My Take on SummerSlam 2015

AKA, why doesn't Undertaker scream "That's my purse!  I don't know you!!!"?

It's also an astute commentary as to how one promotion can operate two different kinds of shows, and the one that they aren't as inclined to promote is a superior product than the main one.  In fact, two promoters worked both shows, and you can see how each was used.  It's also interesting to note that, and I'll explain this in another journal, how a company can condemn the legacy of another company while think it's okay to repeat the same mistakes the maligned former company did.

NXT Takeover featured new champions (Vaudevillians and Bayley), a cameo appearance from Jushin Liger, and Samoa Joe's first major match.  And although it wasn't as packed as SummerSlam would be, I would argue it was a much better program than the big event the following night.  Partially because it didn't have as much time to kill, but also because it wasn't as cluttered.  Gotta give props to them selling out the venue, because just a few months ago, they were the greatest event to ever happen in San Jose State University (whose football and men's basketball programs routinely combine to win 4 games a year), and they only had 3,500 in attendance with a show that featured guys like Sami Zayn and Hideo Itami.

On a tangent, and largely because of the guy who calls me his favorite listener, I want WWE to keep an influence in New York, mainly to remind people where homebase is.  The WWE largely hates Madison Square Garden now (though they will have a house show in October), because it's in Manhattan, where everything takes forever to get from Point A to Point B, they don't want to pay for unionized labor because they cost more, and the upgrades to the venue removed things the WWE liked to impliment.  That said, this isn't like hosting at a 55 year old arena that will be getting AHL-level upgrades soon, but instead hosting in the largest borough of the metropolitan center.  It's not 5th Avenue, but it's not Governor's Island, either; you're still in a vital part of the city.

Now, for the actual event.  Jon Stewart's the host, and he's doing some dumb stuff.  Stewart's a guy with a lot of talent, but this might have been the worst thing he's did since Doogal.  Orton vs. Sheamus is Orton vs. Sheamus, which means no chemistry and a cluttered mess.  Sheamus wins, yawn.  This is followed by Prime Time Players vs. the New Day vs. the Lucha Dragons vs. Los Matadores, who at the beginning of the year were rat poison but, thanks to having a lot more creative freedom as heels, have become an antidote to the program in general.  New Day wins the tag belts from PTP, and I'm very disappointed that the Lucha Dragons were just there in this match, because Kalisto is a guy that should be given more time show off his stuff, and it's annoying the Matadores are cartoon characters where El Torito is the focal point.  But, whaddya gonna do?

Stewart has another bit with Steven Amell.  This is followed by Rusev and Ziggler, where it was a clusterfuck with a double countout.  This is followed by Steven Amell & Neville versus a guy with a terrible gimmick and a guy who gets a terrible gimmick every 3 months.  What was unique was that Amell got a lot of beatings in this, whereas you would think Amell would get it for the hot tag.  Hopefully Stardust can finally be put to rest and Cody Rhodes can have a regular gimmick again.  This was followed by Ryback and the Miz and Big Show, with Ryback retaining the IC belt via sheannigans.  So... we've met the halfway point, and things aren't so hot.

Shield Lite vs. Wyatt Lite... oy.  Roman Reigns is still Public Enemy #1 in some wrestling hotbeds, and didn't get any love with the crowd.  If there is a bright side... and this crazy, but I'm glad Wyatt got pinned, instead of Harper eating defeat for the 47th straight match.  Unfortunately, Wyatt's role is to be built up and become credible... so he can lose to the guy they want him to lose.  Next up is Cena vs. Rollins, which is strange, because this match was 7th on the card instead of 9th.  I'll give Cena credit, as he has become a more rounded worker, but Rollins worked his butt off to show that he's a great talent and to compensate for his bad pushings.  And then, Jon Stewart got involved with the traditional Vince Russo heel turn (though it was a babyface move to many, like me) and Seth Rollins becomes the dual US/WWE Champion.  It'd be great for Stewart to just disappear afterward, but since this is John Cena, we must have follow-up.  Next was the Divas Revolution, which I must rant briefly about...

When they brought up Becky, Sasha Banks, and Charlotte, a lot of people were gushing that "OMG! They are gonna put some effort into the Divas Division!!!", whereas I looked at it as "So what?  You just brought up 3 women and by the end of the year, they'll be stuck doing the traditional WWE stuff they do with the women."  You can bring in all of the talent you want, but unless you're willing to change the foundation you have bestowed upon the subject or at least allow more leeway for those involved, it's just a new coat of paint that's gonna chip up soon.  In NXT, they were given carte blanche to do whatever they wanted, whereas in WWE, they are forced into small time constraints and have to do whatever nonsense the now-70 year old geriatric types on his Apple Lisa.  As long as the format is stringent and requires people to play specific characters, you won't see any upgrades.  The segment on RAW this past evening confirms this theory I have.

As for the match, it was okay, although the Bellas team should've been eliminated first since in the eyes of serious fans, the Bellas are a representation of what's wrong with the Divas Division.  Then there was Cesaro and Owens, who got the chance to both shine.  I'm very glad Owens got the victory, even though it was a pro-Cesaro crowd, mostly because Owens worked a physical ladder match the night prior.  And, going back to the earlier comment, Sasha Banks and Owens worked the NXT show in title matches, and both lost, but made you appreciate them.  Sasha didn't get any of that this show, although Owens has the accomplishment of working ahead of John Cena on this big event and was the lead-in to the marquee match.

The Beast Incarnate versus the Ball Kicker was our main event.  If Undertaker doesn't have Kick to the Groin as his finisher in WWE 2K16, I want people to edit it as so.  But, joking aside, this was surprisingly physical for Undertaker, since he did take a trip down Suplex City and even had an F5 landing onto a table, so I actually am worried about his health because he has, at best, one more match left in him and that must be it.  Still, that ending was fucking atrocious, where you have a questionable referee decision and the fact that Undertaker (finally) beat Lesnar via submission, even though Lesnar flipped off Undertaker in the process.  It's ridiculous because the way it ended was so cheap and stupid and illogical, and it also was really unfortunate that Undertaker was the guy who beat Lesnar and meant that Lesnar now has to spend most of his time focusing on Undertaker instead of another program for the near future.

I'm gonna be honest about all of this; they focused on wrestling more than other forms of entertainment, because in SummerSlams past (and this was due to the LA deal), they would devote 10-15 minutes to a musical artist or have random segments, and the preshow had no matches at all, from what I've heard.  That said, a lot of what they did didn't make much sense, either from what you are accustomed to (such as Amell being the babyface in peril instead of Neville) or meant that there has to be a payoff down the road (Lesnar/Taker), and considering how insane some of the decisions were, it just shows you how weird this company can think.

I also must call "bull" on a segment on RAW this past night involving Jon Stewart, who cited that the reason he cost Cena the match was to protect Ric Flair's legacy.  This can be a valid argument, since Cena's got 15 reigns, while Flair's WWE-sanctioned number (I don't think they count any of the 2000 WCW stuff) is 16 reigns, but to have Flair come out and tell Stewart he did the wrong thing and gush about the greatness of John Cena is one of the many things that irks me about the WWE's handling of John Cena; that they make him sound like God.  And even though John Cena gets more flack than what he deserves, it doesn't help that, many times, the villain's argument about him is a valid one.  Plus, Cena beats up Jon Stewart in the end.