WWE Summerslam 2012 Pre Show Thread *Spoilers*

JP Liz V1

Takes place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California Sunday 19th of August

http://www.24wrestling.com/24/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/summerslam-lesnar.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRHJrG9qx80

No card yet but Triple H V Brock Lesnar seems very likely as is Punk V Cena with maybe Big Show added in for the WWE title

Potential matches that could happen Kane V Daniel Bryan, Alberto Del Rio V Rey Mysterio and Dolph Ziggler V Chris Jericho

rossie1977

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

No card yet but Triple H V Brock Lesnar seems very likely as is Punk V Cena with maybe Big Show added in for the WWE title

Potential matches that could happen Kane V Danie Bryan, ALberto Del Rio V Rey Mysterio and Dolph Ziggler V Chris Jericho

JP Liz V1

rossie1977 wrote: »

It could be Daniel Bryan V Charlie Sheen now

GTR63

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

It could be Daniel Bryan V Charlie Sheen now

(shudders)

moongoose

winning!

Yousef

It'll be Sheamus and Orton for the strap as well.

Pretty decent card. Hopefully they book it right.

JohnMarston

Yousef wrote: »

It'll be Sheamus and Orton for the strap as well.

Pretty decent card. Hopefully they book it right.

Why would Orton get a championship match so fast? Havent seen the fella in months

JP Liz V1

Yousef wrote: »

It'll be Sheamus and Orton for the strap as well.

Pretty decent card. Hopefully they book it right.

SD Spoiler

Alberto Del Rio became the No. 1 contender by defeating Kane, Daniel Bryan and Rey Mysterio for WHC title

Yousef

JohnMarston wrote: »

Why would Orton get a championship match so fast? Havent seen the fella in months

Why would John Cena be winning the WWE Title again in the next few weeks (either SS or in his hometown of Boston at NoC)? He's the last person that needs the strap. It does nothing for him but for some reason Vince is hell bent on doing it over and over again. Nothing makes much sense in the WWE - and I'm sure an Orton return won't see him being thrown into a match with some nobody in the midcard. Particularly giving his status as one of the few left remaining in the company that can draw. I've no time for Orton or Sheamus personally, neither of them entertain me at the moment - the only character Orton plays that entertains me is the scumbag heel he was a few years ago.

Stereomaniac

Agreed there. Here's hoping Randy Orton come back with a vengeance. I'm watching SmackDown right now so I didn't see the spoiler that was posted up above, but I have maintained for the last few months that they would've gotten a lot more mileage out of Daniel Bryan & Sheamus if they had played it a bit differently. Please God let's not have Charlie.

DM_7

Yousef wrote: »

Why would John Cena be winning the WWE Title again in the next few weeks (either SS or in his hometown of Boston at NoC)? He's the last person that needs the strap. It does nothing for him but for some reason Vince is hell bent on doing it over and over again. Nothing makes much sense in the WWE - and I'm sure an Orton return won't see him being thrown into a match with some nobody in the midcard. Particularly giving his status as one of the few left remaining in the company that can draw. I've no time for Orton or Sheamus personally, neither of them entertain me at the moment - the only character Orton plays that entertains me is the scumbag heel he was a few years ago.

He was too entertaining as a heel, he ended up face and led to what we have now.

I haven't missed him in the slightest.

Stereomaniac

You see, the worst thing they can do when people cheer heels is change the characters personality, because that leads to people just losing interest.

Rjd2

Don't mind Orton as face really,his best ringwork was when in that role recently.

gnfnrhead

Isn't Barrett back soon too? Have Orton come back and be about to make a speech when Barrett interrupts with one of his own. That'll keep both of them out of the way

DM_7

gnfnrhead wrote: »

Isn't Barrett back soon too? Have Orton come back and be about to make a speech when Barrett interrupts with one of his own. That'll keep both of them out of the way

Sure, if we can have Del Rio and Rey again why not Wade and Randy.

rovert

On Orton:

Randy Orton's 60 day WWE Wellness Suspension will end on 7/29, leaving him cleared to return at this Monday's Raw taping in Cincinnati, OH.

He seems fresh these days. It is kinda weird.

Stereomaniac

How so?

A Primal Nut

Spoilers in case you haven't seen Smackdown.

I think we might see a triple threat match between Sheamus, Mysterio and Del Rio at Summerslam. Clear tension between Mysterio and Del Rio and Mysterio would feel hard done by after Rodriguez' interference.

That said, triple-threat matches usually have 2 heels and 1 face so I'm not sure.

naitsirhc

gnfnrhead wrote: »

Isn't Barrett back soon too? Have Orton come back and be about to make a speech when Barrett interrupts with one of his own. That'll keep both of them out of the way

Barrett apparently isn't back until after Summer Slam

Stereomaniac

Every pay per view people ask the same question, "when is Barrett due back?" Any solid answers?!

Yousef

DM-ICE wrote: »

He was too entertaining as a heel, he ended up face and led to what we have now.

I haven't missed him in the slightest.

WWE's PG Era has seen the decimation of the 'Heel' as we know it.

Remember Triple H's run back in '99-early/mid 00's? I don't care for his backstage politics, but the man knew how to be despised and that's what makes a great heel in the industry. In fact, because of his backstage politics, HHH probably had the power to book himself strongly or at least he had Vince's ear on several notes. But it was this that made us genuinely hate the character. We won't see another heel being booked like this again, certainly not in this era. When was the last heel that won clean that you seen?

Randy Orton is also one of few guys that can play such a role. A fan tweeted him a few weeks ago and asked if he was coming back as a heel and Orton replied that he hoped so. The man is worth the paycheck when he's doing what he does best. Face Orton = bore. The point I'm making is that Orton is one of the last few in that locker room with the power to make us hate the guy with little redeeming features. People dodn't start cheering him until WWE already flipped the switch. They just don't book dominant heels anymore. It will be interesting to see how Punk's character evolves. He's been strong for a year now but once he is heel, watch and see him cheating every match. It's nonsensical but again it's all part of McMahon's "family entertainment where good overcomes evil" stance....

This is a piece I grabbed from another forum but it sums up the way heels are booked in the WWE in 2012.

WWE is afraid of a dominant heel running the empire for a litany of reasons. Firstly, they have booked their promotion to be babyface-run with John Cena at the very top. For one thing, the days of the wanton steel chair shots to the head or Triple H smashing a sledgehammer into a guy's head to get the win to conclude a standard episode of Raw or Smackdown are over. Randy Orton's punt has been removed from his move set as part of the move away from concussion-related injuries.

And since Orton was the last heel with the ultra-vicious "concussive finish" that he unleashed in sadistic fashion, it's a solid segue to noting how toned down they made him in 2009 following the attacks on Vince and the McMahons to ensure he remained booed/unpopular. They turned a psychopathic and sadistic heel into a chicken**** who needed a couple of thugs to beat up Shane McMahon for him.

You can draw a link between the death of kayfabe and the death of the almost universally loathed main event heel. Unless they're just the perfect creation at the perfect time like a JBL or Mark Henry last summer and fall, or Edge about six years ago... And even in the cases of the most ardently wicked heels, eventually they start to draw cheers because they're "cool." The Four Horsemen started it but the nWo and DX practically institutionalized it. "Cool heels" are dandy creatures but because of their coolness, their shelf life is rather short to say the least.

At this very moment, we're seeing WWE approach a crossroads with CM Punk. They can either honestly and creatively undertake the task of exuberantly establishing a Machiavellian mastermind heel of epic proportions, who is neither outright cowardly nor incapable of fighting his own battles. Coherent, logical booking would dictate that--based on the strength exhibited by Punk throughout his babyface run of the last twelve months--he could at least pose a dire threat to even the very elite-of-the-elite babyfaces like Cena, Triple H and Undertaker, but standard WWE booking of heels suggests this may not be so.

Stereomaniac

Hmm, as I was saying elsewhere, doesn't this completely destroy a character when they change his personality based on how they want the fans to perceive him? I mean, look at Daniel Bryan right now, I think the company is in a very difficult position with him right now (as far as they are concerned anyway). He has become so popular that he will always have a large section of the audience cheering him, but he is still technically a heel. This is the strongest his character has been I feel, and a change in his behaviour would be very bad. In much the same way I feel that Stone Cold Steve Austin lost a lot of his bite following that transitional year of 1997. Now he was still wildly entertaining, but technically he was a heel for large parts of it I feel, albeit a very popular one. As a fan, I just feel a bit cheated when I see a character suddenly have an "awakening."

JP Liz V1

I'd like to see Cody Rhodes feud with Randy Orton again but this time Rhodes going over

naitsirhc

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

I'd like to see Cody Rhodes feud with Randy Orton again but this time Rhodes going over

I agree, they need to blood in some new main event talent. Cody and Dolph fit the bill perfectly.

Stereomaniac

Especially Cody I think. He really has more acting ability than a lot of guys ahead of him I think.

A Primal Nut

Interesting that they haven't mentioned that Del Rio-Sheamus is a rematch. Almost like they want to people to forget the match they had at the last PPV. It's actually the fourth PPV in a row that a Sheamus-Del Rio match has being built up. But there hasn't really being any storyline to go along with the rivalry.

I like both guys;and I liked the aristocrat/peasant idea that they played out on the mic on Smackdown (hopefully they emphasise that a bit more in the buildup; could be the seeds of a great rivalry) but I really hope a no-dq or cage stipulation is added to make it more interesting; this is Summerslam afterall!

GTR63

I like both Sheamus and ADR but their rivalry has been boring. Oh Alberto is more aggressive(is that meant to stand out for his gimmick? Seriously) and Sheamus is a fighting champion(a nice way of saying he is a wee bit boring).

Stereomaniac

Wasn't someone saying here that Alberto Del Rio's character was being taken in this new direction, where he had to be more aggressive. I find Ricardo Rodriguez to be a little bit more aggressive than him at times! Against Sheamus, he doesn't seem bad, maybe with Rey?

jaykhunter

This is him being more aggressive! And by that I mean he doesn't smile anymore and is booked to semi-injure his opponents. It'll last until WWE stop booking him like this. Which'll be in a matter of weeks.

It's just trying a bit of a refresher for him. It happens to mid-carders who are pushed beyond their talent level...

SirDelboy18

jaykhunter wrote: »

This is him being more aggressive! And by that I mean he doesn't smile anymore and is booked to semi-injure his opponents. It'll last until WWE stop booking him like this. Which'll be in a matter of weeks.

It's just trying a bit of a refresher for him. It happens to mid-carders who are pushed beyond their talent level...

It's funny how bland he is.

JP Liz V1

HHH vs. Brock Lesnar
HBK will be in HHH's corner

Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship
CM Punk (c) vs. Big Show vs. John Cena

World Heavyweight Championship
Sheamus (c) vs. Alberto Del Rio

Kane vs. Daniel Bryan

Dolph Ziggler vs. Chris Jericho announced on SD this week

A Primal Nut

I'd guess Sandow vs Brodus Clay as well. For a lower card match, I'm very excited about it. This is Brodus' first real rivalry since returning with his new gimmick six months ago. Ok he had a feud with the Big Show but they never had a PPV match. Big fan of Sandow too and their contrasting personalities make for an obvious feud. I'm hoping for a Sandow win. They could have had an undefeated vs undefeated match but Clay lost one match to the Big Show on RAW (if I remember correctly).

Looks like Charlie Sheen won't be at Summerslam afterall. Wonder what happened there?

I thought Sheen vs Bryan could have been entertaining in its own way (fits in with Bryan's anger problems) - we've already seen Bryan and Kane fight numerous times this year.

People are speculating a Sheen interference in the match. I'd be shocked if WWE had a celebrity at Summerslam and not promote the hell out of it in advance so I don't think so. His name wasn't even mentioned on RAW this week although they did indirectly refer to Anger Management a couple of times.

Stereomaniac

Do you think perhaps Charlie Sheen was just a little bit too unpredictable, even for the WWE? I'm not sure what happened with his planned Tweet-ambassador thing on Raw 1000 but I believe his account was deleted after they announced it and before the show rolled around. Also, I thought that Michael Cole & The King looked a little bit stressed when they were talking to him over....whatever application it was that they were using. They were probably all on standby to cut to a quick ad break if he decided to make a bollocks of the whole thing, which he has been prone to do in the past with big stuff. Anyway, there's also the fact that he's not a wrestler, and Daniel Bryan is probably the best technical wrestler in the world right now. So it would've been a serious waste to put on that sort of match, in my opinion. A run-in might not have been awful.

A Primal Nut

I think my main problem with it would be that the celebrity usually finds a way to win.

Personally I'd love to have seen Bryan completely destroying Sheen for 10 minutes before putting him in the No lock and have him scream for a while before tapping out.

Rjd2

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

HHH vs. Brock Lesnar
HBK will be in HHH's corner

Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship
CM Punk (c) vs. Big Show vs. John Cena

World Heavyweight Championship
Sheamus (c) vs. Alberto Del Rio

Kane vs. Daniel Bryan

Dolph Ziggler vs. Chris Jericho announced on SD this week

Dull looking card sadly, we have seen Kane v Daniel Bryan many times and despite Bryan's best efforts it was never that good. Sheamus v Del Rio is another we have seen often and its a heatless feud. The WWE title match has Big Show so it won't be great either.

At least trips v Brock will deliver on the night even if the build up has been so-so.

DM_7

I won't be buying Summerslam this year anyway.

HHH v Brock and the match liz has in spoiler tags would be good but not worth the money. Big Show put me off the WWE title match sadly.

I think the 3 hour raws have me feeling burnt out already :-(

less is more sometimes.

Charisteas

CM Punk vs John Cena, with Cena cashing in his MITB and Punk's heel turn, should have all happened at Summerslam which also could have had The Rock as the special referee.

Or was the Raw 1000 really more important to WWE than this years Summerslam?

Loughc

Charisteas wrote: »

Or was the Raw 1000 really more important to WWE than this years Summerslam?

These days I think TV ratings and licensing money means more to the WWE than Summerslam, Wrestlemania seems to be the only PPV they still actually care about.

Machismo Fan

It's a really solid card. Every match on the show has the potential to at least hit good (and Bryan/Kane was well received on the Japan house show).

Stereomaniac

I think Daniel Bryan can have a good match with Kane. I think he can have a good match with anyone really. I think Sheamus & Alberto Del Rio deliver pretty solid matches too.

A Primal Nut

Charisteas wrote: »

CM Punk vs John Cena, with Cena cashing in his MITB and Punk's heel turn, should have all happened at Summerslam which also could have had The Rock as the special referee.

Or was the Raw 1000 really more important to WWE than this years Summerslam?

The advantage of doing these big storyline moments on the weekly tv shows is more people get to see it than on PPV, thus getting more people interested; especially people who haven't watched in a while. Raw 1000 was definitely one of the most important shows of the year and rightly so.

ebbsy

DM-ICE wrote: »

I won't be buying Summerslam this year anyway.

HHH v Brock and the match liz has in spoiler tags would be good but not worth the money. Big Show put me off the WWE title match sadly.

I think the 3 hour raws have me feeling burnt out already :-(

less is more sometimes.

Yea remember the ould Summerslams with the reports leading up, Demolition vs Harts etc, why did they put Show into that match ? Kane vs Bryan wtf ?

W'ont be buying it, and they need to reduce the PPV's as well.

rovert

Following last night's Smackdown, WWE ran a video where Booker T announced that Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio at Summerslam has been canceled.
In a video posted on the website, Booker stated that the match was off as punishment for Del Rio's attack on Sheamus. WWE is teasing that the entire World title picture is up in the air as they don't know who will compete against Sheamus instead or even whether Sheamus will be "cleared to wrestle" at the PPV.

:P

jaykhunter

Every other time there's been a sneak-attack on the go-home show, it results in an added stipulation! Who's been caught with what is the question? Or could it be WWE trying to drum up some online interest in a match with absolutely no heat?

rovert

jaykhunter wrote: »

Every other time there's been a sneak-attack on the go-home show, it results in an added stipulation! Who's been caught with what is the question? Or could it be WWE trying to drum up some online interest in a match with absolutely no heat?

Or just adding Orton someway.

Mr.Saturn

rovert wrote: »

Or just adding Orton someway.

Probably best, considering the wider interest of the feud is about equal to that of a blind man trying the count the measures of paint drying on the shore during an incoming tide.

GTR63

Mr.Excitement Randy Orton is expected to bring life to a boring feud?
Eh good luck with that one wwe.

Mr.Saturn

GTR63 wrote: »

Mr.Excitement Randy Orton is expected to bring life to a boring feud?
Eh good luck with that one wwe.

I'd hope so, considering he can make Ziggler and whatnot -even when he's when winning- look like a trip to a Dubai hotel, on random episodes of Smackdown too, and then, turn around and help make Mark Henry into one of the most compelling main-event figures since you know who. All the whilst never losing a modicum of credibility. I'd take the triple-threat, honestly.

Charisteas

Did Sheamus or Del Rio fail a wellness policy perhaps?

Lord TSC

Am I right in saying that out of the last 4 PPVs, Sheamus vs Del Rio has been advertised 4 times and then changed at the last second three times?

Mr.Saturn

Teamshadowclan wrote: »

Am I right in saying that out of the last 4 PPVs, Sheamus vs Del Rio has been advertised 4 times and then changed at the last second three times?

Yup. Generally, this'd speak volumes of a company's faith in a talent, but Del Rio seems to be made of telfon (to corporate, at least) since his rotten WWE title runs.