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.
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.
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.
Pat McAfee has issued a challenge to Happy Corbin to face him at WWE SummerSlam on July 30.
McAfee made the challenge on this week’s SmackDown episode, playing off an angle shot on the prior week’s episode where Corbin and McAfee had a verbal confrontation, and McAfee led the crowd in laughing Corbin out of the arena.
Michael Cole stated during SmackDown that Corbin will respond to McAfee’s challenge on next week’s episode.
McAfee has wrestled a total of four matches for WWE, including two on the same night at WrestleMania 38 this year. McAfee made his WWE in-ring debut in NXT in 2020, wrestling twice for the company that year.
McAfee’s WWE in-ring debut came in NXT with a singles match against Adam Cole at TakeOver: XXX, and he followed up by competing in the WarGames match at TakeOver: WarGames.
At WrestleMania this year, McAfee defeated Austin Theory, then lost to Vince McMahon in an impromptu match immediately after the Theory bout.
SummerSlam takes place on Saturday, July 30 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.
Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar in a Last Man Standing match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship is the only match officially announced for the event to this point.
Becky Lynch is now the top heel in the WWE SmackDown women’s division, according to a report.
Lynch, the SmackDown Women’s Champion, is going to be positioned as the top heel on the brand according to PWInsider. PWI cites multiple WWE sources as having confirmed the decision to have Lynch be the heel in a feud against a babyface Bianca Belair.
Lynch defeated Belair in 25 seconds at SummerSlam to win the SmackDown Women’s title, hitting a forearm strike and a Manhandle Slam after feigning a handshake. The SummerSlam bout was Lynch’s first match since night one of WrestleMania 36, taped in March 2020.
SummerSlam marked Lynch’s first WWE appearance since vacating the Raw Women’s Championship and announcing that she was taking maternity leave on the May 11, 2020 edition of Raw. Lynch and her partner Seth Rollins announced the birth of their daughter Roux in a social media post on December 7, 2020.
PWInsider reports that Lynch was originally slated for an October 2021 return to WWE until this past week. PWI does not cite a reason for the change in plans with regard to Lynch’s return. Lynch began teasing her WWE comeback with a social media post on April 9.
Deville lost tonight’s loser leaves WWE match at SummerSlam against Mandy Rose. After a match filled with weapons, as they were legal in this no disqualification match, Deville was pinned following a knee strike by Rose.
After the match, Otis came to the ring and did the caterpillar with Rose.
The match was originally supposed to be a hair vs. hair match. However, Deville changed the stipulations on SmackDown two days ago, rejecting calls by Mandy Rose to let things go and instead upped the ante even higher.
The change came as Deville (Daria Berenato) and Rose (Amanda Saccomanno) fled from Berenato’s home on August 16 after a man broke into the house with the intention of kidnapping Berenato.
Phillip Thomas III, 24, was arrested at Berenato’s home and has been charged with aggravated stalking, armed burglary of a dwelling, and attempted armed kidnapping. He was denied bail and will remain in jail following a court proceeding held on August 21.
Major stakes have been added to the Sonya Deville/Mandy Rose hair vs. hair match set for SummerSlam.
On tonight’s episode of SmackDown, Mandy Rose appeared and addressed Sonya Deville. She wanted to find the good in Deville, and asked her to put this feud behind them.
Deville later came out and refused to let go of the match, and instead said she would raise the stakes even higher. She challenged Rose to a no disqualification match where the loser would leave WWE, replacing the hair vs. hair stipulation that had originally been set.
The match change comes as Deville (Daria Berenato) and Rose (Amanda Saccomanno) fled from Berenato’s home on Sunday morning after a man broke into the house with the intention of kidnapping Berenato.
Phillip Thomas III, 24, was arrested at Berenato’s home. He faces charges of aggravated stalking, armed burglary of a dwelling, and attempted armed kidnapping.
Thomas III was denied bail and will remain in jail following a court proceeding held Friday morning.
If you can’t get enough Dave Meltzer audio in your life, we have another 16 minutes for you to put a wrap on WWE SummerSlam 2017.
Dave is on Live Audio Wrestling every Sunday night talking news of the week and on last night’s show, he joined Dan Lovranski and Jason Agnew to give some updates on Ric Flair’s health condition and thoughts on the SummerSlam results as a whole. Dave talked about the current situations for Baron Corbin, Enzo, and more.
He was also asked about the Adam Cole/Kyle O’Reilly/Bobby Fish reunion that closed out TakeOver, and Jim Cornette heading to GFW.
Once coined “The WrestleMania of the summer”, SummerSlam returns tonight to Brooklyn, NY, part of a big weekend that already included a hot TakeOver event and Raw and Smackdown this week.
We asked our writers what they were looking forward to the most tonight. Here’s what they had to say:
The Universal Title match is easily the most interesting part of the entire weekend. The NXT event felt cold going in, but SummerSlam itself feels exciting thanks to this match. Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns, and Samoa Joe stole the show on Raw in a triple threat and then Braun and Roman did it again with the office chair-throwing last man standing match.
The build for this has made everyone involved feel like they are on Brock’s level to some degree which is the highest possible level a non-McMahon can have in WWE. The result is also going to be interesting because with the stipulation being added that if he loses, he leaves Brock seems like a dead ringer to win. This wouldn’t be bad, but with Joe having so much momentum and a limited time to really be a top-level guy, it still feels like the time to pull the trigger on a title win for him.
I’ll be at SummerSlam live, and the match that confirmed that I was buying a ticket was the Universal Championship main event. I’ve had mixed/negative feelings on a lot of Brock Lesnar’s singles matches over the last few years, but it’s almost always great when he’s in a multi-man. Lesnar gets to add his offense to a match instead of completely taking it over.
This may have the most potential of any of Lesnar’s multi-man matches since returning. Raw has been pretty good for a while due to the mix at the top of the card working. Samoa Joe, Strowman, and Reigns are all credible threats and should mix in well with Lesnar.
The stipulation of Lesnar and Paul Heyman leaving WWE if they lose may have been more of a negative than a positive, but Lesnar winning isn’t as much of a lock given the history of “loser leaves” stipulations in pro wrestling. Either way, it should be a fantastic match if everyone works as well together as expected.
The thing I’m most looking forward to at SummerSlam is the reunion of Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. The Fatal Four-Way main event should be tremendous, but I’m not that emotionally invested in it. Perhaps because they’ve negated the meaning of the Universal Title, and all the titles, or perhaps because we have a pretty good idea of who’s winning.
A year ago, I wrote about Ambrose finally becoming WWE Champion and why it was significant. His feud with Seth Rollins, after Rollins broke up the Shield, was memorable, and a rarity in today’s WWE programming. Something that had real stakes. The fans wanted nothing more than to see Ambrose get revenge on Rollins. The feud had an unsatisfactory end, but here we are years later, and they’re finally on the same page again.
This is good for Sheamus and Cesaro as well. They’re a good team, but this could catapult tham as a top heel group, as the team preventing the Shield from fulling regaining their glory. Ambrose and Rollins are often at their best when they’re involved with each other, and this should make for an interesting direction for two-thirds of the Shield.
Since I imagine everyone will say the Raw main event, I’ve got to be a bit different and go with Ambrose and Rollins again Sheamus and Cesaro. I think these guys will have a sleeper of a great match and there’s the potential for the elevation of the tag titles if two main eventers and former World champion can take the belts.
This Sunday, for the 29th time, WWE presents SummerSlam. Basically a WrestleMania for the summertime, it’s become the most important part of the nine-month wait between WrestleMania seasons. This year’s event is unique in that it’s four hours long for the second year in a row, as well as the final WWE event featuring both brands before brand-exclusive specials begin in September.
Let’s take a look at why we’re supposed to be emotionally engaged in the 10 matches scheduled for this year’s biggest event of the summer (along with three on the pre-show).
GRUDGE MATCH: BROCK LESNAR vs. RANDY ORTON
The only match on the card featuring wrestlers from both brands sees Raw’s Brock Lesnar tangle with SmackDown’s Randy Orton. Originally announced on the July 7th edition of SmackDown, the hook is that they’re two big stars who’ve been around the same amount of time but haven’t really ever wrestled. They faced each other once on a SmackDown in 2002 with Lesnar coming out on top, but not since then.
Presumably a victory for either guy puts them in contention for the top championship on their respective brands, though this really hasn’t been emphasized. It’s Orton’s 11th SummerSlam match (he’s 6-4) and Lesnar’s 7th (4-2).
WWE UNIVERSAL TITLE: FINN BALOR vs. SETH ROLLINS
After Dean Ambrose won at Battleground and kept the WWE World Title on SmackDown, Raw created a brand-new title. Stephanie McMahon gave Seth Rollins a pass to this match at SummerSlam, while Finn Balor won a couple qualifying matches to earn the title shot, and his rivalry with Rollins has grown ever since, with both guys vying to make history as the first WWE Universal Champion.
Both men are former NXT Champions. This is Rollins’ 3rd SummerSlam (he’s 2-0) and both Balor’s first WWE pay-per-view appearance and his first SummerSlam.
WWE WORLD TITLE: DEAN AMBROSE (c) vs. DOLPH ZIGGLER
Ambrose won the WWE World Title at Money in the Bank and kept the title on SmackDown by beating Rollins and Reigns at Battleground. Now the undisputed top dog on his brand, he’ll face Dolph Ziggler, who won a qualifying match to earn the title shot.
The overriding angle is that this is Ambrose’s chance to cement himself as a long-term champion, while it may be the last good chance for Ziggler to prove he’s a championship-caliber superstar.
This is the 7th SummerSlam bout for Ziggler (he’s 2-2 with 2 no-contests) and just the 3rd for Ambrose (he’s 1-1). This is the 28th WWE World Championship bout at SummerSlam and the title has changed hands seven times at the event over the years, most recently in 2014
WWE WOMEN’S TITLE: SASHA BANKS (c) vs. CHARLOTTE
Following a title change on Raw, new Women’s Champion Sasha Banks will face the former champion Charlotte in a rematch. Banks had been pursuing Charlotte’s championship since her WWE main roster debut last summer, and the pair had a storied rivalry in NXT before they were both called up.
It’s the second SummerSlam bout for both combatants, as both debuted in the same match at last year’s event; Charlotte was on the winning team in a three team, nine-female bout, while Banks picked up the loss. While this is the first appearance of the “new” Women’s Championship at SummerSlam, it’s the 8th match featuring a female singles belt in SummerSlam history. Champions are 3-4 overall.
WWE INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE: THE MIZ (c) vs. APOLLO CREWS
For the 23rd time in SummerSlam history the Intercontinental Championship will be up for grabs. This year, The Miz seeks to continue his reign (which began the night after WrestleMania) when he defends against Apollo Crews. It’s Crews’ first SummerSlam and Miz’s 5th, though the veteran has an unimpressive 1-3 record at the event.
History may also be on Crews’ side: the title has changed hands 14 times at SummerSlam, more than any other championship in WWE history (and twice as often as the WWE World Title). Outside of fanning the flames of Miz being a primadonna champion, there’s no overriding storyline behind this bout.
WWE UNITED STATES TITLE: RUSEV (c) vs. ROMAN REIGNS
Since the summer began, former WWE golden boy Roman Reigns has lost the WWE World Championship and been beaten clean as a sheet by Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and Finn Balor. But his skid could be halted when he faces Rusev, the proud Bulgarian that the fans seem to dislike more than they do Reigns.
It’s unclear whether Reigns (a) dislikes Rusev, (b) dislikes Rusev’s wife Lana, or (c) really wants to be the US Champion. Either way, the crowd reactions for this match will be really fun to watch and at its core, wrestling often doesn’t get much better than when two big guys are brawling with each other.
Both guys are undefeated at SummerSlam with one win apiece (and Rusev was also involved in a no-contest). US Champions are 1-2 at SummerSlam historically.
WWE TAG TEAM TITLES: THE NEW DAY (XAVIER WOODS & KOFI KINGSTON) (c) vs. THE CLUB (KARL ANDERSON & LUKE GALLOWS)
The New Day (the trio of Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, and Big E) have been WWE Tag Team Champions since last year’s SummerSlam and have beaten basically every tag team except for Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, who joined WWE earlier this year from New Japan Pro Wrestling.
The New Day were attacked by Gallows and Anderson during their in-ring celebration of their lengthy title reign, with Big E being sidelined with an injury in the attack. Now Woods and Kingston are seeking revenge for their fallen comrade, as well as trying to retain their titles. Anderson and Gallows were multi-time champions in Japan, and view the WWE Tag Team Titles as something they deserve.
Woods, Anderson, and Gallows are making their in-ring SummerSlam debuts, while Kingston’s in his 6th SummerSlam bout (he’s 3-1 with a no-contest). In 16 prior tag title bouts, spanning various incarnations of the titles, the champions are 10-6.
GRUDGE MATCH: JOHN CENA vs. AJ STYLES
AJ Styles debuted in January, coming over from NJPW, while John Cena was out of action with an injury. Styles was as synonymous with TNA Wrestling as Cena has been with WWE during the same time period, so their first bout at Money in the Bank was quite anticipated.
Styles won after interference from Anderson and Gallows, and Cena teamed with Enzo Amore and Big Cass to beat Styles, Anderson, and Gallows at Battleground last month. This is the “rubber match,” where each guy will try to prove they’re the best and put themselves in contention for the WWE Title.
Cena’s in his 13th SummerSlam and has an unimpressive 4-8 record, having not won a singles match at SummerSlam since 2007. Styles is making his SummerSlam debut.
GRUDGE MATCH: ENZO AMORE & BIG CASS vs. CHRIS JERICHO & KEVIN OWENS
In a match that seems like giving four talented guys something to do on a big show, the established team of newcomers Enzo Amore and Big Cass (formerly of NXT) take on two ring veterans who haven’t teamed together in Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens.
This match resulted from a 20-minute interview segment to open an episode of Raw, and given that one side is not a full-time team there seems to be almost nothing at stake in this contest beyond pride. Enzo and Cass are making their SummerSlam debuts, Owens his 2nd appearance, and it’s Jericho’s 10th (he’s 3-6 overall).
SIX-WOMAN TAG TEAM MATCH: CARMELLA, BECKY LYNCH & NAOMI vs. NATALYA, ALEXA BLISS & potentially a MYSTERY PARTNER
SmackDown doesn’t yet have a female singles title, but this match was originally meant to whet the collective appetite for one by pitting all six members of SmackDown’s women’s division against each other in a tag match.
Unfortunately, Eva Marie’s in-ring return has again been postponed, this time by a failed wellness policy test. And WWE.com is teasing that perhaps somebody will join Natalya and Alexa Bliss, though based on the posted rosters on the WWE site there aren’t any remaining healthy SmackDown women to take her place.
Anyway, it’s the 2nd SummerSlam match for Becky Lynch (1-0) and Naomi (0-1) and the debuts for Carmella, Natalya, and Bliss.
Also on the pre-show:
MATCH ONE IN A BEST-OF-SEVEN SERIES: SHEAMUS vs. CESARO
Two big guys that don’t like each other face off. We’ve seen a couple previous best-of-seven series’ in WWE and WCW, but it’s completely unclear what’s at stake between these men beyond bragging rights.
TAG TEAM MATCH: THE DUDLEY BOYZ vs. SAMI ZAYN & NEVILLE
One of the most decorated tag teams of all time (The Dudleyz) take on two former NXT Champions (Sami Zayn & Neville) who have yet to find their footing in post-draft WWE.
12-MAN TAG TEAM MATCH: AMERICAN ALPHA, THE HYPE BROS & THE USOS vs. BREEZANGO, THE ASCENSION & THE VAUDEVILLAINS
The largest pre-show match in recent memory based on the sheer number of bodies involved features eight graduates of NXT, including three different former NXT Tag Team Champions.
Fun Fact: Including competitors in the pre-show, there are 25 graduates from NXT on SummerSlam.
