Archive of PWUpdate.net (2013-2014)

Venue: O2 Arena (London, England)

Commentators: Michael Cole & JBL

Match Results

1.  Batista defeats Dolph Ziggler by pinfall in a no disqualification match with a spear. 12:00)[***1/4]

2. The Funkadactyls (Naomi and Cameron) defeated Nikki Bella and Eva Marie by roll-up. Summer Raw served as special guest referee. (1:59) [*1/2

3.  Bo Dallas defeated Sin Cara  with a springboard bulldog(3:41) [*1/2]

4.    Sheamus (WWE United States Champion) defeated Alberto Del Rio by disqualification .(4:00) [*]

5.    (The Usos (Jimmy and Jay Uso w/John Cena) (WWE Tag Team Champions) defeated The Wyatt Family (Luke Harper and Erick Rowan w/Bray Wyatt) by disqualification. (11:00 shown) [**1/2]

News + Notes

• Jimmy Hart introduced Hulk Hogan, the hose of this edition of Smackdown. Hogan at least got the name of the city and venue right this time as opposed to what happened at Wrestlemania. Hogan promotes Legend’s House on WWE Network but says Smackdown is about looking to the future. He mentions Wrestlemania and then leaves. When you’ve got 1000 hours of television, you need someone to kill time. That’s what Hogan’s function was here.
• After their match was over, Batista powerbombed Ziggler for fun. Also, his beard is getting pretty mighty.
• Summer Rae fast counted Eva Marie and is apparently hated by every diva.
• Bo Dallas made his WWE redebut. He behaves like his usual goofy self in a prematch promo and reminds me a lot of early Kurt Angle. After the match, Dallas helped Sin Cara up and told him to believe. This angle will not play on WWE Raw or Smackdown.
• Michael Cole interviewed Paige about her title victory. She talks about how much it meant to win the Diva’s Championship. She’s got great poise when talking. I just hope WWE actually lets her wrestle in a competent fashion.
• Bray Wyatt cut an awesome promo about his last man standing match with John Cena at Payback. Seriously, he’s growing into this character and becoming one of the top stars in the company, and the potential hasn’t even been scratched yet. He’s got such a command of his character and the crowd. He calls the Usos pawns in a nice moment.  He ends by singing that famous song.
• Paul Heyman and Cesaro joined Michael Cole and JBL. Cesaro attacked Sheamus to cause a disqualification and ended with a Neuralizer and shaking Sheamus’s hand.
• Vickie Guerrero did some talking. Adam Rose interrupted  and used the line about being a lemon or Rosebud. I have no idea whether I’m supposed to cheer or boo this guy. This actually goes back to WWE’s problem from years ago when they threw out a bunch of gimmicks instead of developing characters. Big difference.
• Usos actually get a chance to speak and talk about family. John Cena came out, made jokes, and did the chest thumping exercise. Six months AFTER Wolf of Wall Street came out.
• The crowd sweetening is blatantly obvious and borderline embarrassing. Almost as bad as the announcers.

The Matches

BATISTA VS. DOLPH ZIGGLER- Smackdown is apparently a parallel universe where Ziggler isn’t a complete jobber. This was a bit of a preview for the no holds barred six man tag between Evolution and The Shield. Pretty physical match as they spent a great deal of time brawling on the outside. Then they took turns using a chair. Ziggler pretty much wore Batista out with the chair in fact. Ziggler was allowed to show a ton of aggression and got in tons of offense against a main eventer. Hopefully, this is a positive sign for him even in a loss. Ziggler low blowed Batista in a turnaround from last week. Ziggler caught his leg trying to fameass Batista into the stairs.

NIKKI BELLA AND EVA MARIE VS. THE FUNKADACTYLS (NAOMI AND CAMERON)- The announcers spend more time discussingTotal Divasthan actually calling the match.Rae counts a fast three. So on Raw she comes back to get back at Layla and Fandango after being scorned. Here she’s a heel. Oy vey.

BO DALLAS VS. SIN CARA- Dallas controls much of the match with basic stuff. I just don’t see a lot of upside with him. Maybe that will change, but he needs a few years on the independent scene to hone the character and really improve in the ring. Sin Cara actually got some decent enough offense in,, but of course he wasn’t winning.

SHEAMUS VS. ALBERTO DEL RIO- Del Rio started the match off quickly after a Cesaro distraction. Sheamus came back and even came off the middle rope with a knee strike. Cesaro tried to cheap shot Sheamyus and failed.

THE USOS VS. THE WYATT FAMILY- There have been a number of six man tags, but this is a nice way to get the Usos a chance to showcase themselves in the main event of a television show. Harper had some great chemistry with Jimmy and Jay. Rowan… he sure was in the match. Fans still chant for John Cena at ringside, but what can you do? Cena did a great job getting the crowd  into the match before the hot tag. Fun exchange at the end as we saw a boot, superkick and tope dive. Who says WWE doesn’t embrace the indies? Wyatt shoves Jimmy Uso to caue the disqualification. Cena hits an AA on Rowan.  Pretty fun match until the main event.

 Overall Show Thoughts

Definitely a B level show with two matches ending in a disqualification and hinting at further issues down the road. Ziggler and Batista was definitely worth checking out as they got time and a chance to get physical. I liked the Wyatt promo, but it’s nothing that hasn’t been said a bunch of times before and becomes less effective when Cole regurgitates information.