4 reasons why SummerSlam was the best WWE pay-per-view of 2018 so far

SummerSlam is now in the books, and it has certainly delivered well for the fans. Expectations heading into the show were pretty low, particularly for the Raw side of things, but the show was really enjoyable for a number of reasons. Even if the main reason for the success of SummerSlam was Smackdown's lineup of matches, there really isn't much one can complain about from the events that transpired last night.

Heading into the fall, WWE certainly seems much more interesting and hopefully, they can capitalise on this buzz to provide an enjoyable product for us. Every year there seems to be a lull in WWE programming during this period but there is some potential here. SummerSlam has provided us with a new beacon of hope for the product and hopefully, WWE will build on a really good show.

This has been the best WWE pay-per-view of the year, closely beating Royal Rumble. While the strength of the two Royal Rumble matches makes the January special the brilliant show it was, SummerSlam had a more diverse field of impressive and satisfying matches. WWE would do extremely well if they are to put on a better show in 2018. Here are four reasons why SummerSlam indeed was the best WWE main roster pay-per-view of 2018, so far.

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#4 Excellent opening match

Seth Rollins makes a fantastic Intercontinental Champion.

The main show began with a bang, as Seth Rollins recaptured his Intercontinental Championship from Dolph Ziggler. In doing this, Rollins has now won the IC title in the opener of WWE's two biggest shows his year, WrestleMania and SummerSlam. With Dean Ambrose and Drew McIntyre at ringside, the two master technicians slowly crafted a classic which will likely be remembered as the best match of this Rollins vs Ziggler feud.

This match continued the brilliant renaissance of the “workhorse title” and Rollins’ title victory will hopefully lead to more enjoyable weekly defences on Raw. It also set the tone for an incredibly fun evening of action with a well-received victory for a hugely popular babyface. After the unfortunately countdown-heavy Extreme Rules main event between the pair, this was the perfect redemption. Dolph Ziggler and Seth Rollins have a stellar pay-per-view match to show for their enthralling rivalry, which began exactly two months ago.

The Intercontinental Championship is the perfect belt to open a pay-per-view in most scenarios, as it is always better if a show begins with a great wrestling match with the crowd being fresh as a daisy. The fans in Brooklyn loved the entire segment, from the moment Dean Ambrose's music hit until the two brothers returned to the back, with the IC title. This was the perfect match to open and while it was excellent, it would not overshadow the rest of the fun action on the show.

#3 Supreme storytelling from Smackdown

AJ Styles and Samoa Joe had a personal and intense battle.

Smackdown had a fantastic build-up to SummerSlam, littered with fantastic wrestling, great character development and exquisite production value. Most of the night’s eagerly anticipated matches were from the blue brand, and they delivered. Pretty much every match from Smackdown was good, if not great. Becky Lynch's post-match heel turn was fantastic, even if the crowd in the Barclays Centre heavily favoured the Irish Lass Kicker. The New Day and the Bludgeon Brothers had a really fun, spot-heavy match before it was abruptly ended by disqualification.

But the two most revered matches on the show, along with the IC title opener, stemmed from personal issues of varying degrees. AJ Styles and Samoa Joe had a brutal WWE Championship match, one which was actually so good that it didn’t really matter if the finish was inconclusive. Joe made some mid-match comments about Styles’ family that kicked the Champ into another gear. He lost his cool, and the match by disqualification. However, it did make perfect sense and we are set to see them face off inside Hell in a Cell in what surely promises to be an even better match.

Right after that, we got the most anticipated match of the year, between Daniel Bryan and The Miz. It was a match that was made in storytelling heaven, giving us some really fun moments throughout the 20-plus minute length. The action was enthralling and intense, even if the crowd was surprisingly dead for portions of the bout. Miz and Bryan did have the crowd back, as the match finished with Brooklyn wanting more. A Maryse assisted victory for The Miz is only the beginning of this program between the two and no matter when the rematch is, both Miz and Bryan should be proud of this effort.

Smackdown's theme for SummerSlam was storyline progression, and they did it really well.

#2 Short and sweet from Raw

The Demon's appearance was a nice surprise.

As mentioned earlier, Raw’s build-up to the Biggest Party Of The Summer was not the best. In fact, it was pretty average, with only the top matches picking steam towards the last few weeks. Also, the action was also not the most exciting WWE had to offer.

Matches such as Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar, Kevin Owens vs Braun Strowman and Finn Balor vs Baron Corbin were all rematches from previous pay-per-views, that did not impress. There was no reason for us to be excited for, or see any of it. But they did make them all worthwhile and kept them as short as possible.

Kevin Owens vs Braun Strowman was predictably a squash match and did not need to be anything more, although Owens desperately requires something new. WWE brought out the Demon, in a great surprise, to face Baron Corbin, completely justifying the inclusion of Balor vs Corbin on the SummerSlam main card.

Both Owens and Corbin got zero offence in during their respective matches. Also, Ronda Rousey vs Alexa Bliss lasted four minutes in a weird but satisfying match for the Raw Women's Championship. WWE avoided drawing out any of the matches beyond their prime efficiency, this saved the crowd’s energy for the matches that would steal the show.

However, the booking of the main event must go down as a genius move, if a little backward and misleading. In order to avoid the crowd completely crapping on Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar, Braun Strowman came out and announced that he was cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase on the winner. This kept fan interest and excitement levels up, knowing that Strowman was going to face the winner of the match.

However, the Monster was taken out of the equation by Lesnar during the match and Roman Reigns finally defeated the Beast to win the Universal Championship. The match only lasted six minutes, continuing the trend of Raw’s bouts being kept short and sweet.

The crowd was into Reigns winning as they thought that Strowman was going to cash in, but it did not happen. The Big Dog stood tall at the end of the show, as the Brooklyn crowd was baited into cheering for the one guy they hated with a passion.

Now that the WWE universe has been trolled by the company in such a way, the cheers will not stick. Despite what is to follow, fair play must be given to WWE for achieving the impossible. They got the crowd to cheer for Roman Reigns as he finally beat Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship.

#1 Great booking throughout the card

The nightmare is finally over.

Overall, SummerSlam was filled with some great action in places, satisfying conclusions in places and good storytelling in places. It was a strong night for WWE for all sorts of viewers, just like how a WrestleMania should be.

The mainstream viewers were treated to a dominant victory for Ronda Rousey, the casual fans enjoyed the coronation of Roman Reigns and the smarter fans got a night filled with great matches and moments, from Seth Rollins winning the Intercontinental Championship, to the hard-hitting WWE title match, to the excellent bout between Daniel Bryan and The Miz.

On the Smackdown side of things, we got the first instalment in multiple feuds as while the finishes to the matches were not as exciting, they all made sense to the story. The New Day will get another shot at the Bludgeon Brothers, while Styles and Joe will have another brutal bout.

Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair are set to have a barnburner of a feud in the women's division, while The Miz vs Daniel Bryan is far from over. Except for Nakamura beating Jeff Hardy, every SummerSlam match for the blue brand was a continuation in the various stories on show for us, as Smackdown will continue to wow us on a weekly basis.

Raw, on the other hand, focused on ending ongoing rivalries. For all the rematches on the show, we did get a host of satisfying finishes. The babyface came out on top in every match from the Raw brand and that too in convincing fashion. While there will be rematches for certain titles, we are going to get fresh storylines on the flagship show of WWE.

Hopefully, these new storylines do make the show better and more watchable. From the Demon beating Baron Corbin, to Ronda Rousey tearing Alexa Bliss apart, to Roman Reigns finally conquering Brock Lesnar, SummerSlam did a great job in providing good conclusions to current feuds.

The main reason why SummerSlam was the best main roster show of 2018 is that pretty much every outcome on the show was logical, pretty shocking for WWE. Along with that, we got a fun night which was filled with great action and fulfilling moments. This, WWE, is the right way to book a four-hour show.