WWE Champions Corner (13-14 July): The Road To SummerSlam Begins

Roman Reigns SummerSlam

Right then, where do we begin with this one? There was a lot to like about WWE this week, but also a lot of things to hate. I suppose I should start where I always do, and get the worst bit out of the way.

WWE Raw Champions

The Universal Title

The hunt for a No.1 contender is finally over. Several weeks after Paul Heyman claimed he and Brock Lesnar had no faith in WWE finding a suitable opponent to challenge Lesnar for the Universal Championship, Vince McMahon & co. decided there was only one man fit for the job: Roman Reigns.

I’m lost for words. What is going on? The match between Reigns and Bobby Lashley on Raw this week was very good — even if smarky fans don’t want to admit it — but Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship is something we are all done with.

Good luck at SummerSlam, lads. The crowd is going to go absolutely mental for you, I’m sure.

 

The Intercontinental Title

Dolph Ziggler made his presence known this week by interfering in Finn Bálor’s match against Drew McIntyre. After Seth Rollins came out to stop Bálor getting completely beat down, Raw GM Kurt Angle put all four guys in a tag match.

The unofficially named Team Slingblade won when Rollins hit the Stomp on the IC Champ. With a win over Ziggler, Seth has found himself back in contention for the Intercontinental Title, and the Show-off and the Architect will battle one more time at SummerSlam.

I’ve got mixed feelings about this one. The tag match was superb, but I really wish Bálor would’ve picked up the victory and be named the No.1 contender to Dolph’s title; Lord knows he needs something to get him out of the terrible Baron Corbin storyline. Still, if history is anything to go off, this will be one hell of a match.

 

The Raw Women’s Title

Alexa Bliss didn’t do a jolly lot this week. She stood at ringside for Mickie James’s bout against Natalya, but that’s nothing, really. Well, I guess getting clobbered by Natalya was something.

Next week, Ronda Rousey makes her return, and so I expect business to really pick up.

 

The Raw Tag Team Titles

I’m gonna stop saying The B-Team are set to lose their Raw Tag Team Championships because I keep getting it wrong. Thanks to a wee bump from Bray Wyatt, Curtis Axel was able to roll Matt Hardy up for the 1, 2, 3, meaning Dallas & Axel are still the champs going into SummerSlam.

After the match, The Deleters of Worlds attacked The B-Team, so it looks like this feud isn’t over yet. I’m honestly a little bored of this rivalry now, and I really hope their last match (presumably at SummerSlam) will be the end of it, no matter which team wins.

 

The Cruiserweight Title

So much talent in one ring; Drew Gulak fought off three incredible opponents on 205 Live this week to be named the new No.1 contender to Cedric Alexander’s Cruiserweight Championship.

The match was truly phenomenal, so much so that you would’ve been happy with any man winning. Gulak secured the victory by taking advantage of the savage beatdown Hideo Itami gave Mustafa Ali, and locking the Heart of 205 Live in a Dragon Sleeper while he was already unconscious.

Gulak winning was definitely the right choice. As great as Itami, Ali, and TJP are, Gulak is the only one who hasn’t had a one-on-one bout for the title yet. I hope Cedric is ready for the fight of his life.

WWE SmackDown Live Champions

The WWE Title

Yes! We’re finally getting it! After a brief “discussion” between AJ Styles and James Ellsworth (who is once again gone from WWE), Samoa Joe rushed to the ring, and choked out the WWE Champion with a coquina clutch. Joe then signed his name on the contract in the ring, making him the official challenger for AJ’s title at SummerSlam.

I couldn’t be happier. AJ and Joe have been two of the consistently best performers since they arrived in WWE, and it’s about time they had a great feud for the biggest prize in the business. Vince & co have teased us long enough with a Samoa Joe title victory and now would be an excellent time to finally pull the trigger.

 

The US Title

The US Championship scene looked red-hot last week, but things have simmered down now. Nakamura had a very brief segment on SmackDown this week that simply reminded us he’s still the champion.

The King of Strong Style sowed a few seeds that Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton are still in the title picture, but honestly, I think Orton cares more about being a destructive heel than chasing a title that doesn’t mean a huge amount to him.

 

The SmackDown Women’s Title

Becky Lynch earned a huge victory over the SmackDown Women’s Champion Carmella this week that now sees Lynch as the No.1 contender for the title.

I even enjoyed the match. I think Becky definitely brought out the best in ‘Mella, and the champion put on the greatest performance of her career so far. She played to her heelish nature perfectly while the Lasskicker valiantly fought on.

The only issue I see in this feud is that Carmella is still obviously going to be the winner. Things are looking too good for Becky Lynch. A clean victory over the champion and Ellsworth gone from Carmella’s side; the path looks too clear, and you know how much WWE love their 50/50 booking. Sorry, Becky, but it looks like you’ll be fed to ‘Mella soon as well.

 

The SmackDown Tag Team Titles

Why? I’m just… why? In the first round of the tournament to determine who will face The Bludgeon Brothers for the championships at SummerSlam, The New Day defeated Sanity.

I know The New Day is one of the best teams in WWE, but Sanity really need to win tag matches if we are to take them seriously as threat to the division. The wrong team won here, nothing more to it.

On the plus side, The Bar are back. Next week, they’ll face The Usos in their first round match of the tournament. That should be good, right?

It was a very conflicting week in WWE’s title scenes. I enjoyed the Raw main event but disagreed with the booking, I’m over the moon Drew Gulak will challenge for the Cruiserweight Championship, I’m upset Sanity are losing big matches, and I can’t wait for Samoa Joe to face AJ Styles for the WWE Title. SummerSlam is shaping up to be an intriguing event to say the least.

Some of the coverage you find on Cultured Vultures contains affiliate links, which provide us with small commissions based on purchases made from visiting our site. We cover gaming news, movie reviews, wrestling and much more.