wrestling / TV Reports
Csonka’s WWE Summerslam 2019 Review
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“It’s good shit, pal.” – Vince McMahon
OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Cruiserweight Title Match: Champion Drew Gulak defeated Oney Lorcan @ 8:45 via pin [***]
– Buddy Murphy defeated Apollo Crews @ 4:50 via DQ [**½]
– Women’s Tag Team Title Match: Champions Nikki Cross & Alexa Bliss defeated The IIconics @ 6:10 via pin [**]
– WWE Raw Women’s Title Submission Match: Champion Becky Lynch defeated Natalya @ 12:25 via submission [***¼]
– Goldberg defeated Dolph Ziggler @ 1:45 via pin [NR]
– US Title Match: Champion AJ Styles defeated Ricochet @ 13:00 via pin [***¼]
– WWE Smackdown Women’s Title Match: Champion Bayley defeated Ember Moon @ 10:05 via pin [**¾]
– Kevin Owens defeated Shane McMahon @ 9:20 via pin [**½]
– Charlotte defeated Trish Stratus @ 16:35 via submission [***½]
– WWE Title Match: Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton went to a double countout @ 17:30 [**½]
– The Fiend defeated Finn Balor @ 3:35 via pin [NR]
– WWE Universal Title Match: Seth Rollins defeated Champion Brock Lesnar @ 13:20 via pin [****]
– Follow all of my reviews at this link.
Cruiserweight Champion Drew Gulak vs. Oney Lorcan: Gulak hits John Wooooooooo at the bell and they work into a stand off. They lock up and Lorcan grounds the action, but Gulak starts working the arm and takes control. They work to the ropes and Lorcan lays in chops. He follows with clotheslines and Gulak fires back and slams him off the ropes and covers for 2. Gulak grounds things, and goes to his submission game. Lorcan fights out but Gulak keeps it grounded. Lorcan fights up to his feet, powers out and follows with chops and then uppercuts. The running blockbuster follows for 2. They spill to the floor and Lorcan lays in more chops, back in and Gulak locks on the gu-lock, but Lorcan makes the ropes. They trade strikes and work into a double down. Back to the feet and they trade, Gulak takes control and starts pummeling Lorcan and the gu-lock is countered into a cradle for 2. Lorcan lights up Gulak with slaps, a running uppercut and Gulak grabs the ring skirt, but then punches Lorcan in the throat and the Argentine cutter finishes it Champion Drew Gulak defeated Oney Lorcan @ 8:45 via pin [***] This was a good and hard-hitting opener that unfortunately lacked drama didn’t get the time to work into that next level they are capable of.
Buddy Murphy vs. Apollo Crews: Nice to see Buddy alive and getting to wrestle. Buddy immediately hits the flying knee strike for 2. He follows with strikes, lays the boots to Apollo and covers for 2. He follows with knee strikes and kicks, again covering for 2. Apollo battles back, and they work into a double down as they both tried the high cross. They trade strikes, Apollo follows with the running kick and clothesline. The enziguri follows, catches Buddy and the Samoan drop and standing moonsault follows for 2. Buddy counters back, hits Cheeky nandos and the Liger bomb gets 2. They trade strikes, Buddy hits a flurry of kicks and the flying knee strike but Apollo counters Murphy’s law into a cradle for 2. To the floor and Apollo is tossed into the steps and follows with a tope con hello. Back in and Rowan arrives to attack Buddy for the DQ. Buddy Murphy defeated Apollo Crews @ 4:50 via DQ [**½] This was going well, but ended up only solid due to the finish cutting it short.
– Rowan powerbombs him to the post and stands tall while Bryan watches on from backstage; the story continues. Snitches get stitches and wind up in ditches Buddy. Please let this lead to Bryan vs. Buddy.
– Song time with Elias, until Edge arrives. SPEAR by Edge!
Champions Nikki Cross & Alexa Bliss vs. The IIconics: Kay and Bliss begin, they lock up and Kay slams her down by the hair. Bliss fires back, hits a dropkick and tags in Nikki. They double-team Royce, Nikki hits the bulldog and the high cross follows for 2. Royce counters back, and tags in Kay who takes control with grounded strikes. The IIconics follow with double teams, and Royce grounds the action. Kay tags back in and follows with strikes and then she grounds the action. The suplex then follows for 2. Royce tags back in and Kay screams a lot. Royce follows with strikes, but Nikki hits the jawbreaker and they work into a double down. Wholesale changes to Bliss and Kay, Bliss hits the double knee moonsault and Kay cuts her off. Royce tags back in and Bliss fights them off, Nikki in and takes out Kay but Royce maintains control and covers for 2. She throws a fit, Bliss hits the big right and twisted Bliss follows for the win. Champions Nikki Cross & Alexa Bliss defeated The IIconics @ 6:10 via pin [**] This was ok, with the Alexa & Peyton exchanges being fun, but they didn’t have much time to really build up any drama or to get you invested.
WWE Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. Natalya: Becky slaps Natalya, Natalya slaps her back and Becky unloads with strikes and kicks. Natalya fires back, hits the rolling clothesline but Becky cuts her off with uppercuts. The XPLODER follows and then a suplex into an arm bar attempt, Becky transitions into a triangle but Natalya fights and tries to slam her way out. Natalya looks for a powerbomb but Becky rolls into a leg lace, and they spill to the floor as Becky works a guillotine until Natalya slams her to the barricade. Natalya follows with knee strikes, and then attacks the knee. Back in and Natalya maintains control, following with strikes and then suplexes Becky into the ropes to hurt the legs. Becky fires back, but Natalya cuts her off by attacking the leg. The hanging sharpshooter in the corner follows, which is creative. Becky fights and pulls herself to the floor. She slams Natalya into the commentary table and Natalya starts favoring her arm as Becky slams her to the steps. Back in and Becky heads up top, Natalya follows her up and follows with the superplex. Becky fights off the sharpshooter, and she locks one on. Natalya fights, crawls, and rolls Becky into the buckles. Natalya then attacks the knee and she locks on a disarmher. Becky counters and makes the ropes but Natalya keeps the hold, but Becky counters out until Natalya locks on the sharpshooter. She traps her center ring, but Becky desperately crawls to the ropes and Natalya drags her back in and Becky counters into disarmher and cranks back until Natalya taps. Champion Becky Lynch defeated Natalya @ 12:25 via submission [***¼] This was good and honestly better than I expected. I thought that they worked the stipulation well, the crowd was into it and the right person won.
– Trish cuts a promo on tonight’s match with Charlotte.
– Dolph cuts a promo about his greatness, legends come and go but he always steals the show. He then runs down Goldberg.
Goldberg vs. Dolph Ziggler: Dolph hits the superkick and covers for 2. Another follows for 2. Spear by Goldberg. The jackhammer connects and Dolph is done. Goldberg defeated Dolph Ziggler @ 1:45 via pin [NR] This was all it needed to be; thanks for coming Dolph.
– Dolph talks shit post match, so Goldberg returns and spears him again. Dolph talks more shit now, calls Goldberg a laughing stock and claims to be the best. Goldberg returns and takes his soul with a third spear.
– New Day meets backstage and hypes up Kofi. They claim Drake is here, and he is, but it’s Drake Maverick. He was tricked as he thought Truth was here. Kofi says he’s been waiting for a decade for this match.
US Champion AJ Styles vs. Ricochet: The Good Brothers are at ringside, Ricochet has a new superhero looking outfit. They brawl at the bell and Styles is knocked to the floor. Ricochet hen follows with a RANA, walking off the shoulders of the Good Brothers. Back in and Styles chop blocks the knee and lays the boots to him. He continues to attack the knee, following with leg kicks but Ricochet fires back but Styles takes out the knee. It’s all Styles now, grounding Ricochet and keeping good focus. He now works the knee in the ropes, but Ricochet fires back with an enziguri. He follows with strikes, a head scissors and follows with a springboard clothesline for 2. The neck breaker connects, and the running shooting star press follows for 2. He’s slow to follow up, favoring the knee, but heads up top. Styles cuts him off but Ricochet gets the sunset flip for 2. He takes out the knee, and then dumps Ricochet. The dropkick follows and back in, Ricochet counters the clash but Styles hits ushigoroshi for 2. Ricochet fights of the clash, follows with strikes and Styles then runs into boots and Ricochet hits an enziguri for 2. he follows with strikes, but Styles rolls into the calf crusher. Ricochet counters out and locks on the anaconda vice. Styles escapes, but Ricochet hits the northern lights and transitions into the twister for 2. He takes out the Good Brothers, heads up top, but Styles crotches him. He follows him up and Ricochet knocks him to the mat and takes out Anderson. The Phoenix splash is countered into the clash and Styles retains, a classic AJ finish (vs. Ki and vs. Ibushi notably). Champion AJ Styles defeated Ricochet @ 13:00 via pin [***¼] This was a good match with a strong layout but similar to last month, felt like they left a lot on the table and didn’t hit that next level you know that they are capable of.
– The Good Brothers lay out Ricochet with the magic killer post match.
– The Street Profits meet with Ric Flair backstage.
WWE Smackdown Women’s Champion Bayley vs. Ember Moon: They lock up and Bayley looks to ground the action, but Moon counters out and they trade strikes. Bayley follows with a clothesline, they trade and Moon hits the corner clothesline and high cross for 2. She follows with knee strikes, a dropkick and the cover gets 2. Moon follows with a bow and arrow, but Bayley fights back and hits the stunner in the ropes She avoids the high cross, hits a knee strike and covers for 2. The suplex follows for 2. Bayley follows with kicks and strikes, Moon fires back and follows with kicks, rights and Bayley stuns her off the ropes. Bayley takes her up top and into the tree of WHOA and follows with the elbow drop for 2. The Billy goat’s cure follows, but Moon counters out and follows with the superkick, Bayley spills to the floor, and Moon follows with a dive attempt, gets cut off and Bayley heads up top. Moon cuts her off, follows her up and the RANA follows, the modified code breaker connects for 2. Bayley fights off the German, Moon counters Bayley to belly and hits a powerbomb for 2. Moon heads up top, Bayley cuts her off and hits an avalanche Bayley to belly to retain. Champion Bayley defeated Ember Moon @ 10:05 via pin [**¾] This was a pretty good and competitive match, but was really lacking in crowd heat throughout as there was no strong drama in a title change.
Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens: If Kevin loses, he must quit WWE; Shane then announces Elias as the special guest enforcer. Shane powders and hides behind Elias. Kevin chases him Elias trips up Kevin and almost gets counted out. Shane attacks, lays in strikes and but Kevin fires back and takes Shane down. The cannonball follows and Kevin then dumps him. Elias cuts off the dive, allowing Shane to attack and toss Kevin into the barricade for another countout tease. Shane now follows with strikes in the corner, but Kevin fires back and gets cut off with knee strikes. The Russian leg sweep follows for 1. Shane then counters the pop up powerbomb into a DDT for 2. Kevin fights off the sharpshooter, hits the pop up powerbomb but Elias takes the ref so no count. Shane cradles him for 2. Elias slides in a chair, Kevin teases using it, but refuses. Shane slaps him and then accidentally takes out Elias. Superkick by Kevin, and the swanton follows. Back up and the frog splash connects for2 as Elias pulls out the ref. Kevin hits the apron cannonball, taking out Elias and the ref. Kevin grabs the chair, but Elias cuts him off and then gets taken out with chair shots as Kevin lays into him. The ref is back, sees Kevin with the chair so he drops it and then low blows Shane. The stunner finishes it. Kevin Owens defeated Shane McMahon @ 9:20 via pin [**½] This wasn’t much of an actual match, there was a lot of bullshit, but it didn’t go too long, the crowd was into it and the right man won, so it had that going for it.
– Commentary comments on Roman Reigns’ recent near death experiences.
Charlotte vs. Trish Stratus: They lock up and work to the ropes. Charlotte shoves her around, Trish fires back with kicks and follows with a RANA. Trish then counters the figure four, but Charlotte fires back with kicks but Trish dumps her to the floor. A bit rough early on as she follows with the Thesz press to the floor and lays in strikes. Charlotte cuts her off by slamming her to the steps. Charlotte then slams her to the barricade, rolls her back in and lays the boots to her. Charlotte grounds the action, and then chokes her out in the ropes. Trish counters a suplex into a cover, but Charlotte quickly cuts her off. The knee drop follows, and Charlotte then talks shit and slaps her around. Trish fires back, lays the boots to Charlotte but Charlotte fire sup and kicks her in the face, sending Trish to the floor. back in and Charlotte follows with knee strikes, slams her to the mat and looks for a moonsault… but misses. Trish now hits the slingshot flatliner, and slaps Charlotte. Charlotte takes out her knee but Trish fires back with chops. The head scissor s in the corner is cut off, but Trish pops up and they trade. Trish now looks for a RANA, hits it and covers for 2. Charlotte counters the chick kick and the big boot follows for 2. Charlotte attacks the knee, grounding Trish and Trish cradles her for 2. Trish now locks on the figure four, Charlotte fights and Trish transitions into the figure eight, which is not fair to Flair. Charlotte fights and finally makes the ropes. Charlotte takes out the knee, but misses the spear and stratusfaction connects for 2. They fire up and trade strikes, chops and light each other up. Trish cradles her for 2 and the chick kick follows that for 2. Trish sets, but Charlotte catches hew with the big boot and locks on the figure four, transitions to the figure eight and Trish taps. Charlotte defeated Trish Stratus @ 16:35 via submission [***½] Trish understandably looked a bit off early on, but quickly got into things and really excelled with her bumping and selling throughout the match. I though that this was very good and a lot of fun overall, with Charlotte leading a good match and Trish getting to go out on a good note in Toronto.
– Trish get the “thank you Trish” chants post match.
WWE Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton: They shove each other and Kofi attacks as they work to he ropes. Orton throws a pancake at him and follows with uppercuts. Kofi fires back with a clothesline, head butts and then chops in the corner. He follows with the flying judo chop and then body strikes. Orton thumbs him in the eye and then dumps Kofi to the floor. He slams him off of the commentary table, and then suplexes him onto it. Back in and Orton follows with stomps and then sends him back to the floor. Kofi fights back and cuts off Orton, but misses a high cross of the apron, crashing and burning. Orton hits another suplex onto a commentary table. He lays in uppercuts, and back in, covers for 2. Orton takes him up top, follows with strikes and then looks for the superplex, but Kofi fights back and follows with strikes, knocks Orton down and hits a tornado DDT for 2. Kofi fires away with chops, a dropkick and the clothesline. The boom drop connects and trouble in paradise is countered into the 2k back breaker for 2. Orton mocks Kofi, looks for the draping DDT but Kofi dumps him and heads up top and flies off with the trust fall to take out Orton. Back in and Kofi heads up top and the high cross follows for 2. Orton cuts him off and hits the draping DDT. He sets for the end, but Kofi counters the RKO into a backslide for 2. Kofi then heads up top and flies into an RKO and Orton laughs. Kofi rolls to the floor, and Orton looks to attack in front of Kofi’s kids and the bell rings. Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton went to a double countout @ 17:30 [**½] Well that was certainly a long and lethargic way to book the same story as Joe vs. AJ from last year right down to the babyface snapping because the heel threatens to go after the family. It was solid, but lacked heat and was slow and overly deliberate. I just kept waiting for them to move on from setting the table and get to serving main course… which we’ll now wait for. This was another lackluster WWEE title match.
– We get bullshit chants as Kofi beats down Orton and lays in kendo shots. Trouble in paradise follows as Kofi stands tall.
The Fiend vs. Finn Balor: Wyatt has a new version of his theme music now, and the entrance is cool. The Fiend attacks, chokes him out and then slams him down. He follows with strikes, Balor looks to fire back but the Fiend follows with a northern lariat. He “snaps the neck” of Balor like in a movie and follows with a uranage. Sister Abigail is countered by sling blades. Balor fires up with kicks, the standing double stomp and John Woooooo. He heads up top and the Fiend cuts off the double stomp with the mandible claw for the pin. The Fiend defeated Finn Balor @ 3:35 via pin [NR] With Balor reportedly taking time off, this is basically what it needed to be, which was more spectacle than actual match. Balor got some shine, the Fiend got over well and picked up a dominant win. Sometimes the simplest booking is the best so this was a good segment.
Universal Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins: Heyman is at ringside. Seth is all taped up still, selling the rib injury. Brock attacks right away targeting the ribs. He rushes him to the corner and continues to attack. Seth fires back, counters the German and hits blackout for 2. He follows with the flying knee to the floor, back in and the superkick is countered but Seth counters the German and hits superkicks and then runs into an F5. Brock rag dolls him by the rib tape and stomps away at him. Rolling Germans follow. To the floor and Brock follows with a German on the floor. Back in and Brock hits another German. Back to the floor and the F5 is countered and Seth posts Brock. Back in and Seth flies in with the knee strike and then gets caught with another German. Brock continues to toss him around attacks the ribs and follows with a bear hug. Seth makes the ropes but Brock then chokes him out. He slams Seth to the buckles, but then misses a chare and posts himself. Seth knocks him to the floor, and follows with two suicide dives but Brock catches the third and posts him. Brock dismantles an announce table, but Seth hits the superkick and lands on the table. Seth up top and the high fly flow connects. Back in and Seth heads back up top and hits another high fly flow. Blackout connects and Seth covers for 2. Seth sets and blackout is countered but Seth hits the superkick and blackout for the win. Seth Rollins defeated Champion Brock Lesnar @ 13:20 via pin [****] Other than needed a Summerslam main event, I really have no clue why they did the title change just to retell the Mania story again. But with that being said, this was a great sprint that delivered and hopefully Seth’s second run is better than the first one.
The 411 on Wrestling Podcast returns to the 411 Podcasting Network for episode 42. On the show, the good brother, Jeremy Lambert, joins 411’s Larry Csonka and the guys will review ROH Summer Supercard, NXT Takeover: Toronto II, and the A Block finals from the NJPW G1 29. The show is approximately 73-minutes long.
* Intro
* ROH Summer Supercard Review (ROH business talk): 1:45
* NXT Takeover: Toronto II Review: 29:10
* NJPW G1 29 (Night Seventeen/A Block Finals) Review: 57:20
You can subscribe and listen to the 411 on Wrestling Podcast via the above player on Transistor, or on the following platforms:
* iTunes
* Spotify
* Stitcher
* Google Play
– End scene.
-Thanks for reading.
