WWE SummerSlam 2024

WWE SummerSlam 2024

Cleveland, OH - August 2024

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into the show, the WWE Universal Champion was Cody Rhodes, the World Heavyweight Champion was Damien Priest, the Intercontinental Champion was Sami Zayn, Logan Paul was the US Champion, the Women's World Champion was Liv Morgan, the WWE Women's Champion was Bayley, Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga held the WWE Tag Team Championships while the World Tag Team Champions were Finn Balor and JD McDonaugh, and the Women's Tag Team Champions were Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn.

After an introduction by Triple H and then a performance by Jellyroll and then another introduction by The Miz, it was finally time for the first contest of the night - Rhea Ripley challenging Liv Morgan for the Women's Championship. The build-up for this match was phenomenal so it was no surprise that the crowd was red-hot for this. What was surprising was that, for at least a brief portion of the match, there were audible "Let's Go Liv" chants. The action was good, but I wasn't a huge fan of the "Rhea dislocates her shoulder/pops it back into place" storyline. Less is more and Rhea simply selling the damage and the commentators playing it up would've been adequate to make it clear that Ripley was in danger after dominating much of the early going. Some highlights included various stiff strikes by Rhea, an excellent crucifix bomb by Morgan, and the surprising finish, which finally showed us which side Dom was on. (3.5/5)

Sami Zayn defended his Intercontinental Championship next against Bron Breakker. This was a rematch from Money in the Bank, which got a bit more time but felt a bit aimless. This was more to-the-point and benefitted from that brief runtime, though I think their series would've made more sense if things were flipped a bit and they'd had a shorter match last month - which Zayn could've won based on his experience - and then had the title change here after a more hard fought battle. The audience wants to cheer Bron, but they weren't going to boo Zayn, so this match lacked heat. Not bad, but inessential viewing. (2.5/5)

Stephanie McMahon was shown in the audience before the next match. Would've been cool to see her wearing a Kamala button.

Logan Paul defended his US Championship against LA Knight in the next match. One of Logan Paul's security guards was revealed to be rapper/punk rocker MGK, who also hails from Cleveland. LA Knight bashed one of the windows of Paul's Prime Truck before the match. Logan Paul was sporting Browns-inspired gear but was booed heavily. Knight was over with the crowds - of course - and he and Logan brawled outside the ring before the bell could be rung. LA Knight hit his Torture Rack Neckbreaker on top of the announce table, which did not collapse as I believe it was intended to. Knight then rolled Paul into the ring and the match officially began. Once it did, the crowd quickly started chanting "Fuck You Logan." We got yet another shoulder-into-a-post spot, a move that really needs to be outlawed for a couple months in all major promotions at this point. Logan Paul does what he does very well, his athleticism undeniable and his heel work is quite good considering his experience level. LA Knight hit a very cool elbow drop at one point, springing himself from the middle rope to the top. Not to be outdone, Paul hit a springboard moonsault to the floor that looked incredible. He managed to land his Knockout Punch moments later, but LA Knight got to kick out of it at 2. Things got a little iffy when Knight went for a superplex off the top and it ended up looking a bit more like a brainbuster (though, to their credit, this did seem to be intended based on the replay). They should've sold it more because it looked devastating, but the match did not really slow down there and out of the ring they went, where LA went after two members of Paul's entourage. This gave Paul a chance to recover and regain control, ramming Knight into the post. MGK then handed Paul a pair of brass knuckles that he'd been wearing around his neck on a chain. As Knight was about to back suplex him back into the ring, Paul decked him with the knucks and looked to hit the Frontflip Clothesline...but Knight countered it into his BFT and we got a new US Champion! Wow. Very surprised by this finish only because Knight, while over with the crowd, always came across to me as just this generation's Zach Ryder. This was very good. (3.5/5)

Bayley defended her Women's Championship against Nia Jax in the next bout. Bayley and Nia had some history from their NXT days together, but the commentary played up how much Nia has improved over the years. This was a solid outing for both competitors though the crowd was a little flat for the early going as they had to follow the very heated and ultimately crowd-pleasing LA Knight/Logan Paul match. I was a little underwhelmed until Bayley hit an absolutely awesome powerbomb on Jax, the move getting such a big response that it put this whole thing up a notch for me and certainly woke up the crowd. I also liked Tiffany Stratton teasing a Money in the Bank cash-in only to seemingly be there just to provide a distraction for Jax. The Nia/Alexa Bliss pairing worked really well for awhile and I like that it gives Stratton, who is a "can't miss" prospect, something to sink her teeth into. Bayley was booked strong even in the loss, withstanding a total of three Annihilator drops in the corner. (3/5)

Seth Rollins made his way down the aisle of the next contest as he would serve as the special guest referee for the grudge match between CM Punk and Drew McIntyre. I'm not a Rollins fans to begin with but even if I was, I didn't find his ref outfit to be worthy of the praise heaped on it by Corey Graves. The entrances and pre-match shtick went on for quite awhile, giving the crowd ample time to appreciate the magnitude of this encounter. Punk looked to be in terrific shape. They went right at each other during the bell while Rollins acted goofy and basically allowed Drew to dominate Punk. The crowd wanted tables early and started singing Rollins theme which surprised me; I would've thought the Cleveland crowd would've been much, much more invested in what they were seeing and allowed things to play out rather than getting impatient around minute 4. Anyway, as Graves said on commentary, McIntyre really controlled a bunch of this match and Punk was on the receiving end of quite a bit of punishment, including an awesome catapult on the floor into one of the steel frames of the ring. Drew eventually brought a chair into the ring, but just as he was about to use it, Seth stopped him. I'm not necessarily sure why but whatever. To me, Rollins' actions throughout the match came across as more heelish than "tweener-ish." I didn't like that the match put a fair amount of emphasis on CM Punk's friendship bracelet, though, maybe I've missed how integral that piece of jewelry has been in the storyline because I don't watch the weekly show. Still, it's not Hogan's cross chain or Jake Roberts' python or Kurt Angle's medals, which were all iconic, physical symbols of those characters so I wish it didn't play into the finish as much as it did. This wasn't as good as Punk's last SummerSlam outing - a 5-star affair against Brock Lesnar - but it didn't set out to be that. This was a story-first match, low on high spots but big on emoting, and it was designed to set the stage for the next chapter. Still, when that is the case, the big moments need to hit and, in one particular spot, the execution of one of those big spots was a little clunky to my eyes. Nothing egregious, but it was there. Any which way, I'm intrigued to see where the story goes and that's what matters. Maybe a 3-way? Maybe a rematch at what I assume will be a forthcoming Hell in a Cell PPV? And, as far as I know, Punk survived without another terrible injury. Not on the level of either guy's best work, but the drama was there. (3.5/5)

The World Heavyweight Championship was on the line next as Damien Priest defended his title against GUNTHER. GUNTHER never disappoints, but he's usually in control of the action of any given match, dominating his undersized opponents. Here we got a little bit of a change-up. While this was far from a squash, it was Damien Priest who had the upperhand for a bunch of the match, delivering a very strong babyface performance and drawing blood with his chops to GUNTHER's chest. This match was paced with plenty of breathing room - arguably too much - but it was a wise move as it allowed the fans to slowly come around to the action after the highs of the previous bout. Lots of good physicality, especially GUNTHER's powerbombs, before Finn Balor made his arrival and screwed over his stablemate. Priest got to look strong by surviving a few minutes after Balor's interference which solidified his months-long babyface transition. Another very good match, but maybe just a bit short of great. (3.5/5)

The Miz and R-Truth announced the night's attendance, got interrupted by Austin Theory and Grayson Waller, and then the heels got beaten down by Jellyroll. Typical bathroom break filler.

Main event time - Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa for the WWE Universal Championships. The weakest match on the show by a wide margin and also the longest by a good 10+ minutes, Rhodes and Sikoa had a huge challenge in front of them and, unfortunately, they couldn't meet it. Despite adding a Bloodline Rules stipulation to the match on SmackDown less than 24 hours before the show, there was no doubt what the finish would be - Cody retaining and Roman Reigns making his return. And so the first 20+ minutes of this match felt perfunctory and lacked any real suspense. Though Rhodes went above and beyond to make Sikoa look like a killer - and, towards the end, did the same for all the members of the New Bloodline - by kicking out of absolutely everything that the heels threw at him (including a ridiculous table spot involving Jacob Fatu), the match veered way too far into Avengers/Fast & The Furious territory for me, especially considering that while Sikoa has built an impressive resume in his brief time on the main roster, he still comes across as quite a few tiers below Roman Reigns and The Rock and Cody as well. This felt like a retread of the much better WrestleMania match without the gravitas or the star power. Reigns' presence and the immense crowd pop pushed this into at least "average" range, but the match itself was overwrought and way too long. (2.5/5)

Earning a very solid 3.14-out-of-5, SummerSlam 2024 was a fun show that advanced multiple storylines but didn't offer a single match that was truly transcendent or "must see." At the same time, there wasn't a dud on the card either, with both the Intercontinental and the Universal Championship matches being at least in the average range. 

FINAL RATING - Watch It...With Remote in Hand