In Ring Segment: John Cena
Even in England Cena is met with “John Cena sucks” chants. Can’t help but wonder if the vitriol is legitimate or at this point is booing Cena just the in thing to do? In any event Cena being the master of the mic that he is, gets the crowd firmly behind him by mentioning he thinks WrestleMania should be held in London at some point. Mania in London is an interesting idea, but logistically, not sure if that would work. Cena calls out his opposition for the U.S. title open challenge. None other than Preston, England’s own Bad News Barrett accepts the challenge. Personally, this writer’s fingers were crossed for William Regal. Oh well…
United States Title Match: John Cena (c) vs. Bad News Barrett-
As expected, the London crowed is 100% in the corner of Barrett. Every time Cena knocks Barrett down with his patented shoulder blocks, he is serenaded with a chorus of boos. We love Cena here at Vavel, but the fact that his shoulder blocks are patented is pretty funny… and sad. Barrett takes control after ducking one of the 15 shoulder blocks Cena attempted. Barrett traps Cena in the ropes and sends Cena tumbling to the mat with a big boot.
Cena almost hits the five moves of doom, but Barrett smartly rolls out of the ring. Barrett reverses the AA into the Winds of Change for a two count. Barrett attempts the Bull Hammer, but Cena reverses it into the AA. Barrett kicks out at two! Wait, did that just happen? Barrett then topples Cena with the Bull Hammer! Cena kicks out at two. Cena hits his springboard stunner then the AA for the win!
John Cena defeated Bad News Barrett via pin fall.
After the match Rusev’s music hits and Lana makes her way down the ramp. She distracts Cena while Rusev attacks him from behind. Lana announces that Rusev’s rematch with John Cena at Extreme Rules will be a Russian chain match. Somewhere… in Soviet Russia… Ivan Koloff has a tear in his eye.
Divas Battle Royal (Divas title shot on the line)-
Can’t help but be totally confused about why this match is even happening. Naomi has pinned Nikki Bella multiple times and in fake wrestling logic that means she should be the number one contender. There are a lot of moving parts here. This should be Naomi’s match to win, but if she does creative is setting her up for failure. Having her go over Paige in her hometown would not exactly lead to a feel good moment for Naomi. The crowd will turn on her immediately. Wait, what? Err… Never mind…
Paige eliminates Naomi to win the Divas battle royal to become the number one contender.
So they spent the last three weeks building up Naomi just to have her… Sigh… Again, Never mind! Naomi attacked Paige after the match. Naomi has snapped. She tossed Paige into the barricade over and over again. Naomi heel turn? Not sure if that can work with her being so damn likeable. Well like the hashtag says, #GiveDivasAChance.
Backstage Segment: Galactus Bray Wyatt-
Everyone’s favorite crazy drunk uncle is ranting at another family reunion! Seriously, at this point Wyatt rambles like one of those dudes you see hanging out in front of a liquor store. “I am the eater of worlds! Say can you spare some change, brother?” Wyatt is still going on about something or someone. No clue whom. Maybe he is going to challenge Undertaker again. You know, because that worked out so well for Wyatt the last time.
Tag Team Match: The Lucha Dragons vs. The Ascension-
Rumor has it Vince has given up on The Ascension. This is the one time this writer actually agrees with him. They are nowhere near big enough to pull off their gimmick. It’s not working. They need a gimmick tweak badly. As usual, Kalisto impresses. The Dragons get the win after Selida Del Sol into the Swanton.
The Lucha Dragons defeated The Ascension via pin fall.
In Ring Segment: Booker T and Roman Reigns-
Before Reigns can say anything, a loud “Suplex City” chants breaks out. The fact that there aren’t “Suplex City” t-shirts is a crime against all merchandisisery (that’s not a word, but let’s pretend it is for the time being). Reigns notes that he could have beaten Lesnar at Mania if it wasn’t for Seth Rollins. Reigns goes on to say that Big Show cost him his shot at Rollins.
Big Show appears on the Titantron to tell Reigns he is going to make it his mission in life to make sure Reigns fails at life. Before Reigns can get to the back Big Show decimates him on the stage. Big Show Chokeslams Reigns on the top of the car on the stage.
If you are a fan of Reigns or not you have to understand why Creative is keeping him away from the world title picture. That said having him feud with Big Show is a mistake. This is probably Reign’s third go around with Big Show. Why not have Reign’s feud with someone like Bray Wyatt or Sheamus? Would that really be a bad thing?
Singles Match: Randy Orton vs. Cesaro w/Tyson Kidd & Natalya-
“Vintage” Michael Cole announces that if either Orton or Rollins win their matches tonight the winner will get to pick the stipulation for their match at Extreme Rules. JBL asked the obvious question: What if they both win? Cole has no clue what would happen then. Kidd gets involved and Cesaro gets DQ. Orton wins.
Before Orton can celebrate “The Worlds Most Dangerous Insurance Salesmen” Kane comes out to restart the match. Oh and it is now a two-on-one handicapped match.
Handicap Make the Tag Team Champs Look Like Jobbers Match: Randy Orton vs. Cesaro and Tyson Kidd-
Kidd goes for a springboard and gets RKO’d… out of nowhere.
Randy Orton defeated the Tag Champs via pin fall.
Backstage Segment: The Authority-
Rollins tells Kane he isn’t going to fight Dolph Ziggler tonight. Rollins says he is going to face Jamie Noble instead. Rollins tells Noble that he is going to lie down for him. Noble says all of this is Kane’s fault. Rollins thinks about it and agrees. Kane should face him and lie down for him. This will not end well for Rollins.
Singles Match: Dean Ambrose vs. Adam Rose-
Adam Rose is wearing trunks form the Terry Funk collection. This is going to shock you, but Ambrose hit Dirty Deeds and somehow managed to hold Rose down for a three count. Who knew?!
Dean Ambrose defeated Adam Rose via pin fall.
Backstage Segment: Big Show and Kane-
Big Show begs and pleads with Kane to do what’s best for business. Kane begrudgingly accepts the match with Rollins.
Singles Match: Stardust vs. Fandango w/Rosa Mendes-
Stardust hits the Disaster Kick for the win after less than a minute worth of action. Didn’t see that coming. Well, that quickly at least.
Stardust defeated Fandango via pin fall.
After the match, Fandango says the he finally figured out the problem. He has been sharing his gift of dance with Rosa when he should have been sharing it with the world. Fandango’s old music hits and the crowd goes nuts. It’s about time. Fandango had momentum before they tried to turn him into whatever the heck he was supposed to be now. Let’s see where this goes.
Miss Smackdown? Check out our recap here.
Backstage Segment: Kane-
Kane is pacing back and forth when Daniel Bryan confronts him. Bryan give Kane the, “what happened to you” speech. This has been building up for a while now. Conventional wrestling wisdom (just go with it) states that Kane is going to go nuts and destroy Rollins tonight. That would open the door for another challenger for Rollins that isn’t Roman Reigns.
Singles Match: Seth Rollins w/J&J Security vs. Kane-
Kane starts to remove his suit to prepare for battle. Rollins tells Kane that it’s not that serious. He doesn’t have to get undressed. Kane goes nose to nose with Rollins as Rollins pleads with him to just lie down. Kane drops to one knee as loud, “you sold out” chants break out. Rollins pins Kane, but Kane kicks out at two and sits up. Rollins yells at Kane and Kane floors him with a right hand.
Kane is about to Chokeslam Rollins but Rollins tells him to think about his job and Kane backs off. Rollins yells at Kane again, and Kane finally Chokeslams Rollins. Kane starts to signal for a Tombstone, but he thinks better of it. Kane lies down and drags Rollins on top of him for the referee to make the three count.
Seth Rollins defeated Kane via pin fall.
Singles Match: The Miz vs. Damien Mizdow w/Summer Rae-
Why not have this long standing feud pay off at a ppv? Mizdow has yet to actually defeat Miz. It is really tough to gauge were this is going. Mizdow gets the win after a schoolboy. Looked to be a bit of tight puling action going on there as well.
Mizdow defeated Miz via pin fall.
Backstage Segment: The Prime Time Players
The PTP deliver another hilarious promo. This time they throw shade at Los Matadores. Titus asks a question this writer never thought about: “Whoever heard of a Puerto Rican Bull fighter anyway?“
Singles Match: Ryback vs. Luke Harper-
This is the battle of two guys they have no idea what to do with. Harper floors Ryback with a big boot and Ryback out of it for a bit. Gator Roll by Harper. Harper hits the ropes and gets caught in a power bomb. Ryback calls for the Meat Hook, but Harper rolls out of the ring. Ryback gives chase but Harper hits Ryback with part of the announce table.
Ryback defeated Luke Harper via DQ.
Before Harper can inflict any more damage to Ryback, Dean Ambrose comes out and makes the save.
Backstage Segment: Naomi-
Byron Saxton asks Naomi why she attacked Paige. Naomi says exactly what we are all thinking. There is no reason why there should have been a Divas battle royal tonight. Naomi is tried of waiting for her shot. Now she is just going to take it.
Singles Match: Dolph Ziggler vs. Don’t call me Adrian Neville-
Ziggler and Neville trade submission holds before Ziggler floors Neville with a dropkick to Neville’s face. Neville boots Ziggler in the face and hits a standing shooting star press. Neville hits the ropes but walks right into a stiff DDT. Neville kicks out at two. That was a close one.
After a short commercial break Neville executes a beautiful Asai Moonsault to the outside. Neville runs to the other side of the ring, hops on to the barricade and tight rope walks over to Ziggler. Neville destroys Ziggler with a 450 splash off the barricade! That was insane!
Ziggler manages to kick out before the three count. Ziggler reverses Neville’s German suplex into a German suplex of his own, but Neville lands on his feet. Neville hits the ropes and runs into a sick super kick. Neville somehow manages to kick out. Neville sets up for the Red Arrow, Ziggler moves out of the way. Neville charges Ziggler, but Ziggler moves and Neville runs right into a Zig Zag. Awesome match.
Dolph Ziggler defeated Neville via pin fall.
After the match Sheamus hits the ring and destroys both Ziggler and Neville. Neville continues to impress. It will be interesting to see which established star will put him over finally. As much as we love Curtis Axel, he doesn’t count.
In Ring Segment: Seth Rollins and Randy Orton-
Rollins is doing his best Chris Jericho impression; he beat Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar in the same night. Rollins conveniently left out the part about loosing to Orton that same night as well. Rollins stipulation is that at Extreme Rules the RKO is banned. Orton’s stipulation is that their match will take place in a steel cage. This writer had an exploding ring barbwire death match, but hey, can’t be right all the time now can you? Orton attacks Rollins, but J&J Security save Rollin’s from a DDT.