So it’s time for Redemption and that means…I have no idea actually, as this show isn’t exactly feeling important. We are only a few weeks away from All In and AEW has made it clear that is the show that really matters. The thing is I’m sure the action will work and thank goodness it’s starting an hour earlier than Forbidden Door. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Trios Titles: Conglomeration(c) vs. Lethal Twist

This was added to the card on Collision this week and sure why not. The six man titles are a fine way to get a show going and the fans are going to get behind anything the Conglomeration does. It helps that the Lethal Twist are a regular team and it’s interesting to see an actual unit getting a chance like this. Granted they’re more regulars in ROH but it’s better than nothing.

There is no reason to believe that the titles are changing hands here so I’ll go with the Conglomeration retaining. It should be a nice seven to ten minute match to warm up the crowd and that’s what a Kickoff Show match is supposed to be. Just don’t do a bunch of them over and over and everything should be fine. But yeah for now, the champions retain the titles.

Tag Team Titles: Adam Copeland/Christian Cage(c) vs. Death Riders

The title reign has been kind of a weird one, but it still feels like we’re on the way to big ladder match with the Bucks at All In (possibly FTR as well). That leaves us with some not so thrilling title defenses, first with the Dogs and now this one. I’m sure the match will be fine, but it feels pretty thrown together without much of a story outside of the Riders attacking the champs.

At the end of the day, it’s Pac and Claudio Castagnoli challenging so I’ll say the champions retain. There isn’t much of a reason to believe that the titles are changing before All In, with the champions being set up for something bigger in just over a month. Castagnoli has been a jobber to the stars for a long time now and that is going to be the case for a good while, as he isn’t winning a title here.

International Title: Kyle Fletcher(c) vs. Bandido

It’s time to have Bandido face another singles champion on an AEW pay per view with almost no chance for him to win. As usual, the ROH World Title isn’t a factor here whatsoever, which is a great way to extend his title reign high up the ranks. I have no idea how Bandido is the only choice to take these losses and it’s not doing ROH any favors, but neither is a lot of the stuff done there.

So of course I’ll go with Fletcher to retain here, as there is no reason to believe that Bandido is going to snap his losing streak in these matches. The match will be rather awesome as both of these guys are outstanding when they’re given the chance, but that is only going to do so much good for Bandido when he keeps losing. Either let him win something or just don’t put him in these matches time after time.

Bang Bang Gang vs. Dogs

This is a double chain match and I continue to not get the appeal of the Dogs. It feels like a team I needed to watch for years in New Japan to really get as they’re just kind of there week after week. They’ve been feuding with the Bang Bang Gang for a few weeks now and that should at least lead to a good match. I’m just not sure why it needs to be in a double chain match.

The Gang is back to full strength for the first time in forever and Jay White needs the win to help establish himself a bit more so we’ll go in that direction. Hopefully the Gang is able to stay healthy this time around, as the injuries have just wrecked them. Let them get a win here, as I have no idea what the point is in boosting up the Dogs, who just don’t feel all that important.

Young Bucks vs. Will Ospreay/Jon Moxley

So here we have one of the bigger stories in AEW, as Moxley has seemingly poisoned Ospreay’s mind and turned him to the dark side, just as he is on the way to the World Title shot at All In. There is a grand total of zero reason to believe that Ospreay is going to go into the title match in his home country as a villain, so the question becomes when Ospreay turns on the Death Riders.

I don’t think it happens here though, as I’ll go with Ospreay and Moxley to win a heck of a fight, as the Bucks can do rather well in this kind of a match. For now though, they need to lose to show that Ospreay has gotten better under Moxley, though I’m not sure where that leads. The Bucks lose now though, as Ospreay has something much bigger going on for All In anyway.

National Title: Mark Davis(c) vs. Andrade El Idolo

Now we get to something that has me intrigued, as this could go in a few different ways. Davis is on fire right now and having the singles run of a lifetime. At the same time, there is something to be said about El Idolo being this good as well. I could go for seeing him win the title on the way up to the main event, though it really is a match that could go in either direction.

I’ll go with El Idolo winning here, but I really hope that Davis gets another chance sooner than later. He’s doing far too well lately to just be left by the wayside. For now though, El Idolo moving up is the right way to go. I could see some interference costing El Idolo the title, though I’ll go with El Idolo winning the title here, which is the best of the good options that they have.

Jack Perry vs. The Beast Mortos vs. Komander vs. Mike Bailey vs. Nick Wayne vs. El Clon

This is a ladder match (because of course it is) for a shot at the International Title at some point in the future. As usual, there are a few names who just aren’t going to win here and that makes things a bit easier. You can pretty easily write off Mortos, Wayne and Clon, the latter of whom I had almost forgotten even worked here. That leaves you with three potential winners and one of them stands out pretty strong.

The key here is that this show is taking place in Bailey’s hometown of Montreal. That is a pretty easy way to set him up as a winner and while it seems that the big match is Bailey vs. Knight (ok not really big but AEW is presenting it as important because they used to be partners, which apparently makes any match important). I’ll go with Bailey winning here, as it is such a natural fit.

Women’s Title: Thekla(c) vs. Willow Nightingale

This is where All In rears its head again, as Mercedes Mone is waiting on the winner at the biggest show of the year. Thekla is someone who has turned into one of the most entertaining stars on the AEW roster and it is fun to hear whatever insanity she has going through her head during any given week. On the other hand though, it’s asking a lot to have Nightingale lose again here, and that’s where this might fall apart.

With Mone set to challenge the winner, I’ll go with Nightingale winning the title here. I don’t want to see Thekla lose the belt here, but it’s hard to imagine Mone challenging Thekla for the title. We’ve seen Mone take a title from Nightingale before and I’m hoping that they don’t do it again. That means Nightingale has to win though, and I’ll say that’s what we get here.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Chris Jericho

This is No DQ and the big deal here is that it’s the Painmaker version of Jericho, which he’s used….oh at least a handful of times. Jericho has already lost to Ciampa in the first place but it’s time to see it happen again. This latest run hasn’t been the most successful for Jericho from a win/loss perspective and he is getting close to actually needing a win, which is hard to fathom.

I just don’t think that win comes here, as Ciampa losing in the big gimmick rematch would take a lot away from him. Ciampa has gotten somewhere with this run and I would hope that it doesn’t come crashing to a halt here. This should be a good fight with two people who work well together. Jericho will put up a great fight, but it needs to end up with a losing effort.

TBS Title: Hikaru Shida(c) vs. Maya World

World got a heck of a push in the Owen Hart Cup, but she still hasn’t actually won anything. That creates a problem, as she has to actually get some kind of an accolade before it stops mattering all that much. Winning the title here would be a great moment, though it feels more like Athena and the Ring Of Honor Women’s Title are more her destiny. She does have a chance here though and that’s rather intriguing.

As much as I think it would make sense, I just can’t picture Shida actually losing the title here. She’s not the strongest champion in the world and having World win the belt here would be great, but I’m not seeing it happening. Hopefully they find something world World to do and it’s far from crazy to imagine her winning here. I’m expecting the win to be delayed again though, assuming it ever actually happens.

AEW World Title: Kenny Omega(c) vs. Kevin Knight

This is where I’m wondering if they have some kind of a swerve planned here, as while this might wind up as a great title match, it’s not something that feels like a major pay per view main event. I wouldn’t even be surprised if this didn’t headline the show, as it just doesn’t really fit in that spot. It doesn’t help that Knight doesn’t feel like any kind of a threat to winning the title, which would be the case even without All In.

So yeah there is no reason to believe that the titles is changing hands here, as Omega is already set for the big title match at All In. That’s what the majority of the promos have been about and it doesn’t feel like Knight is going to even give Omega a real threat. It’s rare to see the World Title match feel like the most obvious result but that is absolutely how it comes off here.

Overall Thoughts

The more I think about this show, the less interested I am in the whole thing. The thing to remember is that the show should be entertaining and the match quality won’t be a problem. AEW has long since proven that it can make any card work and I’m sure they’ll do it again here. This show still feels like Fully Loaded 1998 though and that could make for a rough night.

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AAA On FOX
Date: July 25, 2026
Location: Arena San Marcos, Aguascalientes, Mexico
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Rey Mysterio, Corey Graves

It’s the first week (out of three) of Verano de Escalando and that means we’re in for the first of three big main events. In this case that means El Grande Americano/Dominik Mysterio vs. Los Perros del Mal. Other than that, the Mixed Tag Team Titles are on the line and that should be worth a look so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Here is Rey Mysterio to welcome us to the show and talk about how important this city has been to his career. He has some good news for us but here is El Ojo to interrupt instead. Dorian Roldan says that Mysterio has been in charge while El Hijo del Vikingo has been injured and costing Omos a chance at the Latin American Title. Mysterio needs to make Omos the Latin American Champion right now, or violence will ensue. That’s still a no so Roldan threatens him and the villains walk off.

Dominik Mysterio and El Grande Americano don’t trust each other but Mysterio insists that he wants them to face off at TripleMania. Everything seems ok, or at least ok enough. Mysterio leaves and Damian (in a Los Perros del Mal shirt) shows up to say “few are chosen”.

We look at La Hiedra turning on Mr. Iguana but Lola Vice was there to team up with him instead. Now La Hiedra and Laredo Kid want the titles, with Vice suggesting that Hiedra still loves Iguana.

Mixed Tag Team Titles: La Hiedra/Laredo Kid vs. Mr. Iguana/Lola Vice

Iguana and Vice are defending. Kid wrestles Iguana down to start before they both flip over, with Iguana sitting on the mat. A running dropkick puts Kid down so Hiedra comes in for a staredown with Iguana. That doesn’t work for Vice who comes in to strike away, with the hip shaking included. Kid gets struck down as well and the champions get to pose for a bit. Hiedra and Iguana have another staredown on the floor and Iguana seems to be a bit deflated.

Back in and Hiedra chokes Vice on the rope and we hit the chinlock. Vice gets up with a belly to back suplex and there’s the tag to the men. Kid comes back in to kick Iguana down and hits a 450, with the referee just pausing in the middle of the count. Iguana gets up and even Mysterio isn’t sure what happened. The women come back in for a rollup until Vice kicks Hiedra in the head for two more. Iguana is sent into the steps so Vice takes Kid out, only to get Glam Slammed for the pin and the titles at 9:35.

Rating: C+. This was interesting as they had only made a few references to the whole love triangle thing. Instead we got a much more detailed look here and it made for a better story. If nothing else, the title change was a bit of a surprise, though it does feel like it gives the story another extension.

We get the weekly press conference with Rey Mysterio, who isn’t happy with El Ojo. He’s cut off by a message from Penta though, who will be appearing at the August 15 show. Also, action figures are coming and we get a preview for the next two weeks to wrap it up. Not much to be said here.

Los Perros del Mal vs. El Grande Americano/Dominik Mysterio

It’s Daga/Angel Garza for Los Perros. Daga and Mysterio take turns posing until Mysterio slugs away. A slam gets Daga out of trouble and he chops away in the corner, earning himself a trip into the wrong corner. Americano comes in and gets knocked down by Daga, with Garza shaking the ropes to take Americano down again. Garza gets to hammer down right hands in the corner, with Americano actually fighting back for a unique visual.

Mysterio comes back in and gets clotheslined for two. The beating ensues, at least until Mysterio gets in a tornado DDT. Americano comes back in to fight back and helps Mysterio on the Third Amigo. The frog splash gets two but the 619 is broken up (JBL: “I wish I had learned that counter against his dad.”).

Daga gets taken out with a dragon screw legwhip but the referee gets bumped. The 619 connects so Mysterio loads up his hammer, only for the rest of Los Perros to send him into the steps. A Gory Special into a knee to the face gets two on Americano as here are Los Americanos to make the save. Bravo hits a HUGE dive off the lighting structure (with the drone camera going all over the place for a cool visual).

Bronco Nima puts Los Americanos through a table but gets taken out by Americano. That leaves Americano to get piledriven and caught in a German suplex/missile dropkick combination for two each. Americano fights up but Mysterio drops to the floor and walks away. An assisted top rope double stomp finishes Americano at 20:35.

Rating: B. I was surprised by the result as I wouldn’t have expected Americano to lose for a long time. The good thing is that he lost after a bunch of interference and all kinds of big moves so he is certainly protected. Mysterio turning on him was about as obvious as you could get, though I’ll take this over Mysterio leading Los Perros, which wouldn’t have really fit.

Post match Mysterio goes to leave…and here is El Ojo, with Mysterio seemingly being the new leader. Rey knows this is a big problem to end the show. That’s a good move as El Ojo was just kind of floating around doing nothing so this gives them an actual story to be attacked to, which they’ve been needing.

Overall Rating: B. This felt like a major event and that’s a good thing to see. The main event was a big step forward for Mysterio vs. Americano and they should be fine on the way to TripleMania. Oddly enough the title change felt like a big deal as well, which I wasn’t exactly expecting. Good show here, and it did feel like an important event, as they tend to be around here, at least at the start.

Results
La Hiedra/Laredo Kid b. Mr. Iguana/Lola Vice – Glam Slam to Vice
Los Perros del Mal b. El Grande Americano/Dominik Mysterio – Assisted top rope double stomp to Americano

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Collision
Date: July 25, 2026
Location: The Pinnacle, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone, Paul Wight

It’s the night before Redemption and that means we have one final push to get us ready for the pay per view. It isn’t feeling like the most important card and hopefully this show helps us get the whole thing set. That could have a few different results and we do have some titles on the line this week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Zachary Wentz

Ciampa knees him off the apron before the bell but stops to yell at Wight, who isn’t having that. Wentz gets in a shot of his own and sends Ciampa inside for a whip into the corner. The big flip dive takes Ciampa down on the ramp but he gets the knees up to cut off a Swanton. A handspring knee gets Wentz out of trouble and he strikes away before grabbing a German suplex. Wentz’s Blockbuster gets two and he fires off the kicks away to put Ciampa down. Ciampa is fine enough to knee Wentz out of the air for two and the Willow’s Bell drops him onto the ramp. Back to back running knees finish Wentz off at 6:55.

Rating: B-. As usual, any member of the Rascalz is capable of working with almost anyone else and Ciampa is more than qualified. It made for an interesting match and Wentz got in some offense before losing in the end. This was basically a way to set up Ciampa on the way to his showdown with Jericho tomorrow and the good thing is they didn’t spend too long and make Ciampa seem like he was having major trouble.

Post match Ciampa says he’s better than Chris Jericho and, after drawing some lines on his face, says the Psycho Killer is better than the Painmaker.

Mike Bailey is ready to win the ladder match in his hometown at Redemption.

Young Bucks vs. Death Riders

Jon Moxley is on commentary. Matt catches Yuta with a running spinwheel kick to start and the Bucks take them both down without much trouble. The right hands in the corner are broken up but the Bucks are back with a backbreaker/top rope double stomp combination. The rolling northern lights suplexes have the Riders down but they strike away at Nick to take over as we take a break.

We come back with Matt fighting out of trouble but he gets caught in a catapulted wheelbarrow suplex for two. Matt’s standing Sliced Bread gets him out of trouble though and it’s back to Nick with the double high crossbody. Yuta gets Backstabbered out of the corner as Moxley praises the Bucks’ athleticism. Yuta kicks away but gets dropped by some superkicks. More Death Riders run in for the beatdown on the Bucks so here are Adam Copeland and Christian Cage to cut them off. The slingshot X Factor to Garcia sets up the Meltzer Driver for the pin at 12:29.

Rating: B. They built up a few matches at once here, with Moxley praising the Bucks before their match and the Tag Team Titles getting a moment as well. I’ll take that over extended sequences throughout the night and as usual, the Bucks had their fun match. It’s hardly the most structured classic, but it works well enough for a spot like this.

Post match here is Will Ospreay for a distraction, allowing Moxley to lay the Bucks out.

Bandido and Kyle Fletcher got in a fight at Comic Con.

Persephone vs Angelica Risk

Non-title. They talk trash to each other to start and Persephone knocks her into the corner. The Razor’s Edge finishes Risk off at 1:27.

Athena and the Minions are ready to take out the Brawling Birds, though Billie Starkz is a bit lost.

Lethal Twist vs. Skyflight

Ricochet and Jeff Jarrett are both on commentary. Sydal and Lethal start things off with Lethal getting in a strut but walking into a hurricanrana. Sky comes in to send Johnson into a jumping knee from Darius. Everything breaks down and the Twist are triple dropkicked to the floor for a triple dive as we take an early break. We come back with Sky in the Tree Of Woe and getting stomped down. Lethal starts in on the leg as Jarrett shifts us into a chat about Redemption. Sky fights up and brings Dante in to fight back, including an enziguri to Johnson. Everything breaks down and they trade knockdowns until Ricochet offers a distraction. The top rope double stomp/Death Valley Driver combination finishes Dante at 8:46.

Rating: B-. It’s another fast paced and entertaining match though the idea of the Demand feuding with Skyflight is about as much of a downgrade as you can get. Skyflight has some talented wrestlers but they’re about as much of a losing team as you can get. That can change, but as of right now, it isn’t exactly working all that well for them.

Redemption Ladder Qualifying Match: Nick Wayne vs. AR Fox

Wayne jumps him from behind to start and stomps away but Fox fights back without much trouble. A neckbreaker is rolled through into a suplex to drop Fox though and they’re out to the floor. Fox fights back but gets sent into the steps for quite the crash as we take a pretty early break.

We come back with Fox grabbing an anarchist suplex on the floor before heading back inside. A Swanton gives Fox two but Wayne rolls him up for the same. They go up top, where Wayne’s super Sliced Bread gets another near fall. A kick to the head and a Falcon Arrow finish Fox off at 11:51.

Rating: B-. Fox has grown on me quite a bit week after week and I’m hoping that he gets a chance to do something better in the future. He can work with anyone and still make it exciting, though he is also stuck in the midcard loop. I’m not sure if Wayne is that much of a better option to go over here but he’s a more successful name at the moment.

After Dynamite, Darby Allin freaked out about how he didn’t go far enough with Kevin Knight. So how far is Knight willing to go now?

Trios Titles: Conglomeration vs. Outrunners/Dalton Castle

The Conglomeration is defending and the ROH Six Man Titles aren’t on the line, because for some reason we’re getting champions vs. champions. Magnum shoves Cassidy down to start before running him over with a shoulder. Everything breaks down and it’s a six way handshake into a six way brawl as we take a break.

We come back with the Outrunners ax handling Cassidy off the apron, leaving Castle to get double chopped down. Back in and Cassidy’s elbow hits Castle so Strong picks Cassidy up and swings him around. It’s back to Floyd (wearing his belt of course) to clean house and the Mega Powers Elbow gets two on Cassidy. Castle is back in and gets DDTed by Cassidy, who sits down on a sunset flip to pin Floyd and retain at 10:58.

Rating: C+. And there was no one to take this loss other than the ROH Six Man Tag Team Champions? I get that they’re the minor league but it’s always felt dumb to have the top ROH names treated as losers and then ask me to be interested in what they do. The company has so many wrestlers on the roster and they didn’t have a better choice than this? Really?

Post match the Demand (hey, there’s a team who could have challenged for the titles) and the Lethal Twist (same) run in for the beatdown, with Jeff Jarrett coming off commentary for the save.

Jack Perry wants the World Title but he’s ready to come after the International Title. Nick Wayne comes in to say he’ll be winning instead. Perry tells him to make the most of his chance.

Redemption Ladder Qualifying Match: Lio Rush vs. El Clon

Rush’s ROH TV Title isn’t on the line. Rush runs the ropes to start and bites Clon’s chopping hand. A clothesline drops Clon for two but he’s back up with some running shots in the corner. We take a break and come back with Rush running into a backbreaker to cut him off again. Rush kicks him to the floor and hits the weird suicide dive, setting up a springboard Stunner for two. Clon knees him in the face so Rush tries a rollup, only to have Clon reverse into one of his own and grab the rope for the pin at 8:22.

Rating: C+. I….why? How in the world is this the best use of the ROH TV Champion? Rush has gotten one of the weirdest gimmicks in wrestling over and here he’s putting over El Clon in a qualifying match for a ladder match that Clon has no realistic chance of winning? How is this the best option that they had given all of the people they have around here? Throw any non-champion out there and it’s the exact same result.

Post match Clon stays on Rush but Mike Bailey runs in for the save. Komander comes in as well and has a staredown with Bailey.

Video on Kevin Knight vs. Kenny Omega.

Redemption rundown.

The Bang Bang Gang is ready to take out the Dogs.

Maya World/Willow Nightingale vs. Thekla/Hikaru Shida

Shida swings away at World to start and everything breaks down with the four way brawl on the floor. Back in and Shida and Thekla hammer away in the corners, which is quickly reverses for a double ram to send them together. We take a break and come back with Nightingale grabbing a spinebuster for two, with Thekla making the save. Shida’s Falcon Arrow gets two and everything breaks down again. Nightingale sends Shida outside but misses the running flip dive off the apron. Thekla grabs her belt but the referee takes it away, leaving Thekla to spear World for the pin at 10:54.

Rating: C+. With that result, I’m hoping that World wins the title, as otherwise she’s continuing to look like a loser, despite how much success she has had as of late. This was a quick way to build two matches at once and that’s often a good idea. It wasn’t exactly great, but I’ll take this over some quick promos that don’t say much.

Overall Rating: B-. This show was the last push towards Redemption and it left the pay per view in about the same place: an event that should be perfectly good, if not better than good, but it doesn’t feel overly important. This week had some completely acceptable wrestling and it worked well enough, though it’s not really a show you need to see. And I’d hope the fourteen regular ROH viewers will be annoyed at some of the results, as they should be, as it’s such an instance of stubbing your own toe for no real reason. Anyway, nice enough show here, but Redemption is going to have a rocky path.

Results
Tommaso Ciampa b. Zachary Wentz – Running knee
Young Bucks b. Death Riders – Meltzer Driver to Garcia
Persephone b. Angelica Risk – Razor’s Edge
Lethal Twist b. Skyflight – Top rope double stomp/Death Valley Driver combination to Dante
Nick Wayne b. AR Fox – Falcon Arrow
Conglomeration b. Outrunners/Dalton Castle – Rollup to Floyd
El Clon b. Lio Rush – Rollup while grabbing the rope
Thekla/Hikaru Shida b. Maya World/Willow Nightingale – Spear to World

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Summerslam 2019
Date: August 11, 2019
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Attendance: 16,904
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

Here we have a show that I do not remember in the slightest, which should make for a fun night. The show’s big main event is a Wrestlemania rematch as Seth Rollins is once again facing Brock Lesnar, which often works well. Other than that, Kofi Kingston is defending the Smackdown World Title against Randy Orton, which feels less promising. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Title: Drew Gulak vs. Oney Lorcan

Gulak is defending and jumps Lorcan in the corner to start. Lorcan spins out of a wristlock and headlock and it’s an early standoff. Gulak’s arm crank works a bit better as it takes a bit longer for Lorcan to drive him into the corner. A running shot to the face drops Lorcan though and we take a break.

We come back with Lorcan fighting out of a chinlock and striking away. They head outside with Lorcan chopping him around ringside, only for Lorcan to get caught in the Gulock (dragon sleeper with a bodyscissors). That’s broken up and they knock each other down, meaning it’s time to slug it out again. Gulak actually gets the better of things but another Gulock is reversed. A running uppercut drops Gulak but he’s right back with a shot to the throat. A torture rack neckbreaker connects to retain Gulak’s title at 8:48.

Rating: B-. This was an interesting technical vs. brawling match and Lorcan could have been a bigger deal if he was allowed to show his quirkiness a bit more. The cruiserweights had some talented stars but there was only so much they could do when WWE made it clear that they were at the bottom of the ladder. Banishing them to 205 Live didn’t make it much better, but they could do some fun stuff when given the chance.

Kickoff Show: Apollo Crews vs. Buddy Murphy

Murphy runs him over to start and stomps away in the corner. Crews gets knocked down again and the chinlock goes on, followed by a double crossbody to leave them both down. Back up and Crews pulls him out of the air for a Samoan drop into the standing moonsault. Murphy catches him in the corner for a Cheeky Nandos Kick and a hard powerbomb out of the corner. Crews reverses Murphy’s Law into a rollup for two but gets sent to the floor. A big dive hits Crews but Erick Rowan runs in to jump Murphy for the DQ at 4:45.

Rating: C+. The ending was the more interesting thing here, but dang you could see some potential in Murphy. He’s big, he has a great look, he’s athletic and he has charisma. Naturally this had no place in modern WWE, but at least they were giving him something of a chance here. Crews was his usual self, but his big free fall hadn’t come yet so Murphy still got something out of facing him.

Post match Rowan wrecks Murphy, including a powerbomb against the post for quite the crash. This was due to Murphy suggesting that Rowan had attacked Roman Reigns on Smackdown, which Rowan denied.

Normally I don’t include segments in these things but here’s something. Elias is in the ring to sing his song about how he’s been in Toronto for a week and has written a song about it. He wants to leave the town in a hearse and mocks various Toronto teams…and here is Edge to blow the roof off the place. Edge hits the spear and leaves without saying a word. He would be back in the ring in about five months for quite the moment.

Kickoff Show: Women’s Tag Team Titles: Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross vs. IIconics

The IIconics are challenging and since Bliss is in her Buzz Lightyear gear, she starts with a laser blast at Kay. The ensuing headlock doesn’t work long so it’s back to the laser, allowing Graves to fire off the Toy Story references. Cross comes in but gets rolled up by Royce and the IIconics get to kick her down, setting up a crossface chickenwing of all things.

That’s broken up with a jawbreaker and a swinging hair faceplant allows the tag back to Bliss. House is cleaned, including Insult To Injury, leaving Cross and Kay to fight outside. Royce counters a spinning kick into a Widow’s Peak, with Bliss’ kickout sending Royce into a panic. Bliss knocks her down, setting up Twisted Bliss to retain at 7:56.

Rating: C+. This was mainly about Bliss getting to show off the Toy Story gear with Graves’ reactions being rather amusing. These titles were still pretty new at this point so getting some teams together to have a division was the most important part. Bliss and Cross were the fun team and did fine here against the annoying challengers, so at least the fans got what they wanted to see.

The opening video is a standard look at how big this show is and the more important matches. Rather generic stuff here for such a big show.

We recap Becky Lynch defending the Raw Women’s Title against Natalya. Lynch is the biggest star in the world (she absolutely had a case for being the biggest star in WWE, man or woman, over the summer) and Natalya won a four way to get the shot in her home country. As a bonus, we’ll make it a submission match.

Raw Women’s Champion: Becky Lynch vs. Natalya

Lynch is defending in a submission match. Lynch knocks her into the corner and stomps away as Young talks about various Toronto bars. Graves: “What I’ve just discovered is that Renee spent her summer as a drunk.” Natalya has to break out of a triangle choke (remember rope breaks don’t matter because submission only) and they go outside, with Natalya stomping away at the knee.

Lynch fights out of the corner but gets sent to the apron, where Natalya snaps the leg over the rope. Something like the Sharpshooter in the corner (with Lynch laid on the middle rope) has Lynch screaming until they crash out to the floor. Natalya gets whipped into the announcers’ table, which bangs up her arm, as does a whip into the steps. The arm is fine enough to hit a top rope superplex so Natalya tries the basement dropkick.

That’s reversed into a Sharpshooter from Lynch (who doesn’t sit down) so Natalya rolls her into the corner for the break. Natalya pulls her out of the corner and grabs a Disarm-Her, followed by the Sharpshooter. Lynch has to get creative by crawling over the apron to send them into the ropes. That’s enough for the break and she grabs Natalya in the Disarm-Her to retain at 12:33.

Rating: B. Lynch was on the roll of a lifetime in 2019 and the fans were losing it over almost everything she did. The catch here was that Natalya was in her element and in her country so there was some drama over who was going to win. I liked this more than I was expecting to and it wound up being rather good, even if the ending kind of came out of nowhere.

Trish Stratus is back in her hometown and ready to face Charlotte and prove that her era was pretty great in its own right. If Charlotte is the queen, Stratus is the queen of queens. Eh not the greatest line.

We recap Goldberg vs. Dolph Ziggler. There was a legends show a few weeks back and Ziggler insulted the legends, with Shawn Michaels standing up for the old guard. Ziggler still wanted to fight through and Goldberg stepped up, meaning it’s destruction time.

Goldberg vs. Dolph Ziggler

Before the match, Ziggler says legends come and go but he’s always here to steal the show. Goldberg might not even show up tonight…and here he is. They stare each other down and Ziggler hits a superkick for a fast one. Another superkick gets the same so Ziggler tries it again, only to get speared into the next universe. The Jackhammer ends Ziggler at 1:49. That was one of the best spears Goldberg ever hit but the key here was they didn’t have Goldberg out there too long and it was more what made him work in his heyday. Why is that so complicated?

Post match Ziggler asks if that is all Goldberg has and wants one more fight. Goldberg comes back and spears him again before going to leave. Ziggler (writhing in pain) says anyone can get lucky twice and he’s still the best while Goldberg is a joke. He’s the best thing going today and here is Goldberg for a third time. Goldberg helps Ziggler up, hits the ropes a few times, and spears him a third time, just for fun. This was hilarious and Ziggler sold every one of them like death.

Clash Of The Champions is next month. I was at that show. Dang it was boring!

We recap AJ Styles defending the US Title against Ricochet. Styles, with the Good Brothers, got sick of losing to Ricochet and went evil on him to take the title. Ricochet is back for revenge and the belt, as tends to be the case.

We go to the international row of announcers, with Carmella and R-Truth in disguise. Drake Maverick runs out to look for R-Truth (and the 24/7 Title) but can’t find anyone.

US Title: Ricochet vs. AJ Styles

Styles, with the Good Brothers, is defending and Ricochet is in Black Panther gear. Ricochet starts fast and sends him outside for the early dive. Styles starts in on the leg though and takes him back inside to stomp on the knee. The leg is wrapped around the rope but Ricochet uses the good leg to kick him in the head.

A one legged springboard clothesline (good grief) gets two on Styles, who knocks him back outside. The baseball slide dropkick takes Ricochet down again but he gets back inside to kick Styles in the head. Styles gets smart by pulling him into the Calf Crusher but Ricochet reverses into the Anaconda Vice of all things. With that broken up, Ricochet grabs a twisting suplex for two and they’re both down. A one legged step up moonsault takes Gallows out and Ricochet tries a Whisper In The Wind…which is countered into the Styles Clash (brilliant) to retain the title at 13:02.

Rating: B. This was Ricochet fighting against the odds and trying everything he can, but that ending was just great with Styles catching him trying to do one too many things. It took some time to build things up but Ricochet’s comebacks and some of the things he was doing on one leg were amazing. I know he couldn’t talk that well but my goodness the things Ricochet could do should have kept him around for a very long time.

Post match Styles and the Good Brothers beat Ricochet down again.

NXT Tag Team Champions the Street Profits (not on the main roster but they were just kind of showing up from time to time) recap the show thus far but get distracted by a dancing Ric Flair.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Bayley vs. Ember Moon

Moon (later known as Athena in AEW) is challenging and dang I had forgotten how awesome her theme song really is. They trade takedowns to start until Moon forearms her in the corner, followed by the springboard crossbody for two. A bow and arrow goes on but Bayley fights up and hits a clothesline of her own. Bayley grabs a suplex and goes to the apron, where Moon gets pulled neck first into the rope.

The running elbow drop in the corner gives Bayley two and she grabs a reverse Boston crab of all things. That’s broken up as well and Moon knocks her outside for a needed breather. Back in and Moon’s super hurricanrana sets up the spinning knees to the face for two more. Bayley’s comeback is cut off with a powerbomb out of the corner so Moon goes up. That takes too long though and it’s a super Bayley To Belly to retain the title at 9:40.

Rating: C+. This was decent while it lasted with the ending being the big highlight. Moon went flying off that Bayley To Belly and looked completely done after crashing down. The rest of the match was nothing of note and felt like it could have been on any given episode of Smackdown. Moon just never clicked on the main roster but wound up going that much better once she moved on, which is the case with a bunch of people from this era.

We recap Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens. McMahon bragged about being the Best In The World and gone completely insane with his bragging about everything he does. Owens doesn’t like McMahon being all obsessed with himself and not listening to the fans. Therefore, it’s time to fight, with Owens’ job being on the line.

Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon

Elias, McMahon’s crony, is guest outside referee. McMahon immediately bails to the floor, where Owens argues with Elias, while the regular referee starts the count. Owens gets back in and McMahon runs again, with Elias tripping Owens down. That’s enough of a distraction for McMahon to send him crashing into the barricade and take over. Back in and McMahon is somehow already red, which is made even worse as he hammers away in the corner.

More pounding looks to set up the Sharpshooter but Owens isn’t laying for that. Instead it’s the pop up sitout powerbomb for…nothing as Elias distracts the other referee. McMahon’s rollup gets two so Elias throws in a chair, with McMahon begging for the shot to the face. A slap to the face still can’t get Owens to crack but McMahon hits an interfering Elias by mistake.

The superkick and Swanton set up a frog splash but Elias pulls the referee. A flip dive off the apron takes out both referees so Owens grabs the referee, only for Elias to pull him outside again. Owens unloads on Elias with the spear but the referee gets back in to stop him from using the chair on McMahon. Instead the referee gets rid of the chair and Owens gets in a low blow. The Stunner finishes McMahon at 9:22.

Rating: C. This one didn’t work so well either, as so much of it was spent on McMahon running away. That works for a few minutes, but then he had to go on offense and that was as horrible as you would expect. Owens coming back to win in the end was the good way to go for the finish, but dang McMahon was rough to watch.

We get a long recap of Roman Reigns being attacked. Someone dropped a bunch of equipment on him and he accused Samoa Joe, only to have Joe be proven innocent. Then he thought it was Buddy Murphy, who said it was Erick Rowan, who swore it wasn’t him (it was). And that’s it.

Charlotte vs. Trish Stratus

Battle of the generations and Stratus gets the big legends reception. They take their time to lock up until Charlotte powers her into the corner a few times. A backbreaker is loaded up but Stratus reverses into a springboard hurricanrana and Charlotte isn’t happy. Stratus sends her outside for the Thesz press and right hands but Charlotte is back with a hard whip into the barricade.

Back in and Charlotte slowly kicks away before sending her flying with a fall away slam. Charlotte mocks Stratus’ pose, allowing Stratus to reverse a belly to back suplex into a crossbody for a fast two. One heck of a big boot knocks Stratus off the apron and outside for a huge crash. Back in and the moonsault misses, allowing Stratus to get in a springboard spinning Downward Spiral. For some reason Charlotte goes up, meaning she has to block a Stratusphere.

That lets Stratus do a big situp and slap away, with the super hurricanrana getting two. Another big boot gives Charlotte two but the Figure Four is blocked. Instead Stratus gets one of her own and even bridges up to the Figure Eight. Charlotte finally makes the rope and tries the spear, which only hits the corner. Stratusfaction gets two and they strike it out until the Chick Kick gives Stratus two more. Back up and Charlotte hits another big boot, setting up the Figure Four/Eight to make Stratus tap at 16:37.

Rating: B+. Yeah this was rather impressive, as Stratus not only turned back the clock but wrestled a mostly modern style match. It’s a great example of someone showing that she was indeed great and could hang with another generation. Stratus was the biggest star of her time but it’s a shame that generation was never treated seriously. This showed what she could do and of course Charlotte can have a great one with anybody. I liked this a lot and got way more into it than I was expecting.

Post match Charlotte leaves and Stratus gets the big legends reception.

Seth Rollins, with his taped up ribs, runs into Bret Hart, who wishes him well. Rollins seems impressed.

We recap Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton for the former’s Smackdown World Title. Kingston is on the biggest Cinderella run in years and Orton takes credit for his success. This dates all the way back to 2009 when Kingston was on the brink of breaking into the main event scene with one heck of a feud with Orton, who then wasn’t happy with how things went and reportedly held him down backstage (actually referenced here). It took ten years and the rise of the New Day to get Kingston here and now he’s defending against Orton.

Smackdown World Title: Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton

Kingston is defending and backs him into the corner, with Orton flipping his way out. Orton wins a slugout and manages to knock Kingston off the top for a crash into the barricade. That lets Orton send him into the announcers’ table, followed by the big drop onto it, as is Orton’s custom. The slow beating continues and they go back inside, with Orton uppercutting him right back to the floor.

Another drop onto the table has Kingston rocked and they head inside again. This time Orton slowly hammers him on the top, where Kingston fights back for the first time in a good while. A top rope tornado DDT gives Kingston two and they’re both down for a bit. Trouble In Paradise is blocked though and Orton plants him down for two more. Back up and Orton mocks the rhythmic clapping, which lets Kingston knock him outside for the big top rope trust fall.

Kingston sends him back inside for the frog splash high crossbody but Orton grabs a quick hanging DDT. That’s not enough for the RKO as Kingston counters into a backslide for two. Another high crossbody is loaded up but Kingston dives into the RKO, leaving Orton rather pleased but not covering. Kingston rolls outside in time and they slug it out for the double countout at 16:28.

Rating: C. Yeah this didn’t work, as it got dull for a long while and then the ending was little more than a commercial for the rematch the next month. It doesn’t help that the point of the match was Orton kept saying he was that much better than Kingston and had him in trouble for most of the match. If Orton covered after the RKO he would have won, which doesn’t exactly help Kingston’s case. Just not a fun match with a dull finish to make it even worse.

Post match the fans are livid and are quiet as Kingston unloads on Orton, even beating him down with a kendo stick. Trouble In Paradise leaves Orton laying.

We recap the Fiend vs. Finn Balor. Bray Wyatt has been doing his Firefly Fun House stuff for months now and has targeted Balor. This has resulted in the Fiend appearing to come after Balor, who says he isn’t afraid. Those do not sound like smart words.

Finn Balor vs. The Fiend

This is the Fiend’s in-ring debut. The lights go out and here he comes, complete with the human head lantern for quite the disturbing start to everything. Fiend does the full entrance and the lights come on, with the fans realizing this is different. Balor slowly gets back inside and is promptly beaten into the corner. Fans: “YOWIE WOWIE!” Fiend hammers away in the corner and then pulls him back out for a big crash.

The release Rock Bottom plants Balor as this is in full squash territory. Fiend seems shaken by some voices in his head but tries Sister Abigail anyway, only for Balor to kick his way out. Balor kicks away and shotgun dropkicks him into the corner, only to miss the Coup de Grace. That’s enough for a Mandible Claw to finish Balor off at 3:29.

Rating: C+. That couldn’t have gone much better, as Fiend came in and completely decimated Balor in short order. Balor got in a few shots of his own and was then promptly beaten down. That’s all this needed to be, as Fiend is clearly the next big bad and would be going after the World Title after the end of the next month’s PPV.

Post match Balor slowly gets up, looking like he’s been run over by a bus.

We recap Seth Rollins challenging Brock Lesnar for the Raw World Title. Rollins beat Lesnar for the title at Wrestlemania but Lesnar used Money In The Bank to get it back. Lesnar has proceeded to beat the fire out of Rollins and badly injured Rollins’ ribs. Rollins has to keep fighting though because this is all that matters to him. I’ve heard worse ideas, but it would have worked that much better if he hadn’t beaten Lesnar five months ago.

Raw World Title: Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar

Lesnar, with Paul Heyman, is challenging and Heyman does the big intro. Rollins gets knocked into the corner for the shoulder to the ribs to start. A German suplex is escaped though and Rollins gets in a Stomp for two a minute in. Heyman panics as Lesnar rolls outside, with Rollins hitting a knee off the apron. Back in and Rollins flips out of another German suplex, setting up a pair of good looking superkicks.

Another Stomp is countered into the F5 though and they’re both down. Lesnar is ticked off and swings him around by the tape on the ribs, followed by the trash talking German suplex. They go outside for another German suplex to put Rollins down again. Rollins escapes the F5 though and posts Lesnar, setting up the springboard knee to the head back inside. Another knee misses though and Rollins is sent flying with the release German suplex.

A frustrated Lesnar takes the gloves off and suplexes Rollins again, followed by the waistlock to stay on the ribs. Lesnar drives him into the corner but the charge only hits the post. Rollins kicks him off the apron and there’s the string of suicide dives. The third is pulled out of the air though and Lesnar drives him hard into the post.

That’s enough for Rollins to put him onto the announcers’ table for the frog splash from the post. Back in and another frog splash hits Lesnar, followed by a Stomp for two as Heyman is panicking more than usual. Another Stomp is countered into a failed F5 attempt, with Rollins escaping for a superkick. The third Stomp gives Rollins the title back at 13:18.

Rating: B. They beat the fire out of each other and did a nice mixture of the big car crash exchange of finishers and a regular Lesnar beating. Rollins knows how to fight against Lesnar and these two do have good chemistry together. At the same time, it only has so much impact when Lesnar was only champion for about a month. This gets us right back where we were in July and that’s not exactly a top level Summerslam main event story.

Rollins celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event title change was good, though I would have considered Charlotte vs. Stratus going on last. If not for Rollins winning, it feels like it would have been a better fit. At the same time, the fans needed something happy after the not great Smackdown World Title match and the Fiend smashing through Balor.

Overall it’s not a bad show at all, but there are some parts that are less than interesting. Get the midcard a bit stronger and this show is that much better, with Charlotte vs. Stratus, Goldberg’s spears and the main event being the highlights. It’s not the most memorable show, but it does have good parts.

Results
Drew Gulak b. Oney Lorcan – Torture rack neckbreaker
Buddy Murphy b. Apollo Crews via DQ when Erick Rowan interfered
Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross b. IIconics – twisted Bliss to Royce
Becky Lynch b. Natalya – Disarm-Her
Goldberg b. Dolph Ziggler – Jackhammer
AJ Styles b. Ricochet – Styles Clash
Bayley b. Ember Moon – Super Bayley To Belly
Kevin Owens b. Shane McMahon – Stunner
Charlotte b. Trish Stratus – Figure Eight
Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton went to a double countout
The Fiend b. Finn Balor – Mandible Claw
Seth Rollins b. Brock Lesnar – Stomp

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Smackdown
Date: July 24, 2026
Location: Oakland Arena, Oakland, California
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Joe Tessitore

We’re done with Saturday Night’s Main Event and the main event of Summerslam is staying the same. CM Punk and Cody Rhodes defeated Gunther and Sami Zayn to avoid the title match becoming a four way, albeit with some help from Nick Aldis. That won’t sit well with Gunther so let’s get to it.

Here is Saturday Night’s Main Event if you need a recap.

We look at HHH making Gunther vs. Nick Aldis official for Summerslam.

Adam Pearce and Aldis are in the ring for the contract signing with Gunther, who joins them. Pearce gets to the point: Aldis has to vacate his role as GM to face Gunther and WWE is not responsible for what happens in the match. That’s fine with Aldis, who signs without a second thought, saying he’s willing to accept those terms. Gunther says that the match will be the greatest moment of Aldis’ career and this is beneath him.

The reality is that Aldis is jealous of him. Gunther knows that Aldis is a former NWA World Champion but he never really made it. But Gunther walked in and became a huge star, with a watch worth about half of Aldis’ salary. Gunther signs, saying that he’ll put Aldis’ name on a list of legends dumb enough to face him. As Gunther goes to leave, Aldis says that Gunther is trying to buy into this himself. Aldis knows that Gunther is scared because he can’t get out of this situation.

The reality is that Aldis hasn’t had a match in three years and has nothing to lose. When he beats Gunther, all that makes Gunther is the guy whose boss made him a little b****. The brawl is on and Gunther kicks him low, with the powerbomb putting Aldis through the table. The match should be pretty much a lock for Gunther, but it does help that Aldis is an accomplished wrestler so it’s not going to be some big mess.

Post break Sami Zayn interrupts an update on Aldis and says he won the title at Night Of Champions. It became clear that the higher ups didn’t want to be champion and he wound up facing Punk on a show they weren’t supposed to be on. Aldis and Gunther have a match at Summerslam but the guy who was champion EIGHTEEN DAYS AGO isn’t on the card? Adam Pearce comes in and Zayn wants it made right. Make the title match a triple threat

Pearce shuts that down and yells at him, but says that there is a four way match tonight. The winner of that can face Zayn at Summerslam in a #1 contenders match. Zayn hates having to earn it but takes it as Pearce says that’s all he’s getting. WWE doesn’t often do #1 contender matches on PPV so that’s a change of pace.

Brie Bella vs. Lainey Reid

Their associates are her too. Before the match, Reid says Saturday was a big night for them but Bella and Paige are the ones who will remember it forever. Jacy Jayne wants gold around her waist too so she wants the Women’s US Title. Reid jumps Bella to start and they go to the floor, with Bella sending her into the announcers’ table. Back in and the bell rings, with Bella being sent face first into the buckle. A cutter drops her again and we take an early break.

We come back with Bella hitting her running knee in the ropes, followed by a bulldog out of the corner. Bella tries a sunset flip out of the corner but Reid grabs the rope. That doesn’t work and said sunset flip gives Bella the pin at 5:48. Not enough shown to rate but they kept to the point here.

Post match Fatal Influence runs in to beat down Bella and Paige but Nikki Bella runs in for the save. The six woman tag is set for Summerslam.

Finn Balor, in the four way tonight, can’t help but think about his first Summerslam in 2016, when he won the title but got hurt. He has spent ten years trying to get back to that moment and now he is so close. Gunther comes in to say he’s next in line and says ten years is a long time.

Video on the six man tag at Summerslam, with LA Knight/Solo Sikoa/Royce Keys vs. the Bloodline.

Keys is warming up when Sikoa comes in to say Keys might be working twice at Summerslam. That’s fine with Keys, who is from this area and ready to fight in front of his friends and family. Knight comes in to say Keys can handle his business tonight as long as he stays ready for Summerslam. Sikoa continues to talk about the team, sounding more and more like an Uso every day.

Chelsea Green and Tiffany Stratton both want to win, with Green wanting the Interim Women’s Title. With Green gone, Bake Monroe comes in to say she likes Stratton, but wants her to shine that title up for her.

Interim Women’s Title Qualifying Match: Chelsea Green vs. Kiana James

James powers her into the corner to start but gets dropkicked out to the floor. They fight on the floor with James firing off some knees to the ribs and it’s time to go back inside. Green gets in a faceplant but James superkicks her into a Falcon Arrow for two. The Codebreaker connects for James, only for Green to come back with the Unprettier for the pin at 3:27.

Rating: C. They didn’t have much time here but Green going on to the ladder match is a great way to go, as she has done some very good things in previous ladder matches. The fans are behind her right now and that should be the case again at Summerslam. James is pretty firmly locked into this spot as the designated jobber of the division, which isn’t overly surprising.

R-Truth is confused about what Damian Priest is doing (hot dogs and four ways are involved) but Cody Rhodes comes up. Rhodes and Priest say they’ll be winning at Summerslam and Priest promises to win the title. That’s an attitude Rhodes can appreciate and he leaves in peace, which seems to surprise Priest.

We look at the Saturday Night’s Main Event tag match, where Cody Rhodes accidentally hit CM Punk, and the ensuing issues between the two of them.

Here is Rhodes for a chat and he’s in a hurry tonight, as he hits the catchphrase and brings in Punk to join him. Rhodes drops the mic as he hands it to Punk, which Rhodes calls an accident. Punk takes his jacket off though and they go face to face but goes to get his own mic. Punk says it’s a shame that it’s come to this because he doesn’t know if he can trust his friend. Rhodes says he’s going to explain why he needs to win and it isn’t about the title.

That’s what Punk doesn’t get, because the title is more than a good enough reason. Rhodes talks about how they respect each other but he doesn’t like Punk. Back in 2011, Punk cut the Pipe Bomb and Rhodes followed what he said to the letter. What Rhodes also knows is that while he was going around the world doing everything Punk talked about, everyone wanted it to be Punk instead of him.

Rhodes is tired of apologizing though because he’s become the star of WWE. He was on the Tonight Show and he’s going to be on ESPN. Everyone has come for him but the only one he worries about is Punk. For the story to have the proper ending, he has to beat Punk. With Rhodes done, Punk talks about how he casts a big shadow around here and it’s up to the people to decide what he’s done.

Back in 2022, Punk was learning from Rhodes as he showed Punk that there was a way back here. Now though, Punk knows that Rhodes is lying because he has to make himself the victim. If everyone is Rhodes’ enemy, Punk is his only friend but at Summerslam, he’s breaking Rhodes’ heart. Rhodes unbuttons his collar and talks about how they’re going to be teaming on the upcoming live events and he’ll give Punk the traditional main event gift.

Punk says he’s got a gift for Rhodes at Summerslam in the form of a loss. He’s CM Punk and no one can touch him in the ring or on the mic, including Dusty’s kid. Punk goes to leave but Rhodes stops him, saying we’ll play Kingdom so Punk can get a preview of what he’ll hear at the end of their match. Good exchange here and it was easy to follow, though Rhodes’ last ling was pretty weak.

Charlotte doesn’t regret costing Nia Jax a match last week. What she does regret is Alexa Bliss being injured and promises payback on Jade Cargill.

We look back at Fanatics Fest.

Charlotte vs. Nia Jax

Jax powers her into the corner to start so Charlotte kicks her in the face. Charlotte’s Flair Flip in the corner doesn’t do much good as Jax grabs a sitout powerbomb and we take a break. We come back with Jax knocking her down and hitting a middle rope legdrop for two. The Annihilator is countered into a better powerbomb for two more but here are Jade Cargill and the Baddies. Charlotte fights them off and escapes Jax’s Samoan drop, only to get hit in the face by Cargill for the DQ at 8:14.

Rating: B-. This was about all it needed to be as Cargill has a reason to go after Charlotte after last week. The good thing here is that Charlotte has evolved a good bit, as back in the day it wouldn’t have been insane to expect Charlotte to win here despite being down 4-1. It’s nice to see that isn’t the case anymore, as Charlotte has evolved a good bit and it has been a notable improvement.

Post match Cargill and the Baddies beat Charlotte down but Jax freaks out, as she’s lost another match due to a feud she isn’t involved in two weeks in a row.

Summerslam rundown.

Damian Priest vs. Trick Williams vs. Royce Keys vs. Finn Balor

Non-title and for a shot against Sami Zayn at Summerslam in the #1 contenders match. Keys takes over to start fast and we take a break about thirty seconds in. We come back with Balor escaping Keys’ powerslam and Priest faceplanting Williams. Back up and Williams sends Balor and Keys into the corner for a double stomping but has to deal with Priest. With everyone else on the floor, Balor is up with a big running flip dive but here is Solo Sikoa as we take another break.

We come back again with the Usos coming out to brawl with Sikoa so here is LA Knight to even things up a bit. Priest dives onto all four of them and Balor misses a Coup de Grace on Williams. That means a Trick Kick for two as Knight, Sikoa and the Usos brawl to the back. Priest gives Williams the South Of Heaven for two so Keys grabs the USB, only to be pulled out by Jacob Fatu. Keys is quickly wrecked and Balor Coup de Graces Priest for the pin at 12:03.

Rating: B. There was A LOT going on here but the good thing is that it all tied together and made sense. They had all of those other people involved and it fit with Keys being involved in both stories at once. Balor is the logical choice to move forward and I’m not completely sure who wins when he faces Zayn. Good main event here after a show without much wrestling.

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling wasn’t the focus here, as they pushed the stories towards Summerslam quite a bit. The six man got a nice bump and Balor vs. Zayn is interesting. Other than that you had the good talking segments and the Jax story has me oddly intrigued. They’re doing a nice job with Summerslam, though unfortunately it isn’t leading to the best in ticket sales. Either way, good PPV build show here.

Results
Brie Bella b. Lainey Reid – Sunset flip
Chelsea Green b. Kiana James – Unprettier
Charlotte b. Nia Jax via DQ when Jade Cargill interfered
Finn Balor b. Damian Priest, Trick Williams and Royce Keys – Coup de Grace to Priest

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Summerslam 2018
Date: August 19, 2018
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Attendance: 16,169
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips, Jonathan Coachman

This time for sure, Summerslam edition! Yes believe it or not the main event is once again Roman Reigns challenging Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title because that hasn’t gotten old this year. Other than that….as usual I can barely remember anything on these shows as they run together so much. Let’s get to it.

Oh and due to the recent WWE Network update, I get to watch the Kickoff Show on YouTube. Well done with that one people.

Kickoff Show: Andrade Cien Almas/Zelina Vega vs. Lana/Rusev

Rusev is on fire at this point and it’s a battle of the wrestling pairs. Andrade gets Rusev to chase him and it’s right into the double Tranquilo pose. Rusev and Lana shout at them but Andrade gets in a cheap shot to break up the chase. That’s fine with Rusev, who stomps him down in the corner until Zelina offers a distraction. Andrade posts him like a good rudo, setting up the armbreaker over the ropes. An armbar takes us to a break and we come back with Vega pulling Lana off the apron to prevent the tag.

The reverse tornado DDT gives Andrade two and the armbar goes on again. Another reverse tornado DDT is countered with a forearm (keeping it simple can work) though and it’s the hot tag to Lana. A bulldog lets Lana dance up and the neckbreaker gets two. Vega sends her face first into the buckle but Lana breaks up the running knees with a kick to the head. Andrade makes sure the Accolade doesn’t go on with a well timed distraction though and Vega grabs a rollup with her feet…..as close to the ropes as she can get them for the pin at 7:02. That was pretty adorable with Vega trying to get there and not reaching.

Rating: D+. What happened with Rusev and Lana? I know I ask that a lot but egads man. They’re married in real life, Rusev has more charisma than he knows what to do with and Lana is the walking definition of a blonde bombshell who can talk. A year later they’ve basically disappeared and I would love to know why. At least Andrade is getting a push, and with as much talent as he has, there is no reason for him not to. The fans are properly fired up now so well done on the job, even if the match wasn’t great.

Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Title: Drew Gulak vs. Cedric Alexander

Cedric is defending in the first of NINE title matches because WWE has too many times and doesn’t get why that is such a problem. Gulak’s friends Brian Kendrick and Jack Gallagher are barred from ringside. Feeling out process to start with Cedric taking him into the corner but having his headscissors blocked. The Gulock is broken up in a hurry and Cedric hits a dropkick to take things outside.

Gulak gets in a big boot on the way back inside and Cedric has banged up his neck. The neck crank goes on and we take a break. Back with Gulak’s continued logical offense, including some clotheslines and a chinlock. Gulak throws him over his back and pulls on the neck some more (close to a Gory Special) but since that can’t last long, Cedric is right back with a springboard Downward Spiral. With the wrestling not working, it’s time to hammer away at the head before sending him outside.

The big running flip dive hits Gulak again but he’s fine enough to break up a springboard. The Gulak over the ropes is half and half on the logical offense theme but the regular version can’t go on. A hard elbow to the head rocks Gulak, who comes right back with the biggest right hand I’ve ever seen him throw. The Neuralizer is countered into the ankle lock but Cedric rolls into a cradle for two. Cedric’s Spanish Fly is countered into a rollup for two, which is reversed into a stacked up rollup to give Cedric the pin at 10:43.

Rating: B-. This was the well done match that I was expecting, with Gulak going after the obvious target but not being able to finish off the more well rounded Alexander. Cedric was kind of a dull character but he is more than good enough to have a fast paced match like this. Gulak winning the title here would have been a good moment, but Cedric was hardly a bad choice for champion.

Kickoff Show: Raw Tag Team Titles: B-Team vs. Revival

The B-Team is defending because WWE would rather laugh than go with a team they have invested so much in already. At least we get the B-TEAM B-TEAM GO GO GO entrance. Dallas headlocks Dawson down over but everything breaks down in a hurry with a shot to Dallas’ leg. The Shatter Machine hits the illegal Axel and a missile dropkick/spinebuster (Hart Attack variation) gets three straight twos on Dallas. More leg cranking takes us to a break and we come back with more leg cranking.

Dawson puts on a spinning toehold but gets kicked shoulder first into the post. Since Axel is still down (well done on making the Shatter Machine look awesome) though, it’s a backbreaker/middle rope knee for two more. Dallas grabs a hanging swinging neckbreaker on Wilder and now it’s back to Axel off the hot tag. Everything breaks down with the PerfectPlex being countered into a small package. Dallas shoves Wilder into the pile though and Axel winds up on top to retain at 6:12.

Rating: D+. This was the “let’s add a Raw match to the Kickoff Show because it’s for a title and people will care” theme and, as usual, it didn’t work very well. We’re three matches in and now the four hour Summerslam gets to start. It’s just one more thing added to the card that was completely forgettable and took a little bit more out of the fans. How does this make the night better?

Terry Crews is outside the Barclays Center and talks about the measure of success. You can feel the heartbeat in your chest to drive you and then you grind to find the moments that define success for you. Tonight, this is where dreams come true because all the world’s a stage. So what defines success and greatness and how bad do you want it? Go ahead and take a bow because we’ll let you take a bow because you’re about to bear witness to another great Summerslam. The things he was saying only kind of made sense, but sweet goodness that man can get you fired up for a show.

The CGI Empire State Building is over the ring again. You can’t see it live in the arena of course and that will mess you up when you see it on a monitor and not before your eyes.

Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler

Rollins is challenging with the freshly returned Dean Ambrose in his corner (because having him show up on Raw was far smarter than having him show up at Summerslam) to counter Drew McIntyre (because DOLPH ZIGGLER was the bigger prospect in 2018…..and kind of was in 2019 as well). As a bonus, Rollins is in Thanos inspired gear while Ziggler has a picture of the title over the front of his tights.

They go with the grappling to start with Rollins being backed up to the ropes, meaning it’s time for Ambrose to stare at McIntyre. The early superkick misses Rollins and Ziggler bails to the floor. That means a double staredown until Rollins throws him back in for some chops. Ziggler kicks at the leg to take over and we get a Flair Flip of all things. The chinlock goes on with Ziggler kicking the knee to keep Rollins down in a smart move.

Rollins’ comeback doesn’t last long as Ziggler backdrops him to the floor. Back in and Ziggler’s high crossbody is pulled out of the air but they crash to the floor again off of a suplex attempt (that’s always a scary looking spot). Back in again and Rollins gets two off a middle rope Blockbuster but Ziggler crotches him on top. Another superplex attempt is broken up and Rollins sends him outside for a suicide dive.

Rollins’ windup knee gets two but the buckle bomb is countered into a quickly broken sleeper. They fight to the apron with Ziggler kicking him into the post and nailing the DDT onto the apron for what should be a huge knockout. Since it’s this kind of a match though, it’s only good for two. Rollins hits him in the face again and gets his own two off the great looking frog splash.

Ziggler goes up top but Ziggler catches him with a reverse superplex into a reverse Falcon Arrow for a nice twist on the usual sequence. The fans give it a standing ovation so they seem to have some good taste. Hold on though as McIntyre sends Ambrose into the steps with the distraction letting Ziggler hit the Zig Zag for two. I blame the kickout on Cole declaring it over, which is the magical cure for a finisher. Rollins is busted open as he reverses a rollup into the buckle bomb. Dean gets back up and takes care of an interfering McIntyre, leaving Rollins to him the Stomp to get the title back at 22:02.

Rating: B. You don’t expect the opener to get this kind of time. The match was entertaining though it wasn’t quite the instant classic they were going for. It felt like the match was more of a collection of spots than a match that built on itself to get somewhere. That’s a great way to get an entertaining match and for what they were going for, I can certainly live with something like this. Maybe not the highest quality but very entertaining, which more or less defines Rollins.

Rollins and Ambrose celebrate a lot.

The Bellas are here to support their bestest friend ever Ronda Rousey, and to plug all their stuff of course. They might even get back in the ring at Evolution.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Bludgeon Brothers

Big E. and Xavier Woods are challenging and it’s almost weird to see Kofi around a Tag Team Title match these days. Rowan wastes no time by spin kicking Woods in the face to start. Harper hits a big boot of his own and it’s off to the Gator Roll into the chinlock. A running splash from Rowan sets up the head vice as it’s total dominance to start. Big E. gets knocked off the apron and Woods is sent outside to join him, but Rowan can’t powerbomb Woods onto the steps.

A hurricanrana sends Harper into the steps and the hot tag brings in Big E. Belly to belly suplexes on the floor abound (with Harper landing on his head and thankfully not breaking something), followed by the Warrior Splash to Harper inside. Harper is right back with a Michinoku Driver but Big E. sends Rowan into the post. Woods hits a dive onto Rowan and Big E. spears Harper through the ropes.

Rowan is back up with his own dive off the apron to Big E. and things finally settle down a notch. Woods can’t complete a springboard tornado DDT as Harper reverses into a powerbomb for two, meaning it’s time for Kofi to play cheerleader. Apparently not a fan of cheerleading, Rowan plants Kofi but walks into the Big Ending.

Big E. Rock Bottoms Harper off the apron into what was supposed to be a backstabber from Woods, though it was more like Harper just landed on Woods’ legs. Eh can’t hit them all. Woods makes up for it by dropping the big elbow off the top to the floor and Harper is actually in trouble. UpUpDownDown is loaded up but Rowan hits Woods with the hammer for the DQ at 9:27.

Rating: B-. They didn’t play around here and went with the all action match, which was the right call here. Let them do whatever they wanted and have an entertaining match as a result. New Day was throwing everything they could against the unstoppable monsters and came close to getting a win. That’s the kind of hope spot you need over a team like the Brothers as you have to have a reason to believe something could happen in the future. That being said, it didn’t mean anything in the end as Rowan tore his bicep and New Day would win the titles in two days.

Post match the Brothers destroy New Day with the hammer.

Jon Stewart is here.

We recap Kevin Owens vs. Braun Strowman. Owens said he was on a role and tried to get Strowman’s help to win Money in the Bank. Strowman didn’t like it when Owens inevitably turned on him and threw him through a bunch of tables before winning the briefcase. The Strowman destroyed Owens’ car and put him in a portable toilet, which he knocked off the stage. Owens “beat” Strowman in a cage match when Strowman threw him off a cage so now it’s a rematch for the Money in the Bank briefcase.

Money In The Bank Briefcase: Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens

Strowman is defending and can lose the briefcase by losing in any way. An early pair of running splashes in the corner sends Owens outside and Strowman runs him over again. Owens’ superkick just makes Strowman angrier and it’s a chokeslam onto the ramp. The running powerslam finishes Owens at 1:55. Well that worked and makes Strowman look like the monster, but HAHA if you actually thought they would put the title on him.

Clip of a Be A Star rally.

We recap the Smackdown Women’s Title match. Carmella cashed in Money in the Bank at the Smackdown after Wrestlemania and has been put over one name after another, though she is still seen as in over her head. Becky Lynch has been trying to get back to the top and is getting the shot here. Then Charlotte saved Becky from a beatdown and got a match where she could be added to the match if she won. Since it’s Charlotte, OF COURSE she was added in, which Becky saw as someone else trying to steal her chance. Charlotte did get in a good line with Carmella “is a Diva living in a woman’s world.”

Smackdown Women’s Title: Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte vs. Carmella

Carmella is defending and we get the Big Match Intros, with the hometown champ not being well received. As I continue to not understand why the title belt is shown inside what looks like the Elimination Chamber during the graphic, the bell rings and Carmella starts running her mouth. Charlotte gets sent outside so Becky can hit a running legdrop but the second misses.

Carmella isn’t happy with Charlotte breaking up the cover but it’s time to get crafty. She slaps Becky in the head and blames Charlotte, who says she’s innocent as they knock Carmella to the floor. Becky and Charlotte trade rollups and it’s a standoff for some applause. An armbar puts Charlotte down for all of two seconds but Carmella is back in because she can’t just go away.

Becky gets sent into the steps so Carmella can shout and dance a lot. Charlotte is whipped down as well and Carmella takes Becky inside for, you know it, more shouting. She does even things out a bit with a chinlock until Charlotte comes back in, only to be taken down by the hair. Now it’s Charlotte getting chinlocked as we see the wide range of Carmella’s offense. Becky makes her own save, gets dropkicked down, and Carmella shouts about being champion again. How can she be repeating stuff that many times less than six minutes into a match?

Carmella mocks Becky’s pose and ducks a shot from Charlotte, which hits Becky instead. Some fall away slams drop Carmella and Charlotte nips up but Becky knees her in the face. A double missile dropkick puts Carmella and Charlotte down again with Charlotte being sent outside. Becky gets caught on top for a hurricanrana to give Carmella two, leaving herself open to Charlotte’s spear.

Since we can’t go that long with Carmella being on defense, she knocks Charlotte into the corner and shouts that no one cares about her anymore. Another hurricanrana out of the corner is countered into a Boston crab (with Charlotte driving her down from the corner almost like a Styles Clash) before switching to the Figure Four. That’s broken up with Becky’s top rope legdrop and they’re all down.

Becky gets up first and hammers on Carmella, who of course knocks her outside because SHE IS THE CHAMP. A rather hard suicide dive hits Becky but it’s Charlotte coming off the top with the moonsault, which goes right between them and barely makes contact, as usual. Back in and Carmella breaks up the Disarm-Her so Becky gets two off a Rock Bottom, with Carmella making ANOTHER save.

Carmella gets two off a superkick with Charlotte making the very last second save. Charlotte gets sent outside so it’s another superkick to Becky, who shrugs it off without much trouble. The Disarm-Her goes on but Charlotte dives in with Natural Selection for the pin on Becky at 14:42.

Rating: C+. The action was good but the important thing here is that Carmella can go off to do ANYTHING but be in the title picture. Her reign showed the entire problem with using Money in the Bank as a quick rise to the top: Carmella was never viewed as a serious wrestler but she won a ladder match and stole the title so now she can hang with Charlotte and Becky? It never worked and this match exposed how limited she was in the ring, with all the shouting and superkicks getting old in a hurry. She is perfectly fine as the cheerleader type character and it fits her SO much better, as time has proven.

The match itself was pretty good with a lot of saves and back and forth action, but I kept wanting Carmella to fall in a hole somewhere so the other two could have a better match. The fans wanted to see Becky and having Charlotte get the title back wasn’t the most thrilling result. Becky’s frustrations are proven right again and things could get interesting as a result.

Post match Becky hugs Charlotte but completely snaps, beating the fire out of her and throwing Charlotte over the announcers’ table to one of the biggest face reactions in forever. WWE actually tried to treat this as a heel turn for a bit before realizing that it just wasn’t working and strapped a rocket to Becky’s back, leading all the way to the main event of Wrestlemania and the biggest push in women’s history.

We recap AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe. AJ has been champion for about nine months and has beaten a bunch of challengers so he issued an open challenge for Summerslam. Joe choked AJ out and signed the contract before starting his real attack. He called out AJ for neglecting his family but promised to send AJ home by ending the title reign. Then he read a letter from AJ’s wife, saying that everything Joe said was true and how much she wanted Joe to win.

Smackdown World Title: AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe

Joe is challenging and the fans certainly seem to like him, though AJ isn’t exactly being booed. AJ’s wife and daughter are in the crowd so Joe breaks up the Big Match Intros and says hi to both of them, promising to send daddy home tonight. An early Koquina Clutch attempt doesn’t work and it’s a TNA chant for a little flashback. Joe gets in a cheap shot in the corner and then bails to the ropes as the mind games continue.

AJ takes him down with a headlock as they’re starting slowly (which is ok). Back up and a big shoulder sends AJ into the ropes as Graves explains the psychology in a rare bit of usefulness. They trade kicks to the leg so things can start picking up a bit. In what shouldn’t be a surprise, Joe wins the battle of the strikes at first but AJ keeps going with chops against the ropes.

The drop down into the dropkick has Joe in trouble and AJ knocks him outside. Since AJ isn’t that bright, he gets his leg kicked out to send him face first into the apron. Joe hits the big suicide elbow to send AJ into the announcers’ table, with Graves saying it’s like a flying school bus. Can someone explain to Graves that the Magic School Bus is fiction? Back in and a clothesline gives Joe two and the chinlock goes on.

That goes nowhere so AJ fights up and sends Joe outside for the slingshot forearm. Back in and the middle rope moonsault into the reverse DDT gets two but Joe is right back up with a middle rope leg lariat. A big boot into the backsplash is good for two more as Joe keeps using the power advantage. AJ’s fireman’s carry gutbuster hurts his own knee so Joe is right back with the snap powerslam (great one too).

AJ is right back up and manages the Styles Clash for two and the fans bought the near fall. The Rock Bottom out of the corner gives Joe a breather but AJ is right back with the Calf Crusher (remember the leg kicks earlier). You don’t put holds on Joe though and he slams AJ’s head into the mat for the break, quickly followed by the Koquina Clutch. A foot on the rope breaks things up so Joe takes it outside….and talks to AJ’s wife, saying AJ won’t be coming home but he’ll be her new daddy. You know it’s on now as AJ tackles Joe over the barricade and hits him with a chair for the DQ at 22:45.

Rating: B. This is one where the DQ finish makes sense to keep the story going, though I’m not sure why Joe, who has been very calculating this whole time, would do something like that when he was in control. It came off more like he was admitting he couldn’t beat AJ tonight and that’s not Joe’s style. What we did get was a solid back and forth match with AJ fighting his heart out and Joe using the power and size advantage to dominate the emotional champ. I’m certainly down for a rematch and that’s where this is obviously going.

Post match AJ beats the fire out of Joe with the chair, drawing a WHO’S YOUR DADDY chant. With Joe gone, AJ checks on his wife and daughter, the latter of whom says he’s bleeding. AJ: “I’m sorry.”

Here’s Elias for a song. Believe it or not, he was a child once but then he grew up and wrote a great album. That album included a song called Elias’ Words and knowing that the entire world loves you is an incredible feeling. Tonight we’re getting a new song and it might be his greatest yet. This song is dedicated to all of the New Yorkers out there tonight, because all of the dirt in their ears and mind and the harsh reality of living in this city is all about to be washed away. And then his guitar breaks. Well so much for that.

Miz runs into the B-Team backstage (why they’re still in their gear two hours after their match isn’t clear) but he doesn’t need their luck. Tonight he’s proving that he’s better than Daniel Bryan, but if they want to fetch the limo for the post match celebration, he’s good with that. They’re leaving actually because they have their own celebrating to do. They’re not the Miztourage anymore because they’re the B-Team. The B stands for Daniel Bryan and offer him a spot on their new reality show: “Total Fellas, but with a B, so Total Bellas!” Miz looks confused.

We recap the Miz vs. Daniel Bryan, which is eight years in the making. Miz was Bryan’s NXT Pro back in the day despite Bryan being much more experienced. Bryan broke away from Miz and turned into a star but never could shake the Miz, who thought Bryan was a huge fluke. Then Bryan got hurt and had to leave for years, with Miz taunting him after he walked away and retired. Miz called him out for being a coward and started using Bryan’s offense for years.

This included Miz’s incredible Talking Smack promo where Bryan called Miz a coward, sending Miz into an all time rant about how Bryan was the coward for not getting back in the ring while Miz was here every day. Then one day Bryan was medically cleared and everyone saw this match coming. Now it’s on the big stage as everyone is ready to see Bryan kick Miz’s head off. The theme is passion vs. fame and completely different ideologies about wrestling. It’s a natural rivalry and this match has more than earned a spot on this kind of a major show.

Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz

Miz’s wife and daughter are in the front row (who knew AJ was so influential). Bryan has talked for months about wanting to punch Miz in the face so he immediately balls up his fist, sending Miz into the ropes. Miz gets in the first few shots and fires off the kicks in the corner but the running dropkick is caught by the throat. Bryan gets to punch him in the face to a BIG reaction and now it’s Miz getting kicked in the corner for his efforts.

Another kick to the chest gets two but Miz takes him down for a surfboard. It turns out that Bryan knows how to escape that pretty easily and puts Miz in it to even things up. More YES Kicks (Graves: “Paying homage to the Miz.” Tom: “I swear to God.”) connect but Miz is right back with a hard clothesline to drop Bryan again. A cravate lets Miz hit some knees to the head and Bryan is back down.

The Reality Check gets two but Miz takes too long loading up the kicks, allowing Bryan to hit the moonsault out of the corner into the running clothesline. A hurricanrana out of the corner gets two and Miz is sent outside, meaning it’s the running dropkick through the ropes. The big dive to the floor drops Miz again and Bryan gets smart by tying him in the Tree of Woe for the kicks to the chest. The belly to back superplex gets two as it keeps getting worse for Miz.

Bryan misses the big YES Kick though and Miz hits a DDT for a breather. Miz’s YES Kicks just wake Bryan up so he catches a kick and hits Miz in the face (as promised). It’s too early for the running knee as Miz counters into a failed Figure Four attempt. The Skull Crushing Finale doesn’t fail though and gives Miz his next close two. With his chest looking very banged up, Miz’s running knee is countered with another kick to the head for two and they’re both dazed.

As tends to be the case at this point in a match, they had to the apron, where Bryan’s kick hits the post to give Miz a big target. He’s smart enough to go straight to the Figure Four but Bryan eventually turns it over to reverse the pressure. Miz isn’t smart enough to just unhook his leg so it’s a long crawl to the rope for the break. Bryan is right back on him by tying up Miz’s arm for the elbows to the face and then the YES Lock.

With Miz getting close to the rope, Bryan punches him in the back of the head for some good measure. Miz gets a boot on the rope and rolls to the floor, where Bryan hits the running knee from the apron. As luck would have it though, he winds up next to Maryse, who slips him something made of metal. Bryan tries a suicide dive but gets knocked cold with a shot to the head, allowing Miz to get the pin at 23:45.

Rating: B. It wasn’t the big, epic match they were shooting for but what we got was something that got pretty close to living up to the hype. The problem is it’s nearly impossible to live up to a reality that fans had in their heads after so long, but they did very well anyway. Miz being cocky the whole time but not being able to survive against the more naturally talented Bryan made perfect sense. The cheating leaves them wide open for a rematch and since Miz’s wife got involved, Bryan’s should as well, right?

Super ShowDown is coming, including HHH vs. Undertaker for the last time ever.

Video on Undertaker vs. HHH, which is quite the story.

Baron Corbin vs. Finn Balor

Corbin has been a jerk to Balor so it’s Demon time, thankfully in a complete surprise so we didn’t have to hear THE DEMON IS FINN BALOR’S ALTER EGO for a month. The entrance shakes Corbin, possible because he’s realized that he’s Baron Corbin. Balor dropkicks him to the floor at the bell and hits the Sling Blade. The running flip dive hits Corbin and Balor sends him into the barricade. As Coach tries to figure out why Balor doesn’t use the Demon more often, it’s a top rope double stomp to Corbin’s back and the Coup de Grace finishes at 1:22. Exactly what it should have been, assuming you absolutely have to have Corbin employed.

Brie Bella checks on Bryan and they’re not happy with Miz and Maryse. Bryan says his comeback has been a bust but Brie calms him down.

United States Title: Jeff Hardy vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Nakamura is defending and this is your “it just sounds cool” match of the show, as well as a rematch after Nakamura won the title in six seconds after a low blow last month. Jeff has been dealing with Randy Orton as of late as well so you can probably pencil in the interference. There’s no major contact for the first minute or so, meaning we need a COME ON from Nakamura. Hardy charges into a knee but stops to dance like Nakamura, which doesn’t sit well with the champ. Neither does Hardy doing COME ON as things actually get going.

Nakamura knees him in the face and grabs an arm trap chinlock, which is broken with a rather quick jawbreaker. Some more kicks have Hardy right back in trouble and we hit another chinlock. Jeff fights up again and hits something close to a Sling Blade to put them both down again. Another kick drops Hardy again though as he can’t seem to figure out that he needs to avoid the feet. He finally gets the idea as a running knee hits the buckle, allowing Hardy to nail the Whisper in the Wind for two.

Since that isn’t the most high impact move, Nakamura is right back with the hard knees but the low blow misses. Jeff dropkicks him down to set up the Swanton for a delayed two. With Nakamura rolling to the apron, Hardy tries another Swanton but crashes back first onto the apron for his efforts. Kinshasa retains the title at 10:57.

Rating: D+. The chinlocks hurt this one a lot and you could feel the energy going out of the crowd. This was around the time that Nakamura was putting it in coast mode and there wasn’t much that could draw him out. His charisma is more than enough to carry him, but it would be nice to see some effort into his matches. Jeff continues to drift around, which is pretty much all he does as a singles guy these days.

Post match Orton comes out but instead of going after Jeff, he just hits himself in the head and leaves without doing anything else. He can be an odd guy.

We recap Ronda Rousey vs. Alexa Bliss. Rousey had the Raw Women’s Title won at Money in the Bank but Bliss cashed in her briefcase to steal the title from Nia Jax. Bliss has been WAY too confident coming into this so Rousey has been suspended several times, yet still getting her title match here. Tonight Rousey is going to destroy Bliss and get the title for the first time.

Raw Women’s Title: Ronda Rousey vs. Alexa Bliss

Ronda is challenging and has Natalya, whose dad Jim Neidhart died a few weeks back (meaning she has her dad’s Summerslam 1990 jacket on for a great touch). Oh and the Bellas are here too because they’re stars. Bliss hides in the ropes a few times to start as she is trying to delay the inevitable for as long as she can. A cheap shot is blocked by a single right hand to send Bliss outside.

Back in and Bliss bails a second time so Rousey turns her back and sits down to let Bliss get in safely. Bliss comes in and tries a chinlock, not realizing that it leaves her arm exposed. Rousey picks her up for the yet to be named Piper’s Pit and Bliss is on the floor again. The chase lets Bliss get in a few shots….and there’s the stare. Rousey unloads in the corner and hits the judo throws (while talking trash), setting up the armbar (with Bliss popping the arm out of joint as only she can) for the easy tap and the title at 4:38.

Rating: C+. This is one where the presentation was all that mattered. Rousey was never in any danger and the match was a complete squash, which was the right call. There was no reason to pretend that Bliss could be a threat to her and they didn’t waste their time on anything stupid. Rousey is the biggest star in the division and one of the biggest in the company, so making her champion was the obvious move, especially since she’s here full time.

Post match Rousey hugs Natalya and the Bellas. Guess which two are booed. Her husband gets a big kiss as well. Rousey’s husband that is, in case it’s not clear.

We recap the Raw World Title match. Roman Reigns has been chasing the title and the win against Brock Lesnar for the better part of forever, having lost at Wrestlemania XXXI, Wrestlemania XXXIV and Greatest Royal Rumble. Now we’re doing it again because these two are joined at the hip in an eternal chase. This time around they’re presenting it as Reigns is here and Lesnar isn’t, even though the fans don’t seem to think much of Reigns so his attendance doesn’t make much difference. They teased Heyman jumping to Reigns but it was dropped in all of ten seconds so Lesnar could beat Reigns up again.

Raw World Title: Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar

Reigns’ CGI entrance is a big dog head over the Shield logo, which is rather terrifying when you don’t know it’s coming. Lesnar is defending and Paul Heyman handles his Big Match Intro. Hold on though as Strowman comes out to say he’s going to be cashing in on whomever wins. Reigns hits three Superman Punches and two spears in the first thirty seconds but the third is countered into a guillotine choke.

That’s broken up with a spinebuster and we’re just over a minute in. Brock grabs it again so Reigns uses the same counter. For once it makes sense to have them laying down this early as they’ve beaten each other up quite a bit so far. Brock takes the gloves off and counters another Superman Punch into the rolling German suplexes. The fans say the two of them suck and Reigns escapes the F5.

A missed charge sends Reigns through the ropes and into Strowman, who Lesnar plants with an F5 on the floor. Reigns is thrown back in and Strowman grabs Lesnar’s leg. That earns him a beating with the briefcase, which Lesnar throws up to the stage (egads that’s not normal). Lesnar unloads with a chair, walks back inside and gets speared to give Reigns the title at 6:09.

Rating: D. NOW NEVER FIGHT AGAIN! This feud went on forever and their matches were the same finisher fests over and over again. Strowman could have been anything from the Monster to a stray puppy as he only served as a distraction to cost Lesnar the title. Reigns winning here doesn’t feel like some major moment, though it’s nice to have Lesnar FINALLY lose the title. They should have done this at Wrestlemania at the latest though and by the time they got here, no one cared and there was no reason for them to. At least it was shorter this time around so there is one minor positive. Just get on to any other feud, please.

Reigns poses as Strowman is still down to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. I had forgotten how good this show was as WWE managed to cut out a bunch of the nonsense and just roll with the awesome matches that have been well built up. It’s so frustrating to see what they’re capable of doing when they actually try because they don’t put in the effort so much of the time. This was an awesome show with nothing very bad (Reigns vs. Lesnar is more the result of everything that came before it between the two of them) and three or four matches that got time and lived up to it. Check this one out if you have the time, but completely skip the Kickoff Show.

Ratings Comparison

Zelina Vega/Andrade Cien Almas vs. Rusev/Lana

Original: D

2019 Redo: D+

Cedric Alexander vs. Drew Gulak

Original: C+

2019 Redo: B-

Revival vs. B-Team

Original: D+

2019 Redo: D+

Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins

Original: B

2019 Redo: B

Bludgeon Brothers vs. New Day

Original: C+

2019 Redo: B-

Kevin Owens vs. Braun Strowman

Original: N/A

2019 Redo: N/A

Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch vs. Carmella

Original: C+

2019 Redo: C+

AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe

Original: A-

2019 Redo: B

The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan

Original: B+

2019 Redo: B

Finn Balor vs. Baron Corbin

Original: N/A

2019 Redo: N/A

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Jeff Hardy

Original: C

2019 Redo: D+

Ronda Rousey vs. Alexa Bliss

Original: C+

2019 Redo: C+

Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar

Original: C+

2019 Redo: D

Overall Rating

Original: A-

2019 Redo: A-

Most of them are in the same ballpark, but AJ vs. Joe and Reigns vs. Lesnar must have canceled each other out. Still a great show though and one of the better ones WWE has done in recent(ish) memory.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/08/19/summerslam-2018-they-can-still-do-a-thing-or-two/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Summerslam 2017
Date: August 20, 2017
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Attendance: 16,128
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Booker T., Tom Phillips, John Bradshaw Layfield, Byron Saxton

It’s kind of amazing how these modern shows go in one ear and out the other. Aside from the main event, I couldn’t tell you a single thing on this show, and I can tell you every match (mostly in order) from the first seventeen or so Wrestlemanias. It’s the nature of the shows being built up so fast and then running so long, as the same is true of shows I’ve been to even this year. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: The Miz/Miztourage vs. Hardy Boyz/Jason Jordan

Rematch from Raw. Now this one I remember because it took place about twenty minutes into the two hour Kickoff Show and the place was embarrassingly empty with MAYBE twenty percent of the place full. It’s just awful looking as the fans who aren’t in yet (as in the majority of them) are going to be annoyed at missing a match and the wrestlers have to go out in front of this empty building like they’re on some nothing indy show (in a huge arena for some reason). I mean, what in the world is the point?

Matt headlocks Axel to start and it’s quickly off to Jeff as the dozens and dozens of fans get behind the good guys. Jordan comes in to crank on the arm to no reaction, at least partially because there aren’t many people here to cheer. A dropkick gets two on Dallas and Jordan muscles him down to the mat.

Everything breaks down and Jordan directs traffic as the Hardys chop away in the corner. Axel saves Dallas from the Swanton and we take a break. Back with Jeff getting two off a basement dropkick as the crowd is now just embarrassing instead of depressing. Dallas pushed Jeff off the top though and it’s time to start the stomping in the corner. Miz (oh yeah he’s in this match) comes in for a reverse chinlock but Jeff kicks him away without too much effort.

Instead it’s Axel coming in to twist Jeff’s neck around as the fans chant for BROTHER NERO. Jeff dropkicks Miz and Dallas off the apron and knocks Axel away as well, allowing the lukewarm tag off to Matt. The middle rope elbow to the back of the neck gets two on Miz but he’s right back up with the YES Kicks. Matt shrugs those off though and there’s a Side Effect for the same. Jordan comes in to throw Axel around, including a suplex for two. Everything breaks down and Miz makes a blind tag, setting up a Skull Crushing Finale to pin Jordan at 10:31.

Rating: C. The crowd killed what would have otherwise been a pretty good six man tag. When you can hear the wrestlers breathing, it’s pretty clear that there isn’t much going on in the arena, which isn’t exactly the atmosphere you want for a show billed as a big party. The match itself was fine, and it helps to not have watched it six days earlier.

Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Title: Akira Tozawa vs. Neville

Tozawa, part of Titus Worldwide, is defending after winning the title from Neville on Monday. He also has a banged up shoulder. You remember Neville. He was the awesome guy who turned into one of the best heels in the company but WWE decided that having him put over Enzo Amore made more sense and since there was apparently no way Neville could be a heavyweight again, he walked out a few months later.

Neville shoulders him down to start and then dropkicks the glare off of Tozawa’s face. That’s it for now though as Neville sends him outside and screams a lot, as is his custom. The jumping backsplash crushes Neville back inside but he’s able to snap Tozawa’s throat across the top rope. Back from a break with Neville scoring off a missile dropkick to the back for two and stopping to sneer.

The chinlock lets Tozawa have a breather and he fights up to send Neville outside again. That means the big suicide dive and a Saito suplex but it’s too early for the top rope backsplash. Instead Tozawa reverses a fireman’s carry into an Octopus hold as he’s certainly keeping things varied. Neville makes the ropes so Tozawa hits a Shining Wizard for two.

An enziguri staggers Tozawa but he’s right back with a second Shining Wizard to put both guys down. Tozawa is up first but gets pulled down by the bad shoulder. His legs are fine enough to kick Neville in the head and it’s time to go up again. After knocking Neville off the top, the backsplash hits knees and the champ is in big trouble. Neville jumps up top and hits the Red Arrow to the back for the pin and the title at 11:45.

Rating: C+. I get what they were going for here with the title change taking place on Summerslam but why not go with the first title change here and then switch it back tomorrow or the next week on Raw? Or, dare I suggest it, on 205 Live? Other than that it felt like they were just kind of going through the motions at times, but Neville going through the motions is still pretty good.

The crowd is fine now.

Kickoff Show: Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. New Day

New Day is defending in what is kind of another Smackdown rematch, though it’s a different New Day lineup. Tonight it’s Woods and Big E., who has a huge cape. On the way to the ring, Kofi talks about how this is the place New Day first sang together and the original Francesca was born. Her sacrifice is what allowed us to have Francesca II: TURBO. Tonight they’re here to tear the house down with the Usos one more time.

Woods and Jimmy start things off in a technical sequence until Woods hits a roaring elbow to knock Jimmy’s block off. Some forearms in the corner have Jimmy in trouble but he gets in a shot to the face to stagger Woods. Back from a break with Jey putting on a chinlock and then slinging Woods into the corner. Woods knocks Jey off the top and avoids a charge from Jimmy. A missile dropkick has Jey in trouble but Jimmy pulls Big E. off the apron.

Thankfully the hot tag isn’t just a few seconds later and a backbreaker/middle rope knee combination gets two. Woods is in big trouble but scores with a victory roll faceplant (not a bad little move), which is finally enough for the hot tag to Big E. House is cleaned, including the release Rock Bottom out of the corner for two on Jey. Big E. powerbombs Woods onto Jey as the fast tags begin.

Woods even manages to electric chair Big E. so he can splash Jey as well but Jimmy comes in for a save. The double spinebuster gets two on Big E. and there’s the running Umaga attack for good measure as the pace picks up. Woods comes back in for a Rock Bottom into a Backstabber, which is somehow only good for two. That’s a heck of a finisher for those two if they’re ever a regular team.

Jey gets a blind tag but Woods knocks both Usos to the floor just in case. Big E.’s spear through the ropes is cut off by a superkick and a Superfly Splash while he’s still stuck in the ropes. The regular Superfly Splash gets a close two on Woods but he pulls Jey into a Koji Clutch. That’s broken up as well so Woods goes with a Shining Wizard for two.

A tornado DDT to the floor plants Jey and Jimmy takes the Midnight Hour, only to have Jey dive in at the last second for another save. Jimmy Samoan drops Woods to the floor and Kofi gets sent into the steps for checking on his buddy. Big E. is right back up with the spear through the ropes to take Jey down. Woods is done though and it’s four straight superkicks to Big E. into the double Us to give the Usos the titles back at 19:09.

Rating: B. Is there any surprise that this was the best thing on the Kickoff Show? This took some time to get going but these four delivered, as always. They know how to work well together and the diving saves for the false finishes were great. You could run these two over and over again, which is exactly what happened for the next few months. That can only go on for so long though, and that’s why the division isn’t great to this day.

The opening video starts with a shot of Brooklyn before heading backstage. The bigger matches get a quick look as someone spray paints the Summerslam logo onto a wall. That’s rather generic for the opening of such a big show.

John Cena vs. Baron Corbin

Corbin attacked Shinsuke Nakamura after Nakamura beat Cena, who made the save. Cena then cost Corbin his Money in the Bank cash-in to really hammer this home. The fans, ever so nice, ask Baron where his briefcase is. Cena slides outside to mock Corbin, even throwing on JBL’s hat. Well that makes any adult look like a moron so Corbin gives chase but Cena slides back in.

A headlock keeps Corbin on trouble as JBL points out the Cena issue with the crowd: they’re always chanting about him, whether it’s positive or negative. That’s not the best sign for the opponents, but at least Corbin had the chant to start the match. Some knees to the ribs put Cena in trouble and Corbin pops him in the jaw with a right hand.

The slide underneath the corner sets up the hard clothesline for two and Corbin is already looking frustrated. A suplex gets the same so it’s time to yell at the referee. Corbin hits a World’s Strongest Slam and we hit the chinlock. The fans ask about the briefcase again so Corbin says it’s on Cena. Another comeback starts up with the flying shoulders until Corbin slides under the ropes again, only to slide back in for a chokebreaker.

Cena blocks a superplex attempt and hits a tornado DDT, sending the fans right back into their chorus of booing. The AA is reversed into a Deep Six and Corbin can’t believe the kickout. He’s so serious that the shirt comes off and more slugging ensues. Cena sends him into the corner for the third slide but this time Corbin eats a big clothesline. The AA is good for the pin at 10:12.

Rating: D+. So that happened. The story wasn’t great, the action was nothing to see and Cena hit all of two moves to win in the end. Cena would go on to feud with Roman Reigns for the real rub, but that’s not the best way to boost Corbin. Just a complete nothing of a match here and it felt like they were getting it out of the way instead of featuring it, which is really weird to see for Cena.

Cena hugging kids and throwing his wristbands and dog tags is always cool to see. That just works.

Some wrestlers played Rocket League.

We recap Naomi vs. Natalya. Naomi won the title at Wrestlemania but Natalya thinks she’s turned it into a toy. Natalya attacked Becky Lynch after a match so Naomi made the save. This qualifies for the build to a title match.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Natalya vs. Naomi

Naomi is defending and gets slapped in the face at the bell but snaps off a hurricanrana to get herself out of trouble. A Blockbuster off the steps gives Naomi two more but Natalya posts her hard to take over. Back in and Natalya stomps away but the emotional offense has never been her strong suit. James Ellsworth and Miss Money in the Bank Carmella are watching in the back (she held that thing so long that she is still champion and Ellsworth has left, returned and left again in less than a year) as Natalya hits a running clothesline.

Naomi’s kicks to the legs don’t have much effect so Natalya grabs an abdominal stretch. That goes nowhere so Natalya hits the discus lariat for two and loads up a superplex. Naomi slips out and hits a super Russian legsweep, which of course gets us to even despite both of them taking the same impact. A spinning kick to the head and a headscissors driver give Naomi two but the dancing kicks are shrugged off (as they should be) with Natalya dropkicking her in the face.

Natalya gets caught in the ropes though and a slingshot legdrop gives Naomi two. The reverse Rings of Saturn is countered into the Sharpshooter but Naomi pulls rolls through and sends Natalya head first into the buckle. Not that it matters though as the split legged moonsault misses, setting up another Sharpshooter to make Naomi tap at 10:50.

Rating: D+. I was bored during this as Natalya is a black hole of charisma and Naomi isn’t the best at being serious. The wrestling was dull too and there was nothing happening here to draw me in. It doesn’t help when the women’s division on both shows have been dominated by the Four Horsewomen for so long that it’s almost impossible to get invested in anyone else (though Naomi has come a long, long way in the last year).

Post match Naomi is rather depressed.

We recap Big Cass vs. Big Show. Cass and Enzo Amore have split up and Show is standing up for him. Tonight though Enzo is being locked in a cage (good start) and Show has a broken hand thanks to Cass crushing it in the shark cage.

Big Show vs. Big Cass

Before the match, Enzo makes various Brooklyn/New York City rap references. He talks about loving to talk and how his worst day is better than Cass’ best and Cass has no heart. Thankfully Cass comes out to cut off the never ending promo and Enzo goes up in the cage. Show, not being the brightest guy in the world, hits Cass with the broken hand as Enzo is already running his mouth. He dances in the cage a bit, shouting about having the best seat in the house.

Cass gets thrown around and kicked in the ribs and there’s the side slam, only to have Show bang up the hand again. Enzo shouts something about Patrick the Starfish as Show misses a Vader Bomb, injuring his hand again. Cass’ big boot is blocked by a weak KO punch for two but the second attempt hits Show’s chest. It’s time to start in on the hand even more, despite that not really doing anything that’s going to let Cass pin him. Something like an armbar has Enzo jumping up and down, further making me want to see him put inside a wood chipper.

The fans call the hold boring so Cass stops, poses, and puts it on again. Show throws him down and hits a left armed clothesline, followed by the chokeslam for two. The hand goes into the post as Enzo is leaning through the cage bars. With Show down, Enzo pulls off his pants and whips out a bottle of lubricant (there’s no way I’m touching that one), oils himself up, and gets out of the cage. The match completely stops until Enzo gets down so Cass can kick him in the face. A pair of big boots put Show down and the Empire Elbow is good for the pin at 10:29.

Rating: F+. What in the world was that supposed to be? This was all about the bad hand but somehow it became about Enzo, that loudmouthed idiot, and then Cass just wins clean. I have no idea how this was the best idea they had but it was an awful match and a big waste of time. If I ever see Enzo oiled up again, I’ll be off in the next room gouging my eyes out.

General Manager Kurt Angle and Daniel Bryan get in a YES/NO off about which show will be better for the rest of the night.

Randy Orton vs. Rusev

Rusev jumps him from behind before the bell and Orton is in trouble. They get inside for the bell and it’s the RKO in ten seconds. That would be your “well the card is huge and we have to cut something” match of the night.

Bayley wishes Sasha Banks good luck tonight. Banks is taking her place due to a shoulder injury.

Raw Women’s Title: Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss

Banks is challenging and has special gear that makes her look like a peacock (so she’s copying Charlotte tonight). Bliss gets fired up to start and slugs away in the corner but Banks flips her around and hammers at the champ’s head. One heck of a forearm drops Banks and Bliss talks some trash. With the forearms boring her, Bliss pulls Banks’ hair around the ropes and crotches her on the middle rope for painful measure. We hit the chinlock as it’s almost all Bliss in the early going.

A lot more trash talk sets up a choke shove to put Banks down again as the fans are trying to get behind Banks. The middle rope knees into the moonsault knees give Bliss two more and she drops Banks on the back of her head for the same. Bliss goes to the middle rope and chokes some more until Banks slams her down. A dropkick and clothesline put the champ down for two but she knees Banks in the face to take over again. Bliss’ Code Red out of the corner is countered into something like an Alabama Slam, followed by just kneeing the heck out of Bliss in the corner.

The Bank Statement doesn’t work as Bliss is right next to the ropes. Bliss pulls her down into the ring skirt and dumps Banks to the floor for a near countout, with Bliss freaking out when she gets back in. Twisted Bliss only gets two more and now Bliss doesn’t know what to do. Since hitting it again is out of the question, Bliss picks her up and gets pulled down into the Bank Statement. Banks’ shoulder gives out so she tries the hold again and Bliss taps at 13:17.

Rating: C. Nothing much to see here with Banks shrugging off everything Bliss threw at her and winning without a ton of drama. Bliss got to show off the offense here and looked very good, though there’s not much she can do when Banks is on offense for all of a minute and a half and wins completely clean. Banks would lose the title just eight days later, continuing her trend of not being able to remain champion for very long.

Video on wrestlers auditioning to be the new Colonel Sanders. A fight breaks out and Shawn Michaels winds up winning in one of the most random, bizarre things you’ll ever see. Becky Lynch as the Colonel oddly works.

We recap Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt. Bray had targeted Balor as his latest false idol, beat him on Raw, and covered him in fake blood. Balor then decided to bring the Demon back to fight as hard as he could. This worked in NXT but not up here and that was mainly for one reason: Cole explaining/hyping the Demon EVERY TWO FREAKING SECONDS, saying over and over that “the Demon is Finn Balor’s alter ego” because WWE doesn’t think its fans are that bright. I don’t think NXT ever actually explained it (if they did it was once) because they know how smart fans can be. And that’s why the Demon has never been back.

Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt

Cole mentions the Demon idea again during Bray’s entrance but gets cut off as He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands starts playing for Finn. We get the big smoky entrance with Finn looking awesome and the camera getting an AWESOME shot of him with his back to the ring and the crowd posing with him. Balor gets to the ring and LET’S HIT THAT EXPLANATION again. Seriously it’s not exactly a character that needs to be broken down and it’s made worse when Cole does it.

Wyatt is hesitant to start and a right hand just ticks Balor off. Balor shows him how to throw some real right hands and Wyatt needs a breather on the floor. You don’t do that to Balor, who charges around the corner to drop Wyatt again. Back in and Balor isn’t phased by the upside down stare so Wyatt bails to the floor. This time it’s a big flip dive as it’s all Balor so far. Bray finally pulls him off the apron and hammers away, followed by something like a reverse Stunner out of the corner.

Of course that means a chinlock, because even though Bray is a cult leader, he still follows WWE wrestling tropes. Balor is right back up with a Pele kick and a baseball slide to the floor. The double stomp from the apron to Bray’s back keeps him in trouble, causing Graves to drop a (failed) external occipital protuberance reference. I knew I liked him for a reason.

Bray kicks him in the face and hits the release Rock Bottom for two. The running backsplash gets the same but Finn kicks him to the floor for the shotgun dropkick against the barricade. Back in and Bray scores with a kick so it’s spider walk time. Balor pops to his feet, hits a Sling Blade, another shotgun dropkick, and the Coup de Grace for the pin at 10:39.

Rating: D. This was as exciting as Bray hitting some basic offense while Balor did all of his usual stuff. The problem again is in the Demon, which was what Balor would bring out for his biggest, most violent fights. When it’s just the standard wrestling match and even a pretty dominant Finn performance, the whole Demon character is pretty much a waste.

Ad for the Mae Young Classic. In other words, the modern NXT women’s division.

We recap Seth Rollins/Dean Ambrose vs. the Bar, which is built around the idea of Dean and Seth not being able to trust each other. They kept offering the Shield fist until they FINALLY got back together, mainly due to having to deal with the Bar. Now they’re united after a very well done series of segments that them saving each other but not being willing to trust each other. They got in a fight though and the Bar coming out to join in was FINALLY enough to get them to agree to fight together. This was actually a heck of a build and I got sucked into it, both live and again during the recap video.

Raw Tag Team Titles: The Bar vs. Seth Rollins/Dean Ambrose

Sheamus and Cesaro are defending and it’s Sheamus getting taken down so the challengers can drop some elbows. Rollins Downward Spirals Cesaro into Dean’s boot and the champs are cleared out early on. A quick distraction lets Sheamus Brogue Kick Dean so Seth tries a suicide dive onto both guys. That gets him slammed down hard as momentum changes in a hurry.

We settle down to Cesaro gutwrench suplexing Seth and the chinlock goes on. Rollins fights back and hits a Blockbuster but Ambrose is still down off what is apparently the most devastating Brogue Kick of all time. Sheamus keeps Rollins in the corner as Cesaro runs into the crowd and destroys a beach ball, because Cesaro is more awesome than you. An enziguri gets Rollins out of trouble but this time it’s Cesaro cutting him off. Seth sends him outside though and Cesaro comes up holding his knee.

Rollins goes out after him with Sheamus following, meaning it’s Dean diving onto everyone at once. Back in and Rollins rolls underneath Cesaro and makes the hot tag to bring in Ambrose. Everything breaks down and Seth springboards in with a clothesline to Sheamus. There’s the double suicide dive and the fans are eating up all these double team spots. We settle down again with Ambrose powering out of the Neutralizer and hitting the rebound lariat, only to have Sheamus cut off the tag.

Ambrose catches him on top with a superplex into a very fast frog splash from Rollins but Cesaro makes the save. Rollins and Ambrose are tired of this tagging stuff and unload on Sheamus in the corner but he’s right back with a tilt-a-whirl slam. Cesaro swings Dean for all of two rotations and the Sharpshooter goes on, with Dean looking more surprised than in pain. With Dean getting close to the rope, Cesaro rolls over into a Crossface to change focal points.

Instead of going for the submission, Cesaro loads up a powerbomb with Sheamus adding a top rope clothesline for another close two. Rollins finally comes in and gets knocked outside just as fast. Dean tells the champs to bring it so they load up a spike White Noise. Hang on though as Rollins is right in there with a hurricanrana to send Cesaro into Dean and Sheamus for the save. The wind up knee into Dirty Deeds finishes Sheamus for the titles at 18:38.

Rating: B. This took some time to get going but there was no other way to go with the finish. Rollins and Ambrose are a great team and the fans love them so let them have a long match and take the titles for a change. There was some chemistry here and that made for a good, long match that the show desperately needed.

We recap AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens. They’ve traded the US Title for a few months now and Owens is claiming a conspiracy thanks to the referee missing his shoulder being up in the most recent title match. Therefore, Shane McMahon is guest referee tonight, despite having a history with AJ and a history of being a crooked referee.

US Title: AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens

AJ is defending with Shane as guest referee. They get in a fight before the bell with Shane pulling them apart twice in a row, because Shane is going to be the focal point here. The bell rings and they fight out to the floor with AJ hitting a knee from the apron. Back in and AJ keeps him down, followed by a knee drop. One heck of a clothesline takes AJ’s head off and the Cannonball gets two.

The backsplash gets the same and the near fall off the Edge-O-Matic has Owens yelling at Shane. AJ is right back with a belly to back faceplant and the fireman’s carry into a backbreaker gives him two of his own. They’re both banged up and the delay allows Owens to “accidentally” shove Shane into the ropes to crotch AJ on top. He’s fine enough for a springboard 450, which hits Shane after Owens pulls him in. For reasons of storyline convenience, AJ is down after splashing Shane, allowing Owens to hit the Pop Up Powerbomb for two, thanks to a delayed count.

That means ANOTHER argument with Shane, allowing AJ to grab the Calf Crusher but Owens pokes him in the eye. Owens sends AJ into Shane to knock him to the floor, meaning there’s no referee to see Owens tap to another Calf Crusher. Now it’s AJ’s turn to yell at Shane, who shoves AJ into a rollup for a pretty fast two. The annoyed AJ puts him on top, only to get caught in the swinging superplex for the big crash.

Owens wins a slugout but gets reversed into a Styles Clash for a clean two. The Pop Up Powerbomb gets three, though with AJ’s foot on the ropes at one. Shane: “TWO!” That means another argument with Shane, who shoves Owens into a rollup for two, meaning they’re not repeating spots from earlier in the match. The Phenomenal Forearm into the Styles Clash retains AJ’s title at 17:23.

Rating: B-. Well of course most of the match was about Shane, because that’s what a Summerslam title match should be about. The wrestling was fine but you kept waiting on Shane to do something else. I’m not sure how this was the best they could do with Styles, but at least there’s an Owens vs. Shane story set up for the next eight months. That’s more important than the US Title and Summerslam right?

Video on some fans winning a sweepstakes and got to go to the show.

We recap Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Jinder Mahal and I can feel the headache coming. Mahal won the WWE Championship in a period of Vince McMahon insanity and has held it since May. Nakamura has hit Kinshasa on a bunch of people, including Cena to become #1 contender. In other words: help us Shinsuke Nakamura. You’re our only hope.

Smackdown World Title: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Jinder Mahal

Nakamura is challenging and a live violinist plays him to the ring. The fans singing the song is awesome as usual, especially when you consider it doesn’t have words. Jinder grabs a wristlock to start so Nakamura spins around into a headlock, much to the crowd’s delight. Nakamura puts him up against the ropes for the arm shaking and the required COME ON. Mahal bails to the floor so it’s a triple COME ON, including the Singh Brothers. The fans chant for 3MB because the comedy version of Mahal is better than the main event version.

With nothing else going on, let’s go to the Japanese commentary team. I don’t speak Japanese so it’s all Greek to me. Back in and Nakamura drops a knee and hits some Good Vibrations as Mahal has nothing. As in all together, not just so far. The Singh Brothers offer a distraction though and Mahal knocks him off the apron to take over for the first time. Some knee drops set up a chinlock, followed by Mahal doing the COME ON pose but shouting his own name.

After that brilliant display of saying his name, it’s back to the chinlock. Nakamura fights up with a kick to the face and some YES Kicks to set up the running knee to the ribs. With the covers not working, Nakamura grabs a triangle choke but Mahal gets his foot in the ropes. Nakamura’s running knee in the corner hits buckle and Mahal adds a jumping knee to the face for two of his own. Mahal goes shoulder first into the post but the Singh Brothers’ distraction lets Mahal hit a chinlock slam (he has ONE MOVE and can’t even do that right) to retain at 11:25.

Rating: D-. You know, it’s been about nine months since Mahal lost the title and e-freaking-gads I had forgotten how awful his title reign really was. This felt like a bad house show main event and it’s the biggest Smackdown match on the second biggest show of the year. You can feel the fans dying out there when Mahal is….well doing anything actually, but in this case I’ll go with being on offense and winning. I remember watching Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura beat the living tar out of each other for twenty minutes at Takeover: Dallas. Now though, a weak/botched/terrible cobra clutch slam puts him down? Not a chance.

We recap the Universal Title match with Brock Lesnar defending against Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns and Samoa Joe. Lesnar was announced as facing all three challengers and since he wasn’t happy, he’s threatened to leave WWE if he loses. The three challengers all say they can be the man to take out Lesnar. There’s just not much else to be said here but this is by far and away the main event.

Universal Title: Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman vs. Samoa Joe

Lesnar is defending and it’s one fall to a finish. Cole picks Reigns to win because Reigns beat Undertaker at Wrestlemania. Cole: “How can you bet against that?” You pick the guy who did it first, you nitwit. Reigns is of course booed out of the building because….oh you know the drill by now.

The brawl is on to start (well duh) with Strowman throwing Reigns to the floor and Brock hitting a belly to belly on Joe. Strowman gets posted and it’s time for the Reigns vs. Lesnar showdown that no one but WWE seems to love. Booker tries to say that Lesnar knew nothing but winning in UFC, which I’ll leave you to make fun of. Some suplexes put Reigns on the floor and it’s Strowman time.

Now THIS gets the fans’ attention but Reigns and Joe are right back in to break up the fun. That lasts all of five seconds before it’s back to Strowman vs. Lesnar, meaning another YES chant. Strowman LAUNCHES Brock into the corner and hits a heck of a clothesline to put the champ on the floor. As usual, Lesnar’s selling is very underrated. Everyone is on the floor now and Joe chokes Lesnar but sidesteps a Reigns spear, sending Lesnar through the barricade. That spot will always look cool.

Strowman is back up and loads up the title (with Graves hoping he uses Saxton as a weapon), setting up a running powerslam to drive a kicking Lesnar through it. The fans REALLY like that but here’s Reigns to kick Strowman in the face and kill their buzz all over again. Joe is back up with a suicide elbow to take Reigns out, meaning the fans are won right back. Thankfully Cole is doing a great job of explaining how cool it is to see people this big doing this stuff.

That’s exactly what he should be doing and it’s working here. Strowman throws an announcers’ chair at Joe and Reigns in a cool spot, followed by a second powerslam through a table to put Lesnar down again. Heyman has a look on his face that says “well, I didn’t see that one coming”. Fans: “ONE MORE TABLE!” Greedy twits. To mix things up a bit, Strowman picks that one up and turns it on top of the already out Lesnar. Half a dozen people come out to get the table off of Lesnar and a stretcher is brought out as Heyman seems to be near tears.

We’re not done yet though as Strowman hits Joe and Reigns in the head with the steps. With the steps in the ring, Reigns fires off the corner clotheslines and hits a good steps shot into Strowman’s shoulder. Joe’s rollup gets two on Reigns but he’s right back up with a Samoan drop for two. The Superman Punch is countered into the Koquina Clutch but Strowman (with some blood next to his ear) is back in with a double chokeslam. Everyone is down so here comes Lesnar again.

Strowman is the only one on his feet so it’s time for the big showdown. A running clothesline takes Strowman to the floor and there’s a German suplex each to Joe and Reigns. Strowman comes back in and elbow his way out of a German suplex, only to get caught in the Kimura. That’s broken up with a Superman Punch, with Joe and Lesnar taking one each as well. Reigns spears Lesnar for two so here’s Strowman for a dropkick to Reigns, just because he can do that too.

The powerslam gets two on Joe with Lesnar pulling the referee out at the last second. A Superman Punch gets two on Strowman, whose kickout puts Reigns on his feet. There’s a powerslam to Reigns with Lesnar making the save but getting loaded up into the F5. That’s broken up by a Reigns spear, drawing Joe back in for a Clutch on Lesnar. Brock reverses into the F5 but Reigns is right in there with some Superman Punches. Three in a row put Lesnar down but the spear is countered into the F5 to retain Brock’s title at 20:53.

Rating: A-. What a fight and that’s all it needed to be. They were making Godzilla/King Kong references here and they nailed the idea to near perfection. The best thing here was Strowman looking awesome and like the man that could beat Lesnar if he had the chance, with the bonus of Reigns taking the fall again. It’s not like Reigns losing was going to hurt him (it hasn’t yet) so going this was was the right call. This was all about violence and that was the story: big, strong people beating each other up for twenty minutes and all of the chaos that it caused. Well done, all around.

Lesnar can barely stand to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This show suffered from the same problem as the modern Wrestlemania. It’s not the length that is the problem (the show never really did drag) but rather that almost nothing has a chance to sink in. Everything jumped from one match to the other and most of the matches didn’t have a ton of time.

It was “well that happened so let’s move on” time after time and that doesn’t make for a special show. The show isn’t terrible but aside from the main event, nothing on here felt important and that’s not what Summerslam needs to be. In other words: cut some stuff out and let it breathe, which might as well be the standard operating criticism around here.

Ratings Comparison

Miz/Miztourage vs. Hardy Boyz/Jason Jordan

Original: C-
Redo: C

Neville vs. Akira Tozawa

Original: C

Redo: C+

New Day vs. Usos

Original: B+

Redo: B

John Cena vs. Baron Corbin

Original: D

Redo: D+

Naomi vs. Natalya

Original: C-

Redo: D+

Big Cass vs. Big Show

Original: D

Redo: F+

Randy Orton vs. Rusev

Original: N/A

Redo: N/A

Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks

Original: B-

Redo: C

Bray Wyatt vs. Finn Balor

Original: C+

Redo: D

Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins vs. The Bar

Original: B

Redo: B

Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles

Original: B

Redo: B-

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Jinder Mahal

Original: D+

Redo: D-

Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe vs. Braun Strowman

Original: A

Redo: A-

Overall Rating

Original: B

Redo: C-

Time has NOT been kind to this show and aside from two (or maybe three) matches, it’s not worth seeing.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/08/20/summerslam-2017-the-star-of-stars/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

As they’re running out of days.

 

https://411mania.com/wrestling/halls-wcw-superbrawl-revenge-review/

It’s probably the biggest Raw ever.

 

https://411mania.com/wrestling/halls-wwe-raw-review-3-30-98/

Summerslam 2016
Date: August 21, 2016
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Attendance: 15,974
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Mauro Ranallo, David Otunga, John Bradshaw Layfield

A year has passed since I saw this show and I can barely remember much about it. That’s very telling when you look at how stacked this show really is. There are multiple top level matches here and it really wasn’t clear what was going to close the show until the night of the event. Hopefully that means that this SIX HOUR show holds up. Let’s get to it.

So here’s a quick plug. I’m going through the pre-show and there’s a three expert panel of Booker T., Jerry Lawler and Lita. Earlier this year, I met all three of them at WrestleCon. If you’re ever at a Wrestlemania weekend, treat yourself to an amazing time and GO TO WRESTLECON. I met over 120 wrestlers in about four hours. Where else are you going to get to do something like that? Anyway, on with the show.

Pre-Show: American Alpha/Hype Bros/Usos vs. Breezango/Ascension/Vaudevillains

Who would have thought that Breezango would be the most entertaining out of all these teams? This is pretty much the still titleless Smackdown tag division at this point as they had to bring in the Headbangers and throw together Heath Slater and Rhyno to be able to have a tournament. This is also a rematch from Smackdown, which shows how little effort they were putting into the tag division at this point.

Gable and Breeze start things and the fans are WAY into Gable. Chad twists around as only he can to escape a wristlock and it’s off to Jey, who is quickly driven into the corner. English comes in and says that he’s what a man is. That earns him a right hand to the jaw and it’s off to Mojo to work on a wristlock. Ryder comes in to quite the reaction as Mauro says the Hype Bros have more chemistry than the Periodic Table.

Everything breaks down (What took them so long?) and Ascension clears the ring, only to have American Alpha come off the top (the same corner) with double clotheslines (that’s pure Steiner Brothers). English posts Ryder though and we take a break. Back with Gotch putting Ryder in a chinlock, followed by Viktor doing the same. The other heels take turns stomping on Ryder until Breeze grabs his own chinlock. Fandango adds a slingshot legdrop as this is going WAY longer than it needs to.

JBL thinks cold beer uniting the APA is more effective than furry selfie sticks uniting Breezango but maybe he’s wrong. Ascension knocks the good guys off the apron but Viktor misses a charge in the corner, allowing Ryder to get in a neckbreaker on Konnor. The hot tag (with a limited reaction) brings in Jimmy to clean house.

Jordan gets the real hot tag and does his fired up sequence (which he really is awesome at) with a belly to belly getting two on Breeze. We hit the parade of secondary finishers as the referee is imploring them to tag. Mojo powerbombs Breeze and Viktor out of the corner and the Usos add stereo superkicks to set up stereo dives. Back in and Grand Amplitude plants Gotch, only to have Jey tag himself in for a Superfly Splash and the pin at 14:31. Gable is really not cool with that. Eh just wait until your team is split up for a pretty lame story where Jordan is Kurt Angle’s son.

Rating: B-. If you cut out a few minutes from this, it’s a heck of an opener. There are too many people in the match of course but they kept it moving fast enough (for the most part) to really get something fun out of it. Jordan’s house cleaning spot is a heck of a way to fire the crowd up and it made the match more fun than it should have been. Tweak this a bit (eight/ten man tag or shorten the match a bit) and it’s even better.

Pre-Show: Dudley Boyz vs. Sami Zayn/Neville

Sami works on D-Von’s arm to start and it’s off to Neville for more of the same. Both of them get in more shots as we hear about the rivalry over the NXT Title. I do appreciate the history, especially when Graves should know about that match very well. Bubba is sent outside but D-Von breaks up a springboard dive, allowing Bubba to nail Neville from behind to take over. The fans want tables but a back elbow to Neville’s jaw cuts them off in a hurry.

Back from a break with Bubba hitting his neckbreaker out of the corner. Things slow down even more as Bubba is talking even more than he usually does in a match. Bubba: “COME ON ENGLISH BOY! O-LAY! O-LAY!” The middle rope backsplash misses though and the hot tag brings in Sami. D-Von takes the Blue Thunder Bomb for two but the reverse 3D gets the same. Neville escapes the regular version though and we get some heel miscommunication. The Helluva Kick sets up the Red Arrow to put Bubba away at 7:55.

Rating: C-. That would be it for the Dudleys in WWE as they would have one more segment tomorrow night where Anderson and Gallows sent them packing. It’s also pretty much it for Sami and Neville as a team, which is quite odd as you would think they would be a fine choice for a team. The match was nothing you wouldn’t expect on Raw.

Pre-Show: Cesaro vs. Sheamus

You know, because two matches just weren’t enough for the pre-show. This is the first match of the Best of Seven Series, which really wasn’t too well received. After Cole says Cesaro is facing Cesaro and both Cole and Saxton say this is about establishing physical dominance, we’re ready to go. Sheamus misses a very early Brogue Kick but the spinning springboard uppercut is blocked as well.

Cesaro charges into an uppercut but comes back with a dropkick for one. The ten forearms to the chest are broken up so Sheamus clotheslines him onto the apron instead. It’s off to an armbar on Cesaro’s chronically taped up shoulder but Cesaro lifts him up into that kind of reverse Angle Slam of his. They’re certainly hitting each other hard here, which is pretty much the draw of the whole feud.

Sheamus hits a tilt-a-whirl slam and it’s off to a break. Back with Cesaro fighting out of a chinlock because that rule even applies on pre-shows that will never end. The Irish Curse gives Sheamus two as Cole runs down the pay per view card, which only makes me think that there are FAR too many titles in WWE. They fight over a suplex and fall out to the floor in a heap. Back in and Cesaro starts firing off the running uppercuts in the corner, capped off by a dropkick to knock him off the ropes.

The apron superplex (which wasn’t from the apron) gets two but Sheamus counters the Neutralizer into White Noise for two. There’s the super Regal Roll for two more and frustration is really setting in. Another Brogue Kick attempt is countered by one heck of a clothesline though and Cesaro adds a high crossbody for two of his own. Cesaro tries the Sharpshooter but Sheamus gets to the ropes. Back up and a poke to the eye sets up the Brogue Kick to give Sheamus the pin at 14:11.

Rating: B. They beat the heck out of each other and it was a fun match but it also brings up the problem: I’m not going to want to watch them fight six more times. No matter how good things are, having them happen so many times in a row over several weeks is going to get tiresome. It happens in all these series and it’s happening here too.

And now, after more wrestling than you get on an average Smackdown, here’s the actual pay per view.

The opening video looks at New York City, with the narrator telling you how AMAZING the city is. I’m not sure if New York City or Texas is worse about bragging about their home’s greatness. As usual, this switches over to a series of quick looks at the biggest matches on the card.

Enzo Amore/Big Cass vs. Chris Jericho/Kevin Owens

Well duh. That’s about as easy of a choice for an opener as you could ever find for this show. As you might expect, the crowd eats up the opening promo with a spoon and of course we hear a ton of New York City music references. Included are Frank Sinatra, Biggie Smalls and Jay-Z, plus more that probably go over my head. Cass adds in a few songs of his own as this is the only way this show could have opened. Since Graves is the best heel commentator in wrestling today though, he points out that Enzo is from New Jersey.

Jericho and Owens jump Enzo at the bell and the STUPID IDIOT chants start rolling. Enzo comes back with a crossbody and a running right hand to the jaw for two. It’s off to Cass, who drags Owens inside for a beal. That’s some scary power. Enzo gets launched into the corner to crush Jericho but the Canadians bail to the floor. That’s fine with Cass who tosses Enzo over the top onto them in a huge crash. I’ve always loved that spot as it just looks cool.

Back in and Enzo ax handles Owens but turns into a middle rope dropkick from Jericho. The Canadian violence begins with Owens kneeing Enzo from the apron and doing his dance on the apron in a rather funny visual. Owens’ comedic skills aren’t given enough credit more often than not. It’s back to Jericho for the Arrogant Cover and a chinlock with Owens telling Jericho to do it like he taught him.

Owens comes in and adds a gutbuster for two, followed by the running start for a chinlock. It takes real talent to turn a chinlock into an art form but Owens has somehow pulled it off. Enzo finally rolls away but Jericho is there to break up the diving tag attempt. Owens drops the frog splash for two and his stunned looked on the kickout is the usual awesome visual. Enzo gets pulled off the corner to make things even worse but, after blowing a kiss to Jericho, misses the Cannonball.

That means the hot tag to Cass and everything breaks down. Jericho dives into a big boot but Owens breaks up the Bada Boom Shaka Lacka. Cass gets posted on the floor and now the Cannonball against the barricade connects. Back in and Enzo scores with his top rope DDT on Jericho with Owens making the save. A pop up Codebreaker (didn’t look great as Jericho was too far away) ends Enzo at 12:09.

Rating: C+. Odd choice for an ending aside (not surprising of course but odd), this was a good way to get the crowd going. I could have gone for another hope spot from Enzo and more of Cass cleaning house but that pop up Codebreaker could have been a heck of a finisher if done right. Nice opener, though would it have killed them to put Enzo and Cass over in Brooklyn?

Smackdown bosses Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon run into Raw General Manager Mick Foley to brag about how awesome their shows are. Former Daily Show host Jon Stewart and his son come in to ask what Foley is thinking to work with Stephanie. He rants about abuse of power but realizes she’s right behind him. Stephanie yells at him about how great it is to abuse power but thankfully New Day comes up. As the Smackdown bosses and Foley much on cereal, New Day asks Jon if he’d like to do something. He gets out as fast as he can and Stephanie isn’t amused.

We recap Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks. Sasha won the Women’s Title on the first exclusive show after the Brand Split and tonight is the rematch. The other big idea here is Charlotte never loses singles matches on pay per view and Banks has to recreate the magic one more time.

Raw Women’s Title: Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte

Banks is defending and we get the Big Match Intros. Some early WOOing sets up a slightly less early Bank Statement but Charlotte bails to the floor. Back in and Banks climbs the corner for a wristdrag before sending Charlotte face first into the middle buckle. Banks gets caught on top though and Charlotte basically drops her onto the ropes for a backbreaker which almost had to hurt horribly. The fact that Banks had a bad back coming in and Charlotte still did some rather sloppy moves like that got her in some hot water.

We hit a Gory Stretch on the champ for a bit but she comes back with a pair of running clotheslines. That just earns her another backbreaker and Charlotte stomps away at the back. The Figure Eight is broken up but Sasha misses a charge into the corner and gets caught in the Tree of Woe. Charlotte picks her up for a super Razor’s Edge but since that would, you know, kill Sasha, she reverses into a hurricanrana to put them both down.

Back up and a WOO earns Charlotte a string of slaps before Sasha avoids a charge in the corner and hits the double knees to the back for two. Charlotte kicks her in the leg to break up a charge but gets knocked outside again, setting up the double knees from the apron. Back in and the Backstabber doesn’t work but Natural Selection is countered into the Bank Statement (thankfully too as the Natural Selection clearly didn’t send Sasha’s head anywhere near the mat).

Charlotte makes the rope for the break and takes out the knee again. Natural Selection gives Charlotte two so she yells about being better than Sasha. Another Bank Statement goes on but Charlotte reverses into a rollup for the pin and the title at 13:52. Saxton: “Just like that?”

Rating: B. This was just a straight match and that’s the key to the whole thing. The women are getting to show that they can have a good match without the smoke and mirrors, which never would have been the case otherwise. If nothing else it got the kind of time that a title match deserves to develop the story of Banks having a bad back (which would keep her on the shelf for about a month). Strong match here and another of many to come for these two.

Doctors Anderson and Gallows (oh man I had forgotten how stupid this was) run into AJ Styles for a Club reunion. Finn Balor comes up and doesn’t think much of it. Somehow, this has still never gone anywhere.

Intercontinental Title: Miz vs. Apollo Crews

Crews is defending after winning a triple threat match. Miz comes out wearing a glittery Phantom of the Opera mask while Maryse is basically in a one piece swimsuit. In a sign of the changing times, Mauro talks about Miz’s look instead of Maryse. Miz stomps away in the corner and gets two off a running kick to the chest. Crews gets the same off a rollup, only to walk into the short DDT as it’s almost all Miz to start. We’re already in the reverse chinlock before Miz sends him into the apron to cut off a comeback. Miz takes too long coming off the top though and dives into a dropkick to put both guys down.

A crossbody into a nipup has Miz in trouble as JBL rants about Otunga calling Crews a Jackrobat (jacked acrobat). The Toss Powerbomb is countered so Crews gets two off a tilt-a-whirl powerslam. An overhead belly to belly sets up a standing moonsault, which Otunga sums up perfectly: “A man with that kind of size and that kind of muscle should not be able to do that.” Miz teases taking a walk but Maryse cuts him off, allowing Miz to post Crews. The Skull Crushing Finale retains the title at 5:36.

Rating: D+. Standard Smackdown match and something that could have been cut, or at least put in the Kickoff Show in the place of the Dudleys match. Crews felt like an easy obstacle to overcome because there was nowhere near enough build to set the match up. Put some more effort into the title already people, as it’s just not working.

We recap John Cena vs. AJ Styles. They set up the first match when Styles and Cena were in the ring together, only to have Anderson and Gallows interfere to turn Styles heel. Styles went on a great rant about how Cena was a fraud who couldn’t hang in the ring with someone like him. Cena went into a great speech about how he’s here out of love because it never gets old. AJ beat him at Money in the Bank with assistance from Anderson and Gallows, setting up a rematch between the two here.

AJ Styles vs. John Cena

This just feels big. AJ grabs a waistlock to start but is easily knocked away. The announcers go out of the way to put over how AJ has been on big shows before but nothing this big. Oh I don’t know. I remember him being at that Wrestlemania thing earlier in the year. The dueling chants begin and the AJ STYLES side is pretty clearly stronger.

Cena’s headlock is countered and AJ scores with the dropkick but the bragging earns AJ a right to the jaw. A hard whip into the corner sends AJ down for a bit with Cena doing some rare trash talking. They head to the floor and the fans start belting out JOHN CENA SUCKS, only to have AJ turn it into some gasping with a suplex onto the apron. Cena is right back with a dropkick for two and it’s time for some more right hands to the head.

AJ comes back with a forearm to the face, earning himself Cena’s finishing sequence. It’s way too early for the AA though as AJ hits a Pele, followed by the Styles Clash for a close two. The fans were actually more into the near fall than I was expecting as you would think they’d know better this early. The AA gives Cena two of his own and both guys are down again.

Styles slips out of the super AA and grabs the torture rack for the spinout powerbomb. They’re trading bombs at this point and it’s the only way they should be going here. Something like a Big Ending gives Cena two but he can’t get the STF. Instead it’s the AA neckbreaker for two on Cena (not the same as the AA JBL) but the springboard 450 only hits mat.

A faceplant puts Cena down again though and AJ can’t follow up. He manages the springboard forearm but Cena reverses into the worst STF I’ve ever seen. Thankfully AJ slips out and grabs a Crossface, which Cena powers out of as well. That’s reversed into the Calf Crusher which AJ is smart enough to twist away from the ropes. Cena reverses that into another horrible STF (AJ’s face is on the mat) so AJ is quickly up with the enziguri. A tornado DDT plants AJ and there’s the top rope Fameasser for two.

Cena heads up again and gets taken down with a super hurricanrana (Mauro: “MAMA MIA!”), followed by the Phenomenal Forearm for a VERY near fall (drawing Mauro to his feet). It’s Cena’s turn now as he takes AJ up for the super AA and….it’s two. NOW the fans know it’s on as I don’t think anyone has ever kicked out of that before. Cena is stunned and the AA is countered into another Clash. The Phenomenal Forearm puts Cena away clean at 23:10.

Rating: A. I know it’s not going to sound good but a lot of this goes to Cena. At the end of the day, the crowd completely lost it when AJ kicked out of that super AA. AJ wins here not because he got a pin but because he beat Cena clean. That’s a very, VERY short list and that’s what makes it feel so important. Think back to how big of a deal it was when Warrior pinned Hogan clean. That felt like an era changing win, and while this isn’t quite that big, it’s the same idea.

Oh yeah and it’s an outstanding match and possibly the Match of the Year. This was the heavyweight slugfest formula as they beat the heck out of each other with both guys hitting everything they could until one of them couldn’t get up. That’s a really hard match to pull off and these two did it in an incredible match. It belonged on the grand stage and gives Cena one heck of a mountain to overcome, which he somehow did in a better match at the Royal Rumble.

Post match Cena takes off his wristband and leaves it in the ring. He would do dark matches for a few weeks and then be back wrestling on TV in less than a month so this didn’t mean anything.

Some fans won a contest and got some stuff. In other words, let the fans have a breather.

Here’s Jon Stewart for your celebrity appearance. He makes fun of himself for interfering in Cena’s match last year and says the big lesson he learned was to tuck your shirt in when you’re taking an AA. As for tonight though, he’s here to be in New Day’s corner to help deal with Anderson and Gallows. In honor of the moment, he throws on a unicorn horn and does Big E.’s (out injured due to getting crotched against the post) entrance.

Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Anderson and Gallows

New Day is defending of course and unfortunately Anderson and Gallows are still doing their stupid doctor nonsense, complete with jars for Kofi, Xavier and Jon’s testicles. I hear Paige can help you with one of those. Anderson headlocks Kofi down to start but he’s right back up with the jumping back elbow to the jaw. Kofi flips onto his feet and gets two off the standing double stomp. You can tell the fans are still recovering from the previous match and it’s off to Woods.

That goes badly as the he gets taken into the corner for a beating from Gallows. At least it does bring the fans back a bit with the rhythmic clapping. Gallows gets taken into the corner for the Unicorn Stampede (which they’ve kind of stopped doing in recent months) and the fans are really not responding. Woods sends him outside so Kofi can hit a running dive (while posing in the air) to take him down again. Back in and Gallows kicks Kofi in the head to take over for real this time with Anderson working on the arm.

That goes nowhere as the hot tag brings in Woods to clean house. Anderson sends him to the apron for an enziguri, setting up the rope walk elbow drop. Everything breaks down and Anderson kicks Kofi in the chest, setting up the Magic Killer. Stewart gets in though and it’s time to crotch him as well. Hang on though as he has to tuck in his shirt first. Cue the returning Big E. for the save though and that’s a DQ at 9:09.

Rating: D. I don’t know if it was the previous match or what but sweet goodness the fans did NOT care for this one. It’s not a good match in the first place as Anderson and Gallows aren’t funny in the doctor roles, but the bigger problem here was the focus being on Stewart at the end. Oh and the ending sets up a rematch, which really isn’t what they need to be going with here. Bad match but Big E.’s return did wake up the crowd.

Big E. drinks the fluid in the jar holding his “testicles”. Stewart dances with New Day and the fans…well they care when Big E. dances at least.

We recap Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler. Dolph won a six way match to earn the shot and then it all went nuts. Ziggler started talking about how he was tired of being told that he always either too good or not good enough. It was time to turn up the jets and become champion for the third time. Serious Ziggler was nice but I don’t think anyone was buying him as having a real chance here. You know, because he’s Dolph Ziggler.

Smackdown World Title: Dolph Ziggler vs. Dean Ambrose

Dean is defending and Shane and Daniel are here for no apparent reason. The fans are behind Ziggler and they trade some grappling on the mat with Ziggler getting the better of it (not exactly a surprise). The threat of a neckbreaker sends Ambrose bailing to the floor so Dolph splashes him against the barricade.

Back in and Ziggler’s jumping DDT is countered with Dean throwing him outside again. Ziggler escapes a super Dirty Deeds so Dean slaps on a half crab of all things. You can tell Dean is playing the subtle heel here as the smark crowd is always going to cheer for Ziggler. Dean heads up top and gets dropkicked out of the air but he’s right back with a double chickenwing facebuster.

Ambrose tunes up the band (which is now mocking Ziggler instead of anything involving Shawn Michaels) but shakes his head and tries Dirty Deeds instead. That’s reversed into the jumping DDT and both guys are down again. A double collision gives us another lay down period until Dean is up first and hammering away.

The top rope elbow gets two so Ziggler grabs the sleeper, earning them both a tumble out to the floor. Ziggler gets in the superkick on the floor but it’s barely two back inside. The Zig Zag gets the same but Dean pops back up with the rebound lariat. Ziggler catches Dean on top and pulls him back down, right into Dirty Deeds to retain the title at 15:22.

Rating: D+. And that people, is Ziggler choking again. This would lead to him saying he’s never won the big one, which would turn into him never holding the World Title that long because holding the title is more important than winning it. The match was nothing all that good as we were just waiting on Dirty Deeds, which only happened so Dean could keep it warm for AJ next month. That was completely obvious the second AJ pinned Cena again and that’s all this title needed to do.

Package on Summerslam weekend.

Natalya/Alexa Bliss/Eva Marie vs. Becky Lynch/Naomi/Carmella

Dang I didn’t know the Glow was a year old. Actually hang on a minute as Eva Marie is suffering from exhaustion, anxiety and stress (likely brought on by reading too many Wellness Violation messages, which meant she would never wrestle again) so we have a replacement. At least we got that amazing entrance one more time.

Natalya/Alexa Bliss/Nikki Bella vs. Becky Lynch/Naomi/Carmella

So yeah, you know full well that Nikki is going to be all that matters in this match because IT’S HER BIG COMEBACK THAT EVERYONE TOTALLY CARES ABOUT BECAUSE WE LOVE HER SO MUCH! She does get one heck of a pop though, which is rather scary. During her entrance, Mauro declares her return “miraculous”. Oh man this is going to be a long one.

Bliss rolls Becky up to start and gets in a hard slap for good measure. Naomi comes in to scare Alexa off so it’s Natalya instead. A forearm puts Natalya down and the splits legdrop gets two. Carmella comes in for the Staten Island Shuffle before a missed charge sends Natalya outside. Back in and a powerslam out of the corner plants Carmella before it’s off to Nikki, the heel, for a strong face pop.

We hit the chinlock but hang on as we need some Nikki pushups. Alexa chokeshoves Carmella down for the moonsault knees to the ribs as the crowd is dead all over again. The abdominal stretch keeps things slow until Carmella finally rolls over and makes the hot tag to Becky. All three heels are send into the corner for the springboard kicks from Lynch, followed by a Bexploder on Natalya.

Becky’s top rope legdrop gets two with Nikki making the save. A blind tag brings in Naomi for the dancing kicks with the fans just not reacting at all. Bliss’ springboard splash hits knees so it’s off to Nikki vs. Carmella. A bad looking Bronco Buster gets two on Nikki and everything breaks down. Nikki’s big forearm sets up the Rack Attack 2.0 (Nikki: “I’m back.”) for the pin at 11:16.

Rating: D. This was all about Nikki’s return and that’s not enough to carry a dull match. Naomi’s Glow stuff wasn’t over yet, Becky was stuck around people who weren’t up to her level and Carmella was showing that she didn’t need to be on the main roster yet. The same was true for Alexa and Natalya was her usual self. Just not a good match and it showed the lack of depth to the division.

We recap Rusev vs. Roman Reigns. Rusev and Lana were married and so Reigns interrupted for no apparent reason to insult them and shove them into a cake.

Maria Menunos interviews Rusev and Lana, who don’t like her questions about Reigns. They won’t stand for this and Lana is sure that her husband will destroy Reigns.

We recap the Universal Title match. Basically we need a new title due to the Brand Split and Universal Title was the best they could come up with. Seth Rollins was put into the match as Raw’s #1 draft pick and Finn Balor earned his way in by winning a series of matches. Not much else to it as there’s no major animosity between them but it’s better than pulling the title out of a suitcase.

Seth did get in a great promo talking about how he’s done everything Balor has done but he’s done it a little bit better. He’s not wrong, though that’s not the best thing to do when you have someone so new to the main roster. Then Balor showed up as the Demon and scared Rollins to death.

Universal Title: Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins

Anything goes and the title (which isn’t that well received due to a bad case of being hideous) is vacant coming in. Unless I’m forgetting something, to date this is the only time Balor has wrestled as the Demon on the main roster. We get the Big Match Intros and the title itself receives some hearty boos. Balor dropkicks him into the corner at the bell but it’s too early for the Coup de Grace.

Instead Balor hits a suicide dive to the floor, followed by some kicks to the knee back inside. They head outside again with Seth getting in his first offense via a suplex on the floor. Balor is right back with something like a Phenomenal Forearm off the barricade. Back in again and Balor hits a basement dropkick for two as this is almost one sided so far. Finn stays on the leg as the fans are singing something.

Balor jumps over the ropes but Rollins slides between his legs and powerbombs him into the barricade, completely destroying Balor’s shoulder and putting him on the shelf for the better part of eight months. We’re less than four minutes in though and you can see the shoulder looking all messed up. Back in and Seth gets two off a backbreaker, setting up a chinlock. The chants are still going and it sounds like THAT TITLE SUCKS to the tune of John Cena Sucks.

Seth starts the trash talk and cuts off a comeback attempt. A snapmare into a kick to the back has Finn in even more trouble but Seth would rather walk around than follow up. It’s back to the chinlock for a good while until the springboard knee to the head sets up Seth’s frog splash for two. What looks like a Rainmaker is countered into a DDT to give Balor his first major offense in a long time and he follows up with some forearms.

A basement dropkick sets up the Sling Blade but Seth kicks him down without much effort. An enziguri stuns Balor but he’s right back with the Pele, earning a very nice round of applause. If nothing else the chants about the title have stopped. 1916 (reverse implant DDT) gives Finn two but the Coup de Grace is countered into a triangle choke of all things. Finn falls outside because rope breaks don’t count (anything goes remember) and things slow down a bit.

Back in and the buckle bomb sets up the low superkick for two on Balor with Seth looking stunned on the kickout. A small package driver gets the same count and reaction so Seth goes up, allowing Balor to hit a very loud enziguri to put him on the floor. Balor adds a shotgun dropkick to send him into the barricade, followed by a top rope double stomp to the back of the head for two. The Coup de Grace misses and it’s a Pedigree for two. Finn counters a second Pedigree into a double stomp, followed by the Coup de Grace for the pin and the title at 19:23.

Rating: B+. When you factor in that shoulder injury, this is quite the impressive performance. Above all else though, how good is it that Balor won the title here? If he loses his first major pay per view match and then goes away until April, he’s lucky to come back to the cruiserweight division.

This was a heck of a match with both guys beating the heck out of each other. It took some time to get built up but once they finally got there, the fans really started to accept things, which is a very positive sign. Balor is someone who is going to get a very positive reaction no matter what and giving him the title here was entirely the right call.

Balor can barely move his right arm after the match but finally holds the title up. On his WWE 24 special, he said you could feel and hear the shoulder crunching and crackling as he lifted the title and it probably did more damage to the arm.

The pre-show channel chats a bit and throws us to a KFC ad with Dolph Ziggler dressing up as Colonel Sanders to beat up Miz dressed as a chicken. It’s actually dumber than you remember it being.

Here’s Lana to introduce Rusev, albeit while wearing half of a wedding dress, the bottom of which looks like a diaper. She’s one of the most beautiful women on the roster but she looks ridiculous here.

US Title: Rusev vs. Roman Reigns

Roman is challenging and the booing is strong with this one. Rusev jumps him before the bell and they fight out to the floor with Roman being sent into the steps. The fans chant RUSEV MACHKA because they’ve given up on America over their hatred for Reigns. Roman gets in a Superman Punch as the bell hasn’t rung yet. They fight over a chair with Reigns getting the better of it and destroying Rusev. Reigns finally leaves but comes back with a spear, all while the fans chant WE WANT SLATER. No match of course, likely due to time issues.

We recap Randy Orton vs. Brock Lesnar. This match was announced as Orton’s return match from surgery and the build focused on Orton being able to hit the RKO anytime, including a sweet moment where Orton interrupted a Lesnar promo with an RKO. The hype video even includes some OVW clips as they came up through developmental together and debuted within a few months of each other. This had a heck of a build and felt like something important but the question was whether Lesnar would have an actual match or just do his usual Lesnar stuff.

Randy Orton vs. Brock Lesnar

Heyman handles Lesnar’s introduction, saying he’s conquering out of the University of Suplex City. Brock seems to get into his MMA stance to start before driving Orton into the corner for the shoulders to the ribs. Orton escapes the first German suplex attempt but can’t hit the RKO.

Now the first suplex connects (with Mauro knowing that it’s the 33^rd Lesnar has hit at Summerslam because he’s awesome that way) and Brock follows with two more. Orton is almost out on his feet so Lesnar suplexes him again. It’s nothing but suplexes at this point and it’s already getting dull. They head outside for a much needed change of pace with Orton being thrown over the announcers’ table.

Orton gets thrown from the front row through the table as this is dominance. The other table is loaded up but whatever Lesnar is trying is countered into the RKO onto (not through) the table. The hanging DDT plants Lesnar back inside and another RKO gets two. Orton realizes he has no choice and tries the Punt, only to have it reversed into the F5 (bad one) for two more.

That’s enough for Lesnar so he takes off the gloves and pads and hammers on Orton. An elbow to the head actually busts Orton open VERY badly. Lesnar just keeps hammering on him while the fans chant GOLDBERG until the referee FINALLY stops it at 11:47. I’ve heard a bunch of answers about what happened but I believe this was the planned ending and a hard way opening.

Rating: D. Yeah this didn’t work when it happened and it didn’t work again this time around. Lesnar suplexing Orton for five minutes then selling a few big moves doesn’t make me think it’s an awesome main event. This was everything wrong with Lesnar’s current WWE run in one match and that made for a really dull match, save for the odd finish that seemed designed to protect Orton. You know, after he was basically squashed.

Lesnar keeps hammering on him until the always intimidating Shane McMahon comes out, earning himself an F5 (which thankfully didn’t lead anywhere). Heyman panics as they leave to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. If you cut an hour (or more) out of this, it’s bordering on the classic level. As it is, this is just a good show that runs WAY too long. At some point you have to cut something out and WWE just refuses to do that. Cut out the Dudleys match or the women’s tag and give us some breathing room here because sweet goodness this show could use it.

Now that being said, there’s some outstanding stuff on here with the Styles vs. Cena match as an instant classic, the Women’s Title being very good, a great Universal Title match and really only the Tag Team Title match being without much value. The show is certainly good and the positives outweigh the negatives but unless the show is a masterpiece, fans are going to start losing interest near the end. It’s a solid show but cut out a good forty minutes to really make it great.

Ratings Comparison

American Alpha/Hype Bros/Usos vs. Breezango/Ascension/Vaudevillains

Original: C

2017 Redo: B-

Dudley Boyz vs. Neville/Sami Zayn

Original: C

2017 Redo: C-

Sheamus vs. Cesaro

Original: B-

2017 Redo: B

Chris Jericho/Kevin Owens vs. Enzo Amore/Big Cass

Original: C+

2017 Redo: C+

Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte

Original: B

2017 Redo: B

Miz vs. Apollo Crews

Original: C

2017 Redo: D+

John Cena vs. AJ Styles

Original: A

2017 Redo: A

New Day vs. Anderson and Gallows

Original: D+

2017 Redo: D

Dolph Ziggler vs. Dean Ambrose

Original: B-

2017 Redo: D+

Natalya/Alexa Bliss/Nikki Bella vs. Becky Lynch/Naomi/Carmella

Original: C

2017 Redo: D

Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins

Original: B+

2017 Redo: D+

Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton

Original: C+

2017 Redo: D

Overall Rating

Original: B

2017 Redo: B-

That’s quite the drop on Ambrose vs. Ziggler and Lesnar vs. Orton. Some of them are spot on though and that’s not the biggest surprise.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2016/08/21/summerslam-2016-they-didnt/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

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