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| SummerSlam '12 - Staples Center - 8/19/12 |
One of the more disappointing editions occurred in 2012. Here was a show that on paper looked quite stacked and featured a dream match with some real intrigue.
Ten years earlier Brock Lesnar and Triple H were on top of their respective brands and arguably the "co-faces" of the company. Before Brock's hasty departure in 2004 there were plans in place for these two to clash at the following WrestleMania. Alas Brock's exit thwarted this plan and instead Dave Batista became the new monster babyface. But in 2012 we would finally get to see this long-awaited battle, and given how well Lesnar performed in his big return against John Cena that April, it seemed we were all in for a treat.
Unfortunately Triple H proved to be one opponent with whom Brock didn't click in the ring. This match was slow, plodding, and overall pretty dull. The crowd was fairly anemic too which didn't help. WWE made a mistake putting this match on last; had it been placed in the middle of the card maybe the crowd would've had more energy and wouldn't have expected this to save what had been a lackluster show. Lesnar predictably won by "breaking" Hunter's arm, and this should've put an end to the rivalry. But of course eight months later Triple H had to have a rematch, which as it turned out was even worse, and received with even greater apathy.
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| KA-BOOM!! |
Side note about Triple H (indulge me for a moment): From an in-ring standpoint he really didn’t work as a babyface. Not since he turned heel in 1999 and became The Cerebral Assassin. His whole character was based around being a dangerous, sadistic bastard. His wrestling style was slow, methodical, and generally involved dissecting an opponent and trying to permanently injure them. When you put him in the face role and expect him to carry the offense for the first and third acts of a match (traditionally the segments where the face is on offense) it makes for an extremely dull affair and doesn't rev up the audience like it needs to. And for the middle third of the match when the heel is in control, the very nature of Triple H's character undermines the whole purpose of the second act - vulnerable babyface in peril. Hunter's character was almost never presented as vulnerable, so there was no real suspense during his big selling segments and therefore nothing to root for. End of tangent.
The rest of the show consisted of a series of decent matches, all of which would've been welcome on any episode of RAW.
Chris Jericho and Dolph Ziggler had a fine contest to open the show, and Jericho won his only PPV match of 2012 (even though Ziggler really needed a win here). The following night they'd have a rematch where if Jericho lost he'd be fired (hmmm, that sounds familiar). He did, and he was.
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