Tag: summerslam results

WWE SummerSlam night two live results: John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes street fight

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: August 3, 2025
Location: MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ 

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Show Recap — 

COUNTDOWN SHOW —

The Women’s World Championship triple threat match will open SummerSlam (in three hours).

They showed a few wrestlers arriving. Iyo Sky and Naomi both used carts to get around because the stadium is so big. 

There were highlights from night one, and the announcers discussed some of it before running down the card for today. 

I’m not going to recap everything the panellists say, but notably, Wade Barrett was openly skeptical of John Cena’s sudden change in behaviour on SmackDown. Big E was skeptical too, but played it more down the middle.

Naomi told Cathy Kelley she would not lose tonight. She recalled losing her title to Natalya eight years ago at SummerSlam and said she would be damned if it happened again.

There’s been a fair amount of repeat content on the pre-show from yesterday, including video packages and Peter Rosenberg doing the walk-through from Gorilla to the stage. Two hours to go. 

There was an entertaining Becky Lynch sit-down interview with Michael Cole. She doubled down on blaming the fans for her heel turn. She blamed Lyra Valkyria for costing them the tag titles and ruining her momentum. Valkyria had to learn a lesson. When your dog pees on the floor, you rub their face in it. (Cole made sure to say he doesn’t do this to his dog.) She noted the list that called her the greatest women’s wrestler ever, and stated she was “the greatest woman ever.” 

Kelley interviewed Angelo Dawkins (wearing a Ken Griffey Jr. shirt) and Montez Ford (wearing a black cowboy hat). They were all business and focused on winning tonight. Ford mentioned this was the first PLE match for the Street Profits in 16 months.

Byron Saxton handed out (sponsored) breath mints to fans. One hour to go. 

Megan Morant and Sam Roberts interviewed Dominik Mysterio. Morant asked about AJ Styles beating him on Raw, and Dom responded by asking her who she ever beat. Dom was offended by their questions, so he blew them off and left. 

They plugged AAA Triplemanía XXXIII with Vikingo vs. Dom vs. Dragon Lee vs. El Grande Americano (Ludwig Kaiser). 

In previewing Dom’s match tonight, they said Styles has not held a title in WWE since 2021. 

Rosenberg interviewed some fans about their experience at the show last night. One fan was happy when CM Punk won the title, but sad that he lost. Funny enough, he was sad because Punk finally won the title after being “gone for ten years.”

The panel spent the final few minutes previewing tonight’s card. 

Tigirlily Gold sang God Bless America as we transitioned from the preshow to the main show. 

SUMMERSLAM 2025 NIGHT TWO —

Solo Sikoa and his crew (MFT), Jacob Fatu, Lyra Valkyria, Becky Lynch, and Cody Rhodes were shown arriving. Lynch received a big reaction, and Rhodes received a big mixed reaction. 

The show intro was once again narrated by Druski. It’s 82 degrees Fahrenheit as the show starts, about 5 degrees warmer than yesterday. 

Paul “Triple H” Levesque entered the ring to his music (he was already at ringside, so it wasn’t a full entrance). He told the audience they were part of the biggest SummerSlam in history. He asked them if they were ready, and they responded in the affirmative. 

Michael Cole and Wade Barrett are the announcers again. 

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Naomi’s entrance included her father, Shawn McCray, performing her theme on guitar as she entered. 

The opening match kicked off at 6:16 pm ET. 

Triple Threat Match for the Women’s World Championship: Naomi (c) vs. IYO SKY vs. Rhea Ripley

Naomi left the ring as the match started, thinking she could let the other two battle it out, but they went after her instead. Their teamwork came to an end quickly when Ripley accidentally booted Sky. Naomi took out both women with a flying crossbody. 

Naomi was in complete control of both women (one at a time as they took turns falling out of the ring). Ripley fought back, and Sky hit Naomi with a springboard dropkick. Sky hit Naomi with a 619, and Ripley hit a German suplex. 

Ripley and Sky finally went toe-to-toe, and Ripley got the better of it initially until Sky countered a Rip-tide into a small package for two. Sky hit a poinsonrana, but Naomi broke up the cover. Ripley hit Sky with a Razor’s Edge and powerbomb, but Naomi broke up the cover again. 

Ripley attacked Naomi on the outside until Sky wiped them out with an Asai moonsault. With her opponents down in the corners, Sky hit repeated running knee strikes. 

Sky set up for a moonsault, but Ripley stopped her. Naomi knocked Ripley off the ropes and hit a split-legged moonsault. Sky tried to break up the cover with a moonsault, but Naomi moved and Sky hit Ripley with the move instead. They traded moves until Ripley hit Naomi with a Rip-tide, but Sky (who was out of sight) broke up the cover. 

Ripley wiped out Naomi with a cannonball off the apron. Sky caught Ripley and powerbombed her onto Naomi on the outside. Sky went to the top, but Ripley cut her off and eventually hit an avalanche Rip-tide. 

Ripley had it won, but Naomi jumped in and caught her in a schoolboy while holding the tights for the pinfall win. 

Match result: Naomi defeated Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY to retain the Women’s World Championship (16:24)

This was a pretty fun match, though nothing outstanding. The story was that Ripley had the match won multiple times, but came up short once again. 

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Tyrese  Haliburton (who was booed), Nick Hogan, and Michelle McCool were shown in the crowd. 

To honour the anniversary of the first TLC match, the Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von) and the Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff) were shown in the crowd. Cole mentioned their upcoming match at TNA Bound for Glory.

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Six-way TLC Match for the Tag Team Championships: The Wyatt Sicks (Dexter Lumis & Joe Gacy) (c) vs. The Street Profits vs. DIY vs. Motor City Machine Guns vs. Rey Fénix & Andrade vs. Fraxiom

This was insane. 

There was a spot early where the Street Profits tried to give Gacy a backdrop onto a ladder, but he went sideways, missed the ladder and fell out of the ring. They grabbed him and did the spot properly, which delighted the crowd (and the Dudleys). 

The crowd gasped when Fénix leaped on the shoulders of Andrade and tried to grab the belts that way, but the Street Profits cut them off. Fénix and Andrade gave them the three amigos, and the crowd chanted for Eddie Guerrero. 

Tommaso Ciampa tried to throw Montez Ford into a corner table, but Ford did his crazy dive over the ring corner onto a group of guys. Johnny Gargano put Gacy through a table with a DDT off the ropes, and Dexter Lumis did a splash to put Ford through a table. 

Fénix did a crazy top rope frog splash to put Nathan Frazer through a table outside the ring. Angelo Dawkins wanted to do it too, but Axiom cut him off. Axiom put Dawkins (and himself) through outside tables with a Spanish fly off the top—one of the craziest spots you’ll see in WWE. The crowd went nuts. 

Candice LeRae tried to climb the ladder, but she was taken out by B-Fab. Nikki Cross gave B-Fab a backdrop off the middle of the ladder. 

LeRae went back to the ladder as Gargano held it steady. Ford shoved Gargano into the ladder, and it tipped over, causing LeRae to crash through a ladder bridge outside the ring. Another insane bump. 

Refs checked on LeRae, and Gargano gave her a thumbs up before turning his attention back to the ring. (More officials ran out to check on her.) 

Erick Rowan, not a legal competitor, attacked Ford and Dawkins, but they fought him off with chairs and put him through a corner table with a double tackle. 

Ciampa grabbed the harness holding the belts, but MCMG yanked the ladder away. With Ciampa holding on helplessly, Frazer tried a spear off the ladder, but Ciampa managed to do a sit-up to avoid it, and Frazer crashed and burned. 

Moments later, a few teams scrambled up separate ladders to grab the belts, but Uncle Howdy/Bo Dallas knocked everybody down. That included knocking DIY through tables set up outside the ring. 

Dallas (not a legal competitor either) climbed the ladder, but Fénix cut him off. Andrade followed by giving Dallas a sunset flip powerbomb onto a ladder bridge. Fénix climbed the ladder, but Lumis and Gacy took him out with their double team finisher. 

With everyone down, Gacy grabbed the belts as Lumis guarded the ladder. The Wyatt Sicks retain the titles. 

Match result: The Wyatt Sicks (Dexter Lumis & Joe Gacy) defeated The Street Profits, DIY, Motor City Machine Guns, Rey Fénix & Andrade and Fraxiom to retain the WWE Tag Team Championships (16:03)

This was a crazy match, worth going out of your way to watch. The only negative was the ending, because the crowd did not want the Wyatts to win, so that felt sorta flat after all the insanity. 

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They showed Triple H at the White House with Donald Trump. They did not show the live crowd’s reaction. 

They replayed Seth Rollins cashing in his MITB briefcase on CM Punk, and showed the reaction from different international broadcast teams. 

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There was a video package for this match set to ‘Greed’ by Royale Lynn. 

Becky Lynch has new entrance music. 

No Disqualification, No Countout Match for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Lyra Valkyria

Lynch grabbed a kendo stick but was stunned upon seeing Valkyria present a crowbar. Valkyria smashed the kendo stick out of Lynch’s hand and tried to kill her with the crowbar, but Lynch avoided it and yelled at Valkyria for trying to kill her. 

Valkyria went right back on offence and tossed Lynch around ringside. There was an unintentionally funny spot where Valkyria tried tossing Lynch into the barricade, but instead shoved her into an unsuspecting cameraman. The cameraman acted like nothing happened and sheepishly walked to the other side of the barricade. 

Valkyria set up a table, and the crowd didn’t even care because we just saw a bunch of tables in the last match (and they don’t seem to care about Valkyria). Lynch grabbed her from behind by wrapping a chain around Valkyria’s mouth. 

Lynch shoved her into the steel steps and attacked her repeatedly with a kendo stick. The bored crowd began entertaining themselves. Lynch used the kendo stick like a golf club (to reference her role in ‘Happy Gilmore 2’). 

Lynch continued the beatdown, using a steel chair and a toolbox. Lynch ziptied Valkyria’s hands together and attacked her with a wrench. (Valkyria had to pretend she couldn’t prevent this from happening.) 

Valkyria kicked out of a cover despite her hands being tied together. Lynch followed with exploder suplexes. Lynch trapped Valkyria over the ring post and attacked her repeatedly with the kendo stick. 

Valkyria blocked Lynch’s next move and hit a belly-to-belly suplex. Her hands were still trapped, so the landing looked no fun. Valkyria fought back with kicks and a leaping dropkick off some chairs. Valkyria even managed to hit a middle rope moonsault with her hands tied for two. 

For whatever reason, at no point did the referee think to help Valkyria out of these zip ties. Valkyria untied a turnbuckle cover, but Lynch drove her into the ring post. 

Valkyria disappeared under the ring, and when Lynch went after her, Valkyria sprayed her with a fire extinguisher. Valkyria tried using the extinguisher handle to break the zip ties and eventually got them off. 

With her hands finally free, Valkyria attacked Lynch with a kendo stick until it broke. Valkyria dropkicked a chair into Lynch’s face and hit a Nightwing off the second step of the ringsteps. 

Valkyria tried a charge in the corner, but Lynch moved, and Valkyria crashed into the exposed buckle. Lynch followed with a Man-handle Slam onto two chairs for a close nearfall. 

Lynch trapped Valkyria in a chair and drove her into the announce table and ring post. With Valkyria still trapped in the chair, Lynch leaped off the table and stomped the chair. That looked and sounded great.

Lynch was about to kill Valkyria with the crowbar, but Bayley suddenly appeared to stop her. Lynch reasoned with Bayley and tried talking her into hitting Valkyria. Bayley wouldn’t do it, so Lynch tried to attack her with the steel chain, but Bayley attacked her instead. Lynch avoided a charge, and Bayley flew into the crowd. 

Lynch tried using a table to get to her feet, but Valkyria flew out of nowhere and drove her through the table with a diving leg drop. 

As they traded counters in the ring, Bayley tried to punch Lynch with the chain, but Lynch ducked and Bayley clocked Valkyria instead. Lynch followed with a Man-handle Slam for the pinfall win, and mercifully, it was over. 

Lynch retains, and Valkyria can no longer challenge for the IC title belt as long as she’s champion. 

Match result: Becky Lynch defeated Lyra Valkyria to retain the Women’s Intercontinental Championship (25:06)

It was a mistake to put this on right after the TLC match, but they also tried to do too much. I was enjoying it for the first half or so, but it just kept going, and the stuff with the zip ties ultimately hampered the match. It was designed to get people behind Valkyria, but it didn’t work. It may not have worked even if they did go before TLC. 

And now it’s time for a cage match.

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Jelly Roll, Metro Boomin, Tigirlily Gold, and Russell Wilson were in the crowd. 

Steel Cage Match for the United States Championship: Solo Sikoa (c) vs. Jacob Fatu

You could win this match by pinfall, submission, or escaping the cage. 

Cole tried to put over Sikoa by saying he hasn’t been pinned since losing to Roman Reigns in January. He’s had four singles matches since then, two of which ended in a no contest. In fact, Sikoa had four wins in fifteen matches so far this year. 

Sikoa had the early edge, using the cage as a weapon. Fatu fought back, and when Sikoa tried driving him into the cage again, Fatu no-sold it. Fatu hit a running hip attack, and consecutive moonsaults—but only for a nearfall. 

Sikoa’s MFT crew ran out and surrounded ringside, but Jimmy Uso ran out to fend them off. However, Tala Tonga drove him into the cage and over the announce desk. 

Fatu could have escaped the cage, but he told the referee to lock the door because it was all gas time. Fatu turned around, and Sikoa hit him with a Samoan spike for a nearfall. 

They followed zip ties in the previous match with handcuffs in this one. Tala Tonga handcuffed Fatu to the top part of the cage. JC Mateo opened the door, and Sikoa tried to crawl out, but Fatu ripped himself free of the handcuffs and stopped Sikoa from escaping. 

Fatu smashed the door into Mateo, but Tala smashed the door into Fatu. Sikoa slipped out of the ring and fell to the floor to win the match. Sikoa retains. 

— After the match and after Sikoa and Tala made their way to the ramp, Jimmy attacked Mateo, while Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa were trapped in the ring with Fatu. 

Fatu beat them up and climbed to the top of the cage. He went to the very top and laid out both men with a moonsault. He absolutely obliterated Tonga Loa in particular on the landing. 

Match result: Solo Sikoa defeated Jacob Fatu to retain the United States Championship (12:38) 

This was a boring cage match with too much interference and a lazy finish. 

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Psycho Clown and Mr. Iguana were in the crowd. 

In the last two matches, they’ve had the champion enter first. 

They noted it’s been 20 years since the custody over Dom match between Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio. Styles entered in a Chevy low-rider as a tribute to Eddie, and he wore Latino Heat-inspired gear.

Intercontinental Championship: Dominik Mysterio (c) vs. AJ Styles

There were duelling chants through the early portion of the match. The sun had set, so fans decided to wave their cellphone flashlights. 

Dom was in control until Styles hit a tornado DDT. Styles held control until Dom ducked a Phenomenal forearm and hit a Michinoku Driver. Dom tried three amigos, but Styles countered the last suplex into a brainbuster. 

Styles went for a frog splash, but Dom got his knees up. Dom hit a 619 and went for a frog splash (sort of), but Styles caught him and applied a calf crusher until Dom got a rope break. 

Dom removed a turnbuckle pad (which Valkyria did earlier) to distract the referee. As the ref fixed the buckle, Dom grabbed a chair to do an Eddie spot. 

Dom smashed the mat and fell down. But the ref was still distracted, so Styles wrapped the chair around his head and acted like he was dying. The crowd enjoyed all this, and I’ll always get a kick out of the Eddie spots. (Although, Styles would not have won the title if the ref disqualified Dom.) 

The match simply continued because the ref didn’t know who was or wasn’t guilty. Styles applied a calf crusher, but Dom’s boot slipped off in the process (as Eddie’s did at WrestleMania XX). When they showed replays later, it was clear that Dom loosened his boot on purpose. 

The ref almost got bumped, so while he was still distracted, Dom hit Styles with the boot. Dom followed with a frog splash for the pinfall win.

Match result: Dominik Mysterio defeated AJ Styles to retain the Intercontinental Championship (10:41) 

While nothing amazing, this was a fun match and a breath of fresh air after the last two matches. 

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WWE “icon” Stephanie McMahon announced an audience of 60,651 tonight (7,000 more than last night). The total for both shows was 113,722. 

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Rhodes entered first, and his entrance started with words from Dusty Rhodes (with yellow polka dots displayed on the tron). It may have been an AI version of Dusty’s voice (which is not the first time they would have used AI, sadly). 

Rhodes rose through the stage and his regular entrance music hit. Rhodes wore a gold version of his goofy skull mask, and he removed it fairly quickly. Fireworks went off as Rhodes, dressed in blue, white and red, entered. 

Cena entered second. The tron was initially all-black as it had been during his heel run, but it turned colourful as he entered the stage. Cena also happened to be wearing a blue, white and red t-shirt. Cena acted like his usual babyface self, and fans cheered. 

Rhodes received a heavy mixed reaction during his in-ring introduction, with the boos seeming to outweigh the cheers. 

Cena was roundly cheered, and he couldn’t help but smirk when Alicia Taylor announced him as the greatest of all time.

Street Fight for the Undisputed WWE Championship: John Cena (c) vs. Cody Rhodes

They hugged as the match began, then kicked things off by trading punches. The fight quickly went to the outside, and there were boos when Rhodes slammed Cena into the steps. 

Cena recovered and approached Tyrese Haliburton. Cena gave him the ‘you can’t see me’ gesture and stole one of his crutches to use on Rhodes. (The crowd hates Haliburton.) Rhodes fought back and slammed Cena onto the steel steps, which were now in the ring. 

With Rhodes outside the ring, Cena grabbed the steps and threw them at Rhodes. Cena did this before to Bray Wyatt, and it nailed Bray right in the face (with Bray protecting himself). However, the steps appeared to catch Rhodes lower, and he sold his arm. (He continued and seemed ok.)

Some fans tried to sing Rhodes’ name, but it didn’t really pick up. Cena and Rhodes grabbed chairs, but Rhodes managed to hit Cena with it first. Cena did his usual comeback as the crowd went nuts. Cena hit a five knuckle shuffle, but Rhodes avoided an AA. 

Rhodes followed with clotheslines, jabs, and a bionic elbow as the crowd booed. One fan had the audacity to chant, “Same old sh-t,” at Rhodes, seconds after Cena did the five moves of doom. 

Rhodes hit a Cody Cutter for two, and Cena followed with an AA for two. There were light chants of “You can’t wrestle,” and “Yes, he can,” and I had no idea who they were directed at. Rhodes hit a Disaster Kick and another Cody Cutter for two counts. Cena hit an electric chair drop for two. 

Rhodes hit a piledriver for two, and some fans chanted, “You can’t do that.” Rhodes seemed unsure of how to proceed after that, and the hesitation allowed Cena to hit an AA. Rhodes hit a sit-out powerbomb for two, and Cena quickly applied an STF until Rhodes escaped. 

Rhodes sent Cena over the barricade before Cena bonked Rhodes with the microphone. Cena followed with a Code Red on the outside. 

Cena hoisted Rhodes on his shoulders and put him through the unbreakable announce desk with an AA. Cena struggled to get Rhodes in the ring, and the extra time allowed Rhodes to kick out. 

Cena missed a charge in the corner, and Rhodes hit Cross Rhodes for a nearfall. Cena knocked Rhodes off the ropes and followed with a diving leg drop and AA for a close nearfall. 

Cena set up a table in the ring and went for an AA, but Rhodes tipped over the table and countered with a DDT for two. Rhodes set up a table in the corner, but they both managed to avoid it—so we’ll get to this later. 

Beyond the 20-minute mark, they found themselves fighting in the crowd. Cena grabbed a steel bike rack, but Rhodes suplexed him onto it. 

The brawl continued, and they disappeared under the big stage. The camera focused on the elevator platform that Rhodes used during his entrance. Smoke rose through the opening, and Cena emerged with Rhodes on his shoulders. Cena then dumped Rhodes onto the ramp with an AA. 

Cena hoisted Rhodes on his shoulders and carried him all the way to the ring. Barrett noted how difficult this must be so long into a match. Indeed, Cena was exhausted, so Rhodes drove him through the corner table and hit a Cross Rhodes for a nearfall. 

Rhodes bonked Cena on the head (softly) with a steel chair. Rhodes unscrewed a corner turnbuckle, causing the bottom rope to loosen. Rhodes used the metal turnbuckle rod as a weapon (although he really hit Cena with the padding). 

The crowd booed, and Rhodes showed regret on his face. Cena got to his feet, and Rhodes hit him with the turnbuckle again. Cena avoided Rhodes’ third attempt and hit a drop toe hold. Cena applied an STF, using the bottom rope to choke Rhodes, but Rhodes escaped. 

Rhodes avoided an AA and hit consecutive Cross Rhodes. The crowd was exasperated because they could feel the end coming. Rhodes hit his finisher one more time—but Cena kicked out. The crowd popped and chanted, “Super Cena.” 

Rhodes grabbed the title belt and went to use it as a weapon, but Cena ducked and hit consecutive AAs. Cena grabbed Rhodes and hit an AA off the middle rope—but Rhodes kicked out. 

Cena set up another table in the ring, but Rhodes blocked the avalanche AA attempt. Rhodes instead hit an avalanche Cody Cutter (or something resembling a cutter) through the table. 

Rhodes gave Cena a salute and hit one final Cross Rhodes for the pinfall win. 

(The fans probably would have exploded if Cena won, but they weren’t necessarily booing the result.) 

— Cena handed Rhodes the title belt and hugged him. Cena said something to an emotional Rhodes. A big-ass fireworks display went off as Rhodes stood alone with the belt. Rhodes embraced Cena again and raised his hand for the crowd. 

Rhodes left, and the fans chanted for Cena, who remained in the ring. Before he could leave…

Brock Lesnar entered. The crowd lost it. 

Lesnar entered slowly, wearing a cowboy hat, jeans, and a t-shirt with his logo. 

Lesnar removed his cowboy hat, hit the ring, and nailed Cena with a huge F5. Lesnar was pumped. 

Lesnar grabbed his cowboy hat as the show ended. (Not sure where Rhodes disappeared to.)

Match result: Cody Rhodes defeated John Cena to win the Undisputed WWE Championship (37:43) 

This was a genuinely enjoyable street fight, and the best Cena has looked in forever. He’s been in entertaining no-rules matches before, and this was up there with those. The drama around Cena’s final run certainly helped. It did go too long, but this was likely Cena’s last title match, so I’m sure they wanted to leave no doubt who the winner was in the end. 

However, none of that really matters because of how the show ended. A mixed bag of a SummerSlam could have ended on a high note, but instead came crashing furiously down to earth.

WWE SummerSlam night one live results: CM Punk vs. Gunther, Jelly Roll in-ring debut

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: August 2, 2025
Location: MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ

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Show Recap — 

COUNTDOWN SHOW —

The countdown show is three hours long. Follow here for periodic updates, followed by the live SummerSlam recap tonight and tomorrow. 

Michael Cole confirmed that the men’s world title match between Gunther and CM Punk will main event night one of SummerSlam.

The opener will be Roman Reigns and Jey Uso against Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed. 

Tiffany Stratton did a quick interview with Byron Saxton. She admitted to being nervous because nobody had Jade Cargill’s star power or potential (shouldn’t Stratton think that about herself?), but she still planned on walking out as champion tonight. 

Sam Roberts interviewed Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez. They dismissed Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss as opponents, and confidently stated they would retain their tag titles tonight. 

They killed time by interviewing fans outside the stadium. Two hours to go. 

They aired part one of a Jelly Roll interview with Jackie Redmond. He was a huge fan and really wanted to be a part of this period of wrestling (given its current popularity). He wasn’t there to take someone else’s spot. They also focused heavily on his weight-loss journey. (So far, this Jelly Roll interview is the most anyone has been focused on.) 

Another celebrity, comedian Druski, joined the panel. He spoke more about his own projects than he did about SummerSlam.

Saxton interviewed some fans dressed as wrestlers and had them do impressions. It was so embarrassing, I had to mute it. 

They aired the clip of Triple H doing his water gimmick at the White House. 

Joe Tessitore put over WWE: Unreal and claimed it was widely acclaimed (by whom?). Tessitore interviewed Triple H, whom he called the series’ central pillar.

Big E put over the series as well, while admitting the idea of it was polarizing among fans. 

Cathy Kelley interviewed Sami Zayn. Zayn was angry. He saw posters around the building for all the big championship matches, which made him angry that he was instead fighting Karrion Kross to prove himself. He congratulated Kross on making him angry. Zayn would end this tonight, “one way or another.”

Big E and Redmond plugged Kross’ biography, coming out soon. 

There was a long SummerSlam stats video, which somehow included the number of times Jelly Roll’s album has been streamed. One hour to go. 

There was a video package on celebrities getting involved at WWE shows. 

They aired part two of Redmond’s interview with Jelly Roll. It included footage of him training at the PC and being put over by Undertaker. He spoke about tonight’s match, and Redmond wished him luck.

If that wasn’t enough, they aired clips (for a second time) of Jelly Roll on Stephanie McMahon’s podcast. Stephanie joined the panel to talk about him more. His goal was to be under 300 lbs for tonight’s match, and she announced he weighed in earlier at 299. 

They spoke more about other celebrities and how much they want to be part of WWE now. 

There were clips from Unreal.

After a break, the panel spoke about Jelly Roll again. 

The panel spoke about the rest of the card as the pre-show came to a close. 

SUMMERSLAM 2025 NIGHT ONE —

The footage of wrestlers arriving now has a sponsor attached to it. Drew McIntyre, Logan Paul, Randy Orton, Jelly Roll, Gunther, and CM Punk were shown arriving. 

The SummerSlam intro video was narrated by comedian Druski.

Several wide shots showed how packed MetLife Stadium is. It’s 77 degrees Fahrenheit and partly cloudy. 

Cardi B, the host of SummerSlam, entered the ring and she hyped up the crowd (while seemingly reading off cue cards or a teleprompter at ringside). 

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Jey Uso entered first at 6:09 pm. He entered through the crowd and stated, “Damn, I’m tired!” as he hit ringside. Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed entered to a new remixed version of their two themes. 

The opening bell rang at 6:20 pm.

Roman Reigns & Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed (w/Paul Heyman)

Jey and Reign quickly sent the heels from the ring. Jey suggested they play his music again so the crowd could Yeet. Reigns was on board, so they did it. The heels took the opportunity to yank Reigns from the ring, so Jey wiped out every with a dive off the top. 

Reed shoved Reigns into the steel steps while Jey hammered away at Breakker, but Breakker ran him over with a sprinting clothesline and the heels quickly took over. As Reigns was about to get back to his feet outside the ring, Breakker ran him over with a chaotic leaping tackle. 

There was a funny bit where Breakker held Jey in a rest hold while mock-singing Reigns’ name and singing, “You should have stayed in bed!” 

Breakker tried his leaping dive off the apron, but Jey dodged it, and Breakker collided with the announce table. Jey was about to make a hot tag, but Reed pulled Reigns off the apron while Breakker tackled Jey. 

Jey gave Reed a DDT and made the hot tag to Reigns, who hit Breakker with clotheslines. With both heels outside the ring, Reigns did a big Undertaker dive to the outside. Reigns almost landed on his head, but he managed to rotate and avoid catastrophe. 

Reigns hit Breakker with a Superman punch in the ring, but Reed had made a blind tag, and he ran over Reigns. Jey made his own blind tag and ran wild on Reed until Reed cut him off with a clothesline and DVD for two. 

With both babyfaces outside the ring, Reed nailed them with a suicide dive. Reed also took a nasty-looking fall on this one, but he was fine. Breakker decked Jey over the announce table. The heels gave Jey a Steinerizer (with Breakker leaping off the top) for two. 

Breakker began running around the ring, but Reigns cut him off with a Superman punch and speared him through the barricade. (It’s a tired spot, but it looked good.) 

Reed set up Jey for a Tsunami, but Reigns knocked him down with a Superman punch. Reigns and Jey hit Reed with a 1-D, but Breakker broke up the cover. 

Breakker taunted the crowd, put his straps back on before taking them right off. (The crowd popped for that.) Breakker went to spear Jey, but Reigns shoved Jey out of the way and ate the spear instead. 

Jey superkicked Breakker and speared Reed. Jey then hit Reed with an Uso splash for the pinfall win. The crowd popped for the win. 

(The announcers put over the fact that Reigns sacrificed himself for Jey, not something he would have done in the past.)

Match result: Jey Uso & Roman Reigns defeated Bronson Reed & Bron Breakker (21:05) 

This was a perfectly good opener. Reigns’ matches have a certain pattern, and this was no different, but it was at least nice to see some new blood in there—namely, Bron Breakker. Perhaps Bron should have won, but he looked good in the match, and they’ll obviously go back to this soon. 

********

Druski, Breland, and Fat Joe (who got a nice reaction) were shown in the crowd. 

A brand sponsor was also shown in the crowd, and Cole’s ad read was muted on my Netflix broadcast. (The ad reads are usually muted on my feed.)  

********

The show is almost an hour old, and there’s been just one 20-minute match. The second match began at 6:56 pm. 

Charlotte entered first, but remained on the stage for Bliss so they could enter together (to Bliss’ music). 

There were stats shown for Rodriguez and Perez, and even that graphic had a sponsor attached.

Women’s Tag Team Championships: Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez (c) vs. Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss 

The heels had the heat on Charlotte almost right away. Bliss made a hot tag and went for Sister Abigail, but Perez raked her eyes. Perez missed a springboard moonsault, but Rodriguez tagged herself in. 

Bliss dropped Perez with a DDT and went for Twisted Bliss, even though Perez was not the legal woman. Perez “got her knees up,” but Bliss missed anyway and landed on Perez’s feet instead. None of it mattered because Perez wasn’t legal, so Rodriguez decked her with a clothesline. 

Charlotte made a hot tag and did her best to fire up the quiet crowd. She hit both opponents with a flying crossbody and followed with chops on Rodriguez. She placed Rodriguez and Perez next to each other and hit a moonsault on both women before covering Rodriguez for two. Charlotte tried to put Rodriguez in a Figure Eight, but Perez hit her with a springboard moonsault. 

Bliss jumped in and tried to deck Rodriguez, but Rodriguez moved, and Bliss clobbered Charlotte by mistake. The heels got rid of Bliss before Rodriguez hit Charlotte with a Tejana Bomb. Perez followed with Pop Rox, but Bliss just barely broke up the cover. 

Bliss set up Perez for Sister Abigail. Charlotte looked like she wanted to boot Bliss for revenge, but she booted Rodriguez instead so that she couldn’t interfere. 

Bliss hit Perez with the Sister Abigail DDT for the pinfall win. 

Charlotte embraced Bliss after the match, and they posed with their new title belts as fireworks went off. 

Match result: Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair defeated Roxanne Perez & Raquel Rodriguez to win the Women’s Tag Team Championships (13:35)

This match was ok. The crowd didn’t care early on, but they got into it as it picked up toward the end and popped big for the title change. 

********

There was a backstage segment to plug their pizza sponsorship. New Day (and Grayson Waller), Alpha Academy, and LWO argued over who should get the last slice of pizza until Nikki Bella entered with three full boxes. 

******** 

This match did not get a video package (which is fine). 

Sami Zayn vs. Karrion Kross (w/Scarlett)

About five minutes in, Zayn kicked out of a Saito suplex, so Kross turned to Scarlett for assistance. Scarlett handed Kross a lead pipe and distracted the referee, but Zayn ducked a pipe shot and hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. 

A frustrated Zayn repeatedly booted Kross in the ropes, and the referee had to force him off. 

Scarlett offered the pipe to Zayn as the ref checked on Kross. Zayn grabbed the pipe and considered using it, but he tossed it out of the ring (which was actually booed). 

Kross tried a sudden schoolboy, but Zayn kicked out and hit an exploder in the corner. Zayn followed with a Helluva Kick for the decisive win. 

Zayn smiled as he made his way up the ramp. 

Match result: Sami Zayn defeated Karrion Kross (8:11)

This was a basic match that was really just about the closing sequence. I think the crowd was expecting a more interesting result, but ultimately, Zayn did what he said he would do and beat Kross straight-up (which was the correct result). 

********

Cole announced an attendance of 53,161. 

Cole honoured Hulk Hogan once more and spoke about his success at SummerSlam. Nick Hogan was shown in the crowd as Hulk’s music played. 

******** 

Psycho Clown and Mr. Iguana were shown in the crowd. 

There was a clip of Jade Cargill meeting some fans backstage and giving them upgraded seats. This was also a sponsored segment. 

******** 

Cargill’s gear were the colours of the Jamaican flag. Both women were cheered during introductions, and they made sure to show Cardi B applauding Cargill. 

WWE Women’s Championship: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Jade Cargill 

Cargill had the early edge until Stratton bumped her off the paron and hit a suicide dive. Stratton followed with a great-looking senton bomb in the ring. (It looked like she would land on her head, but rotated just in time to hit the move.) 

Cargill blocked Stratton’s handspring elbow and followed with a boot and spinning slam for two. They traded moves, which led to Stratton hitting a falcon arrow. Stratton hit a handspring elbow and an Alabama Slam. Stratton tried a moonsault, but Cargill got her boots up. 

Cargill hit Jaded and seemed to have the title won, but when she rolled into the cover, Stratton’s foot happened to touch the rope for a rope break. Cargill hit a chokeslam and took Stratton to the corner. 

Cargill set up for a Jaded off the middle rope, but Stratton countered into an avalanche hurricanrana of sorts. Stratton followed with the PME for the pinfall win. Stratton wins clean. 

Match result: Tiffany Stratton defeated Jade Cargill to retain the WWE Women’s Championship (7:05)

A surprising result. There were some clunky spots, but this was better than expected, and the crowd was into it. 

******* 

There was a trailer for The Smashing Machine. 

Tineke Younger, Cardi B, and Stephanie McMahon were in the crowd. (Cole referred to Stephanie as “legendary,” and I believe they called her that on the pre-show as well.) 

******** 

Bunnie XO, Jelly Roll’s wife, was in the crowd. Cole read some stats about her Spotify audience. 

As mentioned on the pre-show, they said Jelly Roll weighed in at 299 lbs (his goal was to be under 300 lbs for this match).

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

Paul took a cheap shot at Jelly Roll before the match. Orton was going to start the match, but as the bell rang, Jelly Roll tagged himself in to get revenge. 

Paul tried and failed to suplex Jelly Roll, so Jelly gave him a scoop slam instead. Jelly followed with an elbow drop, so a surprised Paul tagged out. 

McIntyre smacked Jelly in the back of the head. Instead of tagging out, Jelly was hyped up by Orton. Jelly got in McIntyre’s face. McIntyre told him that today was the day the music dies.

Jelly hit a few jabs until McIntyre dropped him with a headbutt. Paul tagged in and hammered away at Jelly Roll as the crowd chanted, “F—k you, Logan,” (which was censored). 

The heels beat up Jelly as the crowd chanted, “We want Randy.” Jelly chucked McIntyre out of the ring and made the hot tag to Orton, who hit McIntyre with a powerslam and a draping DDT. Orton set up for an RKO, but Paul pulled McIntyre to safety. 

Orton went outside and gave McIntyre a back suplex onto the announce table. Orton did it to Paul as well, but that distraction allowed McIntyre to hit Orton with a Claymore Kick. Paul attacked Jelly from behind and punched him (with his titanium-plated hand). Jelly didn’t exactly take it flush. 

McIntyre placed Jelly Roll on the announce table as Paul went to the top rope. Paul raised cans of his energy drink before hitting Jelly Roll with a spectacular splash off the rope and through the announce table. The crowd chanted, “Holy sh-t,” as officials checked on Jelly Roll. 

The heels worked over Orton in the ring as the crowd seemed distracted. Officials helped Jelly to his feet and helped him make his way toward the ramp. (The fans cheered when Jelly got to his feet, but they also seemed distracted by something else, to the point where McIntyre banged the top of the ring post to get them focused.) 

With Orton down, Jelly Roll shunned the officials and made his way back to the apron. Jelly made a hot tag and gave Paul a chokeslam. He also gave McIntyre a Bossman slam. The fans—who were all on their feet since Paul’s splash—were definitely into it here, and they cheered as Jelly brought Paul off the top with a powerslam for two. 

McIntyre hit Jelly with a Claymore Kick, and Orton gave McIntyre an RKO. However, Paul chucked Orton into the ring post and hit Jelly with a frog splash for the pinfall win. 

Match result: Logan Paul & Drew McIntyre defeated Jelly Roll & Randy Orton (17:04)

I wouldn’t call this a good match, but it was laid out well, and they accomplished what they wanted. 

On the pre-show, they really focused hard on Jelly Roll and celebrity appearances in general. Indeed, Orton and McIntyre felt like secondary players here. Paul is a regular now, so it did make sense for him to get the pin, and his splash through the table was incredible. 

********

They showed Triple H at the White House with Donald Trump. 

They ran down tomorrow’s card, which has a cage match, TLC match, street fight and no-DQ match. 

******** 

Punk wore the colours of the Chicago flag. 

World Heavyweight Championship: Gunther (c) vs. CM Punk

They wrestled back and forth for a few minutes until Gunther dropped Punk with a single chop. Punk got back on offence and targeted Gunther’s left arm. 

Punk went to the top, but Gunther chopped the back of his leg. Punk was helpless upside down in the ropes as Gunther hit several more chops. Gunther followed with more chops, knees to the mid-section, and abdominal stretch. Punk countered out of the stretch and went for a GTS. A series of counters led to Gunther hitting a big boot. 

Gunther beat down Punk for a while until he began fighting back, but Gunther cut him off. (Gunther had a bloody mark on his chest from Punk’s chops.) 

There was a messy spot where Punk seemed to be going for an atomic drop, but Gunther landed as if it was a spinebuster. It didn’t matter because Gunther put Punk in a single-leg crab. Punk countered into an attempt at a Sharpshooter, but Gunther got a rope break. 

(They stalled for a moment here as the ref checked on Punk, perhaps giving him time to recoup.) 

Punk fought back and hit a clothesline, but Gunther didn’t budge. Punk knocked him down with a leg lariat instead. Punk, also bleeding from the chest, went for a running knee, but Gunther caught him and hit a powerbomb for two. 

They traded submission attempts until Gunther hit consecutive chops, but Punk came back with a Russian leg sweep, running knee and bulldog for two. Punk went to the top, but Gunther slammed him off it and followed with a splash off the top for two. 

Gunther clotheslined an exhausted Punk, waited for him to return to his feet, and hit another one. Punk suddenly got Gunther in position for GTS, but Gunther slipped out and hit a powerbomb. Gunther hit a running dropkick and powerbomb for a nearfall. 

The match continued at a slow pace as Gunther continued his deliberate beatdown of Punk. Gunther posed atop the announce table until Punk tripped him from behind. Punk was too tired to follow up and sat against the ring to catch his breath. 

The camera focused on Punk as a distraction, because Gunther reemerged from behind the announce desk and his face was covered in blood. (His face or nose supposedly smashed off the desk to cause this.) 

Gunther begged off from Punk, who hit a clothesline and diving elbow drop. Punk went for GTS, but Gunther slipped out again and applied a sleeper. 

Punk slipped out and hit a GTS. Gunther was dazed but remained on his feet. Punk grabbed him and hit the GTS again for the pinfall win. 

CM Punk is the World Champion. 

The referee handed the world title belt to an emotional Punk. 

Match result: CM Punk defeated Gunther to win the World Heavyweight Championship (30:18) 

— Punk looked around the crowd before finally holding the belt up high. Seth Rollins’ music hit, the crowd popped, and Punk’s expression changed. 

Rollins walked out on crutches with Heyman by his side. Rollins issued a warning to Punk and acted like he was about to leave. However, Rollins ditched his crutches and removed his knee brace. 

Rollins ran down with his briefcase and a referee. Punk attacked Rollins as soon as he entered the ring, but Rollins fought him off and hit him in the head repeatedly with the briefcase. 

Rollins cashed in his contract. 

World Heavyweight Championship: CM Punk (c) vs. Seth Rollins (w/Paul Heyman) 

Rollins immediately stomped Punk for the pinfall win. 

CM Punk is no longer the World Champion. 

Rollins celebrated with Heyman, Breakker, and Reed as fireworks went off. Rollins sat cross-legged while holding the belt and snickering at Punk. 

Match result: Seth Rollins defeated CM Punk to win the World Heavyweight Championship (0:12)

The main event was good, but not great. It was unnecessarily long, but they probably wanted Punk looking as exhausted as possible for the cash-in. 

Night one was an average show at best (to be generous), the type of show you’d be able to skim through pretty quickly. There was about 90 minutes of wrestling on this three-and-a-half-hour show, and a third of that was the main event.

WWE SummerSlam live results: Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa, CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: August 3, 2024
Location: Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland, OH

**********

Show Recap — 

Welcome to our live coverage of SummerSlam. The countdown show is three hours long.

Countdown to SummerSlam —

Michael Cole said WWE has been on a massive roll, specifically thanking Paul Leveseque and once again called this the “Triple H Era.” Cole was joined on the preshow by Wade Barrett, Big E, Pat McAfee and a large crowd of fans behind them.

(I won’t recap the entire pre-show but will provide updates throughout.) 

Byron Saxton, Jackie Redmond and Cathy Kelley provided updates on Cody Rhodes, Rhea Ripley and CM Punk, respectively. 

There was a feature on The Miz. Miz arrived on his party bus along with Maryse, Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano. R-Truth welcomed them there and he did his usual stupid comedy, confusing DIY for DX.

Kelley interviewed Dominik Mysterio. Dom assured her the vibes in Judgment Day were good. He was annoyed she was in their clubhouse and asked her to leave. Dom wore a San Diego Padres cowboy hat and a $600 Louis Vuitton shirt with planets on it. (I looked it up.) 

Bron Breakker told Saxton he was happy that Sami Zayn’s comedy show would be able to support his family but he title reign would be over tonight. 

There was a Cole sit-down interview with Seth Rollins. He called CM Punk selfish and anything he said about giving back to the business was a lie. It was Drew McIntyre’s own fault for propping up Punk to get him in this level of a match.

There was a good feature on Damian Priest where Peter Rosenberg interviewed him through the Bronx and Yankee Stadium. There was also a clip of Gunther showing up to the premiere of Priest’s documentary to call him street trash. Priest said he would humble his bitch-ass. 

Redmond and Rosenberg replaced Cole and McAfee on the panel. Still two hours to go.

There was a SummerSlam numbers video. 

There was a Redmond sit-down interview with Ripley. It was heartbreaking and depressing for her to be away when her shoulder was injured. She didn’t answer when Redmond asked if her shoulder was 100%. She said Morgan took things too far with her actions the last few months. “If you have a problem with me, use your fists.” Ripley took great pleasure in hearing Dom tell Morgan, “I hate you.” 

Kelley interviewed Morgan. She said Ripley would be the only one crying tonight. She blew off Kelley and left. Big E reminded us this wasn’t a Dom on a pole match. 

Saxton interviewed Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton. Jax couldn’t wait to be “reckless and clumsy” with Bayley tonight (referencing Bayley’s own words) and become the champion. Saxton asked Stratton if she planned on cashing in tonight. Jax cut her off and they left together.

CM Punk sit-down interview – part one 

Cole sat down with Punk. He admitted he still had a temper, but that made him who he was. This job and career were fleeting and he tried to enjoy every moment. Cole asked if he’s grown up over the years. Punk preferred the word “matured.” 

Cole asked about the polarizing response to his return. Punk said there have always been certain people who were jealous of him but they were wrong and he was right. “Nobody watches you more than your biggest hater.” They were all fans and they all paid attention to what he was doing, whether they liked him or not. Being different is what made him popular. 

He was disappointed he lost at the Rumble match but was happy for Rhodes. He learned from the experience and would take that into next year’s event. 

********

Rollins joined the panel to discuss his role tonight. 

X-Pac joined the panel. He mentioned teaming with Kane and losing to Big Show and Undertaker at SummerSlam 1999. He put over Logan Paul and LA Knight. Paul was interviewed by Redmond at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

They showed Big E throwing out the first pitch at a Cleveland Guardians game. His pitch hit the dirt and he said Kofi Kingston gave him a hard time over it.

One hour to go. 

They asked some wrestlers about their favourite SummerSlam moments. McIntyre mentioned how stupid it was when Lex Luger beat Yokozuna by countout in 1993 and everyone celebrated like it was a big deal. 

McAfee interviewed Jelly Roll.

There are still 35 minutes left and now they’re showing a random video package of Rollins beating John Cena at SummerSlam 2015 thanks to John Stewart. 

********

Cole was at ringside and he welcomed their newest broadcaster, Joe Tessitore. Tessitore was blessed and honoured to be there as a lifetime fan. 

Cole announced that Tessitore would start announcing on Raw starting September 2nd. Cole will move to Smackdown on USA.

********

Morgan vs. Ripley will open SummerSlam. 

CM Punk sit-down interview – part two  

Punk was surprised to hear the animosity coming from McIntyre upon his return. Punk said McIntyre was more mad at himself and Punk was a totem that he had to take his frustration out on. But McIntyre made things personal. 

Cole asked why Punk cost Drew the title match in Scotland. Punk said he wasn’t the bad guy for returning fire. Cole asked if this was the best he ever felt. Punk laughed. His arm felt great but the rest of him didn’t. He was coming to fight and get his pound of flesh. 

******** 

Saxton interviewed McIntyre. McIntyre meant what he said when he wanted to beat Punk until his heart stopped. He called Punk a sociopath who didn’t get any sleep which is why he had huge bags under his eyes. If McIntyre had his way, Punk would go to sleep permanently.

******** 

SUMMERSLAM 2024 MAIN CARD — 

Jelly Roll and a choir performed God Bless America. 

Triple H entered to ask Cleveland if they were ready. They were. 

They used a very minimal stage setup to pack in as many people as possible. 

Jelly Roll performed his song Liar as clips played featuring tonight’s wrestlers. (This was in place of the regular intro video.)

Miz welcomed us to SummerSlam. 

******** 

They’ve added a referee cam to the presentation (for replays). The camera sits on the referee’s ear. 

Michael Cole, Corey Graves and Pat McAfee are the announcers. 

The opening match kicked off at 7:14 pm. 

Liv Morgan defeated Rhea Ripley (w/Dominik Mysterio) to retain the Women’s World Championship (15:53) 

They had a nice match but this was all about the ending. 

They played cat and mouse for the first 90 seconds until Ripley cut her off and clobbered her with clotheslines, a half-and-half suplex and a headbutt. Ripley slammed Morgan into the turnbuckle and set up for Rip-tide but Morgan slipped out and drove her shoulder-first into the turnbuckle. 

It was Ripley’s previously injured shoulder and she really sold it like it was hurt again. As Dom checked on Ripley, Morgan booted her shoulder and she continued to target it in the ring. 

Morgan went for a dive but Dom shoved Ripley out of the way and Morgan wiped out Dom instead. Ripley slammed her shoulder into the announce table and popped it back into place. 

Ripley made a comeback while continuing to sell her shoulder. Ripley went for Rip-tide but Morgan reversed into a DDT for two. 

Ripley applied a standing cloverleaf but Morgan used her legs to yank Ripley shoulder-first into the turnbuckle. That spot didn’t look good but Morgan followed with a crucifix bomb, which did look good, for two. Ripley hit a one-arm powerbomb for two. 

Ripley was still favouring her shoulder and she repeatedly rammed it against the turnbuckle. Morgan brought a chair into the ring but Ripley booted her and hit a Rip-tide. 

Instead of going for a cover, Ripley grabbed the chair. Dom stopped her from using it and the crowd popped like it was a betrayal, but as Dom told her, she couldn’t win the title that way.

Ripley was pissed and the distraction allowed Morgan to dropkick Ripley into Dom. Morgan followed with Oblivion for a nearfall and the crowd went nuts. 

Dom slipped a chair back into the ring and distracted the referee. Morgan hit Ripley with an Oblivion onto that chair for the pinfall win. 

— Dom helped Morgan to her feet and they made out. The crowd popped for the spot but they were booed as they left together. Ripley had a maniacal look on her face. (McAfee called Dom a piece of sh*t.) 

********


A pissed-off Damian Priest busted into the Judgment Day locker room demanding to know where Dom was. He put his hands on Finn Bálor and if he knew this was coming. Bálor was offended and said no. 

They talked Priest down but he was still hot and wanted to know where Dom was so he could kill him. Bálor, McDonagh and Carlito left to find Dom. Bálor said, “Thanks for the trust” before leaving and Priest seemed to regret treating Bálor that way. 

******** 

Bron Breakker defeated Sami Zayn to win the Intercontinental Championship (5:42) 

Bron immediately went for a spear but Zayn leaped over and Bron went shoulder-first into the ring post. Zayn followed with a flip dive. 

Bron dodged a Helluva kick and tried a press slam but his shoulder gave out. Bron managed to turn Zayn around with a clothesline anyway. (Odd they focused on the shoulder for the second match in a row.) Bron did a run up the ropes Frankensteiner for two. 

Bron talked trash so Zayn smacked him and hit a clothesline. Bron blocked a Blue Thunder Bomb and countered a back body drop. Bron tried a flying bulldog but Zayn countered with a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. 

Zayn hit an exploder into the turnbuckles and went for Helluva Kick but Bron nailed a spear. Bron ran the ropes and hit another spear for the decisive pinfall win. 

This was what it needed to be. 

********

Stephanie McMahon was shown in the crowd. 

******* 

Machine Gun Kelly appeared in a hood as a surprise and entered with Logan Paul. (MGK watched from the front row.) 

LA Knight arrived backstage in Paul’s truck. Knight destroyed the driver’s side window because of poor visibility. Safety first.

LA Knight defeated Logan Paul to win the United States Championship (12:03) 

Paul was loudly booed in his hometown. He attacked Knight during his entrance. Knight fought back but Paul spat Prime drink in his face. Knight repeatedly smashed Paul’s face against the desk and slammed a Prime bottle in his face. 

Knight then gave Paul a neckbreaker on the table (which didn’t break) and they rolled into the ring to start the match. There was a modest “F*ck you, Logan” chant as he took control. 

For the third match in a row, somebody went shoulder-first into the ring post/buckle and Knight was the victim this time. 

Knight fought back and repeatedly booted Paul to the sound of “Yeah.” Knight hit Matt Hardy’s Side Effect and hit a step-up diving elbow drop for two. 

Paul followed with a springboard clothesline and an impressive springboard moonsault to the outside. Paul followed with a right hand for a nearfall. With Paul on the top, Knight leaped up and brought him down with a big superplex for a nearfall. 

Paul raked the eyes which the ref did not see but Knight came back with a baseball slide. Some of Paul’s buddies were talking trash in the front row so Knight yanked them over the barricade and stomped them. Paul slammed Knight into the post. 

MGK gave Paul brass knuckles on a chain. Paul hit Knight with the knux, which the ref also didn’t see, but Knight ducked a Buckshot lariat and hit a BFT for the pinfall win. 

Knight won the title and the crowd exploded. This was fun. 

********

There was a Manscaped-sponsored segment with Baron Corbin, Apollo Crews, Otis, Maxxine Dupri and Akira Tozawa. Crews used the razor to shave his head. Otis used it to shave his belly. 

******* 

Nia Jax defeated Bayley to win the WWE Women’s Championship (12:32) 

Bayley tried taking the fight to Jax but Jax dropped her with a Samoan drop to take over. Jax’s offence included a stink face but Bayley responded with a back suplex. 

Jax missed a leg drop on the apron and Bayley responded later with a guillotine in the ring. The announcers reminded us that she once beat Jax with this move. Jax countered it this time and hit a senton and leg drop for two. 

Jax missed a diving leg drop and Bayley hit a Bayley-to-belly for two. Bayley tried a corner tackle but Jax hit an STO. Jax followed with an Annihilator but Bayley kicked out. Jax was shocked. 

Bayley dodged a charge and for the fourth straight match, someone (Jax) went shoulder-first into the ring post. Bayley tried a suicide dive but Jax caught her and hit a Samoan drop. 

Jax went to the middle rope but Bayley got under her and hit a powerbomb. This woke up the crowd (which was kind of dead) and they chanted “Holy sh*t.” Bayley hit a diving elbow drop for two. 

Tiffany Stratton ran out to her music along with her briefcase and a referee but Bayley knocked her off the apron. Bayley went back after Jax but Jax caught her with consecutive powerbombs. Jax hit consecutive Annihilators for the pinfall win. 

— Jax and Stratton happily celebrated together, so Stratton’s attempted cash-in was likely a setup to dupe Bayley. 

Jax hugged her mom (I think) and Ata Johnson at ringside. 

The first half of the match wasn’t much but it did get much better toward the end. 

********

Rollins wore very sparkly pants with a somewhat sparkly referee shirt. McIntyre wore new black and green gear. Punk wore black and pink (for Bret Hart, of course).

Drew McIntyre defeated CM Punk (with guest referee Seth Rollins) (16:58) 

They immediately exchanged blows like Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Punk got the better of it and booted McIntyre in the corner for more than five seconds until Rollins pulled him off. McIntyre returned the favour until Rollins pulled him off. 

Punk was the aggressor from there as the fight spilled outside the ring. Rollins let them go and didn’t bother counting. 

Punk was in full control until McIntyre swept his legs out from under him (as Punk did to him at WrestleMania, which the announcers did not mention). McIntyre swung Punk repeatedly into the announce table and drove Punk into the steel ring frame. 

McIntyre hit a vertical suplex and Punk kicked out before even a one count. Part of that was Rollins not counting right away. Rollins was surprised McIntyre went for an early cover. 

McIntyre hit an overhead suplex and Punk kicked out again before one. McIntyre hit a powerbomb for a one count and a sit-out powerbomb for a two count. 

McIntyre grabbed a chair and advised Rollins to look the other way because he could make both of their problems go away. McIntyre went to use the chair but Rollins grabbed it out of his hand. (Cole said “Shades of ‘97.”) 

They went for another 1997 reference. McIntyre shoved Rollins so Rollins went to hit him with the chair and he ducked. He almost hit Punk but Punk avoided it. Punk used a rollup but Rollins was too late making the cover. McIntyre went for Claymore but Punk countered with a kick of his own. 

Punk did his usual comeback, blew a kiss to Rollins and hit a diving elbow drop for two. Punk applied anaconda vice but broke the hold to retrieve his family’s bracelet. The bracelet dropped and Punk went to pick it up but the extra time allowed McIntyre to hit a Claymore kick for a nearfall. 

For the fifth straight match, someone (McIntyre) went shoulder-first into the ring post. Punk went for GTS but let go upon seeing Rollins wearing his bracelet. Rollins (and the announcers) tried to explain that he was just holding onto it for now but Punk didn’t care. 

McIntyre clobbered them from behind, sending Rollins out of the ring. Punk hit McIntyre with GTS but Rollins was out of the ring. Rollins got back in but McIntyre kicked out. Punk got in his face for the slow count. Rollins screamed at him and told him not everything was about him. He told Punk to focus on McIntyre. 

Rollins said, “It’s not always about you, asshole,” so Punk dropped him with a GTS. Punk responded, “It’s not always about me, but it’s never about you.” Punk put on his bracelet. 

McIntyre kicked Punk in the nuts (as Punk did to him in Scotland) and hit a Claymore kick. McIntyre screamed at Rollins to make the count and he finally did for the three count. (Punk was down for a while.) 

— Rollins stormed off after the match. McIntyre grabbed the bracelet and posed over Punk’s body.

(This was a big letdown. They did, or tried to do, plenty of storytelling, but it just wasn’t good. Punk already came across like a petty man before this and that was exacerbated in this match. I would say their first match would’ve been better off without Rollins as the referee, but the action wasn’t good, either. All this over a bracelet Punk could easily get remade.) 

********

Priest and Bálor made amends backstage. Bálor offered to be in his corner if he changed his mind. Priest appreciated it. 

******* 

They cut to a suite featuring “WWE legends.” They didn’t name everyone in the suite but among those in there were Rick Steiner, Scott Steiner, DDP, X-Pac, Kevin Nash and, I think, Jackie Gayda. 

******** 

Gunther defeated Damian Priest to win the World Heavyweight Championship (16:38) 

They had an even match for the first few minutes until Priest used a hurricanrana to bring Gunther off the top and he followed with a falcon arrow for two. They exchanged chops and Gunther’s chest began bleeding. Priest dropped him with a kick. 

Gunther tried to fight back with chops but Priest’s kicks were too much. Gunther avoided a Stinger Splash and Priest went face-first into, guess what, the ring post. Gunther followed with a dropkick and powerbomb for two. 

Gunther tried chops again but Priest hit a South of Heaven chokeslam for two. The crowd distracted themselves with something else but they decided to start paying attention here. 

Gunther finally blocked Priest’s kick and hit a capture suplex. Gunther followed with a clothesline for two. Gunther’s chops finally started to make an impact. 

Bálor showed up at ringside to cheer on Priest. Gunther was annoyed so he booted Bálor. This pissed off Priest who rose up and dropped his straps and dropped Gunther with consecutive clotheslines. 

Priest hit a Razor’s Edge but Gunther got to his feet. Priest hit South of Heaven but Bálor put Gunther’s foot on the rope to break the fall. Priest didn’t see what happened but realized it upon seeing the replay. 

Priest was about to go after Bálor but Gunther caught him in a sleeper. Priest fired up and the crowd cheered as he broke out of it. Priest used a cradle for two. 

Priest grabbed Bálor by the throat as the crowd cheered but Gunther caught him in the sleeper again. 

Priest was out. Gunther won. 

— Gunther kissed Jinny at ringside and celebrated on the announce table.

(During the leadup to this match and this match itself, they did everything they could to make sure Priest was at least considered on the same level as Gunther, despite the result. Gunther’s chops are usually the main attraction but they were no more effective against Priest than anyone else’s chops for most of the match. It felt like Priest was very much screwed by Bálor.)

******** 

The Miz and R-Truth announced an attendance of 57,791. Austin Theory and Grayson Waller entered to insult them and Jelly Roll. Truth thought they were Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton and thought one of them “got their eye fixed.” 

Jelly Roll appeared in the ring with a chair and helped Truth and Miz wiped them out. Jelly Roll, Miz and Truth gave Theory a five knuckle shuffle. (Truth and Miz helped Jelly Roll to his feet.) 

******** 

Sikoa entered alone. It’s Bloodline Rules so that won’t last. 

The camera cut to Rhodes on his bus. He walked his dog Pharaoh through the back. Rhodes was emotional because, as Graves noted, this would be Pharaoh’s final trip on the road. 

Rhodes embraced Arn Anderson on his way through the back. The crowd popped. Arn warned him that he had a target on his back but Arn still had some influence and Rhodes still had friends who were on their way. 

The fans chanted for Cody as he made his way through Gorilla. Rhodes wore a skull mask through the stage but left it on the stage.

Bloodline Rules Match: Cody Rhodes defeated Solo Sikoa to retain the Undisputed WWE Championship (29:14) 

The normal portion of the match… 

Sikoa had a counter for almost everything early on and planted Rhodes with consecutive Samoan drops. Rhodes responded with a Cody Cutter. Rhodes hit Dustin’s dropdown uppercut and Dusty’s jabs and bionic elbow but Sikoa caught his Disaster kick attempt and hit a sit-out powerbomb for two. 

They traded counters until Sikoa hit Spinning Solo for two. Rhodes tried to fight back but Sikoa hit another Samoan drop. Rhodes was caught upside down in the ropes so Sikoa hit consecutive headbutts but Rhodes avoided another and hit a moonsault. Rhodes followed later with a superplex. 

They went back and forth until Rhodes hit a Cross Rhodes. 

16 minutes into this Bloodline Rules match, Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa entered to break up the cover. 

The Bloodline rules portion of the match… 

Kevin Owens entered (to his music) and he ran out but got beat up by the Bloodline. Randy Orton entered next (to his music). Orton gave Loa an RKO and Owens gave Tonga a stunner. Owens gave Sikoa a senton and Rhodes hit a Cross Rhodes but Sikoa just barely kicked out. 

Owens and Orton chased the Bloodline through the crowd leaving Rhodes and Sikoa alone. Rhodes figured it was now ok to use weapons so he grabbed the steel steps and clobbered Sikoa with it. Rhodes tried it again but Sikoa hit a spear for two. 

Sikoa set up the steel steps in the corner and tried a running hip attack but Rhodes moved and Sikoa crashed into the steps. Rhodes hit consecutive Cross Rhodes but Jacob Fatu showed up and wiped out Cody. Fatu hit a moonsault and placed Sikoa into a cover but Rhodes kicked out. 

Fatu superkicked Rhodes a few times and placed him on the announce table. Fatu hit a big splash off the top through the table (and may have hurt his leg in the process). 

The crowd who loves tables only barely reacted to this spot, likely because they’re waiting for the next thing to happen. (It seemed like most people were on their feet, despite being quiet.) 

Sikoa followed with an Uso splash for a nearfall. Rhodes hit a Cody Cutter off the top. 

Roman Reigns returns…   

Reigns entered to a huge pop (and altered music). 

Reigns didn’t tease anything. He immediately hit Sikoa with a Superman punch and spear upon hitting the ring. 

The crowd erupted and chanted, “Holy sh*t.” 

Reigns left the ring. 

Rhodes gave Sikoa one more Cross Rhodes for the pinfall win to a big pop. 

— Rhodes and Reigns gave each other a knowing look before Reigns left.

(I liked that they didn’t have Reigns doing the fake tease of going after Rhodes only to hit Sikoa instead. It was as straightforward as possible.) 

WWE SummerSlam live results: Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso in Tribal Combat

Posted on by Steve Khan

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.

******** 

MMA Rules: Shayna Baszler defeated Ronda Rousey (7:27)

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.

This was a letdown. 

WWE SummerSlam live results: Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: July 30, 2022
Location: Nissan Stadium in Nashville, TN

**********

Show Recap —

KICK-OFF SHOW

The panel was hosted by Kayla Braxton, Jerry Lawler, Booker T, Kevin Patrick and Peter Rosenberg. They ran down the card. 

(As usual, I don’t plan on recapping the entire pre-show, just whatever seems somewhat notable.) 

Lawler and Booker buried Pat McAfee because he isn’t a real wrestler sports entertainer like Baron Corbin. One of the other panellists suggested that Lawler face McAfee if he felt so little of him and Lawler was fine with that. 

Theory explained his plan again (again) to Sarah Schreiber and was feeling very confident. 

Titus O’Neil presented WWE title belts to Meals of Hope, PENCIL, and Musicians on Call and announced that each charity would be given $20,000.

The person in the cryptic videos will appear tonight.

Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch will open SummerSlam.

********

SUMMERSLAM 2022 

They’re in an outdoor stadium so the show is starting under full daylight.

Bianca Belair defeated Becky Lynch to retain the Raw Women’s Championship (15:10)

Lynch worked over Belair’s arm early on but she came back with a Glam Slam and standing moonsault for two. Belair tried giving Lynch a KOD on the barricade but Lynch landed on her feet, yanked Belair into the barricade and hit her with a leg drop onto it.

Lynch hit a leg drop as Belair was draped over the ropes but Belair countered a second attempt with a powerbomb. Belair hit another Glam Slam, this time onto the edge of the ring. Lynch tried to use Belair’s braid but Belair yanked her into the ring post with it and hit a vertical suplex on the outside. Belair followed with a moonsault for two.

Lynch tried a crossbody but Belair caught her. She couldn’t follow up because of her hurt arm so Lynch followed with Diamond Dust (a cutter) for two. They traded counters until Belair hit what was basically a flapjack. Lynch tried a Disarmer but Belair rolled to the outside while holding onto Lynch. Belair gave Lynch a KOD on the outside but couldn’t pull her into the ring.

Belair didn’t want to win by countout but seemed to think it was inevitable, however, Lynch just barely beat the ten count. They battled on the top rope until Lynch yanked Belair down by her braid and hit a Man-handle Slam for a close nearfall.

Lynch went for a Man-handle Slam off the middle rope but Belair countered into a Spanish Fly. She followed immediately with an emphatic KOD for the pinfall win. Good match with a terrific finish.

— Lynch offered Belair a handshake after the match. Belair shook her hand and they hugged.

Bayley entered as Belair celebrated. The crowd popped huge.

Bayley stopped at ringside and Dakota Kai entered. Corey Graves freaked out because he didn’t think Kai was under contract. Kai joined Bayley at ringside when Io Shirai entered too. 

Bayley, Kai and Shirai entered the ring together to confront Belair. Lynch joined Belair and the trio backed off. This was really good. 

(I think Shirai’s graphic said “Io Shirai” and Jimmy Smith definitely referred to her as that, but Graves called her “Io Sky.”) 

********

The Miz and Ciampa had matching neon green ring jackets with tights that were green, pink and black. 

Logan Paul defeated The Miz (w/Maryse & Ciampa) (14:16)

Paul hit a springboard moonsault to the outside but Miz took control with a Codebreaker off the ropes and Ciampa helped out later by hitting Paul with a cheap shot. Paul came back with a Blockbuster, a clothesline and powerslam for two. Paul followed with It Kicks and a figure four but Miz got a rope break. Paul hit a high cross and a standing moonsault for two.

Ciampa tried to attack Paul but the referee caught him and tossed him from ringside. Ciampa grabbed a chair and decided to sit down at ringside instead.

AJ Styles’ music hit and he flew in from the crowd to wipe out Ciampa. Styles attacked Ciampa through the crowd toward the back.

Paul hit Miz with a Phenomenal forearm for a nearfall. It looked good but Graves admitted it was more of a “pretty good forearm.”

Paul cleared the announce table and climbed to the top rope as Maryse screamed at him. Paul chucked his elbow pad at her before hitting Miz with an awesome-looking frog splash through the table.

Paul shoved Miz in the ring and tried a cover but Maryse distracted the referee. Miz tried to hit Paul with something but Paul ducked and hit a Skull Crushing Finale for the pinfall win.

The early part of the match was fine but thanks to the last few minutes, this ended up being quite good. The crowd was relatively quiet early on but Paul’s win got a huge pop. He bowed to the crowd after the match.

The announcers wondered if maybe Paul was trained by Styles. 

********

There were video packages (to cover commercial time) for Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns.

There was also an ad for a water bottle company featuring Maximum Male Models (Mace, Mansoor, Maxxine Dupri and Max Dupri). I might be in the minority but I thought it was pretty amusing.

********

The sun has gone down which was good timing for Lashley’s entrance with fireworks.

Bobby Lashley defeated Theory to retain the United States Championship (4:44)

Theory attacked Lashley with the briefcase during his entrance. The ref checked on Lashley before ringing the bell to start the match. It didn’t matter much because Lashley quickly came back with a chokeslam.

Theory tried to leave less than two minutes into the match but Lashley cut him off and chucked him twice into the barricade. Theory came back with a rolling dropkick for two but Lashley responded with a flatliner.

They traded fists before Lashley hit a running powerslam. Theory leaped over a spear attempt and Lashley collided with the turnbuckles. Theory tried another rolling dropkick but Lashley countered it perfectly by pressing Theory above his head.

Lashley applied the Hurt Lock and Theory tapped out immediately. The crowd liked Lashley and popped big for the win. 

********

No disqualification tag team match: Dominik & Rey Mysterio defeated Finn Bálor & Damian Priest (w/Rhea Ripley) (11:09)

They were still tagging in and out even though this was a no-DQ match.

Graves thought that maybe Bálor, 41-year-old former Universal champion, would finally reach his full potential now.

The crowd got into it as the Mysterios set up for a double 619 but Ripley tripped both Mysterios. She also dropped Dominik onto the apron which looked great.

Bálor called for a chair when the lights went out.

A remixed version of the Brood theme started and stairs appeared on the aisle way. Fire pyro went off as Edge rose through the stairs and he marched to the ring.

Edge speared both Priest and Bálor. The Mysterios gave Bálor a double 619 and Rey followed with a springboard splash for the pinfall win.

******** 

There was a moment when Graves told Michael Cole, “I liked you better when you were allowed to have an opinion,” which of course is a reference to Vince McMahon being gone. Cole responded to him by saying, “That’s changed. A lot has changed.”  

Pat McAfee defeated Happy Corbin (10:39)

Corbin entered first and was greeted by a male choir chanting “bum-ass Corbin.” They also hummed McAfee’s theme for his entrance (so he didn’t come out to Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes).

Corbin chucked McAfee onto the (now repaired) announce table. Cole yelled at Corbin so Corbin shoved Cole into his seat. I guess the fans hate Corbin more than Cole because they booed this.

Corbin went to the top but McAfee leaped to the top and brought him down with a superplex. (McAfee almost slipped but he managed to regain his balance.) With Corbin on the outside, McAfee went to the top and feigned losing his balance before hitting a Swanton.

The referee got knocked down for a moment after Corbin collided with him so McAfee kicked Corbin in the nuts. McAfee followed with a Code Red (I guess) off the middle rope for the pinfall win.

McAfee did well here for the most part but I wouldn’t call this a good match.

******** 

Drew McIntyre promo

McIntyre entered and he cut a fiery promo. He was happy to be in Nashville. He put over his battle with Sheamus and said he could barely get out of bed today but it was worth it because he’s got the winner of tonight’s world title match.

(McIntyre asked a young fan for his name and he said “Colt.” McIntyre gave Colt a big shoutout and the crowd chanted for him.)

McIntyre said he would beat the ass of whoever won tonight and would take both titles. He asked the crowd for a Claymore countdown. He raised his sword and fireworks went off.

******** 

Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins were led to the ring by the Tennessee Titans cheerleaders. They also wore Titans-themed gear. 

The Usos defeated The Street Profits to retain the Tag Team Championships [special referee: Jeff Jarrett] (13:23)

About eight minutes into the match, Dawkins took out the Usos with a flip dive (something that he might’ve done in the first 40 seconds if this was a Raw match). He pounced Jey Uso into Ford who hit a back suplex. The Usos superkicked Dawkins and Jimmy hit a splash for two. The Usos argued with Jarrett before hitting a double splash but Ford broke up the cover.

Jey almost superkicked Jarrett by mistake but Jarrett caught it. Dawkins followed with a sit-out powerbomb and Ford hit a frog splash but he took too long to make the cover and Jey kicked out. Ford was pissed at Jarrett for some reason.

The Usos fought back and took out Ford with double superkicks outside the ring. They hit Dawkins with superkicks before hitting a 1D for the pinfall win.

This was good, I guess, but I thought it felt a bit flat and it wasn’t any different than their past matches. Jarrett’s involvement ultimately led to nothing.

******** 

Kid Rock was shown in the crowd. He crushed his beer and made out with his ladyfriend.

Riddle suddenly barged into the ring as security told him to leave. Riddle told them to shut up. He was all business. He explained that he wasn’t cleared to wrestle but he called out Seth Rollins for a fight anyway.

Rollins entered as officials tried to hold him back. Rollins ran down the aisle and Riddle attacked him.

When they hit the ring, Rollins gave Riddle a curb stomp. Cole freaked out because Riddle was injured but he also admitted that this was Riddle’s own fault. Rollins left and officials checked on Riddle.

********

Liv Morgan defeated Ronda Rousey to retain the Smackdown Women’s Championship (4:35)

Morgan retained with help from the referee.

They went back and forth early on trading moves and counters, including Morgan reversing a Samoan drop in a crucifix bomb. Rousey went for the armbar a couple of times but Morgan kept getting the ropes. The ref had a trainer check on Morgan who was selling her arm.

Rousey placed Morgan in the armbar again as her own shoulders were down. The ref counted to three as Morgan tapped out at the same time.

Morgan was announced the winner as Rousey tried reasoning with the ref.

The replay showed that Morgan tapped out moments before Rousey was pinned.

— Rousey attacked Morgan after the match and put her in the armbar as the crowd lightly booed. Rousey then put the ref in an armbar the crowd cheered. Shawn Daivari and Jamie Noble ran down to break things up. (Morgan remained outside the ring selling her arm.)

This was probably a heel turn for Rousey but I’m not sure it got over that big. Morgan also didn’t exactly look like a winner after the match.

********

Glenn Jacobs (announced as Kane) was introduced to the crowd. He announced an attendance of 48,449.

********

Last Man Standing Match: Roman Reigns (w/Paul Heyman) defeated Brock Lesnar to retain the WWE Championship (22:55)

This was wild.

Reigns entered first and got a big fireworks display. He told Nashville to acknowledge him. They did. Lesnar also got big-ass fireworks. Cole said this was the first last man standing match in SummerSlam history and he was surprised to learn it was Lesnar’s first.

Lesnar put on a cowboy hat and drove a red tractor to the ring. Lesnar climbed the tractor and posed for the crowd. Mike Rome was doing the introductions but Lesnar told him to shut up. Lesnar introduced himself as a big-ass country boy weighing 285 pounds here to kick Roman Reigns’ ass.

As soon as Rome completed Reigns’ intro, Lesnar leaped off the tractor and dropped Reigns with a Thesz press. The bell rang and the match was underway.

—

Lesnar beat the shit out of Reigns early on, suplexing him around ringside. However, Heyman distracted Lesnar and Reigns put him through a table with a Samoan drop. Lesnar beat the ten count and did again after Reigns put him through another table with a Uranage. Lesnar’s back was bleeding.

Reigns hit a superman punch but Lesnar only fell to a knee so Reigns hit another. Reigns hit a spear but Lesnar got up at seven. Reigns tried for another spear but Lesnar sent him to the outside. Lesnar slammed Reigns onto the broken half of a table which looked painful.

Lesnar backed the tractor up (presumably for safety reasons considering it was dangerously close to the ring) before hitting Reigns with the steel steps and a broken piece of table. Reigns got up at an eight count.

Lesnar chucked Reigns into the front loader of the tractor and dumped him into the ring. (They probably thought this would be a cool-looking spot but it wasn’t that bad of a bump and Reigns was smart enough not to sell it too big so he got up at a five count.)

Lesnar followed by giving Reigns three straight German suplexes but Reigns got up at eight. Lesnar hit an F5 and Reigns beat the ten count again. Reigns reversed another F5 attempt into a guillotine but Lesnar countered that into a guillotine of his own. The ref told Lesnar to let go because Reigns was out but Reigns got up at a nine count.

Lesnar got in the tractor again and used it to literally push the ring back a couple of feet. He then put the front loader under the ring and lifted the ring way up, causing Reigns to roll out of it. The crowd popped huge for that.

The Usos showed up to attack Lesnar but he suplexed them both.

Heyman handed both belts to Lesnar and pleaded with him to stop.

Lesnar grabbed Heyman and gave him a damn F5 through the announce table. (Heyman’s bump was fine, all things considered.)

Reigns speared Lesnar but they both got up at nine.

Theory’s music hit and he ran out with a referee and his briefcase. Theory clocked Reigns with the briefcase but before he could officially cash in, Lesnar gave him an F5.

The Usos used the distraction to drop Lesnar with superkicks but Lesnar got up at nine.

Reigns hit a spear but Lesnar got up again at nine.

Reigns grabbed the briefcase and hit Theory before hammering Lesnar with it. Lesnar got up again at nine and Cole was freaking out. Reigns hit Lesnar with the title belt but he again got up at nine.

Reigns hit Lesnar with the belt again before he and the Usos buried Lesnar under pieces of tables and the steel steps. Reigns stood atop the pile and Lesnar didn’t budge. The ref counted to ten. Reigns retained.

Reigns hugged the Usos. He also hugged Heyman after they brought him back to life. 

WWE SummerSlam live results: Fatal four-way main event

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Preview by Joseph Currier

WWE returns to the Barclays Center tonight as the venue hosts the company’s biggest pay-per-view of the summer.

We’re looking for your thoughts on this show, last night’s NXT Takeover, as well as yesterday’s ROH iPPV with a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]

In the main event of SummerSlam, Brock Lesnar puts his Universal Championship on the line against Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe, and Braun Strowman in a fatal four-way. Both Lesnar and Paul Heyman have promised to leave WWE if Lesnar loses his title.

The WWE Championship will be up for grabs as well, with Shinsuke Nakamura getting his first shot against Jinder Mahal. Nakamura won a number one contender’s match against John Cena to earn the title shot.

Cena will be in action against Baron Corbin, AJ Styles will defend his United States Championship against Kevin Owens (with Shane McMahon serving as the special guest referee), Sasha Banks will challenge Alexa Bliss, Natalya will challenge Naomi, and Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose reunite against Cesaro & Sheamus for the Raw tag titles.

Also on the show, Finn Balor brings back his “Demon” alter ego to face Bray Wyatt, Randy Orton takes on Rusev, Enzo Amore will be suspended above the ring in a shark cage for Big Cass vs. Big Show, and there will be three matches on the extended pre-show.

Our coverage begins with that kickoff show before the main card starts at 7 p.m. ET.

**********

HARDYS & JASON JORDAN VS. THE MIZ & CURTIS AXEL & BO DALLAS

A basic match building a Jordan hot tag.  Jordan was the most impressive guy but the crowd was cold for him.  Jordan was throwing Axel & Dallas around, but Axel tagged Miz as Jordan was about to finish Axel, used the skull crushing finale on Jordan and pinned him.   

AKIRA TOZAWA VS. NEVILLE FOR THE CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE

This was really well worked and more over than most pre-show matches, but it still lacked for any real intensity from the crowd.  Neville regained the title.  Tozawa did a great looking toipe.  Neville went for a superplex, but Tozawa blocked and dropped him off the top with a front suplex, and went for the senton.  Neville got his knees up, and then got the pin with a red arrow to the back and the pin.

Elias, who is back without a last name, sang a couple of songs.  Most booed him  heavily but there was a clear undercurrent of people who were cheering him, and when he said he was doing a second song, there were a lot of cheers.  I don’t think people expected that, but his songs both ripped on Brooklyn and he was booed heavily,

BIG E & XAVIER WOODS VS. USOS FOR TAG TITLES

This was a hell of a match. The Usos won the belts back after a series of superkicks on E, followed by a double splash off the top and Jey pinned E.  There were a ton of new moves including a move where Woods picked up E on his shoulder and dropped him on one of them.  E did the tackle on on Jey to the floor and set up the Midnight Hour on Jimmy but he got off and E got hit with all the superkicks  They had done a ropewalk Midnight Hour but the other Uso saved earlier.  This was the best pre-show match in recent memory and has a shot at being the best bout of the show.  

An interesting note is that if there was smart money that came in for this show, it was minimal.  The Usos were underdogs, and in fact, all three pre-show matches saw underdog wins.  None were the super long odds when smart money comes in and as of right now, there haven’t been major swings in the last minutes so I think the odds aren’t going to be any kind of a predictor for finishes.

JOHN CENA VS. BARON CORBIN

Well, this wasn’t a good sign for Corbin.  Corbin mostly yelled at the crowd.  Corbin got a near fall with the Deep Six but Cena, who looked really big,  won clean with the Attitude Adjustment with not much of a build. 

This is the fourth match in a row that the underdog has won.

NAOMI VS. NATALYA FOR THE SMACKDOWN WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP 

Natalya won clean with a sharpshooter after Naomi went for for a split-legged moonsault and Natalya got her knees up.  They did a lot of cool looking new stuff here including a Naomi escape of the first sharpshooter by using her legs to power Natayla off and she hit her head on the bottom turnbuckle.  Natalya reversed Naomi’s submisison into the first sharpshooter.  Good match.

BIG SHOW VS. BIG CASS WITH ENZO AMORE IN A SHARK CAGE

Enzo said he’d put his worst day with his microphone against the best day Cass ever had in the ring.  He called himself the Al Capone of the microphone until Cass cut him off.  Enzo was put in the cage, 

This was a weak match.  Cass destroyed both Show and Enzo to win.  Enzo took off his shirt and pants, so he was left in his underwear, and then poured oil he had in his underwear and slipped out of fhe shark cage, which was very low, and jumped into the ring.  But Cass kicked him in he face immediately.  Cass then won with two high kicks and the empire elbow.  Crowd chanted boring at one point.  The story was that Show’s hand hurt him.  He did a KO punch but it wasn’t strong enough to pin him and also did a left hand choke slam that wasn’t enough. 

Kurt Angle and Daniel Bryan.  Bryan brought Jason Jordan, Kurt said you learn more from your mistakes.  Bryan said we’re going to steal the show with title match, not sure about that.  Bryan said “It’s true it’s damn true” and the Kurt screamed “Yes” and Bryan said “No.”

RANDY ORTON VS. RUSEV

Rusev attacked him before the match.  The bell then rang, Rusev missed a charfge and Orton hit the RKO to win in nine seconds.

ALEXA BLISS VS. SASHA BANKS FOR RAW WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP

Banks won the title and kind of a surprise the way it was worked.  Banks took a bump out of the ring on her shoulder and was selling it with the idea it was weak.  Bliss was able to get out of the bank statement beacuse the shoulder was weak.  She put it on again and the announcers pushed the idea that her shoulder was hurt, but Bliss tapped out.  Match okay, but didn’t have much heat.

FINN BALOR VS. BRAY WYATT

Balor, dressed as the Demon, won with a sling blade, a running dropkick and the Coup de Grace clean.  Balor did a running flip dive early.  He had used a dobule foot stomp of the apron and escaped from Sister Abigail.  Match was okay, better than their match on Raw but not close to what you’d expect from a Balor PPV match.

SHEAMUS & CESARO VS. SETH ROLLINS & DEAN AMBROSE FOR RAW TAG TITLES

Ambrose & Rollins won the titles when Rollins gave Sheamus the knee and Ambrose hit hi with Dirty Deeds.  This was very good, but with a great spot leading to the finish where Rollins used a springboard huracarana and flung Cesaro into Sheamus, who had Ambrose up for white noise.  Lots of good near falls and solid work in a long match.  Another highlight was early on when the crowd was playing with a beach ball which distracted them from the match, and Cesaro ran into the crowd and tore up the beach ball.   Both teams looked good doing their trademark spots and this easily had the most heat so far in the show.

A.J. STYLES VS. KEVIN OWENS FOR THE U.S. TITLE WITH SHANE MCMAHON AS REFEREE

Good match with Styles winning after a phenomenal forearm and the Styles clash.  The story of the match was spots with Shane McMahon, which were overdone.  Owens used the power bomb but Shane had taken a bump froma springboard 450 by Styles which accidentlaly hit him, so Shane was slow in counting the pin.  Owens was funny saying that you fall off buildings and you can’t get up fro that.  Shane took a bump out of the ring and Styles used the calf crusher, Owens tapped but he missed it.  Styles broke the hold when he tapped which was silly because the ref wasn’t there.  Styles complained and Shane said it was a two count.  Okay.  Owens used the power bomb again and Shane counted three, but Shane saw Styles’ foot on the ropes before three so he restarted the match.  Owens and Shane argued and started shoving each other.  Shane shoved him into a Styles schoolboy but Owens kicked out.  But Styles came back to win.  The match itself was really good.  It felt like Owens vs. Shane may go somewhere.

JINDER MAHAL VS. SHINSUKE NAKAMURA FOR WWE TITLE

Lee England Jr. was back as play the violin for Nakamura’s entrance.

You can see they’re in love with the media that Mahal is getting them.  Nakmura looked okay in a short match, Mahal really didn’t do much.  Nakamura used the Kinshasa to the back of the head of Mahal and set up another one.  The Singh Brothers both got in the ring and Nakamura laid both of them out with Kinshasa’s and then Mahal had the Khallas on him for the pin.  I don’t think people expected it to be that short.  As a WWE title match goes, this was pretty bad, not Punjabi Prison bad, but still bad.  

BROCK LESNAR VS. ROMAN REIGNS VS. BRAUN STROWMAN VS. SAMOA JOE FOR UNIVERSAL TITLE 

A pretty amazing match which ended with Lesnar pinning Reigns after an F-5 after Reigns hit three Sueprman punches and ran in for the spear into the Superman punch.  The story of the match was making Strowman as he destroyed everyone almost the entire match, including manhandling Lesnar early  Strowman put him through two tables with powerslams and Lesnar went out on a stretcher,  Lesnar came back in the closing minutes.  Early on Joe and Reigns were getting destroyed and it was all about Lesnar and Strowman.  Really the match layout was to make Strowman into the top guy.  There was good anticipation for Lesnar vs. Reigns, but the roof came off with Lesnar vs. Strowman which is clearly the biggest match in the company right now.  Reigns speared Lesnar throughthe barricade.  Strowman destroyed Reigns & Joe before powerslamming Lesnar through one table, and then another.  Then he turned the third table over on Lesnar, which led to Lesnar going out on a stretcher.  Reigns hit Strowman with the ring steps and Strowman was cut on the side of the head.  Strowman choke slammed Reigns and Joe at the same time.  Fans were chanting for Undertaker and then Lesnar came out.  Lesnar hit Gemran suplexes again on Reigns and Joe, but the key is they never let Lesnar hit the German on Strowman.  He did get a Kkmura on Strowman but Reigns borke it up.  Lesnar also kicked out  of a Regins spear that looked like it couild bbe a finish.  Strowman powerslammed Joe but Lesnar pulled the ref out of the ring so he couldn’t count.  Strowman powerslammed Reigns but Lesnar broke it up.  Lesnar tried the F-5 on Strowman, but Strowman got out and had Lesnar up for a powerlsam, but Reigns speared Strowman.  Joe had the choke on Lesnar, but Lesnar got out and hit the F-5 and Reigns saved.  This led to the finish with Reigns and Lesnar.