In Ring Segment: Daniel Bryan
Bryan says that he is going to do everything in his power to bring prestige back to the IC title. As much as we all love Bryan, we have heard this song and dance before. One thing that has to be said is Bryan looks pretty damn good wearing the IC title. If anyone can lift the belt back to prominence, it’s the Goat faced Grem… err sorry, been listening to way too much of JBL’s commentary… its Daniel Bryan.
Before Bryan can finish his thought Bad News Barrett interrupts him. Bad News managed to build up a ton of momentum with his BNB gimmick, but rumor has it he has been banned from saying his, “I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news…” catch phrase. Why you ask? Because it was getting over. Who knew that becoming popular was a bad thing. Barrett is soon joined by Sheamus (if you were wondering, he STILL looks stupid) and they make a b-line to the ring to teach Daniel Bryan that by virtue of being short he is destined to be pummeled by everyone who is bigger than him. Why? Well because they are bigger than him! #BAStar
Dolph Ziggler comes out, proving that all short people are united. Not surprisingly, Big Show’s music hits and he gingerly walks to the ring. Maybe since he is bigger than Sheamus AND Barrett he is going to bully them. #BAStar2:ElectricBoogaloo. Unfortunately Show is looking to pile on the bulling of Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler. This writer was hoping this might turn into an insane break dancing contest because that is how all conflicts in the world should be resolved (seriously, no love for The Breakin’ 2 reference?
Before break dance war 2015 starts Roman Reigns decides he doesn’t want to be left out. As soon as Reigns hits the ring he takes down Show and a melee ensues. The faces (good guys for the uninitiated) clear the ring. Looks like the main event will be a six-man tag match or, as we like to call it here at Vavel Pro Wrestling: A-We-Have-No-Idea-What-To-Do-So-Lets-Throw-Everyone-In-A-Storyline-Into-The-Same-Match-Match.
Tag Team Match: Cesaro and Kidd w/Natalya vs. The New Day-
Ah the New Day… They are literally the tag team equivalent of Rocky Maivia. Big E cuts a promo on the way to the ring that shows that WWE finally realized this experiment isn’t working. The crowd hates The New Day and nothing is going to change that… except maybe a heel turn? Kofi is about to hit Trouble in Paradise.., wait is it still called that? Anyway, Kofi gets distracted as he is clapping and the crowd is chanting that New Day sucks. Cesaro hits him with a cheap European uppercut then Kidd hits the Three Handled Moss Covered Family Credenza for the win.
Cesaro and Kidd defeated The New Day via pin fall.
The only take way from this match is that WWE seems to be going with a slow burn with New Day’s heel turn. Once they flip the switch, New Day will become the most dominant stable since The Shield. Sauce it.
What feuds did you want to see end at WrestleMania? Take a look at our picks
Singles Match: Curtis Axel vs. The EXTREMELY OVER Adrian Neville-"
Say what you will about Axel, but it is awesome that he is getting as much TV time as he is. That said, he has a snowballs chance on The Human Torch’s testicle of winning this match. Don’t call me Adrian Neville looks amazing as always. It will be interesting to see if WWE actually pushes him moving forward. As expected, this match ends with a Red Arrow from Neville.
Neville defeated Curtis Axel via pin fall.
The reaction that Neville has been getting since his debut just goes to show you that more people are watching NXT than anyone expected. It will be interesting to see what happens when some of the other big NXT names are called up.
Divas Match: Alicia Fox vs. Natalya w/Cameron as the Special Referee-
This was a pretty face paced match. Cameron managed to not be too annoy… never mind. Her constant yelling at the competitors is like nails on a chalkboard. Alicia was in control for much of the match, but she eventually fell to a Sharpshooter and that was all she wrote. At one point Alicia was the most interesting Diva in the division but it seems they have cut her claws off. Crazy Alicia has Divas champ written all over her.
Natalya defeated Alicia Fox via submission.
After the match Cameron dropped both Natalya and Alicia with a DDT. Her DDT looked really, really good. This writer is actually interested to see what the new Cameron can do in the ring.
Singles Match: Galactus… Err Bray Wyatt vs. Eric Rowen-
Why is this happening? Guess we are supposed to forget that this match has happened on two occasions already. This one is supposed to be special for some reason. WWE dropped the ball on the Wyatt Family breakup. There was no real explanation. WWE aired a few vignettes and poof, no more stable. Bray cuts another Cape Fear adjace promo, foreshadowing his next feud with lord knows who. You would think after what happened the last time Wyatt called someone out in this manner he ended up jobbing to him at WrestleMania.
Wyatt spends the next 10 minutes beating the heck out of Rowen. Rowen gets a few good shots in but this match is all about making Wyatt look like the destroyer of worlds. If that was the goal, mission accomplished.
Bray Wyatt defeated Eric Rowen via pin fall.
In Ring Segment: Miz TV-
Miz is plugging his most recent straight to DVD movie release, “The Marine 4: Electric Boogaloo” Wait, no, that’s not it. “The Marine 4: John Cena said no so we are stuck with The Miz” Wait… no that’s not it either. Anyway, Summer Rae interrupts Miz because he failed to mention that she is also in the movie. Miz refuses to refer to Summer as his co-star. She is a featured extra, not his co-star. This ends up being a convoluted promo for Miz’s new movie and as a vehicle to further Miz’s feud with Damien Mizdow.
Miz goes into an epic rant about how he made Mizdow, but Mizdow’s music hits (which happens to be Miz’s music). Mizdow hits the ring and he eventually knocks Miz on his butt. Mizdow even plants a kiss on Summer before leaving triumphant.
Six-Man Tag Match: Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, and Roman Reigns vs. The Big Show, Sheamus, and Bad News Barrett-
You know… as great as Bryan looks on with the IC title, he would look way better with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship wrapped around his waist. Ziggler starts off the match, but Bryan takes the brunt of the heel’s offense. That is a little surprising. Ziggler usually fights from under in these types of matches. As Big Show pummels Daniel Bryan, the crowd chants, “We want Roman”. Not sure if that is actually happening or if it was added in postproduction. Don’t get it twisted, Reigns is good, but considering all of the talk about WWE adding cheers in postproduction you can’t help but wonder.
Bryan manages to reverse a Chokeslam attempt by Show into the Yes Lock, but Show powers out. Sheamus tags in but Bryan manages to finally tag in Reigns. Reigns goes off. He Superman punches everyone! Bryan hits a diving knee to Show on the outside, while Reigns Spears Barrett for the win!
Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, and Roman Reigns defeated The Big Show, Sheamus, and Bad News Barrett via pin fall.
The show dragged at times but, but all in all it was a good episode of Smackdown. In the grand scheme of things it’s difficult to tell where WWE is going at this point. Roman Reigns is in a holding pattern. He isn’t involved in any particular storylines. It will be interesting to see how they utilize him moving forward. Keeping him away from the World Tile picture is smart, but you still have to give him something to do. Even money says Bray Wyatt is talking about Reigns in his promos. Let’s see how all this plays out. Stay tuned.