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WWE SummerSlam 2011

WWE SummerSlam 2011 was a Pay Per View event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on August 14, 2011 , at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

It's the 24° edition of the SummerSlam event series, after WWE SummerSlam 2010 .

The show features wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brands.

The event had an attendance of 17,404 fans. The main event of the show was CM Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio .

Below you can find the full match card and results of WWE SummerSlam 2011, and more information about the event.

• Event Name WWE SummerSlam 2011
• Promotion World Wrestling Entertainment
• Event Type Pay Per View
• Brand Raw SmackDown
• Event Date August 14, 2011
• Event Series SummerSlam

• Location Los Angeles, California
• Arena Staples Center
• Network On-Demand
• Attendance 17,404
• Running Time 3 hours
• Theme Song "Bright Lights, Bigger City" by Cee Lo Green feat. Wiz Khalifa
• Main Event CM Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio

WWE SummerSlam 2011 Results

• Rey Mysterio, John Morrison & Kofi Kingston defeat Alberto Del Rio & Awesome Truth (The Miz & R-Truth)
• Mark Henry defeats Sheamus via Count-out

WWE Divas Championship

• Wade Barrett defeats Daniel Bryan

World Heavyweight Championship No Holds Barred Match

Wwe championship unification match, wwe championship.

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• Events with Guest Referees
• Events with No Holds Barred matches

SummerSlam 2011

• View history
• 1 Background
• 2 Production
• 4 Other on-screen talent
• 6 DVD release
• 7 External links

Background [ ]

SummerSlam featured professional wrestling matches involving different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds, plots, and storylines that played out on World Wrestling Entertainment 's (WWE) television programs. Wrestlers portrayed villains or heroes as they followed a series of events that built tension, and culminated into a wrestling match or series of matches.

The main feud heading into SummerSlam from the SmackDown brand is between Christian and Randy Orton , over the former's World Heavyweight Championship . At Extreme Rules in May, Christian defeated Alberto Del Rio in a Ladder match to win the vacant World Heavyweight Championship for the first time, only to lose it to Orton on the May 3 tapings of SmackDown (aired on May 6) . After two unsuccessful attempts at regaining the title from Orton at the Over the Limit and Capitol Punishment pay-per-views, Christian finally won the championship for the second time at the Money in the Bank event in July, after he spat in Orton's face, provoking the latter to kick Christian in the groin and get himself disqualified ; as per pre-match stipulations enacted by Christian, he won the title. At the July 29 episode of SmackDown , the Chief Operating Officer of WWE, Triple H , officially announced that Christian will defend his World title against Orton in a No Holds Barred match at SummerSlam.

The main event from the Raw brand for SummerSlam would pit John Cena against CM Punk , both vying for the right of being called the "undisputed" WWE Champion . In the weeks leading to the Money in the Bank pay-per-view in July on Raw, Punk announced the expiry of his WWE contract on the night of the July 17 event, en route lambasting the WWE for failing to promote him as the "best wrestler in the world", and threatened some high authority figures like WWE Chairman, Vince McMahon , of defeating Cena and leaving the venue with the WWE Championship. At Money in the Bank, Punk succeeded in pinning Cena to win the title, and even after McMahon tried to have Alberto Del Rio - who had won the Raw Money in the Bank briefcase earlier that night - cash in his contract against Punk, the latter nevertheless left the arena with the championship. The following night on Raw, McMahon dismissed Punk's claim to the title, and announced an 8-man tournament to decide the new WWE Champion. Also, on the same night, Triple H ( kayfabe ) "fired" McMahon from his position of the Chairman, and himself assumed control over WWE as the Chief Operating Officer. On the July 25 edition of Raw, Rey Mysterio defeated The Miz in the finals to become the WWE Champion; however, under Triple H's orders, Mysterio defended his title later on the same night against Cena, who beat Mysterio to win the title for a record ninth time . However, after the match, Punk returned to the WWE with his own title belt that he won at Money in the Bank, thereby creating an ambiguous situation of the presence of "two WWE Champions". On the August 1 episode of Raw, Triple H announced that Punk would face Cena in a one-on-one match at SummerSlam to crown the "undisputed" WWE Champion.

The secondary feud heading into SummerSlam on the SmackDown brand was between Sheamus and Mark Henry . In recent weeks, Henry put Kane and Big Show out of action by crushing their legs with steel chairs. On the July 29 edition of SmackDown , Henry came to the ring for his match but when his opponent Bobby Howard came out. Henry was angry and SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long informed him that nobody wanted to fight him. Sheamus came out and told Long that if he's looking for someone to fight Henry he'll fight him. Sheamus then confronted Henry about being a bully and slapped him but when Henry tried to attack him Sheamus scared him off. The following week, Henry defeated Vladimir Kozlov and also put him out of action by crushing his leg with a chair the same way he did Big Show and Kane. When Henry faced new superstar Johnny Curtis on the August 12 episode of SmackDown , he defeated him and grabbed a chair but Sheamus made the save. Sheamus then challenged Henry but Henry dragged Curtis out of the ring and dropped him with a Worlds Strongest Slam on the floor. It was later announced that Henry would face Sheamus at SummerSlam.

The Divas feud entering SummerSlam was between Kelly Kelly and Beth Phoenix over the WWE Divas Championship . On the August 1 episode of Raw, Phoenix won a Divas battle royal to become the #1 Contender for Kelly's title at SummerSlam. Phoenix turned villainous by attacking Kelly in and out of the ring, and subsequently told Kelly that "her days as the perky blonde bimbo were over."

Production [ ]

Much like the previous year's SummerSlam , WWE will promote the event with its SummerSlam Axxess fan convention. The convention will be held at the Nokia Plaza in LA Live from August 13 to August 14. THQ will reveal further details of the latest installment of their new video game that will replace the WWE SmackDown series.

Results [ ]

• Dark Match : Dolph Ziggler defeated Alex Riley
• Kofi Kingston , John Morrison and Rey Mysterio defeated The Miz , R-Truth and Alberto Del Rio in a 6-Man Tag Team Match (9:40)
• Mark Henry defeated Sheamus by count out (9:22)
• Kelly Kelly (w/ Eve ) (c) defeated Beth Phoenix (w/ Natalya ) to retain the WWE Divas Championship (6:48)
• Wade Barrett defeated Daniel Bryan (11:47)
• Randy Orton defeated Christian (c) to win the World Heavyweight Championship in No Holds Barred Match (23:48)
• CM Punk (c) defeated John Cena (c) to win the WWE Championship (Undisputed) (with Triple H as the Special guest referee ) (24:15)
• Alberto Del Rio defeated CM Punk (c) to win the WWE Championship (0:05)

Other on-screen talent [ ]

See also [ ].

• List of WWE pay-per-view events
• SummerSlam Axxess 2011
• World Wrestling Entertainment/Event history
• Event gallery

DVD release [ ]

External links [ ]

• 1 Von Erich family
• 2 The Tonga Twins
• 3 David Von Erich

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WWE SummerSlam 2011 Results & Review Coverage Live

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WWE SummerSlam Results – August 14, 2011

Backstage: Josh Matthews Interviews Christian

Backstage, Josh Matthews is with the World Heavyweight Champion, Christian. Matthews talks about how Christian received some news that would change everything about SummerSlam. Matthews asks him what the news is. Christian says he has himself an insurance policy and Randy Orton will not be leaving tonight with the title. Christian reminds us that this match is a NHB match. Christian says they’re in Hollywood, so he’s going to make this match an epic blockbuster full of action. He says he’s like Harry Potter. He says Orton is like Cowboys & Aliens – an overproduced, overrated, overmatched person.

Cee-Lo Green Performance

Back in the arena, Justin Roberts introduces us to Grammy award winning Cee-Lo Green. Green performs the SummerSlam theme song. After that, he performs the song “F-ck You”, only he performs the edited version. As he sings that song, some of the WWE Divas come out to dance around while he sings.

WWE Divas Title: Kelly Kelly (c) vs. Beth Phoenix

The current WWE Divas Champion, Kelly Kelly comes out with Eve Torres. Out next is the challenger, “The Glamazon” Beth Phoenix, accompanied by Natalya. Our WWE Divas title contest is now officially underway. Kelly Kelly immediately goes to work on Phoenix with big forearm shots to the face. Beth throws her off but Kelly Kelly is right back on her. Beth slams Kelly into the corner but Kelly fights her way out of it. Kelly Kelly knocks Beth out to the floor with a vengeance. Kelly climbs to the middle rope and hits Beth with a big splash onto the floor. Natalya and Eve stare each other down as Kelly rolls Beth back into the ring. Out of nowhere, Phoenix clotheslines Kelly down hard. Beth military presses Kelly over her heard and then drops her throat-first across the top rope. Beth continues the attack on Kelly while Natalya is shown looking on from the outside of the ring. Kelly hits a neckbreaker on Beth out of nowhere to slow down her momentum. Kelly fighting back with punches but Beth slows her down with a big slam into the corner. Beth leaves Kelly hanging upside down in the corner. She picks her up by her hair and slams her back down. Beth picks Kelly up for the Glam-Slam but Kelly reverses it into a rollup pin attempt and she gets the 1, 2, 3. Kelly Kelly retains the Divas title.

Winner and STILL WWE Divas Champion: Kelly Kelly

Continued on page four …

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WWE SummerSlam 2011 Results: Winners, Matches, Venue, Attendance

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SummerSlam 2011 Full Result

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WWE SummerSlam 2011 Results

The 24th annual WWE SummerSlam came to you, live on pay-per-view from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. At what would promise to be a historic event, the first Undisputed WWE Champion in history would be crowned as WWE Champion CM Punk goes one-on-one with WWE Champion John Cena to determine one Undisputed WWE Champion and, to make sure that only one champion walks out of SummerSlam, WWE COO Triple H was the law as the Special Referee of the major main event. After winning the World Heavyweight Title by the most dubious of ways at Money-in-the-Bank by forcing Randy Orton to get himself disqualified to lose the title, Christian defends the World Heavyweight Title against former champion Randy Orton in a No Holds Barred Match, where there will be no disqualifications and no count-outs. After destroying the likes of Kane and “The World’s Largest Athlete” Big Show, “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry may finally meet his match in “The Celtic Warrior” Sheamus as the two super heavyweights go one-on-one. After taking issue with Daniel Bryan being the SmackDown holder of the Money-in-the-Bank briefcase, Wade Barrett faced the man himself, Daniel Bryan. After proclaiming an end to the era of “perky, blonde, bimbos” and aligning herself with Natalya in an attempt to usher in a new era in the Divas division, “The Glamazon” Beth Phoenix challenged Kelly Kelly for the Divas Title.

Match Results

• 6-Man Tag: Rey Mysterio, Kofi Kingston, & John Morrison def. The Miz, Alberto Del Rio, & R-Truth by Rey Mysterio pinning R-Truth following the 619 & Splash.
• Mark Henry def. Sheamus by count-out following the World’s Strongest Slam through the ringside barricade.
• Divas Championship: Kelly Kelly (c) def. Beth Phoenix by roll-up to retain.
• Wade Barrett def. Daniel Bryan by pin following Wasteland.
• World Heavyweight Championship: No Holds Barred: Randy Orton def. Christian (c) by pin following a mid-air RKO on the steel steps to win the World Heavyweight Title.
• Undisputed WWE Championship: Special Referee- Triple H: CM Punk (c) def. John Cena (c) by pin following the GTS to become the Undisputed WWE Champion.
• Undisputed WWE Championship: Alberto Del Rio (with Kevin Nash) def. CM Punk (c) by pin following an enziguri to win the Undisputed WWE Title.

Detailed Results

After legendary guitarist Adam Jones kicks off the show with a special rendition of the National Anthem, the opening match of the night was a 6-Man Tag Match as RAW’s “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank” teams with R-Truth and former WWE Champion The Miz to face Kofi Kingston, Los Angeles’ own John Morrison, and “The Master of the 619” Rey Mysterio. At the end of a chaotic match, it was Rey Mysterio hitting the 619 on R-Truth and following it up with a splash from the top rope en route to picking up the win for his team. Can Rey Mysterio achieve similar success when he challenges the new Undisputed WWE Champion for the gold on RAW?

Backstage, WWE Champion CM Punk is with the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations, John Laurinaitis as the EVP demands an apology from CM Punk for the kick Punk delivered on RAW. After delivering a sarcastic apology to John Laurinaitis, CM Punk is then confronted by the wife of WWE COO Triple H, Stephanie McMahon! Stephanie wishes Punk “luck” in his match and Punk responds by advising Stephanie to go talk to her husband or her father. Stephanie then reveals that Triple H, Vince McMahon, and even fellow WWE Champion John Cena wish him “luck”. Stephanie then brings up the comments made by Punk several weeks ago, saying that she is just Vince’s “clueless daughter”. Punk agrees that Stephanie is “clueless”, but corrects her, saying that he called her “idiotic”. Stephanie then offers Punk a handshake with a wish of “good luck”, but Punk declines, saying that he knows where her hand has been!

After weeks of a seemingly unstoppable path of destruction, targeting the likes of Kane, Big Show, and even attacking an audio technician, “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry went one-on-one with the only man brave enough to go toe-to-toe with the destructive force, “The Celtic Warrior” Sheamus. During the hard-hitting match, Sheamus managed to hit the Brogue Kick on Mark Henry, but, unfortunately for Sheamus, the kick sent Henry out of the ring. Sheamus then went to the outside to retrieve Mark Henry, but Henry recovered, picking Sheamus up, sending “The Celtic Warrior” spine-first into the ring. Mark Henry then delivers a modified World’s Strongest Slam, slamming Sheamus through the ringside barricade and Sheamus attempted to make his way back to the ring, but was unable to make it, leading to a count-out victory for Mark Henry!

The Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter responsible for the smash hit theme song of SummerSlam, “Bright Lights Bigger City”, made an appearance at SummerSlam as one of the judges on the NBC series, “The Voice”, Cee Lo Green performed live in the Staples Center. After performing “Bright Lights, Bigger City”, Cee Lo Green was joined on stage by Rosa Mendes, Alicia Fox, and The Bella Twins as he performs the song that put Cee Lo on the map, “Forget You”!

After Beth Phoenix and Natalya both vowed to put an end to the “blonde, perky bimbos” before the two powerhouse Divas formed the Divas of Doom, “The Glamazon” Beth Phoenix, with Natalya in her corner, challenged Kelly Kelly for the Divas Title, with Eve in Kelly Kelly’s corner. At the end of a hard-fought match, it was Kelly Kelly countering the Glam Slam into a roll-up on Beth Phoenix en route to picking up the upset win to retain the Divas Title.

After recent verbal and physical confrontations with the Money-in-the-Bank winner, Wade Barrett went one-on-one with SmackDown’s “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank” Daniel Bryan. In the end, Wade Barrett finally put down the tenacious Daniel Bryan as Barrett hits Wasteland on “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank” en route to picking up the win.

Before his World Heavyweight Title defense against Randy Orton in a No Holds Barred Match, Christian states that, unlike Theodore Long and Triple H, he is a “man of integrity” because he always “keeps his promises”. Christian then introduces the man who will be in his corner for the title defense before none other than Christian’s best friend and eleven-time World Champion, “The Rated-R Superstar” Edge! After embracing his best friend, Christian, Edge reminds everyone that he will “never be medically cleared” to compete in the WWE again, but he was kind of “happy” because he got to “pass the torch” to Christian. Edge continues that, after weeks of “whining” and “complaining”, Christian finally got the title opportunity he needed to become the World Heavyweight Champion. The eleven-time World Champion takes issue with Christian winning the title by disqualification, admitting that, while he has done some “heinous things” in his career, he always did them with “style”. Edge continues that he was not “boring” and he did not “hide behind lawyers” and that, somewhere along the line, Christian became a “disgrace” to himself! Edge then states that Christian will always be his “best friend”, but he did not know that his best friend would become a “whining, crying, moaning, little bitch”! Edge then walks out on his best friend, leaving Christian to defend the World Heavyweight Title against Randy Orton, one-on-one, in a No Holds Barred Match!

After his ace in the hole, Edge, called him a “whining, moaning, little bitch” before leaving Christian to defend the gold alone, Christian would defend the World Heavyweight Title against “The Viper” Randy Orton in a match with no disqualifications and no count-outs as the gold was on the line in a No Holds Barred Match. During the match, Randy Orton took two tables out from under the ring and, after avoiding one table set up by Christian, Orton put Christian on the top rope before delivering a superplex to a folded table! Shortly after this, Christian somehow managed to recover, sending Orton skull-first into the steel steps before blasting the challenger with a television monitor. Christian then had revenge on his mind as Christian put Orton on top of the Spanish announce table, looking to deliver Orton’s own RKO, but Orton countered, delivering the RKO to Christian all the way through the table! After both combatants managed to make their way back into the ring, Randy Orton went for the RKO, but Christian was able to recover and hit the Killswitch on Orton, but the challenger was still able to kick out. Christian then headed to the outside to grab two steel chairs before setting them up for a planned Con-chair-to on Orton, but before doing so, the champion spit in the face of Orton. This act by Christian reinvigorated Orton, allowing Orton to dodge the Con-chair-to before an enraged Orton delivered a steel chair shot to the back of Christian before running at Christian with the chair, knocking Christian off of the apron and through the table set up at ringside!

After this, Randy Orton dragged Christian back into the ring, placing the head of the World Heavyweight Champion on the steel steps before attempting to stomp Christian’s skull into the steel. However, Christian managed to dodge the move, but was unable to dodge a powerslam through a table in the corner by Orton! Shortly after this, Orton delivered his suspended DDT to Christian, smashing Christian’s skull into a metal garbage can. Orton then set up for the RKO on the steel steps, but Christian was able to counter at the last second with a kendo stick shot to Orton’s head. Christian then went for a springboard maneuver off of the second rope, but Orton caught Christian in mid-air with the RKO to the steel steps! Orton then finally covered Christian en route to picking up the extremely hard-fought win to regain the World Heavyweight Title.

Then it was time for the highly anticipated and groundbreaking main event as, for the first time ever, there are two WWE Champions, but the main event would remedy that as WWE Champion CM Punk went one-on-one with WWE Champion John Cena with WWE COO Triple H as the Special Referee with the winner becoming the sole and Undisputed WWE Champion. During the match, Special Referee Triple H found himself at a crossroads with both CM Punk and John Cena out of it on the outside of the ring, but after counting to nine, the COO decided that the match should not end on a double count-out as “The Game” opted to physically put both Punk and Cena back into the ring, forcing the match to continue! Later on in the back-and-forth match, John Cena was able to hit the Attitude Adjustment on CM Punk, but Punk managed to kick out. Cena then went for a leg drop from the top rope on Punk, but Punk dodged the move before hitting the GTS on Cena, but Cena kicked out. Punk then paid his tribute to Randy Savage by delivering the elbow drop from the top rope, but Cena still kicked out. Shortly after this, CM Punk was able to hit the GTS on John Cena again, but when Punk went for the pin on Cena, Cena was able to get his foot on the bottom rope. However, Triple H did not see the foot on the rope and the COO counted the three, making CM Punk the new and Undisputed WWE Champion!

After the match, John Cena argued with Triple H that his foot was on the bottom rope, accusing the Special Referee of seeing it, but counting the pin anyways. A defeated John Cena then left the ring as CM Punk took his victory lap around the ring, holding his WWE Title high above his head. Punk then headed back into the ring where Triple H applauds the new champion before offering to shake Punk’s hand. However, Punk refuses, but Triple H still raises the hand of the new Undisputed WWE Champion in victory before the COO exits the ring to allow CM Punk to bask in the glory of his major, albeit controversial, title win.

However, all hell would then break loose in a sea of confusion and controversy as a familiar, long-haired freight train of a man emerged from the crowd as none other than Kevin Nash entered the ring! As Triple H looked on in disbelief from the ramp, Nash demolished the new Undisputed WWE Champion CM Punk, delivering a clothesline to the new champion before planting Punk with the Jackknife Powerbomb. Nash then escaped through the crowd as Triple H tries to comprehend what just took place. As Triple H tried to put the pieces back together over what he just witnessed, a prone and vulnerable CM Punk laid in the ring, providing the ultimate opportunity for Alberto Del Rio to come out and cash in his Money-in-the-Bank briefcase. Del Rio did just that as “The Mexican Aristocrat” delivers an enziguri to the head of CM Punk en route to pinning Punk to become the new Undisputed WWE Champion! Among mass confusion and chaos, Alberto Del Rio has achieved his “destiny” by cashing in his Money-in-the-Bank briefcase to become the new Undisputed WWE Champion. However, more questions than answers remain, answers that WWE COO Triple H will have to come up with for several individuals. How will John Cena react to Triple H not seeing his foot on the bottom rope, which led to CM Punk becoming the new Undisputed WWE Champion? Why in the world did Kevin Nash come out of nowhere to decimate CM Punk, which allowed Alberto Del Rio to cash in and become the new champion?

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WWE SummerSlam 2011 Review

The 24th edition of summerslam took place during the “summer of punk.” maybe that wasn’t the official name of the 2011 summer in wwe, but it sure felt that way thanks to the rise of cm punk..

From the memorable promo on the Raw stage in Vegas in late June to winning the WWE Title from John Cena at Money in the Bank when his contract was up, Punk went from being one of the top guys to being the guy…along with John Cena. That Punk win at Money in the Bank made him a much bigger star and it set up a huge rematch with Cena in the main event of SummerSlam.

Other than Punk vs. Cena, I was intrigued by Orton vs. Christian because they had the best Smackdown rivalry for a few months leading into their match at SummerSlam. It’s probably the best feud of Christian’s singles career and one of the best Orton had in terms of match quality.

I wrote this review live in 2011, so I’m going to use that review even though the format may be a bit different than how I currently write reviews. I wrote updated 2018 thoughts in a red font so I’ll leave that in there.

WWE Summerslam Staples Center in Los Angeles, California August 14, 2011

To open the show Adam Jones, a guitarist from the band Tool, plays the American National Anthem on the guitar. Very cool. Well done.

They aired an awesome video package that focused on the Punk/Cena feud as well as Triple H replacing Vince McMahon as the main authority figure. They had a domino effect theme throughout, which is interesting. As usual a top-notch video from WWE. Their video packages are always excellent.

They show the sold out Staples Center. It’s a legit sellout with an announced crowd of 17,404 people. Michael Cole welcomed us to the show and I’ve read that he’s joined by Booker T. and Jerry Lawler. No sign of Jim Ross yet. He’s on Twitter talking about it, so hopefully he ends up at the table once we get to the big matches.

The music of The Miz starts us out. He’s in a six man tag that was unadvertised. He comes out and the “AWESOME” balloons are out there like at WrestleMania. He says that he’s at SummerSlam and then he thanks the fans for supporting him. That’s not genuine. He claims to steal the show when “The Truth shall set you free” started. Here’s R-Truth. He talks about spiders and the crowd does the “WHAT?” chant. “Don’t what me?” He says spiders start with an “S” like SummerSlam and Cee Lo Green’s name starts with a C like conspiracy. The music of Alberto Del Rio is next. Ricardo Rodriguez introduces him in the spectacular fashion that only he can. I would like him to announce me at my wedding if I’m ever drunk enough to get married. Del Rio came out in a $230,000 Ferrari in case you were interested.

The first man out for the babyface team is Kofi Kingston, who has turned into the Raw jobber of late. They show Lawler, Cole & Booker at the announce desk where Booker can reference how the guitarist of Tool is a fan of Cole. That’s supposed to be funny. John Morrison is next out. They introduce us to the Spanish announcers. That table will be broken. Rey Mysterio is last. We now have our six men for this unannounced match. Why couldn’t they announce the match on Raw? It would have been nice to know. They showed a video of Miz attacking Rey on Raw last week, which injured him.

The Miz, R-Truth & Alberto Del Rio vs. Rey Mysterio, John Morrison & Kofi Kingston

Pre-match notes: Mysterio, Morrison and Kingston were the faces while Miz, Truth and Del Rio were the heels.

It’s 8:15pmET as the match is about to start. Jim Ross tweeted that it was a game time decision to put Booker T. at the announce desk to represent Smackdown. I guess that means no Ross on the show, which is a shame. There’s lots of fast action early on with Kingston hitting some high flying offense on The Miz. He misses Trouble in Paradise, Miz goes for Skull Crushing Finale, Kofi hits the SOS and Del Rio breaks it up at two. The crowd is cheering the heels like Miz and Del Rio a lot. Truth gets the tag as they focus on Kingston. It should be pointed out that Mysterio has a bad knee that required a MRI test, so I don’t expect him to work too much. Big pop for Del Rio getting the tag. Miz got the tag as they isolated on Kingston some more. The crowd is hot for this opener. Nice double foot stomp by Kingston on Miz. Kingston gets the tag to Mysterio while Truth gets the tag. Mysterio hits a crossbody for two. Nice counter exchange from them that Mysterio wins with a kick to the face for two. Mysterio sets up Miz & Kingston for the 619, but Del Rio stops it. Morrison hits a plancha on Del Rio. Mysterio hits the 619 on Truth. Kingston hits a corkscrew splash on Miz on the floor. Mysterio gets a top rope splash on Truth for the pin at 9:36.

Winners by pinfall: Rey Mysterio, Kofi Kingston and John Morrison

Analysis: *** A fun opening tag match to start the show. Morrison didn’t have much of an impact at all. They used it as a showcase of Mysterio because he got to face the winner of Punk vs. Cena on Raw the next night. It was not surprising that Truth took the pinfall considering Del Rio and Miz were also on the team.

(Mysterio got the win because he was getting the WWE Title match on Raw. I think they could have given Miz and Truth the win since they headlined SummerSlam three months later against The Rock and John Cena. The crowd was into this match and the action was good.)

Backstage, “Funk Man” John Laurinaitis was talking to CM Punk. He wants an apology for Punk’s kick to the head from last week. Punk sarcastically apologized. Then he smiled like a jackass. Laurinaitis left.

When Punk turned around, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley was there. She said she wanted to wish Punk good luck and offered a handshake. He replied: “I would but I know where that hand has been.” Funny line. Well played. They are teasing that the family is against Punk with a segment like this. Either this lead to something or it’s there just to make people think that.

They aired a video package on the Sheamus/Mark Henry feud including clips of Henry doing a big splash on a chair that was on Big Show’s knee. Henry also destroyed Kane while splashing a chair on the leg of Kane. Sheamus stepped up as a challenger to Henry leading to this SummerSlam match.

(Henry signed a new contract in 2011, which led to the biggest push in the career of Henry after so many start and stop pushes in his career.)

Sheamus vs. Mark Henry

Pre-match notes: Henry was the heel and Sheamus was a face.

Henry dominated early on. Sheamus showed some good babyface fire and the crowd was really behind him. A tweet from Jim Ross in case you’re wondering: “I am at SUMMER SLAM but backstage and not at ringside. Booker adds Smackdown representation not that Cole wouldn’t have. I’m twitter man.” Back to the match, Henry was dominating with his power offense. Sheamus kept making small comebacks, but they weren’t enough to take control. They did a double shoulderblock spot to build the drama. Sheamus to the top rope and he hits a shoulderblock to a standing Henry. That was cool to see. The Brogue Kick by Sheamus is dodged by Henry. He puts him down with a clothesline. Henry goes for his finisher, but Sheamus fights out and hits a Brogue Kick. That sends Henry out to the floor. Sheamus goes after him. Henry picks him, rams him into the ring post and then rams him into the barricade. Sheamus goes crashing through the barricade in an awesome spot the crowd pops huge for. Lawler just called it a “metal barricade.” No it’s not. Please retire, Jerry. Sheamus tries to crawl back in, but referee Scott Armstrong gets to ten before he could do that. Mark Henry wins by countout at 9:22.

Winner by countout: Mark Henry

Analysis: **1/4 A solid brawl that had a memorable finish. I liked their chemistry and Sheamus did very well as a babyface. This is the strongest that Mark Henry has been booked in his career as his push continued. The countout finish was rare, but it still put over Henry in a big way.

(The ending was memorable. Everything before that was just done to build up to that. Henry’s push was huge and it saw him become the World Heavyweight Champion at the September Night of Champions PPV. In an interesting note, WWE planted indy wrestler Joe Ryan at ringside right behind where Sheamus crashed so that he could react to the spot in a way that WWE wanted. Ryan went on to more fame later in the decade. I also noticed Eli Drake now of Impact Wrestling, who was in WWE developmental at one point and was also an indy wrestler also at the time.)

Backstage, Josh Mathews interviewed World Champion Christian. He said that he had an insurance policy that would benefit the entire WWE. He says the match will be an epic summer blockbuster like Harry Potter. He says Orton is like Cowboys & Aliens – an overproduced, overmatched, overrated flop. I guess whoever wrote that promo hated that movie. I have seen neither.

(I have still seen neither movie. Sorry, Harry Potter fans. It’s not my kind of movie.)

They aired a commercial for a Jason Statham movie called Killer Elite.

(This was edited out of the WWE Network version of the broadcast. Somebody alert Jason Statham so he can drive a car really fast to show how angry he is.)

Ring announcer Justin “Tie Man” Roberts welcomed Cee Lo Green to sing the SummerSlam theme song: Bright Lights Bigger City. It’s alright, it’s alright, it’s alright…and so on. Cue the “I didn’t know Men on a Mission were reuniting” jokes. Now he’s singing the “Forget You” song as the Bellas, Rosa Mendes and Alicia Fox dance with him. The crowd is dead for all of this. I don’t think this is just me. I’m mad at myself for not timing my piss break better. I don’t know how long this went because I was tweeting jokes. Let’s say five minutes.

(It’s always important to time your piss breaks wisely, my friends. That’s about all I have to add here.)

They had a commercial for Slim Jim and then the 7-11 commercial with The Miz.

Divas Championship: Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix

Pre-match notes: Kelly and Eve were the faces while Beth and Natalya were the heels.

(Kelly got a pre-match kiss on the cheek from former NHL player Sheldon Souray, who she has since married and divorced.)

Kelly has Eve by her side. Beth has Natalya. I hope Eve doesn’t unleash one of her dropkicks that never connects. Beth’s wearing a “roller derby” type outfit. It’s different for her, but it works. Natalya isn’t wearing the pink that she usually wears. Kelly went into Yelly Yelly mode as she did a headscissors to knock Beth to the floor. She goes to the middle rope and hits a clothesline onto Beth on the floor. That was impressive. Wow. Back in the ring, Beth hits a clothesline and the crowd cheers. Press slam and she drops her throat first on the top rope. Beth and Natalya are going by the name of Divas of Doom for their team, by the way. Beth hits a charge in the corner using her hip, then he rubs her ass in Kelly’s face. Kelly goes into selling a chinlock by YELLING~! because that’s what she does. Beth puts her on her shoulders, puts her in a backbreaker and leaps as a form of submission. Kelly fights out with a neckbreaker. Beth puts her in the corner, hanging her upside down and leaves Kelly in the Tree of Woe position. Side slam by Beth for two. Kelly starts YELLING~! and she rams Beth’s head into the mat several times. Kelly goes for her cartwheel clothesline into the corner. Beth goes for a Glam Slam, but Kelly rolls through and pins her for the three count at 6:33.

Winner by pinfall: Kelly Kelly

Analysis: ** That was solid. I’m surprised at how Kelly looked so credible in the match. Like I said, Beth is as good of an opponent as Kelly could have and they worked a really good match that got a decent amount of time considering how long the women usually get. I enjoyed it although I’m shocked that Kelly retained even if it was on a counter rollup.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7RbtboUBZU

(I don’t have a lot of memories of Kelly as the Divas Champion, but she ended up becoming a competent in-ring performer. Notice that I didn’t say good. I thought she was decent, though. Beth was one of the better heel women’s wrestlers of this era. I mocked Kelly’s yelling a lot while calling her YELLY YELLY because I had never seen a wrestler yell so much while selling.)

Backstage, Stephanie McMahon walked out of a locker room. It says “John Cena” on the door. Lawler wondered what could have happened there.

Backstage, R-Truth wondered about a conspiracy. Jimmy Hart was there. Random legend sighting. He talks about who he has managed. He talks about Truth needing somebody to be by his side. He tells Truth that he needs him. The setup: “It’s a big world. It’s a big business. You gotta think big…little Jimmy.” Then he went nuts as Hart said he wasn’t Little Jimmy. Then Truth asks “what are y’all looking at?” and it’s LA Lakers forward crazy man Ron Artest with a little girl that I assume is his daughter. It was a fun segment that was designed to get the Little Jimmy line out there.

(The Little Jimmy era provided some laughs.)

Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett

Pre-match notes: Bryan was a face that was the Money in the Bank contract holder. Barrett was a heel.

(I remember thinking Barrett was going to win the Money in the Bank contract. I was shocked and happy that Bryan won the contract. Cole was still doing his heel gimmick during Bryan matches where he ripped on him all the time.)

The crowd’s really behind Bryan while Barrett had decent heat. Why does Cole have to “rip” on Bryan because he’s a Vegan? They do it in every match. I guess it must be a Vince directive because he doesn’t understand Vegans. Bryan had control early on, but Barrett slowed down the pace. They had an awesome spot where Barrett booted Bryan in the face and DB took the bump all the way to the floor. It’s been a very physical match. This could be a future PPV main event because they both have really bright futures. Bryan avoid the Wasteland on the apron and kicked him to the floor. With Barrett on the floor, Bryan charged in and hit a running knee to the face. That was a fantastic spot with great camera work because they showed us Barrett’s perspective as he took the move. Bryan took him down with a barrage of kicks to the ribs and legs. Booker talked about why D-Bry is at the top of his fave five. Bryan hit Barrett in the chest with four more kicks and then a hard one to the head. The crowd popped huge for it. I read an interview with Bryan where he said he wanted to get over by having the best kicks and submissions in the business. It’s a great strategy. Barrett put him down with a kick, but Bryan fought out of with a guillotine choke. Then he turned it into a LeBell Lock. The crowd popped huge for the submissions, but Barrett made the ropes. DB goes for a hurricanrana, but Barrett crotches him and hits a clothesline to put him down. Barrett hits Wasteland for the win at 11:47. After the bell, Cole said the match was very even and said it was 50/50 right from the start.

Winner by pinfall: Wade Barrett

Analysis: ***1/4 A very good match that was 50/50 as the announcers said. I thought the match was over when Bryan had him in the LeBell Lock. Barrett fought out of it and they came up with a creative finish. I’d like to see more matches from them. Daniel Bryan getting 12+ minutes on PPV should be a monthly thing. He’s arguably the best worker in the world. The future is bright for both guys.

(I would have guessed at this time that both guys would have been World Champions in WWE. It happened for Bryan multiple times, but it did not for Barrett. Bryan losing was not that surprising because WWE loved putting the Money in the Bank briefcase on guys and then have them lose matches after they have the briefcase.)

There was a shot of some California National Guard soldiers at ringside with the crowd clapping for them.

There was a long video package for the Christian vs. Orton feud for the World Heavyweight Title on Smackdown. Their World Heavyweight Title match at Money in the Bank had a stipulation that if Orton was disqualified he would lose the title. Christian spit in Orton’s face, so Orton kicked Christian in the junk and Christian won the title in an extremely cheap manner. After the loss, Orton attacked Christian with an RKO on the table. Christian complained about the rematch, so Triple H told him that he didn’t respect Christian if he wanted respect back then he had to compete against Orton and earn that respect. The video ended with Christian saying he had a big announcement.

(I enjoyed this feud a lot. It would have been nice if Christian was booked stronger, but he fit the mold as a cheap heel that managed to become World Champion for the second time in his career.)

The World Heavyweight Champion Christian came out first. He cut a promo about the man that is going to be in his corner tonight: “My best friend, the Rated R Superstar Edge!” Edge walks out with shorter hair and a huge babyface pop. I missed that song, I missed that entrance and I missed that man. The crowd is cheering loudly.

Edge gave a hug to his buddy Christian. Edge says he’ll never be physically cleared to compete again. He says when he left he was happy because he felt like he was passing the torch to Christian. He said he was proud of Christian for finally becoming World Champion and no one deserved it more. He didn’t think it was fair that Teddy made him defend it five days after winning and then he mentions how much Christian complained for weeks after that. He mentioned that Christian won the title back, “but you did it by disqualification?” He said that he did heinous things, but he did it with style. Edge said he wasn’t boring and didn’t hide behind suits. Edge said that somewhere along the line, Christian became a disgrace to himself. Edge said he loves him and til the day he dies, Christian will be his best friend and that’s never going to change. He said Christian needed to hear this. Edge said: “I didn’t know my best friend would be a crying, whining, moaning little bitch.” Edge dropped the microphone. Edge left to a huge pop while Christian was furious. Cue Randy Orton’s music. Orton made his entrance to a good ovation.

(That was a fun promo and segment by Edge. I had forgotten about this. Christian was the annoying heel that sold it perfectly too.)

World Heavyweight Championship: Christian vs. Randy Orton in a No Holds Barred Match

Pre-match notes: Christian was the heel World Heavyweight Champion while Orton was the challenger.

It’s 9:38pmET as they start the match, which means they should get 20 minutes or so because there’s only one other match left. Why is Lawler talking about stamina issues in this match? It’s not like either guy is fat or out of shape. Christian hits a backdrop over the top to Orton, sending him to the floor. Booker correctly points out that there will be a lot of great counters in the match. That’s for sure. Orton comes back and he takes the cover off the English announce table. I guess he did that to make the Spanish table jealous. Christian shoved him off. The champ grabbed the title and ran into the crowd. They brawl down the aisle. There are grown men wearing those red Cena shirts. What’s wrong with you? They go back into the ring, Orton charges at him and Christian avoids the charge, so Randy goes crashing shoulder fast into the turnbuckle. The crowd is really hot for this match. There’s even a “Let’s Go Christian” chant. The champ goes under the ring and he pulls out a kendo stick. Christian beats him down with some kendo stick shots to the back. He uses it to choke him for a two count. He gets a couple more nearfalls. Orton is bleeding from the mouth now. He always seems to bleed from the mouth. Christian leaps off the middle ropes with kendo stick in hand, but Orton counters with a dropkick. Great spot. Orton hits the powerslam. He gets the kendo stick, but Christian gets his feet up. Orton counters a dropkick with a jackknife cover for two followed by a Thesz Press. They each counter their finishers and Orton hits his backbreaker for two as we hit the ten minute mark. Orton sets up for the punt, but Christian rolls out. Christian goes for a groin smasher (technical term) on the ring post. Orton powers out. He goes under the ring where he finds two tables. He puts one of them in the ring. Christian shoves him back first into the side of the ring, which allows Christian to set up the table on the floor.

To the top rope, Orton superplexes Christian onto the table. Note that the table wasn’t set up, so it was on the flat table. It’s still a painful bump. The table is partly cracked. Orton sets it up so that it’s propped up in the corner. Christian fights back with a reverse DDT. Christian goes for a spear, Orton leapfrogs him and the champ throws Orton to the floor. Orton whips him into the ring steps, Christian takes it knee first and goes flying over the steps. He comes back and Orton goes face first into the steps. Christian drags him over to the announce tables. Christian clears the Spanish Announce Table of the cover and monitors that were on it. I’m waiting for the Spanish Announce Table to be inducted into the Hall of Fame one day. So many memorable moments. Christian goes for an RKO, Randy countered it and hits one of his own. The table breaks! The table finally breaks! That was impressive as hell. Huge “Randy” chant as both guys are down at the 17 minute mark. This is a very good brawl right now.

Back in the ring after a minute of selling the beating, they go to a finishing exchange and Christian hits the Killswitch (or Unprettier). One, two, no! That was an awesome nearfall right there. Christian had a great facial expression selling his disappointment. Christian grabs two steel chairs. He places one under Randy’s head and he spits on Orton’s face! That’s a nice homage to their Money in the Bank match. Orton dodges the chair shot. He cracks Christian in the back with the chair. Christian stands on the apron, Orton charges with the chair and knocks Christian through the table that was placed outside. Orton throws trash cans, kendo sticks and the steps in the ring. Christian charges in, Orton catches him in the powerslam and puts him through the table that was stacked up in the corner. This is a beating now as Orton beats on him with the kendo stick. Orton hits the DDT off the ropes onto a trashcan. Orton had some blood on his hand, so he wiped it off his face. Randy’s setting up for the RKO. Christian hits him with the Kendo stick. Christian leaps off the second rope and Orton counters into a RKO onto the steel steps! Ouch! Orton covers for the pinfall at 23:24. Cole says it’s the 9th Championship reign for Orton. I guess that would be WWE and World Titles.

Winner by pinfall and New World Heavyweight Champion: Randy Orton

Analysis: ****1/4 What a great match this was. It’s another match in the four-star range from these two. They used the weapons well and they meant something because you don’t see too many matches with weapons these days. Christian took a beating. They utilized the weapons well too. After Christian hit the Killswitch and Orton kicked out he was on offense for nearly the rest of the match. It was a dominating victory from there. It’s a shame that Christian only had a one month title reign. I thought he’d keep it via interference, but I guess this is the end of the feud unless they do the rematch at the next PPV.

(I don’t think I mentioned it enough, but the crowd was really into this match from beginning to end. This feud was one of the better rivalries of this decade. It was also the biggest push that Christian ever got in his career. They didn’t main event a PPV, but they had great matches consistently. As for the future, Orton would go on to lose the title clean to Mark Henry at the next PPV in September called Night of Champions.)

They showed a video of WWE Axxess events from the weekend in Los Angeles.

Backstage, Stephanie talked to Triple H in a hallway. We can’t hear them, but Hunter gave her a kiss and walked off as the announcers led us to the video package.

They aired the same CM Punk vs. John Cena video package from Raw. I love the NFL Films music. It showed highlights from Money in the Bank where CM Punk won the WWE Title and then he left the building with the title. Vince was also removed from his post as WWE CEO and Triple H was named the Chief Operating Officer. John Cena won the WWE Title in an interim basis when they thought Punk left, so both guys would put their titles on the line to see who will become the undisputed WWE Champion.

(It was a good idea for the main event of a major show. I loved the Punk/Cena match at Money in the Bank, so it made sense to do a rematch. In reality, Punk signed a new WWE deal around the time of Money in the Bank and the company used that reality to try to tell the story the best way they could. Could it have been better if Punk sat out longer? Maybe, but I think it was smart to do Punk vs. Cena for the WWE Title at a major show like SummerSlam.)

There was a shot of Jennifer McCarthy and family at ringside.

The WWE Chief Operating Officer Triple H came out first. He’s wearing a ref shirt and black pants. He’s got the water bottle, but no water spit. He simply tosses it at ringside.

“Cult of Personality” strikes up and WWE Champ CM Punk comes out to a huge pop. He plays to the crowd on both sides. “It’s clobberin’ time” says Punk as always at the top of the ramp. He stared at HHH as he entered the ring. Then he sat down in the middle waiting for Cena.

The music of the other WWE Champ comes out and Cena gets a mixed reaction.

Punk got a monster pop when Justin Roberts announced him. Cena’s reaction is loud, but there are more boos than cheers. Cole called it a “flood of emotion.” Triple H held up both WWE Championship Titles. The time of the start of the match is 10:20pmET, which means they’ll get less time than they did at Money in the Bank when they had a 35 minute match.

(This match certainly had a big fight feel to it. The crowd was really loud at the start of the match.)

WWE Undisputed Championship: CM Punk vs. John Cena (Triple H Was Special Referee)

Pre-match notes: Punk was the most popular face, Cena was a face that was cheered by most and booed by some while Triple H was also a face in an authority figure role.

There’s not a lot going on early, but the crowd is very loud. There’s a dueling “Let’s go Cena” and “CM Punk” chant. Early control goes to Punk, who gets a high knee to the face that leads to a nearfall. The announcers are doing a good job of setting up the match and its importance although I really wish Jim Ross was calling the match. Cena hits a gutwrench suplex for two followed by a fisherman’s suplex. Cue the “you can’t wrestle” chant as Cena looks out at the crowd. That was fun although I don’t necessarily agree. Cena hits a bodyslam followed by an elbow. Punk comes back with a stiff boot to the face. There’s a nice “Get Lost Cena You Suck” sign in the crowd.

Punk gained control by dropkicking Cena off the apron, which sent him crashing to the floor. The announcers did a good job pointing out that Cena’s endurance is excellent. It’s true. He doesn’t tire much at all and that’s one of the things I like about the guy. We’re at ten minutes now as Punk grounds him with a submission. Cena powers out and hits something that looked like a Bossman Slam. That was sweet. Punk counters a shoulder tackle with a knee to the face. Awesome counter. Cena counters the running knee, then he hits two shoulderblocks and Punk counters the suplex. Punk hits the knee, goes for his bulldog and now Cena hits his suplex. That was a sweet reversal of moves. Cena goes for the STF, but Punk fights out and puts him in a submission. Cena fights out of it and locks in the STF. Punk counters with a key lock submission. Cena counters that into a Crossface variation. Punk makes it to the ropes. That was a terrific sequence of counter wrestling as we reach 14 minutes.

The action picks up with Punk getting a back body drop on Cena that sends him to the floor. Punk dives through the middle ropes to take out Cena. Triple H counts them out. He gets to nine. He stops there, then goes out to the floor and rolls each of them back in the ring. The crowd cheers that move as the announcers point out that this means that we’ll definitely have a winner. I liked that spot. They did the punch sequence so the crowd could do the “yay” (Punk) and “boo” (Cena). Cena wins the exchange with a picture-perfect dropkick that got him right in the face. Five Knuckle Shuffle by Cena. The AA is countered into a pinfall, then Cena gets one and Punk powers out to kick Cena in the head. They replayed the dropkick by Cena. It was as good of a dropkick as he’s ever done. Cena hits a Stinger Splash followed by a powerslam for two. Cena goes to the top, but Punk counters with a knee and hits a bulldog off the ropes for a two. Punk jumps off the top ropes, but Cena moves and puts Punk into the STF right in the middle of the ring as we reach 20 minutes. Punk fights out of it. He reaches the ropes.

They have another exchange and there’s the first finishing move of the match as Cena hits the Attitude Adjustment. Great nearfall right there. Cena goes up and he misses his leg drop off the top. Punk hits the Go To Sleep. He doesn’t hook the leg. Cena gets his shoulder up at two. Punk to the top, he does a Macho Man Randy Savage pose and he hits a top rope elbow. That gets two. He argues with Triple H. There’s a “Randy Savage” chant. I’m loving this crowd right now. They do another back-and-forth exchange. Punk hits a knee to the face. Punk hits another GTS although he didn’t connect very well because it was really Punk’s knee to Cena’s elbow and not close to Cena’s head. As Hunter is counting the pin, Cena’s foot is on the bottom rope. He never saw it. The announcers are immediately pointing it out. The match went 24:07.

Winner by pinfall: CM Punk

Analysis: ****1/2 That was awesome. Another classic match between these two guys although a level below their Money in the Bank match. I think Punk and Cena told a very entertaining story throughout the match although the ending wasn’t as good as MITB either. That’s why I didn’t rate it five stars, but it’s damn close. They had some awesome counter wrestling exchanges as well as submissions. The nearfalls were good. The crowd was loud for 30 minutes. It was another special match between Cena and Punk. For all the critics of Cena and the “you can’t wrestle” chants the guy proved again that he’s very good in big matches. Yes, Punk is the better of the two and that’s obvious, but they both did an amazing job here.

(I stand by that rating. It was one of the better SummerSlam main events ever. If the finish was booked better then it might have got a higher rating, but it’s still an excellent match.)

The camera closes in on Cena talking to Hunter. We can hear Cena say, “you missed it.”

Post match, Cena leaves. Hunter wants to shake Punk’s hand in the ring. Punk doesn’t shake it. Hunter raises Punk’s hand as the winner of the match. Hunter claps and leaves.

With Punk celebrating on the top rope, Kevin Nash (dressed in black and with black hair) walks into the ring out of nowhere. Nash with a clothesline on Punk. Booker: “Dat’s my big homey!” Nash hits a Jackknife Powerbomb. The fans hated it. Hunter was up the aisle while this was happening. When Hunter turned back around to walk to the ring, Nash left through the crowd and Hunter looked at him.

Cue Alberto Del Rio with the Money in the Bank briefcase with the contract and a referee. The fans reacted to that in a big way because they knew what this means.

WWE Title: Alberto Del Rio vs. CM Punk

Del Rio with an enziguri kick to the back of the head. Del Rio covers, Chad Patton counts and Del Rio wins the WWE Title in about 10 seconds.

Winner: Alberto Del Rio

Analysis: I was disappointed that Ricardo Rodriguez wasn’t there to announce Del Rio as the new champion, but that’s just a minor complaint. I did predict it in the preview although I know I’m not alone in that. Plus, I got destroyed on my picks through the show, so I’m not about to brag about getting one right.

There was confusion all over with Triple H asking referee Chad Patton what happened. Del Rio celebrated with the WWE Title, Punk was down in the ring and that’s how SummerSlam ended with Del Rio holding the title up in the air.

(It was a very controversial angle to end the show. It got people excited to see what was next. Unfortunately, the next few months weren’t booked that well. The Kevin Nash attack wasn’t really explained in a proper way and Punk didn’t even get his revenge on Nash, he lost a match to Triple H. It really didn’t go anywhere. Punk did manage to win the WWE Title back from Del Rio at Survivor Series 2011, which began Punk’s legendary 434-day reign as WWE Champion.)

The show had a run time of 2:47:44 on WWE Network.

FIVE RANDOM THOUGHTS

Show rating (out of 10): 8

– Any time you can have a show with back-to-back 20+ minute matches that reach the four-star level and above, I’d call it a major success. It really didn’t matter what else took place because the top two matches were so awesome. The fact that Barrett vs. Bryan was pretty good certainly helped too. Due to the quality matches where nothing was really that bad on the show, SummerSlam 2011 gets an 8 out of 10 from me.

– The Punk/Cena angle could have been handled better going into the show and after the show, but I think if you pay attention to the crowd, watch how great the match is and all of the possibilities that existed after the show, it’s tough not to call it a success. I was very entertained by the Punk/Cena match.

– Orton’s feud with Christian really benefited both guys. It was by far the best feud that Orton had as a face while Christian became a bigger star during the feud. The booking could have been better, but I’m happy Christian got to be a World Champion twice in his career.

– I am still shocked that Wade Barrett didn’t become WWE or World Champion in his career. He came so close numerous times, but for whatever reason, WWE failed to go all the way with him. That’s why I don’t blame him for leaving the company and not coming back.

– The midcard matches weren’t all that exciting, but none of them were that bad. They got enough time to where they could put on solid matches. I liked how it was booked.

Five Stars Of The Show

2. John Cena

3. Randy Orton

4. Christian

5. Daniel Bryan

Best Match: CM Punk vs. John Cena (****1/2 out of 5)

Worst Match: Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix (1/2* out of 5)

Most Memorable Moment: Alberto Del Rio cashing in the Money in the Bank briefcase to leave as WWE Champion.

That’s all for me. Check out the full list of my WWE PPV Review archive right here . Thanks for reading.

My contact info is below.

John Canton

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Twitter @johnreport