We are back with another glorious edition of WWE Losers of the Week. This is the one list the superstars of the biggest sports entertainment company want to avoid being on. Losing matches, failing to stand tall after a promo, and getting battered in the back are all ways a wrestler can find themselves here. Let’s see which stars were made to look like utter chumps on the SummerSlam and Takeover go-home shows of Raw, SmackDown, 205 Live, and NXT.
10. Shelton Benjamin
We saw the Gold Standard back on SD for the first time in ages and all he did was lose to Jeff Hardy.
The match itself was marred with commercials and it was pretty short. Because Jeff can’t do a million and one Swanton Bombs anymore, he pinned Shelton with a Twist of Fate and that naff-looking standing splash. To add insult to injury, he couldn’t even help topple Hardy post-match with Shinsuke Nakamura.
As Shelton Benjamin isn’t involved in any major storyline and just because it’s nice to see him back on TV, this loss doesn’t affect his overall standing too much. Hopefully he can start to make his mark in WWE once SummerSlam is over.
9. Aiden English
SmackDown’s residential bard wanted to prove his worth to Rusev & Lana after he cost Lana two back-to-back victories against Zelina Vega. English gave it a good go, but he was unable to topple Vega’s client, Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas.
It was a pretty short match, but the action was good. English lost after taking a hammerlock DDT. Post-match, Aiden came a complete afterthought as Rusev & Lana cut a promo on how they’re gonna beat Almas & Vega on the SummerSlam preshow. I don’t think English was even mentioned again.
The poor man is desperate to get back in Rusev’s good books, but Aiden is slipping further down the ladder. Maybe he’ll help out team Rusev Day at SummerSlam, or maybe he’ll make everything even worse.
8. The Mighty (Nick Miller & Shane Thorne)
I hate the irony that The Mighty is by and large the least mighty team in NXT’s tag division. For what feels like the millionth time, Miller & Thorne were on the losing end of a match, this week against The Street Profits.
It was a good match, and there’s no denying Montez Ford is an insanely good performer, but I can’t seriously believe a team that’s been together for several years like The Mighty are still losing to newly formed teams like The Street Profits and Heavy Machinery. Ford won when he rolled Thorne up for the three-count with a handful of tights.
The Mighty didn’t lose clean, but a loss is a loss. NXT needs to build Thorne & Miller back into credible opponents before they become nothing more than a couple of jobbers.
7. Sasha Banks w/Bayley
Sasha became the sacrificial lamb for the returning Ruby Riott. In a very underwhelming match, the Boss was beaten with a naff-looking roll-up.
Considering Banks and Riott are incredible performers, everything felt off in this bout. The pace was slower than I thought it would be, and I don’t understand why WWE build Sasha & Bayley up so much just so they can lose all their momentum.
It wasn’t a good week for the Boss. Her match was lacklustre, she took the loss, and it doesn’t like there’s any room on the SummerSlam card for another match between the two teams (thank God).
6. Akira Tozawa
Tozawa finally got his rematch with Lio Rush, but it all came to nothing. Rush managed to prove his dominance by beating the former Cruiserweight Champion on 205 Live this week.
This match had a lightning-fast pace to it, and it was truly incredible to watch. The Man of the Hour picked up his win when Tozawa caught his face on a turnbuckle pad, leaving Rush to hit a huge splash from the top rope.
Akira just can’t get one over on Rush. This feud has been pretty good, and I like the idea of Tozawa running into an opponent he can’t beat. The man needs to pick up a victory over someone soon though, or else he’ll forever remain in Rush’s shadow.
5. Shinsuke Nakamura
The United States Champion didn’t have much to do on SmackDown, but he made a right hash of the one task he set himself.
Jeff Hardy scored a fall over Shelton Benjamin this week only for Nakamura to come and try to send the challenger for the US strap a message before SummerSlam. Shinsuke took Hardy down, but good ol’ Jeffrey didn’t stay down for long. The King of Strong Style went for his Kinshasa only to be taken out by a Twist of Fate and a Swanton Bomb. It looks like Nakamura won’t be in for an easy fight after all.
Honestly, I forgot Nakamura and Hardy even had a match at SummerSlam because a lot of the focus has been on Randy Orton dismantling the Charismatic Enigma. Shinsuke might’ve been on the losing end this week, but it was necessary for him to come off worse so we believe Hardy has a fighting chance on Sunday.
4. The Authors of Pain (Akam & Rezar)
Oh lordy, lordy, lordy. Can AoP be any more irrelevant? It’s bad enough they’re feuding with Titus Worldwide, but now they’ve been dragged into crappy six-man bouts with Mojo Rawley for a tag partner. The only reason Rawley isn’t on the list is because I don’t expect him to do any better.
There wasn’t even much of this match to watch as such a huge chunk of it was dedicated an injured Roman Reigns backstage and a lengthy SummerSlam commercial. Rawley took the pinfall, but I’d say the AoP had the most to lose.
The booking choices are baffling, the loss was avoidable, and AoP really don’t need an honorary member to fight matches with. Please, WWE, do something with these boys, or give them back to Triple H in NXT.
3. Sanity (Eric Young, Killian Dain, Alexander Wolfe)
From one wasted tag team to another; Akam & Rezar aren’t the only recent NXT call-ups treading water on the main roster.
Young, Dain, & Wolfe put on a really good match against The New Day, but given how Big E, Kofi Kingston, & Xavier Woods are challenging for the SD Tag Team Titles, there was no chance Sanity were winning this one. Dain, attired in a new (and terrible) wrestling singlet, took the loss after Big E & Woods connected with the Midnight Hour.
These three boys are in danger of becoming jobbers to the stars. A dominant run post-SummerSlam is definitely needed to get them back on track.
2. Dolph Ziggler w/Drew McIntyre
Our IC Champ thought he managed to bag himself the night off for SummerSlam, but Seth Rollins came out to sign the match contract in time, and he even brought a friend along for the ride.
Ziggler and Drew McIntyre were left beaten and bruised by Rollins & Dean Ambrose to close Raw this week, and Ziggler’s ace in the hole was well and truly neutralised by a Dirty Deeds from Ambrose.
The Intercontinental Champion can’t be feeling too good about his title match against Rollins anymore. Ziggler needs to think of a plan fast, or else his belt will find its way back around the waist of the Architect.
1. Roman Reigns
Talk about getting swerved. Brock Lesnar & Paul Heyman pulled off a brilliant coup to soften the Big Dog up for the Universal Title match at SummerSlam.
Heyman had us all convinced he would be siding with Reigns for the biggest party of the summer, but then he blinded his faux client with the pepper spray James Ellsworth clearly left on the tour bus. With Reigns blinded, Brock Lesnar came from backstage and left his opponent in a crumpled heap.
Roman got obliterated here, and it was so much fun to watch everything unfold. At this point, Lesnar gets paid just to batter the Big Dog. Who knows if he’ll recover in time to put up a fight at SummerSlam?
These guys messed up big time this week. Can the ones wrestling at SummerSlam and Takeover: Brooklyn bounce back by winning over the weekend? Check back next week to find out.
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