Overall, SummerSlam was a really, really good show and I think fans left the show satisfied. I know I did. The door remains open for a couple more feuds, but we also got to see some feuds come to an end seemingly. Although it isn’t as good as having a live fan experience, the Thunderdome is an upgrade for sure. Some titles changed hands and I think it was definitely for the better, moving forward. It was a great show and here is my reaction to it all.

- Men’s Singles Match: United States Championship

Apollo Crews (C) over MVP

Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin were not allowed to be at ringside for the match and that was likely the difference in MVP becoming the new champion and losing. I really like what they’re doing with Apollo Crews and having him work with good veteran talent like MVP, Lashley, and Benjamin is doing nothing but good things for his career moving forward. I don’t know if the feud will continue or not, but the match was fine for a kickoff show, but like most kickoff show matches, they lack the excitement of a main card match.

GRADE: 7.5/10

- Women’s Singles Match: SmackDown Women’s Championship

Bayley (C) (with Sasha Banks) over Asuka

This was a great opener for the main show and it was an aggressive matchup. These two have solid in-ring chemistry and they put it on display here again. I thought for sure that Bayley would be the one to lose her title if Asuka was going to win at least one, but it didn’t happen that way, but more on that later on. It was a solid matchup, but it wasn’t match of the night. It was as good as I expected it to be.

GRADE: 8.7/10

- Men’s Tag Team Match: RAW Tag Team Championship

The Street Profits (C) over Andrade and Angel Garza (with Zelina Vega)

I thought for sure that the Profits were going to lose the belts last night, but I’m glad that wasn’t the case. The Street Profits are one of the most entertaining teams to come through the WWE in a long time and they deserve the successfully long reign that they currently have. These guys had the shortest match on the card, but it was enough to be interesting. It is tough to put on an elite level standard tag team match in a PPV setting, but this was a solid match. I don’t think this story is over by any stretch though.

GRADE: 8.3/10

- Loser Leaves WWE No-DQ Match

Mandy Rose over Sonya Deville

I picked Sonya Deville to win here because I thought it was going to be one of the biggest swerves of the night, but that didn’t happen. The match itself wasn’t anything special, but the storytelling in the contest was great. These two have very solid chemistry and you could tell they wanted to put on a wonderful match. I fully believe that Sonya Deville will be back though. She likely will just take a little time off to get her head straight after they found that scumbag in her house trying to kidnap her. I have a good feeling she will be back and better than ever. A Loser Leaves Town stipulation usually means the story is over and I’d say this story is done for. It will be interesting to see what happens next for Mandy and Otis though.

GRADE: 7.9/10

- Men’s Street Fight

Seth Rollins (with Murphy) over Dominik Mysterio (with Rey Mysterio)

I personally felt like this match was very confusing. I may be alone in saying that, but I felt like it was. This was a street fight match with managers that weren’t involved often and the ones in the match barely got out of the ring. I totally understand why they barely left the ring, due to the Thunderdome viewing audience, but I guess I just come to expect a street fight to wander off a little more. I’m kinda going in hard on this match, but things didn’t add up and they could’ve just made it a no-DQ match. I thought the match was really good despite me being confused about it though. They overdid the kendo sticks attacks in my opinion, but it was a good match. Dominik looked good in the ring and he couldn’t have asked for a better opponent to work his first WWE match with. Seth Rollins may be the best heel in WWE right now, with the only exception being possibly Randy Orton. I guess we’ll see where this feud goes from here, but it was entertaining, just not match of the night like a lot of reviews were saying.

GRADE: 8.6/10

- Women’s Singles Match: RAW Women’s Championship

Asuka over Sasha Banks (C) (with Bayley)

We finally got a decisive match between these two and Asuka walked out with the RAW Women’s Championship. Sasha has never had long title reigns in her career and this was no exception. I personally liked this match better than the earlier title match and it was 100% due to the fact of Sasha’s more aggressive nature. Their styles mesh wonderfully. If their match at Extreme Rules had a similar finish as last night, it would’ve been match of the year. These two don’t put on bad matches and it is a treat to see them work in the ring. It will be interesting to see where they go from here though.

GRADE: 9.2/10

- Men’s Singles Match: WWE Championship

Drew McIntyre (C) over Randy Orton *MATCH OF THE NIGHT*

Great storytelling and a very suspenseful match. These were two powerhouses at the top of their game, doing what they do best. I feel like this feud could continue, because I don’t really know who McIntyre could have a match with next. There are a couple candidates, but it really isn’t a long list at the moment. I say this basically every time I mention McIntyre, but it is a real shame that there isn’t a crowd to react to his reign. He has been one of the best fighting champions I have ever seen.

GRADE: 9.6/10

- Men’s Falls Count Anywhere Match: Universal Championship

“The Fiend” Bray Wyatt over Braun Strowman (C)

I saw some reviews dumping on this match, but I really enjoyed it. I don’t think it surprised anyone to see Wyatt become the new champion, but it is always cool to see a new champion win a belt, no matter who it is. The match was a destructive contest, which is something that you would expect from these competitors in a match. My only real negative about it was the fact that it was a Falls Count Anywhere Match that ended in the ring, but that is a minimal complaint because they went all over the arena. What happened after the match though was a lot more exciting than the match. The Big Dog is back! Roman Reigns made a surprise appearance at the end of the show and attacked the Wyatt and Strowman. He was wearing a shirt that said, “Wreck Everyone & Leave” and it is making fans wonder if we are going to see a Roman Reigns heel turn. Also, I think they’re trying to get us to feel that he is behind the Retribution attacks, which is another interesting possibility. SmackDown this Friday night is going to be interesting, that’s for sure.

GRADE: 9.3/10

Yacs

SummerSlam (2020) Results and Reaction