SummerSlam hits it out of the park – Annenberg Media

Arguably one of WWE’s biggest premium live events following WrestleMania and Royal Rumble, SummerSlam took place over the past weekend and showcased great wrestling, great storytelling (for the most part) and wicked surprises.

Most notably, there is a new WWE Women’s Champion, but not in the typical fashion. It’s thanks to Iyo Sky cashing in her “Money in the Bank” briefcase that she won last month. A truly great moment for Sky and her entire Damage CTRL faction, who celebrated the moment with her.

Here are the top pro wrestling matches from the past week:

Seth Rollins vs. Finn Bálor (WWE SummerSlam, August 5)

With the World Heavyweight Championship on the line, Finn Bálor’s faction, the Judgment Day, was determined to interfere and have Bálor become the new champ, but that’s not how it worked out. At this point, these men know each other so well, yet they still made an amazing match with incredible chemistry. Both men kicked out of each other’s finishers and seemed to be running on pure adrenaline at some points. Barring an interference from Damian Priest and his “Money in the Bank” briefcase, Rollins used it to his advantage and curb stomped Bálor’s head onto the briefcase to pull off the victory and retain his championship.

Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Bianca Belair (WWE SummerSlam, August 5)

Competing for the WWE Women’s Championship, these three had a fantastic match. Triple-threat matches are always high energy with action happening 24/7, even if one competitor is outside the ring. A turning point in the match was Bianca Belair’s knee injury caused by Charlotte Flair dropping her on the ring steps. Asuka and Flair continued to fight in the ring as medical personnel checked on Belair. It seemed like Belair was done with the match and heading back to the locker room, but she pushed herself to continue and ended up winning with a rollup on Asuka in the middle of being held with a figure four submission by Flair. Truly impossible, but Belair won the triple threat match. Sadly, that victory was short-lived as Iyo Sky capitalized on Belair’s injury and cashed in her “Money in the Bank” briefcase to win the championship after hitting Belair with a moonsault.

Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar (WWE SummerSlam, August 5)

Few men in the modern era of WWE have beaten the beast Brock Lesnar, and for a good portion of this match, it looked like Cody Rhodes would be just another one of Lesnar’s victims. This was an absolutely brutal match that saw Rhodes pulling out all the stops, from suicide dives to top rope Cody cutters. Lesnar hit Rhodes with too many suplexes to count, but Rhodes would never give up and continuously offered himself up for more punishment. Lesnar gladly gave it with an F5 outside the ring and then eventually through the ring announcer’s table. After three crossrhodes, Rhodes pulled off the victory and earned Lesnar’s respect as he raised Rhodes’ arm to the crowd.

Logan Paul vs. Ricochet (WWE SummerSlam, August 5)

I often make the comparison of wrestling being like watching two superheroes battle it out in the middle of the ring. Well, if any wrestler lives up to the “superhero” moniker, it’s Ricochet. The incredible athletic and acrobatic ability of Ricochet is second to none in the WWE, and his match against Logan Paul saw no shortcomings with that. On the other hand, for a newer wrestler, Paul kept up with Ricochet and nailed every move of his own with force and accuracy. Paul, as the heel of course, cheated for the victory by using brass knuckles to hit Ricochet in the face.

“Sports Entertainment Solidified” is a pro wrestling column by Maddy Myer that runs every Monday.