WWE Best Main Events of the Decade: 2010 - 2020 (Disc 2) Review

As the last days of the strangest year of our lives comes to a close, I figured I would take a look back at better times. In particular, times when wrestling fans were able to come together and watch their favorite wrestlers display their abilities in person. I'm not one for collecting DVDs these days but this one certainly caught my eye and would be perfect to sit back and watch to help look back at the days that we have unfortunately took so for granted of.

Match 1: WWE WrestleMania 31 - WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins - Click HERE for the Original Review

This is a match I have super fond memories of as it was my first time watching a WrestleMania in person with my friends. The atmosphere was electric and absolutely perfect as the sun finally set for the night as the main event match was ready to take stage. My original rating for this match was a ****1/2 but upon watching it in full here in the final month of 2020... I see no reason why this isn't a full *****. Lesnar was at his absolute peak here by coming off huge wins against The Undertaker and John Cena while Roman Reigns is coming off a controversial Royal Rumble victory. This was an extremely physical match with Lesnar not holding back against Reigns throughout the match. Lesnar was in complete control until Reigns was able to bust open Lesnar by launching him into the ring post and absolute mayhem would ensue shortly after. Nearfall after nearfall that had the crowd roaring until Seth Rollins decided to make an appearance. Rollins would hit a Curb Stomp on Reigns and that would seal the deal. Nearly six years later and this match feels like it was just yesterday. Having Rollins cash in and win was the perfect call. It just felt like such a curveball and a tell tale sign how the WWE was pulling the entire fan base on strings. They made it out to look like Reigns was going to win the championship at WrestleMania and the event would mark the crowning achievement in his quest to become the face of the company... until Rollins comes out of nowhere to squash those aspirations. Michael Cole said it best, "The heist of the century." That may go down as one of the greatest WrestleMania moments of all time.

Winner: Seth Rollins

Rating: *****

Match 2: WWE Extreme Rules 2016 - WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Extreme Rules - Roman Reigns (c) vs. AJ Styles - Click HERE for the Original Review

Man... people forget how amazing the feud these two had in 2016 after Roman Reigns won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania. Granted, these two have great matches with just about anybody but this was just really on a different level here. They had to somehow step up from an already amazing match they had at the previous show and they completely blew away all expectations. Reigns was amazing in his role here as a "tweener" and at this point, I was really hoping for a heel turn because he just looked like he would embrace that role completely. From the start, this match was physical and competitive as they took the fight throughout the arena before finally coming back to the ring where Styles would eventually go through two announcers tables. Complete mayhem here with both men taking some nasty bumps and the roller coaster ride took another turn when Gallows and Anderson came to help Styles while The Usos came into the fray to help Reigns. Unfortunately for The Usos, they ended up getting the living daylights beaten out of them from some hard chair shots by Styles. Reigns was able to kick out of two Styles Clashes before getting hit with a Spear in the air after going for a Phenomenal Forearm. Reigns could barely land his body over Styles to secure the count, nice touch. Wow. Blown away by this match and blown away at all the hate the fans were giving to Reigns here. He was fantastic in his role and more than held his own against a legend like Styles. If the WWE didn't know, they damn well did know by now what they had with both men as they would lead the company as champions for years to come.

Winner: Roman Reigns

Rating: ****3/4

Match 3: WWE Hell in a Cell 2016 - WWE Raw Women's Championship - Hell in a Cell - Sasha Banks (c) vs. Charlotte Flair

This is the very first time where two women will be facing off inside Hell in a Cell and fittingly, it serves as the main event for the event. The two get their glamorous entrances before Charlotte Flair brutally attacks Sasha Banks before the cage even lowers and then driving her through an announcers table. Banks gets pulled away in a stretcher and of course, we all know that she is going to come back but they still continue with the theatrics as the announcers announce that Charlotte will be declared the winner and new champion if Banks cannot continue. How exactly does that make sense? Regardless, Sasha is able to will her way back in the ring to officially start the match. Some solid action between the two but nothing that was completely out of the ordinary from the two. The table spots seemed forced and the final moments of the match saw Charlotte toss Sasha on top of a table a couple times that did not give an inch. Afterwards, Charlotte is able to hit her finisher to secure the win in front of Sasha's hometown. Good match that probably could have done without the corny and predictable opening sequence that saw Sasha will her way out of a stretcher to begin the match. The finish was a bit underwhelming and felt like the match was still getting going at that point. Either way, a historic main event match that will certainly go down in the books.

Winner: Charlotte Flair

Rating: ***1/2

Match 4: WWE Summerslam 2017 - WWE Universal Championship - Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Braun Strowman vs. Samoa Joe vs. Roman Reigns - Click HERE for the Original Review

Summerslam became the marquee event for Brock Lesnar around this time in which he main evented a string of Summerslam events with all matches delivering well in their own right. This may have been his best one and easily one of the best fatal 4-way matches... EVER. The crowd was hot before it even started and the energy in the arena was screaming for a new champion to be crowned as heavy rumors were circulating that Brock Lesnar was ready to leave the WWE for a continued career within the UFC. For those who forgot, Braun Strowman was easily the most over babyface in the company at the time and this match proved it as he was tossing around the other three guys like sacks of potatoes while the crowd ate up every second of it. The sight of Strowman driving Lesnar through two tables and toppling his prone body with a third table was unreal. Nonstop action throughout the match with big spots continuing to pile up on each other as the four gigantic men in the ring were destroying each other. Lesnar was stretchered to the back before finally returning later in the match and giving Roman Reigns an F5 to seal the win and shock the entire crowd. Absolutely wild main event match that almost feels like a match the WWE doesn't really do anymore. It felt like watching something straight out of the Attitude Era within today's day and age. I'm not a fan of having someone get stretchered out of matches because doesn't that just mean he was technically knocked out and unable to continue the match? Regardless, it made for a cool (albeit predictable) return for Lesnar to the ring to get the pin over Reigns. Final note, nice touch to have Reigns eat the pin here. A pin over Strowman would somewhat kill his momentum and a pin over Joe would just seem too predictable. With Reigns, he doesn't lose anything here and it also adds another surprising factor to the ending of the match. Great stuff all around. Go back and watch this!

Winner: Brock Lesnar

Rating: ****3/4

Match 5: WWE Survivor Series 2018 - Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar

The main event of Survivor Series in 2018 emanated from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, a show I fondly remember attending. Raw destroyed SmackDown in terms of winning for the night and it looked very clear early on that Brock Lesnar was not about to give SmackDown something good to go home with. Lesnar dominated the first half of the match convincingly and the crowd was somewhat starting to grow a bit restless, everyone was hoping and praying for a competitive match. Finally, things turned around for the match as a low blow behind the referee's back delivered by Daniel Bryan shifted the momentum of things. This is where the match really started to get good as Lesnar does a fantastic job of selling Bryan's onslaught and really giving us the belief that this match could be stolen away from him. Final moments of the match saw Lesnar fail to hit an F5 after his leg buckled on him that allowed Bryan to lock Lesnar in a Yes Lock. However, Lesnar's strength proved to be too much as one final F5 proved to be the game changer. Lesnar works so well with smaller guys and this was a perfect example of it. In 2021, nothing would please me more than to perhaps see a rematch between the two down the line.

Winner: Brock Lesnar

Rating: ****

Match 6: WWE WrestleMania 35 - WWE Raw Women's Championship & WWE SmackDown Women's Championship - Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Becky Lynch - Click HERE for the Original Review

For the very first time, three women headline a WrestleMania card and it is easily the three biggest draws in the company. There was controversy with inserting Charlotte Flair in this spot but she more than earned that spot. Her entrance from the helicopter before the match alone was enough reason for her to be there. As for the match itself, it was certainly a little all over the place and they were in a tough spot as this was the longest WrestleMania ever and the crowd was so tired from what was already a wild night. Regardless, they did their best with what they could and Ronda Rousey really shined here as she was basically fighting off the two throughout the match. Unfortunately, the finish came very suddenly and looked pretty sloppy as Becky Lynch was able to reverse a Piper's Pit into a pin to secure the biggest win of her life. Very odd finish and they really missed a big opportunity to make either her or Charlotte tap to end the match. Either way, fantastic finish to the night as a new star is officially born.

Winner: Becky Lynch

Rating: ***

Match 7: WWE WrestleMania 36 - WWE Championship - Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Drew McIntyre

This is my first time watching this match since watching it live. I don't think I'll ever have it in me to go back and watch the event in its entirety again. This event was easily the most eerie events in pro wrestling history for obvious reasons and while it was an absolute shame that Drew McIntyre wasn't going to get his big match in front of a WrestleMania crowd, the aura in the air for this match felt different from the other ones on the card. It still had that "big fight feel" and the two gave us the best possible match they could do given the circumstances. From McIntyre kicking out of F5s to Brock Lesnar kicking out of a Claymore, I started to legitimately question if McIntyre was actually going to pull this one off at the time. However, McIntyre was able to turn the tides and land consecutive Claymores to seal the biggest win of his life. I still got goosebumps watching the ending of this match and feeling the emotion that McIntyre was giving off. He earned that spot and I can't wait for his bigger moments down the line in front of an actual audience.

Winner: Drew McIntyre

Rating: ***

WWE Best Main Events of the Decade: 2010 - 2020 (Disc 1) Review

As the last days of the strangest year of our lives comes to a close, I figured I would take a look back at better times. In particular, times when wrestling fans were able to come together and watch their favorite wrestlers display their abilities in person. I'm not one for collecting DVDs these days but this one certainly caught my eye and would be perfect to sit back and watch to help look back at the days that we have unfortunately took so for granted of.

Match 1: WWE WrestleMania XXVI - No Disqualification - Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker - Click HERE for the Original Review

One of the my more controversial hills that I am willing to die on is that this match is superior to their WrestleMania 25 bout a year prior to this. That in itself makes this match that much more impressive... how do you top a perfect match with expectations that were practically impossible to top? Somehow, they managed to do it. They had to be able to differentiate this match from the year after and create a different type of ambiance behind it as well. Shawn Michaels was so desperate to get his rematch against The Undertaker that it could either lead him to the biggest win of his career or his ultimate downfall. The setting for this match was perfect, in the desert on the biggest stage you could imagine as the last match on the card. Michaels did a fantastic job of working on the knee of The Undertaker throughout the match and in turn, The Undertaker did a great job of nearly making that his own downfall in this match. The entire match had it all from big spots in an emotional roller coaster with Michaels defiantly not giving up until The Undertaker gave him in the biggest Tombstone of his life. Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler were also both great in their commentary roles here and certainly boosted this match to another level. Give Cole credit when it is due. Ultimately, Michaels would go on to wrestle one more match after this but this still remains his retirement match in my opinion because this is easily the greatest goodbye match ever. It had it all and nothing beats seeing Michaels walk away to a standing ovation as the curtain closed. More than a decade later and this match holds up with the best of them.

Winner: The Undertaker

Rating: *****

 

Match 2: WWE Money in the Bank 2011 - WWE Championship - John Cena (c) vs. CM Punk - Click HERE for the Original Review

It's no secret, I am not the biggest CM Punk fan in the world but I don't let those personal feelings get in the way of me enjoying his abilities in the ring and on the mic. This is highly regarded as the best match of both of these men's careers and for good reason... it is an absolute dandy. Of course, the story behind this one made it so much sweeter with Punk threatening to leave the company with the belt and obviously... Cena going up against both Punk and his wild hometown of Chicago. Awesome action throughout the match and Cena did a great job in selling the knee injury throughout the match and really embracing his role as the bad buy. Also need to give credit to where it is due with Punk, embracing the love Chicago was smothering him with and this truly felt like the first real time that Punk was holding his own in a main event match. He belonged in that moment. Fantastic roller coaster of a match that included Punk kicking out of Attitude Adjustment later in the match that had the crowd roaring. Finally, Punk was able to hit a GTS on Cena to score the win and escape Chicago with the WWE Championship in hand. Certainly Punk's biggest moment of his career in his wild 2011. While many claim this to be their best match, they had one I believe in 2013 on an episode of Raw that I thought was even better than this one. Regardless, a great match that still holds to this day.

Winner: CM Punk

Rating: ****1/2

 

Match 3: WWE Summerslam 2012 - No Disqualification - Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H - Click HERE for the Original Review

While this may seem like an odder choice of a match to feature on this DVD, I do appreciate them going with matches that have either gone so forgotten about or just never really featured on any other release or Network special. At this point, Brock Lesnar was just a few months into his return to the WWE and his second feud was against The Game. This feud turned extremely personal after Lesnar attacked Shawn Michaels on an episode of Monday Night Raw as they finally face off in the main event of Summerslam. Lesnar has become the huge focal point of Summerslam in years past and this was ultimately just the beginning of what would be many main event matches for him at the event. Triple H instructed Scott Armstrong prior to the match that he did not want to see this match end on a countout or disqualification. They did a great job of really making the odds seem completely stacked against Triple H here until he was later able to drive Lesnar into the corner of the announcers table. The tides seemed to turn for a little bit but Lesnar still proved to be too much for The Game as he had to submit to Lesnar's Kimura submission. Very physical and fun affair between the two, a fitting close to Summerslam that would go on to really be the rise of Lesnar's dominance in the company. Glad this was featured on the DVD, many seem to forget this match.

Winner: Brock Lesnar

Rating: ****

 

Match 4: WWE WrestleMania 29 - WWE Championship - The Rock (c) vs. John Cena - Click HERE for the Original Review

This match has certainly become one of the more controversial WrestleMania main events in recent history because many of the internet fans wanted CM Punk to have some sort of involvement. While I do agree that a triple threat match between the three here would have been great, a rematch where Cena looks to avenge his loss from the previous year was just too good to pass by. I think the right choice was made, this was just too good of a story to pass up on and Punk ultimately challenging The Undertaker led to a memorable moment for the show. While I can't say I remember much from their first encounter, I do recall this match being pretty similar to that one aside from the few callbacks they had in this one where Cena was reluctant at times. The match was fairly slow throughout and the crowd wasn't able to get into things until later on when the nearfalls became more apparent and more believable. Finally, Cena is able to hit an Attitude Adjustment on The Rock to score the win and avenge his loss from the previous year. Afterwards, The Rock congratulates Cena and "passes the torch" to close out the night. A very fitting close to the show with the finishing minutes being as dramatic as you could want from these two.

Winner: John Cena

Rating: ***1/2

 

Match 5: WWE Payback 2014 - No Holds Barred Elimination - Evolution vs. The Shield - Click HERE for the Original Review

After The Shield beat Evolution at the previous PPV, Triple H and the rest of Evolution look to score some revenge in a No Holds Barred Elimination Match. My original review of this match gave it a ****1/2 but after sitting down and watching it again years later, it failed to reach my lofty expectations. I felt like much of this match really just saw Evolution beat down The Shield members for a solid portion of the match until the tides turned once Seth Rollins dove off the stage onto all the members of Evolution once they were done with their onslaught. Afterwards, The Shield were able to eliminate both Batista and Randy Orton before it was just down to Triple H and his sledgehammer. A knee out of nowhere from Rollins that was followed up with a Spear from Roman Reigns was all she wrote. Enjoyed this match a lot but it was nowhere near the level of excitement I felt when I first viewed it years ago. I understand they wanted to beat down The Shield handsomely during this match but it almost felt like it was just dragging on to the point where you expected the comeback. Again, while I was somewhat disappointed in my second watching of this match, I still appreciate this match getting recognition and being featured on the DVD. If people ever remember their matches, it's really just their Extreme Rules match as this one seems to get brushed aside. Crazy to think this match and feud even happened all these years later.

Winners: The Shield

Rating: ***1/2

WWE Summerslam 2000 Review

WWE Summerslam 2000
August 27, 2000
Raleigh, North Carolina

A classic Summerslam event sees the first TLC Match ever with the WWE Tag Team Championship on the line. The main event features The Rock defending his WWE Championship against both Kurt Angle and Triple H in a wild, wild match.

Match 1: Right to Censor vs. Too Cool
Good choice to have this match kick off the night in what was a pretty stacked card. Right to Censor were actually great heels at this point and Too Cool was the perfect babyface time to take them on here at Summerslam. Good action between the two teams that saw Right to Censor try to prevent Rikishi from tagging in throughout the match. However, once he got in, he lit them up and the crowd was hot. I sometimes tend to forget how over Too Cool was around this time, they were a ton of fun to watch. The hot tag from Rikishi looked like he was gonna steam roll his way to a Too Cool victory until Steven Richards was able to interrupt a Worm attempt from Scotty 2 Hotty and pin him for the surprise win. Nice way to get a big W for the heels in a match that looked like it was going the other way. Good opener.
Winners: Right to Censor
Rating: **1/4

Match 2: Road Dogg vs. X-Pac
The former tag partners look to squash their beef after X-Pac inadvertently dropped Road Dogg through a table on an episode of Monday Night Raw. I mean, that happens all the time with my friends and I. Short match here with some decent action that saw X-Pac hit a low blow on Road Dogg while the referee had his back turned before hitting an X-Factor to score the win. After the match, X-Pac wanted to brush the beef aside but instead got met with a Pumphandle Slam from Road Dogg for his troubles. Fine for what the match needed to be, short and anything longer would have probably just made the crowd grow restless since they didn't seem to have much interest in this from the start.
Winner: X-Pac
Rating: *1/4

Match 3: WWE Intercontinental Championship - Val Venis & Trish Stratus (c) vs. Eddie Guerrero & Chyna
Loved the little story between Eddie Guerrero and Chyna going into this, both were so great around this time and it's sometimes still hard to believe they're both gone now. Regardless, odd rules here with the Intercontinental Championship on the line with the person scoring the pin becoming the champion. Essentially, this is just a four-way match. They storied the match around Val Venis carrying the bulk of the match and doing his best to prevent Trish Stratus from entering the match. Crazy to think that Trish Stratus has wrested against both Chyna and Charlotte Flair in a WWE ring. Anyway, Chyna is able to get her hands on Trish alone in the ring and military slam her to the ground to score the win and become the new Intercontinental Champion. Short and pretty decent for what it was, just fun to watch Eddie and Chyna together.
Winners: Eddie Guerrero & Chyna
Rating: *3/4

Match 4: Jerry Lawler vs. Tazz
I loved the little feud Tazz had with the commentators around this time and really came off as such an unlikable heel. This was more of an angle than an actual match and it was pretty enjoyable to watch Tazz trash talk Jim Ross at ringside for the entirety of the match. However, a referee bump allowed the opening for JR to finally take a stand and bash Tazz over the head with a glass candy jar. It was probably the biggest pop of the night and I loved watching this both as a kid in 2000 and here now in 2020. Lawler then pins Tazz to score the win. Give it a watch, it won't kill ya.
Winner: Jerry Lawler
Rating: *1/4

Match 5: WWE Hardcore Championship - Shane McMahon (c) vs. Steve Blackman
I have not seen this match in ages and certainly have fond memories from watching it as a child way back in the day. Shane McMahon was the scared heel who was doing his best to run away from an angry Steve Blackman as they fought in the stands before finally bringing back the fight in the ring where Test and Albert came to Shane's side. The shining spot of this match came when Blackman was dragged to the titantron where he was able to take out both Test and Albert before chasing Shane as he scaled up the stage. Well... you guys know the rest. Blackman stops Shane dead in his tracks and nails him in the back with some kendo stick shots before Shane drops onto some staging equipment. Blackman then dives off the stage onto Shane to pick up the win. Fun match that of course, shines for its awesome ending.
Winner: Steve Blackman
Rating: **1/4

Match 6: 2-Out-of-3 Falls Match - Chris Jericho vs. Chris Benoit
Definitely one of the more overlooked matches on this card since everyone always remembers the big TLC match along with the main event here. Two of Canada's best going at it in a straight up wrestling match with the winner having to score the first two falls. Chris Benoit was able to score the first fall fairly quickly by submitting Chris Jericho with the Crippler Crossface. However, Jericho was able to score back that fall by submitting Benoit with a Walls of Jericho to even up the score at 1-1. Solid wrestling between the two men to score the final pin as expected. Also kind of interesting to see Benoit work as a heel, he worked ten times better as a babyface. Benoit steals the win after holding on to the ropes for a pin. A few more minutes and this could have easily been a show stealer. Felt like the first two pins went by way too fast and they just wanted to rush to get the final score. That's one of my biggest gripes with these matches, very seldom do we see somebody win 2-0 so the 1-1 is already expected and kind of just feels pointless.
Winner: Chris Benoit
Rating: ***1/2

Match 7: WWE Tag Team Championship - TLC Match - Edge & Christian (c) vs. The Dudley Boyz vs. The Hardy Boyz
This is the iconic TLC match between three of the company's top tag teams... do I really even need to go further for this one? Pretty interesting to watch this in 2020 to see how it holds up... and it more than holds up. Some of the spots throughout this match had me wondering how the damn hell they were even able to walk out of this in one piece. Jeff Hardy missing a Swanton Bomb through two tables off a ladder or Bubba Ray Dudley getting tossed off a ladder through four freaking tables are spots that I will just never forget and ones that will boggle my mind every single time I see it. Funny to see Lita come out and interfere to help out The Hardy Boyz and get Speared by Edge for her troubles. Nasty looking Spear that saw Lita hit her head on a ladder on the way down. Edge & Christian were able to will their way to victory and retain the gold in a classic match. I don't think it's even necessary to go any further for this match, we've all seen it and we all know the legacy it has left behind. Classic stuff. 
Winners: Edge & Christian
Rating: *****

Match 8: Stinkface Match - The Kat vs. Terri
This is where The Attitude Era shines... not. Yes, you read that right, this is a Stinkface match between The Kat and Terri with Al Snow in The Kat's corner and Perry Saturn in Terri's. This match was as bad as you would expect. I say this all the time but it is insane how far women's wrestling has come since The Attitude Era. This wasn't even wrestling, it was just these two parading around in barely any clothes before Kat was able to stinkface Terri in the corner for the win. By the way, is stinkface one word or two words? 
Winner: The Kat
Rating: 1/4*

Match 9: The Undertaker vs. Kane
Do we have a count on how many times these two have squared off against each other in a WWE ring? That would be super interesting, I'm pretty sure I've seen just about all of them. Anyway, the bell never rings for this match as the two just brawl both inside and out of the ring with The Undertaker doing his best to rip off the mask of Kane. He is also able to bloody Kane up with some shots with the steel steps along with a steel chair. Kane does his best to fight back but the onslaught of Undertaker is too much and once Kane's mask gets completely ripped off, he dashes to the back and leaves. The bell never rang so the match never officially began but this was more of an angle above anything and it was enjoyable to at least watch. Just doesn't make sense why all the rules get tossed out of the window here. Just take what The Attitude Era gives you. 
Winner: n/a
Rating: **3/4

Match 10: WWE Championship - The Rock (c) vs. Kurt Angle vs. Triple H
The feud going into this one was basically Triple H vs. Kurt Angle as they fight for the love of Stephanie McMahon with The Rock in the background. Loved it, thought it worked here and it certainly would make sense to give the spotlight to someone like Angle while The Rock continues rolling. Triple H doesn't wait for The Rock to enter the match and attacks Angle before it all and lands the infamous Pedigree through the announcers table until The Rock finally comes out as the crowd absolutely erupts for him. I certainly do miss the days when the crowds were always hot for these main event matches. Angle gets the stretcher treatment and gets rolled to the back until Triple H brings him back and refuses to let him leave. Action was fast and furious her and The Rock did a great job in making you feel bad for him as he fought as the underdog. Stephanie inserts herself back in the match and slides a sledgehammer in between Triple H and Angle but ends up getting inadvertently punched in the face by Triple H. The Rock later takes advantage of the mess and hits a People's Elbow on Triple H to pick up the win. Angle then escapes with Stephanie in his hands after the match. Fantastic main event and loved how they put the focus on Triple H and Angle which allowed them to underestimate The Rock who would then take advantage of it all. That is how you tell a story.
Winner: The Rock
Rating: ****1/4

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
As with usual Attitude Era PPVs, there's a lot of good and a lot of bad here. However, the good was undeniable and especially the TLC Match that has gone down as one of the most influential and memorable matches in professional wrestling history. If you can see through the bad, definitely relive this event because you will definitely be pleased. 
Rating: 7.5/10

WWE Summerslam PPV Review Archive

WWE Summerslam 1999 - https://rayalmighty1.blogspot.com/2020/08/wwe-summerslam-1999-review.html

 

WWE Summerslam 2000 - https://rayalmighty1.blogspot.com/2020/08/wwe-summerslam-2000-review.html

WWE Summerslam 2005 - https://rayalmighty1.blogspot.com/2015/07/wwe-summerslam-2005-review.html

WWE Summerslam 2006 - https://rayalmighty1.blogspot.com/2015/08/wwe-summerslam-2006-review.html

WWE Summerslam 2007 - https://rayalmighty1.blogspot.com/2016/08/wwe-summerslam-2007-review.html

WWE Summerslam 2008 - https://rayalmighty1.blogspot.com/2017/08/wwe-summerslam-2008-review.html

WWE Summerslam 2009 - https://rayalmighty1.blogspot.com/2014/07/wwe-summerslam-2009-review.html

WWE Summerslam 2011 - https://rayalmighty1.blogspot.com/2014/07/wwe-summerslam-2011-review.html

WWE Summerslam 2012 - https://rayalmighty1.blogspot.com/2013/10/wwe-summerslam-2012-review.html

WWE Summerslam 2013 - https://rayalmighty1.blogspot.com/2015/02/wwe-summerslam-2013-review.html

WWE Summerslam 2014 - https://rayalmighty1.blogspot.com/2015/07/wwe-summerslam-2014-review.html

WWE Summerslam 2015 - https://rayalmighty1.blogspot.com/2018/08/wwe-summerslam-2015-review.html

WWE Summerslam 2016 (Part 1) - https://rayalmighty1.blogspot.com/2019/07/wwe-summerslam-2016-review-part-1.html

WWE Summerslam 2016 (Part 2) - https://rayalmighty1.blogspot.com/2019/08/wwe-summerslam-2016-review-part-2.html

WWE Summerslam 2017 (Part 1) - https://rayalmighty1.blogspot.com/2020/07/wwe-summerslam-2017-review-part-1.html

WWE Summerslam 2017 (Part 2) - https://rayalmighty1.blogspot.com/2020/08/wwe-summerslam-2017-review-part-2.html

WWE Summerslam 1999 Review

WWE Summerslam 1999
August 22, 1999
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Jesse Ventura serves as the special guest referee as Stone Cold Steve Austin must defend his WWE Championship against both Triple H and Mankind. Also, The Rock takes on Billy Gunn in a Kiss My Ass Match.

Match 1: WWE European Championship & WWE Intercontinental Championship - D'Lo Brown (c) vs. Jeff Jarrett
How many men can say they have held both the European Championship and Intercontinental Championship at the same time? Before the match, Jeff Jarrett kicks Debra from ringside before D'Lo Brown then allows her to accompany him to the ring for the match. Pretty decent match here, people seem to forget that D'Lo was actually pretty damn good in the ring. Debra distracts the referee as she argues with Jarrett which then allows Mark Henry to interfere... and BOOM. Swerve. Henry nails Brown with the guitar and the referee apparently doesn't hear any of this and doesn't see all the guitar particles laying around the ring. Jarrett wins and celebrates with both Henry and Debra afterwards as they all played Brown. Decent opening match with a nice swerve at the end.
Winner: Jeff Jarrett
Rating: **1/4

Match 2: Tag Team Turmoil Match - Edge & Christian vs. The Hardy Boyz vs. Mideon & Viscera vs. Droz & Prince Albert vs. The Acolytes vs. The Holly Cousins
Interesting to see Michael Cole interviewing both Edge & Christian before the match and thinking how relevant the two still are in 2020. Also pretty funny to hear Jim Ross on commentary describe all the competitors as "young and hungry." Also interesting to see The Hardy Boyz work with Gangrel as heels. Times were different in 1999. Action was pretty decent from all teams and slowed down the most once Edge & Christian got eliminated from the match. This led to The Acolytes scoring the win over The Holly Cousins to earn a Tag Team Championship bout... the next night on Raw. Wonderful.
Winners: The Acolytes
Rating: **1/4

Match 3: WWE Hardcore Championship - Big Boss Man (c) vs. Al Snow
Nothing screams Attitude Era more than a Hardcore Championship match and I'm here for all of it. Road Dogg follows the match and does some commentary of his own with a microphone in hand throughout the match. Gee, wonder if he's going to interfere or not. Anyway, Al Snow attacks Big Boss Man on the stage before the fight spills backstage and eventually into the streets of Minneapolis. Fun match here that obviously doesn't take itself too seriously with the fight going from the streets into a little bar where they beat the living daylights out of each other inside. However, Road Dogg attacks Boss Man from behind that leads to Snow covering him for the win. I wonder how many fishy finishes we are going to get for the night.
Winner: Al Snow
Rating: **

Match 4: WWE Women's Championship - Ivory (c) vs. Tori
Holy crap, I totally forgot how ripped Ivory was back in the day because damn! Some of these Attitude Era matches with the women can be brutally bad... and this match was point and case. Pretty sloppy action here with a botched finish that looked like it was supposed to be a sunset flip of sorts. Wow, how far we have come with the women's division. You can skip this. That's pretty much all there is to say about this one.
Winner: Ivory
Rating: 1/2*

Match 5: Lion's Den Match - Steve Blackman vs. Ken Shamrock
Interesting match to have here, Ken Shamrock was very much over at this time and Steve Blackman was such a beast. You can make the argument that both guys were pretty much ahead of their time. Rules for this match are pretty unclear, I guess you have to exit the cage to win the match but the finish saw Shamrock knock out Blackman with a kendo stick to win the match without seeing him exit the cage at all. The match itself was pretty enjoyable for the most part with the two tossing each other into the cage and beating with other up with foreign objects. Just a little too short to really give a better score and when taking into account how the instructions were so unclear, this is the best score I could come up with. Would have loved to see more of this during this time if they just... ya know... figured out the rules for it.
Winner: Ken Shamrock
Rating: **

Match 6: Greenwich Street Fight - Test vs. Shane McMahon
Shane McMahon isn't a fan of Test dating his sister so he's out to make sure to put an end to that here. Pretty funny to see The Mean Street Posse come out to sit ringside for the match on a couch with some champagne. They're definitely not going to interfere, right? The two brawl in and out of the ring with The Posse eventually helping Shane before Test is able to take them out briefly. However, the numbers game would catch up to Test and Shane would get the upper hand and even went as far as hitting an elbow from the top through onto Test through an announcers table. Good stuff. Shane had things in control until Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco came out to eliminate The Posse from the equation and leave an opening for Test to score the win with a diving elbow of his own from the top rope. Afterwards, Stephanie McMahon comes out to celebrate as she stares down an unconscious Shane. Attitude Era stuff was just so wild.
Winner: Test
Rating: ***

Match 7: WWE World Tag Team Championship - Kane & X-Pac (c) vs. The Big Show & The Undertaker
Always enjoyed watching The Big Show and The Undertaker team up or go against each other for that matter. Crazy to think how long the careers of them and Kane were in the WWE as they feuded with and against each other for so many years to come after this. Kane has the unenviable task of carrying himself and X-Pac to a victory against two behemoths. I liked how they built the story around Kane & X-Pac being underdogs and implementing that into the match really worked with Kane seemingly having to fight against both Show and Undertaker extra hard to rebound for X-Pac in a lot of situations. X-Pac was able to hit use a couple low blows (RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE REFEREE) at times to evade but eventually, Big Show and Undertaker would catch up. Big Show hit a Chokeslam on X-Pac but after only stepping on him for the pin, X-Pac was able to kick out. This allowed Undertaker to enter the match himself and hit a Tombstone to get the win for his team as both Undertaker and Big Show argue after the match about the pin. Not bad but wasn't like I was expecting greatness out of this. It was what it needed to be and just how you would expect a match from these guys to go.
Winners: The Big Show & The Undertaker
Rating: **1/2

Match 8: Kiss My Ass Match - Billy Gunn vs. The Rock
Prior to the match starting, Billy Gunn brings out a rather large woman and declares that this is the butt The Rock will be having to kiss. Hilarious to note how Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler were ripping her throughout the match, absolutely no chance the WWE would get away with some of this stuff in 2020. They would be cancelled so fast. Decent match here with some nice back and forth action before Gunn decides to finally bring in the large woman in the ring for Rocky to kiss. Instead, Rock is able to shove Gunn's face into the lady and hit him with a Rock Bottom along with a People's Elbow to score the win. Match was fairly short and good for what it was. Pretty funny to watch Billy Gunn get his head shoved into that woman's behind but nothing too exciting.
Winner: The Rock
Rating: **3/4

Match 9: WWE Championship - Stone Cold Steve Austin (c) vs. Mankind vs. Triple H
Love having Jesse Ventura serve as the special guest referee for this one, his presence always adds to whatever is going on in or out of the ring. He's serving as the referee to prevent any shenanigans going on... I'm sure we know how that one's gonna turn out. Ventura eventually had to throw Chyna out of the match and also had his back turned when Triple H was using a steel chair against Stone Cold Steve Austin. Oh, there was also a random Shane McMahon interference after Ventura refused to do a pin count for Triple H. So much shenanigans but I did like watching Ventura toss Shane out of the ring. The crowd was extremely hot for Austin but much of the match felt like he was just a third wheel, even as the defending champion. Definitely a cluster of a main event here and just never felt like it got out of first gear. The Attitude Era was great in having matches like this one but for whatever reason, this one was so forgettable and didn't feel like a big Summerslam main event. Mankind took some hard bumps throughout the match but nothing like some of the crazier things we've seen him done before. Mankind got a pretty surprising win here after hitting Austin with a DDT. The crowd popped but you could almost hear the disappointment as their hero in Stone Cold lost the match. Weird match that is easily forgettable and just didn't live up to its expectations. 
Winner: Mankind
Rating: ***1/4

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Am I being too hard on the show? Maybe, but you could also make the argument that I'm being too kind on this show. There is absolutely no way the WWE could get away with churning out a show like this in 2020. Let alone it being Summerslam, this was just not a good show. Aside from maybe the main event, this just lacked good in-ring action and didn't have anything that was memorable or worth going back to watch. Sorry, Attitude Era marks, this one just ain't it.
Rating: 3.5/10

WWE Summerslam 2017 Review (Part 2)

WWE Summerslam 2017
August 20, 2017
Brooklyn, New York

If Brock Lesnar wants to hold on to his Universal Championship, he must go through the biggest and baddest stars of the Raw roster. A fatal four-way match determines who leaves the biggest event of the summer as the top dog of the WWE. 

Match 6: Bray Wyatt vs. Finn Balor
Interesting feud heading into this one with Finn Balor bringing out his demon side in his attempt to go against Bray Wyatt and his demons. Dig the entrance from Balor as the children singing "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" before his music hits. Nice touch. The Match itself was pretty bland, Wyatt is able to get in some offense but Balor was too much to contain. Once Wyatt had an opening, he did his signature taunt that had no effect on Balor. Balor was able to quickly hit his Coup de Grace on Wyatt to secure the win in about 10 minutes. Like I said, a pretty bland match but nobody was really expecting anything amazing and it didn't need to be for a match like this. Take it or leave it. 
Winner: Finn Balor
Rating: **1/4

Match 7: WWE Raw Tag Team Championship - The Bar (c) vs. Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose
Loved the reunion between Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose during the summer of 2017 as they challenge both Cesaro and Sheamus for the gold. Always love to note how Cesaro and Rollins worked very well with each other in the Ring of Honor days as they now headline big WWE shows, pretty damn cool. Solid action here between the two teams that felt a little like watching a Raw main event for the better part of the match until they finally got the ball really rolling in the latter end. Also loved Cesaro running into the crowd to tear apart a beach ball, legendary shit right there. Rollins is able to hit a hurricanrana on on Cesaro that drives him into Sheamus as Ambrose hits a Dirty Deeds DDT to secure the big win. Solid match and cool to see Rollins and Ambrose win the tag titles at a Summerslam event, makes the belts get a bit of a rub in the process. 
Winners: Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose
Rating: ***1/2

Match 8: WWE United States Championship - AJ Styles (c) vs. Kevin Owens
Speaking of guys who were once Ring of Honor stars, we have AJ Styles and Kevin Owens going at it with Shane McMahon serving as the guest referee. These two have great chemistry and it certainly showed here. Great action with each guy getting in a good amount of offense against each other and they played the story of Shane being the third man in the match nicely. The nearfalls were believable here and the spots with Shane didn't insult your intelligence like most matches with referee bumps do. Owens thought he secured the win as Shane made a 3 count until cancelling his decision after realizing that Styles had his foot on the bottom rope. Owens and Shane get into a little bit of a shoving match and soon after, Styles capitalizes on the mayhem and hits Owens with both a Phenomenal Forearm along with a Styles Clash to pick up the big win. Great match. 
Winner: AJ Styles
Rating: ***3/4

Match 9: WWE Championship - Jinder Mahal (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
The hype for Shinsuke Nakamura was for real, everyone and their mother thought that Summerslam 2017 was going to be the event of his official crowning as WWE Champion. Unfortunately for him, the WWE was way bigger on Jinder Mahal. Very cool to see how they showed both broadcasts from the perspective of the Indian and Japanese announcers, nice touch. Nakamura was able to get in his signature offense against Mahal but fighting both Mahal and The Singh Brothers proved to be too much as a late distraction caused Mahal to hit his Khallas finisher to score the win. This was a fairly short match that only ran a bit over 10 minutes and while many were criticizing the match over that fact, I felt like it was exactly what it needed to be. This is their first encounter and it sets up bigger matches between the two down the line after this as Nakamura now his out with the distractions from The Singh Brothers. Mahal just gets way too much hate. 
Winner: Jinder Mahal
Rating: ***

Match 10: WWE Universal Championship - Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Braun Strowman vs. Samoa Joe vs. Roman Reigns
Four of the biggest (maybe even literally) guys in the company and all in their prime... this is the ultimate Summerslam main event. Crowd is pumped for this one and you can feel the buzz in the air as Brock Lesnar circles the ring as his opponents all stare him down. This was a war and Lesnar was the star of it all. Crowd was mostly hot for Braun Strowman going into this one and got even hotter for him when he destroyed Lesnar by driving him through two tables and toppling him with another one. Crowd was going bonkers at this point. However, the only real drawback I had for the match was the few minutes that Lesnar was out of the match, the action in the ring definitely took a step back and the crowd just wasn't as invested as much to what was happening. The action picked up more again once he returned to the ring and eventually hit Roman Reigns with an F5 to secure the win. Interesting choice to have Reigns eat the pin here since it would have made more sense to have Samoa Joe eat it considering he was the last person to challenge Lesnar before this and they still had some beef to settle. Regardless, amazing main event and easily one of the best Summerslam matches in quite some time. Everyone thought for sure that Lesnar was going to drop the belt but they hit us with that swerve. Good stuff.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
Rating: ****3/4

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
That main event was worth the price of admission alone. These shows can be way too long and drag at times but this one went by pretty smoothly and most matches on the card played their role nicely. However, the card was still pretty forgettable aside from the main event which was absolutely electric. If there's any real reason to remember this show, it's for that. Brock Lesnar is the best in the game. 
Rating: 7.5/10

WWE Summerslam 2017 Review (Part 1)

WWE Summerslam 2017
August 20, 2017
Brooklyn, New York

If Brock Lesnar wants to hold on to his Universal Championship, he must go through the biggest and baddest stars of the Raw roster. A fatal four-way match determines who leaves the biggest event of the summer as the top dog of the WWE. 

Match 1: John Cena vs. Baron Corbin
Baron Corbin's dreams of becoming a WWE Champion slipped away from him after he failed to successfully cash in his Money in the Bank contract after John Cena caused a distraction against him. John Cena doesn't look worried at all about his competition in the ring and even had time to tell JBL how shook Corbin was while putting on JBL's cowboy hat. However, Corbin was able to get in a decent amount of offense in against Cena but let's face it, we all knew what the end result was going to be here. An Attitude Adjustment from Cena ends the match pretty quickly. As of 2020, this was the last time we saw Cena in action during the biggest event of the summer and it's pretty interesting to see how his career was beginning to really slow down at this point.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: **1/4

Match 2: WWE SmackDown Women's Championship - Naomi (c) vs. Natalya
Feel like this match would have been the better option to open up the show. Nonetheless, Naomi puts her title on the line against Natalya. Naomi had some serious steam behind her at this point and was really coming into her own as the brand's champion. Good match here for what it was with the crowd just having trouble sinking their teeth into things. Another reason why I think this would have been better to open the show, crowd would definitely have invested more into this. Regardless, Natalya gets a pretty surprising victory here by submitting Naomi with the Sharpshooter. I liked the ending but the whole match just felt a little too dull for what I was expecting from the two.
Winner: Natalya
Rating: **1/2

Match 3: Shark Cage Match - Big Cass vs. The Big Show
Summerslam has been known to have some bizarre matches... this is one of them. At this point, Enzo Amore was becoming a lost cause and the dead crowd behind his promo before the match proved that. Enzo is being suspended above the ring in a shark cage while The Big Show fights for his honor against Big Cass. As you would expect, a pretty boring match here that probably went on a few minutes longer than it needed to. Enzo tried to add some spice to the match by escaping the shark cage but after quickly getting knocked out by Cass, I question if there was any point to it. Cass hits his Empire Elbow on Show to secure the win.
Winner: Big Cass
Rating: *1/4

Match 4: Randy Orton vs. Rusev
Rusev attacks Randy Orton before the match to get the upper hand on him for the match. Unfortunately, Orton is able to toss Rusev into a turnbuckle before hitting him with an RKO for the win in less than 10 seconds. That was possibly the fastest Summerslam match ever. Guess they just didn't have enough time on the card for these two. 
Winner: Randy Orton
Rating: n/a

Match 5: WWE Raw Women's Championship - Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Sasha Banks
Sasha Banks is looking to score her 4th Women's Championship here against Alexa Bliss. Before the match, Bayley wishes Banks luck which I thought was pretty cool considering their history in the Barclays Center. The whole match was essentially Banks playing defense against Bliss and while there were some cool spots spread out throughout the whole match, much of it felt a bit too slow considering how good these two can be in the ring. Banks is able to lock Bliss in a Bank Statement out of nowhere to submit Bliss for the win. I dug how the submission victory came out of nowhere but it just felt like it was a one-sided affair up until Banks miraculously pulled out the win. Not a fan of the Women's Championship just getting tossed around left and right to everyone.
Winner: Sasha Banks
Rating: **1/4