While SummerSlam was billed as "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it wasn't really hyped as much as it should've been. But it still delivered on some levels. It wasn't mind blowing amazing, but it was a solid pay-per-view with great wrestling throughout.
SummerSlam Pre-Show:
Santino (c) vs Antonio Cesaro
For the hardcore wrestling fans, this match is Santino vs Claudio Castagnoli. But anyway, let's get to the match. I personally haven't seen Cesaro wrestle, so this was a real treat. The guy is extremely talented, got the body type, looks like he doesn't botch, and is a great mix of a brawler and grappler type wrestler. The match was pretty solid, with a funny spot for the kids where Santino pulls out a spare cobra from his ass after the first was torn earlier on in the match. But let's get to the important part...
There is a NEW United States Champion. Let me repeat, a NEW United States Champion! FINALLY! Santino was doing absolutely nothing with that Championship and certainly devalued the belt in the process. I certainly hope that they book Cesaro to do something with the belt and not just drop it to Santino at the next ppv, or at worst, tomorrow night on RAW. Keep the belt on this guy for a while and let's see what he can do.
After a meh intro and a good pyro display, we get introduced by Cole and Lawler. Before they can finish, we get interrupted by a very loud EXCUSE ME! I guess we know what match is gonna kick this show off and I don't have a problem with it one bit.
Chris Jericho vs Dolph Ziggler (w/ Vickie Guerrero)
This match was great. I mean, it was a really well done match. It started pretty basic with Jericho getting in early offense and Ziggler dominating for a good portion of the match, but once it got going, it got really good. It was so fast pace with great back and forth action. Match ends with Jericho forcing Ziggler tapout to the Walls of Jericho. Amazing match to kick off the show.
My only problem was that the whole theme Cole and Lawler were building throughout the match, and even when the match ended, was that Jericho couldn't win "The Big One." I understand that he hasn't won a ppv match since his return but, how is beating Dolph Ziggler winning "The Big One?" They act like Jericho just won the WWE Championship. No, he just beat Dolph Ziggler. Winning "The Big One" would be winning the WWE Championship, not beating an upper mid-carder at SummerSlam. C'mon now...
I don't think Ziggler loses anything from this loss, but Jericho leaves on a positive note.
Kane vs Daniel Bryan
A pretty ok match for the time it was given. This match proved that Kane can still get it done in the ring and Daniel Bryan is the best wrestler in the WWE right now. It was your average big man vs little man match with Kane bringing the power and Bryan to quicken the pace and wear him down. I thought it was a solid match. Didn't bore me one bit. I was a little shocked to see Daniel Bryan get the win here. The man is on fire, and I pondered how they were going to book this to have Bryan win and wins with a rollup after avoiding the tombstone piledriver. Solid match. After the match, Kane tore apart the locker room looking for Bryan. I see this angle is going to continue. They didn't this feud any life, or any story. Wonder where they go from here.
Intercontinental Championship Match
The Miz (c) vs Rey Mysterio
Here's where the string of good matches stop. Ok, let me not be that mean. It was a good match, but after the last two matches, this one falls just short. And it's a title match! Nothing really stuck out to me about this match. The close calls at the end saved it a little bit, but the match seemed a little too slow and stagnant for my taste. Miz wins via Skull Crushing Finale.
World Heavyweight Championship Match
Sheamus (c) vs Alberto Del Rio
I've been so tired of Sheamus' run as World Champion. It's not necessarily his fault, but rather the lack of top stars for him to face. And Del Rio is dull as dishwater. They've given Del Rio multiple times to get over, but he still can't get it done. That's my gripe with these two and this feud has been so boring, so poorly built, that I really didn't care that much about this match. Both men are great wrestlers, don't get me wrong, but they have ZERO chemistry with each other. This match was one of their better ones, but the meh storyline kind of takes away from it.
Then there's the lackluster finish. Sheamus hits Del Rio with a shoe, then hits the Irish Curse Backbreaker, and covers him. Del Rio puts his foot on the ropes, but the ref doesn't see it and counts to three. Sheamus knocks the foot off after the ropes. There seems to be some confusion as the Sheamus' music didn't play right away making the finish look that much more bad. Sheamus wins, but this ending tells us to that this feud is not over............great.
WWE Tag Team Championship MatchKofi & Truth (c) vs Primetime Players
Not a lot to say about this match. That's too bad because I like the Primetime Players. They're a simple, basic heel tag team. The match didn't really do anything for me. It seemed like just another filler match with no story attached, no matter how hard they try. But Kofi & Truth win a short, but good tag team match. This begs the question, now what? There's really no other teams left for Kofi & Truth to face and they really haven't done much with the tag titles. And since the kids love them, they won't drop the belts any time soon. I mean, as much as I like the Primetime Players, I don't feel like seeing these two teams going at it for the umpteenth time. Let's move on, shall we?
Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship
CM Punk (c) vs John Cena vs Big Show
One word for this match: Weird.
I did like this match, but there were a few things I didn't like. First of all, their main selling point during this match was making the Big Show look dominant and they got the job done to perfection. I thought I was watching a handicap match. It was all about which man can get the Big Show down for the count first. Big Show was dominant throughout the match. I have to admit, I don't think I've ever seen a triple threat match go down like that. It Show vs Punk, then Show vs Cena, and so on, and so on. They were trying to get Show down, but the Big Man was dominant. That was very well booked on their part.
Here's my problem with this match: CM Punk and John Cena had two....TWO interactions with each other throughout the match. Once when Punk interrupted the five knuckle shuffle and another at the end. There was no trash talking and no wrestling between both men whatsoever. I mean, there was never even a staredown between these two. Really? It's Summerslam. Are they trying to save these two fighting for the next ppv? We've seen them wrestle before. It's not groundbreaking if these two face off.
It wasn't your average triple threat match, but it was still good. It didn't live up to the hype, but it still delivered. The cool spot at the end was interesting when Punk and Cena both had submissions on Big Show and he tapped. AJ came out and restarted the match. I thought Big Show had the match won after that double chokeslam, but I knew better. Cena hits the AA, Punk throws him out of the ring and pins Big Show for the win.
This match tells me two things:
1) I don't expect Big Show to win the WWE Championship one last time before he retires.
2) I expect that they're going to have Punk face Cena at Night of Champions seeing as how they had almost no interaction with each other throughout the match.
Match was good, Punk retains and I'm happy with that.
SummerSlam Concert:
Mr. One-hit-wonder Kevin Rudolf and his band performed the SummerSlam theme song, "Be A Star" with the Divas dancing in the background. I'm gonna be blunt. This thing sucked. Who really cares about Rudolf since "Let it Rock" anyway? I didn't even watch it. I switched away when he was being announced. They scrapped Damien Sandow for this? THIS? The next great heel in the WWE was scrapped for a Kevin Rudolf Concert. Good to know where WWE stands with its future stars. I feel like these concerts are going to be a yearly thing now at SummerSlam. Great.
Triple H vs Brock Lesnar
This match was really interesting. Unlike the Lesnar/Cena bout, HHH wasn't a bloody mess that got zero offense on Brock the entire match. The match started with Triple H actually getting the best of Lesnar. Lesnar takes his gloves off and it's on. Lesnar gets serious and starts his dominance of this match with a takedown and stiff shot to the neck. For a while, it's all Lesnar, but Triple H comes back and starts getting some more offense in on Brock. Another thing different from Brock/Cena is that there was less ground and pound. Brock didn't throw as many punches or implement UFC style holds and tactics like he did against Cena. My guess is HHH didn't feel like taking all those fist and knee shots. He wanted to work clean and be safe. Lesnar does work more stiff now since he's been in UFC and has the whole "fighter" gimmick. One day, he's gonna hurt someone.
Back to the match, after Triple H hits his second pedigree, Lesnar immediately gets up in locks Triple H in that Komura Lock and The Game has to tap out. I thought the match lagged a lot, but it was still an enjoyable bout. Lesnar gets the win and leaves with Paul Heyman. Triple H stays in the middle of the ring for a while and keeps saying I'm sorry. He leaves the ring, walks up the ramp, and says goodbye. He walks to the back and the show ends.
Does this mean Triple H will be off TV for an extended period of time? Is he done as a wrestler? Has Lesnar gotten his groove back? What happens with Lesnar and Heyman now? I guess RAW will answer all of that.
Final Thoughts:
The show was solid. Not worthy of a 25th Anniversary version of SummerSlam, but it was ok.
The only title change was on the pre-show, the next great heel in the WWE in Damien Sandow was scrapped for a horrible concert, and pretty much everything after Jericho/Ziggler up until the WWE Championship match was forgettable except for the Kane/Bryan match, which was pretty solid. I feel like if these matches, or even the overall pay-per-view was hyped better than maybe it would've been more enjoyable. I like the wrestling in the show, but everything in between was meh. I feel like I would've been more invested in these matches if they had at least, semi-decent buildup. The only matches that had any sort of good build was the WWE Championship match, Jericho/Ziggler, and HHH/Lesnar.
All that being said, SummerSlam gets a 6/10 for me. And I'm being very generous with that. RAW tomorrow night should be quite the show.
Feel free to Comment.
By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete
