SummerSlam may have been dubbed "The Biggest Party Of The Summer", but it might as well have been renamed "The Return Of HHH & Rey Mysterio". For you see, the show had largely been built around the respective comebacks of the mighty "Game" and lightning quick luchador sensation.
Indeed, even a big WWE Championship match between John Cena and Randy Orton took a back seat to the long-awaited (and after a big injury crisis, most-welcome) returns of two of the biggest stars on the Raw and SD! brands.
For me, that was really my sole purpose for buying SummerSlam. None of the matches floated my boat in a big way and to be honest, I wasn’t expecting to see a knockout show. And I didn’t.
I’ve written at length before about how the over-saturated PPV market has damaged the overall quality of WWE monthly events. Even with every PPV now being "tri-branded" (which means that poor Joey Styles and Tazz have to sit at a commentary desk for a 3 hour show just to call one 15 minute match), there still really isn’t enough time to build every one of them to the point where the audience thinks that what they are shelling out their hard-earned cash for is "must-see" TV.
Over-saturation means that "the E" often stages the same matches over and over, to the point where even the most loyal fans grow tired of the same routine. To give an example, you need to look no further than the opening bout of SummerSlam, Kane VS Finlay.
While this particular match turned out to be a lot better than I had anticipated, it was still disappointing to see WWE resort to booking yet another Kane/Finlay match after we’ve seen them tangle on Friday Night Smackdown! for what seems like aeons.
Again, you couldn’t argue with the actual in-ring action. It was a fun and occasionally exciting battle that concluded with some interference from the leprechaun Hornswoggle (who handed Finlay an extra "shillelagh" to use on Kane’s "injured ribs") and an earth-shattering choke-slam from Kane to secure victory.
From leprechauns and "monsters" to "Samoan Savages". It was now time for the mighty Umaga to defend his IC strap against Carlito and Mr Kennedy.
The way this match had been built up on TV had been piss-poor. But thankfully, this match was anything but. It was enjoyable stuff, with the crowd rallying behind Kennedy all the way (me thinks WWE dropped the ball by pushing Umaga as a fan-favourite).
In the end, Umaga struck Kennedy with the dreaded "Samoan Spike" to retain his gold. Poor Carlito wasn’t even involved in the finish. Surely this gives him the right to an immediate rematch.
Rey Mysterio’s comeback should have been a huge milestone in WWE history. After all, he’d been out of action for nearly a full year and has always been one of SD!’s few shining stars when it comes to big-name talent.
Sadly, the crowd reaction didn’t reflect just how big a star Mysterio is. His return excited the kids, but generally the whole thing felt a bit flat.
His "grudge match" against Chavo Guerrero (the man who supposedly put him on the shelf) was ok, but not exactly a classic display. Then again, this was to be expected. Mysterio will have to be careful from now on, after having a history of knee problems (mainly due to his high-risk style).
Mysterio (who sort of resembled the "Silver Surfer") had his knee attacked by Chavo, but in the end he came back with a "619" and a top-rope splash to defeat his former friend.
To describe the "Diva Battle Royal" as "garbage" would be an insult to rubbish everywhere. Much like WCW’s ridiculous "Junkyard Battle Royal" in 1999, this was dull and very hard to follow (in WCW’s defence, their match was filmed in a real junkyard. What was WWE’s excuse for all those crappy long and wide camera shots that made it extremely difficult for the viewer to identify the participants?).
People bashed Jim Ross for getting Jillian Hall confused with Beth Phoenix on Raw, but here it was easy to get Ms Hall confused with Ms Phoenix, Torrie Wilson or even Kelly Kelly.
In the end, Beth Phoenix won the match, lastly eliminating Michelle McCool (who continues to improve, it has to be said). I predict a WWE Women’s Championship reign for "The Glamazon" very soon.
John Morrison’s ECW World Title defence against CM Punk was ok, but the crowd wasn’t really into it and this match offered nothing new in their series.
Morrison cheated to win but if you’ve read the spoilers on this site, you’ll know that the Morrison/Punk rivalry took a different turn this past Saturday.
HHH’s big comeback (although I personally don’t think it was quite as big as his other comeback at MSG in January 2002) dwarfed that of Rey Mysterio’s (no pun intended there, by the way). I was just thankful that "The Game" left his "Conan" costume at home and came out as "The Cerebral Assassin" that we all know and love (ok, maybe some folks on the Internet don’t like the guy, but politics aside, I have a lot of respect for HHH and have missed him over the last couple of months).
His match against King Booker was pretty predictable. You knew who was going over and that it was probably going to end with a "Pedigree". Still, at least it wasn’t a total squash (he’s saving that for Mr Kennedy).
Many had hoped and prayed that SummerSlam would be the end of The Great Khali’s reign as World Champion. The days of the 7-foot lummox holding his title upside down, cutting awful promos/interviews and generally stinking up the joint would be over.
But alas, no. WWE decided to have "Big Dave" Batista beat him by DQ (a cheap cop-out that no one should have to witness on PPV), meaning that the giant keeps his title. The match was hideous. The fact that it ended so cheaply made it that much worse.
Finally, it was Cena VS Orton for the WWE Championship. As with all Cena matches, there was a divide between the crowd (the kids and the younger women wanted Cena to win, the older male part of the audience wanted Orton to win). This made for a good atmosphere, although the match itself wasn’t quite as hot.
It was a good effort, nonetheless. Cena kicked out of an "RKO" and Orton managed to break an "STFU" in the ropes. In the end, Cena planted "The Legend Killer" with the "FU" to retain the gold. "The Champ" is still here.
Overall, SummerSlam was one of those shows that had its moments, but didn’t really leave a lasting impression. No one will remember it in 2-3 years time, however in the fast-moving world of wrestling, the attention is now already on the next PPV, Unforgiven. This show will feature the return of The Undertaker as well as a WWE Title Match between The Great Khali and Rey Mysterio. Here’s hoping that Mysterio can end the "Khali Era".
Previously posted on Smash Wrestling:
http://www.firetank.com/smashwrestling/
