Summerslam 2013: A Retrospective Look

[Dagger Dias]

This summer I'll be looking back on each of the previous Summerslam events, one by one. So.... I hope everyone has had a great summer and enjoyed looking back on the older Summerslam events with me. We are now caught up, with this year's edition of the event looming on the horizon. That makes this the last thread in the series, sadly. Let's get on with the show, shall we?

This thread will be for discussing.... Summerslam 2013!

Summerslam 2013 took place on August 18, 2013. It was held at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Here are the results of the matches from this show:



0. Rob Van Dam (with Mark Henry and Big Show) defeated Dean Ambrose (c) (with Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) by disqualification in a singles match for the WWE United States Championship (13:38)

1. Bray Wyatt (with Luke Harper and Erick Rowan) defeated Kane in a Ring of Fire match (07:49)

2. Cody Rhodes defeated Damien Sandow in a singles match (06:40)

3. Alberto Del Rio (c) defeated Christian by submission in a singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship (12:29)

4. Natalya (with Naomi and Cameron) defeated Brie Bella (with Nikki Bella and Eva Marie) by submission in a singles match (04:19)

5. Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman) defeated CM Punk in a No Disqualification match (25:17)

6. Dolph Ziggler and Kaitlyn defeated Big E Langston and AJ Lee in a mixed tag team match (5:46)

7. Daniel Bryan defeated John Cena (c) in a singles match for the WWE Championship with Triple H as special guest referee (26:54)

8. Randy Orton defeated Daniel Bryan (c) in a singles match for the WWE Championship with Triple H as special guest referee, this was Orton's Money in the Bank cash-in match. (00:08)




Now, here are some discussion questions concerning the event:

What was your favorite match on this show, and why did you like it the most? What about the worst match of this show, why did you like it the least?

If you could change a few things about Summerslam 2013, what would it be and why?

You may only use wrestlers who were available at the roster at that time or make changes that could have realistically taken place in August 2013. Please keep in mind the situations going into the show such as who could actually have been pushed into a title match, or what songs existed back then if you wanted to change the show's theme music, and so forth.

You may only discuss Summerslam 2013 in this thread. The remaining Summerslam events already had their own retrospective threads, any posts regarding other events will be considered spam and you risk getting an infraction.

Discuss!

 

[NtwrestlingMaster]

Overall, I really liked this Summerslam. It had the two main events which really delivered on many levels. The Brock vs CM Punk match is the last match of real value Punk ever had, and it also established Brock's dominance towards WM 30. The other best part of the show was John Cena putting Daniel Bryan over clean, but the absolute best part of the night was the complete shocker of a HHH heel turn.


There is a couple changes I would make. First, that ring of fire match was awful. It was clear Bray Wyatt was going to win, and the stipulation was awful, along with the match. Ether change the stipulation to something like a legitimate inferno match, or even let Bray win clean, rather than the other 2 Wyatts putting a carpet over the fire.

Next, the Rhodes vs Sandow match should have been different. Sandow didn't get a single win during their fued, and ended up not even winning the title in his cash in. And it's not even like Rhodes benefited from winning, he gained a ton of momented and then got sent to become a Goldust knockoff. If anything, Cody should have ether lost here, or won the briefcase from Sandow, because Sandow vs Cena was a nonbelievable match.

Lastly, as good as the WHC match was, Ziggler deserved the spot way more than Christian, and he shouldn't have gone from the top of the mountain to a rivalry with a diva, even though AJ is a very good diva. Put Ziggler vs Del Rio, and have Big E interfere and build towards that rivalry more.

Also, have Kaitlyn vs AJ one vs one for the divas title, since this was the biggest divas rivalry in a long time, along with an amazing match at Payback.

 

[Wolf Pac]

Summerslam 2013 was solid, the main events were incredible and the undercard wasn't bad either. From the looks of this year's card, I'm expecting and hoping for another solid Summerslam to follow.

Favourite match: Hard to choose between the two Match Of The Year candidates - Punk vs. Lesnar and Bryan vs. Cena. Both matches had great build ups, great action, and great storytelling. The show was built around these two matches and they delivered in a major way.

Least-Favourite match: Natalya vs. Brie Bella. Do I really need to explain?

There's not much I would change about the card.

I'd remove the Ring Of Fire stipulation from Kane vs. Wyatt. It was Wyatt's debut for one thing, it should've been a normal match. What was the point of it - to keep Harper & Rowan from interfering? Cause they still managed to get in the ring with the use of a blanket anyway. And there's no use for it if you can't set anyone on fire, which would've been a better excuse to write Kane off television so he could film See No Evil 2.

Swap the pre-show match and the divas match around. Put the utterly useless divas on the pre-show instead, nobody cares about what goes on, on Total Divas, and have a 6-Man Tag between The Shield and The Whole Strongest Show (RVD, Henry & Show) on the main card. Maybe Shield could even put the US and Tag Team Titles on the line here, but titles or not, it would've been nice if the whole point and outcome of this feud was for The Shield to come out on top over 3 more WWE veterans. Everyone just moved on to other feuds after Summerslam without having a real winner in this one.

Thanks for another great series, Dagger.

 

[Cub McCallister]

This was a pretty decent Summerslam tbh and the matches they had could of been a big pay off but they didn't deliver IMO, the main event was amazing as was the build up I liked how Bryan got under Cena's skin. My card would be something like this:

Pre-Show
Natalya, Naomi & Cameron Vs The Bella's & Eva Marie)
Six Diva Tag Match. Nice little pre-show match, take it off the main card and have it on the preshow.

Main Card
1) Bray Wyatt Vs Kane
Street Fight. Change the stipulation of the match because it was stupid as hell and make it a street fight instead and have Wyatt go over, try to make it barbaric to write Kane off.

2) Cody Rhodes Vs Damien Sandow
Money in the Bank Briefcase Match. Have the briefcase on the line and have Sandow go over and have to cheat to retain the briefcase.

3) Curtis Axel (C) Vs Justin Gabrial Vs Antonio Cesaro Vs Tyson Kidd Vs Wade Barrett Vs Kofi Kingston.
Intercontinetal Title Six Pack Challange Match. Could be a great addition to the card, I'd have Axel retain the title to try and pus him abit further.

4) Aj Lee (C) Vs Kaitlyn
Submission Diva's Match. Have this instead of the mixed tag match and have Aj go over.

5) The Shield (C) Vs Rob Van Dam, Mark Henry & Big Show
Six Man Tag Match Us & Tag Titles on the line. Have this on the main card where the winning team will win all the gold, could be a good match too and the shield go over in the end.

6) Alberto Del Rio (C) Vs Christian Vs Dolph Ziggler
World Heavyweight Title Triple Threat Match. Add Ziggler to the match to give it abit of high spots and what not, Del Rio goes over in the end by cheating and hitting christian with the belt.

7) Cm Punk Vs Brock Lesner
Stays the same.

8) John Cena (C) Vs Daniel Bryan
Wwe Title Match (Triple HHH Special Guest Referee). Again this stays the same respect to Cena for putting Bryan over and at the end have Bryan Celebrate an go off the air winning the title and give him that Summerslam moment.

That's my card and I feel it would be better, I didn't add Big E to the card because he ain't ready yet and I wanna give Bryan his moment and the next night have HHH screw Bryan out of the title and give it to Ortan.

 

[The Brain]

Great show and easily the best SummerSlam since 2005. Every match on the card had a pretty good build unlike some past cards where some of it just seemed thrown together. My favorite match was John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan. In fact it was my vote for match of the year. That was an instant classic and ranks up there among the best SummerSlam matches of all time. My least favorite was the divas match. It wasn't bad but it had the least amount of effort put into the build.

I wouldn't change much at all about this show as it was very good as it was. Like others have suggested I would add The Shield vs. RVD, Big Show, and Mark Henry. The Shield deserved to be on the ppv. As for the ring of fire match I would have left it alone. I admit the match didn't work out very well and seemed a little awkward. Changing it would be a move done in hindsight based on the outcome. When I suggest my changes I do so from the point of view going into the show. In other words I wouldn't change something that looked good going in because it didn't turn out good on the show.

 

[Judah's Lion]

last year's SummerSlam event was so good. it had great matches with plenty of build and hype to go with it. plus most of the matches delivered between the ropes.

only a few changes on this card, some of which have already been suggested:

1. total divas vs. other random divas would be my dark match.

2. Whole Strongest Show (love that name, Macho) vs. the Shield in a 6-Man Tag Match with the US and Tag Team Titles on the line. these three guys were kinda thrown together (Whole Strongest Show, i mean) but the Shield needed to be on the main card of this event and it would have been a big win over 3 veterans, all of whom are former WWE and ECW World Champions. it would have, at the very least, kept their momentum going.

3. might have Curtis Axel defend the IC Title against a bunch of guys. maybe a mini Battle Royal? might not have lost him in the shuffle if his build and momentum had continued at this event instead of being totally forgotten.

4. Bray Wyatt vs. Kane in a Ring of Fire Match was okay. i liked the build but the match was almost silly. Erik Rowan and Luke Harper were kinda like Dumb and Dumber on the outside trying to get in. and i didn't like the idea of the goal being to win via pinfall or submission while the ring is surrounded by fire as opposed to the prototypical Inferno Match when the goal is to light your opponent on fire. what about a Street Fight, Steel Cage Match or Last Man Standing Match. any of those matches could have been done instead and used to write Kane off tv. Last Man Standing is my vote.

5. Cody Rhodes vs. Damien Sandow was really solid. loved this little feud that took place around this time. i'd probably make this match for the MITB Briefcase though. and i'm going back and forth on whether or not i'd have Cody or Damian win. Cody Rhodes winning the contract and doing his feud with Randy Orton, the soon-to-be World Champ would have been good. maybe even give him a successful, albeit very short, World Title reign for Cody could have been a fun twist in the Orton/Authority feud with the Rhodes Family.

6. Alberto Del Rio vs. Christian was fun enough. these guys have some good history together and always excel in the ring with anyone. great chemistry and simple enough story. maybe add Sheamus just to mix up the feud a little bit? or leave this as is. either way works for me.

7. Dolph Ziggler/Kaitlyn vs. Big E Langston/AJ Lee was a very well-told Mixed Tag Match. i'd leave it exactly as is, as opposed to making this two one-on-one matches or adding Ziggler to the World Title match.

8. CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar in a No-DQ Match was amazing and gets a tie for my match of the night, possibly match of the year. this was such an easy story to tell and such a brutal match. i absolutely loved it and wouldn't change a thing about it. i only wish there was a rematch at like Survivor Series or even the Royal Rumble, but only cuz i loved their chemistry that much. just fantastic from beginning to end.

9. John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan for the World Title was epic and is of course my other tie for match of the night, also possibly of the year. for those that say John Cena buries every person he faces, i give you this match. Cena put Bryan over cleanly in the middle of the ring on the second biggest stage of the year in a match where he handpicked his opponent for the World Title. that's quite the rub! and in my alternate booking reality, Kevin Nash didn't Jack Knife Punk two years earlier and Del Rio didn't cash in on Punk for the World Title either. so having Triple H turn heel here and Pedigree Bryan, allowing Orton to cash in the MITB Briefcase on Bryan and win the World Title is all the more meaningful because this is the first time that this has happened in my fantasy world. Bryan being cheated of his big moment here, only to chase the strap for the remainder of the year, culminating at the biggest event in the history of sports entertainment, is one of the biggest storylines ever written. this was abso-freaking-lutely epic!!

overall, a really good-to-great SummerSlam we got and one of the best of all time. just wish that there were a few tweaks here and there to make it as best as possible from bell-to-bell.

 

[Dagger Dias]

This was an awesome show and a big step up from the 2012 event. My favorite match was John Cena VS Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship. That match was simply amazing. CM Punk VS Brock Lesnar was also great. The main change that I would make deals with eliminating my least favorite match from the card, the mixed tag team match. Instead of the mixed tag team match I would have given Dolph and Big E their own match. Dolph would have won it. AJ and Kaitlyn would not be left off the card, they too would get their own match instead of the mixed tag match. AJ VS Kaitlyn was such a great Divas Championship feud that I would have wanted to see it continue into Summerslam, with AJ winning again but Kaitlyn being booked to almost win after a strong attempt. The rest of the show was almost perfect. This year's edition has a really tough act to follow.

 

[klunderbunker]

This was the show of the year and it ran away with the honor. I'm not sure what there is to say here that hasn't already been said. You have two match of the year candidates with Punk and Lesnar having a war and Cena and Bryan having one heck of a wrestling match. The post match stuff is really good too and set up the storyline that carried them all the way to Summerslam. Bryan pinning Cena clean in the middle of the ring was a career making performance for him and set him on the path that took him to New Orleans eight months later. Throw in an awesome Del Rio vs. Christian match and it was the best show of 2012 by a mile.

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

This was a great show and I wouldn't change much at all.

Favourite match: CM Punk vs Brock Lesnar
I think this match stole the show. It was fantastic, and really makes you miss CM Punk. I feel he was very underrated as a babyface during his run from Payback - Royal Rumble. He was over big time as a face, on the same level as Bryan who was obviously having his coming out party.

Honourable mention goes to Daniel Bryan vs John Cena. This was another fantastic match, and on most cards would easily be the match of the night. I just think Punk/Lesnar topped it. It was great to see Bryan get the clean win on Cena and the moment with the big title.

Least favourite match: Kane vs Bray Wyatt
Really liked the concept, and I enjoyed the hype and build up... but the match itself was a dud. It was Bray Wyatt's in ring debut, and he didn't come across very strong. He looked weak and after weeks (months?) of vignettes it was just a let down. I think they just should have booked him stronger in the match, not needing the help of the other Wyatt's so much.

I wouldn't change anything about the show really. I would have had Dean Ambrose go over RVD clean. I'd still have Orton cash-in on Bryan and Triple H's heel turn, forming "The Authority". The only thing I'd change would be the fallout of that feud and what happened after the show. They made Bryan look like a punk in the weeks that followed, but fans wouldn't let them kill his momentum. I think they stretched out Bryan's chase of the title for too long, but that's just me. It should have concluded at Survivor Series instead in my opinion, and saved the title unification for WrestleMania XXX.

Night of Champions:
Randy Orton 'C' def Daniel Bryan & CM Punk - WWE Championship Triple Threat Match with interference from Paul Heyman/Curtis Axel

Battleground:
Randy Orton 'C' def Daniel Bryan - WWE Championship with some type of screwy heel ending involving Triple H or The Shield
CM Punk def Curtis Axel w/ Paul Heyman

Hell In A Cell:
Daniel Bryan def Triple H - Hell In A Cell match, if Bryan wins he gets another title shot
Randy Orton 'C' def The Big Show - WWE Championship
CM Punk def Curtis Axel & Paul Heyman - Hell In A Cell Match, Punk finally gets his hands on Heyman

Survivor Series:
Daniel Bryan def Randy Orton 'C' - WWE Championship
CM Punk, Big Show, Rey Mysterio & The Rhodes Brothers def The Shield & The Real Americans - Traditional Survivor Series 5v5 Elimination Match
John Cena 'C' def Alberto Del Rio - World Heavyweight Championship