WWE Summerslam 2016 Reax

Read on for my thoughts on last night's WWE special event.

- Kickoff:
WHOA. WHOA. WHOA. Did they just reference Booker having a Best of 7 series in WCW? Considering his opponent in those matches, I expected they'd kind of brush it aside.

Kickoff banter can be pretty fun when they go off the rails.

- Jericho/Owens interview:
The Canadians continuing the gag with Tom Phillips was good.

Jericho getting a G Certification is pretty funny.

Same with the chemistry bit.

Jericho and Owens have lofty goals for beating Enzo and Cass. Enzo's mom wearing a KO T-shirt was a great line.

- Vaudevillains/Ascension/Breezango vs. Usos/H. Bros/A. Alpha:
Yo dawg I heard you like tag team matches so we put a tag team match in your tag team match. This is wild. It's hard for everyone to shine in something like this.

NICE spot where Breezango took Alpha out of the ring for celebrating.

I wonder which NXT tag teams will be working the Summerslam Kickoff show next year.

Really funny spot with The Ascension turning things around on the face team members in the corner. That was pretty clever.

I love a big "everyone gets involved in a crazy brawl" spot when the whole show doesn't try to be that style.

I'm glad Mojo didn't accidentally take Ryder along for the Tower of Doom. I never liked the "take out my opponents while REALLY hurting my partner" aspect of that spot.

The Usos' dive actually made sense, since the people teaming tonight are rivals. So, they took out the Hype Bros, too.

- Corbin interrupts the Kickoff panel:
I was wondering if we'd see Baron and Kalisto tonight. Not a bad promo.

- Sasha answers questions:
I was really hoping Sasha would say the best part of being champion was the blinged-out title. That would have been right up the character's alley.

Sasha's a pretty good promo.

- Cesaro promo:
Cesaro's just really, really bland as a character. He's got a good suit and look, but beyond that, he's just "Swiss guy who likes to wrestle." 

- Neville/Zayn vs. Dudleys:
Neville and Zayn are quite talented, but the Dudleys losing a Kickoff match in Brooklyn would be kind of heartbreaking.

That corkscrew moonsault was AMAZING.

Bubba Ray and D-Von already looking like less of a coherent team than the former NXT Champions.

Shout-out to D-Von for stopping the dive spot. I'm sure it would have been really incredible, though.

At least the Dudleys are having fun against the awe-inspiring younger athletes.

That was mostly good. The 3D miscommunication wasn't believable.

The Dudleys are on track to have their greatest amount of losses in a year ever.

- Sheamus (0) vs. Cesaro (0):
Both men going for finishers early was smart. Why endure the punishment of a 20-minute match when you can win in 18 seconds?

Grabbing the brass ring is about more than having a four-star match. Obviously I appreciate a great match, but you need to be more than a great wrestler to be a star.

Cesaro reminds me a bit of pre-"Yes" Daniel Bryan. A talented athlete who's missing those extra factors that take someone to having a run at the top.

These two can bring technical ability AND brawling/strikes. That's good; they'll need to pull a lot out to make four-to-seven matches against each other interesting.

Cesaro countering the Brogue Kick with his own big boot was good.

When you do a goofy move like the Giant Swing, then apply the Sharpshooter right next to the ropes, of course your opponent's going to get out of it really quickly.

BOOM. A little surprised WWE ending the Kickoff show with a heel standing tall, since theoretically there might be some people on the fence of ordering who wanted a babyface win to get them in the mood to watch more wrestling. It has enough of an effect to keep an eye on.

- Summerslam: 
- Enzo/Cass promo:
Enzo's dance cracks me up every time.

Great babyface moment for the local boys. Both men are always solid on the mic.

- Enzo/Cass vs. JeriKO:
Nice start by the heels. Get right to work kicking ass!

JeriKO make a solid heel unit. I really hope Owens becomes as successful as Jericho; he's got a lot of potential and is a heel through-and-through.

Enzo and Cass are always fun as a team, and Jericho and Owens are gelling really well.

MAN that Codebreaker spot. I'm not upset at the heels winning after that showing.

- Authority figures/Stewart/New Day segment:
At least Stewart is commenting on why Foley's working with Stephanie. I'd like to see him join WWE Creative, but there's no way that would last.

- Sasha vs. Charlotte:
I'm really glad Charlotte can shine without Ric or Dana. As much as I like both, it's good to see Charlotte spread her wings.

I almost always like the "try to get a win right out of the gate" spot.

OOOOHHHHH that top rope drop looked unnecessarily dangerous.

I like the focused intensity of Charlotte against the technique and agility of Sasha.

That was one hell of a hurricanrana.

They're definitely pulling out the big bumps and counters.

WAIT WHAT!? One heck of a match, but a really surprising end to Sasha's title reign.

- The Club/AJ/Balor promo:
AJ and some dorks. I wish Anderson and Gallows had something going for them as charactersbeyond "we were a thing in Japan."

We finally saw Balor interact with his NJPW buddies. I think we could be in for some pretty interesting happenings with The Bullet Club A-Team.

- Miz vs. Apollo:
Good interaction of styles between the veteran WWE-style performer and the newcomer with a solid pedigree of athleticism.

Crews' power is unreal. He's got all the tools to succeed from an in-ring perspective.

WOW. I expected Crews to put up more of a fight. I really like Miz, but Apollo winning would have sold the New Era.

- Cena vs. Styles:
Good story to the match early.

Both men are bringing their best of what brought them to the table.

And now we're at one finisher kickout each. Are they going to try to reach ROH levels?

Impressive moves by both men, but I'm definitely getting ROH vibes from the big flashy moves in rapid succession.

I'm loving the counters and submissions. These men can make art in the ring.

Incredible match so far. Talk about a war.

I would have been fine with Cena winning with a third AA, but good to see AJ counter to the Clash.

AJ DID IT!!! HE BEAT CENA CLEAN!!!

Good post-match. Cena's finally starting to get the recognition he's deserved for years as a performer.

- Jon Stewart segment:
Jon looks rough. That was fine enough to bring the crowd back down to Earth and set up the next match.

- New Day vs. Club:
Fun work so far from New Day.

Good tag team action so far.

If Gallows and Anderson don't destroy Stewart, it will hurt their credibility. Given how small he is, they should be able to manhandle him.

Great to see Big E back.

That was mostly painless. Never doubt New Day retaining.

- Ambrose vs. Ziggler:
Nice attempts to get a pinfall early.

Ambrose working as a heel and as the bigger man is an interesting change of pace. He's usually the feisty underdog babyface.

Ambrose taunting Ziggler is great.

I like Ziggler making the most of the sleeper.

NICE counter into the Dirty Deeds.

PHEW. Back to KFC commercials, Dolph.

- Eva Marie write-off:
That was a pretty funny way to cover for Eva not being here.

- Naomi/Carmella/Becky vs. Natalya/Alexa/Nikki B:
So, did Smackdown sign Nikki? I hope so.

Mostly fine work so far. Natalya's something of the ring general here.

Alexa doesn't look out of place with the more experienced main roster names, which is a credit to her.

The springboard kick spot was pretty funny.

Pretty nice ending. I'm glad Nikki stopped doing the Rack Attack after neck surgery.

So, six-pack challenge for the Smackdown women's title at Backlash?

- Clash of Champions ad:
So, is the Cruiserweight Title on the line then, too? It will be a Raw title.

- Rusev/Lana promo:
It's kind of hard to defend Roman as a babyface ruining Rusev and Lana's wedding.
 
Some irony here since Lana comes to WWE from Hollywood.

- Universal Championship reveal:
Wow what an ugly looking title. Minimal effort put in, too.

- Rollins vs. Balor:
Finn's fired up.

These two guys are putting their bodies on the line, but fans are focused on the belt's design?

Balor's definitely ready to be a top player.

Nice counter to the Coup de Grace.

Both men bringing their all.

I would have bought the Pedigree ending it.

I've got to take some points off for no-selling the superplex. That was bullshit.

Pretty great match. They definitely positioned Finn as a top guy right out of the gate.

- Ziggler/Miz KFC ad:
OH MY GOD THIS IS EVEN MORE AMAZING THAN I IMAGINED.

I almost cried. That was one of the best things I've ever seen. Please tell me they're working on a sequel.

- Rusev vs. Roman:
Rusev's motivated to take Roman out.

So, WWE's plan to get Roman over with the smarques is to not have his matches officially start? I mean, he can't beat anyone they like if the bell never rings.

Looks like they might set up a big gimmick match to settle the score and determine who holds the title at Clash of Champions.

- Brock vs. Orton:
Brock coming after Orton like "the sooner we get through this, the sooner I get paid."

Randy protecting his shoulders on the suplexes. I can't blame him.

I'm definitely getting flashbacks to the match with Cena.

BADASS counter to the punt.

OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD. This is just brutal.

- Brock F5's Shane:
I would watch the hell out of another crazy Shane stunt match.

More wrestling coming up.