wwe summerslam tour 2015

SummerSlam 2015

• View history

Ten matches were contested at the event, with no pre-show. The main event was Brock Lesnar facing The Undertaker in which Undertaker won by submission when Lesnar passed out of Hell's Gate.

• 1 Background
• 2 Match Preview
• 3.1 Three Team Elimination match
• 4 Other on-screen talent
• 6 DVD release
• 7 External links

Background [ ]

SummerSlam featured professional wrestling matches that involve different wrestlers from pre-existing feuds, plots, and storylines that played out on WWE's primary television programs. Wrestlers portrayed villains or heroes as they follow a series of events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.

At WrestleMania XXX in 2014, Brock Lesnar defeated The Undertaker to break his undefeated WrestleMania streak. Four months later, Lesnar defeated John Cena at SummerSlam to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship , but lost it the following year at WrestleMania 31 in his match against Roman Reigns when Seth Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and won the title.Lesnar received his rematch against Rollins at Battleground , and was closing in on the win when The Undertaker returned and attacked Lesnar, causing the match to end in an inconclusive finish due to Rollins and the referee disappearing from the ring. This was initially reported as a "no contest", but the following night on the July 20 episode of Raw , Lilian Garcia announced Lesnar as the winner by disqualification. Also on the same night, it was announced that Undertaker would face Lesnar in the main event of SummerSlam. This will be Undertaker's first SummerSlam match since 2008 , and his first pay-per-view match outside of WrestleMania since Bragging Rights in 2010.

At Elimination Chamber , Ryback captured the vacant Intercontinental Championship in an Elimination Chamber match . On the June 1 episode of Raw , before Ryback was scheduled to defend the title against The Miz , Big Show attacked Miz and confronted Ryback. At Money in the Bank , Big Show defeated Ryback by disqualification after The Miz attacked Big Show; therefore, Ryback still would retained the title. On the June 15 episode of Raw , Miz defeated Big Show by countout as Big Show was distracted confronting Ryback. On June 22, it was announced on WWE.com; Ryback would defend the title against Big Show and Miz in a Triple Threat match at the event. However, it was announced on WWE.com on July 15, Ryback has sustained an injury two days prior during his match on Raw and would not be able to defend the Intercontinental Championship at Battleground and the match was officially postponed. On August 6, it was announced on WWE.com that the match had been rescheduled for SummerSlam.

On the May 21 episode of SmackDown , Bray Wyatt was defeated by Dean Ambrose , after Roman Reigns interfered in the match on Ambrose's behalf by executing a Superman punch on Wyatt. On the June 1 episode of Raw , Reigns defeated Wyatt to retain his spot in the Money in the Bank ladder match. At Money in the Bank, during the Money in the Bank ladder match, Wyatt knocked Reigns off the ladder right before Reigns could grab the briefcase. At Battleground, Bray Wyatt defeated Roman Reigns after Luke Harper interfered and attacked Reigns, reuniting The Wyatt Family in the process. On the July 20 episode of Raw , Dean Ambrose managed Reigns as he defeated Harper by disqualification. On the August 6 edition of SmackDown , Reigns challenged Wyatt to a tag team match at SummerSlam, with Reigns and Ambrose facing Wyatt and Harper, which Wyatt accepted.

On the June 18 episode of SmackDown , Alicia Fox allied with The Bella Twins ( Brie Bella and Divas Champion Nikki Bella ) by helping Brie win her match against Paige , later naming their stable "Team Bella". On the July 13 episode of Raw , Charlotte , Becky Lynch and NXT Women's Champion Sasha Banks made their WWE debuts; Charlotte and Lynch allied with Paige, later naming their team "PCB", while Banks allied with Naomi and Tamina , naming their stable "Team B.A.D.". At Battleground, Charlotte defeated Brie and Banks in a Triple Threat match. On August 10, it was announced that Team Bella, PCB and Team B.A.D would compete against each other in a three-team elimination match at SummerSlam.

At Battleground, The Prime Time Players defeated The New Day to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship . On the July 20 episode of Raw , Los Matadores defeated The Prime Time Players, after a distraction by The New Day. On the July 27 episode of Raw , The Lucha Dragons defeated Los Matadores. On the July 30 episode of SmackDown , The Lucha Dragons and Los Matadores defeated The New Day and The Ascension . On the August 3 episode of Raw , The New Day and The Ascension defeated The Lucha Dragons and Los Matadores in a rematch. On the August 6 episode of SmackDown , The Prime Time Players teamed up with Mark Henry to defeat The New Day. On the August 10th episode of Raw , The New Day defeated Los Matadores. It was then announced on WWE.com that The Prime Time Players would defend the titles against The New Day, The Lucha Dragons and Los Matadores in a Fatal 4-Way tag team match at SummerSlam.

On the May 25 episode of Raw , Stardust confronted special guest Stephen Amell (actor of Arrow fame), while losing to Neville . On the July 13 episode of Raw , Stardust defeated Neville. On the August 10 episode of Raw , where Amell was again a special guest, Neville defeated King Barrett , but was then attacked by Stardust. Stardust then assaulted Amell, who entered the ring and attacked Stardust in return. Amell and Neville then persuaded Triple H backstage to make a tag team match at SummerSlam, with Amell and Neville facing Stardust and Barrett.

On the July 20 episode of Raw , United States Champion John Cena challenged WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins to a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match, but Rollins refused. On the July 27 episode of Raw , Cena again challenged Rollins, but The Authority instead forced him to defend the United States Championship against Rollins. Cena defeated Rollins, but sustained a broken nose during the match. On the August 3 episode of Raw , Rollins challenged Cena to a "Winner Takes All" match at SummerSlam, for both the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and the United States Championship. On the August 11 episode of Tough Enough , Cena accepted Rollins' challenge.

On the June 18 episode of SmackDown , Kevin Owens defeated Cesaro . On the June 29 episode of Raw , Cesaro defeated United States Champion John Cena, but won by disqualification after being attacked by Owens, therefore not winning the title. On the July 20 episode of Raw , Cesaro teamed up with Cena and Randy Orton to defeat Owens, Rusev and Sheamus . On the July 23 episode of SmackDown , Owens attacked Cesaro after his match against Seth Rollins. On the July 27 episode of Raw , Cesaro attacked Owens after his match against Orton. On the July 30 episode of SmackDown , after Owens attacked Cesaro during his rematch against Rollins, Cesaro and Dean Ambrose defeated Owens and Rollins in a tag team match. On the August 13 episode of SmackDown , it was announced that Cesaro would face Owens at SummerSlam.

On the August 17th episode of Raw , it was announced that Jon Stewart would be the Special Guest Host for the event.

Match Preview [ ]

Results [ ].

• Sheamus defeated Randy Orton (11:15)
• The New Day ( Big E & Kofi Kingston ) (w/ Xavier Woods ) defeated Prime Time Players ( Darren Young & Titus O'Neil ) (c) Lucha Dragons ( Kalisto & Sin Cara ) and Los Matadores ( Diego & Fernando ) (w/ El Torito ) in a Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Match to win the WWE Tag Team Championship (11:20)
• Dolph Ziggler (w/ Lana ) vs. Rusev (w/ Summer Rae ) ended in a double countout (12:05)
• Stephen Amell & Neville defeated Stardust & Wade Barrett (7:40)
• Ryback  (c) defeated The Big Show and The Miz  in a Triple Threat Match to retain the WWE Intercontinental Championship (5:40)
• Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose defeated Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper (11:10)
• Seth Rollins [WWE] (c) defeated John Cena [United States] (c) in a United States Championship vs. WWE World Heavyweight Championship match to win the WWE United States Championship (19:25)
• PCB ( Paige , Charlotte and Becky Lynch ) defeated Team Bella ( The Bella Twins and Alicia Fox ) and Team B.A.D. ( Tamina , Sasha Banks and Naomi ) in a Three-Team Elimination Match (15:20)
• Kevin Owens defeated Cesaro (14:20)
• The Undertaker defeated Brock Lesnar (w/ Paul Heyman ) by submission (17:20)

Three Team Elimination match [ ]

Other on-screen talent [ ], see also [ ].

• List of WWE pay-per-view events
• World Wrestling Entertainment/Event history
• Event gallery

DVD release [ ]

External links [ ]

• 1 List of members of the WWE Hall of Fame
• 2 The Final Testament
• 3 Samantha Irvin

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WWE SummerSlam 2015

Premium live event.

• Report (German!)
• Card with guide
• Additional events

Everything you need to know about WWE SummerSlam 2015

By shaun mcilroy @shaunmcilroy on aug 22, 2015 at 2:15pm.

WWE returns to the New York area this Sunday for its annual SummerSlam spectacular, the second biggest show of the year after WrestleMania. With 10 matches scheduled for the four-hour show, you can be sure that there will be plenty of action and surprises to keep you entertained.

There will also be a match where a WWE superstar takes on a DC Comics superhero, and beloved talk show host/comedian Jon Stewart will be hosting. So even if you don't normally dig wrestling, there just might be something for you to like here.

If you've been out of the wrestling loop and wondering what the buzz is about, or if you're still deciding whether it's worth the $9.99 to tune in on the WWE Network, then read on to find out what awaits.

The Undertaker

Brock lesnar.

If you ask any random person to name one WWE performer, there's a pretty good chance they'll mention The Undertaker. Having debuted in November 1990, he's stayed relevant with audiences by introducing new aspects to his character, achieving a longevity rarely found in the business. Beyond that he has also held one of the greatest accomplishments in wrestling history — The Streak. For 21 years, The Undertaker remained undefeated in all of his WrestleMania matches. This included fights against legends such as Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels and Jake "The Snake" Roberts. To put it plainly, The Streak was kind of a big deal.

That is, until Brock Lesnar entered the picture.

In the 13 years since "The Beast Incarnate" debuted, Undertaker has never defeated Lesnar in singles competition. When Undertaker challenged him to a match at  WrestleMania 30 , many assumed the end result would favor The Streak, no matter the accomplishments of his opponent that night. You could call it a case of hubris, but at the end of the night, Brock Lesnar ended the Undertaker's unparalleled winning streak.

The tally was suddenly 21-1, and Lesnar's advocate, Paul Heyman, hasn't let anyone forget it in the 16 months since the two competitors last faced off officially in a WWE ring. At last month's Battleground event, Lesnar faced off against Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and had the match in hand, until suddenly the lights in the arena went out. When they came back on, Brock stared in disbelief as "The Dead Man" stood across the ring from him. The Undertaker kicked Lesnar in the crotch, The Beast Incarnate fell to his knees, and the crowd went wild. The low blow telegraphed a message: This is, make no mistake about it, personal, a vendetta, a score that needs to be settled.

It picked up again the next day on Monday Night Raw when Lesnar confronted Undertaker, resulting in a pull-apart brawl between the two. The sense that these two couldn't be in the same building without going after each other added to the "big fight" feel the WWE is going for at SummerSlam this year. Both men are incensed, out to win in a decisive fashion, albeit for different reasons. The Undertaker wants redemption for his loss at WrestleMania 30 and retribution for the goading attitude of his opponent's boastful advocate. Lesnar wants revenge for The Undertaker costing him his championship opportunity at Battleground. And probably for that low blow.

Whatever happens on Sunday night, you can be certain we haven't seen the end of this conflict. There's an outside chance that Kane — or even Sting — could interfere in this match to stretch the story out until next year's WrestleMania 32 . With only three days to go until we find out for sure, my money is on Taker picking up the win using any means necessary.

WWE World Heavyweight Champion

Seth rollins, wwe united states champion.

Seth Rollins is a jerk, a weasel and the most undeserving WWE World Heavyweight Champion in recent memory. He cheats often and relies on lackeys to get the job done. After betraying his old group, The Shield, in 2013 and winning the Money in the Bank ladder match later that year, Rollins has been generally insufferable, always reminding viewers and opponents alike that he's the future of WWE.

When he's on your television set, you want to see him get his comeuppance up so bad. For me, that's part of what makes him such a compelling character to watch. He thrives on your hate and somehow makes everything more exciting for it.

On the other side we have John Cena, a man who is a hero for millions of wrestling fans across the world. His mantra, "Never Give Up," is emphasized by his willingness to take on all challengers, no matter the odds. As United States champion, he's done exactly that, facing anyone who's interested in an ongoing series of open challenges every week on  Raw .

He's emerged victorious every time. The champ is indeed, here.

Raising the stakes from previous encounters between these two, the SummerSlam match is a "title for title" bout, meaning that the winner will become both WWE United States champion  and the World Heavyweight champion. In terms of what to expect here, John Cena doesn't have terrible matches very often, and he always performs better when faced with a stellar opponent. Seth Rollins matches that bill and then some, so you can expect a mixture of power moves, aerial assaults and a whole lot of action from these two on Sunday night.

I don't expect this match to have a definitive finish; expect shenanigans by way of outside interference from Kane or this year's Money in the Bank contract holder, Sheamus. On the outside chance that he gets involved physically, Rollins' former chat show rival Jon Stewart might tip the balance. As  the host of SummerSlam , he certainly has the right to make changes to the card, adding stipulations where previously none existed.

The question is: Will Seth Rollins manage to retain his title in an underhanded manner, or will John Cena power his way to his 16th world championship?

The Divas Revolution demands to be televised

It's fair to say that WWE's Divas division has long been neglected by the writers and management of the company. There have been annual Diva Search contests, which seemed to focus more on visual appearance than than strong, powerful women who could perform at the top level of the industry. While many of those contest winners have gone on to learn the craft and hold the top prize of the division, the WWE Divas Championship, the writing staff often gives them the bare minimum of exposure on national television.

When the WWE opened a Performance Center at Full Sail University in July of 2013, the company promised that the next generation of stars would have every chance to make it to the top with state-of-the-art facilities and training. The result of this promise was the newest and most exciting brand of WWE, NXT — A smaller, no-frills promotion with an accompanying weekly show giving rising stars a place to develop their skills. NXT saw the debut of some of the most incredible women ever to step into the ring, such as Paige, Sasha Banks, Charlotte, Bayley and Becky Lynch.

This new generation of women wrestlers does not fit in with the WWE Divas of the kind we'd seen in the past few years. They are strong, talented and openly challenging the perception of what it takes to be a wrestler in the modern era. At a time when Divas were often given fives minutes on Raw , NXT women were given 15-20 minutes to tell a story between the ropes. And fans loved it, with all of the above performers getting the kind of engaged reactions that women's matches have rarely seen in the WWE.

Since then, much of NXT's talent has appeared on Monday Night Raw , opposite the current Divas Champion Nikki Bella and the rest of the Divas division. The Divas revolution, as WWE has pitched it, has arrived.

This Sunday will see Paige, Charlotte and Becky Lynch take on the team of Nikki, Brie and Alicia Fox, and the team of Sasha Banks, Naomi and Tamina. It's a three-team elimination match, meaning that the first pinfall or submission will only knock out one of the teams, leaving the other two to duke it out. It's time for the women of NXT and the Divas of WWE to stand up and show everyone why they're worth your attention.

"Green Arrow" Stephen Amell & Neville

Stardust & king barrett.

This match is weird. It's strange to explain, but please bear with me while I explain how chief antagonist, Stardust — the self-professed Prince of Dark Matter — feels about one of his opponents, Stephen Amell, who is … not a professional wrestler.

When I say Stephen Amell, I'm really talking about the character he portrays on television: DC Comics superhero Green Arrow. In the bizarre world of WWE, Stardust is unable to grasp that Amell is an actor simply playing a role on television. Instead, Stardust believes that Amell is actually the cover identity of Green Arrow. Stardust is so detached from the "reality" of WWE — never mind the real world — that he won't even acknowledge his own identity under the face paint as wrestler Cody Rhodes.

This saga of superheroes and super villains began on Memorial Day when Stardust hissed in Amell's face as the actor — as a spectator and fan — sat at ringside during Monday Night Raw . It didn't help matters when, weeks later, Amell made a "WWE style promo" at this year's San Diego Comic-Con as Green Arrow, an act that furthered The Prince of Dark Matter's paranoid, delusional suspicions. You can watch that great promo for yourself in the video above.

Throughout the rest of July and August, the allure of this rivalry spread further into Hollywood, with Star Trek legend William Shatner and former Superman actor Brandon Routh getting involved with the feud on social media. Between them, Stardust and Amell had started an intergalactic war, one that escalated in another confrontation on Aug. 10's episode of Monday Night Raw . After being pushed by Stardust, Amell leveled his upcoming SummerSlam opponent with a spear and some stiff right hands. Watch it for yourself below.

While WWE Chief Operating Officer Triple H and his wife Stephanie McMahon were quick to admonish Amell for his reckless behavior — fans aren't allowed into the ring, you know — the actor suggested that he and the Cosmic One could face off officially at SummerSlam . Happy with the concession, Triple H announced that it would be Stephen Amell and the high-flying Neville — a recent NXT graduate — taking on Stardust and another insufferable bad guy, King Barrett, at the Brooklyn Center this weekend.

Amell has also teased that he'll be appearing in his Arrow costume at the event, and goodness only knows what Stardust will come dressed as. But since DC Comics seemingly has given this whole enterprise its full endorsement, you can probably expect a lot of spectacle. The whole situation surrounding these two is utterly bizarre. There's really no disputing that. And yet it's kind of perfect for WWE and fans of Arrow alike.

Best of the Rest

JON STEWART RETURNS TO HOST WWE SUMMERSLAM

Last week, WWE announced that the former host of The Daily Show , Jon Stewart, would return to television for his first post- Daily Show gig after ending his 16-year run on the show on Aug. 6. While many were surprised about Stewart's involvement with the world of professional wrestling, it's not the first time the star has made an impact on the landscape of WWE.

In early March this year, Stewart arrived on Monday Night Raw to confront Seth Rollins, the closest thing he has to a physical rival in the entertainment business, after Rollins had showed up to taunt him on The Daily Show . Stewart went back and forth with Rollins about how he doesn't have any respect.

In response, Rollins and his goons, acting as the poster boys for The Authority — the group of scripted villains who run the WWE — threatened Stewart. A distraction gave Stewart the chance to deliver a low blow to Rollins and escape the ring. Surely that embarrassment is something that the current WWE World Heavyweight Champion won't have forgotten. And, given Stewart's position as the host of SummerSlam this year, it's a safe assumption that they'll cross paths once more.

As always with Jon Stewart, he's a wonderful orator, and he's bound to be entertaining. If you're a fan of his work, there'll be something of value for you in these segments.

WWE INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION RYBACK VS. THE MIZ VS. THE BIG SHOW

Ryback burst onto the scene in April 2012, quickly building up a reputation as one of the strongest performers in the company. With the ability to hoist three men onto his shoulders at one time, it wasn’t long before "The Big Guy" had his first crack at the WWE Championship. He failed in these initial efforts to capture the gold, but he finally landed singles success this year when he defeated five other competitors in an Elimination Chamber match to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship.

Now Ryback is the target of two former Intercontinental champions in the form of The Miz and The Big Show. The Miz fills the role of the cocky heel, cowardly until an opportunity to take advantage arises. And The Big Show? Well he’s just a bully, and if Ryback hates one thing, it's bullies. This isn’t going to be a technical masterpiece, but it’s sure going to be an entertaining distraction where you can take a breather before the next tentpole match on the card.

DOLPH ZIGGLER vs. RUSEV

Dolph Ziggler has been in a weird position for the past year. A perennial fan-favorite who's always on the cusp of making it to the main event, Ziggler is instead often used as as enhancement talent to help other performers get to the next level. He might get opportunities to star in WWE-produced films and hold secondary titles, but he's rarely, if ever, had the chance to be the man at the top of the mountain.

That hasn't stopped him from being extremely passionate about his craft, and every time he steps into the ring, you can be guaranteed he'll make the beatdown he takes look very convincing. It's somewhat sad, then, that even as the good guy in this scenario, he's been given story beats that you'd expect from a villain.

I'm talking about his relationship with Lana, the former valet and girlfriend of the Bulgarian Brute, Rusev. After WrestleMania in which Rusev suffered his first loss in the WWE, Rusev subjected Lana to an abnormal amount of abusive behavior, even by WWE standards. After being humiliated one time too many, Lana decided to walk out on Rusev, eventually ending her on-screen relationship with him.

She was on the rebound, and Ziggler had no problem just cruising along and taking advantage of that, yet he’s meant to be someone the crowd roots for. It's hard to feel sorry for Rusev given the circumstances surrounding the breakup, but I'm not particularly compelled to cheer for Ziggler either. Or I wasn't — not until Rusev started stalking Lana, taking creep shots from around corners and staring uncomfortably at her from a distance. At that point it stopped being drama and became just plain creepy.

Since the split, Rusev has gone on to find a new companion in Summer Rae, and together they've done their darnedest to make Lana and Ziggler's lives more difficult. Sneak attacks? Of course there were sneak attacks, including one that led to Ziggler being "out with an injury" (read: filming a movie) for several weeks. Throwing dead fish at Lana? Check! Naming a gift puppy "Dog Ziggler"? Well, that's just cute to be honest, but the point remains: This feud is based on a jealous Rusev torturing his ex-partner, and Lana has had absolutely no agency of her own to stand against him without having Dolph at her side.

From that point of view, it's hard to get invested in this story, but you can be sure that even though the details are sketchy, the performers will do their best to entertain. I haven't seen Ziggler and Rusev have a bad physical exchange yet, and maybe Lana will bust out a move or two herself to put an end to this unfortunate, sorry affair.

WWE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS THE PRIME TIME PLAYERS VS. THE NEW DAY VS. THE LUCHA DRAGONS VS. LOS MATADORS

One of the three tag team matches on the card will see the Prime Time Players defend their WWE Tag Team Championship against three other teams in what’s expected to be a brief, yet exciting showcase of both the high-flying and power styles of all teams involved. If you’re unfamiliar with any of these teams then I recommend you keep an eye on The New Day, specifically Xavier Woods.

Without taking away from the other participants, The New Day are in a league of their own as performers. Covering all bases from high-flying (Kofi Kingston), raw power moves (Big E) and ring psychology (Xavier Woods), the team started out as a group of friends who used the power of positivity to try and move up in the company. The way they were presented was super-lame, and the crowd turned on them, even though they were supposed to be the good guys.

Since then, The New Day has embraced the hate, becoming a trio that doesn’t recognize that they are actually the villains. You’ll likely see them reclaim the championship this Sunday in order to push their feud with the Prime Time Players further along. It’s a little disappointing to note that the other two teams involved in this match are simply there to fill space, as they’ve had little to no character development or prime television time before the last pay-per-view.

When teams are added to just be there, the end result really just writes itself.

CESARO VS. KEVIN OWENS

Do you remember when 15-time World Champion John Cena was defeated by a wrestler making his debut on the main roster? If you were watching Elimination Chamber this past May, it's unlikely you forgot this incredible moment. Kevin Owens, in his first match for WWE proper, beat the top guy in the company without resorting to cheating.

That never happens, and that’s a positive sign of things to come for the 31 year-old former NXT Champion.

Owens' latest feud with Cesaro started when the "Swiss Superman" was facing Cena in a United States Championship open-challenge in June. Rather than let Cesaro win the championship, Owens interfered to cause a disqualification. His bravado in attempting to ensure that he's the one who takes Cena's United States Championship aside, Owens should be wary of Cesaro, a man who is arguably the strongest pound-for-pound athlete in the organisation today.

Owens isn’t a stranger to taking shortcuts, so you can expect this to get nasty real quick, even if it means he ends up on the losing end of this contest by way of disqualification. He’s just that type of guy.

ROMAN REIGNS & DEAN AMBROSE VS. THE WYATT FAMILY

Okay, there’s only two of the three established members of the Wyatt Family here, as Erick Rowan is sadly out with an injury until the fall. But don’t let that take away from the fact that two very creepy dudes are out to cause trouble for former Shield members Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns. Bray Wyatt feels that Roman Reigns took his rightful place in the annual Money in the Bank ladder match. As for Dean Ambrose, it’s hard to place where exactly he fits into this feud, other than being there for a fight alongside his best friend.

It’s going to be a brawl, make no mistake, but the whole feud feels like it’s missing something. Maybe it will lead somewhere unexpected, such as Ambrose turning on his long-time buddy. I wouldn't be shocked to see some kind of miscommunication resulting in the heels winning, which could lead to a mini-feud between best friends Dean and Roman in the weeks ahead. It’s just wrestling 101, folks.

RANDY ORTON VS. SHEAMUS

What can you really say about a match between two men who have faced off more times in their respective careers than seems possible? Well there’s the fact that Sheamus holds the Money in the Bank contract this year which entitles him to a WWE World Heavyweight Championship opportunity any time, any place. Or there’s the fact that Randy Orton, who played the heel in the previous encounters, is now a fan-favorite once again.

This is sure to be another physical, demanding match between the two, but as Sheamus has been on the losing end of matches recently, it’s possible that he’ll finally pick up a win on Sunday. For one thing, a rule-abiding Randy Orton isn’t an effective Randy Orton, and Sheamus will exploit that as best he can. He also has the Money in the Bank briefcase which doubles as a weapon. Coincidentally, that briefcase means that this match may not be the only time we see the Irishman at SummerSlam . Without a doubt he’ll be watching the main event between Cena and Rollins, waiting to pounce with his briefcase once again if the opportunity arises.

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WWE SummerSlam 2015 Live Blog and Results

The winners of undertaker vs. lesnar, cena vs. rollins, owens vs. cesaro, and more.

The 5 Best Moments from SummerSlam 2015

Jon Stewart as Host

Randy Orton vs. Sheamus

Prime Time Players vs. Los Matadores VS. Lucha Dragons vs. The New Day

Rusev vs. Dolph Ziggler

Stephen Amell and Neville vs. Stardust and King Barrett

Ryback vs. Big Show vs. The Miz

Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper vs. Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns

John Cena vs. Seth Rollins

Team Bella vs. Team B.A.D. vs. Team P.C.B.

Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro

Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker

More on SummerSlam:

In This Article

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WWE SummerSlam 2015

WWE SummerSlam 2015 was a Pay Per View event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment, which took place on August 23, 2015 , at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

It's the 28° edition of the SummerSlam event series, after WWE SummerSlam 2014 .

The event had an attendance of 15,702 fans. The main event of the show was The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar .

Below you can find the full match card and results of WWE SummerSlam 2015, and more information about the event.

• Promotion World Wrestling Entertainment
• Event Type Pay Per View
• Event Date August 23, 2015
• Event Series SummerSlam

• Location Brooklyn, New York
• Arena Barclays Center
• Attendance 15,702
• Network On-Demand; WWE Network
• Running Time 3 hours
• Theme Song "Big Summer" by CFO$; "Cool for the Summer" by Demi Lovato
• Main Event The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar

WWE SummerSlam 2015 Results

• Sheamus defeats Randy Orton

WWE Tag Team Championship Fatal 4-Way Match

• Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev ends in a No Contest via Double Count-out
• Neville & Stephen Amell defeat Stardust & King Barrett

WWE Intercontinental Championship Triple Threat Match

• Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns defeat The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper)

WWE World Heavyweight Championship & WWE United States Championship "Winner takes all"

Triple threat elimination match.

• Kevin Owens defeats Cesaro
• The Undertaker defeats Brock Lesnar

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Posted by Voices of Wrestling Staff | Aug 23, 2015 | Featured , PPVs , Reviews , WWE

Meet our review team:

• Garrett Kidney: Voices of Wrestling’s TNA Impact reviewer. This man legitimately has seen more TNA wrestling than Dixie Carter. You can follow him on Twitter @GarrettKidney and read his work at  https://www.voicesofwrestling.com/author/garrettkidney/
• Rob McCarron: One-half of Voices of Wrestling’s Shake Them Ropes podcast, Rob has filled many roles at Voices of Wrestling including his (at this point) bi-monthly WWE Main Event reviews. Follow him on Twitter at @ShakeThemRopes and read his archives at https://www.voicesofwrestling.com/author/robertjmccarron/
• Ru Gunn: Ru is Voices of Wrestling’s WWE SmackDown reviewer and one of VOW’s rising stars. You’ll be seeing her in many more roles across the site in the next few months. You can follow her on Twitter at @DoctorDala and read her archives at https://www.voicesofwrestling.com/author/rhiannon-gunn/
• Michelle Burkey: Michelle is Voices of Wrestling co-owner Rich Kraetsch’s fiancée. Rich forced her to watch the event with him and the only way she’d stay awake is doing this review. You can follow her on Twitter at @burkeym, read her archives at https://www.voicesofwrestling.com/author/mburkey27/ and also visit her beauty/recipe blog: melouthingswedo.com
• Rich Kraetsch: Rich is Rich (not financially), you know him. Voices of Wrestling co-owner, editor and all that other good stuff. Follow him on Twitter @VoicesWrestling and read his archives at https://www.voicesofwrestling.com/author/richkraetsch/

Sheamus def. Randy Orton

Garrett Kidney: It’s not so much the problem that Sheamus and Orton have wrestled each other so often, it’s that their matches never really change. Generally they’re the same good but not quite great match with a fun finishing stretch. The intensity, the pacing always feel largely familiar. Sheamus isn’t quite the dynamic wrestler Christian for example, who had a string of matches with Orton that were more interesting in spite of them being frequently paired, was. Their matches just never seem to build upon one another and the feud still feels like a placeholder feud for each guy, particularly Sheamus, who in spite of his relatively recent turn, feels aimless. Still though, this was a good opener.   ***1/4

Rob McCarron: You death spot truthers are funny, man. From the moment Orton and Sheamus began, the (very small wrestling hardcore dork centric) Twittersphere was buzzing about how boring this match would be, how the crowd was shitting on them, and so on. Well guess what, Orton brought them back into it because as much as the perception is that these two have wrestled each other too much and they aren’t the hot things in WWE right now, Orton is a first ballot Hall of Famer and one of the best workers the company has seen in the last decade. Those booing from the start were with every step to the finish, a finish that saw Sheamus gain credibility with a strong win. Suck it, nerds. ****

Ru Gunn: Jerry Lawler celebrated simple pleasures by joyfully exclaiming “Look, like out of nowhere: it’s Randy Orton!”, making him the most excited person in the world about this match opening the show. Sheamus’ ineffectual primary school tabletop promo to start this match off really set the tone. When Orton threw a dropkick early in this match I had a sudden ray of hope that this might be dynamic energy Orton, the Orton we see versus Seth Rollins, but things slowed down to rest holds and slogging around almost immediately. There wasn’t really any sensical pace to this match, it just felt like a sequence of perfectly reasonable moves happening independent of each other until the finish, with the inexplicable head injury adding a bit of interest midway. As much as commentary was willing Orton to kick Sheamus’ hairstyle off (Is this possible? Potential stipulation match for the future?), Sheamus got the win. **1/4

Michelle Burkey: The only thing interesting about this match was the fact that I found out Sheamus recently got his nose pierced.  Like I needed another reason to hate his fashion choices… No one cares about this match, it’s boring and a shitty way to begin SummerSlam.  Also Sheamus needs to learn how to wrestle without busting other people’s shit open.  Be professional dude. *

Rich Kraetsch: Did I miss something here? Reading our other reviewers I’m lead to believe I got a different feed for SummerSlam. This match did absolutely nothing for me. Of all the matches to start the show, Orton/Sheamus may have been last on the list. Other than a few power moves from Sheamus nothing Orton did was particularly engaging or entertaining to me. Maybe I’m just jaded seeing these two against one another but this just felt so unimportant and bland. *1/2

https://twitter.com/SenorLARIATO/status/635593682960433152

WWE Tag Team Championship The New Day def. The Prime Time Players (c) Los Matadores & The Lucha Dragons

Garrett Kidney: Aside from the utterly silly stretch of logic that was the New Day’s attempt to pin each other this was pretty much exactly what I was looking for out of this match. Loads of action and most importantly it all flowed together really nicely. Plus the right team won, New Day are one of the best acts in the company and I really hope WWE actually get behind them. I’d have preferred this as an opener just for the sheer amount of energy it created. Plus Woods pretty much maimed Torito! This was a really good time.   ***1/2

Rob McCarron: Triceps meat. Darren Young is a nice guy. In Newwwwww Daaaaaay. The celebration. Unless you’re just a curmudgeon, the first 48 minutes of this SummerSlam had to entertain you in some way. Most entertaining, the New Day tonight. Has Xavier Woods now qualified for Manager of the Year? I think so. THIS WAS SO GREAT GO WATCH IT IMMEDIATELY~! ****

Ru Gunn: Kofi’s boots were a thing to behold. Just like I had hoped, this felt like a max effort SmackDown match, with the usual playful spots turned right up in intensity. Kalisto looked particularly impressive and exciting: and all the sneaky stolen tags seemed realistic and added suspense to the match. Big E clapping on Darren Young’s ribcage with wide-eyes, as Titus stared with concentration from the apron, waiting for his moment, was a joyful moment of drama: and preceded the hottest of all hot tags as Titus wrecked every wrestler in the vicinity, including an unexpectedly airborne Kalisto. The Matadores were the weak link here, missing a few key spots, but all was quickly forgiven when the Super-Super-Plex spot delivered. No problem with the finish at all, because the New Day are consistently the happiest part of WWE for me.  ***3/4

Michelle Burkey: We could all tell based on their amazing dance moves, the New Day would dominate this match. Unlike the last match, this one had talent. Flips galore made it fun to watch and Titus came in like a hurricane of destruction. Totally badass. To add to the entertainment, we had El Torito and Xavier Woods on the sidelines. ***

Rich Kraetsch: Now this is my kind of match, why didn’t this open the show? Everyone stood out in their own way and sure, there were some botches along the way (that damn Sin Cara mask is cursed!) but by and large this was great. Lots of bodies flying all over the place but it never seemed to manic. Titus O’Neil, in particular, stood out in a huge way clearing the ring and just being the awesome, awesome man he is. The New Day is quickly becoming my favorite act in the company and this match only enhanced that. As good as Kofi and Big E are (I love a good power/speed team), Xavier may be the MVP with his contributions on the outside. Again, this should’ve been the opener. ***1/2

https://twitter.com/SenorLARIATO/status/635599159270244352

Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev – No Contest (Double Countout)

Garrett Kidney: Ever notice how you can always tell when WWE are going to do a count out finish? The way they frame the referee in the shot always telegraphs the finish. These two seemed to be wrestling as if they were trying to make up for the fact that they knew the finish sucked. It was nice to see them get away from the putrid angle that surrounds them and wrestle for a little while. Both guys worked really hard, Rusev pulled out a nifty senton and everything until the finish was good. You knew going in that the finish was always going to set up the mixed tag but it still drags the match down a little. I was going to include an analysis of whatever the hell Lana was wearing but I’ll leave that to Rich and co. below. ***

Rob McCarron: A tale of two Rusevs. The first portion of the match showed just how awesome Rusev was in his first year, and how much his dominating, powerful work was to watch. Then, the ladies got involved, and a double countout happened. That’s the tale of the current Rusev, which is not nearly as fun to watch. **

Ru Gunn: I was too aghast at Lana’s tie-dye denim two-piece atrocity that I can’t even form a coherent opinion on it. Entirely ignoring the angle at work here, which gets an overwhelming minus figure of stars, the start of this match had some cool spots and a decent sort of flow going. There’s nothing like commentary loudly criticising inconsistent the referee’s application of the rules to undermine a match and place seeds of doubt about whether it’s going as planned, though, which took me out of the action entirely. When the match disintegrated, as predicted, into a mess of ringside slapfights: then a big inring pileup and a Jerry Springer-esque pull apart, it erased any sort of goodwill I may have felt. The menace of this feud continuing beyond today hangs over me like a dark cloud. *1/4

Michelle Burkey: This match could have been good but once we placed the focus on Lana and Summer to  have this type of ending, it turned lame. The gaudy sparkly red top on Summer and the worse acid-washed full jean jacket outfit sported by Lana distracted everyone from a subpar match. Ziggler’s my guy, and I wanted to like it, but I just couldn’t. *½

Rich Kraetsch: I had a feeling this would all be a big setup for a future mixed tag and welp, the double countout basically confirms it. Outside of the ending the match was a lot of fun and although these two don’t have tremendous chemistry but Ziggler is great at the babyface in peril and Rusev is on a different level than most guys on the roster. The way he commands a ring, the way he harnesses his character and so perfectly projects it onto the screen, he’s so immensely talented. If he doesn’t turn into something legitimately special in this company it’ll be a missed opportunity. He’s so good and in the arguable peak of his career right now. Oh yeah, can we have a discussion about Lana’s acid washed skirt/jacket combo? She looked like a 12-year-old from 1996. What was that? ***

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Stephen Amell & Neville def. The Cosmic Kings

Garrett Kidney: You can’t begrudge Amell this spot really. If I was famous enough to swing a SummerSlam match I totally would too. I’m not much of an Arrow guy, watched five or six episodes and gave up on it. Justin Hartley will always be Green Arrow to me. Amell acquitted himself well and thankfully they didn’t go for the celebrity pinning the wrestler finish because I do hate that. It achieved exactly what it set out to in the most pleasantly inoffensive way possible. **1/2

Rob McCarron: Everything WWE wanted to accomplish with the tie-in from Stephen Amell’s Green Arrow fan base was accomplished. WWE received mainstream publicity from the up and coming TV star, with Amell not disappointing by making some highlight worthy moments of his own during the match. Plus, with Neville providing further highlights, an up and coming WWE star was focused on, which should always be a part of the goal of these celeb cameos. This was well worked, acting as a highlight for their guest, as well as Neville. It was entertaining, as well, while not being ridiculous and wasteful. **1/2

Ru Gunn: How awesome was Amell’s event shirt ( https://represent.com/amellstardust ) for this match? WWE apparel could take a real leaf out of the designer’s book. Neville wrestling in burgundy now makes him even more visually reminiscent of another short, underdog, indie darling who wrestled in burgundy for a long time, which is a flattering comparison. Daniel Bryan managed to keep his ring jacket out of his face during his entrances though, mostly. This match was as good as it could have been: Barrett had an unexpected chemistry with Stardust, and Amell over-delivered, holding his own laudably inring. A pleasant surprise and a harmless victory for Neville’s resume. ** 3/4

Michelle Burkey: Considering his lack of wrestling background, Amell was awesome.  Amell + Neville should be a permanent tag team. Neville’s flips off the rope are always awesome. I just feel bad for Cody Rhodes still being stuck as Stardust, waste of talent. Also of his good looks.  ***3/4

Rich Kraetsch: How good was Amell here? Sure, he wasn’t anything special but as far as stars moonlighting as wrestlers, he was near the top. He was solid throughout and did a great job of taking offensive from both Barrett and Stardust. Considering his limited training this was fantastic, I’d like to see him back sometime soon. As far as the match itself, it was just fine. Neville was the star in my mind and he continues to show his immense talent. I was glad to see him be not only the focal point of the match but also get the pinfall. This was amazingly solid given my lower expectations. **½

https://twitter.com/SenorLARIATO/status/635607613208690688

WWE Intercontinental Championship Ryback © def. Big Show & The Miz

Garrett Kidney: It feels like everybody on this showing is working a level above their usual PPV fare. Even in this relatively short sprint of a match there was oodles of energy. And Big Show broke out a middle rope senton. Was it graceful? Not even slightly but I’ll be damned he did it anyway. It was for all intents and purposes a throwaway midcard match but they didn’t wrestle it like that – it had an intensity and sense of urgency to it. ***

Rob McCarron : A sprint of a triple threat match. I, briefly, wonder if this result would have been the same had the match taken place as scheduled on the last Pay Per View. It doesn’t matter, in the end, but The Ryback shall continue to try and bring stability to the Intercontinental Championship. ***

Ru Gunn: This was remarkably inoffensive considering I had been dreading it for weeks. The Miz swapping pinfall attempts between the two big men for increasingly rapid kickouts amused me in spite of myself, and the whole thing didn’t overstay its welcome. **

Michelle Burkey: Ryback’s my guy. **

Rich Kraetsch: This was an engaging and fun WWE triple threat, can you believe that? And it was fun because The Miz carried the entire thing. No this isn’t bizarro world, I’m being serious. The Miz had a few minute spot where he kept trying to pin both Ryback and The Big Show in rapid succession, both kept kicking out but he never gave up. The crowd got super into it and it was both different and fun. Imagine that. The ending was a load of crap with the standard WWE triple threat trope of someone winning via a finisher they didn’t hit. We’ve seen it so many times it’s hard to give strong thoughts either way. This was solid though and far above any expectations I could have had for it. THE MIZ WAS SO GOOD IN THIS MATCH, SERIOUSLY! **3/4

Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns def. Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper

Garrett Kidney: This was what I believe the kids these days call a real hoot. In many ways it recaptured the sheer dynamism of the old Shield/Wyatt matches – in fact it’s interesting to contrast Reigns and Wyatt both of whom were in groups designed to be their vehicles and both have failed to gain traction for different reasons (Wyatt due to an inability to evolve into something different and Reigns due to a tone deaf push). I also quite enjoyed the conflicted emotions of the crowd who disliked Reigns (even though I  can’t really fathom why at this stage, it seems like people still hold it against him that he had bad matches against Kane and Big Show earlier this year, it seems to have defined his reputation to certain audiences) and liked Ambrose. This was a slimmed down version of a Shield/Wyatts match, you can’t really go wrong with that. The only criticism I can level at it is that in the grand scheme of things it felt insubstantial – a slightly longer match may have helped in that regard. ***1/4

Rob McCarron: A solid match overall, but incredibly unimportant. ***

Ru Gunn: The two remaining Shield boys have got a comfortable sort of confidence around each other that is often magnetically charismatic, and when they jumped into an early flurry of offence I had a brief thrill that almost pulled me back to the Shield/Wyatts original bouts. Luke Harper punching Ambrose’s shirt straight off his body denoted the point where this match got serious, and while it’s a little unreasonable for Roman to have sold for as long as he did, it showed an awareness for how the dynamic between him and Ambrose is supposed to work. I’m sad Reigns’ recovery didn’t go down well with the live crowd, because he’s fun and impressive when you let yourself suspend disbelief a little. However, more and more the match emphasised what was missing, and it wasn’t Erick Rowan. The Double Powerbomb will never not be tragic. ***

Michelle Burkey: This match was one I was looking forward to. Dean Ambrose is my guy and he’s gunning for a win. Ambrose’s ass also looks fabulous in those jeans.  Jeans cannot be comfortable to wrestle in, but I’m glad he made this fashion choice. The Wyatt family thing is getting old and overplayed.  Wasn’t a superb match, but Ambrose with no shirt made it entertaining for me… sorry dudes who don’t care about Dean Ambrose and his good looks.  ***

Rich Kraetsch: There was literally no chance this wasn’t going to be very good and it absolutely was. Dean Ambrose stood out here — he’s so good at projecting emotions that the fans can’t help but cheer him as a babyface. WWE could really do something with him if they ever wanted to, he has that type of connection with the fans. Reigns was fine here, Wyatt was a ghost and they smartly spent most of the match having Harper work over Ambrose. I thought we’d get a little better than we did but this was still a lot of fun. The result has me questioning if we get a rematch down the line but I hope we do. ***¼

https://twitter.com/SenorLARIATO/status/635616219220062208

WWE United States & WWE World Heavyweight Championship Seth Rollins © def. John Cena

Garrett Kidney: It’s a real shame about that finish because this was awesome. This was the best Rollins has looked in his title reign to date and Cena delivered in a big match environment yet again. I’m disappointed that they didn’t really use the Cena nose injury in an effective way. Yeah, Rollins hit him with the knee again but then they simply transitioned to the Stewart run in instead of letting that story play out. The Stewart turn is a head scratcher. Even if he’ll be around for a while I can’t really see how they can fashion this into something productive. I don’t see them doing a Cena/Stewart match and even if they were to I don’t want to see it. And while I really like Stewart I have little interest in seeing him as a heel personality. Years of watching TNA have given me a horrible gag reflex to ref bumps and overbooked World title matches so the finish leaves a really bad taste in my mouth — especially considering they were on track for something really, really great. It felt like a finish more aimed at people who will report on the show tomorrow morning than the people who are actually watching. ****

Rob McCarron: This was a fantastic showcase of Seth Rollins as a credible champion from start to finish. From the main event gear, to hanging and even dominating Cena at times, to being tied up with one of the more credible celebrities WWE has had in recent years, Rollins looked like a star. Sure, Jon Stewart helped Rollins win with the chair shot to Cena, but let us not forget that when Stewart interfered, Rollins was the one standing in the ring. It isn’t as if Cena was about to win, by any means, so I’m fine with the story. The question now is why Stewart interfered on Rollins’ behalf at all. Hopefully we get Stewart on Raw tomorrow to answer that for himself, rather than Rollins cutting a 20 minute promo explaining to absurdity. ****1/4

Ru Gunn: In the preshow Corey Graves said “It feels like John Cena has just decided to be champion, so Seth Rollins has to step aside.” It felt exactly like that. So, at the very least, this match subverted that crushing assumed inevitability. This started too slow, with a far too early rest hold situation with Cena staring directly into the camera uncomfortably, audibly chatting with Rollins, and my heart sank. As soon as Seth started getting emphatic offence and diving off everything, things rapidly improved. Standing moonsaults, top rope double knees: this is the Rollins I love and keeps me rooting for him even in the bleakest of plotlines. The rolling reversals of the AA culminating in Rollins hitting it on Cena was a perfect, beautiful moment. I’m absolutely furious at the ref bump and ensuing run-in undermining Rollins’ victory: this kind of cowardly booking is so damaging and frustrating. Celebrity guests should never affect the outcomes of championship matches, is this controversial? This match loses half a star for the finish. ***3/4

Michelle Burkey: First off, Rollins comes out looking like Tommy the white Power Ranger. Who allowed this outfit to happen? Seriously, please make it stop. The commonality between Rollins and Tommy is I hate them both. #TeamRedRanger.

I was pumped for this match, because like every 9 year old, I love Cena. However I am concerned about the lack of face mask, If I am Cenas plastic surgeon who just fixed his busted shit, I’d be pissed. Nikki Bella is gonna be pissed if he ruins his face. I made the prediction that Jon Stewart would interfere with the match and get Cena out of a tough situation with Rollins and help Cena with the win. BUT WHAT WAS THIS?! If I can’t trust Jon Stewart, my whole life has been a lie. Sad Cena lost, but what a match. ****½

Rich Kraetsch: Michelle predicted that Jon Stewart would help John Cena win this match, it was a wild prediction at the beginning of the night and it came true, well, half of it. Stewart, performed the heel turn of the century, hitting Cena with a chair and allowing Seth to win the US Title. Some people are rolling their eyes at this involvement but I love Stewart and I think this is really cool. Dude has nothing to do anymore and has a huge following, it’ll be a lot of fun to see just how involved he becomes.

Anyway, the match, I loved it. Rollins stood out in a big way throughout the match and is really starting to turn into a more well rounded worker. I loved his high-flying offense throughout this match and in moments when he had to take Cena’s damage, he sold it well. Rollins was always a great flier but there’s something about how he’s refined it in his WWE days that has taken him far beyond what I ever expected out of Tyler Black. It’s probably just out of Match of the Month level, especially in August, but don’t let that fool you — this was great. ****1/4

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PCB def. Team Bella & Team B.A.D

Garrett Kidney: What a bizarre match. One night removed from a world class performance from Sasha Banks and she was relegated to a bit part role on a bigger stage, the heat segment on Paige felt like it lasted forever, and the finish had pretty much no steam at all behind it. The crowd were loosely invested at best, and why should they be. These are three groups of people who don’t fit together fighting for a poorly defined reason all in the name of a Revolution. A Revolution that is nothing but a corporate brand for Stephanie McMahon to crow about. A Revolution devoid of all substance. A Revolution in hashtag only.   **

Rob McCarron: The right team won, the right participants were pinned, the right woman gained the ultimate pinfall. No sense in harping on the negative that a nine-person tag match will be forgotten soon. We knew that going in. For what we got, this was fun, and Becky Lynch was the focal point at the end of the day. If it couldn’t be Sasha, Becky was the next best option. She’s showing confidence on the main roster faster than I thought she would. **3/4

Ru Gunn: I’m tired of this “Divas’ Revolution” rhetoric of “women have suddenly become good, after all this time!”: it’s patronising and manipulative. Stephanie’s self-congratulatory smugness, taking credit for all of women’s contributions to culture and society, is driving me batty, while Raw carries on being the same old misogynistic trash. This match got far more time than it would have done a year ago, but other than that it was much of a muchness. When placed in stark contrast with the excellent womens’ singles bout at Takeover, and the fun tag match earlier in the show, it came short of both. Despite the amount of participants, the match seemed to fail to fill the space, both in terms of presence and workrate. *3/4

Rich Kraetsch: Everything was structurally fine in this match. It wasn’t spectacular, it wasn’t great, it was just kind of there. The biggest issue for me, is Sasha Banks was a complete ghost and not anywhere near the focal point of Team B.A.D. We’re a day removed from her being one of the focal points over a sold out show at this very same arena. Here? She was a nothing, an absolute zero. Maybe she was hurt/sore from last night but why not a few minutes. Oh well.

Other than that everything was okay in this match. Becky was the focal point at the end and got the visual pinfall, so that’s a good sign for the future. It was shockingly spotty at the beginning too with numerous dives to the outside so hey, this Revolution is really about effort across the division and that’s great but we desperately need some singles matches to get individuals over. **

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Kevin Owens def. Cesaro

Garrett Kidney: I enjoyed this a lot even if it didn’t entirely click with me on the level I was hoping for. They seemed to lack that emotional hook to bring the whole match together but they worked hard and the work was strong. It was a match that neither could afford to lose but I suppose Owens, off the back of losses to Bálor and Cena, needed to win more. I worry about Cesaro though. He delivers top quality matches over and over but he loses more often than he doesn’t. He could potentially be pigeonholed in that death slot character wise as the guy who they can trust to have good matches with everybody and loses. And he’s too good for that. A very good match, lacking something to carry it into great territory. ***1/2

Rob McCarron: The death slot strikes again. Even Owens and Cesaro, two hardcore crowd favorites, had to fight through the perception that the penultimate match on a PPV is meaningless. It isn’t impossible, of course, to overcome the death slot, but it sure does start the match at a disadvantage. Owens and Cesaro put on what many will argue as the best match of the night so far, and they may be right, but the crowd didn’t see it that way. Cesaro was the star of the match, but Kevin Owens gets the win to seemingly redeem his recent losing streak. This show to this point has blown away the very fun NXT Takeover from Saturday night. Of course, that’s not a shot by any means at NXT. ****

Ru Gunn: The pre show panel insisted this match was about jealousy, which I’m not convinced is true; but whatever the backstory, a great match is a great match. What I love about this matchup is the contrast between how Cesaro seems to take the highest energy approach to every piece of offence, where Owens preserves his energy at every opportunity, utilising reversals of Cesaro’s own momentum to wear him down. Owens isn’t lazy by any means, just smart: which suits his character motivations perfectly. The multitude of power moves from both men: Owens’ swinging neckbreaker, Cesaro’s Alpamare and top rope gutwrench suplex, etc etc, were just incredibly impressive, as were the mixture of dynamic highspots that we ought to know to expect by now but still take my breath away. We finally got the Owens Giant Swing that Cesaro has been teasing on SmackDown every week for hundreds of years, and the Pop Up Powerbomb was kept strong. A lot to love here, let’s just hope that Cesaro doesn’t slink down the card after this. ****

Rich Kraetsch: How great is Cesaro right now? I’ve been a fan for quite some time but he’s just on another level right now, technically perfect and arguably the best all-around worker on the roster right now. Kevin Owens is great but he looked a level below Cesaro throughout this match, that’s not a slight, Cesaro is just that damn good. He used to be defined by his uppercuts and the swing but he’s become so much more of an all-around worker. God, I love him right now. I wish he had more capacity for great matches.

This was a weird match in that it wasn’t a back and forth classic but it was technically sound and didn’t need to be a classic. It was perfect in how it was worked, how it was structured and who won (Owens after a pop-up powerbomb). ***3/4

https://twitter.com/SenorLARIATO/status/635635587891003393

The Undertaker def. Brock Lesnar

Garrett Kidney: I’ve been saying for a while now that people have been too quick to write off The Undertaker. He had a poor match with Brock Lesnar after he was concussed within the opening minutes and he had a mediocre match with Bray Wyatt, which is in line with pretty much everybody not named Daniel Bryan ever. First the finish was utterly rubbish. Their need for a “controversial” finish was wholly unnecessary when a low blow would’ve done the same job just fine and been MUCH less contrived at that. This seemed like an Undertaker determined to prove people wrong, looking to prove he still has value and he more than succeeded delivering the second best match on an overall strong show. And we will forever have the moment when Undertaker and Brock Lesnar laughed hysterically in each others faces. This was as good as I was hoping it would be. ***3/4

Rob McCarron: Undertaker turned back the clock a few years to put on another classically worked, high energy match that he has been missing since his match with CM Punk. As for the finish, it certainly seems like we are going to indeed get Brock vs Taker 3, likely at Mania, because otherwise this made no sense. We have to be getting a third match. ***1/2

Ru Gunn: The one thing that really shocked here was how many bumps Taker took, and how hard they were. This match was nasty– really viscerally horrible– with Lesnar’s own blood mixing with sweat to paint his face, and Taker getting thrown around and crunching unpleasantly wherever he landed, dribbling over himself. At one point they had a scary faces competition which was too weird to be threatening, but in general, this was a really violent match that far surpassed their WrestleMania encounter. The weird screwy miscommunication finish was tenuous: what happened exactly? The timekeeper was over-excited? The timekeeper had a heel turn? It’s unsatisfying to finish a pay per view with a weird sense of ambiguity and confusion, especially after the Jon Stewart nonsense, but I still enjoyed this match far more than I expected to.   ***1/2

Michelle Burkey: I was super pumped for this match. I am always hatin’ on Brock Lesnar, and a huge fan of The Undertaker. I mean, his entrance is so badass. Lesnar had a little too much blood for my liking. As a nurse, it’s gross. If I am Undertaker, I am not letting you bleed all over me. The greatest/weirdest moment of this match was when they were sitting in the middle of the ring then they both lock eyes, in a really weird, gross, bloody, sweaty moment. This was a pretty awesome match, except for the false finish at the end? It is probably so we can prolong this Undertaker vs. Lesnar feud but how much can Undertaker take. I was legit concerned he might have been having a heart attack while he was lying on the announcer table grabbing his chest.  I love the Undertaker and he still does a great job, but at some point this has to end and I’m not sure how many more norcos Takers body can handle.  ****

Rich Kraetsch: I’m stunned. No, not at the bizarre finish that saw a fake bell ring setting up an inevitable rubber match. I’m stunned at how much Undertaker took in this match. Forget the boring, methodical match they had at WrestleMania 30, this was what you’ve expected to get from Brock as of late and what you never thought a 50-year-old Undertaker could do. The amount of belly-to-back suplexes Taker took legitimately had me worried he’d break in half. As the ladies of our review said, this match was visually gross with blood, sweat, spit and snot everywhere. I don’t know that all of it was intentional but it worked, this was the perfect…gross match. I loved it and I’m shocked we had this dynamic of a match between the two after their WM30 stinker. I’m not excited at how we’re going to get to a third match but I’m excited to see it once it happens. This was a great way to cap a super solid SummerSlam. It wasn’t quite the level of SummerSlam 2013 but it was damn close. ****1/4

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The John Report: WWE SummerSlam 2015 Review

WWE SummerSlam Brooklyn, New York August 23, 2015

There was a one hour Kickoff Show. I watched the last 20 minutes of it. There were no matches on it, so it was just more video packages, chatter from the panel and interviews to hype up the matches.

The set was basically the same as Raw, so they did nothing to make it look elaborate. That sucks. This is supposed to be the second biggest PPV of the year and they can’t spend money to give it a unique look? That’s a shame.

The great Jon Stewart was in the ring as the host of SummerSlam. He spoke about how he spent 16 years talking about politics and he’s glad to be here. The crowd was chanting “what” after everything he said, so he said wrestler names and they booed when he said Sheamus. The name Seth Rollins earned cheers. Brock Lesnar received the loudest cheer. Mostly cheers for The Undertaker too. He said he was still upset about The Streak ending at WrestleMania, so he wanted to talk to Brock Lesnar. Before he could do that, he needed the help of a friend: Mick Foley.

Great ovation for Foley, who quickly did a cheap pop mentioning Brooklyn. They did a skit about how Foley thought Stewart wanted him to interview Rock not Brock Lesnar. Foley said he was afraid about Brock Lesnar and the crowd was chanting “Rocky” for The Rock. Stewart mentioned Foley’s famous Hell in a Cell spot and Stewart said he respected all the performers in WWE. Foley yelled at him telling him it was 17 years ago. Foley told Stewart he’s never visited Suplex City and he’s not starting now. Foley told Stewart he’s on his own. Stewart said let’s just start the show.

Analysis: Normally a PPV will start off with a match, but this one began like an episode of Raw with a promo. They tried to do a comedy bit with Stewart and Foley because they are friends. It was mildly funny and I like both guys although it wasn’t that great. Stewart does come across as a guy that is a legit fan of the business rather than a celeb that is just there to get paid, so I don’t mind him being around at all. I assume he’ll be in some vignettes later.

A video package aired hyping up the show with a focus on the top matches like Rollins vs. Cena and Undertaker vs. Lesnar.

The fireworks went off and then they showed the capacity crowd.

Randy Orton entered for the opening match. The announce team of Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and John Bradshaw Layfield welcomed us to the show. They also had the French and Spanish announce team there. There aren’t any matches with big stipulations, but I still doubt the Spanish table survives the show.

As the show begins, just a note to say I’m not going to do 100% detailed play by play all night because it’s a long show. It will still be pretty thorough. I’ll hit on the key points as well as the usual analysis and star ratings.

Randy Orton vs. Sheamus

Shortly after the bell, Sheamus did a promo to say he doesn’t look stupid. Orton went after him, but Sheamus got control quickly and hit a flying knee drop off the top for two. The crowd was happy to boo Sheamus as he dominated Orton early on. Sheamus hit the Irish Curse Backbreaker two times in a row. JBL said Sheamus looked like a warrior as Sheamus played with his hair. Sheamus controlled the action for a few minutes using knee attacks as well as a back elbow. The arena was a bit smoky after the pyro show. Fans were bored, so they chanted “ole ole ole” while it made me miss Sami Zayn. Orton finally got some offense in with clotheslines and then his modified backbreaker. With Orton’s back against the ropes, he picked up Sheamus and dumped him over the top to the floor with an overhead suplex. Sheamus nailed a powerslam for two to get control back. Orton was cut above the eye as ref Mike Chioda put on the gloves. I think he hit the turnbuckle and may have hit the steel part of it. Orton nailed a DDT with Sheamus’ legs draped across the top rope, which drew a nice reaction from the crowd. Fans were chanting “RKO” for Orton.

Sheamus hit a couple of forearm shots and then stopped when the fans chanted with him. With Orton in the ring, Sheamus launched himself over the top and Orton hit the RKO out of nowhere. Sheamus rolled out of the ring to prevent Orton from pinning him. Orton’s cut above the left eye was pretty small. In the ring, Orton teased a Punt, but Sheamus moved and hit White Noise for two. Orton’s not allowed to do the Punt anymore. Sheamus took so long to set up the Brogue Kick that Orton was able to avoid it on first try. Sheamus hit the Brogue Kick that sent Orton in the corner and then another one in the middle of the ring. Sheamus covered for the win after 13 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Sheamus

Analysis: **3/4 They have had so many matches that it’s hard for them to do anything that we haven’t seen before. I like that it was a clean win for Sheamus. He didn’t even cheat like a good heel would. When Orton hit the RKO and Sheamus avoided being pinned, that was the clue that he was going to lose. I picked Sheamus to win because Orton won at Battleground and WWE booking for guys like them is usually pretty even. With that said, Orton losing clean is pretty rare, but I like that because they need to build up heels like Sheamus.

The announcers talked about some contest they did with Draftkings. I play daily fantasy there for NFL, NBA and MLB. I like it more than wrestling. Anyway, they aired a video about two guys that got to experience cool things like meeting wrestlers. They showed Jake and Josh ringside for SummerSlam.

The New Day did a promo prior to the tag team title match. They talked about hip-hop as a way to insult Jay Z since he’s from Brooklyn. They had harmonicas. They did a song about “let’s hear it for New Day.” Some fans had “New Day section” signs. They said “New Day Rocks” to end it.

Tag Team Titles: Prime Time Players (Titus O’Neil & Darren Young) vs. The New Day (Kingston & Big E) w/Xavier Woods vs. Lucha Dragons (Kalisto & Sin Cara) vs. Los Matadores (Diego & Fernando) w/El Torito

First pinfall or submission wins. Two guys in the ring at a time. They did a spot where Kofi and Big E each tagged in, then Big E tried to pin him and Cole tried to say that is legal. I’m not even going to waste time talking about how stupid that is. Anyway, Kalisto was on fire early with some kicks. Cole mentioned JBL not having success against a masked superstar and didn’t say Rey Mysterio’s name. Things were pretty hectic early on with a lot of quick tags by the different teams, but then New Day isolated Young in their corner. Woods is fantastic outside the ring ranting about everything like he usually does. Big E applied an abdominal stretch and then a back elbow knocked Young down again. Woods was ranting about Big E’s tricep meat again. Young hit an inverted atomic drop on Kingston, so that led to O’Neil tagging in.

O’Neil was on fire with a big boot to Kingston and then he tossed Kalisto outside the ring. O’Neil hit a big punch and then multiple backbreakers to take out both of Los Matadores. O’Neil clothesline sent Kingston out of the ring and there was a blind tag by one of the Matadores. Fernando got a cross body block off the top for a two count. Sin Cara hit a sloppy headscissors on Fernando and then Sin Cara was met with a Fernando dropkick when he tried a dive outside the ring. That was a pretty crazy spot. Woods knocked Fernando off the ropes. Woods slammed Torito face first outside the ring. The crowd cheered. Young took down Woods with a suplex on the apron. Big E destroyed Young with a Spear through the middle ropes. Pretty much everybody was out either in the ring or outside the ring. Lucha Dragons tried a double team spot, Fernando went down and then they did a huge double suplex with O’Neil doing a Powerbomb in a Tower of Doom spot. Kingston did a blind tag. O’Neil hit Clash of the Titus on Diego. Kingston kicked O’Neil and then Kingston covered Diego for the win after 13 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: The New Day

The fans were chanting “New Day” after the win. The three guys did an over the top celebration like they usually do because they’re awesome. They’re not faces, but this crowd loved them.

Analysis: **1/2 It was a bit of a trainwreck at times with guys jumping out to the floor and some things being missed, but overall the effort was good. The story going into the match wasn’t that great. Good work can make up for that, though, so give the credit to the wrestlers for putting on a good show. I’m glad that New Day won the titles again. They were my pick because I feel like they’re the best team in the company and are the team that can carry the division in terms of having a lot of teams to feud with. It was nice that PTP had their first title reign, but I’m glad that The New Day are champs again. They’re so much fun.

Jon Stewart was backstage with Neville and Stephen Amell talking about Undertaker. There was a kid with him, which I assume is his son. Lights went out a bit, then Undertaker walked by and some smoke appeared. Amell signed the shirt of the kid.

Dolph Ziggler entered with Lana for his match. Lana had a different look. No business suit – it’s more of a jean jacket and shorts look that say “DZ” on them. Rusev was with Summer Rae, who is in a shinier business suit than what she usually wears.

Rusev (w/Summer Rae) vs. Dolph Ziggler (w/Lana)

Rusev dominated early on and slowed things down with a bearhug. It was about four minutes of Rusev in control with the crowd chanting “USA” to try to piss him off. Zigger finally got some offense in when he countered a Gorilla Press into a DDT. Both guys were down selling like they were out even though it’s only about six minutes into the match. Ziggler was on fire with a corner splash and then a neckbreaker fired up the crowd. Rusev went to the top rope like a dummy, so Ziggler nailed a facebuster off the top rope for a two count. I don’t like guys going to the top rope that never does it because then it telegraphs the idea that the move won’t be successful. Rusev hit a nice running splash for a two count. It was a somersault into a splash – that’s very impressive for a nearly 300 pound man to do a move like that. Ziggler avoided a kick and got a rollup for two. Ziggler wit a sleeper hold to wear down Rusev. Rusev broke free, then missed a corner splash and Ziggler hit a Fameasser for two. He rarely wins with that move, yet it always generates a good reaction as a nearfall.

Rusev tossed Ziggler up in the air leading to Ziggler bumping on his chest and then Rusev nailed a superkick. Rusev applied the Accolade submission while Lana encouraged Ziggler to fight. Summer went over to Lana, so Lana slapped Summer and Rusev let go. Ziggler rolled out to the floor. Fans were chanting “Lana” while Rusev was mad about it. Summer took down Lana with a clothesline to the back of the head. Ziggler hit Rusev with a superkick that put Rusev on the announce table. The ref was counting them out and Ziggler couldn’t get back into the ring. The ref rang the bell and the crowd booed the finish. The match went 12 minutes.

Match Result: Double Countout

Post match, Ziggler and Rusev brawled some more. Then the girls went into the ring to roll around a bit too. The guys broke it up and then Rusev/Summer went up the ramp.

Analysis: **1/4 I’m with the crowd as far as booing the finish. I realize that they are building to the mixed tag match likely at the Night of Champions PPV next month, but I think they could have had Rusev get a cheap win in order to set up a rematch. The work in the match was fine. Other than a few moves, Rusev’s offense was really boring. Ziggler didn’t get that much offense and only had one believable nearfall. It just never felt like anything special or anything that we’re going to remember after it was over. Pencil in that mixed tag match for next month.

A comic book themed video package aired to hype up the Amell/Neville vs. Stardust/Barrett match.

Neville & Stephen Amell vs. Stardust & King Barrett

I missed the first few minutes of this. Amell was wrestling shirtless for the match and looks to be in good shape, which is no surprise since he’s an action TV star that has to be in good shape. They replayed a nice leapfrog spot by Amell. Barrett was able to take down Amell in the ring. Stardust and Barrett worked over Amell in their corner, so he’s the face in peril in his first match. JBL was saying that Neville may not see any more action tonight. I think he’s wrong. Amell hit an enziguiri kick on Stardust to break free and here comes Neville. Neville was on fire with a running dropkick on Barrett, who was the legal man. Neville nailed an amazing corkscrew splash off the middle rope. Both heels were on the floor, so Amell went up top and hit a cross body block to take down both guys. Amell rolled Barrett back in. Neville hit the Red Arrow splash on Barrett for the win after eight minutes. The crowd liked that a lot.

Winners by pinfall: Neville & Stephen Amell

Analysis: ** Give a lot of credit to Amell for showing that he belonged in the ring. He didn’t mess up any moves and when he was selling he looked doing it. Neville getting the hot tag leading to the finish was no surprise. I thought that maybe Stardust would get pinned as a way to really end the feud, but Barrett getting pinned suggested that there could be more in the future. If not that’s okay because it ended with the predictable babyface win. I’m 3-0-1 in predictions so far since nobody won the Rusev/Ziggler match.

There was a commercial for Mountain Dew.

The four Tough Enough competitors were ringside. The finale is on Tuesday.

There was a video package for all of the appearances that WWE stars made during the past week. They love putting themselves over. I wish I timed my pee break for this part.

Intercontinental Title: Ryback vs. Big Show vs. The Miz

Big Show did a double suplex spot and then yelled “I’m a giant” like he hasn’t been on TV for 20 years. Show went off the middle rope and hit a unique back splash. Miz covered for a two count. Show hit some moves on each guy by the turnbuckles, but then Ryback took out his knee. Ryback slam on Miz. Ryback hit a top rope splash on Miz and then Show gave Ryback a Chokeslam onto Miz for a two count. Lawler had a terrible joke: “Ever seen his Polo shirt – it has a real horse on it.” Nobody laughed. Ryback came back with a running splash on Show. Ryback picked up Show and hit Shellshock on Show. Miz hit the Skull Crushing Finale on Ryback for two. Then a two count on Show. Miz went for multiple pinfalls and was mad that they kept kicking out. The crowd cheered the effort of The Miz. Show knocked out Ryback with a KO Punch while Ryback had Miz on his shoulders. Show hit a KO Punch on Miz. Ryback clothesline sent Show out of the ring. Ryback covered Miz, who was out after the KO Punch and Ryback got the win. It went about seven minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Ryback

Analysis: ** It was okay, but it felt rushed. They did all the basic triple threat spots where one guy hits the move, goes for the cover and then the third guy breaks up the pin. I didn’t like that Ryback won the match after a Big Show move. He should have pinned Miz with his own move to make it look more impressive. It doesn’t make Ryback look like a strong champion when he pins after a Show move. I guess they did it that way so that they can have Ryback vs. Show at the next PPV. One thing I didn’t like is that at one point, Miz hit his finisher four minutes into the match and Ryback kicked out of it. They really don’t protect finishers like they should. I’m 4-0-1 so far. It’s been a very predictable show so far.

Jon Stewart was walking backstage and he knocked on Lesnar’s door. Paul Heyman walked out. Stewart said he was an Undertaker guy. Heyman bragged about Lesnar beating Undertaker. Stewart talked about how wrestling fans didn’t like when Undertaker and wondered what Heyman felt about fans being mad that Lesnar won. Heyman just said “Glory glory Brock Lesnar.” Then Heyman ended it saying that he guesses they couldn’t get David Letterman to host the event. Crowd let out a big “ohhhh” for that.

Analysis: It was a funny line by Heyman at the end. Other than that, Stewart complaining about a match result from 15 months ago seems lame.

Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper entered for their tag match. Dean Ambrose was out first for his team followed by Roman Reigns. I think Reigns would look like a much bigger star with pyro and a more spectacular entrance. He needs to be presented better.

Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper vs. Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose

There was a hectic start to the match as they brawled all around the ring. Ambrose hit a big spot by running across the three announce tables and taking out Wyatt with a leaping clothesline. Back in the ring, Ambrose hit a flying elbow attack on Harper. Wyatt distracted Ambrose, so Harper took him down. Wyatt slammed Reigns back first into the side of the ring, then took out Reigns with a dive and a superkick followed. Boot to the face by Harper. There was a spot where Wyatt nailed Ambrose with a suplex on the floor that the camera missed. They showed the replay and it looked pretty good. The heels worked over Ambrose in their corner for a few minutes. Fans chanting “Roman’s sleeping” with Reigns outside the ring on the floor. Ambrose made the hot tag to Reigns, who was on fire against Harper with a couple of powerful suplexes to take him down. A kick stunned Reigns and then Harper nailed a Powerbomb on Reigns for a two count. Wyatt tagged in, but was met with a Superman Punch and so was Harper. Ambrose tagged in. Reigns put Wyatt on his shoulders and Ambrose nailed a clothesline off the top in a tribute to the Legion of Doom. Two count for that.

Reigns hit another Superman Punch on Harper. Ambrose lifted up Harper and Reigns nailed a Powerbomb on Harper. Wyatt was legal with Ambrose. They had an exchange where Ambrose nailed Dirty Deeds on Wyatt. Huge Spear by Reigns on Wyatt and that’s enough for the win after 11 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose

Analysis: *** It was a basic tag match that was intense as soon as they got out there. The start of the match was really entertaining as was the finish. The middle part was a basic tag match working over one of the faces. In terms of action, there was nothing wrong with the match at all. They worked hard, the crowd was into it and the good guys got revenge after Wyatt and Harper gave them problems for the last couple of months. The booking leading up to it was weird because Harper was pinned on both Raw and Smackdown this past week, so they lost again. Why put them back together just to have them look like losers? Where it might be considered disappointing is that people thought that Ambrose might turn heel soon, so maybe he’d show signs of that here, but that didn’t happen at all. There was no sign of any problems between them. It was still a good match. It’s just that there was an expectation for more and we didn’t get to see that. I picked the heels to win so I’m 4-1-1 in my predictions at this point.

There was a video package for Rollins vs. Cena. It was very well done.

The US Champion John Cena entered first. The crowd was singing “John Cena sucks” during his entrance. There was a loud reaction that was filled with mostly boos. WWE Champion Seth Rollins entered in some brand new all white gear. The crowd was cheering for him. Big in-ring intros by Lilian Garcia.

Title For Title: WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins vs. United States Champion John Cena

The crowd was really hot for this match. The announcers are pushing the 16x World Titles held by Ric Flair heavily on commentary. Of course, Cena benefited big time from WWE having two World Titles at the same during most of his career. Fans were chanting “Cena Sucks” to the tune of “New Day Sucks” and Rollins hit a neckbreaker. Suicide dive by Rollins took Cena out outside the ring. Rollins did it again. The crowd was cheering. Rollins hit a flip dive over the top to take out Cena. Huge ovation from that. Very impressed by the athleticism of Rollins although it’s not a surprise to me. He just doesn’t always get to show it like this. The crowd was doing the dueling “Let’s Go Cena/Cena Sucks” chants. Rollins hit an impressive double foot stomp on Cena off the top rope. Great spot for a two count. Rollins was taunting him, so Cena nailed him with an Attitude Adjustment for a two count. Cena did a slingshot, Rollins stopped himself from getting hurt and then Cena slammed Rollins off his shoulders face first into the mat.

Cena went up top and nailed the legdrop to the back of the head for a two count. They did a spot out of the corner where Cena wanted the AA, but Rollins fought out of it and hit the Powerbomb into the turnbuckle. Rollins went up top and nailed a perfect Frog Splash for a two count. Cena countered into the AA, but Rollins landed on his feet, hit a kick and Rollins rolled through a cross body block. Rollins turned it into the Attitude Adjustment for a two count. Wow that was a fantastic nearfall. Rollins went for a splash, but Cena moved and then Cena applied the STF submission as JBL started with his “big match John” routine. Rollins fought out of that, they exchanged some holds and Cena applied a Figure Four Leglock submission. The announcers were mentioning Ric Flair and the 16-time record. It drew a big reaction, so give them credit for coming up with that spot. Rollins reversed the Figure Four and Cena got to the ropes. Rollins hit a superplex and then gave Cena another suplex in the middle of the ring for a two count. Rollins went up top for the Phoenix Splash, but Cena moved. Cena had Rollins on his shoulders, the ref got bumped (Rollins feet hit him while in AA position) and Cena hit the Attitude Adjustment. Cena covered, but there was no ref around. Cena was trying to figure out what to do. While he did that, Rollins hit a knee to the nose just like a month ago when he broke Cena’s nose. Jon Stewart ran down to the ring with a steel chair and teased doing something. He nailed Cena in the ribs with the chair. Rollins hit Pedigree on the chair and Rollins wins after 19 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: The WWE World Heavyweight Champion and New US Champion Seth Rollins

Rollins celebrated with both titles. Stewart ran up the aisle after he did the chair shot. The crowd was happy with Rollins leaving with the gold.

Analysis: **** Four stars out of five. It was a damn good match even with the ref bump and the unpredictable interference from Stewart. At least it was memorable. I thought Rollins was absolutely phenomenal as he hit some impressive moves throughout the match. It was well on its way to being a great match when the ref bump happened and it’s still a great match, but it lost some of its appeal due to that finish. Stewart’s involvement was a big time shocker. Helping the heel Rollins win is also surprising, but they did have a history with Rollins appearing on The Daily Show several times in the past. I’m definitely surprised that one of the two guys is leaving with both titles, but I’m glad it’s Rollins because he’s such an entertaining champion. It also makes me think that they’re going to have a rematch for sure. I picked Cena by DQ, so got that one wrong.

They plugged some WWE Network shows. There’s a Stone Cold Podcast with special guests Edge & Christian coming soon. They also advertised Brock Lesnar wrestling in Madison Square Garden on October 3, so they’re broadcasting that house show like they did the Japan show on July 4.

The PPV Kickoff panel discussed stuff that I mostly ignored.

A video package for the divas revolution aired.

Team Bella (Nikki, Brie & Alicia Fox) vs. Team PCB (Paige, Charlotte & Becky Lynch) vs. Team B.A.D. (Sasha Banks, Naomi & Tamina)

The rules are that if somebody is pinned or submits then the whole team is eliminated. Two women are in the ring while the others are on the apron. Lynch was in there with Brie at the start and then Team BAD worked over Lynch. Fans chanted for Sasha and cheered when she tagged in. That’s because of her amazing match at Takeover against Bayley. Tamina hit a clothesline on Lynch. The action spilled outside the ring with Naomi and Banks hitting dives outside the ring. The Bella Twins each hit suicide dives to take the others out. Fox was shoved off the top rope onto the other girls. Paige went up, then flipped onto the other eight girls and they were all down outside the ring. Brie tagged in and hit a facebuster on Tamina, so Team B.A.D. is eliminated.

Team B.A.D. is eliminated

It’s down to Team PCB against Team Bella with Paige unloading on Nikki with knees to the face. Fallaway slam by Paige. Big move outside the ring as Nikki hit an Alabama Slam on Paige outside the ring. Paige got back in and the Bellas hit a double team flapjack on her. The heels isolated Paige with Brie hitting some Daniel Bryan-like kicks and then yanked down Paige by her hair. Fox hit a Northern Lights Suplex for two and nailed an impressive looking dropkick. Fans were chanting “We Want Charlotte.” Nikki worked over Paige a bit. Fox nailed a kick to the back. Paige finally broke free to tag in Charlotte.

The crowd was on fire after Charlotte tagged in and nailed forearm shots on Fox followed by a Spear. She applied the Figure Eight on Fox, but Nikki broke it up. Paige tackled Nikki out of the ring. Charlotte and Fox each hit a boot to the face at the same time. Lynch got the tag while Brie also tagged in. They exchanged punches, Brie kicked her away and Brie missed her dropkick. Pumphandle into a suplex by Lynch on Brie is enough for the pinfall win after 16 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Team PCB

The three members of PCB celebrated the win as the announcers put over Lynch for winning.

Analysis: **3/4 It was a solid match where all the women worked hard, but it was a little long with the heels working over Paige. The crowd was behind Charlotte more than anybody else by far, so I figured it would be Charlotte that would get the decisive win. I guess they went with Lynch because she’s a solid worker that has had a lot of great matches. The finish felt a bit flat because Lynch winning with that move was a bit of a surprise. I had Team PCB winning, so I’m glad I got that right. Last point is it’s nice to see the divas get more than 15 minutes in a PPV match.

The announcers plugged some fans winning a SummerSlam trip courtesy of Mountain Dew.

Cesaro made his entrance and they showed the “Cesaro Section” in the crowd. Kevin Owens was cheered even though he’s a heel. These fans recognize greatness. They showed clips of his match against Finn Balor at Takeover that he lost.

Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens

There was a very fast pace to the match with Owens attacking Cesaro outside the ring. Then Cesaro nailed a spinning dive outside the ring to take out Owens. Cesaro charged in, so Owens tossed him into the barricade. Cannonball attack by Owens against the barricade. In the ring, Owens hit two running senton splashes in a row for two. Owens: “And that’s why I’m the man.” He sure is. Cesaro missed a corner attack and Owens nailed a spinning neckbreaker after putting Cesaro on his shoulders. Owens hit a flipping legdrop for two because he’s a great athlete even though he’s a bigger man. Cesaro started a comeback with forearm shots, then put Owens on his shoulders and slammed him down in a move that showed just how strong Cesaro is. Owens was on the top, so Cesaro brought him down with a Gutwrench suplex for two. Owens powered out of a Neutralizer attempt by Cesaro. Owens nailed an amazing Tornado DDT for two. Owens went for a moonsault, but Cesaro moved out of the way. Owens nailed Cesaro with a Superkick for a two count.

Cesaro nailed an impressive looking uppercut outside the ring. Great job of selling it by Owens. Back in the ring, it’s Cesaro Swing time. He stopped after about ten times and then Cesaro applied a Sharpshooter in honor of his injured tag team partner Tyson Kidd. Owens got to the ropes. They battled on the top rope. With Owens seated on the top rope, Cesaro jumped up and connected with a dropkick. Owens crotched him on the top rope and then hit the cradle suplex off the middle ropes. Owens followed that up with the Popup Powerbomb after 14 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Kevin Owens

Post match, Owens celebrated his win. The announcers did a good job of putting it over as a big deal.

Analysis: ***1/2 A very physical match that was exciting from start to finish and could have ended at several different points. They have great chemistry. They’re also two guys with unique offensive moves that look credible. Seeing Cesaro lift Owens over his head is so impressive every time he does. As for Owens, for a big guy he’s so agile and also mixes in the power too. I liked the finish a lot because Owens needed a few big moves in a row to put him away. If a guy wins with one big move then it can be considered a fluke as a finish. If he wins a move after two really big moves in a row it makes him look strong. The second best match on the show so far. I’m glad Owens won because I picked him, but also because I felt like he needed it more. Cesaro does need some big wins too.

There was a commercial for Night of Champions on September 20.

The video package aired for Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker. It’s excellent, but also repetitive if you watch the weekly shows.

Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker

When Undertaker was on the steps taking off his coat, Lesnar attacked him. Undertaker ended up fighting back and sent Lesnar out of the ring. Very intense beginning to the match. I liked that start a lot. The bell rang as Lesnar took him down. Fans were chanting “Undertaker/Suplex City” for them. When Undertaker went for the Old School Clothesline, Lesnar put him on his shoulders teasing a F5, but Undertaker stopped that teasing a chokeslam. Lesnar hit an overhead belly to belly suplex. Lesnar nailed a German Suplex. Lesnar looked at the camera: “Suplex City, bitch.” Undertaker used momentum to send Lesnar into the turnbuckle. Undertaker nailed snake eyes on the turnbuckle followed by a big boot to the face. Lesnar is bleeding above the eye. Undertaker nailed his legdrop on the apron. They exchanged punches, Undertaker wanted a Chokeslam, but Lesnar fought back with a release German Suplex. There’s another release German Suplex by Lesnar. He nailed another one, so Undertaker rolled outside the ring. Lesnar cleaned off the French announce table. Undertaker stopped him, but Lesnar put him on his shoulders and gave him a F5 through the announce table. The replay showed that Undertaker’s ribs hit the edge of the announce table. The ref didn’t count while they were outside the ring, but then he did after Lesnar hit the move. Undertaker slowly crawled back into the ring before the ten count.

Back in the ring, Lesnar was trash talking Undertaker. Taker said “you’re gonna have to” so I assume Lesnar said he’d kill him. Undertaker nailed a huge Chokeslam that Lesnar sold great. Undertaker hit Lesnar with a Tombstone, but Lesnar kicked out at two. Lesnar laughed at his face. Undertaker sat up and laughed right back at him. Lesnar went for a Kimura Lock, but they were in the ropes. Predictable spot time with Undertaker hitting a Last Ride Powerbomb for a two count. He loves that spot. Lesnar picked up Undertaker and hit a F5 for a two count. That’s the second F5, but the first time that it was in the ring. Lesnar had a shocked look on his face. Lesnar hit the F5 again. Undertaker kicked out at two again. Lesnar was stunned that Undertaker kicked out. Lesnar was stunned by what happened, so Undertaker applied the Hell’s Gate arm/neck submission. Lesnar fought out of it and applied the Kimura Lock armbar submission. Fans were clapping to help Undertaker fight back. Kimura Lock was still on, Lesnar’s shoulders were down briefly although he made a point to get one of them up and then the bell rang suddenly. The ref never called for it. What the hell was that?

Referee Charles Robinson yelled at the timekeeper saying he didn’t call for the bell. While that was going on, Undertaker gave Lesnar a low blow from behind. The ref didn’t see that either. Undertaker applied the Hell’s Gate submission hold. Lesnar gave him the middle finger with his left hand while in the hold. Then Lesnar passed out and the ref called for the bell. The match went 17 minutes.

Winner by submission: The Undertaker

After the match, Undertaker went to the back. Replays showed that when Lesnar applied the Kimura Lock, Undertaker did tap out by taping the leg of Lesnar. The referee was on the other side, so he didn’t see it. Heyman and Lesnar were furious about it.

Analysis: ***1/4 It was an intense match and pretty good for the time given. I didn’t like the finish very much at all. I know they wanted to do something without having either guy lose clean and obviously the goal was to have Undertaker go over to necessitate another match with them (like WrestleMania 32), but that was just weird. It’s going to upset fans when you do something like that because they want to see decisive winners at a major show like this one. Instead, we get that. Lesnar did a great job offensively for much of the match. Give Undertaker credit for taking Lesnar’s power moves while always finding a way to come back. Undertaker selling the rib injury was very good too. It’s just that finish left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. I doubt there are going to be a lot of people that will call that a great finish. I guess we can just assume there’s another match for them at WrestleMania 32.

Post match, Paul Heyman had the microphone and was ranting. He said that Lesnar was the winner by submission. The show ended with Lesnar’s music playing while he left with Heyman. The PPV was over at 10:46pmET.

Five Stars of the Show

• Seth Rollins
• Kevin Owens
• Brock Lesnar
• (tie) John Cena
• (tie) Undertaker

Final Thoughts

It gets a 7 out of 10 from me. There were several matches above average that I’d watch again, but there wasn’t anything that was a match of the year candidate. Nothing was that special that you need to out of your way to see. For comparison sake, I gave Takeover Brooklyn a 9 out of 10.

I think to sum it up the best thing to say is the work in the ring was pretty good most of the night, but some of the booking decisions were questionable at best. The talent in the company is definitely there. I just don’t think the creative decisions on this show were the best that they could have been. That’s why I know there will be some people that think I’m being too nice with a 7/10, but I have a lot of respect for the wrestlers and they did well.

Going into the show I didn’t expect Cena/Rollins or Lesnar/Undertaker to have a clean finish. Neither did. Tough matches to book.

I think with Cena/Rollins they had a fantastic match with a memorable finish because Jon Stewart was a factor in it. That’s going to get WWE a lot of press, which is what they love. I bet they started sending out videos to all the major entertainment TV shows and websites because they want as much attention as possible. I thought Rollins had one of the best performances of his WWE career, if not the best.

That Undertaker/Lesnar match was better than what they did at WrestleMania 30 last year, but I can’t sit here and say much positive about the finish. I’m sure somebody thought it was a clever idea. Not me. I just think they could have done something else even with a dumb ref spot like he gets poked in the eye and misses the low blow before the finish. What they did protects Lesnar, but this is also the third PPV main event match that he has failed to win by pinfall or submission.

After those two matches, the Owens/Cesaro match was a highlight for me just because I’m a huge fan of those guys. I want to see more matches for them.

Another highlight was The New Day’s celebration. Love those guys.

Aside from Stewart interfering in the WWE Title match, there really wasn’t anything that shocking or surprising in the four hour show. WWE needs to do a better job of giving us memorable moments.

I went 6-3-1 in my predictions with the 1 going to the double countout finish.

2015 PPV Rankings (Scores out of 10)

WrestleMania – 8

Elimination Chamber 7.5

SummerSlam – 7

Battleground – 7

Payback – 7

Money in the Bank – 6.5

Extreme Rules – 6

Fastlane – 5

Royal Rumble 4

———

Check out my feature column archive that’s exclusive to WhatCulture.

This week’s Raw Deal will be live at TJRWrestling.net , so check it out live or after the show is over. Have a great week.

John Canton – [email protected]

Twitter @johnreport

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WWE Hall of Fame ceremony live stream, start time: Paul Heyman headlines 2024 class in Philadelphia

All the information you need to watch the wwe hall of fame ceremony in philadelphia.

Paul Heyman receives a hardcore homecoming in Philadelphia, ground zero of Extreme Championship Wrestling. The former ECW boss headlines the 2024 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony on Friday immediately after SmackDown.

Heyman will join the Hall of Fame in the city where he rallied rebellious fans and professional wrestlers around the cult classic ECW promotion. Heyman has spent nearly four decades in pro wrestling and is going strong as special counsel to The Bloodline. Heyman will be inducted by The Bloodline's leader, undisputed WWE universal champion Roman Reigns.

Reigns and Heyman are not the only members of The Bloodline taking to the podium on Friday. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson will also speak at the ceremony, inducting his later grandmother and former wrestling promoter Lia Maivia.

This year's celebrity inductee is one of the most famous people in history. Boxing icon Muhammad Ali enters the Hall of Fame's celebrity wing, inducted by his widow Lonnie Ali. Take a look below at the full list of 2024 inductees.

• Paul Heyman
• Muhammad Ali
• Bull Nakano
• U.S. Express (Mike Rotunda and Barry Windham)
• Thunderbolt Patterson

Below is how you can catch watch the Hall of Fame ceremony on Friday night.

Watch 2024 WWE Hall of Fame

Date: April 5 Location: Wells Fargo Center -- Philadelphia Start time: 10 p.m. ET Watch live:  Peacock

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