Summerslam 2026 Night One
Date: August 1, 2026
Location: US Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Michael Cole

It’s the first half of one of the biggest shows of the year and for once we have a genuine double main event. That includes Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar inside the Cell, plus Cody Rhodes challenging CM Punk for the Smackdown World Title. Those two matches should be more than enough to carry the show but the undercard doesn’t look bad either. Let’s get to it.

The wrestlers arrive, with Michael Cole saying the two night Summerslam takes place tonight. That’s not how nights work.

The opening video is hosted by a Minnesota Viking (I believe Justin Jefferson), who talks about the effort that everyone puts in to get here, with the focus on their training.

Raw Women’s Title: Iyo Sky vs. Liv Morgan

Morgan is defending and goes after her to start, only to be knocked into the ropes. Sky dropkicks her out to the floor, where she uses Green Shirt Guy to get on the barricade and dive onto Morgan. Back in and Morgan goes after the banged up ribs to take over, setting up Three Amigos. An enziguri gives Morgan two but Sky is right back up with a flapjack. A missile dropkick has Morgan in more trouble and Sky sunset bombs her out to the floor.

Cue Judgment Day for a distraction to shove Sky off the top for two but Sky is fine enough to send Morgan outside. A moonsault to the floor takes the villains out but Morgan kicks her down back inside. Cole: “You have to give credit to Morgan for staying in this fight thanks to the Judgment Day.” As I try to figure out what we’re crediting Morgan for if the other people did the work, Sky catches her on top with a super Spanish Fly for two and they slug it out.

Oblivion is broken up and Sky faceplants her for two, followed by her own Oblivion for two on Morgan. Over The Moonsault misses though and Sky bangs up her ankle, allowing Morgan’s middle rope Codebreaker to connect for two. They head to the apron with Sky hitting a German suplex, setting up the Bullet Train Attack against the post. That leaves Sky favoring her knee again, meaning Over The Moonsault misses. Back to back Oblivions (though the first one might have been blocked) retain the title at 13:34.

Rating: B. Morgan did a lot better than I was expecting here and it was nice to see her actually defend the title for a change. Beating Sky as close to clean as she got here is a bit of a surprise and it was a good way to open the show. If nothing else, the fans are always going to respond to Morgan and they had a hard hitting match in the process.

Mark Henry, Sean Waltman, Dan Spivey and Jimmy Hart are here.

Bloodline vs. Royce Keys/LA Knight/Solo Sikoa

The Bloodline gets the Gears Of War inspired entrance (never played the games so I’m going to assume the entrance was good). The non Bloodline rush in to start fast and it’s Sikoa hammering on Jey to officially get things going. That lets Sikoa mock Jey’s entrance and even tease running it back. Fatu comes in to hammer on the rather cocky Sikoa and the running Umaga Attack in the corner gets two.

Sikoa punches his way to freedom and it’s a double clothesline to leave both of them down. Keys gets the tag and starts to beat up Jimmy, including a spinebuster. Jimmy finally gets in a shot to the head and goes up, where Keys hits a super fall away slam. Jey comes in to spear Knight for two but Knight runs the corner for the superplex.

It’s time for the parade of secondary finishers until Keys powerslams a charging Fatu into the timekeeper’s area for the awesome crash. Jey spears Knight again and Jimmy’s Superfly Splash gets two. Sikoa is back up to Spike Jimmy though and the BFT to Jey gives Knight the pin at 11:04.

Rating: B-. I’m surprised by the result but it’s nice to see the Bloodline lose for a change, with Knight even getting the pin. That’s a good sign for his future and maybe we can FINALLY get Knight in the main event picture. That powerslam to Fatu looked great too and it’s nice to see things going the other way for once.

Post match Knight eventually hugs Sikoa as a thank you.

Gunther vs. Nick Aldis

Gunther wasn’t happy when Aldis, then Smackdown GM, wouldn’t put him in the World Title match so Gunther attacked him. Now Aldis is back in the ring for one night to get some revenge. Aldis even gets to come to the ring to Oasis and Barrett absolutely loses it. Gunther backs him up against the ropes to start and takes over, allowing for a celebration on the announcers’ table.

Gunther gets back inside and gets suplexed for quite the reaction from the fans. The King’s Lynn (modified Texas) Cloverleaf is broken up though and Gunther chops him out to the floor. We pause for Gunther to yell at Aldis’ wife (Mickie James) and son before he rocks Aldis with another chop.

Aldis’ chop doesn’t do much good as Gunther sends him hard into the corner. A backbreaker works a bit better for Aldis, who tries and fails at the King’s Lynn Cloverleaf again. Gunther’s sleeper is broken up with a ram into the buckle and Aldis hits a nice superplex. The top rope elbow to the back sets up the King’s Lynn Cloverleaf and the fans go nuts, only for Gunther to make the rope. The sleeper is broken up again so Gunther hits a powerbomb into another sleeper, with Aldis tapping at 11:14.

Rating: B. This was pretty much exactly what it was always going to be, with Aldis doing as well as he could have and giving Gunther a sweat before falling in the end. Aldis certainly didn’t embarrass himself out there and had a heck of a match, with the whole thing being about the King’s Lynn Cloverleaf, which just wasn’t enough. Good match, and if Aldis wants to wrestle on occasion, he’ll be fine.

Post match Gunther leaves and Aldis’ family gets in to celebrate with him.

Bella Twins/Paige vs. Fatal Influence

Brie and Henley start things off with Brie taking over off a Russian legsweep. The YES Kicks connect and they quickly go outside, with Brie being sent into the steps. Jayne adds the running cannonball and the villains get to pose. Back in and Reid grabs a chinlock but is smart enough to cut off Paige to prevent the tag. She doesn’t cut Nikki off though and the tag allows Nikki to come in and take over on Reid.

The Rack Attack 2.0 is broken up though and Paige cannonballs off the apron onto Henley. Jayne has to come in for the save so Brie decks her, despite her arm looking like it’s just hanging there. Henley pulls Brie to the floor, leaving Reid to give Nikki a hard knee to the face. But Jayne misses the Rolling Encore. Paige sunset flips her for tow, only to walk into the Rolling Encore for the pin at 7:33.

Rating: C. Well, I’ll certainly take being completely wrong about the result here. I was sure the Bellas would get their big moment but it’s nice to be wrong here. This started off fine but got bad near the end. As usual, the Bellas are only so good in the ring and it doesn’t help when Brie clearly got hurt in the process. Not good here for the most part, but at least it didn’t go on that long.

Post match the winners leave and the Bellas….turn on Paige to lay her out. Nikki says the lesson is to never take her spot. Wait. Does Brie possibly being hut mean we might have to keep waiting on the Bellas to get their big title win? Good grief.

Smackdown World Title: Cody Rhodes vs. CM Punk

Punk is defending and sporting a Minnesota North Stars themed jacket. Since Rhodes is Rhodes though, he gets a big Street Fighter entrance, complete with a themed mask and helmet. They chop it out to start and Punk knocks him into the corner, with Rhodes suddenly favoring his arm. Punk immediately slaps on the hammerlock, which is reversed int a headlock.

That’s broken up so Rhodes sends him into the corner, meaning they can fight over a wristlock. Rhodes takes over and sends him outside, though the arm is still bothering him. Punk gets in a clothesline off the barricade and drops an ax handle to the arm back inside. Another shot drops Rhodes again but Punk comes up favoring his knee. The running bulldog out of the corner is blocked and Rhodes gets in a shinbreaker to start in on the leg. Rhodes gets in a dragon screw legwhip and it’s time to stomp away. A half crab is blocked but Punk can’t hit the GTS.

Punk can break up a Disaster Kick by kicking him out of the air though and they’re both down. That’s enough for Punk to get up and drop the elbow but the GTS is escaped again. The Cody Cutter, Disaster Kick and a top rope Cody Cutter combine for a series of near falls and the Figure Four goes on. Punk turns it over until Rhodes gets to the rope, but another Figure Four attempt is countered. Instead Punk pulls him into the Anaconda Vice, with Rhodes getting out again.

Back up and Rhodes tries a swinging Alabama Slam but without the Alabama or the Slam, as Punk pulls him into another Anaconda Vice. Rhodes gets up and grabs a Cross Rhodes for two so Punk goes up for a moonsault and another near fall. The GTS connects but Punk hurts his knee, allowing Rhodes to kick out. They head outside with the announcers’ table being loaded up. Neither finisher can hit so Rhodes sends him into the steps. Back in and another GTS drops Rhodes, though he’s able to grab the rope for the break this time.

Punk sends him outside again and loads up the top rope elbow…but completely misses Rhodes for the massive crash, with the knee taking most of the impact. Rhodes throws him back inside but accidentally kicks the referee. Punk hits a GTS and tries another, which is reversed into Cross Rhodes. With both of them down, Randy Orton runs in for the surprise return and drops Rhodes with an RKO. Punk, who didn’t seem to see what happened, gets back inside and hits another GTS to retain at 29:45.

Rating: B+. I liked the ending with Orton running in as that’s certainly a big surprise worthy of Summerslam. At the same time, this started rather slowly and eventually worked with the Punk crash through the table being a huge spot. The good thing is that Punk retained in the end as we need a break from Rhodes as champion. Rhodes vs. Orton non-title is fine and should open up some doors for Punk to face a few of those people he’s been talking about. The match took its time to get going but they got it rolling in the end, which is not surprising given the talent involved.

We recap Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi. They’ve fought twice before and split the matches, so it’s time for the two of them to hurt each other really badly inside the Cell.

Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar

In the Cell and Paul Heyman is here with Lesnar. Femi fires off the uppercuts to start so Lesnar snaps off the German suplexes. That’s shrugged off though and Femi clotheslines him out to the floor. A suplex drops Lesnar on the floor and Femi sends him into the steps. Lesnar doesn’t seem to mind as he picks up the steps for some HARD shots to Femi’s head

Another hard shot, this one with a chair, puts Femi down again and Lesnar suplexes him onto the chairs. Femi escapes an F5 though and gets in a chokeslam for the needed breather. Another chokeslam sets up a toss powerbomb as Lesnar is rocked for a change. The Fall From Grace (without the lift) gets two so Lesnar does and Undertaker sit up and hits an F5, but Femi pops up.

Lesnar does it again and Femi pops up again, so it’s a third F5 to finally get two. The frustrated Lesnar rips up the mat and exposes the boards, with a Tombstone onto the exposed wood (yes including the tongue out) gets two. Femi has had it and pops up, knocks a chair out of Lesnar’s hands, and hits a Fall From Grace for the pin at 11:41.

Rating: B+. Yeah it was kind of short, but this isn’t the sort of match that needs to go long. Sometimes you need to get in there and get out and that was the case with this match. Femi survived everything from Lesnar and won clean in the end, though I was expecting it to take a bit more. There was no reason for Lesnar to win here so it was cool to see them do the right thing in the end.

Post match the Cell is raised and Lesnar leaves, but comes back to hug Femi. Lesnar grabs the mic and offers congratulations and calls Femi the future. He himself is the past and Femi is the future. That felt like a retirement, but then again so did Wrestlemania so we’ll have to wait and see

Overall Rating: B+. It was another rather good one night event, which has me scared for the second night. The good thing is the big matches delivered and most of the rest worked too, though there was nothing that stole the show. I’ll take a show that is a steady supply of good though, even with the constant breaks and ads and all that time being wasted. The show was a strong one though and it was over before 9:15, which I’ll take any day. Rather good first half for Summerslam here.

Results
Liv Morgan b. Iyo Sky – Oblivion
LA Knight/Royce Keys/Solo Sikoa b. Bloodline – BFT to Jey
Gunther b. LA Knight – Sleeper
Fatal Influence b. Bella Twins/Paige – Rolling Encore to Paige
CM Punk b. Cody Rhodes – GTS
Oba Femi b. Brock Lesnar – Fall From Grace

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

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Summerslam 2025 Night Two
Date: August 3, 2025
Location: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Attendance: 60,561
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

So the big story of 2025 was the John Cena heel turn as he was on his way out of the company and on his way to retiring. That had been going on for about six months, and then on the Smackdown before this show, Cena basically threw the whole thing out the window and he’s a good guy again. So now he’s defending the title against Cody Rhodes in a street fight, hero vs. hero. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the bigger matches of Night One.

Druski welcomes us to the show and talks about how things are going to be bigger tonight. We get some short previews for the bigger matches as well. I still can’t stand this whole “it’s all about the moments” jazz as it takes the focus off of the matches and makes it more about one tiny part.

Here is HHH to get things going. You haven’t seen anything yet and this is going to be big. And that’s about it.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley vs. Naomi vs. Iyo Sky

Naomi is defending and her father gets to play her to the ring in a really cool moment. You can see how much it means to Naomi and she looks to be having a blast out there. The bell rings and Naomi bails out to the floor, so the other two stare down at her. The case doesn’t go well for Naomi, who gets caught on the way back inside. Ripley accidentally kicks Sky down by mistake though and Naomi is right there with a double high crossbody.

Naomi goes after Sky but Ripley is up to grab Naomi’s hair to quite the reaction. A bite to the hand seems to put Ripley on the floor though and Naomi gives Sky a hanging X Factor for two. Ripley is back in and grabs a front facelock on Sky, with Naomi’s springboard spinning kick to the head knocking both of them down. Naomi kicks the heck out of Ripley and does the same to Sky as this is pretty much all Naomi thus far. She even mocks Sky’s dance…but realizes Ripley is waiting on her.

Ripley fires off the clotheslines and Sky is back in with a 619 to put Naomi outside, leaving us with quite the showdown. An electric chair faceplant gives Ripley two but the Riptide is countered into a small package. The crossface has Ripley in more trouble so she’s right back up, only for Sky to SPIKE HER with a poisonrana. Naomi has to make the save so Ripley kicks her in the head.

A Razor’s Edge gets two on Sky, with Naomi making another save. They fight on the floor until Sky takes them out with an Asai moonsault, which is all the more impressive as you see Sky’s toes catching the rope on the way up. Back in and Sky hits some running Bullet Train Attacks to both of them but Naomi catches her up top. Naomi’s split legged moonsault hits Ripley but Sky’s Over The Moonsault lands on Ripley as well, with Naomi rolling Sky up for a fast two.

Sky gets kneed in the face to send her outside, leaving Ripley to grab Riptide for two, with Sky making a great looking diving save. Sky and Ripley strike it out, with Naomi being knocked outside for daring to interfere. Ripley cannonballs onto Naomi and then breaks up Over The Moonsault. That means a super Riptide to Sky but Naomi runs in to roll Ripley up, with trunks, and steal the pin to retain at 16:23.

Rating: A-. This was great stuff, with everyone working hard and a feeling that any of the three could leave with the title. It was just a hair behind the Wrestlemania triple threat but dang this worked, with Naomi deserving all kinds of credit. She was more than hanging with the other two and that is more than worth some praise. Outstanding opener here and probably Naomi’s best match ever.

Post match Ripley is TICKED, as she should be.

It’s 25 years since the first TLC match so the Hardys and the Dudleys are both here.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. Wyatt Sicks vs. Andrade/Rey Fenix vs. DIY vs. Fraxiom vs. Motor City Machine Guns

The Wyatts are defending in a TLC match and my goodness does that entrance not really work in the daylight. Everyone looks up at the titles to start and everyone else jumps the Wyatts to start fast. The Wyatts are sent outside and the Guns dropkick a ladder into DIY. Fraxiom and Sabin hit some dives and it’s Fraxiom bringing in the first ladder. After the Guns are dispatches, the Wyatts are back in to throw some chairs and clean house.

The Profits come back in to backdrop Gacy….next to a ladder, so they do it again and this time it connects. We get a tribute to the Dudleys as Dawkins tells Ford to get the tables (the Dudleys approve). That means building a big pile of tables at ringside as Ciampa hits Sabin with a chair. Andrade and Fenix remember they’re in the match and clear the ring, with Andrade trying to throw Fenix up to the belts in a brilliant bit.

That doesn’t work though so we get stereo Three Amigos to the Profits instead. DIY come back in with the chairs to start wrecking things, including throwing Ford into the corner…where he flip dives onto Fraxiom on the floor. Gacy gets missile dropkicked/Downward Spiraled into an open chair and Gargano makes it worse with One Final Beat through a table.

Lumis guillotine legdrops (kind of) Ford through another table and Fenix hits a heck of a frog splash to put Frazer through another table. Dawkins goes up (oh dear) and gets super Spanish Flied by Axiom through two tables (with Ciampa being smart enough to get out of the way). Cue Candice LeRae (Gargano’s wife) to go up the ladder (because reasons) but B-Fab (friend of the Profits) runs in for the save. Nikki Cross (of the Wyatts) goes in to suplex B-Fab off the ladder so LeRae goes up again, with Gargano holding the ladder for her.

Ford kicks Ciampa into Gargano though and LeRae gets sent crashing through a bridged ladder at ringside (Ford’s OH DANG look is great as LeRae is mostly dead). Naturally Gargano gives her a thumbs up and he goes up, with Ford cutting him off again. Cue Erick Rowan (a Wyatt not in the match) to make the save. Ford gets thrown into Dawkins but they get back up to beat on Rowan with some chairs. He’s put through a table as well, which should put him down for a bit. Ciampa goes up and grabs the belts but winds up hanging there.

Frazer tries a dive but Ciampa pulls himself up (geez), allowing Gargano to set up a ladder. Ford springboards onto the ladder and Ciampa is knocked down, leaving a bunch of people to go up for the belts. Uncle Howdy comes in to shove the ladders over, with DIY getting the big crash through the four (well three of them) tables. Frazer gets Mandible Clawed on top of the ladder and Fenix gets the same treatment, with Andrade making the save. A sunset bomb sends Howdy onto the ladder but the Wyatts who are actually in the match make the save with some chairs. Gacy goes up and retains the titles at 16:03.

Rating: B+. I vaguely remember not being overly impressed with this but it was a rather awesome spectacle that could have been even better with one less team. The spot with the women was a good little bonus and it makes sense that the Wyatts would use their numbers advantage since they had so many challengers. Rather good stuff here, with some crazy big spots throughout.

We recap Becky Lynch vs. Lyra Valkyria. They were partners for all of a day, winning the Women’s Tag Team Titles at Wrestlemania and losing them back the next night. Lynch turned on her but Valkyria got the big upset at Backlash. Lynch took the Women’s Intercontinental Title from her and Valkyria had to raise her had. That was in addition to a German suplex though so we’ll do it one more time, with No DQ/No Countout in Valkyria’s last chance at the title.

Women’s Intercontinental Title: Lyra Valkyria vs. Becky Lynch

Lynch is defending and anything goes. Valkyria starts fast with some whips into the corner and they’re quickly on the floor. Lynch sends her into the announcers’ table a few times and grabs a kendo stick, only for Valkyria to come back with a crowbar. Believe it or not the metal crowbar wins over the stick and Valkyria takes over.

Lynch is whipped into various things, including a photographer (with Valkyria immediately apologizing as that seemed to be a genuine accident) and over the announcers’ table. A dropkick puts Lynch down again so Valkyria loads up a table, only for Lynch to wrap a chain around her mouth. Back in and Lynch fires off some kendo stick shots but misses a golf swing to the head. Instead it’s a reverse layout DDT for two so let’s grab a toolbox and some chairs.

A drop toehold sends Valkyria face first into the open chair and the toolbox to the ribs gets two. Lynch opens the toolbox and finds a zip tie to basically handcuff Valkyria. That lets Lynch beat on her with a wrench and then tie her over the post, meaning it’s time for the kendo stick to the ribs. Back in and Valkyria tries to find something in the toolbox to cut the tie but somehow manages to get her arms around Lynch for a belly to belly suplex. The tie breaks…but that’s not supposed to happen, so Valkyria has to tie her own hands back together to start the comeback.

Valkyria strikes away and uses a chair for a step up dropkick, followed by a moonsault for two. Lynch is sent into the chair over and over and Valkyria takes a turnbuckle pad off, again having to make sure that her wrists stay together. Valkyria gets sent into the post though and goes outside, where she rolls underneath the ring. That lets her get in a blast with a fire extinguisher to blind Lynch, but more importantly Valkyria can use the sharp part of the extinguisher to cut her arms free (and on purpose this time).

The kendo stick comeback is on, with the stick being mostly broken over Lynch’s back. They fight outside again with Valkyria escaping the Manhandle Slam to put Lynch onto the steps for a big crash. Back in and Lynch manages to send her into the exposed buckle, setting up a Manhandle Slam onto the open chairs….for two. Lynch can’t believe it so they go outside again, with Valkyria being tied into a chair and rammed into the announcers’ table. The threat of a crowbar to the head is broken up by Bayley, with Lynch begging her to take out Valkyria.

With that not working, Lynch tries to hit Bayley with a chain and gets beaten up for her efforts. Lynch avoids a charge but goes over towards a table, with Valkyria diving out of nowhere to send her crashing through it, with Wade Barrett sounding stunned on commentary. Bayley is back up to swinging (complete with chain) at Valkyria but accidentally knocks Valkyria into the Manhandle Slam to retain the title at 25:05.

Rating: C. Dang I feel sorry for them as there was no coming back from that zip tie fiasco, but my goodness who thought this needed 25 minutes? It’s a match that desperately needed to have about ten minutes shaved off as they ran out of things to do somewhere in the middle. Valkyria was trying and punching over her head with a legend like Lynch, but no one was coming back from that zip tie mess.

We recap Solo Sikoa vs. Jacob Fatu. Sikoa has the MFT’s and the US Title but doesn’t think much of Fatu, who left the team after not liking Sikoa’s leadership. This includes framing Fatu for a crime, which didn’t work in the end as Fatu was out the same night. Fatu then wrecked Sikoa and company, setting up a title match inside of a cage. Makes enough sense, with the idea mainly being Fatu getting to wreck Sikoa once and for all.

US Title: Jacob Fatu vs. Solo Sikoa

Fatu is challenging inside of a cage. Sikoa actually tries to get Fatu back on the team and gets beaten up for his efforts. A running headbutt drops Sikoa but he’s able to block a ram into the cage. Instead Sikoa backdrops him into the cage and splashes him against it as things slow back down.

Sikoa calls for the door to be opened but opts to try the Samoan Spike, meaning it’s a double clothesline to put them both down instead. Fatu is back up to send him into the cage a few times and it’s an implant DDT into the moonsault…for two. Cue the MFTs so Jimmy Uso runs out to give them some superkicks.

Talla Tonga kicks him down but Fatu orders the cage door closed. The distraction lets Sikoa get in the Samoan Spike for two more. Fatu gets up and climbs, only to get chained to the cage by Talla. Naturally Fatu breaks the handcuffs (second match in a row with a similar theme) and goes after Sikoa, with Talla kicking the door into Fatu’s head. Sikoa falls out to retain at 13:06.

Rating: C. I’m not sure why they decided to take away the insanity that made Fatu feel like a star but it was missing here. Sikoa using all of his MFTs to retain is fine, but this didn’t feel like Sikoa escaping as much as he just won. I wasn’t into this one the first time around and that was the case again here. Just not much of a cage match.

Post match Jimmy Uso jumps JC Mateo and throws him inside, where Fatu gets to beat up the MFTs. Fatu goes up and moonsaults onto them for quite the huge crash.

We recap AJ Styles challenging Dominik Mysterio for the Intercontinental Title. Styles came back from an injury, got hurt again in his first match back, and then came back again, with Mysterio interrupting him. Styles wanted the Intercontinental Title but Mysterio kept claiming injury to avoid the match. For some reason Styles wore various disguises and attacked Mysterio, with the match being officially set.

Intercontinental Title: Dominik Mysterio vs. AJ Styles

Styles is challenging and comes to the arena in an Eddie Guerrero style low rider (and in an Eddie style Styles shirt) for the 20th anniversary of the Custody Of Dominik ladder match. Mysterio bails outside to start and gets chased back inside, where Styles hits a backbreaker. The chase is on again, with Mysterio 619ing Styles onto the apron, where a baseball slide puts him on the floor.

A big dive takes Styles down again and the slingshot hilo…doesn’t even give Mysterio one. They go up top and a super hurricanrana and super Styles Clash are both blocked, so Styles settles for a tornado DDT to put them both down. The Pele Kick rocks Mysterio again as the Fireflies are out for some reason. Mysterio is right back with a Michinoku Driver for two more so Styles grabs a nice brainbuster.

The frog splash misses so Mysterio hits a 619. This time Mysterio’s frog splash hits raised knees though and we’re off to the Calf Crusher. That’s broken up and the fans seem to be getting behind Mysterio. The referee gets distracted so Mysterio grabs a chair and throws it to Styles before dropping down.

Styles is smart enough to wrap the chair around his own head and fall down, leaving the referee unsure of what to do. Mysterio tries to go up so Styles kicks the rope into the low blow, setting up another Calf Crusher. This time Styles pulls Mysterio’s boot off, with the referee getting distracted again, allowing Mysterio to hit him with said boot. The frog splash retains the title at 10:47.

Rating: B. Now this was rather interesting as the fans got WAY behind Mysterio here, even openly cheering for him near the end. I don’t think that’s so much anti-Styles as much as it was Mysterio is rather good at his job. He is a lying cheater, but he’s just so good at being a lying cheater. How can you not like him at least a little bit? If nothing else, Mysterio is going to get to brag about the win for weeks and that’s entirely the point.

A replay shows Mysterio unzipping his boot, making it clear that Mysterio completely outsmarted Styles. That’s a great catch as that wasn’t obvious in the original airing.

Stephanie McMahon does the attendance announcement: 60,561, for a two night total of 113,722. Noted.

We recap John Cena defending the Smackdown World Title against Cody Rhodes. Evil Cena won the title from Rhodes at Wrestlemania and has beaten up various heroes since then. Now Rhodes wants one more title shot and wants to face the REAL Cena in a street fight. This led to Cena saying “ok then” and abandoning the heel turn in one of the funniest things I’ve seen in wrestling in years.

Smackdown World Title: Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena

Cena is defending in a street fight and Rhodes has a Dusty promo playing before his entrance, as you do. They hug to start and Cena whispers something to him before the brawl is on. They’re quickly on the floor with Cena being sent shoulder first into the steps. Back up and Cena grabs Tyrese Haliburton’s crutch and knocks Rhodes silly to take over. The steps are taken in and Cena drops Rhodes onto them, followed by throwing said steps over the top onto Rhodes, who comes up favoring his arm.

Back in and Rhodes snaps off a powerslam for two but Cena backdrops him right back to the floor for the big crash. They both grab chairs for the duel back inside, with Rhodes managing to get in the shot to take over. The chair is wedged into the corner and of course that doesn’t work, as Cena initiates the finishing sequence. The AA is broken up and Rhodes starts striking away, including the Bionic Elbow.

Rhodes gets two off the Cody Cutter but walks into the AA for the same. An electric chair gets two more so Rhodes is right back up with a piledriver. We pause for Cena to appear mostly dead, which is a way to sucker Rhodes into another AA. Back up and they slug it out until Rhodes grabs a pop up powerbomb of all things. Cena is right back with the STF though, sending Rhodes crawling over to the rope.

They’re back on the floor, where Rhodes sends him into the timekeeper’s area but Cena comes back up with a microphone. Naturally that sets up a Canadian Destroyer on the floor, setting up the AA through the announcers’ table. Naturally Rhodes kicks out at two and grabs a quick Cross Rhodes for two of his own. Cena knocks him off the top and hits the top rope Fameasser, followed by the AA for two more. With nothing else working, Cena puts a table in the corner but Rhodes fights back up and they go outside.

The fight heads into the crowd with Cena hitting him with a piece of barricade. Cena takes him underneath the stage….and they rise up on Rhodes’ elevator (with Cena giving an incredible smirk) for the AA onto the ramp. Unfortunately that means Cena has to grab him in a fireman’s carry and walk him all the way back to the ring, which is rather draining. It also lets Rhodes rest enough to send Cena through the table in the corner. The Cross Rhodes gets two and it’s time to unhook a turnbuckle.

Rhodes hits him in the face for two but Cena gets the STF with the rope. That’s reversed into a choke from Rhodes, who hits three straight Cross Rhodes for….two, as this keeps going. The frustrated Rhodes grabs the belt but walks into a pair of AA’s. Cena picks up the belt but throws it back down, instead going with the super AA for the rather near fall. Let’s get another table so Cena tries another super AA, which is reversed into a cutter through the table. After a salute, one more Cross Rhodes gives Rhodes the title back at 37:42.

Rating: B-. Uh, well, at least Travis Scott wasn’t here. The biggest issue here is of course that it was almost forty minutes long and really didn’t need to be even half of that. It didn’t help that they threw the personal issues out the window two days before. Cena did his part well enough and Rhodes felt like the better man, but this show had two No DQ/street fight matches that combined to go over an hour. That’s quite a bit of time to spend on such similar matches. What we got was good, but it never got beyond a certain point and then kept going.

Post match Cena presents Rhodes with the title and they say something to each other. Rhodes leaves and Cena soaks in the cheers…..and Brock Lesnar is back for the first time in I believe two years. Cena gives a look that says “oh man this is going to suck” and it’s an F5 to let Lesnar stand tall to end the show. I’m assuming that explains the rapid face turn and I’ve heard worse ideas. Like Lesnar squashing Cena next month and Cena never getting any revenge before retiring.

Overall Rating: B. The big problem here is the lack of regular wrestling. You had a No DQ match, a street fight, a cage match, a TLC match, a triple threat and one regular match. That isn’t exactly focusing on the traditional stuff and it made for a bit of an unbalanced show. Maybe swap one of these matches to the other night, just to mix things up a bit. Either way, the opening two matches and main event are enough to carry this, but the two No DQ matches went WAY too long and it hurt things a good bit.

Overall Overall Rating: B. As usual, there is a heck of a show in there if you combine the two nights together. There is also a good bit of filler and that holds things down a lot. What matters here is the bigger matches mostly delivered, with Punk vs. Gunther and the women’s triple threat being show stealers. It’s a rather nice first two night show, though it would still be better as a big show without all of the filler involved, also as usual.

Results
Naomi b. Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky – Rollup with trunks to Ripley
Wyatt Sicks won a TLC match – Gacy pulled down the titles
Becky Lynch b. Lyra Valkyria – Manhandle Slam
Solo Sikoa b. Jacob Fatu – Sikoa escaped the cage
Dominik Mysterio b. AJ Styles – Frog splash
Cody Rhodes b. John Cena – Cross Rhodes

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

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Summerslam 2025 Night One
Date: August 2, 2025
Location: Metlife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Attendance: 53,161
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

So for the first time ever, Summerslam is a double night show and that means we might be up to ten total matches! The main event for the first night is CM Punk challenging Gunther for the Raw World Title, which should be a heck of a fight if they are able to get enough time. Other than that, Jelly Roll has a match because of course he does. Let’s get to it.

Breland singe God Bless America.

Someone I don’t know named Druski talks about how huge some of these moments are going to be. The focus is on making moments, because going viral matters more than anything else these days.

Here is host Cardi B in a ery feathery dress. She hypes up the crowd and…that’s it.

Jey Uso/Roman Reigns vs. Bron Breakker/Bronson Reed

Paul Heyman is here with Breakker/Reed, the latter of whom stole Reigns’ shoes to be a real jerk. They pair off to start and Uso and Reigns clear the ring so let’s run that Uso entrance back. Reigns gets pulled out to the floor so Uso dives onto all three for quite the crash. The really big running clothesline hits Uso back inside and it’s off to Breakker, with Breakker getting a running start to hit the flying tackle on Reigns.

Back in and Breakker gives Uso a World’s Strongest Slam, setting up the pushups and pose. A double splash crushes Uso and it’s Breakker grabbing a chinlock, allowing him to sing a mocking song to Reigns (Barrett finds this questionable). Breakker knocks Uso outside but misses the big diving clothesline, sending him crashing into the announcers’ table. That’s still not enough for the tag as Reed runs over to pull Reigns off the apron, with Breakker tackling Uso at the same time.

A ticked off Reigns gets up as Uso knocks Reed down, allowing the tag back to Reigns. It’s Summerslam so Reigns busts out the big dive, with Reigns overshooting the two of them and thankfully rolling in time to prevent a massive faceplant. Back in and Reigns gives Breakker a release Rock Bottom but Reed knocks Reigns down. Uso is back in with an enziguri, earning himself a big running clothesline.

Reed isn’t done and hits a heck of a suicide dive, followed by Breakker hitting his big running clothesline to knock Reigns over the announcers’ table. Back in and a Steiner Bulldog hits Uso but Reigns is back up with the Superman Punch. The spear sends Breakker through the barricade, leaving an annoyed Heyman to tell Reed to finish him off.

The Tsunami is broken up with a Superman Punch and the 1D gets two with Breakker making another save. Breakker is up and pulls his straps up, only so he can pull them back down. The spear is loaded up but Reigns takes the bullet for Uso, who knocks Breakker outside. Reed is Superfly Splashed for the pin at 21:07.

Rating: B+. These guys beat the fire out of each other and it was an awesome opener with Breakker looking even more like a freak of nature. The big focus here was Reigns putting his body on the line for the sake of Uso and it made for a good story. Very exciting match here, with even the long Uso heat segment not being able to drag it down.

We recap the Women’s Tag Team Titles. Roxanne Perez is replacing Liv Morgan as Raquel Rodriguez’s championship partner. Alexa Bliss has attempted to befriend Charlotte, who really doesn’t want friends but does want gold, so they’ll get along for the time being.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Alexa Bliss/Charlotte vs. Judgment Day

Judgment Day is defending and naturally Charlotte and Bliss have issues deciding who starts. That results in Bliss being taken into the corner early on but it’s quickly off to Charlotte. Rodriguez gets in a clothesline from the apron though and gets to come in for some heavy stomping. Perez chokes away and it’s back to Rodriguez for a chinlock.

That’s broken up as well though and it’s Bliss coming back in for the comeback. A rake to the eyes breaks up Sister Abigail though and Twisted Bliss is blocked as well. Rodriguez drops Bliss with a clothesline and the champions take over again. A big boot and Russian legsweep get two on Bliss and Perez grabs the reverse chinlock.

Bliss fights up and brings in Charlotte to clean house. Everything breaks down and Bliss accidentally hits Charlotte, who gets planted with the Tejana Bomb. Pop Rox connects but Bliss makes the save with a running Blockbuster. Charlotte boots Rodriguez down and Sister Abigail finishes Perez for the titles at 13:31.

Rating: B. Bliss deserves a medal for what she has managed to do with Charlotte. These two took what felt like it should have been a short form story and turned it into an actual something. Above all else though, that something has turned Charlotte into a completely different version of herself and it is working so well. The match was good too, as both teams have chemistry and you could see the story they were telling.

Sami Zayn vs. Karrion Kross

Scarlett is here with Kross, who has been trying to get Zayn to embrace his dark side and if he loses here, he has to admit that he’s wrong. Zayn knocks him outside to start and hits the moonsault off of the barricade. Back in and a Death Valley Driver gives Kross two and he strikes away in the corner.

The t-bone suplex gets two but Zayn fights back with the ax handles. Some right handles in the corner are broken up so Kross knocks him down. Scarlett gives Kross the pipe and distracts the referee, only for Zayn to grab the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Zayn strikes away in the ropes and goes for the pipe, which he throws down. Instead it’s the Helluva Kick to finish Kross at 8:12.

Rating: C+. This was Zayn getting his chance to show that good can win over evil and that’s where he tends to shine. Zayn knows how to overcome the odds like few others and it worked here. Kross would be done with WWE after this match, as his second run with the company ended about the same as the first.

We get a tribute to Hulk Hogan, with Michael Cole talking about what Hogan did at Summerslam over the years.

We recap Jade Cargill challenging Tiffany Stratton for the Smackdown Women’s Title. Stratton cashed in Money In The Bank and is described as someone who stole the title and needs to prove herself, despite doing so over and over. Cargill is the unstoppable new star and Stratton appears to be in trouble.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Tiffany Stratton vs. Jade Cargill

Cargill is challenging and we get the Big Match Intros. They waste no time in going outside, with Cargill taking over and suplexing her down for a nip up. Back in and Stratton knocks her down for a change, setting up a Swanton. Cargill gets in another shot in the corner though and the Eye Of The Storm gets two.

A suplex puts Stratton down again but she reverses a chokeslam with a hurricanrana. Stratton’s not great Alabama Slam connects but Cargill gets the feet up to block the Prettiest Moonsault Ever. Jaded connects, with the cover pulling Stratton’s feet into the ropes. Now the chokeslam connects but a super Jaded is countered. The Prettiest Moonsault Ever retains the title at 6:57.

Rating: C+. As much as WWE seems to want this to be the big rivalry of the future for the division, I really don’t see it happening. The chemistry isn’t there and while Stratton is better than Cargill in the ring, she’s not quite good enough to carry this to greatness. It’s not bad and Stratton gets a nice win, though Cargill clearly wasn’t ready for this big of a spot yet.

We recap Jelly Roll/Randy Orton vs. Logan Paul/Drew McIntyre. Paul didn’t like Roll showing up and getting so much attention so Orton yelled at Paul about it. Paul fought back and McIntyre got involved as well, setting up the big celebrity tag match where all three of the wrestlers deserved better on this show.

Jelly Roll/Randy Orton vs. Logan Paul/Drew McIntyre

Paul jumps Roll from behind before the bell so Roll tags himself in at the bell. Some kicks to the ribs have Roll in trouble but he fights up, causing Paul to bring in McIntyre. Orton begs for a tag but Roll wants to stay in, meaning Orton gives him a pep talk instead. Roll realizes he’s in trouble as he slugs away, only to get dropped with the Glasgow Kiss.

McIntyre slowly pounds Roll down (McIntyre: “I hear voices. They say YOU’RE SCREWED!”) and brings Paul back in for a double suplex. Roll fights out of trouble and gets over for the tag, with Orton giving McIntyre a hanging DDT. They head outside, where McIntyre is dropped onto the announcers’ table, but Paul distracts Orton. That’s enough for a Claymore from McIntyre and Paul takes Roll down as well.

The big right hand puts Roll down and McIntyre puts him onto the announcers’ table, leaving Paul to go up. After a toast of Prime, Paul hits the highe splash through the table and they’re both down. Paul gets up and Roll is taken out, leaving Orton to get beaten down. The Blockbuster gives Paul two but Orton is able to get in a top rope superplex to McIntyre.

Somehow Roll is still at ringside and says he’s going back to the ring, where he gets on the apron. Roll comes back in with a chokeslam to Paul and a Boss Man Slam to McIntyre. Orton is back in and takes out McIntyre, only to be sent outside. Paul drops Roll and gives him the frog splash for the pin at 17:05.

Rating: C. It was….fine. There were big spots in there and Roll wasn’t bad but ultimately it was nothing more than just ok. The problem here continues to be that the focus was ENTIRELY on Jelly Roll, which doesn’t make for a good tag match. It’s like a bunch of big stars had to stop what they were doing so he could play too and that’s not good for the second biggest match at Summerslam. It’s a case of focusing on the celebrity rather than the wrestling and that gets annoying fast. Roll did well enough, but this felt like a miscast Smackdown main event.

We recap CM Punk vs. Gunther for the Raw World Title. Punk has won a bunch of feuds since he came back and now he wants some gold. After winning a #1 contenders match, the match was set, with Gunther pointing out that they both consider themselves the best in the world. This basically boils down to Punk wanting to show he can still do it and Gunther wanting to smash through him.

Raw World Title: CM Punk vs. Gunther

Gunther is defending and they take their time to start. Punk gets backed up against the rope but avoids the big chop as he knows the big weapon he has to dodge. They take turns going after the arm and Punk blocks another chop, which might have hurt Gunther’s own hand. Back up and the big chop out of the corner finally connects to put Punk down hard.

Punk goes back to the arm until Gunther ties him in the Tree Of Woe for some big chops, including one to the leg. The regular chop to the chest has Punk down again and Gunther drops him a second time just to prove his point. They fight over an abdominal stretch until Punk tries a GTS, with Gunther escaping and trying the sleeper. That doesn’t work either so Gunther boots him in the face to take over again.

Another chop ties Punk in the ropes for the Terry Funk teeter totter spot, with Punk making it look more like death than a joke. The reverse chinlock goes on, followed by a Sharpshooter to put Punk in even more trouble. Somehow Punk powers out and reverses into a Sharpshooter of his own, sending Gunther over to the rope. Gunther chops him down again but Punk is back up with some strikes of his own into a swinging neckbreaker.

Punk’s running knee in the corner is countered into a powerbomb for two and they both need a breather. Another knockdown lets Gunther hit the top rope splash for two and Gunther is getting frustrated. The big clothesline puts him down and Gunther hits the even bigger version to make it worse. The dropkick into the corner sets up another powerbomb for another two, leaving Gunther stunned.

More chops have Punk in more trouble and Gunther knocks him outside. The announcers’ table is loaded up but Gunther takes too long posing and gets dropped onto said table. Gunther comes up and is cut open BAD and Punk goes after the cut back inside. The top rope elbow connects but Gunther pulls the GTS into the sleeper. That’s reversed into a GTS and Gunther is out on his feet, meaning it’s a second GTS to give Punk the pin and the title at 30:21.

Rating: A-. This was a war, with Punk trying to stop the monster and getting the fire beaten out of him, only for Gunther to get just a bit too cocky. That let Punk get in his big shot and finally unload on Gunther enough to beat him. It worked well and kept up the idea of Gunther not being at his best on the big stage, which is an interesting recurring theme for him. Awesome match here as Punk continues to absolutely bring it in the big spots.

Post match Punk gets the title in a very emotional moment…and here is Seth Rollins, on crutches, with Paul Heyman holding up the Money In The Bank briefcase. Rollins shouts a lot, goes to leave, and then throws his crutches down. The knee brace is removed and Rollins comes to the ring and we’re ready to go.

Raw World Title: Seth Rollins vs. CM Punk

Punk is defending and tries a GTS but Rollins hits him with the briefcase over and over. NOW we get the cash in and opening bell, meaning the Stomp gives Rollins the title back at 11 seconds. This was the big culmination of “Did Rollins fake a knee injury or not” and apparently he did, as they recreate the Wrestlemania XXXI ending and continue the neverending Punk vs. Rollins feud.

The Vision comes out to celebrate to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a rather strong show, even if it weakened a bit in the middle. The opening two matches and the (advertised) main event are all more than good and it made up for the weaker (but still fine) middle of the card. If you mix this in with the top half of the second night of the show, it’s an all timer, but that’s not how we do things at major events these days. Still though, good stuff here and this worked well.

Results
Roman Reigns/Jey Uso b. Bron Breakker/Bronson Reed – Superfly Splash to Reed
Charlotte/Alexa Bliss b. Judgment Day – Sister Abigail to Perez
Sami Zayn b. Karrion Kross – Helluva Kick
Tiffany Stratton b. Jade Cargill – Prettiest Moonsault Ever
Logan Paul/Drew McIntyre b. Jelly Roll/Randy Orton – Frog splash to Roll
CM Punk b. Gunther – GTS
Seth Rollins b. CM Punk – Stomp

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

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To put it mildly, the Summerslam card is looking stacked. There are some major matches on both nights of the show, but for some reason the more interesting thing is how badly the ticket sales have gone. That’s become the big story outside of the actual WWE programming, which is a shame as the card is looking good. That is certainly the case for the first night so let’s get to it.

Raw Women’s Title: Liv Morgan(c) vs. Iyo Sky

Why does it feel like the big plan was originally going to be Sky vs. Rhea Ripley at the Crown Jewel show in Saudi Arabia? It would certainly fit and serve as a way to do champion vs. champion, though I’m not sure if that’s going to be possible for a few reasons. Not only is Ripley injured, but there is still the question of who leaves with the title here. Morgan has gotten a lot more serious about this one and that has me curious.

As much as it would make sense for Sky to win here, I’m not sure I can imagine Morgan dropping the title. I’ll take Morgan to actually retain the title, even though I don’t think she has defended it in almost four months at this point. It feels like Morgan’s Judgment Day cronies are going to be involved here to help Morgan out and that should be enough to retain the title. At least in theory.

LA Knight/Royce Keys/Solo Sikoa vs. Bloodline

Yeah you knew there was going to be a Bloodline match on here as they are required to be on just about every show somewhere in there. That’s going to be the case again here, as Knight has been having issues with the team for a very long time now. This time though he actually has some help, in the form of a completely randomized team which feels like it was pulled out of a hat.

All that being said, I can’t imagine the Bloodline loses here as it’s just not their nature. Knight has lost time after time and it seems likely to be the case again, probably with Keys taking the fall. This one has me intrigued at least and it’s good to see Keys getting a chance on the bigger stage. Knight still needs to get a big win somewhere in there, but I don’t think it happens here.

Gunther vs. Nick Aldis

Now here we have something interesting as Aldis hasn’t wrestled in years, including at all in WWE. The good thing though is that he is quite the successful wrestler in his own right so this is hardly one sided. It’s a story that has been done for years before and I could go for seeing it again here. Gunther can work with anyone and Aldis is a bit better than most anyone, so they have some potential.

There’s no reason to think that Aldis has a real chance here, but he should put up a good effort in defeat. Let us see what he can do in this kind of a spot, as it’s been set up for a long enough time. I’m not sure how well this goes for Gunther at a show this big, but it should be good for a showcase for both of them. At the same time, at least it feels unique and that’s better than just having him smash through someone as usual.

Bella Twins/Paige vs. Fatal Influence

Ok. You’ve known where this was going the second that Nikki wasn’t able to wrestle at Wrestlemania. They haven’t tried to hide the story in any way and the entire Brie/Paige title reign was just a bridge to get us here. The whole thing has been about the Bellas getting their big title win because it’s been far too long before they get their big moment. That’s what we’re waiting on and this is just a means to get us to that end.

Of course I’ll go with the Bellas and Paige winning here, because it’s the BELLAS and therefore we have to treat them like the all time legends that they have always been. So what if Fatal Influence are the new Women’s Tag Team Champions? The Bellas need the win more and while I’d love to be wrong, it’s hard to fathom that this winds up going anywhere else because of course.

Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar

There are some matches where you know what you’re going to get and it’s just exciting to see it coming. That’s what we have here as the two of them are going to beat the living daylights out of each other. While I still do not like the whole King Of The Ring thing with Femi, at least they should be in for a heck of a fight here as Lesnar should know exactly what to do with this one. He certainly seems interested in making Femi look like a killer and this is the best place to do it.

In theory, this should be Femi being the one to finally beat Lesnar in his own big match and I’ll go with that happening. Having Lesnar beat Femi once was questionable enough and I really don’t want to see it happen again. The good thing is I don’t think they’ll do that here so I’ll take Femi to win. I have no idea what either of them do next, but it’s Lesnar vs. Femi in the Cell. That’s all you really need yes?

Smackdown World Title: CM Punk(c) vs. Cody Rhodes

I’m assuming this is headlining but honestly it’s far from a guarantee. The interesting thing is they could easily go with either of them winning and that’s not a place you find yourself in very often. The problem though is Rhodes is in something of a dry spell right now. He’s just kind of there as a top star and there isn’t much about him that makes me want to see what he’s doing next. Granted it doesn’t help that while he’s a good talker, he’s in there with one of the best of all time. How is he supposed to survive that?

Honestly this is kind of a coin flip for me, and while they have planted the seeds of Rhodes turning heel (as per Paul Heyman a month or two ago), I don’t think they’re ready to do that yet. With that not being the case, I’ll take Punk to retain here. You don’t want him losing in his two biggest title matches of the year and really, I think we need a pretty long break from Rhodes atop the title picture. He’ll be fine and there are a bunch of people he could face, but it doesn’t need to be for the World Title right now. Punk retains in a match that really could go either way.

Overall Thoughts

The potential is absolutely here for this, with the World Title match likely being awesome and Femi vs. Lesnar having all of the hype needed. You also have the Women’s Title as a potential sleeper hit and Aldis vs. Gunther should be good. I’m not wild on the two night structure, but the pieces are absolutely in the right place for this to work.

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

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Ring Of Honor
Date: July 31, 2026
Location: WJCT Studios, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s time for the regular show after Tuesday’s bonus show. In this case that means we have three weeks to go before Death Before Dishonor and it’s time to start getting the card ready. Hopefully that is covered this week, though we already have the Pure Title match as Lee Moriarty is defending against Angelico. Let’s get to it.

Here are Tuesday’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a look at Moriarty vs. Angelico, with the focus still being on their first match nearly two years ago. I’m really not sure how big of a deal that actually is.

Pure Rules Title: Lee Moriarty vs. Angelico

Moriarty is defending. They fight over wrist control to start and Angelico spins out of a wristlock. Angelico’s full nelson is countered into a cravate, which allows Moriarty to go after the arm again. Angelico slips out of that as well and does his dance before pulling him into a leglock, which has Moriarty burning his first rope break.

Back up and Moriarty spins around into the Border City Stretch, which has Angelico using his own first rope break. Moriarty works on the arm and fingers so Angelico goes to the ropes for the second time. With that not working, Moriarty loads up a Scorpion Deathlock but reaches down and grabs Angelico’s head before leaning back and stretching…well pretty much everything.

That’s the third rope break from Angelico, which thankfully means that I don’t have to try to describe that nutty hold again. Angelico grabs something like Konnan’s old Tequila Sunrise to send Moriarty to the rope again, leaving him with one. A triangle choke doesn’t get Moriarty very far and Angelico pulls him into…we’ll say it’s the Rings Of Saturn but with Angelico using his legs. Moriarty burns his last rope break and they trade some rollups for two each. Moriarty’s Border City Stretch goes on again and Angelico gives up at 12:31.

Rating: B. Yeah there were some cool spots in there (some of those submissions were absolutely insane) but it’s the same kind of thing that we’ve seen from Moriarty literally for years now. It would be a bit better if Angelico was built up for the title shot but it was basically just “they had a match about two years ago”. Do you know how many pure matches Angelico has had since then? One, which he lost. It’s really not that hard to set up a title match, but instead we get “Hey remember what we did almost two years ago? We’re doing it again.” Try harder than that.

Bandido is asked about his World Title defense at Death Before Dishonor against…Nick Wayne. This brings in Wayne, who promises to win the title, though Bandido says Wayne has no honor. Bandido promises to show why he’s the most wanted. I’m not sure what that means but it’s not like logic matters around this title anyway.

The World Title match for one of the few PPVs that ROH does every year was announced in a random backstage segment between two people who have no history together. Not one of the three or four people who have beaten Bandido on an AEW PPV lately, because everyone in the company wants to be “insert name here” Two Belts, unless it’s a Ring Of Honor title because who could possibly want one of those? Oh and Wayne was last seen losing on Dynamite, because that’s how you build up a World Title challenger. Good grief this place is ridiculous sometimes.

Viva Van vs. Emi Sakura

Sakura knocks her into the corner to start but Van is back up with a running hurricanrana. Sakura goes outside…and appears to be crying, but it’s just a ruse so Sakura can send her into the steps. Back in and Sakura hits a running crossbody in the corner but Van kicks her away. A missile dropkick gives Van two but she can’t get the Ocean Cyclone suplex. Van is back up with an ax kick and they both block and counter quite a few things. Finally Sakura grabs the Queen’s Gambit for the pin at 8:15.

Rating: B-. This is a good example of where you need a better explanation of things around here. Sakura hasn’t wrestled in AEW since 2025 and hasn’t wrestled in ROH since 2023 (this is her fifth ever match here). It came off like we’re just supposed to remember her like she’s a regular and that isn’t the case. She comes in, she works a few matches, and she leaves. It isn’t a case of her talent, but rather she’s gone for long stretches of time and that doesn’t really work in wrestling. Tell us, or better yet, show us, a bit more about her.

The Kingdom uses AI to pick their partners for tonight: the Grizzled Young Veterans! This gives them an 87% chance of winning the match, but the Veterans aren’t sure about this AI stuff. Neither am I, but it’s certainly topical at the moment so points for something new.

Diamante vs. Allie Katch

Diamante grabs a headlock to start but gets pulled down into a quickly broken headlock. Back up and Diamante pulls her out of the corner and fires off some crossface shots to the jaw. A hard whip into the corner lets Diamante pose a bit but Katch is back up with a seated senton. The cannonball gives Katch two but Diamante is right back with a Stunner. Katch’s enziguri gets two more but Diamante gives her a hot shot into One In The Chamber to give Diamante the pin at 4:52.

Rating: C+. I still like Katch and could go for having her around to do some more stuff around here. At the same time, Diamante is still good enough in the ring most of the time but she only gets so many chances to show what she can do as the third person in Athena’s group. The match was a pretty good back and forth showcase too so I’ll take this.

Post match Diamante stays on her but Queen Aminata runs in for the save.

Caprice Coleman sits down with Shane Taylor, who doesn’t like Coleman’s previous suggestions that Shane Taylor Promotions do gangster things. Coleman apologizes and asks Taylor about his matches with Jon Moxley. Taylor brags about laying out Moxley multiple times, which no one else has done. He likes finding the diamonds in the rough and he and his team trust each other. That’s how they’ll accomplish their goals but he wants to remain the person he was raised as being. As usual, Taylor is quite the talker when things are toned down a bit and I could see him having a future as a commentator.

AR Fox vs. Soleil

They go with the grappling to start and Soleil rolls backwards, all the way out to the floor. Back in and Fox uses a handstand to block a cutter (it was cool when I saw him do it live at the WrestleCon Supershow and it’s still cool here). They nip up into a standoff and Soleil flips away and hits a Meteora, landing on his feet before he hits the ground.

Back up and Fox rolls through into a neckbreaker before elbowing away in the corner. The elbows continue against the barricade and we’re off to the chinlock back inside. That’s broken up and they hit stereo crossbodies to leave both of them down. Soleil is up with a high crossbody for two but Fox is right back with a rolling cutter. A fisherman’s buster gives Fox two more but he misses the 450. They go up top until Soleil is shoved away, allowing Fox to give him a jumping Stunner. Lo Mein Pain into the 450 finishes Soleil at 11:00.

Rating: B. Fox has grown on me like few others around here as he wrestles a very different style but does it so well. That makes him stand out, along with being so smooth in the ring. This was good stuff as Soleil is as unique as it gets around here and the whole thing meshed together rather well. Good stuff here.

Athena is sick of people trying to come after her, including Hazuki. They can have their title match at Death Before Dishonor. In case you’re wondering, Hazuki hasn’t wrestled in ROH since before AEW existed and has wrestled four times in AEW. At least she had a brawl with Athena in her match this week on Collision. Athena defending against the woman who beat her in the Owen Hart Cup? You should know better than that.

Steph de Lander vs. Rachael Ellering

Pure Rules and de Lander uses her first rope break in less than twenty seconds. Ellering takes her down without much trouble and hits a basement dropkick to the head. The second rope break is quickly used, as is de Lander’s punch to the face for the warning. Back up and de Lander kicks her in the face but Ellering is right back with a spinning elbow. Something like the dragon sleeper makes de Lander use her last rope break. Ellering tries a charge so de Lander hides behind the referee, with Ellering throwing him down. That lets de Lander get in another right hand and it’s a sitout F5 for the pin on Ellering at 4:49.

Rating: C. I can absolutely go for someone who cheats in this division as that’s not something you often see. De Lander cheating every chance she could makes a lot of sense and I could go for seeing what she can do in the division. It’s not like there is anything else interesting going on in the division.

Juice Robinson has glistening nipples and is coming to ROH.

Trish Adora vs. Angelica Risk

Adora sends her into the corner for a running splash to start before pulling Risk out of the air. A bridging northern lights suplex gets two and it’s time to go after Risk’s arm. The sit on the back double arm crank, followed by the rapid fire hips to the face in the corner. Risk is back up with a hurricanrana faceplant into a 619 and they trade some rollups for two each. Back up and Adora kicks her in the face, setting up the Lariat Tubman to finish Risk at 5:55.

Rating: C+. Adora got to do her usual stuff here and as a result it was entertaining while it lasted. It’s also just the kind of stuff that we’ve seen from her for a long time now and that kind of puts a limit on what she can do. That’s not likely to change and unfortunately that’s going to keep her in the same spot for however long she’s around.

Steph de Lander is coming for the Women’s Pure Rules Title. She’s already gotten a better build than Angelico so why not.

Vertvixen vs. Julissa Mexa

Mexa grabs the leg and rolls around a lot, allowing her to dance. Vertvixen grabs the leg though and slaps on a half crab, followed by a running boot in the corner. Back up and they trade some forearms until Mexa gets up top for a missile dropkick. Mexa strikes away but charges into a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. They go up top at the same time and strike it out, where Mexa grabs a super Samoan Driver for the pin at 5:29.

Rating: C+. Mexa has been around here a few times before and she’s done well enough in those limited appearances. She has some good charisma and that finish was quite the crash landing. Vertvixen continues to be someone who feels like she could be something if given the chance but that has yet to happen.

Nigel McGuinness wants the Pure Rules Title and is willing to put his ROH career on the line.

Von Erichs/Bustah And The Brain vs. Kingdom/Grizzled Young Veterans

Hold on though as AI says that Drake should start against Price, who takes him down with an early wristlock. Gibson saves Drake from a suplex and it’s off to Taven for a clothesline and dropkick to Oliver. The Von Erichs come in for a bunch of slams so the villains bail out to the floor. Back in and Gibson takes over on Ross, with a cravate sending him face first into the mat. Bennett comes in for a front facelock but Ross gets out and dropkicks his way to freedom.

Everything breaks down and Gibson gives Oliver a Death Valley Driver. Price hits a pop up dropkick to Bennett and spins over into a crossbody to Taven (that was awesome). The Von Erichs hit stereo cannonballs on the Veterans and the Claws go on. That’s broken up though and the distracted referee misses the low blow to Marshall, with Drake getting a rollup for the pin at 10:05.

Rating: B-. As much as my eyes rolled at seeing the Von Erichs back, the match wound up being good and I could go with the AI Kingdom as a thing. It’s been thirty five years since the York Foundation (oh dear) so why not? Go with something to see if it works, as it’s not like the Kingdom has been lighting things up since they returned. At least the numbers backed them up this time.

Zayda Steel vs. Sara Leon

Steel takes her down by the arm to start and Leon is surprised. For some reason Leon is surprised again when she gets pulled into an armbar and Steel wrestles her down again without much trouble. Steel misses something off the top and gets snapmared down into a running kick to the head. Leon’s kick from the apron is blocked though and Steel starts in on the leg, followed by a scorpion kick. A hanging Codebreaker gets two but Leon rolls into a German suplex to drop Steel hard. Steel is able to block a second attempt though and a leglock finishes Leon at 5:55.

Rating: C+. Steel worked on the leg, countered a move and then put on a leg hold for the win. It’s not much of a steel but it’s certainly better than what you get a lot of the time. That’s all you need here and at least Steel got a win, even if it’s against someone who might not be so well known around here. It’s better than nothing and it might lead to…oh give me a break.

Deonna Purrazzo is down to face Steph de Lander at Death Before Dishonor.

Juice Robinson vs. Anthony Henry

Henry wrestles him down to start and works on the arm but Robinson grabs a waistlock to cut that off. It’s enough for Henry to need a breather on the floor before coming back in for a dragon screw legwhip. Robinson has to bail to the ropes to escape a leglock but a backsplash hits raised knees.

Henry goes right back to the knee so Robinson snaps off a spinebuster. Now the backsplash connects for two but Henry knocks him down again, setting up the Figure Four. They slap it out until the hold is broken and Robinson is up to snap off the jabs. The forward DDT pins Henry at 7:54.

Rating: C+. Yeah fine. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to think about this as it’s basically just a guest star from AEW showing up here for what is likely a one off match. As usual that’s hardly exciting but Robinson is so quirky and odd that he winds up keeping me interested. Not bad for a match, but as usual, a completely random choice for a main event.

Overall Rating: C+. As usual, the show was far too long and did little more than showcase how random this place is. McGuinness and de Lander technically earn title shots while Nick Wayne is just handed one while Hazuki at least interacted with the champion to get hers. It feels like every story has its own rules and that’s not exactly a great way to run a show. At least things should have something close to a focus for the next three weeks, but as usual there was a bunch of stuff that felt like it was here because Tony Khan has to film everything and air it as we approach three and a half hours of ROH this week. How lucky.

Results
Lee Moriarty b. Angelico – Border City Stretch
Emi Sakura b. Viva Van – Queen’s Gambit
Diamante b. Allie Katch – One In The Chamber
AR Fox b. Soleil – 450
Steph de Lander b. Rachael Ellering – Sitout F5
Trish Adora b. Angelica Risk – Lariat Tubman
Julissa Mexa b. Vertvixen – Super Samoan Driver
Kingdom/Grizzled Young Veterans b. Bustah And The Brain/Von Erichs – Rollup to Marshall
Zayda Steel b. Sara Leon – Leglock
Juice Robinson b. Anthony Henry – Forward DDT

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

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Smackdown
Date: July 31, 2026
Location: Resch Center, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett

We’ll wrap up the build to Summerslam with the last show before Summerslam Night One and the next to last show before Summerslam Night Two. That is likely going to mean a big push towards CM Punk vs. Cody Rhodes, which will serve as the Smackdown main event. Other than that, we have a winner take all double Tag Team Title match. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Finn Balor to get things going. Around this time of the year, he always thinks about 2016 because it was the peak of his career, but the next day, he was right back to the lowest. Now it’s ten years later and he is close to getting back to the top. This brings out Sami Zayn, who respects Balor but knows he should be in the main event instead.

Zayn calls out a fan’s sign saying he wanted CM Punk to retain because Punk is now just a corporate poster boy. He wants to take the title from someone who stole it from him but Balor wants Zayn to come say something face to face. That brings Zayn to the ring and while he respects Balor, this is a lot bigger than him. Balor brings up trying to get back here for ten years, with Zayn responding that if it took ten years, maybe he should take the hint.

Balor points out that it took Zayn ten years to get to the title and he never gave up. Zayn isn’t going to fight him though because he’s a good guy. Instead here’s Gunther to jump both of them because he is the rightful #1 contender. Cue Adam Pearce, with Gunther asking what he needs to do to get what is rightfully his.

Balor and Zayn are up to go after Gunther but he fights right back against the two of them. Cue Nick Aldis to go after Gunther and even get him in a quick King’s Lynn Cloverleaf. Balor and Zayn needed something like this to set up their match, which kind of came out of nowhere last week. Aldis looked good out here and Summerslam should be a hit.

Tiffany Stratton/Chelsea Green vs. B-Fab/Michin

Jade Cargill is here too and B-Fab starts with Stratton. A quick dropkick puts B-Fab in the ropes and it’s off to Green to take over as we take an early break. We come back with Stratton and Michin coming back in so the former can clean house. The Swanton gives Stratton two and everything breaks down, with Cargill posting Stratton. Green is back in with a missile dropkick to Michin but the Unprettier is broken up. The BTA finishes Green at 6:51.

Rating: C. They didn’t have much time here but the ending worked well, with Stratton being a wrecking ball until Cargill cut her off. The match was a surprising win for the Baddies, as they typically are just there to make other people look good. At least Stratton and Green are seemingly having fun together, which is something for Stratton to do for the time being. It worked for Charlotte and Alexa Bliss.

Speaking of Charlotte, here she is to go after Cargill as the other four brawl off.

Fraxiom and Rey Fenix are here and run into Judgment Day. Fenix vs. JD McDonagh is set for tonight.

The Tongas talk about being too obsessed with doing Solo Sikoa’s issues and ignoring what they were supposed to be doing. This brings in HAKU, their father, who wants his sons to remember who they are. Well that was an amazing cameo.

Tag Team Titles/AAA Tag Team Titles: Damian Priest/R-Truth vs. War Raiders

Titles for titles. Priest and Erik slug it out to start and R-Truth is back in for a crossbody/Lie Detector combination. That earns R-Truth a trip to the floor and a big knee to the face knocks him silly. Ivar crushes R-Truth against the barricade and we take an early break. We come back with a pop up powerslam planting R-Truth. The referee gets shoved down by the Raiders so Priest comes in…and shoves him down too, which is a double DQ at 6:06. Not enough shown to rate but this was pretty much nothing, with the whole thing feeling like “we gave you the match and that’s enough”.

Post match the brawl goes into the crowd but the Tongas show up to wreck both of them. They hold up all four belts and Haku appears to approve.

We look at CM Punk and Cody Rhodes almost getting into a fight at a house show last night.

Punk knows that he and Rhodes have been friends for a long time but now it’s time to fight, whether he’s a friend or not. Trick Williams comes in to say he’s coming for the title and Punk likes that idea. But he’ll beat Williams anyway.

Nick Aldis talks about how his first dream was to be a wrestler and we hear about some of his time in the ring, including a look at some of his success in TNA (and he did have quite a bit). Then he was offered the chance to be GM of Smackdown and he was ready to give it his all. Then along came Gunther, and now he’s going to be a wrestler again. Good, intense promo here that also showed fans something they might not have known about Aldis before.

Here is Trick Williams for a chat. He isn’t happy with Baron Corbin coming back with a shaved head all polished up, looking like a “big a** Tommy Pickles”. Williams wants and receives Corbin out here right now, with Corbin promising to make Williams feel like he’s in quicksand. Williams says they both know Corbin isn’t doing anything so he wants the fight right now. And that’s a no, of course.

Video on Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar in the Cell.

Summerslam rundown.

AAA Cruiserweight Title: Rey Fenix vs. JD McDonagh

Fenix is defending and starts with an early wristdrag. The threat of a kick to the face sends McDonagh outside so Dominik Mysterio offers a quick distraction. Fenix misses a dive and gets taken out with an Asai moonsault as we take an early break. We come back with Fenix ducking a shot to the head and grabbing a Death Valley Driver for two.

Fenix strikes away and hits a handspring cutter but charges into a Spanish Fly. Mysterio’s distraction lets McDonagh crotch Fenix on top and that’s an ejection. This brings out Danhausen to load up the Curse so Mysterio jumps him…and is promptly destroyed by the Minihausens. The distraction lets Fenix kick him in the head, setting up the Mexican MuscleBuster to retain at 10:31.

Rating: C+. I still don’t really see the need for another promotion’s Cruiserweight Title on this show but it’s a good enough way to fill in some time. At the same time, it was at least somewhat just background noise for the Danhausen/Mysterio stuff. Good match of course, but the AAA stuff is only so interesting outside of AAA.

Long video on Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns. All this really did was show how much Reigns has destroyed him on the microphone in recent weeks.

Women’s US Title Ladder Qualifying Match: Lash Legend vs. Giulia

Legend misses the pump kick to start but Legend catches her in something close to an Air Raid Crash. Giulia’s running knee gets two and she spins into a guillotine. That’s broken up and the Lash Extension finishes for Legend at 2:00. What in the name of GiveDivasAChance was that?

We get a quick video on CM Punk vs. Cody Rhodes.

Here is Rhodes for the big final speech but Punk interrupts, patting Rhodes on top of the head on the way to the ring. Punk brings up the (accidental) elbow to the face at last night’s house show but Rhodes suggests that Punk getting a title shot in Chicago was quite the lucky situation.

After hitting his catchphrase, Punk says he isn’t about to say no and talk like a bench player like Sami Zayn who thinks he’s a starter. If he’s offered a title shot in Chicago, of course he’s going to take it. For Summerslam though, Punk has to know who the better wrestler is. You know, for business purposes.

Rhodes hits his own catchphrase and talks about the meaning of the title Punk is wearing. He brings up Punk’s line about being here to make money instead of friends. Punk says it might not be a good Saturday for Rhodes when it comes to losing a friend. Rhodes doesn’t want to worry about Saturday so let’s see what we’re doing tonight. They take their time sizing each other up and the fight is on. The brawl goes outside and they fight on the announcers’ table and floor to end the show. This was pretty run of the mill stuff but it’s another case where the feud is set.

Overall Rating: C. This was the often annoying show right before the big pay per view, with not much happening in the ring (such as the rather lame Tag Team Title match) and the main focus being on the talking. The problem is the talking was only so interesting, as the matches are already set. I liked the closing brawl, but this was definitely not a show you needed to watch in full. Except for Haku, as he’ll eat your face if you don’t.

Results
B-Fab/Michin b. Tiffany Stratton/Chelsea Green – BTA to Green
Damian Priest/R-Truth vs. War Raiders went to a double DQ when both teams shoved the referee
Rey Fenix b. JD McDonagh – Mexican MuscleBuster
Lash Legend b. Giulia – Lash Extension

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

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Summerslam 2024
Date: August 3, 2024
Location: Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 57,791
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Pat McAfee

This is the biggest Summerslam to date and that should make for a fun look back. Believe it or not, the main event features Cody Rhodes, but we also have the big in-ring return of CM Punk after his latest injury. On top of that, Gunther is challenging Damian Priest for the Raw World Title so let’s get to it.

I was in the stadium for this show, sitting in the lower bowl with the entrance on my right.

Here is HHH to get things going and introduce Jelly Roll for a live performance of “Liar”. This also serves as the opening video, with clips of the people involved in the show’s bigger matches. Roll also performed God Bless America before the show went on the air. Non-wrestling note: Roll deserves credit for losing so much weight in the last year. He looks like a different person from this year compared to the build for the following year’s Summerslam.

The Miz, the host for the show, is with the fans. That’s pretty much going to be all he does over the course of the night.

Raw Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley vs. Liv Morgan

Ripley, with Dominik Mysterio, is challenging. Morgan injured Ripley’s shoulder earlier in the year, causing her to vacate the title and has also suggested that she’s going to steal Mysterio from Ripley. Morgan runs away to start and Ripley pauses to vent some frustration on the floor. Back in and Morgan runs away again, this time pausing in front of Green Shirt guy.

They get back in again and Ripley head fakes her and the chase is over. Ripley knocks her back to the floor and the beating is on against the barricade. Ripley sends her into the steps and the confidence is high. Morgan is taken back in but manages to send the shoulder into the post, leaving Ripley in a lot of trouble. Ripley screams that IT’S OUT but insists that she does not want the match stopped.

They go outside again, with Morgan kicking her into the steps as Ripley is in trouble. The armbar goes on but Ripley uses the good arm to slam Morgan down and roll outside. Mysterio shoves Ripley out of the way of a dive, leaving Ripley to ram her bad shoulder into the announcers’ table. The pain on her face goes away and Morgan realizes what just happened.

Back in and Ripley unloads on her with right hands before grabbing the Prism Trap. Morgan gets in another shot to the arm though and tries a cross armbreaker. Ripley powers out and powerbombs her down for two but Morgan is back with a headbutt. Morgan snaps her throat first across the rope and it’s time for a chair. Ripley rams her shoulder into the buckle again and grabs Riptide, but she looks at the chair instead of covering.

The chair is loaded up but Mysterio takes it away. That earns him a death glare from Ripley, but he reminds her about the title. The distraction lets Morgan ram Ripley into Mysterio and hit Oblivion for two. Mysterio slides the chair back in and gets on the apron, which is enough for Oblivion onto the chair to finish Ripley at 15:57.

Rating: B. This was a good story with Morgan having to find a way to survive against the monster Ripley. Ultimately there is only so much that can be done with people of such different size and power, but the shoulder was a great way to go. The ending was a big twist as well, with Mysterio finally turning on Ripley. It continued what was already a good feud, as Ripley again feels like she can carry anything.

Also of note: Ripley’s facial expressions don’t get enough credit. She has those eyes that make everything she does feel intense, but at the same time, she can tell all kinds of stories with just the look on her face. Not everyone can do that and she does it as well as anyone going today.

Post match Mysterio is smiling and helps Morgan up before kissing her. Ripley looks like she’s ready to kill them both (and she would sure try).

We recap Sami Zayn vs. Bron Breakker. Zayn is the champion and Breakker is the new monster force of nature. Breakker barely lost at Money In The Bank and now it’s a rematch with a more focused challenger.

Damian Priest storms into the Judgment Day clubhouse looking for Dominik Mysterio. Finn Balor says cool down because he’s got this. Priest is really not happy.

Intercontinental Title: Sami Zayn vs. Bron Breakker

Breakker is challenging and Cole lists off how many legends won their first Intercontinental Title at Summerslam, including Ultimate Warrior in 1990. Breakker misses a spear at the start and hits the post before crashing out to the floor. Zayn hits a big flip dive but misses something coming off the top, allowing Breakker to hit a running corner clothesline.

The Helluva Kick misses so Breakker blasts him with a jumping clothesline. The super Frankensteiner gives Zayn two but the middle rope bulldog is countered into a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Zayn exploders him into the corner, only to walk into a spear. The Super Spear gives Breakker the pin at 5:43.

Rating: C+. That’s exactly what this should have been, with Zayn trying to run and outsmart Breakker but ultimately getting overwhelmed by the power. This was about Breakker getting a big win on the major stage and Zayn was the sacrifice to make that happen. Good stuff here, with no reason for it to go any longer.

The Slim Jim Savage Moment Of The Summer is Drew McIntyre laying out CM Punk and taking his bracelet.

We recap LA Knight vs. Logan Paul for the US Title. Knight is on a roll and wants the US Title but Paul won’t show up. Knight even went to Paul’s house and got in his pool, which was enough to get Paul to come back. The brawl was on and it’s time for the big showdown in Paul’s hometown.

US Title: Logan Paul vs. LA Knight

Knight is challenging. Paul comes to the ring with rapper Machine Gun Kelly but Knight rides into the back in Paul’s Prime truck, which he had recently stole. The window has been bothering him all day though so he puts a steel pole through said window. The brawl starts on the floor with Paul getting the better of things and loading up the announcers’ table. Knight fights back and sends him into the table over and over (ignore the camera angle showing that Paul’s head wasn’t coming close).

A torture rack neckbreaker sends Paul HARD onto the table and they’re both down. They get inside for the opening bell (because all of that was pre-match stuff) and Knight hammers away but the jumping elbow hits knees. Knight gets sent hard into the corner and Paul gets to mock both Knight and the crowd. The hand to the ear sets up a big boot into a legdrop for two and a tilt-a-whirl slam plants Knight again. An Alley Oop gives Paul two but he spends too much time mocking Knight and walks into the powerslam.

Knight is back up to hammer and stomp away in the corner. A Side Effect plants Paul and the jumping top rope elbow gets two. Back up and Paul sends him to the floor for the springboard moonsault (that looked GREAT) and a big crash. Back in and the big right hand is blocked but Knight’s BFT is countered into a backslide for two. Now the big right hand can knock Knight silly….for two, and Paul’s confidence is suddenly shattered.

Another BFT is blocked but Knight catches him on top for a superplex, which almost goes VERY bad as Paul almost landed on his head, for two. They go outside again where Knight beats up some of Paul’s goons. Paul makes the save and has Machine Gun Kelly give him the brass knuckles. A quick shot to the head staggers Knight but the Buckshot Lariat is countered into a BFT to give Knight the title at 12:02.

Rating: B. The result was what mattered the most here, as Knight absolutely had to win a title at some point. Paul had held the thing long enough and there was no reason to keep the title on him over Knight. As usual, Paul got to do his athletic stuff here and ultimately he put Knight over as he should have. Knight needed this one and it couldn’t have been put together much better.

Some wrestlers shill Manscape products.

We recap Bayley defending the Smackdown Women’s Title against Nia Jax. Bayley won the title at Wrestlemania and Jax is the Queen Of The Ring, earning her the title shot. The idea here is that Bayley is smarter and capable of capitalizing on Jax’s mistakes. At the same time, Tiffany Stratton is running around with the Money In The Bank briefcase and teasing a cash in.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Nia Jax vs. Bayley

Bayley is defending. Jax starts fast with the power but can’t hit a powerbomb. Bayley gets knocked into the corner and then thrown into another corner before Jax sits on her in the ropes. Back up and Jax drops her throat first across the top rope but Bayley avoids a charge to send Jax outside. The big legdrop only hits apron for Jax and Bayley dives off the steps to hammer away. Back in and Jax crotches her on top, only for Bayley to come back with a guillotine choke (how she beat Jax at Takeover: London back in 2015).

Jax powers out but misses a middle rope legdrop, allowing Bayley to hit the Bayley To Belly for a quick two. Bayley gets knocked down again though and the Annihilator connects for two more. An annoyed Jax slams Bayley’s head into the mat and then headbutts her into the corner. Back up and Jax misses a charge into the post to give Bayley a needed breather.

Bayley’s dive is cut off and Jax drives her into the corner for the hip attack. Another Annihilator is broken up and Bayley hits a heck of a powerbomb (the fans approve) out of the corner for the huge crash. The top rope elbow connects….and here is Tiffany Stratton. Bayley knocks Stratton off the apron and kicks Jax in the face but Jax is back with a pair of powerbombs. The Annihilator finishes Bayley for the title at 12:33, with Stratton never cashing in.

Rating: B-. There was a grand total of no way that Bayley was going to leave as champion here and the only question was whether or not Stratton was going to cash in. Jax had been built up as the unstoppable monster and she had to win the title at some point in there. That’s all this needed to be, with the Annihilator at the end being a good way to make it look like Bayley was destroyed.

We recap CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre. Punk has been out of action since being injured by McIntyre at the Royal Rumble. This resulted in the feud of the year, despite Punk not being able to wrestle. Punk cost McIntyre a pair of World Titles so McIntyre attacked him and stole a fan made bracelet that meant a lot to Punk, making it very personal. One of these moments involved costing McIntyre his Money In The Bank cash in, which ultimately cost Seth Rollins a title shot of his own. Now Rollins is the guest referee for Punk and McIntyre’s first match. Match order aside, this is the real main event of the show.

Drew McIntyre vs. CM Punk

Seth Rollins is guest referee. They immediately slug it out at the bell with Punk taking him into the corner for the stomping. Rollins has to pull Punk off and that isn’t likely to go well. McIntyre fights back up and strikes away but a clothesline puts him out on the floor. Punk’s clothesline off the apron connects as the fight moves outside, leaving Rollins to chill on the top rope. Rollins dances to the fans singing his song as McIntyre swings Punk into the announcers’ table.

McIntyre catapults him into the ring frame and adds a snap suplex for two back inside. The overhead belly to belly gets two more as Punk is in trouble. Punk strikes away and is quickly caught in a sitout powerbomb for two. With that not working, McIntyre grabs a chair but Rollins takes it away at the last second. Rollins swings but almost hits Punk, only to pull up. A rollup gives Punk a delayed two and he glares at Rollins, who is back with a neckbreaker for two more.

McIntyre pulls out the bracelet and puts it on, only for the Claymore to be broken up. Punk strikes away and hits the top rope elbow before grabbing the Anaconda Vice. Punk makes the mistake of going for the bracelet though, allowing McIntyre to come back with a Claymore for two. Rollins picks up the bracelet to keep it safe and Punk fights back, even calling for the GTS…but then he notices the bracelet on Rollins’ wrist.

McIntyre knocks Punk into Rollins but the Futureshock is countered into the GTS. The very delayed count gets two so Punk yells at Rollins, even insulting “YOUR STUPID SABU PANTS!”. After that way too low blow, Rollins screams about how this is his company and they don’t want Punk here. That earns Rollins a GTS (thankfully the pants weren’t damaged) and Punk takes the bracelet back. The distraction lets McIntyre hit the Claymore for the pin at 16:58.

Rating: B+. This had the big fight feeling that it needed to have and the ending kept Punk vs. McIntyre going while also setting up Punk vs. Rollins. What mattered the most here though was getting Punk back in the ring, as you can only have him sitting on the sidelines for so long. The match was rather good as expected and Rollins was a rather nice addition.

Post match McIntyre steals the bracelet back to keep things going.

Damian Priest apologizes to Finn Balor for yelling earlier but Balor says it’s cool. It’s Judgment Day first and Balor wants Priest to go do his thing. If Priest needs him out there, say the world. Priest is cool with this.

We recap Damian Priest vs. Gunther. Priest won the title at Wrestlemania and is proud of how far he has come. Gunther believes it is his destiny to be the star and got the title shot by winning King Of The Ring. The idea here is a culture clash, as Gunther has called Priest street trash, which hasn’t gone well.

Raw World Title: Gunther vs. Damian Priest

Priest is defending and slugs Gunther into the corner to start fast. South Of Heaven is blocked so Priest hits the lifting Downward Spiral to send Gunther outside. That’s fine with Gunther, who suplexes Priest onto the apron to take over before chopping away. A quick suplex gives Gunther two and he wins an exchange of forearms. Priest catches him going up though and pulls him back down, setting up the Broken Arrow for two.

Priest’s kicks to the chest have Gunther bleeding but Gunther is back up with a pair of very hard clotheslines for two. A boot to the face drops Priest again as the fans are trying to get behind him. Gunther kicks him down to cut off the comeback attempt and here is Finn Balor to cheer for Priest. That earns Balor a shot from Gunther but Priest takes the straps down to make the comeback.

One heck of a lariat hits Gunther and the Razor’s Edge rocks him again. South Of Heaven connects…but Balor puts the foot on the rope. Priest sees the replay on the screen and knows what Balor has done, leaving Balor sneering up at him. Gunther grabs the sleeper but Priest manages to get out. A powerbomb sets up another sleeper though and Priest is out at 16:35.

Rating: B. They beat each other up and the match was a hard hitting fight with Gunther getting the title as he should have. At the same time, the Priest/Balor story is going to make for a good personal feud as Priest is going to want revenge. Gunther needed to win the title here though, as he had dominated the midcard for so long that it was time to try him in the main event.

Here are Miz and R-Truth to announce the attendance of 57,791. A-Town Down Under interrupts, with Austin Theory mocking Jelly Roll. Grayson Waller isn’t having that though, because Roll is the only person to make music worse than R-Truth’s. Somehow R-Truth thinks A-Town Down Under is the Rock N Roll Express but Miz explains things. Roll gets in the ring with a chair and the villains are chaired in the back. Waller gets chokeslammed (and a decent one at that), followed by the triple Five Knuckle Shuffle. This was fine.

We recap Cody Rhodes defending the Smackdown world Title against Solo Sikoa. Rhodes defeated Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania to triumph over the Bloodline but Sikoa has reformed the team in his image and wants the title back. Rhodes is of course fine with this, even with his friends having been taken out so he’s all alone here.

Smackdown World Title: Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa

Rhodes is defending under Bloodline Rules (anything goes) and we see him getting off his bus to take Pharaoh towards the ring. Ont he way there, he runs into Arn Anderson (fresh away from AEW), who gives him a pep talk and says Rhodes has some friends here. They start with some trash talk before Sikoa runs him over with a shoulder and does the point. Rhodes fights up and tries the drop down right hand but Sikoa is ready for him. The threat of the Samoan Spike sends Rhodes outside and we reset again.

The Disaster Kick sends Sikoa outside, where he takes over again as the brawling isn’t working for Rhodes. Back in and a spinwheel kick into the Samoan drop has Rhodes down again. Rhodes blocks the Samoan Spike by kicking him in the hand though and a clothesline sends Sikoa outside. This time Sikoa is allowed back in, where he counters a Disaster Kick into a sitout powerbomb for two more.

The running Umaga Attack connects but Sikoa has to reverse a Pedigree attempt into Spinning Solo for another near fall. The nerve hold keeps Rhodes in trouble and Sikoa ties him in the Tree of Woe for the running headbutt. A second connects as well but the third misses, allowing Rhodes to hit kind of a moonsault crossbody. Sikoa plants him down for two more but Rhodes catches him on top with a superplex.

Sikoa’s Cross Rhodes is reversed into the real thing….and here are Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa to jump Rhodes. The big beatdown is on but Sikoa only gets two. Cue Kevin Owens for the save but he’s beaten down as well. Randy Orton returns (making sure to high five fans on the way) and helps Owens make the comeback. A powerslam sets up the Swanton to Sikoa but Cross Rhodes only gets two. Owens, Orton and the Tongas brawl to the back so Rhodes hits Sikoa in the head with the steps.

Sikoa comes back with a spear for two but the running Umaga Attack only hits steps. Rhodes hits the first two Cross Rhodes and tries a third, only for Jacob Fatu to run in for the save. Fatu wrecks Rhodes and hits a Superfly Splash through the announcers’ table but seems to hurt his own leg in the process. Back in and Sikoa’s Superfly Splash gets two but somehow Rhodes hits a Cody Cutter….and none of that matters because Roman Reigns is back. Reigns immediately Superman Punches Sikoa and gives him a spear before stopping to look at Rhodes. Reigns leaves though and Cross Rhodes retains the title at 29:14.

Rating: C+. The run-ins at the end made it better but dang this was long. They could have easily cut off about ten minutes and done the same thing. The real point here was Reigns running in for the save/his revenge, which made for a long build. It doesn’t help that Sikoa isn’t quite good enough to hang on this stage, but at least the last ten minutes or so were very good.

Overall Rating: B. It’s a good show, though it doesn’t have that one big match to really make it into a great one. The Reigns return and Punk vs. McIntyre are both worth seeing, but the majority of the main event was something of a letdown. The big stage made it feel important, but outside of that Reigns part, the main event didn’t really feel like it belonged in that spot. Other than that, the opener was good, Breakker and Knight got their titles and the weakest match was fine. Good show overall, but definitely not an all timer.

Ratings Comparison

Rhea Ripley vs. Liv Morgan

Original: B-
Redo: B

Sami Zayn vs. Bron Breakker

Original: B-
Redo: C+

LA Knight vs. Logan Paul

Original: B
Redo: B

Bayley vs. Nia Jax

Original: B-
Redo: B-

CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre

Original: B
Redo: B+

Gunther vs. Damian Priest

Original: B
Redo: B

Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa

Original: B-
Redo: C+

Overall Rating:

Original: B
Redo: B

Yeah pretty much all in the same range here with nothing really going in one direction or another.

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 2023
Date: August 5, 2023
Location: Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan
Attendance: 51,477
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re in another stadium and that means the show is going to feel big. In this case we have several major matches on the card, starting with Tribal Combat as Roman Reigns defends the WWE Universal Title, as well as being Tribal Chief, against Jey Uso. Other than that, we have Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar III and Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor for the Raw World Title. Let’s get to it.

Since the show is in Detroit, the opening video has a car theme and an intro by Kid Rock, because of course it does. It talks about knowing where you’re going and looks at some classic clips before moving into the look at this year’s show.

And again, for reasons I still cannot fathom, the show’s theme song is Born To Be Wild by Steppenwolf. As in the song released in 1968.

Logan Paul vs. Ricochet

This is a battle over trying to go viral. They yell at each other to start and Paul is knocked to the floor where he covers up from a dive that never comes. Back in and Ricochet rolls through a sunset lip attempt but gets elbowed in the face to cut him off. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Ricochet fights up, only to get caught in the ropes. A neckbreaker onto the apron puts Ricochet down and Paul hammers away in the corner to keep him in trouble.

With a quick mock of the injured Braun Strowman, Paul hits a running powerslam for two and soaks in some booing. A big boot and legdrop (the Hogan Paul) connect for Paul but Ricochet is back with a spinebuster into the People’s Moonsault for two. Back up and one heck of a backdrop leaves Ricochet crashing down and Paul is back up with a springboard clothesline.

They go to the apron, with Ricochet having to stick the landing on a Spanish Fly before knocking Paul down for a breather. Paul is back up with a Buckshot Lariat to the floor (geez) and naturally a quick shot of Prime. Back in and a standing moonsault gives Paul two as Ricochet is starting to get overwhelmed. Paul misses a charge into the post so they both go up top (the fans get up too) and a super neckbreaker brings Paul crashing back down.

A springboard clothesline into the standing shooting star press gets two on Paul and we slow down a bit. Back up and Paul’s middle rope moonsault is caught but he spins into a tornado DDT for the big crash anyway. Ricochet is back up with the Recoil but the shooting star press only hits raised knees. One heck of a springboard frog splash gives Paul two, only to have Ricochet kick him in the face. A top rope Lionsault gets two but the 630 misses and cue one of Paul’s lackeys to give Paul brass knuckles. The big right hand gives Paul the win at 17:56.

Rating: B+. There is a concept of just letting it all hang out and do one big spot after another and it went well here. This was a blast of a match and they didn’t try to do anything but one big move after another. Paul gets a win on the big stage and that is what he has been lacking for a long time now. Really fun match here and they’ll likely get the highlights they were shooting for with this one.

Samantha Irvin, Ricochet’s fiance, is livid.

Sheamus and the Brawling Brutes mess with a monster truck.

We recap Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar, which started the night after Wrestlemania. Lesnar attacked him, presumably for not beating Roman Reigns, but Cody won the first match. Then Lesnar beat him back (and broke his hand), so it’s rubber match time.

Brock Lesnar vs. Cody Rhodes

Lesnar German suplexes him to start but Rhodes is right back with a pair of Disaster Kicks. A third is knocked out of the air though and Lesnar powers him hard into the corner. Lesnar’s charge only hits post and the fight heads outside as they’re certainly starting fast. Back in and Lesnar suplexes him a few more times as we’re getting firmly into Lesnar’s standard style. Rhodes is sent outside but beats the count, with Lesnar just shaking his head. Lesnar: “THIS IS ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE!”

Rhodes gets knocked to the floor a few more times as we’re in quite a bit of a stall. An F5 on the floor plants Rhodes again and Lesnar tells Michael Cole to tell Rhodes to take the countout. Somehow Rhodes beat the count and gives him a BRING IT look, earning himself another suplex. Another F5 through the announcers’ table has Cole begging Rhodes to stay down. Rhodes dives back in again and Lesnar is really displeased. They go back to the floor where Rhodes grabs the steps, which are kicked away.

Instead Rhodes manages a posting and NOW the steps can rock Lesnar again. The Disaster Kick into the Cody Cutter into a top rope Cody Cutter gets two and Rhodes is kind of stunned. The Kimura goes on but Rhodes makes it over to the ropes for the break. Back up and Rhodes sends him into an exposed buckle, setting up a Kimura on Lesnar. As you might expect, Lesnar powers him up and down for the break but an F5 is countered into the Cross Rhodes. Two more Cross Rhodes finish for Rhodes at 17:30.

Rating: B. They started losing me a bit during the teased countout spot but then it got going again with Rhodes hanging in there until Lesnar just couldn’t beat him. This is the way to give someone the Lesnar rub as Rhodes not only hung in there but wound up winning, which is a heck of a lot more than some can say. Good stuff here, with Rhodes getting the important win to finish the feud.

Post match Lesnar gets up and shows respect. The gloves come off and Lesnar leaves in peace.

Slim Jim Battle Royal

Erik, Ivar, JD McDonagh, Rick Boogs, Otis, Chad Gable, Ludwig Kaiser, Giovanni Vinci, Ridge Holland, Butch, Sheamus, Riddle, Grayson Waller, Shinsuke Nakamura, Bronson Reed, Tommaso Ciampa, Apollo Crews, LA Knight, Santos Escobar, AJ Styles, The Miz, Austin Theory, Karrion Kross, Cameron Grimes, Omos

We get a brief history of battle royals (including Royal Rumbles, which aren’t exactly the same thing) before the bell rings and….holds on as here is MVP to introduce Omos as the guaranteed winner. The fight is on before Omos gets in but he’s right in there to get rid of Crews, McDonagh and Boogs. A bunch of people go after Omos but he fights them off and knocks Sheamus silly.

Imperium gets rid of Otis but Gable throws Vinci out and gets to pose a bit. Ciampa breaks up the Viking Raiders’ springboard clothesline and gets rid of both of them. Willow’s Bell gets rid of Nakamura in a heck of a quick sequence. Not that it matters as Reed gets rid of Ciampa and Theory knocks out Holland. Grimes is out as the ring is getting cleared rather quickly. Escobar eliminates Theory but gets kicked out by Kross. Kaiser gets too cocky (shocking I know) in thinking he got rid of Gable, who tosses Kaiser instead.

Omos tosses Riddle and Butch at the same time and then knocks down (not out) a bunch of people at once. Knight starts going after Omos and a bunch of people join him, with the big group managing the elimination. Waller and Miz get together (Graves approves) but can’t get rid of either Gable or Knight. Instead Knight throws Miz out and Sheamus gets rid of Waller. Reed runs Sheamus and Knight over, leaving Styles to kick Kross out.

We’re down to Knight, Reed, Gable, Styles and Sheamus, with Reed backdropping Gable out. Knight muscles Reed out so it’s Sheamus taking over on Knight and Styles. Cue Kross to grab Styles’ leg so Sheamus can kick him out and get us down to two. Knight drops Sheamus and hits the LA Elbow but Sheamus is back up with the jumping knee. Sheamus goes up top but Knight jumps the corner for a superplex. A clothesline gets rid of Sheamus to give Knight the win at 12:46.

Rating: C+. It was a pretty run of the mill battle royal but what mattered was getting Knight a win on the big stage. Knight looked fine out there and got the win, despite not really being a focal point until the last few entrants. It wasn’t a particularly great match, but there is only so much you can get out of this kind of a battle royal in the first place.

And now, a Slim Jim ad featuring LA Knight. Geez good thing Butch didn’t win or that would have been awkward.

We recap Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler. They were friends, they were partners, then they weren’t friends or partners and now they’re fighting. This also goes back to their time in MMA, with Baszler apparently being jealous of Rousey’s success and Rousey not being very gracious.

Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler

This is under MMA rules, meaning no pinfalls, countouts, DQ’s or rope breaks. You win by submission or knockout, all of which are explained for the first time by the referee. Rousey breaks tradition by offering to touch gloves but Baszler isn’t up for it. Instead they grapple up against the ropes until Rousey slams her down. Some shots to Baszler’s back look to set up a cross armbreaker but Rousey can’t get it on, meaning it’s another standoff.

Back up and Baszler DROPS HER with a kick, sending Rousey outside. Baszler grabs a leglock back inside but Rousey slips out and hits a hard jumping knee. A knee to the ribs takes Baszler down again and Rousey hammers away at her back. Rousey headscissor chokes her and they fall over the top to the floor in a big crash.

Rousey gets back in and Baszler needs to be checked out by the medics. That doesn’t work for Rousey, who beats up the medics but Baszler suplexes her down. A Kirifuda Clutch is broken up and Rousey goes for the armbar, with Baszler reversing into an ankle lock. Baszler pulls her up into the Kirifuda Clutch and Rousey is out at 7:28.

Rating: C. I’m not sure what to make of this as it was barely wrestling and more a martial arts match, as advertised. What mattered the most here was Rousey giving Baszler a win on her way out of WWE. It was pretty clear that Rousey’s time in WWE was over and this is a good way for her to go out. Now if only WWE ever did anything with Baszler other than put her in another tag team.

Tonight’s attendance: 59,194.

We recap Drew McIntyre vs. Gunther for the latter’s Intercontinental Title. Gunther is this close to setting the all time record for longest Intercontinental Title reign of all time, while McIntyre is back after a long hiatus and wants to prove he’s still got it. Hoss fighting is set to ensue.

Intercontinental Title: Drew McIntyre vs. Gunther

Gunther is defending. They stare at each other to start and eventually lock up to fight over the power game. A shoulder puts Gunther down and the slow pace continues. Gunther’s headlock takeover puts them on the mat as commentary runs down Gunther’s resume. Back up and McIntyre hits the Glasgow Kiss to send Gunther outside, where he is fine enough to post McIntyre and send him into the steps.

Back in and Gunther chops him down a few times but McIntyre is back up for the slugout. Gunther’s release German suplex doesn’t do much to McIntyre, who is right back up with a clothesline for the double knockdown. The chop each other down so McIntyre nips up, only to get dropkicked into the corner. McIntyre is right back with the Futureshock for two but the threat of the Claymore sends Gunther outside.

That means a big running flip dive from McIntyre but another Claymore attempt is cut off with a dropkick. The powerbomb gives Gunther two and they’re both down again. Gunther is up first with a top rope splash for two and frustration is setting in. With nothing else working, Gunther starts slapping him in the back of the head over and over with some shouting thrown in.

McIntyre fights up and hits a Claymore for two, meaning it’s time for McIntyre’s eyes to bug out. Gunther is sat up top for a hard chop and they strike it out up there. McIntyre gets crotched back down though and the top rope splash into the powerbomb retains the title at 13:42.

Rating: B. It was a good, hard hitting match that you would expect from these two but they didn’t have as much time as you would have expected. At the same time, they were being asked to live up to the expectations from the Wrestlemania three way with Sheamus, which just wasn’t likely to be topped. Gunther getting another big win makes him feel that much bigger though, as the legend continues to grow.

We recap Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Title. Rollins beat Balor to win the inaugural title at Money In The Bank and now we’re running it back as Balor is still obsessed with beating Rollins, despite doing it before and having many chances to do it over the last seven years. Damian Priest and his Money In The Bank briefcase are looming as well.

Raw World Title: Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor

Rollins is defending and wears the same vest that he wore when he hurt Balor at Summerslam 2016. Balor jumps him from behind to start but Rollins fights back before the bell. The bell rings and they slug it out with Rollins elbowing him in the face to take over. Some chops and a running forearm in the corner have Balor in more trouble but he slips out of a suplex. There’s a stomp to Rollins’ chest and Balor hammers away. Balor starts in on the arm, just like Rollins hurt him seven years ago (in a freak accident rather than targeting it but revenge can make people’s memories hazy).

The armbar goes on for a bit before Balor switches back to more general cranking. Rollins fights up but gets Russian legswept right back into a Fujiwara armbar. That’s broken up and Rollins hits a much needed clothesline for a breather. The Falcon Arrow gives Rollins two and Balor is sent outside for three straight suicide dives. Balor is back up to catch Rollins on the apron and send the bad arm into the post.

We get the big flashback with the running toss powerbomb into the barricade and Rollins is rocked. Back in and the Sling Blade hits Rollins, who is right back with a superkick. Balor shrugs it off and plants him down for one, setting up a cross armbreaker. That’s broken up as well and Rollins hits a pair of buckle bombs into the great looking frog splash for two. Balor gets in a shot and goes up, where Rollins superplexes him down and rolls into the Falcon Arrow, only to have Balor reverse into a small package for two.

The shotgun dropkick sends Rollins into the corner (where he hits his shoulder again) but the Coup de Grace misses. Rollins’ Pedigree connects for two….and here is Damian Priest with the Money In The Bank briefcase (his music isn’t playing though so it isn’t a cash-in). Balor hits his own Pedigree for two and Priest is stunned.

That’s enough for Priest to offer a distraction so cue Judgment Day but Balor yells at Priest, saying they’re not changing the plan. The distraction lets Rollins hit the Stomp for two and we hit the big shocked faced. Rollins dives onto Priest and the distraction lets Balor shotgun dropkick him into the corner so the Coup de Grace can get two. Priest throws in the briefcase but Rollins hits a quick Stomp onto it to retain the title at 18:27.

Rating: B. This was the kind of match that they needed to have to make Rollins feel more like a champion. That being said, there was a bit too much going on with all of the interference and the tease of the cash-in/interference. What matters is Rollins won though, which had to be the case as he was only about a month into the inaugural title reign. They had a good match here though and it felt like it belonged on a show this big.

The Alpha Academy preview the rest of the show and promote Mike’s Hard Lemonade. Miz comes in and gets annoyed at being the only real Mike in the room. Maxxine Dupri throws him out and calls him Mark.

We recap Asuka defending the Smackdown Women’s Title against Bianca Belair and Charlotte. Belair had the title won but Damage CTRL interfered, causing Charlotte to accidentally take Belair out. The triple threat match was made as a result.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Asuka vs. Bianca Belair vs. Charlotte

Asuka is defending and they start fairly slowly. Asuka’s rollup to Belair is broken up with a big boot from Charlotte as the fans are oddly quiet here. Charlotte suplexes Asuka down and kicks Belair in the face, only to be pulled outside by Asuka. Belair hits a dive onto both of them but gets kicked by Asuka on the way back in. A pop up knee to the face gets two on Belair with Charlotte making the save this time.

That earns Charlotte a knockdown of her own and Asuka, in the clown paint, gets in an evil smile. Charlotte is sent outside, leaving Asuka to small package Belair for two. They’re certainly not in high gear yet but things are at least starting to pick up. Charlotte dives onto both of them to break up a Glam Slam and it’s time to chop away. With Asuka and Belair in trouble in the corner….we pause for the referee to fix Charlotte’s gear.

Thankfully Asuka is smart enough to choke Belair until Charlotte can clothesline them both for two. Back up and Charlotte kicks Belair down but gets caught by Asuka’s running knees for two more, leaving everyone down. They all strike it out until Asuka grabs Belair’s hair to send her outside. Belair is back up with a neckbreaker to Asuka and right hands to Charlotte in the corner.

A spinebuster sends Charlotte onto Asuka but the handspring moonsault hits raised knees. Charlotte spears Belair but gets pulled into the Asuka Lock. Now the handspring moonsault can connect to break it up and everyone is down again. Back up and Charlotte sends them to the floor for the moonsault which….egads I don’t think she actually touched either of them (she might have grazed Belair but Asuka was nowhere near the impact).

With the crowd silent after that miss, Asuka takes Charlotte back in for a DDT but she has to fight out of a KOD attempt. Charlotte kicks Asuka to the floor and flips out of a KOD, only to get caught in an overhead German suplex. Charlotte has to break up the Asuka Lock on Belair and moonsaults onto both of them for two. For some reason Charlotte tries a figure Four on both of them at once, which doesn’t work as Belair kicks her off. Belair is sent outside and lands knee first on the steps in a SCARY crash.

That leaves Charlotte to go up but Asuka pulls her back down with a superplex. Charlotte is right back with a shot of her own and the Figure Eight goes on. Belair is back in with a 450 to break it up or two but Charlotte is able to send Asuka outside. The Figure Eight goes on Belair, only for Asuka to come in and break it up with the mist. With her legs still tied up, Belair small packages Asuka to win the title at 20:47.

Rating: B. This was a good match that took a while to get started. It wound up being more about Charlotte dominating and the other two having to take her down, which is something that has been done more than a few times. That being said, Belair felt like a star here and it’s all the more impressive to see her becoming a star on the highest level in the division. Belair winning the title is a bit of a surprise as she had already had the big, long title reign but it’s more interesting than Charlotte getting the title again. Asuka had a nice reign and can easily get the title back later if necessary.

And here’s Iyo Sky to hit Sky in the knee with the Money In The Bank briefcase.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Iyo Sky vs. Bianca Belair

Belair is defending and Over The Moonsault gives Sky the pin and the title at 7 seconds. Eh it gets rid of the briefcase so I’ll take it.

We recap Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso in Tribal Combat for the WWE Title and the role as Head Of The Table. Reigns has been a monster and run the lives of the Usos, with Jey finally rebelling and Jimmy coming with him. Jey pinned Reigns at Money In The Bank, setting up his chance here to end Reigns once and for all. Reigns and Solo Sikoa put Jimmy in the hospital, leaving Jey all alone here. This is the VERY long term drama and there was even a feeling that Jey might kind of sort of maybe have a chance, which was so hard to fathom no matter who you are.

Smackdown World Title: Jey Uso vs. Roman Reigns

Reigns, with Paul Heyman, is defending (the title and the position) in Tribal Combat, meaning a street fight. Before the bell, reigns offers Jey the lei, saying he’ll give this to Jey if Jey can beat him. They circle each other to start and Reigns easily powers him back into the corner. A running shoulder puts Uso down (same sequence that started Gunther vs. McIntyre) and Reigns runs him over again to prove his point. Reigns knees him in the face as this is one sided and rather slow paced to start.

Jey is back with a kick to the ribs and a clothesline to the floor, setting up the required dive. The steps are set up at ringside but that’s not enough so let’s have a table out there too. The long delay and a Heyman distraction lets Reigns send him face first into the table and then into the corner as well. Jey manages a quick jumping enziguri to send Reigns outside again, where he finds a kendo stick. Some hard shots have Jey in trouble again but he slugs his way out of trouble.

Reigns clotheslines him down in the corner as Graves gets in the “your arms are too short to box with God” CM Punk line. Jey fights back and gets in his own kendo stick shots to send Reigns up the aisle as this is going rather slowly. Back in and Jey tries something off the top, only to get Superman Punched out of the air for two. Jey is back up with a superkick into the Superfly Splash for two and they’re down again.

A bunch of chairs are thrown in but Jey takes too long setting up a superkick and gets powerbombed down onto the chairs for two. Reigns takes forever to set a table up but Jey fights back, only to get punched out of the air. The spear is cut off with an enziguri and Jey Samoan drops him from the apron through the table. Rather than cover though, Jey whips out a leather strap and starts whipping away. They brawl out into the crowd, where Solo Sikoa pops up for Spinning Solo through a table.

Sikoa drags him back to he ring for another Spinning Solo but Jey pulls Sikoa in the way of a spear. Jey’s spear hits Reigns for two and he grabs a chair to clean house. That takes too long too (yes, in this match), allowing Sikoa to get in a shot of his own. Reigns and Sikoa stop to talk strategy, which lets Jey spear Reigns through the barricade.

Jey Superfly Splashes Sikoa through the announcers’ table and hits another spear on Reigns back inside. The Superfly Splash connects but someone in a hoodie (clearly Jimmy Uso) breaks up the cover. Yes it’s Jimmy, who gets yelled at by the fans before, eventually, superkicking Jey. Reigns hits the spear through a table in the corner to retain at 36:03.

Rating: D+. It’s never a good sign when you can probably cut off more than half of the match and tell the same story. This was one of the least interesting main events I’ve seen in a long time as it was hard enough to buy Jey as having a chance in the first place, but then they make it this boring. Just WAY too much time spent laying around with nothing going on and it sucked the life out of the match.

The usual Bloodline celebration ensues.

Highlight package.

Overall Rating: B-. This show started really well and had some very high points but the main event dragged it WAY down with a stretch in the middle that really didn’t work. If you cut out about half an hour total, it’s that much better, but this show’s very good moments were dragged back down by the weaker stuff. It’s far from an awful show, but this was really rough at times and it could have been a lot better.

Ratings Comparison

Logan Paul vs. Ricochet

Original: B
Redo: B+

Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar

Original: B
Redo: B

Battle Royal

Original: B-
Redo: C+

Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler

Original: D+
Redo: C

Drew McIntyre vs. Gunther

Original: B
Redo: B

Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor

Original: B+
Redo: B

Bianca Belair vs. Charlotte vs. Asuka

Original: C-
Redo: B

Iyo Sky vs. Bianca Belair

Original: N/A
Redo: N/A

Jey Uso vs. Roman Reigns

Original: C+
Redo: D+

Overall Rating

Original: B
Redo: B-

There are a lot of similarities in there but I’m not sure what I was thinking on the triple threat and the main event the first time around.

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

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

AND

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

Summerslam 2022
Date: July 30, 2022
Location: Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee
Attendance: 48,449
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

We’re still in the stadium for Summerslam and believe it or not, this time we have a main event of Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar. The twist this time is that it’s Last Man Standing to add some spice, but there is only so much interest to be had. Other than that, we have Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair in a match a year in the making. Oh and Vince McMahon stepped down from WWE eight days before this show so we’re in a VERY new era. With a pair of rematches on top. Let’s get to it.

The opening video focuses on what a CRAZY TOWN Nashville is, with a look at all of the crazy people on the show.

Oh and there’s a pinball theme. A CRAZY pinball theme I’m sure.

Raw Women’s Title: Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair

Lynch, currently in the Big Time Becks villain phase, is challenging after Belair took the title from her at Wrestlemania. Feeling out process to start with Belair powering her away without much trouble. Back up and Belair flips away from her, setting up a heck of a shoulder. Becky takes her down by the arm and cranks back on it though and Belair is in trouble for a change. The bad arm is kicked apart to make it even worse but Belair’s legs are fine enough to hit a dropkick.

They head outside where the KOD onto the announcers’ table is broken up and the arm is banged up again. They get back inside with Lynch snapping off a Bexploder and taking her down in the corner…but Lynch comes up holding her shoulder (uh oh). Lynch is fine enough to go for the leg and then kick Belair to the apron but the middle rope Fameasser is blocked.

They go outside again with Belair Glam Slamming her onto the apron before a posting sends Lynch’s shoulder into the steel. Back in and a handspring moonsault gives Belair two but Lynch is back with Diamond Dust of all things for two of her own. Belair’s powerbomb is countered into a hurricanrana which is countered into a failed KOD attempt. They head outside with the KOD connecting this time, but Lynch just beats the count.

Back in and another KOD is countered but Belair spikes her anyway. Belair takes too long going up and gets Manhandle Slammed for two. With nothing else working, Lynch takes her up top for a super Manhandle Slam, which is reversed into a KOD to retain Belair’s title at 15:11 and win the feud.

Rating: B. Yeah these two fought a lot but they have the chemistry to make it work very well. This was another good back and forth showdown between two of the best women (or anything) that WWE has ever had. It came off like a huge battle and that is the kind of showdown that these two have managed to make possible. The arm work from Becky to take away the power made sense and the fact that she was banged up makes this even more impressive. Heck of a match here and a great opener.

Post match Becky, with her right arm non-functional, shakes Belair’s hand and seems to be good again. With Becky gone, Bayley makes her surprise return after over a year away with a horrible knee injury. Cue the returning Dakota Kai (she’s been gone for a bit), plus the newly named Iyo Sky (no longer Io Shirai). The trio gets in the ring to yell at Belair but Lynch evens things up a bit, sending the villains running off. That would be more or less it for Lynch for about four months, as she would be written off television the following night on Raw due to a shoulder injury and not be back until November.

We recap Miz vs. Logan Paul. They were a team at Wrestlemania and won, but then Miz turned on Paul for no apparent reason. Months later, Miz said that he destroyed Paul, who then announced that he had signed with the company. Now it’s time for Miz to show what he can do, while Paul is back with his first ever singles match.

Miz vs. Logan Paul

Miz has Maryse and Tommaso Ciampa (missing his first name here but just in case you confuse him with Gus Ciampa) with him. Inspired by Paul’s really rare Pokemon card (not here this time), Miz has a one of a kind Polaroid of he and Paul together around his neck. Feeling out process to start with Miz snapmaring him down and mocking Paul a bit, much to Maryse’s delight.

Back up and Paul grabs a waistlock into a fireman’s carry, allowing him to mockingly shove him away with a boot to the head. Miz is sent out side and an apron moonsault takes him down again as Paul is already shining rather well. Back in and Miz crotches him in the ropes, setting up a Codebreaker for two. Ciampa even gets in a cheap shot and we hit the chinlock.

Miz misses the charge in the corner though and Paul is right back with a Blockbuster. Back up and Paul gets two off a running powerslam, followed by the YES Kicks to send Corey Graves that much closer to madness. The Figure Four has Miz in trouble but a rather dramatic rope break gets him out. Paul hits a high crossbody and a standing moonsault for two but Miz kicks him in the face.

Ciampa teases another cheap shot and gets ejected (with the crowd throwing in a YES chant), but Ciampa just sits ringside in a chair. Cue AJ Styles to really chase Ciampa off, leaving Paul to hit a not so phenomenal Phenomenal Forearm. They head outside with Paul loading up the announcers’ table, setting up a heck of a top rope frog splash to drive Miz hard through it. Back in and Maryse distracts the referee but Miz almost runs into her. That’s enough of a distraction to let Paul hit the Skull Crushing Finale for the pin at 14:16.

Rating: B. This was up there for best celebrity matches ever and it’s barely even on a sliding scale. Paul was out there showing himself to be able to do all kinds of things in the ring, with that frog splash being a great bonus. It was entirely a showcase for Paul and Miz is the perfect choice to be out there taking the beating. What mattered here was Paul looking like a star and that is exactly what happened here. Heck of a match and WWE has to know what they have here with Paul.

US Title: Bobby Lashley vs. Theory

Theory, the reigning Mr. Money In The Bank, is challenging and jumps Lashley before the bell. Lashley says he can go and shrugs off Theory’s swarm to start. An elbow to the face into a spinebuster has Theory on the floor and he’s ready to walk. Lashley isn’t having that but Theory is right back with a rolling dropkick for two. For some reason Theory thinks it’s a good idea to slug it out with Lashley, earning himself a powerslam. The spear hits the post but Theory rolls into the Hurt Lock to retain the title at 4:44.

Rating: C-. This could have been on any given Raw and that isn’t good enough for a Summerslam title match. They seemed to be playing up the idea that Theory was saving himself for a potential cash-in later tonight but the Hurt Lock is the kind of move that could make him tap that fast as well. This is something that could have been cut from the show without missing much, though having Lashley on the show is often a good idea.

We recap the Mysterios vs. Judgment Day. The team isn’t happy with Rey Mysterio being a star and attacked him in front of his family. Now it’s time for revenge in a No DQ match.

Judgment Day vs. Rey Mysterio/Dominik Mysterio

Rhea Ripley is here with Judgment Day (Finn Balor/Damian Priest) and this is No DQ. Judgment Day jumps them to start and the fight is on fast. Rey hurricanranas Balor though and Dominik dropkicks Priest, setting up the back to back dives to put the villains down. We settle down to a double Russian legsweep dropping Balor but Dominik gets sent into the wrong corner.

The chinlock goes on as the fans are starting to wake up a bit here. Priest adds the Broken Arrow into a slingshot stomp from Dominik but he’s back with a suplex. Rey comes in with a top rope seated senton to Priest. A bulldog plants Priest again so Balor slides in a chair, which Rey picks off without much trouble. Rey grabs the chair and slides down into a splash on Balor for a nasty looking crash.

Back in and Priest boots Rey down for two and Balor adds the shotgun dropkick in the corner. Dominik breaks up the Coup de Grace though and Rey snaps off a top rope hurricanrana, with Priest making the save this time. The double 619 is broken up by Ripley, who drops Dominik face first onto the apron. South Of Heaven hits Rey but Balor wants a chair. Instead he gets the returning Edge, who spears down Judgment Day, setting up Rey’s slingshot splash for the pin on Balor at 11:07.

Rating: C+. The match itself was good enough, but my goodness the fans did not care about what they were seeing here. Granted at this point Judgment Day was one of those things that just kept going and there wasn’t much to get excited about with them, but it shouldn’t take Edge to get the only strong reaction of the match. This was a good example of a match where the fans just didn’t are no matter what was happening, and that’s a bit disappointing.

We recap Happy Corbin vs. Pat McAfee. They’re old friends/roommates from the NFL and McAfee has mocked Corbin’s losing streak. Corbin has attacked McAfee a few times so now it’s time to fight.

Pat McAfee vs. Happy Corbin

McAfee has a choir here to sing about BUM A** CORBIN for a rather unique entrance. They talk a lot of trash to start, with McAfee leading the crowd in their singing. McAfee hits a superkick and a middle rope hurricanrana puts Corbin on the floor. A posting drops Corbin again and McAfee stomps away back inside.

Corbin is put on top but gets shoved down, only to have McAfee moonsault onto his feet. A dropkick (to the stomach) sends McAfee into the corner and Corbin gets to hammer away. The slow beating is on, with a ram into the barricade giving Corbin two. McAfee manages to send him to the floor and hit the slingshot dive, only to be thrown over the announcers’ table.

Back in and McAfee catches him on top, this time jumping (mostly) to the top for a top rope superplex. McAfee slugs away and avoids a charge to send Corbin shoulder first into the post. That lets McAfee go up top and, after getting his balance, hit a top rope flip dive to take Corbin down on the floor. Back in and McAfee knocks Corbin into the referee by mistake, setting up a low blow (payback for Corbin doing the same thing to him the previous night) and a Panama Sunrise to finish Corbin at 10:50.

Rating: B-. McAfee is another of the few celebrities who has figured out how to put together a rather good match. There were some close calls here as McAfee didn’t have everything polished but he made it work well enough. This was an entertaining match and the fans ate McAfee up as usual, while Corbin lost again, also as usual. It might not quite have been the Logan Paul stunt show, but McAfee is certainly worth a look whenever he is out there and has a star power all his own.

We look at Drew McIntyre defeating Sheamus to become #1 contender last night on Smackdown.

Here is McIntyre to talk about how much he loves Nashville, to the point where he lives here. He and Sheamus went to war last night but now it is time to go to to war with Roman Reigns. For now though, it is time for Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar for the first time ever! Uh, in Nissan Stadium in Nashville. Last man standing. McIntyre asks a an for his name (Colt). McIntyre: “IN FRONT OF COLT!” Nice save there and McIntyre raises his sword to set off some pyro and wrap up a quick cameo.

Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Street Profits

The Usos are defending in a rematch from Money In The Bank where a bad referee cost the Profits the titles. Therefore, Jeff Jarrett of all people is guest referee, just for the save of the country music connection. The Profits come out with the Tennessee Titans cheerleaders for a little bonus. Dawkins and Jimmy start things off with Jeff having t pull both of them out of the corner.

Jey comes in off a quick tag for a modified Demolition Decapitator for two. It’s already back to Jimmy for a chinlock as this isn’t the fastest pace to start. The running hip attack connects but a second one misses, allowing Dawkins to enziguri his way out of trouble. Ford and Jey come in to pick up things up a lot, with Ford’s high crossbody getting two. A rather loud chop only seems to wake Jey up though and it’s a pop up neckbreaker for two on Ford.

Back up and Ford slips over for the tag to Dawkins and house is rapidly cleaned, including a huge flip dive to the floor. Back in and the Anointment gives Dawkins two on Jimmy but Jey is back in to cut him off. A superkick into the Superfly Splash gives Jimmy two, setting up the double Superfly Splash with Ford having to make a save.

Jey almost superkicks Jarrett by mistake but walks into a spinebuster. Ford’s very high frog splash gets a delayed two, meaning it’s time to yell at Jarrett (who did nothing wrong, along with the nothing he has done for the rest of the match). A dive is cut off by a double superkick to the….some part of Ford’s body. Back in and more superkicks hit Dawkins, setting up the 1D to retain at 13:22.

Rating: B. I remember wondering what Jarrett was going to add coming into this and coming up with an answer of “nothing”. The fact that I didn’t remember him being involved in this match at all didn’t help things and there was nothing to having him here. At the same time, you had these teams with some great chemistry having a good, pay per view worthy match. The Usos were still doing some awesome stuff with the titles, even if they had to deal with such a lame choice for guest referee.

Matt Riddle (not medically cleared) runs in through the crowd and calls out Seth Rollins for a fight. Rollins comes out to meet him in the aisle, gets the better of it, and Stomps (how Riddle was hurt in the first place) Riddle down again.

We recap Liv Morgan challenging Ronda Rousey for the Smackdown Women’s Title. Morgan cashed in Money In The Bank on an injured Rousey to win the title so now it’s time for the match with Rousey ready coming in.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Ronda Rousey vs. Liv Morgan

Morgan is defending and Rousey flips her over to start. A running knee rocks Morgan and another throw gets two. Morgan comes back with a Codebreaker but Oblivion is easily blocked. Rousey tries to get her down but is reversed into a double arm crank. That and a crucifix bomb get two on Rousey, who is right back with the armbar. Morgan tries to slip out but gets pulled into it again, this time making the rope for the break. Rousey gets the armbar again so Morgan stacks it up for the pin at 4:35…..despite tapping before the pin.

Rating: C-. Morgan was on a roll on the way to Money In The Bank and then just died once she got the title via the cash-in. This was Morgan mostly getting squashed before tapping out and retaining anyway. If WWE wanted Morgan to be a big star, they needed to actually put her over someone rather than these screwy finishes. It didn’t do Morgan any favors and Rousey hardly looked better either.

Post match Rousey protests and armbars Morgan…and the referee. Replays show that Morgan tapped way before the three count.

Here is Kane to announce the attendance: 48,449. I believe he has some questions about those numbers.

We recap Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar in a Last Man Standing match for Reigns’ WWE Universal Title. In short, Randy Orton was supposed to get the shot but was too hurt so it’s time to break the Lesnar glass. Not the most thrilling match, but fair enough that they didn’t have a better option. The video also teases Austin Theory cashing in his briefcase.

WWE Universal Title: Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar

Reigns, with Paul Heyman (but without the Usos, who he sends to the back), is defending in a Last Man Standing match. Lesnar starts walking to the ring but stops to put on a flannel shirt and cowboy hat….so he can drive a tractor to the ring. There is no way this can end well. As Lesnar stands in the loader of the tractor, he cuts off the introductions and does his own, before flipping the mic to Reigns…..who snatches it out of the air in one hand (not shown but find the clip as it’s rather awesome).

Lesnar then DIVES out of the tractor onto Reigns and a clothesline takes it to the floor. There’s the overhead belly to belly on the floor as Lesnar is starting very fast. Another suplex of the steps has Reigns rocked and they head into the crowd, where Lesnar suplexes him onto a platform. Reigns gets in a quick shot but is promptly suplexed back to ringside. The table is set up but a Heyman distraction lets Reigns put Lesnar through it instead.

Lesnar is back up so Reigns steps him in the face. Back in and Reigns hits a pair of Superman Punches, followed by the first (of probably many) spear. Another spear is blocked and Lesnar sends him outside in a crash. Lesnar slams him into part of a broken table before getting back in the tractor. After fiddling with it a bit, Lesnar gets out and hits Reigns with the steps instead.

A piece of a broken table to the head puts Reigns down again but he staggers to his feet. That doesn’t work for Lesnar, who puts him in the front loaded and drops him into the ring for a crash. With that not being enough, Lesnar snaps off some German suplexes and the F5 gets nine. Another F5 is countered into the guillotine but Lesnar reverses into one of his own. Lesnar lets him go and Reigns is up at nine again.

That doesn’t work for Lesnar….who uses the tractor to LIFT UP THE RING and send Reigns falling out to the floor. Reigns is up again (and so is the ring, which is still up on the tractor, meaning a big middle finger to fans on that side of the ring, who can’t see a thing right now) so cue the Usos to go after Lesnar. They’re wrecked in short order so Heyman hands Lesnar the titles in an attempt to get him off Reigns.

That earns Heyman an F5 through the announcers’ table (egads the impact), allowing Reigns to hit a spear. They’re both down so heeeeeeere’s Theory with the briefcase! Before the bell can ring, Lesnar F5’s him on the floor to cut that off in a hurry. The Usos are back up to superkick Lesnar, who gets up again.

Reigns hits another spear, followed by another spear. With that not working either, Reigns hits Theory with the briefcase and then unloads on Lesnar with the thing. That’s only good for nine, so Reigns belts him in the head but Lesnar is up AGAIN. Another belt shot connects so Reigns and the Usos bury Lesnar with everything they can find at ringside to finally keep him down and retain the title at 22:54.

Rating: B. This was the fight that you would expect from these guys under these circumstances and that’s exactly what it needed to be. Sometimes you need two people to beat the daylights out of each other with one big shot after another and that’s what you got here. Lesnar might not have been the biggest threat to win the title, but sometimes you need a match where the champion has to fight really hard to keep the title. Rather good main event and that’s as good as you could have gotten here.

Reigns poses as what used to be Heyman is carried out to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. WWE had a rather strong show here with the bigger matches more than delivering. There’s nothing on here to make it a classic but it’s a three and a half hour show with some very good stuff throughout. The weaker points are kept short and I had a lot of fun throughout. This is what Summerslam tends to be like and they made a rather transitional time in the company’s history work out.

Results
Bianca Belair b. Becky Lynch – KOD
Logan Paul b. The Miz – Skull Crushing Finale
Bobby Lashley b. Theory – Hurt Lock
Rey Mysterio/Dominik Mysterio b. Judgment Day – Slingshot splash to Balor
Pat McAfee b. Baron Corbin – Panama Sunrise
Usos b. Street Profits – 1D to Dawkins
Ronda Rousey b. Liv Morgan – Rollup
Roman Reigns b. Brock Lesnar when Lesnar could not answer the ten count

Ratings Comparison

Bianca Belair b. Becky Lynch

Original: B
2023 Redo: B

Logan Paul vs. The Miz

Original: C+
2023 Redo: B

Theory vs. Bobby Lashley

Original: C-
2023 Redo: C-

Judgment Day vs. Rey Mysterio/Dominik Mysterio

Original: C
2023 Redo: C+

Baron Corbin vs. Pat McAfee

Original: C
2023 Redo: B-

Usos vs. Street Profits

Original: C+
2023 Redo: B

Ronda Rousey vs. Liv Morgan

Original: C-
2023 Redo: C-

Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar

Original: B-
2023 Redo: B

Overall Rating

Original: C+
2023 Redo: B+

Dang I underrated some of those earlier matches, especially Miz vs. Logan Paul.

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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Impact Wrestling
Date: July 30, 2026
Location: Liacourus Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

The countdown to Lockdown continues after the big title match last week. Nic Nemeth retained the World Title over KC Navarro and that means he’ll be needing a new challenger. As for this week, we have Jason Hotch challenging his Order 4 boss Mustafa Ali for the International Title. We’re live tonight too so let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at last week’s World Title match and sets up the International Title match.

Opening sequence.

Ricky Sosa/Leon Slater vs. The System

The rest of the System is here with the System. Sosa and Edwards slug it out to start with Sosa grabbing a quick full nelson slam. Everything breaks down and Slater comes in for a splash to Alexander and a monkey flip to Edwards. A pair of dives take out the System and we take a break.

We come back with Sosa in trouble and Alisha Edwards even getting in some choking from the floor. Alexander’s reverse chinlock doesn’t work very well and a diving tag brings in Slater to start the comeback. Slater tosses Alexander into a powerslam for two and a running shot to the face drops Myers. The Swanton 450 finishes Alexander at 12:13.

Rating: B-. Good opener here and odds are that result lets Slater get set up for a rematch for the title. At the same time Sosa gets a nice win by association and the System will bounce back as always. In other words, it’s a win that helps the winners and a loss that doesn’t really hurt the losers. Not bad at all.

Post match Slater issues the challenge for the title match at Lockdown.

Mustafa Ali wants the rest of Order 4 here for a meeting right now. John Skyler tries to go find the other members but gets distracted by Mila Moore. Ali yells a lot.

The Elegance Brand is ready to win, though Heather isn’t sure what happens if she has to face M in the Knockouts TV Title tournament. The Personal Concierge isn’t worried.

We pause to wish Rebel well as she is fighting ALS.

Knockouts TV Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Thea Hail vs. Indi Hartwell

Hail’s headlock doesn’t get her very far to start and Hartwell shoulders her out to the floor. A boot to the head gives Hartwell two back inside and she grabs the armbar. The Hurts Donut is blocked though and Hail is up to work on the arm as well. Hartwell actually can’t power out and gets taken back down.

Hail tries to switch to the Kimura but gets kicked out to the floor. Back in and Hartwell avoids the springboard backsplash but can’t get her up for the powerbomb (I’m not sure if that was legit or not but Hartwell grabbed her arm for a nice explanation). Instead it’s a Hurts Donut to give Hartwell the pin at 7:42.

Rating: C+. Hartwell moving on is hardly a surprise and it wouldn’t be shocking to see her winning the whole thing. It’s clear that TNA sees her as one of the bigger stars around so maybe she winds up getting some gold this way. The match was ok enough with the arm work, but Hail wasn’t going over one of the more popular stars in the division.

AJ Francis takes up a collection for his injured valet. Rich Swann and BDE aren’t impressed.

Here is KC Navarro for a chat. Last week he had the biggest chance of his life as he challenged for the TNA World Title but he came up short. He has tried for his entire career and wants to be an inspiration to people. After hearing that he’ll never be anything for years, he knows that he belongs and his career is just beginning.

Cue the System to interrupt, with Cedric Alexander turning down Leon Slater’s challenge for Lockdown. Ricky Sosa and Leon Slater don’t get another match either but Navarro interrupts, saying this is his time. The obvious beatdown ensues, with Sosa and Slater running in for the save.

Allie panics over not being able to find Rosemary but Daria Rae doesn’t want to hear it.

Xia Brookside attacked Wendy Choo and Elayna Black last week because she could. Choo comes in to call Brookside a coward so Santino Marella comes in to make a title match for next week. Black comes in to tell Choo to shut Brookside up next week.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Elegance Brand vs. Rosemary/Allie

Rosemary/Allie are defending, but there is no Rosemary to start. Allie slugs away at both of them to start but the numbers game catches up with her rather quickly. M tries to drop Heather onto Allie but hits raised knees. The Personal Concierge grabs a belt but gets pulled inside, with Allie raking his injured eyes (that’s mean). Mr. Elegance comes in so Allie hits him with the belt, followed by another shot to Heather for the DQ at 2:39.

Post match Allie takes out M as well.

Here are the Hardys, now in their GOAT masks, with Matt even confirming that he loves cheese steaks. They brag about their win over the Righteous last week and, after a shout out to Walking Dead spinoff star Aimee Garcia in the audience, say it’s time to start wrecking some people.

They invented the TLC match but here are Nic and Ryan Nemeth to interrupt. The Nemeths want a title shot at Lockdown and here is Santino Marella to make the match….and Nic is going to defend the World Title against Jeff. Well that’s kind of huge. Ryan gets to face Matt next week and goes to hit on Garcia, who throws a drink in his face. Garcia celebrates with the Hardys.

AJ Francis continues to try to collect money but runs into the Hometown Man. He’s not paying anything due to a case of hatred, so here is Elijah, who gets a cage match with Francis at Lockdown. That feud seemed pretty done but I guess they need to flesh out the card.

Daria Rae tells Santino Marella that it’s Rosemary/Allie vs. the Elegance Brand at Lockdown. They both think they need to find Rosemary, but they also need to trim some fat off the roster. Rae wants Harley Hudson gone but that gets shot down.

Knockouts TV Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Jada Stone vs. Jody Threat

They fight over arm control to start and Threat takes her into the corner for some clotheslines. A World’s Strongest Slam onto the apron drops Stone hard but she’s right back up with a 619. Stone’s split legged moonsault gets two but Threat kicks her in the back. A German suplex looks to set up Pop Shove It, with Stone elbowing her way out. The Spark Stunner is blocked so Stone grabs a rollup for the pin out of nowhere at 5:28.

Rating: C. I’m not sure how much upside I see in either of these two but at some point the division is going to need some fresh blood. Stone might as well get a chance as she’s still new enough around here to not have anything tainted. She won’t win the tournament but she might get something out of a decent run to the semifinals.

International Title: Jason Hotch vs. Mustafa Ali

Ali, with the rest of Order 4, is defending and Hotch’s family is here too (interesting). Hotch’s early headlock just earns him a chop and Ali sends him outside for a suicide dive. Hotch is right back with a DDT on the floor and a high crossbody gets two back inside. Ali fights back but makes the mistake of mocking Hotch’s family though and gets taken down with a moonsault to the floor.

We take a break and come back with both of them on top and Hotch superplexing him to the floor and through a table in a crazy crash. They both have to dive back inside to beat the count and Hotch is fired up enough to grab a backbreaker for two. Hotch misses a frog splash and the referee gets bumped, allowing Ali to go low. Ali grabs a belt and starts whipping Hotch, with John Skyler coming in to take it away.

Hotch runs into Skyler by mistake (you schnook) so Ali grabs a rollup with feet on the ropes…which Tasha Steelz breaks up. Steelz and Mila Moore brawl to the back, leaving Ali to grab a piledriver. The 450 connects but Hotch rolls him up for a near fall of his own. Ali’s charge hits the buckle and it’s a top rope double stomp to a standing Ali, followed by a frog splash to make Hotch champion at 14:49. The shot of Hotch’s young daughter in the crowd being happy her dad won is great.

Rating: B+. I wasn’t expecting this to be much of anything but dang did they make this work. There is a very good chance that Hotch is a short term champion but this is the kind of win that he can point to for the rest of his career. There is also something great about the team rising up to get rid of Ali and the result worked far better than I was expecting. Heck of a main event here.

Hotch celebrates and his family gets in the ring to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. TNA has a bad reputation for some of its live Impacts but they made it work here. The main event was a cool moment, which is more than I would have expected from that match. They also set up some matches for Lockdown (some of the buildups were better than others) and it should be a good build over the next few weeks. Solid show here, with that main event being a great surprise.

Results
Ricky Sosa/Leon Slater b. The System – Swanton 450 to Alexander
Indi Hartwell b. Thea Hail – Hurts Donut
Elegance Brand b. Allie via DQ when Allie hit Heather with the title
Jada Stone b. Jody Threat – Rollup
Jason Hotch b. Mustafa Ali – Frog splash

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

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