WWE SummerSlam Review: Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena

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Stephanie McMahon defeats Brie Bella

Mike Smith’s Take:

This match had the biggest potential to be a disappointment, but they might have stolen the show.

Stephanie looked excellent, in so many more ways than one. She was never that good when she wrestled 10 years ago, but she brought her A game tonight.

Nikki turning on Brie became pretty predictable over the past few weeks, despite how stunned Triple H and Stephanie looked.

I honestly think that all four people in this match did a phenomenal job, and the fifth man, the referee, took a really rough looking bump, so kudos to him as well.

Rob Wolkenbrod’s Take:

Coming into this match, we wanted a battle that told a story and was fun. You can place a check mark next to both.

First off, I thought it was pretty cool that Stephanie came out with a somewhat retro look from her in-ring days in the early 2000’s. It almost felt like she about to step in the ring with Trish Stratus again.

She certainly showed tonight that she has some wrestling moves in her after over a decade of rust. She dominated Brie for a good portion of this. It was fitting, though, since it told the story of how their rivalry has been.

We knew Nikki was going to turn on Brie. The first obvious sign was during the contract signing on Raw a few weeks ago when they came down in different shirt branding. Brie had her own shirt and Nikki had her own shirt instead of the generic female wrestling gear or outfit that Brie has been in a few times.

For the second SummerSlam in a row, Triple H made his mark in a heel turn and played his role very well. Is this going to become a recurring thing?

Going forward, maybe we see Stephanie and Nikki vs. Brie at Night of Champions to really put her to the test. It could be a lot of fun to see develop.