WWE SmackDown Recap and Reactions: Monster's Ball

This week's episode of SmackDown, airing on the SyFy Network on September 10, 2015, comes from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.  The WWE is building towards their Night of Champions pay-per-view (PPV) on September 20. For full results and the live blog, click here.

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They All Fall Down

The Wyatt Family started the show tonight and the fireflies were out in full effect.  Luke Harper told the crowd to listen to Bray Wyatt because his words will show us the way.  The Eater of Worlds says that Roman Reigns is cursed and sick, obsessed with being "the one".  He said Reigns is smart and he does not care about the fans and does not care what they think.  He only wants to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion because he wants fans to worship him.

Wyatt goes on to say that Dean Ambrose is cursed with loyalty.  He said Ambrose "stands beside his king like a good little servant".  Wyatt goes on to pretty much threaten to turn his biggin, Braun Strowman, loose on anyone who dares to help Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose at Night of Champions. It does not matter how many people come at the Waytts because blind mice never escape the maze. This was the best promo Bray Wyatt has delivered in this entire feud year.  I got chills.  I believed every word Bray Wyatt said.

I am seriously reconsidering the relationship between Reigns and Ambrose.  Job very well done, Bray.

Later in the night, Ambreigns teamed with Jimmy Uso against the New Day in a six man tag match.  There seems to be a little side beef between Reigns/Ambrose and the New Day and this match is continuing the trend.  As a fan of the Usos, I have to say I really enjoyed seeing Jimmy back in action.  Not as much as I enjoyed Xavier Woods playing the trombone to the tune of his  teammates' offense, though.

This match was great.  Unfortunately, it did not reach a decisive finish.  Once Reigns tagged Jimmy back in, the lights went out.  When they came back on, the Wyatts had appeared on the ramp and Strowman had Jimmy in his chokehold.  Reigns and Ambrose ran to help but the lights went on and off again.  The Wyatts had disappeared and Jimmy was left for dead.  Ambrose was visibly upset as Reigns showed concern for his cousin.

This could be promising.

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The Bo$$ of This House

Before the Sasha Banks versus Paige match even started, the referee ejected both competitors' respective teammates from ringside for being quite aggressive towards each other.  I really liked this.  It shows genuine tension between the groups.  They can no longer stand in the same ring together without wanting to beat each other up.  As for the match, that is exactly what these ladies did: beat each other up.

The two ladies were having quite a physical match from the start.  Paige got the advantage early but Sasha quickly cut her off and dominated.  Her knees looked brutal.  Her trash talking was top notch.  Paige was mounting a comeback when Sasha landed some shots in on Paige and then she slapped her hard across the face.  Paige played possum, going into the corner, then speared the crap out of Sasha and started throwing hands.  Paige and Sasha brawled outside the ring and inside.  Multiple referees and their own teammates could not contain the fight for a while.

I now care more about Sasha versus Paige than I do Nikki Bella versus Charlotte.

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Feed Me Less

The main event was a Champion versus Champion lumberjack match between the Intercontinental Champion, Ryback, and the United States and WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Seth Rollins.  Confession time:  I HATE Ryback versus Rollins matches. The narrative seems to always be that Rollins is clearly outmatched against the Big Guy.  When the most interesting part of your match are the lumberjacks, you have a problem.  Thankfully, this match existed so Kevin Owens could cost Ryback a win, which he did.

The prize fighter gets a little closer to his next prize.

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All the Rest

• Miz versus Cesaro: In a rematch from RAW (one of three rematches), Cesaro got the win in a very entertaining match.  Loved the transition into the finish.
• Ambreigns promo: Watching the interaction here, I realized Bray Wyatt is correct in one thing.  Roman is smart.  He knows his cousin 'bout to get murked tonight.
• Seth Rollins promo: Sweet Jesus, even his backstage promos are long winded.  Also, Sheamus, I cannot think of one wrestling fan I know that actually wants to see you cash in.  So, there's that.
• The Ascension (with Stardust) versus the Lucha Dragons: The Ascension got the quick victory thanks to a distraction by Stardust.  Neville came down after the match to stop a post match beat down of the Dragons and chased the bad guys away.
• Nikki Bella versus Charlotte promo: This was just plain terrible.  Both ladies sounded stiff and Nikki's "she's so jelly" thing was ridiculous.  Also, Nikki will have at least tied the record as longest reigning WWE Diva's Champion so she still has made history and has something to brag about.

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SmackDown continues to build up angles spreading across the WWE.  There was even focus on the two stories with the women.  Most of the matches were solid but two did go unresolved.  Since both were to further the story, I have no issues with that.  If you are a Bray Wyatt fan, I implore you to watch his opening promo.  It was awesome.

Rating: B-

That's all for this week, Cagesiders!  What are your thoughts on the show?  Let me know what you think in the comments.