WWE Smackdown review
April 23, 2015
Taped 4/21/15 in Providence, R.I.
Aired on SyFy
By Greg Parks, PWTorch Columnist (Twitter: @gregmparks)


- Smackdown Open.

- Seth Rollins, along with J&J Security, opened the show by coming to the ring. Tom Phillips, Jerry Lawler, and Byron Saxton were on commentary. They showed Randy Orton’s RKO barrage on Monday night, followed by his attack on Rollins at the end of the show. Rollins sarcastically talked about how clever Orton is. Rollins recapped the stipulations for his upcoming Extreme Rules match against Orton. Rollins tried to convince the fans that he doesn’t need anyone’s help to beat Orton. Rollins took a few shots at Kane, which prompted Kane’s entrance into the arena and to the ring.

Kane, in his suit, took issue with a few things Rollins said. He said he could be Rollins’ best friend or worst enemy on Sunday. Rollins wasn’t intimidated by that, saying if Kane isn’t on his side on Sunday, he’ll get fired from The Authority. He said the only reason Kane will be in the position he’ll be in on Sunday is that Triple H feels sorry for him. Kane acquiesced and agreed with Rollins, but said since he laid down for Rollins, it’s only fair that Rollins lie down for him. Rollins laughed at that suggestion. Kane reminded Rollins that he holds the key to Rollins’ destiny, then called for a referee. Kane assured Rollins that this would be a non-title match.

1 – SETH ROLLINS vs. KANE

Rollins continued to work the mic, demanding Kane call off the match. Kane said Triple H isn’t in the arena right now, which means tonight, he is the authority (or, The Authority). Rollins said this isn’t right. Kane demanded Rollins lie down or he’d rip Seth’s guts out. Rollins slowly went to the mat and laid down. He told Kane to “get it over with.” Kane said he was just messing with Rollins, then picked him up. “What happened to your sense of humor, Seth?” Kane said they always have each other’s back. But tonight, Rollins’ opponent isn’t as reasonable as him: Dean Ambrose. Right now.

WINNER: No contest, about 2:00 (no bell). Now we know why it wasn’t a title match, but it just shows how absurd this can be that Kane could’ve really ordered Rollins to lay down, for the title, if he wanted to. Of course, that likely would’ve upset The Authority.

As Dean Ambrose came to the ring for his match, Luke Harper followed him. Ambrose hit the ring and tackled Rollins. J&J Security went after Ambrose, as did Harper outside the ring. It was four-on-one against Ambrose. Roman Reigns ran out to make the save and cleaned house. I think we all know where this is headed.

- The announcers reacted on-camera to what had just happened.

- Tonight, Ryback takes on Rusev.

- Dolph Ziggler came to the ring. He’s in tag action next.

[Commercial Break]

- Sure enough, the tag team main event is Luke Harper & Seth Rollins against Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns.

- Ziggler was still in the ring. They showed an inset interview with Ziggler and Neville wherein Ziggler talked about facing Sheamus at Extreme Rules, as well as their tag match tonight. Neville said they’d cut some guys down to size tonight. As Neville came to the ring, they showed Sheamus attacking Neville during and after their match last week, until Ziggler made the save. Sheamus cut a promo as he came to the ring (somehow the mic transported into the hands of Sheamus in between camera shots), putting down his foes because of their stature.

2 – DOLPH ZIGGLER & NEVILLE vs. BAD NEWS BARRETT & SHEAMUS

Both Sheamus and Barrett took spills to the outside, with Barrett’s landing looking particularly painful. Neville took them out with a dive and the babyfaces stood tall mid-ring as they cut to break about 1:05 into the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 4:57 of the match with Barrett working a rear chin-lock on Neville. The crowd was vocal for Neville as he fought from behind. Suplex/throw by Sheamus. He followed it up with another. Enziguiri out of nowhere stunned Sheamus. Barrett and Ziggler both made tags at 7:06. Neck-breaker by Ziggler. DDT from Ziggler for two. A distraction by Sheamus led to Wasteland on Ziggler, but Ziggler kicked out. Winds of Change countered into a backslide for two. Zig Zag, then a tag to Neville. Red Arrow by Neville for the pinfall.

WINNERS: Ziggler and Neville, at 9:02. Solid tag match. We didn’t really get to see a lot of what Neville has to offer here, but he did pick up the pin.

They replayed the end of the match.

- Coming up next, Triple H’s Tough Enough announcement.

[Commercial Break]

- Tom Phillips plugged WWE and WWE Network winning Cynopsis Sports Media Awards.

- The exterior of the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence was shown.

- Triple H’s Tough Enough announcement was shown, as well as some videos from prospective contestants. Applications are being taken at WWEToughEnough.com.

- Still to come: Ryback vs. Rusev.

- A Bray Wyatt promo aired. He said he knows what motivates this man: fear. He said it runs through this person and is ingrained in him. He said he’d “soon” expose this person for the weakling he is. He’ll take the one thing this person covets; after all, what good is a butterfly with no wings?

[Commercial Break]

3 – NATALYA vs. NAOMI

The match went back-and-forth early. Naomi got to the ropes to break Nattie’s momentum, then brought her up throat-first under the bottom rope. Naomi missed a legdrop, leading to Natalya getting some offense in. Low dropkick led to a two-count from Nattie. Nattie tried the Sharpshooter but Naomi slapped her in the face to break it. Rear View from Naomi for the win.

WINNER: Naomi, at 2:29. The slap to break up the Sharpshooter established Naomi as a heel, but still fell within the context of her legitimately trying to break away from the hold. It was a nice touch.

Naomi kicked Nattie after the match.

- More “comedy” from the Prime Time Players backstage as they put down Cesaro & Tyson Kidd. O’Neil made fun of Cesaro for not being interesting and Young read a poem about Kidd. They even stole Kidd’s “fact” gimmick to talk about themselves.

- Ryback. Rusev. Next.

[Commercial Break]

- Rusev and Lana were in the ring out of break. Rusev had the chain for his match with Cena around his neck. Lana cued up a still photo from Raw on the Titan Tron, where Rusev used the chain to pull back on Cena’s face while in the Accolade. Both men were making over-the-top faces in the photo, which made it hard to take seriously. Why they chose to show that, I have no idea. Lana said Cena, America’s last great hope, would be destroyed on Sunday. Rusev said for Cena, the chain is a handicap, but for him, it’s a weapon. Rusev continued to rant, but was interrupted by a “USA” chant. Then he was interrupted by Ryback’s theme.

4 – RUSEV vs. RYBACK

Ryback suplexed Rusev out of a side headlock for the first high-impact move of the match. The men ran into each other, but it was Rusev who was knocked down. Vertical suplex by Ryback, and he impressively held Rusev upside-down for a few seconds. Ryback, however missed a shoulder charge into the corner and Rusev took over on offense. They went to break at 3:28 of the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 6:59 with Ryback and Rusev again struggling for control of the match. Rusev missed a short splash in the corner, allowing Ryback to grab a breather. Belly-to-belly suplex by Ryback for a near-fall. Running powerslam for two by Ryback. Spinebuster from Ryback. Meat Hook clotheslines for two at 9:26. Rusev escaped a Shell Shock attempt and went to ringside. Ryback followed him, wherein Rusev used the steel chain for a disqualification.

WINNER: Ryback, via DQ, at 9:57. Looks like they’re protecting Ryback, presumably for a feud with Bray Wyatt.

Rusev nailed Ryback in the head with the chain after the match. Rusev used the chain with Ryback in the Accolade, just like he did to Cena. Rusev and Lana celebrated in the ring after the match as the Russian flag unfurled behind them.

- Rollins, along with J&J Security, were walking in a dark part of the arena, looking for Luke Harper. Jamie Noble said he and Harper are actually related in a roundabout way. Harper seemed to materialize out of nowhere as Noble told Harper just to follow the lead of Rollins. Rollins was unhappy when Harper failed to acknowledge their words. Joey Mercury stepped in and mimed what they wanted Harper to do. Harper grabbed Mercury by the lapels and said they broke his concentration as he was imagining what he’d do to Dean Ambrose. Before walking away, Harper told Rollins not to get in his way.

[Commercial Break]

- The New Day came to the ring. Big E. grabbed a mic once they were in the ring. He said there’s a plague in the WWE Universe, and that is a lack of positivity and smiling. Oh, and clapping. Xavier Woods said the tag champs refuse to react to their positive message. He said they’re like medicine: They might not taste good going down, but they can cure whatever problems we have. Kofi Kingston said when they become tag champions, the WWE Universe can clap along with them. They clap so that everyone can embrace the New Day.

5 – KOFI KINGSTON vs. CESARO

A dropkick by Kingston led to a brief celebration amongst him and his teammates. Back-breaker by Cesaro. Flip kick in the corner by Kofi, followed by a number of right hands to the skull of Cesaro. Cesaro went to swing Kofi, but Woods got on the apron to distract. Kidd took him down, only to be taken out by Big E. Cesaro kicked Big E. through the ropes but walked into a Trouble in Paradise.

WINNER: Kingston, at 1:30. Basic set-up to give the impression the tag-team champions will be in peril on Sunday.

- The announcers plugged the free month of April for new subscribers of the WWE Network.

- They showed comments from Big Show from “earlier tonight” on the WWE App. Show wasn’t happy with the opportunities afforded Roman Reigns, and said he’d expose Reigns at Extreme Rules.

- Reigns and Ambrose were having a discussion backstage. Their tag match is next.

[Commercial Break]

- Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns made their separate entrances for the main event. Roman’s entrance took long enough that the announcers had time to run down the entire Extreme Rules card. After the heels came out, Kane made his way to ringside. The bell rings to start the match after the break.

[Commercial Break]

6 – DEAN AMBROSE & ROMAN REIGNS vs. LUKE HARPER & SETH ROLLINS

Phillips noted that New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was in the crowd. Ambrose and Harper went at it first. Ambrose worked over the left leg of Harper. Low running clothesline and an elbowdrop from Ambrose. Harper gained control long enough to take Rollins into the match. Back suplex by Ambrose, followed by a delivery of chops and right hands. Reigns tagged in and tagged Rollins with a right hand of his own. Rollins put his boot up on a charge and then aggressively went after Reigns. Reigns tossed Rollins off of him when in a rest-hold. Ambrose made the tag and went for a moonsault, but Rollins tripped him up and pushed him off the top rope and to the outside. J&J Security took a few cheap shots, then Ambrose was laid out by a Harper running boot. They went to break at 5:03 of the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 8:34 of the match with Rollins taking Ambrose down for a near-fall. Tornado DDT by Ambrose on Harper and both men were down. Harper was able to make the tag to Rollins. Phillips claimed Rollins’ performance in this match is a message to Randy Orton. Both Rollins and Ambrose went for cross-bodies, colliding in mid-air. Reigns and Harper both tagged in, with Reigns getting the better of the exchange. Suplex to Harper, which led to Reigns setting up for the Superman punch. Instead, he took out both J&J Security with one punch. Then he delivered it to Harper, only for Rollins to break up the pin. Ambrose dove at Rollins off the top rope to take him down. Suicide dive onto Harper at ringside. But Harper caught Ambrose and dumped him into the timekeeper’s area. Harper was clotheslined down by Reigns at ringside. Reigns ran into two superkicks from Harper. A cover and a very near-fall on Reigns. Rollins came off the top with a flying knee for a two-count. Buckle bomb by Rollins, then a clothesline from Harper for two, as Ambrose broke up the pin. Ambrose ended up diving off the top rope and onto Harper, Rollins, Mercury, and Noble at ringside. Kane got to his feet and tossed Rollins into the ring. Ambrose went in, too, and tagged Reigns. Reigns speared Rollins for the finish.

WINNERS: Reigns and Ambrose, at 16:44.

After a few replays, the babyfaces celebrated as the announcers made one final hard-sell for Extreme Rules on Sunday.


Did you watch Thursday’s Smackdown episode? Send your 0-10 score & Reax to pwtorch@gmail.com for our TV Reax feature.

Greg Parks has been covering WWE Smackdown for PWTorch.com since January of 2007. He is the host of “Moonlighting with Greg Parks,” a PWTorch VIP-exclusive audio show posted each weekend. Follow him on Twitter @gregmparks for live Tweeting during Raw, Impact, and PPVs, as well as other bits of wisdom. Comments, questions and feedback are welcome, and can be sent to g_man9784@yahoo.com.

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