What we learned from WWE SummerSlam 2016

SummerSlam 2016 had some ups and downs, but far more ups than the latter. There were some controversial decisions and a surprising amount of blood courtesy of Randy Orton’s head, but since there were 13(!) matches on the night, let’s cut this preamble short and just dive right in.

This was a fun opener during the pre-show, where all the teams were given time to get their signature moves in and tell a chaotic story. That story wasn’t about any one particular wrestler, but more to showcase that there is real depth in SmackDown’s tag team division. The Usos ended up being the ones to score the pin, but it only happened like that because they basically stole the opportunity from Chad Gable and American Alpha as they went into their tag-team finisher that already includes a pin at the end. Pretty rude, Usos.

What we learned: While they don’t have tag titles yet — RAW won the tag team titles in the divorce — SmackDown will introduce their own soon, and this match should give you confidence in the quality of the teams that will fight for them.

Zayn and Neville teamed up to take on the veteran Dudley Boyz, and they secured the victory through impressive wrestling of their own combined with yet another Dudleyz’ miscommunication. We seem to be in the middle of a lengthy Dudley Boyz breakup that will likely launch Bubba Ray into a singles career as one of RAW’s heels.

What we learned: If Zayn and Neville have nothing else going on at the moment, they should absolutely be a tag team for real instead of just as a one-off. Zayn is perfect for soaking up damage and powering his way back, Neville, with all his fierce striking and his incredible flipping, makes for a fantastic hot tag option — let these two stick together and win the tag titles by outwrestling everyone they come into contact with.

Sheamus needed to win this match, not just to go up 1-0 in the best-of-seven between the two, but also because Cesaro won the previous two matches the pair had prior to the start of said series. Sheamus and Cesaro countered each other countlessly, showing off their familiarity with the other, and Sheamus ended up winning courtesy a thumb to the eye followed by a boot to the face.

What we learned: Sheamus might not be defeating Cesaro clean, but he’s a cagey enough veteran to pick up the Ws through nefarious means. We already know what the two will be up to over the next month or so, and if this was a preview of more to come — they got 20 minutes during the pre-show and put on an impressive display — then bring on Round 2.

This might seem like the wrong decision, to not have Enzo and Cass win in front of a Brooklyn crowd that, more than any other, is going to eat up everything they do. However, this is a feud that should go on for more than a single match, given how entertaining Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens are as a team, and put up against the lyrically gifted duo of Enzo and Cass. We’re likely to see more of these four going at it, and since that means more promos and vignettes from Jericho and Owens, then we are truly #blessed.

What we learned: WWE is into the pairing of Jericho and Owens for more than just the one cycle, and that is some of the best news of the entire weekend. Observe:

Many were hoping Sasha Banks would retain so that both she and Charlotte could move on to something else, but that’s not always how these things work. Banks is the face of women’s wrestling in WWE and one of the most important performers in the company, but she’s also a face up against one of the top heels, and sometimes the idea is to leave you wanting more. They had a strong match against each other — even with the occasional sloppiness and scariness that grew out of it — and Sasha will get her chance to win back her title in a third match between the two at a later date.

What we learned: RAW isn’t quite ready to move on from Sasha and Charlotte yet, and given the chemistry the two have together and the risks they’re willing to take with each other, you can understand why. It feels like Sasha will end up getting her title back in the end, but with Bayley now free of NXT and RAW a real possibility, maybe not...

The Miz has his wife Maryse at ringside for a reason, and that reason is to protect his Intercontinental title. Apollo Crews deserved to win, and even looked like he might, but Maryse distracted him at ringside just long enough for Miz to take advantage and hit his finisher, the Skull-Crushing Finale.

What we learned: This feud is unlikely to be over, not when the finish involved a distraction. The two will likely get more time to fight at their next meeting, as it won’t be at an event where both RAW and SmackDown stories need to be squeezed into one night. Thanks, brand split!

If NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn didn’t have the match of the weekend with The Revival defending their tag titles against #DIY, then it’s because of AJ Styles defeating John Cena. This match was so different from their first, in which the two felt each other out and discovered what truly made the other a living legend.

This time, armed with the knowledge of who it was staring at them from across the ring, Styles and Cena went move-for-move until finally, Cena ran out of ideas, and Styles defeated him through sheer willpower.

What we learned: The list of wrestlers who have defeated John Cena without help of some kind — interference, distraction, weapons, cheating, whatever — is a short one. Styles is now on that list, and not only did he best Cena one-on-one, but he did it after taking an Attitude Adjustment off the ropes: historically, that Super AA is the death of any hope for Cena’s opponent, but Styles kicked out even though he couldn’t stand on his own two feet for a considerable time afterward.

This was an incredible win, and a meaningful one, and with Cena likely disappearing for a time following this defeat, Styles is now free to move on to something else with this rarest of victories his to brag about forever. That something else might even be the WWE Championship — he came close to taking it from Roman Reigns earlier in the year, but after defeating Cena twice and this feud likely at its end, he deserves a second opportunity.

There are no new tag team champions, even though Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows defeated The New Day. That’s because Big E, whom The Club knocked out of commission weeks back, returned to save Jon Stewart — yes, that Jon Stewart — from a fate worse than death: groin to the ring post.

Big E followed up saving Stewart by attacking The Club, and since he wasn’t in the match itself this time — New Day was represented by Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston in this bout — his team was disqualified.

What we learned: The New Day lived to hold on to the belts another day, and Big E, even as a good guy, was allowed this one from that perspective since The Club put him on the shelf in the first place. He owed them, and now these sides are fully powered and all squared up for next time.

This match was disappointing. The crowd wanted Ziggler to win — that was obvious. The problem was that the crowd didn’t believe Ziggler could win, and it resulted in half-hearted chanting for a fan favorite against another fan favorite. That, plus the face/face dynamic — which good guy do you want to cheer for, who do you cheer against — didn’t do them any additional favors.

It took a little too long to do too little and now it’s done, as is, presumably, Ziggler’s time in the main event.

What we learned: SmackDown did a wonderful job of rehabbing Ziggler’s career in a hurry, and the build to this match was entertaining over the last few weeks. The problem is that the damage to Ziggler and his career over the last few years takes more than a few weeks to undo completely, and a disappointing championship match probably isn’t going to earn him another opportunity to undo said damage further anytime soon.

On the bright side, the potential for what SmackDown can do is evident. They just need to start giving these opportunities to someone who has been misused like Ziggler but maybe doesn’t feel as hopeless to root for when they’re given a shot. Or, at the least, someone who has better in-ring chemistry with Ambrose.

One of the highlights of this match was that WWE still hyped Eva Marie as being part of it, but then had her personal announcer say that All Red Everything wasn’t going to make it due to exhaustion she was suffering due to poor treatment from the fans. In reality, Eva Marie is suspended over a paperwork mixup involving the wellness policy, but this is a great way of using that to her (and WWE’s) advantage.

Outside of Eva, you had the return of Nikki Bella, who you last saw at WrestleMania wearing a neck brace in what was potentially her last time ever on television. She’s recovered from her injury, though, with a new finisher, a place on SmackDown, and an immediate claim to any opportunities for a blue-brand Women’s Title that pops up.

What we learned: The crowd is just not as into Carmella as they were when she was aligned with Enzo and Cass, but it’s also early on in her WWE career. The same goes for Alexa Bliss, Naomi’s face run, and so on: this was a showcase match for the women’s division on SmackDown, and it did a good job of showing you the potential of everyone in it — even Eva, who without even showing up made a memorable impact. When real stakes are added to the talent and potential of this group, we’ll start seeing and hearing reactions that the women’s group on RAW gets.

It was the first-ever match for the Universal Championship, and Finn Balor, who joined the WWE after a promotion from NXT a month ago, is the first champion. The match itself was entertaining, but the first half was dragged down by the crowd, who did not approve of the look of the belt.

The belt does not have a great design — it’s a little too red and very noticeably so. However, that’s no excuse to hijack a championship match, as that’s disrespectful to the performers as well as the fans trying to enjoy it both live and at home. It’s also such a perfect little analogy for how too many wrestling fans tend to act: something great is happening in front of you, but you don’t like one part, so the whole thing is ruined.

What we learned: Enough about those fans, though: whether the belt is aesthetically pleasing or not, it’s important, and Balor is its first holder. Will Rollins continue to challenge for the now top prize of RAW, or will someone new arise to challenge the Demon? The safe guess is that Rollins won’t leave RAW’s main event just yet, but since there is no rematch clause at play here, that’s no guarantee, either.

You might be wondering why there is no result in that header. That’s because the match never took place: Rusev attacked Roman Reigns before the bell rang, and the two ended up beating each other down for a time until Reigns incapacitated Rusev and had to be held back by a number of officials to keep him from doing additional damage.

What we learned: Was this a heel turn for Reigns, or simply a reminder that he can be a total badass when WWE lets him? Rusev is in the right about everything in this feud and has been acting as the face even if he hasn’t been positioned as such, so a double-turn could totally have happened. The reason we don’t know that for sure, though, is because of WWE’s poor booking of Reigns in the past. Sunday night was a perfect handling of him, though: let him be silent, let him be deadly, but maybe don’t let the rest of the descriptions of his character resemble a fart so much.

So, uh, this probably wasn’t supposed to go down exactly like this. What we had was a working, enjoyable story: Orton, despite his abilities, despite his talent and experience, was getting destroyed by Brock Lesnar. That is, until Lesnar left just enough of an opening for Orton to hit an RKO and put himself right back in the match with a series of big moves that helped level the playing field. When Lesnar decided to get serious again, he took off his MMA gloves, and started trying to reach Orton’s brain by digging with his elbows.

The results were bloody. Very, very bloody. Like, WWE didn’t plan for that much blood bloody. The match was stopped, Orton was declared defeated by TKO, and Lesnar looks like a violent, unstoppable monster once again.

What we learned: That Orton vs. Lesnar is probably going to get a rematch a la Cena vs. Lesnar. What we don’t know, though, is if Orton will be more prepared for this second meeting like Cena was, or if Lesnar is just going to dispose of him again. The former seems more likely, even if Orton can’t topple Lesnar in the end. Hopefully, the next time they meet, Orton ends the match with the same amount of blood he began it with.