Opening Segment
For once, Shane McMahon wasn’t in the ring to open the show and instead we got a video saying that he wasn’t there due to advice from his life coach but he will be at Summer Slam and he will end Kevin Owens’ career. Owens remarked that the show would actually be about the talent and that he’ll prove McMahon doesn’t belong in the ring. It was a nice change of pace from the openings we’ve been having and it set up for the first match.
Grade: B+
Drew McIntyre vs Kevin Owens
This was a great first match of the night. It was very competitive and much of what Owens needed after the last couple of weeks of sneak attacks and the weeks prior where he had mostly been losing. Not that people don’t know how good Owens is in the ring, but it’s nice to be reminded of it especially with Summer Slam right around the corner.
Winner: Kevin Owens
Grade: B+
Interview time!
Dolph Ziggler commented on his behavior from last week’s Miz TV and confirmed that he and The Miz will have a match at Summer Slam. Bayley warned Ember Moon not to try anything funny. Aleister Black is waiting, less patiently, for someone else to step up.
Ziggler saying that Miz isn’t even the best wrestler in his house did it for me. I’m sad they only did two matches for Cesaro and Black; feels like they’re could’ve been more to the feud than that.
Grade: B
Bayley and Ember Moon vs Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross
The match itself was okay. These women are certainly capable of more if given the proper time, but that’s neither here nor there. I didn’t like Moon losing, but I think it’s going to be played off as a kind of underdog story. Also I thought Cross and Bliss would be feuding by now. Post-match Bayley hit the Bayley-to-Belly on Moon as payback for the Eclipse last week.
Winner: Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross
Grade: C
Promo time!
Sami Zayn told us that Aleister Black is crying out for help, not a fight and that he will expose Black at Summer Slam. Daniel Bryan was in to make his big announcement, then left.
Let’s just throw Sami Zayn in there, why not? Also is Bryan about to retire again? What’s up?
Not Graded
The King’s Court with guest Trish Stratus
The promo work here wasn’t the best. It sounded a little forced and somewhat cringey but it did what it was supposed to do. It’s also strange that Stratus literally showed up just to get a Summer Slam match, but that means Charlotte Flair is on the card now so I won’t complain about that.
Grade: C+
More promos!
The OC (omg I hate that name) put themselves over and AJ Styles said he was going to show Kofi Kingston that Smackdown is still the house that AJ Styles built. We got a Firefly Funhouse. All the puppets are excited for Summer Slam. Rambling Rabbit let us know the fiend will be unleashed.
Solid video segments. I love the puppets; Mercy the Buzzard is my favorite.
Not Graded
Dolph Ziggler vs Finn Balor
What bits of match we got weren’t too bad. The fiend showed up and distracted Balor, costing him the match. I’m not too upset because it does further the build between Bray Wyatt and Finn Balor for Summer Slam.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
Grade: B-
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Ali
This was another fairly short match, but Ali should be set up for an Intercontinental Championship match at Summer Slam. It only makes sense.
Winner: Ali
Grade: C+
Promos: Round 3
Randy Orton gave a fantastic promo about how he sent Kofi Kingston to the bottom of the ladder, he had to pretend to be Jamaican because he couldn’t step to Orton’s level, and how Kingston’s title reign was a fluke. Kofi Kingston told AJ Styles that Smackdown is now a place of positivity.
This is that mean side of Randy Orton that I’ve been missing! I felt that Kingston’s comeback for AJ Styles was a tad weak, but it highlighted the juxtaposition of their attitudes.
Grade: B+
Kofi Kingston vs AJ Styles
This was definitely a good main event match, with both participants having great agility and counters. The Good Brothers and New Day at ringside made it even better. The outside guys didn’t pull focus from the match either and they avoided the (admittedly expected) DQ finish. Plus it gives Kingston more momentum going into his tile match at Summer Slam.
Winner: Kofi Kingston
Grade: B+
Lights, camera…Roman?
Roman Reigns was coming out to talk about his Summer Slam challenge, but the light rig fell down on him. And the dude just walked away from it!
Man, who was trying to murder Reigns backstage? Unacceptable!
Grade: B
Final Thoughts
Summer Slam is right around the corner and we got some official matches as well as some feud builds. As a whole, the episode wasn’t bad but there were definitely some weak points this week.
Overall Grade: B
