WWE Friday Night SmackDown! - 31st May 2013 (Episode 719): Coverage, Results, Social Media, Blog and more!

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Full #WWE #Wrestling Coverage!#RAW - goo.gl/myYmq#MainEvent - goo.gl/ggcLt#SmackDown - goo.gl/YM9xb

— Nisar Khan (@iNisarKhan) June 1, 2013

This week's SmackDown episode was jam-packed with some great wrestling action. All three members of The Shield were in singles' competition, plus three matches that have never taken place before. 'We Fight on Friday Nights' is a fitting description for this week's excellent edition of SmackDown!

The Shield's Seth Rollins was in action for the opening contest of the night when he battled Kane. This match was hot on the heels of The Shield's triumph over Team Hell No to win the Tag Team Titles. There was a terrific contrast in the styles between Rollins and Kane, and it was evident that Rollins would try and use his quickness to outwit The Big Red Monster. However, Kane's brutality saw fit to restrict Rollins for the time being, before Rollins exploited damage to Kane's leg. Rollins was persistent in damaging Kane's leg to ground The Big Red Monster - but neither of these factors would ultimately decide the match. It was the outside interference from Roman Reigns, as he distracted Kane on the apron. Kane turned around to a kick from Rollins, before the referee's attention was turned to Reigns. When Seth Rollins ascended the turnbuckle, Daniel Bryan pushed him off, and Kane hit the Chokeslam on Rollins to score an important victory of which left Roman Reigns irate with Bryan's actions. Conveniently for both, Reigns and Daniel Bryan were in action straight after.

Seth Rollins exploited Kane's leg injuries to his advantage. Image Courtesy: WWE.com

Roman Reigns came out angry with intent to damage Bryan, but then he found himself on the other end of Bryan's momentum, as The Master of the NO Lock let some frustration out on Reigns, powered by his own thoughts of him thinking he is the weak link of Team Hell No. Bryan would eventually lose some steam as Reigns used his power to gain a threshold in the match, but as Bryan got back into it, he had Roman Reigns in the NO! Lock. Reigns had to drag himself a big distance to reach the ropes, and he was assisted by his team member, Seth Rollins who pushed the rope towards Reigns so he could grab it and break the submission. Kane ran at Rollins and hit him with a thunderous boot, before Reigns hit Kane. Kane responded back by hitting Reigns, and this was in full vision of the referee who disqualified Daniel Bryan, giving Reigns the win. A series of unfortunate events for Bryan left him with a loss, and even worse there was intense arguing between Team Hell No, a sight of which only we had seen during the start of the reign, one of which could be the beginning of the end for Team Hell No.

Daniel Bryan lands an amazing drop kick on Reigns in the corner. Image Courtesy: WWE.com

Damien Sandow was the host of another mental challenge as he addressed the crowd in Edmonton, Alberta. This time he had the challenge of which there was one ball, with three cups, and after moving the cups one would select the cup that they think the ball is in. Sheamus stepped up to the challenge. He was confident in his ways, but later found out he was wrong and failed the challenge, that was until it was revealed that Sandow had cheated to make Sheamus look bad, and did not put the ball in any of the cups. An action to the disarray of Sheamus resulted in the Celtic Warrior delivering a Brogue Kick to Sandow.

"You're Welcome" - Sheamus mocks Sandow after delivering the Brogue Kick. Image Courtesy: WWE.com

Curtis Axel continued his momentum with an impressive performance against Sin Cara. In a repeat match from last week's SmackDown, Curtis Axel was to score a victory in relatively quick time. Sin Cara began the match with some advantages using his high-flying style to control the match, but this effort by far was not enough to defy Axel's hunger for success. When Sin Cara had it all going, he bounced off the ropes for what would be a flying elbow, but instead, Axel saw it coming and clotheslined him in the back of the head. Axel followed this up, paying homage to his late father, the Hall of Famer, Mr. Perfect with a Perfectplex, putting Sin Cara away. Curtis Axel is quickly solidifying a bright future in the WWE, and coming off wins over John Cena and Triple H, more is yet to come.

#PerfectPlex! ONE TWO THREE! #SimplyPerfect victory for @realcurtisaxel on #SmackDown!
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) June 1, 2013

Curtis Axel nails the Perfectplex on Sin Cara, paying homage to the late great Mr. Perfect. Image Courtesy: WWE.com

Big E Langston and Alberto Del Rio went head-to-head for the fourth time in two weeks. With Del Rio winning the so-called Rubber Match on RAW, Langston was looking for vengeance over Del Rio. AJ - who many thought was reponsible for Langston's loss - still accompanied the powerhouse ringside, but did not engage in the match early on. Langston showed he is a developing talent with a lot of potential, as he threw Del Rio like a ragdoll around the ring. Del Rio managed to escape what could have been the finish when he hit the backbreaker. When Del Rio was on the outside of the ring, AJ Lee came and raked his eyes, before Langston, unaware, took advantage as he smacked Del Rio's head of the ring post. He followed this up with his finisher move, and pinned the #1 contender. Impressive display by Langston but who failed to acknowledge AJ Lee's assist.

Langston finishes Del Rio after AJ Lee's assist. Image Courtesy: WWE.com

Ryback showed the World that he was ready for John Cena at Payback. For the first time ever, Ryback went one-on-one with Captain of the Boom Squad, Kofi Kingston. Kingston came out fast - in fact too fast for Ryback's liking, and he struggled to deal with the frenzy of Kofi. The WWE Universe were feeling the adrenaline rush as Kofi Kingston had Ryback in a bad way, but this flux of momentum was to draw to an abrupt halt, when Ryback caught Kofi Kingston. He followed it up with a thunderous Meat-Hook Clothesline, before putting him away with the ShellShocked finisher. Even though Ryback scored the win, he was not done. Ryback wanted to send a message to John Cena, and he did so by smashing Kofi Kingston through tables not once, not twice, but three times. His demolishing attack on Kofi Kingston left him in a bad way, Kingston was not moving and WWE.com had reported that Kofi will be out for 6-8 weeks following the savage attack. Ryback had shown the World what could be coming John Cena's way at Payback.

Chris Jericho faced Cody Rhodes for the first time ever, and it was quite a decent match. The bout was indeed action-packed, with Jericho schooling Cody Rhodes as such, while Rhodes was responding with brutal moves that were taking its toll on Jericho. Cody Rhodes showed in the match that he has a very good technical wrestling ability, and to demonstrate it against someone like Jericho is important. Cody Rhodes was unable to prevail in the match though, as he attempted a Disaster Kick, but the leg was caught and Jericho managed to lock in the Walls of Jericho, forcing Rhodes to tap out. A good showing by Rhodes is not good enough, meanwhile Jericho further prepares himself for CM Punk at Payback in two weeks.

Chris Jericho locks in the Walls of Jericho. Image Courtesy: WWE.com

In the main event, Randy Orton and Dean Ambrose went one-on-one in what was a very cerebral style brawling match. Orton had to work fast to deal with Ambrose, and he was fired up to seek retribution against a member of The Shield who has attacked him many a time. Ambrose had a great ring presence, and this was able to keep him in the match, as he escaped the ring often when Orton was looking dangerous. Orton did not let off the pace however, as he continued to attack Ambrose, but Ambrose managed to target the sleeper hold to ground Orton. But, Orton got into the zone again, and continued to beat down Ambrose, until he was preparing for an RKO to finish the job. Ambrose fled the ring, and The Shield members attacked Orton. Just as many thought it would be a beatdown, out came Team Hell No. Kane dealt with members outside, meanwhile Daniel Bryan went INSANE inside the ring, he attacked Rollins and Ambrose, before flying onto Reigns. Bryan went through the ropes and hit Ambrose and Rollins with a suicide dive, and he finished triumphant in the ring, with everyone in the Rexall Place up on their feet shouting YES! YES! YES! Bryan single-handedly took out The Shield - lesson learned, he is not the weak link.

RESULTS
Kane def. Seth Rollins
Roman Reigns def. Daniel Bryan (via Disqualification)
Curtis Axel def. Sin Cara
Big E Langston def. Alberto Del Rio
Ryback def. Kofi Kingston
Chris Jericho def. Cody Rhodes
Randy Orton def. Dean Ambrose (via Disqualification)

Analysis and Opinion
This week's commentary team of JBL and Michael Cole made the show a lot better, these two guys know each other well and their commentary is just well presented and really improves the experience for the show. I hope this is maintained throughout, they are a great commentary team.
Team Hell No and The Shield's matches were excellent. The good thing about this week's show is that all members of The Shield proved that they can wrestle and get it done in the ring, and it is great to see Daniel Bryan developing into a great and dangerous character.
I am not sure where the situation is headed between Sandow and Sheamus. Maybe they will have a match at Payback but it seems on-the-fly booking for now.
Curtis Axel continues to win, and I hope he continues to win for a long time. The PerfectPlex was an excellent way to win, really showing that wrestling is in his blood and he is destined for great things.
Big E Langston vs. Alberto Del Rio for the fourth time in two weeks may sound bad, but it was quite a good match. Big E Langston is slowly developing independence, I think that disputes between him and AJ will result in him going solo very soon.
I am glad that Kofi Kingston had the opportunity to show he is a great talent vs. Ryback, and he can have a well-deserved break following his hard work for a long time, Ryback looks like a bigger threat for John Cena now.
I felt that Jericho vs. Rhodes could have went longer, but maybe it was not necessary, and here is hoping that Rhodes gets more solid competition to showcase his technical ability.
The main event outcome was slightly predictable, but it was an EPIC ending to the show! Daniel Bryan ends on an insane destruction to The Shield, what a way to end SmackDown!
Overall a really entertaining show with great wrestling. 

Payback is just over two weeks away. The Shield have shown they are a force to be reckoned with but may not have expected Daniel Bryan's unleash of insanity. Ryback has found his next victim, and everything is taking shape. The night belongs to Daniel Bryan, he has proved that he can take on The Shield. YES! YES!

 IMAGE COURTESY: WWE.com - No copyright infringement intended.
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