5 things which worked well for WWE during SummerSlam 2018

SummerSlam 2018 was a huge hit, and that is not something you say for a WWE pay per view in this era. The matches were good, the crowd was hot throughout the show, the right superstars won almost all the matches, and WWE did very little wrong.

We had four championships change hands on the show, a long due heel turn by a crowd favourite superstar on the roster, and a return of one of the most popular gimmicks in the industry at the moment.

The build-up for the show was disappointing at best, hence it was a huge surprise to see a good show in Brooklyn. Here are the 5 things that worked for WWE at SummerSlam 2018.

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#1 The Intercontinental Title match opened the show

It could not have gone any better

Just like the main event of a pay per view, the opening match is an equally important match, maybe even more important than the main event. It sets the tone for the rest of the show, and has a lot of impact on how the crowd reacts to the subsequent matches.

WWE made a big blunder by putting Cena vs Corbin in the opening slot at SummerSlam last year, and it took a lot of effort by the subsequent matches to bring the show back on track after that stinker.

This year however, WWE hit the perfect note with the SummerSlam opener by choosing the hottest fixture - the Intercontinental match, for that slot - and it did wonders for them. Seth Rollins and Dolph Ziggler relied on their chemistry and the impressive storyline to wrestle a 22 minute classic that laid a brilliant foundation for the rest of the show. With close calls, stunning moves, and a popular winner, WWE had the best start to their summer spectacle.

#2 Smart booking of Women's Title matches

This was the best the women have looked for some time now

The moment WWE announced the female exclusive pay per view 'Evolution' a few weeks ago, it became abundantly clear that the reigns of both Alexa Bliss and Carmella were at an end.

This was further solidified when Ronda Rousey, Becky Lynch and Charlotte were announced as their opponents for SummerSlam. Even then, there were still some fears regarding the outcomes of the matches, considering WWEs obsession with Divas.

However, WWE just smashed it out of the park with their booking of the two Women's Title matches at SummerSlam. Ronda Rousey's coronation came after a rather short squash match that lasted just a little over 4 minutes, and prevented a lot of in-ring action by Little Miss Bliss.

But it was all easily overshadowed by the blue brand's match, which not only saw the end of Carmella's reign after a great match, it also provided the best moment of the night when Becky Lynch snapped and attacked Charlotte after she stole the match and the title.

#3The disqualification finishes

This rivalry just took a whole new turn

Usually, a disqualification finish is probably the worst way to end any wrestling match, let alone a pay per view match. WWE took the bold decision of ending not one, but two matches at SummerSlam with a disqualification finish, one of which was a World Title match.

However, this was the best way WWE could have ended those two matches at SummerSlam without hurting the credibility of either participants.

WWE did more to the feud between AJ Styles and Samoa Joe at SummerSlam alone than they did in the 4 weeks that preceded the show. Styles' attack on Joe after he verbally assaulted his wife was exactly the kind of thing this feud needed.

Styles was more intense than he has ever been in this reign, and it also helped keep Joe strong even after that attack. Oh, and the match was bloody good, maybe the best of the night.

Even the disqualification finish in the SD Tag Title match was executed perfectly to lengthen the feud. The Bludgeon Brothers looked human for the first time since their arrival, and The New Day will be hell bent on taking revenge for those hammer shots in the future. Since this is a fresh feud, it won't be bad to see these two teams fight again, maybe with a stipulation.

#4 The order of the matches

It looked like two different cards, each main evented by a World Title match

I am sure I was not the only one who was disappointed and angry when the WWE Championship match was announced as the 5th match in the 10 match long pay per view. However, as the show carried on and the remaining matches took place, I realized WWE had presented the SummerSlam card in a brilliant way, something that had not been done in WWE till that point.

It was not one complete card, but it was an amalgamation of two separate wrestling cards, each main evented by a World Title match and separated by an in-ring segment. Both cards had a hot opener (Intercontinental Title and Bryan vs Miz), a women's title match, a secondary title match and a squash match.

Not only did it give the crowd enough time to gather up after a big match, it kept the crowd invested throughout the pay per view. Intentional or not, I don't know, but it certainly worked pretty well for the WWE as none of the matches were booed by the fans, not even the Universal Title match - and that in itself is a very big deal.

#5 The end of Brock's reign

Better late than never

Finally we have a full-time Universal Champion. Brock Lesnar's horrendous 504-day reign as the Universal Champion finally came to end after a loss in the main event of SummerSlam.

After a chase of 4 years and 4 unsuccessful attempts of beating him for the World Title, Roman Reigns at last defeated Lesnar (albeit after some outside interference) in a short match to win his first World Title in over 2 years.

At this moment, it doesn't matter if you hate Reigns or are his biggest follower. You are just happy because Lesnar is no longer the holder of the invisible title of the WWE.

While it would have been a lot better if it was Strowman standing as the Universal Champion at the end of the show, one can certainly agree that fans only wanted Lesnar to lose the title, and it was clearly evident from the reaction the finish received.

Despite it being a lame and boring match, maybe even worse than their WrestleMania encounter which only included a total of 10 offensive moves, the crowd cheered for Reign after his win, something very rare.

It is all but sure he will be booed by the crowd on Raw tonight, but it was very hard to not cheer for him when he pinned Brock in the middle of the ring. With that match, WWE accomplished its dream of making fans cheer for Roman.