This Sunday, for the 29th time, WWE presents SummerSlam. Basically a WrestleMania for the summertime, it’s become the most important part of the nine-month wait between WrestleMania seasons. This year’s event is unique in that it’s four hours long for the second year in a row, as well as the final WWE event featuring both brands before brand-exclusive specials begin in September.
Let’s take a look at why we’re supposed to be emotionally engaged in the 10 matches scheduled for this year’s biggest event of the summer (along with three on the pre-show).
GRUDGE MATCH: BROCK LESNAR vs. RANDY ORTON
The only match on the card featuring wrestlers from both brands sees Raw’s Brock Lesnar tangle with SmackDown’s Randy Orton. Originally announced on the July 7th edition of SmackDown, the hook is that they’re two big stars who’ve been around the same amount of time but haven’t really ever wrestled. They faced each other once on a SmackDown in 2002 with Lesnar coming out on top, but not since then.
Presumably a victory for either guy puts them in contention for the top championship on their respective brands, though this really hasn’t been emphasized. It’s Orton’s 11th SummerSlam match (he’s 6-4) and Lesnar’s 7th (4-2).
WWE UNIVERSAL TITLE: FINN BALOR vs. SETH ROLLINS
After Dean Ambrose won at Battleground and kept the WWE World Title on SmackDown, Raw created a brand-new title. Stephanie McMahon gave Seth Rollins a pass to this match at SummerSlam, while Finn Balor won a couple qualifying matches to earn the title shot, and his rivalry with Rollins has grown ever since, with both guys vying to make history as the first WWE Universal Champion.
Both men are former NXT Champions. This is Rollins’ 3rd SummerSlam (he’s 2-0) and both Balor’s first WWE pay-per-view appearance and his first SummerSlam.
WWE WORLD TITLE: DEAN AMBROSE (c) vs. DOLPH ZIGGLER
Ambrose won the WWE World Title at Money in the Bank and kept the title on SmackDown by beating Rollins and Reigns at Battleground. Now the undisputed top dog on his brand, he’ll face Dolph Ziggler, who won a qualifying match to earn the title shot.
The overriding angle is that this is Ambrose’s chance to cement himself as a long-term champion, while it may be the last good chance for Ziggler to prove he’s a championship-caliber superstar.
This is the 7th SummerSlam bout for Ziggler (he’s 2-2 with 2 no-contests) and just the 3rd for Ambrose (he’s 1-1). This is the 28th WWE World Championship bout at SummerSlam and the title has changed hands seven times at the event over the years, most recently in 2014
WWE WOMEN’S TITLE: SASHA BANKS (c) vs. CHARLOTTE
Following a title change on Raw, new Women’s Champion Sasha Banks will face the former champion Charlotte in a rematch. Banks had been pursuing Charlotte’s championship since her WWE main roster debut last summer, and the pair had a storied rivalry in NXT before they were both called up.
It’s the second SummerSlam bout for both combatants, as both debuted in the same match at last year’s event; Charlotte was on the winning team in a three team, nine-female bout, while Banks picked up the loss. While this is the first appearance of the “new” Women’s Championship at SummerSlam, it’s the 8th match featuring a female singles belt in SummerSlam history. Champions are 3-4 overall.
WWE INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE: THE MIZ (c) vs. APOLLO CREWS
For the 23rd time in SummerSlam history the Intercontinental Championship will be up for grabs. This year, The Miz seeks to continue his reign (which began the night after WrestleMania) when he defends against Apollo Crews. It’s Crews’ first SummerSlam and Miz’s 5th, though the veteran has an unimpressive 1-3 record at the event.
History may also be on Crews’ side: the title has changed hands 14 times at SummerSlam, more than any other championship in WWE history (and twice as often as the WWE World Title). Outside of fanning the flames of Miz being a primadonna champion, there’s no overriding storyline behind this bout.
WWE UNITED STATES TITLE: RUSEV (c) vs. ROMAN REIGNS
Since the summer began, former WWE golden boy Roman Reigns has lost the WWE World Championship and been beaten clean as a sheet by Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and Finn Balor. But his skid could be halted when he faces Rusev, the proud Bulgarian that the fans seem to dislike more than they do Reigns.
It’s unclear whether Reigns (a) dislikes Rusev, (b) dislikes Rusev’s wife Lana, or (c) really wants to be the US Champion. Either way, the crowd reactions for this match will be really fun to watch and at its core, wrestling often doesn’t get much better than when two big guys are brawling with each other.
Both guys are undefeated at SummerSlam with one win apiece (and Rusev was also involved in a no-contest). US Champions are 1-2 at SummerSlam historically.
WWE TAG TEAM TITLES: THE NEW DAY (XAVIER WOODS & KOFI KINGSTON) (c) vs. THE CLUB (KARL ANDERSON & LUKE GALLOWS)
The New Day (the trio of Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, and Big E) have been WWE Tag Team Champions since last year’s SummerSlam and have beaten basically every tag team except for Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, who joined WWE earlier this year from New Japan Pro Wrestling.
The New Day were attacked by Gallows and Anderson during their in-ring celebration of their lengthy title reign, with Big E being sidelined with an injury in the attack. Now Woods and Kingston are seeking revenge for their fallen comrade, as well as trying to retain their titles. Anderson and Gallows were multi-time champions in Japan, and view the WWE Tag Team Titles as something they deserve.
Woods, Anderson, and Gallows are making their in-ring SummerSlam debuts, while Kingston’s in his 6th SummerSlam bout (he’s 3-1 with a no-contest). In 16 prior tag title bouts, spanning various incarnations of the titles, the champions are 10-6.
GRUDGE MATCH: JOHN CENA vs. AJ STYLES
AJ Styles debuted in January, coming over from NJPW, while John Cena was out of action with an injury. Styles was as synonymous with TNA Wrestling as Cena has been with WWE during the same time period, so their first bout at Money in the Bank was quite anticipated.
Styles won after interference from Anderson and Gallows, and Cena teamed with Enzo Amore and Big Cass to beat Styles, Anderson, and Gallows at Battleground last month. This is the “rubber match,” where each guy will try to prove they’re the best and put themselves in contention for the WWE Title.
Cena’s in his 13th SummerSlam and has an unimpressive 4-8 record, having not won a singles match at SummerSlam since 2007. Styles is making his SummerSlam debut.
GRUDGE MATCH: ENZO AMORE & BIG CASS vs. CHRIS JERICHO & KEVIN OWENS
In a match that seems like giving four talented guys something to do on a big show, the established team of newcomers Enzo Amore and Big Cass (formerly of NXT) take on two ring veterans who haven’t teamed together in Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens.
This match resulted from a 20-minute interview segment to open an episode of Raw, and given that one side is not a full-time team there seems to be almost nothing at stake in this contest beyond pride. Enzo and Cass are making their SummerSlam debuts, Owens his 2nd appearance, and it’s Jericho’s 10th (he’s 3-6 overall).
SIX-WOMAN TAG TEAM MATCH: CARMELLA, BECKY LYNCH & NAOMI vs. NATALYA, ALEXA BLISS & potentially a MYSTERY PARTNER
SmackDown doesn’t yet have a female singles title, but this match was originally meant to whet the collective appetite for one by pitting all six members of SmackDown’s women’s division against each other in a tag match.
Unfortunately, Eva Marie’s in-ring return has again been postponed, this time by a failed wellness policy test. And WWE.com is teasing that perhaps somebody will join Natalya and Alexa Bliss, though based on the posted rosters on the WWE site there aren’t any remaining healthy SmackDown women to take her place.
Anyway, it’s the 2nd SummerSlam match for Becky Lynch (1-0) and Naomi (0-1) and the debuts for Carmella, Natalya, and Bliss.
Also on the pre-show:
MATCH ONE IN A BEST-OF-SEVEN SERIES: SHEAMUS vs. CESARO
Two big guys that don’t like each other face off. We’ve seen a couple previous best-of-seven series’ in WWE and WCW, but it’s completely unclear what’s at stake between these men beyond bragging rights.
TAG TEAM MATCH: THE DUDLEY BOYZ vs. SAMI ZAYN & NEVILLE
One of the most decorated tag teams of all time (The Dudleyz) take on two former NXT Champions (Sami Zayn & Neville) who have yet to find their footing in post-draft WWE.
12-MAN TAG TEAM MATCH: AMERICAN ALPHA, THE HYPE BROS & THE USOS vs. BREEZANGO, THE ASCENSION & THE VAUDEVILLAINS
The largest pre-show match in recent memory based on the sheer number of bodies involved features eight graduates of NXT, including three different former NXT Tag Team Champions.
Fun Fact: Including competitors in the pre-show, there are 25 graduates from NXT on SummerSlam.
It’s the biggest party of the summer, and we’re all invited!
It’s SummerSlam, the traditional August pay-per-view WWE has held since 1988, and it feels like the biggest one yet with six hours of sports entertainment, including the two-hour kickoff show (and let’s not forget most PPVs now have overruns).
The three biggest matches are Dean Ambrose defending the WWE title against a rejuvenated Dolph Ziggler, Finn Balor squaring off against Seth Rollins for the new WWE Universal title, set to be the top title on Raw, and Brock Lesnar facing Randy Orton.
Carmella, Becky Lynch and Naomi vs. Natalya, Alexa Bliss and ???
– Bryan Rose: Sounds like just filler on a show that has a ton of it. Probably won’t be bad. We’re just running in place until they decide to do something for the title that’s coming. It would have been easy for Eva to get a cheap win here, but with her gone you might as well just have Becky or another face get the win.
Winners: Carmella, Becky Lynch & Naomi
– Ryan Frederick: It’s something to get the SmackDown Live women some attention, but I think this will be an angle to see how Eva Marie can avoid wrestling once again. I pretty much see this as a handicap match and the faces going over.
Winners: Carmella, Becky Lynch & Naomi
– James Cox: Eva getting popped this week means they either bring someone in like Nikki Bella and the heels go over or they just revert and go with the babyfaces.
Winners: Carmella, Becky Lynch & Naomi
– Steve Khan: I would’ve gone with the heel team if Eva was still in it, but the faces should probably win now.
Winners: Carmella, Becky Lynch & Naomi
– Brian Hoops: With Eva out of the match, history suggests WWE should put over the new participant and her team.
Winners: Natalya, Alexa Bliss & ???
– Jeremy Peeples: Eva is gone, which does hurt the interest a bit since they’ve been holding off her return. The babyfaces should win this – but they won on SD, which hurts their chances and it could get a new heel over with a win.
Winner:s Natalya, Alexa Bliss & ???
– Gary Mehaffy: I figure they’ll put over Carmella In NYC, but who can ever tell!
Winner: Carmella, Becky Lynch & Naomi
– Paul Fontaine: Becky is likely the biggest star of the 6 women in the match and Carmella is a local so it seems likely their team will get the win.
Winners: Carmella, Becky Lynch and Naomi
– Kyle S. Johnson: I would presume that the faces were going to win this match before Eva got suspended, and so I don’t imagine that this would change.
Winners: Carmella, Becky Lynch and Naomi
Cesaro vs. Sheamus (Match number one of their best-of-seven series)
– Bryan Rose: I’ve seen these two wrestle long matches on Raw. So now I get to see it seven more times, lucky me. Sheamus lost both, so I guess it’s his turn to win. Yay.
Winner: Sheamus
– Ryan Frederick: I don’t really care for a best-of-seven between these two, but it keeps them busy. Cesaro already has two wins over Sheamus before the best of seven series, and past logic when it comes to these types of things is the heel goes over in the first match. So, Sheamus wins I guess. Cesaro deserves to be higher up.
Winner: Sheamus
– James Cox: I think this could actually be a pretty good set of matches, but no one will care too much. It just essentially ties them into a program for a few months. Cesaro should win the war, but Sheamus will probably win the battle here.
Winner: Sheamus
– Steve Khan: It seems obvious that Sheamus will start this series with the advantage, but Cesaro can win the first one and Sheamus can win the next two, or something.
Winner: Cesaro
– Brian Hoops: Cesaro deserves better but at least this is something. I look for Sheamus as the heel to gain an advantage and Cesaro come back to win the series.
Winner: Sheamus
– Jeremy Peeples: This is the definition of a mid-card treadmill feud anyway, and this best-of-seven series is only going to ensure that neither man is given a chance to gain momentum for at least two months. If this series had any stakes beyond “who is the better man,” it could be something. As it is, the winner of this match doesn’t really matter, but Cesaro needs the win more.
Winner: Cesaro
– Gary Mehaffy: Cesaro will win overall (and deserves to be on the main show and not the pre-show, but I digress) but I think they’ll start with a Sheamus win to kick it off.
Winner: Sheamus
– Paul Fontaine: Sheamus has lost the last two matches against Sheamus so it feels like he’ll probably take the first match in this best-of-seven. I actually like the matches these two have had so far and hopefully they get the kind of time to have the match that they’re both capable of.
Winner: Sheamus
– Kyle S. Johnson: Cesaro has won two matches in a row against Sheamus, and he’s likely going to win the series, so Sheamus striking first blood seems like the most logical route here.
Winner: Sheamus
Intercontinental Title: The Miz (c) vs. Apollo Crews
– Bryan Rose: Even though they now have the platform to elevate people with two different rosters, this title match has gotten very little time on TV, other than Apollo won a match to get the shot. Build has been so lackluster I don’t see a title change here. Maybe a lame DQ to set up a rematch on the next SD PPV.
Winner: The Miz
– Ryan Frederick: The Miz is entertaining in his role and the never-ending title reign gimmick is a good idea. I think that gimmick is going to end. They need to elevate some guys, and while the Intercontinental Title being on both brands has been a killer, on a single brand it should be the elevation title. Apollo Crews winning it here is probably the right call.
Winner: Apollo Crews
– James Cox: Apollo Crews just has so little about him, I can’t see the point of just slapping a strap on him in the hope that he gets over. The Miz to retain unfairly here.
Winner: The Miz
– Steve Khan: It’s almost alarming how little attention they’ve given this match, considering it’s for the IC Title. They should switch the title as a way to kick-off the new era, but Crews is not the right guy at the moment, unfortunately.
Winner: The Miz
– Brian Hoops: The Miz has a better act than Crews but WWE may view a title change on a big SummerSlam stage as a way to try to elevate Crews. They can and will always change it back.
Winner: Apollo Crews
– Jeremy Peeples: Miz and Maryse as an act are great, and they actually don’t even need the title to do it. Miz could just carry around a replica and call himself the champion and it would fit the character being delusional. The title is sadly back to meaning very little, so I can see Crews winning it to gain something resembling on-paper momentum.
Winner: Apollo Crews
– Gary Mehaffy: I was always a supporter of Miz over the years, but he doesn’t need the belt and Apollo needs all the help he can get.
Winner: Apollo Crews
– Paul Fontaine: I’m a pretty big fan of the Miz/Maryse act and don’t feel like it’s time to take the title off of Miz just yet. And even if it was, Crews just isn’t the guy to do it, in my opinion.
Winner: The Miz
– Kyle S. Johnson: This is probably the most low-profile match on the show, which really says something about the state of this belt. Taking it off of Miz should have happened much, much sooner, but Crews also doesn’t seem quite ready for a championship run. Still, Miz’s shtick works just fine on its own and Crews would get at least an aesthetic rub from carrying the belt, so I’ll take Apollo for the win.
Winner: Apollo Crews
Enzo Amore and Big Cass vs. Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens
– Bryan Rose: To me, this seems like an angle that’s going to go for a few months. Don’t know how they’ll do it other than Owens and Jericho get a cheap win to set up a rematch on the following PPV. Let’s go with that.
Winners: Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens
– Ryan Frederick: Enzo and Big Cass are going to be mega stars in front of this crowd, especially Enzo. Kevin Owens is going to be a megastar in front of this crowd too. Jericho probably as well. You know Cass isn’t taking the fall, and Owens taking the fall isn’t smart either. This seems like the start of a program that is going for a little bit for the split brand events, and Owens and Jericho should win the first one.
Winners: Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens
– James Cox: Flip a coin here. Neither really need to be losing here, but you can see Enzo as the fall guy in this situation. Fun match, no doubt, if they’re given time.
Winners: Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens
– Steve Khan: Enzo and Cass are hot, but this still feels way beneath Jericho and Owens. It’s their first official night as a team, so I’ll go with the Canadians.
Winners: Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens
– Brian Hoops: Enzo and Cass will be huge favorites in front of this crowd. Should be a fun match if Jericho and Owens build heat on Enzo and Cass finally makes a hot tag.
Winners: Enzo & Cass
– Jeremy Peeples: Enzo and Cass are in Brooklyn, the heels are a great makeshift team – but still a makeshift team, and the faces should win. This wouldn’t be a bad choice for an opener on the PPV, and a face win would get the show off to a solid start.
Winners: Enzo & Cass
– Gary Mehaffy: As with Carmella, it’s NYC and they’ll put over Enzo and Cass. With Y2J leaving soon it makes sense, although, again, when has that ever worried them.
Winners: Enzo & Cass
– Paul Fontaine: I really like both of these teams but I think that Cass and Enzo are the next team to hold the tag team titles and as such I expect them to go over here.
Winners: Enzo & Cass
– Kyle S. Johnson: All four guys don’t really have any immediate direction after this feud ends, so I could foresee Jeri-KO getting a win over the hometown favorites and the feud being extended just a little while longer before Enzo and Cass start their pursuit of the tag titles.
Winners: Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens
WWE Tag Team Championship: The New Day (c) vs. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson
– Bryan Rose: You would think this is a ripe time for the New Day to lose the tag team titles, and you know what? It probably is, and I can see it happening here. Maybe do a storyline where they aren’t at full power and without Big E, Anderson and Gallows get the win over Woods or something, then set up a rematch with a returning Big E. The angles to build up this match have been really lame, but a title switch here would give some momentum to Anderson and Gallows.
Winners: Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
– Ryan Frederick: I’m pretty sure Big E is going to come back at the end and cost Gallows and Anderson right when it looks like they’re going to get the win. The New Day is one of the most over acts on the roster, and keeping the titles on them to get past the one year mark of holding the tag titles is a good move. Gallows and Anderson are probably going to win them soon, but now seems like it’s too soon.
Winners: The New Day
– James Cox: The fact that they have pushed that it has been a year since The New Day won the title suggests that we’re going to see something here. Gallows and Anderson are being used all wrong, but I think they might be given the titles.
Winners: Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
– Steve Khan: When they announced this match, it seemed like a lock that the Club would win. It certainly doesn’t feel like that now, and I almost expect New Day to retain with help from Big E. It’s possible Jericho and Owens are being set up for New Day, but I feel a title change since there might not be any others elsewhere on the show (besides the new belt on Raw).
Winners: Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
– Brian Hoops: WWE has missed the prime opportunity to put the titles on Anderson & Gallows and giving them the belts now seems too late. I have to believe Big E shows up and costs Anderson & Gallows the match and New Day retains.
Winners: The New Day
– Jeremy Peeples: The Club’s momentum has fizzled immensely since even the start of this lukewarm feud. There was a time when the heels should’ve won the titles, but that time has passed and the storyline works far better with Big E returning on the big stage to help his team win and extend their reign.
Winners: The New Day
– Gary Mehaffy: The Club had so much potential (and still could have) but they have been WWE-ized and have lost a lot of their sparkle, as Jeremy rightly said. I could have gone either way on this, but I too see this as Big E’s return leading to a New Day win. I think Gallows/Anderson need to win them soon, and should have here, but I can see the storyline should lead to a New Day win.
Winners: The New Day
– Paul Fontaine: As I said earlier, I expect that Cass and Enzo will be the next tag team champs. I do feel, though, that The New Day will lose this match…..by DQ. I fully expect Big E to return here and go for revenge against Gallows and Anderson for injuring his balls. Or Kingston and and Woods will hit the double nut-shot for the DQ. Either way, balls will be involved and the champs will lose by DQ, leading to a rematch.
Winners: Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson (but The New Day retains titles)
– Kyle S. Johnson: This has been a pretty underwhelming feud, but the match itself should be a lot of fun. The New Day are not going to lose any luster if they drop the titles, and Anderson and Gallows could really use the belts to make them appear credible (they probably should have gotten the championships before they were split off from AJ), so I’ll take Guns and Gallows to win the titles.
Winners: Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
WWE Women’s Championship: Sasha Banks (c) vs. Charlotte
– Bryan Rose: I really doubt Charlotte’s regaining the title so quickly, so I see Sasha retaining here. Should be a really good match given time.
Winner: Sasha Banks
– Ryan Frederick: The title change was going to happen here before they made the switch to kick off Raw with the change. It’s way too soon to take the title off of Sasha, and it seems like there is going to be a new program for her post-SummerSlam. I expect Dana Brooke to cost Charlotte the match in some form by turning on her, leading to them going into a program.
Winner: Sasha Banks
– James Cox: Sasha Banks to retain. There’s no need to be playing hot potato with this title.
Winner: Sasha Banks
– Steve Khan: Banks. Despite this new era, the women are still severely underrepresented on this show, so hopefully these two are given a lot of time and have a great match.
Winner: Sasha Banks
– Brian Hoops: Should be a great match. Taking the title off Banks this early weakens her and she will be a huge babyface in front of this crowd.
Winner: Sasha Banks
– Jeremy Peeples: Sasha has a solid act now and she has put over last year’s Brooklyn show too much to lose here. Charlotte doesn’t need the title and can easily lose due to Dana here if they really want to protect her in the booking.
Winner: Sasha Banks
– Gary Mehaffy: This will be a well rehearsed match, eh, I mean, a great match. It’ll kill Sasha’s momentum if she doesn’t win and they can use it as a backdrop to split Charlotte and Dana up. In saying that, the way they book break up angles, this could lead to a Charlotte win with Dana double bluffing everybody. I hope not, but you know how it goes….
Winner: Sasha Banks
– Paul Fontaine: Sasha should retain in what I expect will be a great match. Charlotte is one of the only heels in the company that actually gets a heel reaction and she really doesn’t get enough credit for that. May I also add that I think the WWE 24 special on the women was really good and I’d recommend checking it out.
Winner: Sasha Banks
– Kyle S. Johnson: This should be a pretty great match if the match from Raw a few weeks back is any indication. Sasha will retain, and once her feud with Charlotte ends, I could foresee her being rushed into a program with Nia Jax.
Winner: Sasha Banks
United States Championship: Rusev (c) vs. Roman Reigns
– Bryan Rose: I don’t know why you would do a long match on Raw, with Roman winning, just to lead to another potentially long match here. I’m going to assume it’s because Reigns is not walking away with the title here. I’ll guess that there will be a screwy finish leading Rusev to somehow get the win in the record book.
Winner: Rusev
– Ryan Frederick: It sure seems like they’re going to put the title on Roman Reigns. I don’t think it happens here, though. I’m sensing Rusev getting disqualified somehow and this program going on. Turn Reigns heel. It’s time.
Winner: Roman Reigns (but Rusev retains the title)
– James Cox: Reigns won on Raw so WWE logic says Rusev goes over here. Good to see Reigns in a program where people aren’t dead set against him. Rusev is excellent, Reigns is good, I think this will be pretty good.
Winner: Rusev
– Steve Khan: Rusev shouldn’t lose the title after losing on Raw, but I can’t see Reigns losing either. That leads me to think this match won’t have a great finish, and this feud must continue. I’ll go with Reigns, but by DQ or whatever.
Winner: Roman Reigns (Rusev retains)
– Brian Hoops: 50/50 booking means Rusev wins after Reigns won on Raw. Rusev could win by DQ, countout or some fluke finish and retain the title.
Winner Rusev
Jeremy Peeples: A Reigns win puts him in the Cena spot of making this a top-tier title again, which is good — but he won on Raw, so he’s doomed. His character really should lose this anyway for being such a prick to the newlyweds week after week, and Rusev finally feels like he’s regained most of his lost heat from the last year of bad booking. It’s not the right time for him to lose, and a win over Roman puts him right in the mix for a Universal Championship feud with Balor if he wins.
Winner: Rusev
– Gary Mehaffy: Rusev wins by shenanigans, with Vince thinking that this will make the fans back Reigns, when in reality, he will not be treated as such by the NYC crowd. Don’t believe me? Just check back and watch the Sid/HBK match and then you’ll see what I mean.
Winner: Rusev
Paul Fontaine: Step one in the rehabilitation of Roman Reigns. These two just work really well together and it’s the first time in a while that Reigns has actually been connecting with the fans. I’ve been back and forth on this but I do think that Reigns is going to win the title and go on a strong run leading up to whatever they have planned for him at next year’s Mania.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Kyle S. Johnson: Reigns winning here seemed like a sure thing until he pinned Rusev on Monday night. Since the priority is the rehabilitation of Roman, however, I’ll stick with Roman winning, though probably through some means where he doesn’t walk out with the championship.
Winner: Roman Reigns
John Cena vs. AJ Styles
– Bryan Rose: This should be a really good match and maybe the best on the show if given enough time. Styles is still really tremendous, and Cena can work hard with just about anybody and hold his own. You would think judging by how SmackDown ended Styles would get the win, but since he got the win on their last PPV match, and knowing how they book with Cena, this seems like Cena’s thing to win. But then again, with him taking a limited schedule, Styles seems like the best choice. So against better judgment, I’ll go with him.
Winner: AJ Styles
– Ryan Frederick: History says John Cena wins this as they are really tied up in this program with one win each (though Cena won in a 6-man). They need to buck history here. Cena isn’t going to be around for a while, and Styles should be the top guy on SmackDown Live along with Ambrose, Orton and Wyatt. Styles should be next for Ambrose heading into the stand alone events, so he needs to win here. It’ll probably be great.
Winner: AJ Styles
– James Cox: I rarely don’t back Cena on PPV, because they rarely have him lose on one. But here it does seem odd to beat Styles again. Styles is fantastic, really looking forward to this one.
Winner: AJ Styles
– Steve Khan: I expect this to be match of the night. Cena shouldn’t be losing every big match or anything, but the timing is right here with Cena’s schedule decreasing, and with Styles as one of the guys who has to carry SmackDown.
Winner: AJ Styles
– Brian Hoops: Cena will not be full time and Styles is advertised on house shows for September working with Ambrose. That means Styles should win.
Winner: AJ Styles
– Jeremy Peeples: Cena’s reduced schedule feels like it’s a way for him to put folks over on the way out. AJ needs the momentum and could really benefit from a WWE Title feud to cement his status in WWE.
Winner: AJ Styles
– Gary Mehaffy: Cena is winding down, which should mean AJ goes over, and I think that for once Vince will go that direction and build AJ up for the next series of title shots.
Winner: AJ Styles
– Paul Fontaine: AJ Styles has to win as Cena is leaving and I can’t see anyone else on the SmackDown side being ready to challenge Ambrose for the WWE title.
Winner: AJ Styles
– Kyle S. Johnson: AJ Styles should be the next in line for Dean Ambrose’s championship, and so he absolutely needs the win here. A clean win over Cena puts AJ at that level, and it is the right call to make in this situation.
Winner: AJ Styles
WWE Championship: Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler
– Bryan Rose: Would be stunned if Ambrose lost here. I think the whole Ziggler thing is a tone deaf, three years too late way of making fans happy and making SmackDown the face brand. Ziggler has been good in his new role, and Ambrose is really holding his own as the top guy on the brand, so it hasn’t been a total failure. And this should actually be a really good match, despite the weird premise. Don’t think Ziggler is walking away with the title, though.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
– Ryan Frederick: They’ve done a great job convincing fans that Dolph Ziggler may beat Dean Ambrose. Ambrose is the most polished guy to lead the SmackDown Live brand, and he has been fantastic as the champion. Ziggler has been fantastic in his role as well. I’d like to see the program continue, but it feels like it will be done after this event. Ambrose will keep the title.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
– James Cox: Dean Ambrose came across like a contrarian and frankly like a guy you don’t want doing a ton of media by his performance on the Stone Cold Podcast. I don’t know if the subsequent heat on him means in anything. Given that this is the SmackDown title now, why not give it to Ziggler? Still, I don’t see it yet.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
– Steve Khan: Ambrose is on a roll, and this should be pretty great. Ambrose should definitely retain, and I’m all for a Ziggler heel turn post-match.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
– Brian Hoops: Ambrose is advertised as champion for house shows following SummerSlam and since WWE has NEVER false advertised before, Ambrose must be retaining.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
Jeremy Peeples: Dolph has shown more here than he has in quite a while, and they are giving him chances to do something different that he is making use of. This still feels like what the original World Heavyweight title matches were towards the end — a second IC Title with a more important name. They have made things somewhat personal, but it still feels like things are building and this isn’t the conclusion. I can see Dean winning this one, and then Dolph winning later with a heel turn.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
– Gary Mehaffy: Dolph is talented, but there’s no way that they can put the title on him, unless Dean really is in the dog house after the Austin interview. That being said, Dean wins and Dolph turns heel the next night in a feud that must continue.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
– Paul Fontaine: The way this feud has been booked, Ziggler kind of has to go over or it’s just been a complete waste of time to try and rehab him. But that’s been the story of the last 10 years for this dude, so yeah, he’s losing.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
– Kyle S. Johnson: Who would have thought that Dolph Ziggler might do some of his best work in years with just a little bit of motivation. Both men have been pretty great in the build-up here, and I think they’ll follow through with an equally entertaining match. Dean retains and gets paired up with AJ or Bray moving forward.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
WWE Universal Championship: Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins
– Bryan Rose: This is interesting. The easy thing to say is for Rollins to get the win and the title. But they could go all the way with Balor and make him top champion of Raw in quick fashion. Thing is, they haven’t really let him talk, and being champion requires long periods of talking for no real reason, something they feel comfortable letting Rollins do. I think Rollins gets a cheap win and they continue the feud. A surprise win for Balor here would be cool, though.
Winner: Seth Rollins
– Ryan Frederick: This is the perfect time to make Finn Balor into one of the biggest stars in the company. Rollins doesn’t need the title right now, though he will eventually get it. Balor is getting The Demon get-up at the event, and he is going to be over huge in front of that crowd. The time is right and Balor holding the new title first makes him and it special instead of a retread with Rollins. Make the right move WWE.
Winner: Finn Balor
– James Cox: I think they’ll try Finn Balor on top for a little while. The downside is his mic skills, but he’s an outstanding performer. This is a match to get really excited about, a perfect main event program for SummerSlam
Winner: Finn Balor
– Steve Khan: Rollins winning would give the title more credibility, but Balor can’t lose already. Maybe they’ll do something crazy and have the Club with with Rollins, but I’ll stick with Balor becoming inaugural champion.
Winner: Finn Balor
– Brian Hoops: Potential show stealer here. Way to early for Balor to lose and Rollins has had a run with a title already and if they wanted him with the belt, why have him lose to Ambrose when he cashed in the briefcase?
Winner: Finn Balor
– Jeremy Peeples: Seth has stated far too often that he’ll repeat history and be the first NXT and first Universal Champion. They debuted the Demon paint on Raw, will use it again on SummerSlam and that will seemingly ensure that Balor wins the title and gives Raw a babyface champion. Balor doesn’t quite feel like “the man” on Raw yet, but a title win would help him a lot in both the short and long-term, so I would go with that.
Winner: Finn Balor
– Gary Mehaffy: So, I’m not being biased seeing as Finn is from the Emerald Isle, but this is the time to shake things up on Raw and common sense would be that Finn has to win the title. Now, Vince and common sense don’t always go hand in hand, but this is not the time for Balor to lose in his big debut, although they could go the DQ route (Reigns runs out, turns heel on Finn, costing him the match) but I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Finn.
Winner: Finn Balor
– Paul Fontaine: All signs point to Finn Balor but I really don’t think they’re going to do that. Seth Rollins is so good and with them scaling back on the push of Roman Reigns for the time being, he really is the top guy on the brand. At the end of the day, I just can’t see Vince deciding to go with with the 190 lb Balor as that guy. I really hope I’m wrong here, though.
Winner: Seth Rollins
– Kyle S. Johnson: My head says that Seth just wins and establishes himself as the man once again, but my heart says that this has to conclude with Finn winning the championship. Putting Finn over here makes him a bona fide top-five star, and one who will sell a whole hell of a lot of merchandise. Rushing back to Roman vs. Seth seems silly (although 100 percent plausible), so I’ll take Finn to win the championship and carry on his feud with Seth.
Winner: Finn Balor
Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton
– Bryan Rose: They’ve protected Lesnar so much over the years it’s hard to see anything else than a Lesnar win. Might be a better match than people expect it to be, but I’m not compelled about the match to be honest. I think it’ll be fine, but doesn’t come off like a real big WWE main event. Lesnar should be having all the momentum in the world following the UFC win, but with the drug test failures that really isn’t true at all now. He gets the win here, but where he goes next is anyone’s guess.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
– Ryan Frederick: This is interesting to me to see how mad the company is at Brock Lesnar. I don’t think they care about what happened with the UFC and the drug tests, and they pretty much made that clear with their statement. I have this sense the WrestleMania main event is Lesnar vs. Reigns, which means Lesnar wins. I get the feeling we’re going to have someone cost Orton the match, that being Bray Wyatt. That would be a bad move, and just let these two men work. I think they can have a fantastic match. Lesnar is going to win.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
– James Cox: Cannot wait for this. Both are extremely good at what they do. Randy is an excellent performer and one who I think Lesnar is likely to want to work well with. Lesnar is what a big WWE PPV is all about. Sticking my neck out here, though, I say they put Orton over.
Winner: Randy Orton
– Steve Khan: This should be really good. No matter what the situation is with Lesnar, Orton just isn’t the guy who should beat him.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
– Brian Hoops: Lesnar is their only big money player and no way should they hurt him with a loss to Orton. With that being said, I could see WWE “punishing” Lesnar with a loss.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
– Gary Mehaffy: In any other time, Orton would go over, but he can afford a loss in a strong match whereas I don’t think Brock can. It depends on which side Vince gets out of the bed of on Sunday morning, as he could decide to show Brock who’s boss (seeing as he can’t be suspended for a PED failure), but I’m sticking with Brock.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
– Jeremy Peeples: Lesnar should win this since he’s the company’s biggest star, but Orton is their guy who they know won’t leave and isn’t under scrutiny for a drug test failure.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
– Paul Fontaine: This is probably the toughest match on the show to call. Logic would say that Orton will go over because he’s the full-timer and they’re probably pissed off at Lesnar for failing the drug test in UFC. But Lesnar is the bigger star and there’s probably more money matches down the road for him. So it’s really a coin flip and it just came up heads for me.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
= Kyle S. Johnson: I am going to go with the single most unlikely scenario here: Brock Lesnar loses after Bill Goldberg somehow interjects himself, setting up a rematch between the two for WrestleMania 33. For as much as Vince McMahon may not want to do business with Goldberg, he can sense the potential for money like a shark senses blood in the water.
Having Brock lose in a flukey manner shouldn’t hurt his credibility too much (and even if it does, Paul Heyman can save it with one promo as he did after SummerSlam 2015), but it does make for a splashy story to push in mainstream outlets that cover WWE.
Having him lose on account of Goldberg serves the purpose of creating interest in the upcoming video game, generating new network subscribers by pushing WCW stuff in the archive, and setting up this year’s WrestleMania as a must-see for lapsed fans. Having him lose to a guy he really doesn’t have any business losing to might also be a decent enough way of sending a message to Brock where fines and suspensions are not available avenues.
Is this the likely outcome? Not even remotely, but it sounds much more interesting to me than Brock just suplexing Randy 15 times, kicking out of an RKO, and then winning the match, which is probably closer to what actually happens.
The 2016 Super J-Cup crowns its winner on Sunday morning with the tournament finals airing live on NJPW World from Tokyo, Japan.
We’re looking for your thoughts on this show, the UFC show, the NXT show and the ROH show with thumbs up, thumbs down, thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
Going into the show, Jushin Thunder Liger, Taichi, KUSHIDA, Kenoh, Ryusuke Taguchi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Matt Sydal, and Will Ospreay are all still alive in the tournament. The card will feature second round matches, semifinal matches, and the tournament final.
And the show will also feature notable appearances from competitors outside of the tournament, as The Young Bucks defend their IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship against familiar rivals in the Motor City Machine Guns.
The GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship will be on the line as well, with Atsushi Kotoge and Daisuke Harada defending against ACH and Taiji Ishimori. And the show will feature CMLL stars as Volador Jr., Titan, and Caristico take on Ultimo Guerrero, Gran Guerrero, and Euforia in a six-man tag.
Our coverage starts at 2 a.m. ET/11 p.m. PT. The full card is:
Super J-Cup tournament finals match
IWGP Junior Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) vs. The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) for the titles
GHC Junior Tag Team Champions Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada vs. ACH & Taiji Ishimori
Super J-Cup tournament semifinals match
Super J-Cup tournament semifinals match
Volador Jr., Titan, & Caristico vs. Ultimo Guerrero, Gran Guerrero, & Euforia
Matt Sydal vs. Will Ospreay in a second round tournament match
Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru in a second round tournament match
KUSHIDA vs. Kenoh in a second round tournament match
Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Taichi in a second round tournament match
David Finlay, Eita, & Yuma Aoyagi vs. BUSHI, Kaji Tomato, & Gurukun Mask
EITA & DAVID FINLAY & YUMA AOYAGI VS. BUSHI & KAJI TOMATO & GURUKUN MASK
Okay match. Eita, Gurukun Mask and Aoyagi did some cool dives at the end. Bushi pinned Finlay coming off the top rope with a codebeaker. After the match, Bushi turned on his teammates, blowing mist in Tomato’s eyes after Tomato offered him a tomato, and then Bushi started tearing up Gurukun’s mask.
JUSHIN LIGER VS. TAICHI IN THE QUARTERFINALS
Nothing to this match. Desperado kept interfering. It ended up on the floor in the aisle with Liger fighting with Desperado and Taichi. Taichi kicked Liger and Desperado just held Liger on the ground while Taichi ran in to beat the count and win via count out quickly. Taichi had his girl with him who was hitting on Liger before then making out with Taichi. After the match Liger hurled a chair at them and hit Desperado right in the from far away and he went down selling the knee and limped to the back.
KENOH VS. KUSHIDA IN THE QUARTERFINALS
This was an excellent technical match. If you’re into top level matwork this was it. But a big issue today is that the crowd is small and because of that it doesn’t have the big event feel. They exchanged moved and submissions on the mat with Kushida constantly going for the hoverboard lock until getting the armbar in the middle for the submission. This sets up Kushida vs. Taichi next.
RYUSUKE TAGUCHI VS. YOSHINOBU KANEMARU IN QUARTERFINALS
This was good, but lacked heat which is looking like the theme of the show. Kanemaru kicked out of the Dodon and Taguchi kicked out of a DDT off the top rope but Kanemaru followed that up with his touch out, which is a brainbuster for the clean pin. Kanemaru is the GHC jr. champion so he figured to not get eliminated here.
WILL OSPREAY VS. MATT SYDAL IN QUARTERFINALS
In an upset, Sydal pinning him clean with a shooting star press after a reverse Frankensteiner off the middle rope. Athletically, this blew away anything this week but this is just not a crowd where you can be in the match of the year because they were so quiet, although in the end you could see they really liked it. There was an awesome high spot early. Ospreay did the Space Flying Tiger drop and a lot of things that were blow away like Sydal giving Ospreay a lariat and Ospreay doing a spin bump and landing on his feet. It wouldn’t be my call to beat Ospreay here.
TITAN & CARISTICO & VOLADOR JR. VS. ULTIMO GUERRERO & GRAN GUERRERO & EUFORIA
Very good match and the crowd appreciated it but didn’t go wild for it. It was almost exactly what you’d think. The first several minutes of heel heat saw nobody care because there was no interest in personalities or storyline. Once they did the first sequence of dives the crowd was into it. Caristico is nowhere near 100% due to a broken pelvis and he was the big star from his days as Mistico. Titan and Volador were great and the heels did their jobs. The biggest reaction was Volador doing a big plancha into a hurricanrana. Caristico kicked out of the Guerrero special. Volador pinned Gran Guerrero after a top rope Spanish fly. This was pretty much their Friday night Arena Mexico match but without the intense fan reaction.
KUSHIDA VS. TAICHI IN THE SEMIFINALS
Taichi attacked him before the match with the mic stand. At one point Kushida made a comeback and was on the top rope for a dive to the floor, Taichi’s girl got in front of Taichi so he wouldn’t dive. Taichi used the ring bell and played heel and got good heat. Kushida came back with the hoverboard lock but Desperado distracted the ref who missed Taichi furiously tapping. Taichi hit Kushida in the head with a chair and used the Gedo clutch for a strong near fall. Kushida also kicked out of a last ride power bomb and scored the pin with a spinning move into a cradle. After the match Taichi and Desperado attacked him again.
Editor’s note: The remainder of the show was covered by Bryan Rose
MATT SYDAL VS. YOSHINOBU KANEMARU
Good back and forth match. You can tell they were going forward with a champion vs. champion finals results since Kanemaru is the current GHC junior champion. Sydal tried for the shooting star press but Kanemaru got the knees up, smashed him with a lariat and picked up the win to go to the finals.
GHC TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS ATSUSHI KOTOGE & DAISUKE HARADA VS. ACH & TAIJI ISHIMORI
Pretty good match. ACH in particular looked strong here and should be a regular in NOAH going forward as he could definitely be a new bright spot in that division. Cool spot at one point was ACH and Ishimori hitting stereo 450 splashes, but both Kotoge and Harada got the knees up and cradled them for a double near fall. Kotoge and Harada isolated Ishimori and pinned him after a bridging German suplex by Harada.
After the match, the champions called out Gedo & Jado. Jado came down to the ring, and Gedo left commentary to accept their challenge. Guess them getting a win on the G1 finals card made sense in the end.
IWGP JUNIOR TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS THE YOUNG BUCKS VS. THE MOTOR CITY MACHINE GUNS
This was really good, one of the better matches of the night but the crowd, which was cold for a lot of the show, was just there. Bucks were wearing gear with Dave Meltzer’s face plastered all over. MCMG looked good, as did the Bucks. Lots of great back and forth sequences towards the end. The Bucks laid out Shelley on the outside with an Indytaker, then pinned Sabin after hitting the Meltzer Driver.
Bucks got on the mic after the match and said they have won the IWGP Jr. tag team championships, but they want to do something that has never done before – they challenged the Briscoes, who hold the heavyweight tag team titles. If this is the next step toward unifying these two divisions, I’m all for it.
KUSHIDA VS. YOSHINOBU KANEMARU FOR THE SUPER J-CUP
Pretty good match, but again the crowd was just there and didn’t feel like a big tournament was concluding, or that two junior world champions were going at it. Taka Michinoku got involved, pulling the ref out of the ring at one point. KUSHIDA fought off the brainbuster attempts by Kanemaru. Taichi also got involved but Taguchi thwarted him. KUSHIDA got in the hoverboard lock and Kanemaru tapped.
KUSHIDA was awarded the golden jacket as Alex Shelley, his former tag team partner (I guess it’s former for right now) helped him put it on. They shared a nice moment as everyone came out and posed for a group picture to close out the show.
Jose led a conga line of fans around the ring before the match. Ironically the very first person in line was wearing an Austin Aries t-shirt.
Aries won with the Last Chancery after a sunset flip power bomb out of the corner. The story of this match was Aries used his experience and knowledge to counteract the youthful exuberance of Jose. This was a fun match that the fans were into, cheering for both men at different times. Aries’ fans were louder, but Jose’s fans were consistently into the match. Jose used a Falcon Arrow and got out of the Last Chancery once before the finish.
A really good match to start the show.
After the match Aries attacked Jose and put him back in the Last Chancery, but Hideo Itami came down the ramp, which caused Aries to let go of Jose. Itami got in the ring and Aries attacked him, but Itami got the better of it. After two years of teasing it on TV (he did it once at the WrestleMania 31 house show), Itami laid out Aries with the Go To Sleep which made the fans go crazy.
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Ric Flair and his fiance Wendy were shown at ringside.
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Ember Moon defeated Billie Kay
Moon won her debut by jumping off the top rope, turning in mid-air and using a Stone Cold Stunner in what was otherwise a weak match. Ember gives off that look of being scary better than almost anyone. The fans did not care about Billie Kay for the most part, chanting “Let’s Go Ember” and mostly remaining silent for Kay’s offense. Kay used Gail Kim’s Eat Defeat, but then almost dropped Moon on a power bomb attempt. Moon used a cartwheel splash to set up the finish. Kay needs to work on her selling as Moon punched her in the face near the finish and Kay didn’t even sell it.
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Bobby Roode defeated Andrade “Cien” Almas
Roode picked up the win with a Pump Handle Slam called The Glorious Bomb.
Roode got a superstar reaction, with the fans singing his theme song and Roode himself was lowered from a platform above the video screen. When the theme song turned off they went back and forth chanting “Bobby Roode” and just “Roode” before chanting “This is glorious”.
These two worked very well together and this was the best TV match Almas has had since debuting. Almas worked so well that the fans began cheering for Almas after cheering exclusively for Roode. Almas used a middle rope springboard corkscrew plancha to the outside, which looked beautiful. Before the finish Almas got near falls with both a Straight Jacket German suplex and a small package out of a Fisherman Buster.
The only nitpick was when Tom Phillips said Bobby Roode took a helicopter from Manhattan to Brooklyn for this match only minutes after we saw Roode arrive in a limo.
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A video of rioting footage aired before showing the word “SANITY”
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Earlier today they showed the trophy for the winner of the Cruiserweight Classic, which was created by the guys at Orange County Choppers. Triple H thanked them for it and plugged the finals of the CWC on September 14.
Kota Ibushi, Cedric Alexander, Brian Kendrick and Noam Dar were shown ringside.
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NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival defeated Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano to retain their titles
Easily the best match on the show so far and also the best Revival match so far. Revival retained with a reverse figure four on Gargano. They did a false finish where Gargano & Ciampa won the belts with the running double kick, but Dash put Dawson’s foot on the ropes just as the referee counted three.
Gargano was the second most over wrestler on the show so far, with most of the crowd chanting “Johnny Wrestling”. If the Revival are one day remembered as a great team and not just the “NXT Tag Team Of The Year”, this will be their coming out match. These guys never have a bad match and they do the best job of any WWE team of being that old school 80’s heel team. Revival debuted a move that started off like the Snapshot, but turned into an Assisted Gordbuster.
Gargano nearly had Dawson pinned with his Spear through the ropes and Gargano kicked out of Dawson’s “Arn Anderson DDT” before the finish.
The fans gave Gargano & Ciampa a standing ovation after the match.
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Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch and Charlotte were at ringside. I was going to mention during the last match that there were two people with incredibly bright red hair off to the side and it turned out to be Sasha and Becky.
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NXT Women’s Champion Asuka defeated Bayley to retain her title
Remember when I said Gargano, Aries and Roode got great reactions? Well Bayley outdid them all.
Asuka got the pin with a spin kick to the head after an excellent series of strikes by both ladies. There will be debate over whether this match was at the same level as last year’s Brooklyn match. In some ways it was superior and in other ways it came short.
The story of this match was Bayley was constantly trying to get sudden victories, while Asuka was content to let the beating last a while. Bayley caught a knee to her nose in the first two minutes, which shockingly didn’t lead to a busted nose, but was a very real looking strike.
These two women used their bodies as weapons in a match that is closer to a real fight than anything you’ll normally see. This was a different Asuka in that she was completely over confident since everything had come so easy for her all year. On top of that this was a different Bayley in that she was forced to be much more aggressive than usual. Bayley got out of the Asuka Lock, but was visibly frustrated when Asuka kicked out of the Bayley to Belly.
After the match Asuka dragged Bayley to her feet for a big hug with Bayley openly crying and Asuka on the verge of it. After Asuka left the entire crowd chanted “Thank You Bayley” as she went around and hugged Sasha, Becky, Charlotte, her Mom and Izzy (the 8-year old girl who goes to all the Full Sail shows).
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They announced the Australia and New Zealand tours in December.
Mick & Noelle Foley and Finn Balor were shown at ringside for this one.
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Shinsuke Nakamura defeated NXT Samoa Joe to win the NXT Championship
A violinist played Nakamura’s theme song as a prelude to Nakamura’s entrance.
Nakamura kicked out of a Muscle Buster and won the championship after two Kinshasa’s. Nakamura becomes the 9th NXT Champion, following Seth Rollins, Big E. Langston, Bo Dallas, Adrian Neville, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe. Not too bad of a lineage, eh?
A very different match than the women’s match, but one every bit as good. Instead of relying predominately on striking, this match showed off Joe’s chain wrestling skill and the seamlessness that he can go from move to move and hold to hold while maintaining the guise of a competitive match.
Despite his blinding hatred during the build, Samoa Joe didn’t explode from the start, choosing instead to calmly wrestle Nakamura to the mat. Nakamura hurt his knee when going for a knee drop on the apron, Joe moved and allowed the challenger to crash on the mats.
Both men traded submission hold attempts, with Nakamura going for a rolling armbar to combat the choke.
Joe may have been injured as after the match the referee sent up the dreaded X with Joe pointing at his jaw. Joe had been selling his jaw quite a bit after the first Kinshasa.
The king is dead, long live the new King! Oh and good luck to SummerSlam trying to follow this show!
Adam Cole won the ROH World Championship last night after an awesome match with Jay Lethal in the main event of ROH’s Pay Per View Death Before Dishonor XIV. Lethal had held the title for well over a year. The match was tremendous with Lethal at one point doing five topes to the floor, but in the end it was ADAM COLE BAY BAY who got the win clean in the middle after an Ushigoroshi, a shining wizard and another Ushigoroshi. After the match, Kyle O’Reilly ran in an delivered a clothes-line and a brain buster to Cole to set up a potential match at All-Star Extravaganza at the end of next month. Dave Meltzer has the complete run-down of the show. If you’re in the Las Vegas area tonight, ROH will have their monthly TV taping at the same building as the PPV. It starts at 6pm local time.
ROH TV TAPING 6:00 P.M. PDT SAM’S TOWN LIVE, 5111 BOULDER HIGHWAY, LAS VEGAS, NV 89122
ROH World TV Championship: Shibata will face the winner of the Mark Briscoe vs Bobby Fish match from Death Before Dishonor. Tickets.
UFC 202 ON SATURDAY FROM THE T MOBILE ARENA IN LAS VEGAS
Fight Pass at 6 p.m. Eastern
Alberto Uda (185.5) vs. Marvin Vettori (185.5)
Colby Covington (171) vs. Max Griffin (170.5)
Lorenz Larkin (170.75) vs. Neil Magny (171)
FS 1 at 8 p.m.
Cortney Casey (116) vs. Randa Markos (116)
Chris Avila (146) vs. Artem Lobov (144.5)
Raquel Pennington (135.5) vs. Elizabeth Phillips (134)
Cody Garbrandt (136) vs. Takeya Mizugaki (136)
PPV at 10 p.m.
Sabah Homasi (170.5) vs. Tim Means (171)
Hyun Gyu Lim (171) vs. Mike Perry (169)
Donald Cerrone (170) vs. Rick Story (171)
Anthony Johnson (205.5) vs. Glover Teixeira (205.5)
Conor McGregor (168) vs. Nate Diaz (170.5)
NXT TAKEOVER FROM THE BARCLAYS CENTER IN BROOKLYN SATURDAY AT 8 P.M. EASTERN ON THE WWE NETWORK
There will be prelim matches that will air on NXT next week starting at 7:30 p.m.
Ember Moon vs. Billie Kay
Austin Aries vs. No Way Jose
Bobby Roode vs. Andrade Cien Almas
Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson vs. Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano for NXT tag titles
Asuka vs. Bayley for NXT women’s title
Samoa Joe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for NXT title
SUPER J CUP FROM THE ARIAKE COLOSSEUM IN TOKYO ON SATURDAY NIGHT AT 2 A.M. EASTERN/11 P.M. PACIFIC ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
David Finlay (NJPW) & Eita (Dragon Gate) & Yuma Aoyagi (All Japan ) vs. Bushi (NJPW) & Kaji Tomato (K-Dojo) & Guruken Mask (Ryukyu Dragon))
Quarterfinals of the New Japan Cup
Jushin Liger (NJPW) vs. Taichi (Suzuki-Gun)
Kushida (NJPW) vs. Kenou (NOAH)
Ryusuke Taguchi (NJPW) vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru (NOAH)
Matt Sydal (NJPW) vs. Will Ospreay (NJPW)
Semifinals and finals are later in the show
Volador Jr. & Caristico & Titan vs. Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero & Euforia
Daisuke Harada & Atsushi Kotoge vs. ACH & Taiji Ishimori for GHC jr. tag title
Young Bucks vs. Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley for IWGP jr. tag title
SUMMER SLAM ON SUNDAY STARTING AT 5 P.M. EASTERN ON WWE NETWORK/PPV
Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton
Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler for WWE World title
Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor for WWE Universal title
John Cena vs. A.J. Styles
Rusev vs. Roman Reigns for U.S. title
Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte for women’s title
Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson for tag titles
The Miz vs. Apollo Crews for IC title
Sheamus vs Cesaro in match one of best of sever series
Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs. Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens
Figure Four Weekly: August 17, 2016; Buff Bagwell sues WWE for unpaid Network royalties – When Rene Dupree’s lawsuit against WWE over WWE Network royalties was quickly dropped a few months ago, the question coming out of it was not if there would be another such lawsuit, but when and with whom as the next plaintiff would be. The answers? August 9th and Marcus “Buff” Bagwell… Subscribers click here to continue reading.
F4W YouTube Page: Tons of clips and full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today!
Wrestling Observer Newsletter: August 22, 2016; WWE Summerslam/UFC 202/NXT Takeover previews, G1 Climax review, tons more – The biggest weekend of the summer, featuring one of UFC’s biggest fights in history, WWE’s third biggest show of the year, what theoretically is NXT’s biggest show of the year (although in reality it is its second biggest), as well as the sixth Super J Cup in history, runs from 8/19 to 8/21.
The big event is UFC 202 on 8/20 at the T Mobile Arena, featuring a rematch of the biggest money fight in company history–Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz. Their first fight, held on 3/5 in Las Vegas, did 1.6 million buys on PPV, the largest non-boxing PPV event in history. With Diaz winning, the feeling is a rematch would only be bigger. But for a number of reasons, there didn’t appear to be the excitement level expected… Subscribers click here to continue reading.
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Brock Lesnar did an interviewwith Sam Roberts at last night’s WWE 2K17 press event, offering profane comments about Conor McGregor and what he’s been saying about Lesnar and WWE.
ROH Supercard of Honor will be on the Saturday night before WrestleMania, on 4/1 in Lakeland, FL at the Civic Center with a 6 p.m. bell time. There will be talent from ROH, CMLL and New Japan on that card. Tickets go on sale next week.
Joey Styles made his first appearance on commentary since being released by the WWE at today’s EVOLVE show in Brooklyn. Daniel Bryan, Cesaro, and Tyler Breeze also were in the crowd for the show but not shown on camera.
Seth Rollins also talked about McGregor’s comments on ESPN’s First Take yesterday, saying that McGregor was trying to get as many eyes on his fight at UFC 202 as possible.
Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens will team up on Sunday. Owen’s gives his thoughts on the match here.
PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING
Devon “Hannibal” Nicholson did a full 1.5 hr shoot interview with Great North Wrestling discussing training with Jacques Rougeau, his time Stampede Wrestling, IWA & WWC Puerto Rico, his WWE & TNA experiences and his thoughts on Billy Graham, Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle, Terry Funk, Abdullah The Butcher, Lanny Poffo and others that can bee seen at this link.
Today on the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling, the fellas were joined by WWE Hall of Famer as well as former Intercontinental and Tag Team Champion the one and only Rikishi. No stranger to wrestling fans, Rikishi’s unique attributes helped propel him to become one of the most identifiable characters of the WWE’s Attitude Era. With his dance moves, trademark blonde hair, sunglasses and “stink face” Rikishi along with his partners Too Cool became one of the most popular groups at that point in pro wrestling and allowed the big man to take his long tenured career to new heights. The show also dig deep into Rikishi’s family lineage and breaks down the Samoan Dynasty as we hear how Rikishi got into the wrestling business and how the Samoan Dynasty still lives on today through his sons Jimmy & Jey Uso. Here is the full episode.
In this clip, Rikishi comments on the history and what is the Samoan Dynasty.
Being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015: “To this day, when I see the ring and you look at it I am still very humbled and honored and so forth to be able to start off my wrestling career in San Francisco, California and years later to be inducted in the same city where I was born and raised in. That type of feeling is not explainable. There are so many people you want to thank or that you forgot someone during that time but it really comes down to the fans. The fan’s voices are so strong and I am so happy that they were able to remember me and the work that I’ve done and every time that I come out on TV I try to give 110% doing what I do and I know my role as far as the big man with the big booty that wears the thong and to go out there and be able to entertain is rewarding. It’s such a blessing and I am very grateful.”
Interviews with Brian Fritz from last night’s WWE 2K17 event:
Here are some highlights from the early weigh-ins for UFC 202, not the sham weigh in that airs on UFC Fight Pass. If you’d like to see the whole thing, click here.
If you just want to see McGregor’s weigh-in, click here. If you just want to see Diaz weigh-in, click here.
Submission Radio caught up with Team Diaz member, Jake Shields to find out his thoughts on Team Diaz, the bottle throwing incident at UFC 202 press conference, if he plans on cornering Diaz and his prediction on the fight. The full interview is here.
Here’s Shields on the Team Diaz UFC 202 events ban: “Supposedly one of the guys I know, talked with the UFC. So I don’t even know exactly what’s going on, just stuff I read. I might could have shown up and got along, but I figured (there’s) no reason to cause drama. I don’t wanna cause any drama between the corners. We’ve already gotten into it a few times, so I just stayed away. I figured I’d make it better and let Nate beat them on fight night.”
At the UFC 202 weigh-ins Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz have to get separated! Watch it here.
Conor McGregor’s Striking Coach, Owen Roddy, talks about the bottle-throwing incident that transpired at the UFC 202 pre-fight press conference between Conor McGregor and Team Diaz, if there is real animosity between Team Diaz and Team McGregor, Conor’s weight and how his physique differs from the first fight, as well as how McGregor beats Diaz in the rematch at UFC 202: Diaz vs. McGregor.
The UFC 204: Bisping vs. Henderson 2 Press Conference video is here.
Jeff Borris and Lucas Middlebrook hold the Professional Fighters Association press conference and address the media on current issues in the UFC and what their plans to overcome them. Check that out here.
At the UFC 202 press conference, Connor McGregor blasts Team Diaz and Nate Diaz Fans!
VARIETY
Tomorrow, it’s WWE SummerSlam, and the F4W Empire’s third biggest yearly event, Super China Buffet Day~! To participate, simply visit a Super China Buffet (any buffet will do) with your friends and family in YOUR area and tell us about it in the Empire Get-Together forum on The Board~!
The Card Is Going To Change Podcast takes an unprecedented honest look inside the world of Independent professional wrestling as the promoters of Absolute Intense Wrestling, John Thorne and Chris “Chandler Biggins” Bryan, discuss the trials and tribulations of operating a independent professional wrestling company in the modern era. Episode 11: We Drew Zero Paid.
Topps announced today new WWE Topps Now cards. They do these cards for MLB, UFC, and MLS currently. When an event worthy of a card happens, it goes on sale the next day and remains on sale for 24 hours. After 24 hours it is no longer available and Topps will announce how many are sold, thus making the print run public. The print runs on the MLB cards usually fall in the 300 to 1000 range with several falling outside that range as well. MLS runs have been in the 75 to 250 range while UFC has been in the 85 to 320 range. UFC Topps Now went live with UFC 200, continued at UFC 201, and will have cards as a result of UFC 202 as well.
Here is a piece on U.S. Olympic Wrestler Kyle Snyder.
In a new interview with Chris Yandek of CYInterview, former NWA World Champion and WWE Superstar Dan “The Beast” Severn reveals he would have never had a career in pro wrestling or the UFC if he would have won the Olympic Gold Medal in amateur wrestling. “People were blown away with what I did early on in my career, but what they don’t realize is I would have retired back in 1984 if everything went the way it should’ve went for my amateur wrestling career. But because it didn’t, it spurred me on, motivated me to excel in other areas. So I always tell people, ‘What you saw in the Ultimate Fighting Championships, basically a 20 year career, you saw Dan Severn, residue.’ You didn’t have 100 percent Dan Severn. You saw residue of Dan Severn. But my residue is better than what most people can ever put forth in the first place.” Dan Severn has just released his new book titled The Realest Guy in the Room: The Life and Times of Dan Severn You can read the highlights or listen to the entire 30 minute interview at this link.
20 – ROH: National TV Taping; 6:00pm PDT, Sam’s Town Live, 5111 Boulder Highway, Las Vegas, NV 89122. Tickets. ROH World TV Championship: Shibata will face the winner of the Mark Briscoe vs Bobby Fish match from Death Before Dishonor XIV.
20 – BANG Pro Wrestling with Dory Funk Jr. at 7 p.m. at the Bang TV Sound Stage in Ocala, FL. For ticket info you can call 352-895-4658.
20 – Empire State Wrestling; St. Johnsburg Fire Hall, located at 7165 Ward Road, North Tonawanda, NY featuring Raven. Bell time is 6 p.m. Tickets.
20 – Border City Wrestling, Heatwave: Royal Canadian Legion Col. Paul Poisson Branch 261, 12326 Lanoue Street, Tecumseh, Ontario N8N 1N3. Our regular ticket outlets (P-Jays Variety, Helou’s Sports Cards, & Silver Tee Golf). There will be a professional wrestling seminar before the BCW Heatwave show, with Uncle Zeb Colter himself, Dutch Mantell. The seminar will start at Noon. The cost is $60.
20 – LIVE Pro Wrestling, “Fighting Back 6, Wrestling with Cancer”; Vanier Columbus Club, 260 McArthur Ave, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
20 – Reality of Wrestling, Summer of Champions 3: Featuring Kurt Angle, from the World Gym Arena in Texas City, TX, the event is preceded by a VIP Meet and Greet session to feature WWE Hall of Famer Booker T, Kurt Angle and Queen Sharmell.Proceeds will be going to the Booker T Fights For Kids Foundation. Tickets.
20 – Best In The West: Fresno, CA, VFW Hall #8900, located at 3585 N Blythe, Featuring Jeff Cobb, Joey Ryan, and Mustufa Saed
20 – NXT, TakeOver: The Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. Samoa Joe vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Asuka vs Bailey, Revival vs Ciampa and Gargano
F4W SUPER CHINA BUFFET DAY! Sunday, August 21
Each year, groups of WWE fans get together in the name of SummerSlam for a Sunday afternoon meal and then continue the fun at a viewing location to watch the WWE’s summer classic. Our own Bryan Alvarez hosts a buffet and viewing party in his area of Seattle, as do many other Empire members all across the globe. Alvarez claims that everyone is welcome, so feel free to show up unannounced. Check out the Empire-Get Together forum to see where your local group is meeting. If there is not any nearby, start your own, and make a post about it! A good time will be had by all.
21 – Octagon & Tinieblas Jr. vs. Fuerza Guerrera & Pirata Morgan headlines in Houston at the Arena Theater.
25 – Northeast Wrestling, “Rumble in Rockland”: Provident Bank Park (1 Provident Bank Park Drive) in Pomona, NY, 7:30 p.m. A meet and Greet autograph session with the stars at 4:30 p.m. First-time ever: Jushin “Thunder” Liger and Jeff Hardy team together. Plus, Ryback, Broken Matt Hardy, Michael Bennett, Mandy Leon, and more. Tickets.
26 – Northeast Wrestling, “Wrestling Under the Stars”: Wahconah Park in Pittsfield, MA Bell time is 7 p.m. Autograph session at 4 p.m. Plus, Cody Rhodes with Brandi Rhodes vs. Michael Bennett, Mick Foley, Jeff and Matt Hardy, Jushin “Thunder” Liger, Jerry “The King” Lawler, Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, Mandy Leon, and more. Tickets.
26 – We Watch Wrestling, LIVE podcast recording: The Wythe Hotel 80 Wythe Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11249. Tickets.
26 – All Star Wrestling; Cloverdale, BC at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds Alice McKay Building. Doors at 630pm, Cloverdale Fair Grounds. Alice McKay Building, 6050 A, 176 St. Surrey, British Columbia V3S 4E7
26 – Bellator 160; The Pond in Anaheim, live on Spike TV, Benson Henderson vs Patricio Pitbull Freire
27 – ROH: Field of Honor; Brooklyn, NY, MCU Park, ROH World Championship 4 Corner Survival: Jay Lethal (c) vs. Adam Cole vs. Tetsuya naito vs. Hiroshi. Tickets.
27 – Northeast Wrestling: FREE show on 8/27 at 11 a.m. at the New Windsor Community Day, Kristi Babcock Memorial Park (660 Mt. Airy Road, New Windsor, NY 12553).
27 – Northeast Wrestling “Wrestling Under the Stars 5″: Dutchess Stadium, Wappingers Falls, NY. Bell time is 7 p.m. with an autograph session at 4 p.m. Kurt Angle vs. Cody Rhodes and Jushin “Thunder” Liger vs. Jeff Hardy, Jerry “The King” Lawler vs. Brooklyn Brawler. Tickets.
28 – Northeast Wrestling “Thunder”: The NEW Arena (40 Peck Road) in Bethany, CT at 4 p.m. Cody Rhodes vs. Sami Callihan. Jushin “Thunder” Liger vs. Travis Gordon. War King Hanson vs. Kamaitachi. TK ‘O Ryan versus Brian Anthony. Northeast Wrestling Tag Team Champions The Battles versus So Over. DIJAK and more. Tickets.
17 – NWA Smoky Mountain Wrestling on in Kingsport, TN at the Civic Auditorium
17 – Pure Wrestling Association: Alpine Club, Kitchener, Ontario
17 – Pure Wrestling Association: Courtenay, British Columbia
17 – UFC Fight Night, Poirier vs. Johnson: Hidalgo, Texas, State Farm Arena
17 & 18 – SMASH VS PROGRESS: Smash Wrestling welcomes our friends from Progress Wrestling. Mark Haskins and Jack Gallagher (Cruiserweight Classic), Zack Sabre Jr. Mark Andrews and more will be part of the Progress Wrestling team in a Smash vs. Progress Canada vs. UK show in Toronto at the Franklin Horner Community Center.
18 – Pure Wrestling Association: Gold River, British Columbia
Headlined by Ring of Honor Champion Jay Lethal defending his title against the Bullet Club’s Adam Cole, ROH returns to pay-per-view on Friday night from Las Vegas, NV with Death Before Dishonor XIV.
The show will also feature stars from New Japan Pro Wrestling, with IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, IWGP Intercontinental Champion Michael Elgin, NEVER Openweight Champion Katsuyori Shibata, and more NJPW talent scheduled to appear.
We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
Lethal and Cole have been engaged in a heated storyline that included Cole shaving Lethal bald. ROH matchmaker Nigel McGuinness ruled that Cole would not be eligible to receive any more title shots, but Lethal insisted that this match had to happen.
The card also includes a huge match for the ROH Tag Team Championship as The Addiction defend against Tanahashi & Elgin and Naito & EVIL in a triple threat tag match.
Also scheduled for the show, Okada will take on Dalton Castle in a non-title match, ROH World Television Champion Bobby Fish will defend against Mark Briscoe, Shibata will face Silas Young, and more.
Our coverage starts on Friday night at 9 p.m. ET. The card for the show is:
ROH World Champion Jay Lethal vs. Adam Cole in a championship match
ROH World Television Champion Bobby Fish vs. Mark Briscoe in a championship match
ROH Tag Team Champions The Addiction vs. Tetsuya Naito & EVIL vs. Michael Elgin & Hiroshi Tanahashi in a triple threat tag team championship match
Lio Rush vs. Jay White vs. Donovan Dijak vs. Kamaitachi in a TV title number one contenders match
JAY WHITE VS. LIO RUSH VS. DONOVAN DIJAK VS. KAMAITACHI FOR THE TOP CONTENDER FOR THE TV TITLE
Dijak got the pin on Rush using feast your eyes, which is a fireman’s carry into a knee, like a GTS but not exactly. All action match. Rush was the flashiest of the four with several dives including a reverse huracanrans on the floor. Dijak, who was twice hte size of the other three, did a springboard screw plancha. Looks like we’re having trouble witht he mic’ing but there were chants and stuff.
Silas Young did an interview anti-New Japan saying New Japan guys get all the good spots when they come in and made fun of all the fans being nerds.
KATSUYORI SHIBATA VS. SILAS YOUNG
The crowd reacted real big for Shibata, Shibata won as expected with the choke and penalty kick. Young got a lot of offense including a split legged moonsault. The two traded slaps after the match and then shook hands and stared each other down after the match. Match was fine, they built to a big spot where Shibata was about to head-butt Young but Young slapped him.
This was mostly built around Yano’s comedy. Yano pinned Takahashi with a low blow. After the match, The Bulet Club beat down Chaos and in paricular Yano. Hangman Page put the noose on Yano’s neck until Jay Briscoe made the savae. This set up Briscoe vs. Page
JAY BRISCOE VS. HANGMAN PAGE IN AN ANYTHING GOES MATCH
This was a long brutal match. This was to put Page over on Jay and make him a star. The finish saw Page block a Jay driller on the apron and instead used the rights of passage, which is an Omori driver on Jay through the table. Both were hurt as the table took a chunk out of Page’s left knee and Jay was bleeding badly from the back. Page then used the bullrope to choke Briscoe out and then gave him another rights of passage in the ring for the pin. They put it over like this was the biggest win in Page’s career. There were lots of spots with the noose and with chairs throguhout the match. The crowd seemed like they really liked it. We’ll try and see how Page is because he was screaming in pain regarding his knee, finished the match and seemed like he was hurting bbad as soon as it was over.
The Boys had the Okada dollar bills and Castle said he understands The Boys love New Japan. He said he loves New Japan but he loves dropping people on their heads and ate an Okada bill.
KAZUCHIKA OKADA VS. DALTON CASTLE
The crowd loved Okada. They’re chanting his name and throwing streamers. Good match although it struggled early. Castle got a lot of offense but the fans never truly believed he could win. He even did the bang a rang but Okada rolled out of the ring to avoid the pin. Castle did a lot of different suplexes. They teased that The Boys were big Okada fans and at one point they were helping him. Okada won getting out of the bang a rang, hit the tombstone piledriver and rainmaker for the pin. Both shook hands after and both men and The Boys all posed together at the end.
BOBBY FISH VS. MARK BRISCOE FOR THE TV TITLE
Fish retained with an exploder into the turnbuckles and a falcon arrow. Earlier Briscoe kicked out of the falcon arrow and Fish kicked out of the froggy bow. This was solid and the crowd did some chants but something was missing. It was hard hitting early and went long with the near falls. Not sure if the crowd micing is hurting this or it’s the crowd into moves but not the match. Hard to say from TV. It’s also seemed like the crowd was more into seeing New Japan stars live than seeing ROH major matches.
CHRISTOPHER DANIELS & FRANKIE KAZARIAN VS. HIROSHI TANAHASHI & MICHAEL ELGIN VS. TETSUYA NAITO & EVIL FOR TAG TITLES
Daniels & Kazarian retained in a great match with a clever finish. Tanahashi was on the top rope and Daniels touched his boot as a tag. Tanahashi hit the high fly flow on Evil and went for the pin but technically Daniels was the legal guy and he jumped in and cradled Evil while Tanahashi was on top so they retained the titles. Matt Taven did the heel commentary trying to be obnoxious and did a real good job of that. Elgin was the star of the match doing all kinds of power moves like a German suplex on Daniels & Kazarian at the same time, the fallaway on Naito & Evil at the same time and he even did a running flip dive on everyone. Naito and Tanahashi were really over with the crowd. Tanahashi & Elgin seemed on the verge of winning when Kamaitachi came out and distracted which allowed Daniels to hit both Tanahashi & Elgin with belt shots and Kazarian to hit Evil with one.
JAY LETHAL VS. ADAM COLE FOR THE ROH TITLE
Cole ended the one year plus title reign after an Ushigoroshi, a shining wizard and another Ushigoroshi. The match saw them kick out of each others’ big moves including Lethal kicking out of the Canadian Destroyer off the ropes and Cole kicked out of the Lethal injection. Long match and crowd loved it at the end with the fans on their feet and going crazy for the near falls. Afte the match Kyle O’Reilly showed up durign the celebration and cltheslined Cole. O’reilly laid himn out with a brainbustrer so it looks like Cole vs. O’Reilly coming up at All-Star Extravaganza at the end of next month. Among the highlights were Lethal doing an elbow off the top rope to a table on the floor about two-thirds of the way to the other side and Cole moved and Lethal crashed through and busted his head open. It took forever to set up the spot because Lethal couldn’t find where the table was under the ring and when he did find it, it was covered in streamers and he had to get rid of the streamres. Lethal also did five straight topes, but on the sixth Cole sidestepped him and Lethal crashed into the barricade.
On a show that felt more like a prelude to tomorrow’s card in Brooklyn than one of their standout events of the year, Cody Rhodes made his return to professional wrestling on Friday night at EVOLVE 66.
Rhodes faced Zack Sabre Jr. in his first match since leaving WWE earlier this year in the show’s main event and was able to defeat the highly touted British star after tapping him out with a leg submission.
In a promo after the match, Rhodes said he previously claimed that he didn’t take the safe bet after leaving the WWE, but it was EVOLVE and the crowd that actually bet on him. He said he grew up in front of the fans and existed in the shadow of his father, but he was fine with it because he loved that shadow. After the loss of his father, he didn’t know what to do without that shadow until this match.
During the promo, Rhodes refused to join Drew Galloway’s crusade against EVOLVE. Galloway had implied that he and Rhodes had similar interests as Galloway led a group of disgruntled wrestlers against EVOLVE because of their relationship with WWE, but Rhodes said that he has no interest in the past.
Rhodes took everything that Sabre had to offer during the match, always coming back and refusing to be defeated. Rhodes was clearly motivated for the match, and it was solid but far from spectacular. He now turns his attention to tomorrow’s match against Chris Hero in Brooklyn, which may be the biggest test Rhodes faces in his post-WWE run.
Hero has somehow improved on his previous stellar resume of work to turn in what is easily the best year of his career. He’s had so many great matches against so many opponents and worked so many different styles. He’s managed to make it work against almost every opponent thrown at him. And if Rhodes is going to truly shine outside of WWE, it’s going to be in this match.
Timothy Thatcher will also enter tomorrow’s show with something to prove after retaining his EVOLVE Championship against Matthew Riddle.
Riddle has shown this year that he’s not only someone with tremendous potential; he’s actively among the best wrestlers in the world already. It wouldn’t be entirely surprising if Riddle was only a good worker. He has a combat sports background from his time in mixed martial arts and is an excellent athlete. But it’s mind-blowing that he grasps so many of the little things already.
Riddle knows how to work the crowd better than most veterans and already has a defined character. And his ability to realistically sell offense was fully on display in this match. He made you believe that every hold Thatcher was applying and every strike he was dishing out was causing legitimate pain.
This was the best match of the night, and Thatcher was able to pick up the victory by submission with the no holds barred rules allowing him to keep hold of an armbar on Riddle as he tried to escape to the floor.
This felt like the right opportunity to put the title on Riddle before the match, and I’m still not sure that Thatcher retaining wasn’t a missed opportunity. But there is more story to be hold here with Riddle and his Catch Point stablemates.
Thatcher has had a disappointing year as champion, though it has included standouts like his match against Riddle tonight and against Hero at EVOLVE 62. And it feels like tomorrow’s match against Gulak is finally time to switch the title and move on to Riddle eventually challenging Gulak for it.
Gulak competed earlier in the show in one of the night’s best matches against Tony Nese in a WWE Cruiserweight Classic Spotlight match. Their styles meshed well with Nese constantly using his athleticism to escape Gulak’s attempts to ground him. The finish to the match came when Gulak was able to pick up the victory with a well-timed sunset flip.
In the show’s opener, Cedric Alexander followed up his Match of the Year candidate against Kota Ibushi in the CWC two weeks ago by taking on TJP in another tournament spotlight match.
Alexander has become accustomed to opening EVOLVE shows after facing Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, and Fred Yehi in openers on the company’s three previous events. And he put in another good performance in a more than solid match against TJP, but it didn’t live up to the great matches that he had against Gargano and Ciampa previously.
TJP worked on Alexander’s leg all match and picked up the victory with a submission targeting it.
Also on the show, Jigsaw and Peter Kaasa defeated the Catch Point team of “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams and Yehi in a shocking upset. Williams slapped Yehi after the match, but it was only to fire his partner up. Yehi responded by laying out Jigsaw with a rolling elbow then hitting Williams with one. The two Catch Point members flashed their group’s symbol and shook hands after the loss.
And in a disjointed brawl full of physicality, Ethan Page picked up a win over one half of the EVOLVE Tag Team Champions when he pinned DUSTIN (the former Chuck Taylor) after hitting a package piledriver.
There was a lot to like on this show, with Thatcher vs. Riddle standing above the rest. But it was far from EVOLVE’s best show of the year and felt a lot like the appetizer to tomorrow’s main course in Brooklyn.
That show starts at 3 p.m. ET and features Thatcher defending his EVOLVE title against Gulak, Rhodes vs. Hero, Riddle vs. Tommy End, and Sabre vs. Alexander as the highlights of the card.
EVOLVE 66 results:
Cody Rhodes defeated Zack Sabre Jr.
EVOLVE Champion Timothy Thatcher defeated Matthew Riddle to retain his title
Drew Gulak defeated Tony Nese
Ethan Page defeated DUSTIN
Jigsaw & Peter Kaasa defeated “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams & Fred Yehi
Ring of Honor presents Death Before Dishonor XIV – LIVE TONIGHT
ROH’s Death Before Dishonor XIV PPV is tonight, taking place at Sam’s Town Live, located at 5111 Boulder Highway in Las Vegas, NV 89122. Order the PPV online here.
ROH World Championship: Jay Lethal (c) vs. Adam Cole
ROH World TV Championship: Bobby Fish (c) vs. Mark Briscoe
ROH World Tag Team Championship: Triple Threat
The Addiction (“Almighty” Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian) (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi and Michael Elgin vs. Tetsuya Naito and Evil
IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada vs. Dalton Castle
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Silas Young
Six-Man Tag: Chaos (Roppongi Vice: Trent Baretta & and Toru Yano) vs. Bullet Club (Yujiro Takahashi and The Guerrillas of Destiny: Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa)
Jay Briscoe vs. Hangman Page
Lio Rush vs. Jay White vs. Kamaitachi vs. Donovan Dijak
Saturday Night, ROH will be taping TV at 6:00pm PDT, again at Sam’s Town Live, 5111 Boulder Highway, Las Vegas, NV 89122.ROH World TV Championship: Shibata will face the winner of the Mark Briscoe vs Bobby Fish match from Death Before Dishonor. Tickets.
ROH presents Supercard of Honor on the Saturday night before WrestleMania, on 4/1 in Lakeland, FL at the Civic Center with a 6 p.m. bell time. There will be talent from ROH, CMLL and New Japan on that card. Tickets go on sale next week.
WWE SummerSlam Events
Saturday, Superstar Meet and Greets: WWE World Champion Dean Ambrose, WWE Women’s Champion Sasha Banks, WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day, Seth Rollins, AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Charlotte, Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, Enzo Amore and Big Cass.
Saturday, One World Observatory Visit: Kevin Owens, Daniel Bryan, Natalya, Carmella, Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso will visit One World Observatory positioned on top of One World Trade Center, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, to tour the exhibits and learn about the historic building.
Saturday, NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II: Samoa Joe defends the NXT Championship against Shinsuke Nakamura for the first time ever. Plus, Asuka defends against former champion, Bayley, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa challenge NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival; and the much anticipated in-ring debut of Bobby Roode when he faces Andrade “Cien” Almas.
Sunday, SummerSlam: “The Viper” clashes with “The Beast” when Randy Orton goes one-on-one with Brock Lesnar. Plus, Finn Bálor vs. Seth Rollins for the right to be called the first WWE Universal Champion; Dean Ambrose defends the WWE World Championship against Dolph Ziggler; Sasha Banks defends her WWE Women’s Championship against Charlotte; and John Cena faces AJ Styles.
Monday, Monday Night Raw: WWE Monday Night Raw at the Barclay’s Center, where fans can see the fallout from SummerSlam.
We’re doing five polls starting tonight, with thumbs up, thumbs down, thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to[email protected]
ROH Death Before Dishonor tonight
UFC 202 tomorrow
NXT Takeover tomorow
Super J Cup late Saturday/early Sunday
WWE SummerSlam Sunday
EVOLVE TONIGHT AT 8 P.M. FROM THE MCW ARENA IN JOPPA, MD
Timothy Thatcher vs. Matt Riddle for Evolve title in a no holds barred match
Cody Rhodes vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Drew Gulak vs. Tony Nese
TJ Perkins vs. Cedric Alexander
DUSTIN (Chuck Taylor) vs. Ethan Page
Tracy Williams & Fred Yehi vs. Jigsaw & Peter Kaasa
NEW JAPAN WORLD PRO WRESTLING RETURNS AT 9 P.M. EASTERN TONIGHT ON AXS
Ricochet & Matt Sydal vs. Rocky Romero & Baretta
Hirooki Goto vs. Evil
RESURRECTION FIGHTING ALLIANCE FROM TONIGHT IN VISALIA, CA AT 10 P.M. EASTERN ON AXS
Tommy Aaron (2-0, 144.4) vs. Aden Deunas (4-1, 145.4)
Shai Lindsay (4-1, 124.8) vs. Steve Gruber (5-3, 125)
David Ramos (4-1, 159) vs. Mike Flach (7-1, 158)
Cody Bollinger (17-5, 156) vs. Anthony Avila (12-4, 155.8)
Ray Elizalde (10-0, 125.6) vs. Alex Perez (13-4, 125.8)
Arther Estazulas (8-2, 155.4) vs. Christos Giagos (12-5, 154.8)
EVOLVE IPPV AT WWW.WWNLIVE.COM AT 3 P.M. EASTERN SATURDAY FROM SAINT FINBAR CATHOLIC CHURCH GYM IN BROOKLYN
Timothy Thatcher vs. Drew Gulak for Evolve title
Drew Galloway & DUSTIN (Chuck Taylor) & Ethan Carter III vs. Tracy Williams & Fred Yehi & TJ Perkins
Cody Rhodes vs Chris Hero
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Cedric Alexander
Tommy End vs. Matt Riddle
Tony Nese vs. Peter Kaasa
UFC 202 ON SATURDAY FROM THE T MOBILE ARENA IN LAS VEGAS
Fight Pass at 6 p.m. Eastern
Alberto Uda (185.5) vs. Marvin Vettori (185.5)
Colby Covington (171) vs. Max Griffin (170.5)
Lorenz Larkin (170.75) vs. Neil Magny (171)
FS 1 at 8 p.m.
Cortney Casey (116) vs. Randa Markos (116)
Chris Avila (146) vs. Artem Lobov (144.5)
Raquel Pennington (135.5) vs. Elizabeth Phillips (134)
Cody Garbrandt (136) vs. Takeya Mizugaki (136)
PPV at 10 p.m.
Sabah Homasi (170.5) vs. Tim Means (171)
Hyun Gyu Lim (171) vs. Mike Perry (169)
Donald Cerrone (170) vs. Rick Story (171)
Anthony Johnson (205.5) vs. Glover Teixeira (205.5)
Conor McGregor (168) vs. Nate Diaz (170.5)
NXT TAKEOVER FROM THE BARCLAYS CENTER IN BROOKLYN SATURDAY AT 8 P.M. EASTERN ON THE WWE NETWORK
There will be prelim matches that will air on NXT next week starting at 7:30 p.m.
Ember Moon vs. Billie Kay
Austin Aries vs. No Way Jose
Bobby Roode vs. Andrade Cien Almas
Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson vs. Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano for NXT tag titles
Asuka vs. Bayley for NXT women’s title
Samoa Joe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for NXT title
SUPER J CUP FROM THE ARIAKE COLOSSEUM IN TOKYO ON SATURDAY NIGHT AT 2 A.M. EASTERN/11 P.M. PACIFIC ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
David Finlay (NJPW) & Eita (Dragon Gate) & Yuma Aoyagi (All Japan ) vs. Bushi (NJPW) & Kaji Tomato (K-Dojo) & Guruken Mask (Ryukyu Dragon))
Quarterfinals of the New Japan Cup
Jushin Liger (NJPW) vs. Taichi (Suzuki-Gun)
Kushida (NJPW) vs. Kenou (NOAH)
Ryusuke Taguchi (NJPW) vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru (NOAH)
Matt Sydal (NJPW) vs. Will Ospreay (NJPW)
Semifinals and finals are later in the show
Volador Jr. & Caristico & Titan vs. Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero & Euforia
Daisuke Harada & Atsushi Kotoge vs. ACH & Taiji Ishimori for GHC jr. tag title
Young Bucks vs. Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley for IWGP jr. tag title
SUMMER SLAM ON SUNDAY STARTING AT 5 P.M. EASTERN ON WWE NETWORK/PPV
Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton
Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler for WWE World title
Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor for WWE Universal title
John Cena vs. A.J. Styles
Rusev vs. Roman Reigns for U.S. title
Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte for women’s title
Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson for tag titles
The Miz vs. Apollo Crews for IC title
Sheamus vs Cesaro in match one of best of sever series
Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs. Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens
Figure Four Weekly: August 17, 2016; Buff Bagwell sues WWE for unpaid Network royalties – When Rene Dupree’s lawsuit against WWE over WWE Network royalties was quickly dropped a few months ago, the question coming out of it was not if there would be another such lawsuit, but when and with whom as the next plaintiff would be. The answers? August 9th and Marcus “Buff” Bagwell… Subscribers click here to continue reading.
F4W YouTube Page: Tons of clips and full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today!
Wrestling Observer Newsletter: August 22, 2016; WWE Summerslam/UFC 202/NXT Takeover previews, G1 Climax review, tons more – The biggest weekend of the summer, featuring one of UFC’s biggest fights in history, WWE’s third biggest show of the year, what theoretically is NXT’s biggest show of the year (although in reality it is its second biggest), as well as the sixth Super J Cup in history, runs from 8/19 to 8/21.
The big event is UFC 202 on 8/20 at the T Mobile Arena, featuring a rematch of the biggest money fight in company history–Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz. Their first fight, held on 3/5 in Las Vegas, did 1.6 million buys on PPV, the largest non-boxing PPV event in history. With Diaz winning, the feeling is a rematch would only be bigger. But for a number of reasons, there didn’t appear to be the excitement level expected… Subscribers click here to continue reading.
Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer, or by using Paypal directing funds to [email protected].
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Lorenzo Fertitta’s last day with UFC was yesterday. All the employees said goodbye to him. Even though there are always aspects of people not getting along with their boss, and everyone thinks they could be paid better, Fertitta on a personal level was exceedingly well-liked and the reality is without his going in the hole in the early years, there would be no UFC at anywhere near this level. It will be interesting to see who gets the Fertitta spot as CEO. Some people were joking to him about him getting them Raiders tickets. It was a very emotional situation.
Bill Goldberg did a press event as a huge event in Germany yesterday and was hinting that something could be happening with him this weekend. Goldberg will be in New York tonight for the 2K party. Brock Lesnar already challenged him in a video that was put up a few days ago. PW Insider was hinting that Lesnar could be there tonight and all I can say is that can’t be denied.
Dana White said that both Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz would be punished for what happened on Wednesday. While pretty much everyone acknowledge that will help the PPV, almost nobody thought it was a good thing. McGregor was mad because evidently he had a ton more to say at the press conference. White seemed furious from the start when McGregor showed up 30 minutes late. McGregor is starting to get go away heat when he showed up late and claimed he thought it started at 1:30 p.m., when nobody for a second could buy that one. Everyone figures the Athletic Commission will take sanctions. There was a child in the audience evidently hit with one of the bottles thrown and White on TMZ said that he believes there will be a lawsuit, and said, “It’s gonna be ugly. And the word is that in this thing, somebody was injured. So, there’s gonna be a lawsuit.”
New Japan World is airing both tonight’s CMLL show and tonight’s ROH show live, but only if you are listed as subscribing from Japan. It’s blocked in the rest of the world. It’s good because the CMLL talent always works harder knowing the bigwigs in Japan and Japanese fans are watching.
We are going to have a ton of audio this weekend. Not sure yet on the schedule but I’ll probably be doing something the next four nights. We’ll be covering ROH tonight and you can send questions to the show to [email protected].
Most searched for topics on the Internet the past few days:
Jordan Burroughs is No. 3 today at press time
UFC 202 was No. 14 yesterday
Eva Marie was No. 15 yesterday
Helen Maroulis was No. 17 yesterday
Conor McGregor was No. 7 on Wednesday
WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT
As of this afternoon, Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton is set to go on last at SummerSlam. That could change, but it’s not expected to change.
There have been some odds shifting for SummerSlam. This probably doesn’t mean much as the earliest odds shifting has meant anything up to this point has been Friday night, and usually it doesn’t mean anything until Sunday. But Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens have gone from +220 to -160, and started at +550. The Miz today went from +130 to -195. Charlotte went from +180 to -210. The two changes on Thursday before Battleground were Darren Young did a double count out and didn’t win, and Natalya going from underdog to favorite, and she did win.
Kota Ibushi is expected in New York this weekend for SummerSlam.
A lot of NXT talent is in New York include TM 61, Oney Lorcan, The Authors of Pain and Rich Swann. A couple of matches will be taped before the TakeOver special starts tomorrow night.
Kane, Big Show and Miz rang the opening bell today at the New York Stock Exchange.
Renee Young suffered an ankle injury. She said it was swollen but she can walk on it.
Jeff Borris on behalf of an attempt to unionize UFC fighters had a press conference last night in Las Vegas. He claimed intimidation from those running UFC. Leslie Smith has been the lone UFC fighter who has been supportive of both the PFA (Professional Fighters Association) and MMAFA (Mixed Martial Arts Fighters Association). She was at the press conference last night and was also with Cung Le, Randy Couture, etc. in the MMAFA side pushing for unionization as well as the adoption of the Ali Act being legally changed to add MMA and kickboxing. The MMAFA is led by Robert Maysey, who is also a key lawyer in the antitrust suit against UFC. Both of these organizations are bad mouthing the other. Borris is a notable baseball agent whose clients have included Barry Bonds and Jose Canseco. He notes that all money in baseball is public while in UFC it’s private.
The UFC PPV tomorrow is available on PS 4 for $45 if you’re a PSPlus member.
Another story on the bottles being thrown is here.
OLYMPIC WRESTLING
Both UFC and WWE should be in the hunt for Helen Maroulis. This is only one in history first time American woman gold medalist in the sport, and she’s got the right size and look for either professions and is clearly a superior athlete. The women’s strawweight division in UFC does not have a ton of depth, although the top two are very good fighters. She’d be a publicity gold mine for WWE.
Upsets continued today as Jordan Burroughs, at 163 pounds, who was considered the best wrestler in the U.S, to the point that the top guys moved up a weight class to avoid having to wrestle him in the trials, lost twice and didn’t medal. He didn’t medal in the Olympics where he was favored to win his second straight gold medal in freestyle wrestling. Burroughs was upset this morning, lost 3-2 to Aniuar Geduev of Russia, who was the No. 2 seed but by luck of the draw, they met in the quarterfinals. But in a shocking performance, Burroughs was destroyed 11-1 by Bekzod Abdurakmonov of Uzbekistan in the bronze medal match. Burroughs over the past five years had won three world championships, one Olympic gold medal and had one second place finish at worlds. Burroughs won his first match of the day 6-3 over Augusta Midana of Guinea Bissau.
Daniel Dennis, the other American competing, at 125.5 pounds, lost his first match 11-0 to Vladimir Dubov of Bulgaria and was eliminated.
Resurrection Fighting Alliance on 9/9 from Broomfield, CO at the 1st Bank Center and on AXS TV live is headlined by Brain Camozzi (6-2) vs. Nick Barnes (11-1) and Adam Stroup (10-3) vs. Gabriel Zangief Checo (9-2).
NFC on 8/27 at Center Stage Theater in Atlanta features Jared Gooden vs. Dave Vitkay for the NFC welterweight title. Both fighters are coming in on six fight winning streaks.
We are sorry to hear of the death of a young Italian wrestler, Stefano de Vincentiis, ring name La Creatura (the creature). He was 24 years old, he worked for the XIW (Xtreme Italian Wrestling) as a trainee and manager, his last appearance was on November 21st, 2015 where he managed Dragorion in a losing effort against Wolfman. The cause of death is unknown. (thanks to Alessio Garbini)
With just two days to go until WWE SummerSlam, it is almost time for the F4W Empire’s third biggest yearly event, Super China Buffet Day~! To participate, simply visit a Super China Buffet (any buffet will do) with your friends and family in YOUR area and tell us about it in the Empire Get-Together forum on The Board~!
SUMMER EVENTS CALENDAR
AUGUST
ROH: DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR XIV PPV; 6:00pm PDT, Friday August 19
Sam’s Town Live, 5111 Boulder Highway – Las Vegas, NV 89122. Tickets.
ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: ADAM COLE vs JAY LETHAL (c)
19 – Promociones del Valle in Tijuana at the Auditorio has Blue Demon Jr. & Mascara Aerea & Tinieblas Jr. vs Fuerza Guerrero & El Hijo del Solitario & Pirata Morgan, plus Bestia 666 & Paka & Rey Hours (Dragon Azteca Jr. in Lucha Underground) vs. Histeria & Los Traumas I & II (sons of Negro Navarro)
19 – AAW; 115 Bourbon Street, 3359 w 115th Street Merrionette Park, IL, 8:00pm Bell Time. Here is a trailer for the last show: United We Stand. Tickets.
19 – We Watch Wrestling, LIVE podcast recording: Copper Still 4485 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90004
Can Nate the Great go two and zero against the Conor, or will the Notortious McGregor even the score?
20 – ROH: National TV Taping; 6:00pm PDT, Sam’s Town Live, 5111 Boulder Highway, Las Vegas, NV 89122. Tickets. ROH World TV Championship: Shibata will face the winner of the Mark Briscoe vs Bobby Fish match from Death Before Dishonor XIV.
20 – BANG Pro Wrestling with Dory Funk Jr. at 7 p.m. at the Bang TV Sound Stage in Ocala, FL. For ticket info you can call 352-895-4658.
20 – Empire State Wrestling; St. Johnsburg Fire Hall, located at 7165 Ward Road, North Tonawanda, NY featuring Raven. Bell time is 6 p.m. Tickets.
20 – Border City Wrestling, Heatwave: Royal Canadian Legion Col. Paul Poisson Branch 261, 12326 Lanoue Street, Tecumseh, Ontario N8N 1N3. Our regular ticket outlets (P-Jays Variety, Helou’s Sports Cards, & Silver Tee Golf). There will be a professional wrestling seminar before the BCW Heatwave show, with Uncle Zeb Colter himself, Dutch Mantell. The seminar will start at Noon. The cost is $60.
20 – LIVE Pro Wrestling, “Fighting Back 6, Wrestling with Cancer”; Vanier Columbus Club, 260 McArthur Ave, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
20 – Reality of Wrestling, Summer of Champions 3: Featuring Kurt Angle, from the World Gym Arena in Texas City, TX, the event is preceded by a VIP Meet and Greet session to feature WWE Hall of Famer Booker T, Kurt Angle and Queen Sharmell.Proceeds will be going to the Booker T Fights For Kids Foundation. Tickets.
20 – Best In The West: Fresno, CA, VFW Hall #8900, located at 3585 N Blythe, Featuring Jeff Cobb, Joey Ryan, and Mustufa Saed
20 – NXT, TakeOver: The Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. Samoa Joe vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Asuka vs Bailey, Revival vs Ciampa and Gargano
F4W SUPER CHINA BUFFET DAY! Sunday, August 21
Each year, groups of WWE fans get together in the name of SummerSlam for a Sunday afternoon meal and then continue the fun at a viewing location to watch the WWE’s summer classic. Our own Bryan Alvarez hosts a buffet and viewing party in his area of Seattle, as do many other Empire members all across the globe. Alvarez claims that everyone is welcome, so feel free to show up unannounced. Check out the Empire-Get Together forum to see where your local group is meeting. If there is not any nearby, start your own, and make a post about it! A good time will be had by all.
21 – Octagon & Tinieblas Jr. vs. Fuerza Guerrera & Pirata Morgan headlines in Houston at the Arena Theater.
25 – Northeast Wrestling, “Rumble in Rockland”: Provident Bank Park (1 Provident Bank Park Drive) in Pomona, NY, 7:30 p.m. A meet and Greet autograph session with the stars at 4:30 p.m. First-time ever: Jushin “Thunder” Liger and Jeff Hardy team together. Plus, Ryback, Broken Matt Hardy, Michael Bennett, Mandy Leon, and more. Tickets.
26 – Northeast Wrestling, “Wrestling Under the Stars”: Wahconah Park in Pittsfield, MA Bell time is 7 p.m. Autograph session at 4 p.m. Plus, Cody Rhodes with Brandi Rhodes vs. Michael Bennett, Mick Foley, Jeff and Matt Hardy, Jushin “Thunder” Liger, Jerry “The King” Lawler, Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, Mandy Leon, and more. Tickets.
26 – We Watch Wrestling, LIVE podcast recording: The Wythe Hotel 80 Wythe Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11249. Tickets.
26 – All Star Wrestling; Cloverdale, BC at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds Alice McKay Building. Doors at 630pm, Cloverdale Fair Grounds. Alice McKay Building, 6050 A, 176 St. Surrey, British Columbia V3S 4E7
26 – Bellator 160; The Pond in Anaheim, live on Spike TV, Benson Henderson vs Patricio Pitbull Freire
27 – ROH: Field of Honor; Brooklyn, NY, MCU Park, ROH World Championship 4 Corner Survival: Jay Lethal (c) vs. Adam Cole vs. Tetsuya naito vs. Hiroshi. Tickets.
27 – Northeast Wrestling: FREE show on 8/27 at 11 a.m. at the New Windsor Community Day, Kristi Babcock Memorial Park (660 Mt. Airy Road, New Windsor, NY 12553).
27 – Northeast Wrestling “Wrestling Under the Stars 5″: Dutchess Stadium, Wappingers Falls, NY. Bell time is 7 p.m. with an autograph session at 4 p.m. Kurt Angle vs. Cody Rhodes and Jushin “Thunder” Liger vs. Jeff Hardy, Jerry “The King” Lawler vs. Brooklyn Brawler. Tickets.
28 – Northeast Wrestling “Thunder”: The NEW Arena (40 Peck Road) in Bethany, CT at 4 p.m. Cody Rhodes vs. Sami Callihan. Jushin “Thunder” Liger vs. Travis Gordon. War King Hanson vs. Kamaitachi. TK ‘O Ryan versus Brian Anthony. Northeast Wrestling Tag Team Champions The Battles versus So Over. DIJAK and more. Tickets.
17 – NWA Smoky Mountain Wrestling on in Kingsport, TN at the Civic Auditorium
17 – Pure Wrestling Association: Alpine Club, Kitchener, Ontario
17 – Pure Wrestling Association: Courtenay, British Columbia
17 – UFC Fight Night, Poirier vs. Johnson: Hidalgo, Texas, State Farm Arena
17 & 18 – SMASH VS PROGRESS: Smash Wrestling welcomes our friends from Progress Wrestling. Mark Haskins and Jack Gallagher (Cruiserweight Classic), Zack Sabre Jr. Mark Andrews and more will be part of the Progress Wrestling team in a Smash vs. Progress Canada vs. UK show in Toronto at the Franklin Horner Community Center.
18 – Pure Wrestling Association: Gold River, British Columbia
It was an incredible weekend in the career of Kenny Omega and for New Japan Pro Wrestling in general.
The 2016 G1 Climax came to an end in dramatic fashion with three epic shows at the famous Ryogoku Kokugikan. You’ll be able to find all kinds of in-depth discussion about that elsewhere on the site in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and on both the DKP and Wrestling Observer Radio shows, so to avoid repetition, we’ll take a different tact here.
You’ll have heard all about the Match of the Year caliber bouts that the G1 produced by now, but there were a few sneaky under the radar matches which didn’t get a ton of attention but are definitely worth watching.
Togi Makabe vs. Hirooki Goto, August 8th, Yokohama
If you like Big Japan, this was the G1’s “Strong BJ” match. Hirooki Goto and Togi Makabe have done the reps with each other before and as such are more than comfortable just going into the ring, meeting in the middle and throwing down.
Makabe being in front of his adoring hometown public helped matters, as did perhaps the hardest lariat of the whole tour which nearly knocked Goto into G1 2017!
Yuji Nagata vs. YOSHI-HASHI, July 27th, Nagano
YOSHI-HASHI was one of the stars of the tour with his stock really rising after some super exciting matches and a couple of surprising wins. This match may not have had the fireworks of some of his other outings but it was perhaps the most hard fought, gritty, and meaningful.
The reason it was so meaningful was that he was in there with the man who has watched over him since he walked into the famed dojo, Yuji Nagata. He was wrapped up like a mummy, but YOSHI fought tooth and nail, never giving up in an excellent contest.
SANADA vs. Kazuchika Okada, July 23rd, Machida
The future of the New Japan main event scene was on full display in the second meeting between IWGP champ Kazuchika Okada and new kid on the block SANADA. These two get more and more chemistry with each other every time they step in the ring, be it singles or tags.
The fluidity and timing on display in this one was to be marveled at. Really exciting, well executed match.
Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Kenny Omega, August 10th, Yamagata
With everything that Omega went on to do at Ryogoku, it’s easy to forget the excellent body of work he put together to get to that point. This was a rematch from a 2008 Ring of Honor bout (which Omega referenced) and it was evident how much both wrestlers have matured since then.
This was hard-hitting, fast paced, and provided an excellent contrast between Nakajima’s stoicism and Omega’s wild personality.
Following Wednesday’s wellness policy suspension announcements for Alberto Del Rio and Paige, WWE announced another on Thursday afternoon as Eva Marie was suspended for violating the policy.
The company’s statement:“WWE has suspended Natalie Coyle (Eva Marie) for 30 days effective immediately for her first violation of the company’s talent wellness policy.”
Eva Marie received the same 30-day suspension that Del Rio and Paige received for a first violation, and like them, there was no further indication given about what caused it.
She had been scheduled to compete at SummerSlam, teaming with Natalya and Alexa Bliss against Becky Lynch, Naomi, and Carmella but she now won’t be able to participate in that match.
Eva Marie had been involved in weekly angles since being drafted to SmackDown where she invented increasingly outlandish reasons to keep her from wrestling. She originally couldn’t compete after an injury, then suffered a wardrobe malfunction, and then couldn’t make it in time for this week’s match because she got stuck in traffic.
The company’s statement: “WWE has suspended Saraya-Jade Bevis (Paige) for 30 days effective tomorrow, Thursday, Aug. 18, for her first violation of the company’s talent wellness policy.”
Like with Del Rio, the 30-day suspension is standard for a first violation. WWE has not further commented publicly on either Del Rio or Paige’s suspensions, and it isn’t known what caused either violation.
Both suspensions were announced on Paige’s birthday.
The timing of their violations is curious given that Del Rio and Paige have been dating, but it isn’t clear if their suspensions are connected. Paige has been out of action recently with injuries that have been covered extensively by Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Del Rio and Paige had been sent to different brands in the WWE Draft, and time will tell whether their suspensions will have further affect on their positions within the company.
Date: August 16, 2016 Location: Frank Erwin Center in Austin, TX
The Big Takeaway —
SmackDown ended with John Cena putting AJ Styles through a table with an AA.
Dolph Ziggler laid out Dean Ambrose deliberately with a superkick in the opening segment, and we never saw Ziggler again.
Eva Marie avoided her in-ring debut one more time, but will presumably do it at SummerSlam, because Eva, Natalya and Alexa Bliss will team up against Becky Lynch, Carmella and Naomi in a 6-woman tag team match.
Show Recap —
They opened with Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon backstage getting Randy Orton to sign the contract for his match with Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. Orton warned them that the match might not go as long as they would like, because all he has to do is hit an RKO and it’s over.
Heath Slater interrupted with a fruit basket for Bryan and Shane. Bryan noticed the gift basket was stolen from someone else. Bryan was pretty clear they weren’t going to sign him, but Slater wasn’t convinced. Orton said he had an idea, but he never said what it was before they cut away.
MizTV featuring WWE Champion Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler
Miz started talking but Ambrose interrupted. Before Ambrose could really say anything, Ziggler interrupted him, and they got in each other’s faces. Miz stopped them and reminded them they were on MizTV.
Miz ran down Ziggler’s career and asked what he would do if he lost at SummerSlam. Ziggler said he wasn’t worried about after SummerSlam, he was focused on his match. Ambrose mocked the new Ziggler because he wasn’t buying it.
Ziggler asked if Ambrose wanted him to use the last few weeks as fuel to “kick your head right off your face.” Ambrose mocked him some more, saying Ziggler was tugging on his heart. Ambrose let him know that, even if Ziggler wins, that won’t silence the critics. The real work starts after you win the title, the critics will still be there, and the pressure gets turned up.
Ambrose claimed Ziggler didn’t like pressure, and the chip on his shoulder is going to weigh him down. Ambrose said he’s going to embarrass and beat up Ziggler, and Ziggler would prove that he never wanted it bad enough.
Ziggler said Ambrose doesn’t know him, and no matter what Ambrose does, he can’t put Ziggler away. Ziggler continued ranting about Ambrose not having enough when, mid-sentence, he superkicked Ambrose. Ziggler finished off by saying Ambrose would learn that he is that damn good.
They announced John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio, and Randy Orton vs. Heath Slater, with a contract for Slater on the line.
During commercial, Miz was still in the ring, cutting a promo on “Apollo Creed.” That brought out Apollo Crews, who gave Miz a spin-out powerbomb.
The Usos, American Alpha & The Hype Bros defeated The Vaudevillains, The Ascension & Breezango
Both teams got into a brawl about a minute into the match, probably because they knew it was time for a commercial break.
After the break, everybody took turns hitting moves, leading to an Uso hitting a big dive to the heels outside the ring. American Alpha picked up the win for their team after hitting Grand Amplitude on Aiden English. The good guys celebrated together afterwards. Extremely short match given the number of guys.
They announced Dean Ambrose vs. Erick Rowan, and Eva Marie’s in-ring debut.
Naomi vs. Eva Marie
Naomi has a new entrance, and it’s something. Her theme is remixed, they turn off the lights, and she comes out wearing a glow-in-the-dark outfit. She danced to the ring and gave out glow-in-the-dark gimmicks to fans.
The match never happened. They started Eva’s usual entrance as the voiceover man introduced her. However, the voiceover announced that Eva was stuck in traffic and would not be able to compete.
They replayed Alberto Del Rio’s return in October when he beat Cena to win the U.S. title. AJ Styles caught up to Del Rio backstage, basically marking out about Del Rio beating up John Cena and taking him out of action for 9 months. Del Rio said he doesn’t need Styles’ pep talk to do it again. Styles, trying to fire up Del Rio, reminded him that Styles is in a main event at SummerSlam, whereas Del Rio isn’t even on the card.
They aired a video for a returning Curt Hawkins with Hawkins “facts,” which were: Hawkins has counted to infinity twice, he can slam a revolving door, and he doesn’t flush the toilet – he scares the crap out of it.
Heath Slater defeated Randy Orton via DQ
The referee stopped the match after one minute because Orton was beating the crap out of Slater in the corner. Orton followed by tossing Slater around ringside, including sending him over the announce table into David Otunga.
Orton tossed Slater back in the ring and gave him a German suplex, then mimicked Lesnar’s pose. He gave Slater one more German, followed by an RKO. They didn’t announce a decision, but presumably this will be a DQ win for Slater, which would mean he gets signed.
Backstage, Slater was being checked out by the trainer and he was hurting all over. Slater asked the trainer if he won, when Bryan and Shane came in to congratulate him. Slater was completely out of it, claiming he beat the crap out of Lesnar and Orton, showing them “no mercy.” Bryan and Shane thought “no mercy” would be a good name for their October PPV in Sacramento.
Slater thought Bryan was Mick Foley and said he’s a much bigger legend than Bryan. They gave him a contract to sign, which the crowd cheered. However, before he could sign it, he called Shane beautiful, thinking he was Stephanie. Shane then took the contract away and the crowd booed.
They showed Randy Orton facing off with the Wyatts as he was leaving the ring earlier. The announcers speculated what this meant.
WWE Champion Dean Ambrose defeated Erick Rowan (w/Bray Wyatt) in a non-title match
Ambrose won in 5 minutes with Dirty Deeds. After the match, Bray had his back turned to Rowan as looked down at Rowan’s sheep mask. Bray tossed it aside and left Rowan alone in the ring. The crowd booed Bray for this.
Lynch made a hot tag and ran wild on Natalya until they collided with dual crossbody attempts. With both women down, Eva Marie made her grand entrance. This brought out Naomi who chased Eva into the ring. Eva managed to escape after Natalya grabbed Naomi and tossed her out of the ring.
Natalya went for a schoolboy on Lynch, but Lynch countered into a Disarmer for the win. The match, which was more of an angle, was only about 4 minutes and Lynch is the only member of the match who got an entrance.
Backstage, Baron Corbin held Kalisto’s face up against a garage door as a cameraman stood right in their faces. Corbin said he does what he wants, when he wants, and tossed Kalisto down. Some officials checked on Kalisto.
They aired a video package for Randy Orton vs. Brock Lesnar, the same one that aired last week.
They also announced a 6-woman tag match for SummerSlam, featuring Naomi, Carmella and Becky Lynch vs. Eva Marie, Alexa Bliss and Natalya.
John Cena defeated Alberto Del Rio
AJ Styles is on commentary. Styles flat out said he’d like to see Del Rio out soften up Cena for him. Loud dueling chants for Cena to start the match. Del Rio had to regroup after a hip toss and they went to commercial one minute into the match.
Ranallo reminded us that that Otunga was once tag champs with Cena. Otunga spoke about the respect he has for Cena, to which Styles responded, “Maybe you should show me some respect. How about that, rookie?” (May not be the exact quote.)
Del Rio had control going into a commercial break. After the break, Cena came back with a dropkick and five knuckle shuffle. Del Rio followed with a backcracker for two. Del Rio missed an enzuigiri and Cena nailed a clothesline. Del Rio then nailed the enzuigiri for a near fall.
Cena countered an armbar into the STF, but Del Rio quickly got to the ropes. Del Rio then hit the kneeling superkick for two. Del Rio counted an AA into an armbar, but Cena countered that into a powerbomb, followed by an AA for the win.
Styles jumped off commentary and hit Cena with the Phenomenal forearm. He grabbed the mic and said he was sick of hearing that the future goes through Cena. Styles said he would be the face that runs this place after he beats Cena at SummerSlam. He’s going to make Cena’s passion his prison, because his time is up, and Styles’ time is now.
Styles was about to leave, but went back to give Cena a Styles Clash. However, Cena counted into an AA and they played Cena’s music. His wasn’t done yet, though. Cena cleared the table and bounced Styles’ head off the steel steps.
Cena positioned the steps by the table, put Styles on his shoulders, climbed the steps, and tossed Styles through the announce table with an AA. He posed to end the show.
Final Thoughts —
I thought this show was alright, but the main stuff was good. Cena and Styles do wonders in making this feel like a more important show.
One negative is the lack of attention given to the Intercontinental title. The U.S. champion main evented Raw the last two weeks. This week on SmackDown, Miz’s primary role was as the host of a talk show featuring the real champion. The only hype they gave to Miz’s title defense at SummerSlam was for a few seconds during a commercial break.
When Rene Dupree’s lawsuit against WWE over WWE Network royalties was quickly dropped a few months ago, the question coming out of it was not if there would be another such lawsuit, but when and with whom as the next plaintiff would be.
The answers? August 9th and Marcus “Buff” Bagwell.
The same lawyers that represented Dupree are representing Bagwell in the lawsuit, but this time, they appear to have done a bit more due diligence. The Dupree case was dismissed within days because he had not told his lawyers that, in 2011, he had signed some kind of agreement that gave up the rights to future claims against WWE.
On top of that, while he did sign the WWE booking contract that included language about video royalties for “other technology, including technology not yet created,” that language was rendered moot in his next contract. WWE contracts supersede/merge into each other, so when WWE junked the language in 2004, it meant that anyone who re-signed the newly-worded deals effective had never agreed to the “other technology language.” Those later contracts also exclude royalties from internet subscription feeds and video on demand.
So in finding the perfect plaintiff, the lawyers needed to find someone who:
1. Signed with WWE between approximately 1999 and 2003.
2. Did not ever re-sign after 2003.
3. Did not ever sign a legends deal or any other agreement with WWE that gives up certain rights to future claims.
4. Was sure enough that he or she would never be back in WWE that they were willing to sue.
Bagwell fits that bill. He was signed in 2001 for the planned original brand extension to go along with the WCW invasion, only to be released within weeks for a myriad of reasons. WWE did not inherit his Time Warner contract because it happened to expire the week of the sale, so he signed a deal with WCW Inc. (the intended umbrella within WWE for the “new” WCW) that was virtually identical to a WWE contract from that period. Bagwell’s lawyers paid special attention to this section:
“WCW shall maintain books of account related to the payment of royalties hereunder at its principal place of business. Wrestler or Wrestler’s designated independent certified public accountant who is a member in good standing of the AICPA, may at Wrestler’s sole expense examine WCW’s books insofar as they pertain to this Agreement for the purpose of verifying the accuracy thereof, during WCW’s normal business hours and upon reasonable notice.
Such audit shall be conducted in a manner that will not unreasonably interfere with WCW’s normal business operations. Wrestler shall not audit WCW’s books and records more than twice during any calendar year and no such audit shall be conducted later than one (1) year after the last statement of royalties is given, delivered or sent to Wrestler. Each audit is limited to seven (7) days in duration. Statements of royalties may be changed from time to time to reflect year-end adjustments, to correct clerical errors and for similar purposes.”
According to the complaint, Bagwell did indeed retain the services of an accountant, who “contacted WWE officials around June 23, 2016 to schedule a time to examine WWE’s books and was told the last week of July 2016 or the first week of August 2016 would be possible times to conduct an audit.”
However, on August 5th, they got a letter from K&L Gates (Jerry McDevitt’s law firm), which accused Bagwell and company of “assert[ing] a pretextual and invalid audit request to attempt to stealthily obtain that information (WWE network royalty audit).” The letter goes on to state that “neither [Plaintiff’s accountant] nor any other purported representative of Mr. Bagwell will be permitted to audit WWE accounting records. . . Because your client is not paid any such royalties (WWE Network), there is nothing to audit.”
As we noted with the Dupree case, the general idea of someone suing over a breach of the 1999-2004 WWE Talent Booking Contract does appear to have a superficially stronger case than the other wrestlers who have sued for royalties in the last few years. Those were all suits from wrestlers with contractual ties to no WWE (or ESPN, in the cases where they were also sued over ESPN Classic programming) based on various intellectual property claims. It doesn’t mean they’d win, but it’s fairly easy to understand the logic behind the suit.
However, Bagwell’s claim isn’t exactly what was being tried with Dupree, for reasons specific to his own case. He didn’t appear on any pay-per-views, leaving his lone Monday Night Raw appearances as the only match from his WWE contract on the WWE Network. They do have his WCW career up, though, so the argument is that because of the merger clause, the WWE royalty terms apply to his WCW work (“…all prior understandings, negotiations and agreements are merged into this Agreement. There are no other agreements, representations, or warranties not set forth herein with respect to the subject matter hereof…”
There are various problems with that argument, the first of which is that while he had signed with two different companies named WCW, WWE only bought WCW’s assets and not the company outright. There was no previous contract to merge. On top of that, Bagwell “assigned his intellectual property rights to WCW in consideration for other benefits, not for WCW Video Products royalties,” Here’s the relevant portion of the merchandising agreement Bagwell signed with the original WCW in 1998:
“Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, Wrestler expressly acknowledges and agrees that in no event shall Wrestler receive or be entitled to any share of any revenue derived by WCW from the sale or other exploitation of any of the Intellectual Property in connection with (i) any wrestling magazine published and distributed by WCW (or its licensees), or (ii) the sale or licensing in any medium, market or form of videocassettes of any wrestling matches or other events sponsored by WCW, or (iii) any telephone call-in lines (such as 800, 900, 511, or 976), or (iv) any pay-per-view wrestling matches or events.”
When reached for comment, Jerry McDevitt specifically pointed out that Bagwell was never promised royalties for videos of his WCW work. For what he *was* eligible for royalties on, Bagwell’s WWE royalty statement for the first quarter of 2016 has him getting $64.40.
Unable to recall Tom Phillips’ name, the team of Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho reaffirmed their commitment to each other and their mutual hatred of Enzo Amore and Big Cass.
Roman Reigns (sort of) apologizes to Rusev
Rusev demanded an apology from his SummerSlam opponent after Roman Reigns destroyed Rusev and Lana’s wedding celebration last week, but the Big Dog didn’t exactly give the Bulgarian Brute the apology he was looking for.
Sami Zayn vs. Sheamus
With the help of Cesaro, Sami Zayn was able to get a victory over Sheamus. But this was just the beginning for the Swiss Superman and the Celtic Warrior, with Raw General Manager Mick Foley announcing that a best-of-seven series between the two men will start at SummerSlam.
Nia Jax faces another local competitor
Raw didn’t feature a Braun Strowman squash match, but Nia Jax got to face an enhancement talent and looked impressive against Rachel Levy.
WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day vs. The Dudley Boyz in a non-title match
Despite more groin-related taunts from Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, The New Day were able to pick up a win over The Dudley Boyz ahead of their SummerSlam clash with The Club. And the tag champs vowed after the match that The Club would never lay a finger on their New Day rocks.
Big Cass vs. Kevin Owens
After Enzo faced off against Chris Jericho on Raw last week, it was Big Cass vs. Kevin Owens on Monday’s Raw. But the match wouldn’t see a clean finish, as Chris Jericho interfered allowing Cass to pick up the DQ win.
Rusev attacks Roman Reigns
Tom Phillips tried to interview Reigns about his main event match with Rusev later in the show, but Rusev ambushed Reigns and the two brawled ahead of their upcoming match.
The Primetime Players (briefly) reunite
The Primetime Players briefly reunited in tag team action, but Titus O’Neil laid out his partner after Darren Young inadvertently knocked O’Neil off of the apron.
Raw saw the return of Brock Lesnar to television ahead of his SummerSlam interpromotional clash with Randy Orton, and the Beast didn’t wait until Sunday to get physical.
Lesnar destroyed Heath Slater and left wrestling’s self-proclaimed hottest free agent laying in the ring as Paul Heyman extolled the virtues of his client.
Neville vs. Jinder Mahal
Though Jinder Mahal defeated Slater in his first match back with the company, he’s been booked to lose every match since. And that continued on Monday when Neville got the victory over Mahal with the Red Arrow.
Charlotte calls Dana Brooke a failure
There were tensions between Charlotte and Dana Brooke, with the former WWE Women’s Champion calling her storyline protege a failure after she couldn’t defeat Sasha Banks and make their SummerSlam encounter a handicap match last week.
Seth Rollins looks for The Demon King
Seth Rollins spent the night “looking” for the Demon King in various places around the arena. Rollins wanted to take the night off after failing to find him, but Foley instructed Rollins to call his SummerSlam opponent out in the ring.
Charlotte vs. Alicia Fox
With the WWE Women’s Champion on commentary, Charlotte made quick work of Alicia Fox. Charlotte then called Banks to the ring, but Dana Brooke ambushed the Boss and Charlotte locked in the figure four on the champion.
The Club vs. The Golden Truth
Anderson and Gallows picked up a win over Goldust and R-Truth, but The New Day attempted to get retribution on The Club after the match. The champions were unsuccessful in trying to attack Anderson’s groin when Gallows pulled his partner out of the ring just in time to make the save.
The Demon King debuts
Rollins called out the Demon King, and Finn Balor appeared as his painted alter ego. The two men brawled, with Balor getting the edge ahead of their Universal Championship clash this Sunday.
Roman Reigns vs. Rusev in a non-title match
Raw’s main event was a SummerSlam preview, and we got a clean finish as Reigns broke the Accolade and defeated Rusev with a spear in a lengthy non-title match.
Raw Fallout: Heath Slater’s condition is assessed
Slater’s condition was assessed after being destroyed by Lesnar earlier in the night.
Raw Fallout: The New Day have words for Anderson & Gallows
The New Day were finally able to get an edge on Anderson and Gallows, and they dropped a freestyle on their opponents ahead of Sunday’s tag title match.
Raw Fallout: Cesaro is ready for the best-of-seven series
Cesaro said he was excited for SummerSlam and the best-of-seven series with Sheamus, and claimed it doesn’t get better than him on Raw in a match every single week.
Raw Fallout: Seth Rollins reacts to The Demon King
Rollins admitted that Balor got the best of him earlier in the night and that he might have to change his strategy to face the Demon King, but still vowed to become the first WWE Universal Champion.
The Roman Reigns-Rusev feud continues to help both men. Leading up to their PPV match at SummerSlam, the two fought in a non-title bout that Rusev wanted to “fight for Lana’s honor.” Reigns won in a good brawl.
Jon Stewart will be back for SummerSlam this Sunday. Also, Sheamus and Cesaro will engage in a best-of-seven series, just like Magnum T.A. and Nikita Koloff in 1986, just not for the U.S Championship. There was also the debut of Finn Balor’s “Demon King” persona. Aside from all that, the show consisted of mainly squash matches.
Show Recap —
Seth Rollins did a promo from earlier today outside the arena.
He said he was six days away from becoming the first Universal Champion, but first he had business to settle with the Demon King. He called out the Demon King, but he never showed up. Rollins said Balor was too scared to find the man, so tonight the man was going to find the King.
Inside the building, Lana and Rusev were in the ring still upset with Reigns from last week.
Rusev said there would be no Raw until Reigns came out and apologized. Mick Foley showed up and told Rusev and Lana to leave the ring. Rusev ran down Foley, who looked dead serious.
Rusev said Foley was no GM without him, the greatest U.S. champion ever. Rusev demanded respect and said he lied when he said Foley was the greatest GM of all time because Foley sucked. Rusev wanted to know how could Foley give Reigns a shot at the U.S. Championship when he’s done nothing to earn it. Rusev demanded Stephanie McMahon come out.
Stephanie showed up. Rusev said Stephanie knew what it was like to be married to a superstar so she knew what he was talking about. Stephanie said she stands behind Foley 100 percent and Rusev’s conduct was unprofessional. Rusev said maybe he should call Shane McMahon, teasing jumping to SmackDown.
Reigns came out and said he was sorry that Rusev found the website where he discovered his wife. He said Rusev and Lana would make the ugliest sasquatch babies. Rusev started in on all the stupid people that support Reigns. It led to Reigns demanding a fight then and there, but Stephanie said the U.S. Championship match would take place on SummerSlam.
Rusev said this was about more than the U.S. Championship, this was about his wife’s honor. Foley then ordered a non-title match tonight between the two to defend Lana’s honor.
Sami Zayn defeated Sheamus (10:14)
Sheamus faced Sami Zayn. Byron Saxton did an in-ring interview where Sheamus claimed he’s proved to be a better athlete than Cesaro. He ran down Zayn as someone who made snide comments about him on Twitter, but he’s nothing to him and a cheap knockout of the Celtic Warrior. Fans chanted “You look stupid,” but Sheamus responded “You paid to see me, so who looks stupid now?”
Zayn used the Blue Thunder Bomb and went for the Helluva Kick, but Sheamus caught him with the Irish Curse backbreaker. Sheamus went for the Brogue Kick, but Cesaro came down to distract Sheamus. Zayn hit the Helluva Kick for the pin.
Zayn attempted a tornado DDT on the floor, but Sheamus rammed his back into the post. Later on, Zayn hit a somersault tope, but Sheamus was up in no time and caught Zayn with White Noise. Cesaro was on commentary. Michael Cole brought up Daniel Bryan’s comments that there was room on the SmackDown roster for Cesaro, but Cesaro said he was a Raw team player.
Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens did an interview. Owens is facing Big Cass tonight. Jericho said Enzo Amore wasn’t a certified “G” because who certified him? Plus, Cass didn’t know how to spell because the word “soft” doesn’t contain the letters “A” or “W.” Owens and Jericho called the interviewer, Tom Phillips, a variety of names, including “Todd” “James” and “Paul.”
Backstage, Sheamus and Cesaro were screaming at each other. Foley ran in looking intense as hell, saying he was sick of both men interfering in each other’s matches. So he ordered a best-of-seven series between the two of them with the first match coming at SummerSlam.
WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day defeated The Dudley Boyz in a non-title match (1:36)
Kofi Kingston pinned D-Von Dudley with Trouble in Paradise. Bubba Ray Dudley accidentally clotheslined D-Von, which is the second week in a row the Dudleyz have done that.
Big E was absent as he’s still selling having his groin injured after getting rammed into the ringpost by Gallows and Anderson. Before the match started, we had another diagnosis from Dr. Gallows and Dr. Anderson on the Titantron.
They discussed cases of ringpostitis. They claimed to be getting one inch closer to finding a cure. So they stuck an egg in a microwave as the match started. After the match, the egg was broken in the microwave. Gallows claimed this was a ballbuster. They put three jars on top of the microwave, one with Big E’s name on it with an egg inside. The other two were empty with the names of Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods.
Kingston wondered why Gallows and Anderson waited for so long to get to the WWE and now they were blowing up eggs in microwaves. Woods said they would be damned if some patchy haired phalluses would beat them at SummerSlam. Kingston said they had the power of positivity. Woods said they didn’t have the power to lay a hand on their New Day Rocks, because “New Day Rocks.”
Rollins looked for the Demon King backstage. Neville was backstage and said he’s faced Balor before, and Rollins isn’t ready for the Demon King. Rollins screamed how Neville didn’t know what he was talking about.
Nia Jax defeated Rachel Levy (1:02)
Nia Jax sat Rachel Levy, who had blue hair, on the top rope and pushed her to the floor. Jax pinned her with a fireman’s carry into a spinebuster. Levy said she’s watched Team USA in the Olympics and it gave her inspiration, like Simone Biles, to follow her dreams. Saxton hoped she didn’t get vaulted out of the building.
Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman came out.
Lesnar was over as anything. Before Heyman could start his promo, Heath Slater came out. Heyman said he didn’t know who put Slater up to this of if he was listening to the voices in Orton’s head, but give him an explanation. Slater said he was the hottest free agent in sports entertainment today. Slater said he didn’t know what was wrong with the SmackDown Live crew, because they wouldn’t know what a superstar was if it slapped him in the face. That’s why he approached Heyman.
Heyman laughed over the very thought over a Lesnar-Slater match. Slater said he was getting another opportunity for a Raw roster spot and all he needed to do was beat Lesnar one-on-one tonight. Crowd was dying for a slaughter. Heyman said Slater was doing too much partying on the Freebird tour bus and went on with his promo.
Slater screamed like a banshee and told Heyman not to disrespect him. Slater said he had kids to feed, and they rely on him to put food on the table. Slater said he knows Lesnar will whip his ass but he has to do it. Heyman tried to talk him out of it.
Finally, Lesnar grabbed the mic and said he can appreciate that and that Slater has guts. Lesnar said Slater has responsibilities, mouths to feed, and children. Brock said he has kids, too. Lesnar invited Slater in the ring, got in Slater’s face and said “I don’t give a shit about your kids.” Lesnar gave Slater two choices, walk out on his own two feet, or keep standing there and keep pissing Lesnar off. Slater started to back off, then rushed at Lesnar.
Lesnar clotheslined him, delivered two German suplexes and gave him the F-5. Lesnar kicked him out of the ring. Heyman put on Slater’s sunglasses and said at least Slater was willing to go face-to-face with Lesnar, something that Orton didn’t have the guts to do.
Heyman said he was a hype artist and supposed to sell people over the fact that Orton was slick, savvy and smart enough to beat Lesnar. But he said Lesnar doesn’t believe that. He said this was the summer of the Beast. He said Lesnar was the box office this Sunday at SummerSlam because no one in the locker room could stand up to Lesnar, not even a 12-time world champion.
Heyman said if they wanted to promote the WWE Network..this Sunday, people would have the once-ever athlete in action. He said people would have the rare opportunity to see the Serpent Slayer, Brock Lesnar, live.
Enzo and Cass came out. Amore said they would have a SummerSlam Barbeque on Sunday. He said if Jericho and Owens had a beef, they would get all in their grill. Amore reeled off several types of meat. Cass called Jericho and Owens “Bert & Ernie.”
Big Cass defeated Kevin Owens by DQ (6:16)
Owens went for the Cannonball, but Cass blocked it with a Big Boot. Cass went for another Big Boot, but Owens dodged it and Cass took a bump to the floor. Owens tried to power bomb Cass on the floor, but Cass backdropped him over.
Meanwhile, Jericho threw Amore into the steps. Jericho jumped Cass for the DQ. Owens and Jericho threw Cass into the barricade. Cass tried to make a comeback, but Owens gave him a superkick and Jericho delivered a codebreaker.
Backstage, Reigns did an interview with Phillips. Reigns said he was going to represent his bloodline and whip Rusev’s ass. Rusev jumped Reigns from behind. Reigns no sold getting his head rammed into a case, but Rusev threw Reigns into a garage door, then gave him a Beal throw onto a catering table. Fit Finley, Brian James and several referees came in to break it up.
The Shining Stars defeated the Prime Time Players (2:41)
Bob Backlund brought out Darren Young and Titus O’Neal. This was set up during the Raw Pregame show where O’Neal suggested to Backlund that the Prime Time Players reunite for one night only. Backlund agreed to it. Of course, this was designed for two things: 1. Backlund does the Millions of Dollars dance and 2. have O’Neal turn on Young.
Sure enough, Backlund tried to give O’Neal instructions, but Young accidentally ran into O’Neal. Next thing you know, O’Neal gave Young Clash of the Titus, leaving Primo open for the easy pin.
Neville defeated Jinder Mahal (2:57)
Neville did a twisting plancha on Jinder Mahal. Good short match where Neville won with the Red Arrow.
Foley and Stephanie talked backstage. Foley said he got off the phone with Jon Stewart and said he would be the guest at SummerSlam again this year. Rollins walked in and said he couldn’t find the Demon King anywhere. Rollins said if he wasn’t in Stephanie’s office, then the Demon King isn’t in the building because he’s looked everywhere.
Rollins said he wanted the rest of the night off, but Foley suggested Rollins go to the ring and call him out in the ring unless Rollins was scared. Rollins said he wasn’t scared. Foley then pulled out a walkie-talkie and asked the folks at Gorilla to start Rollins’ music. Funny how the attention to detail improves whenever Foley is involved.
Rollins started the third hour in the ring.
He said he had never been so insulted in his entire life. Last week, Balor talked about banshees and warriors and kings, but he couldn’t find the Demon King anywhere. Rollins said he wanted all the major news networks to listen to him. He said there was nothing and no one that could stop him from becoming the first WWE Universal Champion. He said, out of courtesy, he was going to give the Demon King one more chance to come out.
No Demon King, and Rollins chuckled and said Balor was only trying to intimidate him because Balor was scared of him. He said Balor is going to be just like everyone else who has set foot in the ring against him. Rollins said the Demon King was just another chapter in the book of Rollins, and in his story, the Demon King wouldn’t look him right in his eyes because if he did, he would see something more horrifying than anything any author could dream up.
At that point, it appeared a fan somehow got in the ring. All that aired was someone walking up to Rollins for a moment before he disappeared. They didn’t even show him being taken out by security. Rollins looked momentarily stunned and stopped his speech. Cole filled in the brief dead air before Rollins resumed.
Then the lights flickered and went out. A heartbeat sounded over the PA. Then the Demon King rose from the entrance wearing black and white makeup with Balor’s music playing. The Demon King wore tassels on his head as he stomped down to ringside to a good reaction. Smoke rose from the corner as Balor posed with his torso painted.
There was a “This is Awesome” chant. Rollins and Balor began slugging it out, and Balor gave Rollins a dropkick. Balor gave Rollins an overhead kick, then a dropkick. Balor went for the Coup de Grace, but Rollins moved. Balor gave Rollins a somersault tope instead.
Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows defeated the Golden Truth (2:16)
Gallows pinned Goldust after the Magic Killer. Post-match, Kingston and Woods ran down to attack the heels. Kingston knocked out Anderson with a knee to the jaw. Woods tried to slam Francesca the Trombone onto Anderson’s groin, but Gallows pulled his partner to safety.
Dana Brooke walked up to Charlotte and apologized for losing to Banks last week. Charlotte interrupted her, then demanded to know why Brooke let her down when she needed her the most. Charlotte said she was Meryl Streep and Brooke was Anne Hathaway. After she beats Banks at SummerSlam, Charlotte said she might ask Stephanie to replace Brooke with someone who isn’t an epic failure.
Charlotte defeated Alicia Fox (1:27)
Charlotte pinned her with Natural Selection. Banks was on commentary. Post-match, Banks, who was on commentary, came to the ring. Brooke ran in to distract Banks and Charlotte decked Banks from behind. Charlotte put Banks in the Figure Eight. Banks tapped out, but Charlotte held onto the hold until a referee forced her off.
Good heat for Charlotte after this angle. There was no stretcher job for Banks to hammer home the point that she would go into Sunday’s match at less than 100%. She just laid in the ring and didn’t move.
Cole said after Banks beat Brooke last week “she got what she wanted” at SummerSlam. Didn’t Banks ask for a handicap match at SummerSlam and if she lost, she would have ended in the handicap match? The brief bit of Alicia Fox’s Titantron video that aired consisted of her pouring various drinks on herself or fans.
Roman Reigns defeated United States Champion Rusev in a non-title match (20:35)
20:35 doesn’t include the pre-match brawl, which lasted for around 5:00. Reigns sold almost the entire way. Rusev worked over Reigns’ left arm that was injured during the brawl earlier, then choked Reigns with his own singlet for a near submission. Reigns made a comeback after he blocked a superplex and hit a flying clothesline off the top rope.
Reigns got a near fall with a Blue Thunder Driver. Reigns teased the Superman Punch, but Rusev grabbed Reigns’ bad arm and hit a spin kick. Rusev hit four head butts from the second rope, each for separate two counts. He missed a fifth attempt.
After an exchange of punches, Reigns clotheslined Rusev out of the ring. Reigns went for a Superman Punch off the steps, but Rusev kicked him in the ribs. Back in the ring, Rusev charged at Reigns, who hit a Superman punch for a two count. Reigns went for a spear, but Rusev caught him with a knee and a kick for another near fall.
Rusev called for the Accolade, but Reigns escaped out the backdoor. Reigns went for the spear, but Rusev cut his legs out from under him, then put him in the Accolade, but Reigns made the ropes. Rusev ran at Reigns, who knocked Rusev out of the ring. Rusev got back in, bounced off the ropes, but Rusev hit the spear for the pin.
A very good match that resembled a fight. This was the best reception that Reigns has had since January.
