WWE presents one of their biggest shows of the year, SummerSlam. And since it’s one of their biggest events, it’s guaranteed to run about SIX HOURS!! A two hour presho— Err, excuse me, KICKOFF SHOW with video packages that will just get replayed during the main show, in case you forget about them.
Miz announced that he has a match with Dolph Ziggler tomorrow night on Raw. We’ll see if WWE actually follows through with this, or whether it’ll just get forgotten about.
Finn Balor met up with his fellow Bullet Club alumni AJ Styles and The Good Brothers. AJ and the Orange County offered their help for Balor in his match tonight. Naturally, Balor declined.
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Drew p. Gulak Oney Lorcan with the Cyclone Crash – When the referee’s back was turned, Gulak punched Lorcan in the throat. He followed up with the Cyclone Crash for the pin.
Drake Maverick joined the Kickoff Show panel vowing to get the 24/7 Title. The camera slowly backed away to reveal R-Truth and Carmella hiding below the desk. When Drake finally saw them, he chased after them with a referee in tow.
Buddy Murphy b. Apollo when Rowan interfered – The match had spilled to the floor after a dive. When Murphy went to get back in the ring, Rowan blindsided him, Rowan powerbombed him into the ring post and yelled at him for talking to Roman Reigns. Daniel Bryan watched from backstage with a monitor.
Elias played a song and did his usual burial of the town. Edge’s theme played and Edge made his way to the ring. He speared Elias to the roar of the crowd. Yes, the sam Spear that messed up his neck so much.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Alexa Bliss & Nkki Cross b. The Iiconics (Peyton Royce and Billie Kay) when Alexa pined Royce with Twisted Bliss to retain the titles – Even though the match was announced, it looked like the challenge was issued tonight.
Main Show
Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch s. Natalya with a Disarmer – The story was the Nattie was focusing on Lynch’s leg while Becky worked on Nattie’s arm, which are relevant to their respective Finishers. Natalya hit a Superplex and tried a basement dropkick. Lynch countered by catching her foot and reversing into a Sharpshooter. Of course, Natalya returned the favor by putting Lynch n the Disarmer. Lynch escaped, but Natalya simply pulled her back in the middle and clamped on a Sharpshooter. Lynch crawled almost completely out of the ring to break the hold. She then rebounded and used the Disarmer to get the submission.
In a nice subtle change, they gave Becky Lynch a few minutes to celebrate her victory rather than immediately going to the next segment.
Backstage, Trish Stratus was interviewed. She cut a promo about reminding Charlotte that she’s still the best.
A video package recapped Zigglers issues with Miz and Shawn Michael that led to him signing for a match with Goldberg. Ziggler came to the ring and cut a promo saying he was the best thing to happen to pro wrestling. Yes, he actually said the dreaded W word. He said that he wouldn’t be surprised if Goldberg doesn’t even show up tonight. Goldberg’s music hit and Goldberg made his way to the ring.
Goldberg p. Dolph Ziggler with a Jackhammer – After a staredown, Ziggler quickly hit a superkick and went for the cover. Goldberg kicked out at one. Ziggler hit another superkick and made the cover. Goldberg kicked out at one again. Goldberg hit a Spear and Jackhammer and got the pin. Just as expected.
When Goldberg was making his exit, Ziggler called him out on the mic. He claimed that the Goldberg hit like a little baby and that he couldn’t beat him man to man. Goldberg returned to the ring and hit another Spear. Ziggler got on the mic again and said Goldberg got lucky twice. So Goldberg speared him a third time.
An ad aired for Clash Of The Champions, which is a much better name than Night Of Champions.
The New Day were shown backstage and introduce “Dray”. Drake Maverick stepped in and did a rap. He said he was told R-Truth was there, and it was a lie. So he went back to searching for him.
A video package recapped the Ricochet/Styles feud. While the foreign language announce teams were introduced, two of them were Truth and Carmella.
WWE US Champion AJ Styles (w/Gallows & Anderson) p. Ricochet with a Styles Clash – Ricochet’s ring gear resembled Nightwing’s outfit. The match got off to a quick start with Ricochet getting the shine. AJ turned it around by working on Ricochet’s leg (second match tonight that had an injured leg story). Ricochet made a comeback and used his good leg for his high flying spots. Gallows and Anderson tried to interfere but were kicked away. Ricochet went for a Phoenix Splash, which AJ amazingly turned into a Styles Clash.
After the match, The Orange County Club attacked Ricochet and hit a Magic Killer.
The Street Profits were backstage and did their usual schtick. Ric Flair stepped in and danced with them who made his “Can’t hold these alligators down”.
Smackdown Women’s Champion Bayley p. Ember Moon with a top rope Bayley-To-Belly Suplex – Moon dominated early and used a lot of holds. Bayley rallied and hit a suplex off the ropes to make her comeback. Bayley certainly was looking frustrated and playing the heel. She used an inverted Boston Crab which Moon got out of. Moon superkicked Bayley and sent her out of the ring. The two battled atop the turnbuckles where Moon hit a top rope hurricanrana. Bayley kicked out and Moon again climbed the buckle. This time it was Bayley’s time to intercept at the top> She hit a Bayley-To-Bayley form the top and got the pin.
A video package recapped the Shane/Kevin Owens feud.
Kevin Owens p. Shane McMahon with a Stunner – Elias was brought out as a second referee. Owens dominated most of the match and knocked Shane to the floor. He went for a dive but Elias stepped in the way. This allowed Shane to hit from behind and take control. Owens made his comeback and hit a Frog Splash. Elias pulled the referee out of the ring before the three count. Owens took a chair and smacked Elias several times with it. Back in the ring Owens looked to attack Shane as well. The ref got back in the ring to warn him. Owens put the chair back and low-kicked Shane behind his back. He then hit a Stunner and got the pin.
A video package recapped the weird stuff happening with Roman Reigns. Unless Reigns is appearing tonight I don’t know why they’d show it.
Charlotte Flair s. Trish Stratus with a Figure 8 – The match started with a lot of staredowns and stalling. After Flair left the ring a few times, Trish hit a vertical splash from the apron. Flair rebounded and whipped Trish into the barrier. Back in the ring, Flair was in full control of the match but couldn’t get a pin. Trish reversed a Figure 8 attempt into a roll-up. Charlotte kicked out, so Trish clamped on her own Figure 8. Eventually Flair made the rope break. Trish hit Stratusfaction for a near-fall. the two traded chops as they got to their feet. Flair kicked out of a Chick Kick. Flair hit a big boot and used the Figure 8. Trish lingered for a bit before submitting.
A recap of the history between Kofi Kingston and Randy Orton. Bret Hart was shown giving Kofi a pep talk.
WWE Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton went to a double countout – The match quickly went to the floor. Actually most of the opening minutes were on the floor. Orton slammed Kofi on the announce tables. Back in the ring Kofi made his comeback and hit a Tornado DDT. He knocked Orton to the floor and hit a bodypress from the top. Orton retaliated with an Elevated DDT. Orton stalked Kofi for an RKO. Kofi ducked and climbed to the top for another bodypress. This time, Orton hit the RKO. However, Orton wasn’t able to make the cover and Kofi managed to roll out of the ring. Orton followed him out and stood over him in front of Kofi’s family. Kofi roared to life and started punching Orton. The bell rang, presumably for a double count-out. All that for a Double Countout. The crowd was understandably pissed for this ending.
After the match, Kofi continued to attack Orton.
Bray Wyatt p. Finn Balor with a Mandible Claw – As feared, he wasn’t called Bray Wyatt, he was called The Fiend at least 500 times. Wyatt dominated for several minutes. Then, seemingly unsure of what the voices in his head were saying, he hesitated. This gave Balor the chance to make his comeback. Balor dove off the top only to get caught in a Mandible Claw. Wyatt forced him to the mat for the pinfall.
Seth Rollins p. WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar with a Curbstomp to win the title – This was a rematch from WrestleMania that unfolded almost the same way. Brock dominated right away and for most of the match, with Seth getting a little offense here and there. Outside the ring Rollins superkicked Lesnar onto announce table. He then hit a frog splash from the top down to the table. Rollins hit another Frog Splash in the ring, and hit the Curbstomp. Lesnar kicked out. Seth went for another Curbstomp but Brock caught him and tried for an F5. Rollins escaped and hit another superkick and another Curbstomp to get the pin.
