While there was a major title change during WWE’s debut show in the ThunderDome, it was the antics of Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt that will stand out as the major story in the SummerSlam go-home show.
Strowman and Wyatt first came face-to-face in the show open, with Wyatt’s Fiend persona interrupting Vince McMahon’s show open before Strowman charged to the ring. The two were nearly immediately surrounded by the invading Retribution forces before The Fiend disappeared from the ring, leaving Strowman to take a beating from the group.
In the final segment of the show, Strowman invaded the Firefly Fun House, brutally attacking Wyatt before dragging him through the backstage area and throwing him off a ledge in a loading dock. As an ambulance took Wyatt away, it suddenly stopped and backed up as the interior lit up red and The Fiend emerged to end the show, sending one final frightening message to Strowman ahead of their clash at SummerSlam for Strowman’s universal championship: You can attack Wyatt, but that doesn’t keep The Fiend down.
CBS Sports was with you all night long as the WWE debuted the ThunderDome. Read on for information on Jeff Hardy’s big title win as well as a major change to one of Sunday’s planned SummerSlam bouts.
WWE SmackDown recap, grades
The SmackDown locker room ran off Retribution: McMahon was in the ring to open the show, attempting to welcome fans to the ThunderDome when the lights went out, came back red and The Fiend made his way to the ring. As McMahon took a step backward, The Fiend took his own forward, and again with a sidestep. But Braun Strowman’s music hit and The Monster made his way to the ring. The lights briefly flickered and Retribution surrounded the ring. Strowman and The Fiend nodded before the lights went out, The Fiend disappeared and Strowman was left alone in the ring surrounded by Retribution. After putting a beating on Strowman, the SmackDown locker room emptied and ran off the group. A furious Strowman then attacked Drew Gulak and Jey Uso before storming to the back.
This was probably the best presentation of the battle between the roster and Retribution, with the roster not being overwhelmed when it came to a head-on confrontation. There was a moment where it seemed Strowman and Wyatt were about to end Retribution right then and there, but The Fiend disappearing was a solid way to show that he’s still ahead of Strowman, even as Strowman descends into being The Monster. Grade: B
Big E def. Sheamus via pinfall: Things got rough in a hurry, with Big E taking Sheamus to the outside and using a shoulder tackle to knock him into the ring steps. During the match, the locker room continued to surround the ring, with The Miz, who had arrived to the battle with Retribution late, seeming especially nervous as he guarded the entrance ramp. The lights began to flicker during the match as the show cut to commercial. The hard-hitting match continued until a brawl broke out at ringside between King Corbin and Matt Riddle, a distraction that allowed Big E to score a rollup for the win. This was exactly the right kind of TV match, a classic Big E “big men slapping meat” battle and a pairing I want to see a lot more. Grade: B
SmackDown Tag Team Championship — Shinsuke Nakamura & Cesaro def. Lucha House Party via pinfall to retain the titles: Miz and John Morrison were shown backstage cutting a promo and making fun of both teams. The in-ring action was, as expected, very solid, with Lince Dorado, Gran Metalik, Nakamura and Cesaro all being outstanding wrestlers. The end came when Cesaro added an extra flip with a block of a Dorado rana to score the jackknife pin to retain the titles. An angry Kalisto hit the ring after the match and got into a shouting match with Dorado over the loss. Ultimately, a short match that was still a treat and a bit of a confusing post-match angle. Grade: B-
Stakes raised for Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville at SummerSlam: Rose said she still doesn’t know how she’s doing after the past few weeks. She then said she wants to still believe there is still good in this world before speaking “directly” to Deville, telling the camera that they have been through so much good and beautiful things in their past that she is choosing to believe that her friend still is in there. Rose then asked to put their issues behind them, choosing to see the good in her former friend ahead of their planned hair vs. hair match for SummerSlam. Later in the show, Deville responded by upping the stakes for the match, making the bout no disqualification and with the loser leaving WWE.
Naomi challenged both Bayley and Sasha Banks: Corey Graves asked if the duo was splitting up, receiving a swift “no” in response. Bayley said they were the only two women capable of carrying two belts at the same time. Bayley then said that her decision to go first against Asuka at SummerSlam was “just a suggestion,” spawning a brief argument as Banks was worried she would have to go first. The pair were then interrupted by Naomi, who challenged both women and Banks accepted for the pair. Graves then suggested it be a “beat the clock challenge.”
Sasha Banks def. Naomi in 3:39 in part 1 of the beat the clock challenge: Naomi went hard and fast to start the match, as did Banks, both looking to end the match quickly. Things were brought to an end with a Banks Statement at the 3:39 mark. Bayley immediately jumped in the ring and drove a knee into the head of Naomi, getting a little advantage for her own match.
Naomi def. Bayley in part 2 of the beat the clock challenge: Bayley was firmly in control to start the match, but Naomi won out of nowhere with a Rear View, pinning Bayley with over two minutes left on the clock. After the pin, Banks was shown celebrating before feigning concern for her partner. After the match, Asuka came to the entrance ramp and declared that she would become The Empress Of Every Title at SummerSlam. Banks ran to attack and was laid out by an Asuka kick before Asuka also ran to the ring and put a beating on Bayley. Bayley then ran up the ramp and left Banks laying on the ramp. The pre and post-match stuff was very good, but the matches with Naomi were so short as to amount to nothing meaningful. The entire segment was carried by stuff outside the matches. Grade: B-
Intercontinental Championship — Jeff Hardy def. AJ Styles via pinfall to win the title: During the earlier battle with Retribution, Styles stomped Hardy’s knee from behind, injuring him heading into the match. Hardy, limping badly through the match, took advantage of every early opportunity before tossing Styles over the top rope where the champion slipped to the floor. Styles then drove Hardy’s knee into the apron to take back over. Hardy continued fighting back, but when he tried to leap to the top rope, he stumbled and fell to the mat because of the bad knee. Styles tried to take advantage with a Phenomenal Forearm but Hardy countered with a punch to the gut. Styles was able to lock up a calf crusher moments later, but Hardy reached the bottom rope. Hardy countered a Styles Clash with a kick that actually struck Styles with a knee brace. A Twist of Fate and a Swanton Bomb later, Hardy won the championship. The wrestling and storytelling here were great, with Hardy battling against the odds and picking up the controversial win to keep the issues between the two going. The in-ring work through the whole show stayed at a high level from the opening match between Big E and Sheamus through this title change. Grade: B+
Braun Strowman invaded Bray Wyatt’s Firefly Fun House: Wyatt discussed the impact “too much love” can have on anything, before introducing a recreation of the relationship between Braun Strowman and Alexa Bliss featuring Huskus and Ramblin’ Rabbit. Wyatt took issue with the telling of the story, before interrupting and saying love only leads to pain and suffering and suggested everyone be more like “him,” being built on rage and fueled by anger. Wyatt sniffed the air before asking, “What took you so long?” Strowman ran in and attacked Wyatt before dragging him off, saying, “I’m not finished with you.” After a commercial break, Strowman continued attacking Wyatt backstage before throwing him off a ledge in the loading dock area. Wyatt was loaded into an ambulance which began to drive off before backing up and the inside lighting up red and The Fiend emerging from the back.
No one can say they aren’t going for something unique with these two. Despite many previous missteps, this was a fun little segment ahead of SummerSlam. If there’s one complaint, it’s breaking the immersion of the Firefly Fun House by having it now just be “somewhere backstage” once Strowman dragged Wyatt through the backstage area after invading. Grade: B