WWE: Smackdown
August 30, 2013
Las Vegas, NV
Thomas & Mack Center
The current WWE champs are as follows:
WWE Champion: Randy Orton (8/18/2013)
World Heavyweight Champion: Alberto Del Rio (6/16/2013)
WWE Intercontinental Champion: Curtis Axel (6/16/2013)
WWE U.S. Champion: Dean Ambrose (5/19/2013)
WWE Tag Team Champions: The Shield (5/19/2013)
WWE Divas Champion: AJ Lee (6/16/2013)
Your hosts are Michael Cole and JBL.
The show kicks off with MizTV. His guests are the Big Show and Dolph Ziggler. They are here tonight to vent about what took place last week on Raw when the COO Triple H made all the WWE superstars stand out on the stage and watch the Shield and Randy Orton do a number on Daniel Bryan. If anyone had come down to save Bryan, then Triple H would have FIRED them. The Miz, Big Show, and Ziggler were the most visibly upset on Raw watching what transpired. Back to Smackdown, Miz encourages Show and Ziggler to speak out because this a “free country” as if first amendment rights apply to the workplace. Both Show and Ziggler are too shaken up or afraid to really say anything. When Miz starts to go on a rant, out comes Triple H to interrupt with a big smile on his face. He joins the other three guys in the ring and implores Miz to continue with what he was about to say. Miz shuts up faster than a girl in math class. COOHHH questions Miz as to why he is in his ring gear tonight instead of in a suit which is what he normally wears to MizTV. Miz replies that he never knows when he’s going to be in a fight. He wants to ask HHH a question in return, but HHH won’t allow it. Triple H changes gears and is still flabbergasted as to why everybody wants to make things personal because this is all “just business”. Triple H can’t ignore the “you sold out” chants. He understands why the WWE Universe doesn’t get it, but the guys in the ring certainly should. HHH compares Randy to Miz, Show, Ziggler: he can run his mouth and back it up (unlike Miz), he’s not just big (like Show), and he’s at least big enough (unlike Ziggler). Hunter thinks Miz is just jealous because he hasn’t gotten anywhere near the WWE title since he lost it back in 2011. HHH calls Miz’s title reign “a long time ago”, but let’s be real here. It wasn’t that long ago. To show he’s a fair guy, HHH gives the Miz a match with Randy Orton for tonight. HHH says Ziggler feels the way he does about what happened Monday night because the last time he was in the ring with the Shield, he got the crap beat out of him. Therefore, HHH puts Ziggler in a handicap match with the Shield for tonight. As for Big Show, Triple H does the Bill Cosby bit where he tells one of the Huxtable children to “come here” a few times. Man, my references are outdated. Show must sit down by the announce table all night long and stay put or he will be fired. He’s got his fist clinched just dying to pound Helmsley into dust, but thinks better of it and goes over to sit down. Whatever happened to the “ironclad contract” he signed for John Laurinaitis? Is that all for naught now?
– Non-title match: WWE Champion Randy Orton vs. The Miz
No mention is made of the ‘Money in the Bank’ history between Miz and Orton. Headlocks and chinlocks are traded to start. Orton softens the back of Miz with the back suplex onto the barricade, but then Miz fires back with his signature corner clothesline. Miz backdrops away the DDT through the ropes to cue the Shield. Once they are in place, we go to commercial. When we return, Orton applies the chinlock. Miz escapes and starts up another comeback with the backbreaker-neckbreaker routine. Skull Crushing Finale is avoided and Orton hits the DDT through the ropes after all. RKO is countered to a backslide for two. Miz applies the Figure-Four and Show stands up cheering him on. Orton makes the ropes though and hits the RKO for the win in 10:00 shown. Afterwards is when the fun really happens. Orton and the Shield put the boots to Miz. Since all Big Show can do is watch, Daniel Bryan is the only one who can save the day, which he does armed with a chair to a gigantic response. This gets like a hot “Sting descending from the rafters” response. **½
We check out the Raw Rebound involving CM Punk getting a win over Curtis Axel and then the brutal aftermath with Paul Heyman. For a more detailed look at what transpired, click on over to Scott’s Raw Recap.
– Rob Van Dam (w/Ricardo Rodriguez) vs. Damien Sandow
I have a theory that Rodriguez turns on RVD at Night of Champions and rejoins Alberto Del Rio. Maybe it’s just how awkward and ridiculous he looks not only being by RVD’s side, but also wearing an RVD t-shirt. This is almost a squash match if not for Sandow getting in his Elbow of Disdain. RVD hits the Five Star Frog Splash and pins Sandow in 2:30. Can anybody tell me the last time Sandow won a match? Was it actually back at Money in the Bank? Anyways, speaking of guys who lose quite a bit on TV, the World Champ Alberto Del Rio comes out onto the ramp to cut a promo on Rob Van Dam and talk about how dumb Van Dam must be for keeping that terrible Ricardo around after he betrayed Del Rio and the entire Latino population. At Night of Champions, Del Rio vows to show Rob Van Dam what kind of a champion he is. ¾*
– Handicap match: The Shield vs. Dolph Ziggler
By the Shield, I mean all three of them take on Ziggler. With just about every blow, the Shield stares at Show taunting him to get involved. Buckle Bomb by Rollins staggers Ziggler into the Spear by Reigns for the win in 4:00. Again, the Shield try and bait Show into the ring, but he doesn’t budge. He looks super pissed, but he doesn’t leave his seat. Triple Powerbomb lays out Ziggler as Show rocks back and forth trying to keep himself seated. ¾*
Out comes Curtis Axel and Paul Heyman to respond to what they did to CM Punk last week on Raw. Basically, they handcuffed him and beat him senseless with a kendo stick while Heyman yelled his tainted love at Punk. Heyman says he didn’t need to take his beating like a man last Monday because Punk should still be looking up to his father figure and mentor. He should still be worshipping the god that Heyman is. It seems that he will have to take his beating like a man at Night of Champions though when Punk faces Axel and Heyman in a handicap elimination match. Heyman admits that he’s actually scared out of his mind because if Punk gets his hands on him, then the WWE Universe will never see Heyman again. Heyman tells us that if he is willing to do what he has already done to Punk just because he can, imagine what Heyman will do when he is faced with the reality of an actual beating. At Night of Champions, Heyman says he and Curtis Axel will *own* CM Punk.
– Luke Harper & Erick Rowan (w/Bray Wyatt) vs. Tons of Funk (w/the Funkadactyls)
Tons of Funk do okay to start, but then Rowan throws Brodus into the barricade. That leaves Tensai all alone for a hard clothesline from Harper and a jumping splash by Rowan for the win in a little over 1:00. Follow the buzzards, ya’ll. ¼*
– Daniel Bryan vs. Ryback
Ryback bullies around Bryan while Cole and JBL talk about what a bully Ryback is. Bryan’s comeback includes dropkicks in the corner and a suicide dive. Randy Orton walks out to provide the distraction to allow Ryback to regain control. When we come back from commercial, Ryback lands the Meat Hook clothesline for two. Somewhere, Nikita Koloff is cringing at the sight of that running clothesline. Bryan avoids a superplex of some kind and hits the missile dropkick. The kick combo and the Buzzsaw kick gets two. When that won’t do, Bryan applies the YES Lock which brings in Orton to break it up for the DQ at 6:30 shown. Quite a bully match. **
As Bryan puts Orton in the YES Lock, the Shield come from out of nowhere for a repeat of what we saw at the end of Raw last week. Big Show goes against Triple H’s orders and gets into the ring to scare Orton and the Shield back into a corner. That brings down COOHHH barking at Show to get out of the ring and come with him backstage. Show REALLY doesn’t want to do it and makes that crying face he does when his job is in jeopardy, but does what he’s told anyway. Now back to what the Shield and Orton were doing. The Shield holds up Bryan while Orton punches the life out of him. Orton calls for the Triple Powerbomb and gets exactly that. In a form of payback for spray painting Orton’s car, Orton spray paints the word “NO” on Bryan’s body. The Shield retreats to the floor while Orton stands over Bryan and holds the WWE title to close out the show.
Final Thoughts: Most of this felt like a rehash of what we saw on Raw. A decent non-title win for Randy Orton, the Shield beat up the faces, and Damien Sandow loses. Big Show having to sit through Smackdown without saving the day was an interesting idea, but I don’t think it came off very well. I really do think this is where they can use the “ironclad contract” excuse for Big Show if he had saved the day for Daniel Bryan. He can get involved because he ultimately can’t be fired. I just don’t find the beatings on Bryan very intriguing if they do them week after week as long as no one can make the save. It gets him plenty of sympathy, but not much else in my eyes. And as long as it’s not John Cena, everybody loves a good babyface save, right?
No Vickie Guerrero, no AJ Lee, no Summer Rae…my week feels incomplete.
Matt’s Smackdown Top Five:
1) Daniel Bryan (hot save for the Miz and a semi-fun Ryback match)
2) Randy Orton (match of the night with the Miz)
3) The Shield (the taunting and cowering related to Big Show was cool)
4) Paul Heyman (another good weekly promo pointing the finger at CM Punk)
5) The Miz (got to give the man credit, he sure *tries* to be awesome)
