TheOneBigWill's 'take' on Summerslam: August 17th, 2008:
1. Grudge Match: M.V.P. v. Jeff Hardy: The mystery surrounding this match was whether or not Jeff Hardy's neck was broken the Tuesday prior, and whether or not he'd be able to go, 100%. Well, while I still can't confirm anything on the rumors of a neck injury, I can say if it was broken going in.. then Jeff Hardy is one tough son of a bitch for taking that leap and fall on the back of his neck, when he missed after a turnbuckle spot.
M.V.P. worked over Hardy's neck most of the match, and I have to be honest the match itself was horrible. M.V.P. might be a good technical guy, and Hardy has his qualities, but the fact is these two were shit together. In the end it was interference by Shelton Benjamin, causing Jeff Hardy to lose focus and M.V.P. finds his "drive-by" kick to win him the match.
I'm purely assuming Hardy can't be too hurt, as I'm believing a United States title might be in his future, which is rather ironic because the guy who won this match will more or less go back to randomly doing nothing.. or jobbing to Triple H. at Unforgiven.
2. Winner Take All: Kofi Kingston & Mickie James (c's) v. Santino Marella & Beth Phoenix: It is sad or even pathetic that this match was more enjoyable, entertaining, and overall just better than all three World Championship matches? I think it's a sad day in the W.W.E. when Santino Marella can our perform 3 World Champions.
While I'm sure that's a bit much, the fact alone is this match went longer than the E.C.W. title match, and it received more pop than the World Heavyweight title match. The fans were also into it more than Triple H.'s match, so that does have to say something about the direction the company has taken with it's top titles.
As far as this match itself, I'm unsure what to think. I knew that Mickie James was going to be the weak link in this match for her team, and I honestly believe Santino will drop the Intercontinental title back to Kofi on Raw. I'd be shocked more than anything if Santino held the title until the next Pay per view.
As far as Beth Phoenix goes, I hope that with Santino along side her, she can be a bit more entertaining and enjoyable to watch. Her first reign flopped greatly, but I have faith that this time around it should be good.
Shawn Michaels Announcement: All I have to say to start is, the instant I seen Shawn's Wife, Rebecca, come out with him.. I knew she was getting hurt somehow. To be honest, I didn't see Shawn fully saying he was "retiring" even though he kinda did. I'll explain why that was the biggest mistake he ever could've made in a moment..
However, this entire situation wouldn't even be talked about, if it wasn't for Chris Jericho and the moment his music hit, everyone and their Family member who hates wrestling knew the sparks would fly. Jericho was outraged that Shawn tried playing off that he's retiring because of several injuries, instead of the main one Jericho gave him. This lead to Jericho demanding that H.B.K. tell his Wife and Kid's that he's the real reason the man of the house won't be wrestling anymore.
Shawn fired back by telling Jericho to go tell his Wife and children that he'll never be Shawn Michaels. That causes Jericho to attempt a sucker punch, which causes Shawn to duck out of the way and Rebecca to take a mouth full of canadian power!!
I flat out said "HOLY SHIT" when the punch landed. I wanted to see her face up close to make sure it wasn't make-up pre-applied, but the fact is, I honestly believe Jericho landed that punch, and landed it hard. The backstage talk of that must have been amazing.. and Shawn's Wife took that like a pro!
Now then, I mentioned Shawn's claiming he was indeed retiring to be the biggest mistake made, and this is why. Jericho nailing Shawn's Wife will give him a reason to fight Chris Jericho again. But what happens after that? Obviously I doubt Shawn really retires.. but wouldn't it make this whole match, this whole storyline seem pathetic and completely fake and stupid, when Shawn Michaels suddenly finishes his feud with Jericho.. then doesn't retire?
The "doctors" told Shawn that he could risk injury to his eye. Well, he'll risk anything for his Family, which explains why he'll likely be attacking Jericho on Raw. But it won't explain why he said he'll listen to the doctors, and retire (short of any major reason) after the Jericho storyline is over. So to be honest, this whole thing is stupid and for now, not very well thought out.
3. E.C.W. Championship: Mark Henry (c) v. Matt Hardy: Roughly 2 minutes, tops. That's how long it took to decide the outcome of this Pay per view match. Mark Henry missed one splash in the corner, Matt Hardy connects with a Twist of Fate, and Tony Atlas gets Henry DQ'd, resulting in Hardy winning the match but not the Championship.
I think it speaks volumes for 3 major subjects. Mark Henry's success as a Champion. Matt Hardy's drive to be a Champion, yet always come up short. And E.C.W.'s meaning within the company on a Pay per view.
First, NoFate said it best. Mark Henry had trouble against Tommy Dreamer, and only won via Colin Delaney turning on Dreamer. Now, Henry would've seemingly lost cleanly in under 2 minutes, to a guy that can't even hold onto a midcard title longer than a couple monthes. I think Michaels Hayes has to be laughing his ass off at his K.K.K. meetings after seeing how well Henry's been pushed via the words of an idiot.
Matt Hardy winning via DQ isn't shocking, but I have to say I'd hoped they wouldn't. Hardy could've easily been the number one contender for one more month, had he put on a good match. Instead, they opt to just have him win via DQ, which all but always insures a rematch. So will it be inside a cage? Will it be a ladder? One way or another, Hardy is likely going to end up Champion, sadly.
As far as this match on a Pay per view goes.. horrible and pathetic isn't even the word for it. Are you telling me that a Kozlov match couldn't of been put in it's place? Seriously, or even a Tag team match with Cryme Tyme against Wall Street.
4. World Heavyweight Championship: C.M. Punk (c) v. J.B.L.: C.M. Punk finally picks up a clean victory, and I can't help but continue to laugh because the one thing that stands out the most from this match.. is a move that had a botch attached to it, that ended up being the "best spot" of the whole match. I think it sums up Punk's entire title reign perfectly.. mistake's happen.
J.B.L. was utter crap in this match, and the only time Punk had it under control was when he connected with a different type of kick. I'm happy for the guy that he's a wannabe Sean Waltman, I'm thrilled that he's getting to live his dream, even though he's causing everyone else nightmares. And I'll even give credit where it's due. Dispite his hometown being where Raw will be, dispite everyone knowing he would retain without failure.. he finally did the one thing he hasn't been able to yet, and that's win without undecision.
I don't honestly have much to say about this match, or either individual involved. Just because the guy finally wins one without question involved, still doesn't make him worthy of holding it. And now I'm going to have to sit through a 2 hour episode of Raw in which that's likely one of the only things I hear about.
On the flip side, anyone who thought J.B.L. was going to win, needs their head examined. The guy was a decent heel Champion on Smackdown, when they really didn't have alternative. Raw has plenty of alternative, so for Punk to drop it to him, would be everything even worse than it already is. I just dread having to go through days and weeks of more Punk Bastards claiming that this win, makes him worthy. (which is ironic, because his only other pinfall win as Champion was over J.B.L., his first night as Champion.. so until he actually beats SOMEONE ELSE, like say Kane, Batista, Jericho, Shawn Michaels or John Cena. He WON'T and SHOULDN'T be considered anything more than still, just another fluke.)
5. W.W.E. Championship: Triple H. (c) v. The Great Khali: If I said the Great Khali shouldn't of jobbed, would I get tremendous heat? Did anyone else feel that Triple H. was the guy being carried in this match, instead of the other way around? I mean, seriously.. Triple H. tried to go through his usual routine of moves, including a knee to the face, in which Triple H. was the guy who completely botched it. A 7 ft, 2 inch monster shouldn't be made to bend that far.
In the end, the "unstoppable" and "unthinkable" happened, when Triple H. delivered a pedigree and won the match. But the entire match was really the Great Khali's match. He controlled it, he dominated entirely. He locked in his submission hold/claw move. He delivered his double handed chokeslam within the first minute of the match, and he hit his chop outside the ring. If anything, I believe Triple H. should've lost via countout, then used the sledgehammer to chop down the monster.
Of course that wouldn't make the Champion look "worthy" would it? So we let him carelessly destroy a monster with a botched knee to the face, and a pedigree. Nice.
6. First Time Ever: John Cena v. Batista: I have to be honest, I blacked out during this match and missed most of it. I caught the replays and seen the highlights of what made it a good match. I'll go based on other's reviews of this match, but from what I've seen, it looks like it was quite possibly the second greatest match of the night, and arguably one of the best matches of the entire year.
Batista winning this match makes me feel good. I had a feeling that would happen when throughout the entire show they kept saying "everyone" feels Cena is better. The only thing I dislike is how much even with the victory, they still aren't making it seem like it wasn't anything more than a fluke. Even wwe.com has an article that only claims Batista is "3 seconds better".
I think the Cena/Batista rivalry is over for now, as I doubt they'll have a rematch at Unforgiven, short of being involved in a multi-man match. Like I said originally, I didn't see this match completely as I had a blackout, but what I did see and the highlights that were shown, it definately looked like it didn't disappoint. I'll be rewatching it when I get the chance.
Main Event: Hell in a Cell: The Undertaker v. Edge: By far in my opinion, this was the single best Hell in a Cell, ever. Screw Mick Foley and his 3 spot-fest glory days. This match had more than 3 major spotfest moments, as well as a great ending and holy crap, it involved wrestling as well.
I've heard some are upset that it didn't involve blood. Well, while a structure as deadly as this you'd expect it to involve more blood than it did, the fact is blood didn't make it any less impressive. The past few HIAC matches have been crapfests left and right. Going in, the odds were against the Undertaker and Edge to perform well, because they hadn't had the greatest set of matches building up to this.
I was happily impressed with how much they allowed Edge to make Undertaker's character look foolish. Edge didn't back down, and he didn't show the least bit of fear in anything that Taker did. Edge took it to Taker most of the match, and the Undertaker fought off everything Edge gave him. In the end, it was the Undertaker picking up the assumed victory, but even in a losing effort, I doubt Edge lost anything in this match.
I'm going on record right now for saying this was by far, the best match in Professional Wrestling, for the entire year thus far. Edge and the Undertaker left everything they had out there in this match, and it definately deserved to be the Main Event.
Overall Thoughts: Because of the Hell in a Cell match, for me, this Pay per view was definately 5 stars. Or 5 outta 5 stars, whichever you'd like to look at it. I was completely upset and disappointed in 2 of the 3 Championship matches, those being the E.C.W. & World title matches.. however I don't feel AS disappointed, because short of losing, I honestly and truly believe the Great Khali did everything he was ever meant to do. If anyone didn't like that match, it was purely and only because of Triple H.. because Khali didn't do anything wrong.
Again, I'm anything but thrilled that I'll have to hear it about Punk being "worthy" when the fact is, he's still anything but. He defeated a guy that going in, if anything was more of an underdog than the current Champion, so he really didn't do much even in a winning effort. I am giving Punk credit as well, because the fact is he wouldn't be where he is, if someone didn't have faith in him. Because of that, I'm still holding onto a single thread of respect in hoping someday soon, Punk's Championship reign will come to mean something more than a fluke.
I simply don't know what to say about the E.C.W. match. The ending makes me wonder if Jeff Hardy might not get the title before Matt, since Jeff interfered. I can't wait
for the assumed Tag team contest that'll have the Hardys reunite against Mark Henry and Tony Atlas. Judging by the way the company likes having E.C.W. title matches on p.p.v., I wouldn't be shocked in the least if at Unforgiven they scraped a title match in place of a Tag match.
If Kofi doesn't get his title back almost instantly, then I would really like to know what he did to fail so big. Because I'm sorry, Santino Marella becoming the Champion means the former Champion was a HUGE failure. Beth beating Mickie isn't shocking, or surprising, but depending on Raw, we'll see whether Kofi was and is indeed, a failure.
The Shawn Michaels/Chris Jericho storyline is both very good and very bad. It's definately the best thing for both of them, because each are playing their roles perfectly and if anything this is helping Jericho become what he needs to.. entertaining.
However it's very bad, because after the feud is over, either Shawn Michaels MUST "retire" and leave, or he'll make the entire story seem fake and pointless, which could possibly hurt everything surrounding both of them.
I can't say enough great things about the Main Event. I'm just curious if this means Edge will be out of action for a couple monthes now. I don't really know how they'll play off the assumed "burning" after the match. The funny thing is, Edge has another storyline lined up completely for him, to even turn him face.
Edge against Vickie Guerrero and Co. is likely a gauntlet match waiting to happen, and could be as soon as Unforgiven, which is a greatly titled p.p.v. for it.. or No Mercy, which could also work. As far as the Undertaker goes, he'll either get hot-shotted into the Championship role, or he'll end up fighting a meaningless battle with Umaga or M.V.P.
Again, I enjoyed Summerslam and overall it was a very good Pay Per View. The Heavyweight title matches could've hurt it, but I didn't order the show for the title matches.
All in all, 5 outta 5.
. A lot of people is waiting for a Triple H vs Taker feud, but I don't think it will happen anytime soon, Taker will probably go on to feud with Koslov in the next few weeks on SmackDown, Koslov wants better competition and he is going to get it with the Undertaker. As for Edge, he may return as a Deadman like Taker, or just suffer some scars from the fire making him look even more psychotic. I don't think we are going to see Edge for a long time, unless WWE waters down the storyline and announces that he made it out of the fire without a scratch on him like John Cena and the Car incident last month.
undertaker vs HHH is likely but a feud with koslov would pointless for taker that guy reminds me of khali and cant wrestle and HHH could feud with show and that could work well