That's right, folks. I am back with an actual recap of the week, and your usual TakeOver and SummerSlam previews and recaps are coming up as well. This is Wrestling Thursday.
It's SummerSlam week, and more importantly, TakeOver week! This week's shows were all about taking us home for the PPVs.
Raw
Rousey Rouseys
I have a serious issue with using Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart's death as a platform to promote Ronda. They should have gone with the usual 10 bell salute, with the roster standing out there. The Anvil deserved that. Natalya deserved that.
Rousey Rouseys some more
The security beat down was fun.
Moon Ecliped
Speaking of things I have an issue with: Why are Ember and Ronda pals? Moon's biggest enemy in WWE has been Shayna Bazsler, who happens to be Ronda's best friend, both in storyline and in real life. Of course, WWE has super selective memory when it comes to NXT. Even more than their usual selective memory.
I'm Over Corbin
They almost had me liking heel Corbin, but this thing where he beats up smaller workers who deserve better just sucks.
Random tag generator presents:
This was... okay. Finn and KO are better than this. Jinder is not as good as this. Braun is exactly this.
The Lashley Elias thing
It's weird how bad this feud is. The writing Lashley has been saddled with has just been non-stop badness for months now.
Revival Revived?
Please, please, please, WWE, give Dash and Dawson the title on Summerslam. I dig the B-Team, I do. But they've taken this as far as it can go, to my mind. Let them chase The Revival for a bit. And then, let's renew the Revival-AOP hostilities from NXT.
Heyman is The Best
Did not see this coming! Damn, that Paul Heyman is so good at his job.
Authors of Poop
Why are AOP going down - even if they weren't pinned - in a meaningless match?
Former Beloved Indie Star Returns!
Okay, yeah. This is probably not the return you're thinking of. Or maybe it is? I don't know what's in your mind, and Ruby Riott is great. So great to have her back. Also, she returned last week, and this is just her return to in-ring competition. The work Logan and Morgan did while Riott was away really elevated the Riott Squad, to my mind.
Daddy Dean
This, of course, was the real highlight return. Dean Ambrose is back, looking absolutely YOKED, and wrestling twitter lost their damn minds. This was great. So good to have him back.Happy for Renee to have her dude back at work as well. Which is a good opportunity to say she was a million times better than Coach, and could she please have the job permanently?
Smackdown
Face To Face To Heel
For now, both Becky and Charlotte are faces. Post Summerslam? Who knows. I hope it's Charlotte who turns, but Becky will be a great heel as well.
Tag Without Shenanigans
Were the commentary team supposed to put over how much Becky was in the match? Because they didn't, and that left the post match discussion between the winners feeling kinda meaningless.
Triple Beatdown
You know what I didn't need? A reminded that the Bludgeons get booked to have short, crappy matches.
Bryan and Miz: The Epic Story
Did I need these videos to get hyped for this match? I did not. Did I super enjoy them? I sure did.
Inanity
Look, I love the New Day. But I'm sad that Sanity's push keeps getting pushed back.
FINALLY
On one hand, poor Aiden. On the other hand, Rusev and Lana got to deliver an actual full babyfaces promo, and it was glorious.
Poor Shelton
Shelton Benjamin's comeback was supposed to be a big deal, but wow has it fizzled. Lots of shenanigans in this one, but Hardy still prevails.
Welp, that happened
AJ isn't a great promo. Joe is terrific. Doesn't matter. The match will be HOT.
205 Live
I didn't watch the show this week. Sorry. Rush beat Tozawa, and you can guess the results of Itami vs. Jobber and Cedric Alexander vs. Jack Gallagher without me having to say anything.
NXT
Black Out
We start with the video, released last week, of Aleister Black "laid out," which was due to Black having to get groin surgery and being out for TakeOver. To my mind, the fates intervened. We needed the Gargano/Ciampa rubber match. We deserved it. And now, we're gonna get it.
Mighty Profits
In a world where War Raiders don't sign a WWE contract, one of these teams would probably be positioned as a major contender. Both have tons of upside, but right now, it's hard to care about them, unless Ford is doing something particularly awesome.
Killer Kairi
videolink
Tiny, adorable, Kairi goes all in to show her TakeOver competitor that she has a killer instinct. And it was impressive.
Moustache Win
Two of the best workers in the world put on an absolute clinic.
NXT also had some great promo segments for TakeOver. I may share them in the TakeOver preview.