WWE this month generally sucked mostly because the stories are boring and stupid and barely anybody feels like they have momentum, but also because there weren’t many really good wrestling matches.
1. No DQ Match: Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy (205 Live 7/3/18)
This was a match that made me wonder if Buddy Murphy has something on WWE management. He is the only guy on this 120-man roster that they will allow to do the wildest stuff: bumps on top of his head, suplexes off of stairs, a Spanish Fly from the barricade to the commentary table. Leave it to Ali to take advantage of Murphy’s blank check and play along.
These guys are two of my favorite wrestlers to watch right now and here they get 20 minutes to do whatever they want. This tells a classic story with Ali playing underdog and doing crazy dives versus Murphy being this spectacular juggernaut of a human man, combined with a whole bunch of completely insane stunts.
2. NXT Tag Team Title: Moustache Mountain [c] vs. The Undisputed Era (Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly) (NXT 7/11/18)
Dumbass towel throw finish aside (for over 20 years, tag partners are saving their partners from pins and submissions… until TONIGHT), this was incredible tag team wrestling. It’s amazing how such an old formula can still work so well today: Bate’s insane corner work + Seven’s selling + Era being super targeted in their approach = OVER. The hot brawl at the start was awesome too. Strong and O’Reilly are a tremendous tag team and their chemistry with British Strong Style over the last few months has been special.
3. AJ Styles vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas w/ Zelina Vega (SmackDown 7/17/18)
This was a little restrained as a first time TV match with a guy who hasn’t fully been established yet, but Styles let Almas get all his shit in and even at 3% this pairing is gold. The back elbow cut-off of the Phenomenal Forearm and the double stomp to double knees kickout were both awesome.
4. Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre (RAW 7/2/18)
The Shield building to a hot tag gets me real jacked, baby. As does Roman vs. Drew. As does Drew running full speed into a Roman uppercut. As does Drew headbutting Roman. As does Roman selling for Dolph and Drew. As does Seth crawling for a hot tag. As does Dolph leaping into an uppercut from Reigns. Screwy finish aside, lots of great basic tag work by guys who are OVER.
5. NXT Title: Aleister Black [c] vs. Tommaso Ciampa (NXT 7/25/18)
Ciampa and Black are a weird pairing – intriguing looks and characters, but kind of hit and miss in-ring, and them matched up against each other isn’t all that interesting. The match got time and had enough intensity and character to stay compelling for the first 15 minutes, and the last 5 were epic – concrete, near falls, a ref bump, and the chaos of the Johnny run-in before Ciampa shocked any wrestling fan in 2015 by winning the NXT Title. Tremendous moment with everything coming together really well.
6. WWE Title: AJ Styles [c] vs. Rusev w/ Aiden English (Extreme Rules 7/15/18)
A good match I was a little sour on by the crap show that surrounded it. This isn’t amazing and takes a while to get going, but it’s a quality AJ Styles title defense with Rusev adding a lot of spice like a deadlift out of the Calf Crusher and an Accolade counter of the Calf Crusher. What I am trying to say is there were some nice Calf Crusher counters here. Hot finish too.
7. 30-Minute Iron Man Match – WWE Intercontinental Title: Dolph Ziggler [c] w/ Drew McIntyre vs. Seth Rollins (Extreme Rules 7/15/18)
Pleasant enough wrestling for the first 10 minutes before 3 falls apiece and some Drew McIntyre interference got the drama going. And stupid crowd buzzer countdown aside, they kept the drama going for 20 more minutes with multiple near falls and big time moves. The hook at the end with Rollins trying to tie it up made for some very good wrestling. This might have Rollins’ best ever superkick too.
8. Sin Cara vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas w/ Zelina Vega (SmackDown 7/10/18)
This is only 5 minutes long but they packed a lot in – hard chops, Almas’ crazy back elbows, rope-running, a big Sin Cara tope, a wild tilt-a-whirl headscissors that dropped Almas on his head, and Almas taking basically a back body drop to the floor before finishing Cara’s ass off. Almas’ gold pants and Cara’s bright blue gear also make for a pretty picture to look a
9. R-Truth vs. Samoa Joe (SmackDown 7/24/18)
Ya god damn right. This felt like Joe had been wanting to work with Ron Killings for YEARS, and they made all 90 seconds count, with Joe bumbling around for Truth’s shtick before he killed him dead.
10. If Rollins Wins, McIntyre is Banned From Ringside At Extreme Rules: Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre w/ Dolph Ziggler (RAW 7/9/18)
Drew McIntyre working power guy vs. Seth Rollins is very good. This match provided me simple pleasures: McIntyre just tossing Rollins around, refusing to lose control, being powerful as hell. The last few minutes are a blast too: Drew’s top rope belly-to-belly, a big Seth superkick cracking Drew in the face, falcon arrow near fall, and Seth’s Ripcord knee setup countered with a HEADBUTT.
11. Velveteen Dream vs. Chris Dijak (NXT 7/4/18)
Ideal TV match, with both guys getting over: Dijak looked like a badass hitting hard and throwing Dream aroun, while Dream looked like a badass for surviving it. Oh and Dijak randomly took a bump on the steel steps like a crazy person.
12. Winner Faces Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam: Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley (RAW 7/23/18)
A fine match that felt like a big deal, but it was unfortunately more than a match: it was a statement, a call, and condemnation: you are getting Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar again. At least Lashley’s stagger before taking the spear was awesome.
13. Tag Team Tournament – Semi Final: The Usos vs. Cesaro & Sheamus (SmackDown 7/31/18)
I can’t say The Bar beatdown was hot but god damn can those Uso boys put together a finish. Excellent TV tag.
14. Winner Wrestles Next Week for a Universal Championship Match at SummerSlam: Seth Rollins vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Elias (RAW 7/16/18)
A match with good action that did its thing for the live crowd but wasn’t anything I was into for a bit before it closed strong with ol’ Seth Rollins bringing the insanity. It’s not completely these guys fault that RAW sucked this month.
15. Tag Team Tournament: The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods) w/ Kofi Kingston vs. SAnitY (Killian Dain & Alexander Wolfe) w/ Eric Young (SmackDown 7/24/18)
New Day has really perfected these 5-minute TV tags. Solid work early before a great chaotic finish.
16. NXT Women’s Title #1 Contender Triple Threat Match: Nikki Cross vs. Kairi Sane vs. Candice LeRae (NXT 7/18/18)
Buncha fun action right here between three gals I like, even if all WWE Triple Threats on TV have this thing where they feel like such empty action. Like, I get it: you’re going to do a Tower of Doom.
17. AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (SmackDown 7/10/18)
LOL @ these guys falling so far down my list even if I called it my #2 or #3 favorite match of theirs in WWE in the TV Week in Review. It’s solid, but that’s it: solid TV wrestling. Cool rope-running, Styles bumping off a Phenomenal Forearm block, Nakamura working offense, and Rusev interference. Remember when this was pushed as a Dream Match?
18. Rusev w/ Lana vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas w/ Zelina Vega (SmackDown 7/24/18)
A cool match-up between two guys I just like seeing work. They kept it under 10 minutes and every big shot they threw was hit and timed for maximum effect, highlighted by Almas running full speed into the Machka Kick.
19. Team Hell No & The New Day vs. The Bludgeon Brothers & SAnitY (SmackDown 7/10/18)
I could’ve probably called how this match went with my eyes closed, but it’s still a fun 10-man tag team match with a bunch of characters.
20. WWE U.S. Title: Jeff Hardy [c] vs. The Miz (SmackDown 7/3/18)
These guys are working LIGHT – Jeff because he’s broken, Miz because that’s just what he does – but it’s still a good solid 2-commercial break match that got over based on each guy punching and signature move-ing away. Very cool finishing sequence too.
21. SmackDown Tag Team Title: The Bludgeon Brothers [c] vs. Team Hell No (Extreme Rules 7/15/18)
Stupid Kane injury deal aside, this was still Daniel Bryan running through his shit and taking heat with The Bludgeon Brothers. A decent match that I don’t think hit as well as anyone had hoped.
22. Seth Rollins & Finn Balor vs. Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre (RAW 7/23/18)
Witness capable professional wrestlers have a capable professional wrestling match stuck on a crappy professional wrestling show. Beatdown, hot tag, cool spots – you know the drill. Lots of Seth towards the end, which is a good thing.
23. If The Usos Win, They Are Added to the SmackDown Tag Team Title Match at Extreme Rules: Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan & Kane) vs. The Usos (SmackDown 7/3/18)
A fun 10-minute tag between two teams who I dig watching wrestle. It really felt like they had to work to get any stretch of offense, and Kane blocking topes and the Knee+/chokeslam finish were sweet.
24. Chad Gable, Rhyno & Heath Slater vs. The Revival & Mike Kanellis (Main Event 7/18/18)
Just want to give these guys some love. They tried.
25. Winner Wrestles Next Week for a Universal Championship Match at SummerSlam: Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor vs. Drew McIntyre (RAW 7/16/18)
This had some real cool stuff in it but was another pretty empty Triple Threat match. Everybody worked hard but who cares?
Honorable Mentions: Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre w/ Dolph Ziggler (RAW 7/30/18), Finn Balor vs. Constable Corbin (RAW 7/30/18), Cedric Alexander vs. Brian Kendrick (205 Live 7/31/18), Sin Cara vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas w/ Zelina Vega (Extreme Rules Kickoff 7/15/18), WWE U.S. Title: Shinsuke Nakamura [c] vs. Jeff Hardy (SmackDown 7/17/18)
Akira Tozawa vs. Jack Gallagher (205 Live 7/24/18), Dakota Kai vs. Lacey Evans (NXT 7/18/18), Akira Tozawa vs. Lio Rush (205 Live 7/17/18), Tye Dillinger vs. Samoa Joe (SmackDown 7/17/18), Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley (Extreme Rules 7/15/18), Fatal 4-Way Match for Cruiserweight Title Opportunity: Mustafa Ali vs. TJP vs. Hideo Itami vs. Drew Gulak (205 Live 7/24/18), WWE Cruiserweight Title: Cedric Alexander [c] vs. Hideo Itami (205 Live 7/10/18)
