Roman Reigns spiked, high praise for Chelsea Green, G1 Climax finale

The episode opens with well-wishes for the Doctor of Style Slick, who suffered a heart attack and underwent open heart surgery but is reportedly recovering. Solomon discusses the context of Slick's career and his father Rufus Jones's similar cardiac event.

On SmackDown, CM Punk and Kevin Owens had a heated face-to-face promo ahead of their WWE Championship match in Toronto. Solomon contextualizes their history dating back to Ring of Honor in 2005, specifically the infamous t-shirt incident where Punk verbally attacked the young Owens in front of the locker room. The modern promo referenced this history while exploring themes of arrogance and accomplishments. Solomon notes Owens is 0-11 in WWE Championship matches and predicts he'll go 0-12, likely with Sami Zayn interference setting up future storylines.

Chelsea Green's opening segment on SmackDown received high praise from Mickey James (wife of GM Nick Aldis), who called it one of the greatest promos she's ever watched. Chelsea cut an emotional promo about overcoming doubt and embarrassment throughout her career after winning the interim Women's Championship at SummerSlam. Nick Aldis initially threatened to strip her of the title due to her broken orbital bone but ultimately gave her 30 days to get medically cleared, allowing her to retain the championship. Solomon praises the segment's quality but questions the inconsistent enforcement of title defense rules compared to previous reigns.

Gunther interrupted Chelsea's celebration, mocking her, which led Matt Cardona to intervene and take a beating. Solomon notes Gunther's directionless position and proposes a potential Gunther vs. Ilya Dragunov program. He then addresses Dragunov's mysterious absence from WWE television since April, revealing that WrestleVotes sources suggested WWE's analytics-driven "Moneyball" approach may be responsible. Analytics apparently show poor viewership numbers for Dragunov content, resulting in minimal television time despite his talent and previous fan support during his U.S. Championship run.

Tiffany Stratton lost her Women's U.S. Championship to JC Jane with a spot where she chose to help her friend Chelsea against Fatal Influence, setting up a potential future program. The MFTs (Tama Tonga and Tala Tonga with Haku) won the tag team titles, and Shinsuke Nakamura revealed his new tag partner to face them will be Hiromu Takahashi via silhouette.

On Raw, Solo Sokoa definitively turned on Roman Reigns by spiking him instead of LA Knight after being instructed to attack Knight as a test of his loyalty to the bloodline. Roman had bestowed Ula Fala necklaces upon Jimmy and Jey Uso as "made men" captains, but Jacob Fatu received nothing despite his service, creating visible tension. LA Knight and Solo then worked together against the bloodline, setting up a championship program between Knight and Reigns, likely at Money in the Bank in October. Solomon remains skeptical that WWE will actually push Knight to the championship despite three years of crowd support.

AJ Styles publicly endorsed LA Knight for the World Heavyweight Championship on his podcast, stating Knight has never been more ready and possesses all the tools needed. Solomon agrees but maintains his pessimistic stance about WWE's booking decisions.

Chad Gable retained his Intercontinental Championship against Rey Mysterio in what Solomon calls easily the best in-ring work of Raw. At age 50, Rey performed aerial offense and athleticism that defies his age and extensive injury history.

The Luchadores tournament to determine Roman's next challenger is advancing with Penta facing La Parca next round, and Dragon Lee vs. Rey Fenix in the other semifinal. The finals will occur on August 31st Raw, with the championship match set for September 14th in Mexico City. Solomon theorizes the dream match of Penta vs. Rey Fenix will be avoided for Worlds Collide on September 26th in Chicago, potentially setting up a multi-team trios match with the Usos and Lucha Bros.

In AEW, the Continental Cup tournament is progressing with Jon Moxley vs. Jay White occurring tomorrow night. Solomon predicts Jay White will upset Moxley, creating a more interesting finals scenario. The AEW All In card from Wembley Stadium now includes eight confirmed matches and is tracking toward 45,000 attendance.

Zilla Fatu made his surprise NXT debut, interfering in a main event and eyeing the NXT Championship held by Tony D'Angelo. Solomon predicts Zilla could win the title at Heat Wave in Texas, his home state. Lance Anoaʻi announced his retirement in March 2027 after nearly 17 years in wrestling, citing desire to spend more time with his family after years of weekend wrestling commitments.

The New Japan G1 Climax was won by Riohei Oiwa, who defeated Yuya Uemura with a headlock submission. Oiwa will challenge IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji on October 12th at King of Pro Wrestling rather than at the traditional Wrestle Kingdom date.

WOW Women of Wrestling announced Season 5 expansion including the first live broadcast from LA Live in downtown Los Angeles and increased on-camera presence from co-owner Jeannie Buss. Solomon expresses hope this doesn't become a "Dixie Carter 2.0" situation.

The Q&A segment addresses multiple topics including hypothetical scenarios for Jake the Snake Roberts if he hadn't left WWF in 1992, insights into Sunny Ono's discrimination lawsuit against WCW and Vince Russo, and historical wrestling viewing practices like scrambled pay-per-view during the analog cable era.