WWE Summerslam 2008 (WWE - Summerslam 2008 (DVD))

Member Name: Jelboy18

Product:	WWE - Summerslam 2008 (DVD)
Date:	30/05/09 (21 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Hell in the Cell and some good matches

Disadvantages: Some very poor matches

WWE Summerslam 2008 (August 17th 2008) was the 21st annual event of the Series held by World Wrestling Entertainment. Live from Indianapolis, Indiana in the Conseco Fieldhouse, the event boasted 15, 997 spectators to witness the biggest blockbuster of the summer in the WWE. The Pay Per View featured wrestlers from all three brands; RAW, Smackdown and ECW. The theme tune for the event was "Ready to Roll" by Jet Black Stare.

The event featured seven matches with a total of 5 title belts on the line in this historic evening. The opening bout between Matt Hardy and MVP was fast paced and a decent opener. There were some moments of groundwork and submission but the heated feud built up in weeks prior to the event showed through in the tenacity of the manoeuvres. It was a close contest where the result could have gone either way (6/10).

The next bout was between Santino Marella and Beth Pheonix vs Kofi Kingston and Mickie James. The winners would have won the Womens title and Intercontinental Title respectively. The match was ok but not great. Mickie and Kofi gave the match greater excitement with some highflying moves. The match was interesting though as you second-guessed the entire way about who would win. The ending was quite poor but the celebrations afterward were quite funny (6/10).

The ECW Title match was a complete waste of time; well not really considering it lasted about 1 minute. It was pointless and I don't think there was a point to it being on the card. It was a real let down for the ECW brand who have been trying to receive some recognition this year after bringing in some new exciting wrestlers. However, the brand was not well represented in this match at all. Interference from Tony Atlas played a large part in this match (1/10).

Cm Punk vs. JBL was not a great match for a World Heavyweight Title bout. It was more of a brawl with more punches, kicks, chops and slams than actual wrestling. Punk was grounded for a lot of the match which made it real slow. The fact that a title match was shown half way through the event and not as one of the last matches shows that the two wrestlers don't have a good enough draw. In all though the match was ok but not near good enough for a title match standard (7/10).

Triple H vs. the Great Khali for the WWE Title was again a decent match. It is hard to create a good match with a poor worker like Khali. It is difficult when you are less manoeuvrable. HHH did well to hype this match up. The tow met in exchanged prior to Summerslam but always left HHH on the floor after a beating by Khali(6/10).

The last tow matches were what made this event great. Batista vs Cena was a fast paced match with lots of power and finishing moves. There was so many false finishes that this match gave away no clues of who was going to win. The two really were an even match. The ending was great. The match really was a bout between two heavyweights. Cena should gain some recognition for this fight. He was however injured as a result of this match (9/10).

The final match was a Hell in a Cell match between the Undertaker and Edge. Prior to Summerslam, HHH interrupted the wedding reception of Edge and Vickie Guerrero on Smackdown showing a tape that proved Edge was cheating on Vickie. Vickie as a result, reinstated the Undertaker from his ban and Edge in a Hell in a Cell match with him. After a chat with Mick Foley on smackdown, Edge became maniacal. He put people through tables and assaulted more people with ladders and chairs. It truly made the lead up to the Summerslam main event a good one. The match had nearly everything. It had the cell, tables, ladders, chairs, and camera. Someone even fell through the canvas. There was blood in this great fight. There was a cheesy ending which kind of does ruin any realism the fight has, but if you can get past this then you can recognise it was a good matchup(9/10).

In my opinion, the event was not that well put together, and was saved by the last two matches, which funnily enough neither incorporated the World champions of any brand.

The DVD Extras were ok, the main one involving an ECW TITLE rematch the next week on its show between Mark Henry and Matt Hardy. This match is a must watch as it is a more worthily worked match than it was at Summerslam.

I would recommend that you watch the event but probably not to purchase it on DVD. If you can get your hold on the entire Summerlsam boxset then it is much more worth it.

Jelboy18 (as written on comparedby.us - never got viewed so ama back to the best review site around... dooyoo)

Summary: The Biggest Blockbuster of the Summer... Wont be long until it is around the corner again!