12 Ups & 4 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Aug 6)
Roman Reigns finds answers on a strong SummerSlam go-home show.
WWE have done a fine job in building towards SummerSlam. Their last pay-per-view, Extreme Rules, was a home run, and they have successfully bridged it and 'The Biggest Party of the Summer' through solid, purposeful television, particularly on Tuesday nights, with SmackDown establishing many of the show's most exciting matches.
Last night's ride through the former 'Land of Opportunity' was the last stop on the road to Toronto, and they nailed it. This was about as good a pay-per-view go-home show as one can expect in this era. A few negligible missteps aside, a fun, breezy watch successfully built intrigue for every featured programme, leaving the viewer hyped for what looks like one of WWE's best shows this year.
Much of the night was built around Roman Reigns' search for answers after the recent attempts on his life, and answers he found, though not necessarily the ones he was looking for. Elsewhere, Charlotte Flair and Trish Stratus went face-to-face ahead of their era vs. era match, Women's Title contenders collided as Natalya wrestled Ember Moon, and Shane McMahon made his last stand against Kevin Owens. Oh, plus Buddy Murphy, Shelton Benjamin, and Chad Gable all got on television... in the same week! Tremendous.
Let's dive into it...