Smackdown Review 5/26/2016

Hey it’s The Wrestling Classic Justin here, and I want to introduce everyone to our new Smackdown review writers for thewrestlingclassic.com. With the announcement that Smackdown will be going live July 19th on the USA Network, I thought it was only fitting to have weekly Smackdown reviews weekly as well. Therefore, Rico & Lopez had shown a ton interest in writing for the website, so I thought I would give them a shot. Remember, if you want to write for thewrestlingclassic.com, just send me a sample review, and we’ll see what happens. Thank you and enjoy.

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Welcome to our (@wammyswrestlinguniverse) very first weekly review here on thewrestlingclassic.com. We’ll be reviewing this week’s edition of Smackdown by every segment and every match that took place and give it an overall final rating of the show. Are you ready?

Just to preview the show a bit, Kalisto vs Rusev is set for the United States Championship. Also, The Miz vs Cesaro for the Intercontiental Championship, plus Seth Rollins will be returning to Smackdown, and finally, one of the last 2 spots for the MITB ladder match will be decided between Zack Ryder and Alberto Del Rio, all that is coming TONIGHT.

This Smackdown is coming to you taped from Norfolk, Virginia.

Michael Cole opens up the show talking about the Money in the Bank Briefcase. He then starts talking about Extreme Rules which leads to him introducing his guest, Dean Ambrose. As Cole starts talking about the Money in the Bank match with Ambrose, Kevin Owens interrupts and tells Cole to get out of the ring. Owens talks trash and about him winning the briefcase on June the 18th until Sami Zayn’s music hits.
After a little insult trading about the ladder match at Wrestlemania, Alberto del Rio comes out and tells everyone that he has been Mr. Money in the Bank before and he is going to win it again. A little brawl breaks out between Ambrose, Zayn and Owens as Del Rio watches from the ramp.
As Zayn is going to hit Owens with the Helluva Kick, Owens moves out of the way and Sami stops before hitting Ambrose, Zayn backs off and Dean takes advantage and tries to lock in Dirty Deeds, he fails and him and Sami have a staredown.

1) Alberto del Rio vs Zack Ryder.
It was a decent match, where Del Rio defeated Ryder by submission with his signature Cross Armbreaker. Del Rio qualified for the MITB ladder match and that leaves just one spot left.

Enzo Amore & Big Cass come out to a great pop as usual, after an entertaining promo, the Dudley Boyz come out to interrupt them, their conflict ends with Enzo & Cass challenging them to a fight and the Dudley’s refusing.

Rusev and Lana are interviewed backstage about his match with Kalisto later on. Rusev simply states that there is no possible way that Kalisto will beat him.

2) Rusev w/Lana vs Kalisto
for the United States Championship.
In an actually really entertaining bout where we can see Rusev improving to become a dominant force again at every chance he gets, Rusev defeated Kalisto by submission with the Accolade retaining his United States Title.

After the match, Rusev continues to beat down Kalisto until Titus O’Neal comes out and makes the save for Kalisto. Looks like we have our new challenger.

3) Dana Brooke vs Natalya.
Again, in a decent match, Natalya defeated Dana Brooke by disqualification when Natalya was attacked by Charlotte. I personally believe that Dana Brooke is a really good in-ring worker, but she is not going to showcase her abilities or improve by having 5 minute matches and losing by DQ.
After the match, Charlotte and Dana Brooke continue to beat down Natalya.

AJ Styles is interviewed backstage about what his future plans will be now that he is not in the MITB match or in contention for the WWE World Heavyweight title. AJ simply says he doesn’t know and leaves.

4) Fandango & Tyles Breeze vs The Golden Truth (R-Truth & Goldust).
If you missed this match you legit didn’t miss much. Breeze and Fandango defeated the Golden Truth clean in a pretty regular tag team match with no real purpose. They just seem to be dragging this R-Truth/Goldust storyline.

Seth Rollins comes out making his return to Smackdown to a HUGE pop. Rollins gets into the ring, grabs a microphone and starts his promo by asking the fans if they missed him. The fans respond with a deafening “Yes”. Rollins proceeds to tell the fans he didn’t miss them and just leave the ring. A really well executed heel move, similar to his Raw promo but different.

5) The Miz vs Cesaro
for Intercontinental Championship.
In what can be described as really good main event, The Miz defeated Cesaro with a Skull Crushing Finale to retain his Intercontinental Championship.
The show ends with The Miz and Maryse celebrating at the top of the ramp.

This was a good show overall. Again a little lacklustre in where the cons weighed a little more than the pros did. Smackdown is still considered the B Show, to the flagship show Raw, so hopefully we see this change once the brands split again. I would say this specific show gets a 7.5 out of 10 due to the outstanding Main Event and the US Title Match.
Do you disagree? Did we miss anything? Comment about it.

Thanks for taking time to read our review, follow us on Instagram at @WammysWrestlingUniverse and @TheWrestlingClassic