James: Most things in the world are not absolute. Certain black and white issues are rare, and some of the most thoughtful discussions have come from looking at those gray areas. But sometimes, a side needs to be chosen. No room for discussion, no budging, only one side or the other. And for WWE in the summer of 2010, it can be summed up with one phrase: You’re either Nexus, or you’re against us. With that battle line drawn, it’s time to go to war.
Seán: With the septuple of NXT Season 1 alumni wreaking havoc on the landscape of WWE for the best part of two months, there was always going to come a time where those seven men were going to have to throw down where the odds were even, and in a professional wrestling match. That time comes at the biggest party of the Summer, where The Nexus must collide with John Cena, and his team of seven WWE all stars!
JT: On top of that, we’ll see Randy Orton challenge Sheamus for the WWE Championship, and Kane defending his World Championship against Rey Mysterio. All that, and more, coming up, right now!!
S: Will the Nexus cement themselves as the dominant force? Can Sheamus beat Randy Orton? Will the mysterious case of The Undertaker draw to a close? It’s WWE’s “Who Shot Mr. Burns? Part Two”, it’s SummerSlam 2010! Let’s fucking goooooo!
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Booting Up
JT: Welcome back to the Power Hour!! We’re into the thick of things with our Rise and Fall of the Nexus storyline, and it’s time for us to hit our next real major timeline moment with Summerslam. Their debut was a big deal, and yeah there were things to discuss about Fatal 4 Way & MITB, but they were more or less set dressing for tonight. Finally, we’ll see the Nexus officially in action!!
S: They easily could’ve gotten cold feet and put maybe a Michael Tarver up against John Cena but to be fair to them, they held out until SummerSlam and on this show, we will finally get to see what these guys are made of. This is what the two and a half months of establishing them as a threat, as well as the continuous assaults and attacks on various wrestlers, legends and figureheads of WWE has led up to. Now it’s time for them to shine.
JT: And it’s time to see how the grander scheme of the story plays out, because sure John Cena & The Nexus are the main characters, but there are other people who have been caught up in the wake of it all, and it’s exciting to see how they’ll play into the story. We’ll get more into the specifics in due time. Now, as the opening video package highlights, a change is coming, it’s in the air and it’s all around, and it’s here. It is here in the form of the Nexus, as the 7 upstarts have decided it’s their time. Resentful, they’re lashing out and destroying everything in their sight, and it’s time to see where their change will take us. The 7 deadly sinners must be stopped, and John Cena says Team WWE will destroy Nexus, but what if they fall short? What if Nexus succeeds? Ohhh if they succeed….putting a big focus on how things are coming to a head, and a potential shift that can occur if things go awry for John Cena (as they so often have when facing off with Nexus).
S: This opening video package was pretty fucking awesome ngl, that narrator really gave it socks. It’s no Keith David at WrestleMania 28 or Kelsey Grammer at WrestleMania 32 but it sure is up there. I loved the line where there is dread in the voice where he ponders about the thought of The Nexus winning. I loved that, really hammers home that they are a threat and if they win, things won’t be the same. I’m glad that they put most of the focus in the opening hype package for the big 7 on 7 Tag because that’s what people are here to see to be fair.
JT: Agreed. It’s the hottest angle in the company, as we’ll talk about later. And I especially agree about that final line of the promo. Because the promo video voice, who I’ve always assumed is like a neutral good omnipotent prescience, really does try to assure the fans “John Cena is going to save the day…unless…”. It’s that little doubt and dread about it that makes it feel like a big deal. Also other stuff pointed out in this promo about “change” is stuff from SnackDown. First, Rey Mysterio has turned the tables on Kane, accusing him of attacking Undertaker! And on SmackDown, Big Show unmasked and humiliated CM Punk! It’s a bit odd that the Big Show/Straight Edge Society storyline was in the opening video alongside the two biggest storylines in the company, isn’t it?
S: It’s very strange that it’s in there, like if you include that in the video package, ya might as well hype up the rest of the undercard. Also, six match card for a SummerSlam? Very tidy. It’s strange that it’s the number four storyline on this card but as we’ll get into the first half of the show, it’s easy to see how it’s the fourth biggest story by default.
JT: Well as for the tidiness of the card, I think it’s a clear result of having a big old main event. Not only is it a big deal of a main event, but it’s unavoidably big concept wise. It’s 7 on 7, there will be AT LEAST 7 eliminations, and unless it goes 2007-2013 Divas Survivor Series Tag match quick, it will take some time to get through, thus less undercard.
S: That and add to the fact we will be having a guaranteed eight entrances for that main event too so a fair amount of time will be taken up from that preamble beforehand. Speaking of preamble, we all like to have a bit of that here at the Power Hour offices, we like our pop culture. We like our trips back in time. James, are you thinking what I think I’m thinking?
JT: I think I am thinking what you think I think I’m thinking!! Let’s do our Summerslam 2010 aka August 15th 2010 Pop Culture Round Up!
S: Let’s do it! Pop! Culture! Flashback! With the music charts, what was topping? In the US, it was, what I believe was the best selling song of 2010 in most countries, it was “Love the Way You Lie” by Eminem and Rihanna. A decent song for the time but I remember getting very sick of it by the end of that year. The song was currently in its third week of seven at the top in the Billboard charts. In the UK, it surprisingly wasn’t the same as it was “Beautiful Monster” by Ne-Yo. Pretty generic song, I can’t lie, catchy chorus to be fair. Over in Ireland though, it was actually Eminem and Rihanna! The same number one single as the US. James, I imagine you’re familiar with at least one of these two songs, right?
JT: Yeah, I know “Love the Way You Lie”. It’s a fine song. Not one I particularly go out of my way to hear, but one that’s harmless enough. Plus, it’s a real clear success for Eminem. It’s during this period where he really started to have more mainstream commercial success, like this, Not Afraid & Monster. Arguably not his musical high point, but this is past the point where he was seen as offensive and edgy like during the early 00s with Real Slim Shady.
S: Yeah agreed, this is definitely the period where critically, his music wasn’t as revered as it was during his first three albums but the public perception of him was definitely changing in the eyes of the media. He did what The Rock would almost do in basically successfully rebranding himself and his public image in a sense.
JT: For sure. Unsurprisingly, this is the Eminem I grew up knowing. He was one of the faces of rap music for me, in part because I’m a white guy and he’s “the white guy rapper”. But you better believe “Till I Collapse”, “Not Afraid” and the likes were blasted through more than a few microphones from Modern Warfare 3 lobbies in my time.
S: Those songs are such Modern Warfare 3 anthems now that you mention it. Funnily enough, since you brought up Call of Duty, I’m pretty sure that Eminem made a few songs to promote Call of Duty: Ghosts in 2013 as well. Mid songs for a mid game. How about it?
JT: That sounds about right. The 2000s were definitely a better decade musically for Marshall Mathers than the 2010s would be, even if he started the decade by racking in the cash. Let’s be real, even when his stuff was at its worst, he made lots of money.
S: Gotta respect bringing in the cash. With music covered, let’s move on to the movies. What was popping off on the big screen? As we all know by now, my country didn’t have a box-office chart until 2011 so we’re out of the equation. In the UK, it was currently Toy Story 3 during its four week reign at the top of the British box-office. In the US, it was the first movie of The Expendables series. How would I describe The Expendables? How about we get all the action men of today and yesteryear and cram ’em all into this one action movie on STEROIDS. Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Jason Statham, Bruce Willis, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Steve Austin, Terry Crews, Danny Trejo, even Randy Couture! They’re all here!
JT: At some point I gotta get into that can of worms, because it sounds like at worst it’ll be a crazy mess and at best it’ll be super action super fun time!! Have you seen any of the Expendables movies?
S: I feel like I’ve seen one, I couldn’t tell you for the life of me which one it was or what the fuck happened in it, but I do reckon I’ve probably seen one of them. It’s what I’d definitely describe as an early 2010s action franchise which was a bit of craic the first time around but kept coming back with inferior results.
JT: Hmm that’s kind of perfect for the 2010s then. Really sets the tone. It makes a load of money at the start of the decade, and then gets milked for like 4 more movies for the rest of the decade.
S: There Are countless movie franchises like that in that decade where you could make a podcast on it. Moving on to video games, around this time we would’ve been getting Madden NFL 11 for all major consoles, Crash Team Racing and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game for the PlayStation Network. Familiar with any of these ones, James?
JT: I’ve heard of all of them but I actually don’t believe I played any of them. Crash Team Racing I know really in name only, and I’ve seen plenty of gameplay from Scott Pilgrim The Game, but have never played myself. As for Madden 11, I weirdly don’t remember anything of it, despite being in the demographic to have played and pay attention to related stuff. I mean I knew the cover athletes for the game before and the game after but not that one! I found out with a quick Google search of course, the face of the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints, Drew Brees. Pretty nice story all around, Brees was a guy NOLA took a chance on and who became a legend under their watch, with the Saints themselves winning their first ever Super Bowl which was made especially nice in the wake of Hurricane Katrina 4 years earlier. Of course, this Saints team is not as nice to look back at now, as in 2012 it came out the staff of the Saints put “bounties” out on opposing players for their defense to try and hurt.
S: I know about that from watching the LA Rams’ All or Nothing season on Prime Video. Is this the infamous Bounty Gate we’re talking about?
JT: It is indeed, adding on to the storied and annoying American tradition of adding “gate” to the end of every controversy for no reason.
S: What’s your favorite “gate” in terms of controversy? Or just your favorite gate in general, because ya can’t beat a good solid gate in my opinion.
JT: Ehhh not particularly, although I do like any time Bill Gates gets in hot water and I have to see people try to call it Gates-gate. You?
S: I personally like a good wooden gate personally, they always look very sharp. Watergate is no fun so I’ll say no to that, FIFA Gate which involved the corruption within FIFA including that no good worm, Sepp Blatter. It’ll forever being great seeing those fuckers go down, speaking of sports! Would you like to hear what was happening in sports during that weekend?
JT: Yes, gimme the goods!
S: In sports, Martin Kaymer claimed his first PGA major where he’d win the PGA Championship by one stroke in a three hole Playoff against Bubba Watson and the 2010/11 Premier League season kicked off which saw notable results such as defending Champions, Chelsea rout West Brom 6-0, which included a Didier Drogba hat-trick. The new boys, Ian Holloway’s, Blackpool win 4-0 in their debut match, away from home against Wigan. Manchester United win 3-0 against Newcastle. Finally, one of the worst Liverpool squads ever assembled by one of their worst ever managers in Roy Hodgson blew a 1-0 lead against Arsenal, thanks to a Pepé Reina own goal in stoppage time. You just know that Javier Mascherano couldn’t fucking wait to hop on that plane to play for Barcelona. How did your New York Mets get on though? Well unfortunately, it wasn’t the best of days for your team, they were defeated 3-1 by those damn Phillies.
JT: Tough time for the Mets, as their competitive window was closed by 2010, and those Phillies were pretty much at the best they’d ever been in the entire franchise history. They were in the middle of a 5 year streak of winning the division. Before that time, they had only ever won 6 times since 1969.
S: Ahh so was this before or after the time where they’d won the World Series? I’m using my It’s Always Sunny Knowledge to good use here, folks!
JT: It’s that exact time! In 2008, they won their first World Series, and in 2009 they went to the World Series again but lost to the New York Yankees, in a series that made 10 year old me quite unhappy just by its existence.
S: God that just sounds like the worst possible series a Mets fan can ever endure. I imagine that’s what the Super Bowl Finals between the Patriots and the Giants must have felt like?
JT: Yeah I was not thrilled for both times that happened either. Luckily there’s not much of an equivalent in basketball, although this year’s NBA Finals wasn’t thrilling for me either. And to tie into past episodes discussions, tonight’s Summerslam is in the Staples Center, home of the 2009-10 NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers!! Now Seán, I have a funny question for you! Do you know what the Staples Center is now known as?
S: It’s funny you ask that James because upon doing my research for this show, for the facts and figures side of things, I stumbled across the new name for the Staples Center and OH BOY, is it a stinker of a name which definitely will lead to another name change in a few years.
JT: For anyone who doesn’t know, let’s take a second to laugh at “ Crypto (dot) com Arena”! Considering how NFTs have fallen off hard lately, I think your assumption of a new name in a few years is certainly likely. Like I know Crypto isn’t exclusively NFTs, but NFTs certainly didn’t make Crypto Currency seem more legitimate. And buying a Stadium does do it either by the way!
S: I may be mistaken but apparently this name change has been a bit of a failure too? Now in football, with my team Liverpool, our sponsorship deal with Standard Chartered is up after next season and supposedly Crypto (dot) com are a potential next sponsor. For the life of me, I cannot stress how little I want that. It would be the biggest L of a shirt sponsor of all time. I’d sooner have the fucking Angry Birds sleeve sponsor which Everton had than that because at least Angry Birds is fun.
JT: I’ll go a step further, I’d rather take Flappy Bird over Crypto on my kits. Now, anything else to discuss pop culture-wise?
S: That’s the lot, we close on the Mets (baby love the Mets), and now it’s time to get into the show!
JT: Well we will…in just a few more moments, because we need to discuss the theme music for tonight! It’s “Rip it up” by Jet!
S: It’s a good tune, I can’t lie. It’s 2010 though, for some reason I always associate them with 2003-2005. “Are You Gonna Be My Girl?” blaring through the speakers and into most forms of media around that time. I’m looking at you, Season 5 of Scrubs. For this show though, definitely a well needed adrenaline booster of a song. I like it.
JT: Yeah I like the excitement and energy behind it, even if it’s a pretty standard song lyrically and musically. And trust me folks, we’re gonna need that energy tonight. We’ve got the normal crew of Cole, King & Stryker tonight, and if you think we’re in for a good time, within minutes of starting the show, King calls tonight’s show “Superslam”.
S: No fucking way! You’ve got to be joking me… This is a man who has literally been involved in some way with SummerSlam, whether on commentary or in an actual match, every single year from 1993 until present except for 2001 where he was gone at that stage. I was going to get into how he has a stinker on this show later on but clearly the signs were clear from the off. Was he watching the famous John Cena prank call right before the show started or something?
JT: Well if my memory serves me correctly, that clip would’ve been still a few years away, so maybe we have to begrudgingly give Jerry credit for inspiring something good…or maybe we can just get into the actual show! What do you say?
S: I agree, and to reel in the show, should I run down some quick facts and figures for you?
JT: Let’s do it!
S: SummerSlam 2010, August 15th 2010, coming to us live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Back for a second year in the Staples, this would be the case from 2009 until 2014, so six straight years of SummerSlam in LA. Until 2015 where SummerSlam would take place in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn from 2015-2018. This show packed in 14,178 in a sellout! One of five sellouts WWE had that year, this is the fourth of the year so we do have one more to go. The show raked in $922,600, leaving us with an average ticket price of $65. At the box office, there were 349,000 PPV buys, which is actually down 20,000 from the prior year which saw the return of DX (again) and a TLC main event between Jeff Hardy and CM Punk.
JT: Interesting to see this was down from the year before, but I suppose 2009 had more going on as a whole, even if I’d argue that Nexus vs Team WWE is the biggest angle on either show.
S: Yeah I’d be inclined to agree with you by saying that The Nexus vs WWE angle is definitely the biggest on either show. It’s arguably the biggest angle which WWE has done in a good three or four years to be honest.
JT: And so with that said, how about we get into the show, one that’s HUGE for this storyline?
S: I think it’s time we rip it up, if you catch my drift.
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Shown Off
JT: So, opening up the 23rd Annual Summerslam will be a Championship match! It’s Kofi Kingston, looking to regain his Intercontinental Championship from the brand new Champ, Dolph Ziggler!! Dolph just won his first ever singles title!! I figured this was happening at some point in this arc, but we’ve barely seen any of him so far, so I was kind of surprised when he showed up as Champ. Not that it wasn’t deserved, of course.
S: Alright so in my mind, I remember this match happening, but oddly enough I didn’t remember Dolph walking into the show as champion. That was a bit of a shock to me because I thought it would’ve happened on a SmackDown following this show but no, the switch happened nine days before this show. Nice to see Dolph with the belt here though, at this stage it was a fresh face, who was starting to show a lot of upside and improvement given a shot with the IC Title.
JT: As Stryker would note during this match, Dolph walked into Summerslam last year challenging for the title, and this year he’s the Champ. And even though I’ve never been a big Dolph Ziggler guy, it was still exciting for me as a young fan to see new blood with the gold. I was so excited to see “my generation” of guys grow as performers, and Dolph is here haven taken that first big step. But, I would be remiss if we didn’t bring up the person in his corner. As we mentioned last time, Dolph has become the beau of SmackDown consultant Vickie Guerrero. Now, we’ve already discussed what this pairing means for each character, but it’s still important to note that she’s here, and she’s the reason Dolph won the title (with a big ref distraction of course).
S: That ref distraction, I must make note of it but honestly, why doesn’t the ref just throw her out instead of giving her the old “what are you doing?”, which then leads to Kofi looking like a big eejit for getting distracted. I think it works for Dolph’s current push, mind you since Vickie is the key to his recent success but Kofi does catch a dose of the dreaded Dumb Babyface Syndrome, bless him.
JT: That he does, but get this! Kofi Kingston coming out right, he’s got a real aggressive streak to him coming into this! Can you imagine, that’s crazy!! I can’t imagine how much that will seriously change this matchup!!
S: But, but, but Kofi has just got that controlled frenzy, James! I can’t imagine him being aggressive and that frenzy going uncontrolled! Is that going to play into Dolph’s advantage?
JT: You gotta believe it will! But seriously, this point in Kofi’s career is where he starts to go into a real holding pattern. One that honestly sticks till the New Day forms in what, 2015? But really, it’s just midcard matches, sometimes winning titles, sometimes losing them. And this is probably one of the first times they’ve used this trope, but man whenever they felt like “freshening up” any of those matches, they’d go “Boy Kofi’s been aggressive as of late!”. I never bought it, between you and me. I bought it during the Randy Orton feud, but after that nah.
S: Yeah the “aggression” story for him was so long gone after the feud with Randy died. I always go back to these four years as the real slog years for Kofi because he’d just flip flop between challenging for the US and IC Titles, winning them and forming tag teams with other mid card guys with zilch all else to do. Always facing the same three or four guys as well, it feels like.
JT: And you better believe Dolph is in that group of guys. But hey, they’re kicking off things on Summerslam, and the crowd haven’t seen them face a thousand times yet, so maybe they’ve got something good in store for us. You ready?
S: Let’s do it, let’s kick things off with some sort of a bang.
JT: So thanks to Kofi’s new aggressive attitude, he rushes Dolph and hammers him early on in this match. He clothesline Dolph to send him out of the ring, and then runs for a Suicide Dive, but Vickie pulls Ziggler out of the way, and Kofi splats right on the floor. OUCH. Also, man they didn’t waste their time getting into the big moments huh? Right away, I felt like this was a match in fast forward mode.
S: Definitely feels like that because a spot of that kind is something you’d book for being in the end of the middle section of the match as a turning point in the momentum, or maybe something you’d book at the end as part of the downfall for the face. Very strange to book it at the start.
JT: Pretty tough bump for Kofi too. That’s gotta knock the wind out of you at the least. I mean, there’s a reason why failed dives are usually cut off at the ropes, because I bet most guys don’t like taking this kind of bump!
S: Oh for sure, like that must fucking suck to do, I’d include when Rey Mysterio would get chucked out of the ring, sliding under the ropes on his belly in that category as well but he does it so often that he must have mastered it by now.
JT: Exactly, like I’m sure there’s some way that he slides that slows him down as much as possible. You just can’t do that with a jump. Kofi’s certainly trying to get the crowd’s attention, that’s for sure.
S: Especially when it’s a jump through the middle and top rope as well. That’s a fair bit of height to come down from and not have anyone to catch you.
JT: So Dolph tries to take the countout win after Kofi crashes and burns, but Kofi manages to get in and beat the count. Dolph then immediately jumps on him and gets a rest hold on him. Ok Michael Cole Heel Watch, we can see he is not a heel yet, as he’s questioning the ethics of Vickie dating a Champion. Stryker tries to retort with something about it being wrong to deny love, to which Cole asks Stryker the last time he’s had a girlfriend, Stryker says his most recent love is the WWE. Meanwhile, Kofi starts firing up with Dropkicks and a Thesz Press with punches raining down on Dolph. He gets up, and he starts to fire up, as he lands the Boom Drop to firmly put him in the driver’s seat. He starts lining up Trouble in Paradise, but Ziggler rolls back to the corner, so Kofi leaps at him instead. Dolph ducks out of the way but lands on the ropes, leaps off with a Crossbody, but Ziggler rolls through and nearly steals the match with Kingston kicking out at 2. They get up, Kofi gets an inside cradle and gets a nearfall himself, but Ziggler manages to beat him up to his feet and Dolph makes Kofi famous with a leg drop to the back of his head (wink). 1–2–Kickout!! Look I know this match will become as stale as the day is long in a few years, but I think it’s pretty obvious why this match was booked to high heavens. These two have great chemistry together in the ring.
S: They do have great chemistry to be fair to them, there’s no denying that and this little sequence here did make me believe that the match was starting to kick into another gear and we were going to be in for a really fun opener. It’s the sequences like this which probably made this pairing the old reliable for WWE’s mid card matches.
JT: So off the Famouser, Dolph stalks Kofi in the corner, charging at him only for Kofi to dodge out of the way and hit a pendulum kick through the ropes. Kingston then went up and hit a Flying Chop before once again lining up Trouble in Paradise. He spins, he kicks, but nobody home and Dolph slips in form behind and gets the Sleeper hold in!! I was about to go into a spheal about how Dolph managed to get the Sleeper over during this run, but it turns out we’ve got company!! The Nexus 7 are out at ringside, and they’re getting the Intercontinental Title match thrown out!! They knock down both guys, clothesline Ziggler out of the ring and circle Kofi. Kofi tries to fight but like many others before him, he stands no chance with the numbers against him. He gets the group beatdown and then a Full Nelson Facebuster thing from Darren Young and Wasteland from Wade Barrett to punctuate it. Well, I suppose that’s why Dolph & Kofi tried to front load their match, huh?
S: Yeah this match was very much front loaded and they tried to get as much in as possible. I think there were some decent spots in here but the fact we got a seven minute, no contest finish with a Nexus run-in? This could’ve easily been on Raw or SmackDown if you ask me, I’m sure they’d have better matches but the fact you’re starting the show, one of your BIG 4 PPVs of the year off with a DQ finish did not leave me with a lot of hope for the rest of this show, sorry.
JT: I’m of two minds about this. First is the part of me that understands why they booked this. Obviously, they’re reminding people why The Nexus are a threat, and having them make a statement by going against the standard PPV procedure. This sort of stuff never happens! But then again, there’s a reason this stuff doesn’t happen on PPV. It feels like leftover Raw material on PPV to have them run in on a random match, beat up both guys and cut a promo. The promo by the way is this: Wade says this is what Team WWE are in store for tonight. Team WWE are still searching for a 7th member but it won’t matter, since they’re talking about a roster that’s too self important, with too big of egos to do anything but fight among themselves. Team WWE can’t sign a birthday card let alone fight them, the most destructive force in the history of WWE. They’re United behind a common purpose, because you’re either Nexus or You’re Against Us. It just feels very much like an episode of Raw rather than one of the biggest PPVs of the year, and it makes Kofi, Dolph and the IC Title feel very disposable.
S: I do remember liking this at the time because The Nexus did continue to look like a bunch of rogues because they just ruined a match, which featured two lads from SmackDown, not even a Raw match. It does make them seem cool but at the same time, it’s a very odd way to open up a PPV.
JT: Odd that they let the match go a nice 7 minutes before interrupting it too, you know? Like, I feel like it almost would’ve been better if they attacked as soon as the match began. Sure Kofi & Dolph would’ve got less of their shit in, but that’s kinda the point isn’t it? Like just WHAM, no prisoners, just straight Nexus destruction. They should’ve decided to go big or go home. Hey, maybe they book like Ziggler, Cody Rhodes & Drew McIntyre against Kofi & Hart Dynasty, and then had Nexus pummel all of them. That would’ve sent a real message to have them flatten 6 people in minutes, it would’ve been a bad omen for Team WWE.
S: Look at you over here, “mastermind booker” James T. For real though, you’re absolutely right, just have them interfere from the off to start the show with a whammy. I’m surprised that they didn’t do a six man, or even book The Hart Dynasty, Rhodes or Drew for that matter. Either have them interfere straight away or near the end of a 11+ minute match to really take the wind out of the fans’ sails. Shoutout to the crowd tonight but they’re firmly behind the faces here on this show throughout, I do like that. Especially rare to see in 2010.
JT: We’ll keep this thread going throughout the night, but the crowd for this show is definitely one of the better ones (if not the best) we’ve had this arc. They’re not afraid to give it to the Nexus tonight, and they were pretty lively throughout our opener. Any closing thoughts on this opening segment? Because mine can be summed up by saying the match was going somewhere, but WWE clearly had a focus for this show (for better or for worse).
S: More or less the same as you, as well as the thoughts which I’ve already shared. A bit disappointing that these two just couldn’t have a fifteen minute opener but The Nexus being booked strongly is a bigger priority.
JT: Kofi and Dolph will be fine, they’ve got tons of chances to run this match against each other again. And again. And again. And again. And again.
S: At every level, for every title, on every show possible, even for the WWE Championship. FOREVER!
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You Think You’re Special, You Do
JT: Alright, now time for our real opening match, one that, spoilers, won’t end by run in. It’s only…..my god!! Cue My Way by Limp Bizkit, because we’ve only got the matchup of all matchups!! It’s Melina vs Alicia Fox!!
S: Ahhhhhh! It’s the infamous best match ever choice of “The http://Bomb.com” Cameron from season 5 of Tough Enough!
JT: Now I will say to be fair to Cameron, Alicia and Melina, they all got a bit more shit than they really deserved for this. Yeah, Cameron was clearly pretty new to wrestling and had more than likely picked the first match that came to mind, but did Alicia & Melina really deserve to be dragged like that? Not really. Their both pros, and to her credit Cameron stuck with wrestling more than most of the people from Tough Enough have. On the other hand, is it surprising that a comment like that ticked Stone Cold off? No, not at all.
S: Yeah exactly, I totally give Cameron the benefit of the doubt in the years which have passed because she definitely was very new to it all and I’m sure she was probably told by producers to name a women’s match so she landed on that.
JT: Yeah it’s not like she had a ton to pick from, I mean look at what we’ve reviewed so far this season. That said, at least this pairing has the meme recognition to stick around. Also, since we pretty much glossed over it to get right to the most important thing about this storyline (the meme) we’ve kind of buried the lead. That of course is, hey, Melina’s back! Welcome to the season!
S: Featured only in our 2007 reviews of Mania 23 and the 2007 Rumble. Always great to see Melina, someone who I always considered to be a real underrated wrestler and to be honest, humanity peaked with Melina.
JT: Yeah she was someone I was a fan of as well. First off, her flexibility was just something that made watching her matches fun. The split, the matrix dodge, that’s cool!! I think I also enjoyed her more because she wasn’t such a “nice girl” like Kelly Kelly. Like she wasn’t so much the girl next door as much as she was like the cool head cheerleader. Plus, compared to other Divas WWE definitely put a lot more work into her presentation. She has the great MNM theme song, the big red carpet, the paparazzi, and she usually has pretty great gear. Like tonight she’s got this incredible feather Aztec-type number on. Really, I can’t think of many other people who had like, extra nice gear for the big show. She showed up everyone!
S: Man, she’s got the best gear of the night, like that’s something you’d expect to see at WrestleMania, or even one of the big shows today because everyone goes above and beyond with their gear. She looks awesome.
JT: Also she got a big pop, as always, for doing her split on the apron. Even if in 2010 it’s not as overtly horny as it was back in 2007, it’s still just flat out impressive, and I’m happy that audiences were still living for it after the years. Again, she’s got a real star quality to her, and I think that’s why I was such a fan. Like no offense to any of the ladies we’ve seen on the timeline so far, but I think she’s the only one who has felt like a big deal.
S: She always had that star presence about her, didn’t she? Like you just look at the way she was presented with everything in the entrance and she’s already head and shoulders a bigger deal than the rest of the women in WWE at this time. Did you catch what Stryker said on commentary?
JT: Oh well I have a bunch to say about the commentary, but you go first. What did he say?
S: Matt Stryker said that while Melina was out rehabbing her injured knee, she was watching Monday Night Raw every week. To which I noted “a fate worse than death”.
JT: Truly, she is god’s strongest soldier for surviving that. Now what I was talking about in regards to commentary was between entrances, we get this oddly quiet section, with just Alicia’s theme aka pretty obvious dubbing. Out of the silence Cole says “Cole says “cat got your tongue? You’re laughing!”, so something clearly was said. After some sleuthing, I’ve found out what it was! Although, unfortunately, it’s not as salacious as I would’ve hoped.
S: I did catch this but there was that echo of silence in the midst of it all. What was it which they were laughing about?
JT: Well, so what was dubbed away was ads! At 7/11, WWE had special Summerslam Slurpee cups available! Fun fact, I have 2!! But they’re for 2011’s edition of the deal, not 2010. The next ad is for Slim Jims! And what gets the boys to laugh? Well, Cole says that like Slim Jims, Alicia has a spicy side. And a feisty side. I guess? Guess it was dubbed off because they are no longer making money off those deals and/or those deals are over, rather than anything actually dubious. And just while we’re on the topic, shout out to the dedicated Diva Era Stans out there. I was only able to find out what was behind this super mild dubbing because there’s been a lot of reuploads of this match, including pre-Network era stuff! So shout out to you dedicated folk.
S: Hold on a second, are you telling me that the dedicated Diva Era Stans have edited this match with crowd sweetening?
JT: I wouldn’t say that as much as the un-dubbed video I found seemed to be ripped straight from the PPV or the DVD release from 2010.
S: Ahhh I see, now that you mention the live PPV. Did you order this show? Or did you seek it out later on?
JT: At this point in my life I still wasn’t ordering PPVs (although Summerslam was one I ordered more than others), this is something I just had to dig into for this episode. Now, since they did all that joking about Alicia, I say it’s time we talk a little about the build to this match. So after a 6 woman tag on Raw, Alicia bragged about how she’s beaten every one of them, and there’s nobody on this roster comparable to her. Of course that’s when Melina returns and gives her a beating to stake her claim at the Title. Melina had torn her ACL back in January, and had to vacate the Divas Title as result. So now, she’s come for the title she never lost. So all the Melina stuff is pretty logical but man, the Alicia stuff is uhhh, not good.
S: Listen to that pin drop for when she makes her entrance, man she is not over at all as Diiiiiiiiiiva’s Champion. The anti-pop as it’s come to be known as in the last few years. Also, on the mic, ehhhhh, she hasn’t nailed her character down yet either. She does have an infamous promo coming up soon in this arc so be on the lookout for it.
JT: The booking of her whole storyline has not helped either. I mean on one hand, after not even 2 months as Champ, she’s already pulling the “I’m the greatest champion ever” schtick out. On the other hand though, you have commentary questioning whether her win was a fluke still, as well as questioning her confidence coming out here tonight, since she lost to Melina on Raw. That’s right, they already had this match earlier in the week. By the way, this whole build has literally been 2 weeks long. Melina returned with a big “Summerslam in 2 weeks” graphic on the ramp.
S: Yeah the story was basically, Melina comes back after Foxy says that there’s no one left (boy that roster sure is thin if you’ve seemingly ran through everyone after two months), Melina comes back to challenge her, so she beats her on the go-home Raw to earn a shot and now we’re here. Who’s going to win this match, I wonder? I say that in a very sarcastic tone by the way.
JT: So just like that we’re onto our Divas Championship match! We start off with a big old Headlock by Alicia, before Melina manages to grapple her and get control, sliding underneath her grasp and taking Foxy down by her leg. From there, she traps her legs, pulls back on the hair and essentially does the Super Dragon Stomp spot! Obviously it was nowhere near as brutal as Super Dragon doing it but woah, was not expecting that.
S: PWG! PWG! PWG! Melina then flips off the crowd and hits DA FUCKIN’ BARRY WHITE DRIVER! Melina’s a Cali Indie Girl Original, didn’t you know?
JT: I’ve heard Candice LeRae actually religiously studied Melina taps before she took the Southern California Indy scene by storm!
S: Everyone should be studying their Melina tapes, it’s par for the course for aspiring Californian wrestlers.
JT: Speaking of watching tap, Melina hangs up Fox in the corner, climbs to the second and jumps down with Sasha Banks-esque knees to the gut! Again, not as high impact as the person who has made that move famous, but still funny that back it’s back to back spots. Especially since it’s way more likely that Sasha either watched Melina do this or that an agent in charge of this match recommended it to Sasha.
S: I do remember Sasha using this move while she was down in NXT so I wouldn’t be surprised at all if this was recommended to her by an NXT trainer. Credit to them because it’s a very sick looking move and I don’t recall Melina ever using this, so that was a nice surprise.
JT: Off the knee, Alicia tries to play possum but when space is created, she runs into a Flapjack. She runs at Alicia in the corner, Fox moves, Melina then goes and vaults over her out of the corner, but she tweaks her knee coming down. And even though I’ve seen this sort of injury spot used before, I’m not confident it’s a work. Why? Well, because Alicia looks lost trying to deal with it. Normally when something like this happens, the heels viciously go after the injury right away. Kick them while they’re done, literally! But instead, Alicia holds off. As action resumes, Melina sort of does the Matrix dodge, then gets a back elbow and then a Superkick to send Fox to the apron. Melina moves in to attack, but Alicia grabs her and yanks her into the post. From there Alicia begins her attack….on the arm. I know you don’t want to hurt your potential top lady, who just hurt her knee, but like, it’s distracting for her to then go after the arm right? Like commentary has to try and cover for Alicia, and it just totally distracts me from what felt like was an obvious story.
S: Yeah that was weird that Alicia didn’t zero in on the knee, surely that’s wrestling training 101 right there, no? I just found it really confusing and made Alicia look like a bit of a dope.
JT: It’s not a good look for her, especially since King is going after her for it (prompting Stryker to run defense). So Alicia goes after the arm for a bit, before the crowd rallies Melina up to her feet. She gets a roll up, bht Fox kicks out. Then Melina’s comeback begins in full, as she hits an iffy single leg Dropkick. This knocks Alicia onto the ropes, Melina with a big scream, then big knees to the back. She brings Alicia up to her feet, then plants her to the mat with a big over the shoulder Facebuster!! 1—2—3!! Oh that’s it! New Champ, Melina is gonna continue the reign that was halted by injury. Good for her, the crowd was quite happy to see her, but this definitely wasn’t good.
S: Yeah that was weird that Alicia didn’t zero in on the knee, surely that’s wrestling training 101 right there, no? I just found it really confusing and made Alicia look like a bit of a dope.
JT: I think the fact it ended on that move further convinced me of my “shoot injury” theme. I mean in her big return she did the Splits Final Cut move to end the segment, which obviously wouldn’t be comfortable if you’ve got an iffy knee. She also did the Sunset Flip Bomb to beat her on Raw, and though I think that’s less about your knees than it is core, it’s still less painful than the Facebuster.
S: She’s becoming Bam Bam Bigelow in 1993 and 1994, just winning with whatever move she feels like winning with. I’m surprised she didn’t bust out the old Code Red, now that you mention it.
JT: Injury or not, she won! And Josh Mathews is in the ring to interview her! But before she can even answer what it’s like to win, LayCool comes out. As we accidentally explained last time, LayCool are coming out with their split titles. They sas her, saying “What a moment, you must be so proud of it! You look so good, NOT!. Meanwhile, they always look good, because they’re flawless! They’ve beaten every Diva on SmackDown, so Champs to Champ, they’re here to share her moment. Michelle says “Look, she’s got goosebumps all over!” to which Layla says “Michelle that’s cellulite!”, which gets a snicker out of King. They’ve gotta “twitter this” and go to take a photo with her, but Melina goes after both of them. The numbers disadvantage gets to Melina though, as Layla holds her down and allows for McCool to hit a boot. They beat her down, they knock Alicia out, and then taunt Melina as the segment closes. 2 matches, 2 post match beat downs to build up future angles. Which numbskull put these back to back?
S: I think we need to find our own version of dammit D-Lo, which agent in 2010 can we find humor in blaming it on? How about Billy Kidman? Although, I think he’d be too competent. This beatdown just was not over at all, very under. I did laugh with one of the LayCool lines but fuck me, this is the problem I always had with them. They just held the belt for fucking ages, they’d beat others down, always stand tall and win.
JT: Now with that said, I do think this segment displayed their strengths more than any other segment they’ve had yet. Layla & Michelle always had great chemistry together and we’re good talkers, but I do have a question. What is their character exactly? Because I have a hard time figuring out if they’re more so “00s High School Mean Girl” or like “Annoying White Wine Moms/Karens”.
S: I think they’re honestly a mixture of both. I’ve always thought they were 2000s mean girls, but they totally are Wine Moms as well. Like I know it’s 2010 and fashion does change as the decade goes on but even in the prior decade, if I’m thinking from the perspective of women who would’ve grown up in that decade, I think either of my sisters would call them Wine Moms. It’s like they were the high school mean girls, who stayed friends and were still the it girls, even when they became moms and grew up. Does that make sense?
JT: Yeah that makes sense, like they’re grown up mean girls. Just from the way they dress and talk, they just feel like they’ve got a “Live Laugh Love” signs in their homes, and that they’ve just discovered the newest yoga or diet fad that’s totally going to be the next big thing.
S: Yeah they’ve got some of those signs, they have some corny fridge magnets about wine jokes, definitely a steam cleaner and a juicer of some sorts. All of that going on, just you wait until they discover DDP Yoga.
JT: Seán, I just had an idea, and I’m hesitant to say this on this episode because we could be giving away free money to some Indy wrestler who reads this. But hear me out: Wrestler with a “Karen” gimmick who has a loaded Yoga Mat. BOOK IT!!
S: Oh my god, James. You’re a genius, that gimmick will be used on a smaller indie in no time. They’ll be wrestling Allie Katch on a below par, GCW themed show in a matter of months.
JT: So with that all said, we got one episode to go “Oh wow WWE totally had 2 Women’s Titles going at once! That’s neat!” for one episode before we get an angle putting the Divas Champ and Women’s Champs against each other. Spoilers y’all, unification on the way!
S: Spoilers x2 you lot, it’s going to be the Women’s Title which gets left in the dust. The Diiiiiiiiiiva’s Championship is here to stay, no matter who the winner is.
JT: So enjoy the 2 titles while for the last month we have them, because it’ll be 6 years before the company gives enough of a fuck to have a least 2 women’s storylines at once!
S: Luckily for us, we ain’t sticking around for that long to witness the revolving door of comings and goings in the Diva’s Division, as well as dead crowds who don’t care.
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Coward Man Punk
JT: Up next, we’ve got ourselves a 3 on 1 Handicap Match!! It’s the Big Show taking on the entire Straight Edge Society!! Since we last saw CM Punk at Fatal 4 Way, he has been a busy boy! Not only is his mask gone, but he’s got himself a brand new follower!
S: Who’s that Ruthless Aggression and late ECW alumni who is now part of the Straight Edge Society? Johnny Swinger? Danny Doring? Maybe Kid Kash? If you guessed any of those, you’d be wrong! It’s actually Joey Mercury! Of MNM fame! Now called Joseph Mercury, great biblical reference there, Punk. Or as the King calls him, Joseph Gallows. *sigh* You useless old fucker.
JT: So Mercury actually debuted as part of the Straight Edge Society back at Extreme Rules in April, costing Rey Mysterio his match against Punk. However he did so under a mask, and had been running interference on a semi-regular basis since then until he was unmasked by Big Show on a SmackDown in July. Blending kayfabe and reality, he revealed he joined Punk’s SES because Punk had helped him defeat his demons with drugs and alcohol. So, yay for getting your life back on track! Boo for falling into a cult as a result!
S: That story of Punk actually helping him get his life on track was actually true as well! I do remember Mercury being a talking head in the CM Punk documentary and saying that Punk bought his house for him after Joey was close to being evicted due to his problems.
JT: And it seems like Punk really got him on the right path for good, since he’s been pretty much in the straight and narrow since then! However, that can be said for all the SES members! Because as part of this extended SES recap, we gotta handle the loose end of Kane chasing him off at Fatal 4 Way! What happened there? Well, for weeks, Kane was going after Punk as the certain attacker of the Undertaker. But then, Serena revealed damning evidence that not only exonerated Punk, but hurt his image as well. What was it? Well, it’s security footage from a bar! The night when Undertaker was attacked, Serena was out drinking! Punk’s perfect savior methods aren’t all he’s claimed they are! But how does this help Punk? Well, Gallows & Pepsi Man himself found out about Serena’s straying from the path, and promptly went to the bar, trashing the place and berating her. So it couldn’t have been Punk who attacked Undertaker! Honestly, that’s some creative storytelling there! And shoutout to a young Adam Cole himself for being the young handsome extra having a social evening with Serena at the bar.
S: That’s really fucking cool! I do remember the stuff of Serena straying from the path very briefly, I did remember Punk’s name being cleared from the attack but I couldn’t remember how, this was a great way to clear his name. Also, a young Adam Cole as the bar man. I’d assume he was the young upstart doing his thing in CZW as the Junior Champion.
JT: That’s exactly what he was doing! Very knowledgeable Seán! This was an Adam Cole that was pre-PWG and pre-ROH!! Future Shock wouldn’t even be on TV until later that fall, just to give you a timeline on where Cole is along in his career.
So back to our SES timeline, there’s also a matter of how we got to this match with Big Show. So at MITB, y’all probably remember Big Show’s big ladder. Well Punk had actually gotten injured in his feud with Kane, which he contends is why he wasn’t in the 2010 MITB, his MITB 3 peat was denied. He talked all this smack while Show was out with his ladder, comparing him to King Kong, who he reminds everyone, lost in the end. Show is obviously not happy with this, Punk sent Gallows & Mercury after Show, and climbed up the ladder as a gesture of his superiority. Of course, The World’s Largest Athlete eventually overcame the Straight Edge Disciples, leaving Punk defenseless at the top of the ladder. Much to the detriment of the WWE Universe (I remember having a blast with this moment as a kid), Show unmasked Punk and showed the world his shiny head. After a few weeks off TV, Punk returned with his vigor directed at Show. With his arm healed and payback on his mind, the SES pinned Tall Paul against the ring steps and went after the hand of Show, breaking it with stomps. Now the hostility goes both ways, with Show boldly taking them all on tonight, even with a lot of bandaging on his hand.
S: Did you catch the subtle wee parody which Show had on his bandage? Pretty much a reference to something which Punk is known for?
JT: I did catch that actually!! Cheeky Big Show had a little “X” on his bandage, parodying the wraps Punk puts on his wrists! Punk’s mockery of Show though was much less subtle, as he has a big “I Broke Big Show’s hand” shirt, referencing Greg Valentine’s old “I Broke Wahoo’s Leg” shirt from the 70s. It turns out the “CM” in CM Punk actually stands for “Consumed Mid -atlantic championship wrestling”.
S: Honestly, really good patter from the both of them here. They’ve got, what Limmy would call, a vast patter library.
JT: Now before we get into the match, I just have a few little comments to make. First, I love the SES’s big Team Rocket pose they do. I know AEW’s got a bunch of groups and factions, but we need more groups and factions with synchronized poses!! Secondly, I was a little miffed at this whole “broken hand” storyline, considering this was now the second time in 4 years WWE had gone to this well. And if you ask me, this isn’t nearly as effective as Triple H breaking his hand with the sledgehammer. But hey, maybe I’m being dramatic because Show appears to be good to go, as he removes his bandage and hands it to the ref before the bell rings.
S: Yeah I thought it was just a massive waste of a potentially interesting part of this story if his hand is just grand. Come on now, a wounded giant against three guys, with an intelligent leader is a good story. Stick with it.
JT: I mean the question still remains, will the Big Show be able to use the KO tonight? Guess it’s time to see! So the match kicks off with Mercury running right into a Chop from The Giant. Luke Gallows tries to grapple with Show but he gets a big chop against the ropes, and they’re already in need of a team huddle. After some coaching from Punk, Gallows & Mercury run back in and are sent right back out of the ring. Mercury gets palmed by the head and lifted back into the ring, only to get thrown out onto Gallows, all the while Punk holds onto the tag rope for dear life. There’s no tag in and tag out by the way, he’s just a big scaredy cat, and it makes for a great visual.
S: Great opening part of the match, Big Show yet again being booked to perfection, I don’t know what it is about him but I just get such great joy out of watching him be a big strong giant and show off effortless strength. Maybe it’s smiling and waving which adds to his charm with me but I just loved him swatting away Gallows and picking up Mercury by his head like it were an apple off a tree. Great stuff. Punk is brilliant as well, just completely selling how imposing Show is by his facial expressions.
JT: Punk finally looks to get into the action….of course after Serena jumps on the apron to distract him, but Show is not phased and chops Punk hard. Everyone’s out on the floor now, and Punk manages the first piece of offense against Big Show with a thrust to the throat. This causes Show to stabilize himself against the stairs for a moment, so Punk goes back after the hand, but misses his stomp, and Show pulls Punk’s legs out from under him, hitting off the steps. Now laid out on the steps, he goes for a chop, but Punk moves and he hits the steps. Well, so much about the hand being healed. Honestly, this is more convincing than the stomping they originally did.
S: This stomping looked really fucking brutal and nasty, they stomp a proverbial mudhole in his hand, if you will. Should’ve kept wearing that black hand strap, Paul.
JT: The crowd tries to rally Show as the SES take turns stomping on his hand. A Big Splash by the Big LG does some damage but isn’t enough to get the win. They’ve managed to keep Show off his feet and continue to batter him. Show starts to stir but they do some assisted splashes in the corner. Punk tries to run in for the big Corner Knee, but Show cuts off Punk, turning the match around. He throws Gallows into Mercury, then a double clothesline on them. Punk goes for the Springboard Clothesline and gets caught, but hits a High Kick to avoid the Chokeslam. He manages to avoid a corner clothesline by Tall Paul and hits 3 Big Knees in the corner, then he and Mercury slam him on the mat with a Double Bulldog!! One thing this match has done well is really show the SES working as a unit, whether it’s Punk being a leader who directs traffic, or having coordinated offense against the World’s Largest Athlete.
S: Definitely, it’s when they’re on offense which makes me wonder all these years later why the SES never really challenged for the Tag Titles or even had a run with them, I do think that them holding the belts under the Freebird rule would’ve made for some really fun matches.
JT: I mean, I think Gallows & Punk wrestled DX for the titles once, but you’re right about them not getting a full run. I mean, Hart Dynasty isn’t on the show tonight, and they had the same feud for the two shows before that. I suppose the only reason why they wouldn’t be in the tag division is because SmackDown lacks heels on the level of Big Show. Like if Show isn’t fighting Punk, does he fight Swagger again? McIntyre or Cody maybe? It’s slim pickings.
S: It is slim pickings for heels until a certain Mexican Aristocrat makes his debut in a matter of weeks. Also, Swagger, World Title matches the last two shows, is on the poster for this show, not on the card. Guess his ma grounded him from SummerSlam after their argument on the phone at Money in the Bank.
JT: Perhaps so. And can the SES keep Big Show grounded? Well the double Bulldog doesn’t, as Kickout at 2 sends Mercury flying off. Punk tries to ground and pound on Show, but Show just stands with him on his shoulders. Mercury leaps at him, and Tall Paul catches him too!! Gallows runs in and hits him with a boot, and it sends Show back, but only back to the ropes where he dumps Punk out of the ring, and bounces back at the goons with a double clothesline. Serena decides it’s time to save the head of the snake as she starts helping Punk up the ramp, leaving Gallows & Mercury to Knucklehead. KO Punch to Gallows, Mercury gets hoisted high for the Chokeslam and is planted down onto Gallows. 1—2—3, Punk bails out on his boys and a year after winning the Summerslam main event, he can’t beat a one handed But Show 4 on 1. Yeesh.
S: A decent enough match, I’d say I probably enjoyed this one more than the first two on this show but it’s not saying much. There were a good few things which I actually liked about the match, don’t know what it is but face Big Show has actually really worked for me in the four episodes we’ve seen him so far in this arc. However, ya could’ve just given the Straight Edge Society the win on PPV, spoilers folks but we are getting Punk vs. Big Show on the next episode in the arc, so surely you could’ve given them the win here. Just from the way they got jobbed out convincingly in the end and Punk just leaving them to be killed by Big Show, you can tell that the end of the Straight Edge Society is a matter of when, not if.
JT: Yeah obviously they’re putting more stock into Big Show than either Gallows or Mercury, but they really didn’t put up much of a fight at all. You’re right about it feeling like the end is near for the SES too, considering he berated them for being losers in the build to this match, and we’ve already had Serena’s sobriety faltering. The match technically was kind of creative and well wrestled, but personally I just didn’t find this one very interesting. I was surprised how little of a fight was put up and I think that soured this whole thing for me. Also kind of unrelated, but did you notice how the KO Punch got like no pop and no acknowledgment from commentary? Like they’ve been building this feud around Show’s hand, and then he actually lands the Punch and nothing!
S: Yeah the KO really went unnoticed by commentary, and by the crowd too for that matter but I think the reason for that was because Punk had already hightailed it out of the match and into the back so the crowd’s attention was focused on him. You’re right about them not getting much in, like they work over the hand for a spell, get some moves in but about 65% of the match was Big Show’s exhibition really.
JT: When I went to see AEW Grand Slam, one of the matches for AEW Dark was No More BS himself in a 3 on 1 Handicap against local competitors and honestly it really wasn’t too different from this. Goes to show how WWE is viewing the future prospects of Gallows & Mercury.
S: Yeah, you can tell that Gallows is probably close to being on the chopping block at this stage because I’m pretty sure he’s gone by maybe October or November, along with a lot of other wrestlers. I’m going to keep an eye on when some of these releases happen so I can bring it up in a future episode. With Mercury, even watching this at the time, I knew that there was no way he was going to be kept around as a regular wrestler and I’m pretty sure in a matter of weeks, he would become an agent for WWE.
JT: I’m not sure if we’re gonna get Joey on another episode so I’ll just say it now, but I know he gets hurt and needs surgery in the fall, so I think once that closes the book on his time in the SES, he goes on to be an agent. I mean, he’s a good pin cushion honestly. I don’t mind him being a total chump in this considering his age and career trajectory. The huge Chokeslam he got was pretty cool. It’s mostly Gallows who I think gets failed by all of this, and Serena to a degree.
S: I’m not sure if we’re gonna get Joey on another episode so I’ll just say it now, but I know he gets hurt and needs surgery in the fall, so I think once that closes the book on his time in the SES, he goes on to be an agent. I mean, he’s a good pin cushion honestly. I don’t mind him being a total chump in this considering his age and career trajectory. The huge Chokeslam he got was pretty cool. It’s mostly Gallows who I think gets failed by all of this, and Serena to a degree.
JT: Not that Gallows has ever been an exciting wrestler or particularly interesting on his own, but I’m surprised he never really got past henchman status. Like he didn’t even get a short singles push with Punk as his manager. Serena I’m way more surprised about honestly, I don’t know why she was kept out of the women’s division considering the scarcity of people they had. Maybe because LayCool was getting the big push on SmackDown, and they can’t have 3 big heels on a show with like 6 women wrestlers?
S: Then move her to Raw if that’s a problem, like even at this stage in her career, isn’t she regarded as like on the same level of Mercedes Martinez, Sara Del Rey and Cheerleader Melissa? Like how can WWE not see the upside she had, not only is she really good but she could probably help train a lot of the wrestlers too.
JT: So it goes sadly. I’m expecting we’ll get like, one or two more appearances of Serena on this storyline. I was expecting her, and really the SES as a whole to have more of an impact than they’ve had this arc, but that’s just how these seasons are gonna end up sometimes. They were a bigger part of TV than on PPV, and at this stage, neither Seán or I have the time to be watching all that 2010 TV.
S: Exactly, we have jobs outside of this, I’m in college as well, this isn’t our full-time gig and I’d rather be watching other stuff than nearly thirty hours of Raw and SmackDown in the lead up to these shows.
JT: Ultimately this just goes to show how hard it is to really cement your place in wrestling history, and credit where credit is due, neither Gallows nor Serena let this failed run tank their ambitions. They’re still around today, in much bigger capacities, and they worked hard to do it.
S: Yeah definitely, Serena would do much better for herself outside of WWE, she would come back for the first Mae Young Classic, have a run in NWA and now is doing well for herself in AEW. Gallows, probably one of the most successful tag team wrestlers outside of WWE in the last decade, you’d have to say. He’s done well for himself with Karl Anderson in New Japan and Impact Wrestling. Also, one of the best shoot storytellers in wrestling. Honestly, some of the stories which Gallows has about his career range from hilarious to absolutely mental. He’s a real hoot to listen to.
JT: So congrats to them and Mercury on actually having the best of luck in their future endeavors, but if they manage any more appearances in this arc, I’m not expecting much.
S: The most I’m expecting is maybe they make an appearance at the next PPV and then see ya.
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Lucky Number 7?
JT: So up next, we don’t have a match actually, we have a big old in-ring promo!! Normally I like to leave these promos before whatever match they’re associated with, but this one is a little too big to ignore. Who has something to say? Well it’s only Mr Money in the Bank, Mr US Champion, and potential Mr 7th Member of Team WWE, The Miz!!
S: He’s been sought after by the Canadian natives as well, Jericho and Miz fully believe that Miz is the guy they need to fill that 7th spot because it’s been a bit of a bumpy road for Team WWE in the run-in for SummerSlam.
JT: Yeah we’ll make sure to cover why they only have 6 members on the team before the main event, but for now, we gotta know what’s going on with Miz. To cut a long story short, Team WWE needs another member, and Miz is clearly the most qualified man to do so. Like I said, he’s not only Mr MITB but he’s the US Champion as well. The issue is, Miz is a resentful, self obsessed guy, and thus far, he hasn’t given them an answer. When WWE needed him most, he made the locker room sweat. That hasn’t stopped members of Team WWE from trying to get him to sign on for sure. In fact, earlier in Summerslam, Jericho & Edge were making their case to him. This was right after Kofi & Dolph were attacked too, so they used that as an illustration of how dangerous they are. Jericho says as much as it pains him to admit it, they need Miz, he’s the only one with the talent and uniqueness to beat the Nexus. I mean, he’s the US Champ and MITB winner! And Edge, he can appreciate MITB and what that means, but he emphasizes that tonight isn’t about cashing that in, it’s about the opportunity of a lifetime. He could become a legend in LA if they win, he could be bigger than Avatar! Yet, Miz says he just isn’t sure if he wants to make Nexus a priority, but he’ll think about it. He also snatches Edge’s Slim Jim before he leaves. Jericho & Edge think they’ve got him on their side, but I guess now is when we’ll find out. Any thoughts on this little promo before we get to the bigger one?
S: Good backstage segment, you would expect good stuff from these three lads in a segment together and I think they did just that. Loved the blatant product placement of Slim Jim on Edge’s behalf, and how about that very 2010 reference name dropping Avatar. Very 2010, surely that sequel is gonna drop in 2012, definitely not like 2022 or something crazy.
JT: Surely not! Could this be the moment of truth? Will Miz tell the world if he’s joining Team WWE? Well that’s the big question he says. Does the WWE Universe think Miz should join Team WWE? Well, they have a mixed reaction, and he says it’s a good thing he could care less about what the fans think. The locker room thinks of him as the missing link to save the WWE from destruction. I mean after all, both Bret Hart & John Cena both asked if he would join. He says Cena told him he was wrong about him, and that he got down on his knees and begged him to join Team WWE. Cena also said that Miz is the only guy who could see him, while Bret said he’s the real excellence of execution and that Miz is the real best there is, best there was, and best there ever will be. Jericho tried to get him to join with the Gift of Jericho (a Fozzy CD), which Miz says he threw right in the trash. His bitter rival John Morrison admitted he was the Jannetty of their team, and that Miz is Shawn Michaels of the group, only that he’s even better than Shawn! Edge, well he gave him a year’s supply of Slim Jims and R-Truth wrote him a crappy rap, everyone on Team WWE has admitted he’s the one they need, except the fans. He lets the fans know he’s Team WWE’s only hope, that he’s the future of WWE, and a future WWE Champion. He says that it’s time for the decision. It’s a decision bigger than the Pepsi Challenge, bigger than Arnold Schwarzenegger joining Terminator 5. It’s even bigger than Lebron James’s The Decision….which will lead to the Lakers losing their NBA Title (he was right, they didn’t win next year but not because of Lebron). Will he join Team WWE? The answer is…….is…….is really drawn out…and weird seeing it with no Yes/No chants……..and it is YES!! He will join Team WWE, and will lead them to victory!!The WWE Universe will not be buzzing about the Nexus, they won’t be looking up to their hero John Cena. It’ll be all about the Miz, because he’s The Miz, and he’s…..AWESOOOMMMEE!! Now, did you think that promo was Awesome?
S: I really liked this promo, James. At first I groaned at the thought of having a promo segment on a Big 4 PPV but I must say, Miz did a brilliant job with his promo yet again. Honestly thought this was the best thing of the show so far. They boo the mention of LeBron James, give it eight years LA, those of you in the crowd who are Lakers fans will be cheering him then. I did like how Miz made note of every member of Team WWE and how they wanted him to be on the team, as well as referencing their gimmicks and some members’ prior beef with him. It does go to show how in just over a year into his proper solo run, he’s had a lot of notable feuds and beefs with several of the members of the team. I think that’s what made this promo really enjoyable for me.
JT: I really liked how it was all very self serving too. Like clearly, none of those guys said any of those things to him, but what are they going to do, come out and say he’s wrong? Then he’s going to back out and leave them high and dry without a 7th teammate! Everyone is just stuck with him, because realistically, he’s the most talented guy they can recruit, and it might be better to appease him than end up with nobody. I think this team story has been set up real well, and I’ve always been a big fan of these sort of stories where good guys have to team with bad guys to face a greater evil. Not just in wrestling, whenever this comes up in the media, I love it.
S: I always love those stories too and when I watched this live, I knew how much of a bellend Miz was from watching every week but even I knew that they had to recruit him and I was actively rooting for him to join the team. I think this angle was a job well done.
JT: I also wanted him to join a bunch as a kid, but that’s because I was also a Miz fan. Like 11 year old me wanted that Miz “I’m Awesome” shirt, because 11 year olds aren’t smart. Cole also really wanted Miz to join, like really badly. And for all the criticism we’ve given commentary so far (and that we will give later) I think the 3 man booth works well in this instance. Cole is over the moon about Miz joining, but King says he’d almost rather fight without him than with him, only for the neutral party in Stryker to reason with King that if someone with the accolades like Miz wants to fight for the WWE, you’ve got to do it to keep bread on the table. It’s a nice spectrum.
S: The thing is, I do like that dynamic in a commentary team, and my oh my did Cole have bundles of enthusiasm here. The problem that we will end up seeing with it the further down the rabbit hole of this season is that this dynamic doesn’t work when the play-by-play guy is in favor of the heel.
JT: I’ll also say, because of the impending Cole heel turn, I feel like the general dynamic is thrown off, consistency wise. Like because Cole is only a Miz homer, that leads to Cole playing the heel sometimes and then Stryker is more of a heel sometimes. I feel like it just leaves Stryker’s character super muddled.
S: Definitely, Stryker has usually been a neutral voice who always tends to give benefit to the heels on the shows, whereas Cole is going to become super pro-heels on commentary, which leaves Stryker almost redundant in a few months and Lawler isn’t a strong enough face commentator to reel it back it in either, so it creates this disjointed dynamic in the process.
JT: So it looks like we’ve got Team WWE has got its final member! Will The Miz push Team WWE over the top and run Nexus out of WWE? We’ll just have to see later on tonight.
S: Well if I’m judging the opinion of my reliable commentator, Michael Cole, I think it’s a no brainer that The Miz is the man to help Team WWE defeat The Nexus.
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Sheamus’s Snake-bitten Reign
JT: So now that The Miz will be putting WWE before himself, we can safely say he is out of the picture for our next match. Of course, that match is for the WWE Championship!! It’s Randy Orton challenging the defending Champion Sheamus!! Now despite the fact he faced John Cena last episode, I’ve gotta say that I think this is the biggest match of Sheamus’s reign so far.
S: Definitely, this match does feel like a big test for Sheamus and a big match in general, even though it’s in the middle of the show. Which is weird to say but I think the story going into this one is what props it up as a bigger match for Sheamus compared to his match with Cena. The fact that the story is that Sheamus hasn’t been able to defeat Randy Orton yet is a good storyline to help prop up the hype for this one.
JT: Wow that’s a bit harsh for Kane & Sheamus! But still it’s weird for them to keep teasing this. Anyways, onto the promo! We get a big dramatic intro about the Apex Predator, who defeated Jericho & Edge in a Triple Threat to get this match. Build started only two weeks ago, but the story is more hanging on their past encounters than their past encounters. During Sheamus’s first reign as WWE Champion, he had 2 separate singles matches where he only won thanks to Legacy attacking Sheamus and causing the DQ. It seems like Randy might just have his number, and that Sheamus got away with his title by flukes. And Randy knows Sheamus knows this. Case and point, after Randy won the title shot, Sheamus rushed the ring, but then backed down with Randy turned and saw him. Sheamus claims he’s scared…scared of what he’ll do to Randy. He’s scared he’ll end his career just like he “ended Triple H’s career”. Still, Randy dares Sheamus to do something but Sheamus won’t swing first. So since Sheamus won’t do anything, Orton attacks, Sheamus finally hits back, but then Randy ducks the Brogue for the Backbreaker. He goes to do the Punt but stops and Sheamus reels back scared. So like you said, this is a huge defense for Sheamus, because this is a chance to get the monkey off his back.
S: Pretty good build for this match if you judge by the hype package, its the one thing WWE will always master is a good hype package. The part with the spotlight on Orton is what I thought was the standout of the video, Randy Orton in 2010 was probably right on par with Cena as top face, so much so that I remember people thinking that he could genuinely be the face of the company. Which is weird to say since he’s usually always been number two or three but it was believable at this time.
JT: Yeah the face run for Randy was really doing well at this time. Folks were foaming at the mouth for a chance to see an RKO, which as we said before, is definitely a result of his great couple years of heel work. Now that there’s a chance to cheer for him for the first time in years, people really want to cheer for him.
S: That all started as they were building to the implosion of Legacy really, I mean I couldn’t have possibly imagined Randy as a face when I first started watching but as he started slowly showing face like tendencies at the start of 2010, I think fans were really clamoring for a face turn. I mean, he did have his failed face run in late 2004 but aside from that, essentially seven years a heel.
JT: Will they get a chance to celebrate an Orton Championship victory for the time since Summerslam 7 years earlier? Well, we’ll find out soon. But before we get into the match, one of the commentators says that. “History has shown us the Irish are a very aggressive, fearless, combative people”, do you resent that statement at all my Irish friend?
S: Well as a resident coward of this country, I’d be inclined to disagr- ah I’m just joking. I think in Irish mythology, there are several examples of that statement. I would consider that a trait of us Irish people. There is the counter to that statement though, that being that history shows that Irish people tend to not want to bother people when they are stuck in awkward situations, or where a lot of us can be a bit too shy to ask people some things in public settings. Such as if you were in a pub, you see a spare seat over by a group of people but instead of just asking if you can take said empty seat to your group, you choose to stand instead.
JT: Ah yes, something that overcomes even the powers of cultural heritage, the human urge to not be a bother. Well I tell you what, Sheamus doesn’t have that bother, especially if he wants to be great. As Stryker says, Sheamus is on his way to becoming the most famous Irish person in pop culture! So he can’t afford to play nice! Now Seán, again I’ve got an Irish centric question for you. Who would you say the most famous Irish person in pop culture is?
S: Are we talking at this stage in 2010? Or just over the years?
JT: Ehh fuck it, why not both?
S: Just as I was researching the famous Irish people in 2010, there was actually a list, a top 40 list done by RTÉ called “Ireland’s Greatest”. So in 2010, the most famous Irish people and the Irish people who contributed to this country could be divided up into several categories.
To start off with politics, our most famous politicians would probably be Michael Collins and Eamon De Valera. Fun fact about the latter, my mum’s either grand uncle or grandfather was actually the personal driver for Eamon De Valera.
In literature, we have lots of famous and critically acclaimed writers. This includes the likes of Oscar Wilde, W.B. Yeats, James Joyce, Bram Stoker and Seamus Heaney.
In music, we have quite the rich history of famous musicians. The most obvious ones by 2010 would definitely be Bono of U2, Bob Geldof of The Boomtown Rats, and Band Aid, Dolores O’Riordan of The Cranberries, Sinead O’Connor and Phil Lynnot of Thin Lizzy.
In sport, our most famous sportsmen would probably have been the likes of Padraig Harrington, Paul McGrath and Roy Keane.
In acting and pop culture, quite the rich collection as well. Brendan Gleeson, Graham Norton, Colin Farrell by 2010 was very famous and was cast in a lot of big time movies and made a fair few cameos in shows. Colm Meaney, Liam Neeson, Pierce Brosnan, Cillian Murphy and Michael Fassbender as well. We have a lot of revered actors, and Colin Farrell.
JT: I’ll also say in modern times, Sheamus would have to overcome that big prick Connor McGregor, who for my money, I think is the famous living Irish person. Not only is he a huge star (though not as much as he was a few years ago) but he’s also uncompromisingly Irish. Unfortunately for y’all, many of the musicians and actors tend not to be as identifiably Irish as Connor. You ask an American where Liam Neeson is from and you’re getting a 50% chance that they call him “British”.
S: That and I genuinely think people in the US may not be able to figure out where his accent originates from, one viewing of Taken and they’ll have no fucking clue of where he’s from.
JT: Very true, but that’s enough of that silly little detour, shall we get into our WWE Championship match?
S: Let’s go for it. Take it away.
JT: Oh and before I start here are very vague and honestly not all that relevant stipulations for this: If Sheamus has interference, that person who interferes will be suspended (because of Nexus involvement in his matches), and if Orton loses he’ll go to the back of the line (so like, always?). So the match kicks off with Sheamus pushing Randy into the corner and giving a big old taunt to the Viper. He backs him into the corner and looks to do it again but gets a kick to the gut from Orton, followed by stomps as Orton quickly lights him up. Randy follows up with a clothesline out of the corner, then some more stomps, and a Knee Drop. Sheamus desperately tries for anything but his hip toss is blocked and gets a clothesline, then one to send him up and out of the ring, then he gets thrown into the table. Orton clotheslines Sheamus out over the barricade, and plays with his food on the outside before bringing him back in at 9. An RKO chant breaks out in the midst of some signature slow Randy Orton stomping, followed by a slingshot that sends Sheamus into the bottom rope throat first. Finally he manages something as he throws Orton into the barricade, but as he goes to follow up, Randy reverses the Irish Whip to send Sheamus into the barricade!! Man Sheamus got his ass handed to him on a silver platter from like, the first 30 seconds on. I didn’t even realize it as I was watching but looking at my notes, he got demolished early on!
S: Yeah honestly, he was getting the ever loving shit beat out of him in this one. Definitely surprising given that he is the champion, and a heel champion who is said to be fearless and quite aggressive, but he sure did get a proper slacking from Orton. A lot more one sided than I remember it being from just watching it the other day.
JT: So finally Sheamus gets some momentum as he manages to throw Randy into the stairs, and then takes control with some ware-down offense. But, it’s not long before he goes for a Suplex only for Orton to reverse and hit Sheamus with one instead. Sheamus goes to the apron, Orton with a kick, then he goes for the Draping DDT, but Sheamus throws him over the ropes to the outside. This solidly swings the momentum for Sheamus, who finally gets sustained offense in. He nails Orton with a running Ax Handle to the head, but Orton kicks out at 2. He wears him down with a headlock, until Orton gets a Back Suplex to create space. The crowd rallies around Orton, and Sheamus tries to cut him off, but Orton dodges, with Sheamus hitting the corner hard, stumbling back into the Backbreaker by The Viper. There’s the Yay/Boo punch spot, with the crowd firmly behind Orton, before Orton really starts to roll with a European Uppercut, Clothesline, Clothesline and Scoop Powerslam. Sheamus sends him into the corner, Orton dodges out of the way as Sheamus rams into the post. Orton bounces him off the turnbuckle head first, then lifts him up and sends him all the way down to the mat with a Superplex! Orton goes to send him across, Sheamus ducks down for a backdrop, but then Orton with a kick and he runs the ropes only to get caught with the Irish Curse!! 1–2–Kickout!! Honestly not the most exciting action throughout this match, but I’ve gotta say, this crowd was eating it up anyways. They were quite into this one, like you said earlier, Randy Orton is very over.
S: Definitely, moves wise, I don’t think it’s exactly the most spectacular of matches but the crowd’s enthusiasm did really help my interest in this match. Definitely think that this crowd is probably the best crowd we’ve had for quite some time. Their interest in the match for sure boosted my enjoyment of it, at this point.
JT: So with the Irish Curse not being enough to get the job done, Sheamus sets up the Brogue Kick, but when he goes for the kick, Orton ducks, and Sheamus careens over the top rope and to the floor. Orton then brings him back onto the apron, pulls him through the ropes, and nails the Draping DDT!! The crowd is going wild as Orton starts to slam on the mat and fire up, looking for the move that’ll win him his 7th WWE Title. He leaps for the RKO, but Sheamus pushes him off!! Ok, now, this wasn’t a bad sequence, but why was commentary selling this reversal like nobody’s ever done this before? I swear they were acting like nobody has done this spot before.
S: One reason, WWE thinks their fans have goldfish brains. It’s always a cool looking reversal, makes the guy avoiding the RKO look very strong in doing so but like, I’m pretty sure that Cactus Jack has done it, Cena as well, probably Undertaker too.
JT: Regardless, he stopped him, and is now setting up for the High Cross. He lifts him up, Orton slips free and goes for the RKO!! Sheamus pushes him off again!! Orton hits the ropes and comes back into the Brogue Kick!! 1—2—Kickout!! The fans are rocking right now, and it’s just looking more and more likely that Sheamus just doesn’t have what it takes to beat Randy Orton. And Sheamus seems to know that as well, as he heads outside and grabs a Chair. He goes to bring the chair in, but the ref tries to get the chair away and stop this before he breaks the rules. Of course, as they’re playing tug of war with the chair, Sheamus yanks the chair and in the process, throws the ref out of the ring and calls for the DQ. And just like that, the match the crowd was real into is over, and on a real fart of a finish. Plus, by referee standards, this guy is Superman for even being able to get up and call for the stinky DQ!
S: That referee has been drinking his milk, that’s why he’s able to get up. Sure all those other refs do be drinking malk, now with Vitamin R. Now before we get into our thoughts. I think we need to discuss the outcome. Another fucking DQ?! Two on a six match card?! It’s one of the big 4 PPVs and it’s your WWE Title match! Whyyyyyyyy?
JT: Not only that, but it’s the third time a singles match between them has ended in a DQ!! That’s 3 for 3!! And it’s not even a proper big event DQ!! Look at Kurt Angle vs Stone Cold at Summerslam 2001 for example. That ended in DQ too, but it was so much more dramatic and told a big enough story for it to justify a non finish on one of the biggest shows of the year. This is a far cry from Angle/Austin, I tell you what.
S: Angle vs. Austin from SummerSlam 2001 is like one of the few instances where a DQ actually works because it was a fucking cracker of a match and Austin getting himself DQ’d was perfect for his character at the time because he was paranoid and desperate to keep his title by any means. This match, I did think it picked up, the crowd certainly helped and I thought it was alright but as you said, it was definitely a far cry from Angle vs. Austin. Which was nine years prior to this, this is a problem I have with WWE around this time because in the early and mid 2000s, even as early back as 2008, it felt like there were usually really good or memorable matches littered throughout the years or on nearly each card. What the fuck is it with 2010 WWE where the quality of wrestling feels like its gone backwards? Like this year in particular is starved of really good matches, if that makes sense?
JT: Yeah I’m sure that some of that has to do with how we always remember the good and forget the bad and forgettable, but yeah so far 2010 has been rough. Not to say this was terrible by any means, but it was a pretty standard match without any sort of frills or twists. Like I’d argue you could see this sort of match in any weekly TV main event from WWE this year. It’s like a SmackDown where they tease having a big match and then have a DQ because they can’t blow the finish on free TV, EXCEPT THIS IS SUMMERSLAM!! Even the DQ feels very “Aww that no good heel! Tune in to the next SmackDown to see how Randy responds!”. Which of course, he does do on this show, which we’ll get to in a second, but this is some uninspired stuff.
S: It’s just so frustrating to watch this and basically know that the matches that you’re getting on PPV are no different in quality to your TV main events on Raw and SmackDown in 2010. Like have they forgotten how to put together a PPV quality World Title match altogether? Because it sure feels like it. I didn’t hate this match, I knew the finish was coming but I tried to enjoy all the other stuff which came before the DQ. Like I honestly laughed at the finish as if it were the genesis of my villain origin story. My brother was watching this with me and upon seeing the finish, he went “is that it? Seriously?”. That quote sums up this match right there.
JT: Now, they did try to end this segment on a happy note. After the bell is rung, Sheamus swings the chair at Orton, but it’s a swing and a miss, and then a low blow to Sheamus. Randy chucks the chair out, throws Sheamus out of the ring and clears the announce table. He gets Sheamus up, and then drives him down on the announce table, that doesn’t break. That’s gotta be sore. Especially since nobody else is doing an announce table spot, feels like they could’ve just had a breakaway. The crowd enjoyed this, and actually chanted for Miz as Sheamus was carried off, but again, this feels like an apology more than an exciting segment. Also as far as post match beat-downs on this show already, OHHH BABBYYY A TRIPLE!!!
S: This show just has so many repetitive tropes, doesn’t it? Disqualification finishes, post-match beatdowns, injury angles within matches. You summed this post match brawl perfectly, an apology more than an exciting segment. Just so frustrating, just put someone over for fuck’s sake.
JT: Come on guys in Summerslam!! They’ve really put all their eggs for exciting things into the Nexus vs Team WWE basket huh?
S: Well those eggs better be chocolate eggs, because we’re gonna need some sweet taste to erase a lot of the bitterness I’m feeling right about now.
JT: Well on top of some chocolate, I think I can go for some other nice snacks. Maybe some danishes? Who knows! But I do know that we’ve gone over our half point, and you know what that means?
S: Well James, as you and I both know. It’s about that stage in the review where we kick back, unwind, forget about all the DQ finishes and indulge in one of our favorite establishments. We are Frasier and Niles and this place is our Café Nervosa. Keep on brewing that coffee, you know what time it is… RECHARGE!
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The Recharge
JT: Hello and welcome to the Recharge!! This is the little break time Seán and I reward ourselves with for reaching the halfway point of an episode. Let’s break up the 2010-centric talk and talk about anything else, be it wrestling of the present, other media, and so on. Plus, eventually we’ll get to the Recharge Recall, our trivia game! Seán, how are you hanging today?
S: Doing good man, feeling pretty happy these past few weeks. Have been indulging in my hobbies and consuming new forms of media as well. Been pretty productive outside of work.
JT: Yeah I’ve gotta say, I’ve been enjoying all my hobbies lately. I’ve been watching TV shows, seen some movies, I’ve been tuning in to AEW more consistently, I’ve caught a few Mets games on TV, things are good! It’s warming up too, which is nice.
S: I’ve been watching some TV shows too, I am in the midst of watching a certain popular Netflix show at the moment. Been playing a lot of bass at the moment, I did purchase a brand new bass as well. I have been tuning into AEW whenever I can. Also, have been out running the last three weeks and I can safely say than I’m down nine pounds, like I’m not a heavy guy by any means but I did feel the need to keep on top of things, just to keep it under control and also, just get my fitness back up to scratch again!
JT: Nice, very nice! Exercise is always good. I gotta be more proactive about that….another time! So, what do you wish to discuss first? What’s at the top of the docket?
S: Well, I think what’s top of my docket is that I am in the middle of binging… STRANGER THINGS! Yes, six years after it first came out, I’ve hopped on that bandwagon which has come around three times over without me joining and now at the fourth time of asking, I’ve joined in on the act. Gotta say, I’ve been fucking loving it so far! Almost done with Season 2.
JT: Neato!! So the hype of Season 4 got ya huh? I won’t say much about that, since I’m caught up, but please, indulge me with your thoughts of the first season and change.
S: Okay so at this moment in time, I’m at Season 2, Episode 7. So by the time this episode drops, I could have caught up completely. The hype of Season 4 definitely got me, that and the fact I had a fair few regular customers in the shop where I work just recommended it to me, so that was another factor. Season 1, I definitely enjoyed it. I thought it was a real good eight episodes which helped establish the main cast characters, the plot, and develop the mystery surrounding the supernatural side of things in Hawkins, Indiana. I think a real strength the show has going for it is for sure establishing a very large ensemble of main characters, which I think is to the show’s benefit. I love the soundtrack, I’m a sucker for a good series soundtrack, Sex Education is another series with a banging OST. Season 2 now, I do love how they carry on from Season 1’s ending, and how the story of Will being home, but he’s still not okay and safe in the aftermath of his disappearance within The Upside Down. I’m also loving the continuing origin story of 11. I think her story has made for some of the best stuff in the show, so far. Like there’s so much good stuff going for the characters and their side stories which inevitably connect into the main story, it’s really good storyboarding.
JT: Any favorite characters, any least favorite characters? Any things in the show that you think doesn’t work as well, or stuff you’d like to see happen in future seasons?
S: Oh now favorite characters, I think 11 for sure is someone who I find fascinating. I do like Dustin, I can’t lie. I think he’s got really good comedic timing, probably the best out of anyone in the show really. Steve is someone who I found to be quite complicated at the start, because he could be charming and funny, but he could also be the biggest prick. Then by the end of the first season, you learn that his shithousery is influenced by surrounding himself with assholes. Season 2 so far has helped change my opinion of him. Winona Ryder’s character, Joyce Byers has got so much passion, it’s crazy. Her determination to find Will in Season 1 is almost like Catherine O’Hara in Home Alone. It’s a weird comparison but there are definitely similarities. I think what’s going to happen is that eventually, all of the central protagonists who are off on their own side quests in Season 2, are eventually going to all come together to take down whatever the inevitable big bad evil baddie is. It’s going to be like Smash Bros Ultimate, everyone is here. Also, shoutout to Hopper for being a proper outlaw cop.
JT: Well glad to see we’re on a similar page. Those were most of my favorites at the time as well. Dustin is my favorite among the teens, just because I think he’s the funniest honestly. He’s got just great timing and delivery. Steve is also someone I really grew to like during S2, love me a good redemption arc. I binged through the whole show in like 3 days back when S2 came out in 2017. Fun stuff.
S: Well I’m barrelling down towards the end of S2 so I’m looking forward to getting into S3 soon enough. What about yourself, James? Have you been indulging in any TV shows lately?
JT: Well aside from watching Stranger Things S4 and the new season of the Umbrella Academy dropping today (which I haven’t gotten to see last episode 1 yet), I’ve been loving Season 3 of The Boys!! I started watching the show only this past spring, catching up in time for this season, and boy am I glad I have.
S: The Boys is for sure another show which is on my to watch list, I’ve heard nothing but great things about it and I honestly can’t wait to get right into it whenever I’ve got the time freed up from whatever I finish watching next. Do explain some of the premise to me if you don’t mind.
JT: Sure! So folks, why should you watch “The Boys”? Well, personally, I think it’s one of the best pieces of satire going. It satirizes the MCU, what the MCU/Superhero media stands for, as well as sociopolitical issues through the lens of being a funny, action packed, superhero show itself. Also, it’s not for the faint of heart, it gets real gory. It’s got great writing, great action, and it’s got something to say.
S: Well, I sure do love me some satire, especially satire of a massive franchise so it definitely sounds right up my street. I’d say I’m pretty good with gore at this stage, I’ve seen some movies and TV shows where it gets pretty gruesome. So I’d say there’s a good chance I’ll like it.
JT: Plus I’ll also say that Karl Urban is one of the stars! And Giancarlo Esposito eventually joins the cast in later seasons. All the actors are pretty great but those are the biggest names involved. It’s probably one of the best versions of the “What if Superman was evil” trope. And hey, Cody Rhodes likes the show enough to emulate one of the characters, that’s gotta count for something, right?
S: Well if Cody Rhodes is emulating one of the characters then that guy who he emulates sure must have adrenaline in their soul.
JT: I’ll also say another thing I’ve been doing between episodes is watching The Matrix franchise, as well as some additional Wachowski stuff (aka Speed Racer & V for Vendetta). And I’ve gotta say, I’ve mostly had a blast with their stuff.
S: I have seen your links to your Letterboxd reviews pop up on the timeline alright, I have given some of them a read alright. I did see your Speed Racer review, now I haven’t watched that movie in about thirteen years but all I knew about it back a few years ago was that it cost a lot of money, and it didn’t exactly do the best at the box-office considering the budget that went into making it. However, I’ve heard that it’s almost better with a rewatch now?
JT: I think it’s worth a rewatch, as long as you go into it understanding it’s just supposed to be a bit of fun. Not to say it’s not a serious piece of art, but the movie is not trying to tell a super well written, epic story Speed Racer with complex philosophical moral lessons to be learned along the way. Don’t get me wrong, it does have character beats and some themes (most that families are awesome), but that’s not mainly what it’s about. What Speed Racer is to me is a passion project meant to bring the feeling of an anime to live action, and I think it does that. Its visuals, characters and action are over the top, it’s stylized to be like a live action cartoon in the best way, if you ask me to completely hit that feel. Top that off with fun performances from John Goodman among many others, with a lovely soundtrack from Michael Giacchino, and you’ve got yourself a fun time. So sure, it bombed a the box office, but I think it was exactly what the Wachowskis wanted it to be, and I don’t think we were ready for an anime movie that wanted to be anime just yet. I think it took a decade plus of anime movies being decidedly not anime to realize Speed Racer’s approach was good.
S: Well I think you’ve definitely sold me on a potential rewatch of Speed Racer, that’s for sure. It’s been about 13 years since I’ve seen it and I’m pretty sure I remember absolutely none of it, or about 10% of it. That’s it. Speaking of selling people on stuff, what’s the deal with that Forbidden Door? What’s happening? It’s been a bumpy, confusing and frankly, disappointing build to the show, hasn’t it?
JT: Yeah, Forbidden Door has a very strange build, and not all the problems are anyone’s fault. One problem is the fact that they’ve had 4 weeks to really build this show, and it’s led to a rushed jobbed, especially since Dominion fell in the middle of it. So that has led to people showing up 2 weeks from PPV with Excalibur trying to explain why we should know who they are and why we should care. Like, we can argue the best build has been for the 3 way Tag, with Cobb & O-Khan of all people. I’m happy we’ve managed to get Okada, Shingo & Hiromu at the last minute, but it’s a major bummer to have no Naito, no Punk and no Bryan. Again, through nobody’s fault, but it still sucks. Plus, AEW’s booking has been a bit questionable as of late. Going back to Cole/Page again, for example.
S: That’s really pissed me off, like why is Page feuding with Cole again? The only reason I can possibly gather for them feuding again is probably so that Cole can get his win over Page after losing to him twice for the World Title. To be honest though, I don’t think I need to see Cole vs. Punk in the future whenever Punk comes back. However, I do think Cole vs. Moxley would make for a fascinating match for the Interim World Title, should Mox win it against Tanahashi, of course.
JT: Of course, Go Ace and all that. I feel like Cole is stuck in a real troublesome spot at the moment, because he came in right as Page won the belt, and now there’s going to be another new Champion. So even if a Moxley vs Cole feud might be good, Cole’s not going to beat Mox. And that’ll 3 loses in his 3 World Title challenges. On top of that, he was on the losing end of the Jungle Express & Christian vs Elite Match at Full Gear, and more or less lost the blowoff to Orange Cassidy. Dude cannot buy a win in a feud for his life, and now the last 2 weeks on TV, he’s gotten chumpified by Jay White. As much as I don’t like Darby Allin, that’s gotta be Cole’s next feud. Darby is realistically the only available face who he can face who is on his sort of level in the hierarchy, who he actually wins the feud against. Another reason why not having Christian vs Cole sucked too, Cole could’ve used that win against a legend like Cage on his AEW ledger.
S: Yeah I don’t know why that match didn’t come to be until that one match they had which was just a win for Cole to get before facing Hanger again. They should never have done him and Orange Cassidy in a Lights Out match to begin with either, just have him beat Cassidy in a weapons match which isn’t that stipulation because Orange is gonna be over win or lose. I think considering Darby and Sting are going after all of The Elite at the moment, it’s surely going to lead to Darby facing Cole at All Out, or maybe even a returning Kenny Omega? Perhaps we get Sting and Darby vs. The Bucks for the tag belts even.
JT: I will be back on the “Tony Khan Booker of the Year” train if Sting wins the Tag Titles off the Bucks. Especially if he makes a 1993 Sting white meat babyface comeback to do so.
S: I still think we’re probably getting Bucks and FTR for all the marbles at All Out and we’ll have the visual of FTR with all the tag belts from four promotions but still, Sting winning the Tag Titles in his 60s would be epic.
JT: Well hey, if any tag team deserves the Ultimato Dragon J-Crown visual, it’ll be FTR. It’s crazy how much they’ve got me to turn around on them in like a 6 month period. They’ve put their work in and they’re white hot. I always hoped they had another big run in them after their WWE run petered out and I’m glad they’re doing great again.
S: Definitely, I think when they were in The Pinnacle, things were starting to pick up a little but honestly, it’s since they went with the decision to break them away from Tully Blanchard which has really done them wonders. Like I love Tully, he’s great but this face run has been the start of a brilliant run for them and long may it continue.
JT: Tully had a nice little run, but they’re so much more material on their own. Between them, Wardlow as TNT Champ, and Moxley as AEW Champ, and then one of Miro/Malakai/PAC as Mid Atlantic Champ, AEW has some pretty nice next champions lined up.
S: It is, and I do hope that once AEW gets past Forbidden Door, they can go back to basics with booking. Calm things down, and retreat back to what worked for so long. Also, I think we need to switch focus to the giant elephant in the room. For those who know, and don’t know, who am I kidding? Of course you already know because some shit’s gone down in Stamford.
JT: What an absolute crazy day it was to find out about the Vince McMahon NDA. Like let’s be real, we all figured something like that would come out eventually, because like, he’s Vince McMahon. There have been a lot of other scandals under him, he’s gone on TV and done creepy and gross things, and it really seemed like an inevitability that he did something. Honestly, I thought this sort of stuff ever came out, it’d be after he inevitably passes away.
S: Yeah, he’s one of those people who has such power and influence because of who he is that there would be controversies which would come forward after his death. Much similar to a certain deceased English radio and DJ personality who may or may not have been the subject of a Louis Theroux documentary. I’m not saying their name, you put the pieces together yourself. Now, the story which came forward and the statement which came along with Vince’s decision to step back as CEO, such a guilty sounding statement if I’m being honest. Also, the news made for one of the most epic and chaotic days on Twitter of all time. So many home run tweets that you could compile a book of all those tweets. Truly an all-timer.
JT: It was the “Trump has caught COVID” of wrestling twitter, everyone was hoping for his downfall and it seems like it’s come.
S: Now if Vince actually goes down, I still think he’ll be running the show from his cell. Even when he’s cryogenically frozen like the deceased rulers of North Korea, he will still be having the final say. You just know it.
JT: I’m sure they already have a clone of him frozen somewhere in Titan Towers. Maybe that’s why Kevin Dunn has a permanent job, because he saved the clone!
S: Even when he’s passed on, there’ll be robot versions of him running the show, you just wait and see, people.
JT: Vince McMahon is absolutely going to have some evil descendants on this plane in like 70 years. Full European Monarchy type shit, like the way that Napoleon’s descendants all went “Remember him?!?”.
S: “Have you heard the story of our completely fucking mental great great grandfather and the amount of debauchery and shit he got away with?”. Something like that at a McMahon descendant family gathering in 2092.
JT: Either that or we’re gonna have to deal with a “Vince McMahon Returns!” type sequel where he comes back as Mecha Vince. Like the Shredder always coming back in the Ninja Turtles.
S: He’s gonna come back like Robo Nixon in Futurama, isn’t he? “VINNY’S BACKKKKK!”
JT: Alright I think this bit has run its course, I think it’s about time we get to some trivia!! Are you ready Seán? Are you ready to push your wrestle brain to the brink?
S: Let’s get this show on the road, do you mind taking the wheel first and hitting me with your question?
JT: No problem! As soon as he started this episode, I knew what I wanted to ask. And that’s because it’s based on our first match of the night. This is a pretty straight question: How many times have Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler wrestled each other in a 1 on 1 match on TV & PPV?
S: Oh now that’s a difficult question. Now I believe that this match at SummerSlam was surprisingly enough, their first match against each other on PPV. On TV they’ve faced off a bazillion times. Stick me down for, I don’t know, 26 times.
JT: Ohhh, surprisingly, pretty close!! You’re within single digits!! Would you like a hint? (We have those on this segment if you can’t tell).
S: Give me the hint, I think I’m pretty close to nailing this one.
JT: Alright I’ll say this to you: The difference between your first guess of 26 and the actual number is a difference of an odd number. Add an odd number to that guess and you’ll get the number of matches they’ve had together.
S: And it’s an odd number which is a single digit, right?
JT: Not quite! It’s not 27!! You’ve got one guess left.
S: Hold a minute there, bucko. That wasn’t a guess on my part, you said I was within single digits of the answer. What I was asking was the odd number in question one which is a single digit? I was looking for a bit of reassurance here.
JT: Well I’ve properly done Vince tearing both his quads now. I’m just stuck sitting here like an asshole. Yes, the odd number is a single digit. I thought I said that but I guess I thought about it and didn’t say it? So yeah, it’s either 3, 5, 7, or 9.
S: Alright, so since I was surprisingly close, I’m going to say that it was 29.
JT: I guess I jumped on that 27 “guess” because I knew that was the next closest thing, because they have fought 29 times on TV and PPV!! Some fun facts! Their first match was Kofi defeating Dolph to qualify for the “Breakthrough Battle Royal” on the November 23rd 2009 episode of Raw. Dolph and Kofi had a whopping TEN MATCHES AGAINST EACH OTHER IN 2010!! TEN TIMES!! They’ve had 5 matches against each other this year before tonight!! For all the memes, Dolph and Kofi didn’t have a single match against each from 2016 through 2018. Their final match (to date) was on the June 25th 2019 SmackDown, when Kofi won a 2 out of 3 Falls match. Finally, the overall record stands like so: 15 Wins for Dolph, 14 for Kofi, but Kofi is 8-4 in Title matches between them. Oh and they’ve faced off an additional 54 times on House Shows and Live Events (I’m not doing all that math though).
S: Fucking hell, so by the time the year is out, Dolph and Kofi will have faced off a further four times. Including house shows and live events, they’ve tussled 83 times in total. Cena and Orton haven’t got shit on this never-ending saga.
JT: Honestly it’s like, the stats are mostly padded by like 2010 to 2013 that killed this match. They only fought FOUR TIMES AFTER THAT!! 25 times in 3 years!! That’s a match between them once every 6 weeks for 3 years!! I’m just glad they slammed on the breaks, although I guess they kinda had to.
S: They knew that they had to either elevate them or just bring more guys into the company, and bolster the mid-card in order to avoid those two wrestling four times a year.
JT: I’m just happy for the sake of their very storied history that it ended on the “It should have been me” storyline, which I think is the last exciting storyline Dolph had and one of the better stories in Kofi’s reign.
S: That promo also made for some excellent use online too, it’s a great soundbite. Now James, are you prepared for the question I have for you?
JT: In the words of one SpongeBob SquarePants, I’m ready!
S: Okay so this question relates to Joey Mercury and his brief in-ring return in 2010. The question for you is this, how many televised matches did Joseph Mercury during this brief return? Also, for a bonus point, can you guess the amount of matches he actually won on TV? The latter isn’t an obligation, basically a bonus objective.
JT: Interesting, interesting. Would you like me to guess the number of wins with every guess for matches, or should I guess it at the end?
S: I think you should guess the number of matches first, then we can go on to the bonus level at the end. Sounds good?
JT: Sounds good! So my first guess for the number of actual matches he’s had is 8 total matches.
S: Very close, you’re in the right range of numbers, but you’re a little bit off. Want to have a stab at it again? Or would you like your hint?
JT: I would very much like my hint now please.
S: Okay, so the number is within the 1-10 range, but wait, there’s more. That number is also a prime number.
JT: Interesting, interesting. Well, I can eliminate 4, 6, and 9 from that. I can also eliminate 1, because I know that he’s had at least 2 matches. So that leaves me with 2, 3, 5 and 7. I’m gonna use my next guess to say 3….isn’t enough I need 5!! Show me 5 matches for Joey Mercury!!
S: It’s another incorrect one, you’ve got one more guess left. James, it’s all or nothing, what is your final guess for this Recharge Recall?
JT: Alright I’m gonna lay it all on the line and go for lucky number 7!!! Is it 7 matches for Joseph Mercury?
S: Unfortunately James, it was not lucky number 7 today. The total number of televised matches for Joey Mercury in this brief return was 3. Yep, 3 whole matches, and the match we saw here tonight was the last of them!
JT: Okay this is a coup out answer, but like, that was my next guess dammit!! Can I also just make the guess and say that he won none of his matches?
S: Well, that’s what I thought too but he actually did win one of his matches. Surprisingly enough, the S.E.S. would only have two matches as a trio, both on screen and on the house show loops. Mercury’s only win in this run, like in general, not only just on screen came when the S.E.S. where they’d defeat the impeccable triad of MVP, JTG and Chris Masters. Fucking 2010 man, look at that roster. You can just tell that it’s enough depth to have a 40 man Rumble in five months. Also, he had 20 house show matches, teaming with Luke Gallows in every match, and losing every match. 23 matches, 1-22 in all matches. Impeccable for a three month run. Also, the match he had on this show, his last until 2014.
JT: Man, I may have had my expectations too high for him and Gallows in the Handicap match. That makes the result of that match wholly unsurprising.
S: I know it’s the house show loop, and if you’re a heel, you tend to lose on those shows a fair bit but man, those are The Flock from WCW levels of being jobbed the fuck out, huh?
JT: I mean I suppose he was off to be an agent, but still, you hate to see it. Would’ve thought adding people to the SES was a move done to bulk them up not to make them actually worse off in matches.
S: Well I’d say the SES growing is definitely what Punk would’ve wanted, and he’s probably gone on record before about who he wanted in the group and what numbers he wanted to let it get to. I reckon that him being World Champion as SES leader probably wasn’t what he wanted to get out of the group either, I’d imagine that Punk would’ve just wanted to do some creative stuff and have a literal cult for a stable. I do reckon it could’ve been far more interesting and gone further, had WWE stopped giving a shit after Punk shaved his head.
JT: After he shaved his head, which is like the most work he could’ve put in for the gimmick, they gave up. Typical.
S: Well James, there’s always next month for the Straight Edge Society, and for CM Punk so there’s that, I guess.
JT: You’re right, we’ll just have to wait and see if Punk can put together any sort of momentum in this arc, because for a guy with such a great gimmick, he’s really never even threatened being a MVP candidate. We’ll just have to wait and see. So, are you ready to get back to business?
S: This cup of coffee is down the hatch, so I’m ready to get back to proper order.
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Who’s that jumping out the Cask?
JT: Well up next, we’ve got the other half of that Kane/Sheamus backstage promo. It’s Kane defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Rey Mysterio. So as we covered on the last episode, Kane won SmackDown’s MITB and then cashed it in on Rey the same night to win the title. He came out that next SmackDown saying he didn’t do it for himself, he did it for his brother, he brought the title back to the dark side and he will not rest until he finds the culprit because hell will reign supreme when the World Heavyweight Champion achieves his vengeance. Not too long afterwards, we had a break in the case!! After 60 days of Kane sitting at his brother’s bed side, Undertaker finally moved! And he was able to say just 2 words! Those words of course, were the name of his assailant, REY MYSTERIO!! This time beating him will not be enough, he will stuff him in a casket after their match! Rey meanwhile says he didn’t have anything to do with it, he did not take out the Undertaker. But he thinks he knows who did. It was YOU KANE!! Kane says he didn’t do it, he loves his brother, and now it’s word against word, with a pretty big feeling that the truth of “Who attacked The Undertaker?” will come out soon. On top of having more development than most of the storylines on this show, it also got a big over the top, dramatic promo and kinda loved it.
S: Yeah this promo package was great, it was properly over the top and made this feud and storyline out to be like the grand finale of an epic season of TV on HBO or something. I think the whole story is very tongue-in-cheek to me when I look back on it but I do love the story of Kane’s word vs. Rey’s word. Who is telling the truth?!
JT: Well, Cole goes on record before the match and says he believes Rey could’ve done it! He doesn’t know how, but he has had this motive since he became World Champion. King says Rey’s mind doesn’t work like that, Stryker agrees that Rey has built his career on hard work, but maybe Rey believed he had to do something like this to get to the world title again. Cole says, maybe he had help? And hey, was Undertaker trying to say? Maybe it was part of a bigger sentence! After all, he fell back into unconsciousness after those two words! What a soap opera ass storyline, complete with Kane wheeling the casket to the ring during his entrance. It’s campy fun honestly.
S: It’s total nonsense, but it’s the type of total nonsense which is great fun. Proper Eastenders levels of cheesy drama. What I did like in making a case for Rey possibly doing it though was that Undertaker fell into a coma the weekend after defeating Rey to get into the Fatal Four Way match, but then Rey won his spot in a battle royal the next week. That’s really good stuff.
JT: Yeah I know I wasn’t buying that Rey did it, and I doubt many people did, but I think that’s more because of the fact we’re people and we understand how stories are told. We see Rey as a character, and we understand why there’s a 99% he’s not going to turn him heel in this way. But in the context of the story, they’ve done a good job establishing the circumstances that make it seem plausible.
S: Could you imagine, though, vicious heel Rey Mysterio, wearing all black, putting fools into a coma? The ultimate heel turn.
JT: Might even be more crazy than the fabled John Cena heel turn, because at least John is big, scary and intense. You can also imagine him cutting a mean heel promo. Rey would never pass as a brutal killer, and he’s never had the mic skills to do a big heel promo in my opinion. It’s just a crazy idea, especially to think about in terms of how that would shift WWE’s landscape.
S: Instead of giving motivational talks to the kids during his entrance, he’s just going to tell everyone to go do something with their lives, and call them little bitches. Like he allegedly did so, but all the time. I just could never imagine the jolly, do gooder, inspiring, flashy and fun for all the family, Rey Mysterio being a heel.
JT: *Glum JR voice* Aww no he’s gonna hit that, OH THAT NO GOD 619!!! DAMN YOU REY MYSTERIO!! THERE’S NO NEED FOR THAT!! DON’T DROP THE DIME!! OH GOD DAMN HIM!!
S: *Glum JR voice* Look at that lucha libre offense from Mysterio, absolutely dastardly, gimme a break!
JT: I mean look at Rey too, he’s got his evil Pumpkin orange gear in too!! In all seriousness though, Kane is getting booed tonight, so it’s safe to say he’s pretty much a heel right now. The fans have heard both sides and they’ve decided Rey is right.
S: It makes me really glad that we didn’t get a more smarky crowd because you know there would’ve been some fans who’d have cheered Kane and booed Rey Rey. This crowd has really perked up for this second half.
JT: On top of that, it really seems like we’re going to have something big happen. It’s Summerslam, something’s gotta happen! Well, I mean, it hasn’t for the rest of the show, but it’s gotta right? Tonight just feels like the storyline with Detective Kane is coming to its next big moment, if not its climax as a whole. Are you ready for us to get into the match?
S: It’s time, James. What does this latest installment of Detective Kane have in store for us?
JT: So, Rey tries to duck and dodge early on as he runs from Kane but gets caught for a slam only to dodge an elbow drop and hits a Dropkick, only to get slowed down by uppercuts. Rey gets him on the ropes for the 619 but Kane moves, hits him with a boot, and throws him to the floor, only for Rey to slide and land on his feet. Rey runs back in, gets a Dropkick to Kane, then gets a Seated Senton off the apron! Rey starts to climb back in, but Kane grabs him. Rey manages to break free from him, going up to the top rope, but before he can leap off, Kane swipes his feet out from under him. Kane throws Rey under the bottom rope so he hits into the ring post chest first!! And if that wasn’t enough, Kane hits him with a Baseball Slide to thrust him into the post again!
S: Really sore looking, that was. Very vicious looking too, that spot and the sternum bump into the turnbuckle which were both done by Bret are always sick looking bumps. They never fail to get a big reaction out of me.
JT: It’s especially great with Rey, because since he’s smaller, he can just fit under the bottom rope, so he just gets the velocity without losing his original trajectory. Bret always had to duck down to hit into it, you know?
S: Yeah, I get what you mean, it’s not as difficult for Rey because he’s used to ducking down low because he generally hits the middle rope whenever he’s Irish whipped or running them in general, that and he always does the Penguin Mario belly slide under the ropes and out the ring too. So that makes it easier for him.
JT: During this spot, Cole says “Kane looks like he’s enjoying punishing Mysterio” and King says “That’s his normal look!” and honestly, he got me. I thought that was funny. He continues the punishment as he drops Rey across the top rope and then knocks him to the floor with a boot. He beats him up on the floor, brings him in and gets a bear hug. Rey manages to fight, get out and then jump at Kane….who reverses back into another Bear Hug. We have been giving the crowd a lot of credit here, but they went quiet here and I don’t blame them. Bear Hugs make a ton of sense but they’re one of the most boring holds in wrestling.
S: The Bear Hug is what set Mark Henry’s big main event push back by about four years, because when he came back in 2007, put The Undertaker out on the shelf, he was cranking that Bear Hug and fuck me, did it just kill the crowds during his matches. One Night Stand 2007 against Kane, Lumberjack Match, he busted out that move and fucking beat Kane clean as a whistle with it. It’s just a move which doesn’t excite people in modern wrestling. They were noticeably quiet at this stage.
JT: Like I would’ve thought a Southern California crowd would’ve been hotter for Rey, but I don’t blame them with the Bear Hug. Plus something’s up and I know that the crowd is waiting on that. Back to the match! We get an Aloha Kane as he stays up, yanks Rey up from the mat but gets a Dropkick for his trouble. Rey has created some space, and he gets a Headscissor! 619 position!! But he runs into a Clothesline from Kane! Again he throws Rey to the floor and Rey barely beats the 10 count. Kane meets him at the apron, Rey tries to spring back in but catches a boot to send him back to the floor. Kane goes out after him, but runs into a drop toe hold that sends Kane into the barricade. Back in the ring, Rey hits a Diving Headbutt to knock Kane down, which is just weird. Like when was the last time you saw a Flying Headbutt to a standing wrestler?
S: It’s a very rare thing you see in wrestling, maybe someone who we reviewed during the Cruiserweight Classic did it, that someone being one who shall not be named. Back to the point, I feel like I’ve seen it done more often, but I can’t think of any examples other than Rey. He did resort to busting out the old headbutts and splashes during these final years of his WWE run.
JT: After the Headbutt, he runs at Kane, but gets caught with a Tilt-a-Whirl Backbreaker. More Backbreakers, a Sidewalk Slam, things of that nature in the passing minute or so. Kane actually goes up top, Rey cuts him off and goes for the Top Rope Hurricanrana, but Kane holds on. This allows Kane to try his top rope move again, but Rey manages to move out of the way! Rey runs at him again and this time he catches him with Tetsuya Naito’s Destino, that Headscissor into a Reverse DDT!! He follows up with a Seated Senton, then he runs at him again and gets caught again, but this time turns it around into a Tilt-a-Whirl DDT!! He goes up to the apron and follows up with a Springboard Leg Drop to the back of the head!! 1–2–Kickout!! Kick to the face!! 1–2–Kickout! I think this definitely took time to heat up, but finally at this point it’s picking up.
S: Yeah, once Rey was allowed to go on his comeback, he really was starting to cook it up. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Rey bust out the Destino, like holy shit, I know that Amazing Red used to bust out that move fairly often but I never knew that Rey used it, even in 2010.
JT: Especially going against a bigger guy, it looked great. I think the worst version of that move is when Naito has to do a whole wind up, as opposed to being able to just fully run and swing down with it. And since Kane is so tall, he’s got a long way down.
S: Ah yes, the old delayed version of the Destino, the one which is oddly the variation which wins him matches, as opposed to the running version. While we’re on the subject of that move, maybe I’m the only one who remembers this but when NJPW came back from the pandemic in those weird small shows in 2020, did Naito do like a variation of the Destino which looked really shabby or am I misremembering things?
JT: No, I totally remember him doing some weird variations. They just do that sometimes, like I remember Tanahashi doing some weird Slingblade versions. I think they just throw moves at the wall sometimes and see what sticks.
S: One of my hated wrestling tropes, and this relates to when I would watch New Japan, is when a wrestler has a finisher for a good while. Maybe for a good three or four years, then they get a new finisher and all of a sudden, their old finisher becomes a signature move. Like I totally get a wrestler’s arsenal evolving the longer they go for, and it shows an evolution in a wrestler’s game plan but like why can’t a wrestler have multiple finishers? One which he uses in most matches, and the other being the one he busts out when it’s coming to the crunch time of a huge match.
JT: So basically Chris Jericho with the Codebreaker now, right? Like it’s barely good for a nearfall spot.
S: Yeah, exactly! Like he can use the Judas Effect for most of his matches, as well as the Walls/Liontamer but don’t just use the Codebreaker as a throwaway move. It’s a good move which he got over. I have grown to like the Judas Effect though, it’s definitely worked for him in AEW over time.
JT: He’s gotten at least kind of better with it. So, back to the match! Rey goes up top, trying to complete his rally, but he leaps right into an Uppercut. 1–2–Rey kicks out, and that’s the single for Kane to go to the Casket. He opens it up and grabs Rey for the Chokeslam!! Rey escapes, and sets Kane up for the 619!! He swings but gets caught!! Kane kicks him and knocks him back into the Casket, but before he can close the lid, Rey fights like hell to escape it!! He fights Kane off, closes the casket, and hits a Springboard Dropkick to send Kane to the other side! He dials it up, but again Kane intercepts!! He’s got him around the throat!! Chokeslam? No, Hurricanrana to set Kane up for the 619 again!! He dials it up and at last hits the 619!! He springboards in, but Kane gets his feet up, only for Rey with the rare counter as he stops himself from crashing down on him, and stacks him up for the pin instead!! 1–2–Kickout!! Rey gets up and runs right into a big boot! That was a weird time for a roll up huh? Am I weird for thinking that spot was kind of funky?
S: It was certainly a rare sight to behold while watching it, that’s for sure. It did feel like Rey kind of stopped for the right amount of time to wink at the camera and then roll Kane up.
JT: Almost a Wile E Coyote spot! But, sadly it wasn’t enough and now Kane is back in control again. He grabs Rey around the throat, lifts him straight off the mat, and Chokeslams him down with authority!! 1—2—3!! Kane with a demonstrative victory at Summerslam! Now, there’s about to be a bunch of stuff we have to get into because we’ll have yet another post match angle. So before that, let’s talk about this match itself. And I’d like to start by saying though Kane is nowhere near as strong as he used to be, his Chokeslams against Rey this arc still match some of his prime Chokeslams. He really knows how to pulverize that poor man.
S: I think Kane’s chokeslams during this period of his career, when he is definitely slower and the mystique is fairly evaporated, I will say, his chokeslams to smaller guys on the roster are particularly awesome. Also, pretty straight forward victory for him in the end, no need for the Tombstone at all.
JT: Yeah, this was a nice, clean, big stage win for Kane too, which he really tends not to get. So good for him I guess. I also think this really picked up in like the last 5ish minutes but before then it felt like a House Show or a regular TV match with all the bear hugs and backbreakers. Not great as a whole.
S: That’s what’s annoying, well that’s a bit too strong, I’d say more irking me about a lot of these matches. There is some good stuff in there, like there’s spurts where we get some cool offense. Maybe we’re so used to an excellent standard of wrestling these days that this era here seems weak by comparison but we’ve also reviewed loads of stuff prior to 2010, which had some fucking excellent wrestling. As well as 2010 TNA, which we got loads of good stuff out of, I mean two months from this show, we’re getting The Motor City Machine Guns and The Young Bucks ripping up the opener. The Guns literally bringing in the next evolution of tag team wrestling, whereas WWE’s seems to be going backwards. Which isn’t meant to be a dig but like, there’s a certain magic just gone from their main event matches at this time. I thought it was fine, I think technically it’s a better match than Orton vs. Sheamus, but that match had better crowd involvement. Would it be safe to say that this was the default match of the night at this stage?
JT: I mean probably by virtue of having an actual finish, I’d say so? But you mentioned the Guns before, and I’d say their worst match on our TNA Season would easily be contenders for best match of this whole arc to this point. We have not been spoiled for choice. Like as much as I roll my eyes at how like, mid 2018 NXT became SuperkickoutfivestarsMania, at least it felt like guys went out and tried. I think the root of the issue is that a lot of folks try too hard nowadays, but it feels like so many matches in this arc are just going through the motions. Not to say it’s all on the guys themselves for not trying, though I’m sure we’ve seen more than a few matches here that were just guys cashing a paycheck. But I think in most cases, you do what you’re told, and if you’re repeatedly shot down and stepped on, you’re gonna lose your spark. That’s what I think this season has come down to so far, a lack of a spark. Not a lack of effort, not a lack of talent, just a lack of magic, and that just happens sometimes. That’s how down periods happen. I mean just look at how since 2016, SmackDown has experienced seemingly year to year fluctuations between the best wrestling in WWE and the worst. It just happens, though again, this is tough after the CWC spoiled us. We got spoiled Seán!
S: Pretty much what you said there was mostly what I was thinking about what’s up with the in-ring side of things. There’s clearly talent on this roster, and experienced heads who could definitely put on some good performances but the way these matches are put together definitely seem like your TV main events, but with no commercials and maybe a little bit more time. I do think that maybe we got spoiled with MCMG and the CWC. I was thinking maybe we’ve had it really good as far as witnessing so many amazing matches in the last 8 years, that everything before 2013/14 feels standard by comparison but as I mentioned, we’ve reviewed some fucking excellent wrestling from the early to mid 2000s, and I do tend to go out of my way and watch a fair bit of New Generation Era WWF, and I do like a lot of what I see when I watch that. So it clearly must be a lack of magic. We did probably get spoiled by Season 3 though.
JT: So with all of that said, Kane still isn’t done on this show! He’s still got the Casket out there with him, and he wants to use it! He says he is going to make Rey pay for attacking his brother, that Rey will pay with eternal suffering as hell consumes his soul, as he is surrounded ever more by darkness within the casket. He opens up the Casket, and it’s empty, and the crowd is audibly upset about it. He goes to grab Rey, and Rey fights him off briefly, which just pisses off Kane, as he slams it shut and then ends up slamming him down with two more Chokeslams and a Tombstone to boot. Now it’s time to bury Mysterio alive. He drags Rey over, opens it up, and the Undertaker is inside!! The Deadman has risen!! And the crowd goes nuts, while Kane looks like the kid who was hosting a party at home, and Mom and Dad just returned early from vacation and caught him in the act. Another post match angle, but the crowd are excited for this one at least, even if it felt like everyone saw it coming. I’m pretty sure even I, at 11 years old, thought Undertaker was going to come back tonight. He came back at last year’s show, he’s gotta do it again! But this being predictable isn’t all that bad, just because a choice is obvious doesn’t make it a bad choice, no?
S: No not at all, I think it’s the right choice that was made. The crowd and the fans had watched the angle unfold for about two months at this stage, so it was time for Undertaker to make his return. Now in shoot, I believe this angle was booked because Undertaker actually suffered an orbital bone injury and a concussion during his match with Rey before Fatal 4 Way so in reality, he wasn’t going to return until he was fully healed. Just because an outcome or a return in wrestling, doesn’t always mean it is a bad thing, if it’s something the crowd are clamoring for then pull the trigger when the time is right.
JT: Oh wow, I should have figured it was the result of an injury! For some reason I thought this was planned all along, so fair fucks for coming up with this on a fly. Good timing with him being ready now too. I wonder what the original plan was for Undertaker heading into the summer was, how that would’ve played into SmackDown’s MITB, Jack Swagger’s title reign, etc.
S: He was probably always going to win that Fatal 4 Way, you’d think, right? Like there’s no way he Swagger, Punk or Big Show were walking out as World Champion. I always reckoned that once the Shawn Michaels story was over, maybe we’d get a story where Undertaker is going after the belt he unfairly lost at Elimination Chamber, and maybe we get him chasing the belt for one last run.
JT: What do you think the Summerslam match would’ve been? Swagger vs Undertaker? Or do you think Kane dares to Cash In on his brother?
S: Maybe some sort of a triple threat with Kane, Rey and Undertaker? I think that match would make for a really cool dynamic. As well as that, I’m not totally sure if Kane wins Money in the Bank had Taker not been injured, I do think that if that storyline doesn’t occur, then maybe Drew McIntyre may have been given the briefcase.
JT: My poor boy Drew couldn’t catch a single break for like 5 years. But that’s all hypothetical stuff, Undertaker is physically back now, at Summerslam! Undertaker stares down with brother Kane, with Kane pointing at Rey as the attacker, so Undertaker does his big dramatic turn toward Rey, who is slumped in the corner, barely able to stand. He moves in close, and starts to monologue at him. And I’m sorry, but this shit is so funny. First of all, his monologue starts with him coughing and wheezing right in Rey’s face. “Have you ever heard, an eye for an eye *cough* and a tooth *wheeze* for a tooth? Before I make things right, why, why did you do it Rey?”. On top of that, as Rey tries to beg and convince Taker with all his might that he didn’t do it, I could hear a dab loudly yell“We can’t hear you!”, with some “We can’t hear you” chants breaking out. I know why they did it this way (we’ll see why in a second), but between him being all out of breath and the crowd clearly being confused, this was just kind of funny.
S: It was bizarre, if anything. It was definitely funny, but it was certainly strange. He’s like a lad who’s after waking up from smoking a packet of cigarettes and going on the beer the night before. He looks hungover as shit. Obviously he isn’t, he’s just hamming up the fact he’s been in a coma for two months. Kind of dragged on as well.
JT: Yeah this was really weird, but it had a point. And what was that point? Well the point is that he told Rey he believes him, then pulls him up by the throat, does the thumb to his own throat, and then does the big dramatic turn to Kane!! He thinks it’s Kane!! He points to his brother and grabs him!! But Kane doesn’t fold, he laughs and grabs Undertaker back!! Not only that, he overpowers his brother, lifting him up and planting him with the Tombstone!! Fire explodes from the ring posts, and Kane has been revealed, but stands tall anyways!! Kane attacked Undertaker, and has lived to tell the tale!! Now look, I’m not going to say Kane vs Undertaker is the most original storyline WWE has ever done, not at this stage anyways (it went hard in 97). But you know what, it was 6 years since the last time they did, and honestly I like the new wrinkle they have to this: That Kane might actually have the edge over Undertaker this time!
S: I do remember being absolutely stunned by Kane just easily overpowering Taker and Undertaker looking really weak in comparison. I remember being pissed off at 3 in the morning or whatever it was, being like “he came back just to get the shite beat out of him?”. To be fair though, I do like what they’re trying with Kane by making him the most dominant he’d probably been since he unmasked in 2003, arguably stronger given that he’s actually World Champion in this run of his career. Really effective and the crowd were properly taken aback by it.
JT: Yeah it does kind of suck that Taker came back and got beaten up, but how many times have we seen Undertaker return and kick ass before? It happened at this same event last year! This time around at least it’s different and it sets a clear obstacle for Undertaker to overcome, which is nice because post WM25 Undertaker was overpowered. He steamrolled Punk in their feud, stopped heel Batista right out of the gate, and only lost the title to set up a WrestleMania match he won. He hadn’t had a real challenge outside of a Streak match, really since he beat Edge at Summerslam 2008 imo. No, Big Show feud in late 2008 doesn’t count, neither does losing to Triple in the Elimination Chamber in 2009.
S: How dare you disrespect Big Show, that man KO’D THE DEADMAN TWICE! As well as beating him clean by ref stoppage at No Mercy 2008.
JT: Well I ain’t buying that shit, but I might buy this. It’ll be an interesting storyline going forward, because I dare to say Kane has been a stronger part of this story arc so far. He’s had one of the more interesting storylines and has performed decently on the mic and as a character, we’ll just have to see if he can forge an MVP campaign by upholding quality on both ends.
S: Given how its been slim pickings for MVPs so far in this season, I’d definitely fancy Kane for making himself one by the end of the arc. Maybe even an MVP in this episode. Who knows? So what would you say to this entire segment? A thumbs up?
JT: It gets a thumbs up, but I had to think about it and it’s my right to revoke it if I feel the need to at any time within the next 90 days.
S: James T, a man who knows his consumer rights, and you should too. The Power Hour urges all of our readers to know their consumer rights. You have a right to refund, repair and replace a faulty product.
What has this come to? From a wheezing Undertaker to consumer rights. Off the rails.
JT: Well I don’t think we should be bringing up right around Mr Dropping Warhead on Foreheads. I think it’s time to mosey on out of here, don’t you agree?
S: Let’s get out of here before we open that Nine Line branded can of worms. To the back!
————————————
Perplexus
JT: After we get the LA equivalent of “Fort Hood lemme hear you one time!” aka Summerslam access, we’re on to our MAIN EVENT!! Truly the main event of the entire show, and really, the main event of the last 2 months of WWE programming. It’s Team WWE facing off against The Nexus in a match where the future of the whole damn company was on the line. Seán, as a kid, I was so fucking pumped for this match. Like, this is the big “war” of a match I had been waiting for. Sure, Bragging Rights showed me that big Team vs Team matches can be fun, but this is one with stakes that I cared about. Like this was my version of Team WWF vs The Alliance, from my 11 understanding of watching highlights and thinking the invasion was good and cool.
S: I totally agree, James. I had watched the WWF vs. Alliance Survivor Series Match before the first showdown happened between WWE and the Nexus, and I got the hype behind that match, even if The Invasion fell off by the time Survivor Series came around. This match, was also a really big fucking deal to me, there’s a reason I asked my mum to order this show so me and my brothers could watch it live. This match was probably the most hyped I could get for a show that wasn’t WrestleMania when I was a kid. I couldn’t wait for this match to come around and I was pumped up all day on Sunday for this one. This match was up there with Michaels and Taker, Streak vs. Career from Mania 26 levels of hype for me. I was fucking psyched.
JT: Though it hasn’t helped them in regard to getting show MVPs much, the fact that they’ve also held off on having matches for the Nexus members makes this an even bigger deal now too. All the buildup is set to pay off now, and again they keep hammering home that this match is a BIG DEAL.
S: That’s why this match is the main event, the World Titles in WWE are certainly important and always will be but in kayfabe there are bigger matters within the company at the moment, this match is the larger matter because its an invading force who, if they win, will change the landscape of the company.
JT: Of course, there’s one more wrinkle in this story that we’ve seen play out over the course of this show. It is obvious that Team WWE was down a member. How did Team WWE form in the first place? Well, I’ll tell you! So, not too long after Money in the Bank (where Nexus screwed Cena again), John told them that they’ve sealed their fate, because he’s quietly put together a team to defeat Nexus at Summerslam. That Team? Cena, Edge, Chris Jericho, John Morrison, R-Truth, Great Khali and the returning BRET HART!! This team stormed the ring and for the first time ever had sent Nexus running for the hills. Barrett fired back by saying that Nexus stands for a common purpose but the egos of Team WWE will make them fall apart, they already are! On Raw, Edge says he doesn’t respect Cena and doesn’t have faith in Khali, with infighting between them happening on the show, so Edge quits! Jericho teamed with Cena against Sheamus & Miz, but would end up hitting a Codebreaker on Cena as he walked out of the match. To add to their problems, Khali got attacked backstage by the Nexus, leaving Team WWE down to Bret, Cena, Truth & Morrison. Things were looking grim and didn’t look like they were getting better as Cena & Bret Vs Jericho & Edge happened on Raw, with Nexus at ringside as Lumberjacks they attacked Cena but left Jericho alone, until Jericho accidentally hit Nexus, so they attacked him, forcing Edge into the match. This reminded Edge & Jericho how dangerous Nexus is and so they put their egos aside and returned to the fight for the greater good. Then tonight, Team WWE became complete when the weeks-long effort to recruit The Miz bore fruit, as we said he’d join the fight. And that’s how we’re here! Any thoughts on this buildup, as far as individual moments or just as a whole?
S: I think the buildup was pretty good, the initial team at first with the clash of faces and heels, as well as some strange inclusions definitely made it feel like one of those odd Survivor Series teams. Like heel Jericho, Bret Hart in 2010 and The Great Khali? Now that’s an odd King of Trios team right there. I think they were correct writing Khali out of the match for a storyline injury, because he honestly just would’ve dragged things down and the momentum of the match to a crawl. Even by 2010, he’s barely fit to work a match even less than he was in about 2006. We’ve said it before but the idea of heels and faces putting aside their differences in order to fight the bigger evil is always a good storyline. Maybe could’ve been a more straightforward build, but Jericho and Edge man, they most certainly are outspoken heels compared to the rest of Team WWE.
JT: Well on that topic, I wish something they’d put a bit more focus on was the fact that Edge and John Cena are on the same page, teaming up! Edge and John Cena!! After the years of animosity, the Street Fights, TLC, Last Man Standing, facing off at WrestleMania the year before, now they’re standing side by side!! That’s huge and I don’t think they’re pointing that out enough.
S: Oh yeah! Why didn’t they put that over more? The fact those two are teaming up after feuding on and off for the better part of four years is such a big deal which should be put over and should be a bigger plot point into the “can they get along?” story.
JT: Or at the very least, they should’ve made a bigger deal of Edge going “Okay I’ll join” than just having him come out as just one of the guys. But in general, I really like the framing of this story, not only of the present vs the future, but like a united front vs a bunch of egos too. It really makes up for the experience gap of Nexus being “rookies” a few months ago.
S: It certainly legitimizes them as well because what they may lack in combined experience in-ring, they make up for by all being all on the same page.
JT: I think another thing that legitimizes them is THAT THEME SONG!! Seán, finally we have the privilege of talking about “We Are One” by 12 Stones, the official theme song of The Nexus 7. Clearly, I’ve got strong feelings about it, what do you think of it?
S: Oh I love it too, I think it’s a brilliant theme song. Clearly it suits The Nexus right down to the ground just off the lyrics alone, I mean the title of the song itself just describes what The Nexus are. They are one, they are young, they’re all sons and they live to change the face of history. The song is perfect for them and it’s honestly one of the best themes from around this time, for sure. It’s a home run.
JT: Instantly iconic stuff and when paired with the debut, the armbands, and the T-shirts, there’s a reason why we’re coming back to this stuff 12 years later. It’s memorable stuff!!
S: It’s simplicity at its finest, it’s the right amount of branding for a group that are meant to be rogues invading the company. I mean, they’re quite literally one in their attire as well because every single one of them have got the Nexus t-shirt and armband, as well as all be boots and trunks wrestlers, with knee and/or elbow pads. I never noticed how similar they all were with their gear at the time.
JT: Yeah some guys had some personalizations on their gear but they were all still short tights, wrestling boots, elbow and knee pads. Meanwhile for Team WWE, you had Bret Hart in his Batman t-shirt which made me laugh a bunch. You know that he had to argue with someone over that. Like “oh Bret can you put on your new merch” and he said “Hey screw you, I’m wearing my goddamn Batman shirt or I’m walking out!”.
S: I could definitely see that being a possibility, what I think the reality of it was that someone asked him would he wear his merch, like Bret would post-retirement, he’d agree to put it on but then intentionally procrastinate putting on the shirt until it’s go time and he’ll act like he forgot. Many a times have I heard stories of Bret being an intentional procrastinator. God bless him, truly one of us.
JT: Plus you can tell he’s on Cena’s side because he’s got his jorts on too. So I’ve got some additional little details here First, John Cena is out here tonight in the Barney Purple (it’s not Barney purple but that’s what I remember it as, damn you Dwayne). He comes out to stand on the ramp while the Nexus stands arm to arm in the ring, which is a fun visual. Big pop for Jericho coming out, this is the first time he’s on the side of good in like 3 years. John Morrison also gets a decent pop. Any comments on any of that or any other little things of note before we get into the real meat and potatoes of our main event?
S: Well, I noticed that all of these lads except for Cena didn’t come out wearing any real entrance gear, it’s all business from these lads. That was an interesting little wrinkle.
JT: So the final member of Team WWE is here, as the Miz comes out, but before he can get down the ramp, Cena lets him know he’s too late. Cena says they knew how important this match was, so Team WWE couldn’t wait until him to decide the day of Summerslam! I mean, Edge & Jericho definitely thought they could, but uhhh ignore that! Cena has found a new 7th member of Team WWE, it’s someone who hates the nexus just as much as all of them. The 7th member of Team WWE is….DANIEL BRYAN. CUE MONSTER BY IMAGINE DRAGONS and some generic ass music as the American Dragon arrives at Summerslam! Even looking back at it, this is a really ballsy move by the booking team, and one that still feels just odd in the greater context of WWE if you ask me. If y’all follow me on twitter or know me from elsewhere, you know I adore Daniel Bryan. But the fact that they had enough faith to give him this moment despite all the ways he seems antithetical to what WWE was at the time (and honestly still is) just makes it seem so weird that they actually did the cool thing.
S: I remember being really surprised when I saw that Bryan was picked for the team, they did make mention of Bryan being ousted from the group in kayfabe at some stage on Raw alright but I’d no idea he was actually fired for a spell. I was surprised in the best possible way because I remember really growing to like Bryan when I’d watch NXT Season 1 here and there, so seeing him be the big surprise made me really happy, and it made me think he was important too! I mean, John Cena hand picked him, he was endorsed by Big Match John.
JT: Yeah aside from Gabriel being a goody by default by doing a 450, Bryan felt like he was pushed the hardest as a legit face. He had a big losing streak, he had real direct conflict with his pro in a way that nobody else really had. On top of that, the pro he was rubbing elbows with was The Miz, who we’ve established is really on the upswing right now. It’s funny because it felt like hardcore fans were both right and wrong about him. Like he was losing a bunch, and was constantly insulted on commentary (by one Michael Cole), yet by virtue of having storylines and an actual adversary to work against, he was doing better than most.
S: I think that’s what made people gravitate towards him as well, people liked that there were heels that were trying to put him down and they were assholes towards him. He had foils to overcome in a sense, and he was unfairly judged, it made the casual WWE viewer root for him.
JT: Wow, Bryan capturing the hearts and minds of the fans despite obstacles in his way that are often imposed by the company itself? Surely, this will not become a trend.
S: It’s not as if this love he gets from the crowd will become some sort of a movement, is it? A movement which transcends wrestling with a singular word. Yes? No? Maybe so.
JT: Now in a potential case against Bryan, do you think this story actually benefits more from having Bryan over Miz? Like obviously, as far as building up new talent, it’s better to have Bryan, but does the individual Nexus vs Team WWE benefit more from having Bryan in there over Miz?
S: I think it does personally because Miz is a heel, but he’s also a heel who is antagonistic to nearly everyone on the roster, face or heel. Miz feels like he’s a different kind of heel, the kind of heel that other heels couldn’t get on with or coexist with because he’s that personality that no one can stand. Bryan makes more sense than Miz in storyline because Bryan was ousted from The Nexus, they dropped him as soon as they came in. He should resent them for shunning him aside just as they made a splash. He has a common issue with the rest of Team WWE, he’s joining their cause because they all hate The Nexus. Miz was only joining just for his own gain by making up stories of all the team members begging him to join.
JT: I wasn’t sure Bryan was more interesting at the start, but the more I thought about it, the more I came to the same conclusion you did. Plus, it adds motivation to Miz’s character that he’d get shunned for Bryan. He’s surely not gonna be happy about that.
S: It’s only what he deserves as well, how ironic is it that when he was due to wrestle in his first proper PPV main event (not counting Royal Rumbles), he gets casted aside, in favor of the man who he berated every week by telling him that he wasn’t cut out for WWE. It’s poetic really.
JT: Now before we finally get to the match, maybe we should talk a bit about what Bryan got up to since he’s been between WWE contracts. Do you know about any of the shenanigans he got up to during this little run?
S: Alright so what I remember from reading Bryan’s book was that after he was released, he just went out and made his return to the indie scene. He’d been contacted by TNA, Hogan and Bischoff, and Russo using Bryan? They probably would have put him into the X-Division and forgotten about him by the end of 2010. I know he worked some Chikara, where they threw neckties into the ring rather than streamers. Good gag. Also, I remember him actually working alongside Gabe Sapolsky mainly to do Evolve, which was just starting up at the time. Since it was a Gabe promotion, I’m pretty sure he also did Dragon Gate USA. Upon doing research, I found out that he actually wrestled one, QT Marshall in Puerto Rico! Where he’d win the IWA Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship. I remember reading that he was properly focused on Evolve with Gabe until WWE came calling right before SummerSlam, and that leads us to here.
JT: The necktie gag was pretty funny. Yeah aside from that, the little fun thing I found is that he challenged Adam Pearce for the NWA Heavyweight Title but lost. He also had victories over Roderick Strong, SHINGO, and Bobby Fish in PWG, Dragon Gate USA and Evolve. To jump ahead in the timeline just slightly, WWE let him finish up some other indie commitments after he showed up at Summerslam. And one of those matches was against some kid named Jon Moxley. Neat!
S: I did discover that he worked those matches too. The match with Adam Pearce sounds so wild, he just couldn’t outgrapple old Scrap Iron Adam, could he?
JT: Well as good as Adam is, I’m sure the NWA are kicking themselves just a little for not getting Bryan’s name in their lineage. I mean, PWG gave him our last Title victory in September 09 just to pop the crowds. He ended Chris Hero’s 400+ reign!
S: Oh for sure, whatever the NWA even was in 2010 definitely could’ve done with the smallest smidge of relevancy or notoriety because of that belt, although ROH would try their hand with it sometimes with Brent Albright, Colt Cabana and Adam Pearce. It was just simply a dead brand and a belt which screamed “all the legends held this, so these guys will be too”, plain and simple.
JT: I’d add some more to that, but we’re not here to talk about the NWA, are we? After all, the future of the WWE is at stake!! And Team WWE is charging the ring! I say it’s time for us to get into our big main event!
S: Let’s get into it! The scrap is on!
JT: So Team WWE storms down to the ring and chases off The Nexus, getting the crowd all excited as each team then gets on the apron and decides who will start things off. Bryan is going to start the match for team WWE, as he was kicked out of the Nexus for “showing remorse for his attacks” against the WWE, but seems to have no remorse for that decision here tonight. Meanwhile, Cole is going ballistic for not only replacing Miz, but replacing him with Bryan. The Nexus decide that their first man is going to be Darren Young, and we’re off!! The bell rings, and we get a hockey fight right at the get go, with Bryan overwhelming Young with a knee to the gut, and hard kicks to the back. Bryan slides under a shot by Young, jumps and catches him with a Guillotine Choke. He squeezes the breath out of Young, bringing him down towards the mat, before transitioning into the LaBelle Lock!! Darren Young taps, and he’s already out!! Nexus for the first time ever, are behind in the numbers game, and it happened just minutes into this match!! Bryan already proving his worth, and about the worst possible showing you could ask for if you’re Darren Young.
S: Yeah, he looked like a proper chump here and I may be wrong but doesn’t he get kicked out of the group fairly quickly after this? Either that, he’s injured or they just want to send him back down to FCW for further seasoning.
JT: Well, after getting squashed here, he would have a chance for redemption on Raw against John Cena….where he’d also lose. And then be exiled from The Nexus. So, fucking ouch. Guess WWE keeping Nexus as a strong unit for 2 months was a little too good to be true. I don’t get why they gave up on Darren so quickly. Like there was always going to be someone who got eliminated first. That’s just how things work out, someone’s gotta be lowest on the totem pole. But to have him get annihilated immediately into their first match and then kick him out, they must have seriously regretted putting him in NXT if they believed in him that little.
S: Yeah, it does seem like they feel he didn’t fit in with The Nexus so much, I don’t know why though. Maybe his promos weren’t the best but sure Skip Sheffield is in there as well. Until he starts teaming with Titus O’Neil, he finds his character but hey, he’s doing all good these days. He’s NJPW Strong Champion now!
JT: He even got made Great Again by Bob Backlund, which is so fucking weird in hindsight given that Trump actually won the election. So very weird. He’s had a weird career, but I think he’s got a career he can be proud about. After all, he became the first openly gay WWE wrestler! Smash that fucking glass ceiling!! As far as I know, he won’t be on this arc for much more than a mention, but shoutout to Darren!! He definitely deserved more than the Nexus really did for him.
S: For sure, he’s someone who really did get better. His very odd pairing with Bob Backlund really should’ve been such a solid mid-card gimmick instead of the one PPV Singles match he got. Like I do think he could’ve been maybe US or IC Champion for a few weeks. Also, he definitely was someone who’s inspired loads of other wrestlers to be open with their sexuality and he’s had himself a really good career renaissance wrestling for New Japan in the US. So so happy for the guy. He’s got his New Japan jacket and he’s got his first major singles championship.
JT: So the next man in for the Nexus is Justin Gabriel in, and for Team WWE, Bryan tags in Chris Jericho, then he tags out to Truth after a back Suplex. Truth with the usual stuff: Handspring, duck the kick, spin kick and then the Suplex Stunner which gets a big reaction, but Gabriel kicks out at 2. However, a quick Spin Kick by Gabriel knocks Truth down, allowing him to tag in Michael Tarver. He hammers with Ronda Rousey like punches in the corner (derogatory). Truth is able to make some space, tagging in John Morrinsom, who scores with a Dropkick, a leg lariat, and the Springboard Kick!! He drags Tarver over to the corner, and STARSHIP PAIN CONNECTS!! 1—2—3!! The Nexus are in their first real match, and they’re already down 2-0!! Ok so maybe you could’ve expected Young going out first, since he came in last in NXT, but Tarver? I feel like he was consistently a focal point of the Nexus beatdowns, and he’s out before he can even do anything!
S: Yeah at the time and even now, still surprising to me that Tarver was taken out as early as he was. If we’re judging by the final places of NXT Season 1, Tarver was one of the first eliminated so if they were picking their eliminations based on that fact then I do get it, but Tarver was a guy who it felt like was being put over as the proper toughie of the group, but instead here he looks like a useless henchman.
JT: Like at the very least, it feels like he should’ve done his Superman Punch as like a cheap shot to get someone out, right? Like either he tries to come back in and gets the hit in before being taken away, or like he could’ve eliminated a member of Team WWE with a Superman Punch when he wasn’t legal in the match. He has the easiest move for something like that too!!
S: I’m surprised that they went down two men this early as well. Like obviously this predicament was going to happen at some stage but for the first two eliminations to go against The Nexus was very surprising. Tarver really got fuck all in too, he must have been green a goose shit to not get some sort of a major spot in. Also, I’m pretty sure this may be the last we see of him too.
JT: Yeah you’re right, he really only got his little boxing segment and that’s it. As for whether we’ll see him again or not, I think he might be in the background or he might show up as part of the collective Nexus, but he doesn’t have any real spotlight moments left. But yeah, we probably won’t talk about him again until probably Hell in a Cell in October.
S: Michael Tarver, we’ll barely know ye. 😦
JT: On a lighter note, there was a little funny piece of commentary here that I figure I’d bring up. When he was in against Gabriel, King calls Daniel Bryan “Bryan Daniels”, and you can feel Stryker hold his breath to stop himself and fight with all his might from going “You mean Bryan Danielson”.
S: Lawler just having the opposite problem which JR has in AEW at the moment. For those who don’t know, Jim Ross tends to call the now Bryan Danielson, Daniel Bryan a fair bit. Lawler, the big smark, has been watching his ROH tape.
JT: Now in the match, the Nexus are all huddled together, clearly not expecting what has happened. They need to set things straight, and Wade Barrett has gotten Skip Sheffield all hyped up to come in to fix the problem. He comes in and throws Morrison back, then he throws him down, but Morrison slaps him. He’s not gonna take shit from The Nexus anymore! But Sheffield shows his strength as he hits a Powerslam on JoMo. Sheffield did his job and has shifted the momentum, as Truth & Hart try to rally the fans from the apron. The crowd wants Bret in, but Skip doesn’t give them what they want. Stryker on commentary says “For the first time ever 7 new comers main eventing Summerslam, when we look back in history, we will see the legacy these 7 nexus members leave on WWE” thanks for the tagline for this season pal. No royalties coming your way though. He also says a win tonight will cement their (Nexus’s) legacy. Morrison starts to fire up, but he hits the ropes and gets a kick to the back of the head by Gabriel! This stuns him and leaves him open as Sheffield runs him over with a Clothesline!! 1—2—3!! Truth wastes no time coming in, but he misses the Scissors Kick, and eats a big Clothesline too!! 1—2—3!! It’s all even again!! Sheffield impressing tonight!! Two of the meanest Clotheslines since Bradshaw retired the year before, and now the momentum is totally in favor of Nexus.
S: It’s easy to tell that clearly WWE saw something in Skippy here, isn’t it? Like obviously we know that he didn’t quite reach the point which they attempted to push him to but like you can tell here that they clearly think he could be a big bruiser.
JT: He’s definitely the most impressive looking member of Nexus so far. And he doesn’t seem to be slowing down as Jericho comes in and gets a Gorilla Press Slam. Wade Barrett comes in for the first time as Y2J is brought to the corner, where the Nexus stomps him when the ref is distracted. Barrett has spent more time directing traffic than wrestling, and has a rest hold on Jericho. Barrett runs into a boot in the corner, then Y2J hits a Missile Dropkick to Barrett!! Cena is dying for a tag, as does Bret, and it’s Bret who gets the tag with Heath Slater coming in on the other side. Bret with fiery corner punches, drags Heath across the top rope, dropping elbows on him, scoop slam and another elbow. He gets the Inverted Atomic Drop, clothesline and gets the Sharpshooter!! Suddenly someone on the Nexus slides a chair in the ring, which distracts Bret enough to let go of the gold. Slater manages to tag out to Sheffield, and Bret uses the chair to hit Sheffield!! DQ, Bret’s out!! And the crowd ain’t happy about it! What the hell was this? I know having Bret take a bump is not a good idea but like, what was this??
S: Bret Hart, historically one of the most intelligent in-ring technicians in WWE history, gets fooled by a chair rolling into the ring as if he were La Parka. Fucking ridiculous and makes Bret look like a proper dope.
JT: Like we just mentioned Tarver but this would’ve been perfect for him! Have him lock in the Sharpshooter, get the red distracted, have Tarver “hit” the Superman Punch and let Bret lightly crumple to the mat. Either that or just do the typical brawl/countout spot with him. Have someone do something to piss him off and have Bret get too mad to realize what’s happening (which I think is what they tried to portray here).
S: I’m not against Bret going ham with a chair on The Nexus, but at least give him a reason to be pissed off. That scenario you just mentioned would’ve been absolutely perfect for Bret to do anyways.
JT: At least have someone swing it at him first!!
S: Why not just even have someone jab him in the tummy with the chair and then he gets rolled up? Even that would work.
JT: Hell, if there was any time for me to sign off on a distraction roll up, it would be for this here. Let some younger guy get the drop on old Bret after all his buddies distract him. You gotta work with what you’re given, and as much of a legend as he is, I don’t think Bret is in a position where he can say “No I won’t be pinned, I need to look strong”.
S: And I don’t think Bret would’ve been that guy to say that either because Bret knows he isn’t there to win titles and he’s only doing it for a nice paycheque to be fair, which I don’t have a problem with by the way, but I doubt Bret would be selfish. It’s just a dumb booking move.
JT: Especially since 2 members got nothing in, and Sheffield got 2 pins by himself, this would’ve been a good chance to spread the wealth around and it just wasn’t taken.
S: Oh for sure, it just takes a little bit off of the Nexus that one of their eliminations doesn’t even come from a clean fall, just an opposing team’s member looking stupid.
JT: And to top things off for the Nexus, now their big weapon is damaged! After the chair shots, Jericho is able to come in, stalk Skip, and hit the Codebreaker!! He then tags in Edge!! He goes back to the corner, with the crowd in a frenzy, and he scores with the Spear!! 1—2—3!! It’s now 4 to 4!! Gotta say, always a big fan of having the big guy take multiple finishers to go down. Any excuse to get a finisher chain is good enough for me!
S: It’s always a spot which drives a hot crowd into a frenzy, I do love a good flurry of finishers, or just someone getting hit with a shit load of moves by a team in a matter of seconds.
JT: The only way it gets any better is if Team WWE had someone to do a big top rope move to punctuate it. Shame they got rid of JoMo, he would’ve put the exclamation point on it.
S: Surprised he was gotten rid of so early but then again, there’s 7 lads on the team, someone’s gotta be the first on whatever team. That’s the nature of booking an elimination multi-man tag.
JT: I think John Boy went out at the right time, but I’m just a sucker for spots like RVD hitting the 5 Star on Big Show in the Survivor Series 01 main event. Speaking of which, smarky fucker Stryker manages to sneak in “The Alliance” as a group who posed a threat to WWE in the past like The Nexus do now. Back to the match though! Gabriel comes in and gets a big boot from Edge, who is in control. King begrudgingly gives Nexus some respect for really holding their own against some of WWE’s best, which is said as Gabriel flips over Edge and hits a Spin Kick to the head. Slater back in, Barrett with a boot when the ref’s back is turned, and it’s worth noting that Cena still hasn’t gotten into this match once. Meanwhile Nexus controls Edge with a series of underhanded tactics and rest holds before a Spinning Heel Kick catches Barrett, making space for Edge. Edge tries to get out of the match, but Barrett gets between him and his partners, and then manages to reverse the Edgecution to hit a Neckbreaker. David Otunga comes in to take on Edge, but his big Spinebuster is blocked, and Edge plants him with the Edgecution! Edge tags in to Jericho who gets a Bulldog to Otunga, followed by the Lionsault! Extra impressive one too, he had to go a long way to land on A-List Davey. Off the Lionsault, he grabs Otunga, turns him over and gets the Walls!! Otunga is out!! Another member of the team who they do not trust to do anything, but this isn’t the end of Otunga, we’ll get to him more this season. I think just in general, this reflects better on Justin Gabriel.
S: Definitely, I think Gabriel looked really good in this section of the match he was involved in. You can tell that his ability in the ring is definitely a cut above I’d say three or four members of the Nexus, Slater and Barrett are the other two who I’d say are the other true workers, like you’d trust them to be singles guys along with Gabriel but JG is definitely the standout of the group. He has in this group what D-Lo Brown had in the nation, someone who you’d definitely see being able to forge a good singles career for himself and being able to break out on his own.
JT: But of course, his singles aspirations right now don’t matter, because the Nexus are one! Unfortunately for them though, Jericho is firing out of the gate as he gets Heath before he can come in, then knocks him to the floor and throws him into the announcer table. Flying Back Elbow to Y2J chants!Jericho runs and goes for a Bulldog but Slater ducks out of the way, so Jericho hits Cena!! Jumping Neckbreaker by Slater!! 1—2—3!! Slater pins Jericho!!Cena comes in, but so does Edge!! They start to argue, Cena goes to leave, and Slater runs Edge into Cena!! Slater with the roll up, 1—2—3!! All of a sudden, it’s 3 on 2, with only Cena & Bryan left!! How crazy is it in 2022 to see Heath Slater pin Edge & Jericho back to back in the span of a minute? Honestly probably as crazy as it was then, this was out of left field, two of the highest ranking members of Team WWE gone!
S: Absolutely crazy, Heath Slater, the man who’d go on to be one of the greatest comedy fall guys in WWE, pins Edge and Chris Jericho with a roll up. He has officially peaked in terms of highest ranking pinfalls. Then there were two on WWE, The Franchise Player and The Wildcard.
JT: Yeah the numbers advantage has swayed again, once again back in favor of Nexus, 3-2. And it doesn’t help that after Edge & Jericho get eliminated, they decide to take out their frustrations on Cena!! They give him a few licks on the outside, and then he goes back in and gets a beatdown from the Black and Yellow brigade. And it’s now when Cole becomes very hard to listen to on commentary. He starts banging on about how this is why Team WWE needed Miz, how Bryan has no shot and he’s a twerp who will be eliminated in 30 seconds and basically the whole match is over. I see what they’re going for, clearly WWE wants us to go against Cole and root for Bryan. But I think this is where Cole as a heel commentator is a chore: He has no volume control. Once he’s going, he just will not lower his level, he’s just so loud and so annoying. It’s not like Heenan or Heyman or even King or JBL, who could turn up or down the intensity when the moments were bigger or smaller. Cole is just blowing a gasket here and it just makes for a bad broadcast experience.
S: It’s part of why a lot of people found this period really fucking tough to watch and sit through as well. That’s the thing as well, there’s just no come down with Cole, it’s basically all systems go with the heelness at nearly all times. I was being riled up in the completely wrong ways by a heel announcer. Like Jesse Ventura and Heenan, King during the mid 90s always had easy decibel levels in their voice when they were heeling it and landing their zingers. Michael Cole just goes hell for fucking leather when it comes to his heel persona, now he hasn’t fully turned yet, but this show is what gets the wheels turning. Now I believe that he will have some good moments as a heel, but this turning it up to 11, from your main commentator is what makes the product a bit grating. Corey Graves has a fair bit of this grating, hostile heelishness within his commentary the last two or three years and that’s what I think has brought his ability down, because he used to be a really stellar commentator.
JT: Yeah it’s one thing to interject as a heel, it’s even okay to argue, so long as there’s someone to stand up to them. But Cole just tramples over everything, all while Cena is getting beat down. This would’ve been a great time for him or someone to push for Cena but Cole’s gotta get his schtick in.
S: Also, he’s just irrational with his blaming of Bryan as well, like he’s eliminated someone in the match. I understand that heel commentators are meant to exaggerate things but Cole just sounds delusional when he’s making his claims about Bryan not being suited.
JT: Yeah! Bryan was in the match for like 5 minutes at most and he immediately got WWE a numbers advantage! Also again, he’s getting very little pushback? Where is King or I guess Stryker to fire back with that?
S: Gotta build up people standing up to him until 2011 and WrestleMania 27 comes around James, that’ll have viewers keep tuning in. The problem is that King isn’t a strong enough face commentator to fire back and Stryker is just caught in that awkward middle ground we talked about earlier with the whole commentary dynamic.
JT: Guess we just gotta pray Cena wins and Cole shuts up as a result. Speaking of which, Big Match John starts to fight back but eats a clothesline to go down. Gabriel beats down on him, but Cena with a sudden jolt of strength, lifts Gabriel up for an AA, only for the South African to reverse into DDT!! Cena with a Suplex to make space, but Cena can’t get there in time as Slater cuts him off. For an example of the level of commentary at the moment, a defensive Cole says he doesn’t just root for wins only, he roots for the Mets and he knows they’re bad this year. He wasn’t wrong, the 2010 Mets deserved burial, they were not great. But back to wrestling as a Double Clothesline sees Cena & Slater both go down. Finally Cena is able to tag out and Bryan is in and fired up! He takes Gabriel out of the corner, big boot to Slater!! He gets a German Suplex and a big Dropkick to send Slater into the neutral corner! Huge mark Stryker calling for Cattle Mutilation as big kicks in the corner to Slater knocks him down. He goes across, Slater follows him in, Bryan flips over him and hits a Flying Clothesline!! He runs and hits a Suicide Dive on Slater, which produces Daniel Daniel Bryan chants!! He goes up top and nails a Missile Dropkick, and a Nips Up!! He dropkicks both Gabriel & Barrett off the apron!! He goes for a High Kick, Slater ducks and rolls him up!! 1–2—Bryan kicks out, and turns him into the LaBelle Lock!! He gets it in, and Slater taps!! It’s 2-2!! Oh my god man, Bryan coming in during this show was like an oasis in the desert. Speed!! Technique!! Energy!! Can you believe it!?
S: He’s the fucking man, plain and simple. He’s always been excellent, and on night one of his proper WWE run, he’s easily the star of this match. Hands down, he is the guy my attention shifted towards when I watched this, I was blown away by how amazing this wrestling was from him. He had all the attributes in this flurry, everything you could ask for from a babyface.
JT: Not only that, but story wise, he’s a breath of fresh air for Team WWE, he’s exactly what is needed. The team captain just got beat down for like 3 minutes straight, but then Bryan comes in, gets hits in on everyone, picks up the pace and eliminates someone. Real good showing by Bryan, evening the score, not at all feeling out of place in the Final 4 of this big main event storyline.
S: That’s what’s so remarkable about Bryan when he was allowed to do what he can do, night one on the job and it looks like he belongs in a main event. Obviously, he doesn’t go right into the main event, that’s a story for another time but from this showing alone, WWE have to be thinking that they’ve got a ready made diamond on their hands.
JT: Well maybe we shouldn’t have praised him too much, because right as Bryan gets the match down to 2-2, The Miz runs down to the ring, and nails Bryan with the briefcase while the ref is distracted!!! Barrett covers, 1—2—3!! Now, I’m sure we’ll have a lot to say about how this match is, but I think this is pretty much perfectly done booking. Bryan looks good when he’s in, there’s cause and effect of the big PPV long storyline as Miz feels slighted for not being picked when he assumed he was going to be the big savior all show long, and it’s even a good character moment as it shows that when the chips are down, Miz chooses his own ego over the greater good. He talked all that talk about being Team WWE’s savior, and now he’s done significant damage to their chances.
S: Yeah I thought this was booked to perfection, James. It really was, completely drives home the fact that Miz is just a total egomaniac who cannot fathom the fact that Bryan was chosen ahead of him. I really liked this storyline bit.
JT: Because of his ego, now Team WWE is done to only John Cena, who is already down on the outside. Luckily, he quickly fires up with the Shoulder Tackle x2, Protobomb, and the Five Knuckle Shuffle on Gabriel. He goes for the AA, but Barrett with the blind tag and he attacks Cena before he can hit the big move. They maul him in the corner with stomps and repeated tags, before a big boot sends Cena to the floor. On the outside, Gabriel rips up the padding to expose the concrete floor, with Barrett delivering a DDT onto the exposed concrete! The crowd goes real quiet, and it’s basically academic! It’s all over from here. Cena dragged to the corner, Gabriel tagged in and went up top, he leaps, AND MISSES THE 450!! Cena covers, 1—2—3!! It’s down to one on one!! Barrett comes in, grabs Cena, Cena takes him down, and gets the STF!!! STF by John Cena!! Barrett is trapped, middle of the ring, and he taps out!! And just like that, Team WWE prevails in one of the most infamous finishes of the last decade.
S: We knew this was coming, we were waiting with dread for this finish to come around and here it is. I had completely forgotten how close the two eliminations where to each other. It is easily one of the most infamous WWE finishes of the last decade, and that’s saying something because there’s been many of them. What were they thinking? It’s one thing to not put the Nexus over in their first match as a team, but to have them lose in the manner which they did, after delivering a fucking DDT to Cena on the concrete. Just to pin Gabriel after MISSING a 450, and quickly submit Barrett. Already, the Nexus’ wind has more or less been taken out of their sails. When people talk about Super Cena, I do think a lot of fans exaggerated but man, this was the worst case scenario of Super Cena booking.
JT: I really think it’s between this and a certain Iron Man Match he had in 2011 for the worst Superman Cena moments. Now, I think there are aspects of this finish that have been exaggerated in my opinion. The DDT on the concrete for example. I’m alright with pulling out that spot and not having Nexus win. It’s a nice little shock spot and it just shows how far they’re willing to go. I’m also okay with Cena pinning Gabriel off the missed 450, since at least he pinned right away. Hell, I think there’s ways you can have Cena win without it being this bad. But the biggest crime to me is having Barrett getting totally squashed. He’s being built as the leader of a group that is supposed to be the future of the company. You’re telling me they don’t even have enough faith for him to go even 5 minutes alone with Cena?? Why are you pushing them if you don’t trust him to do that then! Barrett does NOTHING in this whole match!! At the very least, this match needed a head to head confrontation between Barrett & Cena that’s treated as a face off between top stars. If you’re going to have Nexus lose, at least give Barrett a moment where he looks like he’s in control and then makes some big mistake or does something arrogant to cost them the win! But as has been said time and time again with this storyline, obviously the Nexus should win. And if not, they should’ve lost with some more dignity than this.
S: When you mention that there were ways for Cena to go over and for it not to be damaging, I definitely think that’s the case but Team WWE should never have gone over The Nexus in this match, it should’ve ended with Barrett pinning Cena and you establish your next top heel but unfortunately, the ship looks like its sailed for the first time with Wade Barrett yet it’s only 2010 and the ship will probably sail many more times over. He lost by doing absolutely fuck all in the match, he got one elimination to his name and even then it was because The Miz panned out Bryan. The result was completely wrong, even twelve years later and it was always the wrong winner, which is a shame because I did actually enjoy this match.
JT: It’s a pretty damn good match right up until it rounds the final corner. The crowd was hot, the match was paced pretty well, the momentum swung back and forth enough to make it exciting. The spots weren’t always the best but they were done in a way that the crowd cared, so I can excuse silly DQs and what not. But you’re right, though I did do a little devil’s advocate, obviously the right decision is to have Nexus win thanks to Barrett. Especially since you’ve got Survivor Series later in the year!! Give Nexus, and more specifically, Wade Barrett, their big statement win, then you can have a more refined and higher stakes version of this match later in the year. Maybe with some titles or jobs on the line? But the point is, Nexus needed this sun to substantiate their run so far. Like it’s one thing to have backstage attacks and to cost people matches, but when push comes to shove it’s about how you do when the match actually begins that determines how far you go. Stryker specifically said a win here tonight would cement their legacy, and well, they didn’t get that. After no real turbulence for all of their maiden voyage, they crashed landed like the Hindenburg right on the runway.
S: Definitely, their momentum has been stopped dead in their tracks, and now they’re just some guys on the roster who couldn’t make good on their promise when the bell rang. Like we can talk about the quality of the match all we want, it was a really enjoyable match, probably the most enjoyable match of the arc so far but we’ve done enough of that. The real discussion point at the end of this is the meaning behind this loss.
JT: That’s what makes their lose sting so much! The angle to this point was so effective, and their first big match went mostly pretty well, which is great considering the general inexperience of The Nexus. And yet the loss undoes a lot of the work they’ve put in. Do you want to get into the backstage scuttlebutt of this loss? Because though Cena is pretty unanimously praised nowadays by fans and other wrestlers (and deservingly so), this match still remains a real black mark on his permanent record.
S: Definitely, we should definitely discuss it because it is certainly the elephant in the room now that we’re at the end. I’ve heard old Barrett Barrage himself discuss it with Kenny McIntosh but I’m ready to discuss it again.
JT: Alright so as the story goes, this match was worked out by Edge & Chris Jericho, with the finish being that Wade Barrett would come out of Summerslam the winner, Nexus reigns supreme. That was the plan going into the show. However, the day of the event, the finish was changed to Cena going over. One Heath Slater attested to this in a Q&A with Pro Wrestling Junkies in 2020. “l tell you this much. I’ve had so many people ask me that over the years. Honestly, I’m not sure if it’s 100 percent fact [John Cena being responsible for ending The Nexus’ push], but I could comfortably say it’s a 95 percent fact. The whole time we were there, we were going over. We were playing to win.” “Edge and Jericho basically came up with that whole match. They planned it all out and had where it was, how it should be, where I think the last one left was Wade [Barrett]. And then the next thing you know, four hours later, it was just not happening that way,” Slater said. So that’s one person on record putting most of the blame on John.
S: Wow, I had no idea that Heath had gone on record to tell the backstage tale. Barrett did also go on record as well, he more or less told the same story that Heath did, in a live interview for Inside The Ropes, they got told the news by Arn Anderson while they were just getting food in catering! The funniest part is that they were told A WEEK beforehand that they were certain to go over, Arn Anderson shows up to them while they’re in and basically goes “Change of plans, Cena’s going over in the end”. There’s then a dead silence where Wade is basically waiting for Arn to go “just kidding” but then they’ve to go to Vince. They go to Vince and he says the reason is “there must be a happy ending to SummerSlam”. Like, HUH?!
JT: Lmao since when does Summerslam have to have a happy ending?? I see Summerslam as heel WrestleMania if we’re being honest, it’s the biggest show of the year where people are okay with big heel wins. Like at Mania for the most part, you’d like to see the face have the big triumphant win. But Summerslam? That’s when you get away with the big angle where the heel wins. CM Punk and Randy Orton literally won both World Title matches in 2009!! Alberto Del Rio would cash in at the 2011 show!! The formation of the Authority in 2013, Lesnar squashing Cena in 2014, Edge over Cena in 06, Triple H over Goldberg in 03, Lesnar over Rock in 02, HBK costing Undertaker in 97, it’s not an every year thing but it’s more than Mania!! Guess they got scared that fans might stop buying into Cena if he lost again? Like maybe they thought after this heel dominated show, and the last 2 months of Cena getting beaten by Nexus, that they had to have him win here??
S: I know this is a big if but if WWE genuinely thought that fans would stop buying into John Cena, after being the biggest star in the company for the last five years and then for a further seven years, one loss is not going to stop kids from loving or being fans of Cena. I know myself as a kid was often sensitive to old heel win or a wrestler I liked losing but if anything, it makes you want to keep tuning in to see if the goodie will take down the baddie next time.
JT: Yeah genuinely, I don’t know what their justification is. Cena wasn’t going to lose popularity from his loss, we’ve seen how losses to Edge only capitulated Edge to superstar status. I don’t know why the back office would’ve changed it, and I like to give Cena the benefit of the doubt too. Like he’s never been shy about putting folks over, and like I really can’t think of another instance where he’s gone “That won’t work for me brother” unlike past top guys like Austin, Hogan, Bret or even Triple H.
S: Yeah Cena is definitely someone who doesn’t seem like he’s awfully protective of his spot and paranoid about potential booking decisions, which is what makes things extra odd if he really did change the finish.
JT: Maybe we’ll get the true story at some point, when he’s a bit further from wrestling, but honestly at this point it seems unlikely. I’d say Cena’s the closest thing to this generation’s Undertaker, in that he rarely talks about his behind the scenes feelings and thoughts. I’m sure he’s been asked about it before, and in the last 5 years he’s taken a step away from wrestling, and yet still nothing from him about it. Maybe one day but so far, we can’t hear him.
S: Nor can we see him, amirite lads? HEYOOOOOOO!
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Powering Down
JT: Well with that said, I think it’s time that we wrap up this episode! Time to put this one to bed. Final thoughts on the show as a whole?
S: This is a real toughie to judge as a whole. We haven’t had any real stand out shows out of the four we’ve done so far. I think Fatal 4 Way had some positivity to it, Money in the Bank was a bit of a wonky ride and this show, I think it’s one which was very below par during the first half. The second half improves but I don’t think it’s enough to call it a good show. The crowd was excellent, there’s some parts which I enjoyed. The soap opera bollocks with Kane, Rey and Taker was pretty sweet. Sheamus and Randy was alright but because of the crowd but the finish fucking stank. Two DQ finishes on your third biggest show of the year, are you taking the piss, WWE? Straight Edge Society is on the way out way sooner than they should be. I really enjoyed the main event, it deserved its spot as the last match on the card, it had a big match feel and despite the finish, I thought it was a great match. With that said, it wasn’t enough to save the show. I think this show, despite it being a six match card, was not of a good quality. However, it was definitely easy to sit through and that’s because the crowd were brilliant for the whole show.
JT: Yeah I definitely want to give the crowd their roses. If they had sat on their hands, this would’ve been a tough show to sit through honestly. Sheamus vs Randy is a match that was entirely carried by the crowd’s excitement. A big main event like we could’ve died a death with a bored or uninterested crowd (which again, credit to the booking of the angle heading into this). It feels to me like everything on this show, even the good, was held back by something. Kofi/Dolph didn’t have a proper ending. Melina vs Alicia is remembered as a meme only. Big Show vs SES was non-competitive. Orton vs Sheamus had no ending. Kane vs Rey was good but even the Undertaker stuff was a bit wonky, though mostly pretty good. Team Nexus vs WWE was the Super Bowl XLIX of wrestling. All they had to do was run it in and win, but they got intercepted in the end zone instead.
S: Super Bowl 49? That’s seven Super Bowls ago so I’m guessing your New England Patriots won that one, right? I am joking when I say that, by the way.
JT: Exactly the one. Seattle down 4 with 27 seconds, one timeout 3 down to play with on the 1 yard line, with one of the most dominant running backs in football (Marshawn “Beast Mode” Lynch) on their team. Do they try running it once to score and win? No, they get cute and try throwing the ball, getting intercepted in the process and losing in improbable fashion. All WWE had to do was go the obvious direction and have Barrett win for Nexus, but they threw the ball and now we’ll spend the rest of the arc *spoilers* looking at the fall of Nexus.
S: James, we’ve talked about our thoughts on the show as a whole, I now must ask you, what is your match of the night and who is your MVP for this show?
JT: Well I think far and away the Match of the Night is the main event. Again for 99% of the way, it delivered. It faltered badly, but not enough for something else to MOTN instead. On a better show, that finish would’ve cost this match the award, but this isn’t that show. Now my MVP? Pffttttt, it’s fucking dire man. Kane, The Miz, Chris Jericho, Randy Orton & Skip Sheffield were in the running, but didn’t make the final podium. Justin Gabriel was nearly my pick but I just couldn’t go for him just because I don’t think he did quite enough to warrant it. He did a good job carrying Nexus in the ring, but I just don’t think his time in the ring resulted in anything super impressive. He was just merely good and not great.
So my MVP is Daniel Bryan. I almost didn’t go with him because I feel like he’s an obvious pick for me, because he’s my favorite wrestler of all time. But on a show where seemingly nobody had an impressive performance, I’ll go with the guy who was booked to perfection and did really well with his limited ring time. He didn’t do a ton of wrestling but all of the stuff he did felt so much faster and crisper than everything else on the show. I promise though, I’m going to try my hardest to not just pick Bryan every time.
S: Agree with you on both fronts there. I have the exact same awards as you do, the main event was by far and away the best match on the show, they got 90% of it totally right, just a shame about the finish. What more can I say? My MVP is Daniel Bryan, I’ve a feeling he’s going to be for the rest of this season what MCMG were in season two. As you said there, slim pickings and the choices are very dire. Not many people on the roster standing out, bit of a dull period we’re in. Will that change? I sure as shit hope so
JT: I’ve gotta say, we’re about nearly halfway through the season and the overall MVP case is wide open. We’re not impressed fellas!! This is still anyone’s for the taking, and we’ve got plenty of time to see people step up.
S: So if you’re a time travelling member of the WWE roster in 2010, get back in your time travelling Fiat Cinquecento and up your fucking game!
JT: So up next time, it’s all about the gold!! Every title in WWE is on the line, because we’re going to be having a Night of Champions!!
S: That’s right, we’re going to see all the belts on the line so we’ll probably be getting a pretty big card. Are The Hart Dynasty still Unified Tag Team Champions? What’s the deal with Taker and Kane this time? What the hell is going to happen with The Nexus?
JT: Will we get Kofi vs Dolph with an actual finish this time? Will we get an actual finish to the WWE Championship match? Will Melina stand tall as Unified Champion or will LayCool remain Flawless? There’s only one way to find out! Okay, well I mean there’s plenty of ways to find out, but if you enjoyed this episode of the JT & Seány McPower Hour, tune in next time for more Power Hour-ing!!
S: Definitely! If you found this episode enjoyable and would want to know when the next episodes are coming out, do give both me and James a follow on Twitter. My handle is “@SeanMcL2000” and James’s is “@IlikeJamesTooo”. We always post a link to the blog whenever a new episode is released so do that if you never want to miss an episode. Maybe to ensure you don’t, turn on those tweet notifications for both of our accounts!
JT: Honestly I tweet too much, wouldn’t recommend notifications on for me. But definitely do it for Seán! Alright enough plugging. It’s time to say goodbye. So this is a good night for me James!!
S: And a bonne nuit from me Seán!
JT: Until then, keep on rolling down that Championship line!!
S: Maybe this time don’t cue the big train. Cue “Lonely Day” by System of a Down, for the Nexus after their devastating loss.
The JT & Seány Mc Power Hour 