This week, instead of taking one aspect of the booking, this column will focus on looking at the entire booking of the Summerslam 2009 card. Now bare in mind that this review strictly looks at the booking of the pay per view, not the quality of the match itself.
CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy – While this feud has been going on a few months it hasn’t suffered from the same problem as the RAW main event. The booking to CM Punk and Jeff Hardy’s feud hasn’t gotten boring yet because it keeps bringing something new every week. As the weeks have gone by CM Punk has become more and more a fiendish heel while Jeff has continued to be a loveable babyface who the crowd actually like. What’s even better about this feud is that the booking team has incorporated in several members of the card who you traditionally wouldn’t expect to be involved such as John Morrison and The Hart Dynasty as well as those who are less surprising such as Matt Hardy. This feud has provided great booking and if Jeff Hardy is indeed leaving then it is a great way to send him off.
Verdict: Hit
Randy Orton vs. John Cena – This is a difficult one to judge, because as much as I’d like to base it on how it got Brett DiBiase on our screens, that isn’t enough to make the booking of a feud we’ve seen time and time before worthwhile. It’s the same with any feud that goes on too long, or that we see multiple times during a year. There’s only so many times the same two guys can go at it before the booking begins to get boring and the matches start to get bland. The biggest problem right now; RAW’s entire main event scene is getting boring and bland and without some new additions there doesn’t look to be a big hit for them any time soon.
Verdict: Miss
Christian vs. William Regal – Okay, so their Summerslam match was a travesty but its an understandable travesty when you look at the booking of their feud. Christians win came at a time where Regal was clearly not ready for the match meaning he has an excuse for the loss. This means the storyline can easily be continued and a big grudge match set for the Breaking Point pay per view. The feud itself has been built well, and has given roles to both Vladamir Kozlov and Ezekial Jackson as Regal’s bodyguard types. Furthermore it gives Regal a true purpose that he has lacked in the past year, which is always a good thing.
Verdict: Undecided
D-Generation X vs. Legacy – So obviously the major booking hit of this feud is that its brought back Shawn Michaels and while that doesn’t exactly mean good things for the younger stars on RAW, it does mean that RAW has one of its most entertaining draws back. Legacy could easily have been buried like so many others that have feuded with DX, but surprisingly enough they have looked surprisingly strong so far, and since the feud doesn’t look like its finished just yet there’s still the possibility of Legacy getting a win over DX, which would propel both men up the card.
Verdict: Hit
Kane vs. The Great Khali – I’m finding it hard to come up with anything good about this feud. Oh, there weren’t any good points. This feud, and the match itself, was terrible and did nothing for either man. Kane’s return feud should have made him look like a monster heel and while they attempted that here they failed miserably.
Verdict: Miss
Chris Jericho & Big Show vs. Cryme Time – Cryme Time haven’t exactly been used in any major feuds recently, so when this feud began I was of the opinion that Jericho & Show would not only outshine Cryme Time, but also bulldoze through them. That isn’t what happened here, with the booking of this feud making both teams look strong, and to some extent while they didn’t win the titles Cryme Time certainly came out a lot stronger than they did before the feud.
Verdict: Hit
Jack Swagger vs. Montel Vontavious Porter – The point of a feud like this would usually be to elevate one, if not both, of the superstars involved. This feud was too short, and seems to mean next to nothing for both Swagger and MVP, both of whom could really do with a big push to the upper midcard. This just seemed like a waste of an opportunity, and while the booking of this feud hasn’t damaged either superstars standing it certainly hasn’t done anything to improve it.
Verdict: Miss
Rey Mysterio vs. Dolph Ziggler – I can understand why World Wrestling Entertainment want to continue the feud between these two, it’s been entertaining so far, but to put Rey Mysterio over Ziggler cleanly once again does not make Ziggler look strong if another rematch is on the cards. An Intercontinental title run would do wonders for Ziggler, and the smart booking move would be to put the title on him sooner rather than later. However, while this was a missed opportunity to give Ziggler the title on a big stage, it does mean that if he does eventually win the belt it will be a bigger event.
Verdict: Undecided
