WWE SummerSlam: Fine Show Ends with Frustrating Shock

Rana Atef

Early Sunday, WWE organizes its second-biggest annual Pay-Per-View, SummerSlam. The show carries various highly anticipated matches, and moments, however, the way the show ended frustrated the pro wrestling events globally.

Moreover, various fans expressed that there were some superstars who presented lower-than-expected performances.

In this feature, SummerSlam Ups and Downs will be deeply addressed.

The Ups

If we can start with the good sides of the event, Ricochet vs. Logan Paul should come on top. Once again, Paul transmitted his in-ring passion in the ring, especially with one of the perfect partners, Ricochet. This game could be one of the best main-roaster performances for Ricochet.

Although the build of this contest was so simple, it was presented well during the events of the match, especially after Paul got the pin and asked Samantha Irvin, Ricochet's fiance, to announce his name twice.

Another good point in the show was the performance of Brock Lesnar. During his feud against Cody Rhodes, Lesnar presented remarkable in-ring action, although the build of this feud suffered from a lack of interest from the International Wrestling Community.

Lesnar did a first-time-ever move as he shook hands with Rhodes and raised his hands as a winner. It was reported that this match is the final for Lesnar, and he will be off for good plenty of time.

The battle royal was also scripted well as the competitors kept their original storylines in action for example, the dispute between Karrion Cross and AJ Styles, the fight over the US Championship between Austin Theory and Santos Escobar, the fight between Chad Gable and Gunther's allies, the strong vibe of the Megastar, and the feud between Tommaso Ciampa and Shinsuke Nakamura were all represented in the battle royal.

During the Intercontinental title match, Drew McIntyre also delivered a profound performance during the night and Gunther did tremendous work.

There is no doubt that the excitement in the final part of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship between Seth Rollins and Finn Balor was also great for the audience, especially by intermingling different narratives like the seven-year match in the making concept, the inner conflicts of the Judgement Day members, and the presence of Damian Priest as Mr. Money in the Bank.

Moving to the Women's title, the three ladies delivered remarkable and exciting in-ring performances, and they delivered good storytelling inside the ring, especially after Blair sustained the injury who captured the win and become the new champion, moments before losing it once again.

However, the jewel of this segment was the successful cashing-in by Iyo Sky to be the new champion, running the joy of Blair's moment.

It is great to see Sky as a champion after one year of her comeback to the company in SummerSlam 2022. Here, the real control of Damage CTRL is in action.

The Downs

The overall build of the event and the way of setting the matches were highly critical and lower than expected for such a major LPE on the schedule of the WWE.

The super-heroic booking for Rhodes during the match was over-employes.

LA Knight's win was pushed by the anger of the fans on social media and his victory was in a non-sense Royal Battle. In addition, it was dedicated to one of the WWE historic sponsors.

The MMA Rules match was neglected by the majority of fans as it was designed as an MMA Rules match. Those stipulations can be accepted by true pro wrestling fans, however, they will be abandoned by the casuals and the PG audience who form the majority of the WWE fanbase inside the US.

Fan cameras captured long lines of the audience leaving the arena during Ronda Rousey's entrance.

This match could be represented better if they selected the Fight Pit one.

The focus of the WWE World Heavyweight title match was the story of The Judgement Day member more than the champion and the title which proved the criticism of Rollins's stand in the company and the position of the championship.

And now, one of the night's biggest fights! The Tribal Combat!!!

Although one of the rules of tribal combat is stopping any involvement of the tribe's members, this rule was highly ruined as Solo Sikoa, and Jimmy Uso were involved in the match.

The victory of Riegns was expected as it seems that the Tribal Chief will remain on the top until the next WrestleMania (In April).

The betrayal of Jimmy to his brother Jey, although who was the one who initiated the revolution against the Tribal Chief left the whole IWC in big confusion!

Despite any expectation, we would hear in the next SmackDown, the truth is that Reigns will take time off for two months, and WWE needs to stretch the timeline of the events.

Brother vs. Brother in Payback is expected!

The reaction of Sikoa after receiving Spear mistakenly from Reigns was also questioned.

The same booking of Reigns matches continued, but thankfully the referee was not hit!

Match Results & Ratings:

Logan Paul defeated Ricochet (4/5)

Cody Rhodes defeated Brock Lesnar (3/5)

LA Knight Won SummerSlam Battle Royal (4/5)

MMA Rules: Shyna Beszler defeated Ronda Rousey (2/5)

Intercontinental Title: Gunther (c) defeated Drew McIntyre (3.5/5)

WWE World Heavyweight Title: Seth Rollins (c) defeated Finn Balor (4/5)

WWE Women's Title: Bianca Blair defeated Asuka (c) and Charlotte Flair (4/5)

Iyo Sky cashed her MITB contract and became the new WWE Women's Champion