Summerslam 2004 Review
Summerslam 2004 took place on Aug 15th from Toronto Ontrario Canada. JR and King commentating for Raw and Cole and Tazz cover the Smackdown Matches.
Match #1
Six Man Tag Team Match
The Dudley Boyz Vs Rey Mysterio, Kidman And Paul London
Spike recently turned on Rey and made himself the boss of the Dudleyz. D-Von hammers on Kidman in the corner and gets dropkicked for 2. London comes in for a double team, and gets 2. He dropkicks D-Von for 2, but a cheapshot from Bubba stops that. Spike comes in with the flying stomp and pounds in the corner, and Bubba comes in with a suplex and drops the elbows. D-Von back in with a chinlock and a powerslam for 2. London fights back with kicks and gets a desperation enzuiguri to make the hottag to Rey. Flapjack and flying legdrop get 2 on Spike. Top rope rana gets 2. Kidman comes in with a flying elbow and everything breaks down. London goes out with a somersault tope on Bubba and Kidman and Rey give Spike a hart attack, then Kidman goes right into a slinshot onto the middle ropes and Rey follows with 619 and Kidman hits the shooting star press but Bubba makes the save and Kidman walks into a 3D and gets pinned at 8:07. WRONG, team went over, as everyone in the joint was wanting the SSP to be the finish. 2 stars.
Match #2
Till Death Do Us Part Match
Matt Hardy Vs Kane
Lita marries the winner and she's already pregnant with Kane's rape child. Matt jumps Kane and the side effect gets 2. Guillotine legdrop gets 2. Tornado DDT gets 2. Kane gets ahold of him and beats him down. Corner clothesline and Kane chokes him down, he misses a charge and lands outside and Matt goes after him with a pescado and a twist of fate on the floor. Back in, Lita tries giving Matt the bell, and Matt makes good use of it, but it only gets 2. Matt goes up and gets caught by Kane. Kane goes up and Matt tries to follow with a DDT, but Kane turns it into a chokeslam and it's over in only 6 minutes. Whatever. 1 star.
Match #3
Best Of 5 United States Championship Match
Booker T Vs John Cena
First in the series, and the rest of them have been lost to time on Smackdown tapings. Which really defeats the whole purpose here, this should of been the final match, but Smackdown was really in the ****house as far as storylines were concerned. Cena punches and gets a clothesline for 2. Booker hits back and Cena counters with a throwback for 2. Booker crotches him on the top and dumps him. Back in, side kick and kneedrop set up a leg lariat, and Booker uses a chinlock. Cena fights out, so Booker hits him with a spinebuster and goes back to the chinlock. Cena gets a quick small package for 2 and Booker drops him with a clothesline. Booker misses the axe kick and Cena makes the superman comeback but gets flapjacked instead. Cena recovers and gets an FU and the pin to go up 1-0 in a meaningless title match. Short and boring. 1 1/2 star.
Match #4
Triple Threat Intercontinental Championship Match
Edge Vs Chris Jericho Vs Batista
Batista jumps Edge during his entrance. Jericho stomps on Batista in the corner and pounds away, but he elbows Jericho down and works him over in the corner. Jericho tries fighting back, but walks into a powerslam, which sets up the powerbomb. Edge breaks it up. Crowd is turning on Edge for some reason. They seem to favoring Jericho and getting on the other two, especially Edge. Edge and Jericho have a punchout and Edge gets a knee to the gut and the crowd boos him. Jericho tries the walls, but Edge reverses for 2. Edge rolls through a crossbody attempt and gets 2. Jericho takes him down with the walls and hangs on tight, but Batista breaks it up. He gets rid of Jericho and goes after Edge, but gets ddt'd for 2. Edge sets up for the spear, but Jericho saves Batista, only to walk into a spinbuster which gets 2 for Batista. He tries one on Edge but gets rolled up for 2. Batista gets dumped and Jericho rolls up Edge for 2. Jericho gets the bulldog, then dropkicks Batista off the apron, but gets speared and pinned at 8:25. Crowd was mostly dead and being jerks towards Edge. Match was kinda bleh. 1 1/2 star.
Match #5
Singles Match
Kurt Angle w Luther Reigns Vs Eddie Guerrero
They better get something going on this tape because the first half has been mediocre at best. Crowd starts a "Let's Go Angle" chant just to be typical doushebag Canadians. They wrestle on the mat and Kurt works the arm, but Eddie fights out of it and grabs an armbar. Angle takes him down with a german suplex, but Eddie reverses him into an anklelock of his own. Kurt makes the ropes quick and gets a quick angle slam. They fight on the mat for the anklelock, and Angle wins that battle, but Eddie makes the ropes. Luther Reigns kicks Eddie in the mush because that's what a toadie does. Angle goes back to the ankle lock and Eddie counters with an armlock which Kurt fights out of and unties Eddie's boot. He tries a chinlock and gets jawbreakered and Eddie uses the angle slam. Eddie wins the punchfest and he does the rolling vertical suplexes. He goes up, but gets caught with the possum superplex. But it's only a 2 count. Eddie counters the angle slam with a tornado ddt and he goes back up but misses the frog splash. Angle Slam gets 2. Angle pulls off the boot and puts him back in the anklelock, but the ref gets pulled down by Eddie who is desperate to get free. Eddie uses the boot and KO's Angle then plays dead. Frogsplash gets 2. Kurt miraculously wakes up and slaps on the ankle lock and grapevines the leg for the submission at 13:37. First real good thing of the night. 3 stars.
Match #6
Singles Match
HHH Vs Eugene
HHH beats on Eugene in the corner and gets elbowed in the bush. Eugene backdrops him, and the crowd starts pulling for HHH because they are on the rag tonight. HHH uses Lillian as a distraction and sneak attacks Eugene. He sets up the Spanish table but Eugene brings him back in with a suplex. HHH fakes a knee injury and we get the worked injury sign. HHH sneak attacks again and gets a backbreaker as the crowd chants "Eugene sucks". Eugene fights back and stomps HHH in the corner and gets a rock bottom which sets up the special peoples elbow and he runs into a spinebuster before completing it. He sends him outside and throws Eugene to the steps then back in where he hooks the pushkill sleeper. Eugene fights out and backdrops out of a Pedigree attempt. Eugene blocks a kick, flips off HHH and hits a stone cold stunner but HHH goes outside. They brawl outside then back in where Eugene does the big boot and legdrop for 2. Flair shows up to distract Eugene so HHH can go for the pedigree but Eugene counters into a slingshot and hits his own pedigree for 2 as Flair puts a foot on the ropes. Regal still looking beat up from the previous HHH attack decks Flair with the power of the punch but it's too late as Eugene turns into a pedigree and is pinned at 14:06. Call it 2 stars.
Diva dodgeball follows, and I follow by pressing FF. Stuff like this doesn't even earn a DUD!!! from me.
Match #7
Smackdown Championship Match
John Bradshaw Layfield w Orlando Jordan Vs The Undertaker
Taker attacks the arm and JBL fights back and gets a swining neckbreaker and Taker battles back quick. Sideslam gets 2 for JBL and he goes up with a flying shoulderblock and an elbow drop for 2. Taker goes back to the arm and the oldschool. Flatliner gets 2. Jordan gets involved, and he gets decked on the apron. Bradshaw clips Taker to take over. Fight outside and Taker gets the legdrop on the apron. Bradshaw comes back with a necksnap, but goes up and gets caught with a superplex. That gets 2 for Taker. Bradshaw blocks a powerbomb and goes back to the leg again with a spinning toehold. Taker fights out with a spinebuster for 2. They slug it out and Taker gets his flying clothesline and some corner clothelines. Snake Eyes and another clothesline gets 2. Chokeslam gets 2. He goes after Jordan, and JBL hits the clothesline from hell for 2. They slug it out in the corner and the ref goes down in the scuffle. They double booto eachother and OJ throws JBL the title belt and he whacks Taker for 2. Clothesline from Bradshaw, but Taker hits the last ride for a long two from the recovering ref. Taker fights off JBL and OJ to get the belt and smacks Bradshaw drawing a lameass dq at 17:39. Postmatch Taker chokeslams JBL through the moonroof of his limo. 2 stars.
Match #8
Raw Heavyweight Championship Match
Chris Benoit Vs Randy Orton
Orton tries a hammerlock and Benoit counters to a headlock on the mat. They do the test of strength, and Benoit does the bridge and into a wristlock. Orton escapes and tries a kneedrop, but misses and gets taken back down with the wristlock again. Benoit armdrag and he continues to work the arm. Orton breaks free but misses a dropkic. They fight over a sharpshooter and Orton wins it and the crowd doesn't like it. Benoit powers out and reverses it and Orton crawls for the ropes, Benoit let's go and slaps on a crossface. Orton posts Benoit. Back in, Orton tries an armbar. Benoit fights with knife edges but Orton suplexes him on the top rope and then fights over a suplex on the apron. They slug it out on the apron, and Benoit DDTs him on the apron. Benoit gets 2 for it. Orton slides out for a breather and Benoit baseball slides him into the barricade. Benoit follows with a tope suicida. That misses badly and he harpoons himself on the guardrail. That's another spot that probably added to his demise. Back inside Orton gets 2. We go to a neck vice, and then Orton does his backbreaker thing for 2. Orton goes to his favorite move the chinlock but Benoit fights out and they collide for the double KO. They recover before the 10 and Benoit wins a punchout with a headbutt. Orton blocks a german suplex but Benoit turns it into a northern lights suplex for 2. They fight up top and Orton fights him off and follows with a high cross body for 2. RKO is blocked by Benoit with a clothesline, he tries a sharpshooter which Orton block and instead hits a german suplex. Back to the Sharpshooter, and this time he gets it. Orton makes the ropes. Benoit knocks him silly with the rolling german suplexes then goes up top and tries the diving headbutt and lands hard on Ortons feet in another sick spot, it's just creepy to watch these spots nowadays. Orton gets 2 off it and Benoit gets a suprise crossface and Orton rolls through and gets loose long enough to get off an RKO for the pin at 20:09. Im going 3 1/2 stars. 3 for the match and a bonus 1/2 star for Benoit literally destroying his mind and body. Orton peaked WAY too damn early IMHO, this title reign turned out to be crap because he was just another transitional champ until HHH got it back a month later. Benoit demands Orton shake his and, so he does and the crowd cheers. Big hint at a face turn there.
Overall Opinion: This show was mostly mediocre for me. The crowd was bitching about everything tonight it seems. But the main event and Eddie/Angle helped boost the final score.
Final Score: I give this show 4.3 stars out of 10.0