10 WWE SummerSlam 2020 Impulse Reactions

3. Drew McIntyre (c) Vs. Randy Orton

Drew McIntyre
WWE

"You'll Never See It Coming!"

Chinlocks? The "slow, methodical pace" at the five minute mark? The long teases of the Claymore and the punt? The rolling RKO teases? No. The backslide.

WWE delivered the unpredictable by not delivering anything else in this one. An okay match hit a decent stride and a relatively hot closing stretch before the Champion retained in a manner that - while perfectly clean - necessitates a rematch in WWE's clunky creative universe.

This is a place where the humble backslide isn't rewarded, but derided. The commentary team didn't accuse the champion of stealing one at least, but that's what they've been doing to everybody else that's dared to use a wrestling move in a wrestling match over the last couple of decades.

Orton'll get another go in a week because somebody's got to get their face kicked off before anybody gets redemption or whatever these two have still got left to fight over. Hopefully it'll be wrapped quicker than 20 minutes at Payback.

 
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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 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. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, 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