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With SummerSlam wrapping only hours before, WWE's "Biggest Party of the Summer" has come to an end - filled with controversial, surelle, and shocking moments.
WWE performed in front of over 50,000 people in Allegiant Stadium, this marked the largest crowd WWE had preformed in front of since the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Double their attendance from this year's WrestleMania.
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With that said, WWE was tasked with delivering an above-average show, with some seriously high profiled matches booked for the card. Did WWE SummerSlam live up to the hype? Did WWE manage to steal some shine away from AEW's recent attention with the return of CM Punk? Let us know what you think in the comment section below!
New Champs in WWE! More RIGHT HERE
But before you do, here are 5 major takeaways from WWE SummerSlam.
Check out 5 Botches from SummerSlam You Probably Missed here!
#5) Tag Team Wrestling in WWE is slowly coming back
SummerSlam was a night full of big surprises and returns. Some of the smaller details of the event may have been missed by some fans - including the fact that both WWE (RAW & SmackDown!) Tag Team Championship matches were treated with a substantial amount of respect and pulled some impressive crowd reactions.
On the RAW side of things, Randy Orton and fellow "RK-BRO" teammate Riddle managed to defeat AJ Styles and Omos to win the WWE RAW Tag Team Championships. In a short affair, WWE did a great job getting fans interested and excited about both Styles and Omos' dynamic and the team of Orton and Riddle.
Tag Team Wrestling has reached some low points in WWE's recent history, with the RAW Tag Team Championships sometimes bearing the brunt of the damage. Many fans have felt that the RAW tag team championships have either been forgotten or directionless. Now, the titles are on a fan favorite tag team. Regardless of whom they face next, they will make every title defense an entertaining bout.
For the blue brand, the father-son duo of Dominik and Rey Mysterio could not defeat Jimmy and Jey Uso, with the wardens of the Uso Penitentiary standing tall at the end of the bout. Regardless, the four men had a real chance to shine, with WWE giving them over 10 minutes - more than most of the undercard - to show off what they could do.
On the first anniversary of Dominik Mysterio's debut in WWE, the young superstar has shown that he knows his way around a WWE ring and belongs on the main card. Chemistry with his father and future Hall of Famer, Rey Mysterio, could not possibly get any better, and Dominik is slowly becoming his character - rather than just "Rey's son."
What's clear is that the Mysterios will continue to play a role in the SmackDown tag team title scene while also not being the only team in the mix, as they have been for the last month or so.
#4) Damian Priest gets his biggest win in WWE (so far)
Winning titles in NXT and tag-teaming with Bad Bunny at WrestleMania is great and all, but in WWE, winning championships on the main roster is an actual test of the WWE creative's trust in a superstar. Damian Priest has so far done everything that WWE has assigned him to do, and his stock has only risen every day since making his debut on the main roster earlier this year.
At SummerSlam, his position in WWE only got stronger as he defeated the Celtic Warrior, Sheamus, to capture the WWE United States Championship in a solid match, winning his first main roster championship in the process.
In the nearly 14 minute bout (the second-longest title match on the entire card), Priest showed resilience and great skill against the former WWE Champion. Many have seen him as someone who has vast potential in WWE if given a chance, and so far, every chance he's been given, he's knocked out of the park.
It is also good to see the United States Championship have a proper showing on a WWE Pay-Per-View. Unfortunately, the US title is seen as one of the company's weaker titles, far removed from when John Cena held it. With that said, it is often either entirely left off of WWE programming or hastily booked
However, this time was different as Preist and Sheamus kept the WWE universe on the edge of their seats, in an absolute slugfest. Both are giving the championship some much-needed airtime and renewed interest.
Riddle reveals how RK-Bro will celebrate winning the Tag Team Championships
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#3) What's Old is New Again: WWE gets new Women's Champions on both RAW and SmackDown
SummerSlam was not a good night for both Women's Champions - Bianca Belair and Nikki A.S.H. Both women lost their championships in crushing fashion, forcing both them to leave SummerSlam empty handed.
Nikki A.S.H., who won the RAW Women's Championship fairly recently after cashing in her Money in the Bank contract, lost the belt in a triple threat contest against Rhea Ripley and new WWE RAW Women's Champion Charlotte Flair. Overall, the bout was great, showcasing the best that WWE's RAW Women's division has to offer. Flair is now a 13x WWE Women's Champion, only 3 away from WWE officially being able to call her "The Ric Flair of the Women's Division".
From here, Flair will most likely continue to feud with former champions Nikki A.S.H. and Rhea Ripley in separate programs. There isn't much competition on RAW, removed from her two most recent opponents. It is peculiar that WWE would choose to have Nikki A.S.H cash in her MITB contract - on Charlotte Flair, might I add - and build a whole story of the victorious underdog to have Flair win back the title less than a month later. It could be assumed that WWE did not feel like Nikki A.S.H. was gaining enough traction as champion and instead decided to call it a quick audible.
On the SmackDown side of things, a massive audible was called during SummerSlam itself! Following Bianca Belair's entrance to the ring, announcer Greg Hamilton announced that challenger and former WWE SmackDown Women's Champion Sasha Banks was "not cleared to compete," and Carmella would take her place.
But moments before the match was set to begin, "The Man" Becky Lynch made her much awaited return to the WWE. She marched into the ring, with a massive ovation from the crowd all around her, Lynch disposed of Carmella and immediately challenged Belair to a title match on the spot.
Belair agreed, but only 27 seconds later, Lynch was WWE SmackDown Women's Champion. Shocking the WWE Universe all over the world.
No one expected Belair to lose the title heading into SummerSlam, especially not in the quick manner in which she did. Many WWE fans took to social media to voice a mix of excitement over Lynch's return, but also their displeasure at the treatment of the young Belair. At this time, their is no confirmed reason as to why Banks was unable to compete, with reports pointing to COVID, Vaccination Status, Backstage Heat, and personal family matters as possible culprits.
With both Lynch and Flair back on top of their respective Women's Divisions, the WWE Women's Championships have gone from being in the hands of young, dynamic, and rising stars, to the stable hands of established stars and future hall of famers.
Will this work out for WWE? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section!
Bianca Belair breaks silence on 27-second loss to Becky Lynch at SummerSlam
Read the full story here!
#2) WWE Hall of Famer Edge gets a massive win; Rollins takes a step back
Since Edge made his return to WWE in early 2020, his path has been rocky at times. While he would eventually win his feud with Randy Orton and win the 2021 Royal Rumble, Edge failed to capture the WWE Universal Championship on two separate occasions back-to-back, making many WWE fans feel that the Rated R Superstar needed a big singles win at SummerSlam.
Following his loss at Money in the Bank to Roman Reigns, Edge began a feud with Seth Rollins, the man who cost him the match. At the start Rollins blamed Edge for standing in the way of his quest for the WWE Universal Championship, but quickly the duo began to incorporate an infamous moment over 7 years ago, as part of their feud. The moment in question was when Rollins threatened to curb stomp the then-retired Edge.
Fast forward to 2021, Edge claimed that Rollins regretted that he didn't "pull the trigger" to permanently end his career when he had the chance, while Rollins stated that Edge was simply jealous of the success he's amounted to during his WWE career. Playing off the comparisons between the two men that WWE fans have made over the years. Soon a match at SummerSlam was set.
The two engaged in an intense war of words, quickly making their match at SummerSlam into one of the most anticapiated bouts on the entire card.
At SummerSlam, Edge would defeat Seth Rollins. The duo pulled out all the stops to make the match an instant classic, filled with creative submissions, near falls, and high risk moves. In the end, Edge was able to grind down Rollins and force him to tap out.
Although Edge's win comes as a delight to fans and gives Edge justice, some believe Rollins should get the comeuppance his character deserves, to put over the younger star. With Edge's win over Rollins, The King of Drip now finds a path to the WWE Universal Championship even more derailed, although the fact that his Curb Stomp finisher was never used in the match protects him in some capacity.
And while Edge's win is meaningful on a personal note, what exactly could he do next with it? He won't be getting a title match any time soon. Instead, the two will most likely face each other again at Extreme Rules, opening the door for the two men to go to their "deep dark place(s)".
RAW after SummerSlam - 5 Possible Surprises
#1) WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns achieves G.O.A.T Status
It's time for the WWE Universe to recognize acknowledge Roman Reigns as not only their Tribal Chief, but as one of the greatest WWE Superstars of all time. In one of the biggest matches of his career, Roman Reigns rose to the occasion and defeated WWE's self-proclaimed GOAT - John Cena. Not only did Reigns defeat Cena, but he dominated him for 75%-80% of the match.
SummerSlam 2021 Flops and Hits - Read Full Story
The leadup to the bout was simple. The returning John Cena wanted to humble the WWE Universal Champion, as he felt that the champion's reign over SmackDown and WWE in general had gone over the top. Reigns demanded respect from the 16x WWE Champion, and would go on to say that Cena's nothing more than a shell of his former self. Noting that Hollywood put a good "paint job" on Cena, but that in the end, it would mean nothing.
While Big Match John did mount an impressive comeback towards the end of their match, Cena would eventually fall to a massive spear from Roman Reigns. The match could easily be considered one of Reign's finest performances, and propels Reigns into the stratosphere, a tier higher than the one he was already in.
At this point, Reigns has nothing more to prove in terms of his greatness. He is currently WWE's best pound-for-pound champion, regardless of brand. The only variable that will separate him from being "one of the greatest" to being "the greatest" is time. How long can Reigns really stay on top of the WWE food chain?
Eventually someone will indeed need to beat him, however at the moment there is no one in sight who could do the job. Even a returning Brock Lesnar, while as exciting as a Heel Reigns and Lesnar match would be, doesn't make many people think Reign's time in the sun is running out - if anything, it might even be longer than we think.
5 potential opponents for Roman Reigns during the rest of 2021
