WWE SummerSlam 2018 Results That Will Have Biggest Impact at Hell in a Cell

While SummerSlam is always advertised as being one of the biggest events of the year and a game-changer for WWE moving forward, it doesn't always deliver on that promise as much as this year's pay-per-view managed to do.

What transpired Sunday night at Barclays Center will likely reverberate all the way through the Road to WrestleMania 35 next year, as new champions were crowned and the roster has been shuffled with a different hierarchy than before.

The landscape has changed, for better or worse, and as WWE starts to build toward Hell in a Cell, here are some of the results from SummerSlam that will have the biggest impact on building that card.

Brock Lesnar Drops the Universal Championship

It took 504 days, but Brock Lesnar finally relinquished the Universal Championship to Roman Reigns—something that arguably should have happened multiple times in the past.

The discussion of whether or not that will happen and when it will go down has been put to rest, and we can all move on to the next part of the story: How is WWE going to keep this from being just as big of a mess with Reigns being disliked as the champion?

Instead of the crowd being so militantly against Lesnar that they side with Reigns, the audience lashed out at SummerSlam to let the company know neither was the preferred option, chanting "you both suck" and booing them, in favor of Braun Strowman.

The Monster Among Men is still a looming threat, as the Money in the Bank briefcase remains in play even following Monday Night Raw, since both attempts to cash in his title opportunity were foiled by others getting in the way.

Somewhere in the mix, Kevin Owens may be looking for retribution against Strowman for being destroyed by in Brooklyn, Constable Corbin's surge in power as the acting general manager in place of Kurt Angle may allow his influence to spread and there are folks like Finn Balor and Bobby Lashley chomping at the bit to get a shot at the belt.

Since Reigns has stated multiple times that he will be a fighting champion, anything can happen, but there seems to be only one guarantee: the fans will probably continue to frown upon The Big Dog as the top of the food chain.

Ronda Rousey Wins the Raw Women's Championship

In a move that everyone saw coming from a mile away, Ronda Rousey decimated Alexa Bliss and captured the Raw Women's Championship.

It seemed inevitable not just for this encounter specifically, but the concept of Rousey being the top of the food chain in general, as she's just far too big of a star for WWE to not put the title on.

Realistically, unless there is some kind of injury that gets in the way, fans should expect Rousey to hold the championship not just into Hell in a Cell, but all the way to WrestleMania 35, if not longer, as her popularity and pop culture clout will bring more eyes onto the product.

First things first, though, Bliss will likely challenge Rousey in a rematch at Hell in a Cell to win the title back. That would be the simplest story to go with and while it wouldn't be as big of a fight in comparison to SummerSlam, rest assured WWE will be marketing it heavily as Rousey's first-ever title defense.

Seth Rollins Reclaims the Intercontinental Championship

With Dean Ambrose by his side to neutralize the outside interference of Drew McIntyre, Seth Rollins was able to regain the Intercontinental Championship from Dolph Ziggler.

Just as Rollins was entitled to a rematch for having lost the belt to begin with, Ziggler will likely use his title shot for Hell in a Cell in an attempt to win the gold for the seventh time.

Clearly, this feud is not over, as Ambrose defeated Ziggler on Monday Night Raw, furthering the animosity between the two pairs.

It's likely we'll see different pairings of the four over the next few weeks as McIntyre fights Rollins and Ambrose in singles matches while a tag team fight is surely to go down, too.

Based on their stellar performances in the past, Ziggler vs. Rollins will probably be one of the best matches at Hell in a Cell that fans can look forward to.

Tea Time is Over

Going with the trend of new champions being big takeaways, Charlotte Flair managed to take the SmackDown Women's Championship away from Carmella in the Triple Threat match, which also featured Becky Lynch.

That alone is going to change how the women's division operates on Tuesday nights, as The Queen being back on her throne will be a different dynamic from The Princess of Staten Island's reign.

However, perhaps even more important than that was the fracturing of the friendship between Flair and Lynch. Out of anger and possibly jealousy for coming up short, The Irish Lass Kicker attacked Flair after the match to vent her frustration.

In most circumstances, this would indicate a heel turn for Lynch, but the reception from the Brooklyn audience might change WWE's plans, as the crowd reacted in the opposite way from what was likely originally intended.

Instead of booing her and feeling sympathetic toward Flair, the arena erupted in applause and cheers. The support for Lynch was overwhelming and Flair was even booed, despite doing nothing wrong.

This week's SmackDown should indicate whether WWE will try to convince the viewers to flip the script and boo Lynch going forward, if there will be some kind of apology and reconciliation, or if a reversal will happen with Flair turning heel, just to go with the flow.

The plans for Hell in a Cell could have been as simple as a rematch between Carmella and Flair, but the support for Lynch may make WWE consider putting her in the fray, too, or skipping Carmella and going straight to Flair vs. Lynch.

Whoever is your cup of tea, it's doubtful these two friends will be sharing a pot any time soon.

AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe is Far from Over

At least one person on the SmackDown writing team must love the idea of AJ Styles retaining the WWE Championship by means of a no-contest, as that has been a recurring theme for him this year.

That happened once again at SummerSlam when he attacked Samoa Joe with a steel chair, leading to a disqualification loss for him, but the title staying in his possession.

The story being told is that he was so infuriated by Joe's comments about his family that he couldn't hold back the anger and lost it, willingly losing the match just to punish his former friend, but that may be a mistake he'll live to regret.

Technically speaking, as Joe won the match, he's entitled to another title opportunity somewhere down the line, and the most logical assumption is that they will clash at Hell in a Cell.

It's possible this rivalry has heated up enough that they'll be put inside the Hell in a Cell structure itself, as the cage will boost the danger factor and tell fans that they're in store for a battle.

Then, it will be up to Styles to keep a clear enough head to overcome his more powerful foe, or The Samoan Submission Machine will find a way to dominate and take the title in September.

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.