WWE Summerslam Saturday August 21st 2021

[DavidB6937]

Thought it was an enjoyable enough show.

I won't complain about the editing or the commentary etc because it is what it is at this point and it'd be a bit stupid moaning about something I'm well aware of. Could it all be better? Absolutely. Will it change? I doubt it.

Thought the crowd were great for most of it and that helped a lot.

I do wonder how Goldberg feels about what he's doing at the moment.

Edge/Rollins was probably my match of the night. That all came together nicely.

I wrote the other day about how I hoped they'd build beyond the 4 horsewomen and use Bianca and others to make the division going forward. Nice return pop for Becky but immediate feeling was that the rest didn't need to go down how it did. I guess we'll see how it plays out. 

I'm intrigued by the Lesnar/Roman dynamic especially with Heyman involved. Is it an industry changing future building match? Absolutely not. But I hope they can try and build Big E outside of this and other guys too.

Overall it was a pretty decent show. I don't go in expecting it to be be same as AEW or anything. I enjoy both for very different reasons at the moment. I know a lot of people have turned off WWE and I can see why but Summerslam didn't feel like a show that was presented by a company in dire need of change. Everyone still seemed pretty into it for the majority. Tweaks here and there would obviously be appreciated but I can't see them coming away from that PPV feeling hugely worried about what they put on.

[Yakashi]

Obviously not watching so would be unfair to comment on the matches. But the booking sounds the absolute shits as usual. Becky beating the young babyface champion who main evented and won that title at wrestlemania in 5 seconds? Becky is lucky she’s who she is because that would have turned most people heel. Fucking atrocious as usual.

 

Brock, I love the mad bastard but it’s another sign they are creatively bankrupt and desperate. Embarrassing they’ve made zero stars since he disappeared 2 years ago and we’re getting him and Roman for the billionth time. 
 

Cold as ice.

[westlondonmist]

1 hour ago, DAVEYJONESGIANTSQUID said:

None

 

Got to laugh at people saying brock or becky returns were a retaliation to punk debut.. the becky thing has been spoke about for weeks and we all know with brock he's not the type of person to sign at a moments notice and was always likely to be back with a Saudi payday on the cards.

Don't know why people can't just enjoy one the other or both without having to be like x did that because of y..wwe pulled 50k people in without even promoting this surprises.. they would fill next months ppv etc without them too.

For what it's worth I loved the punk but with aew but that had no bearing on anything that happened at this show

If the Becky thing wasn't knee jerk then I'd say that makes it worse. They could have had Becky beat down Belair post match or just stare her down instead of squashing the most over face. Knowing Becky was going to get a huge pop why not have her beat up a heel instead? 

[Jazzy G]

Presumably Becky would have come out after the match if Sasha hadn't cried off with her anti-vax attitude, but instead they had to react to her absence and decided to just feed Bianca to Becky rather than have her wrestle Carmella again. 

[Mr Butternut Squash]

LOL.

Vince is fucking mental. It's impossible to like anybody in WWE.

[SuperBacon]

I quite enjoyed that. I don't watch the weekly show and can't remember the last PPV I watched, and I'll be honest I really don't care who wins or loses.

I skimmed through a few things but there was nothing I thought was terrible. 

I'd also like to REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED Becky Lynch so was delighted to see her return.

The problem they have (IMO) is that in terms of star power, she is a million miles above everyone else on the womens roster (Charlotte included) and they all look small time compared to her. Maybe the sound was sweetened but that was some reaction.

Edge vs Rollins went a bit long for me, but was alright and I don't even know what happened in the Goldberg match as I went to make a coffee and couldn't be arsed to rewind it.

Cena v Reigns I thought was great. Again, those two (and Brock) are really the only main eventers the company has and they've blown their load on the biggest match they could have at this moment in time, and revealed their only ace up the sleeve (apart from Rocky) so where do they go from here?

Cenas hair is hilarious though. Shave it off pal. Also Coles voice breaking like a 13 year old boy was too funny. 

But yeah enjoyed that match a lot. Cena is one of the all time greats and Reigns little tics are brilliant. He is just so watchable, and charismatic. Its just a shame about the other 95% of the company.

See you all for the Rumble!

[Chili]

So Sasha Banks. I'm not up to scope. What's happened there? 

[TildeGuy~!]

18 minutes ago, Chili said:

So Sasha Banks. I'm not up to scope. What's happened there? 

She was pulled from a few events this past week and reports were saying the match may not go ahead at Summerslam, yet WWE kept promoting the match up until after Belair’s entrance.

No reason has been given as of yet, everyone presumed it was COVID (she’s an antivaxer apparently) Other reports have said she was in Vegas that day having lunch with Kallisto and Bayley.

I don’t know if it’s just that I adore AEW that my hate/annoyance for WWE has just increased over the past few months but I hated this show.  Becky turning up and jobbing out your brand new star in seconds didn’t sit well with me at all. 

Also Michael Cole’s “Could It Be” quote for every single return.  Fuck Off.

Edited August 22, 2021 by TildeGuy~!

[Lenin]

So that was largely a non event. Another horrible Goldberg match which unfortunately looks like being dragged into a second month after the beatdown on his son. 

One of THE stars of Wrestlemania gets jobbed out.

Reigns continues as champion but with Brock Lesnar back they've painted themselves into a corner. Does he form an uneasy alliance with Roman and go after the tag belts to eke out another angle? Does he go after Lashley, win the WWE title and set up a champion Vs champion match at Wrestlemania? Does he beat Reigns thus making reigns a chump? Does he lose to Reigns and thus WWE have spunked a fortune for no gain?

Rudderless. 

[BomberPat]

When Becky came out I said that surely they weren't going to give away the match straight away, they'd set it up here and then do it properly at the next show. What they did instead was the worst possible option - they didn't deliver the match, and killed any interest in it by making Bianca look like an idiot. I was convinced Carmella was going to get involved for a DQ, but it turned out that whole thing was a waste of time. Just an incredible display of cashing in on the audience goodwill in wanting Becky back, and then immediately piss it away.

And that's the story of the show - it somehow felt like a "press the panic button" show, but also like more of the same old shit. An incredible achievement.

Why did they trot out Nakamura for nothing at all? Why have the Olympians show up for no reason? Could have had Jinder, or Miz & Morrison, or someone rag on them for some cheap heat, but it was just a nothing segment.

Women's Triple Threat - no interest in Charlotte winning, but especially in having her as a heel go over clean on a babyface champion, in the centre of the ring, in a triple threat.

I was pleasantly surprised by Goldberg/Lashley, in spite of/or because of Goldberg spiking himself on his head. Probably just because expectations were so low going in, though.

Main event was fun at times, but literally nothing I can imagine ever wanting to watch again.

 

[AndyUK]

Thought it was an absolute slog to get through. A boring show that lasted over 4 hours with a dead crowd and dodgy booking decisions.

Edge and Rollins was the best match on the card with a good story and Reigns v Cena was your typical WWE main event match so was good in that respect but nearly everything else? Bloody hell.  The Becky/Bianca stuff was dreadful and we've got Goldberg and Lesnar in the title picture yet again. I'd say the Reigns/Lesnar match is intriguing with the reversed roles, Heyman etc. but the actual match itself is going to be 5 minutes of suplex city and finisher spamming again so what is there to look forward to?

This company gets worse.

 

Edited August 22, 2021 by AndyUK

[rollthedice]

I liked the entrance way, less graphics and LED'S is always a good thing.

I'm hoping AJ goes to Smackdown in the draft. Turn him face and feud him with Reigns.

Couldn't have given Nakamura a match or the night off?

When Becky returned I thought the match would turn into a triple threat with Becky pinning Carmella. But no just beat Bianca in 5 seconds like an idiot.

Edge/Rollins was my match of the night. Most I've been interested in Seth in many, many years and Edge is always great. 

I'm glad Brock didn't get rid of his hair and beard for his return. He looks even more terrifying. I'd rather he challenged Lashley than another boring Reigns feud even with the roles reversed.

 

[I Bent My Wookie]

Hearing it be called the "Manhandle Slam" was enough for me to switch off. Something just strange about someone who's been off for 16 months returning and hitting a brand new finishing move and the commentary team falling over themselves to call it something straight away that I can't pinpoint why it bugged me so much 😂

Enjoyed Priest Vs Sheamus though. Really impressed with Priest since the Rumble in fairness, they're building him well.

 

Edit: having just YouTubed it seems she's been using it for ages with that name but as a transition. That potentially makes it even worse that it was used to pin their champion.

Edited August 22, 2021 by Shy Dad

[Snitsky's back acne]

3 hours ago, Egg Shen said:

How have they let the commentary become so bad? i know its all about control and pushing the narrative but they must see the negativity and universal dislike of it. It isnt like there wasnt a winning formula already in place either. 

I think I was spoilt growing up listening to Jesse and Vince, Bobby and Gorilla and, later, JR and The King. It really makes the modern commentary sound worse.

I'd be interested to hear what people who have no comparison think of it. Can you imagine growing up listening to Michael Cole and (insert name here) and thinking thats what pro wrestling commentators are like? 

[Briefcase]

Summerslam the first show I've seen in a very long time. 

Would have been better as a 3 hour show. Mysterio and Drew/Jinder should have been on the pre show.

I never really look into the results or wins as usually at Summerslam/Mania its a show set up more for the live crowd than those watching at home (title changes/surprises) which they've probably achieved in fairness. I think with WWE its about moments, Becky/Brock gave us two moments and all will be forgotten about in a few weeks.

Goldberg/Lashley seemed a bit of a mess from Goldberg standing at the entrance for about 2 minutes to the match itself, but still better than the choreographed matches we see week after week and felt a bit more real in that respect (as real as your going to get in WWE these days anyways).

Cena/Reigns wasn't too bad, Brock back at the end is great and he looks great.

Overall a solid show at best, I don't watch AEW so won't compare and I'll probably tune back in at the Rumble.