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By Shane McKinley, PWTorch Specialist

Jeff Hardy vs. MVP

MVP is a interesting study when he's wrestling in the ring. Typically opening matches are fast-paced but this one wasn't. I never really understood wrestlers applying wrestling holds that don't seem to work into a storyline (working on the back, etc.). Seems that MVP has a new finisher, and it's that drive-by kick. Shelton Benjamin coming in at the end might just mean for Jeff Hardy fans that a lot of work needs to be done before Jeff can be trusted with gold again. The match itself was okay, but nothing special.
 
-Could have done without Maria and Beth Phoneix failing miserably to put on their mad faces with each other. Santino is rocking the unibrow. That takes guts.
 
Santino & Beth Phoneix vs. Kofi Kingston & Mickie James

"Glamarella" just doesn't quite flow off the tongue. Beth and Santino got some love, as Kofi and Mickie were treated as if they had little charisma compared to Glamarella (which is true). Bit disappointed that Santino didn't get to be women's champion (thought that would make for great comedy). The problem I had in this match was that while the women's title belt got some love, the Intercontinental title was seen as a afterthought. So the prestige of the IC belt was degraded in order for Santino to get some hype. This match worked, but it could have been more.
 
-The problem I had with this PPV is that it seemed more directed for people who typically don't buy WWE PPVs but only bought Summerslam due to Hell in a Cell and Micheal's announcement. Chris Jehrico could blame Micheals for not protecting his wife with his twisted logic. The bit was solid, but it's not Floyd Mayweather landing a combo on Big Show's nose (wonderful bit).
 
Matt Hardy vs. Mark Henry

When Kane won the ECW championship in less than 8 seconds from Chavo Guerro at Wrestlemania, it was a guilty sort of pleasure. The contenders had fought in a battle royal that only internet viewers (and people at the show) watched. There was nothing really put into it so the quick finish went off smoothly. But it seems that during the big lights ECW looks like a chump. Virtually no mention of the great Fatal Four way match on ECW a few weeks back. I understand that there is a lack of time here, but the buildup for this match was dumbed down a lot. Jeff Hardy comes out so that the match doesn't totally bomb. Unless Mark Henry goes after Jeff Hardy in some fashion, this match wasn't really needed. Kind of creepy how Matt Striker sounded at one point like Paul Heyman.
 
C.M. Punk vs. JBL

I liked what JBL did in this match. It wasn't till this match that the PPV started to pick up. The story of this match was C.M. Punk bleeding from his head and finally getting a major clean win. It will be interesting to see who Punk's opponent may be next. Considering JBL's performance, I wouldn't mind another round with these two.
 
Triple H vs. The Great Khali

I like Khali. I liked the opening of this match and what it could have become. But this was a problem with Umaga, and I think fans can agree with me on this: When Khali claps his hand around the opponent's neck in a neck vise, I groan aloud. It's boring. Nobody is going to submit. Sure it works (I guess) for the auidence at the event but for TV viewers it's fast forward material. You kinda got the sense that if more work was put into the match they could have pull it off and made it special. As it was, some work went into it, but not very much. It seemed like it was designed to suck so that it wouldn't upstage Cena vs. Batista.
 
Cena vs. Batista

Liked the pace of this match. Loved the near falls and close finishes. It was obvious that a lot of work went into this match, and it showed. I think maybe if Cena didn't have the same generic look on his face everytime he applied the STFU, then maybe I would believe it more. Grit his teeth, something. The reality is that Cena does his warface while his opponent looks like he's taking a snooze.
 
Undertaker vs. Edge

I wouldn't quite call this the WWE match of 2008, but it was very enjoyable. For comparison, I liked the Hell in a Cell Batista vs. Undertaker of last year than this match. If you're a big fan of big time characters and big-time spots, this match was for you. Crazy Edge became just soon Plain Evil Edge and the story wasn't really there. I did enjoy the 90s Undertaker ending when somebody goes up in flames due to Undertaker's mystical powers. If Jeff Jarrett tried to do something like that at the next TNA PPV they would boo TNA out of the building.

SUMMERSLAM'S FINAL VERDICT: A Little Absurd
 
Good Stuff of PPV
-Punk vs. JBL, Cena vs. Batista, Undertaker vs. Edge.
-Set design was big and bombastic.
-Santino's comedy.
 
Bad Stuff Of PPV
-EC "Chumpin" W.
-Weak opener.
-PPV didn't really take off until Punk vs. JBL.
-Khali's neck vise.
 
"The Absurdity of it All" will appear every Wednesday and Saturday. Email is mckinley.torch@gmail.com.

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