WWE SummerSlam
August 24, 2003
Live from the American West Arena in Pheonix, AZ
Summerslam was a mix of the good and the horrendous, something we’ve grown to expect from WWE. It may be the only thing they do consistently. Overall, I thought it was good, but here on the internet, response was mixed, to say the least. While A-Train had a high-profile match, many of the most talented people on the roster were left out, most after botched pushes. Even Christian and the Intercontinental title, supposedly a respected title, were belittled by Eric Bischoff and announcer Jonathan Coachman, who is now doing several matches on the road with Jerry Lawler.
The most important thing to note, however, is that incompetent storyline writing has put WWE in a place where they no longer can operate in the same manner that they have to this point, without regards to what they want. Since senseless booking has left them with little options, much of the decisions, writing wise, made at the PPV were, as WWE has tended to do over the past two years in tough situations, out of desperation. And after watching RAW the night after, it seems like they have decided to venture down the road of ludicrousness…and while not foreign to WWE, it’s a shame. Worse was that Vince McMahon, the most important man in WWE, thought the show, called by many one of the worst in company history, was an example of the best they have to offer. The announcers are feuding, Steve Austin is a mid-carder, and Coach shows good charisma? Yes, the world has gone mad… and it’s about to get worse.
This year, despite selling out seats, SummerSlam is not likely to do numbers of years past, or even compared to big PPV buyrates this year, with a lot of the build to the show being poor in significant areas, including a well done but not warmly-received Brock Lesnar heel turn, and insinuated rape of Linda McMahon by RAW general manager Eric Bischoff plus the horribly-timed Elimination Chamber match replacing HHH vs. Goldberg match which has been twice delayed, both times due to HHH who marries the Executive Vice President of Creative, in one month. Despite featuring a “weak heel” HHH winning with the help of Ric Flair, Randy Orton, and a sledgehammer.
I admit that the show could have been booked better to feature a less flat ending. However, there were much larger problem, in terms of booking on the show. Plus, let’s admit, despite being financially secure, WWE business is in big trouble. Conventional booking must go out the door and a few sacrifices need to be made for the long-term future of the business.
There have been two main complaints as to the main event Elimination Chamber. The first complaint and most popular one is a debate against the finish of the match. When Goldberg entered the match, he dominated and everyone left bumped for him and did the job. At the end, HHH played the pussy heel until he used a sledgehammer and the help of Randy Orton and Ric Flair to bloody and defeat Goldberg. The complaint is that HHH has once again used his power to retain. To some degrees that is true, but in my last column I outlined why Goldberg should win the title, not why Goldberg should win the Chamber match. My suggestion from the point this match was announced was to have Goldberg get put over in this match, except when HHH, because of some angle, is able to defeat him. This would be the basis for a match at Unforgiven next month where HHH loses to Goldberg. The positives to having Goldberg win in the first place are many (see “A Case for Goldberg”), and in fact greater than even having Chris Jericho win. The positives to this happening next month, rather than right now, are even more. The second was the match quality, but even the detractors said that the match was good. I thought that the booking for the Chamber match was very good. Definitely Pat Patterson’s work.
The first three matches on the show were, from where I sit, stale and sub-par. The RAW tag title match was disturbingly predictable nationalistic fare. Seriously, a lot of the undercard stuff in WWE is really elementary and when I say elementary I don’t mean rudimentary or paint-by-numbers logic but actually elementary school-level. Undertaker/A-Train was too basic for a PPV match, but it’s not as if we could’ve expected more. Before long, they could revert to WWF circa 1997 where the PPV undercard matches are just slow, awful matches. McMahon/Bischoff proved that Shane McMahon has no business near a wrestling ring, because so far, he’s been just like Stephanie without the voice.
The US Title four way match was good, but could’ve lasted longer. This was one of the best-booked things on the show and the match itself was worth payoff. Angle/Lesnar definitely deserves all the praise it has been getting, it was a very good match except for the finish. Kane/Van Dam was the usual stuff and a good PPV match but not semi-main event material.
Overall an average show. Let’s hope for a better one next year.
{6/10 (7/10 for work; 6 for entertainment; 4.5 for booking)}
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