Posted on 6/07/125 by Bob Magee
– Joe Tessitore welcomed everyone into the show as shots of
outside the Intuit Dome aired. The scene then transferred to
Bakersfield, where SmackDown was happening.
– Cody Rhodes, Rhea Ripley, Alexa Bliss, Stephanie Vaquer,
Naomi, Giulia, Roxanne Perez and all four members of the new
Paul Heyman group were shown walking backstage, outside and
everywhere in between. The Heyman group, led by Seth
Rollins, made their way to the ring for the first segment.
The Paul Heyman group segment
Rollins soaked in the fans singing his song briefly after
the four of them entered the ring. The crowd turning to
barking in the key of Bron Breakker. “CM Punk!” chants then
broke out. These people just could not make up their minds.
Anyway, Rollins eventually just said “Bakersfield,” and ran
through his introduction. Rollins said he will take
everything at Money In The Bank and then have control over
the entire industry. “OTC!” chants began. Rollins said Roman
could hear them because he’s off on the island of
irrelevancy.
Rollins said they were there to deliver a message – anyone
who stands in their way will suffer the same fate as anyone
who has already stood in their way. Rollins referenced Sami
Zayn, Roman Reigns and CM Punk as people who stood in their
way and noted how they are all out of commission. Rollins
said Reigns has never cared about the fans while Rollins,
indeed, has cared about the fans. Rollins said there is
nobody who can stop him. On cue, Solo Sikoa’s music hit and
Sikoa walked out with Jacob Fatu and JC Mateo.
Sikoa and his group took their time entering the ring. Sikoa
asked Rollins about what he previously said and Rollins
reiterated everything. Sikoa said if nobody was going to
stop Rollins … well, Sikoa and his group were standing there
and they could, in theory, stop them. Sikoa said Rollins had
his own Bloodline going on. Sikoa asked if Bron was supposed
to be Jey Uso and if Bronson Reed was Sami Zayn. Sikoa
looked at Heyman and said, “Long time, no see.” Rollins
stepped in and told Sikoa to choose his words carefully.
Sikoa said he would win the MITB contract and all the power
will be Sikoa’s.
Rollins called Breakker the future of the industry while
Sikoa was not. Rollins said Reed could snap Sikoa with his
fingers. Rollins said Sikoa’s family would rather stab him
in the back than have his back and turned his attention to
Fatu. Rollins said it looked like Fatu wanted to say
something and Sikoa told Rollins to shut his mouth. Rollins
then called Fatu “Solo’s bitch.” Rollins said it took a lot
of guts for Sikoa to come out and talk to them. Rollins said
he felt a little threatened by one Fatu in the ring, but it
wasn’t Sikoa. Sikoa took off his suit jacket and Breakker
stepped up. Fatu then stepped up to Breakker. Rollins then
stepped to Fatu. The Heyman group left the ring and that
ended the segment.
As Rollins and his group left, Jimmy Uso ran in and took out
Sikoa and his group. Uso will face Mateo in the first match
of the night.
This was fun. I was a little surprised the crowd didn’t side
a little more with Sikoa and his boys because there really
were a lot of layers attached to the fact that Sikoa led his
people out there to confront a group put together by Paul
Heyman. They only touched on it briefly, but it was enough
to remind some of us that there are a lot of different ways
a story like that could go. In the meantime, the
Fatu/Breakker stare down was really well done and boy, it
was kind of a trip to see Jonah and Jeff Cobb face off on
the far side of the ring. We aren’t in New Japan anymore,
Dorothy. Good stuff all around and a hot start to a go-home
show that appears to have a hot crowd behind it. You can’t
ask for much more than that.
**********
Jimmy Uso vs. JC Mateo
The match was joined in progress and Uso had the upper hand.
Uso came off the top and hit a cross-body for a one-count.
Uso came off the ropes and Mateo suplexed Uso before going
to Uso’s chin and mouth. Sikoa told Uso it wasn’t too late
for him to come back to Sikoa’s group. Mateo kicked Uso and
slowed things down. Uso fired up, but eventually ran into a
back elbow from Mateo. Mateo chopped Uso repeatedly before
he ran at Uso and Uso moved, sending Mateo to the outside.
Uso hit Mateo with a shoulder block through the ropes and
onto the floor. Uso went to the top, but Mateo dropkicked
Uso off the top and to the outside of the ring. The show
then went to a commercial break.
The show returned and Uso was rallying until Mateo
clotheslined Uso and landed a standing moonsault on Uso.
Mateo hit a running elbow in a corner, but Uso came back
with a Samoan Drop to reset the match. Uso hit a fury of
strikes on Mateo, including a step-up enziguri. Uso came off
the top with an Uso In The Wind, and got a two-count out of
it. Uso ran at Mateo, but Mateo caught him and hit a
spinning back suplex for a nice near-fall. Mateo ran at Uso,
but Uso got an elbow up and followed that with a pair of
super-kicks and a spear. Uso went to the top, but Sikoa
hopped up on the apron. Uso and Fatu then engaged in a stare
down, btu Fatu on the apron. Mateo leapt at Uso and Uso
moved, so Mateo hit Fatu off the apron. Uso rolled Mateo up
for the win. After the match, Fatu left on his own while
Mateo yelled at Fatu.
Match result: Jimmy Uso defeated JC Mateo (11:23 of TV time)
An OK television match (and that might even be sort of
kind). Like it or don’t like it, it’s hard to deny that
there was no real reason it should dragged on as long as it
did – and through two commercial breaks, to boot. The long
walk towards Fatu breaking out on his own continues, but
this felt like a significant development because it was
Mateo who was fired up after the match and it was the first
real time we saw him show any type of emotion since showing
up in WWE. Back to the match: Jimmy needed that win, so I’m
glad he got it. On the other end of things, we can probably
all agree that Mateo will survive even though he now has a
loss on his WWE record. The showdown between Mateo and Fatu
can’t come soon enough, though, because these Bloodline
angles have no problem dragging out much longer than they
actually should.
**********
– Zelina (no Vega, according to the graphic listed on the
television screen) ran into Giulia backstage and told Giulia
would have to pry the U.S. title from her lifeless body.
Giulia said Zelina was confident and Zelina walked away
while Giulia looked on.
– Fatu ran into Damian Priest backstage. Priest told Fatu
he’s been where Fatu currently is and he doesn’t envy that.
Priest said at some point, he’ll be coming for the U.S.
title. Fatu said if Priest doesn’t take care of business,
Priest will be at the back of the line like everyone else.
Zelina Vega vs. Piper Niven in a Bakersfield Brawl
Good news. Vega got her last name back in the graphic that
popped up on her way to the ring. Niven threw Vega to the
mat repeatedly to begin the match. Eventually, Vega grabbed
a kendo stick from under the ring and worked Niven over with
it. For reasons impossible to explain, Vega threw the stick
to the outside of the ring and went for a pin, but Niven
kicked out right away. “We want tables!” chants inevitably
began. The action spilled outside and Niven caught Vega
before slamming Vega’s head down on the edge of the apron.
Niven followed up with a basement cross-body against the LED
screen on the side of the ring. The show then went to a
commercial break.
The show returned and a chain had been introduced during the
break. Niven choked Vega with it before kneeing Vega into
the bottom turnbuckle. Niven set up a chair and attempted to
slam Vega, but Vega turned it into a DDT on the chair. Niven
sold it by rolling outside, where Vega hit a moonsault on
everyone, including Fyre, Green and Niven. Vega went to the
top, but Niven cut her off. Vega fought back and landed a
Super Code Red from the top, but Fyre pulled Vega off Niven.
Green then beat down Vega as Niven came to. Niven yelled for
Fyre to get a table and Green and Fyre did just that.
Niven slammed Vega on the floor as her crew set up the table
inside the ring. With Vega on the table, Niven went to the
second rope, but Giulia appeared and attacked Green and
Fyre. Giulia hit Niven with the kendo stick and Vega
powerbombed Niven through the table. That was enough to get
Vega the win.
Match result: Zelina Vega defeated Piper Niven (10:44)
After the match, Giulia entered the ring and raised Vega’s
hand before, wouldn’t you know it, attacking Vega. Giulia
then picked up the U.S. title and stood tall over Vega.
Vega receives slightly better responses from the live crowd
each week and this was no exception. Good for her on that.
This was a fairly PG brawl, as one would expect, but the
final sequence with Niven going through the table looked
like it might leave Niven with an ache or two tomorrow
morning. I like the insertion of Giulia into the Vega/Green
program and we have to think this leads to Giulia eventually
holding that U.S. title, which will instantly give it some
much-needed credibility. My only request? Can we get to that
point sooner than later? My impatience, these days, knows no
bounds.
**********
– Jey Uso was shown in the locker room and Cody Rhodes came
up to talk to him. Jimmy Uso walked into the frame. Jey said
they’ll worry about tomorrow, tomorrow, after Cody and Jimmy
asked Jey if he was OK.
– An Aleister Black vignette aired. Black recalled how LA
Knight stole his victory in the MITB qualifying match. Black
said he wants to take away Knight’s security and he wants
things to be Knight and Black to see what’s left of Knight.
Black said if Knight beats him, he will shake Knight’s hand
and admit defeat.
LA Knight vs. Aleister Black
Before the match, Knight obtained a microphone and held it
out as the crowd chanted his name. Knight said it was that
time of the year (yeah!) and it’s Money In The Bank season
(yeah!). Knight said if you do a little bit of math, this is
his third year in a row being in MITB. Knight asked the
crowd if they thought the third time will be a charm. Knight
said he’s not satisfied with that. He ran down the other
participants in the ladder match, including Seth Rollins,
with whom Knight noted he hasn’t had a lot of interaction.
Knight said Rollins isn’t going to burn anything down
because instead, Rollins will get burned by Knight. Before
long, Knight capped his minutes off with the catchphrase.
Mercifully, the lights went out and Black’s music hit in an
attempt to move things towards actually starting the match.
Before that could happen, though, the show went to a
commercial break.
The two locked up when the show returned, so maybe they just
stood there and looked at each other during that two-and-a-
half minute commercial break? Some mysteries might never be
solved. More locking-up continued all around the ring
continuously until the crowd … well, the crowd never really
responded to it. Black took Knight down and worked a side
head-lock. Knight came back with an elbow and a vertical
suplex for a one-count. Knight went for a DDT but Black
didn’t comply and instead kicked Knight in the head. Knight
came back with a tough clothesline that was good enough for
a two-count.
Black landed a jaw-breaker and a step-up knee for a two-
count. Black followed up with a snap-suplex, which was good
enough for a two-count. Black landed a series of strikes,
complete with a leg-sweep. Black went for a springboard
move, but Knight charged Black and both wrestlers went over
the top and to the outside. The show went to another
commercial break as Black and Knight sold the spill.
Back to the action and Black successfully executed the
springboard moonsault on Knight inside the ring. “This is
awesome!” chants broke out. Black went for Black Mass, but
Knight ducked it and Knight hit his jumping neck-breaker
into his modified powerslam. From there, it was the top-rope
elbow attempt, but Black got a boot up. The two went back
and forth with punches and kicks. Black went for the
moonsault again, but Knight caught Black and hit a Burning
Hammer. Black then rolled to the outside. Seth Rollins ran
in and gave Knight the Stomp, which was enough to end the
match.
Rollins set up for another Stomp, but Black stepped into the
ring to stop Rollins. Breakker then showed up and speared
the hell out of Black. Reed landed a Senton on Knight and
then Breakker speared Knight.
Match result: LA Knight defeated Aleister Black via DQ
(10:20)
I’m not a fan of the finish, but this was a good match while
it lasted. In fact, it was one of Knight’s better television
matches in recent memory and you have to think that as a
thing or three to do with Black. Knight seemed fired up and
Black got the best out of him because of it. I was wondering
how they’d get out of the match because I couldn’t imagine
Knight losing going into MITB, but it also seems too soon
for Black to lie down. Insert Seth Rollins, and the result
writes itself. The way the Rollins group is bulldozing
everyone, it kind of feels like an NWO-lite feel and I like
that. Oddly enough, that idea feels kind of/sort of fresh
these days when it’s done right. And right now, Heyman and
Rollins and their guys are doing it right.
**********
– Nick Aldis and Adam Pearce announced that next week, the
King and Queen Of The Ring tournaments will begin. The
winners of the tournaments will receive world title shots
later at Summer Slam.
– Byron Saxton interviewed Jade Cargill backstage and Saxton
asked Cargill about competing in the Queen Of The Ring
tournament. Cargill noted how she is the storm and she can’t
wait to tear through the Queen Of The Ring tournament.
Saxton asked about Bianca Belair and Cargill was going to
respond, but Charlotte walked into the frame. Charlotte told
Cargill there is only one queen in WWE. Tiffany Stratton
then walked in and started her march to the ring for the
next segment.
– A Legado Del Fantasma vignette aired. They talked about
competing at Worlds Collide. They put over their opponents
in the six-man tag at Saturday’s event.
– American Made were interviewed backstage. Chad Gable said
his confident was high going into his match with Vikingo at
Worlds Collide. Gable said the AAA Mega Championship will
come home with him. Andrade walked into the frame and spoke
to Gable in Spanish. Penta then pulled up and made fun of
Gable in Spanish. Gable got angry and said El Grande will
put them both through a ladder tomorrow night. Aldis showed
up and made a match pitting Penta & Andrade against the
Creeds for later tonight.
The Tiffy Time segment
Tiffy said everyone on Saturday is going to try and pull a
Tiffy from last year and reach for the stars. Stratton said
everyone in the match is championship match is great, but
after the match, whomever wins will have their world revolve
around Tiffy. Tiffy asked everyone what time it was and the
crowd shouted “Tiffy Time!” Rhea Ripley’s music hit and
Ripley walked out. Ripley grabbed a mic once inside the ring
and recalled how she’s never had to be in a MITB match
before. Ripley said she knows what it feels like to be a
champion and she misses that feeling. Stephanie Vaquer’s
music hit and out, she came. As Vaquer made her entrance,
introductions for the upcoming match was made. As such,
Alexa Bliss’s music hit and Bliss made her entrance for the
match as well. The show then went to a commercial break.
**********
Rhea Ripley, Stephanie Vaquer & Alexa Bliss vs. Naomi,
Giulia & Roxanne Perez
Vaquer and Giulia started the match and the pace was fast.
They traded a bunch of pin attempts and Vaquer set up for
the face-planting viral move (Devil’s Kiss), but Giulia
countered and planted Vaquer. Naomi tagged in and went for
Devil’s Kiss on Vaquer, but Vaquer worked out of it. Things
broke down and all six women brawled, highlighted by Vaquer
executing the Devil’s Kiss on Naomi. After the things
settled down, Naomi and Vaquer were battling in the ring
with Naomi getting the best of it, complete with the other
heels interfering. Perez tagged in and worked over Vaquer
until Giulia tagged in a short time later. Naomi quickly
tagged in, too, and lifted Vaquer, but Vaquer worked out of
it and tagged in Bliss.
Bliss whipped Naomi into a corner and then pulled her down
by her hair. Bliss hit a basement dropkick on Naomi and a
dive on Giulia and Naomi on the outside. Perez reinserted
herself and threw Bliss into the ring steps. The show then
went to a commercial break. The show returned and Naomi was
working over Bliss. Naomi ran at Bliss, but went face-first
into a buckle. Still, Naomi lifted Bliss to stop a tag,
until Bliss DDT’d Naomi and got the hot tag to Ripley. Perez
also tagged in.
Ripley hit a fallaway slam on Perez and took out the rest of
the wrestlers as the crowd chanted “Mami!” Ripley landed a
Razor’s Edge on Perez. She followed up with a boot to the
face, but Naomi broke up a pin attempt. The match broke down
and Bliss hit Sister Abigail DDT on Giulia. Ripley then
tried a RipTide on Perez, but Perez countered into a spike
DDT and everyone was down. There was a chant from the crowd
that forced the audio to be spotty. Perez tried to tag Naomi
into the match, but Naomi left the match after hopping off
the apron. The three babyfaces ganged up on Perez and Ripley
hit RipTide on Perez for the win.
Match result: Rhea Ripley, Alexa Bliss & Stephanie Vaquer
defeated Naomi, Roxanne Perez & Giulia (12:01)
The match of the night so far. Perez, especially, as
acclimated really well to the main roster, despite the
footsie that the bookers have played with her between NXT
and the main roster. Vaquer looked good, too, and better
yet, it really finally feels like Giulia has arrived in WWE.
Her NXT run felt a tiny bit off in a handful of ways, but
something clicked in the last couple months and this feels
like The Real Giulia – or at least the one we’ve come to
love from her work in Japan. The Naomi wrinkle was a fun way
to get to the finish and I suspect she wins the ladder match
Saturday night. In the meantime, this was a very good
preview for what’s on tap for this year’s women’s MITB
festivities.
**********
– Sikoa was shown talking to Mateo backstage. Mateo asked
Sikoa if he trusted Fatu and Sikoa said as long Fatu follows
Sikoa’s lead, everything will be OK. Sikoa said Fatu loves
him and Fatu isn’t “all that smart in the head.” Sikoa said
all Fatu thinks about is himself and he’s “all gas and no
brains.” Sikoa said he has it all under control. As Sikoa
and Mateo walked away, it was revealed that Fatu was
standing right around the corner, listening to all of it.
– While the Sign Of The Night stuff unfolded, a Bo
Dallas/Wyatt Sicks VHS vignette cut in and aired in lieu of
it. Dallas/Howdy said he’s watched the tag division and he
said they returned not for nostalgia or closure, but to rip
open the wound of apathy and take what they are owed. He
said the time for repentance has passed and everyone needs
to accept their condemnation and they will not be forgotten.
The entire SmackDown tag division was shown watching the
video backstage together. Montez Ford spoke up and said he
knows they are all afraid and they need for forget about the
tag title for one moment and instead, need to focus on the
Wyatts. Fraxiom said they need to teach the Wyatts a lesson.
MCMG told #DIY they want to get their hands on the Wyatts,
too. Each team left the scene on their own and left Aldis
alone in the room.
Penta & Andrade vs. American Made (Julius Creed & Brutus
Creed)
Penta and Andrade jumpstarted the match, landing dives on
both Creeds on the outside. Andrade and Brutus started the
match, but Julius ran in and Andrade took care of him, too.
Andrade hit double-knees on both brothers in separate
corners. Penta tagged in and took care of both Creed
brothers, too. Penta did the Penta Walk, but the brothers
attacked him while doing so and briefly, they took control.
Penta quickly recovered and Andrade tagged in, but Julius
took out Andrade’s knee. Brutus tagged in and hit a standing
moonsault for a one-count. The show then went to a
commercial break.
The show returned and Andrade was getting worked over by the
brothers until he hit an enziguri on Julius and tagged in
Penta, who who unleashed a fury of moves on Julius. With the
ref distracted, Gable hopped onto the apron and tried to
take Penta’s mask off until Vikingo ran in and took care of
Gable. There was some chaos, but Penta hit the Mexican
Destroyer on Brutus and got the win.
Match result: Andrade & Penta defeated The Creed Brothers
(Julius & Brutus Creed) (7:57)
After the match, Seth Rollins’s music hit and the Heyman
group came back down to ringside to face Penta and Andrade.
Heyman’s group surrounded the ring and a brawl broke out
between Breakker, Rollins, Reed, Penta and Andrade. The
crowd booed as the heels got the best of it. Breakker landed
a spear on Andrade while Reed hit a Senton on Penta. Rollins
then stomped both Penta and Andrade. Reed went to the top
and connected with a Tsunami on Penta. Officials ran out to
help and the show went to a commercial break.
Again, I really, really, really like this Heyman group
takeover stuff. That was a really nice touch to the
aftermath of this match. I suspect it won’t continue without
the MITB thread after this weekend, but we can appreciate it
while it happens. As for the match itself, it was pretty
good. I maintain that the women had the match of the night,
but this had great action and the crowd was super up for
Andrade and Penta, which added to the proceedings. It’s wild
to me, watching Vikingo run through GCW talent only a
handful of years ago, doing that 720 splash through tables
near and far, grabbing a cup of coffee in AEW, and now
playing a run-in role in the last match of the night on a
SmackDown. This business, man. There’s nothing like it.
**********
– The show returned and Paul Heyman had a microphone and
called everyone “Bakers Bitches.” Heyman said his group
doesn’t fear the future because they are the future. Heyman
said he didn’t understand why anyone would boo that. Heyman
said Rollins already told everyone everything that would
happen and all the things he said did, in fact, happen.
Heyman asked if the crowd understands that Rollins and the
group are “the vanguards of the destiny of WWE.” Heyman said
everyone can boo all they want, but at MITB, Rollins will
become Mr. Money In The Bank. Heyman said after that,
whenever Rollins damn well feels like it, will propel the
entire industry into a vision all of his own. Heyman said
the greatest honor of his professional life will be calling
Rollins the reigning, defending … and then Cody Rhodes’s
music hit to cut the whole thing off.
The Cody Rhodes/Jey Uso/John Cena/Logan Paul segment
Cody stood in front of the entire Heyman group to start the
segment. Rollins stepped forward. Cody stepped forward as
well. Jey Uso’s music hit and Uso made his entrance through
the crowd. The show went to a commercial break and when it
came back, the Heyman group was out of the ring. Cody asked
everyone what they wanted to talk about. Cody mentioned John
Cena and the crowd launched into “Let’s go Cena/Cena sucks!”
chants. Cody mentioned how seeing Cena stand next to Paul is
like seeing “Michael Hayes standing next to the Hardy Boyz.”
The problem with the line was that nobody reacted. At all.
Jey took the microphone and everyone yeet’d, but quickly,
John Cena’s music hit and Cena made his entrance to the
“John Cena sucks” singalong. Cena cut his music and soaked
in the chants coming from the crowd. Cody took off his suit
jacket. Cena motioned for the ring announcer to reintroduce
him as the greatest of all time, as he’s done in past weeks,
and Mr. Nash obliged. Out of nowhere Logan Paul showed up
and attacked Cody and Uso. Cena hit an AA on Uso. Paul
landed a Paul-verizor on Cody. Paul went to the top and hit
a frog splash on Cody. Paul followed up with a frog splash
on Uso.
Cena grabbed a microphone and said nobody will come to save
the fans or wrestling. Cena said he’s been telling everyone
for half of a year – “your dream of what WWE is will be
ruined. This is your future. I take this home. He takes that
to the top.” Cena was talking about the championship belts.
Cena said the last real champion and the moment maker, the
last future face of WWE, Logan Paul … Cena didn’t add
anything to that sentence and Paul and Cena held up the
respective world titles. Cena rolled Cody into the ring and
hit an AA on Cody. Paul rolled Uso into the ring and Paul
hit Uso with his right hand.
Cena yelled “You can’t handle the truth!” It was a play on
R-Truth (let’s hope, at least). Cena noted how everyone was
hypocrites for chanting for “Truth.” “We want Truth” chants
kept going. Cena called everyone losers and said it was his
last time in Bakersfield. Cena finished by saying winners
write the history books. Again, Cena and Paul held up the
respective world titles. The show ended with Uso and Cody
selling pain.
Good heat for the heels going into what most of us think is
a throwaway tag match Saturday night at MITB. If anything,
it will probably be designed to make Jey Uso take some
damage going into his world title match against Gunther on
Monday, but the way this episode ended, it’s hard not to
imagine Cody and Jey going over.
We’ll see, I suppose. The only real disappointment of the
segment was the fact that it started with Cody staring down
the entire Heyman group by himself, only to have the show go
to a commercial break and come back without any of the
Heyman group in the ring. As Keenan Thompson would say,
“What up with that?” All told, it was a fine go-home show.
People who expect this to be the typical SmackDown should
tune in on a random Friday in July because this usually
ain’t it (as the kids would say). Tonight was chaos and fun
and build and heat and action. If only they could keep that
up … .