The beginning of a new era on PPV, with Paul Levesque in charge of creative, took place with SummerSlam on 7/30 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.
The show was generally praised. It didn’t feel appreciably different from a Vince McMahon show, with all the video packages and both long and short matches. Logan Paul was the big shock, and he had one of the Miz’s best matches of his career. There were short matches. Usos vs. Street Profits came nowhere close to their previous match. And it was really all about Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns, with Reigns winning the third straight meeting of the series in a last-man-standing match that featured Lesnar using a tractor to turn over the ring and tons of interference by the Usos. Lesnar kept getting up from spears, briefcase shots, and belt shots before he was buried under all kinds of broken tables and chairs so he couldn’t get up. After the show ended, he got up from the debris, got in the ring, and took off his cowboy hat to the fans.
The goal of the match was for Reigns to win but to protect Lesnar and maintain his aura. But in doing those finishes where you don’t want anybody to really lose, there is no satisfaction in getting the win. Here, the idea of the forklift and the visual were done to camouflage that. Most found it entertaining and the best match on the show, although in almost any other case, that kind of interference and a finish to something promoted as a conclusive match in a long series would be taken differently. The finish seemed to work well for most, because of the time and more importantly, the company.
Job Listing: Onlamp php/mysql developer. Experience with vbulletin and drupal/WordPress a plus. Email [email protected] with subject PHP DEVELOPER with resume.
The life and career of Vince McMahon. His rise, his fall, both sides of the coin, how things could have been different. The fall of the territories, the WCW feud, buying the company from his father, his pre-WWF promotions, announcing, getting on the USA Network, the expansion, Hulk Hogan, Saturday Night’s Main Event, the first WrestleMania, the death of Crockett Promotions, the McMahon family as TV characters, angles with the family he suggested that never happened, a potential sale, Paul Levesque, what brought Vince down, Brock Lesnar, Tony Khan and much more.
WrestleMania 2024
Full coverage of ROH Death Before Dishonor with business notes
SummerSlam and Clash at the Castle notes
Full coverage of the G1 tournament, with business, standings, star ratings and all that good stuff
Full coverage of Saturday’s UFC show
Television ratings for every national wrestling show
Details behind the IWGP Women’s Championship and why
Stardom PPV coverage from last week and the upcoming shows this week
Dragon Gate’s biggest shows of the year this week
Why a top Dragon Gate star left the promotion
Lots of injury updates
New Japan Strong tapings
Tragos/Thesz Hall of Fame induction ceremony notes
Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
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Sunday News Update
Bryan and I have a show up covering SummerSlam and UFC 277 last night. We will be doing another show tonight covering the Ric Flair retirement show tonight in Nashville.
No reports of any injuries off last night’s SummerSlam. Becky Lynch landed badly on her shoulder in the first match but continued on. I was scared to death regarding the Brock Lesnar overhead throw on both Usos, particularly the second one, but they were okay as well. After the Big E injury, when I see someone taking that move on the floor and headed straight for the top of their head, it makes me scared something really bad can happen.
The listed producers from last night were: Lynch vs. Belair (TJ Wilson), Miz vs. Logan Paul (Shane Helms), Mysterios vs. Balor & Priest (James Gibson), Pat McAfee vs. Happy Corbin (Shawn Daivari), Usos vs. Street Profits (Daivari), Ronda Rousey vs. Liv Morgan (Petey Williams), Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar (Michael Hayes)
No real controversies from last night’s UFC show past an early stoppage in the Sergei Pavlovich win over Derrick Lewis, but Lewis was beating lit up from the start of that fight. Pavlovich passed the Lewis test with flying colors and has to be taken seriously as a contender. The Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Pena fight and two fight series kind of reminds me of the GSP vs. Matt Serra deal where Serra pulled off one of the biggest upsets in history before being totally dominated in the rematch. Pena showed tremendous guts and even went for a number of submissions that she appeared close with, but Nunes dominated her from start-to-finish.
Dana White said last night that Pena needed plastic surgery on her forehead because she got a big chunk missing from her forehead in the fight.
However, White said Anthony Smith had no fracture in his leg or ankle as he believed and told Joe Rogan after his loss to Magomed Anaklaev.
Dana White after talked of Nunes vs. Valentina Shevchenko. Both have pretty much run through their divisions. But Nunes noted she’s beaten Shevchenko twice already.
Flair retirement show is tonight at at 7 p.m. Eastern
Bunkhouse Battle Royal: Bully Ray, James Storm, Crimson, Rickey Shane Page, Komander, Sin Bodhi, Big Damo, Crowbar, Bryan Myers and many others
Jonathan Gresham vs. Alan Angels vs. Konosuke Takeshita vs. Nick Wayne
Ricky & Kerry Morton (with Robert Gibson) vs. Brock Anderson & Brian Pillman Jr. (with Arn Anderson)
Mark & Jay Briscoe vs.; Ross & Marshall Von Erich
Ren Narita vs. Yuya Uemura
Bandido vs. Rey Fenix vs. Laredo Kid vs. Black Taurus
Killer Kross vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
Chris Sabin & Alex shelley vs. Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards
Jordynne Grace vs. Deonna Purrazzo vs. Rachael Ellering for Impact women’s title
Josh Alexander vs. Jacob Fatu for Impact title
Ric Flair & Andrade El Idolo vs. Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal
Google searches indicate a very low PPV number for last night’s UFC show, as they did 550,000 searches. SummerSlam also did 550,000, which is in line with what would be expected. Most UFC shows top 2 million and most WWE shows are around 200,000, but SummerSlam would be way above. The Jake Paul-Hasim Rahman Jr. fight being canceled was No. 7 yesterday with 100,000. Logan Paul was No. 10 yesterday at 50,000.
We’re looking for your thoughts on SummerSlam, UFC 277, the Flair retirement show and both nights of G-1 in Nagoya so you can leave a thumbs up, down or middle, best and worst match for each show to [email protected]
Gil Hayes, who wrestled from 1966 to 1985, best known in Stampede Wrestling where he was legit star and in the company’s Hall of Fame, passed way on 7/28 at the age of 82. His death was reported as due to a heart attack. We will have a story on him in the new Observer. He gained his most fame in Stampede as well as the early years of WWC in Puerto Rico, and IWE in Japan, but worked all over Canada. He worked very little in the U.S. outside of a short run in the heyday of Championship Wrestling from Florida.
Other Notes
Today’s Stardom results from the Five Star Grand Prix at the Ota Ward Gym in Tokyo:
AZM & Miyu Amasaski b Lady C & Hina, Amasaki & AZM Rina & Ruaka,
Amasaki & AZM b Hazuki & Hanan, Maika & Mai
Sakurai b Amasaki & AZM to win the gauntlet
Koguma b Momo Kohgo
Mina Shirakawa b Momo Watanabe
Risa Sera b Saki
Kairi & Natsupoi b Mayu Iwatani & Saya Iida
Tam Nakano b Himeka
Mirai b Giulia
Starlight Kid b Saya Kamitani
Utami Hayashishita b Syuri
So both major champions lost. Heard top three bouts were really strong. They have 15:00 limits and Hayashishita scored the pin with four seconds left.
WAR on 9/10 in Lima, OH at the Empowered Sports Center.
Insane Wrestling Revolution from Thursday night in Monroe, MI: Ben Boone b Miss Vicky (Jeremiah Goodman in drag), Shawna Reed b Hayley Shadows, Kenny Urban b Zach Thomas in a goose on a pole match, Trey Miguel b Sam Beale, Tanner Nix won Battle Royal, Jason Hotch b Malcolm Monroe III, Madman Fulton b Crash Jaxson, Nate Bock & Big Flex b Aaron Orion & Tommy Vendetta to keep tag titles, Dread King Logan b PCO to keep heavyweight title (thanks to Leonard Brand)
The late Kirk White’s family drew a sellout last night for Big Time Wrestling in Newark, FA: Eddie Cuervo b Truex, Alex Ace (7 foot legit I’m told) b Matt Carlos, Shane Kody & EOC b Dominic Teixiera & Kaka Meng, Levi Shapiro b Dave Dutra, JR Kratos b Vinnie Massaro, Jeckles & Jinx b Sir Simon & Drake Frost-DQ, Chris Bey won three-way over Frankie Kazarian and Marcus Lewis (said to be great). (thanks to Jim Davis)
SHWA from last night in Western Australia: Felix Young & Jarrad Slate b Faizel Keris & CJ LangKey, Elijah Henry b Del Cano, Matthew Pace won over Twitch, Ryan Rivera, King Shahil, Lucas Fantasia, J Kalus and Bruno Nitro, Jay Taylor b Harry Dux, Johnny & Tommy Dux b Julian Ward & Taylor King, Jordan Bishop & Ryan Allen b Stella Nyx & Lizzie Maximums and Antonio Corrado & Mr. Thompson, Kiel Steria b Noah Greene, Chris Target b Cat Collins to keep SHWA title. Next show is 9/17.
SummerSlam marked the first show of a new era. And by the end of the show, things did seem to trend towards positive changes. But as usual, there one was constant: Roman Reigns ending the show as champion.
Reigns managed to beat Brock Lesnar for a second time this year to retain the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, though it required an army of men to do it, including The Usos, Paul Heyman, and Theory, who after weeks of television hype failed to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase. The match was a huge improvement from their WrestleMania bout, which failed to meet WrestleMania main event standards. This was a wild brawl, including a tractor that at one point lifted the ring, sending Reigns tumbling down to the floor. It was an awesome spectacle and capped off the show in a positive way. And since Drew McIntyre defeated Sheamus on Friday’s SmackDown to become Reign’s next challenger, we do know that is the direction for the next five weeks leading to September 3’s Clash at the Castle in Wales.
As many will likely do in the weeks following Vince McMahon’s shock resignation from WWE on July 22, it was easy to see the Triple H changes during SummerSlam, most of them being for the better. The finishes were clean and simple, save for the SmackDown Women’s Championship match. Commentary felt much more at ease, with announcers less focused on trying to argue with one another and refrained from drowning the home audience with branding and buzzwords, a McMahon staple that had intensified in the last year.
At one point in the show, Corey Graves told Micheal Cole that he “liked it better when he didn’t have an opinion.”
“That’s changed,” Cole said. “A lot has changed.”
But perhaps the biggest indicator things have changed was following the Raw Women’s Championship match that kicked off the show. After an excellent match between Bianca Belair and Becky Lynch (and a handshake seemingly made to turn Lynch face), Dakota Kai (who was released from WWE back in April) and Io Shirai (which recent reports indicated her future with the WWE were unclear) joining with a returning Bayley to form a new faction, setting their sights on Belair and Lynch.
Both Shirai (now going under the name IYO SKY) and Kai had languished in the WWE developmental system for years, seemingly because those in charge didn’t see any reason to bring them up. But with McMahon gone, and Shirai and Kai both having memorable runs in NXT 1.0 under Triple H, it’s clear to see why the moves were made, and who was responsible for bringing them back.
Matches up and down the card were solid to good. The two big celebrity matches delivered, with Logan Paul and Miz turning out to be a good match thanks to Paul’s athleticism, including a giant frog splash off the apron to the commentary table outside the ring. It remains to be seen what kind of schedule Logan will have for the rest of the year, but given this is his second match, and he came out of the match looking far better than most in NXT that have had more experience, it’s possible he could be a contender for rookie of the year. And that is high praise for a year stacked with contenders such as Hook, Nick Wayne, and Bron Breakker.
Pat McAfee and Happy Corbin also had a good match, though it was a bit clunky at times. McAfee impressed during his run in NXT, and this was his first match on the main roster where he didn’t have an impromptu wrestling match with a 76-year-old immobile man. The match wasn’t entirely smooth, and Paul had more athleticism, but McAfee didn’t look bad and had a cool finish, a springboard code red.
Edge made his return to the company, coming out in a spooky entrance that came off as an updated version of the old Brood entrance, to attack Judgment Day, who threw him out of the group following Hell in a Cell. After losing clean on Raw, another loss for Finn Balor and Damian Priest puts them in a bad position. But they do have a direction going forward, as it’s clear Edge will likely face off against Judgment Day in some sort of match down the line, probably at Clash of the Castle.
The rest of the card had The Usos retain the Undisputed WWE Tag Team titles against The Street Profits in a match that was fine, but paled in comparison to the match they had at Money in the Bank earlier this month. Bobby Lashley defeated Theory in under five minutes to retain the United States championship in a match that was mostly meant as a reminder that Theory could play spoiler later in the show, which ended up not happening.
Liv Morgan retained the SmackDown Women’s Championship following a short match with a wonky finish that involved Rousey’s shoulders being counted by the referee as Morgan submitted. Rousey then attacked Morgan after the match and attacked the referee as well. The finish clearly means that another match is coming, likely in Wales, but it remains to be seen if this was a heel turn for Rousey or just someone with a chip on their shoulder heading to the next match.
SummerSlam was the first show under the Triple H regime, and it largely was a success. The changes were noticeable throughout the show, and the hangups I’ve had in the past with the announcing and verbiage were mostly non-existent. The next few weeks of television, however, will tell the real story of what changes are coming to WWE following McMahon’s exit.
Ronda Rousey attacked Liv Morgan following a disputed finish at SummerSlam.
The finish had Rousey going for an armbar, with Morgan trying to escape from the hold. Morgan had Rousey’s shoulders on the mat. The referee started to count, but didn’t see Morgan tapping before he counted to three. He awarded the match to Morgan, who retained the SmackDown Women’s Championship in the process.
After the match, Rousey complained to the referee about the decision. Rousey then attacked Morgan, putting her in an armbar. When the referee told her to let go, Rousey attacked the referee, also putting him in the armbar. The segment ended with WWE officials coming to the ring to break things up.
Morgan cashed in her Money in the Bank briefcase and defeated Rousey at the pay-per-view earlier this month after Rousey successfully retained the title against Natalya. A rematch was made for SummerSlam. The two teamed together on Friday’s SmackDown, defeating Natalya and Sonya Deville.
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.
Job Listing: Onlamp php/mysql developer. Experience with vbulletin and drupal/WordPress a plus. Email [email protected] with subject PHP DEVELOPER with resume.
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If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
Wedneday News Update
WWE
Seth Rollins commented on social media regarding being pulled from this Saturday’s SummerSlam card: “For anyone who purchased a ticket to #SummerSlam hoping to see me in action, I apologize. I did everything I could over the last 6 months to earn my spot on this show, but some things are out of my control. Thank you for always singing my song. They’ll hear ya someday.
Triple H later replied to Rollins’ tweet, writing “I hear you!”
WWE tryouts began Wednesday in Nashville and will continue over three days. One name at the tryout that TMZ Sports covered was Talati Polamalu, the nephew of former NFL star Troy Polamalu.
Bryan Danielson was a guest on My Mom’s Basement with Robbie Fox ahead of his return to in-ring action on tonight’s Dynamite.
Rush spoke to Sports Illustrated ahead of his interim AEW World Championship match tonight with Jon Moxley: “Winning this title, it would be the greatest achievement in my career,” Rush said through a translator. “I am going to leave everything in the ring to get that title.”
Kenny Omega on Twitter wrote about Miyu Yamashita’s debut on tonight’s Dynamite: “Even with the few visits she’s had overseas she’s already been introduced to how ignorant and pathetic the know-it-all “fans” on social media can be. Ignore them and show everyone just how obvious the difference in skill is. The true supporters are also watching and support you.”
In an interview with Sportskeeda, Britt Baker expressed interest in facing Paige, who recently left WWE after her contract expired. “I’m a huge fan of Paige. I love her. I love her mom. I’ve wrestled her mom before actually. But she’s such an inspirational female. That girl has gone through it all and she’s still, pardon my swearing, but she’s such a bad b***h and she has that everything roll off your back energy.”
A new match has been added to Saturday’s SummerSlam card.
Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio will face Finn Balor and Damian Priest of The Judgment Day in a no disqualification match at SummerSlam in a rematch from this week’s Raw episode.
The Mysterios defeated Balor and Priest in a standard tag match on Monday’s Raw. Balor, Priest, and the returning Rhea Ripley then attacked Rey during a backstage celebration of Rey’s 20th anniversary in WWE to set up the SummerSlam bout.
Nine matches are now official fir Saturday’s event at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. Here is the updated lineup:
WWE SummerSlam, Saturday, July 30, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock & WWE Network —
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Last Man Standing match: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Brock Lesnar
Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair (c) vs. Becky Lynch
SmackDown Women’s Championship: Liv Morgan (c) vs. Ronda Rousey
United States Championship: Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Theory
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship: The Usos (c) vs. The Street Profits – Jeff Jarrett special guest referee
Logan Paul vs. The Miz
Pat McAfee vs. Happy Corbin
Seth Rollins vs. Riddle
No DQ match: The Mysterios vs. Finn Balor & Damian Priest (w/Rhea Ripley)
As of now, next Saturday’s WWE SummerSlam is listed with a TV-14 rating on Peacock.
The 2018 SummerSlam also carries the TV-14 rating — the first such since the 2014 edition. The ratings for previous editions have floated between TV-PG, TV-14 and even TV-MA.
It’s unclear why specific shows carry the rating while others don’t as all Extreme Rules and Hell In A Cell events are TV-PG.
This news comes as a return to TV-14 has become a revived discussion point over the last week.
Last Thursday, Andrew Zarian first reported that the TV-PG rating for the Monday flagship was being dropped on July 18th in exchange for the old rating of TV-14 for the first time since July 2008.
However, Zarian later noted that the change was being discussed internally and not finalized despite an internal memo saying otherwise.
“This is a wild situation. There’s a lot happening behind the scenes. WWE Raw won’t be going to TV-14 on July 18th but still in consideration for a later date,” Zarian wrote at the time.
It’s also unclear what a move to TV-14 would actually mean in 2022. While some assumed things would return to the Attitude Era days, it could mean the loosening of language with regard to swearing.
WWE officially announced tonight that Logan Paul will face The Miz at this year’s SummerSlam.
Tonight’s Raw ended with Paul appearing on Miz TV. Paul asked The Miz if he accepted his challenge for SummerSlam. Miz ignored him, showing footage of them winning at WrestleMania. Paul then showed footage of Miz attacking him following the match. Miz said he was simply teaching Paul, saying that Paul had promise, but he needed The Miz. Miz then declined the challenge, calling Paul a rookie. After Paul insinuated that Miz had “tiny balls”, Miz accepted the challenge.
The segment ended with Paul sending Miz out of the ring. Ciampa came in and attacked Paul from behind, with Miz coming in and joining the attack. Paul, however, managed to escape.
The two continued their feud after it was announced that Paul had signed with WWE. During the signing, Paul said he was coming after The Miz. Miz, however, ignored Paul’s threats and instead suggested the two continue their tag team.
WWE SummerSlam, Saturday, July 30, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock & WWE Network —
Last Man Standing match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Brock Lesnar
Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair (c) vs. Becky Lynch
SmackDown Women’s Championship: Liv Morgan (c) vs. Ronda Rousey
United States Championship: Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Theory
Undisputed Tag Team Championship: The Usos (c) vs. The Street Profits — Jeff Jarrett special guest referee
Seth Rollins will face Riddle in a match set for July 30 in Nashville. The two have been feuding in recent weeks, with Riddle laying out Rollins with an RKO two weeks ago on Raw. On last week’s Raw, Riddle and Bobby Lashley defeated Seth Rollins and Theory in a tag match.
On tonight’s show, Riddle was on the KO Show with Kevin Owens when Rollins attacked him from behind, giving Riddle two stomps.
Here is the latest card for SummerSlam:
Last Man Standing match: Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns defends against Brock Lesnar
SmackDown Women’s Champion Liv Morgan defends against Ronda Rousey
Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair defends against Becky Lynch
Seth Rollins vs. Riddle
Pat McAfee vs. Happy Corbin
United States Champion Bobby Lashley defends against Theory
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso) defend against The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford)
A Raw Women’s Championship match is official for WWE SummerSlam.
Bianca Belair will defend the Raw Women’s title against Becky Lynch on Saturday, July 30 at SummerSlam in Nashville. The match was officially announced during this week’s Raw episode.
Lynch announced on Raw that WWE officials had informed her that she will face the winner of a Belair vs. Carmella title match at SummerSlam. Belair then defeated Carmella to retain her title in a match where she could have lost the title by countout.
After Belair vs. Carmella, Lynch and Belair had an interaction involving the Raw Women’s title belt. Lynch grabbed the belt and teased handing it to Belair, but instead dropped it, playing off a Lynch and Charlotte Flair segment on SmackDown in the build to last year’s Survivor Series.
Lynch returned after maternity leave at last year’s SummerSlam in Las Vegas as a surprise replacement for Sasha Banks in a SmackDown Women’s title match, defeating Belair in under 30 seconds to win the title.
Belair and Lynch then rematched at WrestleMania this year over the Raw Women’s title, where Belair defeated Lynch.
Seven matches are now official for SummerSlam. Here is the lineup to this point:
WWE SummerSlam, Saturday, July 30, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock & WWE Network —
Last Man Standing match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Brock Lesnar
Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair (c) vs. Becky Lynch
SmackDown Women’s Championship: Liv Morgan (c) vs. Ronda Rousey
United States Championship: Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Theory
Undisputed Tag Team Championship: The Usos (c) vs. The Street Profits — Jeff Jarrett special guest referee
As was the case during WrestleMania week in Dallas, WWE will hold another multi-day tryout as part of this month’s SummerSlam week in Nashville, Tennessee.
The event will feature both current and recent college graduates, and will take place over three days, starting Wednesday, July 27th at the 60,000 square-foot Wildhorse Saloon. The venue is a “live music and event venue and staple of downtown.”
Former WWE Champion Big E will be attending the tryouts along with Paul “Triple H” Levesque and senior VP of global talent strategy and development James Kimball.
For the final day on Friday, fans can buy a general admission ticket to watch the proceedings.
From the company’s release:
“WWE will host more than 50 male and female participants with collegiate athletic backgrounds across football, basketball, track and field, wrestling, volleyball, gymnastics, cheer and dance. Athletes will partake in performance evaluations, individual and group promo evaluations, in-ring technical sessions and sit-down interviews as part of the tryout process. The invite-only event features several athletes who attended 2022 NFL Rookie Mini Camps.”
The WrestleMania week tryout saw more than 20 participants get signed for developmental deals at Orlando’s Performance Center. One of those who attended and was signed was former Bellator MMA fighter Valerie Loureda.
A match for the SmackDown Women’s Championship has been added to SummerSlam.
Liv Morgan will defend the title against former champion Ronda Rousey. On tonight’s SmackDown, Morgan came out for a promo when she was confronted by Natalya, who said if it wasn’t for her injuring Rousey’s leg at Money in the Bank, Morgan wouldn’t be champion. This brought out Rousey, who eventually got in a confrontation with Natalya. The two had a match, with Rousey scoring a quick win.
At Money in the Bank, Rousey submitted Natalya to retain the SmackDown Women’s Championship. However, she was injured during the course of the match, leaving her vulnerable. Morgan, who won the women’s Money in the Bank match earlier in the show, came out with the briefcase and cashed in on Rousey, pinning her to win the title for the first time.
The updated card for WWE SummerSlam, which takes place July 30 in Nashville, Tennessee:
Last Man Standing match: Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns defends against Brock Lesnar
SmackDown Women’s Champion Liv Morgan defends against Ronda Rousey
Pat McAfee vs. Happy Corbin
United States Champion Bobby Lashley defends against Theory
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso) defend against The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford)
Theory will get a chance at reclaiming the United States Championship at SummerSlam.
It was announced on tonight’s Raw that a rematch between the two will take place July 30 in Nashville. Theory said that after he won the United States Championship at SummerSlam, then beat whoever was left standing after the Undisputed WWE World Heavyweight title match, he would be the biggest champion in company history.
Theory attempted to jump Lashley after the promo, beating Lashley with the Money in the Bank briefcase. However, Lashley took him out with a spinebuster to end the segment.
Theory lost the United States title at SummerSlam this past Saturday to Lashley, who got the win after reversing the ATL and applying the hurt lock, scoring the submission victory.
Here is the current lineup for SummerSlam:
Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar in a last man standing match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship
Bobby Lashley vs. Theory for the United States title
The current plan is for Ronda Rousey to challenge Liv Morgan for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at SummerSlam.
Morgan defeated Rousey for the title on Saturday after cashing in the Money in the Bank briefcase she won earlier that night. According to comments made by Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, the plan is for Morgan and Rousey to face each other on Saturday, July 30 in Nashville.
“Right now the plan is Liv Morgan vs. Ronda Rousey at SummerSlam, which kind of surprises me in a lot of ways,” Meltzer said on the show. “They didn’t leave with any heat. I mean, Ronda just hugged her, walked out of the ring, let her have her moment.”
“It is interesting, though, because I think almost everybody figured it would be Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey at SummerSlam and it’s not,” he continued.
Morgan became the 12th wrestler in history to win the Smackdown Women’s Championship with her victory over Rousey at Money in the Bank. It was the 23rd time in history the belt has changed hands.
