WWE Summerslam 2021- Quick Results & Thoughts
1. Raw Tag Team Championship- RK-Bro (Randy Orton & Riddle) def. AJ Styles & Omos (c) (at 7:05)
Thoughts: Quick and crowd-pleasing. As Jimmy Smith noted on commentary, both sides are gelling well as teams. Omos is still green and limited, but played his role well. The chemistry between Orton & Riddle is nice, and the post-match with Orton initiating fist bumps and poses was heart-warming. (**)
2. Alexa Bliss def. Eva Marie (w/ Doudrop)
Thoughts: There were rumours going around that Eva Marie wasn't actually going to wrestle during this WWE run. Based on this match, maybe that would have been a good idea. Alexa tried, but Eva stumbled through everything and even seemed to botch getting pinned on the finish. The most memorable bits of the match were the brief "We want Wyatt" chants, and the post-match, where Doudrop mocked Eva for losing and stole her robe. Now, if only she could go back to being "Piper Niven". (1/2*)
3. WWE United States Championship- Damien Priest def. Sheamus (c) (at 13:50)
Thoughts: This warmed up as time went on. A little too methodical in the early going, especially given the time they went, but settled into a groove of two hard-hitting big men, with Priest being the slightly flashier of the two. Seeing the big title change and win on the big stage felt right for Priest, after his work going into WrestleMania with Bad Bunny. Commentary called it his best performance to date- I'd still give that to the Balor match at NXT In Your House, but this was nice too. (***1/4)
4. Smackdown Tag Team Championship- The Usos (c) def. The Mysterios (at 10:50)
Thoughts: Expected a bit more from this match. Wasn't bad but didn't hold my attention like I thought it would, and it felt a lot longer than the 10ish minutes it clocked in at. Rey takes the pinfall, and they've pulled back on the Rey/Dominik dissension we had going into the PPV. Either they're changing course or holding off til Smackdown. But anyway, this was okay. (**1/2)
5. Smackdown Women's Championship- Becky Lynch def. Bianca Belair (c) (at 0:27)
Thoughts. Man oh Man. I did not like this. Originally advertised as Belair vs. Sasha Banks II, the rug was pulled at the last minute when Bianca made her entrance, and the ring announcer just blurts out, "Sasha can't be here tonight, here's Carmella instead." I'm paraphrasing, but it wasn't much more eloquent than that. So major disappointment, because after WM37, I was majorly looking forward to the Boss vs. The EST part two. But before Belair vs. Carmella can start, Becky Lynch's music hits! Major pop.
Great to see Becky again. Doesn't quite make up for losing Belair vs. Banks II to me, but cool. Let's see where it goes. Becky disposes of Carmella (with some honestly very weak looking offense) and then challenges Belair to an impromptu title match! Okay! Okay!
Then Becky hits Bianca with a single uranage and pins her in 30 seconds. I mean, there was a little cheap shot after a feigned handshake, but still. No one should lose to a single move like that. The only way it works is off a MITB cash in, and Bianca wasn't in any kind of real compromised state. Belair's push and perception were completely obliterated for the Moment (TM). This was WWE's answer to CM Punk, and it was a swing and a miss. (DUD)
6. Drew McIntyre def. Jinder Mahal (at 4:40)
Thoughts: Damn. After carrying Raw through the pandemic, McIntyre was relegated to this. The filler/comedown match after a big moment. He essentially squashes his old 3MB buddy in a few minutes following the Claymore. Post-match, he chases everyone off with his big sword. Post-Summerslam, can we get something substantial for our Scottish boy? Drew deserves far better than this. (*)
7. Raw Women's Championship- Charlotte Flair def. Nikki ASH (c) & Rhea Ripley (at 13:05)
Thoughts: Chalk up another one for the Queen. Charlotte adds to her seemingly endless list of accolades, and it all reinforces the pre-match commentary, where Charlotte comes out last and commentary belabours the point that neither Rhea nor Nikki (the reigning champ!) are on Charlotte's level. But all three ladies work their ass off, with some great reversals, near falls and dramatic moments. One scary bit down the stretch when Charlotte's corkscrew moonsault crushes Nikki's head into the barricade, but she appears okay and the match finishes with the Figure Eight not too long after. Definitely PPV worthy. (***1/2)
8. Edge def. Seth Rollins (at 21:15)
Thoughts: I predicted this as MOTN, and dammit, it was! We get a cool throwback based on the events of Smackdown, as Edge does the old Brood entrance with the music and ring of fire before kicking into Metallingus. Throughout the match, he busts out more blasts from the past with the Edge-acution and the Edge-ucator moves. He also hits a Spear through the ropes to the outside, which just seems insane for a 47 year old with his medical history, but it was awesome. Rollins gets his shit in too, with the big superplex/Falcon Arrow combo, among other big moves, but can never hit the Stomp. Rollins kicks out of the Spear, but ultimately Edge just chokes him out for the submission victory. Brilliance! (****1/4)
9. WWE Championship- Bobby Lashley (c) (w/ MVP) def. Goldberg (via doctor stoppage) (at 7:10)
Thoughts: The longest and best match Goldberg's had since WM33, before the somewhat deflating ending. Lashley gave Goldberg a lot, and Goldberg seemed in decent enough shape to pull his end of the bargain. Ultimately, Lashley goes full heel by attacking Goldberg's injured knee with a steel chair after the match. Goldberg's son Gage jumps in the ring and Lashley puts him in the Hurt Lock. The crowd cheer even though Lashley technically assaulted a minor. Gage does have a punchable face, but he's only 15. Kinda wild, and a better outing than I was expecting before the weird (I assume kayfabe) injury finish. (**1/4)
10. Universal Championship- Roman Reigns (c) def. John Cena (at 23:00)
Thoughts: Reigns saying on Smackdown that he would leave WWE if he lost erased any shred of doubt that he would actually lose. but this was still very well done. The star of The Suicide Squad and Fast 9, Cena looked in great shape and like he hadn't missed a single beat in that ring. They went through some big stuff, including a AA through the announce table and a super AA off the second rope, but ultimately Reigns hit the devastating Spear and the Tribal Chief remains on top. But not in missionary position. (****)
Reigns celebrates, the party is on... then Brock Lesnar's music hits! Brock, sporting a beard and a weird little mohawk/ponytail hair style, storms the ring. Heyman looks like he's seen a ghost, and he and Reigns exit the ring. Brock looks in great shape, and it looks like we're getting Brock vs. Reigns again, but with a role reversal of sorts- Reigns is WWE's top heel, and Lesnar played to the crowd as a face. Great moment.
Overall Thoughts
This was looking awful about halfway through. Some very average matches, and what WWE want to be a huge moment with the Becky return is marred by very questionable booking. But the last few matches ranged from good to great, and the Brock return after almost a year and a half away was electric, and nothing questionable -apart from his haircut. Not quite up to the high standards of a Summerslam for me, but the ship righted itself by the end.
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