Welcome everyone to the 94th, special Wednesday edition of Spandex and Suplexes: A Wrestling Review. I cover a week that saw AEW Homecoming and the continued build to WWE SummerSlam and NXT TakeOver 36. Let’s get started.
Credit: WWE
Results:
1. Drew McIntyre defeated Veer and Shanky in a 2-on-1 Handicap match by DQ after interference by Jinder Mahal
2. Rhea Ripley defeated Nia Jax
3. Mace and T-Bar defeated Mustafa Ali and Mansoor
4. Tamina defeated Doudrop
5. Damian Priest defeated John Morrison
6. Damian Priest and Ricochet defeated John Morrison and Sheamus
7. Omos defeated Matt Riddle
8. Keith Lee defeated Karrion Kross
9. Reggie (c) defeated Akira Tozawa to retain the WWE 24/7 Championship
10. Nikki A.S.H. defeated Charlotte Flair
Thoughts: I am not sure what they are doing with Karrion Kross on Raw. On NXT, he is a dominant champion in a high-profile angle with Samoa Joe. On Raw, he is losing to Jeff Hardy, beating Keith Lee, and then losing to Keith Lee. Aside from the inconsistent win/loss record, another problem with all this is that he is without Scarlett on Raw. Without her by his side, this exposes to the audience that Kross has a lot less charisma than when he is with her. This all just makes me wish they had waited to call up Kross to the Red Brand after his storyline with Joe was done in NXT as all of this is hurting the credibility of that more than anything.
Overall, this was a good episode of Monday Night Raw with the highlights being Omos looking dominant over Riddle, Lee vs. Kross, and the main event.
Credit: WWE
Results:
1. Hit Row (Ashante Thee Adonis and Top Dolla) defeated Legado del Fantasma (Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde) by DQ after interference by Santos Escobar
2. Ridge Holland defeated Ikemen Jiro
3. Roderick Strong defeated Bobby Fish
4. Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) defeated Cameron Grimes and LA Knight
5. Trey Baxter defeated Joe Gacy in an NXT Breakout Tournament First Round match
6. Johnny Gargano defeated Dexter Lumis
Thoughts: Dakota Kai turning on Raquel Gonzalez the previous week was a great moment and one we all knew was coming sooner or later. In a pre-recorded segment, Kai delivered a fantastic promo detailing the reasons why she did what she did as she refused to be the sidekick for the woman that she mentored straight to the NXT Women’s Championship. Dakota then mocked Gonzalez for never seeing this turn coming. After having a dominant run as champion so far, Kai is the most logical choice to be Raquel’s next challenger. I have always been a fan of The Leader of Team Kick and hope this leads to her finally getting a run with the gold.
Overall, this was a great episode of NXT with the highlights being GYV vs. Grimes/Knight, Kai’s promo, the continuation of the Karrion Kross vs. Samoa Joe feud, and the main event.
Credit: All Elite Wrestling
Results:
1. Chris Jericho defeated Juventud Guerrera
2. Jon Moxley, Eddie Kingston, and Darby Allin defeated 2.0 (Matt Lee and Jeff Parker) and Daniel Garcia
3. Christian Cage defeated The Blade
4. Miro (c) defeated Lee Johnson by submission to retain the AEW TNT Championship
5. Leyla Hirsch defeated The Bunny in a #1 Contender’s match to earn a shot at the NWA Women’s World Championship
6. Malakai Black defeated Cody Rhodes
Thoughts: This was the AEW Homecoming special edition episode of Dynamite. In the main event, Malakai Black dominated Cody Rhodes in his AEW debut match (And My Match of the Week), winning the match in decisive fashion. After the match, Cody teased retirement before being blasted by Black once again.
This is the way you debut a massive, dangerous star like Malakai Black. This match cemented Black as a force to be reckoned with as he destroyed one of the top guys in all of AEW. The retirement tease afterward, however, was a little much for me. Really, Cody? You had one bad loss and you want to throw your entire career away? Dramatic much? Black saved this though as he forcefully took back the spotlight by taking Rhodes out with a crutch. I am looking forward to seeing what Malakai does next.
Overall, this was a good episode of Dynamite with the highlights being Miro vs. Johnson and the main event.
Credit: WWE
Results:
1. Jey Uso defeated Dominik Mysterio
2. Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Apollo Crews by DQ after interference by Commander Azeez
3. Tegan Nox defeated Tamina
4. The Street Profits (Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins) defeated The Dirty Dawgs (Dolph Ziggler and Bobby Roode)
5. Bianca Belair defeated Zelina Vega
6. Finn Balor defeated Baron Corbin
Thoughts: While Roman Reigns vs. John Cena is the main event of WWE SummerSlam, it looks like Finn Balor is not completely out of the WWE Universal Championship picture as Reigns and The Usos jumped him at the end of the show. While Balor managed to fight off all three men for a while, the numbers game eventually caught up to The Prince as Roman chocked him out with The Guillotine. All of this showed that The Head of the Table still sees Finn as a threat and sets up Balor to be the next challenger for the title after SummerSlam assuming Reigns defeats Cena at The Biggest Party of the Summer.
Overall, this was a good episode of Friday Night SmackDown with the highlights being Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair’s opening promos, the promo exchange between Edge and Seth Rollins, and the post-match attack on Balor by The Bloodline.
That’s it for this week’s Spandex and Suplexes. While you are here on Florida Geek Scene, be sure to check out the second episode of my spin off series, Spandex and Suplexes: The Interview Series, where I interviewed veteran pro wrestler, Randy Hogan. Until next time, I’ll see you at ringside!
Nicholas Slade
Nicholas grew up reading J.R.R. Tolkien's books, watching Disney and Studio Ghibli films, and reading Marvel comics and Japanese manga. The superb storylines and characters ignited his passion for writing. He graduated from Full Sail University in 2015 with a BFA in Creative Writing for Entertainment. During his writing career thus far, Nicholas has had numerous short stories and articles published in an array of literary magazines and websites.
