“Then. Now. Forever.” The WWE video leads us into the show.
Roman Reigns makes his SummerSlam announcement
Roman Reigns’ music hits, and he comes out to loud boos from the Evansville crowd. Reigns will be making an announcement about his plans for this year’s SummerSlam. Reigns stands in the ring, and the boos get louder. Faintly underneath is the sound of women and children screaming. Reigns just stands there and soaks it in. Reigns says some people may not like this, but some may love it. When it comes down to it, he cannot be beaten one on one. Ask Bray Wyatt. Ask Finn Bálor. Ask his little brother, Seth Rollins. Ask Braun Strowman. He put him out of commission. Let’s not forget, he main evented his third WrestleMania in a row… and that’s where he retired The Undertaker. There are loud boos for this. An “Undertaker” chant fires up. Reigns says he respects The Undertaker, and The Undertaker respects him because he beat him. After the Great Balls of Fire PPV, he doesn’t care who wins the championship match. It could be Brock Lesnar or the guy they call Joe. At SummerSlam, he’s the #1 Contender for the Universal Championship. Reigns asks if they would like to know why. Reigns says, “Because this is my yard, and I make the rules around here.”
Samoa Joe’s music hits, and he comes out to a nice reception. Joe says he couldn’t help but notice that Reigns seems to have forgotten his name. At first he was offended, but then he thought to himself that Reigns had to come out and make a case for his announcement. Joe noticed his name wasn’t on that list because Reigns has never beaten him. Joe wants to reintroduce him. Joe says, “My name is Samoa Joe. I am the true #1 Contender, and the next Universal Champion.” Reigns seems like he’s in deep thought. Reigns says he never thought in his whole life he’d agree with Paul Heyman, but what he said on last week’s RAW was true. He’ll never be Samoa Joe to him. He’ll always be “Just Joe.”
Joe all of a sudden head-butts him in the face and sends him flying out of the ring. Joe drives him into the barricade twice before putting him in the ring. Joe goes for the Coquina Clutch, but Reigns fights out and connects with a Superman Punch. Joe quickly rolls out of the ring and retreats.
The Hardy Boyz will be in action against Anderson and Gallows, next.
Roman Reigns will take on Samoa Joe… tonight!
The Hardy Boyz vs. Anderson and Gallows
Matt Hardy locks up with Karl Anderson. Matt wrenches the arm and tags in Jeff Hardy. Jeff comes off the second rope with a sledge to the arm. Jeff works on the arm before driving him into the corner. Matt tags back in, and they whip Anderson into the corner before hitting a double-team suplex. Matt picks up a two count. Sheamus and Cesaro are seen watching backstage. Luke Gallows tags in, and he punches Matt down. Gallows hits a short-arm clothesline, but he misses an elbow drop. Jeff tags in. They send Gallows into the corner. Matt gives him a corner clothesline while Jeff knocks Anderson off the apron. They hit Poetry in Motion on Gallows for a two count. Gallows makes a comeback and tags in Anderson. Anderson uppercuts him in the corner and clubs him down. A “Hardy” chant fires up. Anderson whips him to his corner, but Jeff knocks Gallows off the apron. Jeff goes for Whisper in the Wind, but Anderson crotches him on the top rope. Jeff crashes down to the mat.
-Commercial Break-
We come back from the break to see Gallows and Anderson working over Jeff. Anderson drops some knees for a two count. Anderson works on the arm after just working on the chest with knees. Jeff tries to tag Matt, but Anderson sends him to the corner. Jeff sidesteps an attack, and both men are down. Anderson grabs Jeff’s leg and goes for a back suplex, but Jeff flips through and knocks Gallows off the apron. Anderson quickly stops him from making a tag, but Jeff comes through with a modified donkey kick. Gallows quickly comes in and knocks Matt off the apron. Jeff soon comes back and wipes them both out with Whisper in the Wind.
Matt is tagged in, and he clotheslines Anderson before knocking Gallows off the apron. Matt punches Anderson down and knocks Gallows back to the floor. Matt bounces Anderson off all three turnbuckles before clotheslining him in the corner. Matt goes for a bulldog, but Anderson pushes him off. Matt boots him back and hits an elbow off the second rope. Matt hits a Side Effect, but Gallows breaks up the pin. Gallows quickly knocks Jeff out of the ring, and Matt clotheslines him out of the ring. Anderson rolls Matt up with the tights for a two count. Outside the ring, Gallows boots Jeff down on the floor. Gallows grabs Matt’s leg, and Anderson takes him out. Gallows tags in, and they hit the Boot of Doom for a near fall! Jeff then clotheslines Anderson on the floor. Gallows goes for a powerslam, but Matt slides off. Gallows superkicks him back, and Jeff blind tags in. Matt hits Gallows with the Twist of Fate. Jeff then goes to the top rope for a Swanton Bomb to pick up the win.
Winners by Pinfall: The Hardy Boyz
The Hardy Boyz celebrate their win by getting the crowd clapping and chanting “DELETE.”
Roman Reigns will take on Samoa Joe in tonight’s main event.
-Commercial Break-
It’s time for another Shattered Dreams Production. Goldust says he’s ready for his closeup. Hollywood – the glitz, the glamour. The brightest stars and the biggest stage. A city where dreams come true, but what about the other side, the side they don’t want you to see? Dreams get shattered like glass. He’s been there, but he pieced himself back together. Now, he’ll be flying into the City of Angels on wings made of gold. Next week, he wants to formally invite R-Truth to the debut of his latest motion picture, “The Shattered Truth.” You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll never forget the name of… Goldust. The Golden Age… is back.
Elias Samson is in the ring strumming his guitar. The crowd boos him. Samson greets the crowd, and he has a question for everyone in the crowd: who wants to walk with Elias? When he was 15, his father gave him a guitar and said he could tell the stories of the world with it. His father didn’t realize he’d drift into the god forsaken town of Evansville. Samson tells them to relax and open their minds to his music, which will cleanse their filthy souls. Samson starts to strum, but he stops to tune it. Samson asks for complete silence while he tunes the guitar.
Finn Bálor’s music hits, and he comes out to a nice reception. Corey Graves once again is burying Samson’s musical ability. Bálor gets in the ring after a long entrance and stands face-to-face with Samson. Samson holds his guitar over his shoulder and slowly backs up before leaving the ring. Bálor’s music hits. Bálor will be in action, next.
-Commercial Break-
Finn Bálor vs. Bo Dallas
Bo Dallas quickly attacks Bálor and punches him down in the corner. The referee backs him up. The bell hasn’t rung yet. The referee checks on Bálor and asks if he’s ok to fight. Bálor takes off his ring jacket and agrees to start the match.
The bell rings, and Dallas punches away at him in the corner. Dallas then hits a short-arm clothesline. Dallas chokes him on the bottom rope and clubs away at him. Dallas sends him into the barricade and knees him in the face. Dallas puts him in the ring for a two count. Dallas applies a neck cravat, but Bálor fights up. Bálor boots him back, but Dallas comes back with an uppercut. Bálor then lays him out with a Pelé kick. Bálor gets to his feet and punches away at him. Bálor clubs him in the back and stomps away at him. Bálor clotheslines him out of the ring, goes to the apron, and wipes him out with a running kick to the face. Bálor then sends him head over heels into the barricade three times before putting him in the ring. Bálor connects with a Sling Blade before dropkicking him into the corner. Bálor goes to the top rope and catches him with the Coup de Grâce for the win.
Winner by Pinfall: Finn Bálor
Corey Graves gets a message in his headset and walks off. The commentators then segue way to the WWE 2K18 trailer.
We’ll hear from Seth Rollins, next.
