By Steve Khan, WrestlingObserver.com
– Air Date: May 14, 2015 (May 13 in Canada)
– Location: Ford Center in Evansville, IN
News:
Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins all won matches on the final show before Payback. Also, Ambrose and Reigns did not touch on this show. Not even a handshake.
Show Recap:
Bray Wyatt interrupted the SmackDown intro with a backstage promo. Bray said he would expose Ryback’s weakness and turn his dreams into nightmares. “Resist the itch… and run.” Usual stuff from Bray, but a good way to start the show.
Dean Ambrose came out to a good reaction. Ambrose said he likes to work alone, fight alone, drink alone. It felt good standing alone on Raw because that’s what we’re going to see at Payback. Ambrose planted his only friend with a Dirty Deeds because things got out of control. He had something to say to Roman Reigns, so Reigns came out.
Ambrose said he wasn’t going to apologize. Reigns wasn’t expecting one, he knew Ambrose would pull the trigger. Reigns said they’d be brothers tonight, but at Payback he’s bringing the big guns and hopes Ambrose does the same. Reigns offered a handshake but Kane came out before Ambrose could comply.
Kane said they should be more worried about Payback. Ambrose told Kane he should be worried about being out of a job if Rollins loses the title. Ambrose feigned concerned that this could be the last time we see Corporate Kane, so Kane put him in a match with Sheamus. (Somewhere in here, Tom Phillips said Reigns could get a hug from lady momentum if he can beat Kane tonight.)
Dean Ambrose beat Sheamus via pinfall
Ambrose controlled early until Sheamus launched him into the barricade. After a break, Ambrose escaped a cloverleaf by getting to the ropes, but Sheamus followed with White Noise. Ambrose dodged a Brogue kick and hit a suicide dive.
Ambrose followed with a rebound clothesline after taking a back breaker. With both men battling on the top turnbuckle, Ambrose dropped Sheamus face-first onto the steel post and used a school boy for the pin. Nice match and the crowd was into Dean.
Backstage, Seth Rollins reminded Kane that he’ll be out of a job if he doesn’t help Seth at Payback. Kane said he doesn’t need this job because he’s saved his money. So he won’t end up like Big Show or Shawn Michaels. Rollins sarcastically wished him luck tonight. Kane isn’t a fan of snarkiness so he put Rollins in a match with Ryback. Seth’s reaction to this was perfect.
Rusev and Lana came out. The crowd chanted “USA” so Rusev yelled at them because “the woman” wants to speak. Lana read a prepared statement apologizing to the Russian Federation for her actions. Rusev said he showed on Raw how he will beat John Cena, who was saying “I quit” in his head before passing out to the Accolade.
Rusev showed a video of Cena saying “I quit” on a loop. I usually hate it when they cut to the screen during a promo, and it’s even more odd when Rusev does it. However, he seemed amused by the video and that made it worth it. The Russian flag dropped and Rusev yelled.
Backstage, Ryback told Renee he won’t be distracted tonight because if he beats Rollins it could mean a future title shot. Ryback understands that Bray thinks he’s just a meat-head, but he’s no dummy and saw fear his Bray’s eyes on Raw. Ryback was better than usual here, probably because he turned the volume down a lot, and sounded almost like a real person for once.
WWE Champion Seth Rollins w/J&J Security beat Ryback via pinfall (Non-title)
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Before the match, Rollins showed a replay of himself getting beat up on Raw. He wanted everyone to enjoy it because it’ll never happen again. Rollins said his opponents are just as cutthroat as he is, and he’ll pick up the pieces when they’re done cutting each others throats.
Ryback came out. During his entrance they showed a graphic plugging his match at Payback, but Bray appeared suddenly and attacked him from behind.
After a break, the referee checked on Ryback who wanted them to start the match, so they did. Rollins took control and used a regular DDT, instead of his modified DDT, but Ryback kicked out.
Ryback came back with a back body drop, spinebuster and meat-hook clothesline. However, Mercury distracted the referee, allowing Rollins to hit a flying knee and two superkicks for the win. So it’s possible Rollins has ditched his DDT finisher already.
They announced the Bella Twins vs. Naomi and Tamina for Payback. Backstage, Naomi told Renee that they’re tired of being overlooked and they’re taking what’s theirs. Tamina said the division belongs to them. Naomi called Nikki fake and Brie a quitter like her husband Daniel Bryan. This was booed. Naomi was good here.
Tyson Kidd w/Natalya & Cesaro beat Kofi Kingston w/Xavier Woods & Big E via submission
Xavier Woods said their match with Kidd and Cesaro would be a 2 out of 3 falls match. Big E called Kidd and Cesaro bad people. He said they don’t recycle, they double dip, and when they go to the theatres, they only buy one ticket but watch two movies. Kingston said the people don’t have to be like Kidd and Cesaro, they can be like the New Day. They tried to start a “New Day rocks” chant but it didn’t work.
During the match, the crowd chanted “New Day sucks” and Woods responded by yelling “We’re the champions! We’re so good!” Kidd won quickly with a sharpshooter. It doesn’t matter in today’s WWE, but it’s odd that Kofi pinned Randy Orton two weeks ago and tapped out here to Kidd.
They aired a video package replaying Daniel Bryan’s announcement on Raw. Jerry Lawler said it was hard to watch and they wished him luck.
Neville beat Bo Dallas via pinfall
Before the match, Bo Dallas came out to no reaction. He said Bryan being out will be tough but Bo was here for the people. He tried for cheap heat, repeatedly saying that Bryan let them down, but it didn’t work. Naomi just used Bryan’s injury for heat a few minutes ago. This promo died.
The match started during commercial and King Barrett joined commentary. Bo got a little offense, but Neville won quickly after two enzuigiris and Red Arrow. Afterwards, Barrett said he would finish Neville with a royal Bullhammer. He told the crowd to chant “All Hail King Barrett” but they booed.
Backstage, Adam Rose made out with Rosa Mendes. Rosa was turned off by the man dressed in a hot dog costume because he was staring at them. Rose pushed him down and they continued to make out as Kane walked by. Ok.
No DQ Match: Roman Reigns beat Kane via pinfall
Kane attacked Reigns during his entrance, like Bray attacked Ryback earlier. When the match started, Kane tried to hit Reigns with the steel steps but Reigns attacked him with a kendo stick. Kane was able to cut him off and used the kendo stick on Reigns. Kane tried a chokeslam through the announce table, but Reigns landed on the table standing up and hit a flying clothesline.
Reigns did the apron table dropkick and hit Kane with the steps. Reigns set up tables in the ring and tried a superman punch, but Kane countered with a chokeslam through a table for a near fall. Reigns slipped out of a tombstone and nailed Kane with a superman punch and spear through a table for the win.
This was perfectly fine. They did the same angle twice on one show, but Ryback wasn’t able to overcome getting attacked, whereas Reigns did. And that was the point.
After the main event, they cut to Renee backstage interviewing Seth Rollins. Rollins basically said he wasn’t worried. Dean Ambrose showed up and offered them cookies. He tossed the cookie tray at Mercury and attacked Rollins. Noble and Mercury held him back for Rollins but Roman ran back to make the save.
The heels ran off leaving Ambrose and Reigns. They looked at each other, then looked down realizing the WWE Championship belt was at their feet. Reigns offered a handshake again, but Ambrose picked up the title instead. Ambrose briefly stared at the belt, but he put it on Reigns’ shoulder and told him, “Don’t worry, I’ll take it on Sunday.”
Final Thoughts:
Good show. Ambrose isn’t as over as he could’ve been if they had stuck with him in the fall, but he’s a huge breath of fresh air in the main event mix. I’m also glad Ambrose and Reigns did not touch on this show.
Match Results:
Dean Ambrose beat Sheamus via pinfall
Seth Rollins beat Ryback via pinfall (Non-Title)
Tyson Kidd beat Kofi Kingston via submission
Neville beat Bo Dallas via pinfall
Roman Reigns beat Kane via pinfall – No-DQ Match