1) Bayley and Sasha Banks: I honestly could not decided between the two girls. Yes, Bayley won the match but I can't put one girl's performance above the other. I watched nearly every match the WWE has put on this year, I watched Lucha Underground, the entire G1 Climax, Wrestle Kingdom 9 ROH and a ton of wrestling, but my match of the year is Bayley vs. Sasha Banks and I don't care what people say. Everything from the entrances (Bayley with the Dusty tribute, Sasha with the Escalade) to the story they told to the moves they did to the emotion of the crowd, was perfect. The atmosphere in the Barclays Center was something that wasn't topped all weekend long. Sasha Banks attacking Bayley's hand was genius and done viciously. Stomping on her hand during the Bank Statement and the somersault outside were both highlights. I always liked Bayley, but felt she was the worst of the NXT four. I thought that there was no way these two would top what Banks and Becky Lynch did in May. I even wrote a long article about that match. Instead, they shut me up and bested it. There was nothing about this match that I would change. I was emotionally invested in a way that I didn't get for anything else I've seen all year. If you would have told me a few years ago that, on a weekend with Brock Lesnar, Undertaker, Tyler Black, Kevin Steen, John Cena, Claudio Castagnoli and many others, SHIMMER's Davina Rose and Snoop Dogg's cousin would outperform them all, I would have never believed you.
2) Seth Rollins: After sitting in the front row for TakeOver, it certainly seemed like Seth Rollins came out trying to steal the show at SummerSlam. While I don't think his match with John Cena was better than either of the double main events at TakeOver, but man he tried. Seth brought out a diving double stomp in the corner, a superplex rolled into a falcon arrow and three consecutive suicide dives. Seth brought it and did his best to deliver in what was probably the biggest match of his career. I know that a lot of people have been down on his booking, and it has been rough at times, but the guy has been successful as hell. Here, he won the United States Title, adding to his WWE Championship. That's an accomplishment, especially with the effort Cena put into making the title relevant again. Seth Rollins truly is THE man for the time being and I'm loving it.
3) Finn Balor: In our third slot this week, the NXT Champion, Finn Balor, takes it. There was a tough task ahead of Finn Balor and Kevin Owens to follow the MOTY at the close of TakeOver, but they did an admirable job in doing so. Looking back, I wasn't a huge fan of their first match but really liked the one in Japan. This one lived up to the Japan match. It started a bit slow but really picked up and they put on an awesome match. Finn Balor was able to retain and should finally put Kevin Owens behind him. Now, he can move on to new challengers, hopefully beating Samoa Joe before a feud with a returning Hideo Itami. That's just my wishes though. Finn Balor successfully retained the NXT Title in the main event of their biggest event ever, so he clearly earns this spot.
4) The New Day: How can anyone dislike the New Day? They have consistently been the most entertaining thing about the WWE for a while and it got even better this week. Yea, I used a gif from after 8/23, but so what, it's classic. During the week of 8/17-8/23 though, they picked up a major win at SummerSlam. New Day was the best thing about a surprisingly fun Tag Team Title match and then they would actually capture the belts again. The New Day deserved it too because they've been the best thing about the tag division in recent months. I just want to make sure they keep getting TV time and shine.
5) The Vaudevillains: Over the past few months, I became worried about the Vaudevillains. They were close to the NXT Tag Team Titles last year, but fell to the Lucha Dragons. Then BAMF got a lengthy run and Enzo and Cass looked to be on the verge of winning the straps. Then, they were given the shot at the biggest NXT event ever and I felt that if they lost, it would be a wrap for them. Instead, they brought out Blue Pants to a massive pop, and got a great reaction themselves on that night, when I was worried the fans would be wanting Enzo and Cass. The match itself surprised me as the tag team division has been NXT's biggest weak point for a long time. They had a really fun match and Aiden English and Simon Gotch capped it by winning the gold. A pretty great moment for a really fun tag team.
