Summerslam is the second biggest PPV in the WWE calendar and with people’s 6 month WWE Network subscriptions coming to a close they really had to pull out all the stops…so did they, we’ll you’re about to find out! Short story; yes, they did…will I be purchasing the WWE Network for only $9.99? Well no because it’s not available in the UK yet so they still have a few more months to impress me and Summerslam was definitely a step in the right direction.
Following a special guest appearance from ‘The Immortal’ Hulk Hogan, Summerslam kicked off with the Intercontinental Title match between the holder, Hollywood ‘movie star’ The Miz and the challenger Dolph Ziggler. For a midcard title match this was surprisingly well built-up, although Ziggler has always been one of the few to bring something to the division (see the US Title feud with Zack Ryder a few years back). Even with his new persona, it never felt like The Miz would be holding the title for long and the feeling turned out to be a good one as following a solid match with a few near falls, Dolph Ziggler picked up the win and the title with the ZigZag (plus a great stiff punch/superkick combo). This match really made the IC Title feel like something important & we can only hope he actually gets a decent run with it instead of the usual midcard title thing of holding it for so long defending it so little you forget who even has it (looking at you Ambrose).
Onto the women’s division and the second match led to a second title change as Paige beat AJ in another strong match when she reversed AJ’s Black Widow submission into a brutal RamPaige DDT. A kiss on the cheek, a skip round the ring and the wonder of why can’t all Diva matches be like this?
Stephanie McMahon also had her first match in about a decade against Mrs. Daniel Bryan, Brie Bella. Could Stephanie Still hack it in the ring though? The crowd certainly thought so chanting “You’ve still got it” throughout the match, she looked 100x better than any Diva I’ve seen in a long time which makes it a shame she probably won’t be wrestling full time. Both competitors attempted their husband’s finishing manoeuvres but when Brie locked in the Yes! Lock it looked to be all over. This was until Triple H & Nikki entered the fray, Trips pulling the referee out the ring before his wife could tap out. Brie then hit him with a dropkick through the ropes and returned to the ring when her and her sister surrounded Stephanie in the ring but with a shock twist, Nikki turned on her sister, taking her out leading to a Pedigree from Steph and a 1,2,3. I wasn’t too excited about this match at first but with the surprise turn from Nikki it’ll be interesting to see where things go next. Nikki v Brie seems inevitable, as does Nikki & Stephanie in a handicap match (unless Brie can find a partner) and the Hell In A Cell PPV in a few months time seems a good place for a big pay-off match.
In other pre-main event news, Rusev once again went over Jack Swagger by making him pass out in the Accolade, raising the Russian flag high above the ring to celebrate. I was actually predicting Swagger to finally get the feel good win in this one but it seems WWE aren’t done yet. As with the Brie & Stephanie feud the emphasis on titles at Night Of Champions means it’s not really the place for a big non-title feud match so it looks like we’ll be waiting until Hell In A Cell or Survivor Series to see Rusev finally taste defeat. A lone Bray Wyatt got his revenge on Chris Jericho with a Sister Abigail into the barricade (surprisingly not yet named Sister Barricale) and again in the ring for the pinfall. The other members of the Wyatt Family were lumberjacks in the match between Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins along with all the other roster members they couldn’t fit anywhere else on the card. The lumberjacks proved largely ineffective though as the fight spilled out into the crowd, then fighting amongst themselves in the ring after Kane broke up a pin attempt from Ambrose stealing Rollin’s finisher and nailing a Curb Stomp. Rollins was the victor in the end though, diving forward & blasting Ambrose with his Money In The Bank briefcase WWF No Mercy N64 style. Another great match although these two never fail to deliver in what certainly won’t be their last encounter so long as Rollins is Mr. MITB. The other former shield member Roman Reigns kicked out of an RKO & dodged a punt kick to Spear Randy Orton into oblivion to surely earn the right to be number one contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Title.
And speaking of the WWE World Heavyweight Title, the final match of the night was of course the much hyped bout between the champion John Cena and challenger & conqueror of the streak, BBBROCK LESNARRR! As always when John Cena is champion, I was all ready for more of the same, Lesnar would dominate the match then Cena would leap up, go all Superman and Five Moves Of Doom his way to victory…the children will cheer and the champ will be here…I’ve never been so happy to be so wrong. Brock Lesnar absolutely DESTROYED Cena who barely got a move in the entire match bar a desparation Attitude Adjustment & STF. Following an out of nowhere F5 30 seconds in, the match mostly consisted of Lesnar kicking the crap of out of the champion, throwing him around like a ragdoll with multiple German suplexes (16 in total!) the most brutal display of Germans since the World Cup semi final! I was all ready to see Brock tap out to the aforementioned desperation STF but after rolling out of it, he hit another F5 to defeat Cena once and for all and become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion, much to the delight of the crowd (and indeed myself). The question now though is who the hell is going to take the belts from Brock? He’s defeated the Undertaker at Wrestlemania and completely manhandled John Cena, there is literally noone else on the roster who can even come close. Seth Rollins still has the MITB to cash in and with Triple H, Orton & Kane all on his side this certainly seems the most likely scenario. A multi-man match where Brock loses without getting pinned is also possible. It’s a situation that has to be done right though as making him look at all weak following his matches with Undertaker & Cena could seriously devalue everything he’s done in 2014. Overall Summerslam was a solid PPV with multiple title changes and closing the absolute destruction of John Cena.
Final Grade: A+ (yayCenalost)
Passing Thoughts:
- The title holders page looks pretty good right now doesn’t it?
- Have WWE suddenly forgotten the tag-division?
- Why wasn’t this the following weekend when it’s a bank holiday? We don’t even have the Network yet…why do you hate the UK Vince?
- Damien Sandow’s “lumberjack” attire was a sleeper hit for moment of the night.
- How supercharged are Ambrose’s dives to the outside, taking out ALL THE LUMBERJACKS in one leap!? (they obviously weren’t ok)
- Ziggler should Superkick more.
- Is Sting ever going to appear in the ring or is he just a special character in WWE 15?
- Yay Cena lost!
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