SummerSlam XXVII

[HumanChessgame]

The opener was good but a bit too short.  Glad Ziggler won though.  Hopefully Miz vanishes again to do another movie and Ziggler can get a decent feud or two with the belt.  The way he conveys emotion could make it mean something - he's a guy who knows he'll probably never get higher up on the food chain, so a mid-card title like the IC strap means everything to him and he'll do whatever he can to keep it.

 

Russev/Swagger was easily the best thing I've seen either guy involved in.  Russev's selling and character work was above and beyond anything I'd seen from him so far.  Of all the newer guys on the roster, I really think he can do great things.  Give him more match time to show he can do more than just power/squash moves and keep him in there with more experienced guys and he can be a future top player.

 

Whenever I'm watching a ppv at work there are inevitably a couple long, annoying calls that come in during the show and tonight I missed the end of Rollins/Ambrose and most of Jericho/Wyatt because I was tending to work stuff.  Everything I saw from Rollins and Ambrose was aces though.  At this point I think the Wyatts just need to stay off tv for a few weeks, then come back and start destroying people or dragging them off when the lights go out again or something.

 

Reigns/Orton wasn't that great, though I think Reigns looked like he was trying his damndest.  I've always loathed Orton and he looked especially bad tonight.  Any time he tries to go into "Viper Mode" he looks like a retarded kid having a tantrum.  I just hope they put Reigns with someone he can learn from after this.

 

At first I didn't like Cena/Lesnar as it just seemed so anticlimactic.  I kept figuring at any moment Cena would have one of his rise above moments and they'd go into some back and forth.  After thinking about it a bit I think Lesnar going all indy squash powermove on Cena was what worked best in the end. 

 

Even though they've been seemingly burying Cesaro lately, I'm still hoping we get to see him against beastmode Lesnar at some point.  The thought of the two of them beating/stretching the shit out of eachother gives me the warm fuzzies.

[Josh Mann]

A 20 oz, though. Possibly two. Handing him a can would just be a bigger insult.

[Cobra Commander]

@LanaWWE

Follow

Congrats @HeymanHustle & @BrockLesnar for winning World Heavy Weight championship title. It will make it more fun to #CRUSH you! #SummerSlam

No wonder Russia lost the Cold War.

What's missing is Rusev's reply:

@Rusev

I DID NOT WRITE tTHIS!!! SHE SOES NOT SPEAK FOR ME!!! NO eFNGLISH!! I AM RETIRRED.

Rusev walks up to Brock backstage at RAW tomorrow. Politely hands him Rusev's Russian medal. Slowly backs off and slinks away.

Fixed

[Nice Guy Eddie]

Brock then eats Rusev's medal and is disappointed to find out it's not filled with chocolate. Brock rips Rusev's heart out of his chest and grabs Lana with his free hand, flinging her over his shoulder.

[GuerrillaMonsoon]

Brock then eats Rusev's medal and is disappointed to find out it's not filled with chocolate. Brock rips Rusev's heart out of his chest and grabs Lana with his free hand, flinging her over his shoulder.

 

Titty twisters for everyone.

[Parties]

Another needless Cesaro loss, but I liked that he argued with the ref and cut a mini-promo at the pre-show booth. Felt spontaneous and Flair put him over.

 

Miz's talents are his stalling, selling, and goofy faces, which caused Ziggler to slow down and get the most out of the superkick, Zig Zag, etc. Ziggler hurt his knee toward the end. The IC title, while still an afterthought, has probably meant more this year than it has since Orton held it in '03 (or Hardy in '06).

 

That hair gimmick in Paige-AJ: yeesh. AJ looked pretty bad, but I'm a broken record on disliking her. Paige looked great.

 

How good is Lana right now? Such an awesome promo: “Shaht tahp.”, “golden fantasy land”, “cold hard fist of reality”, “You eh say”. The false opening too: “He cheat!” Were it not for Bo and Paige, she'd be the rookie of the year, and even then she might be adding more to the show nowadays than either of them. Rusev sells so well for a big guy, and what a finish. Swagger stays strong in refusing to give up, while Rusev is in such pain applying his own finisher that he looks like he's crying.

 

Loved Ambrose's big lariat. Not the best finish, and the match didn't touch the best Shield stuff this year. I dug that Goldust was the one who stood up to Kane. Lumberjack gimmick worked, fulfilling the now-monthly “midcarder payday” spot.

 

Wyatt and Jericho were both a lot of fun live at MSG a couple months ago, but this was flat. Wyatt needs a (figurative) shot in the arm.

 

Brie-Steph shouldn't have had a by-the-numbers match. Well rehearsed and well executed, but it made no sense for the story they've been telling. This should have been a chaotic circus brawl, the problem being they'd just had one with Ambrose/Rollins. Plus Brie probably can't safely work garbage spots. Heel turn was telegraphed from a mile away, but looked good. Another segment where Hunter and Steph script themselves as the cheat code geniuses of the universe: “the greatest power couple in the world.”

 

Cole's sports coat “in tribute to someone in the company” gets five stars and may have been the highlight of the show to this point.

 

No idea what people are talking about re: the Reigns-Orton match. Reigns was fine and Orton was great carrying him to what to this point was match of the night. Cool story of him working a methodical match at his preferred pace, then losing once things sped up into the rampaging knockout mode of Reigns. He looked awesome in the RKO counter, big nearfalls, all smartly laid out. I first noticed it at MSG when he had a really good match with Jericho, but Orton's been on all year.

 

Too much smark gunk here re: Reigns and the usual Bryan obsessives who want him and no one else. Cut to four months from now when dweebs start bashing Lesnar and the company for burying prospects and “not creating new stars.” Bryan's badly hurt. They can't plan anything around him right now, even if they wanted to, and his readiness for the Rumble or even Mania (let alone a match with Lesnar) is still in greater question than some choose to believe. Who does Brock work with the next several months? You could turn Cesaro, Wyatt, or Orton, but not all of them. Guys like Jericho and RVD would seem ridiculous against Brock right now. It would be a good time for a babyface Batista to show up, but that's not happening. You could strap a rocket to Big E, Sheamus, Swagger, or Ryback if you just need a titan-sized dude to get destroyed one month, but that doesn't seem to be how they're booking right now. Orton face turn seems like it starts tomorrow night.

[Cobra Commander]

So if Bray Wyatt was actually being booked competently, he could be fed to Brock Lesnar? If they allowed blood in the WWE, Bray being split open by Lesnar and essentially soaking in punishment could be iconic?

[brandonr4s]

Didn't watch the PPV, but how the hell does RVD go over on Cesaro? How do they not see championship material in that guy?

 

When I look at the roster, the two guys I see who should be the champion at some point but haven't yet are Cesaro and Ambrose, not Reigns and Rollins.

[NikoBaltimore]

Man, almost forgot about the 4 Horsewomen being there.  I'm a big fan of them, so seeing them knowing they got all the WWE they could handle is really, really cool.  Loved Steph doing the hand sign when passing them.  It might get some attention from the MMA world, but that was pretty cool.

 

And watching it again, Dean's look of anguish after the curb stomp was superb.  If things work out with Reigns then great, but they really should consider Ambrose as a big-time star of the future.

[Valcourt]

Brock being champ should make for some interesting Raw and Smack down shows.

Not that I'm overly concerned but where does Orton go after this? The Authority has done what was best for business and now the title is on Bork Laser.

Dean Ambrose has a cool new hoodie that is much improved off that horrible first shirt. Loved his emotion after seemingly finishing off Rollins. Ambrose is the next star if he is given a chance. I wonder what he is like back stage and how the office views him?

I really really hope Cena takes a very long time off. He deserves it for the time he puts on the road and even more so to solidify the beating he took and to get it over more.

I half thought that first F5 was gonna be it, thinking they were going for a total shock, but the complete beat down was amazing. Some of those Germans were insane!

Has there ever been another top star on Cenas level who has been squashed on this level before?

[bink_winkleman]

It's really weird to me that everyone is talking about Bryan, Reigns an Ambrose when it's pretty clear that they're just gonna feed Brock some jabronis for a little bit until Cena, fresh off some training montages and redemption promos, comes back and beats Lesnar by taking advantage of his arrogance. Probably Survivor Series.

[ErinQuinn]

Brock then eats Rusev's medal and is disappointed to find out it's not filled with chocolate. Brock rips Rusev's heart out of his chest and grabs Lana with his free hand, flinging her over his shoulder.

Titty twisters for everyone.

And this is how the war with Dean Ambrose begins

[Go2Sleep]

It's really weird to me that everyone is talking about Bryan, Reigns an Ambrose when it's pretty clear that they're just gonna feed Brock some jabronis for a little bit until Cena, fresh off some training montages and redemption promos, comes back and beats Lesnar by taking advantage of his arrogance. Probably Survivor Series.

 

Not that it would surprise me, but this would be really terrible. Beating Brock now is a career win for somebody, and Cena is very last guy on the roster who needs a career win.

 

We can only hope they feed him jabronis, though. Even though Ziggler has the IC now, I'd still love to see him bump around for Lesnar.

[Ligerbusa]

I'm watching Brie vs Stephanie right now. It's weird, Brie is the underdog because she's so small but she's the one who wrestles on a regular basis. Stephanie looks like the female wrestler and Brie looks like a celebrity brought in for a one time appearance. 

[piranesi]

Does the intersection of the losing-streak belt with Dolph Ziggler put us in any ghostbusters stream-crossing danger here?

[bink_winkleman]

It's really weird to me that everyone is talking about Bryan, Reigns an Ambrose when it's pretty clear that they're just gonna feed Brock some jabronis for a little bit until Cena, fresh off some training montages and redemption promos, comes back and beats Lesnar by taking advantage of his arrogance. Probably Survivor Series.

Not that it would surprise me, but this would be really terrible. Beating Brock now is a career win for somebody, and Cena is very last guy on the roster who needs a career win.

For the first time ever I wish Austin would have stuck around for the Lesnar match he quit over. A video package of the Hogan bear hug, a weekday Stone Cold beating, the Rocky F-5, 21-1 and the Cena squash would be outrageous.

[Phantom Lord]

The only thing missing from Brock's win was a post match interview where he channeled that one he did in UFC years ago when he said he was going home to drink an ice cold Coor's light and have sex with his wife.

 

My God that was beautiful to watch. I was speechless after about the tenth German suplex and he still had another six to go.

 

OVERCOME THOSE ODDS.

[THEmanWITHnoNAME]

JAE'S MATCH ANALYSIS

WWE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT: JOHN CENA vs. BROCK LESNAR

 

My favorite part of this match was when John Cena got the shit beat out of him the whole time. Then lost. 

My least favorite part of this match was when Brock Lesnar got tired of beating the shit out of John Cena and stopped the match by winning.

 

I'm out of "Likes" -- come on guys can we please get that changed -- but I would give this "Likes" to infinity.

[Jiji]

As far as people believably beating Brock...man I don't know. as a Bret Hart fan I'd love to see them run with Bryan but after the beating Brock gave Cena tonight I don't know. Maybe Ambrose or something later on, someone who's too psychotic and deranged to stay down and know he's hurt, maybe?

 

Fuck it give me Brock and Rusev. I need to see Lana and Heyman promo against each other.

You can get Dean to win over even more fans if you have him do this in a losing cause. He's perfect as the last challenger before the big Mania match to put over how sadistic Brock is. Would be a great match with both guys coming out looking great. Roman vs. Brock would be a disaster.

 

Very fun show with things going into a mini-lull with Bray/Jericho, Steph/Brie outside of Steph's brilliance, and Roman/Orton. Orton tried so fucking hard to make Roman look like a million bucks but he couldn't do it. Props to him, though. Rusev is the man for selling the ankle and working the ribs. Ambrose and Rollins made a lumberjack match fun by not having a lumberjack match.

[Nice Guy Eddie]

I tried to give you one of my likes, but I'm out as well.

[piranesi]

 

 

Brock then eats Rusev's medal and is disappointed to find out it's not filled with chocolate. Brock rips Rusev's heart out of his chest and grabs Lana with his free hand, flinging her over his shoulder.

Titty twisters for everyone.

And this is how the war with Dean Ambrose begins

 

 

YOU STAY UNTWISTED!  NO MATTER WHAT OCCURS!  I WILL FIND YOU!!!!

[Cristobal]

Didn't see the pre-show, and given the result, I'm glad I didn't.

Miz/Ziggler happened.

Paige/AJ was the match we wanted these two to have last month. I hope AJ's staying around, cuz these two really clicked tonight.

Rusev/Swagger. I will never NOT hate a cold war angle in 201X, but this was the best work I think Rusev has done. I'm still not sold on him, but I at least won't use his matches as bathroom breaks.

Rollins/Ambrose. On the one hand, I think the gimmick really worked with the storyline in that 20 wrestlers around the ring STILL couldn't contain the insanity that was this match. On the other, it hindered what they could do. I'm hoping it means these two aren't done.

Wyatt/Jericho happened.

Steph/Brie: Ok, Steph did absolutely everything she needed to do tonight, and I have zero complaints about it, (even if my mind is still finding it hard to process "Stephanie McMahon: Power Wrestler",) but anyone who says she was "outworking" Brie (or, in one poster's case, "the entire divas roster",) doesn't know from wrestling. At all.

But that costume. DAYUM.

Actually, wait, one complaint. When she leaned over Brie and took those kicks, she really needed to sell the kicks at least a LITTLE bit. That's all, though.

Reigns/Orton: Orton tried so so hard, here. He couldn't do it. At this point, Mania's just too soon to hope Reigns turns the corner. They might as well just plan for Reigns to get his shot against Brock at the Rumble, with Brock winning big again.

Lesnar/Cena: For a completely different reason than Steph's costume: Dayum.

[THEmanWITHnoNAME]

 

 

Glorious.

[THEmanWITHnoNAME]

Even if Lesnar/Ambrose never happens IRL, it's going to be the finals of March Madness this year.

 

 

Fucking awesome.

[Jiji]

I didn't catch the 'Taker sit-up before the laugh. That is so perfect! What a guy, this Brock Lesnar.

 

Looking forward to: Brock beating the piss, blood, and vomit out of jabrones, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins in a Hell in a Cell match, Rusev in general, and more Paige and AJ. Not looking forward to: John Cena getting his win back. Massive props to him if he isn't the one to slay the dragon.