In a bizarre moment even for the WWE, Brock Lesnar defeated Randy Orton by TKO. It was a brutal finish that appeared to be a legitimate display of violence at SummerSlam 2016.
Lesnar knocked Orton silly with a series of hard elbows to the head that sent blood spilling out of Orton’s head. Orton stopped moving and the referee eventually stepped in and stopped the match. The blows were among the most vicious ever delivered in a WWE ring, far worse than anything Lesnar landed against Mark Hunt at UFC 200.
Lesnar then continued to beat up on Orton as he was laid out. Lesnar landed 14 punches before the ringside doctor stepped in.
The Lesnar beatdown was a sour end to an otherwise memorable card that featured two world title changes.
Finn Balor upset Seth Rollins to win the new WWW Universal Championship and Charlotte reclaimed her WWE Women’s championship with a victory over Sasha Banks. AJ Styles defeated John Cena in a show-stealer match.
After the match, Cena took off his “Never Give Up” armband and left it inside the ring, to signify perhaps that he was going to take a break from wrestling again.
In somewhat of a disappointing match, Dean Ambrose retained his heavyweight championship with a victory over Dolph Zigger. The crowd crapped on the match and it was clear that they never believed that Ziggler could defeat Ambrose, who is highly popular and one of the WWE’s best young talents.
Charlotte regained her title from Sasha Banks, in somewhat of a surprise booking move. Banks only won the title in July on Monday Night Raw. Like her father Ric Flair, Charlotte is a total heel, and plays the role perfectly.
In one of the show’s lighter notes, John Cena’s girlfriend, Nikki Bella, made a brief cameo on the show, probably to promote her upcoming “Total Bellas” show.
The best match on the card was Balor’s victory over Rollins. Both of these guys are highly athletic and showcase everything that is great about professional wrestling. The match was highlighted by each wrestler kicking out of the other’s finishing moves. Both Rollins and Balor make wrestling appear artistic. This match was one of those rare times when the two best wrestlers on the brand were wrestling for the world championship.