It’s that time of year again. WWE has a long history of pay per views and it is time for one of the biggest on the calendar. This Sunday, WWE will present Summerslam from the Thunder Dome in Orlando, which could make things a lot better or a lot more headache inducing, depending on your taste and eyesight. I’m not entirely sold on this one but Summerslam has the ability to surprise you. Let’s get to it.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins

Let’s get this one out of the way before I fall asleep thinking about it. This is the next step in a feud that has gone on for months and feels like it has gone on for years. I’m not sure what WWE sees in this but maybe now that Rey Mysterio has signed a new contract, we can wrap it up and let them get on to something more interesting. It isn’t the worst feud, but I can’t bring myself to care about it whatsoever.

I don’t see a reason for Dominik to win in his debut against a name like Rollins, so I’ll go with Rollins to win here. Rey will be there and the match is a street fight to even things out a bit, but I’m not sure how good the match can be. The biggest problem is that I don’t care enough to get interested and that is going to be a problem with such a big match on this stage.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. Andrade/Angel Garza

This is the match where they included another illegal action to set the story up, but in this case the poisoning (yes poisoning) was dropped for the sake of….well maybe better taste. The Street Profits have held the titles for about six months now, which is the longest reign since the New Day’s record reign by a wide margin. That would suggest it is about time to finish and it might be the case here.

That’s what I’ll go with here, as not only have the Profits held the titles for a long time now but Andrade and Garza need to actually win something at some point. They have been a team for a long time now and have yet to actually accomplish much of anything, so winning the titles here could be a nice step. The Profits are long past the point where they need the titles and can get them back later if they need to, so hopefully the titles change here.

US Title: Apollo Crews(c) vs. MVP

This is another feud that has been going on for a little while now but this time around they have me wondering where things are going to go. The interesting thing for me here is that it doesn’t seem to be the final blowoff of the whole story. Instead it seems that we are setting up Bobby Lashley as the final boss for Crews, which unfortunately doesn’t exactly leave this as the biggest mystery.

As you might have guessed, I’m taking Crews to retain here. Crews has gotten something out of this title reign, including an improvement in his promo skills. I could go for some more of him as champion, but I’m not sure where he goes after the title reign. It gets to continue here though, as MVP isn’t someone who needs to be US Champion again at this point in his career.

Sonya Deville vs. Mandy Rose

We need to get to some Smackdown stuff on here and that’s where this one comes in. I was really curious to see how they were going to have the hair vs. hair match play out, but now things have changed to a No DQ, Loser Leaves WWE match. It wouldn’t surprise me to see this be due to some real life issues and now I’m not sure how much drama there is with the match.

In theory, this is a pretty big layup with Rose winning so Deville can go deal with the fact that someone wanted to murder her a few days ago. I can’t bring myself to complain about this one of course, as that’s about as serious as you can get. It is kind of a shame though as Deville has turned into one of the best characters, especially with her talking, in all of WWE’s women’s division as of late. I’m sure she’ll be back, but it’s a shame that her roll slowed down for now.

SmackDown Women’s Title: Bayley(c) vs. Asuka

Now we begin our fairly strange two part portion of the evening, with Asuka getting a pair of singles title shows. There are a few different combinations for this and she gets Bayley to start things off. I’m not sure what to expect this time around, but Bayley has been losing more than she should be as of late. That doesn’t bode well for her, but WWE can be a strange place in something like this.

I’ll take Asuka to win the title here, as they seem to be moving towards turning the tables with Bayley and Sasha Banks. In this case that would mean Banks succeeding where Bayley doesn’t and that could make for something interesting as we move forward. Bayley has to lose the title here though and Asuka taking it would certainly be something that would work, even if it is another blow to the Raw women’s division.

Raw Women’s Title: Sasha Banks(c) vs. Asuka

So that leaves us with this, because for some reason this is the kind of idea that WWE loves to run with as of late. There is some kind of an idea about having a small number of people dominating a division and the women’s division is getting that condition now. It is Asuka, Bayley and Banks at the moment, but the question is whether Banks leaves this show with a title of her own.

I’m going to say that she does, and that means I’m likely to be wrong as there is little reason to believe that Bayley vs. Banks is EVER going to take place at this point. Fifty years from now our grandchildren are going to be waiting on them to fight in their retirement community and odds are it’s going to be any month now. Have I mentioned I’m tired of hearing about that feud being any day now?

Smackdown World Title: Braun Strowman(c) vs. The Fiend

This is now Falls Count Anywhere and hopefully that means they can wrap it up sooner rather than later. I know the Fiend might not be the best choice for World Champion but MY GOODNESS he is better than Strowman. I don’t know how much more of Strowman I can take at this point as the guy is one of the least interesting champions in recent or long term memory. I’m not sure why we need to see it last this time, but hopefully it finishes here.

In other words, for the love of all things good and holy, PLEASE let the Fiend win here. There is no need for Strowman to stick around here and I really don’t want to see them have a fourth match here because there is no need for any of this to continue again. It has been downright horrible and they need to just drop the whole thing with Fiend ending Strowman. Say by beating him with bowling pins and serving him as sandwiches at a James Bond themed dinner party.

Raw World Title: Drew McIntyre(c) vs. Randy Orton

And then we have this, which is one of the most interesting things on the card. I’m not sure what this is going to bring, but sweet goodness it actually feels like they have set up something where you could see either guy could win and be ok with it. However there is one thing that I think is hanging over the whole match and it is going to play into the ending: the show’s tagline of “You’ll Never See It Coming.”

My guess is that comes into play here with one of two ideas, and both of them end with Orton winning the title. First up, Retribution could cost McIntyre the title after he called them out on Raw earlier this week. That could set up him getting some payback at Payback, either against Orton or part of Retribution. The other, and more likely option? Flair was never Punted (remember the lights flickered) and you’ll never see it coming when he shows up to help Orton win the title. Either way, the tagline doesn’t exactly help that they’re basically telegraphing a surprise, thereby negating the concept of a SURPRISE.

Overall Thoughts

Call me crazy, but I think we might be in for a decent show here. I know the TV hasn’t been great for the last few months, but there is something about this card that is giving me hope. Summerslam has been going fairly well over most of the last few years and if they can keep that trend going, maybe they can go somewhere. I mean I don’t believe they will, but you have to have some hope somewhere. Maybe they can have some good TV as a result. You would never see that coming would you?

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Main Event
Date: August 13, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

We’re coming up on Summerslam and that means we should be in for a lot of big time recaps. I’m not sure what to expect other than that, but it isn’t like we’re going to be seeing anything of note otherwise. Hopefully the show goes along well enough this week, but you never can tell. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Billie Kay vs. Ruby Riott

They’re both here alone. Kay’s headlock doesn’t last long as Riott hammers away, only to get shouldered right back down. That means a cartwheel into the pose from Kay, who is taken down with an STO into a pose from Riott. Serves her right. They go to the apron with Kay hitting a kick to the head, followed by an armbar back inside. Riott is back with a bunch of forearms into a rollup for two but walks into a Regal Cutter for the same. The big boot misses though and Riott hits the Riott Kick for the pin at 4:59.

Rating: D+. Another match which would only be on Main Event, which is better than having it on Raw. At least Riott gets a win here, as it isn’t likely to happen outside of very special occasions on the important shows. I’m not sure why WWE is so obsessed with keeping her at the bottom of the totem pole but she has been there long enough already.

Video on Raw Underground.

Long video on Bray Wyatt vs. Braun Strowman.

And now, the Fiend. After his entrance and a break, we see Alexa Bliss sitting in front of him and looking scared. Fiend goes to the corner and crawls over to her, with Bliss rubbing his face. Strowman’s voice comes up to pull the Fiend away and he pops up on the screen. Strowman says this wasn’t going to work because all he cares about is destroying the Fiend. He tried to fight it but gave into the evil within and is fulfilling his destiny. Strowman is the thing that nightmares are made of and he is the monster. Fiend can have whatever he wants because at Summerslam, he is facing the monster. Strowman says let him in.

As usual, Strowman cannot talk to save his life and might as well be reading off the cue cards. I’m not sure if this was the end of the Bliss aspect of the story, but if that is the case, it feels like another case of setting something up and then changing their mind AGAIN, possibly because it could have been interesting and that cannot happen.

We open with Samoa Joe in the ring for a contract signing. Seth Rollins comes out with Murphy, followed by Dominik, because they really do think this is what we should use to keep the fans’ interest early. Dominik comes out with a kendo stick and Rollins laughs him off for treating this like a joke. Joe doesn’t think much of Rollins treating this as a joke and asks why Rollins is acting like this. Why did he take out Rey Mysterio’s eye, have Murphy take out Aleister Black’s eye, and think about going for Joe’s eye last week?

Rollins threatens Joe and says that he himself is the only one with no choice in this whole thing. He goes into a rant about everything he has done around here with everyone not thinking anything of his efforts. All he is doing is for the greater good and when is it going to be enough? Dominik says it never will be because Rollins’ greater good is for himself. Rollins calls him ungrateful because everything Dominik is doing is because of him.

Dominik is ready to go, so Rollins says Dominik wouldn’t last ten seconds against him in a regular wrestling match. That’s why Rollins is going to do him a favor: Dominik can bring his kendo stick at Summerslam. Or any weapon he wants for that matter, so there are no excuses. Rollins and Dominik both sign, with Rollins being rather pleased.

Seth Rollins vs. Humberto Carrillo

Rollins grabs an armbar to start and sends Carrillo to the apron. Carrillo comes back in with a sunset flip and hammers away in the corner, only to get crotched on top. The belly to back superplex is broken up but Murphy’s distraction means no moonsault. Dominik kendo sticks Murphy though and Rollins gets the boots up to block the moonsault. A superkick sets up a powerbomb into the Stomp to finish Carrillo at 3:03.

Rating: D+. The match was decent enough but the lack of interest in anything they’re doing here hurts things a lot. There is only so much that can be done with such an uninteresting story and hopefully they make a change. It seems that they’re teasing Samoa Joe getting involved somehow, and that’s probably as good of a move as they can make. Dominik isn’t ready for this and that becomes ore obvious every week.

Post match Rollins and Mysterio beat Dominik down, including a series of hard kendo stick shots. Rollins even takes the shirt off so the shots can hurt more. Murphy and Rollins tie him into the ropes with Rollins saying HI DAD over and over. With Dominik still helpless, Rollins has Murphy grab some more kendo sticks and now Murphy gets in his own shots. The double beating continues with Murphy saying that Dominik is a WWE Superstar now. This was a heck of a brutal beatdown with Dominik being destroyed and I do want to see him get back up and fight. Just find something else to say about him other than he’s Rey’s son.

Angel Garza vs. Titus O’Neil

Titus powers him around to start and shrugs off the chops. A big chop has Garza in trouble and it’s already time to go to the floor. Back up and Garza manages a kick to the head, only to get slammed down. Titus clotheslines him outside and we take a break. Back with Garza choking on the ropes and TAKING OFF HIS PANTS, setting up the STF.

That sends Titus bailing to the ropes (as it should) so Garza superkicks him into a sleeper. Titus powers up and throws him down, followed by the running splash in the corner. Garza is right back with a pair of superkicks and the basement dropkick square in the jaw finishes Titus at 11:11.

Rating: D. I often wonder how Titus still has a job, but then you read a story or two about his charity work and wonder how WWE ever got along without him. No his matches aren’t good, but he comes off as one of the greatest human beings ever in wrestling and it can do WWE a lot of good to keep him on the payroll. Oh and Garza was here too.

Quick look at Asuka beating Bayley on Raw.

Video on Retribution.

And then to Raw, just after Randy Orton beat Kevin Owens.

Post match Flair poses with Orton, who wants a microphone. Orton asks Flair to hang on a second and we take a break. Back with Orton saying he loves Flair after all these years, but he shouldn’t have been in this match with Owens. Of course he cares about Flair, but they will not be together any longer. Flair is a liability to him these days and that can no longer be the case. About eighteen years ago, Flair bailed Orton out of trouble in Peoria, Illinois and Orton thinks that he did it because he wanted Orton to be the son that he never had.

Flair starts crying and Orton talks down to him over having a pacemaker and going into a coma last week. Is this the best that Flair can be? Flair says that he’s not the same man he was before but there are some things that Orton wants to hear. Of course Flair wants to be in the spotlight. He’s 71 years old and he’s on Raw. Flair wants to be there with Orton when he wins his 14^th, 15^th, 16^th and 17^th World Title. He doesn’t want to see Orton beat John Cena’s record, because it’s his record.

Orton knows what it’s like to be where Flair was because Orton’s dad did it for years. Flair knows Orton is the greatest of all time and as soon as he got out of intensive care for 31 days and out of a coma for 12 of them, all he wanted to do was tell the people he cared about that he loved them. All he is now is Charlotte’s dad so he wants to have a good time with Orton.

They hug, but Orton hits him low and leaves Flair laying. Orton looks down at him, goes to the corner, waits for the lights to flicker, and then hits the Punt (with the lights off so we don’t see the contact in a clever way around it) to end Flair. Orton whispers something to Flair and here’s Drew McIntyre to chase Orton off, shouting “EVEN HIM???” Medics and Adam Pearce come out to tend to Flair.

Overall Rating: D. They’re trying to make me care about Main Event and I really just don’t care. It isn’t a good build to the pay per view and I don’t see how much better it could actually get much better in the little time that they have left. The rest of the show was your usual Main Event fair, but given how bad the build has been to Summerslam, nothing was saving this one.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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