Summer Slam 2010

You can get to the build here.

(A brief note, I currently have four jobs, which is a lot of jobs.  I’m not planning on stopping the counterfactual, but were it to become a little less fleshed out, maybe significantly so, that wouldn’t surprise. )

Summer Slam 2010 is from Los Angeles; the announce is a bit of a mess; Joey and Striker are your main team; for the Underground match, they’re joined by Regal; for the Danielson match, they’re joined by Josh; and for the main event, they’re replaced entirely by the Fight Night crew – JR and Lawler. 

(Dark – Cody d. Chavo)

The show opens as the dark match concludes, Cody and Chavo are still in the ring when a limousine emerges onto the ramp; it’s driven by Ricardo Rodriguez, who makes his debut as Dos Caras, Jr.’s driver/personal ring announcer. 

Dos Caras (whose vignette debut was featured in the build for this show) establishes that he is here in the WWF, that he has more money than all of the Mexicans in Los Angeles combined, that he is in the WWF to establish his family legacy as the greatest in wrestling history – and to that end he insults Cody and Chavo, saying he’ll make an example of both of them, he’ll humiliate them and their families.  Caras says he will make his debut – his unmasked debut – at the Number One Contender’s Battle Royal on August 30 in Boston ( this is a reveal, and the announce will refer to it throughout the night, every other year there’s a number one contender’s battle royal, either before summer slam or survivor series, as I mention constantly, I would call it the Royal Rumble and call the Royal Rumble Justice Sunday, but I wanted to not break that tether to the real world; is it really 4 years ago that Punk won the battle royal?).  That night is RAW’s 900^th episode, and it will be nothing but the battle royal.

After the promo comes the opening video package, and Joey/Striker and an entering Regal, head trainer for developmental, are the announce.

1.       Match From the Underground: Douchebags (Ryder/Slater) d. Empire (Barrett/Gabriel)

-Douchebags (not just Ryder and Slater but a handful of guys, sort of like the FBI to make an old real world ECW reference) cut their group promo to help get over the Douchebag ethos (looks like a pinata stuffed with Affliction shirts and bluetooths just burst above the ring)  The excess guys all leave before the match starts.    Empire’s essentially Barrett’s haughty real world persona.  Important here is Regal on the announce, as he’s there to put over developmental – not just current developmental prospects, but the idea of WWFU as a tremendous success, visible in graduates like D1 and Hooligans.  Regal specifically contrasts WWFU as the best way to get training with independent wrestling.  Regal dismissively refers to GDI as minor league wrestling, and when he has heard all of this talk about Danielson and Low Ki being the best wrestlers in the world, its angered him and it minimizes the work done at WWFU.

 Douchebags go over – and following the match, they’re attacked and stomped out by Empire – Joey looks for Regal, as head trainer, to stop it – but Regal says this is part of the training, you do what you have to do in the wrestling ring, the match matters – but it’s not the only way to win. 

 2.       Light Tube Match: John Cena d. David Otunga

It’s Otunga’s debut, you can read about his vignettes in the build, he views WWF as a stepping stone to a fabulous entertainment career.  Cena’s Tommy Dreamer (thought of as soft by the core fanbase, hopefully winning some over with a willingness to bleed for the company)  He’s evolved into the man who defends the WWF shield at the point of his fluorescent light tube.  That’s what this match is about, fortifying the new Cena character with a quick and bloody win over a guy who no one could possibly root for.

3.       Winner’s Team Gets Tag Title Shot: Sheamus (w/Fit) d. Randy Orton

McIntrye and DiBiase, tag partners of these two, are injured (as is Swagger) so WWF Commissioner Bret Hart made this match; Orton and Sheamus feuded as part of their tag teams for much of the past year – and that feud grew out of a much longer feud that Orton has had with Fit Finlay, the Hooligans manager. 

 Hooligans got the better of Defiance in that program – and Sheamus gets the better of Orton here.  It’s maybe an upset, given that Orton’s both a former IC and tag champ, but it signals the emergence of Sheamus as a legitimate threat.  Hooligans become number one contenders for the tag belts and will face the winners of the tag title match later on tonight at Survivor Series.  Orton looks despondent – as was set up in the build, there’s no one to blame for this; no partner, no manager, no authority figure – Orton’s lost clean in the middle to Sheamus, and its fair to wonder whats next for Defiance.

 4.       Rey Mysterio d. Nick Nemeth (w/Kelly)

The goal here is a quality loss for Nemeth, to elevate him with a loss against the  legendary Mysterio.  Nemeth was placed in this spot specifically by Bret, looking to move Nemeth above the position as the perceived lesser half of D1.  That’s the frame for the match, young Nemeth against a legend.  He loses, but gets a post match handshake – the announce selling that Nemeth has really impressed some people tonight.  Swagger, in streetclothes, enters postmatch to console his partner after the loss.

5.       WWF Tag Team Titles: Young Money (Kingston/Killings) d. DMW (Paul/Kane)

Young Money took the titles from D1 at Mania, really beginning in the build to that was a little bit of a rift between Kingston (who is increasingly taking wrestling a little more seriously) and Killings (who wants to hang out at the club and smoke.  That story continues here, Kingston dances around but is more focused than Killings who never stops clowning.  They keep – and its Killings, importantly, who gets the fall.  Postmatch, Hooligans comes to the ring – Sheamus is showered and in streetclothes, McIntyre and Fit are there too – there’s a nose to nose – Killings does something disrespectful, some type of excessive clowning that would piss Fit off – and it looks momentarily like they’re going to go. 

6.       IC Title: Johnny Nitro (w/Miz and Natty) d. Matt Sydal

The high flying babyface Sydal took from Michaels, then aligned with Nitro, at the Rumble – Nitro and Miz, junior members of the Clique, kicked the seniors to the curb the night after Mania, shelving Hunter and retiring Shawn.  The Clique has been running wild all summer, like a young real world DX, and that doesn’t end here.  Ideally, this is the match with the bumps – Sydal’s not coming back until 2011, so he can leave it all in the ring here.  Superkick.  Starship Pain.  Pinfall.  He gets worked over by the Clique postmatch.  They pose.

7.       Bryan Danielson d. CM Punk

-Danielson’s WWF PPV debut.  Punk’s been the centerpiece of the company for years; throwing down the WWF Title belt, starting his own shadowcompany, GDI, essentially a Ring of Honor-like anti-WWF alliance.  Punk heeled them, used the anti-establishment ethos for his own ends, like the revolutionary who becomes dictator.  2 WWF Titles and a Mania win over Steamboat later, Punk saw his last remaining friends in the company, Kendrick – Cabana, fired, then in a long program with Christian, Maria became a casualty of an attack by Edge.  Punk’s pursued Edge singlemindedly, wildly tearing apart Matt, Christian, and Steamboat in attempt to get to him. 

GDI has been reborn under Danielson, a combat artist, according to Josh – not driven by fame or money – but by the desire to be the greatest wrestler who ever lived.  Punk’s attack of Danielson’s father figure, Steamboat, moved Danielson to accept Bret Hart’s offer for this match – Bret needing to keep Punk away from the title match and Edge.  Additionally, Josh needs to respond to Regal - he gets to be the mouthpiece to hit Regal back for his criticism earlier in the night of GDI, saying that both of these men are GDI - Punk's a two time WWF Champion, and Danielson's the best wrestler in the world, and Regal trying to compare the Underground accomplishments to those really makes him look silly.

Most important here is it’s a chance for a great match; back before I started looking to really tell stories with the counterfactual, the essential premise was “what’s the best matches I could make” as my wrestling interest is almost entirely workrate.  Hard to say how many of these PPVS I get Danielson for, my primary interest is match quality.  This is the best brawling type match they can have, like Danielson’s real world matches with Morishima, as Punk’s not in a wrestling mindset, his hair and beard are crazy, he’s totally consumed with Edge.   He’s got to do a stretcher job here, because he isn’t coming out for the main.  Danielson ends it with the series of elbows to Punk’s neck – leading the referee to stop the match.

8.       WWF Title: Edge d. Chris Jericho (Special Guest Referee – Bret Hart)

Edge wins the WWF Title, Edge wins the Triple Crown. 

Edge and Jericho feuded years previous, when Jericho was a heel and Edge a face; they returned to WWF at the same time a couple of years ago as a tag team, Jericho even anointed Edge with the #10 Hart Foundation hockey jersey.  It was a set up, Edge was swerving Jericho to get eaten up by Hunter and Michaels.  Edge beat Jericho at Mania – but Jericho would win the number one contender’s battle royal and win the WWF Title and Triple Crown, taking from Punk almost two full years ago.  Jericho’s had a long, dominant title run – but has never defended against Edge, a match made by Bret on his first night as Commissioner.  Not only is this match for the belt, and for Edge, a chance to win the Triple Crown, but its also for a once and forever resolution of the disputed Hart Foundation membership. 

There’s one moment where Jericho questions something Bret did, and reasonable minds could differ on the call – say Lawler thinks Bret blew the call and JR thinks he got it right. 

But at the end, it’s Edge, clean with the spear and the fall.  It was 12 years ago, at Summer Slam '98, that Adam Copeland ("come on guys, call me Edge") was the first member of the Ring Boys to break out, beating Vader.  12 years later, through the ladder matches, the surgeries, the suspensions, through the wave of NWA and ECW talent that streamed ahead, through the valets, through the end of the WWF career for both Hardys, through Christian's years in TNA and now his being down with injury - there is Edge, now World Wrestling Federation Champion.  

Edge becomes the 46^th WWF World Heavyweight Champion.  The 11^th Triple Crown winner.  His career reaches its absolute pinnacle, he’s handed the WWF Title by Bret – he’s handed the #10 Hart Foundation jersey by Bret – Bret puts Edge’s arm in the air – he’s the WWF Champion – Edge stands above the wrestling world as the show ends.

The next night on RAW is the Triple Crown ceremony, every wrestler on the roster (not Punk) surrounding the ring, Edge is wearing a t-shirt with one of Maria’s Playboy pictures on it, Edge’s face covering the NSFW areas.  A stoic looking Jericho, in his suit, is called to the ring by Bret to transfer possession of the Hart-Guerrero Memorial Triple Crown, each owner’s name engraved like it were the Stanley Cup.

PEDRO MORALES

BRET HART

SHAWN MICHAELS

OWEN HART

STEVE AUSTIN

CACTUS JACK

EDDY GUERRERO

REY MYSTERIO

CHRIS BENOIT

CHRIS JERICHO

EDGE

Edge gobbles up the Triple Crown, holding it and the Hart Foundation jersey aloft – wearing the title belt around his waist.  Jericho says only one thing, and says it twice, to Edge, after he hands him the Triple Crown, “this belongs to you now.”  And then, after a pause, to Bret – Jericho pulls from his jacket his #7 Hart Foundation hockey jersey, and hands it to Bret, then nods toward the rest of the ring “this belongs to you now.”  As Jericho had fully embraced being the Champ, being the face of the company.  And now he yields.  

Jericho walks out of the ring and keeps on going. 

I’ll be back in a month with the battle royal.  Who will win? (I know the answer, it's on a piece of paper next to my desk).

Then in October, the rest of the build for Survivor Series.

In November, Survivor Series. 

Thanks for reading.