7 Things WWE Got Right At Summerslam 2018

Often there is not much that WWE gets right on their pay-per-view shows, but this year's Summerslam 2018 could be an exception. The creative team managed to put on an entire pay-per-view match card without any big gaffs for the first time in a while.

There is no doubt that Summerslam is a show with faults, as the booking of Kevin Owens, an overreliance of sudden finishes and using shenanigans to end certain matches brought down the overall quality of the show. However, it never hurt the overall viewing experience. Therefore, many moments of slight creativity allowed the 'biggest party of the summer' to stand out as one of WWE's better efforts this year.

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#1 Andrade "Cien" Almas and Zelina Vega continued their winning streak

Almas and Vega continue to shine.

The Summerslam kick-off show is a slot no wrestler would wish to receive, as that means they are one step closer to not finding a place on the next pay-per-view card at all. But one wrestler continued to make the kick-off show his testing ground of success and his name was Andrade "Cien" Almas.

While Almas' matches on the kick-off show may not scream dream match to most, it has allowed him and Zelina Vega to achieve one objective at a time, as they climb the rungs of Smackdown Live. Almas' and Vega's win over Lana and Rusev in the Mixed Match Challenge allowed them to build momentum on Smackdown Live, and slowly climb their way up the hierarchy of the roster.

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#2 The Intercontinental Title is back on a hot streak

Monday Night Rollins has his crown back.

Ziggler and Rollins crafted one of the better matches on the entire Summerslam pay-per-view this year, and what made this match even better was the fact that the Intercontinental Title was back in the spot it thrives in, the opening match.

This match also benefitted from a wave of hype it had received from Dean Ambrose's return last week on Monday Night Raw. It was only a matter of time before Ambrose got involved in this match. Thus, when Ambrose finally laid Drew McIntyre out with Dirty Deeds, the fans popped, and the distraction allowed Rollins to become the new Intercontinental Champion.

While this was a sweet moment for long-time Shield fans, seeing their favourite team members pick up an all-important championship win, it all felt like the set up for a possible Ambrose and Rollins feud. Nevertheless, this was a well-booked match that left more questions to be answered on Raw this week.

#3 Becky turned heel:

Becky finally rejuvenated her career.

Wrestling fans thought that they would never see the day when WWE finally took the underdog babyface character of Becky Lynch and evolved her beyond the superstar that 'never gives up' after having faced defeat for so long. At Summerslam, Becky finally made the most important decision of her entire WWE career. She refused to stay in the shadow of Charlotte Flair any longer.

While the beatdown of Charlotte was satisfying to many WWE fans who are tired of seeing the new Smackdown Live Women's Champion always win, it made Becky, and her quest for gold seem like the most important story on the Women's Division. WWE has a white-hot star on their hands which is Becky Lynch, and at this point, they better book her accordingly. She might even be more popular than Ronda Rousey at this point.

#4 Samoa Joe pushes AJ Styles over the edge

Samoa Joe proved to the WWE Universe at Summerslam why he is the best enemy one could ask for.

Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles was one of the only few dream matches in WWE that actually lived up to the hype. The two familiar foes put on a terrific performance from both ends to produce a fantastic match. Moreover, what made this match stand out from the entire match card was the excellent character work these superstars showed and narrative progression WWE weaved within their first Summerslam encounter.

Joe insulted AJ Styles' family and went beyond any boundaries, a perfect way to define AJ Styles as a man that won’t take disrespect in front of his loved ones. From crashing and burning with Joe to whacking him with multiple steel chair shots, Styles showed a side of himself rarely seen since he debuted in the WWE. The aggressive side of Joe was the perfect way to continue this programme.

#5 Ronda Rousey decimates Bliss

Rousey came to fight.

Ronda Rousey marched onto Brooklyn on Sunday with one goal on her mind; break Alexa Bliss in half. While the point of their match was to determine who was going to walk into Raw the next night as Women's Champion, it was evident that Rousey came to decimate Bliss.

She didn’t really have to showcase her abilities too much, as Bliss was not even booked to put up a fight. Rousey breezed through the easiest title win of her wrestling career. While most would say that Rousey squashing Bliss as if she was a rookie is not the best decision when building towards all women's pay-per-view, it was inevitable. It seemed bound to happen considering the way WWE had booked Ronda and Bliss over the last few months.

Now that Rousey is at the helm of the Raw women's division it would be interesting to see where WWE takes her title reign next.

#6 A New Universal Champion

Roman Reigns speared his way to World Title glory.

This year's edition of Summerslam had the Universal Title once again as main-event. Unlike last year's edition, where the fatal four-way match involving Brock Lesnar, Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns and Samoa Joe completely stole the show, this match was not about being good or even entertaining. It was about WWE finally ending the Reigns and Lesnar debacle for good.

They definitively concluded one of the most hated feuds of the last decade, with Roman Reigns pinning Lesnar for the Universal Championship. Even if Reigns was not the one everyone envisioned to dethrone Lesnar at the end, it certainly was the right decision after Raw had been without its Universal Champion for over a year now.

Now that Reigns is a champion, a lot could change, as he will probably be booked as a much better champion than Lesnar. If nothing else, he will appear on Raw regularly, which will allow the main event scene of Raw to flow properly once again

#7 A Saved Cash-In

Braun Stromwma did make an appearance in the main vent of the night, but not in the way anyone was hoping for. Strowman marched down to the ring after Lesnar and Reigns came to say that he would challenge the winner of that match to a Universal Title match afterwards. Honestly, the fire that Strowman showed in this one small segment was reminiscent to the days when he would decimate first and make jokes later, or not make jokes at all. While Strowmanm got levelled by Lesnar during the match, it might have been an unpopular decision but it was the right decision.

Allowing Reigns to finally win the Universal Championship was something that WWE wanted to do for a very long time, and by delaying that process any further would have resulted in more Lesnar vs Reigns matches. While keeping Strowman from reaching the pinnacle was the right call, as Mr Monster in the Bank would benefit from being reverted into the true legend he was last year than the current version of himself.