The biggest fight of the summer ended up being the most lopsided.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar dominated WWE World Heavyweight Champion John Cena from start to finish, capturing WWE’s top prize for the first time since 2004 on Sunday at WWE SummerSlam at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles.
In one of the most dominant performances in a championship match in WWE history, Lesnar laid a beat down on Cena the likes of which have never been seen before. Lesnar set the tone early by hitting an F5 in the opening minute and never relented. Cena had a few fleeting moments of offense, but spent most of the match being repeatedly sent into orbit courtesy of German suplexes from Lesnar.
SummerSlam epitomized Lesnar’s dominance and what WWE should’ve done with Lesnar from the start. He brutalized Cena. This was an epic, memorable bout the likes of which we haven’t seen and might not see again (well, until Lesnar steps back into the ring). WWE should have Lesnar absolutely decimate and run through everybody until they find the future of the company. Then, and only then, should Lesnar drop the title.
Brock Lesnar is unique inside the squared circle. He’s not out there doing a million moves. Tonight, he did maybe seven. But guess what? Each one of them was real. Each German he hit on Cena was cringe-inducing. Brock Lesnar, above all else, is real.
And in WWE’s “Reality Era,” there’s no better person to represent that than the one in 21-1, the Next Big Thing, the Beast Incarnate, and the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar.
SummerSlam great from top-to-bottom
Even before Lesnar beat down Cena, SummerSlam was a two thumbs up show, with most of the matches living up to expectations.
The night opened with two championship changes as Dolph Ziggler captured the Intercontinental Championship from The Miz in a fun match, and then Paige regained the Divas Championship in an extremely good match.
Women’s wrestling is often overlooked in WWE, treated as a joke for so long. Paige and AJ put on a match that told everybody that’s a big mistake. Given some time to build a good match, the two delivered. AJ locked in her signature Black Widow submission, but Paige countered with a vicious fisherman’s DDT.
Later in the show, the women once again delivered a strong story when Stephanie McMahon defeated Brie Bella after Brie’s twin Nikki turned on her sister. Considering McMahon hasn’t competed in 11 years, this was about as strong as you could expect. They told a very good story and Brie got considerable offense in on her boss, but couldn’t overcome the impact her sister made.
Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose showed why they are the future of the company in their lumberjack match. These two have the right style for the new era. Explosive, athletic and believable. Rollins and Ambrose were all over the place tonight — and it was a fight. Ambrose is one of the most unique wrestlers WWE has. Hopefully this opened some eyes that might’ve been shut, as both men are constantly delivering.
Roman Reigns picked up the biggest win of his career as he defeated Randy Orton. Orton hit one of the most magnificent power slams you’ll ever see in this one. It really made the match for me. Reigns has what it takes to be the future, but he’s not quite there yet. Hopefully he’ll put it all together because WWE badly needs some new blood to break through to the top.
All said, SummerSlam was one of the best WWE pay-per-views in recently memory. There was nothing resembling a bad match on the show, and the main event was worth the price of admission alone. Buy the WWE Network and watch this replay. It will be well worth your time.
The Lesnar Era is here, folks, and WWE might never be the same again.