By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Raw Hits
Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins: This was fine. I don’t know if they really moved anyone who was on the fence about SummerSlam, but this was much better than some of the other verbal segments that Rollins has had during the SummerSlam build. I’m shocked that the World Heavyweight Championship match is closing night two. Is it a sign that they have something big in mind to close out SummerSlam weekend?
World Tag Team Champions Bron Breakker and Austin Theory vs. Otis and Akira Tozawa in a non-title match: I expected the challengers to either steal a win or for a finish that would create the need for a rematch at SummerSlam, due to Otis’s ties to the host market. Nevertheless, the match was entertaining, and the post-match attack added a ruthless streak to the Theory character. But does this really mean that Bron Breakker didn’t even crack the two-night SummerSlam lineup? Wow.
Je’Von Evans vs. Rusev: A good match that was more suspenseful than anticipated. I bought into the possibility of Evans tapping out when Rusev applied The Accolade. Evans rallied and won the match with his crowd-pleasing offense. If creative doesn’t have anything in mind for Evans, then how about putting him and Dragon Lee together and having them chase the World Tag Team Titles since they had such a good match with Bron Breakker and Austin Theory?
Ethan Page vs. Rey Mysterio: A nice win for Page, who avenged his previous loss to Mysterio. It’s a shame that neither guy cracked the SummerSlam lineup, but it’s especially disappointing that they didn’t find a spot for Rey, as you never know how many more big stadium shows he’ll be around for.
WWE Raw Misses
Oba Femi and Brock Lesnar weigh-in: A contradictory mess of a segment. Lesnar padlocked the Hell in a Cell door shut with Oba inside. Paul Levesque and Adam Pearce were also inside, yet apparently they couldn’t just ask the production crew that had just lowered the HIAC structure to raise it. Anyway, the idea was that Lesnar was playing mind games. Oba, who has shown a laid-back confidence, suddenly turned into a frothing meathead who was so angry that he returned to the ring, found the smallest of the cops serving as in-ring security, and attacked him without provocation. Oba was so triggered by Lesnar’s ploy that he proceeded to beat up every cop in the ring. Worst of all, this contradicts the angle from two weeks earlier when Oba attacked police officers in Dallas, only it turned out they were fake cops in a ruse orchestrated by Paul Heyman. Oba even indicated that he was on to Heyman and knew the cops were imposters. So two weeks ago the creative team wisely felt it was important to explain that Oba didn’t attack real cops. Yet the same creative team actually booked Oba to attack so-called real cops and face no punishment last night. What is going on with this company’s creative direction? The shades of gray characters nonsense is bad enough, but now they can’t even be consistent with their own storytelling.
Sol Ruca vs. Raquel Rodriguez for the Women’s Intercontinental Title: A rough match. Rodriguez appeared to suffer a broken nose on Ruca’s moonsault to the floor, and then there was a botch when Ruca went for an ambitious DDT spot. Ruca clearly needs more reps, which isn’t easy these days with the small number of live events. The outside interference protected Ruca, but would it really have been so bad if Rodriguez had just pinned her clean? It’s okay to give the babyfaces something to bounce back from. For that matter, WWE books so many distraction or interference finishes that they don’t generate the heat they should because they’ve made it so commonplace.
Joe Hendry and Danhausen concert: The same company that is struggling creatively found time to put together a song and dance routine. This concert was about as over with the Los Angeles/Inglewood crowd as Jacques Rougeau was at AEW Rebellion in Montreal. Danhausen is fun in small doses, but they are running him into the ground with weak material and too many television appearances. Hendry is just that guy who sings songs and wrestles once in a while. TNA creative did a much better job with Hendry than WWE has done so far. And then there’s the Ryan Garcia issue. There surely would have been more pushback if most pro wrestling fans were familiar with the troubled boxer. I’d never seen the guy before and had no clue that he used racist and homophobic slurs. I was also unaware that he threatened the mother of his children and her family. His ex-wife also accused him of breaking into her home and trashing it, which she backed up with photos. Garcia was charged with a misdemeanor count of vandalism. He apologized for the slurs and for his treatment of his ex-wife, who filed a temporary restraining order against him, which she dropped two months later as part of a financial and custody agreement. I sincerely hope that Garcia’s apologies are sincere and that he’s taken the right steps to get his life on track. I’m all for second chances, but it seems like this guy has had more than his fair share.
Hype for LA Knight, Royce Keys, and Solo Sikoa vs. Jacob Fatu, Jimmy Uso, and Jey Uso: A minor Miss. I enjoy the wrestlers involved, but I’ve never seen a seemingly throwaway six-man tag match get so promotional time. It’s odd because the company dedicated very little time to the Liv Morgan vs. Iyo Sky build, yet the build to the six-man tag received plenty of airtime on Raw and Smackdown. I’d be more invested in the six-man tag if they established a true babyface vs. heel dynamic.
Join me for my SummerSlam live reviews on Saturday and Sunday.
(Jason Powell, founder and editor of ProWrestling.net, has covered pro wrestling full-time dating back to 1997. He hosts a weekly podcast, Pro Wrestling Boom, and also appears regularly on the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast. Reach him via email at dotnetjason@gmail.com and on social media via @prowrestlingnet.bsky.social or x.com/prowrestlingnet. For his full bio and information on this website, click here.)
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