Posted on 8/02/125 by Bob Magee
– Over shots of Newark, New Jersey and the Prudential
Center, Joe Tessitore welcomed us to the shwo. He pointed
out the steel cage hanging above the ring. Jimmy Uso, The
M.F.T.s, Aleister Black, and Damian Priest were shown
arriving at the arena.
John Cena and Cody Rhodes face off before SummerSlam
The Undisputed WWE Champion arrived to the ring in his
usual, understated manner, dressed in New York Jets-themed
“The Last Time is Now” gear. The crowd serenaded Cena with
“Let’s Go Cena / Cena Sucks” chants before he instructed
ring announcer Mark Nash to give him an appropriately
bombastic intro.
Before Cena could even say a single word, the entrance theme
of his SummerSlam foe, Cody Rhodes, interrupted. The
American Nightmare made his way down to the ring to address
Cena face to face.
The crowd filled the air with an eclectic mix of chants as
the SummerSlam opponents stood in the ring. Cena started by
saying that he told Rhodes that he was exhausted, and that a
match at SummerSlam would be too difficult for him. He said
that Rhodes forced him into one of the most dangerous
matches in WWE. He only had one thing to say to Rhodes
“Thank you”., because that was the boot in the ass he
needed. Cena said that for 25 years, he had forged a legacy
of respect and hard work. And that five months ago, he
flushed that into the toilet for “shock TV”. He said that
the people on his team (The Rock and Travis Scott) left him
alone in the aftermath. Cena said that he wanted to take the
WWE Championship home not to ruin wrestling, but so that the
fans wouldn’t forget about him.
Cena said he was so hung up about how we all saw him
tomorrow, that it made him blind to how he was acting today.
Cena said that Rhodes did what a good friend should do, to
face it into a fight. This Street Fight was, in Cena’s mind,
that it was going to make him show up for a war. Because
August 1st, 2025, was the day that John Cena truly came back
to WWE.
Cena said that he didn’t know who’d leave SummerSlam with
the title, but the fans would leave as the winners, because
we’d finally see John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes in a battle
between the best. He told Rhodes that if he wanted some, to
come get some. He said that on Sunday, the only platinum
rapper showing up to whip Cody’s ass was him. “The Champ is
Here!” Cena concluded.
Rhodes asked for two cans of beer to be given to him before
he simply told Cena “welcome back”. The two men popped open
the cold ones and shared a toast.
Well, this was certainly an interesting segment, to say the
least. But, this seemed like a hard reset for Cena to be a
face for the latter half of his retirement run. It also
seemed like they brushed aside whatever partnership with
Travis Scott was developing. Whether or not it leads to a
Cody Rhodes heel turn as a result remains to be seen, but it
does adds intrigue to the SummerSlam main event, assuming we
don’t get swerved one more time to end the night.
**********
– Tessitore and Wade Barrett tossed to footage of a Jelly
Roll training session earlier today where Logan Paul and
Drew McIntyre made their presence clear by attacking Jelly.
– PJ Byrne, the lead actor from the new USA Network series
The Rainmaker (which, sadly, has nothing to do with
Kazuchika Okada) was shown in the crowd.
Women’s United States Championship Match: Giulia (c) (w/
Kiana James) vs. Zelina Vega
Vega and Giulia began with a tie-up before coming at a
stalemate and a faceoff. The two attempted to trade strikes,
but Giulia won out with a one-handed STO slam for an early
pinfall attempt. Giulia continued the punishment on Vega
with a mix of elbow strikes and chops, followed by a
stalling suplex. Vega managed to kick out at two afterwards
as she then left Giulia on the apron with a flip. She sent
the Women’s United States Champion to the outside, as she
then connected with a diving Meteora to the outside, which
took us to a commercial break halfway through.
We returned to action with Giulia slamming Vega down face
first with a wheelbarrow faceplant. She then locked in some
sort of modfied Camel Clutch on Vega, who then countered it
into a roll-up pin that Giulia kicked out of. Giulla
regained momentum with a vicious stomp, but couldn’t
capitalize after getting kicked in the corner by Vega.
Vega launched into her comeback as she delivered a saito
suplex on the champion, followed by the running Meteora to
the corner. Giulia avoided a dropkick and lifted Vega onto
the top turnbuckle. Giulia looked to deliver a superplex,
but Vega wriggled herself free and delivered an avalanche
German suplex onto the Women’s U.S. Champion instead. One,
two… Giulia managed to kick out at two.
Once again, Giulia put Vega up on the top turnbuckle and hit
a series of headbutts to stun her foe. With Vega dazed,
Giulia hit an avalanche butterfly suplex, followed by the
Arrivederci Knee, and the Northern Lights Bomb. Vega somehow
kicked out at 2.99999999 to somehow survive that salvo of
Giulia’s signature moves.
Giulia looked for another Northern Lights Bomb, but Vega
rolled her up for a close near-fall. Backstabber by Vega
gave the challenger an opening she needed. Vega ascended to
the top for the moonsault, but Giulia blocked it and pulled
up Vega to finish this title defense with an emphatic
Northern Lights Bomb.
A solid opener and a great title defense for Giulia. What’s
not great, is that this was Giulia’s first match in over a
month. She is a great talent who certainly deserves to be
showcased more and I will say that tonight’s match was a
good start. Now it falls on WWE to book Giulia more
consistently so that she gets a chance to show up and show
out like she did tonight.
Giulia def. Zelina Vega via pinfall to retain the Women’s
United States Championship
**********
– Solo Sikoa and the M.F.T.s were interviewed, where we
learned that he apparently asked for the steel cage to be
above the ring tonight. Sikoa denied those claims as he
talked about Talla Tonga’s debut tonight against Jimmy Uso
and how it was about sending a message.
AAA Tag Team Championships: Los Garza (Angel & Berto) (c)
vs. Mr. Iguana & Psycho Clown
Before the match, Santos Escobar addressed the crowd as he
demanded the crowd to show respect to the AAA World Tag Team
Champions, Los Garza. He chatised the crowd for not showing
the respect deserved, as he then challenged any tag team in
the back to face Angel and Berto for the AAA Titles.
Mr. Iguana (alongside La Yesca) and Psycho Clown were
revealed to be the mystery opponents for Los Garza.
Psycho Clown and Angel started things off for their
respective teams. Angel fell victim to a hurricanrana from
Psycho, followed by a springboard crossbody. The masked
clown looked good as he handled both Garzas easily early on.
He ripped off his mask to reveal another one underneath, as
he hit a popup forearm on Angel.
Berto got the blind tag, which allowed him to take advantage
by tripping up Psycho as he tried for a springboard move.
The AAA World Tag Champions began to work over on Psycho in
their corner as the fans chanted for Mr. Iguana. Angel and
Berto hit a double team kick on a prone Psycho as the former
locked in a resthold to keep his foe grounded.
Psycho fought back with a kick to the face of Angel, which
gave him some separation and time to get the tag to Mr.
Iguana. The eclectic lizard floored Berto with a helicopter
spin as he introduced La Yesca into proceedings. He
delivered the Iguanarana on Berto as he then slammede Angel
with a crucifix pin for the near fall. Angel and Berto
caught Mr. Iguana as he tried for a dive to the outside and
sent him right into Psycho Clown. Mr. Iguana was brought
back into the ring and left at the mercy of Los Garza on the
top rope. They dropped him with a super MTY from the top
rope. Iguana managed to kick out at two as he tagged in
Psycho Clown.
Psycho tried for a crossbody but got blocked, as they then
landed the MTY to retain their AAA World Tag Team gold.
Los Garza def. Psycho Clown & Mr. Iguana via pinfall to
retain the AAA World Tag Team Championships
It was an entertaining tag match, yes, but having the AAA-
aligned talent lose on their WWE TV debut will certainly not
help shake the notions that the WWE/AAA deal is a one-sided
partnership more than anything else.
**********
– Logan Paul and Drew McIntyre were asked backstage about
their attack on Jelly Roll earlier today, but the two said
they’d explain why they did what they did later tonight.
– A video package setting the stage for the massive six-team
TLC Match for the WWE Tag Team Titles at SummerSlam was
shown.
Aleister Black vs. Damian Priest
Priest and Black locked horns in the middle of the ring to
start as the latter took advantage with an attempted
hammerlock. Priest escaped and withstood a kick to the thigh
from Black. The Dutch brawler tried for another kick, but he
got met with Priest’s own onslaught of kicks, which sent him
to the outside. Priest leapt off the steel stepst to drop
Black with a clothesline. On the apron, Priest tried for a
kick, but he missed and got jettisoned to ringside, as Black
then took off with a dive over the ropes. With Black in the
driver’s seat, we took a break in the action.
SmackDown returned as Priest attempted to fight back, but he
got felled by a knee to the face from Black. The cover from
Black, but Priest kicked out. Black taunted Priest, who
hyped himself back up and roared back with elbow strikes, a
slam, and an Old School crossbody. Priest sized up Black and
rocked him with a running clothesline as Black managed to
kick out at two.
Priest tried for the Razor’s Edge, but Black escaped the
attempt. A kick from Priest sent Black to the ringside area.
Priest had a full head of steam and ran for a charging
attack, but he was intercepted with a knee to the face from
Black. As Black headed up top for a moonsault, Priest
avoided calamity and pounced him over the announce table.
Priest cleared away the commentary table, but got a faceful
of chair from Black, which ended this match in a
disqualification.
After the match, Black was far from done as he smashed the
chair over the back of Priest. He then struck Priest in the
face with the chair, which left him stunned against the
steel steps. Black slammed Priest’s head against the steel
steps repeatedly as he delivered one Black Mass kick to
leave his rival down and out.
Damian Priest def. Aleister Black via disqualification
That match was shaping up to be a good one until the DQ
finish, but I will say it was a decent way to get some heat
on Black with the post-match attack. That said, it does feel
odd that despite being the catalyst for Black’s heel turn,
Ron Killings/R-Truth has essentially become persona non
grata as it relates to this story, which raises the question
of whether or not Truth feels any important at all after
being brought back.
**********
– Backstage, Tiffany Stratton was confronted by her
SummerSlam opponent, Jade Cargill. The two traded barbs
ahead of their match tomorrow, as Cargill promised to finish
what she started now that there’d be no distractions or
cash-ins to worry about.
Talla Tonga (w/ Solo Sikoa) vs. Jimmy Uso
Uso started right way by trying to chop down Talla in the
corner. On the top rope, Uso tried for a dive, but he got
dropped by a punch from Talla, who took over the match with
a hard clothesline that felled his opponent. Talla delivered
a leg drop with those massive tree trunk legs of his onto
Uso, as Sikoa trash talked Uso from the outside. Talla had
the clear upper hand on Uso, up until he got sent over the
top rope and onto the apron. Uso flew through the ropes and
temporarily stunned Talla with a suicide dive, which took us
to the break.
We returned with Talla in the driver’s seat as he attacked
Uso in the corner. Talla took pleasure in mocking Uso for a
bit before Jimmy tried to get momentum back. Talla withstood
the storm and once again had Uso at his mercy in the corner
with strikes. Uso avoided a running charge from Talla and
left him momentarily dazed with a kick. An attempted Samoan
drop from Uso failed as Talla was too strong for it. Uso
headed up top and got grabbed by the throat by Talla.
Chokeslam attempt was reversed by Uso, as he nailed a series
of superkicks. Solo Sikoa got on the apron and got a kick
for his troubles as Uso then delivered a spear on to Talla.
Uso headed up top and looked for the splash, but Talla
caught him and hit a chokeslam for the one, two, three and
the victory in his debut match.
After the match, Sikoa summoned J.C. Mateo and Tama Tonga to
continue the punishment on Jimmy Uso as the United States
Champion called for the steel cage to be lowered. Jacob Fatu
ran down and entered the ring before the cage lowered
completely. Sikoa made a run for it, as did Talla Tonga.
This left Mateo and Tama to be picked apart, pillar to post,
coast to coast by Fatu. With Mateo and Tama prone on
opposite corners, Fatu laid them out with running hip
charges and leaping moonsaults.
Talla Tonga def. Jimmy Uso
I can say that Talla Tonga did not look bad in his debut,
and Jimmy Uso tried his best to make him look good for his
debut. The post-match extracurriculars with Jacob Fatu
laying waste to two-fourths of the M.F.T.s was a fun bit of
business.
**********
SummerSlam Saturday Card
Gunther vs. CM Punk (World Heavyweight Championship)
Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez vs. Charlotte Flair & Alexa
Bliss (Women’s Tag Team Championship)
Roman Reigns & Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed
Randy Orton & Jelly Roll vs. Logan Paul & Drew McIntyre
Tiffany Stratton vs. Jade Cargill (WWE Women’s Championship)
Sami Zayn vs. Karrion Kross
SummerSlam Sunday Card
Street Fight: John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes (Undisputed WWE
Champipnship)
Dominik Mysterio vs. AJ Styles (Intercontinental
Championship)
Steel Cage Match: Solo Sikoa vs. Jacob Fatu (United States
Championship)
No DQ, No Countout: Becky Lynch vs. Lyra Valkyria (Women’s
Intercontinental Championship)
Triple Threat: Naomi vs. IYO SKY vs. Rhea Ripley (Women’s
World Heavyweight Championship)
Tables Ladders & Chairs Match: The Wyatt Sicks (c) vs. #DIY
vs. Fenix/Andrade vs. Motor CIty Machine Guns vs. Fraxiom
vs. The Street Profits (WWE Tag Team Championships)
– Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair were interviewed about their
tag match tomorrow. Flair said that Bliss has had her back
and been there for her, even if she’s been annoying. The two
traded barbs with one another before they walked off.
Logan Paul & Drew McIntyre close out SmackDown
The two men who will face Randy Orton and Jelly Roll
tomorrow night at SummerSlam made their way down to the ring
to deliver some final remarks before their match.
Paul said that he and McIntyre were trying their best to
defend WWE from outsiders, and that we didn’t understand
what it took to compete at SummerSlam, which according to
Paul, Jelly Roll thought was a “hotdog eating contest”. Paul
said that he was tired of outsiders thinking they could step
into WWE and compete, which Jelly Roll was in his eyes. He
called Jelly a “country star, not a superstar”, and that he
does not belong in WWE.
McIntyre said that whatever happens tomorrow will be on
Randy Orton’s conscience. He said that he had God on speed
dial, because when Drew McIntyre prays, bad things happened.
Before Paul and McIntyre could continue, Jelly Roll arrived
to the arena , and he wasn’t alone… as Randy Orton
accompanied him. The two made their way down to the ring as
Nick Aldis tried to stop the two from getting to the ring,
but to no avail.
Once Orton and Jelly got to the ring, they began throwing
hands with Paul and McIntyre. A vanguard of security
officials ran down to the ring to get this fight to stop, to
little success. McIntyre and Paul were sent outside as more
officials got everybody finally separated. In the ring,
Orton calmed himself down, as he turned to Jelly and hyped
him up. Orton delivered an RKO on two of the security
officials as the last of the trio got dropped by a Jelly
Roll chokeslam. Orton and Jelly stood tall in the ring and
jawjacked with Paul and McIntyre as we closed out the final
SmackDown before SummerSlam.
**********
That was a decent way to end the night with the Jelly/Orton
vs. Paul/McIntyre stuff, but I probably would’ve prefered if
Cena and Cody’s segment from the beginning was the final one
to send us home before SummerSlam, since the hook of whether
or not Cena’s change of heart was legit would’ve at least
made an interesting cliffhanger to leave us on before
Sunday.
All in all, this was an okay go-home SmackDown before
SummerSlam. The matches we got ranged from good (Priest vs.
Black) to great (Giulia vs. Vega), and it did an admirable
job to sell fans on the two-night event that’s coming this
weekend.