WWE SUMMERSLAM - August 20th, 2017

Matches

---

Universal Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe vs. Braun Strowman (Fatal 4-Way Match)

SummerSlam will serve as a day of reckoning when Brock Lesnar puts his Universal Championship on the line against Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman in a Fatal 4-Way Match to determine once-and-for-all who has the right to possess Raw’s most prestigious title. If the Beast loses the title, both he and Paul Heyman have made it clear that they will leave WWE.

The completely unpredictable contest was added to The Biggest Event of the Summer by Raw General Manager Kurt Angle, who saw the multi-man match as the only solution to a very complicated Universal Title picture.

Prior to the Universal Title Match between Lesnar and Samoa Joe at WWE Great Balls of Fire, Reigns announced his intentions to challenge the winner at SummerSlam. It seemed like a reasonable demand after The Big Dog overcame The Undertaker at WrestleMania to claim WWE as “his yard.”

However, Reigns went on to lose a brutal Ambulance Match to his longstanding adversary Braun Strowman at WWE Great Balls of Fire before unleashing a ruthless post-match assault, backing the ambulance containing Strowman into a parked truck at break-neck speed in an assault that The Monster Among Men barely – and miraculously -- walked away from. The harrowing incident seemingly took Strowman out of the equation, but Lesnar and his advocate Paul Heyman still wondered how The Big Dog’s challenge should stand after losing his match.

That question was further compounded by the fact that Samoa Joe took The Conqueror to the absolute limit in their July 9 pay-per-view showdown, leaving little doubt that he had a legitimate claim to a rematch against The Beast at WWE’s biggest pay-per-view of the summer.

It was in this turbulent atmosphere that Reigns battled Joe on Raw to determine who would challenge the Universal Champion. Before a winner could be decided, however, Strowman suddenly returned to Raw and laid waste to both grapplers!

After the three competitors stepped into the squared circle the following week to make their case to stand toe-to-toe with The Beast, Angle decided that all three Superstars would get their opportunity.

Will one of them accomplish the monumental challenge of taking the title away from “the reigning, defending, undisputed Universal Champion?” Find out when SummerSlam returns to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center tonight, with a special start time at 7 ET/4 PT, steaming live on the award-winning WWE Network.

---

---

WWE Champion Jinder Mahal vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

At The Biggest Event of The Summer, The Artist Known as Shinsuke Nakamura will look to take his place at the top of the blue brand mountain when he challenges WWE Champion Jinder Mahal tonight.

Following his victory over Randy Orton inside the dreaded Punjabi Prison at WWE Battleground, Mahal returned to SmackDown LIVE demanding to know who his opponent would be at SummerSlam. Enter John Cena, who immediately stepped up to the plate and unleashed a verbal tongue-lashing on The Modern-Day Maharaja. However, just when a title showdown looked to be set in stone, SmackDown LIVE General Manager Daniel Bryan emerged to inform the 16-time World Champion that other Superstars were also deserving of an opportunity, especially the charismatic Shinsuke Nakamura.

The following week, The Leader of the Cenation squared off against The King of Strong Style in an intense showdown to see who would have the right to challenge The Modern-Day Maharaja for the WWE Title. With the two Superstars going toe-to-toe in the heart-stopping bout, Nakamura survived an Attitude Adjustment and clobbered Cena with the Kinshasa knee strike to earn the coveted title opportunity.

Though WWE’s Rockstar has indeed earned himself an opportunity to capture WWE’s top title, his challenge is just beginning. The Modern-Day Maharaja is about as tough as they come since returning to WWE, especially with The Singh Brothers ready to do just about anything to keep the title around his waist.

Don’t miss the explosive clash for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam tonight, with a special start time at 7 ET/4 PT, streaming live on WWE Network.

---

---

John Cena vs. Baron Corbin

Historically, SummerSlam has been a place for scores to be settled, paths to be forged and Superstars to emerge. Well, John Cena vs. Baron Corbin's clash at The Biggest Event of Summer this year has all the makings of such a summer blockbuster.

Cena and Corbin’s stories merged this summer as they both continued their pursuit of the WWE Championship. Since winning the Money in the Bank contract, The Lone Wolf has lurked in the shadows, taunting WWE Champion Jinder Mahal with the prospect of him cashing in while simultaneously engaged in his bitter rivalry with Shinsuke Nakamura. Meanwhile, since returning to SmackDown LIVE on the Fourth of July, The Cenation Leader has been on a massive role, leading him to a match against Nakamura on the Aug. 1 SmackDown LIVE where the winner would go onto challenge The Modern-Day Maharaja for the WWE Championship.

Cena and Nakamura proceeded to have an absolute thriller, and after The King of Strong Style prevailed in the dream match, Mr. Money in the Bank hit the scene in the hopes of ruining the celebration with an attack. Never one to stand for wrongdoing, Cena came to Nakamura’s aid, fighting off Corbin. Their raucous brawl led to Cena putting Corbin through a table with a massive Attitude Adjustment.

There was no turning back from there, as the two Superstars’ conflict has only continued to escalate, leading to this massive match for SummerSlam being made. Can Cena teach the brash Corbin a lesson in humility? Or will The Lone Wolf continue to mount momentum and cap off an incredibly successful summer by defeating arguably the greatest WWE Superstar of all time?

Find out when SummerSlam streams live on WWE Network tonight!

---

---

United States Champion AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens (Shane McMahon as special guest referee)

A recipe for The Biggest Event of the Summer: Take a Phenomenal One. Add one Face of America (preferably a New one). Add the United States Championship, and sprinkle a generous dash of Shane-O-Mac on top, and you get one of the most combustible United States Title Matches in recent memory.

After trading shocking wins and losses over the “workhorse” championship for months, AJ Styles and Kevin Owens take their white-hot rivalry to SummerSlam, as The Phenomenal One will defend his U.S. Title against KO with none other than SmackDown LIVE Commissioner Shane McMahon as the special guest referee.

That stipulation was made after two controversial incidents involving an official — the first at WWE Battleground when KO won the title from AJ in part because the referee was knocked loopy, and the second on SmackDown LIVE when Styles successfully retained the title against Owens because the ref missed The New Face of America’s shoulder rising off the mat.

A furious Owens demanded a rematch at SummerSlam, but he might have pressed his luck when he called for a ref that wouldn’t miss anything, as The Prodigal Son quickly volunteered himself for the task.

Given that Owens is going against a Superstar whom he’s openly antagonized for months, with an official whom he’s, well, also openly antagonized for months, he would certainly seem to have his work cut out for him. But Styles shouldn’t consider this one a gimme just yet. If there is anyone — anyone — who can snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, it’s Kevin Owens, and Shane is nothing if not a man of his word: He’ll call the match down the middle whether it means handing his old WrestleMania foe a victory or a loss. In other words, after weeks of shenanigans, this one might come down to which Superstar is simply the better workhorse.

Who will walk out of Brooklyn as the United States Champion? Tune in to SummerSlam, streaming live tonight at 8 ET/5 PT on the award-winning WWE Network.

---

---

Raw Tag Team Champions Cesaro & Sheamus vs. Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins

One is a team of two rivals, thrown together by circumstance and hardened by respect into a two-time title-carrying tandem. The other is a team of brothers, ripped apart by ambition and slowly, painfully, reformed by redemption. And one of them will walk out of SummerSlam as the Raw Tag Team Champions.

Having finally reconciled their differences after a knock-down, drag-out brawl, Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins will challenge Cesaro & Sheamus for Team Red’s tandem titles, bringing the most rabid rivalry of The Shield’s dissolution to a long-awaited end. And it certainly took a hard sell on Rollins’ part to get it to happen: After weeks of Rollins attempting to make amends for his betrayal three years ago, Ambrose finally came around to The Kingslayer’s cause when the former turncoat rescued him from a beatdown by the dominant Raw Tag Team Champions. Only now it was Rollins who wasn’t ready to play nice, fed up with The Lunatic Fringe’s unwillingness to take him at his word that he was a changed man.

In a heated confrontation the next week on Raw, the two put their cards on the table and worked out all their pent-up aggression, and The Swiss Cyborg and The Alabaster Gladiator took that moment to jump on their recent rivals. Only Ambrose & Rollins fought back in unison this time, driving the champs away and finally delivering a (reciprocated) Shield fist bump moments before the match was sanctioned in earnest. Now, the team nobody expected takes on the reunion many thought would never come. And if Ambrose & Rollins have retained even a specter of their old dominance … well, it just might be time to re-set the bar.

To see who walks out of Brooklyn as Raw Tag Team Champions, tune in to SummerSlam, streaming live tonight at a special start time of 7 ET/4 PT on the award-winning WWE Network.

---

---

Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks

Alexa Bliss has some unfinished business with Sasha Banks, and that business will be settled at SummerSlam when the two fierce competitors once again go head-to-head for Little Miss Bliss’ Raw Women’s Championship.

Heading into their Raw Women’s Title clash at the first-ever WWE Great Balls of Fire pay-per-view, there was already no love lost between Alexa and Sasha. Banks had her sights set on her fourth Raw Women’s Championship, and she was not shy about expressing her opinion that Bliss was nothing more than talk and politicking. For her part, Bliss felt that her own record spoke volumes, having thrived inside an ultra-competitive Women’s division to become the only Superstar to hold both the Raw and SmackDown Women’s Titles, a distinction she still carries.

The Boss’ hatred only intensified after her devious opponent opted to take a count-out loss at the July 9 pay-per-view, taking the easy way out to remain champion. When The “Goddess” of WWE started a post-match celebration on the ramp, though, Banks turned her displeasure into action by igniting a wild brawl that culminated in her hitting a double knee on Bliss off the announce table.

In the weeks that followed, it seemed as if Banks was going to have to wait for another opportunity against the reigning titleholder after Bayley defeated The Boss in a hard-fought bout on Raw to determine who would battle Alexa at The Biggest Event of the Summer. However, when Bayley suffered a separated right shoulder, The Boss battled her way back into the spotlight, first winning a Triple Threat Qualifying Match against Emma and Alicia Fox, then overcoming Nia Jax to earn the right to challenge Alexa at SummerSlam.

Don’t miss the explosive Raw Championship rematch when Sasha looks to take home her fourth Raw Women’s Title from Alexa Bliss at SummerSlam, streaming live on WWE Network tonight, with a special start time of 7 ET/4 PT.

---

---

SmackDown Women’s Champion Naomi vs. Natalya

Prepare for a knockdown, drag-out battle at The Biggest Event of the Summer when third-generation Superstar Natalya attempts to capture the SmackDown Women’s Championship from Naomi at SummerSlam tonight.

A member of one of the most legendary families in squared-circle history, Natalya has always been a threat, and after overcoming Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Lana and Tamina in a 5-Way Elimination Match at WWE Battleground, she is more determined than ever to wear the coveted blue-brand title around her waist.

Her quest is far from over, however. Tough-as-nails titleholder Naomi, who successfully defended her championship three times against Lana, has been on an absolute roll, and she’s maintained a firm grasp on the title since winning it for the second time at WrestleMania 33 in a Six-Pack Challenge. And now, at one of the biggest pay-per-views of the year, she will look to the make The Queen of Harts feel the glow as she continues to assert herself as a fighting champion.

Can Naomi conquer the graduate of the infamous Hart Family Dungeon, or will Natalya end the reign of her Total Divas co-star to capture the SmackDown Women’s Title for the first time in her career? Or, will the first-ever Ms. Money in the Bank, Carmella, choose The Biggest Event of the Summer to potentially ruin the evening for whomever is left standing?

Find out when SummerSlam returns to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center tonight, with a special start time at 7 ET/4 PT, steaming live on the award-winning WWE Network.

---

---

Randy Orton vs. Rusev

Prepare for all-out war as Randy Orton will lock horns with Rusev at The Biggest Event of the Summer.

Convinced that he has not been taken seriously in recent weeks, an irate Rusev followed up a victory on the Aug. 1 episode of SmackDown LIVE by voicing his discontent to the entire WWE Universe. It seemed that he was particularly bent out of shape about being left off the card for SummerSlam.

In response to Rusev’s outburst, The Viper opted to step into the ring with The Bulgarian Brute and offer the clever retort of an impromptu RKO.

A two-time United States Champion, Rusev stands as a truly no-nonsense competitor who has taken on everyone from Roman Reigns to John Cena. His brutal style and immense strength makes him an extremely dangerous opponent to anyone who steps in the ring with him.

However, will he be able to take down the 13-time World Champion? Orton is not only an extremely gifted athlete who has proven himself in the squared circle time and time again, but the third-generation Superstar is also a master of mind games armed with an unrelenting temper.

With the two Superstars on a collision course for The Biggest Event of the Summer, will SmackDown LIVE survive the mayhem that is surely on its way in the coming weeks?

Don’t miss SummerSlam tonight, streaming live on the award-winning WWE Network, with a special start time of 7 ET/4 PT.

---

---

Big Show vs. Big Cass (with Enzo Amore suspended above the ring in a Shark Cage)

Everyone knew that Enzo Amore’s split with Big Cass was huge news, but perhaps no one could have predicted it would lead to such a gigantic showdown at The Biggest Event of The Summer.

But that’s exactly what is about to happen. For at SummerSlam, Big Cass will go head-to-head with The World’s Largest Athlete, Big Show. And “The Realest Guy in the Room” won’t be able to do anything about it.

After laying waste to Enzo at the WWE Great Balls of Fire pay-per-view, Big Cass once again stomped his old running mate into the ground in their Raw rematch, despite a gutsy effort by Smacktalker Skywalker. However, when the big seven-footer continued his assault after the bell, he drew the ire of Big Show. Before he could make his point, though, Cass used Enzo to help get the advantage on the former World Champion and hit Big Show with four Empire Elbows.

The following week, Big Show was determined to teach the up-and-coming tower of destruction some respect when they engaged in their first-ever one-on-one showdown! And when Enzo got involved in the action, the chaos that followed ended with Show laying out Big Cass with the KO Punch. Cass suffered the same fate the following week, quickly growing accustomed to the destructive power of the giant’s fist.

With matters still unsettled, Big Cass was eager to face Big Show again at SummerSlam, but only if he knew exactly where his slippery former partner was the whole time. So, at the Aug. 20 pay-per-view event, Enzo will have an aerial view for Big Show’s highly anticipated rematch against Big Cass when he is locked in a Shark Cage above the ring. “How you doin’?!”

Don’t miss the colossal clash of the titans at SummerSlam, streaming live on WWE Network tonight, with the special start time of 7 ET/4 PT.

---

---

"The Demon" Finn Bálor vs. Bray Wyatt

Bray Wyatt and Finn Bálor’s intensifying conflict comes to a head tonight at WWE SummerSlam as The Eater of Worlds collides with his Irish adversary in Brooklyn, N.Y. in a highly anticipated rematch.

Wyatt set this rivalry ablaze when he delivered an eerie warning to Bálor on the July 17 episode of Raw. Then, a week after proclaiming his need to punish Bálor, Wyatt delivered a Sister Abigail to his embattled rival.

Despite Wyatt’s ability to get inside the head of his opponents, he has yet witness the power of Bálor’s own dark, demonic personality. The typically reserved Bálor made it clear that if Wyatt wanted to play mind games, he was ready.

The first-ever Universal Champion backed up his ominous message with his own show of force on the July 31 edition of Raw. While Wyatt was busy condemning the WWE Universe’s hero worship of Bálor, the lights went red and the sound of a heartbeat pulsed throughout the arena. Bálor appeared with his back turned to his foe before kicking him from the ring. The following week, Bálor countered Wyatt’s theatrics once again, but The Eater of Worlds had the last laugh against the indomitable Irishman when he vanished from the squared circle. When a backstage brawl moved their match up six days, Wyatt claimed the win, dousing his foe with a viscous, acidic red fluid. Bálor successfully petitioned Raw General Manager Kurt Angle to uphold the SummerSlam bout as a rematch, promising to show Wyatt the full power of his own "demons."

With Wyatt set on proving the beloved Bálor to be nothing more than a “shell of a man that never was,” will we witness the fall of Bálor at SummerSlam? Or will The Reaper of Souls’ mind games backfire and awaken Bálor’s demonic dark side?

See which charismatic Superstar stands tall at SummerSlam when Bray Wyatt and Finn Bálor wage war inside the squared circle tonight at 7 ET/4 PT, streaming live on the award-winning WWE Network.

---

---

SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day vs. The Usos (Kickoff Match)

One dubious ending, one bench-clearing rap battle, one stone-cold classic, one beatdown and one new theme song later, and The New Day and The Usos are headed for an epic SmackDown Tag Team Title rubber match at SummerSlam Kickoff.

Ya boys Big E & Xavier Woods will once again face Jimmy & Jey Uso in Brooklyn, N.Y., this time putting their newly-won SmackDown Tag Team Championship on the line in a rematch of their wild WWE Battleground clash. That bout saw Woods put The New Day on his back to capture their first SmackDown tandem titles and put the trio in the history books in more ways than one. The Usos weren’t remotely content to sit aside and allow the heartbreaking loss to stand, however, as they instead jumped New Day on the first SmackDown LIVE after the title loss. The champs haven’t been seen since, and now the rematch has been sanctioned for SummerSlam Kickoff, as first reported on WWE's Snapchat by Cathy Kelley.

All that’s left is for these two teams to go to the mat once again and likely tear Brooklyn’s Barclays Center to the ground in the process. See what happens when The New Day and The Usos clash during a two-hour SummerSlam Kickoff, streaming live tonight, with a special start time beginning at 5 ET/2 PT, on the award-winning WWE Network and can be seen on a free stream on WWE.com, the WWE App, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Pinterest.

---

---

The Hardy Boyz & Jason Jordan vs. The Miz & The Miztourage (Kickoff Match)

The spotlight on The Biggest Event of the Summer just got a bit brighter, as Cathy Kelley just announced in a WWE.com Exclusive video that The A-Lister and his Miztourage will battle The Hardy Boyz and Jason Jordan in an explosive Six-Man Tag Team Match as part of a special two-hour SummerSlam Kickoff.

Since being revealed as the son of Raw General Manager Kurt Angle, Jordan has been in the crosshairs of Intercontinental Champion The Miz and his cohorts, Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas. The A-Lister, seemingly eager to goad Jordan after news broke that he was Angle’s son, has consistently berated the former SmackDown Tag Team Champion. Not one to take disrespect lightly, Jordan has fired back at The Miztourage, both verbally and physically.

However, at a numbers disadvantage on the Aug. 14 edition of Raw, Jordan couldn’t fend off an ambush by The Miz and his squad. Fortunately for the “gold-blooded” Superstar, The Hardy Boyz hit the scene to even the odds. Matt & Jeff, who were disrespected by The A-Lister on Raw, joined the raucous brawl, leading to a monumental Six-Man Tag Team Match for SummerSlam.

Will the dynamic pairing of The Hardys and Jason Jordan lead to their stars shining brightest at The Biggest Event of Summer? Or will The Miztourage be responsible for the latest summer blockbuster by defeating a rising Superstar and one of the greatest tag teams in WWE history?

Find out at SummerSlam Kickoff, streaming live tonight on WWE Network, with a special start time of 5 ET/2 PT! It can also be seen on a free stream on WWE.com, the WWE App, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Pinterest.

---

---

WWE Cruiserweight Champion Akira Tozawa vs. Neville (Kickoff Match)

Following Akira Tozawa’s incredible victory over Neville on Monday Night Raw to capture the WWE Cruiserweight Championship, The King of the Cruiserweights will get his opportunity to reclaim his crown at SummerSlam Kickoff!

Tozawa first challenged Neville for the gold at WWE Great Balls of Fire, and the titleholder survived only after using some questionable tactics. The next night on Raw, the Japanese Superstar demanded that his manager – Titus Worldwide founder and CEO Titus O’Neil – ensure a rematch.

However, Neville didn’t take kindly to Tozawa’s action in the aftermath of their singles battle, and he responded by locking The Stamina Monster in the Rings of Saturn and injuring his rival’s shoulder. Displaying his resilience and remaining laser-focused on securing another opportunity to challenge for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship, Tozawa continued to compete through the injury – despite protests from O’Neil.

Though Tozawa initially secured his Cruiserweight Title Rematch for SummerSlam in a hard-fought contest on WWE 205 Live against Ariya Daivari, Titus O’Neil shocked the WWE Universe when he made a social media announcement on Aug. 14 that Tozawa would battle Neville for the title six days early on Team Red. He came, he saw and he overcame Neville.

Now that Tozawa stands on the top of the mountain, the stage is set for the Japanese Superstar to defend his title against the former champion during a special two-hour SummerSlam Kickoff.

Find out if The King of the Cruiserweights will reclaim the championship at SummerSlam Kickoff, streaming live on WWE Network tonight with a special start time of 5 ET/2 PT! It can also be seen on a free stream on WWE.com, the WWE App, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Pinterest.

---

Testo nascosto - clicca qui

HE'S THE CHAMPION WE DESERVE, BUT NOT THE ONE WE NEED RIGHT NOW