RVD wallops Christian with a nice kick. Photo credit: WWE.com
World Champion Alberto Del Rio started things off by thanking the fans, for nothing that is, reminding them that they turned on him when he was trying to be their champion. Which was true, but a lack of character will have that effect. He also sincerely thanked SmackDown GM Vickie Guerrero for allowing him to choose his own opponent for SummerSlam, just like John Cena. So after mentioning a few possible options, Del Rio revealed his personal announcer Ricardo Rodriguez as his hand picked challenger.
An upset Vickie Guerrero then stormed out and expressed her disappointment in Del Rio's choice so instead booked a Triple Threat between Christian, Rob Van Dam and Randy Orton to determine his opponent for the big event. I was most happy with that match line up, and they duly delivered, but I'll get to that later...
Cody Rhodes pinned Jack Swagger in a fair, if unmemorable bout. Both men looked okay in the ring, nothing that significant or remarkable to take away from it though. During an interview afterwards Damien Sandow attacked Rhodes from behind, eventually taking him out by slamming his head into a nearby container.
Big E Langston beat Sin Cara in a pedestrian outing. Big E understandably dominated for the most part, with Sin Cara managing a few offensive moments in there. Unfortunately the whole thing lacked in excitement or interest.
CM Punk forced Fandango to submit in a decent contest. Both men gave stellar showings and delivered a match that exceeded my expectations. In a nice finish Punk rolled over after applying a superplex on his opponent and latched on an Anaconda Vice for the win. It's always a treat to see his signature submission move make a return.
AJ Lee (c) defeated Kaitlyn to retain the Divas Title in passable encounter. It wasn't a great bout by any means, but it was wisely kept short and at least had a twist (which you could admittedly see coming a bit) when Layla betrayed Kaitlyn by preventing a spear on the outside and revealing how friendly she was with the Divas Champion afterwards.
Christian bested Randy Orton and Rob Van Dam in a Triple Threat to become number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship. And what a tremendous main event this was, with engaging action and superb displays from the opening. Every man put in a great effort here, which is hardly a surprise considering the talent involved. For the finish Orton attempted to hit Christian with an RKO after taking out RVD with one, but failed when 'Captain Charisma' reversed it into a backslide pin for the one-two-three. As a sentimental favourite of mine I was very happy with Christian winning.
The victor shook hands with both of his competitors after, only to then be attacked by Del Rio and finally kicked in the head by the World Champion.
Overall it was a mixed bag of a show, with a few fairly average match ups that felt more like filler and a couple of enjoyable ones, including the terrific main event. My highlights were CM Punk versus Fandango and (take a wild guess) the Triple Threat.
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