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WWE SummerSlam was a rollercoaster ride as expected, and the ThunderDome made the entire experience even better. Fans tuned in to The Biggest Party of the Summer and watched Apollo Crews successfully defend his United States Championship against MVP early on.
The action only got better from there on, and The Street Profits once again put on a great performance in the ring against Andrade and Angel Garza to retain their RAW Tag Team Championships.
Asuka competed in two top Championship matches during the night, while Randy Orton had his sights set on the WWE Championship held by Drew McIntyre.
Dominik Mysterio made his in-ring debut against The Monday Night Messiah at SummerSlam, and Sonya Deville may have fought her final match in WWE on the same night.
Last, but not least, The Fiend challenged Braun Strowman for the Universal Championship at SummerSlam, but no one was ready for the surprise that we were about to get at the end of the show.
In this article, we will look at the 5 things WWE got right at SummerSlam 2020.
#5 Sonya Deville losing to Mandy Rose and leaving WWE following SummerSlam
Everyone wants to see a big rivalry between Bayley and Sasha Banks, but no one expected that the feud between Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville would turn out to be this good. The final chapter in the former best friends' rivalry was written at this year’s WWE SummerSlam, as the two women competed in a No Disqualification Match with the loser leaving WWE.
Rose was on the attack early and took the fight to the former MMA fighter. While Deville kept getting back in the match, Rose unleashed some new moves to make the contest more interesting and show the WWE Universe that she has improved in the ring.
The Golden Goddess delivered three running knees followed by a double underhook facebuster and ended proceedings with a fourth running knee to earn the victory.
Deville was devastated after the match and threw a tantrum at ringside. She slammed her head into the announce table multiple times as she’d have to leave WWE following her loss.
Mr. Money in the Bank Otis made an appearance at SummerSlam to celebrate with Rose to give fans a feel-good moment.
This was a great match between the two women who used the no-disqualification stipulation well. They gave it their all, and showed that the victory was very important to them, and the final result was what we expected.
Deville will likely take some time off following scary real-life incidents, and we will probably see her return with a new and refreshed character soon.
#4 Drew McIntyre retaining the WWE Championship at WWE SummerSlam
The long rivalry between Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton culminated in a match at WWE SummerSlam with the WWE Championship on the line.
While this could have been the main event of the show, keeping in mind that the WWE Championship was on the line, the company had other plans to close out SummerSlam this year.
McIntyre started with great intensity but a couple of missed finishers by the two men led to Orton taking control.
McIntyre tried to punish Orton by locking him in Ric Flair’s signature Figure-Four leglock, but The Viper pushed the referee away and poked The Scottish Psychopath in the eye.
The Scot did not back down and kept attacking Orton with big moves, including an overhead release suplex, a top-rope clothesline, and Future Shock DDT.
However, The Viper managed to stay in the game and kept coming back at the WWE Champion, dodging a Claymore Kick and attempting an RKO. McIntyre shocked The Legend Killer with a backslide that helped him win the match.
While the ending could have been better, the match itself was pretty good. The finish suggests that this rivalry is far from over, and WWE could immediately book a rematch for WWE Payback following SummerSlam with a special stipulation in mind.
McIntyre needed a win against a big challenger to make his WWE Championship run sweeter, and there’s no one bigger than Orton in WWE today.
#3 Dominik Mysterio makes his family proud at WWE SummerSlam
Dominik Mysterio had a huge task at hand at The Biggest Party of the Summer as he was scheduled to face a former WWE Champion in his in-ring debut. The 23-year-old felt very comfortable in the WWE ring and surely would have made his family proud.
Seth Rollins came out sporting gear similar to what Rey Mysterio wore at the 1997 Halloween Havoc pay-per-view match against Eddie Guerrero.
Dominik pulled off several big moves to show that he’s more than ring ready, and Rollins was ready to play his part perfectly well to ensure that the youngster got the push that he needed.
Rey Mysterio looked on as his son endured several Kendo Stick strikes and a lot of trash-talking, but allowed his son to continue fighting for himself and his family.
The heel took a 619 but managed to raise his knees in time during a frog splash before delivering the Stomp to Dominik to end the youngster’s debut match at SummerSlam in failure just inches away from his father.
This was a great match that told the story well, bringing more heat on Rollins and allowing Dominik to show that he’s ready for the big stage after a great performance at SummerSlam.
We will likely see a few more matches come up following the finish, and Rey and Dominik will likely get the tag team match they’ve always dreamt of.
#2 Asuka becomes a 2-time RAW Women’s Champion at WWE SummerSlam
Early in the night, Asuka took on Bayley for the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship. While The Empress did a good job during the match, a distraction from Sasha Banks allowed Bayley to retain her title at SummerSlam.
The two heels then teamed up and attacked Asuka to weaken her further before she took on Sasha Banks for the RAW Women’s Championship later in the night.
Banks looked to target Asuka’s injured knee early on as she knew that The Empress would already be tired after her first match. However, Asuka was not ready to let this opportunity slip away and tried to get back into the match.
A powerbomb from the apron to the floor left the fans concerned as Asuka landed with a sickening thud. However, she still did not back down and continued to fight on.
Asuka countered the Bank Statement twice and managed to make The Boss tap out to win back her RAW Women’s Championship at WWE SummerSlam.
This was a better match than Asuka’s first one and allowed the Superstar to win back the title. Cracks are forming between Bayley and Banks, and the two matches at SummerSlam showed that Banks cares for Bayley more than she gets in return.
With the two heels now scheduled to defend their WWE Women’s Tag Team titles at WWE Payback, we could see things head south for their friendship leading to a big rivalry.
#1 The return of Roman Reigns at WWE SummerSlam
The Falls Count Anywhere match between the two monsters of WWE for the Universal Championship main-evented SummerSlam. ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt entered the ring with his eyes set on Braun Strowman’s Universal title.
They went straight to business and delivered a few big blows to one another. Strowman looked like a real monster in this fight and gave The Fiend a run for his money with some huge strikes and chokeslams.
The fight went all over the arena. While The Monster Among Men seemed to have the advantage late in the match, The Fiend delivered consecutive Sister Abigails to the Champion on the exposed wood of the ring to win the title.
After the match, Roman Reigns stunned the entire WWE Universe by making a return and spearing the newly-crowned Universal Champion. He unleashed on Strowman several chair strikes, and then Speared the new Universal Champion once again.
He lifted the title over his shoulder to show the world that he’s back and will be ruling SmackDown again with his sights set on the top title. There's also some fan speculation about Reigns being a heel, which would be a huge change to his character.
This was a decent match that had a big finish to end SummerSlam on a high. While Wyatt needed to win the title, he may not get another long run as The Big Dog is back and will be looking to take him down sooner rather than later.
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