WWE SummerSlam 2018 Results: Worst Booking Decisions from PPV

While WWE's biggest event of the summer went off with a real bang, SummerSlam 2018 wasn't completely flawless in terms of its booking.

The matches with the most scrutiny, such as the main event between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, were actually a real hit. It was elsewhere on the card where the problems, albeit the minor ones, were situated.

WWE deserves credit for the way the show was produced and delivered overall, but it doesn't mean one of the biggest pay-per-views of the year was perfect all across the board.

Here's a look at the booking mistakes which may come back to haunt the company from SummerSlam.

Keeping Andrade Almas and Rusev on the Pre-Show

It's completely understandable that with the number of matches WWE had booked for SummerSlam, some had to be demoted down to the pre-show.

But with the potential for both Rusev and Andrade "Cien" Almas to shine on the blue brand in the coming months, surely it would have been better for both those guys to be squaring off on the main card?

It didn't have to be too late on in the card. It could have even opened the show, or followed on from one of the major bouts of the night.

But putting the match on the pre-show was a real disappointment. 

Hopefully it was just a one-off and, no matter what's next for two of SmackDown's brightest talents, they can be a regular fixture on the main card moving forward.

The Bludgeon Brothers Retaining the Tag Titles

SmackDown Live has been pretty impressive across the board recently, and that was emulated in the brand's build toward SummerSlam this year.

However, one of the big disappointments has been the underwhelming reign of The Bludgeon Brothers as tag champions, and Sunday felt like an ideal night to correct that.

There were two clear options. One, albeit the less popular choice, would have been them going over The New Day clean, and at least adding a sense of legitimacy to their reign as champions.

But realistically, it would have been far better if The New Day had won to inject a sense of excitement and enthusiasm into the entire division moving forward.

Harper and Rowan simply haven't worked as hoped as champions. That needs to change sooner, rather than later. Sunday was a missed opportunity in that regard.

Did Ronda Rousey Need to Squash Alexa Bliss?

There were few complains with the decision to have Ronda Rousey win the Raw Women's Championship at SummerSlam, but did the manner in which she won the title leave a sour taste in the mouth, perhaps?

It's understandable that WWE is trying build Rousey up as a credible threat to the rest of the division, and make her a force to be truly reckoned with in the way Brock Lesnar operated with the Universal Championship.

But it felt a touch harsh on Alexa Bliss to be squashed in a match running just about four minutes.

Bliss probably deserved more than that given how she's emerged as a real shining light of the women's division in WWE in recent times.

She will no doubt get an opportunity to put that right in the coming weeks and months, but this felt like a mistake having Rousey dominate her in the way she did.

Randy Orton's (Lack Of) Involvement in the U.S. Title Match

The story concerning Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy has taken a few intriguing turns since it got started a few weeks ago.

It felt like that would culminate at SummerSlam. Not putting Orton in the match between Hardy and Shinsuke Nakamura was probably the right move, as it allowed the feud for the United States Championship to draw to a natural conclusion.

But wouldn't it have made more sense to perhaps have Orton at least interfere? The sequence of events where he emerged after the match, only to stare down Hardy and Nakamura before returning to the back was confusing to say the least.

Matters are obviously leading to a feud between Orton and Hardy moving forward, but this felt like a missed trick to not have that rivalry start with a bang here.

An explanation will likely be forthcoming on Tuesday's SmackDown.