WWE SummerSlam (August 2006)

Original Airdate: August 20, 2006

From Boston, Massachusetts; Your Hosts are Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Joey Styles, and Tazz

Opening Match: Rey Mysterio v Chavo Guerrero: Slugfest to start, with Rey actually able to dominate, and he sends Chavo to the outside for a baseball slide. He follows with a plancha, but Guerrero dodges, and Mysterio splats. Chavo hits his own plancha before bringing it back in for a modified hotshot into the turnbuckle. Side suplex follows, so Mysterio bails to the outside to break Guerrero's momentum. They end up fighting up onto the top rope, where Guerrero tries a piledriver down to the floor, but Rey counters with a facebuster back into the ring. Rey fires off a dropkick at the knees, and springboard twisting bodypress gets two. Chavo tries to cut him off with some uppercuts, but Mysterio shines his wizard for two. Mysterio with a rana to setup the 619, but the springboard seated senton misses, so Rey uses a rana to send both men tumbling over the top. They slug it out on the floor as Vickie Guerrero joins us to try and stop them from fighting (seems a little late for that, doesn't it?), and the distraction allows Chavo to bring Rey in with the three-alarm rolling vertical suplex. He only manages the first two alarms before Mysterio counters with a rana, which leads to his own three-alarm rolling vertical suplex. Rey goes up, but Vickie accidentally trips him as he climbs, and Chavo capitalizes with a brainbuster to setup a flying frogsplash at 10:59. This was kind of awkward and aimless for the most part, before settling into the family drama stuff. *

ECW World Title Extreme Rules Match: Big Show v Sabu: Sabu attacks with a chair right away, and hits a quick Arabian Skullcrusher for two. Triple-jump moonsault, but Show trips him up as he goes for it, and Sabu lands face-first on the chair. Show hammers away and hits a bodyslam, but Sabu escapes a bearhug with an eyerake. He tries a springboard twisting bodypress, but Show catches him in a fallaway slam, and the challenger ends up on the outside. Show tries to pull him back in, but ends up getting his throat snapped across the top rope, and Sabu hits him with a chair. Sabu then flying dropkicks the chair at the champion for two, and a flying bulldog follows. Sabu springboards off the chair with a bulldog through a table he's propped up in the corner, but a trip to the top rope ends badly when Show brings him down with an electric chair. Show with a 2^nd rope pump-splash, but Sabu wisely rolls to the outside before he can be pinned. Show responds by bringing more plunder into the ring, but Sabu attacks as he sets it up - only to slip off the table, and having the lamely set it back up before DDT'ing Show through it. That looked terrible. Sabu brings another table in, but Show Chokeslams him through it before he can do anything, and we're done at 8:31. * ¼

Randy Orton v Hulk Hogan: Feeling out process to start, and man, Hulk looks ridiculous once his bandana comes off. It's not the baldness, it's the fact that he rocks it so long in the back coupled with the baldness. I get why, as it looks better/more like when he was young when the bandana is on (which is how he generally walks around in public - even in official settings, like a courthouse), but it looks really funny when exposed. If anything it makes him look much older (and balder) then his fifty three years than if he wore it shorter. Hulk puts Randy in the corner for a ten-punch count, and the axe bomber follows. He works some mounted punches, but Randy bails to the outside, and sweeps Hulk's leg from out there. He goes to work on the knee, but a flying bodypress misses, and Hulk goes for the big boot - which also misses. Orton manages a dropkick to setup the RKO, but Hogan has a foot on the ropes as two. Randy thinks he's won it, and makes the classic heel mistake of arguing with the referee about it instead of going for the kill. I never get that. I mean, does the heel expect to talk the referee into it, or something? And, predictably, Hulk starts no-selling everything, and hits the big boot to setup the Legdrop at 10:57. Total junk, but the crowd was into it, and it worked as a blow off to the entertaining angle. DUD

I Quit Match: Ric Flair v Mick Foley: Mick attacks right away, and beats Ric down in the corner to setup the running kneesmash. He follows up by charging with a trashcan, and he pulls out Socko for the Mandible Claw! He lets off to give Flair the chance to quit, but Ric isn't into it. Foley responds by wrapping his hand in barbed wire to try a barbed Claw, but Ric blocks with a testicular claw, and he takes the barbed sock away from Foley for some barbed chops. This is some creative use of barbed wire tonight. It spills to the outside, where Flair whips him into the steps, but Mick retrieves a barbed wire covered board, and busts the Nature Boy open with it. Back in, Foley uses the wire to work the cut, as poor Ric bleeds all over the place. He still won't quit though, so Mick dumps a bag of thumbtacks out onto the mat, and bodyslams Flair onto them. Wow, Ric is not phoning it in tonight, that much is for sure. Not that he ever really does, but this is way above and beyond. He won't quit, so Foley brings a barbed bat into play, and goes to work with that for a bit. Ric manages to shake him off with a mulekick, and he sends Mick into the post - Flair absolutely covered in blood and tacks. It's really nasty. Ric returns fire by beating Foley with the barbed bat, but Foley won't quit. Go for the other ear, Ric! Flair uses the bat to send Foley crashing off the apron to the floor, and Mick is so battered that Melina and some EMTs run out to check on him - the referee stopping the match at 10:25. Flair doesn't want to let him off so easy, however, and insists that they restart. He brings poor Mick back in for a trip into the tacks, and he tries to put his eye out with some wire until Melina throws in a towel on his behalf at 12:19. Nuh-uh, says Ric. He wants to hear it from Foley's lips. Mick is too stupid/brave to oblige, so Flair finds a new avenue - threaten to hit Melina with the bat until Foley quits at 13:12. Wow, that was a lot more hardcore and graphic than I expected. Quite the match there, with both guys bumping like they were in their primes (and beyond, in Flair’s case), and a good storyline to boot. Very intense. *** ¼

World Heavyweight Title Match: Booker T v Batista: Man, this show is just flying by. Feeling out process to start, and Booker tries a spinkick, but gets countered into a front-powerslam for two. Reversal sequence ends in Batista hitting a spinebuster, but Booker escapes the Batista Bomb by bailing to the apron, then snapping his challenger's throat across the top rope when he tries to drag him back in. Booker with a sloppy hotshot, and he grounds the challenger in a chinlock. Batista powers up and hits a belly-to-belly suplex for two, but Booker bails to the outside again to avoid more trouble, and this time cracks the royal scepter over Batista's head when he follows. In, that's worth two, and he works an overhead wristlock. Really, this late into the match? Is Bill Watts booking? Batista escapes, so Booker tries the Harlem Sidekick, but ends up getting crotched on the ropes in the process. Batista fires off a few clotheslines and a sidewalk slam for two, but Booker bails again. Batista, apparently not learning from the previous two times he tried to drag Booker back in, follows - and gets sent into the steps. He ain't too smart, is he? Booker with a missile dropkick for two on the way back in, and the BookEnd only gets two. Axekick misses, and Batista hits a jackhammer for two, but misses a charge, and eats a neckbreaker for two. Batista with a full-nelson slam to setup the Bomb, but Sharmell runs in for the DQ at 10:29. This felt like it took forever to get off the ground, and then the ending sucked. ¾*

Triple H and Shawn Michaels v Vince McMahon and Shane McMahon: The McMahon's send in the Spirit Squad to soften DX up, but HHH and HBK quickly dispatch them. Cue Mr. Kennedy, William Regal, and Finlay to try their luck, but DX take them out as well - though it takes a bit more out of them than the Squad did. Vince and Shane still refuse to get in yet, however, and send Big Show down. Coupled with the Kennedy/Finlay/Regal trio, it's enough to overwhelm Hunter and Shawn, and Show even puts HHH through an announce table with a Chokeslam. Okay, so with Shawn and HHH down, the McMahon's are ready to officially start the match. Vince goes to work on Shawn with a bodyslam, then tags Shane in to unload some jabs. Back to Vince for a clothesline, and HHH plays dead out in the rubble of the announce table. The McMahon's hit a tandem backelbow, and Shane delivers a three-alarm no-release inverted DDT. Tandem vertical suplex follows, as the McMahon's continue to toy with Michaels. Getting bored, the McMahon's start pulling out famous tag team finishers - running Shawn through the Demolition Decapitator, the Hart Attack, and the Doomsday Device, but only managing a two count! Shawn catches a second wind and hits both McMahon's with a double jumping clothesline, just in time to get the tag to a recovering HHH. He comes in hot on both of his in-laws, and Roseanne Barr the door! Spinebuster on Shane and a bodyslam on Vince setup a flying elbowdrop from Shawn, and Michaels sends Shane over the top with a clothesline. That leaves Vince alone with the Game, so Umaga shows up, and takes HHH out. Unfortunately for him, Kane shows up before he can polish DX off, and he brawls to the back with Umaga. HHH is still down from the attack, however, and Vince gets a dramatic two count out of it. Shane tries to finish with the Coast to Coast, but Michaels pops in with a Superkick to knock him out of the air. Vince gets one too, and HHH adds the Pedigree to finish at 13:02. This was pure sports entertainment with the loads of overbooking, and such, and while it wasn't a great wrestling match by any means, it worked for what it was meant to be. * ½

Main Event: WWE Title Match: Edge v John Cena: John blitzes him in the corner to start, and hits a quick backelbow for two. Belly-to-belly suplex gets two, but a charge in the corner misses, and John goes bumping out of the ring. Lita's top is something else tonight. Actually, 'something' may not be an accurate description, because it's a lot closer to 'nothing.' Edge hits a dropkick and knocks Cena off of the apron into the barricade, but John beats the count. Edge is ready with a pair of elbowdrops for two, and a spinheel kick is worth two. Cena manages to whip him into the corner to setup a fisherman's buster for two, but Edge launches him over the top during a criss cross to shrug off the potential comeback. John beats the count back in, but quickly misses a bodypress, and Edge clotheslines him for two. The champ works a chinlock, but Cena escapes, so Edge throws a big boot for two, and hits a flying clothesline for two. Edge tries a reverse chinlock, but Cena powers out of that, and we've got a double knockout spot. Cena recovers first with the Throwback, so Lita passes Edge a chair, but he doesn't want to use it. Miiiiissssttaaaakkeeee! Cena makes his usual comeback, but Edge counters the FU with the Impaler for two. He goes back to the top, but here comes John with an FU off the top - Edge countering to an electric chair, but countered back with a victory roll for two. Edge with a 2^nd rope flying bodypress, but Cena rolls through into the FU - Edge able to block. Lita tries getting involved, but it backfires, and Cena schoolboys him for two. FU, but Edge counters with the Edge-o-Matic for two. Spear looks to finish, but Cena counters with a drop-toehold into the STFU - only for Edge to gets the ropes. Lita slips him a pair of knux in the meantime, but Cena ducks a swing into the FU! That brings Lita in to dog pile onto Edge's shoulders to prevent John from hitting the move, and Edge capitalizes by bashing him with the knux for the cheap pin at 15:41. This was pretty good, as they got right down to business, and delivered a strong performance, but it felt like a TV match in a lot of ways. ***

BUExperience: A pretty forgettable SummerSlam. Very little of consequence going on here, with only three title matches booked (in a promotion that had, like, ten active titles at the time), no title changes, and no blow away great matches or angles. This felt more like an episode of RAW than the second biggest show of the year.

DUD