The Piledriver Report 08.19.10: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly of SummerSlam

This past Sunday marked the 23rd edition of the WWE’s summer extravaganza called “SummerSlam.” As one of the “big four” pay per view events on the World Wrestling Entertainment calendar, Summer Slam is one of the most anticipated wrestling events of the year. This year was no different as the WWE presented one of the most intriguing storylines that they had in years. Like most pay per view events, there were good things that occurred, bad things that happened, and ugly scenarios the viewer was forced to deal with.

THE GOOD

BRYAN DANIELSON’S RETURN: When Bryan Danielson was released from his contract in the beginning of June due to “choking” Justin Roberts with a necktie, I was stunned. I never heard of anyone being fired for performing an angle to the best of their ability. To make matters worse, there was never a real explanation given as to why Danielson would be fired for acting out a storyline. There were rumors like Mattel Toys, or Linda McMahon’s campaign having to with it, but nothing was ever confirmed.

Most felt that it was only a matter of time before Danielson returned to the WWE. Most figured that time would around the 90th day when his no compete clause would end. It only took the WWE sixty-five days to realize the error of their ways, as they brought him back at SummerSlam 2010.

Bryan’s return was well played by the WWE. First, Team WWE tried to recruit The Miz on their team. As a true heel, The Miz gloated and stalled on his decision. When he finally agreed, Team WWE said “thanks, but no thanks.” They already selected a seventh member, Daniel Bryan. This made perfect sense, because Danielson and The Miz had heat with each other before Bryan got the axe in June. Now, The Miz and Danielson can resume their feud.

Leading up to SummerSlam, I was hoping that Bryan would return. I kept waiting for the WWE to have Nexus attack one of the Team WWE members in order to create a space on the team. When they didn’t, I had doubt as to if Bryan Danielson would really return. Would he return, or was it just wishful thinking. I hate spoilers, so I didn’t see the WWE website blooper.

SHEAMUS vs. ORTON: The match for the WWE World title started off very slowly. As a matter of fact, it felt like your standard RAW television wrestling match. Then a funny thing happened in the middle of the match. The match started to get good. It was very entertaining. I usually hate it when World title matches end in a disqualification or a countout on a pay per view. After all, if I’m going to pay $45.00 to see a pay per view, I want to see a title match end via pin fall or submission.

That being said, I didn’t mind that the Sheamus vs. Randy Orton match ended in a disqualification. First, this year’s SummerSlam was a one match show, and that match wasn’t either World title match. The match that would make or break the show would be Team WWE versus Team Nexus. Plus, by having a non-finish to the WWE World title match, their feud could continue.

One of the negative aspects of the new format to the “B” pay per views in the WWE is that they present gimmick matches between two wrestlers that shouldn’t be fighting in gimmick matches yet. By dragging out the Orton/Sheamus feud, it’s possible that the two could have their final match inside the confines of a Hell in a Cell during that pay per view.

THE BAD

THE DEFEAT OF NEXUS: When the Nexus angle first started, I was intrigued. Eight fresh faces to they WWE getting an immediate push following a short stint on the WWE’s Tuesday night “reality-based” wrestling show. Once Bryan Danielson/Daniel Bryan was fired, I thought that I would lose interest. However, I was wrong. Wade Barrett turned out to be a star. Ironically, it was Danielson’s firing that probably helped speed up Wade’s progress. If Danielson was with the WWE over the last two months, they may have relied on his vast experience to help get the group over. Instead, Wade Barrett was forced to be the mouthpiece and leader of Nexus. To say that Wade took the ball and ran with it would be an understatement. A star was born.

This leads us to the SummerSlam main event. Team WWE against Team Nexus. If there was ever a time for the WWE to put over new stars, it was now. If Nexus was given the win, the group would have been seen as fresh new main event level stars. Seven different Nexus members could feud with different top level WWE wrestlers for months, if not a couple of years. Instead, we were presented with the same old WWE. John Cena single handedly beat Wade Barrett and Justin Gabriel to end the match. This was the worst thing for business. Since all seven members of Nexus were soundly beaten in this elimination match, why would there be interest in seeing the feud continue? The WWE needed to do what was right for business. Jobbing out every member of Nexus was not.

SUPER CENA: Worse then Nexus losing to Team WWE was seeing John Cena become “SuperCena.” One of the things that I loved about this pay per view was that the show was nearly three hours. Not three hours and forty-five minutes, but a few minutes shy of three hours. That being said, it seemed like the WWE wasted way too much time during the show. Between musical introductions, in-ring promos, and video packages hyping each match, too much dead time went by during the pay per view. I already paid $45.00 for the show. I don’t need to see any video packages hyping up the matches. Video packages, might I add, that have been previously seen on RAW, NXT, and SmackDown! numerous times before.

This leads us to the end of the main event of the evening. As the clock quickly was approaching 11:00pm, John Cena got hit with a DDT on the concrete floor. Gabriel and Barrett dragged Cena back into the ring. Gabriel went for the 450 splash, and Cena quickly moved out of the way, and covered Justin for the pin. Wade hit the ring, and almost immediately was put into the STFU for the submission.

Looking at the clock, I would understand why they had to rush to the finish. However, this isn’t the first time that Cena no-sold moves that he should selling. Most of the time, he no-sells during RAW. I can understand why, as he isn’t the only wrestler who does this. I just chalk it up to cable television. The WWE has to put a lot of different segments on the air during a live Monday Night RAW. This causes the wrestlers to have to rush through their matches.

Pay per views are an entirely different animal. The wrestlers and staff have at least the whole weekend, if not longer to work through their matches. There is no reason to no-sell a move that should leave you lying for at least several minutes. Even Hulk Hogan had to “hulk up” when he no sold a move. Nothing on the show bothered me more than Cena no-selling, because there was no excuse for it.

THE UGLY

THE HYPE: Never before has the WWE presented a pay per view where I was left wondering before the show “what matches are on the show?” I knew the main event, and who were in the two World title matches. However, that was it. Did the WWE even announce every match on TV? I sure they probably did. They had to. If they did, I missed it, and that’s a problem. The WWE needs to do a better job of making the fans aware of what matches are on the upcoming pay per view.

I know that I’ve mentioned this before. The old studio pay per view reports were fantastic. I remember watching Gene Okerlund or Todd Pettingill rattle off the matches to the latest pay per view. When the Royal Rumble approached, I used to write down the names of the Royal Rumble entrants, as they added five to seven new names each week.

I couldn’t wait until the studio segments before WrestleMania in order to see what matches would make up that year’s WrestleMania card. What do we get today? The announcers enter the ring, and quickly run down the upcoming pay per view card. To me, this doesn’t leave a lasting impression. This was never more evident as it was during this past SummerSlam, when I was wondering who was on the complete card. The lack of quality hype hurt the show for me, as aside from the main event, I really didn’t care about the rest of the show.

Overall, I would give the show a thumbs in the middle. There was some good, and some bad. No match of the year candidates, but no negative star matches either. In all, it was a very forgettable pay per view, not that it was awful, just nothing that stands out. What’s your thoughts? Post your comments below.