Roman Reigns worked through the main event of SummerSlam after getting hurt early in the match.
At Saturday’s pay-per-view, Reigns defeated his cousin Jey Uso in Tribal Combat. The match was more than 35 minutes long and ended with Reigns pinning Jey after spearing him through a table. Right before that, Jimmy Uso turned against his twin brother when it appeared that Jey was about to get the win.
Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that Reigns got hurt in the match. Meltzer said he didn’t know the nature of the issue or the spot where Reigns got hurt, except that it happened early on.
“Roman Reigns got hurt in the match. I haven’t watched the beginning of the match over again, but I heard it was relatively early,” Meltzer said.
“I don’t know the nature of the injury. I just heard that he worked the match hurt. He worked the match hurt, he got hurt early in the match.”
Despite that, Reigns worked the remainder of Tribal Combat and is set to appear on SmackDown this Friday night for a “Hail to the Chief” segment. The segment should provide an explanation for why Jimmy Uso betrayed Jey.
Reigns’ Undisputed WWE Universal Championship and his title of Tribal Chief were both on the line at SummerSlam.
It’s not clear when Reigns’ next title defense will be. WWE has Payback in September and Fastlane in October before a Saudi event and Survivor Series later in the fall.
Shayna Baszler defeated Rousey in an MMA rules match at Saturday’s pay-per-view. The finish of the match was Rousey passing out in Baszler’s Kirifuda Clutch.
The feud between best friends Rousey and Baszler began with a surprising turn at Money in the Bank. During a Women’s Tag Team title defense, Baszler attacked Rousey. The turn came abruptly and hadn’t been built up in advance.
Rousey fueled speculation that she’s leaving WWE in today’s Instagram post, writing that she has no reason to stay in the wrestling business after her loss to Baszler.
“[Shayna Baszler] you were the reason I got into this business… Now I got no reason to stay,” Rousey wrote.
Rousey and Baszler are two of the Four Horsewomen of MMA alongside Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke. To build their SummerSlam match, there were a pair of videos on Raw last week about Rousey and Baszler’s history with each other.
Rousey made her WWE in-ring debut at WrestleMania 34 in 2018. The next year, Rousey, Becky Lynch, and Charlotte Flair became the first women to ever main event WrestleMania.
Rousey was away from WWE for nearly three years after WrestleMania 35. She returned to the company at Royal Rumble 2022.
Across her two stints with WWE, Rousey was a three-time Women’s Champion and a one-time Women’s Tag Team Champion.
Defeating Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam was a life highlight for Cody Rhodes.
Rhodes and Lesnar ended their storyline at SummerSlam this past Saturday. After being beaten down for much of the match, Rhodes came back to get the victory. He pinned Lesnar after hitting three straight Cross Rhodes.
Rhodes was interviewed by SI FanNation following SummerSlam. Rhodes said the victory was a top moment in his career — and one of the top moments of his life.
“I have been so consistently surprised that I can’t get used to these moments. First I won the Royal Rumble. Now I beat Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam? They’re once-in-a-lifetime moments in a once-in-a-lifetime run,” Rhodes said. “This is my mega run, and the journey has been incredible. This is a top moment in my career, and it’s also a top moment in my life.”
“As I saw him taking his gloves off, I sincerely thought he was going to start swinging,” Rhodes told SI FanNation. “Then we went head-to-head, and it felt like we were a millisecond away from starting up again. So I didn’t anticipate that handshake coming.
“When I saw his hand, I was grateful. That’s not something he does. Again, this run has consistently surprised me. The torch isn’t passed. You have to take it.”
Rhodes said he and Lesnar didn’t talk backstage after the handshake.
“I came to the back, there was a nice ovation in the Gorilla Position, but Brock was nowhere to be found,” Rhodes said. “I didn’t see him the rest of the night. The way I see it, we didn’t need to speak. Brock left it all in the ring.”
This was Rhodes’ second victory over Lesnar in a three-month period. Rhodes defeated Lesnar at SummerSlam and Backlash, while Lesnar won at Night of Champions.
SummerSlam 2023 set records for WWE in multiple areas of business.
WWE issued a press release on Monday announcing that this was the most-watched and highest-grossing SummerSlam of all time. It set new SummerSlam records in viewership, live gate, sponsorship revenue, and merchandise revenue.
The gate was $8.5 million, which is the best number for any non-WrestleMania event in WWE history. WWE stated that this was the most-watched SummerSlam of all time, and it was among the three-highest viewerships for any WWE event that’s ever aired on Peacock.
WWE generated $7 million in sponsorship revenue for SummerSlam, also the highest number for any non-WrestleMania event ever. The pay-per-view included a battle royal that was sponsored by Slim Jim. LA Knight was the winner of the battle royal.
SummerSlam generated the most sponsorship revenue for any non-WrestleMania event ever with $7 million, up 23 percent versus 2022. Slim Jim, C4 and Rocket Mortgage were among WWE’s sponsors for the premium live event.
In partnership with special event retail partner Fanatics, merchandise sales were up 60 percent versus the record set in 2021, marking the best performance in company history for any premium live event outside of WrestleMania. On Location packages set a new SummerSlam record, up 47 percent versus 2022.
In addition, SummerSlam became the most-viewed social SummerSlam of all time with over 230 million views and four million hours of video consumed, a 26 percent increase over last year.
SummerSlam took place at Ford Field in Detroit this past Saturday. It was headlined by Roman Reigns defeating Jey Uso in Tribal Combat. Jimmy Uso interfered and betrayed his twin brother during the match.
AEW signings Kenny Omega, Young Bucks and Adam Page, lots behind it with comments from any going into details on the reason the decision was made, their pact to stay together and far more
WWE financials for quarter two, including why the next TV deal is taking longer to negotiate, how every sector of business is doing, USA Network with and without WWE and looks to the future
SummerSlam, why matches were changed, the huge Saturday night of events, ticket sales and more
Updating All In, where it stands on all-tie records, two straight weeks of PPV shows, the last time it happened and the history, rumored matches and more
G-1 Climax, what everyone needs to advance to the final eight, cards for the rest of the tournament and running down the shows from the past week
UFC 291 coverage, the stories behind the stories, what is next, business notes
NXT Great American Bash notes with full coverage
The life and times of Adrian Street, his death, his start, the famous photo, his U.K. heyday, why he came to the U.S., thinking wrestling was real, meeting Linda and his life after wrestling
The most detailed look at the television ratings for all the pro wrestling and MMA shows, including what the numbers mean, rankings, segment-by-segment and how shows are doing compared with one year ago.
Promotion shooting new star to the top
One of the best matches of the year in Mexico
Top pro wrestler worked as an Uber driver during the pandemic
Why Stardom is bringing back 80s and 90s legends
Wrestle Kingdom notes
Minoru Suzuki match in a unique location
Second generation star celebrates his 50th birthday on show this past week
Update on the number of homes and carriage rates for the shows that carry wrestling and MMA
More on a new television wrestling promotion starting in the fall
More matches on All In weekend in London
Who Giulia is likely defending her New Japan Strong title against next
Men’s All Japan Strong title match in Defy
Business of AEW and its value
Tony Khan talks business growth
Update on WBD business
Health updates on AEW & WWE wrestlers out of action
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Sunday Update
Our weekend show covering SummerSlam. Collision, G-1 and more is up on the site now with Bryan. Our weekly Observer and news review with Garrett is also on the site right now. Bryan and I will be back tomorrow night after Raw.
Steve McMichael’s family said that the sepsis that hospitalized him is gone, but he’s still battling pneumonia. Best of luck to McMichael.
Kairi still has a few Japanese dates left to fulfill before she starts back with her new WWE contract.
WWE will be sending out a press release in the morning. I believe it will list the SummerSlam gate and whether it broke the domestic non-Mania gate record ($7.3 million) or the overall non-Mania gate record ($8.1 million at Clash of the Castle last year). Either way it was super successful and would be either 10th or 11th place all-time depending on if it beat the Clash of the Castle number.
Dakota Kai is not close to ready to return. She was brought in to congratulate Iyo Sky on winning the WWE women’s title.
We’re looking for your thoughts on SummerSlam, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
Konnan said that the rules for the four-way with Rush, Psycho Clown, LA Park and Sam Adonis as the TripleMania main event for this coming Saturday in Mexico City at Arena Ciudad will be a first person getting pinned or submitted losing his hair or mask.
The one thing about the Paul Brothers is that their actual fights, as opposed to Logan’s pro wrestling matches, do garner a lot of interest. It doesn’t always translate to PPV buys but as far as curiosity goes, last night Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz fight was the biggest thing by far of the week as far as Google searches with five million. For a comparison, SummerSlam had 200,000 which on the surface sounds very low (it’s the usual number for a WWE major event) but with the way they’ve been tabulating it’s not as concerning. SummerSlam was sixth for the Friday/Saturday weekend. lBut it does tell you just how much more general public interest there was in the fight. The UFC show had Tatiana Suarez at No. 9 and Cory Sandhagen at No. 11 yesterday. The other pro wrestling, boxing or MMA related stuff that placed this ast week were Steve McMichael at No. 12 on Friday, Diaz vs. Paul at No. 4 on Thursday and Vince McMahon (for being investigated) at No. 6 on Wednesday.
Nick Diaz issued a challenge to either of the Paul Brothers after Nate’s loss to Paul.
As mentioned on the show last night, Brock Lesnar will be off for a while. We’re not clear when he’s scheduled to return but that was not his farewell. For Ronda Rousey, that was her farewell at least for now. She’s not expected back at any specific date and that’s why she did that finish with Shayna Baszler where she got choked out.
Also looking for reports from the N-1 tournament earlier today in Yokohama. The first night of NOAH’s version of G-1 saw:
Shuji Kondo & Seiki Yoshioka & Stallion Rogers b Anthony Greene & Yo-Hey & Tadasuke
Manabu Soya b Katsuhiko Nakajima
Jack Morris b Yoshiki Inamura
Lance Anoa’i b Yuma Anzai
Yuki Yoshioka b Masa Kitamiy
Naomichi Marufuji & Atsushi Kotoge & Hi 69 b Kazuyuki Fujita & Amakusa & Junta Miyawaki
El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. b Daiki Inaba
Adam Brooks b Kenoh
Go Shiozaki b Saxon Huxley
Jake Lee b Timothy Thatcher
The show aired live on Wrestle Universe and the first three bouts are on YouTube.
WrestleTix has the attendance for SummerSlam at 51,477. It was crazy to see that Nick Khan said 43,000 tickets were sold on Wednesday at the investors call and while they did move a few thousand in the last few days, then announcing the 59,000+ number a few days later.
All In’s ticket advance yesterday surpassed the final number of the famous Hogan vs. Andre WrestleMania III attendance at the Pontiac Silverdome. It is now fourth place on the all-time list of paid shows, six if you include the two shows in North Korea.
The G-1 Climax tournament has the C block final day on Tuesday. The C block winner faces Will Ospreay in the first round of the playoffs on Thursday in Funabashi. The second place finisher in C block faces Sanada in the first round of the playoffs.
Because I was watching Collision and SummerSlam and then did a show, I haven’t watched G-1 yet this weekend, but we got a lot of feedback from people raving about Ospreay vs. El Phantasmo generally calling it the match of the weekend.
Dennis Condrey was at Collision yesterday in Greenville, SC, and after the show was over, FTR and C.M.Punk brought it up and they brought Condrey in the ring. Punk also put over Ricky Steamboat and Condrey. Dax Harwood said Condrey changed the course of tag team wrestling and how because Condrey worked 300 days a year to get tag team wrestling over, he can be home with his family five days a week. Condrey said that FTR was the best tag team in the world and thanked FTR for keeping their name alive and having the similar music.
Fast nationals for Collision were 388K/0.12. Actual numbers won’t be out until Tuesday but it does show that SummerSlam likely drew a very large percentage of the usual AEW audience. UFC and Paul vs. Diaz didn’t help, but it does look like AEW is going to be hurt once a month on Saturdays against WWE major events.
Tom Lawlor vs. Shigehiro Irie will be on Saturday’s Defy show at Washington Hall in Seattle.
LuFisto, who deleted her Twitter after negative feedback to her comments on the AEW women’s locker room, which saw a lot of the AEW women respond denying it, has pulled out of her next Sunday Americanrana show in Worcester, MA. They are looking for an opponent for Dan Barry, who she was scheduled to face.
Adam Wilcox noted to us that he purchased both All In and All Out from FITE (which handles the overseas PPV) and didn’t get any FITE credits for early purchases. He asked and was told that FITE no longer offers FITE credits for those who buy PPVs in advance as they previously had.
Capital Championship Wrestling ran last night in Paulsboro, NJ at the Monster Factory. The Renegade Twins who were in a tournament pulled out because they were booked for last night’s ROH tapings and another wrestler pulled out to work the WOW tapings in Los Angeles: Harleen Lopez b Damaris Dawkins, JC Storm b Clara Carreras, Sara Leon b Miranda Vignette, Ultra Violette won four-way over champion Christina Marie, Delmi Exo and Jade to win the CCW women’s title. (thanks to Shannon Walsh)
DOA All Women’s show from last night in Portland, OR with Queen of Thorns tournament bouts: Amira b Bambi Hall, Nicole Matthews b Murphy Madsen, Abigail Warren b Tara Zep, Liiza Hall Izzy McQueen, Amira b Nicole Matthews, Abigail Warren b Liiza Hall, Rebel Kel b Shazzma McKenzie to keep the Grand championship, Nick Radford b Kel to win the title, Amira b Warren to win the tournament.
GCW on Friday night in Detroit: Jordan Oliver won over Adrian Alanis, Caleb Konley, Jimmy Lloyd, Shane Mercer and Rico Gonzalez, Masha Slamovich b Alec Price, Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku b Ciclope Miedo Xtremo, Sawyer Wreck b Parrow, Komander b Joey Janela, John Wayne Murdoch & Reed Bentley b Mance Warner & andes, Cole Radrick b Crazy King, Effy & Allie Katch b Davey Bang & August Matthews, Blake Christian b Mike Bailey to retain the GCW title (thanks to Leonard Brand)
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including a complete SummerSlam recap, notes from the post-show press conference, Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz, Collision and All In, and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: WWE SummerSlam recap
34:30: AEW All In ticket sales update, Parking Lot Brawl match on AEW Rampage
The Bryan & Vinny Show is back with tons to talk about in our full recap of WWE SummerSlam 2023! Over 50,000 fans watched a show that really ran the gamut, with some stuff that was awesome and some stuff that totally blew! We will break it all down for you, and it’s a fun show as always so check it out~!
The latest twist in the Bloodline saga saw Jimmy Uso betray his twin brother at SummerSlam.
Jey Uso was on the verge of defeating Roman Reigns in the main event of Saturday’s pay-per-view, but Jimmy interfered to cost Jey the match. As Jey was pinning Reigns, Jimmy pulled Jey out of the ring. Jimmy rocked Jey with a superkick and then threw him back in, which allowed Reigns to spear Jey through a table and retain the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
Reigns vs. Jey was billed as Tribal Combat. There were no disqualifications in the match. Reigns’ Undisputed WWE Universal Championship and his title of Tribal Chief were both on the line.
Solo Sikoa helped Reigns throughout the match until Jey finally took him out with a splash through the announce table. Jey then speared Reigns and hit a splash from the top rope. He seemed to have the match won, but that’s when Jimmy interfered.
This was Jimmy’s first appearance on WWE programming since he was stretchered out following an attack by Reigns and Sikoa on the July 7 episode of SmackDown. In a storyline injury update after the attack, WWE stated that Jimmy had suffered ruptured rib cartilage.
An explanation for why Jimmy turned against Jey has yet to be given.
Date: August 5, 2023 Location: Ford Field in Detroit, MI
**********
Show Recap —
KICK-OFF SHOW —
Kayla Braxton, Jackie Redmond, Booker T, Wade Barrett and Peter Rosenberg hosted the kick-off show. They announced Barrett’s move to the Raw commentary team.
They plugged Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar.
Alpha Academy were shown eating Slim Jims. Well, only Otis was eating them.
Titus O’Neil and Byron Saxton announced donations to local charities.
They plugged the matches and aired commercials and that was the bulk of the pre-show.
SUMMERSLAM MAIN CARD —
They had Kid Rock do the intro.
Michael Cole and Corey Graves are on commentary.
They didn’t waste time getting going and the opening bell rang at 8:08 pm ET.
Logan Paul defeated Ricochet (17:59)
Paul slowed down Ricochet early on with a back elbow and a neckbreaker on the apron. Paul mocked Ricochet’s injured tag partner Braun Strowman before hitting a powerslam. He also hit a Hulk Hogan-inspired leg drop (while doing the splits). The crowd booed Paul, who ate it up.
Ricochet fought back and acted as though he’d do a People’s Elbow but did a standing moonsault instead. Paul tried a Spanish Fly off the apron but they (sort of) landed on their feet and Ricochet hit a Spanish Fly on the mats. Paul responded later with a Buckshot Lariat over the top to the outside. Paul hit a high cross and a standing moonsault for two.
They fought to the top rope and Ricochet hit an avalanche neckbreaker. Ricochet followed with a handspring elbow, springboard clothesline, and standing shooting star for two. There was a cool sequence where Ricochet caught a Paul moonsault attempt but Paul reversed into a tornado DDT for two.
Ricochet responded with a Recoil but Paul got his knees up on a shooting star press for a two count. Paul hit a flapjack and springboard frog splash for two. Ricochet came back with a superkick, detonation kick and springboard moonsault for two. Ricochet tried a 630 but Paul dodged it.
Someone handed Paul brass knuckles and he clocked Ricochet with a right hand for the pinfall win. (They didn’t reveal who handed him the brass knux.)
This was pretty good.
Cole said, “That was a great match but the ending sucked” which is a funny line. I thought the finish worked here.
********
Sheamus was shown arriving in a monster truck.
Cody Rhodes defeated Brock Lesnar (17:29)
Rhodes got a super reaction.
Rhodes attacked Lesnar as he warmed up in the ring and the ref rang the bell to start. Lesnar responded with a high-angle German suplex but Rhodes came back with consecutive Disaster Kicks. Rhodes tried another but Lesnar tackled him out of mid-air. Rhodes avoided a corner charge and followed with a suicide dive.
Lesnar took control anyway, chucked Rhodes around and hit a vertical suplex for two. Lesnar hit a few German suplexes as they showed Rhodes’ mother Michelle in distress in the front row.
Rhodes kept getting knocked out of the ring but kept getting back in. Lesnar knocked him back out and yelled, “Save yourself!” Rhodes rolled back in and Lesnar said, “Cody, this is only going to get worse.” Lesnar hit another suplex.
Lesnar knocked Rhodes out a couple more times and he kept getting back in. Lesnar got frustrated and gave him an F5 on the floor. Rhodes got back in at a nine count and the fans cheered.
Rhodes fired up and hit a few right hands but Lesnar quickly hit another suplex before giving him an F5 through the announce table. Cole tried to talk some sense into Cody. Rhodes got back in at nine. Lesnar gave him an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. Lesnar gave him a German suplex as Rhodes ripped off the top turnbuckle cover.
Rhodes was finally able to knock Lesnar down by hitting him with the steel steps. Rhodes followed with a Disaster Kick and Cody Cutter. Rhodes hit another Cody Cutter — this time from the top — for a nearfall.
Lesnar applied a Kimura Lock but Rhodes eventually got a rope break. Lesnar tried an F5 but Rhodes pushed him chest-first into the exposed buckle. Rhodes applied a Kimura and Lesnar sold it big but powered out of it.
Rhodes countered an F5 into three consecutive Cross Rhodes for the pinfall win. The crowd was pumped for Rhodes’ win.
— After the match, Lesnar got up and got in Rhodes’ face. Lesnar shook Rhodes’ hand, embraced him, and raised his hand for the crowd. The crowd popped big for this.
(Cole was a little too over-dramatic saying something to the effect of, “The American Nightmare has arrived.”)
********
LA Knight won the Slim Jim Battle Royal
Most of the entrances happened during a break. Miz was on his way out after the break. LA Knight and AJ Styles got full televised entrances. The bell rang to start the match but MVP stopped everyone by announcing Omos’ entrance. Everyone started fighting as Omos entered.
Omos entered and immediately eliminated Apollo Crews, JD McDonagh and Rick Boogs. Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci eliminated Otis, so Gable eliminated Vinci. Tommaso Ciampa eliminated Erik and Ivar of the Viking Raiders before eliminating Shinsuke Nakamura. Bronson Reed eliminated Ciampa and Ridge Holland.
Austin Theory eliminated Cameron Grimes, Santos Escobar eliminated Theory, and Karrion Kross eliminated Escobar. Gable eliminated Kaiser and the crowd yelled, “Thank you!” Omos lifted Butch and Matt Riddle and easily eliminated them.
LA Knight started taking the fight to Omos to the delight of the crowd but Omos dropped him with a boot. Everyone teamed up on Omos leading to Styles giving him a Phenomenal Forearm. Everyone eliminated Omos together.
Grayson Waller and Miz teamed up on Gable but he avoided elimination. Knight eliminated Miz and the crowd popped. Sheamus eliminated Waller. Styles eliminated Kross. Gable tried to suplex Reed but Reed eliminated him (and the crowd booed).
Knight eliminated Reed (the way Chris Benoit eliminated Big Show) and the crowd popped. Styles had Knight set up for a forearm but Kross grabbed his leg from outside the ring. Sheamus booted Styles out for the elimination as Kross screamed at Styles.
Knight fought off Sheamus and the crowd loudly sang along as he spelled out his name. They fought back and forth until Knight hit an overhead suplex. Knight then eliminated Sheamus for the win. The crowd was happy.
The referee did the little MMA spiel to start the match for both wrestlers. Rousey offered to fist bump before the match (Cole noted that she had never done this before), but Baszler declined.
They did some stuff until Baszler kicked Rousey in the head, knocking her out of the ring. Baszler had control briefly until Rousey responded with a knee to the gut and a knee to the head. Some fans became restless as medical staff checked on Baszler in the corner. Rousey chucked the medical staff out of the ring.
Baszler fired up and fought back but Rousey blocked a Kirifuda Clutch. Rousey tried an armbar but Baszler countered that with an ankle lock. Rousey countered that into a sleeper.
Baszler fought out and put Rousey in the Kirifuda Clutch. Rousey passed out and the ref called for the bell. Cole called it a technical submission and said Baszler got what she wanted by submitting Rousey.
(Going with “MMA rules” was an obvious mistake and this didn’t go over well at all from the start. If the company wasn’t hot right now the crowd likely would’ve been much harsher on this.)
********
They announced an attendance of 59,194.
Gunther defeated Drew McIntyre to retain the Intercontinental Championship (13:42)
Cole noted that Gunther was only 32 days away from breaking the record for the longest IC title reign.
McIntyre had the early edge until Gunther dropped him back first onto the steel steps (which the announcers undersold). Gunther hit chops, a double underhook suplex and clotheslines. They traded clotheslines until Gunther dropped him with one and hit a German suplex but McIntyre popped up and dropped Gunther with a clothesline.
McIntyre hit chops, consecutive overhead suplexes and a neckbreaker. Gunther ducked a Claymore attempt and hit a dropkick but McIntyre came back with a powerbomb and DDT for two. Gunther rolled out of the ring so McIntyre hit a flip dive. McIntyre went for a Claymore but Gunther again hit a dropkick, followed by a powerbomb for a nearfall. Gunther followed with a splash for two.
They exchanged many chops until McIntyre ducked one and hit a Claymore Kick for a nearfall. The crowd chanted “This is awesome.”
They exchanged strikes on the top until Gunther crotched him on the top rope. Gunther followed with a splash, clothesline, and powerbomb for the pinfall win.
Gunther retained. McIntyre stormed to the back as Gunther posed.
(The crowd was quiet to start, perhaps because of the previous match, but really got into it towards the end.)
********
Seth Rollins defeated Finn Bálor to retain the World Heavyweight Championship (18:26)
Rollins wore magenta tights but also wore a black and green vest — the same one he wore for their match seven years ago. Bálor had “SEVEN” painted on his shoulder — the same shoulder he injured in that match.
Bálor decked Rollins from behind as he soaked in the crowd singing his song before the match. Rollins fought back and the ref separated them before officially starting the match.
Bálor targeted Rollins’ shoulder but Rollins fought back with a falcon arrow and three straight suicide dives. Bálor’s lip/mouth was busted open. Bálor draped Rollins’ arm over the top rope and drove his shoulder into the ring post.
Bálor powerbombed Rollins into the barricade (as Rollins did to him years ago) and followed with a slingblade and headlock elbow drop for two. Bálor applied an armbar but Rollins hoisted him up and hit consecutive buckle bombs and a frog splash for two.
Bálor hit a double foot stomp and dropkick into the corner. Bálor went up but Rollins brought him down with a superplex. Before Rollins could follow through with something else, Bálor applied a schoolboy for two. They exchanged kicks which led to both men going down.
Bálor hit a dropkick but Rollins avoided a Coup de Grace and hit a Pedigree for a nearfall.
The crowd got to their feet as Damian Priest made his way down with the briefcase. They exchanged cradles until Priest clocked Rollins behind the ref’s back. Bálor followed with a Pedigree for a close nearfall.
Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio made their way down to ringside. The ref held them back as Bálor argued with Priest. Rollins used the distraction to hit a curb stomp for another close nearfall.
Rollins wiped out Priest with a dive before stomping Dom.
When he returned to the ring, Bálor gave Rollins a slingblade, dropkick and Coup de Grace for an extremely close nearfall.
Priest left the briefcase in the ring, presumably for Bálor to use as a weapon, and distracted the ref. As Bálor went to grab the briefcase, Rollins stomped him onto it for the pinfall win.
The crowd was really into the last part of this match.
********
There was a sponsored pretaped segment that saw Alpha Academy put Miz into an equipment box.
Triple Threat Match: Bianca Belair defeated Asuka and Charlotte Flair to win the WWE Women’s Championship (20:46)
Asuka entered second despite being the champion. If you’re wondering why — Belair entered last so she could pose on the ramp while drinking from an energy drink sponsor.
Belair and Charlotte showed off some athleticism early on until Asuka dropped them both with suplexes. Belair and Asuka had an exchange until Charlotte dropped them with a high cross.
This led to a messy sequence where Charlotte was supposed to do something to both women in the corner but needed the ref’s help with her gear. Belair and Asuka just stood there selling for a while until Asuka decided to try the Asuka Lock to kill time. Charlotte wound up doing the planned spot which didn’t look good either, basically clotheslining them in the corner.
Belair got a chance to shine later but when she tried a moonsault on both women, they both got their knees up. Asuka put Charlotte in the Asuka Lock but Belair broke it up with the moonsault.
Charlotte hit (missed) Belair with a moonsault off the top to the outside but Asuka kicked Charlotte. Asuka dropped Charlotte with a DDT off the top which also didn’t look great and Belair broke up the cover.
Charlotte booted Asuka from the ring before Belair gave Charlotte a release German suplex. Asuka tried to steal the pin but Charlotte kicked out. Asuka applied an armbar but as Charlotte got to her feet, Belair slammed her. Asuka put Belair in the Asuka Lock and Charlotte tried a cover with Asuka’s shoulder’s down but she kicked out.
Charlotte hit a moonsault on both women but they both kicked out.
Charlotte dumped Belair from the ring and she seemed to land awkwardly on her knee. Officials ran out to check on Belair as the other two women continued. (They showed replays so you could hear the crash of the steel steps but never actually showed a potential injury.)
Asuka gave Charlotte a superplex as officials helped Belair up the ramp. Charlotte hit Asuka with a spear for two.
As Charlotte applied a Figure Eight on Asuka, Belair shoved away the officials and limped down to the ring and up the ropes. Belair hit a 450 on the elevated Charlotte — which looked insane — for a nearfall.
The next sequence led to Charlotte putting Belair in the Figure Eight but Asuka sprayed mist in Charlotte’s face. It seemed like Asuka might win as a result but Belair rolled her up for the pinfall win. Belair is the new champion.
(The Belair 450 was awesome but the overall match was hampered by too many creatives three-way spots that went wrong.)
— IYO SKY’s music hit and the crowd went nuts. Bayley helped SKY take out Charlotte and Asuka with the briefcase. SKY cashed in.
IYO SKY (w/Bayley) defeated Bianca Belair to win the WWE Women’s Championship (0:08)
SKY attacked Belair with the briefcase before officially cashing in. She climbed the ropes as the bell rang and hit the moonsault for the pinfall win.
The crowd was into all of this. They also cheered as Dakota Kai appeared to celebrate with her friends. New life for Damage CTRL.
SKY got some time to celebrate on her own, too.
********
They began entrances after 11:20 pm and the main event started at 11:35 pm.
Tribal Combat: Roman Reigns (w/Paul Heyman) defeated Jey Uso to retain the WWE Universal Championship (36:03)
The match started slowly as Reigns held control for the first 4-5 minutes until Jey came back with right hands and a suicide dive. Jey also drove him into the steel steps. The crowd chanted “We want tables” so Jey pulled one out.
Jey was distracted as Heyman tried pleading with him and Reigns was able to take advantage. Jey fought back until Reigns hit him repeatedly with a kendo stick and with repeated clotheslines.
Reigns went for a Superman punch but Jey hit him repeatedly with the kendo stick until it broke and followed with a flip dive. Jey came off the top but Reigns caught him mid-air with a Superman punch for two.
Jey countered a spear into a schoolboy for two. Jey followed with a superkick and an Uso splash but Reigns kicked out. Jey hit Reigns on the back twice with a steel chair as Heyman tried pleading with him.
Jey chucked about ten steel chairs in the ring and tried a superplex but Reigns slipped out and powerbombed him onto a few chairs for two. Reigns set up a table in the corner but Jey wound up giving him a Samoan Drop off the apron through a table outside the ring.
Despite the weapon spots, the match was fairly dull up to this point. About 25 minutes into the match, Jey grabbed a strap and whipped Reigns with it.
The fight wound up in the crowd with Jey in charge but Solo Sikoa charged in to save Reigns and put Jey through a table. Sikoa put Jey on his shoulders and carried him to ringside as Reigns directed traffic. Reigns ordered Sikoa to put Jey down so Sikoa gave him a Spinning Solo.
Sikoa and Reigns were about to do their double-team spot but Jey dodged and Reigns speared Sikoa. Reigns was shocked as Jey speared him for a nearfall.
Jey hit both men with a steel chair but Sikoa saved Reigns again by superkicking Jey. A frustrated Sikoa stared down Reigns and the distraction allowed Jey to spear Reigns through the barricade.
Sikoa attacked Jey but Jey superkicked him and splashed him through the announce table.
Jey speared Reigns and the crowd got to their feet as he followed with an Uso splash but the cover was broken up as someone in a hood pulled Jey out of the ring.
It was Jimmy Uso.
The crowd booed and chanted, “F*ck you, Jimmy.” Jimmy superkicked Jey.
As Jey watched Jimmy leave, Reigns speared him through a corner table for the pinfall win. Reigns retains.
The match ended around 12:10 am and the show concluded at 12:15 am.
After weeks of build, Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus will not take place at WWE SummerSlam, but on an episode of Raw next month.
As announced during Monday’s Raw episode, Lynch vs. Stratus in a Night of Champions rematch is set for the Monday, August 14 Raw in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
In a bout where Lynch would earn a rematch with Stratus if she beat Stark, Lynch defeated Stark on last week’s Raw. The Lynch vs. Stratus rematch did technically take place on this week’s episode, with Lynch defeating Stratus in seconds after Stark immediately interfered to cause a disqualification. In a follow-up backstage segment, on-screen authority figure Adam Pearce made another rematch for August 14, with Stark banned from ringside.
Lynch and Stratus met for the first time at Night of Champions on May 27 in Saudi Arabia. Stratus won the first bout with an assist from Zoey Stark, and the program continued through July’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view and on Raw in the ensuing weeks.
The Stratus vs. Lynch feud was set in motion on the April 10 Raw show, where Stratus teamed with Lynch in defending the Women’s Tag Team titles. After they lost the match, Stratus turned heel on Lynch to set up the Night of Champions bout.
LA Knight will compete in the newly-announced WWE SummerSlam Battle Royal.
WWE announced the Battle Royal on Friday’s SmackDown episode with Slim Jim as the presenting sponsor.
LA Knight was one of two competitors announced for the match, with Sheamus of The Brawling Brutes also set to compete. Those two will square off in a singles match on the August 4 SmackDown, the go-home show for the August 5 pay-per-view.
The SummerSlam Battle Royal will feature wrestlers from Raw and SmackDown.
The updated SummerSlam lineup:
WWE SummerSlam, Saturday, August 5, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock & WWE Network —
Tribal Combat match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship and title of Tribal Chief: Roman Reigns defends against Jey Uso
Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins defends against Finn Balor
WWE Intercontinental title match: Gunther defends against Drew McIntyre
Triple threat match for the WWE Women’s Championship: Asuka defends against Charlotte Flair & Bianca Belair
Logan Paul vs. Ricochet
Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler
SummerSlam Battle Royal: LA Knight, Sheamus announced
Roman Reigns will defend the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Jey Uso at WWE SummerSlam, putting his Tribal Chief title on the line as well.
Reigns vs. Uso was made official in the show-closing segment of this week’s WWE SmackDown with Reigns and Uso eschewing a traditional contract signing in favor of a handshake to seal their agreement to face one another at SummerSlam under Tribal Combat rules.
As explained on commentary by Michael Cole and Wade Barrett, the Tribal Combat stipulation entails Reigns putting his title of Tribal Chief up in the match in addition to the Universal title. Additionally, the match will be anything goes.
Reigns vs. Uso is now the fourth match official for SummerSlam. Earlier on Friday, WWE officially announced a triple threat match for the WWE Women’s Championship with Asuka defending against Bianca Belair & Charlotte Flair.
Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar, plus Seth Rollins defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Finn Balor have previously been announced for the show.
Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler, plus Trish Stratus vs. Becky Lynch also appear set for the show, but have yet to be made official.
The updated lineup:
WWE SummerSlam, Saturday, August 5, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock & WWE Network —
Tribal Combat match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship and title of Tribal Chief: Roman Reigns defends against Jey Uso
Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins defends against Finn Balor
Triple threat match for the WWE Women’s Championship: Asuka defends against Charlotte Flair & Bianca Belair
The WWE Women’s Championship will officially be on the line in a triple threat match at SummerSlam.
WWE has confirmed that Asuka will defend her title against Charlotte Flair and Bianca Belair in a triple threat match at the Saturday, August 5 pay-per-view. The PPV is being held at Ford Field in Detroit.
Earlier today, WWE had stated that Asuka’s SummerSlam challenger would be revealed on tonight’s episode of SmackDown.
Asuka has been feuding with both Charlotte and Belair leading into SummerSlam. They’ve each challenged Asuka for the WWE Women’s Championship on SmackDown over the past few weeks, but both title matches ended without definitive finishes.
Asuka won the Raw Women’s Championship from Belair at Night of Champions this May. The title was later renamed to the WWE Women’s Championship.
While not part of the SummerSlam triple threat match, IYO SKY could potentially end up getting involved in the championship mix. SKY holds the women’s Money in the Bank briefcase and has had her sights set on the WWE Women’s Championship in recent weeks.
This is the third match that’s been officially announced for SummerSlam. The updated card for the PPV is listed below:
Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins defends against Finn Balor
WWE Women’s Champion Asuka defends against Charlotte Flair and Bianca Belair in a triple threat match
Logan Paul may be opening the night at WWE SummerSlam.
On the latest episode of his Impaulsive podcast, Paul revealed that he has requested for his match to go on first at SummerSlam. Paul’s brother, Jake Paul, is facing Nate Diaz in a boxing match that same night. Paul said he’s planning to take a private jet from Detroit to Dallas so that he can walk to the ring with his brother for the fight.
Paul said the timing will be tight and it’s “barely possible” for him to make it to Dallas in time. Paul isn’t sure if he’ll be able to make it for the start of the fight.
“After SummerSlam, my brother who is fighting on the same night in Dallas, as soon as my match ends, I’m going to hop on a PJ [private jet], fly to Dallas in my gear, walk in the ring with my brother for his fight against Nate Diaz. I’m going to try to. I don’t know if I’m going to make it, but I think if I do, it’ll be minutes. Like, I walk into the venue, round one Jake Paul/Nate Diaz starts.”
Seth Rollins, who was the guest on Impaulsive, noted that Paul will have to open the show at SummerSlam.
“I requested first match,” Paul responded. “We did the math, it’s barely doable.”
Paul’s match for SummerSlam hasn’t been officially announced, but WWE’s plans are for him to face Ricochet at the event. That match may become official when Paul appears on Raw next Monday.
SummerSlam is being held at Ford Field in Detroit on Saturday, August 5.
The full Impaulsive episode is available to watch below:
WWE has officially announced two matches for SummerSlam set for Saturday, August 5.
As revealed during Monday’s Raw show, Brock Lesnar vs. Cody Rhodes III is set for SummerSlam at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. After a show-opening promo from Rhodes on Raw, Lesnar attacked Rhodes and left him laying in front of his family, focusing his attack on the left arm of Rhodes that Lesnar broke in storyline earlier this year.
The World Heavyweight Championship will also be on the line at SummerSlam, as Seth Rollins will once again defend his title against Finn Balor. Rollins defeated Balor in their title match at Money in the Bank earlier this month, but they set up a rematch in a backstage promo segment during this week’s Raw.
Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso for the Undisputed Universal Championship, Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler, Trish Stratus vs. Becky Lynch, and Ricochet vs. Logan Paul have also been heavily teased for SummerSlam, but only Lesnar vs. Rhodes and Rollins vs. Balor have been officially announced to this point.
The current official lineup for SummerSlam:
WWE SummerSlam, Saturday, August 5, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock & WWE Network —
Brock Lesnar vs. Cody Rhodes
World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins defends against Finn Balor
