You should have left out “in WWE”. He was a garbage human being before WWE whom I hoped would crash and burn. But he was talented in ring, and brought new eyes to the product and, not for the first time and probably not for the last time, WWE looked past the garbage human.
Title change on the go-home edition of SmackDown.
WWE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
New Champions: The Bloodline (Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga)
Previous Champions: DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa)
Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga ended the 28-day reign of DIY that began on the July 5 edition of SmackDown.
This is their first reign both individually and collectively, and both men’s first titles in WWE.
The sad thing is they’ll keep him simply because a certain set of the population agrees with him and thinks he didn’t say anything wrong
Cody vs. Solo tomorrow night is now a Bloodline Rules match, meaning the odds of a Roman Reigns face turn just went to about 141 2/3%.
If you are going to use Steiner math, show your work or it will be marked as incorrect. However, if you show your work, no matter how you arrive at the number, by the laws of logic and nature, Steiner math is always correct.
Welp, DIY lost the SD tag belts to the Bloodline to the surprise of absolutely no one, but at least their names will be in the archives.
SummerSlam discussion incoming.
Dominic screwed Mami, and Pat McAfee actually called him a piece of shit.
The Steiner Brothers were sitting next to Diamond Dallas Page and got to watch Bron Breakker win the I-C Title in person.
Four title changes at SummerSlam:
INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP
New Champion: Bron Breakker (1st reign)
Former Champion: Sami Zayn (4th reign ended at 119 days)
2nd I-C Title Change of 2024
This is Breakker’s first title on the main roster; he also held the NXT Championship twice and the NXT Tag Team Championship once.
Zayn had held the belt since defeating Gunther for it on 4/6/24 on Night 1 of WrestleMania XL.
UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP
New Champion: LA Knight (1st reign)
Former Champion: Logan Paul (1st reign ended at 273 days)
1st U.S. Title Change of 2024
This is Knight’s first title on the main roster; he also held the Million Dollar Championship while in NXT.
Paul had held the belt since defeating Rey Mysterio for it on 11/4/23 at Crown Jewel.
WWE WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
New Champion: Nia Jax (2nd reign)
Former Champion: Bayley (2nd reign ended at 118 days)
2nd Women’s Title Change of 2024
This is Jax’s second reign with this belt; she had previously held it when it was known as the RAW Women’s Championship.
She has also held the Women’s Tag Team Championship twice.
Bayley had held the belt since defeating Iyo Sky for it on 4/7/24 since the second night of WrestleMania XL.
WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
New Champion: Gunther (1st reign)
Former Champion: Damien Priest (1st reign ended at 118 days)
3rd World Heavyweight Title Change of 2024
This is Gunther’s first reign with this belt and first time as world heavyweight champion in a major promotion.
He has also won the Intercontinental Championship and NXT United Kingdom Championship, and is the longest-reigning champion in both those titles’ lineages.
Priest had held the World Title since Night 2 of WrestleMania XL, when he cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on new champion Drew McIntyre.
Notes on watching SummerSlam:
I had a feeling Dominik would turn on Rhea. The Liv Morgan revenge tour is now complete.
It was good to see Bron and L.A. Knight win their first titles. God, I am so sick of seeing Logan Paul.
Tiffany Stratton tried to cash in her Money in the Bank purse during the Bayley/Jax match, but Bayley prevented it just before losing.
Drew vs. Punk was the main reason to watch this show. What a phenomenal match, with great ring psychology. Never before has a bracelet meant so much in wrestling. And now Punk done pissed off Rollins.
Bad day for Judgment Day. Finn Balor turned on Damian Priest to enable Gunther to win the World Title. Also a great match.
Check the Arn Anderson sighting before Cody’s title defense, telling him that he’s got friends ready to help him. Arn was Cody’s mentor and manager in AEW.
The Bloodline Rules match followed a lot of the same script as the one at WrestleMania XL, but this time with The New Bloodline being repelled by Kevin Owens, Randy Orton, and a returning Roman Reigns (with new music). Reigns came in and hit Sikoa with the Superman Punch and the Spear, enabling Cody to finish him with the Cross-Rhodes.
Good card.
Match of the night was definitely the People’s Main Event, McIntyre vs. Punk.
Well, I guess all those people who bought Judgement Day merch are a might peeved.
Every last person who watches WWE had this feeling. It wasn’t if Dom would turn on Rhea, it was would WWE pull the trigger at SummerSlam or a later PLE.
The stories are (almost) always the same, over and over. What matters is execution - and this story has been executed well.
you knew the moment Rhea announced her engagement the dom thing was going to end… WWE has been looking for a reason to break up Judgment Day since before Vince left but they were so popular all of a sudden …
No citation, but I’m seeing talk online that Jacob Fatu may have legitimately hurt himself splashing Cody Rhodes through the table at SummerSlam.
Was that ever in doubt? He couldn’t even stand afterward and once they panned away they never showed him again. I called torn quad the second I saw it.
Oh, something else I failed to mention.
Damien Priest looked at the replay immediately after Finn Balor put Gunther’s foot on the rope, and realized he’d screwed him. That’s an unusually smart move by the Babyface.
Fatu was later pictured in a walking boot, so unlikely a torn quad. How bad is another question, but he was mobile.
Looks like they’ll be utilizing the Freebird Rule sooner than expected if Fatu can’t return. Wonder why Tonga Loa wasn’t paired with his brother in winning the tag belts in the first place?
Looks like he hit his knee on the edge of the table. Possibly just great pain and temporary paralysis. If he injured his foot it might have been because of his antics that followed.