We start the show off hyping two more WWE World Cup qualifiers between Jeff Hardy and Samoa Joe and Randy Orton and The Big Show. So that will be four of the eight at least that are American. NOT A WORLD CUP, LADS.
BECKY LYNCH (c) v CHARLOTTE - SMACKDOWN WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
We go straight into Charlotte v Becky for the Smackdown women's title. No entrances, nothing. Guess that stops the crowd from showing they like the heel and hate the face... if Becky is disqualified she loses the title after her sly disqualification on the weekend.
- Lock up and chain wrestling to start
- Pockets of the crowd for the first time get behind Charlotte, duelling Lets go Charlotte, Becky Lynch chants.
- Charlotte gets the better of Becky
- Until Becky resorts to raking the eyes on the ropes.
- Becky continues her new aggressive, mocking moveset.
- Double clothesline puts both down
- Charlotte reverses the Dis-Arm-Her
- Becky adjusts her hammerlock into a neck-bridge and it looks amazing. What a wrestler.
- Charlotte tries a slingshot into the turnbuckle but Lynch can't spring and unfortunately it looks bad.
- Lynch powders out of the ring.
- Charlotte hits a crossbody over the top rope and onto Lynch as we go to break.
- Lynch catches Charlotte on the top rope and slams her down.
- Bexploder for 2!
- Becky starts showing her frustrations facially and verbally.
- Woo chops to Lynch from Charlotte! Back suplex and nip up from Charlotte, but she falls to her knees again, groggy.
- Becky is stopped from leaving the top rope this time, but she rolls through and applies the armbar!
- Charlotte powers out with a ground and pound and a powerbomb. What strength!
- Figure of Eight reversed by Lynch
- Becky tries to take her title and leave
- Charlotte drags her back to the ring
- Terrible ref bump
- Ref spots Becky trying to use the title as a weapon and stops her
- Charlotte with the rollup!
- Becky turns it around with a handful of tights!
- SPEAR by Charlotte!
- Becky rolls out again.
- This is awesome chants
- Charlotte attempts a moonsault to the outside and misses jarring her knees badly.
- Bexploder on the outside
- Becky tries to win by count-out
- Charlotte moves when Lynch tries to kick her off the apron at nine, but moves re-starting the count as Lynch falls outside.
- Charlotte hits her own exploder on the outside.
- Natural selection! That was what beat Becky at Summerslam...
- Becky rolls out again.
- Double count-out finish.
- Charlotte and Becky continue to fight after the bell with Charlotte spearing Lynch through the LED wall on the ramp!
- Charlotte appears to have sliced open her arm.
- The match was good with an invested crowd, with the story being that Charlotte can beat Becky, but Lynch is escaping defeat with her cunning. The count-out finish protects Charlotte again and the post-match stuff ignites fuel onto the fire of this feud. Top stuff.
JEFF HARDY v SAMOA JOE
- Video packages for both wrestlers ahead of the match. I like these.
- Samoa Joe roughs up Hardy
- Hardy targets the taped knee of Joe after his match on the weekend where he heard it 'pop'.
- Joe's facial expressions are the best
- Hardy continues to alter his moveset to target Joe's knee.
- Joe misses a kick and smashes his knee on the steps!
- Hardy again aggressively elbows the knee of Joe.
- Commentary suggests Hardy's new attitude may be down to what he went through at Hell In A Cell.
- The referee stops the match and Hardy is announced the winner!
- Commentary then says that is not how Hardy would have wanted to win as he is so honourable. That makes no sense!
- Jeff qualifies for the WWE World Cup.
- Samoa Joe looks angry with himself and the decision.
- That was a very interesting match. We saw no high flying from Hardy, just a disciplined attack on Joe's knee, before the ref waved it off. Intriguing where both acts go from here - does Hardy continue down this path? What now for Joe? In terms of Hardy qualifying for the WWE World Cup, to prove who is 'the best in the world' I am hoping we get Y2J winning the thing only for Y2J in the hardy paint to attack and proclaim he is the best in the world... at what I do.
BECKY v CHARLOTTE UPDATE
We get a recap of the spear by Charlotte on Becky Lynch through the LED boards. Paige announces that they will face off at WWE Evolution at the end of the month in a Last Woman Standing match!
MIZ TV
- AJ Styles is out first
- Miz asks about AJ's family and quickly backtracks before stating he will face Daniel Bryan next
- The Miz describes Bryan as 'better than a boy scout' before snoring at the thought of him.
- Daniel Bryan comes out to Yes! chants.
- Miz turns his nose up at the honourable handshake between Bryan and Styles. 'This is going to be riveting.'
- Bryan says I heard you talking about AJ's match in Australia... do you want to talk about our match? I promise it won't take you very long... OUCH.
- AJ claims that Samoa Joe has been his greatest competitor in his 11 month championship reign. That was classy after Joe just lost to Hardy.
- Bryan says he wants to beat a 'worthy' opponent and bigs up Styles' accomplishments in WWE.
- He then adds he knows he can beat AJ Styles.
- The Miz is being brilliant as a shit stirrer here. What a man.
- Styles says Bryan hasn't beaten anyone phenomenal since his return.
- Bryan quips The Miz is the 'two minute-man'.
- He then says his dream on returning was to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and Styles is standing in his way.
- Styles claims he isn't moving. Not for you or anybody.
- The Miz snaps at the jibes and claims his shoulder was up in Australia.
- He burns both Bryan for being boring and AJ for being an insignificant champion.
- That was really fun with both men stating their claims for Crown Jewel and The Miz being amazing on the mic - although he's so passionate that some folk are starting to cheer him. Which in this case is kind of understandable as at times he was being picked on two on one.
AJ STYLES v SHELTON BENJAMIN
- Bryan and AJ bicker on commentary. There are 5 people in the booth and it is very distracting in terms of watching the actual match.
- Pele kick to Benjamin
- Benjamin knees AJ in the face and off the apron! BOOM!
- Calf crusher by Styles!
- Bryan says The Miz is better than everyone at talking but at wrestling he is the two minute man.
- Phenomenal forearm! Styles wins.
- Bryan applauds
- That was far too short to be anything other than meh. Add the five man booth and it was a sideshow to what was going on ringside. Benjamin took a huge step forward last week but was treated as a glorified jobber here.
ONE NIGHT IN MILWAUKEE
Aiden English introduces the director's cut of the video between him and Lana. The video stops as English moves in towards Lana. You want to see the rest? English asks the crowd. He says he has a proposition instead and invites Rusev out.
Here's my offer. Everyone knows what happens on that tape, but if you kick Lana to the kerb and reunite Rusev Day with me, I will destroy the tape forever. Rusev calls his bluff and says show the tape. English tries to avoid doing so saying this is a family show.
Lana has hacked English by using the password iheartrusev and gained access to the footage. The footage shows English move into Lana but for her to resist, say he misread the situation and leave.
English has been exposed. He says fine, but Lana, the offer is still on the table. When you get bored of those Rusev days, come treat yourself to an Aiden night. Rusev runs after English but English avoids the superkick.
That was fine, we got a conclusion to the rumour and innuendo and English came across like a creep. He was doing it to sustain his success as the voice of Rusev Day. Rusev fights for his wife's honour and sets up a future match between the two.
BIG SHOW v RANDY ORTON
- DDT on Big Show
- Orton's chest is showing the effect of Show slaps.
- Big Show did a big dribble into his beard whilst in a headlock.
- Big Show's knees are giving up and he is starting to walk like Khali.
- DDT off the rope on Show.
- Orton goes for the punt, but Show responds with a spear.
- You still got it chants for Big Show
- Orton rolls out of the ring
- Big Show hoists him back in the ring by his neck!
- Chokeslam!
- Just a 2!
- Orton bails again.
- Big Show hoists him onto the apron again, but Orton gives him the thumb to the eye!
- Orton slithers into the ring
- RKO!
- Randy Orton qualifies for the WWE American World Cup.
- The match was fine and it was nice to see Big Show get a positive response from the crowd, but his legs are really struggling to hold all that muscle and weight. Orton continues to prove he is a great heel and is being booked strong at present.
I thought this show was good, but would have come across much better if the women went on last. That was a way to close the show, not an Orton v Big Show match. The Miz was the MVP though, obviously.
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