SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
LINDBERG’S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT
MAY 28, 2021
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA IN “THUNDERDOME”
AIRED ON FOX BROADCAST NETWORK
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee
Ring Announcer: Greg Hamilton
Tonight after the show, join guest host PWTorch contributor Kelly Wells from the ‘”PWT Talks NXT” PWTorch Dailycast podcast and guest cohost Nate Lindberg from PWTorch.com and the “PWT Talks NXT” podcast with live callers and emails.
•STREAM LIVE HERE ABOUT 5 MINUTES AFTER THE SHOW CONCLUDES
•CALL: (347) 215-8558
•EMAIL COMMENTS/QUESTIONS: wadekellerpodcast@pwtorch.com•IF YOU DON’T LISTEN LIVE, SEARCH “WADE KELLER” ON YOUR PODCAST APP TO SUBSCRIBE AND THEN DOWNLOAD OR STREAM THE FULL SHOW AN HOUR OR SO AFTER THE TV SHOW ENDS.
[HOUR ONE]
-Jimmy and Jey Uso were back stage getting hyped for their match tonight, Jimmy clearly more excited than Jey. Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman walked into the frame and the laughter stopped. Reigns asked Jimmy what his game was, his end game since he’s making decisions on his own. Jimmy said that the intention is to win the tag titles so they can all hold gold. Reigns said that it sounds like Jimmy had it all figured out and that he was happy for him. He wished them luck “because you’re gonna need it” he said to Jey after Jimmy walked off. Jey said that even though he’s with Jimmy tonight, he told Reigns that he’s still with Reigns. Reigns said that maybe he should go tell that to his brother.
-Michael Cole and Pat McAfee welcomed the audience to the show and the Street Profit’s music hit with them making their way to the ring for their match up. Montez Ford grabbed a mic and said that it’s Friday night in the ThunderDome and all week he’s had a bounce in his step. Tonight is the clash of the titans, Street Profits vs. Usos. They had fun at the Uso’s expense last week, but all jokes aside they were flattered that the six time champs, The Uso’s, challenged them. They said they’ve liked the Uso’s since the war paint days, dancing like the Uso’s used to during their entrance. They continued to cut down the Usos until both Jimmy and Jey had heard enough, and made their way to the ring.
Ford welcomed them to the ring saying that “Uso Crazy” for confronting them. The Usos said that the best tag team in the business is back. Both Jimmy and Jey looked to be on the same page during their promo where they both stood up for Reigns while cutting down the Street Profits.
Angelo Dawkins said that he and Ford run the tag division now and the Uso’s cut him off saying that the smoke is burned and welcomed them to the “Uso Penitentiary” (c)
(Lindberg’s Analysis: I liked the way they built the first 15 minutes of the show tonight. Starting backstage with Reigns not seeming to be too happy with his Cousins and keeping the continuity of the story by having the two teams jaw off at one another before they clashed in the ring. The two teams have chemistry with one another that reminded me of the chemistry that the Uso’s had with New Day a couple/few years ago.)
-Back from the break, they announced tickets for two Smackdown events in Cleveland on 7/23 and Minneapolis on 7/30 as well as a Raw taping in Kansas City on 7/26.
(1) JIMMY & JEY USO vs. STREET PROFITS
Jimmy Uso and Angelo Dawkins kicked things off for their respective teams. Dawkins took control early, tagging Ford in for a standing moonsault for two. Jimmy quickly retreated to his corner and tagged in his brother, Jey. Ford and Jey circled one another before Jey got the upper hand with a kick and uppercut to Ford in the corner. Ford retaliated with an arm drag and mockingly shouted “Uso!”. Ford tagged Dawkins back in and they gave Jey a double back suplex for a near fall. Dawkins locked in an arm lock on Jey, but Jey was able to force Dawkins to his corner and tagged Jimmy back in for a two count.
The story of the match was whether or not Jimmy and Jey could co-exist and if they would have any ring rust after not working together for a year. To this point, they seemed to be working together well however more on the defensive than offensive. The tides were turned after a massive slap to Dawkins from Jey who then tagged Jimmy back in. Dawkins reversed with an arm drag and tagged Ford in Ford and Dawkins both hit dropkicks on Jey before sending him over the top rope and in front of the announce desk. They threw both men over the announce desk and got back in the ring before the cut to commercial. (c)
(Lindberg’s Analysis: I hate when they do this. We know that there is a 10 count when one or more legal man is outside of the ring and if you don’t return to the ring by 10, you’re disqualified. Jimmy & Jey, kayfabe, might take 5 seconds to get back up or they may take 3 minutes to get back up. So why cut to commercial if there is a possibility of a count out during the break? Completely immersion breaking. We can automatically assume that the 10 count will not be reached, making that spot feel far less important than it should have.)
Back from break, the Profits were still in control with Ford getting a tag right off the bat. He mocked Jimmy Uso who took advantage and locked in a headlock. He threw Ford out of the ring and into the barricade. Ford stumbled back to the ring but before he could get in, the Uso’s attacked him again and threw him in themselves. Jey hit a back suplex on Ford and then tagged Jimmy in. They did a double team axe handle backbreaker for two. Reigns was shown watching the match backstage intently.
Jimmy locked in a headlock on Ford who rallied to try and get the hot tag. Jimmy stopped him from making the tag with a suplex for another near fall. He tagged Jey back in and the two wishboned Ford. Ford began to fight back again, but kept getting knocked back to the mat. Jey locked another chinlock in, aggressively. Jimmy tagged back in, but Ford found a burst of energy, taking both of the Usos out. He tried to get the hot tag once again, and Jimmy was able to stop him. Ford hit an enziguri on Jimmy. Ford just about made the tag, but Jey pulled Dawkins off of the apron and hit a Samoan Drop for a near fall before commercial. (c)
Ford and Jey were fighting on top of the turnbuckle as they returned from break, with Uso getting knocked off. Ford went for a flying move, but Uso ducked it. Ford just hit the mat, ran into the ropes and hit a lariat on Jey. He tagged Dawkins in, who took both Jey and Jimmy out. Jey, the legal Uso, managed to hit Dawkins with an enziguri and climbed to the top rope. Ford came out of nowhere over the top rope and to the floor to take out a waiting Jimmy, looking to interfere with Jey and Dawkins. Jey hit Dawkins with a superkick for a near fall.
Dawkins hit his twisting neckbreaker, looking like the match was over but Jey kicked out at the very last moment. Dawkins went for it again, but Jimmy blocked. Dawkins tagged Ford in and hit a spinebuster on Jey. Ford looked for the splash, but Jimmy pulled Jey out of the ring to save him. He hit a superkick on Ford for the win.
WINNERS: The Usos in 21:39
(Lindberg’s Analysis: Wow, we don’t start Smackdown with a 20+ minute match very often. This was refreshing, rather than a bunch of segments or short matches to kick things off we had a meaningful match after a series of related and continuous backstage segments beforehand. The Uso’s seemed to be on the same page, which was something that I wasn’t sure if would happen or not. A division between them may come later in the night, or later in the story.)
-Megan Morant was backstage and welcomed Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode to talk about their main event match tonight for the Tag Titles against the Mysterios. Roode said that their strategy at WrestleMania Backlash was flawed and they’ll change the strategy tonight. He said it was like Rey had the ferocity of three men after seeing them beating on his son. But tonight will be different and they will become the champs again.
(2) NATALYA & TAMINA vs. RIOTT SQUAD
-The match was already in progress when returning from commercial break. Nattie and Ruby were in the ring but Ruby tagged Liv Morgan in within moments. Liv and Ruby double teamed Natalya, who kept trying to fight out of her opponents corner. Ruby and Liv kept tagging one another in so they could take the 5 count and continue to double team Natalya.
Tamina was shown knocked outside the ring when the announcers finally told us that Tamina was taken out during the commercial break, so this was more like a handicapped match up until this point. Natalya managed to overpower the Riott Squad and looked for the double Sharpshooter, but they kicked out of it. Nattie managed to make the hot tag to Tamina and swiftly took Ruby out. She climbed to the top rope to look for the splash but Ruby got up and tried to block it. Tamina hit Ruby with a headbutt sending her to the mat, followed by the Superfly Splash for the win.
WINNERS: Tamina & Natalya in approx 5:00
(Lindberg’s Analysis: While I wish the Riott Squad would finally break through the glass ceiling and start winning, I think this was a good call tonight to have Tamina and Natalya go over them in a non title match. A lot of non-title matches are lost by the champions and makes them look weak. This kept the champions looking strong. Considering the push they are giving the powerhouse Tamina, they need to keep her strong for now.)
-Adam Pierce was shown backstage when the Usos came up to him all excited about their win. Jimmy asked if they could face the winners of tonights Tag Team main event next week for the titles and Pierce agreed. Jimmy walked off very happy, Jey looked distraught as he knew Roman would not approve.
-Bianca Belair made her way to the ring for her match against Carmella. (c)
-Carmella was interviewed by Megan Morant in the Gorilla position. Carmella said that she won the battle royal at WrestleMania and won the MITB briefcase twice. She’s said that she’s going to end Bianca’s happily ever after, and then made her way to the ring.
Right before the match, we heard Bayley say “DING DONG HELLO, MICHAEL COLE!”, as she jumped the barricade behind Cole and McAfee and joined them on commentary.
(3) BIANCA BELAIR vs. CARMELLA
The two locked up and Belair backed Carmella into the corner twice with the ref breaking it up each time. Carmella nailed a spinning headscissors, knocking Belair out of the ring in front of Bayley who shouted that she was a cheater and that’s how she won the title from Bayley. Belair threw Carmella back into the ring and she began using Belair’s braid against her, tangling her up in the ropes as she attacked her before pinning for a near fall.
Carmella backed Belair into the corner this time, choking her with the braid. The ref backed Carmella off who responded by hitting Bayley with a series of elbows to the face. Carmella hit some move that the camera missed for a near fall. She locked Belair in a chinlock, and Belair was able to fight out and hit a backbreaker to gain the momentum back. She shoulder tackled Carmella and then bashed her head off of all four top turnbuckles. Carmella blocked the last turnbuckle bash and climbed the turnbuckle for a top rope cross body. Belair caught her into a fall away slam for two.
Belair went for a corner tackle and Carmella moved, sending Belair into the ring post. Carmella kicked Belair in the head and then covered for a very near fall. Carmella went for the Cone of Silence, but Belair reversed it into her reverse Death Valley Driver for the pin, as Michael Cole hilariously declared “Belanca” the winner. Bayley immediately called out Cole on it, calling him a stupid idiot for the mix up.
WINNER: “Belanca” in 6:21
(Lindberg’s Analysis: I have to admit, Carmella has really come along in the ring over the last couple years. While she is nowhere near the level of Belair or half of the women on the roster, this was the first time in recent memory that I found myself enjoying a Carmella match and not noticing continual sloppiness. Bayley added so much to this match on commentary, she is easily one of the greatest things on WWE TV at the moment.)
-Megan Morant interviewed the Mysterios backstage about Ziggler and Roode’s new gameplan. Rey said they had a new gameplan too, and when one of them hurts they both hurt. There is no way they’ll lose tonight because there is no tag team that can top “this” as the two shared an embrace.
-Seth Rollins made his way to the ring as they cut to commercial. (c)
-Rollins grabbed a mic and said he’s not here to talk, he wants to fight and called Cesaro out “right now”. A few moments go by and Cesaro didn’t make his way to the ring. Seth Rollins then began laughing saying that Cesaro isn’t here tonight after the beating he took last week. He’s not here to ruin the greatest day of the year, Seth’s birthday. Seth replayed the clip from last week where Cesaro was attacked by Rollins while he was in the middle of confronting Reigns.
Seth said that his team obtained some audio from Cesaro’s hospital room. It was just a series of beeps with a couple groans thrown in there. Seth laughed like he was at the greatest comedy show he’d ever seen. He then calmed down and said that in all seriousness it was unfortunate that Cesaro pushed him to the point of making him blackout angry, victim blaming. He said that Cesaro deserves part of the blame for what happened to him because of how he treated Rollins. Rollins said he’s a man of integrity and the truth is that you need to place some of the blame on “you”, and he looked into the camera. He said that it was us, the WWE Universe, who brainwashed Cesaro into thinking he could beat Rollins and deserved opportunities that he didn’t earn. Seth said that if Cesaro never wrestles again, the blame is on the fans and on Cesaro himself – Not on him.
(Lindberg’s Analysis: I love this iteration of Rollins. The best parts of his first singles run after the Shield breakup with some added flair. He’s clearly very comfortable in this heel role and it shows. While some of the dialogue was corny, he made it work.)
(4) KEVIN OWENS vs. APOLLO CREWS (w/ Commander Aziz)
KO immediately attacked Crews in the corner and hit the cannonball and then Swanton within a matter of 20 seconds for a near fall. Apollo rolled to the apron and hangman’d KO. Crews jumped off the top but KO dodged and hit him with a superkick and Stunner. He pinned Crews and was about to win the match when Aziz reached into the ring and hit the Nigerian Nail on the throat of KO to disqualify Crews and award KO the DQ win.
WINNER: Kevin Owens in 1:16
(Lindberg’s Analysis: Aziz is a great heat builder for Crews for exactly the reason we saw tonight. He’s going to do what he has to to keep the IC title around the waist of Crews. KO sold the Nigerian Nail like it collapsed his throat, gasping for air and swatting away officials. This should lead to a more heated feud, at least we can hope, between the two for the IC title at the next PPV.)
-Heyman approached Reigns backstage and brought Jey to Reigns. Reigns said that he heard about the tag match and asked Jey if that’s what he wanted to do. Jey nodded yes. Roman asked him why he said he was with him earlier in the night then if he wanted to focus elsewhere. Reigns said that all he’s wanted was to do right by Jey and the rest of the family. He’s main event Jey Uso now, when he sticks with Roman he owns SmackDown. When Jimmy comes back, he’s relegated to the opening match. Reigns said he didn’t want to see Jey go back to a place where people look at him and ask “Which one are you again?”. Jey looked forlorn and said that he never thought about it that way. Reigns said that maybe he should, because his brother clearly isn’t.
-Rick Boogs was shredding guitar on stage and said that he was here to rock with the King of Strong Style before starting to play the opening riff to Shinsuke’s music. He played along to the music as the Corbin Crown-Wearing Shinsuke made his way to the ring for a match against Chad Gable after the break. (c)
(5) SHINSUKE NAKAMURA (w/Rick Boogs) vs. CHAD GABLE
Before the match, Otis attacked Nakamura in the ring, right in front of the ref who then signaled for the bell anyway. Gable hit a belly to belly suplex and covered for a near fall. Shinsuke was able to fight back and get Gable up on the top turnbuckle but Gable turned it into an armbar draped over the top rope. He broke it up before the ref’s 5 count and the two continued fighting inside the ring as Corbin came out to steal his crown back. This distracted Shinsuke but didn’t cause him to lose the match with the dreaded roll up from Gable. Shinsuke kicked out and immediately hit the Kinshasa for the win.
WINNER: Shinsuke Nakamura in 1:55
Nakamura realized after the match that Corbin stole the crown back, standing with it on the ramp. Boogs attacked Corbin from behind, allowing Shinsuke to grab the crown once again and place it on his head.
(Lindberg’s Analysis: While the Boogs and Shinsuke pairing is kind of weird, I’m not put off by it either. Why this crown is so important, however, is still beyond me. Sure, it meant that Corbin won KOTR, but that was so long ago at this point that most people probably have forgotten that. Shinsuke seems to want this crown more than anything else in the company, which is odd. Yes he’s the King of Strong Style, but why not put this energy into going after an actual, meaningful title?)
-Kevin Owens was shown backstage still gasping for air and demanding a match against Crews for the IC title without Aziz. Pierce granted him the match with Aziz banned next week.
-Rey and Dominik were shown backstage walking to Gorilla for their match(c)
-Back from break, Rey was shown backstage on the ground, clearly attacked as officials were trying to help him and find out what happened.
-Dolph Ziggler and Bobby Roode were in the ring making their entrance, they grabbed the mic and said that they had nothing to do with the attack. They wanted the championships. If Rey and Dominik can’t compete, this would be a forfeit and they would win the belts was their story. They harassed the ref to start the 10 count for the forfeit but he wouldn’t. Dominik was shown backstage with his father and said that Rey stepped up for him last week so Dominik is going to step up now before storming to the ring, effectively making this tag team championship match a handicapped match.
(6) SMACKDOWN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP – DOMINIK MYSTERIO vs. BOBBY ROODE & DOLPH ZIGGLER
-Ziggler and Dominik kicked off the match, with Ziggler quickly getting the upper hand with a drop kick for a near fall. Ziggler tagged Roode in, and they began the double team assault on the younger Mysterio. Roode hit a Suplex for another near fall before stomping a seated Dominik in the corner. Roode tagged Ziggler back in and hit him with a series of strikes in the corner. Dominik fell to the ground and Ziggler covered for another near fall.
Ziggler stayed on the offensive, working the arm of Dominik before tagging Roode in yet again. Roode slowly and methodically would strike and kick Dominik every so often. Dominik would try to fight back but would always be thwarted by either Roode or Ziggler, whichever was the legal man at the time. Roode tweaked his knee and tagged Ziggler in. Ziggler dragged Dominik’s face across the top rope and hit a neckbreaker on him for two.
Dominik fired up, dropkicking Roode off of the apron and then dumping Ziggler out of the ring. He launched himself over the top rope to take out both challengers. The action spilled back into the ring and Dominik set Ziggler up for the 619. Roode tripped him from outside the ring allowing Ziggler to hit the Famouser on Dominik for yet another near fall.
The heels continued to trade tags and double team Mysterio during the ref’s 5-count. Rey’s music hit, distracting Roode, the legal man, allowing Dominik to roll Roode up for the win.
WINNERS: Dominik Mysterio in 7:09
Jimmy and Jey Uso came to the ring and confronted both Rey and Dominik as Roman looked on from backstage. The two teams stared one another down as the show ended.
(Lindberg’s Analysis: The match itself was way too long to have Dominik take 95% of the offense. It was just a slog to watch, especially considering the finish with the Rey distraction was so predictable. The staredown of the Usos and Mysterios at the end was a great way to tie the last segment of the show right back into the beginning, once again weaving that continuity throughout the show. Something WWE is not known for.)
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