The dust settles . . .

SummerSlam was a baffling bit of wrestling programming. There were a couple of solid matches, a couple of truly great matches, and few segments that left me scratching my head. While I won't go into every occurrence from Sunday here, there are a few things I have to comment on.

First, the good. The tag team opener between Enzo & Cass and Jeri-K.O. (Love that team name) was a great bout, even if I don't think the heels really needed the win here. I think both Jericho and Owens are performers who can "bounce back" from any number of losses. The AJ Styles/John Cena match was incredible, with the Doctor of Thugganomics throwing everything but the kitchen sink at the Phenomenal One, only to come up short and ultimately lose clean, establishing the Smackdown brand's newest star. Same for the Balor/Rollins match. Strange new title belt aside, this was a fantastic display of wrestling featuring two guys the audience isn't burnt out on yet. (It also makes Finn's injury all the more deflating.)

There were a couple of matches that were pretty good, but fell into a strange place on the card. The Women's title match between Charlotte and Sasha Banks was as good as any of their NXT encounters, with the right woman coming out on top and a hot crowd behind it. It troubles me this match went on second, however, as this is supposed to be one of the most important belts the 'E has and there was a far inferior six woman tag match later on. (Yeah I know it was intended to be a "cool down" match, but Charlotte and Banks should not have gone on so early. Give them some prestige, for shucks sake.)

Roman and Rusev's encounter was more of an angle than a match. This and the Women's title match probably should have switched places. I like what they're doing with Roman and the US Title feud in general, but it shouldn't have gone on right before the main event.

And the main event between Orton and Lesnar . . . whoa. I didn't expect things to go quite that way. On one hand, I like Brock looking like a monster and having him attack Shane is a nice way to get him off of television for a bit, but on the other I feel like the bloody finish to the match sucked the air out of the building, and not in the hype-generating way his defeating The Undertaker in 2014 did. Brock's Suplex City gimmick is wearing thin, and I'm not sure what Orton is getting out of this other than a little babyface sympathy. It was an odd last match, and for whatever reason not as effective as Brock's previous SummerSlam massacre (John Cena).

It was an oddly paced show with some great wrestling. Shuffle the card around a bit and it could have been great. As for Raw . . .

Finn's injury forced their hand creatively, and the Raw brand responded with something rather predictable: a series of match designed to set up a fatal four way match for the Universal Title next week. Finn's speech was stirring, but knowing he'll be back in time for next year's Wrestlemania helped me keep my emotions in check. The crowd was chanting "You deserve it!" and rightfully so.

The four men who ended up winning their qualifying matches by the end of Monday night were Rollins, Owens, Big Cass, and Reigns. Unless they have a big ol' swerve planned for next Monday, the outcome for this isn't hard to predict. Both Owens and Big Cass have partners that will interfere on their behalves, a situation of two interested parties cancelling each other out. I fully expect Rusev to stomp down to the ring and take Roman out for the night, seeing as their feud is just starting to gain some steam. That leaves Seth Rollins in a very Edge-like role where he can pick the scraps and steal away with the title.

I'm fine with Rollins resuming his title reign, but the thought of Roman being bumped back up to feud with him again so soon bores me. I'd like to see Sami Zayn or even Big Cass in the number one contender spot. Zayn will add instant gravitas to their matches with his unmatched charm, not to mention the matches will be spectacular. Big Cass and Enzo are probably the two other biggest babyfaces right now, so I don't see the harm in penciling them in for a month or two. The matches won't be as strong as Rollins/Zayn would, but the promos would be pure fire.

Overall, it was a great weekend of wrestling, anchored by NXT Takeover (no surprise there) and the rise of several key new talents who are rapidly proving (to me, at least) that this really is a "new era". Thanks for reading! And you can hit me up on Twitter (@ChrisBComics) or via e-mail (backissuechris@gmail.com) for more rasslin' chatter.