Summerslam 2013
Date: August 18, 2013
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 14,166
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, John Bradshaw Layfield

This is the show that was voted on for the annual redo and I can’t say I’m complaining. The show was instantly revered and it held up when I watched it the second time. We’ve got a double main event with Daniel Bryan challenging John Cena for the World Title and CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar in the Best vs. the Beast. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: US Title: Dean Ambrose vs. Rob Van Dam

Dean is defending and we still have the full Shield entrance (no Reigns/Rollins here) through the crowd, which is still just cool. A shoulder drops Rob to start and Dean grabs a hammerlock as it’s a slow pace early on. Rob clotheslines him into a headlock but charges into a boot to the face for two. A neckbreaker gives Dean the same and we hit the neck crank as we’re somehow four minutes into this.

Ambrose gets in a running dropkick and grabs a quickly broken chinlock. Rob kicks him down to set up the Five Star but Rollins and Reigns come through the crowd, rendering him completely incapable of jumping. Big Show and Mark Henry show up as well though, putting us all even as we as we take a break.

Back with Dean grabbing a chinlock and sending Rob outside. That means a staredown on the floor as Henry and Show earn those paychecks and DVD royalties. Rob drops Dean on the barricade and hits the spinning kick to the back. A rollup gives Rob two back inside but he walks into a good looking spinebuster for two. Dean misses a top rope elbow but Rob has to go after Rollins instead of Five Starring. Rolling Thunder crushes Dean and it’s Five Star time, only to have Reigns spear Rob down for the DQ at 13:38.

Rating: D+. This was a pretty sad way to start the show as you would expect a lot more from these two. Ambrose was a very natural arrogant heel but Rob was just going through the motions. It didn’t help that the big plot point, Show and Henry, did NOTHING here and Reigns interfered anyway. It’s never a good sign when you can completely take people out of a match and it changes nothing but that was the case here. Really disappointing outing.

And now on to the mai…..IT’S LESS THAN THREE HOURS!!! Oh sweet goodness happy days are here again!

Here’s the Miz, your host for the evening and still a face here, to open things up. He explains the two main events, just in case people stumbled in here expecting a free car wash. Fandango and Summer Rae (dang) cut him off and dance around him. Miz: “Really? Really?” Anyway, welcome to Summerslam.

The opening video talks about how the stars are out tonight and has a bit of a grainy look to it for a unique visual. As you might expect, the two main events receive most of the attention. Of note: the instrumental background music would become Akira Tozawa’s theme.

JoJo sings the National Anthem, which was a plot point on Total Divas because Total Divas is creatively bankrupt.

Kane vs. Bray Wyatt

This is a Ring of Fire match, meaning the ring is surrounded by fire like an inferno match but you win by regular means. It’s also Wyatt’s in-ring debut, which is kind of gobsmacking. Kane unloads on him in the corner to start as the arena is much darker than usual to show off the flames. A clothesline drops Wyatt and the flames go over the top rope.

Kane gets in a suplex for the same result as Luke Harper and Erick Rowan are panicking on the floor. The fact that they’re there more or less guarantees they find a way to interfere, thereby making the gimmick worthless. Wyatt hits a running splash in the corner and hammers away on the mat. A big boot to the…..arm maybe drops Wyatt and there’s the sidewalk slam for no cover.

Harper tries to grab a kendo stick but it gets caught on fire, sending an overzealous fireman to put it out. Rowan takes his extinguisher but can’t get rid of the flames. The chokeslam plants Wyatt for no cover as Kane would rather do it again, likely so Harper and Rowan can figure out a way inside. They find a fireproof….something and get inside for the big beatdown. Rowan splashes Kane and Sister Abigail gives Bray the pin at 7:48.

Rating: F+. This was WAY worse than I remember as it was literally just killing time until the ending. The ending was as telegraphed as it could have been and there was never any drama. Instead of actually having a match, this was a mental exercise for the Family and that’s REALLY not how you want to debut someone with the kind of potential Wyatt has.

Post match the Wyatts crush Kane with the steps and carry him off to film See No Evil 2.

The Kickoff Show panel wastes a minute of our time.

We see a Paul Heyman promo on the Kickoff Show, talking about how in reality, David would have thrown a stone at Goliath and then taken the beating of a lifetime. As a bonus, tonight’s match is No DQ.

Damien Sandow vs. Cody Rhodes

They used to be partners until Sandow won the Money in the Bank briefcase (it’s still the brown one which looks like a Hershey bar) in the surprise for the sake of swerving the fans who KNEW Cody was going to win (which he was). Before the match, Sandow says he was the leader of the Rhodes Scholars and tonight, he’s sending Cody back to the Rhodes Family so they can be dumb and dumber. Cole’s big plug for the entrances: watch the JBL and Cole Show to find out why Cody shaved his mustache!

They start fast with Sandow shoving him into the corner but getting backdropped. The gordbuster gives Cody two but a legsweep sends him outside. Back in and some knees to the back set up a bow and arrow hold. Sandow has to fight out of an early Cross Rhodes attempt and drops the Wind Up Elbow for two. I know Sandow has the charisma but dang it’s not working in the ring.

Sandow puts on a standing leglock for a few moment before switching to just rubbing Cody’s face in the mat. Cody catches him on the top though and it’s something like a Muscle Buster for two. A springboard missile dropkick gets two on Sandow but he comes right back with a running flip neckbreaker for the same. Cody nails the Disaster Kick for the near fall, followed by Cross Rhodes for the pin at 6:39.

Rating: C+. They were working hard out there and had a good match but it’s very clear that Sandow is in WAY over his head with the briefcase. I don’t think anyone really bought him as a main eventer at this point and his pretty worthless TNA run doesn’t exactly change the theory that it was the stunt double gimmick that was so good and not him.

Video on Christian, who is back for one more run at the World Title.

Smackdown World Title: Alberto Del Rio vs. Christian

Christian is challenging. Del Rio has Lillian Garcia introduce him in Spanish, which isn’t quite a heel move in a major Hispanic market. Alberto grabs a headlock but gets slapped for his efforts, followed by the back of the neck snap across the top rope. That’s fine with him though as he puts Christian on the top for a heck of a running enziguri to put Christian in the Tree of Woe.

Del Rio starts in on the arm by sending it into the barricade and it’s off to an early armbar. A top rope double stomp to the shoulder makes it even worse, but not as bad as it would be with the top rope double stomp out of the Tree of Woe. The champ misses a charge though and crashes out to the floor to give Christian a breather. Back in and Del Rio dives into a raised boot, followed by a middle rope missile dropkick for no cover. The high crossbody gets two but Christian is holding the arm.

It’s too early for the Killswitch so Christian goes up, only to get pulled off the middle rope with a Backstabber in a cool spot. A middle rope backsplash doesn’t work for the champ but he’s still able to block the spear (which Christian should NEVER use) with a dropkick. Del Rio takes down his kneepad but gets rolled up for two more. Now the spear connects, only to have the shoulder give out. That means a cross armbreaker and Christian taps (rather surprising) at 12:30.

Rating: B. I had a lot more fun with this than I was expecting, which I think is what I said when I watched this the first time around too. Christian was a great choice for a challenger at this level as he’s going to have a good match no matter what. Unfortunately this was about it for him as he would only wrestle a few more matches in 2013, then come back for another short run to start the new year, ending with a concussion that caused his retirement. It’s a shame, but probably for the best as you don’t want to mess with that area.

Post match Del Rio says the Mexican people need an idol and his name is Alberto Del Rio.

Clips from Summerslam Axxess, which has never come close to matching the Wrestlemania version.

Miz (oh yeah he’s here) talks to Maria Menunos, who won in a tag match at Axxess. Fandango and Summer Rae dance in again but this time Miz and Maria show them up with some dancing of their own. Did you know Maria Menunos of some entertainment show is here? If you don’t, you will when this is all over that show.

Natalya vs. Brie Bella

No story of note here, but Cole introduces the two of them as “some of the stars of Total Divas”. Just in case you thought Summerslam was the point here. Naturally more cast members are at ringside and sweet goodness I forgot how annoying this era was for the women. Feeling out process to start as Natalya tries to do any kind of wrestling with Brie. They finally go with the slapping until Natalya sends her outside for a baseball slide. The JBL and MICHAEL COLE chants start up and there’s the JERRY chant to complete the trio.

Brie grabs a chinlock and the fans want tables. A jawbreaker gets Natalya out of trouble and she grabs the Sharpshooter until Brie slips out and sends her hard into the corner. We get the required catfight on the floor and it’s time for a Zack Ryder chant. The yet to be named BRIE MODE knee seems to wake Natalya up as it’s the Sharpshooter to make Brie tap at 5:18.

Rating: D-. The match could have been so much worse but the story, or lack thereof, had this thing doomed from the start. This was back at the start of the Total Divas era and fans hadn’t gotten sick of the show yet. They don’t get along on Total Divas for whatever nonsense reason the writers have come up with so here’s a short match between them. Not horrible but sweet goodness could we please get the tiniest bit of effort?

Earlier today, Ryback poured soup on a catering worker.

We recap CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar and I begin to smile. This is mainly about Punk vs. Paul Heyman, who had been Punk’s supporter for years. Then Punk started to change his attitude and told Heyman that he wanted to do this by himself. That wasn’t cool with Heyman, who cost him the Money in the Bank ladder match. Punk went after Heyman so Brock Lesnar returned to be Heyman’s muscle. The match was set with the great tagline “The Best vs. The Beast.” Do you need much more than that?

CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar

No DQ. I know I say this a lot but Brock Lesnar coming down the aisle is one of the scariest sights in wrestling. Punk charges right at him and gets driven into the corner for some shoulders. A hard whip sends Punk into a different corner as the fans are trying to stay behind him. Punk’s strikes have almost no effect (Punk not being able to strike with an MMA guy? I’m sure that won’t be an even bigger joke three years later.) and Brock easily stomps him down in the corner.

Punk gets in a kick to the jaw and a pair of running knees knock Lesnar outside for a suicide dive. That’s exactly the kind of hope spot that the fans needed to get back into this but Lesnar cuts them off by slamming the steps, which are in Punk’s hands, straight into Punk’s face. Punk http://onhealthy.net/product-category/mental-disorders/ posts him though and scores with the clothesline off the barricade, only to make the mistake of going after Heyman.

One heck of a toss sends Punk over the announcers’ table as there’s not much of a way around that kind of power. That’s not good enough though as Brock throws him over the other table, just so it won’t feel left out. Lesnar jumps into a stomp onto a piece of the table onto Punk before sending him flying off a belly to belly (leaving a big sweat stain on the floor).

Back in and Lesnar fires off more shoulders to the ribs and we hit the bearhug. An elbow to the nose staggers Brock for a bit but he knees Punk hard in the ribs to put him down again. It’s back to the bearhug as they’re doing a good job with cutting off the hope spots. Punk kicks away but dives right into a fall away slam to cut him off again. A chinlock lasts for a little while until Punk fights up and bites the ear to escape.

Punk FINALLY drops him with a series of kicks and the running knee in the corner makes it even worse. Lesnar catches a running knee but Punk escapes and high kicks him down, setting up the Macho Elbow (looked awful, almost more like a sideways splash) for a pretty hot two. Neither finisher can connect so Punk kicks him in the head again and Brock goes down from a single shot. You don’t see that every day.

The GTS is countered into the Kimura but that’s reversed into a cross armbreaker and then a triangle choke. A powerbomb doesn’t break the hold so Brock lifts him up again, shrugs off the elbows to the head and PLANTS Punk with a running powerbomb. The fans are INSANE for Punk but Brock cuts them off with the most vicious Three Amigos you’ll ever see. Brock very slowly heads outside to grab a chair so Punk dives onto him, only to land on the chair, which lands on Lesnar to put both of them down.

It’s Punk up first with the chair though and he wears Brock out….until Lesnar just takes it away from him. That’s fine with Punk as a low blow gets him out of trouble (Punk: “WHERE’S YOUR CUP NOW UFC BOY???”) and freaks Heyman out all over again. Punk takes the chair up top and drops something like a Macho Elbow for two more. A few more chair shots have Lesnar in trouble until Heyman takes it away.

Punk grabs Heyman’s tie to block the F5 (smart) and it’s the GTS but Heyman makes the save for the false finish of the year. Reality sets in on Heyman (as only it can) and he realizes there’s no Brock to save him. Punk gives chase but runs into the F5, which he counters into a tornado DDT for two more. The Anaconda Vice goes on but Punk lets it go to cut Heyman off. A big right hand drops Paul, only to have Lesnar BLAST Punk with the chair. The F5 onto the chair finally ends Punk at 25:18.

Rating: A+. I gave this Match of the Year and I’m certainly not changing that now. This was a total war with Punk shocking the heck out of me by taking Lesnar to the limit. If nothing else, this is the textbook example of how to book Lesnar vs. a smaller guy. You even have Punk saving some face by having Heyman interfere so often. It’s an outstanding match and easily holds up four years later.

As I mentioned a few times, Punk was giving the fans just enough hope spots to keep things going. No one was going to buy Punk hanging in a fist fight with him (nor should they have bought it with HHH but that’s a long issue for another time) but they could buy him getting in a few shots here and there and giving it all he had. That’s wrestling storytelling in a nutshell and it was as entertaining as it could have been. If not for Punk vs. Cena in 2011, this would be Punk’s WWE masterpiece.

Punk pulls himself up and gets the hero’s ovation. It’s a shame that he would be gone in four months.

A fan agreed to trade tickets to a house show for three tickets to Summerslam and Summerslam Axxess if he took a splash from Mark Henry. Oh and he gets to sit ringside (meaning in front of the announcers’ tables for the next match). Well gee I wonder if that’s a hard decision.

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

Former partners/couple who split up and absolutely no one is interested here. The guys start things off and it’s an early belly to belly to drop Ziggler. We hit an early abdominal stretch with a stomach claw thrown in as a bonus. Ziggler comes back with a dropkick and the too early to be a hot tag brings in the women. AJ spin kicks Kaitlyn down for two and it’s off to a cravate.

Back to back neckbreakers give AJ….an opportunity to dance around the ring, allowing Kaitlyn to kick her away. The hot tag brings in Dolph for another dropkick and his jumping elbows. Big E. is right back up with a powerbomb backbreaker for two with Kaitlyn making a save. A charge hits post though and Kaitlyn spears AJ in half on the floor. The Big Ending is countered and the Zig Zag gives Dolph the pin at 6:42.

Rating: D+. They didn’t have time to do much here and were in the death spot, which doesn’t work very well when they’re doing a TV match. It’s not terrible or anything and Kaitlyn spearing AJ is always entertaining. They were still getting ready to launch the Women’s Revolution down in NXT so this was about as good as you were going to get from the women at this point. Big E. vs. Ziggler kept going for a good while but never went anywhere, which is why New Day was the best thing that could have happened to Langston.

Fandango interrupts Miz again and finally gets punched out.

The Kickoff Show panel goes over their main event picks and talk about some of the show.

We recap John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan. Daniel had been on the roll of a lifetime and Cena was allowed to pick his challenger for Summerslam. Cena selected Daniel Bryan but Vince McMahon was suddenly against Bryan as the top star. It was clearly Bryan vs. the establishment and as a bonus, HHH will be guest referee for the title match. I’m sure nothing will come of it.

Bryan vs. Cena was built up as a big fight as well with Bryan calling Cena a phony who wasn’t here for the wrestling. Cena said he’s had his share of great matches but he’s had them while holding the WWE World Title. Bryan is the best competition around but the best isn’t going to be good enough.

Raw World Title: John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan

Bryan is challenging, Cena has a baseball sized amount of fluid in his elbow which is going to force him to leave almost immediately after this show, and HHH is guest referee. Cena headlocks him to the mat to start but Bryan armdrags him off. The test of strength drives Bryan down again but Cena can’t break his bridge in an impressive (and surprising) power display. The threat of a YES Lock sends Cena bailing out to the floor and we take a breather.

Back in and Bryan easily takes him down for a surfboard, only to have Cena kick him away without much effort. Cena kicks him into the steps and suplexes him off the steps for good measure. If quiets the YOU CAN’T WRESTLE chants for a few seconds but they’re quickly replaced by the YOU STILL SUCK chants. At least they’re consistent in their hatred. Back in and Cena powers him away again before countering a hurricanrana attempt with a sitout powerbomb.

We hit the chinlock for a bit until Cena powers up and fires off some kicks in the corner. Cena fights up again and tries the finishing sequence, only to have the Shuffle broken up with a kick to the face. The second attempt works a bit better though and is good for two but Bryan kicks him in the eye again. Cena is starting to sport a black eye but Bryan wisely starts going after the arm. A quick STF attempt is countered into an STF from Bryan but Cena makes the ropes.

The AA is countered straight into the YES Lock and Cena is in trouble. He powers out again so Bryan slaps on a guillotine as Cena just can’t shake him off for good. The hold is finally broken and Bryan is a bit surprised, allowing Cena to grab a quick AA for two. Cena heads up but Bryan is right there again with a superplex. Bryan hangs on and pulls himself back up for the Swan Dive and a very near fall.

The suicide dive is blocked with a hard forearm and now the top rope Fameasser is good for two. With a one and one record up top, Cena tries it again, this time loading Bryan up for a super AA. Bryan tries a super hurricanrana to counter but Cena counters into what looked like an attempt at a Styles Clash, only to drop Bryan SQUARE ON HIS HEAD with a scary sounding thud.

The STF goes on but breaks down a bit with Cena winding up on his side, allowing Bryan to flip over into the YES Lock. Cena makes the rope again so Bryan goes back to the strikes with the running corner dropkicks. That’s fine with Cena, who turns Bryan inside out with the hard clothesline. NOW the fans are into both guys and there’s no reason for them to not be.

They slug it out until a double clothesline puts both guys down for another breather. Cena slaps Bryan hard in the face so Bryan does the same right back but Cena powers him up for the AA. That’s countered into a hard DDT though and Cena is in trouble again. One heck of a kick to the head drops Cena and Bryan debuts the running knee for the pin and the title in a shocking finish at 26:55.

Rating: A+. Yeah this worked too. The fact that Bryan pinned him clean was the completely correct call as the win is what matters, not the title itself. Bryan looks like the biggest star in the world now and this is confirmation that WWE sees him as a top name. The fact that it was an outstanding match helps things even better, but that ending is still perfect. Bryan beat Cena down and then hit a finisher to pin him. What else could he possibly ask for? Well, save for what came at Wrestlemania of course but sweet goodness this was outstanding stuff.

Cena stares Bryan down but shakes his hand. Pyro and confetti go off….and here’s Mr. Money in the Bank Randy Orton. Randy holds up the case at ringside so Bryan says bring it. Orton turns around and walks away, leaving HHH (who called the match right down the line and was a complete non-factor) to turn on Bryan and lay him out with the Pedigree.

Raw World Title: Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan

Faster than I can type Orton is challenging (ok not really), he wins the title at 8 seconds.

The crowd is eerily quiet as HHH hands Orton the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. Everything that needed to be great was WAY beyond great and everything else was as forgettable (and thankfully short) as it needed to be. The whole thing that matters here are two matches combining for over fifty minutes (remember that it’s less than three hours long) and they’re both instant Match of the Year candidates. This show is an absolute classic and well worth checking out for the last great pre-Network shows.

Ratings Comparison

Rob Van Dam vs. Dean Ambrose

Original: B-

2014 Redo: B-

2017 Redo: D+

Bray Wyatt vs. Kane

Original: D+

2014 Redo: D

2017 Redo: F+

Damien Sandow vs. Cody Rhodes

Original: C

2014 Redo: D+

2017 Redo: C+

Alberto Del Rio vs. Christian

Original: B+

2014 Redo: B

2017 Redo: B

Brie Bella vs. Natalya

Original: F

2014 Redo: D-

2017 Redo: D-

Brock Lesnar vs. CM Punk

Original: A+

2014 Redo: A+

2017 Redo: A+

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

Original: C-

2014 Redo: D+

2017 Redo: D+

Daniel Bryan vs. John Cena

Original: A+

2014 Redo: A+

2017 Redo: A+

Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan

Original: N/A

2014 Redo: N/A

2017 Redo: N/A

Overall Rating

Original: A-

2014 Redo: A

2017 Redo: A-

What is up with that opener? I really liked it that much earlier on?

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2013/08/18/summerslam-2013-a-star-is-born/

And the 2014 Redo:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2014/08/16/summerslam-count-up-2013-2014-redo-what-a-difference-a-year-makes/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Summerslam 2013
Date: August 18, 2013
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 14,500
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, John Bradshaw Layfield

This show was almost universally the Show of the Year for 2013 and I’ve been really interested in seeing how it holds up. There’s a double main event with Cena vs. Bryan for the World Title and Lesnar vs. Punk in Punk’s attempt to get revenge on Lesnar’s manager Paul Heyman for screwing him over back in July. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: US Title: Rob Van Dam vs. Dean Ambrose

Dean is making a rare defense here after Rob won a battle royal or something. Feeling out process to start with Dean saying bring it on. They trade hammerlocks until Rob nails a running shoulder and a kick to the jaw. Rob hammers away in the corner but runs into a boot to give Dean control. A neckbreaker gives Ambrose a two count and the fans are split on who they like best.

Dean hits the dropkick against the ropes and puts on a chinlock. Thankfully it doesn’t last long though and Rob comes back with a quick moonsault, only to walk into a clothesline for two. The bulldog driver is broken up by some more kicks to the face but Rollins and Reigns come out to break up the Five Star. This brings out Mark Henry and Big Show to even things up as we take a break.

Back with Dean dropping an elbow for two and putting on a cross face chicken wing of all things. Rob is sent outside and the four seconds have a standoff. Dean goes out to get Rob and winds up getting caught by the spinning kick to the back for two. A spinning legdrop gets the same for Van Dam but he walks into a spinebuster. Dean misses a middle rope elbow but a Shield distraction lets him get two off a rollup. Rolling Thunder sets up the Five Star but Reigns spears Van Dam for the DQ.

Rating: B-. Good match here but the ending didn’t work. What was the point of having Big Show and Henry out there if they’re just going to have Reigns come in with no resistance for a DQ? It really is amazing how far Van Dam has fallen in the last year as I wouldn’t expect him to have this kind of a match today if his life depended on it.

Miz, the host of the show, welcomes us to the evening and runs down the big matches. He would be kind of perfect for this role today too. Fandango and Summer Rae cut him off….and that’s it.

The opening video focuses o how awesome Los Angeles is as well as the double main events. The overblown voiceover really works.

Jojo from Total Divas sings the National Anthem.

Bray Wyatt vs. Kane

This is a Ring of Fire match, meaning an Inferno match but you win by pin or submission. It’s also Bray’s in ring debut. Kane hammers away in the corner to start and we get the old school idea of the flames going up whenever anyone hits the mat. Harper and Rowan keep getting closer to the ring but have to back away from the flames. Bray comes back with headbutts but can’t get Kane up for a suplex.

Kane gets sent into the corner for a running splash followed by the cross body to put him down. A bunch of right hands have Kane in more trouble but he comes back with a running clothesline in the corner. There’s the side slam to send the flames up even more, preventing the Family from sending Bray a kendo stick. Rowan tries a fire extinguisher but the flames don’t go out. Kane hits a pair of chokeslams and calls for a tombstone, only to have Rowan and Harper cover the flames and come to beat Kane down. The yet to be named Sister Abigail gives Bray the pin at 7:45.

Rating: D. This wasn’t so much bad as much as it was really stupid. Bray looks like a joke in his first match (though he would have FAR better performances in the future) and the flames are more of an annoyance than the focus of the match. The Family coming in didn’t work and makes the whole thing look ridiculous.

Post match Bray sits in his chair while the Family crushes Kane’s head with the steps. They carry Kane away which never went anywhere.

The expert panel (Booker T., Shawn Michaels and Vickie Guerrero) chat about what we just saw and make some main event predictions.

Earlier tonight Paul Heyman compared Punk vs. Lesnar to David vs. Goliath. He sees the battles ending a bit differently. Tonight’s match is now no DQ.

Damien Sandow vs. Cody Rhodes

Sandow screwed over his friend Cody to become Mr. Money in the Bank and Rhodes is ticked off. On the way to the ring, Damien talks about famous teams and says there has always been a leader and a sidekick. Cody has recently shaved off his mustache and Cole tells us we can find out why he has done so on Friday on Youtube. Seriously.

Sandow charges at him to start and hammers away in the corner but Cody comes back with a backdrop to take over. The release gordbuster gets two for Cody but Damien hammers away on him in the corner and cranks on the arms. The Wind-Up Elbow gets two and we hit an old school Edgecator (kneeling Sharpshooter) to Cody.

That goes nowhere either as Rhodes fights up and hits a MuscleBuster of all things for two. A springboard missile dropkick sets up the Disaster Kick but Sandow comes back with a swinging neckbreaker. Cody nails a second attempt at the Disaster Kick for two but Cody misses a charge into the post. Again it doesn’t seem to matter as Cross Rhodes gets the pin on Sandow at 6:40.

Rating: D+. This could have been on any given Smackdown and really doesn’t mean anything. The idea was for Cody to eventually take the briefcase from Sandow but they dropped the whole idea and hooked Cody up with Goldust, which wound up being better for everyone involved. It didn’t last long but at least it was an idea. Sandow has fallen through the floor in a year and Cody is a completely different character.

Video on Christian’s career.

World Heavyweight Title: Alberto Del Rio vs. Christian

Another match where both guys have completely changed course in a year. Christian is challenging after winning a triple threat a few weeks back. We’re ready to go after some big match intros and some gawking at Lillian in a gray dress. They lock up and head into the corner to start with the champion grabbing a headlock. Del Rio gets him to chase him around the ring but gets his throat snapped across the top rope.

Alberto breaks up a top rope hurricanrana and ties Christian in the Tree of Woe for some stomping. Back to the floor with Christian being sent into the barricade to start the arm work. A release flapjack and a kick to the head allows Del Rio to wrap the arm around the ropes. Christian sends him back outside and hits a big plancha to take the champion down, followed by a missile dropkick back inside.

The Canadian hammers away in the corner, ducks the running enziguri, and gets two off a top rope cross body. The Killswitch is countered into a Backstabber for two as Alberto is starting to get frustrated. There’s a jumping back elbow to the jaw from Christian but Del Rio counters a sunset flip out of the corner with a right hand.

Instead a top rope hurricanrana gets two for Christian and Del Rio is in trouble. It’s not enough trouble for him to get speared though as Del Rio dropkicks him in the face for a sweet counter. The low superkick gets two more for Alberto. He tries it again but gets rolled up for two. Christian finally hits the spear but injures his bad shoulder, setting up the cross armbreaker to retain Del Rio’s title at 12:28.

Rating: B. Good match here with both guys going back and forth until the logical and thought out ending. I love it when you have an old injury coming back from earlier in the match to tie into the ending, even though it’s not something you see often enough. It’s also nice to see a high level guy tapping out to a heel submission, which you see even less often.

Del Rio says he’s the Latino representative.

WWE loves the National Guard.

Video on Axxess from earlier today. Maria Menunos had a match and talks to Miz about how awesome that was. Fandango and Summer Rae interrupt with some more dancing, triggering a dance from Maria and Miz.

Natalya vs. Brie Bella

This is the Total Divas match. You can add Natalya to the list of people who have fallen through the floor in a year. She has the Funkadactyls with her while Brie has Nikki and Eva Marie. I’m not sure who has the better backup here. Feeling out process to start with both girls doing their best choreographed spots. Brie slaps her in the face but has to head to the ropes to avoid a Sharpshooter attempt.

Natalya is sent to the floor and caught with a baseball slide to the back as a JBL chant starts up. Now it’s a Michael Cole chant, followed by the required Jerry version. Brie drops a leg and cranks on a chinlock as the fans want tables. Natalya fights up and puts on a quick Sharpshooter but Brie sends her into the corner. The other Divas get into it on the floor and we hit another chinlock from Brie. Back up and a sunset flip is countered into a Sharpshooter to make Brie tap at 4:19.

Rating: D-. Well that happened. It doesn’t hold up, the fans don’t care, and the whole thing is a waste of time. The girls didn’t even look all that great here as most of their outfits looked like they belonged in the 1950s. The fact that Total Divas didn’t get the Divas Title off of AJ continues to astound me.

Ryback harassed a catering guy earlier in the day.

We recap Lesnar vs. Punk. The idea is simple: both guys are Paul Heyman Guys, but then Punk started listening to the fans and asked Heyman to stop coming out for his matches. Heyman turned on him and cost Punk Money in the Bank, so Punk swore revenge. Brock Lesnar returned and laid out Punk, with Heyman eventually revealing that he asked Brock to come back and destroy Punk, despite swearing he didn’t.

Punk is out for revenge but has to go through Lesnar to get there. The title for the match was perfect: The Best vs. The Beast. I love the story behind this: yeah it’s about revenge, but it won’t be settled in a debate or by lawyers or something stupid like that. Instead, it’s going to be scheduled in a professional wrestling match, like every feud should be.

Brock Lesnar vs. CM Punk

No DQ. Punk charges right at him but gets driven into the corner. Forearms to Brock’s head have no effect and he drives shoulders into the ribs. Punk tries some knees to the ribs but Brock literally tosses him across the ring. Brock stomps him down in the corner but Punk comes back with a hard knee to the jaw and a second one to send him out to the floor. A big suicide dive has the Beast down and Heyman is starting to freak out.

Punk gets some steps but Brock just rams them back into his face to take over again. He throws Punk onto his should but gets posted instead, allowing Punk to dive off the apron to drop Brock again. A clothesline off the announcers’ table nails Lesnar but Punk makes the mistake of going after Heyman, allowing Brock to blindside him. Brock picks him up again and LAUNCHES him over the announcers’ table. Then he throws him over the other table and stomps on the top of the table on top of Punk.

Back in and Punk goes after the legs but Brock just levels him with a clothesline. We hit the bearhug until Punk scores with forearms, only to take a hard knee to the ribs. It’s almost total dominace by Brock so far. Back to the bearhug but Punk elbows out of it again. Some kicks to the chest have Brock in trouble but he counters a high cross body into a fall away slam.

We hit the chinlock but Punk bites his ear to escape. More kicks have Brock in trouble and a top rope knee sends him sprawling across the ring. There’s a pair of running knees in the corner but Brock counters the third one into the F5. Punk escapes again and nails a high kick followed by the Macho Elbow (more like a splash) for a VERY close two. The fans are totally into this.

The GTS is countered into another F5 attempt but Punk escapes and nails another high kick. He tries the GTS again but gets caught in the Kimura. Somehow he counters that into a cross armbreaker but Brock rolls over into a choke. Punk counters THAT into a triangle choke, only to have Brock lift him for a powerbomb. That doesn’t break the hold either and it’s back to the triangle, but Brock lifts him into another powerbomb, this time with a running start. AMAZING sequence there and the fans give it the THIS IS AWESOME chant that it deserves.

Brock busts out Three Amigos of all things for two. Punk is half dead in the ring so Brock heads outside and gets a chair. He takes too long though and Punk dives onto the chair, driving it into Lesnar in a huge crash. Now it’s Punk wearing out Brock with the chair as they head back inside. Brock takes the chair away, only to get hit low before he can destroy Punk. Punk nails the Cactus Jack chair drop from the top for two as Heyman is pacing back and forth.

Punk just starts beating Brock with the chair but Heyman gets on the apron for a distraction. Lesnar lifts him for the F5 but Punk grabs Heyman for the block. He slips off Lesnar’s back and hits the GTS for a white hot near fall with Heyman making the save. After a quick chase, Punk charges into the F5 but counters AGAIN into a DDT for another two.

There’s the Anaconda Vice and Lesnar is in trouble, drawing Heyman in with the chair….but Punk gets up and steps on it. There’s a right hand for Heyman and a Vice of his own, but Punk is wide open for a chair shot from Lesnar. A bunch more chair shots sets up an F5 on the chair to give Brock the pin on Punk’s dead body at 29:07.
Rating: A+. I said this was Match of the Year last year and a second viewing affirms that view. This was AMAZING with some great David vs. Goliath stuff, a white hot counter sequence, and then two guys just beating the tar out of each other for ten minutes to end the match. Heyman making the save made sense, but it makes Punk look like the superhero that everyone thought he was. Totally awesome match here and Lesnar looks like the monster that he’s supposed to.

Oh and one more thing: SCREW YOU HHH FOR WASTING BROCK FOR A YEAR FOR YOUR STUPID EGO. Seriously, a year of this lost for that “trilogy” nonsense with HHH winning the big match on the biggest stage before letting Brock get his win back in a totally forgotten cage match. Lucky us.

Punk gets the well deserved standing ovation.

A fan gets splashed by Mark Henry for Summerslam tickets. He gets to sit in front of the announcers’ table for the next match.

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

Two feuds combined into one. The guys start with Ziggler nailing a fast dropkick for two on Big E. Langston comes right back with a belly to belly suplex and a spinning Warrior Splash for two of his own before we hit the abdominal stretch. Dolph quickly escapes and scores with another dropkick before it’s off to the girls. Kaitlyn throws her around but gets caught by a big kick to the face.

A back elbow gets two for Lee and she hooks a sleeper. AJ shouts a lot but gets caught with a shoulder block. Back to the guys and there are the ten elbow drops from Dolph. The Fameasser misses and Big E. hooks a tilt-a-while backbreaker for two. AJ takes out Kaitlyn with a Shining Wizard but Big E. hits the post. Kaitlyn spears AJ in half (I miss her selling the heck out of that move) as Big E. gets back up and runs over Dolph. The Big Ending doesn’t work though and the Zig Zag gives Dolph the pin at 5:46.

Rating: D+. I feel sorry for this match as it was a glorified TV match that had to go after a thirty minute masterpiece. These four feuded for a long time and it was getting boring by this time. AJ would hold the Divas Title for a ridiculous eight more months and Kaitlyn doesn’t even have a job anymore. Again, it’s amazing how much a year has changed.

Miz gets cut off by Fandango and Summer again, finally causing Miz to knock him out.

The expert panel makes their World Title match picks.

We recap Cena vs. Bryan. The idea here is simple: Bryan had been on a roll and Cena was allowed to pick his opponent for Summerslam. He summed it up in four words: “I select Daniel Bryan.” This was the start of Bryan being a B+ player as authority (not The Authority) figures started saying Bryan was just too small to be World Champion. HHH and Vince tried to turn him corporate but Bryan couldn’t bring himself to do it because it wasn’t who he was. The only person that seems to be supporting him is HHH, who is guest referee tonight.

At the same time they actually made it somewhat personal between Cena and Bryan as Daniel called Cena out for being a parody of a wrestler. Cena got very serious and said that he was a wrestler even if he wore bright t-shirts. He chose Bryan because he’s the best competition in the company right now and has earned the spot. Cena also has fluid the size of a baseball in his elbow at the moment and is going to be taking time off after the match.

WWE Title: Daniel Bryan vs. John Cena

Cena is defending and HHH is guest referee. Daniel wisely goes after the bad arm to start but gets taken down with a headlock. Back up and Cena isn’t sure what to make of Bryan and his technical abilities. John easily wins a test of strength but Bryan bridges off the mat. Cena jumps down on him but can’t break the bridge in a nice display of strength by the bearded one. A YES Lock attempt sends Cena out to the floor for a breather.

Back in and Cena uses the bad arm for a headlock before they hit the mat for the old Flair bridge up into a backslide from Bryan for two. It’s Bryan in control now but Cena blocks the surfboard with pure power. Daniel is sent to the apron and knocked into the announcers’ table with a hard shoulder. Cena is wrestling as the heel here by default as the power guy.

Bryan pops up and whips Cena into the steps but Cena sends him in as well. Fans to Cena: “YOU STILL SUCK!” Back in and Cena hammers away to get the upper hand but lets Bryan get up. A sitout powerbomb gets two for the champion and we hit the chinlock. Bryan is quickly back up with right hands as Jerry reminds us that HHH is guest referee. He hasn’t meant anything yet.

Bryan backflips over Cena out of the corner and nails the running clothesline. Here come the YES Kicks but the big one misses, allowing Cena to initiate his finishing sequence. The Shuffle gets two and Bryan nails the big kick to the head for the same. Bryan finally starts going after the arm by snapping it over his own shoulder and firing off kicks to the elbow. Cena tries a quick STF but Bryan mule kicks his way out. Now it’s Bryan putting Cena in the STF but he can’t crank on it as well.

Cena powers up but gets caught in Rolling Germans. Cena powers out of the third suplex and tries the AA, only to be reversed into the YES Lock. Bryan can’t quite get it on and Cena gets his head out of the grip to escape. That’s fine with Daniel who slaps on the guillotine choke. Again I had to hear Cole say HHH’s name to remember that he was the referee. Cena powers up again and drives Bryan into the buckle a few times before finally grabbing a rope for the break.

An AA connects out of nowhere for two and Cena is getting frustrated. He goes up top but Bryan breaks up the top rope Fameasser. A running dropkick has Cena reeling and Bryan superplexes him down, only to hook his feet on the ropes to stay up top. That’s kind of brilliant actually. The Swan Dive connects for two and Cena rolls outside. The FLYING GOAT is countered by a forearm to the face and the top rope Fameasser gets John another two count.

Cena goes up again but gets caught, only to try to slam Daniel down. Instead we get a TERRIFYING semi-botch as Cena almost piledrives him off the top. Thankfully Bryan’s neck is in one piece (for now) as Cena puts him in the STF. He pulls back too far though and Bryan slips out to apply the YES Lock. Cena is right next to the ropes for the break though and both guys are exhausted.

It’s Bryan up first with the running dropkicks but he tries one too many, allowing Cena to take his head off with a running clothesline. They slug it out again until both guys try flying shoulders and knock each other out again. Back up and they slap it out as the fans are even more into it now. Cena catches him charging and plants Bryan with a spinebuster. Allegedly Bryan countered with a DDT but it didn’t come off that well on camera.

It’s Daniel to his feet first and going up top, only to have Cena counter his high cross body into an AA. Daniel counters that into the small package for two, followed by a BIG kick to the head. He doesn’t cover, but instead debuts the running knee to the chest for the 100% clean pin over Cena (I believe the first since Rock at Wrestlemania) for the pin and the title at 31:07.

Rating: A+. Yep this worked too. This is a totally different style of main event match and it more than holds up a year later. There was a solid story in there of Bryan being as technical as he could be and Cena just muscling his way through it, only to have Bryan knee his head off for the pin. Excellent match, but somehow it’s the second best of the night and of the year.

Post match Cena is upset but hands Bryan the title and raises his hand with no violence.

Bryan celebrates for about three minutes….and here’s Mr. Money in the Bank Randy Orton. Bryan is ready for him, but not ready for HHH to spin him around for a Pedigree.

WWE Title: Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan

Orton is champion in 8 seconds.

The new heel forces pose to end the show.

Overall Rating: A. This won Show of the Year and it’s easy to see why. The two main events are more than enough to make this awesome but you also have good stuff like Del Rio vs. Christian. Nothing was truly horrible here (the Divas match was just over four minutes so how much can it really hurt?) and two instant classics make this more than great and one of the best shows WWE ever put on.

Ratings Comparison

Rob Van Dam vs. Dean Ambrose

Original:
Redo: B-

Bray Wyatt vs. Kane

Original: D+
Redo: D

Damien Sandow vs. Cody Rhodes

Original: C
Redo: D+

Alberto Del Rio vs. Christian

Original: B+
Redo: B

Brie Bella vs. Natalya

Original: F
Redo: D-

Brock Lesnar vs. CM Punk

Original: A+
Redo: A+

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

Original: C-
Redo: D+

Daniel Bryan vs. John Cena

Original: A+
Redo: A+

Overall Rating:

Original: A-
Redo: A

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

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

 

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

Pre-Show: US Title: Dean Ambrose vs. Rob Van Dam

Back with Ambrose still in control with shots to the chest and a cross face chicken wing. An ECW chant starts up as Ambrose transitions into a sleeper. Rob is sent to the floor but the giants block Shield from interfering. Dean goes out to stare as well but gets kicked down by Van Dam, allowing Rob to put him on the barricade for the spin kick from the apron.

The opening video focuses on the main events and not much more.

Kane vs. Bray Wyatt

Rating: D+. This was disappointing. The visuals were cool but just putting a blanket over the flames was a pretty lame way to have the monsters get inside. I was expecting something a bit more supernatural instead of fire safety tips with the Wyatt Family. Also what was up with those botches?

The expert panel of Booker T, Shawn Michaels and Vickie Guerrero talk about the match a bit.

We get part of a Heyman promo from the pre show as the fire stuff is removed. Punk vs. Lesnar is now No DQ.

Damien Sandow vs. Cody Rhodes

Smackdown World Title: Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio

Christian won a three way to get the shot and has pinned Del Rio twice in the last few weeks. Alberto makes Lillian do his intro in Spanish in a nice touch. Christian quickly sends Del Rio out to the floor but misses a baseball slide. Back in and Del Rio escapes a top rope rana attempt and hits an enziguri to send Christian into the Tree of Woe. Alberto fires off kicks to the chest and a running one somewhere near the shoulder.

Axxess stuff, including Maria Menunos in a Divas tag match.

Brie Bella vs. Natalya

CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar

Lesnar brags a bit too much and Punk gets in a kick to the head and a pair of knees to the face to send Brock to the floor. The suicide dive takes Lesnar down and the fans go NUTS. Punk loads up the steps but Brock rams into them to knock Punk down. Brock fires off knees to the ribs but Punk posts him for a breather. A top rope dive puts Brock down again as Punk is giving this all he has. Punk dives off the announce table with a clothesline and Brock is in trouble.

CM makes the mistake of going after Heyman though and Brock gets in a shot to take over. Brock tosses Punk over the announce table in an amazing throw for an even better crash. Since he threw Punk over the table once, Lesnar has to throw him over the other side for good measure. An over head belly to belly sends Punk down onto the concrete and Punk is barely moving. Back in and Brock drives Punk into the corner with shoulders and puts on a bearhug.

Rating: A+. The storytelling and psychology alone made this a great match. I loved the idea that Punk kept taking the weapons away from Lesnar but once Brock got in the first chair shot the match was over. Punk showed he was smarter leading up to the match but his hatred for Heyman cost him in the end when he went on emotion instead of intelligence.

The action in this was incredible as well as it felt like a fight instead of a match, which is the right idea. If nothing else, this shows how bad of an idea the HHH feud was. Punk and Cena have both blown away all of the HHH matches with Lesnar by miles and miles, but we got a year of HHH and a month each of the other guys so far. Such is life in the WWE. Outstanding match here though.

We get a clip from Axxess where a fan took a splash from Mark Henry for three tickets to Summerslam.

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

Rating: C-. This was fine but it was in the death spot on the card between the two main events. It came off well enough though and the crowd was into it at times. It was a WAY better idea than putting the Total Divas match here which I thought they were going to do. Nothing great but it did its job just fine.

Fandango and Summer Rae cut off Miz again so he lays Fandango out.

Some low level celebrities are here.

The expert panel make their predictions on the main event. Bryan is the favorite.

Raw World Title: Daniel Bryan vs. John Cena

Bryan flips out of the AA and catches a charging Cena in the chin with a boot. The missile dropkick connects for two and Bryan fires off the kicks to the chest. Now Bryan goes after the bad arm before slapping on the STF of all things. Cena is about to get to the ropes so Bryan pulls him back and hits two German suplexes for two each. Bryan counters the AA into the YES Lock and Cena is in big trouble. Cena counters by getting his head free (wrestling you say?) but gets pulled down into a guillotine choke.

John FINALLY powers out of it but can barely follow up. Bryan charges right at Cena but gets caught in the AA for a close two. That came out of nowhere and had the fans inhaling in unison. Cena goes up but has to knock Bryan down twice before getting caught by a running dropkick. Now Bryan gets up top and superplexes Cena down but stays on top in a cool power move. He sits up onto the top for the Swan Dive but Cena is up at two. John rolls to the floor and blocks the FLYING GOAT with a forearm to the head.

Rating: A+. WHAT A BRILLIANT FINISH! They totally fooled us all by having the standard WWE formula playing out but Bryan wins it out of nowhere with a knee to the head. Brilliant move there after a great match to boot. What more can you ask for in the main event of the second biggest show of the year? Excellent stuff and HHH did absolutely nothing at all.

Raw World Title: Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan

Seven seconds and Orton wins.

Everyone is shocked to end the show.

Results

Bray Wyatt b. Kane – Sister Abigail

Cody Rhodes b. Damien Sandow – Cross Rhodes

Alberto Del Rio b. Christian – Cross Armbreaker

Natalya b. Brie Bella – Sharpshooter

Brock Lesnar b. CM Punk – F5 onto a chair

Dolph Ziggler/Kaitlyn b. AJ Lee/Big E. Langston – Zig Zag to Langston

Daniel Bryan b. John Cena – Shining Wizard

Randy Orton b. Daniel Bryan – Pin after a Pedigree from HHH

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Main Event
Date: August 1, 2019
Location: Verizon Arena, North Little Rock, Arkansas
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Renee Young

So things are back to normal around here this week and it’s just in time to start getting ready for the final push towards Summerslam. That rushed feeling has been a problem for the show ever since Extreme Rules ended and I don’t see it getting any better this week either. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Lacey Evans vs. Dana Brooke

Lacey throws her glove at Dana to start but Dana ducks the Woman’s Right and forearms her to the apron. That just earns her more forearms and a choke in the corner as Lacey gets serious. A clothesline gives Lacey two and the chinlock goes on. The slingshot Bronco Buster gets two and it’s right back to the chinlock. To mix it up a bit, Lacey even pulls the leg up for a pretty unique twist.

That’s good for two and yes it’s the chinlock going on again. Dana fights up and starts slapping away, followed by a bulldog. The cartwheel splash hits Lacey’s knees but Dana is fine enough to hit a sitout powerbomb out of the corner for two. Not that it matters as Lacey is back up with the Woman’s Right for the pin at 5:41.

Rating: C-. This was better than I was expecting as Brooke has been showing some fire as of late and certainly seems to be trying. The problem is that she’s still stuck on the main roster and needs time to develop something else. Lacey seems to have been dropped from the main event scene and after the disaster that was this summer, can you blame WWE whatsoever?

From Raw.

Gauntlet Match

The winner gets AJ Styles for the US Title at Summerslam. Rey Mysterio is in first and Cesaro is in second with the latter sweeping the legs to start. A headscissors into a rollup gives Rey two but Cesaro clotheslines his head off. Cesaro slaps on the chinlock for a bit until Rey winds up on Cesaro’s shoulders. They fall over the top with Cesaro landing on his feet with Rey still on his shoulders. A headscissors sends Cesaro into the apron and Rey hits the sliding splash.

Back in and a springboard hurricanrana but Cesaro is out of the way of the 619. That’s fine with Rey, who anklescissors Cesaro into the crowd as we take a break. Back with Cesaro in trouble as Rey was powerbombed into the post during the commercial (so the no action during breaks policy seems to be over, thank goodness). Cesaro’s camel clutch doesn’t last long as he puts Rey on top for a top rope seated senton. A kick to the head gives Rey two but Cesaro uppercuts him out of the air for two of his own.

The running big boot gets two but Rey sends him into the corner again. They fight on top with Rey managing a super sitout bulldog. The top rope splash finishes Cesaro at 11:13. Sami Zayn is in third, misses a big boot, and gets rolled up for the pin at 11:53. Andrade is in fourth and we take another break.

Back again with Rey not being able to hit a flying mare so he grabs a headlock instead. That goes nowhere so they chop it out with Andrade hitting Three Amigos into the double moonsault for one. Rey’s enziguri looks to set up the 619 but Andrade reverses into a spinning Rock Bottom backbreaker. The hammerlock DDT finishes Mysterio at 21:57. Post fall Andrade rips Rey’s mask open and we see most of his face in a big surprise. Ricochet is in fifth to make the save and we take another break.

Back with Ricochet flipping over Andrade and nailing a dropkick to put Andrade on the floor. Zelina Vega breaks up the dive though and Andrade sends Ricochet into the barricade. Back in and Ricochet gets hiptossed into the corner for a painful looking crash. The double knees in the corner give Andrade two but the hammerlock DDT is broken up. Ricochet drops him on his head with a reverse hurricanrana and it’s the 630 to send Ricochet to Summerslam at 32:27.

Rating: C+. This was your usual gauntlet match, though they did give most of the falls some extra time to make it a little easier to watch. Ricochet winning was the logical move and it’s good to see him back in the ring after the elbow deal. At the same time, it was rather nice to not have every fall be the space between commercials. The whole no action between the breaks deal was a bad solution to a problem that didn’t need to be solved.

From Smackdown.

It’s time for the King’s Court with Jerry Lawler bringing out Trish Stratus as his guest. Lawler talks about Raw Reunion and everyone wanting to have one last match. He asks if Trish ever has that feeling and we get a ONE MORE MATCH chant. Trish says she can never get rid of that itch but she’s a mom now and has to do those kinds of things. Cue Charlotte to say you can’t have King’s Court without a queen, but she has a big question: how is she not on Summerslam yet?

Charlotte congratulates Trish on being a mom and, after having Lawler hold the ropes open for her, calls it an excuse. Charlotte makes the challenge for Summerslam but Trish doesn’t say anything. That’s fine, as Charlotte knows Trish can’t hang with the queen anyway. Charlotte tells her to get out of the ring so Trish calls her a b**** (it’s a WWE women’s feud so you knew that was coming).

Trish talks about how there would be no throne for Charlotte without the trailblazers like Trish, Lita, Ivory, Beth Phoenix and others. To be the woman you have to beat the woman so the match is on. Good, as Charlotte is too big for the title again anyway and would just take away Bayley’s momentum otherwise.

From Smackdown.

We IMMEDIATELY cut to the back with Roman Reigns walking up to announce his Summerslam challenge…..and then someone drives what looks like a forklift to knock a piece of set and a bunch of anvil cases onto Reigns. The camera goes haywire and everyone screams for help, but Reigns is ok and on his feet. The medics want to check on Reigns but he tells them to back off. We don’t see who was behind it (the fans chanting JOE is a likely clue) as Reigns walks off to end the show.

From Smackdown again.

Randy Orton talks about Kofi Kingston saying this had all started in 2009 so let’s talk about 2009. By then, Orton had won World Titles and main evented Wrestlemania so all he had to do was be Randy Orton. Kofi didn’t have that luxury so he developed the personality of being the fun guy who danced a lot. That wasn’t cool with Orton so he RKO’ed him and called him stupid, which we see in clips. If you tick Orton off, you go back to the bottom of the ladder.

We jump ahead to 2019 and Ali is the new Kofi Kingston. Orton injured Ali to take him out of the Elimination Chamber and Kofi got the spot instead. There is no Kofi Mania without Orton so Kofi wants to prove himself. That’s stupid, stupid, stupid and the title reign is ending with an RKO. As has been the case with everything in this feud, this was well done and made me want to see the match.

Summerslam rundown.

Lucha House Party vs. Robert Roode/Eric Young/EC3

Renee brings up the Main Event Musclemen name but says Cesaro was kicked out of the team for being a weak link. Roode headlocks Kalisto to start but Kalisto rolls away and hits the kick to the head. Young gets headscissored into Roode and the House Party’s triple flips lets them pose.

We take a break and come back with Dorado knocking EC3 off the top and hitting a high crossbody. The hot tag brings in Metalik to take over and the rope walk dropkick gets two. There’s the double Golden Rewind to Roode and Young, setting up the triple dives to the floor. Back in and Metalik kicks Roode in the head, only to get caught in the Glorious DDT for the pin at 7:05.

Rating: C-. It was fun at times but this is the kind of thing that you’re going to get on these shows. The match doesn’t mean anything and none of these people are going anywhere anytime soon. That being said, it makes sense to have some extra people on the show instead of just doing a pair of singles matches every week. Let them get in the ring and do a little something if they can.

From Raw.

Post match Lesnar destroys Rollins with suplexes and an F5 into the post. Lesnar chairs him down and has a seat to laugh at Rollins. That’s not it though as Lesnar hits a pair of F5’s onto the open chair. Rollins starts coughing up blood so Lesnar loads up a third. Even Heyman tells Lesnar to stop as Brock hits the third F5 onto the chair. That’s enough for Rollins to go out on a stretcher. Remember in the build to Wrestlemania when Lesnar hit a bunch of F5’s and Rollins came into the match banged up? No reason for asking.

Post break Rollins is taken to the ambulance as Roman Reigns and Becky Lynch look on. The OC and Samoa Joe come up and gets in a fight with the Usos coming in to get beaten down as well. Rollins leaves in the ambulance, though this time without Lynch to make sure that it’s a little different. Hang on though as Brock blocks the ambulance from leaving and pulls Rollins out to beat him up even more. A release F5 onto the stretcher makes Rollins scream, though it looked awesome.

Overall Rating: C+. See, now this is how Main Event should be. They had a good look at both Raw and Smackdown instead of just doing one show with a single clip from the other. What’s the point in having a recap show if you only recap half of what mattered in the week? This was a lot better than usual and the show flew by as always, but this time it had a bit more of a purpose.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: August 2, 2019
Location: St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

This is kind of a weird night for Impact as they’re airing a live special called Unbreakable at the same time as this show. They’ve hyped up matches for both shows, meaning you might have needed to take notes coming into it. One of the bigger matches for this one will see Tessa Blanchard vs. Mad Man Fulton, which could be good. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Aiden Prince vs. Rohit Raju vs. Zachary Wentz vs. Chuck Mambo vs. Cody Deaner vs. Petey Williams

The winner gets an X-Division Title shot at some point in the future. Deaner goes after Raju to start and their fight heads out to the floor as Mambo and Prince trade flips inside. Wentz comes back in and gets to stare Williams down with the former getting caught in a headscissors. The Canadian Destroyer is broken up so Williams gets in a Sharpshooter with Raju coming in to add a Crossface on Wentz at the same time.

Raju spears Williams down for two with Deaner coming in for the save. Hold on though as Deaner needs to put on his hat. Williams grabs his flag for a posedown and it’s a double suicide dive to take out Prince and Raju. Wentz dives onto them as well and Prince nails an Asai moonsault. Back in and Mambo’s springboard is broken up so Deaner punches Raju some more.

Petey comes in for the Russian legsweep but Wentz breaks up a Destroyer with a jumping knee to the face. Raju makes another save but gets beaten up by Deaner again (it’s not some epic feud people). Deaner’s DDT plants Raju with Mambo springboarding in with an elbow for the next save. Prince comes back in with a brainbuster and 450 to finish Mambo for the pin and the title shot at 9:15.

Rating: C+. This was your usual wild X-Division match and that works well enough, especially for an opener. They do need to bring in some fresh talent, but it doesn’t mean as much when a lot of these names can be interchanged. The X-Division is certainly in a better place than they were in a few months ago though and I’ll take whatever improvement I can get.

Jake Crist is excited about having a new challenger but Sami Callihan tells him to hand over the title. That isn’t happening so Sami talks about Tessa Blanchard instead. Tonight, she can deal with Mad Man Fulton.

Rich Swann warns Tessa about Fulton and the rest of OVE. Tessa appreciates the offer of help but says she has to do this alone.

Havok vs. John E. Bravo

Taya Valkyrie is out with Bravo. John drops to a knee and kisses Havok’s hand, so she knees him in the face. Bravo gets tossed across the ring and no sells a poke to the eye. The chokeslam finishes Bravo at 1:43.

Su Yung pops up on screen and seems to ramble some gibberish, which disturbs Havok.

Josh Alexander is worried about tonight’s Tag Team Title defense while Ethan Page is wondering who they’ll defend against after they beat the Rascalz tonight. Alexander wants some more seriousness.

Stone Rockwell vs. Ace Austin

Austin jumps him before the bell but Rockwell hits a strong clothesline and pulls a springboarding Austin out of the air. A spinning backbreaker plants Austin again but an elbow misses. The Fold finishes Rockwell at 2:15.

Post match Eddie Edwards of all people jumps Austin from behind and beats the heck out of him. Remember that Austin hit on Eddie’s wife.

Madison Rayne, dubbing herself the locker room leader, comes in to see Tessa and wishes her luck tonight. Tessa doesn’t want to hear it and leaves. Madison: “She’s done.”

Video on the Knockouts Division, which has been pretty strong in recent months.

Alisha Edwards yells at Eddie for attacking Ace. She says she doesn’t have time for him being crazy and leaves.

During the break, Moose laid out Stone Rockwell and now back in the arena, Moose says he is a star and no longer responsible for his actions. Cue Fallah Bahh and we have a match.

Moose vs. Fallah Bahh

Moose is in street clothes and gets crushed in the corner. The Banzai Drop finishes Moose at 47 seconds. They’re not wasting time tonight.

Post break Moose wants to know who booked that match.

Mad Man Fulton vs. Tessa Blanchard

Sami is here with Fulton. Tessa forearms away to start and the size difference is crazy. Magnum is broken up with ease and it’s a chokeslam to plant Tessa instead. With Tessa mostly dead, Fulton pauses for some OVE chants and Sami rants about how Tessa earned this. Callis: “Shut up idiot.”

Tessa slaps Fulton in the face and the bearhug goes on with a lot of shaking. In what might not be the smartest move, Tessa pulls out one of his deadlocks to escape. Some running forearms don’t do much though and Fulton big boots her down. Sami throws in a chair and slaps Fulton, but here’s Tommy Dreamer (BECAUSE OF COURSE IT’S TOMMY DREAMER!) to hit Fulton with the kendo stick for the DQ at 5:01.

Rating: D+. I actually groaned when Dreamer ran out because we’re going to get the same speech about how much he loves wrestling and doesn’t have much time left as he gets to attach himself to another story. It’s been done to death already and I really, really don’t need to see it again. But he was in ECW and Callis likes pushing his friends from the company that has been out of business for over eighteen years so this is what we’re getting. The match itself was much more of an angle advancement than anything else, which is fine, though I’m not sure where Tessa goes after getting done with OVE.

Post match Fulton goes after Dreamer but Tessa gets the stick and runs OVE off.

We look at Rhyno returning last week and attacking Michael Elgin. I’m not sure how valuable he is to the company but Impact loves bringing people back in whenever they can.

Elgin gets what Rhyno did but Rhyno is still going to pay.

An unnamed woman comes into the Knockouts locker room and doesn’t introduce herself. Madison introduces herself as the locker room leader but Kiera Hogan comes in and everyone gets catty with each other. The new girl leaves.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Generation Me (Young Bucks) vs. Motor City Machine Guns at Bound For Glory 2010.

Jimmy Jacobs goes up to Brian Cage’s house for an update but Melissa Santos opens the door and asks for privacy. She’ll answer his questions next week.

Impact is back in Mexico City later this month.

Rhyno doesn’t care about legal actions because he had a bunch of money thrown to him to sit in catering for years. Everyone is getting the Gore.

Tag Team Titles: The North vs. Rascalz

Trey Miguel and Dezmond Xavier are defending with no Wentz here this time. North drops Miguel with an early forearm and a quick takedown has Miguel rethinking things a bit. Page comes in and gets caught with a springboard headscissors as Miguel is having a lot more success this time around. Dezmond comes in and starts kicking away at Page, followed by rights and lefts in the corner.

Back to back to back slingshot splashes keep Page down for two but Alexander saves Page from an O’Connor roll. A World’s Strongest Slam onto the apron has Dezmond in trouble for the first time and a spinning suplex gives Alexander two. Alexander puts him in a rack for something from Page but Page is too busy yelling at Miguel. Dezmond uses the distraction to slip out and it’s back to Trey to pick up the pace. That doesn’t last long though as the champs run him over again and take over.

With Dezmond knocked off the apron, Trey gets free and dives over for the tag….but just crashes into the corner. As expected, the hot tag goes through a few seconds later and everything breaks down again. Dezmond hits a huge dive over the top to take down both champs and we take a break.

Back with Page kicking Dezmond in the head but getting stomped in the back for two from Miguel. Page powerslams Dezmond on the floor, leaving Alexander to start in on Miguel’s ankle. A backbreaker gets two and Alexander is starting to get frustrated. The ankle lock is broken up so Alexander goes with a powerbomb backbreaker for two more in a nasty landing. The torture rack flipped into the spinebuster gets two as everything breaks down again.

The double slugout is on with the Rascalz getting the better of it until Alexander lifts Trey up for a powerslam. Dezmond tries a springboard moonsault onto them….and Alexander catches him too. A double powerslam gets two more but Alexander misses his own moonsault. Trey’s top rope Meteora sets up Dezmond’s Final Flash for two and Trey’s rollup gets the same. Dezmond gets sent outside and it’s a cutter into a wheelbarrow suplex, followed by the double Neuralizer to retain the titles at 22:40.

Rating: A-. This was a heck of a match with both teams looking awesome. I’ve liked the Rascalz since they debuted but I’ve been waiting for something to make the North feel important. That’s what we got here as the match was very hard hitting and back and forth the whole time, with a nice bit of doubt as to who was winning. The Rascalz will eventually get the titles and that’s going to be a heck of a moment, but at least we had a great match on the way there.

Post match the North goes to the back, where Ortiz jumps them. The champs fight back but Daga runs in and makes the save, with Konnan helping to chase the North off to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. Rather good show here as they covered a bunch of stuff and had a very strong main event to close things out. When Impact is on its game and keeps away from the storyline stuff, they can put out some good television and that’s what we got here. What matters most for them is consistency, which has always been a problem for this company. I’ll take a very good show while I can though and that’s what we got here.

Results

Aiden Prince b. Chuck Mambo, Rohit Raju, Zachary Wentz, Cody Deaner and Petey Williams – 450 to Mambo

Havok b. John E. Bravo – Chokeslam

Ace Austin b. Stone Rockwell – The Fold

Fallah Bahh b. Moose – Banzai Drop

Mad Man Fulton b. Tessa Blanchard via DQ when Tommy Dreamer interfered

The North b. Rascalz – Double Neutralizer to Miguel

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: August 5, 2019
Location: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, Renee Young, Corey Graves

It’s the go home show for Summerslam and that means it’s time for a bunch of guest stars. Somehow that includes the Raw World Champion, who is here tonight to brag about beating down Seth Rollins. There isn’t much of a show otherwise as Summerslam is already set, though odds are they’ll add more to it during the show. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a moment of silence and the ten bell salute for El Paso and Dayton.

Opening sequence, with a new song and video.

Samoa Joe is standing on the announcers’ table, yells at the three of them over the accusations of being Roman Reigns’ attacker last week. Joe wants an explanation, with Cole saying that 80% of the fans think Joe was the attacker. Joe: “Well I just conducted a poll that says 80% of the WWE Universe are idiots.” We see a clip of the attack and Joe wants to know where the proof is of him doing anything. Joe is going to come out here when Reigns arrives and he isn’t leaving until he gets his apology. This brings out Becky Lynch of all people, which has nothing to do with Joe, who was bringing the fire here.

Becky Lynch/Charlotte vs. Trish Stratus/Natalya

Yeah this could work to start. Becky tries the Disarm-Her early on but Natalya blocks it without too much effort. Natalya’s cross armbreaker is reversed into a rollup, with a lot of Ronda Rousey references. Charlotte tags herself in and goes for Natalya’s arm but gets sunset flipped for two.

There’s a big boot to Natalya and Charlotte wants to fight Trish. The neck crank goes onto Natalya instead and Charlotte teases a tag to Becky before going right back to Natalya. A loud elbow to the face staggers Natalya but she kicks Charlotte into the corner off of a rollup. It’s a failed Sharpshooter attempt instead of a tag though, only to have Natalya clothesline Charlotte down.

That’s still not enough for the tag, as Charlotte knocks Trish off the apron. Becky tags herself in so Charlotte hits her from behind and walks out. Natalya gets the Sharpshooter on Becky but a rope is grabbed in a hurry, but Natalya doesn’t let go for the DQ at 7:10. Trish was never in the match.

Rating: C-. Not much to see here with Trish only being teased before Sunday. I still can’t bring myself to care about Natalya in the role though and really why should I really? It’s hard to believe that she’s going to win the title and after all these years of being indifferent to her, what’s the point in buying it here?

Post match Trish breaks the Sharpshooter but gets shoved away.

We recap Andrade tearing Rey Mysterio’s mask last week.

Andrade vs. Rey Mysterio

Rey goes straight at him at the bell but the early 619 attempt is cut off with a shoulder. Andrade gets sent into the corner but pops out to avoid another 619. This time Rey just sends him outside and hits a sliding sunset bomb into the barricade as we take a break. Back with Rey hitting a super hurricanrana for two and an anklescissors makes it even worse.

A kick to the head gives Rey two more and it’s a sunset bomb for another two. Andrade gets tired of this and elbows him in the head to knock Rey silly. Rey catches him on top but gets caught in the Tree of Woe for an Alberto double stomp. The running knees in the corner give Andrade two but Rey is right back with a Canadian Destroyer.

Now the 619 connects but Rey has to glare at a yelling Zelina Vega. The top rope splash hits knees but the hammerlock DDT is countered into a rollup for two more. Andrade hits a powerbomb and goes for the mask, earning some yelling from the referee. The distraction lets Vega snap Rey’s throat across the ropes, setting up the hammerlock DDT to finish Rey at 12:17.

Rating: B-. Those near falls were pretty great near the end as I wasn’t sure who was going to win for most of the last stretch. That’s what matters here as these two have some great chemistry together and there is a good chance of a mask vs. something match coming up soon. Like say at Summerslam.

We recap last week’s 24/7 Title shenanigans, with Maria Kanellis winning the title.

Earlier today, Mike and Maria were at her OBGYN appointment with Mike being told that his job is to protect her. Once they were in the office, Mike hugged her…..BUT THE DOCTOR IS A REFEREE!!! Mike leaves and R-Truth and Carmella, the former in a dress are in the waiting room. Mike: “You followed us to our doctor’s appointment???” R-Truth: “OBGY NOT???” Truth throws a fake baby at him and grabs a rollup to get the title back.

Becky doesn’t care if Natalya brings the entire Hart Family because she’s sick of Natalya complaining about not getting a shot. On Sunday, Becky can be Canada’s new hero.

Natalya promises a celebration when she wins the title at Summerslam. She won’t even tap if Becky breaks her arm.

Here are Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman for a chat. Heyman is here to educate everyone here both live and at home and that means it’s time for some questions. Wasn’t Seth Rollins supposed to be the Beast Slayer? The Conqueror’s Conqueror? The one who had Lesnar’s number? Rollins is supposed to be the big hero for the new generation. We see a clip of Lesnar annihilating Rollins last week and badly damaging his ribs. Back in the arena, Heyman talks about the beating from last week being near criminal. Rollins is here in Pittsburgh tonight though, which makes Lesnar smirk.

Cue Rollins, limping badly and holding a chair for support. Rollins gets in and is kicked right in the ribs as Lesnar takes the chair away. That means a chair to the ribs and Rollins gets driven hard into the corner. The slow beating is on with Rollins’ charge being cut off with another knee to the ribs. There’s the F5 and Lesnar poses with the title. They seem to be building towards Rollins getting the title back on Sunday but I don’t buy it.

Here’s what you just saw again.

Back in the arena, Rollins is still in the ring but isn’t interested in a stretcher ride. Instead he grabs the mic and says he’s gotten to the point of asking himself if this is worth it. His answer is yes because this is all he has. He’ll be at Summerslam and he’ll beat Brock. He guarantees a win and very slowly hobbles to the back.

Kurt Angle is here to referee the match between Cedric Alexander and Drew McIntyre. The Street Profits come in to plug their title defense at Takeover on Saturday because they’ve been practicing their Three I’s. They want to toast the title match so Ford busts out the cooler with milk as Dawkins hums Angle’s theme.

Angle promised his wife he wouldn’t get too crazy, but Ford asks if his name is Kurt Kanellis. That gets Angle to have some milk but McIntyre interrupts to say his sides were almost splitting. Drew wants Angle to call the match down the middle tonight but brings up making Angle tap earlier this year. If Angle isn’t fair, he’s getting kicked in the face.

Viking Raiders vs. Jay Alexander/Eric Abraham

I believe Abraham wrestled for Impact a few times as Idris Abraham. Alexander gets knocked around and it’s Abraham coming in for a German suplex off the ropes. A powerbomb into a top rope splash crushes Abraham and the Viking Experience finishes Alexander at 1:21. These squashes work just fine as the Raiders are staying on TV until they get to do something important. Get them in, let them look good, and get them out.

We get a tribute video to Harley Race, who deserves every bit of praise he can get. The best story I’ve ever heard involving him was when Dusty Rhodes and Ric Flair were on a Legends of Wrestling round table. Flair was very full of himself and said he was the best opponent Dusty ever faced. Dusty said not quite and Flair wanted to know who Dusty had faced better than him. Dusty: “The greatest opponent I ever stood across the ring from was Harley Race.” Flair had no response because he knew he wasn’t topping that.

Cedric Alexander vs. Drew McIntyre

Kurt Angle is guest referee. McIntyre jumps Cedric on the ramp but Cedric fights back and blocks the reverse Alabama Slam on the floor. Cedric manages a tornado DDT off the barricade…..and there go the lights. The Fiend appears and lays out Angle with the Mandible Claw. No match.

OC vs. New Day

Non-title. Kofi Kingston isn’t here but AJ Styles is. And never mind as AJ comes in for the DQ at 20 seconds. Get Ricochet out here for the six man already. Hey look here’s Ricochet for the save.

OC vs. New Day/Ricochet

Joined in progress with Ricochet flipping out of a suplex to roll AJ up for two. It’s off to Big E. vs. Gallows (now in face paint) with the latter hitting a big boot. The chinlock doesn’t last long so Gallows kicks him in the head again. AJ comes back in and gets suplexed for a double knockdown. It’s off to Woods for the forearms and kicks into the Honor Roll on AJ. A sliding knee gets two on Anderson as everything breaks down. The Phenomenal Forearm drops Big E. but Ricochet enziguris AJ to the apron. Styles trips Woods though and Anderson plants him with a DDT. The Magic Killer finishes Woods at 5:52 shown.

Rating: C. Totally watchable match and New Day can absorb a loss, especially when they don’t have a title match scheduled for Sunday. Then again neither does the OC, but with nine matches already announced, there is a good chance that we’ll be having several more added before the show. You know, because it must be even longer.

We look at the Reigns attack again.

Here’s Samoa Joe to call Reigns out for an apology. Reigns isn’t here yet so Joe has a seat in the ring instead. Joe counts to three and then says he has all night. As the CM PUNK chants begin, Joe is told that Reigns has arrived (it’s only 10:04 so at least he’s on time) so he goes to the parking lot to greet him. Joe comes up to Reigns as he gets out of his car….and another car rams into Reigns’ car (It hit the back, with Reigns diving into the front seat. Also notice the camera cut right before impact.).

Post break we see the car attack again but the car sped away without seeing who it was. Joe checked on Reigns, who was still conscious but banged up. Joe wants a medic out here as Reigns is holding his shoulder. Even HHH came out and Reigns got out of the car on his own power.

Summerslam rundown.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Kabuki Warriors vs. Fire and Desire vs. Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross vs. IIconics

The IIconics are defending and it’s elimination rules. Corey is in need of oxygen due to Alexa and Mandy being in the same place at the same time. The champs knock everyone off the apron to start and it’s a spinning kick to the face to put Cross on the floor. A double wheelbarrow suplex drops Asuka and a double front suplex makes it worse. The bulldog onto Billie’s knee sends Asuka outside and the champs get to pose.

Mandy jumps them from behind and gets one on Billie, followed by a jumping knee to the face to eliminate the champs. Back from a break with Cross tagging in Asuka to face Mandy, seemingly on Alexa’s orders. Alexa comes in to face Asuka but tags Sonya in without any contact. Asuka gets the better of it and kicks Sonya in the chest, only to get kicked right back.

Sane tags herself in and some rapid fire alternating kicks have Sonya in trouble again. Sonya brings Bliss back in so Sane can make fun of her height. It’s quickly back to Sonya vs. Asuka but Mandy comes back in for a jumping knee to the face for two. The Asuka Lock out of nowhere makes Mandy tap and we’re down to the Warriors vs. Bliss/Cross. Back from another break with Asuka holding Cross in something like an STF.

That’s broken up and Bliss slaps Asuka in the face, followed by Cross getting two off a Regal Cutter. A German suplex gets Asuka out of trouble and it’s off to Sane to clean house. Walking the Plank hits Bliss as everything breaks down. The Asuka Lock has Bliss in trouble but she flips backwards for two and the escape. A kick to Bliss’ head sets up the Insane Elbow but Cross shoves Sane off the top. Asuka gets caught in the ring skirt for a baseball slide from Bliss. Sane knocks Cross to the floor and it’s the big right hand to Sane. Twisted Bliss gives Bliss the pin and the titles at 20:46.

Rating: C-. It got better at the end and at least Bliss and Cross are regularly on TV. The titles still need to go away in the near future, though this is an upgrade over the IIconics. The story getting to the match basically didn’t exist and I don’t remember Bliss and Cross winning more than a match or two before….but it’s just the Women’s Tag Team Titles.

We look back at Lesnar and Rollins.

It’s time for MizTV. After a break, Miz says he’s here to have the contract signing with Dolph Ziggler. First though, here’s Shawn Michaels because he’s involved in the whole thing. Ziggler comes out as well and says he’s been carrying the show for years now. He’s the best thing to happen to wrestling since Shawn lost his smile and Miz lost his balls. Good luck to Miz if he thinks he can win at Summerslam because Ziggler is finally going to get his respect on Sunday.

Ziggler signs and Miz calls him out for saying the same things over and over. Miz says Ziggler has been saying the same thing for ten years now and maybe it’s his fault. He can’t wait to get his hands on Ziggler…..next week on Raw. See, Ziggler didn’t read the fine print. The contract for Summerslam is for Ziggler against someone else. Ziggler and Shawn stare each other down but Shawn says it’s not him.

The GOLDBERG chants begin and here he is. Everyone clears out and Goldberg signs. Goldberg hits the catchphrase and Shawn hits Sweet Chin Music on Ziggler to end the show. They set this up, but Goldberg vs. Ziggler isn’t exactly my idea of a must see match. If it gets Ziggler off TV though, I’m more than fine with the whole thing.

Overall Rating: C+. The show felt longer than last week, but at the same time it felt like stuff happened here. They advanced some angles for Summerslam and that’s the point of something like this. What matters here is doing enough stuff to make me want to see more of Summerslam, and where things go after that. That was accomplished well enough, though I’m worried about how much stuff is going to be crammed in on Smackdown and over the rest of the week. It’s certainly a watchable show, with the legends making some nice additions.

Results

Becky Lynch/Charlotte b. Natalya/Trish Stratus via DQ when Natalya wouldn’t break the Sharpshooter

Andrade b. Rey Mysterio – Hammerlock DDT

Viking Raiders b. Jay Alexander/Eric Abraham – Viking Experience to Alexander

New Day b. OC via DQ when AJ Styles interfered

OC b. New Day/Ricochet – Magic Killer to Woods

Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross b. IIconics, Fire and Desire and Kabuki Warriors – Twisted Bliss to Sane

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Ring of Honor
Date: July 31, 2019
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana, Caprice Coleman

We’re still in Philadelphia and in this case we have a big time main event between a pair of brother tag teams with Rush/Dragon Lee vs. the Briscoes. These four are going to beat the heck out of each other and that’s what you want from a match between them. Other than that, we get to see what else is out there in something like this. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a video on the tag match, which does seem cool.

Josh Woods vs. Silas Young

Young bails straight to the floor at the bell and grabs the mic. He has something to say: what has Woods done since he’s been in Ring of Honor? Woods is a multi time National Champion and should be winning titles around here. Does Woods just want to come out here and get some golf claps while cute girls hoot at him? It seems to Young that Woods has a lot of learning to do so put up or shut up. The referee takes the mic and it’s a low blow into a small package (I’m not going there) to give Silas the pin at 2:37.

We look back at last week’s street fight, which was quite entertaining. Note that commentary says that we’re doing this because the previous match was shorter than expected. I love little details like that.

Jay Lethal talks about how awesome it was to wrestle in Madison Square Garden. Going there was the coolest train ride in his life but the ride back was the worst because he lost the World Title without getting pinned or tapping out. He wants the title back.

Shinobi Shadow Squad vs. Joe Keys/Dante Caballero/Brian Johnson

Ryan Nova kicks Keys in the head to start and it’s quickly off to Isom to slam Caballero. Cheeseburger slaps Johnson to the floor but gets caught in the corner with Keys uppercutting away. A suplex plants Cheeseburger for two and Caballero sends him into the corner so the beating can continue.

Caballero hits Keys by mistake though (made better as they’re facing off in the Top Prospect Tournament) and it’s off to Isom to clean house. White Noise gets two on Caballero but Keys knocks him down again by mistake. With Keys and Johnson taken out, Isom and Nova hold Caballero up for a top rope double stomp from Cheeseburger for the pin at 5:50.

Rating: D+. I don’t like the Squad but I like the Top Prospect Tournament even less. I’m not sure what the point is for having a tournament of people that we’ve seen multiple times on the show, but it’s one of those traditions that could work well for them later on. The tournament is hit and miss so it could be a lot worse, but it’s hard to care about a jobber tournament. I will however give them points for telling a story here as the Squad beats some competition and the Keys vs. Caballero match is set up. It’s not interesting, but they did it in a nice way.

Post match Caballero and Keys fight some more.

Video on Sumie Sakai, who you will like, respect and care about no matter what you think of her.

Sumie Sakai vs. Karissa Rivera

Kelly Klein is on commentary and this is Rivera’s TV debut. Sumie goes for the arm to start but Rivera is right back up with an armbar of her own. They trade some pinfall attempts and come back from a quick break with Sumie getting a few more near falls of her own. A Boston crab into a leglock has Rivera in more trouble until she makes the rope.

Rivera hiptosses her way out of an abdominal stretch and gets two off a bicycle kick. Smash Mouth gives Sakai two and a missile dropkick is good for the same. They slug it out until Rivera hits a spinebuster for two of her own. Smash Mouth is broken up again and Rivera sits down on a sunset flip attempt for the upset pin at 9:50.

Rating: D-. This was messy, Klein was reaching new levels of boring on commentary and the match felt long, but above all else there is still zero reason to care about these people. Sakai’s claim to fame is that she’s been around here a long time and Rivera’s claim is that she’s done good stuff before. Still no personalities or characters, because they NEVER learn with this division and the problem gets worse and worse every time.

Post match, Sakai shoves the interviewer out of the way and shakes Rivera’s hand. That’s a relief. It was getting close to being interesting.

Silas Young tells Josh Woods that he is doing Woods a favor.

An edgier Coast to Coast won a match on Honor Club.

Briscoes vs. Dragon Lee/Rush

It’s a brawl to start (yes, in a Briscoes match) with Lee sending Mark to the floor off a hurricanrana. Jay and Rush trade flips and corner splashes, followed by Jay getting forearmed down. Lee and Mark trade kicks but Lee’s suicide dive is caught in midair for a double suplex.

We take an early break and come back with a notice that this match has been edited for content. Lee is in trouble as Mark hits a swinging suplex before handing it back to Jay for some shots to the face. A double shoulder puts Lee down again as the fans are WAY into the Briscoes here. Lee sends Mark into the corner and brings Rush in for the running slap and a nice reaction. Everything breaks down with the Briscoes being sent into the barricade a few times each.

Back in and Rush makes Jay scream off a chop, setting up a double basement dropkick. A bloody Mark comes back in and gets caught with a basement dropkick of his own. Rush and Lee hit the Tranquilo pose and we take a second break. Back again with Mark using a chair for a big springboard flip dive onto everyone. The Froggy Bow (with Mark’s face blurred for the blood) gets two on Rush with Lee making the save to a chorus of booing.

The slugout is on with Mark getting the better of it but getting caught with a reverse hurricanrana. Jay gives Lee a Death Valley Driver but Rush is back up with a snap German suplex to put everyone down. It’s Mark up with a Rock Bottom suplex and Jay loads up the Jay Driller on Rush. That’s broken up without much effort and Lee hits a running hurricanrana over the ropes to send Mark from the apron to the floor (sticking the landing, of course). The Bull’s Horns hits Jay for the pin 13:11.

Rating: B. I could go for the full version of this one as these four beat the heck out of each other and saved the show. While I can’t imagine Rush sticking around and not winding up in either WWE or AEW, ROH needs to push him to the freaking moon. He’s the best thing they’ve had in a LONG time and having him run through Taven in about ten seconds would be a great thing to see. The Briscoes have proven themselves time after time and Rush/Lee looked every bit as good. It’s a heck of a fight and the kind of high impact match you only get in the tag division around here, so I’ll take what I can get.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event was just about the only good thing on here and thankfully it’s just about great. ROH still knows how to do some awesome tag stuff but e pluribus gads they’re stuck on everything else. The women’s division has been a disaster since its inception and the Top Prospect Tournament has mixed results at best. Oh and Taven is back next week to make everything, ahem, better. This company needs a lot of changes and I don’t know how long they’re going to be able to put them off. Then again that has been the case for a long time so maybe this is as good as it gets.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

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

Pre-Show: Antonio Cesaro vs. Santino Marella

Dolph Ziggler vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho gets a quick cradle for two but Ziggler takes him right back down with a clothesline. Dolph misses a Stinger Splash and Chris goes after him, only to be easily taken down by another shot to the ribs. Not that it matters as he pops up top for the ax handle but Ziggler kicks him in the ribs again. The Fameasser gets two but an enziguri puts Dolph down for two as well. Back and forth match so far here.

Dolph jumps over Chris in the corner and puts on the sleeper which looks horrid here. Jericho rams him into the corner to escape and rains down some right hands before snapping off a top rope hurricanrana. The ribs are damaged even more though, delaying the count by several seconds. A jumping DDT gets two on the Canadian and Ziggler is getting frustrated.

Vickie freaks out over the loss.

Heyman and Brock say Lesnar wins tonight.

Daniel Bryan vs. Kane

Another big boot gets two but Bryan comes back with the kicks to the legs, only to be thrown over the top and out to the floor. Bryan slides back in and hits the FLYING GOAT to put Kane down. The missile dropkick drops Kane again and there are more kicks, only to have Kane clothesline his way out of trouble. The side slam gets two and the top rope clothesline looks to set up the chokeslam but Bryan bails to the floor.

Bryan slaps him in the face like a knucklehead, sending Kane through the roof. Bryan is tossed into the corner and stomped down by a furious Kane. The referee drags him away, allowing Bryan to try the NO Lock. Kane powers out so Bryan kicks him in the head. Why overcomplicate things? The flying headbutt is caught in the chokeslam but Kane wants the tombstone, allowing Bryan to counter into a small package for the pin.

Kane is going nuts in the back. Josh Matthews comes up to him like the schnook he is and is LAUNCHED off camera in a funny bit.

Intercontinental Title: Rey Mysterio vs. The Miz

Smackdown World Title: Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio

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

Rating: D+. This could have been on any given Raw. The Players are a decent team but Titus is clearly the star with Young just being there. Kofi and Truth are just transitional champions before HELL NO would take the championships a few weeks later. Nothing to see here other than a filler before we get to the main events.

Video on Summerslam Axxess.

We recap the Raw World Title match. Punk won the title at Survivor Series but got angry over Rock vs. Cena being announced as the main event of Wrestlemania 28 a year in advance. Cena cashed in the MITB case at Raw 1000 but Big Show cost Cena the match. AJ made it a three way for the sake of tormenting Punk (now a heel demanding respect) for turning down her proposal.

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

The Final Cut puts Punk down but Cena breaks up the WMD, earning himself a spear from the giant for two. Show loads up a double Vader Bomb but only hits Cena, allowing Punk to springboard onto Show for the save. Everyone heads to the floor with Big Show chokeslamming Punk against the ropes, sending him back to the floor. Show drops Cena with a side slam but stares at the crowd instead of covering. Maybe someone was holding up a Twinkie?

We get a Koji Clutch/STF combo and Show taps, but we have no clear winner. This brings out AJ (Punk: “DO THE RIGHT THING LIKE SPIKE LEE! LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE! THEY CAN TWEET ABOUT IT!”) who eventually says restart the match, allowing Show to hit a double chokeslam for two on each guy. Cena ducks the WMD and hits the AA, but Punk throws him to the floor and steals the pin to retain.

Various B level celebrities are here. Maria Menunos in a Bob Backlund shirt works very well.

We recap the pre-show match to fill in time.

Kevin Rudolf sings the theme song.

Brock Lesnar vs. HHH

Every time I watch a Brock Lesnar match I remember how scary of a human being he is. We get spotlights for the big match intros in a cool idea. Remember that HHH told the referee to allow a lot of fighting tonight. Lesnar powers HHH into the corner to start and goes for a standing kimura (arm lock that he used to break the arm) with a jumping body scissors. HHH though is a MAN and powers out of it before clotheslining Brock to the floor. Back in and Brock pounds away, only to be clotheslined to the floor again. You know, because Cena can be in a war with Brock at Extreme Rules but HHH can easily stop him.

A release German suplex puts HHH down again but he comes back with a neck snap across the ropes. Brock is taken down by a DDT but he goes right back to the kimura and another hammerlock slam. They head to the floor with the arm going into the steps and the rest of HHH going into the announce table. Brock jumps off the table onto the Game before taking him back inside. Of all things, Lesnar busts out a small package for a one count. A hard clothesline puts HHH down but he blocks a suplex into one of his own to get a breather.

Brock misses a charge into the corner but blocks a Pedigree and throws HHH out to the floor. HHH sends him into the announce table stomach first, which is a weak spot due to some real life past illnesses which ended his UFC career for all intents and purposes. More shots to the stomach have Brock in trouble and a knee to the ribs puts him down. Heyman is losing his mind and Brock is in trouble.

Ratings Comparison

Antonio Cesaro vs. Santino Marella

Original: D+

Redo: D+

Chris Jericho vs. Dolph Ziggler

Original: B-

Redo: C+

Daniel Bryan vs. Kane

Original: C-

Redo: C+

Rey Mysterio vs. The Miz

Original: C

Redo: C-

Alberto Del Rio vs. Sheamus

Original: D

Redo: D+

R-Truth/Kofi Kingston vs. Prime Time Players

Original: C

Redo: D+

John Cena vs. CM Punk vs. Big Show

Original: C-

Redo: C

Brock Lesnar vs. HHH

Original: B

Redo: C+

Overall Rating

Original: D+

Redo: C-

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2012/08/19/summerslam-2012-lesnar-is-a-wrestler-again-just-like-everyone-else/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

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

Pre-Show: US Title: Santino Marella vs. Antonio Cesaro

Dolph Ziggler vs. Chris Jericho

Time for a recap of Lesnar vs. HHH, this time being from Monday with Shawn getting his arm broken.

Daniel Bryan vs. Kane

Kane chases Bryan into the back and destroys Josh Matthews for talking to him.

Intercontinental Title: The Miz vs. Rey Mysterio

An attempt at the sitout bulldog on the floor is countered by Miz throwing Rey into the barricade. Back in and Rey escapes a belly to back suplex into a cross body for two. Miz hits a kind of Abyss Shock Treatment for two which was a good looking move for him. Off to a cravate from the champion followed by the corner clothesline. Miz loads up his top rope ax handle but Mysterio crotches him to get a breather.

Rey heads up and hits the seated senton, only to get caught in a sitout powerbomb when he tries a rana. Rey kicks him in the head for two before countering a slam into a spinning DDT for the same. Rey ranas him off the top into the 619 but the top rope splash misses. The Finale is countered into a rollup for a very close two. And never mind as the Skull Crushing Finale retains the title for Miz at 9:13.

Smackdown World Title: Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio

Some soldiers are here.

HHH told the referee earlier to only end it on a pin or submission. Let them fight apparently.

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

We recap the events in LA before the PPV. Basically, BE A STAR!

HHH vs. Lesnar is main eventing. Is anyone really surprised by that?

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

Show loads up the WMD but Cena goes after Show to break it up. Show spears Cena down for two and the small guys are down again. The Vader Bomb aimed at both only hits Cena but Punk saves the pin. Show and Cena go to the floor and the Big Bald catches Punk in mid suicide dive. He throws Punk into the ropes and heads back inside. Cena loads up his finishing sequence on Show to huge boos, only to get taken down by Punk.

Cue AJ who says restart the match. Show chokeslams both guys and gets two on both. Cena pops up and hits the AA on Show, but Punk throws him to the floor and pins Show to retain at 12:38 total.

Fred Durst, Piers Morgan, Rick Rubin (music producer), David Arquette and Maria Menounos are here.

We recap the pre-show match.

Time for the annual Summerslam concert as Kevin Rudolph performs Be A Star. I have never heard so much silence when a musician takes the stage Some Divas come out and dance with him. The announcers dance too. This just came and went.

Time for the BIG recap of Lesnar vs. HHH.

HHH vs. Brock Lesnar

Brock charges to start ala vs. Cena but HHH punches his way out of the arm. Brock gets the arm hold on and even jumps onto a standing HHH with it but HHH punches out of it again. A clothesline puts Lesnar on the floor and a jumping knee puts Lesnar down again. Lesnar gets sent to the floor for the second time and this has been almost all HHH in the first two minutes.

HHH gets to do the big “I don’t need medical help” stand up and walk out but the fans tell him he tapped out. They play it up like it’s his last match. Right.

Results

Chris Jericho b. Dolph Ziggler – Walls of Jericho

Daniel Bryan b. Kane – Small Package

The Miz b. Rey Mysterio – Skull Crushing Finale

Sheamus b. Alberto Del Rio – Irish Curse

Kofi Kingston/R-Truth b. Prime Time Players – Little Jimmy to Young

CM Punk b. John Cena and Big Show – Pinned Show after an AA from Cena

Brock Lesnar b. HHH – Kimura

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

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

The guitarist from Tool plays the national anthem.

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

Sheamus vs. Mark Henry

Divas Title: Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix

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

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

Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett

The California National Guard is here.

Smackdown World Title: Christian vs. Randy Orton

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

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

Raw World Title: John Cena vs. CM Punk

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

Raw World Title: CM Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio

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

A quick celebration ends the show.

Ratings Comparison

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

Original: B-

2013 Redo: B-

2016 Redo: B-

Mark Henry vs. Sheamus

Original: C

2013 Redo: C+

2016 Redo: C+

Beth Phoenix vs. Kelly Kelly

Original: C+

2013 Redo: D+

2016 Redo: D+

Wade Barrett vs. Daniel Bryan

Original: B

2013 Redo: B+

2016 Redo: B

Christian vs. Randy Orton

Original: B+

2013 Redo: A-

2016 Redo: A

CM Punk vs. John Cena

Original: A+

2013 Redo: B+

2016 Redo: B+

Alberto Del Rio vs. CM Punk

Original: N/A

2013 Redo: N/A

2016 Redo: N/A

Overall Rating

Original: A+

2013 Redo: A

2016 Redo: A

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

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

And the 2013 redo:

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

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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