The WWE’s SummerSlam pay-per-view returned to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Monday morning, with a stacked card delivering one of the best PPVs in recent history.
It was a night of high entertainment and some historic firsts as the WWE officially entered its New Era with a bang.
What did you make of the PPV and how did you rate the matches?
Share with us your thoughts by commenting below, using #360fans on Twitter or getting in touch via Facebook.
JERIKO BEAT ENZO AND CAS
This opening match perfectly set the tone for the night from the very moment Enzo and Cas roared their way down the ramp and into the ring. The pair reeled off a host of shout-outs to some of New York City’s most famous faces and it was all lapped up by an electric Brooklyn crowd. The action didn’t disappoint as well and there’s still plenty of legs in a feud that was brought to life here.
RATING: 8/10
WWE INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE
THE MIZ (c) BEAT APOLLO CREWS
Unfortunately, this is the current title that has the least interest. Both Miz and Crews were good enough in the ring but certainly didn’t bring the house down. It was highlighted by the fact that yet again Miz was in need from assistance from his wife to seal the win. One match entirely forgettable on an otherwise stellar night for the WWE.
RATING: 4/10
WWE WOMEN’S TITLE
CHARLOTTE (NEW CHAMPION) BEAT SASHA BANKS
At last year’s NXT Takeover event at the same venue, Banks and Bayley put on the match of the year, bringing women’s wrestling to the fore and validating the push the wrestlers were rightly being given. Twelve months on and this was a real show of the continued development in the division. A great match brilliantly told by the two wrestlers and one that gave Charlotte a much needed clean win. The women’s revolution continues.
RATING: 8/10
AJ STYLES BEAT JOHN CENA
This feud has long been billed as a rivalry for the ages, two of wrestling’s biggest names finally coming together to see who’s the greatest athlete. Thus far, it has felt a little underwhelming despite superb mic work from both Superstars. But at SummerSlam the series delivered an in-ring classic. Both men were inventive and a series of kickouts, ingenuity and a clean win for Styles put this over as one of the best shows of the night. This could carry on until WrestleMania and we’d be content. However, Cena’s exit was lingering as he left his sweatband in the ring and looked to be saying goodbye, for the time being at least.
RATING: 9/10
WWE TAG TEAM TITLE
ANDERSON & GALLOWS BEAT THE NEW DAY BY DQ (c)
A real bump in the road this one, and what a shame it was. There is much to enjoy about the two teams’ ongoing rivalry but this matchup will fade into the background in a packed card that set such high standards. The whole Jon Stewart bit was awkward and the WWE Universe made their displeasure clear as soon as Stewart appeared on screen with the GMs of RAW and Smackdown. The only saving grace was Big E’s return which saw his team disqualified but injected some much needed impetus.
RATING: 5/10
WWE WORLD TITLE
DEAN AMBROSE (c) BEAT DOLPH ZIGGLER
This was another absolute treat as both men showed their worth at the top of the Smackdown pile. Ziggler has long been the nearly man and that run continued here but it was not the time to put him over, with Ambrose their hottest commodity. What Ziggler did manage to do, however, was prove just how good he is and that he is fully deserving of the push that he is constantly asking for. He may have to carry on waiting a little while but there is no doubt he can be a big part of the company’s rebranding.
RATING: 8/10
NATALYA, ALEXA BLISS, NIKKI BELLA BEAT NAOMI, CARMELLA, BECKY LYNCH
There was a huge pop for Bella as she returned to the ring, her comeback completing this packed deck at the heart of the women’s revolution. New faces Carmella and Bliss were superb, both making an impression on their pay-per-view debuts – the former in particular. It was well told and re-established Bella’s position as the division’s queen as she claimed the pinfall. It nicely set up the new division in Smackdown as the WWE continues its increased push on the women with its greatest ever resources.
RATING: 6/10
WWE UNIVERSAL TITLE
FINN BALOR (NEW CHAMPION) BEAT SETH ROLLINS
These two Superstars will be WrestleMania headliners for years to come. That was assured before they faced off at SummerSlam but boy did they show why in Brooklyn. This was a beautifully told and brilliantly paced match up full of some incredible sequences and ridiculous manoeuvres. A case in point was Rollins’ frog splash which saw him soar ten feet in the air and nearly halfway across the ring, while the exchanges at the end were relentless. An utter spectacle and that Balor caused the upset made it even sweeter. This could be a feud for the ages.
RATING: 9/10
WWE US TITLE
RUSEV vs ROMAN REIGNS (NO CONTEST)
This was an odd one but it did setup the storyline further and also give Reigns some much needed kudos with the fans. Rusev attacked Reigns before the start of the match before the latter decimated him with the aid of some brute force, a steel chair and an almighty spear. We didn’t see a match but we certainly were given food for thought as to what is to come between these two. Another fleeting example of what Reigns can do when he’s given the chance to show off his power and be a dominant force. Reminiscent of the time he dismantled Triple H.
RATING: 7/10
BROCK LESNAR BEAT (TKO) RANDY ORTON
It was brutal, it was bloody but it was far too short. The match was setup to be a classic and it was delivering on its promise until the fight was brought to an early end by an unconscious Orton lying unresponsive on the canvas next to a pool of his own blood. It was a shame as there was far more to come from the match but what we did see was highly entertaining. Lesnar ended the match by handing out an F-5 to Smackdown commissioner Shane McMahon which may end up seeing him “suspended” from the company and Lesnar returning to the WWE wilderness.
RATING: 7/10