WWE Smackdown report: Roman Reigns defies The Authority to enter Money in the Bank on top of the ladder

Roman Reigns hits Kane with a spear (Getty Images)

Sheamus took on Bray Wyatt in an intense match to prepare for their all-important ladder match at Money in the Bank for the WWE World Championship. The two powerhouses went back and forth but Sheamus finally got the upper hand and locked the Cloverleaf on “The eater of the worlds”, which caused Luke Harper and Erick Rowan to intervene for Sheamus to win via disqualification. The Usos made the save for Sheamus as the “Celtic Warrior” hit the Brogue kick on Harper before the Usos did a double over the top rope dive on to the outside. Sheamus went for the Brogue kick on Bray but was too late as the Wyatt Family leader rolled out of the ring to save himself for the pay-per-view on Sunday.

The Authority continued the show with Triple H standing proud with his two cohorts Randy Orton and Seth Rollins. Triple H called the current age “The Authority Era” and said that Orton would once again become the face of the WWE when he wins the WWE World championship at Money in the Bank whilst Rollins will become the briefcase holder. Orton continued Triple H’s statement by saying that it is best for business before Rollins said that if Orton fails, like Triple H says there will always be a plan B. Orton didn’t take Rollins’ remark too well and threatened to fight Rollins but The COO managed to calm the two and said that they need to trust each other as he trusts them.

Bad News For Barrett

Triple H set up a match between Dean Ambrose and his go to guy Bad News Barrett in a non-title match. Ambrose avoided the Wasteland by Barrett before countering with the Dirty Deeds on the Intercontinental Champion for the win. After the match fellow ladder match competitor Jack Swagger ran down to the ring to attack Barrett. “The Real American” threw Barrett into the barricade and legitimately injured his shoulder, which has caused reports of the Englishman potentially missing the pay-per-view this weekend. Ambrose grabbed a ladder to repeatedly hit Swagger on the back with before shifting the fight towards the announce table. Rollins appeared out of nowhere and attacked Ambrose from behind to go into the midcard ladder match with the strongest momentum.

Paige locked up with Cameron to prepare herself for her Divas Championship defence against Naomi at Money in the Bank. Naomi was on commentary as her tag-team partner looked to wear her opponent down. Paige won the match swiftly with the Paige Turner for the number one contender to enter the ring and stare her down before Cameron barged the champion to instigate a fight. There was a slight scuffle as Cameron looked on deviously but the duo was able to calm down to save the fight for Sunday night.

Dolph Ziggler partnered with Alberto Del Rio to take on Dolph Ziggler and Rob Van Dam for the two teams to warm up ahead of their two separate ladder matches at Money in the Bank. Paul Heyman was on commentary and had an intense verbal battle with Michael Cole while the two teams battled it out in the ring. Van Dam hit the rolling thunder on Del Rio followed by the split legged moonsault but only managed a two count. Meanwhile Cesaro hit the European Uppercut on Ziggler as Del Rio countered the Five Star Frog Splash to execute the cross armbreaker for RVD to tap out. Heyman celebrated ecstatically with Cesaro and Del Rio tried to join in but Cesaro responded with the Neutraliser to remind the former World Champion that Money in the Bank means everyone for themselves.

Lana spoke on the microphone to promote Russia and Vladimir Putin and said that America fails to work hard before Rusev shouted “America, Rusev Crush”. Rusev then made quick work of Sin Cara and defeated the Mexican in less than a minute with the Accolade submission. The flag of Russia dropped from the rafters, which caused Big E to interrupt with his new patriotic stance that comes with revamped promo skills that makes him sound like a motivational speaker. Big E said that real men look their opponents in the eye and stared Rusev down in the ring. Rusev went for a sneak attack but Big E reacted with a clothesline to send the behemoth to the outside.

Roman Reigned

The main event saw Kane take on Roman Reigns in their final match before the WWE World Championship ladder match. Reigns was on a strong run against “The Big Red Machine” but Orton ran down to the ring for the referee to ring for the bell. Kane chokeslammed the former Shield member and then set up a ladder in the middle of the ring especially for Orton to climb up and grab the titles that were hanging. Kane signalled for Orton to line up a punt but Reigns dodged with a spear on both the “Viper” and Kane to close Smackdown holding the WWE World Championship titles.

The closing events of the show taught us that Kane was only included in the ladder match by Triple H to help Orton win the Championship. The Authority are favourites to dominate at Money in the Bank but they have made more enemies than they have allies. This week’s Smackdown has shaped up a few mouth-watering battles for what is usually one of WWE’s better pay-per-views and it looks like the superstars will ensure that this year will be no different.