Recaps
WWE SummerSlam 2023: Roman Reigns Retains, Jimmy Uso Betrays His Brother, Iyo Sky Cashes In, Cody Rhodes Earns Respect from Brock Lesnar
WWE SummerSlam, the second-biggest premium live event show of the year, was held Saturday night at Ford Field in Detroit. The 36th edition featured four main events and an absolutely stacked card. With almost 60,000 in attendance, the crowd was red hot, and so was this staple summer pro wrestling event.
Let’s run down the highlights and the results of the, “this is awesome”card!
Logan Paul vs. Ricochet
This match kicked off the show, and was destined to be one high-flying spot after the other. The athleticism shown by these guys was off the charts, where clearly Paul, the You Tube influencer and frankly, one of the best natural wrestlers ever to enter the WWE, was the heel.
For a nice ‘heel’ touch, Paul would taunt Ricochet’s real-life fiancé, WWE ring announcer Samantha Irvin, who was seen filled with emotion throughout the bout. After several spots and exchanges back and forth, Paul hit a springboard frog splash for a near-pin, However, Ricochet built up some momentum and went for a 630. However, Paul had his number, and moved out of the way and landed near the corner of the ring face down. That is when one of Paul’s cronies handed Logan some brass knuckles. Next, with the referee distracted, Paul would hit Ricochet with the ‘knucks’ and score the pin. This was a great opening match, but we absolutely hated the ending, that now has Paul resorting to those tactics. We wish he would have had a clean pin. GRADE B
It happened at #SummerSlam.@SamanthaTheBomb had to announce @LoganPaul as the winner of the match! pic.twitter.com/bmP3alLe9d
— WWE (@WWE) August 6, 2023
Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
This was the rubber match, the third and final one in this epic feud that has built for months, that never was explained as to why Brock turned on Cody in the first place! That said, here we are. The Lesnar formula was on full display early on in the match dominating Rhodes and taking him to Suplex City.
Eventually, Lesnar forced Rhodes outside the ring, over and over again, hoping that Cody would stay down and lose the bout to a 10 count. Lesnar eventually put Cody through the announce table with a second F5, but he beat the 10 count, and was back in the ring again. Rhodes would hit a pair of Cody Cutters, but Lesnar kicked out. Later, Cody used an exposed turnbuckle by shoving Brock right into it to gain back an advantage in the match. The American Nightmare was able to grab Lesnar and hit three Cross Rhodes in a row for the pin and the win.
Following the match, Lesnar shook Cody’s hand and they shared a hug, before Brock raised Cody’s hand in a show of respect. GRADE B+
RESPECT.@BrockLesnar and @CodyRhodes shake hands following an incredible third encounter at #SummerSlam! pic.twitter.com/7stf0mjyEC
— WWE (@WWE) August 6, 2023
Slim Jim SummerSlam Battle Royal
Most of the entrances for this Battle Royal apparently took place during the commercial break on Peacock. Actually, we heard most of the participants all walked to the ring together. However, LA Knight’s was saved until everyone could see it. He is so over with the crowd, it’s seismic.
As one by one wrestlers were eliminated after being thrown over the top rope, Karrion Kross (who was already eliminated) cost A.J. Styles his shot at winning the Battle Royal. And then there were two … LA Knight and Sheamus. Knight eliminated Sheamus. The crowd went nuts …YEAH! GRADE B
WHOSE WIN IS IT?!@RealLAKnight is your winner of the @SlimJim #SummerSlam Battle Royal! YEAH! pic.twitter.com/WKSsb1f5Rf
— WWE (@WWE) August 6, 2023
Shayna Baszler and Ronda Rousey
For some reason, this match just never caught on with the crowd or the viewers at home. It was tinged with MMA moves and punches, and submission holds. Baszler eventually locked in the Kirifuda Clutch and Rousey passed out, resulting in a TKO win for Shayna. Grade: C-
Gunther vs. Drew McIntyre
These two giants of the ring have never faced each other one-on-one for the Intercontinental belt. Would Gunther continue his almost historic reign as the Intercontinental Champion, or would McIntrye win back some gold? This was an aggressive fight from start to finish. In the end, Gunther kicked out of the Claymore and once he recovered, he hit McIntyre with a few moves and followed it up with powerbomb to get the three count and retain the title. One of the best moves of all of SummerSlam was within this match when Gunther executed a rare top-rope splash onto McIntrye. GRADE B+
Finn Bálor vs. Seth Rollins
The match for the WWE World Heavyweight championship featured callbacks to seven years ago when Bálor was injured in his championship match against Rollins. The story in the ring, this time out, was told more like a marathon than a sprint, with using drama from the past to enhance the intensity of the battle in the ring.
Eventually, “Señor Money in the Bank” showed up! (That’s right! Judgment Day member Damian Priest with his MITB briefcase) and of course, Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio also tried to interfere. The question on everyone’s mind was, is Priest going to cash in for his chance at the belt? No! He used it as a cheap shot on Rollins to help Finn while the referee’s back was turned. Later, Priest placed the briefcase in the ring and got the referee’s attention, but as Bálor went to grab for it, Rollins used the timing mishap to execute his patented stomp to win the match and retain the World Heavyweight Championship. More trouble ahead between Judgment Day’s Finn and Damian is all but guaranteed. GRADE A
Asuka vs. Bianca Belair vs. Charlotte Flair
This match had the twist that sets up a future heel turn for Belair and now gives way to a first time time Women’s champion.
In the three-way bout, Flair put Belair in the Figure Eight, but Asuka spat mist in her face. That forced the Queen to break the hold. Then Bianca, rolled up Asuka up for the pin. However, it was short-lived and the EST found herself short-changed again when Iyo Sky and Bayley ran down to the ring and attacked everyone. Problem was for Belair, she severely injured her knee in the match and Sky took full advantage of it. Iyo cashed in her Money in the Bank contract and hit a moonsault to get the pin on the EST.
Dakota Kai, who had been out with an injury, ran into the ring to celebrate with Damage CTRL, for it was one year ago at SummerSlam that the group had its debut and also messed with Belair. At this point, this title change serves two purposes. Giving Iyo a huge push, and serving as the final impetus for Belair to be so fed up with all the underhanded victories against her, that she will play dirty. GRADE B+
SHE’S CASHING IN!!!#SummerSlam pic.twitter.com/aIOhDp11rn
— WWE (@WWE) August 6, 2023
Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso
The ‘Tribal Combat Rules’ match brought out the tables, kendo sticks, steel chairs and assorted weapons as Universal Champion Roman Reigns went up against his cousin, Jey Uso for who would be not only the WWE champ, but the “Tribal Chief.” Currently, Reigns holds these distinctions. The bout featured masterful storytelling at its best, from Reigns and Uso’s reactions to the in-ring build of the story, which started off slow and methodical till its riveting cliffhanger.
Eventually, Solo Sikoa showed up as Jey had the upper hand on Roman as they fought through the crowd. Sikoa took out Jey. An intense exchange went down between Reigns and Sikoa over a botched move. This allowed Uso to spear Reigns through the barricade. As Uso and Sikoa went at it, Uso landed a splash and sent Solo through a table. When the action got back into the ring, Uso landing a spear and splash on Reigns. As Jey was setting him for a pin, a masked figure came out and broke up the pin. It was revealed to be Jimmy Uso, Jey’s twin brother! Jimmy superkicked Jey and rolled him back in the ring for Reigns to finish him off! Grade: A
ROMAN REIGNS SUPREME AS TRIBAL CHIEF!@WWERomanReigns remains Undisputed WWE Universal Champion at #SummerSlam.@HeymanHustle pic.twitter.com/evOBoQ5qfw
— WWE (@WWE) August 6, 2023
So, what were your favorite matches of SummerSlam 2023? How would you grade the premium live event on Peacock? Let us know in the comment section and make sure to check out tonight’s “What’s Up? Wrestling” SummerSlam Recap show live on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel beginning at 8:30PM ET/5:30 PM PT Sunday night, August 9th.
Great write up, Michael! I agree with many of your comments. I thought it was a good show from top to bottom. WWE hasn’t had a bad PPV (I can’t bring myself to say PLE, lol) in quite a while. Ronda and Shayna was the only match that unfortunately didn’t really click, everything else was good to great, in my opinion.
I definitely didn’t see Jimmy Uso turning on his brother Jey. That was a very soap opera-ish twist. I can’t wait to see where the story goes next. I’m glad Cody got a clean win over Lesnar. He needed it. And Brock shaking his hand and endorsing him after the match, who saw that coming? Brock never does that. Rollins and Balor had a great match. I’m happy for Iyo Sky, hope she has a long title reign. Glad they’re finally starting to listen to the fans when it comes to LA Knight, and gave him a win on a big stage. When a guy gets over like he has, you have to strike while the iron is hot.
Recaps
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Katie Kicks Bill to the Curb … for Now

The future isn’t looking so bright for longtime loves Katie Logan (Heather Tom) and Bill Spencer (Don Diamont), when on the Wednesday, November 11 episode Katie wants Bill to leave and give her some space, and to stay away from her!
Katie explains she wanted none of this, but now her insecurity and fear of Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) and Bill has made it impossible. Bill pleads his case, “I was just trying to help” by speaking with Brooke. Katie tells him, well he didn’t, far from it, it’s all backfired in his face.
Bill insists to Katie that everything he did was for her and her sisters. Katie isn’t buying it. In her mind, Bill has always wanted to stick it to the Forresters. So what changed? She then asks him point blank, if he is still attracted to Brooke? Bill says “no,” but Katie said she wishes she could believe him. He tries to explain that him getting together with Brooke was to broker peace between the Logan sisters.

Courtesy/CBS
THE TRUST IS BROKEN
Katie speaks to how she is building her own company, making something of herself, and Bill says to her, “You don’t have to lose the people that you love to prove that you can win.”
Next, Katie is convinced Bill was flirting with Brooke because he texted Brooke a Stallion emoji (she has a point, no?). That reminded Katie of the worst time in her life when he was having an affair with her sister!
She points out how Brooke destroyed her life and took Will away from her and he was sent to boarding school, so why shouldn’t she strike back? Bill tries to point out again, that Katie is going to lose her sisters. But, a defiant Katie fires back, “If they can’t accept me for who I am … so be it!”
Next, Bill says he doesn’t buy it and becomes very emotional calling his wife, “my Katie”. However, now in a puddle of tears, Katie says those words can’t fix everything. Seeing he is not getting anywhere, Bill walks towards the door and says, “I will hate being apart from you, but I’ll do it for you.”
He vows to never stop fighting for them. Katie’s says, “Goodbye, Bill.” The music swells, Bill exits, and Katie crawls into a ball on the couch in a dramatic overhead shot to end the episode.

Photo: JPI
WEDDING BELLS?
In the same episode, it should be noted that Taylor (Rebecca Budig) asked Deacon (Sean Kanan) to re-propose to her, and this time she accepted.
It looks like Taylor or Deacon are headed down the aisle at some point, but not so fast, because Sheila (Kimberlin Brown) was flirting with Deacon, and she won’t take this news lying down.
Check out the emotional scenes featuring Heather Tom and Don Diamont below.
Now weigh-in: were you touched by the moments when Bill left his house to give Katie the space she says she needed over her feelings of betrayal by her husband and her sister, Brooke? How does this all end? Will Katie end up destroying everything in the process on her way to the top? Will she have a mental or physical crisis in days to come? Let us know your thoughts via the comment section.
Dancing with the Stars
DANCING WITH THE STARS: A Shocking Elimination on Grammy Night Leaves Ballroom Silenced
In what could only be the stunner of this season of Dancing with the Stars, the Tuesday night, November 1o episode saw one of the heavy favorites Jenna Dewan and pro partner Val Chmerkovskiy eliminated right before next week’s all-important semi-finals for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.
Week 9 was Grammy night, where the contestants performed routines related to the Grammy Awards with songs that have either won or been nominated for the music industry’s highest prize.
After each couple performed their usual routine, they had to dance a second time vs, another couple doing the same dance style. Only Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson earned immunity from having to participate in it.

Photo: ABC
THE RESULTS
When all was said and done during the results portion of the show; the following couples were deemed safe and will dance another day: Shum Jr. and Johnson, Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov, Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach, Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas, and Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold.
That left former Y&R actress Tatyana Ali (ex-Roxanne) and Jan Ravnik and Dewan and Chmerkovskiy in the bottom two. It was then revealed that Jenna and Val would be going home. The ballroom fell silent and Dewan said her “thank you’s “in the most gracious way about her dance journey.
Dewan is a dancer, having worked professionally with the likes of Janet Jackson (who also popped up in a special message to her former back-up dancer in the episode) while currently being an actress, and appearing as a series regular on The Rookie. Chmerkovskiy has been controversial figure all season especially after being suspended one week after comments made towards judge Carrie Ann Inaba.
BREAKING THEIR SILENCE
This begs the question: did America want the couple gone, because they had an unfair advantage with Dewan’s dance prowess, or did the show want the couple booted off too?
Later, Jenna and Val broke their silence on the elimination to Extra. Chmerkovskiy shared “It’s’ definitely a sad result. I thought we had a great season.” Dewan admitted, “I know this was a particularly tough week for a lot of the online noise … but I know that we went out there and had the best time of our life.”
Val is married to pro dancer, Jenna Johnson, who remained in the top slot on the leaderboard during the competition with Harry Shum Jr. However, she also had a bad week breaking her nose in rehearsal!
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET and next day on Hulu.
So were you happy, or sad to see Jenna and Val voted off of Dancing with the Stars? Of the remaining couples who do you hope make it from the semi-finals to the finals and hoists the Mirrorball Trophy? Weigh-in via the comment section.
Recaps
‘The Bold and the Beautiful’s’ Heather Tom Delivers the ‘Power Performance of the Week’

Six-time Daytime Emmy winner, Heather Tom, while not taking the gold at the recent Daytime Emmys for Lead Actress, which would have been a record-breaking victory for an actress; should be prepared that in 2027, she has to be near to a lock take that award home!
In the last few months Michael Fairman TV has named her weekly performances as Power Performance of the Week, and for the week of November 2-6, she has done it again!
How did she earn the honors? Well, quite simply, this version of Katie Logan that is being written and portrayed beautifully, has given the character infused live, a backbone, a woman so tired of being put-upon and wronged, that she is firing back in such major ways that her own family doesn’t recognize her behavior.

Photo: JPI
KATIE AND BROOKE HAVE A SEISMIC SHOWDOWN
Longtime viewers of The Bold and the Beautiful can make a very compelling case that the behavior is justified. Then, on the November 4 episode, Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) and Katie have another major confrontation. Katie is irate that Brooke phoned Bill Spencer (Don Diamont) in an effort to help Bill get through to her to back off the way she is destroying Forrester Creations, in what appears to be Katie’s poaching of the design team, and her ramped up vendetta against Brooke.
However, let’s not forget, Brooke and their sister, Donna (Jennifer Gareis) disowned Katie from the family just a few months ago too! Now in this showdown, Katie rips into Brooke after Brooke attempts to reason with her. Brooke even pulls out the “Stormy” card, reminding viewers that Katie has Storm’s heart. She snipes, “Do you really think he’d be proud of you right now?”
In that moment, Katie chokes up and is struck by that statement, but defends her actions and says Storm would be proud of her. Brooke goes in on if Storm would approve of the way she has gone about building her Logan fashion house design team, which to many seem like cutthroat tactics, Brooke even tells her “Bill is worried.”
Katie snaps after that comment and begins to show her disgust and emotional wounds from how Brooke slept with Bill years ago, especially when she goes in on the the text message Brooke sent to Bill and the use of a stallion emoji. Brooke claims it meant nothing, but Katie shuts her down and shuts her up! Reminding her sister, how she destroyed everything.

Photo: JPI
KATIE NEVER FORGOT HOW BROOKE SLEPT WITH BILL
Brooke reminds Katie that she had postpartum depression at the time, and she “pushed” her and Bill together. Katie begins to cry, “How could you not know something was profoundly wrong?”
Katie says while she was suffering, Brooke was off in Aspen having sex with Bill. She says of her sister, “You take what you want, and it doesn’t matter who gets hurt and whose life gets destroyed.” She then snipes what was her sister’s excuse the second time?
Then, in the masterful moment in the performance, as sister Donna walks into the showdown, Katie warns Brooke to not EVER talk to her again about morality, or ever accuse her of stealing anything from her, when “You are the master!”
BROOKE’S PAST WILL ALWAYS BE THROWN IN HER FACE
Next, Katie throws down the line Stephanie Forrester called Brooke all the years of their feud, “You are just a slut from the valley.” She punctuated it to both her sister, “We all know she’d sell her soul for a little male attention.'”
Katie tells Brooke she will never apologize to Bill, adding, “And I will never forgive you for this. I am so done with you, and if you’re going to stand next to her (aimed at Donna), then I am done with you too.” As the scene came to its conclusion, Katie told Brooke and Katie to, “stay away from me, stay away from my family, and stay away from Bill.”
Throughout all the scenes, Heather Tom displayed why she is one of the fiercest actresses in daytime drama. This storyline has afforded Tom the opportunity to show all of Katie’s inner rage built over years as she finally lets it out on those who wronged her. For anyone who has been made to feel the weaker sibling in a family, Tom is showing the cause and effect of what can happen to someone after years of feeling put down.
For all the reasons stated above, Michael Fairman TV names Heather Tom our selection for Power Performance of the Week. You can check out part of Heather’s emotional turn in the video clip below.
Now let us know, do you agree with our pick of Heather Tom for the Power Performance of the Week? What do you think about how Katie is being written in this storyline? Do you think Heather has secured the Lead Actress Emmy in 2027? Weigh-in via the comment section.
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