ECW SyFy Results (02/02/10) Savannah introduced Vince McMahon, who came out wearing a pink and black tie. He stopped at the stage. He immediately said that ECW would be...
Much like block parties where someone gets arrested and weddings with ornery, drunken relatives, it's time for a fine Summer tradition steeped in ass-whooping to rear its head once more. That's right, it's time for SummerSlam!
With a card so exciting it's prompted me to bite the bullet and shell out the price of a PPV, this is shaping up one of the best 'Slams in a long time. It's also prompted me to get off my slacker can and mull over the possible outcomes, winners, and losers of this pivotal PPV.
First of all, I have to commend WWE for putting together a solid card and taking their time to develop the storylines in a way that has made for a quality build for most of the matches. Considering a lot of the turmoil that the company has been thrown into between unflattering media coverage, forced storyline shifts, and a number of injuries befalling some of the company's top stars, it has all managed to come together pretty well.
Perhaps the biggest blessing that could have befallen the SummerSlam card was for the JackAss squad to back out of appearing on the program in a match against Umaga. In the short-term, while it may have been marginally entertaining and funny, at the same time, the cons certainly outweighed the pros. The operative word here would be "pros," considering Umaga would be the only professional wrestler in the mix and the possibility for someone to get injured because of a lack of actual wrestling training and ring work, was a considerable drawback. Additionally, in the long-haul, it may not have been the greatest boon to Umaga's character. A newly-turned face, Umaga would have run the risk as devolving into too much of a novelty act, joining the likes of Mantaur and Bastion Booger, having taken part in this sort of a match-up.
Instead, Umaga is now a part of a three-way battle for his Intercontinental Title along with Mr. Kennedy and Carlito. This is a tough one to call as to who will emerge the victor with the belt. It could go any way. The logical choice, however, seems to be Umaga keeping the I.C. strap in his mouth…errr… around his waist. It gives Umaga some sort of a storyline and face time on RAW while his character is in limbo as far as direction is concerned.
With the Samoan Bulldozer possibly now being a white hat, albeit a loose cannon white hat, it seems that the writers might not know what direction to take him in just yet. Ideally, I'd love to see him back with Armando "It's Still 'Alejandro' To Me" Estrada controlling him, which could be a tremendous help in boosting a storyline for Umaga. The fans have really seemed to have come around to the big guy, largely in part to the fact that the guy is one of the few new "monsters" dropped into a top tier slot that has made substantial improvements to their in-ring work.
While part of me thinks that Ken Kennedy may win the Intercontinental Title as a way to push him, I think he just may be the "lost McMahon" in the newest company-wide caper, the "Who's Vince's Illegitimate Spawn?" storyline and get a hefty amount of time in the spotlight. Too many times, the camera has cut to Kennedy and lingered on reaction shots between him and Vince. Plus with the surname "Kennedy" as a factor, it could very well mean that Vince is his (on-screen) daddy.
I'm still not totally sold on Kennedy. I like his wrestling style in that it's very much of a throwback to the old school. It's a nice to see that as a contrast to the human spot-fests out there. However, what is perceived to be his strong suit, Kennedy's mike skills, I feel have taken a beating. He just doesn't seem to have the same punch or connection with the audience. I'd much rather see a return to his old style where he was a bit funnier instead of the token, mean lout.
Carlito, I would wager has been lumped into the category of Perennial Feud Guy. His ring-work has improved, but half the time, I think you can call a Carlito match before it even happens. If he does win the belt, I will be surprised. So far, the Cabana is his vehicle as far as giving him airtime on RAW, so the strap on him wouldn't make much of a difference, so long as he has his talk show. My pick: Umaga to retain the Intercontinental Title
This year's SummerSlam also seems to be a big one for superstars sidelined with long-term injuries to be making a comeback. In either case, with Rey Mysterio and Triple H making their returns at SummerSlam, it's doubtful that either one of these comeback kids is going to lose their homecoming match.
In both cases, I'm torn between my feelings on how these matches were cobbled together for SummerSlam. In terms of marketing and selling PPVs, it's a great incentive for fans to see fan favorites Triple H and Rey Mysterio in return matches. On the other hand, the way in which these matches were set up were slightly ham-handed. Chavo Guerrero practically begs his aunt-in-law/Assistant General Manager of Smackdown to give him a match against his old rival who's been out of action for at least six months. Okay. And King Booker is all fired up about being the only king on RAW, calling out King of Kings, Triple H. (Who is so lucky that he's got Lemmy and Motorhead doing his theme song and not Stryper!) Just add water, and BAM! Insta-match for the second biggest PPV in the WWE calendar year!
If I had to pick one of the two to lose, it would be Rey Mysterio. His long-running feud with Chavo Guerrero, the man who put him out of action in the first place, has made for some interesting matches. Given Mysterio's acrobatic and high-flying style, I would expect him to have a bit of ring-rust on him. I would predict Chavo carrying the bulk of it and kind of guiding Mysterio through it. All of that said, I still think it's going to be a really solid match. I like this pairing and in spite of it having been done before, there's still some mileage left in it.
Just to go out on a limb and be different, to give this rekindled feud some more longevity, My pick: Chavo Guerrero
As for Triple H's return match, as much as I enjoy King Booker, considering Booker had beaten "Jerome" "The King" Lawler, he's due for a royal comeuppance at the hands of Mr. McMahon-Helmsley. (Hmmm…. I wonder if Trips will come out with a black armband in remembrance of recently deceased "royalty," the Queen of Mean, hotelier Leona Helmsley?)
It's highly unlikely Triple H will lose his comeback match, particularly since he's probably primed once again for the top spot in the company upon his return.
At the very least, this is going to be a good match. It's still up in the air what sort of character The H will be returning with, the grizzled Triple H or the smarmy, fun incarnation of his D-Generation X days right before he was injured. Also up in the air is how well he'll be able to move in the ring, given his knee injury and working with it again. The Pedigree finsher calls for a lot of stress on the knees, so I'm sure that's a touchy subject. King Booker is of a similar age to Triple H and still moves incredibly well, consistently pulling off impressive scissor-kicks in every match that demonstrate height and raw power in addition to strong ring skills. Although I think Triple H won't lose this one, it should be a really good match. My pick: Triple H
In another no-brainer at the top of the card, it's likely that Batista will win back his World Heavyweight Title belt from The Great Khali. Khali has been something of a place holder champion. His interpreter does most of his talking for him and as a champion, it's relatively implausible that the majority of roster members could take him down given his enormous size. With Khali's size, that alone can generate some more storylines for him.
Purely speculation on my part, but considering the rumored nature of Batista's autobiographical book coming out soon, there may be a heel turn in his future. Supposedly, the stories in Batista's book may not make many WWE superstars very happy. If he does have the belt back by this time, it could rejuvenate the former-Leviathan with a heel turn, capitalizing on the nature of this book, generating several new feuds. Having Batista as the default guy to whom the belt switches back to at all times is rather boring. While Khali doesn't make for an exciting champion, I don't think consistently keeping the strap on Batista is a solution, either. I'm pulling for an eventual heel turn from Batista and him winning the belt back. Regardless, I have a feeling this will be the weakest match on the card for SummerSlam. I'd like to be proven wrong, however. My pick: Batista to win back the World Title
Probably the match that I'm most excited to see is the WWE Champion, John Cena vs. Randy Orton. Undoubtedly, this will probably be the last match/headliner of the night. Much like Triple H vs. King Booker, you have two extremely charismatic individuals of a similar age, but with completely different ring personas and skill sets.
This match has been set up perfectly, thus far. John Cena has been less of the dour, somewhat humorless "Marine," and more like the witty "Doctor of Thuganomics" minus the gimmicky nature of a rapper. Noticeably, the fans haven't been booing him as much and his promos have been very well-received as of late. Randy Orton, on the other hand, has turned into an uber-heel with no known allies on the roster, alienating both legends and legends-in-training alike with his supreme arrogance. While I miss some of the cocky and funny attitude of Orton, this switch in gears has made him such a unique character on RAW. The fans love to hate him and he's gotten "good heat," putting on some stellar matches and capping them off with one of the best finishing moves in WWE, the RKO.
Cena, although he's on the upswing with the fans, is due to drop the title, having already sat as the longest-reigning WWE Champion in nearly 20 years. Orton is the perfect guy to drop it to considering that they're both young and have yet to have really faced one another in a headliner match. It's been highly anticipated by a lot of fans and the build-up has been balanced, not too slow and not too quick, either. Regardless, I think this will be the match of the night. My pick: Randy Orton to win the WWE Championship Title
Rounding out the undercard, there are still some solid matches. The Diva Battle Royal looks like it could be a strong match. Vying for a Number One Contender spot to challenge Women's Champion, Candice Michelle for the title, most of the women taking part in the match have shown considerable in-ring skill. The trio of ECW's Extreme Exposé (Leyla, Brooke, and Kelly Kelly) are my picks to get tossed out of the ring first being the least experienced and in all reality, a Women's Title on ECW would mean nothing without any viable contenders or women with a strong wrestling background to compete for the title. Let's face it, an ECW women's division would be null and void.
While I would love to see Smackdown's Victoria have another crack at the Women's Title run, I don't know if that will happen, unless they decide to ship her back to her old RAW stomping grounds. Wrestling-wise, it would be great for her back on RAW. There aren't too many women on the Smackdown roster to run with the title or to give Victoria a good run for her money, so there's another factor against her picking up a Number One Contender Spot. That's not to say there aren't some promising storylines for her on Smackdown. Between the entertaining feuds with Torrie Wilson (granted, not exactly matches for the ages but fun to watch), playing Cougar-In-Training to young Kenny Dykstra, and a possible feud with Michelle McCool, Victoria has a lot of promise in terms of potential spotlight time on Smackdown.
Speaking of Michelle McCool, I was pleasantly surprised last week to see that she's more than just eye-candy in the ring. The girl can put on a pretty good match! I don't see her winning a title anytime soon, but she's made a rapid bit of improvement! In spite of having more of the model-type body as opposed to a women's wrestler body, she's extremely athletic and is learning and applying a lot in the ring. That's always great to see!
The Women's Title will likely stay on RAW and one of those girls will probably be a challenger to Candice Michelle's title. Jillian Hall is completely underrated and I applaud that girl's sense of humor and utter lack of shame. She would be a great choice to be lined up for a shot at the title. I think she could work a really interesting program with Candice, who while a good wrestler, still isn't in the league of Melina, Mickie James, or Beth Phoenix. Speak of the devil, Beth Phoenix would make an awesome contender. She's brutal, powerful, and has a good look about her and has toiled in the indies for a long time and brings a lot of polish to the table. Melina had a good run as Champ, but I don't see her getting a second run for awhile. I have a feeling she'll linger on the periphery for awhile and WWE will rotate someone else into a feud with Candice Michelle. For that reason, I think Mickie James will be given another crack at the Women's Title and make a heel turn. Laying the smackdown on her partner Candice Michelle on RAW this past week may indicate a turn back to the awesomely psychotic Mickie James we all know and love. I predict it comes down to Mickie and Beth Phoenix at the end of the match with Mickie as the winner to challenge Candice Michelle. My pick: Mickie James
And in another Championship match, reigning ECW Champion John Morrison defends his title against CM Punk. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any of the match-ups pitting either of these two young guys against one another. I really enjoy both of them as performers and am looking forward to checking out this match and finally seeing these two compete. So, from my end of things, it's all new to me!
I have to hand it to the former Johnny Nitro, Morrison is effective as both a tag-team wrestler as well as a singles competitor with an arsenal of unique moves. Who'd have ever thought someone from Tough Enough could be so good!? And the Jim Morrison/Lizard King gimmick is spot-on.
I see CM Punk as the New Breed of ECW talent's equivalent of Tommy Dreamer. Undoubtedly a fan-favorite loaded with indie-cred and a talented, innovative wrestler on top of that, CM Punk doesn't really need a championship belt to stand as the new face of ECW. Keep in mind, Tommy Dreamer only held the original ECW belt in the glory days of the promotion for maybe a millisecond, however, he was a beloved mainstay on the ECW roster and was consistently over with the fans.
Since I have a feeling a lot of titles will be changing hands on the program, the Law of Averages would dictate that this is one instance where the belt will remain with the current champion. My pick: John Morrison will retain the ECW Championship title
All things considered, this should be one of the better PPVs in a long while. Not even factoring in any additional surprises that may pop up or any revelations of who the Mystery McMahon is, the matches themselves -- at least on paper -- seem to be airtight. Here's hoping SummerSlam lives up to its high expectations!
