Opening Segment
- The first six minutes of this show are video packages. This is on Smackdown, but actual Smackdown matches are on Raw?
- Kofi Kingston says that he showed what kind of a coward Randy Orton is last week. Their rematch is set.
- Randy Orton interrupts Kofi by screaming "stupid" on the TitanTron.
- Orton cuts a great, natural promo about a letter he got today. He reads a letter from Kofi's son that says that Kofi cries at night because of Orton.
- Orton says he's staying at the same hotel as Kofi's family, and he'll pay them a visit.
- Kofi shows up and brawls with Orton backstage, and the two are separated.
King Of The Ring Opening Round
Ali defeated Buddy Murphy
6.75/10
- A great Murphy knee lands, but we go to commercial quickly. Womp.
- This needed to show the full match.
- We come back to a Murphy tope con hilo.
- Ali connects with a big superkick, but Buddy Murphy goes through great offense.
- This is exactly the kind of match King of the Ring needed. "This is awesome" chants.
- Ali does an insane tilt-a-whirl DDT in the ropes.
- Ali wins with a 450.
- This could have been a couple of minutes more even. Guess we needed those video packages.
A CHALLENGE
- Miz comes out to the ring, and challenges Nakamura for a match at Clash of Champions.
- Sami Zayn answers and runs down Nakamura. This gimmick is already getting kind of old.
- Zayn doesn't want to face Miz, and Nakamura attacks Miz from behind.
- Zayn is almost refreshingly obnoxious during the beatdown.
- A Kinshasa hits in the ring.
Bayley defeated Lacey Evans
6/10
- Whoever wrote this Ember/Bayley segment -- eh. Ember doesn't want to talk about Summerslam, THEN DOES TALK ABOUT SUMMERSLAM. Ember says Bayley is the face of the division, and Lacey shows up and calls Ember and Bayley nasties.
- Bayley is all over Lacey Evans.
- Charlotte Flair comes out. Would have been nice if they didn't burn a Charlotte/Lacey match so they would make sense as a team.
- Commercial. During it, Lacey runs Bayley into the post and applies a resting Cobra Clutch. I like her using a Gator Roll, but she really needs to refine it.
- Graves saying that Bayley shouldn't wear the headband if she doesn't want it used against her -- legit. Kentucky used to tell amateur MMA fighters they could wear a rash guard, but it could also be used against them.
- Bayley applies an inverted Figure Four, but Lacey gets out.
- Lacey goes knee to thigh on a Merosault, and she really needs work on that.
- Bayley gets a big knee and Bayley-to-Belly. Lacey gets the ropes, so a Bayley-to-Back sets up the flying elbow drop.
- This was a good way to make Lacey Evans look like she could hang. The outcome was never in doubt, but this was a long match with a top name and Lacey didn't seem out of depth. She's been working Becky.
Randy Orton defeated Big E
6/10
Angle 6.5/10
- Big E comes out serious and throws Orton over the table. This was a great spot.
- I don't like Big E subsequently spanking Orton isn't there for me.
- I really enjoy seeing Big E work singles.
- Big E eats apron on a splash attempt, then two Singh Bombs.
- Big E is going through his hot tag offense, but Revival interfere and Orton RKOs him for the win.
- This was better than the rating indicates, so included the angle as well.
- Big E gets ShatteRKO'd.
24/7 Championship
Drake Maverick defeated Elias (c) to become champion
- Backstage, Kevin Owens interrupts Elias playing guitar. Elias says Shane McMahon isn't there tonight.
- Elias is cutting a promo on the King of the Ring Throne, and gets attacked by Kevin Owens.
- A Stunner hits in the ring. So why doesn't Kevin Owens care about this title? Truly is a clown title.
- Truth tries to win the 24/7 Title, but Drake Maverick wins it instead.
King Of The Ring Opening Round
Chad Gable defeated Shelton Benjamin
5.5/10
- Gable is being interviewed backstage and Benjamin makes some short jokes. COOL.
- Shelton starts with a great spinebuster.
- The Gable rolling kick didn't look great, and a German Suplex looked scary.
- Gable doing the Bret Hart buckle spot is great.
- Benjamin got a nice swinging powerbomb into the barricade, but Gable wins by reversing another powerbomb in the ring.
- No heat for this match, no one cared. It's almost like either one should have wrestled at some point before this on TV.
- I would not have expected these two to have the 7th best match of the opening round.
APOLOGIZE
- Roman Reigns maybe or maybe not apologizing being booked as the main event is the most pro wrestling thing.
- Reigns shows Bryan a video of Rowan walking from behind the rig. Bryan slaps Rowan over and over for lying.
- Bryan says he didn't know anything, and Rowan has been lying to him for a year.
- He says someone else told Rowan to do this and it wasn't him. He gets speared.
- Ok. Cool. So how did this prove it wasn't the guy that looked just like Rowan?
Rating guide
10- Perfect, 9- MOTY Territory, 8- Excellent, 7- Great, 6- Good, 5- Average to above average, 4- Slightly below average, 3 or below: Poor
Each match starts at a 5 and slides up and down based on entertainment, execution, time, environment, reaction and stakes. The ratings are in no way an indication of a "star rating," which is a completely different system. A standard, non-offensive "TV match" lands at a 5. The gap between 5.75-6 is generally the largest, with anything reaching 6 being recommended viewing.
These are opinions, and incredibly inconsistent ones. Don't take them too seriously, and have (and share) your own!
Get exclusive pro wrestling content on Fightful Select, our premium news service! Click here to learn more.
