Doctor’s Note – Whenever I sit down with a patient to go over the treatment plan that I have devised for their individual case, I always tell them that they need to weigh their options. Keeping in mind that there is nothing more important than their health, they need to evaluate their situation and make a well-informed decision. As it relates to wrestling, we are all huge fans – such is why we are here – and we spend a lot of our time and money watching it. So, I think it important to evaluate the top wrestling company’s performance level on a week-to-week basis to determine whether or not the WWE has earned our money for monthly PPV events – so that we may properly evaluate our options and make the most informed decision.
July 19-23
The Raw after Money in the Bank meant that we were officially blazing a trail toward the annual Summerslam event that is unequivocally the second biggest PPV of the year for the WWE. Beginning with a triple threat match to determine the #1 contender to Sheamus’s WWE Championship between Edge, Chris Jericho, and Randy Orton, the Raw brand seems quite focused to get things going for the summer spectacular. Rarely do you see a PPV quality match on Raw anymore, so much to my surprise the triple threat match gets plenty of time to put the talents of three of its top superstars on proper display. Orton gets the win to set-up a Royal Rumble rematch, with Sheamus a more seasoned star and Orton’s character direction more clearly defined than the previous PPV meeting. Could be interesting. Just segments after Sheamus’s new top contender was named, the Celtic Warrior has a showdown with Raw’s Mr. Money in the Bank, The Miz. Would it not be nice to have a Mr. MITB wait awhile to cash in? Miz teases as much, while also teasing that he might cash in right now. Sheamus has a solid match with Evan Bourne, which continues to make the high flyer look strong, and then the Miz teases cashing in his contract. It is all for naught, as R-Truth comes out to thwart the US Champ’s hopes of doubling his titles.
Raw has been outstanding to this point, the best since the Road to Mania. The final segment of Raw involves the Nexus – the most interesting thing to happen to Raw since John Cena arrived on the scene via the draft in 2005. After beating Mark Henry in a credibility establishing match, Wade Barrett invites his gang out to the ring and they awaited the coming of Cena, who had earlier teased he might join the group since he was having trouble beating them. Barrett continues to show his microphone prowess, and Cena teases that he might join the magnificent seven. Just when you think Cena might do something new and exciting, he decides he’ll stand against the Nexus just like all good heroes do. Only this time, he’ll have some help in the form of former foes Jericho, Edge, Khali, and John Morrison, as well as random babyface R-Truth and the other of the more prominent names to be attacked by the Nexus: Bret “Hitman” Hart. I marked out for Bret for exactly one second before remembering his God awful match at Wrestlemania. 7 vs. 7 tag team match at Summerslam. I can dig it. A fantastic ending to a thoroughly entertaining Raw.
On Friday night, the blue team took to the stage and set-up the Smackdown main-event for Summerslam with a two out of three falls match between Jack Swagger and Rey Mysterio, who lost the title the previous night to SD’s Money in the Bank winner: Kane. Mysterio got the victory in a very good match, winning two falls to one. Swagger continued to show why he should still be the champion (in my opinion), while Mysterio played the face-in-peril to a T as he always does. Kane vs. Mysterio does not have the look of a Summerslam caliber main-event, though. They’ll have a lot of work to do in order to make that match interesting.
July 26-30
The question as to whether or not the Raw writers could produce two really strong shows in a row at this time of the year is answered within the first half hour. The answer is a resounding “NO.” Gone is the finite focus of the previous week, replaced by the usual pattern of major segments surrounded by what can most politely be described as fluff. Raw will apparently be focusing on just two matches to hype their portion of Summerslam. The Miz has some interaction with Sheamus and Orton to tease that he might choose to cash in after their match at Summerslam, but Orton and Sheamus barely have any interaction and their feud is really nothing more than title match only, with very little personal animosity between them. Fair enough, but the Nexus vs. Raw team angle has to carry the hype if that’s the case. The choice to put Cena’s entire team at odds is intriguing, but I’m not sure it is the most interesting way to go. Jericho is not happy that Cena is the leader of the team. Cena doesn’t care whose team it is, as long as they beat the Nexus. It would help if the likes of Edge and Jericho had more reason to join forces with each other and their fellow heated rival, Cena, than one Nexus attack. As it stands, Raw stalls in a major way to get me to order Summerslam.
Smackdown has one major thing it needs to do on this particular Friday night – it has to make me care about Mysterio vs. Kane (and it’s going to be tough). The majority of the show goes by without much in the way of hype for a second or third match to take place at Summerslam, although they do appear to be building toward a Big Show vs. CM Punk (with the Straight Edge Society, perhaps) match. Color me unexcited. There’s also the possibility of an IC title match between Dolph Ziggler and Kofi Kingston, which would be a good opener to the PPV, but won’t help in determining whether or not to order since you know that they’ll have a longer and better match on SD soon after. So, really all that we have is Mysterio vs. Kane in terms of top matches. Rey has a match with Swagger again that ends with Mysterio tossing Swagger into the Gulf of Mexico. Ah, gotta love the wrestlers being thrown into water. Kane had earlier accused Rey of being the one to have taken out the Undertaker – which in reality is true since it was a match with Rey that fractured Taker’s orbital bone. Kane chokeslams Rey into the Gulf and, you know, I am pretty pleased with the hype for Rey vs. Kane tonight. They gave us a reason to care about it. So, overall, Raw went backward with their top matches while SD went forward. I’m still planning on ordering based on reputation alone, at this point…
August 2-6
I suppose that patience is necessary if you want to be interested in the Raw vs. Nexus storyline, as the superstars lined up to face the group of youngsters continue to drop like flies throughout the course of the Raw that’s 13 days from Summerslam. Edge starts off the show with a decent match against Wade Barrett, but then quits the Raw team. OK – does the Nexus no longer bother you the Rated R Star? Did he not just narrowly escape another beatdown at their hands? Oh well…not everyone agrees with my logic. Chris Jericho later taps out to John Cena and, per the stipulations laid down prior to the match, must leave the Raw team, too. Despite Cena imploring him to stay, Jericho hates Cena a lot more than he hates Nexus. That makes sense – as it does with Edge – but it’s not doing much to make the Nexus vs. Raw team match more interesting. In fact, it’s making it less interesting. Patience, Chad patience. Where the hell is Bret Hart? Meanwhile, I’m beginning to wonder if Sheamus and Orton are seriously just going to have a title match with little to no hype behind it. Orton doesn’t do many promos as a babyface. Not once have we seen them have a lengthy, toe-to-toe microphone battle despite both being more than serviceable in that department. However, Orton is in the main-event tonight against the Miz and invites Sheamus to watch the match – which the big Scotsman does. Orton beats the Miz in a decent, yet underwhelming match and then gives his Viper look to Sheamus as the champ heads to the ring. Pardon the cynicism, but really…that’s it? Raw, again, makes me think about not ordering Summerslam more than they make me think I need to order it. Not a good show…the reputation of Summerslam soon won’t matter if they don’t knock it out of the park with the go-home show next week…
Hopefully, the blue team can deliver what the red team failed to. Rey Mysterio gives a promo that makes me want to watch the rest of the show, as he claims to have knowledge about who actually took out the Taker, since he vehemently denies doing it, himself. Later, we get it confirmed that Big Show will take on the Straight Edge Society at Summerslam and CM Punk gives his usual strong promo to make it interesting. They broke Show’s hand last week, so maybe that will make for an interesting match. Probably not, though, so I’m not going to factor that match into whether or not to order the PPV. Kofi Kingston loses the IC title to Dolph Ziggler, though, and that rematch to potentially open the show actually has me thinking it could be good enough to be a factor in my ordering…but they don’t announce the rematch. Why not? Mysterio has a match with the guy that interrupted his show opening promo, Drew McIntyre, in the main-event. The match is not memorable, but after Rey gets the win, Kane comes out to confront him. Mysterio scrambles away and reveals that was Kane who actually attacked Undertaker. Kane mutters to himself that he loves his brother and he seems emotionally distraught as the show fades to black. I’m intrigued, but only slightly. Again, nothing about this show makes me feel like I should order Summerslam. A week out and two shows left to hype it and I’m leaning toward “No – it’s not worth my $45 to watch Summerslam live.”
August 9-13
As I sit here prior to the start of Raw, I find myself on a seesaw – and I’m dipping down toward the side of not ordering Summerslam. The gleam in my eye that the WWE earned with their first Raw after MITB has dimmed down to no more than a speck and it will take some real doing to get me to endorse Summerslam, at this point. Starting off with Bret Hart is not a bad idea; but it’s not a particularly good one either, as his argument to Chris Jericho to get him and Edge to rejoin Team Raw would not stand much chance to get me to keep watching this free show, much less order one that’ll cost me 45 bucks. Meanwhile, the Miz is awesome and a US title match between he and Evan Bourne would increase my PPV interest a little bit. Or Miz could just quasi-squash him. Nevermind on that interesting thing. And it just went down a notch with the announcement that Diva’s title will be defended while Jericho and Edge apparently won’t have a match. Oh, sweet…Mark Henry joining the team? Yep, it’s as if someone just dropped a boulder to make that seesaw drop as far down to the “do NOT order side” as possible. I guess I have to thank Nexus for making sure that nightmare did not happen. I was beginning to think the WWE was doing everything in their power to make me want to do something else on Sunday night.
Sheamus vs. Randy Orton has been getting good reviews on the house show circuit and I would like to see that match. It’s really the only match left that has me intrigued, though. Will we see some promo work from Orton? This “feud” could use some back and forth microphone talk to better define why we should pay to watch their match. Fella. Solid stuff from Orton and Sheamus on the mic. The match got some of the added hype it needed and the atmosphere whenever Orton is in the ring is quite exciting right now – a feature that should be heavily displayed every week. Well done to those two, who just moved the boulder off the seesaw to allow it a chance to tip back in the “Order” direction. Still lots of work to do, though. NXT is not making me want to watch Summerslam…that’s for sure. What’s Up? Shut Up! John Morrison teamed with John Morrison, who hit busted out the C4 (back flipping Rock Bottom) – does nothing to affect my Summerslam purchasing. Women in bathing suits? Neither does that. Perhaps the most compelling reasons to watch Summerslam have been the videos looking at its past.
And so the final segment of Raw finally arrives after a pretty painful two hours. At this point, what SD does has no bearing on my decision making process. Either this segment blows me away or I’m not endorsing a Summerslam purchase. I’ll be honest. The segment was not bad. The image of Edge and Jericho having their issues with Nexus re-affirmed and then deciding to put past grudges with Cena aside to tackle a common foe was more powerful this go round than it was four weeks ago. However, too much damage has been done and the overall card is too weak. After sleeping on it for a night, I just cannot in good conscience tell people that Summerslam is worth spending money on…
Doctor’s Orders: Summerslam has become an event that I expect high quality build-up for, or at the very least a high quality card. I do not feel that the WWE has delivered either this year. The build-up started out strong on Raw, but fizzled – including one of the poorest go-home shows I can remember for a major PPV. SD never really got going, as they’ve focused their entire Summerslam hype machine on one lackluster feud. Perhaps you should go watch this at a bar with a friend and spend ten bucks on drinks or food…but I would not advise purchasing this event for $45. In times like these, the best way to show the WWE that we do not care for their product is to respond by not spending our money on their bread and butter PPV events.
I'm with you, Doc, which is why I'll be watching online. I'm also growing quite perturbed at this trend of not announcing any more than a couple of matches for a PPV up until the week of, at which point they go nuts and announce five almost out of nowhere. What the fuck is that?
volume six: At a CrossRhodes
available now
Doc, I feel that while that may be true by the letter of the law, it is unjust in the spirit.Originally Posted by Dr. CMV1
There are 17 characters involved in those 2 matches (one being an unknown if the Khali rumors are true), and over the course of the last 4 weeks they have all received proper development through the course of the story. As far as the storyline potential is concerned the possibilities are myriad... Cena turns heel, Bret turns heel, HHH returns (and turns heel) Daniel Bryan returns and rejoins Nexus (or turns face), none of the above happen and Nexus wins clean cementing their dominance, Miz reveals his alliance with Nexus, Orton becomes a face champion, Miz becomes Champion, Sheamus remains champion, HHH returns and attacks Sheamus.... (and that's just all on the Raw side)
What I don't understand is what more WWE could have reasonably done to cement this as a purchase? Did they cast to wide a net of potential with the elimination match leaving you too much potential for disapointment? Should there be more gravitas for a Nexus victory?
Not hijack your thread but CBT, why does the trend of not announcing undercard matches perturb you? Ordering a PPV is an instantaneous decision today. At 7:45 on Sunday you can hit a few buttons on the remote and BAM, you've got SummerSlam. Would knowing matches 2-3 weeks in advance change your purchasing habits that much?
I think WWE has done a fine job of promoting SummerSlam, utilizing their biggest available talent in high profile roles, while delivering fresh and intriguing matches and potential. The moment that Nexus and Co attacked the WWE ring and everything it represents all those months ago has been building to this confrontation and all indicators seem primed to deliver.
But hey, you can always catch the replay.
I think that you've mentioned some great possibilities, but that the WWE has conditioned us to expect that none of the truly shocking possibilities are actually going to happen. The storyline progression does not suggest a Cena heel turn - and based on 5 years of history there won't be one. Bret turning heel? Why consider it? Who would care?
The most likely scenario will find Nexus winning because that's the only way that makes sense. No one will turn. Jericho and Edge will somehow sabotage it all...that's been the story to this point, and there's not been a reason to think otherwise...
The storyline with Team WWE reflected all the inherent problems with the Raw writing team - it was all over the place and unfocused. They eventually rounded the story into form, but by the time that they did...I didn't care anymore...
I share CBT's feelings about matches being announced. The longer in advance that a match is announced, the longer I have to build up anticipation for it.
I love the analogy up top. This is the type of column that should be done, but should only be done by a guy like you. Just the right incision (yup) at just the right time.
I agree and disagree with the discussion about naming matches. I agree in that, if I'm going to order an event, I want to experience the build for, say, a Dolph Ziggler match for as long as they are hyping matches for guys like Orton or Cena.
I disagree in that I hate, hate, hate the WWE formula that just moves from one program to the next based on which PPV is next. I don't want to know too early who is wrestling because then it just become robotic filler.
I guess it would be more fair to say that I wish they'd have announced Kofi vs Dolph for SummerSlam earlier, the way they used to do for the undercard titles. Remember the way they built to the Shawn Michaels/Razor Ramon WrestleMania ladder match? All those vignettes with Shawn's "bogus" title belt? I miss there being strong buildin-up of more than a match or two for a big show. Granted, Mania is a bigger show, but still.
That said, 'perturbed' may be a bit strong, but I feel justified in my sentiment.
Furthermore, I agree with you that they've done a terrific job in building up the 13- or 14-man fiasco (said fondly, by the way), but I still wish I at least knew what the other matches outside of the three "co-main events" were.
You're not wrong, Batman. Hopefully it'll be an awesome show. SummerSlam has a funny way of delivering in the clutch more often than not... We shall see...
volume six: At a CrossRhodes
available now
That last line, CBT, is the last remaining thing that keeps my mind open to watching Summerslam...it does, 9 times out of 10, find a way to deliver...
I have little doubt that it will, by the way. I am just saying that the WWE didn't earn my money with what they put on television the last 4 weeks.
I, like Shane, have a distaste for the formulaic way that the WWE pumps out so many damn feuds. Too many PPVs...
To be honest when I first started reading I didn't think I'd find it too interesting but you brought me in. Great read, and I wanna know who the hell is booking Summerslam, cuz I will personally kick his wifes ass.
Yeah, Doc. I miss the days o only four Pay-Per-Views per year. Back then, every single Pay-Per-View was enormous. But at least we're past the point of the 'E almost humorously running two, and every once in a blue moon, three, pay shows per month.
But as long as you're gonna run a pay card per month, why not have your programs run through two or three shows like they used to? We see it once in a while, but it would be nice for that sort of booking to be more the rule than the exception.
volume six: At a CrossRhodes
available now
Shaggy- Thank you for reading and feedbacking. The writers would be better off if the bookers had a clearer vision of what they wanted. Sometimes I wonder if they ever think more than a week ahead. If I were booking, I'd have Wrestlemania plans in mind from April onward - with multiple layers of scenarios - and book backward...
CBT - Well, you look at the excellent series of matches between Jericho and Mysterio last year. All of them took place in 6 weeks - that was 3 PPV matches and two TV matches. Patience would be nice...
I agree with a lot of points made by a lot of people here. I think with the exorbitant prices that WWE demands for its PPV shows now, combined with their frequency, means that we should be able to expect better, more coherent and compelling build-up to the matches that are on the card. I also think that having one or two open match slots on a card until the week before the show can add unpredictability that can be nice as well. I would probably buy SummerSlam if I had the option of doing so here, but I will definitely be doing my best to find it online.
MMCI
Doc, I believe you are spot-on. Why in the blue hell is Kane taking on Rey Mysterio in Smackdown!'s main-event? What about Swagger? I'm interested to see how the 3-on-1 match turns out, but it's funny how Luke Gallows and Joseph Mercury will be making their 2010 in-ring PPV debuts at the "second biggest PPV of the year".
However, I too am interested in Sheamus vs. Orton, Team Nexus vs. Team WWE, and Alicia Fox and Melina proved on Monday they can put on a good match. In my mind, the good outweighs the bad this year, but WWE could have done so much more.
Good stuff. Excellent way of building readers to SummerSlam (or driving them away).
I am thourougly looking forward to the WWE pay per view. I usally only get the pay per views on the road to wrestle mania but this summer has been diffrent for some reason. I got the Money in the bank Pay Per View, mostly because that is my favorite match of wrestle mania every year and it getting it's own pay per view was awsome and I hope they keep it. I also am going to get Summer Slam which is unusal for me because I usually take the summer pay per views off when it come's to WWE but this year they got me locked into my seat wanting more so I guess that shows me that there product quality has gotten a lot higer and a lot better. At least to me.
"Still The MAN!"
I'm probably the most pro WWE guy in the CF, but what I'm about to say is simply right on a business level. We as fans have forced WWE's hand into this sporadic booking. For years, we demanded more, often at faster rates. It no longer fiscally makes sense to advertise the whole card before hand because those midcarders don't draw well yet. Remember the days of brand exclusive PPVs? We all say we loved it, but the fact of the matter is they didn't produce the buys that multi branded, top heavy PPVs do. Cena draws. Mysterio draws. Orton draws. Ziggler, Kofi, and Swagger don't. It's all cool and well for us as fans to want our favorites to be featured, but the guys on the marquee are there because they make money, produce buys, and consistently perform well.
Chad, great column as always, but I respectfully disagree. WWE has done a masterful job of selling their second biggest show of the year. They have made the Nexus the to draw in the company, despite any experience. The star studded Team WWE and their turmoil is extremely captivating. We don't know who will turn, if anyone will. We don't know who will take Khali's place. The Miz has entered in the situation, further adding to a hot situation, seeing as he's a hot act. Sheamus VS Randy Orton has been building for months, only this time, both men are the best they ever have been. I'm not a fan of the Mysterio/Kane/Taker situation, but Kane's finally relevant and Mysterio is always great. Plus, we all could see Big Show VS the SES, Kofi VS Dolph, and Alicia VS Melina added to the card. So why do we need it advertised when it's a definite? Basically, I think everybody's being too hard on the booking and WWE in this situation. These are the times where I think it's best to just be a fan. Is the show worth $45? Probably not, but outside of WrestleMania, is any show? And if it isn't, why do we still buy and watch?
MitB [28] - The SummerSlam Anti-Running Diary
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I used to cut the porch lights on, but now I cut the Porsche lights on just to let them know their forsight's wrong...
Here's the problem with SummerSlam:
Nexus vs Team WWE - No way this match gets more than 16-18 minutes and that's possibly being generous. Doesn't really matter to be honest though because I don't care who you put in this bout, a 7 on 7 bout is going to be a clustered mess no matter what. Thankfully they removed Khali but we still have Bret Hart who more or less can take nothing but stomach shots and 7 still green rookies. Not saying the Nexus guys don't have potential (especially Barrett) but this isn't the type of match to show it. It basically boils down to the final 2-3 minutes that matter and whether we see a swerve, so wasting 14 guys in one match that is basically nothing more than a storyline seems wasteful. There is no logical reason why Edge shouldn't be fighting Jericho either, one minute they were at each other's throats the next they were best buddies and against Cena, then they decided to be on Team Raw. The whole thing was just poorly executed in terms of their participation.
Orton vs Sheamus - Match wise (as opposed to story wise) I'm most interested in this bout. Though I have to wonder where either man goes following a loss. Thus the intrigue, though my gut tells me Sheamus wins this one as he's too much in the middle of another monster push and Orton is so over he doesn't need a belt.
Kane vs Rey - I want to be pumped for this match but my lack of faith in the WWE's handling of this storyline is what hinders that from happening. On one hand if Kane wins I'd bet money we get Kane/Undertaker for the title. I don't have a problem with another feud I just think Kane is due a win against his "brother" and think it sucks that the Smackdown title is more than likely headed to not only another Undertaker reign (I like the guy but he can't stay health enough to justify another title reign) but another short World title reign. Seriously, the blue brand needs a champ who can keep the belt for awhile. The other option sees Rey winning but then going on to being booked terribly as he always is. I hate that the WWE books smaller champs as if they simply overcame the odds and make it out that they won on luck rather than skill. Look how many losses Rey racked up during his two reigns as champ prior to losing the belt either time. So unless Kane retains and then a.) destroys his brother during their feud or b.) doesn't feud with Taker at all or even Rey wins and is booked as a credible champ, than this match has next to no meaning in the grander scheme of things. I know it sounds like I'm nitpicking but I honestly don't see either person as champ come October.
Melina vs Alicia Fox - Every time you see a botch....drink
Big Show vs S.E.S. - You know what sucks about this match the most? Big Show will win clean in under 10 minutes. Yet even after Big Show beats all 3 in a handicap match (Gallows or Mercury gets pinned) we'll still need to believe that Punk can take Show one on one once the feud continues. Words of wisdom, it we aren't talking jobbers no one man should ever beat three people; especially one of your only solid heels on the blue brand.
I think that's all that's booked so far though I'd imagine the blue brand will book some matches this week hopefully with a IC defense and maybe a Swagger bout (you know, sense he was just champion and all) but it just doesn't strike me as something I want to spend $25 bucks on much less $45.
Morph - Thanks for the feedback. I will probably try to find an online stream, as well. Although, my luck with those has never been very good. I might watch Summerslam '92 instead...
Super C - Orton vs. Sheamus and the remote potential intriguing endings to the tag match have me intrigued, but I still can't justify it...especially after condemning it in a column...
Rey - On the other hand (continuing from my response to Super C), Rey presents a pretty solid argument as to why we should order. Perhaps on the months that I say "Don't order" I can bring you on to tell us why we should...
Double D - I agree that, by and large, the summer programming has been a little better than the summer doldrums that we usually see at this time of the year, but I do not agree with that in terms of Summerslam. Part of my reason for being annoyed with the build-up is that, up until this week, the focus was taken off the Nexus - which had been the primary reason to be interested in Raw for the last 2 months - and focused on the turmoil of Team WWE instead. Agree to disagree...
Monk - Yeah, I don't think anyone could have echoed my overall opinion better than that...
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