4 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (13 June - Results & Review)
3. One Hell Of An RKO Finish
Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker attacked LA Knight to cost him the first Fatal-4-Way. When a grinning Carmelo Hayes went to take advantage with a splash from the top rope, Randy Orton caught him in mid-air with a meaty RKO that looked picture perfect. Capitalising, the veteran then pinned Knight himself to advance to the semi finals of KOTR.
That was a superb finish, one that looked flashy and put across how opportunistic everybody would have to be in these opening round matches. It makes sense that Reed and Breakker showed up if LA is feuding with Seth Rollins going forwards too. That's a killer spot for Knight to be in over the summer months whilst Seth ponders cashing in Money In The Bank.
SmackDown's 4-Way had a clever ending following a so-so opening three quarters of the match. Those commercial breaks were abundant though, weren’t they?! Each one disrupted the flow on TV, but the bout surely had a different pace for those inside the arena live. Guys like Orton and Knight are smart enough to fill downtime during commercials, put it that way.
Orton vs. Sami Zayn in the first semi final will be a great watch, and that's up next before Night Of Champions.
This conclusion gives Knight something to moan about on the mic when going after Seth's goons, and it fit Randy's savvy veteran style nicely. Now, if only WWE could do something more important with Hayes and Aleister Black. They were just making up numbers here more than anything else.
2. That Hot Opening Segment
Initially, it looked like this opening segment would simply be John Cena yakking on about CM Punk without meaningful interruption, but it was more than that. Way more. WWE expertly sold the importance of winning King Of The Ring to Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton and LA Knight, then had R-Truth/Ron Killings ambush Cena from behind once he tried to leave.
The upshot of all this is that John is a marked man due to his behaviour, refusal to go out on a happy high with fans, and the title he holds. Everybody’s coming for him, and the pressure is increasing as time ticks down on his career. Best of all, it's his bloody fault! A lot of the aggro could've been avoided had Cena not sided with The Rock back at Elimination Chamber in March.
Revolving door segments can be a tough sell because they’re so formulaic and played out, but this was a prime example of one done well. Really well. It set the energy levels for the show, which is precisely what you want something like this to do, and there was a lot of star power inside that ring at the same time. That fact wasn't lost on Lexington either.
Tense moments between combos like Cena and Cody, Orton and Rhodes, and LA Knight with everyone added to the story of 'Cena vs. The World'. At the same time, everyone else has their own ambitions. If WWE wanted to put that across and make KOTR seem important all at once, then they positively nailed it in one solitary segment.
Great job.
1. Another Winner For Cena (With Bonus CM Punk)
Kentucky surely thought Cena was done for the night once Truth ambushed him in the aisle and Nick Aldis set up a match between the pair for next week's show. Not quite. John approached Jimmy Uso behind the scenes, then told 'Big Jim' to tell his pal that he'd be calling him out to the ring soon. The Lexington masses lost their minds once Cena emerged for a second round live in living colour.
Ironically, it was Living Colour that interrupted him. 'Cult Of Personality' blared over the PA as CM Punk showed up to get in John's face instead. This wasn't exactly Punk's most cutting promo despite Joe Tessitore calling it a classic, but there's an undeniable magic in the air whenever Punk and Cena go nose to nose; they could be discussing how to make the perfect cup of tea and make it pulsating to watch.
That was true on Monday's Raw, and it was true on SmackDown.
There was room for one more Ron run-in too. R-Truth hit Cena from behind then locked him in an STF. When leaving, John limped away selling his leg like a total pro. Here's hoping that injured wheel plays a part in the match these dudes will be having next week. It'd be ideal if it came up at NOC when Cena is against Punk too. Why not?
Again, there was nothing groundbreaking in Punk's promo, but the intensity was there and fans ate it up. Remember that point about Cena making himself a marked man to rival Steve Austin at the 1998 Royal Rumble? Yeah, that sense heightened during his second appearance of the night.
What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? For more wrestling content, check out 15 WWE Gimmick Changes That IMMEDIATELY Backfired and 15 Times WWE Stars Made Cameos BEFORE They Were Famous!