After weeks of miserable SummerSlam build, with promo segments for the top titles ending every single show, I was thrilled to have a surprise street fight between Royce Keys and Jacob Fatu as the main event tonight. I did think that it would end in shenanigans, with Roman Reigns, LA Knight and the Usos running out to get involved. That wasn’t the case, thankfully, and Fatu beat Keys clean — well, as clean as one can in a street fight — then brutalized him further to end the show.
I loved the way they set it up earlier in the night, with Reigns asking Fatu why he kept hearing that he was friends with Keys. Reigns guilted Fatu, telling him Keys was just one of the boys, he isn’t family, something Fatu repeated to Keys in a backstage segment later on in the night when he challenged him to the match.
I thought the match was pretty great, as someone who loves a good stipulation bout. Fatu seems like he’s really been working on his selling, and he looks fantastic. Keys sent him tumbling over the steps toward the beginning of the match, and he made the relatively simple bump look dramatic, but in a good way. They spent a lot of time fighting outside of the ring in the first half, as they should, and I loved how Fatu was yelling at his former friend all throughout the match, telling him that he has to do this.
They had a bunch of chairs inside of the ring, which looked wild, and both men were taking moves on top of them like crazy. The first pinfall attempt of the match didn’t happen until late, at which point I thought to myself that they were getting plenty of time, more than I thought without any interference.
In the end, it was Fatu who hit the mighty moonsault after sending Keys through a table, then he locked in the Tongan Death Grip to make Keys pass out. He wouldn’t let go of the hold, which was brutal, and looked even more so thanks to a blood capsule in Keys’ mouth. Fatu continued the brutal attack and nailed Keys, who had a chair around his neck, with a hip attack in the corner.
It all brought out Reigns, who acknowledged Fatu, and Fatu didn’t look remorseful about anything he did to his former friend. I remain interested in the “Samoan Werewolf’s” story arc, and if Oba Femi wasn’t lurking around the picture, I’d be hoping he would be the man to dethrone Reigns. With Femi, I’m not sure where Fatu fits in, but he’s still doing a hell of a job at standing out.
Written by Daisy Ruth
Read the full article here
