. Ambrose gains control and takes out Wyatt with a dive. However, Harper hits Ambrose with a tope. Ambrose comes back with a clothesline then Reigns hits Wyatt with an apron dropkick as we head to break with Reigns & Ambrose standing tall in the ring. The action returns with Ambrose getting destroyed. Wyatt almost puts him away with a DDT then a spinning gutbuster before tagging Harper. Ambrose is put in a Gator Roll then a chinlock as the crowd starts to rally behind him. Ambrose floats over on a slam attempt and hits one of his own then comes back with a tornado DDT as both men are down. Hot tag to Reigns, who tosses Wyatt around. He sets up for the Superman punch but Wyatt blocks that. Reigns takes Wyatt down then knocks Harper off of the apron before getting caught with an uranage. Reigns fights off an attack from both men then hits Wyatt with the Superman punch. Ambrose takes Harper out with a dive to the outside but as Reigns sets up for the spear, Wyatt’s music hits and the lights go off. We return with a large man wearing a black goat mask. He takes it off revealing himself as NXT’s Braun Stowman as he tosses Reigns around shortly there after for the DQ. (10:36) **1/2. The announcers do not identify him as they pretend to have never seen him before. He does the same to Amborse then chokes out Reigns. Ambrose tries to kick him in the head but the guy no-sells that and chokes out Ambrose too. This ends with the Wyatts standing tall.
Thoughts: The match itself was fine for a TV match. However, the debut of Stowman was the story here. They gave him a monstrous push as he manhandled both Reigns and Ambrose by himself. I’m not so sure that was the way to go but the crowd seemed shocked by what they were seeing. Either that or they didnt give a shit and I hope that is not the case. I think it was risky to have a guy debut in this manner, even a monster like Stowman, and I’m not so sure it was the best way to go. He came out of it looking above everyone else and a push like that is just far too above his talent level. And where do they go from here with the guy? He no-sold everything from Reigns and Ambrose. I hope they do not ruin the guy by overpushing him due to his size as he seems to have a lot of potential. I thought he did fine and had his facial expressions down pat. But this was the last thing Reigns needed, unless they are not banking on him to be the guy anytime soon and if that is the case then I feel for the guy. The WWE screwed him over due to bad booking.
We get a replay of the newest Wyatt Family member destroying Reigns and Ambrose.
Miz TV with guests Team PCB. The girls rag on Miz, who dishes it back to them. Becky looks especially bronzed here. They put themselves over as a cohesive unit until Team Bella come out. Brie was allowed to speak for far too long as she called the Bella’s the “Team of Empowerment” then Fox tells Lynch that in the nine years she has been there she has seen many divas come and go. Lynch talks her down as Nikki talks about becoming the longest reigning Divas Champion in WWE history after saying wins and losses do not matter. This breaks down with Miz finally getting them to shut up, drawing an applause from the crowd. He then smartly told the crowd to shut up as to get the heel heat back on himself as this segment was getting really awful. The Miz tells Team PCB they wrestle like girls and as they corner him, Team Bella use a sneak attack to clear them from the ring. A terrible interview segment in which no one involved came off looking good. A “We Want Sasha” chant even broke out at the end but she never appeared on the show.
Team PCB vs. Team Bella
This match started during the commercial break. Brie gets worked over then escapes a figure four attempt and tags her sister. Charlotte takes down Nikki and tags Paige, who repeatedly knees her in the face. Lynch tags and they trade working the arm as they are losing the crowd. Charlotte is in and draws a few “woos” from the crowd as she works an armbar on the mat. Paige tags but gets caught with a spinebuster but is unable to follow through with anything else. Lynch and Charlotte hit Nikki with a double dropkick that was out of sync before hitting a slightly better one on Brie and Fox. Charlotte takes them all out with a pescado as we head to break. We return with Nikki working Charlotte in a single leg crab. Charlotte ends up dumping Nikki but gets dragged outside and has her leg smashed against the post. A “CM Punk” chant breaks out as Fox is working the leg of Charlotte until Paige tags in and runs wild as the match doesnt get any better while the crowd is chanting “we are awesome.” Paige locks Fox in the PTO but Brie breaks that up with a kick and that allows Nikki to hit Paige with a forearm then Fox gets the win with a scissors kick (14:10) 1/2*.
Thoughts: First off, whoever put these divas segments together did a terrible job. They were out there too long and took the crowd out of the show. The match itself was bad and just a mess when it was Paige and Fox in the ring. The rest was filled with boring restholds among other mistimed moves. And the Divas Revolution needs to actually accomplish something because right now, its seemingly stuck on a treadmill to nowhere. The crowd resorted to entertaining themselves and after what they saw, I do not blame them. This revolution took two steps back tonight.
King Barrett and Stardust are in the ring for a tag match. However, Stardust beats the piss out of him and calls out Neville, who runs in and gets the best of Stardust, who is able to escape before getting hit with the Red Arrow. This feud seems to be continuing. I wonder if it leads to a Goldust return? Not much of a segment.
More clips of Jon Stewart screwing over John Cena last night. We are then shown Stewart walking down the hallway, looking a bit angry and focused.
The Dudley Boyz return to Smackdown this Thursday.
Jon Stewart comes out to the ring. He gets a good amount of cheers. Stewart talks about how he upset some people last night but that others were happy as a loud “yes” chant breaks out. He then tells the parents who had to comfort their children last night that what he did had nothing to do with helping Rollins or the Authority but because he could not let Cena tie Ric Flair’s record of 16 title reigns as he feels that the “Champ is Flair.” Ric Flair himself comes out as Stewart is happy. Flair appreciates Stewart for the reason behind what he did but said that he was rooting for Cena as sooner or later his record will be broken and wants someone he respects to do the honor. Cena them comes out as the crowd sings “John Cena sucks.” Stewart looks scared as Cena paces around before telling Stewart they have to talk. Stewart asks him what he wants to talk about as Cena tells him and the crowd that he cannot defend the U.S. Title every week against the stars the WWE Universe wants to see and lists off a bunch of names. Stewart respects Cena for giving those guys a chance but because he has been a fan for so long he cannot let him break the record. Cena says that the Authority does not listen to the WWE Universe as Stewart tells Cena this is his moment to win it back from the Authority in Brooklyn as the crowd boos. Cena responds by hitting Stewart with the A.A. then angrily leaves the ring. WWE personnel and Flair check on Stewart and eventually walk him to the back. I didnt think this was very good to be honest. It seemed forced and lame.
Back from break, Renee Young asks Cena about hitting Stewart with the A.A. He tells us about being glad he talked to Stewart tonight and promises to have another talk with Seth Rollins later on tonight. I guess the angle with Cena now is that he is pissed off and seeking revenge. I’m fine with that.
Dolph Ziggler w/ Lana & Cesaro & Ryback & Randy Orton vs. Rusev w/ Summer Rae & Kevin Owens & Big Show & Sheamus
Ryback and Rusev start things off. Ryback hits a Thesz Press before slamming him down a few times. Cesaro tags and catches Rusev in midair before slamming him down. Ziggler is in, sporting new tights, and hits a dropkick. Rusev dodges a super kick by sliding outside but Ryback runs him over then all eight men stare each other down as we go to break. We return with Show chopping Ziggler in the corner. Ziggler tries to fight back but gets taken down with a shoulder tackle. Owens tags in to a good reaction as he beats on Ziggler. Owens dumps Ziggler on the top rope and hits a senton for a nearfall. He then mocks Ziggler’s hip gyrations before tagging Sheamus. A loud “you look stupid” chant breaks out as Sheamus has Ziggler in a stretch. Ziggler fights out but gets hit with the Irish Curse as we head to another commercial and return with Ziggler still getting his ass kicked. Summer even slaps him across the face then Lana runs over and spears her as the crowd goes nuts. Rusev focuses on that, allowing Ziggler to hit a Fame Asser as both men are down. Owens tags in but so does Cesaro, who ends up hitting multiple running uppercuts. Rusev comes in and gets caught with a swing as the crowd goes nuts. Owens boots Cesaro in the face, who tags Ryback and they brawl for a bit. Ryback catches Owens with a spinebuster but shortly after that they clothesline each other as both men are down. Orton and Sheamus tag in as Orton runs wild. He hits the draping DDT then sets up for theRKO but Show interferes. Show then accidentally hits Sheamus with the KO punch then Orton hits Sheamus with the RKO for the win (17:55) ***1/4. After the match, Rusev and Owens yell at show for costing them the match. Show shoves them both down until Rusev comes back with a super kick. Owens hits Show with a cannonball before walking away as the winning team is shown united outside before heading into the ring. Ziggler hits a super kick then Ryback and Cesaro lift Show up as Orton hits him with an RKO.
Thoughts: Fun match. The finish seemed designed for Show to turn face again, which isnt particularly exciting or anything. Easily the best match on the show too.
The Wyatt Family are cutting a promo. Wyatt accuses Reigns of selfishly pulling Ambrose into their feud. Wyatt then welcomes us to Braun Stowman, who is apparently Abigail’s black sheep. He now has a name. Stowman is an intimidating guy but I see his push backfiring quickly if they keep it up at this rate. And I dont really care to see more of a Wyatt/Reigns feud either. Its more than ran its course.
Cena runs into HHH and Stephanie, who sarcastically congratulates him for taking out Jon Stewart. She also mentions how he is trending on Twitter at #soreloser. Cena tells them he wants to speak with Rollins but is told that he will not be ruining Rollins’ celebration and has security order him out of the building as Stephanie mocks him with the “you can’t see me” gesture.
The ring is set up with the statue behind the curtain. HHH and Stephanie walk out as Stephanie tells us that her father, Vince, is celebrating his 70th birthday today as she thanks him for making tonight possible. Stephanie says that while he will not come out they will sing “Happy Birthday” as they all sing out of tune. HHH tells us that Vince is probably so pissed off in the back before getting down to business. He puts over Rollins for having “hustle, royalty, respect” and one more thing than everyone else has and that is doing anything he takes to be a winner. HHH welcomes Rollins to the crowd and he comes out waving before comparing himself to Joe DiMaggio among others while getting in a dig at the Brooklyn Nets. Rollins tells us that heroes are remembered but that legends never die as he became a legend last night after beating John Cena and becoming the U.S. Champion as well as retaining his WWE World Title. But after the statue is revealed, he will become immortal then drags on for a minute until they open the curtain………….revealing Sting. He stands on the platform as the crowd goes nuts. Rollins tries to attack him but Sting knocks him down and chops him in the corner. Sting clotheslines Rollins to the floor as he picks up the WWE World Title and raises it in the air as we close the show. The Sting reveal was terrific and a match between the two should be intriguing. It was confirmed by HHH after RAW that Sting vs. Seth Rollins will take place for the WWE World Title.
Final Thoughts: I thought tonight was a disappointing show. The Divas segments really derailed things. They were horrendous. The Stewart appearance was a waste of you ask me and the Stowman debut did not seem to get over as planned. However, there was some good stuff here. The Dudley Boyz returning was a fun moment, the Sting return was great and seeing Brock destroy Bo Dallas was great, and the eight-man match was good. They still have time to set up for Night of Champions, especially since a lot of feuds were not settled at SummerSlam. Hopefully next week brings us a more consistent show.
