WWE SummerSlam 2023: Top takeaways from all the happenings in Detroit

SummerSlam was a good show that elevated several wrestlers, but did it live up to sky high expectations overall?

Fans having high expectations for an event is usually a good thing, as that means people are engaged with the product.

But in the case of SummerSlam, it turned out to be kind of a detriment for WWE.

On the surface, SummerSlam wasn’t a bad show. In fact, I think it was a pretty good one. A couple of years ago, that would have been good enough by WWE standards.

But the bar has been raised throughout 2023, making SummerSlam, at least for me, only a decent show that had potential to be a lot more.

As usual, I have takeaways from the night in Detroit.

Jimmy Uso betrays his own brother

I had a feeling that this could happen. I had a feeling it could go down like this. I didn’t really want to entertain the idea that Jimmy Uso could turn on Jey Uso. But when someone as integral to a story as Jimmy Uso goes missing, wrestling fans can assume that they will resurface during the ensuing major encounter. 

That is exactly what happened Saturday night, as Jimmy Uso thwarted his brother’s chances of defeating Roman Reigns by pulling him out of the ring during a pin attempt. After a shocking reveal, Jimmy Uso delivered a gut-wrenching superkick to his twin brother.

While it may be hard to believe for some that not one but two of Jey Uso’s blood brothers have turned on him in favor of their narcissistic yet insecure cousin, it didn’t make it any less heartbreaking to see the Usos essentially break up after years of being one of the best tag teams in the world.

It is professional wrestling, though, which means they will surely reunite one day. But for now, it is just kind of sad.

So where do we go from here?

I can only assume this means we will see the Usos face each other in a one-on-one match at some point. Will WWE save that for next year’s WrestleMania? Time will tell, but it seems like the logical direction either way.

Where does Reigns go from here? In the immediate future, I honestly have no idea. Outside of Cody Rhodes, who we’ll discuss more in a little bit, I don’t see a long line of credible challengers for Reigns. 

Does that mean Reigns is in line for an extended break? Reigns has had a busy summer, so much so that you almost forget that he has essentially risen to the level of a part-time wrestler, and we may not see him for a while after this.

IYO SKY cashes in and cashes out

As I predicted earlier in the week, IYO SKY cashed in her Money in the Bank contract and won the WWE Women’s Championship at SummerSlam.

I must admit, though, that my prediction had SKY cashing in on Charlotte moments into her 15th title reign. Instead, it was Bianca Belair who pulled off a triumphant victory, only for SKY to come down and rain on her parade.

Unlike Reigns, there are a slew of credible challengers for SKY to go up against. First on the list is Belair, who will probably enact an automatic rematch clause to set up their next encounter.

However, I feel like this will eventually lead to jealousy amongst Damage CTRL and eventually end with the group dissolving right before our very eyes.

Brock Lesnar endorses Cody Rhodes

Brock Lesnar has been involved with professional wrestling for more than 20 years, and I don’t think I have ever seen him put someone over the way he did for Rhodes Saturday night.

Not only did Rhodes defeat Lesnar clean as a sheet in the middle of the ring, Lesnar shook Rhodes’ hand, gave him a hug, and raised his arm after the match, essentially endorsing Rhodes as “that guy.”

Receiving such an endorsement from Lesnar of all people should mean a lot. And if WWE follows through on that, it should mean Rhodes is the person to dethrone Reigns. Right? Why else would you have Lesnar single him out like that? 

If that is the case, when does this happen? Is WWE pushing this all the way until WrestleMania? I guess it could happen, especially if Reigns takes an extended break. 

But what do you do with Rhodes in the meantime? He’s already slayed the biggest threat in the promotion outside of Reigns. Who else would pose a credible threat at this point?

Could we see that match before the end of 2023? I’m of the opinion that WWE should save a second match between Reigns and Rhodes for WrestleMania, but I also understand how that is easier said than done.

LA Knight has finally his moment

It may have occurred in a sponsored battle royal with virtually nothing at stake, but LA Knight finally had his moment to shine, winning said battle royal and getting a lot of love from the fans in Detroit in the process.

At this point, WWE needs to stop messing around and get fully on board with Knight being a potential top guy. It’s not often that WWE has someone on the roster as over as Knight currently is. And the times it has happened, the company has often been late to the party and failed to capitalize on the momentum.

Hopefully, that is not the case with Knight, who has earned at least a chance to show that he can run with the ball. He has to prove that he actually can in the long run, but he has definitely earned the opportunity.

A worked MMA match?

If there is one lesson I have taken away from my multiple decades of watching professional wrestling, it’s that simulating anything other than pro wrestling is usually a mistake.

Roddy Piper and Mr. T tried to put on a worked boxing match at WrestleMania 2, and it ended up being one of the worst matches in the event’s illustrious history.

Almost 20 years later, WWE put Big Show into a worked sumo match with sumo legend Akebono. That turned out to be an abomination as well.

With the rise of mixed martial arts, I should have known that it was only a matter of time until WWE tried to simulate an MMA fight. And no, not in the way of NXT’s Fight Pit or Raw/NXT Underground, or even Ken Shamrock’s Lion’s Den matches, which still largely resembled professional wrestling contests.

This was Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler doing their best to make it seem like they were back in UFC, which unsurprisingly, did not turn out well.

If this is indeed the end of Rousey’s run with WWE, what an anticlimactic way to go out. Her run started out with so much promise. WWE immediately slotted her into big matches and into the main event of the biggest show of the year. The company basically promoted the one and only all-women’s pay-per-view around the fact that she was going to be on it.

But there she was Saturday night, being choked out by Baszler in the middle of Ford Field. 

In theory, this should be a springboard for Baszler to ascend to bigger and better things as a single. In reality, however, I’m not sure it will be. That is how far Rousey’s stock has fallen as of late.

Who’s to blame for that? Oh, there is plenty to go around. Regardless of who you place the blame upon, Rousey’s run in WWE was not the cash register the company was hoping it would be. It also didn’t make any real progress in putting women’s wrestling on equal footing with the men. 

To be fair, the latter is not Rousey’s fault, but it is just another aspect of a run that did not reach its full potential.