Kickoff Show
I didn’t care much for WWE just randomly adding three matches to the kickoff show, but I’m also glad that they realized they couldn’t have a two-hour kickoff show that was just talking. We also got some character development with the backstage segments. All in all, it was a pretty good kickoff show.
Grade: B+
Drew Gulak vs Oney Lorcan-Cruiserweight Championship
Great choice for the first match of the night. As expected of these two performers, it was a lot of mat-based wrestling. Lorcan showed his trademark aggressive fighting style while Gulak maintained his technicality throughout the bout, though he did take a shot at Lorcan’s throat when the official’s back was turned. I prefer Gulak winning by submission but that sneaky throat jab was a good win too.
Winner: Drew Gulak
Grade: B
Apollo Crews vs Buddy Murphy
I’m upset that they changed Murphy’s music. Also this was Murphy’s first official match since moving from 205 Live to Smackdown. It was a fairly standard match. However, the interruption by Rowan was an interesting twist along with Daniel Bryan watching from the back. Let’s see where this goes. And Crews…seems like Crews is the go-to for having an interrupted match to advance a story line.
Winner: No Contest
Grade: C+
Ladies and gentlemen, Elias…
Elias did his usual guitar playing and insulting the crowd. I have to admit I do find these segments entertaining. I wasn’t ready for Edge to show up and spear him though. I definitely had a moment; I loved Edge so much when he was active!
Grade: A
Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross vs the IIconics-Women’s Tag Team Championships
Corey Graves’ commentary on this match was quite annoying; he seemed irrationally angry about Bliss’ Buzz Lightyear gear. Cross and Bliss had a good first title defense; Bliss wrestles in weird spurts since her concussions so it’s always nice to actually see her wrestle. Billie Kay and Peyton Royce did their trademark meltdown and with how poorly they were booked as champions, I’m glad Bliss and Cross were successful here.
Winner: Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss
Grade: C+
Becky Lynch vs Natalya-Submission Match for the Raw Women’s Championship
Arguably one of the best match choices to open up the main card. Interestingly enough, the crowd seemed to be behind both women, which was super cool. We got to see a more vicious side of Nattie here, a welcome change from her general role of “sidekick” that she’s had for a while. Both women also applied each other’s finishers, giving us a few tense moments. This match really brought the best out of them; Lynch has needed a credible opponent for a while and Nattie was perfect.
Winner: Becky Lynch
Grade: B+
Kayla Braxton with Trish Stratus
Stratus gave us a passionate promo about being a trailblazer and called herself the Queen of Queens. She said Charlotte Flair couldn’t walk a mile in her boots.
Man, I sometimes wonder what the Divas Division could’ve been if management had actually let them wrestle.
Not Graded
Dolph Ziggler vs Goldberg
Exactly what I thought it was going to be: pretty much a squash match. At least this time, Goldberg didn’t straight up drop Ziggler on his head and neck. And he gave us two more hellacious spears after the match sinze Ziggler doesn’t know when to shut up.
Winner: Goldberg
Grade: C
The New Day
Xavier Woods (with a fresh set of braids) and Big E joined Kofi Kingston in his locker room and hyped up the upcoming title match. Drake Maverick popped up in his search for R-Truth.
I loved Woods’ hair! And poor Drake Maverick; all he wants is the 24/7 Championship and to consummate his marriage.
Grade: B
AJ Styles vs Ricochet-United States Championship
Luke Gallows brought the facepaint back. Watching the OC come in reminded me of their NJPW days. This was an excellent match, especially as a follow-up to the Goldberg squash. The early “injury” to Ricochet’s knee took away some of his aerial maneuvers and forced him to slow down. Because of this, we saw a lot of good back and forth between Styles and Ricochet. I particularly liked the calf crusher into the anaconda vice sequence. Gallows and Anderson were only minimally involved so it didn’t seem like Styles needed too much help.
Winner: AJ Styles
Grade: A-
Street Profits
Angelo Dawkins made some passes at Nikki Cross and Ric Flair showed up to party with the Street Profits.
Does Dawkins know that Nikki Cross is married…to Killian Dain of all people? And Ric Flair was in a rap video; now you can’t tell him nothing.
Not Graded
Bayley vs Ember Moon-Smackdown Women’s Championship
The crowd was cold for this match, which was unfortunate. It was the dark horse of the pay-per-view. And despite the crowd’s lack of interest, the in-ring action was very good. I liked that this was a fresh match-up and both women are great workers. However, I do feel like this match never quite got into high gear. The Bayley-to-Belly from the top rope was cool, but I don’t think it should’ve put Moon away. This match probably would’ve been bananas in NXT.
Winner: Bayley
Grade: B-
Shane McMahon vs Kevin Owens-Owen’s Career on the Line
Probably the best hyped and most developed match on the card. And just to add in a twist, we had Elias as the special guest enforcer. I feel like this match was more cathartic than anything, both for Owens and for us as fans. I’m so tired of Elias and/or Drew McIntyre interfering to help Shane. The match was actually kind of short, but a lot happened. Owens absolutely battered McMahon and Elias, rightfully so. The crowd was hot for this match too, adding to the atmosphere. I did feel like there was a huge missed opportunity here for a falls-count-anywhere match or a street fight.
Winner: Kevin Owens
Grade: B
Charlotte Flair vs Trish Stratus
Flair’s character work in this match was top notch. Stratus is a legend, yes, but I think Flair out-wrestled her completely. Stratus can definitely sell though; it was always one of her strong suits. She held on and gave it to Flair much more than I was expecting though. It wasn’t the most competitive of matches, but it was a true clash of eras. Flair’s work here showed just how much more physical the women have gotten since the revolution. Also this is totally going to give Flair even more heel heat, which I’m sure she’ll relish. Bow down to the Queen of All Eras.
Winner: Charlotte Flair
Grade: B+
Kofi Kingston vs Randy Orton-WWE Championship
A match ten years in the making….who knew that someone else’s injury would lead to this moment? This was the other best-built match on the card. Orton controlled the match for a little bit, making it go at a slower pace. But that slow match pace is Orton’s comfort zone and he used it to punish Kingston. The crowd was split for this match, with a dueling chant of “Kofi’s stupid”/”Randy sucks”. You could tell that the crowd was running out of gas as well and the slow pace didn’t help that. However, Kingston’s post-match meltdown was a thing of beauty. It really drove his feelings home. And it was justifiable since Orton tried to humiliate him in front of his family. I’m not a huge fan of the championship match ending in a no-contest though; they’re probably going to continue this feud.
Winner: No Contest
Grade: B
Finn Balor vs Bray Wyatt
Bray Wyatt’s entrance was on some psychopath stuff and I’m totally here for it. Wyatt really sold the Fiend character in this match with his erratic movements and seeming to have an internal struggle about what to do. The match here was pretty much to establish the Fiend and as such, there wasn’t much to it. I feel like they may be trying to push Bray Wyatt into the new Undertaker role, which they failed to do the first time around.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
Grade: B
Brock Lesnar vs Seth Rollins-Universal Championship
I don’t think this should’ve been the main event; the crowd was almost dead. They were doing their best to make the crowd sympathetic to Rollins by bringing up the beatings he’s gotten over the past couple of weeks as well as taping his ribs up. Rollins took some serious abuse here but Lesnar also sold for him, which means that there must be at least a little bit of respect here. Okay now it’s time to move on and give Rollins a new feud and do better by his title reign this time.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Grade: C+
Final Thoughts
Despite the up and down build, I think Summer Slam was fairly solid. None of the matches really knocked it out of the park, but nothing was abjectly horrible either. Only one title change out of the two nights was interesting though. By mid-way through the show, I was expecting all champions to retain. It’ll be interesting to see what, if any, ripples this will make to Clash of Champions.
Overall Grade: B-
