And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

 

https://www.smarkdownsblog.com/wwe-summerslam-history

Summerslam 2013
Date: August 18, 2013
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 17,739
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

It’s a double main event tonight with a pair of smaller guys vs. big powerhouses with CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar and Daniel Bryan challenging John Cena for the World Title. This is remembered as one of the best shows in a very long time for WWE and it should be interesting to see how well it holds up. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: United States Title: Dean Ambrose vs. Rob Van Dam

Ambrose is defending and there’s no Shield with him to start. Some standing switches go nowhere and Ambrose continues to look moderately displeased by the whole thing at worst. Rob is right back up with a spinning kick to the chest, meaning he can hit those finger pokes. You don’t do that to Ambrose, who chops away in the corner and stops a charging Rob with a kick to the face.

The neck crank goes on, followed by a running dropkick against the ropes to keep Rob in trouble. It’s back to the chinlock with the microphones picking up the spot calling. Rob is right back up with a kick to the face and the split legged moonsault out of the corner for two. A kick to the head breaks up the original Dirty Deeds (headlock driver) but here are Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. That brings out Mark Henry and Big Show and we take a break. Back with everyone standing at ringside and Dean dropping an elbow for two. The ECW chants bring Rob back to life but Dean sends him outside.

That means a staredown between the four on the floor with Rob managing a suplex on Dean. The spinning kick to the back on the apron has Dean in even more trouble and it’s a top rope cannonball for two back inside. Dean is right back with a spinebuster for two of his own but misses his top rope elbow. Rob has to go after Rollins instead of trying the Five Star so he kicks Dean down again. The Five Star connects but Roman Reigns comes in with a spear for the DQ at 13:40.

Rating: B-. This worked rather well and is one of Van Dam’s last good matches either in WWE or anywhere for that matter. He looked like his old self here and made Ambrose look good, even when he got the DQ win. This was still before Shield had reached their peak and they were far better as a team anyway. It got the crowd going and happened to be a good match in the process. Not bad for the Kickoff.

Here’s the Miz as your host for the evening. His task at the moment: tell us about the main events we already know. How TNA of him. We’re about to hear our first match but Fandango and Summer Rae cut him off with some dancing. Miz: “Really? Really? WELCOME TO SUMMERSLAM!”

The opening video focuses on Los Angeles and how big things happen here. Like Summerslam. That’s a nice motif and it moves into the double main event, which is indeed sounding great. Future note: the music during this video would become Akira Tozawa’s theme (not sure if that’s a Network edit or not).

Dig that pyro. Seriously with all the money they have, we can only get it at Wrestlemania and the Saudi shows?

Jojo from Total Divas sings the National Anthem. This was a plot point on Total Divas because that she needed to stretch for plot points.

Kane vs. Bray Wyatt

This is a Ring of Fire match, meaning an Inferno match with pins and submissions only. It’s also Bray’s in-ring debut, which is almost weird to imagine. Harper and Rowan are in Wyatt’s corner, as tends to be the case. The bell rings and the flames come up, going all of six inches high. Kane slugs away to start and the flames do go higher as someone lands on the mat.

Harper and Rowan get closer to the ring and the flames go WAY up to make things look a lot better. Kane hits a suplex to pop the flames again and avoids a big boot, sending Bray close to the fire. Bray’s running splash in the corner connects and he hammers away as the fans aren’t exactly thrilled so far. Back up and Kane sends him into the corner and the side slam makes the flames go up again. The chokeslam is broken up and Harper tries to throw in a kendo stick but the flames cut it off.

Cue the fireman to put the stick out, allowing Kane to hit the chokeslam. Rowan grabs the fire extinguisher to try and put out the flames but they come right back up as Kane hits another chokeslam. For some reason there’s no cover so Kane hits a third chokeslam, meaning it’s Tombstone time. Hold on again though as Harper and Rowan put a blanket over the flames and get in for the beatdown. The fans want Undertaker but settle for Sister Abigail to finish Kane at 7:49.

Rating: F. Well that was dumb. You have Wyatt getting destroyed until the goons saved him, the flames not lasting seven minutes before someone figured a way around them, and the match being dreadful until the ending. Pick two of them and you can figure out what was wrong with this one. It was a good idea on paper but the execution was a nightmare, which sums up Wyatt’s whole career.

Post match Wyatt puts on his hat and sits in the rocking chair as Harper and Rowan put Kane’s head on the steps. They pick up the other steps and crush his head for the big knockout, which looked better than most of the match. Harper and Rowan carry Kane out.

The Kickoff Show panel talks about the Wyatt Family.

On the Kickoff Show, Paul Heyman talked about how the real story of David vs. Goliath is that Goliath took the best shot and then destroyed David. Heyman has gotten both sides to agree that tonight can be No DQ so Lesnar can finish Punk for good.

Damien Sandow vs. Cody Rhodes

Sandow is Mr. Money in the Bank and cost Cody the briefcase to break up their team. Before the match, Sandow talks about how there have been great pairings throughout literary history, with each pair having a lackey. Tonight, Sandow proves that he was the leader by sending Cody back to the land of clowns. Cody starts fast and hammers away before getting two off a backdrop. Sandow is right back with a suplex and a double arm crank as this is already feeling like a TV match.

An early Cross Rhodes attempt is blocked and Sandow hits the Russian legsweep into the wind-up elbow for two. Something like Edge’s Edgecation goes on but Cody kicks away without much effort. Cody catches him on top with a MuscleBuster of all things and that gets the fans into things for a change. A missile dropkick gives Cody two more and the Disaster Kick knocks Sandow silly for another two. Cody misses a charge into the post to give Sandow two but Cody snaps off Cross Rhodes for the pin at 6:39.

Rating: D. This was a case where Cody should have won the briefcase and moved up to the World Title scene but instead they went with Sandow and the whole thing flopped because no one bought him in that spot. Maybe they were planning on having Cody take the briefcase from him, but the damage was already done. It’s a case of putting too much thought into things as WWE screwed up something else.

We recap Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio for the Smackdown World Title. Alberto had put Christian on the shelf late last year and now Christian is the challenger of the month. Actually saying this is recapping Christian vs. Alberto is a little misleading as Alberto is neither seen nor mentioned in the video. I know he’s not interesting but come on now.

Smackdown World Title: Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio

Alberto is defending. They circle each other a few times until a loud kick to the leg has Christian in trouble. A headlock doesn’t do much for the champ as Christian comes back up with a right hand and a toss over the ropes. Back in and Christian gets caught on top for the running enziguri into the running kicks to the chest. It’s time to go to the arm, as tends to be Del Rio’s style.

The armbar doesn’t last long so Del Rio throws him into the air for the big crash to the mat. A top rope double stomp to the arm gets two but Del Rio misses a charge and goes crashing out to the floor. That lets Christian hit a dive off the top and they’re both down. Back in and Del Rio goes right back to the arm, because it’s a plan that works well. He deviates from said plan by going up and diving into raised boots though, allowing Christian to hammer away in the corner.

The high crossbody gets two on the champ but the Killswitch is countered into a Backstabber. Another running enziguri in the corner rocks Christian for two more but he’s fine enough to hit a middle rope elbow to the jaw. A super hurricanrana gives Christian another two and it’s time for the spear.

Since the idea of selling Christian’s spear makes anyone cringe, Del Rio dropkicks him in the face for two instead. There’s a low superkick for another two, with the fans dubbing this awesome. Eh…..it’s close but I don’t know about that. Christian hits the spear out of nowhere but the arm is banged up, allowing Del Rio to slap on the armbreaker for the tap at 12:29.

Rating: B. I can’t go all the way to awesome but this was a rather fun match with Christian throwing everything he had. That being said, I wasn’t buying a lot of the near falls as Christian never hit the Killswitch and Del Rio never won with anything but the armbreaker. Christian’s career was more or less done at this point, as he would be put out of action again in a few months and have his last comeback with his final match in March.

Post match Del Rio says he’ll be the hero Los Angeles needs. Someone get this man a big bus!

Video on Summerslam Axxess earlier in the day, complete with a women’s tag match including Marina Menunos.

Maria is here and talks about the Bella Twins freaking out about Maria saying Natalya did well on Total Divas. Cue Fandango and Summer Rae to dance but Maria and Miz do just the same, leaving Fandango and Summer looking annoyed.

Natalya vs. Brie Bella

Cameron, Naomi, Eva Marie and Nikki Bella are here because this is the Total Divas match of the night. It’s weird seeing Natalya in regular gear instead of the leather she’s worn for years now. You can tell this is serious as they exchanged SLAPS on Raw. They fight over failed hiptoss attempts to start and it’s time for another slapoff. Brie has to bail to the floor to avoid the Sharpshooter so Nikki and Eva get in some cheating to take Natalya to the floor. The fans chant for JBL instead of this mess before quickly shifting over to the other announcers. Or maybe it’s an old Jerry Graham fan club.

Brie grabs the chinlock as the fans want tables. Egads the idea of the Total Divas crew trying to do something that complicated. The chinlock goes on again because that’s their best idea at the moment. Natalya fights out without much trouble but the Sharpshooter is countered with a rollup into the corner. The other four get in a fight on the floor and it’s a THIRD CHINLOCK in less than five minutes. Natalya breaks it up and, with the fans saying they want Ryder, slaps on the Sharpshooter for the win at 5:21.

Rating: D-. Any match that involves three chinlocks in less than five minutes is pretty self explanatory. There was no story here other than they were arguing about a reality show and that’s enough to get us here. The wrestling was pretty awful with the talented Natalya not being good enough to carry Brie. At least it was short, but this really had no business being on Summerslam.

Ryback, currently a bully, yells at catering about the soup being cold. It’s supposed to be, which Ryback knew of course. The soup goes down the chef’s shirt and then over his head. Ryback: “Feed me moron.” Make sure you catch his podcast so he can tell you how he came up with that entire idea and how it would have been a classic if WWE supported him.

We recap CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar. Punk was about to win Money in the Bank but Paul Heyman turned on him because Punk was nothing without him. Heyman brought Lesnar back in to destroy Punk, who had been Heyman’s friend and client for a long time. It’s a pretty easy tagline: The Best vs. The Beast. This was better than the UFC version: Former UFC Heavyweight Champion vs. The Miserable Failure.

CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar

No DQ. I know I say this a lot, but a fired up Lesnar is a terrifying human being. Punk shrugs off the shoulders in the corner to start so Lesnar just does them again. The CM PUNK chants begin and you can feel the energy in this one. A heck of a beal across the ring rocks Punk and it’s time for some choking in the corner. Punk manages a kick to the head and Lesnar is rocked, followed by some running knees to put him outside.

The suicide dive connects as I can’t help but look for the baseball sized growth on his back (it’s just hard not to). Punk tries the steps but Brock knocks them right back into him without much effort. Lesnar posts himself though and Punk scores with a top rope dive to stagger him again. The clothesline off the announcers’ table connects as well but Punk makes the mistake of going after Heyman. Lesnar LAUNCHES him over the table and Cole is declaring this one over already.

Back in and Punk starts kicking at the leg so Lesnar hits him in the face (don’t make it complicated). The bearhug stays on the ribs as you can’t fault Lesnar’s plan. Punk’s escape plan: hit Lesnar in the face. See? He’s learning too. Lesnar goes right back to the ribs and the slow pace continues. Another bearhug goes on and gets broken up by more shots to the face. Punk kicks him in the ribs and goes up, only to dive into a World’s Strongest Slam (giving us a great OH DANG IT face).

Some backbreakers get two as Punk’s ribs are being destroyed and we hit the chinlock. Punk bites the ear to escape and starts striking away, setting up a top rope knee to the face to FINALLY put Lesnar down. Some running knees in the corner connect and a kick to the head sets up the Macho Elbow (almost a splash) for a hot two. The GTS and F5 are both countered so Punk kicks him in the head again.

Another GTS attempt is countered into the Kimura but that’s reversed into a triangle choke. You just don’t do that to a power guy like Lesnar though, as he turns it over into a powerbomb….which doesn’t break anything. Lesnar powers up again though, this time into a heck of a running powerbomb for the real break. The delayed cover gets two and a ticked off Lesnar rolls some suplexes for two more.

Lesnar takes his sweet time going outside so Punk can get up top for a dive. That’s blocked by a raised chair, but Punk still drives it into Lesnar at the same time. That means Punk can beat the heck out of Lesnar with the chair and it’s Punk getting fired up this time. Back in and Punk hits him low, meaning it’s time to go up top for the Macho Elbow with the chair. Lesnar can’t get up (that’s a rare shot) so Punk hits him again, leaving Heyman to take the chair.

Brock is back up and grabs the F5 but Punk grabs Heyman’s tie for the block. Punk slips out and hits the GTS with Heyman having to make a save. The chase is on and Punk runs into the F5, which is countered into a DDT for two. The Anaconda Vice goes on, but since Lesnar’s legs aren’t kicking you know it’s not a finish. Heyman tries to come in with a chair….but Punk steps onto it. A right hand drops Heyman and Punk puts him in the Vice (like an idiot). Lesnar gets in the chair shot to Punk and the F5 onto the chair is good for the pin at 25:17.

Rating: A. Oh I loved this one all over again. The one part holding it back was Heyman getting involved once too often and Punk getting stupid by putting him in the Vice (he’s way too smart to get that caught up no matter what). Other than that, this was an incredible display of the underdog (who happens to be a multiple time World Champion) going after the unbeatable monster and getting dangerously close to stopping him. I was getting into the near falls here and that says a lot given that I knew how it was ending. Awesome stuff and the blueprint for how to have a smaller guy fight Lesnar.

Punk gets the big hero’s sendoff in what would be his last great match.

A fan took a Mark Henry splash for Summerslam tickets. I’d do it too. The fan and his friends will be ringside for the next match.

Dolph Ziggler/Kaitlyn vs. Big E. Langston/AJ Lee

Langston and Lee turned on Ziggler so he got Kaitlyn, who lost the Divas Title to AJ, on his side for this. It’s so strange seeing Big E. as his old self. The guys start and Big E. goes straight to an abdominal stretch to take over. It’s already off to the women with AJ kicking Kaitlyn in the face for two. The sleeper on Kaitlyn’s back keeps things slow and we look at the fans eating Doritos (sponsor).

Kaitlyn fights up and brings Ziggler back in for the dropkick and rapid fire elbow drops to Big E. Since they’re just elbows, Big E. is right back up with an over the shoulder backbreaker for two with Kaitlyn making the save. A hard running shoulder in the corner only hits post, leaving Kaitlyn to hit a heck of a spear to AJ on the floor (AJ always sold that perfectly). Big E. is fine enough to try the Big Ending but Ziggler reverses into the Zig Zag for the pin at 6:45.

Rating: D+. This was nothing but a way to let the crowd calm down a bit after the instant classic and there’s nothing wrong with being in that spot. Kaitlyn’s spear looked awesome and it was always cool to see Big E. throwing humans around like they were toys. The Ziggler push was already dying around this time but somehow he would still be kicking around in big spots six years later. WWE is funny/stupid in that way.

Fandango interrupts Miz one more time so Miz lays him out. Cole: “It’s Fan-DOWN-Go.” No Cole, it isn’t.

The Kickoff Panel does what Kickoff Panels do. In this case that means picking Daniel Bryan to beat John Cena for the title.

We recap Cena vs. Bryan. Cena was given the chance to pick his challenger for this show and selected Bryan, who had worked his way up the card like few others in recent years. Management hated the idea because Bryan wasn’t good enough and tried to give Bryan a corporate makeover. Bryan refused to cut his beard though because he was going to be himself. HHH, who has seemed to favor Bryan, is guest referee. Bryan and Cena have played up the sports entertainment vs. wrestling deal, which is exactly what this match should be about.

Raw World Title: John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan

Bryan is challenging with HHH as guest referee. Cena is also sporting a massive growth on his elbow, which was leaving him desperately in need of surgery because it’s the size of a baseball. Bryan isn’t getting the superstar pops yet but he’s cheered more than Cena. We get the Big Match Intros and I had forgotten about Bryan’s THE BEARD IS HERE shirt. Cena grabs a headlock to start as they have a ton of time here.

Bryan rolls out with no trouble and it’s an early standoff. Back up and Cena tries a test of strength, which is blocked by a bridge. The YES Lock attempt sends Cena bailing to the floor and he tells the doctor that his arm is fine. Back in and Bryan takes him down into the surfboard knee stomp as Cena is in way over his head with the wrestling. Therefore, he runs Bryan over for a knock to the floor because power is his best bet. Cena follows him outside but gets sent into the steps, only to manage a suplex off the steps to put Bryan down again.

Back in and Cena whips him hard into the corner as Bryan has no answer for the power game just yet. A Batista Bomb gives Cena two and the chinlock goes on. Bryan fights up and forearms away, setting up some kicks in the corner to put Cena on defense again. The running clothesline drops Cena and you can feel the fans’ energy picking up. The YES Kicks connect but, as usual, the big one misses and Cena fires off the shoulders.

Cena takes too long with the Shuffle though and gets kicked in the head, only to come back with the ProtoBomb. Now the Shuffle connects but the AA doesn’t work just yet. Instead Bryan hits a missile dropkick for two as they’re going back and forth very well here. Over ten minutes in, Bryan finally goes after the BIG FREAKING BULGE on his arm to take over. Cena tries the STF but Bryan kicks away and grabs one of his own. The rope is grabbed so Bryan hits a pair of German suplexes for a pair of twos.

Now it’s off to the YES Lock but Cena slips out, earning himself a guillotine choke instead. That’s countered with a backdrop into the corner (cool) and they’re both down for a second. Cena grabs the AA out of nowhere for two and they’re down a bit longer. With nothing working, Cena goes up but Bryan catches him with the running forearms to stagger him. Bryan superplexes him down but hangs on to stay up top for a cool visual.

The Swan Dive connects for two so Cena runs him over with the clothesline for two of his own. Cole mentions that HHH is referee, marking the most significant HHH portion of the match over twenty minutes in. Cena’s super AA is blocked by elbows to the head but Cena blocks the super hurricanrana. That means jumping down and dropping Bryan on top of his head in a botch I had forgotten about so the cringing is strong. The STF goes on with Bryan rolling over to take off some of the pressure.

Bryan manages to reverse into the YES Lock until Cena makes the rope. The running corner dropkicks have Cena in more trouble so he comes out of the corner with the hard clothesline to turn Bryan inside out. The slugout it on until they both hit flying shoulders for another double knockdown. Bryan wins the next slugout but the moonsault out of the corner is caught on Cena’s shoulders. That’s countered into a DDT and they’re both down again. Bryan tries a high crossbody but gets caught in the AA. It’s reversed again and Bryan kicks him in the head, setting up the debuting running knee for the pin and the title at 26:54.

Rating: A+. I go back and forth on which of the two big matches I like more and this time around I liked the story that much more. Bryan debuting the running knee to win is still one of my favorite things in a long time as it came out of nowhere and makes the move look devastating right off the bat. They had a great battle of styles here with both guys sticking with their respective specialties until Bryan broke down the machine through heart and determination, plus some awesome strikes. I had a great time with this one and it was one of the best matches I’ve seen in a good while.

Post match Cena hands him the title and leaves, likely straight to the hospital to get that thing out of his arm. The confetti falls and pyro goes off….and here’s Randy Orton with the other Money in the Bank briefcase, because we needed two of them. Orton does the big staredown, teases leaving, turns back around…and HHH lays Bryan out with the Pedigree to turn full heel.

Raw World Title: Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan

Bryan is defending as well as out so Orton wins the title in eight seconds. There’s your major story over the next eight months and yes I still believe that Bryan winning the title at Wrestlemania was the plan all along (details to be determined).

Overall Rating: A-. This is one of those shows where the good is excellent and the rest just exists. That being said, with the two awesome main events and a rather good Del Rio vs. Christian match, you have a seven match card (leaving out the cash-in match) with three of them receiving some rather high praise. That’s about as good as you can get and it’s one of the better shows in recent memory. Yeah the other four matches range from bad to rather bad, but their times combined are about equal to the main event. Excellent show and worth your time (as in less than three hours) to see.

Ratings Comparison

Rob Van Dam vs. Dean Ambrose

Original: B-
2014 Redo: B-
2017 Redo: D+

2019 Redo: B-

Bray Wyatt vs. Kane

Original: D+

2014 Redo: D

2017 Redo: F+

2019 Redo: F

Damien Sandow vs. Cody Rhodes

Original: C

2014 Redo: D+

2017 Redo: C+

2019 Redo: D

Alberto Del Rio vs. Christian

Original: B+

2014 Redo: B

2017 Redo: B

2019 Redo: B

Brie Bella vs. Natalya

Original: F

2014 Redo: D-

2017 Redo: D-

2019 Redo: D-

Brock Lesnar vs. CM Punk

Original: A+

2014 Redo: A+

2017 Redo: A+

2019 Redo: A

Big E. Langston/AJ Lee vs. Dolph Ziggler/AJ Lee

Original: C-

2014 Redo: D+

2017 Redo: D+

2019 Redo: D+

Daniel Bryan vs. John Cena

Original: A+

2014 Redo: A+

2017 Redo: A+

2019 Redo: A+

Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan

Original: N/A

2014 Redo: N/A

2017 Redo: N/A

2019 Redo: N/A

Overall Rating

Original: A-

2014 Redo: A

2017 Redo: A-

2019 Redo: A-

Was I in a really bad mood when I watched the Kickoff Show in 2017? And I’m all over the place with Cody vs. Sandow. Other than that, it’s pretty much the definitive set of ratings here.

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

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AND

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

Summerslam 2012
Date: August 19, 2013
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 14,205
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

So Brock Lesnar is back and someone has to stop him. Naturally in this case that means HHH, who is still one of the most important people in the company. Lesnar broke HHH’s arm so HHH is back in the ring to get some revenge. That is pretty much the entire focus of the show, along with the required World Title matches. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Santino Marella vs. Antonio Cesaro

Cesaro (and yes, Antonio Cesaro), with Aksana, is challenging and gets to say “greatest” in five languages before his match (and yes, we were supposed to be surprised when this didn’t get over). They grapple to the mat to start and Marella can actually hang with him down there, followed by a judo throw to bring Cesaro down.

Cesaro breaks out of an armbar without much trouble but Marella is already loading up the Cobra. That’s not happening either so Cesaro takes him to the mat for a chinlock with a knee in Marella’s back. Marella gets up and suplexes Cesaro down but the Cobra is ripped up. Marella fights back and pulls out another Cobra, only for Aksana to offer a distraction. The Neutralizer gives Cesaro the pin and the title at 5:09.

Rating: C. That’s all it should have been as Cesaro wasn’t going to be in any danger against a joke like Marella. The point in putting the title on Marella was to have him lose it in dominant fashion against a big threat and that’s what we got here. The match was nothing of note but that wasn’t the point, as Cesaro basically mauled him in the end.

The opening video looks at the history of Summerslam before shifting to Lesnar vs. HHH. The other matches are basically ignored, as this is all that matters.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Chris Jericho

Ziggler is Mr. Money In The Bank and has Vickie Guerrero with him while Jericho only has bad ribs (thanks to Ziggler on Smackdown). Ziggler bails out to the floor to start so Jericho gives chase, setting up a running elbow to the jaw back inside. With the running stuff not working, Ziggler gets smart by going after the ribs to take over. An ax handle to the ribs gets two but Jericho is back up with a backdrop to the floor (with a heck of a bump from Ziggler).

Jericho does the Hogan hand to the ear but misses the triangle…well it wasn’t going to be a dropkick even if it hit. Back in and Ziggler takes him down into some kind of a rib stretch, followed by a Stinger Splash for two. A neckbreaker lets Ziggler mock the arrogant cover for two more but another Stinger Splash misses. Jericho hits the middle rope ax handle but gets sent into the corner again, allowing Ziggler to hit the Fameasser for two.

The enziguri gives Jericho two of his own but Ziggler is right back with a rather messy looking sleeper. That’s broken up (because it’s a sleeper) so Jericho catches him on top with a super hurricanrana and they both crash down. The running DDT gives Ziggler two and the Zig Zag gets the same, leaving Vickie screaming on the floor.

Back up and Jericho hits a quick Codebreaker but Ziggler rolls out to the floor. Vickie grabs the leg so Jericho can get two off a small package, leaving her screaming again. The Liontamer makes Ziggler tap at 13:04. This is described as Jericho “winning the big one” at Summerslam and….really? He’s won matches at Summerslam before but THIS is the big one?

Rating: B-. The match was fine as you would expect, but I’m not buying this being Jericho winning “the big one” at Summerslam. Jericho is a former multiple time World Champion and has main evented Wrestlemania. Having him win an opener against someone like Ziggler doesn’t feel like a major accomplishment, but rather just something he happens to be doing here.

We look at Brock Lesnar breaking Shawn Michaels’ arm on Raw, which even Paul Heyman thinks might be too far.

Heyman announces that HHH has talked the referee into letting them go a bit further tonight. Lesnar says HHH is in a fight he can’t win, with Heyman saying the two words are “tap out”.

Daniel Bryan vs. Kane

So they’re both having trouble dealing with anger, including Bryan being VERY angry that the fans are cheering for him, even if it’s more mocking this time. Bryan kicks away at the ribs to start before moonsaulting over Kane, who plants him with a slam. The basement dropkick gets one and Kane throws him hard out to the floor. Bryan gets in a shot on the floor though and the missle dropkick gets two back inside.

The fans get to Bryan again but he fires off the YES Kicks anyway. The big kick to the head misses (as it almost always does) though and Kane drops him with a hard clothesline. Kane’s side slam gets two as the loose string on his boot is driving me crazy. There’s the top rope clothesline for two but Bryan escapes the chokeslam and bails outside.

Back in and Bryan hits him in the face, which goes about as well as you probably expect. Bryan goes for the arm though and now the big kick to the head connects. The top rope headbutt is countered into a chokeslam but the Tombstone is countered into a small package (ignore Kane’s shoulder being up) for the pin at 8:03.

Rating: C+. This was another fun one, as Bryan gets to work in his small package, which has been a near trademark for him over the years. The double anger management thing was a good touch and the two of them worked well together in any capacity. If nothing else, this was a lot better than the rumored deal with Charlie Sheen for Bryan, as he and Kane would wind up having a heck of a run together as a team shortly after this.

Post match Kane stalks Bryan to the back, shouting WHERE IS HE and breaking various things (including Josh Matthews).

Intercontinental Title: Rey Mysterio vs. The Miz

Mysterio, as Batman, is challenging but Miz tops him by bringing back the awesome AWESOME balloons for his own entrance. Miz gets in an early knockdown to start so Mysterio grabs a rollup for two, sending him outside. They trade spots a few times, allowing Mysterio to dropkick him through the ropes.

Back in and Miz fires off some kicks, setting up a torture rack dropped into a backbreaker for two. A kick to the head gives Miz two and we hit the cravate. Miz hits a clothesline from his knees for another near fall but Mysterio catches him up top. The top rope seated senton starts the comeback but Miz is right there with a snazzy slingshot sitout powerbomb. Mysterio is back up with a 619 so he tries to Drop The Dime, which is pulled out of the air. That’s reversed into a cradle for two but Miz is right back with the Skull Crushing Finale for the pin to retain at 9:09.

Rating: C+. This was a match that could have been on any given Raw and again that’s not exactly Summerslam worthy. I can always go for the Miz, but this was just he and Mysterio having a match which came and went without doing much of anything. Totally fine and watchable stuff, but for a Monday night in the middle of May, not at the Staples Center at Summerslam.

Eve Torres and Teddy Long think Raw GM AJ Lee is a bit nuts. They leave and CM Punk goes in to see Lee, saying that he doesn’t like being in a triple threat for his title. Punk thinks it’s because he turned down her proposal (Lee was….something at this point), though Lee won’t say anything. He says that’s rather disrespectful, but promises to defend the title tonight. Then tomorrow on Raw, she’ll be forced to show him respect. Lee continues to look off into space and not say a word as Punk leaves.

We recap Alberto Del Rio challenging Sheamus for the Smackdown World Title. Del Rio said Sheamus was beneath him and wanted the title, which is the entire point of the feud. Sheamus stole Del Rio’s car and drove it around San Antonio before leaving the car a mess. Del Rio teased getting Sheamus arrested but had fake cops beat Sheamus up instead. The match was still on for Summerslam.

Smackdown World Title: Alberto Del Rio vs. Sheamus

Sheamus is defending and Ricardo Rodriguez is here with Del Rio (ok I had forgotten how good the personalized ring announcing can be). They start fast and go to the floor, with both of them being sent into a hard object. Back in and Del Rio kicks him in the head, followed by another one to the bad arm to put Sheamus in trouble. The cross armbreaker is easily countered into the Regal Roll for two but Del Rio kicks him in the arm again.

Another cross armbreaker attempt is cut off but the Brogue Kick misses as well. Del Rio knocks him outside, followed by a top rope chop to the head for two back inside. More kicks have Sheamus in trouble but he fights up with the raw power. Del Rio goes right back to the arm to knock him out of the air though and the cross armbreaker finally goes on.

That’s broken up with quite the powerbomb, followed by White Noise for two. The Brogue Kick is blocked so Sheamus hits the ten forearms to the chest. Del Rio kicks him in the head for two so Rodriguez throws in a shoe. That’s intercepted and Sheamus hits the Irish Curse for the pin, but Del Rio’s foot is on the rope…and it doesn’t matter as Sheamus knocks it off and gets the win at 11:23.

Rating: B-. This is a basic story that makes perfect sense, but that doesn’t make it interesting. I remember watching this feud as it played out and there was never a moment where I felt invested in the story. It’s just Sheamus having matches with someone who felt beneath him and that wasn’t going to work. The stuff with the car was fine, but Del Rio didn’t feel like a threat to win the title, which sums up a lot of the issues he had after around 2011 or so.

Sheamus’ “oh well” shrug and smile are great. Del Rio blames Rodriguez for the loss and walks out.

Earlier today, HHH told the referee to let he and Brock Lesnar fight tonight.

Tag Team Titles: Prime Time Players vs. Kofi Kingston/R-Truth

Kingston and R-Truth are defending. The serious R-Truth jumps Young to start and hammers away. Young drives him into the corner though and hands it off to O’Neil for some barking. A front facelock slows R-Truth down but he’s back up with a kick to the face. Kingston comes in to clean house, including the Boom Drop to O’Neil.

The chase around the ring goes badly for Kingston though as a cheap shot lets the villains take over. O’Neil suplexes Young onto Kingston for two. Commentary discusses Little Jimmy’s parentage as O’Neil puts on an abdominal stretch. That’s broken up and it’s back to R-Truth as everything breaks down. Young grabs a rollup for two but walks into Little Jimmy for the pin to retain at 7:03.

Rating: C-. If there has been a recurring theme on this show, it’s “this doesn’t feel like it belongs on Summerslam” and this match is the poster child for those issues. This would have been dull on any given edition of Raw and it wasn’t any better here. I get that you need a bit of a breather between two of the bigger matches, but as usual, the Tag Team Titles do not feel remotely important. It’s not the wrestlers’ fault as they had a decent enough match, but dang this felt out of place.

We look at WWE taking over Los Angeles.

We recap CM Punk defending the Raw World Title against John Cena and Big Show. Punk got tired of the lack of respect despite being World Champion and turned evil by attacking Cena. In addition, Show has been knocking people out to keep himself involved as well. Rather kooky General Manager AJ Lee made it a triple threat to torment Punk, who is all about getting respect.

Raw World Title: CM Punk vs. John Cena vs. Big Show

Punk is defending. Show drops both of them to dominate early and hits the big chops. A double suplex sends Cena and Punk flying and Show knocks Cena outside. Back up and Punk gets smart by kicking the leg out as the fans are rather pro-Punk. Cena comes back in and gets kicked down for two, only for Show to stand on Punk’s back. Show sends Cena outside again and pulls a springboarding Punk out of the air to plant him down.

Back in and Cena gets speared down for two, setting up a Vader Bomb. Punk moves out of the way so Cena gets fully crushed, leaving Punk to be chokeslammed against the ropes. The side slam plants Cena as this has been almost all Show. Cena is back up with the ProtoBomb to drop Show but Punk is right there to break up the Shuffle. Punk drops a top rope elbow for two, with the kickout sending him flying.

Another kick to the head sets up a Koji Clutch, which is broken up in short order. Cena gets Show in the STF but it’s countered as well. Punk gets the Koji Clutch on Show again but Cena adds the STF and Show taps at 12:34. Punk and Cena both celebrate but there’s no ruling. Cue AJ Lee to say restart the match, so Show chokeslams both of them for two each. The KO Punch misses though and Cena gives Show the AA, only to be thrown outside so Punk can steal the pin to retain at 14:28.

Rating: B-. Show looked dominant, but the double submission took a lot of that away in a hurry. I didn’t even remember this match taking place here and that’s because, and I hate to sound like such a corrupted mp3 (because my goodness it’s time enough to get a new metaphor) but this isn’t something that felt worthy of being on Summerslam. It’s just another triple threat that feels like what you do when you don’t have a good enough idea. AJ being all crazy and messing with Punk is fine, but find a better way to do it.

Celebrities are here!

We look at the new WWE movie, the Day. It had no wrestlers in prominent roles, got bad reviews and made $20,000 in theaters.

We look at Cesaro winning the US Title on the pre-show.

Kevin Rudolph sings the theme song. Were we really short on time here or something? Various WWE women come out to dance, with Michael Cole doing the same on commentary.

We recap HHH vs. Brock Lesnar. Basically Lesnar had a bunch of demands, like a looser schedule, Vince McMahon’s private jet and more money, but HHH said no chance. Lesnar broke HHH’s arm and a few months later, the match was set for Summerslam. This led to an almost bizarre visual of Stephanie McMahon arguing with Paul Heyman, which might have been even more entertaining. Lesnar responded by breaking Shawn Michaels’ arm as well and the match was on.

HHH vs. Brock Lesnar

The rules are slightly relaxed here and Lesnar has Paul Heyman with him. Lesnar powers him into the corner to start but the Kimura is blocked. HHH clotheslines him to the floor and hits the running knee to put Lesnar down for a breather. Another clothesline puts Lesnar on the floor and Heyman tells him to slow it down. Back in and Lesnar takes the gloves off before knocking HHH outside.

The previously broken arm is dropped onto the announcers’ table as HHH is in trouble. Back in and HHH slugs away but gets cut off with a German suplex. They go back outside and the bad arm is sent into the steps. HHH gets sent over the announcers’ table, followed by a hard clothesline back inside.

HHH fights back and tries the Pedigree but gets sent back to the floor, with the arm getting banged up again. Lesnar goes after him but HHH sends him ribs first into the announcers’ table, leaving Lesnar in trouble. Back in and HHH fires off the knees to the ribs, followed by the spinebuster. The Pedigree gets two so Lesnar hits him low for a breather. The F5 gives Lesnar two (Heyman: “WHAT DOES IT TAKE?”) so the Kimura goes on. That’s broken up and HHH hits another Pedigree, only to get caught in the Kimura for the tap at 18:43.

Rating: B. I guess you can call this the match of the night, as it’s the only match on the show that was treated as a big deal. It wasn’t exactly in doubt as HHH isn’t going to beat Lesnar at Summerslam (he would of course save that for Wrestlemania), which left this as kind of an “ok, and then what?” feeling. The stuff with the arm worked as a story, but it was a question of how Lesnar would win rather than would he win.

Post match Lesnar and Heyman leave, with HHH doing the big dramatic stand as the fans cheer for him. HHH: “I’m sorry.” Somehow this feud would continue for about eight more months, with HHH winning at Wrestlemania (of course) and Lesnar beating him at Extreme Rules to wrap it up and finally move on to something new.

Overall Rating: C+. The show isn’t bad as a whole, but there is a reason I saw this on the list and could barely remember anything about it. Outside of the main event, this is as nothing of a Summerslam as you’ll ever find, with pretty much nothing important happening here. So much of this show feels like it’s setting up something else for later and that’s not what I’m wanting out of one of the biggest events of the year. I get the idea of building off of this, but there was just nothing going on here and it’s a totally forgettable show as a result.

 

 

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Saturday Night’s Main Event XLV
Date: July 18, 2026
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett
Hosts: Stephanie McMahon, Joe Tessitore

We’re in the Garden and naturally that means the focus is on Danhausen, who may or may not have caused the New York Knicks to win the NBA Championship last month. Not only are we in the Knicks’ home arena, but their star Jalen Brunson is here as well. The main event is CM Punk/Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther/Sami Zayn with the latter being added to the Summerslam World Title match if they win. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Laredo Kid vs. Trick Williams

Non-title and this isn’t something you see very often these days. Williams (sans Lil Yachty) shoulders him down to start and knocks Kid into the corner. Kid is right back with some kicks to the ribs and what appears to be dancing. That’s shrugged off so Williams can hammer away in the corner and point to his own chest. Kid tries to reverse a suplex into a small package for two, which is reversed into said suplex.

Williams is dropped onto the top turnbuckle though and it’s a superkick into a moonsault for two. Back up and Williams gets in a neckbreaker to start the comeback, with some right hands leaving Kid in trouble. There’s the flapjack and Williams takes down his hair, allowing him to stomp away in the corner (something something Lemon Pepper Steppers). Kid is able to low bridge him to the floor though and there’s the big step up flip dive. Another moonsault misses for Kid, who gets Trick Shotted for the pin at 7:17.

Rating: C+. The fans are going to like anything Williams does right now so putting him out there to warm up the crowd is a fine way to start the night. I’m not sure how Kid got this spot as he’s the most random opponent in the world though at least it wasn’t some big, important title match. Nice action heavy match here with Williams getting a basic win.

The opening video look sat the history of the venue and…yeah that’s where the focus needed to be.

Stephanie McMahon and Joe Tessitore are rather happy to be here.

Women’s Tag Team Titles; Fatal Influence vs. Brie Bella/Paige

Bella and Paige are defending. Reid jumps Paige to start but Paige is right back with a Thesz press and right hands of her own. Bella comes in to take Henley into the corner, with the champs getting to go with the alternate beatings. A blind tag brings Reid back in though and Paige gets taken into the wrong corner. That doesn’t last long as Paige fights up and brings in Bella to fire off the kicks.

A missile dropkick gets two on Henley but she gets the foot on the rope to break the YES Lock. Everything breaks down and Henley is sent crashing out to the floor. Paige kicks Reid down so Jacy Jayne offers a distraction, allowing Henley to get back in for a cheap shot. Reid misses a charge into the post though and Bella cuts Henley off. Paige’s rollup….is reversed by Jayne into a rollup with Reid grabbing the trunks to win the titles at 7:15.

Rating: C+. Thank goodness. I haven’t been a fan of Bella and Paige as their Cinderella story run hasn’t come off as interesting. Unfortunately it feels like we’re just going to be waiting around for Nikki Bella’s big comeback so the Bellas can win. That’s felt like it’s been the case since the initial Wrestlemania title win, but I’ll definitely take Fatal Influence winning, as I still think they could be something now that they’re actually having some success.

Sami Zayn is not happy about how badly things have been going for him lately because the whole situation has been unfair. Gunther comes in to say stay out of his way and don’t ruin Summerslam.

We get a video called The Cursefather, with Danhausen uncursing New York City and helping the New York Knicks win the NBA Championship. This cost Judgment Day money and they stole his special Knicks jersey. Curses ensued and now it is time for some revenge and…well you never know with Danhausen involved.

Judgment Day isn’t worried about Danhausen and his curses.

Danhausen vs. JD McDonagh

No DQ and Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio are here with McDonagh. Naturally Danhausen is in the Danhausenmobile and is in New York Knicks colors. And he even got a blimp! Mysterio distracts Danhausen with the jersey to start and the cheap shot sends Danhausen out to the floor. Back in and a middle rope elbow gives McDonagh two as Mysterio is using the jersey to wipe his boots.

Danhausen fights up and hammers away in the corner, which doesn’t last long as McDonagh knocks him back down. The jersey is laid on Danhausen but he avoids a moonsault. Danhausen gets the jersey back and fires off some right hands, followed by a Stundog Millionaire. Mysterio comes in and helps beat Danhausen down, with the jersey being stolen again.

Danhausen goes up the ramp so it’s time to get a table…and the Mini Hausens are back! Judgment Day fights them off as Danhausen clones the jersey….and gets Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns. The 7ft Towns (in a Knicks Danhausen shirt) gets in the ring for some chokeslams, with Mysterio going through the table. Danhausen’s Triple D finishes McDonagh at 11:35.

Rating: B-. This was pretty much entirely for the live crowd with Towns getting to show up and save Danhausen. It helps when he’s an actual giant and can make a quick impact like that, with the chokeslams looking good. Danhausen wasn’t going to lose to anyone here so they hardly tried anything more than a goofy match for the sake of the jersey.

Lyra Valkyria, looking more and more like Nikki Cross every day, is ready to end Bayley for good.

Video on Fanatics Fest, with all kinds of sports stars and a bunch of wrestlers doing…a lot of stuff. This is what Axxess feels like it should be.

Bayley is ready to finish Lyra Valkyria.

Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria

Bayley slaps her to start and grabs a double leg to fire off the right hands. A big elbow to the face seems to break Valkyria’s nose, as there is suddenly blood everywhere. The referee gets in a quick pause for the sake of a towel but Valkyria is right back in to hammer away. We pause again for more toweling but Valkyria is sent back in where she takes over. Valkyria sends her into the corner for a boot to the face but Bayley gets in a backdrop.

A Boston crab has Valkyria in more trouble until she slips out and grabs a neckbreaker over the corner. One heck of a top rope Fameasser in the top rope gets two on Bayley, who is fine enough to hit a sunset bomb into the corner. A Crossface lets Bayley rip at the damaged nose, with Valkyria flipping out in a hurry. The Bayley To Belly is countered as well, with Valkyria flipping her into a bulldog choke for the win at 10:30.

Rating: B. This was a hard hitting fight though I’m wondering how much of a difference the nose made. Bayley caught her pretty early on and there was only so much they could do if Valkyria was having trouble. The good thing here though is Valkyria gets her big win and can hopefully move on, though I’m not sure what is next for her from here.

Post match Valkyria chokes her out again and plants her onto the steps. So that’s what Valkyria is going to do next.

There will be NXT and AAA events in New York over Wrestlemania weekend.

We recap the main event. Sami Zayn won the World Title, Gunther attacked Cody Rhodes before his rematch, CM Punk stepped in and won the title, Rhodes vs. Punk is set, Gunther and Zayn both want rematches and receive them if they win here. Got all that? You should as it isn’t that complicated.

Rhodes and Punk are ready to team tonight but they’re ready to fight at Summerslam.

CM Punk/Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther/Sami Zayn

It’s a brawl to start with Punk taking over on Zayn, with Rhodes coming in to work on the arm. It’s back to Punk, who gets sent outside for a chop from Gunther, who whips him into the barricade for a bonus. Back in and Zayn hammers away on the mat and in the corner but Punk manages a quick high crossbody. Rhodes comes back in to strike away on Zayn and flip away from Gunther.

The Cody Cutter puts Gunther down for two but he breaks up Cross Rhodes. Zayn is back in with the same rollup he used to beat Rhodes for the title, followed by the Blue Thunder Bomb for two more. It’s back to Punk for a running knee and bulldog to Zayn, followed by the Anaconda Vice. Rhodes gets the Figure Four on Gunther, who leans over and rakes Punk’s eyes for the break.

Zayn is out as well and Helluva Kicks Punk but gets caught with Cross Rhodes. Gunther clotheslines Rhodes but walks into the GTS and everyone is down. Back up and Gunther sends Punk into Rhodes before grabbing the sleeper on Punk. That’s reversed but Punk can’t get the GTS. Instead Rhodes is back in for the Cross Rhodes, with Zayn pushing Punk into the cover for the save.

The GTS sends Zayn to the floor but the Disaster Kick misses Gunther and hits Punk by mistake. The referee is bumped somewhere in there and the belt shot knocks Rhodes silly. Gunther plants Rhodes with the powerbomb as another referee comes down. Cue Nick Aldis to pull the referee out (and yeah he knows where this is going) and send hit Gunther with the belt. Aldis throws the referee back inside and the GTS finishes Gunther at 14:08.

Rating: A-. That might be a bit high but this was almost non-stop action from start to finish and they accomplished a few things in the middle. It felt like a main event and it was rather good stuff, with the energy carrying everything to a higher level. Heck of a match here and a lot better than I was expecting in the first place.

Summerslam rundown.

We get a video on New York sports, as narrated by former Giants quarterback Eli Manning, with a focus on Jalen Brunson as the new top star for winning the New York Knicks a championship.

The Knicks blimp is here and the fans go nuts, as expected.

Jalen Brunson gets a full introduction from his Knicks locker and takes a Travis Scott length of time to get to the entrance. As he comes through the entrance, he is joined by Roman Reigns and does indeed strike the pose. The fans go even nuttier for Brunson, with Reigns talking about how this is the WWE’s home.

Reigns talks about how much of a team sport this is and introduces Brunson as the King Of New York. Every champion deserves a title and hands Brunson a customized World Heavyweight Title, which he says Brunson earned. Reigns says ACKNOWLEDGE THEM but here is Seth Rollins……’ music, as Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton (the Knicks fans don’t like him) comes out with a chair.

Cue Rollins from behind and load up the Stomp but Brunson cuts him off (without getting physical, partially as he’s recovering from wrist surgery), allowing Reigns to hit a Superman Punch. Haliburton and Rollins leave, with Reigns putting the title on Brunson as he holds up the real thing. As a bonus, Reigns gets to hold up the Larry O’Brien Trophy (the NBA Championship trophy) and a lot of posing ends the show.

This was a long angle, but Brunson is a big WWE fan and he’s the biggest basketball player in the world right now. It’s a guaranteed way to get the fans absolutely losing their minds over the whole thing because Brunson is basically a divine creature in New York at the moment. It’s also designed to get the WWE on the bigger sports shows and for once, the sports star was actually a major deal. If WWE has this perfect of a chance, they would have been crazy to pass it up.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a rare show that got better as it went along, with the main event being quite the success and the big angle at the end (and it had to go at the end because nothing was topping that for the live crowd) working well enough. I liked Valkyria vs. Bayley well enough too and the rest of the matches were pretty good, so call this a success. Normally it would have felt like it was just wedged in too close to Summerslam, but the setup with Brunson and the Knicks in this venue in front of this audience was too good to pass up.

Results
Trick Williams b. Laredo Kid – Trick Shot
Fatal Influence b. Brie Bella/Paige – Rollup with trunks to Paige
Danhausen b. JD McDonagh – Triple D
Lyra Valkyria b. Bayley – Bulldog choke
Cody Rhodes/CM Punk b. Gunther/Sami Zayn – GTS to Gunther

 

 

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 18, 2026
Location: Arena Potosi, San Luis Potosi, Mexico
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Corey Graves

We’re on the way to Verano de Escalando and three week event has a trio of main event matches set. This is the last big push towards the show and we have the new oddball team of Dominik Mysterio and El Grande Americano being ready to face off against Los Perros del Mal. That has a long way to get us to TripleMania but they need something to bridge the gap. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Rey Mysterio for a chat. He gets right to the point of making amends, which starts with bringing ring announcer Andrea Bazarte into the ring to rehire her for more money. Bazarte is rather happy with the whole thing and is officially back (JBL doesn’t approve). With that out of the way, Mysterio moves on to the vacant Latin American Title. There are going to be four triple threat matches and a four way at TripleMania will crown the new champion Here are the lineups:

• La Parka vs. Mecha Wolf vs. Dragon Lee
• El Fiscal vs. Cruz del Toro vs. Psycho Clown
• Omos vs. Damian Priest vs. Galeno

The fourth match starts right now.

Latin American Title Qualifying Match: El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. Abismo Negro vs. Texano Jr.

Abismo jumps the other two to start fast and Wagner is sent outside. That leaves Wagner to fight up and knock the other two down, only for Texano to get two off a backbreaker. Wagner breaks that up and slugs it out with Texano. Abismo’s Tombstone is broken up and a superplex drops Abismo again. Wagner’s top rope splash gets two with Texano having to make a save of his own. Texano is sent outside and gets punched out by Abismo and his foreign object. Another swing misses Wagner though and it’s the Wagner Driver to pin Abismo at 8:34.

Rating: C+. Perfectly nice opener here with Wagner getting to move on as a former champion. Abismo seems a lot more likely to go up against El Fiscal in the big showdown at TripleMania and Texano…well he exists too. I’m not sure if Wagner is going to be winning the title, but he does fit into the match rather well.

La Hiedra and Laredo Kid mock Mr. Iguana and Lola Vice about how they’re going to win the Mixed Tag Team Titles. Vice says Hiedra still loves Iguana, who does a spit take.

Someone films the Psycho Circus.

La Hiedra/Laredo Kid vs. Faby Apache/Joaquin Wilde

For a shot at Lola Vice/Mr. Iguana, who are at ringside. Wilde sunset flips Kid to start and it’s quickly off to the women. Apache kicks Hiedra down and hammers away in the corner, followed by stereo STF’s to Hiedra and Kid. With those broken up, Hiedra gives Apache a hip attack to take over, leaving Wilde to tornado DDT Kid.

Wilde gets choked in the corner though and Kid gives him a brainbuster for two. That’s shrugged off and Wilde dives over for the tag to bring in Apache to clean house. Apache’s big dive takes out the other three on the floor, followed by a high crossbody for two on Hiedra. Wilde’s backbreaker drops Kid for two more but Apache is back in. Kid grabs her leg though and Hiedra gives Apache a Stunner for the pin at 9:55.

Rating: C+. The Mixed Tag Tam Titles have become a fun idea as they aren’t meant to be taken seriously in the slightest and the teams feel thrown together every time. There is no pressure on them but they have been made to feel important enough because teams want to come after them. That’s more than you get sometimes and I kind of want to see the title match at Verano de Escalando. I wouldn’t have bet on that happening with these belts so well done.

We look back at Dominik Mysterio saving El Grande Americano from Los Perros de Mal.

Rey Mysterio wants to see where this goes and runs down the Verano de Escalando card. Finally, Octagon Jr. is hurt and has a long way to recover but his spot will be waiting for him.

Here are Los Perros del Mal for a chat. The team was around a long time ago and they’re here to go after the weak. They know how to fight and now they’re back because when you’re a dog, you’ll always be a dog. Daga introduces the team and says they’re here to be the nightmares to everyone in that locker room. This includes Dominik Mysterio and they’re ready to face he and El Grande Americano at Verano de Escalando. Cue Mysterio and Los Americanos for the big brawl to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was about getting us ready for Verano de Escalando and the best thing they managed to do was not get dull at the last step. That has been an issue for the company’s previous go home shows but they made it work pretty nicely here. The brawl at the end was the big highlight and at least we have something to get us to a new Latin American Champion over the next few weeks. As usual, it might not be a must see show but it does a good job of keeping me wanting to come back.

Results
El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. b. Texano Jr. and Abismo Negro – Wagner Driver to Abismo
La Hiedra/Laredo Kid b. Faby Apache/Joaquin Wilde – Stunner to Apache

 

 

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 18, 2026
Location: MGM Music Hall, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Paul Wight

We’re coming up on Redemption, whose card got a big boost earlier in the week on Dynamite. That should give this show some extra focus, along with whatever else we get added to the show. We already have two open challenges set for this week and that’s always the sign of a well thought out show. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Jack Perry vs. Nick Wayne

Open challenge #1. Perry takes him into the corner to start and messes with his hair before going after the arm. Back up and they fight into a standoff as Wight makes jokes about Excalibur, which he’s sure Excalibur will appreciate. They go outside for Perry to fire off some chops as Schiavone says Perry has won four titles in AEW, as compared to his chyron, which said three. Wayne gets in a faceplant onto the steps and we take an early break.

We come back with Perry kicking him head first into the buckle and adding a middle rope legdrop for two. Perry powerbombs him onto the apron and out to the floor but Wayne is right back with a snapdragon. A big clothesline drops Wayne again but he sends Perry to the apron and grabs a running suicide Canadian Destroyer. That and a fisherman’s buster give Wayne two back inside but Perry suplexes him out of the corner. The running knee gives Perry the pin at 11:06.

Rating: B-. That was a hard hitting, back and forth match and it would have been even better if they had done some better selling off the big moves. A guy got powerbombed onto the apron and the other can a Canadian Destroyer on the floor but they were right back up. Such is modern wrestling, and that’s not the best thing in the world.

The Young Bucks are glad Kenny Omega is the World Champion again but they aren’t sure if they can trust the Death Riders. Therefore, they want a match against Jon Moxley/Will Ospreay at Redemption.

Video on Christian Cage/Adam Copeland vs. the Dogs.

TNT Title: Kevin Knight vs. AR Fox

Knight is defending and jumps him from behind to start and knocks him outside. Back in and Knight misses a springboard, allowing Fox to grab a rolling neckbreaker. Fox knocks him outside for a change but misses a moonsault, allowing Knight to get in a knockdown of his own. We take a break and come back with Fox pulling him into a cutter so a Swanton can connect for two. A 450 gives Fox two more but Lo Mein Pain is blocked, allowing Knight to slam him down. The UFO Splash retains the title at 9:38.

Rating: B-. Fox is just so fun to watch and that has been the case for a long time. I could go for a lot more of him around here or even in ROH but at least he got his one big title win earlier in the year. Knight is loading up for Darby Allin next week and that means he needs this kind of a win, as I guess just “being the champion” isn’t enough anymore.

Post match Knight sits in on commentary to say he’s ready for Allin on Dynamite.

Don Callis Family vs. Gino Medina/Tome Filip/Nic Nolan

Hechicero knees Medina in the corner to start before Cage is in to power him around. Doyle plants Filip on the apron and Cage flips Nolan into a knee to the face for the win at 1:54.

Post match the Family comes in for the beatdown until Mike Bailey and the Conglomeration run in to clear them out.

Will Ospreay talks about training with Adam Brooks so they’ll have a match tonight. Moxley is fine with facing the Young Bucks at Redemption.

The Dogs mock the Bang Bang Gang’s mocking promos about fixing dogs. They want AEW to be a safe space so guns down.

Will Ospreay vs. Adam Brooks

Jon Moxley is on commentary. They hug to start and Moxley doesn’t approve, with Brooks’ cheap shot proving him right. Ospreay is right back with a running hurricanrana to the floor, setting up the slingshot dive (Moxley approves). Back in and the Oscutter is blocked, allowing Brooks to get in a dive of his own. The chinlock goes on but Ospreay is right back up. The standing corkscrew moonsault gets two and Ospreay wins a slugout. The Hidden Blade is loaded up but Brooks spits at him. That earns him one heck of a right hand and a bunch of heavy forearms to the back of the head to make Brooks tap at 8:18.

Rating: C+. I guess the idea here was to show Ospreay showing a more violent side, though it only has so much of an impact when Brooks has to spit at him to trigger things. Ospreay has shown he can get really physical before, but this was more anger. Granted I’m not sure how much you can expect that from Omega and the Young Bucks, but at least it’s something.

Darby Allin doesn’t like what Kevin Knight has become and burns a car to express his feelings.

Athena vs. Ava Everett

Non-title. Athena snaps off a German suplex to start and sends her outside for a kick to the chest. Everett gets two off a rollup so an annoyed Athena kicks her in the face. A powerbomb and running forearm set up the reverse Koji Clutch to make Everett give up at 2:07. The ticked off Athena is always fun to see.

Brawling Birds vs. Tiara James/Kayla Lopez

The Birds run into Athena on the way to the ring and glaring ensues. They also clear the ring to start and whip James and Lopez together on the floor. Back in and James gets headbutted into the corner, followed by more shots to the face. Two Birds One Stone finishes James at 2:49.

The Bang Bang Gang wants the Dogs on Dynamite.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Myron Reed

This is the second open challenge and Ciampa is the hometown star. Reed takes him into the corner to start and we actually get a clean break. Since that is a bad idea, Ciampa knocks him outside and stomps away but the running knee misses. A slingshot belly to back suplex gives Reed two but his charge is countered into Willow’s Bell onto the ramp.

We take a break and come back with Reed knocking him outside for a big dive. Ciampa is fine enough to hit a super Air Raid Crash, only for Reed to come back with the diving cutter to the ramp. They strike it out from their knees until Ciampa hits the Project Ciampa to take over. The running knee finishes Reed at 10:28.

Rating: B-. It’s another intense match as Ciampa knows exactly how to make that work. At the same time, it was another cold match designed to make Ciampa look good on his way to the rematch with Chris Jericho. I’m really not big on the open challenges and it was a bit much to have two of them on one show.

Post match Ciampa talks to Paul Wight, saying he wants to face Wight’s best friend Chris Jericho in a street fight at Redemption. Yeah that needed to be added to the match.

Andrade El Idolo has the Dynamite Diamond Ring but gets choked out by Jake Doyle.

Here is Mercedes Mone for a chat. The hometown star Mone promises to leave All In as champion and it doesn’t matter if she’s facing Thekla or Willow Nightingale. She says the two of them hide behind something but they can’t hide after the bell rings. Either way, she’s leaving All In with the title.

Adam Copeland and Christian Cage are ready to face Claudio Castagnoli and Pac. The Young Bucks come in to suggest they want the titles back, though everything seems ok.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Bandido vs. Adam Priest

Bandido is defending and flips away to start, meaning it’s time for the gun pose. Some kicks to the face look to set up the gorilla press but Priest slips out and sends Bandido outside. We take a break and come back with Bandido snapping off some German suplexes, with a one armed version dropping Priest again. The 21 Plex is blocked so Bandido just backflips over him and grabs a German suplex to retain at 7:47.

Rating: C+. That ending looked great as Bandido is almost turning the 21 Plex into a game as he tries to find new and more impressive ways to make the move look great. It’s nice to see Bandido get a win in AEW, even if it is to boost him up for another PPV loss. As usual, it’s just a random title defense, which is almost all he has most of the time.

The Sisters Of Sin are now 2/3 of the Stardom six woman titles. Next week though, they want a Women’s Tag Team Title shot in a hardcore match.

TBS Title: Queen Aminata vs. Hikaru Shida

Shida is defending. They forearm it out to start until Aminata snapmares her down for a kick to the back. Shida is sent outside and put in a chair, with Aminata hitting a running double stomp. Another top rope double stomp (no chair this time) only hits ramp. Aminata misses a headbutt into the buckle as well and Shida gives her a belly to back piledriver onto the ramp.

We take a break and come back with Shida having to escape a Boston crab. Aminata kicks her in the head, followed by a fisherman’s neckbreaker. A middle rope double stomp gives Aminata two so Shida grabs the kendo stick. That’s quickly taken away, leaving Shida to hit a top rope Meteora, followed by a Falcon Arrow for two. They trade rollups for two each until Aminata hits a running knee in the ropes. Shida is fine enough to grab a rollup with feet on the ropes for the pin at 11:00.

Rating: B. The ending came out of nowhere but they were rolling until the rather abrupt finish. Aminata didn’t feel like she had a chance of winning but she had me wondering if a miracle could have been in the cards. Shida’s title win was kind of out of nowhere, but she’s a successful enough star that she feels important as champion and that makes this a great use of her status.

Post match Shida stays on Aminata but Maya World runs out for the save. World vs. Shida for the TBS Title is announced for Redemption to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This show was about elevating some people who are competing at Redemption and adding a few more matches to the card. At the same time, Redemption is only feeling so important. It feels like a show that is being wedged in there for the sake of having a July PPV before All In. The show is likely to be entertaining, but they’re going to need something bigger to make the show feel like required viewing.

Results
Jack Perry b. Nick Wayne – Running knee
Kevin Knight b. AR Fox – UFO Splash
Don Callis Family b. Gino Medina/Tome Filip/Nic Nolan – Flipping knee to the face to Nolan
Will Ospreay b. Adam Brooks – Forearms to the head
Athena b. Ava Everett – Reverse Koji Clutch
Brawling Birds b. Tiana James/Kayla Lopez – Two Birds One Stone to James
Tommaso Ciampa b. Myron Reed – Running knee
Bandido b. Adam Priest – Lifting German suplex
Hikaru Shida b. Queen Aminata – Rollup with feet on the ropes

 

 

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

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

Summerslam 2011
Date: August 14, 2011
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 17.404
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, Booker T

This is a pretty big show with the blowoffs to two amazing feuds. The headlining act match is CM Punk vs. John Cena in a champion vs. champion match and the rematch to their masterpiece a month earlier. The match I was more excited about though was Christian vs. Randy Orton in one of the most underrated feuds in recent years. Let’s get to it.

The guitarist from Tool plays the national anthem.

The opening video talks about a domino effect, triggered by CM Punk winning the Raw World Title back in Chicago at Money in the Bank. As a result, Vince McMahon was stripped of power (for all of a few months) and John Cena became the other Raw World Champion. Tonight it’s champion vs. champion and nothing else is worth talking about.

Kofi Kingston/John Morrison/Rey Mysterio vs. Awesome Truth/Alberto Del Rio

Mysterio had beaten Miz to win the vacant Raw World Champion so Miz attacked him on Raw to help set this up. This is in during the full on Cole Love Miz period and the annoyance begins early. Before the match Miz complains about not being on the show but here’s R-Truth to complain about various letters. He doesn’t like spiders and Summerslam or Cee Lo Green performing so S and C are on his bad list. Cue Alberto (Mr. Raw Money in the Bank) to cut him off and we’re finally ready to go.

Morrison and Del Rio are both WAY over here but it’s Kofi vs. Miz to get things going. A double flapjack with Morrison helping out plants Miz and we get stereo nipups. Morrison gets all fired up to hammer on Truth because their partnership from a few years ago just means nothing to him. Everything breaks down for a bit with Morrison being knocked off the top rope to change control.

Miz grabs the chinlock but gets kicked in the head to knock him silly. It’s back to Kofi as things speed up and the SOS counters the Skull Crushing Finale for two. Everything breaks down for a bit and Miz hits a Diamond Cutter into a 1%er for two. I’m still not wild on that move but Kofi’s selling made it look better. The heels start taking turns on Kofi with Del Rio starting in on the arm and mocking Kofi’s clapping taunt.

Miz gets two off a clothesline as Cole sings his praises, even listing off Miz’s high school accolades. A double stomp allows the hot tag to Rey, who comes in to a roar. Mysterio starts cleaning house but Del Rio breaks up a double 619. Morrison dives onto Alberto and Truth takes the 619, followed by a top rope splash for the pin at 9:36.

Rating: B-. Take six guys and give them ten minutes to have a fun opener. I like a good six man tag and it can accomplish multiple goals in a short span. For some reason though WWE feels that the only kinds of matches you can have are singles, regular tags and triple threats so we don’t get enough of something like this. If nothing else it gave the fans a lot to cheer about in a short time, meaning they’re ready to go early on. Well done indeed.

Executive Vice President of Talent Relations Johnny Ace (you get tired just listing his job title) wants CM Punk to publicly apologize for embarrassing him on Monday. Punk says he’s sorry and offers a big grin but he turns around to see Stephanie. The champ insults the men in her life but she doesn’t seem phased. Stephanie: “But what would I know? I’m just Vince McMahon’s clueless daughter.” Punk: “Yeah pretty much.” Stephanie offers a handshake for luck but Punk says no because he knows where that hand has been. WHY CAN NO ONE BURN STEPHANIE LIKE THIS TODAY???

We recap Mark Henry vs. Sheamus. This was during Henry’s rampage over everyone in his path and his Hall of Pain period. No one was left for him to beat so Sheamus, a heel at the time, came out and simply said “I’ll fight him.” I still really like that line as it sums up everything and gives you a reason to like Sheamus in two seconds. Simple, yet effective.

Sheamus vs. Mark Henry

Henry shoves him around to start but Sheamus comes back with knees to the ribs and forearms to the back. The Irish Curse attempt is easily shrugged away though and Sheamus is tossed outside. Back in and Henry does the running crotch attack to the back of Sheamus’ head, followed by a backbreaker for your run of the mill heel offense.

An over the shoulder backbreaker keeps Sheamus in trouble but Henry misses a Vader Bomb. That means it’s time for forearms to the chest but a double shoulder puts both guys down. Sheamus is up first and the Brogue Kick knocks Henry to the floor. Ever the not that bright good guy though, Sheamus goes out after him and gets driven though the barricade for the countout at 9:22.

Rating: C+. I like that finish a lot as they made Sheamus look like a real threat with the Brogue Kick and then didn’t have him get pinned. The important thing here though was Henry looking unstoppable as he was on the way to the World Title soon after this. Smart booking here and everyone comes out looking like they should.

Christian has an insurance policy for his match against Randy Orton. It’s going to be a summer blockbuster and he’ll be like Harry Potter. Orton on the other hand will be like Cowboys and Aliens: an overrated, overproduced and overhyped flop. Hey now that movie was underrated.

Cee Lo Green does his mini concert for reasons I don’t understand. Bright Lights, Bigger City is catchy though. Some Divas come out to dance during Forget You.

Divas Title: Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix

Kelly is defending in your standard Barbie vs. monster feud and has Eve Torres in her corner. Beth on the other hand has Natalya. Kelly goes straight after her to start and fires off some forearms in the corner to send Beth outside, followed by a middle rope cross body to the floor. Back in and Beth knocks her out of the corner to take over before we hit a quick chinlock. An over the shoulder backrbeaker (good move for Beth) has Kelly in trouble and Beth ties her in the Tree of Woe to make it even worse. Kelly gets knocked around in the corner but counters the Glam Slam into a victory roll to retain at 6:33.

Rating: D+. Total squash for the most part here with a fluke ending, albeit the same fluke ending to almost every Kelly vs. Beth match ever. Kelly certainly got her push because of her looks but she was getting much better in the ring near the end of her career with matches like this one being far more watchable than some of the disasters that the division hard around this time.

Stephanie leaves John Cena’s locker room. For some reason we have to see the Cena logo twice for the announcers to catch on.

R-Truth is annoyed about getting ripped off so Jimmy Hart of all people offers his managerial services. Truth agrees but realizes that Jimmy is named….uh, Jimmy, and freaks out. Ron Artest and his daughter are shown watching for a worthless cameo.

Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett

Fallout from Money in the Bank where Bryan won by knocking Barrett off the ladder. Bryan doesn’t have his Flight of the Valkyries (yes Flight, which was the name of his WWE theme instead of Ride) theme song yet and it’s really weird to have it missing. Daniel starts in with the kicks and works on the arm as Booker talks about Daniel’s diet.

Bryan fights out of a wristlock and dropkicks Barrett down before bending Barrett’s shoulders around in a variety of painful looking ways. The running dropkick in the corner and a running kick to the chest, only to walk into the yet to be named (or at least not named here) Winds of Change. Barrett fires off his knees in the ropes and kicks Bryan out to the floor.

Back in and we hit the chinlock before Daniel escapes the Wasteland, setting up a running knee off the apron. Barrett’s pumphandle slam doesn’t work and it’s time for the yet to be named YES Kicks. Again, those chants really add a lot. The guillotine goes on and Barrett gets taken down into the LeBell Lock, only to reach over to the rope for the break. Bryan gets crotched on top though and Barrett hits a quick Wasteland for the pin at 11:47.

Rating: B. I still really like this match as it’s two guys beating on each other for the better part of twelve minutes until one of them can’t get up again. Barrett was the bigger star at this point as Bryan really was just a guy in trunks at this point, albeit one with a huge upside. Sometimes you just need a good wrestling match without a lot of meaning behind it and that’s what you got here.

The California National Guard is here.

We recap Christian vs. Randy Orton in a feud that has been going on for months. Christian lost the title less than a week after winning it and then wanted one more match. Orton eventually lost the title via DQ at Money in the Bank, setting up the rematch here with No Holds Barred. This is one of the best feuds in a long time and would have won Feud of the Year had it not been for Cena vs. Punk. It was perfectly put together and one great match after another. The two of them had chemistry together and that’s the most important thing you can do.

Smackdown World Title: Christian vs. Randy Orton

Christian is defending and this is no holds barred but first the champ has a big surprise for everyone as he brings out Edge. After an insane ovation, Edge thanks the fans but reminds them that he can never compete again due to his neck injuries. He was kind of glad that he left when he did though because it opened the door for Christian to become champion.

Christian lost the title five days after winning it and then complained about it for week after week. He just whined until he got his way and then won the title via disqualification. Edge might have done some dastardly things in his time but he did it with some style. Somewhere along the way, Christian became a disgrace to himself. Edge isn’t going to help him tonight and leaves Christian all alone.

Orton starts hammering away in the corner and backdrops Christian to set up the circle stomp and a knee drop for two. They head outside but Christian is smart enough to run away from an RKO through the announcers’ table. Christian grabs the title and runs into the crowd but Orton easily catches him (hint: it’s the guy in wrestling gear carrying a big gold belt) and sends it back inside.

The champ sends him shoulder first into the post (completely legal remember, even though you’ll almost never hear it called a DQ in the first place) to take over. It’s kendo stick time as we hit the standard street fight tropes. Christian misses a shot though and has to settle with an elbow to Orton’s jaw. There’s an interesting story here with Christian not being able to pull off the cheating but doing just fine with the wrestling. Orton grabs a rollup for two but gets caught in a spinebuster for the same.

It’s kendo stick time again but Christian dives into a dropkick to the ribs to keep up the subtle story. Orton can’t get in a stick shot either as the no holds barred rule hasn’t played a big role yet. The elevated DDT is countered into a Killswitch attempt which is countered into Orton’s backbreaker. He can’t hit the Punt but Christian can’t crotch him against the post as Orton uses his legs to pull Christian face first into the post instead.

Now it’s time for the real weapons as Orton pulls out some tables but Christian gets in a shot from behind and sets one up on the floor. Back in and Christian goes up top, only to get superplexed down onto an unset table for a unique spot. It also gets a near fall but that’s not as important. That table is set up in the corner but Christian has to counter the RKO by sending him to the floor. Orton sends him knees first into the steps, only to have Christian send him head first into the steps.

Next up it’s a monitor off Orton’s head to knock him onto the announcers’ table. Like any cocky heel would do though, Christian tries an RKO but gets caught in the real thing through the table for a double KO spot. Back in and Christian gets two off a Killswitch and you can hear the fans going nuts on the near fall. Well deserved too. With the table still looming in the table and another one at ringside, Christian opts for two chairs.

That’s enough for Orton as he takes one away and cracks Christian over the back, followed by a second one to send the champ off the apron and through the first table. Orton brings in the steps and some trashcans but Christian avoids a stomp onto the steps. He can’t avoid a powerslam through the table or a DDT onto the trashcan as this is getting brutal. Christian blocks the RKO with a kendo stick shot, only to have Orton hit another one a few seconds later to win the title back at 23:43.

Rating: A. I love this feud and the matches get better and better every time. There was a great story here of Christian being able to compete in the wrestling but being in WAY over his head against Orton, who has that evil streak in him. This started off as more of a wrestling match with Christian poking his toe into the violence but then embracing it full on, only to be destroyed by the more violent Orton. It’s a great story with a great match to go with it and that’s as good as it gets.

Video on WWE taking over Los Angeles for the week, including an Axxess.

We recap John Cena vs. CM Punk in a narrated video. Punk won the Raw World Title from Cena last month in a masterpiece, only to leave the company with the title immediately after. Cena won the title a few weeks later but Punk came out that night (good thing he just happened to be there), setting up a champion vs. champion match to see who really is the best man. Ignore the fact that they already established that fact at Money in the Bank when Punk beat him in the first place. Due to Punk leaving under Vince’s watch, the Board of Directors replaced Vince as boss with HHH, who Punk hates in general.

Raw World Title: John Cena vs. CM Punk

Punk is defending and HHH is guest referee. As expected, Punk is now a mega face and gets a big old pop, much to HHH’s annoyance. Cena on the other hand is booed out of the building as you kind of have to expect as well. Feeling out process to start with Punk grabbing a headlock for that horribly blatant spot calling. Punk was on a roll at this point but he was as bad as Shawn Michaels at hiding that stuff.

The dueling chants start up and sound even louder than usual, as they should at a major show. Now it’s Cena working a headlock into an armbar before Punk hits a leg lariat for two. Cena takes him down into a chinlock as this is firmly in first gear over five minutes in. The fans tell Cena that he can’t wrestle. True but at least he still is a wrestler and not someone who has been waiting two years for a UFC fight.

Punk finally escapes and puts Cena down for a breather, earning a loud CM PUNK chant. Off to a body vice as this match seems to be collapsing under the weight of the expectations from the previous match. Back up and Punk snaps his throat across the top rope to block a superplex attempt, followed by dropkicking Cena out to the floor. That goes nowhere so Punk grabs a seated abdominal stretch, only to have Cena power up into a spinning slam for a breather. Fans: “FRUITY PEBBLES!”

The finishing sequence is countered by Punk’s headlock takeover but he gets caught in the ProtoBomb. Punk comes right back with an enziguri and a Koji Clutch (I love that move) which is countered into an STF which is countered into the Anaconda Vice (Not a key lock Booker. Learn your details.). That actually gets some near falls until Cena reverses into a crossface to continue this pretty awesome sequence. Punk gets to the ropes and sends Cena outside for a suicide dive to put both guys down again.

HHH, who has been a total non-factor for the first fifteen minutes, gets to nine but can’t bring himself to finish the countout. Instead he throws both of them back inside and it’s time for the big strike off. Cena takes over with a dropkick and the Shuffle but the AA is countered into a sunset flip and kick to the head for two each. Cena’s sitout powerslam gets the same, as does Punk’s middle rope bulldog.

A very weary Punk’s springboard clothesline is countered into the STF but they haven’t traded enough finishers yet. Speaking of finishers, Cena gets two off the AA. The GTS gets the same result with Punk staring up at HHH in shock. Punk comes up holding his knee though but drops the top rope elbow for two anyway. Cena pounds Punk down but eats a running knee to the face, setting up the GTS for the pin at 24:08, despite Cena’s foot clearly being on the rope.

Rating: B+. This match would be remembered so much more fondly if it wasn’t for the fact that they had such a masterpiece just a month earlier. They had to try and follow that up and it just couldn’t be done. The screwy ending didn’t help things, just like having HHH out there for the sake of waiting on a screwy finish that doesn’t seem to mean much since this is a night when instant replay doesn’t exist.

HHH applauds Punk post match and raises his hand before leaving. Punk poses….but here’s Kevin Nash through the crowd to lay Punk out. That means Alberto time and here we go.

Raw World Title: CM Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio

Punk is defending and loses the title to an enziguri in eleven seconds.

A quick celebration ends the show.

Overall Rating: A. This show is nothing short of excellent with only the Divas Title match being short of good (and seeing Kelly Kelly in shorts is never a bad thing). Orton vs. Christian is great stuff with a great story, the main event is awesome, Barrett vs. Bryan is a hidden gem, the crowd is white hot all night and the rest is all worth watching…..until you get to the ending.

That’s where the show falls apart as not only did the ending only make limited sense here but it would turn into one of the biggest messes anyone had seen in a few short weeks. Somehow Punk wouldn’t get his rematch next month because he was busy jobbing to HHH in the main event of Night of Champions.

Oh and Nash? Yeah he sent himself a text message telling him to come out there right then because he wanted one more crowd reaction. That’s how they followed up on the potentially hottest angle in years: Kevin Nash sent himself a text message and HHH pinned CM Punk, setting up HHH vs. Nash, who never fought Punk in this whole thing. Such is life in WWE, or out of WWE actually and you can’t blame Punk after all that.

Ratings Comparison

Kofi Kingston/John Morrison/Rey Mysterio vs. Awesome Truth/Alberto Del Rio

Original: B-

2013 Redo: B-

2016 Redo: B-

Mark Henry vs. Sheamus

Original: C

2013 Redo: C+

2016 Redo: C+

Beth Phoenix vs. Kelly Kelly

Original: C+

2013 Redo: D+

2016 Redo: D+

Wade Barrett vs. Daniel Bryan

Original: B

2013 Redo: B+

2016 Redo: B

Christian vs. Randy Orton

Original: B+

2013 Redo: A-

2016 Redo: A

CM Punk vs. John Cena

Original: A+

2013 Redo: B+

2016 Redo: B+

Alberto Del Rio vs. CM Punk

Original: N/A

2013 Redo: N/A

2016 Redo: N/A

Overall Rating

Original: A+

2013 Redo: A

2016 Redo: A

I think we can call this my definitive thoughts on the show as the ratings were almost identical in the last two reviews. Definitely check this one out.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/08/14/summerslam-2011-that-was-i-need-a-cigarette/

And the 2013 redo:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2013/08/16/summerslam-count-up-2011-a-screwy-ending-isnt-a-bad-thing/

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.

Smackdown
Date: July 17, 2026
Location: MVP Arena, Albany, New York
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett

It’s the night before Saturday Night’s Main Event and the big story continues to be the setup for CM Punk vs. Cody Rhodes in a little over two weeks at Summerslam. Gunther and Sami Zayn are less than thrilled with this situation and that means it is time for their final push towards tomorrow’s tag match. In addition, Gunther is having issues with GM Nick Aldis, which feels like a Summerslam match in the making. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the World Title situation and Gunther vs. Aldis.

Here is Gunther to get things going. He prides himself on being a professional but since he joined Smackdown, he has been treated horribly. Nick Aldis is the one who made this personal, and he made it worse by putting him in a tag match at Saturday Night’s Main Event. This brings out Adam Pearce, who says Gunther only owes Aldis for saving his job

Aldis has made sure that the match is still on and that the stipulation (this is new) is still on: if Gunther and Zayn win, they’re added to the Summerslam title match and it’s a fatal four way. Gunther absolutely approves but here is Cody Rhodes for the brawl. Rhodes yells about how Gunther had to know this was coming so he wants a match tonight. Pearce makes it official.

Earlier today, Pearce announced that Rhea Ripley is injured and will not be able to compete at Summerslam. There will be an Interim Women’s Champion crowned in a five way ladder match at Summerslam, with Ripley getting the shot against the winner when she gets back. Qualifying matches begin tonight. I’m really not wild on the interim thing, but if Ripley is going to be back relatively soon, it’s fine enough.

Finn Balor vs. Talla Tonga

Talla has Tama Tonga with him. Balor knocks him into the corner to start and gets choked on the ropes for his efforts. Talla gets tossed to the floor but comes back with a clothesline and we take an early break. We come back with Talla’s running powerslam getting two but he misses a charge into the corner. Balor knocks him down and goes up, where Talla’s chokeslam is countered into a DDT. Tama offers a distraction but gets crotched (and bounced) on the top, allowing Balor to dropkick him into the corner. The Coup de Grace finishes Talla at 9:35.

Rating: C+. Balor is getting a nice start to his run on Smackdown, at least after losing in the first round of King Of The Ring. He very easily could be a B show pay per view World Title challenger and they very well may be leading up to that. The Tongas are in the middle of nowhere at the moment but at least they’re putting people over.

CM Punk confirms the Saturday Night’s Main Event stipulation with Adam Pearce. Damian Priest comes up and says if Punk is retaining, he’ll be coming for the title. That works for Punk, who leaves in peace. R-Truth comes up to ask what that was about. Priest: “Dude, you were here the whole time.”

Various women are ready to win the ladder match.

Women’s Ladder Qualifying Match: Tiffany Stratton vs. Jacy Jayne

Non-title and the rest of Fatal Influence is here with Jayne. The three of them beat Stratton down but Brie Bella and Paige run in for the save. With the four non-participants gone, Stratton strikes away to officially start and gets two off a basement dropkick. We take an early break and come back with Jayne hammering away until they hit stereo crossbodies. Stratton is up with an Alabama Slam but gets crotched up top. The Rolling Encore misses though and it’s a Regal Roll into the Prettiest Moonsault Ever to give Stratton the win at 7:45.

Rating: C+. They only had so much time here but there is something to be said about Jayne having gotten so far that I could have seen her pulling the upset here. It is nice to see her doing so well on the main roster thus far and it should be interesting to see if she finds a way into the ladder match. Stratton has to be a favorite though, as she’ll be in her home state.

Baron Corbin talks about his return last week. He attacked Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes because he’s sick of hearing people pretending to be tough.

Williams wants some of Corbin, because he’s a big bald b****. Hayes comes in and argues a bit but seemingly wants Corbin as well.

We look at Oba Femi and Brock Lesnar’s near brawl from Raw.

Women’s Ladder Qualifying Match: Jade Cargill vs. Nia Jax

B-Fab and Michin are here with Cargill. Jax wastes no time in knocking her down but misses a middle rope elbow. Cue Charlotte to go after B-Fab and Michin though, followed by a big boot to Cargill for the DQ at 57 seconds.

Post match a ticked off Jax lays out Charlotte, allowing Cargill to give Charlotte Jaded.

Gunther is ready for the main event and runs into Candice LeRae, with Johnny Gargano. LeRae wants Gunther to win for Sami Zayn’s sake tomorrow so Gunther says Zayn needs to show up. Blake Monroe runs in to jump LeRae and tells Gargano that he needs a haircut.

Lash Legend and Nia Jax yell at Adam Pearce over the DQ and Jax gets Charlotte next week as a result.

War Raiders vs. Fraxiom

The Raiders’ AAA Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line. Ivar drives Frazer into the corner to start but it’s off to Axiom for some running forearms. Frazer’s dive to the floor is cut off though, leaving Axiom to moonsault onto both of them. We take a break and come back with Ivar cleaning house, including the spinning powerslam to Frazer.

Ivar’s moonsault misses both of them but Erik drives Ivar into Axiom into the corner. Back up and the dives take out the Warriors on the floor, setting up the superplex into the Phoenix splash to Ivar. Erik makes the last second save though and the Raiders have had it, with Frazer getting crushed. Ragnarok finishes Axiom at 10:30.

Rating: B. I was expecting a squash here (Fraxiom were in the ring for the Raiders’ entrance) and wound up getting a heck of a match. The impressive thing about Fraxiom is that they have been able to do this time after time. They were able to make this work in NXT and they’re doing it again here and it would be nice to see them getting a better chance than what they’ve been doing lately.

We look at LA Knight and company being fired up at Fanatics Fest about their six man tag at Summerslam.

Video on Fanatics Fest.

CM Punk comes up to Cody Rhodes to talk about the Saturday Night’s Main Event stipulation. Punk will have Rhodes’ back tonight, but they’ll also see each other tomorrow and at Summerslam.

Video on Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins.

Saturday Night’s Main Event rundown.

Danhausen is reminded about his match with JD McDonagh at Saturday Night’s Main Event and has a black cat…but accidentally curses his computer. An evacuation is recommended.

Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther

Rhodes jumps him at the entrance to start fast and they get inside for the opening bell. Gunther cuts off a springboard and shoves Rhodes to the floor as we take a break. We come back with Gunther missing a clothesline and getting caught with the Cody Cutter. Another Cody Cutter drops Gunther but he’s back up to wrap the leg around the post. Cue CM Punk as they clothesline each other down.

We take a break and come back with Gunther holding a half crab but Rhodes slips out. Gunther misses a boot in the corner and Rhodes starts in on the leg, with a dragon screw legwhip bringing Gunther out of the corner. Rhodes grabs a Figure Four but here is Sami Zayn to go after Punk. That’s enough for Rhodes to let go of the hold and dive onto Zayn. The brawl is on and Rhodes gets posted for the DQ at 12:30.

Rating: B. This was getting going near the end but as usual, the two of them just do not get to have that big match. Granted in this case that wasn’t the point, as this was about pushing tomorrow’s tag match and that part worked. You also don’t want either of them losing a fall and the DQ made perfect sense here. Nice job.

The big brawl is on and can’t be broken up as the show ends.

Overall Rating: B+. Yeah this worked, if nothing else because I wasn’t bored out of my mind as the show went an extra hour. This show was focused around two big ideas, with the ladder match having to be set up in a hurry and the much bigger issue of the stipulation for Saturday Night’s Main Event Main Event.

That was a great example of what happens when you make a match more important, as Saturday Night’s Main Event has gone from ho hum to having a match that could make a big impact on Summerslam. I want to see where that match goes now and that’s an important upgrade for tomorrow night. This show did what it needed to do with a pair of hot matches to wrap it up. Well done here, though Saturday’s show is only looking so important outside of the main event.

Results
Finn Balor b. Talla Tonga – Coup de Grace
Tiffany Stratton b. Jacy Jayne – Prettiest Moonsault Ever
Jade Cargill b. Nia Jax via DQ when Charlotte interfered
War Raiders b. Fraxiom – Ragnarok to Axiom
Cody Rhodes b. Gunther via DQ when Sami Zayn interfered

 

 

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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Impact Wrestling
Date: July 16, 2026
Location: Broadview Center, Albany, New York
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We’re in a bit of a weird time for TNA as a bunch of the wrestlers are leaving and that means some other wrestlers are having to step up. This includes KC Navarro, who is coming after Nic Nemeth’s World Title. Other than that, the Hardys and the Righteous are still fighting because eight months or so of them isn’t enough. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s Knockouts Title match main event.

Opening sequence.

Knockouts TV Title Tournament First Round: M By Elegance vs. Rosemary

M has Heather and the Personal Concierge (now blind) with her while Rosemary has Allie. Rosemary knocks her into the corner for a quick knockdown to start and then knocks her down in the middle as well. An Elegance distraction lets M take over though and it’s time to choke away in the corner. M’s snap suplex gets two and she sends Rosemary crashing out to the floor. Back in and we hit the chinlock but she stops to pose, allowing Allie to trip her down. Rosemary fights back with a t-bone suplex before going to the floor to mess with the blind Concierge. The distraction lets M mist Rosemary for the pin at 7:44.

Rating: C+. The ending is a bit of a surprise but it also continues the setup of the Elegance Brand getting a Knockouts Tag Team Title shot by the line. Yeah it’s the same thing way that you see a lot of those matches set up, but at least it has the tournament aspect to make it feel a bit more unique. If nothing else, Rosemary very well may be wanting some revenge in the next round.

The System wants to make it clear that they are NOT falling apart. In fact, they’re ready for their matches tonight, including Cedric Alexander defending against Fabian Aichner.

AJ Francis vs. Moose

Frankie Kazarian is on commentary. Moose jumps him to start fast but has to go after Francis’ goon. That lets Francis get in a powerbomb onto the apron to take over, followed by a big boot. Hold on though and it’s time to go after the fans. Back in and the Down Payment is broken up so Moose tries a spinning crossbody, only to get speared out of the air for two. Moose catches him up top with a superplex for two and there’s the nip back up. Kazarian pulls Moose outside though and sends him into the post for the DQ at 6:03 (shame about Kazarian dropping his popcorn).

Rating: C+. They only had so much time out there but it was interesting as a way to get them ready for what feels like a tag match. Moose is going to need some help (feels like an Elijah spot) and they should be able to set something up for TV down the line. At the same time, and as is becoming more usual, it’s impressive that Francis isn’t feeling out of place in these bigger matches. I wouldn’t have expected that and well done.

Post match Francis chokeslams Moose for a bonus.

Elayna Black is ready to win her tournament match next week and become the greatest Knockout in history. Xia Brookside comes in to warn her to watch her mouth. Black doesn’t seem impressed.

Here is Order 4 to address their future. Mustafa Ali complains about his team (save for Agent Zero) screwing up and brings in his new Secretary Of Strategic Affairs, Mila Moore, who is dressed like Miss Hancock. Tasha Steelz is not impressed as Moore is ready to figure out what is next for the team. Ali knows what should be next: giving the power to the roster. Therefore, next week, anyone in the locker room can vote for who gets an International Title shot. That’s not the direction I was expecting but I’m glad Moore is getting the chance to do something since she lost her partner when Tessa Blanchard left.

The Righteous get an invitation to the Hardy Compound for a Deletion match. Sure.

Bear Bronson vs. Ricky Sosa

Brian Myers is on commentary as they strike it out to start. Sosa jumps over Bronson and chases him to the floor, where a Black Hole Slam drops Sosa as we take a break. We come back with a rapid fire exchange of shots to the face until Sosa gets in a German suplex. Bronson catches him up top though, leaving Sosa to drop back down and catch him with a big boot.

Myers gets up for a distraction so Bronson can grab a chokebomb for two and he can believe the kickout. Sosa’s back gives out on the comeback though and it’s Shock Treatment (haven’t seen that one in a bit) into Bear Down (sitout Tombstone) to give Bronson the pin at 11:07.

Rating: C. I’m not sure about having Sosa lose here as he’s been off to a nice start. At the same time, Bronson has been steadily getting himself into place around here and that’s great to see. I never would have bet on him doing so well on his own but it’s working here and that’s nice to see.

Moose requests and receives help from Elijah against AJ Francis and Frankie Kazarian. Well that did its job.

Knockouts TV Title Tournament First Round: Harley Hudson vs. Thea Hail

They fight over a lockup to start so Hail shoulders her down and dances. Back up and Hudson gets in a knockdown of her own to stomp away. The armbar goes on so Hail rolls her way to freedom, only to get dropped with a clothesline. Hudson hammers away but misses a legdrop to the arm. Hail suplexes her out of the corner for two and they trade rollups for two each. A spinning DDT gives Hail two more and the springboard backsplash finishes Hudson at 6:37.

Rating: C. That’s a fine way to go, as Hail has a bit higher status than Hudson. While that would have been a good place to put Hudson over and give her probably the biggest singles win of her career, I do get the idea of wanting Hail to move forward and give her a chance to put someone else over later. Granted it is likely going to be Indi Hartwell, but the idea is there.

Here is Nic Nemeth for a chat. He knows what it’s like to have the world chasing him and when the title goes on the line, it’s big box office and big money. This brings out KC Navarro to interrupt but Nemeth says serious inquiries only. Nemeth tells him to leave and Navarro starts to head out, but turns around to shout about why he does everything he does. He’s lost his chances before but beating Nemeth can prove that it is all worth it. Nemeth mocks the speech but says this is his one and only shot. Seems to work for Navarro. He has no chance, but that was a heck of a promo and I kind of want to see the match.

X-Division Title: Fabian Aichner vs. Cedric Alexander

Alexander is defending and gets taken into the corner to start. A headlock doesn’t do much for Alexander as Aichner puts him down again for a moonsault. That and a clothesline put Alexander on the floor and we take a break. We come back with Aichner fighting out of an abdominal stretch but getting elbowed in the corner for two. Alexander chops away in the corner but Aichner knocks him to the floor for the big dive.

Back in and a double springboard moonsault gives Aichner two but Alexander’s Michinoku Driver connects for the same. Aichner dropkicks him out of the air for two more and a sitout Last Ride gets two, with Alexander having to get a foot on the rope. Alexander manages to send him outside though and here is Eddie Edwards with a Boston Knee Party. That’s enough to set up the Lumbar Check to retain the title at 14:40.

Rating: B-. Aichner did well in his big spot and he was protected with the team interfering to beat him. That’s all you can ask for in a losing effort and he should be fine going forward. If nothing else, Aichner continues to be someone who has already far exceeded his time as a singles wrestler in WWE, as it’s a case of finding the right fit for him and it’s working much better.

Post match the beatdown is on but Ricky Sosa and Leon Slater run in for the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show wasn’t the most prominent edition but it did what it needed to do, with some things like the tournament advancing forward, plus the big title match being set for next week. The best thing here is that the show went by quickly and nothing was really close to bad. It was a good example of an efficient show and that is always worth something, which was the case again here.

Results
M By Elegance b. Rosemary – Mist
Moose b. AJ Francis via DQ when Frankie Kazarian interfered
Bear Bronson b. Ricky Sosa – Bear Down
Thea Hail b. Harley Hudson – Springboard backsplash
Cedric Alexander b. Fabian Aichner – Lumbar Check

 

 

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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Ring Of Honor
Date: July 16, 2026
Location: WJCT Studios, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re coming up on Death Before Dishonor and that should be a big deal around here. Granted we do have another Bandido loss to get through first, but it’s not like another is going to make a difference after all of his other AEW PPV losses. Other than that, we might be seeing some more with the Tag Team Titles after their rather long hiatus. Let’s get to it.

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

Lio Rush is still weird with his title.

Opening sequence.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Dalton Castle/Outrunners vs. Beef/Premiere Athletes

Beef and the Athletes are challenging. Magnum and Nese start things off and of course it’s time to pose. Magnum’s headscissors takes Nese down and it’s off to Castle for a double splash. Floyd comes in and Beef’s clotheslines don’t do much to him so Beef grabs the armbar. Nese gets in a cheap shot from the apron and Daivari gets to stomp away, followed by a neckbreaker for two.

We hit the chinlock for a bit, followed by Beef’s side slam for two more. Magnum backdrops his way out of trouble and it’s back to Floyd for a bunch of slams. Beef’s crossbody cuts him off for two and we hit the chinlock, only for Magnum to get up with a clothesline. Castle comes back in to clean house but the triple elbow is broken up. Daivari shoulders Nese by mistake though and it’s the Mega Powers Elbow and fist drop combination to retain the titles at 11:07.

Rating: C+. Even if Beef and the Athletes were just a quick set of challengers, what matters here is they had a title match. Castle and the Outrunners are fine as champions as they are the entertaining act who can win for a good while without being boring. Beef and the Athletes are a quick set of opponents and now the Athletes can yell at Beef a bit more, which works fine as the Athletes apparently have to be on every show.

Post match the champs are glad to have won but a mention of the Lethal Twist upsets Castle’s tummy. Either way, the champs are ready for them.

Angelico vs. Tim Bosby

Angelico wrestles him down by the arm to start but Bosby, who looks to be an amateur star, goes to the rope for the break. A spinning slam drops Angelico and a release belly to belly gets two. The chinlock doesn’t last long and it’s Angelico back up to strike away, including a kick to the head from the mat. The leglock makes Bosby tap at 3:15.

Rating: C. Much like the Premiere Athletes, Angelico is someone who has to be on almost every show and it gets a bit tedious. He’s completely fine but he doesn’t exactly add much and when the show goes long, this is the kind of match that just feels like it stretched things out. It would help if Angelico had done ANYTHING important in forever but that just hasn’t been the case.

We look at Bandido’s recent wins and tease of him going after the International Title.

Main Man Oro vs. Mark Davidson

Feeling out process to start with Davidson grabbing a flying mare to take Oro down early. Back up and Oro scores with a rolling kick to the head before taking the leg out. A t-bone suplex puts Davidson down for two more but he’s back up with a rolling cutter for two of his own. Oro gives him the running kick in the corner though and a leg trap suplex finishes Davidson at 5:01.

Rating: C+. Oro has popped up a few times around here and he continues to feel like someone else who just occasionally wrestles here. That’s about all there is to say about him as there are so many wrestlers kind of floating around without getting to do much. As usual, do something with these people and it might matter, but until then, they’re simply more names on a long list of filler.

The Kingdom vs. Workhorsemen

Taven and Henry trade wristlocks to start until Henry snaps off a spinwheel kick. Bennett comes in and can’t get the Proton Pack, instead settling with a clothesline for two. It’s off to Drake to chop away before Henry twists Bennett’s neck a bit. Drake’s belly to belly drops Ciampa again but the Vader Bomb misses.

That’s enough for the tag back to Taven to clean house with the kicks to the face. A pop up right hand gets two on Henry but he reverses a suplex into a quick brainbuster. Drake and Bennett chop it out, to the point where Drake has to put the straps back up for extra protection. Taven is sent outside and a Skysplitter of all things gets two on Bennett. Drake and Bennett strike it out again until Taven rolls Drake up with feet on the ropes for the pin at 9:06.

Rating: C+. Another perfectly good match between two teams who don’t feel like they’re doing a thing around here. The Workhorsemen are the designated jobbers of the division and the Kingdom disappeared for several more weeks. I do like having the Kingdom back for a bit as they have the credentials to back it up, but the Workhorsemen are another team I could use a break from seeing for a good while.

AR Fox is upset over his title loss but Alan Angels comes in to mock him. Angels yells at him for never being there for him and a match is made.

AR Fox vs. Alan Angels

They trade rollups for two each to start and Angels hides in the ropes. Fox spins out of a wristlock into one of his own but Angels snaps off a hurricanrana. Back up and Fox strike away to get a breather, setting up a leg lariat to knock Angels back down. A Stunner out of the corner and the anarchist suplex give Fox two more but Angels moonsaults him out of the corner for two of his own.

Angels chops away some more and catches him in the corner for a double stomp to the back on the apron. Fox is able to give him a hanging DDT, setting up the running flipping double stomp. Back in and Fox pulls him into a cutter for two more, followed by a Swanton for another near fall. Fox misses a 450 and gets kicked in the head to give Angels two. Angel’s Wings is broken up though and Fox grabs Lo Mein Pain to the 450 for the pin at 11:11.

Rating: B-. As usual, Fox is capable of doing a bunch of things in the ring and looks so smooth out there while doing a rather unique style. At the same time, I’m not sure how interesting it was to have him facing a student who has been mad at him for what must have been a good thirty five seconds before the entrances started. I guess this was the way to get Fox back on his feet after his title loss and I can go with having him around more often.

We go to Arena Mexico for a CMLL match.

Tag Team Titles: Sky Team vs. Los Hermanos Chavez

Los Hermanos (Angel de Plata/Angel de Oro, whose NJPW Strong Tag Team Titles and CMLL Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line) are challenging and we get a quick ceremony honoring them for being in the ring for twenty years. Mistico and Oro start things off and look so much alike that commentary has to explain the way to tell them apart.

Mistico’s headscissors takes Oro down and Sky Team send them outside for the suicide dives. Back in and Mistico gets kicked out to the floor, with Dorada being sent out next to him. Mistico gets a running start though and is tossed into a hurricanrana to send Plata to the floor. Dorada does the same to Oro and it’s a pair of corkscrew dives to take the challengers down again.

We settle back down to Dorada clearing both of them out, setting up Mistico to get in some hurricanranas for the same. Back in and Mistico’s Code Red gets two on Oro, with Plata breaking it up for two of his own. A Michinoku Driver plants Dorada for two, with Mistico making a save of his own. Everything breaks down again and stereo springboard hurricanranas get two on Los Hermanos. Plata and Mistico strike it out until Dorada snaps off a running hurricanrana to the floor. La Mistica makes Oro tap at 13:55.

Rating: B. It was another entertaining match from Sky Team, though I’m hoping that this is just wrapping up their stuff from the CMLL shows and we get back to ROH for some regular title defenses. I absolutely get the idea of having something like this once in awhile, but we’ve kind of covered it for the time being. Otherwise, Guevara and Mortos could have kept the titles.

We get a sitdown interview with Sammy Guevara, who brags about being in everyone’s head. Guevara is like water because he can adapt to anything but some people don’t like water. He has been a success around the world but some people still won’t show him respect. Guevara is happy with how he has been a role model for his daughter (who he loves) and wants the World Title in another arm to hold alongside her. That’s a nice thought.

Bustah And The Brain vs. MxM Collection

After a hug off, Oliver and Mansoor start things off. Oliver takes him down by Mansoor is up to strike a pose, allowing Mason to come in with a running hip attack to the face. Oliver is back up with something close to a Pounce and Price comes in. That means a double clothesline to put Oliver and Price down, meaning Mansoor gets to drop Oliver with a forearm. Mansoor stomps away and Mason gets in some choking, followed by a tie in the Tree Of Woe.

Oliver slips out without much trouble though and it’s back to Price to pick up the pace. Price whips out a brush covered in hair to tease going after Mansoor, freaking him out in the process. With that blocked, it’s a double running boot in the corner but a double Styles clash is broken up. Price grabs a pop up Stunner to Madden and uses him for a tornado DDT to Mansoor. Back up and Mansoor gets dropkicked out of the air, setting up the double Styles Clash for the pin at 10:12.

Rating: B-. Bustah And The Brain have grown on me a lot since their start around here and it’s good to see them having some success. If the titles are actually around, I’d love to see them getting their chance at them. That might not be happening anytime soon, but at least they’re getting in the ring and not overstaying their welcome.

Dezmond Xavier vs. Brandon Cutler

Cutler works on a headlock to start so Xavier spins out, only to get crushed with a backsplash. Back up and Cutler springboards into an armdrag to put Xavier down again. Xavier is fine enough to dropkick him outside for a suicide dive but a 450 misses back inside. Cutler pops up to the top back inside for a hurricanrana but Xavier knocks him back into the corner. The tornado DDT gives Xavier two, only for Cutler to grab a cutter. The Shining Wizard gives Cutler two more but Xavier catches him with a Cardiac Kick for the pin at 7:05.

Rating: C+. Xavier getting a singles push isn’t a bad idea but he’s in the middle of the incredibly crowded midcard. I’m not sure if this was enough to really make him stand out but that’s the case for a lot of people around here. The match was completely fine and did in fact remind me that Cutler is in fact still around.

Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Adam Priest/Tommy Billington/Ortiz/Eddie Kingston

Bravo flips Ortiz off to start fast and they run the ropes for a crisscross. Ortiz puts him down and the good guys start taking turns on the arm. It’s off to Taylor, who blocks a double drop toehold but gets taken down with a middle rope bulldog. Priest gets taken down though and the Promotions take over on him, with a quadruple teaming on the floor making it worse.

Back in and the Promotions start taking turns on Priest, with Taylor hitting a heck of a clothesline. Dean adds his Bronco Buster but Priest fights up and brings Kingston in to clean house. Everything breaks down and we get the parade of knockdowns until Priest is the only one close to standing. Bravo gets in a huge dive to the floor and it’s Priest left alone with Dean back inside. Dean goes to pick him up but gets small packaged for the pin at 12:31.

Rating: B-. This had some nice action as the Promotions have some talented stars. As has been the case with far too many people on this show though, they’re around so often that it stops making much of an impact. At the same time, I’m not sure why you would tease having Tehuti Miles join them last week and then have them lose here. Either way, not a bad match at all.

Athena/Billie Starkz vs. Lacey Lane/Viva Van

Diamante is here with Athena and Starkz. Van and Starkz start things off with the former hitting a nice rolling kick to the head. A high crossbody puts Starkz down again but Diamante offers a distraction, allowing Athena to get in a boot of her own. The chinlock with a knee in the back goes on but Van enziguris her way to freedom.

That’s not enough for the tag though as Starkz breaks it up and drops a Swanton. Van fights back again and brings in Lane to start the comeback. A springboard spinning legdrop gives Lane two but Starkz gives her a Backstabber. Van comes back in for a double armdrag and dropkick but Athena knocks her down without much trouble. The curb stomp finishes Van at 7:23.

Rating: C. Athena is right back where she was before, which has literally been the case for years now. Hopefully it doesn’t continue the seemingly never ending tease of Starkz being the one to get the title off of her, but there are some options out there to get the spot instead. For now, though, Van and Lane have another loss but are fine for a low level women’s team.

Post match Athena wrecks Van a bit more.

TV Title: Lee Johnson vs. Lio Rush

Rush is defending but Johnson steals the title before the match, which feels like a rather dumb idea. That earns him a quick takedown, followed by a bunch of chest scratches. What looks like a BFT is escaped and Johnson bails to the floor, allowing him to chop away. Naturally this makes Rush laugh and he strikes away to start his comeback.

A snapmare lets Johnson kick him in the chest, setting up a standing moonsault for two. Back up and Rush hits a quick spear, followed by a Stunner for the 1998 special. Rush knocks him to the floor for the suicide dive, setting up a Jackhammer (ok I was kidding about the 1998 thing) for two more. Back up and Johnson backflips over him out of the corner, setting up a reverse DDT for two of his own.

A half snapdragon just wakes Rush up for the spinning kick to the head, with the springboard Stunner getting two more. Rush loads him up for something…but seems to start hearing voices. He goes outside to look for something and gets caught by Johnson’s big running flip dive. Back in and Johnson misses something off the top, allowing Rush to grab the cutter into the cutter choke to retain at 13:06.

Rating: B-. Rush does indeed deserve credit for everything he has gotten out of this, as there was no reason to believe that it was going to work and then it is coming off pretty well. He’s certainly dedicated to the thing so points for trying this hard. The fans are into him too so this is about as much as you can ask for here.

Overall Rating: C. Oh goodness no. This was every issue that the old Ring Of Honors had, as we had 11 matches and a bunch of people clogging up the show. The wrestling was fine, but it was a horrible presentation because there was too much going on. As usual, Ring Of Honor goes with the idea of quantity over all things and it made for a rather bad show. The wrestling worked and the people are doing what they can, but this could have been three if not four different shows. That’s way too much, as it’s ok to either not put so many people on every show or just not film it all. You know, just for a change.

Results
Dalton Castle/Outrunners b. Beef/Premiere Athletes – Mega Powers Elbow/fist drop combination to Beef
Angelico b. Tim Bosby – Leglock
Main Man Oro b. Mark Davidson – Leg trap suplex
The Kingdom b. Workhorsemen – Rollup to Drake with feet on the ropes
AR Fox b. Alan Angels – 450
Sky Team b. Los Hermanos Chavez – La Mistica to Oro
Bustah And The Brain b. MxM Collection – Double Styles Clash to Mansoor
Dezmond Xavier b. Brandon Cutler – Cardiac Kick
Adam Priest/Tommy Billington/Ortiz/Eddie Kingston b. Shane Taylor Promotions – Rollup to Dean
Athena/Billie Starkz b. Lacey Lane/Via Van – Curb stomp to Van
Lio Rush b. Lee Johnson – Cutter choke

 

 

 

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

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