WWE SUMMERSLAM 2011 REVIEW
Coming off from such a outstanding last couple of months, the WWE has really pulled off something great, in terms of match wise and quite possibly, story-line seeding. WWE held the 24th annual SummerSlam PPV tonight, from the Staples Center in L.A, which will be remembered as a near-remarkable event.
The PPV kicks off with Adam Jones of the band Tool playing the National Anthem of the United States of America. Personally I reckon this was pretty piss house, and sounded way off tune. If the D-X Band got a negative reaction at SummerSlam 1998 for playing the Anthem, this should have been boycotted. Crowd seemed to pop here and there but glad it was over sooner than later.
The usual SummerSlam intro and pyros hit as The Miz makes his way to the ring. Miz proclaims the Must See WWE Champion in WWE history was back by popular demand, but was cut off by R-Truth followed by Alberto Del Rio. Kofi Kingston, John Morrison and Rey Mysterio then came out to start off this 6 Man Tag Match for the first bout of the evening.
Very fast paced usual 6 Man type matches, quite a few spots with Kofi, Rey and Morrison. Rey eventually got the pin on Truth to score the victory.
MATCH RATING: 2 out of 5 Stars. Personal Opinion: Completely ruined the moumentem that Miz tried to gain during the promo, and to me, pushed him way back down the line of the Top Pack of stars on RAW.
CM Punk is backstage with John Laurinaitis as Johnny Ace wants a apolgy from Punk for the kick he reciveved on RAW. Punk thinks about it and says he's sorry while smirking. Typcial smart-ass Punk here, which he turns around into Stephanie McMahon. She offers him good-luck in the match tonight, also says both Triple H and Vince McMahon also wish him luck. Punk refuses to shake her hand.
We then cross over to the ring for the Sheamus vs. Mark Henry match. Now, don't get me wrong, I am a Sheamus fan ever since he came into the business. But putting him in a match with Mark Henry doesn't fit with me. The match was your typical powerhouse vs. powerhouse style match, which did see a lot of near falls. The ending saw Mark Henry smash Sheamus through the barricade causing it to break, and Sheamus in the end did not meet the 10 count.
I honestly do not see the point of pushing Mark Henry here. It's not 1999, 2003 nor 2007. Henry may still be able to go, but I for one can see this leading for someone to return to end the road of Destruction, that being The Undertaker. You heard it first!
MATCH RATING: 3 out of 5 Stars. Personal Opinion: Match did deliver as a Powerhouse vs. Powerhouse match. Would have liked to seen a winner though. Possibly will set up the two for another match at Night of Champions.
Cee-Lo Green performs the SummerSlam theme song, plus his other annoying as hell song one he brought out last year. Toilet break, sorry Cee-Lo-D'Lo??
TOILET BR...I mean Diva's Championship match time. Beth Pheniox vs. Kelly Kelly. Can't really say much about this match, not really a Women's division specialist but Kelly and Pheniox did put on a good match, for the first time in ages. Kelly can perform and it showed tonight and retains the title with a roll-up.
MATCH RATING: 2/5 out of 5 Stars.
We see Stephanie McMahon walking out of someone’s locker room. The camera pans and it’s John Cena’s. Interesting moments, let's see if it delivers. I can smell a old style Attitude cahoots deal here.
R-Truth is backstage talking to Jimmy Hart about a conspiracy was funny to watch. Was hoping Truth accepts Hart's offer as a manager but sadly didn't go that way. Truth went on about Little Jimmy and thought Hart was Little Jimmy himself. Moving along...
Wade Barrett comes out for his match against Daniel Bryan. Both men have history with each other, from the Nexus in 2010, up till SummerSlam of last year, when Barrett was the man to eliminate a returning Bryan during the 5 on 5 Man Tag Match. Barrett and Bryan go for it, which to me was a good style pure wrestling match.
Sadly enough, Bryan has been loosing his momentum personally and lost to Barrett via the Wastelands. Hopefully Bryan can pick himself up and venture on the Road to WrestleMania 28 where he says he will cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase..
MATCH RAITING: 3 out of 5 Stars. Personal Opinion: Would have liked to see Bryan pick up the win here personally to make his feud possibly go on for longer. Seems they are burying Bryan while pushing Barrett. He did loose the IC title if I remember correctly?....
WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Christian vs. Randy Orton in a No Holds Barred Match. Here's hoping it near matches the Non-Sanctioned Match at SummerSlam 2002 between Shawn Michaels and Triple H, and glad to say it near did.
Before the match began, Christian said he had someone to be at ringside, and introduced a returning EDGE! Edge makes his way to the ring supporting a much shorter hairstyle than ever before I think. Edge hasn't been on WWE TV since Extreme Rules, so it was good to see the Rated R(Retired) Superstar again.
Edge spoke about his injury and how he had opened the door for Christian to break through, but was upset that Christian turned into a whining little bitch and needed lawyers and DQ's to win the Heavyweight title. Christian looks puzzled as Edge walks off leaving Christian behind which brings out Randy Orton.
Short summary here, the match delivered hands down. I did not think either men would deliver such a bone thumping, close call match but I must applaud both men. The use of tables and kendo sticks was awesome coming from a Hardcore fan, which the ending saw Orton RKO Christian on the steel steps, which was a cool spot. Orton wins the World Heavyweight Championship.
MATCH RATING: 4 out of 5. Personal Opinion: Both men DEFINITELY delivered in this match, and hoping this was the end of the feud, which would be a perfect way to end it. Christian proved to the crowd and world he can still go, even at his age, while Orton showed he can take moves and spots without hurting himself, like he has in the past. Good work.
We see both HHH and Stephanie talking in the hallway. Interesting.
WWE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Triple H is the first to come out, followed by CM Punk and John Cena. HHH grabs the title off both men and checks both men for any objects. The match begins as we are in for the Undisputed WWE Championship Match at SummerSlam!
The match vastly compares to their match at Money in the Bank in July, which saw a great deal of wrestling and technical by Punk and even by Cena. A well solid match delivered by the two, which also saw A LOT of near falls which did get me on the edge of my seat. Both men hit eachothers finishers on each other, which both kicked out. But in the end, Punk hit the GTS on Cena, and even though Cena's foot was clearly on the ropes. HHH counted the 3 count which Punk retains the WWE Championship.
After the match, HHH and Cena argue with Cena leaving the ring. HHH offers his hand out to Punk but Punk refuses. He then raises Punk's hand and leaves the ring (which I was surprised) while Punk celebrates on the top rope.
Thinking it's all over and done with, out of no where, Kevin Nash is in the ring and lays out Punk with a clothesline, followed by a devastating Jacknife powerbomb! HHH looks puzzled as hell and comes back to the ring while Nash exits through the crowd. Del Rio runs out and cashes in the Money in the Bank briefcase with a kick to the head for the pin fall on the already beaten down Punk.
Winner and NEW, WWE Champion: ALBERTO DEL RIO!
MATCH RATING: 5 out 5! Personal Opinion: Match clearly was the spotlight of the night and did show all the reasons why Punk vs. Cena was for sure the feud of the Summer. While I thought Punk deserved to keep the title longer than what he did, with Nash involved in the mix, it clearly sets up more of a Punk vs. Triple H match at Survivor Series. I am really excited to see how this plays out.
Question remains....Why did Nash take out Punk? Who called Nash for the job? Stephanie? Triple H's hidden agenda? Maybe Nash doesn't like Punk? Who knows!
Overall I give this PPV a 4 OUT OF 5.
