WWE SUMMERSLAM 2012
August 19, 2012
Los Angeles, California
MATCH 1: Dolph Ziggler (w/Vickie Guerrero) vs. Chris Jericho
Jericho’s ribs are taped after the attack by Ziggler on Smackdown. Ziggler plays cat and mouse. Back elbow from Jericho after Ziggler avoids two clotheslines. Jericho dishes out some chops and a clothesline off the second rope. Ziggler escapes a suplex and delivers a gutbuster for a 1 count. Crowd behind Y2J. He tries to fight back and backdrops Ziggler to the floor. On the apron Ziggler avoids a springboard crossbody and Jericho crashes to the floor. Back inside he gets 2. Ziggler dropkicks Jericho in the ribs for 2. Dolph stretches Jericho out. Y2J tries to fight back, but Ziggler hits a splash in the corner for 2. Rude Awakening! And a Jericho style C’MON BABY pin, which never works. Jericho rolls up Ziggler for 2 but Ziggler recovers with a clothesline. Second splash in the corner missed. Low dropkick by Jericho. Series of shoulder tackles are thwarted. Ziggler runs into a boot. Double axehandle from the middle rope. Ziggler comes back with a fame asser which gets 2. Jericho tries for the Walls but Ziggler escapes. Enziguri by Jericho gets 2. Ziggler avoids a move in the corner and applies the sleeper. Jericho escapes. He catches Ziggler on the top with punches. Super hurricanrana from Jericho! Ziggler kicks out though. Ziggler with a leaping DDT out of nowhere for 2. He runs into an elbow. Facecrusher sets up the Lionsault. But Ziggler gets the knees up and hits the Zig Zag for a close 2! Jericho hits a desperation Codebreaker. Ziggler rolls outside, forcing Jericho to go after him. Vickie grabs Jericho by the ankle and Ziggler catches him in an inside cradle for 2. Jericho sends Ziggler into the post. Liontamer! Ziggler taps.
There were some awkward moments during the middle of this, where it seemed like they weren’t sure what to do. Once that passed, the finish was really good and the crowd were solidly behind Jericho throughout.
Winner via submission (13:06): Chris Jericho (***1/4)
Striker interviews Heyman and Brock. Heyman says HHH had used his influence to convince the referee to use his discretion tonight (this happened on the pre-show). Heyman says Brock would finish HHH tonight and break the spirit of WWE. Brock snatches the microphone and says this is a fight HHH can’t win. Heyman says they had two words for Triple H. Tap. Out.
MATCH 2: Daniel Bryan vs. Kane
Bryan with leg kicks. Kane catches one but misses an elbow. Bryan with more kicks until Kane hits an uppercut. Bryan back flips out of the corner but runs into a body slam. Low dropkick gets 1. Fans chant for Bryan. Bryan tries a rollup but runs into a big boot for 1. Bryan dropkicks the knee. Leg kicks. Kane throws Bryan over the top by the neck. Bryan sneaks in and baseball slides Kane. Topé by Bryan. Missile dropkick only gets 1. NO kicks. Kane ducks the roundhouse kick. Clothesline turns Bryan inside out. Two clotheslines in the corner and a sidewalk slam for 2. Kane hits the top rope clothesline. Chokeslam is escaped. Bryan hangs Kane’s throat over the top rope, only to run into an uppercut. Bryan SLAPS Kane. Kane beats Bryan in the corner and almost gets DQd. Bryan dropkicks Kane into the middle turnbuckle and kicks it into Kane’s face. Kane blocks the NO Lock. Buzzsaw kick. YES chants drive Bryan mad. Flying headbutt is blocked as Kane grabs him by the throat on landing. Chokeslam! Kane signals for the Tombstone. Bryan counters into the small package for 3! The master of the small package is back!
Pretty much what you’d expect from a Kane straight singles match. It was fine. Nothing special.
Winner via pinfall (8:03): Daniel Bryan (**1/4)
Kane goes mad backstage after the match, looking for Bryan. Josh tries to interview him so Kane grabs him and hurls him off screen.
MATCH 3: INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP
The Miz (CHAMPION) vs. Rey Mysterio
Miz still has his blowup AWESOME sign. Rey goes for an early pin sending Miz to regroup. Rey catches him with a headscissors. Miz runs into an elbow but blocks a slide through the legs. He throws Rey under the bottom rope but Rey rolls through. Rey dropkicks Miz off the apron. Wheelbarrow is blocked and Rey is sent chest first into the barrier. Chinlock. Rey fights out. He counters a back suplex and gets 2. Rey attacks but gets caught in an Atlantida Backbreaker. I’m fairly certain Miz has never done that move before in his life. It gets 2. Miz pummels Rey. Running boot for 2. Cravat. Rey dropkicks the knee. Miz clotheslines Rey from his knees for 2. Miz flying clothesline in the corner. Rey dropkicks Miz and crotches him. Seated senton by Rey. Miz counters a headscissors with a slingshot sit out powerbomb for 2. Rey avoids another boot and rolls Miz up, but only 2. Buzzsaw kick gets 2. Rey counters a slam with a swinging DDT for another 2. Miz catches him up top. Rey fights him off. Hurricanrana from the top sets up Miz for the 619. But Miz avoids the splash. Skull Crushing Finale turned into a rollup for a near fall! Miz launches Rey into the corner. Skull Crushing Finale wins it for Miz second time around.
Miz looked good here. Fair to say he’s not back to his peak yet, but when you consider how damaged he was after the R-Truth incident, he’s at least back to some kind of form. The crowd drifted in and out of this which hurt it a bit, but the match itself was good.
Winner via pinfall and still champion (9:10): The Miz (**3/4)
Eve and Teddy leave AJ’s office backstage. Teddy says AJ was doing a good job and the Raw guys he’d talked to agreed. Eve disingeuously agrees. Punk shows up and goes in to see AJ. He complains about the match tonight being unfair and assumes it’s because he rejected her proposal. Punk claims disrespect and says he would prove he’s the best in the world again tonight. AJ just blanks him.
MATCH 4: WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Sheamus (CHAMPION) vs. Alberto Del Rio
They scrap early on and fall to the floor. Del Rio sends Sheamus into the announce table. He kicks Sheamus as he re-enters the ring. Swinging neckbreaker by Sheamus for 2. Sheamus with punches. Del Rio hits a roundhouse kick in the corner. Sheamus with a Finlay Roll for 2. He sets for the Celtic Cross but Alberto escapes on the ropes. Alberto pulls the turnbuckle pad off in the struggle. Another kick from Del Rio. He tries the cross armbreaker. Sheamus counters but misses a Brogue Kick and Del Rio dropkicks him off the apron. He pushes Sheamus into the steps. Del Rio attacks off the top and barely gets 1. Sheamus fights back but Del Rio delivers a running boot for 2. Big stomp. Chinlock. Sheamus with headbutts. Kitchen sink from Del Rio. Another stomp earns 2. Del Rio calls for the Brogue Kick. Sheamus cuts him off with double sledges. He posts his shoulder though. Sheamus is crotched on the top. Double knee armbreaker from the top! Sheamus kicks out at 2. Sheamus counters the cross armbreaker once, but Del Rio applies it second time. Sheamus powers out and dumps Alberto. Fans get behind Sheamus after that. White Noise gets 2. He calls for the Brogue. Del Rio retreats and gets speared into the corner instead. Sheamus hits the ten forearms on the apron. He tries for 10 punches. But Del Rio drops him face first on the exposed turnbuckle! Running enziguri in the corner gets a near fall! Alberto attacks Ricardo for some reason. The referee checks on Ricardo, who tries to throw Alberto his shoe. A bad throws ends with Sheamus hitting Del Rio instead! Irish Curse and Sheamus wins, even though Del Rio’s foot was on the rope. Sheamus knocks the foot off so the referee doesn’t notice. The crowd respond by booing Sheamus. Uh oh.
I don’t know if this was supposed to be a heel turn for Sheamus. I’m guessing not. But, that’s how the crowd reaction seemed to go. Between this and the car theft, they’re not doing Lawler any favours having to defend Sheamus, I know that much. Looks like this feud isn’t over yet. This all went fairly well, except for the reaction to the finish. Hopefully for Sheamus, people were just annoyed at an indecisive finish rather than at him.
Winner via pinfall and still champion (11:23): Sheamus (***)
They replayed HHH talking to Scott Armstrong from the pre show, telling him either a tap out or a pinfall ends the match and that’s it.
MATCH 5: TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
R-Truth and Kofi Kingston (CHAMPIONS) vs. The Primetime Players (Darren Young and Titus O’Neil)
Truth attacks Young on the bell. The crowd start a “Kobe Bryant” chant. I laughed. Truth with a hiptoss. He hits his dancing legdrop for 2. Young drives Truth back and tags Titus. Truth tries to fight out but takes a big boot for 2. Truth fights out of a front facelock. Big shot cuts him off. Leg lariat cuts Titus off in response. Tag to Kofi. He attacks Titus with chops and a dropkick. Kofi ducks a clothesline and hits one of his own. Boom Drop. He goes for Trouble In Paradise but Young distracts him and Titus escapes. Kofi chases and avoids a Young clothesline, but not a Titus one. Kofi kicks out at 2. “Little Jimmy” chant. Titus with a slam for 2. Young tags in and is dropped across Kofi with a front suplex for 2. Body scissors as the fans route for Kofi. Kofi counters a crossbody and gets 2. Powerslam by D.Young for 2. Titus back in. Kofi fights back but is caught in an abdominal stretch. Kofi counters a catatonic into a DDT and tags Truth. Truth fights back on Young. Lie Detector and a sitout gordbuster force Titus to break the pin. Kofi skins the cat and pulls down the rope on Titus. BIG crossbody to the floor by Kofi. Young rolls up Truth for 2. Truth escapes the gutbuster and hits the Little Jimmy for 3!
Personally, I’d have had the PTP win the titles at this point. But, not to be. They’re improving all the time though and sooner or later they have to pull the trigger on them as champions.
Winners via pinfall and still champions (7:08): R-Truth and Kofi Kingston (**1/4)
MATCH 6: WWE CHAMPIONSHIP, TRIPLE THREAT MATCH
CM Punk (CHAMPION) vs. John Cena vs. Big Show
Cole brought up that Punk hadn’t main evented a PPV since December. So that’s storyline canon now. Big Show dominates both at the start. Big chops for Cena and Punk. They double up on Big Show. Show suplexes both at the same time. He crushes Cena in the corner. Punk is crushed too, but dropkicks Big Show in the knee. Kicks by Punk. He tries for the GTS but Show chops him away. Cena then tries the AA but Punk breaks it up. He pins Cena but Show breaks it up. Big Show treads on Punk. Punk whipped to the turnbuckle. Another hard chop. Cena knocked off the apron. Show misses an avalanche. He catches Punk off the top and hits a Final Cut. Show sets up the KO punch. Cena unloads with punches but gets speared for 2. Big Show tries a Vader Bomb on both men, but Punk moves. Show pins Cena but Punk double stomps Show. Punk is sent outside. Show headbutts Cena and hurls Punk into the ropes outside after blocked a dive. Back inside Show hits a sidewalk slam on Cena. Punk hangs up Show. Cena capitalises with a back suplex. Five Knuckle Shuffle broken up by Punk. Macho Man elbow drop gets 2 (it looked pretty good too). Buzzsaw kick is followed by the Koji Clutch by Punk. Show gets out though. Cena with a shoulder block and applies the STF. Big Show escapes that too though. Show catches Cena with a slam. Springboard clothesline by Punk. He hits three running knees in the corner. Show counters the bulldog. Cena hits the legdrop off the top. Punk reapplies the Koji Clutch and Cena applies the STF at the same time! Big Show taps out and the bell rings.
Cena and Punk both celebrate but since the referee didn’t know who to award the win to, AJ skips out. Punk yells at her to listen to the crowd chanting for him. “You want to have them tweet about it?” AJ orders a restart. Neither are happy. Big Show hits them both with a double Chokeslam! Cena kicks out. And so does Punk. Cena ducks the KO punch and hits the AA on Big Show. But Punk bundles Cena out of the ring and steals his pin!
If you didn’t see that finish coming, I don’t know what to tell you. Which is why I’m not annoyed by the restart. Whether the restart irked you probably dictates how much you liked this, but I was pleasantly surprised. Big Show looked like a monster here. The Koji Clutch/STF spot was really cool. Punk retained the title. And there’s momentum going forward. (Plus his tights were cool and his elbow drop looked good!) All in all, this delivered.
Winner via pinfall and still champion (14:28ish): CM Punk (***3/4)
Kevin Rudolf performed “Don’t Give Up”. The Divas came out to dance with him.
MATCH 7: Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman)
Brock immediately tackles HHH into the corner. Brock puts a kimura on in the corner. HHH fires some punches but gets charged again. Brock applies a kimura and puts on a bodyscissors. HHH rams him into the corner and fires away with punches. Clothesline over the top. Brock is jumped coming back in but hits a clothesline in the corner. High knee from HHH. He clotheslines Brock outside again and dares him to fight, saying this is WWE not UFC. Brock stalls a bit this time. The gloves come off. Literally. Brock takes down HHH and punches him in the back of the head. Cole points out you’d lose a point for that in UFC. I don’t know why that made me laugh. Okay, maybe I do. Lesnar and HHH fight outside. Brock slams HHH on the announce table, with his arm pinned behind the back. Brock says it’s his ring. He drags HHH back in. HHH fires back but Brock slams him on the arm again. He works over the arm. HHH escapes an F5 but is hit with a german. Brock stomps the arm. HHH hangs his neck across the rope and fights back. He hits a DDT. Brock goes back to the arm and slams HHH again. HHH is whipped into the steps and rammed into the Spanish table. Brock turns the table over and hits a FLYING PUNCH off of it. Brock gets only 1 with an inside cradle. HHH with knees. Clothesline by Brock. HHH blocks a suplex and reverses. Brock misses a charge in the corner. He escapes a Pedigree and HHH is sent into and over the corner. Brock is sent into the table and favours his stomach. HHH lands a punch and Brock is hurt. They bring up his stomach issues in the past. HHH escapes a kimura with knees. Knees to the stomach puts Brock down. Spinebuster by HHH. Brock counters the Pedigree but HHH escapes the F5 and hits the Pedigree. But Brock kicks out at 2! Brock goes low. The referee contemplates a DQ but Heyman reminds him of HHH’s orders. Brock hits the F5 but HHH kicks out! Brock goes for the kimura again and takes HHH down. HHH gets the ropes but Brock doesn’t break so HHH escapes with kidney punches. HHH hits a second Pedigree out of nowhere. But Brock catches him in the kimura as he goes for the pin! Brock sinches it in and HHH taps out!
The right result this time. This definitely dragged in spots and wasn’t the chaos and carnage that the Cena match was. I get the feeling people are either going to love this or hate this. Or, be somewhere in the middle, like me. Basically what I’m saying is judge for yourself. I’m passing the buck on this one.
Winner via submission (18:45): Brock Lesnar (***3/4)
This was pretty much the definition of a solid show. There was nothing bad here. There was also nothing blow away. Your thoughts on the main event probably dictate whether it was a good show or an average one. The positives are, they broke away from their recent formula of big matches and unannounced filler and actually put on a top to bottom card with no bad matches. The right man won the top two matches too. In that sense, the show was a success. The crowd were pretty inconsistent. Certain things got big reactions, certain parts got none. Outside of the triple threat and the finish to the opener, it just lacked a certain spark. And the Sheamus finish really went bad on them. So, good but not great, seems like a fair appraisal.