WWE Summerslam 2018 rocks Barclays Center!
WWE Summerslam is the second biggest show of the year and for the fourth consecutive year, the biggest party of the summer came from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York this past Sunday night.
Thirteen matches filled four hours of action, plus another three matches in the two-hour pre-show. 2018's Summerslam was better than expected, even with the negative rumblings surrounding the main event. There were no surprises or swerves, save for one and four new champions were crowned. For my review of WWE Summerslam, let's go through the headlining matches:
Seth Rollins defeated Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental championship. Seth Rollins seems to always open the show and then steal it away from the rest of the card. Another match with the show-off himself, Ziggler, gave us a strong kickoff for the night. Rollins got the win with Dean Ambrose there to support him and make sure Drew Mcintyre didn't interfere on Ziggler's behalf. I expected Ambrose to turn on Rollins here but we didn't get that. Hopefully, it comes soon as Raw is need of top heels. I hope both Ziggler and Mcintyre continue to appear weekly for meaningful programs as both should be used high on the card.
Charlotte Flair defeated Carmella and Becky Lynch for the Smackdown Women's championship. Charlotte made her return a few weeks ago and was thrust into the women's title picture on Smackdown. Fans like Charlotte but we wanted Becky Lynch to get her due and be crowned champ once again.
At Summerslam, Charlotte became a seven-time champ but the biggest crowd reaction of the night came when Lynch turned on her and gave her a beatdown. The now former friends are destined to have a rivalry that fans will remember. Becky Lynch will be the villain, but she's gonna be the one fans cheer for.
Ronda Rousey defeated Alexa Bliss for the Raw Women's championship. Ronda's transition to wrestling has been surprisingly good from my perspective. Even though she looks like she might seriously hurt someone, her matches have been fun to watch and I'm sure she is safer than we think. Crowning her champion in her fourth career match, however, seems like it could be a mistake. Wrestling fans are not afraid to vocalize their displeasure when they feel they need to and this might be one of those times when they make themselves heard. Ronda gets good reactions wherever she goes, but being the champ so soon has me concerned that the crowd will turn on her. Alexa Bliss won't miss a step after the loss as she gets ready for Trish Stratus at the Evolution PPV.
Roman Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship. Fans can rejoice...somewhat. The WWE Universe may not like Reigns, they may even hate him, but at least Lesnar is not the champ anymore. After a really long, meaningless run as champ, we were all tired of the Beast. Lesnar is a draw no doubt, but his not being around and holding the title was a huge detriment to himself and the company. Roman finally got the cheers after getting the pinfall but I don't expect that to last long. As for Lesnar, I guess we will see him in the UFC next.
Other highlights include Finn Balor finally becoming the demon king again and beating Baron Corbin. Shinsuke Nakamura is still United States champion after defeating Jeff Hardy. Samoa Joe beat A.J. Styles by DQ in their WWE title match. Styles keeps the belt and this rivalry is just the beginning of what could be a classic. The Miz beat Daniel Bryan, by cheating of course, in a match 8 years in the making. Another rivalry far from over.
WWE Summerslam 2018 was a solid show in what has been a lackluster year for them so far. I'm looking forward to a fresh for Raw with a champion that will be there consistently and Smackdown continuing intriguing storylines. Let's hope they keep the momentum going.