WWE SummerSlam 2013: Stars That Shined Brightest Sunday Night

The WWE put on one of the wildest SummerSlam pay-per-views in the company’s history, and the 2013 edition of the show featured several marquee stars that shined brightest Sunday night.

Several unpredictable endings and perfect storytelling highlighted the night and afforded wrestlers the chance to walk out of the company’s second-biggest PPV with serious momentum.

All of the following WWE Superstars are carrying serious momentum coming out of SummerSlam and will look to translate that to success moving forward.

Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton

The WWE Championship had become synonymous with John Cena since he beat The Rock at WrestleMania 29, but the paradigm has shifted as Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton have become the main focus of the title scene.

Cena is still the top star on the roster, but with the WWE capitalizing on Bryan’s hot streak with the fans and using the platform to revitalize Orton’s stall character as well, it’s clear that the title picture will be much different moving forward.

After stealing the show by putting on a memorable match, the WWE launched Bryan into the upper echelon of all-time stars by giving him the championship via a clean pin over Cena and immediately taking it away in a fashion that is ensured to build sympathy.

Fans complain about how the WWE books at times, but Sunday’s SummerSlam helped make Orton and Bryan the two most interesting men in the company right now.

CM Punk and Brock Lesnar

In the best match of the night and arguably the Match of the Year for 2013, Brock Lesnar and CM Punk proved why they are two of the most valuable characters on the roster in terms of selling PPVs and quality in-ring work.

The WWE Universe knew what each man was capable of coming into Sunday—these stars have a long history of stealing the show—but just how great the bout would end up being between the men was up for debate.

After a flat-out amazing bout, all doubts have been answered emphatically.

There is a large contingent of fans that still don’t support the WWE putting so much into building a part-time star like Lesnar, but after such a perfect match and the continuation of the feud between Punk and Heyman, real wrestling fans understand how great this storyline has been thus far.

Alberto Del Rio

Despite being one of the most boring Superstars on the roster, Alberto Del Rio shined on the SummerSlam stage against Christian Sunday night when he successfully retained the World Heavyweight Championship via submission.

Christian has always been known as one of the best in-ring workers in the company, and coupled with Del Rio’s abilities, the duo put on a match that has been criminally underrated by those that witnessed the event.

That’s what happens when the match takes place before two of the best main events of 2013.

The WWE Universe will be angry because Del Rio stopped a fan favorite like Christian from winning the title, but the match itself was incredibly entertaining in the ring. The impressive bout proved once again why the company loves the world champion so much.

For more wrestling talk, listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot topics or catch the latest episode in the player below (some language NSFW.)

Follow @Donald_Wood

Follow @RingRustRadio