'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Another weekend chock full of wrestling is in the history books. WWE NXT Takeover: Brooklyn 4 was predictably great and SummerSlam also delivered some quality content. But with the good of any wrestling show, there must come some bad, and with the bad, must come some of the most confusing decisions we've ever seen. So right now, we're going to go over SummerSlam weekend and find out what we thought was good, what we thought was bad, and what we thought was just plain ugly.
GOOD: Tag Team wrestling remains relevant in 2018
NXT Takeover: Brooklyn 4 began with what could have been the match of the night. The Undisputed Era went toe to toe with their British challengers, Moustache Mountain. The story here was that Strong & O'Reilly brought back their strategy to beat the mustachioed duo by targeting the leg of one of their competitors. The difference was it was Tyler Bate's turn to feel the pain.
The champs' ruthlessness was on full display in this match, and you couldn't help but feel bad for the 21-year-old as he was getting tortured endlessly. Eventually, Trent Seven went to throw in the towel (much like Tyler Bate had to last time) but decided against it, willing his partner to make the tag. Alas, despite the guts and grit showed by the challengers, the champions were able to withstand the storm and retain their tag titles. This was a gruelling, hard-hitting match from start to finish and was the perfect way to begin Saturday's festivities.
The next night, the quality continued as the New Day challenged the Bludgeon Brothers for the Smackdown Tag Team Championships. The New Day can always be counted on to deliver a quality match, and Sunday was no exception. Though the ending was not what I wanted, we did manage to get the Bludgeon Brothers' best performance so far in their title reign. Plus, the DQ finish did show that they finally have a chink in their armour, which will forward their stories going forward.
All in all, tag team wrestling is in pretty good shape these days. The B Team are very entertaining on Raw, plus the addition of War Raiders into the tag title picture down in NXT should bear some juicy fruit come November.
Good: A shining midcard
Last weekend saw the coronation of two new mid-card champions on two different brands. Firstly, Seth Rollins regained the Intercontinental Championship from Dolph Ziggler in a match of the night candidate. While I was expecting a turn by Rollins' corner man Dean Ambrose, I wouldn't mind if that happens after a few more weeks have gone by and we get closer to Survivor Series. In the meantime, we will be getting an Ambrose/McIntyre match somewhere down the line, which will be a doozy.
Meanwhile, on the gold brand, Ricochet defeated Adam Cole for the NXT North American Championship in a match of the night candidate. Adam Cole's ring savvy and Ricochet's freak athleticism came together quite nicely in this match, with a perfect example being the most amazing mid-air superkick I have ever seen. If you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favour and check it out now. It is arguably better than Shawn Michaels' iconic superkick on Shelton Benjamin.
Both the main roster and NXT have some great mid-card talent on showcase during the weekend, including a fantastic match between Daniel Bryan and The Miz, a solid title defence for Shinsuke Nakamura, and The Velveteen Dream getting probably the biggest win of his career. Those tights were to die for, by the way. Say what you want about the rest of the show, but you cannot deny these men did what they could to make their respective pay-per-views a memorable one.
Bad: The injury bug spreads
2018 has been a crazy year for injuries. A lot of top Superstars have gone down for one reason or another, and they haven't always been wrestling related. Take Bray Wyatt for example. A few weeks ago, the Eater of Worlds was on the shelf for a short period due to being in a car accident. Then there's Shinsuke Nakamura, who was bit in the leg by a police dog right before a SmackDown match.
Then there have been some very...odd in-ring injuries. For instance, Charlotte was out or a while after she ruptured a breast implant. Also, Aleister Black found himself needing immediate surgery after getting crotched on the turnbuckle at a house show. At one point it was reported that, had he not received immediate surgery, he was in danger of losing his testicle. Whether or not that's true, it is absolutely frightening to think about. Regardless, the injury caused him to be pulled from Saturday's Takeover.
Dean Ambrose tore his triceps and has just gotten back, while Jason Jordan injured his neck and is now in danger of having to retire early. Ruby Riott recently returned after an MCL sprain, while Bobby Fish is still out and could be out until the end of the year after tearing his ACL and MCL. Now you can possibly add Johnny Gargano to the list, as he reportedly injured his knee during the conclusion of his main event match against Tommaso Ciampa. Here's hoping that Johnny Wrestling isn't injured too seriously and can make a speedy recovery, but meanwhile the bad luck just keeps on coming for both brands.
Bad: Squash Match City
One squash match is understandable. Two is pushing it. But three? That is about as ridiculous as it gets. I can jive with Braun Strowman beating the hell out of Kevin Owens in under two minutes for the briefcase. He's done nothing but crush KO for months, and even though I was hoping for some fluke roll-up victory, I can understand why they went with the finish that they did.
Then there's the return of the Demon.
I don't think any of us saw it coming, which can be a good thing. At first, I found it stupefying that Finn Balor would pull out the Demon just for a match against Baron Corbin. But after reflecting on the mauling that he gave the constable, it meant a strong showing for Finn and a definitive end to a lacklustre feud. It made Finn look strong, so I will excuse it.
What I will not excuse, however, is what Ronda Rousey did to Alexa Bliss. I get that Rousey is a legitimate bad-ass and could beat Alexa to a bloody pulp in real life. Here's the problem: WWE is supposed to be theatre. When we tune in to Raw, Smackdown and NXT every week, there's a little thing called 'suspension of disbelief' that still allows us to get into matches that should otherwise be one-sided. WWE could have let Alexa be the amazing heel she is and make the path to the RAW Women's Championship a struggle for Ronda Rousey. Instead, we got to see Alexa Bliss pretty much get her arm torn out of the socket for five minutes. The chance for a fantastic story was squandered for nothing. That, my friends, is simply unforgivable.
Ugly: The limpest ending possible
Let me get one thing out of the way: Yes, I am very glad that Brock Lesnar is no longer the Universal Champion. I am glad that we now have someone that can be on Raw every night with the title. But let's be real: That was a match unbefitting of the main event of Raw, let alone the main event for one of the biggest pay-per-views of the year. It just sorts of came and went. There was nothing special about it, save for Braun Strowman coming down and teasing a cash-in only to be levelled by Brock. Nothing about this match screaming "the main event".
I hate to be that guy, but let's look at another certain main event from last weekend.
This may not have been the best match of the Gargano/Ciampa trilogy, but it was still a great match with suspense, drama, plenty of psychology and callbacks and a finish no one expected. I figured that Ciampa would win, but for him to do so in such a manner is befitting of this feud: another unlucky break for Johnny Gargano, while Tommaso Ciampa escapes by the skin of his teeth.
The most important thing about this match is that it felt there felt like there was a history between these two. You could feel the animosity and hatred with every move. Did the SummerSlam main event have that? No. There were just some Superman punches, an F5 and a couple of spears. I understand there was time constraint, but I feel like you can take some liberties with time for such an important main event. Instead, we got something that felt totally cut for time and lacking any sizzle, totally ill-fitting a pay-per-view that was otherwise fairly good.
Send us news tips at [email protected].
