DaveyBoy’s Wrestling Menu – SummerSlam & Raw Reviews + Ric Flair Poll
Submitted by DaveyBoy on Wednesday, August 29, 2007 at 4:28 AM EST






THE WRESTLING MENU #244

Welcome one and all to the 244th edition of The Wrestling Menu, the column that is sure to satisfy your taste buds when it comes to discussing all things wrestling.

Last week’s column where I discussed The Great Khali’s title reign & the fun attitude that Raw seems to have aimed for of late went over rather well. It seems that while not everyone agreed with my thoughts on both topics, I was not as much in the minority with my opinion as I thought I was.

As a subtle & indirect follow-up on those 2 topics, I have decided to use them as the basis of the 2 topics that I write about around my SummerSlam review today. I had the opportunity to watch Raw a little earlier than usual this week, so I will include a review of that episode to see if they continue on with their “fun” theme. Meanwhile, I will have my first poll for quite some time (6 months I think), even though it’s not my usual type of poll per-se as it may require a little more thought & booking than usual.

On with the show.....


APPETIZERS – ‘SummerSlam’ Review

For those that cannot recall my previous PPV review columns, this is the key that explains what the final PPV Rating means:

<50: Ask for a refund for not only your money, but also your time. [F] (Armageddon '04)
50-54: Mediocre & disappointing. [D] (EG: No Way Out '07)
55-59: Average. [C] (EG: Vengeance ’07)
60-64: Worth A Watch. [C+] (EG: One Night Stand ‘07)
65-69: Good event that was worth the money. [B] (EG: WrestleMania 23)
70-74: Very good. [B+] (EG: Great American Bash '07)
75-79: Make sure you add this ppv to your video or dvd collection. [A] (EG: Backlash '07)
80+: Make sure that the video or DVD is locked in a safe & cannot be erased. Memorable. [A+]

KANE defeated FINLAY: Kane is a man on a mission controlling the first couple of minutes of this bout that was an interesting choice as opener. But even on offense, he shows discomfort to his previously injured ribs, a fact not lost on Finlay when he does finally gain control. Smash-Mouth is the name of the game no matter who is on top, and we also get our usual dose of Hornswoggle shenanigans. After such a moment, Finlay gets in a shillelagh shot, but Kane kicks out at 2.5 & hits his choke-slam for the victory soon after at the 9 minute mark. Nothing too memorable but very solidly booked & performed. In fact, I really liked a few of the subtle touches included here & both men came out looking good. Match Rating: 7

UMAGA defeated CARLITO & KEN KENNEDY in a Triple-Threat Match to Retain the InterContinetal Title: Both heels attempt to negotiate themselves into the Samoan champ's good books, but Umaga puts both men down on the mat in declining their offers. The heels then team up & clear the ring of the champ allowing some heel vs heel action to occur in the ring for a couple of minutes. The action is rather pacy & solid, but as is usually the case when 2 heels go at it, the crowd become silent. Once Umaga returns to action, he rather easily handles a double-team & it really isn’t all that much later that the champ hits the Samoan Spike on Kennedy for the victory at just the 7 minute mark. That duration was way too short for this to amount to anything special. But even as a short bout, it wasn’t too exciting & fast-paced. Furthermore, there was no real cleverness in the booking, so considering the talent involved, this was disappointing, if not awful. Match Rating: 5.5

REY MYSTERIO defeated CHAVO GUERRERO: Emerging in all-silver (pants, mask & body paint), Rey looks focused & intense upon return as the crowd gets a loud “Chavo Sucks” chant going. The 2 put together a great sequence of entertaining counters to begin with… The kind they could probably perform blind-folded when together in the ring. Chavo predictably targets the knee, but Rey fights off the initial onslaught to land some of his trademark high-flying moves. But soon, it’s Chavo going to work with various submission holds that are sufficiently different to remain entertaining enough. When given a glimpse of an opportunity, Rey fails to land the 619 due to the bad knee, but then shows good ruthlessness when the heel is tied in the tree of woe.

The action is entertainingly back & forth from that point on with Rey getting a 2 count with a wicked tornado DDT & then having to kick out of the Gory Bomb! After some failed further attempts, Rey does eventually hit the 619 for the win at the 12 minute mark. Solid & entertaining, everything was well put together & performed here. The time just seemed to fly by, which is practically always a good sign. Of course, these 2 can do even better given a few more minutes, but something tells me they will be given the opportunity soon enough. One thing that is for certain is that it’s great to have Rey back! Match Rating: 7.5

BETH PHOENIX Won a Divas Battle Royal to become the #1 Contender for the Women’s Title: Woman’s Champ Candice Michelle sits at ringside as it is Brooke who is eliminated first. The action is all over the place in usual battle-royal fashion with nothing special occurring in the first 4 minutes apart from JR & The King clearly getting confused as to who is who! The final 4 ends up being Melina, Torrie, Beth & Michelle, as the 2 faces messily team up to eliminate Melina. They attempt to do the same to Beth, but it’s to no avail as the Raw heel takes disappointingly very little time in clearing the ring of both faces at the 7 minute mark. Very ho-hum battle royal where nothing of any significance occurred & no-one was really put over. Not very entertaining or exciting, this was poorly booked & I can’t pass it. Match Rating: 4

MVP / MATT HARDY / ‘STONE COLD’ STEVE AUSTIN Segment: 10 minutes in length, this qualifies to be included in the overall PPV Rating. MVP oddly chooses a beer-drinking contest to battle Matt Hardy in, but the crowd quickly see what’s coming as it is Matt’s turn to pick a substitute. After some decent mic work by both men, ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin is indeed introduced & pops the crowd big time by just appearing, let alone the subsequent warm-up routine. Of course the Stone Cold Stunner is then hit on MVP & the live crowd continues to go bonkers with ecstasy. A pleasant & effective surprise. Segment Rating: 6.5

JOHN MORRISON defeated CM PUNK to retain the ECW World Title: Punk shows good intensity to begin the bout as the 2 trade moves on the mat. Morrison then gains control with an interesting neck-breaker variation on to the apron, but doesn’t really impress with his subsequent offense. Punk finally works his way back into the match & gets near-falls with an enziguri & power-slam. Unfortunately, as has been seen before in matches between these 2, the crowd remains rather silent… Until Punk gets a 2 count with a top-rope moonsault & then crotches Morrison leading to a clothesline & a rough landing for the champ. But when the challenger heads back to the top-rope & attempts a hurracanrana, Morrison blocks it & then gets the cheap rope-assisted pinfall at just the 7 minute mark. In isolation this wasn’t at all bad, but considering that this was the 3rd ppv match in a row that these 2 have had, this was fairly disappointing. At this point, I don’t know whether to blame the bookers or start believing that when against each other, these 2 are simply not up to it at the moment. Match Rating: 6

TRIPLE H defeated KING BOOKER: The ‘6 Million Dollar Man’ vignette precedes the always crowd-popping ‘The Game’ entrance theme, as Triple H soaks in the crowd response for literally minutes on end. When the bout finally begins, Booker’s attempt at a false start fails as H clears the ring. Standard back & forth action follows, until Sharmell interjects, allowing Booker to target the knee. But HHH does the same, even going so far as to get the “Woooo” pop by applying the figure 4 leglock. Triple H then gets the better of some ringside action, but it is the heel who acquits himself better in the ring as he even hits the bookend. This only scores a 2 count though & it obviously calls for desperate measures as Booker heads to the top-rope & misses a favorite finisher of mine, the Harlem Hangover (top-rope somersault legdrop). This opens the door for H to hit his pedigree for the victory at the 8 minute mark. Pretty much what we were expecting, this was fairly standard but had a good vibe about it. It was good to see Booker pull out a couple of moves that we haven’t seen in a while though & while the action wasn’t scintillating, it was rather involving. Match Rating: 6.5

BATISTA defeated THE GREAT KHALI by Disqualification in a Match for the World HeavyWeight Title: Strangely enough, it is Khali that shows intensity & aggression at the beginning of the bout. It pays off for him too as the champ pretty much dominates the opening 5 minutes. While the first 3 of those minutes is rather standard offense, it isn’t actually terrible. But it’s all downhill from there as Khali then uses a resthold that targets the neck, which is illogical to me as he may as well just go straight ahead & apply the claw. It even earns a “boring” chant from the crowd, but the audience begins to come to life as Batista hits a spine-buster & then attempts to put together some offense. Khali hits his choke-bomb, but the challenger kicks out at 2, leading to the giant Indian taking the shortcut of a chair-shot & getting disqualified at the 7 minute mark. Batista gets in a spear & some chair-shots in the aftermath. Started ok, but was pretty darn bad after that with too long of a resthold, too short of a face comeback & a cheap and unimaginative finish. I can’t pass it. Match Rating: 4

JOHN CENA defeated RANDY ORTON to Retain the WWE Championship: The usual mixed reaction that greets Cena on the east coast of the U.S is once more here as Orton’s icy stare meets Cena’s intensity at the beginning of the match. Duelling headlocks result in dueling chants as both men effectively make the basic hold look deadly! The heel challenger then goes to work with a variety of strikes as the champ’s head is clearly the target. Back to the headlock Randy goes as he looks to make Cena pass out. The Orton Stomp then follows & a powerslam gets a 2 count before we head back to headlock city… Twice! The usual Cena offensive flurry follows, but Orton counters an F-U attempt & then gets a near-fall with a rope-assisted DDT.

Randy continues to be in control at ringside, but Cena gets the better of a top-rope battle that ends in him hitting his top-rope fameasser. But he can’t follow up with an F-U as the heel challenger sets his sights on his now trademark punt to the head. Cena manages to avoid the kick & locks in an STF-U, which Orton breaks by getting to the ropes & popping the corwd. An RKO out of nowhere follows, but by the time Orton makes the cover, Cena kicks out at 2.9! It is then time for the F-U to be hit out of nowhere for the pinfall at the 21 minute mark. Very good main-event that could have been even better. Orton played his character well here & pretty much took the lead role as Cena was booked to play off of him. In fact, the bout may have even been a little too one-sided! I liked the way that the headlock was used initially, but it probably ended up being too prevalent in a 21 minute bout. And that finish was just way too swift with Cena hitting the F-U way too soon after being RKO’d. Still very good & in a way it is heartening that these 2 can improve as their feud is sure to continue. Match Rating: 8

PPV RATING (55/90) = 61

Looking at the key, I have basically given the 2007 version of ‘SummerSlam’ a 'C+' grade & said that it was ‘Worth A Watch’. It only just snuck into that range, but I think it’s probably the most appropriate grade & comment. There were only 2 or 3 matches that were really noteworthy, but there wasn’t anything too horrible despite 2 failing matches. Furthermore, some of the segments (both backstage & in the ring) were pretty fun & entertaining, so some of the pain from the so-so matches was blunted a little. In truth, it was apparent that this was more of a set-up event with a few first-up matches where feuds are set to continue. When this is added to the 2 big returns, it’s not surprising that the quality of the show was what it was. Of course, in a perfect world, I think many of us would prefer such a show would not take place at one of WWE’s ‘Big 4’ ppvs, if such a thing even exists anymore!


MAIN - Raw Review

As per usual, this won’t be as in-depth as my PPV reviews & I will do it in point form so as not to waffle on & on & on & on like someone I could mention that has just returned from injury…..

- The decision-makers do not go for the huge opening pop for the home-state champ, instead deciding to build up to it with some blah Orton mic work. It isn't long until Cena emerges though & he does a good job of getting into Randy's head, before proposing a title bout against Triple H tonight! But GM William Regal comes out & announces that Cena's opponent for the night will be King Booker. Not a bad opening segment when Cena was talking, but it did absolutely nothing for Orton who almost faded into the background for most of it. And that's not a good thing if he is supposed to be our next WWE Champion!

- Our first match of the night sees the return of Jeff Hardy as he takes on Mr.Kennedy. A super solid back & forth bout, this was surprisingly allowed to play out past the 10 minute mark, which is rare for a midcard Raw match. The bout ends in a No Contest when Umaga comes out & eventually attacks Jeff, which is just plain strange since he had apparently just turned face. I am going to take a guess & say that WWE have simply changed their minds on a Umaga face turn. If that is the case, then I have to question why they did it in the first place.

- After a nice little backstage segment between Vince & Kennedy, Vinnie Mac appears on Carlito's Cabana to threaten the mother of his illegitimate child. But the duo is interrupted by Triple H, who goes the comedy route by bringing out 4 candidates as the unknown suing mother. After a lot of mediocre jokes, H ends the segment by making Vince say "I love cocks" & then proceeds to tear apart Carlito after getting apple spit in his face. Oh oh, Triple H is back & he is already hogging up too much time, as I miss Regal, Ron & Santino already! Lame & overlong, the best thing about this segment was Carlito with his mannerisms & one-liners.

- 6 man filler is up next as Daivari, Haas & Benjamin (now with bleached hair) take on Rhodes, London & Kendrick. A couple of nice exchanges take place in all of about the 3 minutes that the bout was given. Kendrick plays the face in peril for the most part until the match predictably breaks down. At this stage, Cody pins Daivari with a top-rope cross-body. Ok filler in the usual (too short) Raw mold.

- We come back from a commercial break with Daivari talking gibberish in the ring, but he is thankfully interrupted by Cryme Tyme, who proceed to sell his head-dress (referred to as a "derka derka" by the faces). The tag champs (Cade & Murdoch, for anyone who had forgotten) then come out, but instead of a match, Cryme Tyme run off with Cade's cowboy hat. JTG & Shad seem to be getting a really good crowd reaction of late & hopefully their momentum won't be broken this time around like it was a few months back when they disappeared for a month or so just because creative had "nothing for them".

- In a better segment for Randy Orton, Vince knocks him back for a title rematch backstage & tells him to "earn it". Randy looked suitably intense & angry, while the hint of motivation crept in towards the end.

- Our penultimate match is booked to be Beth Phoenix vs Maria, but the heel #1 contender attacks & dominates Maria before the bell even rings. From what I could tell, it looks as if Beth's finishing move could be a fisherman's buster. Nothing special, but I suppose it should get Beth some heel heat, even if it disappointingly wasn't apparent here.

- GM Regal informs us backstage that the entire McMahon family will be on Raw next week with their attorneys. I tell you what, if Triple H interrupts that segment, it could last the entire 2 hours!!!

- It's main-event time with Cena & Booker putting together a decently paced & even bout despite the dreaded & ill-timed commercial break. As was expected, it was more of a set-up for something Orton-related as he came out prior to the match's conclusion to team up with Booker to destroy the champ. But just as it appeared as if Randy would kick Cena's head into the Atlantic Ocean, he goes the mind games route by doing it to Cena's father (who had been shown sitting at ringside) instead. A pretty good match while it lasted & I liked the angle used to resuscitate the Cena/Orton feud as it really needed doing after the opening segment.

- Overall, this was a fairly ordinary Raw for mine. To put it bluntly, not enough happened over the course of a 2 hour duration. I understand that this is always more likely the night after a pay-per-view, but I felt as if there were enough wrestlers that didn't wrestle on the SummerSlam card that could have got more of a look in here. But as it turned out, only Jeff Hardy got that opportunity as the 6 man tag match was too short to even consider. Thankfully, 2 of the matches were rather good for free television, but that was practically about it, with the opening segment not quite hitting the mark & the Triple H/Vince/Carlito segment taking up far too much time for little reward.

Looking ahead to next week, they have done a good job of re-starting the Orton/Cena feud as such, but apart from being curious as to what the hell they are doing with Umaga, there isn't much more to look forward to. And with the announcement of the McMahon family appearing with their attorneys, I unfortunately see a similar episode of Raw taking place next week as what occurred here.


DESSERT

Ric Flair’s Final Match Poll

As I mentioned in the introduction to this column, my opinion that The Great Khali was in fact the most correct (if not preferred) choice to put the World HeavyWeight Title on when Edge got injured, was not as unpopular as I thought it would be. It seems that one of the reasons for this was the little list of candidates that I came up with & why those other wrestlers also had just as many question marks as Khali when it came to having a World HeavyWeight Title reign.

Funnily enough, quite a few readers mentioned one name that I excluded from the list & that was Finlay. To be honest, I didn’t consider the fighting Irishman as I just feel that he is one wrestler that WWE will never look to in order to carry a brand. Sure, he may always be in the title hunt & could very well headline the SmackDown half of a pay-per-view one month soon, but I just don’t feel he will ever be given a World Title reign. And by saying that, I am not suggesting he wouldn’t make a good champion, I am just looking at the situation realistically I believe.

But back to the man who this poll is centered around & that is ‘The Nature Boy’ Ric Flair. As expected, I did receive some thoughts suggesting that the unfortunate injury to Edge was almost the perfect timing to squeeze Flair into the mix & give him one last run with the title that he has practically made his own over his 3 decade long career! As briefly mentioned last week, I was not in favor of this scenario. I was not in favor of it then, now, or anytime in the future as his apparent retirement draws near. Why…??? See a column I wrote some 9 months ago for the answer by clicking on the following link: http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/2006_/articles/1164185677.php

If rumors that have been floating all over the internet are correct, it seems as if Flair’s retirement from the in-ring aspect of professional wrestling is nearing. While nothing has been confirmed on this, I think it’s fair to state that it may indeed be true. And without sounding mean, I think it may be best if Flair did in fact retire from the competitive side of things in the next 6 months or so.

So, for the sake of this poll, I am going to make the assumption that Flair will have his last match at WrestleMania 24 in late-March of 2008 in Orlando, Florida. What I want you guys to do is let me know who should be in the ring with Flair in that last match…??? It may be a one on one bout or a multi-man match. It could be a title bout or some kind of legends match. You decide… & then let me know. Please don’t make any relevant booking too detailed, or else I will be up 24/7 for the next week or so. But if some things need to be explained, maybe put it in point form. Because come my next column, I will probably only list the match participants in my poll results.

The reason why I am having this poll is because I have actually been asked this question myself a few times this year. And I have pretty much come up a blank with my answer. But I have given it more thought of late & have come up with something, even if I still need to think about the details a little more. So it will be interesting to see what other fans have to suggest & what better opportunity to do so than right here in ‘The Wrestling Menu’ with one of DaveyBoy’s world-famous polls!

So without further ado; Ladies & gentlemen, it's:

Voting Time:

WHO SHOULD RIC FLAIR’S FINAL MATCH AT WRESTLEMANIA 24 INVOLVE...???


That's #218 of 'The Wrestling Menu' in the books. Please don't hesitate to let me know what you thought of my 'SummerSlam' and/or Raw reviews. But more importantly, please vote in my 'Ric Flairs Final Match' poll. The more votes I get, the more we all learn from the results. You know where I am & you know that I will reply to all feedback in due time. My e-mail address is DaveyBoy123@bigpond.com, but if you are an LOP Forums member, it would be much appreciated if you could leave feedback and/or poll votes on my thread at http://www.lopforums.com/showthread.php?t=217&page=7. Please note that this thread CAN still be viewed by non-members of the forums if you require some ideas with your response.

And while you are on the LOP Forums, why don't you check out my weekly contributions to the Album Review thread. So far, I have reviewed 2 albums each by groups such as My Chemical Romance, Muse, Rise Against, Razorlight, The Killers, Kasabian, The All-American Rejects, Kaiser Chiefs, AFI, Panic At The Disco, Fall Out Boy, Jet, Hinder, LostProphets, Trust Company, Orson & Daughtry. Just click on the following link & scroll down: http://www.lopforums.com/showthread.php?t=99&page=3.

With the flood of pay-per-views that WWE will be throwing at us over the next couple of months, this may be a good chance to take another week off next Wednesday. So don’t be surprised if that is the case & you don’t see me on the 5th. But fear not, I will be back on September-12 with the results to this poll, my predictions for ‘Unforgiven’ & who knows what else. Whichever week it is, my column will be posted at the same Wednesday time on the same LOP channel. Until then, this is DaveyBoy signing off & asking you to remember that dinner is best served in 3 courses.


DaveyBoy’s Wrestling Menu. 2002-2007

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