WWE SummerSlam 2015: Biggest Winners and Losers from Marquee Event
Sunday night, WWE presented its annual August extravaganza SummerSlam live from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
By the time the four-hour show wrapped up, there were both major winners and losers coming out of the night's festivities.
Some Superstars left the event with more gold than when they arrived, cementing themselves as the top dogs in WWE. Others silenced critics and proved that age is nothing more than a number.
Then there were those whose nights did not go as planned, losers of high-profile matches and sufferers of questionable booking.
From The Undertaker to Sasha Banks, Superstars and Divas found themselves on one end of the argument or the other. There was no middle ground.
Who found themselves on the list and what are the two questions most want answered?
With the gigantic event in the books and the company now moving onward and upward, take one last look back at SummerSlam with the biggest winners and losers from Sunday's broadcast.
Winner: Seth Rollins
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Seth Rollins left SummerSlam with both the WWE World Heavyweight and United States Championships, but that has little bearing on why he finds himself labeled a winner following Sunday's SummerSlam event.
The Architect delivered one of his greatest singles performances ever during his title-for-title match against John Cena. It was clear the top heel in the industry was motivated to not only steal the show but also to prove he belonged.
After months of questionable booking and being portrayed as a coward, Rollins left everything he had in the ring, reminding the entire WWE Universe that he is one of the best workers in the business.
Add to it the fact that he is likely to garner mainstream notoriety thanks to the involvement of former The Daily Show host Jon Stewart, and you have even more reason to be satisfied with your night at SummerSlam if you are the WWE world heavyweight and United States champion.
Winner: Becky Lynch
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After weeks of standing in the background, somewhat overshadowed by Paige and Charlotte, Becky Lynch secured the biggest win of her career Sunday night, pinning Brie Bella to win the Divas elimination team match.
The redheaded Irishwoman entered the event riding a wave of momentum following a legitimate Match of the Year candidate against Sasha Banks back at the last NXT TakeOver special. Unfortunately, with so much emphasis put on Paige and second-generation star Charlotte, she's sort of faded into the background since being called up to Raw.
Luckily, WWE made the decision to give her the big victory Sunday night, reminding fans that she is both there and an immensely talented wrestler.
Now, it will be imperative to follow it up with more signature victories in meaningful matches. Otherwise, Lynch will find herself right back in the same position she was prior to SummerSlam.
For now, though, she should revel in the fact that she scored the victory for Team PCB at one of the most important and prestigious events WWE has to offer.
Loser: Sasha Banks
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After again proving why she is arguably the best women's wrestler on the planet Saturday night in her match with Bayley, Sasha Banks was, disappointingly, a non-factor during Sunday's huge Divas war.
Despite chants of "we want Sasha," the former NXT women's champion barely made her presence felt in the match before Brie Bella pinned Tamina, eliminating Banks and her teammates.
The loud chorus of boos that accompanied the defeat suggests that the fans recognize the greatness of Banks and wanted her to stick around longer. Perhaps even showcase her considerable skills to fans unfamiliar with her work in NXT.
Instead, she stood on the ring apron for the majority of the match, then her opponents left her on the arena floor as they dispatched of her partner, ending her night much more abruptly than she would've liked.
After the phenomenal performances fans have witnessed out of The Boss in NXT, WWE Creative must absolutely continue building momentum for Banks. She is a legitimate star, someone the company can build around for years to come.
Letting her become a nameless, faceless Diva in a locker room full of them would be a mistake.
Thankfully, Triple H is around to make sure his star NXT pupil does not falter or fail.
Winner: The Undertaker
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The Undertaker had the weight of the world on his shoulders entering the main event of SummerSlam.
After two lackluster performances the last two times fans had seen him work, there were very real questions about his age affecting how well he could perform. Would the match with Brock Lesnar be comparable to WrestleMania XXX, a slow and lethargic bout that finally showed the age of The Deadman?
Or would Undertaker bounce back, proving that his previous showing against Lesnar and his lethargic match with Bray Wyatt were anomalies.
The answer, it turned out, was the latter, as The Phenom provided fans with an awesome main event that was equal parts dramatic and epic.
Undertaker took a beating, finding himself on the receiving end of many a suplex and taking bumps that few would have expected to see him put his body through.
But in the end, he scored the win in controversial fashion, essentially screwing Lesnar out of victory as the company continues to alter his character, turning him heel for the first time in 13 years.
Sunday was just the tip of the iceberg, too, as it appears The Deadman may stick around for a bit longer.
Winner: Stephen Amell
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Stephen Amell is a lifelong fan of WWE. Like 2012 Hall of Fame inductee Edge, he attended WrestleMania VI in Toronto as a kid, watching as The Ultimate Warrior crushed Hulkamania and won the WWE Championship.
Sunday night, the actor competed in his first match, teaming with Neville to battle Stardust and King Barrett in a tag team match that has been in the works for months.
While the crowd was initially lukewarm to the match, fans found themselves invested in the story being told.
Amell, a fish out of water, found himself beaten down and isolated from his partner. To his credit, he did a fine job of taking a whopping and an en even better one of hitting his moves without looking like a complete mess.
The plancha he delivered late in the match popped the crowd and energized the young star before Neville put Barrett away with the Red Arrow for the win.
By night's end, Amell had cemented his performance as one of the best by a celebrity in WWE history.
Loser: Randy Orton
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The Viper kicked off SummerSlam by generating a huge pop from the fans in Brooklyn. Unfortunately, that would be the highlight of his night, as the crowd quickly turned on his match with Sheamus, chanting and cheering for literally anything else but the match going on inside the squared circle.
That he ate two consecutive Brogue Kicks and lost the match only made matters worse.
Orton finds himself in a spot he has been in many times before. A future Hall of Famer and one of the biggest stars in the industry, he does not really fit into any of the headline programs and, thus, is relegated to meaningless midcard filler that does nothing to benefit him or his opponent.
He and Sheamus have also worked countless times over the years, exhausting fans and leaving them disinterested with each passing bout.
Orton is one of the best workers in wrestling, someone so incredibly fluid and smooth that he is a joy to watch in the ring.
When he's motivated and involved in something meaningful, that is.
That was not the case Sunday, and the fans' apathy toward the 12-time world champion was never more apparent, even if JBL tried to relay the message of the third-generation star's greatness on commentary.
Winners: New Day
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The New Day has spent 2015 recovering from a dreadful, awful babyface run and developing into one of the most entertaining and effective heel acts in the sport.
A fantastic and entertaining trio of determined young stars, they have proved themselves in the ring and on the mic countless times. They did just that once again Sunday, as they worked a really fun and energetic Fatal 4-Way match for the WWE Tag Team Championships.
Despite more popular tandems such as Lucha Dragons, Los Matadores and Prime Time Players present, it was New Day who left a lasting impression from the moment they took to the ring.
Mocking Jay Z's "Empire State of Mind," coming up with words that reflected themselves, was phenomenal and essentially turned them babyface in the eyes of the hardcore fans in Brooklyn.
From there, Big E and Kofi Kingston were phenomenal in the match, while Xavier Woods did what he does best: incited heat in the manager role at ringside.
And by the time Kingston made the cover and picked up the win and the titles, the fans in Brooklyn erupted, showing appreciation for the strides the trio has made to become one of the most entertaining acts in the sport.
Winner: Kevin Owens
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It was clear from the moment he walked through the curtain Saturday night for NXT TakeOver that there was something different about Kevin Owens.
The typically sarcastic, nonchalant villain was fired up and incredibly intense as he took to the ring against Finn Balor.
That carried over to Sunday night, when he met Cesaro in a match many thought could have stolen the show.
Why it did not quite make it to that level, it did prove to the audience that both the former NXT champion and his opponent are among the best wrestlers in the world.
For Owens, his victory over Cesaro slows a downward spiral of sorts that began when he lost the third match in a series to John Cena at Battleground.
Now surging following Sunday's win, Owens can get back on track following what has been a trying and disappointing run over the last month.
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