Does Randy Orton regain the WWE title, or will WWE look to solidify Drew McIntyre’s reign with a victory?
We have come a long way from WWE editing Roman Reigns out of highlight packages.
“The Big Dog” just appeared in a WWE/Hyundai commercial, and he looks healthy, fit, and ready for action. There is no question that WWE wants to improve its SmackDown television rating on Fox, and a return from Reigns would play a big role in doing that.
***
Opening match: Asuka vs. Bayley
The opening match is Bayley defending the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Asuka.
Bayley has held the title since this past October, which is approaching an eternity in modern-day wrestling.
This is a seminal night for Asuka, who has title matches against both Bayley and Sasha Banks, and she was given over 11 minutes in the opener with Bayley.The match was solid, and Bayley used an inside cradle to pick up the victory. This is only the first half of a two-part story. Constant interference from Banks played a big role in the match, and Bayley rolled up Asuka after Banks was involved. This will also be a key part of the Banks-Asuka match, likely with Bayley’s interference backfiring and costing Banks the belt.
I really like seeing Asuka in the underdog role here, especially with such a big spotlight on her work.
***
WWE takes a major step in its virtual fan era tonight with SummerSlam in the ThunderDome.
This will be unlike any SummerSlam we have seen, and it would have been unbelievable a year ago to think that the 2020 version of the event would be held in an empty Amway Center. But here we are, and WWE has taken a creative approach to the pandemic with its creation of the ThunderDome.
The matches tonight will shape the next three months of WWE programming. Does Randy Orton regain the WWE title, or will WWE look to solidify Drew McIntyre’s reign with a victory? Asuka has title matches against Bayley and Sasha Banks, and there are high expectations for both. Dominik Mysterio makes his debut against Seth Rollins, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville meet in an old-fashioned loser leaves match, and we have what should be the payoff between Braun Strowman and The Fiend for the Universal Championship.
Apollo Crews defeated MVP on the preshow, retaining the United States Championship. Renee Young also waved goodbye to her WWE run as the preshow went off the air.
As for the rest of the night, will we see surprises? Does Keith Lee make his main roster arrival? Is tonight the right time for a Roman Reigns return? Or will the focus remain on the stars currently on the card? It feels like a swerve is coming with Strowman and Bray Wyatt. Considering The Fiend changes all of his opponents (except, of course, Bill Goldberg), perhaps there is more to the story than we see.
SummerSlam starts now, and I’ll be live blogging with updates and results all night. Enjoy the show!
Does Randy Orton regain the WWE title, or will WWE look to solidify Drew McIntyre’s reign with a victory?
We have come a long way from WWE editing Roman Reigns out of highlight packages.
“The Big Dog” just appeared in a WWE/Hyundai commercial, and he looks healthy, fit, and ready for action. There is no question that WWE wants to improve its SmackDown television rating on Fox, and a return from Reigns would play a big role in doing that.
***
Opening match: Asuka vs. Bayley
The opening match is Bayley defending the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Asuka.
Bayley has held the title since this past October, which is approaching an eternity in modern-day wrestling. This is a seminal night for Asuka, who has title matches against both Bayley and Sasha Banks, and she was given over 11 minutes in the opener with Bayley.
The match was solid, and Bayley used an inside cradle to pick up the victory. This is only the first half of a two-part story. Constant interference from Banks played a big role in the match, and Bayley rolled up Asuka after Banks was involved. This will also be a key part of the Banks-Asuka match, likely with Bayley’s interference backfiring and costing Banks the belt.
I really like seeing Asuka in the underdog role here, especially with such a big spotlight on her work.
***
WWE takes a major step in its virtual fan era tonight with SummerSlam in the ThunderDome.
This will be unlike any SummerSlam we have seen, and it would have been unbelievable a year ago to think that the 2020 version of the event would be held in an empty Amway Center. But here we are, and WWE has taken a creative approach to the pandemic with its creation of the ThunderDome.
The matches tonight will shape the next three months of WWE programming. Does Randy Orton regain the WWE title, or will WWE look to solidify Drew McIntyre’s reign with a victory? Asuka has title matches against Bayley and Sasha Banks, and there are high expectations for both. Dominik Mysterio makes his debut against Seth Rollins, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville meet in an old-fashioned loser leaves match, and we have what should be the payoff between Braun Strowman and The Fiend for the Universal Championship.
Apollo Crews defeated MVP on the preshow, retaining the United States Championship. Renee Young also waved goodbye to her WWE run as the preshow went off the air.
As for the rest of the night, will we see surprises? Does Keith Lee make his main roster arrival? Is tonight the right time for a Roman Reigns return? Or will the focus remain on the stars currently on the card? It feels like a swerve is coming with Strowman and Bray Wyatt. Considering The Fiend changes all of his opponents (except, of course, Bill Goldberg), perhaps there is more to the story than we see.
SummerSlam starts now, and I’ll be live blogging with updates and results all night. Enjoy the show!
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