SHOWN TO CLUB 69 FLIRTS

AUGUST 11th 2019

FROM 10pm

CONFIRMED MATCHES

2019 WWE SummerSlam matchesUniversal Championship -- Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Seth Rollins: At Extreme Rules, Lesnar earned three-time universal champion status when he cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on the man who took the title from him in the WrestleMania 35 opener. Still positioned -- for now -- as the top babyface on Raw, the "Beast Slayer" earned the right to challenge Lesnar the very next night on Raw when he won a 10-man battle royal. The opening match of WrestleMania 35 will now be run back at SummerSlam -- this time likely in the main event.

WWE Championship -- Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Randy Orton: Kingston was afforded the opportunity to choose his own challenger for SummerSlam, and he wasted no time in calling out a familiar foe he has storied history with in Orton. What's incredible about this feud is the fact that they're firmly tying in everything that went down in 2009 between these two, which will, without question, make this program all the more enjoyable over the next several weeks.

Raw Women's Championship -- Becky Lynch (c) vs. Natalya (Submission Match): It was clear Lynch needed to move on from Lacey Evans, so there was a fatal 4-way elimination match held on Raw to determine her next challenger. Natalya emerged victorious from that match and had some words with her "friend" afterwards. These two have been getting the better of each other since, and Natalya teased challenging Lynch to a submission match. That stipulation was added to the bout, as expected, just six days prior to the show. 

SmackDown Women's Championship -- Bayley (c) vs. Ember Moon: If we thought the Raw women's title match at SummerSlam was a bit out of left field, then how about this one on the blue brand, eh? After teaming together on SmackDown, Bayley went ahead in the middle of the ring to offer Moon a title shot, which of course the challenger quickly accepted. I'd be surprised, though, if Charlotte Flair isn't added to this match in the coming weeks. 

Charlotte Flair vs. Trish Stratus: Flair said that she wanted the opportunity to prove that she's the best of any era, and she laid down a challenge to a woman also considered by some to be the greatest female performer of all time. When it comes to dream matches nowadays, especially in the women's division, it truly doesn't get any bigger than this -- and is Stratus' hometown of Toronto, no less.

United States Championship -- AJ Styles (c) vs. Ricochet: These two have, unsurprisingly, put on some terrific matches of late. Styles took the U.S. title from Ricochet at Extreme Rules with some assistance from The Club, and Ricochet was able to earn his rematch by emerging victorious from a gauntlet match on Raw. This particular match has show-stealing potential come SummerSlam if given the proper amount of time. 

Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon: If Owens loses, he will quit WWE. One of the top -- and best -- storylines going in the company right now will come to a head at SummerSlam. After weeks of back and forth, Owens laid down the challenge to McMahon for the match in Toronto, and that challenge was quickly accepted. Owens' star as a babyface continues to shine brighter and brighter each week, so bringing an end to the Shane McMahon reign of terror at SummerSlam would be a huge step in the right direction. 

"The Fiend" Bray Wyatt vs. Finn Balor: Wyatt targeted Balor upon his long-awaited return, and two weeks later, Balor presented the challenge. Wyatt, from the "Firefly Funhouse," accepted on behalf of his demonic alter-ego. With Balor reportedly set to take some extended time off in the near future, this match likely may not feature an appearance from Balor's "Demon" persona. Though, you never know -- WWE may be so hellbent on getting this new Wyatt character over that he could be the first one to hand Balor's respective alter-ego a loss, making Balor's impending return after vacation all the more intriguing. We shall see. 

Goldberg vs. Dolph Ziggler: Shawn Michaels was involved in the Ziggler vs. The Miz feud as a nice swerve for a returning Goldberg, who Ziggler called out on the mic in consecutive weeks to start the feud. Miz tricked Ziggler into signing a SummerSlam contract without looking at the terms, and Goldberg surprised Ziggler at the end of Raw. This will likely be a short squash match with Goldberg getting a farewell match to make up for his disaster against The Undertaker a few months ago in Saudi Arabia. Miz will face Ziggler next Monday on Raw.

Cruiserweight Championship -- Drew Gulak (c) vs. Oney Lorcan: Five nights ahead of SummerSlam, Lorcan won a six-pack challenge to earn the title shot in Toronto. Lorcan has been a workhorse for the company over the course of the past year, and has earned this spot in the big stage. One thing for certain is that this could very well be the most physical match of the entire night on Sunday. 

HIGHLIGHTS

RESULTS

Cruiserweight Championship -- Drew Gulak (c) def. Oney Lorcan via pinfall to retain the title (Kickoff Show): In a short and unspectacular match, Gulak punched Lorcan in the throat with the official's back turned and followed with his Cyclone Crash finisher for the 1-2-3.

Buddy Murphy def. Apollo Crews via disqualification (Kickoff Show): Good use of storyline continuity here as Rowan brought an end to a decent start to the match by running in and attacking Murphy outside the ring. The DQ was forced in response to Murphy telling Roman Reigns on Tuesday's episode of SmackDown that it was Rowan who attempted to crush him with a lighting rig the week before. Rowan continued to beat Murphy down as Daniel Bryan watched on a backstage monitor. After being stomped and floored with a running tackle, Murphy was power bombed into the ring post by Rowan and told, "Keep my name out of your mouth."

Women's Tag Team Championship -- Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross (c) def. The IIconics via pinfall to retain the titles (Kickoff Show): Added to the card just hours before the kickoff show began, this title rematch failed to produce anything close to a big-match feel, in part because of some in-ring sloppiness. Bliss, whose ring gear served as a nod to "Toy Story" character Buzz Lightyear, laid out Peyton Royce with a right hand late in the match before hitting her Twisted Bliss finisher as Cross took care of Billie Kay outside the ring.

Raw Women's Championship -- Becky Lynch (c) def. Natalya via submission to retain the title (Submission Match): Good little piece of business here to begin the main card as the two competitors succeeded in getting the crowd invested emotionally. The intensity that helped make the build so good certainly carried over into the match. Although the Canadian crowd was pro-Natalya to start, Lynch won them over after applying the Sharpshooter on Natalya who countered soon after by putting Lynch in the Dis-Arm-Her. Natalya locked in her own Sharpshooter moments later and held it for an extended period of time until Lynch eventually reversed it into the Dis-Arm-Her to produce a tap that popped the crowd. 

Goldberg def. Dolph Ziggler via pinfall: Unless you're a die-hard mark for the legendary Goldberg, this match was a gratuitous piece of predictable pointlessness. The build was rushed and confusing after Shawn Michaels was teased and The Miz was eventually announced as Ziggler's opponent only for Goldberg to be inserted late. Ziggler cut an obnoxious pre-match promo calling himself "the best damn thing to happen to pro wrestling" and nearly surprised Goldberg with a sneaky superkick off the opening bell that produced a two count. Everything from there on out was straight out of the Goldberg squash playbook as Ziggler hit a second kick but got a one count, eating a stiff spear and a Jackhammer in succession for the pin. From there, things only got more pointless as twice a beaten down Ziggler grabbed the microphone to disparage Goldberg only for the Hall of Famer to return to the ring (once after leaving through the TitanTron area) and flatten Ziggler once again with spears. It's possible this was booked as a make-good for Goldberg, who turned in a sloppy and forgettable main event performance in Saudi Arabia against The Undertaker a few months out. If so, it's a shame Ziggler's character needed to job out so badly for it.

United States Championship -- AJ Styles (c) def. Ricochet via pinfall to retain the title: With a finish this good, it's a shame these two weren't given more time to deliver a proper classic. Clad in a full-length superhero bodysuit, Ricochet provided the expected amount of death-defying athleticism and complimentary in-ring chemistry opposite Styles. Ricochet launched from the ring apron and used the shoulders of The OC as steps before hitting Styles with a hurricanrana on the floor. While selling an injured left leg, Ricochet also hit a beautiful springboard elbow from the top rope for a near fall. But despite succeeding in fighting off the efforts to interfere from Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, the heel tandem caused enough of a delay on their final distraction attempt to have a hand in the finish. Ricochet attempted a Phoenix Splash off the top rope and was caught in mid-air and reversed into a Styles Clash in an incredible spot to finish the match. Afterwards, Styles urged on The OC to hit the Magic Killer on Ricochet.

SmackDown Women's Championship -- Bayley (c) def. Ember Moon via pinfall to retain the title: The lack of crowd interest made this feel more like a match on weekly television than a PPV title bout. Unfortunately, the performance of both competitors wasn't enough to change that reality. Moon held the upper hand for the majority of the second half, hitting a hurricanrana off the top rope for the first of there near falls. But Bayley was able to put the match away with a Bayley-to-Belly suplex from the second rope that wasn't enough to wake up the silent crowd.

Kevin Owens def. Shane McMahon via pinfall: The stipulation entering the match was that Owens must quit WWE if he lost to McMahon. Elias served as ringside enforcer, as announced by McMahon, and what followed was a collection of WWE's most predictable booking practices as Owens fought off constant interference that cost him pin attempts and nearly saw him counted out a handful of times. KO appeared to have the match won after he ducked a punch attempt from McMahon that knocked Elias off the apron. He landed a flipping senton from one top rope on McMahon before hitting a frog splash from another until Elias pulled the referee out to avoid the pin. KO took out both Elias and the referee with a running senton outside. After the referee later awoke to see Owens with a chair in his hand, KO waited for the referee to turn his back after taking it before kicking McMahon low and hitting a stunner for the pin. 

Charlotte Flair def. Trish Stratus via submission: It took a long time for these female legends of yesteryear and today to get the crowd to buy in to what they were doing, but once they did, there was no shortage of drama and intensity. In what could be called a passing of the torch (or the female version of The Rock-Hulk Hogan from WrestleMania 18 in the same city), the two performers certainly sold out physically to make the most of the match as Stratus rallied from a long beating to eventually put Flair in trouble by applying her own Figure Eight leg lock. A bevy of near falls helped fuel the turnaround late in the match as the 43-year-old Stratus did well to keep up with Flair. Stratus came close to rewarding her home fans in Toronto by hitting both Stratusfaction and a Chick Kick for separate two counts until Flair put the match away with the tap out.

WWE Championship -- Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Randy Orton ends in a double countout:There's nothing like awful booking to spoil what could have been a fun match. Kingston and Orton had their moments in this one and seemed to be building momentum until a double countout finish, spurred on by Orton talking trash to Kingston's kids at ringside. That finish was simply unacceptable (and a complete rehash of the AJ Styles-Samoa Joe match at SummerSlam from one year ago). The fact that Kingston flashed a quasi-heel turn in reaction to Orton's treatment of his children -- by grabbing a kendo stick and beating him in the center of the ring -- failed in getting much of a reaction from a crowd still chanting "bullshit" in regards to the ending. Orton appeared to have the match won late when he intercepted a top rope splash attempt by Kingston and caught him in an RKO. But as Orton took his time laughing on the canvas, Kingston deftly rolled out of the ring to set up the finish. 

"The Fiend" Bray Wyatt def. Finn Balor via pinfall: The in-ring debut of Wyatt's new persona, The Fiend, saw him enter to a Marilyn Manson-like remixed theme song against Balor (who was aptly dressed in all white to perfectly contrast Wyatt's sadistic evil). It also saw Wyatt get the booking he deserved complete with some strong character development. Wyatt violently snapped Balor's neck with his hands before hitting a uranage. He then set up for Sister Abigail until he appeared to look conflicted following a change of heart. Balor used the opening to rally before succumbing to a pinfall via mandible claw that left him decimated. The lights went out and Wyatt disappeared, putting the proper ribbon on a strong debut match (and even better entrance) for his new character.

Universal Championship -- Seth Rollins def. Brock Lesnar (c) via pinfall: In a better match than expected following a deridingly vanilla build, Rollins captured the crowd's adoration with a gutsy and dramatic performance. Nursing a rib injury coming into the match, Rollins overcame an early beating and a plethora of German suplexes to work his way back into an excitingly physical match against an inspired Lesnar. In the end, he also slayed "The Beast" cleanly for the second time in four months in this rematch from WrestleMania. This time, Rollins didn't need to rely on illegal tactics like low blows to do the impossible as the story of his mid-match comeback was well told. Although Rollins struggled as a babyface in terms of delivering believable promos in recent weeks, he nailed his performance in this match from the standpoint of delivering fire and passion. He also hit the spot of the match when he leaped off the top rope to frog splash Lesnar through the announce table. After another frog splash inside the ring, Lesnar went on to kick out of a stomp attempt until Rollins reversed out of an F5 and hit a super kick and a second stomp for the 1-2-3. In the end, WWE deserves criticism for how basic the handling of this feud was from Lesnar cashing in his Money in the Bank contract to a handful of carbon-copy attacks from both. But they hit a good high note in this one, even if smart fans exited the broadcast perplexed that the Roman Reigns-Daniel Bryan angle came and went on Sunday without anything more than a kickoff show tease.

© WWE 2019