Thunder And Jee-S’ WWE Rundown 06/14/13

MAIN EVENT REVIEW 06/12/13 By Jee-S

The Miz defeats Cody Rhodes with the Figure-Four Leg Lock.

Thoughts: Fantastic match from both performers. It’s always good to see the chemistry between these two and the fact that they were given more time on Main Event than on RAW made for one hell of a battle. It’s a bummer to see Cody lose again as he continues his unfortunate losing streak; I’m hoping this is just temporary until WWE creative finds something for him. We saw right here, once again, what the son of the American Dream is able to do in the ring; it would be a mistake (correction: another mistake) from the officials part not to capitalize on that.

Damien Sandow defeats Sin Cara with the Silencer.

Thoughts: Fairly good match. I’ve always been impressed with Sin Cara’s athleticism but he lacks in-ring presence; there’s something about him that just seems off. His character is stale and the accumulated injuries have done nothing to help him. Sandow made him look good, as he always does and I’m excited for his bout against Sheamus on Sunday, pre-show or not. The chemistry between the two wrestlers wasn’t anything to write home about, but I have yet to see someone bond with Sin Cara while working with him.

The Usos defeat Tons of Funk with a double superkick/Superfly Splash combination.

Thoughts: Let’s face it: anything Tons of Funk takes part in is worse because of them. This was no different. The Usos are remarkable performers that will probably soon be in line for a title shot against The Shield and they could’ve looked a lot better if booked against another tag team. Brodus Clay and Tensai are not interesting to watch and I wonder how much longer we’ll have to put up with them. Cameron and Naomi are very talented divas and that’s about the only good thing that comes out of this group. The good thing about this match is that The Usos won; let’s keep that in mind and move on.

Overall, it was an average episode of Main Event. Nothing incredible, but nothing too disappointing either. I’m happy that two midcard wrestlers had the chance to work a solid opening match.

Jee-S’ NXT REVIEW 06/12/13

Antonio Cesaro defeats Sami Zayn with the Neutralizer.

Thoughts: What. A. Match. These guys went at it once again and delivered like no one else could. There is no question their chemistry is unmatchable seeing as they’ve wrestled so many times against each other, but I’m having a hard time understanding how two wrestlers can look this good together in the ring. Both of these guys should be on the main roster main eventing (wishful thinking, yeah, I apologize). This match was better than their first encounter. And now seeing as it’s 1-1 in their series, are we going to see a rubber match? I vote yes!

Scott Dawson and Garrett Dylan defeat Baron Corbin and Travis Tyler with what they call the “Southern Pride”.

Thoughts: Nothing impressive. I appreciate the effort that creative is making pairing Dawson and Dylan together with a repackaged gimmick, but they’re going to need better competition if they really want to get over and be taken seriously. The winners of the match were obvious from the start seeing as they’re the only ones who got an entrance and that we practically never see Baron Corbin or Travis Tyler’s hand raised on television. It was a squash match to put the two rednecks over, but like I said, they’re going to need more than that.

Alicia Fox defeats Bayley with her scissors kick.

Thoughts: This was a good divas match, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t understand why they gave Alicia Fox the win. It seems as though Bayley has been given an actual gimmick of “youthful innocence” and that’s great, so why not showcase the younger talent and make them wrestle more important matches in the near future? The fact that Alicia Fox will now face Paige in the next round of the tournament makes it pretty clear that the Anti-Diva will come out victorious; why not make Paige vs. Bayley? First of all, it would be more entertaining to watch and second, it would make the divas of tomorrow look better today and that’s the best recipe to build on the future. Anyway, hats off to both of these ladies for a great match that got the crowd chanting.

Bo Dallas defeats Big E Langston with a hip toss belly-to-belly suplex to become the new NXT Champion.

Thoughts: Booo! Dallas has bored me from the start as I have mentioned in my previous reviews and now I’m going to have to watch him defend his title on numerous occasions. This is bad news for me and for everyone who shares my opinion on the second generation wrestler. I understand why Big E Langston had to relinquish the title and that is simply to make the official move to the main roster; I just wish it had been someone else. The match itself wasn’t too bad. Big E’s abilities never cease to impress me and I’m sad that this is the end of his reign as the NXT Champion. I honestly wish he could’ve had better matches under his reign. As for Bo Dallas being crowned the new NXT Champion, I sure hope this means that he will remain in NXT.

Overall, okay episode. It would’ve been mediocre at best for me if not for the amazing first match between Zayn and Cesaro. Thank you all for reading! Don’t forget to check my Twitter account dedicated entirely to wrestling: @Jee_S_.

*Thunder’s Note: Dallas will probably run as a full fledged heel until he drops the belt, but I assume the eventual plan regardless of his success or failure as a heel will be for him to drop the title to Pac…I mean Adrian Neville. I agree with Jee-S; Dallas isn’t all he’s cracked up to be in the ring and he’s an overall disappointment in the charisma category. Time will tell for Bo Dallas’ future in WWE, but we can be hopeful that he might get struck hard enough in the head that he wakes up one day and realizes what he needs to do differently. Great review as always, my friend!

WWE Smackdown Analysis 06/14/13 by Joe Thunder

Daniel Bryan comes out and cuts a promo to start the show. He puts over Team Hell No as one of the best tag teams in WWE history. He asks Kane to come to the ring. Kane tells Dbry the only thing he’s invested in is their six man tag against the Shield tonight. Dbry says the last nine months have been an incredible ride. He says he will be tag team champions with someone else come this Sunday and he won’t be teaming with Kane anymore. Kane asks if Dbry is breaking up with him. Dbry says he can still team with Kane if he wins the US Title, but he says Team RK-No will be the new tag team champions. Kane reminds Dbry that he despises Randy Orton. Dbry accuses Kane of calling him the weak link again and then calls Kane the weak link. They begin arguing and Randy Orton interrupts. Orton tries to convince Kane not to hurt Dbry right now because of their match at Payback this Sunday. Dbry begins arguing with Orton. Kane goes to leave again but Dbry starts arguing with him. The Shield show up on the tron and antagonize them.

^Finally, Smackdown has opened without a segment of MizTV, and we are all very grateful. With this opening, three of WWE’s best performers continue to make Smackdown entertaining in their rivalry with the Shield. With how he is being booked, you definitely get the sense that WWE has bigger things in store for Daniel Bryan in the near future.

Sheamus defeats Antonio Cesaro using the brogue kick. Damien Sandow attacks Sheamus on the stage after the match.

^What a terrible looking brogue kick to end this one, but I guess it adds to that element of the brogue kick being able to come from out of nowhere. Not the best match Cesaro and Sheamus have had, but not terrible either. Just your average match to lead up to Sandow’s attack on Sheamus after the match.

Another Bray Wyatt promo is aired. Excellent!

Backstage segment with Dolph Ziggler, Big E., AJ, and Teddy Long. Dolph is complaining about his tag match tonight. Ziggler says tonight will just be a taste of what he does to Alberto Del Rio at Payback on Sunday. Big E. takes Teddy’s burger from Hardee’s and eats half of it before giving it back.

^To give him credit, Big E. actually saved another lame Hardee’s advertisement and made it quite comical. Good work by the big man, but I’m even happier seeing Ziggler cutting a promo again on Smackdown.

The Great Khali comes out with Natalya and Hornswoggle to take on Heath Slater with the 3MB in his corner. Slater pins Khali after a distraction on the outside caused by Jinder Mahal.

^Nice of WWE to remind us that the 3MB is still employed, but why did the match have to be with Khali? Complete joke and waste of time here.

Chris Jericho and Alberto Del Rio take on Dolph Ziggler and Big E. Langston. Del Rio rolls up Ziggler into a modified small package for the three count.

^Entertaining match here. While it wasn’t a five star classic, it was nice to see Dolph showing off and battling with two top faces in WWE. Jericho, Big E. and Del Rio all did a good job of making the match fun, and the build for Payback is that much better knowing that Dolph is ready as far as the World Title match goes.

Jericho is interviewed backstage about his match with CM Punk in Chicago at Payback. He says you are not going to want to miss Punk/Jericho III. Paul Heyman comes into the scene and starts taunting Jericho about Punk. Y2J bumps Heyman with the microphone and says “pipebomb.”

^Epic promo work by Y2J. Loved it! Punk/Jericho III should just be the name of this pay per view with how excited I am for this match.

Aksana goes one on one with Kaitlyn. She attacks Aksana before the match and beats her on the outside. No match.

^So Kaitlyn’s gone crazy? The battle of the crazies on Sunday? I can’t wait! I would give further analysis to this situation, but I’ll save it for when WWE decides to give us a decent length divas match again on Smackdown.

Curtis Axel goes one on one with Wade Barrett. Before the match starts, Barrett grabs a mic and asks why they are having the match tonight. He says he could easily injure Axel and take him out of their match at Payback, and says it’s even slightly possible the reverse could happen. Barrett wants to cancel the match now and wait for the triple threat on Sunday. Miz comes out and makes fun of them(the Brit and the Twit was pretty funny). Miz says everyone wants to see them fight. Axel pins Barrett after a swinging neckbreaker while Barrett is climbing back in the ring after a Miz distraction. Miz nails the Skull Crushing Finale on Axel and stands tall.

^Two heels doing battle? Great, except the match was over before it could take off. Axel is so good with that running neckbreaker; I wish he could alternate more between the perfect plex and his signature finisher from his NXT days. Everything in me still believes even without Fandango competing that we will still see a new Intercontinental Champion crowned on Sunday.

Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton, and Kane defeat the Shield. Dbry wins the match when he forces Seth Rollins to tap out after Orton delivers an RKO. Dbry hugs Kane and celebrates to close the show.

^Another brilliant outing by everyone involved. I can imagine there will be some people bothered by the Shield losing, but it had to happen eventually. In this case, I like the booking for a few reasons. First, Daniel Bryan’s stock has never been higher and WWE does done a phenomenal job of marketing his character as of late. Second, it happened on Smackdown, and a lot of people don’t watch the show. Maybe this will be some encouragement to get more people to tune in on Friday nights(or download/stream, whatever your preference). The third reason I like this booking is because a lot of people will now think Dbry and Orton can win the gold on Sunday, but the actual victory here makes it even more likely that it won’t happen. This was a very good ending for the go home Smackdown heading into Payback.

This Smackdown was absolutely loaded with action to get us hyped for Payback, and it worked big time! Excellent show all around. Make sure you check out our new themed column entitled “Burning Questions” and also be sure to check out our WWE Payback Preview. I’ll be back midweek with the third installment of my top fifty WWE Title matches of all time. Until next time, you’ve been ThunderStruck!

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