WWE Summerslam 2014: General Discussion & Aftermath

[BrockTheBeast123]

With one major pay-per-view finished, it's now time for WWE management to look ahead to the next big show—SummerSlam.
Per Bryan Alvarez in this week's (subscribers-only) F4W Newsletter, a major matche is currently scheduled for the show. WrestleMania 31 is also apparently being planned too, with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson's name already being thrown around.“ Penciled in at the moment: Roman Reigns vs. Triple H at SummerSlam and Brock Lesnar vs. The Rock or Cesaro at WrestleMania 31. Brock-Cesaro seems like such an obvious direction and such a perfect match to elevate Cesaro that it seems dumb not to do it. On top of that, with Rock being increasingly fragile and Undertaker being hurt in the "safe" version of a Lesnar match, I'm not sure it's a good idea for safety/The Rock's film insurance reasons.
”Triple H vs. Roman Reigns sounds like an intriguing idea, and it seems like the natural culmination of the current Evolution vs. The Shield program taking place on WWE television right now.
After some early awkward and wooden performances, Reigns has been getting more and more comfortable in the babyface role, and a showdown with Triple H could likely be the thing that solidifies him as a main eventer.
(Provided, of course, “The Game” agrees to put the up-and-comer over in a credible fashion. But considering how strong Triple H made Daniel Bryan look at WrestleMania XXX, this shouldn't be an issue.)
Lesnar vs. Cesaro at WrestleMania also sounds like a good idea, especially with manager Paul Heyman caught in the middle.
Lesnar...who will he face at SummerSlam?
As for a potential Rock return? Well, it would undoubtedly send buyrates through the roof and garner the company huge mainstream press—just like all the other times the star has wrestled.
But as Alvarez mentions, there is Rock's physical state to consider.
Rock's almost frightening litany of injuries following his main event clash with John Cena at last year's WrestleMania—in a basic, safe-looking match that honestly never came off as particularly stiff or hard-hitting—perhaps should have served as a sign to the Hercules star that his wrestling days might be well and truly behind him.

But will Rock wrestle at Summerslam.I don't think so but it is just wishful thinking to have him face Cesaro,Orton,Bryan,Wyatt,Batista (who has been taunting and taking little digs at Rock lately.There is also Rock vs Cena III as a possibility.But for me personally only reason he should wrestle at Summerslam is to get comfortable in the ring again.Rock did somewhat tease a in-ring return on twitter in a tweet to Triple H by saying "@TripleH Another phenomenal Wrestlemania performance - proud of you, Trip. Your conditioning is insane! I will now go do cardio. Dammit."

 

[The Eighties]

I think Rock should let it be, he's a shell of the performer he was, but if he did work at Summerslam in LA then a match with Batista would be the obvious choice IMO. Just book at battle of the movie stars in the city where Hollywood resides.

 

[Bythedockofthebay]

I think Rock should let it be, he's a shell of the performer he was, but if he did work at Summerslam in LA then a match with Batista would be the obvious choice IMO. Just book at battle of the movie stars in the city where Hollywood resides.

Yeah I think that's good call. Have Batista be the "wannabe Rock" even have that hollywood persona he's somewhat had in the past. Plus Batista doesn't need Rock to put him over. Rock can go over and act like it's a big deal. Even if I don't want him back I could see how it could work.

 

[sTyLnK]

Just a rumor. A rumor that I don't think is accurate at all. I truly believe that Dwayne is done wrestling and will be like Austin where he does guest appearances here and there.

 

[Fansince1992]

I wouldn't trust Bleacherreport. They also reported that there was once backstage heat on Cena after a tiff with Orton, then the pair worked a program together.

 

[Mongoose McQueen]

Either way, if you're looking at a massive drawing mainstream match then The Rock vs Brock Lesnar provides that. If you're looking to truly make a star out of Cesaro then Cesaro-Lesnar makes the most sense and the match, lets face it would be way better. WrestleMania 31 is already looking so much better than WrestleMania 30 provided these rumors come true. Another match which I think should happen at WrestleMania is John Cena vs Roman Reigns possibly for the WWE World title in the main event.

One other idea is Triple H vs Cesaro at WrestleMania 31, in a grudge type of match. I think this match would be awesome between two powerhouses and the two styles would match very well.

 

[JJ15776]

This is probably a good time to remind everybody that Rock's injuries after his match at WM29 were a work. Remember how he continued to move completely normally throughout the entire match? Yeah, that's not possible with a muscle torn off the bone. He wouldn't have been able to move his leg, so we know that injury was either greatly exaggerated or a complete fabrication. So let's slow down with the talk about how fragile he is, shall we? Good.

That said, unless I'm misreading the report...it does not appear to suggest Rock will wrestle at SummerSlam. It talks about Triple H vs. Roman Reigns, a potential match between Brock and Cesaro or Rock at WrestleMania 31, and then asks who Brock will face at SummerSlam. But every mention of Rock appears to be on connection on with WrestleMania 31.

So, I would say there's no reason to think Rock will wrestle at SummerSlam. And I don't see why he wouldn't face Brock at WrestleMania. Obviously injuries aren't a concern there, with the combination of the fact that Rock wasn't injured in his match with Cena along with the fact that Undertaker's only injury against Brock was a fluke concussion that had nothing to do with Brock, so that won't stop the match from happening. And then when you factor in Cesaro having a long way to go before he's on Brock's level, it really doesn't make any sense to plan on that match. So that leaves Brock vs. Rock as the only logical match at WrestleMania 31 as of this moment. But we'll have to see what happens the rest of the year.

Rock wrestling at SummerSlam would be cool, but against who? I guess they could do the Brock match then. He's already fought Cena twice, I guess they could do a rubber match. He's not going to face Bryan. Punk isn't coming back. Orton or Batista could work, since he has history with Evolution, but I just don't see why Rock would clear time on his filming schedule for a match at SummerSlam against either one. And, again, as far as I can tell the report doesn't even mention Rock at SummerSlam, so I think it's easy to assume that he won't be there.

 

[TheICChampion]

I wouldn't trust Bleacherreport. They also reported that there was once backstage heat on Cena after a tiff with Orton, then the pair worked a program together

Well, don't forget, Cena is Vince's golden goose. He could go and murder someone at this point and he'll get a title shot the following month. Ok, maybe that's going a bit far, but you get the point. Cena having heat with someone is a world of difference than, say, Tyson Kidd having heat with someone.

Orton: "Vince, I don't want to work with Cena because I don't like him and he doesn't know how to work. Plus I heard he can be dangerous to work with."

Vince: "Oh, go suck it up, Randy. You're working with John and that's that. Now get the hell out of my office!"

Now, try this:

Orton: "Vince, I don't want to work with Tyson Kidd. I don't really like him that much and I heard from this guy who says he's possibly dangerous to work with."

Vince: "OK, Randy. You don't have to work with him. Someone says he's dangerous? Fine, forget the program and the push I was gonna give him. He'll just put Ryback over."

Orton: "Uh, actually, Vince, I heard Ryback was kinda dangerous to work with, too."

Vince: "Ryback, dangerous? Huh huh! Good one, Randy."

You get the idea. Whether or not it's true doesn't really matter anyway.

Anyway, back to Dwayne. If he can go, then by all means, put him in a match. It's really all up to him, anyway. If he wants to wrestle, go right ahead.

 

[MoRtAnDaD]

I dont know if the rock is done or not. But saying that he is fragile for a injury that could happened to any performer in the ring...its stupid.

The rock can still go at it, he is in great shape, yes....his matches werent as good as 12 yrs ago, but sure werent the worst of the card.

Rock have a good 3 or 4 matches left (i mean marquee matches). As ICChampion said, is up to him and it would be great to have him around a couple of times a year.

 

[drobs85]

The Rock a shell of himself? Undertaker is the shell. That comment is laughable. Rock is in tremendous shape. He hit it spot on if he decides to get his cardio back up it's smooth sailing.

 

[kadroan]

I don't think The Rock would have time to wrestle, better yet get in wrestling shape for Summerslam.

For The Rock to put on memorable performances that we've known him to do in the past, he would have to wrestle as much as Batista does now.

Unfortunately, that probably won't happening especially since he's filming Fast and Furious 7, San Andreas and Hercules coming out in July, wouldn't be time for him.

Honestly, I hope he doesn't wrestle again, even WrestleMania for the sake of his health. I'm sure he loves the WWE, but just retire and WWE can give him the proper send off at WM XXXI. Right there in California, his movie Fast and Furious 7 would just be coming out and it'll be a lot of hype since it's Paul Walker's last movie, what better way to comeback than to headline the 2015 WWE Hall of Fame class, promote Fast and Furious 7 and see if he can do a promo that can top his WM XXX promo

 

[Jack-Hammer]

According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there's talk about a couple of potential programs lined up for SummerSlam. Nothing's been decided, as of yet, but things should become clearer by the time MITB is finished.

The report alleges that, as of this week, one of the main matches WWE is looking at for SummerSlam would feature Brock Lesnar taking on Daniel Bryan for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. This report comes off the heels of a report earlier this week saying that one idea floating around would be for Lesnar to win the title at SummerSlam, Cesaro cashes in his MITB briefcase and thereby wins the title from Lesnar. This would set up a rumored feud between Lesnar & Cesaro that, allegedly, WWE officials have been thinking of doing since just after WrestleMania XXX.

Early last month, it was revealed that Brock Lesnar is booked to appear at WWE's Night of Champions ppv in September. The past few years, Lesnar has wrestled on the Extreme Rules, WrestleMania and SummerSlam ppvs, but he missed ER this year. In September, a lot of subscriptions for the WWE Network will be expiring, so WWE management intends to load up the Night of Champions card. As a result, Lesnar's feud that happens at SummerSlam, whatever feud that may be, will continue over into Night of Champions. IF the scenario plays out as WWE is, allegedly, laying out, then it could be a threeway dance between Bryan, Lesnar and Cesaro for Night of Champions. Bryan & Lesnar would both be former champions, hence they both have an automatic rematch.

Of course, this all depends upon whether or not Daniel Bryan is medically cleared to compete at Money in the Bank. If he isn't, the title will be vacated. If WWE wants a match with Lesnar going after the title for SummerSlam and if it's true they're interested in him feuding with Cesaro at some point, then it's possible that Cesaro could win the vacated title at MITB and face off with Lesnar at SummerSlam. Allegedly, Cesaro is said to be the favorite to win MITB this year. Personally, I don't think Cesaro is ready to be champion, but maybe I'm wrong. I just don't see it right now, but these various potential matches are definitely attention getters.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Lesnar wins the world title and then loses it immediately? To Cesaro? Not ever going to happen. However a slow build with Lesnar as champion with Cesaro holding a briefcase would work. However Lesnar would be required to appear frequently for several months.

I don't see Cesaro as world champion either yet. Though reversing the above and having Lesnar beat a newly crowned Cesaro could work should they spend the next 6 months or so building towards a rematch at Mania with Heyman stuck in the middle.

 

[MINISTRYrising]

If Lesner is prepaired to come back and work at the least Raw, then I would be open to the idea of Lesner taking the title of Bryan at Summerslam. As for Cesaro winning the Money in the Bank match and cashing in on Lesner, I really don't see it happening. The only way it could work is if Lesner does in fact beat Bryan at Summerslam and when Bryan gets his rematch at Night of Champions, Have Cesaro come out and insert himself into the match. you would then have to Hayman turn on Lesner for the finish turning Brock face in the process.

 

[Mustang Sally]

However Lesnar would be required to appear frequently for several months.

And therein lies the problem with building anything around Brock Lesnar. As excited as the company seems about using him in big-time events, any fan knows of the rather abbreviated schedule the guy works and that having him wear a championship belt would have to be a very short-term program. Sure, having him end Undertaker's streak was as big a happening as there could be in pro wrestling, but it didn't involve a title, as most major events do.....Brock didn't have to follow it up with another appearance in order to prolong the effect.....and sure enough, we haven't seen him since, have we?

Also, how they would arrange for Cesaro to beat Brock Lesnar for the championship would take some doing too, wouldn't it?.....although, in wrestling, there are a thousand ways to explain away some of the most unlikely results.

As for Brock facing Daniel Bryan in the ring? Just the visual effect of seeing both of them facing off would be kind of hard to accept. Again, though, in pro wrestling, anything is possible, but Creative would really have to work overtime to come up with a scenario for that one.

If it happens, I sure hope Daniel's neck is fully healed.

I mean......jeez.

 

[OYDK]

Lesnar wins the world title and then loses it immediately? To Cesaro? Not ever going to happen. However a slow build with Lesnar as champion with Cesaro holding a briefcase would work. However Lesnar would be required to appear frequently for several months.

Why would this never happen? Lesnar beats Daniel Bryan after a grueling match, Cesaro comes out with Heyman to "congratulate" Lesnar, Cesaro blasts Lesnar with the briefcase and hits a Neutralizer while Heyman stands there shocked. This way Lesnar still is booked like a beast while Cesaro finally gets put into the main event picture. Also this would allow Lesnar to take 2-3 months off without taking a legit loss while Cesaro cements himself as WWEWHC. Afterwards Lesnar can come back for his rematch and win the WWEWHC much closer to Wrestlemania time.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Why would this never happen? Lesnar beats Daniel Bryan after a grueling match, Cesaro comes out with Heyman to "congratulate" Lesnar, Cesaro blasts Lesnar with the briefcase and hits a Neutralizer while Heyman stands there shocked. This way Lesnar still is booked like a beast while Cesaro finally gets put into the main event picture. Also this would allow Lesnar to take 2-3 months off without taking a legit loss while Cesaro cements himself as WWEWHC. Afterwards Lesnar can come back for his rematch and win the WWEWHC much closer to Wrestlemania time.

Brock Lesnar, the man who ended Undertaker's WrestleMania streak, has a gruelling match with Bryan. A man who is considerably smaller than he, defeats him and then when he's celebrating Heyman and Cesaro (a man he's as of yet not interracted with) with his MITB briefcase come out to congratulate him and you think people will buy that Cesaro will then take him out?

Each to their own, man. But I don't see it and it'd be a criminal waste of Lesnar and probably do very little for Cesaro.

 

[CultOfPersonality]

WWE, for me, are between a rock and a hard place right now. They Cesaro/Heyman pairing hasn't worked, he was way too over as a turning babyface around wrestlemania to leave him heel.

But let's assume that this was all part of the plan to have his full and proper face turn be against Lesnar, and lets assume that happens around NoC time. Is Cesaro ready to work on his own as a babyface champion? Not in my opinion...

Will he be in a position to work alone as a babyface champion come September? Not if Heyman continues to do all his talking, that's the area he NEEDS to develop.

For me, he needs to start getting on the mic more, start teasing some tension about jealousy concerning how often Heyman goes on about Lesnar. He needs to start turning the crowd onto his side by doing his signature moves like the swing more often, so by the time the championship match/cash in against Lesnar comes about - the crowd are willing to accept him as a top face right away.

But given how WWE booking goes, I don't see this being the case. They'll try and keep it all as 'unexpected' as possible and then it's a toss up for how the crowd will respond.

 

[OYDK]

Brock Lesnar, the man who ended Undertaker's WrestleMania streak, has a gruelling match with Bryan. A man who is considerably smaller than he, defeats him and then when he's celebrating Heyman and Cesaro (a man he's as of yet not interracted with) with his MITB briefcase come out to congratulate him and you think people will buy that Cesaro will then take him out?

Each to their own, man. But I don't see it and it'd be a criminal waste of Lesnar and probably do very little for Cesaro.

Would you rather Brock Lesnar absolutely destroy Daniel Bryan and kill all the momentum that he's built and basically make him look like a punk? Would you severely hurt your future cornerstone of the company in exchange for making your part timer look unbelievably strong? If this match happens, it MUST be grueling in order for Bryan be taken as seriously as somebody like John Cena or Brock Lesnar for that matter.

As for Cesaro and Heyman coming out to congratulate Lesnar... WWE can easily make it look as if Heyman dragged Cesaro out to "praise" Lesnar OR Heyman can come out by himself and Cesaro can blindside Lesnar with the briefcase therefore giving him the title... Doesn't matter how it happens, but imo it makes sense to go this route.

I also don't see how this would be a criminal waste of Lesnar or do nothing for Cesaro at all. Lesnar is not going to make regular appearances so why would you give him the title 8 months before Wrestlemania? (Assuming WWE wants Lesnar to hold it until Mania) This win would make Cesaro "the man", it would be the biggest breakthrough of his career without a doubt and it would give him the ball for a while. Lesnar would come back and take the title off of him anyway so how is this a waste of Lesnar?

 

[Alex]

Would you rather Brock Lesnar absolutely destroy Daniel Bryan and kill all the momentum that he's built and basically make him look like a punk? Would you severely hurt your future cornerstone of the company in exchange for making your part timer look unbelievably strong? If this match happens, it MUST be grueling in order for Bryan be taken as seriously as somebody like John Cena or Brock Lesnar for that matter.

As for Cesaro and Heyman coming out to congratulate Lesnar... WWE can easily make it look as if Heyman dragged Cesaro out to "praise" Lesnar OR Heyman can come out by himself and Cesaro can blindside Lesnar with the briefcase therefore giving him the title... Doesn't matter how it happens, but imo it makes sense to go this route.

I also don't see how this would be a criminal waste of Lesnar or do nothing for Cesaro at all. Lesnar is not going to make regular appearances so why would you give him the title 8 months before Wrestlemania? (Assuming WWE wants Lesnar to hold it until Mania) This win would make Cesaro "the man", it would be the biggest breakthrough of his career without a doubt and it would give him the ball for a while. Lesnar would come back and take the title off of him anyway so how is this a waste of Lesnar?

If Lesnar were to have a match with Bryan it would essentially be Bryan using his wits and athleticism against Lesnar. Yeah make Bryan a valuable contender and have Brock put him down with at least three F-5's essentially showing that Bryan was no push over and showing that Brock had to work for the title. But to then have Lesnar lose to Cesaro straight after, who hasn't really been that prominent would be asinine. Cesaro hasn't had a meaningful feud since pairing with Heyman. It looked like they might've had something with Swagger/Zeb but he didn't and they may be going for something with Sheamus but they'd have to have Cesaro sit on the briefcase and have some more meaningful feuds before even considering giving him the title

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The Rock a shell of himself? Undertaker is the shell. That comment is laughable. Rock is in tremendous shape. He hit it spot on if he decides to get his cardio back up it's smooth sailing.

I have to agree. When The Rock took on Cena back at WrestleMania XXVIII, I thought they delivered a great match. It can't be denied that Rock still has the stuff on the mic and is still loaded with charisma. Generally speaking, I thought the build to their first bout was a little lackluster because of all the various jokes, insults and generally all around juvenile behavior; but the match delivered. For their rematch, it was the other way around as I enjoyed the build a whole lot more because both guys came off in a more serious mind set. What ultimately hurt the match, aside from the injury Rock sustained during the match itself, was the fact that his cardiovascular conditioning wasn't nearly up to par. He'd put so much energy into hitting the weights for upcoming film roles in the G.I. Joe, Fast & Furious and Hercules movies to look like a beast while sacrificing cardio.

Batista was in the same boat when he came back. He's in his mid 40s and while he's not nearly as muscular as he'd been 10 years back, he obviously works out hard in the gym. He definitely had to hit the weights hard in order to put weight back on in order to play Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy but, again, he sacrificed cardio for it. He was so gassed during a match he had against Alberto Del Rio on Raw that he couldn't stand for the first few minutes after the match was over. He had to lean up against the middle rope and could was heaving so much that he could barely get a word out on the mic.

As far as The Rock wrestling at SummerSlam, I don't see it happening. Of all the various sites that report on pro wrestling, the Bleacher Report might be the least reliable among them. He's in the middle if filming the disaster movie San Andreas and Fast & Furious 7. While it's always possible, I suppose, for The Rock to wrestle at SummerSlam, it just doesn't strike me as being all that likely. While nobody can say for certain if he'll ever wrestle again, except for himself that is, I don't think he will. If he sustains another injury, it could throw a big monkeywrench into a revived and thriving career as an action star. If he's hurt badly enough, he might not be the same ever again. If he does decide to wrestle again, however, I think it'll be at a WrestleMania.

 

[rge2010]

Lesnar will not lose a match before next years Wrestlemania. I think that is pretty much a given. There is no way someone like Lesnar is ending the streak, then getting defeated to someone like Cesaro a match or two down the line!!!

If Lesnar wins the Title at Summerslam, then there is a good chance he will be pretty much full time (Raw/PPV) until next years Mania. I remember Lesnar saying something about 3 Wrestlemanias was his plan and then take a nice long break and do something else. A final run as Champion would make sense. Lesnar ending the streak and going undefeated up until Mania 31 is $$$ in terms of Network and remaining PPV buys.

Bryan vs Lesnar for the Title is money. Add to that - Triple H vs Reigns, Cena in a new fued and a Batista return (he is still over and still very popular smarks) then everything points to a solid show.

 

[wrestler36]

We're seeing Reigns and Ambrose together but slowly separating, with Dean wearing new gear and new theme. Obviously, Rollins turned but is not officially an Evolution member. They can keep this feud going, really until Wrestlemania if they wanted to.

What would you think if at Summerslam, Orton, HHH and Rollins vs Reigns, Ambrose and a secret partner. When you see them walking out through the crowd, you see Batista in Shield gear. Just a one time thing and they go their separate ways after.

I think it could work. Same 6 guys but 1/3 switching sides. People really do like Batista, I think he just got a lot of flak because people wanted to see DBryan win the Royal Rumble and win the title at Wrestlemania. You can see how hot the crowd was for him when he quit too. Would be a cool way to bring Batista back into the mix too after his movie cools down. Would also be a nice little last hurrah for Ambrose and Reigns.

 

[Tyrant25]

I think that's how it'll go, though I don't jump at the thought of Batista as part of The Shield. I don't mind him being their secret partner, but it's unnecessary to add a new member to The Shield since The Shield will always be remembered as Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. However, this does mean that Roman Reigns vs. Triple H and Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose at Summerslam would be set aside, which I doubt for some reason, though people seem to be forgetting about the next Pay-Per-View after Summerslam - Hell in a Cell - which I think would be a more appropriate place for those matches.

I also like this idea because it means Reigns wouldn't win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. I'd prefer not to see the WWE Championship dragged into The Authority storyline - I'd much rather see it the title go to someone like Bray Wyatt, who'd go into a feud with a returning Daniel Bryan.

 

[Pedigree1]

According to quiet Rumors going around Roman and Dean will be going their separate ways,so there will be no shield vs Evolution at Summerfest err SummerSlam