The final Summerslam of our first Retro – RawViews series and I had a blast. First off thanks for everyone who read, commented, and shared these articles. I will be dropping one more article in regards to this series with my rankings and other commentary of the Summerslams that I’ve reviewed. We will be kicking off the WWF Raw Retro RawViews series next month. Also look out for a poll in mid-September to vote on the next Retro RawViews series. So the Summerslam we are talking about today is headlined by none other than Brock Lesnar as he’s going against Randy Orton in a dream match of sorts. We have also the debut of the Universal title and Dean Ambrose in the WWE title match. A bit of nostalgia to open the show and close this series as we open Summerslam with a tag team match:
Enzo/Cass vs. JeriKO: Do you find it weird that Enzo and Cass have been a tag team for as long as they have been in WWE/NXT however don’t have a team name? Also something else that is crazy is one year later Cass would be taking on Big Show and Enzo would be suspended above in a shark cage. Enzo comes out doing what Enzo does best and that’s cut promos that hometown crowds love. They reference Sinatra, Biggie Smalls, and Jay Z in this promo that is New York catering. On the flip side Jericho and Kevin Owens make there entrance and the crowd loves them some Kevin Owens. This crowd is hot we already have an “Enzo Amore” song chant and a “Stupid Idiot” chant. We get the cool Cass throwing Enzo over the top rope onto people on the floor spot and come to think of it they are still doing that today not as partners. Finally Owens takes control after hitting a big frog splash onto Enzo. Crowd is chanting “Let’s Go Enzo” for the hot tag to Cass and he finally gets it but catches boots from Jericho in the corner. OUCH! Jericho takes a big boot from Cass after coming off the top rope. Cass and Enzo setup for their finisher however Owens stops Enzo from it and then Owens puts the beat down on Cass on the floor. Enzo goes for a pin attempt after a DDT onto Jericho but Owens breaks it up. We get a Popup Power bomb into Code breaker finisher and JeriKO for the win. After the math Owens and Jericho tell each other “I LOVE YOU” HA!
Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte (WWF Women’s Title Match): Dana Brooke is banned from ringside and we get formal introductions for this match. These two would go on later in the year and main event a network special as they should. These two when it’s all said and done could go down as the two greatest women’s wrestlers of all time. OUCH! We get an awkward landing from Sasha on the top rope landing on her neck after Charlotte drops her. Sasha although being made of the same stuff Gumby is, she’s completely ok and ready to continue working. We get an awesome superplex reversal into a hurricanrana from Sasha to Charlotte. They go back and forth and the chemistry and trust these two have it amazing. Sasha gets hung up in the ropes and Charlotte begins the beat down and attempts a Razors Edge but Sasha reverses into another hurricanrana. The work these two put in is fantastic and my guess is Sasha matches are consistently great regardless of the opponent because of her ability to lay out a match and then sell at a high level. We have multiple finishers and reversals in this match and finally Sasha locks in the Bank Statement for the third time however Charlotte rolls her over for the pin fall victory.
The Miz vs. Apollo Crews (Intercontinental Title Match): The Miz is out in a phantom of the opera style mask and it’s great on so many levels. I really feel that when a face who lacks a bit of charisma gets there first feud they put them with Miz hoping to get some Miz dust. Apollo Crews comes out to a mild reaction at best and it’s crazy because he has all the physical tools needed. If I’m WWE I consider putting him in a tag team with Tozawa right now. I can’t remember someone who locks so thick and jacked being able to perform the moves Crews does. That standing moonsault is a thing of beauty. Miz attempts to leave and Crews stops him and after a head shot to the turnbuckle post Miz hits a skull crushing finale for the win.
John Cena vs. A.J. Styles: You know I thought Cena and Rollins was a lock for my top five, completely forgetting about this match. We get a moment in the ring before they lock up where they allow the crowd to get ramped up with let’s go Cena, AJ Styles chants. The crowd is electric for this match and again I hate the placement of it even though there is no title on the line. I like how both men played to the crowd throughout this match as neither was a true heel it was more about who is the best in the world. Styles gets the upper hand and keeps it for quite some time and we see a nice suplex on the ring apron spot from Styles to Cena. Cena goes for an AA and Styles lands on his feet and catches Cena with a Pele kick. I absolutely love the Pele kick from Styles. We get a relatively early Styles Clash and pin attempt but Cena kicks out. Almost immediately after we get our first AA and Styles kicks out at two. We then go into some awesome high spot moves with a spinning powerbomb from Styles and a Stunner from Cena. This really does feel like a once in a lifetime match, I would almost equate it to HHH vs. Sting from Wrestlemania. Styles goes for the springboard 450 but misses and man everything Styles does looks effortless. This Cena though the motivated one is always such a joy to watch unlike what we got on Raw this past week. We get a cool reversal sequence where Styles goes for a spring board move, Cena catches him with an STF, Styles reverses into a cross face and ultimately Cena ends up rolling up styles for a near fall. We get some aerial moves form Cena with a tornado DDT and top rope leg drop both for a two count. After a reversed Super AA attempt styles hits a pair of springboard moves with a hurricanrana and Phenomenal Forearm. WHOA! Styles ends up getting caught in a Super AA and Cena hits it but only for a two count and I think that’s the first time I can remember someone kicking out of that. Cena selling his shock well goes back to work but Styles reverses an AA attempt into a Styles Clash and then hits a Phenomenal Forearm for the win. That’s about as good a non-title match as you will ever see.
New Day vs. Gallows and Anderson (WWE Tag Team Title Match): We got a backstage segment earlier with Gallows, Anderson, Styles and almost Balor before he walked away. I wonder what was going through Styles, Anderson and Gallows heads as they walked out on stage at the Barclays arena for Summerslam. Kofi hit a pretty cool double stomp on Anderson as we get under way. The New Day at this point as owned the tag division for a year at this point and really still do to this day and that is a testament to those three guys. It’s hard to get over and even harder to stay over and they are going on two and a half years as the hottest tag act in the company. Anderson and Gallows setup to crotch John Stewart who is out during this match but Big E came out and stop them for the DQ? Then Big E drank testicle juice. New Day and John Stewart celebrated although Anderson and Gallows won by DQ…ok.
Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler (WWE Title Match): I believe that everyone going into this network special believed this had a real chance to steal the show. Shane and Bryan try to add a big fight feel to this by being in the ring during introductions of the two men. Neither men really received a big reaction as really the crowd didn’t know who to root for. Ambrose at this time for a quasi-heel and Ziggler was a sympathetic baby face which made for a weird dynamic as everyone wanted to cheer for Ambrose. Ambrose and Ziggler went back and forth for most of the beginning and into the middle of this match and we get a Fameasser for a two count then a top rope standing elbow drop from Ambrose also for a two count. We go out to the floor for some action and Ziggler catches him with a superkick. He has to pick Ambrose up and roll him into the ring and this leads to another near fall. We get some cool back and forth with finishers as Ziggler reverses the Dirty Deeds and hits a Zig Zag for two. I do like how Ziggler has many different ways he can finish you, unfortunately none of them work consistently enough to believe them. We get some back and forth and a hard slap from Dolph however Ambrose hits a Dirty Deeds after a top rope face buster attempt for the win. This match was not bad but it was a letdown and you can kind of feel the Ambrose crowd reaction dwindling here.
Becky Lynch, Naomi, and Carmella vs. Natalya, Alexa Bliss and Nikki Bella: Naomi gets the upper hand early in this match and she tags in Carmella who gets the beat down from Nattie and Alexa. They isolate her for a bit and man how far Alexa Bliss has and Carmella have come in one years’ time? Becky Lynch ends up getting the hot tag from Carmella and the crowd was flat for this as well. I’m really shocked at the crowd right now. Lynch ends up pinning Nattie however Nikki breaks it up for two. Naomi gets tagged back in and shows off her athleticism which she may be the most athletically gifted woman in the division. We get chaos in the ring as all the women end up in the ring and Nikki hits the big forearm and the rack attack 2.0 for the win.
Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins (Universal Title Match): The crowd did not like the Univesral title however they did like Finn Balors demon entrance. We get the crowd early chanting “hey, we want a new belt”. Rollins played the dastardly heel quite well in this match even using his tape and using it on Balor. Rollins in my opinion has the best top rope splash/frog splash right now in the business man he hits a big one here. We get dueling chants for the two men and then we get a Coup de Grace attempt but it’s countered into a triangle choke. In my opinion Seth Rollins is a natural heel and he works so much better as one. Man it’s a shame what happened in this match as I would have loved to see the two of them have a lengthy feud over this title. We come back in after the injury spot and Rollins is telling Balor this is my ring. They go back and forth and Rollins delivers a small package driver for another two count. Finn Balor although small which a lot of people talk about feels big and his presence is big. The crowd still seems to care more about booing the Universal title than the actual match in the ring. We get a Pedigree and Balor kicks out and then Balor avoids a Phoenix Splash. Rollins attempts another Pedigree but Balor hits the running drop kick and then the Coup de Grace for the win.
Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton: I understand the drawing power of Brock Lesnar I really do and I understand that this I a dream match of sorts however I don’t think this should have main evented. I don’t often criticize this because honestly I think WWE gets it right most times however I think the Universal title debut with those two guys should have main evented and this should have been the co main event. These two come face to face early in this match and you have to wonder what’s going through their minds right now. Early we get a suplex attempt and an RKO attempt early both blocked by the other man. We get a series of suplexes and end up outside where Orton and the tables continue their feud. We get an excellent show of strength from Lesnar who tosses Orton from inside the barricade and then onto the announcers table. They bring the match back into the ring briefly until they go back outside and Orton hits an RKO onto the announcers table. Orton is getting some good offense on Lesnar including his hanging DDT. Orton then hits an RKO but only for a two count. We get a Punt Kick tease but Lesnar catching him in mid attempt for a F5. Lesnar now takes off his gloves and starts beating the hell out of Orton. There is a pool of blood and this looks like a crime scene honestly. The referee stops the match and they announce Lensar the winner by TKO and after the match Lesnar has an altercation with Shane McMahon. I guess that’s a way for Orton to lose without taking a pin but damn that looked BRUTAL.
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That concludes our Summerslam Retro Rawview Series and this network special was great however I don’t think it was as good as the prior years to be honest. I think there were some low points on this card that other during the network era haven’t really had. The scene to end the show is quite shocking and I wonder if Orton agreeing to do this helped him become a Royal Rumble winning about six months later. This is one of the first Summerslams where I feel the crowd really took away from half the show and there is no question that the match of the night is John Cena and AJ Styles. It’s an absolute classic and for a non-title match felt like a big deal. As I said earlier lookout for the next Retro RawViews series and until next time be awesome.