I normally don’t write up a pay-per-view right after an event, but I thought that had to change this time. Actually, before I sat down to watch SummerSlam I was already thinking just how badly I could bash it. For the most part I have been very disappointed in the WWE product of late and I figured that Sunday would be no exception. I haven’t been so glad to be wrong in a long time! I just have to go match by match here, because there was so much that this show gave us.
In one of the shortest matches in WWE history, Chris Benoit is the NEW United States Champion, as he made Orlando Jordan tap out in under one minute. Yep, if you were still getting all your food and drink in front of you, you missed this match, and quite frankly I didn’t mind the fact that it happened so quickly. I get tired of drawn-out matches with 30 false finishes all the time, and this was surprisingly refreshing. I had said in my last column that the US title is meaningless at the present time, and it was pointed out to me (thank you, Francis) that it’s value would most certainly go up with a Benoit victory. I hope that is the case. This quick match got me going, mainly because I was so glad that The Rabid Wolverine has a belt, any belt, around his waist.
Next came the “Love Triangle” Match between Edge and Matt Hardy. No one expected to see a traditional wrestling match, but rather an emotional beating by both, and it was apparent from the beginning that the match was going to be a stiff one. That was indeed the case, as neither man illustrated very many true wrestling moves. Edge did deliver a really good spear, diving through the ropes and sending both he and Hardy to the floor below. The beginning of the end was when Edge dropped Hardy on to the top of the ring post. I don’t know whether Matt bladed or not, but each time they showed a replay of the incident, it did look as if Hardy took the hit full blast. Just before the referee called the match, Edge gave Hardy a, shall I call it purposeful, kick to the head. To me, this was Adam Copeland delivering his own FU to Matt Hardy. Was the match supposed to end with the referee calling it on a bloody and dazed looking Hardy? Maybe we’ll find out more tonight.
The crowd seemed to need something to make them happy again after the boos that were heard following the ending of the Edge / Hardy contest. Well, they got it, as the Ladder Match between Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero for custody of Dominick was next. My God, what punishment they took, particularly Mysterio. He really endured some hard bumps. This was a super match, as I had expected. After many back and forth attempts at getting the briefcase down from above the ring, who would have guessed that it would be Guerrero's wife Vicky who’d cause his defeat? All’s well in the Mysterio household, as Dominick and Rey’s wife Angie came together after the match. This was really, really good, and I applaud these two super athletes.
Kurt Angle was determined to get his gold medal back from Eugene, and I don’t think that very many people doubted he would do so. This match wasn’t met with much enthusiasm, but Angle got a lot of fan support. Eugene isn’t over any more, and I was kind of hoping that after his last little leave of absence he would come back with a different persona. But I do appreciate the fact that as Nick Dinsmore he can wrestle, and does a really good job playing his ‘handicap’ role and wrestling at the same time – not an easy thing to do. Be that as it may, Kurt now has his gold medal around his neck again after insisting on his own little medal ceremony in the middle of the ring.
Funny moment here as we were treated – well, some would use those words – to the Divas washing a limo with the Presidential seal on it. As the window rolled down, we saw a smiling Vince McMahon, who said, “Hey, why not?” As the camera pulled back, a bumper sticker was visible that says ‘McMahon for President.’ Kinda cute.
The self-proclaimed Legend Killer met The Phenom, as Randy Orton and The Undertaker faced off – no title on the line here, just a matter of ego and pride. I thought these two did a really good job. They showed off each other’s strengths, the match went back and forth, and I couldn’t guess until the bell rang who would come out on top. I like matches like that. Yes, I looove ‘Taker, but that aside, I believe that the match was a strong one. No telling just how long The Dead Man will remain in the squared circle, but he made Orton look good. Wait, don’t scream! No, Randy doesn’t need help with that, but an opponent can make a good wrestler look bad also, and that didn’t happen here. Not a total surprise that Orton wouldn’t win cleanly, as the man who came into the ring causing the distraction and the ultimate UT loss ended up being non other than Bob Orton, Sr. Smell a rematch here?
WWE Champion John Cena put his title on the line as he squared off against Chris Jericho. While I just finished saying that I like matches that go back and forth with the eventual winner not being clear, this match was just the opposite, yet was an absolutely fabulous one anyway! It was no secret that Y2J is taking some time off, and a Jericho victory was not going to happen. That did not matter, as these two went off the charts for us. It was great to hear the fans’ chants going back and forth, yelling “Let’s go Cena” and then “Let’s go Jericho.” The two fed off of this. This match was definitely main event material, and it’s too bad that it didn’t have that distinction. I don’t think the fans cared though, a five-star match is a five-star match, no matter where it appears on the card. Thank you, guys!
The final title match came next, as World Heavyweight Champion Batista had to go up against JBL. While I like Batista I was not looking forward to this match with a lot of excitement, and this pairing fit right in where I thought it would. It wasn’t a bad match, but didn’t offer a lot either. It was also rather short, especially when you consider that it was for a Championship, but that was probably a good thing. Batista kept his belt, and maybe now we can get some different challengers for him. I only hope though, that when Triple H comes back he isn’t somehow put right back in the picture. When I say different challengers, I mean someone who hasn’t fought for the title over and over again.
This entire PPV was built around The Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels taking on The Immortal Hulk Hogan, and this was the main event of the evening. First off, let me apologize to those I angered when I said last time that both these men had seen their best days. Listen, it is the truth, but that doesn’t mean that HBK at 75% isn’t better than most at 100%. He IS the Show Stopper, and proved that again last night, even in his loss. He did a phenomenal job making Hogan look strong, probably better than anyone else could have done. The company took a bit of a chance when they built the entire PPV around these two, and they came out smelling like a rose. I still believe that the main event should have been for one of the big titles. I would have had the Cena / Jericho match as the last match on the card, even if absolutely everyone knew that Chris would not win. But the reception that HBK and Hogan received cannot be denied, and in this case I guess the powers that be did give the fans what they wanted. Hell, I really got into the match myself, so I guess I can’t be too critical.
In all, I was very pleasantly surprised. This was one of the best WWE pay-per-views I have seen in a long time. It makes me want to turn on Raw tonight to see what chain of events will happen now, and isn’t that how it’s supposed to be?
Be safe and God Bless,
Barb.
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