Chairshot Classics
Chairshot Classics: WWE SummerSlam 2010

SummerSlam 2010 brings the WWE facing the dawn of The Nexus in a 7-Vs-7 Elimination Match. Sheamus continues his feud with Randy Orton with the WWE Championship on the line. Rey Mysterio tries to defy the odds against Kane for the World Heavyweight Title..
For the second year in a row, and for four more, we are in the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The house is packed with 17,463 fans and another 350K tuning in on PPV. These numbers are about the same as the previous year. We get two infamous sponsors that kind of go hand and hand, 7-Eleven and Slim Jim. The band Jet will give us the theme of “Rip it Up.” We are fresh off the heels of Money in the Bank here where Kane won the World Title contract and The Miz won the WWE contract. Lets get the show started and see what SummerSlam 2010 has to offer!
The show opens with the LA Skyline at night and the Staples center is the main focus. The video package is well put together and shows the “Nexus Invasion” of the WWE as the narrator warns of change. Its also shows the battle between The Big Show and CM Punk’s Straight-Edge Society. This is well produced and paints a great picture for the start of this faction fueled PPV. It isn’t long before we enter the arena for this “23rd Edition on SummerSlam”.
After we see the packed house we are joined by the announce team of Michael Cole, Jerry “The King” Lawler and Matt Striker. The boys are quick to get things underway and announce the first competitor in this match for the Intercontinental Championship. The champ, Dolph Ziggler enters first and is joined by his assistant Vickie Guerrero. We see a quick clip of how her interference cost the challenger, Kofi Kingston the Title. Vickie takes to the mic with her annoying “Excuse me, Excuse me” bit and gets the desired heat from the fans. She is cut off by the music of Kofi Kingston and the crowd gives some pop for this. He gets some more pop before the bell sounds by hitting the corners. Kofi strikes first with a forearm that takes Dolph off his feet. The stomping by Kofi goes on until the ref forces the separation. Dolph returns to his feet and Kingston quickly sends him to the outside with a clothesline over the top rope. This sends the crowd into an early frenzy. The suicide dive is attempted by Kofi next but Vickie pulls the arm of Ziggler and out of harms way. Kofi gets all the harm though and crashes head first into the security wall. Ziggler is quick to return to the ring and scream at the official to start the count. Ziggler goes for a quick cover when Kingston returns to the ring, but Kofi kicks out quick.
Ziggler is frustrated early but still manages the reverse neckbreaker on Kingston. He tries for another cover but Kofi is able to easily kick-out. Dolph applies the rear naked choke but Kofi is able to rally, and escape behind some chants bearing his name. When they return to their feet, Ziggler is still able to land the first punch and proceeds to choke Kofi with the bottom rope. The ref is forced to break this after he counts to three. The crowd again begins with some “Lets go Kofi” chants and he uses this to take Ziggler off his feet, first with kicks then punches. Ziggler is quick to slow the gaining momentum and drop toe holds Kofi into the second turnbuckle. Dolph then hooks the leg but still is able to only manage the two count. Kofi is left in a seated position after a snapmare and this sets Dolph up to hit a running version onto the seated Kingston. This time Ziggler hooks both legs for the cover, but Kofi still rolls out of it. Ziggler begins to use a chinlock on Kofi, and when it looks like Kingston may escape, Dolph drops an elbow into his spine and locks the hold back on. Kofi again starts to wiggle free and just as he does Ziggler drops another elbow. This time he tries for a cover, but Kingston still kicks out. After the failed cover Dolph goes right back to a submission hold, this time a headlock. Kofi makes it to his knees and after some midsection punches, makes it to his feet. Dolph again thwarts this with a kick to the midsection followed by a whip to the turnbuckle. Ziggler tries for a splash but Kofi is able to move. This leaves Dolph’s face crashing into the top turnbuckle. Kofi again rallies, this time behind a pair of two handed chops and a dropkick. After a high leaping Lou Thesz variant, Kofi hits his signature Branch Lock. No idea why it is called this because it isn’t a lock at all, more a leg drop version of a Five Knuckle Shuffle. Kofi hits a springboard crossbody, off the second turnbuckle, but Ziggler is able to roll through it and hook the leg of Kingston. It is as near as it gets but Kofi still kicks out regardless.
Ziggler hits the Fame-Asser quickly and tries for another cover. But once again Kofi kicks out. Kingston is able to slow Dolph with a kick to the face and is quick to take to the top rope. Kingston hits the diving fist and is waiting to give Ziggler Trouble in Paradise. He is able to duck it though and put Kofi in the standing sleeper hold. This is when the men of The Nexus enter and destroy both men. Ziggler is able to escape and leave Kingston for the dogs. This is a common theme of the WWE at the time with what was going on with The Nexus. Wade Barrett takes to the mic after the assault and attacks the WWE roster that way. He finishes with the stables signature “You’re either Nexus or You’re against us.” This is basically done to build hype for who their seventh man will be for the Main Event. This was a great match and until the screwy finish I enjoyed it. That being said I think the original idea for this match would have been better. The original plan was a six way featuring Cody Rhodes, Matt Hardy, Drew McIntyre, a Nexus member and the original two competitors. This is believed to have been scrapped for two reasons, one being that it would be less believable if Nexus beat that many guys up and it was easier to pull off with two guys. The other is more interesting. McIntyre was in a confrontation with his then wife, Tiffany (Taryn Terrell of TNA fame) at the hotel after a night of partying at the playboy mansion. The cops said that Drew was the one assaulted and arrested her for it. This would lead to her dismissal from the company and the reason a Women’s tag match was also scrapped from the card. Regardless, a good match with a terrible WCW-like booked finish. Match Time-7:05
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Classic SummerSlam
Attitude Of Aggression #277- The Big Four Project Chapter 4: Summer Slam ’88 & Survivor Series ’88

The Attitude Of Aggression returns for Chapter 4 of The Big Four Project, a chronological analysis, review, and discussion about WWE’s Big Four PPVs/ Premium Live Events. On this Episode, Dave is again joined by the one and only PC Tunney to discuss two more huge events in pro wrestling history, the inaugural Summer Slam and Survivor Series’88. However, the guys are also joined by the debuting DJ of The Mindless Wrestling Podcast to join in the festivities. Summer Slam ’88 was a key event in the story of the rise, and eventual fall, of The Mega Powers. But it also saw a different kind of explosion as The Ultimate Warrior burst upon the scene like few had before him with an iconic dethroning of The Honky Tonk Man. The fellas look at how the events of that night in MSG nearly 35 years ago redefined an industry. From there, Dave & DJ recap the second Survivor Series. While not as unique or good as the first Survivor Series, there were still many key moments that took place that night. The Mega Powers would be the sole survivors of their match that night,,,,but they would not survive as a united force for much longer. What changed that night in Richfield, Ohio so long ago? We have the whole story for you here on Chapter 4 of The Big Four Project!
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Chairshot Classics
Chairshot Classics: What I Watched #16 – ECW Guilty As Charged 1999
Breaking up the 2018 time travel with a much deeper dive! Harry goes back to some prime ECW with Guilty As Charged 1999!

Greetings, salutations and welcome back. Harry here once again with another edition of ‘What I Watched’. As the calendar year turns to 1999 on my watch-through of all things ‘big three’ wrestling, I covered Starrcade 1998 in an earlier edition of WIW. I figured since this is probably the last year where all three major companies are relevant (at least at the start), it could be fun to compare and contrast how I feel about the respective PPVs when compared to some of the independent wrestling I’ve been covering recently. Or even going back to the PROGRESS or Impact Wrestling shows that I’ve covered before. I am fully aware there are going to be some bad shows in 1999. But there is also a lot to talk about in a drastically changing industry. Let’s do this, shall we?
ECW is in flux as talent losses haven’t yet gotten to what they would become but names like Sandman, Mikey Whipwreck, Bam Bam Bigelow and others are no longer with the company. To make matters worse, the ECW-FMW relationship is falling apart now as well as a Chris Candido and Sunny (sorry, Tammy Lynn Sytch) no-show of a scheduled FMW appearance. Paul Heyman himself is the first person we see telling us the card is going to change…how much does it change? The WayBack Machine takes us to January 10th, 1999 in Kissimmee, FL as it’s time for ECW to be Guilty as Charged!
What I Watched #16
ECW Guilty as Charged 1999
1/10/1999
Millenium Theatre in Kissimmee, FL
Runtime: 2:40:30 (Peacock)
Commentary By: Joey Styles (PBP)
THE RESULTS
- Match 1: Axl Rotten/Ballz Mahoney win 3 team tag elimination match, eliminating Little Guido/Tracy Smothers @ 10:44 (Danny Doring/Roadkill eliminated @ 8:15)
- Match 2: Yoshihiro Tajiri pins Super Crazy, dragon suplex @ 11:37
- Match 3: Psycho Sid Vicious pins John Kronus, powerbomb @ 1:31
- Match 4: Bubba Ray and D’Von Dudley def. New Jack/Spike Dudley, both Dudleyz pin Spike @ 10:05
- Match 5: ECW TV Title- Rob Van Dam pins Lance Storm, bridged German suplex @ 17:46
- Match 6: Justin Credible pins Tommy Dreamer, That’s Incredible on ladder @ 18:44
- Match 7: ECW Heavyweight Title- Taz defeats Shane Douglas © by KO, Tazmission @ 22:15
THE BREAKDOWN
Three Team Tag Elimination Match
Started as a straight up 2 vs. 2, but within the first two minutes, Ballz and Axl (Axl making his return to the company after the passing of his grandmother) join the frey and it becomes your traditional ECW three team brawl. Nothing really stands out here but the overall work is good enough for what the match is supposed to be. The elimination of Doring and Roadkill is well done, as a FBI double-team fishermanbuster looks really cool and gets a decisive win for what was to be the original match. They do give the win to Axl and Ballz here, which I get given the fact they are a popular act, but I personally think that Guido and Tracy were a better team during the time frame. (**½)
Super Crazy vs. Tajiri
Yes, it’s the feud that never ends. But this is where it begins. Both men were relative newcomers to the American wrestling scene with both having had limited exposure on WWF TV (both were in the Light Heavyweight title tournament). This is a good match but not a great match and honestly, I think timing is the issue here. Eleven minutes may seem like a lot but knowing what these two would be capable of down the road once there is more of a fan and time investment into their matches, it ends up being a good starting point but probably not the blow away match that ECW was expecting to deliver here. (***)
John Kronus vs. Mystery Opponent
So, ECW fans are notorious for their belief that the “big oaf” style of the WWF and WCW wouldn’t work in ECW. Obviously, they are wrong. Guys like Big Dick Dudley and 911 became massive fan favorites due to their look, not anything they could do in a wrestling ring. You can add another name to that list, as Psycho Sid makes his ECW debut here (following an introduction by the ‘Judge’ Jeff Jones) and absolutely kicks Kronus’ ass in less than two minutes. Sid was never anything special in the ring but he is one of the more charismatic big men in wrestling history so the cult-like following is easy to understand. Too short to rate, but fun for what it was. (X)
Dudleyz vs. New Jack/Spike Dudley
Sixteen year old Harry getting into ECW was a huge Joel Gertner fan. Thirty seven year old Harry going back and watching these shows is an even bigger fan of Joel Gertner. Granted, his shtick is incredibly juvenile but sometimes, you just want to laugh…
The match is your standard ECW garbage brawl. Most New Jack matches definitely have a similarity to them that does not hold up well for re-watching. I will openly admit to being a Spike Dudley mark and he does well taking an ass whooping from Bubba Ray. The Dudleyz definitely have their moments in ECW (the best is still to come in my opinion) but this isn’t one of their best performances. I will give props to New Jack for taking 3D on the ramp, even if it doesn’t come across the cleanest. About what you’d expect, but nothing more. (**)
TV Title- Rob Van Dam © vs. Lance Storm
Rob Van Dam vs. Masato Tanaka was the originally scheduled match and I think it could have been fun. However, Tanaka apparently has visa issues which prevent him from being able to get into the US for the show and thus ECW has to pivot quickly. I do have to give credit to Lance Storm for his pre-match promo here. For someone who is not known as one of the better talkers in wrestling history, he does a really good job explaining the situation with the 3 way that was supposed to happen (Storm vs. Spike vs. Jerry Lynn (cracked pelvis)) and then calling out Rob Van Dam since his opponent wasn’t there either. Storm has a really good closing line for the promo too: “I’m not the ‘Whole F’n Show’, but I am the best damn part of it’. That is one of the lines that sticks with you and you remember it.
The match itself is very good but not great. It is better than anything else on the show, so perhaps I’m rating it on a slight curve for that. Van Dam’s selling is sporadic but to be fair, Van Dam’s selling is always sporadic. The biggest thing for me is that despite that, they still keep an impressive pace and the match is by and large clean. There is a super weak chair shot by Storm (which the crowd gives him a good ration of shit over), but they do manage to turn that crowd around for the finishing sequence. A little surprised by the choice of finish, but I imagine that has something to do with telling the idea that Storm got caught and wasn’t soundly defeated like most of Van Dam’s prior opponents had been. (***½)
Stairway to Hell- Justin Credible vs. Tommy Dreamer
The problem for Credible in ECW is that Paul wanted you to believe that Justin was this huge deal but truthfully, the booking never actually treated him as such. Yeah, he won…A LOT…but more often than not, it was almost treated as an afterthought. He very rarely won the big matches on his own and while I get that as a heel, you want to give him that sense of dickishness, as a wrestling fan eventually you have to make it look like the dude could stand up on his own. Dreamer has long been a favorite of mine, even if he has overstayed his welcome in the ring on occasion. You know going in that win or lose, Tommy will bust his ass to give you as good a match as he is capable of.
As for this match, it never reaches that next level that you expect a gimmicked semi main event of a PPV to reach. It’s not actively bad or anything (in fact, probably up there for Credible’s best match in ECW to date) but with the stipulation and the gaga around it, it feels like there was so much more it could have been. The finish comes off really flat as well as it renders the whole point of the stipulation useless and only serves to put more heat on Credible by way of Funk. (**½)
Heavyweight Title- Shane Douglas © vs. Taz
So, I’ll be a little nicer to this match then some other reviewers I’ve seen for a couple reasons. It completely accomplishes the goal that Heyman set out for it. Taz comes out of the match looking like a world beater. Douglas comes out of the match as the face of the company who “went out on his shield” as the old phrase goes. Sabu looks like a lunatic and a viable threat to take the title at any time he damn well pleases. Candido comes off as a huge dick and sticks the final knife in Douglas’ back for the end scene. So the story telling is magnificent.
The match itself? At least a good five to seven minutes too long for that story. I get wanting that epic storytelling to fold out but when you guys are down and low on ideas, it might not be the worst idea to take it home. The other issue is that by trying to serve so many masters, Heyman causes the main event to end up being epically overbooked. Granted, that is an ECW trademark but for what was to be the crowning moment for Taz, I don’t think the 73rd Airborne needed to be a part of it. Sabu could have just as easily returned post match to set up a run with Taz. Or Candido could have turned on Douglas post match to give him a direction going forward since Taz would be occupied with Sabu. I’m not saying it completely takes away the moment but it does make it mean less than it could or should have in the overall scheme of things. (**)
THE FINAL REACTION
- Best Match/Moment: Rob Van Dam vs. Lance Storm, although I do think their match at the first ECW PPV ‘Barely Legal’ (which I imagine I’ll eventually do) is better
- Worst Match/Moment: The main event. What could have been an awesome moment for the ‘Human Suplex Machine’ and the biggest ass kicker in the company is ruined with a boring crowd brawl (to the home viewer) and a couple of run-ins that either end up actively taking away from it.
- Overall Show Score: 5.5/10
- MVP: Joey Styles is the best thing about this show with his one man performance. There is a reason he was such a major influence on what I did as an announcer.
THE SIGNOFF
It’s not a bad show. It’s just not a particulary good one either. And while ECW would put out worse, it only barely outdoes Starrcade 98 to avoid the worst show of the return thus far.
So, where do we go from here? January of 1999 had no chill. The very next Sunday would see the first WCW outing of 1999, called Souled Out. The Sunday after that would be the 1999 edition of the Royal Rumble. I’m going to hit both of those but as a fair warning, I’ll probably try to mix an Independent show from 2018 in the middle of them. Hope to see you guys at Souled Out. And feel free to check out my archives by clicking on my name at the top of this review. Thanks for reading, everyone.
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