Welcome to my official review of WWE Summerslam. No mucking around, let’s get right into it shall we? Good!
We kick off the pre-show on YouTube with Scott Stanford and Matt Striker welcoming us at ringside. They run through the card and promote the upcoming United States Championship match with Santino Marella and Antonio Cesaro.
We get an excellent video package highlighting the feud over the WWE Championship match between CM Punk, Big Show and John Cena. WWE always do a great job with these promo videos and tonight’s effort was no different. After the promo, we see Josh Mathews standing with Big Show. Big Show says that tonight, it’s not a triple threat. He’s the only threat. He’s a living breathing, snorting monster, not a made-up Hollywood superhero. Yup, he’s got a point there! Show says he’s a threat to every man in the world. He’s gonna crush Cena and obliterate CM Punk to become the new WWE Champion.
With that, we head ringside and it’s time for the title match between Santino and Cesaro. Cesaro’s out first with the stunning Aksana and she says that he’ll say one word in five different languages that best describes him. He chooses greatness. The crowd’s all over him, chanting What? Hey, guess what, 2001 called. They want their catchphrase back! Santino comes out next and gets a decent reaction from the crowd on his way to the ring. The bell rings and this one’s underway.
United States Championship: Santino Marella (c) vs Antonio Cesaro
Cesaro asserts himself physically in the early going as Santino struggles to get into the match. As Cesaro whips Santino into the ropes, he charges him, but Santino moves out of the way and goes for the Cobra early! Cesaro knocks him down with a clothesline and kicks the multi-coloured sock out of the way! Cesaro gets a couple of early pinfalls, but the champ kicks out easily. Cesaro gains control with a rear naked choke, but Santino fights out and makes it to his feet, slamming Antonio down to the mat. Cesaro locks in a headlock as Santino tries to reach the Cobra. Cesaro pulls him back a couple of times and hits a big gutwrench suplex. He doesn’t go for the cover, but he tears the Cobra sock apart! Wow, what a tough guy. He ripped a sock apart. What’s that? Sarcasm? Me? Never!!
Santino sees Cesaro ripping apart the Cobra and flips out! He unloads on Cesaro and hits his usual move set. He goes for the headbutt and misses! Cesaro goes for his finisher, but Santino backdrops him. He pulls another Cobra sock from the back of his ring gear and smells it! He’s smelled what he’s been cooking, and doesn’t like it. Anyway, he goes for the Cobra, but Aksana gets up on to the ring apron and distracts him! Cesaro grabs Marella and connects with his finisher, which Stanford calls “The Neutraliser”, to get the 1-2-3!
Winner (and NEW United States Champion): Antonio Cesaro
Thoughts: I’ve said for the longest time that WWE needed to get the belt off Santino. While I don’t think that he’s done “irreparable damage to the wrestling business”, it was pointless for him to have held the title for this long. He’s over enough and doesn’t need it. Hopefully Cesaro can bring some prestige back to the belt. He’s a great worker, charismatic and his pairing with Aksana is a great way to get him some exposure.
We go backstage to see HHH with Scott Armstrong. He says it’s the biggest match in his career. He says it’s not about them, it’s about the WWE. He tells Scott there’s going to be no rules tonight. Either somebody taps out or somebody gets pinned. That’s it. He says this is gonna be a fight to the finish. Let us fight. Scott nods in agreement as we go to a promo video for the card to run out the rest of the pre-show.
SummerSlam PPV
We get a nice video highlight package for Summerslam as we go ringside with Jerry Lawler and Michael Cole. In something of a surprise, Vickie Guerrero comes out first and shrieks like only she can. She gives Dolph Ziggler a huge intro as the “Show-Off” comes out to the arena and gets a decent reaction to the crowd. We get a video package showing us how Ziggler won the MiTB match last month. Jericho comes out next with the crowd solidly behind him as we get a video package showing us the highlights of the feud, including what happened on Smackdown.
Chris Jericho vs Dolph Ziggler
Ziggler tries to stall at the start, but Jericho chases him back into the ring. He works Ziggler over and plays to the crowd! You gotta love Y2J! Jericho takes Dolph to the corner and comes out with a right hand. Ziggler leapfrogs Jericho and goes down with a big chop. Jericho keeps control until Ziggler blocks a suplex, dropping Jericho on his ribs to Dolph’s knees. Ziggler goes for a pinfall and gets some offense in the corner. The crowd’s pretty much split between both guys early on.
Jericho fights back and sends Ziggler flying over the top rope. Jericho goes for a crossbody from the top turnbuckle, but Ziggler sidesteps it and Jericho crashes to the outside. Ziggler throws Jericho into the apron and rolls him back into the ring for a 2 count. Ziggler connects with a splash in the corner and gets another nearfall. Vickie screams at the referee that it was a 3! Man, that woman has some set of lungs on her. I’d be terrified if she was screaming at me! Ziggler poses and trash talks Jericho. He connects with a neckbreaker and shows off again before getting another 2 count on the former WWE Champion. Jericho gets back to his feet and they start trading shots. Jericho gets a quick roll up for a 2 count, but Ziggler comes right back with a huge clothesline.
The action goes back and forth before Jericho connects with an enziguiri. Ziggler locks in a sleeper hold. Jericho chops him some down and lands a series of right hands before connecting with one of the most amazing hurricanranas that I’ve ever seen! It was just tremendous! Jericho crawls into a cover, but only gets a 2 count! Ziggler drops Jericho now and covers him, but he can’t get it done. They both get back to their feet and start trading shots, before Jericho gets control with a running bulldog. He goes for the Lionsault, but Ziggler gets his knees up, driving them into Jericho’s injured ribs! Smackdown’s Mr MiTB connects with a ZigZag! You’d think it’s over, but Jericho sends the crowd into a frenzy by kicking out! The crowd in LA are loving this match!
Jericho gets to his feet and connects with a Codebreaker, but the impact sends Ziggler out to the floor. Y2J rolls Ziggler back in, but Vickie grabs Jericho’s leg as he tries to follow him! Ziggler takes advantage and rolls him up, but Jericho kicks out AGAIN! Vickie is going nucking futs at ringside. I swear to God that she gets louder every time I see her! Jericho throws Ziggler shoulder first into the corner and as Dolph stumbles back out, Jericho locks in the Walls of Jericho! Ziggler’s got nowhere to go and taps out!
Winner: Chris Jericho
Thoughts: This was an EXCELLENT way to open the show. Crowds in LA are always hot and into the in-ring action and both guys split the crowd without it being a distraction. Ziggler continues to be amazing and Jericho does what he’s done for the last 20 years. Busted his ass and had a great match. Even though Ziggler lost the match, he’ll have got a great rub by working with Jericho, albeit briefly. This match went exactly the way I thought it would. My only complaint is that they didn’t get long enough to make it a 5-star classic.
We go backstage where Matt Striker is standing with Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman. Heyman mentions the “chat” that HHH had with Scott Armstrong earlier. Heyman tells us that Lesnar is going to finish HHH tonight and by doing that, he’ll break the spirit of the WWE. Brock says it’s a fight that HHH can’t win. Heyman says that if you’re not down with that, they’ve got two words for ya: Tap Out! Haha.. Heyman is money on the mic. WWE should do whatever they can to keep him around. He’s too valuable to be sitting at home. It’s back to ringside for the next match between Kane and Daniel Bryan.
Kane vs Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan gets a great reaction from the crowd as he comes out. He’s going nuts because they’re chanting Yes! at him. It’s the small things Bryan does that makes him so good. Kane comes out next to a nice pop. It’d be better if the crowd knew whether they were supposed to be cheering or booing him this week, but that’s me using logic!
As the match gets underway, Kane goes after Bryan, who lands a couple of kicks before Kane catches the third and throws him to the mat. Both men exchange shots before Kane slams Bryan to the mat. He dropkicks Bryan in the face and gets the first nearfall. Kane works him over in the corner. Bryan tries to counter, but gets a boot in his face for his troubles! Kane gets another 2 count. Bryan tries to get back into it with some kicks and gets Kane into the corner, but there’s nothing worse than a trapped animal! Bryan found that out as Kane tossed him out of the ring.
They’re fighting on the floor. Kane makes it back in first. Bryan climbs to the top and floors Kane with a dropkick, but only gets a count of 1. Bryan connects with some more kicks, but he misses with one and Kane bulldozes him with a huge clothesline. He hits a big splash in the corner and when Bryan stumbles out, Kane connects with a sideslam for another 2 count. Kane’s in complete control, so he goes to the top now and sends Bryan crashing to the mat with a flying clothesline.
Kane goes for a chokeslam, but Bryan slides out and goes to the apron. He drops Kane over the top rope and comes back in, but he’s not on his feet for too long as the Big Red Monster nails him with a huge right hand. Bryan gets back to his feet and SLAPS Kane. Kane goes nuts and starts beating Bryan in the corner. The ref warns Kane to settle down, or else he’ll end up getting DQ’ed. As he turns back to Bryan, Bryan trips him into the turnbuckle and kicks him square in the face. Honestly, I’ve no idea how someone hasn’t lost a tooth with some of Bryan’s kicks! Even the sound of them is painful!
The former World Champion goes for the No Lock, but can’t get it locked in, so he kicks Kane in the face again. He leaps from the top rope, going for a headbutt, but he misses and Kane drives him into the mat with a thunderous chokeslam. Kane’s still pissed and doesn’t go for a cover. He decides to go for a Tombstone instead, but Bryan counters into a roll-up and gets the win!
Winner: Daniel Bryan
Thoughts: Like I said above, it’d help if the crowd knew whether Kane is supposed to be a heel or a babyface. For what it was, the match was decent. They’re two great workers who deserved to be on the card and in my opinion, Bryan needed the win more than Kane.
The camera goes backstage and Kane is going nuts. Who knew a monster would get so pissed off from getting a slap? Guess D-Bry crossed the line! Josh Mathews approaches Kane to get his reaction. Kane grabs Josh and asks him where “he” is. Josh says “he” left, so Kane launches Josh like a dart across the screen and keeps tearing stuff up as we go back to the commentators.
Intercontinental Championship: The Miz (c) vs Rey Mysterio
The challenger comes out first, wearing what looks like Batman’s pyjamas. Rey looks like he’s carrying a bit more weight these days. The Awesome One comes out next and the match gets underway.
Miz drops Mysterio first, before Rey gets control and gets an early pin that comes to nothing. Miz goes and regroups on the floor. He gets back in the ring and stomps away on Mysterio. Rey connects with a head-scissors takedown, but runs straight into an elbow from Miz. Rey ducks a clothesline, but Miz kicks him in the gut. Miz launches Rey under the bottom rope, but Mysterio lands on his feet! Miz goes out after him, but Mysterio slides back in, bounces off the ropes and dropkicks Miz to the outside. Miz counters on the floor and drops Rey on the barrier. He rolls Rey back in and gets a 1 count. He knees Rey in the back and rakes his face.
We get more back and forth action. Miz gets a 2 count off a backbreaker. He continues to control the match and talks some trash, which he’s good at! If there’s a man in the WWE with a bigger mouth than Miz, I’ve not seen it! He mounts Rey with right hands and then kicks him in the face. Rey tries to fight back, but Miz knocks him on his ass for another 2 count.
He poses for the crowd and they’re ALL over him! He connects with a clothesline in the corner and plays to the crowd again. He goes to the top rope, but Mysterio knocks him off and tries to make a comeback, but he gets a powerbomb for his trouble! Mysterio lands a couple of kicks and gets 2 quick pinfalls. He counters a move and drops Miz with a big DDT. Rey climbs to the top rope, but Miz cuts him off at the pass. They trade blows and Mysterio drops Miz to the mat. He flies off the top rope and connects with a head scissors! He connects with a 619 and goes up top for the frog splash, but Miz rolls out of the way! Miz goes for Skull Crushing Finale, but Rey rolls him up for a close nearfall. Rey charges at Miz, but he drops Mysterio face first on the turnbuckle and nails the Skull Crushing Finale for the win!
Winner (and STILL Intercontinental Champion): The Miz
Thoughts: I knew before the match that these two would be great together. It only helps to elevate Miz being in the ring with a seasoned veteran like Mysterio. WWE made the right call by having Miz retain, so I’m fine with it.
Eve Torres and Teddy Long are shown walking out of AJ’s office. Teddy says he and the RAW stars love how AJ is doing her job. Eve says she agrees, but you can just sense she’s being false. As they walk off, CM Punk appears and hesitates before walking in. He says she’s disrespecting him because he said he wouldn’t marry her. AJ doesn’t respond. Punk says she has disrespected him, just like most of the audience. He says that tonight, he’ll walk out WWE Champion and prove why he’s the best in the world. Punk says tomorrow night on Raw, he’d better get the respect he deserves. Still nothing from the GM, so Punk gets pissed and walks out.
We get a video package about the feud between Alberto and Sheamus.
World Heavyweight Championship: Sheamus (c) vs Alberto del Rio
Ricardo does Alberto’s introduction before Sheamus comes out to a decent pop.
As the action kicks off, del Rio takes it to the corner but Sheamus fights out. Sheamus locks in a headlock. Del Rio takes it back to the corner and forces the break. They tangle again and tumble out to the floor. They brawl and Berty rams Sheamus’ face into the announce desk. Sheamus brings it back in the ring, but Del Rio kicks him in the head and works over the champ in the corner. Sheamus comes back with a big boot and a swinging neckbreaker to get the first nearfall.
More back and forth before Sheamus connects with a senton and gets a 2 count. Del Rio tries to hang on in the corner and exposes the turnbuckle. Del Rio goes for the cross arm-breaker, but Sheamus blocks it. He misses with a Brogue Kick and Del Rio kicks him out of the ring. Sheamus tries fighting back, but del Rio works on his leg and brings it back into the ring. He comes crashing down off the top rope and gets his first pin on Sheamus, but the champ kicks out. Berty locks in a headlock of his own. Sheamus tries to fight out, but del Rio blocks the neckbreaker and goes back to working on Sheamus’ leg. He kicks Sheamus in the face and gets another nearfall. Del Rio chokes Sheamus in the ropes and looks fairly intense. Del Rio’s definitely in control of the match at this point.
Sheamus tries to make a comeback, but gets caught in the corner. Sheamus fights his way in with headbutts and goes to the top rope, but Del Rio stops him and hits an armbreaker from the top rope. He covers Sheamus and gets another 2 count. Berty locks in the armbreaker, but Sheamus somehow powers out and sends him crashing to the mat with a modified powerbomb. When you see it, it’s a tremendous show of power from the big Irish fella!
Sheamus hits White Noise, but Del Rio kicks out before 3. He calls for the Brogue Kick, but Alberto moves out of the way, so Sheamus spears him in the corner. He puts del Rio between the ropes and smashes his forearm off his chest. Del Rio stumbles back into the corner, where Sheamus climbs on top of him and nails del Rio with a few right hands. Berty slides out from under Sheamus and drops him in the corner. He connects with an enziguiri in the corner and gets another nearfall. Berty’s looking more and more frustrated as this goes on!
Ricardo’s not happy either and starts yelling at the ref from the apron. Del Rio just explodes and humiliates Ricardo in the ring. The ref gets rid of Ricardo, who tosses his shoe to del Rio. Sheamus intercepts and nails Alberto with the shoe instead! He connects with the Irish Curse backbreaker and gets the 3 count, despite Berty’s foot being on the ropes for a tainted win.
Winner (and STILL World Heavyweight Champion): Sheamus
When it’s all said and done, Ricardo tries to tell the ref that del Rio’s foot was on the ropes. Cole is pissed about it too. Sheamus looks like he knows what happens, but he gets the hell out of the ring as del Rio and Ricardo argue with the ref some more. He doesn’t want to hear it though and heads to the back. Del Rio throws a fit in the ring. We see replays that show del Rio’s foot on the rope as the defeated challenger heads to the back.
Thoughts: As good as del Rio has been in the last 6-8 weeks, I don’t buy him as a world champion. Not with his current gimmick. Sheamus has been dominant over on Smackdown and I don’t see any reason for that to change, especially with HHH in favour of long title runs. Sheamus will hold the belt until Ziggler’s been built up enough to successfully cash it in.
Cole and Lawler plug Night of Champions as we get more hype for the main-event. We see a replay of the pre-show footage where HHH told Scott Armstrong to let them fight to the finish. Cole reminds us that HBK won’t be there tonight.
Tag-Team Championship Match: Jimmy Boom (c) vs Prime-Time Players
Following the traditional trend, the challengers come out first before the champs join them in the ring.
Truth starts the match and unloads on Young, dropping him with a shoulder. He does the split and drops the leg to get the first 2 count of the match. Young turns it around and backs Truth in the corner to tag in Titus. They double team Truth for a bit before Titus gets a 2 count for his team. He stays in control until Truth jacks his jaw with a huge boot and tags Kofi in. Kingston springboards over the top rope and sends Titus crashing down. He connects with a couple of chops and a dropkick. Kofi ducks a clothesline and connects with the Boom Drop.
He calls for Trouble in Paradise, but “Mr No Days Off”, Darren Young, distracts him. Titus rolls out to the floor and Kofi chases him, but he gets double-teamed on the floor. Titus rolls Kofi back in and gets a 2 count. He connects with knees to the gut and a big front slam for another nearfall. Young tags back in and keeps control of the match. Kofi tries to fight out of it, but Young slams him to the mat and gets another 2 count. Titus tags back in. Kofi can’t get back into it.
Titus gets an abdominal stretch in and catches Kofi with a big slam, but somehow Kofi kicks him in mid-air. With both men down, they make tags to their partners and Truth gets control of Young. He connects with a facebuster and covers him, but Titus breaks it up. Kofi comes in and Titus tries to throw him out, but Kofi hangs on and dumps Titus to the floor. He leaps from the top rope and connects with a crossbody on the outside. It looked like Kofi injured his ribs. Truth goes to check on him, but Young rolls him up and gets a close 2 count. Both men tangle in the middle of the ring before Truth hits the Paydirt-type finisher to get the win.
Winners (and STILL WWE Tag-Team Champions): Jimmy Boom (Kofi Kingston and R-Truth)
Thoughts: I genuinely believed this was the title that would change hands on the show, even though I didn’t predict it. PTP have had a LOT of TV time over the last few weeks and I thought that this was their time. Although it shouldn’t, I really hope the AW firing doesn’t put these guys back because they’re one of the few tag-teams in WWE with potential. As for Jimmy Boom, they’ll probably hold the straps til WWE decides what to do with them as singles stars.
We get footage from the SummerSlam Axxess festivities over the weekend before Cole and Lawler hype the WWE Title match, which inevitably leads to a video package.
WWE Championship Match: CM Punk (c) vs Big Show vs John Cena
It’s bell-time as Cena comes out first. The crowd’s probably 60-40 against him. Show comes out next and Punk completes the championship trio.
Show drops Punk and Cena as the bell rings. He headbutts Cena and fights Punk off. He decks Cena again and goes back to Punk. The champ leaps at Show, who shoves him down. Show hits Cena with a big chop. Punk also gets a chop against the ropes, before Cena gets another one. Punk tries fighting back, but he gets a headbutt for his efforts, as well as another chop. Cena and Punk decide that two is better than one and decide to fight Show at the same time. They try to suplex him, but Show counters and suplexes both men.
He whips Cena into the corner and destroys him with a splash that sends Cena rolling out of the ring, leaving Punk at his mercy. Punk dropkicks Show’s leg out and kicks Show in the head and chest, but it doesn’t really have any effect. Punk calls, and goes, for the GTS but he can’t lift the giant, so Show knocks him to the mat. Cena comes back in and goes for the AA, but Punk kicks them both to the outside. He covers Cena but Show breaks the pin. Show takes Punk to the corner and destroys him. He stands on Punk’s back and whips the champ into the corner so hard that Punk’s chest hits the turnbuckle. Show nails him with a right hand and another chop, before he knocks Cena from the apron to the floor. Show misses a splash on Punk, who comes off the top rope, but Show catches him and slams him hard to the mat. He calls for the WMD, but Cena comes in and unloads on Show. Cena runs off the ropes, but Show spears him in half and gets a 2 count.
The giant drags his opponents to the corner and goes for the Vader Bomb, but Punk rolls out, leaving Cena to get crushed. Punk tries to come back, but Show launches him over the top rope. Show follows him out and throws Punk into the ropes, causing him to bounce back and hit the floor. Show gets back in the ring, where Cena meets him, but gets caught in a side-slam. Incase you haven’t noticed, Show has COMPLETELY dominated the match so far. It’s almost frightening to see how much he’s been in control. He’s even got enough time to bring Punk to the apron, but Punk drops him over the top rope. Cena gets involved and connects with a side suplex as Show is stunned. He calls for the Five Knuckle Shuffle, but Punk clotheslines him to the outside.
Punk mocks Cena and climbs to the top rope. He connects with a Savage-like elbow from the top rope and gets a 2 count. With Show on his knees, Punk gets some kicks in before locking in a triangle choke, but Show powers out and decks him. Punk rolls back to the floor as Cena comes in with a shoulder block and then the STF on Show.
Show’s too strong and powers to his feet, ramming Cena into the turnbuckle. Cena tries to come off the second rope, but Show catches him in a slam. Punk leaps in the ring and knocks Show off his feet. He hits three high knees in the corner, but Show blocks the bulldog. Cena climbs to the top rope and connects with a legdrop. Punk goes for the Anaconda Vice again and locks it in at the same time as Cena locks in the STF and Show taps.
Winner: Who Knows?!
As both men argue with the ref about who the champ is, AJ comes out and gets a nice pop from the crowd. To cut a long story short, she orders the match to be restarted as Show gets to his feet. Punk and Cena turn round into a double chokeslam! He covers both men, but can’t get the win. Show goes for the WMD, but Cena counters into the AA! Before he can cover Show, Punk throws him out of the ring and covers Show to retain his title!
Winner (and STILL WWE Champion): CM Punk
Post-match, Cena walks away disappointed as Punk poses with the WWE Title and goes to ringside to celebrate with the fans.
Thoughts: WWE made the right decision keeping the belt on Punk. There’s no point in mentioning how long his reign has been every week to take the rug from under him. I can see him holding it until the Rumble, where he’ll tangle with the Rock. The match itself was what I thought it would be. Show dominating, but taking the pinfall instead of Cena or Punk. Looks like the direction of the title is gonna be shaped around Cena/Punk/Rock for the next 5-6 months, so get used to it people!
We see Vince McMahon’s star on the Walk of Fame and some of the celebs in the crowd. Piers Moron is there. David Arquette’s there too and Fred Durst gives the finger to the camera. For our American/Canadian readers, that means he “flipped the camera off”. Writer, opinionist, translater! My talents know no bounds! Haha.. We also saw Maria Menounous wearing a t-shirt with Bob Backlund on the front and Pat Patterson on the back. I’ll bet that’s the first time that Patterson’s been in that position for many a year! (think about it…) Moving on..
We get a video promo for the latest WWE Studios film, “The Day” and the cast are there live. There’s a recap of the highlight show where we see how Antonio Cesaro won the United States Championship from Santino Marella.
Kevin Rudolf performs the Summerslam theme song live before we get a highlight package of the events leading up to our main-event.
Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar
Lesnar comes out with Heyman first, followed by HHH and we get formal ring intros from Justin Roberts.
As soon as the bell rings, we get an all-out brawl. Lesnar goes for a Kimura Lock in the corner early doors, but HHH avoids it. There’s some more brawling before Lesnar goes for the Kimura Lock again and cinches it in. HHH is in the ropes, but the ref doesn’t break the hold as per his conversation with HHH in the pre-show. It’s No DQ. Pinfall or submission only. We get even MORE brawling before HHH sends Lesnar over the top rope to the outside. Heyman tries to calm Lesnar down, but he takes his gloves off and charges at The Game. Lesnar takes HHH down and hits him with a big right hand in the back of the head.
Hunter rolls to the floor, but Lesnar follows him. They exchange kicks on the floor, with Lesnar getting the advantage, slamming HHH into the announce desk arm first. HHH comes back, but Lesnar slams him on the arm again. Lesnar goes for the Kimura Lock for a third time, but he drags HHH to the rope and pulls his arm down on it. Hunter tries fighting back, but Lesnar tosses him shoulder first into the corner. Brock goes for the F5, but HHH counters it. Lesnar counters the counter with a belly-to-belly throw.
The camera pans to Lesnar and he’s bleeding from the nose, but it doesn’t stop him from keeping control of the match. Lesnar stomps on HHH’s arm, but Hunter fights back and they trade kicks before he connects with a DDT. Lesnar comes straight back and continues working on Hunter’s arm. Both men go back to the floor, where Lesnar throws HHH into the steel steps, before ramming his back into the Spanish announce table.
Lesnar climbs on the table and leaps off, connecting with a big right hand. Both men make it back into the ring where Brock continues to dominate. HHH tries to fight back, but Lesnar rolls him up for the first pinfall, getting a 2 count. Lesnar connects with a big clothesline, before HHH blocks a suplex and hits one of his own. Brock charges at him in the corner, HHH ducks the clothesline and goes for a Pedigree, but he can’t get it! Lesnar sends HHH flying over the top rope.
He follows Hunter out, but HHH sends him into the announce table gut first. Lesnar rolls in the ring, but he’s clutching his stomach in pain. As HHH gets back in the ring, Lesnar goes for the Kimura again, but HHH continues to work on Brock’s stomach, before catching him with a big spinebuster! He goes for a Pedigree again but Lesnar counters. Lesnar goes for the F5, but HHH reverses it into a Pedigree! He covers him, but Brock kicks out before 3. To get control of the match, Brock hits a blatant low-blow on HHH. The ref shakes his head and checks on HHH, asking him if he can continue.
On the outside, Heyman’s loving every minute of it. He’s screaming at HHH that he’s got the fight that he wanted. Heyman is such a brilliant prick heel. He makes you want to see him get his ass kicked.
Lesnar destroys HHH with an F5, but only gets a 2 count. He locks in the Kimura again. HHH puts his foot on the bottom rope to break the hold, but it’s a No DQ match. The ref’s helpless. HHH finally breaks the hold with a series of punches, grabs Lesnar and connects with a second Pedigree! As he goes to roll Lesnar over, he applies the Kimura Lock again and after fighting it for a minute or so, HHH eventually taps out!
Winner: Brock Lesnar
Post-match, trainers come in to check on Hunter, fearing his arm’s been broken again. He pushes them away and there’s a short “You Tapped Out!” chant. He gets to his feet and is met with a mixed reaction from the crowd, with most of them cheering. A “Triple H” chant breaks out in the Staples Centre. He stands looking forlorn in the ring and every time the camera pans to his face, he looks emotional. It’s like he’s saying “I’m sorry”, but the camera keeps missing it. I don’t know if that’s poor camera work/direction or what, but that’s what it seemed like he was trying to say. Eventually he leaves the ring, with the announcers in their ~~SERIOUS VOICES~~ speculating that this is the last we’ll see of HHH as the show goes off the air.
Thoughts: I think this match would’ve meant more than it did if Lesnar hadn’t have lost his first match. It wasn’t as good as his match at Extreme Rules, but it was still a very different, physical fight between two men that told a story. Lesnar doesn’t look in good shape to me, so it’s probably a good thing he’s not “wrestling” on a regular basis. I didn’t think Lesnar would win, so it surprised me a little that he went over. It was the right decision though and it goes to show that despite what everyone said about him, HHH does the right thing for business.
Overall thoughts on Summerslam
For the first time in a long time, I enjoyed the whole PPV. From top to bottom, the card was filled out right and there were no filler matches taking away from the feuds that were promoted. Each match probably got the right amount of time and the LA crowd were into everything. I don’t think there was one match where the crowd was quiet, which is a good sign for WWE going forward. It’ll be interesting to see where WWE goes from here, especially with the main title feuds. It’s intriguing.
Match of the Night
In terms of star power, the headline matches stood out enough, like the main-event and WWE Title match. For me, the match of the night was Jericho vs Ziggler. That’s the sort of match that fans like to see. Two charismatic wrestlers that the crowd can invest in and it goes to show that you don’t have to win a match to be over with the crowd. I hope people don’t over-react to Ziggler losing because the fact that he was able to hang in the ring with a respected multi-time World Champion like Jericho should show everyone that Ziggler’s in this for the long haul and it’s only a matter of time before he’s consistently main-eventing major PPV’s.
Well, that’s Summerslam in the books for this year. It’s as near as dammit 5.30am and I’m pretty tired. Feel free to leave your own comments about the PPV below and I’ll reply as soon as I get the chance to. I’ll be back on Tuesday with this week’s “In Profile” interview, which is another exclusive here at SLTD Wrestling, so I’ll see you then!
Peace out,
George
Twitter: @georgec1982
SLTD Wrestling brings you all the greatest wrestling content. from blogs, to podcasts to exclusive Predictions and Fantasy Leagues.
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