SummerSlam 2011 was a truly great PPV. Four great matches I'll talk about here, plus a fun 6-man opener to get guys on the card, plus one of the best divas matches in a while, plus two funny backstage segments. Check it out.
ADDED:
#13 - Sheamus vs. Mark Henry - SummerSlam 8/14/11
Doubt this will stick to my list because it had lulls and there's been a ton of great stuff, by the dynamic between these two was incredible. Babyface Sheamus excites me and Henry's been on a tear since his heel turn, tossing tech guys and murdering monsters and talking shit. He lumbers around and clubs Sheamus and dominates. Sheamus brings fire on his comebacks and wails on Henry and the crowd digs all of it. Few awesome spots: Henry drapes Sheamus on the middle rope and then drives through and smashes him and lands on the outside; Sheamus hits a running double ax on one of his comebacks-- it's beautiful; Henry eats a Brogue kick but tumbles through the middle rope in a Vader-level fat boy bump, and it breaks hearts because Sheamus had him! Then they kill the rail on the finish: it looks sick, folks flip, and we get one of the best count-out finishes I've seen. Lord I want a rematch. Match was two big tough guys beating on each other. Not a classic, but it was pro wrestling, and that's what I love.
ADDED:
#8 - Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett - SummerSlam 8/14/11
I'm not high on Barrett, but he proved himself a solid hand here, in his best match yet. Bryan looked great, of course, and we got something pretty great. They worked the mat briefly at the start and Bryan stretched Barrett beautifully, which you don't see a lot in current WWE. Then Bryan hit some great dropkicks and rolled early until Barrett caught him with a black hole slam. Great spot, and it connected with what Barrett talked about on the last episode of SD, about studying Bryan, finding weak spots. Barrett's control stuff could've put this over the top if it had been better, but instead, it dragged a bit. But he hit everything fine, focused on Bryan's back, and hit an awesome forearm smash to cut off one of Bryan's comebacks. Bryan also took a great apron bump, and they teased a Wasteland off the apron, and then Bryan hit his flying knee off the apron. Really great sequence, and the finishing stretch rocked. Barrett was prepared to get to the ropes when Bryan went for his submissions. Finish was awesome, too, as Bryan took his clothesline bump off the top rope. No great story or character development here, but we got a hard-hitting match between two guys with something to prove who don't like each other. Bryan really leveled Wade with some of his kicks. Again, pro wrestling.
ADDED:
#5: Christian vs. Randy Orton - No Holds Barred - SummerSlam 8/14/11
This started uneventfully but at least Orton got his crappy short-arm clotheslines out of the way. He goes for his RKO on the table early, and Christian tries to run because he's felt that before. Orton catches him and beats him up in the crowd and then stomps on his head and grins crazily. Back in the ring, Christian dodges Orton and Orton eats post with his shoulder. Announcers put over his injury history, and he sells it throughout the match. From here, they take off. Christian looks like he has something to prove on offense because he does: Edge called him a bitch. He wails on Orton with a kendo stick and chokes him with the point of it. Orton, however, catches Christian going for a leaping shot with the kendo stick: beautifully-time dropkick. These two always work counter-heavy matches, but works because they time well, hit hard, and have familiarity. They also set up, build to, and pay off on the big spots. We get a sequence of great teased table spots, and then down the stretch, we get quality table spots, including a nasty powerslam through a table in the corner. Orton hits great powerslams, and what puts this match over the top is all the crazy shit Christian takes. He takes a monster beating after being called a bitch: I hope they put that over on SD, but they'll probably bury him.
I could see folks finding this prop-heavy, but it only got cluttered toward the end, when Orton lost his shit. That was awesome, but the way. He kicked out of a Killswitch (ate it beautifully, fwiw), so Christian went for a con-chair-to but spat in Orton's face first-- the match was loaded with quality callbacks, and that was the best of them-- so Orton dodged the chair and blew up. From there, we saw him kill Christian. Some might have found the finish contrived, and there was a distracting spot where Christian had to hold a trash can in place so he could take a rope-elevated DDT onto it. But that was still one of the best trash can spots I've seen. So yeah, this had some of the weaknesses you might expect in a garbage match, but it was mostly violent and awesome and totally worth checking out.
ADDED:
#2 - CM Punk vs. John Cena - SummerSlam 8/14/11
Already talked about the greatness of their MITB match, which had a surreal atmosphere and was drenched in drama and one of the best WWE matches ever. They worked evenly for a while until Cena took over and tried unsuccessfully to put Punk away: that match was about Punk's heart. Here, the crowd is split more evenly, meaning they were less surreal but still plenty of fun. And they work with parity throughout the match while building off their previous encounter, and they do it without cheesy stand-offs or turning the match into a your turn/my turn deal. Part of the reason it worked, and why the whole feud has worked, has been because both guys are such different characters, and that shows in their work. Cena works traditional, with punches, kicks, and basic holds, while Punk brings his muay thai stuff and an array of kicks. Cena hits elbow drops; Punk hits falling head-butts. Equals but opposites. The early mat stuff rules: it's not flashy but it's sensible and effective. The callback spots are great. In one out-of-this world sequence, Cena goes for his typical offense but Punk catches him with a knee to the face while he's mid shoulder-block. Punk goes for a knee in the corner but Cena dodges and finishes his shoulder blocks and goes for his slam to set up the five-knuckle shuffle. Punk counters through with a headlock takeover, hits his running knee against the ropes, goes for a bulldog only to have Cena counter with his slam and go for the five-knuckle shuffle. Punk tries to counter with a kick to the face-- callback to the MITB match-- but Cena catches him and goes for an STF, which Punk counters. Beautiful. Then Punk busts out an STO into a Koji Clutch, which Cena counters in an STF, which Punk counters into an Anaconda Vice, which Cena counters into a crossface. It's incredible, exhausting. Both guys bring their best and put tons behind each strike and bust out tons of great counters. Punk sells the knee all down the stretch. Triple H's role works fine. The strike exchanges further accentuate the differences between these two. Cena hits a 100% perfect dropkick and throws an awesome punch flurry down the stretch. Both guys communicate desperation brilliantly as they approach the finish. The finish itself is pretty cool and sets up future feuds while still leaving the door open for another Punk/Cena match.
Another bona fide classic which deserves extra commendation for being way different from their previous classic: MORE PRO WRESTLING.
Best of WWE 2011: THE LIST
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