After low ticket sales were a topic of discussion for another signature WWE pay-per-view, Summer Slam Saturday kicked off the weekend at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. According to Wrestle Tix, there was a decent increase of sales within the past few weeks, with roughly 35,000 tickets moved before showtime, garnering the WWE roughly half a house in the massive venue. But, the building looked to be full so ticket prices dropped even more the day before the event or WWE papered some of the venue. Truth be told, the increase in ticket sales over the past two weeks had nothing to do with the rather bland build up on television, the marquee matches were already announced when ticket sales were still sluggish, but rather ticket prices declined to try to get more fans in the building. In an effort to maximize the gate specifically instead of moving more tickets, the TKO corporation has a rather simple strategy, they price tickets as high as possible so that the most die hard demographic of fans will spend that type of cash on tickets first and then gradually lower the price the closer it gets to the show to try to sell as many seats as possible before the opening bell. I'm not sure if it truly makes much of a difference since the core group of fans that are willing to spend an astronomical amount of cash on admission to a WWE pay-per-view are going to do that regardless, whereas the rest of the audience simply won't so it might be more efficient to price seats outside of the premium tier at a more reasonable number that they will sell for to avoid the scramble to get fans into the building relatively last minute since its tough to gauge the true level of drawing power that the card has in a particular location.
The fact that TKO seems determined to price out a traditional portion of the WWE audience is a different discussion for a different time.
On paper, night one seemed to be more sizzle than substance, and maybe that was by design, with more of the focus on the pryo and ballyhoo on Saturday, whereas night two might be set to be the bell-to-bell action of the weekend.
The show opened with the Women's World title match and it was a segment that checked all the boxes for a bout that you want to kick off the event, serving a dual purpose with its quality, as well as how the structure of the contest got the crowd involved. Iyo Sky continues to prove that she's one of the most consistent performers anywhere in the business, and her signature spots were used to hype the crowd throughout most of this match. The diving sunset flip through to ropes to power bomb Liv Morgan on the floor looked brutal. Everything that Iyo did was crisp and smooth, she was wrestling circles around Liv, and that isn't meant as a knock on Morgan, but rather to point out how effective Sky was in the role of the energetic baby face. To her credit, Morgan has really stepped up her game within the past year or so and can keep pace with someone of the in-ring level of Iyo. The finish was well done as a sequence of counters that built a level of drama was used for a crescendo at the conclusion. Liv Morgan got the win to retain the championship, but this segment was a win for everyone involved, as it was another example of the stellar WWE women's division.
When there are only six matches on the line-up, there's just no reason to have a six man tag and then a six women tag on the same night. That being said, The Bloodline vs. LA Knight, Royce Keys, and Solo Sikoa was fine because it was all action and then finished up before anything had a chance to drag on. Of course, it boiled down to a bunch of moves from everyone, but it only went 10 minutes so the fast pace kept it from overstaying its welcome. The baby face team got the victory, but I think the much bigger story is how over a few of the participants are, and how they could be used in a more prominent position in the organization. Despite having to go against the grain to get over and the booking not doing him too many favors once he got over, LA Knight still got one of the best crowd reactions of the entire show. Maybe there simply isn't room for him in the main event picture, but Knight's popularity is undeniable. I'd also say that Jacob Fatu should be in a better spot, but hopefully, there is something more important for him to do in the grand scheme of things since he's a secondary guy right now.
Gunther beat Nick Aldis by submission, and this was also very well done. They highlighted the fact that Aldis was previously an accomplished performer, but didn't sacrifice Gunther's credibility as a full-time wrestler either. They divided portions of who had advantage throughout the segment and worked within that narrative so everyone shined in their specific roles for this bout. That said, despite being younger than some of the other names already on the roster, it's probably a better choice for this to be a one-off for Aldis, a match that he deserved, and let his work as the General Manager of Smackdown stand out instead of the risk of being last in the shuffle of the WWE landscape.
The six woman tag match only went about seven minutes and still managed to seem like it went too long. Fatal Influence's inexperience on the big stage showed through during this segment as their entrance looked robotic and then their spots during the match looked overly choreographed. On the flip side, Paige and The Bellas looked like polished pros during their introductions, which made their opponents' inexperience that much more obvious. This contest was sloppy and very clunky. Regardless of winning the tag titles prior to this, Fatal Influence didn't look like they were truly ready for the main stage. Fatal influence won the match, but the post-match heel turn by the Bellas was the bigger story.
I have to be honest, the WWE championship match had all the pyro and ballyhoo mentioned earlier, but fell woefully short of any substance. The bout went 30 minutes, three times longer than any other match on the show and it was the most underwhelming. This segment was slow, deliberate, and at times, just boring. It's surprising to say that given the star power and the talent of CM Punk and Cody Rhodes, but the rather quiet crowd for most of the contest is an example of how they segment had no pace to it. Everything they did up until the last few minutes, when finishers got artificial reactions, was plodding to the point of near silence in the stadium. I'm not sure what they were going for here, but whatever it was, they missed the mark. This wasn't some epic 30-minute classic, it was a world title match that went about twice as long as it had to. Randy Orton returned to costs Cody the title, and they might be the story that is talked about going forward, but the match itself was completely subpar.
The main event was a 10-minute fireworks show. They over did a few things, but if there was a time for it, this was it. It's still difficult to say if Oba Femi is ready to work the standard 20-minute main event matches as a possible champion since we haven't seen longer matches from him, but in terms of perception, this was as strong as he could be put over as the next money-drawing superstar, specifically because of Brock Lesnar's endorsement on the mic. With the amount of retirements of top guys in recent years, and the world title match that flopped on this show, the WWE definitely needs a new young star at the top of the mountain. If Oba is that guy remains to be seen, but this main event victory against Brock Lesnar certainly gives Femi a solid foundation to become a top guy for the company.
