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Andy Wheeler of “For Your Consideration†fame and I are pretty good friends. Lately, he’s been looking for a job, and, as such, reviewing every damn WWE show there is. This has left him a bit jaded toward the product, as most of it isn’t very good, and his negative Summerslam review certainly reflects that, especially when compared to my overwhelmingly positive Summerslam review. Let’s take a look at some specific points he made that I take issue with.
First is Mr. Wheeler’s assertion that Dolph Ziggler’s match wasn’t very good. I watched the show with a number of marks and/or pure WWE fans, and they all thought Ziggler came off looking like gold. He looked better in defeat in a very good match than he would in winning with some useless heel shenanigans. This isn’t TNA after all. Now, when he eventually beats Rey, it can be clean and mean more, truly elevating him the way it would have in the past when the IC belt meant more. Why not do it tonight? Well, besides that they can get more mileage out of this, Rey winning was intended to hype what is, in LA, always a sort of paper crowd who doesn’t react well. Did it work? Not great, but the crowd would have likely died for a Ziggler win, regardless of the chants earlier.
Next, Wheeler blames MVP vs. Swagger’s lack of quality on the previous match killing the crowd. Here, I call B.S. They hyped this to the heavens as a culture clash, which should mean the brawling of MVP vs. the technical prowess of Swagger. Both men went out and singularly failed to establish that. MVP’s “tough guy offense†consisted of fancy moves that didn’t look painful and pinning combinations like sunset flips. He isn’t ready for a top spot, at all. Swagger didn’t look great either, but at least he knew his role, focusing on mat work and power moves, while appearing fully cocky. MVP looked like a guy out there just doing moves without a reason and that’s a sure way to get the crowd to ignore you and turn on a match.
The DX match was not their usual affair, regardless of Wheeler’s assertion. DX gave an absolute ton to Legacy and by the end, everyone in the room but me thought Legacy had a shot to win. You and I watch way too much wrestling- of course we know better. Odds are if you’re reading here, you feel the same, but the intended, largest part of the audience saw Legacy take DX to the limit, working over and nearly beating a legend in Shawn Michaels and forcing Triple H to actually sell, something even guys like Orton and Cena only get in moderation. Was the match a classic? Lord no, but it was very good and easily the best thing Legacy have done in the WWE.
The WWE title match surely had a ton of shenanigans, but that can only be a good thing. WWE has backed away from stuff like this for a long time, so when it happens, it feels special. Further, we’ve seen various combinations of Orton and Cena enough that they’re simply not skilled enough wrestlers to make it feel different. The nonsense around the \finish made this feel different and that it happens so rarely made it feel memorable, both worthy traits for Summerslam. Finally, the fan was Brett Dibiase, so we get a new member of Legacy, coming soon.
Lastly, we have the main event. Wheeler states that the heat from this match ends on the Undertaker. That’s nonsense. The heat is with Punk, who went over Jeff Hardy clean and looks like a real main event guy for the first time in the WWE. He was just in one of the best matches of the year and killed a beloved babyface. There is a contingent of fans that are Jeff Hardy lovers that might be less inclined to tune in next Friday with Punk as the man. Introducing the Undertaker as Punk’s new opponent lessens, if not eliminates, that entirely. Punk now has an opponent who can hang with him in the ring, assuming WWE takes him seriously enough and who is over enough to make Punk look good even in defeat. Few men ever get to beat the Undertaker, but Punk is getting a good program with him that adds in a whole layer of credibility. Undertaker helped elevate everyone from Edge to Batista and is on a whole different level, as a legend, than Jeff Hardy was. By making Taker take notice, Punk looks like a real main eventer and a huge threat.
So, I loved Summerslam; Wheeler hated it. Where do you fall and why?
