SummerSlam (Cherry-Picked)

WWE SummerSlam 2015

 (2015/08/23)

WWE US & World Heavyweight Championship: John Cena (US)© vs. Seth Rollins (HW)©

Wow, Rollins’ white version of his attire looks like shit. I’d make a 70s movie reference, but can’t think of any at the moment, because it truly looks like – SHIT. His black version is not good either, but this one is just horrendous. This match was actually very good until the moment it wasn’t. Obviously Cena got AAed like in every other big match, obviously we got another finisher festival, obviously a referee bump happened and that fucking chode John Stewart interfered. Obviously. Zero fucks given. Eh, at least the figure four leglock sequence was neat.

**

Another Cesaro/Harper Smackfest

WWE Main Event 2015/07/07

Antonio Cesaro vs. Luke Harper

So, this was a blow-off encounter to their mini-feud they started recently, they stood 1-1 going into this one. They got more bell-to-bell time and thus worked a slightly different match, because the previous two meetings were fast paced brawls (which I loved) and this one didn’t skip any phases, as we actually got to see them building things. They still hit each other pretty hard, especially Harper, but it was spaced out to make it feel like a conclusion. I loved all the nifty counters and Harper’s hard hits. Another great match from these two, imagine them in a 15 minute pay-per-view clash.

****

Cesaro/Cena in a Rematch!

WWE RAW 2015/7/6

WWE United States Championship: Antonio Cesaro vs. John Cena ©

Fuck, what a match! 23 minutes aired and I hear the actual ring time was around 30 minutes, that’s just crazy when you think about it, Claudio Castagnoli main-eventing a Raw show in a 30 min match against the top dog that is Cena. I absolutely loved their match from the last week and they did even better job in this one, if nothing they did a clean finish this time. One thing was wonderful here, despite the match’s longevity there was a feeling the match could end at any time due to nature of pacing and how they kept shifting big moves, submissions and slower parts. I loved all the callbacks and counters, it showed they learned something from the previous encounter, I’m such a sucker for that kind of stuff. The match truly felt like an exhausting, grueling war, it was super physical and they fucking sold it so well, it was raw and real. This was hundred times better than both Owens/Cena matches combined, simply because Owens wasn’t as versatile and creative as Cesaro was in these two clashes. Cesaro knows there’s more to pro-scrapping than just big bombs and “my turn-your turn”. I hope Cena learned something from these two awesome matches and maybe he’ll make the upcoming Owens match more compelling this time.

****3/4

And Just Like That, Cesaro Sneaks Into a WOTY Picture!

Cara/Cesaro and Reigns/Bryan

WWE Main Event 2015/2/10

Sin Cara vs. Cesaro

Pro-wrestling is best when kept simple and logical. Here we have the classic power vs. speed setup playing off the size difference between the competitors, and it’s all good stuff. Cesaro is still great despite being ridiculously underutilized and this was my first time watching Sin Cara II, props to WWE for sticking with the character after the Mistico abomination, because the current guy playing him looks more than capable. The best thing about the match was Cesaro’s growing frustration for not being able to bring the luchador down, also Sin Cara’s hope spots were well placed and executed, and the closing stretch was awesome. Cesaro’s armwork from the beginning led nowhere long term, but it wasn’t anything scary that would take away from this great match. Neat discovery that I loved.

****1/4

WWE Fastlane 2015

(2015/2/22)

Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan

Roman is still sporting the outdated Shield gear, ugh… Well, fuck me sideways, this was an amazing match. Reigns has sucked in every singles competition match I’ve seen from him, but somehow he was excellent here, this wasn’t even a total Daniel Bryan carryjob, Reigns held his own and did a helluva job, the match honestly felt like a redemption for him after weeks of turbulence and fans’ backlash. Bryan has his kicks and trickery, Reigns has the size advantage, power moves and hunger for success. Trust me when I say they played off all of it throughout the match. Some sequences and reversals were totally nifty. Selling was strong, particularly Reigns favoring his stomach after all the kicks he ate. Bryan kept his annoying (to me) YES! crap to a minimum and it certainly helped the match a lot. It was time for some serious business and Bryan sure as hell acted that way.

I can’t stress this enough, I enjoyed the match immensely. Going into it I expected a good main event at best and what I got is one of the best matches of the year and the best WWE effort in a long ass time, think Bryan/Punk from Over the Limit.

****3/4