-- 8/23 WWE Summerslam PPV Reax

Mike Omansky (7.0): Best match: DX vs. Rhodes & DiBiase. Worst match: Kane-Khali. First-rate and entertaining show. Mysterio-Ziggler opener was excellent and made Ziggler look like a real contender. DX intro was too long, but match was really well done, and again heels looked good even in losing. Michaels winning the fall in his return was also the right move. Orton-Cena was a bit different with the assorted endings. Also a really good match, but can we now get Orton a challenger other than Cena or Hunter? He needs fresh opponents. Jericho tag was good, with the expected ending. Did I hear 20 times that Singh and Khali are brothers? ECW was a complete afterthought. Swagger-MVP was okay, but I expected a bit more from these talented guys. TLC match was also effective, including the dangerous looking Hardy dive. Undertaker's appearance at the end was a good touch and gives us a fresh potential match-up.

Justin of New York, N.Y. (10.0): Best Match: Jeff Hardy vs C.M. Punk. Worst Match: Christian vs. Lord Steven Regal. I thought that WWE delivered easily its best PPV of 2009 in Summerfest. The card opened with one of those rare moments when you can pin down the exact instant that a talent arrives as a credible main event threat -- when Ziggler nearly countered the "619" into a pin to the admiration of pro-Mysterio crowd. The DX tag match built Legacy up as high as humanly possible without a win and with Cryme Tyme also showing strongly in their loss to the Unified Champions, the WWE comes out of the PPV with some semblance of a credible tag team division forming. In the dual main events -- the remarkable audacity of overbooking was so stunning in Orton-Cena that it actually was enjoyable for its gimmick. The fan "run in" was also perfectly scripted and sets up another edition to Orton's allies. Cena and Orton also masterfully worked what turned out to be the most enjoyable televised crowd of the year who seemed to not sit down for most of the entire show. And as for the main event, it was an unenviable spot to have to live up to the heavy expectations of TLC and keep the crowd hot after the many finishes of Cena/Orton, but Punk and Hardy did it with elegance and violence. It's a worthy match to seal the envelope on this chapter of Hardy's WWE career. The fun go-home moment with Undertaker was just the perfect bit of old fashioned positive energy to close the show on a perfect evening. Can't ask for anything more when deciding to purchase a WWE event, hence the perfect score.

We welcome your 0-10 score and comments on this show for a "WWE PPV Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. Just to add a twist to this feature, include not just your hometown, but also your occupation (mechanic, lawyer, stay-at-home-dad, college student, etc.) so readers get a flavor for what everyone does as "day jobs." To contribute your thoughts on the PPV, click here.

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