It’s been a while and with everything that’s going down on the wrestling scene at the moment I thought it was the perfect time for the next installment of Wrestling with Mediocrity. Here I will break down my thoughts on SummerSlam and the RAW/SmackDown that followed it. Also keep an eye out for a podcast discussing the goings on in wrestling that I am putting together with a good friend.
Pre-show
I don’t have much to say on the Cruiserweight match. As always it was well worked but the crowd didn’t care and it just all feels so unimportant. You know these guys are capable of being in feuds and matches that matter, but while stranded on 205 Live that just isn’t going to happen.
Apollo Crews v Buddy Murphy seemed a strange late addition, but then we saw why. The whole thing was just to further the Rowan angle with Reigns and Bryan. I really feel for Apollo, he’s such a great talent and has never been given an opportunity to show it. He is a prime example in the case of WWE having too much talent and not enough spots to feature them in.
Lastly the Iconics v Bliss & Nikki. When only 25% of the in ring talent can actually work a competent match you’re up against it. A difficult watch as the women’s tag titles continue to be a joke. Can’t wait for Alexa Bliss’ next rant about how she deserves better from fans.
Main Card
Becky v Natalya
A decent match but it didn’t come close to what I hoped for. If you have two stars built up properly going in you could have had a white hot atmosphere like Calgary Stampede back in 1997. Crowd were into it, but it just didn’t feel like the important match I think it could have. Becky and the women’s division as a whole have struggled since WrestleMania and I would argue the build since Royal Rumble has been heavily botched.
Ziggler v Goldberg
The actual match was exactly what it should have been. A quick hope spot for Ziggler and a squash by Goldberg. It’s what fans wanted to see. The second call back was a bit much though. Feel for Ziggler. A waste of a career. Maybe he’ll hit it big in stand-up comedy…. Lol.
AJ Styles v Ricochet
A good match but a disappointment. Nowhere near what these two are capable of. Last month people gave it the benefit of the doubt figuring they were holding off for a special SummerSlam match but whether AJ has finally just lost a step or the WWE agents toned it down, it didn’t deliver. I also hated Ricochet’s outfit. He had the chance to be the top act in the company and now that ship has sailed. Give it a few months and he will be the next Evan Bourne.
Bayley v Ember Moon
Nothing match. Crowd hardly reacted to it. They positioned this match as less than the RAW title by having the RAW challenger Natalya batter and lay out Ember on the Tuesday leading in to the show. There still isn’t enough talent for 2 women’s world titles and it shows.
Kevin Owens v Shane McMahon
Owens did his best to get a match out of Shane. The guy just shouldn’t be in the ring trying to play wrestler while blatantly trying to fend off a heart attack. Glad they didn’t go with the midnight ryder gimmick as Owens is really struggling for credibility as it is. Owens going over was the right finish. Unfortunately it seems like this feud must continue.
Charlotte v Trish Stratus
I know a lot of people loved this match but I wasn’t overly keen on it. Again I think crowd reaction did play a factor. The lack of reaction Trish got at times was so noticeable. You’d have dead silence and then it was almost like the fans would realise, feel guilty and start a “This is awesome” chant to make up for it. Crowd did wake up and the match improved in the final third, but it really hit you how much the women’s division has moved on from Trish’s diva era.
Also while I know everyone who is anyone has a moniker in WWE these days, ‘The Queen’ is right up there with ‘The Big Dawg’ in terms of annoyance. Vince is literally insisting commentators drill it into fans minds and it just feels so incredibly forced.
Kofi v Randy Orton
Didn’t watch it. To me Kofi’s title run has been a disaster and after 17 years of watching Orton matches I just can’t do it anymore. Did listen to a few people’s thoughts on it though. “Kofi’s stupid” chants suggest I’m not the only one who feels this way about his title run. Another disappointing match in a series of sub par title defenses from the pancake throwing World champ. I also heard the finish was dumb as fuck.
Bray Wyatt v Finn Balor
‘The Fiend’ is another moniker that could in time outstay it’s welcome and this Bray Wyatt character is something I really think WWE should be careful not to commercialise too much. Bray’s entrance was the highlight of the night. Been looking forward to this since the first firefly funhouse segment. I know the segments were polarising at first but it feels like everyone is on board now. Giving Wyatt basically a squash win was the right move, especially with Balor now taking some time off.
It does remain to be seen how Wyatt does in future longer matches as that was his issue last time around. Also you need to hope WWE manages from refrain from going too supernatural with the character. We don’t need another WrestleMania with worms projected into the ring.
Brock Lesnar v Seth Rollins
Best in-ring match of the night by a distance. They had a task on their hands to overcome the bad build but I’d say they managed it. The whole match was built around how can Seth possibly beat Brock Lesnar. Newsflash: he beat him at WrestleMania in less than 3 minutes. His nickname is the “beast slayer”.
It looks like they are now trying to give Seth the push he should have gotten after Mania so we will just need to wait and see if it works. I feel like the character is better suited as a heel, but they don’t exactly have many babyfaces waiting to move into the top spot.
RAW was both encouraging and worrying for Rollins as WWE attempt to make him the top face. He got a great pop, but then got booed over the heel AJ Styles. WWE need to be really careful how much they are shoving Rollins down fans throats. I’m not sure Austin gushing over him had the desired effect. Also a feud with Braun Strowman is a risky proposition. Fans may end up siding against Rollins.
Really happy to see the return of the King of the Ring, but they need to give the winner a big push to elevate the stature of the tournament. It has been made a joke for too long.
The Viking Raiders need to actually find a feud soon. The whole tag division just seems in limbo at the moment. Anderson and Gallows are champs but struggling for credibility after years of being treated like jobbers. RIP Authors of Pain, they had such great potential and now have been just forgotten about. Clearly it’s true Vince hates tag wrestling, so why not put someone else in charge of creative of that division and give them a certain amount of minutes on each show.
Ricochet v Elias match was awful. Its so hard to see how badly they have botched Ricochet. The guy could have been one of the top stars in the company but it’s obvious at this point that isn’t on the cards anymore. At this point Elias should be removed from in ring action. He’s that bad.
Andrade and Rey always have good matches but we’ve seen it 1,000 times. They wrestled almost every week from Rumble to Mania and dropped it before the blow off. Now it seems like we are starting again. Feel like it might be building to a mask v hair match, but we’ll see.
Smart move bringing Sasha back as a heel. Negates any chance of fans turning on her for taking her ball and going home. It also feels like a hot, fresh opponent for Becky, so hopefully it gets one of the women’s titles back on track. Also I saw many people pointing to the fans treatment of Nattie after she talked about having a dream about her dad. I’m not surprised they acted like that. It came across so fake. Everyone knows the wrestlers are scripted and so her words felt exploitative and not genuine.
Revival winning the 24/7 title was dumb, but what was even worse was they have consistently told us if the 24/7 champ is in a sanctioned match the title isn’t up for grabs. Yet Truth just gets the pin and runs away. These segments were shit day one, but they are getting worse.
Still waiting on the big push that Mike Bennett is apparently going to get coming out of this career burying angle.
Buddy Murphy had a great breakout performance against Reigns. You have to worry about the follow up though. Perhaps Vince’s mind could be changed but clearly until now they had no major plans for Buddy. Does this now change? And if so at who’s expense?
They already can’t seem to find time for Aleister Black every week and without downgrading Buddy’s match against Reigns, I would have Black as a much higher priority. WWE can only push so many people and giving underneath guys breakout performances and not following up properly, then moving on and doing it with another wrestler doesn’t help anyone or the show.
A few weeks ago everyone was delighted that Nakamura was back! Finally we were going to see what he ha, well where is he now? He’s the US Champ and still can’t even get consistent TV time. WWE needs to establish a structure of who is going to get pushed at what level and be consistent. Long term planning is required, but unlikely to happen while Vince is still at the helm.
Well that will do it for this edition of Wrestling with Mediocrity. Apologies for the length but it has been a busy week in the world of WWE. With all the drama heading in to the SD on Fox switch and AEW starting weekly I should have a new article out most weeks in the coming months with thoughts and opinions on the wacky world that is pro wrestling. Also next week I will break down my thoughts on NXT counter programming AEW.
