Hello and welcome to Smackville recap, two titles were on the line and a special performance by Elias served as intermission.
It seems silly to some to have a special with only two matches, even if they are full of highlights, but then has the WWE been acting normal lately?
To start off, Tom Phillips and David Otunga announced that in the half hour prior to the show that Finn Balor had suffered an illness and the WWE medical team hadn’t cleared him to wrestle. So much for one match, right?
Not so fast.
Shinsuke Nakamura thought so, and took to the ring to call for the referee to ring the bell and have Balor forfeit. Not a bad idea, if a little underhanded (wonder if they’re going to turn this into a story line where Nakamura poisoned Balor or something like that?), but when the referee reached the count of seven to count Balor out, Ali’s music started.
The WWE enacted the next man up rule, and a young superstar chomping for an opportunity came out and created one.
Intercontinental Championship: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) beat Ali by pinfall
A better match than many may have expected, Nakamura controlled most of it, using a variety of headlocks and knee strikes to keep Ali grounded and wear him down.
Ali shifted momentum by countering one of Nakamura’s holds into a roll up pin attempt, but Nakamura kicked out. He had another chance after countering Nakamura’s double knee off the top rope with a dropkick.
Later on, Ali countered a Kinsasha with a super kick, then followed it with a satellite DDT for the pin, but Nakamura kicked out once more. Nakamura then hit with a Kinsasha for the win.
What was really cool in this match wasn’t how extreme the moves were, but how close each superstar was to losing the match. At least three times, the referee’s hand was an inch or two away from a three count before one of them kicked out. The timing was flawless and smooth, adding a sense of anticipation we don’t often see. Had they messed up once, the title could’ve changed hands or it would’ve ended early and robbed us of a great match.
Intermission: Elias’ Special Performance
As much of a heel as Elias is, and after his instructing the technicians to get his sound right, his initial Bluesy-jazzy guitar riff was really enjoyable and he got more applause than normal, which was expected in the Music City. Few places enjoy their music as much as Nashville.
But then, in true heel fashion, Elias went on a monologue about how he once ran into Johnny Cash, and Cash told him, “The Tennesse Titans will never win the Super Bowl.” He then went on to state his next song was for Shane McMahon, but when the people booed, he told them to shut up or he wouldn’t play.
What followed was an awesome little piece where he went back and forth from the central light to the shadows, to boos in the light, to cheers in the dark ala Looney Tunes characters. He definitely had some fun with it and so did the audience.
He then decided he’d play anyway and sang a really bad song about Shane being the best sandwiched around a phone call from Vince McMahon asking how things were going.
When Elias mentioned Kevin Owens, Owens slipped into the ring behind him and the arena’s lights switched on. Elias, pissed that the lighting guys ruined his show, got up to complain as Owens picked up his guitar and played with it. When Elias turned around, Owens told him he wouldn’t be there is Elias hadn’t mentioned him, then challenged Elias to a match. A referee quickly ran out, making it official.
Kevin Owens beat Elias by pinfall
While not as good as the previous match, this was still very good as their chemistry was great and control went back and forth.
Elias nearly scored a pinfall after hitting a double knee off an Old School setup.
Owens then returned the favor with a senton bomb off the top rope for a near fall.
Elias countered a stunner attempt with a knee, then missed a flying elbow drop off the top rope.
Owens hit with a stunner for the win.
WWE Heavyweight Championship Triple Threat Match: Kofi Kingston (c) beat Samoa Joe (pinfall) and Dolph Ziggler to retain
Kingston started it off fast and furious as he hit Ziggler with a dropkick, then went after Joe.
Following Kingston’s initial burst, Joe and Ziggler worked out a truce, as Ziggler put it, “We eliminate him, then it’s you and me.” Joe was okay with it, especially when his he stated in his prematch promo that he saw this as an opportunity to hit multiple targets.
Kingston of course fought back, eventually hitting Ziggler with a kick to the face and a crossbody block for a pin attempt, but Joe, sensing an opportunity, broke it up, then attempted to pin Ziggler, who kicked out. Of course, the two started arguing in the middle of the ring, with Joe telling Ziggler, “You didn’t do your job!”
Kingston took advantage of the moment and nailed Ziggler, but Joe grabbed him from behind and hit with a Samoa Drop and a near pin.
Ziggler and Kingston exchanged pin attempts afterwards, the last being Ziggler suffering a SOS, but Joe broke it up and threw Ziggler out of the ring.
Kingston broke a Coquina clutch with a jawbreaker, then countered an ankle lock to stay in the match. Joe slapped on another Coquina clutch, but Ziggler broke it up by hitting Joe with a superkick. Kingston broke up the pin attempt.
After Kingston kicked out following a Zig Zag, Joe attacked Ziggler, and Kingston hit Joe with a Trouble in Paradise for the win.
Final Thoughts
While all three matches were high caliber, Kofi should’ve lost. While there was no way the WWE would never do that and lose the revenge (not redemption) storyline between Kingston and Orton leading to SummerSlam, both Ziggler and Samoa Joe outperformed him. We even got to see a couple glimpses of the old Samoa Joe as he told Ziggler, “Bye, Dolph,” before launching him onto the announcer’s table and when he was becoming furious toward Kingston before, as has been the case lately, Kingston managed to sneak in his finisher to ends things.
