WWE SummerSlam Kickoff Show
1. The Hardy Boyz & Jason Jordan vs. The Miz & The Miztourage - We already saw this match this past Monday on Raw, so the only reason to do it again was to give the heels a win, which is what happened. As a result, we'll probably get the rubber match on Raw. It was an okay match for a kickoff show match, nothing overly special though it did continue the build for what looks like an eventual IC title feud between Miz and Jordan. The Miz scores the win for his team after making a blind tag and hitting Jordan with the SCF a little past the 10.5 minute mark.
**1/4
2. WWE Cruiserweight Championship - Akira Tozawa vs. Neville - It was a good effort overall and both these two have good chemistry with one another. However, the ending is one of those where it makes me think that Vince suddenly changed his mind for seemingly no apparent reason. Neville was in the middle of a great 200+ day run, so why interrupt it simply to put the title on someone for less than a week? Neville regains the title about the 12 minute mark after hitting Red Arrow.
***1/4
3. WWE SD Tag Team Championship - The New Day vs. The Usos - Another fantastic match in a series of fantastic matches featuring these two teams. Each match of their feud has been a bit better than the one before it and this one was no exception as they just have that magic with each other. There were some great near falls scattered through the match and everyone involved was given an opportunity to shine. Why this wasn't on the main card is another one of those things that makes you wonder just what Vince is thinking. The ending was a bit of a surprise as I expected the New Day to retain the titles. The end comes about the 20 minute mark with Big E taking a double Samoan splash with one Uso landing on his upper body while the other landed across his lower body for the clean win.
****1/4
WWE SummerSlam Main Card
1. John Cena vs. Baron Corbin - It was weird seeing Cena in the opening match. The match was pretty solid overall, it went pretty much the way I figured it would. Corbin got in a good amount of offense but I never once felt like Cena was even in the slightest bit of danger. Cena hits the AA for the win maybe 20 seconds past the 10 minute mark.
**1/2
2. WWE SD Women's Championship - Naomi vs. Natalya - This was an entertaining showing for the ladies. They worked hard and it was a nice mix of athleticism vs. technical ability. Naomi managed to escape the Sharpshooter once in the match and showed some courage. The end comes with Natalya countering a split legged moonsault attempt from Naomi by getting her knees up. She then slaps her in the Sharpshooter once again, this time forcing Naomi to tap out about the 11 minute mark.
***1/4
3. The Big Show vs. Big Cass - This was the weakest match of the night. That's not to say that it was completely awful, Big Show did a great job of selling his injured hand throughout the match and the told a decent story overall. The problem was that the offense was just flat out dull and the fact that everyone was waiting to see how Enzo would try to affect the match didn't help. Enzo managed to slip through the bars of the shark cage after pouring some oil all over himself he had stashed in his underwear though he wound up eating a running boot from Cass the moment his feet touched the mat. Cass hit a couple of running boots on Big Show before hitting the Empire Elbow for the win at the 10.5 minute mark.
*1/4
4. Randy Orton vs. Rusev - This match was too short to rate but I was entirely satisfied with how this turned out. I had less interest in this match, which is to say I had no interest whatsoever, so I'm glad they kept it very short. It ultimately started with Rusev jumping Orton from behind before the match started while Orton was doing his pre match posing and posturing to the crowd. After spending a few minutes beating Orton around on the outside, he rolled him back into the ring and the ref separated them, checking on Orton to see if he was okay to start the match. Orton gives the ref the okay, the bell rings, Rusev charges into the corner but slams into the turnbuckles after Orton moves, he staggers out of the corner a bit before eating a wicked looking RKO and Orton wins in about 10 seconds.
NA
5. WWE Raw Women's Championship - Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks - Another good women's title match and this match ultimately went about like I figured, except for the ending. Bliss works well with Sasha as this one, plus their last encounter at Great Balls of Fire, has been her best in-ring work on the main roster. Some good storytelling and action all around and I liked how Bliss kept countering the Bank Statement by putting pressure on Sasha's "injured" arm at various times. The match ultimately ended about 20 seconds past the 13 minute mark with Bliss finally tapping out to the Bank Statement, making Sasha Banks a 4 time Raw Women's Champion.
***1/4
6. Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt - A good match, though nothing terribly special apart from Balor's entrance and it was interesting to see Bray Wyatt coming off as a bit intimidated by Balor's "Demon" persona. The entrance and the persona are the only reasons why this match really even went down. Balor picks up the win at the 10.5 minute mark via the Coup de Grace.
**3/4
7. WWE Raw Tag Team Championship - Sheamus & Cesaro vs. Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins - This was a helluva match with both teams working hard and the crowd being completely invested. It started off slow but really picked up in the last 12 minutes or so with some really fun near falls and a few flashy moves from Rollins here and there. The end comes about the 20 minute mark after Rollins delivers a springboard hurricanrana that takes Cesaro off the tope rope and drives him into Sheamus as they attempt to deliver their double team White Noise finisher. Rollins then catches Sheamus with the big knee only for Ambrose to hit Dirty Deeds to pick up the win and the tag titles.
****1/4
8. WWE United States Championship - AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens - A great effort from both men that featured just the right amount of involvement of Shane McMahon as the special referee. Shane had some moments, mostly those where he wound up being accidentally hit through shenanigans of Kevin Owens, but nothing he did or happened to him overshadowed the match itself. There was a nice little false finish after Owens hit Styles with the Pop up Powerbomb, Shane did technically count three but he saw that AJ Styles had his foot on the lower rope about the same time his hand made the three count. As the match continued, Styles eventually gains the upper hand and winds up hitting the Phenomenal Forearm before putting the finishing touch on Owens by hitting the Styles Clash for the win about the 18 minute mark.
***3/4
9. WWE Championship - Jinder Mahal vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - This match was just plain dull because Jinder Mahal is just plain dull. I've kept waiting to see if Jinder would break on through to that next level, I haven't criticized the guy or blasted WWE for putting the title on him as I wanted to give him time. Well, it's been over 3 months now and Jinder is still dull in the ring, he's dull as a character, he's dull on the mic and all of his matches end the same with the Singh Brothers providing some sort of interference to help him win. At the very, very best, Jinder is an average wrestler with a phenomenal physique and it's getting time for him to drop the strap.
**
10. WWE Universal Championship - Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe vs. Braun Strowman - This was one highly energetic, chaotic brawl that pretty much obliterated the ringside area and made Braun Strowman look even more like a star than he already has. Strowman owned Lesnar tonight, there's just no other way to put it as their interactions resulted in Strowman physically dominating Lesnar the way Lesnar dominates just about everyone else. The spots where Strowman powerslammed Lesnar through two announce tables really got the crowd going, though they were going from bell to bell. Reigns and Joe both got their licks in on Lesnar as well, giving strong showings of themselves. Lesnar himself also came off looking like a badass after staggering back to the ringside area after being carted out on a stretcher due to Strowman's powerslams. The end comes about the 21 minute mark after the ring is cleared except for Reigns and Lesnar, Lesnar delivers an F-5 to Roman Reigns to retain the Universal Championship. A very, very satisfying ending to a well built match.
****3/4
Final Thoughts - From an overall perspective, I thought SummerSlam was a fun show. there were a few decisions that were head scratchers such as why Neville regained the Cruiserweight Championship less than a week after his 200+ day reign was ended, and why the morst boring wrestler on the roster, Jinder Mahal, is still WWE Champion. The matches that ultimately delivered the most were both the Women's & Tag Team Championship matches, the US Championship match and the Universal Championship main event. SummerSlam was a much stronger show, in my opinion, this year than it was last year but it wasn't remotely as good as TakeOver: Brooklyn III though I can't say I was at all surprised by that.
Grade: B
lmao: ). I just realized Baron Corbin is the only one on Smackdown without an opponent for Summerslam. 
