SummerFest 2009
Thumbs slightly up
Best Match: Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk
Worst Match: Christian vs. William Regal, if you count it as an actual match. If not, then Kane-Khali.
Hits (in sequential order of the show):
1. Mysterio-Ziggler match. They did a good job of telling a tried and true simple story. Challenger gets closer and closer each time, but just comes up short.
2. MVP Promo. I only wish they would put more effort into him.
3. CM Punk Promo. The most effective heels seem to be the ones that have some sort of truth to what they say in their promos. Punk cracking on housewives who care more about Kate Gosselin than their kids was hilarious.
4. DX's entrance. I am old school PRIDE fan, so I liked the showmanship. However, the other top guys didn't seem to have larger than life entrances. Of course, this dead crowd wouldn't have probably cared anyway.
5. Legacy's performance. We knew DX was going over, but they didn't completely squash them. Legacy didn't come off as complete tools like the Spirit Squad (gimmick aside) did.
6. World title match. It was obvious that Hardy, in his swan song, would do a crazy-ass spot and he delivered. I still think Punk should've done a GTS off the ladder for the finish, but Hardy was probably legit hurt after the swanton off the ladder.
7. Undertaker's return. Good work by the production people here. Hardy was out of the picture and Punk still celebrating only to have Taker lying in the ring and then delivering the chokeslam. The crowd seemed legitimately surprised with the return and it came off like a big deal.
Misses (in sequential order of the show):
1. Swagger-MVP match. Not b/c the match was necessarily bad, but because you have two guys that you are trying to get over and it seems like creative really has nothing for them, so they put them with each other instead of against more established guys to help get them over better.
2. Kane vs. Great Khali. About what was to be expected. Not a good match.
3. The Fan Axxess segment. Couldn't have that been put on RAW. Waste of time.
4. Christian-William Regal match. You already have ECW as the "C" show by a country mile. This was an actual opportunity to get those people who are actively engaged within the "WWE Universe" (GAG!) that may not watch ECW to actually give it a chance with two solid workers who could have had a really good 8-10 minute match. Instead, you use PPV time to get over Kozlov and Big Zeke? That can be done on your TV show.
5. Lillian Garcia and the WWE Title Match finish. Boy, you can tell she's phoning it in at this point. It's a good thing she's leaving because she would be wished well in her future endeavors if she wasn't. The finish was completely given away. Randy Orton had to cheat three times to keep the title and still pinned Cena cleanly. Cena is the big loser on this summer night. Heels are supposed to look stupid, NOT the babyfaces. This finish was RUSSO-RIFFIC. Vince had to be going absolutely crazy at the gorilla position.
Other Random Observations:
1. This crowd was either terrible for reactions or the production did a terrible job placing mics in the crowd. Nobody seemed to get a monster pop. Some of the bigger stars got little to no reaction.
2. Saw Tito Ortiz sitting next to Freddie Prinze, Jr at ringside. Maybe after the show, they could have an agent bring Tito backstage and have him work with the heels on how to cut promos and act to get heat. Dolph Ziggler did a little better job in his match tonight, but he still has a LONG way to go in that regard. Legacy and Swagger need to do a better job of it during their matches as well.
3. Why would Mr. McMahon order the match to be restarted? RAW doesn't have a GM, last time I checked. This would have been more effective if Vince actually came out and got on the mic and restarted it.
Wes Reynolds
Indianapolis, IN
Thumbs up for a show I bought for one match because I ended up enjoying several.
BEST MATCH : Punk VS Hardy TLC
WORST MATCH : Christian VS Regal ( man, it hurts me to type that )
I usually don't buy wrestling PPV's, because it's hard to justify the cost when there's so much free wrestling on TV every week, but I really wanted to see the TLC match and hopefully Punk in a main event spot. I bought Wrestlemania this year and regretted it, but Summerfest blew that away.
SHOW REVIEW:
I thought the opening DX skit was stupid, but it made my girlfriend laugh so maybe casual fans liked it.
Mysterio VS Ziggler was a fun match, with a nice top-rope moonsault spot and an innovative finishing sequence. I was torn here, because Ziggler needs to be elevated but I like Mysterio as the IC champion and think he deserves his requested lengthy title reign. Hopefully they keep Ziggler strong out of this somehow.
Swagger VS MVP - good pre-match promo from MVP but a pretty average heatless match. What happened to these guys? Swagger was the hottest thing on ECW and MVP was heralded as the next rising star, now they're the very definition of mid-card. I don't know why they didn't pull the trigger on MVP when he was moved to RAW... I guess we'll have to wait until the next draft before he gets another decent push.
Jeri-Show VS Cryme Time - okay match, not much different from what they've done on TV. I like the recent elevation of Cryme Tyme, they get a good reaction from fans and are fun to watch in the ring ( especially JTG ), but I'm glad Jeri-Show won. I don't need more Big Show, but keeping Jericho on RAW and Smackdown is worth it. Also, Jeri-Show's new theme music is much better than the clumsy mix they've been using.
CM Punk promo - awesome as usual. I usually fast forward through promos nowadays, since they've become so scripted and predictable. However, Punk's promos have me riveted... it's like he's channeling Mick Foley and Raven on their best days. As a smoker and an occasional substance abuser, his promos really resonate with me and leave me unsure whether to cheer or boo.
Kane VS Khali - by all rights, this should have been the worst match, but at least it was a match. I don't like big man/big man matches anyway, but this seemed harmless, and at least Kane won.
DX VS Legacy - nice intro for DX, although the army men seemed a little silly. This is the match that surprised me and almost took my best match nominee. I was expecting an outright squash and was pleased to see a good and competitive match, that seemed to get Legacy over even though DX won. At least it didn't go on last.
Christian VS Regal - BOO! I don't mind the occasional squash but this was one of the matches I was paying to see. This will undoubtedly lead to a good match on ECW, but still, I paid for this?
Cena VS Orton - I couldn't have cared less about this, same guys on top fighting the same match over and over blah blah blah. However, the gimmicks in this match kept me interested, and the fan attack angle was well executed and had me intrigued. Lillian screwed up big time on the first restart announcement, but man am I going to miss her when she's gone. I usually fast forward past the Cena-Orton stuff on TV, but watching this made me remember how great Orton's facials and subtle ring style is. Unfortunately, the outcome of this match leads me to believe that we'll have at least another month of drab Cena-Orton stuff on TV, when there are a ton of deserving new guys who need that top program. And not that I'm endorsing it or anything, but what happened to Orton VS Mark Henry?
Punk VS Hardy TLC - I was so happy to see this match go on last as the main event. Did WWE see the Observer poll? The indy mark in me rejoiced when JR called Punk " The Second City Saint. " A great match, though not as good as some past TLC matches, especially those involving Edge. They could have used some more time, but the superplex spot and announce-table swanton bomb were wicked. The ECW announce table has offically replaced the Spanish announce table as the most dangerous spot at ringside. The ending was a bit anti-climactic, but both guys worked hard and Punk definitely deserves the top heel spot on Smackdown now. The Undertaker return was nicely done, I totally did not notice him taking Hardy's place.
All and all, I enjoyed the show, was glad I ordered it, but it also drove home the fact that Jeff Hardy leaving is going to hurt the product. Also... where were Morrison, Bourne, and Kofi? They put on great matches, get a good crowd response, and are clearly the new stars that Vince complains he can't create.
Jason Finley
Nashville, TN
Best Match: Rey Mysterio vs Dolph Ziggler
Worst match: MVP vs Jack Swagger
Match 1: Dolph Ziggler vs Rey Mysterio.
Best match of the night, and here I thought matches were just gonna get better. boy, was I wrong!
Anyway. This match was awesome, but the ending wasn't very good, I had thought Rey would hit his 619 and what not. But anyway. great match, and everything.
Match 2: Jack Swagger vs MVP.
Worst match of the night. Simple as that. I like MVP a lot, but this match was just so bad. Very bad.
Match 3: JeriShow vs Cryme Tyme.
Decent match. Nothing special, honestly. Ending was the best tbh. I thought Cryme Tyme was gonna win though to be honest, haha. Even though I'm the biggest JerichoHolic youll ever meet! lol
Match 4: Kane vs Khali.
Meh, too boring. Kane d. Khali- I was surprised! Khalis awesome, so is Kane, but these guys cant wrestle!
Match 5: DX vs Legacy.
Good match, DX Reunion was awesome- This match was very good. Ending was perfect. Will DX still tag team? hmmm... Hopefully, they're Bad fuckin' Ass!
Match 6: Christian vs William Regal.
Wow, was this even a match? Big Christian fan, but...
NEXT!
Match 7: Randy Orton vs John Cena.
Sucked. badly. The only thing good was Randy Orton winning. And whats with 'that' 'fan?' was it a fan? or was it staged? Can't fuckin' wait for RAW to be heard who it was? lol.
Match 8: Hardy vs Punk.
Good match, HARDYS SWANTON BOMB WAS FUCKING BADASS! I'm gonna miss that motherfucker lol. Hes awesome, though I like Punk more. Ending was sucky though, tbh.
Undertakers return: I was so fucking surprised by this. I thought he wasnt in the ring, but then Jeff turned into Undertaker. WTF? Holy shit moment there.
All in all, I'd give the PPV an 5/10.
Thanks,
Austin Castillo.
| Thumbs Up Best: Punk/Hardy Worst: Kane/Khali It's really a shame that Raw is the flagship program of WWE and gets more attention than SmackDown because while Raw has left people declaring the show has had an awful build, SmackDown actually built up the Hardy/Punk match very well and the main event delivered. Rey vs. Ziggler was a tremendous opener too with Ziggler coming out looking much better than he did at Night of Champions. DX vs. Legacy was much better than I expected. Outside of the angle on Monday, the treatment of Legacy made you think once it became the DX Show, they would be defeated soundly, but they came off looking good here. I don't think having the returning HBK lose his first match back would be a good idea, so this was booked as the next best thing to help Legacy. I guess you could rationalize that the ECW title match made Christian look smart but unfortunately it could have been really good match. Like every PPV or Raw lately, this show seemed to have a timing issue; once Punk won the title at about 10:51 eastern, I had to leave and get ready for work, apparently missing a big return angle for Undertaker. I realize timing a PPV is hard work, but come on Kidman, get it together. Orton vs. Cena... a bit too zany for my tastes, but since that sort of multi-finish overbooking is the exception (and not the rule like TNA) I could accept it as something different. I've heard some people rationalize it as Vince McMahon still holding a grudge against Orton (he would have sent the second ref out for the 'legs were on the ropes' restart instead of the ref just deciding to use the 'instant replay' finish that shouldn't exist if you don't use it in every match) and that makes sense, but you shouldn't need to assume storyline holes in wrestling. The fan bit was really confusing though - they didn't play it up or show a replay, which is how they usually treat legit run-ins, but it seemed to play directly into the ending (they went straight from Orton being trapped in the middle of the ring to pinning Cena with the RKO). It was something different, that's for sure. Overall, a very solid SummerSlam. Stephen Gray |
Thumbs slightly up.
Best Match: TLC Match with Taker's return
Worst Match: Needless to say, it is Khali vs Kane
I debated what to rate this PPV, and I would say overall, it was good and I enjoyed it. The TLC was wonderful. Both guys did INSANE stuff. Loved the Hardy off the ladder onto a prone Punk on the announce table. That was sick. Loved seeing the Undertaker come back as well.
Worst Match: Khali vs Kane. Awful.
The rest:
Good opener with Rey vs Dolph. I liked the match quite a bit. Interesting to have seen the audience get behind Dolph a little bit. MVP's promo was very well done. The match between him and Swagger was so so. Tag Title match was pretty good. Tag match between DX vs Legacy, however, was awesome. Very well worked match and Legacy did great jobs sticking it to DX, until DX finally won. Loved the DX entrance. Long, but awesome. ECW match.....well, I guess it appears they don't care much about the ECW title. I was a bit annoyed with the start/restart nature of the Orton/Cena match. It seems they are running out of idea. Match was pretty decent.
Terri Bey
WWE Summerslam feedback
Thumbs in the middle
Best match -- Punk vs Hardy
Worst match -- Kane vs Khali
How does Kane vs Khali go like 10 minutes and Christian vs Regal goes eight seconds?
I don't know. I just felt like this show was uneven mostly because the best match (Punk vs Hardy) was the main event and the second best match (Mysterio vs Ziggler) was the opener. So it felt like the middle was kinda boring.
Orton vs Cena's finish I actually liked, though I can understand why some might hate it. But the Orton vs Cena feud was nonexistent and the finish at least made the match interesting.
DX vs Legacy was better than expected. A really enjoyable match.
Punk vs Hardy had a helluva ending, and the Undertaker/Punk moment at the end made me really want to see Smackdown and the next PPV. So that's probably good.
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Robby O'Daniel