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WWE SummerSlam 2023: Roman Reigns Retains, Jimmy Uso Betrays His Brother, Iyo Sky Cashes In, Cody Rhodes Earns Respect from Brock Lesnar

By Michael Fairman

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Photos: WWE

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

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

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

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+

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

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.

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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.

General Hospital

GENERAL HOSPITAL: Ric’s History of Jealousy Where Elizabeth is Concerned Has Come Back Around

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Ric

On General Hospital, Ric Lansing (Rick Heart) is about to fall back into dangerous old patterns by the foreshadowing during the Wednesday, August 19 episode. After first coming to see his brother, Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and telling him of his plan to propose to Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) his longtime love tonight, Sonny has concerned.

Next, Sonny reminds his brother of what has happened in the past, when things have gone south with Elizabeth and wonders if it’s too soon for him to propose to her. What Ric did not tell Sonny is that he has seen the developing closeness between Sonny’s son, Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) and Elizabeth, which is propelling his urgent need to propose.

Meanwhile, Dante ran into Elizabeth at the park during a break from their mutual team softball games. She needs help with a bookcase after the game at her house. Dante wants to put it together for her. Later, Dante arrived at Elizabeth’s house, limping after injuring his knee during the game. Head nurse Liz wanted to check out the injury as much as Dante protested, which required him to take off his pants.

Courtesy/ABC

RIC BEGINS TO UNRAVEL

Outside Elizabeth’s widow, Ric arrives with a bouquet of roses and the engagement ring. When he leers through the widow he is shocked to see Elizabeth rubbing Dante’s leg while Dante is in his boxer/shorts. He storm troops into the house, demanding to know what is going on here? Both Elizabeth and Dante look surprised by his reaction. In the pick-up of today’s Thursday, August 20 episode (see GH video teaser below), viewers will learn the upshot for all three characters.

A VENGEFUL PAST

As longtime GH fans know, Ric has done some horrible, vengeful things in regards to Elizabeth starting back in 2003 after she lost her baby after Ric’s ex, Faith Rosco pushed her down a flight of stairs. Ric accused Sonny for the accident and to get revenge, Ric kidnapped Carly (who was married to Sonny at the time), and stashed her in a panic room below the house where he was living with Liz.

On top of that, Ric fed his wife Elizabeth birth control pills to keep her from getting pregnant so that they could raise Carly’s baby together after it was born. Eventually, Elizabeth found Carly in the panic room but ended up having a pulmonary embolism. When she woke up in the hospital, Elizabeth was all confused by what happened, and Ric convinced her that her vision of  Carly was just a bad dream. Eventually, Elizabeth learned the horrifying truth and divorced Ric.

Years later, Ric noticed the connection between Elizabeth and “Jake Doe” who eventually turned out to be Drew (Billy Miller) A jealous Ric hired Hayden Barnes to show up and claim to be “Jake’s” wife. Elizabeth stepped aside, and when Ric planned to propose to Elizabeth at the 2015 Nurses Ball, Carly exposed his manipulations, and Elizabeth dumped him yet again. And those are just two examples of the lengths Ric will go to for Elizabeth!

So, we ask you, given the history of Elizabeth and Ric, how do you see this playing out with Dante in the picture? How will Ric derail their growing bond? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.

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THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Steffy and Carter Get Lame Excuses From Their Spouses, and Try to Shake Off Their Night Together

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Steffy and Carter

If you caught the Wednesday, August 19 episode of The Bold and the Beautiful, and if you were Carter Walton (Lawrence Saint-Victor), and your wife, who literally took off, threw of her wedding ring and abandoned their marriage to head to Paris, shows back up saying she overreacted and wants to be with him, would you bother to even take her back?

As for Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood), now that Finn (Tanner Novlan) is giving her the spiel about how he took her for granted, how he is so sorry for not listening to her, and that Sheila will never be in their lives again, would you want to listen to that, either, after so many broken promises?

That’s the situation hungover Steffy and Carter found themselves, while still reeling from the seeming fact that they had sex the night before while drunk in the Forrester Creations CEO office.

Courtesy/CBS

STEFFY AND CARTER GETS EARFULS

Daphne (Murielle Hilare) doesn’t understand why Carter is being so distant, and he says, “You said I wasn’t family.” She wants to put all of what she said and did behind them and now explore other ways to have a child. Carter seems hurt and annoyed.

Back at the cliff house, Steffy is so upset between sleeping with Carter and getting drunk, and Finn and his mother, Sheila (Kimberlin Brown) in Monaco. She tells Finn, “I need you to stand up for me. I can’t live like this. I won’t.”  Finn begs her not to let “one terrible mistake” (get it!?) tear us apart.

Finn promised Steffy he will get a restraining order on Sheila if it calls for it. He understands why Steffy is so scared of Sheila after she shot her … and him. In the closing moments of the episode, Finn pronounces how lucky he is to have the “perfect wife.” To which a rattled Steffy in tears goes, “Oh, I’m not perfect.”

Photo: JPI

STEFFY’S GUILT

Steffy is losing her grip at this moment as Finn says he wants to step up and be the husband he deserves. Along with Daphne, I kind of want to kick Finn to the curb, too. Then Finn lays it on real thick and adds, “You’re pure, you’re honest, you’re loyal.”  Steffy interrupts, “Not quite.”

Suddenly a guilt-ridden Steffy says to Finn, “There’s something I need to tell you.” Can she actually get the words out about getting drunk and having sex with Carter …or,  will she keep it under wraps so we can have months of the line “one terrible mistake?”

Take a look at some of the scenes between Steffy and Finn from today’s episode below.

Now let us know: would you bother to take back Daphne or Finn, if you were Carter and Steffy? Would you like to see Steffy just blurt out she had sex with Carter to her husband? Weigh-in via the comment section.

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THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Carter and Steffy Have Drunken Sex … Or Did They?

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Carter and Steffy

On the Tuesday, August 18 episode of The Bold and the Beautiful, viewers were tuned-in to see if Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) and Carter (Lawrence Saint-Victor), who were were both on benders, wound up having sex in the Forrester Creations CEO office.

As the Monday, August 17 episode concluded, Carter and Steffy shared a close moment where it looked like they would kiss. Now in the pick up which starts the morning after, Steffy awakens from the couch in the office, and realizes she has no clothes on and is mortified to see Carter on the end of the couch also naked and under blankets.

In that moment, Steffy realizes they had sex, and begins to unravel to Carter as she scrambles to get dressed: “We shouldn’t have done this. Oh my God, I shouldn’t have done this!”

Photo: JPI

STEFFY RACES TO GET HOME

Steffy’s panic of the situation escalates when she finds her phone, and sees multiple text messages from her husband, Finn (Tanner Novlan), desperately trying to reach her. He told Steffy he was on his way home from Monaco.

Suddenly, a hungover Carter speaks up and agrees. He says to Steffy they made a terrible mistake and wanted to talk about it, but Steffy kiboshed any discussion, not dealing with Carter, and racing home to be with her kids and Finn. As a disheveled Steffy ran out of Forrester, Carter stayed behind to straighten up the office and get rid of any remnants of their drunken binge.

Just then, Daphne (Murielle Hilaire) showed up as Carter is shocked. She apologized for running out on him, and details how when she got to the airport to board the plane to Paris, she realized she couldn’t leave him. She loved him too much, and asks him to please forgive her and her, “terrible mistake.” Daphne hugs Carter and he looks like a man who has no idea what to do or make of this entire situation in the moment.

Finn and Steffy

Photo: JPI

WHAT WILL BE THE REPERCUSSIONS OF CARTER AND STEFFY’S DRUNKEN NIGHT TOGETHER?

Cut to: Steffy comes home and runs into her mother, Taylor (Rebecca Budig). She explains what happened with Finn and Sheila (Kimberlin Brown) in Monaco. Next, Steffy details how she took off her wedding ring after Taylor noticed it was no longer on her finger. Just then, Finn arrives. Taylor leaves the two to talk. Finn begs for Steffy’s forgiveness and the episode comes to an end with Steffy facing away from Finn and towards the camera, trying to figure out what to do next. Take him back?

Now the real story begins: it would appear that the intent was to have Carter and Steffy face long-lasting consequences of their drunken night together. So that, Steffy would become pregnant with Carter’s child, which would cause the ripple effect in Carter’s marriage to Daphne, who is unable to carry a child.

One other theory, unless, Carter and Steffy believe they had sex, but they passed out in compromising positions but nothing ever happened? Perhaps one of them, or both will have flashbacks of them carrying on together on the couch? Were they set up? Stay tuned.

So, we ask you. What happens from here? Steffy gets pregnant with Carter’s child? Does Steffy goes back to Finn? Carter goes back with Daphne? They really never had drunken sex? Weigh-in via the comment section. But first, take a look below, and a bit of what went down when Steffy and Carter realize what happened between them.

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Jonathan Bennett joins the cast of GH as Joe Fitzpatrick. Catch the latest promo! Leave a comment.Leave A Comment

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