4 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SummerSlam Night 2 (Review & Results)

1. KO Stuns Crowd, Opponents

Setting aside the pure shock and joy that Kevin Owens’ return elicited among fans, the opening match transformed from a predictable “gentleman’s three-star” match between Finn Balor and Sami Zayn to a chaotic sprint of a four-way match.

Everyone went for it with a shootout for the number one contender’s spot for the Undisputed WWE Championship. While there were some multi-man spots sprinkled in throughout, they didn’t fuss about trying to set up the typical elaborate moves we see in these four-way matches. Instead, they kept cycling through different pairings until KO started stunnering the entire field.

In the end, Sami tried to take Owens out with a Helluva Kick, but KO blasted him with a thrust kick and finished with a stunner to earn a WWE title match.

Clocking in at sub-nine minutes, this match was exactly the kind of opener that wrestling companies (both of them) should aspire to deploy. Give the fans something high-energy and brief to get them into the mood and fired up, but keeping it short means they won’t get burned out or even have time to settle into their chairs.

Great stuff all around and a true highlight of the weekend.