WWE SummerSlam 2023 review: The Beast and The American Nightmare steal the Summer

Well, we are well on our way to modern times in our magical mystery tour of WWE PLE 2023 catch upping (is that a term?). But first we land slap bang in Summer for the biggest party of the Summer in August’s Summerslam, which saw Jey Uso ascend to singles stardom, Ricochet get an actual rivalry finally and Part III of Brock Lesnar and Cody Rhodes and much, much, more.

So, let’s head to Detroit! And reminisce on what went down, as we enter the fast lane of my revival of WWE PLE reviews for Roobla and are etching closer and closer to being back up to date…

1. Logan Paul vs. Ricochet

This was the perfect way to open the night, and I was excited for this one. Ricochet is often overlooked so it is great to see him in an actual intense feud and the ever smackable but gifted wrestler Logan Paul is the perfect foil for him. This match was fun, with some reliably impressive spots and a lot of energy too it. Paul is a natural heel and the personal tint to this with ring announcer – and Ricochet’s real life fiancé – Samantha Irvin made it all work even better. In the end Ricochet had Paul on the ropes but got the win via brass knuckles handed to him by his manager, the cad. Gotta respect that William Regal finish! Lots of fun this one.

2. Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar

Two things shocked me here. 1.) That this match came second on the show and 2.) That they didn’t give it a stipulation. Mind you, in the end, it mattered not a jot. Not only was this the best match of Rhodes and Lesnar’s rivalry hands down but was in my opinion the match of the night. The crowd were ridiculously into it and it is not hard to see why. This was an absolute war. Rhodes got the ever loving you know what beaten out of him but like the knight and the dragon would not be denied. An F5 through an announcers table would not even end this nightmare. Rhodes and Lesnar waged a brutal wrestling battle here, capping their feud off perfectly. In the end Lesnar was vanquished by three Cross Rhodes. But the added icing was the unplanned aftermath, where Lesnar broke character and embraced Rhodes, holding his arm up in a moment of endorsement nobody saw coming. Lesnar knows how to make moments and when he likes you, he will work wonders for you. It clearly meant the world to Rhodes and was a hell of a moment, after a hell of a match. Brilliant.

3. 25-Man Slim Jim SummerSlam Battle Royal

I do get a bit irked by branded matches but this one was loaded with talents, though you knew whose game this was, with everybody sayin’ LA Knight! No offence to everyone out there but this was only here to get Knight on the show and give the fans what they want, an LA win. It worked in that capacity and that is really all it needed to do. Fine action and Knight really is a megastar!

4. MMA Rules Match

Shayna Baszler vs. Ronda Rousey

I was one of the only people out there interested in this best friends turned bitter enemies feud, considering Ronda Rousey was not high on anyone’s must see lists at this point. But I like her as a heel and have always liked Shayna Baszler so this MMA Rules match had potential to me. Alas, I don’t think this one quite clicked. The audience were not engrossed by it to say the least and despite both trying, it did not seem to fit. Baszler got a nice choke out win with the Kirifuda Clutch and Ronda was clearly on her way out of WWE here but sadly, this was one that just lacked, well, oomph.

5. WWE Intercontinental Championship Match

Gunther (c) vs. Drew McIntyre

While this may not have been on par with the WrestleMania Triple Threat, I loved it. As physical an encounter as you would expect from these two and they just laid everything on thick and hard. A great IC Title match with physical impact and which added further legitimacy to the iconic WWE IC Title and its resurgence in the capable hands of the Ring General. I really will always root for Drew McIntyre to get a grand stage to work on, because the man is great but seeing him lose here after a power bomb, following a very hard fought affair was the right move, as Gunther headed to decimate Honky Tonk Man’s long-standing IC Title record. Fantastic match between two of WWE’s best.

6. WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match

Seth “Freakin’” Rollins (c) vs. Finn Balor

This was much better than their previous meeting at Money in the Bank and I like the long term story being told here, as Finn Balor let year’s of frustration out on Seth Rollins, the man who took what should have been a career-making win years ago at SummerSlam and laughed in his face when injury struck. The story was good, and this match benefitted from it, as Finn had a good chance of winning this, and many would say that he should have done, but in spite (or rather because) of Judgment Day’s intervention, it was that which spelled the end for his title hopes, as Damian Priest’s briefcase was used against Balor and he was stomped into it, resulting in a Rollins win. Enjoyable stuff, despite an overstuffed finish that ultimately didn’t really go anywhere regarding the Judgment Day’s fracturing.

7. WWE Women’s Championship Triple Threat Match

Bianca Belair vs. Asuke (c) vs. Charlotte Flair

This may sound a little harsh, and maybe it has something to do with the aftermath overshadowing the match, but I felt this one should have been a little bit better. It was a good match and despite me maybe not gelling with the result, as Bianca Belair won the belt back from Asuke with an old school inside cradle, it moved along nicely and these talented ladies worked well. I just felt it lacked lingering memorability and the Smackdown women’s division does seem to be really lacking fire to be quite honest. That said, when Iyo Sky ran down, the match was always going to get a bit overlooked.

8. WWE Women’s Championship Match

Bianca Belair (c) vs. Iyo Sky

That’s right folks, it was cash-in time! And Iyo’s Damage Ctrl cohort Bayley ensured her girl won the belt, keeping the others at bay, but when the briefcase was used, the bell rang and a dazed Bianca was felled by a moonsault. 1-2-3, we have a new champ and it was a nice moment for Iyo, as an injured Dakota Kai returned to join her team in celebration. 

9. Tribal Combat Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Match

Roman Reigns (c) w/ Paul Heyman vs. Jey Uso

Off the back of much promotion and a great Civil War result at Money in the Bank, this dressed up No Holds Barred match had everything going for it, but I thought it was one of the biggest letdowns of 2023. Now, in all fairness, part of that may have to do with the fact Roman Reigns was legitimately injured part way through but this was a slow, overdone and overbooked mess. At nearly 40 minutes in length, it was dragged out remorselessly and some of the weapons spots just did not really land, the crowd seemed burnt out as it progressed, the Roman match tropes are becoming very formulaic by now, and the ending validated all concerns I had when Roman beat Cody at Mania. The Bloodline has reached that post Endgame phase. Namely, what do you do when something incredibly popular reaches the apex, and you don’t have a plan now with what to do next and choose to stretch it out anyway? In the end Roman beat Jey with a spear when he was speared through a table after Jimmy Uso screwed his brother out of the win? The guy who encouraged him to turn on Roman in the first place, turned on his brother?! The story was convoluted, made little sense and even in the weeks following was clearly done just to prolong The Bloodline and title run and add poor shock value. Sorry, but I think this was the moment, I finally caved and admitted, I’m done with this thing now. All you can say is that Jey Uso is a singles star now and I wish him all the luck in this singles career because he has got over and deserves the success, he’s naturally a babyface. Sadly on this night, this was another missed opportunity for something special in a record-breaking modern title run increasingly full of them. 

Overall, the much hyped main event’s failure hampered this PLE a lot and left a sour note with its nonsensical climax. Still, SummerSlam had so much good on display, with that cracking Cody/Brock finale, Ricochet/Logan and Drew/Gunther. So you cannot bring this event down too much in spite of the mistakes.

Right, next up we leap to September 2nd and stay in the States as we head to Pittsburgh for WWE Payback. We are getting nearer to being up to date guys!!