WWE Smackdown TV Report 5-21-15: Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose
By Steve Khan, WrestlingObserver.com
– Air Date: May 21, 2015 (May 20 in Canada)
– Location: Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk, VA
News:
Dean Ambrose pinned Bray Wyatt.
Show Recap:
Roman Reigns said he didn’t win at Payback but he did have a good time. He punched Seth Rollins in the face, reunited with The Shield (which includes Seth) to blow the roof off the building, and went toe-to-toe with his bro Dean Ambrose. Reigns was moving on and entered himself in the Money in the Bank ladder match. Crowd popped.
Dean Ambrose came out and said he loves the idea of bodies crashing onto steel but he won’t have to reach for an opportunity to become champion, because by Money in the Bank, he’ll be the champion. This got almost no reaction.
Reigns thought Ambrose’s plan to get a title shot was clever, but for once, he should think of an exit strategy. Before he could explain what that meant, Kane interrupted.
Kane said Reigns is not in the MITB ladder match because he lost at WrestleMania and lost at Payback and is at the back of the line. Ambrose called Kane the Authority’s lapdog so Kane put him in a rematch with Bray Wyatt, which is exactly what Ambrose wanted anyway.
Kane said Reigns had the night off, basically telling him to sit in a corner and think about what he’s done. Reigns said he would enjoy his time in catering (Ambrose confirmed they had cheesecake), watching the show and making sure Kane was really doing what’s best for business. Ambrose and Reigns were both over-written here, so this wasn’t very good.
Lucha Dragons beat The Ascension, Los Matadores and Kidd & Cesaro via pinfall
They congratulated Titus O’Neil on being named celebrity dad of the year. O’Neil and Darren Young then danced with a young fan in the entrance way before depositing him back into the audience.
With four teams in the match and O’Neil and Xavier Woods commentary, a million things were going on here at once. (So a little less than an ROH multi-man match.) Kalisto picked up the win after a hurricanrana into a pinfall. The crowd really liked Cesaro, and somewhat liked the Lucha Dragons. Lots of action in a short amount of time.
Rusev, on the website, said he would rip off Dolph Ziggler’s arm and eat his American heart. Elsewhere, Ziggler told Renee that he’s had quite a week — he tried to get revenge on Sheamus but got stitches instead, was added to the Chamber, was kissed by Lana, attacked by Rusev, and now has to face King Barrett.
Lana showed up and told Dolph she’ll be watching his match. Ziggler knows she just wants to make Rusev jealous, but he’s okay with that. He told Lana that she’s not a bad kisser.
Dolph Ziggler beat King Barrett via pinfall
Ziggler won with a superkick and Zig Zag. This was the fourth singles match between these two in the last month. After the match, Lana was on the stage clapping for Dolph. She wasn’t wearing her usual thick red lipstick.
Paige came out for a promo. She reminded us that she won a number one contender’s battle royal in her hometown but was attacked afterwards by Naomi, and showed the replay. Why would you show a replay of yourself getting beat up?
Paige said Naomi finally became relevant that night and even admired her for taking what she wanted. Paige made jokes about Tamina looking like a man, calling her Naomi’s boyfriend and saying she was in the wrong division. Paige might admire Naomi taking what she wants, but what she wants belongs to Paige.
Naomi came out with Tamina. Naomi said Paige showed up and recieved a title shot on day one, a shot she didn’t earn. Paige mocked Naomi like a child for complaining. Naomi said Paige likes to call this her house, but Naomi and Tamina were going to clean house. They attacked Paige, but Nikki Bella ran out for the save.
Naomi and Tamina bailed, so Nikki went after them. Nikki actually tripped out of the ring and tried to save face by falling into Tamina with a “clothesline.” I can’t believe they left that in. Nikki knocked out Tamina with a forearm. Paige tried Ram-Paige on Naomi, but Nikki gave her a forearm and Rack Attack. Nikki was the only one left standing after this horrific segment.
Naomi was really good but rest of this was awful. I appreciate trying to give the women some promo time, but Paige was no good and she had some bad material to work with. They tried to write her like they do every other babyface, and she’s anything but.
They announced a three-way between Nikki, Paige and Naomi at Elimination Chamber for the Divas title.
Bray Wyatt promo. He said Ambrose has demons but they march to Bray’s demand. If Ambrose wanted to know why Bray was going after him now, it’s because Ambrose is in his way. Hmm, I could swear it’s because Kane booked them in a match.
R-Truth beat Stardust via pinfall
Stardust worked over Truth for a while. Truth tossed Cody’s glove in the air as a distraction and hit a reverse STO for the win. Lawler said Truth using a smart move like that could win him the Chamber match. Ok. This was the seventh match between this two in the last 4-5 weeks, if you include the secondary TV shows. Fourth time in four weeks if you only count the main shows.
Backstage, Ryback told Renee he was a lion and the other five guys in the Chamber were antelope. That’s what he said. Renee said she’s thinking of becoming a vegan and didn’t want to think about it. Ryback said Feed Me More. He left, then came back to tell Renee he had great high-protein vegan recipes and is a great cook. Renee didn’t care. Bad.
They aired a video package recapping the Kevin Owens-John Cena angle from Raw, which was the most compelling thing on SmackDown so far.
Macho Mandow & Curtis Axel beat Heath Slater & Adam Rose w/Rosa Mendes via pinfall
Slater and Rose worked over Mandow. Axel made the hot tag, hit clotheslines, a big boot and leg drop on Slater for the win.
Backstage, Bo Dallas told Renee he once helped an injured bird fly again. He can help Neville do the same if he Bolieves. Another stupid interview. Immediately after this was that cool Network commercial with The Rock talking about how intense and fantastic wrestling is. Not tonight.
Dean Ambrose beat Bray Wyatt via pinfall
Ambrose hit a dive early but Bray tossed him into the steps to take over. Bray had Ambrose draped over the middle rope while standing outside the ring, but Ambrose countered with a tornado DDT. Back in the ring, Ambrose hit jabs, chops, a flying clothesline and running dropkick. Bray followed with a rock bottom for a near fall.
Bray tried a running avalanche but Ambrose kicked his leg out of his leg and went to the top rope. J&J Security ran out as a distraction but Ambrose countered a Sister Abigail into a school boy for a near fall.
Seth Rollins came out to his music, so Roman Reigns entered immediately after. I guess Reigns was waiting around on the concourse and somehow his music started. Reigns chased away the heels, hit Bray with a superman punch and Ambrose followed with Dirty Deeds for the win. Good match. Very rare TV loss for Bray.
Final Thoughts:
Worse than usual SmackDown. Pretty much a complete waste of time until the last 10 minutes.
Match Results:
Lucha Dragons beat The Ascension, Los Matadores and Kidd & Cesaro via pinfall
Dolph Ziggler beat King Barrett via pinfall
R-Truth beat Stardust via pinfall
Curtis Axel & Macho Mandow beat Heath Slater & Adam Rose via pinfall
Dean Ambrose beat Bray Wyatt via pinfall