Brock Lesnar And Becky Lynch Returns Highlight Big Time Event

SummerSlam had a strong card, but not a ton of buzz leading into WWE's first attempt to hold the traditional spectacle known as the biggest party of the summer on a Saturday. The question was going to be whether or not the wrestlers could do their part, if the booking could outshine the promotion and if the fans would make up for the areas where WWE seemed to falter to market the event.

There were some good points, some not-so-good spots and some segments that felt rushed. A handful of title changes were overshadowed by the return of Becky Lynch and Brock Lesnar to WWE and John Cena showed up in a big way, even though he ended up losing to the Head of the Table.

Here are your winners and losers for SummerSlam, 2021:

Winner: RK-Bro Become Tag Champs

It's been expected for some time that Randy Orton and Riddle were going to get a run with the Raw Tag Team Titles, assuming the two could get on the same page. That happened on Saturday as Orton picked up the pin on AJ Styles. This is a tag team that has a ton of momentum and they should have an entertaining run, no matter how long it lasts.

RK-Bro is wildly over with the WWE Universe and this was a smart way to start the pay-per-view and get the audience into the show early. Fans were having a blast with the match and the result.

Loser: Eva Marie

Not only was Eva Marie a loser from a storyline perspective, but she showed that her in-ring prowess hasn't improved much since her last run in WWE. She looked out of sync and the match was booked in a way to try and hide her inefficiencies. There was a lot going on in what was probably less than 5 minute bout and very little wrestling actually took place.

The silver lining here is that Doudrop took the opportunity to poke fun at her "mentor" and if this wasn't her leaving Eva Marie in the dust, it's certainly the beginning of the storyline that will split these two.

Winner: Damian Priest Wins United States Championship

Another member of the roster worthy of a title win, the second change of the night saw Priest hit the Reckoning for the three count and the victory over Sheamus. Priest just took a giant leap after an already impressive year in WWE. This was a well-deserved victory after how well he's performed without much experience on the main roster.

This was a physical match and the removal of Sheamus' face mask before the finish added a nice touch to the bout that will leave The Celtic Warrior an opening to say he wouldn't have lost if not for having to protect himself and suffer further damage.

Loser: Usos vs Mysterios

This was a fine match. Unfortunately, it was also the fifth of sixth time these two teams have squared off against each other in some capacity and combination over as many weeks. As good as these matches are and as strong as the chemistry is between these two teams, the build up and close of this feud is everything that fans are starting to grow tired of with WWE.

WWE needs to shift gears with this rivalry.

Loser: Becky Lynch Returns To Win SmackDown Women's Title

Let's get this out of the way... it's fantastic to have Lynch back. That said, there were so many other ways to have this return go down, the direction WWE chose was the least favorable. Lynch got a massive pop. That was the lone win in this entire series of announcements and surprises.

First, WWE promoted the Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair match as though it was still happening. It wasn't as the announcer simply said Banks was unable to compete. That brought out Carmella, which left the crowd really speechless and disappointed. WWE got them back with Lynch's return which was a huge moment. Lynch took out Carmella, challenged Belair and then cheap-shotted her to win the title in under 10 seconds.

WWE goes to these quick, shock-and-awe moments far too often and they're no longer as effective as they once were. Perhaps this saves face for Belair who was stunned and lost quickly, but it's not a good look for either Lynch or The EST.

Loser: Drew McIntyre Squashes Jinder Mahal

Following a short win by Becky Lynch, WWE booked basically a squash match for Drew McIntyre who destroyed Jinder Mahal in a matter of minutes and hit the Modern Day Maharaja with a Claymore for the win.

There was nothing to this match and it felt rushed. This was the kind of match WWE could have easily put on Raw and it wasn't pay-per-view worthy in the slightest.

Winner: Charlotte Wins Raw Women's Title

Not everyone is going to love the fact that Charlotte is the champion again, but this was a good match that got some time to play out. Nikki A.S.H. had a run while her gimmick was hot, but this might signal the fact WWE realizes the character has a bit of a shorter shelf life.

Regardless of the outcome, this was a good Triple Threat Match, so based on that, we'll call this a winner. The women came out and gave it their all.

Winner: Seth Rollins vs. Edge

This match was slated to be the match of the night and it delivered in every way. On a night where a number of angles and matches felt rushed, this was a pay-per-view contest that was worthy of being a show-stealer on an event like SummerSlam.

Edge came down to the Brood's old music, then got the pop from his current theme. Everything kept trending upward after that. Back and forth action, close finishes, some old school maneuvers and some incredible spots that worked for this caliber of a contest, WWE did right by giving these two men the time they needed to tell their story.

Winner/Loser: Goldberg Can't Continue

There was some elements of this match that worked. There were some elements of the match that were cringe-worthy. Too many close calls where someone could have been seriously injured almost overshadowed some unique booking where Goldberg lost because he couldn't continue due to a leg injury. As for the match, it was actually not half bad.

The takeaway is that Lashley attacked Goldberg after the bout, his son Gage had to try and make the save and it's easy to see there's a rematch in the works.

Creatively, this was a good way to set up a second contest. That said, it's not entirely clear a second match is a good idea based on how the first one went. This finish didn't do much for Goldberg's legacy and only the viciousness of Lashley's attack gets him over.

Winner: Roman Reigns vs. John Cena, Brock Lesnar Returns

Big Match John Cena showed up on Saturday night. Still, it wasn't enough to overcome The Head of the Table who isn't going anywhere and will remain the face of WWE. Another really strong contest, Cena brought his A-game, put over the champion and set the tone for the biggest shocker of the night -- the return of Brock Lesnar.

Lesnar looks odd compared to what we're used to, but in a good way. Paul Heyman's reaction to see his former client face-to-face with his current one was pure gold.

SummerSlam Match Results:

RK-Bro become Raw Tag Team Champions - Randy Orton hits an RKO on Styles to get the three count. Omos and Riddle weren't factors in the decision as Omos was sent into the ring post on the outside and Riddle was taken out by Styles.
Alexa Bliss defeats Eva Marie - Bliss hit a DDT for the three. Marie made the mistake of slapping Lilly which set Bliss off and it was a formality after that.
Damian Priest win the United States Championship - Priest hit his Reckoning finisher on Sheamus to win the United States Championship. It was a tough match-up between the two men that ended after Priest pulled off Sheamus' protective face mask.
Usos retain SmackDown Tag Titles with win over Rey and Dominik Mysterio - Rey was left to fend for himself after Dominik was taken out on ring apron. Double team super kicks were too much and Jey Uso nailed a frog splash on Rey to get the three count.
Becky Lynch defeats Bianca Belair to win the SmackDown Women's Championship - Banks was unable to compete, so Carmella was named her replacement. Lynch interrupted and called out Belair who accepted. Lynch went to shake her hand and instead sucker punched her, landed a suplex and got the three count.
Drew McIntyre defeats Jinder Mahal - In an absolute squash match, McIntyre hit the Claymore on Mahal and beat his opponent in under a few minutes. Veer and Shanky thought about standing up for their leader, but McIntyre pulled out his sword and everyone scrambled.
Charlotte Flair wins the Raw Women's Championship - Flair forced Nikki A.S.H to submit after applying the Figure Eight. It was a strong match that got a little time to showcase everyone after two straight shorter matches.
Edge defeats Seth Rollins - A back-and-forth contest ended when Edge applied a cross face sleeper for the win. Rollins tapped out.
Lashley defeats Goldberg when Goldberg can't continue - Lashley and MVP attacked Goldberg's leg and an injury led to a non-finish with Lashley being declared the winner. The champion then attacked Goldberg until Gage Goldberg tried to make the save and took a Hurt Lock for his troubles. Goldberg vowed to get revenge.
Roman Reigns defeats John Cena - This was a fantastic main event that saw Reigns dominate most of the contest and hold off any comebacks by Cena. Reigns ultimately nailed the spear to pick up the win. That led to Brock Lesnar coming out to go face-to-face with Reigns.

Next: Brock Lesnar Returns To WWE At SummerSlam, Confronts Roman Reigns