So there’s the big Summerslam PPV coming up this weekend. And for all intents and purposes, the main selling point of this entire pay-per-view is the Champion Vs. Champion main event between John Cena and CM Punk. The recent success enjoyed by CM Punk in recent weeks – especially during the weeks prior to the Money In The Bank PPV when it was assumed that Punk was legit leaving the company – had given WWE some notability and perhaps, the makings of a new face in a main-event circle that is desperately in need of fresh faces. It would certainly be interesting to see what they do with the newly reinvigorated CM Punk now that he’s hot – but as I have witnessed in prior occasions, WWE has a knack for screwing up hot angles with stupid decision making and it would be foolhardy for me to just kick back, relax, and enjoy the show without some ping of doubt that this is going to end well.
And of course, HHH being the glory hog that he is, inserts himself as the special referee… because, you know, we couldn’t have a hot angle go through WWE without HHH’s interfering mitts. And whenever HHH is involved in something, you can be damn well sure that the focus is eventually (if it isn’t already) going to be mostly on him. It’s perhaps one of the reasons why I’m partially thankful for HHH’s near-year-long hiatus in 2010; because it meant giving the Nexus a chance to shine and turn into something big without the McSon-In-Law showing up at some point to bury the angle… of course, he didn’t need to worry. John Cena overcame the odds and took care of the burying just fine without He of The Three Hs’ help.
And for whatever it’s worth – despite my feeling that this thing had been rushed just to get a big main event at the “hottest show of the summer” or whatever the tagline is, I’d have to say that the promo work throughout this run is rather exceptional and I’m actually enjoying watching these guys yak in the ring for twenty minutes. Even John Cena, whose promos, in my mind at least if no one else, have ranged from jack to shit in terms of quality, impressed me with some solid work to keep up with Punk’s pipebombs, so to speak. And while I usually don’t care for long needless diatribes that put me to sleep (example being anything involving HHH), the past couple weeks worth have been rather nice and it evokes a feeling that I hadn’t felt in years as far as promos go. It’s a phrase I toss around quite a bit, but I mean it this time around. They’re that good.
Interesting thing about this year’s Summerslam is that there are only five matches announced on the card. Aside from some time devoted to some musical act that I don’t care about, that’s not a whole lot of matches for a three-hour PPV. Makes me wonder if they’re trying to put more focus on the wrestling aspect of the product with longer matches… or if they’re going to fill the show with pointless fillers and last-minute additions of matches better suited for a WWE Superstars taping than a PPV show, much less one of the big ones.
The No-Holds-Barred match between World Champion Christian and Randy Orton certainly has an interesting storyline going for it. An almost genius move was done last month when the whole stipulation of champion losing his title on a DQ actually came into play as opposed to just being extra dressing… not to mention that the ending made sense, as Christian managed to get Orton so angry that he would get himself DQ’ed as a result. Really smart booking here, almost logical storytelling, and it only makes sense that this encounter would be no holds barred. And for all of the noise made by people angry when Christian lost his first WWE World Title to Randy Orton a couple days after winning it in a feel-good moment a few months back, I think it’s safe to say that nobody expected Christian and Orton to be having FOUR PPV encounters… in a row, no less. And from what I’ve been hearing, the matches they’ve been having were actually pretty good… the only one I saw was the one where RKO won the title and it was a pretty solid match. So clearly, they’re doing something right if they’re headlining several of these PPVs.
The Divas Title match is something that I honestly don’t care about… it’s something that I’m probably never going to care about. With that having been said, I kinda like how the more competent “wrestler-like” women such as Beth Phoenix and Natalya are joining together to take out the “pretty girls” infesting the group. It’s probably not enough to make me care, considering there aren’t that many “wrestler-like” women among the group of interchangeable Barbie dolls that are being passed off as sexy, smart, and powerful. Personality, on the other hand, is an attribute that is not necessary in the Divas division.
So apparently, Sheamus is a babyface and they’re also trying to make Mark Henry a force to be reckoned with… again. I think it’s sad when they try to push Mark Henry as a monster and the only reaction I get is… “What? Again?” Perhaps it’s just a sign that I’ve been watching this stuff for far too long when my most memorable Mark Henry moment is Mae Young giving birth to a hand, thus rendering any attempts to convince me that this guy is totally a monster null and void. Still, he’s being portrayed somewhat imposing, so there’s that. If anything, he’s a suitable villain for Sheamus’ new heroic status.
Finally, we got Daniel Bryan Danielson and Wade Barrett in a match. Not really a whole lot to say on this one, but it should be a good little match at least because Daniel Bryan Danielson is in it. Fairly good chance that this is what they open the show and if that’s the case, then at least there’s going to be a solid match to open the show.
So, Summerslam should be an interesting show, with a lot riding on it. It’s following up on a relatively minor PPV in Money In The Bank that ended up being not only one of the most hyped shows, but managed to exceed expectations with an exceptional show that evoked a big-event feel that was sorely lacking at this year’s EntertainmentMania. Here’s hoping that Summerslam follows that road of excellence.
See? I can be optimistic… when I can.
Here are my picks…
Daniel Bryan Danielson vs Wade Barrett
Pick: Bryan
Winner: Barrett (0-1)
Kelly Kelly vs Beth Phoenix
Pick: Kelly
Winner: Kelly (1-1)
Sheamus vs Mark Henry
Pick: Sheamus
Winner: Mark Henry via countout (1-2)
Orton vs Christian
Pick: Christian
Winner: Orton (1-3)
Cena vs Punk
Pick: Cena
Winner: Punk (1-4)
Bonus matches:
Some six-man tag match and ADR’s cashing in to win the title. Yip.
dtm666 