WWE Live landed in Lafayette, LA at the Lafayette Cajundome Sunday night with a card that was sure to excite fans in attendance.
The card for the event was headlined by a World Title Triple Threat Match, Alexa Bliss taking on Becky Lynch for the Smackdown Live Women's Title, an Intercontinental Title match between Dean Ambrose and, the now heel, Dolph Ziggler, as well as a huge six-man tag match between The Wyatt Family and American Alpha and Apollo Crews.
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#1 Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental Championship
As he is in most arenas across the globe, Dean Ambrose was insanely over in Lafayette, LA. And even though Ziggler is a heel now, he too received a warm welcome from the Cajundome before the two battled for Ambrose’s Intercontinental Title.
The match was one of the best of the night, as these two put on one heck of a back and forth wrestling contest. The chemistry these two have was evident during their WWE Title match at Summerslam, and this match too failed to disappoint.
Ziggler hit every big move he has in his repertoire, but Ambrose would continually kick out at two. When Ziggler went for his jumping DDT for the second time, Ambrose countered the move into a Dirty Deeds to pick up the pinfall victory.
Result: Dean Ambrose retains his Intercontinental Championship by defeating Dolph Ziggler via pinfall
#2 Kalisto vs. Curt Hawkins
In a quick but fun live event match, Kalisto and Curt Hawkins squared off in a match that showcased Kalisto’s high flying style and abilities. After a few minutes of Kalisto’s high-octane offence, Hawkins got the upper hand on his opponent.
Shortly after, however, Kalisto nailed the Salida del Sol on C-Hawk to pick up the pinfall victory.
Result: Kalisto defeats Curt Hawkins via pinfall
#3 Curt Hawkins vs. James Ellsworth
After Hawkins lost to Kalisto, he gathered himself enough to grab a microphone and demand another opponent. In what seems to be a Smackdown Live Event tradition, James Ellsworth answered his challenge and made his way to the ring.
After Hawkins ran Ellsworth down to the crowd, while the crowd boo’d, he turned right into the “No Chin Music” from Ellsworth. Three seconds later, Ellsworth picked up the victory as Hawkins continued to lose every single night he performs.
Result: James Ellsworth defeats Curt Hawkins via pinfall
#4 Heath Slater and Rhyno, The Usos, Jack Swagger, and Mojo Rawley vs. The Vaudevillains, The Ascension and Breezango
The rest of the Smackdown Live tag teams (or what’s left of them, in the case of the Hype Bros.) other than The Wyatt Family and American Alpha were on display in this massive twelve-man tag team match.
Instead of having Ryder by his side, Mojo teamed with Jack Swagger. The match was a typical house show tag team match that included several hot tags and ring cleaning spots from the good guys.
The babyface team (if you can call it that considering The Usos were a part of it) picked up the victory after a big Gore from Rhyno. Mojo did some twerking after the match to the delight of the crowd.
Result: Heath Slater and Rhyno, The Usos, Jack Swagger and Mojo Rawley defeat The Vaudevillains, The Ascension and Breezango via pinfall
#5 Nikki Bella vs. Natalya
In a match that we are sure to get on Smackdown Live or a PPV soon enough, Nikki Bella and Natalya squared off against each other in a one-on-one matchup that saw everything from trash talk to attempted distractions.
Natalya started off her night by walking over to a fan at ringside and ripping up a sign he was holding, which is perfect for Natalya’s new found heel attitude. Natalya was also accompanied to the ring by Carmella, who has had a long-running feud with the leader of the Bella Army.
Nikki Bella came out to a humongous pop from the crowd and the fan appreciation continued throughout the match. Before things could even get started, Natalya taunted Nikki by mocking John Cena’s “You Can’t See Me” hand motion.
From there on, these two put on a heck of a wrestling match that was said to be very technically sound. After ten minutes of back and forth action, Carmella finally tried to intervene on Natalya’s behalf to finish off Nikki.
However, Nikki overcame the distraction and hit Natalya with the Rack Attack 2.0 to pickup the victory.
Result: Nikki Bella defeats Natalya via pinfall
#6 Smackdown Live Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss vs. Becky Lynch for the Smackdown Live Women’s Championship
Back to back women’s matches for the crowd in Lafayette, as Becky got another shot to recapture her Smackdown Live Women’s Championship. Becky came out to a huge ovation and was cheered heavily by the crowd throughout the match.
Bliss and Lynch went back and forth in a decent match, but reportedly not as good a match as Natalya and Nikki put on the match previous. The two traded momentum throughout the match, with both superstars getting in a good bit of offense.
At the end of the match, Bliss used some “questionable tactics” to pick up the victory by rolling up Becky Lynch with a fist full of Becky’s tights.
Result: Alexa Bliss retains her Smackdown Live Women’s Title defeating Becky Lynch via pinfall
#7 Smackdown Live Tag Team Champions American Alpha and Apollo Crews vs. The Wyatt Family
This is a match that I would love to see on Smackdown Live in the near future. The athleticism in the ring for this six-man tag was on full display with some very athletic spots from almost everyone in the match.
American Alpha came out to a pretty loud ovation, as did The Wyatt Family. The Wyatts remain one of the most liked acts on the roster, even though they are heels, and the addition of Randy Orton to the Family has done nothing but increased the popularity of the team.
American Alpha was full of energy throughout the match, as they are in any match they are ever in. Crews also seemed to have a real chemistry with Jordan and Gable throughout the match and I would personally love to see Alpha and Crews work together more moving forward.
Although Orton hit an RKO on Crews late in the match, American Alpha were able to turn the tables and hit the Grand Amplitude on Luke Harper to pick up the victory.
Result: American Alpha and Apollo Crews defeat The Wyatt Family via pinfall
#8 WWE World Champion AJ Styles vs. John Cena vs. Baron Corbin
The main event of the night was a big Triple Threat Match between three of the top guys on the blue brand. Styles, Cena, and Corbin are arguably the top guys on Smackdown Live currently and failed to disappoint in Lafayette this past weekend.
AJ Styles and John Cena got huge ovations from the crowd during their entrances, as Styles continues to be one of the most popular superstars in WWE and Cena got the “pop of the night”.
Throughout the match, Corbin held his own against two guys who are considered the best in the world at what they do in the ring, even getting the better of both guys several times.
The night before, Styles and Corbin had attempted a top rope spot that resulted in Corbin falling from the top rope onto the floor ringside.
This time, the move went as planned as Styles squirmed his way out of a superplex attempt by Corbin, grabbed Corbin’s boot, and sent The Lone Wolf face first into the turnbuckle.
Later, Styles and Cena teamed up to take Corbin out of the match, which left Cena and Styles to go one-on-one for the Title. Styles hits Cena with a Styles Clash and went for the pin but right before the three count, Corbin pulled the referee out of the ring.
Cena and Styles again attacked Corbin and removed him from the match, momentarily.
However, Corbin eventually made his way back into the ring and attempted to go after Cena with a big clothesline. Cena ducked and hit Corbin with a monster AA and looked to be on his way to becoming a 16-time World Champ.
However, Styles rolled back into the ring, hit Cena with a blatant low blow (remember, no DQ’s in Triple Threats), and pinned him to retain his title. Baron Corbin seems to be the next big superstar for the blue brand and we can expect a huge push for him moving forward.
Result: WWE World Champion AJ Styles defeats John Cena and Baron Corbin to retain the WWE World Championship
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