First up for the show taped in Kansas City, Missouri, is a Highlight Reel segment hosted by Chris Jericho. He talks about taking out Dean Ambrose on Monday’s episode of RAW before bringing out his guest, Sami Zayn. They are interrupted by the Miz and Maryse, which leads to Jericho leaving and Zayn and Miz fighting.
Jericho and Ambrose are seemingly feuding to give Ambrose something to do. The feud has very little basis, no stakes and it doesn’t particularly help Ambrose to win it.
Here’s a look at the video spoilers of WWE Smackdown 5th May 2016 Full Show:
Sami Zayn def. The Miz (Disqualification)
Kevin Owens joins the announce team and eventually attacks Zayn to create the DQ finish. Cesaro comes out to make the save and bring all four Intercontinental Championship contenders together before clearing the ring and holding Miz’s belt.
It hasn’t been made official, but it seems fairly obvious that we’re building to some sort of four-way match for the Intercontinental Championship at Extreme Rules. The only question that remains is what type of match they’d go with, although it’s still possible the Fatal Fourway rules would be the only stipulation. Regardless, it would be nice to see the Swiss Superman come away witht the title at the end.
Next, we see AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson backstage, discussing the world title situation. Gallows and Anderson are trying to convince Styles he needs to get a little edgier if he wants to take down Reigns, which leads Styles to decide he needs to talk to Reigns for some reason.
The writing for the Reigns-Styles storyline has been much better than anticipated thus far, and their match at Payback was really well done by both wrestlers. Based on history, the Extreme Rules format definitely favors the bigger, meaner Reigns, so it will be interesting to see what transpires in the coming weeks.
Vaudevillains def. Bo Dallas/Curtis Axel
After the expected result, Big Cass gets involved to confront the Vaudevillains, who bragged Monday about injuring Enzo Amore. Cass proceeds to clear the ring and even powerbombs Axel for good measure.
It remains to be seen how Big Cass factors into the overall story during Enzo’s absence. While Enzo – who is recovering from a concussion – likely won’t be out for an incredibly long time, it was surprising to see Cass get a shot on the mic by himself on RAW. If he can establish himself as more of a complete talent, it could help the team be seen as a more viable option to hold the tag belts once Enzo is healed up.
Natalya/Becky Lynch def. Emma/Charlotte (w/ Ric Flair)
Natalya gets Emma to submit to the Sharpshooter to win the match for Team Face.
The direction for the Women’s Championship took an unfortunate turn at Payback with an awful Montreal Screwjob remake that also included Charles “Lil Naitch” Robinson cheating for his idol’s daughter to retain her title. The WWE someone redeemed the storyline by having Natalya put Ric in a Sharpshooter on Monday, but that division deserves more than cheap storylines and Natalya deserves a title run.
We see that Styles has found Reigns backstage, and he asks if Reigns plans to inferfere in a planned match between the Usos and Gallows/Anderson later. Reigns essentially says that he can do what he wants as champion, especially when his family is involved.
This tougher, more intense Reigns is clearly the way to go, if the creative team will stick to it consistently.
Rusev def. Zack Ryder
This was a quick match in favor of the new No. 1 contender for the United States title, followed by a celebration for Rusev and Lana. Afterward, Kalisto comes down to hit Rusev with a corkscrew forearm before heading back to the locker room.
It’s not really clear what the angle is here, but Rusev vs. Kalisto is definitely better than a lot of options that seemed apparent from Monday’s battle royal to determine a new challenger for Kalisto’s belt – namely Ryder and Sin Cara. Hopefully Rusev can get some momentum from this feud, even if that likely means the end of Kalisto’s title reign.
Backstage, we see Fandango trying to work with Goldust on his dancing, which obviously brings out Tyler Breeze and R-Truth for more dancing.
Additional team feuds and storylines are definitely needed, but this just seems like a little much. The Golden Truth angle already drug out too long, and I don’t see where this is going to help anyone, particularly Breeze.
Darren Young then asks Bob Backlund to be his life coach, for some reason. Backlund agrees to do so, and the two come up with the phrase “Make Darren Great Again.”
Let’s just hope that doesn’t make the cut for the television program.
Anderson/Gallows (w/Styles) vs. The Usos (w/ Reigns) (no contest)
After huge boos for Reigns, this one ends in utter chaos. Anderson kicks Reigns in the face which brings the World Heavyweight Champion into the ring. Chaos ensues, leading to the end of thois match and the start of another.
Reigns/Usos def. Styles/Gallows/Anderson
The finish comes when Reigns spears Anderson to get the pin, while Styles is prevented from breaking up the pin by one of the Usos. This is good heelish work of sorts, and the show ends with a stereotypical showdown between the two main-eventers.
No complaints here, particularly if this is leading to a storyline that can be as big as the WWE and superstar health allow it to be. Also, opening the door to heel personas for the Samoans would be better for everyone.
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