5 Biggest Winners & Losers From WWE SummerSlam 2016
4. Winner: Nikki Bella
Eva Marie’s 30-day Wellness suspension left the proposed SmackDown six-woman tag team match in the air. Alexa Bliss and Natalya were left without a partner in their clash with Naomi, Carmella, and Becky Lynch, and while their was talk of a handicap match, the solution became apparent when Nikki Bella was cleared to return a few days beforehand.
On the shelf since October, Nikki emerged to a surprisingly huge pop from the Brooklyn crowd, and while the match itself produced little substance, Nikki looked strong throughout. Her forearm smash looks genuinely barbaric, and her new TKO finisher looks infinitely more impactful than the Rack Attack.
In the end, Nikki blasted Carmella with her new move to take the victory for her team, even if the match suffered from its unnecessarily high card position.
SmackDown is in dire need of credible female competitors, and Nikki fits the bill perfectly. While not as technically astute as Becky or Nattie, Nikki is a much-improved worker with name value, and she’s several steps above Naomi, Carmella, and Alexa in the pecking order. She got a great reaction from the live crowd, and was the only participant to inject real energy into the match.
Assuming her neck problems are now behind her, Nikki Bella is a huge boon to SmackDown’s women’s division, and she’s off to a perfect start.