WWE Smackdown (4/30/15)

Welcome to another edition of Smackdown. On the last Raw, it was revealed that Seth Rollins would be defending the WWE Championship against both Roman Reigns and Randy Orton in a triple threat match. Also, the King of The Ring Finals was on Tuesday night and Wade "Bad News" Barrett was victorious. Adam Rose is now with Rosa Mendes after Fandango kicked her to the curb and now Bray Wyatt wants a piece of Ryback. The New Day are the new top heel tag team and are causing chaos to the former champs Tyson Kidd and Cesaro. Naomi took out Brie Bella to show she still is number 1 contender to Nikki Bella....at least until Paige comes back. Sheamus cost Dolph Ziggler his shot at the KoTR so you know Dolph is going to be gunning for Sheamus. Rusev gets one last crack at John Cena at Payback and interrupted John Cena's open challenge on Monday, will he do it again tonight? What's the status of Big Show? Now we have to go search for clues. Let's start the show.

IWireless Center

Moline, Illinois

April 30, 2015

Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton & Jerry Lawler

Ring Announcer: JoJo Offerman

We start the show with an In Memoriam graphic of the legendary Verne Gagne who passed away days earlier. One of the best promoters and wrestlers to ever live, he will be missed. Seth Rollins and J & J Security walk into the back and Seth sees someone off-screen and says they have the nerve to show up after the stunt they pulled on Monday. The camera shows its Kane and Rollins says its Kane's fault that its a triple threat match and for beating him up on Monday. Rollins says Kane is his problem, not the others. Kane says what's best for business is to give the audience what they want and Rollins says the truth is Kane is jealous of him because he never was as big as he was. Kane says he'll make a man out of Rollins if its the last thing he'll ever do. Kane says Rollins will face Dean Ambrose tonight like he was supposed to last week and that's best for business. Seth says he misses Kane from 20 years ago, not this current incarnation. Rollins dares him to do something in that match tonight and we get our opening graphic.

Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton and Jerry "The King" Lawler welcome us to ringside. Roman Reigns hits the ring for a chat. We're shown highlights of the tag match on Raw where Reigns and Randy Orton beat Rollins and Kane. Reigns gives a shoutout to Dean Ambrose in his match with "their little brother" Seth Rollins. Roman says Rollins destroyed The Shield and cost him the WWE title at Wrestlemania 31. Reigns says he's going to bring the fight to Orton and Rollins when all of a sudden Kane hits ringside who starts shedding his shirt and tie. Kane brings referee Charles Robinson to the ring with him and puts his elbow pads on. Guess Rollins got to Kane because we got an impromptu match.

Match 1

Kane vs Roman Reigns

Kane doesn't even give a reason or cut a promo on what he's doing, he just has Charles Robinson ring the bell. They slug it out to start with Roman sent into the corner. They continue to slug it out but Kane just throws Reigns to the ground. Kane sends Reigns into the corner to work the back then delivers a back suplex. Phillips says Kane is sick of being called irrelevant but Roman ducks a charge, sending Kane flying over the top rope. Kane gets sent to the ringpost and Reigns dropkicks him but continues tos ell the back. Kane sidewalk slams Reigns on top of the announce table but it doesn't break. We go to commercial and when we come back, Kane has a bearhug on Reigns in the ring. Kane rams Reigns into the corner and clotheslines him in the other corner. Kane covers for a deuce then stomps away on Reigns. Roman fights back with right hands and they trade strikes in the middle of the ring. Roman rallies with strikes and a snap suplex before clotheslining Kane down. Kane charges to the corner and eats boot before Roman hits a second rope clothesline. Roman clubs away at Kane in the corner and delivers a samoan drop. Roman charges up for the Superman punch but runs into a chokeslam. Kane covers for 1....2....NOOOOO. Kane gives the sign for the tombstone but Roman counters it with a DDT. Roman hits the Superman punch and calls for the spear. Roman dives and misses as Kane rolls out of the ring. Kane leaves and Charles Robinson counts to ten to end the match. A quick camera view of the back shows Rollins and J & J are totally confused. Roman wins by count out as announcers speculate why Kane bailed like that. Roman in the ring says "I came to fight and he ran. He picks a fight then he leaves?" Kane has some explaining to do for this one to The Authority. Kane and Reigns worked together so many times that this was standard for Roman to be the underdog against the monster.

Time of match: 6:28

Winner: Reigns by count-out

Renee Young asks Seth Rollins what's going on and Rollins answers that Kane was in over his head. He says Kane carries a senior citizens card (he just turned 48 on Sunday) and he carries the WWE Championship. Rollins says he never runs away from a fight and finds a way to win the fight. He says he doesn't need anyone's help of anyone including J & J Security (and they visibly did NOT like that). Rollins is definitely breaking out as a character and its going to lead to a hell of a blowup with The Authority when the time comes. A graphic shows later tonight The New Day defending the tag straps against the former champs Tyson Kidd and Cesaro.

Back from commercial we're shown Damien Sandow making fun of Curtis Axel like a 12 year old from Raw and apparently they're up next. Yippie.....

Match 2

Damien Sandow vs Curtis Axel

Sandow joins JoJo Offerman in announcing himself and Axel before the match starts. He calls Axel a pigeon-toed disappointment. Axel sticks a finger in Sandow's face and calls him a joke. Curtis tears his t-shirt off and throws it at Sandow and Damien goes to do the same when Curtis attacks. Damien gets him in a headlock and shoulderblocks Curtis down. Sandow tears his shirt off and throws Axel over the top rope to the floor. Sandow then sits next to Curtis and elbows him down. Axel retreats into the ring and puts the boots to Sandow on the way back in. Axel splashes Sandow in the corner and chokes him with his boot. Curtis screams "AXELLLMANIAAAAAA" and Sandow nips up. Sandow does the YOUUUU taunt before Hulkapunching Axel into the ropes. Sandow hits the big boot and then the Skull Crushing Finale. Sandow covers for 1...2.....3 to end the match. Sandow wins and Phillips calls him the NEW Damien Sandow. Losing to The Miz and doing comedy pretty much just made him a joke. Vince's reliance on comedy acts like Fandango and Sandow really makes you appreciate modern day guys that don't have silly gimmicks.

Time of match: 2:29

Winner: Sandow by pinfall

Renee Young is with Ryback and she asks why Bray would target him. Ryback says the Eater of Worlds has bitten off more than he can chew. Ryback says he's going to devour Luke Harper as a message to Wyatt later. Ryback says Feed Me More and leaves. Just like with Bray Wyatt attacking Dean Ambrose the year earlier, Wyatt attacking Ryback is just weird. But, at least they got something to do now.

Match 3

Ryback vs Luke Harper

Ryback wants to take out Harper to send a message to Luke's former partner Wyatt. The commentators say Harper's had a bad week as Ryback locks in a headlock before dropping Harper with a shoulderblock. Harper bullrushes Ryback int he corner and punches him around before locking in his own headlock. Ryback powers out of it and turns it into a wristlock. Harper punches out of it and uppercuts Ryback. Ryback rallies with right hands and hits a Thesz press. Ryback shoulderblocks Harper in the corner but Harper rallies with right hands and a suplex. Harper flexes his own muscles and goes for a suplex but Ryback hits his own delayed suplex. Ryback punches Harper in the corner and Luke counters with a sit down powerbomb for 1...2....nope. We got to commercial and when we come back, Harper clotheslines Ryback down. Harper covers for a deuce and Harper gator rolls Ryback. Ryback counters with an overhead suplex. Ryback elbows Harper and gets sent into the corner. Ryback kicks him away and hits a scoop slam. Ryback hits a big splash and covers for 1.....2....nope. Harper flips over for a two count but Ryback counters with a spinebuster. Ryback calls for the Meat Hook clothesline but Harper kicks Ryback in the head and covers for 1...2...nope. Harper calls for the lariat but Ryback counters with the Meat Hook. Ryback hits Shell Shock and covers for 1..2...3 to win the match. Ryback said he was going to beat up Harper to make an example out of him and he does. After the match, Wyatt attacks and beats down Ryback. Wyatt looks menacing as the message is sent, Ryback has no idea when Wyatt is going to strike.

Time of match: 6:03

Winner: Ryback by pinfall

Later tonight Dean Ambrose takes on Seth Rollins but the tag team title rematch is next. New Day takes on Kidd and Cesaro.

Match 4

Tyson Kidd and Cesaro (with Natalya) vs The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Big E Langston) with Xavier Woods for the WWE Tag Team Championships

This is a rematch from Extreme Rules and New Day tries to start a New Day Rocks chant and naturally the crowd chants New Day Sucks. Lawler on commentary says he didn't think Kidd & Cesaro could be beaten but they were. As Big E holds up the belts, Woods says "New Dayyyy" and Cesaro says "Sucks". Woods "Hey!" Crowd chants New Day Sucks and Woods says "No we don't!" Kidd starts with Kofi at the bell and Kidd rolls into a roll up for a two count. Kofi does a go-behind and locks in an arm-bar. Kidd reverses it and crucifixes for a two count. Kofi throws Kidd over the top but he skins the cat over the back of Cesaro back in. He makes the tag to Cesaro and Kidd flips Kofi right into the uppercut. Cesaro covers for 1...2...nope. Cesaro picks Kofi up like a feather and hits a gut wrench suplex. He covers for a deuce and does a backslide for another near fall. Cesaro locks in an armbar. Kofi goes for a small package and Cesaro just simply picks him up and hits the Janetty Plex with Kidd. Kidd locks in a half nelson and Cesaro tags in to hit a full nelson suplex. Kofi nails to the outside and Woods distracted Cesaro long enough for Big E to make the tag. Cesaro still german suplexes Big E and stomps away at him in rhythm to "New...Day sucks". Kidd tags in and boots Big E before dropping Kofi with an elbow. He kicks at Woods but Big E drops Kidd off the apron. Woods laughs in Kidd's face before Big E sends Kidd spine first into the barricade. Big E throws Kidd inside and Kofi tags in to put the boots to him. Kofi dropkicks Kidd in the corner and covers for 1..2...nope. Kofi goes for an arm-bar but Kidd powers out of it. Kofi trips Kidd and heads to the second rope but Tyson dropkicks him in mid-air. Big E tags in and he knocks Cesaro off the apron before hitting an overhead belly to belly suplex. Kidd rolls to the floor and we cut to commercial. Back inside Big E does a regular belly to belly suplex and covers for 1...2...nope. Woods yells at the announce team as Kofi tags in and hits the Boom Drop before knocking Cesaro off the apron. Kofi misses Trouble In Paradise and Cesaro gets the hot tag. Cesaro cleans out Kofi and Big E and uppercuts Kofi in the corner. He covers for a deuce and cradles Kofi for another two count. Cesaro overhead press slams Kofi but Big E breaks up the pinfall attempt. Cesaro throws Big E over the top rope and Kofi rolls up Cesaro for a two count. Big E tags in and freight trains Cesaro but Kidd breaks up the count. Kidd somersault planchas over the top to take Kofi out on the floor leaving Big E with Cesaro. A charge eats knee and Cesaro uppercuts from the second rope. Cesaro hits a spinebuster and tags in Kidd as he giant swings Big E. Kidd dropkicks Big E in mid-air and covers but Kofi and Xavier break up the count to earn a DQ. New Day brawls with Kidd & Cesaro and the numbers game adds up as the three mauls the two. New Day walks off with the belts as Kidd & Cesaro are named the winners. Clearly this rivalry isn't over yet, another ppv match may be in order. Damn good match for what it was. Woods and Kofi struggle to hold Big E up on their shoulders as we cut.

Time of match: 13:35

Winners: Kidd & Cesaro by Disqualification

Backstage we go to Cameron and Summer Rae. They gossip and make fun of Brie and Daniel Bryan. Cameron claims she taught Naomi everything she knows when Nikki Bella walks up, chasing Summer away. Nikki tells her to shut up and Cameron says "Girl bye" as Nikki ignores her and says they have beef now. Nikki wants Cameron one on one for her sister's honor later tonight. Again, great idea but the problem is the Bellas did absolutely nothing to turn face. Literally they were feuding with AJ and Paige, AJ retires out of nowhere and Naomi took out Paige. The Bellas were switched just for the lack of babyface numbers and now we're all expected to go with it. Oh well, point is we got Nikki vs Cameron later. Just like Ryback making an example out of Harper, Nikki is going to make and example out of Cameron to send a message to Naomi. At least THAT makes sense. Nikki says Cameron isn't even remotely as good as Naomi and to stop comparing herself. Cameron counters with "Girl bye" We get a graphic for Ambrose/Rollins before we cut to commercial. Back from commercial we get a graphic for John Cena vs Rusev in an I Quit Match for Payback. Then we go to more god awful Tough Enough videos although they did have legitimate athletes featured. Onto the next match.

Match 5

Cameron vs Nikki Bella 

Apparently this is a non-title match and Brie Bella isn't even there. In a pre-recorded video, Naomi says she's going to take the title from Nikki and life isn't a fairy tale. Bell's gone and Nikki arm drags Cameron before doing jumping jacks. Nikki flips Cameron over again but Cameron takes over with an eye rake, sending Nikki to the corner. Cameron twerks facing the camera for absolutely no reason then charges, ducking under a Nikki dropkick. Cameron covers for 1..2...nope. Cameron pounds away on Nikki and kicks her out of the ring. Cam taunts Nikki and sends her into the barricade before saying she's going to make a statement. Phillips on commentary says Cameron is tired of playing second fiddle to Naomi which now makes it even worse because Naomi was a better babyface and now a better heel. Cameron goes for a split and lands then covers for 1..2....no. Cameron shouts at the ref as the crowd doesn't care. Cameron does her best to shout at them for heat and takes Nikki down by the hair. Cameron kicks Nikki in the back then locks in a chinlock. Nikki stands up with Cameron on her back and rams her into the corner. Nikki ducks a charge and drops Cameron with a series of clotheslines. A dropkick by Nikki gets a pop but misses the corner clothesline. A charge eats elbow and Nikki hits the second rope clothesline before covering for a deuce. Cameron hits a cradle for a two count but Nikki clotheslines her down. Nikki hits Rack Attack and covers for 1...2....3 to win the match. Bless Cameron, she tried....but the crowd was not feeling it. Again, the horrible booking of the divas the previous year pretty much led to this. The Bellas did nothing to signify a face turn and the crowd doesn't give a rats ass about "Girl Bye." That's not Cameron's fault either, the whole "Mean Girls" style of booking had been going on for 10 years now and people were sick of it. The women from NXT were going to usher in a new generation pretty soon. As for now, Nikki gets the duke to send a message to Naomi.

Time of match: 3:50

Winner: Nikki Bella by pinfall

Backstage to the Prime Time Players Darren Young and Titus O'Neil who make fun of New Day. Once again, WWE was way too comedic for too long. They get a New Day Sucks chant with a "be-gone box" and a "Prime...Time Players" chant. Are they ever going to wrestle? Back from commercial break Rollins and his stooges visit Dean Ambrose in the back. Rollins wants Ambrose to back out of the match and Ambrose ask why. Seth says he's got a title match at Payback and Kane made the match tonight out of spite and to humiliate him, and HHH isn't going to be happy when he gets back. Ambrose says "Sounds good" and Rollins thinks the match is off but Ambrose clarifies that he meant the idea of Rollins being humiliated sounds good, he'll see him out there. Rollins says Ambrose is making a huge mistake and Ambrose says he's made a lot of mistakes but at least he'll bust Rollins' face instead. Back at ringside the announcers finally bring up the King of The Ring Finals which was won by Wade "Bad News" Barrett. We're shown highlights of Sheamus losing to Adrian Neville, Barrett beating R-Truth and Barrett beating Neville in the finals. Barrett cuts a promo saying he'll be ruling his kingdom with an iron fist and a Bullhammer. Let's get to our final match.

Match 6

Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins (with J & J Security)

Looks like this is a non-title match but that's okay. This was the first feud out of the gate last year when Rollins turned on the Shield so this might be Ambrose pseudo putting himself in the title picture once Randy Orton's push fades. Bell's gone and Ambrose gets in an arm-bar. Ambrose wrenches the other arm and Rollins bails to the outside to regroup with his stooges. Back inside Rollins buries shoulders into the stomach in the corner before locking in an arm-bar of his own. Ambrose trips up Rollins with a drop-toe hold and locks in an STF holding Seth's nose. Rollins gets the upperhand and chokes Dean on the middle rope but Dean gets a crossbody and punches in. Dean clotheslines Seth over the top rope to the floor and Noble & Mercury lead Rollins away. Dean gets distracted by the stooges and Rollins hits a baseball slide on Ambrose. Seth distracts the ref and the stooges put the boots to Ambrose. All of a sudden Kane walks down to ringside as we go to commercial. Back from break Kane stands next to Noble & Mercury as Rollins stomps away at Ambrose. Seth fist bumps both Noble & Mercury and tells Kane to buzz off before he drops Ambrose with a clothesline. Ambrose ducks the line and lands one of his own before punching away at Seth. Ambrose rallies with clotheslines before landing a forearm in the corner. Ambrose goes upstairs but jumps into a kick to the stomach. Ambrose blocks a buckle bomb and dropkicks Seth to the outside. Ambrose hits a suicide dive to the outside then heaves Seth inside. Seth kicks Dean in the head, they both miss kicks and Ambrose hits a sit-down facebuster. He covers for 1..2....nope. Rollins blocks a superplex off the top rope and counters with a buckle bomb. Rollins covers for 1...2....nope. Ambrose counters a superkick with a roll up for a deuce. Rollins counters Dirty Deeds (done dirt cheap) with a superkick. Rollins covers for 1...2....nope. Kane hops up on the apron and Ambrose bull rushes Rollins into Kane. Ambrose heaves Rollins over the top rope onto Kane. The stooges and Kane get cleared out by Ambrose with a top rope splash, but Rollins heaves Dean into the barricade. Kane grabs Seth by the throat and yells at him but then catches Ambrose with the other hand. Kane lets them both go and goes to choke the ref but Ambrose throws Kane into the ringpost. Ambrose wipes out both Noble and Mercury with a double clothesline but Rollins sends Ambrose into the steel steps. Dean staggers back inside and Rollins hits a variant of Dirty Deeds only with Ambrose landing face first. Seth covers for 1...2......3? Seth wins it with whatever that move was. The numbers game catches up with Ambrose as it was essentially 4 against 1 despite Dean's best effort.

After the match Kane gets in the ring and puts the boots to Ambrose with Rollins, Noble and Mercury joining in for a 4 on 1 assault. Roman Reigns hits the ring and Superman punches Kane. Roman heaves the stooges to the side and punches Rollins to the outside. Reigns spears Noble and Mercury together but Kane goes to chokeslam Ambrose and Roman. Both punch their way out of it and Reigns hits the spear on Kane. Seth hightails it out of there as Reigns and Ambrose stand tall to end the show.

Time of match: 10:18

Winner: Rollins by pinfall

Not a bad show even if it was a victim of bad booking from the past. They're trying to build tension between Rollins and Kane but the problem is Kane is not turning on him and everyone knows it. He already helped him win the cage match and it looks like he's going to cause shenanigans in the triple threat match at Payback. New Day continue to roll as the top heel tag team and with the Usos on the shelf (Jey anyway), it comes at a good time. Nikki Bella's inexplicable face turn is going over like a fart in church especially since she was the one who less than a year earlier wished Brie died in the womb on national television. Damien Sandow repeating what Curtis Axel and low level heels like Adam Rose say is going to get old real quick. The only feud that's actually interesting is Wyatt vs Ryback. Pretty much both guys need a victory or else they'll fade down the card. Ryback already failed to win the WWE title and losing to Wyatt kills any and all momentum with Roman Reigns still locked in to the top face spot. Wyatt lost to The Undertaker despite acting like he won, a loss to Ryback makes him look even worse. Not a bad show with good wrestling even if some of the story arcs are completely pointless. We'll see what happens moving forward. Raw comes at you from the Bell Center in Montreal this Monday night. I'll see you there.

WWE Raw (4/27/15)

Extreme Rules has come and gone and we got a little bit of controversy, but I'll get to that in a minute. First, we have new WWE Tag Team Champions as Tyson Kidd and Cesaro were knocked off by New Day. Adrian Neville made his PPV debut by beating Wade "Bad News" Barrett and Nikki Bella is still the WWE Divas champion after beating Naomi. John Cena is still the US Champion after beating Rusev in the Russian Chain Match although Lana got Rusev another match at Payback coming up. Roman Reigns beat Big Show in a Last Man Standing match and Ryback laid out Bo Dallas. Dolph Ziggler defeated Sheamus in a Kiss Me Arse match but Sheamus made Ziggler kiss his anyway. Now for the controversy. Seth Rollins won the cage match with Randy Orton but both men used the RKO in the match that was supposed to be banned. Randy used it on Kane while Seth used it on Randy. They're gonna have to explain this one tonight. Also tonight is a very special night as we're bringing back the King of The Ring tournament. Let's get to the show:

Resch Center

Green Bay, Wisconsin

April 27, 2015

Commentators: Booker T, John Bradshaw Layfield & Michael Cole

Ring Announcer: Eden Stiles

We open with a montage for the King of The Ring featuring past winners and such. The birth of Austin 3:16, King Booker, King Sheamus and Bret Hart's amazing 1993 performance. Michael Cole welcomes us and we check out the brackets. Dolph Ziggler takes on Bad News Barrett, R-Truth faces Stardust, Dean Ambrose goes one on one with Sheamus and Adrian Neville opposes the demented Luke Harper. Then ring announcer Eden Stiles says WWE Champion Seth Rollins is on his way. Rollins comes in with Kane, Joey Mercury and Jamie Noble in tow. Cole sends us to still images of last night's main event with Kane and J & J Security interfering. Cole brings up both Orton and Rollins using the RKO. Rollins takes the mic and says Randy Orton can't outsmart Seth Rollins. Rollins says he himself created and destroyed The Shield, cashed in at Wrestlemania and proved he was the fighting champion he is at Extreme Rules. The crowd chants "You suck" as Rollins says he beat Orton all by himself with Kane & Noble looking confused. Rollins says he used the S-ko out of the nowhere and yuks it up with Noble & Mercury. Rollins says even a general like him needs soldiers and he says thank Kane for being a good soldier. Seth calls him the Crypt Keeper and subtlety says Kane is washed up from the 90's. Kane cuts him off and says if it wasn't for him and the illegal use of the RKO, Orton would be champion and Seth would be out here crying like the entitled, spoiled brat he is. Kane says he'd rather be the WWE version of the Crypt Keeper than the WWE version of Justin Bieber.....hahahaha. Seth screams that Kane is jealous of him and Kane says Rollins is scared because without The Authority, Seth wouldn't be champion. Rollins says he's not scared of Kane and would wrestle circles around him when Randy Orton's music hits. Randy comes out and says he's not the kind of guy to come out and complain but since Kane admitted Rollins cheated, that's grounds for a rematch. Seth denies it and says he runs the show, not Randy. Randy says "Shut up Catwoman, I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to Kane." Kane says Randy has a point when Roman Reigns music hits. Roman makes his way to ringside as JBL asks "Now what does that hothead want?" Roman stands on the announce table as a symbol of his win last night. Seth cuts him off before he says anything "Oh get over yourself, what are you out here for?" Roman tells him to shut the hell up and says Rollins is missing his giant because of him. Reigns says he wants a title shot at Justin Bieber and the crowd chants to annoy Seth. Rollins mocks Reigns and says he and Orton both lost to him. Rollins refuses title shots to either of them but Kane cuts him off. Kane says Roman and Randy make compelling arguments and he's got an idea. He makes a tag match later that night with Kane and Rollins against Orton and Reigns and the WWE universe will decide who gets the next shot. Cole has no idea what that means as even Orton looks perplexed. Seth sticks a finger in Kane's face as we cut to the KOTR bracket to show Ziggler vs Barrett up next.

Match 1

Dolph Zigger vs Wade "Bad News" Barrett in a King of The Ring Quarterfinal Match

Ziggler says its tough to concentrate after what Sheamus did to him and is going to take it out on Barrett. Barrett guarantees he's going to be King Barrett when this is over. Dolph starts with right hands but Barrett counters with a right hand of his own. You don't want to get into a fistfight with Barrett. Barrett drops Ziggler with a shoulderblock and a cover gets two. Barrett drops an elbow as JBL says Dolph's new name is Chapstick. Booker says Dolph needs to fight back and right on cue Ziggler dropkicks Barrett outside. Back from commercial Barrett has Dolph in a chinlock as we see how Barrett got the upperhand with a kick to the face to knock Dolph off the apron. Back to live action Dolph sends Barrett into the ring post. Ziggler fights back with right hands and a big clothesline. Ziggler hits the Stinger Splash in the corner, ducks under a big boot and crucifixes Barrett for two. Ziggler counters Wasteland with a ddt and covers for 1....2....no. Barrett slingshots Ziggler into the ring post and hits Wasteland. Barrett covers for 1...2....noooooo. Barrett loads up the Bullhammer but Ziggler ducks it and hits a superkick. He covers for 1..2....noooo. All of a sudden Sheamus hits ringside with a mic and shows still images of Ziggler's face in his ass from the night before. Ziggler runs into a Bullhammer and Barrett covers for 1....2.....3 to win the match. It took a huge distraction from Sheamus but Barrett advances. Sheamus laughs as Barrett nods at him as a thank you. Before the distraction that was a damn good crash style match.

Time of match: 4:48

Winner: Barrett by pinfall

After the match, JBL announces the tag match is official between Orton/Reigns against Kane/Rollins. The number 1 contender will be revealed later. New Day harasses some guy backstage as apparently they're next.

Match 2

Big E Langston (with Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston) vs Tyson Kidd (With Natalya and Cesaro)

New Day gets in the ring and Xavier thanks the clappers out there. He wants a New Day ROCKS chants and naturally the crowd chants New Day Sucks. Good on Vince to notice the two teams swapped heat and swapped the roles. Kidd comes out to a minor pop and I honestly prefer Kidd as a babyface because his high spots and technical work is better as a face. Bell's gone and Kidd bumrushes Big E. E counters with a knee to the mid-section and throws Kidd over the top rope. Kidd catches himself and springboards but E catches him. Kidd ducks a line on the apron and kicks Langston in the head. Kidd hits a missile dropkick and stomps away at E in the corner before catering to the crowd. E regroups outside but Kidd kicks E right in the head. Kidd throws Big E inside but Big E counters with a lariat. E covers but Woods from outside holds the foot for 1...2....3 to win the match. Woods and Kofi run off with Big E with Cesaro chasing them away. Cole and Booker apparently missed Woods holding the ankle but JBL saw it. JBL is supposed to be the heel to boot which makes it even funnier. Short and sweet to put over the fact the New Day are the new top heel tag team. Beats the boring Ascension and Los Matadores for sure.

Time of match: 1:19

Winner: Big E Langston by pinfall

Back to Cole who shows still images of Cena's win over Rusev the night before. Its implied Lana distracted Rusev to allow Cena to win. Cole says Lana got an I Quit Match for Rusev against Cena in three weeks at Payback. Finally this feud is coming to an end although Cena has an Open Challenge later tonight. Let's get back to ring action.

Match 3

Ryback vs Bo Dallas

This match stems from the night before when Bo Dallas walked out and insulted the crowd in Chicago in the middle of the show and Ryback ran out to destroy him. Dallas walks out and cuts a promo giving Ryback a chance to back out while he still can. Dallas says all Ryback has to do is Bo-Lieve but Ryback bumrushes him at the bell. Ryback drops Dallas with an elbow and Bo retreats in the corner. Bo clotheslines Ryback from behind and chokes him with the apron before clubbing away on his back. Dallas covers for just one then kicks Ryback in the face. Again a cover gets 1 and Bo gets in a chinlock. Booker says Bo needs to put on weight as Ryback picks Bo off his back and slams him. A charge eats elbow but Bo jumps into a spinebuster by Ryback. Ryback calls forn the Meat Hook clothesline and lands it. Ryback hits the Shell Shock and covers for 1...2....3 to win the match. Total squash by Ryback but wait! Of all people, Bray Wyatt appears in the ring behind Ryback. Ryback turns around right into Sister Abigail. Apparently this is the next feud, Wyatt vs Ryback which is going to be very important for both men. Neither one of them came out of Wrestlemania looking good so someone is going to be devalued. Ironically Wyatt laid out the man who laid out his brother but just like Lanny Poffo and Randy Savage, they never acknowledged Bray was Bo's brother. Again, total squash but it served its purpose to set up Wyatt/Ryback.

Time of match: 2:06

Winner: Ryback by pinfall

Back from commercial John Cena's open challenge is hyped up. Cena comes out before the match and cuts a promo says he's on a high after beating Rusev. Cena says he respects Rusev because he never quits...until Payback. Cena says he'll never quit and if he loses, he won't ask for a rematch because he'll be a disgrace and won't deserve a rematch. He says if Rusev wins they'll never see Cena again but references the statue of Vince Lombardi outside and says the harder you work, the harder it is to surrender. Cena says he's working hard as he can to be US Champion and says Green Bay is the place to be. He says to whoever's in the back to come get some. Its Heath Slater.....great. Slater comes out with a microphone and says he's going to take advantage of a "crushed" John Cena (?) and become the champion of the WORLLDDDDDD. He says he's better looking than Aaron Rodgers but Rusev from behind attacks Slater and kicks him in the face. Booker says "thank god" but Cena isn't amused at Rusev's antics. Lana walks out to a babyface pop and Rusev grabs the mic from her hand, sending her to the back. Yeah they're going 1998 Marc Mero on this one, the writing is on the wall. Rusev goes on an anti-American rant saying everyone in the arena is a quitter and so will Cena. The Russian flag drops and Rusev's music plays. So much for Heath Slater...and at least it makes sense for Rusev to clean his clock. He wants Cena one on one, wouldn't make much sense for someone else to take the title off Cena first.

Back to Kane in the back when Rollins walks in with his stooges asking what's going on. Kane says fans on the WWE app can choose Seth's next opponent. Rollins asks if Kane's out of his mind and Kane says "maybe." Seth says he's going to tell Stephanie and Triple H and Kane is stupid. Kane says he figured Seth could handle just one opponent but since he's crying about it and insulting Kane's intelligence, there's only one thing to do. Kane says he's going to add another option, on the app they can vote for Orton, Reigns or Randy AND Roman Reigns in a triple threat match. Rollins freaks out and Kane laughs saying they have a match later, focus on that. Kane leaves and Rollins continues to piss and moan. Well, this is getting interesting. Onto the next match.

Match 4

R-Truth vs Stardust in a King of The Ring Quarterfinal Match

These two were in the ladder match at Wrestlemania and have done absolutely nothing since. Truth in the picture-in-picture says if he wins, he's going to get rid of all spiders. JBL says he's better off with snakes. Stardust makes his entrance and Cole says he's even more out there than Truth. Stardust says he's going to be the Intergalactic Czar. I think Cole may be right. Bell rings and Stardust gets rolled up almost immediately. Stardust lands a bulldog and covers for a deuce as the crowd chants "Cody". Stardust hisses at the fans and if you're wondering where his brother is, Goldust was out with a shoulder injury. Stardust locks in a chinlock but Truth powers out of it. Stardust backdrops Truth and covers for a 1 count. Stardust does the Cody punch and covers for a 1 count. Stardust stomps Truth and does another chinlock before stomping him again. A third chinlock is countered by Truth only for Stardust to throw him down. Stardust inexplicably does a cartwheel: Booker "What was that?" Cole "That's a cartwheel." Booker "I know that, but why?" Stardust shouts at Booker "I'M the king, Booker." Stardust sends Truth in the corner but a charge eats elbow. Truth rallies with clotheslines but misses the axe kick. Stardust rolls him up for a deuce then does a russian leg sweep. They trade near falls and Stardust goes for the Cody Cutter but jumps into the Lie Detector. Truth covers for 1...2....3...to win the match and advance to the semi-finals. Bad match but there was no way Stardust was winning since Barrett had won previously.

Time of match: 3:52

Winner: R-Truth by pinfall

Hype for the tag match is followed by the App announcement to vote for Orton vs Rollins, Rollins vs Reigns or a triple threat. On to the next match.

Match 5

Fandango vs Adam Rose (with the Rosebuds)

After Fandango turned face and kicked Rosa Mendes, Rose pretty much wanted her to go with him instead. They lock up to start before Rose gets a headlock in. Fandango gets dropped with a shoulderblock but he counters with a dropkick. Rose chokes Fandango on the second rope and hits him with forearms. Rose mocks the Fandango dance but Fandango chops him into the ropes. Fandango clotheslines Rose over the top to the floor. Fandango summersaults over the top rope and takes out the hot dog guy. Rosa Mendes reveals herself to be one of the Rosebuds and she dances to distracts Fandango. Rose sneaks up and hits the Party Foul before covering for 1...2....3 to win the match. Another short match and it looks like Rose has successfully convinced her to go with him. Rosa gets on the mic and says she can't believe she got dumped and she found someone to treat her like a sweet foul. Rosa makes out with Rose in the ring as Fandango walks away disgusted. Cole "Maybe we should get out of here guys." Hey, at least they're not naked. Another bad match but the purpose was served, Rosa is with Adam Rose now.

Time of match: 1:50

Winner: Rose by pinfall

Back to Cole who laughs with Booker and JBL before talking about the status of Daniel Bryan. Bryan suffered a concussion and isn't medically cleared to compete. We cut to Renee Young who's with Bryan's husband Brie Bella. Renee asks if Brie is concerned for his health and Brie says its a heartwrenching time for him. Brie says it kills her because he badly wants to be there but only time will tell. She's greatful for the WWE universe and Daniel feels the same. All of a sudden from out of nowhere Naomi kicks Brie down and says no one cares about her or Bryan. So they're gonna turn the Bellas face for no reason now? That solves the lack of babyface Divas problem by switching the Bellas. Although good luck explaining how they're going to side with Paige went she comes back. Speaking of the Bellas, Brie is up next.

Match 6

Brie Bella (with Nikki Bella) vs Naomi

Naomi comes out with a new theme and look that she showed off the night before at Extreme Rules. Too bad Bryan is out, Jimmy Uso and Naomi vs Bryan and Brie would be interesting. Bell's gone and Brie rushes her at the bell, punching her down. Brie spears Naomi and they cat fight into the corner. Brie ducks a line and Naomi gets a cheapshot forearm in. Naomi pushes Brie around then rams her head first into the buckle. Naomi delivers a backbreaker and covers for 1....2...nope. Naomi locks in a chinlock but Brie powers out of it. Naomi does a dropkick and covers for 1...2..nope. Naomi does another chinlock but Brie flips Naomi over and they both take each other down by the hair. Brie rallies with a clothesline, a dropkick and a knee to the ribs. Brie lands a running knee to the jaw and a second rope missile dropkick. She covers for 1...2....noooooo. Naomi catches Brie in a terrible small package for 1...2....3....to win the match. Sad part was Brie's shoulder was untouched and easily could have kicked out. Naomi celebrates up the ramp as we go to the replay of Naomi's clean win. Naomi gets revenge on Brie for kicking her in the head the night before although for some reason Brie's the babyface now? The writers don't have a clue what's going on although Naomi is still after Nikki's title.

Time of match: 3:40

Winner: Naomi by pinfall

More hype for the tag match tonight and the potential Payback match. Onto the next match.

Match 7

Sheamus vs Dean Ambrose in a King of The Ring Quarterfinal Match

JBL says "hide your wallet" as Ambrose makes his entrance. Ambrose says when he's king he'll remove tariffs on ale, ban pop-country music and have all disputes settled in street fights. JBL asks why he'd ban pop country. Sheamus says he's been king before and he'll be king again. They lock up and roll into the ropes before Ambrose trash talks him. Sheamus and Ambrose chain wrestle on the ground as Cole says the bully Sheamus can't bully Ambrose. Dean continues to Olympic style wrestle Sheamus but eats a shoulderblock. Cole says JBL made a career out of bullying which gets awkward silence from the others. Sheamus grabs the nose during an STF and kicks Sheamus kicks the back of the head. They exchange right hands and Sheamus lands a European uppercut. Sheamus gets rough in the corner but Ambrose chops his way out. Sheamus gets whipped in the corner and Ambrose tries the forearm/bulldog combo but Sheamus denies the bulldog. Ambrose knocks Sheamus through the ropes to the outside and Sheamus moves before Dean could suicide dive. We cut to commercial and when we come back, Sheamus has a chinlock that Dean powers out of. In the PIP Sheamus knocks Ambrose off the apron. Back inside Sheamus does a suplex slam and Ambrose looks insane on the ground. Sheamus "ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?", he's not Russell Crowe. Ambrose drops Sheamus with a bi clothesline as the announce team goes over past kings of the ring with Booker putting himself over. Ambrose chops Sheamus put runs into a tilt-a-whirl slam. Sheamus gives the sign for the Brogue Kick but Ambrose side steps it and rolls up Sheamus for a deuce. Ambrose sends Sheamus into the ring post and he falls out of the ring. Ambrose hits the suicide dive to the outside then rolls Sheamus back inside. Ambrose comes off the top but Sheamus hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. He covers for 1.......2....nope. Ambrose counters white noise with a sunset flip for 1.......2...nope. Sheamus counters Dirty Deeds (done dirt cheap) with a Texas Cloverleaf. Ambrose makes it to the ropes and out to the apron. Sheamus then goes for ten beats of the bodhran. Ambrose hits the elbow from off the top and covers for 1...2....noooo. Sheamus rolls outside and Ambrose chases him to the announce table. They slug it out until Ambrose clotheslines him down. Ambrose sends Sheamus into the ring post but he counters with a Brogue Kick. Suddenly Dolph Ziggler hits ringside and unloads on Sheamus for the DQ. Ziggler chases Sheamus out of the arena and leaves with Ambrose still down outside. You can make the argument that Ambrose wouldn't have made it back inside and Sheamus would have won by countout. Ambrose inside the ring is mad.....look out Ziggler. Anyway that was a good, physical match and it served its purpose of Dean not taking the L with Sheamus still advancing.

Time of match: 12:41

Winner: Sheamus by DQ

We get more hype for the tag match and potential main event for Payback before we go to commercial. The WWE Rewind showcases Miz defeating Damien Sandow for the rights to the Miz brand after Summer Rae turned heel on Sandow. A huge swing and a miss by Vince to have Miz win in the end. Damien is in the ring and says his name is Damien Sandow and runs down his former gimmick. Then he says he was told to his face he wasn't entertaining enough and then goes through his parody gimmick phase. Then he gets to the point of the Mizdow gimmick that he lost respect of his peers but gained the respect of the WWE universe. Sandow thanks the fans and says without them he wouldn't be in WWE now. The crowd chants "Thank you Mizdow!" Sandow says where does he go from here but then is cut off by Curtis Axel of all people. Axel hypocritically says he despises people who imitate others. Axel then starts quoting Hulk Hogan and Sandow mocks him every time like an 8 year old. Axel gets mad and the crowd chants "Yes!". Axel says to get out of his ring and Sandow repeats what he says again. Axel attacks but Sandown blocks the punches and hits a big boot before hitting the Wind Up Elbow to chase Axel away. Somewhat of a pointless segment other than to cement Sandow's face turn and to make fun of Axel again. Cole then brings up something with a point, on Smackdown the New Day will face Tyson Kidd & Cesaro in a rematch.

We cut to Bray Wyatt who cuts a promo on Ryback. Wyatt says he learned how to play with fire but doubts that Ryback ever learned anything. Wyatt says he knows what Ryback is afraid of and to run. After hyping up the upcoming shows on the Network, we look at more god awful Tough Enough videos. Let's get to the next match.

Match 8

Adrian Neville vs Luke Harper in a King of The Ring Quarterfinal Match

The final KoTR of the match has Neville says he intends to defy gravity so he can become king. Harper says he will sit upon a throne of barbed wire and twisted steel, his reign of terror is coming to WWE, long live the king. That sounds painful. Bell rings as Cole says the semi-finals will be tomorrow night on the WWE Network. Neville plays cat and mouse with Harper but drops him with a head scissors. Neville kicks him outside but Harper blocks a baseball slide by throwing him onto the steps. Neville hits a hurracarana off the steps for a pop. Neville throws Harper inside but Luke blocks a springboard clothesline with a jawbreaker. Harper uppercuts Neville as we cut to commercial. Back from break Harper has Neville in a chinlock as Cole says the winner faces Sheamus tomorrow night. Neville heaves Harper outside but Luke gets back in. Harper goes for a big boot but Neville moves, causing Harper to fly over the top to the floor. Neville does a HUGE asai moonsault off the top rope that had JBL impressed. JBL says Owen Hart was a high flying king but not like this. Back inside Neville executes a standing shooting star press but runs right into a big boot and a full nelson suplex. The cover gets 1....2....nope. Harper goes for the powerbomb but Neville slips out of it and german suplexes Luke. Neville hits a standing enziguiri but runs right into a sitout powerbomb for 1....2....NOOOOO. The crowd "this is awesome" as Harper calls for another powerbomb. The crowd chants "NXT" as they slug it out in the center of the ring. Harper throws Neville in the corner and uppercuts him. Harper sets up Neville on the top rope but Adrian gets headbutted off. Neville counters with a kick to the head and slips into a powerbomb. Neville goes upstairs and hits Red Arrow. He covers for 1..2...3...to win the match. The crowd loved it as Neville is quickly becoming a fan favorite. That was easily the best match of the night and the semifinals are set. Wade Barrett takes on R-Truth with Adrian Neville takes on Sheamus tomorrow night. 

Time of match: 10:17

Winner: Neville by pinfall

Cole says voting is closing on the PPV main event as we cut right to the main of event of tonight's show. Getting right to the point. Reigns makes his entrance as Booker says Neville will win tomorrow night while JBL picks Barrett. Let's get to it.

Match 9

Roman Reigns and Randy Orton vs Kane and Seth Rollins (with Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury)

Tensions are mounting between Kane and Rollins while Reigns is free of Big Show and looks to get back in the title picture. Rollins and Kane shake hands on their way to the ring and JBL hilariously calls it bogus. The crowd chants "Justin Bieber" at Rollins as JBL says its uncalled for. Rollins starts with go-behinds on Reigns before putting in an arm-ringer. Reigns counters with one of his own and Rollins rolls out of the ring. Kane gives him lip service outside and Rollins gets back inside. Cole brings up Reigns' win the night before as Roman hits a tilt-a-whirl slam on Seth. Roman rams Seth's head into the buckle then tags in Orton who kicks Rollins in the ribs. Orton front suplexes Rollins off the top rope then stomps the chest of Seth. Randy uppercuts Seth then tags Reigns back in. Reigns pounds away on Seth but Rollins gets out of a scoop slam attempt then bails to the outside. Seth tags Kane in back inside as JBL hilariously says he'd put Heath Slater in the main event at Payback because he didn't get the chance to face Cena causing Cole to laugh. Booker "Why?" Orton tags in and stomps on Kane's toes like Moe Howard. Orton rams Kane's head into the buckle but Kane counters with a big boot. Cole says we got a commercial break to shut JBL up and JBL says he'll keep talking anyway. When we get back from break Rollins has Orton in a chinlock. Orton fights his way out of it but gets taken down by Rollins anyway. Seth covers for a deuce and drops Randy with a series of short arm clotheslines. Orton counters with a t-bone suplex as Kane gets the tag. Reigns gets the hot tag and he unloads on Kane with clotheslines and forearm blasts. Roman jumps off the second rope and clotheslines Kane before hitting Rollins with a samoan drop. Roman clotheslines Rollins over the top rope and sends Kane outside as well. Roman runs off the ropes but Joey Mercury grabs his foot. Reigns chases Mercury but runs into a Kane thrust to the throat. Kane sends Roman into the ring post twice before throwing him inside. Kane stomps on Reigns and sends him back first into the buckle. Rollins tags in and drops a knee on Roman's head. JBL says Roman has to be fatigued after his match last night and Booker adds the "London cab service".  Roman tries to fight back but Seth hits a standing enziguiri. Seth covers for a deuce before Kane tags back in. Seth throws Roman into a Kane side backbreaker and Kane covers for 1....2...nope.  Kane locks in a bearhug but Roman powers out of it. Roman kicks Kane in the head but Kane counters with a clothesline. Kane covers for 1...2....nope. Rollins tags in who works the back of Reigns with boots. Rollins taunts Roman that no one is getting a shot at him and tags Kane back in. Kane and Roman slug it out in the middle of the ring but Kane gets the upper hand with knees to the midsection. Reigns counters a suplex with one of his own and reaches for Orton. Rollins tags in and denies Roman just in time. Rollins misses a charge in the corner and rolls him up for 1...2...no. Roman actually lifts Rollins up and slams him and makes the hot tag to Orton. Randy clotheslines Rollins down but runs into an elbow. Seth tries a springboard crossbody but Orton powerslams him and covers for 1...2...nope, Kane breaks it up. Noble gets knocked off the apron and Kane goes for the chokeslam but Roman blocks the hand. Rollins dropkicks Kane by accident and runs into an uppercut. Roman calls for the Superman punch and nails....Mercury with it. Seth knees Roman through the ropes to the outside but Randy hits the second rope DDT on Seth. Rollins blocks the RKO with a roll up but Randy kicks out at two. Rollins superkicks Randy outside the ring as the other three guys are around the announce table. Rollins dives through the ropes but Roman and Randy move causing Seth to barely touch Kane. Kane sells it anyway and Seth rolls Orton inside. Kane goes berserk and heaves both Noble and Mercury over the announce table to clear out Booker and JBL. Seth tries to get Kane to stop and Kane uppercuts him out of instinct. Kane rolls Rollins inside who eats a Superman punch and an RKO. Orton covers for 1...2......3 to win the match. Cole says The Authority is imploding and Kane's lost it. Orton and Reigns get the victory as Cole goes to the replay. Good match and not as formulaic as others have been. It was supposed to show the dissention between Kane and Rollins and the babyfaces exploited it.

After the match, Orton splits to the entrance way while Reigns remains inside the ring. Kane grabs the mic and says here are the results of the poll. Naturally the triple threat wins with 78% of the vote. Reigns is happy while Rollins is irate. Roman hits a spear on Rollins for good measure. Cole says the Universe has spoken as Randy and Reigns eyeball each other. We got to the replay of Rollins getting upset then being speared. What a way to end the show.

Time of match: 18:18

Winners: Reigns and Orton by pinfall

Lot to unpack tonight. Tomorrow night's King of The Ring's semifinals are set with R-Truth vs Bad News Barrett and Adrian Neville vs Sheamus. Bray Wyatt and Ryback are going to duke it out with one of them destined to fade further into oblivion. New Day still has Kidd & Cesaro's number as the new top heel tag team, Naomi is still number 1 contender for the Divas title with the Bella Twins apparently turning face for absolutely no reason. Rosa Mendes is with Adam Rose now, Cena vs Rusev in an I Quit match will settle the feud once and for all and Kane STILL can't get along with Rollins. The problem is they're milking the Kane/Rollins dissension but already cashed in when Kane essentially caused Randy to lose at Extreme Rules. At least now they're putting Reigns back in the title picture, so the question is simply when will they pull the trigger on Roman. Ironically the next PPV after Payback is Money In The Bank so they may have yet another surprise cash in sooner rather than later. Either way the deck looks to be evening out with Kane teetering on a turn although The Authority is still in Rollins' corner. Going to be interesting to see what happens between now and Payback. For some reason the King of The Ring Semi-finals and Finals would be held the following night in Moline. I'll see you there.