The June 18th episode of WWE SmackDown aired live from the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California. It was the final episode of SmackDown before WWE Stomping Grounds this Sunday night. In addition to the takeaways below, Drake Maverick became the new 24/7 Champion by dressing up as Carmella and attacking R-Truth in the parking lot.
Here are 4 takeaways from this week’s show:
Dolph Ziggler Dominated
New Day kicked off this week’s show and got a great reaction from the crowd. Woods hyped up Kofi defending his WWE Championship against Dolph Ziggler in a Steel Cage Match at Stomping Grounds. Woods pointed out that he is facing Ziggler later tonight.
Dolph Ziggler interrupted and said it was typical of New Day to come out here to try and distract everyone. Ziggler stated that Kofi doesn’t deserve to be WWE Champion because Xavier Woods interfered in their match at Super ShowDown. He noted that Big E and Woods won’t be able to be there for Kofi on Sunday because they will be locked in a steel cage.
Ziggler claimed that the next time Kofi goes back to Ghana it is going to be for an apology tour. The crowd broke out in a “Kofi” chant as Ziggler said he will walk out of Stomping Grounds as WWE Champion.
Kingston pointed out that his entire WWE Championship journey began in the Elimination Chamber and he is fully aware of the brutality that can happen inside a steel cage. Kofi vowed to beat Dolph at Stomping Grounds and remain the WWE Champion.
Dolph told Kingston to pay attention to what he does to Xavier Woods tonight. Ziggler claimed that after tonight, Woods will never be able to help Kingston again. Dolph then threw a tantrum and said “it should have been me!” before ending the promo with “Sunday, it will be me”.
Woods then battled Ziggler as Kofi and Big E were ringside. Ziggler controlled the match early but Xavier battled back and made his way to the top rope. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn rushed down the ramp and attacked Big E and Kingston from behind. Woods took Sami and Kevin out with a Crossbody off the top rope.
Ziggler planted Xavier with a DDT for a two count as he got back into the ring. Woods connected with a Dropkick and then lifted Dolph up above his shoulders and dropped him into a Gutbuster for a two count. Dolph connected with a Superkick and then a Zig Zag. Ziggler said that wasn’t enough and tied Woods up in the ropes. Ziggler hit Xavier with another Superkick for the pinfall victory.
Ziggler and Kingston will likely put on a solid match this Sunday at Stomping Grounds. However, the build has been painfully dull and there is hardly any excitement for the WWE Championship match on Sunday. There wasn’t much excitement for their match at Super ShowDown either.
Bayley & Alexa Bliss Had A Great Promo Heading Into Their Title Match
Bayley was a guest on A Moment of Bliss tonight on SmackDown. Bliss stated that Nikki Cross will be in her corner at Stomping Grounds. Alexa demanded that someone bring her a coffee but SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley’s music hit. Bayley came to the set with a giant coffee cup of her own and took a sip.
Alexa called Bayley selfish for drinking her coffee. Bayley stated that she has never said anything bad about Nikki Cross and is sorry that she has to be the one to tell her that Alexa really isn’t her friend and is just using her.
Bliss claimed that Bayley made her feel worthless in NXT and the only person that was nice to her was Charlotte. Bayley stated that Alexa was not some goddess, she is just an entitled little princess that doesn’t deserve a damn thing.
Alexa said that Bayley will always be a placeholder because she peaked in NXT. Bliss claimed that she was living out the career that Bayley always wanted and Bayley got pissed off. A brawl then broke out and Nikki Cross pulled Bayley off Bliss. Alexa then capitalized with a punch to the face to end the segment.
I wasn’t looking forward to this segment at all, but I’ve got to give credit to Bayley and Bliss here. This was a very solid promo and it felt real. I wish we had gotten more segments like this leading up until the title match on Sunday.
Drew McIntyre Destroyed The Miz
SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon came down to the ring with Elias and Drew McIntyre to start the second hour of the show. Shane told Greg Hamilton to save his introduction because everybody already knows that he is the best in the world.
Shane claimed that Drew McIntyre is going to kiss ass and take names at Stomping Grounds and defeat Roman Reigns in the middle of the ring. McIntyre claimed that Shane wanted Drew to end Reigns’ career tonight but he told him no because they are better than that.
McIntyre added that he wants Roman at 100% at Stomping Grounds and that he wants no excuses. The Miz interrupted and rolled footage from Reigns beating Shane and McIntyre down last night on RAW. Miz joked that he didn’t know Shane could sweat faster in slow motion.
The Miz mocked Shane for being the boss’ son and claimed that he was the kid in little league that got into the lineup because his father was the coach. Shane joked that his dad is a billionaire and The Miz’s dad is a baked potato. The Miz ranted that everybody is sick of Shane sucking up all the air time to feed his own ego.
Miz claimed it was his fault because he created a monster in the World Cup when he got injured and Shane took his place. He said Shane is his responsibility and he will be the one to end it. Shane suggested a tag team match and The Miz had ten seconds to find a partner. 24/7 Champion R-Truth then emerged from under the ring and Miz asked him to be his partner. Shane then made the match a Tag Team Elimination Match.
Shane quickly got involved in the match and tripped up Miz on the ring apron. Elias connected with a knee to R-Truth’s face to eliminate him. R-Truth then escaped through the crowd with the 24/7 Championship as members of the locker room chased him.
Shane hit Miz with a cheap shot as the action spilled out of the ring. Miz launched McIntyre over the barricade and then connected with a boot on Elias back in the ring. Miz connected with a DDT and went for the cover but Elias kicked out at two. McIntyre hit Miz with a headbutt and then tagged himself in. Drew leveled Miz with the Claymore Kick for the pinfall victory.
After the match, McIntyre hit The Miz with another Claymore Kick. Shane picked Miz up another time and Drew hit him with a third Claymore Kick. McIntyre will face Roman Reigns this Sunday night at Stomping Grounds.
The Miz essentially was the voice of the WWE Universe during this segment when he complained about Shane McMahon constantly being on television. Unfortunately, I’m expecting that trend to continue after Stomping Grounds.
Rollins & Kingston Picked Up A Win
The B-Team had a meeting with Baron Corbin tonight and then lost to Heavy Machinery later in the night. Universal Champion Seth Rollins attacked Axel and Bo Dallas with a steel chair after the match. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn then approached Shane McMahon as he arrived at the arena and said that he has to do something about this. Shane decided to put Owens and Zayn in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Tag Team Match against Rollins and Kingston in the main event.
Kofi Kingston leveled Sami Zayn with the Trouble in Paradise immediately and picked up the first pinfall. Rollins and Kingston then isolated Kevin Owens in the ring and took turns beating him down. Rollins got distracted by Sami and Owens connected with a DDT for a two count. Owens tried to pin Rollins three times in a row and shouted at the referee that he didn’t count to three.
Paul Heyman was shown backstage watching along with a smile on his face as Sami punched Rollins in the face. Owens tagged in and perched Rollins up on the top turnbuckle. Rollins battled back and connected with a Blockbuster and both superstars fell to the mat.
Kofi and Sami tagged in and Kingston dropped Zayn with a Clothesline. Kingston followed that up with a Dropkick and then the Boom Drop. Kingston went for another Trouble in Paradise but Sami countered with a boot to the face. Kingston hit a Crossbody off of the top rope for a two count. Zayn then connected with the Blue Thunder Bomb for a two count.
Owens tagged back in and walked into a Dropkick from Kingston. Rollins tagged in and hit Zayn and Owens with a Suicide Dive. Seth rolled Owens into the ring and hit him with a Springboard Clothesline. Rollins geared up for The Stomp but Sami tripped him up. Owens went for the Pop-Up Powerbomb but Rollins escaped and hit him with an Enziguri. Rollins then delivered The Stomp for the pinfall victory. Paul Heyman was once again shown backstage watching Rollins and Kingston celebrate as SmackDown went off the air.
This week’s episode of SmackDown was as bland as it gets. It wasn’t a terrible show, it just didn’t feel like the final show before a PPV. WWE seems to go through these phases where they will have several of the same stipulations in one week. Last night on RAW, there was a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match and we got another one tonight. Stomping Grounds is in five days and I cannot imagine too many people are excited about the show. WWE hasn’t given their audience compelling storylines and it has resulted in a PPV that feels like a throwaway event this Sunday night.
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