WWE: SummerSlam – The hot and the cold
The new Stone Cold?
We’re done with SummerSlam, and have also seen the fall – out of the PPV the next night on Monday Night RAW. We’ve seen and heard the fans blowing a gasket after Daniel Bryan lost the WWE title to Randy Orton this past Sunday. I’ve written an article about how it is for the better, as it can make Daniel Bryan the next Steve Austin due to the sympathy it has garnered for the superstar, and has increased his stake in the company. Many see it as Triple H burying Bryan, but it might (and should) lead to a bigger program going forward with Bryan taking on the corporation and exacting his revenge on Triple H and Randy Orton, much like Austin did with Vince McMahon 15 years ago.
In this article, I don’t debate about how Orton’s win isn’t a bad thing (And I find him bland and boring, just to be clear), but see the positives (The hot) and the negatives (The cold) from the PPV. There were certain interesting things which happened this past Sunday, and I try to analyze the good, bad and ugly. So without further ado, let’s get down to business.
The Hot: The best versus the beast
It is only fair to start with the match of the night, which was the brawl between CM Punk and Brock Lesnar. Going into the PPV, I wrote that this would likely steal the show, and won’t be a “wrestling clinic”, but will be an all out brawl between the two phenomenal athletes, and it was just that. These two incredible performers went at it for about thirty minutes and put on a classic brawl, which the Los Angeles crowd absolutely loved. It was also done in such a way as to further the story between Punk and Heyman, and Punk’s obsession with hurting Heyman costing him dearly in the end. It was also the perfect finish, with Lesnar picking up the victory, so that the door would be open for a return match sometime in the future to close the feud. The bout was exceptional, and left the fans salivating for more. Punk received a standing ovation at the end, which reminded me of Chris Benoit back at Royal Rumble in 2003 after his match with Kurt Angle.
The Cold: No Intercontinental championship match
Remember when the match for the Intercontinental championship closed the ’92 SummerSlam PPV in front of a record 80, 000 + crowd at Wembley? 20 years from then, the Intercontinental title is nothing more than a prop for an individual to hold. The Intercontinental champion, Curtis Axel couldn’t find a place on the card, even though the Divas were involved in two separate matches. Call me old fashioned, but I’d want to see the prestigious title being defended on the PPV instead of silly matches just to promote the ‘Total Divas’ show.
The Hot: World Heavyweight championship match
If you wonder why I’m such a huge fan of Christian, this past Sunday’s match for the World title would’ve given you an answer. Christian is one of the best workers in the business, and can have a good to great match with anyone on the roster, and he did just that with the World champion Alberto Del Rio. Although Christian wasn’t successful in winning the title, he ended up putting on a solid match with Del Rio, which got the crowd chanting that it was awesome. I would like to see Christian win the World title and have a long, meaningful run at least once before he calls it quits.
The Cold: No Shield on the main card
What was so bad other than the United States championship match being on the pre – show? The other two members of The Shield didn’t have a match either, being the WWE Tag Team champions. It is a testament to how ridiculously WWE books its second tier champions when the Intercontinental champion, the US champion and the WWE tag team champions can’t find a spot on the main card. The US title match had a DQ finish as I previously predicted, and it doesn’t speak well about the faction which was on fire about two months ago.
The Hot: WWE championship match
Daniel Bryan took on John Cena for the WWE championship, and the match turned out to be one of Cena’s best matches in the WWE. Daniel Bryan brings out the best in his performers, and similar to Cena – Punk, these two had good chemistry which made it all the more memorable. Although people have their own opinion about the finish, it made a lot of sense. Anyway, the WWE title match delivered in all the departments, and Bryan’s title win ushered a new era in the WWE, although it didn’t turn out to be the Bryan era.
The Cold: The Ring of Fire match
I almost cringed at how the match went about. The inferno match was one of the most anticipated, and usually brutal (At least in theory) bouts in the past, but the Ring of Fire match was the exact opposite. It was under whelming to say the least, but now that Kane is out of the picture, it will be interesting to see what’s in store for the Wyatt Family.