What's the story?
Well, it's fast approaching, WWE's huge event at Australia's Melbourne Cricket Ground, and another match-up for the event has now been revealed!
WWE has announced today that John Cena will go one-on-one with Kevin Owens!
In case you didn't know...
WWE proved that they can put on a huge, incredibly special pay-per-views outside the United States when The Greatest Royal Rumble emanated live from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in April, and the Super Show-Down looks every bit as huge!
The venue, Melbourne Cricket Ground, has a capacity of over 100,000 and, if sold out, the event could come close to WWE's current record attendance set at Wrestlemania 32 in Dallas, Texas when 101,763 fans were in attendance.
One match already announced for the spectacle is Triple H vs The Undertaker, which is the first time the pair have met in the ring for seven years and is being billed as the last time ever, and Shawn Michaels has also been confirmed to be part of the show.
Ronda Rousey, Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, AJ Styles and Seth Rollins are also advertised for the show.
The heart of the matter
WWE Australia today confirmed that John Cena will go one-on-one with Kevin Owens at the WWE Super Show-Down at the MCG in what promises to be an incredible match - particularly given the pair's history.
Kevin Owens holds the unique distinction of pinning John Cena on his WWE debut in 2015, at Elimination Chamber, having been a thorn in the side of the 16-time World Champion for a long time both before and after.
The pair will relight that flame in October when WWE travels Down Under.
SummerSlam now seems fully complemented. The matches are all set to develop future storylines. However, it is the championship matches which shine through this year. Fans will witness Brock Lesnar defending his Universal Championship and AJ Styles taking on Samoa Joe.
The build for SummerSlam has been dramatic. The championship storylines have offered twists and turns. They will culminate very soon. Nevertheless, the outcomes are immensely beneficial to the future. Brock Lesnar is a part of the older generation. Therefore, it now is the time for a change.
Fans deserve to see names like; Finn Balor, Seth Rollins, and Samoa Joe take the reigns. At SummerSlam, each match has a story to tell. The lengthy feud between Daniel Bryan and The Miz will culminate. Moreover, Baron Corbin seeks revenge against Finn Balor. Therefore, SummerSlam must deliver the highest level of entertainment.
Here are the most lucrative championship outcomes for SummerSlam.
# 6. Shinsuke Nakamura retains his championship
Shinsuke Namakura defeated Jeff Hardy for the WWE United States championship at Extreme Rules 2018. However, after the match, Randy Orton returned and attacked Hardy, see video below. Since then all three have been entwined in a weird showdown. At SummerSlam Hardy will challenge Nakamura for the championship.
Nakamura has been progressing excellently since leaving NXT. He has faced AJ Styles in numerous bouts. Moreover, he took Rusev to his limit on SmackDown. Now a champion his future looks bright. He has immense potential to reach heights similar to AJ Styles.
Hardy versus Nakamura at SummerSlam is going to be interesting. Firstly, there is the expectation of high-quality performances. Secondly, how will Randy Orton factor into this match? Overall, fans should expect immense drama and well-developed story-telling. This match is beneficial for everyone involved. With Orton and Hardy fueling a feud. Nakamura will walk out as champion.
# 5. Charlotte becomes champion
Charlotte has progressed into arguably the best female wrestler in the industry. Moreover, she is the daughter of Ric Flair. At SummerSlam Charlotte will compete in a Triple Threat match, alongside Becky Lynch and Carmela. It will be for the SmackDown Live women's championship.
On July 24th Becky Lynch defeated Carmela on SmackDown Live. The following week Charlotte returned saving Lynch from Carmela's attack, see video below. Subsequently, Paige would schedule a match between Carmela and Charlotte. Her victory provided entry to the championship match. It was now a Triple Threat match.
In the ring, Charlotte utilizes aerial attacks and technical wrestling. Moreover, she has a solid submission basis. However, her presence as a heel is arguably her best attribute. Lynch and Charlotte are friends. However, expect Charlotte to turn heel and win the championship. The current direction seems headed this way.
# 4. Alexa Bliss retains her championship
Alexa Bliss has progressed immensely since her Raw debut. However, she was also entertaining on SmackDown Live. Arguably Bliss is the most versatile female wrestler in WWE. Similar to Charlotte she is excellent in the ring and as a heel character.
Bliss retained her championship at Extreme Rules against Nia Jax. Nevertheless, she has yet to outlast Ronda Rousey. In recent weeks Rousey finished her suspension and made her intentions clear. Kurt Angle scheduled Rousey to face Bliss at SummerSlam for the Raw Women's championship. She had an excellent showing against Alicia Fox, see video below.
Rousey has been hyped immensely since her debut. However, Bliss' efforts have been excellent. Therefore, considering her youth in the business, Rousey it unlikely to win at SummerSlam. It would be more beneficial to save this victory for the brand new women's PPV, Evolution. It would be more lucrative for WWE and their fans.
# 3. Dolph Ziggler retains his championship
Dolph Ziggler has been excellent as Intercontinental Champion. Moreover, his teaming with Drew McIntyre has been interesting. However, Seth Rollins will challenge him at SummerSlam 2018. Their match is going to be dramatic, considering their Iron Man match recently, see video below.
Recently on Raw television, Ziggler and Rollins have been embroiled in singles and tag team matches. Their interaction has mostly been through promo segments. Their performances have been excellent. Presently, Rollins has had a few rematches. He has failed each opportunity to regain the Intercontinental championship.
Therefore, it serves WWE well to progress Rollins back into the Universal championship picture. Moreover, there is a myriad of talent ready to challenge Ziggler. Their match will be entertaining but expect Ziggler to retain. Leaving Rollins to move onto better things.
# 2. Samoa Joe becomes WWE Champion
Samoa Joe and AJ Styles have an extensive history. Within Impact wrestling (then TNA) they fought for the X-Division championship. Then in later years for the TNA World Championship. In WWE Joe has been an excellent heel character.
His history in NXT was excellent, notably feuding with Finn Balor, see video below. However, on Raw and SmackDown Live Joe has feuded with huge names. Most notably Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar. However, Joe has yet become a World champion. Albeit, on NXT.
Joe is dangerous in the ring. He has legitimate fighting skills and can utilize submissions. However, his opponent AJ Styles has equal abilities. Their history deserves the spotlight in WWE. Moreover, Joe is the perfect option for Styles to pass the torch. Therefore, WWE invests in their match. It deserves to main event SummerSlam. Nevertheless, expect Joe to walk out as champion.
# 1. Braun Strowman becomes champion
The history between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar is storied. They have collided multiple times. However, Reigns has yet tamed the beast. Most recently at the Greatest Royal Rumble Lesnar retained his championships. Albeit, it was speculated Reigns feet hit the floor first, see video below. Therefore, making their Steel Cage match perhaps the most controversial in modern history.
On Raw television recently events were set in motion, gearing towards SummerSlam. Firstly, Kurt Angle challenged Lesnar to show up on Raw, or face losing his championship. Secondly, Reigns would outlast Bobby Lashley, becoming number one contender. Also on Raw Braun Strowman has been battling Kevin Owens. Their feud concerns the Money in the Bank (MITB) contract.
At SummerSlam, matches will determine the MITB contract owner and the Universal champion. Therefore, what happens will be crucial to future story-lines. Considering their investment in Strowman, WWE must capitalize and have Strowman cash in his opportunity. Moreover, he must be victorious. However, Strowman must defeat the newly crowned Reigns. Therefore, allowing Lesnar to enter a feud with a potential new client of Paul Heyman, as per recent events on Raw, see video below.
What's the story?
A few weeks ago, the Monster among Men, WWE superstar Braun Strowman came on a visit to India. While there he performed his duties as an ambassador to WWE and even made a visit to a regular weekly television show.
In case you didn't know...
Braun Strowman is one of WWE's most popular stars, and like his size, his presence is also enormous. WWE has looked to expand their horizons and increase their presence globally, including the United Kingdom and India. Last year, they held a live event in India, which saw amazing matches from all of the WWE stars.
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This year, in July, Braun Strowman came to India on a trip where he talked to journalists and promoted WWE.
Also read: Braun Strowman discussed Roman Reigns when he came to India
The heart of the matter
WWE recently released footage from Braun's visit to India. He was greeted warmly with flowers and made to feel at home. He talked about how he came to realise how passionate Indian fans were about WWE.
He also visited a Cancer Centre, where he met with the patients and with the children who were all really pleased to meet him. As Braun had revealed on an earlier occasion, it is spreading happiness to children that he loves about his job in WWE.
He then also went to WWE Sunday Dhamaal which is a recap show for Raw and SmackDown Live and hosted it. He attended several other events and talked about his excellent experience in visiting the country.
What's next?
Braun Strowman is the current holder of the Men's Money in the Bank contract after he won it at Money in the Bank. In recent weeks, he has been feuding with Kevin Owens, as a result of which the two will face each other at SummerSlam on the 19th of August. Braun's Money in the Bank contract is set to be on the line, and if he loses, or is disqualified or counted out, then Owens wins the contract.
What do you think of Braun's trip to India? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
What's the story?
The second annual Mae Young Classic has already been taped and the final is now set to take place at the first ever all-women's pay-per-view called Evolution.
In case you didn't know...
The Mae Young Classic saw 32 of the best women's wrestlers from around the world fight it out to become the second winner of the competition after Kairi Sane was able to see off Shayna Baszler in the final of the tournament last year.
The field for the competition saw a number of familiar faces including former Divas Champion Kaitlyn and former TNA Knockout's Madison Rayne and Sienna who were known as Ashley Rayne and Allysin Kay as part of the competition.
The heart of the matter
The show didn't go without a hitch since Welsh star Tegan Nox was injured in her quarter-final match up with Rhea Ripley, but it was plain sailing for the likes of Toni Storm and Lo Shirai who have been able to make it to the final of the competition.
Storm was part of the competition last year but was knocked out by eventual winner Kairi Sane, this year she has been able to make it all the way to the final and her match with Lo Shirai is now the first official bout for the Evolution pay-per-view in October.
It was rumored that these would be the two women who would make it to the final since both were highly rated athletes coming into the competition, but it's hard to choose between them in a final of this magnitude.
What's next?
The Mae Young Classic will air on the WWE Network from September 5th and will be a single elimination tournament leading up to October 28th when the final will take place at Evolution.
* The tapings opens with a video package showing highlights from Night One, plus Women's Revolution highlights & quotes. Michael Cole, Renee Young and WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix are back for commentary. Cole introduces the competitors and matches for round 2 as each competitor steps forward to have a face off
Episode One: * Second round match, 20 minute time limit: Toni Storm defeated Hiroyo Matsumoto to advance to the quarterfinals. Lockup to start. Good match. Hiroyo with a diving dropkick for 2. Suplex by Hiroyo for 2. Toni with a snap suplex, a hip attack and a Fisherman suplex for 2. Hiroyo with a modified Boston crab into a single leg, but Toni gets to the ropes. Hiroyo with the headstand knees for 2. Toni with a headbutt and a bridging suplex for 2. Series of near falls for Hiroyo. Toni ducks a lariat and gets a bridging roll up for the 3 * Second round match, 20 minute time limit: Rhea Ripley defeated Kacy Catanzaro to advance to the quarterfinals. Rhea blows off the handshake. Kacy with a top rope handstand into a head scissors. Rhea overpowers Kacy and takes control of the match. Rhea with a big vertical suplex for 2. Rhea with an inverted cloverleaf, but Kacy flips out of it. Kacy with a tilt-o-whirl DDT. Crowd is firmly behind Kacy. Kacy with a corkscrew plancha to the outside. Kacy with a split over the top into a springboard dropkick but only gets 2. Rhea kicks Kacy out of a headstand and hits a pumphandle sitout bomb for the win * Second round match, 20 minute time limit: Lacey Lane defeated Taynara Conti to advance to the quarterfinals. Not much here. Lane reverses Conti's finisher into a crucifix rollup for the win * Second round match, 20 minute time limit: Meiko Satomura defeated Mercedes Martinez to advance to the quarterfinals. Good technical work to start. They trade chops and slaps. Mercedes with a chokebomb for 2. Meiko locks in a Fujiwara armbar and keeps it in as Mercedes rolls over but eventually gets to the ropes. Meiko with a frogsplash for 2. Meiko with a kneeling DDT and a cartwheel knee to the chest for 2. Mercedes with the fisherman suplex but Meiko kicks out. Crowd on their feet. Meiko fights off a surfboard guillotine, and hits a grounded scissor kick for the win. Excellent match Episode Two: * Jessamyn Duke, Marina Shafir, and WWE NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler are shown at ringside * Second round match, 20 minute time limit: Io Shirai defeated Zeuxis to advance to the quarterfinals. Zeuxis hits a dropkick to knock Io off the apron. Knees to the face by Zeuxis for 2. Io with a headstand into double knees then running double knees, but Zeuxis holds the ropes so Io can't get her in position for the moonsault. Io fights off the Spanish Fly attempt and hits a Frankensteiner. Io picks up the win with the moonsault * Ricochet is shown at ringside * Second round match, 20 minute time limit: Deonna Purrazzo defeated Xia Li to advance to the quarterfinals. Xia with a legdrop and elbow for 2. Deonna with some vicious arm work and gets a 2. Xia rolls up Deonna out of the Fujiwara arm bar but gets only a 2. Xia with a headkick for 2. Deonna catches Xia off the top and locks in a double-arm Fujiwara arm bar for the win * Second round match, 20 minute time limit: Tegan Nox defeated Nicole Matthews to advance to the quarterfinals. Nicole cuts off Tegan's attempt at a tope with a stiff forearm. Nicole with kicks and takes control. Tegan fights back with a headbutt, a crazy modified cannonball in the corner, and the Shining Wizard for the win * Second round match, 20 minute time limit: Mia Yim defeated Kaitlyn to advance to the quarterfinals. Kaitlyn with a series of leg drops for 2. Kaitlyn misses a baseball slide and Mia slams her leg into the apron. Mia with a standing Figure Four. Mia with brutal forearms on the ground. Mia misses a punch and hits the mat. Kaitlyn hits a diving shoulder tackle. Kaitlyn with a spinning side slam for 2. Mia sidesteps Kaitlyn in the corner and hits Eat Defeat, but only gets 2. Kaitlyn hits the spear, but also only gets 2. Mia with a kneebar for the win. Crowd was super into this at the end Episode Three: * This episode starts with Michael Cole introducing the quarterfinalists and their matches just like the second round did * Quarterfinals match, 25 minute time limit: Meiko Satomura defeated Lacey Lane to advance to the semifinals. Very even start as both duck kicks and punches from the other. Meiko with a stepover spin kick into an armbar. Lacey gets to the ropes. Lacey with a flurry of kicks and forearms, and a crossbody for 2. Meiko with a fireman's carry DVD style move for the win. Meiko concedes the ring to Lacey for a curtain call after the match * Quarterfinals match, 25 minute time limit: Io Shirai defeated Deonna Purrazzo to advance to the semifinals. Io hits a big tope crossbody to the outside. Handstand knees to the midsection for 2 by Io. They trade 2 counts and Io hits a standing double stomp. Deonna with a handspring dropkick. Deonna locks in the Fujiwara arm bar but Io rolls it over for a 2. Io with crossface, but Deonna does the same. Io with a 619 and a diving dropkick for 2. Deonna with the Triple Germans for 2 and then goes for the Fujiwara. Io rolls out to a 2 count and again into a crossface. Deonna rolls out but gets a knee to the face. Io with the running double knees and a moonsault for the win * Quarterfinals match, 25 minute time limit: Toni Storm defeated Mia Yim to advance to the semifinals. Toni with a suplex for 2. Mia locks in a headlock on the ground, but Toni powers out. Toni flips out of an over-the-legs stretch for a 2. Mia locks in a guillotine with a body scissors, but Toni powers out into a slam. They trade strikes from the ground to a standing position. Toni with a hip attack, but Mia hits a side suplex for 2. Mia with a powerbomb for 2. This is awesome chants. Toni blocks Eat Defeat and hits a snap suplex and her double underhook bomb for the win. Great match. Full Sail erupts in "please sign Mia" chants after the match * Quarterfinals match, 25 minute time limit: Rhea Ripley defeated Tegan Nox to advance to the semifinals. Tegan hits a dive to start and lands rough and appears to have injured her left knee. The ref throws up the X and the doctors come to check on her. Tegan wants to continue. They continue, but after Rhea hits a dropkick, Tegan screams and throws up the X herself and the ref calls for the bell. Tegan is sobbing in the ring and Full Sail is silent. Rhea is announced as the winner as they tend to Tegan. Tegan is helped out to a standing ovation. Absolutely heartbreaking situation Episode Four: * Triple H comes out and is greeted with "Please Sign Mia" chants, to which he responds "okay," and says that's it, we're not bossing him around anymore. Cuts a promo about how great everyone has worked in this tournament and the sacrifices they leave in the ring for the fans. Says Tegan Nox got carried out of here, not with a broken knee, but a broken heart and he promises that is only a bump in the road for her. Runs down the semis and asks if we're ready * Semifinals match, 30 minute time limit: Toni Storm defeated Meiko Satomura to advance to the finals. Toni with a huge boot to the face. Toni with a suplex for 2. Meiko takes over with some stiff kicks. Modified Figure Four but Toni gets to the ropes. More kicks from Meiko. Toni fights off a side suplex, but Meiko hits a spin kick off the ropes. Backslide by Toni for 2. Toni locks in an STF, but Meiko gets to the ropes. Toni with a suicide dive to the outside. Shining Wizard for 2 by Toni. Toni hits her double underhook bomb but only gets 2. Incredible sequence of nearfalls for Meiko. Crowd is on their feet. Toni lands the double underhook bomb one more time for the pin. Incredible match. Kairi Sane out to present flowers to Toni Storm. Triple H meets Meiko on the stage and raises her hand. Toni is asked how she feels. Toni says she beat a legend and is living her dream. Thanks all the girls in the back and the fans. Triple H meets her on stage and raises her arm * Semifinals match, 30 minute time limit: Io Shirai defeated Rhea Ripley to advance to the finals. Rhea gets booed coming out, and is really in an unenviable position as it appears Tegan was supposed to win their match before the injury occurred. Rhea takes control early. Io tries to fight back but gets nailed with forearms. Rhea locks in a body scissors. Io leans back a few times for 2 counts, but Rhea doesn't let go. Rhea with a 10+ second delayed vertical suplex for 2. Interesting note, Michael Cole is calling the match standing up so he can see the ring, likely because they have no notes for this match since it wasn't planned. Io fights back with forearms. Io with a suicide dive crossbody. Io climbs back in, but Rhea pulls her out of the ring. Io gets in at 9. Rhea attacks with punches to the back. Io slaps Rhea, hits the 619 and a diving dropkick for 2. Rhea hits a superplex but only gets 2. Io pushes Rhea into the post, hits the double knees and the moonsault for the win. Kairi out with flowers and her and Io share an emotional hug. Io says thank you and declares she will win. Triple H and Sara Amato meet her on stage to raise her hand, and Toni Storm is out. They hug and pose for photos with Triple H and Amato to end the tapings
