The Undertaker vs. Edge, Hell in a Cell, Saves Summerslam

Summerslam 08 is in the books and what was once something so special that every match stuck in your head for a lifetime, came off pretty much as "just another show." Thankfully the main event gave us something special, maybe a little touch of that old school feeling where u may not have even cared about who won or lost, it was just a great match featuring the returning Undertaker taking on a totally different Edge. Yes, Edge "snapping" on Mick Foley on Smackdown may be the moment we look back and realize that Edge took the final step he needed to take to become the major player that WWE so badly needs.

Edge has always been "just OK" in my book, i just couldn't see him as a legitimate main event wrestler - I don't know why, it just never clicked. Maybe his character and mannerisms were too overdone and fake to me, but the moment Foley brought out the "real Edge," Edge brought a new character to the table - a character that said "Thanks Mick, I understand now"....then promptly kicked Foley's ass. Also a character who broke down a major barrier on Sunday at Summerslam, when he came down to the ring smiling, as if he was excited to be stepping into the Hell in a Cell and even more happy (not even intimidated ) about the presence of the Undertaker.

For years now, we've seen it's pretty much a rule that almost EVERY single wrestler that wrestles the Undertaker HAS to be scared of him, no matter how big or small, they must fear the Undertaker. Edge made me feel like I was seeing a bit of Brian Pillman in his performance tonight and also the classic performance from Friday's Smackdown, where he really came through the TV as a true psycho as he interacted with Vickie Guerrero, making her apologize to the Undertaker and more random psychotic ramblings. His new character almost makes me think it is semi based on Heath Ledger's Joker from the summers hit movie "The Dark Knight," fine by me, ANYthing to make things interesting again.

Tonight's match was a rare time when a character can lose the match, then get choke slammed through the ring, and you STILL want to see what he will do next because it's THAT interesting and it's been a LONG time since any character has had my attention in that way. The match had some big spots with Edge running across 3 tables to spear the Taker on the outside after they had broken through the cage and fought outside. Edge was choke slammed from the top rope to the outside through tables and then after Edge lost, the Undertaker came back to the ring, set up 2 ladders ,and gave Edge an awkward choke slam from the ladders and through the ring. After all this flame burst through the ring, signifying Edge had been "choke slammed to Hell." The end was a little awkward to set up, and a little over the top, but I can't complain, this match blew everything else out of the water by far, and is one of the only things I'm actually excited to see continue on Smackdown.

The rest of Summerslam was pretty much crap. Batista beat Cena clean which I was glad to see, and Jericho and Michaels had a great in ring angle that saw Jericho knock out Michaels wife; very good story there - very old school and probably the best story on RAW right now in my opinion. The title matches were in the middle of show, so yeah WWE is straight telling us that titles don't mean shit anymore and nothing else on the show is even worth mentioning. So in my eyes, the only things worth watching right now are Edge being the definite highlight on Smackdown and seeing how the Michaels/Jericho angle plays out on RAW.

It's sad that that is pretty much it, and even worse that such a boring show shamed the name "Summerslam"....thank God for the WWE Summerslam Anthology. For those of you who haven't seen the original Summerslams, I suggest buying it, to feel the electricity that was brought by the originals because I don't see it ever coming back.

RAW Recap: 07/28/08

Here's just a short rundown of what happened at last night's Monday Night RAW:

RAW has been kicking ass lately. The plots have been thicker, the writing better, and the action more over the top. Guys like Kofi Kingston and occasionally the now solo Paul London have been adding that high flying attitude that RAW has been missing leading up to the draft. Rey Mysterio should be in there somewhere, but we've seen him like... what now? Twice?

This Santino/Beth Phoenix lovers angle is hilarious. I haven't laughed that hard at WWE in a LONG time. Santino is the acclimate performer right now. He's skilled in the ring, but at the same time great on the mic and had excellent comedic timing. He's always funny, but last night, with Beth Phoenix, I was almost to tears I was laughing so hard.

Michael Cole got his ass kicked. It was supposed to be Jerry Lawler and Hacksaw Jim Duggan against the World Tag Team Champs, with the straps on the line, but at the last minute a referee ran in with a note from the new GM that replaced Hacksaw with Michael Cole. King got taken out of the match, and Michael Cole got clobbered by Cody Rhodes. So Michael Cole was out for the rest of the show, and that's always good. Though they did bring out Mike Adamle to fill in, and that's always bad. Mike Adamle is a moron.

Earlier in the night Shane McMahon said we would see CM Punk squaring off against one of the most technical free agents in the business, and that turned out to be William Regal making his return, in a weird singlet. Though no mention of him being KOTR and only a quick mention of him being GM before. Punk won, but not before William Regal broke his nose accidentally. Cheers to Regal!

Mickie James won against the ugly blond who sings a lot. I can't remember her name, because this is usually when I go take my evening #2. Katie Lea jumped Mickie at the end though, and demanded a shot at Summerslam.

Out next was Jericho for the Final Highlight Reel. Jericho played a couple of his old funny clips, and said the true career he ended was not HBK... it was Y2J. Jericho said we could all say goodbye to Y2J and the old Chris Jericho. He demanded a shot at CM Punk's title, and told Shawn Michaels to stay home and get some rest.

JR is now coming to ringside, and he says "I don't know why I'm here, I should be on my way to Hershey, Pennsylvania for Smackdown. I was told to be here." King and Adamle don't know either. Mike Adamle keeps insisting he was told to be there too, and it's obvious he would have to replace Michael Cole.

Promo airs saying Shawn Michaels will be live via satellite next week. WWE jumping the shark yet again.

At this point, I was expecting we're gonna get a good Summerslam WHT match. You have 6 guys wanting it. CM Punk has it, Batista, Cena, Kane, JBL, and now Jericho all wants shots. The HITC is already going to be hanging over the ring at Summerslam, so they can't do an Elimination Chamber, so I think they might do a 6-man HITC.

Boy was I wrong.

Big mainevent, Cena and Batista beat JBL and Kane in a tag team match. I bet those guys were tired since they practically had the same match, a couple hours earlier when they pretaped the SNME show.

It's 11:15 and here comes Shane McMahon to introduce the new RAW GM. I'm hoping and praying for Bischoff................... but no.

On camera we didn't see who got up and climbed in to the ring, but as Shane McMahon looked to the back to introduce the GM, we all waited, and when no one came out, Shane turned to the ring and said "Your new RAW General Manager is..." the camera pans to the ring to see who's standing behind Cena and Batista.... "MIKE ADAMLE!"

WHAT?!

MIKE ADAMLE?!

WHAT?!

Cena and Batista look legitimately shocked, with Cena even laughing at one point and saying "is this a joke?" I wish it was a joke... but no... it looks like Mike Adamle is the new RAW GM.

.... and just when RAW was getting so good.

Preview: Monday Night Raw

Credit: WWE.com

Though he is still sore, John Cena’s father doesn’t regret the beating he took from Randy Orton last week on Raw. In fact, he’d do it again if it meant protecting his son’s WWE Championship.

“I couldn’t let [Jonathan] Coachman strip my son of the WWE Championship. That title means everything to him,” Mr. Cena told WWE.com. “He’s worked so hard for it. My only regret is that John had to be there and see it [the beating] firsthand.”

Last Monday, Mr. Cena put his body on the line when Acting Raw GM Jonathan Coachman threatened to strip The Champ of the WWE Championship due to events of Unforgiven. At Unforgiven, Mr. Cena got involved when Orton grabbed him out of his ringside seat and prepared to re-enact his previous attack where he gave him a concussion. However, the WWE Champion intervened and locked Orton in an STFU, enabling his father to punt the Legend Killer in the skull.

An outraged Coachman intended to make Cena pay by stripping him of the WWE Championship, but The Champ’s Dad wouldn’t let that happen. And despite pleadings from his son, Mr. Cena took on the younger, stronger and sadistic Orton, and was beaten mercilessly. In Mr. Cena’s eyes, there was no other choice. He remembered how 8-year-old John made championships out of cardboard and dreamed of someday wrestling for WWE. The elder Cena is proud of the man that 8-year-old boy has become. He couldn’t let Coachman torpedo his son’s remarkable title reign.

“I guess you might ask, ‘What the hell is this about?’” Mr. Cena said. “But this is about family. My son has broken his back to keep the WWE Championship. If that [Cena’s keeping the title] meant me accepting a match with Randy Orton in the middle of the squared circle, and taking a butt-kicking, then guess what? Let’s do it again. I grew up on the streets, how tough can Randy Orton really be?”

Looking at Mr. Cena, you know where The Champ gets his dogged determination, courage and stubbornness. Though he cherishes the WWE Championship, Cena loves his family more. Orton’s attack on his father the day after SummerSlam made him think about his priorities. Cena is proud of his dad for having the courage to face Orton in the ring. However, he never wants to sacrifice his family for the WWE Championship.

“This business is just that – it’s a business,” The Champ said. “World Championships can come and go. The record for winning the championship is 16 times, which means that you can also lose it 16 times. The bottom line is that family doesn’t come and go. You’ve got only one dad and mom … and I’m always going to put them before the business.”

Mr. Cena realizes that Orton has used him as a tool in his quest to take his son’s WWE Championship. He is battered and bruised, but still proud. And when all is said and done, Mr. Cena hopes his son beats a very simple message into the Legend Killer, especially at their Last Man Standing Match on Oct. 7 at No Mercy: Don’t mess with family.

“I’m not a wrestler; I’m a fan like everyone else,” Mr. Cena said. "But I guess The Champ’s got it right: If you want some, come get some.”

What will The Champ have to say about his father’s match with Orton when Raw comes to Milwaukee Monday night? Tune in to Raw at 9/8 CT on USA Network and find out.