WWE SUMMER SLAM 2024 REVIEW

Over the weekend, the biggest party of the Summer, WWE Summer Slam emanated from Cleveland, Ohio in front of nearly 58,000 in attendance. WWE took over the city of Cleveland with service events, WWE Superstar appearances, billboards welcoming home the likes of The Miz, Johnny Gargano, Logan Paul, and so much more. The marquee PLE itself featured solid in ring action, live music, and some very significant story telling moments. 

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Rhea Ripley VS. Liv Morgan for The Women's Heavyweight Championship

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Arguably the most anticipated match of the night, Rhea Ripley VS. Liv Morgan (C) for The Women's Heavyweight Championship was the opening bout. Inside the ring it was the story of Rhea powering through a return from an injury, going so far as to even pop her shoulder back into place. Outside of the ring it became the story of Dom's betrayal as he ultimately cost Rhea the match by providing multiple distractions and introducing a chair into the ring, allowing Liv to hit the ObLIVion on the chair to retain.

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After the match, Dom passionately kissed Morgan in a moment of betrayal and heartbreak for Ripley. The execution of this moment was perfect by all three performers. The look of hurt and tears in Ripley's eyes were Emmy worthy, not to mention the sinister smile on Dom's face. This was Soap Opera 101 to perfection and fans can't wait to see what's next for Rhea going forward.

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Bron Breakker VS. Sami Zane (C) for The Intercontinental Championship

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It was inevitable. After a stellar performance by Zane to defeat Breakker at the previous PLE, Bron Breakker defeated Sami to become the NEW Intercontinental Champion. The match was good, but much more one-sided than the previous bout between the two. The Steiner Brothers are in attendance to witness the moment, and Sami is left sitting outside the ring in deep contemplation. I've always said Sami is the secret MVP of WWE and the more recent long term storytelling. Very excited to see what's next for him. 

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LA Knight VS. Logan Paul (C) for The United States Championship

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The United States Champion, Logan Paul heads to the ring accompanied by Cleveland's own MGK to the surprise of the capacity crowd. Before making his way to the ring, Knight destroys the windows of Logan Paul's PRIME truck, adding insult to injury. Another solid bout between these two, but MGK provided the insurance policy in the form of Paul's patented brass knucks. Paul was able to strike Knight with the brass knuckles, but somehow Knight was able to kick out. The challenger showed that he had enough heart to keep fighting for the WWE gold that has eluded him for so long. Knight was able to hit the BFT on Paul to become your NEW United States Champion. Bigtime win and bigger moment for Knight, who more than deserves this. YEAH!

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Nia Jax VS Bayley (C) for the WWE Women's Championship

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The Queen of The Ring, Nia Jax made her presence felt in a really good match with Bayley for The WWE Women's Championship. Nia has been used absolutely perfectly since her return and deserved this opportunity. Great performance by both ladies, but move of the night goes to Bayley with a stalling power bomb on Jax, after dead-lifting her off of the top turnbuckle. This was absolutely incredible. However, Tiffany Stratton attempted a cash in with her new look Money In The Bank briefcase, providing a distraction, allowing Jax to take advantage with TWO Powerbombs of her own and TWO Annihilators. Your winner and NEW WWE Women's Champion, Nia Jax. 

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Drew McIntyre VS CM Punk w/ Special Guest Referee Seth Rollins

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The long term storytelling continued in this highly anticipated grudge match between CM Punk and Drew McIntyre with special guest referee Seth Rollins. The real question in this one was, who does Rollins hate MORE. Rollins provided some leniency in the match but actually called it down the middle, despite being provoked. The turning points in this match revolved around Punk's fan gifted Bracelet, a sentimental item that Drew used to cause a distraction and throw Punk off his game. Punk was able to withstand a Claymore kick, but became distracted yet again when he caught Seth wearing the bracelet, which he assumed was on purpose. Seth seemingly took the bracelet off the mat like any official would, but some could speculate there were alterior motives. Regardless, this distraction allowed Drew to hit a low blow and another Claymore on Punk for the win. It was so great to see this match finally happen, but this thing is far from over. 

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Gunther VS. Damien Priest (C) for The World Heavyweight Championship

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King of The Ring, Gunther finally became The World Heavyweight Champion after a hard hitting bout with Damien Priest. Priest held his own with the former longest reigning Intercontinental Champion, but a distraction and interference from Finn Balor made all the difference. Finn betrayed Priest by putting his opponent's foot on the ropes. In a moment of anger Priest darted at Finn, but Gunther took advantage of the situation overpowering Priest and winning by submission. This was a very deserved moment for Gunther and he will be a fitting heel Champion for some time to come. However, the sinister smile of Finn Balor hasn't left my mind since the ending of this match. It will be very interesting to see what's left of The Judgement Day, if anything at all.

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Solo Sikos VS Cody Rhodes for The WWE Championship in a Bloodline Rules Match

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On the previous installment of SmackDown this match was made a Bloodline Rules match, which basically means anything goes. As predicted, Cody was outnumbered with interference from Tango Loa and Tama Tanga, who were diffused by the team of Randy Orton and Kevin Owens. However, the seemingly unstoppable Jacob Fatu absolutely decimated Cody, with a splash through the announce table from the top turnbuckle. Fatu was seemingly really hurt or injured his leg, rendering him unable to stand. At this point in time I STILL don't know if he is really injured or not, as he was helped to the back after the match. Fatu is an incredible talent and we wish him all the best.  

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Cody had some fight left in him, but was in a bad way as Solo Sikoa was looking to put the WWE Champion away. As both men were down on the mat, a familiar song played and The "OTC" or Original Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns made his return. Reigns slowly and methodically made his way to the ring before laying out his cousin Solo with a devastating spear. Rhodes picked up the pieces with a Cross Rhodes for the win. After the match, Roman exchanged a look with Rhodes before slowly walking back up the ramp. I absolutely love this return for Roman, because there was no promo, no social media posts, just Roman showing up to handle business and leave. Roman was all action, not words in this case, making him look incredibly strong, and validating his positioning as the TRUE tribal chief. If done correctly, this Bloodline Civil War could be something of legend. 

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I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Cody's epic entrance to the ring where he walked with his dog Pharoah to the guerrilla position for the last time. We even were treated to a surprise appearance from double A, Arn Anderson, who had some words of encouragement and support for the champion. 

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Summer Slam was all around a really solid show. The focus was on major character arc moments more than the in ring this time around, but this allows us to connect and invest in these larger than life Superstars even more. We often say Summer Slam feels like the season finale for WWE, but we are fortunate to be picking right back up with Monday Night Raw tomorrow, and be rest assured that the WWE Universe will be there waiting to see what's next. 

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