Written by Matthew Widdis
The Kevin Owens Show is in San Antonio with very special guests, Drew McIntyre and (The Best in the World) Shane McMahon! They insist that they’re not worried about The Undertaker going into Extreme Rules and their tag match vs “Taker and Roman Reigns. In fact, it’s going to be a “No Holds Barred” match. Kevin Owens seems a bit dubious. To play Devil’s Advocate, he plays the clip from Monday Night RAW, featuring Shane McMahon scrambling to get away from the ring as Undertaker approaches. KO assures the audience that it was merely a reflex response on the part of Shane to the loud sound of the gong and not born out any conscious fear.
Shane detects the sarcasm that Owens is laying on pretty thick and tells him to be “a good little talk show host” and read off of the index cards like he’s supposed to be doing. Kevin starts reading questions about Shane’s (exaggerated) victories but switches gears to address Shane’s loss to The Undertaker in 2016 at Wrestlemania. Drew and Shane have had enough and grab the cards out of KO’s hand when Dolph Ziggler’s music hits!
Kevin Owens loses it on The Show Off. He boils over about how Dolph has been coming out saying, “It should have been me (and it should have been 8 years ago!)” The crowd pops big for the rant. Dolph goes over his credentials and insults Kevin’s weight. Kevin suggests that Shane decide which of them gets the next shot at Kofi Kingston. Shane says that neither of them will but, if they want to be champions so much, they can team up against Heavy Machinery tonight with the winners getting injected into the Smackdown Tag Team Championship match at Extreme Rules!
My Thoughts: I often complain that the tag team title picture gets clogged by “two main event guys with nothing to do” getting thrown into the mix. If it’s Kevin Owens and Dolph Ziggler, I may not this time. Two of the most talented guys on the roster who (under different circumstances) certainly could lay claim to being overlooked in terms of the world title. And, man, does Kevin Owens have some late ’90s Kevin Nash level mic ability, or what?
In the back Kayla Braxton gets a word with Daniel Bryan & Rowan about defending the titles in a Triple Threat at Extreme Rules. Daniel expresses his displeasure at the situation and Kayla’s perceived lack of computational skills.
Xavier Woods & Big E are far more congenial. They, too, are concerned about the fact that they don’t have to get beaten in order to lose but they’re up for the challenge.
The New Daniel Bryan (w/ Rowan) vs Big E (w/ Xavier Woods)
Daniel tries put on a wrestling clinic but Big E brickwalls him at every turn with an overwhelming strength advantage. Can’t outmuscle kicks and punches, though, and Daniel gets the upper hand. A chop block gets E on the mat, where D-Bry gets surgical. Even though he rallies after a slap wakes him up, Big E’s trio of belly-to-belly suplexes and the big splash can’t hold down The Yes Man. Neither man can connect with dives to the outside but Big E connects with the ringpost after Rowan drives him into it headfirst. The big redwood rolls E into the ring and takes out Xavier Woods before he can protest. Big E groggily rises to get a flying knee right in the mouth.
Your winner by pinfall… The New Daniel Bryan!
My Thoughts: Both men got their usual spots in but it didn’t seem like “paint-by-numbers.” It didn’t do much for the dynamic of their upcoming match at Extreme Rules but it was good story-telling with Big E being immune to Daniel’s early holds by way of being freaky strong and Rowan counter-balancing that. Reinforces that DB and Redwood Rowan are the baddies and that the match is coming up.
Kayla Braxton is now with R-Truth. Truth doesn’t want to see the footage but Kayla rolls it anyway. On RAW, Drake Maverick won back the 24/7 Championship and immediately left on his honeymoon. Truth says that he has heard that Drake Maverick’s honeymoon is taking place right there in San Antonio! He’s on the hunt to get his title back!
My Thoughts: Not Truth’s best promo since this schtick began but always funny to hear him confuse the title with the European and Television Championships and Maverick with Hornswoggle (any royalties to him or do they just let him out from under the ring?)
Alexa Bliss tells Nikki Cross that she will hosting Moment of Bliss in her stead tonight. Nikki is hesitant but Alexa insists on the basis of Nikki’s recent victories and tells her that she can do it.
Nikki hits the stage and San Antonio pops for her but is less-than-enthusiastic about her thanking Alexa. Nikki promises to talk slowly to accommodate for her accent and brings out her guest, Smackdown Women’s Champion, Bayley! Bayley and Nikki greet each other cordially but it goes downhill when Alexa comes up. Nikki is fervently defending Lil’ Miss Bliss until Bayley asks her the big question: Since Nikki beat Bayley last week and Carmella last night, why is the title shot going to Alexa instead of her? Nikki can’t answer that but opts to challenge Bayley to an impromptu match, which the champ accepts!
Bayley vs Nikki Cross
After some back-and-forth, Nikki Cross appears to lose her SAnitY and goes on a hot streak, getting a two count after a high cross body. Bayley weathers the storm and throws off a tornado DDT before catching Nikki in a Bayley-to-belly.
Your winner by pinfall… Bayley!
My Thoughts: Two ladies with for real in-ring ability but a bit iffy on the microphone that came in with a singular personality trait (sweet girl vs crazy girl.) Both have improved in respect to mic skills but lost some of their original persona in the process. One lost all of her steam after a program with Alexa Bliss. The other? We shall see.
Ali is in the city streets again and cuts a straight up promo about his motivations for his goal of becoming WWE Champion: He wants to change the minds of the people out on the streets and show them that somebody with similarities to them can achieve great things.
My Thoughts: A smooth set of tracks for a good train of thought.
After pulling pancakes out from the WWE Championship belt and winging them around like a pastel Batman, Kofi Kingston is next to Kayla Braxton in the ring awaiting Samoa Joe. Joe comes out to his ominous theme and chants of his name. First thing he does is warn Kayla that it’s gonna get serious so she should step on out the ring. Joe says that he’s wise to how Kofi hustles the crowds with his goofy antics while Big E and Xavier Woods have his back. Kofi says that he’s done it all by himself while Joe’s done nothing but lose the US Title and sneak attack him.
Joe gives Kofi a backhanded compliment on being witty and savvy while accusing him of getting his kids in on the act. Kofi says he isn’t mad because he knows that Joe is just jealous. He then manages to get the crowd going in a chant of “Jealous Joe!” Kofi gets a mixed reaction from the crowd when he tells Joe that he will never have an in-ring moment like Kofi’s to share with his kids! Joe gives Kofi an offer: Shake his hand there and now and Kofi and his friends and family are safe from Joe until Extreme Rules. Kofi is hesitant and Joe insists that his time is running out. Kofi puts his hand out but raises it into a middle finger directly to Joe’s face! Trouble in Paradise and Kofi holds the belt high before walking off.
My thoughts: A middle finger straight up. Smackdown appears to be following suit with RAW in getting a little edge back into it. That’s a good thing. That’s why Roman got more reaction from telling his rivals “Shut up, bitch,” and smacking them in the mouth than anything else he was given to memorize. That’s why Becky Lynch blew up when she made what was planned to be a heel turn. That’s what was missing. Not bra-and panties matches. Not paternity angles. Not driving industrial equipment into the arena. The attitude was more important than the era.
Sarah Schreiber interviews Tucker and Otis of Heavy Machinery. They say that they’ve got a lot of respect for Dolph Ziggler, Kevin Owens, and the 18 titles they’ve held between them, but Heavy Machinery is a team and Dolph and KO aren’t.
Apollo Crews is walking out to get ready for his match vs Andrade… while Abby the Witch looks on from a doorway. Creepy f—ing puppets.
We see a recap of Braun Strowman tackling Bobby Lashley through the LED screens on the RAW entranceway, resulting in them tumbling into the electrical engineering portion of the set. Braun was taken away in an ambulance. On his Twitter video, Lashley says that Braun deserved what happened for endangering them both and promises to kill “that son of a bitch” if they cross paths again.
My Thoughts: On one hand, the angle is a bit goofy. Becky complained less when Charlotte speared her through the set and how in the hell did Braun get the worst of it? On the other, the spot (and especially, Paul Heyman’s perceived hand in it) have added some life to a feud that was going nowhere.
Apollo Crews vs Andrade (w/ Zelina Vega)
These two start out brawling to make NHL great Tie Domi proud until Andrade ends up out of the ring and Apollo catches him with a moonsault from the apron. Either Zelina was watching Hellraiser to get inspiration for ringside gear or she forgot to pack anything but belts when they left the last town. Andrade gains control of things after slipping out of a gorilla press. He pours it on until the referee peels him off from laying right hands on Apollo in the corner.
Apollo ducks out of the way to avoid double knees in the corner and, after a hands-free kip-up, pulls off the gorilla press and the follow-up standing moonsault for a two count. Andrade is treading water but the feint back elbow cuts Apollo down to size. Andrade goes for a plancha but Apollo catches him in mid-air and drops him face-first onto the apron. While referee tends to him inside the ring, Zelina hits a hurricanrana off the apron, sending Apollo headfirst into the announce table. El Idolo is quick to pick up on it and drags Crews back inside the ring for a Hammerlock DDT.
Your winner by pinfall… Andrade
In the locker room, Ziggler and Owens go over their potential game plan and their potential as a tag team.
Ember Moon gets a word of encouragement from Carmella on the way to her match against Mandy Rose.
Aleister Black is in a much better mood this week. There was a knock on the door last week… but no one there. He applauds the mind games but is anxious to fight across Heaven, Hell, and all points in between. Black offers Extreme Rules as their battleground.
Ember Moon vs Mandy Rose (w/ Sonya Deville)
A little distraction right off the bat but, otherwise a clean match. Mandy had clear control for the majority of it, turning Ember inside out with a suplex variation and folding her like a card table after a running high knee. Ember rallied in the end, however, and nailed The Eclipseto get her revenge on god’s Greatest Gift.
Your winner by pinfall… Ember Moon!
My Thoughts: Mandy is plenty capable in the ring but, up until now, has been a far cry from Ricky Steamboat. Whether it was good chemistry or just Ember selling her ass off, this was a really good match mechanically. If this ends their feud, so be it, but I’d like to see more out of this pairing.
Shelton Benjamin is asked about the Extreme Rules WWE title match for some reason. His response is to watch two flies playing tennis off camera, smile, and walk away.
Kevin Owens & Dolph Ziggler vs Heavy Machinery
Xavier & Big E are seated at their pancake laden announce table by ringside, while Daniel Bryan & Rowan are seated in the corner by the announcers. Both teams eye each other warily.
Dolph and Otis show off some of their amateur background to start the match while the champs jaw about The New Day to the point that they can’t take it anymore and a ringside brawl ensues! Big E takes the flying knee again while Xavier Woods is skull slammed through the pancake table!
Tucker proves to be more than a match for Kevin Owens in terms of power and athleticism but falls short against Dolph Ziggler’s cunning when he rushes Zig on the apron and tumbles to the outside. The non-established tag team makes great use of frequent tags and viciousness to wear down Tucker, starting with a neckbreaker/senton combo. Tucker gets his big break when he hits a cross body off the second turnbuckle onto KO. Both men tag and a fresh Otis looks like a polar bear with a pool toy when he ragdolls Ziggler around the ring. Ziggler saves himself with a satellite DDT and a tag to Owens. Owens is tossed out of the ring and Ziggler tries to hit the ZigZag from behind but gets shrugged oof and bulldozed in the corner. Caterpillar lands but so does a KO superkick. He goes for a stunner but gets pushed off. Ziggler’s superkick lands… right on Owens’ chin when Otis ducks! Compactor on Kevin Owens and Heavy Machinery are headed to Extreme Rules.
Your winners by pinfall… Heavy Machinery!
An irate Owens hits Ziggler with a stunner and rants that this is his show while the crowd calls for “one more time.”
My Thoughts: It would have been nice to see Kevin Owens get closer to becoming a Grand Slam champion. It would have been nicer to see Dolph Ziggler not pushed towards the comedy club stage again. But, I’m guessing we’ll see a heck of a match between them at Extreme Rules or SummerSlam… and that the Kevin Owens face turn that was planned for his return will at least be teased.
Final Thought: A good show all around. Good wrestling. Short matches but they got a fifth one in there. No “Thank you, Bischoff!” chants but that’s to be expected. Most interesting thing is, though. I’m having a hard time reading where we go from here. Very exciting.
