-- 8/15 WWE Summerslam PPV Reax

Kelly Gess of Lexington, Ky. (7.0): Overall, I thought this PPV was largely unmemorable with the exception being the return of Bryan Danielson. That not withstanding, I didn't think it made sense for Danielson to be on Team WWE with the very brief explanation that he sympathized with Cena during the initial Nexus attack two months ago. Flash-forward to the end of the summer and Cena brought in the guy who kicked his brains in to be on his team against Nexus. The actual match was the best of the evening. Throughout the evening, I found myself asking, "Why would you end the match that way?" far too often. The worst part of the night for me had to be Michael Cole's announcing during the main event. I understand being on the Miz's bandwagon, but if this match really was supposed to be Nexus vs. the future of WWE, then why on earth would he practically be cheering for Danielson to lose the match for WWE? Overall, I gave the show a 7.0 thanks to the return of Undertaker and Bryan Danielson returning. It could have been a lot better and some aspects made me wonder what creative was thinking last night.

Pete W. (4.0): Best Match: WWE vs. Nexus (until the end). Worst Match: Divas. This is the first time I've written into PWTorch. I'm a long time reader and wrestling fan. I was entertained for the most part with TNA's last couple of Impact shows and some of the Raw episodes leading up to this PPV. As for the PPV, I thought it was the lousiest Summerslam ever. Besides the Nexus angle playing out and the Kofi-Ziggler match, I wasn't interested in any of the matches. We start of with Kofi and Ziggler. Great match until the interruption of the Nexus. They've done this so much on Raw, why did they have to do it on a PPV? Next, the women's match. Horrible. Big Show vs. SES was a waste of time and should not have been on a PPV. Why was the WWE Title match next and why the DQ finish? What a waste of money. The Miz was out hyping himself before the title match and then didn't cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase when Shamus couldn't get up in the post-match? This didn't make any sense. Kane was vs. Rey, in general, is not believable in my books, so I had no interest in the match. You knew Taker was coming out, especially when, for no reason, Kane shut the casket before picking up Rey, only to open the casket again. The main event was pretty good until the last three minutes or so. You could tell which Nexus members WWE management is looking to groom based on order of elimination and who was pinned. Miz interfering was okay because it can set up a good feud with Danielson, but this thing with Cena really irked me. How can someone take a beating for ten minutes, gets DDT'd onto concrete, and then win the match looking like he wasn't even touched? Lastly, we almost had to mute the main event because of Michael Cole's produced whining and crying about Bryan during the match. Please, someone put a muzzle on Cole.

Alejandro Mendoza of the Bay Area, Calif. (8.0): Best: Team WWE vs. The Nexus. Worst: SES handicap match. Coming into the PPV, the card looked okay. In the opening match, Ziggler and Kofi could have used more time, but I thought the Nexus attack was great to show they are a threat to the entire WWE and not just the Raw roster. I was satisfied with the Divas match and I thought the attack by Lay-Cool was good to create the impression they're going to unify the titles. The SES vs. Big Show handicap match just seemed like filler to me. Orton and Sheamus had a dull start and then picked up the pace. Orton had an awesome post-match attack and I thought Miz was going to cash in the MITB briefcase. But, apparently not. Then, I thought Rey and Kane had an okay match. The last few minutes were enjoyable and the casket was a nice prop. Undertaker and Kane's new feud will likely continue until the Hell in a Cell PPV. It should be interesting and hopefully not boring. I wonder what Rey does now. ... Team WWE vs. Nexus saved the whole show. I was amazed that WWE put aside ego and re-hired Danielson. With him in the mix, I liked the fact that the match featured submission wrestling. Bret Hart performed pretty well for not taking a hit. Bryan was great at the end of the match before setting up a program with The Miz. Overall, the match was a good main event for a PPV. Hopefully they can get some heat back on Nexus now.

Bill Sartori of Windsor Locks, Conn. (4.2): Most of this rating is due to the Nexus-WWE match. I found this card to be lackluster and rather dull. I would really like to see a scenario play out on tonight's Raw with Daniel Bryan back in the mix: Orton and Sheamus have a match for the WWE Title, then Miz challenges a weakened Orton for the title, and Bryan costs him the MITB cash-in. Enraged, Miz challenges his former "student" to a no-DQ U.S. Title match. Cena interferes and Bryan wins the title from Miz. I would love to see Cole's head explode into little pieces on national TV!

Stephen Anthony of Nashville, Tenn. (7.0): Best Match: Nexus vs. WWE. Worst Match: The women's match. I have to be honest - the negative feedback for this event surprised me. Let us not forget that, while McMahon didn't deliver more than three quality matches for this PPV, he did figure out a way for the main event match, featuring eight Rookies, to hit the coveted four-star range. Many were surprised that Barrett took the submission loss to Cena, but how else could you end a huge PPV that had Orton in a non-finish and Mysterio (the babyface) lose to Kane (who in turn destroyed another monster babyface)? The crowd needed to go out on a high note. Overbooked or not, the main event delivered like no other since Mania. The Sheamus-Orton match with a proper finish could have been awesome. Great, snug action with good crowd heat. I feel they booked themselves into a corner on that one, but it was one of the better Sheamus matches to date. The Mysterio match bored me a bit. I liked the "weakened Undertaker" part at the end. Now, if they would give Sheamus that kind of rub, then he would truly be money for WWE. The Danielson surprise was brilliant. If McMahon had this planned from the get-go, then he worked everyone pretty well.

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.

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

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