John Cena still whips up a crowd like no other
Highlights of Raw on Monday night included Roman Reigns winning a main event bout against Chris Jericho packed with urgency and false finishes, and the debut – at loooong last! – of NXT sensation Bayley. But even the latter’s ‘pop’ paled in comparison versus the noise made when Smackdown’s John Cena made a surprise appearance after Raw had finished.
Cena teamed with Dean Ambrose to battle AJ Styles (with whom he’d contested the match of the weekend at Summerslam) and Seth Rollins, and the cacophony when his music hit was *insane*. Three quarters cheers, one quarter boos, with the now-traditional refrain of ‘John Cena sucks’ accompanying said theme, his ability to spark a reaction in every audience member remains unmatched. Cena and Ambrose went on to win the match, a result that (unlike said entrance) was greeted with universal cheers.
Maryse has banned The Miz from gaming…
"She won't allow me to play Pokemon Go or Clash Of Clans anymore," Intercontinental Champion tells me when ask about his gaming habits. Maryse – herself a former Divas Champion – is his wife both onscreen and in real life, and together they've formed one of the year's most entertaining acts. "I'll be trying to concentrate on work, and he's on his phone playing – and I don't understand anything about it," she says when I ask her about the ban. "So when he does that, I just go online shopping – that's my favourite thing to do."
… but Miz's bigger beef is with Daniel Bryan
This actually occurred following Tuesday's Smackdown broadcast, while I was on Delta 767 somewhere over the Atlantic – but merits a spot here as it’s compulsive viewing. After each episode of Smackdown Live, Renee Young hosts a show on the WWE Network called Talking Smack, featuring supposedly unscripted match reaction from wrestlers and other onscreen personalities, such as the brand's onscreen general manager Daniel Bryan (who retired through injury in 2015).
Towards the end of this week’s show, Bryan told Intercontinental Champion The Miz that his wrestling style was “soft” and it made him a coward – and the former reality star lost his mind in the most brilliantly entertaining manner. Indeed, his close-to-the-bone comments on Bryan’s retirement caused the latter to walk off the set: be sure the watch the entirely of the three-minute video below.
The numbers of Summerslam 2016
According to WWE, Summerslam's attendance inside the Barclays Center clocked in at 15,974 – short of its capacity of 19,000, due to WWE's grand entrance stage taking up an entire side of the arena. The show was a legitimate sellout. The number 1 will forever be bittersweet for Finn Balor: he became WWE's first ever Universal Champion by defeating Seth Rollins, but his reign only lasted a single day – the Irishman relinquished the belt on Raw after suffering a torn labrum in his title-snaring effort.
$429.99 is the amount you'll have to fork out to pre-order a replica of the garish belt held so briefly by Balor – or £378 if you live in the UK. Finn's fight with Seth Rollins for the red-velvet eyesore was the second longest match on the show, at 19 minutes 24 seconds – beaten by that riveting clash between John Cena and AJ Styles (23 min 10). The Miz and Apollo Crews contested the shortest bout, their Intercontinental Title tussle going just 5 mins 45.
Gamesradar+ did a wrestling podcast
Want even more GamesRadar+ coverage of Summerslam delivered straight into your ear canals? Then be sure to check out Talksport's Gorilla Position podcast, on which I discuss every last one of this weekend’s matches in detail with regular host James Delow. Topics include how WWE can ensure it capitalises on Bayley’s obvious promise after her Monday night call-up, future prospects of NXT standouts Bobby Roode and Shinsuke Nakamura, the surprise stars of the weekend – such as NXT combatant No Way Jose, who put on a spirited display in his loss to Austin Aries – and much more. You can listen via both iTunes or Talksport.com.
And – at risk of repeating myself - If you're looking for even more of our WWE 2K17 coverage, then make sure to check out our roster gallery, and the 11 things I learned while going hands-on ahead of Summerslam.
