WWE: Smackdown
February 25, 2016
Indianapolis, IN
Bankers Life Fieldhouse

The current WWE champions are as follows:
WWE World Heavyweight Champion: Triple H (1/24/2016)
WWE Intercontinental Champion: Kevin Owens (2/15/2016)
WWE United States Champion: Kalisto (1/24/2016)
WWE Tag Team Champions: The New Day (8/23/2015)
WWE Divas Champion: Charlotte (9/20/2015)

Your hosts are Mauro Ranallo, Jerry Lawler, and Byron Saxton.

The WWE Champion Triple H comes out to the ring to start off Smackdown. The man even gets his own Twitter hashtag! He even has a fancy round table set up for the WWE title. Is there even light shining down from the ceiling? Good grief. After the attack on Roman Reigns from Monday Night Raw, he takes some time to stroke himself off in front of all of us as to who he used to be. As most verbal masturbation segments are, the details provided of his past are greatly exaggerated. Looks like they are using Roman’s nose surgery – which is a shoot – as part of their feud now and a result of what happened Monday night. Helmsley starts talking about how he’s the Authority in WWE and that everybody sitting at home has to answer to an authority. In WWE, you either respect the Authority or Triple H will lay your soul to waste. Roman Reigns works hard and bleeds here in WWE. Triple H pulls out a bandage to prove it. Eww, gross man. You’ve kept that for three days. I know this is a very heavy question pertaining to Triple H, but what is wrong with you man?! Triple H says he will humble Roman because he is the GAME – because he’s the WWE world heavyweight champion – and because he’s that damn good. Yep, a ten minute stroke fest, folks.

• The League of Nations vs. The Lucha Dragons, Neville & Dolph Ziggler
  

You know, just adding Neville to this match doesn’t make it feel any different. Crazy WWE. The good guys clean house on the LON to start. Rusev and Del Rio are dumped out for STEREO TOPE SUICIDAS by the Lucha Dragons, but they catch them both and throw them into barricades. Meanwhile, Ziggler is all alone with Sheamus and Barrett as he receives Winds of Change by Barrett for two. Alright! Barrett is actually wrestling. Standard heat segment on Ziggler here building to a hot tag to Neville. He flies over Sheamus to nail Barrett with a 450 splash for 1-2-NO! Rusev makes the save. Lucha Dragons send him to the floor. Kalisto pescados and gets caught, but Sin Cara knocks them over with a tope suicida. Neville nails Barrett with the RED ARROW, but Del Rio superkicks him off the pin attempt. DANG! While Ziggler takes care of Del Rio, Barrett tags Sheamus who lands the BROGUE KICK on Neville for the three-count. (4:58) That was a fun little sprint there that got cut way too short. **½

Renee Young speaks with Kevin Owens who wants to make an announcement. After Dean Ambrose’s violent interactions with Brock Lesnar last Monday night, Owens wants to grant Dean his IC title rematch tonight. When Renee tells him he’s not here tonight, Owens seems pretty bummed. Just when he thinks he has the night off, a giant hand lands on his shoulder. It’s the Big Show. Owens says he’s on the Road to KO-Mania and that the Road to Retirement is in another direction. HA! Show grabs him by the shirt and wants to KO KO tonight. That matchup will be coming up a little bit later.

• D-Von Dudley (w/Bubba Ray Dudley) vs. Jimmy Uso (w/Jey Uso)
  

Bubba Ray gets on the mic before the match and refuses the people some tables tonight because the Dudley Boyz are not a nostalgia act. No, really! D-Von demands respect and will make an example out of the Usos. When Jimmy gets things going against D-Von, Bubba Ray pulls a table out from under the ring to distract the Usos and trip up Jimmy. Schoolboy by D-Von and the match is over. (0:48) WHAT? ¼*

They air a little video package from Monday Night Raw highlighting the Vincent J. McMahon Legacy of Excellence Award ceremony given to Stephanie McMahon. Well, I guess if you can’t win an Emmy, make up your own BS award. Of course, that’s when SHANE MCMAHON returned after seven years looking like Joey from Friends, but dressing like Jerry Seinfeld wearing a sports jacket and sneakers. Because Triple H and Stephanie McMahon suck, he wants control of Monday Night Raw. In order to make that happen, Vince McMahon puts a seemingly insurmountable obstacle in front of him – a Hell in a Cell match with the Undertaker at WrestleMania. And Shane AGREES to those terms? Oh boy.

In the back, Chris Jericho talks with AJ Styles. He feels they may have some tag team chemistry after their match on Raw and could see some serious success together. Jericho is wearing an Usos t-shirt by the way. They want the WWE tag belts that the New Day currently holds. They need a third guy though to watch their back since there’s three of them. That’s when Mark Henry walks over and volunteers. The WSM wants to join the Y2AJ. Henry thinks the New Day play around too much, but feels together they could teach them a serious lesson. He shakes Jericho’s hand pretty hard and wants to make sure Jericho isn’t playing him. Jericho tells him it would be an honor to have Henry on their side. AJ gets a hard pat on the shoulder. Ouch!

Let’s be real: the Godfather is the token black guy for this year’s WWE Hall of Fame, right? DID HE EVER EVEN HAVE A GOOD MATCH? I’m not even talking great here, just one GOOD match?

• Kevin Owens vs. Big Show
  

Owens takes Show off his feet and delivers the running senton splash. His attempts at harming the Big Show only serve to piss him off as Show backs him into the corner and abuses him until Owens takes a powder. Even though Owens snaps Show’s neck on the top rope, he charges into a CHOKESLAM and rolls to the floor. Back in again, Show gets caught up in the corner. WHAT. Owens nearly takes a Chokeslam to the mat, but he trips up Show who straddles the top rope to fall down to the floor. Show can’t get back up in time and gets counted out. (3:04) Buncha out of nowhere finishes tonight. Weird ones, too. ¾*

• Becky Lynch vs. Natalya
  

Another Smackdown warm-up match for Becky. Natalya tries to score the quick pin on Becky to start, but you know that ain’t happening. She’s too old. She’s like 33! Becky takes a release German Suplex and tumbles out to the floor at the feet of Naomi and Tamina. After Natalya tosses Becky back inside the ring, she gets pulled down off the apron by Naomi and gets attacked for the DQ. (1:56) REALLY? MORE DUMB FINISHES? Sasha Banks comes out and makes Natalya look super weak by helping Becky clean house on Naomi and Tamina. This brings out the WWE Divas Champion Charlotte and her daddy Ric Flair. WOO! She announces that Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks will face each other in a #1 contenders match next week on Raw. Charlotte says she’ll be at ringside to see who wants her championship more. She sarcastically wishes them both the best of luck. WOO! ½*

• Heath Slater (w/the Social Outcasts) vs. R-Truth (w/Goldust)
  

If this is the longest match outside the main event, I’m going to be disappointed. Truth does just fine to start until Slater seizes the moment and lands a running knee strike on him out of nowhere. Truth comes out of a chinlock and delivers a leg lariat. Sitout gourdbuster to Slater! When the Social Outcasts start appearing on the apron, Truth knocks Adam Rose down and goes for a backslide on Slater. When he can’t get him down, Goldust helps out with a punch to Slater. Truth gets him down on the mat and gets the pinfall. (3:06) Okay good. Goldust and Truth exchange looks and maybe Truth is coming around to the idea of them as a team. Who really knows? *

Back to Raw, they recap the interactions between Dean Ambrose and Brock Lesnar. There were F5s, microphones, and ambulances involved. I will say that this is exactly how they should be booking their feud. I like what I’m seeing. All Brock Lesnar needs to do is be Brock Lesnar.

The Undertaker returns to Raw – NEXT WEEK!

• The New Day vs. AJ Styles, Chris Jericho & Mark Henry
  

You know every time I recap a match with Jericho involved, I feel compelled to watch his WWF debut with the Rock. Not the whole interaction, just when he interrupts the Rock. Jericho does some headlockage and shoulderblockage with Kingston to start. Next, we get a showdown between Big E and Henry. Henry outshines Big E and wipes out the rest of New Day as well. Jericho and AJ take out Kofi and Xavier with STEREO PESCADOS and then they high five each other like they’re the Rockers 2016. Our good guys shake their tail feathers in the ring to piss off the New Day to take us into commercial. When we return, the New Day take control of Jericho and do their thing. Jericho gets the series of stomps down in the New Day corner. NEW! DAY! ROCKS! Back inside, more ownage of Jericho. Eventually, he avoids the Big Ending and enziguri kicks Big E down. HOT TAG TO AJ! He is wiping out New Day. Styles tries the Quebrada DDT again this time on Xavier and manages it okay. Cover, 1-2-NO! The match breaks down and Jericho saves Styles from TROUBLE IN PARADISE and gets wiped out. Oh no! Xavier schoolboys Styles and gets 1-2-NO! Woods absorbs the series of strikes from AJ and drills Styles with a discus elbow, but AJ basically NO-SELLS and applies the CALF CRUSHER for the immediate tapout. (7:51 shown) Styles and Henry check on Jericho and everything seems to be fine. At least for now! **½

Until next time, so long for now.