Summerslam is known to be one of the biggest pay-per-views of the year, and this one had plenty to offer. However, although the wrestling was mostly good quality, the fireworks and overall appearance was better than The Great American Bash, it did lack something. To me it lacked a line up of exciting matches that would, for me, have made it more enjoyable. The reason for this, my bf told me, was because they were showing the highly anticipated Hell in a Cell match which people would pay to see regardless of whether the other matches were any good or not. While most of the matches were fairly good, there were some in there that were really stinkers, and this for me just don’t leave me feeling as impressed with Summerslam as i was with The Great American Bash. I was a little disappointed – overall it gets a B mark from me.
1st match – PINFALL SINGLES MATCH
Wrestlers: MVP vs Jeff Hardy
This match was a good opener, i’m extremely happy to see that WWE is finally doing something with MVP. He is a solid wrestler, has a good character but has unfortunately been out of the spotlight for some time. Jeff Hardy is definitely a crowd favourite; and the conflict between these two men is a fairly good one. The equivalent of male bitch fighting. MVP is blaming Jeff Hardy’s risk taking behaviour on his bout of bad luck – his home being burnt down, the death of his dog and his suspension from the WWE due to drug taking.
Both my boyfriend and i tipped Jeff Hardy to win this match. My reasoning was that Jeff Hardy would be getting a bit of a push after being denied any matches that would see him in line to win a title. I also thought that he would put MVP in his place. The match was very good, and the wrestling between these two men definitely made the opening to Summerslam an exciting one. There was a chopping and changing between both wrestlers – one minute it looked like MVP would win, the next it looked like Jeff Hardy was going to win. Jeff pulled of some impressive high flying moves which he is well known for, and MVP combated this with his sly and savvy style which involved keeping Jeff Hardy off of the top ropes (grounded).
As it turned out MVP came out as the overall winner of this match. I’m very pleased with this result personally, even though i didn’t predict it to end this way. MVP came out on a high and can now be pushed into another direction, which is essential for his wrestling career if it is to continue. It would be a disappointment if he isn’t given any other big matches, so from here i believe he’ll once again start wrestling for a shot at a title. As for Jeff Hardy, i feel a little disappointment because i believe that he has learnt his lesson about drug taking and the WWE should lay off him and give him a push in a title direction instead of putting him in matches were it amounts to nothing even if he does win. Overall, a very good opening match. Score 0 for my bf and i!
2nd match – INTERCONTINENTIAL CHAMPIONSHIP & WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP WINNER TAKES ALL TAG TEAM MATCH
Wrestlers: Kofi Kingston & Mickie James vs Santino Marella & Beth Phoenix
I wasn’t entirely sure what to make of this match, as i’m not a fan of women’s wrestling, and i haven’t seen a joint gender match before. This match to me was just above borderline, the wrestling wasn’t too bad but it isn’t something i hold as very memorable. While both men and women wrestlers are reasonably good, there wasn’t really any amazing moves or anything that stood out in the match that made it very special. I did like the angle that the feud was taking though, especially the jagged-like relationship between Beth Phoenix and Santino Marella which i find very enjoyable. Especially Santino Marella, who is not only a good wrestler, but a very funny character, i really enjoy seeing him.
Mickie James and Beth Phoenix are two of the very few female wrestlers who can actually wrestle but unfortunately there wasn’t any special performance put on by either of them. As for Kofi Kingston, sadly this relatively newcomer to the WWE is losing his appeal with the crowd. While his moves are impressive, fellow high flyer Evan Bourne leaves him looking dull in comparison. As for character, he lacks any that makes him stand out from all the others. If this keeps up i see him losing the spotlight very quickly and he may lose his position in the WWE.
In this match, both my bf and i tipped Santino Marella and Beth Phoenix to win. I thought that together they made a good partnership that is quite comical, and had what it takes to win the titles. I thought it was definitely time for Mickie James to lose the Women’s Championship which she has held on to for a substantial period and i was quite sick of seeing her with. Although it goes straight back to Beth Phoenix, the very person she won it from, there isn’t any other decent female wrestlers to put it on. The Intercontinential Championship also needed a change of hands, Kofi Kingston just didn’t have any competition while he was holding it. As i stated previously, he has very little character which makes it difficult to put him in any feuds. Santino Marella has plenty of character and can be classed as a bit of a smart arse, so it will be easier to place him in matches.
The wrestling, while it wasn’t too bad, did lack any sort of spark that made it really stand out. This match was more about comedy really, with Santino Marella taking the spotlight away from all the other wrestlers with his wise antics. The match was won when Beth Phoenix managed to pin Mickie James, while an unconscious Santino lay next to her and Kofi was flung out of the ring. I’m glad the match ended this way, i’m not sure whether Santino and Beth will continue this tag team approach or whether they will now go seperate ways. I’m personally glad that Santino is now holding a title after being made a laughing stock in some of his previous matches. Score 1 for my bf and i!
3rd match – ECW CHAMPIONSHIP
Wrestlers: Mark Henry vs Matt Hardy
This match was a complete disappointment to me. I expected to see some wrestling in this match; i certainly didn’t expect for it to end in less then a minute. There was basically no wrestling done in it at all, not that i would have expected anything amazing seeing as the only one who can wrestle in that match is Matt Hardy. As a third match it put a real damper after the atmosphere of excitement had been set up in the first match and then carried through by the second. In this match my bf tipped Mark Henry to win, while i tipped Matt Hardy to win.
I thought it was definitely time the title changed hands to a more popular wrestling figure, and Matt Hardy certainly fits that description. Mark Henry has very little popularity and can’t wrestler at all. His moves are painfully slow to watch, his repertoire is abysmally small (mostly consisting of clotheslines, punches and pushes) and his body, which Tony Atlas claims is made up of mostly muscle, is in fact made up of mostly fat. It is amazing that such a poor wrestler could even end up with a title, let alone hold on to it as long as he has. I thought it was definitely time he lost it and it went to someone much more deserving.
Matt Hardy was dominant the moment the bell rung for the match to commence. He instantly performed the twist of fate on Mark Henry which knocked him out and left him open to be pinned. This is what occurred, only Tony Atlas interferred while Matt Hardy was pinning him which resulted in the match being called to an end as a result of disqualification. The overall winner was still Matt Hardy, but since the match was a DQ, the title did not change hands. I find ECW matches usually end in disappointment, i realise they ended the match this way because they want this feud to continue a little longer, but it just doesn’t hold any weight (except for Mark Henry of course).
It has no excitement, no quality wrestling, and is bland. This of course has nothing to do with Matt Hardy, but i would have rather seen this match over and done with then see it continue for a few more weeks, possibly until the next pay-per-view. If this is the case, that there will be a repeat match at the next pay-per-view (quite possibly one where there are no DQ’s), then it will once again be a disappointment and definitely not something i will be holding my breath to see. Score 1 for my bf and 2 for me!
4th match – WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
Wrestlers: CM Punk vs JBL
These wrestlers had a lot of work to do in order to bring the atmosphere back up to the level it was at before the ECW Championship match, and ultimately they didn’t disappoint and succeeded in bringing the excitement back into Summerslam. The CM Punk feud with various different wrestlers has been enjoyable to watch and hasn’t left any dull moments. This match is certainly no different. CM Punk has the title after he used his money in the bank win to claim it from Edge. JBL is less then impressed by this and accuses CM Punk of ‘stealing’ the title rather then winning it, and believes that he deserves to be the World Heavyweight Champion instead of CM Punk.
Both these wrestlers have very good characters. CM Punk stands for good morals and keeping clean, the overall good guy in this feud. While JBL stands for dirty play and obtaining the title at any cost and plays a very good bad guy. This mix made the match very enjoyable, with the wrestling of good quality. Both wrestlers in this match appeared fairly equal in abilities and so it left you guessing as to who was going to come out victorious. Initially i thought JBL would win because i thought CM Punk had held on to the title long enough. I ended up changing my mind though – the reason i did this was because JBL had demolished his competition in order to face CM Punk for the title. The bad guy had won every match against other wrestlers who were working toward the same goal (to be the next World Heavyweight Champion) with the exception of one, that i believed this would be the time that JBL would not succeed. Both my bf and i tipped CM Punk to retain the title.
Both wrestlers put on a solid performance and kept the crowd (as well as me) entertained throughout the entire match. One thing i absolutely love about wrestling is that even though the matches are well scripted and practiced, unpredictable things can still happen. This was the case with this match where both wrestlers took each other out in one move and JBL ended up coming down hard on the back of CM Punk’s head. Although i don’t want any major injuries to occur to the wrestlers, it is the unpredictability that occurs that can sometimes make a match more memorable.
The impact obviously concussed CM Punk and broke the skin on the back of his head because he started bleeding. JBL managed to walk away relatively unscathed, but still sore i’d imagine. CM Punk still managed to stay conscious after receiving the blow but staggered around a lot and couldn’t perform as well. JBL said something to CM Punk that i could only interpret as ‘lets get this over with’ so that CM Punk could get medical treatment. In the end CM Punk pulled off his finisher (even though it was obviously very difficult for him and didn’t look convincing) on JBL that enabled him to pin him and keep the title. Considering the circumstances, CM Punk did a very good job to stay relatively focused and i’m sure he would have continued wrestling if JBL hadn’t told him to finish the match off early. I really enjoyed this match and think both CM Punk and JBL deserve a round of applause. Score 2 for my bf and 3 for me!!
5th match – WWE CHAMPIONSHIP
Wrestlers: Triple H vs The Great Khali
Apart from the ECW Championship match, this match was the worst out of all the matches. I knew it would be terrible from the moment this announced that Triple H would be taking on The Great Khali. This was just another match set up in order to make Triple H look like the most amazing wrestler the WWE has ever seen. While Triple H IS a good wrestler, The Great Khali is not. He may have the height but he lacks the skills that would make him a more impressive wrestler. The only reason why people stare at him in awe is because stands 7 feet 3 inches tall, not for any other reason.
Triple H has done absolutely NO wrestling at all between The Great American Bash and Summerslam. All he does now is make brief appearances to perform a comedic act or (as he did in between the pay-per-views) to participate in an arm wrestle between him and The Great Khali. Both my bf and i tipped Triple H to win, me personally for a number of reasons. Firstly, they would never give the title to The Great Khali because he is such a poor wrestler, you can hear the crowd chanting ‘you can’t wrestle’ during the match so that backs up my point.
Secondly, they would have wanted to increase sales of the pay-per-view in India (where The Great Khali comes from) so putting him in such a big match would guarantee profits. Finally, this is just another opportunity for Triple H to look more heroic and amazing, to further cement him as the ‘king of kings’. I had a pretty good idea how this match would proceed and how it would finish. In my previous entry i stated that this match would follow the ‘Triple H formula’, whereby the game would come out as the underdog and start off looking like he’ll lose.
It would appear from the ring of the bell that Triple H just doesn’t have what it takes to defeat The Great and Ulmightly Khali. He’ll be knocked around, thrown out of the ring, come off looking worse for wear, get stuck in The Great Khali’s vice grip and the match will look as if it is all but over and The Great Khali will be wearing the title around his waist in no time. But then, the heroic and amazing Triple H will miraculously fight his way back. He’ll come back from the bottom and pull off such an ‘unexpected’ and ‘unbelievable’ win that we will all be left ‘stunned’ and ‘in awe’ that we shall all drop to our knees and start bowing to the ‘king of kings’.
As predicted, this is exactly what happened. He was the underdog, beating down until it looked like he wasn’t going to win. Then he powered his way out of that vice grip and performed the world’s biggest pedigree on The Great Khali and won. PUHLEEEASE!!!! This is an insult to my intelligence, it isn’t PHYSICALLY possible for Triple H to perform the pedigree on a man that stands a good foot taller than him. You could see The Great Khali had to bend right over in order for his head to be the right height for Triple H to grab his arms and maneouver him into position. He also jumped FORWARD instead of upwards because there is just NO WAY the game could lift him and perform that move on him.
But of course it still happened, and of course it left us all stunned – and in my case about to run to the toilet and vomit at what i just saw. If there HAD been any wrestling in the ECW match i can safely say that THIS WWE Championship would have come off as the worst match in Summerslam. Even Mark Henry and Matt Hardy would have put on a more entertaining and less predictable match then Triple H who is on a mission to impress us all, be known as the greatest of all time and secure his legacy as the king of kings. Pathetic Triple H, i am less than impressed and would throw cans of tomatoes at you if i had been in that crowd. Score 3 for my bf and 4 for me!!
6th match – PINFALL SINGLES MATCH
Wrestlers: Batista vs John Cena
Once again Summerslam needed reigniting, and these wrestlers had to do all the work to ensure that the lead up toward the main event was a successful and exciting one. I was looking forward to this match, it was the first time that Batista and John Cena had wrestled against one another. Although i’m not a fan of John Cena because he’s another wreslter who can’t wrestle and only people under the age of 10 like him, Batista did more then enough work to make up for what John Cena lacked. These two were put in a match against each other after John Cena had accidentally punched Batista during a previous match.
Although they appeared to take this event in relatively good nature to begin with, their attitudes towards each other escalated and became more jaggered in the lead up toward Summerslam. By the time Summerslam arrived they were ready to knock the other’s head off. Both claimed to have been watching the other for some time to determine whether they were a threat to one another. Batista had been taking the spotlight away from John Cena for some time, and Cena wanted to capture that light for himself and leave Batista in the dark for once. In this match my bf predicted the match would result in a no contest due to DQ. I tipped Batista to win.
Batista has been in some great matches but has usually been made to lose those matches. While John Cena is in a similar situation, i wanted Batista to win for two reasons. Firstly, because i like him more then John Cena and he can acutally wrestler. Secondly, because i thought that he needed a fairly significant victory so he can continue to be seen during pay-per-views and possibly during the next main event. This match did what it needed to do and both wrestlers did a good job in recreating the atmosphere (for the second time). John Cena was his usual self wrestling wise, not overly impressive but not too bad during this match. While Batista appeared to be on fire!!
This was another match were you couldn’t really predict the outcome. Both wrestlers gained the upper hand during the match, and there were times were you thought the match was over but then there was a kickout or a hand or foot on the rope. One point in particularly enjoyed during the match was when John Cena had knocked Batista out was about to perform him you can’t see me move on him. He did his weird hand moves before delivering a punch to the top of Batista’s head. Unlike other wrestling matches where this punch would have ensured that his opponent stayed down long enough for him to execute the FU, all it seemed to do to Batista was wake him up.
In the end there was no interruption to the match resulting in a DQ, which i half suspected would occur just like my bf. Instead Batista performed his bomb on John Cena and ended up getting the pin and winning the match. Secretly i was thinking ‘excellent’ because i had lost last pay-per-view tippings but it appeared i was going to win this one. VICTORY IS MINE!!! Batista can now move on to bigger and better things. As for John Cena, i honestly don’t care what happens with him but i’m sure he’ll proceed to big things also. His popularity with children (who are the biggest consumers of merchandise) means that he unfortunately won’t out of the spotlight for a while. Overall a very good match and quite enjoyable. Score 3 for my bf and 5 for me!!
7th match – HELL IN A CELL
Wrestlers: Edge vs The Undertaker
Finally!!! The most anticipated match for a while had arrived. I expected big things from two of the most greatest wrestlers in the WWE at the moment. Edge has taken on a very enjoyable twist in character. He had been caught cheating on his ‘wife’ Vicki Guerrero who, even though she had forgiven him, had reinstated The Undertaker and put Edge in a Hell in a Cell match against him. The Undertaker was banished from the WWE by Edge (and the help of his sidekicks Ryder and Hawkins). The thought of him returning and being in a match against him tormented him so much he became insane. Edge definitely plays a good insane person and his character has been launched to new heights as a result of it.
The Undertakers return was an exciting prospect for me, he is one of my favourite wrestlers, and his entrance is definitely the best out of all the wrestlers. His character is enjoyable, put with his entrance, he comes off very convincingly as an imposing wrestler who you don’t want to mess with. There was a dilemma however, as to who to pick as the winner of this match. With Edge’s new insanity he could now just have what it takes to defeat The Undertaker on his own without outside assistance. However, The Undertakers return had to be impressive seeing as he left on a low note.
In the end both my bf and i tipped The Undertaker to win. I thought that it was The Undertakers turn to win against Edge as every other time he had competed against him Edge had managed to win one way or another. The match started off quite slowly, with Edge continuously knocking The Undertaker down while setting up tables, ladders and chairs for what would be a very spectacular finish. Once everything had been set up, then the match stepped up a notch and the real wrestling began. Both fought very well, and the wrestling was of extremely good quality.
At one point The Undertaker threw Edge against the side of the cage, resulting in that part of the cage to break. As they exited the cage, there was a great cry of excitement from the crowd – they obviously thought they would be climbing the cage where one of them would be sent through the top. Instead there both wrestlers ended up going through one of the announce tables. The table didn’t just break, they absolutely demolished it and understandably they both took a while to get up. They did eventually get back into the cage, much to the disapproval of the crowd. I would absolutely love to see how each member of the crowd would have reacted if THEY were sent through the top of the cage to fall over 10 feet into the ring. Geez, its meant to be entertaining but not to cause extensive injury and possibly death to the wrestlers you morons.
In the cage there was extensive use of the tables, ladders and chairs that Edge had set up in preparation. At this point there had been little clue as to who was going to win. At the beginning it looked as though Edge was going to come out victorious as he fought to keep The Undertaker down long enough to set everything up and later use them on him. Then both wrestlers were equalling each other blow for blow, but finally it became more clearer about who was going to win. The Undertaker sent Edge off the top of a ladder through two tables that had been staked on top of one another, very similar to the way Edge had been helped to defeat him in their last match together.
From here The Undertaker dragged him back into the ring and pinned him, winning the match. He left the ring and started walking slowly up to the stage and you thought that that was the end of it. But the best was yet to come – Edge woke up after being sent through the tables and The Undertaker saw it. He rushed back to the ring and continued to punish Edge. The grand finale came when The Undertaker took Edge up on the ladder again and throw him off the top. The impact of Edge hitting the canvas caused it to split. Before the match had began an insane Edge had claimed he was going to take The Undertaker to hell, with him if he had to.
The Undertaker positioned himself by the hole in the canvas from which fire started erupting, signifying The Undertaker sending Edge to hell. Although not given justice when described in words, this ending was by far one of the best i have ever seen. The Hell in the Cell match was fantastic and well worth seeing, even if some of the other matches failed to live up to expectations. It was a very fitting ending and i look forward to The Undertaker’s matches in the future, as well as Edge’s new character. Score 4 for my bf and 6 for me!!
On a final note, during this pay-per-view Shawn Michaels (HBK) was to announce whether or not he was leaving the WWE. I wasn’t sure whether he would be leaving or not, part of me expected him to but another part thought otherwise. His retirement was due to his match against Chris Jerico that had resulted in him receiving ‘damage’ to his eye. He claimed he was going to take his doctor’s advice and leave as continuing would only put his health at further risk. He was announcing this to the audiance, with his wife standing by his side, when Chris Jerico interrupted.
He wanted to hear that HBK was leaving the WWE because of him, not because his doctor had told him it was in his best interest to. After a heated discussion which resulted in HBK refusing to say what Jerico wanted to hear, Jerico lashed out at HBK, missed and ended up punching his wife in the mouth. I’m not sure whether that was supposed to happen or not. Backstage it was reported that HBK’s injury (split lip which was very swollen) was real. If that is the case then Jerico either stuffed up the move or it had been done incorrectly with the real target meant to be HBK. Whatever the case, this sets up a good reason for HBK to return to the WWE. Whether he will do that or not is yet to be seen.
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