Summerslam 2026 Night Two
Date: August 2, 2026
Location: US Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

It’s time to get back at this as we have another six matches to go. The biggest of those by far is Seth Rollins challenging Roman Reigns for the Raw World Title, which is part of a very long running feud. Other than that, there are human monies on a pole and that should be more than enough. Let’s get to it.

Here is Night One is if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of last night.

Minnesota Viking Justin Jefferson talks about how everything can change at the half, leading into a preview of tonight’s card.

Sami Zayn vs. Finn Balor

For a future World Title shot….but hang on. Nick Aldis (once again Smackdown GM) says that in the interest of fairness, he’s adding someone to the match.

Sami Zayn vs. Finn Balor vs. Gunther

For a future World Title shot….but hang on again as Aldis wants to add in someone else.

Sami Zayn vs. Finn Balor vs. Gunther vs. Kevin Owens

For a future World Title shot and of course Zayn’s jaw drops open as the music hits. Owens wastes no time in wrecking Gunther and Balor to start and it’s time for the showdown. Zayn and Owens hug and then fight (fitting for them), with Owens knocking him to the floor and hitting a big flip dive onto the pile.

Back in and the Swanton hits Gunther, who is back up to take over on the other three. Gunther chops away at Zayn and powerbombs Balor right into the Boston crab. Owens is back in for the save and stomps on Gunther, followed by the clothesline. The swinging superplex plants Gunther for two, with Zayn making the save.

Owens breaks that up as well and tries a Swanton but Zayn gets his knees up. Gunther breaks up the Helluva Kick with a sleeper, which is broken up by the Coup de Grace Zayn. Gunther’s save breaks it up (and by fingertips) so Owens gives Balor and Gunther a Stunner each. Zayn Blue Thunder Bombs Owens for two but Owens is back up with a superkick and Stunner for the pin and the title shot at 8:24.

Rating: B. I mean, Owens vs. Zayn is one of those things that can be heated up in the span of no time and it’s great to see Owens back. Owens vs. Punk is certainly interesting and it should be fascinating to see someone who can hang with Punk on the microphone. At the same time, having Gunther there almost as a red herring of a surprise was great, as the place was very happy to see Owens. While I’m not wild on the last second change, I’m happy with the result so I’ll take it.

US Title: Baron Corbin vs. Trick Williams

The returning Corbin is challenging and thinks Williams, with Lil Yachty, is soft. Williams hits him in the face to start and takes over, allowing Williams to set up a table of all things. That takes too long and Corbin takes over, including some shots on the floor. Back in and Williams is busted open as Corbin keeps pounding him down in the corner. Corbin sends him outside again but stops to go after Yachty, who holds him off with the Trick Stick.

Back in and Williams gets in a faceplant but Corbin knocks him down again. We pause for Yachty to be WAY out of position, with Corbin having to wait around forever before standing next to the rope for the stick shot. A sitout Death Valley Driver gives Williams two but he slides out of End Of Days.

The Trick Kick gets two so Williams loads up the Trick Shot. That sends Corbin to the floor where he grabs the belt, only to have Yachty break it up. Williams knocks Corbin into Yachty though, sending him through the table (thank goodness it was there for no other reason). A belt shot and End Of Days give Corbin the title at 8:53.

Rating: C. This was a match that felt like it could have been in the main event of the first hour of a Smackdown. It doesn’t help that the ending was horrible with one of the worst table bumps in recent memory. That being said, this very well may free Williams up to move into the main event scene. If that’s where they’re going then it’s quite the speedy push but you have to roll the dice at some point.

Interim Smackdown Women’s Title: Jade Cargill vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Chelsea Green vs. Charlotte vs. Lash Legend

Ladder match for the vacant title. Cargill goes right after Charlotte to start and Legend sends Green crashing into the ladder. Legend tosses her over the barricade but Charlotte grabs the ladder before it can be set up. With Charlotte knocked down, we get a Legend vs. Cargill staredown. That’s broken up by Stratton and Green, who hammer away in the corner until they get knocked back down.

Cargill suplexes Legend to the floor but gets high crossbodied by Charlotte. The ladder is set up and Stratton takes Legend out for the showdown with Charlotte. The two of them are knocked down so Green goes up, earning herself a Jaded onto the ladder. Stratton is back in and tries a super hurricanrana to Legend, who calmly powerbombs her onto a bridged ladder for a horribly painful looking crash.

Charlotte goes for the title but has the ladder pulled out from underneath her, meaning it’s a crash. Stratton, who is somehow still able to move, goes up but has to hurricanrana Legend into a ladder in the corner. Stratton goes back up but Green pushes the ladder over, with Stratton flip diving onto the other three.

Green goes up but here are the Baddies to cut her off. The two of them beat up Chelsea, who winds up hanging from a ladder, and Charlotte so the other three all climb. Stratton and Legend crash down but Charlotte is up to cut Cargill off…and Green pulls herself up to grab the belt and win 13:04.

Rating: B-. This was a good example of a match where you knew the gist of what you were going to get and it didn’t really veer away from that. Green is certainly a surprising choice to win but the fans love her and that’s always a good place to go. I’m not sure I’d call her a traditional Women’s Champion as she now has to wait for the ACTUAL champion to show up, but it’s a cool moment in a match with some fun spots.

We recap Danhausen vs. Dominik Mysterio. So the Judgment Day invested in Danhausen’s experiments and they didn’t pay off so the team wants their money back. Danhausen won’t do it so let’s put the Human Monies On A Pole, because “haven’t you ever watched wrestling?”.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Danhausen

Human Monies On A Pole (and in a bag with a dollar sign on it of course) and Danhausen is here in the Danhausenmobile. Mysterio jumps him to start and hits a clothesline but Danhausen fights back with the reverse DDT. Cue JD McDonagh to cut Danhausen off so it’s time for the Minihausens to get involved.

McDonagh chokeslams them down, with Cole pointing out that one of them used to be El Torito. That one gives McDonagh a springboard spinning DDT so the Minihausens go up. That’s cut off by Mysterio, who is sent to the floor for a big running flip dive (with Toritohausen hitting the barricade). Cue Joe Hendry for the guitar shot to McDonagh so Mysterio goes up, only to get cursed with exploding pyro. Danhausen gets the money for the win at 6:48.

Rating: C+. Honestly, I was kind of expecting something more. This was one of the most obvious results of the entire weekend as there is pretty much no reason for Danhausen to lose anything anytime soon. Let him do his shenanigans and comedy stuff, as it’s not like pulling something off a pole first is going to make Mysterio into a loser.

Post match Danhausen says something to the referee and Danhausen throws out some money to the fans. Naturally it appears to be Danhausen Bucks but better than nothing.

The Killer Bees, Rick Martel (!) and Molly Holly are here.

Intercontinental Title: Penta vs. Chad Gable

Gable, the home star, is challenging and Penta is the person who beat him twice, including causing the match where Gable’s shoulder was hurt to put him out of action for a year. They shake hands to start before Penta grabs a running hurricanrana. Gable is right back with a rolling kick to the head but Penta cuts him off with a backbreaker.

Penta gets knocked away but is fine enough o superkick a moonsaulting Gable out of the air. Back up and Gable is sent outside for the big flip dive from Penta, leaving Gable holding his shoulder. They get back inside and chop it out until Gable (bleeding slightly) sends him into the corner. Gable goes up but dives right into the Sacrifice for two, but Gable’s shoulder is in big trouble.

They fight out to the apron where Gable gets in a German suplex, sending Penta crashing out to the floor. That lets Gable follow up with a big moonsault but Penta is able to come back with a Mexican Destroyer on the apron (more like a Mexican Backstabber but close enough). Back in and Gable gets the ankle lock, completely with a grapevine, for the tap at 10:58.

Rating: B. Well, they didn’t have another option here as Gable is on the run of a lifetime and needed to FINALLY win something. This is the title he’s been chasing for the better part of ever and it’s great to see him actually get there. Throw in having his family there and it’s even better. Good stuff here and this was an awesome moment at the end of a good match.

Post match Penta presents him with the title and Gable’s family gets in the ring (with his son in a wrestling singlet and his parents in Chad Gable #1 and #2 Fan shirts). Gable thanks his family for helping him over the years in a nice call back to the mask vs. mask promo. Naturally this moment is turned into an ad for root beer, because it must be a commercial.

We recap Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins. This is part of a story that started almost fourteen years ago, with the two of them being major forces throughout that time. Reigns is the top star around here but can’t beat Rollins, who wants to take the title from him one more time. That’s fine with Reigns, who wants one more chance to put Rollins away for good.

Raw World Title: Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins

Rollins, looking like he’s merged with an exploding peacock, is challenging. They bell rings and they stare at/talk to each other, with almost two minutes passing before they get physical. Rollins takes him into the corner and does the Scott Hall spooky fingers. Rollins’ headlock doesn’t last long so he settles for an early Sling Blade to put Reigns in the corner.

Reigns misses a clothesline and gets taken down with a superkick as the idea is that Reigns just can’t get anything going on him. Back up and Reigns gets him in the corner for some clotheslines, followed by a big boot. The Superman Punch misses though and Rollins is sent outside for the suicide dives. Rollins teases going after the announcers’ table and gets kicked in the head for his efforts.

They fight out into the crowd so they can walk around a bit, with Rollins hitting him with a piece of the barricade. Reigns is fine enough to grab a suplex on the floor and they both need a breather. They go back to ringside, where Rollins tries a spear for some reason. That’s countered into a powerbomb through the announcers’ table in the big crash. Reigns loads up another one but Rollins reverses and hits one of his own to leave them both down.

They both dive back in to beat the count, with Rollins hitting a Pedigree for two. The Stomp is countered into a Superman Punch for two and they’re both down again. Back up and Reigns tries a spear, which only hits turnbuckle, allowing Rollins to hit the Stomp for two of his own. Rollins takes him up for the superplex but the Falcon Arrow is countered into a guillotine. Rollins tries to power out but gets cut off with a spear for two more (with a very close kickout).

Reigns talks a bunch of trash and tries another spear, with Rollins hitting one of his own for two of his own. The buckle bomb looks to set up a Stomp, only for Reigns to reverse into the same two moves for another near fall. They yell at each other and then start trading right hands until the referee gets bumped. Reigns hits a double arm DDT (Cole: “Homage to the third Shield member!” Who will not be named!) but accidentally spears the referee.

Rollins Stomps Reigns again and they’re both down for a bit. That’s enough for Rollins to go grab a chair, which Reigns knocks away from him. Reigns loads up the chair but throws it down and says they’re ending this one on one. They forearm it out with Rollins slapping him to keep things going. A Superman Punch doesn’t even knock Rollins down and he reverses the spear into a Pedigree. The Stomp misses for Rollins so he…hits it a few seconds later. The top rope Stomp misses though and Reigns hits another spear. A third spear connects and Rollins is done at 33:40.

Rating: B. This was flirting with being even lower as they spent A LOT of time just staring at or talking to each other. The idea here was that they were fighting man to man until one of them couldn’t hang in there anymore. Reigns finally puts Rollins down and it should end their feud, with both of them needing something new to do. The focus being on Reigns being willing to go that much further to win makes sense, though it never hit that epic level they were trying for here.

Post match Cole says that Reigns has now tied up all loose ends. As I try to remember when Reigns got his win back over Cody Rhodes, Rollins and Reigns do the Shield pose to officially bury the hatchet. Reigns poses to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This show flew by and in a good way, as the main event was done at just after 9:00 EST. That’s a pretty swift pace and the matches pretty much all worked, save for maybe Corbin vs. Williams. It didn’t quite hit the heights of last night’s half but this show only had one main event. It’s a good show, but a step down from last night, which shouldn’t be surprising. Still though, more than solid enough here, with some nice surprises and enough quality wrestling.

Results
Kevin Owens b. Gunther, Finn Balor and Sami Zayn – Stunner to Zayn
Baron Corbin b. Trick Williams – End Of Days
Chelsea Green won a ladder match – Green pulled down the title
Danhausen b. Dominik Mysterio – Danhausen pulled down the bag of money
Chad Gable b. Penta – Ankle lock
Roman Reigns b. Seth Rollins – Spear

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

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Well the fight night worked and now we get to see if they can do it again. This side of the card isn’t quite as stacked though, with only one top level main event compared to Night One’s double shot. The match does feel huge though and hopefully that is enough to carry the top half. The rest of the card certainly doesn’t look bad though so let’s get to it.

Sami Zayn vs. Finn Balor

This one intrigues me as I don’t remember the last time WWE did a #1 contenders match on PPV. The good thing is that you have a situation where both guys could conceivably win. Zayn was champion less than a month ago and Balor has been sniffing around the main event scene in recent months. There isn’t an obvious choice here and that leaves things rather wide open.

The more I think about it, the more I think Balor wins here. We’ve done Punk vs. Zayn recently enough and Balor vs. Punk, while having been done earlier this year, would feel like a fresh match. Balor getting into the title picture, especially if Zayn gets cheated again somehow, offers something a bit different and I can always go for seeing Zayn freak out as he does it so well. I’m not at all sure, but I’ll take Balor here.

Interim Smackdown Women’s Title: Tiffany Stratton vs. Jade Cargill vs. Chelsea Green vs. Lash Legend vs. Charlotte

This is a ladder match for the shot at Rhea Ripley, whenever she gets back from her knee injury. Hopefully that isn’t too long, as an interim title is still one of the most ridiculous concepts in all of wrestling. The question here basically gets down to who is the best option to face Ripley in (what we can only hope is) a short stretch. I do like the relatively smaller field here so who wins?

While Charlotte is the most likely result, I think I’ll go with Cargill. Ripley vs. Cargill is certainly a heck of a showdown if that is where we go but the question now is whether anyone else is a realistic option. Of course Charlotte is there, but I can’t imagine Green, Stratton or Legend having much of a real chance. While I would like to see Legend in there, I don’t see it happening. I’ll take Cargill here.

United Stated Title: Trick Williams(c) vs. Baron Corbin

The more I think about this, the less sure I am about what is going to happen. Bringing Corbin back in and having him lose here would be one heck of a death blow to his return run, but I’m also not sure I can imagine Corbin winning the title. Maybe they have some kind of shenanigans set up, but otherwise it’s not a good idea to have either of them actually lose here.

I think I’ve talked myself into thinking Corbin actually wins here, as they have at least teased Williams moving into the main event picture. That would be a heck of a move up the ladder in a hurry and I wouldn’t do it just yet, but Corbin being there to have someone else slay him in the future would be fine. It’s another case where I could be completely wrong because I could see it going either way, but I’ll take Corbin winning the title here.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Danhausen

This might be the most confident pick of the entire weekend and that shouldn’t be a surprise. At the end of the dan, Danhausen is one of the most popular stars in all of the promotion right now and it would be insane to have him lose in pretty much any spot at this point. The question is how he manages to pull that off, though this is a Human Monies On A Pole match so it’s far from impossible.

Of course I’ll go with Danhausen to win here, likely with some kind of interference. The question is which form that takes, and I’m wondering if it involves either the cloning machine or whatever is under that sheet in his lab. Danhausen pretty much has to win here and there is no reason to think otherwise. It’s not like he’s pinning Mysterio so go with the fun moment again here.

Intercontinental Title: Penta(c) vs. Chad Gable

Of all the things that are absolutely bizarre in WWE these days (and remember that Danhausen is a thing), Gable’s story might be the most impressive. Gable was given a whole new character for the sake of not being able to beat luchadors and it really got over because he was injured and the replacement, who got the spot because he had nothing to do, got over huge and Gable lost in his return. Now Gable is one of the hottest good guys in WWE and here we are.

There is no reason I can put together to pick Penta to retain. Penta has had a nice reign with the title but Gable has moved past him right now and it’s time for him to move on. Let Gable win here and move on to everything else, as Gable needs to actually win something. He’s never been more over than he is right now so let him have the title and see where it goes from here. He’s earned that at this point.

Raw World Title: Roman Reigns(c) vs. Seth Rollins

This has been treated as the real main event for the two nights and that shouldn’t be a surprise. This story really started almost fourteen years ago and while it isn’t likely to be the final chapter, it’s a match that can be put together this quickly with all of the potential for a huge showdown. The build has been good, though I’m still not sure which way they’re going to go.

I’ll take Reigns to retain here, as Rollins has already beaten Reigns time after time. This is a mostly different Reigns than most of the previous times though and he can hopefully wrap things up with Rollins for the time being. I’m not sure if that means he gets the fabled chair shot here but it wouldn’t be a terrible idea. Rollins winning isn’t crazy, but with the Bloodline out there if needed, I’ll take Reigns.

Overall Thoughts

This half doesn’t seem to be as big as the previous night, but I’ve seen worse options out there. The show very well could wind up being a hit, especially if the midcard matches live up to their hype. Rollins vs. Reigns is more than good enough for a main event and Zayn vs. Balor should hold up as a main event style singles match. Other than that, Danhausen is usually fun and Gable’s win should be a great moment. I’m hopeful here, though not quite as much as I was about the first night.

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

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Monday Night Raw
Date: July 27, 2026
Location: Intuit Dome, Inglewood, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s the last Raw before Summerslam and that means it is time for the final push to the red half of the card. In this case that means an official weigh-in between Brock Lesnar and Oba Femi, along with something else between Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. The Alpha Academy get to face the Vision as well so let’s get to it.

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

The Cell is lowered and Oba Femi and Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman), flanked by police, come to the ring for the weigh-in. HHH and Adam Pearce are in the ring waiting as Femi comes in first. Femi weighs 302lbs and here are Heyman and Lesnar, but the Cell is locked with the two of them outside. Heyman says it’s a bad idea for Lesnar to be inside that Cell and lists off Lesnar’s resume.

We hear about how great Lesnar is in the Cell and Femi is promised a beating. Oh and Lesnar weighs 303lbs. Femi is ready to fight anyway but Lesnar will see him at Summerslam. Femi says Saturday is coming and he’ll be ready for Lesnar. With Lesnar and Heyman leaving, Femi wrecks security. Unless I missed it, HHH didn’t say anything here. This wasn’t a great segment, but it’s also a story where there is nothing left to say.

We look at Seth Rollins beating Roman Reigns via DQ at the 2022 Royal Rumble (hey I was there).

Vision vs. Alpha Academy

Non-title. Theory runs from Otis to start and it’s Breakker coming in to circle Otis instead. A big shoulder drops Breakker and it’s off to Tozawa, who gets sent into the wrong corner. Maxxine Dupri grabs Tozawa’s foot and a big boot knocks him outside as we take a break. We come back with Breakker’s gorilla press gutbuster dropping Tozawa for two. Tozawa flips away from Theory though and it’s Otis coming in to clean house. The Caterpillar hits Breakker and Tozawa’s suicide dive takes Theory out on the floor. Otis gets posted though and the Super Spear finishes Tozawa at 8:30.

Rating: C+. Hopefully this wraps things up for the Academy as a serious threat as it’s pretty much the only match they needed to have. Otis probably has something else to do and that makes sense as the fans are behind him. At least Tozawa took the fall here, which is how the thing should go as he’s just kind of along for the ride.

Post match the Vision stays on them but Otis is back up. Dupri offers a distraction though and it’s a double powerbomb out of the corner to plant Otis. Theory cracks Otis with a chair to leave him laying.

LA Knight has been accused of being paranoid but look at how things have been going with the Bloodline. The goal is to put them in a hole at Summerslam and the BFT is just a fact of life.

Raquel Rodriguez and Sol Ruca are both ready for the title match tonight. I have no idea why they’re looking off to the side as they talk about the other, as they’re in different rooms.

Various celebrities are here, including Jimmy Hart.

We get a video of Chad Gable in Minnesota, where he promises to win the Intercontinental Title. He spent a long time doing everything he could to gain success and it didn’t work, but then he lost himself as El Grande Americano. Now though, he needs to win the title because he’s ready to represent himself, his friends, his family and his state as he did in the Olympics, but he’s doing it as the man he was always supposed to be. Heck of a vignette here, as Gable is on fire here and pretty much has to win.

Iyo Sky is ready to prove Liv Morgan wrong again by taking the title at Summerslam.

Je’Von Evans vs. Rusev

Rusev drives shoulders into the ribs to start and then drops him with a clothesline. Back up and Evans kicks him in the head, setting up a springboard hurricanrana. That earns Evans a fall away slam out to the floor, where he kicks Rusev in the face. A charging crossbody is tossed over the barricade but Evans is right back with a shot of his own. That’s enough for Evans to send us to a break (“We’ll be right back!”) and we come back with Evans fighting out of a chinlock.

Rusev drops him with a shot to the face but Evans unloads with right hands in the corner. The big no hands dive takes Rusev down again so they go back inside, where Rusev gets in a Machka Kick. The Accolade is escaped but the OG Cutter is reversed into the Accolade, with Evans diving over to the rope. A Stunner staggers Rusev though and the OG Cutter finishes him off at 10:55.

Rating: B-. This was a back and forth match and Evans bounced off of Rusev rather well. That’s about all you can expect from Rusev these days, as it’s not like he’s doing much of anything else. At the same time, Evans got to survive the Accolade and beat Rusev clean. He’s getting something out of this and I want to see how far he can go, as he’s won me over in recent months.

We look at Seth Rollins costing Roman Reigns the World Title at Wrestlemania XL.

Here are Joe Hendry and Danhausen for a concert, starting with a song about Judgment Day wanting Danhausen’s human monies. Then they sing about believing that you are cursed and here are the Minihausens as well, followed by a bunch of dancing girls. The dancing girls start a conga line and boxer Ryan Garcia jumps the barricade to sing with them.

Then he guitars Hendry in the back and Judgment Day runs in for the big beatdown. The Minihausens get beaten up too and Judgment Day clears out the ring. I actually fell asleep watching the show and woke up during the concert with the Minihausens dancing. It was clear that more sleep was needed.

Various celebrities are here, including Ashton Kutcher (the Farm Hand), who is holding an NXT Tag Team Title of all things.

Big Cass is back next week.

Rey Mysterio vs. Ethan Page

They go technical to start until Page runs him over with a shoulder. A quick hurricanrana looks to set up the 619 but Page is back up with a pull into the corner. Page powerbombs him onto the apron and we take a break. We come back with Page going for the mask but Mysterio fights out and hits a top rope moonsault. Page boots him in the face but gets sent into the post, allowing Mysterio to hit some right hands in the corner.

The Eddie Dance looks to set up…something off the top, only for Page to reverse it into a powerslam. Page is sent outside for a top rope hurricanrana, sending Page hard into the announcers’ table (OUCH). Back in and the 619 is loaded up but Page grabs the ring skirt of all things to block it. Page posts him and gets the Egoplex for the pin at 11:43.

Rating: B-. This was another nice win for someone on the way up as Page gets what is probably the biggest win of his main roster career. He’s not someone who is coming up with anything amazing or new but he does his thing rather efficiently. It’s similar to Robert Roode and that’s not a bad place to be.

Liv Morgan thinks Iyo Sky doesn’t know who she’s facing at Summerslam. Morgan is the girl who worked so hard to make it through NXT and now she’s here, as champion. She cares about Sky, who already beat her once, but Sky isn’t in her head. Morgan is so much stronger than Sky and now it’s time to remind everyone who she is. Good, to the point promo here.

Danhausen and the Minihausens are banged up so Adam Pearce comes in to say give Judgment Day the money back. Danhausen has an idea (uh oh): Human Monies On A Pole! Pearce: “HUMAN MONIES ON A POLE???” Danhausen: “Haven’t you ever watched wrestling?” It’s official for Summerslam and Pearce needs a drink.

Here are the Usos for a chat, albeit after running it back. They issue a warning shot to LA Knight/Solo Sikoa/Royce Keys at Summerslam but here is Sikoa, through the crowd, to say they don’t have a chance at Summerslam. Jimmy mocks Sikoa for suggesting he doesn’t want to come back to the Bloodline because it was the best thing that ever happened to his career. Sikoa: “Or what, you’re going to YEET for thirty minutes?”

Sikoa isn’t worried about Roman Reigns and here is Knight to join things. Knight wants things fixed up after Summerslam because it’s time to pay penance. He’ll see them this weekend…..or we can do this right now, LA style. The brawl is on so here is Jacob Fatu, who wrecks both of them until Keys it on for the save. Sikoa breaks up the Tongan Death Grip and Fatu gets dropped with a trio of finishes. Perfectly fine brawl to preview the match.

Video on the violence of the Cell.

Women’s Intercontinental Title: Sol Ruca vs. Raquel Rodriguez

Ruca is defending and spins around her into an X Factor to start. A sunset flip is blocked but Rodriguez avoids an elbow drop as Lyra Valkyria is watching backstage. Rodriguez strikes away but gets sent outside for a heck of a moonsault. Back in and Rodriguez pulls a high crossbody out of the air for a reverse suplex. A slam gives Rodriguez two and she teases an armbar but just punches her in the head instead. We hit the chinlock, allowing the referee to wipe some blood off of Rodriguez’s face.

Back up and Ruca hits a Backstabber (albeit with feet), followed by Sliced Bread for two. Ruca’s running knee gets two, followed by a top rope cartwheel DDT for the same. Cue Roxanne Perez for a distraction so Liv Morgan can trip Ruca, meaning it’s a big boot to give Rodriguez another near fall. Cue Iyo Sky to brawl with Morgan and Ruca gives Rodriguez a Codebreaker. Perez breaks up the Sol Snatcher though and the Tejana Bomb gives Rodriguez the title at 10:23.

Rating: C+. There was a lot going on here with Sky vs. Morgan feeling like the bigger story than the title match going on here. That being said, Rodriguez needed to win something of her own at some point and this worked. Ruca seems to have gotten around some of her yips in the ring and that is great to see, as she can be outstanding when she is hitting on all cylinders. Not a classic here, but I like the title change.

And Rodriguez is very emotional over her win. Fair enough.

Video on CM Punk vs. Cody Rhodes.

Summerslam rundown.

We look at Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns (vs. CM Punk) last year at Wrestlemania.

Here is Reigns for the big wrap up. After standing around for a bit, Reigns loads up the catchphrase but here is Rollins to interrupt. Rollins wants to be acknowledged so Reigns calls him an a******. Rollins: “Guilty!” He’s fine with being the bad guy between the two of them because he wasn’t born on third base. Reigns has a lot of advantages over Rollins but the one thing he will never be better at is pro wrestling.

No matter how Reigns looks at it, Rollins owns him. How is Reigns getting out of it this time? Get disqualified? Maybe call in the Bloodline? Reigns may need to beat him but Reigns doesn’t have a chance. Reigns calls himself the only real superstar and true champion around here. The whole industry needs Reigns to win, which has Rollins talking about what they need.

Reigns needs the redemption, so Rollins says Reigns needed his family there to see it. This has Rollins thinking back to Wrestlemania XXXI, when Rollins cashed in and sent Reigns’ family home in tears. Rollins wants to see them cry again on Sunday, including Reigns’ children. The fight is on and Reigns beats him up, including the spear. Reigns goes outside and grabs the chair (oooh) and goes for the big shot but gets Stomped onto the chair to end the show.

This was a good example of someone just not having the same presence as their opponent. What Rollins was saying was fine, but there is a gravitas to the way Reigns speaks that makes him feel so much bigger. It’s been hanging over Rollins the entire time, so playing up their record against each other is about all he has. Teasing Reigns finally getting the chair shot to pay Rollins back is a big thing too, as they really have turned it into something that feels monumental and started setting so many things in motion over the years. Good segment here, and it makes sense that this will be the big Summerslam headliner.

Overall Rating: B. This was the show designed to get them ready for Summerslam and yeah it worked. Reigns vs. Rollins feels a lot bigger and the six man tag got a nice push. I’m more interested in Summerslam than I was coming in and it would be great to see them pay that off this weekend. You need a show like this and if nothing else, maybe it can get them to break 30,000 tickets a night. You know, in that 60,000+ seat stadium they’re in for back to back nights. Anyway, solid effort here.

Results
Vision b. Alpha Academy – Super Spear to Tozawa
Je’Von Evans b. Rusev – OG Cutter
Ethan Page b. Rey Mysterio – Egoplex
Raquel Rodriguez b. Sol Ruca – Tejana Bomb

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

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Monday Night Raw
Date: July 20, 2026
Location: Little Caesar’s Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re done with Saturday Night’s Main Event, meaning we have less than two weeks to go before Summerslam. The big stories here continue to be Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar and Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns, with the latter getting quite the focus on Saturday. We have some more building to do though so let’s get to it.

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

Long Saturday Night’s Main Event recap.

Je’Von Evans/Dragon Lee vs. Vision

Non-title and the rest of the Vision is here too. Lee and Evans hit dives before the bell, with Lee taking over on Theory to officially start. Evans comes in for a great looking slingshot hurricanrana to Theory but Breakker is in for a double faceplant. It’s back to Lee to dropkick Theory off the apron and then superkick Breakker. Lee rolls up Breakker into a DDT for two but Breakker World’s Strongest Slams him out of the air.

We take a break and come back with Lee kicking Theory out to the floor, allowing Evans to come back in. That means the big dive to take Theory out. Evans talks to the camera and avoids a spear from Breakker, who crashes into the timekeeper’s area. Another dive cuts Breakker off and a big springboard clothesline takes Theory down. Lee gets in his top rope double stomp but Maxxine Dupri grabs the leg, allowing Breakker to hit a clothesline. Theory’s brainbuster onto the knee gets two and Breakker’s Super Spear finishes Lee at 9:42.

Rating: B. This was a rather hot opener with Evans and Lee getting to throw everything they could at the Vision but coming up short. There is a lot to be gained out of having a match like this every so often, with the fans getting the chance to enjoy a fast paced match while the champs get to win in the end. Good opener.

Post match the beatdown stays on but the Alpha Academy come in for the save. Dupri slaps Otis in the face (Logan Paul’s jaw drops in a good visual) but Otis wrecks the Vision anyway. The announcers’ table is loaded up but Breakker spears the heck out of Otis. Another Super Spear drops Otis again. Commentary again tries to make Dupri the villainess in all of this and….yeah I’m not minding seeing the Academy getting wrecked again.

We look at Fanatics Fest.

The Judgment Day jumps Danhausen, who want their money back. He has thirty seconds to go find it.

Big Cass is still coming back. Playing up that he was mostly a bust in his previous run is an interesting way to go. Now just have it be him and not Enzo Amore tagging along.

We look at Danhausen’s uncursing parade over the weekend, plus his match with JD McDonagh. This included New York Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns.

Here is Danhausen, with a briefcase, for a chat. This money is driving him crazy and he’s sick of it but he doesn’t want the Judgment Day to have it, so let’s give it to the Fanhausens. Cue the Judgment Day (with JD McDonagh in an old Scott Hall shirt) to say the fans aren’t getting their money so Danhausen curses them all. Joe Hendry runs in for the save but Judgment Day gets the (still closed) briefcase.

We continue the Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins history with the Wrestlemania Money In The Bank cash-in.

In the back, Joe Hendry and Danhausen yell at Judgment Day, who open the briefcase and find….fake money. JD McDonagh throws the briefcase but accidentally hits Oba Femi. McDonagh knows he screwed up, with Femi saying “you know I should kill you for this.” The match is made for right now. Dominik Mysterio protests and gets a match with Hendry later tonight as a result.

Oba Femi vs. JD McDonagh

Danhausen and Joe Hendry throw Judgment Day inside, with Femi throwing Dominik Mysterio outside. McDonagh chops Femi, earning one of the biggest backdrops I’ve seen in a long time. Some running uppercuts knock McDonagh silly and it’s a toss powerbomb into the Fall From Grace to finish McDonagh at 54 seconds.

We look at Jalen Brunson at Fanatics Fest.

Commentary is interrupted by Solo Sikoa, who says he isn’t supposed to be here but wants to talk to Seth Rollins. This brings out Rollins to welcome him to the show, but Rollins gets in the important question: are they here to talk or to fight? Sikoa says he’s just here to talk and says that Summerslam is going to be Rollins vs. the entire Bloodline. Rollins seems to accept this but Sikoa says it doesn’t have to be that way. Sikoa can have his back at Summerslam, with Rollins saying he’ll think about it.

That doesn’t work for Sikoa, who says he can be for Rollins what Rollins was for Cody Rhodes. That has Rollins thinking but here is Jacob Fatu to interrupt, with Sikoa bailing out into the crowd. Rollins drops Fatu with a superkick and leaves him in the corner. This was the dramatics portion and Rollins seems interested in Sikoa’s help. I’m mostly expecting Sikoa to join the Bloodline at Summerslam, but it’s not a lock.

We look at Chad Gable and Penta having a staredown at the Summerslam Kickoff.

Ethan Page/Rusev vs. Penta/Chad Gable

Rusev jumps Penta to start fast and a double suplex gets two. Everything breaks down and Rusev backdrops Penta onto the apron. We take a break and come back with Penta hitting a high crossbody. That’s enough for Gable to come in and roll some German suplexes on Page. The moonsault misses though and Rusev plants Gable for two, with Penta making the save. Everything breaks down and Gable gets caught in the Accolade, which is reversed into an ankle lock. Penta uses them as a launch pad for a Mexican Destroyer to Page, leaving Rusev to tap at 8:38.

Rating: B-. This was a good back and forth match and Penta getting the win gets him even closer to winning the title at Summerslam. I’m not sold on him doing it while staying completely on the side of good, though that very well may be where it goes. At least they’re making it feel important, which isn’t surprising given how well Gable has gotten over lately.

Video on Seth Rollins beating Roman Reigns at Money In The Bank 2016.

Rollins taunts Jacob Fatu in an effort to get him to break Roman Reigns’ orders. Fatu says what happened earlier tonight won’t happen again and violence is promised for after Summerslam.

Yet even more from Fanatics Fest.

Paul Heyman sits down to talk about being the advocate for Brock Lesnar. He has been asked to not use the word violence but how does he sell the Cell without it? Heyman hypes up Lesnar being undefeated in the Cell and how many people think it’s ending at Summerslam. Femi has had the greatest rookie year in WWE since Lesnar, but it comes to an end at the hands of Lesnar himself.

Then Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns got back together for a bit.

We look at Gunther vs. Nick Aldis being set up at yesterday’s Summerslam Kickoff.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Joe Hendry

Mysterio, with Liv Morgan, isn’t defending his AAA Mega Title here. Hendry gets stomped down in the corner to start but comes right back with a rather delayed vertical suplex. Back up and Mysterio sends him outside, only for Hendry to pull a dive out of the air. That earns Mysterio a quick toss but Morgan posts Hendry. Cue Danhausen to load up the Curse but Morgan hits him in the face.

We take a break and come back with Hendry muscling him up for another suplex. A discus lariat gives Hendry two but Mysterio is back with a springboard tornado DDT. Cue the Danhausenmobile with Iyo Sky, who brawls with Morgan. They go inside and Danhausen gives Mysterio a Triple D to give an appreciative Hendry the pin at 10:21.

Rating: C+. This was quite the messy situation with Danhausen showing up twice, but the good thing is that Hendry actually got a win. He has something going on and that’s more than you could really say about a lot of his time on the main roster thus far. The match wasn’t exactly outstanding, but they were focusing on almost everything but the wrestling anyway.

We look at Cody Rhodes and CM Punk getting into it at the Summerslam Kickoff event and having to be held apart.

We look at Roman Reigns and Jalen Brunson fending off Seth Rollins and Tyrese Haliburton at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Danhausen vs. Dominik Mysterio is confirmed for Summerslam.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

LA Knight vs. Jacob Fatu

Before the match, Knight isn’t sure how Solo Sikoa can be out here offering to help Seth Rollins because it’s making him sick. The fans chant for Reigns, with Knight saying he can’t even blame them for that because Reigns has begged for acceptance for years. Knight is everything WWE wanted Reigns to be for years. Now though, Sikoa is wanting to help a cross eyed goof like Rollins. The idea should have been destroying the Bloodline for good but Fatu is not going to be able to beat him, even with the Mortal Kombat music and the shaking.

Cue Fatu and we’re ready to go, shockingly with Fatu hammering away in the corner to start. It’s too early for the running Umaga Attack though and Knight wraps the leg around the post. That just earns him a suicide dive but Fatu is sent knees first into the steps. A Samoan drop onto the apron cuts Knight off again, only to have him come back with a dropkick through the ropes. Knight gets in a clothesline off the apron and we take a break. We come back with Knight’s neckbreaker getting two but Fatu catches him up top.

That lets Fatu go up, with Knight running the corner for the top rope superplex. They’re both down so here is Jimmy Uso, with Solo Sikoa showing up to go after him. Fatu hits the suicide dive to cut Sikoa off but he walks into the BFT. Uso distracts the referee but here is Royce Keys to cut him off. Jey Uso runs through the crowd and fires off some superkicks to Keys until Knight is back up with a dive. Back in and Fatu gives Knight a pop up Samoan drop. The triple jump moonsault finishes for Fatu at 11:55.

Rating: B-. This was the rather wild main event to wrap up the show and that’s a good way to build up the Summerslam six man. Knight losing again isn’t the best look but he seems to be in for something a bit bigger at the moment. That being said, Fatu is still a monster and the fact that he has such a good looking moonsault makes it that much better.

Post match Sikoa runs in but gets taken out by the Usos. Keys is back in to slug it out with Fatu, with the USB putting Fatu down. The Usos superkick and 1D Keys but Knight is back up as well. That earns him a Tongan Death Grip from Fatu and a string of running Umaga Attacks. The Bloodline stands tall to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. The important thing here is that it felt like they were trying, as you could tell the vast majority of the show was built around setting up Summerslam. The two top matches are both pretty much made for Summerslam so this was about almost everything else. I’d call that a success, as you could feel the energy and effort here to make things that much better. Rather good show here, and Summerslam gets a needed push forward.

Results
Vision b. Dragon Lee/Je’Von Evans – Super Spear to Lee
Oba Femi b. JD McDonagh – Fall From Grace
Chad Gable/Penta b. Rusev/Ethan Page – Ankle lock to Rusev
Joe Hendry b. Dominik Mysterio – Triple D
Jacob Fatu b. LA Knight – Triple Jump moonsault

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

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

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

Kickoff Show: Laredo Kid vs. Trick Williams

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Danhausen vs. JD McDonagh

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bayley is ready to finish Lyra Valkyria.

Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CM Punk/Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther/Sami Zayn

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

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

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

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

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

Summerslam rundown.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Finn Balor vs. Talla Tonga

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

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

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

Various women are ready to win the ladder match.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

War Raiders vs. Fraxiom

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

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

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

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

Video on Fanatics Fest.

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

Video on Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins.

Saturday Night’s Main Event rundown.

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

Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: July 13, 2026
Location: American Airlines Arena, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re on the way to Saturday Night’s Main Event and that means it is time to finalize the Raw side of the card. The show is only feeling so important with Summerslam coming a few weeks after but that is often an issue with these specials. Hopefully they can put something together here with Brock Lesnar in the house. Let’s get to it.

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

Here are Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar, with a bunch of cops, to get things going. The fans keep chanting for Oba Femi, with Heyman explaining how obsessed Femi is with facing Lesnar. Heyman finds it interesting to see Femi being obsessed because so many people are until they get hit in the face.

This time though, Lesnar is obsessed with Femi and has been looking past hunting trips and training camp to get his hands on Femi in the Cell. Before then though, Heyman has gone to a judge and gotten a restraining order to prevent any violence. Lesnar takes his hat off because he’ll be abiding by the judge’s orders, but here is Femi (in a RUN FROM THE RULER shirt, making me picture him as the nun in the Blues Brothers) to interrupt.

Femi is here to fight so Lesnar and Heyman leave, with Femi beating up the cops. With Lesnar and Heyman on the stage, Femi says he would have gotten his title shot but Lesnar would have cost him anyway. At Summerslam, there is no more running. Not much here, but the match has already been set up.

We get the start of a series on Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins, with the formation of the Shield. This is basically “here’s the Shield, they’re awesome”.

Iyo Sky vs. Roxanne Perez

Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez are here with Perez. It’s a brawl to start with Sky taking her down for some knees to the ribs. Back up and they trade some rollups for two each until Perez kicks her in the ribs. They head outside for the fight over a suplex, with Sky dropping her down to the floor. An Asai moonsault connects but Morgan offers a distraction, allowing Perez to twist the leg as we take a break.

We come back with Perez tying her in the Tree Of Woe and kicking at the knee some more. Sky gets her knees up to block a moonsault and hitting a butterfly backbreaker for another two. There’s the missile dropkick but the running knee only hits buckls. Perez grabs a Haas Of Pain, with Sky reversing into a crossface. That’s broken up as well so Judgment Day offers a distraction, only for Sky to roll through a rollup and pin Perez at 9:35.

Rating: B-. This was one of those basic steps in a long story as Sky is on her way to a title match at Summerslam but they have so long on the road to the title match. Sky beating Morgan’s friends is a good way to go and she outsmarted the Judgment Day to win here. They have a few weeks to go and at least this first part went well.

Post match the beatdown is still on until Sol Ruca runs in for the save. That earns her a swing into the barricade and a powerbomb against the post, followed by a belt shot to leave Sky laying.

We recap the issues with the Bloodline on Smackdown.

Here is the Vision, now with Maxxine Dupri, to brag about getting the Tag Team Titles back. Dupri goes to explain but here is the sad looking Alpha Academy to interrupt. They want an explanation and beg her to come back but she didn’t think it was fair that she had to pick between them. Otis told her that Austin Theory was bad news but she insists that they don’t even know Theory. As Otis seems ready to confess his feelings for Dupri, Theory gets on the apron to laugh the whole thing off.

The fight is on with Tozawa diving at Bron Breakker, who suplexes him clean over the announcers’ table. Back in and the beatdown continues but Otis fights back in the corner. Otis goes to kiss Dupri but Theory gets in a low blow. Breakker hits a huge spear to Tozawa and another drops Otis as well. This is supposed to be some big sad moment but I’m really not that mad about Dupri getting to be happy with the successful team over some comedy losers.

Survivor Series is in Houston.

The people in the gauntlet match for an Intercontinental Title shot want to win the gauntlet match for an Intercontinental Title shot.

Royce Keys vs. Jimmy Uso

This is an impromptu match and we’re joined in progress after a break, as the two got in a fight in the aisle during the commercial. Keys hammers away as we recap how the match was set up. A high crossbody gives Jimmy a breather and he enziguris Keys outside. That earns Uso some rams into various objects on the floor, only to come back with a Samoan drop onto the announcers’ table. We take a break and come back with Keys catching him in a powerslam as Jacob Fatu arrives in the back. Fatu comes into the arena and lays Keys out for the DQ at 6:53.

Rating: C. They didn’t have time to do much here as so much of the match was spent in the break. At the same time, Keys is the latest name to be pulled into the Bloodline Vortex, which might seem like a good thing but will likely only lead to a bunch of beatdowns. You really couldn’t have him pin Uso here before the big beating?

Post match Fatu wrecks Keys and wraps a chair around his neck in the corner. Solo Sikoa pops up to call Fatu off though, saying blood is thicker than water. That’s why he’s coming home to the family. They do the big pose and Sikoa Spikes Uso but the Bloodline is back up. LA Knight comes in for the real save, though a chair to the back just wakes Fatu up. Knight chairs him to the floor and says that’s not enough because he wants the two of them in this ring. Throw in Jey Uso too and let’s do that six man thing at Summerslam.

Paul Heyman applauds the Vision for their efforts but says that Maxxine Dupri was so great tonight….that they don’t need him anymore. And Heyman walks away. If that’s it for the team, fair enough, as it really wasn’t working and needs a new direction.

Video on the Cell.

Oba Femi comes up to Adam Pearce and threatens a lot of violence in the Cell.

Bayley is in the ring and invites Lyra Valkyria to join her. Valkyria does show up and Bayley asks for an apology, but Valkyria thinks she deserves the apology. If Bayley could realize her own problems, she would realize why so many people turn on her. Valkyria has always lied to Bayley to make her feel good because the reality is Bayley is a doormat. Her face shouldn’t be on the posters and she drags everyone down.

Bayley has always been the worst of the Four Horsewomen but she lists off some of her own accomplishments. She’s going to add beating Valkyria at Madison Square Garden, because their match is set for Saturday Night’s Main Event. Valkyria’s cheap shot is cut off but she beats Bayley up anyway. They were doing it there or at Summerslam so this makes sense.

We look at the Shield splitting up, with the chair shot that ultimately lead to the creation of the Bloodline.

Big Cass is back on August 3. If he’s alone, it’ll be fine. Therefore, it won’t be fine.

Gauntlet Match

Seven entries for an Intercontinental Title shot at Summerslam and it’s Dominik Mysterio in at #1 and Joe Hendry in at #2. Hendry starts fast and takes over, including a slam to put Mysterio down. They go outside with Hendry being whipped hard into the steps and the fans are all over Mysterio. Back in and the slingshot hilo connects but Hendry blocks the Three Amigos. Hendry gets in the fall away slam but JD McDonagh offers a distraction. The 619 into the frog splash gets rid of Hendry at 4:52.

Je’Von Evans is in at #3 and, after a break, is taken down by McDonagh on the floor. Evans sends Mysterio into the announcers’ table though and a spinning enziguri gets two back inside. McDonagh gets caught interfering so Evans hits him in the face, only to get 619ed. Mysterio goes up….and here is Danhausen to CURSE him. The pyro goes off in the wrong corner (Danhausen realizes he messed up) but it’s the OG Cutter to give Evans the pin at 11:10.

Dragon Lee is in at #4 and sends Evans outside for the big running flip dive as we take another break. We come back with Evans winning a slugout and taking it outside. Lee is sent into the timekeeper’s area, where a big dive takes him down again. They get back inside where Lee plants Evans for two, only to get rolled up for the pin at 15:36. Rusev is in at #5 and we take a break.

We come back with Rusev unloading on Evans, at least until he knocks Rusev outside. The big no hands dive gives Evans two back inside but Rusev slams him down. The Accolade goes on, with Evans making the rope. That’s not acceptable for Rusev, who pulls him back in, only to have Evans stand up (!) and drop down for the save. Rusev pulls him right back in though and Evans is out at 27:15.

Chad Gable is in at #6 and the rolling suplexes have Rusev in trouble. Rusev is able to catch him with a release Rock Bottom though and we take a break. We come back with a superplex and Angle Slam being blocked. Instead Rusev superkicks him into the Accolade but Gable slips out for a German suplex into the corner.

A victory roll pins Rusev at 34:26 but Rusev Accolades Gable again. Ethan Page is in at #7 and Page’s running big boot gets two but he’s caught in the ankle lock. That’s reversed into a Confidence Breaker for two, only for Gable to reverse an Egoplex into the Angle Slam for two. The ankle lock gives Gable the win at 38:18.

Rating: B. This worked well as I wasn’t sure who was going to win. Gable going forward is the right way to go, as he is long overdue for some singles success of his own. I’d assume he wins the title, but the question would seem to be how. For right now, he’s having good matches and the fans are behind him so you can only ask for so much more than that. This was rather long but flew by and that’s a nice feeling for the big featured match designed to eat up a bunch of the show’s time.

Post match Penta comes in for the staredown.

We look at the recent Smackdown World Title issues, leading to a tag match at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Roman Reigns arrives.

Saturday Night’s Main Event rundown.

It’s time for the contract signing with Roman Reigns coming to the ring (already containing Adam Pearce) first. After the catchphrase, here is Seth Rollins to interrupt and join in. Rollins signs before his music finishes playing and says him beating Reigns is one of those things you can’t avoid. With his feet on the table, Rollins tells Reigns to get on with this but Reigns says he wishes Rollins that last week.

Last week Rollins proved himself to be Reigns’ #1 hater (the fans like that one) and Reigns doesn’t like that because it has people believing they’re on the same level. Reigns will prove the difference between the two of them at Summerslam, where he’ll show Rollins what #1 looks like. That’s enough for Reigns to sign and we’re officially set. Rollins is rather pleased with him for keeping the title warm and he’ll see Reigns the next time he wants to show up for work.

Reigns cuts him off and asks what happens if Rollins does win. Is he going to hold the title for a few months and then get hurt again? It’s what happens every single time because some people just can’t handle the pressure of being the top guy around here. That brings Rollins back inside to tell Reigns to just say something. Reigns says he knows Rollins is #2 because after all of these years, he still needs Money In The Bank and a fake injury to win the title. If there was ever a time to be #1, Rollins’ work daddy HHH is basically running the place!

They gave Rollins all of Reigns’ stuff but he still couldn’t walk in Reigns’ shoes. Reigns will always be #1 and Rollins will always be #2 so just acknowledge it b****. Rollins asks if that’s all he has, and says that they’re not doing the same thing. He’s glad that he isn’t Reigns and the fight is on, with Rollins beating him down. The Stomp is countered with a Superman Punch but Rollins uses a microphone to get out of a powerbomb. Now the Stomp connects and Rollins stares down at him to end the show. This went on for a bit and Reigns basically destroyed him on the mic, as Rollins didn’t have much to respond to him.

Overall Rating: B. They were in a rough spot (again) because they’re trying to build to a few things at once. Saturday Night’s Main Event does feel bigger this time around, but when you already have Summerslam mostly set, the Saturday special only matters so much. The wrestling was a big different here too, with one scheduled match, an impromptu match (that’s not a bad thing) and then a very long six fall match. It worked out fine, but this was definitely something a bit different and I’m not sure how often they could pull it off.

Results
Iyo Sky b. Roxanne Perez – Rollup
Royce Keys b. Jimmy Uso via DQ when Jacob Fatu interfered
Chad Gable won a gauntlet match last eliminating Ethan Page

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: July 6, 2026
Location: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re ready for a big World Title match, as Cody Rhodes challenges Sami Zayn for the Smackdown World Title. GM Adam Pearce has said that we’re seeing some Smackdown stars over here for something of a super show, which is code for “PLEASE WATCH US INSTEAD OF THE WORLD CUP!”. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Sami Zayn winning the Smackdown World Title at Night Of Champions from Cody Rhodes, with Rhodes winning the #1 contenders match on the following Smackdown. They face off tonight.

Zayn arrives with the title (unlike Roman Reigns, who has the title handed to him) and is greeted by some adoring fans, only to run into Rhodes. Zayn says he’s going to win and here is Gunther to put Rhodes through a table. Referees tell Gunther to get out of here so he tells Zayn, who is just standing by watching this happen, that he’s coming for the title. Gunther slams a door on Rhodes’ head and the main event gets a lot more interesting.

Here is Seth Rollins for a chat. He hits his catchphrases and says he loves this building, which draws the CM PUNK chants. Rollins tells them to get it out of their systems because he doesn’t care about Punk right now. That’s not his business, because his business is the World Title and beating Roman Reigns at Summerslam. The fans chant for Reigns but Rollins says that Reigns isn’t here tonight because he can get away with anything.

The Shield debuted as a trio but it was clear that Reigns was going to be the guy. He was going to be on the marquee and headlining events, whether or not he could cut a promo or wrestle his way out of a paper bag. Rollins points out a nine year old in the front row and another kid near him. He remembers being that age and wanting to be in the main events himself.

That’s why he broke up the Shield and stole Reigns’ Wrestlemania main event: to stay close to Reigns. He believed that he and Reigns were running the same race and he could keep up with Reigns through hard work and skill but he was wrong. A few years ago, Reigns said something that changed everything for Rollins: Reigns works one tenth of the time for ten times the work and he was so proud of it that it made Rollins sick. Rollins never did this for the money because the work was the reward.

Reigns needs to beat Rollins so Reigns can prove that he isn’t a fraud. At the same time, Rollins needs to win to prove to himself that you can still achieve greatness through hard work…and here is LA Knight to interrupt. Knight isn’t happy with how boring it has been with Reigns and Rollins because all Rollins had to do was talk nice about Reigns and get a title shot. He remembers when you had to win something to get title shots and Knight is sick about hearing about how Reigns and Rollins are best friends and can get matching haircuts.

Knight is never going to have as many title shots as Rollins but he remembers the fans chanting LA KNIGHT until the Bloodline and Rollins cut him off. They tried to bury Knight because they’re great at manipulating people to hold them down. Knight will rise because he must rise. Rollins: “You done?”

Rollins doesn’t like Knight but he respects him, so Knight can be the first person put in the dirt after Rollins wins the title at Summerslam. We’re still not done though as Rollins leaves, but Jimmy Uso shows up to superkick Knight before leaving. This was two big moments in one, with Rollins giving a bit of a shaky reason for the match happening (because Rollins saying he did EVERYTHING to keep up with Reigns is quite the stretch) and Knight still trying to get into the title picture, which he’s been trying to do for months.

Gunther is being escorted out but here is Nick Aldis to yell at him. Adam Pearce yells at Aldis, who blames Pearce for Cody Rhodes getting hurt.

The Vision is on the way to the ring for their shot at the Tag Team Titles but Paul Heyman shows up to yell at them for their recent failings. Either come back with the titles or don’t come back at all.

Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. The Vision

The Profits are defending and Logan Paul is with the Vision. Theory sends Ford into the corner to start as the fans are distracted by something. Ford flips away from Theory and brings in Dawkins for a running shoulder. A running shoulder drops Theory for two and it’s off to Breakker, who is staggered with a dropkick. Theory offers a distraction though and a very fast running clothesline puts Dawkins down as we take a break.

We come back with Ford getting the tag and hitting some running clotheslines to Ford. A jumping enziguri and a high crossbody gives Ford two but Breakker plants him with a powerslam. That’s shrugged off and Dawkins comes back in for the Doomsday Blockbuster for two on Theory. The double underhook spinning neckbreaker drops Theory again so Paul slips in the brass knuckles. Those are caught so Paul gives Breakker another set, with Ford cutting Breakker off with the big running flip dive. Dawkins loads up the knuckles but here is Maxxine Dupri to hit Dawkins low, giving Theory the pin and the titles at 8:46.

Rating: B-. That’s something of a surprise, though I’m glad that we finally got to the point with the Dupri/Theory thing. They’ve been teasing it for a long time and it’s nice to see them finally pull the trigger. At the same time, if the Vision is going to be sticking around, they absolutely needed the title win to stop their ridiculous bleeding, at least a little bit. I’m just not sure where they go as champions, as we’ve pretty much covered a lot of this already.

Post match Dupri jumps into Theory’s arm to kiss him as Graves says love tops all.

Cody Rhodes is banged up and the doctor says he can’t sign off on him wrestling tonight without more scans.

Paul Heyman meets the Vision again and says that was a first step, but it’s only a first step. At least someone got something accomplished tonight. Austin Theory thanks Heyman, but Heyman was talking to Maxxine Dupri. The team leaves together, with Heyman staying behind. The Alpha Academy comes up and looks crushed.

We look at the Judgment Day beating up Iyo Sky last week.

Judgment Day fires up Raquel Rodriguez before her shot against Sol Ruca.

Next week there is a gauntlet match for the Intercontinental Title shot at Summerslam.

Intercontinental Champion Penta is ready for the gauntlet match, when Ethan Page and Rusev (both in the gauntlet match) come in to interrupt. They mock Rey Mysterio for being hurt again but Dragon Lee and Chad Gable come up to defend lucha’s honor. A tag match is set up for tonight.

Women’s Intercontinental Title: Raquel Rodriguez vs. Sol Ruca

Ruca is defending and gets backed into the corner to start. Rodriguez powers her to the mat and cuts Ruca off for some elbows in the corner. Back up and Ruca sends her to the floor for a missed middle rope moonsault. Instead Ruca cartwheels away on the apron and busts out a springboard corkscrew dive. Back in and Rodriguez absolutely nails a clothesline to take Ruca’s head off as we go to a break.

We come back with Ruca getting in a crossbody and firing off the strikes so Roxanne Perez offers a distraction. Liv Morgan breaks up the Sol Snatcher so Rodriguez grabs the spinning side slam for two. Cue Iyo Sky to moonsault onto the interferers, leaving Ruca to grab the Sol Snatcher and retain at 10:17.

Rating: B-. The good thing is that Ruca didn’t miss a bunch of stuff here and it was one of her better performances on the main roster. The bigger issue though is the women of the Judgment Day, as the team is hardly doing very well. Liv Morgan is pushing things about as far as she can and now we get to see where that goes, though I’m not sure I can picture it ending well around Summerslam.

Video on Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar from last week, setting up their match in the Cell at Summerslam.

Here is Paul Heyman to talk about Lesnar being inspired by Femi. That’s why Lesnar attacked Femi last week because Lesnar is ready to fight. There is no way Femi is coming out of the Cell because Lesnar will destroy him. Cue Femi and Heyman knows this isn’t good. Heyman says that he’s here to prevent people from making mistakes.

Lesnar and Femi have shown that the other is beatable so now it is time to see who goes forward. Femi did not just agree to a cage match, because Lesnar is that much different inside the Cell. Heyman goes over some of the things Lesnar has done in the “Brocktagon” and only Lesnar will walk out of the Cell at Summerslam. Femi says Lesnar finally showed up last week so he knows every single word got to him. He knows Lesnar watches the show and here is Heyman to write checks that Lesnar cannot cash.

All Heyman is today is a mouth, but how can you feed a mouth if you have no head? It’s true that Lesnar has beaten some men in a cage but they aren’t Oba Femi. Heyman is here as damage control and this is the end of Femi vs. Lesnar inside the Cell. Femi will beat Lesnar in front of his friends, family, wife and children. He’ll see Lesnar in Hell and a shaken Heyman bails. Femi is making this sound legitimate and I want to see Femi survive and beat Lesnar in the Cell, as it leaves him with all kinds of options.

Sami Zayn is told that Cody Rhodes cannot wrestle tonight and Zayn thinks it’s terrible. Well I think he does at least as the CM PUNK chants drown him out a bit. Zayn says he was looking forward to facing Rhodes but he never quite understood why he was defending on Raw. Adam Pearce comes in to say there is going to be a title match tonight. No opponent is given. Most interesting indeed and they’re not being subtle about where this is going.

El Grande Americano was at the World Cup match in Mexico last night.

Chad Gable/Dragon Lee vs. Rusev/Ethan Page

The villains jump them to start fast until we settle down to Page stomping Lee down, naturally with some insults thrown in for good measure. Rusev hits a suplex but misses a charge, allowing Gable to come in for the rolling German suplexes. Everything breaks down and Rusev has to save Page, with Gable launching Lee over the top onto both of them as we take a break. We come back with Gable fighting out of trouble, allowing the tag to Lee. A tornado DDT (with Lee’s feet missing the rope) drops Page and everything breaks down. Lee kicks at Rusev but gets pulled into the Accolade for the tap at 9:11.

Rating: C+. It feels like we’re on the way to Gable FINALLY winning the Intercontinental Title at Summerslam and he was getting quite the star reception here. Have him win the gauntlet match next week and everything is fine. At the same time, Rusev and Page have looked like a rather nice team, which is something WWE could use. While I like Page going on his own, why not see if there is any juice to having them together?

Post match Rusev won’t let go so Gable tries for the save, only to get Accoladed as well. Joe Hendry runs in for the save. That earns him the same treatment and the villains pose.

We look at LA Knight’s issues with the Bloodline, both last week and earlier tonight.

Jimmy Uso is going to leave and promises to deal with Solo Sikoa on Smackdown. LA Knight comes up to go after him but Jacob Fatu cuts it off and drops Knight.

An emotional Bayley talks about her history with Lyra Valkyria. She met Valkyria at a signing where Bayley made time to talk about Valkyria’s career, but apparently that means nothing. Bayley was there for her, just like Valkyria was there for Bayley, but they couldn’t have a real talk about what happened. Bayley wants to see her next week, face to face.

Nick Aldis tells Adam Pearce that he has a replacement for Cody Rhodes and he’s in the building. All Pearce has to do is thank him.

Video on Danhausen vs. Judgment Day, with JD McDonagh being ready to face him at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Smackdown World Title: Sami Zayn vs. ???

Zayn is defending against, say it with me, CM Punk, who returns to the hero’s welcome you knew he would receive. After a VERY long entrance from Punk, he gives his shirt to a fan in the front row and then drops Zayn with a running shoulder. An atomic drop out of the corner lets Punk rain down some right hands but Zayn gets in a shot of his own. Punk pulls him to the floor and hits a suicide dive as we take an early break.

We come back with Zayn firing off some crossface shots to the head, followed by a middle rope ax handle for two. The chinlock goes on but Punk is back up with the running knee in the corner and a swinging neckbreaker for two. The GTS and Blue Thunder Bomb are both countered and a big clothesline gives Punk two more. Zayn catches him with a superplex though and they’re both down as we take another break.

We come back again with the two of them on their knees and then on their feet in a slugout. The GTS is countered again so Punk kicks him in the head, setting up another knee in the corner. This time Zayn reverses the bulldog into the Blue Thunder Bomb for two but Punk drops him again. A middle rope elbow misses so Punk switches to the Anaconda Vice, with Zayn using his legs to power out.

The same rollup Zayn used to beat Rhodes gets two and they need a double breather. Back up and Zayn hits a GTS of his own for two and Zayn can’t believe the kickout. Punk is able to exploder Zayn into the corner but a Helluva Kick is countered into another GTS. The Blue Thunder Bomb gives Zayn two but Punk is back up with a Helluva Kick of his own. The real GTS gives Punk the pin and the title at 20:38.

Rating: B+. Yeah this wound up working very well, with Punk getting the big heroic moment to win the title in front of his hometown fans. They’re pretty clearly going with Punk vs. Rhodes at Summerslam (like it or not) and I’m really not sure where that leaves Zayn. Maybe he gets his rematch on the way to Summerslam, but I can’t picture him being in the title match.

At the same time, there are going to be some issues with Zayn losing the title only nine days after winning it, but I’m not sold on that being a terrible thing. Zayn feels like he’s in the Mick Foley camp, where the big moment of him actually winning the title is what really matters, with the reign being a pure bonus. As Zayn said, he will always be a former champion, and he won the title clean over the reigning champion. While I could have gone with him getting a longer reign, Zayn got his big moment and that’s what is going to matter.

Punk celebrates in the crowd for a good while to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Well you can’t call it boring. There was really no hiding what they were setting up for the main event as the fans would have burned the place down if Punk hadn’t shown up given the circumstances. That’s quite the push towards Summerslam, which now seemingly has a triple main event and it should be fun to see how they get played out. The problem is getting everything else set up as there are two nights to cover, though I’m wondering what they have planned for the Smackdown side. Good show here, as it not only felt important but got the huge moment in the end.

Results
The Vision b. Street Profits – Low blow to Dawkins
Sol Ruca b. Raquel Rodriguez – Sol Snatcher
Ethan Page/Rusev b. Chad Gable/Dragon Lee – Accolade to Lee
CM Punk b. Sami Zayn – GTS

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

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Smackdown
Date: July 3, 2026
Location: Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re stateside for Smackdown and the big story this week is that Sami Zayn is the new World Champion, having beaten Gunther and reigning champion Cody Rhodes on Saturday at Night Of Champions. That means we have about a month to go before Summerslam and a lot of ground to cover so let’s get to it.

Here is Night Of Champions if you need a recap.

Here is Sami Zayn to quite the strong reaction to get things going. Zayn talks about how a lot of people are here to ride or die with the last real good guy. He appreciates the reactions he has gotten and gives the fans a genuine thank you. It’s funny though, because a lot of those people booed him and jumped on and off of the bandwagon. He won’t say he told you so though because he’s a good guy who won that title the right way.

We’re here to celebrate him and he will forever be known as a Wrestlemania main eventer and a Grand Slam Champion, but also as a WWE Champion. Nothing can ever take that away from him but here is Cody Rhodes to interrupt. Zayn asks what he wants to talk about but Rhodes wants to just congratulate him. Rhodes goes to leave but Zayn tells him to just say what he really wants one time. This brings out Jey Uso to give Zayn a big hug and say that he deserves it.

As much as he respects Zayn, Uso, has to do his business and bring the title back to the family. Rhodes asks what year it is because bringing it back to the family sounds ridiculous. Uso is already a former World Champion but we’re here to talking about Rhodes’ rematch. Zayn isn’t happy with Rhodes saying Zayn would never take the title from him, and as far as Uso is concerned, the title is still in the family.

They can both stay away from him, but here is Adam Pearce (acting GM as Nick Aldis is on leave due to an incident with Gunther) to interrupt. Pearce says it’s his job to find Zayn a challenger, but Zayn says he should have some say in who he faces at Summerslam. Pearce says no one is talking about Summerslam, because Zayn is defending the title this Monday on Raw, and tonight Rhodes and Uso have a #1 contenders match tonight. They’re certainly not wasting time with Rhodes, but Zayn very well could be like Mick Foley, as winning the title itself is what matters rather than a long reign (which is ok).

Charlotte says she cost Jade Cargill at Night Of Champions because Cargill cost her. Alexa Bliss pops up to say it would have been nice to have been told Charlotte would be there but Charlotte says Bliss didn’t tell her she would be teaming with Tiffany Stratton. This brings in Stratton, who says she didn’t need Charlotte but Chelsea Green comes in to have Stratton’s back and….awkwardly say she’ll see Charlotte out there.

Charlotte/Chelsea Green/Tiffany Stratton vs. Jade Cargill/B-Fab/Michin

Stratton and Cargill start things off with Michin quickly coming in for a sunset flip. It’s quickly off to Charlotte to kick Michin down and send B-Fab flying with a suplex. A Cannonball off the apron hits Michin but Cargill is right there with the clothesline to Charlotte as we take a break.

We come back with Cargill sending Charlotte flying and even throwing in a mocking victory dance. The splash misses in the corner though and it’s B-Fab coming in to cut off the tag attempt. Charlotte fights back and Green comes in to clean house, with a Rough Ryder getting two on B-Fab. The Unprettier is loaded up but Cargill reverses into Jaded, which is reversed into a rollup. B-Fab offers a distraction though and Jaded finishes Green at 8:51.

Rating: C+. Cargill gets to look dominant again, Green isn’t hurt by the loss (or by any loss really) and Charlotte continues to kind of annoy a lot of people. Michin continues to be a solid hand in the ring and B-Fab is acceptable enough as a lackey. Just don’t ask her to do much of anything else.

We look at the Gunther/Nick Aldis incident, leading to both of them being sent home and Adam Peace being put in charge of Smackdown for the time being.

Pearce is on the phone with Aldis and doesn’t seem pleased. Then he runs into Sami Zayn, who isn’t happy with the situation. Pearce suggests that he’ll bring some Smackdown stars to Raw for a supershow and Zayn will have an opportunity. Zayn is annoyed but goes over to Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae, saying he might not have won without Gargano being there for him. Zayn even has a reluctant LeRae take a picture of them together.

AAA Cruiserweight Title: Rey Fenix vs. El Hijo del Vikingo

Fenix is defending and Vikingo’s Latin American Title isn’t on the line. Vikingo snaps off a spinning headscissors to start but Fenix kicks him away. A springboard frog high crossbody gives Fenix two but Vikingo ties him in the ring skirt for a dropkick. Vikingo’s dive drops Fenix again and we take a break.

We come back with Fenix hitting his rope walk kick, setting up a frog splash for two. Vikingo is back up with his running knees in the corner, followed by his flipping hurricanrana out of the corner. A super spinning poisonrana (how do you even do that) drops Fenix again but he knees Vikingo back. That’s enough to set up the Mexican MuscleBuster to retain at 8:55.

Rating: B. “And then he did THIS and it was AMAZING!” That’s basically Vikingo in a nutshell and yeah that’s always going to work. This was the definition of a flippy match and as usual, it did its job. The fans get to have fun and it’s not like this is going to hurt either of them in AAA. In other words, it’s a nice use of some TV time.

We look at Blake Monroe attacking Giulia last week.

Giulia is happy to put Kiana James behind her and would love to fight Monroe face to face anytime. James comes in to say it would be like Giulia to bite the hand that feeds her, but here is Monroe to jump Giulia from behind. Not to be unfair, she jumps James too in a bit of a surprise.

We look at the Seth Rollins/Roman Reigns showdown from Raw, setting up their Summerslam title shot.

Jimmy Uso is talking to Jacob Fatu when Royce Keys comes in to say Fatu has been ignoring him. Did Roman Reigns not give him permission? Uso says they’re here to find Solo Sikoa and asks if Keys can help them or not. Keys says that blood doesn’t make you family (check). He’s been there for Fatu for fourteen years and that makes them family. Uso disagrees and leaves with Fatu.

Here are Trick Williams and Lil Yachty for a chat but here is Carmelo Hayes to interrupt. Hayes says he deserves another title shot and accuses Williams of turning that title, a title Hayes helped make, into an accessory. He can get Williams a discount code on WWE Shop if Williams just wants something to hold, so put the title on the line.

Yachty isn’t impressed and asks if we should give this “young small man” a match. Apparently the match is on for next week…but not for the title. That has to be earned and Williams knocks him down. Yachty and Williams go to leave but Hayes takes them out with a big dive.

Danhausen is on the phone (seemingly from the 30s) as Miz and Kit Wilson are there in the background. Matt Cardona comes in to say hello but Danhausen says he has a match with JD McDonagh at Saturday Night’s Main Event and has help coming in from New York. He was just on the phone with them, but Cardona points out that the phone isn’t plugged in

Danhausen says don’t worry about it and has Cardona twist a nob. It seems to fry Wilson and Miz even more, with Danhausen blaming Judgment Day and telling Cardona that he’s in charge of the two of them. Cardona mentions spiking your hair and Wilson might say AWESOME. Oh dear this won’t end well.

Brie Bella vs. Lainey Reid

Paige and the rest of Fatal Influence are here too. Bella takes her down by the arm to start fast but gets sent throat first into the middle rope. Reid misses a wind up elbow though and Bella sends her arm first into the corner. Some shots to the face slow Bella down but she fires off the YES Kicks. Bella pulls her down by the arm and rolls into the YES Lock, with Page cutting off Fallon Henley from interfering. Jacy Jayne gets posted but Henley is back up, with Bella going outside for the save. That lets Reid hitting a running knee for the pin at 3:19.

Rating: C. This was as standard of a booking trope as you can get on your way to a Women’s Tag Team Title match. That’s a good thing too, as I could go for Fatal Influence being the ones to end this title reign. Commentary hyped up Bella not having a singles match on Smackdown in years and while that’s true, it’s quite the stretch for something to brag about here.

R-Truth beats Nathan Frazer in a hot dog eating contest. Damian Priest wants ketchup but the War Raiders come in to say Priest and R-Truth should be focused on their challenge. R-Truth gets annoyed at Ivar eating Priest’s wiener but the match is on for some time in the future. It’s just going to take place on Smackdown, with R-Truth promising to take the masks too. There are no masks.

We look at the Brock Lesnar/Oba Femi segment from Raw, resulting in their match being set for the Cell.

Cody Rhodes is coming to the ring and runs into Finn Balor. Rhodes apologizes for not saying it yet but welcome to Smackdown. Balor says one of the reasons he came here was to face Rhodes and he wanted it to be for the title, so go start getting it back. Tama Tonga comes in to say he went to the family elders for guidance. Then the Tongas jump Balor, with Tama saying he’s closing the books on his past, with Balor being next.

Jey Uso vs. Cody Rhodes

For a shot at Sami Zayn on Raw. An early superkick and Cross Rhodes are both avoided so Uso sends him outside for the suicide dive. We take a break and come back with Rhodes hitting a Cody Cutter for two but Uso gets in a Samoan drop. Rhodes rolls outside where he cuts off a spear but gets sent onto the announcers’ table. Uso’s suicide dive is blocked as well and they go back inside for a double clothesline.

We take another break and come back with Uso hitting a Superfly Splash. Rhodes is up with another Cody Cutter for two of his own but Uso gives him a spear for two more. Another Superfly Splash misses though and Rhodes hits a spear, followed by Cross Rhodes for his own near fall. Uso knocks him down and tries a Superfly Splash, which hits raised knees. A sleeper works a bit better for Uso and they go into the corner where Uso tries…I’m not sure (neither is commentary). Rhodes slips away and grabs Cross Rhodes for the pin at 15:33.

Rating: B. There was just enough of a reason to believe that Uso could win here to keep things interesting. At the same time though, Rhodes is the right choice to move on to the title match, as either he gets the belt back and sets up a match with CM Punk or Zayn gets the big win in the singles match. This was a good main event though and it still helps to have Rhodes beat another former World Champion.

Overall Rating: B. Oh sweet goodness did losing an hour help this show. One of the most annoying things in wrestling is a show that just keeps going and Smackdown has been doing that since the show was extended to three hours. Switching back allowed it to feel much tighter with far less filler. It still has problems, but I wasn’t sitting there dreading how long it was going to go and that’s a great feeling. They’re flying through the World Title scene though and that almost has me worried for what they have planned at Summerslam. At least I’m wanting to see what it is though so they must be doing something right.

Results
Jade Cargill/B-Fab/Michin b. Charlotte/Chelsea Green/Tiffany Stratton – Jaded to Green
Rey Fenix b. El Hijo del Vikingo – Mexican MuscleBuster
Lainey Reid b. Brie Bella – Running knee
Cody Rhodes b. Jey Uso – Cross Rhodes

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

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Monday Night Raw
Date: June 29, 2026
Location: Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re done with the Saudi Arabian excursion and the big story for the red people is Oba Femi and Iyo Sky winning their respective crowns. Sky has already announced that she is challenging Liv Morgan at Summerslam but Femi has a choice to make. Other than that, Roman Reigns is back so let’s get to it.

Here is Night Of Champions if you need a recap.

We open with a long Night Of Champions recap, capped off by Sami Zayn getting the long awaited WWE Title win.

Here is Femi to get things going. He appreciates the chants but those are for a ruler. Now he deserves a reaction for a king. Lady Destiny is not done with him and a choice has to be made…and here are Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman to interrupt. Lesnar actually handles his own introduction and says that while he doesn’t watch the show, he knows that being King Of The Ring is an accomplishment.

Heyman has told Lesnar that Femi has a big decision to make and maybe Lesnar can help him with that. Lesnar understands that Femi called him a coward and a b**** while he was gone. Heyman has said that Femi is a h*** of a promo and Lesnar could never do that, which is why he has Heyman around.

As the saying goes though, talk s***, get hit, so it’s a low blow and F5 to leave Femi laying. Heyman: “NOW THAT WAS A GREAT PROMO!” The two of them go to leave but Femi calls Lesnar a b**** one more time. He wants to fight Lesnar at Summerslam to settle the score. That’s fine with Lesnar….who wants it in the Cell. Heyman panics as you would expect. That’s a heck of a match, but dang I hope they don’t just pull a bait and switch with the King Of The Ring title shot.

Post break we recap what we just saw.

Heyman is in the back with Adam Pearce, saying that the match was just given to him (imagine the t-shirt sales). They have the biggest match of all time in the Summerslam main event. Austin Theory comes in to say that he didn’t know Heyman was back and he has a match tonight. Heyman: “Well now you know.” Heyman goes off and Pearce goes to talk to Femi, who says he can get the title shot later. I really, really hope they aren’t just going to say that the King Of The Ring means nothing and that we wasted all of our time on it.

Ethan Page vs. Rey Mysterio

Mysterio picks up the pace to start and knocks Page down but gets caught up top. Page stomps away in the Tree Of Woe, followed by a backbreaker onto the turnbuckle. We take a break and come back with Mysterio trying a sunset flip, resulting in Page punching the mat by mistake.

Page is sent outside for the sliding splash and Mysterio rains down some right hands inside. A reverse sitout powerbomb gives Page two of his own and a big boot gets the same. Mysterio is fine enough to grab a super hurricanrana, setting up the 619. The frog splash finishes Page at 10:48.

Rating: C+. Mysterio’s ability to have these matches at his age and after all of those injuries is nothing short of remarkable. He’s nowhere near what he once was (of course) but he’s still having absolutely watchable and acceptable matches out there. Page losing clean isn’t the best sign, but at least it gives Mysterio some revenge.

Judgment Day goes to find Danhausen in a search for their money and steal something New York Knicks related.

Here is Joe Hendry for a concert, with special guests the Street Profits. They’re very happy with their title win last week and Ford thanks the fans for always believing in them. They also thank Seth Rollins and call last week’s win a beautiful song. That’s enough for Hendry to sing about how we have new champs and how pathetic the Vision happens to be.

This brings out Austin Theory, who calls the Profits thieves. The rematch is officially set for next week and the Profits approve, but they’re not sure if Bron Breakker is healthy enough. For right now though, Theory wants to face Hendry, who seems to approve. Theory already said he had a match tonight so why is this a surprise?

Joe Hendry vs. Austin Theory

We’re joined in progress with Hendry in trouble but he fights up with the Hit Single (discus lariat). Graves wants to know who declared that a hit as Theory gets in a hard forearm for two. The Last Shot gives Theory two more and he slugs away, only to charge into a Side Effect to give Hendry the pin out of nowhere at 3:34.

Rating: C. That was kind of a sudden finish but I’ll take Hendry getting on the show and getting to do something after weeks of pretty much nothing. They set this up last week as Hendry goes after what is left of the Vision and the song makes it even better. Hendry is still finding his place around here and this is a good enough spot to start, even in a short match.

Raquel Rodriguez complains to Adam Pearce and gets a match with Maxxine Dupri tonight. Liv Morgan and Roxanne Perez come in with Morgan going on about her problems but Rodriguez says she has Morgan’s back. Perez didn’t get to say a word.

Here is Queen Of The Ring Iyo Sky, who is very grateful to be back here with the crown. Sky celebrates her win but Liv Morgan interrupts. Morgan is tired of hearing from Sky and promises to win at Summerslam, where she will remain the greatest Women’s Champions of allllllll (this goes on for about ten seconds) time.

Until then though, Sky is in trouble and here is the rest of the Judgment Day, who are quickly cleared out. An Oblivion attempt is countered and Sky grabs a German suplex. A big kick to the head looks to set up Over The Moonsault but Rodriguez is there to put Sky in the Tree Of Woe. The team works on Sky’s knee and Morgan gets the half crab until agents and referees break it up. They’ve got a long time to build to the match and Sky taking out Morgan’s friends is a good enough way to go.

We recap LA Knight turning down Solo Sikoa’s offer of teaming up from Smackdown.

LA Knight vs. Jimmy Uso

Jey Uso is here with Jimmy so Knight goes outside to yell at him for a bit. Back in and Knight grabs a headlock but gets switched into an armbar. Knight stomps Jimmy in the corner, with a running shot getting two. Jimmy is back up with an enziguri and high crossbody for two, followed by the suicide dive.

We take a break and come back with Knight striking away, followed by the jumping neckbreaker out of the corner. Knight misses something off the top though and Jimmy hits a spear for two. The Superfly Splash is countered as Knight runs the corner for the top rope superplex and the big crash. Knight takes out Jey and hits his jumping top rope elbow on Jimmy. Jey offers a distraction though and Jimmy grabs a rollup for the pin at 11:53.

Rating: C+. And then Sikoa will help Knight after the match and it feels like I’ve seen this story a few dozen times now. This is hardly anything that original and I could really go for Knight not losing so often. He still feels like he’s just on the cusp of breaking through and the kind of thing isn’t helping him. At least he’s doing something though, much like Jimmy for a change.

Post match the beatdown is on but Solo Sikoa runs in for the save. That’s enough for Knight to come back up with a BFT.

We look at Gunther and Nick Aldis getting into a shoving match after Night Of Champions. Aldis and Gunther have been sent home and the former is on administrative leave. For now, Adam Pearce is running both shows.

Jey Uso wants to face Sami Zayn for the title at Summerslam. Jacob Fatu is off to do something about it. Jimmy Uso: “Group text!”

Lyra Valkyria isn’t sure why people are getting on her for turning on Bayley. The anger got the better of her ONE TIME but she isn’t letting it get her down. She wanted to bring Bayley up with her and never hurt her. Last week felt so good though just because she got to close the gap.

Maxxine Dupri passes Chad Gable without saying anything but stops and says she’s sorry, which Gable says isn’t necessary. He wishes her luck in her match.

Maxxine Dupri vs. Raquel Rodriguez

Dupri has to pull a Matrix to avoid an early big boot and they’re quickly on the floor. Rodriguez pulls her down by the hair and hits a slingshot Jackhammer. The back and forth elbows in the corner have Dupri in more trouble and Rodriguez grabs a torture rack. With that broken up, a hard clothesline drops Dupri again. She’s right back up with a kick and the straps come down, only for Rodriguez to counter a second attempt into the Tejana Bomb for the pin at 3:15.

Rating: C. The Dupri experiment seems to be over as Rodriguez shrugged off everything Dupri threw at her here and won in the end. That very well might put Rodriguez on the path to a title shot and there are certainly worse ideas. As for Dupri, she’s got the Theory deal to keep her busy and that should be enough for the time being. It’s probably better for her anyway.

Danhausen finds his lab ruined and his Knicks gift missing. Liv Morgan comes in and Danhausen accuses her of doing this, with Morgan saying it was all of the Judgment Day. She wants their money back and the curse lifted as Morgan flips her hair in his face and leaves.

Chad Gable vs. JD McDonagh

Dominik Mysterio, in the stolen Danhausen jersey, is here with McDonagh. They fight over technical control to start with McDonagh working on the arm. Gable fights up and grabs a backdrop into an armdrag as McDonagh is in trouble. Mysterio has to save McDonagh fro the ankle lock and McDonagh uses the distraction to send Gable into the steps.

We take a break and come back with Gable rolling German suplexes, followed the rolling Liger kicks in the corner. McDonagh is back up with a standing Spanish Fly for two, with Gable rolling him up for the same. A brainbuster gives McDonagh two more but Gable suplexes him into the corner.

The ankle lock goes on again before Gable goes up top, where Mysterio offers a distraction. That lets McDonagh hit a super Spanish Fly for two and here’s Danhausen, complete with a briefcase. That gets a chase from Mysterio, allowing Gable to lock the ankle again for the tap at 11:36 (Gable is favoring his hamstring as he leaves so hopefully that’s nothing).

Rating: B-. Right now it isn’t a question of whether Gable will get to do something but rather what and when. Gable is on fire coming back from Mexico and it seems that they have stripped away a bunch of the stupid stuff and let him be himself. I’d like to see what he can do and right now it seems like he could be in for some kind of a story, which has me hopeful for Summerslam and beyond.

Post match Judgment Day goes for the briefcase, which sprays smoke in their face. Danhausen pops up to steal the jersey back. Danhausen declares that he won but Raquel Rodriguez shows up to jump him and steal the jersey again.

Austin Theory comes up to Maxxine Dupri and doesn’t like what she said to Chad Gable. If Dupri wants to go back down that road, maybe this isn’t working out. Theory leaves and the Alpha Academy come in to ask if she’s ok. Dupri doesn’t know and leaves on her own.

Here are Roman Reigns and Jacob Fatu for a chat. Reigns hits the catchphrase and here is Seth Rollins to interrupt immediately. They stare at each other for a long time until Rollins says “hello my brother”. They have been tied together for fourteen years and Reigns is in possession of something that belongs to Rollins. Yes his brother, it is time to collect. Reigns says Rollins is the back of the line but Rollins says he owns Reigns no matter what.

Rollins lists off some of the times he’s been one step ahead of Reigns over the years, going all the way to the chair shot that ended the Shield. Reigns may be as great as the people think he is but he has never beaten Rollins. This may be Reigns’ last chance to do this because they cam through the crowd together and made this place their own together.

Now there is a new generation ready to come in and take over so this may be their last chance to do this together. Reigns is one of the best ever but if he doesn’t accept this challenge, he may never escape Rollins’ shadow. Reigns says that’s the first truth he’s heard from Rollins in a long time and he needs to beat him. The match is set. This was hardly a big shock but Rollins sold the match rather well.

Overall Rating: B. This was the SUMMERSLAM AHOY show as Night Of Champions is basically forgotten about and we’re on to the build to the big show next month. On one hand I can go for that, but at the same time I’m not wild on seeing the King Of The Ring deal just dropped for the sake of a grudge match. The action here wasn’t great but that wasn’t the focus for the most part, as this was all about setting the stage for later. Good enough show here, but they definitely have a new focus and that’s nice to see.

Results
Rey Mysterio b. Ethan Page – Frog splashes
Joe Hendry b. Austin Theory – Side Effect
Jimmy Uso b. LA Knight – Rollup
Raquel Rodriguez b. Maxxine Dupri – Tejana Bomb
Chad Gable b. JD McDonagh – Ankle lock

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

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