Top 5 Takeaways from WWE SummerSlam PPV

Top 5 Takeaways from WWE SummerSlam PPV

By Anton Ware

8-21-17

Hello Geektified family! It's time for another monthly review as we cover WWE’s 2nd biggest show of the year, SummerSlam. The Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY hosts the event for the third straight time which coincides with the 30th edition of the show. With 13 matches and eight titles up for grabs, WWE looked to hit a home run to showcase their best and brightest. So what were the highlights, you ask? Well look no further because Geektified has you covered.

#5: Ladies Night

Summerslam was not kind to former cheerleaders as both Naomi and Alexa Bliss lost their respective titles last night. With the Smackdown Women’s Championship, Natayla ended her near seven-year drought and became a title holder once again. The last time she won gold was at the Survivor Series 2010 show against Lay-Cool. Since that loss, she’s been regulated to reality shows, dancing with the Great Khali and mentoring younger stars, but on this night, she finally proved that she could still hang with the next generation of women stars and ascend to the top of women’s wrestling. Over on RAW, Sasha Banks won her 4th RAW Women’s championship by tapping out Alexa Bliss. Summerslam hasn’t been kind to Sasha in the past, as this was her first win on the big show. In a twist of luck, Sasha Banks wasn’t originally supposed to be on the card as Bayley had won the right to face Bliss until she suffered a shoulder injury during a match against Nia Jax a few weeks ago on Raw. With the RAW Women’s Title in her possession, The Boss is back on top and the rest of the competition should beware.

#4: Enzo Amore: Human Crash Test Dummy

Big Cass faced off against The Big Show in a regular one on one singles match while Enzo Amore was locked inside a shark cage suspended above the ring. As the match progressed, Enzo managed to strip down to his boxers, lather himself with oil, slip through the bars of the cage and climb down to the ring, only to immediately catch a big boot by his former friend Big Cass. Cass finished off Big Show with a boot for the win. The prospects of Enzo Amore succeeding as a singles competitor doesn’t look promising. It seems like every week he ends up getting pinned for the three count or getting knocked out. He even managed to get laid unconscious in a match that he wasn’t even in. It's time for Enzo to move on and leave Cass be. The more he tries to 1UP Cass, the more he comes out looking inferior. Either he can move to Smackdown or the Cruiserweight Division, but if whatever he chooses, he MUST get away from Cass and this rivalry.

#3: Tag Team Excellence

Not only did we get two women’s title changes, we got two tag title changes from both brands.  From Smackdown, The Usos invoked their rematch clause against The New Day in a thrilling contest. Jimmy and Jey won back the straps by performing a Double Samoan Splash on Big E to become four-time Tag Team Champions.  The Usos are creating a tag dynasty in WWE and before it's over, they’ll go down as one of the best tag teams in the modern era. With a tag dynasty brewing, another one is reforming as former Shield stablemates Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose challenged The Bar, Cesaro and Sheamus for the RAW Tag Titles. At first, the Hounds of Justice seem to have trouble working out the wrinkles of teaming together with missed tag opportunities, but eventually would get on the same page and turn up the offense against The Europeans. Finishing sequence saw Ambrose and Rollins counter The Bar’s double team finisher by hitting Sheamus with the straight-jacket high knee (Rollins) and Dirty Deeds (Ambrose) for the win! Fun fact: This is Ambrose’s first tag title win and officially makes him a Grand Slam Champion. Speaking of this match…

#2: Cesaro Is Not A Fan Of #BeachBallCity

Note to any wrestling fan attending a wrestling event: the performers don’t appreciate when you try to entertain yourself when they’re trying to put on an exhibition for you. Please be respectful and enjoy the show.

#1: Lesnar Retains The Title, But Strowman Steals The Show

The Fatal 4-Way match for the Universal title was absolute chaos. Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe and Brock Lesnar were four pissed-off brawlers looking to leave Brooklyn, New York as a champion and what a war they had. It was exactly as you’d expect: big, strong men with uncanny agility using all kinds of plunder to destroy one another. In the end, Brock Lesnar would retain the title by delivering an F5 to Roman Reigns, but the MVP of the contest was the Monster Among Men, Braun Strowman. It may have been #SuplexCity for moments of the contest, but Strowman was having none of it and proceeded to manhandle Lesnar by powerslamming him through TWO announce tables and flipping the third one on top of him. This punishment was so severe that Lesnar had to be stretchered out, only to come back in a rage. Even though a proper one-on-one brawl hasn't happen between the two, it's only inevitable that a Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman title match is upon us. The question is when? No Mercy next month? Survivor Series? Only time will tell.

-So what did you guys think of the show? Hit or miss? Let me know in the comments section. Thanks for reading!

-Anton