Posted on 7/14/126 by Bob Magee
Live! From Dallas, Texas.
Michael Cole and Corey Graves were on commentary.
Brock Lesnar Opened The Show
Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman come out, with Heyman bringing
a half-dozen police officers to stand in the entranceway to
I guess keep Oba Femi from interrupting. Lesnar has a new
“Talk Sh*t Get Hit” t-shirt.
When Brock’s music stopped, the fans started chanting for
Oba, but sang along with Paul Heyman’s schtick. Heyman’s mic
doesn’t sound great. Heyman pointed out the police, and the
police got booed. Heyman described Femi as an obsessed
stalker because he gave up a guaranteed title shot to get at
Brock Lesnar. He also called him a “big Nigerian dummy” and
a “psycho ex-girlfriend” for being obsessed with Brock.
But it’s not just that Femi is obsessed with Brock; Brock is
obsessed with Oba Femi. Heyman called Lesnar on a hunting
trip and in training camp, but all Brock wants to talk about
is Oba Femi. Knowing how explosive this is, Heyman decided
he needed to protect his investment in the match. He asked
for a no-touch clause, but couldn’t get that done. So Heyman
went to a judge in Dallas and got dual restraining orders
for Brock Lesnar and Oba Femi, to keep them away from each
other until Summerslam.
This brought out Oba Femi.
As Oba walked to the ring, the police got in the ring to
keep Femi from Lesnar. Heyman asked the police to arrest
Brock for violating the restraining order, but Oba destroyed
the six cops. Heyman and Lesnar ran, and Femi cut a promo on
Brock for being a coward. Femi also pointed out that if he
had taken his title shot, Brock would have interfered in the
match anyway. This kind of backward justification would have
been better two weeks ago. Femi said that Brock wouldn’t be
able to run at SummerSlam.
— Michael Cole hyped up a “multi-week” series on the history
of the Shield to build up the Rollins/Reigns title match at
SummerSlam. Chapter 1: The Shield. This was just 45 seconds
of clips of the Shield jumping people, and Seth and Roman
holding the tag team titles.
Roman Reigns will also be at Saturday Night’s Main Event
this Saturday from Madison Square Garden.
Iyo Sky v. Roxanne Perez (w/ Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez)
On commentary, Cole was talking up dissension in the
Judgment Day around Perez. Sky sent Perez to the floor with
a shotgun dropkick. Sky went for a sliding dropkick, but
Perez caught her with a forearm. Perez tried for a suplex on
the apron, but Sky escaped and slammed Perez on the apron.
Sky hit an Asai Moonsault. Sky tossed Perez into the ring.
Liv Morgan distracted Sky as she tried to get back into the
ring, and Perez sucker punched her heading into a break.
Perez set Sky up for a back superplex, but Sky sent her
crashing down with a forearm. Sky set up a moonsault, but
Perez tripped up Sky and hung her in the turnbuckles. Perez
went for a Lionsault, but Sky got her knees up and both
women were down.
Sky hit Perez with a double-underhook into a backbreaker for
a near fall. But Sky delivered the move with her injured
knee, so she came up selling. Sky caught Perez with a kick,
then came off the top with a dropkick and her knee was
magically healed.
Sky went for a meteora in the corner, but Perez got out of
the way. Now Sky’s knee was hurting again. Perez then went
right for the bad knee and stretched it. Sky escaped and
caught Perez in a crossfire. Perez escaped the crossface but
ate a knee. Sky went to the top for a moonsault. Morgan and
Perez interfered to keep Sky from attempting the moonsault.
Perez rolled up Sky, but Sky reversed it and bridged back to
get the pinfall.
Match Result: Iyo Sky pinned Roxanne Perez (10:29).
After the match, Perez and Morgan attacked Sky. Sol Ruca ran
in to make the save. She went for a dive on Rodriguez, but
Rodriguez caught her, slung her into the ring barricade and
powerbombed her into the ringpost. Back in the ring, Morgan
hit Oblivion on Sky, then Perez and Rodriguez held Sky open
for Morgan to wallop her with the women’s world title belt.
The Vision Celebration
The Vision came to the ring to celebrate winning the World
Tag Team title. Maxxine Dupri joined The Vision last week
and now makes kissy-face with Austin Theory to try and get
him heat. Logan Paul started out, but soon handed the
microphone to let Dupri address the crowd. Before she could,
Tozawa and Otis interrupted. Tozawa wanted to talk with
Maxxine, and she sent the rest of The Vision to the floor.
Tozawa and Otis looked so sad and forlorn. Tozawa told
Maxxine she was a wonderful human being, and said that
Austin Theory was wrong for her. The crowd chanted “you sold
out” and we were subject to Dupri’s “acting.” Dupri said
that Tozawa and Otis didn’t even know Austin Theory, and
they made her choose between Theory and them.
Just get to the beatdown already.
Otis took the mic and stuttered that he had something to get
off his chest. Austin Theory fake-laughed about how bad this
segment was. Theory asked if he was going to confess “his
feelings” for Maxxine. Theory told Otis that “people like
[Otis] don’t end up with people like [Maxxine].”
Otis went after Theory. Tozawa jumped on Breakker’s back.
Tozawa actually got one over Breakker by side stepping him
to send him over the top. Tozawa went for a dive on
Breakker, who failed to catch him, but still managed to
suplex him over the announcer’s desk.
Theory and Breakker went to double-team Otis, and Otis
actually got over on Bron Breakker and dumped him to the
floor. Otis backed Theory into the corner, but Maxxine lured
him away, setting him up for a low-blow from Theory. Durpi
laughed in Otis’s face. Breakker hit Tozawa with a spear,
and then Theory leveled Otis with the brass knuckles. Theory
then held Otis up for one more superspear from Breakker.
Theory and Dupri stood over Otis to end the segment.
Breakker was playing second-fiddle to Austin Theory and
Maxxine Dupri. That’s ridiculous.
Jimmy Uso v. Royce Keyes
They started fighting during a commercial, and Adam Pearce
came out to make the match official.
Uso caught Keyes with an enziguri. The fight went to the
floor, and Uso Samoan-dropped Keyes into the commentators’
table. Then two minutes into the impromptu match, they went
to another commercial.
After the break, Keyes caught Uso with a powerslam. While
Keyes was firing up, Jacob Fatu was pulling into the parking
garage, and beeline to the ring.
Keyes got a near fall on Uso, and Fatu jumped Keyes in the
ring to draw the disqualification.
Match Result: Royce Keyes by disqualification (6:44 aired,
minus 3 minutes of commercials).
Fatu set up Keyes for a hip attack in the corner with the
steel chair. But before he could execute it, Solo Sikoa came
out of the crowd to talk him out of it. Sikoa announced that
blood is thicker than water, and he’s “coming home to the
family.” Sikoa then held up the 1s with Fatu and Jimmy Uso.
But this was a swerve~! Sikoa turned on Jimmy and attacked.
Fatu went after Sikoa. Royce Keyes tried to help but soon
Uso and Fatu had the upper hand.
LA Knight ran in with a chair. Knight backdropped Jimmy to
the floor, then attacked Fatu with the steel chair to send
the Bloodline b-team packing. Knight called out the Usos and
Jacob Fatu. Knight challenged the Usos and Fatu to a a six
man tag at SummerSlam with Royce Keyes and Solo Sikoa as his
tag partners. That definitely feels like pre-show match.
— Paul Heyman congratulated the Vision on that awful segment
from earlier in the show. In fact, Heyman thought that
Maxxine Dupri was so good, “what the hell do you need me
for?”
Paul Heyman is apparently done with the Vision.
— Adam Pearce confirmed the police in the opening segment
were fake. Um, storyline fake. Heyman hired them. Also
there’s no restraining orders. This proves to Oba Femi that
Heyman and Brock are scared.
Bayley Confronts Lyra Valkyria
Oh good, more talking.
Bayley called out Valkyria, who hasn’t washed her sweater or
hair in what looks like 6-8 months. Bayley shoved a
microphone in Valkyria’s chest and demanded an explanation.
Bayley wanted an apology, but Valkyria wanted an apology for
holding her back an entire year. Valkyria has been stabbed
in the back too, but she doesn’t make it her entire
personality.
Valkyria told Bayley that she wasn’t a locker room leader,
her face doesn’t belong on the posters, she’s a doormat and
she’s the worst of the Four Horsewomen. That last part got
“ooos!” from the crowd. Bayley came back with her résumé
promo: she’s the first grand slam champion, half of the
first women’s tag team champions. And Bayley will add
beating Valkyria in Madison Square Garden to that list of
accomplishments on Saturday Night’s Main Event.
Valkyria tried to jump Bayley as she tried to leave, but
Bayley fought back. Valkyria caught Bayley with a
clothesline, then stomped Bayley’s head in. Valkyria then
gave Bayley a belly-to-belly suplex to end the segment.
— Another segment on the Shield. The first one was so short
I didn’t realize it was actually part of the retrospective.
This was “Chapter 2: The Breakup.” It featured clips from
2014 of Seth hitting Roman with the chair, Seth winning the
briefcase, and Roman winning the Royal Rumble in 2015.
— “What happens when the whole world calls you can’t miss?
What happens when the whole world is wrong?” This was the
tagline for a teaser for the return of Big Cass.
Gauntlet Match for an Intercontinental Title Match at
Summerslam
First Fall: Dominik Mysterio (w/ JD McDonagh) v. Joe Hendry
Mysterio got the advantage by whipping Hendry into the ring
steps while they were fighting on the floor. Back in the
ring, Mysterio stomped Hendry, then floored him with a
forearm. Hendry and Mysterio fought over a suplex. Mysterio
tried a tornado DDT, but Hendry blocked the move and
countered with a suplex.
Hendry sped up the pace and hit a back elbow. Hendry caught
Mysterio and dumped him with a fallaway slam. McDonagh
distracted Hendry, which allowed Mysterio to hit a 619 and
frogsplash to get the pinfall.
Result: Mysterio pinned Hendry (5:00).
Second Fall: Je’Von Evans v. Dominik Mysterio
The show went to commerical as Evans made his entrance. This
would become a theme.
This match started during the commercial break, and we came
back to Mysterio in control. Evans dumped Mysterio to the
floor, then hit him with a dive. Back in the ring, Evans hit
a flying enziguri for a near fall. McDonough tried to
interfere again, but the ref caught him. Evans knocked
McDonagh to the floor. But Dominik caught Evans with a
dropkick from behind and hit a 619.
Mysterio went to the top, but Danhausen rode out in his
little tractor. Danhausen came out to curse Mysterio, but
the fireworks went off on a the wrong ringpost. McDonagh
tried to to chase off Danhausen, and in the confusion, Evans
hit a OG Cutter to get the pinfall.
Result: Evans pinned Mysterio (11:19 total time).
Third Fall: Dragon Lee v. Je’Von Evans
Lee hit a dive to the floor about 30 seconds in before the
show went into another commercial.
After the break, Lee hit Evans with a hard chop that sent
him to the floor. Lee charged at Evans, who hiptossed Lee
over the barricade into the timekeeper’s area. Evans ran
around the ring and dove over the barricade and into Lee,
going over the other barricade in the process.
Back in the ring, Evans dove into a superkick from Lee for a
near fall. Lee then hit a rana to send Evans to the floor.
Lee hit a tornado DDT for another near fall.
Lee snapped off a release German Suplex. Evans tried for the
OG Cutter, but Lee caught him, hung him up in the ropes and
hit a double stomp. Evans the caught Lee with a flash cradle
and got the pinfall.
Result: Evans pinned Lee (18:37 total time)
Fourth Fall: Je’Von Evans v. Rusev
Rusev jumped Evans from behind. Time for another commercial
break.
Rusev dominated Evans during the break. Evans caught Rusev
with kick. Evans sent Rusev to the floor, then caught him
with a dive. Back in the ring, Evans hit a flying enziguri
for a near fall.
Evans dove into a uranage from Rusev. Rusev then got the
Accolade, but Evans made it to the ropes. Rusev locked it in
a second time, but Evans fought up to his feet and dropped
back to break the hold.
Rusev charged at Evans, who ducked. Evans went for the OG
Cutter, but Rusev caught him with a forearm. Rusev put Evans
in the Accolade for the third time, and this time Evans
passed out.
Result: Rusev over Evans by ref stoppage (27:11 total time)
Fifth Fall: Rusev v. Chad Gable.
Gable came out fast with German suplexes and an overhead
throw. Gabe came off the top, but Rusev caught him with an
uranage. Sure, time for another commercial.
Rusev set up a superplex, but Gable fought out of it with
headbutts. Gable flew off the top with a flying clothesline.
Rusev and Gable exchanged “Boo!/Yay!” punches. Gable tried
for the Angle Slam, but Rusev escaped and locked in the
Accolade. Gable fought out of it, then German suplexed Rusev
into the turnbuckles. Gable then caught Rusev with a victory
roll to get the pinfall.
Result: Gable pinned Rusev (34:20 total time)
Final Fall: Chad Gable v. Ethan Page
Rusev attacked Gable after the fall and locked him in the
Accolade while Page made his way to the ring.
Page hit a running boot right away for a near fall. Page got
another near fall after a powerslam. Page laid the badmouth
on Gable and hit a clothesline.
Gable climbed to the top and went for a moonsault. Page
tried to get his foot up, so Gable turned that into an ankle
lock. Page hit the “Confidence Breaker” (which looked like a
Code Breaker) for another near fall.
Gable escaped the Ego Plex and hit an Angle Slam for a near
fall. The crowd chanted for Gable. Gable went to the top,
but Page caught him. Page tried for an avalanche powerslam,
but Gable slid out of it and got the ankle lock. Page tried
to escape, but Gable rolled through and kept the hold on.
Page was forced to tap out.
Result: Gable tapped out Page (38:29 total time, 11:30 of
which was commercials)
Match Result: Chad Gable survived the gauntlet, last
eliminating Ethan Page.
Chad Gable now goes to his home state of Minnesota to
challenge Penta for the WWE Intercontinental title. If he
wins, it will be Gable’s first singles title in WWE. The
crowd was into Gable at the finish; the match, not so much.
As a television match, the gauntlet didn’t feel like a
coherent match; between the commercial breaks and guys just
going for spot after spot, it felt like watching a highlight
real.
— QB1 meets QB1 when Tom Brady is a guest on Cody Rhodes
podcast.
—Roman Reigns exited his SUV to get his championship belt
from a stagehand. Nothing says “this is just a prop in a TV
show” more than a stagehand handing Roman his title belt as
he gets out of his car to walk to the ring.
Saturday Night’s Main Event:
CM Punk & Cody Rhodes v. Gunther and Sami Zayn
Bayley v. Lyra Valkyria
Brie Bella & Page v. Fatal Influence for the Women’s Tag
Team Championship
Danhausen v. JD McDonagh in a no-dq match.
Main Event Contract Signing
Adam Pearce was in the ring to make things official, with a
table and chairs set up in the ring. Pearce brought Roman to
the ring first. After Roman was acknowledged by the crowd,
Seth Rollins’ music hit for his entrance.
They’ve probably spent 10 minutes on entrances here alone
but couldn’t go five minutes without a commercial during the
gauntlet match.
Seth sat down, took the contract and signed it. Of course,
Seth grabbed the mic and observed it must be hard for Roman
when his song drowns out the OTC chants, which lead to the
crowd doing both and the OTC chants were a little louder.
Seth said some things in life are certain: “death, taxes,
and Seth Rollins beats Roman Reigns.” Rollins told Reigns to
sign the contract, and put his feet up while the crowd
serenaded him with his theme song.
Roman wished the crowd did that last week so Seth didn’t
bore the crowd half to death. Roman called Rollins “the
tribal chief’s #1 hater,” and the crowd chanted “He’s a
hater.” (There was a really cool camera shot from a drone
here.) Roman said that Seth being his #1 hater was the only
thing Seth was actually #1 at. Roman said that Seth is not
on his level. The crowd started giving Roman the “What?”
treatement while he rattled off what he was going to do to
Seth Rollins.
Seth thanked Roman for keeping his title warm for him, and
told him he’d see him the next time he decided to show up
for work. Seth started to leave and made his way about
halfway down the aisle.
“So you’re just going to sign and run?” Roman started to
taunt Seth, asking what would happen if Seth won. Would he
just carry it for a few months and then get hurt again?
Because that’s what happens every single time. Roman said
that’s what happens when someone can’t handle the pressure
of being the top guy.
This goading worked, and Seth came back in the ring to go
face-to-face with Roman. Roman poked at Seth’s injured
shoulder. Rollins asked Roman if he had something to say.
Roman said he knew Seth was #2 because he still needed a
Money in the Bank briefcase to become champion, and he
needed to fake an injury on top of that to use it!
Roman called HHH Seth’s “work daddy” who tried to make Seth
#1 by giving Seth all of Roman’s stuff. And he still
couldn’t walk in Roman’s shoes. Seth is always going to be
number 2, Roman is always going to be number 1, and it’s
time for Seth to “just acknowledge it, b!tch.”
The mind games were getting to Seth. The crowd was
“ooohing” at all the right worked shoot lines in Roman’s
promo.
“Is that all you’ve got?” Seth got in Roman’s face,
demanding he tell Seth to his face he’ll never be as big a
star as Roman, or main event as many WrestleManias as Roman.
Everything is for Roman and none of it is for Seth. Roman
can’t say anything to Seth he hasn’t said to himself for the
last 15 years. Seth and Roman aren’t running the same race,
according to Seth, and at some point in the last 15 years,
Seth had to look in the mirror and be proud of what he’s
done and what he fights for. He’s Seth Freaking Rollins,
and he’s so glad he’s not Roman Reigns.
But like I said, the mind games got to Seth, and Seth
sucker-punched Roman and overwhelmed him quickly. Rollins
was out of control and stomped Roman. Seth mounted Roman and
punched him while calling him a “piece of sh!t.” Seth went
to leave, but decided to turn around and go for the Stomp.
Roman popped up with the Superman Punch. Roman went to
powerbomb Seth through the table, but Seth popped Roman in
the head with a microphone, then hit the Pedigree. Seth then
gave Roman the Stomp.
Seth stood tall to end the show.
They are giving it the old college try to make this 14 year
old matchup feel like something special. But they’re leaning
too hard into “shoot” comments, with Seth saying Roman
doesn’t show up for work, and Roman saying Seth can’t be #1
even with Hunter’s help.