Summerslam 2013 is all over, and you can see the results after the jump.
Pre-Show:
Interview with Paul Heyman
The upshot of the segment is that CM Punk/Brock Lesnar became a no-disqualification match later in the night. Which means bigger ouchies for everyone involved.
United States Championship Match: Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Rob Van Dam
Winner: Rob Van Dam via disqualification (interference by the Shield)
I’m not saying Van Dam should be champion now, but the end to this match sucked so badly, you guys. Only in hindsight could I tell that this was the WWE telling us we weren’t getting the endings we wanted out of the matches tonight. I get that singles competition and fair fights aren’t really the M.O. of The Shield, but man is interference in every match starting to seem like a cliche. It’s making them look weak instead of the indestructible group they were being sold as just a few weeks ago. This is going to end up as a six-man tag match on RAW or the next PPV, isn’t it, Teddy Long?
Main Card
Ring of Fire Match: Kane vs. Bray Wyatt (with The Wyatt Family)
Winner: Bray Wyatt (thanks to interference from Wyatt Family Members)
Bray Wyatt can wrestle, but this match wasn’t given enough time. When there’s fire, 10 minutes isn’t enough. Plus the interference from the Wyatt Family was too predictable, coming right after the Ambrose/Van Dam match that ended almost identically, except there were no DQ’s in the Ring of Fire match for some reason. Sure, it establishes Wyatt and his Family as a real threat going forward, but that could have been done in a bunch of different ways. Also, the thing after the match where they dropped the steps on Kane’s head…yeah everyone can tell the steps weren’t really hitting his head. The only real danger is the Wyatt Family f–king up and actually hitting him. Hopefully this means Kane grows a Duck Dynasty beard and is part of the family now.
Damien Sandow vs. Cody Rhodes
Winner: Cody Rhodes via Cross Rhodes
This was actually, a pretty solid match. Were it not on the same card as Punk/Lesnar and John Cena/Daniel Bryan, it would get a lot more respect. The thing is, there was absolutely nothing on the line here, so the stakes just didn’t feel all that important. Plus Rhodes shaved his mustache. Does that count as a heel turn?
World Heavyweight Championship Match: Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. Christian
Winner: Del Rio via armbar
My wife really, really loves Christian, but his loss here was predictable. I didn’t think this would be a completely clean finish, however, and it actually was. Del Rio got the armbar clean and got the tap. I think so many people in the building thought Ricardo Rodriguez would interfere (he was there at Axxess after all) that they didn’t know how to react when Del Rio just plain won. I don’t know where this is going, but if it ends with Damien Sandow as the next World Heavyweight Champion, I’m okay with it.
Natalya (with the Funkadactyls) vs. Whichever Bella Twin that is (with the other Bella twin and Eva Marie)
Winner: Natalya via sharpshooter.
Nice job by the WWE shoe-horning in an ad for Total Divas. Next.
CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar
Winner: Brock Lesnar via F5 onto a chair
This was the match of the night, despite the WWE Championship shenanigans later on. It was a brutal, brutal match with all kinds of crazy spots that managed to look like they actually hurt. Punk landed weird on his knee at one point after being thrown over the announcers table. He didn’t show any signs of it hurting until after the match when he was noticeably limping. Lesnar remains the biggest, most interesting main card draw for the company. Every match he is in seems more dangerous than the others on the card. He also has clearance to give and receive head shots too, which shows the “Powers that Be” know who their moneymaker is.
Mixed tag team match: Dolph Ziggler and Kaitlyn vs. Big E Langston and A.J. Lee
Winner: Dolph Ziggler and Kaitlin via Zig-Zag
Good palate-cleanser. Seems like a set up for a singles match between Ziggler and Langston. Ziggler is still the best seller in the company, bar none. He makes everything look important.
WWE Championship Match: John Cena (c) vs. Daniel Bryan (Triple-H as guest referee)
Winner: Daniel Bryan (new champion)
Parts of this were typical of a Cena match. There were plenty of reverses, the five moves of doom, more reversals, kicking out of each other’s finishers and even Cena doing the punch-drunk thing. The difference was the crowd. They weren’t the same as Punk/Cena where everyone was hostile towards Cena. This was more just them showing their love for Daniel Bryan. An epically epic match that actually had a surprising ending. Bryan threw a flying knee from the ropes and knocked out Cena. He hasn’t really used that move at all in recent years, so it was a true surprise when he got the three-count.
After the match, Bryan fell to his knees, then ran around celebrating. But out came Randy Orton with his Money in the Bank briefcase. Orton just stayed at the foot of the ring, but Triple-H attacked Bryan from behind and hit him with a pedigree. Orton then entered the ring and cashed in on an unconscious Bryan. The WWE Troll Army beats the fans once again.
WWE Championship Match (via Money in the Bank cash-in): Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan (c)
Winner: Randy Orton (new champion) via pedigree from Triple H
