WWE SummerSlam 2018: Results, Highlights, and Grades

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Zelina Vega & Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. Lana & Rusev (Kickoff Show)

Result: Zelina Vega & Andrade “Cien” Almas defeated Lana & Rusev via pinfall

Rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars

First bummer of the night: Aiden English getting the cold shoulder from the Lion of Bulgaria. It’s totally justified based on the past, like, six months, it seems, but on a night where I’m anticipating a ton of bummers, you don’t want to see one so early in the show.

It’s also a little disappointing that this is the show opener with the crowd still filtering into the building, but someone had to do it. At the very least, it’s a good sign that the two championship matches on the Kickoff Show would get some decent time.

I’m going to try my best not to seem jaded after being live for TakeOver last night, but the difference in quality between the two opening tag matches was staggering. That may be an unfair criticism, considering Lana’s relative inexperience in the ring. But the big close to the match featuring Lana and Vega was incredibly sloppy.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1031298069478879232

I feel like this should go without saying, but if the big finish to your match is “using your feet to get leverage,” you should damn well make sure you’re not too far away and can actually reach the ropes. Vega’s like three apples tall, so that was a huge spot to make sure you nail.

https://twitter.com/WWEUniverse/status/1031296112072654854

Rusev and Almas were perfectly fine, but the story here is the rivalry between Lana and Vega. So the gents didn’t get a whole lot to do, which is whatever. Lana has improved to All Red Everything levels of in-ring ability, which is nice, but this was a rough way to open the show.