Smackdown
Date: September 5, 2025
Location: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re back from Europe after Clash In Paris and the main story here is something from Raw. In this case that’s because hometown legend CM Punk has all but said he’ll be here, while suggesting that he might be bringing a certain family member with him. John Cena is here too, and that might make for some big moments with just over two weeks to go before Wrestlepalooza. Let’s get to it.

Here is Clash In Paris if you need a recap.

We open with a long Clash In Paris recap.

Here is John Cena to get things going and the fans are happy to see him. Cena says he’s glad to hear that because he’s been trying to give it everything he has on this farewell tour. He’s out there with nothing planned and tonight he’s here to just take it in. Cena isn’t used to the most positive receptions around here but these people are special. Their chants can bring people back to WWE but this is Cena’s final time in Chicago and on Smackdown (oh that’s big).

This place is important for him though because he started his WWE career right here. This place is special though, because for Cena it is the greatest crowd WWE has. Cena thanks the fans but here is Sami Zayn to interrupt. The fans don’t seem happy to see him but Zayn is here to thank Cena for everything he’s done. Zayn reminds Cena that he debuted against Cena in a US Open Challenge and here he is as the US Champion. Therefore, with Cena’s permission, he wants to bring back the US Open Challenge.

Works for Cena, who goes to leave, but Zayn stops him. If this is Cena’s last night on Smackdown, he wants to repay the favor and give Cena a shot at the US Title. Again, works for Cena. This was a more emotional moment for Cena and you could tell it was meaning something to him. Zayn’s part was a nice call back and bonus as well.

US Title: John Cena vs. Sami Zayn

Cena is challenging. We’re joined in progress with Cena working on the arm but Zayn is right back with an armbar of his own. Cena’s armbar is broken up and Zayn springboards over him, only to get suplexed back down. One heck of a whip into the corner has Zayn in trouble and we take a break.

We come back with Cena hitting the AA for two and blocking the exploder into the corner. A pop up powerbomb gives Cena two (nice nod to Kevin Owens) but he misses a charge into the post. The Helluva Kick misses and Cena hits an Angle Slam (Cole completely misses the point but Graves catches it) for two.

We take another break and come back with Zayn hitting the exploder into the Helluva Kick for two and they’re both down. Zayn misses a charge in the corner and walks into a GTS of all things for two more. A spear of all things gives Cena two (Cole AGAIN misses the point, saying that was a nod to Roman Reigns, with Graves suggesting it was a certain Canadian) and the fans, in on the idea, want an RKO. Instead it’s a super AA and they’re both down again….and here’s Brock Lesnar. The referee is pulled out and we’ll call it a no contest at 21:30.

Rating: B+. They were rocking near the end and I think we can accept the interference ending as a way to keep either from taking a loss. Cena just going nuts and doing a big tribute to a bunch of his old opponents (he used an ankle lock during a break) was a lot of fun. Zayn wasn’t exactly popular here, but it was still a heck of a match as they were both feeling it.

Post match it’s an F5 apiece as the fans aren’t pleased. Lesnar gives Cena another F5, puts his hat back on, and leaves.

Post break, Lesnar says he’ll see Cena at Wrestlepalooza and the match is on.

And with that, we’re over 50 minutes into the show. Not a bad start.

Carmelo Hayes and Miz talk to a busy Nick Aldis about a Tag Team Title match. He’ll consider it and hurries off.

Becky Lynch arrives.

Video on Aleister Black vs. Damian Priest.

Damian Priest vs. Aleister Black

Black jumps him from behind during the entrance and sends Priest over the barricade before the bell. We take a break and come back with a limping Priest trying to get inside but Black kicks him down. Black sends him inside and the bell rings, with Priest falling down off a big swing. Black gets in something like an Octopus hold, followed by a middle rope Meteora and we take a break.

We come back with Black getting crotched on top but he elbows Priest in the head for two more. Priest fights up and slugs away, including some hard kicks to the chest. The Old School crossbody connects and Black Downward Spirals him onto the apron, followed by a Razor’s Edge onto the announcers’ table. They get back in and Black begs off but grabs the referee to block South Of Heaven. A quick Black Mass finishes for Black at 9:37.

Rating: B-. Priest is more than protected in the loss and that’s fine, as he’ll have a reason to come back for revenge later. It’s a good way for Black to look superior, though Priest is going to need to crank up the violence. That could make for a good Smackdown main event down the line, especially with some special stipulations.

Video on Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Tiffany Stratton is ready to shut Jade Cargill up next week.

Cargill is ready as well but Nia Jax interrupts. Cargill says get out of her way or catch these hands tonight.

Nick Aldis comes in to see a rather enthusiastic Becky Lynch. CM Punk is here and they can’t have anything going wrong here, but Lynch says it’ll be fine.

Women’s United States Title: Giulia vs. Michin

Giulia, with Kiana James, is defending. They slug it out to start and James gets on the apron, which doesn’t make much of a difference. Giulia misses a charge to the floor but comes back with a neckbreaker outside and we take a break. We come back with Giulia snapping off a German suplex, only for Michin to hit her own. Michin whips her into the corner for the cannonball but Giulia’s sitout driver gets two more. Michin fights up but has to hurricanrana driver James. The distraction lets Michin hit the running knee to retain at 7:35.

Rating: C+. It’s nice to see Giulia actually get in the ring, though she’s going to need a much bigger opponent than Michin. This didn’t feel like it was supposed to be some big title defense or anything close, so maybe someone new can come after the title soon. Giulia and James are a fine enough combination, with James mainly there as the standard talking distraction.

We look at Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre attacking Charlotte last week.

Charlotte is upset over her knee but Alexa Bliss, with a stethoscope comes in, saying the power of friendship will heal her pain. Charlotte talks to Lily and realizes she might be losing it.

Here is Seth Rollins, in the crowd, for a chat. He’s ready to kill the legend of CM Punk and introduces Becky Lynch, through the entrance, to make it happen. Lynch DOES NOT like the Chicago crowd and runs down their local sports teams (minus the Bears, as Rollins is a fan). Cue CM Punk to interrupt (yeah they like him), with Rollins waving with a big grin on his face in a funny bit.

Lynch thinks Punk should be embarrassed but he has nothing to be embarrassed about. Punk is tired of Rollins hiding behind everyone and Lynch asks how his jaw is feeling. The fans chant for AJ LEE and Lynch tries to cut them off but Punk says they can chant her name. Punk says he could snap his fingers and have one of his sisters (who raises her hand) take Lynch out. Or he could call Bayley or Rhea Ripley and have them do it.

Lynch slaps him over and over (Rollins dances over this) and Punk goes to the floor. This is the kind of situation he wanted to avoid, because he would never put his hands on a lady. Thankfully he knows someone who will and LET’S LIGHT IT UP. Lynch and Rollins panic as AJ skips to the ring, takes a quick lap, and gets inside as the fans are losing it. The brawl is on and Lynch drops her, followed by a big slap. Lynch and Rollins bail as Punk hugs AJ to end the show.

The pop for AJ’s return was massive as they weren’t exactly subtle that she was coming back. It helps that she doesn’t have to be some kind of all generational talent but rather just able to do what she did before. She’s only 38 so it’s not like this is someone twenty years passed their prime. This worked well and it has me interested in the mixed tag.

Overall Rating: B+. Despite having a 21 minute opening match, this wasn’t a wrestling heavy show. Instead, this was built around the very lengthy (yet great) opening segment/match/fallout and the big closing. That sets up two major matches at Wrestlepalooza and that’s what it needed to be. They didn’t bother with anything close to subtlety here, as it was two huge segments, a big match, and two midcard matches to pad it out. Heck of a show here, with the big stuff nailing it on both sides.

Results
John Cena vs. Sami Zayn went to a no contest when Brock Lesnar interfered
Aleister Black b. Damian Priest – Black Mass
Giulia b. Michin – Running knee

 

 

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

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Smackdown
Date: August 29, 2025
Location: LDLC Arena, Lyon, France
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We’re taped from France this week as the company is in the country for Sunday’s Clash In Paris event. That means this is going to be one of the big TV shows before we get to the pay per view and in this case, we have Solo Sikoa defending the US Title against Sami Zayn. John Cena is here too so things should be interesting. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s Logan Paul/John Cena showdown to further set up their Clash In Paris match. Paul then knocks Cena out to end the show, following a Brock Lesnar tease.

Paul arrive and walks from his car into the arena for a chat. After bringing up Cena calling him a parasite last week, Paul insists on sticking with English even though he’s in France. Paul lists off a bunch of stats about his money and how much he brings to the company (“YOU’RE WELCOME TKO!”). This place is becoming the WW-ME and Cena represents the past. Paul starts yelling at the fans in French and insults Cena as well, which brings out Cena to interrupt.

Cena gets right to the point: the fans are the ones who decide what kind of career Paul has. While Cena likes the idea of Paul taking WWE to new heights, he doesn’t think Paul is willing to put in the effort. Paul wants to talk about being a disrupter, but Cena was doing that twenty years ago. His brass knuckles even said WORD LIFE and he shook up all kinds of things. He even wore jorts! Cena talks about how Paul wasn’t on a list of influential influencers so he’s here to save his career.

After they take turns speaking French, Cena says that Paul is just a gimmick and goes to the floor as he talks about respect. Cena says respect is saying something bad to a fan because you’re having a bad day but then seeing them later and saying you’re sorry (which he does to a young fan). Paul tells Cena to wrap this up, but Cena says that Paul “asked for this match s*** head.” Cena says that wrestling is going to ruin Paul to wrap it up. The fact that we wasted six months on the awful heel run is astounding.

The Street Profits and B-Fab are ready to become #1 contenders again but Bo Dallas (looking and sounding incredibly like Bray Wyatt) comes in to interrupt. Dallas says the Wyatt Sicks are a family and when the Profits come for the titles, they’ll find out if the two of them are really brothers. Minor spoilers aside, I do like Dallas being himself for some promos, as it could actually allow the team to make some more sense.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Charlotte/Alexa Bliss vs. Alba Fyre/Chelsea Green

Green (substituting for an out of action Piper Niven) and Fyre are challenging but they jump Charlotte in the aisle before the match. We take a break and come back with a change having been made.

Alexa Bliss vs. Chelsea Green

Bliss charges at her to start and hammers away but gets distracted by Fyre. Back in and Green hits her in the face and yells a lot, earning a slap right back from Bliss. Green sends her into the corner and chokes on the rope, followed by a big boot. Bliss sends her outside but goes after Fyre again, allowing Green to get in a shot of her own as we take a break. We come back with Green dropkicking her out to the floor but getting sent into the barricade for her efforts.

They get back in with Bliss winning an exchange of forearms but Sister Abigail is countered with something like a Zig Zag. Back up and Bliss knocks off the top but has to deal with Fyre. Twisted Bliss doesn’t work and neither does Sister Abigail, leaving Bliss to roll her up for the pin at 8:43.

Rating: C+. Not bad here with Bliss having to fight against the odds without her partner around. I’m assuming they switched things up here due to Niven not being around and not wanting to burn off the match, which is understandable enough. Bliss getting a win on her own is good, though it would be nice to see Green not lose so often.

Post match Fyre and Green jump Bliss again until Charlotte limps out to make the save. The bad knee is taken out though and Green/Fyre stand tall.

Sami Zayn feels confident about the main event and wants to become US Champion in France.

Cody and Brandi Rhodes have had another daughter. Well that’s great.

Aleister Black asks what Damian Priest thought would happen. Black plans to show how misguided Priest really is. He’ll be the one kneeling on Priest’s chest, saying I WARNED YOU.

Priest says he knows Black wants to be like him but he just isn’t. He’s going to teach Black to run from someone like him and enjoy the beating Black receives. Priest even throws it back to commentary.

Michin vs. Kiana James

Giulia is here with James, who swings the briefcase at Michin and gets rolled up for the pin at 7 seconds.

Post match Giulia jumps Michin and sends her into the steps.

Here is Drew McIntyre for a chat. McIntyre goes around ringside to ask for an update on Cody Rhodes, thinking Michael Cole would know it because he’s “always kissing Cody Rhodes’ a**.” With no update available, McIntyre tells Randy Orton to get out here so the fans can sing his song. Cue Orton, and they do sing. McIntyre isn’t sure why Orton attacked him last week, but hopefully it wasn’t out of loyalty to Rhodes.

The reality is that Rhodes doesn’t have real friends and he’s always out for himself. Rhodes probably checked on Orton during his two year recovery from back surgery because he was gathering intel. Orton says he’ll give that some thought, but he dropped McIntyre last week because he doesn’t think much of McIntyre. That earns him a Glasgow Kiss and the fight is on, with Orton hitting a hanging DDT. Security and agents come in for the save so Orton takes them (including Hurricane Helms) out with RKO’s, allowing McIntyre to escape. Good enough stuff here, as the Rhodes vs. Orton seeds continue to be planted.

Carmelo Hayes and Miz still aren’t exactly on the same page but Miz gives him a pep talk. Bo Dallas pops in to say there is a difference between perception and reality, asking if Hayes can handle that. Hayes tells him not to write a reality check his mouth can’t cash.

Nick Aldis yells at Randy Orton, who gives Aldis a bottle of whiskey. R-Truth comes in, mistakes Aldis for someone else, and leaves.

Carmelo Hayes/The Miz vs. Street Profits

For the Clash In Paris Tag Team Title shot. Ford takes over on Miz to start and it’s off to Dawkins for a double back elbow. Dawkins hits the running spinning corner splashes but Miz grabs a foot. Hayes gets in the Fadeaway for two and we take a break. We come back with Dawkins planting Hayes and the double tag bringing in Ford and Miz.

House is quickly cleaned and a standing moonsault gets two on Miz. Back up and Miz hits a DDT for two on Ford but the Skull Crushing Finale is blocked. Hayes tags himself back in and hits a frog splash for two on Ford as things slow back down. Cue the Wyatt Sicks for a distraction to Miz, who gets knocked to the floor. The Revelation finishes Hayes at 9:07.

Rating: B-. I’m a bit surprised at the result here as Hayes and Miz have been on something of a winning streak, though the Profits feel like a bigger threat to the titles. The Wyatts are at least doing something different and they might be going after Miz and Hayes in the coming weeks. That’s better than what we’ve been getting so this was at least somewhat encouraging.

Jade Cargill surprises Tiffany Stratton in the back and reveals that she is Stratton’s next #1 contender. Cargill promises to show that they were never on the same level.

Solo Sikoa is ready to take out Sami Zayn.

Clash In Paris rundown.

US Title: Sami Zayn vs. Solo Sikoa

Sikoa, with the MFT’s, is defending. Zayn throws him to the floor to start and does his flip back into the ring as we take a break. We come back with Sikoa hitting the running Umaga Attack for two but Zayn is right back with a clothesline to the floor. The big running flip dive connects but the MFT’s cut Zayn off outside. Spinning Solo gets two and the MFT’s jump Zayn again, so here are Jacob Fatu and Jimmy Uso to go after them. The Blue Thunder Bomb gives Zayn two as most of the others brawl to the floor.

The threat of a Helluva Kick sends Sikoa outside, where he plants Zayn on the announcers’ table as we take a break. We come back with Zayn missing something off the top and getting caught in the Samoan Drop. The Superfly Splash gives Sikoa two but the Samoan Spike misses. Zayn suplexes him into the corner, only to charge into a superkick. Another Spike misses though and Zayn hits a pair of Helluva Kicks for the pin and the title at 13:27.

Rating: B-. Points for the big title change here, as that’s not something I was expecting. Zayn getting the win and the title is a nice moment for him and a good way to give him something to do before he can move on to the World Title scene. Sikoa will have multiple options to go after and Zayn’s challengers will be lined up, so this was a nice way to go.

Zayn celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Good enough show here, with the focus being split between the pay per view and the regular stuff around here. That’s a nice mixture to have, as it lets WWE look a bit towards the future beyond this Sunday. The big promo exchanged worked well and the main event was a fun surprise. Now just follow it up after this with a strong showing on Sunday and the build towards….Wrestlepalooza, because that’s really what it’s called.

Results
Alexa Bliss b. Chelsea Green – Rollup
Michin b. Kiana James – Rollup
Street Profits b. Miz/Carmelo Hayes – Revelation to Hayes
Sami Zayn b. Solo Sikoa – Helluva Kick

 

 

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

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Smackdown
Date: August 15, 2025
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Joe Tessitore

We’re coming up on Clash In Paris and the big news from last week is that John Cena will be facing Logan Paul in just over two weeks. That should make for a fun battle of promos on the way there, especially here in Cena’s hometown. In addition, the issues between Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu continue and I’m sure we’ll hear more about it this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Here are Solo Sikoa and the MFT’s to get things going. Sikoa makes it clear that they run Smackdown and if you don’t like it….well too bad! Last week, Sami Zayn showed up and attacked them, which is why he got a beating on Raw. The same thing happened to Jimmy Uso and Jacob Fatu, so if anyone wants to come out here and do something about it…and here is Zayn to interrupt. Zayn says he’s here to talk because he wants to win the Royal Rumble.

If he had beaten Rusev on Raw, that could have been in the cards. Then the team attacked him and he wants to say thank you. Aside from the World Title, the one title he has never won around here is the US Title. Sikoa says that isn’t changing anytime soon so go back to Raw. Zayn laughs that off, because he is officially on Smackdown. The fight is on, with the MFT’s beating Zayn down until Jimmy Uso and Jacob Fatu run in for the save. Nick Aldis wastes no time in coming out to make the six man main event. If Zayn is going to keep popping up around here, they might as well just officially move him over.

Chelsea Green and the Secret Hervice are not happy with last week’s caking, because it was VERY DANGEROUS.

Alexa Bliss vs. Piper Niven

Charlotte, Alba Fyre and Chelsea Green are all here too. Bliss makes the mistake of holding up the Lily doll and gets jumped from behind to start. That’s reversed into a sleeper but Niven powers out of it and hits a nice Boss Man Slam to plant Bliss. We take a break and come back with Bliss hitting her running Blockbuster for two. Niven sends her into the corner for the Cannonball though, only to miss the Vader Bomb. Bliss grabs a DDT, only for interference to break up Twisted Bliss. Not that it matters though as Bliss rolls Niven up for the pin at 7:37.

Rating: C+. This was a power vs. speed match with Bliss getting out of the way enough to make Niven miss. That worked rather well, though that swinging Boss Man Slam was the highlight of the whole thing. Niven knows how to be a force when she gets the chance and Bliss made her look good here, even in defeat.

Post match the beatdown is on, with Charlotte getting taken out too. Bliss gets crushed by Niven’s Vader Bomb to leave her laying.

Jade Cargill and Tiffany Stratton argue until Nia Jax interrupts. Stratton isn’t scared of either of them and tells them to bring it, because the outcome will be the same.

The Miz/Carmelo Hayes vs. Fraxiom

Miz and Axiom start things off but hang on as the Wyatt Sicks pop up in the crowd to watch. They lock up and fight over a test of strength until Miz takes him down for a quickly broken top wristlock. Frazer comes in and runs the ropes rather quickly, leaving Miz rather frustrated. It’s off to Hayes, who is taken into the corner as everything breaks down. Fraxiom hit stereo dives and we take an early break.

We come back with Hayes planting Axiom for two but he’s right back up for the tag off to Frazer. Some kicks to the head put the villains down and a springboard reverse Spanish Fly gets two on Hayes. The super Spanish Fly plants Hayes into the Phoenix splash but Miz steps up for a tornado DDT to Axiom and the save (and a nice one at that). Back up and Frazer tries a superplex but gets reversed into a cutter, leaving Hayes rather fired up. Hayes goes up but Miz runs in with the Skull Crushing Finale and the pin at 12:17.

Rating: B. These guys got going here and it was fun to watch the four of them going out there and go nuts. I could go for Miz and Hayes being around more often, but it already seems like we’re on the way to them having issues (again). At the same time, Fraxiom felt like they were going to be a big deal and yet here they are and it’s not going well. Maybe that changes, but they might have already hit their peak.

We look back at Drew McIntyre attacking Cody Rhodes last week.

Kiana James comes up to Tiffany Stratton in the back and suggests that Giulia wants a title shot. Stratton isn’t impressed but Michin comes in to say she’s coming for Giulia anyway.

Here is Drew McIntyre for a chat. We see the attack on Cody Rhodes last week but McIntyre makes it clear that he did not attack him. There is no medical update on Rhodes and it might be due to to WWE not wanting to admit that the golden boy is damaged. Five years ago, McIntyre was Rhodes but he knows that the fans will forget him.

Now he wants the title because of the paycheck it brings. The reality is that Rhodes attacked him and McIntyre goes outside to recap what happened. Rhodes even cleared off the announcers’ table. Why else was he going to do that? Was he going to “fashion me a fine cuisine?” McIntyre says if he’s provoked, he’s the real nightmare. Good stuff here, with McIntyre delivering as he can do so well.

The Street Profits and B-Fab are ready for DIY but Solo Sikoa and the MFT’s interrupt. Sikoa says they’re coming for the titles but Montez Ford says the Profits are coming for the smoke. Talla Tonga is distracted by something and a large bunny is behind them.

Street Profits vs. DIY

B-Fab and Candice LeRae are here too. Ford dropkicks Ciampa to start but gets taken into the wrong corner so Gargano can hit a running knee. That doesn’t last long as it’s off to Dawkins who runs DIY over without much trouble. DIY cuts that off and does their back patting as we take a break.

We come back with Dawkins knocking Gargano down, allowing Ford to come in to clean house. An assisted German suplex gets two on Ciampa and the Doomsday Blockbuster is loaded up, only for LeRae to take B-Fab out on the floor. The Fairy Tale Ending gets two and the Profits are sent outside, where Gargano gets caught with an uppercut. The referee goes to check on him but the distraction lets LeRae hurricanrana Ford off the apron. One Final Beat gets two on Ford but Dawkins breaks up Meet In The Middle. Ford knees Ciampa and a spinebuster into the frog splash gives Ford the pin at 9:25.

Rating: B. This got nuts by the end and I was wondering who was going to win. The tag division getting out there and working in matches where they’re given the chance to do something is a lot of fun and it’s making things a bit more interesting. Throw in LeRae finally getting to do something and it’s that much better.

Carmelo Hayes and the Miz are in the back with the Motor City Machine Guns, who think Miz is manipulating Hayes. An argument ensues and Aldis makes a tag match for next week.

We look back at John Cena and Logan Paul’s argument last week, setting up their match at Clash In Paris.

R-Truth is glad to have his childhood hero John Cena back but Aleister Black doesn’t like it. They go face to face and R-Truth is suddenly a lot more serious (showing the difference between himself and Ron Killings).

Sami Zayn and Jimmy Uso say it’s like old times, but Jacob Fatu doesn’t know anything about Zayn and doesn’t seem to want to.

MFT’s vs. Jimmy Uso/Jacob Fatu/Sami Zayn

Mateo and Uso start things off with Uso striking away, including a jumping enziguri. Zayn comes in and gets knocked into the corner before being tossed outside. Talla gets in a big boot and we take an early break. We come back with Sikoa unloading on Zayn but Mateo misses a charge into the corner. Sikoa is right there to cut off the tag attempt but Zayn manages a tornado DDT.

That’s enough for the tag off to Fatu and the ten headbutts in the corner have Loa in trouble. Uso’s big dive over the top takes Mateo out but Loa gets his knees up to cut off Fatu’s Swanton. Sikoa drops a Superfly Splash for two and it’s back to Zayn as everything breaks down. The Blue Thunder Bomb gets two and Fatu hits a heck of a suicide dive onto Talla. Back in and Zayn exploders Sikoa into the corner for the Helluva Kick and the pin at 11:02.

Rating: B. That was about the only way this match could end and that’s not a bad thing. They had set up the idea of Zayn coming after Sikoa and now he’s gotten a pin to set up the title match. Throw in Fatu getting to throw himself at a variety of people and it was a fun way to go. It might not have done anything overly complicated, but it was what it should have been.

Overall Rating: B+. This turned into a heck of a show, with a bunch of nice action, logical stories being moved forward and more than enough things to keep me interested. I’m sure at least a little of this will move on to Clash In Paris (Sikoa vs. Zayn is a likely candidate) and the show flew by, which is always a nice feeling. Pretty great show here and one of the better Smackdowns I’ve seen in a good while.

Results
Alexa Bliss b. Piper Niven – Rollup
The Miz/Carmelo Hayes b. Fraxiom – Skull Crushing Finale to Frazer
Street Profits b. DIY – Frog splash to Ciampa
Sami Zayn/Jimmy Uso/Jacob Fatu b. MFT’s – Helluva Kick to Sikoa

 

 

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: August 11, 2025
Location: Videotron Centre, Quebec City, Quebec
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

The road to Paris continues, but not in the way it was advertised. This week’s Women’s Title match between Naomi and Iyo Sky has been called off as Naomi isn’t medically cleared. That’s never good to hear, but hopefully it isn’t as bad as it could be. Other than that, Seth Rollins and company have been crushing people and building up a nice shoe collection. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long recap of the end of last week’s show, with Seth Rollins and company standing tall over LA Knight, Roman Reigns and CM Punk.

Commentary confirms that Naomi is out tonight. There is no word on when she might be back.

Here is CM Punk to get things going. Punk talks about how he has a Seth Rollins problem. Rollins is trying to be Punk but can’t make it work. He should be the World Champion like he was at Summerslam. Punk is going to be the champion again and he’s going to take it from Rollins. That’s not all though, as he’s going to break Rollins’ legs.

Cue LA Knight, who shakes hands with Punk, but says last week Punk got involved in the title match. Knight is great with Punk getting revenge on Rollins, but he needs to get it after the bell rings. Punk can have his rematch, though it’s going to come after Knight gets hit. Punk thinks the words Knight are looking for are “thank you”, because Punk saved Knight after Rollins stomped his head on the concrete like a coconut.

As I try to figure out who smashes coconuts on concrete, Punk points out that Knight isn’t a former World Champion. Knight says that as Punk has said before, there are levels to this and Punk isn’t on his. He wants to keep the two of them problem free so he’s going to do Punk two favors: he’s going to forget about last week, and then he’s going to win the World Title and make Punk his first successful title defense.

Punk is willing to keep things safe because he’s the best in the world, but here is Paul Heyman to interrupt (Punk: “I wasn’t done!”). Heyman, with Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker, speaks a few words of French before mocking the city. He warns Knight not to get in the favor sharing business with Punk, because it could cost you all kinds of things, from half of your life to your tribal chief but Punk cuts him off for a change. Punk offers to fight either of them tonight and the challenge is made/accepted for a tag match. This was a bit lengthy but I like Knight reaching this level.

We look back at the three Grande Americanos helping Dominik Mysterio win last week.

El Grande Americano comes to the Judgment Day clubhouse with Dominik Mysterio. Finn Balor takes Mysterio aside and suggests that they could use Americano to help Mysterio win the AAA Mega Title this weekend at TripleMania (as they’re two of the three challengers). Mysterio likes the idea and tells Americano that they need to get to the ring. Americano playing darts in the background while they talk is funny stuff.

El Grande Americano/Dominik Mysterio vs. Dragon Lee/AJ Styles

Lee dives onto Americano before the bell and Styles adds a knee from the apron to start with Mysterio. Lee and Americano come in with Lee getting a boot up to cut off a charge in the corner. A high crossbody gives Lee two and it’s off to Mysterio, who gets powerbombed as we go to a break.

We come back with Lee stomping Americano and hitting a running elbow. Mysterio offers a distraction though and Americano hits a running kick to the face. Lee gets sent outside and into the steps, allowing Americano to tie Lee’s mask to the corner. That…means pretty much nothing as Lee is let out seconds later, with Mysterio putting a mask on before grabbing a chinlock. Mysterio’s running dropkick in the corner has Lee in more trouble and we take another break.

We come back with Lee hitting the top rope double stomp on Americano but Mysterio pulls Styles off the apron in a rather smart move. Back in and Lee gets in another knockdown, which is enough for the tag to Styles. The pace picks up, including a monkey flip to send Mysterio into a Styles Clash. Americano shoves Lee off the top though and loads up the metal in his mask. Styles kicks it away before it can be put in the mask though, with Mysterio stealing it for his own mask. Mysterio’s headbutt to Styles lets American get the rollup pin at 16:40.

Rating: B-. I was a bit surprised that they didn’t have the other Americanos show up here but maybe they’re saving that for after the TripleMania title match. They’re playing up the idea that Mysterio outsmarted Styles here, which is something that has me curious. Not only is Mysterio getting successful but he’s also getting intelligent, which is a dangerous combination.

Sami Zayn met with Adam Pearce earlier, with Pearce saying there might be some World Title discussions if Zayn can beat Rusev tonight. Sheamus came in and is told he and Rusev can’t break down again tonight. That doesn’t work for Sheamus, but Zayn asks him to do it as a friend. Sheamus agrees, but Rusev is his the second the match is over.

Iyo Sky is disappointed in not getting her match with Naomi tonight. Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez come in to say it means Sky can’t lose again. Sky says she can fight Perez instead, with Pearce making the match.

Sami Zayn vs. Rusev

We get a pose off to start and believe it or not, the fans are behind the home province star. Rusev knocks him into the corner but gets pummeled for his efforts. Zayn sends him to the floor for the Arabian press moonsault, only to get caught in a release Rock Bottom back inside.

We take a break and come back with Rusev getting knocked off the top, allowing Zayn to hit the tornado DDT. Rusev’s jumping superkick gets two and he blocks the exploder into the corner. Things get a bit personal as Rusev does Sheamus’ ten forearms to the chest, which somehow powers Zayn up so the exploder can connect. The Helluva Kick is loaded up but the MFT’s pull Zayn outside for the DQ at 9:45.

Rating: C+. The fans were way behind Zayn here and the ending surprised me a bit, with the MFT’s coming out of nowhere. That ties in nicely with the match from Smackdown and gives both Rusev and Zayn a logical way out. I’m curious to see where this goes, but it also (probably) keeps Zayn away from the World Title scene for the time being.

Post match Zayn gets beaten down until referees break it up. Cue Sheamus to jump Rusev and they brawl into the crowd.

Post break the MFT’s are ejected with Adam Pearce calling Nick Aldis to yell. New Day and Grayson Waller come in to complain about Penta wrecking Xavier Woods’ hat. Penta should be banned from wearing hats! Pearce doesn’t have time for this so he’s making Penta vs. Woods for next week. As usual, Pearce losing his mind and snapping is his best stuff.

Bronson Reed talks about earning Seth Rollins’ respect, which earned his way into the Vision. He’s taken out Roman Reigns and promises to do it again and add to his collection until Reigns acknowledges the Tribal THIEF. That’s great.

The Kabuki Warriors offer to keep things even with Iyo Sky vs. Roxanne Perez but Sky politely declines, saying she has this.

Iyo Sky vs. Roxanne Perez

Raquel Rodriguez is here with Perez. They fight over wrist control to start with Sky spinning out to take her down, only to get caught in a waistlock. Sky gets up and grabs a headlock takeover but has to flip out of a headscissors. The fans are rather pleased as Sky flips away from Perez and hits a dropkick to the floor. The suicide dive takes out both villains but Perez sends Sky into the steps as we take a break.

We come back with Sky in trouble but hitting a dropkick. A missile dropkick connects as well but Perez knocks her back down. The flipping knees to the back connect but Pop Rox is blocked. Sky kicks her in the head but Rodriguez’s distraction lets Perez rake the eyes. A Shining Wizard gives Perez two and she can’t believe the kickout.

Back up and Sky sends Perez outside for a suicide dive onto both of them. Over The Moonsault hits raised knees though and Rodriguez gets on the apron. Cue the Kabuki Warriors to hold Perez but Sky has to stop before running into them. That’s enough for Perez to get a rollup with trunks for the pin 14:40.

Rating: B. This was getting rolling and then things happened in the end, which actually made it a bit more interesting. Issues with Sky and the Warriors could go places, with Asuka vs. Sky being a possibly awesome feud. I wasn’t betting on Perez winning here as she was a replacement for Sky’s much bigger opponent, so that was a nice surprise.

Jey Uso is back and wants his rematch but LA Knight interrupts, saying the line starts behind him. Uso isn’t quite buying that.

Iyo Sky yells at the Kabuki Warriors, with Asuka shoving her away and leaving, with Kairi Sane not being sure how to respond.

Women’s Intercontinental Title: Maxxine Dupri vs. Becky Lynch

Dupri, with the Alpha Academy, is challenging. Lynch doesn’t seem worried and escapes a headlock to run Dupri over. Some stomping in the corner has Dupri down again as Natalya shouts that Lynch is a bully. The Bexploder looks to set up the Manhandle Slam but Dupri gets a Stunner to escape in a nice counter. The ankle lock is broken up so Dupri goes with a clothesline. That only gets her so far though and Lynch rolls her up for two while holding the ropes. That’s reversed into the Disarm-Her to retain the title at 5:34.

Rating: C-. This lost the little charm it had rather quickly as there was no reason to buy Dupri as even an annoyance to Lynch. Dupri isn’t interesting and she’s little more than a joke anyway. Lynch is getting ready to face Nikki Bella and this felt like a way to burn off a week before the match.

Post match Natalya comes to check on Dupri and gets kicked down by Lynch. Good grief do we have to go there now? Or ever really?

Seth Rollins gives Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed a pep talk before the main event, telling them to stack some bodies because he’s out of this dump.

Bayley isn’t sure why she has reached this point in her career because everything she has done has gotten her nowhere. She seems to be having a mental breakdown. While I don’t think it’s happening, having her as a way to bring Karrion Kross back as a new unit could be interesting. Assuming Kross is coming back at all.

Lyra Valkyria isn’t taking the blame for what happened to Bayley because Bayley cost her.

Stephanie Vaquer offers her apologies to Iyo Sky. With Vaquer gone, Rhea Ripley comes in but Sky tells her to stay out of it.

Bronson Reed/Bron Breakker vs. LA Knight/CM Punk

The villains jump them before the bell and it’s Knight getting caught in the corner as Paul Heyman is at ringside with the shoes. Knight fights back and even gets his vest off, allowing Punk to come in and start on Breakker’s ribs. Reed comes in and it takes a few clotheslines to put him on the floor in a nice bit.

We take a break and come back with Breakker firing off shoulders to Punk’s ribs in the corner, followed by a neck crank. That’s broken up and Punk is able to bring Knight in for the house cleaning, including a jumping neckbreaker to Reed. The BFT is blocked but Knight is right back with a reverse DDT. Back up and Knight is sent outside for Breakker’s clothesline over the announcers’ table.

We take another break and come back with Knight getting knocked into the wrong corner again. Knight fights away but Punk goes outside to yell at Breakker meaning there’s no one to tag. Instead Reed drops a backsplash for two and then knocks Punk off the apron again. The Steiner Bulldog gets two with Punk having to make a save, allowing Knight to fight up again. This time the tag brings in Punk, who barks a bit before suplexing Breakker. Everything breaks down and Knight takes Reed out on the floor, leaving Punk to hit the top rope elbow on Breakker. The GTS is loaded up but Seth Rollins comes in for the DQ at 16:22.

Rating: B-. This went longer than it needed to, especially for something as simple as “and then Rollins runs in for the DQ”. The Vision likely getting to stand tall again to end the show is basically a lesser version of last week’s ending, which is only going to get them so far. The action was your basic stuff, but the fans were going nuts for Punk, as usual.

Post match the beatdown is on but Jey Uso makes the save with a chair. Cue Adam Pearce to say he sees what Rollins did as an opportunity. That opportunity will be defending the title against Uso, Knight and Punk in a four way at Clash In Paris. The challengers get in a fight, allowing the Vision to come in and beat them down, with Rollins paying close attention to Punk to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I wasn’t feeling this show as much as it felt rather long. It felt like there were things that were being dragged out to make the show longer, which isn’t a good vibe at any time. What we got wasn’t bad, but it seemed like the show could have been done about twenty minutes earlier. The Clash In Paris title match is intriguing though, so points for trying something different. Not their best week, but far from a terrible show.

Results
El Grande Americano/Dominik Mysterio b. Dragon Lee/AJ Styles – Loaded headbutt to Styles
Sami Zayn b. Rusev via DQ when the MFT’s interfered
Roxanne Perez b. Iyo Sky – Rollup with trunks
Becky Lynch b. Maxxine Dupri – Disarm-Her
CM Punk/LA Knight b. Bronson Reed/Bron Breakker via DQ when Seth Rollins interfered

 

 

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

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Monday Night Raw
Date: August 4, 2025
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re done with Summerslam and it was certainly not a quiet weekend. On the Raw side, Seth Rollins came back in a stunning and shocking (WWE told me so) moment to win the World Title from CM Punk. In other news, CM Punk won the World Title. We’re on the way to Clash In Paris at the end of the month so let’s get to it.

Here are is Summerslam if you need a recap.

We open with a long recap of both nights of Summerslam.

Here are Seth Rollins and company, including Bron Breakker (who got hurt at Summerslam but seems ok here) to get things going. Paul Heyman declares himself not just the GOAT but also the Oracle. He talks about the people next to him and says that normally he would be here introducing the Tribal Chief, but Reigns hasn’t been champion in a year and a half.

Or maybe he could be introducing CM Punk, who won the title on Saturday and thought he would have it forever. But then Rollins took the title away from him and stole the honeymoon, which was very good to Rollins. After some loud booing, Rollins talks about how the fans all turned their backs on him. You should never bet against him because he is the World Heavyweight Champion.

Shame on everyone who turned their back on him, because he had a plan b. He only told two people about this plan: his beautiful wife and his oracle. They are the past, present and future of wrestling and they are the vision. Cue LA Knight to interrupt, who greets the champ, the oracle and the morons. Knight accuses Rollins of faking his injury to get out of their match but Knight beat him anyway. Well that makes things interesting because he’s ready to beat Rollins again, right here and right now.

Rollins sounds interested but eventually says no, which brings out Adam Pearce. It wouldn’t be normal to run a title match with no promotion, but it’s also not normal to have someone lie to his medical team like Rollins did. That’s why tonight the title is on the line, and Reed/Breakker are banned from ringside. That’s a big one and does tie up something of a loose string.

Judgment Day runs into the LWO in the back and Dominik Mysterio doesn’t think much of them. Dragon Lee requests and receives a match tonight but AJ Styles comes in to say he’s still coming for the title.

Rusev vs. Sheamus

Rusev jumps him at the bell and starts the beating in a hurry. The forearms to the back keep Sheamus in trouble but he gets his boots up in the corner. Rusev kicks him down again but gets caught on top, where Sheamus grabs a super White Noise. We take another break and come back with Sheamus hitting the Irish Curse. The ten forearms are broken up so Sheamus settles for sending him over the announcers’ table. Rusev is able to send him into the steps and they fight into the crowd, with Sheamus hitting the forearms to the chest. Those keep on going until it’s a double countout at 9:10.

Rating: B-. Hard hitting brawl here but that ending feels like the calling card of a Last Man Standing match or something similar, likely over in Paris later this month. That’s a good way to go, as there is always room for two big guys hitting each other really hard. The ending keeps both of them looking strong and gives them a reason to run it back, as they were more interested in fighting than winning, which fits for them.

Post match the beatdown stays on despite referees and agents trying to break it up.

New Day is still in mourning, including Xavier Woods with his three and a half foot wide hat, when Grayson Waller comes in to ask where they were last week. The team shrugs it off but blame Adam Pearce for the issues. Waller goes to yell at Pearce, who is talking to Penta. Pearce says New Day can have a title shot when they earn it, while Waller can face Penta tonight.

Penta vs. Grayson Waller

Waller struts away to start and grabs a headlock but Penta reverses for a strut of his own. Penta sends him outside and cue New Day, with the distraction letting Waller get in a clothesline on the floor. We take a break and come back with Penta hitting a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker into a slingshot dropkick in the corner. Waller knocks him back down but misses the middle rope elbow as New Day, now on commentary, brags about their success without Big E. The rolling Stunner is cut off with a superkick though and the rolling Canadian Destroyer out of the corner finishes for Penta at 8:20.

Rating: C+. This is the kind of win that stars like Penta need on occasion: a simple victory over someone where there isn’t much doubt about the better man, but Penta gets the win anyway. He got to do a lot of his stuff and the fans reacted without taking up a ton of time. Waller isn’t going to be hurt by the loss and Penta looks good.

Post match New Day goes after Penta, who clears the ring and steals Woods’ hat. Said hat is thrown at New Day and Penta takes them down with the big flip dive. Kingston’s look of “What was THAT” is great.

Charlotte and Alexa Bliss are in the back when Sheamus and Rusev run up, still in their big brawl.

We look at Brock Lesnar’s return to lay out John Cena last night.

Michael Cole says he talked to HHH and Nick Khan about Lesnar’s return. Apparently they agreed weeks ago that it was time to bring him back “home” and he was happy with that.

Here are Charlotte and Alexa Bliss for a chat. Charlotte says that might be her first YOU DESERVE IT chant, but she has to get used to the idea that THEY are champions instead of SHE. Maybe if Bliss could stop hitting her in the face, they could be….something. Bliss: “I think you were about to say the F word.” Charlotte: “You are such a pain in my A word.”

Either way, Charlotte is happy with winning another title and brags about her success but here is Judgment Day to interrupt. They get right to the point and the title match is made. Cue Adam Pearce to say not so fast because that’s not normal…but nothing tonight is so let’s do it.

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

Charlotte and Bliss are defending and we’re joined in progress with Perez sending Bliss into the corner. Bliss reverses into a whip of her own and it’s off to Charlotte to pick up the pace. Rodriguez comes in as well to cut her off though and Perez sends Charlotte outside. Back in and Judgment Day seems to get a bit confused, allowing Charlotte to take out their knees. Bliss comes in and gets to clean some house, only to be sent outside and kicked into the timekeeper’s area.

We take a break and come back with Charlotte getting the tag to clean more house, including a (slingshotless) Buckshot Lariat to Rodriguez. The double moonsault gets two on Perez, who is back up with a failed Pop Rox attempt. Charlotte sends her into the buckle for a breather but Perez manages a hurricanrana. Bliss comes in for the save and is promptly sent outside for interfering. Charlotte kicks her way to freedom though and brings Bliss in, with the Sister Abigail DDT finishing Perez at 12:45.

Rating: C+. I’m only so interested in these titles in the first place, but Charlotte and Bliss teaming together is doing wonders for Charlotte. She’s acting like a completely different person these days and that is letting her talent shine through. Maybe it’s the personality, but getting her away from the singles title scene has helped a lot. She and Bliss work well together too and it’s a lot better than I was expecting.

The Kabuki Warriors and Iyo Sky are in the back when Rhea Ripley comes up. The Warriors leave, with Ripley saying she heard Sky got a one on one match with Naomi. Sky says she didn’t get pinned at Summerslam, with Ripley telling her to go win the title so Ripley can take it from her. Sky: “Rhea, you are never going to beat me.”

We look at Bayley costing Lyra Valkyria the Women’s Intercontinental Title match against Becky Lynch at Summerslam.

Bayley finds Valkyria, who wants nothing to do with Bayley anymore. She needs to get out of this “Bayley vortex”. They aren’t friends or enemies, but stay away.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Dragon Lee

Non-title and Lee starts very fast with a suicide dive to take Mysterio out on the floor. Mysterio is right back up with a slingshot hilo and some choking on the ropes. It’s way too early for the 619 so Mysterio settles for a DDT onto the apron. We take a break and come back with Lee hitting some superkicks, including the slingshot version in the corner. Mysterio tries to bounce out of the corner but gets caught in a sitout powerbomb to give Lee two.

Back up and Lee catches him in the corner, setting up the top rope double stomp. Cue El Grande Americano (facing Mysterio, Lee and El Hijo del Vikingo this weekend for the AAA World Title)….and the other Grande Americano…..and a THIRD Grande Americano as well, with the distraction allowing Mysterio to get in a boot (off foo) to the head. That and the feet on the ropes finishes Lee at 8:14.

Rating: C. Well, I’m curious about where the Americano stuff is going. If nothing else is has me wondering who is under the masks and how many we might see, so points for trying something new. At the same time, we could be looking at Mysterio becoming a double champion sooner rather than later, and that has some potential for his future.

Post match AJ Styles runs in to swing the boot at Mysterio and then throw it up the aisle as Mysterio leaves.

Sami Zayn is happy to have defeated Karrion Kross but happier to have thrown the steel pipe away instead of winning on his own. Yes he wanted to do it, but he also wants to be a World Champion on his own. Cue Sheamus and Rusev to brawl some more, with Zayn getting hit in the face by Rusev.

Here is Becky Lynch for a chat. Lynch: “Ding dong, Lyra is gone!” She’s not getting any more title shots as long as Lynch is champion, which will be for a very, very long time. It’s time to open the door to new competitors…but we won’t be doing it tonight. Cue Nikki Bella to interrupt, saying she thought she left the women’s division in great hands, but Lynch has been such a disappointment. Bella is back to prove herself but why did Lynch come back? Is it because Hollywood isn’t what she thought it would be?

Lynch brings up her role in Happy Gilmore 2, while Bella’s role was cut. Bella laughs it off and says that Lynch is like Seth Rollins, but no one believes Lynch’s BS. Lynch does not like Rollins being brought up because they are the hottest couple in WWE. That used to be Bella and….someone, but now we can’t see them. That’s a BIG gasp from the audience but Bella gets to the point with the title challenge. Lynch hits her in the face and bails instead. That John Cena reference was one heck of a burn, even if it’s the easiest line in the world to use against Bella.

Naomi says she is indeed facing Iyo Sky next week but Stephanie Vaquer interrupts. Naomi threatens to snap Vaquer’s horns off and stick them in a certain place to leave her with a limp. Then she imitates the limp to make it work.

Gunther is out of action indefinitely after being injured at Summerslam.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Natalya, with the Alpha Academy, yells at Becky Lynch for being mean to Nikki Bella. Lynch agrees to a match next week…against Maxxine Dupri.

Raw World Title: LA Knight vs. Seth Rollins

Rollins, with Paul Heyman, is defending. After the Big Match Intros, Rollins stomps away in the ropes but gets dropped with a clothesline. Knight’s suplex gets two and he knocks Rollins outside for a brisk walk chase. Heyman doesn’t work as Rollins’ shield but Rollins manages a quick stomp (not quite the Stomp) from the barricade and we take a break. We come back with Knight jumping to the top for the superplex, followed by the neckbreaker out of the corner for two more.

Knight’s powerslam connects but Rollins blocks the jumping elbow. There’s the buckle bomb but it’s too early for the stomp. Instead Knight grabs a reverse Death Valley Driver for two and they’re both down. The Pedigree is countered and Knight grabs a DDT, allowing him to pop back up. Knight’s jumping top rope elbow gets two but the BFT is countered. They go out to the floor and crash over the announcers’ table, with Rollins getting the better of things. Rollins peels back the floor mats….and CM Punk comes in for the DQ at 13:05.

Rating: B-. This was another match where there wasn’t exactly much drama about a title change but it’s a rather good sign for Knight’s future if he can be in there at this level. It wouldn’t stun me to see him getting the shot in Paris or at a Saturday Night’s Main Event, which is quite the rise for his career. The Punk interference wasn’t exactly shocking, as it was about the only way this was going to end.

Post match Punk goes after Rollins and Knight is not pleased. Cue Bron Breakker to spear Punk and Bronson Reed is in to crush Knight. The Stomp hits both of them and the villains pose….but Roman Reigns is here. House is quickly cleaned but Reigns goes after Reed, allowing Rollins to hit the Stomp. Reed hits a bunch of Tsunamis on Reigns and Adam Pearce comes out, with Rollins yelling at him. Reed steals Reigns’ shoes AGAIN (please let there be a payoff for that down the line, like Reigns putting a mousetrap in one of the shoes or something) and the villains stand tall to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show was about setting up Clash In Paris and that went well enough, but I wasn’t able to get into the show. The wrestling was fine enough, but it felt like it was more about getting ready for later rather than doing a bunch of stuff that mattered here. The angle at the end was a big one, even if it was the third straight night where a villain stood tall to end the show. That being said, I’m having a great time with Reed stealing the shows so we’ll call that a silver lining. Not a bad show, but it’s a stepping stone to the stuff that matters.

Results
Rusev vs. Sheamus went to a double countout
Penta b. Grayson Waller – Spinning Canadian Destroyer
Alexa Bliss/Charlotte b. Judgment Day – Sister Abigail DDT to Perez
Dominik Mysterio b. Dragon Lee – Rollup with feet on the ropes
Seth Rollins b. LA Knight via DQ when CM Punk interfered

 

 

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

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

It’s a weird feeling to say this is just the first half of Summerslam, but this is just the first half of Summerslam. The show is in a stadium again and that should make for a big time feeling, which was certainly the case last year. The main event of the first night is Gunther defending the Raw World Title against CM Punk, which should be a good one. Let’s get to it.

Breeland sings God Bless America.

Someone named Druski says this isn’t your usual weekend. Undertaker says something is going down. We see various clips of celebrities and online reactions, with the idea apparently being more that talking about/reacting to the moments are more important than the moments themselves.

Special host Cardi B comes out wearing a bunch of feathers. She screeches a bit about various wrestlers, says we’re in the Tri-State, and welcomes us to the show. This continues to be a concept that doesn’t need to be there.

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

Paul Heyman is here with the villains, including Reed, who has Reigns’ stolen shoes (the Shoe-la Fala, which I wish I was smart enough to have thought of) from Raw. The brawl is on to start and Reigns/Uso clears the ring, meaning we get an encore of Uso’s entrance. Breakker pulls Reigns outside and the brawl is on again, with Uso hitting a big dive to the floor to take everyone out.

Back in and Breakker knocks Uso into the corner for a clothesline, allowing Reed to drive a knee into Uso’s neck. Breakker isn’t done and hits a big running shoulder to drop Reigns on the floor for an impressive visual. Reigns is back up on the apron as Breakker shouts a lot. A double splash crushes Uso again and Breakker continues to look incredibly cocky. Breakker grabs a chinlock…and starts to sing a song about how Reigns sucks and should have stayed away.

A gorilla press gutbuster (with separate camera shots of Heyman and commentary for a new visual) gets two on Uso but Breakker misses the diving clothesline to the announcers’ table. Back in and Uso goes for the tag but Breakker dives in to cut him off, with Reed pulling Reigns off the apron at the same time. Uso is able to come back with a Maivia Hurricane, which is finally enough for the tag off to Reigns.

House is quickly cleaned and Reigns knocks Breakker outside, setting up the big dive….which goes over both villains, thankfully with Reigns rolling through to mostly land on his back. Back in and Reigns gives Breakker a release Rock Bottom but Reed is in off a blind tag. Uso gets a blind tag of his own and walks into a Death Valley Driver for two. Reed sends him outside for the big suicide dive, followed by Breakker hitting the running clothesline to knock Reigns over the announcers’ table.

Back in and a Steiner Bulldog gets two on Uso but Reigns is back up with the Superman Punch on the floor. The spear sends Breakker through the barricade and the Tsunami is broken up. Back in and the 1D hits Reed, with Breakker diving in for the save. Breakker takes his straps down, pulls them back up and then pulls them back down to fire himself up again. Reigns shoves Uso out of the way of the Super Spear though and takes it himself, leaving Uso to superkick Breakker. The spear and Superfly Splash finish Reed at 21:13.

Rating: B+. This started off slowly and wound up being a bunch of crazy athletic people throwing themselves all over the place. There is something so cool about watching people of this size and strength doing this kind of stuff, and that’s not even including Breakker’s near psychotic ranting during the match. Heck of a spectacle here, with Breakker looking like a future/current star.

We recap Judgment Day defending the Women’s Tag Team Titles against Alexa Bliss/Charlotte. The idea is neither team is really friends but they have to work together. Charlotte and Bliss are starting to get it together though and that could be dangerous.

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

Judgment Day is defending. Bliss and Charlotte aren’t sure who should start and the champs take them down as a result. Perez hammers away on Bliss but gets caught with a headscissors. Charlotte comes in and is quickly choked on the ropes to put her in trouble as well. Rodriguez grabs the chinlock but Charlotte fights up, allowing the tag back to Bliss. The house cleaning doesn’t last long as Rodriguez powers Bliss down for another chinlock.

That’s broken up as well but Bliss can’t get a sunset flip. Perez comes back in and gets forearmed down, allowing Charlotte to come back in with a double high crossbody. The moonsault hits Perez and Rodriguez but Perez is back up with a moonsault. Bliss forearms Charlotte by mistake and has to make a save after Pop Rox. Bliss loads up Sister Abigail on Perez but has to wait for Charlotte to tease kicking her in the face. Charlotte kicks Rodriguez instead though and the Sister Abigail gives us new champions at 13:36.

Rating: B. Good stuff here, with everyone working hard and the story of Charlotte and Bliss teasing issues worked well. It wasn’t helpful that neither of the teams have been together very long, but that kind of made for an interesting story. Good stuff here and better than I was expecting for a nice surprise.

Various wrestlers argue over and then share pizza.

Karrion Kross vs. Sami Zayn

The idea here is Kross wants Zayn to come to the dark side while Zayn wants to stay on the good side, with the winner having to admit the other was right. Kross hammers him down in the corner but Zayn is back with a middle rope ax handle. Back up and Kross takes over again in the corner, demanding that Zayn “say it you dumb ba*****.”

Kross loads up a pipe shot but it gets taken away, allowing Zayn to knock him back down. Scarlett hands Zayn the pipe and tells him to embrace the dark side…but he throws it outside instead. The distraction lets Kross grab a rollup for two, only for the Helluva to finish him off at 8:10.

Rating: C. Well that was certainly something that happened. This was pretty easily the weakest looking match on the card and that’s exactly what it was so far. It wasn’t so much that there was no drama as it could have gone either way, but it didn’t exactly feel important enough to be here. Hopefully Zayn gets to move on to something better, because this was only so interesting.

Hulk Hogan tribute, with Nick Hogan here.

We recap Tiffany Stratton defending the Smackdown Women’s Title against Jade Cargill. Stratton is the new top star but Cargill is a monster who won the Queen Of The Ring. The result is basically a big showdown.

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

Stratton is defending and we get the Big Match Intros. They start fast with Stratton knocking her outside and hitting a suicide dive. Cargill is fine enough to hit a suplex on the floor but Stratton is right back with a knockdown of her own. Back in and great looking Swanton connects for two on Cargill but Cargill muscles her up into a suplex.

Stratton reverses another into a falcon arrow for two more but the Prettiest Moonsault Ever hits raised boots. Jaded connects for two, as Stratton rolls into the corner. With that not working, Cargill hits a chokeslam and takes her up for a super Jaded, only for Stratton to reverse into a super victory roll. The Prettiest Moonsault Ever retains completely clean at 7:03.

Rating: B-. This could have been a near disaster and it wound up going pretty well. It definitely felt like a match that was planned out at a very intricate level, but that’s what you should be doing with two people at this experience level. Good enough here and I’ll take that over what could have been quite the mess.

We recap Jelly Roll/Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre/Logan Paul. Roll was doing a performance on Smackdown but Paul interrupted, saying he didn’t like outsiders around here. McIntyre joined Paul in going after Roll, which drew out Orton because he likes Roll’s music. A tag match was made.

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

Paul decks Roll before the bell and Roll tags himself in to get things going. Roll fights back and uses some big forearms (as keeping it simple is his best option) before it’s off to McIntyre. Roll makes the mistake of turning his back to make the tag and gets slapped in the back of his head. That’s enough for Roll to stay in, with McIntyre saying this is the day that the music dies.

Some snap jabs rock McIntyre, who is right back with a Glasgow Kiss. A double suplex drops Roll again and it’s back to Paul for an arrogant cover. McIntyre hammers away again as the fans want Orton, who gets knocked off the apron. Roll is able to send McIntyre flying over the top though and the much needed tag brings in Orton. The hanging DDT drops McIntyre and Orton plants him onto the announcers’ table.

Paul gets the same treatment but McIntyre is back up with the Claymore. Paul’s loaded right hand knocks Roll silly and he puts him on to the announcers’ table, which can’t end well. Paul goes up top, toasts some Prime, and hits a huge splash for the exploding table. That’s enough for a stretcher to be brought out but Roll is able to walk out, albeit with help. Orton is left alone against the villains and a Blockbuster gives Paul two.

McIntyre goes up but gets caught in a superplex to leave both of them down. That’s enough for Roll to get back up on the apron for the tag and the fans approve. Some clotheslines set up a chokeslam to Paul and a Boss Man Slam drops McIntyre. Paul goes up but dives into a powerslam, leaving McIntyre to Claymore Roll. The RKO drops McIntyre so Paul posts Orton. One heck of a frog splash gives Paul the pin on Roll at 17:07.

Rating: B. This was a good time and that’s what it was supposed to be. Roll was absolutely trying out there and while he was clearly winded, he was giving it everything he had. At the same time though, Paul and McIntyre were incredible as the jerks who thought this was beneath them and were having a great time wrecking Roll. That’s all this needed to be and ultimately, it would have been a big stretch to have the heels lose. Good, entertaining stuff here, with the villains being the high spot.

Here’s what’s coming tomorrow.

We recap Gunther defending the Raw World Title against CM Punk. The video looks at various big Punk runs over the years, including the Summer Of Punk in 2005, and how Punk is able to do rather well in the summer months. Gunther on the other hand is a monster who is ready to smash through Punk’s last run at glory.

Raw World Title: Gunther vs. CM Punk

Punk is challenging and is rocking some Fantastic Four inspired gear. Gunther goes for the arm to start and backs Punk to the ropes, with Punk ducking away for a break. Punk gets backed into the corner but blocks a chop to start going after Gunther’s hand. With that not working, Gunther knocks him into the corner but charges into a raised boot, allowing Punk to start in on the arm.

The big chop catches Punk though and it’s time to cringe on the mat. Punk is right back to the arm and knees away before firing off his own chops. Gunther gets creative by chopping the leg and then tying Punk in the Tree Of Woe for more chopping. More chops have Punk down and a hard slam drops him again. Gunther grabs an abdominal stretch so Punk reverses into one of his own, only for Gunther to boot him in the face.

Back up and Punk tries to pick up the pace, earning himself another boot to the face. Gunther chops him into the ropes, with Punk bouncing back up and getting kicked in the face for a third time. Punk strikes away at the legs, earning himself another hard chop to cut him down. Gunther starts mocking him as they go to the mat, with a chinlock not lasting long. Punk can’t get the Sharpshooter so Gunther puts one of his own on, and even does a bicep pose with the bad arm.

That’s reversed into the same thing from Punk (from his back, ala Bret Hart in 1991), with Gunther making it over to the ropes. Gunther comes back with more chops but walks into a leg lariat. A not great powerbomb out of the corner gives Gunther two and Punk pulls him into a triangle choke. That’s broken up as well so Punk hits the running knee in the corner, followed by the bulldog for two.

Gunther drops him again and hits the frog splash for two but has to escape a quick GTS attempt. Another powerbomb drops Punk again and another powerbomb gives Gunther two. The boot choke in the corner has Punk mostly dead on the floor but he sends Gunther over the announcers’ table. Gunther comes up gushing blood so Punk strikes away and hits the top rope elbow for two. Back up and Gunther pulls him into the sleeper but Punk reverses into a pair of GTS’s for the pin and the title at 30:25.

Rating: A-. Outstanding stuff here, with Punk surviving everything Gunther threw at him and finally coming out on top after all of the violence. That’s what this should have been, with Gunther winning the title back felt like a way to transition it to someone else. This is the kind of win that Punk needed at some point, as you can only talk about being the best in the world for so long before you need to actually win something. That’s what we got here and it was after a heck of a match against a monster like Gunther.

Post match Punk celebrates the win….and here comes Seth Rollins (Punk’s “aww man” face is great), albeit on crutches. Rollins turns to leave but stops, turns around, and takes the brace off. He runs to the ring, beats Punk down with the briefcase and it’s cash in time.

Raw World Title: CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins

Punk is defending but also dead, so it’s a Stomp to make Rollins champion at 10 seconds. Yeah it was fairly predictable, yeah it was annoying, yeah it’s been done, but NO MORE BRIEFCASES FOR ABOUT TEN MONTHS means Christmas just came early. Also of note: the rest of Rollins’ stable was out for the celebration and Bron Breakker’s leg was taped up and he had a pronounced limp.

Overall Rating: A-. Other than the big moment at the end, this was in the vein of an old school Summerslam, with some good action but not much in the way of serious stuff. That’s a good way to go, with even the worst match (Zayn vs. Kross) being totally decent. That main event was outstanding and I can go with the idea of Rollins cashing in, if nothing else due to the briefcases being completely gone. I had an awesome time with this show and it’s worth a look, if nothing else for being wrapped up in about three and a half hours.

Results
Jey Uso/Roman Reigns b. Bronson Reed/Bron Breakker – 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 Every
Logan Paul/Drew McIntyre b. Randy Orton/Jelly Roll – Frog splash to Roll
CM Punk b. Gunther – GTS
Seth Rollins b. CM Punk – Stomp

 

 

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

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For the first time ever, we have a double night edition of the show and that means that, barring any last minute changes, we’re going to be seeing six matches a night. That should make for a good weekend as the cards are looking good enough. This week’s Smackdown has me curious about what we’re going to see and hopefully they can live up to the hype. Let’s get to it.

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

The idea here is Charlotte and Bliss work well together but they’re both skeptical about calling themselves friends. This has led to some fairly amusing moments, including both of them acting as the other’s cheerleader. What matters the most here is that the fans are seemingly getting behind the idea, which I’m sure has nothing to do with Charlotte not going after a singles title for a change.

I’ll take the titles changing hands here, as this version of Judgment Day was thrown together due to Alexa Bliss’ injury. That means it might already be time to switch the titles again. Charlotte and Bliss staying together for the time being sounds good, as I don’t think I can take another Charlotte betrayal and singles heel run. If nothing else, just keep Charlotte doing something different for awhile as it’s refreshing.

Sami Zayn vs. Karrion Kross

This is about whether Kross is right about Zayn needing to embrace the dark side. On the other hand, Zayn is fighting back, saying that he believes in the fans and wants to be himself. The loser has to admit that they were wrong about the winner and that could make for an interesting moment. This seems to be another step on Zayn’s eventual (or maybe very eventual) path to the World Title and that could make for an interesting situation.

This could go either way, but I’ll take the safe path and go with Zayn winning to get rid of Kross. While Kross has been hot with the fans as of late, there are ways to present him without having him beat Zayn. I’m not sure what is next for Zayn, but he shouldn’t be losing a fairly high profile match like this one. It could go either way, but Zayn winning is the right option here.

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

So here we have the celebrity match of the show, which feels like something of a handicap match as Paul could hang with Orton on his own. That’s before you get to the monster that is McIntyre, which leaves Orton having to take care of Roll and do everything else on his own. Unfortunately that means having to slow things WAY down for Roll, which isn’t exactly an inspiring usage of people this good.

As simple as it should be to have McIntyre and Paul smash through Orton and Roll, I have a bad feeling that they’ll go with the celebrity win. That’s what we’ll say happens, as Roll gets a rollup win over someone which doesn’t feel right in any way. Odds are this won’t be it for Roll as WWE loves itself some celebrity interactions, but please let him be at least decent at the whole wrestling thing.

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

Here we have a showdown between two members of the upcoming generation, which is a nice thing to see for a change. Stratton has already become an established star and that title she’s wearing helps a good deal. At the same time you have Cargill, who might feel like a major star but hasn’t got the hardware to back it up. That’s where things get interesting here, and it might lead to a change.

Despite Stratton doing rather well as the champion, this feels like the place where the title changes hands and Cargill gets her big moment. I’m not wild on the change as Stratton is doing well enough that she shouldn’t be losing, but WWE seems all in on the Cargill train. I’ll go with her winning here, even if that doesn’t seem like the best option for everyone involved.

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

This is the latest stop in the never ending saga of everyone involved here, which is only so interesting. This week’s opening Monday Night Raw segment where Paul Heyman tried to sew some seeds of doubts in Uso’s mind didn’t do much for me. Later in the night though, things got into a wild brawl, which is what works best for these guys. That’s what I want to see, as you can only hear these guys talk so much.

As for a winner…dang I’m really not sure. I can’t imagine Reigns taking a fall, but Breakker shouldn’t be pinned either. That leaves Uso or Reed so….we’ll say the good guys win, likely with Reed taking the fall. It’s a match which could go either way, though Reigns and Breakker could have a heck of a showdown and something of a tease for later. This is a match that should be big, but it only means that we’ll likely be coming up on another match in the near future.

Raw World Title: Gunther(c) vs. CM Punk

Here we go. This is the match where I’m rather curious to see what happens, because it could go either way, including a third way. In this case, that means we’re going to be seeing a match which has a lot of drama. Punk is arguably the biggest star on all of Monday Night Raw (or very close to it) and having him win the title would be a huge moment. At the same time, Gunther beating Punk would be a huge coup for his career. So where do we go?

I’ll take Punk winning the title, as Gunther has already had a lengthy reign and then the start of another one. Punk hasn’t picked up anything outside of personal wins since returning, and having him win the title would be a great change. That being said, the big question is Seth Rollins, who could very easily SHOCK THE WORLD again and have his knee injury be faked to come in and steal the title. I’m not sure they’ll go there, but my goodness if they do, the heat on Rollins could be incredible. Either way, I’ll take Punk to win the title, but I’m not sure if he’ll leave with it.

Overall Thoughts

The more I look at this card, the more interested I am in the whole thing. The show feels big and we could be in for more than one big moment. Hopefully they can live up to the hype and make Summerslam feel important again. That’s one thing that has been needing to be fixed, and having half of Summerslam go beyond the hype would be a great start.

 

 

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

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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:

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Monday Night Raw
Date: July 28, 2025
Location: Little Caesars Center, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s the last show before Summerslam and that means we’re likely in for a mixture of talking and tag matches. At the same time, there is always the chance that we are going to get a lot more tributes to Hulk Hogan, as there was only so much time to get things ready on such short notice last week. Let’s get to it.

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

The roster is on the stage for the ten bell salute to Hogan.

We get another tribute, different from the one that aired on Smackdown. To be fair, you could go on for a long time with famous moments from his career.

Here is Jey Uso for a chat but Paul Heyman interrupts. Heyman doesn’t think much of Uso, but is smart enough to get out of the ring from that look in Uso’s eye. He also backs up, saying “I know that you can dive really fast.” Heyman can’t believe that Uso has accepted Roman Reigns’ offer to team with him against Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed. And he’s doing this in the name of family.

Where Heyman comes from, family is always going to let you down. That’s not a prediction but rather a prophecy. Heyman asks if Uso’s mother said Santa Claus left the presents under the tree. That means your mother lied to you, just like everyone’s mother here. Did Uso’s father (Rikishi) tell Uso that he wanted him to be more iconic than him? Rikishi lied! Reigns didn’t pick Uso to be next in line as Tribal Chief. How did that work out for the family? Heyman is saying this out of love for Uso, just like family. YEET!

Uso says his family is why he’s here and Heyman needs to keep them out of his mouth. The reality is the family has done things together and Heyman’s family is nowhere to be seen. Heyman and company have cost them all kinds of things and at Summerslam, Heyman is paying. This was an interesting idea, but it’s feeling like they have no idea where this is supposed to go and they’re just saying things to fill in time before the match.

AJ Styles/Kabuki Warriors vs. Judgment Day

Asuka kicks Rodriguez down to start and hands it off to Sane for some kicks of her own. A high crossbody is pulled out of the air and it’s off to Perez for a headscissors. Sane grabs….I think a running Blockbuster (didn’t quite work but it could have been far worse) but Mysterio pulls Perez out of the way of a charge in the corner.

We take a break and come back with Perez hitting a moonsault for two but Sane gets in a shot in the corner. Rodriguez pulls Asuka to the floor though and the distraction means the referee doesn’t see the tag to Styles. Back up and the tag brings Styles in a few seconds later, meaning house can be cleaned. Perez gets in the way of the Phenomenal Forearm though, leaving Styles to launch Sand onto Rodriguez. The Phenomenal Forearm finished Mysterio at 11:46.

Rating: B-. Perfectly fine way to go here as Styles gets the win before he likely loses the title match at Summerslam. It’s still a good setup for the showdown though and that’s all it needed to be. At the same time, you have the Kabuki Warriors coming after the Women’s Tag Team Titles and that makes as much sense as anything else.

Sheamus is happy with his win over Rusev last week. Grayson Waller and New Day interrupt, with Waller making the mistake of challenging Sheamus, meaning the match is set for later tonight. New Day suddenly disappears.

Sheamus vs. Grayson Waller

Sheamus powers him into the corner to start and hits the big powerslam. The Dublin Smile has Waller in more trouble and the Regal Roll on the floor makes it worse. The ten forearms to the chest rock Waller but Rusev pops up on the apron for a distraction. Waller rolls him up for two, only for the Brogue Kick to finish at 4:10.

Rating: C. The only way Waller was going to win here was if Rusev cost Sheamus the match so they had a fine enough tease. At the same time, we are probably coming up on a big rubber match between Sheamus and Rusev, so there was no reason for Sheamus to lose here. Granted there is pretty much no reason for him to lose to Waller most of the time.

Post match Rusev beats Sheamus down with the shillelagh. The Accolade leaves Sheamus laying.

Naomi isn’t worried about defending the title in a triple threat match because she can fly high too.

Various wrestlers talk about Hulk Hogan’s star power.

Paul Heyman talks to Bronson Reed, saying with Seth Rollins on the shelf, they are a group without a leader. Bron Breakker comes in to say Reed is going to crush Jey Uso and the team will reestablish dominance over WWE. Reed leaves and Breakker says he has a plan. Heyman is confused.

Here is Lyra Valkyria for a chat. She has her Becky Lynch stopping shoes on (they’re rather elevated) and recaps her issues with Lynch. Cue Lynch’s music and she pops up behind Valkyria, who takes her out with a dropkick through the ropes. Valkyria beats her down with the kendo stick and Lynch runs off. Well that was quick.

Earlier today, Sami Zayn was doing a sitdown interview about Karrion Kross, when Kross and Scarlet interrupted. Kross said he could attack Zayn again, but he didn’t because he is all about making people show their true colors. Zayn won’t do it though, and it’s starting to tick Kross off. That’s why after Kross beats him at Summerslam, Zayn is going to admit that Kross told the truth and then he can go on to become World Champion. Zayn agrees, but when he beats Kross, he wants this to end. See you at Summerslam. Kross smiles as Zayn leaves.

Bayley is upset that she’s missing Summerslam, just like she missed Wrestlemania. She isn’t sure where she’s going from here.

Naomi/Chelsea Green/Secret Hervice vs. Iyo Sky/Rhea Ripley/Nikki Bella/Stephanie Vaquer

Naomi and Ripley start things off, with Naomi getting knocked out to the floor. It’s off to Bella, who clotheslines Green down to take over. They head outside before Fyre gets in a superkick to drop Bella. Niven adds a bottom rope elbow for two and we take a break. We come back with Bella getting in a kick to the face, allowing the tag to Sky. A backflip splits up a double clothesline attempt so Green kicks Sky in the face for two instead.

Naomi’s hanging Pedigree plants Sane and Fyre hits her Swanton as everything breaks down. Niven Boss Man Slams Ripley but Sane and Fyre knock each other down. Vaquer comes in to clean house and Bella adds the Bella Buster, which has Naomi walking out. Sky sends her back in for a springboard dropkick and Ripley gives Niven Riptide. The SVB finishes Green at 14:35.

Rating: B. I had a heck of a time with this one, as they were all out there going nuts for a good while. At the same time, it’s about as perfect of a use of Bella as you can have. She gets to do her big entrance, get the pop, do her stuff, and then pose at the end. That’s a fine way to go and the fans still love her, so let her do her stuff in small spurts.

Finn Balor gives Judgment Day a pep talk, telling them that they can get past the loss earlier. Perez gives Dominik a new gaming system to play WWE2K25 and Raquel Rodriguez isn’t impressed.

The winning team from the 8 woman tag celebrates but Sky stops Ripley for a chat. Sky says Ripley has never beaten her and never will. Ripley says they’ll see about that.

Tag Team Titles: LWO vs. Judgment Day

The LWO is challenging. Wilde takes Balor down to start and hands it off to del Toro for a slingshot sunset flip. That’s rolled through into a basement dropkick and McDonagh comes in to send del Toro into the corner. The champs take over, with a springboard moonsault giving McDonagh two. Del Toro gets up and brings Wilde back in for the big dive to the floor as we take a break.

We come back with Wilde still in trouble but he catapults McDonagh into Balor on the apron. The tag brings del Toro in to clean house, including a triangle dropkick to knock Balor off the apron. Everything breaks down and a phoenix splash gets two on Balor. Cue El Grande Americano so here is Dragon Lee to pull him off the apron. Del Toro kicks McDonagh (with a belt) off the apron and Wilde hits a heck of a flip dive to drop him again. Cue another El Grande American to pull del Toro off the top so Balor can hit the Coup de Grace and retain at 11:16.

Rating: B. This got some time and I’m interested in where the ending goes, as having a second El Grande Americano makes for a curious twist. If nothing else, it could open a door for someone who doesn’t have anything else going on (Butch or Tyler Bate could be interesting) and there is always room for a good masked man mystery. Other than that, the action worked well with the LWO being their usual good selves, though there was no reason to believe the titles were changing hands.

Here is Gunther for a chat. He calls last week’s exchange with CM Punk a clean victory for him because he went face to face with the best talker in the business. The fans remind Gunther that he tapped out until Gunther says he left Punk speechless…and here is Punk to interrupt. Punk says he was more dumbfounded than anything else. He doesn’t want to be World Heavyweight Champion but rather he needs it like he needs air. Or like the Red Wings need a 12th Stanley Cup.

Wrestling is his addiction and he wants to hold the title above his head as a thank you to the fans. Punk is the best in the world and he’s ready to prove that at Summerslam. This isn’t apples to apples and he puts his hand over the mic when Gunther tries to cut him off. There are levels to this, and Gunther will find that out at Summerslam. I wasn’t quite feeling this one, but the match should be good.

Summerslam rundown.

Jey Uso vs. Bronson Reed

Uso walks through the entrance rather than going through the crowd, which makes sense as doing two of those a night sounds exhausting. Reed is back up with a knockdown of his own and it’s time to choke on the ropes. The World’s Strongest Slam plants Uso again and we take a break. We come back with Uso slugging away to knock Reed outside. The dive drops him again but here is Bronson Reed to spear Uso for the DQ at 7:01.

Rating: C. This didn’t have time to do much, though I do always appreciate the big plan being “and then I hit the guy”. I’m also glad that we didn’t see anyone lose a fall here, as you don’t want to do that so close to a major Summerslam match. Not much of a main event, but it feels like they have something else in mind.

Post match the beatdown is on but here is Roman Reigns for the save so the good guys can clear the ring. Stereo spears are loaded up but Reed and Breakker actually knock them down (points for the surprise there). The big beatdown is on, with Uso getting Tsunamied and reigns getting clotheslined from the apron over the announcers’ table (Breakker jumps from the floor to the table to pose to show off). Back in and another Tsunami crushes Reigns as Breakker shouts that everyone here works for him. Breakker spears Reigns and Uso through the barricade and Reed STEALS REIGNS SHOES to end the show. This was better than the opening segment and got me a lot more into the match.

Overall Rating: B. Good action, a nice build towards the pay per view, and decent enough talking to get us to Summerslam. I liked the ending a good big and the eight woman tag was a lot of fun. They covered a lot of stuff here and it made me more interested in seeing Summerslam than I was coming in so I’ll call this a rather successful show.

Results
AJ Styles/Kabuki Warriors b. Judgment Day – Phenomenal Forearm to Mysterio
Sheamus b. Grayson Waller – Brogue Kick
Nikki Bella/Rhea Ripley/Stephanie Vaquer/Iyo Sky b. Secret Hervice/Chelsea Green/Naomi – SVB to Green
Judgment Day b. LWO – Coup de Grace to del Toro
Jey Uso b. Bronson Reed via DQ when Bron Breakker interfered

 

 

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

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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

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