WWE SummerSlam 2016 match times stats breakdown

WWE's SummerSlam 2016 lasted for 4 hours 3 minutes and 34 seconds (4h 03m 34s). Here is a breakdown of the timing for every single second of the show, in chronological order.

The matches are in bold. The "pre-match" segments include video packages, entrances, ring introductions, and any verbal promos that occur right before a match officially begins. The "post-match" segments include any celebrations, replays, angles, attacks, or promos that occur right after a match is finished.

Start	End	Description	Duration
0m 00s	0m 22s	Then, Now, Forever	0m 22s
0m 22s	2m 34s	Video hyping SummerSlam 2016	2m 12s
2m 34s	3m 23s	Opening pyro; Cole welcomes you	0m 49s
3m 23s	10m 36s	Pre-match for Enzo and Cass vs Jeri-KO	7m 13s
10m 36s	22m 44s	Enzo and Cass vs Jeri-KO	12m 08s
22m 44s	23m 51s	Post-match for Enzo and Cass vs Jeri-KO	1m 07s
23m 51s	24m 22s	Commercial for Tapout	0m 31s
24m 22s	27m 04s	Backstage with Jon Stewart and pals	2m 42s
27m 04s	33m 55s	Pre-match for Sasha vs Charlotte	6m 51s
33m 55s	47m 45s	Sasha vs Charlotte	13m 50s
47m 45s	49m 54s	Post-match for Sasha vs Charlotte	2m 09s
49m 54s	50m 25s	Commercial for Digiorno	0m 31s
50m 25s	51m 46s	Backstage with The Club and Balor	1m 21s
51m 46s	52m 00s	Plug for PPV theme song	0m 14s
52m 00s	52m 19s	Intro of SmackDown Live commentary team	0m 19s
52m 19s	55m 37s	Pre-match for Miz vs Crews	3m 18s
55m 37s	1h 01m 16s	Miz vs Crews	5m 39s
1h 01m 16s	1h 02m 24s	Post-match for Miz vs Crews	1m 08s
1h 02m 24s	1h 03m 21s	Commercial for WWE 2K17	0m 57s
1h 03m 21s	1h 03m 46s	Filler commentary	0m 25s
1h 03m 46s	1h 11m 43s	Pre-match for Cena vs Styles	7m 57s
1h 11m 43s	1h 34m 54s	Cena vs Styles	23m 11s
1h 34m 54s	1h 38m 38s	Post-match for Cena vs Styles	3m 44s
1h 38m 38s	1h 40m 40s	Commercial for WWE Network	2m 02s
1h 40m 40s	1h 42m 21s	Cricket Wireless WWE sweepstakes video	1m 41s
1h 42m 21s	1h 48m 55s	Pre-match for New Day vs The Club	6m 34s
1h 48m 55s	1h 58m 00s	New Day vs The Club	9m 05s
1h 58m 00s	1h 59m 52s	Post-match for New Day vs The Club	1m 52s
1h 59m 52s	2h 00m 30s	Commercial for Holy Foley!	0m 38s
2h 00m 30s	2h 01m 01s	Commercial for Backlash 2016	0m 31s
2h 01m 01s	2h 01m 16s	Filler commentary	0m 15s
2h 01m 16s	2h 08m 48s	Pre-match for Ambrose vs Ziggler	7m 32s
2h 08m 48s	2h 24m 06s	Ambrose vs Ziggler	15m 18s
2h 24m 06s	2h 25m 21s	Post-match for Ambrose vs Ziggler	1m 15s
2h 25m 21s	2h 27m 48s	Video recap of SummerSlam week in NYC	2m 27s
2h 27m 48s	2h 33m 42s	Pre-match for Becky, Naomi, Carmella vs Natalya, Alexa, Nikki	5m 54s
2h 33m 42s	2h 44m 44s	Becky, Naomi, Carmella vs Natalya, Alexa, Nikki	11m 02s
2h 44m 44s	2h 45m 39s	Post-match for Becky, Naomi, Carmella vs Natalya, Alexa, Nikki	0m 55s
2h 45m 39s	2h 46m 01s	Commercial for Clash of Champions 2016	0m 22s
2h 46m 01s	2h 46m 35s	Plug for PPV theme song; Wale in audience	0m 34s
2h 46m 35s	2h 47m 47s	Review of Rusev/Reigns feud	1m 12s
2h 47m 47s	2h 49m 31s	Menounos interviews Rusev and Lana	1m 44s
2h 49m 31s	3h 01m 14s	Pre-match for Balor vs Rollins	11m 43s
3h 01m 14s	3h 20m 38s	Balor vs Rollins	19m 24s
3h 20m 38s	3h 23m 14s	Post-match for Balor vs Rollins	2m 36s
3h 23m 14s	3h 24m 50s	Kickoff panel	1m 36s
3h 24m 50s	3h 27m 01s	Commercial for KFC with Miz and Ziggler	2m 11s
3h 27m 01s	3h 27m 23s	Filler commentary	0m 22s
3h 27m 23s	3h 37m 55s	Brawl between Reigns and Rusev	10m 32s
3h 37m 55s	3h 38m 26s	Commercial for Total Bellas	0m 31s
3h 38m 26s	3h 39m 20s	Hype for Holy Foley!	0m 54s
3h 39m 20s	3h 48m 43s	Pre-match for Lesnar vs Orton	9m 23s
3h 48m 43s	4h 00m 28s	Lesnar vs Orton	11m 45s
4h 00m 28s	4h 03m 34s	Post-match for Lesnar vs Orton	3m 06s

Match Times

The 9 matches combined for a total time of 2h 01m 22s. This means that 49.8% of the show was devoted to bell-to-bell action. This is the 37th highest percentage in this category out of the 45 WWE pay-per-view (PPV) events in my data set, which begins with Royal Rumble 2013.

Here is the sorted list of match times for SummerSlam 2016. This also includes where each match time ranks out of all 324 matches in my data set.

• 23m 11s: John Cena vs AJ Styles (36th longest out of 324 matches)
• 19m 24s: Finn Balor vs Seth Rollins (69th)
• 15m 18s: Dean Ambrose vs Dolph Ziggler (104th)
• 13m 50s: Sasha Banks vs Charlotte (130th)
• 12m 08s: Enzo and Cass vs Jeri-KO (160th)
• 11m 45s: Brock Lesnar vs Randy Orton (163rd)
• 11m 02s: Becky, Naomi, Carmella vs Natalya, Alexa, Nikki (182nd)
• 9m 05s: New Day vs The Club (217th)
• 5m 39s: The Miz vs Apollo Crews (292nd)

I didn't count the brawl between Rusev and Reigns as a match, because there was no bell to signify the start of the match, and there was no official winner or decision given.  That entire segment, including the ring entrances, was thrown into the Miscellaneous category.

Dolph Ziggler's match time of 15m 18s is his 2nd longest match time in my data set for any of his one-on-one matches, trailing only his ladder match at TLC 2014 against Luke Harper.

Lesnar's match was the 4th shortest main event out of 45 total main event matches in my data set.

14 of the 15 shortest main event matches include at least one of Lesnar, Orton, or Ambrose (you can also replace Ambrose with Rollins and the statement remains true).  This could be a function of how frequently WWE relies on these specific performers to main event their PPV events.  However 8 of Lesnar's 10 main event matches do fall into this group.

This is the first PPV in my data set with two women's matches that each passed 10 minutes in length.  This is the most total match time dedicated to the women's division out of all 45 PPV events.

Pre-match Segments

The pre-match segments combined for a total time of 1h 06m 25s, which is 27.3% of the show. This is the 5th highest percentage in this category out of the 45 events in my data set.

Here is the sorted list of pre-match segment time for all 9 matches. For some context, keep in mind that the median pre-match segment time in my data set is 5m 12s and the average time is 5m 51s.

• 11m 43s: Finn Balor vs Seth Rollins
• 9m 23s: Brock Lesnar vs Randy Orton
• 7m 57s: John Cena vs AJ Styles
• 7m 32s: Dean Ambrose vs Dolph Ziggler
• 7m 13s: Enzo and Cass vs Jeri-KO
• 6m 51s: Sasha Banks vs Charlotte
• 6m 34s: New Day vs The Club
• 5m 54s: Becky, Naomi, Carmella vs Natalya, Alexa, Nikki
• 3m 18s: The Miz vs Apollo Crews

Five matches received the special treatment of a dedicated video package right before superstar entrances. The videos hyping Sasha's match (2m 58s), Cena's match (3m 26s), Ziggler's match (3m 32s), Balor's match (3m 37s), and Lesnar's match (4m 25s) combined to take up 17m 58s of the pre-match segment time.

The list above shows that nearly every single match surpassed the average pre-match segment length of 5m 51s.  This is strongly related to why this show included over an hour of pre-match segments.

5 of the matches were given the lengthy video package treatment, both male tag team matches included pre-match promos, and the women's tag team match included 7 different entrance times, if the Eva Marie tease is counted, as well as Nikki's return.

Balor's entrance lasted 3m 41s.  The pre-match segment time for his match was also extended due to WWE's decision to spend 1m 02s introducing several international commentary teams during Seth's entrance.

Post-match Segments

The post-match segments combined for a total time of 17m 52s, which is 7.3% of the show. This is the 39th highest percentage in this category out of the 45 events in my data set.

Here is the sorted list of the post-match segment time for all 9 matches. For some context, keep in mind that the median post-match segment time in my data set is 2m 00s and the average time is 2m 29s.

• 3m 44s: John Cena vs AJ Styles
• 3m 06s: Brock Lesnar vs Randy Orton
• 2m 36s: Finn Balor vs Seth Rollins
• 2m 09s: Sasha Banks vs Charlotte
• 1m 52s: New Day vs The Club
• 1m 15s: Dean Ambrose vs Dolph Ziggler
• 1m 08s: The Miz vs Apollo Crews
• 1m 07s: Enzo and Cass vs Jeri-KO
• 0m 55s: Becky, Naomi, Carmella vs Natalya, Alexa, Nikki

No post-match replays were shown for the matches involving New Day, Ambrose, and Lesnar.

Ziggler's post-match segment time of 1m 15s is the second shortest for a WWE Championship match in my data set, excluding any matches related to Money in the Bank cash-ins.  The shortest such segment for a WWE Championship match goes to Rollins versus Kane at Hell in a Cell 2015, clocking in at 0m 53s.

The women's tag team match became the 29th match out of 324 total matches in my data set to have a post-match segment that lasted less than 1m 00s.

Miscellaneous Segments

That leaves about 15.6% (37m 55s) of the show for everything else. This is the 12th highest percentage in this category out of the 45 events in my data set.

Most of these miscellaneous segments are crammed into the time after one post-match segment ends and before the next pre-match segment begins. SummerSlam 2016 included 9 different blocks of miscellaneous segments. Here is how long each block lasted, in chronological order:

• Block 1: 3m 23s (Then Now Forever; opening hype video and pyro)
• Block 2: 3m 13s (Ad for Tapout; Backstage with Jon Stewart)
• Block 3: 2m 25s (Ad for Digiorno; Backstage with The Club)
• Block 4: 1m 22s (Ad for WWE 2K17; filler commentary)
• Block 5: 3m 43s (Hype for WWE Network; Cricket Wireless Sweepstakes)
• Block 6: 1m 24s (Ad for Holey Foley!; Ad for Backlash 2016)
• Block 7: 2m 27s (Video on SummerSlam week in NYC)
• Block 8: 3m 52s (Ad for Clash of Champions; Menounos interviews Rusev)
• Block 9: 16m 06s (Kickoff panel; Ad for KFC; Rusev/Reigns brawl)

The entrances for the Rusev/Reigns segment lasted about 3m 11s, and then roughly 5m 13s passed (this is where most of the physicality took place) before the match was officially called off.  The segment continued on for 2m 08s so that Reigns could deliver the giant running spear on Rusev.

Summary

Here is a listing of how much total show time was allocated for each match when you add up all 3 components: pre-match time, match time, and post-match time. This list also includes where each total time ranks among the 324 entries in my data set.

• 34m 52s: John Cena vs AJ Styles (43rd longest out of 324 entries)
• 33m 43s: Finn Balor vs Seth Rollins (53rd)
• 24m 14s: Brock Lesnar vs Randy Orton (114th)
• 24m 05s: Dean Ambrose vs Dolph Ziggler (115th)
• 22m 50s: Sasha Banks vs Charlotte (125th)
• 20m 28s: Enzo and Cass vs Jeri-KO (152nd)
• 17m 51s: Becky, Naomi, Carmella vs Natalya, Alexa, Nikki (180th)
• 17m 31s: New Day vs The Club (187th)
• 10m 05s: The Miz vs Apollo Crews (291st)

Now here is a look at the "Match Time Percentage" for each match. For any given match, this percentage shows how the match time compares to the combined pre-match and post-match segment time. For some context, it's good to know that the median result here since 2013 is 62.7%.

(Here's an example calculation: an entry with a match time of 6m 00s, pre-match time of 3m 00s, and a post-match time of 1m 00s has a score of 60.0%, because the match time of 6m 00s is 60% of the total sum of 10m 00s for all three components.)

• 66.5%: John Cena vs AJ Styles
• 63.5%: Dean Ambrose vs Dolph Ziggler
• 61.8%: Becky, Naomi, Carmella vs Natalya, Alexa, Nikki
• 60.6%: Sasha Banks vs Charlotte
• 59.3%: Enzo and Cass vs Jeri-KO
• 57.5%: Finn Balor vs Seth Rollins
• 56.0%: The Miz vs Apollo Crews
• 51.9%: New Day vs The Club
• 48.5%: Brock Lesnar vs Randy Orton

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SummerSlam 2016 was essentially a 4-hour card that contained 2 hours of wrestling, slightly more than 1 hour of pre-match material, and slightly less than 1 hour of everything else.

WWE has previously run some 4-hour cards (WrestleMania 29, WrestleMania 30, WrestleMania 31) that didn't reach 121 minutes in total match time, so "only" half of SummerSlam 2016 being devoted to match times might actually be an outcome on the optimistic range of expectations.

Final Results for SummerSlam 2016

Match - 49.8% - 2h 01m 22s

Pre-match - 27.3% - 1h 06m 25s

Post-match - 7.3% - 17m 52s

Miscellaneous - 15.6% - 37m 55s