‘Wrestling is magic’: Nearly 60K fans attend WWE's biggest party of the summer, ‘Summerslam’ in Detroit

DETROIT – Metro Detroiter’s took over the World Wrestling Entertainment’s biggest party of the summer, “Summerslam,” as nearly 60,000 fans packed Ford Field.

The pay-per-view event held on Saturday (Aug. 5) was the highest-grossing premium live event in Summerslam’s 36-year history.

“I thought we had a fantastic night tonight,” said WWE Chief Content Officer Paul’ Triple H’ Levesque. “I want to thank Detroit as it’s been 30 years since our last Summerslam was in Detroit, and the city did not disappoint.”

Triple H continued:

“I think they showed up in mass. They showed up to have a great time, and I think we delivered for them. I want to thank the partners of the Tigers, and Lions because they’ve been excellent partners in this process in helping us get to this point. Tonight was the highest-grossing Summerslam in the history of the WWE. It’s actually our highest-grossing PLE outside of Wrestlemania.”

WWE did not disappoint as the American Nightmare Cody Rhodes finished the storyline with “The Beast” Brock Lesnar.

When Rhodes’ entrance music hit, the crowd went berserk. But it was basically at that point where Lesnar dominated Rhodes for the next 10 or so minutes.

The beating got so bad that Lesnar could be seen yelling and begging for Rhodes to stay down. The Beast hit Rhodes with two F-5 finishers, with one landing on the floor outside the ring and the other through the announcer’s table.

Judging by the crowds reaction, Rhodes has become the quintessential baby face as fans held on to each breath as he kept getting up off the mat.

The momentum of the crowd helped Rhodes conquer the Beast as he hit him with three Cross Rhodes to get the victory.

After the match, shockingly, Lesnar shook hands with The American Nightmare, which signaled the end of their rivalry.

“I got asked something while filming some behind-the-scenes content, but I don’t think it downed on me what a moment like that really means,” said Rhodes.

Rhodes continued:

“This run, since I came back to the WWE, has been consistently surprising to me in every way, and I think that’s why I’m so touched by it all. It’s as real as it gets in this world; that will be something that I look at and have a deep appreciation for.”

Ricochet vs. Logan Paul

The match between Ricochet and Logan Paul opened the pay-per-view event Saturday, as Paul had to catch his brother Jake Paul’s fight in Texas.

The bout was amazing as a security guard gave Logan a pair of brass knuckles to knockout Ricochet with a single punch to the jaw and seal the victory for his first win in the company.

Slim Jim 25-man battle royal

The pace changed during the third bout as the 25-man over-the-top-rope Battle Royal presented by Slim Jim occurred.

The crowd was cheering for up-and-coming superstar LA Knight who was one of two finalists remaining in the bout. He eventually threw out Shemas for the final elimination of the match, causing the crowd to erupt.

“LA Knight only appeared on the Smackdown roster back in October, so in a weird way, this has been an amazingly fast climb,” said Knight. “It’s been crazy and kind of unexpected at the same time in a strange way. I always knew that I had something to give. Did I know that it was going to go to this level this quickly? Not necessarily, but damn, here we are.”

Knight continued:

“Everybody’s always talking about, ‘Ahh, he needs the rocket strapped to his back,’ look, I’ll strap my own rocket to myself, and that’s exactly what I’ve done. So here we are, Slim Jim Battle Royal, 25 other guys getting tossed over, and I get to raise my hand.”

Rhonda Rousey and Shana Baszler fought in a MMA rules match where Baszler submitted Rousey, much to the chagrin of the audience, who cared less about the outcome of the match.

Gunther vs. Drew McIntyre

Drew McIntyre and Gunther came out next to reawaken the atmosphere in a match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship.

The bout was typical for them both as it was just two mammoths bruising each other until Gunther won by pinfall.

Seth Rollins vs. Finn Bálor

Seth Rollins and Finn Bálor brought a little more excitement back to the venue.

Still, it was the same finish we’ve become accustomed to knowing as The Judgement Day, featuring “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio, Senior Money In the Bank Damian Priest, and Rhea Ripley, interfered in the WWE Heavyweight Championship match.

But, in typical Rollins fashion, he got the victory.

Bianca Belair vs. Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair

Summerslam picked up during the WWE Women’s Championship triple threat match, which featured Asuka, Charlotte Flair, and Bianca Belair in the co-main event.

Those women put on one of the best performances you’d ever see.

During the end of the match, Asuka, the defending champion, spit green mist in the face and mouth of Flair, who had Belair on the figure eight leg lock.

Flair continued the hold on Belair when Asuka whiffed on a kick to her head before getting rolled up in the most phenomenal finishing move ever.

Iyo Sky

As the crowd erupted in joy for Belair becoming the new champion, then came Ms. Money In The Bank briefcase holder Iyo Sky running full speed down the ramp to cash it in.

The bell rings, and the ringside announcer announces what is occurring to the crowd. Sky flies through the air, hits Belair with a moonsault to become the new women’s champion.

Sky and Damage CTRL stablemates Bayley and Dakota Kai spoke after the show about how appreciative she was to have her partners by her side during the journey to becoming champion.

“This whole year was filled with so many waves and emotions,” said Bayley. “Different things happened, like we lost Dakota, but through all of the highs and the lows, we stuck together, and we made it.”

Bayley continued:

The Money In The Bank briefcase was a big deal, and the fact that she walked out with the title tonight, beating Bianca Belair, who we confronted last year, brought it all back around was a fairytale. Wrestling is magic.”

Roman Reigns

The main event featuring Roman “The Tribal Chief” Reigns and Jey “Main Event” Uso had a tough act to follow, but in typical WWE fashion, they ended the show spectacularly.

After a knockdown drag out back and forth bout between the Samoan cousins for the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship held by Reigns, Uso climbed to the top turnbuckle and dropped a splash for the one, two, three, but in a turn of events, his twin brother Jimmy Uso whose been out of action for over a month pulled Jey out of the ring before the referee could finish the count.

To make matters worse, Jimmy then hit Jey with a super kick before tossing him back into the ring, staggering before Reigns speared him through a table for the victory.

Reigns’ “Wiseman” Paul Heyman spoke about the victory after the show went off the air, and let’s just say he wasn’t lost for words.

“If you want to take the arrogant approach, I’m sure Paul Levesque will tell you about all of the box office numbers that have been smashed,” said Heyman. “And every Friday night when we show up on Smackdown, we’re told, ‘This is the largest gate of this and that. This is the largest premium live event of this, and that or this is the largest Wrestlemania.’”

Heyman continued:

“We can sit there and point to what really drove all of this and that, and it’s The Bloodline, and when I say that, I essentially mean my Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns. If you don’t come at this with the greatest ambitions to be much better tomorrow than you are today and much better two days from now than you are today, then you’re not here to be the greatest of all time, and that’s what Roman Reigns wants to be. That’s what Roman Reigns is determined to be, and for me, that’s the only reason why I agreed to have life after Lesnar. How can I ever top the run I had with Brock Lesnar? Roman Reigns, because he’s that ambitious, and he wants it that badly.”

After its 30-year absence, the wrestlers and the fans brought the best out of each other. The superstars left it all on the mat, which had the city buzzing during the four-hour event.

Did you attend or watch Summerslam Saturday night? If so, what are your thoughts on the premium live event?