Posted on 6/30/126 by Bob Magee
Live from Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Coming from Boardwalk Hall, the site of WrestleManias IV and
V.
A recap of Night of Champions started the show.
King Oba Addresses the Crowd
Once again, the crowd was really into Oba Femi, who brought
his crown with him to the ring. Destiny has not finished
playing out for Femi, who was about to make his choice when
Brock Lesnar made his entrance, along with Paul Heyman.
Lesnar took his time getting into the ring. Lesnar literally
applauded the new King of the Ring. Lesnar buried the idea
of watching Raw: “I don’t watch the show, everybody knows I
don’t watch the show.” Lesnar is a former King of the Ring
himself, and he’s here to advise Femi on the decision he has
to make. Even though when Lesnar isn’t at the show, Heyman
informs him of the things Femi has called Lesnar, like
“b!tch.” Then Lesnar said, “Talk sh!t, get hit” and dropped
Femi with a low blow. Then Lesnar dropped Femi with an F5
and walked away, leaving Femi laying in the ring.
Femi got up after Lesnar was about halfway down the aisle
when Femi grabbed a mic and called Lesnar a “b!tch” to his
face. Oba said they could play “cat and rats” forever, or
they could settle it with a match with Lesnar at SummerSlam.
Lesnar accepted, but with a stipulation: “Hell in the Cell.”
— In the back, Paul Heyman worked on getting Adam Pearce to
book the match. Why is Pearce even hesitating to make this
match? Hasn’t he seen the ticket sales? Austin Theory showed
up and wanted to know why Heyman was here. Heyman was
annoyed with Theory and left. Pearce then found Oba Femi and
made sure that Femi understood what was happening. Femi
said he can always go after a championship, but he needed to
end things with Lesnar.
So it sounds like Femi is foregoing the title shot to get
his hands on Lesnar.
Even though SummerSlam is two nights.
Ethan Page v. Rey Mysterio
Mysterio went to the top, but Page hung him up in the ropes
and kicked away at the Hall of Famer. Page tried to rip off
Rey’s mask, but Mysterio fought him off. Page hit a side
suplex on Rey onto the top turnbuckle and he fell to the
floor.
After a commercial, Page sent Mysterio into the turnbuckles
head first, then dumped him with a side suplex to the mat
for a near fall. Page charged at Rey, who low-bridged him to
send him to the floor. Rey followed him out with a sliding
splash.
Back in the ring, Mysterio hit a Bombs Away off the top,
then sprang off the ropes with a crossbody for a near fall.
Page dumped Rey with a face-first wheelbarrow suplex for
another near fall. Mysterio caught Page with an enzuigiri,
but Page came back with a big boot and a powerslam for
another near fall.
Page picked Mysterio up in a fireman’s carry and walked up
to the middle ropes. Rey countered whatever Page was
thinking and took him down with an avalanche hurricanrana,
then finally hit the 619. Mysterio then hit the frog splash
to get the win.
Matt Result: Rey Mysterio pinned Ethan Page (10:43).
— JD McDonough and Dominik Mysterio found Danhausen’s lab
and stole a gift the New York Knicks gave him before
deciding to wreck the place.
Joe Hendry Concert
Cole’s over-the-top excitement for Joe Hendry’s concert is
unappealing. Hendry brought now the new tag team champions,
the Street Profits. The crowd chanted “You Deserve It!” for
the Street Profits. Montez Ford thanked “the WWE Universe”
for their support, as well as “Seth Freakin’ Rollins,” who
Ford called the “greatest in the ring on this mat.” Finally,
Ford thanked Joe Hendry.
This led to Hendry’s song, which was about Austin Theory.
The upshot of the song is that there’s no more Vision since
Heyman is with Lesnar now, Logan Paul injured, and Bron
Breakker beat up after the cage match. Also, Theory cries
himself to sleep at night since John Cena cooked him on the
mic. That was in like, what, 2023?
Theory came out to let the Street Profits now that they had
a tag title rematch next week, which Breakker will be ready
for. Also, that was Hendry’s last song of the night, because
Theory and Hendry are going to wrestle.
Joe Hendry v. Austin Theory
This match was joined in progress after a commercial break.
Theory dropped Hendry with a backbreaker. Theory went to a
chinlock to wear down Hendry. Hendry escaped with a
jawbreaker, then caught Theory with a DDT.
Theory hit a flurry of right hands and a back elbow. Hendry
caught Theory going for a crossbody and dumped him with a
fallaway slam. Hendry hit a discus lariat (which is called
the “Hit Single” according to Cole) for a near fall. I guess
Mike Santana is going to need a new finisher when he gets
here.
Theory caught Hendry with a forearm to the back of the head
and a rolling forearm. Theory hit a neckbreaker out of a
vertical suplex for a near fall. Hendry caught Theory with a
sit-out uranage to get the pinfall.
Match Result: Joe Hendry beat Austin Theory (3:47 aired).
— Raquel Rodriguez tried to annoy Adam Pearce into getting
an Intercontinental Title match. But since Maxxine Dupri
also wants a shot at that title, Pearce made a match between
Perez and Dupri, ostensibly for a title shot. Liv Morgan and
Roxanne Perez came along, and Morgan was more concerned
about Danhausen’s curse and Iyo Sky’s impending challenge
than Rodriguez getting a title shot.
Iyo Sky Addresses the Crowd
Iyo said she was “super duper grateful” to come back to the
United States as Queen of the Ring. At SummerSlam, she will
be the Women’s World Champion again.
Liv Morgan came out to respond. Has Morgan even defended the
title since she won it? Morgan was sickened that Sky was
acting like Sky beat her fair and square. She was cured by
Danhausen; that’s the only reason she lost to Sky. Morgan
ran down all the people she’s taken out: Finn Bálor,
Stephanie Vaquer, and Rhea Ripley.
Sky soon found herself surrounded by all the women of
Judgment Day. But, Sky disposed of Perez and Rodriguez
momentarily, before dropping Morgan with a suplex. Sky went
to the top for a moonsault, but Rodriguez tripped her up.
Sky’s leg got caught up in the ropes, and Perez and
Rodriguez attacked the knee. Morgan gave Sky the Oblivion,
then locked in a half-crab until the usual gaggle of geeks
came out to break up the fight.
LA Knight v. Jimmy Uso
Jey Uso came out and joined the commentary team. Knight
advised Jey to just stay in his seat and watch the match.
Knight took Jimmy down with a side headlock and trash-talked
him about bringing his brother down to ringside. Knight
switched to an arm wringer, but Jimmy escaped with a
headbutt. Jimmy took Knight down with an arm drag, then
locked in an overhead wrist lock and did some trash-talking
of his own.
Knight escaped the wrist lock and took Jimmy down with a
back elbow. Knight stomped away at Jimmy while the crowd
chanted “Yeah!” Jimmy came back with an enzuigiri, then
caught him with a hip attack in the corner. Jimmy came off
the top with a crossbody for a near fall.
The crowd was quiet; it felt like they were just waiting for
the angle to kick in.
Uso dumped Knight to the floor, then hit him with a suicide
dive.
After a commercial, Jimmy and Knight were exchanging punches
and chops. Jimmy caught Knight with a Samoan Drop. He went
for another hip attack, but Knight got out of the way.
Knight hit a series of left jabs, but Jimmy responded with a
solid right. Knight came back with a flying clothesline and
a Russian leg sweep. Knight hit a jumping DDT.
Knight went for a top rope elbow, but Jimmy avoided it and
hit a spear for a near fall. Jimmy went to the top but
Knight cut him off and superplexed him from the top rope for
a near fall. Jimmy ducked to the floor, near the
commentators’ table. Jey trash-talked Knight, so Knight
killed him dead with a boot.
Back in the ring, Knight hit a reverse DDT, then followed
with a top rope elbow. Jey popped up to distract Knight, and
Knight took a swing at him. Then Jimmy rolled up Knight from
behind to get the pinfall.
Match Result: Jimmy Uso pinned LA Knight (11:51).
After the match, Knight attacked Jimmy. Jey jumped in for
the save, Solo Sikoa came from out of nowhere and hit Jimmy
with the Samoan Spike, and then Knight took out Jey with the
BFT.
— After Night of Champions, Gunther got in Nick Aldis’ face
and called him a failed wrestler. F-bombs were dropped, and
geeks separated them. Michael Cole then read a statement
about the situation that outlined the following: Gunther and
Nick Aldis have been sent home, with Aldis being put on
administrative leave. This will leave Adam Pearce in charge
of both Raw and Smackdown.
— In the back, the Usos demanded to know where Jacob Fatu
was. Fatu reminded the Usos he only takes orders from Roman
Reigns. Fatu said he was going to Smackdown to take care of
Jacob Fatu. Great, say Jey. They can carpool to Smackdown
because Jey is going to Smackdown to challenge the new WWE
Undisputed Champion, Sami Zayn.
— Lyra Valkyria was everyone to get off her back. She was
the bigger person for a year, and it takes two people to
lose a tag title match. She put her trust in Bayley and got
tired of carrying the load. Valkyria looked kind of ragged
here.
— In the back, Maxxine Dupri meant what she said to Chad
Gable last week, but said maybe she should have handled it
differently. Gable told her not to worry about that but to
concentrate on her upcoming match.
Maxxine Dupri v. Raquel Rodriguez
Dupri went for a sliding dropkick, but Rodriguez avoided it
and yanked her down by the hair. Back in the ring, Rodriguez
got a near fall following a suplex. Rodriguez mauled Dupri
with back elbows in the corner.
Rodriguez stretched Dupri with a torture rack, but Dupri
escaped and tried for a sunset flip. That didn’t work, and
Rodriguez straight up floored Dupri with a clothesline.
Dupri countered a slingshot suplex into a DDT. Dupri hit a
boot and a back elbow. Dupri ducked a clothesline and
dropped Rodriguez with a kick. Dupri got a near fall after a
legdrop. Dupri tried for a fisherman’s suplex, but Rodriguez
powered out and finished off Dupri with the Tejana Bomb.
Match Result: Raquel Rodriquez pinned Maxxine Duipri (3:35).
—Danhausen found his lab destroyed. Liv Morgan showed up to
laugh at Danhausen, and told him this would continue until
he “made it right.”
Chad Gable v. JD McDonough (w/ Dominik Mysterio)
This is functionally the main event match of the show.
Dominik is wearing a personalized “Danhausen” New York
Knicks jersey he stole from Danhausen’s lab.
The crowd isn’t reacting to much in this match, either.
Basically, they’ve been pretty much dead since the opening
segment.
Lots of great wrestling from McDonough and Gable. Gable went
for an ankle lock early, but Mysterio helped pull McDonough
out of the ring.
On the floor, Gable went after Mysterio, and McDonough
attacked him from behind and sent him into the ring steps.
After a commercial, Gable hit a pair of German suplexes on
McDonough. McDonough tried to fight out of a third one, but
Gable countered and delivered a nasty release German suplex
for a near fall.
Gable caught McDonough with a pair of Koppou Kicks in the
corner. McDonough came back with a Spanish Fly and went for
the cover, but Gable reversed the pin attempt with a
crucifix for a near fall. Gable and McDonough cracked heads,
and Gable landed on top of McDonough for a near fall.
McDonough got a near fall after a powerbomb, then got
another near fall after a brainbuster. Gable caught
McDonough with an overhead suplex into the corner, Gable
went for a moonsault. McDonough tried to get his legs up (to
kick Gable in the face), but Gable grabbed his foot and
locked in an ankle lock. McDonough was able to fight his way
out.
Gable went to the top again, but Mysterio distracted him.
McDonough then took Gable down with a top rope Spanish Fly
(it looked like JD came straight down on his head).
McDonough got a near fall but both guys were out of it.
Danhausen showed up through the crowd and left a briefcase
for the Judgment Day. Instead of checking the briefcase,
Dominik chased after Danhausen. Gable then caught McDonough
in the ring with the ankle lock, scissored the leg, and
McDonough quickly tapped.
Match Result: Chad Gable tapped out JD McDonough (11:28).
After the match, Mysterio checked the briefcase, which
exploded. The human monies looked like they were in the
briefcase. Danhausen got his Knicks jersey back and
celebrated down the entrance way. Raquel Rodriguez jumped
Danhausen from behind, then took back the jersey.
— Austin Theory yelled at Maxxine Dupri for being nice to
Chad Gable. Then I guess Theory broke up with her? He said,
“this isn’t working out.” Theory left. Tozawa and Otis
checked on Dupri, and then she left.
I didn’t even know Theory and Dupri were dating.
Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins Make a SummerSlam Main Event
The crowd finally woke up for Roman Reigns, who walked to
the ring through a commercial break. The crowd chanted for
the “OTC!” after Roman demanded they acknowledge him.
Then Seth Rollins’ music hit, and he walked out to ring.
Reigns v. Rollins for the world title? My time machine to
2016 worked!
Rollins walked down to the ring while Reigns stared him down
from the ring. The crowd sang along to Rollins’ song and
were just as loud for him as they were for Roman (I’m
starting to think these fans are fickle).
Rollins and Reigns just stared at each other for like, then
length of an AEW ppv. The crowd chanted “OTC!” When the
crowd finally tried themselves out, Rollins started to talk
about the formation of The Shield, which was fourteen years
ago. Rollins said it was fitting they were in Atlantic City
(for no other reason than to get a pop for the city’s name),
and Rollins said it was time for him to collect his World
Title.
Reigns told Rollins he was at the back of the line, and he
hadn’t done anything to earn a shot at the Tribal Chief.
Rollins said, “When it comes to you [Roman] I am always at
the front of the line.” Rollins said the Reigns owes him for
everything that Reigns has become. Also, Rollins “owns”
Roman Reigns, in the ring, in his head, and in his heart.”
Rollins then runs down the history: at WrestleMania 41, he
pinned Roman and took the Wise Man. At WrestleMania 40, he
sacrificed himself to help Cody end Roman’s World Title
reign. And during that four-year title reign, the only
person Roman couldn’t beat was Seth. You can go all the way
back to WrestleMania 31, when he cashed in, and took Roman’s
main event. He’s owned Roman since he put a chair to his
back to end The Shield (in, 2014).
But Seth isn’t here to take from Roman;he’s here to give.
Because despite all of Roman’s accomplishments, he’s never
beaten Seth Rollins. And Rollins is here to give Roman the
opportunity to beat Seth. And to be real, this may be
Roman’s “last chance to close that loop.” Rollins talked
about how he and Roman burst onto the scene and kicked the
old generation to the curb. They created “the greatest
generation” in the history of this industry, according to
Seth.
But they’re much closer to the end than they are to the
beginning, and there’s a new generation coming in to take
over. So this may be their last chance to main event before
the new kids take over. Roman may have had a Hall of Fame
career, but if he doesn’t accept this challenge, he may
never be able to escape the ghost of Seth Rollins. “What do
you say, brother? For old time’s sake?”
Roman: “It’s been a long time since I’ve heard any truth
come out of your mouth, little brother.” Roman said he
doesn’t want to beat Seth. Roman needs to beat Seth, and
Roman needs his family to see it. And that’s exactly what
he’s going to do at SummerSlam. Roman accepted Seth’s
challenge.
Seth let out a breath as Roman walked away that almost made
me think that Seth regretted getting what he asked for.
This was an objectively great promo, and the crowd was into
it. But I can’t get away from the fact it’s a fourteen year
old grudge. I guess playing up that Roman has never beaten
Seth gives it somewhat of an edge.
Matches for SummerSlam (so far):
Oba Femi v. Brock Lesnar, Hell in the Cell.
Roman Reigns v. Seth Rollins, WWE World Title.
Liv Morgan v. Iyo Sky, WWE Women’s World Title.