It’s The Big Day.

Two For: Multiple Promotions Interested In The IIconics.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/two-multiple-promotions-interested-iiconics/

There Is An Explanation For Scarlett’s Absence From WWE TV.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/heres-nxt-star-disappeared-tv/

Backstage News On What Caused WWE To Release Bray Wyatt.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/backstage-news-caused-bray-wyatt-leave-wwe/

Ric Flair Confirmed For Very Special Wrestling Appearance This Month.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/ric-flair-making-special-wrestling-cameo-weekend/

VIDEO: MVP Makes A Special Announcement.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/video-mvp-makes-a-special-announcement/

WWE Tried To Get These Three Celebrities For Summerslam.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/wwe-tried-to-get-three-celebrities-summerslam/

WWE President Says Company “Open For Business” On Being Sold.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/wwe-president-says-companyopen-for-business-on-being-sold/

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

It’s finally time for one of the biggest shows of the year as WWE takes over New York City all over again. This time around the big main event is a four way for the Universal Title with Brock Lesnar defending against Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman and Samoa Joe. The rest of the card is too deep to break down in short order so let’s get to it.

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

The idea here is that Miz wants to be defending his Intercontinental Title against Jason Jordan but is stuck in this for reasons that aren’t clear. The section opposite the hard camera is MAYBE ten percent full because we’re about an hour and a half away from the start of the pay per view.

Jeff takes Axel into the corner to start and hands it off to Jordan to work on the arm. Dallas comes in and gets the same treatment, sending the Miztourage outside for a breather as we take a break (with empty sections of seats being shown on camera). Back with Jeff in trouble with Miz hammering away and working on the arm.

Matt comes in and throws some right hands but the Twist of Fate (with Matt shouting TWIST OF FATE) is broken up. Miz gets in some YES Kicks but gets sent into the corner, setting up the hot tag to Jordan. The suplexes send the Miztourage flying as everything breaks down. Jordan hits the running shoulder in the corner to Axel but Miz makes a blind tag, setting up the Skull Crushing Finale to put Jordan away at 10:31.

Rating: C-. Ridiculous looking non-crowd aside, not much of a match here. In theory you would have Miz lose the fall to Jordan here to set up the title match but it wouldn’t shock me if they had Miz beat him and then set it up anyway. This match didn’t need to happen and only served as a way to have some of these names on the card.

Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Title: Neville vs. Akira Tozawa

Tozawa is defending after winning the title on Monday. The crowd is looking far better already with the section opposite the hard camera now mostly full. Neville, in white trunks for a change, gets knocked outside so Tozawa can do his shouting. Tozawa follows him out but gets sent into the LED apron as we take a break.

Back with Neville throwing on a chinlock until Tozawa throws him outside for a suicide dive. A hard belly to back suplex drops Neville and an Octopus Hold has him in even more trouble. Neville makes the ropes and cuts off a charge with an enziguri, only to get kicked down as well to put them back to even. Back up and Tozawa rocks Neville with a right hand but it’s still too early for the backsplash. The superplex is broken up but the backsplash hits raised knees. The Red Arrow gives Neville the title back at 11:47.

Rating: C. And that would makes them 2-2 in 50/50 booking on the Kickoff Show so far. Neville lost the title on Monday and gets it back on Monday for whatever reason, despite having no one left to defend the thing against. I’m sure this is going to thrill the fans so far, now that they’re at least in the arena.

Here’s Elias to sing two songs, one of which insults Brooklyn in general and the other of which insults local singers. No match or anything but this is a thing that happened.

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

New Day is defending with Big E. and Woods in the ring. Before the match, Kofi (in Red Lantern inspired gear) talks about New Day’s history in Brooklyn, which is the first place they sang to the crowd and the birthplace of Francesca. Woods forearms Jimmy down to start and snaps off some rights and lefts in the corner. A raised boot cuts him off though and we take a break.

Back with Woods fighting out of a chinlock before coming up with a dropkick to Jey. Jimmy pulls Big E. off the apron though and it’s a Death Valley Driver into the corner for two. A modified Demolition Decapitator gets the same and we hit the chinlock. Back up with Woods getting in a faceplant for the tag off to Big E. as house is cleaned in a hurry. The Warrior Splash hits Jimmy and Big E. powerbombs Woods onto him for good measure.

In a real twist, Woods puts Big E. on his shoulders for a splash. JBL: “That’s what you’ve come to expect from the New Day!” A move they’ve never done before? Jey comes in off a hot tag and a double spinebuster gets two on Big E. It’s back to Woods who sends Jimmy into Big E. for a Rock Bottom/Backstabber combination and a near fall. Everything breaks down with the twins being sent outside for a dive from Woods, only to have Big E.’s stopped by a superkick.

The Superfly Splash gets two on Xavier but he’s back up with a Koji Clutch on Jey. A Shining Wizard gets two more and the Midnight Hour plants Jey with Jimmy diving in at the last second for the save. Woods charges at Jey, who launches him over the top into a Samoan drop on the floor. Big E. spears Jey through the ropes, only to have the Big Ending broken up by a blind tag. Five superkicks and a double Superfly Splash gives us new champions at 19:09.

Rating: B+. Heck of a match here as the three people/teams who won during the week go to 0-3 on the Kickoff Show. I have no idea what the point is in putting the titles back on the Usos as they cleaned out the “division” in recent months, pretty much leaving New Day alone as a good face team. Breezango barely wrestles anymore and we’ve done the two of them vs. the Usos, but that’s never stopped WWE before.

We get a KFC ad featuring various people auditioning to be the next Colonel Sanders. This cuts to the arena where Shawn Michaels comes out in a sleeveless Sanders outfit, dances around, slides over the announcers’ table, and nothing else. This is one of the most random things I’ve ever seen.

The opening video looks at every match under the slogan Go Big.

No pyro again, but let me introduce you to the ridiculous amount of commentary teams and all their equipment to broadcast live in various languages.

John Cena vs. Baron Corbin

Cena cost Corbin his Money in the Bank cash-in on Monday. For a change of pace, Cena slides to the floor and grabs JBL’s hat while saying Corbin is shaken up. Back in and Cena’s headlock is broken up with some knees to the ribs. Corbin’s slide underneath the ropes into a clothesline gets two and it’s time to yell at the referee.

A World’s Strongest Slam gets two and triggers a WHERE’S YOUR BRIEFCASE chant. That earns Cena a chokebreaker as this is mostly one sided so far. Cena fights out of a superplex with a tornado DDT but the AA is broken up. Deep Six gives Corbin two but Cena comes right back with the Attitude Adjustment for the fast pin at 10:18.

Rating: D. I don’t remember the last time I said this about a Cena match but this sucked. This was Cena getting beaten up for eight minutes and then coming back with a single AA for the pin (which NEVER happens). I don’t know if Corbin ran over Vince’s dog or something but he’s been crushed in the last week for no apparent reason. This was really odd and a big letdown, at least partially due to time.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Natalya vs. Naomi

Natalya is challenging after winning an elimination match last month. Naomi starts fast and knocks her outside, meaning it’s time to shout a lot. Back in and the champ’s leg gets snapped over the top rope and then over the turnbuckle for good measure. A suplex gives Natalya two, followed by a small package to give Naomi the same.

Back up and Natalya blasts her with a clothesline, followed by a Michinoku Driver for two more. The discus clothesline drops Naomi again but she comes back with a Russian legsweep. Naomi declares it GLOW TIME and does her dancing kicks (the ones that make almost no contact) but Natalya pulls her down to the mat instead. Back up and the reverse Rings of Saturn is reversed into the Sharpshooter for the surprise tap out at 10:49.

Rating: C-. Natalya looked far better out there but sweet goodness this division is getting less and less interesting all the time. The longer we wait for Charlotte and Becky Lynch to be in the title picture, the worse this division seems, mainly because it feels like a big waste of time. This match should have been on the Kickoff Show or not on the show whatsoever, but that might mean someone doesn’t make the card and that would just be unforgivable.

There’s no Carmella appearance.

We recap Big Cass vs. Big Show. Cass turned on Enzo Amore for running his mouth too much (gee I’m stunned) so Enzo brought in Show to help deal with him. Tonight Enzo is locked in a shark cage and Show’s hand is broken due to an attack by Cass.

Big Cass vs. Big Show

Enzo runs his mouth before the match and sucks up to Brooklyn, furthering his status as my least favorite person in the company. I don’t think I need to explain to you why Enzo is really annoying but he’s been even more so lately. Show slugs away with his left hand as Enzo runs his mouth about how we’re going to work tonight while dancing in the cage, causing it to rattle loudly. Show hurts his hand on a missed Vader Bomb as Enzo is now jumping up and down.

Cass hammers on the hand and grabs an armbar for some psychology. The fans think this is boring as Show fights up with a left handed chokeslam for two. Cass knocks him down again and Enzo is taking his pants off. He pulls out some hidden oil and covers himself with it, allowing him to slip through the bars. Enzo gets down so Cass kicks him in the head but the big boot only gets two on Show. A second big boot sets up the Empire Elbow for the pin on Show at 10:28.

Rating: D. I don’t remember the last time I couldn’t stand someone as much as I can’t stand Enzo. Stephanie maybe? Cass winning helps a lot here and hopefully he can now move on to ANYTHING else. He looked good in his win and now he can move on to a fresh feud. Show is actually really acceptable in this role as he’s just putting people over on the big stage and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Daniel Bryan comes in to see Kurt Angle to say he thinks Smackdown will steam the show. Bryan: “It’s true, it’s true.” Angle thinks Raw will be better and starts a YES chant. This turns into one heck of a YES/NO battle until both guys get winded.

Randy Orton vs. Rusev

Not much of a story here as Rusev wanted competition and Orton answered him. Rusev jumps Orton during the entrance and beats the heck out of him before the bell. Orton says he can go and it’s an RKO for the pin at 9 seconds.

That right there is the perfect example of why I can’t stand these huge cards. This is obviously, and I do mean obviously, a case of cutting something for time. Why is it being cut for time? It’s so we could have a Cruiserweight Title rematch and a six man rematch on the Kickoff Show. Neither match was good and both matches pretty much advanced nothing (the Cruiserweight Title match actually took us back in time) but they ate up time that could have gone to this match, which could have been interesting. Instead Rusev looks like an idiot and the match barely exists. Just don’t put someone on the card. They’ll be ok.

Sasha Banks is coming to the ring when she runs into Bayley, who gets booed while wishing Bayley good luck.

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

Banks is challenging as a replacement for an injured Bayley. They brawl into the corner with the fans booing the heck out of Sasha. Bliss hits the hardest right hand she’s ever thrown but gets caught with a crossbody for two. Banks gets caught in the corner and faceplanted down to the mat. The New York fans are of course pleased with the woman from Boston getting beaten up, including having Bliss stand on her hair.

Alexa chokes in the corner and hits some double knees to the back. Some more choking ensues but Banks flips her out of the corner for a breather. Sasha makes her comeback with some clotheslines and a dropkick. Bliss tries a sunset flip out of the corner, only to have Sasha flip her backwards and head first into the buckles.

The Bank Statement goes on but it’s way too close to the ropes. Bliss takes her outside and sends her hard into the barricade, possibly injuring Sasha’s shoulder. Banks is back in at nine so Bliss is right on the arm, followed by Twisted Bliss for two. Some shots to the shoulder break up another Bank Statement, only to have Banks grab it again for the tap and the title at 13:17.

Rating: B-. Bliss did most of the work in the match and looked far better than I ever would have believed just a few months ago. This run has turned her into a completely acceptable worker, which isn’t what you would have expected. Banks winning is the right call long term, but they did a pretty lame job of building the match towards the finish. Still though, best thing on the show by a few miles so far.

We see the Shawn Michaels KFC bit again.

Long recap of Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt. Bray seemed to think that Balor was a false idol and promised to destroy him. Wyatt beat him this past Monday and then poured “blood” over him for some extra effect. Balor then said that Bray had his demons, but he did too. I think you know what that means.

Bray Wyatt vs. Finn Balor

After Bray’s full entrance, a voice starts singing He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands. That means the Demon King returns for the first time since last Summerslam to easily the reaction of the night. Finn crawls around and Bray takes an early breather on the still smoky floor. Back in and Balor hammers away, kicking Bray right back to the floor. Balor jumps over him in the corner so Bray leans over backwards for a scary look of his own.

That’s fine with Finn who sends him outside for a flip dive but it’s too early for the Coup de Grace. A suplex onto the floor knocks Balor silly though and we hit the chinlock for a bit. Balor pops back up and knocks him outside for a kick from the apron, followed by a Sling Blade back inside. Bray boots him in the face for two and declares that he has him. Balor gets in the shotgun dropkick against the barricade and throws him back inside for a quick Coup de Grace at 9:42 in another weak finish.

Rating: C+. As has been the case all night (and ever for the most part), it’s such a waste of a match to do it once on Monday and then again on Sunday. Why should I care that Balor won here when Bray already beat him earlier in the week? Either way, this was hardly a great return for Balor, who was the most obvious winner in the world here. Bray loses on the big stage, again, and it’s time to start his cycle all over again.

We recap Cesaro/Sheamus vs. Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins, which has very little to do with Cesaro/Sheamus. Ambrose and Rollins were tired of getting double teamed and teased getting back together for weeks. It FINALLY happened earlier this week and they were granted an immediate shot at the Tag Team Titles.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Sheamus/Cesaro vs. Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins

Sheamus and Cesaro are defending. Ambrose headlocks Sheamus to start and it’s a blind tag from Rollins to set up a knee drop. A dropkick staggers Cesaro and the champs are knocked to the floor without too much effort. Sheamus pulls Dean outside for a Brogue Kick though and Seth gets slammed on the floor for good measure.

Seth grabs a Blockbuster for a breather but hang on a second as Cesaro is running into the crowd. He grabs a beach ball that a fan was batting around and rips it to shreds, drawing a heck of a YES chant. I certainly love him a lot more now. Cesaro suplexes Seth down for two but seems to have tweaked his knee.

Rollins gets taken outside for a double beating, only to have Ambrose come off the top with the elbow to put everyone down. Back in and the champs are clotheslined over the top, setting up the double suicide dives. A Hart Attack with a Sling Blade (not a Blockbuster Cole) gets two on Cesaro and the rebound lariat puts him down again. Sheamus gets caught on top for a superplex with Rollins tagging himself in for a frog splash and a near fall with Cesaro making the save.

Cesaro breaks up the double bomb out of the corner and Dirty Deeds is countered into the Sharpshooter. Dean is almost in the ropes but Cesaro switches to a Crossface in the middle of the ring. Since that’s not going to work, it’s a powerbomb/top rope clothesline combination for two instead. White Noise is loaded up but Seth hurricanranas Cesaro off the top into Sheamus for the crazy save. A jumping knee to the face knocks Sheamus into Dirty Deeds for the pin and the titles at 18:35.

Rating: B. Heck of a match here with the ending looking great. That ending was a great touch as the Shield guys worked so well together. I’m not usually a fan of having two guys put together to become champions but it helps to have such a strong history between them. Now all they need is Roman as a surprise and things should be great all over again.

We recap Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles for the US Title. They’ve traded the title in recent months but Owens blames his recent loss on bad refereeing. This meant Shane McMahon was appointed as guest referee, so Owens started bringing up Shane’s history as a crooked referee and his issues with AJ. The question is will Shane screw someone over and who will it be.

US Title: Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles

AJ is defending with Shane McMahon as guest referee. Owens jumps him at the bell and hammers away with AJ’s comeback being cut off without much effort. The Cannonball gets two and Owens yells at Shane. A chinlock and backbreaker get two more on the champ but AJ says bring it. Styles wins a slugout and hits a belly to back faceplant for two but can’t follow up.

Back up and AJ manages the Phenomenal Forearm, only to hit Shane by mistake. That means there’s no one to count the Pop Up Powerbomb so Owens yells at Shane. As you might expect, AJ gets back up and knocks Shane to the floor by mistake. The Calf Crusher goes on and Owens taps to no avail.

Everyone gets back in and AJ forearms Owens down, only to get caught in the spinning superplex for two. AJ comes right back with the Styles Clash for a close two. Owens grabs the Pop Up Powerbomb for the pin but AJ’s foot was on the ropes and Shane calls it off. That means an argument and Shane shoves Owens into a rollup for two. The Pele sets up the Phenomenal Forearm and a second Styles Clash retains the title at 17:25.

Rating: B. This was too much about Shane and they’re not exactly being subtle about the upcoming Owens vs. McMahon match. AJ retaining is the right call here as there’s no need to put it back on Owens if he’s going to be feuding with Shane in the coming weeks. It wasn’t quite the blow away match I was expecting but it was a good, back and forth fight and a definitive ending, which is the most important thing.

Some fans won a sweepstakes and got to go to the show.

We recap the Smackdown World Title match. Jinder Mahal won the title in May in a huge upset and has continued to defy his critics ever since. Shinsuke Nakamura became #1 contender by pinning John Cena clean. There’s also no Baron Corbin to cash-in his Money in the Bank briefcase any longer.

Smackdown World Title: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Jinder Mahal

Jinder is defending and Nakamura is played to the ring by a live violinist. The threat of some kicks brings Mahal close enough to grab a wristlock, only to have Nakamura spin out and send Mahal outside. Nakamura says bring it on so Mahal gets back inside, only to get caught with Good Vibrations. Shinsuke is getting a little too comfortable so the Singh Brothers offer a distraction, allowing Mahal to pound him down and grab a chinlock.

Back up and Nakamura gets in a spinning kick to the jaw and a cross armbreaker but Jinder makes the ropes. Some hard kicks to the front and back of the head have Mahal reeling but here are the Singh Brothers for another distraction. This time it allows the Khallas to end Nakamura at 11:25.

Rating: D+. And Mahal retains to bore another day. I have no idea what’s supposed to interest me about Mahal but it’s really missing. Nakamura might not have been ready to win the title but the Singh Brothers distraction into a Khallas is about as lame of a finish as there is in WWE right now. If he had a great finisher or something it would make a big difference, but sweet goodness this let the air out of the place.

We recap the Universal Title match and simply put, this is going to be chaos. Brock Lesnar is defending against Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe and Roman Reigns with basically a guarantee of pure anarchy. I don’t think you need much more of an explanation.

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

Lesnar is defending, anything goes, and he leaves WWE if he loses. Naturally Paul Heyman handles Lesnar’s Big Match Intro and we’re ready to go. Joe goes after Lesnar while Strowman and Reigns head outside. The first suplex sends Joe outside but Reigns posts Strowman to set up the first showdown. The first German suplex drops Reigns and Joe comes in to take the second. NOW it’s the real showdown though with Strowman vs. Lesnar and the fans are way into this one.

Joe and Reigns cut it off though and we’re forced to wait a bit more. The wait is only a few seconds though as Reigns and Joe are knocked outside and it’s Strowman LAUNCHING Lesnar into the corner and clotheslining him hard to the floor. Reigns comes back in and clotheslines Strowman, who calmly shoves Reigns away. Joe grabs the Koquina Clutch on Lesnar but sidesteps a spear, sending Lesnar HARD through the barricade.

Joe Rock Bottoms Reigns onto the announcers’ table but Strowman runs Joe over, leaving him as the last man standing. Strowman goes to load up the table as Graves hopes he uses Saxton as a weapon. A running powerslam drives Brock through a table but Reigns dropkicks Strowman down. Joe’s suicide elbow drops Reigns so Strowman throws a commentator’s chair at both of them.

Lesnar is getting back up so Strowman powerslams him through the second announcers’ table. Fans: “ONE MORE TABLE!” Strowman obliges by turning the last table over on top of Lesnar, drawing a bunch of referees and agents to save the champ. Heyman: “NOOOOO!” We get a stretcher for Brock as Heyman is absolutely losing his mind. Lesnar is taken out and Strowman wants to know where the Beast is now.

Strowman picks up some steps and decks both guys but Reigns slows him down with a few shots. A shot with the steps has Strowman reeling and a third sends him outside, only to have Joe come in with a rollup for two on Reigns. Roman gets two off the Samoan drop but the Superman Punch is countered into the Koquina Clutch. Strowman is right back in though and a double chokeslam gets two.

The Undertaker chants start up and here’s Brock again. Strowman gets taken down and a running forearm knocks him to the floor. It’s Suplex City time with both Samoans being sent flying. Strowman, with a bloody ear, breaks out of a suplex attempt so Brock goes with the Kimura.

Reigns makes the save with a Superman Punch, followed by another one to both guys. A weird looking spear (Lesnar didn’t really go backwards) gets two on Brock but Reigns gets caught in the Koquina Clutch. That’s broken up by a Strowman dropkick (Cole: “Is there anything he can’t do?”) for two on Joe. The Pop Up Superman Punch gets two more on Strowman and Reigns is almost scared by the kickout.

Braun gets two more off the powerslam with Lesnar making a save. Lesnar can’t F5 Braun but Reigns spears Braun out to the floor, leaving him alone with Brock. Joe is back in with the Clutch on Lesnar but Brock reverses into the F5 for two with Reigns making the save for his only positive reaction of the night. Three straight Superman Punches drop Brock but the spear is countered into the F5 to retain the title at 21:01.

Rating: A. I need a breather. You can tell they’re setting up something special for Strowman here as he didn’t take the pin, nor did he have anyone really get the better of him all match. Lesnar vs. Strowman is REALLY tempting right now and I’d love to see it happen at some big match. Like at Survivor Series or so.

That being said, WOW what a fight. These guys beat the heck out of each other for a long time and Lesnar looked incredibly vulnerable at times. It’s amazing how much better these matches are when he’s not the unstoppable machine and it looks like WWE is starting to learn that. It was great stuff here and Strowman looked like a monster, which is all he needed to be here. The fallout from this is going to be interesting and Reigns taking the fall hopefully means a bit of a downgrade for him.

Lesnar looks like he just fell out of a building to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The first hour of this show was awful and came as close as you can get to sinking what was an otherwise very good show. For once it helps when you have that much more time after the first hour to save things, but hopefully this shows WWE (it won’t) that four hours is too long for a regular show. If you cut out some of the bad stuff, this is a classic. As it is, it’s just a very good show with a great main event. In other words, good, but WWE gets in its own way again.

That being said, I really liked parts of this with the main event obviously blowing away everything else on the show. They have some serious options going forward, assuming they can manage to get Lesnar to show up more than once every few months. Strowman looks like the star of stars at this point and if they don’t do him vs. Lesnar before the end of Wrestlemania XXXIV, they’ve lost their freaking minds. Good show, but it needs an hour or so shaved off to bring it to that next level.

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

It’s the second biggest night of the year but there’s a real case to be made that this show is much bigger than Wrestlemania. There are five potential main events with the likely headliner of Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton. Based on the matches alone there’s almost no way this isn’t great so let’s get to it.

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

Rematch from Smackdown. Gable takes Breeze to the mat to start and works on the arm before it’s off to Jey. English comes in and gets his arm cranked by Rawley. Ryder comes in with a middle rope dropkick and everything breaks down with Alpha taking down Ascension with a top rope clothesline. Everyone is on the floor as we take a break. Back with Gotch cranking on Ryder’s arm before Viktor comes in with a chinlock.

Breeze gets his turn at a chinlock and Viktor keeps Zack in trouble. A neckbreaker puts Konnor down though and the hot tag brings in Jimmy to almost no reaction. Everything breaks down and Jordan starts throwing suplexes as only he cans. We get the parade of people hitting each other in the face until Rawley powerbombs Breeze and Viktor. The Usos superkick Ascension off the apron and hit double dives to take out most of the heels. Gotch takes the Grand Amplitude but Jey tags himself in for the Superfly Splash and the pin at 14:30.

Rating: C. This was a much longer version of what we got on Smackdown but at least they’re actually setting up the first major feud. Now that being said, I don’t buy the idea of Alpha winning the titles outright as it seems smarter to have them get really close but let another team steal the belts. That allows Alpha to chase them for a bit and build up the rest of the division in the process. Or they could just give us Alpha vs. the Usos and then wonder why everything after that is a letdown.

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

The Dudleys have been having some issues as of late. Neville and D-Von start as Cole confirms that Orton vs. Lesnar is the main event. The good guys take turns on D-Von’s arm until Neville uses Sami’s back as a launchpad for a corkscrew moonsault. Bubba gets in a shot from behind to take over as the fans want tables. D-Von cranks on Neville’s neck and we take a break.

Back with Bubba hitting a neckbreaker out of the corner and telling D-Von to work on that neck. It’s back to Bubba, who shouts at the “English boy” to fight back. The middle rope splash misses though and the hot tag brings in Sami. The comeback doesn’t last long though as Sami gets caught in the reverse 3D. Bubba clotheslines D-Von again, setting up the Helluva Kick and the Red Arrow for the pin at 7:54.

Rating: C. Remember the last few weeks where Bubba and D-Von can’t win basic matches? Well this was an extended version of that. Sami and Neville are fine for a tag team, though you would think Sami would have been much better suited getting a singles run off that big win over Owens. But nah, we need Cesaro vs. Sheamus in at least six matches instead of giving Sami some kind of a push.

Pre-Show: Cesaro vs. Sheamus

Match #1 in a best of seven series to establish dominance, whatever the heck that’s supposed to mean. Cesaro has a tear away tuxedo tonight. Cole: “Cesaro set to take on Cesaro tonight.” Apparently these two have been going back and forth. Now normally that would imply that they had both won a match but winning matches is so blasé anymore.

The Brogue Kick and Cesaro Swing are both broken up but Sheamus sends him into the post to take over. Sheamus puts on an armbar and a tilt-a-whirl powerslam takes us to a break. Back with Cesaro in a chinlock and a look at what we saw before the break, a full minute ago. The Regal Roll means we should respect the hawk but Cesaro counters a suplex to send both guys falling out to the floor.

Back in and Cesaro starts firing off the uppercuts to set up the lifting superplex for two. That’s not enough for the Neutralizer though as Sheamus grabs White Noise to escape. A middle rope Regal Roll gets two more for Sheamus but the Brogue Kick is blocked, followed by a very hard clothesline from Cesaro.

For some reason Cesaro stands on the post and jumps down onto the top rope for the high cross body. Not much of a change but it looked cool enough. The Swing sets up the Sharpshooter but Sheamus is right next to the rope. Sheamus is tired of getting beaten on though and thumbs him in the eye to set up the Brogue Kick for the pin at 14:38.

Rating: B-. Here’s the thing: yes this was a hard hitting, entertaining match but these two aren’t exactly the kind of wrestlers who vary their offense too much. How many different things are they going to be able to do to keep this presumably long series fresh? At least the first match was good and they went with the only option as you can’t have Sheamus lose three times in a row.

The opening video focuses on New York City because Heaven forbid we don’t tell New Yorkers how amazing their city is every chance we get. A good highlight package for most of the matches plays over the narration.

There’s an especially big Titantron to give the show a unique look.

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

Enzo and Cass suck up to the fans (makes sense) and sing a song I’m not familiar with. That leads to a talk about Frank Sinatra and Cass singing a little New York, New York. Now it’s time to talk about Big E. Smalls because they’re another problem for Jeri-KO. The Canadians jump Cass to start and double team Enzo for some good strategy. The fans chant STUPID IDIOT until Enzo punches Jericho in the face and tags in Cass.

House is quickly cleaned with the big man beating up the villains and sending them outside, only to have Enzo get launched over the top (with his foot almost getting caught on the top rope). Back in and Jericho kicks Enzo in the face to take over, allowing Owens to talk trash as only he can. We hit the ASK HIM chinlock, followed by the running the ropes chinlock from Owens.

Jericho cuts off a hot tag attempt and there’s the springboard dropkick to take Cass off the apron. Owens adds the frog splash for a near fall as you can hear the fans being very much into this. The Cannonball misses and that’s enough for the hot tag to Cass. The Bada Boom Shakalacka is broken up (and that’s a shame), allowing Owens to Cannonball Cass against the barricade. Back in and Owens launches Enzo into a Codebreaker for the pin at 12:22.

Rating: C+. Fun opener but the ending is a bit of a headscratcher, assuming this ends the feud. That ending was certainly dominance establishing if anything ever has been but that doesn’t mean enough to end a feud anymore. Notice that they’re still protecting Cass, which is a really good idea. I don’t think he’s actually been pinned yet in WWE and that could mean something special for his future.

Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan run into Mick Foley for the standard “my show is better”. They run into Jon Stewart, who freaks out about Foley working with Stephanie…..who is right behind Stewart. Stephanie teases abusing her power when New Day cuts them off. Foley steals some cereal as New Day asks if they can borrow Stewart. Stephanie says she’s misunderstood.

We recap Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte for the Women’s Title, which Banks won from Charlotte just under a month ago. The big deal is that Dana Brooke is banned from ringside, despite Banks winning after Dana was ejected in the first match.

Women’s Title: Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte

Banks is defending and gets right in Charlotte’s face before we can even get the Big Match Intros. Cole again gets the dominance concept in as Charlotte uses her “physical dominance” to put Sasha in the corner. The champ comes right back with an early Bank Statement attempt to send Charlotte into the corner. Charlotte puts her on the top rope for a choke with her boot before trying a backbreaker onto the top, only to have Sasha crash onto the ropes for two instead.

Charlotte stays on the back with a Gory Special and an STO backbreaker for another near fall. A hurricanrana gets Sasha out of trouble for a bit but Charlotte ties her in the Tree of Woe for some kicks to the ribs. In the move that has to be countered to avoid death, Charlotte’s super Razor’s Edge is countered with another hurricanrana to put both of them down. They slug it out with Sasha slapping away to take over before putting on a Boston crab in the corner.

The double knees to the back get two before Sasha knocks her to the floor for the double knees to the chest. She’s lucky that didn’t crush Charlotte’s head. The Bank Statement doesn’t work but Natural Selection is countered into the Bank Statement, only to have Charlotte escape again. Now Natural Selection connects for a string of two counts before Sasha grabs another Bank Statement. Charlotte is in trouble until she grabs the leg and rolls Sasha up for the pin and the title at 13:49.

Rating: B. Remember when Sasha won the title and it was a big deal and felt like a change of pace? Yeah forget all that because we’re likely heading for a gimmick match at Clash of the Champions as the title is hot potatoed again. This is another good example of the booking being suited for whatever they have coming up instead of what makes sense, especially when you could do the same thing to set up a third match later on. Not a fan of the booking but the match was the usual good stuff from these two.

Anderson and Gallows are making doctor jokes when AJ Styles comes in for some too sweeting. Finn Balor comes in, looks at them, and leaves as the fans lose their minds.

Intercontinental Title: The Miz vs. Apollo Crews

Crews is challenging after winning a triple threat. These two have had almost no contact to build this up and it’s a pretty forgotten match coming in. Speaking of forgotten, Maryse’s outfit (basically a one piece swimsuit) is likely going to cause a lot of people to forget that there’s a match going on. Crews gets two off a rollup but gets caught in a DDT. Miz gets dropkicked out of the air and Crews slams him hard for two. An overhead belly to belly sets up the standing moonsault (from Crews if that’s not clear) and a rollup gets two. Crews misses a charge into the corner though and the Skull Crushing Finale retains the title at 5:40.

Rating: C. Just a Smackdown match here with the Intercontinental Title still not doing much at Summerslam. Crews losing here is fine as it’s not like he’s done anything worthy of being champion yet. That being said, it would be nice if the fans were given something to cheer for on this very long night.

We recap John Cena vs. AJ Styles. AJ beat him (with the help of the Club) at Money in the Bank and they’ve actually held off on the rematch since. The idea is an old standard as AJ thinks it’s his time but Cena wants to stand up for what he believes in and isn’t ready to go yet. The promos have more than carried it though and that’s what really matters, especially when the match itself will be great.

AJ Styles vs. John Cena

This is earlier than I was expecting. The dueling chants being and you can tell Cena is fired up. Feeling out process to start until AJ hits the dropdown dropkick but spends too much time posing, allowing a big right hand to the face. The fans come up with various ways to say John Cena sucks as AJ suplexes him on the apron to take over.

AJ’s strike rush has Cena in trouble but he comes back again with the running shoulders. Styles gets right up and hits the Pele to set up the first Styles Clash for the first kicking out of a finisher. Since this is a Cena pay per view match, an AA hits immediately after for two more. I knew that was coming before they were even off the mat.

A torture rack powerbomb gets two more for AJ before something like a Big Ending of all things gets the same for Cena. The AA backbreaker drops Cena for two more but AJ misses a springboard 450. Cena can’t follow up though and AJ gets two off a belly to back into a facebuster. There’s the STF but Styles reverses into a not great Crossface. Cena powers out but gets pulled down into the Calf Crusher.

That’s reversed into the STF which is escaped for an enziguri from AJ. They’re just trading big moves here. The tornado DDT and top rope Fameasser get two each for Cena so AJ uses his turn for a super hurricanrana. The Phenomenal Forearm gets two more so Cena uses that big clothesline that he uses for a comeback. Cena grabs the super AA for two in a very rare failure for that move. John looks at him in awe and charges into another Styles Clash, followed by the Phenomenal Forearm for the completely clean pin at 23:17.

Rating: A. That’s going to set the bar very high for the match of the weekend. AJ winning clean here is a HUGE deal for him and makes him the pretty much undisputed #1 contender for the Smackdown World Title. It’s really nice to see the trend of “Cena loses, Cena wins, Cena wins again” broken and the fact that it was in such a great match helped a lot. Oh and very good move to have AJ kick out of the super AA and then win. It would have been such a waste otherwise. This was great stuff and the ending made it even better so I’m much happier than I was coming in.

Cena actually gets cheered post match. He takes off the Never Give Up armband and leaves it in the ring before walking away. I doubt it goes anywhere but that could mean something.

Some fans won a contest.

Here’s Jon Stewart to say that was a great match because no one interfered and hit one of them with a chair. Yes he did that last year and he learned that you never take an AA without tucking your shirt in. He’s been asked by New Day to join with them for one night and puts on a unicorn horn. Stewart starts Big E.’s intro but the crowd does the rest for him.

Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Anderson and Gallows

New Day is defending and Big E. is out hurt. Anderson and Gallows come out in their doctor coats and even have a small jar for Stewart. Kofi starts with Anderson and flips out of a monkey flip as you would expect him to do. The Unicorn Stampede has Gallows in trouble and Kofi dives over the top, poses in the air, and takes him out again.

Anderson offers a quick distraction so Kofi can get beaten down for a bit, only to have Woods get the tag a few moments later. A big elbow from the top (as in the middle of the rope, not the corner) gets two on Anderson as everything breaks down. There’s the Magic Killer but Stewart comes in to yell. Anderson and Gallows go to beat him up, allow Stewart to tuck in his shirt, and go to crotch him against the post. Cue Big E. for the save though and that’s a DQ at 9:10.

Rating: D+. This was just a way to keep the titles on New Day for a year as they’ll likely drop them to Anderson and Gallows at Clash of the Champions. The match was nothing special of course as again this felt like a Raw match to fill in time on a pay per view instead of something that actually mattered. Not bad or anything but just there.

Big E. drinks the fluid in his his ball jar.

We recap Dolph Ziggler vs. Dean Ambrose. Dean is carrying Smackdown as the champion but Ziggler won a six pack challenge to earn a title shot here. Ziggler has been getting much more serious lately and superkicked Dean in mid sentence on Smackdown earlier this week.

Smackdown World Title: Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler

Dean is defending and Shane and Bryan are at ringside to hold them apart before the bell. They slap each other in the face to start until Ziggler takes him down with a nice amateur move. Dean goes outside and sends Ziggler into the steps, followed by a butterfly superplex for two. Ambrose grabs a half crab as JBL goes into a rant about Dean robbing a homeless mannequin.

Back up and Dean gets two off a Glam Slam of all things before tuning up the band, which is now mocking Ziggler instead of Shawn. Instead of a superkick (what a concept), Dean tries Dirty Deeds but gets shoved to the floor. Ziggler gets two off the running DDT and hits back to back Fameassers for two. They hit crossbodies at the same time before Dean takes over with the top rope elbow.

Dean swivels his hips a bit (so he’s ripped off Shawn Michaels, Dolph Ziggler, Dude Love and Rick Rude so far) before they fall out to the floor. Ziggler hits a quick superkick before the Zig Zag gets two back inside. The sleeper doesn’t get Ziggler very far as Dean hits the rebound lariat for two more. Ziggler takes him up for a super faceplant but gets shoved down and caught in Dirty Deeds for the clean pin (and silence from the crowd) at 15:22.

Rating: B-. That was a good midcard title match disguised as a World Title match for reasons that I don’t even want to try to comprehend. Ziggler losing clean like that was rather stupid but you had to expect something close to it. People just don’t buy him as a big deal and it’s really hard to after all these losses. It’s probably the best move though because either of these guys is just keeping the title warm for Styles.

We look at WWE taking over New York.

Naomi/Becky Lynch/Carmella vs. Natalya/Alexa Bliss/???

Eva Marie gets her full entrance but apparently she’s suffering from exhaustion and anxiety brought on by mean WWE fans. Therefore, we have a replacement.

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

Becky and Natalya start things off before it’s off to Naomi for a springboard sunset flip for two. The splits legdrop gets two more and it’s off to Carmella to send Natalya into a raised boot. Natalya takes over and it’s back to Nikki to a shockingly strong pop. A spinebuster gets two on Carmella before Bliss comes in for her moonsault knees to the ribs for two. Carmella finally crawls over and makes the tag off to Becky as things speed up but the crowd stays quiet.

Becky fires off the kicks in the corner and the Bexploder drops Natalya. A hard enziguri hits Natalya again and it’s off to Naomi for the dancing kicks. The split legged moonsault misses though and we get Carmella vs. Nikki as everything breaks down. Nikki hits her big forearm and a TKO puts Carmella away at 11:04. Ranallo: “Nikki Bella victorious in her return to WWE!”

Rating: C. Well there’s your first Smackdown Women’s Champion and to be fair, it’s not the worst idea. The only real options they had for realistic potential champions were Becky (fine) and Natalya (save me) as Naomi isn’t interesting and the other three aren’t ready for the title scene. Nikki is a good addition, but egads I was liking not having to hear about how inspirational they are and how much we should admire them.

We recap Rusev vs. Roman Reigns for the US Title, which involved Lana going into a wedding cake.

Maria Menunos of all people interviews Rusev and Lana, who say the title isn’t going anywhere.

We recap Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins for the inaugural Universal Title. Rollins gets the spot due to being the #1 draft pick and Balor won a mini tournament by pinning Roman Reigns to get his place. Seth seems to be laughing off Balor as a challenger so Balor brought out the Demon to make it clear how serious this was.

Raw World Title: Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins

The title is vacant coming in. We see the belt for the first time and it’s the same as the Smackdown World Title but with a red strap and a UNIVERSAL CHAMPION plate on the bottom. Balor does the full on Demon entrance (complete with something like a Papa Shango paint design) and the fans are VERY pleased. This has to be won via pin or submission so it’s essentially a street fight.

Balor hits a quick dropkick and loads up the Coup de Grace but Rollins gets to the floor. Finn follows him out and starts going after the leg before diving off the barricade. Back in and Balor works on the leg, only to be taken outside for a powerbomb into the barricade. Rollins chokes away in the corner and it’s off to a chinlock. Things stay slow as Seth works on the back (too common of a target tonight) before ripping at Finn’s face.

The good looking frog splash gets two on Balor but he reverses a clothesline (looked like a Rainmaker, which is still just a clothesline) into a DDT. A knee to the face sends Rollins outside and a Sling Blade knocks him silly inside. 1916 gets two for Finn but the Coup de Grace misses and Seth grabs a triangle choke of all things. Finn gets his foot on the ropes but that’s not a break because there’s no DQ. Uh….that’s not really the same as rope breaks not counting but I get the idea.

Back in and the Buckle Bomb sets up the low superkick for two. A small package driver (fisherman’s driver into a fast small package) gets two more but Balor kicks him down, only to miss the Coup de Grace. The Pedigree only gets two and the fans aren’t even responding to the near falls anymore. Seth rolls through a Phoenix Splash (geez) but runs to the top for a superplex into a Pedigree attempt, only to have Balor dropkick him into the corner. The Coup de Grace makes Balor champion at 19:16.

Rating: B+. This was the only option as they had to pull the trigger on Balor (or someone) after the ratings have been such a disaster. Balor might not be a great champion but they’ve made him feel like a big deal and that’s what they need on this show. Rollins can take the title back whenever if necessary but at least the match was great and Rollins put him over clean.

Cole says Balor is the first person to win a World Title in his first match on a pay per view. No Cole, he’s not.

Pre-show panel recap because screw people having to go to work tomorrow.

It’s 10:26pm and we’ve got two matches left, so here’s a video of Dolph Ziggler dressed up as Colonel Sanders to beat up Miz in a chicken suit. No this isn’t some fever dream from watching too much wrestling lately. This is really happening and you’re supposed to be entertained by it.

US Title: Roman Reigns vs. Rusev

Reigns is challenging to stand up for America. Rusev jumps him before the bell and sends Reigns into the steps a few times. The bad arm is crushed by some steps but Reigns Superman Punches him off the barricade. Referees come out to pull them apart and the guys fight over a chair. Reigns cracks him over the back with a chair and is finally made to leave. No match due to Rusev not being able to compete.

Rusev is being helped off and Reigns runs back out for the spear. Ok Reigns is the heel now. Let’s see: he showed up to the wedding celebration uninvited, ruined Lana’s dress and then attacked an injured man. Rusev on the other hand was standing up for his wife and defending her honor. Why does that make him a heel here?

Long video on Orton vs. Lesnar, the same one from the last few weeks on TV. They were put together to give Lesnar a big match and they’ve traded finishers since.

Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton

They circle each other to start until Lesnar takes him into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs. A way too early RKO attempt is countered and we get three German suplexes in the first two minutes. Lesnar hits three more before sending Orton outside for a slam onto the announcers’ table. A throw off the barricade sends Orton through the table as this has been one sided so far. JBL talks about the OVW class these two came out of and says Brock has beaten everyone out of that class save for Orton. Again, no JBL, he hasn’t (never beat Batista on TV, beat Orton in a nothing match).

Lesnar goes to the other table but gets caught in a quick RKO. The DDT off the barricade knocks him even sillier but Orton spends too much time loading up the Punt and gets caught in an F5 for two. Lesnar takes the gloves off and hammers away with punches and elbows. Brock finally gets up and Orton is GUSHING blood. The doctor comes in but Lesnar shoves him away and keeps pounding away as the fans chant for Goldberg. They actually call the match at 12:42 and we’re done.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure how to grade this one. If this ended due to a legit injury and they couldn’t stop the blood then that’s perfectly fine and I completely get it. If this was the planned ending, my goodness what are they thinking? After a show this long, you don’t give us a thirteen minute main event with Lesnar winning AGAIN, especially in such dominant fashion. It’s just stupid booking and serves no one but people who think Lesnar is interesting for reasons I’ll never understand.

Post match Lesnar stays at it until Shane McMahon comes out…..and takes an F5 to end the show. They can’t possibly be setting this up for Wrestlemania, right? Like, there’s no way they’re that stupid. SOMEONE TELL ME THEY’RE REALLY NOT DOING SOMETHING THAT INCREDIBLY STUPID!

Overall Rating: B. So as you might not know, I write up a lot of the overall rating before the show ends for the sake of time and occasionally adjust it accordingly. In this case, the show dropped all the way from an A- to a B on that ending angle alone. We’ve spent HOW LONG watching Brock tear through people and be the most dominant thing ever to set up a match against SHANE FREAKING MCMAHON of all people? And for what? To continue this Raw vs. Smackdown feud?

I was thrilled when Shane came back because he was full of energy and all that jazz, but then he gets to have a thirty minute match with Undertaker at Wrestlemania where he kicked out of multiple finishers and now he might get TO FIGHT BROCK LESNAR??? Are you serious? At what point does Shane become more annoying than Stephanie with all this catering to him because he’s a McMahon? I can’t believe I’m saying this but I think we passed it months ago.

Now, on to the stuff before WWE lost its mind.

I’d like to point out that they had three matches on a two hour pre-show, nine matches on a four hour pay per view, cut a match out and STILL ran over. At what point do you look at a show and realize that you need to trim things down a bit? Apparently not here but at least it’s better than what they did at Wrestlemania.

Speaking of Wrestlemania, this felt a lot more like a Wrestlemania card than this year’s Wrestlemania did. There was a great match, a return, new champions and less questionable booking (It should be noted that during the show, news broke that Sasha was injured which completely explains the loss. Oh and save for LESNAR VS. SHANE AGAIN) than the biggest show of the year. If this was trimmed down by about half an hour to an hour, it’s a classic. As it is, it’s just very good and that’s a great sign for them going forward.

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Summerslam 2015
Date: August 23, 2015
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler

It’s the second biggest show of the year and the main event is a match too big for Wrestlemania as Brock Lesnar faces the Undertaker, who is looking for revenge after Lesnar snapped his legendary streak a year and a half ago. Also it’s title for title with US Champion John Cena facing WWE World Champion Seth Rollins. Let’s get to it.

There was no match on the pre-show.

Here’s special host Jon Stewart to open things up. He talks about all the people who will be here for the ten matches (meaning the Tag Team Title match will be on the main show) and lists off the people on the card, with Lesnar getting one of the strongest reactions. Stewart isn’t over the Streak being broken so he’d like to talk to Brock about beating the Undertaker. However, since Stewart is a mere mortal, he’d like to have a friend there when he does so. That friend is Mick Foley, who comes out to stand by his friend.

However, there seems to be some confusion. See, Foley thought Stewart wanted help interviewing Rock, not Brock. Stewart brings up Undertaker destroying Foley in the Cell and how Foley shouldn’t be afraid of anything. Foley: “THAT WAS SEVENTEEN YEARS AGO!” Foley has wrestled around the world but never visited Suplex City and isn’t stating tonight so Stewart is on his own. Jon says on with the show.

The opening video talks about every city having a story. This city’s story is about making legends, which leads to your standard well done videos hyping up the double main event.

Randy Orton vs. Sheamus

Well they got to open the previous pay per view with a just ok match so maybe they can get all the way up to not bad here. The threat of an RKO sends Sheamus outside in the first ten seconds, just like it did on Smackdown. Sheamus gets on the announcers’ table to say the fans look stupid, not him. Orton comes out and sweeps Sheamus’ leg to move things along but Sheamus takes him down and drops a knee for two. Sheamus stomps him down and asks if the fans are not entertained. Fans: “NO!”

We hit the chinlock on Orton, drawing out HOW YO DOIN and OLE chants from the very vocal crowd. Randy fights to his feet and t-bones Sheamus out to the floor for a big crash. Back in and Sheamus tries a quick Cloverleaf but walks into a powerslam for two. Sheamus gets in a shot to the ribs and heads up top, only to have Randy pull him down with the DDT. Again the threat of an RKO sends Sheamus outside, but this time he’s able to grab Orton for the ten forearms to the chest.

Sheamus tries the slingshot shoulder but Orton catches him in midair in the RKO for a sweet counter. Since this match hasn’t dragged on long enough though, Sheamus rolls outside to keep things going. With the RKO not working well enough, Orton loads up the Punt, which almost never works but neither does this match so why not try it anyway? Sheamus catches him coming in with White Noise, followed by two Brogue Kicks for the pin at 12:11.

Rating: C-. The wrestling was the best these two have ever done but there’s one simple problem: I have no reason to care about any of this. These guys have been feuding for weeks but they’re still here for reasons I don’t get. Like, why is this feud continuing other than the script says it should? That’s bad writing and a problem that WWE has far too often. The main positive here: Sheamus won a big match completely clean. Now enjoy losing until like, Survivor Series.

Some fans won a contest and got to do cool stuff.

Tag Team Titles: Prime Time Players vs. New Day vs. Lucha Dragons vs. Los Matadores

The Prime Time Players are defending but New Day steals the show with their rendition of Jay Z’s New York, complete with some lyrics about how awful the rest of the teams are, unlike New day which rocks. One fall to a finish and you can tag yourself in. New Day tries the old New Age Outlaws play by tagging in both members (Kofi and Big E.) to pin each other but the Dragons make the save.

The Dragons come in with some fast double teaming followed by Kalisto kicking Big E. in the head over and over. It’s off to Darren vs. Kofi but Big E. splashes Young to put him in trouble. This match is incredibly fast paced so far. It’s Diego in to stay on Darren’s injured ribs but New Day makes their rapid tags to stomp Young in the corner. Woods rants about breakfast and the fans are behind New Day.

Kofi comes in for a chinlock to slow things down for the first time. It’s off to Big E. for the abdominal stretch, as Cole suggests that Woods tweet instead of talk. Cole: “He could use hashtag fatal four way.” Woods: “BIG E. HAS THE MARKET CORNED ON TRICEP MEAT! YOU CAN’T EVEN GET A HAMBURGER IN WWE!” As Woods keeps going about how entertaining this beating is, Darren finally escapes for the tag to Titus, who cleans all kinds of house.

Everything breaks down and Los Matadores are sent to the floor where Fernando dropkicks Sin Cara out of the air. Woods shoves Fernando off the top rope and faceplants Torito to a nice reaction from the fans. Darren drops Woods onto the apron but Big E. spears Young back to the floor. The Lucha Dragons’ double superplex to Diego is turned into a Tower of Doom by Titus, but Kofi sneaks in with a blind tag. The Clash of the Titus plants Fernando, but Big E. throws Titus outside so Kofi can pin Fernando for the titles at 11:20. Big E.’s dancing celebration makes this even better.

Rating: B-. I had a great time with this as they didn’t even try to keep this as a regular match and made the whole thing insane. Woods stole the show here though and sounded like a star. They’ve figured out the perfect formula for these guys and the idea of New Day getting to brag about being right is awesome. Good stuff here and the match that should have opened the show.

Jon Stewart is in the back with Stephen Amell and Neville. Stewart is a big fan but is really here for Undertaker, who passes by the three of them, silencing all three.

Rusev vs. Dolph Ziggler

Lana left Rusev for Ziggler so Rusev injured Ziggler, triggering this match. Also Rusev has Summer Rae in his corner, who is now dressing as Lana. To counter, Lana is dressing like Ziggler. Got all that? Rusev starts fast and stomps Ziggler down before choking on the ropes. He kicks Dolph in the ribs and puts on a bearhug for a good while before the swinging Rock Bottom plants him again. All Rusev so far.

Rusev gorilla presses him up but Ziggler counters into a DDT for a breather. The Stinger Splash and neckbreaker get two for Dolph but Rusev comes back with the spinwheel kick for the same. Rusev goes up top so Ziggler can run the ropes into an X Factor. Ziggler tries a hurricanrana but has to settle for two off a sunset flip. There’s the sleeper to slow Rusev down but he’s quickly out, only to eat a Fameasser for a close two.

Rusev kicks him down again and puts on the Accolade but the girls get into it, freaking Rusev out enough that he lets go. Ziggler rolls outside but Rusev stops to stare at Lana, who gets decked by Summer. A quick superkick knocks Ziggler onto the announcers’ table and it’s a double countout at 12:00.

Rating: C. This was starting to cook before the lame draw ending. It’s a very interesting case here: Rusev and Ziggler have decent chemistry and Lana vs. Summer could be interesting, but Ziggler and Lana have some of the worst chemistry I’ve ever seen. It’s just awful stuff and they drag down every single scene they’re in together.

The guys keep fighting post match but Summer comes in, triggering a catfight. This almost has to lead to a mixed tag.

We recap Stephen Amell/Neville vs. Stardust/King Barrett. Amell is an actor who portrays the Green Arrow. Stardust has gone insane and thinks he’s a supervillain while Neville is billed as a superhero. King Barrett is thrown in there to make it a tag match and he has nothing better to do. As strange as this sounds, it’s actually been very well done and Amell looks like a great athlete.

Stardust/King Barrett vs. Neville/Stephen Amell

Amell comes out in his Arrow gear but is wrestling in shorts and boots. Neville flips away from Barrett to start and it’s quickly off to Stardust. He wants Amell and gets his wish, as Stephen springboards in and lands right in front of Stardust. Stardust shoves him down so Amell nips up and kicks him in the ribs. A hiptoss puts Stardust down again and Amell shoots an invisible arrow.

Barrett comes in for a kick to the ribs though and Amell is in trouble. Stardust comes back in but gets caught by an enziguri, finally allowing the hot tag to Neville. Everything breaks down with Neville cleaning house, including a middle rope Phoenix splash to Barrett, but Amell gets the dive off the top to drop Barrett and Stardust. The Red Arrow puts Barrett away at 7:37.

Rating: B+. That’s probably the best celebrity performance in the history of wrestling. Amell looked more polished that a lot of indy guys I’ve seen and was clearly having a blast out there. When his selling is already better than a good chunk of your main roster, it might be a sign that you need to make a few changes. I was very impressed here and Amell was awesome. And before I get a million complaints, yes this is on a very sliding scale.

Video on Summerslam week.

Intercontinental Title: Miz vs. Big Show vs. Ryback

Ryback is defending and this was supposed to happen last month, only to have Ryback get injured. Miz bails to the floor to start but comes back in when Ryback has Big Show in some trouble. Show suplexes both of them down and hits a middle rope swanton (yes you read that right) on Ryback, who Miz covers for two. Back up and Miz gets dropped, allowing Show to chokeslam Ryback onto him for two. It’s Ryback up first with a spinebuster and splash to Big Show.

The fans actually get into the FEED ME MORE chant and Ryback Shell Shocks Big Show, before having to kick out of a Skull Crushing Finale. Miz gets two on Show as well and then covers both guys for two more each, followed by a third cover on each for one. I liked that. Show KO’s Ryback but Miz breaks it up at two and gets his own near fall on Ryback. There’s a KO Punch for Miz as well but Ryback shoves Show outside and steals the pin at retain at 5:31. Cole: “Classic triple threat match!”

Rating: C-. Dang they’re flying through this show tonight. We’re through five matches in just over an hour and a half and this match was the fastest of all. They had an idea going here with the stolen pins but the speed hurt it a bit. I’m very glad Ryback retained though as he’s starting to make the title feel important and it would have been really stupid to put it back on Miz or Show for another lame reign.

Stewart tries to talk to Lesnar but gets Paul Heyman instead. Jon talks about being a wrestling fan and how people remember the person with the Streak, not the person who broke it. He goes on about Heyman and Lesnar giving the fans coal for Christmas instead of a puppy. Heyman: “Glory, glory, BROCK LESNAR! I guess we couldn’t get David Letterman to host the show.”

Bray Wyatt/Luke Harper vs. Roman Reigns/Dean Ambrose

Ambrose and Harper get things going but everything breaks down in a hurry with the Shield guys taking over and Dean running from announcers’ table to table for a dive onto Bray. The Wyatts pop back up though with Harper suicide diving onto Reigns, followed by a quick superkick over the announcers’ table. Ambrose’ suicide dive is basically no sold and Harper kicks him in the face to really take over.

Things settle down with the Wyatts taking over on Ambrose in the corner with some loud chops. Ambrose gets tied up in the ropes so Bray can suplex him to the floor ala Orton’s hanging DDT. Reigns is still down at ringside. Dean crawls to the empty corner and realizes what’s going on. JBL: “You’re all alone Gilligan.” The Wyatts take turns on Dean, who finally clotheslines Wyatt down. Fans: “ROMAN’S SLEEPING!”

Reigns FINALLY gets on the apron for the hot tag and cleans house, only to have the Superman Punch countered for a sitout powerbomb. Bray says he has an idea but Roman backdrops out of whatever they had planned. It’s back to Ambrose for a Doomsday Device for two on Harper. The Superman Punch and a DoubleBomb plant Harper again, followed by Dirty Deeds to Wyatt. Dean tags Roman back in for the spear and pin on Wyatt at 9:54.

Rating: C+. Well it was certainly energetic. I was buying into the tease of a heel turn but it wouldn’t have made sense given that Reigns was there when Dean finally got free for the hot tag. Also, it’s kind of nice to not go with the turn when it seems the most obvious for a change. You don’t have to force things in wrestling but WWE has fallen in love with the idea.

We recap Rollins vs. Cena. The video has Cena narrating about how awesome New York is before Rollins starts talking about the knee, setting up the title for title match. They really started playing up Cena winning his sixteenth title near as Summerslam got closer.

WWE World Title/US Title: John Cena vs. Seth Rollins

Rollins is World Champion and Cena is US Champion with both on the line. Seth is all in white here. Cena grabs a headlock to start and the fans are entirely behind Rollins. Back up and we get a “Ce-na Sucks!” chant, followed by a Blockbuster from Seth. Three straight suicide dives make Rollins an even bigger hero but he has to get to the ropes to block the STF.

The Pedigree is countered and Cena totally misses the Springboard Stunner to get the crowd even more riled up. Seth’s standing shooting star gets two so he ties Cena in the Tree of Woe for a top rope double stomp. Back up and a quick AA gets two for Cena before they slug it out. The Pedigree is countered into a catapult, followed by a reverse powerbomb to give John two.

Cena’s top rope Fameasser gets two more but Seth comes back with the buckle bomb for the same. A frog splash of all things crushes Cena and Rollins busts out an AA of his own for two more. Rollins takes his sweet time following up and gets caught in the STF. Cena pulls him back to the middle but has to fight out of the Pedigree, meaning it’s time for a Figure Four on Rollins.

Seth turns it over to reverse the pressure and both guys are down. With nothing else to do, Rollins superplexes him but rolls through into a bonus falcon’s arrow. Back up and the AA connects on Seth but the referee is knocked outside. Cena goes to check on him but gets hit with the knee to the nose. Cue Jon Stewart with a chair (Stewart and Rollins feuded on his show for months) but he hits Cena in the ribs, setting up a Pedigree onto the chair for the pin at 19:27.

Rating: B+. Uh……well alright then. I’m not sure what to think about this one but it’s nice to see Rollins getting a win in a big spot like this. I’m fine with him holding the title a bit longer as there’s really no reason to put it back on Cena just yet. The US Title could go a few different ways now and that makes things more interesting. Good match here, though I’m not sure what the point of the ending was.

Preview of upcoming WWE Network shows, including Edge and Christian on the Stone Cold Podcast, plus Lesnar at another house show at Madison Square Garden on October 3.

The pre-show panel talks as the fans thank Stewart.

We recap the Divas Revolution. Here’s the short version: one team wins, the second team wins, then the third team wins. Nothing changes though because this isn’t about being champion yet.

Team BAD vs. Team Bella vs. Team PCB

BAD: Naomi, Sasha Banks, Tamina

Bella: Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, Alicia Fox

PCB: Paige, Charlotte, Becky Lynch

This is an elimination match with one fall eliminating each team. Brie and Becky start things off but it’s quickly off to Tamina to kick Becky in the face. BAD takes turns on Becky with Sasha only getting a slam before tagging back to Tamina. Everything breaks down and BAD hit flip dives (Sasha’s barely connected) onto PCB on the floor in a scary looking crash. The Bellas hit stereo suicide dives, which Cole incorrectly calls new. Paige flips onto the entire pile and all nine are down. Back in and Brie hits a quick Bella Buster for the pin on Tamina to get us down to two.

Nikki Rack Attacks Becky for two but Paige makes the save, only to take the Alabama Slam on the floor. Brie comes in for some YES Kicks and a weak Daniel Bryan chant before it’s off to Fox as the match is finally in a standard formula. We hit the double arm crank as the fans want Charlotte. Instead they get Nikki snap suplexing Paige for two. Back to Fox who eats a knee to the face, finally allowing the hot tag to Charlotte.

Nikki has to break up the Figure Eight on Fox but Alicia pops back up for a double big boot to put herself and Charlotte down again. Becky gets the hot tag to slug it out with Brie, who misses the BRIE MODE dropkick. Yeah it’s a dropkick this time. Lynch grabs a pumphandle slam for the pin on Brie at 15:17.

Rating: C-. So yeah, as you might have expected, Sasha gets no time after last night’s classic, the Bellas get to look dominant for most of the match, and then Becky gets a quick bit of lip service for the pin. Maybe now we can FINALLY get on with an actual story, but there’s a good chance we have more Bella promos to sit through first.

Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens

Owens said Cesaro couldn’t beat Cena but Cesaro called Owens out on quitting all his matches. Kevin starts fast and knocks Cesaro outside for a flip dive, only to spend so much time yelling at Cole, allowing Cesaro to connect with a corkscrew dive of his own. Owens is right back up though and sends Cesaro into the barricade for a Cannonball.

A backsplash onto Cesaro’s back gets two and we hit the chinlock, which is now just a regular chinlock because why should Owens be allowed to make a spot fun? For some reason Owens thinks it’s a good idea to talk trash so Cesaro powers up and fires off slaps and punches, followed by the reverse Angle Slam for two. A gutwrench superplex gets two for Cesaro but he can’t hit the Neutralizer. Because Owens is fat you see. Like, fatter than Big Show fat. Even though Big Show weighs like 150lbs more, Owens is fat so it means more.

Owens misses his springboard moonsault but gets two off a superkick. The running uppercut sets up the Cesaro Swing into the Sharpshooter but Owens makes the rope. Cesaro puts him up top, blocks the fisherman’s superplex, and hits a great looking dropkick to stun Owens. He tries…..something, but gets crotched and superplexed, setting up the Pop Up Powerbomb to give Owens the pin at 14:21.

Rating: B-. This was the old “let two guys hit each other a lot” style and it’s very nice to see Owens win another major match. Granted that pretty much ends Cesaro’s match as he came in fresh against a banged up Owens and still lost, but one of them had to lose here and I like Owens winning better.

We recap Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar. Brock broke the Streak last year at Wrestlemania but his agent Paul Heyman wouldn’t shut up about it, which angered Undertaker and made him attack Lesnar. That set up the rematch, where for reasons I’ll never understand, WWE is trying to make Undertaker a heel.

Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker

Lesnar goes after Undertaker during the entrance (has anyone ever done that?) but Undertaker fights him off and knocks Lesnar to the floor for the opening bell. Back in and they slug it out with Undertaker getting the better of it. Old School is caught in an F5 but Undertaker slips off the back, only to be driven into the corner. There’s the first suplex but Undertaker is able to send him into the buckle to block a second. Brock might be busted open.

Snake Eyes into the big boot send Brock outside and Undertaker drops the apron legdrop. They head back inside with Undertaker winning another slugout. See, I can live with that as Undertaker has been billed as the best pure striker for years. It’s not exactly HHH just throwing punches and being fine against Brock. The chokeslam is countered into another German and Undertaker is in trouble again.

They head outside where another chokeslam is countered into the F5 through the announcers’ table to knock Undertaker silly again. Undertaker gets back in at nine and Brock just smiles at him. Brock: “I’ll kill you.” Undertaker: “You’re going to have to.” Brock goes for him but walks into a chokeslam. Tombstone gets two but Brock is up first and laughing again. Undertaker sits up and they start punching each other in the face.

Brock remembers he knows submissions and puts on the Kimura but Undertaker is in the ropes, meaning he can hit the Last Ride for another two. Brock is up first for a second F5 and another near fall. Now Lesnar is getting frustrated and the third F5 is still only good for two. That gets it past the ending at Wrestlemania.

Undertaker suckers Brock into the Hell’s Gate but gets countered into another Kimura with a bodyscissors. The bell rings but the referee says he didn’t call for it. Heyman says Undertaker tapped and in the distraction, Undertaker hits a low blow and puts on the Hell’s Gate but Lesnar flips him off….and passes out to end this at 17:13.

Rating: B+. And now we get a third because trilogies are JUST SO FREAKING COOL RIGHT??? This was a good old fashioned fight but I’m really not wild on seeing Brock lose. We don’t need to see them fight again, but that’s exactly what we’re going to get because that’s supposed to be epic. Ignore the fact that Undertaker never beating Lesnar and the Streak will be gone, but why not take away the two interesting things for the sake of a TRILOGY right? Really fun brawl though and the match they were shooting for last year in New Orleans.

Replays show that Undertaker did in fact tap out in the Kimura when the bell rang, which was due to Lesnar’s shoulders being down for a count, but the referee only got to one. Heyman declares Brock the winner by submission to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. I liked the show, but this is the problem with having a four hour show the night after a two and a half hour show and the night before a three hour show. I was worn out from hearing Cole and JBL talk about stats and where Summerslam has been held over the years and how big this year’s show was about an hour into this and it just never stopped. That’s draining more than anything else and it’s not a good thing.

Now that being said, the show itself was indeed pretty good. This felt like an old school Summerslam until the last match, with a lot of mini feuds being blown off instead of doing anything major. There was more than enough good wrestling to go around and they’re ready to go into the fall as we get ready for Survivor Series and then Wrestlemania season.

Rollins retaining the title is a good idea as beating Cena is a big stepping stone forward for him. The Stewart stuff I can live with as it gives WWE some publicity, and they can set up some stuff off of the ending as well. The other stories mean it’s time for some new stories though and that’s the best thing that could happen right now. It’s a good show, albeit not very memorable. As I said though, this just didn’t need to be four hours and it really hurt things.

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NXT UK
Date: August 19, 2021
Location: BT Studios, London, England
Commentators: Andy Shepherd, Nigel McGuinness

It’s title week around here as Pretty Deadly is defending the Tag Team Titles against Moustache Mountain. That alone should be enough, but we also have Stevie Turner getting a Women’s Title shot against Meiko Satomura. Throw in the last push towards the UK Title match between Walter and Ilja Dragunov (in America) and we should be rolling this week. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Women’s Title: Stevie Turner vs. Meiko Satomura

Satomura is defending and has Emilia McKenzie in her corner. Turner goes at her to start and is headlocked takeovered down in a hurry. Satomura grabs a double underhook and survives being driven into the corner. The arm cranking is on so Turner bails to the rope and kicks Satomura in the face over and over. A big kick to the face drops Satomura to one knee but she is back up with a running forearm in the corner.

The STF doesn’t go on and Turner bails straight to the rope. The threat of a big kick to the head sends Turner bailing out to the floor but this time she sends Satomura into the apron. More kicks to the face rock Satomura and it’s off to the cross arm choke. That’s broken up with a Pele kick as the kicks to the face are strong in this one. A cartwheel knee to the back gives Satomura two and a Death Valley Driver is good for the same. The STF retains Satomura’s title at 8:50.

Rating: C+. It was a hard hitting match and Turner looked better than she ever had before. That’s one of the reasons you have Satomura on the roster: she is going to bring anyone else up while still looking dominant herself. Whoever takes the title from her is going to be a huge deal, and the more people Satomura defeats, the bigger her eventual conqueror is going to be.

McKenzie congratulates Satomura post match.

Oliver Carter and Kenny Williams want the Heritage Cup. Carter wants it to glorify his people but Williams wants it for himself.

Video on Rampage Brown vs. Joe Coffey before their showdown next week, with knockout or submission only to win.

Saxon Huxley vs. Eddie Dennis

The rest of Symbiosis is here with Dennis. They take turns shoving each other around to start with Huxley running him over. A running elbow gets keeps Dennis in trouble and he gets knocked outside in a hurry. Dennis forearms him to the face which just makes Huxley mad, but a hard clothesline does some more damage. Back in and a top wristlock is broken up by Huxley, who drops him with a running clothesline in the corner.

Huxley drops him onto the barricade, says BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME, and then knocks him back off. Dennis avoids a running crossbody in the ropes and Divine Proposition (I think) gets two on Huxley. The second try at the running crossbody hits Dennis though Huxley goes up. A top rope clothesline into a fireman’s carry slam (Sean O’Haire’s old Widowmaker) gives Huxley the pin at 5:42.

Rating: C. I was getting Berzerker vibes from Huxley here and that’s actually a good thing. He has come a pretty long way and it is nice to see the insanity actually working out and it works a bit better as the good guy. It isn’t likely to take him to the title scene but as a wacky guy who comes in and hurts people, it’s a nice idea.

Post match Symbiosis comes in to beat on Huxley and an assisted Severn Bridge leaves him laying.

Video on Jinny vs. Aoife Valkyrie.

Isla Dawn vs. Dani Luna

Dawn is still a bit out there so Luna takes her down with straight power to start. Luna does it again but this time Dawn is back up with a front facelock. A pull of the hair has Luna in more trouble and some kicks to the ribs rock her again. Dawn grabs a cobra clutch, as Nigel is worried about Dawn taking Luna’s soul. More power gets Luna out of trouble and it’s a fall away slam into a nip up.

Some knees to the face and a kick to the head set up a backdrop driver for two on Luna, whose kickout didn’t have much snap. Dawn goes up so Luna follows, only to have her hair pulled out. While Dawn is very happy, Luna grabs a fireman’s carry into a sitout powerbomb (back to back matches with a similar finisher) for the pin at 6:49.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t as good, with Dawn doing her thing with trying to pull out Luna’s hair until Luna got sick of it and knocked her silly. Dawn has been going more with the supernatural stuff and that is a different way to go. It is also a more logical way to go, as there is little reason to go with the same mostly boring Dawn that we have been seeing over the last few years.

Video on Ilja Dragunov vs. Walter, with various wrestlers and personalities talking about how this is going to be an amazing war. They better not be wrong.

Tag Team Titles: Moustache Mountain vs. Pretty Deadly

Pretty Deadly is defending and they have their own moustaches this time. Stoker and Bate lock up to start and it’s Bate being taken down into a wristlock. That’s broken up with some skilled rolling and it’s off to Seven to chop Howley. A running elbow gets two and Bate comes back in with a Swanton for two. Everything breaks down and the champs’ moustaches are ripped out before double clotheslines put them on the floor.

Back in and Stoker makes a blind tag before being sent outside again. This time Bate gives chase, with Howley nailing a clothesline to finally put the champs in control. That doesn’t last long at all as Bate slips away and dives over for the tag to Seven. House is cleaned in a hurry and it’s right back to Bate for two off a double suplex. Howley leapfrogs Seven though and the duck lets Stoker grab a DDT in a nice spot. To keep up the tradition, Seven doesn’t stay in trouble long and hands it back to Bate to unload in the corner.

Bate hits the big dive over the top to take out both champs and there’s the Liger Kick to Howley for another near fall. The Tyler Driver 97 connects….for two, with Nigel being rather stunned on the kickout. It’s back to Stoker, who hits a quick middle rope Codebreaker for the near fall on Seven.

Back up and the big right hand allows Seven to get over to Bate. The rebound lariat/dragon suplex combination gets two on Stoker, even with Seven taking out Howley. Stoker is back up with the spinning torture rack into the half crab, with Howley throwing in the towel. Seven says he didn’t do it and the distraction lets Stoker get in a belt shot. After Seven is knocked down, it’s Spilled Milk to Bate to retain the titles at 14:56.

Rating: B. This was a very fast paced match and it was better than I would have bet on. They are doing a good job of making Pretty Deadly, one of the least impressive looking teams in awhile, into a team that could hold the titles for a long time to come. Moustache Mountain doesn’t need the titles, but if they win them, it is going to be a huge moment on the big stage.

Overall Rating: B-. The matches were (mostly) good and the show felt big. That’s a good way to spend a little over and hour and NXT UK has figured out the formula so well. It might be the best weekly show going today and this was another good edition. Just keep going with the formula, and maybe set up a Takeover down the line, and it’s hard to complain about much around here.

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Impact Wrestling
Date: August 12, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: D’Lo Brown, Matt Striker

We’re on the way to Emergence and that should make for a good pay per view, as tends to be the case around here. Other than that, it is time to crown a new #1 contender and I’m curious to see where they go. Impact has a lot of choices available for the title shot at the moment and that is a good place to be. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at AEW Dynamite, which set up Christian Cage vs. Kenny Omega for the Impact World Title tomorrow night on Rampage.

Opening sequence.

Tenille Dashwood vs. Taylor Wilde

Dashwood has Kaleb With A K (in a neck brace) in her corner. Wilde works on the wrist to start and they trade a battle of wristlocks. Dashwood gets sent into the corner and grabs a frustrated headlock. That’s reversed into a hammerlock as the technical exchange continues. A headscissors sends Dashwood outside so Wilde tosses her back inside for a slam. Another chase on the floor lets Dashwood get in a cheap shot to take over and Wilde’s neck is wrapped around the middle rope.

What might have been a clash of heads gives Dashwood two and a suplex is good for the same. Another suplex sends Wilde into the corner and the Taste of Tenille gets two. The chinlock is escaped and Wilde fires off the clotheslines into a leg lariat. The ref gets bumped so it’s Kaleb With A K getting on the apron for a distraction. Cue Madison Rayne of all people to send Wilde into the post. The Spotlight Kick finishes for Dashwood at 9:53.

Rating: C. Maybe it was having the big surprise return in the end, but this was a bit more interesting than the norm for both of then. Dashwood has all the tools to be a major heel and Wilde could be a nice addition to the division if she actually sticks around for more than a few weeks at a time. Good opener, including the surprise return.

Post match Rayne and Dashwood have the big evil hug to give us our newest alliance.

Various battle royal participants give us the usual soundbytes about how they’re going to win.

Emergence/tonight rundown.

Daivari vs. Josh Alexander

Non-title. They grapple into the corner to start and then fight over arm control. It’s too early for Alexander’s ankle lock so he boots Daivari down instead. Cue Jake Something to watch and we take a break. Back with Alexander being sent outside for a dropkick through the ropes from Daivari. A backbreaker sets up a chinlock with a knee in the back, followed by the more traditional chinlock. That’s broken up and Alexander snaps off a t-bone suplex, only to get caught with a DDT. Alexander is fine enough to snap off the rolling German suplexes, setting up Divine Intervention for the pin at 9:59.

Rating: C+. They have done some amazing stuff with Alexander as I can’t imagine him actually losing. You don’t get to see that very often anywhere and they are making it work well here. At this point it is going to be an event when he loses the title and it almost has to be straight to the main event from there. What else is there for him to do?

Post match Something hands the title to Alexander and the staredown is on.

Video on Kenny Omega vs. Christian Cage, with wrestlers and personalities making their picks.

The Good Brothers are ready to retain the Tag Team Titles but here is Violent By Design to say they’re winning them back. Doc Gallows gets in Joe Doering’s face and talks a lot of trash as the lights flicker.

Here is Kiera Hogan for a chat. Fire N Flava was supposed to be better than this so now she wants to talk to Tasha Steelz directly. Tasha thought she can have someone do her dirty work and get one over on her. If Steelz wants it, she can get it, so come down here with her goofy friend.

Cue Su Yung and Kimber Lee, now both in the whole evil look. Lee gets in the ring for the brawl, with Yung seeming to control Lee’s movements (which is in no way shape or form like Alexa Bliss doing the same to anyone). The Mandible Claw takes Hogan down and she is dragged away. That’s it for her in the company and I’m actually going to miss her a bit.

Don Callis goes on a rant about how everyone is out to get Kenny Omega, which Omega calls skulduggery. Callis lists off all of the people he has worked with over the years and promises Omega will have the title forever. Omega is ready to keep the title over all comers, because he’s made of different stuff. Points for getting skulduggery in there.

Chris Bey/Jay White vs. FinJuice

White and Finlay fight over the lockup to start and exchange headlocks. With that not going anywhere, it’s off to Robinson to elbow Bey in the face. Bey knees his way out of a suplex but Robinson has to chase White away from interfering. That’s enough for White to ram him into the apron over and over, setting up a neckbreaker for two. The kicks to the ribs set up the abdominal stretch to keep Robinson in trouble as Striker talks about the art of wrestling.

Robinson muscles him up into a suplex and the hot tag brings in Finlay to clean house. Finlay hits something like Deep Six for two on Bey as everything breaks down. White is sent outside, leaving Bey to get caught in the Doomsday Device. That’s too far for White, who comes back in with a chair for the DQ at 8:40.

Rating: C+. This stuff has grown on me by leaps and bounds as FinJuice is a good team and White feels like a star. Maybe it was just getting rid of the Good Brothers, but the whole thing has got me interested in seeing what they are doing. Maybe not so much for everyone else in Impact, but it’s working for the fans.

Post match White throws the chair at Finlay’s head. The Blade Runner onto the chair leaves Finlay laying.

Tasha Steelz talks about Kiera Hogan begging her to start Fire N Flava but that didn’t work for her. That’s why Steelz has gotten Savannah Evans…but here is Fallah Bahh to say he has a problem with Havok and Rosemary. Steelz can go with that, because she wants the Knockouts Tag Team Titles.

Melina can’t believe she’s part of Empower but Deonna Purrazzo comes in to brag about how great she is. We see some clips of Purrazzo training with an Invicta FC fighter and things seem to be going well. Melina is impressed too, so she’ll have a match of her own next week.

Christian Cage is ready to win the Impact Wrestling World Title and next week he’s coming back as the champion. The battle royal winner can bring it.

Matt Cardona vs. John Skyler

Cardona starts fast with a dropkick and sends him into the corner, setting up the flapjack. Skyler gets sent outside for the running big boot as the ALWAYS READY chant starts up. A ram into the apron and a right hand give Skyler two but Cardona makes the clothesline comeback. The former Broski Boot is loaded up but here are Rohit Raju and Shera to interrupt. The distraction lets Skyler hit a jumping knee to the face into a rollup for the pin at 4:07.

Rating: C-. That’s quite the surprise, though the distraction made it a bit less clean. Cardona is still in a weird place in Impact but at least he seems to be moving on from the Brian Myers stuff. A feud with Raju and Shera could be interesting and for once, Raju feels like he could make something pretty good. That wouldn’t have been the case a year or so ago, because he has evolved that much.

Battle Royal

Eddie Edwards, Brian Myers, Sami Callihan, Moose, Sam Beale, Fallah Bahh, No Way, Deaner, Rhino, Petey Williams, Chris Sabin, W. Morrissey, Ace Austin, Madman Fulton, Willie Mack, Rich Swann, Johnny Swinger, Hernandez, Suicide, Trey Miguel

The winner gets a World Title shot at Emergence and I think I’ve got everyone. Morrissey gets rid of Suicide and Swinger to start with Hernandez getting the same treatment. Everyone gets together to get rid of Morrissey and we take a break. Back with everyone getting in on the brawling and Petey Williams loading up a Canadian Destroyer on the apron. That’s so stupid that Steve Macclin has to come out and pull him down for the elimination out of sheer principle.

Deaner and Swann fight to the apron and are both knocked out, with Rhino being tossed out soon after. Ace and Fulton get rid of Mack as the ring is emptying out in a hurry. No Way punches Austin out of the air but gets tossed in a hurry. Bahh gets rid of Fulton and is tossed by Moose to get rid of two of the bigger guys. Myers shoves Beale into the ropes to break up Miguel’s (stupid) springboard and get rid of him as well.

Eddie gives Myers the Backpack Stunner and Moose hits a crazy chop on Beale, leaving a huge hand print on his chest. Moose isn’t done yet as he dumps Eddie but Sabin sends him underneath the ropes for a brawl on the floor. Myers tosses Beale (who looks stunned), leaving us with Myers, Callihan, Moose, Sabin and Austin.

Callihan piledrives Myers and get taken to the apron by Myers. Fulton saves Austin from a save so Callihan clotheslines him off the shoulders in a makeshift (and unintentional Doomsday Device). Callihan is knocked out as well, leaving us with Moose, Sabin and Myers. Sabin sleepers Moose but Myers comes in to dump them both and win at 17:08. Striker calls this brilliant, about a minute and a half after he called Myers stupid for dumping Beale.

Rating: C. Well it was certainly a surprise ending and that’s a positive….right? Myers as the next challenger to the title could be an interesting way to go, though it is quite the jump up the ladder for him. They had a lot of big names in here and it isn’t like losing a battle royal is going to crush everyone in sight. This was more surprising than good, though that is what a battle royal can be used for.

Overall Rating: C. I’m not sure where to go with this show as it was mostly fine with some completely watchable matches, but at the same time, there is A LOT going on here. You have AEW, New Japan and Impact all rolling around, which can make for a messy show. Sometimes you need to slow down and let things breathe a bit, but that is not how modern wrestling works most of the time. Completely watchable show, but it could use some cleaning up.

Results
Tenille Dashwood b. Taylor Wilde – Spotlight kick
Josh Alexander b. Daivari – Divine Intervention
FinJuice b. Chris Bey/Jay White via DQ when White used a chair
John Skyler b. Matt Cardona – Rollup
Brian Myers won a battle royal last eliminating Petey Williams and Moose

TNA, 2021, Impact Wrestling, Tenille Dashwood, Kaleb With A K, Taylor Wilde, Josh Alexander, Daivari, Kiera Hogan, Su Yung, Kimber Lee, FinJuice, Chris Bey, Jay White, John Skyler, Matt Cardona, Brian Myers, Petey Williams, Moose, Eddie Edwards, Sami Callihan, Kenny Omega, Christian Cage, Don Callis, Melina, Deonna Purrazzo

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.

The Day Without Wrestling.

Update On Summerslam Statuses For Bianca Belair And Sasha Banks.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/update-summerslam-statuses-bianca-belair-sasha-banks/

More Backstage Changes In WWE With New Full Time Hires.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/backstage-changes-wwe-new-full-time-hires/

You Might Not Be Seeing Goldberg In WWE That Much Longer.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/might-not-seeing-goldberg-wwe-much-longer/

Wrestling Legend Making AEW In-Ring Debut At All Out.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/wrestling-legend-making-aew-ring-debut/

VIDEO: WWE Takes A Special Look At John Cena Vs. Roman Reigns.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/video-wwe-takes-special-look-john-cena-vs-roman-reigns/

WWE Announces New Major Partnership For Podcast Network.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/wwe-announces-new-major-partnership-podcast-network/

Former WWE Star Reveals Broken Neck, Willing To Return To The Ring.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/former-wwe-star-reveals-broken-neck-willing-to-return-to-the-ring/

Wrestling Legend’s Health Worse Than Originally Thought.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/wrestling-legends-health-worse-originally-thought/

WOO? Ric Flair Comments On Alleged Sex Act Photo.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/woo-ric-flair-comments-on-alleged-sex-act-photo/

As always, please check out all of the videos if you can, hit up the comments section and get on the Wrestling Rumors Facebook page.

It’s as descriptive as I could get.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/kbs-review-summerslammiest-summerslam/

Dynamite
Date: August 18, 2021
Location: Fertitta Center, Houston, Texas
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

We’re still on the way to both All Out and the First Dance, meaning we could be in for an interesting night. AEW knows how to put on a good show out of nowhere and things were a little bit flat last week. There is a good chance that they can come up with something big here, as Kenny Omega is not going to be happy with losing to Christian Cage last week. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Commentary previews the card.

Here are Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston but 2.0 and Daniel Garcia jump them in the crowd. 2.0 wants Sting and Darby Allin right now.

Sting/Darby Allin vs. 2.0

Texas Tornado rules and Allin jumps 2.0 from behind with the skateboard. The running charges in the corner rock 2.0 and it’s time for the brawl to head into the crowd. They make it up to what looks like a VIP area with Daniel Garcia getting in on the beating. 2.0 lifts Allin up into a piece of the ceiling and Sting is sent into a wall.

Sting is taken back to ringside but Allin runs down the barricade to break it up. Eddie Kingston comes back in to make the save as a table is thrown in. Kingston and Garcia fight off as Allin is suplexed onto his skateboard. Sting is powerbombed through a table and pops back up, setting up the double Scorpion Death Drop and the double Deathlock makes 2.0 tap at 6:15.

Rating: C-. This is a match where the wrestling wasn’t the point and that’s fine. The lack of any semblance of rules was the fight call for Sting and beating up a couple of goons like this doesn’t hurt anyone. I’m not sure how wise it was to burn through a Sting match on free TV, but at least it was a fun one.

Earlier tonight, Sammy Guevara proposed to his girlfriend in the ring, getting a yes.

Shawn Spears and Tully Blanchard are happy for Sammy (Shawn: “Slim pickings in Houston.”) and promise to let the girlfriend be in the Pinnacle. For tonight, she can be on top for once.

Sammy Guevara vs. Shawn Spears

Sammy is the hometown boy but Spears jumps him from behind on the ramp. That’s fine with Sammy, who tosses him down for the big running flip dive. A missed charge sends Sammy knees first into the steps though and Tully Blanchard joins in on a spike piledriver on the floor. Now we get the opening bell so Tully loads up another spike, only to get ejected in a hurry. Back in and Sammy grabs a rollup for two but the chop off sends us to a break.

We come back with both guys on top and a piece of barricade loaded up between the ring and the barricade. Guevara busts out a jumping super cutter for two but Spears hits a super C4 for the same. They head to the apron and Sammy hits a C4 (not a Death Valley Driver Excalibur, you proper name psycho) onto the barricade. The 630 (What spike piledriver onto the floor?) gets two (good grief) and the GTH finally puts Spears away at 9:59.

Rating: C+. It was certainly high energy, but dang there was a lot going on here and not in the best way. There were far too many finishers being burned through, meaning I was left sitting here with a “REALLY?” look on my face a few too many times. This needs to be the end of the feud too, as there is nothing left for these two to do against each other. Good action, horrible use of finishers, which tends to be the case around here a lot of the time.

Post match a bleeding Guevara kisses his fiance.

Don Callis talks to Christian Cage about how he got Christian into wrestling 25 years ago. Now Callis is on top of the wrestling world and Cage is….well he’s here too. Cage calls him some rather unpleasant names.

Here is Dan Lambert to rant about how AEW is on the cancel culture train. The people around here got triggered and AEW sent out Lance Archer out here to hit a 52 year old main the place. Lambert has former UFC Heavyweight Champions Andre Arlovski and Junior Dos Santos and if you’re feeling froggy, come out here and jump.

Lambert keeps going and talking about how AEW fans are all pathetic and have nothing better to do than play Dungeons and Dragons and look up creepy stuff on the dark web. Cue Lance Archer but the Men of the Year jump him from behind. Lambert is a better talker than 90% of the roster. Also, the Men of the Year can beat down Lance Archer?

Chris Jericho talks about all of the Labors he has had to go through to get here. Tonight, he has no Judas Effect and no Judas theme song, but the Friends of Jericho will sing it for him.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Jurassic Express

The Bucks are defending and have Brandon Cutler, Michael Nakazawa, Don Callis and the Good Brothers with them, while Marko Stunt is with the Express. Callis goes to commentary to clear things out a bit. Nick is sent outside and busts out the cold spray so Jungle dives onto him.

Back in and it’s off to Luchasaurus to throw mat around and chop both Bucks down. It’s back to Jungle, who sends Matt to the apron for a running hurricanrana over the top to the floor. We come back from a break with Luchasaurus coming in to clean house. The Tail Whip sets up the Extinction Level Event for a delayed two on Matt. Back up and a double superkick drops Luchasaurus and it’s the Indytaker on Jungle with a backsplash to Luchasaurus at the same time for a near fall.

Cue Kenny Omega to hit Marko Stunt with a chair so here is Christian Cage to take care of Omega. The rest of the Elite gets on the apron but Jungle hits a brainbuster onto the chair for a VERY delayed two on Matt. Thurassic Express gets two on Matt with Nick making another save. Nakazawa offers a distraction so Luchasaurus dives onto everyone outside. The BTE Trigger finishes Jungle at 11:45.

Rating: C+. It was another fun match from the Bucks, even with them surviving everything. That’s a big AEW problem and it’s worse with the Bucks than anyone else. I can go with them not losing the titles on Dynamite, but did they really have to pin Jungle Boy to retain here?

Post match Christian is dragged back to the ring and the huge beatdown is on, with Callis getting in a few shots of his own. The One Winged Angel connects and Callis counts the pin. This was the latest Elite beatdown.

Britt Baker brags about her win on Rampage and introduces Jamie Hayter. Jamie is friends with Baker from way back and was glad to come in and help her out.

Video on Matt Hardy vs. Orange Cassidy.

Here is Paul Wight for a chat about how great it was to be back in the ring last week. QT Marshall and company interrupt and say they would get in here and take him out but Marshall knows something. We see x-rays of Wight’s hip with a bunch of metal in it, meaning he can’t do much. Wight says it doesn’t matter, because he is facing Marshall at All Out. Marshall gives a great shocked face. It’s almost as shocking as AEW still trying to make Marshall a thing.

The Elite celebrates, but Tony Schiavone announces a tournament for a future Tag Team Title shot at All Out……inside a cage.

Taz brings out Ricky Starks, who wants to bring out Brian Cage. We cut to the back where Powerhouse Hobbs is standing over Cage…..who stands up and fights back. That’s too much for Starks so cut the feed.

Death Triangle is ready for All Out but Chavo Guerrero and Andrade come in. Chavo has some terms for the All Out match and hands Pac a phone book sized contract. Point for a funny visual.

Thunder Rosa vs. Penelope Ford

Ford doesn’t seem to be in her regular gear. Rosa wastes no time in sending her into the corner for the rapid fire stomping. They head outside in a hurry with Ford nailing a cutter to take us to a break. Back with Ford missing a running boot in the corner and getting caught with a running clothesline. The slingshot knees rock Ford in the corner again but the Fire Thunder Driver is countered into a rollup for two on Rosa. The Muta Lock has Rosa in trouble but she is back up with the Death Valley Driver for two. Ford goes for the legs again but gets pulled down into something like an STF for the tap at 7:59.

Rating: C. This was a good way to have Rosa come back and get a win as she is likely heading for the big showdown against Britt Baker. Ford is perfectly fine in a midcard role like this as she has just enough credibility to make Rosa break a sweat and that’s about all she needs to do. They understood their roles here and the match worked as a result.

We look back at Malakai Black’s debut.

Arn Anderson is a bit scared of Black and next week, his son Brock gets to face Black.

Here’s what’s coming this/next week.

Miro liked hurting Fuego del Sol last week and now he wants Eddie Kingston.

Jon Moxley is sick of all the teams running around here, either in basketball jerseys or Hangman Page not being able to get over his high school drama. Moxley would run through Christian because he is the guy who carried the World Title on his shoulder during dark days around here. It is time to show what it takes to be the top guy around here and if Daniel Garcia wants a taste of the main event, come get it on Rampage. Just make sure that is what you want before you need the ringside doctor checking on you.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho can’t use the Judas Effect (leaving him with only three finishers). As expected, the fans sing Judas a cappella, complete with some fans holding up signs with lyrics for a pretty cool moment. The fans are all over MJF and it’s an early Walls attempt to send him outside. Jericho follows him out with a dive but MJF takes Jericho down and steals the camera (ala Jericho). That earns him a big right hand and Jericho grabs the camera to flip it off.

Back in and MJF goes after Jericho’s bad arm to take over. We take a break and come back with Jericho slugging away until another shot to the arm takes him down. Jericho gets in a shot to the face to set up the Lionsault for two though, meaning it’s a surprised kickout. Some clotheslines and right hands in the corner set up a super hurricanrana but MJF reverses into the Salt of the Earth.

That is countered into the Walls but MJF goes for the bad arm to escape. They slug it out until Jericho is sent to the apron for the Heatseeker and another near fall. MJF gets creative by kicking him low (the referees get distracted really easily around here) and grabbing his own Walls of Jericho. The rope grab breaks that up so it’s time for the diamond ring. That’s taken away so Jericho gets in the Floyd shot. Instead of covering, Jericho loads up the Judas Effect but can’t do it. MJF hits one of his own though and it’s the Salt of the Earth to (eventually) make Jericho tap at 15:53.

Rating: B. Good match, with the weird stipulation making Jericho look like a complete buffoon. I would assume this set up either a rematch at All Out or Jericho going on tour with Fozzy, as it was a pretty flat way to end the show Labors story. MJF winning is smart, but it was more a “that’s it?” moment than anything else.

Overall Rating: C+. I wasn’t entirely feeling this one as the show felt a step off. While not complete dominance, it was a pretty heel beatdown heavy show as both the Young Bucks and MJF get big wins. All Out is coming up in about two weeks and the little amount of the card that we have is not thrilling me so far. That is a lot of time, but this show was pretty lacking from a story perspective. The good action brings it up and it’s nowhere near a bad show, but I could go for moving things forward a bit. Kind of like say in Chicago on Friday.

Results
Sting/Darby Allin b. 2.0 – Double Scorpion Deathlock
Sammy Guevara b. Shawn Spears – GTH
Young Bucks b. Jurassic Express – BTE Trigger to Jungle Boy
Thunder Rosa b. Penelope Ford – STF
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Chris Jericho – Salt of the Earth

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.

Ring of Honor
Date: August 11, 2021
Location: UMBC Event Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Caprice Coleman, Ian Riccaboni

We are still firmly in middle of the Women’s Title tournament, which dominated last week’s show. That meant a kind of hit or miss collection of matches, as you can only get so far with a bunch of wrestlers we haven’t seen before having short matches. While it wasn’t bad, it was lacking some interest, which hopefully is here this time. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We look at Allysin Kay defeating Willow to advance on the non-televised show.

Quinn McKay says she has come up short time after time and that is because of the Allure. Now it is her last shot and it is guaranteed to be one on one. Now she is getting her chance to thank the fans by beating Mandy Leon.

Mandy Leon thinks this is rigged because McKay has lost her two matches but is in the tournament anyway. Why is McKay here with one of the founding mothers of the division? No worries as she’ll take McKay out.

Women’s Title Tournament First Round: Quinn McKay vs. Mandy Leon

Rematch from a few weeks ago when Leon needed Angelina Love’s help to beat McKay. A spear cuts Mandy down at the bell but it’s too early for the Tangerine Dream. Mandy needs a breather on the floor but McKay follows her out to keep up the brawl. Back in and Mandy gets in a shot to the face though, allowing her to stomp away in the corner. A butterfly suplex gives Mandy two and we take a break.

We come back with a Hennig necksnap giving Mandy another two. Some forearms to the back in the corner allow for even more trash talk, setting up a running Unprettier for two more. The frustration is setting in and McKay avoids a charge in the corner, allowing a neckbreaker to connect for two. A powerslam sets up most of the Tangerine Dream but Mandy is out with a Backpack Stunner. Mandy’s Astral Projection is loaded up but McKay reverses into a cradle for the upset pin at 7:12.

Rating: C. This was the only way this match could wind up going and they got it right. McKay going on a serious run throughout the entire tournament would not be a surprise and I could go for seeing her do just that. Odds are the Allure messes with her again at some point and it wouldn’t be shocking to see them cost her. For now though, this worked well.

Commentary goes nuts at the upset and McKay runs over to celebrate with them.

Marti Belle got into wrestling because it was a little bit of everything she wanted to do. Trisha Adora wants to show you what she can do and is a military veteran. They have both been through adversity and Adora is fighting for her mother, who has cancer.

Women’s Title Tournament First Round: Marti Belle vs. Trish Adora

They go with the grappling to start as Adora spins out of an early wristlock. That doesn’t last long so they’re back up for another standoff. Belle headlocks her down as we hear about Adora being a chess aficionado. Back up and Belle blocks the Lariat Tubman (ok then) with an ax handle to the arm and we take an early break.

We come back with Belle’s running knee getting two and Adora’s arm being wrapped around the rope. A running knee gets a delayed two on Adora but she fights back with forearms to the head. Adora gets in a kick to the arm and a judo throw sets up some hard kicks. That’s enough for Adora, who grabs the Cattle Mutilation for the tap at 7:13.

Rating: C. Another perfectly fine match here without much that is going to stick with me. It helps a bit to have Belle as a more familiar face, though it is still not exactly great. The match wasn’t bad but it also wasn’t quite memorable, making this the most “there” match that I have seen in a little while now.

We look back at Bandido winning the World Title at Best in the World.

Brody King/Chris Dickinson vs. Rey Horus/Bandido

King and Dickinson are ready to hurt people. The luchadors try chopping away at the bell and are taken straight into the corner to start the choking. Dickinson takes Horus down into a Crossface to start and then chops him down again. King comes in to run Horus over and the neck crank goes on.

We take a break and come back with the stomping continuing in the corner as Horus stays in trouble. Horus finally manages to get away and the hot tag brings in Bandido to start cleaning house. King gets dropkicked down and there’s a heck of a gorilla press to Dickinson. The big Fosbury Flop to the floor takes out King and Dickinson and it’s some running clotheslines on Dickinson back inside.

Horus gets knocked outside though and King grabs the Boston crab. Horus’ dropkicks don’t break it up and he gets pulled down into the Crossface from Dickinson. Both are broken up and Dickinson brainbusters Bandido for two. Back up and the 21 Plex is countered, only to have Bandido drop Dickinson with it for the pin at 10:49.

Rating: C+. Bandido feels like the World Champion and it was a good match, though the ending came a bit out of nowhere and it didn’t really get the time to be built up. What matters here is getting Bandido a win to keep him moving forward as champion, as it might be a while before he has his first major title defense.

Post match the rest of La Faccion Ingobernable runs in to go after Bandido, with Rush ripping off the mask. Violence Unlimited comes in for the brawl to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was a pretty flat show, as the tournament is only so interesting and the rest of the show wasn’t anything great. That is the regular trouble with tournaments, as they have a tendency to overshadow everything else and take away so much of the focus. It’s still perfectly watchable, but don’t expect much to change until we get to the finals.

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.