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411 PPV Roundtable Preview: WWE SummerSlam 2010

August 14, 2010 | Posted by Stephen Randle

Introduction:

This Sunday, the biggest show of the summer gets underway, and one of WWE’s longest PPV traditions continues, as WWE presents SummerSlam! In this event, both the WWE and World titles are on the line, as Sheamus gives Randy Orton his one and only chance at the WWE Championship, and Kane defends his World Heavyweight Championship against Rey Mysterio, while the specter of “who tried to kill the Undertaker” hangs over the proceedings.

Meanwhile, the destiny of Raw will be decided, as the united Nexus takes on the fractious team of Raw Superstars led by John Cena in a 7-on-7 Elimination Tag Match. The winner of this match could determine the future of Monday nights for a long, long time. And if there wasn’t enough on the line, Cena’s team is short a man following the events of last week’s Raw. Will they go into Sunday night with the handicap, or will somebody, anybody, or maybe The Miz, step up to defend their position on Raw?

Plus, the Big Show looks to take down the entire Straight Edge Society at once, the returning Melina attempts to win back the Divas title that she was never defeated for against Alicia Fox, and Kofi Kingston looks for some vengeance against new IC champion Dolph Ziggler and his main squeeze, Vicki Guerrero.

The foundations of WWE could shake with the events of this Sunday’s PPV, and the 411 Staff has checked in with their own perspectives on the upcoming event.

The Staff

Stephen Randle, The Wrestling News Experience

Chad Nevett, High Road/Low Road

Ronnie LaFianza, Raw and Impact recapper

Aaron Hubbard, The Contentious Ten

Ari Berenstein, Column of Honor, bringing the annual SummerSlam haikus

Steve Cook hates haikus. Boo!

Len Archibald, 411 Movies’ Around The World in 24 Frames

Justin Weinblatt, 411 Games’ Silicon Valley 10 & 1




Alicia Fox ©
vs
Melina

Stephen Randle: Well, the Divas title is pretty hard to predict, but that’s only because it doesn’t really matter who’s holding the title anyway, since most of them can’t wrestle and are currently PG-rated eye candy. Seriously, their everyday ring gear used less fabric than those swimsuits last Monday. Most people assumed whoever was holding the belt was just waiting for Melina to come back anyway, and if Alicia wins there’s really nobody else, so why delay the inevitable?

Winner: Melina

Chad Nevett: It would severely undercut Alicia Fox if Melina were to come back after an injury and win the belt immediately with two straight victories. Fox needs the win here to actually look somewhat legitimate. The match will be awful.

Winner and STILL WWE Divas Champion: Alicia Fox

Ronnie LaFianza: Actually, I don’t think this match will be too bad. I don’t get what all the hate for Melina is. She’s pretty good in the ring and can probably carry Alicia Fox to a passable match. As for the winner, probably Fox, just because there’s no reason this rivalry can’t continue as we’ll probably get a rematch at Night of Champions.

Winner: Alicia Fox

Aaron Hubbard: Melina returns…and I still don’t care.

Winner and NEW Diva’s Champion: Melina

Ari Berenstein:

Hey foxy ladies,
Don’t go and botch the match now.
Screaming female wins.

Winner: Melina wins via disqualification, Fox retains the Divas Title.

Steve Cook: Can’t say I’m really looking forward to this one, but the optimist in me says that it can’t be worse than their match on Monday. So they’ve got that going for them. If John Morrison & Ted DiBiase still had a feud going, I would say that Melina would win here so she could lose to Maryse. I would approve because it involves Maryse doing something. Instead, I think we get Fox winning and the feud continuing until they have a good match.

Winner: Alicia Fox

Len Archibald: Melina just came back and suddenly has a title shot. Yeah, they’re not wasting any time. Both ladies are fine as hell, but I think the ‘E is going to stretch this out until Night of Champions.

Winner: Melina via disqualification.

Michael Weyer: Having Melina back can give the ladies’ division a nice boost. Tempting to say WWE will give her the belt right off but I think they’ll wait a bit on the title switch itself to see how these two work together (hopefully better on a big PPV like this).

Winner and STILL Divas Champion: Alicia Fox

Justin Weinblatt: I’ll give Alicia some credit. She’s gotten through this title reign without seriously injuring anyone. I think her reign should end before she does.

Winner: Melina

Big Show
vs
The Straight Edge Society

Stephen Randle: Let me get this straight: you broke the hand of a guy who knocks people out. Okay, I guess that makes sense. Except when Show appears on Sunday wearing a gigantic arm cast. He will then proceed to use said cast to knock your face into next weekend. It happens every time and they still don’t see it coming.

Winner: The Big Show

Chad Nevett: The Straight Edge Society hasn’t looked so good lately. Sure they’ve gotten the upperhand on Big Show very recently, but both CM Punk and Joey Mercury were unmasked with little fanfare (or difficulty), Serena seems ready to jump ship, and the faction is looking pretty weak. While a three-on-one match doesn’t necessarily make the group look dominant, a loss here will confirm that this faction is going nowhere. The SES needs to destroy the Big Show and walk away unified and looking like a genuine force to be reckoned with.

Winners: The Straight Edge Society

Ronnie LaFianza: This match really does nothing for me. Is Punk even capable of wrestling with his arm? I don’t know what the situation is on that, but even if he can go, this doesn’t seem like an intriguing match at all. I’m gonna pick the SES on account of that they need a big win at this point to establish some credibility.

Winner: Straight Edge Society

Aaron Hubbard: This is a no win situation in my book. I hate handicap matches, and even with the three to one odds, Show is still probably the favorite to win here. Is Punk even ready to wrestle yet? Joey Matthews is here to get beat up, and Gallows is here to even the odds a little bit. I don’t think anyone winning this will elevate them. Blech.

Winner: The Big Show

Ari Berenstein:

One hand hurt for Show.
Still good enough for knock-out.
Hit them with his stump.

Winner: Big Show (pins all males at the same time with his foot on an SES pile)

Steve Cook: I always say CM Punk is going to win on a PPV, and he never does. Is three people enough to handle Big Show when one of them is Joseph Mercury? I’m not sold that it is.

Winner: Big Show

Len Archibald: The storyline is that The Big Show’s hand is hurt, right? I think that telegraphs the end there. If the SES wins, I’ll be shocked. SHOCKED, I say.

Winner: Big Show

Michael Weyer: The feud has been okay and the SES could use a win to set themselves as something close to dominant. Selling Big Show as injured sort of gives it away with his “fighting against overwhelming odds” bit so he’ll win here and probably bury the three in the process.

Winner: Big Show

Justin Weinblatt: It seems that the Big Show is set up for a victory here, but I’m going to hold out some faith in WWE creative. If the Straight Edge Society loses here, they’re basically the WWE’s Team Rocket.

Winner: Straight Edge Society (Punk pins Show after Gallows does the dirty work)


Dolph Ziggler ©
vs
Kofi Kingston

Stephen Randle: No chance that Ziggles gets a one week title reign, which begs the question, why did the title match occur on Smackdown when you were going to have the overly predictable re-match at SummerSlam?

Winner: Dolph Ziggler

Chad Nevett: Dolph Ziggler finally won the belt last week, so I don’t see him dropping it. This match is there to fill out the card a bit more and, I imagine, see if both men can step up and deliver a great match. Their work together has been enjoyable, but forgettable. I hope they push themselves and live up to the high standard of Intercontinental Championship matches at SummerSlam.

Winner and STILL WWE Intercontinental Champion: Dolph Ziggler

Ronnie LaFianza: AHHHH!!! Why have the title change on Smackdown if you’re gonna have them face off on PPV anyways? It totally kills any chance of the fans thinking that the title will change hands. I say Ziggler retains here, and then Christian will be his next challenger and win it somewhere down the line. Hopefully.

Winner: Dolph Ziggler

Aaron Hubbard: Two of the most underrated performers in the WWE today. I’m pretty high on both of these guys, and this could end up being the match of the night. Expect it open the show. Ziggler will retain his title, and hopefully Kofi will start getting some upward momentum and start becoming the breakout star that he looked like he was going to be last year.

Winner: Dolph Ziggler (via DQ/Count Out/Interference)

Ari Berenstein:

Angrier he gets,
Stronger he is. PUNY MAN.
Kofi Smash Ziggler!

Winner: Dolph Ziggler via reverse decision or referee stoppage after Kofi goes too far and won’t stop beating the crap out of him. Vickie Guerrero gets hers too.

Steve Cook: Taking the title off Ziggler here would be pretty short-sighted on their part. That’s a great argument in favor of Kofi Kingston, but I think that Ziggler manages to hang on to the strap.

Winner: Dolph Ziggler

Len Archibald: Dolph just won the title. Um, obvious choice here?

Winner: And STILL Intercontinental Champion, Dolph Ziggler

Michael Weyer: I really don’t get the title change on SmackDown rather than wait for the PPV. It’s doubtful WWE would jump the belt back to Kofi so quickly after Ziggler’s long chase so he’ll retain it here in what should be a great match to set both men up for new programs.

Winner and STILL IC Champion: Dolph Ziggler

Justin Weinblatt: This could quite possibly be the best match of the show. Kofi should be moving on to bigger and better things, so he should lose while getting his revenge on Dolph and Vickie, thereby blowing off the feud.

Winner: Dolph via DQ

The Nexus
vs
John Cena, Bret Hart, Edge, Chris Jericho, John Morrison, R-Truth, and ???
Elimination Tag Match

Stephen Randle: The only (and I mean only) way that Cena’s team pulls out a victory is if the following happens: Miz approaches, brimming with confidence that he is the only possible choice as the seventh man, until Cena cuts him off with “Sorry, we found someone better”. Enter the American Dragon.

That said, that’s probably not happening, and they’re not killing the Nexus angle yet, so…

Winner: The Nexus

Chad Nevett: This is definitely the most anticipated match of the night and the one that really needs to come through. Cena’s team is looking united, albeit one member short. The Miz was teased as a possible seventh member, but what I think needs to happen (and almost definitely won’t) will be the return of Daniel Bryan. That would be a good payoff to his exit from the WWE. But, that won’t happen, so I’d look to someone other than the Miz who I don’t see putting his neck on the line for something he’s not personally involved in. Who does that leave? I don’t know. Evan Bourne? I’d be happy with that. As for the match, I’d like to see Nexus go over, but with only Wade Barrett and, maybe, another guy remaining. Nothing too dominant or unrealistic. I’m not sure anyone on Cena’s team is a good fit for turning on the group after recent events, but we’ll see. Maybe the man behind Nexus will finally be revealed.

Winners: The Nexus

Ronnie LaFianza: Here’s what I think is gonna happen. The final man on the team will be Evan Bourne. The match will come down to 7 on 2, with Cena and Bourne being the final two guys, and eventually taking the victory, giving us a feel good moment to close the show. On Raw, Miz will be pissed he wasn’t the 7th man and feud with Bourne, who was given the spot even though he lost to Miz on Raw. They’ll feud till Night of Champions, where Bourne takes the belt. So yeah, I don’t see any way that the Nexus is gonna win this match.

Winner: Team Cena

Aaron Hubbard: Yeah, Evan Bourne should fill this last slot nicely. While there is some decent talent here (Jericho, Edge, Morrison, Cena, Barrett, and Gabriel) this match’s quality will be dependent on the booking. I honestly don’t know what to expect. However, Nexus should win this. If they lose after all the tension on the RAW team, then I won’t be able to take them seriously. WWE should be able to push this storyline to Survivor Series at least, but if they lose here, I’ll lose whatever remains of my interest after Bryan Danielson was fired.

Winner: The Nexus

Ari Berenstein:

Seven on Seven?
Nope. Don’t Trust Anybody.
Poor odds on fair fight.

Winner: Team Nexus- Bret Hart starts out knocked out behind the scenes, and we start out seven on five. The Miz teases joining but backs out and never officially is in the match. Match comes down to a four or five on Cena, when Hart comes back out. Hart turns on Cena and joins Nexus as its manager.

Steve Cook: It doesn’t matter who WWE manages to get to be the seventh victim. The winds of change will blow through the Staples Center, and when it’s all said and done, the Nexus will prevail. Take me to the magic of the moment on a glory night, where the children of tomorrow dream away in the wind of change.

Winners: The Nexus

Len Archibald: The “smart mark” in me wants to see Bryan Danielson return to be the seventh member of team WWE, but that won’t happen. What may happen may be a recreation of “WHO’S THE THIRD MAN, ORSON WELLES?!” Does the Miz get involved? Will someone turn? Just when you think you have the answers, Nexus changes the questions!

Winner: Team Nexus

Michael Weyer: A toughie as I usually lean toward automatically giving the win to the guys with the mystery partner. Plus, a big show so it makes sense to have Team Cena finally win. But the angle has been going over like gangbusters and we haven’t seen the man behind the Nexus yet so I think they’ll manage to win with a last-minute swerve to keep it going longer for a future PPV.

Winners: The Nexus

Justin Weinblatt: This story line still has some legs, so it’s hard to see it ending so quickly. Bret Hart will be taken out in a pre-match beatdown. He can’t be pinned in the match, because that would involve taking a bump. Evan Bourne will replace Bret which still leaves one slot open, presumably for the Miz. The Miz will screw his team over, either directly, by taking out Cena, or indirectly, with his arrogance.

Winner: Nexus (Barrett pins Cena after Miz-shenanigans)


Kane ©
vs
Rey Mysterio

Stephen Randle: If the match does not end like the following I will do something horribly embarrassing in Monday’s Experience:

Kane defeats Rey, then prepares to put him in a casket. When he opens the casket, surprise, it’s the Undertaker! And he knows who tried to kill him! He will proceed to chokeslam that person (who will most likely be Kane, but hey, they’ve done stupid swerves before) as the announcers pretend to be shocked. End scene.

Winner: Kane

Chad Nevett: I would have liked to see Jack Swagger involved in this since Kane/Rey Rey is a little boring for my tastes. Mysterio’s style works less and less the larger his opponent gets. I imagine Kane will go over to see up a feud with the Undertaker, which suits me fine. Not expecting a lot from the match, though.

Winner and STILL WWE World Heavyweight Champion: Kane

Ronnie LaFianza: I’m kind of torn here. On one hand, Mysterio winning would work because he could face Swagger at Night of Champions while Kane builds up his rivalry with Taker on Smackdown until it culminates at Hell in a Cell. On the other hand, it would be the third straight PPV that the world title has changed hands, which is something I don’t think should be happening (I’m looking at you 2009). But I ultimately see it happening because the world title really doesn’t mean shit, so I’m gonna choose Mysterio. Kane will have Rey ready for the Tombstone, the lights will go out and Taker’s dong will go off. Mysterio will do something crazy and then win the match.

Winner: Rey Mysterio

Aaron Hubbard: Keep the belt on the big red monster so Taker can take it from him at Hell in a Cell. I’ve had about enough of the rapid-fire changes for the belts this year already, we don’t need another Mysterio run. Has the potential to surprise people. Also has the potential to be a car crash.

Winner: Kane

Ari Berenstein:

Vegetative state.
Kane is the culprit? No surprise.
He once kidnapped Rey.

Winner: Kane retains the title, Undertaker returns post-match to scare him off.

Steve Cook: Kane’s second title reign has almost been Brunoesque in comparison to his first one, so I think he’s ready to have a let down performance. I also have a feeling that a certain vegetative Dead Man won’t be vegetative much longer, and that’ll be a bad thing for one of these guys.

Winner: Rey Mysterio

Len Archibald: Did Kane even pay attention to how SummerSlam ended last year? UNDERTAKER’S DONG~! appears, but only after that masked midget gets his. (man, it’s fun throwing out all these IWC memes!)

Winner: And STILL World Heavyweight Champion, Kane

Michael Weyer: Kane’s title win was a surprise and while he’s a great monster, not sold on him as champion. I’ll go with the flow and figure that just as Kane’s about to win, the gong will sound to distract him and Rey gets the belt back to set up more action (maybe with Swagger or Christian).

Winner and NEW World Heavyweight Champion: Rey Mysterio

Justin Weinblatt: We’ve known since the start of this angle that it would lead to an Undertaker vs Kane match. Since Night of Champions is coming up, it stands to reason that the match will be for the title.

Winner: Kane


Sheamus ©
vs
Randy Orton
If anyone interferes, they will be suspended
If Orton loses, he cannot get a rematch

Stephen Randle: I don’t know, Orton should win, but hell, what’s one more person he can’t get a rematch for the title against? Frankly, if Orton wins the belt, he does have options for feuds, but if Sheamus loses the title, he’s pretty much got nowhere to go. Plus Triple H hasn’t gotten his revenge and another title reign yet.

Winner: Sheamus (possibly by getting DQ’d)

Chad Nevett: This is the only match I’m torn on. On one hand, you have the insanely over Randy Orton who you’d be stupid not to stick the belt on. On the other, you have the still not completely over as a main eventer Sheamus who needs a win here to avoid looking like a guy who can only win by luck or through interferrence. Sheamus also hasn’t been champ that long and could benefit from holding the belt a while longer. The no rematch clause for Orton is what makes me want to go with the Viper as I can’t see the WWE wanting to wait that long before sticking the belt on Orton as a face. Sheamus seems like the smart choice, but my gut is saying Orton, so…

Winner and NEW WWE Champion: Randy Orton

Ronnie LaFianza: First off, does anyone get why there’s been outside interference banned from this match? Who in the fuck is planning on interfering with this? The Nexus, who have no reason to interfere, plus already having a match in the same night to prepare for. Second off, this is probably the second most intriguing match on the card (though that’s not saying much) and will probably be on level with the Elimination Tag match. As for a winner, I’m gonna have to go with Sheamus. I’m actually curious to know what WWE has planned for Hell in a Cell, as Raw has no major rivalries right now which could possibly come to an end inside the cell. I see Orton winning by DQ, and then getting a rematch at Night of Champions, and this thing will all come to an end at Hell in a Cell. Yeah, that sounds like a shitty plan, but that’s all I can think of. Plus, it works as when Sheamus gets disqualified, Miz won’t be able to cash in, which is what they’ve been hyping up a lot. So yeah, Orton by DQ.

Winner: Randy Orton

Aaron Hubbard: The only thing I like about Sheamus is his mic work, which across as very natural. Orton, however, is white hot right now and has been the top guy on RAW in my view since Wrestlemania anyway. In my view, there’s two options; putting the belt on him, or waiting until Wrestlemania and giving him a big win. I don’t see them waiting that long to capitalize on his popularity.

Winner and NEW WWE Champion: Randy Orton

Ari Berenstein:

Oi Fella, Play nice.
Too bad about the voices.
What a shameful thing.

Winner: Randy Orton to win the WWE Championship (RKO and pinfall)

Steve Cook: Randy Orton is riding a pretty big wave of momentum right now. Twitter told me so! I think Orton wins so a certain MITB holder can attempt to cash in…at some point. Wouldn’t it be hilarious if Orton won this match, then Miz tried to cash in, and then failed? Well, I think it would be hilarious. Michael Cole would faint at ringside. The more I think of this, the better an idea it seems. Either way, I see the Viper leaving SummerSlam as Champ.

Winner: Randy Orton

Len Archibald: Hmmm…Orton loses, he doesn’t get another shot as long as Sheamus is champ, right? Orton has basically become the hottest act in the ‘E since his face turn and this is the second biggest PPV of the year. I wonder how this will—

(in the middle of typing this, Len Archibald fell victim to an RKO followed by “STUPID, STUPID, STUPID~! No one knows where the shit in his bag came from)

Winner: And NEW WWE Champion, Randy Orton

Michael Weyer: These two have decent enough chemistry to make this a good brawling affair. The result is no surprise as when you get a “last chance match,” it’s usually a safe bet for the challenger and Orton makes an awesome heel champ anyway.

Winner and NEW WWE Champion: Randy Orton

Justin Weinblatt: Yes Orton is hot right now, but his title win should be a big deal. If he were to win the title now, it would be overshadowed by the Nexus storyline. On the contrary, being overshadowed by the Nexus is a good thing for Sheamus. It allows him to grow as a credible champion while not having to carry the show.

Winner: Sheamus

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