This time last year the internet was full of many people upset and pissed off with the match Brock Lesnar had with Triple H, and the match Alberto Del Rio had with Sheamus. In fact generally people were disappointed with the whole Summer Slam in general. And rightly so.
Brock Lesnar’s feud against Triple H didn’t inspire us fans leading up to Summer Slam, and the match itself lacked any real emotion and failed to deliver on the night. Brock Lesnar would then go on to have 2 more ‘brawls’ with Triple H in what many are saying were a waste of his 3 PPV deal.
Fast forward 12 months
Last night at Summer Slam we were shown exactly why Brock Lesnar has been paid the big bucks, in a possible match of the year. The difference…1 CM Punk. The match allowed Brock to showcase his strength and power, while letting Punk gives his intensity and fight. Brock Lesnar needed this fight as he was losing his legacy, intimidation and profile thanks to those Triple H matches.
Alberto Del Rio in 2012 was in the middle of the all uninspiring feud against Sheamus. In fact, many people such as myself were tired of ADR being constantly forced down us as a main even champion, even though none of his matches ever felt like main event matches. It is one of the reason the World Heavyweight Championship feels second rate (on top of booking decisions like last night when The Miz tells us all we have 2 main events…wasn’t it 3)
Fast forward to last night’s Summer Slam.
For the first time I believed ADR was a main event player, battling it out for a major WWE title. The difference….1 Christian. These two superstars gave us a great match on Smackdown only two weeks ago, but managed to top that last night. I cannot remember at any time since he arrived in the WWE, an Alberto Del Rio match getting “this is Awesome” chants. ADR needed this match to show us fans exactly what the people in the WWE see in this superstar.
Both Christian and CM Punk showed us last night, exactly how you can walk away from one of the biggest PPV events of the year, as a loser of a match, but a winner in the wrestling universe. Christian and CM Punk were able to let their opponents look strong, look like winners and champions, as well as main event performers when no-one else has been able to do for the past year (or in ADR case since arriving). It is a reminder to us long term and hardcore fans exactly why we love this industry, and why our favourites are not the high profiles like John Cena and Randy Orton.
The performance of the four superstars in these two matches, as well as the John Cena and Daniel Bryan’s match, and the finish of the PPV with the Triple H’s heel turn and Randy Orton Cash-in of the MITB, made this Summer Slam one of the best PPV that the WWE has produced in terms of quality, storytelling and surprises in a long long time.
Hooroo and see ya Thursday
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