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  3. Mr. Paul’s SummerSlam – Final Thoughts!

Tomorrow night the superstars of WWE bring together a show that has taken Hollywood by storm (pardon the pun) over the past few years. This year is no exception. The show is headlined by “The Perfect Storm”, when Triple H takes on Brock Lesnar. This match will be physically intense. It’s going to be as Jim Ross would say a slobber knocker. The show also features a triple threat match for the WWE Championship. CM Punk defends against John Cena and the Big Show. Last Night the World’s Championship match was reinstated. Sheamus will now defend the title against Alberto Del Rio.

Let’s start with the pre-show match. Santino Marella takes on Antonio Cesaro for United States Championship. A lot of people have been talking about the fact that Antonio was defeated by Christian heading to the match after he defeated the champion on two occasions. Some feel that the challenger should go undefeated heading to the title match. I personally have no issue with the fact that Antonio lost to Christian. From an announcers point of view it adds something to talk about and help fill the match. It also creates the maybe he will win or maybe he can be defeated feeling. I actually like that, especially as Santino is a big babyface and Cesaro is a heel. We always want good to triumph over bad, not always what happens and that’s a good thing in our business. But the fans want the fairytale ending, and it puts major heat on the heel if they don’t see it happen. So personally I have no pains with the way WWE has built this match. The only problem I had was Antonio going over Ryder on Smackdown last night. I would have had him lose by the distraction of Santino at ringside. This would make the match more even heading to the pre-show, which would put Antonio over better if he is to take the belt Sunday. I don’t see Antonio taking the belt this Sunday, but anything can happen in WWE. Personally I think it’s too early for him, I would like to see him fight more to win the title.

Rey Mysterio will now take on The Miz with the Intercontinental Championship on the line. Many feel that this match was just thrown together to include both men on the large SummerSlam Card. I feel this is untrue. Rey Mysterio is red hot since returning from injury a few weeks back. Rey is one of the most popular and experienced wrestlers in WWE. Now let’s think about Miz for a minute. Miz was at one stage the WWE Champion, winning matches at Wrestlemania. He was red hot. Then he started to lose matches and not be featured on television. He would then leave WWE for a short while to film a movie. In conclusion, Miz’s stock in WWE is at a very low. Yes, he did capture the Intercontinental Title from Christian at Raw 1000, but Christian was really not that hot at the time. I honestly feel the only time Christian was hot was in TNA. I really can’t see Rey winning the title, I think this match will be the same as the match with Ziggler andJericho, it’s meant to put The Miz over. Help rebuild the creditability of the IC Champion. So yes I don’t like the fact that AJ signed this match on twitter, and I don’t like the fact the AJ made a decision about something that occurred over on Smackdown. Kind of makes me wonder why we have Booker as the GM.

Kane is and will always be one of my all time favorite wrestlers. I remember meeting Kane when they were inSouth Africalast year. I just about had an outer body experience, I honestly “marked out” for Kane, and I am not ashamed to say it. Anybody close to me knows I didn’t start off liking Daniel Bryan, last year on the Smackdown tourBryanwas the babyface and quite over. The entire crowd cheered forBryan, with the exception of me of course. When the crowd chanted “Daniel Bryan”, I would add “Sucks!” having said that, Bryan has grown on me, and I think that he will have a good match with Kane on Sunday. I hope that WWE officials give them enough time on the card to really put on a good performance. I look forward to seeing this match. As big a fan of Kane as what I am, I would putBryanover to continue the “hotness” that he is currently experiencing.

The WWE Tag Team Championships will be decided when the Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O’Niel) challenge current champs Kofi Kingston and R-Truth. I am not really a big fan of the Prime Time Players, and it stems from my incredible dislike for Titus. I actually was a fan of Young for a while. For some reason Mr. McMahon likes the team and I would not be surprised if they leave the biggest event of the summer with the titles, though I personally would not like to see them win. This match is one of those cool off matches between matches. Not really caring to much about this match. However, I do appreciate WWE trying to increase the tag team division which has been lacking for a while now.

Kevin Rudolph will be performing at SummerSlam. Kevin will be performing “Don’t Give Up” which is the official theme song of the event. I actually like this. Kevin has been in charge of a few different themes for WWE. He did songs for the Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania and even the Diva’s season of NXT. His music is fun and lively, and will really get people dancing in their seats. What I like is Kevin will not be singing somebody to the ring. I didn’t like this at Wrestlemania, as it felt like it was taking away from the talents. So I like the fact that he will have his section of the time to perform.

I touched on this slightly earlier. Chris Jericho and Dolph Ziggler will face off at SummerSlam. I mentioned the fact that this was a match to put Ziggler over. Dolph is starting to become a big deal in WWE. He has captured the Money in the Bank Contract and is said to win the World’s Championship. When you think about successful wrestlers in the business, you will need to go a long way to find somebody with more success than Chris Jericho. He has held just about every title in almost every company in the business. He is really a legend in this business and the perfect guy to put Ziggler over. I will go out on a limb here and say there is no wayJerichowins this match. It would make no sense to me for him to win. Especially with the rumors that Chris will be parting from WWE soon again. I also expect this to be a fantastic match. I think it will set SummerSlam on fire.

The match is back on. Sheamus will be taking on Alberto Del Rio. I agree with former WWE creative member Seth Mates, who can be followed on Twitter at @SethMates. Seth asked the question of why we should be cheering for Sheamus. Alex Goff said on OWW Radio last week that he felt it was bad for the babyface to steel your heel’s car. I agree. The only two babyfaces that in my book can get away with this is CM Punk and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Having said this, I am still a really big fan ofDel Rio. I have often said that I feel as ifDel Riohas that “It” that the legends always refer to. He has the talent, he has the look, he has a good persona and most of all he has the presence of a champion. I likeDel Rio, and unlike a lot of people, I would like to see Alberto Del Rio take the belt at SummerSlam. It’s been a chase, Sheamus does nothing for me, and he has been champion for awhile now. So I think Smackdown can get a new champ.

I am going to contradict my previous statement here, but I really want CM Punk to hold onto the WWE Championship. I do not want John Cena as champion again, and I feel many WWE fans agree with me on this one. CM Punk is red hot right now. The only problem I have with the CM Punk character is the fact that WWE, and they have done this with a few characters in recent times, have blurred the vision of good and bad. I know that I love CM Punk, but I get confused as to what Punk is actually portraying.

Be this as it may, I am not really excited for the match. Triple Threat leaves room for Punk not to be pinned to lose. WWE has been placing a great deal of emphasis on that fact. So I wouldn’t be shocked if Cena wins the title by hitting Show with the AA for the pin. It would open a feud with Cena and Punk which could blow off at Hell in a Cell or Survivor Series later this year. Will be interesting to see how WWE chooses to play this one out.

The Main Event of SummerSlam is titled the Perfect Storm. Triple H takes off the suite and steps in as a fighter again. I use the term fighter, as both parties have stated this will not be a match, but rather a fight. I said at the beginning that this will be a hard hitting, physically intense slobber knocker of a match. Brock Lesnar is one of the most destructful forces ever to grace a wrestling ring. He is an ass kicker, a machine and his name carries great value in the wrestling world. Triple H has been around the block a few times to say the least. He can wrestle, but the Game can also be a straight up street fighter. This match will be one to remember. But who goes over? Who leaves the Staples Centre in LA with the win? I want the Game to go over, reason being the fact that we don’t know how often we will see Lesnar following Sunday. I would rather have a guy that is perceived as a WWE guy go over than an “invader” guy. However, if Lesnar will be continuing on with WWE and will be headlining Wrestlemania next year, I will have no issue with Lesnar defeating Triple H.

SummerSlam this Sunday night will be historical. It’s the 25th anniversary of the show. The card is strong enough to hold onto that SummerSlam moniker. Some interesting points that have come to my attention are; there is no divas match at SummerSlam. If I need to make a prediction, I say most likely a divas tag match, probably Layla and Kelly Kelly versus Beth Phoenix and Eve Torres. If not that then Layla defends either against Kelly Kelly or Eve Torres.

Randy Orton is not booked in a match at the 25th Anniversary of SummerSlam tomorrow night. I find this rather strange. Orton is a major name in WWE, a multi-time Champion and a main event caliber superstar. Why Randy wasn’t worked into the show is perhaps a sign of the company’s lack of faith in Orton. Wonder how they will continue to keep him involved.

— Mr. Paul, OWW guest columnist