Celebrating Summerfest: WWE Summerslam Review

The WWE had its “biggest event of the summer”, Summerslam, last night and the big question is how did my predictions do? Right? Ok, no, the big question is how did the event come off and did it deliver as a big time show and Pay Per View? In my opinion I have to say that Summerslam did in fact bring the goods and it was an excellent show. I feel that it was the best overall PPV since Wrestlemania 25. The crowd was hyped all night and was extremely excited and involved. The in-ring action was solid to great throughout the evening and I thought there was a great deal of exciting wrestling and drama. There were also some really good booking decisions and they generally outweighed the ones that could be considered questionable. So the bottom line leads me to give the show a thumbs up and recommend a DVD purchase when it is released in a few weeks. Let’s take a match by match review and compare the outcomes to my predictions shall we?

Intercontinental title match: Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler
My prediction: Ziggler (New IC Champ)
Actual result: Mysterio via pinfall (retains IC title)
The match got off to a very quick start and it was full of fast paced action which saw Mysterio flying around and Ziggler trying to keep up with him and gain an advantage with a few power moves. Ziggler was indeed finally able to gain the advantage in the middle of the match and was trying to use his size advantage to wear down Rey and work on his neck. The match then started to really build with some great back and forth action. There were plenty of near falls and the crowd was very hot for the opening match. In the end, it appeared as if Ziggler was going to get the win but Mysterio was able to get a quick pinfall and retain the IC title. In my opinion, this was not the right move. It was extremely clear that Ziggler has the potential to be a star and on a big stage like Summerslam, I felt that he could have been seriously elevated with a victory. I score this as a missed opportunity by the WWE and wonder how they will justify Ziggler getting yet another rematch. He still seems destined for the title, but when will the trigger be pulled?

Jack Swagger vs. MVP
My prediction: Swagger
Actual result: MVP via pinfall
This match was preceded by a very nice promo/interaction between MVP and Swagger. They jawed back and forth with Swagger putting over his all-American persona and contrasting it to MVP’s past and the fact that he is an ex-con. This match had a pretty good start but was at a slower pace than the IC title match. Swagger was able to gain a small advantage and went to work on MVP’s body with moves like an abdominal stretch. The crowd was still very into the action and vocal throughout. The wrestling in this match was pretty good but it was not overly exciting or any sort of technical masterpiece. MVP was able to hit a solid chain of moves in quick succession, including the Playmaker, to get the pinfall victory. So again, I got the result of this match wrong and started the night 0 for 2. This does not seem like any sort of blow off for the feud and I would expect Swagger to get a measure of revenge somehow. Maybe I misinterpreted things and expected the heel to get the win since Swagger seems in line for more of a push. But, if this feud continues, then it stands to reason that Swagger gets the final victory of the feud before moving on. We’ll see in time…

Unified Tag Team Championship: Chris Jericho/Big Show (c) vs. Cryme Tyme
My prediction: Jericho/Show
Actual result: Jericho/Show via pinfall (retains titles)
You have to love Jericho on the mic giving it to the crowd before the start of the match. This match was basically what you would expect. The wrestling was perfectly acceptable, especially when Big Show was in. He was in there in the beginning portions of the match and it was pretty slow and plodding. Again the crowd was to be praised for staying into the action and trying to help Cryme Tyme. They did have a good showing in there and Jericho was solid as always. Show was able to deliver a knock out shot at the opportune time to allow the Unified Tag Champs to retain their titles. This match went exactly as I expected and was nothing special. It was just another solid showing for JeriShow as they kept plugging along and get me on the board with a correct prediction.

Kane vs. The Great Khali
My prediction: Kane
Actual result: Kane via pinfall
Well there wasn’t too much to say about this match. It was your standard big man match and again I give props to the crowd for staying into the action. Kane looked pretty good and did the best he could to carry Khali to a decent showing. That is about what Khali was too, decent. This match also ended up going as I expected with a clean win for Kane. I am not sure where these two will go from here, but I don’t really think people would want to see too many rematches. Kane should slowly move back up the card and possibly try to help put over some new talent.

D-Generation X vs. Legacy
My prediction: DX
Actual result: DX via pinfall
Wow…that really was one hell of an entrance and production for DX’s return to PPV. It kind of looked like something out of Call of Duty if you ask me. And without question, the grand fanfare of it all should have told you who was going to win the match. The start of the match was pretty slow and was standard tag team formula. Even so, the crowd was very hot and extremely behind DX and booing the hell out of Legacy. The action did start to slowly build and there was some solid tag team wrestling going on. Legacy was able to gain control and slow the match down, really working on Triple H and getting the crowd salivating for a hot tag. This paid off as the action really started to get hot toward the end and the build up to the finish was great. Shawn Michaels was able to hit some Sweet Chin Music at the end and as expected, DX picks up the win and sent me to 3-2 for the night so far. Now I fully expected DX to get the win and one can argue that HHH and Michaels put in a great performance to make Legacy look good and make them look like a threat. Some people would say this is great and they helped to elevate them. However, I fall to the other side of the fence and say that it is all well and good, but Dibiase and Rhodes fell short and didn’t win, bottom line. I feel like a Legacy win through shenanigans would have done wonders for them. They could have gotten major heat from it and it also would have given them bragging rights. I suppose this feud could have legs and maybe they will pick up a big win in the future. But Summerslam is a major PPV where you can make a statement and unfortunately, Legacy was left to fall short.

ECW Championship: Christian (c) vs. William Regal
My prediction: Christian (or possible DQ)
Actual result: Christian via pinfall (retains ECW title)
Now when I saw Regal walking down to the ring with Vladimir Kozlov and Ezekiel Jackson, I thought for sure that it was going to end in a DQ. However, the bell rings, Regal turns to take off his robe, and Christian hits him with a Killswitch to get the pinfall in about 10 seconds. Very quickly afterwards though, Kozlov and Jackson hit the ring and the newly named “Ruthless Roundtable” do a good beat down on the ECW Champ. So obviously this match turned into an angle advancement segment. My thoughts were correct though since Christian retained and it looks like Kozlov and Jackson stand to be elevated and possibly in line for a shot at the title. Of course, we could always get a future match where Kozlov and Jackson blatantly cheat to help Regal win the belt. Guess we will just have to tune in to ECW and find out.

WWE Championship: Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena
My prediction: John Cena (new WWE Champion)
Actual result: Eventually…Randy Orton via pinfall (retains WWE Title)
Wow, what a crazy match this turned out to be and I couldn’t have been more thrilled to be wrong. The crowd sounded about 60/40 against Cena for this one and I really think a majority wanted to see Orton retain. It was a slow and cautious start by both competitors and it eventually led to Orton gaining control and trying to wear down Cena. The crowd was molten for this match with dueling chants going back and forth and the excitement was just off the charts it seemed. Cena was able to make a small comeback, only to be stopped by Orton who got back in control of things. As expected though, Cena “hulked up” and was looking like Superman (to the increasing displeasure of the crowd), but Randy pulled a classic heel tactic and hit the referee for the DQ. Oh but this was only the beginning. Vince McMahon seemed to magically phone down to Lillian Garcia and the match was restarted with the stipulation that if Orton was DQ’d again, he would lose the belt. I seriously thought this totally choreographed a Cena win, but not so fast. Orton goes and gets counted out. And again, Vince rings the magic phone and restarts the match and now if Orton gets counted out again, he loses the belt. Orton runs back into the ring, ducks a shot from Cena, and then rolls him up with his feet on the ropes for a three count. Finally, this match is over. But here comes another ref who says that Orton’s feet were on the ropes and the match is restarted AGAIN. Are you kidding me? So the match continues and Cena has Orton locked in the STF in the middle of the ring. Match is over right? Again, not so fast. It seems as if a “fan” bum rushed the ring and jumped on the ref! Now I put “fan” in quotes because I believe it was a plant. Time will reveal if it was or not, but since the camera followed the guy being taken away up the ramp, I felt it was a dead giveaway that it was planned (this seems to be confirmed now and the "fan" was 21 year old Brett Dibiase). So finally after the confusion, Orton is able to able to drop Cena’s neck on the middle rope, slide in the ring, and hit an RKO for the victory. Now some people will say this was an overbooked mess, but I will lean more toward saying that it was cool to see the match end up being crazy and unpredictable. I will happily enjoy at least a few more weeks of Orton as champion, even thought it seems like Cena will be getting another shot somehow and will eventually take the belt from Orton.

World Heavyweight Championship (TLC Match): Jeff Hardy (c) vs. CM Punk
My prediction: CM Punk (new W.H.C.)
Actual result: CM Punk (new W.H.C.)
So it was time for the main event and this one started out slowly and continued to build throughout. Both Punk and Hardy were pulling out some really stiff shots with the “toys” they were given to play with. The bumps that they were taking were pretty good and the hot crowd continued. The match went back and forth fairly well. Punk got in some great chair shots and was able to dump Hardy off the ladder. Hardy was able to send Punk flying down through a table outside the ring and got in some stiff chair shots of his own. The match finally built up to the highlight and signature spot of the match. Hardy was able to use a TV monitor to lay out Punk on one of the announce tables. He then set up a ladder that had to be close to 30 feet I would say and he climbed to the top and hit a picture perfect Swanton right onto Punk. Medical personnel rushed down to the ringside area and tried to take them away, but Punk struggled back into the ring and Hardy soon followed. They both scaled the ladder and in the end, Punk was able to punch Hardy off of it and unhook the belt to become the new World Heavyweight Champion. This was a great match that deserved the main event spot and these two delivered. As predicted, Punk reclaimed the belt. As a final surprise, Punk was standing over a beaten Jeff Hardy when the lights went out and the gong rang through the arena. When the lights came back on, the Undertaker had replaced Jeff Hardy underneath the triumphant Punk and he ate a chokeslam to end the evening. So it seems like Jeff will be taking his break and the Undertaker will be the next challenger for the World Title.

Final thoughts: So at the end of the night, I finished 5-3 on my predictions. I thought that overall, the 2009 version of Summerslam did end up having a big show feel and for the most part, the action delivered. The crowd was great the entire evening and the wrestling was pretty good. I am very interested to see where things go from here and let’s hope that the WWE can build some momentum.

The Game’s Quick Hits

- Reports are saying now that Michael Vick is showing little rust as he returns to the NFL after 2 seasons. Philadelphia Eagles Offensive Coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said that Vick looks “pretty good” in the offensive and says that things are progressing. They are working with Vick to try and fine tune the small details that help win games and a final decision about whether Vick will play in Thursday’s preseason game should be made on Tuesday. Well if all this is true and if Vick provides an impact this year, the Eagles could become a big favorite to get to the Super Bowl and I bet the anger over his signing will subside quickly. Now reports are also saying that Vick is scheduled to appear at bankruptcy court in Newport News, VA Thursday morning at 9:30 am. He would have to then fly back to Philadelphia to make that evening’s preseason game. Sounds like a fun day for Mr. Vick…

- Roger Federer easily beat Novak Djokovic in straight sets, 6-1, 7-5, to win the Cincinnati Masters title. It appears that Federer is back in top form and deserving of the #1 ranking heading into the U.S. Open next week. With Nadal still trying to get his legs back under him, I think Roger is the heavy favorite to win his 16th grand slam championship. I definitely would not mind seeing Andy Roddick get another shot at him though after their epic Wimbledon final in July.

- The United States defeated Europe to retain the Solheim Cup for the 8th time and 3rd straight time overall. I am not a huge fan of woman’s golf nor do I really follow it, but I do have to give some respect and congratulations to the U.S. women for doing our country proud and winning this competition.

- Michigan Wolverine head football coach Rich Rodriquez was quoted yesterday saying that the team would use 3 different QBs in the season opener against Western Michigan on September 5. That seems like a pretty odd strategy unless the guy really doesn’t know what he has yet or unless he truly believes that he can utilize the talents of all 3 in different situations. Michigan football has been struggling to rebuild for a few years now and I don’t think this seems like a good move. I would think Rodriquez would want to try and develop one QB and hopefully have the whole team elevate with him this season and in seasons to come. The key to any successful offense is repetition and rhythm and I don’t see how you get that with 3 different QBs. But who knows, maybe this is just an early sign of more struggles to come or maybe he knows something everyone else doesn’t.

- Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Eric Bruntlett turned an unassisted triple play to end the game and preserve a 9-7 win over the New York Mets. He caught a line drive up the middle and then was able to touch 2nd base to double up one man and then tag the runner coming from 1st base as a double steal was on. It was only the 15th unassisted triple play in major league history and only the 2nd to end a game. The win improved Pedro Martinez’s record to 2-0 as well. Pretty cool feat to witness, so big props to Bruntlett as the Phils look like they are headed back to another NL East Division title and a shot at defending their World Series title.

- John Smoltz won his debut with the Cardinals, pitching 5 scoreless innings and striking out 9 in the 5-2 victory. Well, well, well…maybe I spoke too soon writing him off. If he can keep this up until the end of the season and help the Cards get into the playoffs and then transfer to the bullpen as the rotation shrinks for postseason play, then maybe St. Louis will look like geniuses for picking him up. The reward could be a trip to the World Series if all pans out well, but Smoltz will still need to prove he can consistently get people out.