Bobby is back with his Good, Bad, and Ugly look at WWE SummerSlam 2018!

The Good

Let me start with the best, a match I greatly looked forward to, Smackdown Women’s Championship Carmella (c) vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte.  All 3 competitors looked incredible.  The constant head games by Champion Carmella and the intense, tight in ring action between frenemies Becky Lynch and Charlotte were entertaining.  This was a solid showing by great athletes, and one of the better Woman’s Matches I have seen in a long time many high moments, and fluid action.  The ending was also unpredictable and incredible, making Charlotte Flair 7 time Heavyweight Champion.  I couldn’t be any happier with Becky Lynch’s heel turn, and absolutely love the crowd’s reaction to it.

Andrade “Cien” Almas & Zelina Vega vs. Rusev & Lana on the Kickoff Show was quite the match. Rusev is so over, he really could do almost anything at this point and the crowd will get hot.  Cien and Rusev are very natural with each other, tonight was no different.  What ruins a great match is putting hype ads up during the action, and if that isn’t bad enough they do it hyping the show we all are about to watch.  It really is garbage and completely wrong.  Surprisingly Lana and Vega looked very comfortable tonight, had great energy and held their own.  Even though the ending was cheap, this was at the least entertaining.  Given it was a Pre-show however I would have given our Hero’s the nod on Rusev Day, but this crew went from Ugly too Good to this Fan.

The Cruiserweight Championship Match Cedric Alexander (c) vs. Drew Gulak was placed poorly on the Kickoff Show.  It also had some actual old school technical wrestling which by the reaction of the half-filled kickoff crowd, enjoyed.  Gulak and Alexander are unbelievably talented, and are a treat for us.  Having said that, again WWE shamelessly plugging Summerslam to those who already know, imo is a completely tasteless and disrespectful move all around to the fantastic talent in the ring.  Pay attention kiddos, this was a solid match as expected on an unfortunate spot of the card, but these professional’s owned it as always and gave us more than ours money’s worth.  Congrats to Alexander on retaining in a fantastic match.

The Raw Tag Team Championship saw The B-Team (c) defend against Revival, I labeled Bad in the pre-show edition because I am salty about the placement of the match on the usually easily forgotten Kickoff Show.   These 4 guys are tremendously talented, and being put on an ill-fated spot of the night, will in no way inhibit their unbelievable talent.   Each showing great technical prowess, working a body part and staying with it, is no doubt a product of the years of expertise these teams have.  What does WWE do, to reward this?  Advertise during the match. “B” Team is far from their name sake, with so many false hopes, and psychology next to none this was yet another Good point of the night, even with all odds stacked against them deservingly retaining their titles and showing that “luck” is on their side.  Bravo on a making the “B”est of it.

Before I get into the Intercontinental Championship Match with Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Seth Rollins which I predicted would be Good, let me just reiterate how over Ambrose is, Rollins too for that matter.  The crowd was hot for this one the minute Ambrose’s music hit.  This had a retro feel in the very best way.  The gear, the buildup, and for a change, a match worthy of the IC Title’s history.  Although the play back and forth with Ambrose and McIntyre served its value, nothing out of the ordinary seemed ahead.  There were a lot of rest spots, and awkwardness in the pace at times, with little bits of pop sprinkled in.  Then, like a bomb, spot after spot, they turned it on, and it showed.  The crowd woke up and took off!  They showed us why they are where they are.  Bloody, beaten, laying it all out there, Rollins victorious.

Now for the Money in the Bank Match Braun Strowman (h) vs. Kevin Owens for the Briefcase of Dreams, although The Monster is one of my personal favorites, and Owens is a natural, I had very low expectations of this match and referred to it as a waste in my pre-show article.  WWE must have heard because this was a squash match.  I enjoyed it due to the fact that it was what it should be.  Therefore this “bad” match is labeled Good.  Old School straight up beat down, and now we wait and see if the Monster in the Bank will make a 2^nd appearance tonight!

Finn Balor vs. Baron Corbin I am going into this with a bad taste, as I hate Corbin and feel that there are so many more deserving people of his spot on tonight’s show.  Finn Balor is a top guy and he is facing this clown.  Finn Balor’s entrance was incredible, I loved it, and it was a great surprise to come out as the Demon.  The hologram above the ring was mesmerizing.

The save sake for me is that it was quick, and one sided.  I am glad this ridiculous feud is over, and now Finn Balor can go onto something better.  A decisive win for the Demon.

Our United States Championship match saw Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Jeff Hardy, and it could have gone either way.  The talent is outstanding, the following for both competitors is vast.  I knew coming in that if WWE let’s these 2 do what they know how we would have a classic on our hands.  The strikes were great, the taunting was done well, and the crowd was into it.  The risk when Jeff Hardy is in a match is expected but let me say as someone who knows how much this hurts.  That was high risk bump on the apron was painful to watch.  This was a good match and we were saved from the usual cheesy WWE take on it.  A clean finish in a respectable U.S. Title Match.  Congrats to both men for a job well done, and Nakamura for a hell of a defense.  I even didn’t mind seeing Orton just leave after his seemingly unnecessary appearance after the match.  Anything he would have added would have been cheap.

Prior to the Match, it was great to see Nattie. We all loved the Anvil, and it was a great show of respect.  The Raw Women’s Championship match featured Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Ronda Rousey. I absolutely love Alexa Bliss, she started off perfect throwing shade to the Bella’s and having little to no respect for her inferior fans.  Rousey as always was fired up, and looked incredible.  She is a warrior and has an appropriate look as such.  She is so intense, and I knew this was going to be a winner.  The crowd was hot for this one and rightfully so.   Bliss played her role as the heel Champion to perfection and Rousey our gallant hero.  I loved the constant heat and taunting from Rousey.  This was a squash match, and I would have never in my life, guessed that Bliss would ever have lost so quick without a fight.  It was fun to watch, Congrats to the Baddest Women Champion on the Planet Ronda Rousey.

Your main event, for the Universal Championship, Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns started off on fire.   I couldn’t be happier with Strowman’s presence.  Followed up with insane offense on Roman’s part. The match was action packed and the crowd was hot.  They kept Strowman out with a vicious F5, making him a non-factor.  It was done right: quick and Roman finally got the belt back.

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