WWE SummerSlam (August 2012)

 

Original Airdate: August 19, 2012

From Los Angeles, California; Your Hosts are Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler

Opening Match: Chris Jericho v Dolph Ziggler: Ziggler forces him into a chase at the bell, but it backfires when Jericho tags him with a jumping backelbow. Chris takes him into the corner for some chops, and a 2nd rope punch leads to mounted punches. A criss cross allows Jericho another chop, but Ziggler blocks a suplex, and delivers a stomachbreaker to go after Jericho’s taped abdomen. Ziggler unloads in the corner, but Chris throws chops to fight out, and he backdrops Dolph over the top. Chris tries the springboard dropkick on the apron, but Ziggler ducks, and Jericho wipes out on the floor. Inside, that gets Ziggler a two count, and he puts Chris in a mat-based abdominal stretch. Into the corner for a splash for two, and an inverted DDT gets another two. Jericho comes back with a schoolboy for two, but Ziggler quickly cuts him off with a hangman clothesline. Another corner splash, but Jericho sidesteps, and uses a baseball slide. Chris looks to leverage a comeback, but Ziggler cuts him off again, and uses a corner whip. The charge in gets blocked, however, allowing Jericho a 2nd rope axehandle. Clothesline, but Dolph dodges, and uses a rocker dropper for two. He puts the boots to Chris, so Jericho sweeps the leg, and goes for the Walls, but Ziggler blocks. Jericho responds with an enzuigiri for two, but misses a charge in the corner, and Ziggler gets a sleeper locked. He wears Chris down before climbing the ropes, but Jericho recovers with a rana off the top for two. Ziggler quickly fires back with a DDT for two, and both guys stagger up for a slugfest, won by Chris with a bulldog. Lionsault, but Ziggler gets his knees up to block, and delivers the Zig Zag for two. Chris pops back up with a codebreaker, so Ziggler rolls out of the ring to avoid getting covered. Chris drags him back in, but Dolph flashes an inside cradle for two. He tries a charge, but he’s desperate now, and misses. That allows Chris to get the Liontamer on, and Ziggler taps at 13:05. A really good opener here, with nonstop back-and-forth action, and felt like it had stakes, even without any title on the line. *** ½ 

Kane v Daniel Byran: I like the blue ring posts they have here. Reminds me of the classic ones from the 80s and 90s. Byran tries sticking and moving early on, but Kane is surprisingly quick. Kane lands a seated dropkick for two, and a big boot gets two. Byran manages to dropkick at the knee to slow him down, and Daniel hammers on the part for a bit, but Kane gets sick of him, and dumps him over the top. Byran manages to fight him off and hit a tope, and he hits a dive on the way back in, ahead of Yes kicks. Kane fights back with a flying clothesline, but Byran blocks a chokeslam. He tries snapping Kane’s throat across the top rope, but gets blocked, and Kane pounds him down in the corner. Byran goes for the arm, but can’t get a hold on, so he goes up for a flying headbut drop, but Kane catches him in a chokeslam. Tombstone, but Byran counters with an inside cradle for the pin at 8:03. Eh. Not terrible, but nothing to it, really. I expected something better. ¾*

WWE Intercontinental Title Match: Miz v Rey Mysterio: They feel each other out to start, with Rey dominating, and hooking a cradle for two. Miz responds by punching him in the brain, and a criss cross ends with the champion chucking Rey out of the ring. Rey responds with a dropkick when Miz goes after him, but Miz drops him on the barricade before the challenger can mount a comeback. Inside, that gets Miz two, and he goes to a chinlock. Rey escapes, so Miz hits him with a torture rack drop for two, and the champion unloads with mounted punches for two. Miz works a cravat, so Rey tries flying around, but gets caught in a sitout powerbomb for two. Seated big boot, but Rey ducks, and hooks a cradle for two. A superkick gets two, and a DDT gets another two. Rey goes upstairs, so Miz tries perplexing him, but gets blocked. Rey finishes his dive with a flying headscissors, and the 619 sets up a flying headbutt drop, but Miz dodges. He looks for the full-nelson facebuster, but Rey counters with a victory cradle for two. He tries a charge, but Miz blocks with a pop-up into the top turnbuckle, and the full-nelson facebuster finishes at 8:05. Paint-by-numbers level stuff here. *

World Heavyweight Title Match: Sheamus v Alberto Del Rio: They spill to the outside right away, and Sheamus tags him with a boot, but gets reversed into the announce table. Inside, Del Rio unloads in the corner, but wastes time, and eats a swinging neckbreaker for two. Sheamus unloads in the corner now, and a rolling fireman’s carry slam gets him two. Crucifix powerbomb, but Del Rio blocks, so Sheamus tries an electric chair, but Del Rio blocks that as well. He goes for the cross-armbreaker, but Sheamus blocks. Sheamus tries for the Brogue kick, but Del Rio blocks, and he dumps the champion to the outside. Del Rio sends him into the steps out there to injure the leg, and the challenger delivers a flying axehandle for two on the way back in. Chinlock, but Sheamus escapes, so Del Rio throws a big boot for two. He uses a ropechoke ahead of another chinlock, but Sheamus escapes, so Alberto throws a knee. A kneedrop gets him two, and he goes in for the kill, but Sheamus makes a comeback. Del Rio dodges him in the corner, however, and a armbuster gets the challenger two. DDT, but Sheamus blocks, so Del Rio goes to the cross-armbreaker instead. Sheamus muscles his way out of the hold, so Alberto tries a charge, but Sheamus is ready with a Samoan drop for two. Sheamus keeps it going with forearm blows across the chest, but gets into trouble in the corner, and Del Rio lands a corner big boot for two. Ricardo tries passing him a shoe, but Sheamus gets hold of it, and whacks the challenger to set up a uranage backbreaker for the pin at 11:18 - the referee missing Del Rio’s foot being on the ropes. So, I’m guessing that sets up another rematch the next month, which feels like really stretching it for this series. I found this to be a lot more engaging than the boring match they had at Money in the Bank the month before, though. * ¼ 

WWE Tag Team Title Match: Kofi Kingston and R-Truth v The Prime Time Players: Truth and Darren Young start,and they feel each other out. Truth lands a legdrop for two, but Young manages a tag to Titus O’Neil. Titus manages to pound Truth down for a front-facelock, but Truth escapes, and lands a spinheel kick. Tag to Kofi, and he hits the Boom Drop right away, but a distraction from Young allows Titus to bail before getting nailed with the Trouble in Paradise. One thing I really dislike about this era: every move has a special name. Each guy should have a limit of two. The challengers take control with a double team on the outside, and they work Kingston over. Truth gets the hot tag and runs wild, and a sitout gourdbuster on Young gets two. That draws Titus in, and Roseanne Barr the door! Kofi hits Titus with a dive on the outside to keep him out of things, and Truth drops Young with a DDT at 7:05. Another paint-by-numbers level effort. ½*

WWE Title Triple Threat Match: CM Punk v John Cena v Big Show: Cole goes on a rant about how Punk hasn’t actually gotten to ‘main event’ a pay per view since December, despite being champion the whole time. Kind of funny, considering that was apparently one of the real life gripes that led to Punk leaving the promotion in early 2014. Show knocks everyone around early on, so Punk and Cena try working together, but Show reverses a double suplex. Punk manages to clip the leg to put Show down, and he hammers him with a series of strikes. He stupidly tries a GTS, but that ends badly. Cena tries an Attitude Adjustment, but Punk knocks John over to block it - which is pretty stupid, frankly. Why not let him exert energy and hurt your other opponent? Hit him after! Show spears Cena for two, and he continues tossing both around at will. Cena manages to get Show down to set up the Five Knuckle Shuffle, but Punk blocks him again. What a dumbass. No wonder he didn’t headline. I can assure you his heroes Bret Hart and Randy Savage (both referenced in Punk’s awesome gear choice tonight) would never be so psychologically off base. Punk with a flying elbowdrop for two, but Cena takes him out, and gets Show in an STF. Show gets to his feet in the hold to escape, so Cena tries a 2nd rope bodypress, but gets caught in a bodyslam. Punk hits Show with a 2nd rope clothesline, and he adds a series of running strikes in the corner. Bulldog, but Show blocks, so Cena dives at the big man with a flying rocker dropper. Punk swoops in with an anaconda vice on Show, but Cena puts him in the STF at the same time, and Show taps at 11:37. Both men think they won, and it looks like we’re headed towards a bullshit finish, but RAW General Manager AJ Lee shows up to restart the match. In that time, Show recovers, and gives them a double chokeslam for a pair of two counts. Show goes in for the kill, but Cena hits him with an AA - only for Punk to shove John out of the ring, and pin Show himself at 14:26. Well, that’s more like it, Randy Hart! *

Main Event: No Disqualification Match: Triple H v Brock Lesnar: Brock comes charging out of the corner, railroading HHH into the corner, and unloading. He goes for a kimura, but HHH blocks, so Brock goes back to simply hammering on him. Back to the kimura, but HHH holds the ropes to avoid the takedown, and he manages to clothesline Lesnar over the top. To the outside, Lesnar drops Hunter on the announce table to aggravate the arm, but HHH beats the count, so Lesnar uses a hammerlock-slam. Brock stomps on the arm, and works the part with no remorse or reprieve. It’s psychologically sound, but man, this is boring as hell. He’s just pounding on it and pounding on it and pounding on it. Lesnar with a cradle for two, so HHH throws some knees to the midsection, but Brock clobbers him with a clothesline before he can build any momentum. Hunter manages a suplex to buy some time, but Brock is up. Lesnar charges, but Hunter sidesteps, allowing him to try for the Pedigree, but Brock blocks, and uses a corner whip to flip Helmsley over the top. Brock follows, but gets sent stomach first into the announce table, and he’s battered. Inside, Lesnar tries for the kimura, but the abdomen is hurting, and HHH is able to block. HHH throws knees to the gut, and a rotating spinebuster connects. Pedigree, but Lesnar counters to the F5, countered back to the Pedigree for two. Another Pedigree, but Lesnar goes low to block. That allows him an F5 for two, so he goes to the kimura, and this time manages a takedown with it. Hunter gets the ropes, but there’s no disqualifications, so Lesnar isn’t forced to break. That forces Hunter to slug his way out of the hold, and he manages another Pedigree - only for Brock to grab another kimura as Hunter goes to roll him over for the cover. HHH fights, but there’s no escape, and he taps at 18:44. This had strong psychology, but the delivery was boring as hell. Just slow and plodding work on their respective parts, mostly of the punch/kick variety. *

BUExperience: I would make an effort to see the opener. Not much else is worth your time here, but the show felt really breezy to watch, which is never a bad sign. A better main event would have been welcome, though.

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