This pay per view could be summed up in four words.
MARK THE FUCK OUT!!!!!!!!!
So many amazing things happened on this PPV. The wrestling was great. The drama was great. The returns were great. The main event was PHENOMENAL. I can't sing my praises about this show enough. With a few changes, this would have been a perfect pay per view in my opinion.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston for the Intercontinental Championship
Solid match while it lasted. A nice, simple feud over the belt heading in, with Kofi being robbed by Ziggler and Vicky. Both combatants looked strong at points in this match, and the match was still exciting when it was interrupted by the Nexus, whom claimed they wanted to show what was in store for whatever poor soul joined team WWE tonight to fill the 7th slot. The match ended in a no contest. Despite the anti-climactic ending, the match itself was good, warranting a 7/10.
Alicia Fox vs. Melina for the Diva's Championship
Not the best divas match, but it was alright. Melina sold a knee injury about halfway through the match, but managed to beat Alicia with some sort of facebuster. The real excitement came after the match when Team LayCool came down to celebrate with Melina. Melina didn't seem to be in the mood to share the spotlight in her hometown of L.A., and attacked the two flawless divas. She had the upper hand too, until Michelle and Layla managed to work together to gain control. They beat on Melina until we go back stage with Edge, Jericho, and The Miz.
Match was nothing special, and the beat down, while drama evoking, was not too great either. I'd give it a 5/10.
Jericho and Edge were talking to The Miz, telling him why they needed him on the team (this later would wind up making no sense, but it was a fun segment while it lasted). Edge was snacking on a Slim Jim while Jericho flashed a little Y2J personality, trying to convince The Miz. The Miz said he'd think about it and walked off, but not before he snatched Edge's Slim Jim out of his hands.
Big Show vs. SES in 3 on 1 Handicap Match
This was a 3 on 1 handicap match fought under tornado style rules, meaning all 3 members of the SES were legal. This match was surprisingly good despite the fact it could have been terribly done no matter the outcome. Big Show maintained dominance from the beginning until about 4 minutes into the match, when the SES finally took him down. They would take turns stomping him and elbow dropping him, doing some very basic but effective attacks. The turning point occurred when Big Show threw Gallows into Mercury in the corner. He would then attack CM Punk, who cowered out of the ring and made his way up the entrance ramp with Serena. With Punk out of the picture, Big Show managed to choke slam Mercury onto Gallows, pinning the two simultaneously and winning the match.
While a 3 on 1 with a victory for the one almost always looks unrealistic, this match maintained a certain level of realism. If the SES can move past this loss and still stay as a strong, cohesive unit, they will become even more cult like, following a leader who clearly doesn't care about them. As I said earlier, good match, 7/10.
I believe it was now that Sheamus and Kane cut a promo backstage. Kane was talking to his casket when Sheamus asked if he could use it for Randy Orton. Kane gave a resounding no. Sheamus told Kane he better not come after Sheamus if Kane decided to go on a psychotic rampage should he lose his match, to which Kane laughed, and then said, "I like you, you have guts. Most of which will be spilled on the floor if you ever talk to me like that again!" Kane was a total bad ass, and Sheamus left, because he had a match next.
Randy Orton vs. Sheamus for the WWE Championship
There are a lot of things I don't like about Randy Orton, but he wrestled one hell of a match with Sheamus tonight. Good back and forth action between the two, both displaying their strength and skills. There were some great spots, lots of action in and out of the ring, and terrific ring psychology. If you're going to watch one match from this SummerSlam simply for the sake of enjoying good wrestling, watch this one. The only thing that ruined it was the ending. The DQ, which I didn't really predict, was cliche, and then Randy Orton getting the better of Sheamus after the bell was too predictable. On top of all that, the big spot, an RKO on the announce table, didn't work as the table didn't give.
Despite the less than stellar ending, this was a great match, and that means a lot coming from me, as I'm not big fans of either competitor. I'd give this match a 9.5/10.
The Miz comes out to discuss whether or not he will join team WWE. He jerks the audience around or not, making them wait on the edge of their seats until he finally said he will join Cena and company. He got in a lot of heel heat, saying Lebron and the Heat will beat the Lakers in the NBA finals, and refusing to let the audience say his catch phrase with him. The Miz worked the crowd to perfection, coming in to mostly cheers, and... well they were still cheering when he left, but they were pissed off about the Laker comment.
Kane vs. Rey Mysterio
The match started off like a typical Rey Mysterio match, which turned me off a little bit, but things soon picked up. Rey, as usual, got the better of his larger opponent by using his speed and creativity to his advantage, but Kane would soon end that, hitting Rey with a bunch of powerful moves. Eventually, Rey would once again outmaneuver The Big Red Machine by hitting him with a couple of DDTs and high risk moves, but Kane would regain the lead by hitting Mysterio with a plethora of backbreakers. The climax of the match came with Kane trying to choke slam Mysterio into the casket he brought to ringside (keep in mind this was not a casket match, just Kane being his crazy self), but Mysterio countered by setting Kane up for the 619. Kane escaped and set Mysterio up for the chokeslam, but Mysterio once again countered to the 619, and he hit it! However, Kane countered as he went for the splash, and despite a weak pin attempt by Mysterio, Kane managed to get up, chokeslam Rey, and win the match cleanly.
After the bell, Kane attempted to get Rey in the casket again. Kane opened the casket and attempted to chokeslam Rey, but Rey fended him off with a couple of up kicks. Kane closed the casket, walked over to Rey, and chokeslammed him twice. To make sure Rey wouldn't be able to get up for a while, he hit him with a Tombstone Piledriver, and walked back over to the casket, opened up and... FIRST BIG SURPRISE OF THE NIGHT! THE UNDERTAKER RETURNS! Taker was lying in the casket, waiting to be let out. He sat up, climbed out, and had a stare down with Kane. He turned his head to Mysterio, who had scrambled into the corner. After an awkwardly close and somewhat drawn out exchange with Rey, he decided his real attacker was Kane. This isn't exactly a new feud we're staring down the barrel at, but interestingly enough, Kane got the better of his half-brother after a chokeslam standoff, when Kane out muscled The Undertaker and hit him with a Tombstone.
Tonight was a great night for Kane marks, and I know there are some who might be reading this now, so mazel tov to you. I enjoyed both the match (8/10) and the extra-curricular activities (9/10) out of this feud. However, I hope Kane and Undertaker wrap their business up fairly quickly, preferably by SurvivorSeries, as this feud has been done more times than Madonna.
Finally, we get to the main event of the night...
Team WWE vs. Nexus
Nexus comes out first as a team. They all wait in the ring as the members of Team WWE come out one by one.
Cena comes out first. He is sporting a new shirt and hat, moving from orange to it's opposite, blue. Edge is out next, and he and Cena don't seem to acknowledge each other, focusing more on their opponents. Next out is R-Truth, followed by JoMo, who is followed by Jericho. Bret Hart comes out to a huge ovation, and before he can make it down the entrance ramp, The Miz's music hits, but Cena cuts him off. The 6 members of team WWE turn around and Cena explains to The Miz that they couldn't wait for him to make his decision, and they found someone else. The seventh member of Team WWE is Daniel Bryan.
Wait... what?
THAT'S RIGHT! DANIEL BRYAN IS BACK BABY.
Cole has an aneurysm, Miz is pissed, and DB runs right past The Miz and his teammates to go after the group he was once part of. Team WWE is right behind him, and there is an all out brawl in the ring that team WWE gets the best of. Nexus moves outside to formulate a plan.
I could recap the entire match, but for the sake of saving you time, I'll just do eliminations and highlights.
Daniel Bryan eliminates Darren Young with a variation of the crippler crossface mere seconds into the match.
JoMo eliminates Tarver with Starship Pain. This was almost as amazing as Daniel Bryan's return, as he actually NAILED the move, as opposed to just barely hitting the opponent with the back of his head.
John Morrison was eliminated by Skip Sheffield after a huge lariat. Looks like Skip is taking a page from fellow Texan JBL and using an over dramatic lariat as his finisher, though I suppose JBL used the clothesline instead.
R-Truth would be eliminated by Skip Sheffield a few moments after JoMo by the same move.
Bret Hart is disqualified. Bret Hart then got in the ring and used a chair that was thrown in by a member of Nexus. For some reason, he thought this was okay, since he wasn't the one who actually retrieved the weapon. He hit Skip Sheffield with it a couple times before the ref DQ'd him. Luckily the damage was already done.
Edge eliminated Skip Sheffield after Jericho hits a codebreaker and Edge hits a spear.
David Otunga is eliminated by Jericho after Jericho hits a beautiful, and I mean absolutely amazing, lionsault, and then gets the Walls of Jericho locked on, to which the A-Lister taps out.
Heath Slater pins Jericho after Jericho is hit by Slater's finisher, which is supposed to be a jumping Russian legsweep, but looked more like a ZigZag. Either way, Jericho was pinned.
Edge and Cena would then argue about who entered the match next while DB pleaded for them to stop arguing on the side. It is worth noting that Cena had not entered the match at all yet, besides the opening fray. Edge eventually pushed Cena, and instead of retaliating, Cena let Edge get in. It didn't last very long though, as Heath Slater jumped him and rolled him up, thus eliminating Edge.
Edge and Jericho were pissed and both blamed John Cena for their eliminations. The two jumped him and stomped him out outside the ring. Daniel Bryan went to check on Cena, but was chased off by the ref. The Nexus, now down to Slater, Gabriel, and Barrett, threw Cena into the ring where he was met by Slater.
Each member of Nexus would have their way with Cena until he eventually managed to counter Slater and tagged in Daniel Bryan.
After a few seconds of brawling, Daniel Bryan eliminated Heath Slater with a Cattle Mutilation.
Unfortunately, Daniel Bryan would soon exit. After turning his focus to his next opponent, Wade Barrett, The Miz ran down the entrance ramp and smacked DB with his briefcase, allowing Barrett to get the pin.
All that was left was a battered John Cena. Barrett and Gabriel would go to work on Cena utilizing quick tags and stomps. Gabriel would eventually try to put more of a hurt on Cena, but Cena managed to make a comeback. He hit the shoulder blocks, back breaker, and the 5 knuckle shuffle before hitting the Attitude Adjustment (I still always type FU first, force of habit), allowing John Cena to pin Justin Gabriel.
Finally, it was down to Cena and Barrett. Barrett had was the much fresher man, but it didn't help, as Cena managed to counter Barrett into the STF. Barrett lasted about 6 seconds before tapping, making John Cena the last man standing, and team WWE the victor. As Matt Striker said, WE WON! WE WON! WE WON!
This match was great, far surpassing my expectations and giving me, and whoever else was rooting for Team WWE, a huge pay off. I give this one a 9/10.
Overall, SummerSlam was one of the most enjoyable PPVs I have ever had the pleasure of watching. The only thing I could pick on were a few match endings and the announcing, but why let that ruin such a great pay per views. I think this is the best PPV of 2010 so far, and it might stay that way.
I give the whole show 9/10, and recommend anyone who didn't get the opportunity to watch to find a way to download it.
