Summerslam 2008 Preview & Predictions

Submitted By Patrick Kelley on 08/14/08

It's that time of the year again. The biggest blockbuster of the Summer is here as the WWE gives us the 21st Summerslam this Sunday. Summerslam is a PPV that i have fond memories of. The 1st PPV I ever ordered live was Summerslam 1991, and I still hold that up as one of my favorite PPVs of all time. I remember sitting infront of the TV all day long watching the preview for the show, intercut with commercials hyping the PPV releases of films like Star Trek & The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. Since then, I've seen some very good shows under the Summerslam label, stretching from the days of the Lex Express all the way through the glory years of THe Attitude Era, and I even attended one Summerslam live in 2005 which was another fantastic show. Unfortunately, the last two shows have been somewhat lackluster. The last two Summerslams are not shows I would hold up as being indicative of how great Summerslam can be. Hopefully this year's show can bounce back from that. Here is the card for this Sunday's show, along with my thoughts and predictions. INTERCONTINENTAL & WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP MIXED TAG TEAM MATCH: WINNER TAKES ALL Kofi Kingston & Mickie James (c) vs. Santino Marella & "The Glamazon" Beth Pheonix It seems like Mickie James & Kofi Kingston have been connected together in recent weeks, first in the mini feud with The Burchills, and now going up against Beth & Santino. And to be honest, they have regularly delivered some of the best parts of Monday Night Raw for the last few weeks now, so its nice to see them get a spot on the PPV. Santino is also the best comedy act in the WWE right now, and I am glad to see he got on the show. I don't expect much here other than a fun comedy match with some good action from Kofi & Mickie. Prediction: Kofi Kingston & Mickie James - I just don't see the titles changing hands. Mickie is the best woman wrestler they have & Kofi is doing well as IC champ, and I think the WWE can get more out of them. SMACKDOWN SINGLES MATCH Jeff Hardy vs. Montel Vontavious Porter I'm surprised that they didn't have Hardy or MVP win the US title just to get that belt on the show, but what can you do. To be honest, I haven't really been watching Smackdown, so I'm not sure what to make of this. I'm sure it'll be a good match if nothing else. Prediction: Jeff Hardy - He's the face, and since there isn't much going on right now, why not just give him the win to keep the fans happy. ECW CHAMPIONSHIP "The World's Strongest Champion" Mark Henry vs. Matt Hardy I really don't care. Seriously, if it has Mark Henry's name in it, I just don't care. To me, having him as the ECW Champion is a perfect way to represent the brand because there is just no reason to tune into ECW. Even when Punk was champ, I couldn't get motivated enough to actually watch ECW. Matt Hardy is the biggest name on ECW, so I guess you could say that this is the biggest match the brand has to offer. Prediction: Matt Hardy - I don't really care either way, but Hardy is the bigger star & the better wrestler, and since ECW doesn't reeally have any huge names on it, they might as well just give it to the guy that has the best matches. WWE CHAMPIONSHIP "The King of Kings" Triple H (c) vs. The Great Khali Had they done this match before Khali got beat by Cena, Batista, & Undertaker, this match would actually be interesting because they could play up Khali as an unbeatable giant for Triple H to face. Unfortunately, he's already been beat so the novelty of the match is gone. I think Triple H can carry him to something worthwhile, but I'm not expecting too much out of this one. Prediction: Triple H - There is no reason to take the belt off him and put it on Khali. Khali already got the belt once, but that was because there was nobody else to carry it. Well that isn't the case now. WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP "The Straightedged Superstar" CM Punk (c) vs. John Bradshaw Layfield The problem with this match is that Punk has already beat JBL on Raw, so I don't get why they didn't just give the title shot to Jericho. Anyways, the segment they had on Raw this week was excellent, and I think of the three World title matches, this one should be the best. I wish the WWE would get behind Punk as champion rather than continuing to focus on Cena & Batista, but Punk has made Raw more interesting if nothing else. Prediction: CM Punk - Like the Trips/Khali match, I see no reason to take the belt off of Punk at this point. Unlike most, I actually really like JBL, but he had his big run already, and I'm enjoying Punk at the moment, so I say keep that train going until Jericho or maybe even Orton gets thte title shot. HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT OF HBK'S FUTURE The angle involing Shawn & Jericho has actually been the best thing in the WWE at the moment, and the announcement is actually one of the major reasons to tune in. I'm not sure what will happen exactly, but I know it will involve Jericho, and it could hopefully make for a really inrense moment, or maybe even a sad one if Shawn announces his retirement. FIRST TIME EVER John Cena vs. "The Animal" Batista Now I have never liked John Cena, but even I have to admit that this match is fresh and interesting. I mean these are the two guys that walked out of Wrestelmania 21 with both World Titles and they never crossed paths since, so this should be a really inresting match to see. I agree with the people that say they are giving away the match too soon, but I said the same thing when TNA gave away Angle/Joe too soon or when WWE gave away Hardy/Edge too soon, but that didn't stop me from ordering the PPV. I think the most interesting thing about this match will be the crowd reaction. I have no idea who the fans will side with, but I'll be tuning into find out (I'll be sitting infront of the TV cheering like an idiot for Batista!) Prediction: John Cena - Cena has actually been on somewhat of a losing streak as of late (yeah hard to believe isn't it?) I mean he even lost to JBL last month at the Bash, so my thought process is that they will give him the win. I would prefer Batista, just out of the simple fact that I don't like Cena, but we'll see what happens. HELL IN A CELL The Undertaker vs. "The Rated R Superstar" Edge Now this is the match that should close the event. I can't see anything else on the card following it. Like I said, I haven't really been watching Smackdown, but I caught The Smackdown Rebound on Raw and saw the angle involving Edge basically attacking the other members of his stable and going insane. I don't know how it came off on Smackdown, but in the highlight package, it came off extremely well, and it made me excited for this match. The Hell in a Cell has also been an important fixture of the WWE since 1997 with that amazing Shawn Michaels/Undertaker classic. Some of my favorite matches over the last decade have been in Hell in a Cell, and I think Edge & Undertaker can have a really good match, and in my opinion, this match is the main reason to check out this year's Summerslam. Prediction: The Undertaker - The angle's been done before. Undertaker gets basnished, then comes back for his revenge and gets it. Nothing major, but the returning face should always get the win upon their return. It won't really hurt Edge that much either. He's already Mr. Smackdown. Even with Triple H carrying the gold, Edge is still the star of the show. So overall the card for Summerslam looks good. The World Title Matches aren't exactly stellar, but the Hell in a Cell & Cena/Batista matches make up for it, with Shawn's announcement carrying alot of hype & intrigue as well. The Mixed Tag & MVP vs. Hardy should be fun too. Anyways, hope that all of you watching this Sunday enjoy the show! :: DISCUSS THIS POST ON THE FORUMS! :: SEE MICKIE JAMES & THE DIVAS NUDE! :: BUY WRESTLING DVD'S THROUGH OUR STORE! :: GO BACK TO THE HOME PAGE WRESTLING EPICENTER STORE IS OPEN! THE HOTTEST WRESTLING DVD'S ARE NOW AVAILABLE! We've got hundreds of pro wrestling DVD's at your fingertips! All your favorite stars such as Hulk Hogan, Kurt Angle, Sting, Ric Flair, Bruiser Brody, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Harley Race, Andre the Giant, Dynamite Kid, Davey Boy Smith, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, Booker T, & countless others! We've also got the Divas! 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