Friday Night SmackDown Review - June 20, 2014

Could Sheamus' team overcome the odds?

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Opening Segment

We see this same sort of segment for every multi-man matchup in WWE, whether it be a Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber or Money in the Bank. Every man involved in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Ladder match made their case for why they should be champion (except for Bray Wyatt who shouldn't have appeared anyway) and the brawl that brought out was a nice teaser of what was to come in the main event. It was a paint-by-the-numbers segment that featured nothing notable, but it was effective hype for the upcoming title match.


Seth Rollins def. Kofi Kingston

I was looking forward to this match as it had the potential to be great on paper, but it was nothing more than an extended squash for Rollins. Rollins needed the win and it was refreshing to see him defeat someone not named Dolph Ziggler, but it would have been nice had the match gone on a little longer. I realize Kingston means next to nothing nowadays, but his pre-match promo seemed to indicate that he might have involvement in the Money in the Bank Ladder match. Dean Ambrose continues to cut great promos and he is carrying Rollins to enjoyable verbal exchanges.

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Dean Ambrose lands a dropkick on Kane.

Dolph Ziggler def. Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett (Non-title)

Barrett has been losing in non-title matches more often as of late and I really hope it doesn't become the norm. His loss to Ziggler was a pleasant surprise given that Ziggler hasn't won a meaningful match in ages, but it'll make sense only if the two meet in a rematch with the Intercontinental Championship on the line at some point. The action was entertaining while it lasted and I'd like to see a real feud between these two down the road. However, was it really necessary for Barrett to knock out Ziggler afterward? I understand it put heat back on Barrett, but why couldn't Ziggler get his moment just once?


Adam Rose def. Titus O'Neil

I honestly have very little to say about any of this. I'm a Rosebud, that's well-documented, but I simply didn't see what purpose this served. It's not like it harmed O'Neil since he's never meant less anyway, but why even bother booking it in the first place? It's sad that WWE Creative is really this desperate to kill time on a two hour program by booking not one but two matches that lasted less than a minute combined.


Kane def. Dean Ambrose

Kane and Ambrose have never had the best matches, but they've always had a cool dynamic in the ring together given their similar psychotic gimmicks. I'm a big fan of Ambrose's new attire as it fits his persona perfectly. Kane lost a significant amount of heat with his Stretcher match loss to John Cena on Raw so I had no problem with him winning here. Ambrose losing via interference from Rollins protects him in defeat and furthers their feud nicely.


Big E def. Jack Swagger

So, this was basically to prove that Big E could beat Swagger on his own? I figured that the distraction from Rusev last week that led to Swagger losing would be the start of a babyface turn for Swagger and a way to be taken seriously again, but apparently not. The face turn may still happen, but Rusev had zero influence in this match result. It's not even like the win will do anything for Big E, either, since he too is directionless at the moment.


Bo Dallas def. Fandango

This ridiculous love triangle between Fandango, Summer Rae and Layla brings me back to my high school days, which is exactly why I hate it. We're a month into this story and I'm still confused as to who we're supposed to be cheering for. Summer was dumped, yet she tried to steal Fandango backstage, so wouldn't that make Layla the sympathetic figure? The saving grace of all this was easily Dallas, who picked up a nice win and cut a humorous promo afterward.


Roman Reigns, John Cena and United States Champion Sheamus def. Randy Orton, Alberto Del Rio, Bray Wyatt and Cesaro in a 4-on-3 Handicap Match

The action early on was not all that exciting, but they built up to the finish very well and the match was given great time. No one really shined outside of Reigns at the end, but it still a solid showing from everyone involved. Reigns looked like a complete beast by taking out all the heels during the finishing sequence to pick up the victory for his team and the crowds absolutely love him. He's definitely a favorite to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship next Sunday and in all honesty, I wouldn't be opposed to it at this point.


Overall Show

The main event was very good and featured a lot of star power, but there really wasn't much else on this show that stood out aside from everything involving Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. I've been loving their feud thus far and I've been happy to see it get as much TV time as it's been getting in recent weeks. The rest of this episode was made up of useless filler, but here's hoping they can fill out the rest of the Money in the Bank pay-per-view card nicely with two Ladder match already happening.

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