WWE SummerSlam 2017: Assessing The Potential Quality Of All 12 Matches
8. Akira Tozawa Vs. Neville - WWE Cruiserweight Title Match
It doesn't matter how much potential Neville Vs. Akira Tozawa possesses, honestly. You already know how it's going to go - before the closing bell rings, at least.
It's Kickoff show fodder; an exciting enough way to satiate the hardcores at home and get the early arena crowd off their feet. Usually, Kickoff matches hold something back by design. They are entrees. Neville Vs, Austin Aries, from WrestleMania 33, was the exception; at 15:38, it was a hard-hitting, fast-paced match. It held back nothing, and the storytelling was damn clever. What let it down massively was that it was performed only to pockets of fans, not many of which cared. It was boiling hot in the Camping World Stadium, and the match itself was presented as incidental: here's something while we all wait for the real action. It was bereft of atmosphere.
The first Neville Vs. Tozawa PPV match was really good - a blend of comedy, precision counters, and desperation heel work. As good as it was, there's a ceiling to these things. RAW's wasteful title change renders the result unpredictable - but easier to predict is a sub-fifteen minute affair that, while very good, won't linger long in the memory following what has been a ridiculously incredible year for in-ring action.
It should - but probably won't - add an eclectic something else to the card, because WWE has long since abandoned the practise of structuring them to be enjoyed as a whole.