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WWE SummerSlam 2021 is in the history books. The show was decent with its fair share of good and bad. We witnessed two megastars make a huge return at the recently concluded pay-per-view. Additionally, four out of seven title bouts ended with the championship changing hands.
Those who sought nostalgia from The Biggest Party of the Summer found satisfaction in the WWE legends’ dedication to the craft.
More than anything, the Vegas crowd made SummerSlam genuinely feel like a 'Big Four pay-per-view.' Nothing beats the return of WWE fans in the live audience. The cheers, the boos, the chants, and the applause – everything helped in creating an engaging show.
Here, we look at the biggest hits and flops of SummerSlam 2021. So, without further ado, let’s begin.
Honorable mention: Pat McAfee impresses again at SummerSlam 2021
WWE SmackDown commentator Pat McAfee is made for this job. He was excellent while calling the in-ring action throughout the show. McAfee enjoyed a glorious moment in the spotlight at SummerSlam alongside Rick Boogs and Shinsuke Nakamura as the trio celebrated The King’s Intercontinental Championship victory.
He was particularly impressive during Edge vs. Seth Rollins as the skillful orator worked hard to draw our attention towards the superstars’ subtle acts inside the ring. It made the “dark Edge” persona look so much better on-screen. Not to forget, his commentary made the main event quite intense.
#7 Hit at WWE SummerSlam 2021: Roman Reigns beats John Cena, Brock Lesnar returns
The main event of SummerSlam 2021 saw Roman Reigns and John Cena face each other in an entertaining match that lived up to the hype. Both superstars stuck to their respective strengths, taking turns to dominate the match. The action was fast-paced, and every time either of them stopped, it would be to mock the other.
Cena took a lot of punishment, but he also came close to pinning The Tribal Chief on three occasions. Reigns looked incredible in the ring, and that is not something that you would read often. Barring a couple of little mistakes, he was impactful in all his attacks and carefully maintained his “Holier Than Thou” attitude throughout his title match.
This was the difference in Roman Reigns between this and his last match against John Cena. If he can fetch this kind of reaction, he is doing a good job as a heel.
Following an epic clash, the match’s closing moments saw Cena hit Reigns with an Attitude Adjustment off the second rope. The crowd rallied behind both the superstars, genuinely appreciating their efforts. John Cena deserved the supportive cheers after the shift he put in against Roman Reigns at SummerSlam.
Unfortunately, Cena couldn’t capitalize on the momentum as Reigns found a way out of the pinfall. He eventually used a picturesque Spear to seal his victory and retained the title at SummerSlam.
However, Roman Reigns’ title celebrations were cut short as The Beast Incarnate’s theme music hit the stadium. Brock Lesnar walked out with fans screaming on top of their lungs while Paul Heyman looked like he saw a ghost.
WWE only teased a feud between Lesnar and Reigns before the latter walked out. The former received an envious welcome from fans in the live audience. The WWE Universe is excited to see what’s on Brock Lesnar’s mind and how he will target Roman Reigns after the pay-per-view.
Lesnar’s return can be viewed as a reactionary booking decision, but it is still great to see him back inside the ring. Hopefully, WWE will book him in a compelling storyline. A good feud with Brock Lesnar can work wonders for Roman Reigns’ current gimmick, but lazy writing will force the crowd to turn on the entire storyline altogether.
#6 Flop at WWE SummerSlam 2021: Finish to Goldberg vs. Bobby Lashley
Bobby Lashley put his WWE title on the line against Goldberg at SummerSlam 2021. It was a decent match, but the finish was an unnecessarily complicated one. Before we dive into the criticism, it is essential to acknowledge a couple of positives. WWE booked Lashley as his familiar dominant self, and he looked better than Goldberg in many instances.
We even saw the WCW icon trying to uncharacteristically escape the beatdown on a couple of spots, making Lashley look like a monster. If The All Mighty pinned Goldberg and picked up a valid victory at SummerSlam, it would have been monumental for his WWE career.
Instead, the match surprisingly took a different direction towards the end. Goldberg seemingly sustained an injury and couldn’t compete. Thus, Bobby Lashley won by referee stoppage and retained his title. Soon after that, he used a steel chair to lay down a vicious attack on Goldberg.
This prompted the latter’s son Gage to attack Lashley from behind, and he was soon caught in a Hurt Lock. Gage passed out within five seconds, and The All Mighty escaped the ring as soon as Goldberg realized what had happened to his son at SummerSlam.
Now, there are a couple of essential points to consider in this segment. WWE could have easily ended this title bout with a credible pinfall to establish Bobby Lashley’s unparalleled dominance – something that RAW could really use. Instead, the attack on Goldberg’s son implicates that he will return for a match against Lashley, and this time, he will probably win the title.
Thus, between now and then, every bit of Bobby Lashley’s build-up would eventually account for nothing. Does he really need an extended rivalry with Goldberg? Brock Lesnar was at SummerSlam, and in hindsight, this is the one opportunity WWE will regret missing. Don’t get it wrong, Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar has incredible prospects.
But we can’t ignore that Reigns had multiple options like Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Edge, and Big E. On the other hand, Lesnar would have been the perfect challenger for Bobby Lashley. Maybe even Big E could have teased a feud. If he was going to face someone who would make sporadic appearances, then it should have been another athlete with an MMA background.
WWE could have scripted the most believable fight in recent memory, but that’s speculation for another day. For now, we hope that the creative team will continue to book Lashley like he was at the beginning of his title defense at SummerSlam.
#5 Hit at WWE SummerSlam 2021: Edge humbles Seth Rollins
It was the only match at SummerSlam that fans would revisit years later, still having the same impact. The build-up to Edge vs. Seth Rollins has been nothing short of brilliant on SmackDown over the last couple of weeks.
Fortunately, their in-ring bout did justice to that build-up and proved once and for all why Edge is widely regarded as a legend in the pro wrestling business. He walked out to his old Brood theme and decided to outperform everyone else.
Both superstars skilfully told the story inside the squared circle, putting up the best fight of the night at SummerSlam. Be it a frustrated Rollins desperately trying to hit Edge with a Curb Stomp or The Rated-R superstar’s devastating Spear that sent Rollins flying off the apron, everything about this match was picture perfect.
It was particularly intriguing to see subtle changes in Edge's character as he embraced darkness to counter The Architect.
The crowd couldn’t stop chanting “This is Awesome” and deservingly so. Both superstars dragged each other through hell before Edge brought back his iconic finisher Edgecator to gain the upper hand.
He then used forced Rollins to submit in his Crossface sleeper hold to pick up the victory at SummerSlam 2021. The Architect was unbelievably good as the villain who made this match all the more enjoyable.
Edge has been a part of brutal matches before against the likes of Randy Orton and Roman Reigns. Both those encounters brought out his violent side, but tonight was different. He was determined to show just how dark he could get, and he did a convincing job at humbling loudmouth Rollins. It will be interesting to see what’s next for Seth Rollins and Edge after their epic bout at SummerSlam.
#4 Flop at WWE SummerSlam: Eva Marie disappoints, again
Eva Marie was arguably the weakest performer on the SummerSlam match card. She faced Alexa Bliss in a singles match, and it was an underwhelming affair. Bliss was quick to attack her opponent while Marie stuck to escaping the in-ring action for most of the match. Her only offense in the bout saw her hit Bliss with Lilly a couple of times.
This irked Bliss enough to bring down hell on Marie, and she allowed her brutal self to take over. She used a couple of hard-hitting punches before delivering a DDT to steal the victory. Hopefully, this match marked the end of their feud, as Alexa Bliss desperately needs to pursue better opponents on RAW.
The only good thing about the match was Doudrop’s apparent turn. She mocked Eva Marie for losing her match against Alexa Bliss at SummerSlam before walking backstage. While we all wanted Doudrop to break herself free from this alliance, it would have been better if she at least landed one punch before walking away from her self-proclaimed mentor.
#3 Hit at WWE SummerSlam 2021: RK-Bro win the RAW Tag Team Championships
The opening match of SummerSlam 2021 saw RK-Bro in action as the fan-favorite duo challenged AJ Styles and Omos for the RAW Tag Team Championships. It was an entertaining bout with subtle nods to The Viper’s going trust in Riddle. Not to forget, AJ Styles was at his best, and he did incredibly well in putting his challengers over throughout the title match.
Randy Orton evidently enjoyed himself throughout the match. He even took Omos out of the equation and eventually landed a hostile RKO to win the RAW tag team titles at SummerSlam. Riddle was also great, but tonight, the show belonged to Styles and Orton as the two veterans forced the crowd to rise to its feet and acknowledge their mettle.
The only complaint from this would probably be that it could have lasted longer. All four superstars delivered their best and set the right tone for the pay-per-view. It was particularly pleasing to see Orton sneakily guide Riddle during their celebrations, and at one point, he even put his belt on his tag team partner and put him in the spotlight.
We are excited to see what’s next for the newly crowned RAW Tag Team Champions. They may extend their title feud with AJ Styles and Omos after SummerSlam as the former champions will want a rematch. Since forming an alliance, Randy Orton and Riddle have been organically over with the crowd, and WWE should book them in a credible championship reign.
#2 Hit at WWE SummerSlam: Damian Priest wins the United States Championship
At SummerSlam 2021, Damian Priest challenged Sheamus for the United States Championship. The two superstars faced each other in one of the best matches of the night that ended with an epic title change. Priest and Sheamus looked equally dominant throughout the match, and their in-ring narration was on point.
Sheamus would take a moment to show off in between his attacks while Priest would mock the champion. These little details added to a match that already boasted of impressive in-ring action between two excellent superstars.
Eventually, Priest used the Reckoning to seal his victory and win his first title on the main roster. Sheamus also deserves a lot of credit as he brilliantly put The Archer of Infamy over with the crowd throughout the match.
WWE have made perfect decisions with respect to Damian Priest’s booking so far. From his in-ring attitude to clever antics, the creative team has done well in drawing attention to his in-ring abilities as well as his story-telling skills. He deserves to win the United States Championship after his performance at SummerSlam, and it will be exciting to see what awaits him on RAW.
#1 Flop/Hit at WWE SummerSlam 2021: Becky Lynch returns and buries Bianca Belair
SummerSlam 2021 witnessed Becky Lynch’s much-anticipated WWE return after 15 months. The Man walked out to a loud pop, and the crowd cheered for her as long as she was in the ring. Everything about it was perfect, except what happened with Bianca Belair immediately afterward. It all started when Belair walked out for her SmackDown Women’s Championship match.
Soon, it was announced that Sasha Banks wouldn’t be competing in the scheduled bout, and Carmella replaced her. Both superstars were about to start their match when Lynch’s theme sent the crowd into a frenzy. The former women’s champion walked out to a massive welcome and immediately took Carmella out of the equation.
Becky Lynch then challenged Bianca Belair for the SmackDown Women’s Championship, but the next few minutes were questionably booked. Lynch hit Belair with the pumphandle slam and pinned her in less than 30 seconds to win the title at SummerSlam.
While it is understandable that WWE wanted to assert The Man as the biggest threat in the women’s division, it also compromised with Belair’s entire credibility that she had built since Royal Rumble.
It was a strange decision, but things aren’t entirely out of hand just yet. WWE can use this turn of events to book Bianca Belair as a heel. Lynch is likely to enjoy a lengthy title reign after SummerSlam, but she should at least engage in a good rivalry with Belair on SmackDown leading up to Extreme Rules.
WWE has invested a lot of time building up Bianca Belair as the strongest athlete in the women’s division. She should at least get an opportunity to showcase her resilience in a rivalry with Becky Lynch.
This will help retain the crowd’s interest, and Belair’s underwhelming loss at SummerSlam can be blamed on a surprise factor. Hopefully, she will make a big comeback on SmackDown later this week.
Teddy Long snaps when Swerve Strickland's race is brought up HERE
