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The following report originally published 10 years ago this week here at PWTorch.com…
WWE Smackdown review
March 5, 2015
Taped 3/3/15 in Washington, D.C.
Aired on SyFy
By Greg Parks, PWTorch Columnist
– WWE Open.
– Smackdown Open.
– Dolph Ziggler walked out wearing the Intercontinental Title around his waist. The announcers were shown on-camera, and explained how Ziggler came to possess it. Then a video from Raw showed just what they were discussing. Ziggler claimed he never got his rematch against Bad News Barrett for the I.C. Title. He put over how much the title means to him and said he was officially entering the Intercontinental Title Ladder Match at Wrestlemania. He said someone is missing, though. He hinted toward Daniel Bryan, but before he could call out Bryan, Bad News Barrett walked onto the stage.
Barrett said Ziggler has something that belongs to him. Ziggler made some jokes and Barrett said he and others can play their juvenile games, but he’s still I.C. Champion. Barrett said at Wrestlemania, it’s his match. He said Ziggler can hand back the title or he’ll take it from Dolph’s unconscious body. Ziggler challenged Barrett to come in and fight him for it, but Luke Harper attacked Ziggler from behind. Barrett tried to pick up the title, but Harper stepped on it and they began a tug-of-war until Ziggler jumped them. That brought out Dean Ambrose. Ambrose and Ziggler took out Barrett and Harper decided that discretion was the better part of valor, so he left the ring voluntarily. Ziggler and Ambrose again fought with the heels at ringside while R-Truth snuck around the outside of the ring. When none of the wrestlers were looking, Truth skulked in and took the title, then hid under the ring. Ambrose and Ziggler couldn’t figure out where the belt went. Truth came out the other side of the ring and high-tailed it to the back.
– They went backstage where Renee Young interviewed Truth. Truth said if he has the title under his arm, he won’t have to climb a ladder for it. Young broke it to him that he’ll still have to climb the ladder to win the title. So then he offered the belt to Young. He asked where Gene Ambrose was. Young clarified his name as Truth looked for someone to whom he could give the belt.
– Tyson Kidd, Cesaro, and Natalya were walking backstage. The new tag champs are in action, next.
[Commercial Break]
– In a match that was just made, Dolph Ziggler & Dean Ambrose will team up to take on Bad News Barrett & Luke Harper tonight.
1 – LOS MATADORES vs. TYSON KIDD & CESARO
No entrance for Los Matadores. Kidd and Cesaro are single-handedly bringing back the inset interview, as they got another one here. They didn’t say much, but Kidd did say a team will have to earn a shot to face them for the titles at Wrestlemania. Hurricanrana off the second rope by one of the matadors. Tilt-a-whirl back-breaker by Cesaro ended the momentum of the babyfaces. Kidd was low-bridged as he tried to cut off a tag. But he did pull the other matador down off the apron so that he couldn’t make the tag. El Torito stooged on Cesaro, who had his feet on the ropes on a pin. Cesaro pulled Torito into the ring, but Natalya tripped him. Cesaro swing and a dropkick by Kidd resulted in a win for the champions.
WINNERS: Kidd and Cesaro, at 2:21. A lot going on in a short amount of time there. It’s like whenever there’s a second (or in this case, third) at ringside, WWE feels like they have to be involved in the match somehow.
– Big Show and Kane had a discussion backstage. Show was fishing for an apology, and Kane wasn’t having it. Show said he was entering the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at Wrestlemania and planned on renaming it the Big Show Memorial Battle Royal. Is Show planning on dying within the next year or something? Kane said he’s also entering, and Show asked who was entering: The Devil’s Favorite Demon or the spokesman for Men’s Warehouse. Kane said Show better take a front row seat for his match with Ryback. Then he recited the Men’s Warehouse tag-line as he walked out.
– Ryback came to the ring. He faces Kane, next.
[Commercial Break]
– On-camera, the announcers talked about Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania. They showed what happened on Raw during the main event match.
2 – RYBACK vs. KANE
The Andre trophy was shown at ringside, appearing to be made out of cheese. Big Show came to the ring with Kane. A graphic aired, the “Twix Tale of the Tape” for this match. Show admired the trophy at ringside. Kane put the boots to Ryback and worked on him in the corner. Ryback took Kane down with a neck-breaker. Belly-to-belly by Ryback, followed by a second-rope splash. After a spinebuster, Ryback set up for a spear. Big Show distracted though, and actually ended up distracting Kane even more. Ryback hit the meat-hook clothesline for the win.
WINNER: Ryback, at 2:05. Bowling-shoe ugly.
Ryback knocked Show off the apron after the match. Kane rolled to ringside and took the mic. He put Ryback in a match with Big Show, right now. Kane and Show got in each other’s faces as the show went to break.
[Commercial Break]
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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3 – RYBACK vs. THE BIG SHOW
Show pounded away on Ryback with rights. Big clothesline took Ryback to the mat. Bodyslam, with ease. Show missed a corner charge and Ryback took advantage. Chokeslam was dodged and Ryback delivered a spinebuster. Kane got on the apron and Ryback brought him in. He gave Kane a meat-hook clothesline, but walked into a knockout punch from Show.
WINNER: Big Show, at 2:50. Well, it was better than Kane vs. Ryback.
– For some reason, Michael Cole welcomed us back to Smackdown when the announcers were shown on-camera, despite not having just returned from break. They cued up footage of Bray Wyatt popping out of the casket at Fastlane two weeks ago. Then on Raw, he cut a promo on Undertaker and lit a casket on fire.
– From his usual dark, smoky place, Wyatt cut another promo. He complained about Taker not yet answering his call. He said he has something Taker can relate to, and on Monday night, he’ll unleash its spirit. The camera pulled back to show Wyatt standing behind an urn. “Rise, dead man. Rise.”
– A.J. Lee vs. Brie Bella is still to come tonight.
– Up next, The Daily Showdown with Seth Rollins and Jon Stewart from Raw.
[Commercial Break]
– A Sheamus return video aired.
– Back to the announcers, who kicked it to video of Jon Stewart appearing on Raw.
– The Bella Twins came to the ring for Brie’s match. As they did, they showed the ending of Nikki vs. Paige from Raw. Nikki talked about the #GiveDivasAChance and how they’ve given the entire Divas locker room a chance, though none have been able to live up to their high standards. The ladies said they’ll always be the stars of Total Divas. Nikki said there’s only one voice in the Divas division, and that’ the one coming from the top. Brie said they’ll give A.J. her precious little chance tonight. A.J. then came out. The match is next.
[Commercial Break]
– Paige was on her way to the ring out of break to back up A.J.
4 – BRIE BELLA vs. A.J. LEE
Arm-drag felled Brie. A.J. followed it up with a back elbow that found the mark. Cross-body off the top for two. Middle-rope dropkick by Brie. She went for a cover, which also got two. Jumping clothesline and another cover from Brie. Brie made a cover after about every offensive move she hit. DDT by Brie. She hooked the leg on the pin and only got two. Snap-mare by Brie, followed by a neck-snap for a near-fall. Brie was getting frustrated at this point. Running knee to the face by Brie. She missed a second-rope dropkick, however. A.J. showed fire in her comeback. Dropkick sent Brie out of the ring. Paige approached her, but Nikki came over to ensure she didn’t touch her sister. Back in the ring, A.J. applied the Black Widow. Nikki tried to get in, but Paige took her down. Brie tapped.
WINNER: A.J., at 7:42. Hmm…crossover segment at the top of the second hour, match going nearly eight minutes. It’s almost as if WWE is giving the Divas a….nahhhh.
The finish was replayed.
– Ambrose & Ziggler vs. Harper & Barrett in tag-tea action takes place tonight.
– Renee Young was backstage with Daniel Bryan. She asked Bryan about Ziggler referring to him tonight. Bryan was excited about the I.C. Title situation. After saying the title match may steal the show at Wrestlemania, he said he can’t wait to see who ends up with the belt tonight.
[Commercial Break]
– They showed a graphic for Alundra Blayze going into the Hall of Fame in 2015.
5 – BIG E. & KOFI KINGSTON vs. THE MIZ & DAMIEN MIZDOW
No entrance for The New Day. We did get a recap of Miz’s commercial for erectile dysfunction, which he showed to the lower card wrestlers on Raw. They also showed a graphic of Miz and his wife disagreeing on Twitter about how many times Miz has failed to “perform.” Shoulder knock-down by Miz once the match began. Jumping back elbow, followed by a deep arm-drag from Kofi. Short DDT by Miz, which Kofi as usual sold perfectly. Kofi dropkicked Miz into his corner and Mizdow tagged in. Neckbreaker combo and a kip up. Kidd, Natalya, and Cesaro were shown watching on a monitor backstage. Miz tagged himself back in and loudly admonished Mizdow. Mizdow was about ready to defend himself, but he back down. Kofi tagged Big E., who picked Miz up and gave Miz the Big Ending while Kofi came off the top with a DDT for the win.
WINNERS: The New Day, at 3:14. They’ve gotten way more out of the Mizdow gimmick than I expected. It’s lost a little, but is still going pretty strong.
– Byron Saxton conducted a sit-down interview with Roman Reigns. Didn’t they just do this last week, too? Anyway, it airs next.
[Commercial Break]
– They showed Vince McMahon on the cover of Muscle & Fitness Magazine.
– The exterior of the Verizon Center was shown.
– Part of Paul Heyman’s promo on Raw was shown.
– The announcers threw it to a video package on Brock Lesnar.
– Okay, so it wasn’t a sit-down interview, but Byron Saxton did catch up with Reigns in the locker room earlier in the day. Reigns put over Lesnar’s conquests over the past year. He said he may get hurt at Wrestlemania, but he knows he can take everything Lesnar has and when he does, he’ll spear Lesnar and win the title.
6 – JACK SWAGGER vs. RUSEV
Rusev immediately tossed Swagger to ringside, but Swagger unloaded on him out there. Back in the ring, clothesline by Swagger. He threw Rusev outside the ring. They went to break 39 seconds into the match.
[Commercial Break]
Back at 4:35 with Rusev landing a standing dropkick for a two-count. Rusev slowed the match down with a rear chin-lock. Swagger turned the tide and locked in the Patriot Lock. Rusev forced a break by reaching the ropes. Swagger knocked Rusev off the apron and to the arena floor. Swagger followed him out, but coming back in, Rusev caught him with a jumping side-kick. The Accolade was locked in and Swagger submitted.
WINNER: Rusev, via submission, at 7:50. Maybe Swagger should stop going after Rusev. It never ends well for him.
They replayed the kick and the Accolade. For some reason, Curtis Axel appeared on the Titan-Tron and said AxelMania was running wild. The background was red and yellow and Axel cut a Hulk Hogan-inspired promo. Axel said he’s coming after Rusev on Raw. He said when he beats Rusev on Raw, he’ll come after the United States Title at Wrestlemania. He asked what Rusev will do when Axel Mania runs wild on him. He even ripped off his t-shirt!
– The main event tag match is up next.
[Commercial Break]
– Cameron was backstage, cutting a promo to the camera. She said she deserves a chance to show what she can do, but Summer Rae interrupted and said it’s her turn. Then Eva Marie walked in and said as long as she’s around, they have no chance. They walked away leaving Cameron to tell them “Girl Bye.”
– R-Truth was at ringside with the announcers and the I.C. Title. Apparently, he wasn’t able to ditch it during the show.
7 – LUKE HARPER & BAD NEWS BARRETT vs. DOLPH ZIGGLER & DEAN AMBROSE
No entrances for anyone. Harper grabbed a side headlock on Ziggler. Harper missed a clothesline and Ziggler hit a dropkick. However, Barrett tagged himself in and unbeknownst to them, Ambrose tagged in as well. He took the offense to Barrett. Clothesline off the top by Ambrose. Harper got involved to break up the pin and the babyfaces cleared the ring, though didn’t seem to trust each other 100 percent. They cut to break at 2:28 of the match.
[Commercial Break]
Back at 5:57 with Ambrose in a rear chin-lock at the hands of Barrett. Ambrose fought back against Harper but Harper caught a boot attempt and pushed it away, sending Ambrose face-first into the mat. Ambrose and Barrett found themselves both down and both made tags at 8:33 of the match. Ziggler ran into a side slam from Harper. The pin was broken up by Ambrose, while Barrett also got involved. Superkick by Ziggler, followed by a Zig Zag for the win.
WINNERS: Ziggler and Ambrose, at 10:02.
After the match, Barrett laid out Ziggler with the Bull Hammer. He delivered one to Ambrose as well. Barrett slowly approached Truth at ringside. Just as Barrett was going to grab the belt, Ambrose took him out. Truth then smiled and walked around the ring to the ramp. Harper met him there and wouldn’t let him pass. Truth shined up the title and put it on the ground. Harper bent over to pick it up and Truth kicked him. Just when it seemed Truth was in the clear, Daniel Bryan’s music played. Truth and Bryan met atop the stage. Truth offered the title to Bryan, who took it. Truth led the crowd in “Yes” chants. As Bryan continued the “Yes” chants, Stardust attacked him from behind. He took the title and climbed a few rungs on the ladder placed atop the ramp. The show ended with Stardust in possession of the title.
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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