10:51 p.m.: SummerSlam ends with The Undertaker defeating Brock Lesnar via submission.
Kind of.
Lesnar and The Undertaker wasted no time in going at each other. Lesnar attacked The Undertaker as soon as he entered the ring, which was a sign of things to come.
The two absolutely pummeled each other and exchanged finishers throughout the match. Lesnar delivered three F5s — as he did in his win at WrestleMania 30 — but The Undertaker kept kicking out.
Half of the crowd chanted “Suplex City!” The other half chanted “Undertaker!” By the end, the crowd showered both competitors with a chant of “This is awesome!”
Controversy quickly ensued.
Lesnar put The Undertaker in a Kimura Lock. The referee didn’t see it, but the timekeeper apparently did. He rang the bell to signal the end of the match. The ref disputed the timekeeper’s judgment and the match continued, at which point The Undertaker came up from behind Lesnar and delivered a low blow.
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The Undertaker then tossed Lesnar into his own trademark submission, Hell’s Gate. Lesnar never tapped out — he actually flipped off The Undertaker — but he passed out, giving ‘Taker the win.
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Paul Heyman and Lesnar were ticked off, as you’d imagine. Heyman ran over to the timekeeper, rang the bell himself and declared Lesnar the winner.
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It’s clear we’re headed for a rubber match.
10:24 p.m.: It’s time.
Brock Lesnar has entered.
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The Undertaker has entered.
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It’s on.
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10:18 p.m.: Kevin Owens defeated Cesaro via pinfall.
Owens and Cesaro are two of the best workers in WWE. They proved it again with a hard-fought match that saw each superstar lay some serious licks on his opponent.
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Owens moves well for a big guy — it’s probably time people stop criticizing him for his weight — and Cesaro is just a specimen. The match even included some high-flying, high-risk maneuvers.
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Owens won with his trademark Popup Powerbomb.
10:06 p.m.: The Divas had a tough act to follow, as the crowd — and the Internet — still was buzzing about Jon Stewart interfering in an entertaining match between John Cena and Seth Rollins.
They did OK.
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The whole Divas Revolution angle has potential. It still lacks an “it” factor, though, and the women, in their defense, have been booked in some tough spots.
Nevertheless, Team PCB stood tall. Becky Lynch scored the pinfall victory over Brie Bella.
9:28 p.m.: Seth Rollins defeated John Cena via pinfall to retain the World Heavyweight title and win the United States title.
Rollins made history thanks to comedian/TV host Jon Stewart, who entered the match with the referee out cold and attacked Cena with a chair.
Cena appeared to have the match won after hitting Rollins with an Attitude Adjustment. He took out the referee in the process, though, so there was no one to count the pinfall. That’s when Stewart, who previously feuded with Rollins, entered the fray.
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Stewart jumped around the ring with a chair in his hands for several moments as both Rollins and Cena collected themselves, leaving the crowd wondering who he’d attack. Stewart eventually shoved the chair into Cena’s gut before dropping it onto the mat for Rollins to deliver a match-ending Pedigree.
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9:04 p.m.: It’s time for title versus title.
The crowd at Barclays Center is electric. It’s also very pro-Seth Rollins and anti-John Cena, it seems.
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Cena has won the WWE World Heavyweight title 15 times. Ric Flair holds the record with 16 reigns.
8:59 p.m.: Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns defeated Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper via pinfall.
So much for Ambrose or Reigns turning heel.
Their feud with Wyatt and Harper felt thrown together because creative didn’t have a sense of direction for any of the four superstars — something that’s discouraging given that Ambrose, Reigns and Wyatt all have been booked as legitimate up-and-comers at one time or another.
The match had the same feel. It started off as a brawl — go figure — and Ambrose and Reigns ended up winning handily with very little resistance.
Ambrose and Reigns celebrated together in the ring after their victory. It seemed like a perfect time for a falling out between the friends. Yet, it didn’t happen.
8:47 p.m.: Jon Stewart just went to Brock Lesnar’s locker room to interview The Beast. Paul Heyman intercepted the former host of “The Daily Show” and sent him on his way, though not before cracking a joke about WWE not being able to land David Letterman as its host of SummerSlam.
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Up next: Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose versus Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper.
8:42 p.m.: Ryback defeated Big Show and The Miz to retain the Intercontinental title.
The match was filled with quick pins, sneak attacks and attempts by each competitor to swoop in following another’s finisher. Big Show even jumped from the second rope in ugly fashion.
The Miz looked destined to win after hitting Ryback with a Skull Crushing Finale moments after Ryback threw Big Show on his shoulders and delivered Shell Shock. But Ryback kicked out. So, too, did Big Show after Miz turned his attention to the world’s largest athlete.
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Big Show eventually blasted The Miz with a knockout blow, at which point Ryback rejoined the fray and clotheslined Big Show over the top rope. Ryback then pinned The Miz to retain the title.
8:26 p.m.: Neville and Stephen Amell defeated Stardust and King Barrett via pinfall.
Amell, star of the hit TV series “Arrow,” looked like a natural in his first ever WWE match. He kept up with his athletic counterparts throughout the bout, even flying off the top rope on one occasion.
It all started with a solid enough entrance by Amell.
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Then, he entered the ring in style after being called out by Stardust.
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Then, he stepped up to the challenge.
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Oh yeah, he exited the ring in style, too.
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Neville hit King Barrett with a Red Arrow for the victory.
8:07 p.m.: Dolph Ziggler versus Rusev ended in a double countout.
Nothing was solved here. It essentially was something you’d see on “RAW” — and maybe have seen on “RAW” — so the only logical explanation is they’re building toward a mixed tag match in the future.
Rusev had Ziggler in The Accolade before the ladies got involved. Things spilled outside the ring and Ziggler tried desperately to beat the referee’s count back into the ring but couldn’t do so.
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Why do I feel like Rusev’s matches always have the potential to end in a countout?
Anyway, Lana and Summer Rae went at it in the ring after the match until Ziggler and Rusev pulled them apart. That’s where we stand with this whole thing.
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The Stephen Amell and Stardust feud will come to a head next.
7:59 p.m.: Dolph Ziggler versus Rusev is in full swing. It’ll probably be a good match, but really, Lana’s the star here. She keeps finding new ways to look incredible.
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7:50 p.m.: The New Day won the Tag Team championship via pinfall.
The New Day are tag team champions again after winning a surprisingly awesome match. There were bodies — both human bodies and bull bodies — flying everywhere, as you’d expect from a fatal four way tag team match.
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The bout ended in ultimate heel fashion. Titus O’Neil looked poised for a win until Kofi Kingston slipped into the ring and kicked him in the chops to pick up the victory.
The best part? Kofi’s celebration and Big E running around the ring like a mad man. Nailed it.
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Even “SportsCenter” tweeted about the win. SummerSlam’s really going mainstream this year.
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7:42 p.m.: The New Day grew on me. Love the energy, the mic work and the contrasting styles.
Xavier Woods, Big E and Kofi Kingston killed it to open the fatal four way tag team championship match. They brilliantly remixed Jay Z’s “Empire State of Mind.”
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The Lucha Dragons had quite an entrance, too.
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And then they did this…
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7:30 p.m.: Sheamus defeated Randy Orton via pinfall.
Orton hit Sheamus with a sick RKO, but Sheamus rolled out of the ring before Orton could cover him.
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Orton later went for another RKO “outta nowhere,” but Sheamus blocked it before delivering a pair of Brogue Kicks.
The match ended with Sheamus holding his Money in the Bank briefcase above his head in the middle of the ring. A sign of things to come?
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7:20 p.m.: Sheamus began his match against Randy Orton by addressing the Barclays Center crowd for its “You look stupid!” chant. The fans are right, per usual. He looks stupid.
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If you feel like you’ve seen this match 800 times over the last three or four years, you’re wrong. It’s closer to 900, according to my count.
7:15 p.m.: Randy Orton and Sheamus will kick off the slate of matches.
That begs the question: Will Sheamus cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase?
Seth Rollins, of course, cashed in at WrestleMania 31 after losing to Orton earlier in the night.
7:12 p.m.: We just received our first glimpse of the Spanish announce table. That will fall in time if history is any indication.
7:10 p.m.: Mick Foley didn’t stick around for long. The Hardcore Legend joined Jon Stewart in the ring, told him he thought he needed backup for an interview with “The Rock” — not “Brock” — and quickly bounced.
So there’s your opening. Blah.
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7:05 p.m.: Jon Stewart, formerly the host of “The Daily Show,” is hosting SummerSlam. And he called backup for his interview with Brock Lesnar.
*Car crash sound*
It’s Mick Foley.
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6:50 p.m.: Jon Stewart is in the building.
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5:53 p.m.: Good news, guys. We’re in business.
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5:30 p.m.: OK, so we’re less than two hours away and I’m sitting here mulling over what’s going to happen. I can’t help but think a few huge plot twists are on the way. Otherwise, the card — while stacked with talent — is pretty ho-hum in several areas.
Personally, I’m over the whole Undertaker thing. He had a great career, God love him, but I can’t be the only one who wished his career ended the second Brock Lesnar hit him with a third F5 at WrestleMania 30. I mean, how am I supposed to believe this 60-year-old guy — or however old he is — should put up a fight against an absolute beast who tuned him up a year and a half ago? It doesn’t make sense.
Also, I’m a big John Cena guy. His character is stale at times — actually, WWE’s booking of him relative to other superstars bores me — but he’s good at what he does. He’s great on the microphone and those who say he can’t wrestle simply have their heads in the clouds. That said, I’m not all that invested in the Cena-Rollins match. It just seems like something we’ve seen 100 times.
I’m still sneaky jacked up for SummerSlam in spite of my grievances, though. And it might even have something to do with those complaints. Like I said, something unforeseen — something to throw a major wrinkle into the plans — just seems bound to happen.
That’s reason enough to watch — and to follow the live blog, of course.
NESN.com’s own Mike Cole previewed SummerSlam earlier this week with Michaela Vernava. Mike’s a good dude and we’ve spent countless hours bickering about WWE-related topics. So, I suggest you watch the video below to hear his two cents on Sunday night’s midsummer event.
5 p.m. ET: The biggest event of the summer is upon us.
World Wrestling Entertainment will invade Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Sunday night for WWE SummerSlam 2015. SummerSlam, of course, is WWE’s second-biggest annual event behind WrestleMania. So yeah, this is kind of a big deal, regardless of whether or not you dig wrestling.
Fortunately, NESN.com will have you covered throughout the evening. We’ll hook you up with live match coverage, results, analysis and a whole bunch of other good stuff right here in this live blog.
The SummerSlam Kickoff Show is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET. SummerSlam will begin at 7 p.m. ET, and the event will run for four hours for the first time in history.
Click for how to watch SummerSlam >>
Let’s run down the list of matches, just to make sure everyone’s up to speed.
— Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker
— Seth Rollins (World Heavyweight champion) vs. John Cena (United States champion)
— Ryback (Intercontinental champion) vs. The Miz vs. The Big Show
— The Prime Time Players (Tag Team champions) vs. The New Day vs. The Lucha Dragons vs. Los Matadores
— Paige, Charlotte and Becky Lynch vs. Naomi, Tamina and Sasha Banks vs. Alicia Fox, Brie Bella and Nikki Bella (fatal four way elimination match)
— King Barrett and Stardust vs. Neville and Stephen Amell
— Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper
— Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens
— Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev
— Randy Orton vs. Sheamus
Some of those matches should be good. Others inevitably will suck. But all make for a stacked event that probably will have some twists, turns and surprises along the way.
Click for a complete SummerSlam preview >>
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@WWE
