Sorry for the delay everyone but between some personal things going on (good things) and Summerslam weekend I was unable to finish before Summerslam ’17 however I will still give you the goods. We are coming off some good years of Summerslams here and this one features Undertaker and Brock Lesnar in a rematch over a year in the making. Also during this time we have the rise of Seth Rollins who I really feel was a great heel champion. I remember a lot of people during this time complaining about him always having to cheat, well guess what that’s what heels do. He would put on a fantastic fifteen to twenty minute match and in the end would cheat to retain the title that’s good booking. Let’s jump into it with two guys who will be looked at in a much more positive light ten years from now than they are now Sheamus and Orton.
Randy Orton vs. Sheamus: These are not two of the more beloved superstars in wrestling today however are two of the greats. Sheamus will never get the respect he deserves and most feel Orton never lived up to his full potential. However think about this much like I said in this past Summerslam Randy Orton and Sheamus are opening this event. This match is as I expect with hard hits and good selling by both men. We go outside and back inside with the action until we get the greatest hits from these two including the rope DDT from Orton but from the top rope. Sheamus goes for his battering ram however gets caught with an RKO but Sheamus would roll out of the ring. The RKO in history in one of the most protected finishers in the history of the business. Orton is going to that place and backs up for a punt kick however Sheamus catches him with White Noise. We get another RKO attempt but Sheamus hits a couple of Brogue Kicks for the win. Good opening match with lots of hard hitting action exactly what you would want out of these two.
Primetime Players vs. New Day vs. Los Matadores vs. Lucha Dragons: I think the most insane thing about this match is only one of these teams are still in the WWE as the team they are in this match. This is only two years ago and this actually kicks off the New Day era in tag team wrestling in the WWE. This match starts with Big E and Titus and boy are those two big guys standing toe to toe. We get a fun spot where Kofi tries to pin Big E so that they can win the titles because it’s not elimination style. (I guess they learned their lesson with this spot from Body Donnas vs. Smoking Guns vs. Godwins vs. New Rockers). We get chaos and multiple pin attempts by everyone during this match. We get a cool spot from the Lucha Dragons where Sin Cara monkey slips Kalisto onto Kofi Kingston for a pin attempt. I know they had other ideas for Kalisto moving forward but man if both tag divisions couldn’t use Lucha Dragons right now. Titus O’Neil gets the hot tag and man does he deliver on the hot tag. We get the double superplex/powerbomb spot from Titus O”Neil to Luchas and Diego. We get a Clash of the Titus to Fernando but Kofi is the legal man hits a kick and gets the win. We have new double you double you E world tag team champions.
Rusev vs. Dolph Ziggler: Everybody remember this feud that involved Lana and Summer Rae and Ziggler was supposed to be the face that stole Rusev’s valet? I would have loved this feud if it just revolved around Rusev being the evil mean spouse and Ziggler being the nice guy. Then having Lana cost Ziggler the match and Rusev get the win with the two of them in on it the whole time. HOWEVER we got this instead. The beginning the match showed off both guys strengths with power being Rusev’s and quickness and agility being Zigglers. Man Rusev can really move for a guy his size that spinning heel kick and senton combo was great looking. We get some back and forth and now Ziggler goes into his bag of go to moves including a sleeper and fameasser. Summer and Lana get into it outside and both men get counted out while trying to break it up. Match ends in a double count out and the match itself isn’t bad but this angle wasn’t good.
Neville/Stephen Amell vs. Stardust/King Barrett: This is your prototypical take two feuds and merge them into a tag match and actually I approve of it. Neville gets some Hollywood rub from Stephen Amell and Stardust and King Barrett get a bit of a shining spot on the card due to it. This match opens with a pretty cool comic book style video package. This match starts with Barrett and Neville who had just come off the King of the Ring finals match. Stardust gets tagged in and demands that Amell come into the ring. He does by spring boarding in and gets pushed over by Stardust. Amell however shows some good offense with a hip toss to Stardust and a leap frog and offense on Barrett. The heels start to double team and take control of the match. You know Amell looks great in there and its one of the better celebrity matches I’ve seen. Neville begs for the hot tag and after Amell hits an enziguri Neville comes in and ends up hitting a Red Arrow on Barrett. Stardust breaks up the pin and Amell hits a cross body onto the outside on both heels he rolls Barrett in, who eats another Red Arrow and it’s over. That was really fun and Stephen Amell didn’t take away from the match at all he added to it.
Big Show vs. Miz vs. Ryback (Intercontinental Title Match): The dynamic of this match is really fun with Big Show and Ryback trying to establish dominance and Miz trying to steal the win. It’s more of a buffer match than the kickoff to the second half of the show. Early on we have a double team attempt on Big Show however this fails. Miz rolls out and Big Show goes for a senton attempt onto Ryback. Miz comes in and tires to steal the pin with no success. We get Miz back outside and the two big guys going at it. Ryback hits an impressive Shell Shock on Big Show then Miz hits a Skull Crushing Finale on Ryback which I believed was the finish however after trying to pin both men they both kick out. Ryback yells stupid at Miz and goes for his finisher and Miz runs right into a KO punch. Ryback tosses Big Show outside and pins Miz for the victory. It was fine for what it was and served its purpose.
Bray Wyatt/Luke Harper vs. Roman Reigns/Dean Ambrose: The crowd is full anti Reigns at this point as everyone but he gets cheered. You know what could have been with the Wyatt family, for a while I thought they should have put the tag titles on Harper/Rowan and a title on Wyatt even the U.S. title. They should have allowed dominance for the Wyatt Family. This match starts fast and furious and you even have a great Roman clothesline after running on top of the announce tables spot. Harper however catches Reigns with a super kick over the announce tables and that leaves him for dead for a while. Ambrose is now left to himself to take on the Wyatt Family and the crowd starts chanting “Roman’s sleeping”. Wyatt’s put the beat down on Ambrose who plays the baby face in peril until Roman finally awakens and gets the hot tag. Wow that hot tag was met with quite a few boos in the arena. Reigns makes his comeback Superman Punch included and this leads to a doomsday device after Ambrose tags back in. Harper breaks up the pin and Ambrose and Reigns hit a power bomb on Harper. Ambrose blocks a sister Abigail then we get a Dirty Deeds into a Spear for the victory. Reigns was booed heavily and many people believe that if they put the shield back together today he will still get booed.
John Cena vs. Seth Rollins (WWE and US Title Match Winner Take All): This match in the spot screams at how WWE laid out cards just two years ago. This match in my opinion should have been the main event or the co-main event. I feel bad for anyone who has to follow this match because in my mind its top five all time for Summerslam. This match included the debut of White Ranger Seth Rollins and of course John Cena still looking to capture his sixteenth title reign. If you remember Seth Rollins broke Cena’s nose earlier in this feud and early in the match they were playing off that psychology. We get some high flying offense from Seth Rollins early and we even get an awful attempt at the springboard stunner from Cena. UGH! Man Rollins can go and when Cena is motivated or feels like he needs to play keep up he delivers every single time. This match to me solidified Rollins as a star in the company no doubt. Rollins hits an awesome looking Frog Splash that you know wouldn’t be a bad idea for his finisher as a tag team with Ambrose. Rollins shows off some of his own strength by catching Cena in a cross body rolling through and hitting an AA that was mega impressive. Cena gets out and we get some back and forth and now we have Cena going for a figure four (you know because he’s trying to tie Ric Flairs record). Cena hits the AA but during the process Rollins leg hits the official who goes down. We get an interference from John Stewart a Pedigree and Seth Rollins wins. This match is really awesome and even with the John Stewart ending is one of my favorites ever. Kudos to both men for putting on a great match.
Team PCB vs. Team Bella vs. Team B.A.D: Team PCB may be the worst team/faction name of all time. The amount of talent in this ring right now though is amazing for the women. Yes that includes the Bella twins. We get a lot of stuff happening at the beginning of this match, with multiple tags, suicide dives and everything kind of slows down once Tamina hits a slam on the apron on Becky. Brie tags herself in and catches Tamina with a face buster and they eliminate Team B.A.D. Kind of crazy as Sasha didn’t really shine early in this match. Nikki and Becky continue the match and Nikki hits a rack attack but the cover was broken up. We get Brie and Paige in now as Brie hits the “yes” kicks on Paige. Charlotte waits for the hot tag as Alicia Fox is now working on Paige. Finally Charlotte gets the hot tag and cleans house and locks the Figure Eight on Alicia. We get chaos ensuing which leads to Charlotte tagging in Becky and she hits a pumphandle slam on Brie for the win. Nice match actually every match has been good tonight.
Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro: This match should have been in the Cena/Rollins spot on this card. The pace of this match starts off quick and with two of the best workers in the world I expect this to be great. Owens is so athletic for a guy his size I don’t’ want to compare him to Bam Bam because he’s more athletically gifted than Bigelow was. The springboard moon sault he hits impresses the hell out of me every time as no guy his size should be able to do that. We get action back and forth and really this is just a showcase of both men’s incredible move sets. Cesaro just hit a gut wrench suplex on from the top rope my goodness. If Rollins and Cena hadn’t happened I would deem this the match of the night. Not only are they wrestling but man are they delivering some blows and selling really well here. Owens and Cesaro go back and forth for a bit and Owens hits a Pop-Up Power Bomb for the victory. Whoa only one finisher and Cesaro is down. I know that Cena/Rollins steals the show but if you get a chance throw this match on its really fun.
Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker: I believe Lesnar has now to date been in four straight Summerslam main events against: John Cena, Undertaker, Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman. Want to know why you keep Lesnar around? Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman have been elevated mightily from Lesnar and part time or not he’s a box office draw and a star maker. Lesnar uses PSYCHOLOGY and attacks Undertaker before he can get his coat off. This match has a real fight feel to start as Lesnar ends up on the floor. We get some signature move attempts reversed and Lesner hits a belly to belly suplex. We then get a german suplex before Undertaker blocks the third attempt at a suplex. Lesnar is bloody after Undertaker hits him with Snake Eyes and a Big Boot. He then follows it up with the leg drop on the apron, you know we’ve seen these moves a thousand times over the years and they still look cool. We get a Chokeslam attempt blocked into three suplexes. Lesnar then puts Undertaker through the table with an F5. This match has already surpassed the Wrestlemania match. Underatker barely beats the ten count in and hits a chokeslam on Lesnar after a great battle of words. We get the iconic laughing spot from both men as they sit up after a tombstone then pin attempt. We get the greatest hits with a Kimora, Last Ride and then two F5’s that don’t put the Deadman down. We get Undertaker locking in Hells Gate however Lesnar reverses into the Kimora and the referee rings the bell. Everyone in confused but Undertaker hits a low blow and locks in Hells Gate. Lesnar gives Undertaker the middle finger as he passes out and Undertaker wins.
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Definitely the best Summerslam of the network era so far and may creep into my top five all time. Nothing on this card is bad and we have three great matches. As you can tell once the network was released for some reason Summerslam has gotten better. Do yourself a favor and watch this show from beginning to end as it’s worth the watch. The match of the night goes to Cena and Rollins as I feel it’s a masterpiece and the stakes make it even better. One more to go until I release my rankings of all the Summerslam’s thanks for checking this out and at the bottom of the page you can click the links to all the Summesrlam’s I’ve reviewed. Until next time be awesome.
