WWE SummerSlam 2017 Results: Highlights, Analysis, and Grades

Follow along with our review of the 2017 WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view.

On Sunday night, the WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view will take place. It’s back at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY, keeping with the tradition of the past few years. This will have a two-hour Kickoff show and a four-hour main show.

SummerSlam’s main event will see Brock Lesnar defend the Universal Championship against Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman and Samoa Joe. If Lesnar loses, he and Paul Heyman will leave the WWE. It adds interesting stakes to the biggest match of the evening, so will this be Lesnar’s last appearance in the WWE?

Jinder Mahal and Shinsuke Nakamura will collide for the WWE Championship. It’s Nakamura’s first title match on the main roster, as he’ll look to end Mahal’s three-month reign that’s taken over SmackDown Live. Will this be the Modern-Day Maharaja’s last night as the champion?

In the Raw Tag Team Championship match, Cesaro and Sheamus will defend against Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. It’s the first time Ambrose and Rollins have teamed up since the 2014 Payback PPV when they were part of The Shield. Will this result in tag team gold at SummerSlam?

These matches, and the 10 others, can be seen below in the full card for SummerSlam.

WWE Universal Championship Match
Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe

WWE Championship Match
Jinder Mahal (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

WWE United States Championship Match
AJ Styles (c) vs. Kevin Owens

Raw Women’s Championship Match
Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Sasha Banks

SmackDown Women’s Championship Match
Naomi (c) vs. Natalya

Raw Tag Team Championship Match
Cesaro and Sheamus (c) vs. Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins

SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match
The New Day (c) vs. The Usos

WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match
Akira Tozawa (c) vs. Neville

John Cena vs. Baron Corbin

Randy Orton vs. Rusev

Big Cass vs. Big Show

Jason Jordan and The Hardy Boyz vs. The Miz, Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel

More wwe: Power Ranking Every SummerSlam

Coverage of SummerSlam begins at 5:00 p.m. ET.

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Jason Jordan and The Hardy Boyz vs. The Miz, Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel

Result: The Miz, Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel defeat Jason Jordan and The Hardy Boyz via pinfall.

Rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars

With maybe half the arena full and before 5:30 p.m. ET, WWE put on the first match of SummerSlam. Bizarre timing and one that will bother those waiting outside the arena. The reaction will be fun to this.

A match still happened, however, with little-to-no response from the crowd because, well, one one was there. Unless WWE is timing this in some strange and unique way, it looks embarrassing for the Superstars and the product.

Here’s a fantastic example of what these six Superstars competed in front of:

DELIGHTFUL (not really). An ugly way to start what’s supposed to be WWE’s second biggest show of the year.

If a tree falls and no one’s around to hear it, did it make a sound?

Miz got the pinfall win in an okay match. It didn’t do much to push the needle, with maybe 50 people in attendance. This isn’t a great look for Jason Jordan if he’s supposed to feud for the WWE Intercontinental Championship, something that could be in-store since it was a six-man tag and not a singles match.

The Hardy Boyz gave an effort. The Miz still performed to his character. Jordan isn’t going anywhere, for now. All of this gets this match a 1.0 out of 5 stars.

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WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match
Akira Tozawa (c) vs. Neville

Result: Neville defeats Akira Tozawa via pinfall to win the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.

Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars

Before 6:00 p.m. ET, the second match started. Look how packed the crowd is for this one:

What’s the rush? Is there an in-arena parade taking place before 7:00 p.m. ET? Are New Day and The Usos about to get a 45-minute match to precede the main show?

For the lack of an audience, Neville and Tozawa did solid work in the ring, similar to their match from Raw. They told the story of Tozawa’s attempted sentons from the top turnbuckle, and the inability to complete one to put away the challenger.

When Tozawa hit the senton, Neville blocked it, went to the top rope and hit Red Arrow to win. It gave him back the WWE Cruiserweight Championship just six days after losing it. Why drop it in the first place? For the sake of a title change? To give Tozawa a big win? Because creative got bored? Either way, it’s a strange instance, but difficult to argue with Neville as the champion again since he did so well the first time around.

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SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match
The New Day (c) vs. The Usos

Result: The Usos defeat The New Day via pinfall to win the SmackDown Tag Team Championship.

Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars

It’s the final match of the pre-show, as The New Day put the SmackDown Tag Team Championship on the line against The Usos. With the work these teams have done for the past few months, it’s a match that deserves something bigger than the Kickoff, but with 13 matches and the usual overbooking, here we are.

Well, this did deserve the main part of SummerSlam, because as the crowd chanted, it was “awesome.” The teams pulled out all the stops, from the finishing moves to the dangerous events that happened outside the ring. New Day had the win one second, then The Usos. It was full of back and forth action.

It was a main show-worthy match and something that should be rewatched on the WWE Network. These teams delivered before and they did it again, with every big move and an awe-inspiring moment that got the crowd on its feet.

Is it a bad thing the titles changed hands? Not at all. It means New Day vs. Usos will happen at least one more time. So, look for it on the next PPV for SmackDown Live. Hard to argue with that, right?

Credit: WWE.com

John Cena vs. Baron Corbin

Result: John Cena defeats Baron Corbin via pinfall.

Rating: 2.75 out of 5 stars

It’s the first show without Baron Corbin’s Money in the Bank briefcase, which he unsuccessfully used on Tuesday’s SmackDown Live. This is also a chance for John Cena to end his SummerSlam losing streak that’s lasted since 2011.

Cena played a lot of cat and mouse to start the match. Not something usually seen from the Face That Runs the Place, until it caught up to him with a vicious clothesline from Corbin.

These two clubbed each other a handful of times, looking stiff and rough. It wasn’t anything technical, but a solid match to get the night started.

For Cena, it’s an easy win that may transition him to Raw. He’s advertised for it’s No Mercy pay-per-view in September, so the “free agent” status may come into play. Oh, and that six-match losing streak at SummerSlam is over.

For Corbin, it’s a bad look. He lost the briefcase on Tuesday and a match in about 10-15 minutes five days later. His immediate future is in doubt, and it may be a while before WWE gives him something serious to do on SmackDown Live.

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SmackDown Women’s Championship Match
Naomi (c) vs. Natalya

Result: Natalya defeats Naomi via submission to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship.

Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars

It’s the first title match of the main show and the first match to be made for SummerSlam from July. Naomi and Natalya is a fresh matchup for the SmackDown Women’s Championship scene and gives the SmackDown Women’s division its biggest stage since WrestleMania 33.

Skipping right to the punch line here. Natalya won the SmackDown Women’s Championship after years of floating around but never pulling off a big win.

From the start, it looked like a surprise that WWE threw Natalya into the title mix. She got this nod over Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch, but made up for it with a solid showing at SummerSlam and one of the biggest wins of her career. Natalya’s win doesn’t exactly open fresh possibilities, however. She’s feuded with Flair and Lynch before, while heel vs. heel feuds with Carmella, Tamina and Lana wouldn’t make much sense.

For now, Naomi should get her title rematch. She saw her four-month reign end at SummerSlam after having a strong showing throughout the spring and summer. Given WWE’s recent knack of flip-flopping championship changes, it doesn’t mean the Glowing One is done with the title, so let’s see what’s next.

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Big Cass vs. Big Show

Result: Big Cass defeats Big Show via pinfall.

Rating: 1.25 out of 5 stars

Here comes the Enzo Amore Bowl. He’s technically not the focal point of the match, but he kind of is, right? Per Big Cass’ request, which was unusually easily agreed on by Kurt Angle, Amore will be in a shark cage for the match vs. Big Show. Amidst all the speculation of heat around the Smack Talker, it’s an interesting wrinkle.

Amore cut his usual pre-match promo, but no one was feeling it. This felt like a shoot, something nobody reacted to. Maybe those heat rumors had something to do with it, but for a Brooklyn crowd that popped hard for this man at the first NXT taping in NYC in 2015 and in preceding moments, it was a stark change.

It’s easy to be negative with WWE programming, but this match wasn’t good, and that may be an understatement. This moved at a snail’s pace, something that wasn’t helped by Enzo’s constant yelling from the shark cage. Maybe the fans couldn’t hear him in attendance, but his voice came through, loud and clear, on the television. Less is more with him — way less.

For Cass, this win is fine for him. It doesn’t give him a ton of momentum, however, as he never looked like the star WWE billed him to be. He also got to kick the face off Amore, who slipped through the shark cage … with baby oil. Yep.

The crowd went silent for Cass’ win, without a boo in the house (that wasn’t heard on TV). We’ll see where he goes from here, but this SummerSlam match wasn’t promising for his stock.

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Randy Orton vs. Rusev

Result: Randy Orton defeats Rusev via pinfall.

Rating: N/A

Before the match could start and even before Rusev made his entrance, he attacked Randy Orton. It gave the Bulgarian Brute the upper hand of this thrown-together SummerSlam match … for about 20 seconds.

After the bell rang, Orton who still had his jacket on, RKO’d Rusev and got the successful pinfall. Game. Set. Match. Just like that.

Was this a favor for Orton putting over Jinder Mahal for three months? Maybe so, because he was just fed Rusev like it was the ultimate present. That or WWE doesn’t feel four hours is enough for SummerSlam. Their time-handling of matches is bizarre.

As for Rusev, this does him no favors, obviously. It’s not a good representation of where he is, and will likely suffer as a result. How can he be taken seriously on WWE programming? Will he ever be boosted up again?

One hour in and SummerSlam has underwhelmed, if the pre-show isn’t counted. They have six matches to go, and they better deliver something special before this event becomes a wash.

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Raw Women’s Championship Match
Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Sasha Banks

Result: Sasha Banks defeats Alexa Bliss via submission to win the Raw Women’s Championship.

Rating: 2.75 out of 5 stars

For the second-straight PPV with Raw Superstars on it, Alexa Bliss and Sasha Banks battle for the Raw Women’s Championship. Bayley was supposed to be in Banks’ spot until a shoulder injury changed those plans.

About halfway through the match, Bliss worked on Banks’ left shoulder. The match psychology played into the action for a few minutes, but ultimately didn’t matter.

Banks got her fourth Raw Women’s Championship reign, as she made up for her SummerSlam loss of 2016. She took out Bliss, despite being a match replacement just days earlier and gets the chance to have the longest title run of her two-year career on the main roster.

For Bliss, her second title reign was just as good as the first. It could have lasted longer, but WWE seems all-in on belt changes at SummerSlam. This was the fourth one of the evening, with the potential for up to four more to come.

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Bray Wyatt vs. Finn Balor

Result: Finn Balor defeats Bray Wyatt via pinfall.

Rating: 2.75 out of 5 stars

This match was planned for a few weeks, but looked like it was off, six days ago. That was until Bray Wyatt defeated Finn Balor on Raw and poured “blood” on him. It set up a rematch, with Balor’s tease and WWE’s promise that the “Demon King” will return at SummerSlam.

As expected, Balor won as the Demon and made up for his loss to Wyatt on Raw. It’s the typical 50-50 booking WWE has done for years, something that rarely works in anyone’s favor. More than likely, it will do neither for either Superstar, as they go to a deciding third bout to end the feud. No Mercy is a decent possibility for this, but will anyone care to see it?

It’s the latest disappointment or average match from SummerSlam. So far, the only positive has been New Day vs. The Usos, which came in the Kickoff Show. WWE has failed to deliver through six main show matches, and have four to go to make up for it. The same goes for the Superstars who haven’t delivered a must-see match for the first two hours since it kicked off at 7:00 p.m. ET.

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Raw Tag Team Championship Match
Cesaro and Sheamus (c) vs. Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins

Result: Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins defeat Cesaro and Sheamus via pinfall to win the Raw Tag Team Championship.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

At plenty of WWE events that are in front of red-hot crowds, they bring beach balls. Why? Who knows, but it gets unnecessary attention. So, Cesaro saw this and decided to sprint into the crowd and rip the ball apart with his hands. It got the loudest pop of the night by far.

Ambrose and Rollins were in sync from the start, which brought back memories from their Shield days. It looked like they never lost a step together, as they worked a crisp game on Cesaro and Sheamus

For the latest title change of the evening, it was Ambrose and Rollins taking home the Raw Tag Team Championship. From the main card, this was the best match of the night. It had all the electrifying spots and intense action that was entertaining, far exceeding anything of the first two-and-a-half hours.

For the former Shield members, they reunited and officially achieved gold, bring superstardom and a sense of nostalgia back. It’s satisfying and something WWE fans should embrace for as long as it lasts.

The Raw Tag Team Division was in need of something to happen after The Revival’s injuries and Enzo Amore and Big Cass’ break-up. Rollins and Ambrose are the answers to that, with this section on Raw hotter than ever.

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WWE United States Championship Match
AJ Styles (c) vs. Kevin Owens

Result: AJ Styles defeats Kevin Owens via pinfall to retain the WWE United States Championship.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

For the fourth time, it will be AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens for the WWE United States Championship. This time, they took to SummerSlam for this, with Shane McMahon as the special guest referee of the match.

For McMahon’s role, it was with Owens. These two had mini spats throughout the match, until Shane properly overruled his own referee decision when he realized Styles’ foot was on the rope. This led to KO and McMahon having a shoving match, before Styles took advantage, took over and won to become the first Superstar to retain a title at SummerSlam.

This seems like an easy way to get to a Owens vs. McMahon match. WWE hasn’t officially announced a SmackDown Live PPV for September, but if they do, it’s possible we get something there. If not, October’s Hell in a Cell is an intriguing possibility.

With Styles, he’ll move on to someone else for the United States Championship. Who steps up will be interesting, whether it’s Baron Corbin or a fresh face (Bobby Roode, anyone?). That should be answered on Tuesday night, when WWE has its latest episode of SmackDown Live.

Source: WWE.com

WWE Championship Match
Jinder Mahal (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Result: Jinder Mahal defeats Shinsuke Nakamura via pinfall to retain the WWE Championship.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Shinsuke Nakamura, fine, but four months ago, if you were to bet on Jinder Mahal getting the second-to-last spot on the WWE SummerSlam card, otherwise billed as the second most important match, you would have been laughed at. Now he’s doing it, but defending the WWE Championship.

This turned into Nakamura’s first main roster loss by pinfall. He remained perfect from the day he debuted in April, along with TV matches and everything he’s done at PPVs. It was bound to happen, but in his first WWE Championship match, it’s an awkward timing.

Mahal’s reign has been plain, dull and lacked any type of spark. His matches never went to the next level you’d want out of a main event-caliber bout, and his finishing move is rarely done clean. That remained at SummerSlam, as his performance was unspectacular, at best. Nakamura did most of the heavy lifting and took the clean loss, despite the presence of the Singh Brothers.

With WWE’s tour of India set for September, look for Mahal to remain WWE Champion through its completion. Afterward, he’ll drop the title at the next SmackDown Live PPV. That’s not breaking news, but a case of business. Mahal as champion brings drawing power into India when the company goes there. Without that, it takes some of the allure away. WWE is capitalizing on the money they might make from this, like it or not.

I’d look for a rematch between Mahal and Nakamura. The finish was clean, but with the Singh Brothers’ interference, it gives WWE an opening for more.

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WWE Universal Championship Match
Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe

Result: Brock Lesnar retains the WWE Universal Championship via pinfall.

Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

Where to begin. Oh, where to begin.

The SummerSlam main event was arguably the most anticipated of the evening. It featured four of WWE’s top stars, all of whom have the ability to headline a PPV on their own. So, they were brought together for this match and absolutely delivered.

For about 30 minutes, this match had a frenetic, fast pace to it. This was nonstop and perfect, with everyone doing their part to make this one helluva showing.

The star was Braun Strowman, despite all that Brock Lesnar did. Strowman unleashed carnage, nonstop, for the first 15 minutes of the match. It was incredible to see him just destroy everyone, including teasing and following through with a full-scale attack of the Beast Incarnate.

We’re going to get Strowman vs. Lesnar at a future WWE PPV, potentially September’s No Mercy. More than enough build for it came from this match alone, and with Samoa Joe pinned at Great Balls of Fire and the same done to Roman Reigns at SummerSlam, all the pieces are there for WWE to cash-in on a match that’s big enough to headline a Big Four show.

Lesnar winning means he’s staying in WWE. The original stipulation had him leaving if he lost the title. So, it puts the talk of his departure to the side until WrestleMania 34 in April.

There will be ample fallout from this match on Raw and something everyone will rewatch for years to come.