The Architect strikes again at SummerSlam.
Seth Rollins is the talk of night one, after he cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase following the main event, stealing the World Heavyweight Championship away from CM Punk after he defeated Gunther in the main event. The first night of the biggest party of the summer, emanating from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, had lofty expectations to live up to. The first non-Mania event to be held over two nights, this year’s Summerslam needed to be good. For the vast majority of the night, WWE delivered, but there were a few down moments on an otherwise really good show.
Roman Reigns and Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed
This match confirmed two things: the OG Bloodline members are still incredibly over with WWE fans, and the Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker duo could be an excellent addition to the RAW tag division.
Jey Uso remains eternally popular with the WWE fanbase, even if the quality of his singles matches hasn’t been on the level of a main event talent. Roman Reigns, on his day, can put on an absolute classic. The cousins both have a history of top-notch tag classics and, to no one’s surprise, they worked well as a duo. The Brons are both great wrestlers and are starting to develop chemistry as partners. While the group feels a bit undercooked since Bronson Reed joined the group, the Brons showed out tonight and can build on this performance.
The structure of the match worked very well. Jey Uso is an underrated seller and made the Brons look like absolute monsters. Breakker is an absolute stud. He’s the shining example of what WWE’s performance center can produce with the right prospect. His spear is devastating, and props to Reigns for selling like he died. I’ve never been the biggest fan of the Bloodline’s overarching story, but the current redemption arc for Roman Reigns reconnecting with his family and making amends is great. Reigns sacrificing himself for Jey was a nice bit of character development for our tribal chief. Next up, Jimmy Uso and Jacob Fatu.
There is speculation that Breakker may have hurt himself during this match. Hopefully, it isn’t serious, and we at BSP wish Breakker a speedy recovery.
Final Rating: ****
The Judgement Day vs. We’re Not Friends for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships
Odd couple tag teams are just fun.
While not every pairing works out well, two wrestlers as talented as Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss were always going to be able to make something of their pairing. What no one expected was how likeable and entertaining they would be together. Flair had an admittedly rough run-up to WrestleMania, but she’s admirably pushed through her struggles and is thriving right now. Bliss feels like she has direction for the first time since her massive return at the Royal Rumble, and looked to have shaken off the ring rust officially in this match. Liv Morgan’s injury is awful. The silver lining, however, is that Roxanne Perez gets to show just how good she is at such a young age. Raquel Rodriguez remains an underrated powerhouse in the women’s division, and it’s just great that her health hasn’t kept her off our screens.
The match itself was phenomenal; all four women put on their best performances in months. Bliss looked quick and agile. It’s the best she’s looked since she returned. Charlotte was excellent, like she usually is in the ring, and Perez showed out in front of the biggest crowd she’s ever been in front of. The Pop Rox pin attempt into the Natural Selection by Bliss might have been the spot of the night. We’re Not Friends, as they should be called, picked up the victory with a great reaction from the crowd. Their reign should be fun and keep a spotlight on the women’s tag division.
Final Rating: **** 1/4
Sami Zayn vs. Karrion Kross
Karrion Kross in WWE is a strange case.
Going back to his days in Triple H’s NXT, Kross was a monster. He was always a Triple H guy, and it’s easy to see why. They share a similar taste in aesthetic presentation, he’s hugh and has an undeniable dark charisma to him. His new character has drawn in the fanbase, despite only getting minutes over months to expand upon his character. Sami Zayn is a perfect foil for Kross’s devil’s advocate-esque behavior; the bastion of morality in WWE engaging in a pseudo “embrace the hate” storyline had potential. The pair’s backstage interactions have been interesting, albeit it’s a somewhat half-baked storyline.
The problem, however, comes when the bell rings. Zayn is one of the best wrestlers to have ever stepped foot in WWE. Kross has some limitations in the ring, but he’s nowhere near as bad as his biggest detractors would have you believe. Unfortunately, these two have anti-chemistry. It just doesn’t click when these two face off. The match went about eight minutes, and while the lack of time didn’t help, nothing these two men did showed they should’ve received more time. Nothing was egregiously bad, no one got hurt, and there were no noticeable botches. It was just boring, something neither man should be. The finish with Zayn refusing to use the weapon Scarlett gave him just fell flat. Hopefully, Zayn can move on to better things, and Kross, along with Scarlett, can move on to greener pastures they deserve.
Final Rating: * 1/4
Tiffany Stratton vs. Jade Cargill for the WWE Women’s Championship
Something’s got to give with Jade Cargill.
Cargill came into WWE with all the deserved hype in the world, and is treated like the megastar she feels like she should be. She oozes charisma and star power. She has a physique unlike any other woman in wrestling history. She’s had the rocket strapped to her in two major promotions and was instantly over to both fan bases. Still, she isn’t at the point she should be in the ring.
She can pull off a few good power moves, especially when she has an opponent she can rag doll, but she still struggles to pull together a full, respectable match nearly five years after her debut in AEW. Cargill didn’t chain anything together this match; everything felt isolated, her selling was lacking and too many moves lacked impact. I’m still rooting for Cargill and think something special is in there, but something has to change when it comes to her matches. Hopefully, the problem is that she needs more reps, but she needs to start getting those reps soon.
Tiffany Stratton tried to keep this one together, but she’s about as green as Cargill. Her run with the Money in the Bank briefcase was great, but her run as champion is falling flat. Her matches with Flair, Trish Stratus and now Jade Cargill all underwhelmed. She’s booked as well as WWE can book her, but the quality isn’t materializing on screen or in the ring. Both women have the capabilities and potential to put on much better programs and matches. I’m rooting for them both to do so heading into the fall.
Final Rating: *3/4
Drew McIntyre and Logan Paul vs. Randy Orton and Jelly Roll
Jelly Roll deserves his flowers for a surprising performance.
I’m the first to bemoan celebrity matches, but when the celebrity is used as a fun special attraction as opposed to being an integral part of the main event of the biggest show of the year, I have no complaints. Jelly Roll engaged in a true build for this match, including an appearance on late-night television where he put Logan Paul through a table. His work in the match was great, especially for a non-wrestler, completely exceeding expectations.
Drew McIntyre and Logan Paul worked over Jelly Roll for much of the match. McIntyre should be in a higher-profile match, but he did great here. As deplorable as I find him as a human being, Paul continues to excel in all aspects of wrestling. Banging the prime bottles together like the most annoying version of Steve Austin before hitting a nasty frog splash through the announce table was insane. Kudos to Jelly Roll for that one.
The heels took the win, the proper result, and this match should be a blueprint for future celebrity matches.
Final Rating: ***3/4
CM Punk vs. Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship
This was an excellent end to night one.
The match between CM Punk and Gunther was everything you could want it to be. It was a brutal, methodical war that left Gunther covered in crimson. Gunther chopped Punk in every body part he could, pulverizing every bit of exposed skin Punk had. Punk fought valiantly as the conquering hero. The chain wrestling was fantastic, they smoothly flowed between counters of counters of counter maneuvers. Gunther’s perfect opponent is someone exactly like Punk; a significantly smaller technical marvel that he can pummel and put over their extraordinary toughness.
Punk, to his credit, also played his role spectacularly. The crowd was massively behind him, and the stretch of the match between Punk pulling Gunther’s leg on the announce table until the finish played the crowd like a fiddle. When the ref counted three, the roof blew off the place, with the crowd ready to give Punk his deserved flowers. Then the music hit.
Seth Rollins, believed to be injured in a match with LA Knight at Saturday Night’s Main Event, fooled the vast majority of wrestling fans. He revealed to the world he was in perfect health and strolled down to the ring for an easy victory. It was a wonderful surprise to see The Architect, and this should add fire to the continued feud between Punk and Rollins. One wonders what’s next for Gunther, whose unstoppable aura has taken a hit in recent months. Gunther is a talented enough wrestler that, with more focus from creative, will easily become RAW’s top heel again.
Final Rating: ****1/4
Final Thoughts
Night one of this year’s SummerSlam is one of WWE’s most complete shows of the year. The main event and the three tag matches were some of the best WWE PLE matches of the year. Rollins’ return and win should be a boon for the WHC title scene on RAW. Jelly Roll was fantastic as a celebrity special attraction. While Tiffy/Cargill and Zayn/Kross weren’t great, it was an overall really good night of wrestling.
Night One Final Grade: ***3/4
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