We are definitely in full SummerSlam mode right now, aren’t we? I guess it’s as close to a second WrestleMania as we get, especially this year where there’s been so much uncertainty with the pandemic and losing crowds, etc. The PPV is going to be an immense one and I’m here for it. Sure, the industry and online buzz might be driven by AEW lately – they’re the new kid on the block, delivering solid shows week on week and they might even have CM Punk and Daniel Bryan soon – but WWE is fully capable of putting on spectacular shows too. Yes, I enjoy WWE and AEW which is shocking isn’t it? If you believed everything you read on social media, that just isn’t allowed! But it is and plenty of us here watch a huge variety of wrestling companies and enjoy all of it so don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. For now though, let’s shine the spotlight on WWE’s blue brand and see where the road to SummerSlam takes us.
Attitude Adjusted
John Cena returned to SmackDown again this week, unfortunately not flagged by the vocal talents of Mr. Paul Heyman. I really thought he might have been so impressed by his performance last week that he’d hire him full time but apparently not. At least I’ve still got Boogs and Nakamura. Cena had a tough one last week as his plan to get a match against Roman Reigns at SummerSlam didn’t work. The Head of the Table simply declined his challenge and instead accepted one from Finn Balor. Now I’m a big Finn fan and I’m certainly not against it, but is that really our SummerSlam main event? I find that a bit hard to believe.
John got on the mic in-ring, did some cheap pop stuff, and antagonised Roman a little more because why not? He knows what he’s doing and he knows how to talk himself into a fight. But instead of the Universal Champion coming out, Cena got to share the ring with a very sad-looking Baron Corbin. Who knew a fake crown could actually give people such success that he’s managed to lose everything now it’s gone? No wonder Xavier Woods wants the King of the Ring tournament back so bad. To cut a long segment short – Corbin wanted help, Cena gave him a few bucks, and sadly Baron talked himself into an AA by the end. Interestingly the crowd were fairly split as to whether Cena should help Corbin or not but as they identified correctly he’s still a bit of an arsehole.
Rey Mysterio (with Dominik) vs Jimmy Uso (with Jey)
Booyaka booyaka! Who’s that jumping out the sky? Not Rey anymore, as he just likes a casual walk down to the ring with his son. Honestly, there’s nothing that can make you feel older than remembering watching Dominik as a kid with Eddie and Rey fighting over him. And now he’s out there taller than his dad. Sure, that’s not that difficult but still. I’m getting too old for this shit. Of course, the feud continues between the Mysterios and the Usos, with Jimmy and Jey being sneaky sneaky lately and picking up a few victories through nefarious means, including lying and stealing their way to the tag titles in a way Guerrero would’ve been proud of.
A short but sweet effort from the guys this week which served the purpose of Rey trying to teach his son how to win and make less mistakes. Dominik couldn’t have a much better teacher and it still amazes me how Rey can go in 2021 at such a level. The Usos have had an insane year in terms of family drama and now they’re just looking to successfully keep their titles but the Mysterios are always scratching and clawing their way week on week. This time it was Rey and Dominik using the Uso’s cheating tactic in a role reversal to pick up the win. Will we get a title rematch at SummerSlam? Or is it time to let teams like Alpha Academy and Street Profits back in the fold for a multi-team match? I think that’d be pretty fun.
100 Days As Champ
Or apparently 110 according to Kayla which means the celebration is a bit late. I wouldn’t leave it to her to organise anyone’s birthday for sure. Bianca Belair is incredibly over with live crowds and I couldn’t be happier for her. She feels like an absolute superstar out there every time and I feel like she grows with confidence every week. Unfortunately, Carmella feels differently and so does Zelina Vega so obviously they came out to interrupt the celebrations because when do they ever go smoothly if they’re in the ring? You would think someone would’ve learnt by now – also see contract signings. Without an official challenger for the title at SummerSlam, both Carmella and Zelina wanted to put themselves forward but let’s be honest, neither has a great track record lately.
Heels being heels means that Carmella and Zelina were never just going to stand there and have a nice friendly conversation with Bianca about who she should wrestle. Carmella decided to attack the champ and Zelina joined in and started kicking Bianca like she’d just told her to cancel her Twitch account. A dastardly two-on-one attack left Belair reeling and me hoping Montez Ford could just run down to the ring and do his high-flying antics to rescue his better half… but no, WWE doesn’t really do mixed stuff much so we got a returning Sasha Banks instead. A huge pop and an excited crowd looked on as Banks took Vega and Carmella down and threw the trash out. Some hugs and some dancing and the two WrestleMania opponents continued their mutual respect.
24/7 Championship Match – Reginald vs Chad Gable (with Otis)
Reginald! We all know how much I love Reginald and the only real problem with his SmackDown appearances was him getting far too involved in feuds he didn’t need to. It was never Sasha vs Bianca vs Reginald at WrestleMania so who knows why he was so involved in all of that. Lately, he’s been hanging out more with Nia Jax over on the RAW side, where he apparently managed to pick up the 24/7 title at some point. Who knew that was still a thing? Apparently, Vince is a Reginald fan and so we got a rare treat this week with him defending the title in an official match. Don’t get me started on how stupid it is having official matches for a title that can be won at any time. It is what it is.
Reggie (as he wants to be known) didn’t know his opponent this week and things were looking bleak when Gable brought out Otis, but thankfully it was Chad taking the match and not the man that likes to squash everyone. The Otis transformation still blows my mind but every time Gable is in the ring I just wish he was getting a little more of a chance. Sure, it’s better than Shorty G but still. Anyway, this was a bit of a weird match. Reggie got to do some flashy athletic stuff. Chad got a couple of good suplexes in. Then Otis attacked Reggie who then managed to escape. I was just left confused by the whole thing really.
Sign On The Dotted Line
Sonya Deville and Adam Pearce took their places in the ring for the Universal Championship match contract signing for SummerSlam. Every time this happens I’m just reminded of how close we got to a Pearce vs Roman Reigns match. I still want it. GIVE ME WHAT I WANT. Sorry, got a bit sidetracked there. We’re signing a contract for Roman vs Finn Balor because of course Reigns doesn’t believe John Cena deserves a match. It definitely isn’t because he’s scared or anything like that. Nope. Not at all. I’m all for Finn stepping up and he’s made a great early impression in his return to SmackDown and I just hope that momentum continues.
Reigns took the time to sit at the head of the table and then spit a few choice words about Cena while trying to manipulate Balor at the same time. He’s a master of the mic these days and it was always his weak point. He said a few nice things about Finn actually but then reminded him that he’s going to smash him to pieces at SummerSlam and send him back to NXT. I don’t think any of us would actually mind that but hey. The champ signed the contract and just as it was time for the challenger to do the same we had an unscheduled visit from Mr. Happy himself Baron Corbin who took out Balor and tried to sign the contract instead. I admire the balls on that guy but it didn’t end well as Cena turned up, got rid of Corbin, and then signed the paperwork to make it official – he is now Roman’s opponent at SummerSlam. Pearce and Deville agreed backstage that they were fine with it. I’m not quite sure who’s legally right here and I hope Balor tries to sue someone.
Six-Man Tag – Apollo Crews (with Commander Azeez), Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode vs Cesaro, Big E and King Nakamura (with BOOGS)
Ah, here we are. The match that felt like it was going to happen last week with all the interrupting and shenanigans but instead they made us wait a week to see Apollo and Big E share a ring again. How dare they! Don’t they know how desperate we are to see that matchup again? Please read all of this with 99% sarcasm filter by the way. Jeez. They really need to give Big E an actual feud away from Apollo. I don’t care who. Shove him in there with Reginald and it’d still be better than APOLLOOOO. Enough is enough and it’s time for a change.
Honestly, the match felt so short that it’s almost not worth writing about. Two key things – Pat McAfee is an absolute joy, not only during Nakamura’s entrance but the entire show every week. I can see why Michael Cole enjoys working with him so much. He’s fresh and he’s enthusiastic and he manages to hit everything he needs to without sounding like a robot. And secondly, Nakamura pinned the IC champ this week so hopefully, he’s the next challenger and not Big E. I’m not sure what they’re doing with Cesaro anymore either but at least he’s still around and looks like he’s having a nice time I suppose. They have a lot of good talent on SmackDown and it can be tough to use them all in the right way.
Rollin(s) Towards SummerSlam
I love Edge. I love his entrance. I love the crowd. I love all of it. Someone who doesn’t love it is Seth Rollins who managed to attack Edge during a commercial break and then throw a hissy fit on our return to the ring. If he doesn’t get to be Universal Champion then neither does Edge. Short and to the point this week from Seth but he still managed to dress well, even if the crowd disrespected him by chanting for Becky. I honestly thought they were chanting for Reggie at some point but that didn’t make much sense. These two work really well together and I’m excited to see what Edge’s revenge will be next week.
Main Event – Carmella and Zelina Vega vs Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks
Go on Michael. Go on. Say it. It’s what? IT’S BOSS TIME. Yeah, it is! Adam and Sonya certainly didn’t take long putting Banks back to work, this time teaming with her WrestleMania opponent and apparent friend Bianca Belair against two women who clearly believe they deserve more than they’ve been getting recently. Mella is money apparently, and I imagine Vega is making a fair bit of that dollar if she agreed to return to WWE just to lose every week. Banks and Belair make a great team and they’re all about the attitude and the sass and the dancing and generally just being awesome in-ring and out. It’s true that when you watch Sasha she just feels a level above most of the other talent so it’s great for the division that she’s back.
Good teamwork from Bianca and her partner this week, although all credit to Zelina and Carmella for taking it to their opponents and giving it everything they’ve got. They may talk a lot but they at least try to back it up in the ring, even if they do come up short a lot of the time. Sadly this week was another loss for them with Banks hitting a frog splash and then making Carmella tap out for the victory. After plenty of hugging and celebrating from the ESPY winners, Sasha shockingly hit Bianca with a backstabber and then destroyed her in the middle of the ring before holding the title up. The Boss is definitely back and while we all felt that turn was coming (as she’s basically the female Big Show), it’s a necessary twist in the tale that will take their SummerSlam rematch to another level. There’s going to be a lot of revenge coming next week all over SmackDown for sure.
The best of SmackDown
- Sasha Banks – a huge return and an even bigger statement made
- John Cena – he found a way to get what he wanted
- The Mysterios – outsmarting the Usos for a change
- Baron Corbin – a totally underrated performer
- Reginald – he’s found a good place for himself on the roster
The worst of SmackDown
- Apollo – being in the same ring as Big E again AND losing to the King
- Zelina Vega – on the losing side yet again
- Shoddy contract legalities – I’d get those checked out if I were you, Finn
In summary…
Yet another show that felt like the two hours completely flew by. I liked how everything had excitement behind it and the crowd seemed into the majority of it which always helps. SummerSlam is getting hotter by the week and I think it’ll be a huge card by the time it’s all put together. I’m looking forward to some more personal promos from Reigns and Cena, as well as an edgier feud between Belair and Banks this time round. Now to find something for Big E to sink his teeth into and we’ll be good.
All images and videos courtesy of WWE