by The Dames

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WWE SummerSlam 2002

It’s that time again for the “Mid-Summer Classic” and for the past few years, WWE has definitely delivered with SummerSlam. This year’s card looks great on paper and interest for tonight’s show is higher for any show in the past few months. Hopefully, the crowd at Nassau Coliseum doesn’t disappoint (like they have in the past). So, I’m in my lovely domicile watching Heat and getting all pumped up, trying to spot my friend Johnny Mac and Mr. Too Damn Excited, Scott Hill in the crowd entering the arena.

Unfortunately, I’m watching this PPV solo as my boy Suazo is back at college. Big shout out to Suazo, EQ, Phatness and the rest of the PWC and I’ll see you boys soon.

So, with ZERO CHERRY ITALIAN ICES~! (because you just CAN’T find them around here), I’m ready to recap!

First, we’ll start off with the bonus Heat match:

Spike Dudley vs. Steven Richards.

Match Background: Richards and Spike had a match on Heat a few weeks back and Richards got DQ’ed after using a chair on the little Dudley.

The Match: Atomic drop and clothesline by SD to start. He follows that up with a headscissors and Richards bails. Small “ECW” chant. Richard in control now and he gets 2 rolling suplexes and tops it off with a front face suplex for two. Superplex by Richards is countered into a rollup for two. Harsh powerbomb out of the corner to Spike for two. Charge in the corner misses and Spike gets the Dudley Dog for the pin.

My Opinion: There isn’t any reason for Spike to go over here. So of course, he does. ½*

After the match, Spike administers a beatdown...man, Richards just can’t get a break.

PPV Start:

Decent, old school Smackdown like set. The announce teams will be calling their respective matches. Raw matches are announced my JR & The King, SD by Cole and Tazz...and we immediately go into:

Kurt Angle vs. Rey Misterio

Olympic Gold Medalist....6...1...9. Damn, this is the opener? I know one moonsaulting poster on my message board who’s going to be PISSED.

Match Background: In a six man tag team match 3 weeks ago on Smackdown, Angle was pinned by Rey and Kurt took massive offense to it. Belittling Rey on promos due to his size, it prompted Mysterio to challenge Angle to a match at SummerSlam, which Kurt accepted. Mysterio then interfered in a few matches, busting up Angle on one occasion. Angle, in an attempt to prepare for Mysterio’s Cruiser style, wrestled Kidman on Smackdown and lost by countout due to mind games by Mysterio.

The Match: Angle out first awaiting Mysterio to make his entrance, but he’s actually behind him and springboard headscissors him from behind. Rey with some more lucha offense before Kurt grabs a hold of Rey and goes for the Anklelock. Rey flips out of it, trips Angle onto the ropes and goes for the 619, but Angle ducks and the move is countered for the first time in WWE. Boy, that move got over quickly. Angle takes over now and hits a few suplexes, including an Ocean Cyclone which is called a German by the announce team. Hey, at least they try to call the moves, unlike JR & The King half the time! Second attempt at the same move is turned into a roll up by Rey for two. Angle on offense and he’s taking his time with the petite luchador. Ooh, Kurt counters a head scissors into a side slam. Kurt puts on a half crab in the old Liontamer fashion which looks really painful on such a small opponent. Man, Angle just keeps expanding that moveset! So far, the story of the match is that Angle wants to make Rey tap. This is twice that he’s worked on the leg. Rey rolls him up from that position for a desperation two count. Angle takes over again and hits an overhead belly to belly. He goes for the Angle Slam, but gets armdragged. I want to see Rey armdrag his way out of the Anklelock. I swear, he armdrags out of any position! Angle to the outside now and Rey wants to take to the air, but is stopped by the ref to massive boos. As the ref looks on between the ropes, Rey uses his back to flip over the top onto Angle! He shoves Angle back into the ring and hits a HIGH springboard legdrop for a near fall that the crowd totally bought. Rey on Angle’s shoulders but gets tossed to the ground and put in the Anklelock but Rey kicks Kurt’s arms to out of it! The crowd is definitely into this. Rey hits the 619 and the West Coast Pop (springboard hurancanrana) for a near fall! Rey can’t believe he kicked out...and his contacts officially freak me out. Rey with a top rope Dragonrana attempt (spinning rana off the top), but Angle counters into the Anklelock! Kurt pulls him to the middle and Rey taps out!

My Opinion: Clash of styles went well actually, lots of false finishes with a strong ending. It keeps Angle looking strong, and Rey is still over with the crowd. He hung in with Angle as long as he could and he should be more over as a result. ***

In the back, Stephanie and Bischoff have to share the same office for the night. Apparently, Nassau can’t afford to have two.

Ric Flair vs. Chris Jericho

The battle between Living Legends!

Match Background: On the night that Jericho jumped to Raw, he smacked Flair in the head with a chair for no real reason. Flair returned the favor the week after. Flair then pantsed Jericho on Raw to embarrass him and Jericho busted him open for it the next week. During Jericho’s Fozzy concert, Flair came out and ruined the equipment.

This match really should have taken place in January or so, when Ric Flair was seemingly stacking the deck against then-Undisputed champion Chris Jericho. I hope that Jericho goes over here, he hasn’t won a match on pay per view since....damn.

The Match: Flair with some mind games to start. Jericho with a back body drop and a sloppy clothesline. Flair with some chops now. Ross: “Nobody does it with the intensity or the velocity of Ric Flair”. Back in ’89, I’d agree with ya....these days, its all Benoit. Jericho gets thrown over, but skins the cat to come back in and eats a few more chops. Jericho places Flair into the corner, and in a bad looking moment, Flair rams his head into the turnbuckle without Jericho’s help. Flair gets irish whipped and botches a Flair Flip. Flair knocks over a cameraman after a Jericho double axe off the top. Back in now, Jericho gets a missile dropkick for two. Heel Jericho is so smart, he removes a turnbuckle in full view of the ref and while Charles Robinson goes to put it back, he chokes Flair in the corner with his wrist tape. That is just ingenious. Jericho looks at the ref “I’m the King of the World!” Ha! Jericho to the top now and Flair throws him off in a nice little role reversal. Ric with some chops and a textbook side suplex. Jericho gets a roll up and turns it into a Walls of Jericho attempt. Flair rolls him up out of that one for two. Botched bulldog by Jericho on the part of Flair. Jericho goes for a Lionsault that he would have overshot if Flair hadn’t moved anyway. Jericho with the Figure Four now and Flair gets to the ropes....but taps at the same time. The tap doesn’t count though. Ref bump, low blow by Flair and then Jericho gets put in the Figure Four and taps immediately.

My opinion: The match was disjointed. There were a lot of botched moves and the wrong guy definitely went over. Flair didn’t work the leg AT ALL and Jericho tapped. Why have Flair go over? Jericho NEEDS to turn face because right now his character is nothing more than a JOKE. **1/4

A Hulk Still Rules DVD promo airs....and Heyman tells Brock that they are releasing the best of Hogan because Lesnar destroyed his career. Thanks Brock.....really, thank you. If only it were true. Sad thing is, as much as I can’t Hogan, I want the DVD for all of the historic Saturday Night Main Event matches that you can’t find anywhere.

Edge vs. Eddie Guerrero

Match Background: Eddie and Edge have had some issues after a tag match on Smackdown a few weeks ago. He and Benoit attacked Edge this week. According to the “reliable” Michael Cole, Eddie is jealous of Edge. Somehow....I doubt that one.

The Match: Edge with a flapjack at the start of the matchup. Eddie takes over with a rope-assisted neckbreaker. Eddie gets monkey flipped and takes his usual “will he land on his head” bump across the ring that always scares the bejesus out of me. Edge with a falling powerslam, THQ style. Edge ties Eddie to the ropes (or at least tries to anyway) and spears him. On the second attempt, Eddie moves and Edge hurts his arm on the outside. Eddie SMELLS BLOOD and goes RIGHT after it, whipping Edge shoulder first into the steel steps. Back in the ring, Eddie stomps on it and hits a single arm DDT! I love that move...always have. Some more blows to the shoulder and jumps off the top to Edge, hitting ANOTHER single arm DDT! BREAK IT! Eddie with an armbar as he curses out the Long Island crowd in my language. Some more stomps to the arm by Guerrero. Edge’s arm is DEAD. Hammerlock and a crossface applied and Tazz actually calls it a crossface chicken wing! I haven’t seen a good one since ’95. Eddie with a Fujiwara armbar and he’s about to take Edge’s arm home as a trophy. In a cool, subtle spot, Eddie side suplex’s Edge and holds onto the arm for another armbar. Edge with a desperation powerslam, but he sells the arm! Edge with some clotheslines, taking care of his left arm. Edge suplexes Eddie over the top and instead of taking the time to recoup, he dives at him off the top rope, hurting his shoulder even more. Good, learn to sell, damn you! Edge on the top now....face first suplex onto Eddie for two. I’ve got to give it to Tazz, like him or not as a wrestler, but he is one of the very few announcers these days who actually pay attention to ring psychology. Eddie dropkicks a running Edge in the shoulder and Tazz calls him on it and has to correct Cole, who thought the dropkick was on the chin. Frogsplash attempt, but all he got was knees to the gut! Edge with the Edge-cution for a near fall! No one’s ever kicked out it before, to my knowledge. Edge really should have sold the arm better there, he landed right on it during the move. Eddie with a hammerlocked Northern Lights on Edge. He goes back up for another frogsplash attempt....Edge tries to throw him down, but gets shoved to the canvas. Frogsplash onto Edge’s bad arm! Oh, I am LOVING this! 1.....2.....no! Dammit. Eddie just ATTACKS Edge’s shoulder and whips him into the ropes...Spear by Edge for the pin!

My Opinion: Edge’s selling could have been better. All of the arm work didn’t factor into the finish, which took away from the match. Eddy was GOLD however. I wish that WWE would allow Eddie to go over, but I know they see dollar signs with Edge so I guess its acceptable. With a few more minutes, it could have gone to the **** range but I’ll give it ***1/2 due to Edge’s sporadic selling and the finish.

WWE promo airs, taking a shot at Major League Baseball and the impeding strike. Why must a strike always happen when my Yankees are in first!!! Ugh.

Coach interviews the UnAmericans in the back and Christian and Storm lay down the law on the Long Island crowd. They’re always on their hands and uninterested....but so far tonight, they’ve been into the show. Must be all of the fans from NYC.

Booker T & Goldust vs. UnAmericans (Lance Storm and Christian) for the WWE Tag Team Titles.

Match Background: Booker T & Goldust have been a team for quite a while and haven’t gotten a tag title shot. The UnAmericans have faced them a few times in 8-man and 6-man teams and this match was signed by Bischoff.

The Match: The Book and Goldy out to a solid pop. Goldust in first, taking care of both guys before tagging in The Book. Some power moves onto Storm and Goldy comes back in. Lance takes over on Goldust. Hey, I just noticed....the Smackdown refs have their cool blue shirts. Why don’t the Raw refs have special red shirts? Bischoff is CHEAP. Goldust gets a chokeslam on Storm(!) and goes for the tag but gets cut off. Tag by Goldust and Booker comes in to clean house, but ref Nick Patrick didn’t see it, so out goes The Book. “Booker T” chant. Goldust fights out of the corner but gets cut off by Christian once again. Lance makes Booker chase him around the ring and when Goldust gets to the corner, he has no one to tag. Come on, Book, don’t you know better! Lance and Christian attempt a conchairto on Goldust as Booker argues with the ref, but Goldust ducks and hits them both with a double clothesline. “USA” chant and Goldust makes the hot tag! Booker cleans house and Chop-a-mania runs wild on Christian’s chest! Missile dropkick by Booker onto Christian for a close two! Axe kick misses Christian who then goes for the Unprettier but gets Samoan dropped. Lance charges at Booker with a leg lariat, but Booker ducks and the ref is bumped. Kick to the gut of both UnAmericans.....double axe kick! Both guys bail.....Booker’s alone in the ring....SPINAROONIE~! Harlem sidekick to Christian, but the ref is down! Lance attempts a cheapshot with the tag belt but gets thrown to the outside, brawling with Goldust. Test runs in and hits the Big Boot on his former tag team championship partner! He leaves the ring in clear view of the ref and Christian pins Booker to retain the tag titles.

My Opinion: Solid wrestling, formulaic tag match. Take away ¼* for the Test interference that was caught by the ref. JR even had to cover for that on commentary. I have a feeling that the UnAmericans will lose the tag titles sometime in the next two weeks, to capitalize on the patriotism which will once again be at a fever pitch shortly. However, with Raw in NYC tomorrow, I wouldn’t put it past WWE to have them drop the straps tomorrow. And of course.....I’ll BE THERE~! Section 129, signing autographs and taking photos. **

At The World, formerly WWF NY, Knoble and Nidia hold a contest to see who Nidia will make out with. Some guy wins and she goes ballistic on him. Exactly how does this get Knoble over??? It’s nice to see the Tough Enough winners being put to good use. I wonder if Taylor sees this and thinks to herself “Eh, I didn’t want that job anyway”.

Bischoff and Steph, still watching the show together in the back make some threats to each about about the upcoming IC title match.

Rob Van Dam vs. Chris Benoit for the WWE Intercontinental Title.

Match Background: Benoit defeated RVD on Raw for the IC title a few weeks ago and then jumped to Smackdown. To try and get the IC title back, Bischoff enlisted the help of Stacy Keibler to give him the contract for the IC title match. He used it to grant RVD this match. Oh, I’ve got some great expectations for this one.

The Match: Hey, why do JR and The King get to announce this one? It’s Smackdown’s champ! RVD starts out with some stiff kicks to Benoit who bails to recover. RVD hits another kick, goes for another, but gets a dragon screw by Benoit into a headlock. RVD whip into the ropes, but he rolls away and hits a crossbody on Benoit. A few missed clotheslines and kicks by both men leads to a release German suplex on RVD. Benoit with an elbow to the head and neck(which JR calls the psych on). Backbreaker for two. Snap suplex by Benoit for two. ARM-bar by Benoit. RVD’s selling bugs me....it looks like he’s pretending to make tough guy faces. He armdrags out of the armbar, and gets a small package for two. Small package by RVD for two. Monkey flip by RVD, but Benoit comes back with a hooking clothesline. Benoit has a busted lip! LET THE STIFFNESS BEGIN! Benoit chops RVD’s left nipple into the third row. Benoit with a whip into the corner but tastes RVD’s boot. RVD with a split legged moonsault attempt, but The Rabid Wolverine puts his knees up. SWANDIVE HEADBUTT~! by Benoit but it misses! RVD with a ***** attempt, but THAT misses! Benoit capitalizes and slaps on the Crossface!! Speaking of The Crossface, look for our PPV reactions later on tonight. RVD gets his feet on the ropes to get out. They cut to Bischoff and Steph in the back, cheering on their respective roster members. Was that necessary? Show me the damn match!! Benoit chops RVD’s left pec off. RVD goes to the top, but gets shoved off, hurting his arm on the guard rail. Benoit posts the arm and then sends RVD back into the ring. Shoulder breaker by Benoit. RVD’s lip is busted now....I love it! Something is going on in the crowd, taking their attention, so Benoit does the smart thing and slaps on a resthold til the crowd is paying attention again. RVD with the advantage now and he attempts the cartwheel into the moonsault, but it misses. If he had sold the arm properly, he shouldn’t have been able to have cartwheeled. Benoit goes RIGHT back into the Crossface. RVD elbows out of it and tries to roll up Benoit, but Benoit reverses it in an homage to the Raw finish a few weeks ago for two. Hammerlock by The Crippler and he posts RVD again. ROLLING HAMMERLOCKED NORTHERN LIGHTS~! Steal THAT Angle! Crossface again! RVD reaches for the ropes, but Benoit grabs the free arm and turns it into a Dragon sleeper! RVD gets out and puts Benoit in the Crossface, but Benoit gets out quickly and dropkicks RVD’s shoulder. Ha! That’ll teach you to slap it on the master! RVD hits a thrust kick to Benoit off the ropes for two. Rolling Thunder for two! Did RVD’s arm suddenly get better? Grr... Shoulder block in the corner....THERE’s the hurt shoulder and Benoit goes for a clothesline, but misses. RVD with a spin kick now for two. Benoit with a super back suplex off the top, but RVD shifts his weight and lands on top! RVD climbs to the top now with ease....Five Star Frogsplash for the win!

My Opinion: I was fully prepared to give this match **** or maybe even ****1/4 but 1. The wrong guy went over, 2. RVD’s arm selling was just as sporadic as Edge’s and 3. There was a resthold that went on too long. How many times will RVD be IC champ? He is past the title now. So is Benoit, but if they’d allow him to go on one tear of a reign, he could be the guy to bring the title back to prominence. This match reminded me of the old IC title matches which were always great technical matchups before the Russo era came and made the title worthless. ***3/4

After the match, Bischoff taunts Stephanie on the loss of her IC title. Stephanie just laughs in his face with EVIL~!.....which could only mean that RVD is jumping to Smackdown. If I don’t get to see RVD tomorrow, I’m going to be PISSED.

Test vs. The Undertaker

Match Background: Test is an UnAmerican...Taker is the American Bad Ass. Therefore, they hate each other. The UnAmericans beat down Taker on Raw a few weeks ago. Taker tried to extract revenge, but ate a Test Big Boot. Test even pinned Taker in an 8-man tag on Raw a few weeks ago and the match was signed.

The Match: UT armdrags Test and hits a few shoulder blocks. UT tries to go Old School, but Test shoves the ref into the ropes, crotching UT. Test whips UT into the steel steps, knees first. This match is SLOW. Test has the Nash act DOWN, doing the whole “aiming his elbow in the corner” deal. All he needs to do is destroy a few companies, get a few big paying contracts and tear a few quads. Long armbar by Test...I’m falling asleep. UT fights back and gets a DDT. UT goes Old School and hits it this time. Yay. Snake Eyes by Taker, but the running boot misses. Test goes for the Pumphandle, but its countered into a Chokeslam attempt. Test elbows out, misses the Big Boot and gets chokeslammed for two! Storm and Christian in, but UT chokeslams them both! Big Boot to an unsuspecting UT for two! Test goes for a chair....but it gets kicked back into his face! Tombstone PileDriver by The Undertaker for the win! What, you didn’t think Test was going over, did you? Taker celebrates with the American flag afterwards.

My Opinion: I guess SummerSlam IS a big deal to WWE.....the Tombstone made a non-Wrestlemania appearance. Somehow, this was worse than Test-Kane from No Mercy, but not as bad as it could have been. *

Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H

THE CRIPPLES EXPLODE~!

Match Background: Everyone knows that they were in DX together. They played tons of pranks (including making a mockery of the European Title) and went roughshod in the WWF until Wrestlemania 14, when HBK wrestled his last match. Last month, HBK convinced HHH to join Bischoff’s Raw. The next night, Bischoff made HBK Triple H’s manager, which he took exception to. Later on that night, with HHH’s advice, they came out wearing DX shirts. All was good....until HHH Pedigreed HBK out of nowhere. The next week, HBK went to the parking lot looking for HHH when he was jumped from behind. During the most BORING PROMO EVER, it was revealed that it was HHH who did it and HBK challenged him to a “fight” at SummerSlam. The “match” is non-sanctioned by WWE due to fear of litigation by HBK. They had a pullapart brawl at the end of Raw leading to this matchup.

The Match: HBK is out first, wearing his vest and zip away pants, but with street clothes. He’s lost a lot of muscle tone, which is most evident in his back. HHH out....and he SHAVED~! He looks more like the OLD Hunter Hearst Helmsley with out the EVIL beard, just with a lot more muscle. No big entrance for HHH as he’s focused tonight. HBK taunts him in the corner and the match is on. HBK with some punches and punches and more punches. Shoulder tackle by HHH. HBK TAKES A BUMP off that...that just scares me. HHH to the outside now....PLANCHA by HBK! Some brawling on the outside. HBK hits HHH with a trashcan lid, and skins the cat back in! He hits his former best friend with a trash can and he heads to the top! Forearm off the top and he signals for Sweet Chin Music but it misses. BACKBREAKER by HHH! HBK is selling very well. Another backbreaker! Such simple moves, but the crowd is really reacting here! Hard irish whip into the corner and HBK just falls down in a heap. And another irish whip! Crotch chop in HBK’s face! Elbowdrop to HBK’s back. HHH with a chair now.....chairshot to the back! Jesus, is he really selling? HBK kicks out at two as the announcers speculate whether or not HBK should give up. Suplex is reversed by HBK into a roll up for two. Facebuster by HHH, but HBK just falls down...he doesn’t bump. DDT on the chair now and HBK is busted open! HHH takes off Shawn’s belt and starts whipping him across the back. HBK bumps off a punch with the belt. HHH looks for his sledgehammer...and he can’t find it. Haha. He finally finds it and goes to use it, but HBK fights back. “HBK” chant. Irish whip is reversed by HHH and HBK eats it again! Abdominal stretch now. Hebner is just SCOLDING HHH at this point, showing compassion for his Montreal Screwjob co-hort. HHH perches HBK on the top now.....he’s going for a superplex! That should end it...HBK shoves him off though! HHH shoves Hebner into the ropes and HBK is crotched. Michaels is hanging upside down and HHH just nails him in the back with a chair. Sideslam onto an OPEN chair! “Holy Shit” chant and deservedly so! Michaels should be DEAD.....but he kicks out at two! Multiple kick outs. Sideslam onto a closed chair. Ross is begging for a fast count from Earl to stop the carnage because HBK won’t stop kicking out. He goes for The Pedigree on a chair, but HBK hits him with a low blow. HHH with the chair now, but HBK superkicks it back into his face! Both men are down! Triple H does a MANLY blade job. Irish whip.....flying forearm....NIP UP~! Holy SHIT! Everyone in the building is marking out! Back body drop by HBK!? What the hell? Chair shot by HBK! HBK throws HHH to the outside now and whips HHH to give him a taste of his own medicine. More brawling around ringside. HBK pulls a ladder from under the ring! The king of the ladder match with his favorite weapon now and he nails HHH in the face with it. He drives it into HHH a few times and props it up by the ringpost. Catapult by HBK and HHH eats ladder. Back in, the crowd chants along with a two count. HBK tries to put the ladder in, but HHH baseball slides it back into him. HHH is bleeding like a stuck pig. HHH on the top rope now....HBK with a superplex!! He didn’t land on his back though! HHH gets up....HBK bumps off a High Knee! HHH and HBK go to the outside....HBK sets up a table! He hits HHH in the head with a a fire extinguisher and HHH is layout out on the table. Shawn Michaels up on the top now.....splash through the table onto Triple H! “Holy Shit” chant and once again, deservedly so! Back in now, HBK sets the ladder up in the corner....he climbs it....Is he going for his WM X splash??? No, he hits the elbow! He signals for Sweet Chin Music! He goes for it, but its caught and turned into the Pedigree! That’s countered into a roll up for the three!!!! HBK WINS! As HBK celebrates....Triple H nails him with the Sledgehammer in the back! Another VILE shot and HHH walks out smiling. HBK does the stretcher job as Ross condemns HHH to the depths of Hell a few times. How effective was that angle? I was in a room full of marks and they ALL cringed.

My Opinion:This match was much better than it had any right to be, due to HBK. If that is his true last match, he went out with a very courageous performance. I don’t really understand the reasoning behind putting HBK over, but at least HHH got his heat back and in vile, convincing fashion. **1/2

To try and create some filler before the main, Howard Finkle cuts a promo on how good he is before he’s interrupted by Trish Stratus. She sets him up for Lillian Garcia who slaps him and kicks him in the groin for the attack she suffered by the Island Boyz thanks to Howard.

The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE Undisputed Title.

Is the Next Big Thing ready for the biggest test of his career?

Match Background: This match has had the most old school hype of any match in recent history. These men have never wrestled a match with each other and for the most part have been kept apart since the match was made the night The Rock won the title at Vengeance. Since then, Brock has been playing mind games with The People’s Champ, going on to defeat Hulk Hogan, bloodying him to a pulp and taunting The Rock with pictures of his fallen hero. The WWE top notch production crew have created tons of vignettes to hype tonight’s match, but the best ones are the training videos of both competitors. Those vignettes have done more to hype the match more than any promo has. Most smart marks have been stating that the conclusion of the match is a foregone conclusion....but will WWE shock us tonight and have The Great One retain? Can Brock wrestle a 15-20 minute match without blowing up? Besides his match with Hogan, this is Brock’s first real test as to if he can “go” with a big name Superstar....and for the health of the promotion, I’m hoping the answer is yes.

The Match: Wow, Cole and Tazz get to call their first main event. The Champion comes out last, which always makes it seem more important. Rock rushes in and begins throwing right hands at the Vanilla Gorilla, but Brock absorbs them all and just TOSSES him with an overhead belly to belly. Two backbreakers for a two. Shoulder tackles by Brock and Rock falls to the outside where Paul Heyman takes a cheap shot at him. Brock clotheslines him over the fan barricade. Back in now, another belly to belly by Lesnar. Rocky with some punches, goes off the ropes, but gets tripped by Heyman. As the ref admonishes Brock, Heyman chokes out Rocky with the ropes. It seems like The Rock is being booed.....”Rocky Sucks” chant!?...or is that “Brock sucks?” I can’t tell yet. Brock with a powerslam for two. Shoulder block into the ribs of Rock, but Lesnar goes for a second and eats post. Another “Rocky sucks” chant!? Both men down now....and both men nip up at the same time! Rock goes for a clothesline, but Brock doesn’t budge until the third. DDT by The Rock. “Rocky” chant now....but it sounds like its primarily women and children. Heyman on the apron and Rock punches him down. Sharpshooter on Lesnar....and The Rock IS being booed! “Let’s Go Lesnar” chant! What the hell is going on!? This crowd is bordering on Torontonian levels. Why does The Rock always get booed at major events? Heyman distracts the ref....Brock with a chair to the ribs! Bearhug by Brock! The cheers are mixed for Rock now. A sort of Angle Slam by Brock! “Lets Go Lesnar” chant again! When did he get over and where the hell was I at? Bearhug again, but Rock fights out. Tazz is acknowledging the mixed cheers of the crowd. Heyman with the ref now and Rock takes the opportunity to use a low blow...and he gets BOOED for it. Lesnar drives Rock into the turnbuckle to a pop! Rock with a clothesline and he’s being booed again! Spit punch, complete with heel hand signals to the crowd! I LOVE HEEL ROCK! Lesnar completely blows the face to the stairs spot. “Lets Go Lesnar” chant again....and The Rock is visibly upset. Heyman tries to cheapshot Rocky as he sets up the announce table, but gets caught. “OH SHIT!” says Heyman. Brock tries to save Paul E, but Rocky catapults him into the ring post....and then Heyman takes a Rock Bottom through the table. At ringside, all of the women are cheering for The Rock. The fans are chanting something derogatory at Rocky, but I can’t figure it out. Rock with a Rock Bottom to Lesnar! 1.....2.....NO! Rock is talking to himself now....”What do I have to do to beat this guy?” “Let’s Go Lesnar” chant again! BROCKBOTTOM~! Rocky kicks out at 2! Spinebuster by The Rock! He sets up The People’s Elbow to some boos....but he gets clotheslined before he can do it! Lesnar with The Rock now.....F5! NO! Rock spun out onto his feet! Rock with a Rock Bottom attempt! NO! Lesnar elbows out.....F5!!!! 1.....2......3!!!! to a pop!!! Brock Lesnar is your NEW WWE Undisputed Champion in only 5 months of active competition!

My Opinion: I have NO CLUE why the fans were so opposed to Rocky at Nassau tonight, but Brock needs to get a response like that every night in order for this reign to go anywhere. Maybe it’s because of Rocky’s increasingly bad promos as of late. Best match of Brock’s career so far. The era of Lesnar beings.....hope its not a bumpy ride.***

End of PPV.

Overall: This SummerSlam has to go up as one of the best. Solid card from top to bottom, nothing too bad except for Test-‘Taker and the usually bored Nassau crowd was really into it tonight. There were no MOTY candidates like the last two years, but just a solid card.

That’s all folks. I may or may not be back this week with this weeks edition of NWA:TNA. I haven’t made up my mind as to whether or not I’m going up to Troy yet.

So, until the next WWE PPV....

The Dames, Damian Gonzalez.

Any questions, comments, hate mail, love letters, marriage proposals, job offers, anything.....email me at [email protected]

In the meantime, check out everyone else's opinions on the show on the PPV edition of The Crossface!

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