Summerslam is billed as the second biggest PPV behind Wrestlemania, and as such you should expect somewhat of a "big fight" atmosphere- which we had in abundance last year and prior years. However for 2014 Summerslam it seemed like "just another PPV", or a really good episode of RAW.
Here's how I perceived this PPV;
Pre-Show- RVD v Cesaro
I wasn't interested in this match at all, and I honestly don't know why they decided on doing this match, especially considering The Usos and The Wyatts were reduced to lumberjacks in a midcard match after they tore the house down at Payback so as such I don't have an informed opinion on the match itself. However the outcome of the match in my opinion means we're going to see Cesaro relegated to the position he was found in before he aligned with The Real Americans, which considering where many people viewed him in the aftermath and build to Wrestlemania its clear we can say they've dropped the ball... AGAIN!
IC Title- The Miz v Dolph Ziggler
First and foremost I was surprised they decided to open the show with this match, considering it had very little build in comparison to some other matches. But they clearly wanted to open the match with an old school Wrasslin match, and the match was really good- and I'm very happy for Dolph. However The Miz's gimmick required a Title in my opinion for it to really get over, and Miz is an entertaining heel act. The babyface has already won in this feud, this means aside from the rematch clause Dolph has to move onto another feud as a babyface. Although the IC Title won't be featured prominently, it should still have some kind of storyline behind it as it should occupy a PPV spot every month. With the exception of The Miz I Can't name many, if any Heels that would be high up enough to challenge for the strap, whilst also either not being in a feud or simply are "too good" for the belt. As said earlier it looks like Cesaro is going to plummet down the card and BNB is out until January as far as I'm aware. So in short, I'm happy for Dolph but I think they did it as a quick pop from the crowd which they didn't really think through.
Divas Title- A.J. v Paige
Looking back I should of seen this coming. For some reason I assumed A.J. would get another lengthy title reign feud with a few more NXT Women such as Charlotte. However I forgot he bane of the WWEs existence- Total Divas was coming back in roughly a month. Every Diva who's on Total Divas with the exception of Cameron AT THIS POINT is a Babyface so naturally it would make more sense to put the strap on a heel and build them up so when a Total Diva wins the strap it would mean more. I also think A.J. is close to done with the company, I think she sees the writing on the wall with regard to her relationship with a certain Walking Dead Enthusiast, and as such knows she'll be close to buried pretty soon. Especially with Total Divas coming back as soon as it is which'll mean the focus will shift even more of the Wrasslers in the Diva Division.
Flag Match (Not Really)- Rusev v Jack Swagger
First off, IT WASN'T A FLAG MATCH. If I'd known the stipulation attached to this match was what it was I'd of predicted Rusev because they wouldn't of had him pin or submit. However I assumed stupidly, that a FLAG MATCH would involved grabbing a flag and therefore thought it was a means whereby they could get the patriotic pop without making Rusev lose much credibility. But of course WWE had to over complicate things and as a result we had Swagger passing out to the Accolade.
Lumberjack Match- Dean Ambrose v Seth Rollins
This match had the most potential with regard to the unknown element of the Lumberjacks, however I'd of made the Lumberjacks exclusively out of people The Shield killed in order to create some intrigue every time they went outside the ring. However first and foremost, Those were some crap lumberjacks. Suspension of disbelief is one thing another is having Ambrose and Rollins work their way through roughly 15 men on multiple occasions. I also don't know why they picked the finish that they did, I understand them wanting Rollins to go over, however this card was ridiculously heel heavy with regard to match outcomes, the only thing I can rationalise this with is they're going to sell an injury angle so Ambrose can go and do his film.
Chris Jericho v Bray Wyatt
Firstly- Match of the Night. In my opinion the Lumberjack stipulation limited the prior match. As such this was my match of the night. It was far from perfect and there were some notable botches, however this match told the best story in my opinion with regard to Wyatt never staying down epitomized by when Jericho went to do the Lionsault and Bray went into the spider walk spot. Bray cutting a promo in the middle of the match also added to the intrigue surrounding him and will leave him in good stead for the future. The only negative about this match was the manner in which Bray went over. I believed he would go over in some way which would make the rubber match even more obvious. However Bray has already gone over cleanly, so as a result the rubber match at Night of Champions (assuming that is what they're building to) will have exactly the same outcome as before and hurt Jericho to an extent.
Stephanie McMahon v Brie Bella
Ok, Who didn't see that coming? The less said about the match quality the better- but it was never expected to be the greatest technical masterclass ever. However the way they built to the finish detracted so much because they might as well of had Lawler shouting HEY, SHE'S GOING TO SCREW HER SISTER IN A FEW MINUTES, as soon as we saw her come into the picture. However this wasn't by any means the worst match of the night because the crowd care about Stephanie, they wanted to see her get her ass kicked, and if I was booking I'd keep teasing Stephanie getting killed by someone until Wrestlemania when we can get a blowoff where Stephanie is obliterated by someone.
Randy Orton v Roman Reigns
Remember I said Stephanie v Brie wasn't the worst match of the night? Yeah this was it. The crowd are seemingly getting tired of Reigns before he's even had his mega push which he's seemingly going to get within the next year. I don't understand primarily why they've had Reigns get the massive singles push right off the back of The Shield breaking up. Simply put, he isn't ready yet. He's gone from being the "hot tag" guy in 6 man tags, to wrestling 15minute matches on a PPV, and even an opponent the calibre of Orton seemingly can't drag a good match out of him. I also believe this match was hurt by its placement on the card. The spot they found themselves is usually as a palate cleanser between the two main events, as such the crowd REALLY weren't into the match.
WWE Championship- Brock Lesnar v John Cena
I think we just saw the first 20 minute squash match. Brock Lesnar is a big draw, he brings with himself a Big Fight atmosphere and you expect to see a ridiculously physical match, and in this circumstance you expected Cena to give Lesnar everything and Brock to F5 him 1-2-3. Firstly I believe this match was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long for the way they booked it as a glorified squash, but in turn they booked themselves into a corner because we couldn't have a 10 minute match close the second biggest PPV of the year. It just felt really underwhelming to me, In my opinion for the match to have a greater impact we should of been made to think Cena was going to overcome the odds. We didn't get that and instead we got a match which wouldn't of been out of place on a RAW midcard if you took the zero off of the time they had.
Match of the Night: Jericho v Wyatt
Worst Match of the Night: Reigns v Orton
Thanks again for reading
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