June 9, 2016
Episode 877
(taped June 7, 2016)
#SmackDown
City: Wichita, KS
Venue: Intrust Bank Arena
Commentary: Mauro Ranallo, Jerry Lawler, Byron Saxton
Ring Announcer: Jojo
Intro Video
“Black and Blue” by CFO$
Ring Area
The Club heads to the ring. AJ Styles talks about the dream match between himself and Cena and wonders if this will be the last time we see this match with the brand extension coming up. He also talks about the domination of The Club all over the world. He starts to talk about Anderson and Gallows winning the tag titles when Enzo and Cass interrupt.
Cass and Enzo remind AJ that there will be four teams in the tag title match, and that they will win. Anderson wonders what Enzo has been doing while The Club has been dominating the world. Gallows then makes fun of Enzo getting concussed. Cass then calls The Club “sawft.”
Match 1
Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson vs Enzo Amore & Big Cass
(referee: Rod Zapata; guest commentary: New Day)
Result: the match ends in a No Contest when New Day and The Vaudevillains enter the ring
Time: 6:54 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
This match was a lot of fun. The in-ring action was quite good and the commentary from New Day was great. They pretty much took over the booth. In the ring, The Club dominated Enzo, but when Big Cass got the hot tag the momentum completely shifted and the pace picked up significantly. This was a good buildup for the PPV.
Video
Clips of Ambrose changing “The Highlight Reel” to “The Ambrose Asylum” from two months ago.
Video
A tribute to Muhammad Ali.
Backstage
Renee Young welcomes Lana and Rusev. Rusev says he is greater than Muhammad Ali and will crush Titus O’Neil. Titus shows up. He takes offense to Rusev comparing himself to Ali.
Match 2
Cesaro & Sami Zayn vs Alberto Del Rio & Kevin Owens
(referee: John Cone)
Result: Kevin Owens pins Cesaro after a Tree of Woe double stomp from Del Rio
Time: 10:05 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
Really good match. It felt a lot like a one-on-one match with legal interference. Owens took a walk pretty early in the match, and he and Zayn ended up fighting all over the place and popping into the ring every once in a while. This was another really good buildup for the PPV.
Video
Clips of Jericho attacking Ambrose with a potted plant from last month.
Match 3
Becky Lynch w/ Natalya vs Dana Brooke w/ Charlotte (Women’s Champ)
(referee: Darrick Moore)
#BeckyvsDana
Result: Becky Lynch wins via submission with Disarm Her
Time: 3:03
Match Thoughts
An okay match. It was a little frantic and short, but there was nothing really wrong with it. The outside shenanigans with the seconds played heavily into the match.
Life Lessons with Coach Backlund
How will Darren Young celebrate once he’s great again?
Match 4
Kalisto vs Baron Corbin
(referee: Jason Ayers; guest commentary: Dolph Ziggler)
Result: Baron Corbin wins via pinfall after End of Days
Time: 3:26
Match Thoughts
This was a pretty good big man/little man match. Kalisto had some good offense and kept the pace of the match up, but Corbin’s few, powerful moves were enough to continue building him up.
Video
Clips of Ambrose destroying Jericho’s jacket.
Backstage
Sheamus shows off his performance in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows to Summer Rae, Zack Ryder, Goldust, and R-Truth. Apollo Crews shows up and punches Sheamus in the face.
Match 5
Dean Ambrose vs Chris Jericho
(referee: Charles Robinson)
#AmbrosevsJericho
Result: Chris Jericho wins via pinfall after a Code Breaker
Time: 10:13 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
Good match. A solid, straight forward match.
Ring Area
After the match, Jericho gets a ladder and attempts to run Ambrose into it. Ambrose reverses and continues to attack Jericho.
Show Impressions
This was a good show. I quite enjoyed the wrestling, and though no stories were really progressed much, they did a good job of maintaining interest.
Match of the Night
Cesaro & Sami Zayn vs Alberto Del Rio & Kevin Owens
The Ambrose/Jericho match was probably the best technically, but I enjoyed this tag match more. The personalities affecting the outcome of the match and how the finish happened put it over the top for me.