WWE SummerSlam 2014
Los Angeles, California 8/17/14
Pre-Show
1.) Cesaro vs. Rob Van Dam: ***
This is a match I was looking forward to. It ended up being pretty solid. Cesaro always produces in the ring, and I think he had a good match here with RVD. After some solid back & forth action, RVD is able to pick up the win with a Five Star Frog Splash.
PPV
The show kicks off with an in-ring promo from Hulk Hogan! I won't go over everything, but he basically welcomes everyone to the event, says his catchphrases, and promotes the WWE Network.
1.) WWE Intercontinental Title - The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler: ***
The first actual match of the night is for the Intercontinental Title. The Miz won the vacant title at Battleground in a Battle Royal, last eliminating Dolph Ziggler. So it was natural that this match would take place, and it ended up being pretty solid. Lots of good action, and the crowd was into it. The finishing stretch was pretty enjoyable, and in the end, Ziggler was able to get the win, capturing the Intercontinental Title!
2.) WWE Diva's Title - AJ Lee vs. Paige: ***
Since Battleground, Paige has turned heel on AJ, so of course we're getting a rematch, since Paige is a heel. This was actually a pretty solid match. It was definitely a step up from their previous encounter at Battleground. Some really good back & forth action between these two. It didn't go very long (I think it was just under 5 Minutes), but they packed a lot into it. Paige was able to escape the Black Widow and hit the RamPaige DDT for the win, and captures the Diva's Title. Hard to believe that Paige has become a two-time Diva's Champion in such a short amount of time.
3.) Flag Match - Rusev (with Lana) vs. Jack Swagger (with Zeb Colter): ***3/4
So this isn't one of those flag matches where it's essentially "capture the flag". It's a straight wrestling match where the winner will have their flag raised after the match. While their match at Battleground was pretty disappointing, this was actually really good. A lot better than I was expecting. The storytelling really carried this match, and Rusev selling his injured angle. The action itself was pretty great as well, and the crowd was into it. Plus, who doesn't love a good Hoss Division Battle? Rusev eventually locks in The Accolade, and Swagger passes out, giving the victory to Rusev.
Shortly after the match Rusev takes out Zeb Colter. Since Rusev won the match, the Russian flag is raised and the Russian National Anthem is played.
4.) Lumberjack Match - Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins: ****
Good to see that we're actually getting this match, after what happened at Battleground. It's actually really odd to see a Lumberjack Match on a major PPV like this. It was actually a pretty great match. Of course we saw a lot of high impact moves involved the lumberjacks, with Ambrose diving on top of Rollins & The Lumberjacks and, at one point, suplexed Rollins to the outside onto a bunch of lumberjacks!! Eventually, the match breaks down (as all lumberjack matches tend to do), and Rollins takes advantage of the chaos and hits Ambrose with the Money in the Bank Briefcase to score the victory.
5.) Bray Wyatt vs. Chris Jericho: ***1/4
Luke Harper & Erick Rowan are banned from ringside for this match. While this was a better match than their encounter at Battleground, it was only slightly better. The action in here was good, but I think it could have been better. I don't know what it is, but these two just don't seem to mesh very well together. Wyatt would end up getting the win over Jericho.
6.) Brie Bella vs. Stephanie McMahon: **3/4
So this is a feud that's been brewing for several months. I can tell you everything that's been going down between Brie Bella & Stephanie McMahon, but I would be here all day. This is Stephanie's first real match (she had a "Mud Pool Match" with Vickie Guerrero a few months prior on RAW, but that really doesn't count) since 2003. She's wearing interesting attire....kind of similar to what The Bella Twins wear. I wasn't sure how this was going to go, but they ended up having a relatively decent match. Stephanie did a decent job. Of course, Triple H & Nikki Bella got involved. At one point, Brie got a shot in on Triple H. With the referee down, Stephanie gets cornered by The Bella Twins, but in a shocking turn of events, Nikki hits Brie! This allows Stephanie to hit The Pedigree and get the win.
7.) Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns: ***1/2
This is a big opportunity for Roman Reigns. I believe this is his first ever singles match on PPV, and it's against Randy Orton. I thought it was a pretty good match. It wasn't great, but it was perfectly fine. I think Reigns still has work to do, but he can get there with time. Orton did his best to make Reigns look good. After a hard fought match, Reigns picked up a huge win over Orton with a spear.
There was a promo video where it was announced that SummerSlam 2015 was going to take place in the New York City area.
8.) WWE World Heavyweight Title - John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman): ****1/4
So here it is. The Main Event. Brock Lesnar is coming off his huge victory at WrestleMania XXX, where he ended The Undertaker's WrestleMania Undefeated Streak. The match itself was very interesting. Leans hit Cena with an F-5 less than a minute into the match. Cena hit a few moves on Lesnar, but most of the match saw Lesnar absolutely dominate John Cena. He hit him with so many German Suplex's that I lost count. It was one of the most one sided WWE World Title matches that I can remember. Lesnar easily secures the victory, and captures the WW World Title. This was a spectacle if their ever was one. Lesnar looked liked an absolute monster, and Cena did a great job in making Lesnar look as such. WWE also deserved a lot of credit for going through this with their top star in Cena. It'll be a match that will be remembered for a long time.
Overall: 8.5/10
This was a really good show. Obviously it'll be remember most for the Main Event, which was one of the most interesting things WWE has done in quite some time, as Brock Lesnar destroyed John Cena on his way to winning the WWE World Title. The rest of the card was actually pretty solid as well. Roman Reigns had a good match with Randy Orton (though it wasn't great). The two stipulation matches that a lot people thought wouldn't deliver surprisingly did, in big ways. The rest of the undercard was relatively solid, including the two women's matches. The fact that we also saw three title changes was also a nice surprise. There really wasn't a bad match on the entire show (the worst match was relatively decent). A very good show from WWE.
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