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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Summerslam 2018
Date: August 19, 2018
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Attendance: 16,169
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips, Jonathan Coachman

This time for sure, Summerslam edition! Yes believe it or not the main event is once again Roman Reigns challenging Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title because that hasn’t gotten old this year. Other than that….as usual I can barely remember anything on these shows as they run together so much. Let’s get to it.

Oh and due to the recent WWE Network update, I get to watch the Kickoff Show on YouTube. Well done with that one people.

Kickoff Show: Andrade Cien Almas/Zelina Vega vs. Lana/Rusev

Rusev is on fire at this point and it’s a battle of the wrestling pairs. Andrade gets Rusev to chase him and it’s right into the double Tranquilo pose. Rusev and Lana shout at them but Andrade gets in a cheap shot to break up the chase. That’s fine with Rusev, who stomps him down in the corner until Zelina offers a distraction. Andrade posts him like a good rudo, setting up the armbreaker over the ropes. An armbar takes us to a break and we come back with Vega pulling Lana off the apron to prevent the tag.

The reverse tornado DDT gives Andrade two and the armbar goes on again. Another reverse tornado DDT is countered with a forearm (keeping it simple can work) though and it’s the hot tag to Lana. A bulldog lets Lana dance up and the neckbreaker gets two. Vega sends her face first into the buckle but Lana breaks up the running knees with a kick to the head. Andrade makes sure the Accolade doesn’t go on with a well timed distraction though and Vega grabs a rollup with her feet…..as close to the ropes as she can get them for the pin at 7:02. That was pretty adorable with Vega trying to get there and not reaching.

Rating: D+. What happened with Rusev and Lana? I know I ask that a lot but egads man. They’re married in real life, Rusev has more charisma than he knows what to do with and Lana is the walking definition of a blonde bombshell who can talk. A year later they’ve basically disappeared and I would love to know why. At least Andrade is getting a push, and with as much talent as he has, there is no reason for him not to. The fans are properly fired up now so well done on the job, even if the match wasn’t great.

Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Title: Drew Gulak vs. Cedric Alexander

Cedric is defending in the first of NINE title matches because WWE has too many times and doesn’t get why that is such a problem. Gulak’s friends Brian Kendrick and Jack Gallagher are barred from ringside. Feeling out process to start with Cedric taking him into the corner but having his headscissors blocked. The Gulock is broken up in a hurry and Cedric hits a dropkick to take things outside.

Gulak gets in a big boot on the way back inside and Cedric has banged up his neck. The neck crank goes on and we take a break. Back with Gulak’s continued logical offense, including some clotheslines and a chinlock. Gulak throws him over his back and pulls on the neck some more (close to a Gory Special) but since that can’t last long, Cedric is right back with a springboard Downward Spiral. With the wrestling not working, it’s time to hammer away at the head before sending him outside.

The big running flip dive hits Gulak again but he’s fine enough to break up a springboard. The Gulak over the ropes is half and half on the logical offense theme but the regular version can’t go on. A hard elbow to the head rocks Gulak, who comes right back with the biggest right hand I’ve ever seen him throw. The Neuralizer is countered into the ankle lock but Cedric rolls into a cradle for two. Cedric’s Spanish Fly is countered into a rollup for two, which is reversed into a stacked up rollup to give Cedric the pin at 10:43.

Rating: B-. This was the well done match that I was expecting, with Gulak going after the obvious target but not being able to finish off the more well rounded Alexander. Cedric was kind of a dull character but he is more than good enough to have a fast paced match like this. Gulak winning the title here would have been a good moment, but Cedric was hardly a bad choice for champion.

Kickoff Show: Raw Tag Team Titles: B-Team vs. Revival

The B-Team is defending because WWE would rather laugh than go with a team they have invested so much in already. At least we get the B-TEAM B-TEAM GO GO GO entrance. Dallas headlocks Dawson down over but everything breaks down in a hurry with a shot to Dallas’ leg. The Shatter Machine hits the illegal Axel and a missile dropkick/spinebuster (Hart Attack variation) gets three straight twos on Dallas. More leg cranking takes us to a break and we come back with more leg cranking.

Dawson puts on a spinning toehold but gets kicked shoulder first into the post. Since Axel is still down (well done on making the Shatter Machine look awesome) though, it’s a backbreaker/middle rope knee for two more. Dallas grabs a hanging swinging neckbreaker on Wilder and now it’s back to Axel off the hot tag. Everything breaks down with the PerfectPlex being countered into a small package. Dallas shoves Wilder into the pile though and Axel winds up on top to retain at 6:12.

Rating: D+. This was the “let’s add a Raw match to the Kickoff Show because it’s for a title and people will care” theme and, as usual, it didn’t work very well. We’re three matches in and now the four hour Summerslam gets to start. It’s just one more thing added to the card that was completely forgettable and took a little bit more out of the fans. How does this make the night better?

Terry Crews is outside the Barclays Center and talks about the measure of success. You can feel the heartbeat in your chest to drive you and then you grind to find the moments that define success for you. Tonight, this is where dreams come true because all the world’s a stage. So what defines success and greatness and how bad do you want it? Go ahead and take a bow because we’ll let you take a bow because you’re about to bear witness to another great Summerslam. The things he was saying only kind of made sense, but sweet goodness that man can get you fired up for a show.

The CGI Empire State Building is over the ring again. You can’t see it live in the arena of course and that will mess you up when you see it on a monitor and not before your eyes.

Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler

Rollins is challenging with the freshly returned Dean Ambrose in his corner (because having him show up on Raw was far smarter than having him show up at Summerslam) to counter Drew McIntyre (because DOLPH ZIGGLER was the bigger prospect in 2018…..and kind of was in 2019 as well). As a bonus, Rollins is in Thanos inspired gear while Ziggler has a picture of the title over the front of his tights.

They go with the grappling to start with Rollins being backed up to the ropes, meaning it’s time for Ambrose to stare at McIntyre. The early superkick misses Rollins and Ziggler bails to the floor. That means a double staredown until Rollins throws him back in for some chops. Ziggler kicks at the leg to take over and we get a Flair Flip of all things. The chinlock goes on with Ziggler kicking the knee to keep Rollins down in a smart move.

Rollins’ comeback doesn’t last long as Ziggler backdrops him to the floor. Back in and Ziggler’s high crossbody is pulled out of the air but they crash to the floor again off of a suplex attempt (that’s always a scary looking spot). Back in again and Rollins gets two off a middle rope Blockbuster but Ziggler crotches him on top. Another superplex attempt is broken up and Rollins sends him outside for a suicide dive.

Rollins’ windup knee gets two but the buckle bomb is countered into a quickly broken sleeper. They fight to the apron with Ziggler kicking him into the post and nailing the DDT onto the apron for what should be a huge knockout. Since it’s this kind of a match though, it’s only good for two. Rollins hits him in the face again and gets his own two off the great looking frog splash.

Ziggler goes up top but Ziggler catches him with a reverse superplex into a reverse Falcon Arrow for a nice twist on the usual sequence. The fans give it a standing ovation so they seem to have some good taste. Hold on though as McIntyre sends Ambrose into the steps with the distraction letting Ziggler hit the Zig Zag for two. I blame the kickout on Cole declaring it over, which is the magical cure for a finisher. Rollins is busted open as he reverses a rollup into the buckle bomb. Dean gets back up and takes care of an interfering McIntyre, leaving Rollins to him the Stomp to get the title back at 22:02.

Rating: B. You don’t expect the opener to get this kind of time. The match was entertaining though it wasn’t quite the instant classic they were going for. It felt like the match was more of a collection of spots than a match that built on itself to get somewhere. That’s a great way to get an entertaining match and for what they were going for, I can certainly live with something like this. Maybe not the highest quality but very entertaining, which more or less defines Rollins.

Rollins and Ambrose celebrate a lot.

The Bellas are here to support their bestest friend ever Ronda Rousey, and to plug all their stuff of course. They might even get back in the ring at Evolution.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Bludgeon Brothers

Big E. and Xavier Woods are challenging and it’s almost weird to see Kofi around a Tag Team Title match these days. Rowan wastes no time by spin kicking Woods in the face to start. Harper hits a big boot of his own and it’s off to the Gator Roll into the chinlock. A running splash from Rowan sets up the head vice as it’s total dominance to start. Big E. gets knocked off the apron and Woods is sent outside to join him, but Rowan can’t powerbomb Woods onto the steps.

A hurricanrana sends Harper into the steps and the hot tag brings in Big E. Belly to belly suplexes on the floor abound (with Harper landing on his head and thankfully not breaking something), followed by the Warrior Splash to Harper inside. Harper is right back with a Michinoku Driver but Big E. sends Rowan into the post. Woods hits a dive onto Rowan and Big E. spears Harper through the ropes.

Rowan is back up with his own dive off the apron to Big E. and things finally settle down a notch. Woods can’t complete a springboard tornado DDT as Harper reverses into a powerbomb for two, meaning it’s time for Kofi to play cheerleader. Apparently not a fan of cheerleading, Rowan plants Kofi but walks into the Big Ending.

Big E. Rock Bottoms Harper off the apron into what was supposed to be a backstabber from Woods, though it was more like Harper just landed on Woods’ legs. Eh can’t hit them all. Woods makes up for it by dropping the big elbow off the top to the floor and Harper is actually in trouble. UpUpDownDown is loaded up but Rowan hits Woods with the hammer for the DQ at 9:27.

Rating: B-. They didn’t play around here and went with the all action match, which was the right call here. Let them do whatever they wanted and have an entertaining match as a result. New Day was throwing everything they could against the unstoppable monsters and came close to getting a win. That’s the kind of hope spot you need over a team like the Brothers as you have to have a reason to believe something could happen in the future. That being said, it didn’t mean anything in the end as Rowan tore his bicep and New Day would win the titles in two days.

Post match the Brothers destroy New Day with the hammer.

Jon Stewart is here.

We recap Kevin Owens vs. Braun Strowman. Owens said he was on a role and tried to get Strowman’s help to win Money in the Bank. Strowman didn’t like it when Owens inevitably turned on him and threw him through a bunch of tables before winning the briefcase. The Strowman destroyed Owens’ car and put him in a portable toilet, which he knocked off the stage. Owens “beat” Strowman in a cage match when Strowman threw him off a cage so now it’s a rematch for the Money in the Bank briefcase.

Money In The Bank Briefcase: Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens

Strowman is defending and can lose the briefcase by losing in any way. An early pair of running splashes in the corner sends Owens outside and Strowman runs him over again. Owens’ superkick just makes Strowman angrier and it’s a chokeslam onto the ramp. The running powerslam finishes Owens at 1:55. Well that worked and makes Strowman look like the monster, but HAHA if you actually thought they would put the title on him.

Clip of a Be A Star rally.

We recap the Smackdown Women’s Title match. Carmella cashed in Money in the Bank at the Smackdown after Wrestlemania and has been put over one name after another, though she is still seen as in over her head. Becky Lynch has been trying to get back to the top and is getting the shot here. Then Charlotte saved Becky from a beatdown and got a match where she could be added to the match if she won. Since it’s Charlotte, OF COURSE she was added in, which Becky saw as someone else trying to steal her chance. Charlotte did get in a good line with Carmella “is a Diva living in a woman’s world.”

Smackdown Women’s Title: Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte vs. Carmella

Carmella is defending and we get the Big Match Intros, with the hometown champ not being well received. As I continue to not understand why the title belt is shown inside what looks like the Elimination Chamber during the graphic, the bell rings and Carmella starts running her mouth. Charlotte gets sent outside so Becky can hit a running legdrop but the second misses.

Carmella isn’t happy with Charlotte breaking up the cover but it’s time to get crafty. She slaps Becky in the head and blames Charlotte, who says she’s innocent as they knock Carmella to the floor. Becky and Charlotte trade rollups and it’s a standoff for some applause. An armbar puts Charlotte down for all of two seconds but Carmella is back in because she can’t just go away.

Becky gets sent into the steps so Carmella can shout and dance a lot. Charlotte is whipped down as well and Carmella takes Becky inside for, you know it, more shouting. She does even things out a bit with a chinlock until Charlotte comes back in, only to be taken down by the hair. Now it’s Charlotte getting chinlocked as we see the wide range of Carmella’s offense. Becky makes her own save, gets dropkicked down, and Carmella shouts about being champion again. How can she be repeating stuff that many times less than six minutes into a match?

Carmella mocks Becky’s pose and ducks a shot from Charlotte, which hits Becky instead. Some fall away slams drop Carmella and Charlotte nips up but Becky knees her in the face. A double missile dropkick puts Carmella and Charlotte down again with Charlotte being sent outside. Becky gets caught on top for a hurricanrana to give Carmella two, leaving herself open to Charlotte’s spear.

Since we can’t go that long with Carmella being on defense, she knocks Charlotte into the corner and shouts that no one cares about her anymore. Another hurricanrana out of the corner is countered into a Boston crab (with Charlotte driving her down from the corner almost like a Styles Clash) before switching to the Figure Four. That’s broken up with Becky’s top rope legdrop and they’re all down.

Becky gets up first and hammers on Carmella, who of course knocks her outside because SHE IS THE CHAMP. A rather hard suicide dive hits Becky but it’s Charlotte coming off the top with the moonsault, which goes right between them and barely makes contact, as usual. Back in and Carmella breaks up the Disarm-Her so Becky gets two off a Rock Bottom, with Carmella making ANOTHER save.

Carmella gets two off a superkick with Charlotte making the very last second save. Charlotte gets sent outside so it’s another superkick to Becky, who shrugs it off without much trouble. The Disarm-Her goes on but Charlotte dives in with Natural Selection for the pin on Becky at 14:42.

Rating: C+. The action was good but the important thing here is that Carmella can go off to do ANYTHING but be in the title picture. Her reign showed the entire problem with using Money in the Bank as a quick rise to the top: Carmella was never viewed as a serious wrestler but she won a ladder match and stole the title so now she can hang with Charlotte and Becky? It never worked and this match exposed how limited she was in the ring, with all the shouting and superkicks getting old in a hurry. She is perfectly fine as the cheerleader type character and it fits her SO much better, as time has proven.

The match itself was pretty good with a lot of saves and back and forth action, but I kept wanting Carmella to fall in a hole somewhere so the other two could have a better match. The fans wanted to see Becky and having Charlotte get the title back wasn’t the most thrilling result. Becky’s frustrations are proven right again and things could get interesting as a result.

Post match Becky hugs Charlotte but completely snaps, beating the fire out of her and throwing Charlotte over the announcers’ table to one of the biggest face reactions in forever. WWE actually tried to treat this as a heel turn for a bit before realizing that it just wasn’t working and strapped a rocket to Becky’s back, leading all the way to the main event of Wrestlemania and the biggest push in women’s history.

We recap AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe. AJ has been champion for about nine months and has beaten a bunch of challengers so he issued an open challenge for Summerslam. Joe choked AJ out and signed the contract before starting his real attack. He called out AJ for neglecting his family but promised to send AJ home by ending the title reign. Then he read a letter from AJ’s wife, saying that everything Joe said was true and how much she wanted Joe to win.

Smackdown World Title: AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe

Joe is challenging and the fans certainly seem to like him, though AJ isn’t exactly being booed. AJ’s wife and daughter are in the crowd so Joe breaks up the Big Match Intros and says hi to both of them, promising to send daddy home tonight. An early Koquina Clutch attempt doesn’t work and it’s a TNA chant for a little flashback. Joe gets in a cheap shot in the corner and then bails to the ropes as the mind games continue.

AJ takes him down with a headlock as they’re starting slowly (which is ok). Back up and a big shoulder sends AJ into the ropes as Graves explains the psychology in a rare bit of usefulness. They trade kicks to the leg so things can start picking up a bit. In what shouldn’t be a surprise, Joe wins the battle of the strikes at first but AJ keeps going with chops against the ropes.

The drop down into the dropkick has Joe in trouble and AJ knocks him outside. Since AJ isn’t that bright, he gets his leg kicked out to send him face first into the apron. Joe hits the big suicide elbow to send AJ into the announcers’ table, with Graves saying it’s like a flying school bus. Can someone explain to Graves that the Magic School Bus is fiction? Back in and a clothesline gives Joe two and the chinlock goes on.

That goes nowhere so AJ fights up and sends Joe outside for the slingshot forearm. Back in and the middle rope moonsault into the reverse DDT gets two but Joe is right back up with a middle rope leg lariat. A big boot into the backsplash is good for two more as Joe keeps using the power advantage. AJ’s fireman’s carry gutbuster hurts his own knee so Joe is right back with the snap powerslam (great one too).

AJ is right back up and manages the Styles Clash for two and the fans bought the near fall. The Rock Bottom out of the corner gives Joe a breather but AJ is right back with the Calf Crusher (remember the leg kicks earlier). You don’t put holds on Joe though and he slams AJ’s head into the mat for the break, quickly followed by the Koquina Clutch. A foot on the rope breaks things up so Joe takes it outside….and talks to AJ’s wife, saying AJ won’t be coming home but he’ll be her new daddy. You know it’s on now as AJ tackles Joe over the barricade and hits him with a chair for the DQ at 22:45.

Rating: B. This is one where the DQ finish makes sense to keep the story going, though I’m not sure why Joe, who has been very calculating this whole time, would do something like that when he was in control. It came off more like he was admitting he couldn’t beat AJ tonight and that’s not Joe’s style. What we did get was a solid back and forth match with AJ fighting his heart out and Joe using the power and size advantage to dominate the emotional champ. I’m certainly down for a rematch and that’s where this is obviously going.

Post match AJ beats the fire out of Joe with the chair, drawing a WHO’S YOUR DADDY chant. With Joe gone, AJ checks on his wife and daughter, the latter of whom says he’s bleeding. AJ: “I’m sorry.”

Here’s Elias for a song. Believe it or not, he was a child once but then he grew up and wrote a great album. That album included a song called Elias’ Words and knowing that the entire world loves you is an incredible feeling. Tonight we’re getting a new song and it might be his greatest yet. This song is dedicated to all of the New Yorkers out there tonight, because all of the dirt in their ears and mind and the harsh reality of living in this city is all about to be washed away. And then his guitar breaks. Well so much for that.

Miz runs into the B-Team backstage (why they’re still in their gear two hours after their match isn’t clear) but he doesn’t need their luck. Tonight he’s proving that he’s better than Daniel Bryan, but if they want to fetch the limo for the post match celebration, he’s good with that. They’re leaving actually because they have their own celebrating to do. They’re not the Miztourage anymore because they’re the B-Team. The B stands for Daniel Bryan and offer him a spot on their new reality show: “Total Fellas, but with a B, so Total Bellas!” Miz looks confused.

We recap the Miz vs. Daniel Bryan, which is eight years in the making. Miz was Bryan’s NXT Pro back in the day despite Bryan being much more experienced. Bryan broke away from Miz and turned into a star but never could shake the Miz, who thought Bryan was a huge fluke. Then Bryan got hurt and had to leave for years, with Miz taunting him after he walked away and retired. Miz called him out for being a coward and started using Bryan’s offense for years.

This included Miz’s incredible Talking Smack promo where Bryan called Miz a coward, sending Miz into an all time rant about how Bryan was the coward for not getting back in the ring while Miz was here every day. Then one day Bryan was medically cleared and everyone saw this match coming. Now it’s on the big stage as everyone is ready to see Bryan kick Miz’s head off. The theme is passion vs. fame and completely different ideologies about wrestling. It’s a natural rivalry and this match has more than earned a spot on this kind of a major show.

Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz

Miz’s wife and daughter are in the front row (who knew AJ was so influential). Bryan has talked for months about wanting to punch Miz in the face so he immediately balls up his fist, sending Miz into the ropes. Miz gets in the first few shots and fires off the kicks in the corner but the running dropkick is caught by the throat. Bryan gets to punch him in the face to a BIG reaction and now it’s Miz getting kicked in the corner for his efforts.

Another kick to the chest gets two but Miz takes him down for a surfboard. It turns out that Bryan knows how to escape that pretty easily and puts Miz in it to even things up. More YES Kicks (Graves: “Paying homage to the Miz.” Tom: “I swear to God.”) connect but Miz is right back with a hard clothesline to drop Bryan again. A cravate lets Miz hit some knees to the head and Bryan is back down.

The Reality Check gets two but Miz takes too long loading up the kicks, allowing Bryan to hit the moonsault out of the corner into the running clothesline. A hurricanrana out of the corner gets two and Miz is sent outside, meaning it’s the running dropkick through the ropes. The big dive to the floor drops Miz again and Bryan gets smart by tying him in the Tree of Woe for the kicks to the chest. The belly to back superplex gets two as it keeps getting worse for Miz.

Bryan misses the big YES Kick though and Miz hits a DDT for a breather. Miz’s YES Kicks just wake Bryan up so he catches a kick and hits Miz in the face (as promised). It’s too early for the running knee as Miz counters into a failed Figure Four attempt. The Skull Crushing Finale doesn’t fail though and gives Miz his next close two. With his chest looking very banged up, Miz’s running knee is countered with another kick to the head for two and they’re both dazed.

As tends to be the case at this point in a match, they had to the apron, where Bryan’s kick hits the post to give Miz a big target. He’s smart enough to go straight to the Figure Four but Bryan eventually turns it over to reverse the pressure. Miz isn’t smart enough to just unhook his leg so it’s a long crawl to the rope for the break. Bryan is right back on him by tying up Miz’s arm for the elbows to the face and then the YES Lock.

With Miz getting close to the rope, Bryan punches him in the back of the head for some good measure. Miz gets a boot on the rope and rolls to the floor, where Bryan hits the running knee from the apron. As luck would have it though, he winds up next to Maryse, who slips him something made of metal. Bryan tries a suicide dive but gets knocked cold with a shot to the head, allowing Miz to get the pin at 23:45.

Rating: B. It wasn’t the big, epic match they were shooting for but what we got was something that got pretty close to living up to the hype. The problem is it’s nearly impossible to live up to a reality that fans had in their heads after so long, but they did very well anyway. Miz being cocky the whole time but not being able to survive against the more naturally talented Bryan made perfect sense. The cheating leaves them wide open for a rematch and since Miz’s wife got involved, Bryan’s should as well, right?

Super ShowDown is coming, including HHH vs. Undertaker for the last time ever.

Video on Undertaker vs. HHH, which is quite the story.

Baron Corbin vs. Finn Balor

Corbin has been a jerk to Balor so it’s Demon time, thankfully in a complete surprise so we didn’t have to hear THE DEMON IS FINN BALOR’S ALTER EGO for a month. The entrance shakes Corbin, possible because he’s realized that he’s Baron Corbin. Balor dropkicks him to the floor at the bell and hits the Sling Blade. The running flip dive hits Corbin and Balor sends him into the barricade. As Coach tries to figure out why Balor doesn’t use the Demon more often, it’s a top rope double stomp to Corbin’s back and the Coup de Grace finishes at 1:22. Exactly what it should have been, assuming you absolutely have to have Corbin employed.

Brie Bella checks on Bryan and they’re not happy with Miz and Maryse. Bryan says his comeback has been a bust but Brie calms him down.

United States Title: Jeff Hardy vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Nakamura is defending and this is your “it just sounds cool” match of the show, as well as a rematch after Nakamura won the title in six seconds after a low blow last month. Jeff has been dealing with Randy Orton as of late as well so you can probably pencil in the interference. There’s no major contact for the first minute or so, meaning we need a COME ON from Nakamura. Hardy charges into a knee but stops to dance like Nakamura, which doesn’t sit well with the champ. Neither does Hardy doing COME ON as things actually get going.

Nakamura knees him in the face and grabs an arm trap chinlock, which is broken with a rather quick jawbreaker. Some more kicks have Hardy right back in trouble and we hit another chinlock. Jeff fights up again and hits something close to a Sling Blade to put them both down again. Another kick drops Hardy again though as he can’t seem to figure out that he needs to avoid the feet. He finally gets the idea as a running knee hits the buckle, allowing Hardy to nail the Whisper in the Wind for two.

Since that isn’t the most high impact move, Nakamura is right back with the hard knees but the low blow misses. Jeff dropkicks him down to set up the Swanton for a delayed two. With Nakamura rolling to the apron, Hardy tries another Swanton but crashes back first onto the apron for his efforts. Kinshasa retains the title at 10:57.

Rating: D+. The chinlocks hurt this one a lot and you could feel the energy going out of the crowd. This was around the time that Nakamura was putting it in coast mode and there wasn’t much that could draw him out. His charisma is more than enough to carry him, but it would be nice to see some effort into his matches. Jeff continues to drift around, which is pretty much all he does as a singles guy these days.

Post match Orton comes out but instead of going after Jeff, he just hits himself in the head and leaves without doing anything else. He can be an odd guy.

We recap Ronda Rousey vs. Alexa Bliss. Rousey had the Raw Women’s Title won at Money in the Bank but Bliss cashed in her briefcase to steal the title from Nia Jax. Bliss has been WAY too confident coming into this so Rousey has been suspended several times, yet still getting her title match here. Tonight Rousey is going to destroy Bliss and get the title for the first time.

Raw Women’s Title: Ronda Rousey vs. Alexa Bliss

Ronda is challenging and has Natalya, whose dad Jim Neidhart died a few weeks back (meaning she has her dad’s Summerslam 1990 jacket on for a great touch). Oh and the Bellas are here too because they’re stars. Bliss hides in the ropes a few times to start as she is trying to delay the inevitable for as long as she can. A cheap shot is blocked by a single right hand to send Bliss outside.

Back in and Bliss bails a second time so Rousey turns her back and sits down to let Bliss get in safely. Bliss comes in and tries a chinlock, not realizing that it leaves her arm exposed. Rousey picks her up for the yet to be named Piper’s Pit and Bliss is on the floor again. The chase lets Bliss get in a few shots….and there’s the stare. Rousey unloads in the corner and hits the judo throws (while talking trash), setting up the armbar (with Bliss popping the arm out of joint as only she can) for the easy tap and the title at 4:38.

Rating: C+. This is one where the presentation was all that mattered. Rousey was never in any danger and the match was a complete squash, which was the right call. There was no reason to pretend that Bliss could be a threat to her and they didn’t waste their time on anything stupid. Rousey is the biggest star in the division and one of the biggest in the company, so making her champion was the obvious move, especially since she’s here full time.

Post match Rousey hugs Natalya and the Bellas. Guess which two are booed. Her husband gets a big kiss as well. Rousey’s husband that is, in case it’s not clear.

We recap the Raw World Title match. Roman Reigns has been chasing the title and the win against Brock Lesnar for the better part of forever, having lost at Wrestlemania XXXI, Wrestlemania XXXIV and Greatest Royal Rumble. Now we’re doing it again because these two are joined at the hip in an eternal chase. This time around they’re presenting it as Reigns is here and Lesnar isn’t, even though the fans don’t seem to think much of Reigns so his attendance doesn’t make much difference. They teased Heyman jumping to Reigns but it was dropped in all of ten seconds so Lesnar could beat Reigns up again.

Raw World Title: Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar

Reigns’ CGI entrance is a big dog head over the Shield logo, which is rather terrifying when you don’t know it’s coming. Lesnar is defending and Paul Heyman handles his Big Match Intro. Hold on though as Strowman comes out to say he’s going to be cashing in on whomever wins. Reigns hits three Superman Punches and two spears in the first thirty seconds but the third is countered into a guillotine choke.

That’s broken up with a spinebuster and we’re just over a minute in. Brock grabs it again so Reigns uses the same counter. For once it makes sense to have them laying down this early as they’ve beaten each other up quite a bit so far. Brock takes the gloves off and counters another Superman Punch into the rolling German suplexes. The fans say the two of them suck and Reigns escapes the F5.

A missed charge sends Reigns through the ropes and into Strowman, who Lesnar plants with an F5 on the floor. Reigns is thrown back in and Strowman grabs Lesnar’s leg. That earns him a beating with the briefcase, which Lesnar throws up to the stage (egads that’s not normal). Lesnar unloads with a chair, walks back inside and gets speared to give Reigns the title at 6:09.

Rating: D. NOW NEVER FIGHT AGAIN! This feud went on forever and their matches were the same finisher fests over and over again. Strowman could have been anything from the Monster to a stray puppy as he only served as a distraction to cost Lesnar the title. Reigns winning here doesn’t feel like some major moment, though it’s nice to have Lesnar FINALLY lose the title. They should have done this at Wrestlemania at the latest though and by the time they got here, no one cared and there was no reason for them to. At least it was shorter this time around so there is one minor positive. Just get on to any other feud, please.

Reigns poses as Strowman is still down to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. I had forgotten how good this show was as WWE managed to cut out a bunch of the nonsense and just roll with the awesome matches that have been well built up. It’s so frustrating to see what they’re capable of doing when they actually try because they don’t put in the effort so much of the time. This was an awesome show with nothing very bad (Reigns vs. Lesnar is more the result of everything that came before it between the two of them) and three or four matches that got time and lived up to it. Check this one out if you have the time, but completely skip the Kickoff Show.

Ratings Comparison

Zelina Vega/Andrade Cien Almas vs. Rusev/Lana

Original: D

2019 Redo: D+

Cedric Alexander vs. Drew Gulak

Original: C+

2019 Redo: B-

Revival vs. B-Team

Original: D+

2019 Redo: D+

Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins

Original: B

2019 Redo: B

Bludgeon Brothers vs. New Day

Original: C+

2019 Redo: B-

Kevin Owens vs. Braun Strowman

Original: N/A

2019 Redo: N/A

Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch vs. Carmella

Original: C+

2019 Redo: C+

AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe

Original: A-

2019 Redo: B

The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan

Original: B+

2019 Redo: B

Finn Balor vs. Baron Corbin

Original: N/A

2019 Redo: N/A

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Jeff Hardy

Original: C

2019 Redo: D+

Ronda Rousey vs. Alexa Bliss

Original: C+

2019 Redo: C+

Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar

Original: C+

2019 Redo: D

Overall Rating

Original: A-

2019 Redo: A-

Most of them are in the same ballpark, but AJ vs. Joe and Reigns vs. Lesnar must have canceled each other out. Still a great show though and one of the better ones WWE has done in recent(ish) memory.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/08/19/summerslam-2018-they-can-still-do-a-thing-or-two/

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

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

AND

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

Summerslam 2017
Date: August 20, 2017
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Attendance: 16,128
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Booker T., Tom Phillips, John Bradshaw Layfield, Byron Saxton

It’s kind of amazing how these modern shows go in one ear and out the other. Aside from the main event, I couldn’t tell you a single thing on this show, and I can tell you every match (mostly in order) from the first seventeen or so Wrestlemanias. It’s the nature of the shows being built up so fast and then running so long, as the same is true of shows I’ve been to even this year. Let’s get to it.

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

Rematch from Raw. Now this one I remember because it took place about twenty minutes into the two hour Kickoff Show and the place was embarrassingly empty with MAYBE twenty percent of the place full. It’s just awful looking as the fans who aren’t in yet (as in the majority of them) are going to be annoyed at missing a match and the wrestlers have to go out in front of this empty building like they’re on some nothing indy show (in a huge arena for some reason). I mean, what in the world is the point?

Matt headlocks Axel to start and it’s quickly off to Jeff as the dozens and dozens of fans get behind the good guys. Jordan comes in to crank on the arm to no reaction, at least partially because there aren’t many people here to cheer. A dropkick gets two on Dallas and Jordan muscles him down to the mat.

Everything breaks down and Jordan directs traffic as the Hardys chop away in the corner. Axel saves Dallas from the Swanton and we take a break. Back with Jeff getting two off a basement dropkick as the crowd is now just embarrassing instead of depressing. Dallas pushed Jeff off the top though and it’s time to start the stomping in the corner. Miz (oh yeah he’s in this match) comes in for a reverse chinlock but Jeff kicks him away without too much effort.

Instead it’s Axel coming in to twist Jeff’s neck around as the fans chant for BROTHER NERO. Jeff dropkicks Miz and Dallas off the apron and knocks Axel away as well, allowing the lukewarm tag off to Matt. The middle rope elbow to the back of the neck gets two on Miz but he’s right back up with the YES Kicks. Matt shrugs those off though and there’s a Side Effect for the same. Jordan comes in to throw Axel around, including a suplex for two. Everything breaks down and Miz makes a blind tag, setting up a Skull Crushing Finale to pin Jordan at 10:31.

Rating: C. The crowd killed what would have otherwise been a pretty good six man tag. When you can hear the wrestlers breathing, it’s pretty clear that there isn’t much going on in the arena, which isn’t exactly the atmosphere you want for a show billed as a big party. The match itself was fine, and it helps to not have watched it six days earlier.

Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Title: Akira Tozawa vs. Neville

Tozawa, part of Titus Worldwide, is defending after winning the title from Neville on Monday. He also has a banged up shoulder. You remember Neville. He was the awesome guy who turned into one of the best heels in the company but WWE decided that having him put over Enzo Amore made more sense and since there was apparently no way Neville could be a heavyweight again, he walked out a few months later.

Neville shoulders him down to start and then dropkicks the glare off of Tozawa’s face. That’s it for now though as Neville sends him outside and screams a lot, as is his custom. The jumping backsplash crushes Neville back inside but he’s able to snap Tozawa’s throat across the top rope. Back from a break with Neville scoring off a missile dropkick to the back for two and stopping to sneer.

The chinlock lets Tozawa have a breather and he fights up to send Neville outside again. That means the big suicide dive and a Saito suplex but it’s too early for the top rope backsplash. Instead Tozawa reverses a fireman’s carry into an Octopus hold as he’s certainly keeping things varied. Neville makes the ropes so Tozawa hits a Shining Wizard for two.

An enziguri staggers Tozawa but he’s right back with a second Shining Wizard to put both guys down. Tozawa is up first but gets pulled down by the bad shoulder. His legs are fine enough to kick Neville in the head and it’s time to go up again. After knocking Neville off the top, the backsplash hits knees and the champ is in big trouble. Neville jumps up top and hits the Red Arrow to the back for the pin and the title at 11:45.

Rating: C+. I get what they were going for here with the title change taking place on Summerslam but why not go with the first title change here and then switch it back tomorrow or the next week on Raw? Or, dare I suggest it, on 205 Live? Other than that it felt like they were just kind of going through the motions at times, but Neville going through the motions is still pretty good.

The crowd is fine now.

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

New Day is defending in what is kind of another Smackdown rematch, though it’s a different New Day lineup. Tonight it’s Woods and Big E., who has a huge cape. On the way to the ring, Kofi talks about how this is the place New Day first sang together and the original Francesca was born. Her sacrifice is what allowed us to have Francesca II: TURBO. Tonight they’re here to tear the house down with the Usos one more time.

Woods and Jimmy start things off in a technical sequence until Woods hits a roaring elbow to knock Jimmy’s block off. Some forearms in the corner have Jimmy in trouble but he gets in a shot to the face to stagger Woods. Back from a break with Jey putting on a chinlock and then slinging Woods into the corner. Woods knocks Jey off the top and avoids a charge from Jimmy. A missile dropkick has Jey in trouble but Jimmy pulls Big E. off the apron.

Thankfully the hot tag isn’t just a few seconds later and a backbreaker/middle rope knee combination gets two. Woods is in big trouble but scores with a victory roll faceplant (not a bad little move), which is finally enough for the hot tag to Big E. House is cleaned, including the release Rock Bottom out of the corner for two on Jey. Big E. powerbombs Woods onto Jey as the fast tags begin.

Woods even manages to electric chair Big E. so he can splash Jey as well but Jimmy comes in for a save. The double spinebuster gets two on Big E. and there’s the running Umaga attack for good measure as the pace picks up. Woods comes back in for a Rock Bottom into a Backstabber, which is somehow only good for two. That’s a heck of a finisher for those two if they’re ever a regular team.

Jey gets a blind tag but Woods knocks both Usos to the floor just in case. Big E.’s spear through the ropes is cut off by a superkick and a Superfly Splash while he’s still stuck in the ropes. The regular Superfly Splash gets a close two on Woods but he pulls Jey into a Koji Clutch. That’s broken up as well so Woods goes with a Shining Wizard for two.

A tornado DDT to the floor plants Jey and Jimmy takes the Midnight Hour, only to have Jey dive in at the last second for another save. Jimmy Samoan drops Woods to the floor and Kofi gets sent into the steps for checking on his buddy. Big E. is right back up with the spear through the ropes to take Jey down. Woods is done though and it’s four straight superkicks to Big E. into the double Us to give the Usos the titles back at 19:09.

Rating: B. Is there any surprise that this was the best thing on the Kickoff Show? This took some time to get going but these four delivered, as always. They know how to work well together and the diving saves for the false finishes were great. You could run these two over and over again, which is exactly what happened for the next few months. That can only go on for so long though, and that’s why the division isn’t great to this day.

The opening video starts with a shot of Brooklyn before heading backstage. The bigger matches get a quick look as someone spray paints the Summerslam logo onto a wall. That’s rather generic for the opening of such a big show.

John Cena vs. Baron Corbin

Corbin attacked Shinsuke Nakamura after Nakamura beat Cena, who made the save. Cena then cost Corbin his Money in the Bank cash-in to really hammer this home. The fans, ever so nice, ask Baron where his briefcase is. Cena slides outside to mock Corbin, even throwing on JBL’s hat. Well that makes any adult look like a moron so Corbin gives chase but Cena slides back in.

A headlock keeps Corbin on trouble as JBL points out the Cena issue with the crowd: they’re always chanting about him, whether it’s positive or negative. That’s not the best sign for the opponents, but at least Corbin had the chant to start the match. Some knees to the ribs put Cena in trouble and Corbin pops him in the jaw with a right hand.

The slide underneath the corner sets up the hard clothesline for two and Corbin is already looking frustrated. A suplex gets the same so it’s time to yell at the referee. Corbin hits a World’s Strongest Slam and we hit the chinlock. The fans ask about the briefcase again so Corbin says it’s on Cena. Another comeback starts up with the flying shoulders until Corbin slides under the ropes again, only to slide back in for a chokebreaker.

Cena blocks a superplex attempt and hits a tornado DDT, sending the fans right back into their chorus of booing. The AA is reversed into a Deep Six and Corbin can’t believe the kickout. He’s so serious that the shirt comes off and more slugging ensues. Cena sends him into the corner for the third slide but this time Corbin eats a big clothesline. The AA is good for the pin at 10:12.

Rating: D+. So that happened. The story wasn’t great, the action was nothing to see and Cena hit all of two moves to win in the end. Cena would go on to feud with Roman Reigns for the real rub, but that’s not the best way to boost Corbin. Just a complete nothing of a match here and it felt like they were getting it out of the way instead of featuring it, which is really weird to see for Cena.

Cena hugging kids and throwing his wristbands and dog tags is always cool to see. That just works.

Some wrestlers played Rocket League.

We recap Naomi vs. Natalya. Naomi won the title at Wrestlemania but Natalya thinks she’s turned it into a toy. Natalya attacked Becky Lynch after a match so Naomi made the save. This qualifies for the build to a title match.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Natalya vs. Naomi

Naomi is defending and gets slapped in the face at the bell but snaps off a hurricanrana to get herself out of trouble. A Blockbuster off the steps gives Naomi two more but Natalya posts her hard to take over. Back in and Natalya stomps away but the emotional offense has never been her strong suit. James Ellsworth and Miss Money in the Bank Carmella are watching in the back (she held that thing so long that she is still champion and Ellsworth has left, returned and left again in less than a year) as Natalya hits a running clothesline.

Naomi’s kicks to the legs don’t have much effect so Natalya grabs an abdominal stretch. That goes nowhere so Natalya hits the discus lariat for two and loads up a superplex. Naomi slips out and hits a super Russian legsweep, which of course gets us to even despite both of them taking the same impact. A spinning kick to the head and a headscissors driver give Naomi two but the dancing kicks are shrugged off (as they should be) with Natalya dropkicking her in the face.

Natalya gets caught in the ropes though and a slingshot legdrop gives Naomi two. The reverse Rings of Saturn is countered into the Sharpshooter but Naomi pulls rolls through and sends Natalya head first into the buckle. Not that it matters though as the split legged moonsault misses, setting up another Sharpshooter to make Naomi tap at 10:50.

Rating: D+. I was bored during this as Natalya is a black hole of charisma and Naomi isn’t the best at being serious. The wrestling was dull too and there was nothing happening here to draw me in. It doesn’t help when the women’s division on both shows have been dominated by the Four Horsewomen for so long that it’s almost impossible to get invested in anyone else (though Naomi has come a long, long way in the last year).

Post match Naomi is rather depressed.

We recap Big Cass vs. Big Show. Cass and Enzo Amore have split up and Show is standing up for him. Tonight though Enzo is being locked in a cage (good start) and Show has a broken hand thanks to Cass crushing it in the shark cage.

Big Show vs. Big Cass

Before the match, Enzo makes various Brooklyn/New York City rap references. He talks about loving to talk and how his worst day is better than Cass’ best and Cass has no heart. Thankfully Cass comes out to cut off the never ending promo and Enzo goes up in the cage. Show, not being the brightest guy in the world, hits Cass with the broken hand as Enzo is already running his mouth. He dances in the cage a bit, shouting about having the best seat in the house.

Cass gets thrown around and kicked in the ribs and there’s the side slam, only to have Show bang up the hand again. Enzo shouts something about Patrick the Starfish as Show misses a Vader Bomb, injuring his hand again. Cass’ big boot is blocked by a weak KO punch for two but the second attempt hits Show’s chest. It’s time to start in on the hand even more, despite that not really doing anything that’s going to let Cass pin him. Something like an armbar has Enzo jumping up and down, further making me want to see him put inside a wood chipper.

The fans call the hold boring so Cass stops, poses, and puts it on again. Show throws him down and hits a left armed clothesline, followed by the chokeslam for two. The hand goes into the post as Enzo is leaning through the cage bars. With Show down, Enzo pulls off his pants and whips out a bottle of lubricant (there’s no way I’m touching that one), oils himself up, and gets out of the cage. The match completely stops until Enzo gets down so Cass can kick him in the face. A pair of big boots put Show down and the Empire Elbow is good for the pin at 10:29.

Rating: F+. What in the world was that supposed to be? This was all about the bad hand but somehow it became about Enzo, that loudmouthed idiot, and then Cass just wins clean. I have no idea how this was the best idea they had but it was an awful match and a big waste of time. If I ever see Enzo oiled up again, I’ll be off in the next room gouging my eyes out.

General Manager Kurt Angle and Daniel Bryan get in a YES/NO off about which show will be better for the rest of the night.

Randy Orton vs. Rusev

Rusev jumps him from behind before the bell and Orton is in trouble. They get inside for the bell and it’s the RKO in ten seconds. That would be your “well the card is huge and we have to cut something” match of the night.

Bayley wishes Sasha Banks good luck tonight. Banks is taking her place due to a shoulder injury.

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

Banks is challenging and has special gear that makes her look like a peacock (so she’s copying Charlotte tonight). Bliss gets fired up to start and slugs away in the corner but Banks flips her around and hammers at the champ’s head. One heck of a forearm drops Banks and Bliss talks some trash. With the forearms boring her, Bliss pulls Banks’ hair around the ropes and crotches her on the middle rope for painful measure. We hit the chinlock as it’s almost all Bliss in the early going.

A lot more trash talk sets up a choke shove to put Banks down again as the fans are trying to get behind Banks. The middle rope knees into the moonsault knees give Bliss two more and she drops Banks on the back of her head for the same. Bliss goes to the middle rope and chokes some more until Banks slams her down. A dropkick and clothesline put the champ down for two but she knees Banks in the face to take over again. Bliss’ Code Red out of the corner is countered into something like an Alabama Slam, followed by just kneeing the heck out of Bliss in the corner.

The Bank Statement doesn’t work as Bliss is right next to the ropes. Bliss pulls her down into the ring skirt and dumps Banks to the floor for a near countout, with Bliss freaking out when she gets back in. Twisted Bliss only gets two more and now Bliss doesn’t know what to do. Since hitting it again is out of the question, Bliss picks her up and gets pulled down into the Bank Statement. Banks’ shoulder gives out so she tries the hold again and Bliss taps at 13:17.

Rating: C. Nothing much to see here with Banks shrugging off everything Bliss threw at her and winning without a ton of drama. Bliss got to show off the offense here and looked very good, though there’s not much she can do when Banks is on offense for all of a minute and a half and wins completely clean. Banks would lose the title just eight days later, continuing her trend of not being able to remain champion for very long.

Video on wrestlers auditioning to be the new Colonel Sanders. A fight breaks out and Shawn Michaels winds up winning in one of the most random, bizarre things you’ll ever see. Becky Lynch as the Colonel oddly works.

We recap Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt. Bray had targeted Balor as his latest false idol, beat him on Raw, and covered him in fake blood. Balor then decided to bring the Demon back to fight as hard as he could. This worked in NXT but not up here and that was mainly for one reason: Cole explaining/hyping the Demon EVERY TWO FREAKING SECONDS, saying over and over that “the Demon is Finn Balor’s alter ego” because WWE doesn’t think its fans are that bright. I don’t think NXT ever actually explained it (if they did it was once) because they know how smart fans can be. And that’s why the Demon has never been back.

Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt

Cole mentions the Demon idea again during Bray’s entrance but gets cut off as He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands starts playing for Finn. We get the big smoky entrance with Finn looking awesome and the camera getting an AWESOME shot of him with his back to the ring and the crowd posing with him. Balor gets to the ring and LET’S HIT THAT EXPLANATION again. Seriously it’s not exactly a character that needs to be broken down and it’s made worse when Cole does it.

Wyatt is hesitant to start and a right hand just ticks Balor off. Balor shows him how to throw some real right hands and Wyatt needs a breather on the floor. You don’t do that to Balor, who charges around the corner to drop Wyatt again. Back in and Balor isn’t phased by the upside down stare so Wyatt bails to the floor. This time it’s a big flip dive as it’s all Balor so far. Bray finally pulls him off the apron and hammers away, followed by something like a reverse Stunner out of the corner.

Of course that means a chinlock, because even though Bray is a cult leader, he still follows WWE wrestling tropes. Balor is right back up with a Pele kick and a baseball slide to the floor. The double stomp from the apron to Bray’s back keeps him in trouble, causing Graves to drop a (failed) external occipital protuberance reference. I knew I liked him for a reason.

Bray kicks him in the face and hits the release Rock Bottom for two. The running backsplash gets the same but Finn kicks him to the floor for the shotgun dropkick against the barricade. Back in and Bray scores with a kick so it’s spider walk time. Balor pops to his feet, hits a Sling Blade, another shotgun dropkick, and the Coup de Grace for the pin at 10:39.

Rating: D. This was as exciting as Bray hitting some basic offense while Balor did all of his usual stuff. The problem again is in the Demon, which was what Balor would bring out for his biggest, most violent fights. When it’s just the standard wrestling match and even a pretty dominant Finn performance, the whole Demon character is pretty much a waste.

Ad for the Mae Young Classic. In other words, the modern NXT women’s division.

We recap Seth Rollins/Dean Ambrose vs. the Bar, which is built around the idea of Dean and Seth not being able to trust each other. They kept offering the Shield fist until they FINALLY got back together, mainly due to having to deal with the Bar. Now they’re united after a very well done series of segments that them saving each other but not being willing to trust each other. They got in a fight though and the Bar coming out to join in was FINALLY enough to get them to agree to fight together. This was actually a heck of a build and I got sucked into it, both live and again during the recap video.

Raw Tag Team Titles: The Bar vs. Seth Rollins/Dean Ambrose

Sheamus and Cesaro are defending and it’s Sheamus getting taken down so the challengers can drop some elbows. Rollins Downward Spirals Cesaro into Dean’s boot and the champs are cleared out early on. A quick distraction lets Sheamus Brogue Kick Dean so Seth tries a suicide dive onto both guys. That gets him slammed down hard as momentum changes in a hurry.

We settle down to Cesaro gutwrench suplexing Seth and the chinlock goes on. Rollins fights back and hits a Blockbuster but Ambrose is still down off what is apparently the most devastating Brogue Kick of all time. Sheamus keeps Rollins in the corner as Cesaro runs into the crowd and destroys a beach ball, because Cesaro is more awesome than you. An enziguri gets Rollins out of trouble but this time it’s Cesaro cutting him off. Seth sends him outside though and Cesaro comes up holding his knee.

Rollins goes out after him with Sheamus following, meaning it’s Dean diving onto everyone at once. Back in and Rollins rolls underneath Cesaro and makes the hot tag to bring in Ambrose. Everything breaks down and Seth springboards in with a clothesline to Sheamus. There’s the double suicide dive and the fans are eating up all these double team spots. We settle down again with Ambrose powering out of the Neutralizer and hitting the rebound lariat, only to have Sheamus cut off the tag.

Ambrose catches him on top with a superplex into a very fast frog splash from Rollins but Cesaro makes the save. Rollins and Ambrose are tired of this tagging stuff and unload on Sheamus in the corner but he’s right back with a tilt-a-whirl slam. Cesaro swings Dean for all of two rotations and the Sharpshooter goes on, with Dean looking more surprised than in pain. With Dean getting close to the rope, Cesaro rolls over into a Crossface to change focal points.

Instead of going for the submission, Cesaro loads up a powerbomb with Sheamus adding a top rope clothesline for another close two. Rollins finally comes in and gets knocked outside just as fast. Dean tells the champs to bring it so they load up a spike White Noise. Hang on though as Rollins is right in there with a hurricanrana to send Cesaro into Dean and Sheamus for the save. The wind up knee into Dirty Deeds finishes Sheamus for the titles at 18:38.

Rating: B. This took some time to get going but there was no other way to go with the finish. Rollins and Ambrose are a great team and the fans love them so let them have a long match and take the titles for a change. There was some chemistry here and that made for a good, long match that the show desperately needed.

We recap AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens. They’ve traded the US Title for a few months now and Owens is claiming a conspiracy thanks to the referee missing his shoulder being up in the most recent title match. Therefore, Shane McMahon is guest referee tonight, despite having a history with AJ and a history of being a crooked referee.

US Title: AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens

AJ is defending with Shane as guest referee. They get in a fight before the bell with Shane pulling them apart twice in a row, because Shane is going to be the focal point here. The bell rings and they fight out to the floor with AJ hitting a knee from the apron. Back in and AJ keeps him down, followed by a knee drop. One heck of a clothesline takes AJ’s head off and the Cannonball gets two.

The backsplash gets the same and the near fall off the Edge-O-Matic has Owens yelling at Shane. AJ is right back with a belly to back faceplant and the fireman’s carry into a backbreaker gives him two of his own. They’re both banged up and the delay allows Owens to “accidentally” shove Shane into the ropes to crotch AJ on top. He’s fine enough for a springboard 450, which hits Shane after Owens pulls him in. For reasons of storyline convenience, AJ is down after splashing Shane, allowing Owens to hit the Pop Up Powerbomb for two, thanks to a delayed count.

That means ANOTHER argument with Shane, allowing AJ to grab the Calf Crusher but Owens pokes him in the eye. Owens sends AJ into Shane to knock him to the floor, meaning there’s no referee to see Owens tap to another Calf Crusher. Now it’s AJ’s turn to yell at Shane, who shoves AJ into a rollup for a pretty fast two. The annoyed AJ puts him on top, only to get caught in the swinging superplex for the big crash.

Owens wins a slugout but gets reversed into a Styles Clash for a clean two. The Pop Up Powerbomb gets three, though with AJ’s foot on the ropes at one. Shane: “TWO!” That means another argument with Shane, who shoves Owens into a rollup for two, meaning they’re not repeating spots from earlier in the match. The Phenomenal Forearm into the Styles Clash retains AJ’s title at 17:23.

Rating: B-. Well of course most of the match was about Shane, because that’s what a Summerslam title match should be about. The wrestling was fine but you kept waiting on Shane to do something else. I’m not sure how this was the best they could do with Styles, but at least there’s an Owens vs. Shane story set up for the next eight months. That’s more important than the US Title and Summerslam right?

Video on some fans winning a sweepstakes and got to go to the show.

We recap Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Jinder Mahal and I can feel the headache coming. Mahal won the WWE Championship in a period of Vince McMahon insanity and has held it since May. Nakamura has hit Kinshasa on a bunch of people, including Cena to become #1 contender. In other words: help us Shinsuke Nakamura. You’re our only hope.

Smackdown World Title: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Jinder Mahal

Nakamura is challenging and a live violinist plays him to the ring. The fans singing the song is awesome as usual, especially when you consider it doesn’t have words. Jinder grabs a wristlock to start so Nakamura spins around into a headlock, much to the crowd’s delight. Nakamura puts him up against the ropes for the arm shaking and the required COME ON. Mahal bails to the floor so it’s a triple COME ON, including the Singh Brothers. The fans chant for 3MB because the comedy version of Mahal is better than the main event version.

With nothing else going on, let’s go to the Japanese commentary team. I don’t speak Japanese so it’s all Greek to me. Back in and Nakamura drops a knee and hits some Good Vibrations as Mahal has nothing. As in all together, not just so far. The Singh Brothers offer a distraction though and Mahal knocks him off the apron to take over for the first time. Some knee drops set up a chinlock, followed by Mahal doing the COME ON pose but shouting his own name.

After that brilliant display of saying his name, it’s back to the chinlock. Nakamura fights up with a kick to the face and some YES Kicks to set up the running knee to the ribs. With the covers not working, Nakamura grabs a triangle choke but Mahal gets his foot in the ropes. Nakamura’s running knee in the corner hits buckle and Mahal adds a jumping knee to the face for two of his own. Mahal goes shoulder first into the post but the Singh Brothers’ distraction lets Mahal hit a chinlock slam (he has ONE MOVE and can’t even do that right) to retain at 11:25.

Rating: D-. You know, it’s been about nine months since Mahal lost the title and e-freaking-gads I had forgotten how awful his title reign really was. This felt like a bad house show main event and it’s the biggest Smackdown match on the second biggest show of the year. You can feel the fans dying out there when Mahal is….well doing anything actually, but in this case I’ll go with being on offense and winning. I remember watching Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura beat the living tar out of each other for twenty minutes at Takeover: Dallas. Now though, a weak/botched/terrible cobra clutch slam puts him down? Not a chance.

We recap the Universal Title match with Brock Lesnar defending against Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns and Samoa Joe. Lesnar was announced as facing all three challengers and since he wasn’t happy, he’s threatened to leave WWE if he loses. The three challengers all say they can be the man to take out Lesnar. There’s just not much else to be said here but this is by far and away the main event.

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

Lesnar is defending and it’s one fall to a finish. Cole picks Reigns to win because Reigns beat Undertaker at Wrestlemania. Cole: “How can you bet against that?” You pick the guy who did it first, you nitwit. Reigns is of course booed out of the building because….oh you know the drill by now.

The brawl is on to start (well duh) with Strowman throwing Reigns to the floor and Brock hitting a belly to belly on Joe. Strowman gets posted and it’s time for the Reigns vs. Lesnar showdown that no one but WWE seems to love. Booker tries to say that Lesnar knew nothing but winning in UFC, which I’ll leave you to make fun of. Some suplexes put Reigns on the floor and it’s Strowman time.

Now THIS gets the fans’ attention but Reigns and Joe are right back in to break up the fun. That lasts all of five seconds before it’s back to Strowman vs. Lesnar, meaning another YES chant. Strowman LAUNCHES Brock into the corner and hits a heck of a clothesline to put the champ on the floor. As usual, Lesnar’s selling is very underrated. Everyone is on the floor now and Joe chokes Lesnar but sidesteps a Reigns spear, sending Lesnar through the barricade. That spot will always look cool.

Strowman is back up and loads up the title (with Graves hoping he uses Saxton as a weapon), setting up a running powerslam to drive a kicking Lesnar through it. The fans REALLY like that but here’s Reigns to kick Strowman in the face and kill their buzz all over again. Joe is back up with a suicide elbow to take Reigns out, meaning the fans are won right back. Thankfully Cole is doing a great job of explaining how cool it is to see people this big doing this stuff.

That’s exactly what he should be doing and it’s working here. Strowman throws an announcers’ chair at Joe and Reigns in a cool spot, followed by a second powerslam through a table to put Lesnar down again. Heyman has a look on his face that says “well, I didn’t see that one coming”. Fans: “ONE MORE TABLE!” Greedy twits. To mix things up a bit, Strowman picks that one up and turns it on top of the already out Lesnar. Half a dozen people come out to get the table off of Lesnar and a stretcher is brought out as Heyman seems to be near tears.

We’re not done yet though as Strowman hits Joe and Reigns in the head with the steps. With the steps in the ring, Reigns fires off the corner clotheslines and hits a good steps shot into Strowman’s shoulder. Joe’s rollup gets two on Reigns but he’s right back up with a Samoan drop for two. The Superman Punch is countered into the Koquina Clutch but Strowman (with some blood next to his ear) is back in with a double chokeslam. Everyone is down so here comes Lesnar again.

Strowman is the only one on his feet so it’s time for the big showdown. A running clothesline takes Strowman to the floor and there’s a German suplex each to Joe and Reigns. Strowman comes back in and elbow his way out of a German suplex, only to get caught in the Kimura. That’s broken up with a Superman Punch, with Joe and Lesnar taking one each as well. Reigns spears Lesnar for two so here’s Strowman for a dropkick to Reigns, just because he can do that too.

The powerslam gets two on Joe with Lesnar pulling the referee out at the last second. A Superman Punch gets two on Strowman, whose kickout puts Reigns on his feet. There’s a powerslam to Reigns with Lesnar making the save but getting loaded up into the F5. That’s broken up by a Reigns spear, drawing Joe back in for a Clutch on Lesnar. Brock reverses into the F5 but Reigns is right in there with some Superman Punches. Three in a row put Lesnar down but the spear is countered into the F5 to retain Brock’s title at 20:53.

Rating: A-. What a fight and that’s all it needed to be. They were making Godzilla/King Kong references here and they nailed the idea to near perfection. The best thing here was Strowman looking awesome and like the man that could beat Lesnar if he had the chance, with the bonus of Reigns taking the fall again. It’s not like Reigns losing was going to hurt him (it hasn’t yet) so going this was was the right call. This was all about violence and that was the story: big, strong people beating each other up for twenty minutes and all of the chaos that it caused. Well done, all around.

Lesnar can barely stand to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This show suffered from the same problem as the modern Wrestlemania. It’s not the length that is the problem (the show never really did drag) but rather that almost nothing has a chance to sink in. Everything jumped from one match to the other and most of the matches didn’t have a ton of time.

It was “well that happened so let’s move on” time after time and that doesn’t make for a special show. The show isn’t terrible but aside from the main event, nothing on here felt important and that’s not what Summerslam needs to be. In other words: cut some stuff out and let it breathe, which might as well be the standard operating criticism around here.

Ratings Comparison

Miz/Miztourage vs. Hardy Boyz/Jason Jordan

Original: C-
Redo: C

Neville vs. Akira Tozawa

Original: C

Redo: C+

New Day vs. Usos

Original: B+

Redo: B

John Cena vs. Baron Corbin

Original: D

Redo: D+

Naomi vs. Natalya

Original: C-

Redo: D+

Big Cass vs. Big Show

Original: D

Redo: F+

Randy Orton vs. Rusev

Original: N/A

Redo: N/A

Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks

Original: B-

Redo: C

Bray Wyatt vs. Finn Balor

Original: C+

Redo: D

Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins vs. The Bar

Original: B

Redo: B

Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles

Original: B

Redo: B-

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Jinder Mahal

Original: D+

Redo: D-

Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe vs. Braun Strowman

Original: A

Redo: A-

Overall Rating

Original: B

Redo: C-

Time has NOT been kind to this show and aside from two (or maybe three) matches, it’s not worth seeing.

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

kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/08/20/summerslam-2017-the-star-of-stars/

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

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

AND

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

Summerslam 2015
Date: August 23, 2015
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Attendance: 15,702
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler

This show was only a year ago and I barely remember anything about it save for the two main events. It really is amazing that these shows have just stopped standing out aside from Wrestlemania. Unfortunately we’re at the point where Summerslam is now a regular four hour show because three hours of pay per view plus five hours of TV a week and a two hour NXT show the night before this just isn’t enough. Let’s get to it.

Thankfully there was no pre-show match so we can get straight to the regular show. When you have three hours and forty four minutes on pay per view, you really don’t need an eight minute warmup match.

Here’s host Jon Stewart to open things up. Stewart hypes up the crowd and says it’s nice to be back in reality after spending sixteen years talking about politics. The WWE superstars respects their audience and they’re all ready to thrill this crowd. Jon lists off some names appearing on the show and of course Reigns and Cena are loudly booed. He’s not over the Streak being broken yet and is here to talk to Brock face to face about defeating the Undertaker.

Stewart isn’t crazy though and has brought some backup in the form of Mick Foley. Mick comes out and reminds Stewart that he only has one ear and thought Jon said he wanted to talk to ROCK. Stewart: “Are you telling me that the great Mick Foley is afraid of Brock Lesnar?” Foley: “Jon that’s exactly what I’m telling you!”

Stewart brings up the Cell match against Undertaker and calls it inspirational. Foley agrees that it was inspirational but also reminds Jon that IT WAS SEVENTEEN YEARS AGO. Mick has never been to Suplex City and he’s not starting tonight so he’s out of here. Stewart says on with the show to end this moderately funny bit. Above all else though, Stewart is clearly a huge fan and that helps so much in something like this. It felt like he’s here because it’s something he’s always wanted to do instead of just something he’s doing to promote a movie or whatever.

Opening video focuses on New York City (of course) and then goes into the main events.

I forgot how annoying that “We Cool For The Summer” song can be.

Randy Orton vs. Sheamus

This is fallout from Sheamus attacking Orton when Orton had the WWE World Title won, leading to a failed Money in the Bank cash-in attempt by the pale one. Cole: “Speaking of Money in the Bank, Randy Orton has had a great career right here at Summerslam.” Eventually he gets around to tying that together by saying Orton cashed in his briefcase two years ago but that’s not the best statement to start out with.

The fans tell Sheamus that he looks stupid and he has to bail from a very early RKO attempt. Actually Sheamus grabs the mic and gets on the announcers’ table to say the fans look stupid, not him. Orton is willing to fight on the floor but Sheamus takes him down with a clothesline. Sheamus actually hits a top rope knee drop for a rare sight. The slow beating continues with Sheamus stopping to adjust the mohawk.

A chinlock doesn’t last long so Sheamus takes him right back down and puts on another chinlock. Randy finally comes back with a clothesline and the backbreaker, followed by a suplex over the top and out to the floor. Back in and Sheamus gets two off a powerslam to set up a modified Cloverleaf. That’s escaped as well (because other than Chris Jericho, heels can’t win with submissions) and Orton hits the elevated DDT.

Sheamus gets the ten forearms to the chest but slingshots right into the RKO. Orton has to throw him back inside though and that means it’s time for the Punt. Yeah don’t even bother at this point as I don’t think anyone buys it as a real threat. Instead White Noise gets two, followed by back to back Brogue Kicks for the pin on Orton at 12:24.

Rating: C+. This was a longer version of a Raw match with a surprisingly clean ending. You kind of expect Sheamus to lose here but Orton losing instead was a nice change of pace. The problem is these two really don’t have a ton of chemistry and they were just kind of trading moves until the finish.

Some fans won a contest from Draftkings.

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

One fall to a finish. For reasons I don’t want to know, the Prime Time Players are defending. New Day, still heels, offer to explain hip hop to the Brooklyn fans. We immediately get the New Age Outlaws strategy with Big E. trying to pin Kofi but only getting two. Instead it’s Kofi headlocking Cara down before Sin monkey flips his partner onto Kofi for two.

That means it’s time for Big E. who takes a Tajiri handspring into an enziguri. Young comes in to face Cara and things get WAY faster with neither guy being able to get anywhere before it’s a stalemate. Darren reaches over to get Kofi and gets a splash on the back from Big E. Los Matadores steal the advantage and hit a slingshot hilo for two on Darren. The yet to be named Unicorn Stampede gives New Day control again as Woods lists off their favorite breakfast foods. You can see the cereal schtick coming from here.

Kofi chinlocks Young for a bit before Big E. grabs a dancing abdominal stretch. Big E. hits a clothesline and Woods loses his mind shouting about tricep meat. Woods: “YOU CAN’T EVEN GET A HAMBURGER IN WWE BECAUSE BIG E. HAS THE MARKET CORNERED ON TRICEP MEAT!!!” Darren finally knocks Kofi away and makes the hot tag off to Titus for the house cleaning.

Everything breaks down and the masked men start with all their dives. El Torito’s double springboard dive is caught in midair by Woods (Torito really is small) so Young belly to back suplexes Xavier on the apron, only to have Big E. hit his spear through the ropes. He’s going to kill himself with that one day. Back in and Titus powerbombs the Dragons in the Tower of Doom, followed by the Clash of the Titus to Fernando. That brings Kofi back in to kick Titus in the face though and Big E. steals the pin on Fernando to get the titles back at 11:20.

Rating: B-. This started slowly with the normal problem of too many bodies at once but as usual it went away once they started tagging. The problem continues to be how weak the division is though as you have three middling teams and then the awesome New Day who was just begging to turn face at this point. It was clearly their time and there was no other option than to put the titles back on them here. Somehow they still hold the belts heading into the following Summerslam which just doesn’t happen these days.

New Day goes INSANE celebrating with Big E.’s hips defying gravity and Kofi bouncing around the match on his back.

Jon Stewart brags to Neville and Stephen Amell (celebrity here for a match) about being friends with Undertaker. The lights go out and Undertaker (or someone who looks a lot like him) walks past. The bragging quickly ends.

We recap Rusev vs. Dolph Ziggler. Rusev threw Lana out so she hooked up with Ziggler while Rusev hooked up with Summer Rae. This led to several blonde catfights but tonight it’s the guys fighting alone.

Rusev vs. Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler goes right after him to start but misses a charge to go face first into the buckle. The Russian/Bulgarian (whatever he is this week) stomps away and we hit an early bearhug. The fans cheer for Lana as Ziggler is planted with a spinout Rock Bottom. Rusev’s gorilla press (in case you thought Dolph was doing it) is countered into a DDT and it’s time for the running clotheslines required for all face comebacks.

For some reason Rusev goes up top with Ziggler faceplanting him down for two more. A sunset flip gives Dolph two and he grabs the sleeper but Rusev uses the powers of THIS ISN’T 1982 to escape. Dolph joins the twentieth century with a Fameasser for a near fall but walks into the jumping superkick to the arm. The Accolade goes on but Lana slaps Summer to distract Rusev into breaking the hold. The guys join them on the floor as Lana gets the loudest chant of the night. Rusev gets superkicked onto the announcers’ table and it’s a double countout at 11:49.

Rating: C. This was an extended Raw match with a non-finish. Lana definitely came off as the biggest star here, which is why they dropped her face push because of a wrist injury and TMZ reporting that she and Rusev were engaged. Naturally WWE had ABSOLUTELY NO CHOICE but to acknowledge this on Raw and punish her as a result. I’m in the small group that likes this story though some of that is due to Lana in her outfits.

Another catfight ensues.

We recap Stephen Amell/Neville vs. Stardust/King Barrett. Neville and Stardust had been doing a comic book inspired feud between a hero and a villain. One night Stardust shoved Amell (the star of the Green Arrow TV show) and a tag match was made with Barrett joining in due to having nothing else to do.

Stephen Amell/Neville vs. Stardust/King Barrett

Stephen comes out in his Arrow hood but wrestles in regular black shorts. Barrett gets hit in the face to start so Stardust comes in to face Neville instead. Stardust wants Amell though and Stephen gets a pretty good pop as he flips over the top to come in. A shove sends Stephen down so he nips up and knocks Stardust up against the ropes for a surprise. It’s off to Barrett who easily takes over on Amell. As odd as it is to see the celebrity getting beaten up, Neville has to be the one coming in to clean house when we get to the hot tag.

Amell finally gets in an enziguri and dives over for the tag to Neville. The rapid fire kicks set up the middle rope Phoenix Splash on Barrett but Stardust makes the save. The villains are sent to the floor and Stephen dives off the top onto both of them for the big spot of the match. Back in and the Red Arrow finishes Barrett at 7:34.

Rating: C+. Of course that’s on a sliding scale as Amell has no idea what he’s doing here and was just doing whatever he could. It’s not exactly a huge star out there but it fit the story well enough. Unfortunately Barrett takes the fall here, despite Stardust being the main bad guy in the whole thing.

Look at WWE taking over Brooklyn.

Intercontinental Title: Ryback vs. The Miz vs. Big Show

Ryback is defending and the other two have both taken shots at the title. Miz takes sanctuary on the floor but comes back in to try a double suplex on Big Show. Yeah I think you know what’s coming there, especially when you notice that Show would have broken his back on the turnbuckle if they had suplexed him from there.

They really need to find a way to stop telegraphing that kind of thing. Show actually hits a middle rope swanton (well forward roll) onto Ryback before chopping Miz in the corner. Ryback takes out Show’s knee and plants Miz with a powerslam for two. That’s enough being on defense for Show as he chokeslams Ryback onto Miz but the KO Punch is countered with a spinebuster. It was a bit sloppy but what can you expect when it’s to someone Big Show’s size?

The Shell Shock plants Show but Miz runs in with the Skull Crushing Finale for two on the champ. Miz covers both of them twice each but it only serves to tick Ryback out. Shell Shock is broken up with the KO and Miz makes ANOTHER save. Another KO drops Miz but Ryback clotheslines Show to the floor and steals the pin on Miz to retain at 5:34. Cole: “CLASSIC TRIPLE THREAT MATCH!” Oh shut up.

Rating: C+. This was just a Raw match but they kept things moving well enough that I was entertained throughout. It wasn’t anything we haven’t seen before but I liked Ryback copying Miz’s strategy to keep the title. Ryback was getting somewhere with the title and could have been something special if they hadn’t dropped him yet again. It’s no wonder he left less than a year later.

Jon Stewart goes to see Brock but gets cut off by Heyman. Stewart says wrestling fans were disappointed in the Streak ending and no one remembers the person who broke perfection. Heyman is probably happy to see the fans all crushed and destroyed like that because he likes giving coal to kids on Christmas morning. Paul sings about the glory of Lesnar in response. I’m with Heyman here. The Streak was amazing and will never be duplicated but it’s ridiculous to say it can never be broken no matter what because fans would be sad. Sometimes evil wins and there’s nothing that can be done about it.

Wyatt Family vs. Roman Reigns/Dean Ambrose

Harper and Wyatt here. Bray targeted Reigns earlier in the summer and Roman was tired of getting beaten up so he got some help. It’s almost weird to see Reigns coming through the crowd instead of the entrance. Cole flat out says the feud isn’t ending tonight because it’s going to go on and on. Ambrose bulldogs Harper to start so Bray comes in, only to get punched in the mouth.

A suicide dive takes Bray down again and it’s already a wild brawl. Reigns dives over Ambrose to clothesline Harper in a cool spot before Ambrose runs all three tables to take out Bray as well. Things settle down with the Shield guys taking turns on Harper. Dean’s top rope elbow gets two but a Bray distraction lets Harper get a shot in. Roman goes after him but Harper suicide dives onto Roman, only to have Dean take them both out with another dive.

Harper kicks Dean in the face and Bray drops the backsplash to really take over for the first time. Bray gets creative with a suplex through the ropes to the floor. Back to Harper for something like a Crossface as Reigns is STILL down on the floor a good three and a half minutes after that beatdown. The referee stops to look at something in the corner as a ROMAN’S SLEEPING chant starts up.

Dean finally hits the rebound lariat as Reigns gets back on the apron for the hot tag. Him being down on the floor that long really didn’t mean anything but it’s not something that looks good, especially given some of the stuff Reigns has been laughed at before. A superkick and Batista Bomb plant Reigns but Bray spends too much time going up and gets Superman Punched. Dean plays Hawk in a Doomsday Device and the DoubleBomb plants Harper. Dirty Deeds and a spear put Bray down at 10:56.

Rating: B. That should wake the crowd up a bit. Other than Reigns’ latest nap, this was a good old fashioned fight with both teams looking awesome throughout. That being said, I’m so glad the feud is going to keep going after Reigns just pinned Bray. It should be the blowoff but why blow it off when you can just keep going with even more matches?

We recap John Cena vs. Seth Rollins in a title for title match with Cena narrating a video about how tough New Yorkers are. The video is a cool look at all the venues in and around New York City as it’s almost always about Madison Square Garden. A few weeks ago Rollins broke Cena’s nose in a NASTY looking injury so Cena is after revenge and to end Rollins’ joke (Cena’s description) of a title reign. He’s right to be fair as Rollins basically bowed down to HHH as often as he could and was getting squashed by Brock the previous month to make him look like a loser.

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

Winner take all. The JOHN CENA SUCKS song is out in full swing here as the people just do not like Cena. Rollins comes out in white, albeit with lines painted on that makes it look like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle shell. The fans are all over Cena again and it’s Rollins hitting a dropkick to take over and giving Cena You Can’t See Me. Oh yeah he’s the face in this match and everyone knows it. Cena grabs a belly to belly and we hit the chinlock less than two minutes in.

Rollins comes right back by sending Cena to the floor for back to back suicide dives and a big flip dive over the top. Back in and Cena’s finishing sequence is broken up with a headlock takeover but the second ProtoBomb works a bit better. Rollins is still able to break up the Shuffle but Cena comes back with a HORRIBLE springboard Stunner, basically making it look like he was reaching for Seth’s wrist instead of the neck. I think he retired it after this show and you can’t blame him after how bad that looked. Rollins comes back with double knees to the chest and a standing shooting star for two.

Cena is sat on top and then tied into the Tree of Woe for Alberto Del Rio’s top rope double stomp (which Seth makes look much better) for another near fall. Back up and the first AA connects for two and we’re not even nine minutes into the match. You think they might be trying a bit too hard?

They do the big slugout until Cena catapults him into the corner to set up a faceplant for another near fall. They’re certainly doing some different stuff tonight and it helps a lot. What doesn’t help is the announcers acting like this is the main event of Wrestlemania and that it’s been going on for half an hour instead of ten minutes. That’s not even a Raw main event yet.

Seth is right back in it by breaking up a super AA attempt and hitting a great looking frog splash. Rollins rolls through a crossbody and hits his own AA to an even bigger face pop. Back up and Rollins misses the Phoenix Splash, only to flip out of the AA. The Pedigree doesn’t work either and it’s Cena grabbing a Figure Four because RIC FLAIR.

Rollins reverses but Cena makes the ropes and goes up top with Rollins running the ropes for a superplex into the falcon’s arrow for a near fall. That really should be the finish but of course it’s only good for two. Another Phoenix Splash misses and Cena grabs another AA but the referee gets bumped. With Cena demanding another ref, Rollins hits the jumping knee to the face and here’s Jon Stewart with a chair. Both guys get up and Stewart gives Cena a shot to the ribs, setting up a Pedigree on the chair to give Rollins the US Title at 19:25.

Rating: B+. This was on the way to being a classic but the Stewart ending was a bad choice when Rollins and Stewart had been feuding for months. The explanation was that Jon didn’t want Cena to tie Flair’s record because IT’S RIC FLAIR! I’m fine with Cena not getting the title back as him wanting the US Title back made it seem all the more important. Unfortunately it also made the WWE World Title look horrible because Rollins had to lose to drop that title. But hey, Jon Stewart right?

WWE Network ad.

Pre-show panel chat and they have to talk over a THANK YOU STEWART chant.

We recap the Divas Revolution which means STEPHANIE TIME! For anyone who doesn’t get my obsessive hatred of almost all things Stephanie, this was my breaking point. For weeks, Paige had dealt with the Bellas and their numbers advantage with the idea being she would need help. Say, with the arrival of some friends from NXT?

Well that’s what happened, but only because Stephanie came out and announced they (as in Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch) were here. For some reason Stephanie put them into three women teams and a feud was started “for superiority”. Yeah superiority instead of the story they had spent months building up. But whatever. Story telling isn’t what’s important. It’s all about putting Stephanie, that pioneer of women’s wrestling, in the story so she gets credit for the (very) cool moment.

Team B.A.D. vs. Team Bella vs. Team PCB

B.A.D. – Sasha Banks, Naomi, Tamina Snuka

Bella – Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, Alicia Fox

PCB – Paige, Charlotte, Becky Lynch

This is under elimination rules, meaning the a single fall eliminates an entire team, making the match far less interesting from the start. Brie and Becky start things off as we hear about the history of Summerslam being in the New York area. Becky is sent into the ropes for a running knee to the face (with Brie shouting TEAM BELLA instead of BRIE MODE, which may or may not be worse) but Tamina tags herself in to superkick Becky in the jaw.

Sasha comes in to a very nice reaction….and she’s back out in less than five seconds. It’s Naomi coming in despite almost no one caring about her whatsoever. The fans want Sasha so she’s back in, gets rolled up for two, and is back out in about thirty seconds. They head outside with Charlotte saving Sasha with a spear to Tamina, only to have Naomi and Sasha hit (well less so in Sasha’s case) flip dives.

The Bellas hit suicide dives, which Cole incorrectly calls something new. Paige and Alicia fight on the top until Paige knocks her off and dives onto everyone at once. Back in and Brie hits a super facebuster on Tamina for the elimination, taking a lot of the life away from the crowd who wanted to see Sasha. That’s being pretty greedy though as Sasha was in the match for at least 50 seconds.

Nikki hits a quick Rack Attack on Becky for no cover as Paige and Charlotte drag their partner back to the corner. A fall away slam sends Nikki to the floor but she Paige takes too long following her out, meaning it’s an Alabama Slam on the outside. Back in and a double flapjack plants Paige, setting up a Brie chinlock. The YES Kicks are countered into a rollup for two but Fox comes back in to work on a double arm crank.

Now the fans will settle for Charlotte as Paige gets double suplexed for two. A running knee to Fox finally allows the hot tag to Charlotte as the crowd FINALLY wakes up a bit. Everything breaks down with Nikki having to save Alicia from the Figure Eight. A double big boot drops Charlotte and Fox so it’s off to Becky vs. Brie but BRIE MODE misses, setting up a pumphandle suplex to pin Brie at 15:17.

Rating: C. Well that happened. It didn’t revolutionize anything, it didn’t change anything, it didn’t accomplish anything and it annoyed the fans when Sasha was eliminated in about five minutes. But hey, Stephanie got a focus in the pre-match video and Nikki gets a step closer to vanquishing AJ from the pages of the WWE record books. That’s all that matters right?

Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens

This started over the two of them wanting to face Cena for the US Title. Owens is coming in after a brutal ladder match last night at Takeover: Brooklyn. They slug it out to start with Owens sending him to the floor for a flip dive. Owens spends too much time jawing at Cole though and it’s Cesaro running back inside for a corkscrew plancha of his own. The Uppercut Train takes too long though and Cesaro is sent into the barricade to set up a cannonball.

The backsplash gets two inside and we hit the chinlock on Cesaro. A torture rack neckbreaker gives Owens two more and it’s time for a second chinlock. The powers of the OLE chants bring Cesaro back to life though and he knocks Owens into the corner to set up that weird modified Angle Slam for two. Cesaro’s gutwrench superplex gets two but Owens throws him down a few seconds later, only to miss a double springboard moonsault.

A superkick gets Owens out of trouble but the springboard corkscrew uppercut drops him again. The Swing sets up Cesaro’s Sharpshooter with Owens only a few feet from the ropes for the quick break. Both guys go up for something but Cesaro gets crotched and superplexed to set up the Pop Up Powerbomb for the pin at 14:17.

Rating: B. You knew this was going to be good with these two on this stage. They kind of had to give Owens the win here after he lost in his NXT farewell last night but it’s still not good to have Cesaro lose here either. That’s the problem with the way they book their midcarders: they’re bounced around so much with wins and losses all over the place that a loss on a big stage really cripples them all over again. At least the match was good.

We recap Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker. Of course Brock broke the Streak at Wrestlemania XXX and Undertaker disappeared for a long time. Then Undertaker returned at Battleground 2015 to cost Lesnar the WWE World Title to set up this match. They actually billed this as being too big for Wrestlemania which was a good line, though I’m not sure how many people actually believed it.

Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker

Lesnar is actually smart enough to attack at the bell and I can’t believe no one else has ever thought of that before. Undertaker comes back with a boot to the face and Brock is sent outside as it’s time for the brawl to begin. The bell rings and Brock double legs him down, only to have Undertaker hit him in the face to take over. The dueling UNDERTAKER/SUPLEX CITY chants start up and Old School is countered into an F5 but Undertaker slips off the shoulders.

It’s Suplex City time though, or at least it would be until Undertaker sends him face first into the middle turnbuckle. A big boot puts Brock on the floor and draws some blood from his forehead. Back in and the chokeslam is countered with another German suplex so Brock cracks a smile. They head outside again and there’s an F5 to send Undertaker through the table.

Somewhere in there Brock got busted open much worse and stands in the ring with another smile on his face. Undertaker slowly crawls back in with Brock telling Undertaker that he’s going to kill him. Undertaker: “YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE TO!” That earns Brock a chokeslam (and a great selling job) and a Tombstone for a close two. Both guys are down until Brock sits up and laughs.

Undertaker does the situp and mocks Lesnar’s laughing so, while still on the mat, they just PUNCH EACH OTHER IN THE FACE OVER AND OVER. Brock gets the better of it and takes him into the corner for the Kimura on the second rope. Of course that’s not a DQ or even a count from the referee because that’s not what the story calls for, meaning Undertaker has to Last Ride him out for two.

The second F5 gets two and the second gets the same as I continue to hate how much WWE lets people kick out of finishers. I know it’s a big match but at what point does a finisher become just another move that someone uses? Both guys are spent but Undertaker pulls him into the Hell’s Gate. That’s reversed into the Kimura and the bell rings for the big surprise submission. Not so fast though as the referee waves it off, allowing Undertaker to hit Lesnar low and put on the Hell’s Gate again. Lesnar flips Undertaker off and passes out for the submission/knockout at 17:10.

Rating: B+. That ending (which we’ll come back to in a minute) brings down an otherwise great old school power brawl. Undertaker teasing a heel turn to get the big win is a big stretch as he reached bulletproof legend status well over ten years ago. I get the story they’re going for and it’s not bad, but the low blow wasn’t really necessary here.

The important thing here though was Undertaker hurt Brock. You can have Lesnar be the Beast and maul people but at some point someone has to be able to hurt him or there’s no point in bringing him out. Look at what he did to Ambrose at Wrestlemania XXXII or Rollins at Battleground 2015. It stops being entertaining and starts being the Brock Lesnar Show, which doesn’t do anyone any good but him. This was different though, and that’s a good thing.

We get a replay oh yes Undertaker does tap out. So yeah, it’s a screwy ending for the sake of setting up a rematch, just like in the other main event. That’s not a bright idea at any show, especially the second biggest of the year. Heyman declares Brock the winner via submission to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This is a really strong show with nothing bad and a bunch of good matches but the top two are ruined by the horrible booking choices. Above all else though, this show was ruined by the length. This show runs nearly three and three quarter hours with a lot of stuff that could have been cut.

I mean, was anyone needing Rusev and Ziggler to go ten minutes or a sixteen minute Divas three way? It’s a good example of a show that could have been trimmed quite a bit for its own good, which unfortunately is a recurring trend these days. This was a very good show otherwise but it’s not exactly memorable and that hurts it a bit.

Ratings Comparison

Sheamus vs. Randy Orton

Original: C-

Redo: C+

Prime Time Players vs. New Day vs. Los Matadores vs. Lucha Dragons

Original: B-

Redo: B-

Rusev vs. Dolph Ziggler

Original: C

Redo: C

Stephen Amell/Neville vs. King Barrett/Stardust

Original: B+

Redo: C+

The Miz vs. Big Show vs. Ryback

Original: C-

Redo: C+

Roman Reigns/Dean Ambrose vs. Wyatt Family

Original: C+

Redo: B

John Cena vs. Seth Rollins

Original: B+

Redo: B+

Team Bella vs. Team PCB vs. Team B.A.D.

Original: C-

Redo: C

Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro

Original: B-

Redo: B

Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar

Original: B+

Redo: B+

Overall Rating

Original: B-

Redo: B

That original overall rating is probably a bit high as I liked almost everything more the second time around. Being able to watch this in pieces instead of in a straight sitting helps it a lot.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2015/08/23/summerslam-2015-a-long-long-very-long-summer/

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

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

AND

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

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:

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

Summerslam 2014
Date: August 17, 2014
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 14,079
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler

Time for a redo of a show with a main event billed as the Biggest Fight of the Summer. The more I think of that line, the more I like it. The main event here is Cena (subbing for the injured Bryan) defending against Brock Lesnar, who is having his first match since breaking the Streak. Interestingly enough, I don’t even remember another match from this card. Let’s get to it.

I usually don’t say anything on the pre-show, but my goodness Renee Young is stunning. I know you often hear about the Divas looking great, but she is just beautiful, especially in a nice red dress here.

Pre-Show: Cesaro vs. Rob Van Dam

No real story here. Rob rolls out of a wristlock to start and we hit the ECW chants. My goodness there’s other stuff to cheer over people. Cesaro is sent to the floor and Rob slips a bit on his dive but still manages to kick Cesaro down and hit Rolling Thunder on the outside. Back in and Cesaro simplifies stuff by just pummeling Van Dam in the corner before throwing him down with the gutwrench suplex.

We take a break and come back with Cesaro holding a chinlock as the announcers give us one final hype for Cena vs. Lesnar. Rob fights up for a rolling cradle and the split legged moonsault for two, followed by a superkick to put Cesaro back on the floor. This is Van Dam 101 here, which was the biggest criticism he faced during this time. The Five Star is broken up by a big uppercut but Rob is still able to block a superplex.

That earns him another uppercut though because Cesaro is pesky like that. Van Dam shoves him down again but Cesaro hits the third straight uppercut, only to be shoved down yet again. Rob is finally able to dive…..right into an uppercut of course. This time it’s Cesaro kicking Rob in the face for two and frustration is setting in. Back up and Van Dam hits his quick step over kick, followed by the Five Star for the pin at 8:06.

Rating: C-. The uppercut sequence was nice but like I said, Van Dam was just doing high spots here and nothing else. That was the case for most of his 2014 run and that’s not really doing anything for him at this point. Cesaro was just wandering around at this point, which makes his Wrestlemania battle royal win feel like the biggest waste of a rub in recent history, which is really covering a lot of ground.

In a sign of the times, Hulk Hogan is brought out to open the show. Well to be fair it worked really well at Wrestlemania XXX so this isn’t the worst idea in the world. He thinks it’s appropriate for Hollywood Hogan to open the show here in Los Angeles and talks about how amazing Summerslam really is. This turns into a commercial for the Network, all while Hogan’s video is playing behind him. Hogan hits the catchphrase and he’s out in less than three minutes. This was fine and got the crowd fired up while also plugging something. Well done.

The opening video is in the theme of an old 1980s action movie trailer (Follow the Buzzards Productions) with the usual previews for the main events, but with everyone’s nickname instead of their actual name. I really liked this as a movie geek and it holds up quite well a year later.

It’s a shame that the curse of the standardized sets has hit Summerslam as well. It’s the second biggest show of the year. Mix that stuff up people.

Intercontinental Title: The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler

Miz is defending and has the Hollywood star gimmick. I still really like his work in this and still find him to be one of the better done characters. Before the match, Miz talks about being real instead of CGI and brags about how jealous you all should be of the moneymaker. Tonight he’s going to make Ziggler the WWE version of the Lakers. Feeling out process to start as the announcers talk about the Ice Bucket Challenge, back when that was still a thing.

The threat of a superkick sends Miz bailing to the floor as we hear about the Shawn Michaels vs. Rick Martel match from Summerslam 1992 where it was agreed that neither would hit the other in the face. Back in and a quick rollup gets two for Dolph but he gets whipped chest first into the corner as Miz takes over. With his variety of stomps used up, Miz kicks Dolph hard in the face before slapping on a chinlock.

The fans tell Miz that he can’t wrestle, but you could say the same thing about Ziggler so it’s not really clear. Dolph punches him out of the air and hits a Stinger Splash before a rollup gets two more. Now the superkick connects with the moneymaker for two so we get the required attempt at bailing, only to have Dolph baseball slide him down.

Somehow that earns Ziggler a Figure Four (because Miz needed a submission hold and it’s always a good thing to pay tribute to Flair, who won SO many major matches with that hold right?) but Dolph is in the ropes. His leg is fine enough for a Fameasser but Miz pops to his feet for the Skull Crushing Finale before he starts to sell. The kickout shocks Miz again but he misses another running boot, allowing Dolph to score with the Zig Zag for the pin and the title at 7:57.

Rating: C-. These two don’t have any kind of special chemistry but they would fight each other for the better part of eternity because WWE doesn’t know how to set up anything fresh more than once every few months. Ziggler winning the title gave the fans a nice moment but there was nothing to the match.

We recap the latest part of the RIVETING Brie Bella vs. Stephanie McMahon feud where Stephanie brought Daniel Bryan’s physical therapist to say she and Bryan had an affair, leading to Brie slapping the therapist and getting arrested, just as she had done to Stephanie a few weeks earlier. The affair stuff was so hated that they dropped it pretty much the next day.

Brie talks about doing a bunch of reflecting while she was in jail where she thought about Stephanie torturing Nikki while Brie was gone, how she insulted Bryan and how she paid the therapist to lie about an affair. She’s going to take out the beast tonight because that’s best for business. Oh dear I think I’m going to have something to say about this.

Divas Title: Paige vs. AJ Lee

Paige is challenging and they’ve been feuding for most of the summer with AJ returning and winning the title, causing Paige to start imitating her for reasons that still aren’t clear. They’re friends and enemies at the same time (yes I know there’s a word that combines the two and no I won’t use it) so Paige offers a handshake, only to have AJ rip some of her hair out. AJ stays all aggressive (Heaven help me if I say the other word about her) and sends Paige onto the announcers’ table, only to have Paige come back with a knee to the ribs.

The champ gets dropped onto the barricade but Paige realizes she can’t win the title via countout. Back in and we get Paige’s sexy crawl over AJ before she pulls her own hair extensions out. Well no one ever accused Paige of being normal. The chinlock on AJ goes nowhere and she’s able to shove Paige off the top, though she’s nice enough to blow her a kiss first.

A top rope clothesline to the floor drops Paige again. The Shining Wizard gets two but Paige kicks her in the face, only to have the Paige Turner countered into the Black Widow. Just like at the Raw after Wrestlemania though, Paige powers out again and scores with the Rampaige for the pin and the title.

Rating: C+. This was similar to the Divas version of Shawn Michaels vs. Mr. Perfect back at Summerslam 1993 where they basically guaranteed a classic but just had a good match instead. This was one of the last good feuds before Nikki took over the title in a few months, which we’re somehow still surviving nine months later. Lucky us.

Summerslam 2015 will be in New York/New Jersey. That would be slightly changed to Brooklyn

Jack Swagger vs. Rusev

Speaking of things still going on later, these two are still having the same match the following summer. This is also a flag match, meaning a regular match with the winner getting their flag raised. Lana (rocking the white suit here) and Zeb Colter (remember him?) are the seconds. Before the match, Lana says that Hollywood is a great example of everything wrong with America. In real life, there is no happy ending and America is full of worthless cowards.

Swagger counters with members of the US Army Color Guard to present the American flag. Rusev jumps Jack before the bell and the American flag falls, which is a big sign of disrespect. Swagger counters into a Patriot Lock as we’re still waiting on the bell. The referee breaks it up so Lana orders Rusev to his feet. Now the bell rings and Jack goes after the leg and ankle again.

Rusev bails to the floor so Swagger, showing some fire for a change, follows him out with a hard clothesline. The Vader Bomb hits knees though, which really should hurt the bad leg but why bother with logic? Jack happens to have bad ribs coming in so Rusev has his own target now. With the leg breaking down, Rusev opts for a bearhug, meaning he has to stay on his feet anyway. Jack can’t belly to belly his way to freedom but his second attempt works a bit better.

The Vader Bomb connects but hurts Jack’s ribs all over again. Rusev’s superkick is caught in the Patriot Lock but Rusev is quickly out, only to walk into a powerslam for two. The second superkick connects and the Accolade (on one leg) goes on, only to be countered into the Patriot Lock. Rusev kicks out of that as well, spinwheel kicks Jack down, and Accolades him again for the knockout victory.

Rating: C. This is a tricky one to grade, as yet again, since these guys have fought roughly a dozen times, I never once believed Rusev was in trouble. That being said, they did a good job here of using the ankle injury to try to add some drama. It’s a very difficult thing to do when there is almost zero doubt as to who is winning, but they gave it a good try.

The problem for these two is they’re still fighting on occasion and it never gets any closer for Jack. That’s something WWE is really bad about: they don’t understand that fans don’t want to see the same obvious match over and over again but that’s what we get because there’s no one other than Swagger (or Henry) to take these losses. Bring back unknown jobbers or something, because they have about the same chance of winning and would at least feel fresh for a change.

Rusev attacks Colter post match and the Russian flag comes down.

We recap Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose, which is Dean’s first attempt for revenge on Seth after Rollins broke up the Shield over the summer. Seth ran a lot previously but tonight it’s time for a lumberjack match so Dean can finally get his hands on him.

Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose

Most of the lumberjacks were attacked by Rollins and the Shield at some point in the last year and a half. Rollins is Mr. Money in the Bank here. It’s a slugout as soon as they’re both in the ring with Dean taking over and knocking Rolling outside. That goes as badly as you would expect for Rollins so he goes back inside for something a bit safer: Ambrose ripping at his nose. This time it’s Dean being sent outside for a beating but some guys hold the attackers back.

Now it’s Rollins in control for a bit so Ambrose just punches him in the face. He goes up top for no logical reason (to be fair he’s supposed to be crazy) and gets caught in the Tree of Woe as Seth really takes over. A chinlock doesn’t go very far as Dean is sent to the apron, only to suplex Rollins over the top and out onto the lumberjacks in a big crash. The whole thing turns into a war with Dean backdropping Rollins over the barricade.

Dean dives onto the lumberjacks because he’s nuts and then down the announcers’ tables to get to Rollins in the crowd. This is more like what the match should have been and it’s about time they got to it. They fight into the balcony as Kane comes down to tell the lumberjacks to do their job. Bo Dallas stops Rollins from powerbombing Dean off the balcony so Seth runs towards the entrance but gets caught by Stardust, Big E. and the Usos.

Rollins is literally carried back to the ring but Dean is waiting on them with a huge dive off the top. Back in and Dirty Deeds is countered but Ambrose blasts him with the rebound lariat. NOW the crowd is way into things and Dean curb stomps Seth, only to have Kane come in for the save. The lumberjacks get in another fight because they all have anger management issues. Dean dispatches the Wyatts but walks into a briefcase shot to the face for the pin.

Rating: B-. This is one where your opinions may vary wildly and I’m not going to put up much of an argument either way. There were only so many ways that they mess with the idea to keep the lumberjack gimmick going (which fit the story) while also being insane. Good, insane brawl here and that’s what it needed to be.

We recap Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt, which started because Bray decided it was time and didn’t like Jericho calling himself a savior. Jericho beat Wyatt clean at Battleground in a stupid decision so tonight the Family is barred from ringside. I have no idea why they thought this would make me interested in seeing it again but it’s better than another gimmick match.

Bray Wyatt vs. Chris Jericho

The fireflies are still so cool looking. Bray goes right after him to start and they’re quickly on the floor with Jericho stepping over Bray’s hat. That’s polite of him. Jericho gets shoved to the floor as the announcers start reading Tweets. I know the match isn’t the most thrilling story in the world but come on. A running knee sends Jericho’s head into the steps and Bray drives him into the post for good measure.

Back inside and we hit the chinlock, because no matter how insane or unconventional someone is, they make sure to throw on a chinlock. Like everyone has ever done, Jericho fights out with ease and gets one off an enziguri. Jericho’s dropkick stops a charging Bray but he walks into the release Rock Bottom for two. Sister Abigail is countered into the Walls but Bray gets a rope (unlike in NXT where he tapped to the Walls years ago).

Bray goes to the middle rope so Jericho can hurricanrana him back down for a delayed two. I’m never a fan of people going up just so someone can hit them with a move. It’s a stretch of the suspension of disbelief. Bray spiders up and says that he can’t die because he is already dead. Jericho breaks his code for two and Bray slides outside where he smacks Jericho in the face, setting up Sister Abigail into the barricade. Back in and another Sister Abigail is enough to give Bray the pin.

Rating: C-. I wasn’t really feeling this one as it’s a match that Bray was supposed to win and then did. He was still trying to recover from the huge blow of losing the feud to Cena and losing the first match to Jericho really didn’t do him any favors. The match was nothing to see either as Jericho was starting to run on fumes again here. This would have been so much more effective if Jericho hadn’t won the first match.

Bray serenades us post match.

We recap Brie Bella vs. Stephanie McMahon, which was a recap I needed when I watched this show live as the whole thing was such a mess. So Stephanie was all evil to Daniel Bryan, but Bryan is on the shelf with his neck injury so the feud was transferred over to Brie, because Brie and Bryan are totally the same thing.

Stephanie threatened to fire Brie but Brie quit first, leaving Stephanie to torture Nikki by putting her in handicap matches against such devastating forces as Alicia Fox, Rosa Mendes, Cameron and Eva Marie. Yes, this was really supposed to be intimidating. Brie and Stephanie sued each other over slapping each other because that’s what this feud needed. Then Brie offered to drop the charges in exchange for a match with Stephanie at Summerslam, because that’s how wrestling works.

Stephanie McMahon vs. Brie Bella

This is Stephanie’s first match in ten years and the announcers act like it’s Bruno vs. Hogan. We immediately get to the point as Stephanie comes out in something that looks like a superhero outfit with skin tight leather that shows off every inch of her figure. Oh and of course she throws the Four Horsewomen sign to Ronda Rousey and the other three women whose names no one knows (in the front row when Rousey was just starting to make noise as a big time star) because Stephanie is cool like that.

The announcers swoon over Stephanie like it’s Trish in 2000 and then give Brie a polite response. That’s the match right there: Brie looks good while Stephanie looks amazing and it’s entirely by design. Stephanie shoves Brie against the ropes to start and blows her a kiss. Brie gets back up and can barely do a lockup properly. Some shoulders in the corner have Brie in more trouble as the announcers try to act like Brie is some big physical threat while also pointing out that Stephanie has long legs.

The big slap is blocked though and the threat of a YES Lock sends Stephanie outside, likely out of fear due to how bad Brie made the hold look on Raw a few weeks back. Brie’s suicide dive is blocked by a forearm to the face and it’s Stephanie in control again. Stephanie talks trash and busts out a Hennig neck snap, drawing a YOU STILL GOT IT (shut up. Stephanie never had it in the ring in the first place. Think before you chant) and even more praise from the announcers.

Stephanie cranks on both arms as Brie has been on offense for all of fifteen seconds so far. An evil look that would make Edge jealous looks to set up….something, but Brie comes back with a Thesz press and the YES Kicks in the corner. Well close enough to them as she can’t get the timing right because the one spot that is going to get her a cheer is too complicated for her.

The middle rope dropkick gets two on Stephanie and Brie follows up with some of the absolute worst punches I have ever seen. I mean even Lita’s horrible punches (go back and watch her matches. She’s one of the most athletic women in wrestling history but she couldn’t throw a good punch to save her life) look great compared to these. HHH comes out but Nikki is here as well because those two are so equal. The Pedigree is countered into whatever Brie calls her imitation of the YES Lock because that’s not the hold her husband uses.

HHH pulls the referee out anyway, which shocks Cole for some reason. I have no idea why Cole is switching sides so fast because he’s spent the last ten minutes praising Stephanie. Brie baseball slides HHH and does the YES chant, only to have Nikki come in….and turn on Brie because that’s the least logical and worst idea they could go with for this story. Stephanie Pedigrees Brie for the pin.

Rating: D+. Where do I even start with this one? First and foremost: Brie Bella is a horrible wrestler. She’s a beautiful woman, she’s found the right look for herself with the ripped tights and shirt tied around her waist and she can clap on the floor, but she just does not have it in the ring. Some of the stuff in here was Eva Marie level work with those punches and the inability to do a lockup properly just being unforgivable.

On top of that, this is the wrong story. After the months and months of the Authority tormenting the Bellas, they win here in the end with Brie getting squashed until a quick comeback at the end, only to have it all taken away from her again so we can get to the Bella feud that no one other than the Total Divas producers wanted to see. Nikki turning on Brie would lead to the “I wish you died in the womb” nonsense that went on forever and was then just dropped, but I spent a three months ranting about that so I’ll cut myself off for now. Brie should have won here, no matter how bad she looked in the ring.

That gets us to the final point: this match was ALL about Stephanie. Brie was just the person in the ring to bounce off of her as Stephanie got to look great (both mechanically and physically. I know she gets a lot of flack, but Stephanie can rock some tight outfits) out there and even had the crowd cheering for her. That praise was well deserved though as Stephanie was as polished here as any Diva had been since probably Mickie James but, as is always the case, Stephanie has to look great and can’t get any comeuppance. In this case though, she deserves a lot of praise because this was one heck of a performance.

Some fan won a contest and got to make a character called Mama’s Boy, complete with some training. He even got to make an entrance at NXT, to the Hurricane’s old theme song for some reason. Eh cute enough.

Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns

This is due to Reigns costing Orton a title shot and Reigns’ first big solo match. I like the blue trim on Reigns’ attire but it can be a bit distracting. Orton goes right at him to start and is quickly headbutted out to the floor. Some right hands and a clothesline put Orton outside again but he sends Reigns into the steps and takes it back inside for a chinlock. This isn’t exactly thrilling stuff so far. We hit the Garvin Stomp followed by a nice top rope superplex for two. I love a good superplex.

Back to the chinlock for a bit before Reigns counters into a rear naked choke of all things. See, why doesn’t he do stuff like that more often today? There’s more to life than clotheslines. Orton falls backwards to escape and we’re right back to the chinlock. Orton isn’t exactly giving Reigns much to work with here. The Samoan drop gives Roman a breather and he jacks Randy’s jaw to set up the apron kick. Lawler: “Reigns kicked the Kryptonite out of him!”

Orton whips him into the barricade to take over again though and drops him onto the announcers’ table to keep Roman in trouble. Back in again and Reigns punches his way back into it (shocking I know), followed by a super Samoan drop for two more. The Superman Punch knocks Orton silly but he counters the spear into one heck of a powerslam. That looked great.

The Orton DDT gets two but Reigns gets up for another Superman Punch, only to dive into the RKO for a very near fall. Randy is livid so he loads up the Punt, which is about the dumbest thing you can do against someone who uses the spear for a finisher. Well that’s how it should have ended but instead Reigns just moves away from the Punt and then the spear is good for the pin.

Rating: B-. This was supposed to be a huge turning point for Reigns’ career but it came off as just an ok match with some good moments. The first seven to eight minutes really dragged this down as the chinlocks took the crowd out of things. Now to their credit, Orton and Reigns were able to get them back later on but this needed some tweaks to really make it work. It’s Reigns’ biggest win yet but it really wasn’t anything great.

Long recap of John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar. The idea is Cena beat Lesnar two and a half years ago when Lesnar returned, but since then Lesnar has reached his full Beast Mode and is the unstoppable monster. Cena is pretty clearly a fill in for the injured Daniel Bryan, who would have made for a better story here. They really aren’t hiding the fact that Lesnar is going to win the title here but you know Cena isn’t going down without a fight.

WWE World Title: Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena

Cena is defending of course. They do the big staredown across the ring before the bell and we get one of my favorite Cole lines: “It’s the biggest fight of the summer.” I know that was the tagline going into this match but I love his delivery there. Before we get started, awesome sign in the crowd: “Cena wins, we logically discuss on Twitter.” Cena charges right at him but gets taken down to the mat…..and the F5 connects at thirty seconds. I actually screamed “NO WAY! NO WAY!” when I saw that for the first time.

Lesnar shouts that Cena just had his one chance and I think everyone in the building believes him. Cena looks totally out of it and we’re 90 seconds into this. The first release German suplex sends Cena flying and the fans are just stunned. German #2 has Cena’s mouth hanging open and the replay makes it look even worse. Cena wildly swings but only hits the mat.

A quick drive into the corner and some shots to the ribs just annoy Lesnar as he knees Cena to the mat and slaps on a chinlock so Cena can remember what planet he’s on. More punches from Cena are stopped by a knee as this is even more dominant than I remembered. Four more Germans (six total, counting a snap that I didn’t mention) have Cena a crippled mass in the middle of the ring. Lesnar drives even more knees into the ribs and pulls Cena up so he can throw another German.

The referee FINALLY checks on Cena, who says he’ll have two eggs and sausage. John goes flying off another German but elbows out of the next and gets in some right hands and a clothesline, followed by an AA for two. That seems like Cena’s last gasp though and he can’t follow up. Lesnar does the Undertaker sit up…..and starts laughing. He tells Cena to get out of the corner and bring it on while bouncing back and forth on his feet. Cena charges and gets taken down and pounded in the head.

Cena can’t even move on the mat but tells the referee to let it keep going. Lesnar is ticked off at Cena not quitting so he rolls four straight German suplexes, earning what sounds like applause. He still won’t quit, so there are three more rolling Germans. With Brock standing over him, Cena sweeps the leg and puts on the STF but Brock rolls over and just unloads on him with right hands. The F5 finally ends the slaughter and gives Brock the title.

Rating: A+. This was hard to watch. Not hard in the WCW or TNA hard to watch way, but in the “that’s enough, stop this before Cena dies” hard to watch way. This was a complete squash that ran 16:14. In that span of time, and this is being VERY generous at times, Cena was on offense for 1:22. That’s including the opening where they were grappling on the mat and the time where Cena was trying to break Brock’s grip.

Above all else though, this match did what it was supposed to do, which is make Brock Lesnar look like the biggest monster this side of Godzilla. This wasn’t a technical masterpiece or anything, but the fact that it got this kind of emotion out of me is doing something right. Outstanding performance and Cena selling so well made it even better.

Cena is checked on and can’t move to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Something occurred to me as I was getting ready for this show: I didn’t remember anything about it other than the main event. I can tell you the main event for all of the big four shows and every In Your House off the top of my head, but I had no idea that Orton and Reigns had a match here. Looking back, it’s easy to see why. Other than Lesnar vs. Cena, nothing on here is anything outside of the average range. Almost all of the redo ratings are in the middle of the pack and nothing else is memorable. It’s a watchable show, but totally forgettable, which isn’t something you should say about Summerslam.

Ratings Comparison

Rob Van Dam vs. Cesaro

Original: C-

Redo: C-

Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz

Original: C

Redo: C-

AJ Lee vs. Paige

Original: B-

Redo: C+

Jack Swagger vs. Rusev

Original: C+

Redo: C

Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins

Original: B

Redo: B-

Bray Wyatt vs. Chris Jericho

Original: C

Redo: C-

Brie Bella vs. Stephanie McMahon

Original: C+

Redo: D+

Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton

Original: C

Redo: B-

Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena

Original: A-

Redo: A+

Overall Rating

Original: A

Redo: C+

……what? I mean just…..what? That overall rating doesn’t even make bad sense. Other than Brie vs. Stephanie and maybe Orton vs. Reigns, nothing really changed drastically, but it went from great to above average? I REALLY got into that Lesnar vs. Cena match the first time around. That original rating actually made my eyes bug out when I read it to see what I had originally given the show.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2014/08/17/summerslam-2014-on-the-a-list/

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

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

AND

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

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:

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

Hey everyone.  I apologize for this being far later than usual.  I’m on the road for my mom’s birthday for the first half of this week and the drive took a bit out of me yesterday so I was in no way able to do the show.  I’ll be back home Wednesday and I’ll be getting back up to speed as soon as possible.  Tuesday’s shows will be a bit delayed but hopefully not as badly.  I’m sorry again and thank you for your patience.- KB
Monday Night Raw
Date: June 15, 2026
Location: CFG Bank Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Corey Graves

We’re back in America for Raw and the big story this week is the Of The Ring tournaments, with a pair of semifinal matches. The finals are coming up in less than two weeks so the Raw sides will be wrapped up here. In addition, I’m sure that rascally Bloodline will be up to something. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look at Jey Uso advancing in the King Of The Ring on Smackdown.

The Bloodline arrives and does the walk from their cars into the arena. After hitting the catchphrase, Roman Reigns talks about how there is a lot to be grateful for around here. That starts with Jey Uso making it to the next round of the King Of The Ring. The thing is, Jimmy Uso never gets much credit, but without Jimmy, there would be no Right Hand Man or Tribal Chief so acknowledge him for a change.

That leaves Jacob Fatu, with Jey saying Fatu is the one person who hasn’t acknowledged them. Reigns thinks that sounds like a problem and Fatu makes it clear that he doesn’t listen to the Usos, The only person he listens to is Reigns himself, but Reigns says we don’t need yes men around here. Reigns pulls out another necklace and talks about how everyone is scared of the Bloodline taking over again.

Well, the Bloodline has always been around, from the Wild Samoans today and it will continue to be the same when Fatu’s kids are teaming with Reigns’ kids. Reigns officially welcomes him to the Bloodline and puts the necklace on him. The pose ensues and the team leaves, with Reigns and Jimmy shaking hands with actor Eric Andre.

Jey isn’t interested and Andre slaps Fatu on the back, earning himself a heck of a beating. Reigns has to cut Fatu off from the Superfly Splash…but Fatu does it anyway. This seems to make Reigns happy as he leaves, to the point where he tells Fatu to do it again. The Andre thing helped, as otherwise this was a lot of time spent to not really say much.

Queen Of The Ring Semifinals: Iyo Sky vs. Raquel Rodriguez

Sky jumps her to start fast but Rodriguez is back with a crossbody. They head outside with Rodriguez dropping her onto the barricade before taking it back inside. Sky knocks her back outside but a dive is cut off and Sky gets planted as we take a break. We come back with Sky getting two off a rollup and stomping her in the ribs.

Sky dropkicks her into the corner but a sunset bomb to the floor is broken up. A double stomp onto the announcers’ table is broken up as well as Rodriguez trips Sky down. Back in and the spinning Vader Bomb misses, allowing Sky to hit a powerbomb out of the corner. Over The Moonsault finishes Rodriguez at 10:13.

Rating: C+. Sky getting back into the title picture is a smart move as she’s one of the best overall stars in all of WWE. This was a good example of her getting past a monster opponent and looking impressive in the process. Rodriguez will be fine going forward as Sky gets the spot she should have.

We look at Judgment Day’s cheap shot on Oba Femi failing miserably last week.

Liv Morgan tells Roxanne Perez that the focus should be on Morgan and Dominik Mysterio now that they’re the only ones left in the tournaments. Morgan goes in to see Danhausen, revealing a Danhausen shirt (Danhausen: “I hope you paid for that.”). She seems to offer something in exchange for him cursing people but he wants so many “human monies” that she just leaves, with Danhausen calling her Olivia.

We get a look at the trailer for a new Danhausen documentary on his cursing the New York Knicks, sending them onto a losing streak. Then he uncursed them and they went on a huge winning streak and won the NBA Title. Danhausen has become a thing with this and sure why not. WWE would be insane to not milk this for all it’s worth.

Seth Rollins is ready to end things with Bron Breakker for good at Night Of Champions. In a cage.

Adam Pearce has done something for Lyra Valkyria, who can’t wait to tell Bayley. With Valkyria gone, LA Knight comes in and points out that everything on Smackdown went as he said it would. Knight is going to fix things his own way.

We look at Penta beating Rey Mysterio last week, with Rusev attacking Mysterio after the match. Chad Gable made the save.

Gable says he realizes he’s been wrong for a long time in the last year. Tonight he’s going to take care of Rusev but there are some other people he needs to apologize to. As he leaves, he runs into Maxxine Dupri and Austin Theory.

Chad Gable vs. Rusev

Ethan Page is here with Rusev, who throws Gable down to start. Gable is back up with a waistlock and some armdrags, followed by a rather nice belly to belly. A dragon screw legwhip has Rusev down and they’re out on the floor. Rusev sends him into the steps and grabs a suplex, followed by a toss over the announcers’ table.

We take a break and come back with Gable slugging away and rolling some German suplexes. A superplex drops Rusev and sets up the ankle lock, which is broken up rather quickly. Gable can’t get the rolling Chaos Theory but can get the ankle lock again. This time Page offers a distraction though and the Machka Kick gets two. The Accolade is broken up and Gable Angle Slams him into the ankle lock for the win at 10:34.

Rating: B-. This is the kind of stuff Gable needs to do to reestablish himself as a star, as he’s been a goof for so long now. The good thing is that the fans are accepting him and at least for now, he’s just Chad Gable. That’s what he’s needed to be for a long time, though I’m curious about what WWE has next for him, as it could go a lot of different ways.

Post match the beatdown is on, with Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee making the save.

Roman Reigns tells the Usos that he called an audible with Jacob Fatu because sometimes you need to change the play. Reigns doesn’t like LA Knight either so Jey Uso is ready to deal with him. Jimmy Uso has this though.

Bron Breakker is ready to hurt Seth Rollins. The cage match is set for Night Of Champions.

Here is LA Knight for a chat and he lays down in the ring, saying this is how things ended for him on Smackdown. He could have laid there all night but he had to get to Baltimore. No he isn’t the King Of The Ring or a champion, but what matters is that he is home. He’s used to being against the odds because that’s what he does, just like he’s doing against the Bloodline.

That’s what happened on Friday and here is Jimmy Uso to interrupt. Uso knows Knight has issues with the Bloodline but that was years ago. Knight thinks Solo Sikoa is back with the Bloodline but Uso says that’s not what’s going on. Cue Jey Uso to interrupt, saying that Jimmy is right: Sikoa isn’t part of the Bloodline.

Knight thinks Jey wants him to acknowledge Roman Reigns but the reality is that Jey wants Knight to acknowledge Jey himself. That’s not what Knight expected but he acknowledges Jey…can kiss his a**. The brawl is on with Jimmy trying to play peacekeeper. Jey grabs a chair but Knight takes it away and drops both of them. Cue Jacob Fatu to Tongan Death Grip Knight and leave him laying.

Post break Fatu says that was him doing this his way because the Usos’ ways didn’t work.

We get an NXT Origins video on Alexa Bliss.

Charlotte vs. Roxanne Perez

Alexa Bliss and Liv Morgan are here too. Charlotte blocks a knee to start and strikes away, with Perez being knocked outside. Charlotte’s chop hits the post though and Perez goes after it as we take a break. We come back with Perez staying on the arm until Charlotte gives her a sitout powerbomb for the escape. A spinning faceplant gives Perez two and it’s right back to the arm.

Charlotte gets up a boot in the corner though and fires off the fall away slam. The flipping lariat drops Perez again and a big boot gives Charlotte two. Morgan offers a distraction to break up the moonsault though and Perez’s split legged moonsault gives her two of her own. Charlotte fights back and tried the Figure Eight, only for Morgan to offer a distraction. Bliss cuts that off and the Figure Eight makes Perez tap at 10:09.

Rating: C+. There wasn’t much to this one and that’s fine as Charlotte beating anyone makes sense. Perez put up a good fight and Bliss/Morgan were able to cancel each other out. The action was fine and Charlotte gets a win as she’s on a push in the Queen Of The Ring, as she should be.

Here is Je’Von Evans for a chat. He knows Jey Uso has the experience advantage but he’s going to Yeet Uso out of the King Of The Ring. This brings out the returning Logan Paul (with his arm in a big brace) and Austin Theory to interrupt. Paul praises Evans as a huge star and offers him a spot in the Vision. Evans emphatically turns it down but apparently that wasn’t a question. The threat of violence has Evans wanting a referee out here so let’s do this.

Je’Von Evans vs. Austin Theory

We’re joined in progress with Evans snapping off a hurricanrana to send Theory outside. The suicide dive connects and Evans gives him a standing moonsault for two back inside. Evans misses something from the top rope though and Theory hits a rolling clothesline. Theory starts hammering away but Evans is back with some left hands in the corner. A big shot puts Evans on the floor though and we take a break.

We come back with Evans hitting a springboard clothesline but Theory plants him with Ataxia. Back up and Evans sends him outside for a run around the ring and a huge dive to knock Theory into the timekeeper’s area. They go back inside with the OG Cutter being loaded up but here is Bron Breakker to spear Evans out of the air for the DQ at 13:15.

Rating: B-. As usual, Evans’ abilities to get into the air are incredibly impressive and some of the best things going on Raw today. I do like Theory avoiding another pinfall loss, as Evans getting a win isn’t a bad thing but Theory has lost enough. Evans vs. Jey Uso should be good as well and that’s a sign that Evans’ career is going well thus far.

Post match the beatdown is on but here are the Street Profits for the save to clear the ring.

We look back to Jacob Fatu attacking Eric Andre earlier tonight.

Fatu tells Roman Reigns that he took care of LA Knight but the Usos weren’t happy. Reigns knew that would be the case and he gets what Fatu while they don’t. He needs Fatu to do one more thing though and whispers it in his ear. Fatu seems to get it.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

King Of The Ring Semifinals: Dominik Mysterio vs. Oba Femi

Mysterio’s AAA Mega Title isn’t on the line and he has JD McDonagh with him. Mysterio immediately bails out to the floor for a good while. Back in and Femi gets caught with a dropkick, only to chase Mysterio outside for a tackle over the announcers’ table. McDonagh’s distraction lets Mysterio load up the hammer into his boot and it’s a low blow to put Femi down. The 619 and frog splash connect….with the kickout sending Mysterio flying. McDonagh comes in but it’s a double chokeslam, with both of them getting nailed with running uppercuts. The Fall From Grace finishes Mysterio at 4:36.

Rating: C+. This was a good way to go as it wasn’t could Femi crush Mysterio but rather how would he get through the nonsense to get his hands on him. Femi feels more and more like a force every single day but he has Brock Lesnar waiting for him at least one more time. For now though, he probably has Jey Uso up next and that should be enough.

Post match Femi says he’s a win away from his crown. He’ll face whomever he has to, including Brock Lesnar. Femi used to look up to Lesnar but now he isn’t even sure if Lesnar is a man. He invites Lesnar to come face him again and hopes Lesnar will man up instead of running again.

Overall Rating: C+. There was only so much good on this show, with the best parts focusing on the tournament semifinals. Those worked as usual, but they only got this show so far. Rollins vs. Breakker in a cage is fine in theory, but I’m really not that interested in seeing it as things have cooled off a bit. This wasn’t a bad show overall, though it’s firmly in the mediocre range.

Results
Iyo Sky b. Raquel Rodriguez – Over The Moonsault
Chad Gable b. Rusev – Ankle lock
Charlotte b. Roxanne Perez – Figure Eight
Je’Von Evans b. Austin Theory via DQ when Bron Breakker interfered
Oba Femi b. Dominik Mysterio – Fall From Grace

 

 

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

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Monday Night Raw
Date: June 1, 2026
Location: Inalpi Arena, Turin, Italy
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re still in Italy for an afternoon show in the eastern United States. Clash In Italy took place yesterday and Roman Reigns is still the World Champion, albeit now with Jacob Fatu under his thumb. That should help him as he could have an upcoming challenger via the King Of The Ring, which gets started this week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Clash In Italy if you need a recap.

Clash In Italy recap.

Roman Reigns and the Usos arrive, minus Jacob Fatu. We pause for the fans to serenade them and yeah that’s a pretty cool moment. Reigns seems impressed as this goes on for at least a few minutes before he gets in the catchphrase. Reigns is happy that it’s acknowledgment daybut there’s no Fatu. Jey: “His first day on the job and he’s already late!”

Cue Fatu, in far more casual than usual clothes, with Reigns and Jey mocking him for taking too long. Fatu glares at Jey and then takes the microphone away, saying he’s taken a lot of losses over his career. Last night was another one and he knows there are consequences. His children saw their father take a loss last night but he’s going to be a man and keep his word. Last night he lost to his Tribal Chief, but he didn’t lose to Jey’s punk a**.

Fatu goes back to Reigns and officially acknowledges him, even taking a knee in front of him. Reigns takes Fatu’s hand and pulls him up, saying that Fatu might not understand this right now, but Reigns loves him. Jimmy says Fatu is with them now and they’re the ones, with the four of them doing the pose. It could take a bit, but this setting up the other three turning on Reigns, which could do well for everyone involved.

Video on King and Queen Of The Ring. The tournaments will be four four ways, with the winners going on to regular four person elimination brackets.

King Of The Ring First Round: Penta vs. Oba Femi vs. Solo Sikoa vs. Carmelo Hayes

Non-title and the MFT’s are here with Sikoa. Femi clears the ring to start and knocks Sikoa outside with a straight right hand. Femi follows him and dropkicks Hayes into the face. They switch places and Hayes hits the Fadewaway, only to dive into a superkick. Femi and Talla Talla Tonga have the big staredown on the floor and before Femi chokeslams Penta and Hayes.

We take a break and come back with Sikoa cleaning house until Femi drops him with a clothesline. Femi gets hit with the First 48 and is sent into the post, with Sikoa and the MFT’s taking him out on the floor. Penta and Hayes hit a dive each until Sikoa clotheslines Penta back inside. The Penta Driver gets two on Hayes and everyone is down. Femi is back up though and starts cleaning house, including a spinebuster to Penta. Talla Tonga is tossed onto the announcers’ table and the Fall From Grace finishes Sikoa at 8:57.

Rating: B. The ending was OBA SMASH and that’s all it needed to be. Femi needed a dominant win after what happened at Clash In Italy and while I don’t know if he wins the whole tournament, he was treated like a huge deal here. It didn’t feel like Femi got lucky, as much as he just ran through everyone to win.

Post match Femi talks about Brock Lesnar asking if he could take a beating. Well here he is after 7 F5’s and now he’s going to be King Of The Ring. Lesnar needs to remember that they’re 1-1 so they’ll see each other again.

Video on Seth Rollins vs. Bron Breakker, which takes place again tonight.

Here is new Women’s Intercontinental Champion Sol Ruca for a chat. Ruca is asked if she believed she would get here and thanks the fans for believing in her. She also thanks Becky Lynch for giving her a chance, but then she proved Lynch wrong. And it’s not just hear saying it either! She’ll be a fighting champion and you shouldn’t underestimate her because she’ll snatch your soul. She even gets some pyro to wrap it up.

After last night’s show, Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns had a silent staredown.

Reigns wants the Usos to keep an eye on Rhodes. For now though, he wants Jey Uso to go be King Of The Ring and go on to Summerslam to get the other World Title. Jimmy is staying with Reigns though because Jey has to do this on his own.

Rey Mysterio/Dragon Lee vs. Ethan Page/Rusev

Rusev stomps Lee down into the corner to start and it’s off to Page, who gets sent into the corner. Lee’s wrecking ball dropkick hits Lee in the corner, setting up a running dropkick for two. Rusev comes back in and gets rolled up for two before Lee looks over to Mysterio for quite the reaction. Page breaks up the tag though (that was a great evil thing to do) and Lee gets planted as we take a break.

We come back with Page breaking up Lee’s tag attempt. That doesn’t last long though as Lee gets over to Mysterio for the big tag so house can be cleaned. Everything breaks down and Page sends Mysterio into Lee, allowing him to grab a rollup for two. Page’s Boston crab has to be broken up and Lee suicide dives Rusev. That leaves Mysterio to 619 Page into the slingshot splash for the pin at 11:34.

Rating: B-. This was just a way to get Mysterio in the ring in front of the international crowd and they more than seemed to appreciate it. That was how the match should have gone and while I could have gone with Rusev taking the pin over Page, this was pretty nice stuff. If nothing else, Mysterio can still more than go in the ring and it’s more impressive every week.

Adam Pearce talks to Penta and gives him the Intercontinental Title match against Rey Mysterio. Penta approves and leaves when LA Knight comes in. Knight isn’t happy with how much attention Pearce has been giving to Roman Reigns, so maybe we need to get Pearce his own Honorary Uce shirt.

Maybe Knight can bring Pearce out of retirement so he can put him back in it. Knight thinks Pearce is trying to get the Bloodline back together and even mocks the finger point before storming off. The thing that made this work is how natural Knight sounded. It felt like he was told “here’s why you’re mad at Pearce, get this point over, go talk.” That’s a great way to go and it worked here, as Knight can talk with the best of them.

Commentary talks about the Mask vs. Mask match from last weekend’s AAA show, with the match airing again after Raw on Netflix. Watch it if you haven’t seen it.

We get some highlights of the mask vs. mask match.

Queen Of The Ring First Round: Lash Legend vs. Giulia vs. Iyo Sky vs. Roxanne Perez

Legend catches Giulia to start but gets dropkicked down by Sky. Perez is in to go after Sky but Legend picks up Perez and Sky, with Giulia dropkicking everyone down for a change. We take a break and come back with Legend being pulled out to the floor, leaving Sky to Bullet Train Perez and Giulia in the corner.

Legend is back in with a choke to Sky but Giulia breaks it up with the running knee. Perez takes Giulia and Sky down at the same time, followed by the cartwheel knee to Sky’s head for two. Giulia takes Sky up top but Perez breaks it up, only for Legend to double powerbomb not-Sky. A Lash Extension drops Giulia and Perez but Sky makes the save. Over The Moonsault gives Sky the pin on Giulia at 10:36.

Rating: B-. Sky possibly moving back to the title picture is a good way to go as she feels like a major star. At the same time, Giulia continues to just kind of float around aimlessly and Perez will more than likely be going back to tagging. That leaves Legend, who has turned into a pretty decent power monster. I’m rather impressed with her transformation, as she looked more than capable in there this time.

Maxxine Dupri isn’t happy about not being in the Queen Of The Ring but Adam Pearce says she’s the first choice if a spot opens up. The Alpha Academy warn her about hanging out with Austin Theory, because he’s bad news. She insists she’s got this.

We get a video on Danhausen cursing ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith and the New York Knicks, who then went on a losing streak, then uncursed them, and then they went on a 7-0 winning streak and went on to the NBA Finals. This is the definition of “let’s run with this” and it’s working.

Bayley and Lyra Valkyria want the Women’s Tag Team Titles. Valkyria goes over to Sol Ruca and praises her for ending the Becky Lynch reign of terror. Valkyria gets a title shot out of this and Bayley isn’t thrilled.

Roxanne Perez rants about her loss when Liv Morgan comes in to brag about how she’s going to win the tournament. Raquel Rodriguez has to help her get the hint and Perez doesn’t seem happy about not getting any help. Morgan says she and Dominik Mysterio are winning the tournaments, seemingly forgetting that Rodriguez and JD McDonagh are entered as well.

Seth Rollins vs. Bron Breakker

Paul Heyman is here with Breakker. Rollins strikes away to start but gets suplexed down for his efforts. Breakker is sent outside, where’ he’s able to toss Rollins over the barricade as we take an early break. We come back with Breakker continuing to wreck Rollins, including the array of suplexes. They head outside with Breakker sending Rollins into the announcers’ table and clearing both tables off.

Rollins uses the delay to fight up and take over, with a running knee hitting Breakker back inside. Breakker is fine enough to run the corner and snap off a super Frankensteiner for two, leaving the frustration levels high. They go outside again with Rollins going onto the announcers’ table and diving at a diving Breakker for a midair collision.

We take a break and come back again with Breakker hammering Rollins in the corner, only to get reversed into a not great looking powerbomb for two. Rollins superplexes him down but has to reverse Breakker’s suplex into a small package for two more. The spear drops Rollins and they go outside again, with the diving spear being countered into a Pedigree through the announcers’ table.

Back in and cue Austin Theory for a distraction, but Montez Ford runs in to take him out. Another spear gives Breakker another two, as does Rollins’ stomp as Heyman puts the foot on the rope. Rollins goes after Heyman, who accidentally gets speared through the barricade. Breakker knows he screwed up and tries another spear but Rollins has grabbed a title belt, with Breakker knocking himself out. Another Stomp gives Rollins the pin at 22:24.

Rating: B. This got wild near the end and you know it’s a big deal if Heyman takes a bump. That’s likely going to get rid of him for at least a good while and I’m not really sure where that leaves a lot of things. The match was pretty much the traditional post PPV PPV level main event, which caps off the weekend nicely enough. It absolutely could have been on Clash, but then how else would you get in four more ads?

Rollins points at Ford and implies he wants Roman Reigns’ title to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This show was more about setting things up for later, with the opening segment saying “Fatu is with the Bloodline”, the main event being about getting rid of Heyman, and two of the three other matches being starts to tournaments. That’s only so much of a show and while it wasn’t bad, it was a pretty skippable show. Not bad, but you’re better off reading a recap than watching the whole thing.

Results
Oba Femi b. Solo Sikoa, Carmelo Hayes and Penta – Fall From Grace to Sikoa
Rey Mysterio/Dragon Lee b. Rusev/Ethan Page – Slingshot splash to Page
Iyo Sky b. Giulia, Lash Legend and Roxanne Perez – Over The Moonsault to Giulia
Seth Rollins b. Bron Breakker – Stomp

 

 

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

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