{"id":419,"date":"2016-09-28T07:15:48","date_gmt":"2016-09-28T11:15:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/?p=419"},"modified":"2023-03-27T15:43:30","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T19:43:30","slug":"aj-styles-defends-against-dean-ambrose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2016\/09\/28\/aj-styles-defends-against-dean-ambrose\/","title":{"rendered":"Smackdown Live! Review 9\/27\/2016: AJ Styles Defends Against Dean Ambrose"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tonight\u2019s episode of WWE Smackdown Live!<\/strong> emanates from Cleveland, OH and promises to be noteworthy as\u00a0WWE World Champion<\/strong> AJ Styles<\/strong> defends<\/a> against Dean Ambrose<\/strong>.\u00a0 Let\u2019s see how WWE continues to build towards No Mercy and the triple threat match between AJ Styles, Dean Ambrose and John<\/strong> Cena<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Smackdown Live! Review: AJ Styles Defends Against Dean Ambrose<\/h2>\n

Randy Orton<\/strong> opened the show and made his way to the ring to address Bray Wyatt<\/strong>.\u00a0 The live audience gave Orton a very warm reception.\u00a0 Orton said he knows why Wyatt tries to use fear to get into his head, and it is because Wyatt himself is afraid of Orton.\u00a0 Orton called for Wyatt to come to the ring to face his fears.\u00a0 Cue the Wyatt sounder, and a video played of Wyatt.\u00a0 Wyatt asked if Orton has ever heard of Hansel and Gretel.\u00a0 Wyatt says, that like in the story, he has left a trail of breadcrumbs to help Orton find his way through his own mind. Wyatt had an hourglass and said that the sands of time do not wait for any mortal man and began singing \u201cHe\u2019s Got the Whole World in His Hands.\u201d As soon as the video was over, Orton left the ring and headed straight for the back.<\/p>\n

Dean Ambrose was interviewed in the back about his match tonight.\u00a0 Ambrose said that tonight he will turn AJ Styles from the man with the face who runs to place to the \u201cguy who will cry because I dropped him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rating: 7\/10 \u2013 The Wyatt tease is interesting and will provide a hook for some viewers to see where it leads tonight.\u00a0 Unfortunately, Wyatt has only been built up to where people will expect Orton to get the better of him.\u00a0 The Ambrose line about the guy who will cry was as bad as it sounds.<\/p>\n

The Usos<\/strong> and The Ascension<\/strong> teamed up to take on America Alpha<\/strong> and the Smackdown Tag Team Champions Heath Slater<\/strong> and Rhyno<\/strong>.\u00a0 Mauro Ranallo<\/strong> shared the tweet from Slater showing the above ground pool he put in for his family. Only the Usos received a full televised entrance, which featured much needed new entrance music.\u00a0 The music was more of a lyric-less rap beat. The match began with Jimmy Uso<\/strong> and Jason Jordan<\/strong>.\u00a0 For reference, it appears that Jimmy will be the twin that wears a shirt during their matches. Jordan performed a double leg take-down and put Jimmy in an arm wrench.\u00a0 Jey Uso<\/strong> and Chad Gable<\/strong> tagged in and Gable caught Jey in an over the top rope arm bar.\u00a0 The action spilled outside where Jey clipped Gable\u2019s bad knee again.\u00a0 Jordan checked on Gable as they went in to commercial.<\/p>\n

Back from commercial, the heel team worked Gable over in the corner.\u00a0 The crowd came to life by chanting \u201cRhyno\u201d and \u201cECW<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0 Gable moved out of the way from a Jimmy corner splash.\u00a0 Gable was close to tagging in his partner until the Ascension tried to cut him off.\u00a0 Gable avoided both, then was cut off by Jimmy.\u00a0 As he got close to Jordan again, the Ascension pulled Jordan off of the apron.\u00a0 Eventually, Heath Slater received the hot tag and performed a series of moves on Jey.\u00a0 After a series of moves from all competitors, Jimmy his Slater with a super kick, followed by the knee attack they\u2019ve been performing recently.\u00a0 Jimmy got Slater in a submission move, which made Slater tap out.<\/p>\n

John Cena was shown walking through the back.\u00a0 It was announced that Cena would be ringside during the main event tonight.\u00a0 Cena was asked if he cared who had the championship going in to No Mercy.\u00a0 Cena said he did not care because no matter who went in to No Mercy as the champion, Cena would make history as the 16 time World Champion.<\/p>\n

The camera zoomed in to a picture of Lebron James<\/strong>. The camera backed up to show Cleveland\u2019s own The Miz<\/strong> looking at the picture and shaking his head.\u00a0 Someone came in and put a picture of The Miz in front of Lebron.<\/p>\n

The Wyatt sounder played and we see Orton walking in the back.\u00a0 He walks up to an arrow that is made of wood, pointing to the right.\u00a0 Orton noticed light around a corner and turned the arrow around, walking around to the left.\u00a0 The camera panned back to the arrow, which had been turned back to the right and revealed a masked Eric Rowan<\/strong> standing there.<\/p>\n

Rating: <\/strong>7\/10 \u2013 The tag match was good for what it was meant for, which was to continue to put the Usos over as heels and put doubt into the idea that Slater and Rhyno will retain at No Mercy.\u00a0 The finish was the right decision. A lot happened before going to commercial.\u00a0 Cena continues to ramp up the idea that he wants to be the 16-time World Champion, which was discussed last week<\/a>.\u00a0 The Miz clip was short but so effective for the Cleveland crowd.\u00a0 The Wyatt video seems campy, but we will see where it goes.<\/p>\n

Back from commercial, the Wyatt sounder played again.\u00a0 Wyatt said Orton was not very good at following directions.\u00a0 He said that Orton will understand tonight.<\/p>\n

Carmella<\/strong> and Natalya<\/strong> were in the ring.\u00a0 A pre-taped segment aired where Carmella said she would make Nikki Bella<\/strong> disappear for good. Naomi<\/strong> made her entrance. There was not quite as much dancing this week around.\u00a0 Bella made her entrance and the announce team plugged Nikki and Brie Bella being on the cover of Muscle and Fitness.\u00a0 A pre-taped segment aired, in which Bella said that Carmella would not put out her flame. Carmella and Naomi exchanged moonwalks in between moves.\u00a0 Carmella and Natalya regrouped on the outside as the show went to commercial.<\/p>\n

Back from commercial, Natalya and Naomi were the legal participants.\u00a0 Natalya performed a Michinoku Driver on the outside to Naomi.\u00a0 Carmella was tagged in and the heels continued to work over Naomi. Eventually, Naomi moved out of the way of a leg drop attempt from Natalya and tagged in Nikki Bella.\u00a0 Bella hit a series of moves that included a spring board Enziguri.\u00a0 Carmella made the tag, and Bella pulled her in over the top rope.\u00a0 Nikki Bella was distracted by Natalya, which allowed Carmella to roll up Bella for the win.<\/p>\n

Backstage, Orton was showing walking.\u00a0 He came upon a door that had \u201cI AM A GOD\u201d written on it and an electrical box that said \u201cONE WAY OUT CHOOSE WISELY.\u201d There was a second door that said \u201cPredator or Prey.\u201d\u00a0 Orton opened the door that said \u201cI AM A GOD\u201d to reveal an Orton cardboard cutout with the eyes removed. Orton opened the other door and peeked in.\u00a0 A camera on the other side showed Rowan waiting to attack if Orton came in.\u00a0 Orton never did and shut the door.\u00a0 The camera zoomed in to show the handle was jiggling, as if Rowan was locked in.<\/p>\n

Rating: <\/strong>5\/10 \u2013 The women\u2019s tag match was very slow and felt like one of the old \u201cdivas\u201d matches, not anything like the newer women\u2019s matches we have recently seen.\u00a0 The Orton and Wyatt stuff continues to feel campy.<\/p>\n

The Miz made his entrance for his homecoming celebration.\u00a0 There were pictures in the ring of Miz holding up the Intercontinental Championship<\/strong>, the WWE Championship, a Hollywood style headshot and a picture of him from a movie.\u00a0 Fireworks went off on the stage. Maryse introduced a video.\u00a0 The video highlighted his time on The Real World and his time starting out.\u00a0 There were clips of him winning the Tag Team Championship<\/strong>, Money in the Bank, and the WWE Championship.\u00a0 The video ended with his infamous rant on the Smackdown after show and a couple more quick highlights. The Miz got on the mic and said \u201cCleveland, I\u2019m home and the Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA Finals!\u201d Miz pointed out that 1.3 million people came out to celebrate the Cavaliers championship, but asked that this is all he gets? Miz said the fans opened their arms to a traitor while he was on day 176 of his Intercontinental Championship reign.<\/p>\n

Miz pointed out his parents sitting in the front row and plugged that his dad owned Mr. Hero.\u00a0 Miz also pointed out that Dolph Ziggler<\/strong>\u2019s parents were also sitting in the front row.\u00a0 Miz said it must be hard for them, because they produced an elite class loser.\u00a0 Ziggler\u2019s music hit, and he came to the ring. Ziggler said Miz can say what he wants to him, but not to say anything to his parents or his city.\u00a0 Ziggler said the Miz cheated all the way through his title reign.\u00a0 Miz said the only thing Ziggler does is lose and asked when Ziggler would end his mediocre career. Miz said Ziggler should be embarrassed because all he has done lately is lose. Miz said he was leaving because Ziggler had nothing to offer him.<\/p>\n

On the way out, Ziggler stopped him and said he was right, and the wrestling ring was all that he had. Ziggler got emotional as he said that you can give and you can give but sometimes you get nothing back. Ziggler said he can\u2019t stop himself, but offered a match to the Miz.\u00a0 The Intercontinental Championship against Dolph Ziggler\u2019s career.\u00a0 Miz clarified that this means he won\u2019t just go to RAW or NXT.\u00a0 It\u2019s all or nothing.\u00a0 Ziggler confirmed that he either walks out as champion or he is done.\u00a0 The Miz accepted to set up the match at for No Mercy.<\/p>\n

Backstage, Dean Ambrose was shown preparing for his match against AJ Styles.<\/p>\n

Rating: <\/strong>7\/10 \u2013 Both the Miz and Ziggler showed great fire here. The Miz in particular continued his stretch of great mic work with this segment. It will be interesting to see how WWE handles this. \u00a0Common sense says that Ziggler will win, but it almost doesn\u2019t seem right to take the Intercontinental Championship off of the Miz right now unless they have bigger plans for him.<\/p>\n

Bray Wyatt was shown backstage waiting for Randy Orton.\u00a0 He said he was watching Orton like a mouse in a maze and told him to be careful.<\/p>\n

Smackdown Women\u2019s Champion<\/strong> Becky Lynch<\/strong> made her entrance.\u00a0 During the part with the steam, Alexa Bliss<\/strong> attacked Lynch from behind and slammed her head on the ground multiple times.\u00a0 Bliss said that Lynch did not deserve the title.<\/p>\n

A Curt Hawkins<\/strong> video aired with more of the corny Curt Hawkins sayings.\u00a0 At the end, Hawkins said it was time to face the facts and that he will be making a big announcement next week.<\/p>\n

Rating: <\/strong>6\/10 \u2013 The Wyatt stuff is starting to feel like a return for Luke Harper.\u00a0 Whatever it is, it needs to wrap up.\u00a0 What felt like a hook to start the show has been underwhelming.\u00a0 The Alexa Bliss attack was nice and added even more fire to her character.\u00a0 Bliss continues to exceed main roster expectations with her performance lately.\u00a0 Curt Hawkins videos have been playing for weeks. At this point, his character already feels stale.<\/p>\n

Wyatt was shown in the back again asking where Orton was.\u00a0 Orton showed up behind him wearing the white sheep mask.\u00a0 Wyatt didn\u2019t even realize he was there until he turned around.\u00a0 The two exchanged punches until Wyatt took off.\u00a0 Orton laughed, picked up the mask and put it back on. Orton sang a creepy rendition of\u201cHe\u2019s Got the Whole World in His Hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

AJ Styles was interviewed and said that he will walk out tonight and walk out of No Mercy as the WWE Champion.<\/p>\n

John Cena made his entrance to join the commentary team for the main event.<\/p>\n

Rating: <\/strong>7\/10 \u2013 A nice pay off to the Wyatt and Orton stuff.\u00a0 Is the Orton character evolving or is it just more mind games? AJ Styles continues his same spiel as he has since winning the WWE Championship.<\/p>\n

Dean Ambrose and AJ Styles made their entrances for the main event.\u00a0 This is the first time ever that the WWE World Championship was defended on Smackdown Live! Ambrose came out firing, eventually sending Styles over the top rope.\u00a0 The two fought on top of the announcers table as the show went to commercial.<\/p>\n

Back from commercial, Ambrose quickly took control. Ambrose performed his signature dive through the ropes on to Styles outside.\u00a0 Ambrose did a top rope elbow off the top rope to a standing Styles on the outside.<\/p>\n

Back from another commercial, AJ Styles was attacking Ambrose\u2019s left leg.\u00a0 Styles rolled Ambrose into the calf crusher submission move, but Ambrose was get out by slamming Styles\u2019 head against the mat. Ambrose took control until Styles\u2019 escaped a top rope maneuver.\u00a0 Styles hit a spinning torture rack in to a sit out power bomb.\u00a0 Ambrose stradled Styles on the top rope and launched into him with a diving lariat from the second rope.\u00a0 Styles came back with the Pele kick and set up for a springboard 450 attempt, which Ambrose dodged.\u00a0 Ambrose hit a top rope elbow for a near fall that the live crowd bought in to. Styles hit Ambrose with a running knee and then attacked Cena sitting at ring side.\u00a0 Cena tried to attack Styles but the referee cut him off.\u00a0 Ambrose had Styles rolled up, but the ref was distracted by Cena.\u00a0 Styles kicked out and Ambrose went after Cena for distracting the ref.\u00a0 Ambrose went back in the ring, and Styles rolled him up for the pin.<\/p>\n

After the match, Cena and Ambrose jawed at one another.\u00a0 Cena hit the Attitude Adjustment on Ambrose.\u00a0 Styles tried to sneak up behind Cena and hit the Styles Clash, but Cena reversed it into another Attitude Adjustment.\u00a0 Cena held up the title, then left the ring.<\/p>\n

Rating: <\/strong>7\/10 \u2013 The match was solid, but not a five star or match of the year contender by any means.\u00a0 The show ended with Cena standing tall, so they really seem to be driving home the thought that he will win his 16th<\/sup> Championship at No Mercy.\u00a0 Overall, the show felt rushed at times but delivered a solid two hours of television.\u00a0 There were some low spots, but overall the show did well in advancing storylines.<\/p>\n

Read More:\u00a0Smackdown Live Review 9\/20\/2016<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AJ Styles Defends Against Dean Ambrose: WWE continues to build towards No Mercy and the triple threat match between AJ Styles, Dean Ambrose and John Cena.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1298,"featured_media":421,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,26,3],"tags":[145,224,147,167,165,58,148,55,153,47],"class_list":["post-419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-smackdown","category-wwe-universe","tag-aj-styles","tag-bray-wyatt","tag-dean-ambrose","tag-dolph-ziggler","tag-john-cena","tag-randy-orton","tag-smackdown-live","tag-the-miz","tag-the-usos","tag-wwe"],"modified_by":"Marilee Gallagher, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1298"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}