SmackDown Review: Randy Orton vs. Big Show

Triple H, Seth Rollins and Dolph Ziggler promo

Triple H came out and told the audience that he wasn’t there to gloat about the fact that he always wins, he was there to give answers about why he won. He then gave Rollins the mic to let him give the answers.

Rollins said the only person who knows, the only person who needs to know why he did what he did, and the only person who he owes anything to is himself. Then, he was interrupted by Ziggler.

Ziggler said he never liked The Shield, but he respected them for what they stood for. He called Rollins a traitor and a sellout. Triple H told Ziggler that Rollins is a sell out because he sells out arenas, and Ziggler never will. Triple H put Ziggler in a match with Rollins.

Awesome promo. No reason to give anything away with Rollins right now, there will be a better time to give his reasons for leaving The Shield. Ziggler did great work playing against Rollins and Triple H.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins

With Triple H watching at ringside, Rollins hit a buckle bomb and a curb stomp for the win. This was a really good match and I would totally be okay with them seeing more of each other.

Bad News Barrett w/ Renee Young

Renee asked Barrett about having to defend his Intercontinental Championship against Cesaro and Rob Van Dam. Barrett said they’re not worthy competitors for him, and neither one of them deserved a shot at his title.

Evolution and Big Show backstage

Randy Orton welcomed Seth Rollins back to the “dark side”, and Rollins said “I never left”. Big Show then came up and got in Rollins’ face and said Dolph Ziggler was right about Rollins being a sellout. Triple H told Big Show that he had a match with Orton.

The Usos vs. Rybaxel

Jimmy Uso got the win over Curtis Axel with a top-rope splash. It was the typical Usos match, meaning it was a ton of fun, despite being short.

Lana promo/Rusev vs. Xavier Woods

This promo was really brutal. She’s just saying important Russian names and it’s getting booed because people love America. She can, and should, be doing more than this. I loved that Lillian introduced Rusev as “hero of the Russian Federation”, after the segment on Monday’s Raw.

Rusev, again, squashed Woods by making him tap to The Accolade. Woods came out dressed as Uncle Sam. After the match, a big Russian flag came down over the ring. It’s just reying too much on Russia vs. America. Lana’s capable of more than this. I think Rusev’s capable of more than this, but if he’s not, then he shouldn’t even be given a chance.

Bad News Barrett vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Cesaro in a Triple Threat Match for the Intercontinental Championship

After RVD hit the Five-Star Frog Splash on Cesaro, Barrett swooped in and hit RVD with the Bad News Bullhammer for the win. This was a good match. Cesaro’s awesome, RVD is awesome, Barrett’s really good, and anytime he is the worst performer in a match, that means really good things.

Bray Wyatt backstage

Bray said he felt the “cold hand of the reaper” on his shoulder while he was locked in the box as the final 10-count was happening at Payback. He referred to that as his death, but said in death he would be much stronger, and gain more followers. He said he stands beyond time. He said he is reborn and has nothing left to fear. I liked this promo, and I liked that he did it without Luke Harper and Erick Rowan standing behind him. It’s good for his character that he’s completely past this loss already, and him saying he’s “reborn” is the perfect way to handle it.

Natalya vs. Alicia Fox

Natalya won the match by countering Fox’s tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. This match played more into Fox’s new found insanity, as well as after the match when she cornered Lillian Garcia, rang the ring bell, and then scurried through the ring and out of the arena. The match was good, the freakout was awesome. It wasn’t anywhere near her best freakout, but it was a good one.

Bo Dallas promo/Santino Marella vs. Bo Dallas/Bo Dallas promo

Bo’s typical promo about Bo-lieving. Nothing new here.

Bo won the match with the Bo-Dog. Decent comedy match.

During the match, Bo did a takedown, then did a mid-match victory lap while yelling “I’m winning”. Santino did something similar with his trumpet march, but that made Bo angry, and led to his victory. Santino never got in offense after he brought out Bo’s mean streak.

After the match, Bo grabbed the mic again. While Emma was tending to Santino, Bo told her not to think he was a loser, because he tried. He said all anybody can do is do their best, and if they do that, they’ve won. He said all you have to do is Bo-lieve, leading to JBL’s line of the night, “Those words will be etched in granite.”

Big Show w/ Renee Young

Renee asked Show about getting Randy Orton alone in the ring. Show told her a story about when he was in grade school and he got bullied by a group, but he was able to take them out when he got them alone. He said he’s going to do the same when he gets Orton alone.

Randy Orton w/ Byron Saxton

Orton said he normally wouldn’t be enthusiastic about facing Big Show, but he knows what he needs to do to take care of business against him tonight. He said that anything crazy can happen in the ring when you least expect it, “just ask Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns”. Great line to end the interview.

Big Show vs. Randy Orton

This match ended in a DQ when Show had Orton and Triple H in his grasps, but Seth Rollins came out of nowhere and hit him with a flying knee off the top rope.

After the match, the three men continued their attack on Big Show, which featured two curb stomps onto a chair. Triple H then stood inbetween Orton and Rollins, as all three men raised their arms to end the show. Pretty good match. Seeing the new Evolution, especially Rollins, put down the largest man in the company was important to comeback from their two pay-per-view losses.

Overall Impression

Pretty good show with a heavy focus on Seth Rollins’ joining Evolution at the end of Monday’s Raw. With an excellent promo from Bray Wyatt, a good Intercontinental Championship match, and more Alicia Fox crazy, all mixed in, this made for an entertaining show.

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