I watched Summerslam from the Wrestle Palooza studios, home of our affiliated audio show, and I had one of the speakers from the surround sound right near my left ear, so I could hear all of the crowd noises so clearly. With that, I heard who received good pops or heat, and who didn't. I also could hear various crowd members screaming off the top of their lungs. At one point in the Rhyno vs. Jericho match, one crowd member shouted "she's got herpes" in reference to Stephanie. Oh man, would I kill to hear that become a regular WWF chant.
Anyway, let's review Summerslam already. On to the PDC.
For the Heat match, I just want to know the braintrust behind the idea of having that match anyway. Ewwww, it was bad. First, the Alliance ladies did a horrible beatdown on Lita, and then the match became mostly dominated by Ivory. STUUUUUUPID. Lita would come back and then help her replacement, Molly Holly, and Jackie win the match. Since the match sucked so bad, we get to see it again on RAW tonight! Whoppeee!
The first match of Summerslam was Edge vs. Lance Storm, and it was a solid opener. Both guys, of course, are good all around workers and they worked the match to a very nice pace. Looks like the WWF wants to put an extension on the Christian and Edge break up, but at least Edge has the IC Title now so that they can eventually fight over that. I'm thinking that the break up could happen tomorrow, after Christian possibly screws up the European Title match.
Wow. The 6 man match was very good. The match was fun and chaotic. I was guessing that this match would just be a filler match, but it was more than that. Test and the APA would win thanks to Shane's help, and because of what Shane did, the APA would show up, later, for the Rock vs. Booker T match to take out Shane when he was trying to interfere.
The Shawn Stasiak and Debra segment was just too much. "Look at my tights... I have MECCA on them. What the hell does that mean?" Who would have imagined that Stasiak would be playing a comedic character? Later on, Stasiak tried to attack the Rock, but was badly unsuccessful.
Next match was Tajiri vs. X-Pac. I figured after the first missed X-Factor, that X-Pac would then lose. I was wrong. Albert came down, and I was hoping for a failed screwjob attempt. Nope. After Tajiri sprayed the mist, X-Pac went downstairs and then gave Tajiri another X-Factor for the win. Pretty good match overall though, and it's good because X-Pac, again, wrestled like a Lightweight.
I don't know what to say about Perry Saturn at WWF NY with the Milk carton. I'm speechless.
Rhyno vs. Chris Jericho was next, and I suppose it was greatly affected by Jericho getting a concussion during the vicious Gore on the outside? If so, then that would certainly affect Jericho throughout the match, as he blew two obvious spots in a row. The match was good with the exceptions of the bad spots.
Rob Van Dam vs. Jeff Hardy was very solid, although I question both wrestler's thinking ability for attempting the big spot, where Jeff Hardy was hanging on the strap and RVD was coming off the top with a spinning kick. That's fucking crazy to even try. The ending wasn't big either, with RVD winning because Jeff Hardy came off the ladder hard. The WWF should use their heads when they allow a wrestler to take nasty risks like that. I really liked the Sunset Flip spot, off the ladder, for this match. I'm shocked at seeing RVD winning two Pay Per Views in a row against Jeff Hardy. I bet they wrestle at Unforgiven. Har Har.
The Tag Team Cage match was horrible, and we have the Undertaker to thank. Kane at least had a legit back injury, but the Undertaker was badly no selling like he always does. Kudos to Diamond Dallas Page for taking a massive beating throughout the match. The crowd noise was extremely low for this match, and if you mix that in with how the match was performed, I really hope somebody in the back, namely Vince McMahon, finally sees the true stock in the Undertaker right now. He's such an old fart, and his age shows in his performance. It's sad when an older wrestler, like DDP, is taking the majority of the bumps for a wrestler nearly 7 years younger.
Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle was the show-stealer, easily. Kurt Angle, once again, proved to be the man with all of the bumps and punishment he was taking. These two guys have fought 5 times or more on televised broadcasts, but each time, the match is somewhat different. Wow, no other opponent, besides Benoit, can do that with Austin. That shows you what a stud Kurt Angle is. He's becoming a better all around performer than the Rock or Austin right now. I disliked the ending to this match, greatly.
Speaking of the Rock.... the Booker T vs. Rock match was alright, but you can't follow an intense Kurt Angle vs. Steve Austin match. YOU JUST CAN'T DO IT! I mean, the Rock isn't going to pull out an extra bag of tricks to one-up the previous match, because with his limited amount of moves, he just simply can't. I'm sure many will scream about the ending, but I'm sure a rematch will result because Booker T lost because he got cocky at the end with the Spinneroonie, which enabled Rock to drill the Rock Bottom. At least that's what I'm thinking. Not a bad match, but definitely not a main event caliber match. 40 Righthands thrown by the Rock, for those who keep count...
LAST WORD: Aside from the blown spots, bad cage match, and the error on booking Angle vs. Austin and Booker T vs. Rock back-to-back, Summerslam was a good show. Not great, but good. I'll give it a B+, simply because it lacked one big thing, like a great finish to the Austin vs. Angle match, to give it that extra something.
RAW Hype: Ummm..... Alliance Ladies vs. WWF ladies? Christian vs. Matt Hardy? Looks like a lot of Summerslam rematches will be hyped for Unforgiven!
CLICK HERE to listen to the latest show, as the WrestlePalooza.com crew has a Summerslam preview show for you to enjoy. Note that new Wrestle Palooza shows are produced every Sunday and Wednesday of the week. Be sure to check regularly for any announcements concerning possible guests on the show. Also, listen to the archives, which features interviews with Bobby "the Brain" Heenan, Harley Race, Daffney, Spike Dudley, Dr. Death, Dusty Rhodes, Lenny Lane, Kid Kash, Madusa, and more!
Backyard BBQ: The Best in Backyard Wrestling!
KOLTERSHOCK!!!! You KNOW you want to check it out!
Gamerave - The Ultimate Videogame Site: Reviews and Previews of Gameboy Advance games, along with information about future gaming systems!
@That's all for today. I'll be back, hopefully, tomorrow with a RAW is WAR review for you to read and maybe enjoy. Just chill till the next episode.
Phat Pharm: Wrestling Columns here!
Take Care, and Thanks for Reading.