Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

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 7/7/16)

Scarf Hold 

– Just like last week, we had a cutesy promo mashup package to start things off, as Chris Jericho sought his lost scarf and mentioned that Sami Zayn would get “it” later in the main event. Zayn’s response promo questioned the result if he actually beat him. We also had an encounter between Seth Rollins and Jey Uso (actually didn’t know which Uso it was until he dropped his name) in the parking lot, as Rollins made a joke that the Uso family fell apart and insulted Jey’s father Rikishi for his posterior-esque career. Just like that, Jey challenged Rollins and it was on. Say what you want, but two matches were announced in one minute, so we had something to look forward. Will they keep these when SmackDown goes live?

– For our audio pleasure, Jerry Lawler was back on commentary from his suspension and we had the three-man team back. Won’t miss ya, David Otunga. Basically, the feud between WWE World Heavyweight Champion Dean Ambrose and Rollins continued as Ambrose took it upon himself to be the Guest Ring Announcer to agitate Rollins, who was still out to make fun of Roman Reigns and his family members. Ambrose succeeded at this with minimum over-the-top behavior even if he was a slight distraction, but come on, you knew Rollins would eventually win this. The finish was cool, as Rollins countered a Frog Splash into the Pedigree, as he overcame Ambrose’s loud distractions. Post-match wasn’t anything noteworthy, as Rollins left the ring when Ambrose entered and claimed he’d keep his distance.

– When we first seen the graphic for the Zack Ryder-Sheamus match, our minds immediately assumed Sheamus would get his heat back since Ryder defeated him to win that patriotic 16-man elimination tag on Raw. On an interesting note, Ryder also had new theme music. The match itself was pretty average, as Sheamus worked over Ryder most of the time. This went the way of an upset, as Ryder knocked Sheamus off the top rope and hit an Elbow Drop to get the pinfall. Certainly didn’t see that occurrence so soon. Ryder’s post-match promo was actually well-delivered as he announced his official challenge to WWE United States Champion Rusev for the belt.

– The same Baron Corbin hype video from Raw aired again, just so you know he exists and all.

– Rusev’s backstage promo was par for the course, as he questioned Ryder’s sanity and announced the match would be set for Raw and he’d prove all Americans were stupid. That erased any thoughts of this happening at Battleground.

– The Becky Lynch-Natalya feud advanced some more as Natalya attacked again, this time as a blindside as Lynch made her entrance for a match. She also applied the Sharpshooter for good measure. All good stuff.

– Good promo from Xavier Woods, as he explained in a pre-taped WWE.com interview what he meant on Raw, as he tried to sell The Wyatt Family’s invitation to his fellow WWE World Tag Team Champion partners in The New Day Kofi Kingston and Big E to their compound as a bad idea, because they went into this with no plans. Woods brought up credible things like the status of Luke Harper and wondered if there were other Wyatt members we didn’t even know of. Smart argument as he put over that even though he didn’t agree with Kingston/Big E’s decision to go, he’d stand by them and be there anyways. This compound segment could be either really good or bad, but they’ve done all the right things so far.

– The in-ring segment with Enzo Amore/Big Cass and The Club was a decent follow-up to what we saw on Raw ever since it was announced that the five men would meet at Battleground plus John Cena on the good guys’ side. Cass was good as he explained that their intentions weren’t to save John Cena but to send a message to The Club that they couldn’t beat up other teams as they pleased. Styles was comfortable on the mic too, as he talked about a future beatdown on them too, but turned his attention to Enzo when Cass wanted to fight him. Enzo laid on another metaphor-heavy promo where he insulted The Club’s lack of originality. This eventually set up the Styles-Enzo match, also a first for both men.

– The Styles-Enzo match was decent for what it was, as Styles carried Enzo to an impressive performance in a rare singles match. There was a tough bump when Enzo’s feet got caught in the rope upon a suicide dive attempt, but he seemed to be okay. There were some cool moves exchanged and a seamless transition to the finish, where Styles hit the Styles Clash after he caught Enzo hung in the corner while Luke Gallows/Cass both took each other out with duo big boots. This was a good win for Styles as The Club runs with the momentum. No Cena on this show, which helped fuel The Club’s confidence.

– The Kevin Owens-Chris Jericho backstage segment was a humorous clash of characters, as we discovered that it was Owens who took Jericho’s scarf as he had it around his neck. Jericho’s irateness for Owens to pay for the “popcorn stains” saw Owens respond with pocket change, a button and a Jolly Rancher. This also set up the main event, as Owens made it known he’d be at ringside for the main event. Perhaps this was a test of the waters for what an Owens face run could be like, but it’s interesting that he has also clashed with heel Jericho and not just Zayn.

– We had a follow-up to the typical hold food fight segment from Raw as WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz looked for revenge for the “Potato Salad Incident,” as Kalisto challenged him to a match when Miz threatened an “International Incident” when he learned it was him that threw the salad. As for the match, it wasn’t bad, though uneventful. Kalisto flew around like he usually does and came close to a win as he almost hit the Salida Del Sol, but got trapped into the Skull-Crushing Finale, as Miz likely searches for a Battleground opponent.

– The backstage segment with Sasha Banks, WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte and Dana Brooke set up a Banks-Brooke match for the next Raw as we also had another vocal clash between Banks and Charlotte with the theme being in the looks department. Charlotte had a mock pair of Banks’ shutter shades and put herself over as “Diamonds and Rolexes.” Banks was fierce here as she made a case she’d be happy to take Charlotte’s belt and told Brooke she’d see her on Raw. Nice.

– A big hype for this show headed in was the announcement of Brock Lesnar’s SummerSlam opponent, which was revealed to be Randy Orton. Certainly interesting on paper and we liked the “Sports Show” feel as a roundtable of Booker T, Renee Young and Corey Graves discussed the matchup and what it means for both men at this point in their careers. Liked how Graves analyzed how their beginnings paralleled and sold this as a big deal since it was their first Pay-Per-View meeting. That should be fun in the coming weeks.

– Whenever Owens is on commentary, it’s a riot and we got more chaos than a mob could raise in the Zayn-Jericho main event. This was a smart way to advance the Owens-Zayn feud while it also showcased a “different” main event as Zayn and Jericho worked well in the ring. Owens’ many quips towards Byron Saxton and Mauro Ranallo were downright awesome as physicality between the blood rival Canucks took place once Zayn smacked the announce table after he laid out a Tope Con Hilo on Jericho. Owens threw water at Zayn, who responded as he threw Jericho into Owens. The finish was clever, as it intertwined Zayn’s Helluva Kick on Owens and a lucky “underdog”-esque pinfall over Jericho, sold as a big deal by Ranallo. Post-match was well-done, but no shocker, as Jericho dropped Zayn with a Codebreaker and Owens picked up the pieces, as he hit Zayn with a Pop-Up Powerbomb to end the show.

Quick Results

• Seth Rollins def. Jey Uso via pinfall 
• Zack Ryder def. Sheamus via pinfall 
• AJ Styles (w/Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows) def. Enzo Amore (w/Big Cass) via pinfall 
• The Miz (w/Maryse) def. Kalisto via pinfall 
• Sami Zayn def. Chris Jericho via pinfall