9/20 WWE Smackdown on SyFy Live Coverage: The Shield, Daniel Bryan, AJ Lee and more in action

By Jake Barnett

WWE Smackdown on SyFy Live Coverage
Taped 9/17 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

[Q1] A video package aired that covered basically the entire WWE Title saga from Monday, including the main event and the close of the show. In the arena, Vickie Guererro was introduced and was already in the ring. She welcomed everyone to Smackdown, and said as the general manager, she has the most thrilling show ever for Smackdown tonight. But first, she was here to introduce to us the laughing stock of WWE. No, it's not Hornswoggle, it's not even close. He went from hero to zero. She mentioned Bob Backlund holding the WWE title for over 2000 days, and CM Punk holding the title for 434 days. She then said Bryan has title reigns of 5 minutes and 21 hours respectively.

She then introduced Daniel Bryan, and he made his ring entrance. Bryan told Vickie that he would rather champion for one day than be a shrill corporate suck up for his entire life like her. She reminded him of her position, and that he had cheated at Summerslam. Bryan said he had done nothing wrong, but Vickie had none of it and said the video proved the conspiracy. She begged him to stop embarrassing himself and come forward. Bryan said the truth was that he kneed Orton in the face, and the ref made a fast three count, but he could have counted to twenty because Orton was knocked out.

Bryan said he had nothing to do with what Scott Armstrong did. Vickie screamed that he was a liar. She said Triple H might have guaranteed him a match at Battleground, but she would have fired him. Bryan said that everyone should be glad that she has no real power. Vickie said if she didn't have any power, how could she punish the people that helped him on Monday? She showed all the men that assisted Bryan on Monday, and said they would all take on The Shield in a handicap match against the Shield, each taking all three members of The Shield on individually. Vickie left and Bryan was left standing in the ring contemplating the beating he would take later.

Cole and JBL said they would show footage of how Paul Heyman defeated CM Punk at Night of Champions, and that we would hear from Ryback and Heyman later.

My Take: Oh, another handicap match to punish people. How original. I like Bryan and the crowds clearly love him, but they are going out of their way to make him look like a dope here. Why not have some kind of alibi for his conspiracy? Perhaps his girlfriend to help explain where he was?

[Q2] Naomi danced with Cameron in the ring in preparation for her match. Natalya was in the booth on commentary, and then AJ made her entrance. A PIP video aired with AJ where she said she would defeat all the E! Total Divas one by one starting tonight.

1. AJ Lee vs. Naomi: They battled back and forth early on with AJ taking control with a head lock. Naomi fired back with a kick, and then rolled up AJ for two. She then followed up with drop kick and an atomic drop. She then hit rear view for another two count. Naomi tried for a suplex, but AJ slipped out and applied a sleeper. AJ spun out of a head scissors into the black widow for the submission victory.

AJ Defeated Naomi at 3:10.

Natalya got up from the announce table and stared down AJ, who was standing on the apron.

My Take: About as exciting as you'd expect. I'm optimistic that we'll get a decent match from AJ and Natalya, but the rest of the division just doesn't inspire much confidence at the moment. There is an odd mix of inexperience and lack of character development that just makes it feel inconsequential.

[Q3] 2. Santino vs. Jack Swagger: Swagger and Santino worked back and forth for a bit, with Swagger dominating the early going with a clothesline and a chin lock. Santino cartwheeled out of a hip toss and did the splits to avoid a clothesline. He hit a backslide for a surprise victory in a short match.

Santino defeated Jack Swagger at 1:58.

My Take: Not much to say there. Santino continues to get victories over people for inexplicable reasons.

Ryback made his entrance with Heyman and Axel. Heyman introduced himself and called himself the Best in the World. He said uncharacteristically he would give credit to CM Punk, he gave him all he could handle at Night of Champions. Heyman claimed only one man can claim victory when two gladiators battle, and it wasn't our hero CM Punk, it was Paul Heyman. Paul then looked at Ryback and said he couldn't have done it without his hero. Ryback told Heyman he didn't deserve to get picked on by a bully like CM Punk, and if there is one thing he can't stand it's a bully. He said he would do to this guy what he'd do to CM Punk the next time he saw him.

Ryback accused the jobber in the ring of not siging autographs for kids and bullying Heyman in the parking lot.

2. Ryback vs. Nick Nardone: Ryback tossed the guy in the corner and jawed at him. The jobber got in a flash of offense before eating a meat hook clothesline. He followed up with Shellshocked for a quick victory.

Ryback defeated Nick Nardone at 1:19.

Backstage, Randy Orton was shown walking toward the ring...[c]

My Take: You could have just added a minute onto the promo. It was better and more substantive than the match anyway. I like the Ryback and Heyman pairing, if only for Heyman fawning all over him. It reminds me of Bobby Heenan a bit.

[Q4] Randy Orton made his ring entrance. Orton grabbed a microphone and said Daniel Bryan and Scott Armstrong conspired to steal the WWE Title from him, and they succeeded. The fast count ended his title reign, but it was his fault, 100% his fault. He said it was his fault because he had locked away the sadistic side of the viper, because he thougth that's what everyone wanted. He went to anger management and worked his hardest to keep his true self hidden, because it's what everyone wanted. He said on Monday when he found out that's what Triple H and Stephanie wanted, and he made an example out of The Miz right in front of his family. He then showed footage of his beating on The Miz on the tron. After the video, Orton said at Battleground he would finally win the war against Daniel Bryan. Orton then promised to be your....then corrected himself to MY WWE Champion. The Shield made their ring entrance following the Orton promo. Cole then said this was the first match of it's kind in the WWE...[c]

My Take: A good promo from Orton, despite being a little monotone. The sadistic viper is his best character, and he's clearly more comfortable in the role.

After the break, Darren Young made his ring entrance for his beating.

3. Darren Young vs. The Shield: It was a three on one beating. They set him up for the spear and it was over..

The Shield defeated Darren Young at :40.

[Q5] Titus O'Neill was next. Reigns hit a shoulder tackle, and then Rollins held O'Neill down for a beating. They hit the Triple Power Bomb and pinned him.

The Shield defeated Titus O'Neill at :35.

Dolph Ziggler was next. He took it all three guys early, and jumped on Reigns in the corner, but the numbers caught up. Rollins pulled him violently off the second rope, and then all three guys took turns taking shots. Dolph fired back after a bit and hit a dropkick on Ambrose, and send Reings over the top rope to the outisde. Rollins took a fameasser, but Dolph got knocked to the outside by Rollins and then Reigns hit a nasty looking spear on the outside. Dolph got counted out.

The Shield defeated Dolph Ziggler at 2:01.

Kofi Kingston was next.. Kofi avoided a Reigns spear and used a fast pace to take on Ambrose and Rollins in the ring. He hit Trouble in Paradise on Reigns as he got back in the ring for a close near fall. Ambrose broke up the pin and then he and Rollins took Kofi apart. Ambrose hit his headlock facebuster for the win.

The Shield defeated Kofi Kingston at 1:30.

Rob Van Dam was next. Van Dam cleared Ambrose from the ring and hit kicks on Rollins and Reigns. He hit a double rolling thunder on Rollins and Reigns, and then climbed up top to hit the Five Star Frog Splash, but Triple H's music hit. He ended the match abruptly and Van Dam got pushed off the top rope. He grabbed Vickie Guerrero and pulled her to the back...[c]

The match ended in no contest.

My Take: Uh, what? A few fun spots in the match, but the conclusion makes little sense. It appeared Triple H stepped in when The Shield appeared to be on the verge of losing, but then he acts like he is disciplining Guerrero. The follow up better be good.

[Q6] Triple H excoriated Vickie backstage, and said what she did would cause a revolt. She defended herself by saying she thought she was doing what was best for business. Triple H said what was best for business was fair and open competition, and that the talent need to feel safe in a competitive environment. Triple H told Vickie to go make a match between The Shield and The Usos with Daniel Bryan. Cole mentioned the odd timing of Triple H's interruption, and then introduced footage of Dusty and Stephanie from Monday. They focused heavily on Big Show's remorse.

Backstage, Hunter was shown pacing. Zack Ryder and Justin Gabriel walked up and Triple H apologized and said they didn't deserve a match with The Shield. Ryder slapped Triple H's arm and thanked him for the apology, but said he was looking for competition. He then told them to walk out to the ring and said he would send them some fair competition...[c]

My Take: Well, I guess Triple H is trying to hide his disdain for everyone under a layer of corporate BS. It will be interesting to see how the cracks start to show up.

Ryder and Gabriel were in the ring, and the Wyatt Family made their entrance.

4. The Wyatt Family vs. Zack Ryder and Justin Gabriel: Luke Harper started with Ryder. Ryder hit a facebuster and a drop kick. Harper charged in the corner and ate an elbow. He didn't miss with a Big Boot, however, and Gabriel had to break up the pin. Rowan to care of Gabriel and hit a bucklebomb and a discus clothesline for the win.

The Wyatt Family defeated Gabriel and Ryder at 2:10.

After the match, Bray hit Sister Abigail on Ryder. Rowan hit a Big Boot all the way to the top rope on Gabriel, who tried to stop him. Bray took a mic and says when he makes a promise, he keeps it. He said if WWE keeps lining them up, he promises that he would continue to knock them down, all for Sister Abigail. Follow the buzzards. Cole and JBL plugged the main event.

My Take: A fun match that was way too short. I liked Bray's promo after the match. I think they need to reveal more about these guys soon, though.

[Q7] Backstage, Triple H said he was sorry to RVD backstage about being in the handicap match. He then told him he would have a match against Del Rio at Battleground to make up for it. Del Rio then showed up and put a beating on RVD in the trainers room, including a kick to the back of head and tossing him into some equipment crates. Del Rio threw a box at RVD and he was unconscious. Cole called into question the timing of the attack by Del Rio. R-Truth then made his entrance, followed by Del Rio. A replay of the Del Rio beating on RVD was shown.

5. Alberto Del Rio vs. R-Truth: R-Truth hit a suplex for a two count early. Del Rio worked the arm and tied up Del Rio's arm in the ropes. He then hit a back suplex for a two count. Del Rio applied a chin lock and put some boots to Truth. Del Rio got cocky and taunted the crowd, and then Truth hit him with a kick for a two count. R-Truth avoided the cross arm breaker and then hit a enziguri for a near fall. Del Rio kicked Truth in the hamstring, and then a side kick to the head. He then applied the cross arm breaker for the submission.

Del Rio defeated R-Truth at 3:25.

Cole said the Main Event was next...[c]

My Take: I like the way the are using Cole to actually question Triple H's motives. Del Rio's attack on RVD looked good and he looked strong in his match. I wish they'd give Del Rio some more mic time, but the attack backstage was the best reason they've given us for this feud yet.

The Shield made their ring entrance, followed by The Uso's. Daniel Bryan made his ring entrance last.

7. Daniel Bryan and The Uso's vs. The Shield: Bryan and Seth Rollins started. Bryan hit several kicks and then a high knee. Bryan ducked under a leap frog and trapped the leg of Rollins. He then applied a surfboard and then tagged in Jimmy Uso. Ambrose then quickly tagged in and Jimmy hit a back drop and tagged in Jay.

[Q8] Jay hit a few strike and make quick tag to Jimmy. Jimmy hit a flying head butt and tagged Jay back in. Ambrose caught Jay and backed him into his corner to tag Reigns. He came and teed off on Jay. Jay managed to kick Roman when he telegraphed a back body drop, and make a tag to Bryan. He hit some kicks on Reigns and got caught by a clothesline. Ambrose tagged in a dropped a few elbows, and then tagged in Rollins.

Rollins hit a few strikes and put Bryan in a chin lock. Bryan broke free and tagged in Jimmy Uso. Rollins his Jimmy with a drop kick and tagged in Ambrose, who hit multiple strikes...[c]

Jay caught Rollins with kick to the back of the head and tagged in Jimmy. Jimmy hit a Samoan Drop and knocked Ambrose to the floor. Ambrose hit a pele type kick and tagged in Roman Reigns. They worked quick tags. Ambrose clubbed Jimmy's chest and hit a nice splash in the corner. Rollins made a tag and made two quick covers for near falls. Rollins argued with the ref and Ambrose kicked Jimmy as he lay over the second rope.

Reigns tagged in and hit an elbow drop and then locked in a chin lock. Jimmy broke free and Reigns hit him with a nice running clothesline and went right back to the chin lock. Jimmy flipped out of a back suplex and knocked down all The Shield members. He crawled for a tag but Rollins interrupted him, only to take a Bubba Bomb. Jay eventually tagged Bryan, who knocked Rollins and Reigns to the floor and started his big offensive flurry. Two drop kicks in the corner and about 5 kicks later, he hit a hurricanrana from the top rope, but Reigns broke up the pin.

Jay Uso, Roman Reings, and Jimmy Uso hit suicide dives in that order to get everybody on the outside. Bryan applied the Yes Lock to Ambrose, but he to the bottom rope. The Uso's hit double super kicks on Ambrose from the floor as he laid over the bottom rope, and then Bryan hit the Busaiku Knee Kick for the victory.

Daniel Bryan and The Uso's defeated The Shield at 16:31.

My Take: The match was actually pretty dull overall until the frenetic pace that was the closing moment. Given the overall talent level in the ring, I would have thought we'd get a better match than we did. It wasn't bad mind you, it just didn't feel like we saw anything new. That kind of plagued the entire night tonight, as it feels more and more like Battleground will be reliving Night of Champions. I wouldn't mind that if the stories were great, but many of them feel lukewarm. I'll have more to say with Chris Shore in the All Access Smackdown Podcast tomorrow morning back here at Dot Net.

Do you have questions, comments, or concerns? Feel free to contact me at barnett.jake@gmail.com or on twitter @barnettjake.