10 WWE SummerSlam 2017 Impulse Reactions
9. Hotsh*t
On the go-home edition of Monday Night Raw, Neville lost the Cruiserweight Title (and with it, a joyously entertaining 197 day reign) to Akira Tozawa, with their pre-planned SummerSlam instead becoming a rematch to presumably solidify the new titleholder and afford the self-proclaimed 'King' of the division back off to main roster action as a richly deserved promotion.
Nah, s'just WWE messing around, isn't it?
As the match wore on, it became abundantly clear how little thought the company had put into the Monday's original switch, and particularly the unnecessary crack in Neville's facade.
His proclamation as ruler and overlord of the league relied heavily on his unblemished record. His in-ring work has been exemplary, and his dedication to the character on social media has been sensational without potentially dereailing his entire career (more on that later). However, the tension in his matches has been around if any of the pretenders to his throne can overcome him physically and mentally when it really counts.
Then Tozawa just went and did it. Neville's lightning quick recovery sort of implies that he was caught on an off night and will return to malevolent ownership of the league, but responses from the Brooklyn crowd suggested maybe all the air was now out of the balloon, no matter how high he takes flight.