Gunther won the Intercontinental Championship two weeks ago on SmackDown by defeating Ricochet.
On Friday night, The Ring General defended his title against One and Only by guaranteeing a victory. The outcome was intended to further establish the Ring General as a dominant force in the brand and eliminate any potential threat from Ricochet’s victory.
The return bout will feature a broadcast that will also feature Drew McIntyre laying out his road to the universal championship and, likely, their upcoming Money in the Bank qualifying match.
Match Card:
- The top 8 most influential artists of the past 30 years
- ICE Wrestler RICCOBO AT WWE TLC
- What Drew McIntyre is doing to become the
- How Drew McIntyre got kicked off WWE
Drew McIntyre set the tone for his title match at the opening of Smackdown by laying out his path to the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. Sheamus and The Brawling Brutes had other ideas and a back-and-forth battle ensued.
Paul Heyman and WWE official Adam Pearce joined the festivities next, and as a result, revealed that to earn their way into the Money in the Bank ladder match, The Usos must defeat The Miz and Jimmy Uso tonight at the pay-per-view.
The “tag team partners who hate each other” trope was popularized by the infamous Vince Russo during the Attitude Era when everything seemed chaotic and unpredictable. The best thing to survive this time period would have been that storytelling crutch.
This match would have been a good one if it was not for the convoluted, nonsensical setup. Instead, the match ended up being mediocre. The talent involved in this match can turn into a Match of the Year candidate at any time.
Grade: C+
Top Moments
Brock Lesnar came back and was given a championship opportunity from Vince McMahon, and he vowed to maim Roman Reigns with a technique Claymores.
He smashed him in the face with a long right hook.
The Celtic Warrior reminded the WWE Universe that he cashed in on Dean Ambrose to win the title last time he held Money in the Bank.
Pearce revealed that the decision to add both McIntyre and Sheamus to Money in the Bank had been overturned by WWE management.
How to spend $15.76 on the WWE
During the Money in the Bank qualifying match, Sami Zayn insists that he is only trying to protect Roman Reigns. He battles against Shinsuke Nakamura.
Honorary Use dipped The Artist twice in the ring, nearly winning by count-out, and seized control of the bout throughout the break. Once back in, Nakamura got his revenge and competed harder than his opponent.
Concerned with his leader, Zayn fought back to win the match and cement a place as a high-profile player at WWE Money in the Bank on July 2.
Zayn and Nakamura have incredible in-ring chemistry and match that of other less talented wrestlers. With their hands tied behind their back, they can deliver a good match with just the use of their eyes.
Davis is a talented wrestler who has had an up and down 2018 so far with no real direction in sight. Zayn’s victory was right, he needs to be put in situations that are more satisfying. His defeat was also the right call due to the uncertainty of his potential champion status.
Top Moments:
“I’m not going to cash in on Roman Reigns. I’m doing this to protect him,” Zayn told Kayla Braxton, who asked if he could betray The Tribal Chief should he reach the ladder match and win the guaranteed title opportunity.
“Rosemary” goes backstage with The Ace
The banter between Pat McAfee and Michael Cole highlighted their chemistry on the mic.
Shanky Mahal and Jinder discuss New Day vs Viking Raiders
Shanky and Jinder Mahal faced off in an entertaining dance-off with New Day’s Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston.
And then Woods, Shanky, and The Viking Raiders appeared to rile everyone up. New Day didn’t stand a chance against them though.
While it generates some amusement for fans, the dancing is just not strong enough to help The Great Khali. We have seen this before with other wrestlers without success, so there are no real results from the material. WWE will eventually realize this and stop it from moving forward through a lack of creativity.
This is good because the Viking Raiders are now on the same team as Erik and Ivarr, who needed a change. They also help freshen up the tag team division which was desperately in need of variety.
Biceps Match: Santana and O.J
Grade: C
Top moments:
Xavier Woods teased a great new bit by commenting on the fight with The Brawling Brutes, who he mentioned he has been fighting for months.
“We could’ve taken them up on a rematch but we’re happy with this,” McAfee said, calling the upset victory after-party an easy way to celebrate.
At WWE Evolution, Smackdown Women’s Champion Sonya Deville was involved in a controversial finish against Raw Woman’s Champion Lacey Evans and Women’s Tag Team Champions Raquel Rodriguez.
“The Women of Raw” go head-to-head
Backstage politics ended with the WWE official Sonya DeVille set up with a match against Lacey Evans and Raquel Rodriguez.
The Pride Fighter fought hard, but the two babyfaces—who have both qualified for the Money in the Bank ladder match—ultimately scored the win by means of Evans’ Woman’s Right.
After the match, Xia Li and Shayna Baszler got jumped by the babyface team of Rodriguez and Evans, who closed out the segment.
Deville went through two women before being put out by the winning babyfaces. She was not able to pull out any heat or have a post-match beatdown because of her losses. With luck, Deville still has time for the heat to build back up with the next match.
In a way, this is a positive move for the Raw Women’s Division. Some of the heel teams involved in these matches could be perfect for a babyface like Ronda Rousey and make for an entertaining trio that is unbeatable.
Natalya dressed up as Rousey and cut a mocking promo about her before being interrupted by the UFC Hall of Famer. She tore her down then deflected an attack before sending the heel scurrying.
When this blog post generated controversy and discussion, it did not appear to be balanced. The verbiage used came across as attacking rather than raising eyebrows and generating a hot topic for discussion. It made Rousey seem like a bully.
In this case, it seems like Ronda Rousey was the aggressor who made some rude remarks at McGowan.
The match at Money in the Bank will be good, but it’s because of the creativity.
Result: Adrian Rodriguez and Charlie Evans Display Solid Resilience
Grades: C for the handicap match, C- for the promo segment
Top Moments:
Rodriguez and Evans cleared the ring of Deville, Li, and Baszler in a moment that did more harm than good for the heels.
“The closest you’ll ever get to being a main attraction in this company is dressing up like me,” Rousey said. Natalya took offense to the insults, directed at her appearance, presentation, and Hart family.
Ricochet vs. Gunther in a match of the Intercontinental Championship
Gunther became the first-ever G1 Climax tournament champion by winning the match between him and Ricochet that occurred two weeks ago. Saturday, they met in a much-anticipated rematch.
With a signature sequence and finishing move, Gunther nabs The One and Only, putting his opponent away for good, winning the match with authority.
With a short match that was too one-sided and too short to be meaningful, Gunther emerged victorious over the former champion. Gunther is establishing dominance in WWE by winning the matches with the same quality as his competitors.
Ricochet is once again an immensely talented wrestler with no direction, even though he appeared to find the light after three months back on the main roster.
Result:Gunther defeated Ricochet to retain the Championships
Grade: C
Top Moments:
Gunther’s clothesline on Ricochet was impressive. The babyface selling it helped make it seem like a believable moment.
backstage, Sami Zayn interrupted an interview conducted by Kayla Braxton with Paul Heyman and accused the former of stirring the pot. He then proceeded to put his foot in his mouth, saying he would be cashing in on Brock Lesnar as if to suggest Roman Reigns will not retain at SummerSlam. The death stare directed at him by Heyman was brilliant and the latest in excellent storytelling from The Great Liberator and the special counsel.
Money in the Bank Qualifier: Tamina vs. Shotzi; One Group’s Victory
Tamina took the place of Aliyah who had an injury so Tamina battled it out with Shotzi in a Money in the Bank qualifying match Friday night.
In a battle that was hardly pretty, the second-generation star appears to have victory in hand, until Shotzi has her foot under the bottom rope and forces the break.
Moments after that, Shotzi sent her into the ring post and followed with a modified DDT for the pinfall victory.
After a year of inconsistent use, Shotzi has finally managed to win a match in the more consistent company; hopefully, her victory on Friday is just one in much an expanded role on the show.
She has a larger-than-life personality and is too unique to be wasted as she had been.
Pat McAfee challenged for a match with his wrestling nemesis, Happy Corbin, on the SummerSlam card. He has been antagonizing him for months and this should be good fun.
With two of the biggest stars in WWE – John Cena and Baron Corbin – paired together, this is a great booking.
Result:Tamina Sued The New Day
Grade: C- for the match; A+ for the McAfee-Corbin challenge
Top Moments:
A questionable refereeing decision led to Pat McAfee commenting on the botched call in a humorous way.
Shotzi appeared excited over her win, as she should be. After so many months of minimal usage, she is seeing a potential financial opportunity by utilizing the service more.
Max Dupri told Adam Pearce that he promised to debut the new MA models next week.
Celtic Warrior Explains How To Beat The Usos
Drew McIntyre and Sheamus got in the ring with The Usos early at Friday night’s main event. Personal emotions got in the way of this fight, helping The Usos take control of the bout by the end of the commercial break.
After several moments on the defense, Sheamus made the hot tag to McIntyre, who in turn exploded onto the match.
The Scottish Warrior, after complete domination over his opponents, even stormed on the tag champions’ heels in order to win the match. Against Jimmy, however, he was overwhelmed with a flurry of superkicks, after which he managed to knock him off his feet, get to his corner and eventually finish it with the Claymore
Despite the mid-match commercial break, this was still a good main event that highlighted both of the wrestlers’ raw energy. McIntyre brought an intensity to his match and Sheamus playing babyface or heel worked depending on the situation.
The Usos are the unknown MVPs in WWE. They carried the weight of Roman Reigns when he was gone and were consistently good in the ring. The Usos deserve all of their TV exposure and hype for their last year-plus of amazing performances.
The fans will be looking forward to seeing how Reigns reacts to the high-profile loss and the prospects of having both McIntyre and Sheamus chasing his title.
Result: McIntyre and Sheamus topple The Usos
Grade: B
Top Moments:
Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford–two of the commentators for the Money in the Bank tag match–spoke about teaming up to face The Usos at WrestleMania.
WWE superstars Sheamus and McIntyre argued early on in the match, but The Usos came out victorious.
The excellent late-match questions and strikes, including the brawl party’s superkick, made for great drama.
Sami Zayn turned on the other WWE Superstars.
