This is gonna be a huge announcement if Vince is in the ring with the entire locker room on the stage. The rumor mill says it’s a all-women pay per view in the fall. HHH says some damn nice things about the entire roster before singling out the women. Sure everything is a work, but this truly feels from the heart. And if it’s not, who fucking cares, because he does a damn good job making it sound that way. I can only imagine what it feels like for the women wrestlers and fans to be lifted up this way and recognized as equals. Stephanie makes the historic announcement that we expected, the all-women PPV on October 28, called “Evolution”. Not only that, it’s on Long Island. I gotta get there.
Segment Rating: Historic.
TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: THE DELETERS OF WORLDS VS. THE B-TEAM (c)
Really good intensity by both teams. Matt made things interesting with a Twist of Fate, but after Bo Dallas throws Bray into Matt, Axel gets a surprise pin on Matt to retain the titles. Matt seems to show respect after the match but he and Bray then attack the champions. Will The Deleters of Worlds be heels now? I’m not sure Hardy’s gimmick will work well that way, but we’ll see what happens.
Match Rating: Six Gold Medals
Corbin using his position to fuck with Finn Balor is likely going to lead to a SummerSlam match between the two.
I really hope Sasha’s sappy moment towards Bayley last week was a swerve and Sasha attacks the shit out of Bayley tonight, or sometime soon. I’m not sure that will happen, but they make better enemies than friends.
SASHA BANKS & BAYLEY VS. JOBBERS
I guess maybe they’re gonna build Sasha and Bayley as a tag team. They work really well together and get a quick win with Sasha’s Banks Statement. They celebrate like sisters after. A short but fun and effective match.
Match Rating: Five Gold Medals
Elias tries again after being interrupted by Matt Hardy the first time. Nope, here comes Braun. I can’t figure out why Elias isn’t running away.
IN-RING SEGMENT: BRAUN STROWMAN
Braun certainly knows how to work a crowd. Great promo. Kevin Owens interrupts and, along with Baron Corbin, chides Braun for throwing him off the cage. Corbin sends Jinder Mahal to help Strowman manage his anger. RIP Jinder. Sunil Singh looks like he’s gonna shit his pants. Jinder goes down, then, as usual, Singh gets destroyed.
Braun Promo Rating: Seven Stone Colds
Segment Rating: Seven This Is Your Lifes
MICKIE JAMES W/ALEXA BLISS VS. NATALYA
Bliss makes herself useful early on by providing a distraction and allowing Mickie to take control of the match. Mickie’s strikes look weak. Obviously I know they pull their punches but it at least to look good. I’m especially focusing on an elbow in the corner that looked pretty bad. Following another distraction by Bliss, who got smashed with a discus clothesline for it, Mickie takes advantage to pick up the win. Decent match, could have been better.
Match Rating: Four Gold Medals
BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW: ROMAN REIGNS
What a terrific promo by Roman Reigns. Get this man more mic time. On Something Else to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard, he said we’d soon see Roman’s charisma and personality, and we’re definitely seeing that.
Promo Rating: Nine Stone Colds
IN RING SEGMENT: AUTHORS OF PAIN & TITUS WORLDWIDE
People don’t care enough about either of these teams for this to be an effective segment. In my opinion, AOP shouldn’t have even given Titus & Apollo the opportunity to speak, and should have just pounced on them. It’s definitely setting up a feud between the two, so I kinda get why Titus Worldwide got the upper hand here, but I didn’t like how this segment was booked.
Booking Rating: Three Kevin Sullivans
Kevin Owens gets a match against Braun Strowman for his MITB briefcase at SummerSlam. I think Owens could win that.
TYLER BREEZE VS. MOJO RAWLEY
Mojo squash. Good choice.
Match rating: Five Gold Medals
FINN BALOR VS. DREW McINTYRE
Poor Elias, interrupted again. This is an interesting match here, tough to pick a winner. We were having a good match until Ziggler knocked Finn off the top turn buckle to cause a DQ. Seth Rollins arrives to stop the two-on-one beatdown and gets some good shots in on Ziggler before Dolph makes an escape. Kurt Angle comes out and it seems we’ll get a tag match here.
FINN BALOR & SETH ROLLINS VS. DREW McINTYRE & DOLPH ZIGGLER
Nice quick pace when Balor and Ziggler are in the ring together. McIntyre slows it down with his power offense. The action on the outside is chaotic and fun. Rollins hit a nice superkick to a kneeling McIntyre that nearly ended the match but Dolph broke up the pin. McIntyre has some kind of reverse Alabama Slam where he slams Rollins on his face instead of his back. THIS IS AWESOME is right. Seth hits a hurricanrana on McIntyre to get him out of the ring followed by a stomp to Ziggler for the win.
Match Rating: Eight Gold Medals
BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW: BOBBY LASHLEY
Good promo for Lashley, unfortunately ended with a cheesy “No Sleep Til Brooklyn” reference. It’s hard for him to cut a good promo because his voice just doesn’t fit it. Much better than he normally does though.
Promo Rating: Two Stone Colds
EMBER MOON VS. LIV MORGAN
Not sure why this match is happening again, I think it’s the third time in four weeks. Sarah Logan barred from ringside, this should be a cakewalk for Ember. No disrespect to Liv and she’s much improved, but come on. Liv does gain control of the match for a bit. It’s only temporary as Ember drops her with the Eclipse for the win. A good match, both women looked really good.
Match Rating: Seven Gold Medals
Elias finally gets his chance to sing.
UNIVERSAL CHAMPIONSHIP NUMBER ONE CONTENDER MATCH: ROMAN REIGNS VS. BOBBY LASHLEY
Somehow I want it to end up being a triple threat match at SummerSlam with both of these guys and Lesnar. If not, LET’S GO ROMAN! It’s a hard-hitting match right from the start, as you’d expect with these two powerhouses. This is a really good match with both guys handing out a ton of punishment. Lashley counters a Superman Punch into a tight Full Nelson. Roman escapes in the corner but Lashley locks in another triangle-like submission as we get dueling Roman chants in the crowd. After Roman escapes, he dodges a charge and Lashley goes shoulder-first into the ring post.
As Roman seems to have the advantage, Lashley catches him with a power slam for a damn close two count, then sets up for a spear. A couple Superman punches from Roman Reigns nearly get him the win but Lashley kicks out both times. Roman landed on his neck after getting tosses into the ring and Lashley hits a spear that Roman BARELY kicked out of. It was the weakest kickout I’ve ever seen but it spoke volumes about how hurt Reigns was and how close he came to losing. He hits a brutal looking Superman punch and a spear, and ROMAN GETS BROCK! Lesnar FINALLY has to drop the title, right? This was a damn good match.
Match Rating: Seven Gold Medals
Overall Show Rating: Six Gold Medals
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