WWE Smackdown report: Daniel Bryan and The Shield join forces to take on the Authority as John Cena calls out the Wyatt Family

 

Sumit Rehal
Sunday 13 April 2014 20:23 BST
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Daniel Bryan stands tall in the ring with The Shield
Daniel Bryan stands tall in the ring with The Shield

The show kicked off strongly with John Cena addressing the Layafette, Louisiana crowd following his win at WrestleMania. The leader of the Cenation joked about how the wild fans rewrote the lyrics to his theme music before he addressed the fact the Wyatt’s tried to turn him into a monster but failed. Cena proclaimed that despite a new era in the company, he is still the measuring stick and that if anybody wants to achieve greatness they will have to go through him.

The Wyatts soon appeared on the screen in an effort to intimidate Cena following their WrestleMania bout. Bray stated that he wishes he could feel pain but can’t because he’s different to Cena. The “Eater of the Worlds” said that he’s still smiling despite his loss because he knows more about Cena than before. Bray continued that he knows that Cena only needs a little push and that the Wyatts will go through extremes to bring out the monster in Cena.

Cesaro Stands Strong

The first match of the night saw Cesaro take on the man he eliminated at the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, The Big Show. There was no music for Cesaro who was accompanied by Paul Heyman. Cesaro’s new manager told the fans that he is the greatest mediator in the history in WWE history as he engineered the breaking of the streak by Brock Lesnar and he picked the next big thing Cesaro.

Cesaro and show shook hands to begin match before “The King of Swing” knocked Show to the mat, causing a round of applause from the crowd. Show managed to get the upper hand on Cesaro and went for an elbow drop from the second rope but missed, Cesaro looked to capitalise with the swing but Jack Swagger ran in to end the match in a disqualification. Swagger went for an anke lock on Cesaro but Show tossed the “Real American” out to the floor, Cesaro was not so thankful as he hit Show with a round of uppercuts before landing the neutraliser. It looks like Cesaro is reaffirming his role as a villain and could be involved in a triple threat with Show and Swagger at Extreme Rules.

Ryback and Curtis Axel took on Los Matadores who have unfinished business from their tag team turmoil match at WrestleMania. El Torito did his best to try and steal the win for Los Matadores with a dive onto Ryback followed by a dropkick by Fernando. However Axel was able to take advantage of the distraction by hitting his swinging neckbreaker on Diego inside the ring for the win. A solid match for Rybaxel to regain momentum following a substandard WrestleMania, they’ll be looking be considered as contenders for the Tag Team Championships up against the Usos.

Next up we saw Rob Van Dam take on Damien Sandow in a rematch from Raw where RVD made his return. Before the match RVD said that he’s happy to be back and that so much has changed since he left, including the fact that the face of the WWE has a beard now. “The Human Highlight Reel” was very over with the crowd with his signature high flying moves. The finish saw RVD counter an attempted Superplex by knocking Sandow down to the floor to set up the Five Star Frog Splash for the three-count.

‘Yestlemania’ Runs Wild

Hulk Hogan’s music hit to a thunderous ovation from the crowd as the arena lit up with red and yellow. “The Immortal One” praised Daniel Bryan, stating that he got chills when the show became “YestleMania” as Bryan held up both titles. Bryan then came to the ring on Hogan’s request to a chorus of “Yes” chants. The WWE World Champion said that it has been the best week of his life and is overwhelmed that he is now in the ring with Hogan.

Bryan said that he prayed every night and took his vitamins in an attempt to get 24-inch biceps heading into WrestleMania just like how Hogan advised. Bryan concluded that he’s been a “Hulkamaniac” since day one and only one thing could make the week even more special. Hogan’s music then hit before the duo did the famous Hogan muscle poses together as the crowd went into a frantic state by witnessing this special moment.

The crowd settled down as Wade Barrett looked to continue his small momentum following the Raw after WrestleMania with a match against Kofi Kingston. Barrett was about to tell the fans some bad news before Kofi cut him off with a beat down. “Bad News Barrett” managed to avoid the Trouble in Paradise and hit the Bull Hammer elbow to knock Kofi out for the win. Barrett has had a series of strong wins now since a quiet in ring period, he’ll be a strong contender in the midcard this summer.

Santino Marella made his way to the ring with Emma to take on Fandango, who is with Layla rather than his usual dance partner Summer Rae. Michael Cole explained that there has been some drama between Fandango and Summer before Fandango quickly disposed of Santino. Layla aided with the win by stealing Santino’s cobra sock, which allowed her dance partner roll up Santino for the pin.

The Hounds Serve Justice

The main event of the night saw Daniel Bryan and the Usos take on Kane, Batista and Randy Orton. This match was mostly dominated by the heel side before Bryan finally got tagged in to a massive cheer. The Usos and Bryan dived through the ropes simultaneously onto the opposing team outside the ring, which changed the momentum of the match. The teams were however both counted out before Orton and Batista took their frustrations out on the Usos.

Kane was about to join in but The Shield ran in through the crowd to chase off Orton and Batista who made their way up the ramp. The director of operations grabbed a steel chair to use on The Shield but Bryan intervened with a running knee. The show closed with The Shield and Bryan celebrating together, hinting at an alliance heading into the next pay-per-view.

This was an action packed Smackdown with an all-star lineup to end one of the biggest weeks in WWE history. The strong momentum has not been lost as we saw development in the Cena vs Wyatt rivalry as well as progress in Cesaro’s conflicts. There is freshness in the upper card with Orton and Batista coexisting, along with The Shield and Bryan putting their tensions to rest to create two resilient factions. It looks like there will be a contest with The Shield and Bryan against Orton, Batista, Kane and Triple H at Extreme Rules to put an end to the battle.

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