Over the years SummerSlam has forced its way past pay per view events like Royal Rumble and Survivor Series to claim the silver spot on WWE’s pay per view calendar. Once a thriving playground for up and coming talent, SummerSlam made stars out of Bret Hart, The British Bulldog and Shawn Michaels as well as giving us epic moments and matches that we shall remember forever.
SummerSlam stands in the mind of legends such as Bret Hart, who today admits that he greatest ever match was against the British Bulldog at SummerSlam 1992. Without fail, every SummerSlam, with its own unique tag line and main event added credibility to an anthology of pay per views that will surely stand the test of time.
With that said, did SummerSlam 2012 live up to the hype and the history of all that went before it? From the Staples Centre, Los Angeles California, this was WWE SummerSlam 2012.
WWE Championship Match
Triple Threat Match
C.M Punk (Champion) defeated John Cena and Big Show
Yes, I will say it, WWE actually shocked me at SummerSlam 2012. I thought, that it would lose its nerve and pull the plug on the C.M Punk WWE Championship run and once again hand the gold back to John Cena. Hence, they saw the light and restrained from pulling the trigger on the twilight of Punk’s reign. This makes me believe more than ever now, that it will be Punk that defends at the Royal Rumble against the Rock.
Although, as I say that, I have just caught a glimpse of the poster for Night of Champions in September and it bares the figure of, yes, you guessed it, John Cena. Now that doesn’t mean that Cena will walk out of Night of Champions as WWE Champion yet again, but you have to believe that if WWE wanted anyone else to carry the strap into 2013 then it would have featured them in the prominent placement instead of the walking merchandise stand.
Now I’ve gotten that out of the way, I can say that I was pleasantly surprised by the triple threat at SummerSlam. I thought that it would fall on Punk to carry both Cena and Big Show through a plodding match at a plodding pace, seeing as Big Show moves about as fast as a snail in glue in 2012. But no, the match was decent and even Cena held his own, despite the usual performance. The highlight of the bout was undeniably the spot where Punk applied the Anaconda Vice and Cena applied probably the best looking STF he’s ever done, on the Big Show. Although, granted, the STF only looked great because Punk had Show’s head in the Anaconda Vice. Otherwise I suspect that the STF would have looked its usual shambles.
If you’re not convinced though by now that Punk and A.J – who restarted the match after the Big Show tapped out to both moves – isn’t in league with Punk, then I don’t know what more WWE can do to persuade you. I have no doubt that if it was left to the referee, even though Punk had the Vice on first, then the match and Championship would have been awarded to Cena. This is WWE after all. The only snag I have with the match is that after it was restarted because Big Show tapped out, that Show was allowed to recomplete. Surely, if he tapped out then the match should have been restarted one on one between Cena and Punk. Why give the man who submitted a second chance in the same match?
So where do we go from here? WWE seriously needs to make Big Show take some time off and lose some of the weight. Because he’s no use to anyone while he’s carrying McDonalds stock in his stomach. Big Show did it in 2008 and looked awesome when he returned. It didn’t help that his wrestling skills were just a spoor as when he left, but his physique did look impressive. By keeping him on at the current weight he’s at, WWE are lending a hand in killing him. He’s an abnormally large man anyway because of the deformity that makes him the height he is. Carrying all that weight is doing him no favours at all. Vince saw it with Yokozuna, to the point where WWE encouraged Yoko to put on more weight to add menace to his character. Weight which eventually lent a hand in his death, when he saw a mouse and had heart attack. One is inclined to believe that had Yokozuna weighted three hundred pounds less, then mouse or not, he may have still been with us today.
WWE must learn from its mistakes from the past and not repeat them. I don’t like Big Show but I don’t want to see him in a wooden box anytime soon. If WWE won’t insist on it then Big Show should. It’s no secret to the guy that he’s that weight. If Show had anything about him, he’d leave of his own accord and put his weight before the ring. It’s not like we’d miss him when if he goes. By stepping out of the spotlight, Big Show would not only be saving his own life but allowing someone new to step into the position on the roster that he currently holds. I can’t see a future for Big Show in WWE. He’s had too many chances and done too little with them. Maybe it’s best all around if he’s wished all the very best in his future endeavours.
What can WWE do with John Cena now? They refuse to turn him heel, even though more people got behind Hulk Hogan when he turned and formed the NWO, so I guess by the Night of Champions poster and the whole format for the pay per view, on which every championship has to be defended, Cena will be fighting for the WWE Championship once again. I don’t particularly relish another Cena vs Punk feud, the last one went nowhere fast. Hopefully WWE will book a six pack challenge for Punk’s gold in September and then take Cena out of the title picture all together.
The real question is, if he’s not fighting for the gold then what’s he got to do? There are no challengers that could believably take him on as roll into winter, WWE has programmed its younger and more susceptible audience to expect Cena to demolish and defeat any opponent he comes up against. The Big Show feud has gone on way too long and the Punk feud has been done to death already. Because of WWE’s lack of creating any new headline stars they’ve booked Cena into a corner. No one will pay to see the same stuff again in 2012, thus making John Cena redundant for the rest of the year. It’s their own fault you see. Their pig headedness and unwillingness to take a chance has made their top star unwatchable. Maybe when pay per view figures fall after August and people refuse to pay to see the same old Cena, maybe then WWE will wake up and smell the coffee. Once chance could change the face of WWE forever.
The epic reign continues. C.M Punk as WWE Champion has been one of the high and low points in 2012. The epic feud with Daniel Bryan will be WWE’s best feud of 2012 by a country mile and the stuff A.J, although getting boring and slightly repetitive has at least served, along with his heel turn on the Rock to keep the Punk character fresh. The low points of the title reign was the feud with Chris Jericho that never actually went anywhere and was not a Wrestlemania calibre main event match in any decade and that lack of fresh opponents for Punk to make stars out of.
After the Bryan feud, Punk was stuck for new faces to defend against. This is never more evident in the SummerSlam match itself, where all WWE could think of was Cena and Big Show as opponents. As for what’s next, unless WWE whimps out on us and changes champions at Night of Champions, then it’s safe to say the Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania 29 Main Event will be The Rock vs C.M Punk. Which, if given the time and build up, which it will have, could be great. Until then I foresee the self proclaimed ‘Best in the World’ treading water in WWE. Because who else is there except Cena? Dolph Ziggler isn’t ready! The Miz needs a huge rebuild! Rey Mysterio and Punk fought in 2010 a repeat would be draining! Chris Jericho is leaving to tour with his band and even if he wasn’t we don’t want to see that feud again! Sin Cara, Christian, the undercard aren’t ready to step up! Randy Orton is still serving his punishment for his suspension, which explains his exclusion from SummerSlam 2012.
It’s around this point that WWE will begin to see their mistake in not getting someone else ready to take the mantle of challenger. Jack Swagger would have been perfect. Even Sin Cara if WWE had have pushed him properly. But alas, the spot remains empty and C.M Punk is going to feel a harsh winter coming his way.
World Heavyweight Championship Match
Sheamus (Champion) defeated Alberto Del Rio
Predictable! That’s really I all I have to say about this match. Was there ever any doubt that Sheamus would leave SummerSlam as Champion? After Del Rio’s attack on him in the weeks leading up to the event, WWE signposted this outcome so much, the marquee might as well have read ‘Sheamus will retain his championship, but we just don’t have the talent to make it look otherwise anymore’.
Instead of looking at the decent, yet overtly predictable match, let’s look at what WWE can do to prevent this from happening again. We’ll start off with the Champion. Sheamus, in the build up to SummerSlam actually showed some grit and determination in his feud with Del Rio. In the angles where he had to look like the avenging champion he managed to pull it off with ease. Which makes me ask, why doesn’t he do it all the time? People say we shouldn’t be comparing the wrestler now to those in the attitude era, well I say bullshit. They need comparing so then maybe they’ll go one step further and try to better them.
WWE need to turn Sheamus now. The good guy champion is dull and his grin is overly annoying to the point where people could willingly walk out before his match comes on. I don’t believe, by looking at the pay per view numbers and the television ratings for Smackdown each week that Sheamus is putting bums in seats as a champion should. This is because he doesn’t have the all around edge to his character. Putting it on once a month isn’t convincing us of anything. The best thing WWE could do is bring back Undertaker right about now and have Sheamus turn heel on ‘The Deadman’.
This would create all manner of heat for ‘the Great White’ and prove to us that he’s serious about retaining the championship. That won’t happen of course because The Undertaker is in all sorts of pain still and expecting a child with wife Michelle McCool. Looking around the Smackdown locker room I don’t see anyone else Sheamus can turn on or defend against that would sell a pay per view. There are no challengers that could convincingly step up right now, which puts WWE in a very tricky situation.
Alberto Del Rio, as I’ve stated before could have a second chance at a first impression. Ditch Ricardo Rodriguez and the Alberto Del Rio character and put him under a mask. Under a mask, Del Rio could have a different move set and different place in WWE. Give him his own stable of masked wrestlers and we could see something very special happen in a short space of time. In Mexico, Del Rio was a sensation under a mask with his ariel moves that he’s been stripped of in WWE. Give him that all back and he can be the star WWE needs right now. It wouldn’t be quick, WWE would have build him and his stable of say three other wrestler up. But take Hunico, Camacho and someone who is going nowhere now, put masks on them and bill them as monster wrestlers from Mexico and you have a success on your hands.
Del Rio would be the leader of the group and would war first with Rey Mysterio. Whilst his faction go after Sin Cara. This would give both Sin Cara and Mysterio a new lease of life as well. They could be the Mexican Evolution, except replacing the money side with the desire to dominate WWE. After they’ve dealt with Mysterio and Cara, Del Rio, under a mask would once again target the World Heavyweight Championship, whilst his second in command would go after the Intercontinental Championship and the artists formerly known as Hunico and Camacho would vie for the Tag Team Championships. Once the stable had all the gold they would be seen as a real threat in WWE, should the company build them correctly. After that WWE could initiate a war between WWE superstars and Mexico. WWE could hire in some of the Mexican talent to stage a make shift invasion of WWE.
Should this happen, WWE could then take those who lost their championships to the stable and make them a team to battle off the invaders. The Miz, Sheamus, Kingston and Truth would be catapulted into the limelight and thus be made into the stars WWE needs them to be. Do we see how easy it all is? Of course the stable would lose eventually and disband after a while. When that happened, Hunico and Camacho could stay under masks and compete solely in the tag team division. The second in command could either assume a new identity or WWE could conjure up a story where he’s unmasked as his former character and then that character would be seen as a higher performer than he was before he went under the mask.
Which would just leave Del Rio. You couldn’t unmask him, but you could keep him in the main event under his new guise and WWE would have a bona-fide main eventer. A little patience behind the scenes could go a long way in a short amount of time.
Chris Jericho defeated Dolph Ziggler
I genuinely thought this would be the night Dolph Ziggler would be allowed to shine. Yet for some reason, someone in WWE thought it would diminish the star of Chris Jericho to lose to the future World Heavyweight Champion. Does anyone backstage know how much this loss has damaged Ziggler and his bid for the gold? Let me tell you.
Going into the match, Ziggler was seen as the favourite to win. A victory could have propelled him into the main event quicker than a loss. Beating Chris Jericho would have gotten Ziggler over as a serious main event star and WWE could have then built his challenge going into Survivor Series. However, a loss has diminished that star, even though it was to Chris Jericho, and now WWE have to build Ziggler up again. This has put the whole process back at least three months. I hope WWE are proud of themselves. To have him win Money in the Bank and then trash him so harshly in month following is like WWE trying to show us that cheering for people we like and not people they tell us to like is the wrong thing to do. It’s yet another example of WWE trying to tell us what we want instead of listening to what we tell them. They’re trying to show us that they don’t think Ziggler has what it takes to be a star in WWE by burying him deeper than a corpse. Add to that having Ziggler play the curtain jerker by opening the show and it tells us all we need to know about WWE opinion of Ziggler.
I thought WWE would have learnt its lesson of pushing who it feels like, instead of who we want to pay to see by the sparse main event scene in 2012. The fact that they don’t have anyone new and vibrant to challenge Punk or Sheamus doesn’t seem to have dawned on them yet that once again they’ve failed. Thinking they can bury new stars and then expect us to cheer for them and buy into them when WWE thinks it’s the right time to push them is just making us more infuriated.
Chris Jericho didn’t gain anything from the win. His star has risen as far as it will ever go in WWE. He’s 41 and wants to sing rather than wrestle. Chris Jericho would have been the perfect stepping stone for Ziggler to climb over on his way to the World Heavyweight Championship. Yet the chicken shits at WWE headquarters backed out again. I’m disgusted with Chris Jericho as well. Of all the people in WWE he should know how hard it is to get a push. WCW left him out in favour of Goldberg. Jericho, a so called locker room leader should know that the WWE main event scene needs Ziggler and when the ending to the match was announced, Jericho should have had the balls to stand up and say that he has to lose to Dolph to prepare Ziggler for the future. But he didn’t, he said nothing in fear of being reprimanded. At this point in his career, Chris Jericho doesn’t need WWE as much as WWE need Jericho.
If Jericho were to walk out of WWE, or WWE were to fire him, then Vince knows they’d in an even worse situation with their lack of star talent than they are now. Jericho knew that as well. He also knew what a win for Ziggler, or himself at SummerSlam would have done for Dolph. So why didn’t he stand up for Ziggler and for all the up and comers in the locker room and say so? Was it because he doesn’t have the balls? Or was it because he really does have that big of an ego that he couldn’t bare to allow someone else to have the spotlight on the second biggest card of the year? If Bret Hart had have displayed this kind of selfishness at Wrestlemania 12 or 13 then history might have been totally different.
The match itself was good. Yet what came out of it was utterly disgusting!
Daniel Bryan defeated Kane
At least WWE had the foresight to book the correct decision in this match. Even if they went about it in the wrong way. For me, the message that came out of this match was ‘Daniel Bryan might be the man you want to see, but we don’t think he’s good enough to be champion again’. WWE made it look like Bryan defeated Kane by fluke. After Kane’s fall from grace, WWE should have booked Bryan to go over convincingly.
Once again this tell us that WWE don’t care what we want to see, they just want to book that which they think is correct. And as we know from previous experience, what they think is best, usually results in the entire roster playing second fiddle to John Cena. What WWE thinks best has so far resulted, in a near six month United States Championship run for Santino Marella; ninety percent of the future of the business being buried beyond resurrection and month after month after month of the same matches with the same outcome. I think it’s time they started listening to us.
The fact that there was no real reason for this match to be on the card in the first place, seemed to have slipped WWE’s attention. Either that or they didn’t care. For me, it was just a glorified reason to do something with Kane. They’ve invested so much into the Big Red Bore they feel necessitated to get the bang for their buck. Maybe though, we should feel relieved that WWE didn’t think it best to put Kane over Bryan on the night as well.
Personally, and I know some of you will agree with me, I would have preferred to see Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton at SummerSlam. Orton is trying desperately hard to make up for his suspension to both WWE and the fans that he would have given us a hundred percent on the night and we could have had a classic SummerSlam match, one to rival Bret Hart vs British Bulldog. This could then have been turned into a long term feud which would have seen the roles reversed when Orton turned heel and Bryan turned fully face. On the night that’s not what we got. Again, not what we wanted, but what WWE thought best to give us.
Kane needs something drastic done to his character. If WWE aren’t willing to drop him from the upper mid card scene then I don’t see why we should pay money to watch something we don’t want to see. Dropping Kane into the tag division would pep it up slightly and do wonders for the teams that pinned Kane on their way to a Tag Team Championship slot. Yokozuna, in 1004, used to compete for the WWE Tag Team Championship when he wasn’t in the main event scene and it did wonders for the division, having a former WWE Champion putting the tag team gold at the top of his shopping list. Maybe it would do the same if Kane were put in that role. Don’t allow him to win the gold, but use him as platform for others to elevate their stature in the company.
Daniel Bryan needs Randy Orton right now and Randy Orton needs Daniel Bryan. The fact that Orton was left out of SummerSlam is an indication to how far WWE are willing to push his punishment. The fact that Daniel Bryan was so far down the card is another indication to how WWE and more importantly, Vince himself, see Daniel Bryan in their future plans. Should WWE book the feud then I’m sure that both men would shine.
I do think it’s worth adding though, as a side note. That in times when WWE need and I mean desperately need headline talent, they’re so quick and eager to bury the two men that could help them out of an otherwise impossible situation.
Brock Lesnar w/ Paul Heyman defeated Triple H
‘The Perfect Storm’ was how WWE billed this match going into SummerSlam and credit where credit is due, WWE did hype this for all it was worth. Even when we’d heard everything both men had to say and there wasn’t anymore WWE could have gotten out of the angle, they continued to scrape the barrel dry.
No one will know whether it worked or not until the buy rates for SummerSlam are released. My guess is that WWE went into overkill mode and turned a lot of people off before they turned on. Still, I’m sure that WWE will get a reasonable buy rate for SummerSlam, they always do. And with this match at the very top of the marquee, then it could be the most successful SummerSlam since 1992.
The outcome was never in doubt I don’t think. If Brock Lesnar lost then it would rack up his second loss in his second match back in WWE. I don’t believe that even WWE are that dumb. Plus, having Lesnar demolish Triple H in such convincing fashion sets up a rematch either at Survivor Series, Royal Rumble or Wrestlemania 29 should WWE scrap plans for Lesnar vs Undertaker. Paul Heyman was great at ringside and it was a real treat to see him back where he belongs. I doubt it will be a long term future for Heyman, but whilst Lesnar is here, then hopefully Heyman will be as well.
I do think it would have been a great idea for WWE to have unveiled Heyman as the permanent Raw GM. He has a natural heel side that you just love to hate. Let’s hope his appearance at SummerSlam and in the weeks leading up to it weren’t the last we see of the creator of extreme.
Plaudits have to go to Triple H though for the way he sold Lesnar’s offence. If Cena had have done it this well at Extreme Rules then we’d have been sitting through Lesnar vs Cena 2 and possibly a Punk vs Bryan submission match, which would have been better all around. As the oaf messed it right up and annoyed Lesnar, I can safely say that we won’t be seeing the two in the ring together again, ever. Triple H though, sold like his life depended on it. He tore a page out of the Shawn Michaels book of selling and really made us believe.
Brock Lesnar at last looked like the monster who could end Undertaker’s reign at Wrestlemania 29, which is what WWE were aiming to achieve. The match was a fantastic and one of the few high points of SummerSlam 2012, then again, did we really expect anything less? Triple H’s wrestling career is winding down in 2012 and he’s much more effective in small doses and behind the scenes trying to showcase the talent of tomorrow. Which so far he hasn’t done justice to. Still it’s early days. I do get the sinking feeling thought hat once the novelty of being the second in command wears off Triple H will get the ego started again and want one more shot at the gold at the expense of someone younger.
We won’t see Triple H now until Survivor Series or even the Royal Rumble and the same goes for Brock Lesnar, thanks to his limited date schedule. Which does sort defeat the point of hyping the match so much. You see, the point of putting all that time and effort into promoting a match is to get people to buy it, granted, it is also to get people to buy into your product after the event as well. Usually matches spawn out into angles and feuds in the weeks stemming from said event. Brock Lesnar vs Triple H won’t. It’s over. WWE have spent all that time and effort for very little reward should the ratings come back negative. They’ll get no long term coverage or mileage out of the duo, which sort of makes me think they should have invested their time and money on someone who would have given them all of that.
As far as I can see, looking at it every way possible, yes, the match and feud was great for one night, but all it really accomplished was stealing away the spotlight from two men who could have really made something of it. On that evidence, this might have been a financial success, but it wasn’t a long term one.
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
The Miz (Champion) defeated Rey Mysterio
It seems that’s WWE’s faith in the Miz is rising once again. With his win over Rey Mysterio at SummerSlam, his new look which the beard rocks by the way and his almost new attitude the Miz has suddenly gone from jobber to hot prospect once again. With the new attitude and the designer stubble Miz looks a wholly more professional outfit than he did before he was whisked away in front of the cameras.
Rey Mysterio was the perfect choice of opponent for Miz. Fast, skilful and didn’t need the win to prove something to himself or the WWE Universe. Rey Mysterio did for the Miz what Chris Jericho should have done for Dolph Ziggler. Rey Mysterio helped Miz look good and sold for the Intercontinental Champion. The fact that the Intercontinental Championship was on the line was neither here nor there. This match was all about the Miz and rebuilding what WWE should never have knocked down in the first place.
WWE knew that by having Miz come out on top against someone as well respected and loved as Rey Mysterio would do a lot for him as SummerSlam drew to a close. WWE couldn’t have realistically had Miz drop the WWE Intercontinental Championship to Rey Mysterio and then hope to rebuild him as a challenger in the near future to C.M Punk. It would have diminished his rise significantly if he’d have been defeated so soon after he captured the championship from Christian. Now all that’s left to do is have Miz drop that cocky grin and adopt a more serious approach and he’ll be on the right track.
As far as post SummerSlam goes, I expect this feud to continue and if it doesn’t then WWE need to book Miz against someone who can still make him look like a star. The Miz is almost there on his own, but still needs just a little assistance. Again, a feud for the Intercontinental Championship with Randy Orton would do Miz wonders, especially when he defeated Orton clean in the ring to retain. Of course at some point Miz has to lose the Intercontinental Championship so he can advance into the WWE Championship picture. Fingers crossed then that WWE keep Miz out of the reach of John Cena, otherwise all that hard work and success WWE are having with the Miz will be like pulling a plug out of a full bath.
Can anyone else see this on off partnership that Rey Mysterio has with Sin Cara going south rather quickly? I predict that by the time we roll into Survivor Series, WWE will be booking a Sin Cara heel turn on Mysterio. It might not be such a bad thing, Cara is going down like Justin Bieber on an oil rig at the moment, a get with Mysterio could help him get back into the spotlight.
I would just like to pose this question though, for all my philosophical minions. Rey Mysterio and Randy Orton both serve the same suspension for doing the same thing, namely having a banned substance in their system. Rey Mysterio escapes with a sixty day ban, which once ended, he’s then put straight back into the upper mid card scene without any hint of a burial. Randy Orton is suspended for sixty days, fined wages, rumours were abound that he would lose his job and upon his return to WWE he’s jobbed out and left off of SummerSlam and the mid-card. Does that seem fair to you? I don’t want to say it’s because Mysterio earns more money for WWE through merchandise sales than Orton (Mysterio is the second highest merchandise seller in WWE behind John Cena), but come on. It’s what we’re all thinking.
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Kofi Kingston and R-Truth (Champions) defeated The Prime Time Players
I could never see the Prime Time Players walking away as Tag Team Champions. Because let’s be honest now, the future isn’t bright for the un-dynamic duo. Their first WWE Tag Team Championship Match was slung on free T.V, their managed has just been released from his WWE contract and they lose their second WWE Tag Team Championship Match they lose on the second biggest show of the year. I think WWE are trying to tell them something.
Certainly, the pair aren’t Championship material. We know that. There does exist though, the minority of tag team wrestler who are far more effective as challengers than they ever would be as champions. Prime Time Players fall into this category. They’re not the most talented of people, O’Neil and Young but they do bring a presence to the ring that is undeniable intimidating. WWE can’t logically book them in any more WWE Tag Team Championship matches, but if they use the Prime Time Players wisely in Number One Contender Matches, then the team that go on to defeat them could have their profiles raised significantly.
As for the WWE Tag Team Champions, WWE would be well advised to get them more challengers and quickly. If this division is to flourish then Kofi and Truth need to battle Prime and Epico in a long and exciting feud which would get the world talking about the WWE Tag Team Championships again. Leave them to stagnate on Raw and Smackdown and we’re going to find that small grasp on making the division great again, slipping away.
Epico and Primo are, whether you like it or not the best challengers WWE have right now. They’re better skilled, better prepared and on the whole a better tag team to watch and promote. WWE could book a feud between the Tag Team Champions and Epico and Primo that would flow and promote the WWE Tag Team Division with ease. The key to rebuilding this fallen empire of a division isn’t in trying to push a whole load of tag teams at once so no one gets their opportunity. It’s in the best of that division. Accentuate the positives and hide the negatives. And take my word for it if you have to, Kofi Kingston, R-Truth, Primo and Epico are the very best of the WWE Tag Team Division.
The biggest step forward wasn’t in the result this month, it was in the fact that WWE put the match in a significant spot on a major pay per view.
Pre-Show Match
WWE United States Championship Match
Antonio Cesaro defeated Santino Marella (Champion)
Finally, WWE have ended close to six months of torture and cut Santino adrift from the talent of WWE. I’m not saying that Santino doesn’t have talent, because anyone who saw his debut months in WWE knows he has it in abundance. Which is why he must have been gutted when WWE saddled him with an unfunny character who sounds like he’s burnt his mouth on some hot food rather than Italian.
By swapping the United States Championship, WWE accomplished three things at SummerSlam by swapping the United States Championship from Santino to Antonio Cesaro. 1) WWE dropped a character that is heading no where except the exit door, from a Championship spot 2) It saved the face of the United states Championship so it can, in theory begin building it again and 3) Bumped up a bright young talent who has the skills to go all the way in WWE.
Let’s just hope now that they don’t get bored with Cesaro and the push he’s in line form like they did with Tensai. Yes, remember him? If WWE play their card right they’ve got a great talent and future World Champion on their hands. In Antonio Cesaro, WWE have their ace in the hole.
SummerSlam 2012 wasn’t a riotous success and it sure as hell didn’t stand up to the classics we’ve been given in the past. Maybe though it’s us, expecting too much from a company that have proven it has lost the ability to deliver on a grand stage. Maybe we should expect this kind of inconsistency from WWE in 2012, because they’ve shown us nothing to disprove it.
What really annoyed me about SummerSlam 2012 is that they did a whole lot of things right. Putting the Tag Team Championship Match in a significant spot on a significant pay per view; crowning a new United States Champion in Antonio Cesaro and in theory, setting him up for the future; rebuilding the Miz in such a dramatic fashion, into someone we can buy into again; righting the wrongs of Extreme Rules and not backing out of building C.M Punk vs the Rock by having John Cena walk away with the WWE Championship.
For everything they do right, there’s something they do horrendously wrong. Creating no new stars or challengers at SummerSlam to challenge Punk or Sheamus for the top two Championships; leaving Randy Orton off of the pay per view completely when he could have brought his ‘A’ game and elevated someone; dumping Daniel Bryan down the card and with a far inferior opponent; sacrificing the younger talent again for Lesnar and Triple H and the most heinous and unforgivable of them all, burying Dolph Ziggler yet again, when a victory would have set him on the right track.
When WWE do it well, then they do it better than anyone in the world. When WWE do it wrong they do spectacularly wrong. It not only stands out like a piece of male genitalia shut in a door, it also costs us and them further down the line.
SummerSlam 2012 won’t go down in history as the best, in all but a few ways though it will be known for the rise of new blood.
Onwards and Upwards...
