The WWE advertises SummerSlam as their second biggest event of the year, and for the most part, that’s exactly what the pay-per-view felt like. Several WWE titles changed hands at SummerSlam , including Ronda Rousey becoming the new Raw Women’s champion, as the Inquisitr documented. For the main event at SummerSlam , Roman Reigns challenged Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship. These two athletes have had a storied rivalry, so fans were anxious to see what the WWE had in store to make this match different from the others.
The crowd often hijacks the match when Roman Reigns is involved, let alone when he’s wrestling Brock Lesnar in Brooklyn, so analysts were curious on how the WWE were going to handle that scenario, and the wrestling promotion handled it brilliantly. As the Inquisitr reported, earlier in the night, Braun Strowman squashed Kevin Owens to remain “The Monster in the Bank.” After Lesnar and Reigns made their way to the ring, Strowman’s music hit, and the crowd went nuts. “The Monster in the Bank” got on the microphone and announced that after the championship match, he is going to cash-in his Money in the Bank championship contract and challenge the winner at SummerSlam .
OH MY GOD. @BraunStrowman is HERE with his #MITB contract! #SummerSlam pic.twitter.com/5oU5leyoy0
— WWE (@WWE) August 20, 2018
Braun Strowman stood at ringside as Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns squared off. With “The Monster Among Men” at ringside, and with the fans anticipating his cash-in, the WWE was largely successful in preventing the Brooklyn crowd from hijacking the match. At first, this looked like it was going to be a quick one; as soon as the bell rang, Lesnar was staring down Strowman, and Reigns successfully landed a Superman punch. Roman then nailed “The Beast Incarnate” with two more Superman punches. Brock Lesnar looked like he did at the Survivor Series when he quickly lost to Goldberg, and at first, it looked like history was going to repeat itself.
SPEAR! SPEAR! SPEAR! #RomanReigns isn’t wasting ANY time! #SummerSlam #RomanReigns pic.twitter.com/j7NzRcDcNa
— WWE (@WWE) August 20, 2018
Roman Reigns then hit Brock Lesnar with two spears, but when he attempted a third, “The Beast Incarnate” caught “The Big Dog” with a guillotine choke. Roman lifted Brock off of the mat and delivered an impressive spinebuster, breaking the guillotine hold. The crowd could be heard chanting “You both suck,” but this was the closest that they came to hijacking the match. Both WWE superstars got to their feet, and Lesnar delivered a series of German suplexes.
BROOKLYN = SUPLEX CITY! Bad news for #RomanReigns … #UniversalTitle #SummerSlam @BrockLesnar pic.twitter.com/Z1r3PbOZCW
— WWE SummerSlam (@SummerSlam) August 20, 2018
Brock attempted an F-5 to no avail. Lesnar dodged another spear, and Roman Reigns went flying outside and inadvertently hit Braun Strowman. “The Beast Incarnate” followed “The Big Dog” outside, but then Lesnar decided to focus on “The Monster in the Bank.” Brock Lesnar delivered an F-5 to Braun Strowman on the ringside floor. Brock then hit Strowman several times with the Money in the Bank briefcase, and then he unceremoniously threw the briefcase all the way to the top of the ramp.
If you don’t keep a BEAST, a BIG DOG, and a MONSTER separated… the result looks a little something like this! #SummerSlam @WWERomanReigns @BraunStrowman @BrockLesnar pic.twitter.com/2xLYCcyYtA
— WWE (@WWE) August 20, 2018
Brock Lesnar then repeatedly pummeled Braun Strowman with a steel chair and made his way back into the ring. Unexpectedly, Roman Reigns hit Brock Lesnar with a spear to get the three-count and the title. Braun Strowman was still selling the attack from “The Beast Incarnate,” so there was no cash-in at SummerSlam .
Has the threat of @BraunStrowman just been F5’d out of commission?! #SummerSlam #UniversalTitle @BrockLesnar pic.twitter.com/PQTTK7G7at
— WWE (@WWE) August 20, 2018
THE BIG DOG is ON TOP of the mountain! @WWERomanReigns is #UniversalChampion ! #SummerSlam #RomanReigns pic.twitter.com/eoCWP7XT6U
— WWE SummerSlam (@SummerSlam) August 20, 2018
Overall, this WWE championship match was solid. While many fans would have loved to of seen a cash-in, it will be interesting to see Roman Reigns as the face of the company and as the new WWE Universal Champion. Besides, many fans and analysts feel that it will be entertaining to anticipate Braun Strowman cashing in the contract at future WWE pay-per-views and events. Overall, fans feel the WWE did a great job booking the Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns championship match.
