June 16, 2016
Episode 878
(taped June, 14, 2016)
#SmackDown
City: Biloxi, MS
Venue: Mississippi Coast Coliseum
Commentary: Mauro Ranallo, Jerry Lawler, Byron Saxton
Ring Announcer: Jojo
Intro Video
“Black and Blue” by CFO$
Ring Area
#HighlightReel
Chris Jericho is already in the ring and is ready for the “Highlight Reel.” Dean Ambrose is his guest, but the segment turns into a series of interruptions until all competitors in the Money in the Bank match are in the ring. This, of course, ends in a brawl.
Match 1
Fatal Four Way Match
Aiden English w/ Simon Gotch vs Luke Gallows w/ Karl Anderson vs Big Cass w/ Enzo Amore vs Kofi Kingston (Tag Champ) w/ (Big E, Xavier Woods)
(referee: Chad Patton; guest commentary: Xavier Woods, Enzo Amore)
Result: Kofi Kingston wins via pinfall on Aiden English after Trouble in Paradise
Time: 4:09 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
Nice match. Cass was thrown into the barricade early, so most of the middle part of the match was Gallows and English beating up Kofi. Once Cass returned to the ring the match broke down a bit. The interaction of the guys at ringside was minimal but it worked well in the match.
Backstage
Renee Young welcomes Natalya and Becky Lynch. Natalya feels lucky to have a true friend like Becky. Becky says Charlotte can’t win a fair fight. Charlotte and Dana Brooke then show up. Dana says playtime is over.
Match 2
Zack Ryder vs Baron Corbin
(referee: Rod Zapata; guest commentary: Dolph Ziggler)
Result: Baron Corbin wins via pinfall after End of Days
Time: 1:45
Match Thoughts
An okay match. It was really short and unsurprising, but there was nothing wrong with it for what it was (which was to match Corbin look strong).
Ring Area
Rusev makes his way to the ring for a match. As Kalisto comes out as his opponent, Rusev catches him as he springboards into the ring. Rusev puts Kalisto into the Accolade which prompts Sin Cara to help his partner. He fares no better than Kalisto. Titus O’Neil then runs out and manages to fight Rusev off. Rusev ends up backing away up the ramp after taking a little bit of a beating from Titus.
Video
Clips from the Styles/Cena contract signing from RAW.
Backstage
Renee welcomes The Club. Styles is confident going into his match with Cena. New Day walks up and interrupts. They call AJ emo and not stylish. Styles wants to shut Woods’ mouth in a match. Woods accepts.
Match 3
AJ Styles vs Xavier Woods (Tag Champ)
(referee: Dan Engler)
#AJvsXavier
Result: AJ Styles wins via submission with a calf crusher
Time: 8:06 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
Good match. It seemed to take a moment to get going, but it picked up well. It was nice to see Woods in a singles match, and he pulled out some moves he doesn’t normally do in tag matches (like a rope walk elbow drop). It felt like more than a warm-up match for Styles.
Life Lessons with Coach Backlund
Darren Young tells Backlund that he’s been reading a lot. Backlund then gives Young some advice, to not take advice from anyone.
Match 4
Natalya w/ Becky Lynch vs Charlotte (Women’s Champ) w/ Dana Brooke
(referee: Darrick Moore)
Result: Charlotte wins via submission with the Figure Eight
Time: 4:10
Match Thoughts
An okay match. There was a little awkwardness early on and the end was kind of groan-worthy, but the rest of the match was okay.
Video
Clips of the Reigns/Rollins feud.
Match 5
Dean Ambrose & Cesaro & Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens & Alberto Del Rio & Chris Jericho
(referee: John Cone)
#MITB
Result: Dean Ambrose pins Kevin Owens after Dirty Deeds to win for his team
Time: 10:13 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
The match started with all six guys yelling at each other. The ref couldn’t get anyone to leave the ring, so he just gave up and rang the starting bell with everyone in. The first segment ended up being Cesaro taking over all the way until the commercial break. Back from the break, the match was a lot more evenly spread. Good action, good dynamics between the guys, good stuff.
Show Impressions
Not a bad final show before the PPV. Three good matches and not too much filler.
Match of the Night
AJ Styles vs Xavier Woods
A big part of this match being my favorite is seeing Xavier Woods in a singles match for the first time in a long time. He looked good and held his own with Styles.