Last week, I asked if WWE SummerSlam was still good for it's 'biggest party of the summer' billing. And, last night, despite the card seeming a little lacklustre for the second biggest night on the WWE calendar, SummerSlam more than lived up to the hype. It was a night that saw title changes in abundance on the undercard - Dolph Ziggler is the new Intercontinental Champion and Paige beat AJ Lee for the Divas Title - and the higher profile matches more than live up to the hype as Rollins/Ambrose overcame their dodgy, lumberjack stipulation and Roman Reigns and Randy Orton got past a slow start to deliver a stellar co-main event. Bray Wyatt also got his much-expected clean victory over Chris Jericho.
But there were two undoubted standout moments that we'll forever remember when it comes to SummerSlam 2014: Nikki Bella turning on her sister, Brie, to give Stephanie McMahon a win over the latter in a match that was way better than it had any right to be (and, aside from the end sequence, didn't even rely too much on booking or cheap stunts).
And then there was Brock. Brock Lesnar went into the night a heavy favourite to destroy John Cena and become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion, following on from him beating The Undertaker's WrestleMania streak in April. And that's exactly what happened. But, wow, wasn't it fun to watch all the same? Brock beat Cena in a match that was essentially a squash, hitting his first F5 within seconds and never relenting from there (hitting a total of 16 German suplexes - they hurt, a lot, by the by - during the bout). It still remains to be seen if his schedule will leave him, essentially, an absentee champion for the most part or if WWE's vision of a part-time champion will actually work, but from what we've seen so far, this could be a fun few months.
Here's the best of the night's action, in tweets and Gifs:
The SummerSlam party in Woolshed was a hit...
#WoolshedSlam first time. Never seen anything like it. LOVE IT ! #SummerSlam
— Oisin Devlin (@Odevlin19) August 17, 2014
I think we've all had that dream in the past few weeks...
I had a horrible nightmare the other day.... A giant $9.99 was chasing me through the woods... — Solomon Crowe (@WWECrowe) August 17, 2014
A slightly-melted Ric Flair was on the SummerSlam panel...
Flair legitimately looks like my grandad did right at the end ..
— Alice Radley (@AliceRadley) August 17, 2014
Paddy Power stole the show last night...
"When it comes crashing down and it hurts inside..." It's probably just indigestion, Hulk. Get yourself some Tums. #SummerSlam — Paddy Power (@paddypower) August 18, 2014
Ronda Rousey's HorseWomen versus The Shield at Survivor Series. Book it, someone...
#PaulHeymanGirls @RondaRousey and the #HorseWomen with Brock and your humble advocate! @UFC @WWE pic.twitter.com/ZA1SzWZ2we
— Paul Heyman (@HeymanHustle) August 17, 2014
I can honestly say I never thought that 'Blood, urine and vomit' would be a popular wrestling catchphrase...
Then = Blood. Now = Urine. Forever = Vomit. #TheFutureIsNow #WWEKickOff #SummerSlam #RealityEra — WrestlingRumors.net (@WrestleRumors) August 17, 2014
Twitter exploded when the German announce team were announced. The German announce table? Sturdy and efficient, unsurprisingly.
Did the @WWE German announce team just say that @HEELZiggler would be Hitler's ideal wrestler?
— Marty DeRosa (@MartyDeRosa) August 18, 2014
The Miz vs. Iron Shiek at WrestleMania 31. Book it, someone...
Respect the #ictitle but shooting wise I can beat the fuck out of the Miz anyday I want #WWESUMMERSLAM — The Iron Sheik (@the_ironsheik) August 18, 2014
AJ and Paige wrestled a serious match that set them apart from other divas as just eye candy, wait no sorry, us wrestling fans are creeps...
Literally everyone in our room made a ''I'm gutted I'm watching this show with other people now'' joke. Thanks AJ and Paige.
— MaffewOfBotchamania (@Maffewgregg) August 18, 2014
To be fair, they kind of encouraged it with the lesbian undertones in the match...
Paige kissing AJ on cheek to become this guy's forum avatar in 5...4...3... pic.twitter.com/K0TvtOjMvr — Wrestling Memes (@Wrestling_Memes) August 18, 2014
Paige won the title for the second time, leading her mother to lose her shit on Twitter for the second time...
aaagh unbelievably proud!!!!!!!!! @RealPaigeWWE @realpaigewwe #mydaughterisamazing #heartsgonnaburst #whatsnext #buzzing
— Saraya Knight (@SarayaKnight) August 18, 2014
HOOOOOOOOO! THE PEOPLE!
Time for Hacksaw Jack Swagger! #SummerSlam — Marty DeRosa (@MartyDeRosa) August 18, 2014
Rusev tramp stamp jokes will never not be funny...
The tattoo on Rusev's back looks a bit like someone forget to take an iron off the board.
— Chris Brooker (@TheBrookerMan) August 18, 2014
Fans were irate when Zeb Colter got attacked after Rusev won...
NOT THE RACIST OLD MAN WHO HATES IMMIGRANTS HOW COULD YOU?! #SummerSlam — Wrestling Memes (@Wrestling_Memes) August 18, 2014
Heath Slater is the new ironic fanboy hero (that some indie promotion will lose a bomb on when they book him after he gets released and realise it was all just a running gag on Twitter)...
You be careful, boys. That's HEATH FUCKING SLATER you landed on #SummerSlam
— PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) August 18, 2014
The highlight of the Ambrose/Rollins lumberjack match may not have even involved either man...
Goldust/Kane! God bless 2014/1998. — HEELWrestling (@HEELWrestling) August 18, 2014
Sequences like this...
...earned Ambrose and Rollins plaudits like this (in spite of the bogey stipulation)...
Best lumberjack match in the history of time #WWESUMMERSLAM
— The History of WWE (@TheHistoryofWWE) August 18, 2014
It's tough to tell when X-Pac is joking on Twitter and when he's genuinely confused...
All the boys say the German announce table smells like hotdog water. I don't know what that's all about. — Sean Waltman (@TheRealXPac) August 18, 2014
Next up was Bray Wyatt/Chris Jericho...
Bray Wyatt looks like a gummy bear turned bad. I love him. #summerslam
— Ronald Funches (@RonFunches) August 18, 2014
But wait, wasn't Bray in Woolshed?
Bray Wyatt has appeared at the #WoolshedSlam pic.twitter.com/XUA37hUV7f — Kyle (@Atomic_Elbow_) August 17, 2014
Bray had one of those awkward, fat guy, 'pull down your shirt because your belly in showing' moments during...
He’s got his whole weight…in his abs, He’s got his whole wide weight…in his abs. Etc #SummerSlam #WoolshedSlam
— Rick Nash (@AMTRick) August 18, 2014
Twitter then exploded as Stephanie and Brie Bella did battle in their much-anticipated clash...
Steph's outfit looks like Mom Trying Out Something New Tonight gear. — gabe of moans (@gabetwee) August 18, 2014
I dunno what you see your mother wearing around the house, pal, but I'd ask mine to leave if she wore this...
It's time. #SummerSlam pic.twitter.com/f2nCZB0Aku
— Stephanie McMahon (@StephMcMahon) August 18, 2014
Then came the twist, as Nikki Bella turned on her twin to give Stephanie the win...
Boob jobs don't pay for themselves #SummerSlam #swerve — Wrestling Memes (@Wrestling_Memes) August 18, 2014
IT WAS ME BRIE IT WAS ME ALL ALONG.
— Brennan Williams (@GREATBLACKOTAKU) August 18, 2014
Paddy had some deep insight into this shocking turn of events...
I once saw two sisters fight outside a nightclub. One actually turned to the other and said: "Your ma is a slag." I still think about her. — Paddy Power (@paddypower) August 18, 2014
There was a lot of this as Roman Reigns and Randy Orton drew the short straw and got the traditional 'piss break' slot before the main event...
Worst Match of The Night is at stake here.
— rovert (@SoDuTw) August 18, 2014
This didn't help their cause...
Did anyone notice if #ObligatoryMidMatchChinlock trended on Twitter right there? — Wade Keller (@thewadekeller) August 18, 2014
Yeah, between this and his "OOOOOOOAAAAGGGHHHHH" scream, Reigns seems a little too 'primal'...
Can @WWERomanReigns come up with a Spear hand gesture that's a little less...rapey #SummerSlam
— WWE Creative Humor (@WWECreative_ish) August 18, 2014
Main event time...
Cena dresses like a cashier at a CenaBurger franchise. — Alice Radley (@AliceRadley) August 18, 2014
Former WWE ref, Jim Korderas, had a point...
Same fans cheering Brock are same ones who hate "part-timers" & will complain if he winn title & doesn't show up every week!
— Jimmy Korderas (@jimmykorderas) August 18, 2014
Ohhhhh yeeeeaaaaaahhhh!
@TheHistoryofWWE Just sayin #SummerSlam pic.twitter.com/z8RNkg0778 — Reny (@TheRevREN) August 18, 2014
The match was essentially a mauling by Brock. But that's okay, Brock maulings are amazing...
And, at the end of it all, we had a new WWE World Champion...
Brock Lesnar.
— Kevin Steen (@FightSteenFight) August 18, 2014
A lot of people speculated that Seth Rollins would cash-in his briefcase. And a lot of others saw sense...
Seth Rollins in the back just looked at his briefcase and decided he is just going to leave it at home from now on. — IVPvideos (@IVPvideos) August 18, 2014
We'll leave the final word to Paddy though...
Even David Moyes is laughing at that beating. #SummerSlam
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) August 18, 2014
WWE SummerSlam 2014 - Quick Results
Kickoff Show: ROB VAN DAM defeated CESARO
DOLPH ZIGGLER defeated Intercontinental Champion, THE MIZ
PAIGE defeated Divas Champion, AJ LEE
Flag Match: RUSEV defeated JACK SWAGGER
Lumberjack Match: SETH ROLLINS defeated DEAN AMBROSE
BRAY WYATT defeated CHRIS JERICHO
STEPHANIE MCMAHON defeated BRIE BELLA
ROMAN REIGNS defeated RANDY ORTON
BROCK LESNAR defeated WWE World Champion, JOHN CENA
Rick Nash is a former professional wrestler, the co-host of Balls.ie's official WWE podcast, Low Blows, and the founder of WWE Parties Ireland. He is also a DJ and terrible sports gambler, so feel free to share some tips with him on Twitter.
