WWE SummerSlam 2015 Results: Top Highlights and Low Points
The 2015 WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view was promised to be not only the summer's biggest party but also an even more momentous occasion than previous years.
With an extra hour for the card, this really felt as though it would to be on par with WrestleMania, which is saying a lot.
To help make that impression, the event booked several big matches, featuring part-timer legends Brock Lesnar and Undertaker facing off as well as an impending title-unification bout between the company's top babyface and the top heel.
Between those two matches and the rest of what was advertised, this show had all the potential in the world going into it.
Is that what happened, though? Did SummerSlam end up a rousing success, or did it limp on with more negatives than positives?
The results are in, and it's time for us to do what we do every pay-per-view: go segment by segment and break down the night's highlights and low points!
Low Point: Randy Orton vs. Sheamus
1 of 10
For a four-hour show, this event started off on the rather boring side, and this match fell on the wrong spot of the card.
With no matches taking place on the pre-show, followed up by an opening promo by Jon Stewart that really didn't accomplish anything, this match needed to pick up the pace and make up for it.
Instead of that happening, the arena filled with fog, and the in-ring action was kept far too slow.
The best part of this match was definitely the RKO that came out of Sheamus attempting the battering-ram shoulder block, but even that was underwhelming compared to previous versions.
This match had no real steam behind it, as the build was just a rematch of what had happened before, which was pretty basic as it was.
All in all, the quality of this match just wasn't good enough to make up for the lack of substance that came before it, which meant the pay-per-view really could have started at 7:30 p.m. rather than 6 p.m., and nothing would have been lost.
Highlight: The New Day Wins WWE Tag Team Championship
2 of 10
Is there a better tag team in WWE than the New Day? It's hard to argue against that statement, especially considering how much of a reaction the wrestling stable gets compared to everyone else.
The right thing happened at this event with the belts going back to Kofi Kingston, Big E and Xavier Woods.
With The Prime Time Players holding the titles, the division was rather bland, but it will get another resurgence with the energetic trio at the forefront yet again.
This match itself had its fair share of botches, which hurts its quality, but it was thankfully a big step up from Randy Orton vs. Sheamus in terms of energy.
Anytime four teams that can mix things up, combining high-flying moves and strength, it tends to be fun, so this was no exception to that unofficial rule.
Thankfully, this segment injected some adrenaline into the event just as much as it will propel the division going forward.
Low Point: Double-Count-Out Finish
3 of 10
The match between Rusev and Dolph Ziggler was not bad by any means, but its finish soured everything in the entire segment.
Rather than have Ziggler make Rusev pay for his actions as of late or even find himself unable to conquer The Bulgarian Brute, the match ended with a double count-out.
There's a place and a time for finishes like this, and under no circumstance should they apply to pay-per-views, let alone what should be the second-biggest event of the year.
This feud has been dragged out for months on end, and WWE booked a non-ending here for no reason other than to stall and to drag it out even longer.
Instead of this coming off as the culmination of something that has been built up for a while, it appears more like a match that would take place on Monday Night Raw.
This simply wasn't good enough for SummerSlam or for either of the match participants.
Highlight: Stephen Amell and Neville vs. Stardust and King Barrett
4 of 10
Celebrities and wrestling tend to be somewhat of a mess, but Stephen Amell was able to pull off quite a bit in this match.
Sure, it won't be included in the list of the year's best matches, but this was pretty impressive overall considering how Amell was able to do a cross body off the top rope onto the outside and more.
WWE no doubt will be pleased with the outcome, and if the fans didn't go into this expecting too much, they should be as well.
Neville continued to prove that he is one of the most entertaining wrestlers in the ring as far as innovative moves, pulling off a very cool twist from the middle rope and a pitch-perfect Red Arrow for the win.
All in all, given what was supposed to be going down in this segment, everyone delivered admirably. By default, this becomes a highlight as there's nothing really negative to point out.
Highlight: Intercontinental Championship Triple Threat Match
5 of 10
By this point in the night, it seemed as though SummerSlam was going down a road of mediocrity, as much of what had happened was at best good, but not great.
Keeping that in mind, by the time the Intercontinental Championship match took place, it was nice to see something relatively quick and simple follow through with the parameters that were set beforehand.
Triple Threat matches are always touted ahead of time as being tough for someone to win because there's another person who could interrupt the flow, and this was showcased here rather well on multiple occasions.
The Miz played his part perfectly, trying to capitalize on Ryback and Big Show taking each other out as well as getting in the way after the Weapon of Mass Destruction could have put the champion down for good.
Ryback needed to win this match to save himself from criticism of being a worthless champion, as his injury came about at an inopportune time and really put a damper on his reign.
Winning this does not fix all the problems with this title situation, but it's a step in the right direction. Just the same, this match was good enough to fit on this spot in the card and not derail it.
If you weren't super impressed by this match, you likely have valid reasons to be underwhelmed, but for those who weren't feeling things by this point, it could be viewed as a positive.
Low Point: Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper
6 of 10
There's a multitude of reasons why this match was a disappointment, despite the in-ring action not necessarily being bad by any means.
First off, it should be said that when fans speculate about something happening and it doesn't, that should not factor in all that much. For those who were let down that nobody turned heel or interfered in this match, that's not WWE's fault.
However, this match fell victim to a similar issue Rusev vs. Dolph Ziggler was plagued by, where it came off more as a television match than something good enough for such an important event.
One easy way to have prevented that problem would have been to make this a No Disqualification match of some sort, as that would have boosted the buzz associated with it and given the four men more opportunities to play around.
As a basic match, nothing special stood out except for the crowd's reaction, which was not too enthusiastic.
In fact, the audience could be heard saying, "Roman's sleeping" and booing Reigns, which is the opposite reaction to what WWE would have wanted.
This was completely forgettable, and it needed to be more than that.
Highlight: Seth Rollins vs. John Cena
7 of 10
The Champion Takes All match was able to live up to the hype as Seth Rollins in particular pulled out all the stops.
Granted, the match was not without its flaws, having some botches throughout and some obvious telegraphing of what was coming ahead, but in the grand scheme of things, those parts will be forgotten.
This was an historic outcome that will have huge consequences for the company going forward for multiple reasons.
First off, Rollins now holds two titles, meaning there's a good chance the United States title will be eradicated completely.
Second, this helps secure even more credibility for Rollins' title reign, particularly if he gets that statue that he was hoping to have built.
Jon Stewart's interference in this match was a surprise that will get WWE a lot of media coverage going forward, which is another plus.
With some impressive moves, a twist for an ending, a title unification and an even bigger ego boost for Rollins to come, this was definitely a positive part of the night.
Middle of the Road: Divas Three Team Elimination Match
8 of 10
Your memory may vary on whether this match was a highlight or a low point, depending on the perspective you're bringing to the table.
If you watched the match at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn between Sasha Banks and Bayley, you'll likely find this to be disappointing, as it was nowhere near as good in comparison.
On the other hand, if you've been so turned off from Divas matches for the past few years that this is the first you've seen in a long while, you'll probably be pleasantly surprised at the upgrade in quality since then.
This was sloppier than it should have been, and at times, the botches seemed dangerous, which was a running theme throughout the night.
With the way PCB has been winning every match left and right, it also didn't mean all that much for them to come out on top, either.
Granted, it's hard to say that this was a huge negative, as it was far from terrible, and it's still a step up from what the fans were getting at this point last year.
For the most part, your point of view could easily go either way, so this is more of a middle-of-the-road scenario than a true highlight or low point.
Highlight: Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro
9 of 10
There isn't too much to explain or describe when it comes to this match, as it was just a fundamentally good bout.
The feud between these two has been pretty generic, so there isn't much of a surprise that it was used in the filler-bathroom-break spot before the main event.
Despite this, it accomplished what it was supposed to do, which was simply having two talented wrestlers perform in the ring and eat up some time.
Kevin Owens and Cesaro have been on fire these past few months, and they have good chemistry with each other, as exhibited by the wide array of maneuvers they entrusted each other to pull off.
Overall, if you're interested in checking out a run-of-the-mill fun match, this is one of the best of the night that you should watch.
Highlight: Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar
10 of 10
There's a good chance this will not go down as a match that fulfilled all its audience's expectations, but given the choice of calling it a positive or a negative, it's easier to lean toward the former.
This was better than the previous WrestleMania match, but it was flawed in some ways.
Having Undertaker tap out is something that won't sit well with a lot of people, and neither will his winning as a result of a low blow and Lesnar passing out.
This finish basically avoids doing something definitive for whatever reason WWE had in mind that convinced it the trigger couldn't have been pulled.
Still, as controversial of a finish as it was, the match itself was interesting and better than many other bouts earlier in the card.
SummerSlam is an odd beast that will end up creating a lot of strong viewer opinions, so make sure you leave your comments and tell us what you think about the event!
What were your favorite parts of the night? Which segments let you down? How does this rank in terms of pay-per-views this year?
Sound off in the comments below!
Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.
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