Hi Turk here, back again doing another review. In this blog I'll be looking at what was, in my opinion, the best Summerslam PPV since 2002. With only three matches that ranged from Average to down right awful and the rest ranging from decent to absolutely brilliant, this was a great PPV and a very strong contender for PPV of the Year.
The first match of evening kicked the show off in style. Rey Mysterio defended his Intercontinental Title against Dolph Ziggler in an exciting, fast paced match. Ziggler really stepped it up here and has improved hugely these past few months. I also liked how towards the end of the match, there was some people chanting for Dolph. The match ended with a sick looking hurricanrana by Rey off the top rope to retain the IC Title. The next match between MVP and Jack Swagger was very disappointing. I was expecting at least a good match from these two due to their talents however the crowd just didn't get into it, which is a shame. MVP won with what is, imo, one of the worst finishing moves in pro wrestling today 'The Playmaker'.
We then came to our first Tag Team match of the PPV for the Unified Tag Team Titles. I must say, I wasn't expecting much from this since I've never been a fan of Cryme Tyme, but the fact that this was an entertaining match really does show you how unbelievably awesome Chris Jericho is right now. Everything he touches turns to gold and I must give credit to Big Show as well. He's working hard again after his boring feud with Cena...then again, working with Jericho helps as well. JeriShow retained the titles. Kane vs The Great Khali? Like you had to ask! Awful Match!
The second Tag Team match on the show is my personal choice for Sleeper Match of the Night. Again, I was really surprised at how great this match was since everyone and their mother's was expecting Legacy to get buried...Spirit Squad style! But no, HBK and Trips put Legacy over like crazy and at one point made me actually believe that they could win due to how Rhodes and DiBiase were keeping up and even out performing and out thinking DX. I loved how at the end, Shawn fell on top of Cody after Sweet Chin Music (which won DX the match) making it look like it was the fight of their lives. Really great match!
I'm not even going to waste my time with the ECW Title match. But I will say that they better get more than 10 seconds at Breaking Point (at least I hope they get another chance, since talents like Regal and Christian deserve it). Then the WWE Title match was next. It was your typical Orton vs Cena match, so it was good to start with however the overbooking at the end killed whatever good the match had already built up. Some people said they liked it but it was too much for me. I didn't mind it the first time when Orton got DQ'ed for pushing the referee since that played into the history of No Way Out 2008 but after the second time, I found it ridiculous. Some fan (later revealed as Brett DiBiase) runs in to distract Cena and Orton gets the win with two RKO's.
And finally we came to the main event and boy am I so glad that this was the ME rather than Cena/Orton. CM Punk and Jeff Hardy have had a fantastic feud since Extreme Rules and I've enjoyed every single promo and match. This was the 8th TLC Match in WWE history and while it isn't the greatest (I think TLC 2 and 3 are the best), it was the perfect way to end their feud (until the Steel Cage Match on Smackdown came long that is 
). What I liked about this particular TLC Match was that it didn't feel like a spotfest and each move told a great story. Some of the highlights included; Punk getting Powerbombed off a ladder, Punk throwing Hardy into a steel chair that clipped his back (ouch!!!), Punk suplexing Hardy off the top rope onto a ladder (double ouch!!) and of course the unbelievable Swanton Bomb off a huge ladder onto Punk through an announcers table. Punk regained the title to end the memorable match. After the match, Undertaker returned and Chokeslammed Punk. I loved how this went down but it will be interesting to see how this Taker/Punk feud will go. On a side note, I would like to thank Jeff for the hard work and great performances he put in on his way out. Jeff easily could have told the E that he was quitting then phoned it in every night until he left but no. He worked his *** off and put Punk over big time on the way out. Thank You Jeff, hope you get the break you deserve.
So overall, I thought this was a great PPV. Yes, there was both good and bad stuff on this show but the good far out weighed the bad. Along with Backlash, this is my PPV of the Year so far in 2009. Ratings:
Match 1: WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: Rey Mysterio (c) vs Dolph Ziggler: 8/10
Match 2: Jack Swagger vs MVP: 5/10
Match 3: WWE Unified Tag Team Championship Match: Cryme Tyme vs Chris Jericho and Big Show (c): 7/10
Match 4: Kane vs The Great Khali: 3/10
Match 5: DX vs Legacy: 8/10
Match 6: ECW Championship Match: Christian (c) vs William Regal: N/A
Match 7: WWE Championship Match: John Cena vs Randy Orton (c): 6.5/10
Match 8: World Heavyweight Championship Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match: CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy (c): 9/10
Match of the Night: Punk/Hardy TLC Match
Worst Match of the Night: Kane/Khali
Sleeper Match of the Night: DX/Legacy
Overall Event Rating: 8/10
Thanks for reading
Next time: Breaking Point 2009 Review
(On a side note, if there's any reviews you would like me to do; like special editions of Raw or Smackdown, Saturday Nights Main Events or PPV's that took place before King of the Ring 1998 please comment and I'm sure I'll be able to find these shows somewhere and write a review for them)