WWE SummerSlam 2014

RATING LEVELS:
Curt Hennig – A “GOAT” show, as Perfect as possible
Watch It All – A consistently good show worth watching in its entirety
Watch It…With Remote in Hand – 3 or more above-average ratings
High Risk Maneuver – Mostly filler, inessential, but 1-2 good matches
DUDleyville – Zero redeeming qualities, chore to watch

SummerSlam 2014 - August 2014

Los Angeles, California

CHAMPIONSHIP BACKGROUNDS: Heading into tonight’s show, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship is held by John Cena. The WWE Tag Team Champions, the Uso Brothers, and United States Champion, Sheamus, did not defend their titles on this show. AJ Lee is the Divas Champion and the Miz came in as the Intercontinental Champion.

COMMENTATORS: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, and JBL

Kicking things off on the kick-off show was Rob Van Dam taking on Cesaro. Considering this match had no build or purpose, RVD and Cesaro worked hard to deliver a decent opener. There were a number of small moments I liked, for example, RVD hitting a Rolling Thunder on the floor and Cesaro connecting with his stiff uppercuts. Still, the finish bugged me – and based on the audience’s reaction, it bothered them too. Cesaro reminds me of William Regal in WCW around 94’ in the sense that, even in inconsequential midcard filler matches, he's a treat to watch. (3/5)

Hulk Hogan arrived to do some Network shilling. There was a time when the Hulkster could cut ridiculously entertaining promos off-the-cuff and unscripted with lots of passion and none of the annoying and unnecessary naming of the city he's in every other line. That Hogan existed a long time ago, though.

From here we got our Intercontinental Championship match – The Miz defending against Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler got a nice crowd reaction and, as usual, worked at a brisk pace with lots of cool bumps...but I was also impressed by the Miz's effort. The Miz has never been a great worker, but he can get heat. While this wasn’t one for either guy’s highlight reel, it wasn’t an embarrassment either. As for the finish, it seems like both guys are just on hamster wheels, trading the title back and forth, but not really advancing up the ladder. (3/5)

Next up was AJ Lee vs. Paige for AJ’s Divas Championship. I found this to be considerably better than their Battleground match, which I scored at 2.5-out-of-5. That match had some sloppy moments and Paige was almost insufferable at times with her over-the-top grunts and “C’mon AJ!” screaming. This time around she was less dramatic, more serious, and both girls' timing was better. I absolutely loved the spot that saw AJ’s face get planted into the unforgiving barricade. Overall, an improvement from last month’s match, but not one worth revisiting. (3/5)

Rusev vs. Jack Swagger was another Battleground rematch that I found to be darn good. I am still hesitant on Rusev’s potential, but tonight he showed more range than any match he’s had, selling a hurt ankle properly throughout instead of just here-or-there. Equally exciting was seeing Rusev’s facial expressions; they were noticeably more emotive than in previous outings. On the face side of things, Swagger played his role well and, while this defeat will be tough for him to overcome, it was the right call to make. (3.5/5)

From here we had the arrival of the lumberjacks selected to surround the ring for Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose. The crowd was hot for this “Pier 6 Brawl” (as Gordon Solie might've called it). Going into tonight’s show, I was unsure whether or not this would be anything beyond a typical lumberjack match and was pleasantly surprised that it ended up being, in my mind, the best lumberjack match ever. Now that doesn’t make it an absolute classic and I would’ve preferred 5 more minutes of action, but both men should be applauded for what they accomplished and how they were able to subvert the classic lumberjack tropes to give the audience a really fun, engaging, chaotic spectacle. (4/5)

Another pleasant surprise was our next match – Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt. I found their Battleground match to be a tad underwhelming, criticizing the finish as being too “out of nowhere.” I found this one to be much better paced and Wyatt looked noticeably more confident. Unlike their somewhat muddled match last month, this time around, the story was clear and the two hit their spots harder. I also enjoyed how Wyatt integrated “character work” (screaming “I’m already dead!” at an astonished Jericho in the corner) into the flow of the match. This is what sets him apart and keeps me hopeful about his future - there is simply no one else on the roster that is going to have matches like his. As for Jericho, he's worked hard over the years to add moves to his arsenal to stay fresh. Whether or not he’s succeeded is up for debate, but no one could accuse him of “phoning it in” here. Easily the best Wyatt or Jericho match in several months. (4/5)

Stephanie McMahon vs. Brie Bella was next. I was not into this match at all. When your storyline involves arrests and family members being bullied each week while you're forced to watch, not to mention below-the-belt jabs at your marriage... well, the in-ring action should be a bit more physical than hammerlocks and snap mares. Stephanie McMahon worked the match to prove that she could work a match, using it more to exhibit her athleticism rather than her ability to correctly play the heel. That's just not what this match called for from a storyline perspective. Fortunately, the finish stretch helped things considerably, delivering some actual emotion and drama to an otherwise bland-but-not-abysmal match. I don’t see how anyone could rate this as a better overall match than the Divas title bout earlier tonight. (2.5/5)

The dip in quality continued into our next match as Roman Reigns took on Randy Orton. As has become the norm for Randy Orton these days, we saw some rest holds, some smirking, the usual spots he pulls out for his "big matches," and nothing more. Reigns didn't come off as a big deal at all. His moveset is limited, but it has also become somewhat clear to me that, in comparison to Cesaro or Rusev or obviously Cena and Lesnar, he's not the “powerhouse” they promote him to be either. I’m not sure he’s got the strength of Ryback or Big E. The closing sequence was cool, if only because it was interesting to hear the crowd get behind the Viper a little. I hated seeing Reigns kick out of RKO, though, as that finisher (like all finishers) should be protected. Kicking out of it didn’t make me like Reigns any more, it made me believe in Orton as a credible villain less. (2/5)

Main event time – Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Writing this review almost 24 hours later, I’m still at a loss as to what this match was. Lesnar decimated Cena in a ridiculously one-sided bout that was everything I didn’t expect it to be…but not necessarily in a bad way. Going into this match, I thought we’d see something similar to the back-and-forth brawl Lesnar and Punk put on last year, with the added possibility of Cena bringing weapons into the mix in order to keep his title. Instead, Lesnar hit an F-5 early and then tossed Cena back and forth, over and over, to the point that there was simply no way Cena could realistically mount a comeback. I’ve read other critics and bloggers say the match was “hard to watch” and I don’t disagree – this was a PG version of the Rock vs. Mankind at Royal Rumble 98’, with german suplexes in place of chairshots. Cena has fought Big Show, The Great Khali, Mark Henry, and Kane dozens of times, but he has never looked smaller than against Lesnar tonight. So, how do you rate what was essentially a complete squash match? Do you knock off points because it was arguably too realistic? Do you rate it highly based on its unique, unforgettable nature? Giving it a quantitative measure of excellence is difficult because, unlike Cena vs. Bryan or Punk vs. Lesnar from last year’s show, I’m not eager to re-watch it.  I’m also not sure I’ll be thinking of or talking about anything other than this match for the foreseeable future. Dave Meltzer wrote that there was not enough “back-and-forth” for it to rank as an all-time classic, but that doesn't mean it wasn't tremendous. (4/5)

So this was kinda it.

SummerSlam 2014 was an overall success. with an average match rating of 3.22-out-of-5, I found this to be the best show, top-to-bottom, since Extreme Rules (which benefitted from featuring Daniel Bryan, Batista, and Triple H). While Brie/Steph underwhelmed me, the finish was intriguing. Orton/Reigns was the low point of the card, but I wonder if Orton/Reigns had happened earlier in the night if it would’ve fared better with the live crowd. On the flip side, Ambrose/Rollins and Lesnar/Cena were unforgettable, the kind of matches that will stand the test of time. Wyatt/Jericho, Paige/AJ, and Rusev/Swagger were all improvements on the matches they had last month, the most you could ask for from a show that featured multiple rematches from the previous Network special.

FINAL RATING – Watch It…With Remote in Hand