Smackdown
Date:
January 29, 2015
Location:
XL Center, Hartford, Connecticut
Commentators:
Byron Saxton, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
This
is a rare live show due to the massive snow storm in the northeast
that wiped out Tuesday's tapings. That might actually be the best
thing they could have had happen to them after the negative reaction
to the Royal Rumble. Tonight's main event is yet another Bryan vs.
Kane showdown, this time in a casket match. Let's get to it.
Here's
HHH to welcome us to Raw before realizing he's a bit shaken up. The
one thing WWE doesn't like is being told what to do, which is why
they did it. Just like they were told they would never have a
million Network subscribers, which is exactly what they announced
this week. He actually thanks the fans for subscribing in a rare
genuine act. Then he was told they couldn't have a show in Hartford,
so here they are for the live show.
WWE
isn't the only one with a controversy right now because the NFL and
Roger Goodell have a problem with their balls. Some like them hard
and some like them soft, but WWE has never had a problem with balls.
However, that's not something they have an issue with in WWE. HHH is
the same way, because he has a problem with the man called Sting, and
he'll be dealing with that face to face at Fast Lane.
That
brings him back to the Royal Rumble which had its fair share of
controversy. First of all there was an exceptional triple threat
where Rollins proved that he is the future, Cena proved that he is
the past and Brock Lesnar proved that he is the beast and World
Heavyweight Champion.
However,
that wasn't the major controversy. The controversy was due to the
Royal Rumble itself, which everyone has been talking about. We see
some clips with Cole talking about how the fans are upset that guys
like Ziggler, Bryan and Wyatt have been eliminated, leaving Big Show
and Kane in the end. Reigns eliminated Rusev to win and cemented his
spot at Wrestlemania.
HHH
promises to make an announcement on Raw that is going to end the
controversy and shake the WWE to its core. That sounds like trying
to fix the main event already, which might not be the worst idea in
the world. This brings out Reigns, who says there was no controversy
because he won the Rumble. HHH agrees that he won the match, so now
Reigns can win this one.
Big
Show vs. Roman Reigns
Now
let this be the FINAL match. They shove each other around to start
with Big Show shoving him around to start. This is where Reigns is
getting hurt more than anywhere else: he should be DESTROYING Big
Show to set up a major showdown with giant killer vs. ultimate giant
Lesnar at Wrestlemania. Instead it's Big Show looking dominant and
Reigns probably making a comeback to win in a surprise. Show throws
him across the ring as we're waiting on Reigns' first offense. He
slips out of a slam and sends Big Show into the buckle for a
breather, followed by a clothesline out to the floor as we take a
break.
Back
with Show working on the knee and putting on something like an ankle
lock. Reigns climbs up the ropes to escape and counters into an
ankle scissors of all things to send Show over the top. There's the
apron kick but of course Show pops back up. Some clotheslines have
little effect but a third one finally puts Show down.
A
Samoan drop plants Show again but he rolls outside. Another running
clothesline off the apron puts Show down but the knee is banged up.
Back in and the Superman Punch is countered into the chokeslam for
two. Show goes up but gets Superman Punched twice. He still won't
go down so Reigns slams him down, setting up the spear for the pin at
12:21.
Rating:
D. AND THEY'RE DONE. Like
NEVER AGAIN let these two fight. It's not even that Reigns is
looking bad out there but Big Show just looks like nothing. And what
does Reigns get out of this win? Nothing of course, because NO ONE
CARES ABOUT BIG SHOW. Dull
match here and it's almost infuriating after all the months of these
two fighting.
Vince
announces February as a free month for new subscribers on the WWE
Network.
Here
are Rollins and the Stooges with something to say. Rollins says he
told us he would prove himself on Sunday and that's exactly what he
did. He was a single count away from winning the WWE World
Heavyweight Title and he stuck a dagger into Lesnar's heart when he
broke his rib. He's feeling
so good that he's going to issue an open challenge to anyone in this
building that wants to face him.
Cue
Ryback to go after Rollins but the Stooges get the better of him.
This brings out Rowan to help but the Stooges and Rollins take him
down as well. Ziggler completes the trio but gets sent into the
announcers' table. Rollins knees Rowan in the back and the Authority
bails before anything else happens. I smell a six man.
Kane
is caressing a coffin and promises to lock Bryan inside tonight where
the only thing he'll be able to hear is the beating of his heart.
It's ashes to ashes and dust
to dust, so may God have mercy on Bryan's soul tonight, because
Kane will have none.
Jey
Uso vs. Tyson Kidd
They
start fast with Jey going to the corner but getting kicked in the
knee. Tyson immediately goes after the bad wheel and slaps on a leg
lock like a smart heel (or wrestler in general) should. Jey kicks
Kidd out to the floor and nails him in the head, setting up a charge
(so much for selling the leg). Kidd kicks him in the head though and
springboards back in, only to get caught in a Samoan drop. Jimmy
and Cesaro go at it on the floor, allowing Kidd to hit the
fisherman's neckbreaker for the pin at 2:30.
Here
are Rusev and Lana to talk about this past Sunday. Rusev says he
should have been the winner and Lana is so upset that she can't speak
English. He's the US
Champion and wants to challenge a man from the past: John Cena. Cena
has no hunger or desire and he isn't a superstar anymore. This
brings out Cena who looks shocked at what Rusev just said. Cena
threatens to shut Rusev's mouth for him.
It
sounds like Rusev has bought into his own hype because he thinks Cena
is no challenge for him. He's John Cena, a fifteen time World
Champion, a two time Royal Rumble winner and the face who runs this
place. He had that US Title years ago and challenges Rusev to do the
Hartford Hoedown. Rusev is
ready to go but Lana calls him off. The
Russians leave but Cena isn't done. He's fighting Rusev at Fast Lane
and ending the undefeated streak because the champ is here. This
really didn't accomplish much but
Cena sounded good.
Paige
vs. Nikki Bella for the Divas Title is official for Fast Lane. Paige
is in the back when the Bellas come up to make fun of her for being
pale. She elbows Brie in the face but takes a big forearm from
Nikki.
Goldust/Stardust
vs. Ascension
The
brothers aren't sure who is going to start until it's Stardust vs.
Viktor. A hiptoss puts
Viktor down and Stardust WOOs. Stardust
is shoved into a forearm to Konnor but Viktor nails him in the back
to take over. Konnor comes in an\d
stomps away and hammers away before it's quickly back to Viktor for a
chinlock.
Ascension
keeps hammering on Stardust in the corner as the Dusts are suddenly
the faces in this match. Stardust
finally gets over for a hot tag and Goldust comes in with a knee to
Viktor's head as everything breaks down. Stardust
tags himself back in and Goldust isn't pleased. Konnor shoves
Stardust off the top and a quick Fall of Man is good for the pin at
4:33.
Rating:
D+. This was more angle
advancement than anything else but it also gave Ascension another
win. It looks like they're splitting up the Dust Brothers and I
can't say I blame them at this point. There's nothing left for them
to do and they're starting to get stale as a team, so give the fans a
feud that they've been wanting for a good while.
Kane
is STILL looking at the casket and slams it shut.
A
magician is entertaining some
wrestlers in the back when
Miz and Mizdow come up to shake his hand. Miz gets annoyed at Mizdow
shaking his hand but the magician demonstrates a magic trick with a
fake egg, only to mystify
Miz by turning it into a reel egg. Miz doesn't believe it's real and
gets it cracked on his head. R-Truth: The yoke's on you. Mizdow
makes sure he isn't caught laughing. I'm
a big fan of magic so this was more entertaining than it should have
been.
Bray
Wyatt asks us what makes us happy. Maybe it's money or a fond
memory. He finds enjoyment in things that mommy and daddy hid from
us as children. Bray is legion among men so he asks what makes us
smile. When he's done, it
will be hard for us to ever smile again. Run.
Kane
vs. Daniel Bryan
Casket
match and they have a lot of
time for this one. Cole
talks about Bryan looking at the casket because he's never been in a
casket match before. I'm sure this has nothing to do with the
potential of being locked inside a casket. Kane
quickly goes for the casket but Bryan comes back with kicks to the
leg while wearing what appear to be furry boots. Kane
can't gorilla press him into the casket and runs away from an
attempted baseball slide as we take a break.
Back
with Kane putting Bryan's face in the ring skirt and hammering away
at the covered head. A big
boot almost knocks Bryan into the casket but he kicks Kane away for
the save. Kane plants him
with another side slam but has to fight out of a headscissors to put
him into the casket. Bryan nails a high cross body on the floor but
gets kicked into the casket, only to crawl out the other side. Kane
still can't get him into the casket and we take another break.
We
come back with Bryan holding Kane in a chinlock (you don't see that
everyday) and hitting his running clothesline to put the giant down.
Here come the YES kicks to send Kane outside, setting up the FLYING
GOAT and more right hands from Daniel. Kane
backdrops him over the barricade as the casket has been forgotten for
the moment. They head over to the announcers' table with Bryan
getting sent into the chairs, followed by a bunch of chair shots to
the back.
They
suddenly remember this is a casket match with Kane loading up Bryan
for a tombstone off the apron, only to have Daniel slip out and
dropkick him a few times. He tries a third dropkick but charges into
a chokeslam. Kane loads him into the casket but eats a kick to the
face followed by the YES Lock with Kane partially in the casket.
Even though it looks
terrible, it puts Kane into the casket but Bryan still can't close
it. Kane gets out again and
almost turns Bryan inside out with a clothesline. Bryan
escapes another chokeslam and the running knee to the side of the
head puts him in the casket for the win at 22:10.
Rating:
D. WAY too long here with a
boring match as they had another Bryan vs. Kane showdown that no one
wanted to see. Much like earlier, I really hope this is going to be
the end of the feud because there's no reason for these guys to fight
ever again. It took too long for Kane to put put away here, but at
least Bryan won. I'm not a fan of these matches though and it really
gets annoying watching them having a dull match until they remember
it's a casket match.
We
see HHH teasing the announcement for Raw again to close the show.
Overall
Rating: D+.
The promos carried this show and the show flew by but it really
wasn't all that great. The casket match felt like it went on
forever, much like the entire Bryan vs. Kane feud. Thankfully Big
Show vs. Reigns should be done, which is why you can already see the
gimmick rematch coming at Fast Lane. This was a passable show and
felt like Raw cut down to two hours.
If
they did this style show every Monday, I can't imagine how much more
the fans would calm down. They didn't pack this show full of
nonsense and there wasn't as much time being wasted. Keep the show
moving and don't let it get repetitive and the show becomes much
easier to sit through. That
third hour really does cripple Raw and this show is proof. It
wasn't good, but it was a lot easier to sit through.
Results
Roman
Reigns b. Big Show – Spear
Tyson
Kidd b. Jey Uso – Fisherman's neckbreaker
Ascension
b. Goldust/Stardust – Fall of Man to Stardust
Daniel
Bryan b. Kane – Bryan closed Kane in the casket
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