SummerSlam 2020: Drew McIntyre Delivers Before Roman Reigns Changes Everything

Crews and MVP give the Kickoff a compact title match that is more useful for storyline clarity than for high-end wrestling. With Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin barred from ringside, MVP has to work without the usual Hurt Business advantage, which gives Crews a cleaner path to proving he belongs as champion. MVP slows the match through veteran control, while Crews uses short bursts of speed and power to create separation. The finish is decisive: Crews catches his opening and lands the Toss Powerbomb for the pin. The post-match appearance from Lashley and Benjamin keeps the feud alive, but the title defense itself remains refreshingly straightforward.

Bayley and Asuka open the main card with the first half of Asuka's unusual double-title assignment, and the match works because both women understand how to make the second bout later in the night feel different. Bayley relies on Sasha Banks for the occasional distraction, while Asuka attacks with enough urgency to make the champion's position feel unstable. The finish is built around Banks' presence rather than a clean technical conclusion: Asuka knocks Banks from the apron while trying to attack Bayley, and Bayley immediately catches Asuka in a roll-up for the pin. The result protects Asuka for the Raw title match while keeping Bayley opportunistic and resourceful.

The Raw Tag Team Championship match has enough athletic talent to move quickly, but the rivalry feels more like a weekly television program than a SummerSlam attraction. Andrade and Garza control stretches through sharper double-team offense, while Ford and Dawkins answer with the explosive comeback style that defined their championship run. Zelina Vega's ringside involvement creates the predictable distraction, yet the finish ultimately comes from the champions taking advantage of the chaos rather than an outright screwjob. Dawkins powerbombs Garza and Ford follows with From the Heavens for the pin. The match is perfectly competent, but it lacks a major hook or memorable escalation.

Rose and Deville carry months of personal hostility into a stipulation that matters more than the technical wrestling, and the match succeeds by leaning into that intensity. The ringside brawling and chair use fit the feud without becoming excessive, while Deville's aggression gives Rose a believable obstacle to overcome. The contest gains weight from the real-world circumstances that forced WWE to abandon the originally planned hair-versus-hair stipulation, but the on-screen story remains easy to follow without that context. Rose survives the roughest exchanges, lands multiple running knees and finishes with one final knee strike for the pin. The clean result gives the feud a true endpoint.

Dominik Mysterio's first WWE match is far better than a debut at this level has any right to be, and Rollins deserves enormous credit for structuring the street fight around Dominik's strengths rather than exposing his inexperience. The weapons, ringside chaos and family involvement give the rookie natural breathing room, but Dominik still has to execute major sequences under pressure. His top-rope Russian legsweep through a table is the biggest statement that he belongs, while Rey's handcuffing adds the emotional stakes needed for the finish. Rollins eventually lands the Stomp in front of Rey for the pin, but Dominik leaves the match looking elevated rather than defeated.

Banks and Asuka deliver the strongest women's match on the card by building on their recent controversy without repeating it. Banks attacks with urgency and uses Bayley's presence as an insurance policy, while Asuka keeps forcing the champion into increasingly desperate escapes from submissions. The counters become the heart of the match, particularly as Banks transitions between the Bank Statement and pinning combinations while Asuka repeatedly searches for the Asuka Lock. The finish mirrors the earlier Bayley match but reverses the roles: Bayley moves from danger, Asuka avoids the Bank Statement and finally traps Banks in the Asuka Lock for the submission. The title change feels earned and conclusive.

McIntyre and Orton produce the best conventional wrestling match of SummerSlam 2020 by building almost entirely around timing, patience and the threat of each man's finishing move. Orton works with veteran economy, repeatedly trying to slow McIntyre and create a single opening for the RKO or Punt, while the champion refuses to be baited into reckless mistakes. The lack of a live crowd makes the deliberate pacing more exposed, but the match still creates genuine tension through near-falls and counters. The finish is especially strong because McIntyre wins with a wrestling counter rather than the Claymore, trapping Orton in a backslide for the pin. It reinforces McIntyre as a complete champion rather than simply a powerhouse.

Wyatt and Strowman deliver a weak wrestling match whose historical importance comes almost entirely after the bell. The Falls Count Anywhere stipulation lets them move through the stage and backstage areas, but the brawling is slow and rarely feels as violent as the feud's presentation suggests it should. Strowman exposing the wooden boards under the ring canvas creates the one memorable in-match visual, and Wyatt uses that opening to hit a uranage and consecutive Sister Abigails for the championship. The match itself is underwhelming, but Roman Reigns' immediate return changes the entire closing sequence as he Spears both men, attacks Strowman with a chair and raises the Universal Championship.