Kofi Kingston opened yet another show, this time talking about what happened on Raw. He beat Kevin Owens. He beat Sami Zayn. And then, Samoa Joe struck. That match is already booked for Extreme Rules.
But his words brought out a familiar foe in Dolph Ziggler, who still won’t let this WWE Championship thing rest. According to Ziggler, Kofi took the coward’s way out of their cage match and it still should have been him.
Dolph. You’re sounding awfully clingy there, bud. Let it go.
But no. Ziggler secured a match where if he won, he’d get added to the Extreme Rules title match. And get this: it would be a...2 out of 3 falls match!!!
...
...Anyone else already getting annoyed with the 2 out of 3 falls matches?
It was a fine main event, and I’m actually quite content with WWE using these weekly shows to slowly filter out challengers. When WWE mentioned that there would be no more automatic rematches, it stands to reason that there should be no more rematches for prospective challengers too, right? Well, this match served to snuff out Ziggler’s dreams for good.
Not much else to say, because there wasn’t anything else happening in terms of story. Ziggler and Kofi are good wrestlers. They entertained just fine in the main event.
Nikki def. Bayley
On Raw, Alexa Bliss was telling Nikki Cross to find a way to fix her mistake from Stomping Grounds.
Welp. This is one hell of a way to redeem yourself. Cross got herself a match with Bayley with the stipulation that if she won, Bliss would get another shot at the title. How that makes sense? No clue. But Cross got the job done; without any distractions or people at ringside, she was able to go 1-on-1 with Bayley and pick up a win.
Now this stuff’s getting interesting. Bliss is clearly using Cross and this result is undoubtedly going to make her ecstatic, as well as quelling the urge to ditch Cross so soon. But how will Cross respond once people start pointing out that she’s allowing someone else to take her glory – all in the name of a one-sided “friendship?”
This is a really good character moment for Cross. If WWE focuses on her character and giving her an engaging dilemma, this could be really good.
Why is Shane still here
Why. Whyyyyyy.
The Miz went to Shane’s door asking for another fight. Elias delivered the message, and Shane did his usual crap. “Oh sure, he can have a match! If he beats you, that is.”
I’m over it. You’re over it. We’re all over it.
It went exactly as you’d expect, except with the addition of the 2 out of 3 falls thing because Vince suddenly likes those. Elias got the first fall and then Shane interfered. The DQ gave Miz a fall, but they just kept beating him up as the crowd chanted “No more Shane!”
The funniest bit might have simply been the fact that no babyfaces helped Miz. None whatsoever. Which is also pretty damn odd, right? Shane’s been a massive thorn in the side of everybody for months now. Surely they’ve thought about banding together by this point, right?
But nah. Let’s sacrifice Miz and sit back here on our hands. Oh well.
(Nothing else notable happened...if you’d call what’s written above notable at all.)
The Rest
New Day def. Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan – Sick Gojira shirt, Rowan! Not much to this one. The New Day got a win until...
Heavy Machinery and New Day def. Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Bryan, and Rowan – KO and Zayn interfered after the bell, so Heavy Machinery made the save. And I’ve got mixed feelings here. Having HM mix it up with 6 really established guys is good. KO’s confusion when he saw Heavy Machinery work was also good, as well as the way he seemingly gave up on saving Zayn in the end.
My only issue is that all of this took up a sizeable chunk of the show and we’ve seen all these guys 3 days straight. As someone who’s paid to watch every show, it’s just overexposure at a certain point. My concentration fizzles out. It’s probably fine for casual viewers, but wearying for me.
Ali is unique – He’s always had phenomenal video packages that he posted on social media, and we not get one on television. This one had a superhero-like feel to it. He’s walking up on people drinking or fighting or something bad and he’s meant to be the physical embodiment of hope or strength or whatever.
The rhyming was pretty cute-sy and it wasn’t just a home run for me, but I liked it. I’d like to see where they take this and how Ali can become a prominent player on SmackDown.
Finn Balor has a new challenger – FINN IS ALIVE! He complimented Andrade when asked why he brought the Demon to Andrade. According to Balor, the better the opponent, the better he has to be.
Good time for Shinsuke Nakamura to sidle up, eh? Man, these mid card feuds are INSANE. AJ Styles vs. Ricochet. Finn Balor vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. Sheesh.
24/7 still rocks – Poor Drake Maverick. Now R-Truth treating him as if he’s on Punk’d as well as pinning him at his wedding.
Someone’s knocked on Aleister Black’s door – Man, Black has some serious acting chops. Really enjoyed him here. We flittered through so many emotions so quickly. From anger, to frustration, to bargaining, to surprise, to anticipation...to savage, primal hunger. Yeah. This should be fun.
Sonya Deville def. Ember Moon – These two have been bullying Ember for a while, so she got her shot at one of them in the ring. However, she got distracted by Mandy Rose and lost because of it. Probably need some backup, Ember.
The episode was fine. There’s stuff to look forward to on SmackDown, but the Shane stuff is yet again abysmal and nothing truly intriguing happened.
Grade: C+
Your turn.