The "Biggest Event of the Summer" felt very disjointed at times and that's likely because of how many changes there were to the card.
WWE SummerSlam 2016 will definitely go down as one of the oddest nights in the history of sports entertainment. One of the strangest facets of the event was the ending to the Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton match at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The WWE attempted to blur the lines between fantasy and reality when Lesnar cut "The Viper" open the hard way and the match was called due to a referee stoppage as Orton's crimson blood scattered across the ring canvas.
We've already outlined the major missteps of SummerSlam, but the latest reports indicate that the ending went as planned -- though much of the card was altered in recent weeks.
As for the main event, Orton was planning on working a regular match, but was told by WWE officials upon arriving at SummerSlam that they wanted to create a scenario where it looked as though Lesnar went off script on his attack of Orton, according to The Wrestling Observer (via WrestlingInc).
The WWE didn't have interest in making both stars look strong, but rather it wanted to make "The Beast" look stronger. The bout was originally booked as a one-sided beat down, which is interesting considering it was the battle for brand supremacy.
Orton was also reportedly told that Lesnar knew how to hit him with his elbow just enough to make him bleed, but not hurt him too badly. Lesnar's real elbow and stiff punches eventually caused "The Viper" to need 10 staples.
The company hoped to create a confusing scenario where people believed Lesnar really hurt Orton, causing the referee to stop the match. The ending has led to some very mixed reviews.
As for the other matches for the card, original plans called for Finn Balor to face Chris Jericho and for Seth Rollins to battle Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship. Once Reigns got suspended, the WWE changed up the plans and had "The Demon King" battle "The Architect."
Reigns was pushed down the card and into a program with U.S. Champion Rusev (though he was booked strong at SummerSlam) as punishment for his wellness policy violation, while Balor was inserted as the top babyface against Rollins.
The publication also reports that "RAW" was supposed to end up with the WWE World Championship, while the Universal Championship was slated to be a part of "SmackDown Live" and held by AJ Styles, who may go over current WWE Champion Dean Ambrose at Backlash on Sept. 11.
After the decision was made to have Balor win the Universal Championship, he reportedly was slated to face Owens at the Clash of the Champions event on Sept. 25, bridging into a Triple Threat Match against Owens and Jericho at Hell in a Cell, but his shoulder injury has nixed those plans.
There's no word on who is expected to win the Fatal 4 Way match between Rollins, Owens, Big Cass and Reigns to determine the new champion on this week's "RAW," but it seems big plans are ahead for KO.
SummerSlam may be the second-biggest event of the year, but there were a lot of creative changes surrounding it.
