Questioning Authority

When The Authority was first formed at SummerSlam 2013 it had purpose. Triple H was following in that grand old McMahon tradition making "his guy" the champion at any cost. In the case of SummerSlam 2013 it was Randy Orton. The group was also very much about making sure the championship wasn't on alleged B-plus player Daniel Bryan. The initial Authority run was very much characterised by Bryan v Orton matches and Triple H putting down D-Bry in promos.

Things got samey pretty quickly. You can only see D-Bry shout "Yes!" before getting beaten up so many times before you start wanting something with a little more depth. For that matter the novelty of laughing at Randall Keith Orton wandering around in just a T-shirt, giving him the like of a fashionably-shaven sex pest, wears off pretty quickly too. But even though there wasn't much variety at least The Authority had a reason to exist and stay together. As far as wrestling storylines went it was A Good Thing.

This man likes trousers.

Contrast that with now. There's no one standing out as definitive opposition to the group. Randy Orton has been replaced as centrepiece by Seth Rollins¹. Fair enough, a decent story was told in 'The Future' replacing 'The Apex Predator' and it was a development that made sense in terms of long-term development. But The Authority of 2013 and '14 was all about doing whatever was necessary to ensure its selected wrestlers won. The modern day incarnation does not do this. The last several months have seen an eye-wateringly dull string of teases regarding Authority members walking out on WWE champion Rollins. The most prominent was the peculiar Rollins versus Kane rivalry in which it was implied several times that 'The Big Red Machine' would turn on Rollins and his McMahon paymasters in order to claim the championship for himself. Instead of quietly retiring like everyone wants him to.

J&J security, Rollins' stooges, have gotten in on the act too, which was possibly even more dull than the Kane teases because there was never any chance they'd be portrayed as serious threats to the title, rendering the entire scenario even more pointless. But the most recent development of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon bringing Brock Lesnar back to the company as "the ultimate test" for their boy makes no sense at all. The Authority, we've been shown and told, want to control the WWE championship because that helps them control how the company is presented to the outside world. Which doesn't tally with the decision to put their cowardly heel champion who relies heavily on assistance against the most dominant man the roster's seen in years. Why would they want to give Lesnar the chance to win the title when it's been established he's his own man and he won't play The Authority's game.

It's a decision that plays down Lesnar's actions the night after WrestleMania. Y'know, the night he F5ed Michael Cole out of his shoes and attacked a cameraman (well, an indy wrestler cosplaying as a cameraman). Yes he offered a storyline apology for these actions but that still doesn't adequately explain why The Authority would bring him back with an all-is-forgiven-and-forgotten edict. Look back at how irate Stephanie was when she initially suspended 'The Beast'. It makes no sense that a few months later she'd simply bring him back and award him a title match to test her crown jewel.

At this point the most sensible thing to do would be to dissolve The Authority. Tripper and Steph would be fine with a reduced presence. Kane would be fine retiring or playing a comedically overworked and stressed middle management matchmaker in place of the McMahons. Brad Maddox could be brought in as his chief of staff or assistant. There's fun to be had there. Noble and Mercury could simply be phased out as TV presences. Rollins, easily the most important member of the faction as he's the one who'll be main eventing pay-per-views for years to come, would be better off on his own right now. It's not that he can't benefit from being the main attraction of a dastardly heel stable. It's that The Authority just isn't that dastardly anymore.

***

¹ It's interesting to note that Rollins wrestles in trousers, making him a perfect contrast to the trouser averse Orty.

The Intellectual Cosplayer

When Damien Sandow first appeared in WWE he was, by modern standards, a wonder. He was a solid wrestler with an understandable and distinct character that acted consistently. Plus he did cartwheels. I thought he signalled the beginning of a mid-card rebuilding project.

Sadly that’s not been the case. During his two years in WWE Sandow has never been treated exactly right. His pushes have faltered. He’s been shunted up and down the card. The company never seem quite sure whether to position him as a man on the rise or a piece of enhancement furniture used to get other, newer stars over.

Damien Sandow's better than this. So's Ian McKellen for that matter.

His treatment in the last year demonstrates this perfectly. He’s recently abandoned his intellectual roots, the thing that set him apart from every other heel on the books, and taken to cosplaying. We’ve seen him as Magneto, Davey Crockett and some basketball player I’ve never heard of, all for entirely unexplained reasons. It’s a move that may or may not be linked to the bizarre and ill-conceived decision to have him attempt worked shoot promos about being underutilised just a week or two before he decided to reveal this previously unhinted at aspect of his personality.

Under a year ago things were different. At last July’s Money in the Bank ‘The Intellectual Saviour’ won the titular ladder bash at the expense of his then-best friend (not forever) Cody Rhodes. That not only gave Sandow a guaranteed World Heavyweight championship match but also slotted him into one of the few mid-card feuds bothered booking all year. Rhodes versus Sandow happened at SummerSlam and actually had a worthwhile backstory to it!

That Sandow lost his cash-in match against WHC John Cena wasn’t a problem in itself. It could have led to Sandow going away and proving himself worthy of a rematch by winning a string of matches against significant members of the roster. It could have led to him entering a lopsided (perhaps even one-sided) feud with Mr Cena. It could have seen him refocus and promise fans he’d have gold by the end of the year, leading to a two month story culminating with him winning the Intercontinental or US strap on the last RAW or SmackDown of the year.

The second option was hinted at but never really went anywhere. That may be because of the probably last minute decision to unify the World Heavyweight title with the WWE title in December but it’s more likely that WWE just couldn’t be bothered dedicating time to Sandow. In their minds they had, and have, bigger names to concentrate on.

While it’s true that there are bigger established names and newcomers with more potential to strike it big than Sandow that shouldn’t mean he gets overlooked. In Sandow WWE has a near perfect mid-card heel. He’s a decent wrestler, is easy to dislike, gives a great promo, and understands his character. Not making the most of how different his character is is, as Sandow himself might say, incontrovertibly imbecilic.

The Difficult Third Reign

It seems incredibly likely that Daniel Bryan is going to win his third WWE championship soon. Whether it happens at WrestleMania XXX, Extreme Rules, or on a hyped episode of RAW the title change it’s going to be a special moment for WWE. D-Bry has been the company’s hottest star for at least a year now and people have been desperate for him to capture the WWE championship and go on to enjoy the long reign they feel he has earned.

WWE have done a good job of stoking the fire and keeping people interested in and supportive of Bryan, with his first two reigns contributing significantly to the support for him. His first title victory started when he defeated John Cena clean in the main event of SummerSlam, a significant moment for any wrestler these days: Cena doesn’t get beaten by just anybody, let alone clean. That lasted only a few minutes thanks to a heel turn and Pedigree from special ref Triple H and a Money in the Bank cash-in from Randy Orton.

Reign number two lasted longer, but still wasn’t long. Bryan pinned ‘The Viper’ at Night of Champions but was relieved of his prize the following evening when referee Scott Armstrong¹ implied he had been paid off by D-Bry to make a fast count (even though Bryan clearly had Orton down for longer). Bryan denied this, natch, with the implication being that ‘The Game’ was actually the man who’d paid Armstrong off to make a fast count so he’d have an excuse to strip Bryan of the title. A contingency plan should Orty lose.

Future three time champ?

That Bryan’s first two reigns with WWE’s premier prize lasted less than a day combined (making him the shortest reigning two-time champ by a significant margin) helped to rally fans behind him. That he had been slighted, held down by his bosses in such an open manner, made him hotter. People wanted to see him fight back for what he’d earned, uncowed by the significant odds stacked against him. It was an effective storyline choice, taking feelings fans already had and causing them to become more fervent. That’s what a good wrestling storyline should do.

WWE need to have a good plan in place for Bryan’s third reign to meet the high expectations of fans. Viewers have been kept waiting for a Bryan title win that would last. They were ready for it last August when he beat Cena. The intervening time has, as I’ve already said, only made people more desperate for him to win and keep hold of the championship. But the build can’t go on indefinitely. At some point Bryan needs to win the title and hold it for a while to validate the belief people have placed in him. Burning him too often burns the fans too often, and WWE can’t afford to do that if Bryan’s going to be a star for them long term. If it’s going to meet expectations the manner in which he wins it and the length of time holds it for has to satisfy fans.

I’m not advocating Bryan being the champion for a year or equalling CM Punk’s vaunted 434 day reign. But a period measured in months rather than minutes is called for if people are to be left satisfied in their chosen hero’s quest. Bryan keeping the belt(s) until SummerSlam would be good. That would be long enough not only to satisfy but also to prepare someone to take the prize from him, and a storyline to tell.

***

¹ With the Triple H character since becoming a man who uses his power and old pals to hold down deserving talent I’m surprised the fact that Armstrong is Road Dogg’s brother hasn’t been mentioned. Road Dogg has become one of Tripper’s enforcers and a beneficiary of his favourtism over the last few months. Acknowledging it was his brother that made the fast count, even in a minor, off the cuff way that could go unnoticed by most, would add a lot to the story.

The Man Without a Feud

When Dolph Ziggler won the World Heavyweight championship on the April 8^th edition of Monday Night RAW it felt like the beginning of something special. Ziggler had been growing in fan estimations for years and had long been expected to become a world champion sooner or later. Years of support from fans and hard work from Ziggler had paid off. At least, that’s how it felt.

An errant kick from Jack Swagger changed whatever original plans lay in place. Suffering a concussion, ‘The Heel’ was pulled from his scheduled triple threat ladder match against Swags and former WHC Alberto Del Rio at Extreme Rules. Instead Swagger and ADR clashed in a submission match for the right to tangle with Ziggler once he’d returned from the injured list.

That happened in time for Payback, WWE’s next major supershow. In his first title defence Ziggler entered a cracking performance opposite ‘The Essence of Excellence’. They wrestled one of the best matches of the year and executed a silky smooth double turn in the process. Ziggler, the man who had won over fans with his big bumping style and cocky attitude, was turned face as Del Rio maliciously and aggressively targeted his head, making the most of the champ’s recent concussion problems. It was a clever storyline that did a lot for the characters of both.

The two had a barnstorming rematch at Money in the Bank. The two seemed (and still do, in fact) incapable of having a bad match together. Sadly, this would not be ‘The Show Off’s’ night. He lost again, though this time it was a result of unwanted interference from then-beau AJ Lee.

With that DQ finish Ziggler left the World Heavyweight title’s orbit. Del Rio would head off into a thoroughly forgettable one month time-killing run with Christian and Dolph would get involved in a programme with his former bodyguard Big E Langston, who was still linked (thoroughly unromantically it should be stressed) to Ms Lee.

At SummerSlam Dolph Ziggler and Kaitlyn, who’d had her own problems with AJ, teamed to defeat Big E and AJ in a mixed tag team. It was an enjoyable enough match considering the slight amount of time they were allotted and it felt like a satisfying conclusion to months’ worth of storylines. All four made the best of the situation.

Things should have been different. The Del Rio v Ziggler rivalry had enough left in it to carry on one final month to ‘The Hottest Show of the Summer’. A split in the Big E-AJ-Ziggler camp would have felt more impactful on the bigger show. Ricardo could still have been written out of the picture after a Del Rio Fit of Rage™, which could have been used to convince people they’d see a fair fight at SummerSlam. AJ costing Ziggler the championship in that situation would have made even more sense, because Ricardo wouldn’t have been around to do it.

Nobody involved in Ziggler v Del Rio went on to immediately do anything better so why couldn’t it last until SummerSlam? It makes no sense.

Everyone except Dolph has moved on to pastures new since SummerSlam. Rodriguez has returned to TV and become embroiled in a feud with his former boss, using Rob Van Dam as his proxy. AJ Lee recently cut an incredibly good promo about the state of the Divas division, which hints that her next task will be making it mean something again. Big E will either stay by her side or break off on his own for a spot of mid-card action before having a main event push activated for him some time next year. Kaitlyn’s not been seen, but she will likely feature in the Divas division.

 

He may not be doing anything interesting but he's still got a nice looking T-shirt on sale

 

Ziggler is the odd man out here. The night after SummerSlam his bumping skills were put to use reinvigorating The Shield. Last week’s RAW saw him without a match. He was relegated to standing atop the entrance ramp refusing to comment on Triple H’s booking decisions. He is a man without a feud just a month and a half after looking like a certain headline success.

If you were feeling charitable you could mention WWE is doing a great job at elevating Daniel Bryan into a leading man. Which is entirely true. But that doesn’t mean they can’t also pay attention to Ziggler. They couldn’t both be presented as the next major star, but there’s nothing to stop the company giving Ziggler something meaningful to do and capitalising on the progress he’s made this year.

Perhaps the beating he took at the hands of ‘The Hounds of Justice’ last week will lead to a US title match with Ambrose at Night of Champions. That would be a potential show stealer, but it’s not a match I’d want to see Ziggler win. The mid-card title would be a step back at this point.

It’s possible Ziggy will be the man who puts a stop to Ryback’s recent reign of terror in backstage segments. We’ve seen Ryback v Ziggler before, but not since both men have switched heel-face allegiances. Dolph’s big bumps are tailor made for playing the good guy. I think a heel ‘Human Wrecking Ball’ against a babyface Ziggler could be excellent. Failing that I’m sure Ziggler could do something interesting with the Wyatt Family, although they’re so popular that it could see Ziggler getting booed.

I’d much rather see Ziggler refocus on the World Heavyweight championship than anything else. Moving back into his programme with Del Rio would be good for both men. They have great chemistry and their series ended prematurely. They’ve definitely got a pay-per-view clash or two left in them.

That RAW Recap 19.08.13

This week's RAW ranged from extraordinarily good to mind-numbingly pointless. The opening and closing segments, along with a small number of things that happened in between, were excellent. We'll come to them below but while I'm talking them up here I would say those good parts of RAW, along with the SummerSlam finish they stemmed from, are what makes wrestling so good. That it can produce material of this quality is what keeps me watching.

The mind-numbingly pointless stuff was the majority of what lay between the start and the finish of the programme. The first match of the night was a SummerSlam rematch pitting Cody Rhodes against Damien Sandow. Rhodes won with a sunset roll from the corner, meaning 'The Intellectual Saviour' lost to his former teammate two nights in a row. The crowd weren't into the action and amused themselves by chanting about Cody's lack of facial hair.

The Funkadactyls, who are still being introduced as hailing from Planet Funk, bested AJ Lee and Layla when Naomi rolled up Layla. After one of his cheap heat specials Zeb Colter stood at ringside to witness the Real Americans lose to the newly babyface Prime Time Players. This match was not a great advert for them but I think Young and O'Neil could work well as good guys. Their act doesn't need to change, they just need to learn how to play a new role.

Bray Wyatt dropped R-Truth with that finisher of his. The match meant nothing and existed solely to get the Wyatt Family on the show. Just over a month in and they're already being booked as filler. It's disappointing but unsurprising.

In the penultimate match of the night the Usos defeated 3MB boys Jinder Mahal and Heath Slater with a top rope splash. And in the in-ring main event (the true main event was a promo) The Miz defeated Wade Barrett via disqualification after Fandango hit him with a top rope leg drop. It looks like those awful SummerSlam skits happened for a reason after all.

Speaking of Fandango he was involved in one of the highlights of RAW’s unwieldy middle portion. Justin Gabriel and Zack Ryder were shown enthusing over sneakers (or trainers as they're known over here) with a Footlocker employee. Footlocker were RAW's sponsors, which explains why this glorified ad took place in the middle of RAW. Anyway, Fandango showed up, danced a bit and then asked if he could dance in the shoes. The employee replied "Of course you can, Mr Fandango," which was funny in itself. Faaaaaan... daaaaaan... goooooo then corrected the pronunciation of his name and left. It shouldn't have worked but it did, largely because the former Johnny Curtis is happy to ham it up and doesn’t took himself or his character too seriously.

There were only three other items of interest outside of the opening and closing segments. The first was the Alberto Del Rio v Sin Cara match. This was something special. Cara was making his big return after a few months off healing from various injuries. He was scripted to suffer a storyline injury early on in the match. ADR was scripted to ruthlessly work over his foe's injured body part. But Sin Cara, being incredibly prone to botching botched for real. He legitimately injured his hand performing a suicide dive, which led to the amusing sight of Del Rio targeting a genuine injury. ADR was awarded the win via referee stoppage.

Recovering like a pro ADR moved on to the promo he was meant to cut. It was the same message he'd delivered at SummerSlam. He wants to be a hero for the Latin community because they have nobody else. This desire has extended to him having miniature Mexican flags placed atop the turnbuckles as he wrestles.

Del Rio’s diatribe was interrupted by a returning Ricardo Rodriguez. Double R told the champ that he is not a hero, to the Latin community or anybody else, and that he's happy he's no longer employed by him. He then introduced Rob Van Dam as his new charge. RVD dashed to the ring and gave Del Rio a pasting. He tried a five star frog splash but Del Rio escaped.

Ricardo Alfonso? Rob Van Del Rio?

 

Yep, this is the new World Heavyweight title challenger. A man who couldn't defeat the US champion on the SummerSlam pre-show or, more to the point, win a number one contendership match for the WHC just a few weeks ago. I've not got a problem with an ADR v RVD match but WWE could have planned things a little better.

As for the pairing of Van Dam and Rodriguez, I think that could work. RVD functioned well with a manager in ECW and Ricardo is very good at adding emotion to matches. As that's not one of Van Dam's strengths this pairing should, in theory, work. I'll be interested to see how the two function together.

Item of interest number two was the use of The Shield. The group were placed into two matches throughout the evening. The first was against Dolph Ziggler and the second was against Big Show. The idea was that Show and Ziggler were being punished for speaking out against Triple H’s actions at SummerSlam. The matches, both of which saw the bad guys win, were designed to remind us how effective ‘The Hounds of Justice’ are in three-on-one scenarios. They also showed that Brad Maddox, who booked the matches, had happily aligned himself with Triple H. It was incredibly effective booking.

The third item of interest was the development of the Paul Heyman and CM Punk story. First Paul Heyman went to the ring and said that he wanted the family feud to end. If CM Punk was willing to apologise Heyman would reunite with him and lead him back to the WWE championship.

Later in the evening 'The Second City Saint' responded. After offering to fight a man in the audience who'd dared to boo him (which I originally thought was ridiculous but now see simply as Punk being a modern day babyface) Punk called Heyman out to the stage. He informed his former pal that he wished he'd pulled his arm out if its socket at SummerSlam and promised to do it next time.

Curtis Axel was dispatched to fight Punk and the two had a lengthy brawl. A little too lengthy, frankly. It ended with Punk giving the Intercontinental champ a Go To Sleep on steel steps.

Which leaves us only the opening and closing segments to discuss.

The show opened with John Cena. He told us that he was offended and disgraced by Triple H “handing the WWE championship to Randy Orton”. He put over Bryan, who he said had won fair and square. He then announced that he’s going to be taking four to six months off for surgery on his elbow, which was shown swollen to a grotesque size. Before he left he introduced Bryan.

We're not going to be seeing this guy for a while

 

Before Bryan could say anything Stephanie McMahon came out (she has the most inappropriate entrance music I’ve ever come across). She said she hoped Bryan understood that what Triple H did wasn’t personal but simply the right thing for business. The audience chanted no to that. Bryan, like a pro, acknowledged it.

Bryan said he’d have expected what happened from Stephanie or Vince, but not Triple H. ‘the Game’ had been a renegade, the leader of DX. Now he’s walking around with a corporate haircut and a suit (which, in the world of pro wrestling, equates to something bad). Bryan told Stephanie he’s not afraid of getting fired. He can go back to wrestling on the indies and selling T-shirts from the back of his car.

The point here was that Bryan isn’t obsessed with the idea of being a WWE Superstar™. He’s his own man and is just happy if he can get into a ring, any ring, and wrestle. What he said was wonderful because he said it was passion and it was both logical and in line with the storyline.

Stephanie didn’t want to fire him, she just wanted to manage his expectations. She said that guys of his height, weight, and appearance aren’t WWE championship material. She acknowledged that the fans love him. Essentially her point was that firing him would be bad for business, she just can’t allow him to reach the top of the card.

Bryan’s response as that he didn’t have to accept what she said. He can be WWE champion. Steph’s response to that? That ‘The Dazzler’ was being unprofessional and uncouth. She had him escorted out of the building by security.

The show closer was even better.

We returned from the final break of the show to find the entire roster (minus Bryan, Cena, and potentially one or two others like Punk) assembled on the stage. The Shield were down at ringside, standing between the roster on the stage and the McMahon family in the ring.

The setup here was perfect. It would be made clear through Triple H’s promo that anybody who dared step out of line would find themselves not only be brutalised by The Shield, who seemed far more threatening after their victories earlier in the show, but also fired. An appearance from Daniel Bryan did not contradict either of those things. It’s been established over the last year that Bryan will not back down and his comments about returning to the indies meant that he had no fear of losing his job.

Vince spoke first. He said ‘The Cerebral Assassin’ had seen the light and and done what was right for business (Vince’s unofficial catchphrase). He then passed the mic over to H3, who told us that he did what he did not for himself, but for his wife, his father-in-law, his kids, his future grandchildren and the fans, all to ensure the future of the company.

Triple H didn’t want to screw Daniel Bryan. He said he considered him a friend and a “good little technician” (the first sign that he had entered disingenuous heel mode). He said he deserved to win because he gave Cena a hell of a match. It’s just that the fans deserve better than Daniel Bryan as WWE champion.

Pedigreeing Bryan and costing him the title hurt Triple H. He didn’t like forming a union with Randy Orton because there’s a lot of bad blood there. He referenced the formation of Evolution and the overkill feud they had for WrestleMania XXV (y’know, the one that involved Orton punting both Vince and Shane and giving Steph an RKO?). He’d put all their history behind them because it was… all together now… the right thing for business. Bryan, said Triple H, is selfish for not understanding the bigger picture.

Randy Orton was introduced to boos. The new champ shook hands with Vince and Hunter and was hugged by Steph. That she initiated the hug was a nice touch as it really hammered home that the McMahons have put everything behind them and were unified in the decision to make ‘The Viper’ the face of the company.

Orton said he owed his reign to Triple H and blasted the audience for not standing up to show the COO the respect he deserved.

That was it from Orton. That he didn’t contribute a great deal verbally could be seen as a negative but I’d argue against that. We all know Orton can cut a promo. He didn’t need to here. It wasn’t the point. That he only said a few words before handing back to Trips helped to paint him as an undeserving paper champion. Putting him in that role will make him more hated in the long run.

Triple H said because they owned the building they had eyes everywhere, which meant he knew Bryan was in the building. That too was a wonderful touch. It helps to portray the McMahons as the illuminate of WWE, and makes it easy to imagine a storyline (and indeed a real life) sense of paranoia that they know everything that’s going on in the locker room.

‘The Game’ said he knew Bryan had things he wanted to get off his chest so cued up his music, told everyone, including The Shield, that anyone who laid a hand on him would regret it, and invited him out to the ring.

Bryan emerged from the tech area at the side of the stage and made his way towards the ring. He was wearing jeans. This may seem like a small thing (because it is) but it’s something WWE deserves a little credit for. The norm is to have wrestlers wandering about in the ring gear and a T-shirt (this is precisely what Orton was wearing as he stood in the ring). Because Bryan had been removed from the building that approach wouldn’t have made sense and someone deserves credit for realising it.

As soon as Bryan got close to the ring The Shield pounced on him. He wiped out Rollins and Reigns with the ring steps and then brawled up the aisle with Ambrose. After getting the better of the US champ Bryan headed back towards the wing but was wiped out by a spear from the recovered Reigns. Again, this is something that could be viewed negatively, Bryan going down to a single spear. But it didn’t cast Bryan in a bad light at all. He overcame the odds and got caught by a sneak attack. Not only that but Reigns’ spear had been the move which won The Shield their first match of the evening and Ziggler had done an incredible job of making it look devastating. And Bryan managed to get back up thirty second or so after absorbing it.

Anyway… The heels went for their triple power bomb but Triple H called them off. He said Bryan had something to say and that he should be allowed to say it. As Bryan pulled himself up to his feet and into the ring Triple H mocked him. It was an incredibly effective heat garnering move. As was the RKO that Orton blasted Bryan with as he staggered through the ropes.

The almighty heels stand tall. How long until Bryan takes them down?

 

And it was there that the show ended. The new as-yet-unnamed heel stable (The Corporation has a nice ring to it…) standing triumphant over the beaten number one babyface. In two nights WWE had created a new lead heel in Orton and succeeded in making Bryan and even hotter babyface than he had been before SummerSlam. The promotion’s new top feud, whether you see it as Bryan v Triple H, Bryan v the McMahons, Bryan v Orton, Bryan v The Corporation or Bryan v all of the above, could not have had a better start.

SummerSlam and the Monday 19^th RAW saw WWE at its best.

SummerSlam 2013 review

The majority of the hype for SummerSlam focused on the two main event matches. The red hot Dolph Ziggler, World Heavyweight champion Alberto Del Rio, and former friends Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes all found themselves in programmes that were, to a greater or lesser extent, cobbled together as the writing team threw its weight behind the big money players. It’s understandable but it didn’t create the most anticipated card in wrestling history.

But the decision paid off for WWE, as such things tend to. On the night the audience was receptive to everything they were presented with. They naturally gave bigger reactions to the more hyped battles but Ziggler and company got their fair share too. SummerSlam was another pay-per-view success for WWE.

The evening’s action kicked off on the pre-show with Rob Van Dam challenging Dean Ambrose for the United States championship. With just under fourteen minutes and Big Show, Mark Henry and the remaining Shield members making their way to ringside during the match the two were able to construct a match that held attention. Van Dam won via disqualification after he was speared by Roman Reigns. Expect this to lead to title defences from The Shield at Night of Champions.

After a little more waffling form the expert panel (we’ll get to them) and Renee Young SummerSlam proper kicked off.

The Miz walked out onto the stage to absolutely no reaction. He welcomed us to the show and talked up the evening’s big matches. It brought back memories of his time hosting SmackDown. That was not something I wanted reminding of.  Fandango came out and danced to his music with Summer Rae as Miz said “Really?” It was not the best of starts.

The opening video was given a grainy, dated feel, evoking seventies and eighties infomercials. It was a typically well produced WWE video package. It’s one of the company’s strengths. At this point the bigger surprise would be them producing a bad one.

After Jo Jo Offerman sang America the Beautiful we were told that the opening contest would be the Ring of Fire match. Kane was introduced first and we had two commentary highlights before he’d even entered the ring. The first was Michael Cole describing the Wyatt Family as “diabolical” and the second was Jerry Lawler saying "If you can't stand the heat don't tickle the dragon." Lines like this cannot sound like anything but a euphemism from ‘The King’.

The match was fairly basic but benefited from being on early. The crowd were incredibly into everything the two men did. Bray Wyatt’s involvement helped too, because he has become very popular in a short amount of time.

‘The Big Red Machine’ was in control for most of the match, eventually hitting ‘The Man of a Thousand Truths’ with a choke slam. Wanting to inflict more pain Kane hit a second choke slam and then signalled for a Tombstone piledriver. That gave Erick Rowan and Luke Harper time to place some black flooring over the fire-belching contraption and make their way into the ring. Because the match could end only by pinfall or submission the referee was powerless to stop them. They double teamed Kane and then a recovered Bray hit his finishing move for the win.

 

What a wrestling ring looks like when it's on fire (sort of)

 

After the match Bray sat down in his rocking chair and had Kane placed in front of him with his head on some steel steps. Rowan and Harper smashed another set of steps onto Kane’s head (they’re shaped so that all Kane had to put up with was a loud noise) and dragged him out of the arena after Bray. We won’t be seeing Kane for a while as he’s off to film See No Evil 2.

It was a good performance from all four. Jerry Lawler described what we’d seen as creepy, which fails to do it justice.

Up in the skybox Josh Mathews and his expert panel of Booker T, Shawn Michaels and Vickie Guerrero discussed what they’d just seen. Booker said it was disturbing and that the Wyatts have flipped the script. That made me miss Booker’s commentary. HBK said it was uncomfortable viewing but added that it was an impressive debut.

A Paul Heyman interview originally shown during the pre-show was aired. The most important thing he said was that the match between Punk and Lesnar would be fought under no DQ rules.

Damien Sandow cut a promo as he walked to the ring. He reminded us that there have been many great literary pairings over the decades, one of the pair always being the leader and the other a sidekick and lackey. He told us Rhodes had been his sidekick. He finished by saying that he would send Rhodes back to his Dumb and Dumber partnership with his father.

Sandow promos are always good. This was not an exception to the rule.

The two had a spirited, fast paced opening sequence. Sandow gained control before Cody kicked off a comeback with a Muscle Buster from the corner. A few minutes later he won with Cross Rhodes. That moves strikes me as one that could be seen as incredibly legitimate if built up. It looks like it would get you a victory. If WWE have him go over more people with it then it could become something special.

These two will almost certainly clash again at Night of Champions. That neither has a title makes me think that the briefcase will be up for grabs. Whether it is or not, expect ‘The Duke of Decency’ to win there. It’ll be his turn.

 

Cody Rhodes there, channelling his inner Kid Muscle

 

The video of Christian’s career that’s done the rounds on TV over the last couple of weeks preceded the World Heavyweight championship match. That this was shown instead of the traditional feud recap showed just how bad a job WWE had done adding sparks to the Christian and Alberto Del Rio rivalry. The closest we came to getting a genuine reason for the two men’s alleged dislike of one another was Michael Cole’s claim that a black eye ADR was sporting was the result of Christian’s Killswitch finisher. It may be true, but I doubt it.

The match built slowly, with the two men eventually exchanging their signature and finishing moves for near falls and reversal spots. It was very well done. Del Rio worked on Christian’s shoulder, playing off the injury that had kept ‘Captain Charisma’ out of action for nearly a year and also softening him up for the cross arm breaker submission.

The finish came about after ‘The Instant Classic’ speared Del Rio, winding the champion but also harming his own shoulder. ADR recovered and slapped on the cross arm breaker for the victory. It was a logical finish that didn't harm Christian but kept ADR strong. Considering this was a time killer feud for Del Rio keeping him strong was obviously going to be of importance. The match didn’t measure up to the incredible Del Rio v Ziggler matches of the last few months but it was worth watching.

After the match Renee Young appeared in the ring to ask ADR if he was proud of his win. ADR told her it’s a great night because he's still the champ. He said the Latino people need a hero and an idol to look up to. And that's him (obvs). Presumably this was done to dissuade WWE’s Latin fans from cheering Del Rio.

Backstage The Miz acted as interviewer and spoke to Maria Menounos. She recapped the issue between Natalya and the Bellas (which nobody cares about) before Fandango showed up again. He and Summer danced and then Miz and Maria danced. The final shot was of Fandango and Maria looking put out. If these segments don’t provide the starting point for a feud between Miz and Fandango they will have happened for literally no reason at all.

The Divas battle was next. Maria Menounos was nowhere to be seen. Natalya was accompanied by the Funkadactyls only. Brie was accompanied by her sister Nikki and Total Divas newcomer Eva Marie. The heels looked better, as is usually the case with WWE’s Divas.

The crowd amused themselves by chanting for each member of the commentary team in turn as Brie took an early lead following heel shenanigans. Natalya would eventually overcome those and get the clean victory via a Sharpshooter. The match was basic but avoided being bad.

In the back Ryback bullied a catering guy. First he said the food sucked, then he poured soup down the guy’s shirt and over his head. None of WWE’s babyfaces made the save. That doesn’t paint them in a terribly good light, does it? I’d ask where it all went wrong for Ryback but I think it’s probably too late for that. WWE have wasted a golden opportunity with him.

A lengthy video package was shown. It recounted the failed friendship of Paul Heyman and CM Punk and the involvement of Brock Lesnar.

The match kicked off with Punk getting in some offensive flurries on Lesnar before getting shut down and put on sell duty for several minutes. During the early portion of the match I was particularly impressed with Lesnar’s use of the bear hug. It’s not exactly a thrilling move but when applied by Lesnar it looks genuinely painful.

Punk kicked off a comeback by biting ‘The Pain’s’ ear. He followed up with kicks, elbows and a high knee. Punk finally sent Lesnar down to the mat with a roundhouse kick, following up with a Macho Elbow for a two count.

Punk attempted a GTS but Lesnar countered into the Kimura lock. Punk sold that for a few moments before inexplicably countering into an armbar and then a triangle choke. Lesnar powered up to his feet and tried to power bomb his way out of the hold, but Punk kept it applied. Moments later he powered to his feet again and this time freed himself by hitting a running power bomb on Punk. ‘The Second City Saint’ kicked out.

 

The Kimura lock. This will be among the many things Punk fails to sell on RAW

Lesnar blasted Punk with Eddie Guerrero’s Three Amigos for another two count. ‘The Beast’ slipped out to ringside and grabbed a chair. He was met with a top rope dive from Punk before he could return to the ring but managed to get the chair up to protect himself. This was a wobble in the otherwise enjoyable action. Not only had Punk recovered too quickly from the sustained beating that had included two power bombs and three suplexes but he made it to his feet quicker than Lesnar even though he jumped off the top rope into a steel chair. It was ropey psychology. Considering the high esteem Punk holds himself in I think we’re entitled to expect better from him.

Punk smacked Lesnar with the chair on the outside and back in the ring and used it when hitting a Macho Elbow. Heyman made the save there. As he distracted Punk, Lesnar clambered groggily to his feet (selling the beating he’d taken – fancy that) and scooped Punk up for an F5. Punk grabbed hold of Heyman, forcing Lesnar to release his grasp and creating a moment of confusion that allowed Punk to get a GTS on his foe.

Heyman made the save for a second time. Instead of looking furious that he’d just been cost a win Punk smiled. He chased his former pal around the ring, re-entering the ring to find himself scooped up for an F5. He countered that into a DDT and applied the Anaconda Vice.

Heyman once again entered the ring, this time brandishing a chair. Punk released the hold to put a stop to Heyman’s nonsense. He punched him in the mouth and then put him in the Vice. This left him wide open to Brock Lesnar, who broke the submission hold with a chair and then F5ed Punk, onto that very same chair, for the victory.

Punk’s aversion to logical wrestling psychology aside this was a very good match. It wasn’t as great as the commentary trio made it out to be nor was it the match of the night (the main event grabbed that honour) but it was very enjoyable. Lesnar and Heyman left to boos and Punk got a standing ovation. My assumption is Punk will win a rematch.

Michael Cole went from discussing the serious beating Lesnar and Punk had handed one another to jovially introducing a video package about a fan who agreed to take a World’s Strongest Slam from Mark Henry in exchange for free SummerSlam tickets. It was a jarring change of pace. It was also a weird challenge. But this is wrestling. We’ve seen far weirder over the years.

The evening’s penultimate match was the mixed tag. Ziggler (and Kaitlyn, because she entered with him) got a huge pop. AJ got slightly less. Big E got nothing. The crowd were hot for the Big E versus Dolph exchanges but cooled off considerably whenever the ladies stepped into the ring. They did nothing wrong, this is just the result of WWE encouraging fans to see women’s wrestling as a waste of time over the last six or seven years. It’ll take time to get the division back on track but they are moving in the right direction.

The finish saw Big E attempt the Big Ending only for ‘The Show Off’ to counter into the Zig Zag. Winners of a fun and thoroughly inoffensive bout: Ziggler and Kaitlyn.

Backstage we got the final skit involving Miz and Fandango. Miz clotheslined the dancer to the ground for no reason. The crowd didn’t care. Neither did I. Frankly, I’d be surprised if either Fandango or Miz did.

Up in the skybox the experts gave their picks. Shawn and Vickie both selected Bryan while Booker failed to select anyone and instead talked about how Bryan will scratch and claw and fight while questioning whether Cena is still hungry enough to be at the top. Segments like this only work if everyone involved plays along and picks against the underdog. That was clearly Bryan, but going exclusively off the responses here you’d think it was Cena. A logical reason for HBK backing Bryan did exist (he trained him), but Booker and Vickie both should have backed the champ to get over how big a challenge Bryan was facing.

The final video of the evening recapped the Bryan, Cena, Triple H and Vince saga we've seen over the last month. If you’ve missed it the basic gist is that Cena selected Bryan to be his opponent, Triple H felt Bryan was the future of the company, and Vince didn’t want either Cena or Bryan holding the title and isn’t getting on with Triple H.

Triple H's King of Kings music got a rare airing for his entrance. Bryan's entrance, featuring his The Beard is Here parody shirt, was met with the predictably thunderous yes chants. Cena’s entrance was booed, but that was always going to be the case.

The first few minutes saw Cena turning his hand to some mat wrestling. This was done to prove a point to Bryan, who’d described Cena as a parody of a wrestler. It was also in retaliation to the “You can’t wrestle” chants fans pelted the champion with.

Cena took control with a suplex off the steps to the mats and a power bomb back in the ring. Bryan came back with a clothesline and a series of kicks. Cena responded with a spinning back drop (formerly known as the Killswitch) and the Five Knuckle Shuffle. He attempted an AA but Bryan landed on his feet and hits a top rope drop kick for a two count.

Cena's eye was shown swelling as Bryan laid in kicks and screamed at Cena to get up. Bryan tried slapping a submission hold on to Cena’s elbow and Cena tried countering into the STF. Bryan came through that and slapped the STF on himself.

Cena powered out of that but moments later found himself in a Yes Lock. Cena slipped out but Bryan immediately put on a front face lock and a body scissors. Cena came back from that with an AA, out of which Bryan kicked out. Yes, Daniel Bryan was permitted to kick out of the AA. At this point I became convinced WWE were doing everything they could to make the match special and memorable.

Cena went up to the top but Bryan crotched him. Bryan launched himself at the champ again and again, getting pushed off each time but climbing to his feet and coming back. After a few repeats of that Bryan hit Cena with a second rope suplex, staying on the top rope by hooking his legs in the ropes. The commentary teams rightly put that over as a smart move that helped Bryan avoid the impact of a traditional second rope suplex.

Bryan came off the top with a headbutt and attempted a suicide dive. Cena put a stop to that with a forearm and his notoriously dodgy top rope leg drop. Cena tried a second rope AA but ‘The Dazzler’ fought out of the predicament with a load of elbows. He attempted a hurricanrana but Cena blocked it, leapt down to the mat and applies the STF.

After a few moments in the STF Bryan slipped out and applied the Yes Lock. Cena escaped into the ropes, earning him boos.

They did the boo and yay punch exchange, a Cena specialty, before a mid-air collision dropped them both to the mat. After a breather the two got back up, Cena visibly calling spots.

Cena slapped the challenger. Bryan responded in kind. They started a slap exchange but Bryan quickly got the better of it and Cena was left to cover up. Bryan went for his top rope flip counter as he was whipped into a corner but Cena caught him. The subsequent DDT attempt was countered into a DDT. As they both sold that Cena loudly called a sequence, ending on “… you got that?” What a pro.

 

There were several kicks thrown in this match. Natch

 

Bryan went for a top rope body block but was caught by his muscular opponent. Cena tried for an AA but Bryan instead got a rollup for a convincing out of nowhere false finish. First to his feet, Bryan connected with a kick to Cena’s head and then battered him with a running knee a three count from nowhere.

Daniel Bryan defeated John Cena clean. It's astonishing.

Bryan was handed the championship for a celebration but was interrupted after just a few seconds by the former champion. There was nothing to worry about though, not with a loveable babyface like John Cena. He shook Bryan’s hand and then left. Bryan continued his celebration with pyros exploding all over the place and confetti cascading down from the rafters. It was a great moment for fans of a guy who’s been one of wrestling’s hardest working men for years, both in and out of WWE.

Then Randy Orton came out.

‘The Viper’ posed with his briefcase in front of the ring. Bryan shouted out him to get in the ring but Orton just walked away. The commentary gang assumed this was just Orton reminding Bryan that he was waiting to strike. They had clearly forgotten how WWE works. As Bryan continued shouting Triple H, who had remained in the ring, spun him round and hit him with a Pedigree. Orton then headed back to the ring and handed over his briefcase. ‘The Game’ took it and we had our second WWE championship match of the night.

It didn’t last long. Orton simply made the cover and won. Thirty-three seconds passed between Bryan receiving the Pedigree and being covered. If that doesn’t tell us who the star was I don’t know what does. Cena would have kicked out of that pause. It would have been nice to see Orton pull Bryan up and hit him with an RKO (or enter the ring quicker) but I suspect the fact that Orton didn’t perform a single wrestling move all night but still left as champion is going to become a plot point.

Anyway, Triple H applauded Orton as he posed all over the place with the championship belt. SummerSlam went off the air with Triple H raising Orton's arm and Orton smirking. It was a shot that had a very DX feel to it.

And that was SummerSlam, the hottest show of the summer. It was, by any fair criteria, a damn fine wrestling show. Every match performed at or above expectations and it ended on a development that will send plots off in new and unexpected directions. The Bryan v Orton feud had been expected, but the union between the ‘The Apex Predator’ and Triple H had not.

It was also nice to see WWE go all the way with Daniel Bryan. Yes they took the championship off him straight away, but that’s to set him up as a babyface chasing a heel champion. It’s a dynamic proven to work and so there’s nothing wrong with doing it. Bryan still managed to defeat Cena clean in a pay-per-view main event, something not even CM Punk has been permitted to do.

Tonight’s RAW should be very interesting.

Snakeskin Case

It’s taken two years but Randy Orton is finally back on top of WWE. Well… sort of.

‘The Viper’s’ show-closing, briefcase-snatching victory at Money in the Bank has set him firmly back on the track to the WWE championship. That’s a title he’s not held since November 22^nd 2010. Funnily enough he lost it to a Money in the Bank cash-in from The Miz.

Part of what’s kept Orton away from the top is his history with WWE’s Wellness Policy. Having tested positive for banned substances twice Orton’s next infraction will see his contract terminated. Should that happen WWE would, by their own rules, be unable to rehire him until a year had passed and he’d passed a drug test. Naturally this sort of high risk situation is not something WWE have wanted to link to their top title.

Orton’s last brush with the top of the card came in 2011. He had the feud of the year opposite Christian for the World Heavyweight strap, winning it twice and leaving the rivalry with it. But as good as those matches were they were not for the company’s most treasured belt. Vacating the WHC or taking it off someone in a hurry would be an annoyance but it wouldn’t be a disaster. Getting the WWE title, the real world title, off someone in hurry would be.

Presumably ‘The Apex Predator’ has kept his nose clean for long enough (his last suspension came to an end on July 30^th last year) to convince WWE that he can be trusted with the championship. That he’s been outside of the main event bracket for so long and thus can be involved in relatively fresh matches and feuds probably doesn’t hurt either. In fact his briefcase win has put him on course for what has to be considered one of the freshest pay-per-view matches WWE can currently present.

I’m talking of course about the potential Orton versus Daniel Bryan series.

We’ve seen the two men wrestle several times before. They first clashed on SmackDown at the beginning of last year. The match was good but it was a standalone incident, something to keep both men busy. They’ve met again this year and actually had a respect based TV rivalry that saw them exchange clean wins in regular and gimmicked matches. Those bouts were never anything less than thrilling.

 

Orton has remained in an unassuming role since Money in the Bank. The most noteworthy thing that’s happened to him is getting low blowed by a fan in South Africa. The second most noteworthy thing that’s involved him was a short lived rumour that he was injured and would be missing ring time (in the end he missed one or two TV tapings and turned out to be fine). As far as scripted events go he’s done nothing of interest beyond walking out to pose with his briefcase during segments involving Daniel Bryan and-or WWE champion John Cena.

The message those posing scenes have sent has been clear. Orton intends to add himself to the WWE title picture. And soon.

 

Orton's been doing a lot of this since winning the case

 

The obvious time for this to happen would be the SummerSlam main event. I’ve outlined in a couple of posts now how Bryan could win the title to a huge ovation only to lose it moments later to Orton. Cashing in on in the ultra-popular ‘King of Beards’ would not endear Orton to fans and would make a natural starting point for a heel turn. Even if he lost his cash-in attempt, which seems incredibly unlikely, a villainous streak could emerge: he could become eaten up by frustration at losing in what was considered a “can’t lose” situation.

Orton winning the MITB briefcase initially disappointed me. It painted a dreary picture of his 378^th feud with John Cena. Thankfully WWE gave us a pleasant surprise when Daniel Bryan was awarded a title match at SummerSlam. Not only did that make use of a red hot talent but it also hinted at more Orton v Bryan matches, on pay-per-view and with one man playing a heel. If any changes could help them better their efforts of the last few months it’s an upgrade to PPV and one man playing an aggressive bad guy.

Further adding to Orton’s fortunes is the supposed elbow injury John Cena has suffered. I’m not convinced this isn’t a work to give Cena an excuse to tap out to the Yes Lock but whether it’s real or not it’s part of WWE storylines it hints that Cena will be taking time off in the next few weeks. That would leave Orton alone for a run opposite ‘The Dazzler’. Should Cena stick around we’ll see a three-way feud instead. That won’t be bad but I’d rather Bryan and Orton be left to tear it up alone.

Orton’s return to the main event could not have come at a better time.

From Ring Announcer to Wrestler

I go back and forth on Alberto Del Rio. I think he’s a talented dude. He wrestles a very believable style and he has some of the most wonderful facial expressions in all of wrestling. And he is, of course, a very natural heel.

Right now I’m in a pro Del Rio phase. At the beginning of the year I was unsure that turning him babyface was the right move. Everything about him, from his natural sneer to his aristocrat gimmick, screams bad guy. How many good guys have had personal ring announcers working for them? None that I can think of.

But the turn worked. ADR obviously deserves a lot of the credit for that success but he doesn’t deserve it all. Part of the reason the Del Rio face turn worked as well as it did was the work of Ricardo Rodriguez.

Ricardo was used as a tool to get audiences sympathising with the arrogant Del Rio. The turn actually began when big bully Big Show started picking on Rodriguez and Del Rio stood up for him. Their on-screen relationship was broadened, growing from employer and employee to friends. Del Rio’s friendship with Ricardo was used to humanise him and allow us to empathise with him. We cheered him because he was a stand up dude who’d look out for his pal.

As well as the face turn worked I wasn’t disappointed when he reverted to the bad guy role at Payback. I was surprised that it had come so quickly because there was so much more that a babyface (or should I say técnico?) Del Rio could do, but he is always going to be better suited to playing a villain. I was surprised that Ricardo made the jump back with his boss. Having proven that he could elicit some excellent reactions in his own right I’d suspected that when the Del Rio heel turn came it would be at the expense of Double R.

Obviously the lure of a double turn alongside Dolph Ziggler was too much for WWE to resist. And they made the right decision. The loss at Payback elevated ‘The Show Off’ nicely. It was absolutely the right thing to do.

 

Can Ricardo Rodriguez succeed without Alberto Del Rio?

 

We’ll never know if there was an original plan to get ADR back to being a baddie at his ring announcer’s expense but we do know that the split happened not long after the two became villains again. The August 8^th RAW saw Del Rio give Rodriguez a vicious pasting. It made it very clear that the Del Rio character no longer views Ricardo as an asset at ringside. Ricardo had been knocked about by his boss before but had always stuck by him (the wrestling equivalent of an apologetic abused spouse). The severity of this beating and Ricardo’s subsequent disappearance from television has made it clear that the two have been separated permanently this time.

And this begs the question of “What next?” Right now Del Rio is embroiled in one of the most underwhelming feuds of the year against Christian. It feels like a placeholder programme. It’s not likely to stretch on for months on end. I’d say it could wind up at SummerSlam. It will definitely be over and done with by September.

From there I suspect we’re going to see an actual feud between Alberto Del Rio, wrestler, and Ricardo Rodriguez, ring announcer. How that will work is anyone’s guess but it looks like that’s what WWE’s planning. Why else would they split Ricardo from his kayfabe benefactor? If he’s not going it alone or working alongside Del Rio there’s nothing for the guy to do.

Ricardo’s a fully qualified wrestler in his own right (he’s appeared on NXT programming a few times as El Local and wrestled on the indies before his current gig came up). He could get into the ring and wrestle ADR but realistically that shouldn’t happen any time soon. For Ricardo to go from a ring announcer to performing hurricanranas and super kicks on a world champion would obliterate suspension of disbelief. The smarter approach would be to have Ricardo interfering in ADR’s matches and feuds for a bit while acknowledging that he’s training to be a wrestler.

A feud between the two could be big. For Del Rio it’s a chance to get over as a truly nasty individual, one who’ll victimise someone whenever he gets the chance. In a way, that’s already been hinted at with Ziggler. For Ricardo it’s a chance to develop into an in-ring performer, an underdog who’ll do his best against long odds. That’s a role I think Ricardo would be well suited to playing and something I think WWE audiences would take to.

Beyond this programme ADR would carry on about his business. But for Ricardo it’s make or break. If he can’t be accepted in a story which sees him battling his tyrannical boss (something WWE has more than a little practice at promoting) then he’s unlikely to get over in a follow up feud with Wrestler A over Reason B.

I think Ricardo will do it. He’s an extremely emotive performer and he’s not afraid to take a big bump. Audiences have warmed to him once. I think they can be convinced to again.

SummerSlam 2013 preview

I’d like to kick this preview off by talking about SummerSlam as an annual event. Years ago it was WWE’s clear number two event. It worked well in the slot, the WrestleMania of the summer, but lost it because of a number of factors. The chief one is the growth of the WrestleMania “brand name”. Making ‘Mania bigger has elevated the Royal Rumble by association because that’s where things begin to fall into place for the larger show. That’s knocked SummerSlam back into third place.

The residency at the Staples Center hasn’t helped either. This year’s will be the fifth SummerSlam in a row to be held at the arena. I understand WWE likes using LA because it’s thought of as a hot location and it works nicely with the US time zones during summer months but it’s getting stale. It feels odd that WWE have been returning there for one annual show when they don’t do that for any of their other events. The LA crowd aren’t particularly wonderful either.

I’d like to see the company change it up and go somewhere else for next year’s SS. I’d also like them to develop the tie-ins surrounding the show. Their Fan Axxess event looks good but it’s clear it’s not on the scale of ‘Mania’s. Maybe SummerSlam can’t unseat the Rumble as the company’s number two event, but that’s no reason not to try. Why be complacent? Why not try for three mega events each year instead of two? WWE has nothing to lose and plenty to gain.

 

Dolph and AJ sitting together? Awks...

 

This year’s SummerSlam line-up is clearly built around two matches. The rest of the card is a mixture of star building exercises and unappealing pairings.

Epitomising the latter is Natalya v Brie Bella. This match was added on Monday’s RAW and clearly exists as a way of promoting the Total Divas show WWE have made with the E! channel. I’ve only watched bits of it but it seems about what I’d expected it to be. Basically it’s the ideal vehicle for the Bellas. Less so Natalya. So far three weeks’ worth of episodes have aired and the ratings have risen for each, so they’ve obviously done something right.

Basically this match has been added to SummerSlam to allow Michael Cole to plug Total Divas for five uninterrupted minutes. It’ll act as filler and as a way of encouraging viewers who haven’t watched TD to check it out. Either lady could win. I’ll go with Brie because the Bellas seem to be one of WWE’s fave acts.

Also on that unappealing pairings list is Rob Van Dam v Dean Ambrose. I think all three Shield members are going to have success after the group inevitably disbands. But I think it will be Ambrose who’ll have the most. He may not have the physique of Roman Reigns or the flashy style of Seth Rollins but he’s the best of the three on psychology and promos. Those are things that will take him to the top.

Sadly they aren’t things that are likely to get a good match out of RVD. Ten years ago I loved Van Dam. Over the years his act has become stale. He cycles through the same spots he’s been doing since his ECW prime fifteen years ago. He’s not changed his look or improved significantly on promos. The wrestling business has moved on and Van Dam is something of a relic, surprising when you consider that his key spots are still impressive and the sort of things current popular wrestlers do.

In ECW and in his early WWF-and-E years RVD could string his spots together far more than he’s ever given credit for. It’s only in the years since that the transition skills have started to dessert him. I can see this match being satisfactory but nothing more. As for a title change, it’s not impossible but it’s not something I’d expect. I think Ambrose will lose the championship as part of a feud, not on a random pre-show to someone who doesn’t need it to be over.

Speaking of The Shield it’s been rumoured for a while that Mark Henry and Big Show would be taking the group on at SummerSlam. Rollins and Reigns issued an open challenge on RAW and Big Show returned to run the group away from ringside, but the two things have yet to become connected. At time of writing the challenge has gone unanswered.

I think there’s a good chance of the bout happening. If it does I think we’ll get new tag team champions. Rollins and Reigns have had a good run but it feels like time for things to be changed up. A title switch could kick off the first proper tag title feud we’ve had in months.

SummerSlam’s final uninspiring pairing is Alberto Del Rio v Christian. I don’t think the match will be bad but I do think WWE has failed at giving us a reason to care about it. ‘Captain Charisma’ earned the title match by winning a hastily thrown together triple threat match and has gone on to interact with ADR only a few times. Their segments have been uniformly forgettable.

At this point the most interesting thing that can happen is for Christian to have Ricardo Rodriguez as his announcer for the evening. That would play off the beating Del Rio dished out to RR on the August 5^th RAW and set up an employee v employer feud, which is clearly going to be Del Rio’s next programme.

I don’t expect Christian to win this match. But he could. Ricardo could cost him the gold or he could just win it clean so that ADR isn’t feuding with his former friend and employee as a world champion.

Over on the star building side of the card we have Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow in a battle of former best friends. Last month’s Money in the Bank match was laid out perfectly for Cody. He looked like a star and was treated as such by fans. He’s obviously cooled off a bit since then, but that match showed that if booked correctly fans will rally behind him. Selecting him for a face turn was a good move.

I like both Rhodes and Sandow. I thought they were a great team that never got the push they deserved and I think they’re great as individuals. Both men are ready for bigger and better things so it’s tricky to pick a winner for this match. Sandow could win by cheating to show that he really is dastardly. Or Rhodes could win so that he has justification for wanting a WHC match after Sandow cashes in (which would only really work if Sandow cashes in soon, which I don’t think he will).

I think this feud’s going to continue for a while so it doesn’t really matter who wins here. There’ll be a rematch next month. I’ll go with Sandow because he lost on RAW and will lose again on Friday’s SmackDown. It’s not a secret that guys who lose on TV have a better chance of winning pay-per-view matches than those who win on TV. Strange but true.

Also part of the star building stratagem is Bray Wyatt’s match with Kane. I, like a lot of other people, am a fan of the Wyatt character. I think it’s different to what WWE’s been doing for the past several years. They’ve needed to try out someone like Wyatt for a while and I’m pleased it’s worked out, both for them and for him.

But as introductory feuds go getting paired up with ‘The Big Red Machine’ is a little disappointing. Wyatt’s given some great promos and Kane’s done a commendable job of selling for the newbie but we’ve seen so many people beat Kane over the years that it’s no longer particularly impressive. It just doesn’t feel special.

The Ring of Fire rules are a peculiar choice too. It helps to set Wyatt’s debut apart I suppose, so that’s a good thing. But it might limit what the two men can do during their match. I’ll reserve full judgement on the match until I’ve seen it (obvs) but I’m not expecting anything amazing. I’m picking Wyatt to win. Having him go under in his first televised match would risk damaging his popularity. I don’t want to believe WWE would chance that.

The final match that falls into star building territory is the mixed tag team match, Dolph Ziggler and Kaitlyn against Big E Langston and AJ Lee. I’m going to be upset if reference isn’t made to the NXT season three storyline that teased Ziggler and Kaitlyn getting together. Matt Striker would have been guaranteed to make mention of that, God bless ‘im. Something tells me I’ll be upset by the current commentary trio.

This is a promising match. Kaitlyn’s passable while the other three are all great at their given roles. I think we can expect some great exchanges between Ziggler and his former bodyguard. ‘The Show Off’s’ OTT selling could make Big E look like a monstrous juggernaut.

The way I’d book the match is to have Ziggler isolated and selling before eventually making the hot tag to Kaitlyn, allowing her to wipe out AJ with a spear. That would protect Big E from jobbing, place Ziggler on a winning team for once, and give Kaitlyn an argument for another Divas championship match. AJ can afford to take a loss. She’s WWE’s most over woman.

Whether that actually happens we’ll have to wait and see. But it’s the result I think would make the most sense.

The two matches the show’s been built around are CM Punk’s clash with Brock Lesnar and John Cena’s title defence against Daniel Bryan. The Punk v Lesnar feud hasn’t really grabbed me. It’s felt quite repetitive, mainly because the weekly segments it’s been awarded have either seen Punk and Heyman cutting promos on one another or Punk and Lesnar brawling. The match itself will likely be very good, a blend of strikes, submission holds and wrestling, it’s just not had the best build.

I don’t know who to pick as a winner. They’ll almost certainly have second and third matches at some point so who wins this match is almost irrelevant. I’m leaning more towards ‘The Beast’, as that sets Punk up to make the valiant comeback in match two. I wouldn’t be surprised if Punk won though. There’s no clear winner, and that’s a good thing.

I want Bryan v Cena to go on last. I’d understand if the honour went to Punk, Lesnar and Heyman but I think Bryan deserves the slot more. He’s the hotter star and I don’t think anybody, including CM Punk, will be able to follow his match with Cena. Bryan’s become so big that he’s going to steal the show wherever he appears on it, so it makes sense to hold him off until last.

I’m expecting this to be the best match of the night. Bryan won’t be anything less than excellent and Cena will get one of his famed mixed reactions. That’s when he does his best work. I think we can expect a title change, it’s just a question of whether it will be Bryan or Orton that defeats Cena. There are various scenarios that could play out amongst the three men, and that adds to the match’s appeal.

Triple H being the guest referee seems to hint at McMahon family shenanigans coming into play during this match. It could be as simple as Vince interfering and Triple H having to give him a Pedigree (because that’s the only way to stop someone interfering, natch) or it could be McMahon coming out after the match has finished to introduce his hand-picked champion: Randy Orton. Wherever this match comes on the card and whoever wins I think we’re guaranteed a Vince appearance.

I think Bryan’s going to win, earning Cena’s respect, only to lose to a cashing in Randy Orton. Bryan winning the title and then successfully defending it against ‘The Viper’ would be amazing (especially if the match went for several minutes and Bryan won after reversing an RKO into a small package) but it’s a long shot. It would turn Bryan into a megastar in one night. Will that happen? I don’t know. Do I want it to happen? Yes (!).The build-up to this match has been a success in part because it’s impossible to know what will happen. That’s what I yearn for (yep, yearn for) from big wrestling cards.

I think SummerSlam will be a good show. As long as the majority of the undercard matches aren’t atrocious and the two big matches are memorable (which I think they will be) it should be one of WWE’s better pay-per-view offerings of the year. And they’re not having a bad year on pay-per-view. It’s somewhat surprising that Mark Henry, Ryback and Randy Orton don’t have matches announced but that just goes to show what a good job WWE are doing creating new name talent right now.

I’m looking forward to this card a great deal.

Predictions summary:

Daniel Bryan to defeat John Cena for the WWE championship
Randy Orton to cash in his Money in the Bank contract
Brock Lesnar to defeat CM Punk
Damien Sandow to defeat Cody Rhodes
Dolph Ziggler and Kaitlyn to defeat Big E Langston and AJ Lee
Bray Wyatt to defeat Kane
Alberto Del Rio to defeat Christian
Brie Bella to defeat Natalya
Dean Ambrose to defeat Rob Van Dam
Mark Henry and Big Show to defeat The Shield for the WWE tag team championship… if the match happens