WWE Smackdown 6-4-15 TV Report: Kevin Owens NXT Title Open Challenge, Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus

By Steve Khan, WrestlingObserver.com

– Air Date: June 4, 2015 (June 3 in Canada)
– Location: Toyota Center in Houston, TX

The Big News:

Kevin Owens won his first (non-PPV) TV match in WWE, Paige cut an interesting promo, and Kane stood tall at the end of the show.

Show Recap:

Seth Rollins came out without the title or his backup. He held up a steel chair and reminisced about dismantling The Shield one year ago. Rollins said he broke them up because his goal from day one was to be the best, not one of the best, and was tired of sharing the spotlight.

He validated The Authority’s decision to anoint him the future by winning MITB by himself and by defeating both Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar at the same time. He said Lesnar is off licking his wounds and Reigns is trying to follow in his footsteps.

Rollins said Dean Ambrose is trying to convince everyone that stealing the belt makes him the champion, but Rollins said he would beat Ambrose and doesn’t need need J&J Security, Kane or Triple H to do it. As Rollins spoke, Ambrose interrupted from the screen.

Ambrose called Rollins a liar because everyone saw Ambrose beat Rollins in the middle of the ring and that makes him the rightful WWE Champion. Ambrose has spent the last year trying to survive the world that The Authority has created because every time he steps in the ring, he’s on the endangered species list. Ambrose said he would walk in and out of MITB as champion or die trying. Good segment.

#1 Contendership Triple Threat Tag-Team Match: Prime Time Players beat The Ascension and Lucha Dragons

Darren Young tried to start a “Prime Time Players” chant. It didn’t work. Titus O’Neil picked up the win after a pump handle slam on Viktor. Basic match. The crowd did like O’Neil.

After the match, Renee Young interviewed New Day backstage. They said they would retain the tag titles at MITB and Kofi Kingston would win the MITB briefcase. Kane interrupted and put Kingston in a match with Neville. New Day was negative about this.

They aired another backstage segment to promote [corporate sponsor] milkshakes. This vignette included the Prime Time Players, Miz and Big Show.

Intercontinental Champion Ryback beat Stardust via pinfall (Non-title)

Ryback won quickly with a clothesline and Shell Shocked.

Renee interviewed Paige on the stage. Paige said it seems like things were never going to change. The Bellas have been doing twin magic forever. They claim to be giving divas a chance but they’re really holding them back, specifically mentioning Emma, Summer and Naomi.

Paige said the Bellas are more concerned with being on magazine covers, but Paige has always been about what happens in the ring. Paige said she doesn’t conform, she has always been herself. If you don’t like the world the way it is, you have the power to change it, and she’s about to.

Well, that was interesting. This was a complete turnaround from the promo Paige did two weeks ago. Even if this is an angle to play into Total Divas, it’s still an improvement, and Paige is perfect for this role. The only negative is that the Bellas *just* did twin magic on Raw for the first time in a while, and they’re not really heels yet (after recently “turning” babyface). They should’ve held off on this promo for another week or two.

Funny enough, after Paige spoke about not fitting in, they cut to Luke Harper backstage who spoke about he and Erick Rowan not fitting in. Harper said he and Rowan were family.

Kevin Owens came out for the top-of-the-hour segment.

Owens said Michael Cole isn’t here to introduce him this week because we all know who he is now. He’s the guy who beat John Cena in his first match and would do it again at MITB.

Owens said Cena has him confused with a little kid wearing a Cena shirt, like his son, but his son is 7 years old and doesn’t know better. Owens listened to Cena ramble on Monday and realized that Cena is delusion. Owens used to think it was an act, but Cena really believes what he says.

After Cena said Owens isn’t a real man, Owens can’t let his son be influenced by someone who is so delusional and whose catchphrases are utter garbage. Owens said he was the real man and real role model and invited someone to accept his NXT Championship Open Challenge. Owens was great here and the crowd got more and more into it as he talked.

NXT Championship: Kevin Owens beat Zack Ryder via pinfall

Ryder got some offense early, so Owens bailed to the outside and took advantage. Ryder tried to make his comeback once they got back in the ring, but Owens cut him off quickly with a superkick and pop-up powerbomb for the win. After the match, Owens attacked Ryder with a cannonball and another powerbomb.

Backstage, Sheamus told Renee that Roman Reigns was not the favourite to win the briefcase. Sheamus, who just lost a match for the IC Title, said he will win MITB and become WWE Champion.

Neville beat Kofi Kingston w/The New Day via pinfall

Kingston tossed Neville to the outside and distracted the referee, allowing Big E to destroy Neville with a clothesline. Neville came back using a missile dropkick and standing moonsault. Neville hit a tornado DDT and went up for Red Arrow, but Big E pulled Kingston out of the ring, so Neville hit them both with a moonsault to the outside. Neville then knocked Xavier Woods off the apron and used a cradle on Kingston for the win.

Miz brought out Lana for MizTV. Miz thought Rusev was being sincere, but Lana said he didn’t deserve her. Miz accused Lana of using Rusev but Lana said she really did care about him. Lana basically told Miz his questions were dumb and threatened to slap him.

Miz called out Rusev (on crutches) as a surprise guest. Rusev said he was raised differently and didn’t think he needed Lana, but he realized he was wrong. He said he can’t stand without his crutches, but he put them aside and asked for Lana to be his crutch to lean on.

Lana told him where to stick his crutches and Rusev snapped, yelling, “You stupid woman cow!” Dolph Ziggler came out, took Lana by the arm, and they left as Rusev yelled at Lana for being useless.

Roman Reigns beat Sheamus via DQ

Reigns sold his protective vest ribs after taking a beating on Monday. Sheamus tossed him over the announce table and worked over his midsection, but Reigns came back with clotheslines, an apron dropkick and Samoan drop.

Reigns got ready for a spear but Kane and J&J entered. Sheamus used the distraction for a roll up but Reigns kicked out. Sheamus hit a backbreaker but Reigns came back with a superman punch.

Kane jumped in the ring and gave Reigns a big boot for the DQ. Sheamus gave Reigns a Brogue kick, and Kane gave Sheamus a chokeslam. Kane named himself as the final participant in the MITB ladder match.

Final Thoughts:

With another quick turnaround before a PPV, this was a much more angle-heavy edition of SmackDown with not much wrestling.