(Photo by Comicbook.com)
SummerSlam 2021 was a solid event, coming off the heels of the biggest wrestling return in years by having two ironic superstars come back at Allegiant Stadium. Here are some opinionated views about The Biggest Party of the Summer.
(Side note: I had to start watching the event during the Edge/Rollins encounter due to Peacock's lack of having the viewer be able to actually have the opinion to watch the pay-per-view in its entirety. Get your (bleep) together, Peacock! Some of us have to work late. Anyways...)
BECKY LYNCH AND BROCK LESNAR'S RETURN WILL INVIGORATE THE WWE UNIVERSE
After CM Punk's long awaited comeback on Rampage the night before, Vince McMahon needed an ace in the hole.......and he ended up with two. Lynch's return will help a women's division that desperately needs her. Brock's arrival back will be interesting since he is the face for the first time in a long time. As much as most of the company's problems are self-inflicted, they needed a counterattack and succeeded somewhat. However.......
THE COMPANY BOTCHED BOTH OF THEIR RETURNS.....BUT JUST A LITTLE BIT
Lynch won the Smackdown Women's Championship against Bianca Belair.....in 27 seconds. You know you could have a 14 minute classic between the two and both women can look strong. Nope. They had to "Kofi" Bianca Belair. She won the title in the main event at WrestleMania night one, which was considered the best moment of the two-night event. Change my mind. Her title reign was strong and many believed that she would enjoy being with the Smackdown Women's Champion for a long time. A forearm and a Manhandle Slam ended that reign in a whimper. I don't blame Becky for this, I believe Creative wanted to appease her by booking the victory in Lynch's favor.
Also, I realize she is probably the 10th best female competitor on the roster, but Carmella didn't deserve this. When Becky made her surprise entrance, Carmella had a look on her face as if she was saying "Dammit, I'm getting buried." I actually feel sympathy towards her.
Lesnar's return was also cheered upon by the Las Vegas faithful as he confronted Roman Reigns after his match with John Cena. Paul Heyman sold the fact that Lesnar was the face as he did his patented scared-out-of-my-wits look. Here's the problem. It was a cool moment to see the confrontation, but at the end of the day, if this is what they are saving for WrestleMania, do you really want to see this for the third time? It would have been better if Lesnar came out when Lashley was destroying Goldberg with a steel chair. Bobby Lashley has stated that one of the reasons why he came back to WWE in 2018 was he wanted to face Brock Lesnar. The company has booked Lashley to be a dominant world champion and having him face Brock at maybe......WrestleMania? We as fans want a Bobby vs. Brock matchup since we haven't see this before. They missed that opportunity.
THE TWO MARQUEE MATCHES DELIVERED
Edge/Rollins and Reigns/Cena were the best matches on the card, and rightfully so. Both told a story in the ring, which you want your main event to do. Cena wasn't going to win #17, so it was amiable for him to put over Roman. Edge getting the victory was okay. Both he and Rollins looked strong in the encounter which was used to advance the beginning of what could be a promising storyline.
DAMIEN PRIEST SHOULD BECOME A HUGE STAR
Although the fans in attendance didn't seem to be overjoyed with this match, I enjoyed it in a perspective as the veteran, Sheamus, putting over the young prodigy in Damien Priest. The newcomer has the tools to be a huge star in the company. Winning the United States Championship should be a platform to start that.
HAVING RK-BRO WIN THE RAW TAG TEAM BELTS IS A RELIEF
A.J. Styles and Omos holding the Tag Team Championship on Raw was a handcuff to that division. RK-Bro is the closest thing to a top team on that show, which is why the title switch happened. Also, they could break up the team of Styles/Omos. A.J. could be free and do what he does best: wrestle in great matches and chase titles. Also.......
EVA MARIE AND OMOS COMPETED IN MATCHES AT SUMMERSLAM. WRAP YOUR HEAD AROUND THAT.
Here comes the brutal honesty. Eva Marie is eye candy. There, I said it. She does seem as she has improved in the ring, but c'mon? Piper Niven should have faced Alexa Bliss. And yes, I'm not calling her that name the company gave her. Omos is big. That's about it. If you have to rely on a 40-plus year old A.J. Styles to carry you, then there will be problems.
CHARLOTTE FLAIR WINS ANOTHER WOMEN'S TITLE......YAWN!
Rhea Ripley and Nikki Cross (not calling her the other name) could of had a positive encounter at SummerSlam, but the company thought they needed Charlotte in the match. Catering to her gets tiresome in a way since Ripley and Cross will be held back. Also, having Cross win the Women's Money In The Bank and capture the Raw Women's title, only to lose it in a month's time tarnishes the MITB again and kills Cross's push in the process. Like Belair, Ripley won a Women's Championship at WrestleMania. However, unlike Belair, Ripley's reign wasn't as sterling as Bianca's. They decided to go back to the well with Charlotte. I can't understand that.
WOW........THEY REALLY BURIED DREW MCINTYRE
Last year at SummerSlam, Drew McIntyre was the WWF Champion, facing Randy Orton, while carrying the Raw brand and the company through a horrible pandemic. This year, he's in the bathroom break match against Jinder Mahal in a four minute encounter. Geez, I know the company wanted McIntyre away from the title picture, but like this?
THE LASHLEY AND GOLDBERG FEUD WILL CONTINUE......WHY?
You could hear it. You know WWE will find someway to edit it out, but it was there. The Vegas crowd was booing Goldberg. Does that tell you something? Goldberg is 54 years old. He looked slow and old and the attendance knew it. Putting him with Lashley wasn't the best idea, especially for the WWE Championship. This tells you how devoid of talent Raw has. Then, they decided to add Goldberg's son to the mix, thus continuing the feud. Again, this should have been the only match for them. Why continue it if Goldberg isn't prime Goldberg anymore?
The positives of this show was the wrestling. I give credit to the performers for shining on the second biggest event. Despite it not being a sellout, the crowd at Allegiant Stadium was there. They were loud and presumably loyal to the company, even though this company doesn't deserve the loyalty.
There it is. My SummerSlam review in a nutshell.
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