WWE Summerslam 2016 Review (Part 2)

WWE Summerslam 2016
August 21, 2016
Brooklyn, New York

The Beast Incarnate clashes with The Viper in the main event of the biggest event of the summer! Will Randy Orton be able to take down the imposing Brock Lesnar? Also, Seth Rollins and Finn Balor fight for a chance to become the first Universal Champion.

Match 6: WWE World Championship - Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler
Both Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon are out as the SmackDown Live brand's biggest match of the night is for the WWE World Championship. Funny enough, it's 2019 that I'm watching this and Dolph Ziggler is making having the same gripes with the company as he is in his current feuds. Another solid match for the night but it never felt like this match was able to really suspend my belief as I never really took Ziggler as a legit threat to Ambrose and his title. The action was consistent but nothing that really had me jumping out of my chair like the Styles vs. Cena match earlier. A Dirty Deeds from Ambrose was enough for him to seal the win and retain his title. I'm not sure what it was, this match just didn't feel like it was a World Championship match despite the WWE doing their best to truly build this match up. Disagree with me all you want but Ambrose as the top star was just odd. It's almost as if his character was stuck between a goofball and a serious prizefighter.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
Rating: ***1/2

Match 7: Naomi, Carmella & Becky Lynch vs. Natalya, Alexa Bliss & Nikki Bella
In place of Eva Marie, Nikki Bella makes her return to the ring to team with Natalya and Alexa Bliss. Crowd was hot to see Nikki make her return but once the bell rang, much of their interest was lost as they were seemingly cheered out from that Styles vs. Cena match still. Regardless, the women in the ring did a good job in keeping the match flowing with everyone getting in their offense. Bella is able to seal the win for her team by hitting a TKO on Carmella. Interesting to see this match get so much time but I guess they needed something to bridge the gap between the two title matches as we head into the main events. Good match for what it was but nothing out of the ordinary.
Winners: Natalya, Alexa Bliss & Nikki Bella
Rating: **1/4

Match 8: WWE Universal Championship - No Disqualification - Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor
Much like the WWE World Championship match earlier, the big bosses are out for this one as Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley are ready to crowd the first Universal Champion in WWE history. As you would expect, solid and fluid action from the two here despite Finn Balor getting injured during the actual match. Kudos to him for continuing throughout the match and finishing it. Totally forgot Seth Rollins was still a heel at this time and was completely toying with Balor throughout the match while trash talking left and right. Rollins' cockiness would eventually catch up to him as Balor was able to gain some serious momentum in the final stages of the match before landing his beautiful Coup de Gras finisher to score the biggest win of his life. Great contest between the two and unfortunately, Balor's injury during the match would lead him to surrender the gold just a day later. Regardless, nice to see Balor get the huge win and be the inaugurual champion. Shame the New York crowd was too focused on booing the actual championship belt. Also kind of interesting to see this match not close out the show, kind of speaks volumes to the level of hype behind the Lesnar train. 
Winner: Finn Balor
Rating: ****

Match 9: WWE United States Championship - Rusev (c) vs. Roman Reigns
After Roman Reigns ruined the marriage celebration between Rusev and Lana on an edition of Monday Night Raw, Rusev was defend his gold against Reigns here before tonight's main event. Before the match even begins, Rusev attacks Reigns and the fight between the two spills outside with Reigns beating the living daylights out of Rusev with a steel chair. Finally, they have to announce that there will be no title match between the two here. Afterwards, Reigns gives Rusev a Spear for his troubles. Definitely an easy way to set up a bigger match between the two down the road. Was there just not enough time to give these guys an actual match?
Winner: n/a
Rating: n/a

Match 10: Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton
This is a match that I've never actually watched until now and one that I have also been dying to check out. They hyped this match nicely over the past month or so and really gave it a main event type of feel to it. Amazing video package prior to the match that documents their history together and also the animosity between the two. Super stiff match here with Brock Lesnar tossing Randy Orton around early on like a toy before eventually getting hit with an RKO on the announcers table. However, Orton's punt attempt leads him into an F5 before getting absolutely destroyed with elbows from Lesnar as the referee finally calls for the bell. Orton is left in a pool of his blood, what an eerie sight this was. Afterwards, Shane McMahon comes out to get in Lesnar's face until he eats an F5. Lesnar closes out the biggest night of the summer on a very big note. Here's the thing, not all professional wrestling matches need to go 25 minutes with tons of nearfalls and counters to be a stellar match. That just wouldn't make sense here, it's two guys who literally want to beat the living daylights out of each other. And they did just that. Was it a "***** masterpiece?" No, but it didn't need to be. This is truly when Lesnar is at his best and he comes out leaving this match as an even bigger problem to the locker room. Stop complaining.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
Rating: ****1/4

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
That was an enjoyable show for me and I have no problem in giving it the score I just did despite maybe seeing this show as average. The Styles vs. Cena match was out of this world, the Universal Championship match was great and the main event was a perfect ending to the night. A memorable event and a main event that I think doesn't get the credit it deserves. 
Rating: 9/10