Election officials and law enforcement are tamping down concerns that one of the most divisive presidential campaigns in modern U.S. history will result in Election Day violence.

The Hill reached out to more than a dozen police departments across the country to inquire if they’re preparing enhanced security plans for Nov. 8. Those that responded said they aren’t making different security preparations than usual, at least for now. 

Tempers have run high across the country during the 2016 cycle, with punches thrown at a few campaign events.

Things took a darker turn over the weekend when a North Carolina county GOP office was firebombed and armed protesters stationed themselves outside a Virginia Democratic congressional candidate’s campaign office.

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GOP presidential nominee Donald TrumpDonald John TrumpSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Warren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases Esper orders ‘After Action Review’ of National Guard’s role in protests MORE’s repeated warnings that the election is being rigged against him is a new factor. At Wednesday’s debate, he refused to say he would accept the results of Election Day.

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Trump has also offered racially tinged warnings of possible voter fraud in cities with large African-American populations, including Philadelphia and Chicago.

He’s called on his supporters to sign up as election observers, asking volunteers to sign up on his campaign website to “Help Me Stop Crooked Hillary From Rigging This Election!”

The possibility of Trump volunteers clashing with Clinton voters would be more likely if a number of people take up Trump’s call.

Both parties typically have poll watchers across locations where people vote. Local political parties frequently nominate officials like clerks and inspectors to conduct voting. Candidates and parties then have an additional layer of oversight by sending poll watchers to observe and monitor the election officials. 

Poll watchers can point out perceived irregularities or errors to the election officials. Beyond that, party lawyers are available to assist if officials reject the poll watchers’ claims.

Officials in one of the states where Trump and his supporters have suggested there could be fraud say there is no credible threat of violence and that they have no plan to beef up the police presence.

“At present, there is no credible threat that would affect the conduct of the upcoming election,” Pennsylvania Secretary of State Pedro A. Cortés said in a statement.  

“Still, we remain vigilant and will continue to work closely with our partners to monitor potential incidents and respond quickly should the need arise,” said Cortés, who noted that his department has been coordinating with local and federal law enforcement. 

Pennsylvania is one of the most hotly contested states in the country, and Trump supporters have noted news reports about precincts in Philadelphia that in 2012 reported no votes for GOP nominee Mitt Romney.

Reporters for The Philadelphia Inquirer searched for Republican voters in the predominately African-American precincts that reported no votes for Romney but were unable to find any who voted for the GOP nominee.

Police presence at polling locations vary by state. In Pennsylvania, for instance, uniformed law enforcement can’t come within 100 feet of a polling place unless called by an election judge or county Board of Elections. 

But in a state like Massachusetts, police officers are stationed in every polling place.

Police departments contacted by The Hill indicated they’re preparing for Election Day as they normally would.

“Just like with every election cycle, the PPD will work to ensure that the voting rights of all our citizens are protected,” the Philadelphia Police Department’s office of public affairs said in an email.

“We are not aware of any specific threats nor do we anticipate any disturbances,” Sgt. Jonathan Howard of the Phoenix Police Department said. 

In Fairfax County, Virginia’s most populous jurisdiction, some local officials expressed concern earlier this year that anger over a state Republican Party loyalty pledge would result in conflict during the presidential primary. Trump and his supporters opposed such an oath because they feared it might discourage independents and people who hadn’t voted before. 

Fairfax County’s office of elections and Board of Supervisors even asked that public schools, many of which serve as polling places, close that day to keep children away from potential disruptions caused by the loyalty pledge. The state’s GOP eventually dropped the requirement, but schools closed anyway due to anticipation of unusually high voter turnout for the primary.

The Northern Virginia suburb outside Washington, D.C., isn’t anticipating enhanced security for the general election, however.

“We have no changes to our security plans on Election Day,” Fairfax County spokeswoman Lisa Connors said.

Officials are creating strategies to respond to worries of potential voter intimidation. 

Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Education Fund, which promotes the political participation of Latinos, plans to send a letter to the Justice Department this week requesting resources to prevent voting disruptions.

Vargas compared the current worries of voter intimidation to Minutemen civilian border militia acting as if they were border patrol agents to confront immigrants illegally crossing the southern border. 

“I’m very concerned that some private citizens may think it upon themselves to take the law into their own hands and start being their own poll watchers without any of the proper training, without knowing that unless they are part of the actual administration of the elections, they could be breaking the law,” Vargas said.

NALEO also plans to coordinate with election attorneys to be able to respond promptly to reports of irregularities on Election Day.

Matthew Masterson, vice chair of the Election Assistance Commission, said that jurisdictions will have contingency plans in place in the event a disruption does occur. 

He also expects election officials are reviewing rules for authorized poll watchers and election observations. 

“I can tell you that election officials, just like every other election, have plans in place,” Masterson told The Hill. “I can assure you they’re going back and making sure their plans are ready.”

Local election officials typically have backup strategies ready, even for benign events like a water break in the building where a polling place is located. While contingencies can vary by jurisdiction, some may have “mobile polling places” at the ready to transport to a polling place if necessary.

“They have a plan to continue voting at that polling place,” Masterson said. 

Thanks to rajah.com reader Nicholas Cannella for sending this in:

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7/22 WWE SmackDown Live Summerslam Heat Wave Tour Results from Wildwood, NJ

-The advertised card for the show was Cena vs Rusev, Jinder Mahal vs Shinsuke vs Ziggler for the WWE Title, Styles vs Owens for the U.S Title, The Usos vs New Day vs Breezeango for SD Tag Titles and Charlotte vs Becky vs Natty vs Tamina vs Lana in a 5 Way.

(1) A.J Styles defeated Kevin Owens with the Styles Clash to retain the United States Championship. Very good opening match with lots of back and fourth action and near falls with Owens almost regaining The U.S Title a few times.

(2) Mr. Money In The Bank Baron Corbin defeated Sami Zayn following the End of Days. Fans were really behind Sami in this one and Corbin was the big heel.

(3) Hype Bros., Luke Harper & Tye Dillinger defeated Aiden English, Erick Rowan, & The Ascension when Mojo pinned Rowan after hitting a Shoulder Tackle.

– Afterward Viktor Challenged anyone in the back or anyone in Wildwood who has the guts to take him on and Chad Gable answered the challenge.

(4) Chad Gable pinned Viktor in 5 seconds with a back suplex.

– The Singh Bros. Came out and introduced the WWE Champion Jinder Mahal. Mahal cut a promo by claiming he is the Modern Day Majahara and everyone in America should respect him as the WWE Champion. He then went on to say he will retain his title tonight and at Battleground against Orton in the Punjabi Prison Match.

(5) Jinder Mahal (w/ The Singh Bros.) defeated Dolph Ziggler and Shinsuke Nakamura in a Triple Threat Match When Nakamura hit Ziggler with the Kinasasha Kick , Mahal jumped in threw Shinsuke out and pinned Ziggler. Afterward the Singh Brothers attacked Nakamura but eventually he took both of them out and hit one of them with a Kinsasha Kick. This match had a lot of one on one throughout it and Shinsuke and Dolph wrestled quite a bit while Mahal Was stalling outside the ring and would jump in whenever he saw fit.

(6) Charlotte Flair defeated Natalya, Tamina, Becky Lynch and Lana in a Fatal
5 Way when Charlotte made Natty tap out to a modified figure four leg lock. Good work by all five woman in this one .

(7) The Usos defeated Breezeango, & The New Day ( Kofi & Big E. w/Xavier) in a Triple Threat Tag Team Match to retain The SmackDown Tag Titles when Jimmy kicked Fandango in the back of the head and pinned him via roll up. lots of comedy spots throughout the match involving all
Three teams.

(8) John Cena defeated Rusev with the Attitude Adjustment. Solid main event with lots of “Let’s Go Cena” “Cena Sucks” and “USA “chants. At one point Rusev almost won via count out after throwing Cena into the Steel steps. Cena drop kicked Rusev as he waived the Bulgarian Flag. Cena hit the Five Knuckle Shuffle and then attempted the AA but As he was about to slam him down the ref was kicked by Rusev accidentally , then Cena went for the STF and Rusev tapped, with no official. Eventually Cena hit an AA and picked up the win.

– All in all a solid show and really good warm Up before the Battleground PPV in Philly.

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The road to WWE SummerSlam continues as the Raw brand offers up a bit of a preview of the Universal Title match at SummerSlam. On this week’s show it’s Braun Strowman vs. Samoa Joe vs. Roman Reigns. All three men will challenge Brock Lesnar in the Fatal 4-Way Universal Title match at SummerSlam on August 20. Also advertised on this week’s show is Jason Jordan as a guest on the Miz TV talk show. Let’s get to it.

Live from Pittsburgh, PA this is the Raw Deal for episode #1260. Follow me on Twitter @johnreport. Thanks Melo Man for the creative banner up top.

I missed the first five minutes. It was a video package.

Kurt Angle entered to a huge ovation in his hometown of Pittsburgh. Angle was really happy as he entered the arena to the “You Suck” chants out of respect. Angle entered the ring with the crowd going wild for him. The announce team of Michael Cole, Booker T and Corey Graves welcomed us to the show.

Angle announced some of the things coming up on Raw this week: Big Show vs. Big Cass, Miz TV with Jason Jordan as the guest and Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe in a triple threat match.

Angle said that today marks the 21st anniversary of him winning a gold medal with a “broken freakin’ neck.” Angle said he wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for each and every one of the fans. Angle was about to leave, but Brock Lesnar’s music hit as Lesnar walked out with Paul Heyman.

Lesnar, the Universal Champion, had the title around his waist as he walked around the ring with Heyman. Good reaction to Lesnar like usual.

Lesnar entered the ring with Heyman. Lesnar stared at Angle while Heyman told Angle that he thinks he has to take the Universal Title off Brock Lesnar. Heyman wondered why else would Angle put Lesnar in a Fatal 4-Way at SummerSlam. Heyman said it was the “most stacked” division in WWE history. I wouldn’t go that far. Heyman did the part of his promo where he mentioned Braun Strowman, the Undertaker slaying Roman Reigns (boos from the crowd) and Heyman claimed that Angle hoped Samoa Joe is the Universal Champion.

Heyman continued on saying that all three of the title worthy candidates are going to gang up against Lesnar and fight amongst themselves to determine the new champion. Heyman said that at SummerSlam, Lesnar doesn’t have to be in the equation to lose the championship. Heyman said let’s just rename it “SummerSlam 2017 – Brock Lesnar loses the Universal Title.” Heyman said that Angle has been told to make Brock Lesnar pay the “ultimate” (as in UFC) price. Heyman added that Lesnar will leave WWE if he loses the Universal Title and so will Heyman. Heyman claimed that Lesnar is not going to lose his Universal Title at SummerSlam. Heyman said at SummerSlam it will be: “Your winner and still reigning, defending, undisputed Universal Champion…Brock Lesnar.”  Heyman dropped the microphone and he left with Lesnar as Brock’s music played.

Analysis: I was waiting for the interruption as soon as Angle was out there. Lesnar and Heyman being mad about Angle making a 4-Way match makes sense because Lesnar may lose the title without getting pinned. I think that’s going to happen and so do a lot of people, but Heyman was confident in saying that Lesnar was going to win that match. Heyman did a good job of dropping the “ultimate” word in there since Jon Jones mentioned Lesnar at the UFC event on Saturday and there are rumors Lesnar may head back to the UFC at some point in the near future. I liked the way Heyman delivered the promo. He’s one of the best on the microphone as always. After what Heyman said I’m less sure of my prediction that Lesnar is going to lose the Universal Title at SummerSlam, so kudos to Heyman for delivering a quality promo again.

Later on Raw: Reigns vs. Strowman vs. Joe. Miz TV with Jordan is later. Hardys were shown walking backstage they’re up next.

This week on Smackdown it’s John Cena vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. I wrote a column about it with some thoughts on if it’s the right call to do a “dream match” on Smackdown instead of saving it, so check it out here. Also, Styles vs. Owens for the US Title again.

(Commercial)

The Hardy Boyz entered to a big pop. Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson, who are known as The Revival, are on commentary for this match. It’s Gallows and Anderson against the Hardys this week. Clips aired of the issues between all three teams in the last couple of weeks.

The Hardy Boyz (Matt & Jeff) vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson

Matt started with Anderson while Dawson bragged about how they are on a roll by being undefeated on Raw. Cole mentioned the Twitter battle between The Revival and Matt while The Revival mentioned that they beat the Hardys so the Twitter beef doesn’t matter and that’s true. Jeff tagged in leading to a double team splash and leg drop by the Hardys. Gallows in the ring, so the Hardys did the Poetry in Motion double team move. The heels bailed to the floor, so the show went to break two minutes into it.

(Commercial)

Back from break, the heels worked over Jeff because the heels are usually in control as the match returns from a break. Jeff came back with a Twist of Fate on Gallows. Anderson stopped Jeff from tagging out, but Anderson missed a corner attack and Matt got the hot tag. Matt sent Anderson’s head into the turnbuckles ten times (with “delete” chants), then a clothesline and bulldog for two. Elbow smash by Matt to the back of the neck followed by the Side Effect slam for two. When the ref was distracted by Anderson, Gallows hit a kick to the back and Anderson hit a running knee. Jeff saved Matt from a double team move and walked into a punch from Gallows. Boot to the face by Gallows, who was the legal man, against Matt. Gallows missed a corner attack, Matt hit the Twist of Fate, Jeff tagged in and Jeff hit the Swanton Bomb for the pinfall win after eight minutes.

Winners by pinfall: The Hardy Boyz

Analysis: **1/4 It was a decent match to put over the Hardys after they had been on the losing end of some matches in the last few weeks. The heels worked over Jeff, Matt got the hot tag and Jeff got the final tag leading to the pinfall win. Pretty routine in terms of the action.

After the match, the Hardys celebrated on the stage. The Revival said “sweet clapping.” The Hardys had a staredown with them, so The Revival went over to start brawling with them. Anderson and Gallows joined the fight. Hardys sent Gallows into the video screen. Hardys knocked Anderson and Wilder off the stage. Each Hardy hit a Twist of Fate on Dawson. Jeff hit a Poetry in Motion attack on Anderson and Wilder to end the segment. The crowd loved it.

Analysis: Good post match angle to show that the issues between these three teams continue. It should lead to some triple threat tag match in the near future.

Dean Ambrose was interviewed backstage by his wife Renee Young as highlights aired of Ambrose & Rollins beating Miz, Axel & Dallas last week. Ambrose admitted they looked good out there last week. Ambrose wasn’t sure about getting back together with Seth. Rollins walked into the screen saying it was special and felt like old times. Ambrose said before Renee or anybody else gets their hopes up, Dean still doesn’t trust Seth. Dean said he’s been burned by Seth before and it’s not going to happen to him again.

Analysis: The “hard to trust” story continues. Rumor is that Seth and Dean will challenge Sheamus and Cesaro for the Raw Tag Team Titles, so the story is about building up to Seth trying to earn Dean’s trust.

(Commercial)

Rollins was shown walking backstage with Sheamus and Cesaro standing there with their Tag Team Titles. Sheamus said that they are the opposite of Seth and Dean because they didn’t like eachother, but now they are the best of friends that trust eachother. Cesaro pointed out that Seth came into WWE like brothers with Dean and now Dean won’t trust him because Seth stabbed him in the back. Cesaro suggested Rollins get a new show on WWE Network called “Ride Alone.” Rollins got in their face to say he’ll challenge one of them to a match later tonight. Sheamus said it will be him.

Analysis: I just mentioned the Seth/Dean vs. Cesaro/Sheamus rumor and they followed it with a segment right after the break. I swear I didn’t edit in that comment. Looks like the rumor is going to be true.

It’s time for a cruiserweight tag team match. Tozawa vs. Daivari on 205 Live this week with the winner getting a shot at Neville for the Cruiserweight Title at SummerSlam.

Akira Tozawa (w/Titus O’Neil), Rich Swann & Cedric Alexander vs. TJP, Tony Nese & Ariya Daivari

Alexander with a headscissors followed by a dropkick on Nese. Swann took down Daivari with a headscissors. Tozawa has his left shoulder heavily taped while Booker T wondered what Titus is doing out there. Tozawa hit a senton splash for a two count on Daivari and Daivari did an arm wringer working on the arm. O’Neil wanted Tozawa to quit to not risk further injury, but Tozawa told him he was okay as they went to break two minutes into it.

(Commercial)

Back from break, Daivari slapped on another armbar on Tozawa’s left arm. Tozawa broke free and tagged in Swann, who hit a running clothesline on Perkins. Flipping leg drop by Swann on Perkins followed by a splash for two. Alexander hit a leaping clothesline on Nese to take him out. Alexander and Swann hit dives onto TJP and Nese on the floor. Tozawa hit a suicide dive on Daivari on the floor as well. Back in the ring, TJP and Swann got pinfall attempts on eachother. Tozawa tagged in, Swann hit a superkick on TJP and Tozawa hit the senton bomb off the top on TJP for the win after eight minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Akira Tozawa, Rich Swann & Cedric Alexander

Analysis: **1/2 Solid match to put the faces over similar to the first tag match of the night in terms of how the match was structured and how it ended. Good to have Tozawa go over since he’s currently being pushed more than the other guys in the match. I think Tozawa will beat Daivari on 205 Live because no reason to do heel vs. heel at SummerSlam. It might be Tozawa that beats Neville for the Cruiserweight Title too. I would have picked Cedric Alexander earlier this year, but WWE hasn’t pushed him that hard yet.

Post match, the faces took a selfie with O’Neil to celebrate the win.

Miz TV up next with Jason Jordan as the guest.

(Commercial)

Miz TV with Jason Jordan as the guest

The Miz walked out in a suit and the Intercontinental Title on his shoulder. Miz had his wife Maryse along with the Miztourage duo of Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel with him.

The Miz said he can’t tell the fans how much he hates the city (Cleveland fans don’t like Pittsburgh). Miz welcomed us to Miz TV and said that nothing has the WWE Universe buzzing more than Kurt Angle’s illegitimate son. Miz welcomed Jason Jordan, who has a new theme song with trumpets. No lyrics. I guess Chad Gable won the American Alpha song in the “divorce” of their team.

Miz asked Jordan how it feels to be Kurt Angle’s son and when Jordan tried to answer, Miz cut him off. Miz pointed out that some fans were booing Jordan while Jordan said that Miz is an expert in terms of being booed. Miz said he’s an expert on Raw. Miz said that Jordan is going places and his in-ring ability is amazing. Miz offered to guide Jordan’s career. Jordan laughed while Miz told the crowd to shut up. Miz said he’s offering Jordan the opportunity to join The Miztourage. Jordan said “thanks, but I’m good.” Miz said he’s done it all including TV, movies and he’s main evented WrestleMania. Miz said that in that locker room, there are vultures that will try to leach off Jordan’s new found lineage. Miz: “You need my help.”

Jordan said it’s a really tempting offer that he appreciates, but he thinks he is going to pass. Miz said of course because Angle can hand Jordan anything he wants. Jordan said he’s going to earn everything and Miz told him he’s naïve. Miz told Jordan not to be foolish and told him that this company will chew you up and spit you out. Jordan said that maybe it will, but he doesn’t want to be associated with somebody like Miz. That led to Miz saying that Jordan has to latch onto a different Olympian every week and said Angle got his GM job out of pity. Miz said that Angle is like Pittsburgh that is broken down and pining for glory days that are never coming back.

Jordan said that Miz can say what he wants about him, but if he says another word about Kurt he will make Miz regret it. Axel and Dallas got in Jordan’s face. Miz told them to back off. Miz attacked, Jordan hit a belly to belly suplex on Miz that knocked all three heels down. Jordan left the ring as his music played.  Fans cheered him. Not huge, but the crowd was behind him.

Analysis: That was pretty good with Miz doing a fantastic job of getting the crowd to hate him. They always hate him anyway, but ripping on the city like he did was a smart way to start the promo and he continued it as the promo continued. Jordan wanting to do the right thing by saying he’s going to prove himself and not have anything handed to him is the noble thing to say. Having a heel like Miz doubt that is the perfect counter to Jordan at this point. I thought the entire thing was booked exactly as it should have. This will set up the rumored IC Title match at SummerSlam between Miz and Jordan.

Later on Raw is Reigns vs. Strowman vs. Joe.

Reigns did a promo from backstage as highlights aired about him. Reigns said he drove Strowman straight to hell once and he’ll send him back there for good. Reigns said that if you take away distractions he stands tall every time. Reigns mentioned he’s the guy that put the Deadman (Undertaker) to rest, so it’s his yard and he’s the only guy that can beat Brock Lesnar. Reigns said he’ll walk out of SummerSlam as the new Universal Champion.

Analysis: Solid promo from Reigns. They keep bringing up the win over Undertaker as a huge thing, which shows how much respect WWE has for Taker.

Seth Rollins was shown walking backstage for his match.

(Commercial)

Sheamus made his entrance with his fellow Tag Team Champion Cesaro.

Seth Rollins entered. They added the words “Burn It Down” to his theme song at the start of it. Rest of it is the same. It’s a slight improvement, but still feels like a generic rock song to me.

Seth Rollins vs. Sheamus (w/Cesaro)

Sheamus with a shoulder tackle, Rollins came back with knees, a kick to the face and a running dropkick. Cesaro provided a slight distraction as they went outside the ring. Sheamus attacked outside the ring, sent Rollins into the barricade and the show went to break there two minutes into it.

(Commercial)

Back from break, Sheamus hit a rolling senton slam off the middle ropes for a two count. Rollins hit a neckbreaker using the top rope for an assist, but Sheamus came back with a backbreaker for two. Sheamus up top, he jumped off, Rollins moved and Rollins sent Sheamus into the middle turnbuckle. They exchanged punches and Rollins connected with a jumping kick to the head. Rollins hit a suicide dive that sent Sheamus into the barricade. Back in the ring, springboard clothesline by Rollins and a Slingblade neckbreaker. Cesaro with the distraction on the apron and Rollins came back with a rollup using his upper body to put (not a rollup of death) for the win after nine minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Seth Rollins

Analysis: **1/2 It was just an okay match. I expected better from them, but they didn’t get a lot of time and there were few nearfalls to make it seem exciting. Sheamus was on offense for about 80% of it with Rollins getting the surprise pin leading to the post match again.

Post match, Cesaro attacked Rollins from behind. Sheamus joined in the attack. The champs did the double team White Noise with Cesaro jumping off the middle rope to assist. Fans chanted “We Want Ambrose” but there was no sign of him as referees told Sheamus and Cesaro to leave, so the champs did. Rollins got to his knees, which led to Cesaro and Sheamus to go back in the ring. Ambrose ran out for the save. Ambrose punched both heels, but the champs double teamed him with punches. Cesaro hit the Neutralizer on Ambrose to leave him laying. Rollins and Ambrose were both out in the ring with the champs stood tall. Ambrose wanted more, so the champs delivered with Cesaro holding Ambrose while Sheamus hit a Brogue Kick on Ambrose. The champs left with their titles.

Analysis: That was better than the match because it was focused on getting the heels over as a cohesive unit that’s going to be tough to beat. The crowd chanting for Ambrose before he got out there was the reaction WWE wanted for that booking. I’m glad the faces never made the comeback. Save it for another week. This should lead to a Raw Tag Team Title match at SummerSlam on August 20.  I’m just glad Ambrose is feuding with somebody other than Miz.

Samoa Joe did a promo while highlights aired of him in action. Joe talked about how he took Brock Lesnar to the limit and nobody has dominated Roman Reigns like him. Joe said Reigns is on a collision course with him. Joe said he’ll make Strowman pay for getting in his business. Joe said he’s not scared of anybody whether it’s Roman, Braun or Lesnar. Joe said he’s going to make a statement and that somebody is going to sleep.

Analysis: I like hearing from the guys in the main event in promos from earlier in the day. It builds up the match in more than a usual main event.

Bray Wyatt is up next.

There was a video about Special Olympics athlete Justin “JJ” Jones since WWE works with them. Justin and his family were shown at Raw. They received a nice ovation.

(Commercial)

Let’s Hear From Bray Wyatt

Wyatt made his entrance with his lamp as the arena was filled up with light from the “fireflies” holding their cell phones in the air. Wyatt stood in the ring with a spotlight on him.

Wyatt said there is no escape for you, your children and not for Finn Balor. Wyatt said that no mortal man can just escape the darkness because that’s just the way it is. Wyatt told the people in Pittsburgh they are pitiful that try to hide behind their scenes. Wyatt said they can’t hide from him because he’s Bray Wyatt and he is everywhere. Wyatt said he’s right there when you want to proclaim yourself as part of the Balor Club and people think they can vicariously live through Finn Balor while thinking your life can be special. Wyatt spoke about how Balor was an ordinary man that can do these extraordinary things and when you watch him fall you can feel his pain. Wyatt said he sees Balor for what he truly is – a putrid shell of a man that never was. Wyatt said that Balor exists off of borrowed time, off of tomorrow’s dreams and yesterday’s promise. Wyatt mocked the people that think they can get right back up after they fall down and he laughed at the notion of people that say “I can do it.” Wyatt asked how it felt last week when he took our hero (Balor) and turned him into a mangled heap of broken promises. Wyatt said when life knocks you down there is no escape of Bray Wyatt. Wyatt posed in the ring, but the red light flashed in the arena and the lights went out.

Balor’s music hit briefly and when the lights came on, Balor was in the ring posing in his ring gear. Wyatt laughed about it. When Wyatt grabbed him, Balor hit an overhead kick that sent Wyatt out of the ring. Running dropkick by Balor sent Wyatt over the barricade. Balor stood on the ring steps while Wyatt laughed from a seated position in the crowd.

Analysis: It was a typical Wyatt promo about how he’s a superior being and laughing at the normal people out there. I liked Balor appearing in the ring after the lights went out. For a moment I thought he might be in the Demon Balor body paint, but it’s fine to save that for a bigger moment. Balor getting the revenge after Wyatt attacked him was the right way to book it.

Cole said coming up in a matter of minutes is the triple threat match. Replays aired of the Balor dropkick on Wyatt that sent Wyatt into the crowd. Balor posed in the ring with the crowd doing his arm poses with him.

Braun Strowman did a promo as they showed highlights of him in action. Strowman said he breaks things, he causes chaos and goes further than most men care to imagine. Strowman said he wants to hurt Roman Reigns again. Strowman laughed about Samoa Joe because he’s not worried about what he can do to him. Strowman said he wants Brock Lesnar and he’ll show he will won’t just be the monster among men, he’ll the champion among men.

Analysis: Decent promo. It would have been better if it Strowman said he’s not going to talk about what he’s going to do and just left saying you can watch the match to see what I’ll do. Let him be different than the others.

(Commercial)

Samoa Joe entered first to mostly boos. Braun Strowman got a mixed reaction. There was a pause and then Roman Reigns made his entrance to the loudest reaction that was full of boos with some cheers in there too.

Analysis: The most viewers for Raw most weeks is end of hour two in this spot for Reigns vs. Joe vs. Strowman. So maybe that’s the WWE logic with putting it on earlier in the night. Only other match announced that could main event is Big Cass vs. Big Show. That doesn’t excite me, but shows WWE pays attention to the numbers.

Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe

Strowman dumped both guys out of the ring within one minute and they went to break.

(Commercial)

Back from break, Joe hit a leaping kick to Strowman and Reigns hit a punch to knock Strowman down. Joe and Reigns sent Strowman out of the ring. Reigns hit two clotheslines on Joe and Joe came back with an armbar on the left arm. Strowman pulled Joe out of the ring and sent him into the barricade. Reigns went brawling with Strowman into the crowd as Cole noted no countout in triple threat rules. Strowman brought Reigns back to the ringside area, which led to Joe slapping on the Coquina Clutch submission, but Joe couldn’t lock it in. Reigns went after Joe, so Joe sent Reigns into the barricade and Joe hit a leaping kick to the head. Back in the ring, Reigns kicked Joe followed by elbow smashes and clotheslines in the corner. Reigns knocked down Joe with a boot to the face. Joe bailed to the floor, so Reigns went after him with a running Superman Punch off the steel steps. Reigns charged at Strowman outside the ring and Strowman kicked him to stop his momentum. Strowman worked over both guys on the floor by sending Reigns into a steel steps. Strowman hit a running knee lift on Joe outside the ring. Strowman threw Reigns back into the ring under the top rope. Strowman threw the top half of the steel steps into the ring. Joe recovered with a kick to the head of Strowman and a senton splash.

Back in the ring, Joe hit a senton splash on Reigns for a two count. Joe wedged the steel steps against the turnbuckle. Joe slapped on the Coquina Clutch on Reigns, but Strowman ran over both guys to break that up. Strowman hit a Running Powerslam on Joe for a two count as Reigns made the save. The fans chanted “this is awesome” for them. Strowman whipped Reigns into the turnbuckle back first repeatedly. Strowman grabbed the steps, the crowd chanted “Yes” and Reigns hit a Superman Punch to avoid the attack. Reigns grabbed the steps and knocked Strowman out of the ring with them. Reigns hit a Spear on Joe for the pinfall win after 16 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Roman Reigns

Analysis: ***1/2 That was great match that benefited from the ability to brawl around the ring and utilize weapons. They told a physical story where they tried to wear down eachother rather than going for a lot of finishers and nearfalls. Strowman hit his finish, but that was broken up. I’m not surprised that Joe took the pin. They want to protect Strowman in a match like that and that’s what they did. Does the result of this match really matter in terms of who is going to win at SummerSlam? Nope. Absolutely not. However, it was a nice preview of that match by showing how physical they can be when they are able to brawl outside the ring.

Reigns celebrated the win while Cole hyped up SummerSlam with these three challenging Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title at SummerSlam on August 20.

Analysis: Right now I’m leaning towards Samoa Joe as my pick for next Universal Champion, but it’s not easy to call. I may change my mind before August 20.

Highlights aired of Big Cass beating Enzo last week and Cass beat up Show again. This is supposed to make us care about Cass vs. Show later? It doesn’t make me care.

Big Show was in the locker room. Enzo showed up to apologize for Show getting into this mess with him. Enzo told him he appreciated it. Show said that Enzo got him into it, but it’s okay because Show can teach Cass a lesson in respect. Show left to get ready.

Analysis: Quick segment to show that Big Show is a good guy willing to stand up to the jerk Cass.

(Commercial)

Elias was in the ring with his guitar. They dumped his “Samson” last name, so he’s just Elias. When he said “who wants to walk with Elias?” the crowd cheered because he noted he was from Pittsburgh. Elias said the people of Pittsburgh inspired him to write this song. Elias ripped on the city of Pittsburgh saying the people are garbage, but at least you can hear his voice. The fans booed him. He was interrupted by Kalisto’s entrance.

Analysis: I don’t know why they dumped the Samson name, but that’s what WWE does sometimes. We have seen it in recent years with the likes of (Alexander) Rusev, (Antonio) Cesaro, (Adrian) Neville and others where it seems odd at the time, but we end up getting used to it. The name change isn’t a big deal.

Elias vs. Kalisto

There was no reaction to Kalisto. There was some athletic offense from Kalisto early on, but Elias sent Kalisto out of the ring one minute into the match.

(Commercial)

Back from break, Elias applied a chinlock. Elias stomped away in the corner and hit a backbreaker. Suplex by Elias for a two count. Elias slapped on a submission with Kalisto on his shoulders and Kalisto fought out of it. Kalisto came back with a spinning kick to the head, a leaping kick and a senton splash off the top. Snap rana by Kalisto. This crowd is dead quiet for this match. Knee to the face by Elias and a neckbreaker with Graves saying Elias calls that Drift Away. It went seven minutes. No crowd reaction at all.

Winner by pinfall: Elias

Analysis: *1/2 They went seven minutes and it should have been three minutes. The crowd doesn’t care about Kalisto at all. Putting Elias over is fine, but it’s not a good sign when the crowd completely dies during a match.

Alexa Bliss, the Raw Women’s Champion, was interviewed by Charly Caruso in the interview area. Bliss said she was happy she gets to face Bayley again and laughed about how Sasha Banks lost to Bayley. Bliss mocked Banks and Bayley while noting that Bayley has to face Nia Jax and that it will be a massacre.

Analysis: It feels like we have seen Bayley vs. Jax too many times, but WWE loves to repeat matches and unlike on Smackdown, they do a poor job of using the whole division on Raw.

Bayley vs. Nia Jax is up next.

The announcers shilled the Shawn Michaels movie “Pure Country, Pure Heart” that has Willie Nelson in it. I have less than zero interest in it. Negative interest.

(Commercial)

Replays aired of the Seth/Dean segments from earlier.

Ambrose was shown in the locker room. Rollins thanked him for helping him. Ambrose said that he wasn’t there to help him. Ambrose told Rollins that he knows that Rollins is the architect that always has a plan and Rollins wanted to help him because if Ambrose didn’t it would make Ambrose look like a bad guy. Ambrose cut off Rollins before he could say that he (Rollins) would have saved him. Ambrose left while Rollins was left looking sad.

Analysis: The tough love continues between the former buddies. Slow build is good. I like that it hasn’t been rushed.

Bayley made her entrance to a good ovation. Bayley challenges Alexa Bliss for the Raw Women’s Title at SummerSlam.

Nia Jax made her entrance looking angry because she’s not like most girls. It’s in the song.

Bayley vs. Nia Jax

Jax with a headbutt. Bayley jumped on her back and Jax slammed her down with a snap mare. Jax sent Bayley out of the ring one minute into it.

Analysis: Six matches on the show. Six matches gone to commercial in first two minutes. “Repetitiveness is my job.” – Bart Simpson

(Commercial)

Back from break, Jax with a headlock. Bayley came back with running knees. Jax blocked elbow attempts, lifted Bayley up and slammed her down. The ref checked on Bayley, who was grabbing her shoulder. Bayley slowly got back in the ring favoring her right shoulder. Running splash in the corner by Jax and Jax whipped Bayley into the turnbuckle. Bayley kicked away, Bayley hit a punch, kicks and Jax hit a shoulder tackle. Jax missed an elbow drop and Bayley hit a bulldog followed by a dropkick that sent Jax onto the apron. Bayley with a neckbreaker using the rope followed by a knee lift that sent Jax to the floor. Bayley jumped onto Jax on the floor with a cross body block to take her down. Alexa Bliss ran down to ringside, Bayley knocked her down and Jax sent Bayley into the barricade. Jax charged at Bayley, who moved and Jax went into the steel steps. Bayley went back in the ring to win by countout. It went about eight minutes.

Winner by countout: Bayley

Analysis: *1/4 I’ve seen them wrestle many times and that was one of their most boring matches. The crowd was dead for all of it too. Bayley did a good job of selling the shoulder (assuming it’s not a legit injury), but the crowd barely got behind her during the comeback. The finish was WWE’s lame way of protecting Jax even though she has failed to win the title in over a year of being on Raw. I’m not sure she needs to be protected that much.

Post match, Bayley left before the heels could attack and she was still favoring her right shoulder.

Analysis: At least Bayley wasn’t booked like an idiot and avoided an attack for a nice change.

Big Cass was interviewed by Renee Young. Cass did a promo ripping on Big Show for the main event.

(Commercial)

There was a plug for 205 Live with Akira Tozawa facing Ariya Daivari and the winner gets a shot at Neville’s Cruiserweight Title at SummerSlam.

A replay aired of Jason Jordan getting the upper hand against Miz and his cronies earlier in the night.

Enzo Amore did a promo to try to wake up the crowd. They were awake for his intro bit. Enzo had some line about a banana peel and keeping it real, but I’m not that interested. Enzo introduced his buddy, the world’s largest athlete the Big Show.

Big Cass got some new music. It’s still generic rock music with no lyrics, but it sounds better.

Big Show (w/Enzo Amore) vs. Big Cass

Show attacked as soon as Cass got in the ring and the ref had to separate them to start the match. Show worked on Cass with a chop to the chest. Back elbow by Cass. Show launched Cass over the top to the floor with Cole noting Show was in best shape of his career because he’s got abs. It’s true even though Show is in his mid-40s and moves slow. Cass stunned Show by sending him neck first into the top rope. Back in the ring, Show hit a shoulder tackle. Show hit a weak looking body slam that Cole called a “power slam.” Elbow drop by Show for two. Cass went after the left leg of Show and applied a knee bar submission although it didn’t look that good. Enzo put his hands on the mat to try to wake up the crowd. Show hit a chop and Cass came back with a boot to the face. Cass went for a double axe off the middle rope, so Show chopped him in the chest and two clotheslines. Show ran the ropes and Big Cass hit a big boot to the face. That looked great, but it drew no reaction. Enzo jumped on Cass’ back leading to the disqualification after five minutes.

Winner by disqualification: Big Cass

Analysis: *1/4 Boring match with a cheap finish that was done to set up another Cass vs. Show match likely at SummerSlam. I figured they wouldn’t do a clean finish because it felt like it was too soon for this match. Cass needs to get better by working with smaller wrestlers that can bump for him. Working with Big Show doesn’t help Cass that much because how boring both of them are.

Big Cass got Enzo off his back and Cass nailed Enzo with a big boot to knock him down.

Show got back to his feet, Cass charged in and Show hit Cass with a KO Punch to knock out Cass. Replays aired of what happened.

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Show walked out with Enzo and that was it for Raw as they signed off the air at around 11:08pmET.

Analysis: I really don’t need or want to see another Show vs. Cass match again, but Vinny Mac loves big guys and they have “Big” in their name, so of course we will get it again. Booking Cass to beat Show here would have been better than what they did.

Also, as I pointed out throughout the review, the crowd was dead for most of this show and they were even more dead for this main event. Come on Pittsburgh, you can do better.

 

Three Stars of the Show

1. Roman Reigns
2. Braun Strowman
3. Samoa Joe

 

The Scoreboard

4.5 out of 10

Last week: 6

2017 Average: 5.81

Average since brand split starting July 25/16: 5.84 (Smackdown is 6.75)

Last 5 Weeks: 6, 6.5, 5.5, 6.5, 6

2017 High: 8 (April 3)

2017 Low: 4 (Jan. 9, Feb. 27 & June 12)

 

Final Thoughts

I give it a 4.5 out of 10.

I wanted to like this show. I was in a good mood when it started. They started off well in the first hour and the three-way match was great, but the third hour bombed. The dead crowd didn’t help either.

I thought the build to the likely IC Title (Miz vs. Jordan) and Tag Team Title (Sheamus/Cesaro vs. Ambrose/Rollins) matches at SummerSlam were done well.

Reigns beating Joe and Strowman was clearly the highlight of the show. It should have been the main event.

The main event sucked. It was one of the worst main events on any WWE TV show this year that was designed to build to a rematch. I don’t want to see it again.

Please deliver a better show next week because I’ll be there in Toronto. At least I know the Toronto crowd will be louder.

At @SummerSlam, @BrockLesnar defends the #UniversalTitle in a #Fatal4Way match against @SamoaJoe @WWERomanReigns & @BraunStrowman! #RAW pic.twitter.com/Uf4macWTEa

— WWE (@WWE) August 1, 2017

The next pay-per-view is SummerSlam on August 20. Here’s what we know so far.

WWE Universal Championship: Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe vs. Roman Reigns

Raw Women’s Championship: Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley

Smackdown Women’s Championship: Naomi vs. Natalya

That’s it for official matches. Other likely matches are The Miz vs. Jason Jordan for the IC Title, Sheamus/Cesaro vs. Rollins/Ambrose for the Raw Tag Team Titles, Big Cass vs. Big Show and more. More matches will be added in the next month of course.

—

That’s all for now. See ya next time for the Smackdown review.

You can contact me using any of the methods below. Thanks for reading.

John Canton

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @johnreport

Personal Facebook and TJRWrestling on Facebook

WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently updated the blog at his official website, JRsBarBQ.com, with his thoughts on Bayley and Scott Dawson’s injuries, a potential regular WWE U.K. television series, the upcoming NJPW G1 tournament on AXS TV and more. Below are some of the highlights.

On Bayley and Scott Dawson’s injuries: “Never a good time for injures in any endeavor but it looks as if both Bayley and Scott Dawson of Revival will miss SummerSlam with injuries. There’s no good time to be injured but the key ingredient is how does one strategize and execute coming back better than when they were before they were injured? Mental preparation for one’s craft doesn’t have to stop because of a ruptured bicep or separated shoulder. Bayley is as good as there is in the women’s division in WWE while The Revival boys are one of my favorite tag teams to come along in years and remind me so much of Jim Cornette’s famed, Midnight Express teams.”

On a WWE U.K. television series: “I get asked often about the WWE U.K. TV Show that has been discussed sporadically over the past several months and I don’t have an update except to say that the idea is still alive and well. I hope to be included with Nigel McGuiness on the broadcast team if and when it happens.”

On the NJPW G1 tournament on AXS TV: “Voiced over 11 bouts with @JoshLBarnett in this year’s G1 Tournament this past Friday with more VO’s coming at the end of the month back in the @AXSTV studios in Los Angeles. Fundamentally strong in ring action was prevalent for this popular tournament that is an annual affair in NJPW. AXSTV wants an athletic, TV presentation as best as Josh and I can do it and that’s what we do our best to provide. Our style on this show is intentionally different than virtually any other pro wrestling TV show that currently airs. We don’t have live events, PPV’s, merch, etc to promote. Our show has to sound different, right?”

Check out the complete J.R. blog at JRsBarBQ.com. Also, don’t forget to check out J.R.’s weekly “Ross Report” podcast at PodcastOne.com, and to follow J.R. on Twitter @JRsBBQ.

It’s the last edition of Smackdown before SummerSlam with Jinder Mahal vs. John Cena as the main event.

Live from Providence, Rhode Island this is Smackdown Live for episode #938. Follow me on Twitter @johnreport. Thanks Melo Man for the banner up top.

The opening video package hyped up the main event of the show, which is Jinder Mahal vs. John Cena in a non-title match. The voiceover guy called it an “epic” one on one match. Pretty sure that’s an overuse of the word epic.

There was a live shot of the arena with Tom Phillips calling Mahal vs. Cena “arguably the biggest match in Smackdown history,” which is a ridiculous statement to make.

Analysis: Saying a Jinder Mahal match is one of the biggest matches in Smackdown history is an insult to so many amazing performers like Steve Austin, The Rock, Kurt Angle, Triple H, Brock Lesnar and so many others. I know why WWE says it because Mahal is the current WWE Champion, but let’s not pretend like he’s lighting the world on fire or making a lot of money for WWE. It is one of those things WWE says to try to overhype the current product. I’m not trying to hate on Mahal. I’m talking more about how WWE presents their show.

Let’s Hear From Jinder Mahal

The Singh Brothers introduced their buddy, the WWE Champion Jinder Mahal. Lots of boos for Mahal. The announce team of Tom Phillips, John Bradshaw Layfield and Byron Saxton.

Mahal said that today is Independence Day for the great nation of India. The ring had a rug in it as Mahal said they celebrate India and the reign of the “greatest WWE Champion of all time,” who he claims is himself. There was a group of Indian dancers that were on the stage and then they made their way down the ramp. The fans booed.

Mahal had a woman named Madu in the ring and she sang the national anthem of India. The crowd booed that. Somebody get Nikolai Volkoff to sing the Russian national anthem too. It’s not 1987, but it sure feels like it with the way Mahal is presented. The dancers did some more dancing and the crowd booed.

Mahal said the booing reaction was what he expected and that the people should expect him to beat John Cena later tonight. Fans chanted “USA” while Mahal was trying to speak. Mahal said he makes WWE the “global superstar” and then corrected himself to say “global phenomenon.” Mahal claimed he’s the reason people subscribe to WWE Network. Mahal talked about Cena facing Shinsuke Nakamura two weeks ago in a dream match and that he’s going to beat Cena on Smackdown and Nakamura at SummerSlam. Mahal spoke in Punjabi and the crowd booed some more until Nakamura’s music hit to change their reaction to cheers.

Analysis: It was the typical cheap heel heat promo by Mahal. If you’ve watched Smackdown in the last three months it’s the same thing Mahal has done every time without changing much at all. It’s a simple way to get heat like he was a 1980s heel that I referenced earlier.

Nakamura got a huge ovation as the crowd hummed along with his song. Nakamura entered the ring with Mahal.

Mahal got mad at Nakamura for disparaging his people on their day. The fans chanted “Nakamura” before Shinsuke could reply. Nakamura said today in Indian it’s Indian Independence Day and Nakamura said today in Japan they commemorate those who died in war and pray for peace. Nakamura said on Sunday it’s America it’s SummerSlam, which drew cheers. Nakamura told Mahal that it will be the day he loses the WWE Title. Fans chanted “yes” for that as Nakamura sang “to me.” Nakamura’s music played to end it. The Singh Brothers yelled at Nakamura as the Mahal vs. Nakamura graphic for SummerSlam was shown again.

Analysis: I thought there might be some physical action between them, but Nakamura just left. This feud could have used more than Nakamura saying that Mahal is going to lose the title to him. Like I keep saying with Mahal, they are booking him as the most simplistic, boring champion in a long time and segments like that make me say “that’s it?” rather than wanting more. I sure hope WWE has the sense to put the WWE Title on Nakamura soon because the Mahal reign has been boring and needs to end.

Later tonight, AJ Styles apologizes for the errant kick that hit Shane McMahon last week.

Natalya and Becky Lynch were shown walking backstage in separate parts of the arena.

(Commercial)

The announce team talked about how Ric Flair had surgery on Monday and he’s resting comfortably in critical condition. Keep fighting, Nature Boy. We love ya.

Becky Lynch entered first to a good pop. Natalya was booed. Natalya faces Naomi for the Smackdown Women’s Championship at SummerSlam. Naomi made her entrance to join commentary. It took about a minute for Naomi to get out there and she has more bright colors than anybody in the history of wrestling.

Becky Lynch vs. Natalya

Lynch with a shoulder block and a pin attempt. Natalya slapped her hard in the face, so Lynch fired back with forearms. Natalya bailed to the floor and Lynch hit a dropkick to the back. They went to break one minute into it.

(Commercial)

Back from break, Natalya slapped on the abdominal stretch in the center of the ring. Naomi was shown on commentary with all of her glow makeup and the neon green top. Lynch fought out of the stretch and hit a Bexploder suplex. Lynch hit her straight fire forearm for a two count. The crowd thought that might be it even though she never wins with that. Lynch went for the Disarmer, Natalya escaped and went for the Sharpshooter, so Lynch took her down and went for the Disarmer again. Natalya got a rollup for two, so Lynch came back with an enziguri kick to the head. Lynch went up top, jumped off the top rope and missed a leg drop because Natalya moved. Natalya slapped on the Sharpshooter submission and Lynch tapped out for the loss at around eight minutes.

Winner by submission: Natalya

Analysis: ** Solid match to put over Natalya less than a week before her SummerSlam match. It’s the proper way to book a challenger heading to a title match. It’s not how WWE always books the contender, but that’s the right way to do it. Natalya and Lynch have wrestled many times in the last few years. They’ve had better matches that got more time. This was fine, though.

Post match, Natalya stared at Naomi as replays aired to show what happened.

Natalya stomped on Lynch after the match and applied the Sharpshooter again. Naomi went into the ring, so Natalya left the ring to avoid a fight.

Carmella’s music hit as Carmella was on the ramp with James Ellsworth and her Money in the Bank briefcase. Carmella did a promo about the Smackdown Women’s Champion Naomi and her SummerSlam opponent Natalya. Carmella reminded us she’s Miss MITB. Carmella wished both women the best of luck on Sunday and from the bottom of her heart, may the best woman. Ellsworth: “And to whoever wins, you lose.” Ellsworth pointed to the briefcase while he said that. Carmella’s music ended it.

Analysis: More staring and talking like with the WWE Title situation. Why are there a lack of physical attacks? I understand not wanting to give things away, but having these stories where people just stare at eachother really isn’t that exciting. I’m leaning towards a Naomi win on Sunday and I don’t think Carmella will cash in.

The announcers plugged things to come including Fashion Peaks and Cena vs. Mahal.

(Commercial)

Coming up is an apology from AJ Styles.

Lana was in the locker room and Tamina wondered why she didn’t have a match. Why is she asking Lana? Lana told her that she’s not ready and Tamina said as if Lana was ready when she got back to back to back title opportunities. Lana said they look past her and they don’t fear her. Tamina asked what she means. Lana said they don’t fear Tamina yet, but if Tamina follows her lead they will because Lana will use her ravishing beauty and cunning to manipulate her way to helping Tamina. Lana said that Tamina will be the most destructive force with the single purpose to crush and together they will become unstoppable. Lana said then and only then Tamina will become Smackdown Live Women’s Champion. Tamina just stared as it ended.

Analysis: It’s smart to pair them up because they have different strengths as performers, so it’s one of those odd couple duos. The acting from Tamina was bad like usual. Why is she asking Lana about booking her in matches? I keep waiting for Lana to use her normal voice to ditch the Russian accent, but WWE seems to want to keep her in that role.

The Usos showed up in Smackdown General Manager Daniel Bryan’s office. Bryan said he’s been working on his rap beat sand they are “sick.” The Usos asked Bryan what New Day members they are facing at SummerSlam. Bryan said at SummerSlam, they will face Big E and Xavier Woods with Kofi Kingston in the corner. The Usos said they wanted Kofi and Woods tonight. Bryan said he can hook them up tonight. Usos stuck out their fists, Bryan put his palms on their fists because he’s the awkward white guy GM. The Usos were confused by it and left. Bryan did a silly dance.

Analysis: It’s good seeing Daniel Bryan, but they fly him in for one-minute segments most weeks. I wish he had a bigger role. Putting him on commentary instead of Saxton would be nice, but I doubt Bryan would want to do that even though he did well at it last year in the Cruiserweight Classic.

Rusev entered for a match. He attacked Randy Orton last week to end Smackdown. Rusev vs. Orton is set for SummerSlam. Show went to break after his entrance.

(Commercial)

Chad Gable made his entrance to a good pop although it was mild. These two had a fun match a few weeks ago.

Rusev vs. Chad Gable

Rusev attacked Gable with punches to start the match. Gable came back with an overhead belly to belly suplex. Rusev went to the floor, Gable went after him and Rusev sent Gable into the steel steps. Rusev sent Gable into the steel steps three times. Rusev launched Gable over the announce table and into the chairs because the announcers moved. The referee called for the bell for the double countout. The match went barely over a minute.

Match Result: Double countout

Analysis: 1/2* That was quick. It was just done to put over Rusev’s aggressiveness. Since it wasn’t a win in the ring it doesn’t hurt Gable that much although Gable was beat up easily.

Rusev cleared off the announce table. Rusev put Gable on the table and applied the Accolade submission on the table as if it hurts more on there. Gable was tapping out immediately. The ref told Rusev to let go, but Rusev held on for about 20 seconds. Fans chanted “Randy” for Orton.

Analysis: That didn’t make Gable look good. I always find it weird when they put submission finishers on the announce table like Paige did a few times in the past. I assume they did it that way because it’s a better visual than doing it on the floor. Fans can see it easier on the table.

Rusev had a microphone in the ring. Rusev said “Randy” and Orton snuck into the ring to hit him with a RKO to a huge ovation from the crowd. The camera was close on Rusev’s face so you couldn’t see Orton coming in the ring. Orton was in his ring gear. Orton’s music played to end it as he posed on the turnbuckles while Rusev was out in the ring. Replays aired of what happened while Orton did more posing. Rusev was motionless in the ring for about two minutes, which is pretty ridiculous, but it also puts over the RKO as deadly.

Analysis: Short and simple. That’s all it needs to be with the RKO. There isn’t much of a storyline here, but they have done the cheap shots on eachother in back to back weeks and that’s enough. I hope Rusev wins on Sunday. Orton rarely loses clean, though, and after three straight PPV losses for Orton he might get the win at SummerSlam.

The announcers shilled SummerSlam and the point that it’s only four times per year where Raw and Smackdown get together for a pay-per-view event. They also promoted NXT Takeover Brooklyn III on Saturday, which should be great. The Kickoff Show on Sunday at SummerSlam starts at 5pmET and SummerSlam is four hours with a 7pmET start time.

Still to come: Cena vs. Mahal.

AJ Styles was shown walking backstage because he’s up next at the top of hour two.

(Commercial)

There was a mention of SummerSlam returning to Brooklyn in 2018 at Barclays Center for the fourth straight year. That means that Barclays Center will host NXT Takeover Brooklyn IV, Raw and Smackdown next year too.

AJ Styles Wants To Apologize

AJ Styles, the United States Champion, made his entrance for a promo. The crowd gave him a good reaction like usual. There was a clip from last week when Styles accidentally kicked Smackdown Commissioner Shane McMahon in the head because Kevin Owens pushed Shane into it. Styles defends the US Title against Owens at SummerSlam with Shane as the referee.

The crowd was hot for Styles chanting his name. Styles tried to calm them down and called out Smackdown’s Commissioner Shane McMahon.

Shane-O-Mac entered to a big ovation from the crowd. Shane paused for the “Shane O Mac” chant from the crowd and thanked Providence for the love.

Shane said that there is no reason for an apology from Styles with Shane saying he was appointed as the referee as somebody that can take a hit and keep going. Shane: “No apology necessary.” Styles told Shane what happened was an accident. Styles asked Shane if he’s going to use this as some new excuse to screw him over. Shane said what happened last week was inadvertent and was in the heat of the battle. Shane said normally most officials you have to respect their authority (hi Cartman) and you can’t touch a referee. Shane said if you push or shove him then that’s a whole different story. Shane: “If you put your hands on me again, I’m going to put mine all over you.” Styles asked if that was a threat. Shane said he’s not threatening him. Shane said “what’s going to happen this Sunday” and then turned his head as he paused…and here’s Kevin Owens.

Analysis: It looked like Shane either forgot a line there or was waiting for the interruption from Owens as planned and it didn’t happen right away, but there was Owens.

Owens walked down towards the ring saying that if AJ says it’s an accident that’s fine, but he’s not sure about that. Owens wondered what Styles was getting upset about. Owens said that he loved those rules by Shane and they sound great to him.

Owens entered the ring. Owens said that unlike AJ Styles, who seems like he has something planned, if Owens hit Shane it would be an accident that was completely involuntary. Owens said he’s thrilled that Shane is the referee because he’s the man that will call it down the middle. Owens extended his hand for a shake. Shane said with all due respect it wouldn’t be appropriate to shake his hand and suggested that Owens shakes Styles hand.

Owens extended his hand for a shake with Styles. That led to Styles getting in his face. They argued. Shane tried to keep them separate. The wrestlers shoved eachother. Styles punched Owens, Styles went for another punch on KO, Owens ducked and Shane caught Styles’ hand. Shane told Styles he told him about that. Owens went for an attack from behind, Styles moved and Owens accidentally hit Shane with a superkick. Crowd reacted to it in a big way. Styles was laughing about it. Owens was mad about it, said “I’m sorry” and walked up the ramp. Shane was slow to recover in the ring as replays aired. Fans chanted “AJ Styles” to end it. Styles left and Shane was the last to leave.

Analysis: It was a good segment similar to last week where it was Styles accidentally hitting Shane and this week it was Owens in that spot. It would be nice if Styles was in a match because the show is always better when Styles is in a more significant role. What’s most likely at SummerSlam is Styles will retain the title and Owens will blame it on Shane leading to an eventual Shane vs. Owens match.

Up next is New Day vs. The Usos.

(Commercial)

The New Day trio of Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods made their entrance. Big E did his usual routine of dumping cereal on fans at ringside. It’s New Day defending the Smackdown Tag Team Titles against The Usos at SummerSlam.

Analysis: I was hoping there would be a stipulation match of some kind at SummerSlam, but it’s just a regular match. A Ladder Match could have been special.

The New Day did a promo about how they face The Usos at SummerSlam and how The Usos begged for a match on Smackdown.

The Usos made their entrance for this match against Woods and Kingston, which were the two guys that beat The Usos for the Tag Team Titles.

The New Day’s Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods (w/Big E) vs. The Usos (Jimmy & Jey)

There was a fast start to the match with Kingston and Woods each hitting splashes and leg drops to take care of the heels. Double dropkicks by the New Day guys on the floor as the show went to break one minute into it.

(Commercial)

They returned from break with The Usos in control. Body slam by Jimmy on Kingston followed by another slam. Kingston hit a back body drop on Jimmy to create some space. Hot tag to Woods against with Woods hitting forearms and a dropkick to the back. Jimmy was the legal Uso and Woods hit a leaping kick to the head. Double kick to the leg by Usos and a double superkick earned a two count as Jey made the save. Woods forearm knocked Jey to the floor and Jimmy sent Woods to the floor. Kingston sent Jimmy into the corner followed by a backbreaker. Jey knocked Woods off the top rope. Jimmy clipped the back of the knee of Kingston. Jey got the tag and the Usos hit a double superkick on Kingston for the pinfall win. It went about eight minutes.

Winners by pinfall: The Usos

Analysis: **1/2 Quality tag match as usual from these teams although getting under ten minutes is disappointing. I’m not surprised by the clean loss since that’s a booking pattern WWE loves to do where the champions lose non-title. I don’t think it’s a smart finish to do because they are doing the title match on Sunday, so why give away the match on Smackdown? It’s just like on Raw when they did two matches that are happening on SummerSlam. It takes away the intrigue of the PPV matches when you do them on TV. I guess in this case the difference is Big E will be in the match on Sunday and Kingston won’t, which is why they had Kingston get the pin. I did like how the finish was set up with The Usos working so well together to get the win.

Mahal vs. Cena coming up later.

Fashion Peaks finale is up next.

(Commercial)

Fashion Peaks

Nice pic of fake Razor Ramon and fake Diesel on their board in the office. Fandango was talking into his phone saying he was probed and then added he was mentally probed. Fandango showed up in a blonde wig like he’s done in the past. Fandango had a rock that he said they left in his…uh…back pocket. He threw the rock because he said it would catch the culprits. The rock hit somebody standing there and it was The Ascension of course. The Ascension were there again to return some pie. Fandango found some hair in the pie along with a bandaid and gluten, so Viktor yelled about how they are gluten free. Konnor took him away. Fandango found a note that said “Two B” in the pie. Breeze said that it’s happening again. Fandango licked the paper that had some pie on it. They gazed into the distance. A graphic said: “Breezango will return in 25 years.” Then it said: “Breezango will return in two weeks.” The fans cheered.

Analysis: I like these segments just fine for the jokes they do once in a while, but there really wasn’t a purpose to any of this stuff. At least that’s what it feels like. I’m not sure what the “TWO B” thing means at the moment.

This part was pretty funny.

.@MmmGorgeous and @WWEFandango are geniuses. #TwinPeaks #FashionPeaks pic.twitter.com/scwlaxHhTr

— TDE Wrestling (@totaldivaseps) August 16, 2017

When you can laugh at your own stupidity it makes things funnier.

Mahal vs. Cena is up next.

(Commercial)

Jinder Mahal, the WWE Champion, made his entrance along with the Singh Brothers. He was booed, but it was not much of a reaction.

John Cena entered to mostly cheers and it was a huge reaction like he always gets.

Mahal defends WWE Title against Shinsuke Nakamura at SummerSlam while Cena faces Baron Corbin.

Jinder Mahal (w/Samir & Sunil Singh) vs. John Cena

This is not for Mahal’s WWE Title.

They started with a test of strength spot. Phillips put over Mahal packing on 16 pounds of muscle since his return to WWE. It’s like they are trolling the people that question how Jinder put the muscle on. I don’t really care about the methods. Good for him getting in good shape. Mahal choked Cena by the ropes and Samir jumped on the apron to get in a cheap shot punch on Cena. Mahal dumped Cena to the floor as the Singh Brothers taunted Cena and the show went to break.

(Commercial)

Back from break, Cena got some momentum as he hit the shoulderblocks and a spinning suplex. Cena with the Five Knuckle Shuffle, so the Singh Brothers pulled Mahal out of the ring. Mahal ran away from Cena, the Singhs grabbed Cena’s leg and Mahal got a cheap kick. The ref saw the Singhs interfering and ejected them from ringside. Mahal was mad about it. Cena capitalized with a STF, but Mahal was able to get to the ropes shortly after the hold was applied. Mahal slowed down Cena with a neckbreaker using the ropes for an assist. Running high knee by Mahal got a two count. Mahal wanted The Khallas, but Cena fought out of it and Cena hit the Attitude Adjustment. Cena covered for a two count as Mahal got his left shoulder up. Mahal went to the turnbuckle. Cena followed him up there and Cena hit the Attitude Adjustment off the top rope. Cena covered for the win and Baron Corbin broke up the pin at two leading to the disqualification. It went ten minutes.

Winner by disqualification: John Cena

Analysis: ** The match was very average until the predictable DQ finish. Mahal’s style in the ring continues to be pretty boring and comes across like a midcard talent rather than somebody that wows me with main event talent skills. I thought it was cool that Cena felt like he had to go for the Super AA off the top rope to get the win. Having Mahal kick out of the regular AA makes Mahal looks credible since so many wrestlers have kicked out of that move in the past. To the shock of no one, this did not feel like the “greatest match in Smackdown history” or whatever bullshit WWE said all night long.

Post match, Corbin hit Cena in the head with the Money in the Bank briefcase that knocked Cena out of the ring. Corbin was going to walk away, but he realized Mahal was down in the ring. Corbin went down to the ring and told the ref he was cashing in the Money in the Bank briefcase.

Mahal was out in the ring. The referee kept Corbin back and told him to wait until Mahal got back to his feet. Mahal got back to his feet and the bell rang.

WWE Championship: Jinder Mahal vs. Baron Corbin

Corbin was distracted by Cena on the apron, so Corbin punched Cena off the apron. Cena didn’t touch him. Mahal did the ROLLUP OF DEATH~! on Corbin and that won the match for Mahal in about five seconds. The crowd reacted to it in a big way.

Winner by pinfall: Jinder Mahal

Analysis: Wow. That was a huge surprise. The ROLLUP OF DEATH~! strikes again in a WWE Title match on a MITB cash-in. Did not see that coming. I’m not sure if it means WWE has soured on Corbin or if he’s going to win it from Nakamura (or even Mahal in a multi-man match) down the road if WWE tries to build him up.

Corbin was furious after the loss. He ripped apart part of the announce table. Cena was laughing about it and this female fan wasn’t happy to see Cena.

Rude. pic.twitter.com/PA03KoOGtJ

— TDE Wrestling (@totaldivaseps) August 16, 2017

Cena tweeted a reply this morning: “No matter what you do, there will always be hate. You have 2 choices, Hate back, or Smile and #RiseAboveHate I prefer option 2”

Cena went up the ramp. Corbin walked towards him, but Cena left. Cena told Corbin to use his head. There was another replay of what happened as JBL said it was there, but you don’t have to do it if you’re Corbin. There were more replays of what happened.

The show ended with Corbin looking pissed off at ringside.

Analysis: Surprise ending this week. Did I expect any of that on this show? Absolutely not. I don’t think it’s a bad thing and I’m not going to complain about Corbin losing either. It’s okay to wait things out and see how it goes. Just because most people that held MITB usually win a title doesn’t mean every guy has to. It’s an intriguing storyline to have a character getting laughed at by people for being the stupidest MITB cash-in failure ever. I hope it adds depth to the Corbin character and that he becomes better for it. Plus, it was unpredictable and that’s a good thing.

The failed cash-in by Corbin means he is the third man to fail at cashing in Money in the Bank. There have been 18 men’s Money in the Bank ladder matches, so that means 15 successful cash-ins and three failures. Cena was the first failure in 2012 when he challenged CM Punk at Raw 1000 and Big Show showed up for the lame disqualification finish. Cena won, but the failed title win makes him a failure in that case. In 2013 on Raw, poor Damien Sandow cashed in on Cena, they had a competitive match and Sandow lost clean.

I think this loss by Corbin was the worst of them all in terms of hurting a guy by failing to win the title. I saw a lot of angry fans on social media after Smackdown too. I don’t think there’s a reason to be angry. Just because 15 of 18 have cashed in doesn’t mean everybody has to leave with the title. Try something else and see how it goes. I’m all for it mainly because Corbin doesn’t impress me that much. Corbin is fine as a performer, but I don’t see him being the top guy as being any better or worse than Mahal in that spot. I’d rather go in a different direction.

My hope is that Shinsuke Nakamura wins the WWE Title at SummerSlam and with no threat of a cash in, he can have a long reign as champion. My prediction was the Corbin cash in after the Nakamura win, but that’s out the window now. I think Mahal’s reign has been boring and a change with Nakamura as the champion would be good for Smackdown. Long term, I would book the story of AJ Styles winning the Royal Rumble, Nakamura holds the WWE Title until WrestleMania and we get Styles vs. Nakamura in a WWE ring for the first time ever. Sounds good to me.

 

Three Stars of the Show

1. The Usos
2. The New Day
3. John Cena

 

The Scoreboard

5 out of 10

Last week: 5

2017 Average: 6.92

Average Post Brand Split (July 26, 2016): 6.72 – Raw is at 5.88

Last 5 Weeks: 5, 8.5, 8, 5.5, 5.5

2017 High: 8.5 (April 11, August 1)

2017 Low: 5 (May 16, July 18, August 8, August 15)

 

Final Thoughts

It gets a 5 out of 10.

It looks like an average score, but it’s about two points lower than the usual Smackdown average. Same score as last week with a 5 out of 10. It was going to be lower than that because it wasn’t that exciting all night long, but at least the ending brought something different with the failed cash in attempt.

They did a decent job of building up some of the SummerSlam matches, but nothing really stood out as being great. I think it’s fair to say that Smackdown has lost some of the magic it had earlier in the year, that’s for sure.

The next pay-per-view is SummerSlam this Sunday, August 20. Here’s what we know so far.

WWE Universal Championship: Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe vs. Braun Strowman

WWE Championship: Jinder Mahal vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

United States Championship: AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens (Shane McMahon is the referee)

John Cena vs. Baron Corbin

“The Demon” Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt

Randy Orton vs. Rusev

Raw Tag Team Championships: Sheamus & Cesaro vs. Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins

Big Show vs. Big Cass (Enzo Amore is in a shark cage above the ring)

Raw Women’s Championship: Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks

Smackdown Tag Team Championships: The New Day vs. The Usos

Smackdown Women’s Championship: Naomi vs. Natalya

Cruiserweight Championship: Akira Tozawa vs. Neville

That’s it for official matches. We will have a preview up on Friday.

—

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading.

John Canton

Email [email protected]

Twitter @johnreport

Personal Facebook and TJRWrestling on Facebook

.@WWE205Live is now The #RealestShowInTheRoom, because @real1 just made his #205Live DEBUT! HOW U DOIN'?!? @WWENetwork @WWENeville pic.twitter.com/4Gxd2fvPDs

— WWE (@WWE) August 23, 2017

Enzo Amore made his 205 Live debut on Tuesday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. During a speech by WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville, Enzo interrupted and did his usual entrance.

Enzo declared that 205 Live is now the “realest show in the room,” and lead the crowd in a “SAWFT” chant directed towards Neville.

Earlier in August, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that WWE was exploring options to remove Enzo from Monday night RAW. SmackDown wasn’t being considered for Enzo as management reportedly wanted him “away” from Vince McMahon. More reports have since circulated online indicating that Enzo isn’t well-liked backstage, and there’s one story that Roman Reigns kicked Enzo off of the talent bus due to his behavior.

WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!?!?! #205Live @real1 @WWENeville pic.twitter.com/MwOlOsXGOz

— WWE (@WWE) August 23, 2017

WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler recently addressed the scary-looking situation surrounding fellow WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair’s health during the latest episode of his “Dinner With The King” podcast.

According to Lawler, at one point, “The Nature Boy” was only being given a 20-percent chance of surviving. As “The King” explains, it was WWE Hall Of Famer Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat who told him this news after visiting Flair in the hospital.

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“Apparently it was really a touch and go situation,” said Lawler on the latest episode of his podcast. “They explained to him [Ricky Steamboat], and when ‘The Nature Boy’ had that first surgery, the doctors said that Ric had a 20-percent chance of survival of making it through that surgery,” said Lawler. “But we all know that he did pull through. And I heard yesterday, he’s already cutting promos on nurses.”

Check out the complete episode of “Dinner With The King” featuring Jerry Lawler and Glenn Moore below, or at PodAvenue.com.

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Welcome back to another installment of the Lawcast! This week, we’re going back to TNA for the second time, and we’re going to take a good long look at how Jeff Jarrett and the gang chose to display this magnificent company to the world for the first time. We’ll talk about wrestling most important fishing trip, Vince Russo’s love of tag teams, and the sad end to the careers of Scott Hall, Ken Shamrock and basically the entire WCW midcards. Also, two giant penises named the Johnsons!

All this and more, this week on the show!

— After tonight’s Raw, here’s the updated No Mercy card for Sunday’s PPV:

WWE Universal Title Match
Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman

WWE Intercontinental Title Match
The Miz vs. Jason Jordan

WWE Raw Women’s Title Match
Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax vs. Bayley vs. Emma

WWE Raw Tag Team Title Match
Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins vs. Cesara & Sheamus

WWE Cruiserweight Title Match
Neville vs. Enzo Amore

John Cena vs. Roman Reigns

Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt

— Join us on Sunday for live match-by-match coverage of the PPV.

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