Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Lana vs. Natalya vs. Tamina (Fatal 5-Way Elimination Match to Determine the #1 Contender for the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship at SummerSlam)
Reactions: With so many talented ladies in the ring (and Tamina…), I expected a more entertaining car crash-type match here. But it just turned out to be passable at best. Lana and Tamina’s dual offense worked for a bit, plus Lana was extra energetic and a huge crowd pleaser. Lynch put them both down, which led into a quick elimination from Natalya. Once again, I expected something else that I didn’t get here – a barnburner from the last two ladies, Charlotte and Natalya. But that just didn’t come to be. They went to war for a couple minutes or so until the flat finish. Even the post-match proceedings were a bit disappointing. This entire segment just didn’t do enough to make me care about the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship and its future title match at SummerSlam.
Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars
John Cena vs. Rusev (Flag Match)
Reactions: While I still believe Rusev deserves much better gimmick wise, at least he got to lock up with Cena during a marquee matchup. The tired USA vs. Foreign Superpower storyline did nothing to help this bout, but Cena and Rusev performed admirably enough to get the crowd into it. The beginning portion of this patriotic war was your usual run-of-the-mill action I’m used to seeing from both men. Once both flags were taken from their top rope positions, the tug of war action entered into a much more entertaining phase. Rusev cut Cena off with a sick Fall Away Slam onto the entrance ramp, sidekicks and an Accolade. Cena met his offense with multiple strikes, an STF and his usual comeback offense. Cena’s AA to Rusev through two tables ended this match on a decent note. This was actually a fun match, but let’s get away from the stale “USA Over Everybody!” theme for a while.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
The Usos (Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso) (c) vs. The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and/or Xavier Woods)
(WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship)
Reactions: I WAS RIGHT! Their last PPV encounter was just a sampling of what they can with more time added to the match and a definite ending. What was provided here was a greatly paced tag team match with a hot intro, focused middle portion and a super hot ending. The Usos pulled off even more tandem offense than before, which kept the proceedings intense throughout. What also made this match stand out more than its prequel was the much quicker pairing of Kofi and Xavier. The match truly kicked into another gear when The Usos landed a sick double Powerbomb to Kofi on the outside. More insane moments followed, such as Xavier missing an elbow drop and eating a midair Superkick for his error. The action that followed all that madness up was more than enough to keep the crowd hype. Kudos to both teams for engaging in an awesome feud that got its exclamation point with an entertaining title change. Seek this one out if you missed it.
Rating: 3 & a Half out of 5 Stars
Jinder Mahal (c) (with Sunil Singh and Samir Singh) vs. Randy Orton (Punjabi Prison Match for the WWE Championship)
Reactions: I didn’t expect much from this main event since the last two times these men met in the ring, they turned out subpar matches. But this time, they finally managed to make me care about how everything between them would unfold. The start to this contest was a bit plodding and made me think I’d be treated to another ho hum bout between both men. After the final door opened up, things got a bit more interesting. The Singh Brothers actually managed to find a way to aid their meal ticket, but Orton got all viper-y on the both of them. That major crash through the announce table stands out as one of the most satisfying moments of the entire evening. Those Kendo Stick shots from both men and repeated climbing attempts added to all the excitement this match put on during its home stretch. The shock of The Great Khali’s return did even more to add even more highlight reel moments to this outing. What made this PPV closer stand out was all the unexpected mayhem that ensued from the middle to the very end.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars