10 WWE SummerSlam 2017 Impulse Reactions

3. Balls To The Bar

Braun Strowman Brock Lesnar
WWE.com

Cesaro and Sheamus completed their 'Beer Money'-esque transition into being the industry's most cohesive and reliable team by debuting matching tights for the very first time, but did so unfortunately on the night where fate decreed their Raw Tag Team Titles had to be taken away.

The rebuilding of relations between Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose has been well-paced and genuinely gripping. Ambrose in particular desperately needed something new (or in this case, old) to work with after repeatedly coming up short against The Miz on both brands, and Rollins' own midcard meandering allowed the two former friends' dovetailing difficulties to craft a rewarding redemption storyline ahead of the summer spectacular.

Ironically, it would be their reunion that would be the most traditionally rewarding aspect of one of the evening's only standout matches. In victory, their journey was complete, with a partnership now readily established to take on the best of Raw's doubles division. As a contest, it was the perfect representation of everything modern wrestling has to offer.

The Bar were outstanding in their persistent tactical readjustments, with a whispered reshuffle resulting in Ambrose getting decked on the floor, temporarily removing Seth's escape hatch and planting a tiny seed of potential division in their delicate relationship. 'The Swiss Superman' then literally broke the live action fourth wall, darting into the crowd to steal and destroy a beach ball in what could mark an ultra-pleasing end to that insufferable modern crowd habit.

The four delivered to such a degree, that most were left actually wanting rematches. To WWE, that alone is worth it's weight in tag team gold.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett