About SummerSlam 2013
For those of you who don't know, I used to write a daily column on them ain page called "7 Things I Think I Think This Week." Well, I've decided to bring it back for the second straight year to talk about 7 things about SummerSlam, which has always been my favorite Pay Per View. Please keep in mind while reading this that I'm writing with no idea what happened on Smackdown this week. I don't read spoilers and neither should you. That, for the record, is not an opinion.
For the first time ever, someone else will be joining me to give response to my thoughts and he is none other than my current ETA cohost, [i]Uncle Leo.[/]
1. Since the ghost of Andre the Giant wasn't in the Battle Royal, I believe Dean Ambrose will keep the United States Title.
I had heard a rumor that Rob Van Dam would be facing Antonio Cesaro on the preshow, which got me pretty hyped. Alas, that was not to be. Instead, the U.S. Title is finally being defended again on WWE programming. For those who don't know. Ambrose did, in fact, defend the United States Title on the August 7 edition of nXt against Adrian Neville in an absolutely fantastic match. If you haven't seen that match, do the free 14 day preview of Hulu Plus to see it. If you're not going to do that, at least go to YouTube and watch Neville perform the Red Arrow--It's a corkscrew Shooting Star Press. Absolutely fabulous. I understand that Evan Bourne is injured, but Neville is outstanding. He's better in every way than Bourne and I believe he's younger, as well. As "The Man Gravity Forgot," Neville should be coming to the main roster soon. That's what I'd do with him, anyway, Could they keep Bourne, as well? Of course. Could they have the two feud? Of course. But, if you're going to keep only one, Neville is the guy. But, I digress. The real point here is that Dean Ambrose hasn't defended the U.S. Title on actual WWE television since he defeated Kane by count-out at Payback. I think RVD should get a great run and maybe even a title run. He's been good enough so far that I think he's earned it and he's really putting those who say he always works the same match in their place. However, Dean Ambrose is a rising star. He's now come out two straight weeks--once on nXt and once on RAW--saying that the United States Title is the most important championship in the WWE. For those of us who believe that the U.S. and I-C titles have been watered down, that's nice to see and the last 10 days have been a great start in rebuilding that strap. Now Ambrose has to prove it by winning the match in an oustanding bout on the pre-show. Last month Ambrose shined in the most amazing spot of the World Title MITB match, while his partners had a terrific match on the preshow. Now it's his turn to get the crowd pumped up and I believe he and Mr. Monday Night will do just that.
Dean Ambrose is proof that the champion can make the championship relevant, regardless of how often the title is showcased on television. Jim Ross said, "These young talents need to maximize their minutes on screen," and Ambrose did just that on this past Monday night on RAW. I haven't read any negativity thrown on the WWE for the lack of build-up to this abrupt U.S Title match, but then again you had a fun 20 man over-the-top rope battle royal and a great quick promo from Ambrose and company, both which successfully promoted this Pre-Show match. I believe this is the beginning of a renewed push for The Shield and their championships. Ambrose is going to defeat RVD and when their feud continues to Night of Champions, Ambrose is going to continue to develop as a character, as a wrestler, and as a champion.
2. The Big Show and Mark Henry should not be wrestling for the tag straps.
Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of those two teaming up together and I always enjoy The Big Show, especially, more as a babyface than as a heel, but because of his injury, there's been no time to build anything. Sure, he had the match against The Shield in the six-man tag at Wrestlemania, but he turned heel immediately afterward. Now all of a sudden he comes out with a big smile on his face to help out a couple of guys he's never regularly teamed with and we're supposed to believe that just because Rollins mouthed, "Oh shit!" they're a real threat to the titles? Yeah, they're both huge. Yeah, they're both former World Champions, but The Shield is being sold as the greatest team in the history of the WWE, so should easily be able to use the divide and conquer philospohy to dispatch of two giants who have no reason to work together, no reason to team, and especially no reason to like each other. To me, this match is a mistake. Can it still be good? Of course. All four men are very talented, whether you want to admit it about Wight or not, but that isn't really the point. There's no storyline here at all and even if they created one on Smackdown, less than half of the RAW audience watches that. It's like they had this plan and decided to stick with it no matter what. Why? To get Henry and Wight the ppv dollars? They're certainly not going to add many ppv buys. Also, how does this help the tag division they are supposed to be building up? Granted, if The Big Show and Mark Henry form a permanent/semi-permanent tag team a la Team Hell No, then they could be a big asset to the division, but we don't know that yet. There's been absolutely zero indication of it. They could have started building towards that this coming Monday night instead. What would be the harm of delaying their plan a month, if it leads to tighter continuity within the organization and helps to build the tag division? I think The Shield should, instead, be either defending in a rematch against The Usos or in a Triple Threat tag title match against both The Usos and The Real Americans. That, my friends, would be a must-see tag match and a potentially show-stealing match that would build on the pre-show match I mentioned in the first thought.
Mmmm my inner-Skitz is tingling at the thought of your proposed Triple Threat Tag Team Title Match. The Usos picked up a win against The Real Americans on RAW, so I thought for sure they'd be named #1 Contenders but they weren't. In my opinion, the WWE has a great opportunity to focus on and rebuild the tag team division. The Shield, The Usos, The PrimeTime Players, The Real Americans, Harper/Rowan, and now "Strong & Large" Henry/Show can all easily become the foundation for a new tag team division. But I digress, I don't think one week is enough time to build any kind of match, especially a title match at Summerslam, the #2 pay-per-view of the company. However, I don't think the exclusively 2-on-2 rivalry has begun yet. Big Show returned to help Henry and RVD from an assault from all three members of The Shield. They haven't announced a tag team title match (as of this writing) for the ultimate pay-per-view of the Summer. So I have a hunch that during the one hour Pre-Show, the U.S. Title match will have a non-finish that'll include Henry and Big Show. Afterwards, a six-man tag team match will be announced for the main card. This way, Henry/Show vs. Rollins/Reigns and RVD/Ambrose can really take off on RAW for a match at Night of Champions. To give the WWE credit, though, they didn't know when Big Show was going to be cleared to compete. Oh well, things could be worse.
3. Dolph Ziggler should be wrestling for the World Heavyweight Championship
They've been devoting a lot more time to the particulars of the mixed tag rectangle than they have the World Heavyweight Championship match, which just lends even more credence to the fact that the World Heavyweight Title is, in every way, a secondary championship, if not, in point of fact, even worse: an afterthought. We'll get more involved in that a little later on, and so leave that discussion alone for now. I fucking hate the decision to split up AJ from Ziggler and then have Big E side with AJ and therefore begin a feud against Ziggler. Why? We have absolutely no information about who Big E is as a character, other than that he is AJ's friend and does basically whatever she tells him to. Why? We don't even know who this man is. He was the muscle for Ziggler, but never really interacted with him or was shown to have any allegiance to him to the best of my knowledge. He was Ziggler's muscle, but he was brought in by AJ, and really the most that he did for Ziggler was be his fill-in for the feud against Del Rio. While there was at least a secondary relationship between the two--both being bound to AJ--I can't really see Big E's attack upon him as a betrayal. Maybe he never liked Ziggler in the first place and was only acting on his behalf because of their mutual relationships with AJ. How would we know that? We don't, because the WWE never took the time to tell us. Lee, Ziggler, and E could have had a very interesting group, with two of them being heel and Ziggler leaning towards the babyface side. Instead, the decision was made to make a clean break, which didn't make a hell of a lot of sense. Sure, AJ fucked up and cost Ziggler is title, but would that really be enough to cause him to want to break up with her? If it did, would that really be enough to make her friend ambush him? I'm loving Ziggler's character right now, but the men's involvement in this feud is hard for me to swallow. They didn't take the time to do it right, and therefore, I don't really care about it. Ziggler as World Champ and taking E under his wing for a few months to build their relationship toward an eventual feud would have made more sense for all involved.
Your proposed idea sounds a hundred times better than what we got on TV. It's sad that we have all been complaining about the soap opera writers that the WWE hired and when the WWE has a soap-opera-esque storyline, they can't even get it right. Having a relationship be destroyed by many factors is Soap Opera 101. They had six weeks of buildup towards Summerslam that could've been used for this "Breakup Story." Having Ziggler break up with AJ and then E siding with AJ is fine, but that alone is weak and can't stand on its own. I'm surprised that the WWE didn't recreate the Daniel Bryan and AJ storyline, but with Ziggler and AJ and have the roles be reversed. The company had the opportunity to build the WWE Universe's anticipation for when Ziggler would eventually break away from AJ's heelish personality and officially turn into a mega baby face. The one thing you didn't mention, Xan, is how Ziggler went from being in the World Heavyweight Title picture since the night after Wrestlemania to being in a lackluster mixed tag team feud. I thought the WWE wanted to create a new character for the Show Off and distance him from his former two allies and afterwards, they'd insert him back into the World Title feud. But this side-feud has been a colossal waste of time and unproductive. By the time he finishes his feud with Lee and E, the WWE will have to recreate his momentum as a main eventer before putting him in the title picture again. But I ask: How long has it taken them to build his momentum before having him cash in and do we really think it'll be easier a second time?
4. In a related story, the World Heavyweight Championship picture is a mess.
I have grown an appreciation for Albert Del Rio in the last three months or so. Prior to that I saw nothing good about his ring-work, especially that bullshit clapping and stomping he did as a babyface. I hated the stomping when Shawn Michaels did it and I hated it even more when he and Ricardo Rodriguez brought that back and added the clapping to it. But ever since his match at Payback against Ziggler, he's been amazing to me. Crisp as hell, which, I suppose, he has to be, given the kicks he's executing to the domes of his opponents. If he slips up with those shots, neurological problems could abound in the same way boredom does when he's doing anything except wrestling. I have no idea what's going on with Ricardo Rodriguez, but if he's still employed by the company, it was a stupid decision to have Del Rio turn on him. He was the only thing getting Del Rio any reaction whatsoever. That said, because of how good the two guys are in the ring, and the strong chemistry they've shown against each other, I'm looking forward to the Del Rio/Christian match at SummerSlam, but how many others are? They haven't given us a reason to become invested in it. Maybe that's okay because of the two huge matches at the top of the card, but the last time the World Heavyweight Championship main evented a pay per view was--contrary to what I said on Wednesday night's Excuse The Aggravation--was October 3, 2010 at Hell in a Cell between The Undertaker and Kane. So, I thought it had been nearly four years, while it's actually been nearly three. I maintain there's no reason to have this championship if it's always going to take the backseat. Hell, it doesn't even make sense that this one is the lower belt. The WWE exists within the world, not the other way around, and to have Christian as the top challenger for it basically "just because" does the belt even more of a disservice. A World Heavyweight Championship should never be an afterthought, and that's what it has become. If Ziggler had been the challenger here, there would be a lot more excitement, energy, pizzazz, and importance upon this encounter and its outcome. As it stands, they have a lot of reparations to make if this title is ever going to truly mean anything again.
I don't know why you have an appreciation for Del Rio. A man who was big in Mexico with a mask should be able to be big in the WWE without the mask. The WWE has been giving him opportunities left and right and still doesn't take advantage of them. He needs to crawl down to the mid-card division and develop a character before being considered a credible champion. The personality will come with the character. But there's no real way for anyone to identify who Del Rio is. But the WWE needs to stop giving him these opportunities at the expense of the Heavyweight Titles and its challengers. I couldn't care less for the Del Rio/Christian match and the WWE is to blame for that. I would say that this is the only match on the main card that has had the worst build and an even weaker story. I've said this once and I'll say it again and again: a feud CANNOT be only centered around the World Title. The Heavyweight title is meant to be a foundation for a rivalry. Putting a title on the line in a match automatically causes an incentive for a superstar to try and either win it or to try and keep it. But what about the six weeks that the WWE had to build this match? Why do I want to invest in the World title match? Besides for the title, there has to be some sort of a story. Is it to prove who the better wrestler is ala Cena/Bryan? Is it out of pure hatred and disdain ala Punk/Lesnar? At least other matches, like Sandow/Rhodes and Kane/Wyatt, have had an interesting story and I easily understand why they each want to rip into each other at Summerslam.
5. The result of the Cody Rhodes/Damien
Sandow encounter should set up a match for the Money in the Bank
briefcase at Night of Champions.
I know that a lot of people hate this idea and I know that some percentage of those hate it because the Money in the Bank briefcase should never be defended as if it were a title. The thing is, though, that one should never say never, because there's always an exception, and it seems to me that this particular situation is the one time an exception should be made. Yes, I know there have already been exceptions, but that doesn't mean those were the proper ones. This one is. "Why?," you may ask, and the answer is simple: Because it fits the story. Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes were the best of friends. They have been through battles for the tag team titles together, they roomed together, they escorted each other to the ring frequently, and supported everything each other did...until Sandow prevented Rhodes from grabbing the briefcase in question. Before Damien stole the opportunity from Cody. Damien Sandow not only proved the adage that Money in the Bank matches are every man for himself, but he also appears to delight in dashing Cody Rhodes' chances at being World Heavyweight Champion. Do you see what I did there? Then how can you not see that the two guys who were the last two men with a chance to win the World Title Money in the Bank briefcase, two guys who both should be future world champions and stars of the company, two guys who can help each other immensely in their respective attempts to elevate up the card, should at some time be fighting over that very chance? Yes, this is a very personal rivalry. Yes, it's all about who really is the better man. Yes, it's about establishing Cody Rhodes as a babyface for the first time since he turned on Hardcore Holly what seems like ages ago. There have been several chances over the years to turn Cody Rhodes into a star and WWE has failed to capitalize on every single one; but they excel at that. See: Daniel Bryan and CM Punk for prime examples. Now they have the chance to make sure these two men become stars for years to come. They've been inextricably linked for about a year now; which is roughly the same amount of time ago that I believe Cody Rhodes should have become World Champion for the first time. This time I believe he needs to win at SummerSlam so that Sandow is so angry he makes the rash decision he normally wouldn't and these two compete over the next best thing to a World Championship--the right to wrestle for it--at the next PPV.
Do you know why this feud has been one of the most successful mid-card feuds in years? Two words: Character History. This isn't a "Face Mid-Carder #3 vs. Heel Mid-Carder #7" kind of feud. They didn't randomly make these two superstars feud. They didn't create a storyline for them out of thin air. They didn't have the Face pin the Heel in a random tag team match on Main Event two weeks ago so now the Heel is seeking revenge. This is a story that started in September 2012, almost a year ago. Their official formation took place on September 21st. They've teamed up to take out the Tag Team champions. They won a tournament to become the #1 contenders. They became best friends. Point is: their characters have life history together. You factor their past into their desire of owning the MITB Briefcase and you have one hell of a feud. Remember in Thought #4 about a feud needing to be more than just a title? Well this is a prime example of that rule. If Sandow was feuding with Sheamus because Sheamus wants to be the holder of the case, then I'd yawn. But Rhodes feeling like he should be the case holder because he was less than an inch away from winning the match until his best friend threw him off the ladder is a story. This story has been great thus far and after Summerslam it needs to evolve. The briefcase is almost as good as a championship title and that is why this feud needs to continue to Night of Champions where the briefcase will be on the line. The only way for that match to happen, though, is if Cody Rhodes defeats Damien Sandow at Summerslam. Then he can make the point that he's defeated Sandow and now deserves a shot at the briefcase. If Sandow loses at Summerslam, then Sandow might feel like he has to prove that he is the rightful owner of the briefcase and puts his case on the line at Night of Champions.
6. Daniel Bryan must leave as WWE Champion.
I don’t want to blow anybody’s mind here, but I’m of the firm belief that the best wrestler on the roster should hold the WWE Title. Of course, that slightly contradicts my argument that the World Heavyweight Championship should be at least on par with the WWE Title, but that’s a story for another day. The bottom line is that Daniel Bryan is the best in the company right now. I’ve been saying for the last eight weeks on Lords of Pain Radio—first on The Weekend Update and then on Excuse The Aggravation (airing Saturdays at 4 p.m. Eastern)—that Daniel Bryan is the best wrestler in the world. That is, of course, a slight exaggeration. I don’t watch Japanese wrestling much, but I am aware that there are people over there who an argument can be made for. That isn’t the point, because they’re not eligible to hold the WWE Title in either a real or a kayfabe sense. For our purposes, they don’t exist. If, however, you continue to insist that they do, I’ll alter the statement slightly. Daniel Bryan is the best professional wrestler currently working regularly in North America. He’s the best in the ring, he’s the best on the mic, and he’s the most over wrestler with the largest crowds of the largest promotion the wrestling world has ever seen. If you are one of those who use the, “Duh, it’s a prop-uh, so it really doesn’t matter who’s holding it, a-duh.” argument, fuck off. Saying that doesn’t make you sophisticated, it makes you a prick. The fact that it’s a prop doesn’t make it unimportant. If a character in a movie shoots another character in the heart, that character dies, even though both the gun and the bullet are props. Props mean something in fiction, and in this case, the prop means that its holder is the best wrestler the organization has to offer. I don’t care that the NFL is coming back in a few weeks, I don’t care that it will affect the WWE’s ratings, and I don’t care how many pay per view buys SummerSlam does. Do I think Daniel Bryan will make WWE money? Of course I do. Tons of it, but that’s not in what I am invested. I care about the experience, and whether they want to dangle Randy Orton out there as a red herring or not; whether they want to include the McMahons or not, the experience of Daniel Bryan being on top of the company that the majority of fans never thought he’d succeed in by going cleanly over John Cena and riding that wave of fan euphoria is what I’m in it for. If you’re not, get your fandom up!
Beautifully said, partner. I am worried that whatever happens at Summerslam will have some long-term effects. Some good and some bad. I'm worried that the bad effects will happen to Daniel Bryan. I have been enjoying everything that has happened since Daniel Bryan has been named #1 contender - especially last Monday's MizTV Segment. Forgive me, but I sense nothing but bad from the McMahons invading this storyline. However, I agree that Daniel Bryan must leave as champion. If Randy Orton successfully cashes in, then I don't want Bryan beating Cena. The best case scenario is Bryan defeating both Cena and Orton. Orton's case won't be hanging over Bryan's title reign and everyone can focus on Bryan. There have been too many factors that have complicated storyline, but I'd rather see an overly complicated feud between the hottest two on the roster than a story that has the bare minimum between a man who doesn't connect with the American audience and a man whose main event image was ruined by the WWE. I have to ask this: If the WWE ruined the "main event image" of someone like Christian, who is a veteran, great in-ring performer, charismatic, and connects with the crowd then what's to stop them from doing it to Daniel Bryan? I know, "apples and oranges" but their situations have some differences and a lot more similarities.
7. It would be for the best if the Beast were to miss the king.
SummerSlam has not been kind to CM Punk. Sure, he won his third World Title from Jeff Hardy there, but it took Hardy swanton bombing him through a table and then he got chokeslammed by The Undertaker immediately after. Sure, he won last year in a Triple Threat against John Cena and The Big Show, but it wasn’t Cena he pinned and it was yet another example of one of his PPV title defenses not closing the PPV. In 2011, he defeated John Cena—whose foot was on the ropes, but was missed by special referee Triple H—in the WWE Title unification bout, but then was immediately powerbombed by Kevin Nash, who then gave way to Alberto Del Rio cashing in Money in the Bank for his first ever WWE Championship. The year before that, he and his Straight Edge Society lost a 3 on 1 match against The Big Show and were forced to disband. I think it’s safe to say that CM Punk doesn’t share my love for SummerSlam. This year should be a different result for him, though. It’s no secret that despite his 434 day reign as WWE Champion, I believe WWE has misused Punk pretty much forever, but especially since he dropped the pipebomb and subsequently won the WWE Title from Cena and “left” the company. It’s all been downhill since then. He was given the title, but wasn’t really the champion, he had to job to a movie star twice in WWE Title matches, give Cena the clean put-over on RAW, then job again at Wrestlemania to the guy that derailed his career 4 years ago. I haven’t seen that match and I won’t; I don’t care how good it is. Punk shouldn’t have had to drop the title to the Rock because it made his historic reign worthless and he shouldn’t have been facing The Undertaker at Mania if he wasn’t going to end the streak. This is all old ground, but it’s worth bringing up, because here he is in another headlining match at a major pay per view, back at the event that has haunted him for the last four years. If CM Punk is ever going to get to the level of John Cena—the level that I believe Daniel Bryan will get to within the next 6 months, assuming what happens in thought 6 occurs—then he must win this match…unless they are booking a rematch for Wrestlemania. This can’t be a deal where Punk loses on the big stage of SummerSlam and then gets his win back and finally vanquishes Lesnar on a nothing pay per view. No, Punk must win this feud, and he must win it HUGE. There are only two places at which this can occur and since I have no idea when Brock will be around next, I insist that it happen now. This isn’t just about revenge on Paul Heyman for Punk. It’s about redemption and the chance to gain the superstardom that should have been his at least two years ago, but probably four. The Beast had his run at the top; now it’s time for him to starve and allow the king to ascend.
I was going to make the argument that Punk needs to win this match just so he can go after Paul Heyman next. But after reading your thoughts, I need to agree with you. I don't think he jobbed to The Undertaker at Wrestlemania and you should definitely watch that match. I was there and the atmosphere was amazing. Back to my point, though, Punk needs to win this match. He needs to win it because Lesnar doesn't need the win. Lesnar is there to wrestle at three or four big-time matches. Punk is there, busting his ass, and lost a bit of steam that he once had, as you pointed out yourself, Xan. Punk has turned Face and now is about to embark on a new chapter in his storied career. I can't predict the rest of Punk's 2013, but it starts with defeating Lesnar, hopefully. I just wanted to point out how well this feud has been holding up against the storyline between Cena and Bryan. That is credit to CM Punk and Paul Heyman.
It certainly is. I can't wait for tonight! Be well, everyone.