LA Knight, IYO SKY, Slim Jim And Lots More Exclusive Notes From WWE Summerslam 2023

Below are a bunch of news and notes behind the WWE Summerslam show

– There were numerous indie wrestlers and other talent that attended the show that were in town for GCW and WrestleCon.

– We’re not told how far ahead IYO SKY was informed she’d be winning the title, but we were told it wasn’t a last minute booking decision.

– Contrary to Triple H’s press conference quote, Vince McMahon was heavily involved in “final say” aspects of WWE creative ahead of his surgery.

– Though Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus and Raquel Rodriguez vs. Rhea Ripley weren’t announced for Summerslam, there were several involved who had family and friends planning to attend before the changes.

– Montez Ford made his way into Detroit for the show.

– In case you couldn’t tell, the battle royal was done specifically as a vehicle for the Slim Jim partnership and LA Knight’s involvement in it.

– We asked, but weren’t given a number on the Slim Jim sponsorship, but was told it was “huge.” Sponsorships have because a huge revenue driver for WWE.

– A contact at Slim Jim that we spoke to said they were ecstatic to have LA Knight involved, and also requested Bianca Belair.

– The show went slightly over time. Most matches were roughly scheduled for 15 minutes. We’re told that a couple of matches went slightly over time, and some went way under time. We haven’t been told that any matches egregiously went past their planned time.

– As mentioned last night, Ronda Rousey had been adamant that she wanted to team with Shayna Baszler, then put her over before taking time off.

– Bobby Roode wasn’t listed internally as a producer, but we’ll try to find out if and how he contributed.

– A reminder, not only did Fightful Select not report that Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt were going to be on Summerslam, we reported they weren’t cleared and weren’t likely for the show. WWE were hoping fans didn’t set unrealistic expectations for Summerslam based on the unfounded rumors.

– Titus O’Neil, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Zoey Stark, Baron Corbin, Chelsea Green, Big E, Maxxine Dupri were brought in for Summerslam weekend

– Maximum Male Models, Nikki Cross, Johnny Gargano, Dexter Lumis, Indi Hartwell, Candice LeRae weren’t in town

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