Tuesday 16 August 2011

Summerslam 2011 Review

It’s Summerslam baby! I’m watching bits of this inbetween doing 12-14 hour shifts at work so my apologies for putting this up a few days after the event. Will all the hype surrounding this event be worth it and will I improve on my 50% prediction record from Money in the Bank? Let’s see.

After a guitar version of the Star Spangled Barrier by Adam Jones of the Tool, the Awesome One kicks things off and could Michael Cole be anymore excited?! I mean, I love the Miz as well, but I’m not on the verge of an orgasm whenever I see him. The Miz is teaming up with Alberto Del Rio and R-Truth to take on Kofi Kingston, John Morrison and Rey Mysterio. It was an enjoyable match with some impressive teamwork between Morrison and Kofi on the Miz, and Kofi getting worked over by Del Rio and the Miz. At the end, Rey Mysterio got the pin by splashing R-Truth and giving him, Morrison and Kofi the win
Predictions: N/A

Backstage, CM Punk gives a mocking apology to John Laurinitis over what happened at the contract signing on RAW and Stephanie McMahon returns to wish Punk luck in the match.  Good segment and it was nice to see Stephanie back.

Sheamus vs Mark Henry was next and Sheamus was dominant at first before Mark Henry threw him out of the ring and was dominant for a little while. Eventually, Sheamus brogue kicked Henry out of the ring, went out after him (never a good idea) and Henry slammed Sheamus onto the ring post and then through the barricade giving him the win by countout.
Predictions: 0 for 1

After a mini concert by Cee-Lo Green, Beth Phoenix vs Kelly Kelly for the Divas Championship was next. I was expecting a 3-4 minute match with Beth destroying Kelly but I was pleasantly surprised by this match. Kelly Kelly, while nowhere near as strong as Beth, is a lot quicker and she put in a good performance against her, getting the win by reversing an attempt at a Glam Slam into a small package.
Predictions: 0 for 2

Daniel Bryan vs Wade Barrett was a very entertaining wrestling match. Daniel Bryan’s style of wrestling is always enjoyable to watch and he and Wade worked well together. Wade Barrett got the win by hitting the wasteland.
Predictions: 0 for 3

Right, once again, I’m not doing well with my predictions. However, I’m hoping like last time that I get some right with the World title matches. Randy Orton vs Christian V for the World Heavyweight Championship is no holds barred and, whilst I’ve been enjoying their matches on Pay-Per-View, it would be nice to see a different World title match next month. Christian revealed his secret weapon in the match to be Edge! However, any plan for Edge to help Christian in his match was ruined by Edge saying he wasn’t happy with what Christian had become and walked out. It’s ok, Christian, you don’t need your best friend to defeat Randy Orton.  The match was enjoyable, taking me back to some of the matches that you had during the Attitude Era. Some of the highlights include Christian using a kendo stick on Orton, and Orton finally mastering the art of putting people through tables by RKO-ing Christian through the Spanish announcers table. I thought Christian won it with the killswitch but Orton kicked out. Orton then sent Christian through two tables and DDTed him onto a dustbin. At the end, Christian attempted a move from the top turnbuckle and got RKOed onto the steel steps, giving him the win. Ok, I’m sorry but what the fuck?! Why does Orton have to become the fucking champion again?! That sucks! That really really sucks! I mean, seriously...

...ok I’ve calmed down now. My apologies for that rant. As you can tell, I didn’t want Orton to be the World Heavyweight Champion again. I don’t see why he has to be the champion right now. Ah well, bad luck Christian. It looks like you might have needed Edge to help you after all. You will be champion again, just (hopefully) not next month.
Predictions: 0 for 4 (wtf?!?!)

Now it comes to the main event CM Punk vs John Cena for the Undisputed WWE Championship with Triple H as the special guest referee. This was a great match. It’s hard to say whether it was better than their match at Money in the Bank but it will be up there with some of the greatest Summerslam matches ever. There were lots of great bits in the match, one of them was when both guys were out on the floor and Triple H counted up to 9 and then got both Cena and Punk back into the ring to prevent a double count out to the cheers of the Staples Center crowd. Punk kicked out of the AA and then Cena kicked out of the GTS. At the end, Punk hit the GTS again and got the win even though Triple H, who had been completely neutral up to this point, missed Cena’s leg on the bottom rope. I’m sorry Cena, while I see your point, Triple H didn’t see it and CM Punk is now the undisputed WWE Champion.
Predictions: 1 for 5 (alleluia!)

Hang on a minute, Kevin Nash has come to spoil the party and powerbombs CM Punk. What was that about?! And then, Alberto Del Rio, taking a leaf from Edge’s manual to how to be the ultimate opportunist, takes advantage and cashes in his MITB contract. One kick to the back to the head later and Del Rio is the new WWE Champion. CM Punk becomes the second person to have not only cashed in the MITB contract but to have him cashed in on him. What an awesome ending!

Overall, it’s hard to give an opinion on this Summerslam. Summerslam, like Wrestlemania, will be compared to not only the last Pay-Per-View, but also the last Summerslam. Is it better than last year’s Summerslam? Most definitely. Is it better than last month’s event, Money in the Bank? It’s hard to say. Money in the Bank was, in most people’s mind, the perfect Pay-Per-View. Summerslam this year seemed to be more polarizing to the fans and I tend to agree. I really enjoyed the event but I don’t quite see why the WWE decided to go with some of the results. I may have to look at the bigger picture to see how the aftermath of this event will go.

Oh, and Kevin Nash, prepare to have CM Punk get his revenge on you. 

No comments:

Post a Comment