Well Summerslam had a few surprises, didn’t it? I wonder if Diesel and Stephanie were just one-shot appearances or they’re here to stay? Del Rio is champion, but you already knew that.
Opening: Well this should be interesting. I wonder when 3H will turn heel. He’s entertaining as a face, but is much better as a monster heel. Well that apology to everyone douses that scenario. He assures everyone that he had nothing to with Diesel? O rly? Does The Kliq mean anything to anyone? Here comes Del Rio and don’t expect him to lose it anytime soon, as the WWE has a Mexico tour coming up and will hold it at least through that. So destiny will last for a few months. At least he’s finally champion, as holding off on it for any longer would have run the risk of discrediting him. The promo was kinda bland until he started mentioning how much he beats Rey Rey, which was some good trash talking.
Morrison v Truth Part ??: Truth has music now? It’s just some lame guitar riffs in the style of his old What’s Up theme. Of course there’s a Morrison promo that is painful to listen to and thankfully it’s over quickly. So it’s a Falls Count Anywhere match? If a majority of the match doesn’t take place outside of the ring, then it will be a waste. In these kind of matches, I always imagine them spilling into the crowd, into the concourse, etc. I seem to remember a Rey-Swagger match ending with Jack falling into an ocean or lake. At least Morrison ended his losing streak since returning.
The Miz: Cole was tolerable up until this moment, but with Miz showing up he goes into uber-annoying mode. Funny comment by JR calling Miz’s specially designed suits ‘Mizwear’. It does have a nice ring to it. What’s with Jared from Subway showing up? Product placement? Even the crowd starts chanting ‘Subway sucks’ Jared oversells his disbelief way too much. Pretty much a waste of a segment and we didn’t even get to play The Really Game.
Divas: Usual filler match and the only thing hat could save it is a run in by Beth and Nattie. I was surprised by how much one of the Bellas focused on Kelly leg, going so far as to do some sort of leg DDT and then a submission to weaken it. Bending Kelly’s own leg and pushing it in her face has to hurt and she sells it quite well. Pretty impressive segment for a Divas match. The aforementioned duo does show up, but in dressed and all dolled up?
Big Daddy Cool: I didn’t follow WWE when he was Diesel back in the 90s, but I imagine this is a great segment for those who did. He does have an intimidating stare, though CM Punk won’t step down at all. It’s obvious to everyone, but everything Punk says on the mic is gold, especially when he mocked Nash with the whole ‘jumping off a bridge would be good for business’ bit. Punk should read texts more often, especially like the one he read from his little sister. ‘Thought he was dead’ classic LOL. I wonder how long HHH will pretend he doesn’t know about Nash’s involvement? Everything seems to point to H’s complicity. But then again that would be the obvious outcome, so maybe there’s a mystery person involved. Stephanie? Vince? One part of this exchange I found interesting was when Nash told Punk to basically shape up and hit the weights. If this becomes an actual feud, it’d be the Vince-Big-Man-Type vs the new Punk-Rebel type, sort of Old vs New School.
Dolph: So he still has Vickie with him? For that matter what kind of blouse/mumu thing is Vickie wearing? Dolph did refer to Vickie as some sort of garnish to a steak. The bickering between the two on commentary took away from what was otherwise a decent match. Despite this, there was some pretty funny moments. Dolph telling Vickie to know her role and Lawler referring to those two as ‘pigs in a blanket’ are just a few. JR’s hat even got into the act.
Billion Dollar Princess: Anyone remember her work back during the Invasion angle and McMahon-Helmsley days? That was some good stuff. She can play a good on screen character and needs to be on TV more. Maybe that cryptic message she gave Punk is an indication of some sort of future involvement?
Tag Match: Pretty bland tag match with all the usual spots, except for the shocking amount of time that Lawler and Ross spent harping on how McGillitunga are bad tag champs. Pretty much fan’s complaints about the division given voice. With the way they talked up Kofi and Bourne as a team, will they get a shot at the tag titles? I know it’s another example of them throwing two guys together as a tag team, but at least they might be giving some actual thought to the division.
WWE Title: Ok first of all Lawler, the reception Rey got when he came out was nothing like what Punk got at MITB, as you suggested. The chants for Punk in Chicago were deafening and started BEFORE he came out. Cole actually made an astute observation about how Rey was preparing for Punk or Cena and now has ADR and how that would affect his preparation. Alberto even got Rey’s mask off partially right after the return from commercial. Then Rey hit a pretty sick Tornado DDT that was like a 540 degree spin. Pretty exciting match with a ton of near falls and some good spots. Then a post-match beat down of Mysterio’s arm. With reports that Mysterio is injured, perhaps this is a way to write him off? It wouldn’t be a RAW without John Cena, who runs in to make the save. He rips Del Rio on the mic about not winning it honorably. What? That’s exactly what MITB was created for, to allow for these kinda of moments. Punk certainly didn’t have a problem with Del Rio taking the title away from him via the briefcase.
