WWE SummerSlam 2015 sizzled with controversy on a night when The Undertaker attempted to gain revenge over his WrestleMania nemesis Brock Lesnar and Seth Rollins aimed to become the ultimate WWE champion in a winner takes all bout with John Cena.
An already boisterous evening in Brooklyn exploded into a mix of cheers and jeers at the finale of a brutal headline event at the Barclays Center. After a much-celebrated return, Taker has looked stronger with every appearance through 2015 and rolled back the years to perform an array of his signature moves, one of which inflicted a deep gash to Lesnar's forehead.
But The Beast was dishing out the punishment too, particularly with five Suplexes and three F5s, one of which launched the Deadman over an announce table.
As these two giants of the squared circle began to tire, a thoroughly entertaining tear up was ruined by a bizarre conclusion. Taker appeared to tap out while being locked in a Kimura, a potentially arm-breaking manouvre favoured by Lesnar. But the ref missed the moment after beginning a count on the aggressor, whose shoulders were pinned to the canvas.
The timekeeper at ringside spotted Taker's submission and rang the bell for a Lesnar victory. While the main match official dashed to the rope to remonstrate with his colleague, and Lesnar began his celebrations, the Deadman rose to deliver a low blow and lock in a Hell's Gate on his confused opponent.
Lesnar's fate was sealed and with only enough energy to deliver a defiant one fingered salute, he began to lose consciousness, prompting the ref to award the win to The Undertaker.
It was a victory that many fans in the WWE Universe had craved after Lesnar had ended the Phenom's 21-match winning streak at WrestleMania last year, though a cleaner win would have been far more satisfatory.
It also sparked outrage from The Beast's advocate Paul Heyman at ringside, who marched to the bell, striking it several times while yelling "no no no no no," before unofficially awarding the fight to his client.
Earlier in the evening, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins benefitted from an intervention by host Jon Stewart of Daily Show fame, to wrestle the WWE United States Championship from John Cena's grasp.
Rollins, sporting a new ring garb that made him look more Power Ranger than the WWE's main man, had taken the fight to Cena, who was bidding to become world champ for a record 16th time.
Just four weeks ago, Rollins shattered Cena's nose in an episode of Monday Night RAW, leaving the US champ requiring constructive surgery to his face to repair the damage.
But there was no protective mask to be seen and certainly no hint of Cena backing off from any challenge as the two powered through their arsenal of moves. Whatever acrobatics Rollins could unleash, Cena countered with power and resilience.
The moment of high drama came when Cena went for an AA and put the cover on Rollins, but there was no referee to start the count as the official had been knocked out of the ring. Cena lost concentration while searching for the ref and a groggy Rollins caught him with a knee to the nose that sent the US champ flying backwards.
At this point, host Jon Stewart ran into the middle of the action with a steel chair and much to the shock - and absolute delight - of the crowd, applied the metal frame to Cena's midriff and exited.
That allowed Rollins to execute a Pedigree to Cena over the abandoned chair, and he held his rival down in front of the recovered ref to take the spoils.
Whatever your opinion of Rollins, there's no doubt the man known as The Architect has genuine talent and will be deservedly winding up the crowds for a long time to come.
FULL RESULTS, REPORTS AND REVIEW FROM WWE SUMMERSLAM 2015
Randy Orton v SheamusRandy Orton is a 12-time WWE World Champion and one of the most talented grapplers on the roster, but in recent weeks he's been mainly employed in meaningless, oversized tag-team matches. This match up with Mr Money In The Bank, Sheamus, lacked any real momentum before the event but was entertaining enough on the night as a show opener. The end came when Sheamus attempted to connect with a Brogue Kick, which Orton avoided. The Apex Predator attempted to counter with an RKO but Sheamus was wise to it, and a second Brogue Kick connected. As Orton swayed the big Irishman connected with a third Brogue Kick and with his opponent floored, Sheamus claimed the win.
RESULT: Sheamus by a pinfall.
WWE Tag Team Championship: The Prime Time Players (holders) v The New Day v Los Matadores v The Lucha Dragons
A fatal four way with the tag team title up for grabs. New Day’s two outta three line-up was Big E alongside Kofi Kingston and with Los Matadores and the Lucha Dragons on the bill, you knew it wouldn’t be long before bodies would be flying everywhere. For the defending champs, powerhouse Titus O’Neill was immense, but eventually his good approach work led to his own downfall. O'Neill stormed into a corner to lift three brawling luchadors off the ropes, before slamming them to the canvas. But New Day’s Kingston had tagged himself in, and while bodies lay scattered round the ring, it was Kingston who jumped in to kick O’Neill out of the way and pin a matador for victory.
RESULT: As we predicted, the tag team title returned to The New Day's hands. Big E’s subsequent celebration dance should have come with an X-rating.
Dolph Ziggler v RusevRusev’s immense strength and power was always going to be a challenge for an agile Ziggler, who may lack bulk but he never lacks heart. We all knew however, that this bout would be as much about the blonde assistants outside of the ring as the combatants doing battle inside. Early on, Ziggler did manage to hold the big Bulgarian in a Sleeper for an encouraging period but not enough to force a win. After the action moved beyond the ropes, a superkick splayed Rusev across the announce table, but Ziggler couldn’t return to the ring before the referee’s 10 count.
RESULT: As we feared, no clean result after a double countout.
Stephen Amell & Neville v Stardust & King Barrett
A colourful, crazy matchup featuring TV’s Arrow, Stephen Amell, alongside Britain’s gravity free grappler Neville. Amell proved to be surprisingly agile, entering the contest from a top rope and regaining his feet with a flip after being floored by Stardust’s shove. A hip toss caught Stardust by surprise and sent the crowd into raptures. Amell was resistant enough to withstand a sustained period of punishment inflicted by both King Barrett and Stardust before Neville arrived to implement his own gymnastic dominance. Amell tag ged himself in to execute another top rope jump onto their floored opponents outside of the ring. With Barrett dragged back to the canvas, Neville climbed to the top rope to launch a Red Arrow, and lock in for the win.
RESULT: Again, as predicted in our preview column, Neville’s Red Arrow won the day
WWE Intercontinental Championship: Ryback (holder) v Big Show v The MizA triple threat match in which Ryback was defending his new title for the first time in a big ppv event. It was one of the weakest bouts of the night on paper and pretty much lived up to that. A flurry of pin opportunities led to much canvass slapping from the referee, but an equal amount of kickouts on the two count kept the contest live. We got the result we expected when Big Show launched a trademark knockout punch on The Miz, but instead of capitalising he allowed himself to be distracted by the champion. Eventually, Ryback rolled 7ft Big Show over the ropes and raced back to pin a prone Miz for a successful defence.
RESULT: Listen, we have to blow our own trumpet while it lasts. Yet another prediction on the money as Ryback kept an iron grip on his title.
Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper v Dean Ambrose & Roman ReignsA crowd pleaser with two thirds of the Wyatt family reunited to face two former members of The Shield, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose. Reigns has needed something to get his teeth into since missing out on the title at WrestleMania XXXI. This bout came with no shiny belt but he partners well with Ambrose and was tackling one of the best heels in the WWE today, Bray Wyatt. A great contest involving plenty of action inside the ring and out, was decided in a whirlwind finish. A double team from Reigns and Ambrose flattened Wyatt but Harper interrupted the cover. Ambrose fought out of Wyatt's attempted Sister Abigail and landed a Dirty Deeds, before tagging in his partner. Reigns adjusted his sights and a Spear on Wyatt allowed the Samoan to execute a successful a pin.
RESULT: I hate to say I told you so.. again… but I told you so. Reigns pinned Wyatt for victory.
Winner Takes All: John Cena (WWE United States Champion) v Seth Rollins (WWE World Heavyweight Champion)Although Seth Rollins' critics will claim he still hasn't won a title through fair means, he was more than a match for WWE veteran John Cena and put his full talent on show. Despite playing the villain, he had the full support of the Brooklyn crowd, never more so than when he flew out of the ring not once, not twice but three times to floor Cena. The Architect may well have put in the performance of the night.
RESULT: Show host Jon Stewart’s intervention allowed Seth Rollins to become the ultimate WWE champion. Yes, we even called that too.
Team Bella v Team Bad v PCB
Brie pinned Tamina to kick Team BAD out of the competition. Becky Lynch was fiery and Paige irrepresible for PCB while the Bellas and Alicia Fox took turns to torture their opponents. While stranded in the Team Bella corner, Paige fought her way out to tag in Charlotte. She speared Fox but eventually a boot each to the face from Fox and Charlotte left both floored. Lynch and Brie slugged it out, but when Brie Mode missed its target from the top rope, Becky Lynch applied the Pumphandle Suplex and the cover to take the win.
RESULT: PCB continue to win admirers with Becky Lynch claiming the bout by capitalizing on Brie Bella's mistimed Missile Dropkick.
Cesaro v Kevin Owens
Owens teed up this power match between the two NXT graduates by saying he’d achieved more in his three months in the WWE than Cesaro had managed in three years. Just 24 hours ahead of this fight, Owens had taken part in a gruelling ladder match with Finn Balor for the NXT championship. But defeat on Saturday seemed to put more fire in his belly for a showdown which proved there is still real talent progressing through the WWE. Owens shot out of the gate with a clear mission to claim an early victory, a kick connecting with Cesaro square on the jaw. The Swiss Sensation soaked up the early pressure and countered with some sweet moves of his own, the highlight being when he circled the ring perimeter to unleash an uppercut. Owens was subjected to a Cesaro Swing for 10 revolutions, followed by a sharpshooter in the centre of the ring but he inched to the safety of the bottom rope.As we neared the climax of the contest, Owens appeared out of it on the ropes but Cesaro seemed unsure what finishing move to employ. As he dithered, Owens sprang to life and a Pop Up Powerbomb left Cesaro powerless on the canvas.
RESULT: A gutsy win from Owens, a hugely impressive performance from both men and another right call from us.
Main Event: The Undertaker v Brock LesnarBefore the controversial ending described in detail in our main report above, there had been much to admire. Taker had looked shaky during his WrestleMania return against Bray Wyatt in March, but here was a more powerful, steadier on his feet Phenom, squaring up to the most formidable figure in the WWE. Being flung across the ring five times by Lesnar's trademark Suplex did nothing to slow Taker and he drew blood from The Beast after executing Snake Eyes and kicking his solid opponent out of the ring. There was one moment where Taker from earlier this year may not have risen. An F5 from Lesnar hurtled his rival through an announce table and it was obvious Taker's ribcage had caught the furniture's edge. Although appearing to be winded, the Deadman hauled himself back to his feet and the pair were trading jabs again. The trademark moves from both men came thick and fast - the Kimura, the Chokeslam, the Tombstone PIledriver, the Last Ride. After such an entertaining face off, it was a real let down to have such a weak conclusion.
RESULT: After a lucky escape and subsequent confusion, The Undertaker locks in a Hells Gate which subdues Lesnar into near unconsciousness for the win. A rematch beckons.
