SmackDown Review: Bray Wyatt vs. Jimmy Uso in a Last Man Standing Match
By Mike Smith
The Shield promo
The Shield came out to talk about the beatdown they suffered at the hands of Evolution on Monday. Dean Ambrose said that the beating doesn’t matter because The Shield don’t care about that stuff, because they always get up when they get knocked down. Ambrose said that the No Holds Barred stipulation means that the match will get ugly, and The Shield will thrive in that situation.
Seth Rollins then talked about the elimination rules. He said that a level playing field will become unfair really fast, when he pins Randy Orton. He said The Sheild will make it three-on-two, then three-on-one, when they plan to have Triple H all to themselves.
Reigns said that they are going to tear through Evolution, and anything that gets in their way at ringside. When The Shield say that this match will feature total carnage, I believe it. This feud has been very good, and I expect it to end with a bang at Payback.
Kofi Kingston pre-taped promo/Kofi Kingston vs. Cesaro
Kingston talked about beating Cesaro about a year ago, when he became United States Champion. He said that he wants that title back, and a win over the #1 contender is a good start.
Kofi went for a double-jump diving move off the top rope, but ate an awesome uppercut as Cesaro picked up the win. Decent match.
After the match, Cesaro hit the Neutralizer on Kofi.
Bad News Barrett w/ Renee Young
Barrett said that Rob Van Dam has nothing going for him other than the RVD chant and his past, a past which Barrett said isn’t even as good as Barrett’s past month.
Barrett said that the English are never afraid of the Irish, and Sheamus is no exception. He said he will take out Sheamus tonight, and go on to defend his title at Payback. I was not a believer in Bad News Barrett at first, but that character has really hit its stride.
Paige pre-taped promo/Paige vs. Tamina
Paige said she’s going to use the match with Tamina to prove that she deserves to be in WWE, and she deserves to be Divas Champion.
Right after the match started, Alicia Fox came down to ringside, took selfies with the crowd, and pranced around with the Divas Championship belt. It was right in line with what she’s done for the past few weeks, and it was awesome.
Paige won with the scorpion cross lock, which is now called the PTO.
Sheamus w/ Renee Young
Sheamus promised to take Barrett out with a Brogue Kick. He said it’s fighting time, “and that’s not bad news, that’s good news, fella.”
Bo Dallas promo/Xavier Woods vs. Bo Dallas
Bo thanked his Bo-lievers for helping him to a 2-0 start in WWE.
Bo won the match with the Bo-Dog, which I like more and more every time he hits it. I really like the three straight knee drops as well, they come off as really methodical and hard-hitting.
After the match, Bo took a victory lap around the ring. They should really consider having Bo run in slow motion. Bo then hugged Woods, and said that everybody was a winner in this match. Bo is another character that has really hit his stride, it started towards the end of his NXT run and has continued in his main roster transition.
El Torito vs. Jinder Mahal
El Torito won with a Bullsault. El Torito sold the missing tail in this match.
After the match, El Torito went after Hornswoggle with hedge clippers, but Hornswoggle escaped. I loved the Extreme Rules weeLC match, but I’m done with this feud.
Sheamus vs. Bad News Barrett
Sheamus got the win with the Brogue Kick. This match was an excellent brawl. The finishing sequence at the end of the match was very well executed.
The Usos w/ Renee Young
The Usos were here to sell Jey’s rib injury that he suffered on Main Event this past week, and to hype Jimmy’s Last Man Standing Match in the main event tonight vs. Bray Wyatt. I said it when they were interviewed by Renee on Raw, they’re very charismatic and it shines through in these backstage interviews, especially when Renee is doing her thing, which she does better than anybody else.
Lana promo/Titus O’Neil vs. Big E
Lana cut a promo about a great red, white and blue flag that people should worship, as Rusev brought out the Russian flag. Lana and Rusev then watched the match from the stage.
Big E squashed Titus here, then stared down Rusev as the two waved their respective giant flags. The result of their match at Payback is obvious and it takes away from any heat this feud has.
Jack Swagger vs. Adam Rose
Rose got the win with a roll-up. Comedy match, much like the one Rose had at NXT Takeover. Between that, and the fact that his expected pay-per-view match with Swagger was moved to SmackDown, I’d say things aren’t looking good for Rose.
Bray Wyatt vs. Jimmy Uso in a Last Man Standing Match
After a really fun match, one that Jimmy really shined in, Bray hit Sister Abigail on the floor, and Jimmy was down for the 10-count. If anybody was unsure about what The Usos can do, just watch what they did in this feud with The Wyatt Family, where they acted as John Cena’s backup men. The Usos have shown just how talented they really are.
Overall Impression
There wasn’t much juice to this show, but putting The Shield at the beginning and the Wyatts at the end was a good call. It wasn’t a bad show, but it just didn’t feel like the final show before a pay-per-view.
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