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Outside the Staples Center
Photo by: My 1-2-3 Cents |
By
Chad Smart
@chadsmart & @my123cents on Twitter
For the fifth straight year,
WWE’s “biggest show of the summer” SummerSlam was held at the Staples Center in
Los Angeles. For the second year in a row, I attended the show. When tickets went on sale back in February/March,
I was preparing for the annual My123Cents Wrestlemania trip and wasn’t really
that excited about what was going on in the WWE Universe so I opted not to get
a ticket to SummerSlam. Over the last six weeks, WWE went and did something I
wasn’t expecting. They made SummerSlam feel like a must see show.
After spending a week trying to find a
reasonably priced ticket on one of the secondary ticket selling websites, I
lucked out and logged into the Staples Center website shortly after they
released a few more tickets for the show on Friday afternoon. Unfortunately it
meant I was paying even more than what I had wanted to pay because the seat was
fifth row on the floor and that fell within the premium seating section. It did
mean I was going to get a collectable chair though, so that was a plus.
I’m not going to do a match-by-match
review of the show as I’m guessing most people reading this are aware of the
results. In case you don’t know what happened, here’s a quick rundown of the
show.
Bray Wyatt defeated Kane in a Ring of Fire match.
Cody Rhodes defeated Damian Sandow
Alberto Del Rio retained the World Title over
Christian
Natalya Neidhart defeated Brie Bella
Brock Lesnar emerged victorious against CM Punk
Dolph Ziggler and Kaitlyn defeated Big E. Langston and
AJ
Daniel Bryan won the WWE Title from John Cena
Randy Orton cashed in the
Money in the Bank briefcase and defeated Daniel Bryan to walk out of SummerSlam
as WWE Champion.
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Nice sign, but in the way
Photo by: My 1-2-3 Cents |
Before I get into my
thoughts on the show itself, I need to rant a bit about fan behavior. As I mentioned, I was sitting fifth row
on the floor. Normally I don’t like to sit on the floor and the fifth row is my
cutoff point for floor seating. Based on past experiences, anything behind the
fifth row and you wind up looking at the back of heads more than in-ring
action. At several points during
SummerSlam, everyone would stand up during matches. Usually it was when action
spilled to the outside of the ring or during sequences that could have
logically led to the end of the match.
After about 30 seconds of people standing, two guys somewhere behind me
would shout, “sit down.”
I had recently read a few
online articles and some message board postings about standing vs. staying
seated at concerts. My feeling on the subject is the same for wrestling shows;
you’re there to have a good time and to get into the show. If there’s nothing-exceptional
going on then stay seated. If the action is intense and emotionally captivating
then stand up, cheer, and show the wrestlers you care about what’s happening.
If you normally don’t stand up during shows and/or don’t like it when people
stand then don’t buy a seat on the floor. Buy seats in the stands so you can
see over the people who are enjoying the show.
While I won’t condemn fans
for enjoying themselves at shows, I will criticize fans that bring signs and
feel the need to hold them up for an entire show. I was seated behind a guy who
had the clever idea to write “Marry Me Bellas” on a piece of poster board. I
would say on average at least 10 seconds out of every 90 seconds he would hold
the sign up. The average was more frequent whenever he would catch a glimpse of
our section on the TitanTron.
Whenever he held up his sign, all I could see was a piece of white
paper. I tolerated if for the first half of the show. After the Nattie/Brie
Bella match, I could see him getting ready to hold it up after the video hyping
CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar was over. I tapped him on the shoulder and asked if he
could lay off holding the sign up as much. He asked if he wasn’t holding it
high enough and I told him he was blocking my view. He looked upset not because
he was ruining the show for someone else, but because someone was ruining his
right to hold up a sign. Had his
sign been relevant to the match inside the ring, I would have reacted
differently. Or if he would have held the sign up only at the beginning of the
match and then waited until the next match started to hold it up again. I have nothing against signs. I have
taken signs to shows before but I’ve always been conscious of my surroundings
and tried to not ruin other fans experience. If you take a sign, be aware that
you’re not the only person in the arena. Don’t be a jerk.
My last rant has to do with
fans behavior during certain matches.
I was at RAW the night after Wrestlemania 29 and experienced one of the
most vocal crowds in recent times. During a match between Sheamus and Randy
Orton, the crowd vocally turned on the match and chanted for just about
everything known to man with the exception of the two wrestlers in the
ring. That was an organic
moment. During SummerSlam fans
tried to do the same thing during the Nattie Neidhart, Brie Bella match and
thankfully it didn’t catch on like it did at RAW. The problem I have is instead
of chanting to show their non-interest in the match, it felt more like “hey we
saw another crowd do this, lets do it too and be cool.” If you can’t be original, it’s best to
sit in silence if you don’t like the match. Not reacting will send a louder
message than parroting another crowd.
With the complaints out of
the way, lets take a look at the show.
Overall, I would say SummerSlam was a better show than Wrestlemania 29.
I could be blinded by my bias of being a Daniel Bryan fan and never wanting to
see The Rock in a WWE ring.
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Erick Rowan or Chad Smart? You decide
Photo by: My 1-2-3 Cents |
Out of all of the matches,
not counting the Diva’s match because 1) I barely saw any of it and 2) WWE has
conditioned me to not care about Diva matches, the only match I feel was a bit
disappointing was the Ring of Fire match.
I thought Luke Harper and Erick Rowan’s actions outside the ring were
clever, the match though just never seemed to click. I did buy a replica Erick
Rowan sheep mask, so at least I got to show my support for deranged cult.
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Punk flies
Photo by: My 1-2-3 Cents |
All the other undercard
matches were entertaining. Christian failing to win the World Title was disappointing,
as I’d rather see him as champ than watch Alberto Del Rio do anything. Brock Lesnar and CM Punk put on a great
match. While I feel this match was
rushed in the story telling aspect, both guys brought it and had the crowd
eating it up. The only complaint,
and it’s not really a complaint, is the lack of appearance by Curtis Axel. Since the match was non-DQ, why did
Paul Heyman’s latest talent not try to help Brock beat down Punk? I’m glad he didn’t,
as overbooking is a serious flaw in today’s wrestling shows.
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Victory...for a moment
Photo by: My 1-2-3 Cents |
Speaking of overbooking,
when Triple H was announced as the special referee in the John Cena/Daniel
Bryan match, I expected a screw job ending. Truthfully, there were several long
stretches during the match where I didn’t even realize Haitch was there.
Thankfully, they let Cena and Bryan have all the focus on them and prove why
one is the best wrestler in WWE while the other one gets unnecessary “you can’t
wrestle” chants. Similar to the Brock/Punk match, Cena and Bryan had the crowd
in the palm of their hands and played them like a fiddle. One aspect I liked about the ending of
the match is that it ended with a non-established finishing move. I think that added surprise and
excitement to Daniel Bryan winning the WWE title.
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The Viper strikes
Photo by: My 1-2-3 Cents |
I’m split on Randy Orton
cashing in the Money in the Bank briefcase. On one hand I can understand the
reasoning having Bryan lose the title so quickly will make him more of a fan
supported baby face and fans will pay to see him get revenge. On the other hand, the crowd died when
Orton won the title. I don’t believe you always have to send the crowd home
happy, but why trivialize Bryan’s victory celebration. I am curious as to how Triple H will
justify his actions and apparent siding with Orton given that three years ago
Orton tried to give Trip’s wife and father in law brain damage by punting them
in the head. Or am I not supposed to remember that far back?
Overall, SummerSlam was an
enjoyable show. If you didn’t see it, I would recommend ordering the replay or
getting the DVD when it’s available. Kevin and I have started making tentative
plans for Wrestlemania 30 and dare I say WWE has got me interested and looking
forward to what lies ahead in the next six months?
