The Biggest Party of the Summer went down on Saturday night as WWE blitzed through Nashville, Tennessee with this year’s edition of SummerFest. This is an exciting time in the E right now, with the post-Vince hierarchy falling into place and longtime fans hoping for an uptick in the quality of their booking now that Mr. McMahon no longer has the final say over decisions.
SummerSlam was expected to be too soon for much change to happen, but what were the three biggest takeaways from this show in this possible transitional period?
The Main Event Was Wild
This wasn’t a show that always believed. That was perhaps to be expected given how the company has been over the last few weeks, but it was a show that needed the main event to be on point for fans to leave happy.
Thankfully, it was.
Any wrestling match that starts with one of the men driving a tractor to the ring as part of his entrance is going to be eye-catching, but few people could have foreseen Brock Lesnar using the said tractor to lift half of the ring and send Roman Reigns tumbling to the outside.
You have to do a lot in 2022 to come up with a creative spot that we haven’t seen before. This nonsense – and it was pure nonsense – was a spot that will live long in the memory.
Outside of the ring lifting, this was what you would expect from these two. it wasn’t a technical classic, but it didn’t need to be. It was big move after big move. German suplex after Superman Punch. It was 2022 Sports Entertainment delivering in spades on a summer Saturday night and it was every bit the eat, sleep, watch wrestling, repeat, that it promised.
Logan Paul Continues to Surprise
It is getting more difficult to believe that Logan Paul is a guy with no real wrestling experience. On a sliding scale of match quality to years in the business, Paul blew away everyone else on the card at SummerSlam.
Yes, Paul is a polarizing figure, but he is exactly the type of character that the WWE loves to create. The fact Paul walked into the company this way has saved them years of character development on his cocky persona.
No matter what you feel about Paul as a human, he is damn good in the ring. The Miz was the perfect foil for Paul here – he just knows how to put WWE-style matches together as well as anyone in the company – and the booking allowed Paul to show off his athleticism with big spots.
A standing moonsault would have once been the biggest moment for a celebrity, but Paul followed that up with both a Phenomenal Forearm and then – of all things – frog splash through the announce table.
Impressive stuff.
The Women’s Division is LOADED
I have no idea what the WWE is going to do with the Women’s Division but the talent is there to have it be the greatest division in the history of women’s wrestling.
I think we just saw Becky turn face (good) and Rhonda turn heel (better) to mix it up in a division that was already doing great work. You already have the likes of Charlotte, Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, and Asuka, and we now have to add the returning trio of Bayley, Io Shirai, and Dakota Kai. If – and it is still a major if – Triple H can get Sasha Banks and Naomi on board then this thing is going to the moon.
Always remember folks. Pro Wrestling is Real.
