A great weekend of wrestling is over and what a weekend it was! NXT continues to show the world why it's the best thing WWE has going with another well rounded, great event.
Tyler Breeze can't catch a break as he once again loses on the big stage of Takeover. The guy deserves so much more as he's a fantastic talent but at least he looked pretty good it defeat. The Vaudevillians finally won tag team gold thanks in some part to Blue Pants, who got one of the biggest pops of the night at Brooklyn. It was great match as well, probably the best tag title match ever at a Takeover event. Tye's Perfect 10 gimmick is over as expected but it wasn't enough to stop the debuting Apollo Crews as he wowed and impressed in his TV debut. He didn't do the full Uhaa Combination so that's something to look forward to in the future. Samoa Joe and Baron Corbin beat the hell out of each other in an entertaining war. Corbin came up short obviously but he looked like a star in defeat. No kick out of the End of Days though. Stephanie McMahon came out afterwards and introduced the first of the two main events which was Banks VS Bayley for the title.
I really didn't think that Banks/Lynch from Unstoppable would be dethroned as the best women's match at a Takeover but Bayley and Sasha not only wrestled well but told an amazing story spanning their whole time in NXT. I always say this but without the presence of a mid card male title on NXT, the Divas are put in that position and since the very first Takeover special back in May last year, the women always go on next to last. They lead into the main event. That could be a good or bad thing for the main event, as the women have been putting on some really spectacular matches in the slot. Charlotte/Natalya, Charlotte/Bayley, Charlotte/Banks, Charlotte/Bayley/Banks/Lynch and Banks/Lynch have all had the pleasure of being put in that position and have been great matches in turn but this past weekend's match between Sasha and Bayley may have been the best yet.
The promo for the match told a lot; how Bayley has been left in dust by the other Four Horsewomen of NXT and even when she had opportunities to win the title, she failed. Bayley would then go on her Sami Zayn redemption tour, defeating her tormentor Emma, her greatest challenge Charlotte and fellow Four Horsewomen member Becky Lynch before getting her shot at Sasha. The story was in place to have Bayley finally get her moment but she still had to get through Sasha, who has been on a different level since winning the title back in February. The match itself was a love letter to women's wrestling, saying that it's nowhere near dead. Sasha focused on the injured hand of Bayley for a lot of the match, mixing in plenty of offense to set up for the Banks Statement. Bayley did her best to defend it. There were a lot of OMG moments in the match that you don't normally see in women's matches, like Sasha's insane Somersault Plancha to Bayley on the outside, Sasha stomping Bayley's hand in the ring steps, Bayley plummeting from the top ropes ON HER HEAD from a failed hurricanrana, the sequence for the first Bayley-to-Belly, Sasha furiously stomping on Bayley's hand while she's in the Bank Statement and of course, the ending. It was such an exciting match between two and unfortunately, it wasn't the main event. Everything about it FELT like a main event, especially the Curtain Call after the match, where Charlotte and Becky came to congratulate their friend Bayley, only to have Sasha and Bayley embrace and all four women to hold up the infamous four gesture with their hands. It was really an amazing moment as a wrestling fan, to finally see women have the place they deserve in the WWE. This is easily my moment of the year AND match of the year right now. This is how a wrestling match, not a women's match, is done. There was a fantastic, long build up, the match delivered and the end was touching and fitting. It's going to be interesting to see what's next for the women's division in NXT. All the Takeover specials except the first featured at least TWO members of the Four Horsewomen facing each other. With Bayley beating the three others now and with them on the main roster, chances are Bayley will defend against someone not apart of the group come October 7th. This is going to be really telling if Bayley can hold a match with someone that's not apart of the fabled group. It could even be Eva Marie guys! Bayley really has a lot of people that will be gunning for her title; Eva Marie, Emma, Dana Brooke, Alexa Bliss and even the soon to be debuting Nia Jax. If I had to pick one match I wanted to see most, it would be Bayley/Bliss. I've always loved Bliss and since she's been paired with Blake and Murphy, she hasn't been in the ring as much. Hopefully, that changes. A Bliss/Bayley match would be great but we all know they're building towards making Eva the biggest thing since sliced bread. We'll see how that goes but as of now, everything about this match was spectacular and earns the spot AS OF NOW, as match of the year and moment of the year.
For all the praise I give the women's match, I can't say too much about the ladder match between Owens/Balor. It was good but compared to Bayley finally getting her moment and celebrating with her friends, the ending fell kind of flat. Balor won, that was it. I was actually falling asleep on the main event so it's definitely something I have to look back on down the line. Regardless, I still don't think I'll hold in the same regard as the women's match. Moments like that just can't be surpassed. Balor's still the champ and will likely be feuding with Samoa Joe in the coming weeks.
WWE put on another fantastic SummerSlam event. The show really prospered thanks to Takeover the night before and you could tell everyone was feeling that pressure. Sheamus and Orton had another good opener, The New Day regained the Tag Titles in a frantic and fun Fatal Four Way, Stephen Amell looked fantastic for someone who's never wrestled before and Owens got his first victory at a big WWE PPV. As for the main events, Rollins/Cena delivered as expected. I'll say it until I die but John Cena has amazing chemistry with anyone that can wrestle better than him. They basically make Cena step his game up. The ending of it was weird but it didn't stop it from being a great match. Thanks to the host Jon Stewart and a chair, Seth Rollins retained his WWE World Heavyweight Title while winning his 1st United States Championship. While Rollins and Cena won't be having a rematch for Rollins's WWE World Title, a rematch for the US Title is likely for Night of Champions. Rollins has the task of defending his title against Sting at NOC as well. If Seth can continue this amazing run, he'll win my Superstar of the Year vote in December hands down. I could Sting beating Rollins, only to have Sheamus cash in his MITB and become the new face of the Authority but we'll see come September.
Lesnar and Taker wasn't bad but I just wasn't interested in the match at all. From the great Takeover special the night before, to amazing victories from Rollins and Owens, I was just checked out. And then, they do that horrible ending, basically confirming we'll be seeing a rematch at either the Royal Rumble or Wrestlemania 32. That was infuriating. This match did give Taker his first win over Lesnar on PPV but it still was a horrible finish to what was an otherwise great wrestling weekend. The thing I hate most about it was that there was no long term effects from the match. With Taker and Lesnar now both gone, what was the real point of the match? Yes, I understand they were trying to sell SummerSlam and this was the match to do it but as a fan, that's the only thing I see. Dollar signs! Now, Sting VS Rollins makes much more sense, seeing how Triple H and Sting have had a previous feud. How much of an insult would it be for Sting to take the title from Triple H's protege? THERE'S a feud that makes long term sense. This will also be Sting's first ever shot at the WWE Title, a title he's never won in his long career. As a fan, I'm definitely more intrigued in this match up with all the factor involved, not an uncharacteristic desperation match from a WWE Legend.
Besides Sting, The Dudley Boys came back on Raw in one of the biggest shockers of the year. I guess they're looking to win the tag titles again. If that's the only reason The New Day won the belts back, I'm going to be highly disappointed. Not at the decision to give the Dudleys the titles, but to treat The New Day as an afterthought. If the New Age Outlaws can win the titles again, so can the Dudleys.
The Wyatt Family welcomed a new member in Braun Strowman. He's from NXT but he never had a televised debut or anything. I can see why though. They've been growing his beard out and wanted to keep his debut a total surprise, which it was. With everyone clamoring for Leo Kruger, WWE gave us a much better and fitting option in Braun Strowman. The guy is MASSIVE! This is a future star if they push him right. He'll fill the void for any big guy WWE needs. I just hope he can back it up in the ring.
It was a great 3 days for WWE, with each night offering something different than the last. Bayley winning the title is still the top moment of all the events but Rollins beating Super Cena, Owen's impressive SummerSlam debut, the debut of Braun Strowman and the returns of The Dudley Boys and Sting all made for a great weekend for Brooklyn and WWE fans everywhere. Good job WWE!
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