10 Ways WWE Screwed Up At SummerSlam 2017
2. The Slog
While complaining about overlong WWE pay-per-views has almost become moot, there's no escaping the fact that six-hour shows are incredibly taxing, particularly if the matches aren't good enough to compensate. WWE will persist with the format for SummerSlam and WrestleMania regardless, but it's hard not to drift off and lose focus while watching these events, particularly during the inevitable lulls in action.
The length is a problem in and of itself, but it's exasperated by the show's pacing. WWE never do a good job of piecing these big pay-per-views together, and while SummerSlam had plenty of highlights, they were too spread out to build any kind of momentum.
The night's three best matches (the Universal Title four-way, and the two Tag Title bouts) were hours apart. They were sandwiched been dross (Show vs. Cass, Orton vs. Rusev) or mediocrity (Wyatt vs. Balor), making for some long, tedious passages between the show's biggest highlights. Instead of starting slowly and gradually building steam throughout, SummerSlam was all over the place, just like WrestleMania 33.
This is one area where WWE could learn a lot from NJPW, who do a great job of building towards their most exciting bouts, rather than scattering them throughout the card.