Summer Slam 2017 will come to you in August from Brooklyn. It is the 30th Summer Slam.
RAW the night after Wrestlemania opens with the Bullet Club coming to the ring.
The build for Mania included a fractured Bullet Club – there was an evident grumbling with AJ’s leadership or lack thereof; Becky Lynch joined the faction without AJ’s knowledge, Nakamura has largely been gone for months, focusing on his Dark Ride Wrestling feud with Joe. But AJ promised they would be united at Mania – they were united at Mania – and the Bullet Club swept the board.
Which is the subject of AJ’s promo here. He told you so. AJ Styles, the best wrestler in the world, is still the WWF Champion – the longest reigning WWF Champion since Bryan Danielson. Becky Lynch is the WWF Women’s Champion. Anderson and Gallows whipped American Alpha – and Shinsuke Nakamura is the most proficient bodyguard in WWF history (which, if it sounds like damning with faint praise, probably is).
AJ says this Bullet Club, in the ring right now, not only is the best Bullet Club there has ever been (which is a not so subtle shot at Devitt, and gives enough grist for the mill that it can be used by the Bullet Club which still exists in NJPW and ROH, and anything that can give the appearance of a rivalry between promotions is a rising tide that lifts all boats) but also the best squad in wrestling history. It’s not the Clique, the Hart Foundation, GDI or Underground. It’s right here – it’s the Bullet Club.
And then – coming down the aisle – wearing a tailored pants suit - is Charlotte Flair.
Charlotte walks up to each man in the ring, before stopping at Lynch, staring her dead in the eye – and holding up four fingers.
She’s then followed by Roode and Strong, Roode in a suit, Strong in a sportscoat and slacks, they enter the ring, walk up to Anderson and Gallows, and hold up 4 fingers.
Then the Four Horsemen music hits – the same music used in the NWA and in WWF for each of the modern versions of the group, and a man not wearing a suit – a man dressed to fight – comes to the ring.
It’s Samoa Joe.
This is Joe’s first ever appearance on RAW – his devotion to staying away from WWF TV, away from competing on PPVs, led to the creation of Dark Ride Wrestling and the commission of a Dark Ride Wrestling Championship, a belt that he currently holds – he has refused at every turn to move from that initial position – refused every entreaty to join any faction at all – but here, he hits the ring, he walks up to AJ Styles – and he holds up 4 fingers.
As has been discussed previously for those unaware of TNA canon – Roode and Joe were the cornerstone figures in the TNA version of the Four Horsemen; their longest standing feud was with AJ Styles, and Joe and Styles competed in what probably were the signature matches in promotion history – and when AJ came to the WWF, the Bullet Club attacked Joe and Austin Aries (who just lost in his bid for redemption in the main event at Wrestlemania).
Joe grabs AJ – and shoot headbutts him – dropping him to the canvas – and the brawl is on, with the Four Horsemen – Joe/Roode/Strong/Charlotte Flair, cleaning house.
WWF Title: AJ Styles v. Samoa Joe
The WWF Title match is set (which will have Dark Ride implications that are covered later) and the first half of the summer builds to that match with this newly created version of the Horsemen wearing the Bullet Club out. The Bullet Club is constantly on their heels – either in direct matches (there is no physicality between Joe and AJ) or with the Horsemen doing run ins or sneak attacks, really establishing themselves as willing to use any tactic to go after the Bullet Club. We get mixed tag matches in this run, where Charlotte continually kicks her old stablemate Lynch’s ass.
This stretch is about half the summer – there’s a date established early on where there will be a contract signing at mid summer and then both Joe and AJ wil leave to go train.
None of the rest of the Bullet Club comes to the contract signing, the losing throughout the summer causes AJ to cut promos on each member of the squad, they are letting him down, they are putting the title in jeopardy, and the Bullet Club looks to be on the verge of collapse as we get to the contract signing.
All of the Horsemen are in the ring with Joe.
Also in the ring is WWF Commissioner Bryan Danielson. A staple of AJ promos throughout the summer is that Danielson needs to admit that AJ is better than he ever was. Prior to Mania, both Regal and Nigel (color analysts for WWF TV) gave that admission. Aries wouldn’t – and he wound up buried under the Bullet Club flag and sent out of the promotion.
AJ says at Summer Slam, when he beats Joe – he will surpass Danielson’s longest WWF title run and be the longest reigning champion since Jericho. And when that happens, Danielson must admit that AJ is better than he ever was.
At the contract signing, with AJ on one side, the Horsemen on the other and Danielson in the middle – it’s announced that Danielson will be at ringside at Summer Slam to present the Champion with the belt postmatch – and AJ starts to cut his promo on Danielson and Joe cuts him off, “boy, don’t talk to that man, the Dragon is washed (which causes Danielson to cock his head at Joe in a way that isn’t acknowledged by anyone) you talk to me, you look at me, AJ, you look at a man who is going to hurt you, you look at a man who is going to take what you got”
We will later see the Horsemen go with Joe to the tarmac where he boards the private plane which will take him to his training camp, and we see AJ, alone, getting in the car which will take him away.
In the back half of the summer, there are video packages of WWF wrestlers talking about watching AJ/Joe matches in TNA (ideally, we have clips of those matches as well) the general sentiment is that this was state of the art stuff – that every wrestler was glued to those matches to see what those guys would do to each other. One package includes a Danielson interview, he says the night of Survivor Series ’06, when Punk won the WWF Title, there were a lot of phone calls back and forth with a lot of the old ROH guys – and two of the guys he talked to were AJ and Joe, and we all had a lot of confidence and had a lot of good matches, but somehow, none of us could really believe that it had actually happened, that one of our guys was WWF Champion.
It’s wistful Danielson, establishing that longtime relationship with both guys. Unsaid is that Danielson is retired now due to injury and unable to wrestle either AJ or Joe in WWF, but we all understand.
The RAW after AJ leaves the remaining members of the Bullet Club all come to ring – we learn there’s been a meeting called, but no one has any idea who called it.
And then the Bullet Club music plays – and, for the first time since Summer Slam the prior year – we see Prince Devitt.
Devitt had his labrum torn and skull fractured by Lesnar nearly a year prior and totally disappeared without a single appearance on any WWF platform. But he returns here – and he is smiling.
The mood of the Bullet Club instantly picks up – and Devitt cuts a “we need to get back to having some fun around here” promo – AJ’s name is never mentioned, but Devitt makes clear that he’s back, he’s in charge, he’s the real leader of the Bullet Club and things are going to improve.
He also breaks some news, revealing that he, in fact, brought his protégé Lynch in to join the Bullet Club – and that he has secured clearance for Nakamura to begin wrestling on WWF PPV – and that will start at Summer Slam.
Devitt says someone else will be wrestling at Summer Slam – Prince Devitt.
In fact, Devitt says – they’re going to be wrestling together – a super team, Prince Devitt and Shinsuke Nakamura.
Devitt says this is an historic team, two of the greatest wrestlers in the world teaming together. And it requires they face an historic opponent.
And that’s when Devitt challenges The Shield.
Devitt says he wants Ambrose, he wants Black – he wants the greatest tag team of all time – that at Summer Slam, Devitt and Nakamura want to face The Shield.
The Shield (Ambrose/Black) v. Shinsuke Nakamura/Prince Devitt
At Wrestlemania, Ambrose beat Black, the two shook hands post match, ending their feud. They’ve been apart in the first half of the summer, each wrestling as babyface singles. The week after this challenge they come to the ring, separately, with their singles music and gear and entrances, to respond.
They accept the challenge. They make it clear they won’t be coming as Ambrose and Black, they’ll be coming as The Shield. And there won’t be much left of the Bullet Club after Summer Slam. Black, of course, lost to Ambrose at Mania, and he maybe has seemed a little diminished in the aftermath – but for the rest of the summer he is particularly enthusiastic, The Shield is back together again, the Shield is an unstoppable force.
Ambrose and Black don’t tag together at all in the build, but they cut multiple promos together, and once they show up after some multi-man Bullet Club match to confront Devitt and Nakamura – the four men going nose to nose (to nose to nose).
The Bullet Club losing run ends as soon as Devitt arrives, they establish a foothold again, and have good momentum going into Summer Slam. Becky and Charlotte won’t be working Summer Slam (nor the other members of both factions) but a contract signing will take place between the two women at Summer Slam for a title match at Survivor Series.
There’s another big match at Summer Slam…
Loser Leaves Town: Kevin Steen v. Neville
We don’t see either Trash or Steen and Generico for the first couple of weeks after Mania; they are all called to the ring on a RAW near the end of April by Danielson (this is Danielson’s first post Mania appearance also, to give some gravity to this segment) Danielson thanks all four men – says it was a great feud, and at Wrestlemania they had what he believes is the greatest tag team match in the history of the WWF. And now it’s over – these four nearly killed each other – he’s got lots of ideas for all four men – and it’s time to move on.
Neville walks up to Steen and says it will never be over. He will fight these men forever.
The four men brawl – Danielson is clearly exasperated.
Next week we hear about a Danielson verdict, there is to be no more physicality among these four men; there’s a match with Steen and Generico taking on someone; let’s say it’s Roode and Strong, but there’s no finish, Trash attacks – and it’s a particularly violent brawl, the announce goes off the air, the brawl continues even as the show is out of time, there’s more blood than you’d normally see outside of PPV.
Another couple of weeks pass, we’re told all four men are barred from the buildings. There’s another in ring meeting with Danielson and all four men. This time he’s stern – he does not want to be this person who puts his foot down, he wants to rip off his skin when he thinks about being that person (the wear of the job appears on Danielson’s face) but he just has to be. He wants a commitment, right now, from all four men that this is over – or he will have to take a drastic, irrevocable option.
Steen walks up to Neville. Tells him he will fight him forever.
The four men converge – Danielson jumps in between them, yelling at them to stop – no more, no more.
Danielson says at Summer Slam, a man from each team will face off in a Loser Leaves Town match.
If they won’t stop on their own – he’s stopping it.
Over the next couple of weeks we get vignettes to see how each side decides who will be in the match – Steen immediately decides; says he’s going in. Generico protests – Steen won’t have it. Steen says he’s already been WWF Champion and Generico’s never had a chance. Steen says if one of them has to leave – it should be him. It’s nice. Steen also says Generico owes him one.
Trash finds it harder to decide. They’re heels after all. They bring in Gargano – who should it be, Johnny? Who, Johnny?
Gargano doesn’t want to be in this position – they tell him to man up. He’s been watching everything they’ve done for months. He’s in the best spot to decide. One of us goes in. Who will it be?
Gargano says Neville. Gargano says Claudio is an all time great – but Neville is on fire right now, on
the best roll of his career, just fueled by an incomprehensible amount of rage – and he has the best chance of taking out Steen.
Claudio is also working a match at Summer Slam..
Claudio Castagnoli v. Akira Tozawa
There’s no angle here; it’s strictly a workrate match. Generico is not on the card, focusing entirely on seconding Steen that night.
That’s four matches and we still have two title matches to go. Here they are:
IC: Brock Lesnar (w/Heyman) v. Braun Strowman
Tags: Broken Hardys v. Usos (Jimmy/Jey)
We’ll divide this build into two parts and talk about those two matches, the 3 remaining matches, and Dark Ride in a couple of weeks. If this seems like a hot show, yeah, it looks that way from here too. Part 2 is here.
