| SummerSlam | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Promotion | World Wrestling Entertainment | ||
| Brand(s) | Raw SmackDown! ECW | ||
| Date | August 26, 2007[2] | ||
| City | East Rutherford, New Jersey[3] | ||
| Venue | Continental Airlines Arena[3] | ||
| Attendance | 17,441[4][5][6] | ||
| Buy rate | 537,000 | ||
| Tagline | The Party Is Over[7] | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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| SummerSlam chronology | |||
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The 2007SummerSlam was aprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV)event produced byWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the 20th annualSummerSlam and took place on August 26, 2007, at theContinental Airlines Arena inEast Rutherford, New Jersey, held for wrestlers from the promotion'sRaw,SmackDown!, andECWbrand divisions. Tickets for SummerSlam went on sale on December 30, 2006, and sold out in 40 minutes.
The mainfeud, a staged rivalry between wrestlers, heading into the event from the Raw brand was betweenJohn Cena andRandy Orton. On the July 23 episode ofRaw,Jonathan Coachman announced Orton as the number one contender to theWWE Championship. Over the proceeding weeks, Orton provoked Cena by interfering and attacking him during his matches. From SmackDown!, the predominant feud was betweenThe Great Khali andBatista. After Khali defeated Batista andKane in atriple threat match,Theodore Long booked Khali to defend theWorld Heavyweight Championship against Batista at SummerSlam. The primary feud from ECW was betweenJohn Morrison andCM Punk. By defeating Morrison in a15 Minutes of Fame match, Punk became the number one contender to theECW Championship at SummerSlam.
Several of the existing feuds carried on after the event. Notably, CM Punk continued to face John Morrison, defeating him for the ECW Championship the following month onECW on Sci Fi. The day after SummerSlam, Orton, as part of the scripted events, interfered in a match between Cena and King Booker and intensified the feud by attacking Cena's father. Khali and Batista faced each other atUnforgiven, the following pay-per-view, as part of a triple threat match; Batista was victorious in this match and won the World Heavyweight Championship. This event marks the in-ring returns ofRey Mysterio andTriple H, who had been out due to injury since October 2006 andJanuary 2007 respectively.
SummerSlam is an annualpay-per-view (PPV) produced every August byWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) since 1988. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer",[8] it is one of the promotion's original four pay-per-views, along withWrestleMania,Royal Rumble, andSurvivor Series, referred to as the "Big Four".[9] It has since become considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind WrestleMania.[10][11] The 2007 event was the 20th SummerSlam and was scheduled to be held on August 26, 2007, at theContinental Airlines Arena inEast Rutherford, New Jersey. It featured wrestlers from theRaw,SmackDown!, andECWbrand divisions.[5][2][4]
WWE had originally planned a storyline between the cast of theJackass television series andUmaga, with the conclusion in a match at SummerSlam.[12] It was scheduled to begin at the previous pay-per-view event,The Great American Bash, but was canceled after theJackass cast dropped out due to the negative media attention surrounding theChris Benoit double murder and suicide.[12] However, 14 years later, theJackass cast andJohnny Knoxville himself would later have a match atWrestleMania 38 againstSami Zayn.[13]
The mainstaged rivalry heading into SummerSlam on theRawbrand was betweenJohn Cena andRandy Orton over theWWE Championship. At The Great American Bash, Cena defeatedBobby Lashley to retain the WWE Championship.[14][15] The next night onRaw, after aHandicap match involving Cena, Orton came out and executed an RKO on Cena. Shortly thereafter,Executive AssistantJonathan Coachman announced Orton as the new number-one contender to the WWE Championship.[16] Before that, Orton claimed that he had never faced Cena in a one-on-one WWE Championship match.[16] On the July 30 episode ofRaw,Carlito defeated Cena in a non-title match after Orton interfered and distracted Cena.[17] Three weeks later, on the August 18 episode ofSaturday Night's Main Event XXXV, Cena faced off against Carlito in another non-title match, which Cena won.[18] After the match, Orton came out and attacked Cena, which led to a RKO from Orton through asteel chair.[18]
The main storyline on the SmackDown! brand was betweenThe Great Khali andBatista over theWorld Heavyweight Championship. On the July 6 episode ofSmackDown!, Khali issued an open challenge for a match at The Great American Bash, which was accepted by Batista later that night.[19] OnSmackDown! the following week, the match between Khali and Batista was made official after a contract signing.[20] That same night, then-World Heavyweight ChampionEdge, who was scheduled to faceKane for the title at The Great American Bash, suffered a legitimate injury—aleft pectoral muscle tear—after Kane interrupted hisMardi Gras style celebration.[21] On the July 20 episode ofSmackDown!, Edge was forced to vacate the World Heavyweight Championship due to the severity of his injury.[21][22] He later commented-
I'm still the rightful champion. My pectoral muscle is hanging on by a single fiber; literally hanging from the bone. Theodore Long comes out and strips me of what I've worked for my entire career—from childhood until now. My mood is obviously not great right now. I'm disgusted.
I go out there and put my body through hell. I've broken my neck, dislocated my shoulder twice, torn my other pec, my elbows are mush, I have two protruding discs in my lower back. I even got bit by a brown recluse spider that turned into a flesh-eating disease—the list goes on. I still go out there and prove that I am the best.
Why do I still do this? Not for them. I do it for my pride. I don't give a rat's ass what the fans think. I never have. That's not how I operate. I know that fans will be happy with this, and that pisses me off. I've come to the realization that our fans never will appreciate me. But they had to live with me as their champion, and when I return and become a four-time World Champion, they'll have to deal with me again.
SmackDown! General ManagerTheodore Long then announced that there would be a 20-manBattle Royal later that night to determine a new World Heavyweight Champion.[21][24] Khali won the Battle Royal and became the new World Heavyweight Champion by last eliminating Kane and Batista.[21][24] Khali defeated the two and retained the title at The Great American Bash.[25][26] Five days later onSmackDown!, Batista interrupted Khali's celebration and challenged him to a match at SummerSlam.[27] The next week, on the August 3 episode ofSmackDown!, Long announced that Khali would defend his title against Batista at SummerSlam.[28]
Another main rivalry on the Raw brand heading into SummerSlam was between the returningTriple H againstKing Booker. AtNew Year's Revolution, during aWorld Tag Team Championship match betweenRated-RKO (Edge and Randy Orton) andD-Generation X (Shawn Michaels and Triple H), Triple H suffered a legitimate torn right quadriceps during the match that left him out of action. On the July 16 episode ofRaw, Booker entered using Triple H's entrance music "King of Kings". Booker declared that neither Triple H norJerry Lawler could be known as "The King". On the August 6 episode ofRaw, Booker defeated Lawler in a match where the loser had to crown the winner the next week. When the time came, Lawler refused, declaring that Triple H was still a king and announcing that Booker would face Triple H at SummerSlam. Booker then attacked Lawler, throwing him into the ring post and hitting him with a television monitor. Then the following week when Lawler was not on RAW due to the injuries suffered, Booker would force Jim Ross (with the help of Queen Charmell) to kiss his feet.
The predominant staged rivalry from the ECW brand was betweenJohn Morrison andCM Punk over theECW Championship. Morrison (then known as Johnny Nitro) won the vacant title atVengeance: Night of Champions defeating Punk.[29] At The Great American Bash, Morrison defeated Punk to retain the championship.[30] On the July 31 episode ofECW, Punk defeatedTommy Dreamer andElijah Burke in aTriple threat match to earn a15 Minutes of Fame match with Morrison.[31][32] The following week onECW, Punk defeated Morrison by pinfall after executing aGTS (Go To Sleep).[33][34] As a result of this victory, Punk earned himself a championship match against Morrison at SummerSlam.[33][34]
One of the primarypreliminary matches was astandard one-on-one match betweenRey Mysterio andChavo Guerrero. Their storyline first began in July 2006 atThe Great American Bash. Guerrero interfered in Mysterio's World Heavyweight Championship match with King Booker by hitting Mysterio with a steel chair, costing him the championship.[35] Guerrero defeated Mysterio the following month atSummerSlam 2006, winning the match after performing afrog splash[36] AtNo Mercy, Mysterio defeated Guerrero in aFalls Count Anywhere match, pinning him after performing acrossbody off a guard rail.[37] On the October 20 episode ofSmackDown!, Guerrero defeated Mysterio in an"I Quit" match by forcing him to quit after hitting his left knee repeatedly with a steel chair.[38][39] During the match, Mysterio suffered a real injury—anACL andpatella tendon tear in his left knee.[38][39] Ten months later, on the August 3 episode ofSmackDown!, a match between Mysterio and Guerrero wasbooked for SummerSlam.[40]
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Englishcommentators | Jim Ross(Raw) |
| Jerry Lawler(Raw) | |
| Michael Cole(SmackDown!) | |
| John "Bradshaw" Layfield(SmackDown!) | |
| Joey Styles(ECW) | |
| Tazz(ECW) | |
| Spanish commentators | Carlos Cabrera |
| Hugo Savinovich | |
| Interviewer | Todd Grisham |
| Ring announcers | Lilian Garcia(Raw) |
| Justin Roberts(ECW) | |
| Tony Chimel(SmackDown!) | |
| Referees | Mike Chioda(Raw) |
| Jack Doan(Raw) | |
| Marty Elias(Raw) | |
| Chad Patton(Raw) | |
| Mickie Henson(SmackDown!) | |
| Jim Korderas(SmackDown!) | |
| Charles Robinson(SmackDown!) | |
| Scott Armstrong(ECW) | |
| John Cone(ECW) |
Before the event went live on pay-per-view,World Tag Team ChampionsLance Cade and Trevor Murdoch defeatedPaul London and Brian Kendrick in adark match.[5][41]
The first match that aired was betweenKane andFinlay. Kane controlled the opening minutes of the match, performing a variety of moves including ascoop slam and abig boot. After some back and forth action, Finlay was able to hit Kane with ashillelagh in the ribs. Kane kicked out of thepin attempt and executed achokeslam, pinning him afterwards for the win.[4]
Next was a triple threat match for theWWE Intercontinental Championship that involvedUmaga,Carlito, andMr. Kennedy. Kennedy attempted to form an alliance with Carlito in the beginning, but Umaga quickly turned the match in his favor. Kennedy and Carlito soon gained the upper hand after Carlitodropkicked Umaga to the outside. Shortly thereafter, Carlito turned on Kennedy and attempted to pin him with aroll-up. After a back and forth match between the three, Umaga regained control and performed aSamoan Spike on Kennedy, which led to Umaga pinning Kennedy for the win and successfully retaining the WWE Intercontinental Championship.[4]
The third match wasRey Mysterio versusChavo Guerrero, which was Mysterio's first match since Guerrero injured his knee in October 2006. Mysterio gained the early advantage when he was able to perform anarm drag and aplancha on Guerrero. Mysterio then performed alow dropkick to Guerrero's left knee, followed by adiving hurricanrana. Towards the end of the match, Guerrero was able to perform aGory Bomb on Mysterio after Mysterio had missed acrossbody. Mysterio kicked out of the pin attempt and performed a 619 followed by aspringboardsplash for the pinfall victory.[4]
Next was anInterpromotionalDivas Battle Royal involvingBeth Phoenix,Melina,Mickie James,Jillian Hall, andMaria fromRaw,Michelle McCool,Torrie Wilson,Kristal, andVictoria fromSmackDown!, andKelly Kelly,Layla, andBrooke fromECW. Shortly after the match began, Phoenix threw Brooke over the top rope. Soon after, Hall eliminated Maria and Layla was thrown out by Melina. Kristal then eliminated Victoria, but was then thrown over the ropes by James and accidentally knocked off the apron by McCool. Shortly after, Phoenix and Hall eliminated Kelly, and Hall and James began pulling each other over the ropes. Wilson threw Hall out to the floor whilst Melina knocked James off the apron. McCool and Wilson then worked together to eliminate Melina. The two continued their alliance, but Phoenix was able to get the upper hand, first eliminating Wilson, followed by throwing McCool over the ropes to win the match and a futureWWE Women's Championship match.[4]
Shortly after the match ended,WWE United States ChampionMontel Vontavious Porter (MVP) came to the ring and challengedMatt Hardy to a beer drinking contest. Hardy declined and named a replacement,Stone Cold Steve Austin. Austin came out and mocked MVP by doing several warm-up exercises similar to those MVP does before a match. As the contest was set to start, Austin delivered aStone Cold Stunner to MVP and left the ring.[4][42]
Next on thecard wasJohn Morrison versusCM Punk for theECW Championship. Punk gained early control when he was able to perform a scoop slam as well as a springboard dropkick; however, Morrison was able to counter a shoulder block attempt into aneckbreaker on the ring apron. After Morrison controlled the match for several minutes, Punk was able to put the match back in his favor after performing a diving crossbody followed by anenzuigiri. Morrison, however, countered aFrankensteiner attempt into a pin-cover while using the ropes for leverage. He got the win, thus retaining the ECW Championship.[4]
The sixth match of the event was between the returningTriple H andKing Booker, who was accompanied byQueen Sharmell. Triple H gained the early advantage as the match began; however, King Booker was able to gain control after performing a low dropkick. Triple H regained control after countering King Booker and performing a variety of moves, which included acorner clothesline and aspinebuster. King Booker put the match back in his favor after reversing aclothesline attempt into aBook End, which was followed by asidewalk slam. After King Booker missed adiving somersault leg drop, Triple H was able to recover and perform aPedigree. Triple H pinned King Booker afterwards to gain the victory.[4]
TheWorld Heavyweight Championship match between championThe Great Khali and challengerBatista was next. Khali controlled most of the match and performed a variety of moves, which included abrain chop, a big boot, and multiple clotheslines. Batista won the match after Khali intentionallydisqualified himself by hitting him with a steel chair. Since a championship cannot change hands viacountout or disqualification, Khali retained the title. Following the match, Khali attempted to hit Batista with another chairshot only for Batista to duck it andspear Khali. Batista would then use the chair to his advantage and hit Khali with it multiple times.[4]
Next was themain event, which sawJohn Cena defend theWWE Championship againstRandy Orton. After back and forth action in the opening minutes, Orton gained the advantage over Cena after Cena missed aflying shoulder block attempt. Orton followed up by applying areverse chinlock and attacking Cena's leg. After Orton controlled the match for several minutes, Cena gained the advantage and performed various maneuvers, which included atwisting belly to belly side slam and theFive Knuckle Shuffle; Orton, however, was able to counter anFU attempt into aninverted headlock backbreaker. Cena countered arunning punt attempt into theSTFUsubmission hold. Orton, however, got to the bottom rope, and performed an RKO. Cena kicked out of the pin attempt and performed an FU for the pinfall victory, thus retaining the WWE Championship.[4]
Tickets for SummerSlam went on sale on December 30, 2006, and sold out in forty minutes.[43] The event grossed over US$1 million in ticket sales from an attendance of 17,441 out of a 17,040 maximum capacity building.[44][45] Due to the production of the event, however, the capacity of the arena was set at a lower standard, and as a result the arena reached its maximum capacity. This was confirmed by the ticket sales and by WWE's official website on August 28, 2007.[7] According to a press release by WWE in late 2007, the event received 537,000 buys, which was higher than theprevious year's SummerSlam buys of 529,000.[46] The buys from SummerSlam helped the promotion's revenue, which was $18.8 million, a sum lower than the prior year of $19.7 million.[46]Canadian Online Explorer and its professional wrestling section rated the entire event a 6.5 out of 10. The rating was higher than the previous year's SummerSlam rating, a 5.5 out of 10.[47] The main event from the Raw brand was rated a 7.5 out of 10; while the main event from the SmackDown! brand was rated a 1 out of 10.[48][49][50]
The event was released onDVD on September 25, 2007.[51] The DVD was distributed by the label,Genius Products. The DVD reached a peak position of first onBillboard's Weekly Video Sales chart for the week of October 27, 2007.[52] The DVD remained on the charts for twelve consecutive weeks; though, after the week of October 27, 2007, the DVD ranked lower. During its final week on the chart, January 18, 2008, it ranked 19th.[53] The DVD also received reviews from customers, as the average customer rating fromAmazon.com was a 3.5 out of 5.[54] The average customer rating however, from CD Universe was a 5 out of 5 stars.[55]
During the event, John Cena provoked his feud with Randy Orton. On the August 27 episode ofRaw, Cena faced King Booker in a non-title match. When Cena appeared close to winning, Orton interfered and attacked him, causing Cena to win by disqualification.[56] After the match ended, Orton attacked Cena's father, who was sitting at ringside, andkicked him in the head.[56] The two faced each other in a rematch atUnforgiven for the WWE Championship. Cena was disqualified in the match for continuously punching Orton.[57] Orton won the match but not the title. Afterwards, Cena's father kicked Orton in the head,[57] in the same way Orton had kicked him one-month prior.[56]
On the August 31 episode ofSmackDown!, Rey Mysterio, Finlay, Kane, and Batista participated in a four-man Championship Competition tournament. Mysterio defeated Batista and Finlay and became the number-one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship at Unforgiven.[58] On the September 7 episode ofSmackDown!, Mysterio defeated Chavo Guerrero in an "I Quit" match. After the match, The Great Khali attacked Mysterio until Batista came out and executed aspear on Khali. Batista was then included in the one-on-one title match at Unforgiven, making it a Triple Threat match.[59] At Unforgiven, Batista won the championship for a third time.[60][57]
The feud between Matt Hardy and Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) continued when they were forced to team up againstDeuce 'n Domino on the August 31 episode ofSmackDown!. They won the match and theWWE Tag Team Championship.[61] The following month at Unforgiven, MVP and Hardy defeated Deuce 'n Domino to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship.[62] In October, atNo Mercy, Hardy defeated MVP in apizza-eating contest.[63][64] On the November 16 episode ofSmackDown!, MVP and Hardy lost the WWE Tag Team Championship to theteam ofJohn Morrison and The Miz.[65]
Umaga lost the WWE Intercontinental Championship toJeff Hardy on the September 3 episode ofRaw.[66] Afterwards, Umaga started a feud with Triple H and faced off against him in aStreet Fight two months later atCyber Sunday.[67] At Unforgiven,Candice Michelle defeated Beth Phoenix to retain the WWE Women's Championship.[57] Phoenix, however, later defeated Candice at No Mercy to win the title.[68] On the September 4 episode ofECW on Sci Fi, CM Punk defeated John Morrison to win the ECW Championship.[69][70] At Cyber Sunday, Punk retained the title by defeating The Miz.[71] The following month, atSurvivor Series, Punk defeated Morrison and The Miz in a Triple Threat match to retain the ECW Championship.[72][73]
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times[4] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1D | Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch defeatedBrian Kendrick and Paul London bypinfall | Tag team match | 7:27 | ||||
| 2 | Kane defeatedFinlay bypinfall | Singles match[74] | 8:54 | ||||
| 3 | Umaga (c) defeatedCarlito andMr. Kennedy bypinfall | Triple threat match for theWWE Intercontinental Championship[75] | 7:35 | ||||
| 4 | Rey Mysterio defeatedChavo Guerrero bypinfall | Singles match[76] | 12:06 | ||||
| 5 | Beth Phoenix won by last eliminatingMichelle McCool | Battle Royal to determine the #1 contender to theWWE Women's Championship[77] | 7:09 | ||||
| 6 | John Morrison (c) defeatedCM Punk bypinfall | Singles match for theECW Championship[78] | 7:09 | ||||
| 7 | Triple H defeatedKing Booker (withQueen Sharmell) bypinfall | Singles match[79] | 7:58 | ||||
| 8 | Batista defeatedThe Great Khali (c) (withRanjin Singh) bydisqualification | Singles match for theWorld Heavyweight Championship[80] | 6:51 | ||||
| 9 | John Cena (c) defeatedRandy Orton bypinfall | Singles match for theWWE Championship[81] | 21:20 | ||||
| |||||||
| Elimination | Wrestler | Eliminated by | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brooke | Beth Phoenix | 01:18 | ||
| 2 | Maria | Jillian Hall | 01:56 | ||
| 3 | Layla | Melina | 02:21 | ||
| 4 | Victoria | Kristal | 03:45 | ||
| 5 | Kristal | Michelle McCool | 04:06 | ||
| 6 | Kelly Kelly | Beth Phoenix and Jillian Hall | 04:36 | ||
| 7 | Jillian Hall | Torrie Wilson | 05:12 | ||
| 8 | Mickie James | Melina | 05:22 | ||
| 9 | Melina | Michelle McCool & Torrie Wilson | 06:12 | ||
| 10 | Torrie Wilson | Beth Phoenix | 06:42 | ||
| 11 | Michelle McCool | Beth Phoenix | 07:09 | ||
| Winner: | Beth Phoenix | ||||
Watched in DVD format, the show is better because you can watch it at your leisure. With the exception of the Batista vs. Khali match, which is entertaining in a car-crash sort of way, nothing on the show is offensive. However, it isn't an exciting enough show to dedicate three straight hours to.
From the reports I read, and the emails I've received, the World Heavyweight title match was vomit style ugly.
Crowd SHIT on the DQ finish. Fuck it, I shit on the DQ finish. I never wanted to see this little nugget of crap anyway, but I at LEAST expected some kind of fucking conclusion. Now we are back in limbo. Batista won, but still isn't champion. Fuck making jokes, this whole damn thing is a big gooey diarrhoea-esque mess. Get the belt off Khali and fire him ASAP. Then fire the booking team. Preferably out of a cannon.