A2Z Analysiz: WWE SummerSlam 2012 (Brock Lesnar, Triple H)

Wrestling DVDs

slam 12

For an easy to navigate archive of all my WWE DVD reviews, please visit World Wrestling Reviews!

Staples Center – Los Angeles, California – Sunday, August 19, 2012

Michael Cole and Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler are on commentary.

MATCH #1: Chris Jericho vs. Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler is accompanied by Vickie Guerrero. Jericho is coming into this match with taped up ribs. Ziggler immediately bails and Jericho chases him. Jericho is the aggressor in the opening minutes, keeping Ziggler on defense. Ziggler fights back and goes after the injured ribs. Jericho backdrops Ziggler to the floor and tries a springboard dive but misses and crashes hard to the floor. Ziggler takes advantage, focusing on the injured ribs and wearing Jericho down. Every time Jericho tries to make a comeback Ziggler is able to cut him off. Finally Jericho scores with an enziguiri for a two-count. Ziggler comes back and locks on the Sleeper Hold. Jericho breaks it and puts Ziggler on the top rope. He hits 10 punches and then brings Ziggler down with a rana. Jericho crawls over to make the cover and gets two. Ziggler pops up and hits a DDT for a two-count. They slug it out and Jericho hits the Bulldog. Jericho goes for the Lionsault but Ziggler gets his knees up. Ziggler hits the Zig Zag and Jericho kicks out! Jericho pops up and hits the Codebreaker! Both men are down. Ziggler rolls to the floor and Jericho goes out to retrieve him. Vickie grabs Jericho’s leg to distract him and Ziggler almost gets the pin with an inside cradle. Jericho throws Ziggler’s shoulder into the ring post and then locks on the Walls of Jericho to get the tap out win at 13:05. That was a tremendous opener, getting the crowd fired up and making both guys look good. They showed off their best stuff and went all-out for the whole match. Not much more you can ask for out of an opening match.
Rating: ***½

MATCH #2: Kane vs. Daniel Bryan

Bryan starts off trying to use his speed and agility advantage, but Kane simply overpowers him. Kane keeps Bryan grounded, and Bryan fights back by going after the big man’s legs. They spill to the floor and Bryan takes Kane out with a suicide dive. Back in the ring Bryan hits a missile dropkick for a one-count. Bryan unloads with more kicks and Kane cuts him off with a clothesline. Kane goes up top for another clothesline, and he’s looking dominant now. Bryan tries to escape and makes the mistake of slapping Kane in the face. Kane stomps Bryan down in the corner and Bryan counters with a drop toe hold into the middle turnbuckle. Bryan goes for the “No!” Lock and Kane fights it off so Bryan delivers a knockout kick. He goes up for the diving headbutt but Kane catches him in the Chokeslam! Kane goes for the Tombstone Piledriver but Bryan counters with an inside cradle to get the pin at 8:03. That was perfectly adequate for the time they got, as they worked a nice big man / little man style. Bryan gets a clean win too, which is always nice.
Rating: **½

MATCH #3: Intercontinental Title Match – The Miz vs. Rey Mysterio

Miz has been the Champion since 7.23.12, and this is his second defense. Mysterio is himself a former two-time Intercontinental Champion. They go back and forth in the early going, with Mysterio trying to fly and Miz trying to keep him grounded. The battle spills to the floor and Miz is able to drop Mysterio’s midsection across the barricade. Back in the ring Miz wears Mysterio down, even hitting a Shock Treatment for a near-fall. Miz continues the beating until he goes to the top rope and Mysterio knocks him down. Mysterio comes off the top with a seated senton, and then tries a rana but Miz counters with a sitout powerbomb for two. Momentum continues to swing as both men are going for big shots to try and put the other away. Mysterio hits a swinging DDT for two. They fight up on the top rope and Mysterio knocks Miz down. Mysterio comes down with a headscissors that puts Miz in perfect position for the 619. The challenger hits the 619 and then goes for the top rope splash but misses. Miz tries the Skull-Crushing Finale but Mysterio counters with a victory roll for a near-fall. Mysterio charges and gets tosses into the top turnbuckle. Miz connects on the Skull-Crushing Finale to get the pin and retain his title at 9:10. That was a fun little match, following the classic formula and playing to both men’s strenghts. It’s a nice reminder of the contributions Mysterio was capable of.
Rating: ***¼

MATCH #4: World Heavyweight Title Match – Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio

Sheamus has been the Champion since 4.1.12, and this is his sixth defense. They lock up intensely to start, as this feud has been going on for quite some time. The fight briefly spills to the floor and they trade control back and forth, both trying to establish early control. Del Rio attacks the arm, and is able to remove the pad from one of the top turnbuckles. I’m sure that will come into play later. Del Rio sends Sheamus to the floor, and then brings him back in to hit a shouderblock off the top rope for a two-count. The challenger stays in control, wearing Sheamus down. Del Rio mocks Sheamus and goes for the Brogue Kick but Sheamus blocks it. Sheamus charges into the corner and Del Rio moves, sending Sheamus shoulder-first into the ring post. Del Rio locks on the Cross Armbreaker and Sheamus powers his way out of it. Sheamus hits White Noise for a two-count. He traps Del Rio in the ropes and unleashes with the forearms. Sheamus delivers mounted punches in the corner and Del Rio drops him right on the exposed steel that I said would come into play. Del Rio hits an enziguiri for a near-fall. He gets frustrated and pulls Rodriguez in the ring. Rodriguez tries to throw Del Rio his shoe but Sheamus intercepts it and hits Del Rio in the face with it. Sheamus then hits the Irish Curse to get the pin, even though Del Rio’s foot was on the bottom rope, at 11:23. That was the usual match between these two; they all seemed about the same. The finish ensures that the feud would go on even longer, and no one wanted to see that.
Rating: **¾

MATCH #5: WWE Tag Team Title Match – Kofi Kingston & R-Truth vs. The Prime Time Players

Kingston and Truth have been the Champions since 4.30.12, and this is their fourth defense. Truth and Darren Young start the match, and it’s Truth with the early control. Young fights back and tags in Titus O’Neil, who uses his size and strength advantage to wear Truth down. Truth cuts O’Neil off with a leg lariat and Kingston tags in. Kingston is a house afire, taking O’Neil off his feet and hitting the Boom Drop. He signals for Trouble in Paradise but Young distracts him, allowing O’Neil to roll to the floor. The PTP use some deft teamwork to take Kingston down and resume control of the match. Young and O’Neil keep Kingston isolated for a few minutes, and then Kingston catches O’Neil with a DDT. Tags are made and Truth is a house afire. Truth hits Young with the gourdbuster for two. The referee loses control, and Kingston helps him regain it by sending O’Neil to the floor and wiping him out with a springboard dive. Young goes fo rthe Gut Check but Truth slips out and hits the Little Jimmy to get the pin at 7:08. That was too short to get anything going but they did a truncated version of the tag team formula match and it worked well enough.
Rating: **½

MATCH #6: WWE Championship Match – CM Punk vs. John Cena vs. Big Show

Punk has been the Champion since 11.20.11, and this is his sixteenth defense. Show dominates right out of the gate, using his size and strength advantage. Punk and Cena have to work together to subdue him, and when they try a double suplex, Show is able to suplex both of them! Show sends Cena to the floor and charges at Punk but gets dropkicked in the knee. Punk hits a few more kicks and then tries Go To Sleep but Show avoids it. Cena comes back in and tries the Attitude Adjustment on Show but Punk knocks them both over. Show continues to dominate and counter everything Cena or Punk try. Even when Punk tries a suicide dive to the floor Show catches him and bounces him off the ropes and back to the floor. Ouch. In the ring Show goes to work on Cena. Finally Punk is able to take Cena out and he lands Hail to the King on Show for a two-count. Punk locks Show in the Koji Clutch and Show breaks out. Cena comes back in and takes Show down with a shoulderblock. He traps Show in the STF and Show powers out. Punk is able to catch Show with three running knees in the corner and he goes for the bulldog but Show pushes him off. That leaves Show in perfect position to hit the Cena Slice. Punk puts Show in the Koji Clutch and Cena adds the STF. Show taps out and the bell rings at 11:37. Both Punk and Cena think they’ve won. RAW General Manager AJ Lee comes out and declares that the match will be restarted. Show picks up both Cena and Punk for a simultaneous Chokeslam, but he can’t pin either man. He calls for the Knockout Punch but Cena ducks and hits the Attitude Adjustment. Punk dumps Cena to the floor and steals the pin to retain his title at 0:59 (total match time 12:36). Show dominated the entire match, and then literally jobbed to one move. As far as the match it was good fun, and the action was fast and never dull. But it was quite short, and I don’t get why Show would dominate that much if the focus was to be put on Cena and Punk.
Rating: **¾

MATCH #7: No Disqualification Match – Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar

Both men bring the fight right to each other and HHH is able to send Lesnar to the floor. The angry beast comes back in and starts beating on The Game, but HHH is savvy and he sends Lesnar to the floor again. Back to the ring Lesnar goes on the attack again, and when they go to the floor Lesnar is able to slam HHH’s arm on the announce table. That’s the opening Lesnar needed, and now he begins to dissect HHH’s arm that he previously broke just by sheer force of awesome. HHH makes a few attempts at coming back but Lesnar is able to knock him down repeatedly. It becomes total domination for a few minutes until HHH is able to hit a quick suplex. HHH avoids a charge in the corner and tries the Pedigree but Lesnar counters that and Irish whips HHH all the way over the turnbuckles and to the floor. Outside the ring HHH decides to attack the midsection, which is wise given Lesnar’s history of diverticulitis. HHH hits the spinebuster, and after a couple of reversals he’s able to hit the Pedigree but Lesnar kicks out at two! Lesnar comes back with a blatant low blow. He follows with the F-5 but HHH is able to kick out! Lesnar puts on the Kimura Lock and HHH reaches the ropes. They rise and HHH hits another Pedigree, but when he goes for the cover Lesar grabs him in the Kimura Lock! HHH taps out at 18:45. I like how dominant Lesnar was throughout the match, and how HHH tapped out cleanly. HHH had smart strategy in attacking the midsection, but he simply got overpowered by Lesnar, and there’s no shame in that. This wasn’t a classic by any means but it was smartly worked and had the exact right result.
Rating: ***¼

I grew up and now I write for Inside Pulse. Oh, and one time I saw a blimp!