This Week In WWE Review (21/7/25 – 27/7/25)

Best IN the World

The show opened with a solid promo exchange between CM Punk and the WWE world heavyweight champion, Gunther. CM Punk praises Gunther’s ability and accolades but reminds him that he is the best in the world. Punk promises that even if he does not win, he will give everything he has to beat Gunther.

Gunther says Punk has an ego, but it makes sense since the fans have chanted his name for 10 years. He says that he has an ego too, but his is justified. Gunther has proven to be the best and the world title proves it to be true. At the end of it all, Punk will lose but at least he will have his worthless fans still cheering for him.

I love both these guys so I was never going to hate this. It was fine, generic as hell but it was well executed. It created more hype for their match and I guess that is all that it needed to do.

After Banger

Sheamus defeated Rusev in the first match of the night. It was another good match as you would expect, but no where near as good as their first encounter. This was very similar to their match 3 weeks ago, very physical and Rusev struggling to keep Sheamus down.

Rusev tries to use the exposed turnbuckle again, but it backfires and allows Sheamus to use it, hit the Brogue kick and win. I liked that storyline touch. I imagine we will see another rematch, hopefully at Summerslam. They can wrestle all year as long as they keep it fresh!

Raw Tag Division Finally Get a W

It has been a long time coming, but we finally got some good booking for the Raw tag division. I know! I was surprised too.

The LWO Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro defeated American Made and the New Day to earn a tag title opportunity. This was a really fun match, in a format that WWE rarely use. This was a triple threat tag, but each team had a legal man in the match at all times. It was rarely 1v1 so this was quite exciting with a lot of action.

The crowd were a bit quite during the heat segments but they reacted positively to the LWO which is good. I am glad to see them get the win, they have barely been featured on TV so they are a refreshing challenger to be invested in. Cruz Del Toro was beaten down most of the match, so this was mostly a highlight for Joaquin Wilde and he made the most of his time. He looked great and scored a huge win for this team.

We saw El Grande Americano who tried to take out Dragon Lee and screw over the LWO but it didn’t work out.

Shoe on the other foot

Becky Lynch is making a sacrifice to be in Houston rather than the premiere for her movie Happy Gilmore 2. She has business to address. Becky says she is holding women down to lift herself up like Lyra says, but at least she is honest about it. Lyra is just as bad, now she is hogging championship opportunities by chasing the IC title still and now trying to win the women’s tag titles again, more on that later. “How greedy can you be, who needs 2 titles?” Becky then gloats about ‘Becky 2 Belts’ being ground-breaking and not the same. Such good heel work.

Becky calls Lyra to come out and she does. They are 1-1 in singles, Becky has turned her into a mega star but now the benefits stop. She is going to extend the same challenge to Lyra. When Lyra loses at Summerslam, she cannot challenge for the IC title again. Valkyria accepts the challenge but throws one back at Becky. No DQ, no count outs, there must be a winner. Becky sheepishly accepts before demanding some respect and a handshake from Lyra. Lynch offers the hand, Lyra takes it, Becky goes for a cheap shot, Lyra hits her with the Manhandle Slam. She briefly poses before Bayley comes out for their tag match.

This was a pretty fun segment to raise the stakes for their match at Summerslam. I am absolutely loving this heel run for Becky Lynch so far and she is right, she has absolutely made Lyra Valkyria and this IC title feel so important.

So Bayley requested a tag title match tonight with Lyra Valkyria. Lyra confronts her about this, but Bayley says that it is water under the bridge and she just wanted to get them the match they were supposed to have at Wrestlemania. Valkyria suspects there is something else going on, as do I. Bayley seems focused on winning.

Bayley and Lyra face Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez for the gold and it was a very good match. All 4 ladies brought the intensity and it led to some great near falls in the final third. I liked how they didn’t do the whole “can they co-exist” thing with Bayley and Lyra. They worked together just fine and tried to win. Dominik Mysterio tried to get involved but AJ Styles attacked him. Unfortunately, this allowed Becky to attack Lyra, leaving Bayley on her own. Bayley is eventually taken out by the Tejana Bomb and the champs retain.

Very good match by all women, but another very good performance by Raquel Rodriguez in particular.

Another classic

Iyo Sky and Stephanie Vaquer decide to have a rematch to determine a definitive winner. Everyone liked that. This match was awesome, arguably the two best women’s wrestlers in WWE right now going toe to toe. This was incredibly even throughout, both women countering and reversing each other but always finding a way to come back. Vaquer dropped Iyo with a crazy inverted suplex from the top rope. That looked insane.

Before we find out who the better woman is, out come Chelsea Green and the Secret Hervice to ruin the party. They target Vaquer and the match gets thrown out. Then, out comes women’s champion Naomi to attack Iyo. Rhea Ripley comes out to clear house and stand tall, destroying Green with a Riptide to end the segment.

The match was great and the finish didn’t damage the result to me. It kept both Iyo and Vaquer looking strogn, whilst building hype to multiple feuds at the same time. I look forward to the eventually Vaquer vs Sky match without interference.

Dumbass

Paul Heyman comes out with Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker to try and vent before Roman Reigns comes out, but they are cut off by the OTC’s music. Heyman doesn’t want to be rude like Texans, but Rollins is going to be out for a long time. They need a leader and he knows how good of a leader Roman is. He says that him and Roman were always better together than against each other. Heyman says that he loves his Tribal Chief.

Roman Reigns laughs at the idea of leading this group. He asks Houston to acknowledge him. Roman says that once he would have said those were wise words, but Heyman is not a Wiseman anymore. He is a dumbass. Roman calls Heyman a dumbass a lot in this promo. Bron Breakker gets hot but Roman tells him to calm down.

Roman has seen Heyman take credit for his success and the Bloodline. He was the greatest champion ever and Heyman did play his part, but he never played a part in him keeping the title that long. Uso’s Solo and Sami did but not him. He didn’t leave and tuck his tail, he went to look after his kids and raise the next Bloodline. The Bloodline isn’t another faction, it is God’s work. Roman offered Heyman a place among his family, but he threw it away over a best friend. Roman did not ruin the Bloodline, Heyman did.

Breakker grabs the mic and calls Roman the Old Dog. He is the big dog now, he is the future and the man. Roman says he didn’t hear him and throws his mic towards him, allowing him to hit a Superman punch. Reigns launches an attack on Reed and Breakker but he gets overwhelmed. Jey Uso saves his cousin from a Tsunami as the show ends.

This was a fun closing segment. I have never seen Roman Reigns so over it is crazy to think how much he used to get booed. He is the most over man in WWE right now. I hope we are getting Reigns vs Breakker, but I think we are getting a tag match which would also be a lot of fun.

Wasting 2 years of our time

After their loss, the New Day pondered what they can do to fix their bad luck. They need an advantage and that is when Grayson Waller slides in. He proposes he become their “Big G” and that A-Town Down Under is dead. Austin Theory is injured, he can finally drop the dead weight and thrive.

Whilst I like the pairing of Waller and the New Day, what the fuck man? WWE have been slow burning an Austin Theory face turn for literally 2 years and now we are just breaking them up via a backstage segment? That is so fucking lame.

I understand Theory being injured, but they couldn’t have staged Waller taking him out? Or done anything else other than just breaking them up in a throwaway segment? It is booking decisions like this that seriously make me question Triple H being in charge, to string the fans along for years and have zero pay off is CRAZY.

Hopefully Theory comes back soon and shows his worth.

“Out Indefinitely”

Sami Zayn was injured and taken out by Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed. He was ruled out indefinitely, but he is back here 2 weeks later. I understand this is probably due to the ever growing list of injuries, and at least he still had his ribs taped up, but I thought this was pretty crap. It diminished the impact of the assault and it would have been awesome to hear the Sami pop in a few weeks time making his return to make the save.

He’s Kross

Karrion Kross finally got himself a victory by defeating a weakened Sami Zayn. This was a fine match, Kross slowly beating up his adversary until Sami gets the hot comeback. Kross got a cheap win using the lead pipe, which I think makes him look pretty weak rather than crafty. What happened to the unstoppable monster that Karrion Kross once used to be? Now he needs to cheat to beat an injured wrestler? That sucks.

I don’t really know what this means for either man, I fully expect both of them to return to limbo and not really do anything.

Jacy Two Belts

Jayne says it doesn’t matter who likes it, hates it, loves it or boos it, she runs women’s wrestling. She runs NXT and TNA now. The best part of it is how she did it without any help. Not bad for the most beatable champion in NXT history.

She says that it has become a cliché how everyone wants to make history, but she is for sure a history maker. Jacy is interrupted by Lash Legend. She gives Jacy her flowers, no one expected her to make it but she took the top spot. However, does she really think that she is going to be there for long? Jacy will down spiral fast because it is time for Lash Legend to rise. At Evolution she was the one everyone was talking about.

Legend realised that if she can compete with Raw and Smackdown stars, she should compete for one of these titles. Out comes Jaida Parker to a huge reaction. She gives Lash her flowers, but she is the walking reality check and she is the one who deserves to be next. Jacy will allow them to deal with that. “Get ’em girls!” Both Henley and Nyx refuse to attack which I thought was a nice touch.

Jacy Jayne attacks Jaida, so her followers attack Lash but they all fall short. Lash Legend and Jaida Parker stand face to face.

Another good heel promo by Jacy, but this was about Lash Legend and Jaida Parker. They are getting strong crowd reactions and they are quickly becoming two of the top women in NXT. I would like either of them to win the NXT title.

SHow Stealer

Trick Williams comes out and says their is a new sheriff in town. He brags about main eventing the biggest show in TNA history and that is a fact (it is not). He defeated Joe Hendry and Mike Santana, making him the undeniable greatest TNA champion of all time. Trick knows TNA doesn’t like him but he will drop anyone who gets in his way, including the guys from LFG who stood in his way.

Last week he stood on business and stood up to the LFG rookies and they snitched on Trick to their coach The Undertaker. Trick glazes Undertaker as one of the best, but he has never held down two brands at the same time. He says that LFG has made Undertaker soft and he has no problem being the man to call out the Deadman. “Bring your ass out here!”

Gong, followed by American Badass. Out comes The Undertaker looking fresh from the trailer park. He taunts in the ring, not even acknowledging Trick’s existence. He soaks in the chants for a while before addressing Trick. Taker says he sees a dead man walking. Trick has the TNA title, the bling and the real cow hide leather. He has it all except for respect. Taker keeps up with everybody and he knows the TNA champ Trick is different to NXT champ Trick. Trick used to be hungry and claw his way to the top, but not anymore. Taker says that he can have all the talent, but with his attitude he will lose his title and the walls will crumble down.

Undertaker says he tries to teach his LFG team respect, but Trick doesn’t give a damn. None of them are stars like him, no one in NXT or WWE is like Trick Williams. Undertaker has one more piece of advice. Trick is too light in the ass to step to an OG. If he wants to dance with the devil, Taker can flip the switch, but he will make him famous. Trick tries a cheap shot, Taker chokeslams him.

Undertaker is a legend for a reason. This was a really fun segment that will definitely benefit Trick in the long run.

Glamourous result

Blake Monroe defeated Wren Sinclair in a short WWE singles debut. It was 2 minutes but it was exactly what it needed to be. A showcase for Blake and a strong win for the rising star.

Jordynne Grace emerged through the crowd and beat up security guards to just get near Blake, but she eats a stiff headbutt. Blake hits her double underhook DDT onto a chair and Grace is out cold.

A short segment but a fun one.

North America’s Best

The North American champion Ethan Page is in the ring and he has a podium and something under a cloth. He calls himself the greatest North American champion. 17 Americans before him, but he wants to bring more honour and class than all of them combined. Page talks about his parents leaving Yugoslavia to go to the North America and start a new life. Page has travelled and seen every bingo hall and arena in North America. Who knows where Ethan Page would be if his parents made the wrong choice, but they made the right choice by raising him in Canada. Page reveals two Canadian flags that were being hidden.

Going forward, he refuses to represent the continent of North America. Ethan Page should be representing the dominance of Canada over America. He was born in Canada, made in America, making him the greatest North American alive. Page throws the title out of the ring onto the floor and unveils a new championship. It is the same front and side plates but the strap is the Canadian flag.

Ethan Page glazes how much better the athletes, the food, the women and even the air is better in Canada. He excepts the “stinky Texans” as they are because they are in HIS North America. Ethan Page closes his celebration by asking everyone to rise whilst he sings the Canadian National Anthem.

He is interrupted by TNA Director Santino Marella. “You know what, you have a big mouth Ethan Pagay.” Santino Marella praises Italian heroes like Bruno Sammartino and Rocky Balboa. He says that Ethan does not represent true Canadian values or the people of North American because he is a bumhole boy. Ethan Page tells him to go back to TNA. Marella agrees that the North American champion should be held by someone with honour and dignity…like him. Marella will see him next week. Page wants the match now, but Marella goes for the Cobra and Page escapes.

Huh. I am confused how to feel. So the entire Ethan Page promo I would give an A+. His delivery was fantastic, the reveal of the flags and the title was awesome. He did an amazing job and I think he just became NXT’s top heel for sure. Then, Santino Marella came out and the entire segment went to shit for me personally. I like Santino in cameo roles, but I don’t want him coming out and calling Ethan Page a “bumhole boy”. I didn’t like how this ended, but for the most part this was awesome.

The Ruler retains

Oba Femi retains his title in a fast paced main event match that surprisingly doesn’t even go 10 minutes. That isn’t a bad thing because this was a powerful sprint. Femi has a dominant run early but then Briggs and Inamura work together to wear down The Ruler. They did some good storytelling, even if I thought some of the spots were contrived. Briggs “accidentally” stepping on a referee’s hand to stop a pin was cool. Inamura Femi kicking out of Inamura’s pin, sending him onto Briggs to “accidentally” pin Briggs was not cool.

Inamura gets Femi on his own and nearly pins him, but Briggs breaks the pin count twice. Yoshiki hits his splash on Oba, Briggs breaks it with a huge moonsault and pins Oba for a great near fall. In the ring remains Briggs and Inamura to trade blows. Some great strike combinations and counters. They beat the hell out of each other until Oba rushes back in with a clothesline. He drops Briggs with the Fall From Grace to retain.

A very good match with an incredible last few minutes. Briggs and Inamura got physical, so I feel like their break up is inevitable at this point.

Great teaser after this by the way. Throughout the show Je’Von is writing in a book. At the end, he is approached by Undertaker to tell him to go after the biggest dog in the yard.

Remove this man

The show got off to an immediate bad start when Houston’s own Booker T did an introduction to the show. He sounded like the ramblings of a crack addict. He kept stumbling over his words and trying to get his own shit in. Booker also called Blake Monroe, Monica Monroe, which is not the first time he makes that mistake this entire night. I hate his commentary and I hate this entire aura that he brings.

Sure, it is nice to have a commentator be authentic and be unorthodox. I like that. However, I also want my commentator to have a clue what they are watching and also be coherent. They should provide something to the show, not just silly noises.

A Dull State

The show opens with an 8-person tag. The Culling take on the tag champions Hank & Tank as well as Zaria and Sol Ruca. It should be no surprise to you that I didn’t like a Hank & Tank match.

This was incredibly boring unless Zaria and Sol Ruca were on offence. They were the MVPs of this match, though Tatum Paxley and Izzi Dame did a good sell job. The match starts with a brawl on the outside, The Culling are on the back foot until the break when they are able to get heat on Tank. Hot tag and the babyfaces all make a comeback. Standard stuff.

Vic Joseph repeats at least twice that the men fight the men, and the women fight the women. Then, we see the women attack the men multiple times throughout the match and Vic calling it completely legal.

Hank and Tank suck but they weren’t even the worst part of this match. That honour goes to DarkState and the finish in general. Yippee! Get this right. Zaria hits Tatum with a spear, but doesn’t go for the pin for some reason. Sol Ruca takes out Izzi Dame on the outside then argues with Niko Vance. Shawn Spears hands Tatum Paxley a little doll, I assume it is one of Izzi, she looks at it and gets angry. Zaria is setting up for another spear. Then lights go out. DarkState appear in the crowd, stand there for a few seconds. Lights go out again, DarkState disappear, lights come back on, Tatum has Zaria in a stacked pin and wins.

WHAT? No explanation, no logic or nothing. That is the finish. What the fuck happened? Did Tatum hit her with the doll? Why was DarkState here? Why am I asking these questions because who even cares? This was terrible, genuinely one of the worst finishes to a WWE match this year. An awful finish capping off a sloppy, boring match.

Saints deserves Better

Ricky Saints loses to Jasper Troy by count out. This is the match you would expect from a big guy and a smaller guy. Ricky Saints tries to wear down Troy, but the big man hits a big slam and slowly beats him up. Saints fights back into the match and the action spills outside.

The action was just not fun to watch. There was an incredibly long bear hug spot which sucked the life out of the match. Troy is green as grass so his offence is very basic and hard to get invested in. Then again, the weakest part of the match was the finish but this was neither man’s fault. I believe the plan was for Troy to hit a senton on Ricky that would have sent both men through the entrance ramp. However, the ramp collapsed early with just Saints on it so the spot was blown up. Troy still hit his senton afterwards and it looked very comical. He gets back into the ring and wins by count out.

A weak match made worse by a botched finish. You hate to see it.

The Culling defeat Zaria, Sol Ruca, Hank & Tank (E Grade)

We Hear From the NXT & Knockouts Champion Jacy Jayne (B- Grade)

Jasper Troy defeats Ricky Saints by Count Out (D+ Grade)

Trick Williams Calls Out The Undertaker (B Grade)

Blake Monroe Defeats Wren Sinclair (C+ Grade)

Ethan Page North American Address (A- Grade)

Oba Femi (c) defeats Josh Briggs & Yoshiki Inamura, NXT Championship (B+ Grade)

Homecoming

The show opened with a 15 minute segment honouring Hulk Hogan. Triple H and all the wrestlers stood on the ramp for a 10 bell salute, then we got a video package highlighting Hulk’s career. It was touching and of course it is biased. I recommend you read my own article covering the polarising career of Hulk Hogan. I am not going to grade this because it feels a bit tacky to do so. Let’s move on to the next seg.

Logan Paul comes out in his hometown but still gets booed. He does a great job getting heat, claiming that the fans were just chanting “thank you Logan” when they were chanting “thank you Hogan”. Logan takes credit for making Cleveland relevant and he is giving back to the community tonight with a live edition of Impaulsive. He will be playing host for Jelly Roll, but he is interrupted by the grammy nominated singer.

Jelly Roll says the only thing Logan Paul has ever inspired are asshole kids to be assholes. He also says that no one in Cleveland likes him. Logan Paul tells him to shut up and reminds him that he is stepping in the ring with 2 of WWE’s finest. Other than a few cheap shots, Jelly Roll has got nothing. Jelly says that he is going to send him back in a bodybag. He doesn’t like how silver spoon-fed Logan is, whilst Jelly Roll wants to inspire the kids who come from nothing that they can make something of themselves. Jelly Roll is in the ring to bring light, whilst Logan only brings a ring light. Podcast reference.

Jelly Roll glazes the WWE before Drew McIntyre comes in and gets ready to fight. Out comes Randy Orton and we get a 4 man brawl. Jelly Roll gets a chance to show off some of his wrestling ability and, well, it ain’t great guys.

I’ll give Jelly some credit, he knows how to cut a promo even if some of his delivery was a bit too cringe for me. He landed a Black Hole slam which looked solid but man, that Irish Whip and back elbow was the shits. The man moves in slow motion. If he is reserved for a hot tag and a few hot moves I think it will be fine, but I do not see him being good enough to actually wrestle for longer than a minute at a time. The segment was fine, Logan Paul did great heel work and Jelly came across likable and got a lot of cheers.

Give me something real

Cody Rhodes comes out and addresses the complicated feelings towards Hulk Hogan but his contributions are indisputable. I appreciate that he acknowledged that fact. Tonight we are not talking about virtue or victory, we are talking about violence. He will do what it takes to get back what he wants. Cody says that at Summerslam he doesn’t want to fight this pathetic version of John Cena. he wants the real John Cena. The WWE title is the biggest title and he wants to defeat the biggest stars. This isn’t about nostalgia, if this is Cena’s last Summerslam he better show up like it is his first.

Cody wants John Cena to talk to Stu, show the hustle and loyalty so that they can beat the respect out of each other. Rhodes needs to know that his story wasn’t a fantasy and it was real.

A straight to the point promo from Cody here, building more hype for his mega rematch with Cena. I theorise that we might actually get the return of the “real” John Cena, but it is a ruse and leads to another cheap win for the champ. A great delivery from Cody as always.

Return From Injury

Damn remember Kiana James? You might not but she is being reintroduced her tonight at Smackdown as a representative for the US champion Giulia. She should hopefully thrive in this role and I look forward to seeing what she can do as part of the WWE main roster properly. Always nice to see an injury return.

Forgettable

Roxanne Perez defeated Alexa Bliss in a short and pretty forgettable match. Perez gets heat, Bliss fights back, Perez gets a cheap win. The match only goes 7 minutes so they really do not get much time to tell much more than that. The focus was mostly on the outside shenanigans of Charlotte Flair and Raquel Rodriguez rather than the match which is disappointing. Bliss sacrifices the match by diving onto Raquel, saving Flair from a powerbomb, getting rolled up when she returns to the ring. The action was fine, but pretty disappointing considering the talent involved. Alexa busts her nose on the Twisted Bliss, she is a trooper.

Side note, Roxanne Perez’s new music is AWFUL. Can WWE get rid of Def Rebel already FOR CHRIST SAKE! They suck.

What did they expect?

Jade Cargill vs Chelsea Green actually had quite a creative set up. Green was bad mouthing Jade backstage but Jade overheard so she attacked her. Jade then carried Green to the ring and demanded the bell ring for a match. I thought that was cool and the segment would have been solid if Jade destroyed Chelsea in a couple of minutes and that was that. Jade looks strong and Chelsea can claim that she wasn’t ready and that is why she lost. Unfortunately, this went 8 minutes long and it was pretty bad. I love Chelsea as much as the next person, but she is not a good enough wrestler to help Jade through a match.

This match was sloppy and plodding. It doesn’t help that Jade is just not a good baby face. Chelsea Green was the more over woman here which didn’t do Jade any favours. Jade gets a win with Jaded, but she is attacked afterwards by the Secret Hervice.

Then, Tiffany Stratton runs out to make the save which I am pissed it. You are telling me that Stratton, the same woman who connivingly cashed in her briefcase on the powerful Nia Jax, is playing superhero baby face and saving her powerful opponent from the heels? The Tiffany Stratton character has become so watered down and lame now. She was over because of her character, whether she was good or bad. Now, she is a painfully generic face, stripped away of everything but a catchphrase.

Not a good segment at all.

Homecoming Part 2

The Miz makes his return after 6 weeks and immediately gets in Jacob Fatu’s face, slapping him. He dropped a nice mini promo backstage and he was getting loud reactions from his home town crowd.

This was another fine match that followed a similar formula to the previous match. Fatu dominance, Miz gets some heat before Fatu fights back to win. Solo Sikoa and the MFTs come out to try cause distractions but Fatu shows his strength, overcoming the odds and scoring a strong victory.

He is attacked after the match, Jimmy Uso makes the save, Hikuleo is dominant and saves Solo from a career threatening hip attack. I loved the feud initially, but now it feels like they are just doing the same angle each week in slightly different ways.

Another Lame Finish

Why can’t WWE ever do anything consistent with the Wyatts? This has been a decade long fight between WWE and the creative process for Wyatt related content. So the main event of the night was Wyatt Sicks defending against Andrade & Rey Fenix. Andrade and Rey are phenomenal wrestlers so I thought that was should be a fun clash.

Well, the match was definitely the best in terms of in ring competition, but another case of terrible booking. This goes 7 minutes, Andrade & Fenix use their quickness against the power of the Wyatts. Andrade hits The Message, Nikki Cross pulls out the referee before the 3 count and she calls for a DQ.

HUH? I have seen the referee pulled out of the ring spot so many times and I do not think I have seen anyone be disqualified for it. What a lame, dogshit way to end the match. Afterwards, the Wyatts continue the assault, out come a bunch of tag teams and we get a wild brawl to close the show. Nick Aldis announces a 6 team TLC match for the gold at Summerslam.

Why couldn’t they just have the DQ called via a run in from one of the teams? Or you know, don’t do the fucking match in the first place! Do a Wyatt Sicks promo, have all the teams come out and attack, Nick Aldis confirms the match. Awesome segment. No, we continue to get these overused bullshit DQ and no contest finishes over and over and over again. Triple H, we understand you like old school wrestling, but a lot of your fan base doesn’t. We don’t want to see lame finishes over and over again. This shit sucks.

At least we are getting TLC tag, that should be sick at least.

Messy and unfocused

The death of Hulk Hogan really messed up this entire show huh. Not a single segment on this show went longer than 10 minutes, except for the opening tribute. Every match was short, pointless and basic. The Logan Paul and Cody Rhodes segments were solid but nothing really groundbreaking. Everyone and everything else were relegated to incredibly short backstage segments or video packages.

This felt like half of a show, and the other half was thrown in the bin to make room for a Hulk Hogan tribute. About 20 minutes of the show was dedicated to him. Even in death, Hulk Hogan manages to steal the spotlight away from the younger generation. Ironic.

Jokes aside, I do understand it is a difficult process to appropriately honour a legend and still run a show. However, they have done it before, successfully too. From the looks of this, I don’t think this show was going to be any good anyways even without the Hulk Hogan stuff. I’m getting a faint Vince Russo vibe from Smackdown these days and that is 1000% not a compliment.

Last week we saw a much needed improvement but this week it is back to what we are familiar with. Poor booking, poor action and a poor product.

WWE Honour The Late Hulk Hogan (No Grade)

Randy Orton & Drew McIntyre Crash Impaulsive with Jelly Roll (C+ Grade)

Roxanne Perez defeats Alexa Bliss (C Grade)

Jade Cargill defeats Chelsea Green (E Grade)

Cody Rhodes Wants the ‘Real’ John Cena (B Grade)

Jacob Fatu defeats The Miz (C Grade)

Raw

???

NXT

Ethan Page (c) vs Santino Marella, North American Championship

Smackdown

Giulia (c) vs Zelina Vega, US Championship

Damian Priest vs Aleister Black

Logan Paul, Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton & Jelly Roll Will Appear

Confirmed Summerslam Card

John Cena (c) vs Cody Rhodes, Street Fight for WWE Championship

Tiffany Stratton (c) vs Jade Cargill, WWE Women’s Championship

Gunther (c) vs CM Punk, World Heavyweight Championship

Naomi vs Iyo Sky vs Rhea Ripley, Women’s World Championship

Drew McIntyre & Logan Paul vs Randy Orton & Jelly Roll

Jey Uso & Roman Reigns vs Bronson Reed & Bron Breakker

Becky Lynch (c) vs Lyra Valkyria, No Count Out & No DQ for IC Championship

Judgement Day (c) vs Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss, Women’s Tag Championships

Solo Sikoa (c) vs Jacob Fatu, Steel Cage for US Championship

Dominik Mysterio (c) vs AJ Styles, Intercontinental Championship

Six Pack TLC Match for WWE Tag Championships