We have an announcer shakeup - veteran backup announcer Michael Cole takes over all three shows, he will work RAW with Corey Graves, Fight Night with Wade Barrett and Dark Ride with Xavier Woods. Woods also does a second screen telecast with the other two shows for the WWF twitch stream.
Here's the Summer Slam card.
WWF Title: Roman Reigns (w/Holy Roman Empire) v. Brock Lesnar
IC Title (vacant): Rey Mysterio v. Prince Devitt
Tags: Usos v.
Womens Title: Ronda Rousey (w/Dangerous Alliance) v. Becky Lynch
Damien Priest (w/Solo) v. Dominic Mysterio
Logan Paul v. Pat McAfee
Bianca Belair v. Liv Morgan
Winners Get Title Shot: Street Profits v. Miz/Austin Theory
What you want to understand is the argument that Roman has been making - after a 40 year battle, in the early 21st century, there was peace in the wrestling land - the WWF had vanquished its competition, Kurt Angle defeated Rob Van Dam and Rey Mysterio to unify the World Titles of WWF/ECW/NWA.
From the dirt arose a bingo hall indie, Ring of Honor, and WWF didn't kill it in the crib - instead, they allowed infiltration - CM Punk arrived, creating GDI as a sleeper cell, desecrating the WWF Title at Surivor Series '06, and then a series of ROH wrestlers would follow - Danielson/Claudio/Styles/Joe/Black/Steen/Zayn, all winning the WWF Title - grabbing a stranglehold on the top of the card for years while "home grown talent" - like the Usos/Hooligans/New Day spun their wheels in the middle.
And then - AEW launched. Direct competition to WWF using the same types of ROH wrestlers who had infiltrated WWF - and then they filled out their ranks with many of those very same wrestlers who had taken up temporary residence in the WWF - and wouldn't you know it - AEW then buys ROH (this is a story Reigns has been telling, piece by piece, for a couple of years - so as events warrant, like the ROH purchase, for example, it adds to Reigns's case).
Reigns starts ringing the warning bell - telling those other stables in the middle they need to get on his level, he's going to be the head of the table - he will be leading the WWF in wartime - who better, as a legacy, as a member of the Anoa'i family - he's WWF born and bred.
He goes on a run, winning over and over - talking more and more - demanding acknowledgement, he ended Jeff Hardy's WWF career, he forced the break up of the New Day - and he took the heart out of his rivals, McIntyre from the Hooligans, Lashley and Gable from Shoot Nation, all of whom, note were developed in the WWF.
He beats Zayn at Mania, takes the title, able to make the argument that he has consistently been proven right. Acknowledge him.
One could imagine there are fans who will - it's a compelling case.
Now, Reigns is a heel - and the way he psychologically dominates the Holy Roman Empire is the evidence of that (he's got a system where if they receive a text, they have to text back within one minute or face some type of physical punishment; he divides the other 3 men, Lashley and Gable lost the tag belts to the Usos at Mania, whereas McIntyre beat Steen; so McIntyre becomes the right hand man, receiving special treatment, and eventually embraces the role as enforcer of Roman's rules - Lashley and Gable are browbeaten - they are not allowed to get a rematch against the Usos, it would be too shameful if they lost again - they don't even get to pursue the Usos physically at all, Roman's embarrassed, here are his former family members walking around with title belts where his chosen family, the HRE, is without gold...other than his, of course).
Roman is sparse with praise - but the members of HRE grow dependent on it - trying to please him (at some point they get branded, I think, HRE, to show their lifelong committment). Roman and the HRE are the hub of much of the action throughout the promotion - Steen/Black/Zayn are not working Summer Slam so not integral here, but Steen sees which way this wind is blowing and begins trying to bring them together. It is not successful. The Usos primary discussion point is Roman's leaving them behind, as Sheamus is with McIntyre, and the night after Mania brings the debut of Solo, brother of the Usos, cousin of Roman, and much of the summer is speculation about which side, Usos or HRE, he will join as he is dominant - squash match after squash match.
Brock/Roman is announced the night after RAW, but there is no Brock, of course - HRE spends much of the summer feuding with.....Defiance?
The main event segment on that RAW is Cody's return.
Cody cuts in ring promo - he makes clear he is not invading, he's coming home, he talks about Dusty, talks about coming up through developmental, talks about the Undertaker taking him under his wind - talks about winning the tag titles, says he wanted more - says he risked his whole career - and it paid off and now a wrestling promotion that he started is flourishing.
But it was time to come home - he sets up that while he won the right to be the leader of a new WWF Bullet Club (if you missed Mania, Cody is the IC Champ) he isn't here to be part of a stable, he's here to blaze his own trail.
And that leads Roman and his group to come to the ring. The WWF Champ and IC Champ go face to face - Roman, of course, believes that Cody is AEW - it's everything he's been talking about for two years, where's MJF, is MJF right behind you?
Roman challenges Cody to a 4 x 4 for next week - go get whomever you want - bring whomever you want.
It's a little bait and switchy, sure - but Cody will have a taped piece on Fight Night making it clear he has no one to bring, he will be coming alone and he will fight all 4 of HRE.
Main event of RAW - here's HRE, here's Cody -- he clearly believes it is 1 on 4 -- but who enters to have his back is his old partner, Randy Orton, along with Priest/Crews. It's Defiance, the stable created by Orton to "defy" Dusty Rhodes when he was the commissioner of the WWF version of the NWA during the brand split. Cody would then join Defiance and he and Orton would win the tag titles.
Cody and Defiance wins that match - Cody pinning Gable, and in multiple combinations, that 4 on 4 feud drives through the summer. Cody/Gable have banger singles matches (think IRL Cody/Rollins from the same time) and it allows Orton to get some high profile matches v Reigns (Cody/Roman kept apart, teasing, not fighting).
First casualty is Crews - HRE takes him out, that takes Crews off the canvas (pun intended) he won't be seen the remainder of the wrestling year. Defiance gets the worse end of this feud - Priest grows in his dissatisfaction "why are we fighting these guys - Rhodes isn't Defiance" - Orton bristles, "Rhodes used to be you - you'd want someone to have your back - and how about not questioning my leadership".
Cody, of course, gets injured, beats Gable in the cage with the torn pec - and then does a full stretcher job the next night when Roman takes advantage of his weakened state and lays him out. Cody is forced to vacate the IC - so what had been advertised over the summer as Cody defending against Rey at Summer Slam (Rey won the shot at WM) becomes Rey v. Devitt (who had a future IC shot promised when injuries took him out of WM). Both former IC Champs, it's legendary babyface Rey vs cool tweener Devitt. In the build for the Cody match that never happened, Rey said this was his final singles title shot (Rey also expressed a little bit of doubt about Cody, Rey runs the locker room, IRL Undertaker style, and he doesn't exactly endorse Roman's theory about Cody, but also doesn't embrace him either) that his day as a top wrestler was nearing a close, and he was going to pour all he had into taking that IC belt from Rhodes. Devitt spent a year chasing the IC in the feud of ex Bullet Club members and says his taste for gold has never been more acute.
Orton/Priest tension appears to be coming to a head, something has to give - our assumption is Orton will do what Orton does and leave Priest laying with a boot to the head - but he does not, Orton says the old him would have done that - but he's left some wreckage in past relationships, seeing Cody return after these years away suggests that maybe there's a different way to handle conflict. Orton extends a hand - Priest hugs him - and then into the ring....comes Solo Sikoa.
Solo and Priest then kill Orton dead (this is probably the go home RAW for Summer Slam) Orton is stretchered out - Damien Priest and Solo Sikoa are the new Defiance.
Priest takes on young masked Dominic at Summer Slam.
Once Cody's gone and the Defiance program ends - as we draw close to Summer Slam its time for the return of Lesnar, he beat Riddle in the Octagon at Mania and earns this shot. Lesnar returns for the contract signing - he doesn't know who Roman is - he does know Lashley/Gable, they were stablemates in Shoot Nation once upon a time, he says Kurt would be disappointed they got stuck carrying someone else's bags, but whatever.
Reigns says at the end of Summer Slam, Lesnar will acknowledge him - Brock no sells that idea entirely - Brock offers zero respect to Reigns here, and nothing boils Roman more than that.
The Usos won their 4th WWF tag titles, they have a claim as the greatest tag team of all time - but they are not happy (Jey mad, Jimmy sad) as Roman turned his back on them. At some point, probably the Survivor Series build, that becomes front burnered, with Reigns looking to drive a wedge between them, going to each man "I would have picked you...but your brother holds you back" - sure, you'd think "the Usos will understand they are getting played" -- but Roman's good at this, and you can start seeing a little more daylight between Jimmy and Jey.
But right now - they are preparing for the Profits - or were, the Profits won the title shot at Mania, but voluntarily relinquish it - Miz is now fully douchy IRL Miz once again, he goes to developmental and plucks a protegee, Austin Theory, looking to make him a mini-Miz. Miz is able to weasel the Profits into putting up their title shot to open Summer Slam - winners to face the Usos later in the night.
Rousey is the Womens Champ, Walter the Dark Ride Champ, with Heyman as their moutpiece they are the Dangerous Alliance - Lynch and Flair teamed together all year in dominant fashion - and with Charlotte stepping away for the summer - Lynch stands alone in this all babyface matchup for the Women's Title. Walter, meanwhile, will be defending against JD McDonaugh in the pre-show.
Bianca Belair has seemingly run the only two time women's champ, Sasha Banks, out of the promotion - and she looks to continue her babyface run against a bratty heel, Liv Morgan.
Finally - Pat McAfee turned face at Mania following he and Logan Paul losing to Lynch/Flair - he keeps that energy going through the vehicle of his radio show, he has WWF guests on, he puts the promotion over, just to stay in that universe. Meanwhile, throughout the summer Paul attempts to clown McAfee through social media - on as many platforms as is possible, just attacking McAfee as soft in as many ways as he can - eventually they both appear on the Heyman Hustle, which Heyman does...maybe quarterly at this point. That quickly turns physical - McAfee gets color - and they set up the match for Summer Slam.
And there you go.
Reigns defends his title against Lesnar, Brock looking to tie the record with 3 WWF Championship reigns.
Devitt and Mysterio try to regain the IC belt, lying vacant after the injury related abdication just a few weeks prior by Rhodes.
The 4 time tag champ Usos, the most for any non stable, will either be defending against the Street Profits or Miz/Theory.
Rousey, with Heyman and Walter in her corner, defending against the former champion Lynch.
We get a Damien Priest match, he'll be seconded by Solo Sikoa, the two men forming the new Defiance. We get a Bianca Belair match - and a celebrity showdown, Logan Paul v Pat McAfee.
Summer Slam 2020 coming next month. It's gonna be a happening.
