Summerslam, almost Summerscam

Heading into the main event, I was determined to give the twentieth installment of the summer speculator know as Summerslam a thumbs down. John Cena defending the WWE title against Randy Orton saved the show in my opinion. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard a crowd that hot for a PPV main event. As noted in my live report, the fans didn’t really like pop for Randy Orton, but were eager for John Cena to drop the WWE title.

The live show opened with a match I could have lived without, Kane vs. Finlay. I presume this match was added in place of the originally scheduled Matt Hardy vs. MVP match. Decent opener, but it felt like a TV match. I would have preferred a good cruiserweight title match to open the show, or perhaps book one of your tag team champions to defend their titles. Now there is a thought!

The illegitimate McMahon storyline is getting old fast. Note to WWE writers, this angle doesn’t have any legs to stand on after burning it out on ECW, Raw and Smackdown each week. If the illegitimate child wasn’t going to be revealed, don’t play it up on the PPV.

Many of the booking decisions made me scratch my head. Umaga is a monster, and really doesn’t need the IC title to be over. I thought they set up a three way to allow Mr. Kennedy to pin Carlito, thus preventing Umaga to drop the title without being pinned or submitted. Having Kennedy get pinned made zero sense, especially if he’s going to be revealed as McMahon’s “son.”

They really hyped up the return of The Undertaker at Unforgiven, but only to return to face Mark Henry? Poor guy.

After seeing Rey Mysterio’s return, I understand why they saved his return until the PPV. I hate saying this, but it looked like the ghost of Rey Mysterio last night with his silver body paint. He denied doing steroids, and then returned with some extra belly fat? Please. I was glad they gave this match some time to a tell story. Many of the matches on the show were simply too short.

What can I say about the diva battle royal? This was one I’m glad they kept short. I guess the story is that they let the Amazon Beth Phoenix do her thing. Looks like she is in line for a much deserved push. I’m sick and tired of Melina prancing around the ring. I’m surprised they didn’t plug an appearance by Steve Austin at the PPV, although I’m a bit tired of him simply stunning people and drinking beer. Come on Steve, how about one more match? If you want Stone Cold to wrestle one final match, give me a hell ya!

With CM Punk failing to win the ECW title at Summerslam, the only thing that makes sense is for Punk to win the ECW title live on Sci Fi. I’m not buying Johnny Nitro as John Morrison. The gimmick clearly isn’t working, and his wrestling isn’t helping. This match was way too short, and had another lame finish. They wrestled for fifteen on TV, and we only get seven minutes on a $39.95 show?

I thought the King Booker vs. Triple H match was built around the battle of the kings. Why would Triple H come out to his usual “game” entrance music? At least for the night, let him use the “king of kings” song. Decent match, but lack luster considering the two superstars in the match. It was pretty obvious Triple H didn’t want to do much selling in his triumphant return.

Batista vs. The Great Khali didn’t belong on the PPV, in fact, The Great Khali doesn’t deserve to have a WWE contract. People want to complain about John Cena as champion? What about Khali? What a disgrace for a champion. A DQ finish? Awful finish to an awful match. Time to get Batista out of the title picture, he had his run, let’s move on. The worst part, looks like this program continues. Doh!

Yes, up until the main event, this show was a thumbs down. The main event saved the show, in fact, hats off to the live Continental Arena fans for making this match far more interesting than it really was. If you think about it, if Mr. Kennedy vs. Triple H is the tentative Wrestlemania main event, then why give the title to Randy Orton? Mr. Kennedy is a heel (and one would assume he would enter mania as the WWE champion), and they rarely promote heel vs. heel matches. Great main event, lots of near falls, and a very hot crowd! Yes, this match saved WWE a thumbs down rating.

Due to the main event, I will give Summerslam a thumbs in the middle. The undercard should have been far better, and as previously mentioned, all the backstage skits involving the Mr. McMahon illegitimate storyline hurt the show. I hope they reveal someone as Mr. McMahon’s kid soon, because I am tired of this ongoing storyline. Best match, hands down, the Cena-Orton main event.

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