The 2018 edition of WWE SummerSlam concluded with a bit of a thud Sunday night despite two major title changes to end the 2018 edition of the company's "biggest party of the summer." The Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, once again did its job hosting a spectacular show, especially the crowd that somehow stayed engaged for the full six hours.
In the end, the biggest takeaway from SummerSlam is that WWE got "creative" with their booking the entire evening. There were multiple shmoz finishes with weapons used at the end of three separate matches. There were also two squash matches on the card, and the final two bouts -- contested for the Raw women's championship and universal championship -- were both five-minute matches. In all, there were four title changes among WWE's five biggest titles on the show.
Rather than spoil the results for you, keep on scrolling to see what went down Sunday night in Brooklyn. CBS Sports was with you the entire way updating this story with the latest results, analysis, grades and highlights from the show.
2018 WWE SummerSlam results, grades
Andrade "Cien" Almas & Zelina Vega def. Rusev & Lana via pinfall (Kickoff Show): With a half-empty crowd still finding its way into the Barclays Center, this mixed tag team match felt like nothing more than house show filler variety. That's unfortunate considering the personalities in play and the fact that Rusev has gone from a WWE championship match to the curtain-jerker of the kickoff show in the span of a single pay-per-view. (Or that Almas may have co-authored the best match in NXT history in January against Johnny Gargano.) The match wasn't much to speak of with the finish coming after Almas distracted Lana and was slapped in the face for doing so. Vega instantly rolled her up from behind to steal the pin while her legs were draped on the ropes. Grade: C-
Cruiserweight Championship -- Cedric Alexander (c) def. Drew Gulak via pinfall to retain the title (Kickoff Show): It took a while for this slow, physical start to evolve into a traditional 205 Live-style match. Once it did, Alexander shined bright including a perfect tope con hilo to the floor. The finish came following a wild sequence that began with Gulak intercepting an Alexander springboard backflip by catching him into an ankle lock. Alexander then reversed it into a rollup pin attempt for two. Alexander then hit a standing Spanish fly out of nowhere for another two count. Gulak then rolled him up for a two count of his own until Alexander countered with one final rollup for the 1-2-3. Grade: C+
Raw Tag Team Championship -- The B-Team (c) def. The Revival via pinfall to retain the titles (Kickoff Show): The right place, right time booking continued for the unlikely tag champions as Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel scored another victory from the jaws of defeat. The Revival were dominant throughout and used a distraction in the opening seconds to hit a Shatter Machine as the referee had his back turned. The referee was distracted once again late in the match as Scott Dawson rolled up Axel. Dash Wilder then inadvertently pushed Dallas into the pin attempt, rolling Axel on top for the 1-2-3. Grade: C
Intercontinental Championship -- Seth Rollins def. Dolph Ziggler (c) via pinfall to win the title: The only shame in this match was that it took so long to heat up. But once the lengthy rest holds and gratuitous teases of Drew McIntyre interfering were finally over, Rollins and Ziggler were given the space to have the kind of spectacular match fans expected when the feud was first announced (and the exact opposite of what was given in their overbooked Extreme Rules match). Not only were the final minutes of this match absolutely electric and the perfect opener to a loaded show, the fans received the early reason to pop that they were hoping for with Rollins' victory.
Rollins delivered an incredible sequence midway through the match that brought the crowd to its feet when he followed Ziggler to the top rope and hit an insane reverse superplex before rolling through for a sidewalk slam but could somehow only get a two count. McIntyre took out Drew Ambrose outside the ring, which caused enough of a distraction for Ziggler to hit Rollins with a ZigZag but only earn a two. With Rollins bleeding from his forehead, the finish came after Ambrose rallied to hit a Dirty Deeds on McIntyre outside, giving Rollins the chance to land a superkick and The Stomp to pin Ziggler. Grade: B+
The Bella Twins show up: Backstage between matches, Nikki & Brie Bella were asked whether they would be participating at Evolution in October. Rather than answer, they put over all their other businesses and said they were excited to see Ronda Rousey to beat Alexa Bliss tonight. Not only that, they will be sitting ringside for it.
SmackDown Tag Team Championship -- New Day def. Bludgeon Brothers (c) via disqualification: There's nothing like a schmoz finish to take the air out of what had been a really good match. Late in the match, Xavier Woods and Big E on the verge of regaining the tag team titles as they set up Harper for their Up-Up-Down-Down finisher; Rowan knocked Woods off the top rope with a mallet and then took out Big E to force the DQ. Harper then appeared to be angry at Rowan for doing so until he grabbed the mallet and hit Big E one more time.
The crowd lustily booed the result, which brought an end to a high-energy match filled with a series of physical high spots. Woods hit a textbook tope con hilo outside onto Rowan before Big E followed by spearing Harper through the ropes and onto the floor. Rowan later lifted Woods up in a wheelbarrow position as Harper hit him with headbutts before adding a power bomb for a two count. But it was Woods who delivered the biggest spot of the match when Harper rolled out of the ring and Woods hit an elbow off the top rope and onto the floor. Grade: B-
Money in the Bank briefcase -- Braun Strowman (h) def. Kevin Owens via pinfall to retain: Donning a "KO in the Bank" T-shirt that will likely now become a collector's item, Owens' hope of stealing Strowman's MITB contract ended violently in a short and explosive squash match. Strowman opened with a pair of running splashes and a huge shoulder tackle into the barrier after Owens attempted to escape. Strowman then hit a chokeslam on the ramp and his running powerslam in the center of the ring to finish him. Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns may have a "Monster in the Bank" to deal with in tonight's main event after all. Grade: C
SmackDown Women's Championship -- Charlotte Flair def. Becky Lynch (via pinfall) and Carmella (c) to win the title: Best friends no more. For as good as Flair's exciting victory was in the match, adding yet another title reign to her growing legacy, this will long be remembered for the impressive heel turn from the perennial babyface Lynch. After the former BFFs hugged at length in the center of the ring after the match, Lynch knocked her down with a right hand and followed with ground and pound. She then tossed Flair out of the ring, into the barrier wall and over the announce table as the crowd showered her with chants of "Yes," "Becky" and "you deserve it."
The match that preceded the big turn late was nearly as dramatic with Carmella diving into the ring countless times to keep her title reign alive and break up pin attempts. Flair hit the biggest move of the match when she followed Carmella's suicide dive onto Lynch by hitting a twisting moonsault onto both outside. Lynch twice came close to forcing Carmella to tap out with her Dis-Arm-Her in the closing moments of the match until Flair got a running start and hit Lynch with Natural Selection for the pin. Grade: B+
WWE Championship -- Samoa Joe def. AJ Styles (c) via disqualification: Somehow, this went on sixth-to-last on the show. Before the match even began, Joe grabbed the mic and pointed out Styles' wife and daughter in the audience, promising their dad would actually come home tonight; Styles responded that he was going to kick Joe's ask. The match started slow and plodding with Joe overpowering Styles and attempting to tire him out with rest holds. After Styles got in a little offense, Joe impressed by flying off the top rope and hitting a standing Styles with a thunderous leg drop. Styles sold an injured left knee shortly thereafter when lifting and planting the larger Joe stressed out the joint.
Styles dropped Joe with an exceedingly impressive Styles Clash and nearly got his three count, spare a split second, but Joe kicking out clearly bothered the champion. Next was a Pele kick that wounded Joe, but not enough for him to be unable to catch Styles mid-air and slam him to the canvas with one arm. Joe reversed a Calf Crusher by slamming Styles' head into the canvas and immediately sunk in the Coquina Clutch. When Styles was able to break free, Joe called for the Muscle Buster, but first kicked Styles off the top rope and then drove him head first into the steel steps, which cracked Styles' head open.
Joe then climbed atop the announce table and grabbed a microphone. "I made you a promise daddy was coming home. It looks like he's not, but I'll be your new daddy," he said. Styles, now bloodied and in a rage, responded by spearing Joe off the table and through the ringside barrier. He then picked up a steel chair and hit Joe over the back, forcing a DQ, before continuing to punish him with the weapon. Styles' wife and daughter watched on telling him to "stop, but Styles could not be contained until Fit Finaly ran down to ringside and grabbed the chair out of his hand. Styles walked over to his family and picked up his daughter, who said, "Daddy, you're bleeding." He apologized to her, grabbed his bloodied head and took his family off through the crowd to the backstage area. Though another schmoz finish is a tad infuriating, at least this one made sense and advanced a storyline between two of the top guys in the company. Grade: B+
Elias takes center stage: After cutting his typical promo, Elias attempted to play his guitar only to see the neck to snap off in his hands when he began to strum it. He responded by furiously kicking over his chair and chucking his guitar into the darkness.
The Miz reunites with The Miztourage: As The Miz walked backstage, he stumbled into The B-Team holding their Raw tag team titles. He put over taking down Daniel Bryan later in the show and suggested that the Dallas and Axel consider getting his bags and joining the after party for old time's sake. They declined, made a couple jokes and departed doing their new chant.
The Miz def. Daniel Bryan via pinfall: WWE built nice intensity for this match with a five-minute promo recapping the eight-year feud between these two. Early in the bout, Miz was in the middle of using Bryan's moves when Bryan caught him by the throat and hit him with a bevy of Yes! kicks. Miz mocked Bryan with some Yes! chants as he locked in the surfboard, but Bryan quickly escaped and showed Miz how it is done by repeating the move. Miz was eventually able to hang Bryan on the top rope and clothesline him off it to retake control and continue his trash talking. Running dropkicks by Bryan followed, and he took Miz out further by jumping from the apron to clothesline him on the outside and then hitting a belly-to-back suplex from the top rope. Bryan and Miz exchanged flurries of Yes! kicks, but Bryan no-sold Miz's attempts and prepared to take him out for good. They then traded attempted submission moves until Miz threw Bryan into the ring post via slingshot and hit the Skull-Crushing Finale but could only manage a two count.
8 years in the making.
It all comes down to TONIGHT for @WWEDanielBryan and @mikethemiz at #SummerSlam! pic.twitter.com/v8fbnn8xHK — WWE (@WWE) August 20, 2018
With Maryse looking on from ringside, Miz mocked Bryan with Yes! chants. As Bryan hit more Yes! kicks on Miz outside the ring into the ring post, Miz dodged one and Bryan kicked the post directly. Miz capitalized by jumping back into the ring and locking the Figure-Four Leg Lock on Bryan, who eventually reversed it. Bryan beat Miz some more and locked in the Yes! Lock, but Miz eventually reached for the bottom rope. A flying knee from Bryan sent him into the ringside barrier, where he draped his arms over the ledge only to be handed brass knuckles by Maryse. As Bryan continued to attack, Miz caught him on an attempted dive with the brass knuckles, knocking Bryan out and covering him for the 1-2-3. There was no way this feud was going to end clean at SummerSlam, so the finish is acceptable considering Miz getting a clean win over Bryan would not have made much sense. Grade: B
Finn Balor def. Baron Corbin via pinfall: Balor shocked the crowd by appearing in his Demon paint with a Rolling Stones-like tongue on his chest. WWE added to the production values with an arena full of smoke and a swirling graphic of red and white smoke above the ring for the TV audience. The announcers also put over Balor huge. Balor dominated from the start with running dropkicks and slingblades both in and out of the ring. He hit a double stomp to the back of Corbin's head as the crowd chanted, "This is awesome!" and dropped him with the Coup de Grace for the super-fast 1-2-3 and squash win. While you can make the argument that the Demon was "unnecessary" for a non-title match against a Constable, there is no doubting how dominant Balor looked and how well booked the match was despite its short run time. So this grade is for the effort and the booking, not the match itself. Grade: B
Daniel Bryan sulks backstage: While putting ice on his head, Bryan was upset in the trainer's area. Brie Bella visited to console him, but Bryan was inconsolable, angry the way he lost to Miz and fuming that his entire comeback has been worthless because he lost the match. After tossing his ice and turning red, Bryan listened to Brie build him back up, saying that since was able to fight for his comeback so he can just as easily get over on Miz in the near future.
United States Championship -- Shinsuke Nakamura (c) def. Jeff Hardy via pinfall to retain the title: Nakamura's title defense received the glorified popcorn treatment before a pair of high-profile main event matches. Hardy popped the crowd early by mocking Nakamura's hand gestures and motioning him to "come on!" The match's brief storyline surrounded Hardy's daredevil ways coming back to haunt him as he missed a Swanton Bomb attempt off the top rope late and landed hard on his back -- on the ring apron. After rolling inside the ring, Nakamura landed his Kinsasha for the 1-2-3. Randy Orton's music then hit, but "The Viper" did noting more than walk to the ring and stare before returning backstage. Considering Matt Hardy's recent injuries and Jeff's perennial injury issues, it wouldn't be a surprise to see both brothers take an extended break. Grade: C+
Raw Women's Championship -- Ronda Rousey def. Alexa Bliss (c) via submission to win the title: The type of dominant squash match most expected Rousey would have upon her transformation from former UFC champion to WWE superstar finally came at SummerSlam in an emotional title win. Friend and training partner Natalya, who received a big pop from the crowd in the aftermath of her father Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart's death, accompanied Rousey to ringside even though Bliss' sidekicks of Alicia Fox or Mickie James were curiously absent.
The match was brief and punishing for Bliss, who wasn't able to get in anything more offensively than a single right hand and stalled outside the ring so often that Rousey eventually sat down with her back turned to protest. Bliss' choke attempt from behind turned into a spinning judo suplex as Rousey talked trash incessantly. After dragging Bliss around by her arm, Rousey bent it all the way backwards at an almost-gruesome angle before applying the armbar to receive an instant tap out. Roused looked emotionally moved as she dropped to her knees to hold the title before Natalya and then the Bella Twins, who were watching from ringside, entered the ring to hug and congratulate her. Rousey also took a beat and ran to her husband, former UFC fighter Travis Browne, who was sitting ringside, and gave him a big kiss. As Rousey exited the arena on the stage, she yelled, "This is for Jim Neidhart! This is for 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper! This is for all of you!" Grade: B
Universal Championship -- Roman Reigns def. Brock Lesnar (c) via pinfall to win the title: Three years later, the never-ending story that is Reigns conquering Lesnar finally happened, bringing to an end the puzzling 504-day universal title reign of "The Beast." But considering all of the options on the board in terms of creative booking swerves, which included Braun Strowman coming to the ring and cutting an epic promo to declare his intention of cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase after the match, WWE sent its fans home shaking their heads at the result.
For as physical and exciting as the match turned out to be, the finish of Reigns winning cleanly following a single spear (after Lesnar had entertainingly destroyed Strowman outside the ring leaving Strowman unable to move) took all the remaining air out of the balloon. The crowd reaction to the finish wasn't as negative as one might imagine but that changed once the show went off the air and it became clear that Strowman wasn't going to be getting up to cash in.
Strowman's arrival before the match started created huge cheers as he referenced the history of the MITB contract and his reasoning behind not wanting to cash in behind someone's back. He popped the Brooklyn faithful by referring to Lesnar as a "Beastie Boy" and watched the match from ringside. Lesnar absorbed three Superman punches and a trio of spears to start but avoided being pinned by locking Reigns in a guillotine choke. The action eventually spilled outside when Lesnar sidestepped a spear and sent Reigns flying outside into Strowman's arms.
The crowd serenaded Reigns and Lesnar with chants of "you both suck" in hopes that Strowman would cash in. But Lesnar did his best to prevent that by hitting Strowman with an F5 on the floor before beating him with the briefcase and throwing it onto the stage and off the video screen. As Lesnar reentered the ring, Reigns hit him with a spear for the pin, adding only more fuel to the fire of those who have booed this storyline and criticized WWE throughout this entire feud. The use of Strowman without cashing in might extend the storyline, but it ends a major show like SummerSlam with an unforgivable tease. Grade: C
If you don't keep a BEAST, a BIG DOG, and a MONSTER separated... the result looks a little something like this! #SummerSlam @WWERomanReigns @BraunStrowman @BrockLesnar pic.twitter.com/2xLYCcyYtA — WWE (@WWE) August 20, 2018
2018 WWE SummerSlam analysis, highlights
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WWE SummerSlam 2018 Results: Live Updates, Results and Reaction
Brooklyn, New York
Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of WWE SummerSlam 2018. As one of the most important pay-per-views of the year, there is a lot of pressure on all the Superstars to perform well. The marquee matches will see Roman Reigns challenge Brock Lesnar for the universal title, Alexa Bliss defend the Raw Women's Championship against Ronda Rousey and AJ Styles will put the WWE title on the line against Samoa Joe. We will also see the grudge match between Daniel Bryan and The Miz. Keep it locked right here for live updates of all the action.
Share. Check out all the match results from WWE's biggest summertime shindig. Check out all the match results from WWE's biggest summertime shindig.
Welcome to WWE SummerSlam, where...skipping the two-hour Kickoff Show is considered self-care?
Look, it's long. It's a haul.
There are 13 matches. 14 if Elias actually gets in the ring with Bobby Lashley. There probably only needs to be six. And as usual, last night NXT put on a perfectly-executed, perfectly-timed TakeOver event that was concise and superb and probably soured all of us for the SummerSlam slog ahead. So lets make sure to hydrate. Maybe treat ourselves to our favorite food. Pacing is important. SummerSlam is a marathon, not a sprint.
What's your favorite SummerSlam moment? See if yours made our list!
20 Most Memorable SummerSlam Moments 10+ IMAGES Fullscreen Image Artboard 3 Copy Artboard 3 ESC 01 OF 20 ELVIS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING
Back at the inaugural SummerSlam, in 1988, Intercontinental Champion Honky Tonk Man was so cool, cocky, and bad that he didn't even want to know the name of his secret challenger that night. He could beat anyone, you see. One manic run to the ring and approximately 30 seconds later, Ultimate Warrior had obliterated the champ and captured IC glory. 01 OF 20 ELVIS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING
Back at the inaugural SummerSlam, in 1988, Intercontinental Champion Honky Tonk Man was so cool, cocky, and bad that he didn't even want to know the name of his secret challenger that night. He could beat anyone, you see. One manic run to the ring and approximately 30 seconds later, Ultimate Warrior had obliterated the champ and captured IC glory. 20 Most Memorable SummerSlam Moments Download Image Captions ESC
I'll be live-tweeting all night over at @TheMattFowler, so you can follow me there if you're inclined. Bookmark this page however so you can follow along all night with results, reactions, .gifs and goofs. Keep it locked in and [holds hands Thelma & Louise style] let's meet oblivion together.
Rusev & Lana vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas & Zelina Vega
I wish more people were in the arena when this match hit, because - hell - I love mixed tag matches between color/costume-coordinated couples. But to be fair there are two title matches on the Kickoff Show (LOL!) and there should be more people on hand for them. Also, the "Rusev Day" phenomenon isn't quite what it was six months ago, so no need to go for broke here. Also, and this will be a recurring theme all night, most of the matches on the card this evening could have been saved for RAW or SmackDown, respectively.
So Team Rusev Day loses again - and without Aiden English's bumbling too! Just some good old fashioned feet on the ropes by Vega. This match was...fine. I understand that pre-show matches needn't exactly set the world on fire but you get the feeling that if this match had been booked for TakeOver it would have somehow been all types of amazing.
Man, I miss TakeOver. Yay! for Almas and Vega though.
Winners: Andrade "Cien" Almas and Zelina Vega
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander vs. Drew Gulak
Look, admittedly, I don't watch 205 Live. I don't have the time. @ me all you want.
Apparently though, the Barclays crowd doesn't watch it ether because they were - ahem - respectfully quiet during the Alexander/Gulak match.
Sure, they oooh'd a little bit for some hard slaps right at the end, but this one was just sort of flat from the get=go. Also, and this might just be a very "me" thing - did they say "Drew Gulak" over and over way to much? Like, they rarely just said "Drew" or "Gulak." It was always like "Drew Gulak this" and "Drew Gulak that." The name ceased to hold any meaning. It just became blaring gobbledygook.
Cedric won with a schoolboy type roll-up after a back and forth roll-off.
Winner, and still WWE Cruiserweight Champion: Cedric Alexander
Raw Tag Team Champions The B-Team vs. The Revival
I really wanted The Revival to win the RAW tag titles, but I had some reservations about them doing it on a Kickoff Show. Well, I guess I got my dark wish because apparently the Kickoff is no place for title changes (nor should it be, I suppose). Still, B-Team has to stop "escaping" with the titles due to Mr. Magoo style bungling. Enough now.
For a split second, I thought we'd get a summer squash out of this, as Revival took out Axel with a Shatter Machine right out of the gate and then worked on Dallas' leg. But B-Team's finisher seems to be "guy bumps into other guy who rolls and someone pins someone else" and that's been enough to keep them sitting atop the RAW tag team division. I probably should have skipped this pre-sizzle all together. It was all dumb and it should feel dumb.
Winners, and still RAW Tag Team Champions: The B-Team
Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins
The actual finish-finish of this one was just okay - but to be fair Seth can't wear, basically, the Infinity Gauntly on his Stomp foot and then not get to snap, er, stomp his way to victory. It certainly trumped Ziggler's IC Title-As-A-Fanny-Pack tights.
The moments leading up to that finish were super hot however. The crowd really got loud for these two past the ten, minute mark. The match started a bit slow, and seemed to be an "every time things kicked up a notch Dean and Drew would get in each others' faces" affair, but then once the third act began it was all fire. The Reverse-Superplex into that...Emerald Flowsion type drop or whatever (I dunno) was amazing. This is a .gif of - um - not of that.
No Dean heel turn but a great match that built nicely and got the crowd pumped.
Winner, and new Intercontinental Champion: Seth Rollins
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon Brothers vs. The New Day
Hey! Actual bludgeoning by the Bludgeon Bros!
So here's the deal. New Day has to beat these two. I guess just...not yet. Because SmackDown has run out of tag teams for the Bludgies to beat. If New Day can't do it then there's no one. So I suppose they decided to stretch this feud out. Sadly. DQ finishes are never ideal. But at least the ogres got to use their weapons. That's something at least.
This was a sort of rushed Demolition Derby of a match, with some decent high moments that kept the crowd caffeinated, and it was never going to top New Day's two separate SmackDown matches - against The Bar and Sanity - they fought in to get here, and on an over-stuffed card with scads of superfluous matches, it was fine. It only feels slightly egregious because it had a non-finish and we ain't got time for that. Or, ugh, I guess we have all the time in the world for it.
Winners, by disqualification: New Day
Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens
What the actual f***?
So after Warrior beating Honky Tonk Man, this was probably the biggest squash in SummerSlam history. Even Cena got off a few moves against Brock during his mauling.
Braun came in, tackled Kevin a few times, chokeslammed him on the entrance aisle, and then powerslammed him for the 1-2-3. I mean, I'm all for cutting time out of SummerSlam's overhead, but...they have to have something up their sleeve for Kevin, right? He can't just go out like this. After two months of getting annihilated by Braun (I understand he "won" the cage match).
Anyhow, what does this do for Brock vs. Roman? A cash in tonight? After the match, during the match, or before the match? Does Braun just insert himself into the bout and make it a Triple Threat (giving fans someone to actually cheer)?
Good gravy.
Winner: Braun Strowman
SmackDown Women’s Champion Carmella vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch
Nice work by all three!
Good pace (though there was a rest hold, not a submission hold, at one point - WTF?) and all I assumed, going in, was that Becky was going to leave upset. Whether that meant a Carmella win or a Charlotte win. Turns out, it meant a Charlotte win. Because Becky needed to...
...SNAP! With all the hullabaloo surrounding Sasha and Bayley and their frustrating will they?/won't they? (kiss? murder each other?) storyline, many of us forgot the rumors from right after WrestleMania regarding a Becky Lynch heel turn. This SummerSlam match bubbled it all back up and now...she's done it for reel. Attacked Charlotte right after what seemed to be an emotional embrace between friends. It went over great with the crowd. And I think it'll stick. Unlike the time Bayley did the same to Sasha.
Winner, and new SmackDown Women's Champion: Charlotte
WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe
First off, let's just step back and acknowledge how awesome it is to be getting AJ vs. Joe at SummerSlam. Regardless of the whole "Wendy Styles" (LOL, her took her husband's fake last name?) angle.
Now, let's pause and acknowledge how lame it is that the WWE Championship is happening 1/12th of the way through the SummerSlam card.
I guess NOW we know it's because we weren't getting a real finish. Joe, basically, f***ed up and took to the mic, when he thought he had AJ beaten and bleeding, to talk to Wendy and say he'd be her, or AJ's daughter's, or someone's, "new daddy." This caused AJ to lose it and attack Joe with a chair over and over.
All in all, it wasn't too bad considering. It's just that this match had a really solid build. It was sort of unlike the other matches so far in that it was really slow going for a while. And these two, with this crowd, could do that. Naturally, things accelerated toward the end. There was even a really nasty looking almost-botched Styles Clash. Ah yes. The chance of “actual death by Styles Clash” is still uncomfortably high.
Winner, as the result of a disqualification: Samoa Joe
Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz
Haha, that was fun. Well worked match. Nice occasional split crowd too! More for Bryan, but there was some sturdy Miz support.
Maryse being at ringside with "behind a blanket" baby Monroe was always a tip off that Miz was going to win. As well as, well, Daniel Bryan's own disregard for whether or not he wins matches. We care way more about Daniel Bryan winning matches than he does. He's all about the bell-to-bell artistry. Even with foreshadowed shenanigans, Miz had this one coming. Also, Bryan sort of schooled Miz throughout the match and that also signaled a cheat on the horizon.
Maryse handed Miz a pair of brass knucks and all Miz had to do was wait for a suicide dive and - WHAM! The rest is Miztory. Now, does this loss for Bryan indicate that he's leaving? Has he not re-signed with WWE? It was rumored, weeks back, that if he didn't renew his contract that Miz was going over at SummerSlam. We'll have to see. Could Bryan be "All In" by next week?
Winner: The Miz
Finn Bálor vs. Constable Baron Corbin
Welp. Just when I thought I'd use Balor vs. Corbin to stretch and grab a drink or something, Finn goes and whips out the Demon King. To face the Applebees Bartender.
In the very least, it was a squash match, which it should have been given the Demon persona. I don't want Diabolical Darkness somehow going toe-to-toe with the guy who's dressed like he does street magic. So this was super quick and harmless. And a good way to dust off the Demon for a "Big Four" event.
Winner: "Demon King" Finn Balor
United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Jeff Hardy
Did you know the apron is the hardest part of the ring? IT'S UNFORGIVING.
Anyhow, this was the match I took a little break during. I am human. I need to be free sometimes (and be loved, just like everybody else does). So I really only caught the entrances and the final moments. Nakamura winning was a sure thing really so I didn't expect big things from this bout.
Jeff's missed Swanton onto the apron was pretty nasty. It sold his loss, while also further wrecking his spine. He...shouldn't be doing spots like this these days. I dunno. It's not like we're the ones talking him into these things. Or out of them. He's a grown-ass man. I just think it's unwise. That's my one cent.
And did Randy Orton just decide against that after-match attack? Good thing we always know what's on his mind because he's so good at emoting.
Winner, and still United States Champion: Shinsuke Nakamura
Raw Women's Champion Alexa Bliss vs. Ronda Rousey
Well that was way less competitive than I thought it would be. I predicted a Rousey win but...why we gotta punk out Alexa like that? This has been the night of squash matches and this was the first one I thought was kind of unacceptable. They can figure out a way to create a competitive match between Alexa and Nia Jax but not Alexa and Ronda? Bulllllcrap. She's undersized and a heel but she's a battle tested. AGAINST!
"This is going to be on every morning show from around the world." Yup, Coach just kind of explained it all to me.
Good thing we're all supposed to be psyched about Alexa vs. Trish Stratus at Evolution.
Winner, and new RAW Women's Champion: Ronda Rousey
Universal Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns
So. This was smartly done.
It was short, and they brought Braun out at ringside to provide someone for the fans to cheer. Even if he didn't do what I wanted, which was actually enter the match. Then Braun's presence allowed not only for Roman Reigns to stumble into a win, it allowed him to win without having to hit Brock with, like, nine spears. He was able to catch Brock napping a bit because Brock was too busy taking out Braun.
The bummer here was that Braun wasn't able to cash in his MITB contract because of what Brock did. So that'll have to wait for another time and we'll have to endure Roman as champ. At least the Universal Championship will be around.
Man, they cut to them credits quick too. I mean, the show was long enough, I get it. But also, let's not hone in on how upset people were.
Winner, and NEW Universal Champion: Roman Reigns
Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association (TCA). Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.
Man, I love Terry Crews. That was a stellar opening. But did the SummerSlam card live up to the hype?
A New Universal Champion
Thank JBL this is finally over.
Give WWE credit, man. As awful as this long, plodding feud has been at times from a storytelling perspective, they certainly know how to make a match interesting.
Before Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns could begin their match, Braun Strowman came out and told them both to their faces that he would be cashing in his briefcase on whomever won the match. He called Lesnar “Beastie Boy” again which got a great chant.
And then the match started and Reigns attacked Lesnar like a bat out of hell. Superman Punch after Superman Punch, Spear after Spear. The assault got countered into a Guillotine attempt by Lesnar, and then the pace finally slowed.
This felt a lot like their WrestleMania match to me, except they used Strowman’s presence to prevent it from going to the absurd levels that the WrestleMania match did. Reigns accidentally went through the ropes to Spear Strowman. That gave Lesnar the bright idea to F5 Strowman, smash him with his own briefcase, and throw it all the way up the ramp.
Funnily enough, the ending of the match wasn’t exactly clean. Lesnar was so caught up in keeping Strowman down that he walked into a Spear and got pinned.
Can you blame him? Strowman’s scary as hell!
I’m just happy the title’s on Raw, man. And after what WWE did on this show to create some immediate contenders for Reigns’ championship, I don’t think anyone can really complain.
(But they will. Such is life.)
STRAIGHT FIRE BABY
And the loudest pop of the night goes to...Becky Lynch.
How can you not feel for her? Screwed over at every opportunity. It’s been boiling forever and ever at this point – and screw you, Charlotte! Sticking your nose into Becky’s business and adding yourself to this match!
My god I’m fired up.
This match was probably my favorite women’s match in months. I really dug this one. Carmella’s part was great; she was snooty and overconfident, more eager to goad her opponents and laud her title over them than to actually win the match. Because of her mindset, she simply couldn’t keep up with the frantic work rate of Charlotte and Lynch. Carmella was scrambling to break up pin attempts, let alone get any offense in.
The Charlotte/Lynch dissension began early when Lynch got slapped by Carmella and thought Charlotte did it. The tension was immediately palpable and only escalated throughout the match.
What else can I say? Carmella hit a fantastic dive on Lynch, Lynch was her usual immaculate self in the ring, and Charlotte’s corkscrew Moonsault off the top turnbuckle was nuts. The false finishes were spectacular.
But that finish? That was a work of art.
Lynch had Carmella dead to rights. She had her with a Disarmher in the middle of the ring. And because of Charlotte’s stupid interference and getting booked in this match, Lynch got screwed again. She was blindsided by a Natural Selection and pinned by her “friend.”
Charlotte won. The crowd booed.
Lynch got up and stared at her friend. The crowd began chanting for her. She initiated a hug and then she snapped. Lynch attacked Charlotte in a frenzy with the crowd coming unglued. She kept going until she was finally satisfied and walked away with her head held high and a jut to her chin.
We all have our pride at the end of the day. And all it took was some straight fire to get me fired up. Man, that “you deserve it!” chant as Becky coyly looked back on the ramp. Chills.
Daddy’s coming home
...Did we just get a TNA chant? I think we just got a TNA chant.
You know, it took me a while to get into this match. It came right after the SmackDown women’s triple threat which was worked at a much faster pace. But by the end of the match, I was hooked.
This feud was personal from the get go. Samoa Joe just has a knack for getting under people’s skin, but he’s really turned it up for AJ Styles. I’d imagine he’s doing it because he knows that he needs to affect Styles in some way to win the WWE Championship, but man...to tell his wife that daddy wasn’t coming home, but he’d be her new daddy?
That’s...man. That’s vile.
Clad in gear that reminded me of the New York Nightmare – I can’t be the only Blitz fan here, can I? - Styles was a nightmare for Joe in the end. After Joe made his last pass at Styles’ family, the champion lost it. A physical match was tossed to the wayside. Styles introduced a chair to the mix and got himself disqualified.
This all felt uncomfortable...but in a good way, I think? Styles’ daughter looked terrified, so maybe not. All I know is that this match and feud has my undivided attention – and that has to be a success, right?
(Graves calling that Styles didn’t hook both arms on the Styles Clash was brilliant, by the way.)
Rowdy Ronda Rousey
If you aren’t absolutely terrified and in awe of Ronda Rousey, you are either a better person than me or you’re delusional.
She’s terrifying. And it’s brilliant.
Rousey squashed Bliss in our third squash of the night. It even featured a Masterlock Challenge-like moment where Rousey shut her eyes, sat down, and allowed Bliss to lock in whatever she wanted to.
And y’all. Rousey broke that rear naked choke in five seconds flat, beat Bliss silly, and lectured her on what it means to be champion the entire time.
I enjoyed the hell out of it.
I think you could be critical of the post-match celebration a bit, and perhaps Rousey’s redundancy when she was speaking in the ring, but I have no complaints.
(Also, Nattie? You are amazing. Just wanted you to know that, okay?)
Go get you a Lunatic
The most consistently stellar feud on Raw opened the show. And guess what? They were just as stellar as they always are.
Seth Rollins hasn’t struggled much at all with anyone this year. He knows he’s having a hell of a run and whether it was hubris or just a desire to do something unmatched before in wrestling history, he bit off more than he could chew in the duo of Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler. Exploiting McIntyre’s intimidating presence and aid, Ziggler snatched the Intercontinental Championship from RAW’s Walking Inferno and has stayed one step ahead ever since.
...Until Summerslam, that is.
Guys, gals? Go get yourself a Lunatic. Go get yourself someone who looks at someone like McIntyre and licks his chops. With someone like that in your corner, how can you be anything else other than successful?
Anyway, I don’t even know what else to say. More of these guys.
Yes or No?
My goodness. Give the WWE video promo team an Emmy.
Okay look: This wasn’t a technical masterpiece of a match. The Yes chants got really old considering the fact that the match was essentially the two trading Yes kicks and the Yes taunt. Is that enough “Yes” for you, by the way?
With that said, it was still fun. I just don’t think it was able to meet the lofty expectations. I didn’t enjoy how many people were cheering for the Miz, for starters; he’s an arrogant, attention-seeking troll. I guess a lot of people relate to that. You’d think fans of the guy would realize that booing a heel is giving them the reaction they want, but folks are gonna do what they want, I suppose.
There was a cool spot where Bryan went full American Dragon, slapping Miz silly. That felt a bit like the theme of the match to me. Bryan had this extra gear that he could go, relying on his experience and the hardened life of growing up through the indies. And the Miz, well, he knows how to make up for not having that experience.
Maryse passed the Miz some brass knuckles to finish Bryan off. The crowd popped. I rolled my eyes.
I do appreciate the irony of Miz winning with a punch to the face, though!
The Rest of the Card
Shinsuke Nakamura def. Jeff Hardy – I remember hearing that there were reports of Hardy being “banged up.” Then he goes and hits a Swanton Bomb on the ring apron.
SMH.
This was a pretty short match, and Nakamura went over clean with a Kinshasa. I really enjoyed Hardy stealing his taunt, though. Afterwards, Orton came out to tease beating down Hardy, but then he left. That was...a thing. At least he didn’t corner anyone.
Demon Balor def. Baron Corbin – YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!
HOLY CRAP THE SKY! HOLY CRAP THE SQUASH! HOLY CRAP CORBIN’S FACE! HAHAHA!
LET ME MARK, OKAY?!
Heheh...okay, so let’s actually talk about this. Perfect booking, in my opinion. You can’t thwart a bully without putting the fear of god into them. I think a surprise Demon attack would qualify. Balor’s tongue thing was clearly the work of someone’s idea backstage. It was a bit silly, but man how funny would that conversation been to hear in person?
“Finn, we need more tongue!”
Our new Universal Champion needs some new competition, and a vicious squash for the Demon certainly does that. I actually liked Coachman questioning why Balor doesn’t do this more, though. WWE needs to answer that question and give more context to what the Demon is. The “he uses it when he needs it” line doesn’t really cut it.
It just makes me so damn happy how quickly the crowd comes alive when the Demon arrives.
Ladies and gents: Elias – Ah, nothing like goading a crowd, snapping your guitar, getting obscenities chanted at you, and throwing a temper tantrum.
Braun Strowman def. Kevin Owens – The highlight of this match was Corey Graves calling Strowman a “meat castle.”
This was a complete squash. And I don’t know how to feel about this one. On one hand, the crowd loves Strowman and WWE gave them exactly what makes Strowman impressive and fun. But I dunno, man. This just wasn’t for me. Strowman’s untouchable. I don’t ever enjoy that sort of thing.
And then later on, he wasn’t untouchable. He was dumb as hell, standing right by the ring in harm’s way. How can someone so unstoppable be so dumb?
The Bludgeon Brothers def. The New Day – XAVIER WOODS, GOOD SIR, YOU ARE INSANE. THAT ELBOW DROP WAS FILTHY!
Man. Is there any team in WWE as consistently entertaining as the New Day? Can we get them to freebird a singles title, please?
Woods was brutalized all match, but he’s the perfect guy to get Big E in position to do the most damage. I really liked that bit of storytelling in this match. Woods was on the ropes like Rocky Balboa all match, but his ability to withstand punishment allowed Big E to get one of the Bludgeon Brothers alone multiple times to inflict damage. His Big Ending to Rowan, for example. And his through-the-ropes Spear to Harper.
In the end, the Bludgeons – Bludgeons? Is that how you shorten their name? - took the short way out and smashed Big E with a mallet to the face. Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow.
B Team def. The Revival – You know maybe I just hate fun, but the B Team antics are not amusing to me anymore. Bo Dallas stumbled over The Revival’s roll up attempt and it got his partner Curtis Axel on top for the victory. Three for three on roll up finishes on the pre-show.
I’d imagine this feud continues. The Revival had the win if the ref hadn’t been distracted.
Alexander/Gulak - Can we talk about Gulak’s gear for a second? The American flag pandering for a dude with a politician gimmick? Brillant.
Anyway, this match rocked. The Cruiserweights brought out a ton of moves that you just don’t see on Raw or SmackDown. The crowd wasn’t invested from the get go, but they were getting into it by the end, especially for the finishing sequence. It’s a shame they slightly messed up the roll up exchange at the end because they could have gotten a huge pop for the finish. I need to watch more 205 Live if they’re putting in consistent efforts like this.
Andrade “Cien” Almas and Zelina Vega def. Rusev and Lana – This match was pretty fun. I mean, it wasn’t the classic of wrestling prowess that Rusev and Almas could display, but they weren’t ever going to get that chance on the pre-show.
The teams wore coordinating gear – which is always awesome - and the men started off the match. I found it funny that we were acting like Lana was this formidable hot tag for a bit, but she eventually got the tag and was able to keep Vega on the run. In the end, Almas distracted Lana for a roll up and Vega used the ropes to leverage her pin attempt.
I thought this show was way too long. Look at how many words I had to write! With that said, this was a really fun show. I enjoyed a lot of it – damn near all of it, really - and WWE gave us actual storyline progression.
Roman Reigns won a frickin’ title and didn’t get destroyed by the crowd. That in itself is mighty impressive.
Grade: A-
I’m tired of reading my own words, Cageside. Type some stuff so I can read yours.
