WWE SummerSlam results: Powell’s live review of Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins for the WWE Universal Championship, Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship, Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon, Trish Stratus vs. Charlotte Flair, “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt vs. Finn Balor

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By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

WWE SummerSlam
Aired live August 11, 2019 live on WWE Network and pay-per-view
Toronto, Ontario at Scotiabank Arena

The Kickoff Show results: Drew Gulak defeated Oney Lorcan to retain the WWE Cruiserweight Title, Buddy Murphy beat Apollo Crews by an apparent DQ when Rowan attacked Murphy, and Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross beat The IIconics to retain the WWE Women’s Tag Titles (a full rundown is available in a separate story on the main page)… A video package opened the main show…

Michael Cole welcomed viewers to the sold out show and stated that there were 16,504 fans in attendance for the second SummerSlam held in Toronto. Cole was joined on the Raw broadcast team by Corey Graves and Toronto native Renee Young. They set up a video package on the Raw Women’s Championship match…

Becky Lynch made her entrance and was cheered. There was a loud “Becky” chant once she was in the ring. Natalya was also cheered and she came out with a Canadian flag draped over her shoulder. Natalya handed the flag to someone at ringside. The Spanish and German broadcast teams checked in (Tim Haber and his bowtie scare me).

1. Becky Lynch vs. Natalya in a submission match for the Raw Women’s Championship. Mike Rome delivered in-ring introductions for the title match and showed of his new blonde hair. Lynch went for an early armbar. Natalya powered her up and slammed her down, but it didn’t break the hold. The women rolled to the ropes and Cole pointed out that rope breaks were not in play in the submission match. Natalya slid to the floor. Lynch put her in a guillotine. Natalya walked her over and slammed her into the barricade to break the hold, then swung Lynch into the barricade again.

Natalya kicked Lynch’s knee. Lynch fired back with a shot to the face. Lynch sold the knee as they returned to the ring. Natalya threw punches at Lynch in the corner and kicked her bad knee, then suplexed her legs into the ropes. Lynch fired back with right knees to Natalya’s body while selling her left knee. Natalya caught Lynch’s leg while she was on the apron and wrenched it on the middle rope. With Lynch between the middle and top rope, Natalya stood on the middle rope and applied a Sharpshooter. Lynch pulled herself free and tumbled to ringside while holding her left knee at 6:15.

Lynch came back by shoving Natalya into a broadcast table, then ran her into the ring steps. Natalya sold an arm injury. A short time later, Natalya superplexed Lynch while Cole reminded viewers that there were no pinfalls. Natalya got to her feet first, but Lynch kicked her away. Natalya ran the ropes and went for her dropkick, but Lynch caught her (sorta) and applied a Sharpshooter, which drew a mixed reaction from the crowd. Vince McMahon came out and called for the bell (not really). Anyway, Natalya rolled over and flung Lynch into a corner of the ring to break the hold at 9:45, which led to the first “this is awesome” of the main show.

Moments later, Natalya applied the Disarmer on Lynch, who tried to roll out of it, but Natalya held on. Lynch rolled out and escaped on a second attempt. Natalya rolled into a Sharpshooter. Lynch pressed up with her hands and crawled through the ropes and hung over the apron while Natalya held onto the Sharpshooter. Natalya released the hold and brought Lynch back to the middle of the ring and tried to reapply the hold, but Lynch countered into her Disarmer. Natalya eventually tapped out…

Becky Lynch defeated Natalya in a submission match in 12:35 to retain the Raw Women’s Championship.

Powell’s POV: A good opening match. They worked the submission match stipulation really well, especially the lack of rope breaks. There were some fans rooting for Natalya and against Lynch, but that didn’t seem to carry over in any way after the match.

Trish Stratus was interviewed backstage by Kayla Braxton. Stratus said she feels great and thrives under pressure. She said the hardest part is waiting for her music to hit. She spoke about paving the road and said Charlotte Flair has no idea how lucky she is. Stratus said Flair couldn’t walk a mile in her boots. “If she’s the queen then, honey, I’m the queen of queens,” Stratus concluded…

A video package set up the Goldberg vs. Dolph Ziggler match. Ziggler made his entrance to his painful entrance music and then cut a promo in the ring. Ziggler said he’s the best thing that happened to the show, WWE, and pro wrestling. Ziggler yapped until he was interrupted by Goldberg’s entrance music. Goldberg was shown walking through the back and up the steps before making his entrance, which included the sparklers and pyro on the stage…

2. Goldberg vs. Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler was at ringside when Goldberg arrived at ringside prior to the match. Ziggler backed off and Goldberg entered the ring. The bell rang and the fans chanted for Goldberg, who looked to them and then went nose to nose with Ziggler. Dolph blasted Goldberg with a superkick and covered him for a two count. Ziggler kicked Goldberg in the gut and then covered him for another two count. Ziggler set up for another, but Goldberg speared him. Goldberg powered up Ziggler for the Jackhammer and then pinned him.

Goldberg beat Dolph Ziggler in 1:50.

After the match, Goldberg left the ring and stopped to play to the fans on the stage. Ziggler called him back and said what Goldberg did to him was like being hit by a baby. He said Goldberg didn’t have the guts to face him man to man. The broadcast team wondered what the hell was going through Ziggler’s head. Goldberg returned to the ring and speared Ziggler again. Goldberg’s music played and he headed backstage.

Ziggler laid on his back and said that anyone could get lucky twice. Ziggler said he knew Goldberg didn’t have the balls to face him man to man. Ziggler said that’s why Goldberg is a laughing stock in the business while he is the best. Ziggler said he will never be defeated or stay down. Ziggler said he’s the best thing going today and forever. Goldberg’s music played and he headed back to the ring. Goldberg knocked the mic out of Ziggler’s hand, then picked up his limp body and patted him on the back. Goldberg teased leaving, then ran the ropes and speared him again…

Powell’s POV: A fun Goldberg style match. I love that they started it with Dolph getting the surprising offense before Goldberg did what felt inevitable. This was a nice redemption moment for Goldberg after he suffered the concussion and his match with Undertaker fell apart in Saudi Arabia, not to mention that the Canadian fans weren’t still holding a grudge over booting Bret Hart in the head. And let’s face it, Ziggler had all of that coming for whatever part he plays in subjecting me to his appalling entrance theme.

A video package set up the U.S. Title match…

Ricochet made his entrance. Cole noted that SummerSlam was being broadcast in 27 different languages. The foreign broadcast teams that don’t get the main floor seating were introduced. R-Truth and Carmella were in costume and pretended to be a foreign broadcast team. Drake Maverick showed up at the end of the line and asked them all about Truth, who was gone by the time Maverick got where he and Carmella had been standing…

3. AJ Styles (w/Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson) vs. Ricochet for the U.S. Championship. Gallows wore the face paint, so it appears that’s here to stay. Ricochet wore a weird body suit that’s hopefully not here to stay. The gear was actually inspired by the Nightwing comic book character (thanks to multiple readers). Early in the match, Gallows and Anderson stood between Ricochet, who was on the apron, and Styles, who was on the floor. Ricochet leapt off their shoulders to get to Styles.

Styles came back and worked over the left knee of Ricochet. Ricochet performed a standing shooting star press onto Styles for a two count. Ricochet got up and sold the knee. Styles eventually went back to work on the knee. Later, Styles fought off Gallows and Anderson and went to the ropes, but Styles cut him off. Ricochet battled back and went for a twisting move from the ropes, but Styles caught him and then hit a Styles Clash and scored the pin.

AJ Styles defeated Ricochet in 13:00 to retain the U.S. Championship.

After the match, Styles was bothered by Ricochet pulling himself up, so Gallows and Anderson put him down with a Magic Killer…

Powell’s POV: I had a hard time getting invested in the match because the presence of Gallows and Anderson made the outcome feel even more predictable than it did considering that Styles only recently took the title from Ricochet. They just haven’t found the right approach for Ricochet’s persona yet. They’re trying to make him an underdog type rather than a sensation. By the way, they’re going to run out of comic book characters to design gear after. At the rate they’re going, someone will be paying tribute to Paste-Pot Pete at SummerSlam 2023.

The Street Profits did their thing backstage. Montez Ford chanted for Goldberg. Angelo Dawkins got his attention and they did the “we the north” slogan of the Toronto Raptors. Dawkins spoke about his girl Nikki Cross and gave out his Twitter handle. They noticed something off camera. Ric Flair walked into the picture and they flipped out while delivering some of his saying. Flair gave them some woos…

4. Bayley vs. Ember Moon for the Smackdown Women’s Championship. The Smackdown broadcast team of Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, and Byron Saxton called the match. Greg Hamilton delivered in-ring introductions for the title match. The crowd was quiet. Bayley hung up Moon in a tree of woe at 5:30, then leapt from the first rope into an elbow drop, which led to a two count.

At 8:55, Bayley went for her finisher, but Moon punched her way out of it. Bayley went to the ropes and Moon pulled her off into a hard powerbomb. Moon went up top for her finisher, but Bayley met her on the ropes and performed a Bayley to Belly from the ropes for the win…

Bayley defeated Ember Moon in 10:00 to retain the Smackdown Women’s Championship.

Powell’s POV: The crowd never got into this match and it was hard to blame them given how lousy the build was. Moon was pinned by Alexa Bliss in a tag match two weeks ago, and then was used to get Natalya’s Sharpshooter over on the go-home show. She had no momentum whatsoever, and Bayley is really cold as a character these days.

A video package set up the Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon match…

5. Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon (Owens must quit WWE if he loses). Shane got good heat when he went to the ropes and Greg Hamilton did the “best in the world” introduction. A chant for Owens broke out and then he made his entrance. Shane took the mic and introduced Elias as the special enforcer referee. The bell rang to start the match and Shane rolled to ringside and stood behind Elias. Owens went to ringside and jawed at him, then rushed back into the ring to beat the referee’s count.

Shane went back to ringside and Owens followed and chased after him only to be tripped by Elias. Owens jawed at Elias and once again had to rush back to beat the referee’s count. Shane hit Owens from behind and threw punches at him in the corner. Owens reversed it and fired back with some punches while Shane ducked between the ropes. Owens hauled off and hit Shane with a punch that knocked him down, then performed a cannonball in the corner.

Owens clotheslined Shane to ringside and then ran the ropes, but Elias stood in the way. Owens turned his focus to Elias, and Shane hit him in the gut and then tossed him from the apron into the barricade. Shane went on the offensive and performed a DDT for a near fall. Shane went for a Sharpshooter, but Owens fought out of it and then delivered a Popup Powerbomb. Owens had the pin, but Elias stood on the apron and distracted the actual referee from making the count. Owens jawed at Elias and then Shane rolled up Owens for a two count.

Elias slid a chair inside the ring. Owens picked it up and thought about using it. Shane pointed at his chin, closed his eyes, and encouraged Owens to do it. Shane got up and hit Owens, then braced for the chair shot, but Owens tossed it aside. Owens jawed at Elias. Shane tried to take out Owens, but he knocked Elias off the apron instead. Owens superkicked Shane. Owens performed a swanton from the ropes, then went to the opposite corner and hit a frogsplash and had the pin, but Elias pulled the referee from the ring. Owens performed a cannonball off the apron and took out Elias and the referee.

With the referee down, Owens picked up a chair. Elias pulled Owens to ringside. Owens took out Elias with several chair shots. Owens set up to hit Shane with the chair, but the referee returned and Owens thought better of it. When the ref was clearing the chair, Owens kicked Shane in the balls, then hit the Stunner and pinned him…

Kevin Owens defeated Shane McMahon in 9:20.

Powell’s POV: This match got the crowd back into the match due to their love of Owens and their hatred of Shane. Owens never really felt at risk of losing despite Shane stacking the odds against him, and it’s odd that Shane’s other sidekick Drew McIntyre wasn’t involved in this. Overall, though, they kept it fairly short and the live crowd was satisfied by Owens going over.

A WWE Network commercial aired and focused on all of the remaining pay-per-view events (minus Saudi Arabian shows), an upcoming WWE 24 on Ric Flair, some Ride Alongs, and a WWE Untold with Kane…

Powell’s POV: The ad was fine, but the newsworthy moment will be once they announce the network tiering and start adding some non-WWE programming such as Evolve, Progress, ICW, and whatever else they opt to add.

The Smackdown broadcast team set up a video package on the Roman Reigns whodunnit mystery. The broadcast team recapped Rowan attacking Buddy Murphy on the Kickoff Show while Daniel Bryan watched the footage on a backstage monitor…

6. Trish Stratus vs. Charlotte Flair. Stratus received a nice reaction from her hometown fans. Charlotte stood in her corner and Trish stood in the middle of the ring and they stared at one another once the bell rang. Flair moved forward and they spoke to one another. Stratus smiled and they locked up to start. Charlotte shoved Trish into the ropes and then shoved her. Trish went for another lockup, but Charlotte pushed her right back into the corner and laughed at her.

Charlotte moved toward Trish, who kicked her. Stratus came back with a couple of takedowns with her legs. A “you’ve still got it” chant started and faded quickly. Charlotte kicked Stratus and then picked her up in powerbomb style, but Stratus slipped away and arm dragged her to ringside. Stratus kicked Flair through the ropes and then dove onto her and threw repeated punches. Trish tried to bring Charlotte back up the steps, but Flair tripped her. Charlotte posed for the crowd an then tossed Stratus back inside the ring.

Flair pulled Trish back to the floor and threw her into the barricade. Flair picked up Stratus and threw her back inside the ring. Flair worked over Stratus and arched her back by using her knee, then slammed her face first into the mat. A short time later, Charlotte lowered her kneepad and then drove Trish’s face into the mat, then pulled up the kneepad again before kicking her head several times and taunting her. Trish fired back with several punches, but Charlotte knocked her off the apron with a big boot at 7:30.

Stratus returned to the ring at the referee’s seven count and Flair was all over her with knees. Flair walked over Stratus, then went up top and went for a moonsault that Stratus rolled out of the way to avoid. Stratus put Flair down with a Flatliner style move. Trish fired away with chops, then licked her hand, woooed in Flair’s face, and hit her with one big chop. Flair kicked Trish and went to the ropes. Trish tried to take her down with her legs, but Charlotte caught her and they fought on the ropes. Trish got the better of it with a huracanrana for a two count at 11:00.

Charlotte ducked a Trish Kick and then drilled her with a big boot to the face that led to a near fall. Flair went to work on Trish’s knee and then went for the figure four, but Trish caught her in an inside cradle for a near fall. Trish got up and applied the figure four and eventually bridged into the Figure 8. “This is not fair to Flair,” Graves said in an homage to Bobby Heenan. Charlotte reached the ropes to break the hold, which drew boos from the crowd.

Trish walked toward Flair and had her leg kicked out from under her. Flair charged at Trish in the corner. Trish moved and Flair crashed into the corner. Trish performed her Stratusfaction move for a near fall. The broadcast team played it up as a big deal that Flair kicked out of Trish’s finisher. The women got to their knees and went head to head, then threw chops at one another from their knees and eventually on their feet. Trish took Charlotte down and rolled her into a pin for a two count.

Stratus hit the Trish Kick and covered Flair for another near fall. Stratus waited for Flair to get to her feet and set up for a move, but Flair caught her first with a big boot to the head. Flair applied the Figure 8. Trish held on for a moment and then tapped out…

Charlotte Flair beat Trish Stratus in 16:40.

Flair left the ring. Stratus was still lying on her side when a “thank you, Trish” chant started. Stratus got to her feet and pointed to the fans and then went to three corners and struck her pose while selling knee pain. The broadcast team laid out. Trish started to exit the ring, but it looked like the referee informed her that she forgot a corner, so she laughed and then went back and posed in that corner. Trish went to the stage and took a final bow before heading backstage…

Powell’s POV: A good match with a finish that left a little to be desired. I assumed Flair would win, but landing that kick and then going right to her finisher felt a little off for some reason. I liked the near falls for Trish and she had the live crowd behind her. There were a couple of off moments early on, but they settled in and did a nice job. It was a retirement match that Stratus should be happy with.

Seth Rollins was standing backstage putting the top part of his ring gear over his taped ribs when Bret Hart approached him and wished him luck and said he’d be watching. Rollins thanked him and said it meant a lot…

The WWE 2K20 video game commercial aired… A video package set up the WWE Championship match…

8. Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship. WWE used their silly CGI graphics at various points throughout the show, including showing big vipers while Orton made his entrance. Big E did the backstage New Day introduction, then he and Xavier Woods came out with Kingston and walked him halfway to ringside before heading back again. Hamilton delivered in-ring introductions for the title match while Kingston threw pancakes and then went face to face with Orton while the referee worked to keep them apart.

The bell rang and Orton held out a pancake, which Kingston slapped away. Kingston jawed at Orton and they locked up and were separated. Orton found a pancake and tossed it at Kingston before locking up again. A short time later, Kingston went to the ropes and Orton pushed him from the top rope down to the ringside barricade. Orton dumped Kingston onto the German broadcast table. Kingston fought back with a move off the ring steps, but Orton quickly regrouped and dumped him onto the English broadcast table. Orton took Kingston back to the ring and smirked.

At 8:00, Orton set up for a superplex, but Kingston fought him and knocked him off the ropes and then leapt off and performed a DDT on the way down. Graves laid it on thick throughout the match about how this would almost certainly be the end of Kingston’s title reign and labeled this a Hail Mary moment. Orton came back at 10:50 with a sidewinder backbreaker and covered him for a two count. Kingston rolled to the apron. Orton stood over him and mocked the New Day Rocks clap, then went for a draping DDT, but Kingston backdropped him over the top rope to ringside.

Kingston went up top and did the trust fall dive onto Orton at ringside. Graves said it would take big and spectacular moves like that if Kingston had any chance to win. Kingston sent Orton back to the ring and then hit him with a crossbody block from the top rope for a two count. Graves spoke about how the title was slipping through Kingston’s fingers, then Orton hit a draping DDT. Orton struck the Viper’s Pose.

Orton set up for his finisher, but Kingston countered into a backslide for a two count. With Orton weary, Kingston went up top for a move and Orton caught him with an RKO on the way down. Orton laughed. Orton crawled toward Kingston, who rolled to ringside. Orton followed and Kingston hit him with several punches while the referee counted both men out, which led to bullshit chants.

Kofi Kingston fought Randy Orton to a double count-out at 16:45 in a WWE Championship match.

After the match, Kingston worked over Orton with punches and eventually pulled a kendo stick out from underneath the ring and beat Orton with it repeatedly at ringside and then once they were inside the ring until Kingston finally threw the kendo stick down. Kingston hit Trouble in Paradise. After beating a man with a stick, Kingston went to ringside and had a moment with his wife and kids…

Powell’s POV: Weak. A lousy finish to a decent match. Orton was just sort of standing there gloating and Kingston hit him with a single punch and that’s when the ref hit his ten count, so it’s not like they were in the midst of a heated ringside brawl. This was a bad television finish on one of the bigger WWE events of the year. I was open to some sort of a cheap finish because it is early in the feud, but this was poorly designed and/or executed. I typically like the work of Corey Graves, but his role as the doomsday guy for Kingston’s title reign was a bit much.

A movie trailer and other advertising aired, then a video package set up the Bray Wyatt vs. Finn Balor match…

9. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt vs. Finn Balor. Balor made his entrance. The Firefly Funhouse video aired and then the lights slowly turned off. Some strange images of faces were shown in the dark. A revamped rock version of Wyatt’s entrance theme played as he walked to the ring dressed in The Fiend gear. One of the images shown while the lights were out was actually sitting on the apron. It’s a head with stitched eyes and a large light inside a stretched out mouth (Bray’s the man in the box?).

The lights turned on and Cole asked what they just witnessed and a “holy shit” chant broke out. Balor looked unnerved. Wyatt dominated Balor and then looked at his gloves and then covered his ears while standing in the corner. Wyatt set up for Sister Abigail, but Balor escaped it and hit a sling blade clothesline. Balor came back with a double stomp. Wyatt got to his feet and Balor dropkicked him into the corner. Balor went up top for his finisher, but Wyatt avoided the Coup de Grace and then applied the Mandible Claw and got the pinfall win.

“The Fiend” Bray Wyatt defeated Finn Balor in 3:25.

After the match, Wyatt stood in the ring got a strobe light effect while his laughter played. The lights went out and Wyatt was gone when they turned on again. Fans chanted “that was awesome”…

Powell’s POV: Wyatt’s Fiend persona came off very well and the live crowd clearly loved it. The Fiend has been handled very well so far. Let’s hope that continues to be the case long term. I guess Balor not calling for help means we’ll be seeing The OC chat with him on Raw. There have been reports of Balor taking time off post SummerSlam. This didn’t look like a sendoff, so perhaps that’s coming in the form of an OC beatdown?

A Kofi Kingston piece was showcased for an upcoming WWE Network special… A video package set up the WWE Universal Championship match…

9. Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman) vs. Seth Rollins for the WWE Universal Championship. Mike Rome delivered in-ring introductions for the title match. Rollins was not well received. Heyman took the mic and introduced Lesnar. The bell rang and Lesnar immediately went on the offensive and targeted the injured ribs of Rollins. Lesnar went for an F5, but Rollins landed on his feet. Rollins and hit the Stomp for a near fall at 1:00. Cole said the problem was that Lesnar kicked out and that may have been Rollins’ best chance to win. Lesnar rolled to ringside and Rollins followed and got the better of him briefly.

Back inside the ring, Lesnar went for a German suplex, but Rollins landed on his feet. Rollins threw a two superkicks that knocked Rollins down, but Lesnar rallied with an F5. Rollins picked up Rollins by the rib wrap and twirled him around. Lesnar performed three German suplexes in a row. They went to ringside where Lesnar performed another German suplex, then rolled Rollins back inside the ring. Rollins tried to get up and fell down. Heyman rested his head on his hands and smiled while Lesnar suplexed Rollins again. Rollins rolled to ringside and Rollins followed, then put Rollins on his shoulders, but Rollins slipped away and ran him into the ring post twice at 5:00.

Back inside the ring, Rollins caught Lesnar with a knee to the head and then went to the top rope. Rollins leapt at Lesnar, who dodged him and then performed another German suplex. There were dueling “Burn It Down” and “Suplex City” chants. Lesnar removed his MMA gloves and tossed Rollins across the ring. Lesnar drove Rollins into the corner and then bearhugged him. Rollins reached the ropes to break the hold, and Lesnar released it and clubbed his back. Heyman taunted Rollins from ringside. Lesnar picked up Rollins and drive him back first into a corner of the ring. Lesnar charged at Rollins, who moved, and Lesnar went through the ropes and crashed into the ring post casing.

Rollins ran at Lesnar and kicked him off the apron. Lesnar landed in front of one of the broadcast tables. Rollins performed two suicide dives. Rollins went for a third suicide dive, but Lesnar caught him and ran him back first into a ring post. Heyman told Lesnar to get rid of him. Rollins knocked Lesnar onto the Spanish broadcast table, then went up top and performed a splash that drove Lesnar through the table at 10:45. Rollins rolled Lesnar back inside the ring and a loud “Burn It Down” chant broke out. Rollins performed a top rope splash and came up holding his ribs. Rollins went to a corner of the ring and waited for Lesnar to get to his knees, then dropped him with The Stomp an and covered him for a near fall at 12:30.

Rollins set up for the move, but Lesnar caught him and hoisted him up for an F5. Rollins slipped away, kicked Lesnar, then hit another Stomp and pinned him…

Seth Rollins defeated Brock Lesnar in 13:25 to win the WWE Universal Championship.

After the match, Rollins got emotional as he held onto the title belt and the referee raised his hand. Rollins went to the rope and held up the title belt to cheers.

Powell’s POV: A good match. Lesnar had his supporters in the crowd, but it seemed like Rollins won over some of his detractors as the match went on. The injury angle made some of Lesnar’s offense seem even more punishing, but I still don’t feel like those beatings were really needed. Rollins beating Lesnar straight up without using nut shots would have been just as satisfying for his fans and the build to a showdown match between the two would have been better.

Kudos to WWE for not going ridiculously long with this show. It was listed at 4.5 hours in Canada, but the main show went just a little over 3.5 hours. Sure, it’s crazy that I’m praising a 5.5 hour show (counting the Kickoff Show) for not going overly long, but this really was an improvement over how overboard the company has gone with a lot of their bigger shows. On the negative side, the new WWE Network app had a rough time on my usually steady Roku device after being flawless on Saturday during NXT Takeover.

Overall, it was a solid show that closed with a satisfying title change. I assume this means Lesnar is now free to go after Kofi Kingston before or once Smackdown moves to Fox in October. Thanks for watching. Jake Barnett and I will be by later tonight with our members’ exclusive audio review of SummerSlam. Plus, check out the return of ProWrestling.net Live with Will Pruett and I on Monday at 3CT/4ET at PWAudio.net.

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Readers Comments (13)

  1. Kingston-Orton ending was a bit too similar to Styles-Joe from last years Summerslam.

  2. Will Urbanovitch August 11, 2019 @ 9:15 pm

    I think The Fiend just killed the of era with his lamp.

  3. I’m taking a break from wrestling for a while. Maybe I’ll come back in October when AEW starts. For one of the “big ppvs” of the year that was awful. Really boring and predictable. There was a solid hour – the Bayley-Ember match and the Owens-Shane match – that I flipped over to baseball.
    I am going to cancel the network. Take a break for a bit.

  4. That was a good ppv. The Fiend is one of the best gimmicks in a long while. I hope wwe keeps him to a minimum. Please don’t over expose him. I can see him in the main event vs the over exposed Rollins at mania. Pretty sick of Rollins already. Way overexposed.

  5. Unless I’m mistaken, Jason, Dawkins gave his Instagram handle, not Twitter. Pretty sure he said “Insta” or something pointing that way.

    Thought the show was good, but not Summerslam level standard.

  6. That was the most boring and predictable (minus the Rollins win) PPV of the year. Shame on Vince and the writers. If any of them watched the NXT show the night before, they should be thankful for their paychecks for putting on such boring, contrived matches. Seriously, I told people coming over to watch, who were an hour late, not to bother, because the show was so bad. Oldberg sucks so bad. Toronto should have booed his ass. If I bought a ticket, I would have been pissed.

  7. Charlotte Flair comes across as someone who is mediocre at best, but gets lucky, fluke victories here and there and then acts as a bad winner throwing it in everyone’s face how she’s the “best that has ever been or will ever be.” not in so many words. Not sure this is what they are going for but this is how things tend to be perceived. Her flip flopping between heel, face and tweener is also nearly as bad as Big Show’s.

  8. Was it just me or were both Reigns and Bryan absent for the entire main card? I didn’t watch the pre-show, were either mentioned there?

  9. I think it may have added a nice twist to have Paul Heyman walk to the back alone after Lesnar lost to Rollins leaving Lesnar alone in the ring/at ringside as opposed to tending to him with the two heading to the back together. This would have sown the seeds of a break up between Heyman and Lesnar where perhaps Heyman would claim that Lesnar was “done, and it was time to move on and find new clients.” Or something to that effect. You have Heyman “move on” and Lesnar either take a break perhaps even a permanent vacation from WWE or come back after a while to feud against Heyman and his new client or clients.

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