SHAWN PUFF: Holy shit. It’s been a long time! I don’t think we’ve done one of these since COVID. I thought I got us canceled!! Anyway, it’s that time of the year again. Beach weather is upon us and it’s time for the “Biggest Party of the Summer” … wait, since Vince is gone, do we have to use the silly catch phrases and can we finally call them belts again and “drop some E” … I just made that up. … But what’s a party without the RETURN of The Sean & Shawn Show BAY BAY!!!!
SEAN FARRELL: “It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon“ to quote The Cerebral Assassin himself. It’s time to play the game!
SHAWN: OK. Let me start by saying this… Now that Vince is gone, we need to get rid of two brands and two women’s champions. There aren’t even enough females on the roster for that. And if you’re going to stick with that two title idea, at least make it a world and intercontinental championship. But I digress. This was a great opener. I don’t know why Becky wants to be an anime character, but if you really look at it, it’s kind of funny that her eccentric style is, in essence, female Seth Rollins. These two went out there and set the tone and put on a great match to open the show. Bayley returns at the end and then Dakota Kai returns and joins her and then Io Sharai — now called Io Sky — comes up and joins her. … Holy shit. THAT IS HOW YOU OPEN A SHOW. If this is what the Helmsley-McMahon Era is going to look like, I’m in. – 4/5
SEAN: Bianca put a statement on the one-year anniversary of her 26-second loss to Becks the last SummerFest. It never shoulda happened. This show started strong and hot. Becky took her loss and reminded everyone who the real workhorse of the Horsewomen is/was. Bianca has it. Dusty saw it, Hunter saw it, and now y’all can see it. For someone who never got a title run in NXT, she’s shown that she can carry that belt and be a champion. And then we got Bayley, looking like an Oompa Loompa with pants pockets fetish from the 90s X-Men. I kid, I kid. Mostly. Bayley automatically helps increase the quality of the women’s wrestling on both shows and I’m glad she’s back. Buuuuut she Isn’t alone! It’s CONTROL! Io & Dakota?!? I had prognosticated about who would come back to WWE with HHH at the helm. Totally didn’t see this happened. I don’t care what you call Io, she is magic in that ring. Dakota never should have been let go. – 4/5
SHAWN: I don’t want to open each match by saying holy shit, but HOLY SHIT. Logan Paul has had two matches and he’s better than half of either roster. I’m sold. This kid is the real deal and going to make a big impact. I know some people hate this feud, but come on–it writes itself. The new reality star comes in and — of course! — Miz is going to take exception to him. It’s perfect. Does Logan Paul count as a celebrity wrestler anymore since he has a contract now, or is he the hands-down celebrity wrestler of the year once again already?? Oh yeah… and let’s not forget that I’m pretty sure we just saw the setup for Ciampa versus AJ Styles. Thank you, Hunter. – 4/5
SEAN: Well…. Paul got over as a babyface by the end of this match. Good for him. That shows just how damn great The Miz truly is. He understands someone like Paul coming from outside fame and trying to make it in the WWE. Miz did that. Miz climbed the mountain from jabroni dressing in the hallway to beating Cena at Mania for the belt. Logan put in the work and did the right moves. Now let’s see what he can actually do.. wrestling to me is more than just doing moves; tell a story, make me believe. And let’s get Ciampa in the ring now okay? Heard his ol buddy might be looking for work. – 3/5
SHAWN: And another thing, can we please stop dropping names and bring them back actually? I’m referring to him as Austin Theory and not just Theory. Fucking Vince. Also this was the most obvious outcome of the night since Austin Theory has the Money In The Bank briefcase and doesn’t need to win. I actually expected Dolph to get involved or Austin Theory to get disqualified. Don’t get me wrong; it wasn’t a bad match and all, and I’ll say until I’m blue in the face that Austin Theory is the future of the business. – 3/5
SEAN: Short and to the point. Lashley is a monster and Austin didn’t need to be going after two belts. A smart way of getting this done and over with. – 3/5
SHAWN: I’m not gonna say it.. I’m not gonna say hit.. How about, yes, Rey looked young again! I actually enjoyed a Rey Mysterio match, and I didn’t even hate Edge showing back up. Okay… Maybe I did hate that. I wanted the Mysterios to lose and Dominic to turn heel already!! Damn you, Hunter!! – 3.25/5
SEAN: Rey wrestled like he was 20, not like he has been here for 20! Dom still looks like he needs 2-3 years of NXT before coming back to the majors. But that horse is outta the barn and we’ll see if he can rise up to the challenge. Put the mask on kid, that might actually help sell you as an adult. Edge big return, is the…third time he’s done this since his last…big return? I’m sure the IWC is mad it wasn’t Bray/Fiend …. But Edge is always welcomed on my rasslin’ shows. – 3.5/5
SHAWN: Oh Bum-Ass Corbin. Always good for a good laugh. I know people hate him but this guy can turn shit into shitake bacon. Seriously. This was entertaining to start with the “Bum-Ass Corbin Choir”. Pat McAfee is pretty nasty, too, huh? I know he’s good on the stick but get this guy in the ring more. I’m sure they can find someone to take his place– or hire me. Just a thought. Next year, give me McAfee versus Paul for the Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam, please. – 3.75/5
SEAN: Let’s have Corbin be off tv for a while and return as the Lone Wolf. No more goofy-ass mid-card shenanigans. The dude is a big mobile safe-to-work-with guy who doesn’t deserve to be stuck in the mid-card for as long as he has been. He was miscast since his NXT call-up, but now that Daddy is home things should be changed for the better. Pat is someone who I’ve always found to be super entertaining. The law of diminishing returns will catch up to him if he keeps making these infrequent matches, but he never disappoints. Still a better wrestler than Logan Paul, Bad Bunny and Snoop combined. – 3.75/5
SHAWN: Can we acknowledge the Usos are dirty? I mean good dirty. They’re different than FTR and arguably the best high-flying tag team in history. Yeah. I said it. I don’t think I’m ever disappointed with an Usos match and this match was amazingly produced on top of that. Are we gonna see the Street Profits break up because they’re basically just the New Day 2.0 at this point? I guess it’s whatever. They’re just gonna push that clown Montez and his dancing ass. – 4.25/5
SEAN: I think I’m well past this feud. They all work super hard and do all that they can, but ya can’t keep this up forever. SPs shouldn’t split up, and the Uso’s can’t lose until after Roman does. Why are they still carrying both sets of belts? If you’re gonna unify them, unify them. Otherwise, we need/deserve two sets of champs. – 4.25/5
SHAWN: Holy s… Dammit, I almost said it again. But Matt Riddle is here and he’s not medically cleared and he’s calling out Seth!!! I wasn’t expecting this to happen. And Riddle gets curb stomped and that puts a quick end to that. I wonder how long it’s going to put Riddle on the shelf. Brooooooooo… – 3/5
SEAN: I was wondering what was to become of Seth. Was he pulled as backup *break Incase of Brock BooBooFace and doesn’t show*? Was this match cut just to save time for a show that nearly went 4-hours? Got a ton more heat on Seth and Riddle starting the shed that goof skin and hopefully less Orton mannerisms too. – 3.25/5
SHAWN: I guess you can’t go an entire night without a single fuck finish. At least this one made sense. Ronda got screwed. She turned heel, which was very much needed. Liv gets a successful title defense. It’s a win/win. This wasn’t the greatest match of the night but it told a story and it did a good job doing that. – 2.5/5
SEAN: Liv does nothing for me. She always looks scared, and overwhelmed and comes across as a 16-year-old trying to pass herself off as 21. But at least she wants to be there. Rousey is lousy. She’s been a one-trick pony her entire career. Now in two professions. The finish was creative but didn’t really do Liv any favors. Yes she won, yes she tapped, but it got the job done. – 2.25/5
So y’all thought it was a good Idea, in an open air arena, with thunderstorms threatening all day to delay the show, to send DREW out ….. carrying a giant metal sword to promote a PPV 5 weeks away. Well, the promo was solid. Thankfully it wasn’t …. Shocking!
SHAWN: This is the one that nobody was waiting for. Had it been a five-star match it still would go unnoticed because people are sick of Brock versus Roman. What is this, Brock/Roman XXVII?? Fuck. The addition of the tractor was intriguing and you knew it was going to be used somehow. On the other hand, I’d be pissed if I paid ten large to sit front row and have the end of the main event blocked by the ring half lifted in the air. PISSED. Haha — but they gave us the whole shebang. Theory almost cashed in but got knocked the fuck out instead. The Usos get involved and get manhandled for a bit. Brock gets put down about five times and somehow gets back to his feet each time, but the numbers game is eventually too much. You know the drill. Now acknowledge your tribal chief. – 4.25/5
SEAN: Then. Now. Together. Forever. It feels like every time these two clash everyone is mad they’re doing it again. Not me. I loved this. It was bonkers. Brock driving the tracker, doing his own mic introduction, Roman nonchalantly catching said mic, and then BANG A GONG it was on! Instead of one move and standing around and gawking Brock was going 100 mph right from the get-go and Roman did all that he could to survive the Alpha male. Once Roman got his time he took it to the Beast and they literally beat each other from pillar to post. Brock and that ring destruction were hilarious and I sorta feel bad for those ringside seats. But it is what it is. Heyman got F5’ed! The ending was great. If this was Brock’s legit swan song, what a hell of a way to end a career. The only way he was stopped was by dropping the damn building on him. – 4.75/5
SHAWN: This was a really good show. Probably the best WWE pay-per-view since sometime Pre-COVID. The rumors are swirling as to who’s going to be brought back into the fold and what’s going to happen to NXT now that the regime has changed. But if last night is any sign of what the future of this company is going to be about then I’m in and I’m sure by this time next year WWE will be the place to be again. I can’t wait to see what happens this week and move forward. I think the future is bright in the E. And let’s not forget that we’re calling the WRESTLERS again. Michael Cole was actually good tonight! In fact, that whole announce team was good. Sean, I’m sure you appreciated that.
Matches = 3.5/5, Entertainment = 4.5/5, Overall = 4/5 Whiskeys
SEAN: Everything about this show was great. You can’t change everything overnight. It’s an aircraft carrier, not a sailboat. Start with the verbiage, and have the announcers announce! Cole was a fanatic! Saxton was great! Corey got to be Corey again! Wrestlers getting more say in what they say and how they say it! “Banned moves” back because the 700-year-old man isn’t around anymore. This should have happened 10-years ago not 10 days. I’m excited about the future of this company. Everything is changed. As the man in the black hat likes to say “Business, is about to pick up !”
Matches = 3.5/5, Entertainment = 5/5, Overall = 4.25/5 Whiskeys.
A WWE PPV with 4-4.25 Whiskey Bibles… When was the last time that happened?!
-Shawn Puff & Sean Farrell
