Roman Reigns Victorious at SummerSlam with Assist from Jimmy Uso

There is no end in sight to the Tribal Chief’s title reign.

Roman Reigns defeated Jey Uso in the main event of SummerSlam, but only after Jimmy Uso turned on his twin. After a long, grueling match, Jey Uso appeared to have Reigns beat, but Jimmy broke up the pin, then superkicked Jey. Once back in the ring, Reigns speared Jey through a table, prolonging his run atop the company.

The show was a success, with the main event standing out. Two other candidates for match of the night were the opening bout between Logan Paul and Ricochet, and the Seth Rollins-Finn Bálor world heavyweight championship bout. This was, by far, the most significant showing from Ricochet in WWE, and it was fascinating to watch the Rollins-Bálor-Damian Priest storyline unfold. And a highlight of the night was watching Iyo Sky cashing in on Bianca Belair, who had just regained the title, and starting her first reign as women’s champion.

Here are the results:

• Logan Paul defeated Ricochet

• Cody Rhodes defeated Brock Lesnar

• LA Knight wins the Slim Jim Battle Royal

• Shayna Baszler defeats Ronda Rousey in an MMA Rules match

• Intercontinental champion Gunther defeats Drew McIntyre

• World heavyweight champion Seth Rollins defeated Finn Bálor

• Bianca Belair defeated Asuka and Charlotte Flair in a triple threat to win the women’s championship

• Iyo Sky defeated Bianca Belair to win the women’s championship

• Roman Reigns defeated Jey Uso in a Tribal Combat match to retain the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship

The show opened, as expected, with Logan Paul defeating Ricochet. There were plenty of spectacular aerial moves–complete with a Spanish Fly, crossbody/moonsault, and tornado DDT–but this was also hard-hitting. Ricochet was selling injured ribs, which slowed him down when he attempted a shooting star press. Paul got his knees up, further injuring the ribs, though Ricochet recovered and went for a 450 splash. Paul rolled out of the way, then was handed brass knuckles by a man wearing a hat–who looked like his real-life manager Jeff Levin–to knock out Ricochet before scoring the winning pin.

Unlike the Royal Rumble match or the Money in the Bank ladder match, this bout was missing its masterpiece of a moment. But it showed Paul willing to take a shortcut to victory, an important step in his trajectory as one of the company’s top villains.

The match between Cody Rhodes and Brock Lesnar was excellent. This was 17-and-a-half minutes, a marathon for Lesnar, and he dominated the vast majority of it. Lesnar hit his F5 twice, both outside the ring, and once was even on top of the commentary table. But Rhodes persevered, hitting back-to-back Cody Cutters, one of which was from the top rope. They took turns locking on the Kimura, with both breaking the hold, and the finishing sequence came when Rhodes countered an F5 attempt into three consecutive Cross Rhodes maneuvers. Rhodes pinned Lesnar, cleanly, capturing the most significant win of his WWE career.

The importance of this win cannot be understated. Lesnar is one of the greatest stars in WWE, and Rhodes beat him at one of WWE’s signature events with no outside interference, small package, or rollup–this was Rhodes overcoming Lesnar. It was a rare sight to see Lesnar hold up Rhodes’ hand after the win, the type of endorsement that Lesnar typically does not offer.

The Slim Jim Battle Royal went pretty much as expected: with LA Knight winning. There was some star power in this match, as AJ Styles returned (and shared a moment in the ring with former rival Shinsuke Nakamua), as well as Sheamus, who was the last man eliminated. It was a nod to the past to see eight wrestlers team up to dump the giant Omos, but there really wasn’t much substance here. Why not just have the incredibly popular Knight defeat Austin Theory, who was also in this match, and win the United States title?

The MMA Rules match pitting Shayna Baszler against Ronda Rousey lacked logic. Why not put the MMA match in a cage? That would have helped their chances of making this a success, but they were in a tough spot in a match that effectively removed the majority of wrestling moves. Baszler fought through injury to win, a recurring theme of this show, winning the match when Rousey passed out to the Kirifuda Clutch. I think I would have preferred Rousey tapping out, but the message was clear: Baszler’s submission can make anyone, even Rousey, pass out.

The Intercontinental title match saw Gunther defeat McIntyre cleanly with a powerbomb. With Gunther entering the match only 32 days from surpassing The Honky Tonk Man’s record for longest Intercontinental title reign, the finish here was clear. However, I did not think Gunther would win without some kind of interference or help. What does that mean for McIntyre’s future? Could it mean we see a heel turn or a more violent streak?

Seth Rollins retained the world heavyweight championship, defeating Finn Bálor. This made a valid argument for match of the night, highlighting a story that has spanned seven years between Rollins and Bálor. Both men hit a buckle bomb, the move that injured Bálor’s shoulder at SummerSlam in 2016. As expected, Damian Priest played a factor in the finish. Priest attempted on multiple occasions to help Bálor win the match, but Bálor wanted to do it without help. When Priest finally slid the Money in the Bank briefcase into the ring and Bálor reached for it on his knees, Rollins hit a Curb Stomp for the win. The aftermath centered around the escalating tension between Bálor and Priest, who ultimately did not cash in his Money in the Bank contract.

The cash-in came during the next match, but not before Bianca Belair won the women’s championship in a triple threat against reigning champ Asuka and Charlotte Flair. Belair suffered a storyline knee injury in the match, and despite being helped away by WWE officials, she hobbled her way back to the ring. This was executed in spectacular fashion, as Flair had Asuka locked in a Figure Eight–and Belair gingerly climbed to the top and hit a 450 splash on Flair. That led to a close two-count, and the match then built to Flair locking the Figure Eight on Belair–only for Asuka to mist Flair in the middle of the submission. Belair then rolled up Asuka for the win.

Belair’s title celebration was short. Iyo Sky arrived with Bayley and cashed in her Money in the Bank contract, hitting a picturesque moonsault on Belair to capture the championship. Sky has worked for WWE since 2018, and she is the best pound-for-pound wrestler in the world. This moment was well-deserved, and there is plenty of optimism regarding her first title reign.

On a night that led to many questions–what happens next for Cody Rhodes? Drew McIntyre? Ricochet? Shayna Baszler?–there is total clarity surrounding the next step in The Bloodline angle. Jimmy and Jey Uso are destined to headline a pay-per-view together. The reason for Jimmy turning on his brother will need to be explained, but that is the next chapter in this story.

SummerSlam wasn’t perfect, but overall, this was a very entertaining show. There were some missed opportunities–LA Knight should have won the US title, the MMA Rules bout could have been in a cage, and the main event (and show as a whole) ran long. There were plenty of stars missing–Becky Lynch, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn stood out the most–and no surprise returns, but multiple stories (Rhodes-Lesnar, Paul-Ricochet, Baszler-Rousey, and maybe even Gunther-McIntyre) were completed. This was a show worth watching, and naturally, ended with Roman Reigns with his hand raised.

Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.