The annual summer spectacular talked a good game, but when it came to the crunch, it couldn’t step out of the shadow, left by NXT the night before. Great matches were ended poorly, including the match of the summer.
The WWE crowd need to lighten up
I’m a big believer in ‘if you pay your money, you can boo or cheer until you hearts content’, However the WWE crowds are really starting to bury matches on the ppv cards. If we look at the NXT event from the night before, HHH came out, whipped up the crowd and let them go. They supported every match. Some weren’t as good as others but the crowd carried them through. The highpoint was the reaction to the four horsewomen, as they broke kayfabe and had their ‘cliq’ moment in the middle of the ring. Of course the preceding match earned this right. Fast forward 24 hours and tree of these women were involved in the Summerslam match. I don’t know whether the crowd think they are being cool by not getting involved the same way, or just being snobs. The truth is many would have attended both events. To go from bringing the house down the night before, to the usual ‘meh’ at a WWE event, leaves a bad taste. It’s a fact the match wasn’t as good, but the crowd can play their part too. It’s the same story when anything doesn’t go their way. Ever since the yes movement, some elements of the crowd think everything should go their way. If this was the case Ric Flair would never have been a star. You need the heels, and you need the heat from the crowd. Learn to accept it.
Seth Rollins is a Cena fans nightmare
Last night Seth Rollins outperformed John Cena. Dressed like a reject power ranger Rollins, pulled out some incredible moves. Cena, despite his persona, could recently claim to be the best performer in the matches he has had. Not this time. Rollins hit suicide planchas, standing shooting star presses and a frog splash the late Eddie Guerrero would have been proud of. He matched Cena for strength and played it full face for the whole match. No cheap tricks and no heel tactics. Cena for the first time this year looked old. He messed up he springboard stunner again and looked to be feeling the effects of his nose surgery. The only thing that spoiled this match was the ending. On paper, having John Stewart run out, turn heel and give Seth the win, sounds like a classic ending. In reality, it was poorly timed and Stewart blew his chance at making it work. He ran to the ring too quickly, looked like he didn’t know how to hold a chair and let the moment pass. He needed to wait at ringside, get in as the two wrestlers were getting to their feet, then sell the betrayal. It all looked a bit rushed. I’m sure Stewart being the big fan he is, just got carried away. Unfortunate more than anything.
Undertaker can still do it
What a match. Brock blasted Taker right from the start and taker blasted right back. This was a good old fashioned war not seen since the Stone Cold days. Taker has been built up to be this incredible striker. To be fair I don’t remember this angle before, but against Lesnar it worked. The grappler versus the striker. They beat each other bloody and it looked incredibly stiff. Lots of the early shots connected and both men clearly enjoyed being let loose in the ring. Finishers were hit, Lesnar was bust open and the Undertaker hit every one of his traditional moves, even the rarely seen last ride. Lesnar was his usual self, his highlight F-5 through the announce table was delivered fast and without set up. Then we got to the end game. Lesnar sat up laughing at the pain he was in and Taker followed suit. They rolled on the floor and Lesnar locked in his arm bar. Then the ring bell sounded, in confusion not seen since Montreal and Bret Hart, the referee said he had not asked for the bell. Taker low blowed Lesnar and locked in his own submission. Lesnar flipping the bird before passing out. Taker left the ring victorious to the confusion of the fans. Only on the replay did we see that the Undertaker had tapped out first. That’s why the bell rang, however as the ref didn’t see it the match continued. So again we have an unsatisfying ending to a classic match. It was certainly unique but it remains to be seen how they sort the mess out on RAW tonight.
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