WWE Summerslam 2008 Review

Match 1: Jeff Hardy vs. MVP
Hard to believe that prior to this, Jeff Hardy hasn't been on a Summerslam card since 2001. He is back at the biggest blockbuster of the summer against MVP in 2008. Good opening match here that really made me forget how good these guys were. Hardy had good chemistry with pretty much the entire roster during his 2008 roller coaster year and the same could be said for MVP. Shelton Benjamin came out to cause a distraction against Hardy that led to MVP hitting his Drive-By Kick to score the win. Good way to have MVP score the win while Hardy has an out for his loss. Shame this one didn't go on any longer.
Winner: MVP
Rating: **3/4

Match 2: Intercontinental & Women's Championship - Kofi Kingston (c) & Mickie James (c) vs. Santino Marella & Beth Phoenix
Booked by Raw general manager Mike Adamle, this intergender match is for Kofi Kingston's Intercontinental Championship and Mickie James' Women's Championship. Fun match here to bridge the gap between the opener and the emotional segment with Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho that followed this. Phoenix pins James to score the win for her team as Santino hilariously celebrates even though Phoenix did the heavy lifting. Phoenix then carries Santino out on her shoulders as he celebrates.
Winners: Santino Marella & Beth Phoenix
Rating: *1/4

Match 3: ECW Championship - Mark Henry (c) vs. Matt Hardy
This was easily one of the worst Summerslam moments in a long time. Matt Hardy hits a Twist of Fate on Mark Henry but Tony Atlas removes Hardy from the ring as the referee calls for the disqualification. Jeff Hardy comes down to help beat down Henry afterwards but ultimately, Henry retains the title. What was the point of that? I get that they really wanted to have an ECW representation on the card but why the stupid finish? That only made ECW look worse than what it was already.
Winner: Matt Hardy
Rating: 1/4*

Match 4: World Heavyweight Championship - CM Punk (c) vs. JBL
Remember CM Punk's first reign as the world heavyweight champion? He was booked like a chump. It was one of those cases where the belt made the man rather than the man making the belt. Punk needed a big win here against the challenger in John Bradshaw Layfield. Decent action here with JBL doing a great job of utilizing his size to take down the faster and more agile CM Punk. As much as I hate saying this, it just didn't look like Punk was ready for this role yet. The crowd just wasn't reacting too much to him and the way he was getting booked didn't help matters. Punk eventually hit a GTS to secure his first PPV win since gaining the World Heavyweight Championship.
Winner: CM Punk
Rating: **3/4

Match 5: WWE Championship - Triple H (c) vs. The Great Khali
I always wondered why they decided to have The Great Khali challenge Triple H for the strap here, was there really no one else more suitable? Maybe Triple H wanted the challenge and be the man who could put on the best possible match with Khali. As much hate as I might get for this one, Triple H succeeded. This was easily the best singles Khali match that I could remember. Triple H did a great job of hiding Khali's flaws and using his size to make him seem like he truly was an unstoppable giant. I like how they centered the match around Triple H not being able to hit his Pedigree on the bigger Khali, something they messed around with during episodes of Smackdown leading up to this match. Triple H had trouble locking it in throughout the match as he basically carried Khali for the entire thing. However, Triple H was able to hit a Pedigree and secure the win. Not bad, especially for a Khali match.
Winner: Triple H
Rating: ***

Match 6: John Cena vs. Batista
I scored this match ****1/4 on my last viewing so let's see how that stands. I always thought they should have held this match off until WrestleMania but nonetheless, the build and hype for this match was tremendous, always loved how they were tag champs for a week. Both men rose to prominence at WrestleMania 21 and find themselves squaring off against each other for the first time as the top dogs of the company. Crowd was definitely on their toes for this one and the match just had a big-fight feel to it. Great exchanges from the top as they fight a stalemate throughout with nobody truly getting the advantage. However, things change when John Cena dives off the top rope where Batista counters it into a nasty looking Batista Bomb. Cena is able to kick out of it but after another Batista Bomb, Batista wins cleanly. Couldn't go wrong with anyone winning here. However, Batista winning makes more sense as it leads to Cena wanting to avenge his loss which he would go on to do at a future WrestleMania. Also, Cena would head to the disabled list shortly after this match which led to the WWE having a Cena-less fall until Survivor Series.
Winner: Batista
Rating: ****1/4
Original Rating: ****1/4

Match 7: Hell in a Cell - Edge vs. The Undertaker
I have seen this match so many times that I actually can't even remember if I have ever even reviewed this before so I'm just going to pretend like this is the first time for both. 2008's feud of the year was Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels but one that often gets overlooked that year is between these two, Edge and The  Undertaker. They feuded throughout the year and it culminated here in a Hell in a Cell match at Summerslam in the main event. One of my favorite promos of all time came on an edition of SmackDown leading to this event that saw Edge feature Mick Foley on an edition of The Cutting Edge. If you haven't seen it, do yourself the favor. A huge gripe that many often have with this match is that it felt like a big spot after big spot type of match. Personally, I loved the spots and I love how they spaced them out perfectly. They couldn't do any blood so they made up for it with some incredible table spots and storytelling. Loved the spot where Edge drove a steel chair through the heart of The Undertaker through a table before saying to himself, "I understand." Referencing his promo with Mick Foley. Undertaker scores the big win after hitting a Spear and a Tombstone. Afterwards, Undertaker Chokeslams Edge off a ladder through the ring before fire erupts out of nowhere. Memorable finish and ending to the show as Edge would go on to take a much-needed break before like Cena, returning at Survivor Series.
Winner: The Undertaker
Rating: ****3/4

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
While I definitely enjoyed the show and the main events, I still have trouble giving the show a 9/10 simply because of the fairly lackluster start to the show. Aside from that, the last three matches either met expectations or exceeded them. Regardless, this was a very memorable Summerslam capped off with a fantastic main event. I also took into consideration the incredible angle between Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels which may be my favorite Summerslam moment of all time.
Rating: 8.75/10