By Nicholas Jason Lopez

“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.

(Aired 8/10/15)

Green Arrow Attacks 

– WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins came out and did more bragging about injuring United States Champion John Cena, acknowledging he didn’t hear Cena respond to his challenge. The bit with the “live via satellite” was too cutesy, but fit what Rollins was going for. Cesaro’s interruption to challenge Rollins for the Title was a good moment, since he looked like a star with the suit, glasses and crowd support. Owens interrupting allowed him to pick on Cesaro more, brilliantly drawing heat from the method of the “Cesaro Section Signs Fans,” then drawing out Randy Orton, who made jokes on the heels. Rollins had another instance of talking himself into trouble by saying he didn’t care what The Authority thought, when Triple H picked up on it and booked a triple threat match with Owens-Cesaro-Orton with the winner fighting Rollins for the Title later. Good segment.

– The six-Diva tag match between Team Bella and Team BAD with Team PCB (Paige, Charlotte, Becky Lynch) on commentary carried on more Diva dilemma. The Team BAD boxed promo picked solely on the Bellas, calling them Kardashians. Cool to see this week’s NXT number one contender’s match between Bayley-Lynch hyped on the show too since it involved Lynch. For that matter, Team PCB bombed on commentary in getting themselves over and we really had no idea why they were out there in the first place. Sasha Banks and Brie Bella were also way over with this Seattle crowd, which added to the match’s enjoyment factor. Brie scored the pin over Tamina, which worked with the crowd reaction. PCB got involved afterward for more warfare, which saw them stand along until Brie tried to attack. PCB-BAD had a stare down, before looking over at Team Bella.

– The Kofi Kingston/Big E-Los Matadores match was all about the teams being on an “even playing field” in pursuit of being number one contenders for the Tag Titles. The Champions Prime Time Players “scouted” backstage for the second straight week, which went more for laughs instead of anything else. The action didn’t last too long and New Day got the win despite some outside shenanigans. Got a kick out of the condescending dancing afterwards.

– The New Day’s enthusiastic backstage promo saw them learn they would get a Tag Title shot at SummerSlam, also getting them react to the news that Los Matadores and Lucha Dragons were also in the match. Priceless.

– The Rollins-Trips backstage segment saw Rollins complain that he still had to defend his Title at the end of the day, then Triple H said Rollins opened the door for himself to defend his Title every single week like Cena did, trying to “out-Cena” Cena. Trips’  words came from a true place at least.

– The WWE World Heavyweight Championship Number One Contender’s match between Cesaro, Owens and Orton was very good, allowing all three men to show off their offensive abilities. Cesaro had the crowd’s backing, but wouldn’t had benefited much from losing another Title shot, since it allowed him and Owens to stay on course with their feud for a presumed SummerSlam match. The finish was well-done with Orton pinning Cesaro after hitting both men with RKOs for the win.

– The Dean Ambrose/Roman Reigns backstage promo touched up on their chemistry and how Bray Wyatt wouldn’t give up anything for Luke Harper. Ambrose was pretty funny here.

– Having WWE stars and personalities speaking about the Brock Lesnar-Undertaker match was a clever plan, since it put both men over and also created an illusion of “backstage buzz.” It really explored the emotional impact of the streak and how everybody was shocked when it was broken, transitioning into Taker’s revenge and the brawl. Clever way to also provide a hook for next week with both men being in the “same arena, same time.”

– The Ambrose-Harper match was basically what you’d expect with some straight-forward wrestling/brawling with action on the outside, while Harper got the advantage to get the win. Good progression with these four, but we wonder how they’ll switch things up for their SummerSlam match.

– The MizTV segment with Daniel Bryan had the fun of seeing Bryan in his home state mixed with his interaction with Miz, which is always entertaining. Ultimately, the segment served as hype for the Intercontinental Championship triple threat when Big Show came out to confront Miz, which then led to IC Champion Ryback’s return, where he took Miz out thanks to Bryan pushing him in the ring when he originally left it.

– Though it hyped the main event, it was surprising that they actually showed the famous WrestleMania 31 RKO since it was clearly after Rollins tried going for the Curb Stomp.

– We guess things were building for a three-team Divas elimination match, but it’s a fitting occasion for SummerSlam.

– The Rusev-Mark Henry match with Lana out on commentary saw Lana give an update on Dolph Ziggler, while Henry came out with the USA flag (seems kind of unlike him) and then we got more Lana-Summer fighting, which apparently turned the match into an apparent no-contest. In the never-ending battle of wits, the heels got the last laugh, when Summer put Lana in the Accolade, with the flag dropping down of Rusev on the Bulgarian flag. Good progression, though Lana started it all here.

– The King Barrett-Neville match was actually a rather quick win for Neville, which is interesting considering their earlier battles in the year. Stardust’s post-match involvement saw him attack Neville and push Stephen Amell, who actually jumped the barricade, the top rope and speared Stardust, which all came across really well. Highlight of the show actually.

– The Trips-Amell-Neville backstage segment saw Trips reprimand Amell for his actions and shoot down a request from him and Neville to take on Barrett/Stardust. Trips cleared himself of all legal responsibilities, making the match. Good tension shown there to express the realism of the situation and the resentment Trips showed Amell in that he was an actor, not a wrestler.

– Sheamus’ backstage promo had him put in his thoughts on Orton’s chances in the Championship match, while also setting up the uncertainty of a cash-in. What the hell was that Goonies reference?

– The Orton-Rollins match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship was built up well and provided some decent action, though never building up to anything super memorable by the time Sheamus interfered, despite a very cool looking RKO that took away what looked like a Title win. The interaction between Sheamus and Orton with the cash-in tease was well-done, since you’d think Rollins was out cold for that and Orton and Sheamus cost each other chances to be Champion. It’s a solid backup plan in case Cena doesn’t make it to SummerSlam.

Quick Results

• Team Bella def. Team BAD via pinfall
• Kofi Kingston/Big E (w/Xavier Woods) def. Los Matadores (w/El Torito) via pinfall
• Winner Faces Seth Rollins For WWE World Heavyweight Championship Later In Night – Randy Orton def. Kevin Owens and Cesaro via pinfall
• Luke Harper (w/Bray Wyatt) def. Dean Ambrose (w/Roman Reigns) via pinfall
• Rusev (w/Summer Rae) and Mark Henry to an apparent no-contest 
• Neville def. King Barrett via pinfall
• WWE World Heavyweight Championship – Randy Orton def. Seth Rollins (Champion) via DQ; Rollins retains