Wrestling Uncensored hosts Dave Simon and Johnny North delivered their latest WWE analysis, breaking down a SmackDown episode that left much to be desired and a SummerSlam card that continues to evolve into what could be WWE’s longest event ever.
Here’s the article with all quotations and citations in bold:
Wrestling Uncensored hosts Dave Simon and Johnny North delivered their latest WWE analysis, breaking down a SmackDown episode that left much to be desired and a SummerSlam card that continues to evolve into what could be WWE’s longest event ever.
SmackDown Review: A Night to Forget
Following their emotional tribute to Hulk Hogan, the hosts turned their attention to Friday night’s SmackDown, which Dave bluntly described as “a big pile of nothing.”
The show’s biggest storyline development came through a segment that left both hosts scratching their heads. “Logan Paul comes to the ring and he’s doing a promo and I go, this is far from the Hulkster brother, this is not that at all,” Dave observed, clearly unimpressed with the transition from honoring wrestling’s greatest legend to featuring social media personalities.
Jelly Roll’s Wrestling Debut Falls Flat
The evening’s most cringe-worthy moment occurred when country music star Jelly Roll interrupted Logan Paul, resulting in what the hosts described as an embarrassing display of amateur wrestling.
“Then it got worse because this non-wrestler Logan Paul is interrupted by another non-wrestler, a 40-year-old out-of-shape non-athletic musician named Jelly Roll,” Dave recounted with evident frustration.
The segment deteriorated further when Jelly Roll attempted to deliver wrestling moves: “Jelly Roll is delivering the worst forearms, maybe ever, to Logan Paul, just terrible in the corner. They’re helping Jelly Roll through this. Logan threw a clothesline that Jelly Roll was supposed to duck, but god, he didn’t duck… he just kind of slightly lowered his head, and Logan just sailed over the top.“
Dave didn’t hold back his criticism: “Logan Paul thinks he’s making Jelly Roll look good, but he’s overselling and overdoing it and making it look even worse than it is… Jelly Roll, I mean, he’s worse than Logan Paul… the only thing that this is accomplishing is making Logan Paul look good-ish.”
WWE Women’s Division Mishaps
The women’s division provided its share of issues during a match between Roxanne Perez and Alexa Bliss that resulted in an unexpected injury.
“Broke her nose, did she break her nose? Alexa did like a Twisted Bliss off the top to the outside on Rhea Ripley, and it looked like she hurt herself doing it,” Dave noted, describing how the botched spot led to Alexa Bliss suffering a broken nose.
Johnny explained the sequence: “The way she landed it was all wrong because Rhea Ripley was like waiting forever for… and then it had to move Charlotte out of the way… and I think by doing that like her position was kind of off a bit the way she was like supposed to catch her, so yeah the way she caught her kind of like in her midsection or midsection like her face hit Rhea Ripley’s midsection.”
The injury was worked into the finish, with “she comes back in and it’s supposed to be like the distraction and then Roxanne rolls her up, puts her hand on the ropes and gets the one two three. It looked good, but it wasn’t supposed to happen.”
Tag Team Division Gets Chaotic
Tonight’s SmackDown’s main event dissolved into chaos, setting up what could be one of SummerSlam’s most demanding matches. “The Wyatt Sicks, Andrade, and Rey Fenix ended in a disqualification when Nikki Cross just interfered, and the match just ended, which sucked. It was just a tag team title match, just kind of a bloop over, and then it was just a big melee,” Dave described.
The brawl led to a significant announcement: “Nick Aldis announcing a six-team TLC match for the SmackDown tag titles at SummerSlam… and that match will be… I’m guessing it’ll be on night two because night one already has six matches, night two only has five so far.”
SummerSlam 2025: A Two-Night Marathon in the Making
The hosts expressed concern about SummerSlam‘s potential length, with Johnny predicting “at least four to five hours each night,” while Dave remained skeptical: “I think that’s nuts, I don’t think it’s gonna be that long, I think it’ll be maybe three or four, which I can handle.”
Dave set clear boundaries for his own viewing experience: “If it’s like really long, like if it is over four hours, I’m not doing a post-show because that’s crazy… anything over four, I’m like, what the hell are they doing, stop the wrestling now.”
SummerSlam 2025 Night One Card Analysis
The currently announced Night One lineup includes:
- Tiffany Stratton vs. Jade Cargill for the WWE Women’s Championship
- Randy Orton & Jelly Roll vs. Drew McIntyre & Logan Paul in a tag team match
- Gunther vs. CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship
- Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez vs. Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss for the Women’s Tag Team Championships
- Roman Reigns & Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed in a tag team match
- Sami Zayn vs. Karrion Kross in a singles match
Dave expressed mixed feelings about the card: “Out of the six, I want to see four. I don’t want to see the Randy/Jelly match or Sami and Kross, but the other matches I want to see.”
Night Two’s Gimmick-Heavy Lineup
Night Two appears to be shaping up as the more stipulation-heavy evening:
- John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship in a Street Fight (Main Event)
- Naomi vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Iyo Sky for the Women’s World Championship in a Triple Threat
- Becky Lynch vs. Lyra Valkyria for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship in a No DQ, No Count Out, Last Chance Match
- Solo Sikoa vs. Jacob Fatu for the WWE United States Championship in a Steel Cage Match
- Dominik Mysterio vs. AJ Styles for the Intercontinental Championship
- Six-team TLC Match for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships
Dave noted the stark contrast between the two nights: “Night one has no gimmick matches, night two is all gimmick matches, that’s weird… do you add the tag team TLC to that, or do you put it on night one?”
Individual Match Predictions and Analysis
The Jelly Roll Factor
The hosts couldn’t hide their disdain for the Randy Orton/Jelly Roll vs. Drew McIntyre/Logan Paul tag team match.
“This match at SummerSlam is gonna be terrible, just awful, and to waste my time on SmackDown with this was bad,” Dave declared, adding: “Where Randy is Hogan and he’s got Jelly Roll with him, I mean, but Carl Malone, played in the NBA, Jelly Roll sings songs.”
The comparison to past celebrity wrestling involvement left the hosts unimpressed: “At least with Logan Paul, he kind of boxed Floyd Mayweather before being in WWE, he was in the like athlete space… Jelly Roll, I mean, he’s no Bad Bunny, I tell you that much.”
Championship Picture Concerns
Dave expressed particular interest in sure matches while showing concern about others: “Night two, there’s like two matches I want to see out of the five, Cena and Cody, and the Naomi match… honestly, I don’t care about Jacob and Solo anymore, the steel cage, I don’t care.”
The Gunther vs. CM Punk match drew attention as potentially being “the main event of night one” since “nothing else on this one could main event.”
Women’s Division Spotlight
The hosts showed genuine interest in several women’s matches, particularly praising the depth of competition: “The Naomi match against Rhea and Iyo, I’m interested in… the women’s tag match like Roxanne and Raquel against Charlotte and Alexa, like are Charlotte and Bliss gonna win the belts here, like I’m interested in that.”
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Current WWE Landscape Analysis
The hosts provided a broader context about WWE’s current direction, with Dave noting the continued celebrity integration: “WWE Hollywood. That’s what it is now. Hollywood. They push forward.”
They also discussed the challenge of balancing entertainment value with wrestling tradition, especially in the wake of losing legends like Hulk Hogan: “What you have to offer is not good. This is particularly offensive, Jelly Roll… cancel SmackDown and do Hogan video packages the rest of the show because what you have to offer is not good.”
Looking Ahead: Post-SummerSlam Plans
The hosts confirmed their plans for comprehensive coverage: “We’re gonna do like a full SummerSlam recap after night two… yeah, because I’m gonna be out of town on the Saturday, so and then I’m on vacation that following week so that I could stay up late on Sunday night.”
However, Dave maintained his stance on show length: “If it is over four hours, I’m not doing a post-show because that’s crazy.”
Bottom Line
SummerSlam 2025 is shaping up to be WWE’s most ambitious event in years, with two nights of programming that could potentially run eight to ten hours combined. While the card features several intriguing matches and compelling storylines, the hosts’ analysis suggests WWE may be stretching itself thin with celebrity involvement and gimmick-heavy booking.
The contrast between Night One’s traditional matches and Night Two’s stipulation-heavy card creates an interesting dynamic. However, questions remain about whether the audience will have the stamina for such an extended weekend of wrestling entertainment.
Most concerning for longtime fans is the quality control issues evident on weekly television, as demonstrated by SmackDown’s disappointing showing. If WWE wants SummerSlam to be “the biggest party of the summer, truly,” they’ll need to tighten up their weekly product and ensure their celebrity guests can deliver performances worthy of the grand stage.
Key Takeaways:
- SummerSlam 2025 could be WWE’s longest event ever at 8-10 hours across two nights
- Celebrity involvement continues to divide wrestling purists and entertainment fans
- Women’s division remains a bright spot despite occasional botches
- Tag team divisions are getting major spotlight with multiple championship matches
- Quality control on weekly television remains a concern heading into the company’s biggest summer event
📺 Watch Wrestling Uncensored live Fridays at 10 PM ET on YouTube, Rumble, Twitch, and Kick.
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💬 Join the Wrestling Uncensored community and share your SummerSlam predictions!
📺 Watch Wrestling Uncensored live Fridays at 10 PM ET on YouTube, Rumble, Twitch, and Kick.
🎧 Listen to the podcast on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
🛍️ Grab exclusive merch at merch.ringsidereport.net
💬 Join the Wrestling Uncensored community and share your SummerSlam predictions!
