Now I had said I didn’t want to pay for SummerSlam 2006 because the card didn’t seem too great. But then I got caught up in the SummerSlam hype. I actually attended the first SummerSlam with the MegaPowers vs. the Megabucks – so I’m a SummerSlam fan.
They got me to pay up the 40 bucks and I watched the show. Here’s my opinion on it: It was a decent show that was quite fun and set up storylines for a while. Did anyone else notice that every match (except the DX one) had the loser enter the ring first?
The night opened up with Rey vs. Chavo because no other match could open. I enjoyed the match and the two have very good chemistry. Chavo selling of Rey’s offense is believable and the two did not disappoint. I think their No Way Out match was better and no Vicki Guerrero interference would be nice, but all in all a good opener with some nice highspots.
Hogan/Orton was what I expected except for the finish of Hogan going over. It’s not like he needs to protect his spot so I don’t understand why he didn’t job to Orton. Hogan played the crowd excellently and he’s the smartest man in wrestling – I wonder how he would do as a booker (assuming he was no longer an on-air talent).
Show vs. Sabu was alright. I was surprised there was no interference by Paul Heyman or RVD or someone. The two didn’t work together that well and the match was sloppy in parts.
The I Quit match was more hardcore than the ECW match. Some crazy bumps had me cringing for both wrestlers. The match ended abruptly with Mick quitting to save Melina and quite possibly means that the feud will continue.
DX vs. The McMahons (+10): I enjoyed seeing Ken Kennedy getting such offense on DX. It would be nice to see a Kennedy vs. HBK feud since the two can be loudmouths very well. Since Kennedy is such a star on SmackDown! it’s only a matter of time before he is sent to Raw. Anyway, the match portion was weak, but I enjoyed seeing the McMahons using tag-team finishers from the past. I was disappointed they did not use the Midnight Express’ finisher. It also set up a Kane-Umaga feud to give both men direction.
King Bookah vs. Batista: Batista needs some conditioning work since he nearly botched the Batista Bomb. Bookah retains and the feud will continue. That’s good for SmackDown!
Edge vs. John Cena: Cena loses in front of his home crowd so Edge will do the job at Unforgiven in Toronto. I’m glad Edge successfully defended the WWE championship at such a major PPV. It was a good match and I still think that Edge is a great champion. He seems like he could lose any match to any opponent (take a look at his ladder match against Ric Flair or his recent match against Carlito). He draws good heel heat and fans want to see him get his butt kicked in the ring.
BTW: I also liked the interaction between the champions. It makes the two shows really seem like two different promotions.
State of Wrestling 