Top Five Moments from Takeover/SummerSlam weekend

Another successful weekend of NXT and WWE mega events! This week was filled with plenty of ups and downs and I'm going to give you my top 5 moments from the entire weekend. I will also include some of the things that happened on Raw and Smackdown this week as well.

Before I get into anything, I want to say that I thoroughly enjoyed both events. I thought as a whole, Brooklyn II was better than the first one but nothing on the show topped Sasha/Bayley from last year. SummerSlam delivered, especially the matches I knew were going to be good, like Sasha/Charlotte, Balor/Rollins and of course, Styles/Cena. The placement of them all was off but overall, the show was still good. Ambrose/Ziggler was NOT a SummerSlam worthy encounter. For whatever reason, Ambrose just didn't have that magical chemistry like many other people have with Ziggler and it made for a pointless title defense and it made it even worse that it was AFTER Styles/Cena, which was the peak of the show. The Crews/Miz match should have been on the pre show and the main event was way too short. Let's talk the most newsworthy moments from the week.

5. Lesnar/Orton ending

Regardless of how you felt about the ending of SummerSlam, you had an opinion. You felt a certain way and that's all WWE wanted. BrockLesnarVS Randy Orton, the match they said was 15 years in the making and was announced as the main event of SummerSlam a month in advance, ended 10 minutes after it started when Brock went crazy and started hitting Orton with hard and stiff elbows, similar to ones you would see in a street fight. The elbows opened Orton's head up and he started leaking blood. The refs and doctors came out to check on him and there was a lot of confusion in the air. Was this suppose to happen or not? It had the whole reality era feeling. The ref called the match off and Lesnar won by technical knock out. This was done probably for a rematch between the two sometime down the line. I felt like it was a cheap ending to one of the biggest PPVs of the year. I liked the story to it but had the match went a little longer, it would have worked better. When any WWE ends with more questions than answers, it's a good thing because you're more likely to tune into the programming and that's all WWE wants. It left a lot of things unresolved and it worked but to only have it happen after 10 minutes, in the main event of arguably the 2nd biggest WWE event of the year, that's a little confusing. Regardless, it left people talking about and as we all know, good or bad publicity is best for business.

4. King of NXT

Since Shinsuke Nakamura made his fantastic debut at NXT Takeover Dallas, he's been the hottest act in WWE. His charismatic entrance, his amazingly catchy theme song and his hard hitting style all made him a top talent for the brand. Not to mention in every big match he was put into, he flourished. His match of the year contender with Sami Zayn, his first ever clash with Austin Aries and his dream match with Finn Balor all made Nakamura look stronger than ever. If any man can manage to beat those three talents in a three month span, then they are truly deserving of a NXT Title shot. Hell, even a WWE Title shot. The fans got their wish as Nakamura was booked to challenge Samoa Joe for the title at NXT Takeover Brooklyn II. It was a match that didn't disappoint and was one of the most hard hitting WWE matches in history. It was so hard hitting that Nakamura actually dislocated Joe's jaw with one of his knees. Even after that Joe, wouldn't give in and it took one more Kinshasa from him to put Samoa Joe away and claim the NXT Title. Nakamura made a bit of history on Saturday as he not only became the first man to have held both the IWGP Heavyweight and NXT Titles, he also became the first Japanese born superstar to become a World Champion in WWE history. Yes, the NXT Title is a WORLD Title. Didn't it get defended in Tokyo and London last year? WORLD TITLE! Anyway, the hottest guy on the brand should be the face of it right? Samoa Joe has done enough in NXT and needs to go to the main roster where he belongs. Nakamura just gave him his exit ticket. If Joe does come up, Nakamura would have given Zayn, Balor and Joe their last matches in NXT before they went to the main roster. That has to be a record right? Congrats to Shinsuke! And how about that entrance?!?

3. Women's Division

This has been a heartbreaking and uplifting weekend for all the women in WWE, NXT included. It started with Ember Moon, formerly known as Athena, making her anticipated television debut at Takeover Brooklyn. With her unique look and amazing finisher, she'll be one to watch in the future of NXT. The event also featured the much anticipated rematch between Bayley and Asuka, which everyone expected to be the final farewell for Bayley. It was a great match but Bayley couldn't do it. Asuka battled with hard kicks and was able to keep Bayley down for the 3 count. Bayley hugged her fellow Four Horsewomen who were at ringside as the crowd chanted thank you to her. It was a fitting farewell for the heart and soul of the NXT women's division. One has to believe that Ember Moon will be the next big challenger for Asuka and her title reign. I think Asuka will run through what little women are left in NXT, like Liv Morgan, Peyton Royce and others before Ember Moon is the only one remaining and then she'll take her place atop the throne.

At SummerSlam, Charlotte and Sasha Banks put on one of the best matches of the weekend with their high risk match. In the shocker of the weekend, Charlotte was able to reverse the Banks Statement long enough for the three count and victory, which gave her the Women's Championship AGAIN. Charlotte has won the main women's title three times since her debut on the main roster just a year ago. Sasha loss so early drew a lot of confusion from online fans and add the fact WWE took her off live events for the next 30 days. 30 days? The Internet, myself included, feared a suspension may be drawing near for Ms. Banks but reports came out saying she was given time to heal some nagging injuries. Sad but needed seeing how Sasha took back to back dangerous suicide dives on Raw. Over on the Smackdown side, with Eva Marie suspended, Natalya and Alexa Bliss were short a partner against Becky Lynch, Naomi and Carmella. Nikki Bella made her surprise return and got the victory for her team. I like Nikki Bella and she gives the division a bit of legitimacy on Smackdown as one of the only women to have held a title.

Raw saw one of the best moments of the year as Bayley made her long awaited WWE main roster debut and was instantly thrust into a program with Charlotte. Bayley was greeted with the You Deserve It chant instantly. Dang right she does! With Sasha out, Bayley is a reasonable replacement. By only beef is that they might meet too early now. I really wanted Bayley/Sasha at Wrestlemania 33 in Orlando because, you know, it makes sense. With them both on the same show, it's very likely they will wrestle before the big show. It's just a personal preference but I'm just glad Bayley finally made it! On Smackdown, they introduced the Smackdown Women's Championship and it will be crowned at Backlash in the first ever women's Six Pack Challenge. Nikki Bella, Alexa Bliss, Natalya, Becky Lynch, Naomi and Carmella will all fight for the opportunity. Let's be real; Becky Lynch TOTALLY deserves the win, like, it's not even close. I think Nikki will get the nod though here. As you see, the women's division is important on EVERY brand in WWE. Smackdown has the most intriguing one due to all the power players but it will definitely be interesting to see how WWE plays Charlotte/Bayley and Moon/Asuka in the future.

2. AJ Styles make history

SummerSlam belonged to The Phenomenal One but in reality, this whole summer has belonged to him. Styles welcomed John Cena back to WWE on Memorial Day and certainly made it memorable as he turned heel against him. He would follow this up with a win over Cena in their dream match encounter at Money in the Bank. Cena would the pinfall victory over Styles in a 6 man tag at Battleground though, evening the series at 1 win apiece. Styles made the bold challenge against Cena for SummerSlam, one on one one more time. No Club, no help, just the dream match these two deserve. John Cena and AJ Styles did not disappoint in their second match and dare I say, it was even better than their first encounter. Styles said in an interview on IGN that it was an all or nothing type match. Styles certainly put his all in as he was able to get the CLEAN victory over John Cena. CLEAN. No holding of the ropes, no wacky antics, just a finisher and a 1-2-3. With that win, AJ Styles WON a feud against John Cena. Usually when you feud with Cena, you lose and you go to the bottom. Styles broke the Cena curse and gave Cena a very very rare clean loss in what was the best match of the entire weekend.

Styles was then granted a WWE Title match against Dean Ambrose at Backlash but to make sure it was one on one, he had to battle Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler put on a hell of an effort but Styles is riding a huge wave of momentum right now and beat Ziggler, keeping his title match one on one. Styles is in the same position he was in earlier this year. He fought a veteran at a big PPV and then was put in the title picture by earning it. This time, Styles has way too much momentum to lose. At Wrestlemania, Styles took the surprising loss against Jericho only to rebound and become #1 contender. Reigns was too powerful at that point and Styles took two consecutive but amazing losses. This time, he's beaten John Cena TWICE and the former #1 contender Dolph Ziggler. Styles basically has to win at Backlash. How the hell do you win a feud against John Cena and then NOT win the title? It's not possible. Styles will win the WWE Title on September 11th, 2016, just mark your calendars!

1. Universal Title madness

Heading into SummerSlam, we were guaranteed a new World Champion for Raw would be crowned as the first ever Universal Champion would be crowned between Finn Balor and Seth Rollins. A former NXT Champion would make history at the big event. Though the name and the look of the title garnered a ton of negative feedback, Balor and Rollins still gave it everything they had in their dream match. Balor would not be denied in his first every PPV match as he was able to defeat Seth Rollins and become the first ever WWE Universal Champion. All was right with WWE.....for like 12 hours.

Reports starting to come out that Balor got injured during his match and I instantly knew what spot. There was an awesome powerbomp spot where Rollins tosses Balor into the barricade. Balor dislocated his shoulder and put it back into place to finish the match. Reports came pouring in that the injury was worse than everyone hoped and that Balor would need to get surgery and relinquish the Universal Title one day after winning it. Balor did just that and it was said he would be out for 4-6 months. Foley and Stephanie had matches take place to determine who would compete for the title for next week's Raw in a Fatal Four Way. The lucky four are Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Big Cass. It's anyone's match. The likely winner is Seth Rollins. Reigns would be it but he has unresolved business with Rusev. I'm picking Kevin Owens since he's my favorite. It was said that the plans going forward was to have Balor face Owens at Clash of Champions and then have Balor/Owens/Jericho at Hell in a Cell. Wow....we missed out. I'm wondering if they'll just forget about Reigns/Rusev and just replace Balor with Reigns. Or maybe even turn Owens and Rollins and have them feud. That's the money feud for Raw. Owens deserves the title; he's the best heel in WWE right now so it only makes sense. Maybe...but the all the confusion surrounding the title was the best thing about this weekend.

And that's the weekend! Will WWE be able to top themselves next year?

Sorry, how did I NOT mention this? This was actually the best moment, The teasing, oh the teasing...

Takeover and SummerSlam weekend II!

WWE again has an amazing weekend of wrestling coming up as for the 2nd straight time, Takeover Brooklyn and SummerSlam will air on the same weekend. If last year's great shows are anything to go off of, we're in for an amazing two nights. I'll be covering both events in one post. Let's start with Takeover first.

Takeover Brooklyn from last year had the match of the year between Sasha Banks and Bayley so my expectations for the event are obviously pretty high. It's looking like overall, this event could surpass the 2015 event. Let's break down the matches.

Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa may have just put on an absolute war in the Crusierweight Classic but they will be teaming together to face Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson for the NXT Tag Team Titles. The Revival and American Alpha set the tag team match bar high at Takeover The End and I'm expecting another great tag match here. Currently, the tag division on consists of The Revival, Gargano/Ciampa, TM61 and the Authors of Pain. There's no a lot of depth right now. There's always the possibility of Roode and Aries teaming together, but let's no get ahead of ourselves. The Revival may be one of the best teams in the company right now and I don't think Gargano and Ciampa will be ending their reign JUST yet, even though Ciampa/Gargano VS TM61 just sounds like an amazing Takeover match. It will have to wait until The Revival are done with their reign. After a fast paced and hard hitting match, The Revivial will hit Shatter Machine on Gargano for the 3 count and retain the titles.

Bobby Freaking Roode will make his television in ring debut for NXT when he faces relative newcomer Andrade "Cien" Almas. NXT is so crowded with so much great talent that I completely forgot about Almas. It looks like most of the NXT crowd did as well as he hasn't really been featured on NXT TV. This will be a good match for Roode, to showcase what he can do in the ring and what he will bring to NXT. Roode could be the face of NXT, like he was the face of TNA during his reign as champion. Almas will make Roode look good but it won't be enough as Roode will walk out with his first victory on the big stage of Takeover Brooklyn.

I don't like how Austin Aries has been used in NXT since his debut. No real direction and in his first big match, although very impressive, he lost to Shinsuke Nakamura. Now, with nothing else to do, they decide to have him feud with No Way Jose and pair them together at Takeover Brooklyn. I'm definitely not downing the match quality as it could definitely surprise me and be a good match. Austin Aries is competing after all but I just want more from him in NXT. He should be in the main event picture, which I think will definitely be happening after this feud. No Way Jose's party will end when he taps out to Last Chancery. Austin Aries with the victory.

Ember Moon, known as Athena pre WWE, will make he anticipated debut on the show. With a crowd full of smarks, I'm sure she'll get a great reaction. She'll face Billie Kay, who is on a bit of a roll lately, picking up a few wins on NXT TV in the past couple of weeks,  Ember Moon will be victorious in her debut as the dream match of Moon/Asuka draws near. Moon is the ONLY woman I think is worthy enough to give Asuka her first loss. It was originally Nia Jax but now, Ember Moon has to start building towards a match with Asuka. I'd love to see Moon and Bayley at the next Takeover special then the dream match at the following one, maybe in December. Don't know if they can keep the two far enough from each other before the Takeover special on Wrestlemania weekend though...Ember Moon wins.

The rematch 4 months in the making; Bayley will challenge Asuka for the NXT Women's Championship in the same arena where Bayley won the title last year. It's a very poetic moment for Bayley. Back in another women's title match, against the woman who beat her in Dallas and in the magical Barclays Center. It just writes itself. The Revival made history this year as becoming the only team that has held the NXT Tag Titles twice. Bayley looks to do the same but with the NXT Women's Title. It won't happen though, Lightning won't strike twice. Bayley is the last missing piece for the main roster women's division and after the great response she got at Battleground, it's time for Bayley to say goodbye to NXT and finally come to the main roster. The women's division in NXT will suffer as it will only really be Asuka, Ember Moon and the yet to debut Nikki Cross but come on, what else can Bayley do? She was women's champ, had the match of the year last year and main evented a Takeover. People who are on the main roster now never got a chance to do that. Bayley will put up a great fight but Asuka will prove too much for her. Asuka retains.

The main event will feature another dream match. The hottest star in NXT, maybe even WWE, Shinsuke Nakamura, will challenge the reigning and defending NXT Champion Samoa Joe in the FIRST EVER meeting between the two. That's right! No other company has ever put this match together. Nakamura VS any top star is basically a dream match. His matches with Balor, Aries and of course Sami Zayn have been some of the best matches this year. When these two hard hitting individuals get in the ring, I guarantee it won't be any different. This is going to be a violent, mat based affair. I fully expect Samoa Joe to kick out of the Kinshasa while Nakamura kicks out of the Muscle Buster. I hope this match goes 20 minutes plus. They deserve all the time in the world. With NXT being so crowded with stars, (Aries, Roode, Almas, Ciampa, Gargano, etc) I don't really see the need for Joe to be in NXT much longer. He's become champion and became a top heel. It's time for him to come to the main roster to cause some pain and havoc. That being said, I always believe the hottest star should be the top champion. Nakamura's reactions since Takeover Dallas have been legendary and it won't stop until he's champion and even then, they will get louder. Shinsuke Nakamura will walk out of Takeover Brooklyn as the NEW NXT Champion. A rematch with Joe will take place and Joe will be on his way to Raw or Smackdown in the fall. This should be a classic!

Takeover Brooklyn II should be amazing. Each title match has the potential to steal the show. Now, onto SummerSlam!

SummerSlam is once again 4 hours this year and has 11 matches on the show. With a 2 hour pre show, one can only assume that there will be some matches added to it. Surely they just can't talk for 2 straight hours. If they are to add anything, it should be the 6 woman tag and the first match between Cesaro and Sheamus, which is suppose to be a Best of 7 series. Both matches were added the week of SummerSlam and have the least amount of hype attached to it so it makes sense to put them first. I think Sheamus will take match one while the heel women will win their match. I'm going to receive hate for this but I see Eva Marie getting the pinfall victory for her team, maybe even pinning Becky Lynch. Sorry! (Eva was suspended since I typed this so obviously that won't happen now) Let's get to the 9 matches WWE will be putting on!

The New Day will come full circle on Sunday when they defend the WWE Tag Team Titles against Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows. New Day's reign began at SummerSlam 2015 and they've been on fire ever since. Lately though, it seems like the fire has been going out. They had a pointless feud with the Wyatts and the crowd reactions are definitely getting smaller. Is it finally time for this faction to break up? They've been around for almost two years now; maybe it's time for Big E to get pushed to the main event or even Kofi, he sure enough deserves it. I don't know what the future holds for the New Day but they will not leave SummerSlam as champions. Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows didn't come to WWE for nothing and they will walk out as the NEW WWE Tag Team Champions on Sunday. It's needed. I don't want The New Day to break up but I think it's time for them. The fun is over. Sorry....

Apollo Crews will get his first ever singles title shot against The Miz and his Intercontinental Championship. The Miz was off to a very good start when he first won the title, defending it against previous champion Zack Ryder, Cesaro and how could anyone forget the classic Fatal Four Way from Extreme Rules? He then left to film The Marine 5, which is cool and everything, but he took the title with him, which meant, no defense and all the praise people were giving WWE for trying to revitalize the title was for naught. WWE has another opportunity to start over here. The Miz is a great heel and say what you want, he deserves to be in the spotlight on Smackdown. He would play an awesome villain to Ambrose. Miz had his chance to make the title important again and he blew it. It's time for someone else to get that shot. I'm going with Apollo Crews to win and take the IC Title so he can feud with Miz, Baron Corbin, Kallisto and Ziggler. Oh God, a Crews/Ziggler feud would help the title so much. Crews wins his first WWE title 1 year after his debut at Takeover Brooklyn.

Enzo and Cass will be apart of their first SummerSlam come Sunday when they face the new team of Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens. I love this team. Jericho always gets some great partners. Christian, Edge, Big Show, etc. This is another great choice for him. I think they were only put together to push Enzo and Cass since the tag champs were busy. It's not a problem, it's just Jericho and Owens are going to take the loss. I'm interested to see how Owens and Jericho will work together as a team but it won't matter as Enzo and Cass will walk away as the winners. It should be an interesting match.

Sasha Banks and Charlotte will finally have the one on one match on PPV that I've been clamoring for since they came to the main roster. Sasha will defend her Women's Title against the former champion Charlotte in a huge women's match up. Every time these two lock up, it's something special. Ever since their NXT days, they don't disappoint. They will continue to do more of the same at SummerSlam. With the lights on bright and all eyes on them, they will attempt to steal the show on an already stacked card. It's anyone's match too. I know Sasha just won the title but this is still Ric Flair's daughter here. They could very easily do a quick change and then have Charlotte feud with Dana Brooke. They could also have Sasha retain and then have her feud with Nia Jax. It's all about waiting until Bayley comes around and starts to make her mark. Since I'm bias, I'm going with Sasha Banks to retain over Charlotte in what will probably be the best women's match in WWE this year.

Roman Reigns is taking a step down at SummerSlam as some new stars rise up on Raw but it's certainly not a bad idea or match up as he'll be facing Rusev for his United States Championship. Reigns/Rusev is a money feud, whether it's for the US Title or the WWE Title. They're two big and agile wrestlers and both are top stars on Raw. It's a good mid card title feud on Raw. This will be a physical and hard hitting match, especially if their match on Raw is anything to go off of. Reigns got the win there so I don't think there's anyway Reigns will win again. Rusev will get Reigns to pass out to the Accolade and Rusev will retain the title.

It's the dream match part 2! The face that runs the place John Cena will face The Phenomenal One AJ Styles in a blockbuster rematch from Money in the Bank. The first match was great but it left me wanting to see more from these two. I get my wish. This will be amazing. It's a bigger stage and I'm sure the crowd will act accordingly. You have to believe that whoever wins this match will be getting a WWE Title shot down the line. With John Cena taking on a lighter schedule and basically deeming himself a part time talent now, there's no money in Cena winning here. He needs to give AJ the win to continue to boost AJ's stock in WWE. After an absolute classic, AJ Styles will get the CLEAN pinfall victory over Cena and will move onto the WWE TItle picture afterwards.

In one of the strangest decisions this year, Dolph Ziggler will challenge Dean Ambrose for the WWE Title at SummerSlam. With all the options had, it's very strange they went this route, especially on one of their biggest PPVs of the year. It will be a good match as Ziggler will remind us all why he was a former World Champion in the first place. He will attempt to steal the show like he always does. Will he win though? Well, I would kill for a Ziggler/Styles feud and I love Dolph's new attitude but I just don't think it will be enough to stop Ambrose. After a flurry of offense from Ziggler, Ambroose will come through to retain the WWE Title. Ambrose/Styles will main event WWE Backlash in three weeks.

A match 15 years in the making; The Viper Randy Orton will face The Beast Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam in what will most likely be the show ender. It's a smart match. Neither man has faced each other since 2002 and neither man was the star then that they are now. It also makes sense because they're wrestling against one another at the PPV that they both won their first World Titles at, Lesnar at SS 2002 and Orton at SS 2004. All the star align for a perfect match up. In ring wise? I'm not sure yet. I'm very nervous that Randy Orton will get hurt taking one of the many suplexes he will take on Sunday. You know he's got glass shoulders. I'm looking forward to some type of awesome F5/RKO reversal and if it doesn't happen, this match is pointless. I don't see why Orton would be the one to give Lesnar his first pinfall loss in 3 years so I'm going with Brock Lesnar on this one.

The match I'm most invested in is the match for Raw's new World Title; The Universal Championship. Yes, the name I get it, but the competitors involved is nothing to joke about. Two former NXT Champions, perhaps two of the best, will face off for the right to be the first every Universal Champion. The Man Seth Rollins will battle The Demon King Finn Balor for the new championship. This is a dream match, one that I didn't think would happen so quickly but hey, I'm not complaining. WWE has a golden opportunity here to push a new star to the moon, one that the fans like. Last year, Balor was in the main event of the biggest Takeover of all time and this year, he's facing one of the top stars in the company for a new World Title. WWE just has to pull the trigger on Balor. I'm sorry, but you just don't introduce the Demon King on Raw only for him to LOSE at SummerSlam. Balor basically has to win and become champion here. There's no other choice. In what should be the best match of the night, Finn Balor will defeat Seth Rollins to become the first ever WWE Universal Champion.

The Bullet Club are having one hell of a week. Kenny Omega won the G1 Climax, Adam Cole could win the ROH World Title, Styles could beat Cena and Gallows/Anderson and Balor could all walk out as champions. Bullet Club!

This will be an awesome weekend of wrestling! What will steal the show?