Summerslam 2018

[HarmonicGenerator]

Try as they might, this is no Minor PPV That Doesn't Deserve A Thread. It's Summerslam! Traditionally my favourite PPV of the year, though I'd struggle to name more than a couple of matches that happened at any of them for the last ten years.

The card as of 31st July is...

Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns for the Universal Title

Alexa Bliss vs Ronda Rousey for the Raw Women's Title

AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe for the WWE Title

Braun Strowman vs Kevin Owens where if Owens wins in any way he gets the MITB briefcase

Carmella vs Becky Lynch for the SmackDown Women's Title

Dolph Ziggler vs Seth Rollins for the Intercontinental Title

The Bludgeon Brothers vs tournament winners for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles

And Wikipedia reckons Cedric Alexander vs Drew Gulak for the Cruiserweight Title is on there, but I don't remember them saying that on 205 Live and even if they did there's no way the cruisers are getting past the pre-show so you may as well forget that one.

 

To me, it's quite an uninspiring card, especially on the Raw side. Smackers has got potential - of the announced matches so far, only Lynch vs Carmella doesn't appeal and that's purely because Becky had to beat Carmella to get a chance to beat Carmella even though she'd already beat Carmella. Styles vs. Joe and the tag team match should both be great, and if they add Bryan vs Miz and Nakamura/Orton/Hardy that's a solid offering.

Raw, however. I've seen Lesnar vs Reigns so much already there's nothing they could do to make me care. I'm certain Ronda will make her match great on the night, but if they keep putting her in title matches they either need her to win (in which case she can never lose because she's Ronda Rousey and I can't believe anyone else could beat her) or they'll have to keep coming up with creative ways for her to lose, which is silly. My interest in Strowman has plummeted over the last six months. Ziggler vs Rollins in a singles match of the Iron Man match where they won four times each in the rematch of the match of the rematch of the ... no thank you. they couldn't have done Zigs & McIntyre against Rollins & a surprise Ambrose? 

 

The show itself may be very good - Styles vs Joe does give me so much hope. But I also know it's going to be about a day long and it'll take me until September to get through it all.

 

What do we think? Anyone planning to watch live? Any Summerslam traditions? How does this year's card stack up to all the others? 

[WyattSheepMask]

Styles v Joe obviously has the potential to be fantastic, and the Brooklyn crowd will lap it up. I can see that going on last assuming that Lesnar/Reigns doesn’t end with either a cash-in or a big post-match angle afterwards. If they put Lesnar/Reigns on last without something happening in the aftermath, they run the risk of it just being a farce like what they had happene at Wrestlemania 

Bliss/Rousey, again, has the potential to be very good, and I do think that they will put the belt on Rousey. Whether that’s the right call or not, that’s a whole other debate.

Hopefully this is the end of Rollins v Ziggler. Rollins is so over at the minute, and deserves to be in something better than fancying about with Noodle-noggin, but I’m intrigued to see how they transition him out of that feud and into something else

[Fatty Facesitter]

Absolutely no fucking way I'll watch live but I'm rostered as off for the following day as it stands, so I'll likely watch most of it spoiler-free.

Summerslam 2000 was my first proper PPV when I was 100% full on invested in WWF at the time, and it's a love affair with wrestling that hasn't ceased since. So it'll always be a special one, I just don't think I can physically go through 4+ hours of something that early in the morning anymore unless something unprecedented is going to happen. 

The card will be a mixed bag - There'll be a couple of matches that will go down an absolute treat and the rest will be a real slog. NXT TakeOver will likely be much more fun as a complete card. 

[RIDDUM_N_STYLE]

Alexander v Gulak is officially on the main card, WWE posted an interview with Maverick on social media before Raw confirming it

[wandshogun09]

I'm watching SummerSlam this year for the first time in ages. Probably a good decade actually. My nephew's birthday is in August and he loves his wrestling so I've said he can stay at mine that night and I'll order it. Already booked the Monday off work so I'm good to go. 

Like HG, SummerSlam was always my favourite PPV. I guess a big part of it is nostalgic reasons because SummerSlam 89 was the first WWF show I ever saw as a kid. And with it being in August every year, it always fell in the 6 week summer holidays so it was the one PPV I could always stay up and watch live. Suppose that's why I have more fond memories of SummerSlam than any other PPV. I still love the old blue and orange logo/ring apron they used from 88-97. 

Classic. 

As someone who's dipped in and out of wrestling and hasn't been a regular viewer since about 2007, it's still a bit weird to me seeing AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe listed for the WWE strap at SummerSlam. I haven't seen enough of them both in a WWE ring for it to seem normal yet and the last period where I was big into wrestling, AJ and Joe were kicking the shit out of each other in TNA and ROH. Never would've thought back then that they'd be where they are now. 

I've half-arsedly kept up with what Ronda's been doing so far. Obviously saw the WrestleMania match and a couple of bits and pieces since. Alexa Bliss is only little, isn't she? On paper she should be perfect for Ronda to just ragdoll and judo throw into oblivion.

Can't say I'm bothered about the rest at all but I'll give it a go. 

[WeeAl]

This is next weekend and there are currently 11 matches announced for it. A Raw tag team title match is likely to get added, as well as Randy Orton being pretty much nailed on to be added to the US title match. I could potentially see Almas/Vega Vs Rusev/Lana as well. This is bound to be a marathon of a show. AJ Vs Joe, Rollins Vs Ziggler and Bryan Vs The Miz should hopefully make sure the show delivers. 

Summerslam match card:

• Cedric Alexander (c) vs. Drew Gulak (For the Cruiserweight Championship)
• Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Jeff Hardy (For the United States Championship)
• Carmella (c) vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch (For the Smackdown Women's Championship)
• Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz
• Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Seth Rollins (For the Intercontinental Championship)
• Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens
• The Bludgeon Brothers (c) vs. The New Day (For the Smackdown Tag Team Championship)
• Finn Balor vs. Baron Corbin
• Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Ronda Rousey (For the Raw Women's Championship)
• AJ Styles (c) vs. Samoa Joe (For the WWE Championship)
• Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns (For the Universal Championship)

[Lorne Malvo]

If you'd told me at the start of the year that Summerslam would have Reigns vs Lesnar, Joe vs Styles and Miz vs Bryan and the match I'd be looking forwards to most would be Alexander vs Gulak, I'd have laughed you out of the building. Hopefully they get given a decent amount of time as both men have been exceptional during the Drake Maverick era, but I can't see it.

I'm expecting it to be a mostly good show, though. Joe/Styles and Bryan/Miz should both tear the house down despite uninspiring build-ups, and I know I'm a knob for being sucked in but I'm very intrigued by Reigns/Lesnar this time around. So many possibilities for what they can do with that one... (Lesnar wins clean, no cash-in is what will likely happen now). I'd be looking forwards to Rollins/Ziggler more if they hadn't pinned each other 5 times at the last PPV. 

If Balor vs Corbin goes as long as their previous matches have felt, everything else will have to go on the preshow.

[Bus Surfer]

 

Nice little piece they put up on YouTube yesterday. They always hit it out the park with these things. I think AJ has been a fantastic champion, but I really want Joe to get a moment. I'm well up for SS now. 

[Jon-Carr_92]

Definitely will be watching live tomorrow night. Because as long as Braun Strowman has the briefcase and the elusive Brock Lesnar are both around. I will have to see how it goes down.

[Supremo]

One day, when he's long gone, we'll look back and realise how great the Miz truly was. He's been brilliant on Twitter recently.

[tiger_rick]

Mix has lost over 1000 WWE matches. Obvious, I suppose but mind blowing to see it written down.

[air_raid]

"Wrestling style" - huh? Have I missed a step? Is "wrestling" allowed again?

Good bollocks that, if Miz and Bryan and thought to be similar enough to both be "all rounders." Compounded with the homogenous style everyone is rounded out to on the main roster, I imagine those categories to be almost everybody in "all rounder" approximately four entries for "powerhouse" and one "BEAST INCARNATE."

Those numbers are pulled out of someone's arse too.

[Freddyjoe]

Christ on a bike WWE doing what it does best! This gave me goosebumps!

 

Terry Crews welcomes you to Summerslam

[Egg Shen]

Not that it matter but why would you include a stat saying that you've lost over 1,000 matches, I can't be the only person who finds that weird? just add a 'career wins' stat.

[air_raid]

43 minutes ago, Egg Shen said:

Not that it matter but why would you include a stat saying that you've lost over 1,000 matches, I can't be the only person who finds that weird? just add a 'career wins' stat.

No stats. Every WWE special is already ruined by Cole jibbering on about numbers and people's records at whatever show it is, it's tiresome. If pro wrestling were a genuine sport, its a sport were numbers like that are irrelevant anyway juxtaposed to how long you've been in the company and which matches you won. You could lose as many matches as you want, if you won the right ten big matches your career is a success compared to someone who has better "numbers" but spends their whole run swapping wins with Ziggler at the foot of the card.