I feel like all of the WWE PPVs this year have been very solid, but this one was amazing. Best PPV of the year, hands down. Most of the matches were awesome and that is rare in a PPV setting that all matches hit their marks. I can’t say that all were perfect, because they weren’t, however, all segments and all matches held their value and were entertaining in some aspect. I thought it was even more amazing, based on the fact that superstars like Roman Reigns, Daniel Bryan, Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe and others didn’t play a part in the show. The only qualm, and it is a slight one, is the fact that only one underdog won last night. It isn’t a deal really, I just expected there to be more unexpected things taking place. Just like any other show, match placement was going to be crucial and I honestly don’t think they could’ve placed these matches any better than they did. The matches weren’t extremely lengthy and the PPV was over around 10:30 EST, which was perfect. Hopefully this will be a trend for the future. Here is my breakdown of each match and like always, I will grade each segment.

- Men’s Singles Match: Cruiserweight Championship

Drew Gulak (C) over Oney Lorcan

This match was like any other of the 205 Live matches, solid in-ring action, but nobody really is invested in the match. I feel bad saying this, but it is the truth. I personally felt that the commentators put the action over more than the competitors put each other over. I feel like that comes across as a slight, but it really isn’t. Nothing stood out to me saying that Gulak was going to drop the title and that was the case. I’m not sure how much longer 205 Live will be a thing, but I think having these guys on TV, instead of the WWE Network every week could be very beneficially to them.

GRADE: 7.7/10

- Men’s Singles Match

Buddy Murphy over Apollo Crews by DQ

The next two matches were last minute additions and I thought that there would be at least one last minute add. This wasn’t a lengthy match, but it added to a story that has been kind of puzzling thus far. Although a clean win would’ve helped Murphy slightly, an interference from Rowan gives him more potential to shine in the future. The match wasn’t awesome, but for what it was, it wasn’t bad. Storytelling was the goal in mind here and they did a decent job with that.

GRADE: 7.8/10

- Women’s Tag Team Match: WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship

Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross (C) over The IIconics

The best thing about this match was Alexa Bliss’s Buzz Lightyear inspired ring gear. There wasn’t a story built from this and a feud is likely not coming in the near future. It was officially the ending of The IIconics title pursuit and I don’t think they’ll get another shot for a while. I think The IIconics are two of the most entertaining superstars on the roster, but it doesn’t appear that the creative department sees it that way. They should’ve been given an opportunity for a better reign, but hopefully we aren’t seeing the downhill swing of these two.

GRADE: 6/10

- Women’s Submission Match: RAW Women’s Championship

Becky Lynch (C) over Natalya

This match kicked off the show and I don’t think that there was another match on the card suited for this honor. Lynch and Natalya did an awesome job to get the crowd fired up and dare I say, it was in similar fashion to Stone Cold and Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13? Well, I did so there’s no taking it back. A submission match was a nice touch here and I thought the back and forth between these two ladies was amazing. Especially when they did each other’s finishers. The match didn’t steal the show, but it got everyone excited for the rest of the show. I predicted Natalya to win, but expected Lynch to retain. After soaking it in, this was the right decision.

GRADE: 8.6/10

- Men’s Singles Match

Goldberg over Dolph Ziggler

The ending went just as I expected, but the storytelling here was great. I knew that this was just going to be an opportunity to make Goldberg shine and they executed this perfectly. They couldn’t give him a better opponent to sell his moves and having Goldberg come back out multiple times after being provoked by Ziggler was entertaining. They couldn’t have sold this segment any better, but for all intents and purposes, this did nothing for either competitor moving forward. It was just an entertaining segment. Ziggler was honestly the winner in the end here. The crowd was really invested in this one, because it was electric, but as far as match quality goes, there wasn’t any substance to it.

GRADE: 8.4/10

- Men’s Singles Match: United States Championship

AJ Styles (C) over Ricochet

This was another match that went as expected. They did enough to sell Ricochet’s moves, but I feel like they were used more against Anderson and Gallows. I feel like these two ideally should put on a match of the night caliber bout every time they go into the ring, but it just wasn’t the case. The finish was pretty solid here, but for what took place, the match didn’t really hold up to the hype. However, I am interested to see what is next for The OC and Ricochet.

GRADE: 8/10

- Women’s Singles Match: SmackDown Women’s Championship

Bayley (C) over Ember Moon

There was almost no crowd investment here. They were virtually silent for 90% of the match if I had to estimate. I thought the match was fine, but the build-up for this one was horrible, so they really had to shine here if they were going to win over fans. There were great spots, but I think they could’ve done more to get Ember Moon over for the future. I will say, much like the match prior, the finish was solid though. Moon is one of the most talented women in the WWE, but they didn’t really showcase her like they should’ve. I don’t know what is next for these two competitors, but hopefully we don’t see Ember Moon on the backburner.

GRADE: 7.8/10

- Men’s Singles Match

Kevin Owens over Shane McMahon

This was some old-fashioned face vs. heel action here and it went about as expected. I didn’t think the match was going to be as long as it was, not that it was lengthy, but I thought Owens would end it pretty quickly if he was going to be the winner. I predicted Shane McMahon to prevail, but I fully expected Owens to win under normal circumstances. Shane brought out Elias to be a special guest enforcer, but flashing back to the kickoff show, Elias was speared by Edge and it was great surprise to see him last night. Owens was way over with the crowd and Shane was as well. This was a great match and a great way to further Kevin Owens success as a face.

GRADE: 9.3/10

- Women’s Singles Match

Charlotte Flair over Trish Stratus

Trish Stratus couldn’t have had a better send off last night. What a way to cap off her career! There wasn’t a better opponent for her and she looked amazing in the ring considering she hasn’t wrestled in a legitimate singles match in 13 years. I thought the match started out really slow, but the big thing to intrigue fans was going to be how they told a story and they couldn’t have done a better job in this one. Trish took a lot of serious bumps last night and I thought that this was incredible. Charlotte Flair is at the top of the women’s division and she and Becky Lynch are clearly the main attractions moving forward for at least the next year or so. I think the women’s division is in good hands and it will only get better. Congrats to Trish Stratus on an amazing career.

GRADE: 9.4/10

- Men’s Singles Match: WWE Championship

(Double Count Out) Kofi Kingston (C) vs. Randy Orton

The match here was very solid, but the finish was hated among the majority of fans. After having time to ponder it, I actually didn’t mind the ending, however, I hated it in real time. I wanted a clear winner here, but this gave Kofi an opportunity to show his aggressive side. It gave him a chance to defend his family and defend his credibility as a great champion. After seeing it all unfold, it totally made sense. I wouldn’t have been shocked to see Orton prevail here, but I thought Kofi was the clear-cut favorite. They could have a rematch at the next PPV, but I think they may go in a different direction.

GRADE: 8.7/10

- Men’s Singles Match

“The Fiend” Bray Wyatt over Finn Bálor

WOW!!! What a return! The WWE couldn’t have executed this any better than they did. A 3-minute squash and an entrance that put you on the edge of your seat was all that was needed here. I feel like I have so much to say here, but I can’t come up with the words. I was beyond impressed and if I could go beyond a 10/10, I would. I was interested to see if they were going to give him new music and I was glad to see that they fireflies are still prevalent in his entrance, because that was something that made him unique prior to this character change. There isn’t a more unique character in WWE at the moment and if they plan for him right, he has the potential to join WWE immortality. I realize those are strong words, but I mean every word.

GRADE: 10/10

- Men’s Singles Match: Universal Championship

Seth Rollins over Brock Lesnar (C)

It seems like the WWE knows what they’re doing every once in a while, who would’ve thought? Seriously, under normal circumstances, it would be extremely difficult to follow up to the performance of The Fiend, but this was the match to do it. This was legitimately the biggest match of Seth Rollins career and for someone that has been in a lot of big impact matches, that is saying a lot. Rollins gained even more credibility after getting a clean win over Brock Lesnar last night, unlike what happened at WrestleMania 35. It was sort of jarring to see Brock Lesnar’s reign last only for a month, but it was the perfect time for him to drop the title I thought. They executed the story perfectly and I honestly don’t know how things could’ve gone any better in this contest. Brock Lesnar showed last night why he is the superstar with the best contract. He and Rollins looked phenomenal and the fact that they could keep the momentum going after that amazing match with The Fiend is awesome. Moving forward, I don’t know what is going to happen in the Universal title picture, but all I know is, I want to see more wrestling.

GRADE: 10/10

Yacs

Here is how our Staff Predictions unfolded.

2019 SummerSlam Results and Reaction