Even More Live SummerSlam Notes Including Ric Flair
Thanks to Jeffrey Everett for the following:
Some quick observations from Summerslam:
The place exploded for Chris Benoit. He had people on their feet, at least in my section, for the whole 20 second match.
Hardy was over big and then got resounding boos when he could not go on. I don't know if it was legit or not but considering what Eddie and Rey went through, Hardy looked like a chump in hindsight.
I feel the only match that got people really in it for the long haul was the ladder match. Lots of Eddie chants followed by Rey chants. Pretty evenly split. Eddie wife got a huge pop.
Eugene was not over. DC crapped all over him especially when he did other wrestler's moves, starting with the Rock's. Though him imitating Angle with the strap pull down got a laugh out of some. Poor guy. Angle was hugely popular and got a big cheer when he left the ring.
Lots of boos for the Orton and Undertaker match. No one really seemed to care about it after Taker's entrance. Funny thing that happened. The metal plates used in Taker entrance were unintentionally set ablaze by Randy's sparks. A crew guy had to run out an extinguish them again off on the side.
The WWE needs to really check out the demographics in DC when showing the "celebrities" at ringside. If you are going to show politicians, remember that DC always goes Democrat. The former (?) Republican Chairmen got long and vocal boos from a majority of the people.
The Jericho and Cena fans were about 40/60. Both were over huge.
Batista and JBL were over but not so much near the end. People were expecting a bloodbath and were disappointed at the lack of blood and shortness of the match. The tackle through the guard rail and the powerbomb on the stairs were impressive and wince inducing live.
HBK and Hogan... well.... people loved it.
Thanks to Steve Miles Thomas Chandler for this report:
I'm not sure how it came across on television, but being in the middle of it live, WWE Summerslam was a blast!
Raw Diva Search winner Ashley was walking around outside about an hour before the gates opened, talking to some fans on camera. Maybe it was on Heat, or maybe it was just a little something for the people waiting in line. It was extremely hot and humid in DC on Sunday and the line around the MCI Center was long. My friend and I took the opportunity to get a "Conway" chant started which surprisingly, quite a few people joined in on. The gates opened about 6:45.
I blinked and missed The US Title match. Benoit main evented last year and opened the show this year. At least this time he left with a victory.
It's been mentioned how angry the crowd was with the Edge/Hardy finish. Just disappointing in so many ways.
After a lighting quick first match and a big let down of a second match, the crowd was hungry for something good and the Ladder Match delivered. Huge pop after huge pop for Mysterio and Guerrero.
Eugene had a few cheers during his entrance, but as soon as Kurt Angle's music hit, Eugene didn't have a chance. By the end of the match the crowd was about 100% behind Angle with Eugene just about getting booed out of the building.
Randy Orton and The Undertaker had a pretty good match with Undertaker getting a huge pop for his entrance, naturally. Big pop for The RKO.
John Cena vs. Chris Jericho was just unreal. Jericho was getting huge pops and Cena was getting quite a few boos. As I'm sure you heard, about 50% of the crowd would chant "Let's Go Cena," while the other 50% would answer back with "Let's Go Jericho." The first clue that Jericho was so over would probably be during his backstage interview. Every time he would say something like, "I beat The Rock and Austin on the same night" and "I was the first Undisputed Champion," the crowd would go crazy! Everyone seemed to come together at the end, as the majority of the crowd loved Cena's finishing move.
Batista vs. JBL didn't have a lot of time. Huge pops for the Batista Bomb on the steps and Batista's entrance. Especially right after, "...from Washington, DC."
The crowd was definitely behind Hogan in the main event, but Shawn had his supporters. I'm not sure when we went off the air, but after the pin, Hogan celebrated for a while until Michaels came back into the ring and extended his hand. The two shook hands while Hogan posed for about 5 minutes. Lilian Garcia (who did a great job with the opening of the show) thanked us for being a part of Summerslam.
Final notes: The Presidential Seal being shown on the limo got quite a bit of heat until Mr. McMahon was shown inside. Then the heat mostly turned to applause.
While the ring was being taken down, Ric Flair walked out briefly, just being seen for about 3 seconds. The crowd that was left let out a huge "Woooooooo"!
Today's Poll Question
After last night's Summerslam PPV, it would appear that both WWE Champion John Cena and World Champion Batista are in need of new challengers. On the Raw brand, it is obvious that Kurt Angle and Edge are in prime position to challenge Cena. However, on Smackdown, the number one contender for Batista is less obvious.