The greatness of Flair and Stratus
This was a great opening segment from Charlotte Flair and Trish Stratus. Flair is definitely comfortable as an arrogant heel and this feud is really playing to her strengths. Stratus has wanted another match for a while and I think Flair is a fantastic choice for this. It really helped hype up their upcoming Summer Slam match.
Grade: B+
Dolph Ziggler vs Rey Mysterio
No match here because Ziggler jumped Mysterio and then cut a promo on Goldberg instead. I’m in the minority but I think it’s funny when Ziggler mocks other people’s entrances. Ali to the rescue!
Grade: B
Dolph Ziggler vs Ali
The match itself was solidly okay, albeit a little short. I think it did help to give Ziggler some momentum for Summer Slam, but it also kinda threw Ali’s post-Nakamura victory momentum in the trash.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
Grade: C+
Roman Reigns’ experiences
I’m actually quite enjoying this storyline of someone trying to take Reigns out. it’s a fun story that Reigns never really got to experience due to his giant championship pushes and the blind hatred of the crowd. It’s a nice change of pace.
Grade: B
RIP Harley Race
Ember Moon vs Natalya
They really gave us Moon’s title match to shut people up because they really haven’t set her up to be a credible threat to Bayley. They have pretty much killed her momentum going into the match on Sunday.
Winner: Double Countout
Grade: D
Kevin Owens Show
Arguably the hottest feud going into Summer Slam, this was a wonderful go home segment for these two. There was trash talk, a numbers game, and a toppled announce table complete with a chair to the face. This feud has been well-built from its time on Smackdown as well as social media posts from Owens. I’m actually quite excited about this match.
Grade: B+
Sami Zayn vs Aleister Black
This match actually started because Zayn was out mocking Black for not taking his challenge and staying in his dark room. The match itself was pretty good; Black and Zayn did work well together. Black still looks strong. I guess this match has been taken off the Summer Slam card, which is fine with me. I do want a more long-term feud for Black though.
Winner: Aleister Black
Grade: B-
Backstage Stuff
Shelton Benjamin looked around awkwardly again. An episode of Firefly Funhouse aired and hyped up the match between Bray Wyatt and Finn Balor. Elias mocked Chad Gable for being short. We got a video package of Kofi Kingston in response to Randy Orton’s video package from last week.
We could’ve done without Benjamin’s awkwardness or Gable’s mockery. It kind of took away from the Summer Slam things happening around it.
Grade: B
Big E and Xavier Woods vs Daniel Bryan and Rowan
As much as I loved the Freebird Rule, I do enjoy seeing a definitive two members of New Day as tag team champions. These two teams had a fantastic match together; the crowd was very much into this main event. I also think the DQ finish was a good idea; it kept both teams looking great. Post match, the Bryan and Rowan beat down the champions.
Winner: Big E and Xavier Woods via DQ
Grade: B+
Who done it?
Roman Reigns whooped up on a smalll Australian man for answers and I enjoyed all of it. Buddy Murphy also implied that Rowan is the one who’s been trying to kill Reigns. Hmm, the plot thickens.
Grade: B
Final Thoughts
So that was the go-home show for Summer Slam. It was a bit of a roller coaster of ups and downs, but solid enough for the pay-per-view on Sunday I think.
Overall Grade: B
