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WWE SummerSlam PPV Reax #2: "Edge vs Undertaker is the current Match of the Year, and I don't get how anybody can say otherwise." Aug 17, 2008 - 11:37:06 PM
Colin Johnson of Kalamazoo, Mich. (8.0): Best Match: Undertaker vs. Edge. Worst Match: Matt Hardy vs Mark Henry. Wow! This was WWE's best ppv since Wrestlemania 24 in my opinion. Other than the ECW Title match, every match was entertaining to watch. MVP vs Jeff Hardy was good, and I'm glad to see Jeff's neck ISN'T broken (wasn't WWE the one who made that claim?). "Glammarella" vs. Mickie & Kofi was another fun match, and will almost definitely make for some entertaining segments on Raw in the upcoming weeks. Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho were absolutely amazing, but HBK's wife getting struck by Jericho was a little predictable. Mark Henry vs Matt Hardy was... short. I'm a little ticked at that because I was the most interested I've been in an ECW Title match in a long time. C.M. Punk FINALLY gets a clean win over JBL in what was a pretty good match as well. I'm still worried that WWE will continue to make Punk look weak over big main eventers like Batista. Speaking of Batista, his match against Cena was ten times better than I thought it would be, and I'm amazed WWE actually let this match have a clean finish, especially since Cena was the loser. But without a doubt, Edge vs Undertaker is the current Match of the Year, and I don't get how anybody can say otherwise. Don't get me wrong, there have been other great matches produced by both WWE and TNA this year, but none of them have been this exciting, have had this much hype, and have told such a great story. This didn't look like the most promising card to me before the PPV started, but wow was it awesome to watch.
Mike Omansky (5.5): Best match: Batista-Cena. Worst match: Henry-Hardy. No bad matches on the card, and most were good...nothing exceptional. Hell in the Cell was good for what it is - Edge and Undertaker worked hard. Batista-Cena was a solid match, although hardly a classic. JBL-Punk decent. Loved Santino Marella's celebration.
Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (10.0): Best: Michaelses-Jericho segment; HIAC Worst: Triple H-Khali The 10.0 is for going above and beyond the call of duty and beyond expectations based on build. The build for most of the card was okay at best, save for Edge-Taker. Hardy-MVP was a good opening choice, and told a good story of MVP countering Jeff's usual high-risk manuvers. I also like that Shelton figured into the match as his last two matches were affected by the feud. Seeing a three-way for the U.S. Title coming and liking what could be there regardless of winner. The intergender match was fun and I was a bit surprised that Beth/Santino won but the stip fit them winning better. Beth is the new Mamacita, and I'm not minding it too much. The segment with Shawn. Rebecca, and Jericho was perfect. It baited the crowd into believing Shawn was indeed retiring (and at his debut PPV, which a fine second to WrestleMania) then switched hard when Rebecca, bless her for going through with this, took the punch from Jericho. The post-punch internal conflict with Shawn was extremely well done, as he came out looking at peace with the decision to leave and was very concerned for Rebecca's well-being afterwards. I should have felt cheated by the too-short Hardy-Henry match, but I don't. It allows more time to build toward a good title match, and maybe figure the Atlas situation out. Cool belt graphic, too. I hope Punk is okay after his match with JBL. The crack to the back of his head looked brutal and obviously accidental. The match wasn't very good but didn't lose the Sam's Town crowd (big plus) and featured a clean solid win, which was a good thing all around. Triple H-Khali wasn't all that good, either, match-wise, but Khali sold the Pedigree well. Had Cena-Batista taken place in 2005 when the first real seed was planted, I truly believe it would have been nowhere near as good as the result tonight. I was burnt out real quick from the way-off-par build, but the match was a really good one. After every HIAC before it were nasty bloody affairs, it's hard to fathom a nearly bloodless one, but the spectacle of the finish made up for it. The spot outside the Cell seemed improvised, but they did well to come up with something on the spot (pun intended). Edge coming out in Renfield face totally fit his story in the match. Hopefully the fiery finish was ceremonial and symbolic and not played to any sort of reality. Anyone watching or knowing of Days Of Our Lives should be familiar with the Stefano DiMera character, who so far has more lives than a cat and Undertaker combined.
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