Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns had a brutal Last Man Standing match at Summer Slam in what is now being dubbed one of the best Summer Slam main-events ever. But this match received its fair share of criticism for making Reigns look weak despite winning the match.
The Beast Incarnate dominated Tribal Chief for the most part of the match. However, Reigns won the match and retained the Undisputed WWE Universal title with assist from his cousins The Usos. The three men had to bury Lesnar under a pile of rubble to prevent him from getting up before the 10 count.
They saved their best match till last.
Take a bow, Roman and Brock.
That was one for the ages.#SummerSlam pic.twitter.com/KZTLubDxTx
— WWE on BT Sport (@btsportwwe) July 31, 2022
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter stated that WWE’s goal was to make Brock Lesnar look strong in defeat to maintain his aura. This was Lesnar’s third straight loss to Roman Reigns and would have severely tarnished his credibility if he did not dominate the match.
”The goal of the match was for Reigns to win but to protect Lesnar and maintain his aura. But in doing those finishes where you don’t want anybody to really lose, there is no satisfaction in getting the win. Here, the idea of the forklift and the visual was done to camouflage that,” said Meltzer
Dave Meltzer also further noted that having such a high degree of interference from outside factors in a highly promoted main-event could be viewed negatively. He admitted that most fans found the ending entertaining and it worked because of the company and the time.
”Most found it entertaining and the best match on the show, although in almost any other case, that kind of interference and a finish to something promoted as a conclusive match in a long series would be taken differently. The finish seemed to work well for most, because of the time and more important, the company,” said Meltzer
Bablu