SummerSlam (2021) Results and Reaction
SummerSlam is in the books and I thought it was a good show. With most shows, everything doesn’t go the way that the fans want, but for the most part, I liked what was on display last night. The show ran pretty long last night, but that was to be expected. There were a lot of good surprises and I think they had enough things happen to build upon. In a lot of cases, the refresh button was hit and that can be a great thing. We’ll see what happens here on out, but here is my reaction to last night’s action.
- Men’s Singles Match
Big E over Baron Corbin
WWE
This was just a time killing kickoff show match and nothing more. I kinda thought the inclusion of Big E in the card was going to be a signal of a possibly bigger moment later on, but that wasn’t the case. Corbin is having a rough time as of late and it will definitely be interesting to see where he goes from here, but Big E looks poised to become a major champion in the not too distant future.
GRADE: 7.5/10
- Men’s Tag Team Match: RAW Tag Team Championship
RK-Bro over AJ Styles and Omos (C)
WWE
In the preview, I said that it was going to take a special team to take down Styles and Omos and RK-Bro is that special team. Riddle and Orton are a great pairing and the match was pretty good. It was a great opener and it got the fans fired up for the action in the rest of the show. I think Riddle and Orton will have a good title reign, but what happens with Styles and Omos will be something to keep an eye on.
GRADE: 8.4/10
- Women’s Singles Match
Alexa Bliss over Eva Marie
WWE
This match was everything I expected it to be and that isn’t a good thing. I had zero interest in this match and I think a lot of fans agree with me on this one. It remains to be seen where they go from here, but I think Doudrop and Eva Marie will continue to have their toxic relationship on display, but who knows what will be next for Bliss.
GRADE: 4.5/10
- Men’s Singles Match: United States Championship
Damian Priest over Sheamus (C)
WWE
This was overdue. Priest has been worthy of gold for a while now and it is good to see him finally get a shot with the US belt. The match was surprisingly the 3rd longest on the card. The length of the match was fine, I just didn’t really expect it to go beyond 10-12 minutes. It will be cool to see what Priest can do with the US Championship and it will be interesting to see his reign in the near future.
GRADE: 8.3/10
- Men’s Tag Team Match: SmackDown Tag Team Championship
The Usos (C) over The Mysterios
WWE
This wasn’t their best display, but they had a good match here. It makes me think that they’re setting up for a Mysterio family split pretty soon, but who knows? Either way I don’t think it mattered what happened here, but I think the Usos winning here makes more sense in the long run. This was a good match, not a great match
GRADE: 7.7/10
- Women’s Singles Match: SmackDown Women’s Championship
Becky Lynch over Bianca Belair (C)
THE MAN IS BACK!!! What a way to come back! A lot of fans are extremely upset that the match went the way it did. Everyone is saying that Bianca got buried last night and I couldn’t disagree more. Sure, on the surface it doesn’t look good that she lost within 30 seconds, but seriously? Buried? Bianca had a very solid 4-month title reign, she wasn’t buried last night. In fact, she will probably get another title reign between now and WrestleMania 38. Becky Lynch made her return after a 15-month absence and she left on top and had to relinquish the belt. Her winning tonight wasn’t a mistake. Belair was expecting to face Sasha Banks and got Becky Lynch. With the unexpected change it garnered an unexpected result. She was simply caught off guard and had an off night. This made perfect sense to me. I really don’t understand the overwhelming anger surrounding this result. I get the fact that fans were anticipating a longer match, but was it needed? I don’t think so. A quick and decisive finish doesn’t equate to burial. In some cases, it does, but not this one. And I may be seeing this in a different light as a Lynch fan, but I really don’t think I am. It is great to see Becky back and we definitely will get a real match Bianca and Becky, just be patient. This moment was about Becky Lynch and her anticipated return. Belair has had plenty of big moments in the last year. Let things play out. With that being said, the match was a squash, but the moment was huge.
GRADE: 8.8/10
- Men’s Singles Match
Drew McIntyre over Jinder Mahal
WWE
Speaking of burials. I think this 4-and-a-half-minute match was more of a burial than the previous matchup. Nobody expected Jinder Mahal to win here, but he never stood a chance. This match was created out of thin air for McIntyre to maintain a little momentum. Mahal has missed a lot of time due to injuries, but he just isn’t seen in a serious manner and I honestly don’t think he ever will be. The match was nothing special as they really didn’t have enough time to make it special.
GRADE: 6.7/10
- Women’s Triple Threat Match: RAW Women’s Championship
Charlotte Flair over Nikki ASH (C), Rhea Ripley
WWE
Not a shocker here. Flair becomes a 12-time Women’s Champion and I think we all kinda knew it was going to go down like this. This match was really good. I haven’t been a fan of the booking of the women’s feuds on RAW, but they always put on great matches. If you need proof that Charlotte Flair is in a tier of her own, go back and watch this match. She owned this match. She took command of this match and is proving each and every time that she is the best of the best in women’s wrestling. Where do we go from here though? Who knows? I think they have a lot of things they can do, and I think Alexa Bliss will jump into the title picture pretty soon, but we’ll see.
GRADE: 8.9/10
- Men’s Singles Match
Edge over Seth Rollins
WWE
This was a great match and presumably the end of a great feud. Edge’s double entrance was one of the best moments of the night. It was unexpected, and I loved it. I feel like I say this every time, but Edge is putting on the best matches of his career and honestly, some of the best matches in WWE history. I can’t get over the fact that this man missed 10 years of his prime and has come back better than ever. He has had some great opponents in this stretch and I’m always anxious to see what is next for Edge. At this point, this was match of the night and honestly, I can’t disagree with anyone saying that this was match of the night overall.
GRADE: 9.5/10
- Men’s Singles Match: WWE Championship
Bobby Lashley (C) over Goldberg (via Referee Stoppage)
WWE
I have one word to say about this match. Lame. This match was lame, and it was to be expected, but they’re seriously setting up for another matchup? Why? Why in the world would we ever want to revisit this matchup? They seriously tried to get Goldberg some sympathy points for bringing his son out to get involved and it didn’t work. I will never feel sorry for Goldberg. Why would I? There are a lot of unanswered questions and RAW is basically unwatchable as long as Goldberg is in the main storyline feud.
GRADE: 4.0/10
- Men’s Singles Match: Universal Championship
Roman Reigns (C) over John Cena *MATCH OF THE NIGHT*
I could’ve seen this going either way honestly, but I think most of us expected Roman to retain here. It was the right choice moving forward and this was honestly one of his best matchups during his reign. What I loved about this match was the fact that Roman Reigns didn’t have a bit of help defeating Cena. More often than not, Roman has had the aid of The Usos to win big matches and I have hated that, because it makes him look weak and it makes it look like he can’t do it on his own. He proved last night that he didn’t need help last night and it was great. It would’ve been cool to see Cena win last night, but I am content with the result. This will go down as a legendary match between two of the biggest flag bearers in the company’s history. The match was great, but the moment was huge. Lesnar is next on the agenda and we will see the Battle of Paul Heyman coming up. Also, did you guys hear that crowd pop for Lesnar? When was the last time we’ve heard overwhelming cheers for him? I can’t remember. We’ve seen Lesnar and Roman quite a bit in the past, but this time it is different. Roman Reigns is a totally different caliber performer and Lesnar is the babyface. How the turn tables as Michael Scott would say. Great finish to a very well executed PPV.
GRADE: 9.7/10
WWE
Yacs
In the last couple of PPV results and reaction articles, I have been including the Power Rankings at the end. Since NXT TakeOver 36 is tonight, I won’t be able to post them immediately, but check back on this same page tomorrow and see who made this week’s Top 10.
WWE Power Rankings: Week of August 22nd 2021
10: Raquel Gonzalez
9: Randy Orton and Riddle
8: Kyle O’Reilly
7: Damian Priest
6: Ilja Dragunov
5: Charlotte Flair
4: Edge
3: Samoa Joe
2: Becky Lynch
1: Roman Reigns