The Year in PPV- 2010, Part II

As the year 2010 continued, a group of rookies shook things up, looking to make an impact...


6. Fatal 4-Way

I know that a lot are expecting this show to be bad, since the gimmick only lasted a year, but what we got wasn't offensively bad. Some solid midcard work from Kofi Kingston and Drew McIntyre (for the Intercontinental Championship), as well as Evan Bourne and Chris Jericho (in a match that nearly steals the show), helps get the show off the ground with solid momentum. But the main focus should be on the Fatal 4-Way matches. The Diva's Championship is thrown together very lazily with Eve Torres defending her title against Maryse, Alicia Fox, and Gail Kim. The World Heavyweight Championship match does a good way of interlocking feuds between Jack Swagger, CM Punk, Rey Mysterio, and Big Show, while also being able to interject Kane's involvement after "someone" attacked the Undertaker (let's be honest, we all know who was responsible).

The main event for the WWE Championship was built on star power, through John Cena, Sheamus, Edge, and Randy Orton, but it's a mere footnote in comparison to what the fans really cared about: when The Nexus would show up to wreak havoc. After shocking the world during their debut on Monday Night RAW, the entire focus booking wise was centered on the young group of NXT rookies that were attacking everything in their path. Needless to say, they made their presence felt in this match, which helped wake up the crowd up from the match. Their involvement in a PPV main event really helped seal that the fans were invested in having some new talent involved on the main roster, and we (theoretically) got our wish. Also, keep notice for the numerous chants for the recently released Daniel Bryan (and think that this is 4 years before the Yes! Movement), and how much the WWE tried to edit them out.

Mild Recommendation


7. Money in the Bank

Here we have another gimmick PPV, this time centered on a modern WrestleMania tradition: the Money in the Bank ladder match. Here, we have TWO ladder matches (a treat for me, since I'm a sucker for a good ladder match), so there were really three things fans cared about: who was going to win the SmackDown ladder match, who was going to win the RAW ladder match, and when The Nexus was going to get involved. The Nexus interference worked as a story with the WWE Championship match (Sheamus vs. John Cena in a steel cage match), but isn't what this show should be focused on, so let's look at the two Money in the Bank ladder matches.

The RAW ladder match had eight solid competitors (Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Edge, Ted DiBiase, The Miz, John Morrison, Evan Bourne, and Mark Henry replacing the injured R-Truth), but many had specific favorites pointed out in Evan Bourne and Randy Orton. The SmackDown ladder match had a bit more of an unpredictability factor, in which many felt that any of the eight involved (Big Show, Kofi Kingston, Christian, Matt Hardy, Kane, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, and "Dashing" Cody Rhodes) could win the match. Both matches have plenty of great spots and moments of storytelling, and I was completely content with how both matches turned out.

Recommended


8. SummerSlam

In my opinion, this SummerSlam is one of the most disappointing PPV events that I have ever seen. While the card was nowhere near perfection, I at least expected a better effort than the WWE actually put on. The opening match between Dolph Ziggler and Kofi Kingston is completely wasted to set up an in-ring promo with The Nexus. The Diva's Championship match between Melina and Alicia Fox is mediocre at best (but is Cameron's favorite match when she was a contestant on Tough Enough), and the WRONG winner was picked in a 3-on-1 handicap match between the Straight Edge Society and Big Show (guess who I thought should have gone over in this one). The WWE Championship match between Sheamus and Randy Orton had a similar problem to their Royal Rumble match, as the match lacked some serious chemistry (and the ending is irritating). The World Heavyweight Championship match between Kane and Rey Mysterio isn't awful (it's actually good), but the storyline of who took out the Undertaker was so overplayed at that point that I wasn't too invested and I knew exactly what was going to happen after the match (you will too, trust me).

In hindsight, SummerSlam was all centered on Team WWE vs. The Nexus. After Team WWE (John Cena, Edge, Chris Jericho, John Morrison, R-Truth, and Bret Hart) lost their seventh member with The Great Khali (no real loss in my opinion), the question around the WWE Universe was who would help them stop The Nexus (Wade Barrett, David Otunga, Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, Darren Young, Michael Tarver, and Skip Sheffield). While the show teased that it would be The Miz, they found a much more suitable alternative to help them combat The Nexus in a satisfying seven-on-seven elimination tag match. The biggest problem in this match is that the build up for it could have gone on months longer, that and that it's the only bright spot on a very underwhelming show that's supposed to be the biggest party of the summer.

Skip It


9. Night of Champions

Leave it to the Chicago crowd to make the most of what should be a filler PPV. Let's be honest and say that even if there are some solid matches on the card, there are really only two matches that fans cared about. The first was the feud between The Miz and Daniel Bryan for not only the United States Championship, but also for respect. Considering that this feud had the seeds planted all the way in February (when Bryan was Miz's rookie on NXT), this is actually great payoff that did BOTH competitors favors, as it made Miz a credible future main eventer, and Bryan as a credible WWE superstar.

There was also a lot of buzz around the main event: a Six-Pack Challenge for the WWE Championship between Sheamus, Randy Orton, Edge, Chris Jericho, John Cena and Wade Barrett. This match combined a lot of feuds together and found a way to tie it to the most prestigious prize in the company, which is what this PPV should be about: bringing importance to the actual Championship matches.

Mild Recommendation


Thoughts: Clearly, there is still a lack in direction in some aspects, but clear focus on two storylines. For RAW, it was The Nexus, and for SmackDown, it was who attacked the Undertaker. Scattered throughout the shows that centered on these storylines were two quality ladder matches, some solid Fatal 4-Ways, and the story of an internet favorite's rise to the main roster. In order for the year to end on a high note, however, there needs to be some payoff to these stories, as well as some direction in the spots that have been lacking all year (i.e. the midcard, tag and women's divisions).

Concluded in Part III...


All rights and images are copyrighted and owned by World Wrestling Entertainment