Compared to the excellent NXT
TakeOver: Brooklyn III, SummerSlam 2017 was an overlong, disappointing show of
two halves.
John Cena and Baron Corbin had
a passable opening match. Cena won for the first time at SummerSlam since 2010.
Corbin’s push seems to have stalled after this defeat and his unsuccessful
money in the bank cash-in.
Natalya beat Naomi for the
SmackDown Women’s Championship. Their efforts looked a bit clunky. Natalya is probably
keeping the belt warm until Carmella cashes in.
Big Cass had another boring
brawl with Big Show. Enzo Amore, locked in a shark cage, eventually greased up
and slid through the bars. Cass hit him with a big boot, then pinned Big Show
after a rubbish elbow drop. Cass suffered a legitimate knee injury on Raw, get
well soon. Enzo joined the cruiserweight division, his promos might improve 205
Live.
Rusev jumped Randy Orton
before the bell. The bell rang. Randy hit an RKO out of nowhere, still wearing
his ring jacket. That was it. Brilliant for the sudden finish.
Sasha Banks beat Alexa Bliss
for the Raw Women’s Championship in a decent effort. Alexa mainly worked
Sasha’s arm. Sasha later failed to lock in Bank Statement on the first attempt
because of the pain. Good selling. Her second attempt succeeded and Alexa tapped
out.
The second half of the show
received a better reaction. Bray Wyatt and Finn Balor had great entrances and I
enjoyed their psychological tactics. Bray usually plays mind games to
intimidate his opponents, but seemed scared by Balor’s demon character
throughout this bout. Balor got a much needed win; Wyatt will bounce back.
The Raw Tag Team Championship
match was excellent, and just like Great Balls of Fire last month, my favourite
of the evening. Champions Cesaro and Sheamus lost to the reunited team of Seth
Rollins and Dean Ambrose. It had double team moves galore, false finishes and
the right result. Tag team wrestling done well.
A.J. Styles and Kevin Owens
squared off again for the United States Championship and exceeded their efforts
at Battleground. Special guest referee Shane McMahon got knocked over in three
separate incidents. This created drama, for example, Shane didn’t see a tap out
or couldn’t count fast enough. Owens shouted: “YOU FALL OFF BUILDINGS!” to
Shane, which cracked me up. After A.J. retained on SmackDown, their memorable
feud is over. Hopefully, they have even better matches with fresh opponents.
WWE Champion Jinder Mahal beat
Shinsuke Nakamura. India versus Japan added an international atmosphere.
Nakamura looked like a megastar with his entrance, mannerisms and strong style offence.
If Jinder stays champ, I’d like to see alternative heel tactics that don’t
involve predictable Singh bros. interference.
The Fatal Four Way main event for the Universal
Championship was like a human demolition derby. It served two purposes. Brock
Lesnar looks tough for surviving so much punishment. Braun Strowman is a
monster destroyer and serious contender. Raw set up a singles match between
those two at No Mercy. I can’t wait!
Thanks for reading,
Philip.
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