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

Sami Zayn vs. Finn Balor

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dominik Mysterio vs. Danhausen

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

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

Intercontinental Title: Penta(c) vs. Chad Gable

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

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

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

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

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

Overall Thoughts

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

 

 

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

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

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

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

Breland singe God Bless America.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sami Zayn vs. Karrion Kross

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Raw World Title: CM Punk vs. Gunther

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Raw World Title: Seth Rollins vs. CM Punk

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

The Vision comes out to celebrate to end the show.

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

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

 

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Summerslam rundown.

AAA Cruiserweight Title: Rey Fenix vs. JD McDonagh

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Intercontinental Title: Sami Zayn vs. Bron Breakker

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

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

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

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

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

US Title: Logan Paul vs. LA Knight

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

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

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

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

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

Some wrestlers shill Manscape products.

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

Smackdown Women’s Title: Nia Jax vs. Bayley

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

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

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

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

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

Drew McIntyre vs. CM Punk

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Raw World Title: Gunther vs. Damian Priest

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

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

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

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

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

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

Smackdown World Title: Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ratings Comparison

Rhea Ripley vs. Liv Morgan

Original: B-
Redo: B

Sami Zayn vs. Bron Breakker

Original: B-
Redo: C+

LA Knight vs. Logan Paul

Original: B
Redo: B

Bayley vs. Nia Jax

Original: B-
Redo: B-

CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre

Original: B
Redo: B+

Gunther vs. Damian Priest

Original: B
Redo: B

Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa

Original: B-
Redo: C+

Overall Rating:

Original: B
Redo: B

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

 

 

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

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

Summerslam 2016
Date: August 21, 2016
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Attendance: 15,974
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Mauro Ranallo, David Otunga, John Bradshaw Layfield

A year has passed since I saw this show and I can barely remember much about it. That’s very telling when you look at how stacked this show really is. There are multiple top level matches here and it really wasn’t clear what was going to close the show until the night of the event. Hopefully that means that this SIX HOUR show holds up. Let’s get to it.

So here’s a quick plug. I’m going through the pre-show and there’s a three expert panel of Booker T., Jerry Lawler and Lita. Earlier this year, I met all three of them at WrestleCon. If you’re ever at a Wrestlemania weekend, treat yourself to an amazing time and GO TO WRESTLECON. I met over 120 wrestlers in about four hours. Where else are you going to get to do something like that? Anyway, on with the show.

Pre-Show: American Alpha/Hype Bros/Usos vs. Breezango/Ascension/Vaudevillains

Who would have thought that Breezango would be the most entertaining out of all these teams? This is pretty much the still titleless Smackdown tag division at this point as they had to bring in the Headbangers and throw together Heath Slater and Rhyno to be able to have a tournament. This is also a rematch from Smackdown, which shows how little effort they were putting into the tag division at this point.

Gable and Breeze start things and the fans are WAY into Gable. Chad twists around as only he can to escape a wristlock and it’s off to Jey, who is quickly driven into the corner. English comes in and says that he’s what a man is. That earns him a right hand to the jaw and it’s off to Mojo to work on a wristlock. Ryder comes in to quite the reaction as Mauro says the Hype Bros have more chemistry than the Periodic Table.

Everything breaks down (What took them so long?) and Ascension clears the ring, only to have American Alpha come off the top (the same corner) with double clotheslines (that’s pure Steiner Brothers). English posts Ryder though and we take a break. Back with Gotch putting Ryder in a chinlock, followed by Viktor doing the same. The other heels take turns stomping on Ryder until Breeze grabs his own chinlock. Fandango adds a slingshot legdrop as this is going WAY longer than it needs to.

JBL thinks cold beer uniting the APA is more effective than furry selfie sticks uniting Breezango but maybe he’s wrong. Ascension knocks the good guys off the apron but Viktor misses a charge in the corner, allowing Ryder to get in a neckbreaker on Konnor. The hot tag (with a limited reaction) brings in Jimmy to clean house.

Jordan gets the real hot tag and does his fired up sequence (which he really is awesome at) with a belly to belly getting two on Breeze. We hit the parade of secondary finishers as the referee is imploring them to tag. Mojo powerbombs Breeze and Viktor out of the corner and the Usos add stereo superkicks to set up stereo dives. Back in and Grand Amplitude plants Gotch, only to have Jey tag himself in for a Superfly Splash and the pin at 14:31. Gable is really not cool with that. Eh just wait until your team is split up for a pretty lame story where Jordan is Kurt Angle’s son.

Rating: B-. If you cut out a few minutes from this, it’s a heck of an opener. There are too many people in the match of course but they kept it moving fast enough (for the most part) to really get something fun out of it. Jordan’s house cleaning spot is a heck of a way to fire the crowd up and it made the match more fun than it should have been. Tweak this a bit (eight/ten man tag or shorten the match a bit) and it’s even better.

Pre-Show: Dudley Boyz vs. Sami Zayn/Neville

Sami works on D-Von’s arm to start and it’s off to Neville for more of the same. Both of them get in more shots as we hear about the rivalry over the NXT Title. I do appreciate the history, especially when Graves should know about that match very well. Bubba is sent outside but D-Von breaks up a springboard dive, allowing Bubba to nail Neville from behind to take over. The fans want tables but a back elbow to Neville’s jaw cuts them off in a hurry.

Back from a break with Bubba hitting his neckbreaker out of the corner. Things slow down even more as Bubba is talking even more than he usually does in a match. Bubba: “COME ON ENGLISH BOY! O-LAY! O-LAY!” The middle rope backsplash misses though and the hot tag brings in Sami. D-Von takes the Blue Thunder Bomb for two but the reverse 3D gets the same. Neville escapes the regular version though and we get some heel miscommunication. The Helluva Kick sets up the Red Arrow to put Bubba away at 7:55.

Rating: C-. That would be it for the Dudleys in WWE as they would have one more segment tomorrow night where Anderson and Gallows sent them packing. It’s also pretty much it for Sami and Neville as a team, which is quite odd as you would think they would be a fine choice for a team. The match was nothing you wouldn’t expect on Raw.

Pre-Show: Cesaro vs. Sheamus

You know, because two matches just weren’t enough for the pre-show. This is the first match of the Best of Seven Series, which really wasn’t too well received. After Cole says Cesaro is facing Cesaro and both Cole and Saxton say this is about establishing physical dominance, we’re ready to go. Sheamus misses a very early Brogue Kick but the spinning springboard uppercut is blocked as well.

Cesaro charges into an uppercut but comes back with a dropkick for one. The ten forearms to the chest are broken up so Sheamus clotheslines him onto the apron instead. It’s off to an armbar on Cesaro’s chronically taped up shoulder but Cesaro lifts him up into that kind of reverse Angle Slam of his. They’re certainly hitting each other hard here, which is pretty much the draw of the whole feud.

Sheamus hits a tilt-a-whirl slam and it’s off to a break. Back with Cesaro fighting out of a chinlock because that rule even applies on pre-shows that will never end. The Irish Curse gives Sheamus two as Cole runs down the pay per view card, which only makes me think that there are FAR too many titles in WWE. They fight over a suplex and fall out to the floor in a heap. Back in and Cesaro starts firing off the running uppercuts in the corner, capped off by a dropkick to knock him off the ropes.

The apron superplex (which wasn’t from the apron) gets two but Sheamus counters the Neutralizer into White Noise for two. There’s the super Regal Roll for two more and frustration is really setting in. Another Brogue Kick attempt is countered by one heck of a clothesline though and Cesaro adds a high crossbody for two of his own. Cesaro tries the Sharpshooter but Sheamus gets to the ropes. Back up and a poke to the eye sets up the Brogue Kick to give Sheamus the pin at 14:11.

Rating: B. They beat the heck out of each other and it was a fun match but it also brings up the problem: I’m not going to want to watch them fight six more times. No matter how good things are, having them happen so many times in a row over several weeks is going to get tiresome. It happens in all these series and it’s happening here too.

And now, after more wrestling than you get on an average Smackdown, here’s the actual pay per view.

The opening video looks at New York City, with the narrator telling you how AMAZING the city is. I’m not sure if New York City or Texas is worse about bragging about their home’s greatness. As usual, this switches over to a series of quick looks at the biggest matches on the card.

Enzo Amore/Big Cass vs. Chris Jericho/Kevin Owens

Well duh. That’s about as easy of a choice for an opener as you could ever find for this show. As you might expect, the crowd eats up the opening promo with a spoon and of course we hear a ton of New York City music references. Included are Frank Sinatra, Biggie Smalls and Jay-Z, plus more that probably go over my head. Cass adds in a few songs of his own as this is the only way this show could have opened. Since Graves is the best heel commentator in wrestling today though, he points out that Enzo is from New Jersey.

Jericho and Owens jump Enzo at the bell and the STUPID IDIOT chants start rolling. Enzo comes back with a crossbody and a running right hand to the jaw for two. It’s off to Cass, who drags Owens inside for a beal. That’s some scary power. Enzo gets launched into the corner to crush Jericho but the Canadians bail to the floor. That’s fine with Cass who tosses Enzo over the top onto them in a huge crash. I’ve always loved that spot as it just looks cool.

Back in and Enzo ax handles Owens but turns into a middle rope dropkick from Jericho. The Canadian violence begins with Owens kneeing Enzo from the apron and doing his dance on the apron in a rather funny visual. Owens’ comedic skills aren’t given enough credit more often than not. It’s back to Jericho for the Arrogant Cover and a chinlock with Owens telling Jericho to do it like he taught him.

Owens comes in and adds a gutbuster for two, followed by the running start for a chinlock. It takes real talent to turn a chinlock into an art form but Owens has somehow pulled it off. Enzo finally rolls away but Jericho is there to break up the diving tag attempt. Owens drops the frog splash for two and his stunned looked on the kickout is the usual awesome visual. Enzo gets pulled off the corner to make things even worse but, after blowing a kiss to Jericho, misses the Cannonball.

That means the hot tag to Cass and everything breaks down. Jericho dives into a big boot but Owens breaks up the Bada Boom Shaka Lacka. Cass gets posted on the floor and now the Cannonball against the barricade connects. Back in and Enzo scores with his top rope DDT on Jericho with Owens making the save. A pop up Codebreaker (didn’t look great as Jericho was too far away) ends Enzo at 12:09.

Rating: C+. Odd choice for an ending aside (not surprising of course but odd), this was a good way to get the crowd going. I could have gone for another hope spot from Enzo and more of Cass cleaning house but that pop up Codebreaker could have been a heck of a finisher if done right. Nice opener, though would it have killed them to put Enzo and Cass over in Brooklyn?

Smackdown bosses Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon run into Raw General Manager Mick Foley to brag about how awesome their shows are. Former Daily Show host Jon Stewart and his son come in to ask what Foley is thinking to work with Stephanie. He rants about abuse of power but realizes she’s right behind him. Stephanie yells at him about how great it is to abuse power but thankfully New Day comes up. As the Smackdown bosses and Foley much on cereal, New Day asks Jon if he’d like to do something. He gets out as fast as he can and Stephanie isn’t amused.

We recap Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks. Sasha won the Women’s Title on the first exclusive show after the Brand Split and tonight is the rematch. The other big idea here is Charlotte never loses singles matches on pay per view and Banks has to recreate the magic one more time.

Raw Women’s Title: Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte

Banks is defending and we get the Big Match Intros. Some early WOOing sets up a slightly less early Bank Statement but Charlotte bails to the floor. Back in and Banks climbs the corner for a wristdrag before sending Charlotte face first into the middle buckle. Banks gets caught on top though and Charlotte basically drops her onto the ropes for a backbreaker which almost had to hurt horribly. The fact that Banks had a bad back coming in and Charlotte still did some rather sloppy moves like that got her in some hot water.

We hit a Gory Stretch on the champ for a bit but she comes back with a pair of running clotheslines. That just earns her another backbreaker and Charlotte stomps away at the back. The Figure Eight is broken up but Sasha misses a charge into the corner and gets caught in the Tree of Woe. Charlotte picks her up for a super Razor’s Edge but since that would, you know, kill Sasha, she reverses into a hurricanrana to put them both down.

Back up and a WOO earns Charlotte a string of slaps before Sasha avoids a charge in the corner and hits the double knees to the back for two. Charlotte kicks her in the leg to break up a charge but gets knocked outside again, setting up the double knees from the apron. Back in and the Backstabber doesn’t work but Natural Selection is countered into the Bank Statement (thankfully too as the Natural Selection clearly didn’t send Sasha’s head anywhere near the mat).

Charlotte makes the rope for the break and takes out the knee again. Natural Selection gives Charlotte two so she yells about being better than Sasha. Another Bank Statement goes on but Charlotte reverses into a rollup for the pin and the title at 13:52. Saxton: “Just like that?”

Rating: B. This was just a straight match and that’s the key to the whole thing. The women are getting to show that they can have a good match without the smoke and mirrors, which never would have been the case otherwise. If nothing else it got the kind of time that a title match deserves to develop the story of Banks having a bad back (which would keep her on the shelf for about a month). Strong match here and another of many to come for these two.

Doctors Anderson and Gallows (oh man I had forgotten how stupid this was) run into AJ Styles for a Club reunion. Finn Balor comes up and doesn’t think much of it. Somehow, this has still never gone anywhere.

Intercontinental Title: Miz vs. Apollo Crews

Crews is defending after winning a triple threat match. Miz comes out wearing a glittery Phantom of the Opera mask while Maryse is basically in a one piece swimsuit. In a sign of the changing times, Mauro talks about Miz’s look instead of Maryse. Miz stomps away in the corner and gets two off a running kick to the chest. Crews gets the same off a rollup, only to walk into the short DDT as it’s almost all Miz to start. We’re already in the reverse chinlock before Miz sends him into the apron to cut off a comeback. Miz takes too long coming off the top though and dives into a dropkick to put both guys down.

A crossbody into a nipup has Miz in trouble as JBL rants about Otunga calling Crews a Jackrobat (jacked acrobat). The Toss Powerbomb is countered so Crews gets two off a tilt-a-whirl powerslam. An overhead belly to belly sets up a standing moonsault, which Otunga sums up perfectly: “A man with that kind of size and that kind of muscle should not be able to do that.” Miz teases taking a walk but Maryse cuts him off, allowing Miz to post Crews. The Skull Crushing Finale retains the title at 5:36.

Rating: D+. Standard Smackdown match and something that could have been cut, or at least put in the Kickoff Show in the place of the Dudleys match. Crews felt like an easy obstacle to overcome because there was nowhere near enough build to set the match up. Put some more effort into the title already people, as it’s just not working.

We recap John Cena vs. AJ Styles. They set up the first match when Styles and Cena were in the ring together, only to have Anderson and Gallows interfere to turn Styles heel. Styles went on a great rant about how Cena was a fraud who couldn’t hang in the ring with someone like him. Cena went into a great speech about how he’s here out of love because it never gets old. AJ beat him at Money in the Bank with assistance from Anderson and Gallows, setting up a rematch between the two here.

AJ Styles vs. John Cena

This just feels big. AJ grabs a waistlock to start but is easily knocked away. The announcers go out of the way to put over how AJ has been on big shows before but nothing this big. Oh I don’t know. I remember him being at that Wrestlemania thing earlier in the year. The dueling chants begin and the AJ STYLES side is pretty clearly stronger.

Cena’s headlock is countered and AJ scores with the dropkick but the bragging earns AJ a right to the jaw. A hard whip into the corner sends AJ down for a bit with Cena doing some rare trash talking. They head to the floor and the fans start belting out JOHN CENA SUCKS, only to have AJ turn it into some gasping with a suplex onto the apron. Cena is right back with a dropkick for two and it’s time for some more right hands to the head.

AJ comes back with a forearm to the face, earning himself Cena’s finishing sequence. It’s way too early for the AA though as AJ hits a Pele, followed by the Styles Clash for a close two. The fans were actually more into the near fall than I was expecting as you would think they’d know better this early. The AA gives Cena two of his own and both guys are down again.

Styles slips out of the super AA and grabs the torture rack for the spinout powerbomb. They’re trading bombs at this point and it’s the only way they should be going here. Something like a Big Ending gives Cena two but he can’t get the STF. Instead it’s the AA neckbreaker for two on Cena (not the same as the AA JBL) but the springboard 450 only hits mat.

A faceplant puts Cena down again though and AJ can’t follow up. He manages the springboard forearm but Cena reverses into the worst STF I’ve ever seen. Thankfully AJ slips out and grabs a Crossface, which Cena powers out of as well. That’s reversed into the Calf Crusher which AJ is smart enough to twist away from the ropes. Cena reverses that into another horrible STF (AJ’s face is on the mat) so AJ is quickly up with the enziguri. A tornado DDT plants AJ and there’s the top rope Fameasser for two.

Cena heads up again and gets taken down with a super hurricanrana (Mauro: “MAMA MIA!”), followed by the Phenomenal Forearm for a VERY near fall (drawing Mauro to his feet). It’s Cena’s turn now as he takes AJ up for the super AA and….it’s two. NOW the fans know it’s on as I don’t think anyone has ever kicked out of that before. Cena is stunned and the AA is countered into another Clash. The Phenomenal Forearm puts Cena away clean at 23:10.

Rating: A. I know it’s not going to sound good but a lot of this goes to Cena. At the end of the day, the crowd completely lost it when AJ kicked out of that super AA. AJ wins here not because he got a pin but because he beat Cena clean. That’s a very, VERY short list and that’s what makes it feel so important. Think back to how big of a deal it was when Warrior pinned Hogan clean. That felt like an era changing win, and while this isn’t quite that big, it’s the same idea.

Oh yeah and it’s an outstanding match and possibly the Match of the Year. This was the heavyweight slugfest formula as they beat the heck out of each other with both guys hitting everything they could until one of them couldn’t get up. That’s a really hard match to pull off and these two did it in an incredible match. It belonged on the grand stage and gives Cena one heck of a mountain to overcome, which he somehow did in a better match at the Royal Rumble.

Post match Cena takes off his wristband and leaves it in the ring. He would do dark matches for a few weeks and then be back wrestling on TV in less than a month so this didn’t mean anything.

Some fans won a contest and got some stuff. In other words, let the fans have a breather.

Here’s Jon Stewart for your celebrity appearance. He makes fun of himself for interfering in Cena’s match last year and says the big lesson he learned was to tuck your shirt in when you’re taking an AA. As for tonight though, he’s here to be in New Day’s corner to help deal with Anderson and Gallows. In honor of the moment, he throws on a unicorn horn and does Big E.’s (out injured due to getting crotched against the post) entrance.

Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Anderson and Gallows

New Day is defending of course and unfortunately Anderson and Gallows are still doing their stupid doctor nonsense, complete with jars for Kofi, Xavier and Jon’s testicles. I hear Paige can help you with one of those. Anderson headlocks Kofi down to start but he’s right back up with the jumping back elbow to the jaw. Kofi flips onto his feet and gets two off the standing double stomp. You can tell the fans are still recovering from the previous match and it’s off to Woods.

That goes badly as the he gets taken into the corner for a beating from Gallows. At least it does bring the fans back a bit with the rhythmic clapping. Gallows gets taken into the corner for the Unicorn Stampede (which they’ve kind of stopped doing in recent months) and the fans are really not responding. Woods sends him outside so Kofi can hit a running dive (while posing in the air) to take him down again. Back in and Gallows kicks Kofi in the head to take over for real this time with Anderson working on the arm.

That goes nowhere as the hot tag brings in Woods to clean house. Anderson sends him to the apron for an enziguri, setting up the rope walk elbow drop. Everything breaks down and Anderson kicks Kofi in the chest, setting up the Magic Killer. Stewart gets in though and it’s time to crotch him as well. Hang on though as he has to tuck in his shirt first. Cue the returning Big E. for the save though and that’s a DQ at 9:09.

Rating: D. I don’t know if it was the previous match or what but sweet goodness the fans did NOT care for this one. It’s not a good match in the first place as Anderson and Gallows aren’t funny in the doctor roles, but the bigger problem here was the focus being on Stewart at the end. Oh and the ending sets up a rematch, which really isn’t what they need to be going with here. Bad match but Big E.’s return did wake up the crowd.

Big E. drinks the fluid in the jar holding his “testicles”. Stewart dances with New Day and the fans…well they care when Big E. dances at least.

We recap Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler. Dolph won a six way match to earn the shot and then it all went nuts. Ziggler started talking about how he was tired of being told that he always either too good or not good enough. It was time to turn up the jets and become champion for the third time. Serious Ziggler was nice but I don’t think anyone was buying him as having a real chance here. You know, because he’s Dolph Ziggler.

Smackdown World Title: Dolph Ziggler vs. Dean Ambrose

Dean is defending and Shane and Daniel are here for no apparent reason. The fans are behind Ziggler and they trade some grappling on the mat with Ziggler getting the better of it (not exactly a surprise). The threat of a neckbreaker sends Ambrose bailing to the floor so Dolph splashes him against the barricade.

Back in and Ziggler’s jumping DDT is countered with Dean throwing him outside again. Ziggler escapes a super Dirty Deeds so Dean slaps on a half crab of all things. You can tell Dean is playing the subtle heel here as the smark crowd is always going to cheer for Ziggler. Dean heads up top and gets dropkicked out of the air but he’s right back with a double chickenwing facebuster.

Ambrose tunes up the band (which is now mocking Ziggler instead of anything involving Shawn Michaels) but shakes his head and tries Dirty Deeds instead. That’s reversed into the jumping DDT and both guys are down again. A double collision gives us another lay down period until Dean is up first and hammering away.

The top rope elbow gets two so Ziggler grabs the sleeper, earning them both a tumble out to the floor. Ziggler gets in the superkick on the floor but it’s barely two back inside. The Zig Zag gets the same but Dean pops back up with the rebound lariat. Ziggler catches Dean on top and pulls him back down, right into Dirty Deeds to retain the title at 15:22.

Rating: D+. And that people, is Ziggler choking again. This would lead to him saying he’s never won the big one, which would turn into him never holding the World Title that long because holding the title is more important than winning it. The match was nothing all that good as we were just waiting on Dirty Deeds, which only happened so Dean could keep it warm for AJ next month. That was completely obvious the second AJ pinned Cena again and that’s all this title needed to do.

Package on Summerslam weekend.

Natalya/Alexa Bliss/Eva Marie vs. Becky Lynch/Naomi/Carmella

Dang I didn’t know the Glow was a year old. Actually hang on a minute as Eva Marie is suffering from exhaustion, anxiety and stress (likely brought on by reading too many Wellness Violation messages, which meant she would never wrestle again) so we have a replacement. At least we got that amazing entrance one more time.

Natalya/Alexa Bliss/Nikki Bella vs. Becky Lynch/Naomi/Carmella

So yeah, you know full well that Nikki is going to be all that matters in this match because IT’S HER BIG COMEBACK THAT EVERYONE TOTALLY CARES ABOUT BECAUSE WE LOVE HER SO MUCH! She does get one heck of a pop though, which is rather scary. During her entrance, Mauro declares her return “miraculous”. Oh man this is going to be a long one.

Bliss rolls Becky up to start and gets in a hard slap for good measure. Naomi comes in to scare Alexa off so it’s Natalya instead. A forearm puts Natalya down and the splits legdrop gets two. Carmella comes in for the Staten Island Shuffle before a missed charge sends Natalya outside. Back in and a powerslam out of the corner plants Carmella before it’s off to Nikki, the heel, for a strong face pop.

We hit the chinlock but hang on as we need some Nikki pushups. Alexa chokeshoves Carmella down for the moonsault knees to the ribs as the crowd is dead all over again. The abdominal stretch keeps things slow until Carmella finally rolls over and makes the hot tag to Becky. All three heels are send into the corner for the springboard kicks from Lynch, followed by a Bexploder on Natalya.

Becky’s top rope legdrop gets two with Nikki making the save. A blind tag brings in Naomi for the dancing kicks with the fans just not reacting at all. Bliss’ springboard splash hits knees so it’s off to Nikki vs. Carmella. A bad looking Bronco Buster gets two on Nikki and everything breaks down. Nikki’s big forearm sets up the Rack Attack 2.0 (Nikki: “I’m back.”) for the pin at 11:16.

Rating: D. This was all about Nikki’s return and that’s not enough to carry a dull match. Naomi’s Glow stuff wasn’t over yet, Becky was stuck around people who weren’t up to her level and Carmella was showing that she didn’t need to be on the main roster yet. The same was true for Alexa and Natalya was her usual self. Just not a good match and it showed the lack of depth to the division.

We recap Rusev vs. Roman Reigns. Rusev and Lana were married and so Reigns interrupted for no apparent reason to insult them and shove them into a cake.

Maria Menunos interviews Rusev and Lana, who don’t like her questions about Reigns. They won’t stand for this and Lana is sure that her husband will destroy Reigns.

We recap the Universal Title match. Basically we need a new title due to the Brand Split and Universal Title was the best they could come up with. Seth Rollins was put into the match as Raw’s #1 draft pick and Finn Balor earned his way in by winning a series of matches. Not much else to it as there’s no major animosity between them but it’s better than pulling the title out of a suitcase.

Seth did get in a great promo talking about how he’s done everything Balor has done but he’s done it a little bit better. He’s not wrong, though that’s not the best thing to do when you have someone so new to the main roster. Then Balor showed up as the Demon and scared Rollins to death.

Universal Title: Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins

Anything goes and the title (which isn’t that well received due to a bad case of being hideous) is vacant coming in. Unless I’m forgetting something, to date this is the only time Balor has wrestled as the Demon on the main roster. We get the Big Match Intros and the title itself receives some hearty boos. Balor dropkicks him into the corner at the bell but it’s too early for the Coup de Grace.

Instead Balor hits a suicide dive to the floor, followed by some kicks to the knee back inside. They head outside again with Seth getting in his first offense via a suplex on the floor. Balor is right back with something like a Phenomenal Forearm off the barricade. Back in again and Balor hits a basement dropkick for two as this is almost one sided so far. Finn stays on the leg as the fans are singing something.

Balor jumps over the ropes but Rollins slides between his legs and powerbombs him into the barricade, completely destroying Balor’s shoulder and putting him on the shelf for the better part of eight months. We’re less than four minutes in though and you can see the shoulder looking all messed up. Back in and Seth gets two off a backbreaker, setting up a chinlock. The chants are still going and it sounds like THAT TITLE SUCKS to the tune of John Cena Sucks.

Seth starts the trash talk and cuts off a comeback attempt. A snapmare into a kick to the back has Finn in even more trouble but Seth would rather walk around than follow up. It’s back to the chinlock for a good while until the springboard knee to the head sets up Seth’s frog splash for two. What looks like a Rainmaker is countered into a DDT to give Balor his first major offense in a long time and he follows up with some forearms.

A basement dropkick sets up the Sling Blade but Seth kicks him down without much effort. An enziguri stuns Balor but he’s right back with the Pele, earning a very nice round of applause. If nothing else the chants about the title have stopped. 1916 (reverse implant DDT) gives Finn two but the Coup de Grace is countered into a triangle choke of all things. Finn falls outside because rope breaks don’t count (anything goes remember) and things slow down a bit.

Back in and the buckle bomb sets up the low superkick for two on Balor with Seth looking stunned on the kickout. A small package driver gets the same count and reaction so Seth goes up, allowing Balor to hit a very loud enziguri to put him on the floor. Balor adds a shotgun dropkick to send him into the barricade, followed by a top rope double stomp to the back of the head for two. The Coup de Grace misses and it’s a Pedigree for two. Finn counters a second Pedigree into a double stomp, followed by the Coup de Grace for the pin and the title at 19:23.

Rating: B+. When you factor in that shoulder injury, this is quite the impressive performance. Above all else though, how good is it that Balor won the title here? If he loses his first major pay per view match and then goes away until April, he’s lucky to come back to the cruiserweight division.

This was a heck of a match with both guys beating the heck out of each other. It took some time to get built up but once they finally got there, the fans really started to accept things, which is a very positive sign. Balor is someone who is going to get a very positive reaction no matter what and giving him the title here was entirely the right call.

Balor can barely move his right arm after the match but finally holds the title up. On his WWE 24 special, he said you could feel and hear the shoulder crunching and crackling as he lifted the title and it probably did more damage to the arm.

The pre-show channel chats a bit and throws us to a KFC ad with Dolph Ziggler dressing up as Colonel Sanders to beat up Miz dressed as a chicken. It’s actually dumber than you remember it being.

Here’s Lana to introduce Rusev, albeit while wearing half of a wedding dress, the bottom of which looks like a diaper. She’s one of the most beautiful women on the roster but she looks ridiculous here.

US Title: Rusev vs. Roman Reigns

Roman is challenging and the booing is strong with this one. Rusev jumps him before the bell and they fight out to the floor with Roman being sent into the steps. The fans chant RUSEV MACHKA because they’ve given up on America over their hatred for Reigns. Roman gets in a Superman Punch as the bell hasn’t rung yet. They fight over a chair with Reigns getting the better of it and destroying Rusev. Reigns finally leaves but comes back with a spear, all while the fans chant WE WANT SLATER. No match of course, likely due to time issues.

We recap Randy Orton vs. Brock Lesnar. This match was announced as Orton’s return match from surgery and the build focused on Orton being able to hit the RKO anytime, including a sweet moment where Orton interrupted a Lesnar promo with an RKO. The hype video even includes some OVW clips as they came up through developmental together and debuted within a few months of each other. This had a heck of a build and felt like something important but the question was whether Lesnar would have an actual match or just do his usual Lesnar stuff.

Randy Orton vs. Brock Lesnar

Heyman handles Lesnar’s introduction, saying he’s conquering out of the University of Suplex City. Brock seems to get into his MMA stance to start before driving Orton into the corner for the shoulders to the ribs. Orton escapes the first German suplex attempt but can’t hit the RKO.

Now the first suplex connects (with Mauro knowing that it’s the 33^rd Lesnar has hit at Summerslam because he’s awesome that way) and Brock follows with two more. Orton is almost out on his feet so Lesnar suplexes him again. It’s nothing but suplexes at this point and it’s already getting dull. They head outside for a much needed change of pace with Orton being thrown over the announcers’ table.

Orton gets thrown from the front row through the table as this is dominance. The other table is loaded up but whatever Lesnar is trying is countered into the RKO onto (not through) the table. The hanging DDT plants Lesnar back inside and another RKO gets two. Orton realizes he has no choice and tries the Punt, only to have it reversed into the F5 (bad one) for two more.

That’s enough for Lesnar so he takes off the gloves and pads and hammers on Orton. An elbow to the head actually busts Orton open VERY badly. Lesnar just keeps hammering on him while the fans chant GOLDBERG until the referee FINALLY stops it at 11:47. I’ve heard a bunch of answers about what happened but I believe this was the planned ending and a hard way opening.

Rating: D. Yeah this didn’t work when it happened and it didn’t work again this time around. Lesnar suplexing Orton for five minutes then selling a few big moves doesn’t make me think it’s an awesome main event. This was everything wrong with Lesnar’s current WWE run in one match and that made for a really dull match, save for the odd finish that seemed designed to protect Orton. You know, after he was basically squashed.

Lesnar keeps hammering on him until the always intimidating Shane McMahon comes out, earning himself an F5 (which thankfully didn’t lead anywhere). Heyman panics as they leave to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. If you cut an hour (or more) out of this, it’s bordering on the classic level. As it is, this is just a good show that runs WAY too long. At some point you have to cut something out and WWE just refuses to do that. Cut out the Dudleys match or the women’s tag and give us some breathing room here because sweet goodness this show could use it.

Now that being said, there’s some outstanding stuff on here with the Styles vs. Cena match as an instant classic, the Women’s Title being very good, a great Universal Title match and really only the Tag Team Title match being without much value. The show is certainly good and the positives outweigh the negatives but unless the show is a masterpiece, fans are going to start losing interest near the end. It’s a solid show but cut out a good forty minutes to really make it great.

Ratings Comparison

American Alpha/Hype Bros/Usos vs. Breezango/Ascension/Vaudevillains

Original: C

2017 Redo: B-

Dudley Boyz vs. Neville/Sami Zayn

Original: C

2017 Redo: C-

Sheamus vs. Cesaro

Original: B-

2017 Redo: B

Chris Jericho/Kevin Owens vs. Enzo Amore/Big Cass

Original: C+

2017 Redo: C+

Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte

Original: B

2017 Redo: B

Miz vs. Apollo Crews

Original: C

2017 Redo: D+

John Cena vs. AJ Styles

Original: A

2017 Redo: A

New Day vs. Anderson and Gallows

Original: D+

2017 Redo: D

Dolph Ziggler vs. Dean Ambrose

Original: B-

2017 Redo: D+

Natalya/Alexa Bliss/Nikki Bella vs. Becky Lynch/Naomi/Carmella

Original: C

2017 Redo: D

Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins

Original: B+

2017 Redo: D+

Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton

Original: C+

2017 Redo: D

Overall Rating

Original: B

2017 Redo: B-

That’s quite the drop on Ambrose vs. Ziggler and Lesnar vs. Orton. Some of them are spot on though and that’s not the biggest surprise.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2016/08/21/summerslam-2016-they-didnt/

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.

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

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

Kickoff Show: Laredo Kid vs. Trick Williams

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Danhausen vs. JD McDonagh

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bayley is ready to finish Lyra Valkyria.

Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CM Punk/Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther/Sami Zayn

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

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

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

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

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

Summerslam rundown.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

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

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

Smackdown
Date: July 10, 2026
Location: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett

And then everything changed, as CM Punk won the Smackdown World Title on Raw, despite not being a Smackdown wrestler. He might be now, but it’s not sure if that’s the case or not. Odds are we’ll hear something about that tonight as there is a good chance that Punk will be on the show. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the Smackdown World Title situation on Raw, with Gunther attacking Cody Rhodes and costing him a chance to challenge Sami Zayn for the title. CM Punk stepped in and got the title shot instead, beating Zayn to become champion.

Here is Nick Aldis, who got Punk to challenge for the title, to say that he is officially back as Smackdown GM. With that out of the way, here is Punk for a chat. Aldis welcomes Punk to the show and steps aside, with Punk saying he missed the Smackdown fans. Punk has been negotiating to come to Smackdown and those discussions were expedited on Monday, when he got into his gear at his house and drove to the Allstate Arena where he won the title. When title opportunities fall out of the sky, he’s there to catch them and he’s ready to defend this title anytime.

If someone thinks he has something that belongs to them, come try and take it. Punk brings up Sami Zayn, who deserves a rematch, Gunther, knowing it’s a mistake to bring up, and Finn Balor, who can come get a third shot any time. He lists off a few other names but here is Cody Rhodes to interrupt. Rhodes asks about Punk’s black eye, with Punk saying he knows Rhodes wants to know something else…so what does he want to talk about?

Rhodes brings up the title matches falling out of the sky, but there are other matches that have been built up for years. Punk: “You mean like CM Punk vs. Cody Rhodes?” That sounded like a Wrestlemania main event but they can’t run from each other much more. The challenge is made for Summerslam so they shake hands, with Aldis making it official. Yeah that’s a big time Summerslam match and worthy of a main event.

Jade Cargill, with Michin and B-Fab, has requested and received a match with Alexa Bliss tonight. This is part of Cargill ruining Charlotte’s life and she’s not responsible for taking Bliss out.

Finn Balor vs. Tama Tonga

Talla Tonga is here with Tama and this is fallout from the Tongas attacking Balor last week. Balor double legs him to start and hammers away but Tama gets in an elbow to the face. A clothesline puts Tama on the floor but Talla breaks up the big dive, allowing Tama to get in the shot from behind.

We take a break and come back with Balor striking away, setting up a Nightmare On Helm Street for two. A spinning belly to back suplex gets Tama out of trouble but Balor puts him right back into it with the Sling Blade. Tama cuts him off again and hits a spinning Pedigree for two so Balor backdrops him to the floor. The big running flip dive hits both Tongas and the Coup de Grace gives Balor the pin at 9:47.

Rating: B. I’m not sure what happened but they flipped a switch in the last few minutes and turned on the jets. The final two or so minutes here was an awesome fast paced slugfest with one big move after another. Balor can work well with anyone and Tama held up his end rather well here. It started good and then got very good, which made it even more fun than I was expecting.

Carmelo Hayes is ready to prove himself again because he wants to get his hands on Trick Williams.

R-Truth pays off Fraxiom over a lost bet but the War Raiders come in to say these games need to end. Jimmy Uso and Jacob Fatu come in, saying they’re looking for Solo Sikoa. R-Truth agrees to tell Sikoa they’re looking for him. Damian Priest comes up and seems ok with them, while also saying Royce Keys is here. R-Truth doesn’t like that, but Priest says Keys isn’t with them.

Sami Zayn, on a mental health break, is on the phone with Nick Aldis, who says he does have the authority to make a match between CM Punk and Cody Rhodes. Gunther comes in to slap the phone away and says he belongs in the World Title match. Aldis has until the end of the night to fix that.

Here are Jimmy Uso and Jacob Fatu to call out Solo Sikoa. Instead they get Royce Keys, who Fatu doesn’t think looks like Sikoa. Keys says their family business is starting to affect him and Fatu doesn’t like that. Fatu says Keys can say a lot, but please don’t go there about OTC business. Uso clarifies that Keys isn’t part of this family but Keys talks about all of the family members he has lost.

Fatu has been his brother and Keys isn’t letting him go. Uso says this is crossing a line that he can’t come back from and he doesn’t want to do this. Keys isn’t here to fight…but steps forward over a line. Uso says that the two of them are going to give Keys the worst beating they’ve ever given anyone. Keys: “We?” This is all on Uso so he says get a referee out here. Keys knocks Uso outside with a clothesline and we take a break with the referee arriving.

Jimmy Uso vs. Royce Keys

Keys knocks him down to start and fires away right hands in the corner. A suplex puts Uso down but they head outside, with Uso sending him into the steps. The chinlock goes on back inside but Keys is up, only to be sent back to the floor. Keys is sent over the announcers’ table and we take a break.

We come back with Keys getting two off a powerslam so it’s time for the straps to come down. Keys plants him onto the announcers’ table but gets posted to cut off the momentum. Cue Solo Sikoa behind Uso to load up the Spike, which brings out Jacob Fatu. The brawl is on, allowing Uso to spear Keys for the pin at 9:25.

Rating: C+. I’m not wild on Keys losing, though it’s even worse when he loses to Jimmy Uso’s spear. Trying to make it the family move is quite a stretch when only Reigns really has the power/explosiveness to make it look good and the Samoan drop already exists. Anyway, this was more of the Bloodline drama, which is going on underneath everything Roman Reigns has going on with Seth Rollins for Summerslam. That’s a lot at once and I’m still not even sure where this part is going.

Post match Fatu lays out Sikoa and then superkicks Keys. Fatu loads up the Umaga Attack on Sikoa, who has a chair around his neck, but hits the brakes and yells at him instead.

After losing the title on Monday, Sami Zayn went on a rant about how unfair the whole thing was.

CM Punk wants everyone to get in line to come after the title but here are Candice LeRae and Johnny Gargano. LeRae yells at Punk for taking away their hope of Gargano getting better. Punk remembers him as Johnny Wrestling and says whatever this is, it isn’t working. As Punk goes to leave, Finn Balor welcomes him to the show, with an eye on the belt.

Fatal Influence have had fun taking out Brie Bella and Paige and they’re ready to do it again for the Women’s Tag Team Titles at Saturday Night’s Main Event. I’d certainly hope so.

Alexa Bliss vs. Jade Cargill

Charlotte and the minions are here too. An early Charlotte distraction lets Bliss go after Cargill’s leg and a knee to the face puts Cargill down. That just earns Bliss some backbreakers and we take a break. We come back with Cargill missing a boot in the corner so Bliss can hammer away. The running Blockbuster gives Bliss two but Sister Abigail is broken up. Charlotte gets in a neck snap across the top to give Bliss two so it’s time for the seconds to get in a fight. Cargill gets in a pump kick into Jaded for the pin at 7:04.

Rating: C+. This was another way to continue the path towards Cargill vs. Charlotte, which absolutely feels like a big showdown. I could go for seeing the two of them fight and hopefully they manage to make it work. Bliss and Charlotte have come incredibly far as a team and this was a good use of a story that has worked for years in wrestling.

Post match Charlotte fights off the minions for a bit but Cargill uses a chair to snap Bliss’ arm, allowing Bliss to do her arm out of joint deal.

Trick Williams can’t find his title but Lil Yachty comes up to present him a custom fur lined title.

Alexa Bliss is taken to the trainer’s room. I’m not sure why we needed to see this.

Carmelo Hayes vs. Trick Williams

Non-title and Lil Yachty is here with Williams. Hayes gets knocked into the corner to start so Williams can stomp away. Back up and Hayes gets in a spinning crossbody, earning himself a Trick Slap as we take an early break. We come back with Hayes grabbing Dirty Diana for two and they both need a breather. Williams gets in some leg lariats, followed by a Rock Bottom for two.

Hayes flips out of a fireman’s carry though and grabs a middle rope DDT for two of his own. The jumping neckbreaker gives Williams two but Hayes knocks him off the top, setting up a frog splash for another near fall. The Trick Kick gives Williams two more but he misses a charge in the corner. Yachty gets dropped and the First 48 takes Williams down. Hayes goes up top…but Baron Corbin of all people is back to pull him into the ropes for the DQ at 10:30.

Rating: B-. They were having a good match before the big surprise return. Corbin isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but he could be a great addition to the midcard. As long as he doesn’t become the focal point of the show, he should be perfectly fine and could have some good matches with Williams, Hayes and more. The match itself was good, but these two are likely to have a big PPV match somewhere down the line after their lengthy history together.

Post match Corbin lays both of them out and drops the furry title on Williams.

Here is Gunther, with Nick Aldis coming in to say Gunther can have what he wants. Gunther can have Punk and Rhodes…at Saturday Night’s Main Event in a tag match, when he teams up with Sami Zayn. Summerslam isn’t changing one bit, which earns Aldis a beatdown. Gunther boots him in the face and grabs the sleeper a few times. Cody Rhodes runs in for the save (though the show cuts off when he’s still in the aisle) to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was designed to set up a few big matches for Summerslam, which certainly needs the help to boost things up with a few weeks ago to go. Punk vs. Rhodes being set up is a good move, as that’s absolutely a main event level match. Other than that, some of the matches which were either already set or close to it got a few nice upgrades. I liked this show, as it’s nice to have a more clear direction after everything has been shaken up in recent weeks.

Results
Finn Balor b. Tama Tonga – Coup de Grace
Jimmy Uso b. Royce Keys – Spear
Jade Cargill b. Alexa Bliss – Jaded
Carmelo Hayes b. Trick Williams via DQ when Baron Corbin interfered

 

 

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: July 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

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

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

Here is Night Of Champions if you need a recap.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We look at Blake Monroe attacking Giulia last week.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Brie Bella vs. Lainey Reid

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

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

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

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

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

Jey Uso vs. Cody Rhodes

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

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

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

Night Of Champions 2026
Date: June 27, 2026
Location: Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s the tournament show with the King and Queen Of The Ring both being crowned. In addition though we have the Smackdown World Title on the line with Cody Rhodes defending against Gunther and Sami Zayn. There’s a cage match as well to make this even bigger so let’s get to it.

King Of The Ring: Jey Uso vs. Oba Femi

The fans certainly seem to like the Uso entrance and it does look awesome in this venue. Uso hits him in the face to start and it doesn’t exactly work, as Femi just gets mad. Femi knocks him outside but Uso is back up for a dive to send Femi into the barricade. Another dive is blocked though and Femi takes him inside for some whips into the corner.

The Fall From Grace is escaped though and Uso hits some basement superkicks. The Superfly Splash only gets one (uh oh) and Femi chokeslams him for two more. Uso comes back with a spear and hits another Superfly Splash but his own ribs are banged up. Another Superfly Splash gets two but Femi is right back up with a running uppercut. Uso gets thrown down again and the Fall From Grace gives Femi the clean win at 7:55.

Rating: B-. This was a weird one as I was expecting a bunch of people to get involved but instead Femi just absorbed everything Uso threw at him and then won in the middle of the ring. It was a question of whether the Bloodline would get the big spot or if WWE was pulling the trigger on Femi and he is at least going to get the chance. That’s an interesting way to go and I want to see how it plays out so we’ll call that a success.

Post match Femi said Uso might have been able to beat one man but he couldn’t beat fate and destiny. Uso couldn’t beat Femi either because he is the Ruler and the Destroyer. Now he’s the King.

Here is Danhausen for a chat. He is happy because he has come into a lot of human monies but here is Liv Morgan to interrupt. The Judgment Day is not happy with how much money Danhausen has taken from them and they want it back. Instead Danhausen curses her and gets slapped, which doesn’t seem to bother him that much.

Queen Of The Ring: Liv Morgan vs. Iyo Sky

Non-title. Sky starts fast and takes her into the corner, followed by a basement dropkick. They head outside where Sky blocks a ram into the barricade but takes too long climbing onto said barricade. Morgan gets in a shot to take over and they go back inside, where a top rope facebuster gives Morgan two. Sky fights out of the corner but dives into a quickly broke Boston crab, allowing Sky to stomp on her ribs.

Another shot to the face lets Sky connect with the missile dropkick, followed by the running knees in the corner for two. Sky knocks her outside for the big moonsault before going up top again, only to be shoved onto the steps. That leaves Sky with a banged up knee so of course Morgan ties it up with a half crab.

Sky escapes again and hits her in the face but the knee gives out, allowing Morgan to hit a springboard Codebreaker for two more. Another comeback results in Sky banging up the knee again and Morgan knocks her into the corner. Morgan goes up, only to get taken down with a super Spanish Fly. Over The Moonsault gives Sky the win at 14:58.

Rating: C. I wasn’t exactly feeling this one and the ending didn’t do it any favors. The big deal was that Sky injured her knee but she’s then able to hit a pair of big moves off the top? At the same time, I’m not wild on having a champion lose clean to set up a title shot, even if Sky chooses to go after the other champion. Not their greatest stuff here.

Post match Sky picks Morgan for the Summerslam title match. It’s in five weeks but dang that’s a stretch to make me want to watch these two fight again.

We recap the Smackdown World Title match. Cody Rhodes beat Gunther at Clash In Italy but Gunther’s foot was underneath the rope. They had a rematch with Sami Zayn as guest referee but Zayn got a bit too involved. They did it again and Zayn caused a DQ so it’s time for a triple threat. Well later on that is.

Seth Rollins vs. Bron Breakker

In a cage. They both throw in a bunch of weapons and sit in chairs to yell at each other before they actually start fighting. Rollins hammers away but Breakker snaps off some German suplexes and sends him into the cage. Breakker gorilla presses him into the cage and grabs a trashcan but bangs up his knee. Rollins gets to slug away, followed by the kendo stick shots to the back.

A ram into the cage has Breakker in trouble and Rollins sends him in a few more times. Rollins sets up a table in the corner and has to cut off a spear attempt before throwing a chair at Breakker. A bunch of chairs are piled up but that takes too long, allowing Breakker to snap off a super Frankensteiner for two. Breakker puts him in a chair and knocks him back out before promising that Rollins is going to die.

Rollins’ head is put inside a chair but Breakker’s golf club style chair swing misses. Some superkicks have Breakker in trouble but he knocks Rollins right back onto a table. That’s not enough for Breakker though as he goes up, with Rollins catching him for a superplex through the table in the big crash.

Breakker (whose eye is gushing blood) gets back up with a suplex into the Super Spear for two. That’s enough for Breakker to go for the door but Rollins cuts him off. Back in and the spear only hits the table in the corner, allowing Rollins to hit a Pedigree and Stomp for the very near fall. Breakker begs off from another Stomp so Rollins hits a top rope Stomp for the pin at 19:02.

Rating: C+. The blood on the eye, which I’m assuming was unintentional, was a boost but my goodness I am sick of these weapons cage matches. You’re in a big steel box with someone you hate. Why do you need all of the extra stuff? Anyway, this was a dead feud a long time ago as the Bloodline has lapped the Vision and Rollins’ real feud is with Paul Heyman, who isn’t even here at the moment. I’m not sure I get Breakker losing, but it’s not a great step for him in the slightest. Meanwhile Rollins is likely going to be the same person he was before so….what was the point here?

US Title: Trick Williams vs. Ricky Saints

Williams, with Lil Yachty, is defending. Saints jumps him from behind to start fast but Williams is right back with the chops in the corner. The threat of a Trick Shot puts Saints on the floor, where he steals Yachty’s kendo stick. Saints feigns Yachty hitting him with the stick and that’s enough for an ejection. Back in and Saints takes over on Williams, including some knees to the back and head.

Some shots to the back have Williams in more trouble but he manages a suplex for a breather. Williams grabs Saints’ hand and jumps over him, setting up a release Rock Bottom for two. Saints avoids a boot in the corner though and a swinging neckbreaker gets two more. Roshambo is countered into a backdrop but Saints avoids the running knee in the corner. A tornado DDT sets up a weird top rope elbow to give Saints two but another tornado DDT is blocked. The Trick Shot retains at 10:43.

Rating: C+. This was your basic Smackdown match and that’s not a bad way to go. Saints never once felt like a real threat to win the title and they were doing all they could to set him up with the Yachty ejection. Williams is on fire right now and it would have been insane to take the title off of him so thankfully they went in the right direction.

Post match Saints goes after Williams again but Yachty is back with the kendo stick. Yachty hits a People’s Elbow (Graves: “The People’s El-Boat!”) for the revenge.

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

Stratton is defending and slugs away to start but has to flip out of an early torture rack. Stratton’s running hip attack connects in the ropes but her suicide dive is cut off. Back in and Cargill starts to go with the power, including knocking Stratton into the corner. Stratton can’t fight back yet but she can escape Jaded and hurricanrana Cargill into the corner. A Regal Roll but the Prettiest Moonsault Ever hits raised knees.

Cargill’s Sandstorm gets two and another Jaded is countered into a jawbreaker. Cue the minions for a distraction, allowing Cargill to hit a chokeslam for two. Chelsea Green pops out from underneath the ring to take them out, with B-Fab being thrown into the title podium. Green grabs the title so Cargill pulls her inside and goes after the title as well. Cue Charlotte to belt Cargill in the face though, allowing the Prettiest Moonsault Ever to retain at 7:41.

Rating: C+. This was another perfectly fine but mostly unremarkable match as the two of them did their thing until Cargill’s cheating went too far. Cargill vs. Charlotte feels like the big showdown, though Rhea Ripley’s involvement is still to be determined. Stratton is going to need a new challenger though and I’m really not sure whom that is going to be.

Smackdown World Title: Gunther vs. Sami Zayn vs. Cody Rhodes

Rhodes is defending. Zayn is knocked outside to start but comes back in to cut Gunther off. Back up and Rhodes hits a running shoulder for two and we settle down a bit. Gunther pulls Zayn outside and goes back in to hammer on Rhodes. Zayn is knocked down again and Rhodes gets two off a sunset flip to Gunther. The powerbomb and Cross Rhodes are both countered but a second powerbomb gets two, with Zayn having to make a save.

Gunther is sent outside and Rhodes gets caught in a Blue Thunder Bomb for two more. The Helluva Kick is blocked though and Gunther sends Zayn outside, leaving him to uppercut Rhodes in the corner. Rhodes fights back and hits Cross Rhodes, with Zayn pulling the referee out. Gunther comes back in to powerbomb both of them but Zayn counters another into a Code Red for two.

The Helluva Kick hits Gunther but this time Rhodes pulls the referee out. It’s time to load up the announcers’ table, where Rhodes reverses a package piledriver and backdrops Zayn through the other table for the big crash. Gunther is back up for another powerbomb through the other table and the sleeper has Rhodes in trouble back inside. The arm is raised up but Zayn dives in to keep it from falling, earning the wrath of Gunther.

An exploder sends Gunther into the corner and the Helluva Kick gives Zayn two. Rhodes is back up with the Cody Cutter to Gunther but Zayn gives Rhodes Cross Rhodes of his own. Zayn grabs a sleeper on Gunther but Rhodes is back up for a double Cross Rhodes. He tries another on Zayn, who reverses into a cradle to pin Rhodes for the title at 18:39.

Rating: B. He actually got it. I’m kind of stunned as the idea of Zayn winning the title is something that is hard to actually believe but I’ll take what I can get. This is the big moment that the show was dying for and all that matters is Zayn finally won the title. Odds are it doesn’t last long, but dang that’s a heck of a moment and long overdue. The match was the best on the show as well, which granted isn’t a surprise given the people involved. I’m not sure he’s going to hold it long (he probably won’t) but Zayn is champion and that’s a great thing to see.

Zayn gets the big and well deserved celebration to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The ending pulled this one back from the brink as this just was not a very interesting show. I was rather bored multiple times as the matches might have been fine but they were absolutely lacking any kind of fire. Maybe it was the extra travel or something but this was not one of their better efforts. Zayn finally getting his moment is the important thing though and that boosted this one up a long way.

Results
Oba Femi b. Jey Uso – Fall From Grace
Iyo Sky b. Liv Morgan – Over The Moonsault
Seth Rollins b. Bron Breakker – Middle rope Stomp
Trick Williams b. Ricky Saints – Trick Shot
Tiffany Stratton b. Jade Cargill – Prettiest Moonsault Ever
Sami Zayn b. Gunther and Cody Rhodes – Rollup to Rhodes

 

 

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

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