My WWE SmackDown, 2nd August 2013 Recap

RVD wallops Christian with a nice kick. Photo credit: WWE.com

World Champion Alberto Del Rio started things off by thanking the fans, for nothing that is, reminding them that they turned on him when he was trying to be their champion. Which was true, but a lack of character will have that effect. He also sincerely thanked SmackDown GM Vickie Guerrero for allowing him to choose his own opponent for SummerSlam, just like John Cena. So after mentioning a few possible options, Del Rio revealed his personal announcer Ricardo Rodriguez as his hand picked challenger.

An upset Vickie Guerrero then stormed out and expressed her disappointment in Del Rio's choice so instead booked a Triple Threat between Christian, Rob Van Dam and Randy Orton to determine his opponent for the big event. I was most happy with that match line up, and they duly delivered, but I'll get to that later...

Cody Rhodes pinned Jack Swagger in a fair, if unmemorable bout. Both men looked okay in the ring, nothing that significant or remarkable to take away from it though. During an interview afterwards Damien Sandow attacked Rhodes from behind, eventually taking him out by slamming his head into a nearby container. 

Big E Langston beat Sin Cara in a pedestrian outing. Big E understandably dominated for the most part, with Sin Cara managing a few offensive moments in there. Unfortunately the whole thing lacked in excitement or interest.

CM Punk forced Fandango to submit in a decent contest. Both men gave stellar showings and delivered a match that exceeded my expectations. In a nice finish Punk rolled over after applying a superplex on his opponent and latched on an Anaconda Vice for the win. It's always a treat to see his signature submission move make a return.

AJ Lee (c) defeated Kaitlyn to retain the Divas Title in passable encounter. It wasn't a great bout by any means, but it was wisely kept short and at least had a twist (which you could admittedly see coming a bit) when Layla betrayed Kaitlyn by preventing a spear on the outside and revealing how friendly she was with the Divas Champion afterwards.  

Christian bested Randy Orton and Rob Van Dam in a Triple Threat to become number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship. And what a tremendous main event this was, with engaging action and superb displays from the opening. Every man put in a great effort here, which is hardly a surprise considering the talent involved. For the finish Orton attempted to hit Christian with an RKO after taking out RVD with one, but failed when 'Captain Charisma' reversed it into a backslide pin for the one-two-three. As a sentimental favourite of mine I was very happy with Christian winning.

The victor shook hands with both of his competitors after, only to then be attacked by Del Rio and finally kicked in the head by the World Champion. 

Overall it was a mixed bag of a show, with a few fairly average match ups that felt more like filler and a couple of enjoyable ones, including the terrific main event. My highlights were CM Punk versus Fandango and (take a wild guess) the Triple Threat.   

My WWE Payback Recap

That it was. Photo credit: WWE.com

Sheamus pinned Damien Sandow in a fair pre-show contest. It was pretty unremarkable for the majority, but there were a few nice moments from each of the two talents. I can't see why Sandow (who received most of the support from the fans in Chicago) wasn't afforded even a cheap win here, he could've really used it.

Curtis Axel bested Wade Barrett (c) and The Miz to obtain the Intercontinental Championship in a decent Triple Threat once it got going. The first half of the bout had its moments, although it felt a little slow for me. But once the pace picked up so did my interest and the three men put together some nice sequences with effective near falls. Axel managed to finally gain the one-two-three on Barrett as he was stuck in a Figure Four Leglock from Miz. The choice of victor went down very well with the terrific crowd in attendance.

Backstage Triple H  blocked off the new IC Champion's path, until Vince McMahon walked in and enthusiastically congratulated both Axel and Paul Heyman on the win. Vince went on to ask his son-in-law if he fancied facing Curtis, but Trips still refused.

AJ Lee beat Kaitlyn (c) to obtain the WWE Divas Title in a suprisingly enjoyable outing. Maybe I'm being generous since I wasn't expecting anything substantial here, but I was actually impressed with both wrestlers efforts here, they seemed to want to deliver a memorable match with a lay out that made sense, which is rare from the female performers on the main WWE roster nowadays. Granted there were a few slightly sloppy moments but considering both ladies abilities I think they should be proud of their displays. 

Afterwards an upset Kaitlyn was supported by fellow divas Alicia Fox, Layla and Natalya backstage. 

Dean Ambrose (c) won via count versus Kane, thereby retaining the United States Championship. While this wasn't the most exciting match, the wrestling itself was stellar enough so I can't complain. Ambrose managed to DDT Kane on the outside, earning himself the count out win.

We then witnessed a VT fo the return of Rob Van Dam at next month's Money in the Bank event. I was never overly impressed by most of his TNA run but he looked decent towards the end, could be interesting. Hopefully another WWE run will reinvigorate him a bit. 

Alberto Del Rio defeated Dolph Ziggler (c) to obtain the World Heavyweight Championship in a strange title clash. During the bout Ziggler was knocked on the head, which Del Rio continuously (and logically) targeted. Ziggler already had the support of the fans but his battling back (which reminded me a bit of HBK actually) really brought him across as a face and Del Rio beating on him when the referee was checking on the champ was extremely heelish. It was a smart move if the roles were meant to be reversed here, which I'm sure they were.

The wrestling itself had been largely solid, with only a few sloppy moments here and there. The crowd occasionally lost interest and began chanting for RVD and CM Punk, but soon got back into it. Del Rio shockingly won with a swift kick to the struggling Ziggler's head.

I think a comeback win for Dolph would've made much more sense here and given him some much needed credibility. His reign had only just begun after a long, long wait holding the MITB briefcase, and Del Rio has been stale for a long time as a face and heel. The new opponents Ziggler could've competed against over the title was a much more interesting prospect. This must've been a massive blow for 'The Show Off' too, he deserved better. Afterwards Del Rio came back out and asked the (booing) fans for their support and bigged himself up as the new World Champion.

CM Punk pinned Chris Jericho in a solid affair. Punk understandably received a tremendous reaction from the crowd throughout. The back and fourth action was decent, with exciting near falls (which maybe went a little overkill at points) and a nice ending (Punk applied two GTS's on Y2J) but this was by no means a classic. Both men gave worthy efforts, and the atmosphere was great but I just felt like there was something lacking a bit.

Much like Punk's famous title match with Cena at Money in the Bank 2011, it was a memorable contest but not either man's best by a fair distance. Maybe I'm being a little harsh and may change my mind after watching it again at some point, but I won't be in a rush to do so just yet.

The Shield (Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) (c) bested Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton to retain the WWE Tag Team Title in an engaging bout. I'm struggling to think of new ways to type this about The Shield and Bryan's recent outings but to sum it up this was exciting and contained satisfying wrestling from the opening bell, so do yourself a favour and check it out. For the finish Orton moved out of the way of an oncoming spear which struck Bryan, then RKO'd Reigns but was chucked out of the ring by Rollins who applied a Blackout on Bryan for the winning pinfall.

John Cena (c) won the Three Stage of Hell match versus Ryback two to one, thereby retaining the WWE Championship. Ryback won the first stage Lumberjack match after Shell Shocking Cena after the champ had been tussling with the wrestlers on the outside. Cena managed to win the second stage Tables match after quickly reversing a Shell Shock attempt into an AA through a table in the ring. And finally Cena won the third stage Ambulance match by again Attitude Adjusting Ryback through the vehicle itself.

Overall it was an entertaining main event that didn't disappoint, although I was personally hoping for a Ryback win to make things a bit more interesting. Much like Extreme Rules last month these two were smartly booked to utilise various weapons and outside elements to hide their limitations and keep things engaging.

Admittedly there was nothing particularly new to be found here, Cena's top rope body splash onto the lumberjacks and AA on Ryback through the Ambulance were exciting moments but nothing original. Still I came away from another Ryback versus Cena encounter having fun, and that's more than I was expecting when their feud started.

On the whole Payback was a passable pay-per-view, with no bad contests to speak of and some satisfying match ups to take away from it. My highlights were the IC Title Triple Threat, the Tag Team Championship bout, CM Punk's return and the main event. Despite a few fair matches that I'll probably forget about this time next month, it had its fair share of memorable moments which is fine with me for a lower level event. 

My WWE Payback predictions

Photo credit: WWE.com

Three Stages Of Hell WWE Championship Match:

Stage 1 - Lumberjack Match; Stage 2 - Tables Match; Stage 3 - Ambulance Match: John Cena (c) versus Ryback:

I'm quite optimistic about this one, especially after their entertaining outing at Extreme Rules last month. Considering the limitations of these two talents the bookers made a smart move by having them compete in stipulation bouts, with plenty of distractions and weapons to keep things interesting for the viewers. I've been going back and fourth but I can actually see an upset here and Ryback taking the title, to shake things up a bit and get people checking out Raw Monday night. If not then at least it's a suitable way to finalise their feud.

Winner: Ryback

World Heavyweight Championship Match -  Dolph Ziggler (c) versus Alberto Del Rio:

I can't see this being anything but stellar in the ring, but to be honest I've grown tired of their feud and Del Rio in general as of late so I can't say I'm too hyped for this one. But at least this should mean that Ziggler moves on to a more engaging and exciting rivalry over the World Title next. 

Winner: Dolph Ziggler

Best In The World Match - Chris Jericho versus CM Punk:

The match me and I presume the majority fans are mostly anticipating tonight, not only is it the return of one of the companies top overall talents but it should be a terrific contest. I personally very much enjoyed their previous two pay-per-view encounters, so I'll be shocked if I fail to enjoy this one. I know some fans have predicted that Punk will fail to turn up, but I just can't see it. This is one of the big attractions of the event (well the biggest attraction of it) and I can't imagine that WWE would be foolish enough to short change all the many fans who are paying for the main reason of seeing the return of CM Punk. 

Oh, and the returning Punk to win, always bet on the returning wrestler, always.

Winner: CM Punk

Tag Team Championships Match - The Shield (Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) (c) versus Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton:

Well when you consider the fantastic form that these four men have been in as of late in match ups together, it's hard to imagine this match being anything but entertaining. Despite The Shield's first six-man loss on SmackDown last Friday, I can't see them dropping the tag straps just yet. Plus I see the slow burning Bryan and Orton feud developing with a big argument after their loss.

Winners: Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns

Triple Threat Intercontinental Championship Match - Wade Barrett (c) versus The Miz versus Curtis Axel:

Should be a decent enough match here, but nothing that special I reckon. With his recent run it's hardly a shock that I'm picking Axel to pick up his first singles strap, hopefully he'll add some much needed relevance to it.

Winner: Curtis Axel

United States Championship Match - Dean Ambrose (c) versus Kane:

My prediction to open the event. Quality-wise I expect this to be an enjoyable affair, not either man's finest but something worth checking out. As I typed earlier I can't see The Shield dropping any titles yet, and I think it'd be a daft move if they did. They still have quite a few significant feuds in them for a while to come and their strong booking needs to keep up.

Winner: Dean Ambrose

Divas Championship Match - Kaitlyn (c) versus AJ Lee:

I'm not expecting a great match here at all to be honest, but I am grateful for the thought that has actually gone into this rivalry, it's a lot more than any other Divas feud has received in a long time. I also see AJ picking up the belt, based on her current string of wins and Kaitlyn loosing her mind a bit. 

Winner: AJ Lee

Pre-Show - Sheamus versus Damien Sandow:

Should be okay to get the crowd going, but I don't foresee a technical marvel by any stretch of the imagination between these two. It would seem like a waste of their feud for me if Sheamus won, I have nothing against him but imagine the faith lost in any future Sandow push if he were to loose cleanly here in their first PPV outing. Plus Sheamus could quickly recover from a loss here. So considering all that I can see Sandow grabbing a cheeky win in a heel-like fashion somehow.

Winner: Damien Sandow 

My WWE SmackDown, 31st August 2012 Recap

World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus opened the show by giving credit to past WrestleMania opponent Triple H, claiming that whatever he chooses to do next he has his respect. Damien Sandow then interrupted the champ, calling him a disgrace to his Irish heritage and an ignoramos. 'The Great White' simply told Sandow to shut up and challenged him to enter the ring, which he refused. General Manager Booker T then joined them and predictably booked a match between the two. I've become a big fan of Sandow, he's so effortlessly charismatic on the mic.    

Rey Mysterio defeated Cody Rhodes in an enjoyable match up. Both men looked in good form (pretty standard for Rey) as they provided a fun bout to watch. An upset Cody attacked Rey after he'd been pinned with a quick roll up and attempted to take his mask off until his nemesis Sin Cara came to Mysterio's aid and helped take out Rhodes. He then proceeded to put a copy of his mask on Cody as revenge.

Kaitlyn beat Natalya in a passable Divas bout. There wasn't anything particularly outstanding about it but it wasn't bad by any means. Kaitlyn caught Natalya out with a quick roll up pin for the one-two-three. Considering she isn't winning her matches on televised shows very convincingly I doubt Kaitlyn's chances in her Night of Champions match for the Divas title.

In an interview backstage Vickie Guerrero announced that she'd had words with WWE's Board of Directors regarding Raw GM AJ's attack on her on this weeks show, stating that if they don't take action she will. Could AJ be out of the door already? For me she's been a mixed bag in her new role so far, but I think there's still more that could be done with her as GM.

Sheamus won via count out versus Damien Sandow in a contest that ranged from fair to average. The actual wrestling was decent enough, I just felt it dragged a little at times and was a bit drab. To save face Sandow decided to leave up the ramp rather then take any more punishment from Sheamus, accepting the loss. 

Darren Young and Titus O'Neil defeated Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd in a fair tag team match. The most entertaining parts were contributed by the underutilised Kidd, I really think him and Gabriel should be given a push as a team.  

As Josh Matthews brought up Alberto Del Rio's losses against Sheamus in an interview with the number one contender, Del Rio began to threaten to attack him until Kane came out and scared him off. As part of his anger management classes (which were shown partly on Raw, and they were brilliant segments) he apologised to Matthews for attack him at SummerSlam. Teddy Long then booked Kane and Del Rio in a match up.

Alberto Del Rio defeated Kane in a good bout. I honestly wasn't expecting much here but both guys worked well together and put on displays to be proud of. After the bell rung Kane turned back to his destructive side and Choke Slammed Josh Matthews. I'm finding Kane far more interesting now than I have since he returned last year, I'm intrigued to see where they go with this.  

Randy Orton beat Dolph Ziggler in a solid enough main event. While not as exciting or engaging as their previous encounters it was still a fair match, it just didn't feel like a significant main event to end the show with for me. Maybe if Dolph had picked up a surprise win over Orton to give him the boost he needs a lot more than 'The Viper' does it might've been different. 

Once again the blue brand provided passable action in the ring, just nothing that exciting to take away. They need a dose of Daniel Bryan on the show each week I reckon, he's the best thing about the company right now.