You guys know where I'm going with this, I haven't seen the pre-show matches for reasons I've stated many times in my wrestling reviews but if you're new, I was asleep during Summerslam because it aired at 2am my time so yeah. Now, on with the review.
Becky Lynch vs Natalya for the RAW Women's Championship.
I know it's minor but holy crap, pyro is back and probably not for long. It wasn't that long ago that the RAW and SmackDown women's championships were the main event at a big PPV and now one of those titles is opening WWE's second-biggest PPV of the year. Not that I have a problem with that but rather it's interesting to bring up.
Anywho, the match itself did deliver from a technical wrestling geek's perspective. Natalya absolutely destroyed Becky's knees and shout out to Micheal Cole for pointing out that Becky had knee issues.
The queen of hearts then delivered a superplex to which Becky took her legs and hooked in the sharpshooter but Nattie reversed it and locked in the disarmher. The match ended with a disarmher from Becky this time and won the match.
Toronto was by Natalya's side throughout this match and not Becky which I'm actually surprised by. Don't know where that championship goes from here considering that division is pretty weak right now.
Kayla Braxton interviewed Trish Stratus and asked her about the pressure going into her match? Trish Stratus said that she thrives under pressure and Charlotte may be the queen but she's the queen of queens. I'm surprised that Stephanie McMahon didn't take that nickname.
Goldberg vs Dolph Ziggler.
Yes, people, Goldberg is second on the SummerSlam card. Dolph Ziggler was talking crap about Goldberg until Goldberg's music hits. The match started off with two superkicks by The show-off but that didn't put Goldberg down because he stormed Ziggler with a spear and a jackhammer to win this match.
Dolph was calling Goldberg out for not "fighting him man to man" and Goldberg speared him. Dolph called him out again and he ate a spear for the 2nd and 3rd time. This match was how you execute a Goldberg match but I wish it went another 3 minutes or so given the odd booking decision of back and forth spears by Goldberg.
Xavier Woods and Big E brought up Toronto's own, Drake but it wasn't that Drake but rather it was Drake Maverick which I thought it was funny.
Ricochet vs AJ Styles for the United States championship.
During Ricochet's entrance, R Truth and Carmella were on the international announce table and they disguised themselves as Wayne Gretzky and Shania Twain. Also, love that first Robin aka Nightwing inspired gear from Ricochet. Ricochet delivered a springboard clothesline with one leg which is not surprising if you're a fan of Ricochet but impressive nevertheless.
AJ then delivered the calf crusher and Ricochet reversed that into an anaconda vice which got a small "CM Punk" chant. Ricochet tried to hit a hurricanrana but Styles immediately carried him and turned into a Styles clash and retained the championship.
Considering that The O.C beat up Ricochet after the match, a rematch is happening but the match overall was solid.
Bayley vs Ember Moon for the SmackDown Women's championship.
That was really an okay match and Ember Moon delivered some highlights like that fireman's carry into a knee strike. Bayley won her match and regained the gold with the Bayley to belly.
I actually thought that Ember Moon would turn heel courtesy of what Solomonster said in his recent episode. Maybe that could happen on SmackDown Live? We shall see.
Kevin Owens vs Shane McMahon. If Owens Loses Then He Quits.
Shane McMahon announced the special guest enforcer and that person is Elias. Elias tripped Owens at one point for obvious reasons and minutes later, Shane threw Owens on the barricade in a devastating fashion. Shane got a "Shane, you suck" chants while he badly punches Owens which got him a "you can't wrestle" chants.
Kevin Owens tried to use the chair that was provided to him by Elias but he didn't hit Shane because of the actual official told him not to otherwise his career is over.
The match ended with Kevin hitting Elias with a series of chair shots on Elias' back and low blows Shane without the ref's knowledge and delivers the stunner to keep his job. Decent match and hopefully I don't see Shane McMahon for a while.
Charlotte Flair vs Trish Stratus.
During the match, the crowd were singing the Canadian National anthem which made me laugh really loud. Obviously, the crowd was behind Trish and she took a nasty bump on the outside from Charlotte's push.
Trish then delivered a hurricanrana from the top rope and minutes after that, she locked in the figure 8 and Charlotte was on the verge of tapping out but she didn't.
Stratus delivered the Stratusfaction and the chick kick to Charlotte and Charlotte kicked out of both of her signature moves. By that point, I knew Trish was going to lose. Charlotte captured a big win with a figure 8. This was a fun match and if she indeed retires then what a way to do it.
Seth Rollins was getting his gear ready to which Bret Hart came out to congratulate him which is odd if you time travelled from 2015 to 2019.
Kofi Kingston vs Randy Orton for the WWE Championship.
"Kofi's stupid, Randy suck" chants from the crowd sounds like a crowd not liking him but in this case, they're referencing that botched moment between those two men back in 2009 or maybe they do hate Kofi?
Anyways, that RKO to Kofi from the top rope was amazing and I thought that this is it but Kofi rolled out and Randy saw Kofi's kids. Kingston wasn't having it which made the match ended in a double count and he was hitting Randy with a series of Kendo stick strikes.
The match itself was decent but I know that the second match of this feud will be better or at least I hope that's the case. By the way, this is the second time that a WWE championship ended in a screwy fashion but I actually don't mind it as long as the second match is even better.
Finn Balor vs "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt.
That updated theme song for "The Fiend" persona is BADASS and the vocalist made it even better. God damn it, that entrance was amazing. The match was pretty short and I'm glad it was. Finn Balor was going for the coup de grace and Bray caught him with the mandible claw to win his re-debut.
After Bray left in a unique way, the crowd chanted "that was awesome". Imagine something scary happened and somebody you know personally saw it and said: "that was awesome". In other words, it was a hilarious crowd chant.
Seth Rollins vs Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship.
The match that opened Wrestlemania 35 and now it's main eventing SummerSlam thanks to its weak women's division but that's another conversation for another time.
Just like The Rock in 02, Seth Rollins is going into this match with a beat-up rib but was the outcome the same as that year's SummerSlam? Let's find out. Both of those guys were exchanging finishers but they somehow survived.
Seth then jumps from the top rope into the announce table with a frog splash to Brocky. The match ended with a 3rd stomp and Seth Rollins has slayed the beast once again.
A far better match than their Wrestlemania 35 match with a crap ton of chaos into it. And yes, giving the title to Brock was useless but I get why they did it because they wanted to tell a story.
So, to recap for all of you slow mofos:
Like: Trish vs Charlotte, Bray's entrance, Becky vs Natalya, Seth vs Brock.
Didn't like: the back and forth spears at the end of the Goldberg vs Dolph Ziggler match.
Put any of your thoughts about SummerSlam 2019 and follow the blog for reviews like this, essays about the world of pro wrestling and opinions on news items. Anyways, stay safe smarks and enjoy RAW tomorrow.
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