The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly: WWE Summerslam 2015

Normally, my columns are written days in advance. During my tenure for Ask 411, sometimes, they would be done a full week in advance. With all that was planned for the weekend in the world of wrestling, I knew that was not possible here. With Monday being my only day off this week, it was only right that I wait out NXT: Takeover Brooklyn and WWE Summerslam, and THEN write the column. Thus, while my NXT thoughts will be read elsewhere (on another website!), I will focus on Summerslam today.

Before getting to that though, you have to credit WWE. Not only did they manage to sucker in the mainstream sports media somehow in covering Summerslam (more than ESPN too), but they still have it in the marketing department. Like it or not, the Barclays Center was sold out for three straight days. Some of those fans are likely the same, but that is over 40,000 tickets. Maybe even more . Jim Ross first pointed this out last week, and it was pretty impressive. Now if those WWE Network spiked as well (assuming they did), then all is well.

Too bad September is right around the corner, and the usual Fall slump is ahead.

Reader Feedback

Cave Johnson: Can we give this guy a column where he reviews Watry’s columns each week? Please 411, make it happen!

That’d be awesome! His original post had a cuss word. Otherwise, I would have posted it.

Bubbles: Len Archibald did a much better version of this column several months ago. I miss him.

Sorry, didn’t see it.

AKH1979: This ‘casual fan’ you mention doesn’t appear to have watched the product since 2002 so the main point of your column is comparing differences between internet wrestling fans with someone who hasn’t watched it in 10 years – was there a point to this?

The point of the column was for you to click on the link.

Norm: Reading AG Awesome’s comments and you are ticked off about the one with how long you have watched wrestling? Kinda funny.

From my reply last week:

Your comments are usually respectful, so I will reply to one of your many wrong assumptions here.

“One of your many wrong assumptions here”. I could have responded to them all, but we would be here all day.

KipSmithers: I’m not sure the “IWC” is because they’re on the net so much anymore, but a “mindset”.

Lots of discussion about this last week. Ultimately, this summed it up best. I love wrestling and am online following the business BUT clearly have a positive mindset.

Okay, enough babbling. For my Summerslam 2015 review, I will use the Good, Bad, & Ugly format. Rather than break it down separately, every single match/segment will have a good, bad, and ugly aspect. Interesting, huh?

Jon Stewart Hosts

Good – With the show being four hours, I figured there would be a talking/filler segment, so I was fine with the opener including a fun cameo by Mick Foley. Jon Stewart is a fan, which helps but isn’t everything, and he got the WWE name in the headlines, so mission accomplished.

Bad – Can we NOT have The Undertaker is backstage comedy segments? Like ever? Even being mentioned, I groaned. Keep him away from that stuff. Come on Stewart, you should know this! While it did foreshadow the heel turn later on, I could have done without the backstage stuff.

Ugly – SWERVE! Jon Stewart helped Seth Rollins. Eh, some people saw this coming beforehand. I never really thought it would happen because I thought it would be way too much Stewart where he was not needed. Well, then it did indeed happen. The reason for the ‘ugly’ portion is that right when he appeared with the steel chair during the WWE/United States Championship match, you knew what would happen, except he stalled, stalled, and stalled…before finally hitting John Cena. Telegraphed big time.

Randy Orton VS Sheamus

Good – Right choice for the opener. These two have fought a million times, and the feud is stale, but the two keep delivering in the ring. Sheamus winning was the correct call, and as we saw, it signaled he was not cashing in his Mooney in the Bank briefcase at Summerslam. Also, two thumbs up on a rare clean heel win (would happen later too!).

Bad – Meh, I just had no interest. It is of no fault to Sheamus or Randy Orton. There was just no intrigue or buzz surrounding this. Hopefully, there are big plans coming up for both guys – not against each other!

Ugly – What now? That is what I kept thinking during this match. Sheamus has the MITB briefcase he can always use to elevate himself. Orton has the name value and legacy to insert himself into the main event scene at a moment’s notice. That is the plus. The negative is looking around the card and finding a way to keep them busy for the Fall season…and in an interesting feud. Any ideas?

WWE Tag Team Title Match

Good – Everything Big E. Everything. The New Day have really come into their own the past few weeks. Xavier Woods is great in his role. Kofi Kingston is Kofi Kingston. Big E though? Man, this is just high qualiy stuff from him. His facial reactions, his entrance, his clapping, etc. The whole thing works. Props!

Bad – This fatal four way was a mess. The first 30 seconds had a wrestler pinning his own tag team partner as part of a strategy, where apparently you can pin your own teammate and win? Never thought of that one. Regardless, this bout was chaos. Pure chaos. I found myself laughing during the final two minutes of all the insanity going on with no rules whatsoever.

Ugly – I am not even a big fan of Enzo and Cass from NXT, but bring them to Raw and Smackdown. Now. Right now, the tag division is The New Day and everybody else. The Primetime Players are fine, but their run just ended. I don’t care to see Los Matadores in title matches going forward. We need a new face pairing to cheer for. Debut tonight maybe?

Dolph Ziggler VS Rusev

Good – Not much of a positive here. I guess because the talent is there, this will be okay. Even Summer Rae and Lana are carrying their end of the story line. Fans love when the women fight, love to hate Rusev, and love to root on Ziggler. There is the good.

Bad – Can we end this feud now? I assume WWE wants Lana to be a big female star, but that may be limiting if she doesn’t wrestle. However, the right move would be to rewind to earlier in 2015 where fans cheered Lana…but she was still with Rusev (the heel). Can’t go back in time, so we are stuck with this messed up love triangle/square thingy. From the moment this feud started, it had DUD written all over it. Everybody is somehow making it entertaining, just not enough to sway me.

Ugly – A double countout? At WWE Summerslam? Ugh. If this is building to a mixed tag team match, then why bother adding this to the card six days in advance?Save it for Night of Champions with a much larger spotlight. Felt tacked on, pointless, and after the weak finish – irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. For a television match or B-pay-per-view, you can do that. Summerslam? Ah, no.

Stephen Amell/Neville VS Stardust/King Barrett

Good – I admit it. I had no idea who Stephen Amell was before his WWE involvement. I don’t watch Arrow and had never even heard of the guy. However, his Raw segment(s) made me a fan two weeks ago. His Summerslam match made me an even bigger fan. I assumed he would stand on the apron and only tag in at the end for one big move. Nope! The man basically wrestled a full blown match and did a very good job. The live crowd did not give him much early on, but by the end – they were in his corner. If there is more to this story, I am all for it. Bring it on!

Bad – Stardust is still a character.

Ugly – Like I said, I do not follow Arrow, comic books, or anything with that genre. Therefore, I am be way off base here, but wasn’t there supposed to be some big spectacular entrance and ring gear for Amell? He just appeared with a jacket on for 5 seconds and wrestled shirtless. Um, okay. Did I miss something?

IC Championship Match

Good – The reality of Ryback retaining the IC Title.

Bad – The thought of Big Show winning the IC Title.

Ugly – The thought of The Miz winning the IC Title.

Shield-1 VS Wyatts-1

Good – Nothing technically wrong with this tag team match. The two sides had history and will likely be wrestling for a long time in some way. I liked that there was no huge revelation or turn. It keeps the story going but also continues to make fans doubt what is truly going on here. As much as I want to trust in the buddy-buddy relationship between Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns, this IS the wrestling industry. More to come…

Bad I felt a little underwhelmed. I’m happy there was nothing, yet at the same time, this was like a TV main event. Kinda conflicted. I get the sense this match was made for Summerslam because WWE had an ulterior motive but changed plans. Maybe the Sting rumor fell through or Erick Rowan isn’t quite ready to return? Only speculating here.

Ugly – Dean Ambrose always looks like he is getting beat up. Like real bad. He is starting to give me flashbacks of Daniel Bryan from 2014 and early 2015. Fans will say “Oh, he is just great at selling!!!” Yeah, then he needed multiple surgeries and is currently sidelined due to concussion issues. The man is nicknamed the Lunatic Fringe for a reason I suppose. His gimmick battles with Bray Wyatt were enough. No need to take silly spots just for the sake of it. Like Bryan (and many more), your body will take its toll eventually.

WWE World/US Title Match

Good – The match was great, and Seth Rollins winning was the right move. As I stated in my preview column, John Cena has a terrible win-loss record at Summerslam and is never afraid to lose when the time calls for it. There is more to do with Rollins right now, and Cena’s quest o break Ric Flair’s title record can happen later on…if at all. I especially liked that Rollins had a standout showing. Like the Royal Rumble triple threat bout earlier this year, he was his own man and stood toe to toe with the top guy(s). He belonged out there and was never out of place. Big endorsement from WWE (and mainly Triple H) to continually give these big accolades to the future – Seth Rollins.

Bad – I wrote about this a few weeks ago, but I think the “Winner Take All” tagline will end up meaning nothing. I am writing this before RAW, but I said Rollins would defeat Cena, then the next night lose the United States Title to Neville. Rollins and Cena continue feuding over the top prize, while Neville gets some gold and is able to overcome Rollins, something he keeps falling short on. With Night of Champions coming up, Rollins shouldn’t wrestle twice on the show. As much as HHH loves him, nobody should compete twice in the same night.

Ugly – I guess we need to see the followup, but it is a shame that Jon Stewart (Jon Stewart!) interfered in a title for title Summerslam marquee match. There better be an exciting explanation. Otherwise, the publicity gathered from his appearance was not worth the trade off. Also, no more Springboard Stunners. Stone Cold is right – just stop it already.

Team Bella VS PCB VS B.A.D

Good – The entire point of this match was to set up a future opponent for Divas Champion Nikki Bella. In that, their goal was accomplished with Becky winning the bout over her sister Brie. Being a four hour show, this got plenty of time, and everybody did a solid job. Despite the (predictable) complains, the women’s wrestling revolution has been enjoyable nearly every single week. No different this past weekend…

Bad – B.A.D.

…get it?

Haha, alright. It has only been a few weeks, but I look forward to the day Sasha Banks breaks away from Tamina and Naomi. She is already more interesting and better in the ring than both combined. When WWE actually gets down to it and begins one on one feuds with the women, Sasha should step forward. Right now, it is just nine ladies wrestling random matches, while Nikki Bella racks up days as Divas Champ. We want Sasha! Yes.

Ugly – Is it Becky or Becky Lynch? Whatever it is, pick a name. The girl is beyond talented, and I don’t need to be confused when writing columns each week.

Kevin Owens VS Cesaro

Good – In a tough spot, both men had a good match. Going right before the main event on ANY night is challenging. With Cesaro and Kevin Owens though? The Brooklyn fans were not going to let them disappoint. Late last week, I changed my prediction to Owens, and I think WWE made the right call. He just lost to Cena and Balor, so it was time to return the favor. If Cesaro is going to be the new fan favorite in every arena, that means he should be supported no matter what. Win or lose. We shall see. In the meantime, congrats to both men. Years ago, on the independent scene. Now? Second to last match at Summerslam.

Bad – Like Sheamus and Orton, I wonder what is next? With Night of Champions being all about titles (there are non-title bouts too), that may leave a lot of wrestlers out in the cold. Then when Heck on a Deck rolls around, only the main events get that gimmick. Credit goes to Owens for his back to back nights of action though. Can’t knock that.

Ugly – Nothing ugly per say. My belief is that as fun as this contest was, they could have done more. Suppose that could happen next month.

Brock Lesnar VS The Undertaker

Good – Folks, THIS is what I expected at WrestleMania XXX. Forget age, part-time status, and all the other nonsense people have in their back pocket for excuses. Brock and Taker are legends and can ‘go’ with the best of them. Even in 2015. Summerslam would not have had a monstrous main event otherwise. Name any other young star on the roster. No matter what your fantasy booking scenario tells you, nothing can capture the same feeling as these two slugging it out. Thanks Brock and Taker!

Bad – Before Battleground, I said another Brock Lesnar/Undertaker match was not necessary. After Battleground, I said the same thing and said any outcome at Summerslam would be a lose-lose situation. Despite the strong build and hype for WWE Summerslam main event, there had to be an outcome. That was always the problem here. WWE Network surely got a boost in numbers, just as did overall business. No doubt numbers went up over the weekend…but who wins and who loses? With last month’s pay-per-view main event having a funky non-finish, you couldn’t go back to that well again so quickly. Or you could.

*sigh*

Ugly – Follow the KISS Method. Give me a face. Give me a heel. Give me a story line. Give me a match, and yes, give me a winner and a loser. That’s it. Save me the swerve garbage, unpredictability factor, and other useless tools. Look no further than Saturday night with NXT: Takeover Brooklyn. Everybody knew going in that Bayley would win the NXT Womens Title, and guess what? SHE WON THE NXT WOMENS TITLE! And it was an emotional, satisfying payoff to a story line where the face finally beat the heel after an epic match. Keep it simple stupid! No swerve. No nonsense. No unpredictable surprise. No controversy. None of that junk is needed. It never has been and never will be.

Sadly though, WWE appears dead set on giving us more Brock/Taker which means we had to have a ‘to be continued’ ending to Summerslam. Worst of all, Brock Lesnar still had the distinction ending The Streak on his shoulders to pass off to a young/new star and pass the torch to as the NEXT next big thing. But in an ironic twist, the man who will benefit from The Steak ending is The Undertaker.

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