OORick
Intellectual Savior of the Masses 
Posts 3454
Registered 12-27-2001 Location - The Birthplace of Aviation Member Is Offline Mood: Flyered Up
|
| posted on 8-21-2016 at 10:27 PM |
|
|
PPV DISCUSSION: SummerSlam 2016
Wrestling Fatigue is real, and WWE is going to test our endurance tonight, with a show that is actually already underway as I type this. The
SummerSlam Preshow started at 5pm, with a 7pm official start time for the 4 hour PPV, proper.
To say nothing of WWE's new-found habit of running past the 11pm scheduled end time for shows....
It's not that SummerSlam doesn't have a lot to recommend it, but after last night's excellent NXT event, and knowing that
we've still got 5 hours of TV coming up the next two nights, it's kind of a lot.
Here's the official card:
Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton (15 Years in the Making)
Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler (WWE Title Match)
Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor (Universal Title Match)
John Cena vs. AJ Styles
Rusev vs. Roman Reigns (US Title Match)
The New Day vs. Dr. Anderson & Dr. Gallows (Tag Team Title Match)
Enzo & Cass vs. JeriKO (Old Fashioned Grudge Match)
Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte (Women's Title Match)
Miz vs. Apollo Crews (IC Title Match)
Cesaro vs. Sheamus (Best of Seven, Match 1)
Becky/Naomi/Carmella vs. Nattie/Alexa/????
Sami Zayn/Neville vs. the Dudleys
American Alpha, the Usos, and the Hype Bros vs. Breezango, the Vaudevillains, and the Ascension
Some combination of 2, 3, or 4 of those last four matches will be on the 2 hour preshow, with the bottom two the only ones confirmed at this point.
It's gonna be a long night....
Rick
|
|
|
the goon
Sister Act 
Posts 5813
Registered 3-13-2004 Location Charlotte, NC Member Is Offline Mood:
|
| posted on 8-21-2016 at 10:55 PM |
|
|
This SummerSlam is kind of weird, because on paper the card looks fantastic, but I think everyone would agree that the buildup has been somewhat
lacking. I think that can be attributed to the brand split happening a month beforehand though, and both RAW and Smackdown kind of finding their
footing at the moment. Either way, I'm predicting tonight's show delivers.
My picks:
Brock Lesnar vs Randy Orton: Some of us have been waiting for this pairing for awhile now and I hope it's not a letdown like
Brock/Ambrose was at WrestleMania. I like the fact that it's Brock going against someone who is generally portrayed as a badass on WWE TV,
instead of him facing someone who's an underdog like Ambrose, Rollins, etc. Even though it's hard to pick against Brock, I am kind of
thinking Orton wins here, whether it be clean or through shenanigans. And a fun fact: Brock has not been pinned cleanly since coming back to the WWE
over four years ago (his only pinfall losses have been in No DQ matches). With all that said, I think Brock should win and the WWE should ride
the wave of the unstoppable monster for as long as they can and/or Brock wants.
Dean Ambrose vs Dolph Ziggler: I'll be curious to hear what the presumably smark-heavy crowd's reaction will be to this pairing and
who they get behind. Even though most of us are clamoring for a Dolph heel turn, I'm gonna say Ambrose retains, no post-match heel shenanigans
from Ziggler; there's always the rematch and/or Smackdown for that.
Seth Rollins vs Finn Balor: To establish legitimacy to the new Universal title, I think Rollins needs to go over here. If Balor wins, it will
just kind of be like "hey, that guy from NXT is the champion on RAW." Whereas Rollins winning will give it a bit more gravitas, since he's a
two-time WWE champion and the top heel of the RAW brand. So I'm going Rollins here.
John Cena vs AJ Styles: Easy pick for the match that could steal the show and I think the crowd will be hot for it. Given that most recent Cena
feuds have involved him losing the first match and then winning the next two, I see no reason they deviate here, so LOLCENAWINS! Actually, he
hasn't won much in 2016, so I'm cool with it.
Rusev vs Roman Reigns: This is another one I'll be curious to see what the crowd reaction is. Will they break from what the WWE wants and
cheer the evil foreigner? Probably. I actually think this could be a solid match though and since Reigns won on Monday, I'll pick the evil
foreigner to win.
Sasha Banks vs Charlotte: Assuming they want to establish Sasha as the champion, she's winning here, so I pick her. They'll
definitely have to bring their "A Game" though, to follow up Bayley/Asuka from last night.
Miz vs Apollo Crews: This could be a fun match, though I will say that Crews really hasn't done much for me yet outside of the ring, as
he just kind of seems like a bland babyface. I'll go with Miz retaining, though it wouldn't shock me if Crew won the belt.
New Day vs Anderson/Gallows: I know there's the whole "Big E is injured" storyline and it's going to be two on two, but I just
don't see the New Day dropping the belts here. So I pick them to retain.
JeriKO vs Enzo/Cass: Okay, I'm really curious to see what the crowd reaction will be here. On the one hand, Jericho/Owens have
been mega-entertaining and will presumably be way over with tonight's smark crowd. On the other hand, Enzo and Cass are in their backyard and
are both highly over themselves, so it will be fun to see which way the crowd goes. And you could flip a coin here, but I'll go with JeriKO to
steal it.
[Edited on 8-21-2016 by the goon]
|
|
|
Flash
The Rowdy One
Posts 2878
Registered 4-22-2005 Location Brantford, Ontario Member Is Offline Mood:
|
| posted on 8-21-2016 at 11:50 PM |
|
|
As mentioned; tonight is a bit weird in that it looks like there' some good stuff on paper, but in the build up the WWE kind of dropped the
ball... I'm going to take a bit of a different look at tonight and see instead as being like the first season of a TV show... While we've
known most of these guys for years, I can see this as being a feeling out PPV where it's more about establishing a new order and landscape for
everyone... The hard-reset in a way (with plenty of lingering threads dangling out there from pre-brand split)
Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton (15 Years in the Making)
Of all the spots the WWE dropped the ball on building anything, this would be it; which is a shame, because there were a number of different things
the WWE could have done with this.... RKO hunting a legend again, finally getting his shot in the big match befitting his years, status, and
accomplishment... to even Brock being confident, but a bit uncertain... Instead came across as bit of a mis-matched marriage of convenience... RKO was
back, Brock needed something to do in order to justify his big cheque.... away we go.
What could make this interesting is both guys have something to prove; Orton's been in big matches sure, but he's never got the attraction
spot... Brock won in the UFC, but that was tainted by the PED fallout where (and I'm sure he doesn't care) he's being publicly
targeted by UFC and WWE talent... Still; he's a professional, so I'm sure he'd rather have the show stealing positive headlines
standout with some impressive physicality than his current headlines.
Not sure about the winner... Orton is more full time, and it wouldn't hurt to have a big time rub by going over Lesnar on his resume which could
help others on the roster who will get the chance to play with Randy, but it's unlikely the WWE would ever throw them into a match with Lesnar.
So let's go with Orton winning... high hopes for this one.
Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler (WWE Title Match)
Not a lot to say about this one; I think both guys want to steal the show... Ambrose seems to be in the dog house after comments on the SCSA podcast,
and I think they messed up his winning the title by putting it on him when he was maybe at his lowest... So a bigger win down the line would be good
for a guy who's probably better chasing, and the show/brand split could use a nice attention getting start- so Ziggler grabbing a controversial
sneaky win wouldn't hurt.
Ziggler wins by heinous means.
Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor (Universal Title Match)
Balor winning could be a great start to a main event level career... and by virtue of the NXT shows we don't necessarily have to have the usual
feeling out, earning your spot period... on the flip side, Rollins is stability, and pretty damned awesome... whoever takes the title tonight needs to
hold it for a bit to help establish it, so I think Rollins lends himself a bit better to that than Balor does right now.
Rollins wins.
John Cena vs. AJ Styles
Hhhmmm.. tough one, but I'm going to go with Styles here... neither guy "needs it" and I really think this is going to come down to how the
rest of the heel/face win/loss column goes as a way of balancing the books. Honestly the brand split might have given this feud some new life... So
I'd fully expect these two to lock up again in some way en route to Wrestlemania.
Styles wins... but honestly, flip a coin.
Rusev vs. Roman Reigns (US Title Match)
Both guys could use this win, but Reigns is established, and Rusev needs a big win to solidify his renewed push... Reigns will survive the loss, and
honestly him taking one on the chin for a while might help him long term.
Rusev wins... but they'll still take some pains to protect Reigns; both for the long term, and because this could be a long term multi-year
feud.
The New Day vs. Dr. Anderson & Dr. Gallows (Tag Team Title Match)
....are we done yet? Man there's a lot of matches... Let's go with Bullet club here... news guys could use a title run, and New day could
use some thing to do.
Enzo & Cass vs. JeriKO (Old Fashioned Grudge Match)
I'll say Enzo and Cass make a good showing; and I'm tempted to call for an upset but really... why would the two grumpy Canucks stick
together if they are losing? JeriKO is entertaining, and what's more a deadly in ring pairing that should make for an even more entertaining
feud when they break up in a few months and start feuding with one another.
JeriKO wins.
Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte (Women's Title Match)
Charlotte's rumoured to be wanting some time off... so Sasha is probably winning.. if these ladies get enough time, and no reason they
shouldn't, this could be a good one.
Sasha wins... maybe even via her own cheating ways.
Miz vs. Apollo Crews (IC Title Match)
Miz wins... him and Maryse are rocking it. Crews could use the attention, but it would mean more later once he's a bit more established.
Cesaro vs. Sheamus (Best of Seven, Match 1)
On right now... I'll give it to Cesaro... no take backs.
I will say this though... I think it was a mistake to put it on the pre-show. Probably 2 or three of these matches are going to be given away on free
TV, and best of 7 matches can be tough to do in terms of keeping them interesting, so I think starting this out on a pre-show that few care about
makes it seem less important. Better to start them on a big stage so this feels like a big feud.
Becky/Naomi/Carmella vs. Nattie/Alexa/????
Let's give it to the faces... poor Becky... will she ever not be buried?
Sami Zayn/Neville vs. the Dudleys
This already happened... it was decent, if unspectacular. Honestly, I just don't see money in Neville... Talent for sure, but I just don't
care about him... more importantly, I haven't been given a reason to care about him.
American Alpha, the Usos, and the Hype Bros vs. Breezango, the Vaudevillains, and the Ascension
Let's go with the faces here... piss break match that I'm surprised wasn't relegated to the pre-show.
|
|
|
bigfatgoalie
The Man
Posts 6237
Registered 1-16-2002 Location Stratusphere Member Is Offline Mood: Stratusfied
|
| posted on 8-22-2016 at 12:26 AM |
|
|
Pop-up code breaker? Nice.
Win for Jeri-KO seems odd, but Enzo can get him and Cass back in the title picture with a single promo, and the longer they team, the better the break
up of Owens and Jericho will be.
|
|
|
Paddlefoot
Rocco Rock of Jabroni
Posts 5915
Registered 1-19-2008 Location Scarsguard Member Is OnlineMood: Finally Deleted
|
| posted on 8-22-2016 at 12:51 AM |
|
|
BOOOOOOOOO! that woman! 
You know, everyone says it's not supposed to make sense, like that's the whole point, dude. And I'm just saying, you know,
that's like an excuse for lazy storytelling. Just don't sell me shite and tell me it's gold, all right? I might be stoned, but
I'm not high. You know what I mean?
- Cassidy from Preacher, commenting on The Big Lebowski and/or professional wrestling
|
|
|
DKBroiler
SpeciASSl CUMedian
Posts 1303
Registered 1-25-2008 Location One Inch Right of Philly on a Map Member Is Offline Mood: Old
|
| posted on 8-22-2016 at 12:52 AM |
|
|
Pretty crazy Woman's Championship match. Glad they didn't kill each other.
Get off my lawn.
|
|
|
Paddlefoot
Rocco Rock of Jabroni
Posts 5915
Registered 1-19-2008 Location Scarsguard Member Is OnlineMood: Finally Deleted
|
| posted on 8-22-2016 at 01:04 AM |
|
|
I need a Maryse-wife in my life, to be there to encourage me on as I'm doing bad things to others.
You know, everyone says it's not supposed to make sense, like that's the whole point, dude. And I'm just saying, you know,
that's like an excuse for lazy storytelling. Just don't sell me shite and tell me it's gold, all right? I might be stoned, but
I'm not high. You know what I mean?
- Cassidy from Preacher, commenting on The Big Lebowski and/or professional wrestling
|
|
|
the goon
Sister Act
Posts 5813
Registered 3-13-2004 Location Charlotte, NC Member Is Offline Mood:
|
| posted on 8-22-2016 at 01:15 AM |
|
|
I totally didn't realize the show was starting at 7:00 (EST), so I turned it on at 8:00 and was wondering why Cena/AJ was opening the show.
Nash is only a few inches bigger than JBL and depending on how stiff he gets Punk should be able to take it. -JB King, meant in a totally non-sexual
way
|
|
|
Paddlefoot
Rocco Rock of Jabroni
Posts 5915
Registered 1-19-2008 Location Scarsguard Member Is OnlineMood: Finally Deleted
|
| posted on 8-22-2016 at 01:24 AM |
|
|
Nice cutter by Cena. Fuck. What the hell is he up to tonight, borrowing all the moves from the alumni and women's divisions? 
[Edited on 8/22/2016 by Paddlefoot]
You know, everyone says it's not supposed to make sense, like that's the whole point, dude. And I'm just saying, you know,
that's like an excuse for lazy storytelling. Just don't sell me shite and tell me it's gold, all right? I might be stoned, but
I'm not high. You know what I mean?
- Cassidy from Preacher, commenting on The Big Lebowski and/or professional wrestling
|
|
|
Gobshite
The Great One 
Posts 3261
Registered 1-30-2004 Location Right here, in Birmingham, England!! Member Is Offline Mood:
|
| posted on 8-22-2016 at 01:25 AM |
|
|
Yeah, now the network accounts for 90% of people watching, they can do as they please with start times, so summerslam has been bumped up to a 4hr
show. You've missed a good tag match, a good women's match, and an average IC title match (with Maryse looking hot as hell, as usual).
I have six invites I can crash out for membership to pwtorrents.net - if you want one, U2U me!
|
|
|
williamssl
Steers and Queers
Posts 7164
Registered 1-11-2004 Location Hippieville Member Is Offline Mood: Fuck USC
|
| posted on 8-22-2016 at 01:31 AM |
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by Paddlefoot
I need a Maryse-wife in my life, to be there to encourage me on as I'm doing bad things to others.
(me too)
EDIT:
quote:
Originally posted by Gobshite
Yeah, now the network accounts for 90% of people watching, they can do as they please with start times, so summerslam has been bumped up to a 4hr
show.
Last year marked the beginning of 4-hour SummerSlams.
[Edited on 8-22-2016 by williamssl]
Don't Mess With Texas
|
|
|
Gobshite
The Great One
Posts 3261
Registered 1-30-2004 Location Right here, in Birmingham, England!! Member Is Offline Mood:
|
| posted on 8-22-2016 at 01:37 AM |
|
|
I completely forgot last years was 4 hours too. My bad.
AJ vs Cena- fuck me, he lost clean! Like, 100% clean. When did that last happen? WM28?
I have six invites I can crash out for membership to pwtorrents.net - if you want one, U2U me!
|
|
|
bigfatgoalie
The Man
Posts 6237
Registered 1-16-2002 Location Stratusphere Member Is Offline Mood: Stratusfied
|
| posted on 8-22-2016 at 01:38 AM |
|
|
MOTYC from Cena and AJ.
And Mauro made it feel different, and a big time match. First time in a while I've felt a call elevated the specialness match.
|
|
|
CM Crunk
Man of a Thousand Holds
Posts 1346
Registered 7-20-2011 Location The Magical Land of Magglerock Member Is Offline Mood: Deemon-Kayng
|
| posted on 8-22-2016 at 01:40 AM |
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by Gobshite
I completely forgot last years was 4 hours too. My bad.
AJ vs Cena- fuck me, he lost clean! Like, 100% clean. When did that last happen? WM28?
I want to say against Bryan at Summerslam a few years ago.
Twitter and Instagram
Check out my Wrasslin Doodlez Thread
|
|
|
Gobshite
The Great One
Posts 3261
Registered 1-30-2004 Location Right here, in Birmingham, England!! Member Is Offline Mood:
|
| posted on 8-22-2016 at 01:42 AM |
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by CM Crunk
I want to say against Bryan at Summerslam a few years ago.
I need to seriously lay off the rum tonight, it's frying my brain! He also lost 100% clean against Lesnar two years ago. Doh.
I have six invites I can crash out for membership to pwtorrents.net - if you want one, U2U me!
|
|
|
GodEatGod
Showstopper 
Posts 937
Registered 1-14-2004 Location Monroe, LA Member Is Offline Mood: Weird
|
| posted on 8-22-2016 at 01:47 AM |
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by Gobshite
quote:
Originally posted by CM Crunk
I want to say against Bryan at Summerslam a few years ago.
I need to seriously lay off the rum tonight, it's frying my brain! He also lost 100% clean against Lesnar two years ago. Doh.
Still a big deal. In part because he'd already had a dirty loss to AJ and habitually you expect Cena to take the next part. I imagine they do a
third round at HiaC and Cena wins there (and he should, to settle the feud).
"It is an impressively arrogant move to conclude that just because you don't like something, it is empirically not good. I don't like
Chinese food, but I don't write articles trying to prove it doesn't exist." - Tina Fey
|
|
|
williamssl
Steers and Queers
Posts 7164
Registered 1-11-2004 Location Hippieville Member Is Offline Mood: Fuck USC
|
| posted on 8-22-2016 at 01:59 AM |
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by bigfatgoalie
MOTYC from Cena and AJ.
And Mauro made it feel different, and a big time match. First time in a while I've felt a call elevated the specialness match.
Agree and agree. That was great.
Do we get to officially retire forever the "Cena always goes over" argument?
Don't Mess With Texas
|
|
|
janerd75
The Rowdy One 
Posts 2682
Registered 1-28-2013 Location Enward Central Member Is Offline Mood: Bauce
|
| posted on 8-22-2016 at 02:02 AM |
|
|
Jew Day Rocks. Because Jon Stewart. You are very welcome.
The science is settled: Fuck Everybody
|
|
|
CheMateo
Showstopper 
Posts 686
Registered 1-9-2008 Location Charming, Ca. Member Is Offline Mood: Ponce De Leon
|
| posted on 8-22-2016 at 02:02 AM |
|
|
Going back and watching Sasha/Charlotte as I had missed it. Christ! Has Charlotte always been so reckless? Charlotte dropped Sasha on the top
turnbuckle so haphazardly and Sasha landed horribly on the back of her neck.
I read that Banks lost the title and has been removed from upcoming shows until near the end of September. I wonder if Sasha is injured or getting
suspended.
Awesome hurricarana reversal from the Razor's Edge on the turnbuckle!
Styles/Cena was another stellar exhibition. I knew Styles was going to go over. It would make no sense for Styles to lose if Vince is pushing him
forward with Cena phasing out. These two have terrific chemistry.
Cena is still a bit sloppy crude with some of his moveset but I love the effort Cena puts in and throws in random moves like that awesome Diamond
Cutter. I am surprised fans still boo Cena as much as they do. Cena is so unappreciated and not nearly as lame as Rome.
[Edited on 8-22-2016 by CheMateo]
|
|
|
Paddlefoot
Rocco Rock of Jabroni
Posts 5915
Registered 1-19-2008 Location Scarsguard Member Is OnlineMood: Finally Deleted
|
| posted on 8-22-2016 at 02:14 AM |
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by CheMateo
I read that Banks lost the title and has been removed from upcoming shows until near the end of September. I wonder if Sasha is injured or getting
suspended.
Yeah, they probably wouldn't release that kind of info about her being pulled from touring in the middle of a show if they hadn't popped
her on a pre-show test. Anyone think the Becky burial was bad. Probably won't see Sasha win another match until RR and maybe not even then.
Vince is probably getting ready to murder some of these morons by now after the nightmare of the last few days.
You know, everyone says it's not supposed to make sense, like that's the whole point, dude. And I'm just saying, you know,
that's like an excuse for lazy storytelling. Just don't sell me shite and tell me it's gold, all right? I might be stoned, but
I'm not high. You know what I mean?
- Cassidy from Preacher, commenting on The Big Lebowski and/or professional wrestling
|
|
|
DKBroiler
SpeciASSl CUMedian
Posts 1303
Registered 1-25-2008 Location One Inch Right of Philly on a Map Member Is Offline Mood: Old
|
| posted on 8-22-2016 at 02:18 AM |
|
|
Have you ever played Madden and thought that the video game announcer wasn't watching the same game as you?
That's David Otunga.
Get off my lawn.
|
|
|
The Hitcher
Fella
Posts 371
Registered 12-25-2008 Location Manchester, UK Member Is Offline Mood: GLORIOUS!
|
| posted on 8-22-2016 at 02:25 AM |
|
|
Eh Sasha could've been an audible, she looked legit fucked up.
|
|
|
bigfatgoalie
The Man
Posts 6237
Registered 1-16-2002 Location Stratusphere Member Is Offline Mood: Stratusfied
|
| posted on 8-22-2016 at 02:26 AM |
|
|
So can we now move on to Ambrose vs Styles? Dolp can go feud with Miz, or Corbin, or something else far away from the title.
|
|
|
gobbledygooker
Sister Act 2
Posts 9094
Registered 12-17-2002 Location Charlotte, NC Member Is Offline Mood:
|
| posted on 8-22-2016 at 02:28 AM |
|
|
Anyone else think Cena-AJ may have just exhausted the crowd for the rest of the night? They were pretty dead for the New Day/Club match, which was a
perfectly-acceptable "catch your breath" match but Ambrose-Ziggler definitely suffered. I'm interested to see how they bounce back for the
heavy hitters.
Part of me wants to believe Cena and AJ went out there and said "Let's do something that's impossible to follow." They may have
succeeded!
"Hulk Hogan have the sex with some dumb bitch on the TV. The girl smart if she make the $$ from his bald ass but she also desperate to have sex with
the howdy doody like Hulk Hogan. He worse than Mel Gibson and I think now %10000 he prove he have grasshopper dick and raisin balls." - The Iron
Sheik
|
|
|
scott19buckeye
Creepy Little Bastard
Posts 55
Registered 12-16-2013 Member Is Offline Mood:
|
| posted on 8-22-2016 at 02:29 AM |
|
|
That match between Ambrose/Ziggler was off. The crowd was dead and it ended like there was an audible; like the show-runners were done watching it.
The match wasn't bad but it was very smackdown-rific. Hopefully Ambrose's next feud is better. Definitely not worthy of Summerslam.
|
|
|
