Well, another Summerslam has come and gone and you know what, it was pretty good. Despite a whopping seven hours of content, it was mostly well-paced and contained a plethora of great matches, some of which could be considered match-of-the-year contenders. Aside from a few dull moments, I was pleasantly surprised at the results of the second biggest event of the year. What are those results, well let’s take a look.
Andrade “Cein” Almas & Zelina Vega Def. Rusev & Lana
Not much of note here, unfortunately. Serving as the curtain jerker to a seven-hour show, the contest between Rusev, Lana, Andrade “Cein” Almas and Zelina Vega, had some potential. Despite a poor build-up, I held out hopes that Summerslam could be a catalyst to help propel Rusev and Lana back up the card. If anything, it would be much better than that atrocious love quadrangle with Dolph Ziggler and Summer Rae from 2015.
While the match itself was fine enough, the result was nothing short of disappointing. Almas distracted Lana, who was then rolled up by the tights by Zelina Vega. Now I’m totally behind pushing Almas and Vega, but why at the expense of an already struggling Rusev & Lana? And to make matters worse, we’ve seen this screwy finish for the past month or so on Smackdown.
3/10
Cedric Alexander Def. Drew Gulak (Cruiserweight title)
I might as well start off by stating that I do not watch 205 Live. After the less than entertaining Enzo Amore Cruiserweight title reign and the walk out of Neville, I simply lost interest in the cruiserweight division. That said, this match really surprised me with its quality. While it started slow and didn’t hold a candle to other cruiserweight matches of the past, this still was a pretty decent bout.
It saw Alexander counter an ankle lock into a roll-up. After a series of roll-ups between the two, Cedric Alexander scored the pin to retain his championship. This was much better than the previous kick-off match, and was a good way to warm up the crowd for what was to come.
5/10
B-Team Def. Revival (Raw tag titles)
This match played out just as I expected it to and I don’t mean that in a positive way. Now as I stated in my coverage of Extreme Rules 2018, I admire WWE for pushing the B-team. Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas are an entertaining duo and have potential to be something. However, this “winning by accident” booking is just not working.
The match was rather short with Dawson and Wilder dominated the majority of the fight in typical heel fashion. Eventually, everyone’s (kinda) favorite underdogs retaliated and brought the fight to the former NXT tag team champs. Sadly however, the B-team emerged victorious (if you can call it that) after Bo Dallas was accidentally shoved into Scott Dawson, allowing Curtis Axel to pick up the win, and making the Revival look like quite pathetic.
This could’ve been a great moment where the B-team finally pick up a legitimate win at the biggest party of the summer. But no, instead they continue to Jar Jar their way through each match their in. Don’t misunderstand me, I want to root for them, but they just can’t keep repeating the same accidental victory joke over and over and expect me to get invested.
3/10
Seth Rollins Def. Dolph Ziggler (Intercontinental title)
Starting the show properly, we were treated to a rematch between two rivals with the Intercontinental championship. Seth Rollins, now accompanied by a returning Dean Ambrose, faced off against Dolph Ziggler in what was a spectacle of in-ring action. Despite a rather slow start with rest holds and teases, once the fight picked up speed, it was a jolt of signature moves and crazy spots.
The most notable spot of all was when from the top rope, Rollins hit Ziggler with a vicious inverted suplex. After some fighting on the outside of the ring, a bloodied Rollins beat Ziggler to the punch (or kick) with a super-kick to the face, followed by an emphatic curb stomp. This was a really good start to the main show and set the bar high for other matches on the card to follow.
7.5/10
New Day Def. Bludgeon Brothers via DQ
After the lack-luster affair that was the B-team vs the Revival, thankfully we were given an exciting brawl of a match between the New Day and the Bludgeon Brothers. This bout was hard hitting and unpredictable. The ex-Wyatt family members decimated Xavier Woods in the early game, but the pancake enthusiasts managed to retaliate when Big E tagged in to turn the tides.
The fighting spilled out to ringside with both teams throwing everything they had at each other. However, just when it seemed as the New Day was poised to finally become five-time tag team champions, Erick Rowan bludgeoned Woods and E with his mallet, causing a disqualification. Besides a questionable finish, the bout delivered more than what anyone was expecting.
6/10
Braun Strowman Def. Kevin Owens (MITB briefcase on the line)
Continuing the series of Raw matches, we have the first real letdown of the main card. After months of a rather obscure feud between fan favorites Kevin Owens and Braun Strowman, the two enemies faced off in a match where if Braun lost in any capacity, Kevin Owens would be crowned Mr. Money in the Bank.
Actually, allow me to rephrase that. Braun Strowman crushed Kevin Owens in under two minutes and the whole “briefcase on the line” stipulation never came into play whatsoever. Now it’s refreshing to see Braun simply run over (literally) his opponents in short order rather than a dragged-out fight, but did it have to be at Kevin Owens expense?
Since his confusing feud with Shane Mcmahon, during which he was simultaneously face and heel, Kevin Owens has sort of been in no man’s land. He is in desperate need of a big win and this feud in which he was pushed off the stage in a portable bathroom hasn’t helped him one bit. Let’s just hope that this match ended their feud, so the two can move on to better things.
4/10
Charlotte Flair Def. Becky Lynch & Carmella (Smackdown Women’s title)
I have real mixed thoughts about the Smackdown women’s triple-threat match. Now the match itself was fantastic. All three women put in an all-star performance in terms of in-ring action and character. Carmella played a conniving heel, who was ultimately be overcome by two best friends, who would ultimately turn on each other in the name of championship glory.
Yeah, I’ve seen this type of setup before. But for what it was this still was a solid title match. The problems arise with the finish. Becky Lynch locked Carmella in the disarmer. And just as we thought Becky would finally recapture the Smackdown Woman’s title and a place at the top of the card, Charlotte Flair ambushed her with the natural selection for the three-count.
On one hand, this marks Charlotte’s seventh woman’s title reign, tying Trish Stratus record for most decorated woman’s champion in WWE history. On the other hand, nobody on the entire Smackdown roster needs a championship victory more than Becky Lynch. Out of the four horsewomen, Becky, unfortunately, has always come off as somewhat of an afterthought. Summerslam was the perfect chance to change that by putting the title on an overwhelmingly over Becky Lynch. Instead, they decided to turn Becky Lynch heel against Charlotte (Because that makes sense).
6/10
Samoa Joe Def. AJ Styles Via DQ (WWE championship)
First of all, why can’t the WWE championship, the oldest and arguably the most prestigious title in the company, ever main event a pay-per-view? It truly is a shame, because this was an epic encounter between AJ Styles and Samoa Joe. As I stated before, the two have amazing chemistry in the ring and it really showed in this championship match.
In addition, the buildup to this match was very well-handled. The idea of Joe making it personal by dragging Styles’ family into the fold, it’s such an old-fashioned setup for a grudge match. The only real downside is that for the third time this year, AJ Styles has retained the championship via disqualification.
However, when you consider that Samoa Joe took to the mic mid-match and called out AJ’s family saying he would be their new daddy, you can’t really blame Styles. I would’ve preferred a more legitimate conclusion other than another DQ, but it worked for the story WWE is telling with these two and has me excited to see where this feud goes (perhaps inside Hell in a Cell).
7/10
Miz Def. Daniel Bryan
After years of waiting and months of buildup, Daniel Bryan finally punched his NXT mentor, the Miz, in the face in what was possibly the match of the night. This contest started off slow but built momentum as time went on. It was action-packed and emotionally fueled, with both men pulling out all the stops to outdo each other. The Brooklyn crowd was as into it as ever, chanting “Daniel Bryan/Let’s go Miz” all throughout.
In the end though, the indie hero fell victim to a set of brass knuckles from the A-lister. Ever since that Talking Smack promo, the hatred between the Miz and Daniel Bryan outside the ring has been one of the most compelling stories on Smackdown. Luckily, this match lived up to the hype and has me pumped for their next encounter.
8/10
Demon Finn Balor Def. Baron Corbin
After the technical grudge match that was Daniel Bryan, the event began to stall. Case and point, Finn Balor vs Baron Corbin. With a feud that already is as compelling as a brick, this match couldn’t have been placed worse on the card. With the crowd somewhat burned out from Bryan vs Miz, it would take a great effort to get the people’s attention with this bout.
Now the WWE solution to the problem was actually kinda clever. Rather than a boring 10-minute match like we were expected, we were treated to the return of the Demon King persona of Finn Balor. As the demon, Balor crushed the constable of Raw in about three minutes.
We hadn’t seen much of Balor’s alter-ego since that unforgivably atrocious feud with Bray Wyatt. So, it was refreshing to see him destroy Corbin in such short fashion. It may not have stolen the show, but it served an amusing diversion.
5/10
Shinsuke Nakamura Def. Jeff Hardy ( US Title )
As you probably know, I was rather disappointed by the five-second United States championship match between Jeff Hardy and Shinsuke Nakamura at “Extreme Rules” in July. Luckily, this bout was a massive improvement over the previous encounter between the king of strong styles and the charismatic enigma.
The two began the fight by engaging in a war of mind games, mocking each other with their own iconic taunts. The match went about 15 minutes and felt much shorter. Jeff hardy evaded Nakamura’s low blow and hit him with two emphatic twists of fate. As he attempted to land the Swanton bomb, Nakamura rolled to the ring apron, where Jeff Hardy turned and hit a Swanton bomb on the apron.
The champ rolled out of harm’s way, and Jeff landed on the apron (seriously Jeff please don’t hurt yourself). He then rolled Hardy in the ring and hit him with a brutal Kinshasa to retain his championship. This match was fast-paced, quick, and hard hitting. Despite a rather pointless appearance by Randy Orton, Jeff Hardy vs Shinsuke Nakamura was one of the high points of the evening and was the perfect shot in the arm to get the crowd back on their feet.
7.5/10
Ronda Rousey Def. Alexa Bliss (Raw woman’s title)
Switching gears over to the woman’s division, we have what I best describe as the coronation of Ronda Rousey, and the public execution of Alexa Bliss. Ronda, in order to lure Alexa Bliss into a false sense of security, sat down closed her eyes and allowed Bliss to make the first move. After doing so, Alexa is immediately overpowered, beaten to a pulp and forced to submit to the armbar.
I’d like to point out that the use of Alexa’s double-jointed arm to make it look like it was breaking was rather impressive, and she sold well for the former UFC champion. Ronda looked like the real deal (despite that ridiculous eye makeup) and it was great to see her finally capture her first title in WWE.
If anything, I would’ve preferred if Alexa Bliss was allowed to get in some offense and make it somewhat of a fight. Other than that, this was an entertaining squash match and it solidified Ronda Rousey as an unstoppable force.
5/10
Roman Reigns Def. Brock Lesnar (Universal title)
Oh boy, here we go, for the fifth and MERCIFULLY final time, Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar. Going in, I approached this match like a child would approach going to the doctor to get a shot. I didn’t want it to happen, but I wanted to get it over with so I could stop stressing, or in this case, booing. However, I must say I admire how WWE handled this final showdown between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar.
Much like a shot from the doctor, the result of this match hurt a little, but it was quick and you’re glad it’s done. With the monster among men, Braun Strowman, towering at ringside threatening to cash in on the winner of the match, the fight was fast-tracked with the big dog landing several spears and superman punches on the beast.
After the brawl spilled out to ringside, Brock finally had enough of Braun’s games, and delivered an F-5 that reminded me of that commercial for “Summerslam 2003.” After taking Reigns out of the equation, Brock Lesnar proceeded to beat the monster with the Money in the Bank briefcase and then toss the briefcase halfway across Brooklyn.
As fate would have it though, Reigns capitalized on the opportunity to hit one last spear on Lesnar to finally put this forsaken rivalry to a close. Unlike their other 20-minute matches, this was a jolt of energy that left me feeling satisfied and was a strong exclamation point of a conclusion to an all-around awesome Summerslam.
7/10
Samuel Claude
Reporter