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Tuesday marked the very last chance WWE had to hype SummerSlam, as Smackdown Live took center stage.
Over the course of two brisk hours, I felt that the blue brand did a good job of putting the final touches on the stories surrounding its top matches and still managed to produce some quality wrestling at the same time.
Before I delve deeper into my analysis, here are the full match results from the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas:
- American Alpha, The Hype Bros & The Usos def. The Ascension, The Vaudevillains & Breezango
- Eva Marie vs. Naomi ended in a no contest
- Heath Slater def. Randy Orton via disqualification
- Dean Ambrose def. Erick Rowan
- Becky Lynch & Carmella def. Natalya & Alexa Bliss
- John Cena def. Alberto Del Rio
Cena stood tall over AJ Styles
To hear that Cena stood tall over anyone should come as no surprise to anyone that has paid attention to WWE programming over the last decade or more, but it did raise some eyebrows as it pertains to the possible outcome to his grudge match against Styles at SummerSlam.
After Cena defeated Del Rio in a very entertaining main-event match, Styles, who was sitting ringside doing commentary, hit Cena with the phenomenal forearm.
Styles then grabbed a microphone and talked some trash to Cena, but the face the runs the place quickly recovered and caught Styles with an attitude adjustment.
However, that wasnt enough Cena. He had to up the ante. He grabbed a pair of steel steps, dragged them over to the announcer table, picked up Styles and tossed through the table, as the program went off the air.
Why is this noteworthy? As I said earlier, Cena stands tall over people more often than not, but if you follow the typical booking trend of WWE, this may mean Styles is going to defeat Cena at SummerSlam.
In the world of WWE, the person that gets the upper hand heading into the pay-per-view is usually losing the match at the pay-per-view. Ill be the first to say that this is not what happens 100 percent of the time.
There have been times when the guy that stood tall went on to win at the pay-per-view. A prime example of that was Daniel Bryan before WrestleMania 30.
Another reason that it may not happen this time is because it is Cena. It may sound too simple, but it really is just that simple. Cena wins a lot more than he loses. That is just how it is.
But if WWE follows its typical booking pattern and gives Styles another victory over Cena clean or not it will be looked at as a huge deal.
While Cena remains loyal to WWE and professes as much every chance he gets, his list of obligations outside of WWE are growing. Even if that list isnt growing on its own, Cena will do what he can to make sure that it indeed grows.
With that being said, Cena and possibly even WWE may feel it is time for Cena to take a big loss and pass a torch of sorts to Styles as the leader of Smackdown Live.
Or maybe Cena will just win again.
Dolph Ziggler continued to look strong
One of the best things since the brand extension has been the rehabilitation of the credibility of Zigglers character from a wins and losses standpoint.
Ziggler has always been seen in the eyes of the fans as extremely talented and very capable of having quality matches, but not always as a guy that can legitimately challenge for a top championship.
Over the course of a month, WWE has simply yet effectively made Ziggler credible again and that continued Tuesday night on Smackdown Live.
Ziggler had yet another verbal exchange with WWE World champion Ambrose Tuesday and cut yet another tremendous promo. It amazes me that Ziggler rarely got the microphone before the brand extension, as the guy clearly has the ability to talk. He moonlights as a standup comedian for goodness sakes.
You can tell in his promos since the brand extension that he has been itching at the chance to get some time on the microphone and he has since taken full advantage of it.
The best part, however, was the notion that he was simple one move away from being WWE World champion and that one move is the super kick. Yes, its a lot like what Shawn Michaels used to tell a lot of his opponents about the same move, but this is far from the first time Ziggler has channeled Michaels in some way.
He definitely did by hitting Ambrose with a super kick out of the blue to end the segment.
I cant say enough how much I have enjoyed WWEs simple approach to building this feud. It probably would not be able to keep things this simple if Smackdown Live was a three-show as oppose to just two, but that is one of the advantages Smackdown Live has over Raw.
The Heath Slater saga continued
One of the best things going in all of WWE is the running storyline involving Slater.
After taking part in a great segment with Brock Lesnar Monday, Slater was back at it again Tuesday, as he continued his pursuit of a contract with one of the brands.
This time, he got a match against Lesnars opponent at SummerSlam, Orton.
With the odds stacked against him, Slater dug deep and found a way to defeat the former world champion in a huge upset.
OK, thats not what really happened. Slater technically did get the victory, but only by disqualification because Orton failed to adhere to the referees counts while he was beating the daylights out of Slater.
But hey, a win is a win for Slater and he doesnt get those very often. Im sure h**l take it.
After Slater was given the victory, Orton continued the beating he was dishing out and even mocked Lesnar by giving Slater a trip to Suplex City. Orton even bounced around the ring like Lesnar, which was pretty cool.
But this wasnt really about that big match between Orton and Lesnar. This was really about Slater and the plethora of children he has to support.
Slater eventually made his way into the trainers room and was receiving medical attention when Smackdown Live general manager Daniel Bryan and commissioner Shane McMahon walked into the room and commended Slater on his bravery and once again offered him a contract.
Slater seemed very grateful to finally get the offer and had a pen in his hand in preparation to sign, but was knocked so silly, he began calling Bryan and McMahon their Raw counterparts, Mick Foley and Stephanie McMahon.
This apparently offended Shane McMahon, as he quickly slipped the contract from under Slaters pen, which means the poor guy still doesnt have a contract. Slater was so out of it he had no idea what had even happened until they left.
Eva Marie got stuck in traffic
This week on How Eva Marie Got Out of a Wrestling Match, Eva Marie was slated to go against Naomi, who had a fantastic entrance.
Naomis great entrance was all for naught, as Eva Maries fantastic announcer told the audience that she was unable to compete due to her being stuck in traffic. What a shame.
Eva Marie eventually made it to the building and interrupted the womens tag team match, but was quickly thwarted by Naomi, who still wanted Eva Marie to catch the fade she had waiting for her earlier in the night. Eva Marie wanted no parts and ran away.
All of this set up a six-woman tag team match at SummerSlam. Naomi will team up with Becky Lynch and Carmella to face Eva Marie, Natalya and Alexa Bliss.
Bray Wyatt left Erick Rowan hanging
In a surprising turn of events, Wyatt left the ring without Rowan after the latter lost to Ambrose on Smackdown Live.
This was done without any explanation, but it definitely left a lot of questions as to what will be next for each man if they are indeed going their separate ways.
Wyatt could easily stand on his own as a heel or even a babyface. However, Im not so sure about Rowan. When he went on his own back in 2014, he remained mostly the same and his singles run was largely forgettable.
A complete overhaul of his character may help this time around, but that obviously depends on what direction WWE takes with him.
Curt Hawkins returning to Smackdown Live
It was officially announced Tuesday former WWE Tag Team champion Curt Hawkins is returning to WWE and will part of Smackdown Live.
Hawkins was last with the company in 2014 and has spent the last two years working on the independent circuit.
Hawkins was never the biggest star in the world, but was always good in the ring. He looks to be coming in with a new character, which could help him this time around. If nothing else, he provides depth on the roster and could help get some of the younger talents over.
No hype for the Intercontinental championship
The reason why I am saving this for last is because WWE thought so little of what is supposed to be its second-most prestigious title that it only had time to hype the feud surrounding during a commercial break.
Thats right, during a commercial break.
Current Intercontinental champion The Miz was in the ring doing another episode of Miz TV during the opening segment, but mentioned nothing about his title defense at SummerSlam against Apollo Crews.
Instead, he was busy getting in between Ambrose and Ziggler.
It wasnt until the commercial break when The Miz and Crews had some interaction, which puzzled me.
This isnt just any other title. This is the Intercontinental championship and WWE tells me on commentary every week how prestigious it is, but cant even find the time to promote its match on television? Outside of not having it on the show at all, that is about as bad as it gets.
Both The Miz and Crews deserve better than that.
Published: August 17, 2016 1:48 AM EDT | Updated: August 17, 2016 4:00 AM EDT
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