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The John Report: WWE SummerSlam 2014 Review

Posted By: John Canton on Aug 18, 2014

The John Report: WWE SummerSlam 2014 Review

 

WWE SummerSlam
From Staples Center in Los Angeles, California
August 17, 2014 (Twitter @johnreport)

Here are some notes from the Kickoff show.

The SummerSlam PPV panel consists of Renee Young hosting the trio of Booker T, Ric Flair and Alex Riley. They talked about John Cena and Brock Lesnar first. The next match they talked about was Stephanie vs. Brie, which led to a video package.

Booker provided a "Shucky Ducky Quack Quack" moment when talking about that match. He used to say that as an announcer. Flair didn't even get a chance to talk.

The announce team of Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and John Bradshaw Layfield welcomed us to the show.

Cesaro's entrance music has ambulance sirens at the start of it.

Rob Van Dam vs. Cesaro

They worked a fast pace early on. RVD hit the Rolling Thunder on Cesaro on the floor. Back in the ring, Cesaro hit a gutwrench suplex. They had a break advertising the PPV. RVD hit a split legged moonsault for two and also a moonsault outside the ring. Back in the ring, Cesaro nailed RVD with an uppercut while he was on the top rope. RVD knocked him down again, but Cesaro gave him another uppercut. They did it again with another knock off the top, but Cesaro hit an uppercut a third time. RVD shoved him off, then jumped off the top and Cesaro nailed him with another uppercut. Boot to the face by Cesaro for two. RVD hit a kick to the face. Cesaro was down. RVD went to the top and hit a Five Star Frog Splash. The match went 8 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Rob Van Dam

Analysis: ** It was a regular match that you'd see at a house show. No story around it. No build. Cesaro losing is a shame especially considering RVD is a guy in his 40s that is past his prime. Cesaro's one of the best performers in the company yet he's been buried for a couple of months now. It's weird. Maybe the losing streak gimmick will lead to a face turn, but at this point all it is for us fans is frustrating.

They went back to the PPV panel. Cesaro was by them along with the ref. Flair just said "I love this guy." It would be nice if the booking team loved him.

Some guy named "Mama's Boy" won some Totino's Bold contest about making a superstar. They did a brief interview with him that didn't go very well because everybody was talking. I also didn't care about it either.

The awesome Lesnar/Cena video package aired.

That was it for the pre-show. No final thoughts from the panel. Flair barely spoke.

-----

WWE SummerSlam Main Card

Hulk Hogan started the show. He did a promo on the stage by sucking up to the fans by saying Los Angeles. He said he knew what we paid for WWE Network. The fans chanted "Nine Ninety Nine" with him. I named a fantasy football team that. He mentioned all the other PPVs we can watch. Hulk left, so he was there for about two minutes.

Analysis: It was a promo for WWE Network, which is what a lot of us are watching the show on already. I'm not watching it on the Canadian version that doesn't have much of an archive. I'm still using the US version on my laptop, which I have plugged into the TV. The quality is great.

There was an outstanding opening video package about the force of evil with a Hollywood style commercial. They had nicknames for everybody in the big matches like Reigns as Superman and Stephanie as the Billionaire Baroness. It ended by mentioning "The Beast" Brock Lesnar and "The Champ" John Cena. No surprise that the video was awesome. They always are.

The Miz did a promo before his match on the way to the ring. He talked about how he was a movie star. He spoke about how everybody wishes they had "The Moneymaker," which is a reference to his face. He said he's going to turn Ziggler into an unrecognizable failure, so he will turn him into WWE's version of the Lakers. Good NBA reference. They have been bad for a few years.

The announce team of Cole, Lawler & JBL welcomed us. They have Mountain Dew on their tables. Two Spanish announcers are taking care of the Spanish announce table. No more Ricardo Rodriguez. The German announce team is there. And it's four guys.

They showed Maria Menounos at ringside. Michelle Beadle and Bill Simmons of ESPN were also sitting by her at ringside.

Intercontinental Title: The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler

This was a match that I saw over a month ago at a live event where they spent about 15 minutes doing a match without Miz getting hit in the face until the finish. Miz did some heel tactics to avoid attacks early and then slowed things down with a boot to the face. Corner clothesline by Miz. Ziggler punched Miz in the gut after Miz jumped off the top. Neckbreaker by Ziggler for two. Miz tried to throw Ziggler over the top, but Ziggler skinned the cat back in. Big punch to the face by Ziggler followed by a superkick for two. JBL was saying that Ziggler should get DQ'd for hitting Miz in the face. Good line. Miz tried to leave with the IC Title, but Ziggler kicked him. Back in the ring, Miz applied the Figure Four Leglock and Ziggler got to the ropes for the break after about one minute in the hold. Ziggler hit the Fameasser with his good right leg. Miz came back with the Skull Crushing Finale. Ziggler kicked out at two. That was close. Miz was stunned by that. Ziggler hit the Zig Zag and he covered for the win after 10 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Dolph Ziggler

Analysis: *** That was a very good opening match. The energy was high from the start of the match and they had a lot of chemistry with each other, which isn't a surprise. Kicking out of a finisher in an opener is pretty rare, but it's good that they followed it up with Ziggler hitting his finisher. I didn't think Ziggler would win, but I have no problem with it. Winning the IC Title is pretty significant. It's nice to see WWE believing in Ziggler again after a year of uncertainty.

There was a recap of Stephanie McMahon's angle from Monday claiming Daniel Bryan cheated on Brie Bella with his physical therapist. Then Brie got arrested.

Brie was interviewed by Tom Phillips backstage. She said when she was in the cell in jail she thought about all the bad things that Stephanie did. Brie said that she's going to "take out that she-beast because that's what is best for business."

Analysis: Solid promo work by Brie.

Divas Title: AJ Lee vs. Paige

There were "CM Punk" chants as soon as the match began in honor of AJ's husband. Paige tried to bit AJ at the start, but AJ fought back. They did a unique spot with AJ on Paige's shoulders and then Paige dropped her throat first onto the barricade at ringside. That's an innovative spot. Back in the ring, Paige slowly crawled over the top of AJ, which probably helps some fantasies of men watching at home. Paige was aggressive with headbutts and then some knee strikes. They went outside the ring with AJ knocking her down with a clothesline off the top rope. That was an impressive move. AJ hit a running boot to the face for two. Paige kicked her in the face. Paige took too long to capitalize and AJ hit the Black Widow submission. Paige fought out of it. She cradled AJ in her arms and dropped her with a snap DDT called the Rampaige. The match went 7 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Paige

Post match, Paige gave her a kiss on the cheek. The announcers noted it was Paige's birthday - she's 22.

Analysis: ** That was a solid match that was better than their showing at Battleground. They did some cool spots with the barricade attack and AJ's impressive clothesline outside the ring. That finish was well done too. Paige's counter was slick while her finisher is impressive. I predicted the Paige win in the preview because I think it's better for the divas division to have a heel champion. They don't have enough heel divas right now. With Paige as Divas Champion she can feud with Natalya, Brie, Naomi and women like that.

There was a commercial for Sting in WWE 2K15 video game.

The flag match is next. They said the winner will have his flag hanging over the ring after the match.

Rusev made his entrance with the ravishing Russian Lana. She did a promo ripping on Hollywood and said that there will be no movie-like happy ending for the USA. There was a military presence on stage prior to the Swagger entrance. Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter received a nice ovation.

The match didn't even start and Rusev was attacking. Swagger applied the Patriot Lock. The ref broke it up. Lana said no match because Swagger cheated. The ref rang the bell anyway.

Flag Match: Rusev w/Lana vs. Jack Swagger w/Zeb Colter

Swagger was really aggressive early on with a clothesline outside the ring. Back in the ring, Rusev got his knees up to counter the Swagger Bomb. Rusev was limping around selling the Patriot Lock on his left foot. Knee to the ribs by Rusev and then a kick to the ribs with his right foot. Cole: "How do you think Putin will take it if Rusev loses?" Pretty sure he doesn't give a shit. The pace slowed down as Rusev was on offense. Swagger made a comeback with a clothesline, then a running splash in the corner and a boot to the face. The Swagger Bomb by Swagger hurt and he grabbed his ribs. Rusev hit a back elbow and he wanted a kick, but Swagger caught him. Belly to belly suplex by Swagger for two. Rusev kicked Swagger in the ribs and then hit a big kick to the face. Lana told Rusev to "crush" so he started yelling. Rusev applied the Accolade, but he couldn't apply it because his left leg was hurting. Rusev applied a modified Accolade with only his right leg while he was on his left knee. Swagger was able to get out of that and applied the Patriot Lock. Rusev rolled on his back to counter it. Jumping spin kick by Rusev. It didn't connect well, but Swagger sold it. Rusev hit a splash in the ring. Rusev applied the Accolade submission again and sold pain on his face. Swagger tried to fight it, but he passed out. The ref called for the bell since Swagger was knocked out. The match went 10 minutes.

Winner by submission: Rusev

Analysis: ** That was good for the time given, but they didn't get enough time to make it great. When Rusev is on offense he's pretty methodical. It's not that exciting to watch. However, I don't mind it. Rusev did an awesome job of selling the ankle injury the whole match, even when he was on offense. Some wrestlers don't sell even when on offense, but Rusev did a great job of it. The "Flag Match" stipulation was pretty pointless because there was nothing about grabbing a flag or anything like that. My pick was Swagger, so I'm 1-2 so far. It makes sense that Rusev would win since he's being built up as a strong heel that could be a main eventer while Swagger's just a midcarder. Rusev is ascending, so he's going to get booked stronger.

Post match, Lana got in Colter's face and taunted him. Rusev kicked Colter while he was kneeling down. It wasn't a hard kick, but it was a cheap shot and JBL got mad about it.

The Russian flag was raised by the ring and the Russian anthem was raised. Swagger wasn't moving, yet nobody was checking on him. Good job! Colter wasn't moving either. The camera cut away near the end of the song, but not at the end. Time for a Mountain Dew commercial. Does that mean there's a Russia/Mountain Dew feud soon? Probably not.

Video package for Rollins/Ambrose, so that's up next.

After Rollins made his entrance, they showed Michelle Beadle at ringside. Then they showed Bill Simmons, who was with his kids. Simmons is my favorite sports writer and definitely somebody that has inspired my writing career. I was reading his work about 15 years ago. He's been a WWE fan for life, so it's nice to see him there with his kids.

Lumberjack Match: Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins

It's a Lumberjack Match because Ambrose picked it as the stipulation. The ring was surrounded by about 20 wrestlers, most of whom were in their ring gear. Damien Sandow was dressed like a lumberjack. They kept getting thrown out to the floor and tossed back in. Ambrose went to the top, but Rollins tripped him up. They did a big spot with Rollins giving Ambrose a suplex outside of the ring that saw Ambrose land on the lumberjacks. Everybody tried to restore order. Ambrose sent Rollins over the barricade and into the crowd. The lumberjacks put Ambrose back into the ring, so he took them out with a dive. Rollins tried to run away. Ambrose ran across the announce tables and took him out with a dive as well as some other guys. With Rollins & Ambrose brawling into the crowd, the match was falling apart.

The Director of Operations Kane walked down to ringside and told the lumberjacks to get the wrestlers back to the ring. The heel wrestlers brought Ambrose back to the ring. Rollins beat up Sin Cara just for fun. It looked like Rollins was going to get away, but he was stopped by babyface wrestlers like the Usos, Stardust and Big E. The babyfaces put Rollins on their shoulders. Ambrose was on the top rope waiting for them and he hit a dive off the tape to take out Rollins as well as the lumberjacks. Back in the ring, Ambrose hit a huge clothesline that Rollins sold by doing a flip and that earned a two count. The fans chanted "this is awesome" for it. Ambrose talked trash and then hit the Curb Stomp, which is Seth's move. Kane broke up the pin. Goldust got in his face. Kane nailed him with an uppercut. All the lumberjacks went into the ring. They started brawling with each other. They all ended up outside the ring. Ambrose sent Harper out of the ring, then he gave Rowan a clothesline over the top. When Ambrose turned back around, Rollins nailed Ambrose with the Money in the Bank briefcase and the ref didn't see it. Rollins covered for the win after 12 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Seth Rollins

Analysis: ***1/4 That was a fun match. It wasn't about the holds or the technical wrestling. It was about having fun and doing a crazy match by utilizing the lumberjacks at ringside. That finish wasn't the most creative, but it's going to lead to a rematch. When somebody breaks up a pin the way Kane did it should be a DQ finish, but that didn't happen. It also could have been a countout finish since they were brawling outside the ring. Rollins was my pick. Expect two or three more PPV matches from them.

Plug time: On Tuesday at 10pmET it's TJR Radio episode #50 with a special guest: WWE Hall of Famer and one of my favorite wrestlers ever, "The Hitman" Bret Hart. It's an honor to have the legendary Bret Hart join us for the show. My co-hosts are The Ace and Justin Seagull. We'll do the show for about 90 minutes or so with Bret joining us for the first half of it. We'll have a discussion talking SummerSlam and more. I'm so excited about this one. If you can't listen live that TJR Radio link will work after it's over.

There were replays of the Wyatt/Jericho story.

Bray Wyatt just said "Los Angeles I'm here" for his entrance instead of "we're here" because his buddies Harper & Rowan are banned from ringside for this match. The visual of Wyatt entertaining with the fans lighting up the arena with cell phones remains one of the coolest ovations. Jericho's light up jacket had multiple colors.

Bray Wyatt vs. Chris Jericho

Wyatt was the aggressor early on as they went outside the ring and Wyatt drove his knee into Jericho's face when he was against the steel steps. Jericho was sent into the steel post as the crowd tried to chant "he's got the whole world in his hands" although they didn't seem to carry the song well. Wyatt aggressively attacked Jericho outside when Jericho's head was against the post. Wyatt applied a chinlock. Jericho fought back and hit a forearm to the head. Enziguiri by Jericho for a one count, then Wyatt came back with a clothesline and a running back splash for two. Wyatt charged him in the corner, but Jericho hit a dropkick. Wyatt came back again and wanted Sister Abigail. Jericho fought out with a rollup for two. Jericho applied the Walls of Jericho, which is more of a Boston Crab since Wyatt's a bigger guy. Wyatt got to the ropes. Wyatt hit a DDT on the side of the apron outside the ring as JBL pointed out that it's the hardest part of the ring. Wyatt went to the middle rope. Jericho hit a hurricanrana out of the corner for a two count. Jericho had a noticeable bruise on his left leg. Jericho hit a dropkick and you could see them talking to eachother.

Wyatt popped up doing his crab walk as Jericho was stunned. It looked like Jericho was going for a Lionsault. Wyatt said he cannot die because he's already dead. Jericho hit the Codebreaker and Wyatt kicked out or he got his foot under the bottom rope. Jericho missed an attack outside the ring, so Wyatt gave him an uppercut punch with his thumb to the throat. Wyatt gave Jericho the Sister Abigail into the barricade. Back in the ring, Wyatt hit Sister Abigail on Jericho and he covered for the win. The match ended after 12 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Bray Wyatt

Analysis: **3/4 The match was solid although I was hoping for more time for them so they could build up to a more exciting finish. There were only a couple of believable nearfalls. That finish with Wyatt using the barricade for Sister Abigail and then doing it in the ring was similar to his ending with Daniel Bryan at the Royal Rumble. That's not a complaint. It's a good way to end it decisively. Wyatt winning was an obvious choice. Don't be surprised if they get a third match because the series is at 1-1 now. Jericho is booked for Night of Champions next month, which is his last show in this current run.

After the match, Wyatt did a promo saying that Jericho found out what it means to follow the buzzards. Wyatt led the crowd in singing "he's got the whole world in his hands" and they happily joined in while lighting up the arena with cell phone light.

Up next is Stephanie McMahon vs. Brie Bella. It gets video package treatment, so good time for a bathroom break.

Stephanie McMahon vs. Brie Bella

Stephanie had on this cool black and silver full length outfit while Brie had on a "Brie Mode" shirt. Brie was using wrestling holds early on, but Stephanie ended up overpowering her. Stephanie hit some forearm shots and tossed Brie across the ring. Brie came back by trying to apply the Yes Lock, but Stephanie escaped outside the ring. Brie went for a Daniel Bryan-like dive outside the ring, but Stephanie avoided it by grabbing Brie's head and did some "yes" chants to taunt her. Back in the ring, Stephanie hit a DDT for two and then hit a clothesline. Stephanie did a Mr. Perfect-like neck snap for two as the crowd chanted "you still got it." Stephanie went for a charge, but "Stone Cold" Brie hit a Thesz Press to counter it. Brie hit some kicks in the corner as the crowd chanted "yes" for all of them. More kicks and more chants. So we can say that her husband is still really popular. Brie hit a missile dropkick off the middle ropes for two. Brie threw some more punches.

Triple H came down to the ring. Brie told him to get off the apron. Nikki Bella also came down to the ring. Brie applied the Yes Lock on Stephanie. She had the match won, but Hunter pulled the ref out of the ring. Brie hit a dropkick on Hunter outside the ring. Nikki went into the ring. Steph wanted no part of that and then Brie stood on the other side. Nikki looked like he was going to slap Stephanie, but Steph moved and Nikki nailed Brie with a forearm shot. Stephanie hit the Pedigree and covered for the win after 12 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Stephanie McMahon

Analysis: **1/2 I give them credit for having an entertaining match. Considering Stephanie hasn't wrestled in 10 years she did a good job in there. She's in great shape obviously. The portion of the match before the interference was fine. The heel turn by Nikki was rumored and some people were definitely predicting it, but I wasn't sure about it would happen. Since they did the turn that means we'll get that Bella Twin feud and that's a story that will feel fresh.

Post match, Hunter just smiled at Nikki and then went into the ring with Brie. Nikki just looked on with a serious look on her face. After the replays, Hunter gave Stephanie a kiss in the ring. Nikki just left angrily.

They aired some video package for a guy named Jake Tucker that won a Totino's Bold "Show Us Your Superstar" contest. I honestly don't care, but good for this "Mama's Boy" guy. They showed Mama's Boy at ringside with his mom.

At this point in the show, heels are 5-1 on the PPV portion of the event with Ziggler as the only babyface win.

Randy Orton entered for his match. They replayed when Orton attacked Reigns a few weeks ago. JBL busted out his line about how that is what a sports entertainer is supposed to look like. Roman Reigns entered through the crowd like usual and had on a vest that was a bit different looking with some blue color along with the black.

Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton

Reigns was the aggressor early on, but when they went outside the ring it was Orton that sent Reigns into the steel steps. Back in the ring, chinlock time by Orton. Superplex by Orton for two. Reigns tried a comeback with a sleeper, but Orton dropped back to stun him. Orton countered a chinlock with a back suplex for two. Reigns with a Samoan Drop to get some of his momentum back. They traded punches and Reigns won that. Clothesline by Reigns in the middle, then a clothesline in the corner, then a punch and the running dropkick by the bottom rope. Orton's girlfriend was right there as they fought by the barricade. Orton threw Reigns into the barricade. Orton slammed Reigns onto the English announce table and then threw him into the steel steps.

Back in the ring, Reigns tried to set up Orton on the top rope. They exchanged some punches up there. Reigns set him up for Samoan Drop and he hit it off the middle ropes. Reigns hit a Superman Punch. My WWE Network feed actually went out for a minute. Reigns ran the ropes and went right into a RKO by Orton. That was a cool spot with Reigns jumping into it. Orton took forever to set up the Punt Kick, so Reigns got right back up, ran the ropes and hit the Spear for the win after 17 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Roman Reigns

The announcers put it over as the biggest win of Roman's career. That's a valid point.

Analysis: ***1/4 Really good match. That was a predictable match with Reigns getting the win. There was no reason for Orton to go over. They could have other matches too, but if it's the only one then that was fine. When Orton hit that RKO with Reigns in the air it actually drew a few boos from the crowd because some of them might be sick of Reigns getting booked so strongly already. It's not like it is the majority of the crowd, but it was noticeable. Reigns making the big comeback looked good. His signature spots are over with the crowd. No doubt about it. I'm fine with the way this one was booked.

There was a commercial for SummerSlam 2015 in NY/NJ. Since WrestleMania is in California next year it makes sense that SummerSlam would be elsewhere.

The announcers plugged WWE Network and then mentioned that Jessica Alba tweeted about the event because of the Sin City trailer.

The outstanding video package aired for the Cena/Lesnar main event match. It's the same one that was on Raw.

Brock Lesnar made his entrance along with Paul Heyman. That theme song still makes me pop. I've always been a big Lesnar fan. He still got the pyro for his entrance, so the budget cuts didn't affect that. Heyman was smiling in the ring. The camera focused on Lesnar's face as he stared out at Cena. Cena made his entrance with the two titles around his neck and a lot of merchandise like usual. We got the in-ring intros from announcer Justin Roberts. The bell rings at 10:33pmET.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship: John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman)

Lesnar brawled with him right away. Lesnar hit the F5 one minute into the match and Cena kicked out. Wow. Hot opening! The crowd was chanting "Let's Go Brock" and then the dueling chants for Cena. Huge German Suplex by Lesnar. There was another German Suplex by Lesnar. After Lesnar hit a knee strike he hit a vertical suplex. Cena tried to get some offense in, but Lesnar gave him a knee to the ribs. Lesnar's chinlock ended when he slammed Cena's head into the mat. Lesnar hit four release German suplexes in a row. The second one was a bad landing for Cena. He landed on his neck. With Cena selling it like he was hurt, Lesnar hit another German Suplex that led to Cena landing on his neck again. That's another German Suplex for Cena, which I think was the 8th suplex.

Cena made a comeback by running the ropes and hit forearm shots to the head. Lesnar caught him with a F5. The crowd stood up! Cena counters with the FU for two. They both stayed down for a bit as Lesnar sat up like the Undertaker and started laughing. That was awesome! Cena looked frustrated. When Cena tried to fight back again, Lesnar took him down. Lesnar pummeled him with punches. The replay of Lesnar sitting up and laughing at Cena was even better than the live version. Lesnar hit three rolling German Suplexes the way that Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit and then a fourth one that was a release German Suplex. After a delay, Lesnar hit three more German Suplexes. The ref Charles Robinson was checking on Cena if he gave up. Since Lesnar was just standing there, Cena tripped him up and gave him the STF. Lesnar rolled through to counter. Lesnar nailed him with punches again. Lesnar hit the F5 and he covered for the win after 17 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Brock Lesnar

Analysis: *** It's such a tough match to rate. Lesnar was on offense for the majority of it. Cena barely did anything aside from a brief flurry and an Attitude Adjustment for a nearfall. Other than that is was Lesnar pounding on him repeatedly with punches, knee strikes and German Suplexes. There were a total of 16 German Suplexes by Lesnar in the match. That's what Cole said on commentary. It's the kind of performance that people are going to remember because Lesnar looked stronger than any WWE Title match winner we've ever seen. They did have the kickout spots a couple of times, but it's not like we got them all match long. This was the most decisive ass kicking there's ever been. People that hate Cena probably liked this match more than anything they've ever seen. I'm not a Cena hater by any means, but I loved the booking. It was a no doubter. We don't see those in WWE. Give Cena a lot of credit too. He took a beating when Lesnar hit him with those German suplexes a few times. He made Lesnar look like a dominant WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

Post match, Cena was checked on by doctors. JBL said it was the most dominant performance in WWE history. That's a good way of putting it.

Lesnar walked to the back with Heyman and the WWE & World Titles on his shoulders. The show ended with them walking away while Cena was getting looked at in the ring.

Analysis: A rematch will probably happen at Night of Champions since champions usually get rematches and that one will likely have a stipulation.

Five Stars of the Show

1. Brock Lesnar - There's nobody else like him.

2. John Cena - Took his beating like a man.

3. Randy Orton - Good job by the veteran helping the younger guy look awesome.

4. Dean Ambrose

5. Seth Rollins

Others deserve a lot of praise, but I'm sticking with just five people.

 

Final Thoughts

It gets an 8 out of 10 for being a solid show in terms of the storyline execution. In terms of the matches there wasn't a match of the year contender or anything like that, but the booking was well done from top to bottom.

It was a dominant night by the heels since they went 6-2 on the PPV portion of the broadcast. Only Ziggler and Reigns won on the babyface side. The Reigns win was obvious while Ziggler winning was a mild surprise.

The Rollins/Ambrose match was cool to watch although it felt like an angle more than a match. They really didn't do a whole lot of wrestling in the ring. It was more about involving the lumberjacks to make it a chaotic looking scene.

I was impressed by Stephanie and Brie. That heel turn by Nikki Bella was well done. There were definitely some people that thought it was going to happen, but that didn't hurt it. She went about it the right way and didn't overact like she tends to do.

What I'll remember most about the show was that nothing was that bad. Everything was watchable. There was only one match that went under 10 minutes. That helps to balance the show.

At no point was there anything that really sucked or made us want to stop watching. That's because the storylines were better for SummerSlam than they were for most PPVs this year.

 

Ranking the 2014 WWE Pay-Per-Views

Here's the order with the rankings on the 1-10 scale.

WrestleMania 30 - 8.5

SummerSlam - 8

Money in the Bank - 7

Extreme Rules - 7

Elimination Chamber - 6.5

Payback - 6.5

Battleground - 6

Royal Rumble - 5.5

---------

I'll be back live on Monday night with the Raw Deal or you can check it out after the show is over.

Also on Tuesday at 10pmET it's TJR Radio episode #50 with a special guest: WWE Hall of Famer and one of my favorite wrestlers ever, "The Hitman" Bret Hart. It's an honor to have the legendary Bret Hart join us for the show. My co-hosts are The Ace and Justin Seagull. We'll do the show for about 90 minutes or so with Bret joining us for the first half of it. We'll have a discussion talking SummerSlam and more. I'm so excited about this one. If you can't listen live that TJR Radio link will work after it's over.

Check out my feature column archive that's exclusive to WhatCulture. I write there every day and it's a lot of fun for me. Some recent posts include 10 things WWE you to forget about SummerSlam, a look at some of the best moments of overselling in wrestling, a look at some things that are likely going to happen before WrestleMania 31 and more!

That's all for me. Have a great week.

John Canton - mrjohncanton@gmail.com

Twitter @johnreport

Personal Facebook and TJRWrestling.com on Facebook


Tags: #thejohnreport #wwe #summerslam

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