In typical fashion, WWE promised to have the biggest party of the summer with the 2016 SummerSlam pay-per-view and this year's advertised lineup certainly fit the bill.
Not only was this going to be the last cross-branded event until Survivor Series in November, but it would follow off the heels of NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II—a feat which was tough to beat both last year and this time around as well.
Every championship was scheduled to be on the line, along with the creation of a brand-new title as either Finn Balor or Seth Rollins would be granted the WWE Universal Championship.
Business icons John Cena and AJ Styles would clash yet again, a Best of Seven Series would begin and to cap it all off, Brock Lesnar would be fighting Randy Orton off the heels of his victory over Mark Hunt at UFC 200.
The potential was grand, but did the event live up to the hype?
What elements were good enough to justify sitting through six hours of content and the weeks building up this pay-per-view? On the opposite end of the spectrum, what fell flat and made it seem like this was not as great as it could have been?
It's time once again to look back on the results from SummerSlam 2016 and single out the biggest highlights and low points of the evening, presented in order of appearance.
With four hours of the main show and a two-hour pre-show, there was a
lot of potential the SummerSlam kickoff would be entirely skippable and
not worth investing any time in.
Thankfully, with three matches on the card and a few other things peppered throughout, the time didn't drag at all.
One of the best parts was Baron Corbin's interruption. He addressed his feud with Kalisto, which is missing from this card. He also gave us one of the best lines of the night in "Nice watch. Mine costs more."
All three of the matches were decent, even if two of them had nothing on the line.
With the 12-man tag team match, some dissension occurred as The Usos and American Alpha had a tiff over the pinfall being stolen. This may lead into something important for the division on SmackDown.
A possible breakup between The Dudley Boyz was teased again when they lost to Sami Zayn and Neville, similarly setting something up for the Raw brand.
It may be a disappointment to be bumped to the pre-show, but the first of the Best of Seven Series between Sheamus and Cesaro may have even benefited from that, as they were given more time than if it were to be rushed on the main show.
This was the perfect balance where you could have been entertained paying full attention, just catching bits and pieces while you set up a party, or skipping it entirely and not having to worry about missing too much.
Thankfully, with three matches on the card and a few other things peppered throughout, the time didn't drag at all.
One of the best parts was Baron Corbin's interruption. He addressed his feud with Kalisto, which is missing from this card. He also gave us one of the best lines of the night in "Nice watch. Mine costs more."
All three of the matches were decent, even if two of them had nothing on the line.
With the 12-man tag team match, some dissension occurred as The Usos and American Alpha had a tiff over the pinfall being stolen. This may lead into something important for the division on SmackDown.
A possible breakup between The Dudley Boyz was teased again when they lost to Sami Zayn and Neville, similarly setting something up for the Raw brand.
It may be a disappointment to be bumped to the pre-show, but the first of the Best of Seven Series between Sheamus and Cesaro may have even benefited from that, as they were given more time than if it were to be rushed on the main show.
This was the perfect balance where you could have been entertained paying full attention, just catching bits and pieces while you set up a party, or skipping it entirely and not having to worry about missing too much.
Early on in this match, there was a nasty-looking botch where
Charlotte dropped Sasha Banks on the turnbuckle, nearly causing a major
injury in the process.
Thankfully, the match picked up after that and had some great moments, including a hurricanrana from the top rope which was essentially flawless.
However, the finale left everything on a sour note, undoing the positives that preceded it.
Charlotte's championship reign had reached a point where no more progress was being made, and it was boring. Why take it off Sasha so soon after winning it just to put it back on Charlotte once more?
It isn't as though the Raw roster is overpacked with babyfaces and no heels, since it's quite the opposite with Summer Rae, Nia Jax, Alicia Fox and Dana Brooke only being balanced out by a suspended Paige in the face department.
Sasha hasn't had enough time to build a proper title reign, but she still had all the momentum on her side. If she wins the belt again, why take it off her? If she doesn't, why deny the fans what they clearly want?
This kind of disappointment should have been moved to a further point in the event lineup, as it was too early to start things off in a way that would annoy much of the audience, particularly after following an Enzo and Cass loss.
Thankfully, the match picked up after that and had some great moments, including a hurricanrana from the top rope which was essentially flawless.
However, the finale left everything on a sour note, undoing the positives that preceded it.
Charlotte's championship reign had reached a point where no more progress was being made, and it was boring. Why take it off Sasha so soon after winning it just to put it back on Charlotte once more?
It isn't as though the Raw roster is overpacked with babyfaces and no heels, since it's quite the opposite with Summer Rae, Nia Jax, Alicia Fox and Dana Brooke only being balanced out by a suspended Paige in the face department.
Sasha hasn't had enough time to build a proper title reign, but she still had all the momentum on her side. If she wins the belt again, why take it off her? If she doesn't, why deny the fans what they clearly want?
This kind of disappointment should have been moved to a further point in the event lineup, as it was too early to start things off in a way that would annoy much of the audience, particularly after following an Enzo and Cass loss.
All the critics who were worried AJ Styles would either lose or only
win through some kind of shenanigans are undoubtedly speechless after
what happened here.
Not only was Styles victorious, but he also won cleanly.
From start to finish, this match was great. Both men came off as equals where Cena played up his power and tenacity, while Styles had the agility and finesse.
With every false finish, either man could have won, but ultimately, the true underdog won an untainted victory, giving him enough momentum to undercut anything that came beforehand.
Cena's exit was a nice touch to add some mystique to the end of this segment, too, as fans will be questioning whether he will leave, turn heel or do anything else to change things up after suffering this loss.
When you have a solid match that ends in a way that benefits a wrestler who could use the boost and you create some buzz for what's to come next, that's a major plus.
Not only was Styles victorious, but he also won cleanly.
From start to finish, this match was great. Both men came off as equals where Cena played up his power and tenacity, while Styles had the agility and finesse.
With every false finish, either man could have won, but ultimately, the true underdog won an untainted victory, giving him enough momentum to undercut anything that came beforehand.
Cena's exit was a nice touch to add some mystique to the end of this segment, too, as fans will be questioning whether he will leave, turn heel or do anything else to change things up after suffering this loss.
When you have a solid match that ends in a way that benefits a wrestler who could use the boost and you create some buzz for what's to come next, that's a major plus.
The New Day and The Club could have had a much-better segment than what transpired at this show.
First off, Jon Stewart's involvement fell flat, meaning one of the most entertaining aspects of the stable's performances—their entrance—didn't happen.
This carried over into the end of the match as well, with Stewart getting into the ring to cause a distraction before Big E made his return.
Is it good to see Big E back? Sure. Should it have happened here? Maybe. Was it a good decision to have this match end in a disqualification? Absolutely not.
Disqualifications are overdone on Raw and SmackDown and shouldn't even take place on the lower pay-per-view events, let alone something as big as SummerSlam.
Whether you were looking for a title change or not, at least a definitive ending would have been better than something that does nothing but feels like a stall to convince people to check out Clash of Champions for the real match instead.
First off, Jon Stewart's involvement fell flat, meaning one of the most entertaining aspects of the stable's performances—their entrance—didn't happen.
This carried over into the end of the match as well, with Stewart getting into the ring to cause a distraction before Big E made his return.
Is it good to see Big E back? Sure. Should it have happened here? Maybe. Was it a good decision to have this match end in a disqualification? Absolutely not.
Disqualifications are overdone on Raw and SmackDown and shouldn't even take place on the lower pay-per-view events, let alone something as big as SummerSlam.
Whether you were looking for a title change or not, at least a definitive ending would have been better than something that does nothing but feels like a stall to convince people to check out Clash of Champions for the real match instead.
For some reason, Dolph Ziggler has been getting a lot of heat
throughout the Internet Wrestling Community as of late for being
overrated.
As such, this match was under heavy criticism, even though people always clamor for something different, and WWE rarely puts on babyface vs. babyface matches.
This match proves those critics wrong, as Ziggler and Dean Ambrose kept the energy up and traded blows like it was a bitter feud instead of something where they respected each other, per usual.
Ambrose definitely is the bigger deal on the roster, so it makes sense for him to retain the title here, but it was necessary for Ziggler to look strong in his challenge in order to give him some more credibility as one of the main players on SmackDown.
After spending so much time lingering in the midcard, Ziggler's performance here should go a long way in keeping him a credible contender, while Ambrose's will only help his title reign in retrospect as he proved he can wrestle more than just brawl-style matches he's been making a habit of doing.
Lastly, it's good to see Bray Wyatt didn't cause an interference here or insert himself in any way, as it would have cheapened the finish for both men.
A rematch between these two or a Triple Threat match with Wyatt could be a ton of fun come Backlash if WWE decides to go that route, as this match lived up to its value
.
As such, this match was under heavy criticism, even though people always clamor for something different, and WWE rarely puts on babyface vs. babyface matches.
This match proves those critics wrong, as Ziggler and Dean Ambrose kept the energy up and traded blows like it was a bitter feud instead of something where they respected each other, per usual.
Ambrose definitely is the bigger deal on the roster, so it makes sense for him to retain the title here, but it was necessary for Ziggler to look strong in his challenge in order to give him some more credibility as one of the main players on SmackDown.
After spending so much time lingering in the midcard, Ziggler's performance here should go a long way in keeping him a credible contender, while Ambrose's will only help his title reign in retrospect as he proved he can wrestle more than just brawl-style matches he's been making a habit of doing.
Lastly, it's good to see Bray Wyatt didn't cause an interference here or insert himself in any way, as it would have cheapened the finish for both men.
A rematch between these two or a Triple Threat match with Wyatt could be a ton of fun come Backlash if WWE decides to go that route, as this match lived up to its value
.
It was easy to be nervous about the WWE Universal Championship, as the name itself felt strange and a bit hokey.
Worse than the name itself, though, is the belt's design, which looks like it was shrink-wrapped and stained with Hawaiian Punch.
The fact there are now three titles that are just the WWE logo means it's harder to distinguish between them, but the way around that shouldn't have been to dip this one in more of the red paint leftover from the WWE Women's Championship.
Surely, this will be a point of contention where some people are going to love it and some people like myself will hate it, but from my point of view, this has now surpassed the Tag Team Championship as the ugliest belt in the company.
Worse than the name itself, though, is the belt's design, which looks like it was shrink-wrapped and stained with Hawaiian Punch.
The fact there are now three titles that are just the WWE logo means it's harder to distinguish between them, but the way around that shouldn't have been to dip this one in more of the red paint leftover from the WWE Women's Championship.
Surely, this will be a point of contention where some people are going to love it and some people like myself will hate it, but from my point of view, this has now surpassed the Tag Team Championship as the ugliest belt in the company.
Highlight: WWE Universal Championship Match
Admittedly, this was not as good as it could have been, but there's a
certain level of hype that probably could have been chalked up to
expectations being too high to begin with, so some slack needs to be
given.
The bigger story here isn't anything specific that happened during the match as standout moves or anything, but the idea behind it all.
The Universal Championship has an odd name, an ugly belt and the idea of splitting the rosters could water down the titles like before, but at least the promise of the "new era" hasn't been killed off yet.
Seeing Finn Balor be chosen as the first champion is a good sign WWE has listened to much of its audience asking for more variety and to give some new people a shot at being the featured players on the two brands.
Time will tell if this continues, but this is a good start.
The bigger story here isn't anything specific that happened during the match as standout moves or anything, but the idea behind it all.
The Universal Championship has an odd name, an ugly belt and the idea of splitting the rosters could water down the titles like before, but at least the promise of the "new era" hasn't been killed off yet.
Seeing Finn Balor be chosen as the first champion is a good sign WWE has listened to much of its audience asking for more variety and to give some new people a shot at being the featured players on the two brands.
Time will tell if this continues, but this is a good start.
Low Point: WWE United States Championship Match...or Not
If the disqualification for the WWE
Tag Team Championship match made this list as a low point, of course
the United States Championship match has to do the same, because that
didn't even happen!
Why have a match take place on Raw and then completely avoid doing it on SummerSlam?
The brawl between Rusev and Roman Reigns wasn't even good enough to justify screwing the audience out of being able to see this match.
For years, WWE would put a match on as a bathroom break before the main event for fear that two good matches would hurt the energy levels, but even worse is when the fans see that a scheduled match won't be taking place.
Again, this is another way to stall and avoid doing something until Clash of Champions—probably because that card doesn't have anything set up for it other than rematches.
If that's the case, WWE's Creative team should simply try harder, as this isn't a good indication of how the brand split's pay-per-views are going to work if there's a necessity to drag things out beyond the television shows.
Maybe the act is getting stale, or maybe it's because there were a bunch of disappointments from earlier in the night, but this should have been something much more entertaining than what it ended up being.
Although WWE never gave any true indication Goldberg would interfere, clearly the audience wanted that to happen as there were chants for him to make an appearance. He didn't, and instead, the big sendoff was Lesnar attacking Shane McMahon.
That in itself is just a means for Lesnar to take a few more months off as he'll be "suspended" and not allowed back until the Royal Rumble or, at the earliest, Survivor Series.
If that happens, then he made Orton look like a chump for no reason, as it doesn't change anyone's perception of The Beast Incarnate being an unstoppable force.
There were better ways to book this match without having to resort to Orton winning, as nothing positive comes out of this. The only result is, SummerSlam ended on two downers with the previous match and this one, along with Orton seeming weaker, which only hurts the SmackDown roster going forward.
What do you think should have been classified as the highlights and low points? Is there anything missing from this list that should have been there?
Why have a match take place on Raw and then completely avoid doing it on SummerSlam?
The brawl between Rusev and Roman Reigns wasn't even good enough to justify screwing the audience out of being able to see this match.
For years, WWE would put a match on as a bathroom break before the main event for fear that two good matches would hurt the energy levels, but even worse is when the fans see that a scheduled match won't be taking place.
Again, this is another way to stall and avoid doing something until Clash of Champions—probably because that card doesn't have anything set up for it other than rematches.
If that's the case, WWE's Creative team should simply try harder, as this isn't a good indication of how the brand split's pay-per-views are going to work if there's a necessity to drag things out beyond the television shows.
Low Point: Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton
Having Brock Lesnar basically destroy Randy Orton was such a weak way of ending this event.
Maybe the act is getting stale, or maybe it's because there were a bunch of disappointments from earlier in the night, but this should have been something much more entertaining than what it ended up being.
Although WWE never gave any true indication Goldberg would interfere, clearly the audience wanted that to happen as there were chants for him to make an appearance. He didn't, and instead, the big sendoff was Lesnar attacking Shane McMahon.
That in itself is just a means for Lesnar to take a few more months off as he'll be "suspended" and not allowed back until the Royal Rumble or, at the earliest, Survivor Series.
If that happens, then he made Orton look like a chump for no reason, as it doesn't change anyone's perception of The Beast Incarnate being an unstoppable force.
There were better ways to book this match without having to resort to Orton winning, as nothing positive comes out of this. The only result is, SummerSlam ended on two downers with the previous match and this one, along with Orton seeming weaker, which only hurts the SmackDown roster going forward.
What do you think should have been classified as the highlights and low points? Is there anything missing from this list that should have been there?
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