Summer Slam 2014

The build is here.

Summer Slam 2014 is in Los Angeles.

(Dark – Kidd d. Kingston, Kenta d. Prince Devitt)

Devitt isn’t joining the show yet; he’s not on the website, totally off the grid – he won’t be seen again until the next dark match.

In the owners box, the McMahons.  Senator McMahon is doing a book tour for Tonight…In This Very Country…where she discusses paycheck insecurity through the context of 30 years of right wing economic policy.  She’ll hit Kimmel and Conan as her national profile continues to expand.  

Vince is here; he’s leaving the World Wildlife Fund to start his own non-profit, called Stand Back, to fight global oppression.  He’s taking several meetings in LA discussing concerns with water privatization.  Stephanie is also here as Hunter is part of the Direct to Video squad wrestling for the tag straps. Michaels is there with them, one member of the Championship Committee always attends a PPV, he draws the straw to sit with the McMahons.

Joey/Regal/Christian remain the announce.

Regal pulls for the Underground guys, regardless of their face/heel alignment.  Christian always roots for any member of the Clique. Note, Regal and Christian were on opposite sides of a long feud almost ten years ago (Regal was the enforcer in Team Angle, Christian was in the Clique) and much more recently Underground attacked Edge and Christian with an assault Christian never really recovered from and earned Sheamus the nickname "Clique Killer". They don’t like each other. 

1.       Parejas Increibles: Claudio Castagnoli/Nick Nemeth d. Bray Wyatt/Jack Swagger

Bray’s with Harper who had to give up an IC shot, just like he gave up a WM30 slot, to be the Wyatts enforcer tonight.  They get to the ring first – Swagger gets his own introduction, he’s attacked on the ramp from behind by Cena and Virgil (Dustin).  They battle down to ringside where Bray and Harper make it 4 on 1.  Claudio and Nemeth come to ringside…but as the announce notes, there remains an unease about Swagger, particularly in the context of the psychological hold Bray Wyatt can have on people, like Cena, who he beats.  Swagger was just a heel, his relationship with Nemeth is complicated, it makes sense that Nick treats him like a bomb that might go off.  

The Wyatts exit – the bell rings with Swagger in the ring, Nemeth’s momentarily indecisive, but covers for the win. 

Nemeth’s irritated even as he does it – Bray laughs on the ramp, Nemeth seems disgusted.

2.       AJ d. Paige

WM30 was the first WWF women’s PPV match, Punk’s wife AJ who cut shoot promos on the promotion beating Natty Neidhart.  Here, she beats Paige, the first women’s wrestler to come out of Underground.  The announce notes that AJ's success puts WWF in a tough spot - there's clearly a desire to launch some version of a women's division, but AJ's obvious animosity toward the promotion makes that a challenge.

3.       Rusev (w/GHB and Lana) d. Roman Reigns Uso

   Two young athletes go head to head here; it’s a distraction finish.  Lana distracts the official, GHB hands Rusev a blackjack, Rusev clubs Reigns, hits his finish, and gets the fall.  Lana does a bit where she smokes during the match and puts it out on the chest of the beaten opponent.  She also wears sunglasses and takes them off to make out with Rusev postmatch.

4.       John Cena (w/Harper) d. Jack Swagger

Swagger sells the beating from the opening match, so he’s fighting from underneath the whole way.  

He’s able to hit some tide turning suplexes, but as the Wyatt matches inevitably do, they go outside, and as inevitably happens, Harper is there to hit a big shot.  Cena gets the fall.  He and Harper get in some extra postmatch shots. No one comes to his aid.  

5.       Tags: The Shield (Dean Ambrose/Tyler Black w/Langston) d. Direct to Video (Randy Orton/Miz w/HHH-M)

All tag title matches are “relaxed rules”, that’s been true for a couple of years, it allows for the third man to be involved and for ringside and the ramp to be used.  This win moves The Shield by the Road Warriors and Steiners into second place behind the Hart Foundation (Bret/Davey Boy/Anvil) for longest ever tag title reign.  It's a pretty definitive win, D2V is moving to enhancement for awhile, so the Shield's dominance is the story here.  Can we call them, Joey asks, the greatest tag team of all time?

6.       IC: Ladder Match: Nick Nemeth d. JerichoDeath

Nemeth took the title, his second IC title, in a ladder match at 30 – and here he beats the current incarnation of Jericho in the best match they can have; Nemeth's in a groove where he can have an exicting match with anyone in the promotion. He's mid 90s HBK. After the match – the lights go out, which is Jericho’s light cue – and when the lights come back, he’s gone, as expected – but he’s replaced in the ring by Harper, Dustin, and Cena.  They go to work on Nemeth – save by Swagger – Swagger and Nemeth, who once were considered one of the WWF’s greatest tag teams, Division One, clean house.

Alone in the ring – Swagger sticks out his hand.  Nemeth shakes it.  D1 stands together in the ring at Summer Slam 2014!

7.       Brock Lesnar d. RVD

Van Dam and Paul Heyman, of course, have a long relationship – ECW, then Heyman managed RVD in WWF until Van Dam turned face.  Heyman used Swagger to attack a returning Van Dam last year, Van Dam got his redemption at 30 – and here we are.  RVD was the last “real” ECW champion before the doors closed - Lesnar wound up as the last wrestler to hold the belt, beating Punk in the last match for which it was certified.  For all of those reasons, and of course, he's fighting mortality the way we do, Van Dam wanted a match that seemingly he cannot win.

He does not win.  Lesnar punishes him.  It’s a massacre.  At about the five minute mark, Heyman comes to ringside, Joey, who was vocally opposed to this match, has already taken off his headset and is yelling at Lesnar to stop – Heyman asks Lesnar “are we good – are we done yet, Brock?” – as Heyman and Brock split earlier in the year, as Heyman chose the younger Swagger to support. 

Brock beats the hell out of Van Dam for another couple of minutes – then gets the easy fall.

Brock smiles at Paul as he exits “see you in January….go get me that deal…cutting your commission in half”.  A battered Van Dam is scraped from the canvas and its reasonable to speculate if its the last we'll see of him.

8.       WWF Title: Claudio Castagnoli d. Bray Wyatt (w/Harper)

Claudio survives the Harper interference to defend his title successfully.  Postmatch, he gets fully beaten down.  The announce notes Claudio is alone, Brock cut GDI in half at the battle royal, Pac and Generico were taken out by the Wyatts in the build.  Claudio was able to hold on during the match, overcoming the odds and whatnot, but all 4 Wyatts take him out after the match. They hit finishers so he's totally laid out midring.

Wyatts each hit the four corners of the ring – Bray holding the WWF Championship over his head as the show ends.  The Wyatt Family closes Summer Slam 2014.

Tomorrow night on RAW we’ll find out about the Survivor Series rematch – Claudio v. Bray, this time it’s No DQ.  How will Claudio survive?  How?  How?  How? 

I’ll be back with some extra stuff next month, then the Survivor Series build in October. Here.