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The build-up was strong and the Superstars were red hot as we set foot in Staples Center, Los Angeles for the fifth consecutive year for what was bound to be an electric and emotionally charged WWE SummerSlam.
Coming on the heels of an amazing go home show of Monday Night RAW on 12th August, we were left with a new Special Guest Referee for the WWE Championship Match, Triple H, a charged up Daniel Bryan holding the WWE universe in the palm of his hands and a lurking Viper sending the message of a looming threat. And boy, did all those things add up to give us one of the best PPV events WWE has produced this year!
Things kicked off with the WWE United States Title Pre-Show match featuring Rob Van Dam versus Dean Ambrose. Right from the get-go, Staples Center assured us that this crowd wasn’t going to be as lacklustre as the ones it had produced before, and kept booing and cheering through the night.
This match was strong, allowing RVD to showcase his unique offence against Dean Ambrose who commendably held his own. Interference was on its way as the rest of The Shield got involved, drawing out Big Show and Mark Henry for the saves, ultimately leading to a DQ victory for RVD and setting up possible matches for the Night of Champions.
The Ring of Fire match came first on the PPV and showcased a good match between Kane and Bray Wyatt. Though throughout the match one could feel that Bray had to depend on his lackeys to finally get the job done, this outing for Bray Wyatt did not project him as a dominant wrestler but more like the leader of a heel faction who needs his thugs to get the job done. Nevertheless, the eerie image of the Wyatts carrying Kane to the back did do its job, and left the Wyatts looking strong.
Damien Sandow vs Cody Rhodes was up next and these two extremely talented individuals looked equally strong, with the right amounts of theatrics and wrestling involved for the viewer’s pleasure. The feud is going strong, with the fans right behind Cody and Damien Sandow playing the villain to perfection. If they carry this on right from here, I could potentially see Cody challenging Sandow for the briefcase at Night of Champions.
The World Heavyweight Title Match pitting Christian against Alberto Del Rio was definitely a ‘match of the night’ candidate, showcasing ADR’s amazing in-ring abilities against the veteran Christian, who seems to be able to pull a good match out of anyone.
Though Christian’s mild to lukewarm responses from the WWE universe sometimes make me think that he might need to do more to revitalize his career, being the talented performer that he is, he deserves to get those massive props from the audience who definitely want to see more of Captain Charisma. The match ended with ADR making Christian tap out to the Cross Arm Breaker following which he cut a very face-like promo, endearing himself to the Latino community which actually left me a bit confused as to what direction was being taken with him now.
Natalya vs Brie Bella was supposed to be the breather match that WWE usually gives after a charged up match to allow the audience to recover and re-energize for the next big one. But it actually turned out to be a fairly good encounter, showcasing maybe one too many rest holds by Brie Bella. Nevertheless, the Total Divas seems to be looming all around this event from the very beginning and WWE seems to be giving it a lot of focus.
CM Punk vs Brock Lesnar was one of the top matches of the night
No DQ Match featuring CM Punk vs Brock Lesnar. When I say that CM Punk took a beating in this match, I mean CM Punk took a beating in this match. The Beast Brock Lesnar absolutely destroyed CM Punk for a majority of this match but Punk kept coming back. Vicious shot after vicious shot. And he did this while dishing out some fine punishment of his own; at one point he even had Paul Heyman in the Anaconda Vice.
There was absolutely great in-ring psychology by the two and at one point, despite this being a No DQ Match, a full on wrestling match broke out involving the two trading holds. Going back and forth in a tremendous display of skill and tenacity, Paul Heyman only added to the intensity it all. CM Punk succumbed to the vicious beat down by Lesnar only with the help of Paul Heyman, and The Beast took one hell of a victory in another Match of the Night – or maybe Match of the Year – candidate.
Had the night ended here, this SummerSlam would still have been one of the best showings of the WWE this year. But that was not to be as the main action and drama still had to unfold.
Dolph Ziggler and Kaitlyn vs Big E Langston and AJ Lee was another breather match, which Dolph Ziggler used to do what he does best – show off. It was a good back and forth match and a much needed victory for Dolph and Kaitlyn.
Main Event time. And time for another Match of the Year candidate. Bring on the WWE Title Match, bring on Daniel Bryan vs John Cena. People usually tend to give John Cena a hard time for being on the top for so long, hogging all the spotlight and not promoting new talent. To those people I say, watch this match.
From the mixed reactions to taking all the heel-ish spots, Cena did it all to ensure that Bryan went over as positively as he could. Bryan himself, the technician that he is, once again showed why he belongs in the Main Event, holding the match and the WWE Universe in the palm of his hand all the while.
It was a roller coaster ride from the start to the finish, and Daniel Bryan won his first ever WWE Championship following a devastating running knee to the face, pinning John Cena clean. After the match Cena shook Bryan’s hand and in many ways seemed like he passed the torch to him since he will now be taking time off for surgery. But that wasn’t it. Not by any stretch of imagination.
Out comes Randy Orton, running to the ring, only to stop short, lock eyes with Triple H and wait for Daniel Bryan to turn around and face his doom. Triple H planted Bryan with a Pedigree, leaving him motionless, aligning himself with Randy Orton and allowing him to cash in his Money in the Bank contract to become the WWE Champion for the 7th time.
Overall, this PPV was money well spent for anyone who ordered it. It had strong footing coming into it and leaves every Superstar and Diva with a purposeful fall out into their respective storylines (even Ryback and his highly entertaining encounters with catering), which will only improve the WWE product as a whole. The finish to the WWE Championship match now puts Daniel Bryan firmly in the driver’s seat of the Main Event class and one can only expect a truly great outcome of this Triple H heel turn.
I for one will surely be tuning in to Monday Night RAW to see it all come together, and silently, hopefully praying to hear the words, “Evolution is a mystery…”
