Charly Caruso hosting the show with four guy co-hosts – three old wrestlers and Peter Rosenberg no less – felt like a little much. Scale it back a bit, no? Did JBL and Lawler and Booker all pull rank and demand to not only be on TV, but to have Rosenberg to dunk on too?
0. Ruby Riott & Liv Morgan vs. The IIconics
This was a pretty basic Kickoff Tag but I am just ticklabed to see Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan not only back together but in matching Riott Squad gear. More than anything this match seemed like it here to re-enforce the names of signature moves – think I heard the term “Shades of Kay” at least three times. **
1. WWE U.S. Title: Apollo Crews [c] vs. Bobby Lashley w/ MVP and Shelton Benjamin
Bobby Lashley is better at kickouts than I remember. His timing on a couple of these had me before he inevitably just tapped Crews out with the full nelson. That’s probably the right finish but it closed up a PPV opener that felt like a slightly above average RAW TV match. I loved MVP setting up the photo gimmick post-match if not the uh… actual photo gimmick. **
2. Big E vs. Sheamus
This was a good match on the awesome new journey that Big E is on, though sometimes it felt paced a little weird – a longish WWE Title-style match in the second match of the card. Sheamus doesn’t go as hard as he used to but this was all about Big E’s straight-up comeback and clean win, a tremendous payoff that followed a couple quality Dark Night of the Soul moments like E getting caught in a heel hook or even early on when Sheamus was just boring everybody with offense.
Big E immediately going over to Corey Graves to yell at him after his win = money sign money sign money sign. ***1/4
3. Matt Riddle vs. King Corbin
Aw look, it’s worst possible Matt Riddle intro. The actual on-screen canon reference of at best his extramarital affairs and at worst his sexual assault allegations was terrible, but this was all bad. If they’re spending time on Riddle he should tap Corbin in 30 seconds or even 5 minutes, not have this 10-minute basic WWE-style match that enveloped Matt Riddle in a cocoon of all the bad WWE tropes: forced backstory, selling chinlocks, GETTING ANGRY, and Corbin going toe-to-toe with the MMA guy on punches and even lifting out of his triangle choke.
Somebody probably thought this was going to be a well-executed WWE Universe Match, but the second they thought that this was dead. They slowed it down so much I wanted to change the channel – felt more like a lesson than a wrestling match. DUD
4. WWE Women’s Tag Team Title: Bayley & Sasha Banks [c] vs. Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax
Bayley and Sasha run this town, but this got the Tag Titles off them in a pretty lukewarm way. The match was worked heel vs. heel which in WWE can sometimes mean they just go back-and-forth for a while. It was a weird choice, especially given how long Riddle and Corbin droned on prior. Shayna did a hot tag for some reason, and they really over-thought the finish where Shayna kind of made Sasha tap Bayley. Shayna and Nia are a work in progress – as tag wrestlers, as characters, as badasses. VIVA GOLDEN ROLE MODELS! *3/4
5. Keith Lee vs. Randy Orton
This was just starting out as a Good Solid Match where Lee proves his worth by enduring a couple spots Randy Orton has laid out, one of which includes the tightest rear chinlock you will ever see. And then six minutes and forty seconds in big Keith just won clean with the Spirit Bomb. Samoa Joe flipping out on commentary was incredible. There you go. THERE YOU GO! ***
6. Rey Mysterio & Dominik Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins & Murphy
There is something that is so inherently good about Rey Mysterio teaming with his son that it almost overshadows the reality that Rollins and Murphy are two of the most generic possible guys to work with this incredible moment in time. They take all the moves well enough and I am sure Dominik is taking in about half of what Rollins is telling him but MAN – the rudo potential here! The possibilities!
Either way, this is a match with one-eyed Rey Mysterio still dropping beats and Dominik again delivering the spots if not all the other stuff. There’s not a lot of meat but it’s a good ol’ time, and then they immediately tried to make Rollins vs. Rey feel like a bigger deal. ***
7. No Holds Barred Triple Threat Match – WWE Universal Title: The Fiend [c] vs. Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns
WWE has such little faith in The Fiend/Braun Strowman match that they bring as many smoke and mirrors as possible, yet the thing has consumed so much time. This was all about these two brawling as Alexa Bliss looked on backstage and everybody in the world waited for Roman Reigns to actually show up. They tried their hardest; I’d respect it if there wasn’t so much that came before it.
After a stage dive and superplex that imploded the ring, Roman Reigns emerged and signed the title match contract as Paul Heyman looked on approvingly. He cowardly took advantage of the situation and after a few false finishes, pinned Braun Strowman and won the title. **3/4
Happy Thoughts: SummerSlam Part 2 didn’t always feel necessary, but the delivery on the “did he really?” heel turn from Friday for Roman Reigns was very well done. There were a some newsworthy moments and they got the right people in position for the Fall, but not much completely hit. 2 out of 5
