WrestlingNerd Presents: WWE Summerslam Review

What is up wrestling fans, I am the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at WWE Summerslam. So, how would the second biggest PPV of the year do at the end of the day? Well, let's find out and start the review.

Match #1: Miz, R-Truth and Alberto Del Rio vs Rey Mysterio, John Morrison, and Kofi Kingston
We open up the show with a match that wasn't originally on the card. The Miz came out to talk about stealing the PPV until R-Truth interrupts. Truth talks about spiders, Cee Lo Green, and conspiracy. Truth is the only guy I know that can talk about all of those things at the same time and still look crazier than before? The match is underway. I thought this was an ok match. There was nothing about it that was amazing, but I felt it was a good enough match to get you into the PPV. There was a ton of chaos at the end of this match. The finish comes when Rey hits 619 on Truth, but Morrison hits a crossbody on Del Rio. Miz is about to interrupt Mysterio's finisher, but Kofi takes him out. After all of this, Mysterio hits the Top Rope Splash on Truth and wins the match. It makes sense for Mysterio to win this match since he has a title match tomorrow night on Raw, so I am fine with this. Again, I bet people will complain how there should have been other titles matches like a US Title or an IC title. Well, Night of Champions is the next PPV and they have to save something for that PPV. Gotta keep something in the back pocket for down the road, right? The match was filler, but it was a decent filler at that.

Winner via pinfall: Rey Mysterio, John Morrison, and Kofi Kingston

Backstage where CM Punk and John "Funkman" Laurinaitis are talking. Johnny Ace demands an apology for the kick Punk did earlier in the week. Punk is laughing this entire time and actually gives him a pretty sarcastic apology. Johnny Ace leaves, but Stephanie McMahon shows up. She wishes Punk good luck for tonight, but Punk can't seem to buy this. They banter for a while until she wants a hand shake, but Punk says he knows where that hand has been and leaves. Well....I guess that means Triple H had a pretty fun day prior to this event, right? Anyway, there was probably some foreshadowing with this scene, but it's too early to tell at the moment. There is more to discuss here, but I will wait until a little later in the review.

Match #2: Sheamus vs Mark Henry
For most of this match, Henry was dominating it. Eventually, the Celtic Warrior would fight back and try to make this a close contest. It wasn't an amazing match, but what Henry match is? I think considering their sizes, this was an ok match. WWE has to be doing something right if we are paying this close attention to Henry matches. The finish comes when Sheamus Brogue Kicks Henry out of the ring. He tries to get him back in the ring, but Henry grabs him and slams his back against the padding. He finally slams Sheamus through the barricade wall. Henry gets back in the ring and the count is still going. It looks like the audience is really getting behind Sheamus and he is almost there, but just can't make it back in time and Henry wins via countout. Again, I have a feeling people will complain about this finish, but here is the way I look at it. Up to this point, Henry has looked like a beast. He has faced off against Big Show and Kane and not even them could take him down. Then Sheamus appears and Henry wins via a countout. That basically tells me (at least in terms of storyline) that Sheamus pushed Henry to the limit and Henry barely escaped. This definitely sets up a rematch down the road, and maybe then we will see Sheamus pick up the clean win. And I honestly wouldn't mind seeing another Sheamus/Henry match because the two work pretty well together.

Winner via countout: Mark Henry

Backstage interview with Christian. He talks about how he has a plan and compares himself to Harry Potter because he can make magic happen. He also refers to Orton as Cowboys and Aliens, meaning he is overrated. I personally have never seen Cowboys and Aliens, so I can't really say if he is right or not. Still, he compared himself to Harry Potter? I can almost picture Harry saying "That's rubbish". Oh, and Cee Lo Green came out to sing a couple of songs. Too bad he couldn't sing the unedited version of "F*** You", but I suppose they had no choice since Parents of America would have complained about it.

Match #3: Kelly Kelly vs Beth Phoenix for the Divas Championship
Eve and Natalya were at ringside for this match. They didn't add anything to this match, so it was kinda pointless to have them there. This match went about the way I predicted. I said in the SD review for this week that the match would feature Beth dominating the majority of it, but Kelly sneaks out with a rollup to set up a rematch. Well, that's exactly what happened. Kelly did botch up the head scissors attempt in the early going, but I suppose that is what happens when she spins around Air Man before releasing it. Other than that, I didn't notice any major botches. The finish comes when Beth is about to hit Glam Slam, but Kelly sneaks a rollup and escapes. This setups a rematch for down the road since a rollup isn't a convincing victory. My prediction is before or at NoC, Kelly drops the title. I noticed towards the end of the match that the audience was starting to take a liking to Kelly. Did anyone else think the Los Angeles crowd was a bit disappointing tonight? I know its going to be tough to top the Chicago audience, but this audience was very mixed throughout the night and really didn't have a lot of energy at the end of the show.

Winner via pinfall and still Divas Champ: Kelly Kelly

Backstage where Stephanie is seen coming out of John Cena's locker room. Where is Truth when you need him...

Speaking of Truth, he's in the next backstage scene. Truth is talking to Jimmy Hart about the conspiracy while Jimmy is saying he understands what he's saying and thinks he needs a manager to guide him to the top. He wants to help Truth and it they are both on the same page. Truth then realizes his name is Jimmy and now thinks he's Little Jimmy. He instantly chases Hart away and then he leaves. He actually passed by Ron Artest and his daughter wondering what was that all about. Just a throw away comedy scene. I thought it was pretty funny.

Match #4: Daniel Bryan vs Wade Barrett
I was worried about this matchup. The reason being that Bryan and Wade have different in ring styles and not sure the chemistry would be there. Then again, I am also aware that Bryan is a great in-ring performer and can make a good match happen. This was a pretty damn good match that was given a decent amount of time. I think they got a chance to show off what both guys are capable of doing. I love the Side Slam Wade pulls off since there was a lot of action to build it up and it look devastating. Bryan does his best Captain Falcon impression by doing a charging knee attack. Bryan almost had the match when he locked in the Le Bell Lock, but Wade gets to the ropes. The finish comes when Wade pushes Bryan off the top rope and his cash and prizes are hanging on the ropes. Wade follows up with a top rope clotheslines, hits Waste Land, and wins the match cleanly. The way this match was going, it could have gone either way. I thought it was pretty interesting to have Wade win, but I actually agree with it. I have said since the beginning of the year that Barrett has lost a lot of momentum and he needs to get back on track. A victory tonight against a determined Bryan will hopefully get him back on the right track. As far as Bryan goes, the lose does hurt his stock a bit. However, it will be a while until Bryan is going to cash in MITB and they can still build him up properly to lead up towards the title. A small bump on the road for Bryan while we could be seeing Wade back on the rise. This also leads to the question if Bryan will lose his MITB briefcase to Wade, but I guess we will have to wait and see.

Winner via pinfall: Wade Barrett

Match #5: Christian vs Randy Orton; No Holds Barred Match for the WHC
Before the match started, Christian is on the mic. He says his best friend Edge is going to be in his corner. Edge arrives and says while he agrees that Christian got a raw deal for defending the title in a few days after winning, he has done nothing but bitch and moan about losing. He says Christian is way better than this and he is disappointed in him. He says he will always be his best friend, but he is a whining bitch and leaves. Well, so much for that plan? We finally get to the match and.....holy crap. This match was unbelievable. Randy and Christian always put up a good showing, and this might have been the best match in the rivalry. This was hands down the Match of the Night in my book. Lots of good stuff to see in this match. Christian choked out Orton with a kendo stick. Orton also did a devastating Irish Whip onto the steel steps. This one looked really brutal. Of course, it isn't a WWE PPV without the Spanish Announce table being destroyed. Orton RKOs Christian through the table. They are back in the ring and Christian finally hits the Killswitch, but only a two count. Christian goes for a con-chair-to attack, but misses and Orton sends Christian over the top rope and through a table. He eventually gets him back in the ring and slams him through another table. Orton also hit a DDT off a trash can and he finally ends the match by hitting an RKO off the steel steps. Damn, do you think that was enough Orton? I am surprised Christian is still able to walk after all of those attacks. How is Orton not arrested for manslaughter after tonight? Oh well, just another example of wrestling logic. Both guys really left it all in the ring and it was a fantastic match. I have said in the past I am not a fan of hardcore matches since they go overboard with weapons and the blood spots, but this one was different. This match had the right balance of weapon use and there was even a little blood on Orton's hand and mouth to add something to it. There was a moment during the match where Christian was starting to get some love from the audience. I thought that was pretty interesting. Overall, a great match that most likely ends the rivalry between the two. Based on Barrett's performance, he might be the next guy to challenge Orton. I admit I am not the biggest Orton fan, but I thought this was a great match and I actually don't have too much of a problem with him winning the title. How about that?

Winner via pinfall and NEW WHC: Randy Orton

Match #6: CM Punk vs John Cena for the WWE Undisputed Championship
There was a mixed reaction for both guys. This was a very technical match in the beginning, but that would eventually change. This was a good match, but not as good as the one in MITB. I always say its difficult to top the original. I think what didn't help was the audience. I don't know about you, but I felt the audience was dead at times and almost didn't know how to react to a spot. I always say what makes a match a classic is the audience participation. I knew it would be a challenge to top the Chicago audience, but LA wasn't into this match as I would have hoped. Maybe they were all tired out from the Christian/Orton match because they were really invested in that match, but not as much as this one. Still, this was a great match and if it weren't for the well done Christian/Orton match, this would be the match of the night. There was a moment where both guys locked in their submission finishers, but nothing. Both guys hit their finishers, but still nothing. Punk even paid homage to the late Macho Man Randy Savage with a Flying Elbow drop, but still a two count. The finish comes when Punk hits the GTS for the second time and pins Cena. Trips makes the count, but Cena's foot was on the rope. He doesn't see it and Punk has won the Undisputed Championship. When I first saw Cena's foot on the rope, I figured there had to be more to all of this. Well, it isn't over yet...

Winner via pinfall and NEW WWE Undisputed Champion: CM Punk

Punk is celebrating in the ring. Cena discusses things with Trips, but he eventually leaves. Trips wants to raise Punk's hand in victory, but Punk still can't trust him. Trips grabs his arm and raises it in the air and leaves. Yeah, I was surprised he didn't attack him.....BUT WAIT!!! As Punk is celebrating in the ring, Kevin Nash shows up out of the audience and attacks Punk. He hits the Jack Knife Powerbomb and leaves. Hunter sees all of this and runs towards the stands to find out what is going on. As he is doing this, Del Rio arrives and cashes in the MITB. The bell rings and Punk is still down. Del Rio hits an Enziguri and we have a new Undisputed Champ.....again. As Del Rio is walking away without much of a crowd response (not a good sign), Trips looks around and he is puzzled by all of this. The show ends with Del Rio celebrating his title victory while Punk is grabbing his face. Back in a second...

Winner via pinfall and NEW WWE Undisputed Champion: Alberto Del Rio

Well, a lot of activity to end the show, right? I am not really surprised Del Rio cashed in MITB. In fact, I once again called this in my last SD review. It made sense for Del Rio to cash it in, but I am a little shocked LA didn't give him much love. LA is a heavy Latino based community and I thought they would have been proud about Del Rio winning. Then again, LA is also a casual type audience and thus didn't cheer for Del Rio because he's a heel. Still, I would have expected SOME kind of a reaction for Del Rio's win, but he didn't get much outside of the generic response he usually gets. I have said that while I am a fan of Del Rio, he really needs to do something to really show he is worthy of all the attention. You think cashing in MITB against Punk would have helped, but he still didn't get much of a reaction. I really hope Del Rio can figure out something to get himself a bigger reaction or else he can see his push fade. I have to admit Nash showing up was a hell of a surprise. I think there is a lot more questions out of tonight than answers. Why would Nash attack Punk? My guess is he's either working with Del Rio because he likes money (funny since Nash's gimmick is about been about money. The real life Wario in wrestling) or he's working with Triple H. Another thing I was thinking is maybe he is working with Stephanie? It's always possible Trips and Steph are working together on all of this. Wouldn't surprise me since they are husband and wife. What was interesting is Trips not calling the fact Cena's leg was on the rope. When I first saw this, I thought this was another move of the WWE overprotecting Cena because he is the face of the company and they don't want him to lose cleanly. That all changed when I saw Nash attack Punk. It actually makes sense for Trips to maybe see Cena's foot but not call it. To be fair, Trips was in a good position to not see the foot on the rope, but you never know within a wrestling storyline. Anyway, he does this so he can try to get Punk to maybe trust him or drop his guard against the Game and instead focus on Nash. In reality, Hunter is really just setting up Punk by using Nash as a decoy so HE can plot his downfall. I think its smart since we can see some buildup for a Trips/Punk match down the road. After tonight, we have to look at Punk as a face since he basically got screwed over like a good guy would. There is just a lot of questions after tonight. Punk and Cena both have rematch clauses and we might see them get their shot at NoC. I find this to be good television because its unpredictable and I don't find it that challenging to follow....at least not yet. I just hope WWE doesn't make this storyline too complicated or else we could have a TNA-type problem on our hands. Not really sure how I would feel if Nash actually suits up for a match. I am a pretty big Nash fan, but not sure if he should be going at this stage of his career. Then again, he gets a lot more rest these days and because of that, he might have a few more matches left in him. Not sure where Cena falls in all of this? I don't think he would be apart of this....conspiracy (again, where's Truth when you need him?), or maybe he was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Then again, there was a scene in which Steph just came out of Cena's locker room, so you have to take that into consideration. This makes me want to watch the next episode of Raw because this is still very interesting. I know a lot of people are very unhappy since Del Rio walked out as champion. As a CM Punk fan, I am not thrilled about it either. I would have loved to see Punk roll with being champion for a while, but I understand what they are going for here and it makes sense. Maybe we will find out on Raw why Nash did the attack and maybe we see Trips continuing to set up Punk for an attack. I have a feeling there is going to be a point where Trips just snaps and destroys Punk in the middle of that ring. Overall, I am really enjoying this storyline and I always say just because things have taken an ugly turn doesn't mean it will end badly. Again, why do wrestling fans throw all of this hate after one event as opposed to just waiting until the next episode to find out what happens next? Wrestling has always been about telling stories and some stories take their time in getting to the interesting parts...or the not-so interesting parts. I bet after tonight people will think X-Pac and HBK will be coming back as well to bring back an old stable. Will it happen? Well, gotta tune in to find out...

Overall Impression:
I knew this PPV was going to have a tough time topping MITB. Still, WWE went out there and still put together a great show. In my opinion, this was probably the second best PPV I have seen all year. This PPV had a lot of stuff to watch. There was a pretty good opener, a funny segment, a passable divas match, an ok Sheamus/Henry match. Not to mention the Bryan/Barrett and the Punk/Cena matches were really well done and who can forget the awesome Christian/Orton match? We do have a lot more questions at the end of the day. Why did Nash did what he did? What is Steph's role in all of this? Was Cena aware of what was going on or was he the odd man out? Is Hunter setting up Punk and plans to destroy him because of what he has said towards his family? Yeah, a lot of questions, but I am heavily invested in what will happen and cannot wait to see Raw tomorrow night. We also have a Del Rio has the new WWE Champion, so it will be interesting to see what he can do with the title. Time to see if Del Rio is ready to hold the big one. This might be a make or break moment for Del Rio's career since WWE has invested a lot of time and money on him. I just hope Del Rio still has a trick or two in the bag to make himself be hated or else we could be seeing another Jack Swagger. I would definitely recommend ordering this PPV because I thought it was pretty fun to watch. Heck, none of the matches were bad and we had some classic matches, what more can you ask for? This is also a PPV I can say it would be worth checking out when it becomes available on DVD. For the overall grade of Summerslam on a scale of 1-10...hmm? Remember, I don't do decimal points since decimal points are for people who can't make up their minds and 5 is average on my show. I am going to give Summerslam a 9 out of 10, meaning it's was an awesome show and I highly recommend checking it out. I wonder if Nash will show up and thus we have a mic battle between Punk and Nash? That would be pretty cool. I am also curious to know what Cena thinks about all of this considering his foot was on the rope. Of course, we also can't forget what Triple H has to say about all of this. Heck, Maybe Johnny Ace hired Nash to attack Punk? It's a possibility. Well, that's going to do it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. As always, tell me what you thought of my review and tonight's show. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show, see you next time and this s*** just got real.

WrestlingNerd's Official WWE Summerslam score: 9 out of 10


WrestlingNerd's Favorite Match of the Night: Christian vs Randy Orton; No Holds Barred Match for the WHC