The PPV Run-Down: WWE Summerslam 2012

I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!!

After weeks of broken promises and delay after delay, Wrestling's Weekly Rope Break has returned to provide you with (hopefully) a unique perspective on the current happenings of North American pro-wrestling.

The 25th anniversary of WWE's "biggest event of the Summer" is already in the history books. While WWE higher-ups still consider this PPV to be one of the company's biggest, it seems the pro-wrestling community is universally split as to whether this show was good or not. Some say the matches felt like TV matches. Others say the main event result automatically made this show a "home-run" hit.

What do i say? Well, when your dealing with a PPV that promotes itself as "the biggest event of the Summer"", there is an added pressure to produce a show that conveys a "major league" feel to it. As far as I'm concerned, WWE Summerslam 2012 had that aura about it. Sure, we can dissect every storyline leading into this event and how argue over how effective they were in relation to thier PPV payoffs. However, from the minute i watched the opening video package of Summerslam 2012 to the moment i witnessed Lesnar make HHH tap out in the main event, i felt as though i was watching a show that was IMPORTANT. Maybe it was the emphasis on the WWE-branded weekend events that surrounded the PPV. Maybe it's because this was a primarily heavy-wrestling show. Maybe it was the fact that nearly every match was good to great. Whatever it was, i thoroughly enjoyed WWE's version of the "Summer Games" from beginning to end (to coin a phrase from previous instalments of this PPV!).

So without further ado, lets see what made WWE Summerslam 2012 tick....

Match Results:

 

 

Match No. 1:

 

Chris Jericho

def

Dolph Ziggler (w/ Vickie Guerrero) via submission

 

 

Rating: *** 1/2

 

 

Comments:

 

If WWE's plan was to open the show in the biggest way possible, they succeeded by putting this heavily anticipated match first. The LA crowd ate up both Y2J and Ziggler's entrances and were ready for a hot PPV. Regardless, i was still very surprised that this bout opened the show. Considering the amount of build this program got, i was expecting this to be a "middle of the show" match, complete with video packages and pre-match promos. A match such as this deserved that kind of final attention. Instead, the bout was rushed to the opener and replaced Miz/Rey (a match that, in my mind, was better suited to this role).

 

The match itself? A disappointment overall. I certainly didn't shy away from the fact that this match, along with Lesnar/HHH were the sole reasons why i was purchasing this PPV. Thus, i had very high hopes going into this Summerslam opener. What we got was a match that started hot, lost its way in the middle and finished hot with excellent near falls and reversal sequences. Ziggler did his best as his selling/methodical offence was top notch throughout and Jericho complimented him overall by directing a reasonable outing. There was one MAJOR problem with this bout: the lack of chemistry between the ropes. I don't know if it was Ziggler being nervous or if it was Y2J getting older, but it was obvious Ziggler/Jericho were not on the same page at points. In fact, if we go back and look at their previous interactions over the years, it seems as though they always are at times. At Summerslam 2012, clotheslines came out of nowhere and there were too many stalls at times. In short, the match didn't seem polished. In situations such as these, it was almost a blessing that this match WAS the opener as the crowd remained hot for the in-ring action regardless.

 

However, as i said, both guys redeemed themselves with an excellent finish. It was almost like Jericho knew the match was crumbling as his top-rope hurracurrana brought the crowd back to life. Ziggler's Zig-Zag onto Jericho and the Vickie-assisted roll up were also tremendously timed and believable . Would i of had Ziggler tap to the Walls of Jericho? Going forward, probably not. Ziggler has been buried on big stages all year by the likes of Sheamus and co. But in the context of the storyline it made sense: the cocky Heel got his mouth shut as the defiant Babyface made his adversary tap out on WWE's second-biggest PPV. Great finish to a match i definitely expected more from.

 

 

Match No. 2:

 

Daniel Bryan

def

Kane via pinfall

 

 

Rating: ** 3/4

 

 

Comments:

 

 

Months ago, i reviewed an episode of Friday Night Smackdown ( http://wrestlingsweeklyropebreak.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/3-count-review-friday-night-smackdown.html ) . During this episode, we were treated to a fantastic match involving the monster Kane and the vertically challenged Bryan. Despite the size differences, the match was expertly built and executed, making everyone believe that Bryan could stand toe-to-toe with Kane.

 

Unfortunately, their Summerslam follow up was nowhere near as good. Sure, the action was fine and Bryan successfully channelled the energy from the crowd and produced a ring-presence/character that played into their "Yes Yes Yes" chants. However, this was one instance where i found the fans chanting "Yes" as a hindrance to the flow of this match. It forced Bryan to focus more on getting the crowd hot via his character rather than using his wrestling to do the same job. It also didn't help that Kane wasn't over as an effective Babyface. At times, his perfectly fine offence got booed by the LA crowd due to Bryan being almost cooly-awesome in his Heel role and Kane having a poorly defined character arch to begin with. It's no secret that the importance of an effective Babyface in matches like these is imperative. You never want your Heel getting cheered for doing something that is usually frowned upon.  As a result, this lead to HEAVY "Daniel Bryan" chants that counteracted Bryan's expert attempts to remain in "Heel Mode".

 

It remains a mystery as to why Randy Orton wasn't in Kane's position going into Summerslam. Storyline-wise, both guys suffer from "Anger Management" issues in the past (in fact, they even said this during their Smackdown match last week!!). You have an entire video library that could of been used in the lead-up by Bryan to get under the skin of "The Viper". Plus, you would of had a Summerslam payoff match that was fresh, ultimately great and something that hasn't been seen thousands of times. Instead, Orton wasn't even USED on the show and Kane wrestled Bryan in a match where the fans wanted to cheer "Yes"more than getting into the match itself.

 

The post-match was even more silly. Why is it that the Babyface in this program became a sore looser and proceeded to take out announcers as a result?! Who are we meant to cheer going froward? Bryan or Kane? A lacking storyline mixed with a distracting crowd hindered an otherwise perfectly fine bout between to seasoned vets.

 

 

Match No. 3: Intercontinental Championship

 

 

The Miz (c)

def

Rey Mysterio to retain the Intercontinental Championship

 

Rating: ***

 

Comments:

 

 

After winning the IC Title on RAW 1000, it seemed as though The Miz was on a bit of a downward spiral once again. Regardless of the improvements to his character and in-ring work, it seemed as though this was going to become another example of WWE "Backwards Booking": build a guy up with a big championship win on a big show and have him job every match on his way to loosing the title. Going into his match against San Diego's own Rey Mysterio, I'm sure i wasn't the only person that thought this was going to be the case.

 

However, we were in for a surprise as Miz came to LA to deliver one of his best matches since returning to WWE competition back in July. Sure, his match with Christan on Smackdown a few weeks back was a drastic improvement from before. But this was the match where i really took notice of how much Miz has improved as an in-ring competitor.

 

 

From the get go, i knew it was going to be a challenge for both men to get this crowd to invest. Both Rey and Miz had been somewhat of an afterthought going into Summerslam and both had been poorly used since returning to WWE. Little promo time and a non-existent build also didn't help in gaining some interest towards a supposed "marque" Summerslam bout. The crowd reacted in kind, giving Miz and Rey (surprisingly) luke-warm reactions. Unfortunately, this tepid aura remained until the last minutes of the match.

 

While the crux of pro-wrestling is to gage the audience at every turn, it is still important to produce a physical story between the ropes using theatrics AND physical action. Why i am so high on this match is that even though the crowd wasn't into the match like they should of been, both guys worked their asses off to produce a compelling bout. From the comfort of my own home, i got the story these two were producing and loved the crispness of the action. As stated before, Miz rose to the occasion, producing new move sets that were DESPERATELY needed. He also continually attempted to get the crowd back with expertly timed taunts. Rey was, of course, a great "Babyface in Peril" and his comeback was, as always, great. A series of great near falls coupled with Miz beating Rey clean with his finisher made me a very happy wrestling fan. Miz needed a clean win to redeem his terrible run as of late and he got it at Summerslam: WWE's second biggest PPV. In short, a very well worked match in front of a crowd that found it hard to interact with what they saw.

 

Match No. 4: World Heavyweight Championship

 

Sheamus (c)

def

Alberto Del Rio (w/ Ricardo Rodriquez) to retain the World Heavyweight Championship

 

 

Rating: *** 1/4

 

 

Comments:

 

There is no denying the ridiculousness that surrounded the build up to this World Championship match. For weeks we had the Heel/Babyface dynamic turned on its head, with Sheamus acting above the law and getting away with it. Seriously, why would ANYONE condone/cheer their World Heavyweight Champion for stealing another man's car just so he could get back at Del Rio for saying a few nasty words to him the previous week??? Furthermore, DEL RIO - NOT Sheamus - was the man punished in the end when Booker T stripped him of his No. 1 Contendership! To say i was confused and slightly sympathising with Del Rio going into this World Title match was an understatement.

 

Regardless of the build, their match was probably one of their best PPV outings of the year. Starting off with an ultra-aggressive brawl instead of the standard "collar-to-elbow"tie up played into the drama that had built over the last month between these two. While the mid-match lacked a bit of dramatic direction, Sheamus and Del Rio treated us to a number of original spots that showcased their technical prowess and overwhelming strength. Case in point: the series of reversals by Sheamus that went from Del Rio's Cross-Armbreaker, to Sheamus muscling the challenger from the mat into a potential White Noise. It was after this spot that things came together in a hurry. Each near fall leading to the finish was believable and executed to perfection (the exposed turnbuckle spot was definitely one of these.)

 

Unfortunately, we were treated to the first of two convoluted finishes for the night. I understand WWE wanting to have a conclusion to the match that ensured Del Rio had a reason to get another World Title match in the future. I also understand protecting Sheamus as a credible World Champion going forward. However, i am not a fan of producing a finish to match that uses too many dramatic elements to achieve these goals. Having too much ultimately leads to your live crowd not grasping the conclusion to your story. Also, if there is too much going on, the people you intend getting over don't get the 'rub' you want. This is ultimately what happened at Summerslam. Sheamus used Ricardo's Shoe as a weapon behind the refs back and Sheamus got the pin on the challenger even with Del Rio's foot on the ropes. To the live crowd, it looked as though Sheamus cheated to win and then accepted a victory regardless of the foot on the ropes. Instead of the Babyface Champion coming off as a guy who thwarted Del Rio's manager's antics, he was booed as a dastardly Heel! Once again, i felt sorry for Del Rio, which is not want i need to be feeling going forward. Regardless of this silly finish, their was plenty to like in this World Championship Match.

 

 

Match No. 5: WWE Tag Team Championship

 

Kofi Kingston & R-Truth

def

The Prime Time Players via pinfall

 

 

Rating: * 3/4

 

Comments:

 

 

This match was the sleeper of the night and, to be honest, it did nothing for me. This was a shame because up to this point, every match had felt important and worthy of being on the PPV.

 

 

While the crowd entertained themselves by chanting "Kobe Bryant", all four guys worked hard and tried to produce a memorable Tag Title bout. But it was hard to make audiences care when the challengers have been beaten every week leading up to their PPV match. I've said it before and ill say it again, The Prime Time Players are a "green" tandem. They need all the help they can get to establish so to establish solid connection with the WWE fan base. The easiest way to do this quickly is to

a) have the team cut promos on a regular basis so to develop their characters better.

b) have this team win and win A LOT.

Instead,

a) the Prime Time Players lost their mouthpiece due to AW doing his job and now rely on a singluar catchphrase ("millions and billions of dollars") that they coined months ago.

b) PTP, besides singles victories, have lost every single tag team match since winning the No. 1 contendership.

Once again, at Summerslam, Prime Time Players lost clean to Kofi and Truth for the 291047239057th time, solidifying themselves as ABSOLUTE GEEKS. How this team can ever be deemed a "serious"threat going forward is beyond me.

 

The match itself was nothing special, regardless of the energy exerted in the ring. The main problem i had with this one was that the weakest man in the match (Titus O'Neil) was the man who got the most ring time. I can understand WWE being interested in O'Neil getting better as he has the "Classic WWE"personality: the tall, massive, former- college football star with a great athletic look. Sure, Titus has improved since coming to WWE. However, last Sunday night, he was anything BUT impressive. Maybe this was his night to shine in the eyes of WWE agents. Regardless, Titus was clumsy, slow, awkward and detached me from the story that was being told between the ropes. Surprisingly, Darren Young (who has improved out of sight) stayed dormant for most of this one, while Titus, lugged his weight around the ring and attempted new, ugly manuevers. Kofi's hot tag brought life back into the match, but by this time, it was too little too late. PTP lost once again and capped of a paint-by-numbers RAW match that was undeserving of being on the Summerslam card.

 

 

Match No. 6: Triple Threat match for WWE Championship

 

 

C.M Punk (c)

def

Big Show and John Cena to retain the WWE Championship

 

 

Rating: *** 3/4

 

 

Comments:

 

While most considered this bout to be a pretty average triple threat, i thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this WWE Championship match. Here's why.

 

I believe every match needs to accomplish three things: it needs to connect with every facet of the audience, it needs to tell a logical and compelling story and it needs to make everyone involve look good. In my eyes, Cena, Punk and Show all put forth a tremendous effort that achieved every one of these goals.

 

The story of the match was that Big Show was an unstoppable monster that was unbeatable one-on-one. Sure, it could be argued that the build to the match made Show look less like a monster and more like a generic wrestler. However, within the context of the match, Big Show delivered a performance that made me believe he was as devastating as he preached. Assisted by some great selling by both Cena and Punk, Show involved himself in multiple spots that showed off his uncanny strength and overwhelming size. Spots including the famous "double suplex"spot at the beginning was definitely one of these. While Michael Cole screamed "I have never seen Big Show this dominant in a long time!" i honestly found it hard to disagree througout this bout.

 

The brilliance of having the match centre around Show being a legitimate monster was that he was going to be the man that was eventually pinned. In previous matches involving the Big Show, the giant is usually made out to be a clumsy oaf who eventually gets thwarted by his own stupidity. In this match, Big Show remained dominant until he was eventually overcome by two pro-wrestlers that have almost 15 World Championship reigns between them. Even when Punk and Cena eventually double teamed him for the double submission "False Finish, the following spot had Show recover and deliver a double Chokeslam to his adversaries. By the time he eventually was pinned by Punk, the pinfall made sense and didn't take anything away from the overwhelming presence of "the World's Largest Athlete".

 

Despite the unneeded involvement of AJ in the finish, this match was well paced and made everyone look good. Cena was treated to the usually assortment of boos. However, in this circumstance, i believe these jeers to be undeserving. Ever since the end of his rivalry with John Laurenitus, Cena has been believeable and focused as it relates to his Babyface character. In my eyes, "Lets Go Cena, Cena Sucks!"is a passe chant. Thankfully, he left the match still ooking strong as his amazing FU to the Big Show lead to the pinfall of the match.

 

C.M Punk got the traditional World Championship treatment as he was introduced last as the WWE Champion. I was worried that WWE were going to put the title on Cena due to their constant referral of Punk being Champion since November of 2011. Thankfully, Punk retained with the most appropriate finish (ie Punk stealing the pin from Cena) as his "slow burn" Heel turn continues. Here's hoping he remains the champ going into Royal Rumble. In my opinion, Punk is at his best when he is Champion and will be even better as a Heel champion once he makes the complete turn. Furthermore, having him reamin the "top dog"untill at least Royal Rumble will make the moment he looses the title even more special/important. As it stands, he is a Champion who brags he is the "Best in the World" and deserves respect. If he looses the title, he comes a whinny complaining heel that has no credibility. The former and the current is the better for CM Punk going forward.

 

All in all, a great conclusion to a match that continued storylines, added credibility and provided the Summerslam audience with a ton of great action.

 

 

Match No. 7:

 

Brock Lesnar (w/ Paul Heyman)

def

Triple H via submission

 

 

Rating: *** 3/4

 

 

Comments:

 

 

Lets get the biggest positive out of the way first: BROCK LESNAR DEFEATED TRIPLE H IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RING BY MAKING THE "KING OF KINGS" TAP OUT!!!!

 

I'll be completely honest. Going into the main event, i was convinced that Lesnar was going to be pinned clean via Triple H's Pedigree. I assumed traditional storyline direction combined with Lesnar's loss to Cena at Extreme Rules would prove this train of thought to be correct. Thankfully, WWE came to their senses by having one of their biggest stars no-sell a Pedigree and immediately slap on the Kamura for the submission victory. What i loved about this finish even more was that it tapped into the great dynamic that exists between a Babyface and Heel. In regards to the Lesnar/HHH match, the courageous Babyface did everything he could not to give up to the monster Heel. However, in the end, the only way the monster could defeat the 13-time world champion was to snap his arm like a twig. This finish does two things: it puts over Lesnar and his Kamura as two unstoppable elements in pro-wrestling and also conveys a level of toughness in HHH that everyone already knew about. In short, this was the perfect finish that will do wonders for Lesnar's character as he moves closer to his next opponent...whoever he may be. While i haven't been the biggest fan of the lead up to this match, the finish of this bout made me forget about all the rubbish that had come before it. For this reason above all, i cannot help but give this match a massive thumbs up.

 

In saying this, i also couldn't help but compare this match to the AMAZING Cena/Brock match from mid-April of this year. Was this match in the same league as the Extreme Rules match? Absolutely not. There were big chunks of the Lesnar/HHH match that dragged due to extensive stalling by Lesnar. While Lesnar's continuous use of the Kamura played into the eventual finish of the match, there were times where the use of the move became boarder line repetitious. I'm a fan of submission wrestling, but you need to know when to apply particular holds so to garner the reaction you want from fans. Because of this logic, there were times where the dreaded Kamura lock got a non-reaction from the LA crowd. Even though this was the case, i couldn't help but get excited when Lesnar went from a standing position, only to suddenly jump up into HHH's arm so to attach the devastating hold.

 

My last nit pick focuses on the last image of Summerslam 2012: Triple H apologising to the fans while King and Cole ask "is this the last match of HHH's Career?". In my mind, this should NOT of been the focus going forward. Correct me if I'm wrong, but i swear at Wrestlemania 28, Triple H LOST a "END OF AN ERA MATCH" with the Undertaker! The post-match of that bout saw HHH being carried from the ring in his supposed LAST MATCH. Considering the result of that contest, i find it hard to gauge with yet ANOTHER HHH loss that focuses on the end of his career. Instead, the focus should of been "Brock Lesnar destroyed one of WWE's biggest stars...who the hell will be next?". Furthermore, the heartfelt apology from HHH to the fans should of lead to Brock blindsiding him on the ramp and further destroying the "King of Kings". Angles such as this are important to get across to audiences as Lesnar is an expensive asset that WWE need to keep interesting and dominant going forward. Seeing as though he will be involved in a Wrestlemania main even next year, i truly think the focus should of been putting over Brock as much as humanly possible on  one of  WWE's biggest stages instead of asking the WWE fans to consider this match as HHH's retirement bout.

 

Regardless of these negatives, the match told a helluva story and had some tremendous spots littered throughout. I loved how Lesnar was out wrestled by "The Game" early, only to have Brock symbolically take off his MMA gloves as if to say "now its time to fight". Triple H's pleas to the ref before the match to "throw the rule book out the window" also added an extra layer of drama as Lesnar used illegal tactis to pound on the former World Champion.

 

All in all, a fitting end to a very entertaining PPV that focused on the wrestling of a WWE event instead of the spectacle.

 

Thanks for reading folks!

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