Eyes On WWE: Ranking Brock Lesnar's Summerslam Matches

By @TrueGodImmortal

Summerslam is right around the corner. With things going the way they have been, Brock Lesnar is a huge focal point of the biggest event of the summer. The truth be told, Brock's event is Summerslam. He's headlined the show essentially every year since he's been back and main evented every event except one since his 2012 return. Today, we wanted to rank his matches at the Summer event. What makes No. 1? Let's find out.

7. Brock Lesnar vs Triple H
Summerslam 2012

-This match was horrible. There's not much else to say about this. Triple H wasn't in the best ring shape and Brock wasn't really able to put on a classic it seems, as it was slow paced and not exciting. Triple H was slowly dismantled and ended up losing by submission, one of the very times we've seen that happen. Brock looked slightly like a beast, but also sort of weak in the same respect. This match could have been so much better.

6. Brock Lesnar vs Randy Orton
Summerslam 2016

-This would have been the worst match, but for some reason, I'm a fan of this match and enjoyed it for about 4 minutes before the ridiculous ending. Orton got minimal offense, and this wasn't a great contest honestly overall, but I think it was slightly better than Brock vs HHH. Plus, Orton gets a thumbs up for taking the beating from Brock and being left in a pool of his own blood.

5. Brock Lesnar vs John Cena
Summerslam 2014

-The start of the Brock dominance. After some poorly booked feuds and matches, Brock ended the Streak of The Undertaker and challenged for the WWE World Heavyweight Title. This was unlike any other Cena match that we've seen before, as Brock controlled the entire pace and dominated the contest. He would eventually put Cena out of his misery and walk away with a clean victory over Cena, a huge win for Brock, making him the MAN once again.

 

4. Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker
Summerslam 2015

-I wasn't excited for this match, but this turned out better than expected. Brock and Taker created a better contest than what they had at Wrestlemania 30. Brock and Taker went at it, and while Taker technically won, Brock actually was the one seemingly carrying his weight and the result was a pretty solid contest from beginning to end.

3. Brock Lesnar vs The Rock
Summerslam 2002

-This is a great main event. It's one of those matches that really keeps it simple, but it works very well. Brock is excellent in his role here, as the young and hungry dominant monster, while Rock is amazing as the performer who wants to hold onto what is his, but knows the challenge ahead. Brock and Rock create one of the most simple wrestling classics, and Brock is crowned as the new WWE Undisputed Champion, signaling the changing of the guard.

2. Brock Lesnar vs Kurt Angle
Summerslam 2003

-This is a slept on match for Brock in his career. Though I prefer the atmosphere of the Mania 19 contest more, this match was a solid one with Angle going above and beyond while Brock played the heel role to perfection. I wasn't a fan of how weak Brock looked in the end when he tapped out to Angle, but overall, this match is a classic. It has action throughout and with two of the best of this era in the ring on the big stage, you knew we would see something special.

1. Brock Lesnar vs CM Punk
Summerslam 2013

-The best match in Brock's Summerslam career. Hands down. This is not Brock in his prime. This is not Brock at his most athletic. This is Brock going one on one with the Best In The World. The result? An all time classic. Punk pushes Brock more than anyone we've seen in the WWE (besides Angle), and he gets one of his all time great matches out of him. Brock and Punk go 25 minutes in a brutal contest, and although Brock walks away with the victory, Punk came out of the match looking like a million bucks, giving Brock the best match of his 2nd run.

-True 

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Eyes on the Ring 1:47 AM  No comment

EOTR Match Of The Week: John Cena vs Shawn Michaels vs Kurt Angle

By @Phranchize19 

Triple threat matches are usually fun and when you add 3 world class athletes to one, you have a recipie for a great match. Today, we talk the Taboo Tuesday main event between Kurt Angle, Shawn Michaels, and John Cena for the WWE Title.

Background:
Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels had been feuding for the majority of 2005. Each man had won a match and they ended up tied in the Ironman rubber match. After John Cena became WWE Champion at Wrestlemania of this same year, he was then drafted to Raw. Cena would be feuding with management who would then place him in a feud with the recently Raw drafted Kurt Angle. Fans would get to decide who would be the third man to enter a triple threat match with Cena vs Angle (Sidenote: your vote didn’t matter they already decided on who’s gonna be where).

The Match:
As the match begins, all three men would go at one another attempting to perform finishers. As the match went on, Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels would attempt to make this a one on one match (a common psychology move in these types of matches) and suplex Cena through the announce table. After that, these two would go in and attempt to destroy each other. Cena would then get back in the match and go on the attack. Angle would then put him in the Ankle Lock only for Michael to make another save. Michaels would then superkick Angle only to turn around and fall to the Attitude Adjustment for the win.

Highlights:
There were quite a few highlights in this match that I rather enjoyed. I'll list the highlights that I enjoyed a lot below.

-The first highlight of the match Angle suplexes both Shawn and Cena 4 times in about 15 seconds.

-The second highlight would be Angle suplexing Michaels outside of the ring, which was pretty intense. 

-Another highlight was when Michaels lands an elbow drop on Angle who is performing an ankle lock on John Cena. That was a really good sequence. 

The Best Performer: 
If I had to choose one wrestler in this match who came with their A game 100%, it would be Kurt Angle hands down. He would be the MVP of this match.

Grade and Analysis
This was a fun match. Although I felt it didn’t get the time it needed to fully craft a story, the psychology was pretty good. All things considered, this PPV was a C level PPV, so it's not a shock this bout didn’t get the time it needed. Cena would start his Super Cena gimmick here after sitting out for a lot of the match, but he picks up the win in a really solid contest.

Rating: 7.5/10

-Phranchize

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Eyes on the Ring 3:02 AM  No comment

EOTR Retro: The 5 Best WWE Armageddon PPVs

By @TrueGodImmortal 

A long time ago, many WWE PPVs were regularly in existence. Long before you had Fastlane, Roadblock, or whatever you want to call it, there were PPVs like Vengeance, King Of The Ring, and Armageddon. Armageddon was the PPV that ended the year off for the company, and it was always an interesting card usually. Aside from a few clunkers during 2003-2005, the PPV has a pretty solid history. Today, I wanted to bring another EOTR Retro PPV ranking and discuss the 5 best Armageddon events. Let's get into it.

5. Armageddon 2000

-This makes the list for one obvious reason. The main event. The rest of the card was decent, but the main event was out of this world honestly. Kurt Angle. Stone Cold. The Rock. Triple H. Rikishi. The Undertaker. All inside the Hell In A Cell. For the WWF Title. Yeah, it gets no bigger than this. Kane vs Jericho was solid, as was the Tag Team Title match, but the primary focus of this show and the reason it makes the list? The legendary main event. Enough said.

4. Armageddon 2006

-This Smackdown only PPV was actually pretty interesting from top to bottom, with the exception of the stupid inferno match between MVP and Kane. Also, The Boogeyman vs The Mix? Yeah, no. However, the Benoit vs Chavo match was solid, along with the Cruiserweight Title bout, and one of my favorite matches of the night, the Last Ride match between Underaker and Mr. Kennedy. The main event was a standard tag team match just to see Cena and Batista team up, but the highlight of the show was the Ladder Match for the Tag Team Titles. That match alone was good enough to get this show into the top 5.

3. Armageddon 2002

-I debated on where to put this event because I still love the main event of this card so much. In retrospect, maybe the match isn't perfect, but to me it's a classic. There's more to this card as well, including a great opening tag team title match that saw Booker T and Goldust finally win the titles (a few months too late). Besides that opening contest, Benoit and Eddie Guerrero had a really solid contest, and I actually found the Kurt Angle vs Big Show match exciting due to the finish and the crowd. However, the best match is the near 40 minute Three Stages of Hell contest between Shawn Michaels vs Triple H, a grueling battle that sees Triple H reclaim the World Heavyweight Championship. Outside of the matches, another infamous moment takes place when Torrie Wilson and Dawn Marie have a moment in a hotel together that was fun for the time, but relatively tame compared to what could have been seen. All in all, Armageddon 2002 isn't a classic event, but it's still a fun one to watch.

2. Armageddon 2008

-This is a really great event that has some flaws, but it's mostly a really solid card that surprised me in a few ways. I didn't expect the Mark Henry vs Finlay match to be enjoyable, but it wasn't bad. I enjoyed the really solid CM Punk vs Rey Mysterio match, and it's a contender for match of the night. I thought Batista vs Orton was also solid, Jericho vs Cena wasn't too bad, but the apex of the event is the main event. Watching Triple H, Edge, and Jeff Hardy push each other to the limit and seeing Jeff finally win the big one was a great moment and a great match. That alone could get this event near the top of the list.

1. Armageddon 2007

-This is the best Armageddon and the only show close enough to it came a year later. I enjoyed this show a lot, and even though it wasn't perfect, it had a lot going for it. The US Title match between Rey Mysterio and MVP was pretty good, and despite the weak tag match with Kane and CM Punk vs Big Daddy V and Mark Henry, they picked up the pace with two match of the night candidates back to back in Shawn Michaels vs Mr. Kennedy and Triple H vs Jeff Hardy. Chris Jericho and Randy Orton had a solid match, and the triple threat main event seemed to set the tone for the future Mania contest between Edge and Undertaker. This is definitely the best Armageddon event, and it has great action from beginning to end.

-True

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Eyes on the Ring 2:05 AM  2 comments

Eyes On WWE: The 7 Worst Summerslam Main Events

By @TrueGodImmortal

While Phranchize hit you with his 30 best matches, I'm going to switch it up a bit and give you what I consider to be the 7 worst Summerslam main event matches. Why 7? Because 5 really wouldn't be enough to fully grasp how many lackluster main events there are and 10 would be a slight bit of overkill. So 7 is the perfect number. Let's take a look, shall we?

7. Team WWE vs Team Nexus
(Summerslam 2010)

-Now, with this match, you might be surprised to see it here considering there are other matches that could have very well made this list. However, this is a pretty big disappointment. There was a plethora of talent on the show and on Team WWE and what a huge build up of momentum it would have been for Wade Barrett to be the last man standing and walk away with the victory. Essentially, this was the match we should have had at Survivor Series months later after the Nexus had run roughshod all over the WWE, taken the WWE Title and more. However, WWE refuses to give the new guys the momentum they need and ruins it with Cena going over and standing tall. Thanks a lot, WWE. Also, the Daniel Bryan return was pretty anti climatic and a bit wasted. An actual surprise name would have made this a bit better and more interesting.

6. Triple H vs Brock Lesnar
(Summerslam 2012)

-There are people who love this match. I'll pray for you poor souls. A match about 9 years in the making disappoints in every way possible. It was 9 years in the making, but 8 years too late. When HHH was in his 2nd prime during 2003-2004, and Brock gave a shit about having good matches during the same period, this could have been a classic. However, this is the most disappointing main event ever in Summerslam history. The others on the list weren't expected to be much, but I ordered this PPV and was expecting a brutal fight and a tough battle. What I got was one of the most boring matches and main events I've seen. I just kept on hoping for something good to happen and for some reason, it just never did. Brock wins the match by submission, but I would have preferred this to be much more physical and to see Brock win by pinfall and they move on from this feud because we got two more unnecessary matches after this one. Once again, if you love this match, I'll pray for you. It's awful.

5. Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior vs Sgt. Slaughter, Colonel Mustafa, and General Adnen
(Summerslam 1991)

-I was a Warrior fan. I was glad to see him back. I didn't mind Hogan as a kid. I was glad to see them team up. I would soon regret that. This match is just pointless, and it only exists to have Hogan and Warrior team up on PPV and have them go over the "traitor" Slaughter and his cronies. Honestly, the more I see this match, the more I wonder what exactly motivated the WWF to even go with this instead of a more lucrative Warrior vs Hogan rematch or even a Slaughter vs Hogan steel cage main event rematch. I'll never understand it, but it's the WWE. So, of course I'll never understand it.

4. Lex Luger vs Yokozuna
WWF Championship
(Summerslam 1993)

-Imagine you have a match for the title that seems to be one of the most important main events in a while, but then it arrives and well.... it sucks. It sucks badly. You've got Yokozuna, who wasn't the best in ring performer and then you have Lex Luger.... who.... who is Lex Luger. His name speaks for itself. What doesn't speak for itself however is the fact that this match was built up like it was meant to see Luger become the next Hogan and what we got was a shitty match with a stupid DQ finish and a hilarious post match celebration for Luger winning the match.... but not winning the title. Yeah. That happened.

3. Macho Man Randy Savage and Zeus vs Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake 
(Summerslam 1989)

-I mean, was there any doubt that this would make the list? I mean, anytime you bring in Tiny Lester to play Zeus and headline a show, you're in a very sad place as a company. The late 80s were a weird time as Hogan kept trying to resist losing his spot to Warrior and Savage, and this match was a testament to the nonsense of the time. Of course, Hogan and Beefcake win, but this is quite possibly the most unnecessary main event of a PPV besides Lawrence Taylor and Bam Bam Bigelow (which at least that drew headlines, unlike this one).

2. Diesel vs Mabel
WWF Championship
(Summerslam 1995)

-I don't have much to say on this one honestly. This is absolutely sad. A main event that barely goes 10 minutes to close out the 2nd biggest PPV of the year. This just shows you how horrible WWF was in 1995. To make matters worse, you didn't even have a monumental occurrence in this contest, as Diesel never hit Mabel with the Jackknife Powerbomb, which would have at least been a big moment for the crowd, who didn't seem very interested in this match. Diesel retains in an awful match and terrible main event.

1. Undertaker vs Fake Undertaker (Summerslam 1994)

-How does this make no. 1 over Diesel vs Mabel? Honestly, it's simple. This match was the biggest waste of space ever in WWE PPV history and I still can't believe they ran this entire angle. Leslie Nielson is out here looking for the Undertaker in a serious of "hilarious" vignettes? I'll pass. To make matters worse, the Fake Undertaker was a horrible wrestler and Undertaker had just returned from injury so he wasn't completely at 100% either. This was a trainwreck and an ultimate disaster, which is why it is puzzling they chose to close out the show with this piece of shit. Undertaker, you deserve better. Hell, Fake Undertaker, you deserve better than to be Fake Undertaker (well, being Chainz in the D.O.A. wasn't much better, but it was better than this). Summerslam, you deserved better than this main event.

-True 

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Eyes on the Ring 2:38 AM  No comment

EOTR Tag Team Tuesdays: Smackdown Live's Tag Team Division

By @AmeenKnows

The state of the Smackdown Live Tag Team Division is one in horrendous condition with no clear fix in the near future. Since the brand split, Smackdown Live had enjoyed a fresh run of booking from the creative team. They managed to make Alexa Bliss an immediate star overnight, gave us an entertaining angle with Heath Slater and his various number of kids whom he fights for and even gave AJ Styles the WWE Championship run he so rightfully deserved. However that was 2016. With the page turning to a new year, the brand has been struggling from spotty booking basically since WrestleMania 33.
That's a story for another day but the reason why it is being mentioned is because that spotty booking has made the Tag Team Division stick out like a sore thumb.

Let's be honest here. The Smackdown Tag Team Division has been the worst thing going for the brand since the split. However, due to the spotty booking, the brand's creative team can't mask the flaws that have plagued the division. There are currently 7 tag teams on the roster. The Colons are inactive. The Singh Brothers are more so Jinder Mahal's entourage than a team. This leaves us with The Usos, The New Day, The Ascension, The Hype Bros, and Breezango. The Ascension have been glorified jobbers since being called up to the main roster. They had shown flashes of returning to a more aggressive style earlier in the year but that was quickly squandered and now they have been reduced to comedy sketches with Breezango.

The Hype Bros suffered from lost momentum after Zack Ryder's knee injury took him off screen for months. Breezango are good but they aren't being taken serious as they've been logged into the comedic relief role of the brand. It would have been a feel good story had they won at Backlash, but that wouldn't have put the division in better standing honestly. Their most valuable young asset in American Alpha was squandered, left with nothing to do after dropping the Tag Team Titles to The Usos before WrestleMania and officially disbanded after Jason Jordan moved to Raw.

The Usos have been the most consistent presence in the division since the brand split. A refreshing heel turn has bled new life into them but no matter how many times they steal the show, the rest of the division can not keep up with them. The current Tag Team Champions The New Day are good but they aren't as great as they were during their record breaking run. An out of the box thought would be to pair up Harper and Rowan again. They were a very versatile team in their past run as a full time tag team. But that won't suddenly fix the division over night. Smackdown's only chance to fix this division is to somehow regain the light they had at the end of 2016 or risk boring us to death with the same content every week.

-Ameen

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Eyes on the Ring 2:54 AM  1 comment