SmackDown Review: Roman Reigns vs. Rusev

Lana and Roman Reigns promo

Lana compared Reigns to the “impotent” leaders of America and Canada. She said he, just like the crowd, are unworthy of being in the same arena as Rusev, and the same world as Vladimir Putin. Lana said that Rusev will “crush”, but Reigns started to make his way to the crowd.

Reigns said that Rusev doesn’t belong in the same ring as him, and that Rusev can’t beat him, let alone “crush” him. Lana said that Reigns shouldn’t be so cocky, and that he should be careful. Reigns said he’s never careful, and he’s ready to start this fight right now if they get a referee. A referee came, but just as he was about to start the match, Lana said that the match wouldn’t start on Reigns’ terms, and her and Rusev left. I feel as though Rusev and Lana were thrust into this position. Being a part of the opening promo and main event of a show is a big deal, and it feels like they skipped a few steps. That being said, they definitely held their own here, and I was very pleased.

Cameron vs. AJ Lee

After Cameron tried to escape, and Naomi sent her back into the ring, AJ hit a Shining Wizard for the win. AJ was definitely playing the face in this match, well her version of a face. I can’t get a read on where her and Paige are going as they head towards a Divas Championship Match at Battleground.

Randy Orton w/ Renee Young

Renee asked Orton about Kane saying that he hates him on Monday. Orton said he doesn’t care what Kane says or thinks, he just cares that what Kane does is “best for business”. He said that Chris Jericho is an old opponent, and some say Y2J is a legend. Orton said that he has to introduce Y2J to the Legend Killer.

Fandango vs. Adam Rose

Layla accompanied Fandango, Summer Rae did the same thing for Rose. During the match, the two Divas started to brawl, and Fandango got counted out in his attempt to break it up. After that, Rose tried to offer Fandango a lollipop, but Fandango tried to attack Rose, so Rose hit him with the Party Foul. After Layla got the win at Money in the Bank, I’m very curious to see what the blow off for all this is.

Chris Jericho w/ Renee Young

Y2J said that his impending match with Bray Wyatt has the potential to be a big moment in WWE history. He said that his match with Randy Orton is going to be a big test for him. He said that, with Orton, he’s going to cut off “the head of the serpent”, and with Bray, he’s going to squash him like the spider he is. He then told Bray that he is coming, and pretended to blow out a flame. Y2J is clearly here to save us, this promo was awesome.

Heath Slater and Titus O’Neil vs. The Usos/The Usos in-ring w/ Byron Saxton

Jey Uso hit Slater with a top-rope splash for the win.

After the match, Byron got in the ring with The Usos and asked about their 2 out of 3 Falls WWE Tag Team Championship Match with The Wyatt Family. Jey then grabbed a mic and did fake play-by-play for the match, while Jimmy Uso fought with the air. This was pretty good. This is exactly what The Usos are supposed to be, it’s fun and it’s entertaining.

The Wyatt Family backstage/Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton

Bray, in his overexcited sarcastic voice, said “Save us, Chris”. He then sang “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”, and said “Save yourself”. So short, so simple, so good.

Good match, and it should have been, with Michael Cole building them as two of the all-time greats, which they are. The match ended when Y2J hit the Lionsault, but The Wyatt Family graphic flashed as he went for the pin, leaving Y2J distracted so Orton could hit an RKO for the win.

Layla vs. Summer Rae with Fandango as special referee

Before the match, Summer kissed Fandango. Fandango then called for the bell and the start of the match, then prevented any action from happening so he could dance in the middle of the ring. While he was dancing, the two Divas teamed up on him and attacked him. After Fandango escaped, Summer and Layla danced together as Fandango watched from the ramp. So this is the blow off, or at least the beginning of it. It’s better than what I thought we were going to get.

Curtis Axel vs. Goldust

Goldust beat Axel with a Curtain Call. Immediately after the match, Ryback went to hit Goldust with Shell Shocked, but Stardust came in and blew stardust into Ryback’s face. Ryback then ran away, with Goldust and Stardust celebrating in the ring.

Bo Dallas promo/Diego and El Torito vs. Bo Dallas in a Handicap Match

Bo said that, despite the fact that he is in a Handicap Match, he is handicapable because all of the people in the crowd are his tag team partners.

Bo beat Diego with a Bo Dog. After the match, Bo launched El Torito over the top rope, looked concerned that Torito might be hurt, then hit him with a miniature Bo Dog. Something like this might make him the best heel in WWE, considering he actually acts like, you know, a heel.

Rusev vs. Roman Reigns

After Rusev controlled most of their match, Reigns took over and was preparing to hit a spear, but Randy Orton came down and attacked Reigns to cause a DQ. Reigns was able to comeback and hit a Superman Punch on Orton, but took a superkick from Rusev. At the point when Lana usually tells Rusev to “crush”, she told him to leave, which made absolutely no sense and was completely infuriating because it was painfully obvious that this match couldn’t end in a way that made sense, and this proved that to be true. Orton then hit an RKO on Reigns and stood tall to end the show.

Overall Impression

Okly an okay episode of SmackDown. Some good matches, and good promos that put a good episode together, but it was ruined by a nonsensical ending to the main event.

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