WWE SummerSlam Review

Back in the day SummerSlam was sold as the hottest event of the Summer however in recent years I think it has lost it’s magic and it’s importance. To me SummerSlam is now just another monthly PPV which was proved by a gimmick match with no title at stake being booked as the main and two horrible title matches which haven’t been hyped. So with this in mind here are my thoughts on the show.

Good Points

Development of Jericho / HBK feud

Now everyone with an ounce of intelligence knows that HBK isn’t going to retire and him coming out to announce his retirement was just a way to get even more heat on Jericho and to add to it they have brought HBK’s wife in the mix. As Jericho went to confront HBK he accidentally hit HBK’s wife instead which will goad HBK to change his mind to defend the honour of his wife. The way that have brought his wife back I think that she is going to end up turning on HBK to add even more spice to this feud which could be the feud of the year.

Batista vs John Cena

I thought these two for the suppose little wrestling talent they have put on a superb match which was really entertaining and left you wanting more. By not having JBL win the title they needed a heel to go against CM Punk and this match did good at turning Batista in to a heel as he did everything that good heel does in the match. The only problem is besides another feud with JBL where does this leave Cena?

Bad Points

Two worst title matches ever

A major PPV should revolve around the title matches but it was the two non title main event matches that stole the show. By putting both of the matches early in the card this event devalued the belts in my eyes as the championship match should always be the match people come to see and the match people go home talking about.

Hell in a Cell

Now if you watch the original Hell in a Cell between HBK and Undertaker you will see an impressive match with lots of psychology which kept you on the edge of your seat without any major spots. Then you had the spots in the Hell in a Cell between Undertaker and Mankind that will never be topped. So to do a good entertaining Hell in a Cell match is very hard. When these two had a brilliant story to tell they instead had a match that was geared round a couple of spots which compared to the Mankind match weren’t that impressive.

Overall

A PPV that will soon be forgotten about and that lacked substance. There are too many titles in the WWE right now which only goes toe devalue them and dilute them and they need to cut back on the number of title matches on a PPV. When my highlight of the night was a non wrestling section it kind of tells you all you need to know.

My SummerSlam Predictions

Jeff Hardy vs. MVP

MVP is stuck going nowhere at the minute, at one point I thought they may give him a main event push but seem to be stalling with him here. This match does nothing for either guy really, I expect Hardy to get the win in his first major Smackdown feud and help propel him further up the card on Smackdown.

Mark Henry vs. Matt Hardy

Matt Hardy is going to be the new face of ECW so I expect him to win this one. To have him lose would ruin his position and with him winning Mark Henry can always have a rematch which would keep ECW moving nicely for the next month.

Kofi Kingston and Mickie James vs. Santino Marella and Beth Phoenix

I know WWE are really starting to push Santino and Beth as a couple so I wouldn’t be surprised to see the titles changing here. Love the concept for the match by having singles titles on the line in a tag match. Mickie James has got stale as champ and I’m not sure if Kofi is ready for a title yet but it will be a bold move by the creative team to switch both titles in one night.

John Cena vs. Batista

Since coming back and winning the Rumble Cena really hasn’t done much he has lost at Mania and on PPV to JBL. He really needs a win to get it back on track but WWE seem to be really pushing Batista at the moment. With this in mind I would probably go with a Batista win.

CM Punk vs JBL

I love CM Punk but with the undercard that Raw has at the moment with John Cena and Batista both being seen as faces it makes sense for JBL to win the title here to set up a feud with either or. CM Punk is only a transitional champ and has held the title for longer than I expected him to.

Triple H vs. The Great Khali

Word is that Khali is soon to be done with wrestling and after being booked in a shocking match I don’t think they are going to have the belt taken off Triple H as well. With no title change here it then makes sense for this title to stay the same.

The Undertaker vs. Edge

Makes no sense for The Undertaker to lose although when people get built up in a match for not being able to lose they normally have them lose to build the other guy. If Edge wins it will be a screw job type finish but my money is still on an Undertaker win.

One more thing to look out for

When Randy Orton got injured WWE originally said SummerSlam as his return date and this week there have been many stories circulating about Orton getting injured which could be a cover story for the fact that he will be at SummerSlam. If he is to get involved anywhere it will either be in the John Cena / Batista match or Hell in a Cell.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 15th August 2008

It being the last Smackdown before SummerSlam I was expecting to see some great build up for Edge vs Undertaker which should headline the show.

Good Points

HHH actually has a wrestling match

Was good to see HH actually wrestling on Smackdown all it be it in a throwaway match against Kenny Dykstra. The match set up the situation for HHH to get Khali in to the ring who was watching from the outside and lay a beat on him which is all good build for SummerSlam.

Good build for MVP vs. Jeff Hardy

Although this match will do for their future career the build has been really good for this one. I feel the animosity from MVP and can’t wait to see the match. This week MVP cost Hardy the US title as he had Shelton beat but Hardy still managed to lay a beating on MVP. MVP followed this up by later cutting a great promo on Hardy.

Bad Points

Match order

For the last match of the card to be Kozlov vs. Festus is shocking there is no way that should ever be a last match of any show. They should have saved either HHH or the Hardy vs. Shelton Benjamin match for last.

Too many new guys

This week we had Scotty Goldman who many wrestling fans will know as Colt Cabana, Bryan Braddock and Kenny Dykstra who may not be new but has not be on TV for some time. I love Colt or should I say Kenny but the rest I’m not a big fan of. If you are going to bring new faces in the fold you have to do this gradually not all at once.

Overall

It was like wrestling the 90s when the big named stars use to wrestle local jobbers. The show lacked any entertainment and quality, it was of house show standard at best.

WWE Raw Review - 11th August 2008

With this being the last Raw before SummerSlam I wa hoping the creative team were going to do something to get me interested in the Raw side of the card.

Good points

Nice build for CM Punk vs. JBL

These two should have been giver a larger chunk of the show but they did well with what they had. With JBL you are almost guaranteed a great build up if he is allowed to play his bully character. It was nice how they wove CM Punk’s straightedge character in t it with the liquior challenge and CM Punk throwing it back in JBL’s face.

Good build for Kofi/Mickie vs Santino/Beth

I’m really looking forward to this match. The concept is great they have Santino who is great on the mic and some guys who can really work. They promoted well on Raw with Santino challenging Mickie James to a atch winning it and then celebrating like he had won Gold at the Olympics.

Another solid outing for William Regal

Before his last suspension Regal wasn’t given much inring time but since his return he has been my winner of match of the night on all the Raw’s he has wrestled on. I just hope they get give him more mic time again soon as to build himself properly he needs both in ring time and mic time.

Bad Points

Kane’s bag containing Rey’s mask

In a terribly executed swerve we finally found out what Kane had been hiding in his bag which turned out to be Rey’s mask. With rumours that he may be departing soon I’m not surprised if WWE may want to kill his character off. The problem with this was its execution. A great swerve is one that you didn’t see coming but when you look back on it makes logical sense which this one didn’t. It just again smacked of last minute thinking by the creative team.

Poor build for Cena vs Batista

This match has been so poorly handled it’s untrue. This match should have been saved for Wrestlemania or if they were going to do it have it be for a heavyweight title and have a brilliant storyline to go with it. Try as they might this week on Raw they didn’t generate any interest to me as they both gave weak in ring promos to a mixed crowd response and went off air having lost the tag titles.

Lack of substance

For a Raw before one of the four biggest PPV’s of the year there wasn’t enough substance for me, not enough meaningful matches and not enough storyline development. With time given to Kelly Kelly, The Highlanders, Cryme Time, Jamie Noble, William Regal and Rhodes & DiBiase it broke up the hype for SummerSlam as they are not on the cardas and more time should have been given to the eight Raw stars that are on the card for SummerSlam.

Overall

A pretty boring episode of Raw which didn’t feature enough good non-wrestling segments. The only match on the Raw side I am really looking forward to is the mixed tag and that’s saying something.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 8th August 2008

After not being too impressed with recent editions of Smackdown I was hoping this week would see an upturn as we get closer to SummerSlam.

Good Points

Edge going off the rails

Edge is doing a brilliant job at the moment playing this out of control guy who has been pushed over the Edge by the fact that he has been put in Hell in a Cell with the Undertaker and is slowly going crazy. He is carrying Smackdown at the moment with the highlight this week of him turning on Chavo and delivering a beatdown on him whilst scaring Vickie half to death. The greatest thing about though is the logic put behind it with Edge saying he has to get himself this on Edge to survive Hell in a Cell.

Creative team taking a leaf out of TNA’s book with the Undertaker

It looks WWE creative read this blog as they followed my ideas from last week of having the WWE do a similar thing that TNA is doing with Sting. This week they had people being found laid out all over the building with a black rose left by every beaten man as the calling card of the Undertaker. It is a great way of hyping his return without him being on the show.

Bad Points

Worst title match for some time

HHH vs. Great Khali is going to be the worst match in PPV history at SummerSlam. Khali can’t wrestle and HHH has done nothing to sell the feud. With it being the title feud and involving HHH thy only give it under ten minutes in the middle of the show for an arm wrestling contest between the two to hype the match. I have never been this uninterested with a heavyweight title match in my entire life.

Wrestling quality continues it’s downwards spiral

If it wasn’t for Jeff Hardy and Shelton Benjamin saving the show it would have been a dire night on Smackdown for wrestling. The thing that made Smackdown unique and made me want to watch is that time was given to quality matches featuring quality wrestlers but that doesn’t sem to be the case anymore.

Overall

I think Hell in a Cell will steal the show at SummerSlam but nothing else much excites me on Smackdown at the moment, the hype of the good names acquired in the draft seems to have worn off and if Edge was to win an Oscar for his wrestling performance as lead guy best supporting wrestler wouldn’t go to anyone at the moment.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 1st August 2008

After an exciting Raw with a terrible ending I was looking forward to seeing what Smackdown were going to offer this week and to see if they could put on an exciting show with a better finish.

Good Points

Big Push for Hardy / MVP Feud

The creative team are really getting behind this feud which is good to see. The direction may not have been the best with the feud being based on MVP’s problems with Hardy’s past which not many casual fans would have known about but these two should put on a good match at SummerSlam.

Two other feuds developed

With Mr. Kennedy scoring a non title victory over Shelton Benjamin and with Umaga interfering after Big Show’s match it looks like we have three strong undercard feuds for SummerSlam.

Hawkins and Ryder getting promo time

Was good to see Hawkins and Ryder getting more backstage promo time. After getting the titles I would like to see them in more tag matches on Smackdown but at least thy are getting something.

Bad Points

No HHH again

Ok HHH has a reason no to be on TV after the birth of his and Stephanie’s new child but his absence is costing Smackdown. As Khali can’t sell anything by himself as he has no promo skills he needs HHH to be there.

No Undertaker

With Edge doing his best in his character of being pushed over the edge by recent events and acting a bit crazy but he needs the Undertaker on Smackdown to really make the build up memorable. Even if they did the same that TNA are doing with Sting with lights going out and people getting beaten up it would be something.

Overall

The undercard feuds look great but for one of the major four PPV’s of the year more should have been done to push the two main event feuds. Don’t get me wrong Edge vs. Undertaker in Hell in a Cell is guaranteed to be awesome but to get the hype and the buys they need to push it.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 25th July 2008

After missing Raw because of some technical hitches with my Sky+ box I was looking forward to my only WWE fix of the week. I just hoped Smackdown could deliver.

Good Points

Push for Hawkins and Ryder

Great to see these two getting pushed as on the show they were seen snubbing Edge and then Hawkins had a one on one match with Festus.

Good Video for Ron “The Truth” Killings

Very nice video promo for Ron, hopefully he can make a bigger impact on Smackdown than last time round when he was K-Kwick and part of the X-Factor.

Good video package

Was good to see a nice video package for Edge and Vickie to the start the show off with to show all the history that has been going on.

Bad Points

Terrible match order

Not only was the match quality terrible but the order was crazy with the last match of the night being Kendrik vs. Shannon Moore. On top of this we had outings from Jimmy Wang Yang, Stevie Richards and Festus. This is suppose to be the wrestling show!

Khali is going to SummerSlam

Can’t believe the WWE is pushing the Great Khali again as he won a shot at HHH at SummerSlam. WWE must be desperate for that Indian market that’s all I’ve got to say.

Again no real use of HHH

Triple H’s involvement this week consisted of coming down to the ring after Great Khali’s match to square up against him. This guy is doing less than Samoa Joe in TNA at the moment and that’s saying something.

Overall

Best thing about the show was pre-taped videos, that says everything really.