There was an ominous feeling in the air. A feeling in the pit of my stomach that just wouldn't go away. My heart pounded the way a high school boy's would when asking out the cute cheerleader. My legs shook the way they used to when waiting to get back an important test result.
Is it sad that all of this was happening because of a wrestling Pay Per View? Some might say, but the way Summerslam was built up, it was clear that something major was going to happen. Of course, the major occurence was to be part of the main event, so not only did we all have to suffer throughout the day, but we also had to anxiously wait through 2 hours of the pay per view just to get "the moment".
With this mentality, it would be easy to overlook much of this pay per view and think less of it as a result, but taking a step back and waiting a day to write the review allows you to open your eyes and see that while not spectacular, the show did a pretty decent job with the rest of the card. However, it still was the one moment that stole the show..........
The opening contest featured newly crowned Intercontinental Champ Dolph Ziggler defending his title against former champ Kofi Kingston. Decent match while it lasted, but Nexus interfered and beat up Kofi Kingston as an example of what they will do later. These two are quality in ring competitors so it might have been nice to give them a little more ring time before the attack, but the result works for me because it allows Dolph to keep the title and it establishes Nexus' presence early in the night.
Before the next match we get some backstage stuff from Jerich, Miz, and Edge. The funniest part was Edge eating the Slim Jim, but this promo was utterly worthless when you look back at the show as a whole. More about that later.
Next up was the Divas title match. This was short and saw Melina get the win with the chick version of Miz's finisher. Didn't love the finish because she's never used that move before, but happy for Melina that she performed pretty well. At first, I hated the decision to put Melina over right away, but after Laycool came out post match, I thought about the bigger picture and a cross brand feud and I think it could work. I'd be all for unifying the belts, or at least planting the seeds for bragging rights in 2 months, and clearly Melina vs. Laycool is a better draw than Alicia vs. Laycool. In that sense, the decision works so let's hope that's the plan.
It was obvious that big things were in store for the end of the show, because usually the Divas match is between main events, but obviously, the plan was to keep the energy up. However, the energy would remain down for the time being, as Big Show vs. the Straight Edge Society was up next. This match wasn't as terrible as it sounded, but the ended was a little odd. After Punk got some good offense in on Big Show, he left his team to get double pinned by Show. I'm going to give WWE the benefit of the doubt here to be able to explain these actions, but as I saw them live, I was definitely a bit confused.
We get an interesting backstage segments between champions next, where Sheamus tries to stake claim to "The Big Red Monster" title. I still go for "Ronald McDonald's evil son" myself. The segments hypes both of their matches, which will undercard the elimination match tonight.
Before those matches could happen, "Decision 2010" occurs. Of course, only in the mind of The Miz is his decision on joining team WWE that big. After explaining how everyone begged him to join and essentially taunting everyone, he decides to join, claiming to be the savior Team WWE needs. He even stole a Rock mannerism by telling the crowd they can't say his catchphrase! Great promo, though a bit of a letdown if Miz is the last member of Team WWE..............
Sheamus vs. Orton is basically what anyone could expect from these two. It was a slow, methodically paced match, where both men were cerebral about every move they took. This could be taken as boring, but you have to take into account the characters they portray. Breaking character to appease the audience just wouldn't make sense. The match ended up being pretty good even with a slow pace, but the ending was a little weak. Sheamus won when he pushed the ref out of the ring. The ref called for a DQ and that was it. Orton obviously wasn't happy about this, and he beat on Sheamus outside the ring. It all ended with an RKO on the announce table, which didn't break. I actually think the fact that it didn't made it better, because it looked a lot more painful that way.
Two years ago, Mysterio and Orton undercarded on Raw. They were the semi main event on this night, and the match quality wasn't any better. I dont' get why WWE would ever put a 7 footer against a 5 footer and expect a good match, but it happened and it's over. Kane won cleanly with a chokeslam, but we all knew that the real excitement would be post match. Kane repeatedly opened the casket to get Mysterio into it, but the last time he went to do so, The Undertaker was in it! False bottom just like the old Beetlejuice toy I had when I was a kid! Sadly, this reference made the moment for me, because we all knew the Undertaker would return. He first went after Mysterio, and I got excited, hoping WWE would actually let Mysterio be the bad guy. I would love it because I cannot stand Rey's underdog character. However, Undertaker believed Mysterio when he said he didn't do it, so he turned his attention to Kane. For the first time since 1997 though, Kane got the upper hand and ended up tombstoning his brother. I know we've seen it before, but maybe these two have one good match left between them. I hope so, because otherwise this whole storyline was an illogical waste.
So after 2 hours, it was finally time for the main event. Seemingly, the teams were set and the surprise would be a turn at the end, but it was actually bigger than that. As yours truly predicted, Miz was told that he waited too long and Team WWE already had its 7th member. This is what I was talking about before. If that was the case and the whole team knew, why was Edge and Jericho still begging Miz just 2 hours earlier? Just a tiny plothole, which I am probably the only one to pick up. It doesn't matter, as Daniel Bryan was announced as the 7th member to a huge roar from the crowd! Miz looked stunned, but the fight was on! This match got a ton of time, and the booking was absolutely perfect. Bryan made his impact early, eliminating Darren Young by submission within a minute. Michael Tarver was next to go, but Nexus would even the score after Skip Sheffield gave 2 devastating lariats to John Morrison and R-Truth. After looking decent in the ring, Bret Hart gets eliminated by DQ for trying to use a chair. This was smart because it allowed Bret to look good but not have to take any punishment that his body can't handle. Sheffield finally meets his demise after a Codebreaker and Spear, so the match continues to be even.
Next out is Otunga, who taps to the Walls of Jericho (there are a lot of tap outs in this match!), but soon after, Heath Slater takes out both Edge and Jericho. Neither are happy, so they attack Cena on the outside to remind everyone that they are still bad guys. Bryan gets a chance to show off next and looks great as he eliminates Slater with the same submission used on Young. It's now 2-2 and this match has been as even as humanly possible. Nexus has looked damn good here to keep it even with a WWE team of stars that haven't gotten in each other's way.
Speaking of excellent booking, while Bryan waits for someone new to enter the ring, Miz comes out and nails Bryan in the back of the head with his briefcase. Barrett pins him and WWE is down to the beaten Cena. This was great in that it got Bryan out of the match, still made him look incredibly strong, and set up the continuation of a great story with The Miz. Really excellent stuf that got Miz GREAT heat.
With WWE's last hopes hinged upon Cena, things looked bleak. It looked like Cena was done as Gabriel ascended the ropes to hit his 450 splash, but he took too much time, and Cena was able to avoid it, causing Gabriel to crash and burn. Cena took advantage and pinned Gabriel to even the score at 1. It was down to Barrett and Cena, but Barrett made a colossal mistake and charged Cena while he was down. A drop toe hold into an STF and this one was over with Cena triumphing!
At first, I hated the fact that Nexus lost. I mean, i absolutely despised it. The more I thought about it though, the more I realized that the booking was so incredibly logical that I couldn't criticize it. The whole match was booked so well, and I believe the story will continue on as strong as ever, so I won't bash it too much. I did think Nexus should win, but this group of rookies hung tight with some of the best WWE had to offer. If that's not credibility, I don't know what is.
A lot of people wanted Cena to turn at the end, but I never understood that logic. Cena is the mortal enemy of the group and it should stay that way. A heel turn could be in the future, but not a part of this storyline. The story played out exactly as it should, and the return of Daniel Bryan was done so well and was shock enough for the night. I know it made the night for me, and I think it did for a lot of other people too. The final match made the show an excellent one, as without it, it's average at best. With it, it's an excellent show, and one I am glad I watched live. If you haven't seen Bryan's return yet, I have posted it below. It's still epic every time I see it!
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