Chris King brings you big highlights from WWE SummerSlam 2019… What will Chris remember? What will you remember?

Every year WWE dubs SummerSlam as an equivalent to WrestleMania and Survivor Series however, it almost never lives up to the hype. While the times are changing, WWE’s second-biggest pay-per-view of the year almost always feels like a gigantic mess. This year’s though was a smoother ride, still, with twelve matches it never felt overcrowded.

Highlights

How badass was it to see The Rated-R Superstar Edge Toronto’s own make his return and deliver a Spear to Elias? I feel like that set the tone for the whole evening!

Raw Women’s Championship – Natalya vs. Becky Lynch (c) in a Submission Match

This was an incredible opener, with the WWE Universe giving love to both their hometown hero and The Man. Everyone myself included was nervous on how WWE would book Natalya, after years of just staying afloat in a sea of women superstars. The first and last time we saw gold around her waist, was two years ago at the same event as tonight when she defeated Naomi to become SmackDown Women’s Champion.

Sharpshooter on the ropes from @NatbyNature! #SummerSlam pic.twitter.com/S8CqfdMudj

— Italo Santana (@BulletClubIta) August 11, 2019

Becky Lynch sold a ton for her challenger, including a nasty looking Sharpshooter applied around the ring post. With both superstars applying each other’s submissions, it gave the intense battle a stronger appearance but, the end result was the right call with The Man successfully retaining her Raw Women’s Championship.

United States Championship – AJ Styles (c) vs. Ricochet

I’ll be honest I was completely disappointed in WWE’s lack of story development in this feud, with all the focus on The O.C. we only saw Ricochet and Styles fight in six-man tag matches.

While this wasn’t a high-octane action cinematic classic we all hoped for, it allowed heel Styles to methodically pick apart his challenger. The One and Only may as well be a superhero not only because of his attire but when he walked off the back of Gallows and Anderson to hit a beautiful Hurricanrana on the outside!

Styles the wily and versatile in-ring technician, cut off Ricochet’s explosive offense at nearly every turn and is portraying a more aggressive character than we’ve seen in several years. Ricochet manages to counter the calf crusher into an Anaconda Vice (a maneuver we haven’t witnessed in five years)!

A thing of beauty. #SummerSlam pic.twitter.com/sN9ESsl1xu

— Italo Santana (@BulletClubIta) August 12, 2019

The ending was FREAKING brilliant with The One and Only going to the well one too many times, and Styles catching mid-air from a Pheonix Splash into a FEROCIOUS Styles Clash. I felt the only way Styles would lose the US title, would be if he was about to challenge for the Universal Championship…we’ll get to that in a minute.

Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon

Watching this entire rivalry culminate over the past few weeks, made me feel like I had traveled back into the Attitude Era watching Stone Cold Steve Austin beat the hell out of The McMahon’s.

The self-proclaimed Best in the World immediately announcing Elias as the special guest enforcer was gold, I was waiting for The Scottish Psychopath to come down but it didn’t happen. Shane provoking Owens on to the point of almost getting disqualified was Heel 101!

Reminiscent to The Texas Rattlesnake Owens, overcoming the odds and beating his new rival at his own game made the ending that much sweeter. When he nailed the boss with a Stunner, the place erupted and this was every bit the ass-kicking that the egocentric boss deserved!

Charlotte Flair vs. Trish Stratus

A dream match is a term we throw around lightly in WWE, but this one absolutely nailed it out of the park! Two trailblazers of the women’s revolution went toe-to-toe in an epic encounter.

Charlotte carrying most of the contest and doing it ever so arrogantly evoked the biggest heel reaction of the night. The WWE Universe was letting her have it but, it outlined a perfect hometown hero’s comeback for Trish.

.@trishstratuscom with the Figure 8 to Charlotte Flair. #SummerSlam pic.twitter.com/taW6sCDSP1

— Italo Santana (@BulletClubIta) August 12, 2019

Watching Charlotte writhing in pain from her own submission was amazing, and the Stratusfaction tonight had just the right amount of stink on it!  In my personal opinion, if Alexa Bliss wouldn’t have gotten injured ahead of their match at WWE Evolution I don’t think this dream match would have even taken place.

If this was indeed Trish’s farewell match, then this was one hell of a way to go out in ablaze. Charlotte winning with her submission was the right call, the only thing I would have done differently would have been a hug and handshake to signal a passing of the torch.

WWE Championship – Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton

I had been clamoring for this match ever since Kofi defeated Orton back in February ahead of Elimination Chamber. I was extremely familiar with their storied rivalry, and I knew this was going to happen.

Kofi was delivering one hell of a gutsy performance tonight, while every time The Viper struck you could just read the word “Stupid” all over his face. The veteran knew how to get under the champ’s skin, and Kofi fell right into his trap.

Certain things in life are inevitable.

One of those things is spelled R-K-O!!! 🐍@RandyOrton @TrueKofi #WWETitle #SummerSlam pic.twitter.com/SV2b0fyCF0

— WWE (@WWE) August 12, 2019

Orton hits an RKO from a jaw-dropping Cross-body was picture perfect! As soon as the action spilled outside, I knew exactly what Orton was thinking about. I truly believe that Kofi getting the victory, would have been sweet vindication but if WWE is opening the story back up to add a new chapter this was a good call.

HE'S READY FOR YOU, RANDY! 💪💪@TrueKofi retains his #WWETitle against @RandyOrton due to a double count-out. #SummerSlam pic.twitter.com/pZTASJ75jB

— WWE (@WWE) August 12, 2019

Kofi’s incensed post-match kendo attack mirrored November 16, 2009, in MSG Arena. We’ve seen pancake throwing and power of positivity Kofi, now is the perfect time to see a new level of intensity by the WWE Champion!

The Fiend vs. Finn Balor – Two Words HOLY SHIT!

Back in 2018, The Eater of Worlds Bray Wyatt was teamed up with “Woken” Matt Hardy dubbed “The Woken Warriors.” The terrifying duo lost the Raw Tag Team Championships to B-Team (Bray’s real-life brother Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel) at Extreme Rules.

Two weeks later they had their rematch and faced defeat again, that was the last time we would see Bray on live TV. On the Post-Mania-35-Raw the WWE Universe was welcomed into the Firefly Funhouse with “A New” Bray Wyatt along with his new buzzard friends.

We were quickly introduced to his demonic alter-ego “The Fiend”, I remember thinking how can WWE transition from this light-hearted Mr. Rogers character, and this extremely violent scary monster? That question was answered last night, creative deserves an Oscar with the amazing character development from the remixed entrance music in a hard metal screaming “HURT, HEAL!”

Throughout the match, Wyatt was being torn between right and wrong, but that didn’t prohibit The Fiend from snapping Finn Balor’s neck and suffocating him with the Mandible Claw to solidify himself as a new entity entirely.

This was pretty crazy. #SummerSlam pic.twitter.com/YmMzzb8UUQ

— Jay Savage (@SVGHQ) August 12, 2019

Universal Championship – Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Seth Rollins

For several weeks I’ve been questioning WWE’s creative booking for “The Beastslayer” Seth Rollins, from Brock Lesnar cashing-in on him at Extreme Rules to his volatile attacks on Rollins leaving him a broken and battered mess. Rollins appeared nothing more than “Brock’s Bitch” coming across whiny and pathetic, but once I watched last night’s main event my view drastically changed.

At WrestleMania, the entire Universal Championship match was 100% shock value, from opening the spectacle to Rollins’s underhanded tactics to rip the title from Lesnar’s stranglehold. For many years “The Beast Incarnate” had only wrestled for ten minutes max (including entrance and his Introduction by his advocate Paul Heyman).

In my opinion, the last time Lesnar was in a well-received main event was two years ago at 2017 SummerSlam, where he defended the Universal Championship against Samoa Joe, Roman Reigns, and Braun Strowman in a Fatal-four-way. From bell to bell last night’s match ran 13:25 that’s not including the pre rituals.

SHADES OF #RoyalRumble 2015!!! #SummerSlam #UniversalTitle @WWERollins @BrockLesnar @HeymanHustle pic.twitter.com/t2wi63veA4

— WWE (@WWE) August 12, 2019

The Beast Incarnate seller and bumped for the self-proclaimed Beastslayer, it was a fair fight with Lesnar taking Rollins to Suplex City free of charge and executing the F5, and Rollins’s gutsy performance digging through the pain and agony to unsure the victory clean I might add. There were no shortcuts this time around, and The Beastslayer exited the explosive encounter looking more of a badass than he did at Mania!

#TheBeast has been slayed. #SummerSlam #UniversalTitle #AndNew @WWERollins pic.twitter.com/zWd2YQafdp

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) August 12, 2019