Rebellion 2002

Rebellion 2002 Review



After reviewing two dreadful WCW PPVs, I think I have to finally watch a good show, so I went with a nostalgic favourite of mine.


The event took place in Manchester, England almost directly after the No Mercy event. British PPVs (Summerslam 1992 not included) aren't known for being the best shows but I think this one is the prime example of how to do it right. Well it might be since I haven't watched it in about ten years. So let's get started on Rebellion 2002.


This is a Smackdown only show by the way.



The General Manager of Smackdown, Stephanie McMahon, makes her way to the ring to a nice pop from the crowd. She says that the Undertaker will not be able to make the show as his baby is being born at that moment. Crowd doesn't like that one.



Booker T vs Matt Hardy
Booker was still a Raw star but Stephanie brought him in as a nice surprise for the live crowd and for us watching at home. I think Matt had only just started his Version 1.0 gimmick. This was a good opener as both guys seemed motivated and they looked like they were just having fun out there. The crowd was also fired up and these guys managed to keep them entertained. They built up to a fun finish with a couple of nice nearfalls until Booker hit the scissor kick for the win. A good way to start the show off. ***


Booker gives the crowd a spinaroonie before he leaves.


Paul Heyman is backstage looking pissed off. He heads to Stephanie's office to complain about being in WWE Title handicap match where he could accidentally lose Brock's Title. Stephanie thinks that it's what Heyman deserves for all the crap he has committed with Lesnar by his side.



Billy Kidman & Torrie Wilson vs John Cena & Dawn Marie
Cena was still wearing his goofy looking ring gear but he wasn't far away from starting his rapping gimmick. Unfortunately the storyline for this match was the long and pointless tale of Dawn going out with Torrie's father Al. It would only get worse as it went on. The match itself was better than expected and even the ladies weren't as bad as they usually were. It was pretty short but I think it was given the right amount of time for what it was. It was weird to watch Cena attacking a woman as well. I bet he doesn't look at that fondly now. **1/4



Backstage, Edge says that he is ready to walk home as the new WWE Champion.



Funaki vs Crash Holly
I had no idea that Crash was still in the WWE at this point. This seems like the definition of a filler match. They started off with a nice quick pace that the crowd appreciated. Crash puts on a Japanese headband to make fun of Funaki. That seems racist to me.  This was a surprisingly fun match while it lasted as they just threw everything out there in the short time that they had. **



Jamie Noble vs Tajiri vs Rey Mysterio
The Cruiserweight Title is on the line. Elimination rules apply here which I love already. More mutli-man matches need to have elimination rules. Tajiri was out quite quickly after a Tigerbomb from Noble. This did start off with a quick pace but once Tajiri was out it did slow down quite a bit with Noble in control. It did pick up a bit once Mysterio got his comeback but the abrupt finish did ruin it a bit too. Not as good as I remember. **1/2



Backstage, Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit have some conflict between themselves.



Val Venis & Chuck Palumbo vs D-Von Dudley & Ron Simmons
Well this is quite a random mish-mash of wrestlers. D-Von was still in his unsuccessful reverend gimmick but he'd be back with Bubba soon enough. Why isn't Ron known as Faarooq? Wasn't the APA still a tag team? This was pretty much a nothing match that was just there as filler for the crowd. A very short, forgettable contest. 1/2*



Rikishi vs Albert : Kiss My Arse Match
The loser has to kiss the other guy's ass. I wonder who's gonna be losing this one? This one was given way more time than it probably should have. Albert seemed like he was working hard out there but Rikishi was just dragging everything down. Just another nothing match here as Rikishi picks up the victory. *. Afterwards Albert refuses to kiss Rikishi's ass, but after some fighting Rikishi gets him to perform the dirty deed.



Los Guerreros vs Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit
The New Smackdown Tag Titles are on the line. Oh hell yeah this is what I'm looking for! Anytime the Smackdown Six were involved in matches against each other you knew you were in for something special and this was no exception. The crowd seemed to be in love with Angle here. Can't really blame them, he was awesome at this point. Just the terrific back and forth tag match you would expect from these teams, complete with some exciting nearfalls and a fun finish. ****

Edge vs Brock Lesnar & Paul Heyman

The WWE Title is on the line and if Heyman is pinned, Brock still loses the Title. A rare confrontation between Edge and the one in 21-1 and I also think that this was the first time that Edge challenged for the WWE Title. Edge looked great going against the monster that took out legends like The Rock and Hogan. There were slow moments like Lesnar's long bear hug, but it was exciting for the most part and Edge looked like a legit threat to Lesnar. A great match that made Edge look good and great way to end the show. ***3/4

7/10. This was a pretty damn good show. The two main events delivered big time and the undercard was good with many solid performances throughout. Check this one out if you get the chance as it's a nice distraction for two and half hours.

Souled Out 1997

nWo Souled Out 1997



I've heard that this is an awful show so thank you to Harry Broadhurst for the request from the awesome Yes! Yes! Yes! Facebook page.


It would have to be fucking dreadful to be worse than Halloween Havoc 2000.


Well this is an nWo show rather than a WCW so it least it's something a bit different. I'll admit that I did like the opening video with the nWo on garbage trucks in black and white with sirens in the background. It did look rather cool.


Eric Bischoff and Ted Dibiase of the nWo are commentating so I'm guessing they're gonna be snarky all night. There's also an unknown ring announcer praising the nWo members and taking the piss out of everyone else. Not sure if I like that or not.



Chris Jericho vs Masahiro Chono
You can usually expect something good when Jericho is opening up the show, especially against someone from Japan with all the history he has there. Jericho is still in his boring face phase. It looks like all refs are gonna be nWo members. There were some strange camera tricks being used that were a bit distracting. The match wasn't really anything special and wasn't very memorable outside of a nice table spot at the finish. Not a bad way to open but not a great way either. Just an average match. **



It's time to crown Miss nWo. Is there really any point to that at all? Apparently they're going to be checking back with the women all night. Yay.



Hugh Morrus vs Big Bubba : Deathmatch
I thought Morrus's name was bad until I heard the name General Rection. Poor guy. Bubba is also known as the WWF's Big Boss Man. I actually didn't realise until halfway through that this was a Deathmatch. The referee is going to be annoying if he keeps guaranteeing the nWo's victory in matches. The match itself was pretty boring and didn't need to be a Deathmatch at all. They only used one weapon with the chain and then Bubba 'ran over' Morrus with the motorbike. It did look very phony though. A completely forgettable match. *



Speaking of boring we are heading back to the Miss nWo competition. Good god I hate this show already. Where's that vodka?



Jeff Jarrett vs M. Wallstreet
Jarrett is just one of those wrestlers that I don't like at all. Anytime he's on I just want to skip the match. Wallstreet is also known as IRS in the WWF. I guess they just copied the gimmick over. The match itself wasn't bad at all actually. There wasn't anything that special about it, it was just a solid match that was entertaining to watch. The cheating ref and the camera angles were a bit annoying but it was still a pretty good contest. **1/4


And we're back to the Miss nWo contest. I'm just gonna count these as bathroom, food and drink breaks.


Just to be clear I really am drinking vodka. You guys think I joke about that stuff?


Scotty Riggs vs Buff Bagwell
Bagwell is another guy I don't really enjoy watching in the ring. Apparently Riggs became a transvestite after this. I really have nothing to say about that. This one started off with a nice fast pace but it quickly slowed down once Bagwell got on offense. When a match starts feeling long you know that it's went wrong somewhere. Finally Riggs got his comeback and proceedings pick up again. A LONG match but it was pretty enjoyable I'd have to say. **



Drink break time.



Diamond Dallas Page vs Scott Norton
If there are any on-going storylines tonight, I have no idea as there have been no video packages and the commentators haven't explained anything, including for this match. And whoever keeps pressing that 'loser' button is gonna be on my worst enemies list soon. Norton was pretty bad out there but DDP seemed motivated. The nWo turns up trying to recruit DDP but he refuses and runs into the crowd causing a countout defeat. The match wasn't really going anywhere anyway. 1/2*



The Outsiders vs The Steiner Brothers
The World Tag Titles are on the line. Hey our first Title match of the night! This one had the potential to be the first properly good match of the night, but unfortunately it disappointed. It was just boring most of the way through and the crowd never really reacted to it. The Outsiders were in control most of the time and that just doesn't suit the style of the Steiners. Dull match up until the finish. Bischoff would reverse the decision the next night anyway so it didn't really matter. *



Eddie Guerrero vs Syxx : Ladder
The US Title is on the line. Finally something I can sink my teeth into! Thank goodness for Eddie Guerrero. For those that don't know, Syxx is also the WWF's X-Pac. This is the only saviour that this show has at this point. Finally we get a match with some workrate as these guys were just flying around the place with high-risk moves at a nice pace. The ladder spots were good as they didn't try anything too fancy and just beat the hell out of each other with it. I liked the finish with both guys grabbing the belt down and having a tug of war to try and claim it. A great match that was a lot of fun to watch.  ***1/2


It's time for the results of the Miss nWo contest. I skipped this so you'll need to find out for yourself who won if you're really desperate to see.


Hollywood Hogan vs The Giant
The WCW World Title is on the line. Well there goes any chance of a good main event with these two guys involved. The Giant seemed quite motivated but Hogan was just boring to watch and really slowed things down to a snail's pace. Seeing the Giant coming off the top rope was cool though. It doesn't help that we got the usual WCW run-ins and the screwy referee as well. A bad main event. 1/4*



2.5/10. Well at least it wasn't as bad as Halloween Havoc 2000. It still was an awful show though. The Miss nWo contest was just pointless and so uninteresting to watch and outside of the great Ladder match, you could skip every single match here and you would miss nothing at all. It was a bit different since it was an nWo PPV instead of a WCW one, but that just led to bad announcing, bad camera angles, and a very annoying ring announcer. Definitely avoid this one but check out the Ladder match if you can.

Halloween Havoc 2000

Halloween Havoc 2000 Review



This one comes at the request of Joshua Strangle from the awesome Facebook page known as Yes! Yes! Yes! (definitely check it out). I've not reviewed a WCW show since the mediocre Slamboree 2000 so I'm looking forward to this one.


I know nothing about this one (or anything about WCW in general) so I'm not gonna have any factoids about anything happening at the time unless the video packages give me something to go on.


Live from Las Vegas!


Boogie Knights vs NBT vs The Filthy Animals
The World Tag Titles are on the line. Those are some awful tag team names. Even TNA would say no to those ones. Thankfully Rey Mysterio and Billy Kidman were involved so there was always a chance of it being pretty good. I had forgotten that Rey had his mask off at this point so it was strange to watch him work without it. This was a good choice for the opener as the action was frantic and fast-paced and never became boring at all. It did turn into a bit of a clusterfuck at the end but it was still fun to watch. Good start to the show, let's just hope they can keep it up. ***1/4


And before we even have time for a quick break the Hardcore match is about to start.



Reno vs Sgt AWOL
The Hardcore Title is on the line. Sounds like a direct rip off of the WWF to me. I don't know either of these guys but what kind of a name is Sgt AWOL? Even NXT would call that fucking ridiculous. This match was just all weapon shots with no rhyme or reason to them at all. The spot with two tables being used looked pretty cool though. It definitely should have been the finish and Reno should have sold it more instead of getting straight up and fighting again. A completely forgettable match that went on for too long. *



 Shawn Stasiak & Chuck Palumbo vs Corporal Cajun & Lt. Loco
And again with the bad ring names. One of those strange names is Chavo Guerrero Jr. Apparently this is an impromptu match. Sounds just like WCW to give us a match that wasn't announced before the show. It seems like there are way too many matches on this show. Anyway this was just a generic tag match that had nothing special going on. It wasn't that entertaining to watch and it's only purpose was to set up the split between Stasiak and Palumbo. Another forgettable match that went on for too long. *1/2



Shane Douglas & Torrie Wilson vs Tygress & Konnan
Torrie was dressed up as Wonder Woman for some reason. Konnan didn't appear at the beginning of the contest as he had been taken out by Jindrak & O'Hare, but he finally appeared after Tygress had gotten her ass kicked. Torrie was pretty awful in there and even worse than she was in the WWE. Shane was good in his role as a complete asshole, going so far as to punch Tygress in the face. Another bland match except this one had a pretty fun finish to save it from being a complete failure. 1/2*


This show went downhill in a hurry.



David Flair vs Buff Bagwell : DNA Match
They never explained but apparently this is just a first blood match. Why not call it that then? A DNA match just sounds idiotic. I don't even know why these guys are feuding or why this match is necessary. David tried copying his dad's spots, but it really didn't look good. This wasn't a long match thankfully but it was still awful. There was no drama to whatsoever and David never once looked like a threat. The finish came out of nowhere and no one seemed to know what they were doing. Just like WCW in general I guess. DUD. That is one of the worst things I've ever watched.


David still manages to get Buff's DNA sample gives it to some lab doctors. WHY???


I wish I wasn't watching this in the morning so I could start drinking.



Mike Sanders vs The Cat : Kickboxing Match
Seriously? You have the Cruiserweight Champion and you can't give him a standard match that might have been good? When has anything involving boxing or kickboxing been a good idea in wrestling? Never! That's why it shouldn't be done! The Cat just dominated this entire thing and it still ended with the usual WCW crap as Cat is counted out while fighting Shane Douglas outside the ring. I wouldn't normally rate something that wasn't a wrestling match this one deserves a big fat DUD for even existing.


December to Dismember isn't looking so bad right now.



Mike Awesome vs Vampiro
Vampiro, to me, seems like one of the most overrated wrestlers ever. Then again I've never really seen his stuff outside of WCW. I'll just take Jericho's word for it. What the hell is with Awesome's 70s gimmick? It looks awful. I thought this could have been the match to get the show back on track, but it really wasn't. It started off well enough with some high flying from Awesome and some brawling through the crowd, but once they were back in the ring it slowed down to a snail's pace and was pretty hard to watch as it turned into a sloppy mess. Plus they failed to mention that this had Falls Count Anywhere rules. This showed potential and just turned ugly in a hurry. That's about five bad matches in a row for this show. 1/4*



Lance Storm & Jim Duggan vs General Rection
And if I thought that all the other names tonight were bad, Rection's just took the fucking cake and won the top prize. I thought that Lance Storm could stop this one from being truly awful and he did try his best to keep things entertaining, but unfortunately he wasn't working with very good workers. Duggan really shouldn't be an anti-American character. Just a very uninteresting match here, and it doesn't help that Rection completely missed his finishing moonsault as well. This'll be forgotten very soon. 1/2*



Sting vs Jeff Jarrett
I think this feud is based on Jarrett calling Sting a has-been, washed up wrestler. Well there's a perfect example of the pot calling the kettle black. Sorry Jarrett but I prefer Drew McIntyre as my Chosen One. Apparently this is No DQ. Thanks for telling us guys. Someone dressed as the old Sting comes out to distract the real Sting for some reason. Another Sting appears. Oh God this is gonna happen a lot isn't it? This entire match is just Sting fighting imposters. FIVE Sting's in total make an appearance and Jarrett hits the real Sting with a guitar for the win. Fuck this match. I've never given negative stars before but I guess there's a first time for everything. One of the worst things I've ever had the displeasure of watching. -***



Booker T vs Scott Steiner
The WCW World Title is on the line. These guys had a pretty good match on the final episode of Monday Nitro so I was hoping to God that this would have been good. Unfortunately I was disappointed yet again. Booker tried hard here but Steiner was just bad. Steiner just dominated Booker for almost the entire match and Booker never really got a proper comeback before the stupid DQ finish. Why would Steiner get himself DQ'd if he wanted the Title? Goddamn it WCW just do something good! At least it's the first match that's not truly terrible in quite a while. *1/2



Goldberg vs Kronik
This match has been built up to all night long, so of course it's only a three minute squash. I really have nothing else to add to this except for DUD. I'm so damn relieved to be finished with this show.



0.5/10. WOW. Freaking WOW. That's the lowest rating I've ever given any show and I don't think it'll ever be beaten. This is just the worst of the worst. The opening tag match is good but not worth going out of your way to see and just about everything after that ranges from bad to absolutely fucking dreadful. Never make a drinking game out of this one where you drink everytime some awful happens becuase you'd be dead after the first hour. Just unbelievably bad and should never be watched by any sane human being.

Wrestlemania XXVIII

Wrestlemania XXVIII Review


I know I've done this one a couple of times now, but I hate the original review and I find the re-done version quite messy so I'd rather just do it over properly this time. Besides after the nightmare that was December to Dismember I'll need something to remind myself that wrestling is awesome.




Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan
The World Title is on the line. Bryan goes to give AJ Lee a kiss and one Brogue Kick later we have a new World Champion. Quite obviously this rubbed a lot of people (including myself) the wrong way at the time and it is still talked about to this day as one of the biggest disappointments ever. However, I would say that it is now quite a positive moment as it led directly to the Yes! chants becoming a thing, and starting off the Yes! movement that would go on for another two years. If this match hadn't taken place or if it had been an average contest who knows what would have happened to Bryan. I'm not gonna rate it since it's only 18 seconds long, but it's a match I now enjoy.



Randy Orton vs Kane
This riveting feud started when Kane attacked Orton randomly on Smackdown. Well I guess feuds have been started for worse reasons. The assumption was that this would be a boring match but these guys actually showed some chemistry and attempted to put on a good show, even with a still pissed off crowd chanting for Daniel Bryan. Truth be told this was pretty fun and I enjoyed it. It was also Kane's first good match in a while. Kane gets the upset win with a chokeslam from the second rope. A surprisingly entertaining contest. ***



Cody Rhodes vs The Big Show
The IC Title is on the line. This doesn't sound like a proper Wrestlemania match, but the build up for it was actually very good. The story focused on Rhodes bringing up Show's most embarrassing Mania moments and there were quite a few of them. There was a nice bit of storytelling in the match as Show tried to embarrass Cody by giving him a stink face. The match was pretty short but it was entertaining while it lasted and Cody looked pretty good too. Show has a nice emotional moment as he wins his first IC Title and becomes a Grand Slam Champion. **



Eve Torres & Beth Phoenix vs Kelly Kelly & Maria Menounos
And here we have our celebrity match for the evening. Hey at least it's not Snooki and someone that is actually a big fan of wrestling. Plus I heard that she had cracked ribs going into this match which shows just how dedicated she is to the sport. Any other celebrity would have backed out so I have to give her props for that. This was a surprisingly good divas match as Eve and Kelly were both very improved at this point and Beth was always awesome anyway. By divas standards this was pretty damn good. **



Triple H vs The Undertaker : Hell in a Cell
It's the End of an Era. I still don't get what that means but damn if it doesn't sound cool. By the way the fact that the Cell got its own intro music featuring Metallica is AWESOME. At the time I wasn't sure if this one would live up to the hype, but once those two locked eyes with the Cell coming down around them and Shawn Michaels looking on, I knew that we were about to see something special. This was an absolutely epic war between two titan-like figures and it blew away everyone in attendance and those watching at home. HBK was terrific in his role as the referee as he respected both men and didn't want them to destroy each other. The superkick into a Pedigree might be the greatest nearfall of all time as even I thought it was over at that point, but these guys were far from finished. They tore each other to shreds with chair shots and more signature moves until the Deadman finally came out on top with a second Tombstone. All three guys embracing after the match was something special to watch and a fitting end to their long story. One of the greatest matches in wrestling history featuring just about everything you could want from a wrestling match. *****



Kofi Kingston / Great Khali / R-Truth / Booker T / Santino Marella / Zack Ryder vs Dolph Ziggler / The Miz / David Otunga / Mark Henry / Jack Swagger / Drew McIntyre
Ah yes the 'Get everyone who doesn't already have a match a payday' match. These guys had absolutely no chance following that stunning classic. This is Team Johnny vs Team Teddy with the winner gaining the General Manager job over both brands. The crowd was obviously pretty dead here. The match was a bit of a clusterfuck at times as there were way too many guys involved, but it was pretty fun to watch towards the end. Everything leading up to that was boring. The stuff with Zack Ryder at the end still pisses me off as it signaled the end of any push he may have had. The most forgettable match on the show, but still a nice cool down from the Cell match. *1/2



CM Punk vs Chris Jericho
The WWE Title is on the line. This has now got to be my pick for the most underrated Mania match ever as it used to be HBK/Jericho but everyone seems to be realizing how awesome that one is. It did have a hard place on the card as it was just about sandwiched between two unforgettable encounters, but these guys showed why they're both known as The Best in the World as they turned a near silent crowd into a very loud one. I love the story for it. Jericho tries to get Punk DQ'd by angering him, but Punk shows that he's strong enough to keep it together, so Jericho switches his strategy to wrestling starting with a massive dropkick out of the corner and then a vicious suplex from the apron to the floor. He puts Punk through so much pain but Punk still fights on and out-wrestles Jericho and makes him submit to prove that he is the Best in the World and a true WWE Champion. This is why I'm a wrestling fan folks. You won't find stories like that anywhere else. ****1/2



John Cena vs The Rock
"Once" in a lifetime. All kidding aside this is one of the biggest (if not the biggest) matches of all time and was built to spectacularly. We the fans had over a year's worth of anticipation for this epic confrontation and it delivered on all fronts. They gave us a superb battle worthy of some of the biggest matches of all time as they fought for thirty minutes, building and building to a brilliant crescendo in which The Rock came out victorious. Some people don't like this match, some like it and some love it, but you have to admit that you were all excited to see these two faces of two generations colliding. Sure it may feel a little less unique with their sequel at Mania 29, but it still feels special on its own. A fantastic clash between two of the biggest stars ever and one of the greatest Mania main events of all time as well as just being one of the best matches ever. Hercules conquers The Marine. ****3/4



9.5/10. No doubt about it, this is one of the greatest Wrestlemania events ever. Some may frown upon the undercard, but I found it to be a lot of fun. The Yes! Movement was started here, Kane and Orton had a surprisingly fun match, Big Show had a nice moment and won his first IC Title and the divas match was surprisingly decent. The three main events speak for themselves as three of the best Mania matches you will ever see. A Once in a Lifetime event.

ECW December to Dismember

December to Dismember Review


I was in the mood for some torture and something bad to watch, so this sounded like a perfect way to go. I think my Battleground review may have been a little too positive as well so I think some negativity is needed. Only two matches were actually promoted for this show: the opener and the main event. I've never seen this the whole way through so I'm looking forward to seeing how bad it is. Let's review DTD.


I've just noticed that the show is only 2 hours and 14 minutes long. This is looking bad already.



The Hardy Boyz vs MNM
What a great to start off the very first (and the only one) of the ECW brand PPVs as four WWE brand guys have what may be the longest match on the entire show. Great idea guys. To be fair it may be the show's only good match and the closest thing to a savior it has. I did enjoy the classic story of the younger team trying to show that they were better and quicker than the veterans, only for the veterans to show that their experience was greater. MNM still looked good in defeat. Twenty minutes seems like way too much time for these teams but they used it well and it helped to build to an exciting finish. A great tag match to open the show with. ***3/4



And I bet it's all downhill from here.



Matt Striker vs Balls Mahoney
Good god I forgot that Striker used to be an active wrestler. That didn't last long anyway. These guys tried to have a wrestling match out there but Balls really shouldn't be trying to have matches like that that are over two minutes long. The crowd couldn't care less either. Boring match with dull psychology that really had no place on PPV. 1/4*



Backstage, Sabu has been attacked and is out of the main event. The fans quickly start the bullshit chants. I'm sure we'll be hearing more of them later on.



Elijah Burke & Sylvester Terkay vs The FBI
Burke is pretty bad on the mic. Terkay has a pretty awful name for a wrestler. Sounds like something they'd give to an NXT wrestler today. I can already tell that this doesn't belong anywhere on a PPV. This was yet another dull match that the fans didn't care about and seemed entirely pointless and forgettable. I think the crowd's "change the channel" chant tells the whole story. 1/2*



Daivari vs Tommy Dreamer
I don't recall Daivari ever having a good match. I guess the Great Khali's skill rubbed off on him. No wonder why they didn't advertise most of these matches as the buyrate may have went even lower if that was possible. I would have thought that Dreamer would have had a more important match on the show as well considering that he was the face of ECW. I need to get a thesaurus to find a different word for boring and dull I'm gonna need them a lot tonight, including for this bout. It got a little more interesting towards the end as Dreamer seemed quite motivated but then Daivari got a cheap pin for the win and sucked out any joy that may have remained in the crowd. That's three bad matches in a row. 1/2*



You guys really weren't kidding about how awful this show is. Battleground 2013 looks like Mania 17 compared to it.


Hardcore Holly is picked to replace Sabu in the main event. Yay. Ok I think it's time to start drinking. Also why was Holly in his wrestling gear when he didn't have a match scheduled?



Mike Knox & Kelly Kelly vs Kevin Thorn & Ariel
Kelly was pretty awful on the mic before the match. How the hell did she keep her job for another six years? Thorn's vampire gimmick might have worked a couple of years after this. They could have thrown glitter over him and told him and Ariel to show no emotion whatsoever (yes I'm a Twilight basher can you blame me?). Yet another meaningless, drudging (thank you thesaurus) match and the fourth one of the night. No amount of Tequila in the world could make this entertaining. At least the women are sexy and like showing their stuff. Yes it's sexist but it's the only positive thing I can find here. Knox leaves Kelly on her own to the shock of no one and Ariel beats her easily. God give me strength to get through the rest of this. DUD


And here comes the Sandman to try and revive the dead crowd and it does work. He canes Thorn for a bit and finally we have something slightly entertaining on the show.




Bobby Lashley vs Big Show vs Hardcore Holly vs Test vs Rob Van Dam vs CM Punk : Extreme Elimination Chamber
The ECW World Title is on the line. You'd think that having weapons in each of the pods would have made things more exciting but they added nothing at all. They had two guys in Punk and RVD that could have brought some life back to this show, but they were two of the first three eliminated to leave just Test, Lashley and Show. And I thought this couldn't get any worse. Heyman originally wanted Punk to win the match, but Lashley was picked over him. I guess hindsight is 20/20 guys. A dull match with barely any memorable spots and easily the worst Chamber match in history. Lashley spears Show to get the anti-climatic finish and the Title. ECW is dead. *1/4



1.5/10. Well that's officially the worst show I've ever seen. If you bought this show I feel so bad for you right now. The opening match is worth a watch but once that's finished just turn the show off and never mention its name again and pretend that it doesn't exist. How the ECW brand lasted another three years after this first PPV will forever be a mystery to me. A horrifically bad show overall.

Battleground 2014

Battleground 2014 Review




The Usos vs The Wyatt Family : 2/3 Falls
The Tag Titles are on the line. I enjoyed their match at the Money in the Bank show and when I heard that this was 2/3 Falls I really couldn't wait. After the first two falls were over with, the match was going quite well, but my god that third fall was off the freaking charts. There were so many crazy nearfalls where it looked as if it was over and it just carried on. I had no idea who was going to win and that just made it all the more exciting. There were some nice spots too; Harper's suicide dive is always awesome to see, Rowan's double superplex looked cool, and the double splash at the finish was a great way to end this war. A MOTYC for sure and I think the show may have already been stolen. A modern tag classic. ****1/2



One match in and this show is already better than last year's.



Seth Rollins against Dean Ambrose is about to take place when Dean attacks Seth backstage. HHH kicks him out of the arena and the match isn't taking place. It better freaking take place or I'm gonna be one unhappy wrestling fan.



AJ Lee vs Paige
The Divas Title is on the line. I was looking forward to this one since these are the only interesting divas on the roster. The match wasn't bad at all. There were a few sloppy moments like the sunset powerbomb from the second rope but the finish was still exciting with both ladies going for their signature moves and failing to get the win. Hopefully they're holding back for a rematch at Summerslam which seems to be inevitable with the story they're telling. **1/4



Jack Swagger vs Rusev
Hey Swagger works well as a face. Who knew? I've been looking forward to this one since their first confrontation on Raw. The match was pretty good with Rusev beating Swagger down most of the match, only for Swagger to come back and almost defeat the Bulgarian Brute. I think the countout finish was fine as both guys are kept strong and it sets up a potential rematch in the future. A pretty good match overall. **1/2



After the match Rusev crushes Swagger. Oh yeah there's got to be a rematch after this and I'm looking forward to it.



Stardust and Goldust are awesome. Case closed.



Seth Rollins comes out to be announced as the winner of his match via forfeit and to have his hand raised. But Ambrose returns to ambush Rollins and we've got a brawl on our hands. They fight through the crowd and come back to the ring area to fight some more. Ambrose is taken away by security by he frees himself and then launches himself right at Rollins. Now HHH is here to sort things out. Ambrose is taken away by security again and this time Rollins attacks. This is an awesome brawl and will be worth it if we don't get the match later on. Looks like another Summerslam match is in the works.



Bray Wyatt vs Chris Jericho
I'm not sure what the story is with this feud but damn that video package was awesome and made it look like an epic rivalry. Jericho showed no signs of any ring rust. Every time he comes back he always seems to be better than ever. There was one botch but it wasn't a big deal. Bray was his usual awesome self as he constantly taunted Y2J and gave us his creepy spider walk. I was really surprised that Jericho got the victory but I guess that means that the feud continues. Wyatt's stock has been falling for a while though. I did enjoy the match even if the crowd wasn't that into it. Wyatt looked good up until the abrupt finish. ***1/4



Outside in the car park Ambrose assaults Rollins once again. I cannot freaking wait until the Summerslam match between these two. Rollins manages to get in his car and speed away from Ambrose. This feud has been well built and it may be the most hyped match going into Summerslam. I guess a cash in is out of the question then?



Intercontinental Championship Battle Royal
It was awesome to have Bad News Barrett come out to give us some bad news. There have been a few different predictions on who was going to come out as the champ with guys like Sheamus and Cesaro being the favourites. I personally wanted Bo Dallas to win because I Bo-Lieved in him. Also why does Heath Slater still have his 3MB music? That seems a little cruel. Can Sandow stop wearing goofy clothes as well please? The action between Cesaro and Kingston was awesome and a nice continuation of their feud, and I have no idea how Kofi keeps coming up with these amazing spots in over the top rope matches. This was a ton of fun and I was on my feet by the time it came down to Sheamus and Ziggler. I marked out when Ziggler eliminated Sheamus and had completely forgotten about the goddamn Miz. That bastard! Still a match that delivered beyond expectations. ***1/2


I guess this sets up either some sort of unification match between Sheamus and Miz or Ziggler taking on Miz at Summerslam.



Flo Rida will be performing on Raw tomorrow night. Yay?


There's still 35 minutes left of the show so this is either gonna feel way too long or it'll use that time well.



John Cena vs Roman Reigns vs Randy Orton vs Kane
The WWE Title is on the line. It was pretty much a forgone conclusion that Cena was leaving as the Champion seeing as his match with Lesnar at Summerslam has been advertised for a month now. This started quite slowly but became more interesting once Orton and Kane turned on each other. Seeing Reigns and Cena finally fighting one on one was awesome with the crowd behind Reigns. It should be noted that Reigns looked like a freaking beast here. Even with Cena being the obvious winner this was still a great match that kept things exciting the whole way through and was so much better than I was expecting. There were even moments where I thought Reigns may have won. All four guys performed brilliantly and gave us the best match they possibly could. A terrific way for the show to end. ****



What no Lesnar? Bummer.



8/10. Last year's Battleground can kiss this Battleground's ass! What a great show this was to continue a run of great shows for the company. The great thing is that there was nothing bad at all to be found. Sure it was a little disappointing that Rollins and Ambrose didn't have their match, but their brawls left us wanting more and that's exactly how we should feel about it. The Tag Match was the best I've seen since The Shield and The Wyatts at Elimination Chamber, the divas match was solid, Rusev and Swagger had a nice battle, Wyatt and Jericho performed well, the Battle Royal was one of the best I've seen from the match and the main event delivered beyond expectations and gave us a fun  match.


All in all a terrific show that helps to set up what might be one of the greatest Summerslam's of all time. A highly recommended show that you should watch as soon as possible if you haven't already.

The Greatest Hits and Misses of Summerslam

The Greatest Hits and Misses of Summerslam


For 26 years, Summerslam has been a special event for wrestling fans. Once Wrestlemania has passed us by, we always look ahead to what Summerslam will bring us. It's an event that has given us countless great matches and moments such as CM Punk and Brock Lesnar's battle from 2013, or the first ever TLC match in 2000. That's not to say that it's always great as there have been many bad moments as well. I think Diesel vs Mabel, and Undertaker vs Undertaker speak for themselves.



The first part of this review will deal with the greatest matches and moments in the pay-per-view's history, whereas the second part (which will come right after John Cena vs Daniel Bryan) will look at the worst moments and matches in the event's history.


So sit back, relax, and relive 26 years of wrestling history. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed compiling it.



The Greatest Hits



The British Bulldogs vs The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers
From the 1988 edition. The first ever match in Summerslam history. These teams have a bit of a backstory as it was said in Bret Hart's book that Dynamite Kid had been acting like an ass backstage to the Rougeaus and one of them punched Kid right in the mouth causing him to lose some teeth. I'm not sure if that happened before this or after this match though. This was a nice, old-school tag match that was exciting from start to finish and had the crowd's interest the entire way through. I wish it would have had a definitive finish instead of a draw, but I guess they had to keep both teams strong. Still it was a great tag match. ***1/2



The Ultimate Warrior vs The Honky Tonk Man
From the 1988 edition. I'm not a huge fan of squashes in wrestling, but this may be the only exception. This was a fantastic moment that did two things: it pushed Warrior way up the card and finally ended the WAY too long reign of Honky in a perfect end to his Title run. The match is only thirty seconds long so I'm not gonna rate it, but it's a match worth watching and a great moment for the late Warrior.



The Mega Powers vs The Mega Bucks
From the 1988 edition and here we have Savage and Hogan taking on Dibiase and Andre. I could replay Miss Elizabeth taking off her skirt for years on end. I assume that this is Dibiase and Andre trying to get revenge for their defeat at Wrestlemania. Jesse Ventura is the referee for some reason. The crowd was very hot for this one. This match was a hell of a lot of fun and all four guys seemed motivated. A very good main event that ensured that more Summerslam events would take place in the future. A match that will make you feel like a kid again. ***1/2



The Brainbusters vs The Hart Foundation
From the 1989 edition. Two of WWE's greatest ever tag teams going at it on PPV? Yes please! This match is non-title for some reason. If the Hart Foundation lose then they don't get a Tag Title match for another year according to Jesse Ventura. This match seemed different from most formulaic tag matches at the time and it gave this one a nice, unique feeling to it. A terrific tag contest that had non-stop action from start to finish, and a great example of how to have a tag team match. It might even be the Match of the Year for the WWE. ****



The Ultimate Warrior vs Ravishing Rick Rude
From the 1989 edition and the IC Title is on the line. No offense to the late Warrior, but Rick Rude had to work his ass off to make him look like a good competitor. Rude had stolen the Title from Warrior at Wrestlemania, so this was Warrior's chance for revenge. This is easily Warrior's best match up to this point in time. Why wasn't Warrior DQ'd for hitting Rude with the belt? A strange bending of the rules. The crowd was hot for this one the entire time. The drama towards the finish was awesome. A great match and great job by Rick Rude to make the Warrior look like a star. ***3/4



The Hart Foundation vs Demolition : 2/3 Falls
From the 1990 edition and the Tag Titles are on the line. These teams also had a good match during the first Summerslam event, but I thought that this one was even better. This might also be Demolition's best match ever and it also almost started the dream feud between Demolition and the Road Warriors, but it wasn't to be. Demolition hit their finisher to win the first fall. A DQ gives the Foundation the second fall. The referee looked dumb when he didn't notice Ax replacing Smash to cheat. They don't look very similar. A great tag match though that never became dull or boring during its entire runtime and featured a hot crowd and an exciting finish. Bret rolls up Crush to win the Titles. ***1/2



Bret Hart vs Mr Perfect
From the 1991 edition and the IC Title is on the line. A lot of people prefer the King of the Ring match these guys had in 1993, but I personally think that this match is the better one. Perfect performed brilliantly considering that he was supposed to be having surgery to fix his injured back. Hart was even allowed to kick out of the perfectplex, showing just how much respect Perfect had for Hart. This was a technical classic as these guys went back and forth in a battle for the gold and there were some awesome dramatic nearfalls as well. The ref kind of screwed up the finish by calling on the bell too early, but that's just a minor point to what was a fantastic contest. A great job by both guys. ****1/2



Randy Savage vs The Ultimate Warrior
From the 1992 edition and the WWF Title is on the line. A rematch from Wrestlemania VII except both guys are babyfaces this time. The storyline here was that one of these guys had joined up with Ric Flair, but it wasn't revealed. In fact I don't think it was ever revealed. This would be Warrior's last WWF PPV appearance until 1996. The crowd was behind Warrior and some were against Savage. This was a long one but a good one and the crowd was hot throughout. It did get a little overbooked at times with Mr Perfect and Ric Flair, but it was still an awesome match overall as these guys have incredible chemistry. ****



Bret Hart vs The British Bulldog
From the 1992 edition and the IC Title is on the line. Quite possibly the best match in Summerslam history and even one of the best in wrestling history. Bret says that this is his favourite match, and it's not hard to see why. Bret basically carried this whole match and managed to get an all time classic out of the Bulldog who wasn't ready for a match of this caliber. The huge crowd helps as well and they were loud for the entire contest. Just an amazing technical match, that made Bulldog look great and made Bret look like the best in the world (sorry Punk). Amazing match that led to Bret winning his first WWE Championship a few months later. A timeless classic. *****



Bret Hart vs Doink The Clown
From the 1993 edition. This was meant to be Bret vs Jerry Lawler, but Lawler came out with crutches and said he couldn't compete as he was injured due to a car crash, so Doink is out to replace him. Lawler is just awesome at drawing heat. This match was pretty solid with Hart getting distracted due to his hatred for Lawler and that gave Doink the advantage at times. Bret managed to get the upper hand until Jerry came in to cause the DQ and showed that he wasn't injured. **1/4. And this leads us to...

Bret Hart vs Jerry Lawler
Jack Tunney immediately orders this match to take place since Lawler just proved that he wasn't injured at all. The crowd goes nuts for that decision and Bret beats the crap out of him. What an awesome story this is. The intensity for this is off the charts. It was very short but it got the job done and told a great story. The match itself is about **1/4 but I'll give the whole segment ****. Just fantastic.



Tatanka & The Smoking Gunns vs Bam Bam Bigelow & The Headshrinkers
From the 1993 edition. These really don't seem like six guys (besides Bam Bam obviously) that could go out there and have a great match, but here we are. The pacing was surprisingly quick as the action was just non-stop throughout. A terrific forgotten gem in which everyone performed spectacularly. How come this was the only time they ever had this amazing kind of workrate? Anyway an awesome bout worth watching. ***3/4



Bret Hart vs Owen Hart : Steel Cage
From the 1994 edition and the WWF Title is on the line. The best steel cage match ever? Quite possibly. The best one without any blood? Absolutely! The drama was amazing as the crowd went crazy whenever either guy would try to climb out of the cage. Their brilliant chemistry together showed as well and every single move hit perfectly. The superplex from the top of the cage looked fantastic and safe as well which was great. Another terrific contest from the Hart brothers and a MOTYC/all time classic to boot. Absolutely amazing stuff. *****



Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon : Ladder Match
From the 1995 edition and the IC Title is on the line. I have to admit that I prefer this one to their Wrestlemania match. The original is more memorable but I do think that this was the better contest. The ladder bumps were just as good as the original match, but this one had a lot more psychology to it thanks to Shawn's injured leg. In fact I would have given this one the full five stars if it wasn't for Shawn's temper tantrum at the very end as he can't grab the Title belt. Kind of ruins it for me. Still this was an excellent match and probably the best one on one ladder match ever. ****3/4



Shawn Michaels vs Vader
From the 1996 edition and the WWF Title is on the line. Apparently Vader was supposed to be winning this match and the Title, but Shawn threw one of his infamous temper tantrums backstage and thus the result was changed. 90's Michaels is an asshole, but damn he put on some classics, including this one. HBK was a perfect opponent for someone like Vader as he always performed well against smaller opponents like Sting and Ric Flair. Just a terrific big man vs small man match and even Vader was bumping very well. The multiple match restarts towards the end were a bit annoying but they weren't too distracting from what was a great match. ****1/4



Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs Mankind : Steel Cage
From the 1997 edition. I think this feud had been going for a while at this point and they had just had the match at Canadian Stampede where they fought all around the arena. After that it was time for this feud-ending match. Mankind's elbow from the top of the cage was awesome and a nice tribute to the Snuka splash that inspired Foley. Mankind taking the cage door to the head looked brutal and he may have been concussed after it. A very good cage match that had the crowd hot for the entire duration and their best match until the year 2000. ***3/4



The Undertaker vs Bret Hart
From the 1997 edition and the WWF Title is on the line. Shawn Michaels is the guest referee. One of the most historical matches of all time as it led to the first ever Hell in a Cell match, which in turn led to the Montreal Screwjob. This was a very long match clocking in at almost half an hour. It started slowly but it really built up to a great finish. Taker was the first guy to kick out of a sharpshooter here which was cool. HBK cost Taker the match and set up their great feud. Great match that would be topped at One Night Only. ***1/2



The Rock vs Triple H : Ladder Match
From the 1998 edition and the IC Title on the line. Two years later this could have main evented any show in the WWE. These guys were still mid-carders, but this was the match that showed that they would one day become superstars. An exciting ladder match that was a ton of fun all the way through and the fans at MSG loved it too. A show stealing performance from both guys and a match that will go down in history as one of their best. The next time they'd steal the show would be at Backlash in 2000. ****1/2



The Undertaker vs Stone Cold Steve Austin
From the 1998 edition. Billed as the Highway to Hell, here we have the two biggest stars of the time (or even maybe all time) going at it for the top prize. This one had a lot to follow after the ladder match, but I think they managed it fine. It seemed like Taker was carrying Austin here. Taker's leg drop through the announce table was awesome. Just a great match between these two megastars and an appropriate main event for Summerslam. Weirdly enough it's the only really good match between the two. ***3/4



Shane McMahon vs Test : Greenwich Street Fight
From the 1999 edition. This was billed as a "Love her or Leave her" match. If Test wins he stays with Stephanie, if he loses he leaves Stephanie. I think this might have been the first time that Shane used the elbow drop through the announce table. Man, Test would never be this over with a crowd again. RIP big guy. A surprisingly intense match that might be the best in both guys careers. Definitely Test's best anyway. Test looked great here and just when he looked to be beaten he would always get up again and fight. A great match. ***1/2



Chris Jericho vs Chris Benoit : 2/3 Falls
From the 2000 edition. This is definitely one of the best feuds during this time period as they always managed to top their last performance. This was their best yet and even this was topped at the Royal Rumble. You would never believe that these two were best friends because they looked like they had such hatred for one another. An awesome match that had a fantastic pace from start to finish. The arm psychology was very well done too. The match ended 2-1 to Benoit. Incredible stuff. ****1/2



Edge & Christian vs The Hardy Boyz vs The Dudley Boyz : TLC
From the 2000 edition and the Tag Titles are on the line. Here we are, the first ever TLC match and it was in the Hardy Boyz's hometown. Still makes me wonder why E&C won the thing. This could be the greatest TLC match ever. It's between this and the TLC at Wrestlemania 17. I never wanted this match to end. It feels much shorter than 15 minutes thanks to how much fun it is to watch. Edge and Christian win after taking out all other competitors. Amazing is the word to describe this. Easily the match of the night, and maybe the match of the year. *****



Kurt Angle vs Triple H vs The Rock
From the 2000 edition and the WWF Title is on the line. This was Angle's first real shot at the top and he would stay there for the rest of his WWE career. This is mainly remembered for Angle suffering a head injury as he was pedigreed through the announce table and had to be taken to the back. Luckily he was able to come back for the second half of the bout. Great match as Rock and HHH already had awesome chemistry, and Angle added a lot to the contest too once he came back to the ring. Fun stuff. ***3/4



Jeff Hardy vs Rob Van Dam : Ladder Match
From the 2001 edition and the Hardcore Title is on the line. This must have been a dream match for its time. These guys had already stolen the show at the Invasion PPV, and they looked to do it again tonight. Hardy's Whisper in the Wind to the outside of the ring looked fantastic. I guess they didn't need ladders to wow the crowd. Naturally the ladder spots and high spots were over the top considering who's in the ring, but that didn't stop them from being awesome. A terrific ladder match that's kind of forgotten but so worth checking out. ****



Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Kurt Angle
From the 2001 edition and the WWF Title is on the line. Now this is one hell of a forgotten gem. This one made Kurt Angle look like an absolute star. It may have ended in DQ but the DQ worked in terms of storytelling as Austin got himself DQ'd because he knew that he couldn't beat Angle on this night so he had to take the easy way out and attack all the refs. Angle kicked out of three stunners for god's sake! That was unbelievable to see. A fantastic contest that definitely deserves more recognition. A classic and one of the best in Summerslam history. ****1/2



Rob Van Dam vs Chris Benoit
From the 2002 edition. The winner of this one would take the IC Title back to their respective brand: Benoit for Smackdown and RVD for Raw. I think this is the only PPV match they've had together which is a shame because this was an awesome contest. There was some nice innovative offence here like Benoit's multiple northern lights suplexes and RVD putting on a crossface. RVD hits the five star frogsplash to win the title. An impressive showing for both competitors. ****



Triple H vs Shawn Michaels : Unsanctioned Street Fight
From the 2002 edition. I don't think anyone was expecting the quality of match that we received on this night. Shawn had been out for over four years with a major back injury, and everyone questioned whether or not he would be able to even go a full match. We needn't have worried. Shawn showed us that he was better than ever before and it seemed like he had never been gone and showed no signs of ring rust. Amazingly, Shawn would give us another eight years of classic matches and moments. The match itself is absolutely fantastic with HHH working on HBK's back most of the time and he looked like the biggest heel in the company. An all time classic and possibly the best Summerslam match ever. *****



Brock Lesnar vs The Rock
From the 2002 edition and the Undisputed Title is on the line. Up until this year's Wrestlemania, I would have said that this is Lesnar's biggest win of his career. I think it has been relegated to the second biggest win. The crowd was totally behind Lesnar here and against the Rock as he was heading back to Hollywood. An exciting, fast paced contest and Lesnar looked like Rocky's equal the entire time. A sure sign that it was his time to become the man. A fantastic match as Lesnar once again comes out looking like an unbeatable monster. ****



Brock Lesnar vs Kurt Angle
From the 2003 edition and the WWE Title is on the line. Angle returned from injury for the Vengeance PPV and won the Title. Now Brock had finally turned heel again and wanted his prize back. Weirdly enough, while this was a great match, it wasn't as good as their Mania match even though both guys were injured during that one. This started a little slowly but once Lesnar started getting angry it became very good. I didn't really see the need for Vince's involvement but it didn't affect the match too much. A great match with an exciting finishing sequence. ***3/4



Randy Orton vs Chris Benoit
From the 2004 edition and the World Title is on the line. At the time it did seem pretty obvious that Orton was going to leave with the Championship but that didn't stop this from being a great contest. It was a great moment for Orton (even if it doesn't exist in the mind of WWE) but unfortunately he didn't do much after this win and wasn't a major player until 2007. Orton applying his own sharpshooter was pretty cool and I'm surprised that the Canadian crowd didn't completely turn on him. A well paced match that started with some mat work and built to an exciting finish as Orton hits the RKO out of nowhere to win the Title. Fantastic main event. ****



John Cena vs Chris Jericho
From the 2005 edition and the WWE Title is on the line. This would end up being Jericho's final PPV match until Armageddon 07. This was also the first PPV in which Cena was booed by about half the audience, something that would continue almost ten years later, so I guess you could call that quite a big moment for him. These guys had a nice back and forth match and Jericho made Cena look like a star as Jericho seems to be a star-making machine nowadays. Great stuff. ***3/4



Shawn Michaels vs Hulk Hogan
From the 2005 edition. Here we have Icon vs Icon and pretty much a dream match come true, even if only one of the combatants is in fighting condition. I think the story is that Shawn was originally booked to win, but Hogan used his politics to change that decision and give himself the win. Shawn got his own back by completely overselling Hogan's offense and it was hilarious to watch. I think the match itself was really good and very entertaining, mainly thanks to Shawn wrestling himself. Good stuff and I hope that Hogan is happy with his victory. ***1/2



Mick Foley vs Ric Flair : I Quit
From the 2006 edition. Two completely opposite superstars colliding here. These guys have no love for each other and it made for a heated battle and a surprisingly brutal one at that. You could feel the hatred. Foley is always known for taking huge bumps but I've also got to give Flair props for some of the bumps he took in this match like the barbed wire board to the face or taking a body slam onto thumb tacks. He is one crazy son of a bitch. The finish was kind of lame with Foley quitting to protect Melina, but this was still an awesome match while it lasted and one of the most brutal I've seen in the WWE. ***1/2



John Cena vs Randy Orton 
From the 2007 edition and the WWE Title is on the line. This is the first time these two guys have went one on one at a PPV and the first time they have fought for the WWE Title and would fight for it multiple times in the future (felt like dozens and it probably was). They would also fight two years later at the 2009 Summerslam, just with a different result except that that match sucked. Great match and quite possibly their best with one another as Cena made Orton look like a star for the first time in a while. Cena hits the FU to retain. ****



John Cena vs Batista
From the 2008 edition. This was a pretty huge match at the time, since these were two of the biggest names in the WWE, and yet they had never really had any fights, except for the ending of the 2005 Rumble. They showed with this match that they had great chemistry together, and would go on to have a good feud in 2010 as well. Batista did injure Cena here though and put him out of action for a few months. Still it was an excellent power against power contest with both guys trying to prove that they were always the better man. ****



Undertaker vs Edge : Hell in a Cell
From the 2008 edition. The final match for one of the best feuds of 2008. This is very close to being their best match, but I'd have to give the edge (no pun intended) to their Wrestlemania match. This match did have some awesome spots like the spear through the announce table and the chokeslam through two wooden tables. Taker finally giving Edge his comeuppance was awesome and beat him using moves that Edge used against him, such as a spear and hitting him with a camera. Fantastic match overall and the first of the only two truly great Cell matches in the the PG era. ****1/2



CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy : TLC Match
From the 2009 edition and the Worls Title is on the line. One of the best feuds of 2009 hits its breaking point with a TLC match. Jeff Hardy's specialty matc . Nice to see they got the main event spot, even though nothing could have followed them. Jeff being dropped onto a set-up chair looked brutal. The superplex on the ladder looked very sick and dangerous. Jeff's swanton onto the announce table was the holy shit moment of the match and still looks insane. One of the best one on one TLC matches ever. Incredible stuff. ****1/4. After the match the Undertaker returns to let Punk know that he's coming for him.



Team WWE vs The Nexus
From the 2010 edition. This marks Bryan's first WWE PPV appearance, as he was stupidly fired for strangling Justin Roberts on TV. This was also Bret Hart's first Summerslam match since facing the Undertaker in 1997. Bryan received a nice pop from the crowd and looked great during the match as he was only eliminated by nefarious means, and got a couple of eliminations himself. The crowd was hot for this one thanks to the great build-up leading up to it. A tremendous tag team match, even if it ruined the Nexus in the long run due to SuperCena making an appearance. ****1/4



Randy Orton vs Christian : No Holds Barred
From the 2011 edition and the World Title is on the line. A fantastic feud ends here in spectacular fashion. This is my favourite match from this feud (although the Over the Limit match comes very close). It's easily Christian's best singles match and one of Orton's best as well. This was insanely entertaining and exciting all the way through and they used the No Holds Barred stipulation well as they used a ton of weapons and Christian went through a total of three tables. A fantastic match with a sick ending as Christian is given an RKO onto the steel steps. ****1/2



CM Punk vs John Cena
From the 2011 edition to decide who the Undisputed WWE Champion was. There was no way in hell that these guys were gonna be able to replicate the MITB classic, but they damn sure tried their best. Both guys being Champion made things interesting, and their insane chemistry only added fuel to the fire. HHH wasn't needed here though. The counter wrestling was great and kept the match unpredictable until the controversial finish as Cena had his foot on the rope for the final pin. A classic match that really deserves more recognition. ****1/2



Brock Lesnar vs Triple H
From Summerslam 2012. This was billed as the Perfect Storm and it was pretty much anything goes as HHH told the referee not to step in at any time. I was excited to see these two go one on one at the time as it was a kind of dream match, but it was a bit disappointing. It was still a very good match but I was expecting a brawl considering the storyline between the two. It seemed like they were keeping the best stuff for Wrestlemania, but that match was more disappointing than this one. Still I'll give it props for a fun start and an exciting finish, but it did drag in the middle quite a bit. It is one that looks better after each viewing. Lesnar makes HHH tap to the arm lock. ***1/2



Christian vs Alberto Del Rio
From the 2013 edition and the World Title is on the line. Sadly this one seems destined to become a forgotten gem in the future, but I'm gonna keep it remembered here as it was a terrific match. The two main events on the same night completely overshadow this one, but on any other night this could have been the show stealing match. The match was well paced and was highly entertaining all the way through as these guys seemed very motivated and determined to have a good match. The nearfalls were well done and the arm psychology was sound. A fantastic World Title match. ****



Brock Lesnar vs CM Punk : No DQ
From Summerslam 2013. I've already heaped so much praise onto this match, but I'm gonna add some more, because this is my hundredth time watching it and it's still one of the best matches I've ever seen. The intensity is off the charts, and both guys looked extremely motivated. Lesnar deserves more credit for his work in the ring, such as his trash talk because it can make a match that little bit better, and it was awesome here. It's just a shame that the Punk/Heyman storyline didn't end here and ended up going on for way too long with guys like Curtis Axel and Ryback. Anyway this is still quite easily the Match of the Year and the only other match coming close is the main event. Absolutely fantastic stuff here and Brock was finally used properly. *****



Daniel Bryan vs John Cena
From the 2013 edition and the WWE Title is on the line. I feel so bad for not calling this the Match of the Year, but it definitely deserves like a runner up prize or a very honourable mention. What can I say about this match that hasn't already been said? This was Bryan's moment in the sun and he went over Cena completely cleanly and made himself a huge star in the process. It definitely helps that this was an amazing back and forth battle that felt like a war was being waged. Fantastic match and a fantastic moment as Bryan wins his first WWE Title, even if it was ruined by Orton. *****




The Biggest Misses of Summerslam




Time for my fun to end as I now need to watch all the awful matches.




The Ultimate Warrior vs Rick Rude : Steel Cage
From the 1990 edition and the WWF Title is on the line. This one is here more for disappointment than anything else considering how great their match was the year before. This really showed that Warrior was not ready for the main event scene. It did start off quite energetically, but that quickly died down. Even Rude couldn't save this one from mediocrity. The fans seemed to be enjoying it but I think they were the only ones. Not the kind of thing you would expect from a Summerslam main event as it was just very forgettable and the finish was dull as well. *1/4



Hulk Hogan & The Ultimate Warrior vs Sgt. Slaughter/Colonel Mustafa/General Adnan
From the 1991 edition. The infamous story behind this one is that Warrior held Vince up for more money just hours before the show which in turn led to his quick firing after the show and he wouldn't be seen again until Wrestlemania VIII. For some reason Sid Justice is the referee. This was just a slow, plodding match and even Warrior couldn't bring any energy to it once he was tagged in. Just a boring match overall. *



Legion of Doom vs Money Inc.
From the 1992 edition. Usually you would expect the opener of a big show to be highly entertaining so that the crowd can be fired up for the rest of the show. That's not what we got here. Hawk was pretty much out of it thanks to meds he took which he was known for doing at the time. The crowd was pretty hot for this but that didn't really help it all that much. A slow, boring match as everyone just seemed to be making sure that Hawk didn't hurt himself in some way. A disappointment. 3/4*



Shawn Michaels vs Mr Perfect
From the 1993 edition and the IC Title is on the line. I think this one deserves to be here just because of how disappointing it was. Here you had two of the greatest performers in the WWF at the time going at it on a big stage and it really just didn't live up to expectations. They just didn't have chemistry and it led to some sloppy moments and bad timing. Don't get me wrong it wasn't a bad match at all and there were some good moments, just not enough to make it memorable. The countout finish doesn't help it either. **1/4



The Undertaker vs Giant Gonzales
From the 1993 edition. As if their Wrestlemania match wasn't bad enough they somehow just had to have a rematch at the second biggest show of the year. Gonzales is just the worst wrestler in WWE history. Yes even worse than Khali. I don't know why he wasn't DQ'd for using a chair. Taker tried to make this as entertaining as he could but he had no chance in there. A very slow match with Gonzales on offense most of the time which was just so boring to watch. Paul Bearer's return was the only good part of the contest. DUD



The Undertaker vs The Undertaker
From the 1994 edition. I've really not been looking forward to this one. I've never seen it before but I've heard so many bad things about it. Undertaker took time off after the 94 Royal Rumble and Ted Dibiase introduced a new Taker that obviously wasn't the original. The original Taker came back and wanted a battle with the faker. Well that was a dumb idea. The fans started off hot but they became silent when they realised just how dumb this all was. An awful match that was just awkward to watch and went on for way too long. Stay the hell away from this one. It may be the worst in Summerslam history. Maybe. SUPER ULTRA MEGA DUD


I'll be back in a second, I'm gonna need some alcohol to get through the rest of these matches.




Diesel vs Mabel
From the 1995 edition and the WWF Title is on the line. It's no wonder Diesel's Title reign was such a failure considering he had to go through matches like this. Mabel? Freaking Mabel?! Out of all the superstars on the roster Mabel was the one that deserved a Title shot on the second biggest show of the year? Well now I know why 1995 was the worst year in company history. Diesel looked like he was trying, but Mabel was just not the right opponent for him. A very boring match that felt way too long for what it was and one of the worst WWF Title matches ever. DUD


More booze please.


Kaientai vs The Oddities
From the 1998 edition. This is a 3 on 4 handicap match. This is really just a bad comedy match that featured very little actual wrestling and went on for what felt like ages. I really don't have anything else to say about it. A bad match. DUD



The Kat vs Terri : Stinkface Match
From the 2000 edition. I was going to avoid putting divas matches on this list since they are generally bad anyway, but this one was a special kind of bad. Who the hell came up with a stinkface match anyway? The thongs do redeem it a bit but not enough to actually warrant the match. Whatever 'wrestling' that was in the match was awful. Well the match was just awful anyway. Shitty stuff here. DUD



The Brothers of Destruction vs Diamond Dallas Page & Kanyon : Steel Cage
From the 2001 edition and it will decide the Unified Tag Champs. This storyline had been going on for a while as DDP was stalking Taker's wife, Sara. The whole feud was just a way to bury DDP (including this match) and I don't think we ever saw Kanyon again. The match felt way too long and it was just a squash for Kane and Taker. A boring match that could have easily taken place on free TV. Well even then it would have been shit. *



Shane McMahon vs Eric Bischoff
From the 2003 edition. Really? This was a main match on the second biggest show of the year? It's no wonder why everyone hates the year 2003 in WWE. Shane was pissed off at Eric because he apparently slept with Linda McMahon. I think that's the whole story. Obviously the match sucked and the only highlights were a stunner from Austin and Shane's usual awesome elbow through the announce table. A contest that really didn't need to exist at all. 1/4*



Hulk Hogan vs Randy Orton 
From the 2006 edition. Billed as the Legend vs The Legend Killer. Should have been the Rising Star vs The Rising Star Killer. Why Orton didn't win this is an absolute mystery to me. Why did Hogan need the win so much? Poor Orton floundered around the mid-card and tag team scene until the middle of 2007 after this. The usual Hogan crap you would expect really. 1/2*



Batista vs King Booker
From the 2006 edition and the World Title is on the line. This is Batista's first chance to win the World Title back as he has been injured since the end of 2005. These guys never had good matches together as they just had no chemistry together. I think they had heat backstage so that probably had something to do with it. It didn't take long for the boring chants to start. Booker's chinlocks went on for way too long and started putting me to sleep. The fact that it ended in DQ doesn't help it in any way. It did get a little better towards the finish but not enough to save the whole thing. *



Batista vs The Great Khali
From the 2007 edition and the World Title is on the line. Oh yeah Khali was the World Champion at that point. I'm glad to have been reminded of that nightmare-inducing fact. This doesn't seem like a World Title match worthy of any PPV ever (well maybe December to Dismember). A dull, crappy match that also featured a DQ ending. Yeah as if we didn't need another 'Fuck you' from this whole situation. Just hurry up and give Batista the Title back already. DUD



Kane vs The Great Khali
From the 2009 edition. These are two guys that we didn't really need a PPV rematch from. I'd have thought that they'd have learned their lesson after Taker/Gonzales but I guess not. Sadly they wouldn't even learn their lesson from this one and gave them a rematch at Breaking Point. Just the slow plodding match that you would expect from the giants. It wasn't DUD bad but it was still bad. 1/4*


Bonus Match


Seeing as we all know the main event for Summerslam this year, I thought this match would be appropriate for review:


Brock Lesnar vs John Cena : Extreme Rules
From Extreme Rules 2012. It had been eight years since Lesnar had been in the WWE, so it was exciting to see him back again. Everyone was wondering what the match would be like since it was Lesnar's first in a long time, but I don't think anyone was prepared for what we got. The whole match felt real, as if it was a shoot fight. Every move looked painful (yes even the AA) and the first ten seconds gave us one of wrestling's most shocking moments when Brock legitimately busted Cena open. Cena winning is still dumb and I still don't know why they went with it. Still apart from a dumb booking decision this is a must see battle. ****3/4



Let me know if you think I missed out any great matches or any bad ones. I hope you enjoyed the read.