I've been travelling a bit over the past few days, so it gave me a chance to watch Summerslam... I haven't really been keeping up with WWE beyond catching a few things on SquaredCircle, so I went into this almost totally fresh.
Night One
Cardi B seemed nervous introducing the show. Her general tone was just really... awkward.
Roman Reigns and Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed - A decent opener. I found it strange that after all of the abuse Roman gave Jey, Jey was now hugging him and throwing up the 1 like nothing happened. They tried to explain it by saying it showed Jey was confident and sure of himself, but... eh. Match itself was pretty good, no complaints.
Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez vs. Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair - Why is Alexa still carrying around that stupid doll? It was dumb when she started doing it and it still is. The match itself was fine, nothing special but solid enough. Seems Charlotte has managed to win over the crowd which is nice for her. It felt like the hatred directed towards her recently was a bit mean-spirited. It's not like she personally chose how she was booked in the past.
Sami Zayn vs. Karrion Kross (w/Scarlett) - Just OK. Could have been on Raw. There was never any real suspense over Sami 'turning to the dark side' so that part of the story fell kind of flat.
Looks like fans have softened to Hogan after his death, as his tribute was applauded. Apparently the pictures of Trump and Triple H were roundly booed.
Tiffany Stratton vs. Jade Cargill - Short, but understandable. I thought both of them looked green at times. Jade has a great look but doesn't seem to have progressed much in-ring since joining WWE. She can do basic spots fine, but when things get a little more complicated she always seems clumsy.
Jelly Roll and Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre and Logan Paul - Fair play to Jelly Roll, I have no idea who he is, but he clearly took the match seriously. I thought he was solid considering he only had a couple of weeks worth of serious training. He took a couple of high impact bumps, too. He also ate the pin, so, respect.
Gunther vs. CM Punk - I've seen mixed opinions on this one. I actually thought the slower style harkened back to older times, where the intimidating heel would dominate only for the face to rally at the end and score the win. It didn't bother me. Punk looked pretty gassed at points, but he managed a 30 minute match, so fair enough.
So Seth's injury was indeed either a work or initially a shoot but not as serious as feared, and therefore turned into a work. Either way it was a cool moment for him to come out and cash in. It helps deepen the blood-feud between him and Punk, and Rollins will seemingly be Punk's main nemesis until he retires. Fun way to end night one. Overall I found the first night to be alright, but nothing too special. The main event and post-match angle were the highlights, everything else was just average to me.
Night Two
Every time I watch a WWE PLE Triple H comes out at the beginning to do a ra-ra speech. very annoying.
Naomi vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Iyo Sky - I liked this match a lot. I thought the three of them pulled off a great triple threat. The only issue is that Naomi only recently won the title, so it was highly unlikely she was going to lose it already.
I was initially shocked to see the Dudleyz and the Hardyz acknowledged in the crowd, but then remembered TNA is basically a WWE feeder/affiliate these days.
TLC Match - Just an insane car crash spot fest, and that was all it was ever going to be with that amount of teams. They went with a spectacle as opposed to telling a story. I have to admit I was thoroughly entertained watching it. Candice LaRae's bump from the ladder inside the ring to the ladder set up outside the ring was brutal. My jaw literally dropped. The landing looked incredibly nasty, basically going leg first into the horizontal ladder outside. I think she's OK but that could have ended badly. Overall a really fun match, but the repeatedly interference from the Wyatt Sicks dragged it down a bit for me. I get that it's No DQ, but in these situations I always think, what's to stop all of the wrestler's friends running down and joining in the chaos? Granted Candice and B-Fab were there as well, but still, it's a logic hole that frustrates me.
Becky Lynch vs. Lyra Valkyria - I thought this was another really good match. They told a solid story and it was hard-hitting without being gratuitous. The Bayley interference was questionable, but overall I thought both women did a really good job here. I will say I'm not a fan of the "you'll never challenge for the belt again" stips because they are never honoured, and I'm sure this one won't be either. Although, the only one I can remember genuinely sticking was Cody in AEW and that became a huge detriment, so... just don't do it.
Solo Sikoa vs. Jacob Fatu - disappointing. This one just didn't click with me, and all of the outside interference just makes a mockery of the cage stipulation.
Dominik Mysterio vs. AJ Styles - Not bad. I enjoyed the throwbacks to earlier matches, although it probably left newer fans who didn't watch those matches a bit cold. The commentators tried to bring the audience up to speed, but it just doesn't hit the same if you don't actually remember the match that's being referenced. Overall good though - Dom has improved a lot over the past couple of years.
John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes - It appears that WWE have cut short Cena's heel run. Probably for the best as they clearly did not have enough ideas beyond the initial turn. Absolutely baffling when you consider the possibilities, but somehow they made one of wrestling's biggest "what if's?" incredibly boring. Making this a street fight helped mask some of current Cena's weaknesses, and overall these two put on a fantastic main event. Light-years better than their WM match. Nice that Cena still had a match like that in him. I wonder if Cody being booed here was a sign of things to come? I expect this time he will eventually turn heel, unlike in AEW where he steadfastly refused and ruined all of his good-will with the fans there.
Lesnar's return was a surprise. Technically he hasn't been charged with anything, and I'm sure WWE will go with that as their defence, but still... seems icky. But then, I don't think TKOWWE care about that at this point. Logistically another Cena/Brock match makes sense for Cena's final run.
I much preferred Night Two to Night One. The matches were more memorable and entertaining. I still think one night is enough, as there were plenty of Raw-level matches, particularly on Night One, which could have been scrapped and nothing of value would have been lost. $$$ though.
Night One
Cardi B seemed nervous introducing the show. Her general tone was just really... awkward.
Roman Reigns and Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed - A decent opener. I found it strange that after all of the abuse Roman gave Jey, Jey was now hugging him and throwing up the 1 like nothing happened. They tried to explain it by saying it showed Jey was confident and sure of himself, but... eh. Match itself was pretty good, no complaints.
Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez vs. Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair - Why is Alexa still carrying around that stupid doll? It was dumb when she started doing it and it still is. The match itself was fine, nothing special but solid enough. Seems Charlotte has managed to win over the crowd which is nice for her. It felt like the hatred directed towards her recently was a bit mean-spirited. It's not like she personally chose how she was booked in the past.
Sami Zayn vs. Karrion Kross (w/Scarlett) - Just OK. Could have been on Raw. There was never any real suspense over Sami 'turning to the dark side' so that part of the story fell kind of flat.
Looks like fans have softened to Hogan after his death, as his tribute was applauded. Apparently the pictures of Trump and Triple H were roundly booed.
Tiffany Stratton vs. Jade Cargill - Short, but understandable. I thought both of them looked green at times. Jade has a great look but doesn't seem to have progressed much in-ring since joining WWE. She can do basic spots fine, but when things get a little more complicated she always seems clumsy.
Jelly Roll and Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre and Logan Paul - Fair play to Jelly Roll, I have no idea who he is, but he clearly took the match seriously. I thought he was solid considering he only had a couple of weeks worth of serious training. He took a couple of high impact bumps, too. He also ate the pin, so, respect.
Gunther vs. CM Punk - I've seen mixed opinions on this one. I actually thought the slower style harkened back to older times, where the intimidating heel would dominate only for the face to rally at the end and score the win. It didn't bother me. Punk looked pretty gassed at points, but he managed a 30 minute match, so fair enough.
So Seth's injury was indeed either a work or initially a shoot but not as serious as feared, and therefore turned into a work. Either way it was a cool moment for him to come out and cash in. It helps deepen the blood-feud between him and Punk, and Rollins will seemingly be Punk's main nemesis until he retires. Fun way to end night one. Overall I found the first night to be alright, but nothing too special. The main event and post-match angle were the highlights, everything else was just average to me.
Night Two
Every time I watch a WWE PLE Triple H comes out at the beginning to do a ra-ra speech. very annoying.
Naomi vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Iyo Sky - I liked this match a lot. I thought the three of them pulled off a great triple threat. The only issue is that Naomi only recently won the title, so it was highly unlikely she was going to lose it already.
I was initially shocked to see the Dudleyz and the Hardyz acknowledged in the crowd, but then remembered TNA is basically a WWE feeder/affiliate these days.
TLC Match - Just an insane car crash spot fest, and that was all it was ever going to be with that amount of teams. They went with a spectacle as opposed to telling a story. I have to admit I was thoroughly entertained watching it. Candice LaRae's bump from the ladder inside the ring to the ladder set up outside the ring was brutal. My jaw literally dropped. The landing looked incredibly nasty, basically going leg first into the horizontal ladder outside. I think she's OK but that could have ended badly. Overall a really fun match, but the repeatedly interference from the Wyatt Sicks dragged it down a bit for me. I get that it's No DQ, but in these situations I always think, what's to stop all of the wrestler's friends running down and joining in the chaos? Granted Candice and B-Fab were there as well, but still, it's a logic hole that frustrates me.
Becky Lynch vs. Lyra Valkyria - I thought this was another really good match. They told a solid story and it was hard-hitting without being gratuitous. The Bayley interference was questionable, but overall I thought both women did a really good job here. I will say I'm not a fan of the "you'll never challenge for the belt again" stips because they are never honoured, and I'm sure this one won't be either. Although, the only one I can remember genuinely sticking was Cody in AEW and that became a huge detriment, so... just don't do it.
Solo Sikoa vs. Jacob Fatu - disappointing. This one just didn't click with me, and all of the outside interference just makes a mockery of the cage stipulation.
Dominik Mysterio vs. AJ Styles - Not bad. I enjoyed the throwbacks to earlier matches, although it probably left newer fans who didn't watch those matches a bit cold. The commentators tried to bring the audience up to speed, but it just doesn't hit the same if you don't actually remember the match that's being referenced. Overall good though - Dom has improved a lot over the past couple of years.
John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes - It appears that WWE have cut short Cena's heel run. Probably for the best as they clearly did not have enough ideas beyond the initial turn. Absolutely baffling when you consider the possibilities, but somehow they made one of wrestling's biggest "what if's?" incredibly boring. Making this a street fight helped mask some of current Cena's weaknesses, and overall these two put on a fantastic main event. Light-years better than their WM match. Nice that Cena still had a match like that in him. I wonder if Cody being booed here was a sign of things to come? I expect this time he will eventually turn heel, unlike in AEW where he steadfastly refused and ruined all of his good-will with the fans there.
Lesnar's return was a surprise. Technically he hasn't been charged with anything, and I'm sure WWE will go with that as their defence, but still... seems icky. But then, I don't think TKOWWE care about that at this point. Logistically another Cena/Brock match makes sense for Cena's final run.
I much preferred Night Two to Night One. The matches were more memorable and entertaining. I still think one night is enough, as there were plenty of Raw-level matches, particularly on Night One, which could have been scrapped and nothing of value would have been lost. $$$ though.
