Summerslam 2021: Three Things We Learned & Results

Summerslam 2021: Things We Learned

Summerslam was a long show full of interesting surprises. The show featured returns, title changes, and quite a few surprises. What did we learn from WWE’s biggest party of the summer? Here are the results, followed by what we learned:

Results:

• Big E def. Baron Corbin
• RKBro def. Styles & Omos (c) to win the Raw Tag Team Championships
• Alexa Bliss def. Eva Marie
• Damian Priest def. Sheamus (c) to win the United States Championship
• The Usos (c) def. The Mysterios to retain the SmackDown Tag Team Championship
• Becky Lynch def. Bianca Belair (c) to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship
• Drew McIntyre def. Jinder Mahal
• Charlotte Flair def. Nikki A.S.H. (c) and Rhea Ripley to win the Raw Women’s Championship
• Edge def. Seth Rollins
• Bobby Lashley (c) def. Goldberg to retain the WWE Championship
• Roman Reigns (c) def. John Cena to retain the Universal Championship

WWE is Spooked by AEW

Vince and Triple H can say they don’t care what AEW is doing until the cows come home. After CM Punk debuted on Rampage and stole the attention of the wrestling world, WWE had to pull something out. They brought in two huge surprise returns. The first is the return of The Man, Becky Lynch. She replaced Carmella (who replaced Sasha Banks) in the SmackDown Women’s Championship match. Lynch quickly beat Belair (more on that later) to win the belt.

After Reigns dispatched of Cena in the main event, we had return number two. Brock Lesnar is back, and he is coming for Reigns. These two have had a storied rivalry, but now Reigns is on another level. Add in the wrinkle of Paul Heyman now being at Reigns’ side, and this is going to be an excellent feud.

You can’t tell me that WWE didn’t see the response from the Punk debut and want to get some of the excitement back on their side. As much as they say they don’t respond to AEW, they do.

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WWE as a Company is Brutal

There is a ton of backlash on WWE after this show, and rightfully so. Let’s start with the SmackDown Women’s Championship match. Advertised as Belair defending against Sasha Banks, WWE apparently knew for 8 days that Banks wasn’t cleared (h/t Cultaholic). The card is subject to change, we know that. This is just blatant lying to fans to hit them with a swerve.

And oh, that swerve. First Carmella was the announced replacement before the returning Becky Lynch just tossed her aside. It was the biggest reaction of Summerslam. Once the match started, Lynch hit Belair with a cheap shot. One Manhandle Slam later, and Lynch had squashed the reigning champ in half a minute. The match tarnished one of WWE’s up-and-coming stars and gave fans flashbacks to Lesnar ending Kofi Kingston’s WWE Championship reign. We were happy to see Lynch, but this left a terrible taste in the mouth. How is Belair expected to recover?

Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair [Full Match] pic.twitter.com/Caasps2jQd

— SkullsMedia.com by GIFSkull (@SkullsMedia) August 22, 2021

Let’s also add in the announced Crown Jewel show for October in Saudi Arabia. WWE’s continued partnership with the country is a dark mark on the company. Anything for that sweet dollar dollar!

Also, Allegiant Stadium had issues with the wifi and cashless payments. Not WWE’s fault, but still a bad look.

Current situation at Allegiant Stadium:

– Cashless payment system down
– Concessions stopped
– WiFi dead
– Toilets overflowing
– PA system not working properly
– No pyrotechnics (this is a very big deal for wrestling fans)#WrestleMania

— Las Vegas Locally 🌴 (@LasVegasLocally) August 22, 2021

SmackDown is Miles Ahead of Raw

Let’s talk about the talent disparity between the two brands for a second. Lynch and Lesnar are added to SmackDown, naturally. They join the likes of Reigns, Cena, Banks, Belair, Rollins, Edge, Mysterio, The Usos, and Big E at the top. If I’m Fox, I’m thrilled with the product the blue brand is going to put out.

Raw feels like it’s missing that star for the next level. Charlotte (who is once again Women’s Champion) can anchor your women’s division for sure. On the Men’s side, it’s up to McIntyre, Lashley, and two guys in tag teams (Styles & Orton) to do the lifting. USA is probably begging for more top stars to get added to Raw. Right now they’ve got a huge gap to make up in terms of top-flight talent.

One More Thing:

The Brood entrance is forever amazing. It was the best entrance of Summerslam.

Edge with the Gangrel/Brood entrance! pic.twitter.com/eK1iBc9lES #WWE #Summerslam

— NoDQ.com: #WWE #Summerslam news (@nodqdotcom) August 22, 2021

Evan Gomes is a freelance pop culture & sports writer. Follow him on Twitter at @ItsEvanGomes, and check out his two podcasts: Crossbody of Work and The Pop Capsule Podcast.