Much like the other members of the “Big Four”, the Rumble, Mania and Survivor Series, Summerslam tends to be a release that many, even those who skip the majority of shows, have their eyes on.

It was until recently, one of the most beloved and consistent of the WWE’s annual PPVs (the last four haven’t been consistently great) and one that generally warranted an immediate purchase upon it’s DVD release.

But in 2008, the company has outdone themselves in terms of releases.

In addition to the varying, but often fabulous range of compilation DVDs and retrospective sets that they’ve ordered, their PPVs have generally delivered much more than promised. And most of this have played back even better on DVD, emerging as fun, enjoyable efforts when released from the pressure of the monthly context.

With that said, is Summerslam, which appeared only average, worth adding to the already over-subscribed shopping cart?

What’s on it?

Jeff Hardy vs. MVP

Without a doubt, one of MVP’s best outings of 2008. This was a great way to kick off Summerslam and a sad reminder of the sort of form that MVP was in prior to falling out of favour with the company. Fans at the time bemoaned the fact that Hardy was losing again on PPV, but in reality, it did him no harm.

What’s with Hardy’s tan though? I can only suggest that he’d been holidaying under his alter ego of Jeff Harvey, soaking up the sun with Humper Helmsley and hoping to go straight to the top using a bottle of lotion, i.e. the Hulk Hogan route.

Santino Morella & Beth Phoenix vs. Mickie James & Kofi Kingston (Intercontinental & Women’s title match)

A fun intergender match that can only be pulled off by someone like Santino. Kofi found success too quickly and has since slipped somewhat on the radar, but still, he was on fine form here and pretty over. His union with James seemed logical at the time. This one was marred originally by the odd rules (winner takes all – did that mean the person to get the winning pinfall got both belts? Or just their respective gender’s strap? Or that of whom they pinned? Christ, my head hurts). Best to forget all that though, as Santino’s antics make for great entertainment.

Shawn Michaels’ Announcement

This was the clear highlight of the show and a central point of the best feud of 2008. Michaels comes out to announce his retirement, thanks to Doctor’s orders, alongside his wife Rebecca. He delivers a great speech, that is so awesome, girls in the crowd actually start weeping. Still a heart-throb then…

Jericho interrupts and informs Michaels that he can’t retire, thanks to the multi-faceted feelings of being ripped off that he’s enduring. See, Jericho won’t accept him leaving, unless HBK will admit that Y2J is the one to force him out. Anyways, all this brilliance ends when Jericho takes a swing at Michaels, who ducks, leaving Rebecca to eat fist. Ouch. In actuality, Jericho connected with her lovely face, leaving an instant King of the World shaped fat-lip. Awesome, heated segment.

ECW Title Match – Matt Hardy vs. Mark Henry ©

A word of advice: If you’re one of those oddballs who loves ECW and are thinking, “man… Summerslam 2008 is a must-see…it’s got an ECW title match!” you’re both utterly insane and also risking severe disappointment. Mark Henry takes the easy way out with a DQ finish after a couple of minutes. I think it’s because they accidentally went long, either in the opening match, or in the HBK/Jericho segment, so they’ve shaved time off this. But couldn’t they have cut down Hunter/Khali a little? Yeesh. Not good. Insulting in fact.

And the worst thing is, this came in the midst of a good run from Henry, when he probably could have worked a decent bout! Bah!

World Title Match – CM Punk © vs. JBL

This has been an incredible year for Mr Punk. Just incredible. And for Punk fans, seeing him defend the strap on the second biggest card of the year had to be one of the undoubted highlights, regardless of whether it was to be considered one of the main events.

I’d never noticed before, but at the end of the bout, Punk shouts “I’m coming home” while celebrating, which is surely a reference to the following night’s Raw taking place in Chicago. Nice to see, he was clearly well-chuffed to be wearing the World title in his hometown.

WWE Title Match – Triple H © vs. The Great Khali

Expectations were not high at all for his ramshackle tie. However, that said, our Almighty, Triple Herpes pulled out one of those complimentary miracles he has lying around and gave Khali an enjoyable match. NO, I’m not joking.

Batista vs. John Cena

Booking this match was one of the biggest mistakes the WWE have made in years. Yes, this is a very, very good encounter, with some great crowd heat, inventive spots and an aura of importance. However, it could and should have been saved for WrestleMania, as the biggest “first time” match for many moons.

I’ve sympathy for these two (Batista complained publicly about this one being booked last August), however not for the WWE. McMahon was short-sighted and lazy in going with this, especially with like, two weeks build-up. It looks entirely likely that we’ll get Batista/Cena again at Mania – but no matter how good it is, it will be missing that awesome element that can never be recaptured.

The match itself holds up brilliantly and is one of the best from both guys cannons. They work hard and by the end, Dave looks absolutely knackered. It’s also highlighted by a SUPERB build-up package before the clash, that convincingly pretends the match was a bigger deal than it was.

Hell In A Cell Match – Edge vs. The Undertaker

Upon reflection, I’m pretty happy that Taker won this. At the time, I was really pissed, thinking that Edge needed to emerge victorious in order to be truly elevated by the feud. But I was wrong, because the way in which he approached the match itself is what elevated him, as well as the entire feud. Plus, while many people this past week expected him to return to Survivor Series and attack Taker, the fact that he didn’t cements this as the climax to an incredible feud.

In truth, why would you want to go back into this rivalry? It ended perfectly, with a Cell bout that increased the stock of the heel, while putting the babyface over and allowing him to move on. Sure, they may tussle again over the World title, on PPV, but it’s more likely to be in say, an undercard match at the Rumble.

This bout is even better re-watching it. It’s awesome. I still maintain that the TLC match they had was possibly better, but there couldn’t be a more appropriate feud-ender than this. They run through all the bits-and-bobs and twists that characterised their near year-long storyline, that started at Survivor Series 07, when Edge posed as a cameraman and prevented Taker defeating Batista.

They also work some absolutely gob-smacking spots, including an amazing run by Edge along the announce tables, spearing Taker through the final one. Maybe this is better than the TLC after all. A must-see.

Two negatives though. At the end, Edge is literally sent to hell. This would be fine, if he didn’t return last week, but I’m up for some sort of realism in wrestling and having Edge burned alive and not dying, isn’t my cup of two. The second is Undertaker’s tan. It’s HHH standard. He’s meant to be the deadman!

EXTRAS
- A highlight package of WWE Summerfest.
- Post Summerslam Interview with Shawn Michaels and Rebecca
- Matt Hardy vs. Mark Henry (19/08/08)

Not much to this batch of extras unfortunately. The Summerfest clip is a waste of time and while the Michaels “interview” is awesome, it’s really short and not a full promo.

Henry vs. Matt is one of the finest bouts of Henry’s career and also heads towards a big, big moment for Matt, who has (in many ways, through his own faults) been denied a chance to prove his worth as a singles star.

However, put these together and it’s not enough. Why not include interviews with Punk and Hunter? How about the Punk/JBL segment from Raw that had a “drinking competition?” Some sort of retrospective on Edge and Taker? Ahh well.

It’s mind-boggling that the WWE does not put a little more effort into their extra features for DVD releases. There are a lot of fans out there who are willing to spend money on the PPVs, but also shell out for the shiny disc version. They certainly deserve something more. And with so much free television at their disposal and so much bonus material from the past that is otherwise never likely to see the light of day, why not?

For my money, the best Summerslam releases were 2000 and 2002. Not only were they both absolutely belting shows, the DVD releases had a bunch of extra features, that rivalled the WrestleMania discs.

Add to basket?

Sure! What’s not to like? You get the highlight of the year’s best feud (Michaels/Jericho), a stunning main event, a great battle between two of the company’s biggest stars,and a solid undercard. It didn’t set the world alight upon it’s initial presentation (though Edge may disagree) but it sure makes for a fine DVD package. The DVD extras fall short, but at least the main card is good enough to stand alone.

You can pick up a copy in time for Christmas via the good folk at Silver Vision.

Thanks for taking the time to check this out. I welcome any and all feedback and I can be contacted at www.myspace.com/michaelwrestlingetc or simply by emailing me at Michael@ifight365.com. I look forward to hearing from you, and will be back soon!