Views From The Turnbuckle: SummerSlam Review; Thank God It Is Finally Over

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Updated: August 22, 2016

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the opinions of WrestlingInc or its staff.

When we look back at SummerSlam 2016 we are going to remember one thing and that is that the show was so damn long. There were some decent matches on the show, but WWE mismanaged the card pretty badly, weirdly scheduling matches so that some of the biggest matches on the card were in the mid-card and rushing the finishes to several matches. In addition, they inserted matches and segments that the crowd just didn’t care about and that hurt the reaction during the matches that they may have liked more if they were not coming 3 hours and 50 minutes into the show. While there were some highlights, there were also extended moments where the show felt like an absolute disaster. On Friday in my SummerSlam preview I thought that SummerSlam had the potential to be one of the best shows of 2016. Holy s–t was I wrong! I can’t believe how badly WWE screwed this event up, the number one issue being time management. With the exception of AJ vs Cena, every big match felt incredibly rushed, which was amazing when you consider that the show was SIX HOURS LONG!!!!!

Brock Lesnar vs Randy Orton-**1/4The match started out fine, like most Brock matches it was a wild and physical brawl. Then they either rushed into the finish or Brock really went crazy and made Orton bleed profusely for real. I’m guessing the former. I expected Brock to win the match, but they were really hammered by time constraints and they basically did about five minutes of the match and then rushed into the finishing segment. I think if this match went 20 minutes it would be much better because you would believe that Lesnar had just worn down Orton into nothing. But since we are so accustomed to main event matches being 20+ minutes, a quick match with Lesnar winning by stoppage seems really unconvincing.

The Rusev vs Roman Reigns bit was, in my opinion, the sign that this show was really coming apart. If they were running out of time they should have cut out some of the recaps and maybe the six-man tag match. What we got was just absolutely pointless brawling and Reigns getting really mad at Rusev for apparently getting married. It also highlighted an issue with Reigns and that he lacks a certain charisma in the ring that prevents him from connecting with fans in the designed way. If Reigns was really going crazy, he should have been pushing referees, punching security guards, maiming Rusev left and right. Instead he just kind of casually strolled around the ring inflicting his will on Rusev. The crowd might have been going crazy, but we don’t know because they were muted. Brock Lesnar gets over not because he buzzsaws through people and kicks a ton of ass, but because he is so convicing when he does it. Reigns is not nearly at that level.

Finn Balor vs Seth Rollins-***1/2I picked Rollins for this match, but Balor winning makes sense as well. It immediately establishes him as a top star in the company and it gives the Universal Championship a good start since it will seem fresh because it’s on such a new star. Rollins can take the loss without losing that much and he and Balor have the potential to have a legendary feud, even if it hasn’t gotten off to a terrific start. The issues with the match were cosmetic. The crowd was distracted in the beginning because of the admittedly horrible design of the Universal Championship; although they eventually got focused on the match. However, it also didn’t help that the match went on third to last, behind the US Championship and the Lesnar vs Orton match. You want to establish the title as a big deal? Put it in the main event! Certainly don’t put it behind another title match for a championship that is already on RAW. Lastly, I felt like it was a bit rushed and they didn’t get enough time to tell a good story. How can a show that was this long have so many matches that feel rushed?

Dolph Ziggler vs Dean Ambrose-***1/4

A disappointing match to say the least; I don’t why WWE wanted to make the WWE Championship seem like a mid-card title, but clearly they feel that way because they booked this match like it was one. What is really sad is that Ziggler and Ambrose worked really hard to get this storyline over and make themselves seem like a big deal; only to be mostly rejected by WWE. The match itself I thought was fine; but the crowd was dead for it and it didn’t get enough time to really tell a story. The whole point of the brand-split was to make SmackDown seem equal, but WWE has tried pretty damn hard to undermine that concept. At the very least the WWE Championship match should have been on second-to-last behind the Universal Championship match. Instead, WWE parked it behind the Universal Championship, the Lesnar vs Orton match, the United States Championship and a throw-away Diva’s match. By the time the show ended nobody was thinking about the WWE Championship and that is just horrible show design.

AJ Styles vs John Cena-****1/4I thought this match was going to be the best of the weekend and it certainly didn’t disappoint in that respect as they had a very good …

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