Source: Wrestling Observer

The win over John Cena that Batista scored at WWE's SummerSlam pay-per-view was meant to be a message to him of a vote of confidence. Batista was critical of wrestling Cena in the first place on such short notice and felt the match should have been saved for WrestleMania, like originally planned. It's believed Batista feels he will never be in the spot he was three years ago when he was the top guy in the company and his feud with Triple H drew big.

With the talk of Batista wanting to take more time off, some feel that it's just his way of making noise knowing that he can be frustrated and people will react in a way that they wouldn't for other guys on the roster, such as Carlito. One person close to Batista says he will be shocked if The Animal takes time off because he loves the lifestyle, the attention and being a star. Batista is likely making in excess of $2 million per year and at 40 years old, he has to realize he doesn't have a lot of years left in the ring.

Labels: 2008 summerslam, batista, john cena

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:16 PM | Permalink | Comments

Source: ProWrestling.net

Undertaker’s in-ring action is being restricted due to a sore knee he had scoped during a recent layoff. It was described as a relatively minor surgery, but he came back early for his SummerSlam match with Edge.

When Taker has wrestled lately, he’s been primarily limited to tag matches to keep his workload light.

He still has soreness and tenderness in his knee, but it’s said to be improving. It’s likely only a matter of time before he starts working more singles matches, including one with Big Show.

Labels: 2008 summerslam, edge, undertaker

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:07 AM | Permalink | Comments

From: WrestleScoop.com

Several sources including The UK’s Sun is reporting that several top WWE Superstars are working hurt right now and won’t take any time off for fear of losing their main event spot.

Edge is taking some time off to sell the angle from The Undertaker but also to heal up after the recent promo time allowed him not to have to wrestle on TV besides the Hell in a Cell match at SummerSlam. Edge is said to be a man who is constantly in some kind of pain but doesn’t want to give up that main event spot.

The Undertaker is also working hurt as he returned from a knee injury early for SummerSlam. One more knee injury for The Dead Man and he could have to call it quits or work a more limited schedule than what he is already working.

The word going around is that the injury bug and wear and tear of WWE’s grueling schedule is taking its toll on several WWE Superstars and not just Edge, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels and John Cena.

Labels: 2008 summerslam, edge, john cena, undertaker

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:38 PM | Permalink | Comments

Matt Loede and John Sefick are back by popular demand for the Let's Talk Wrestling SummerSlam Post-Match Show. The two talk about the latest WWE PPV offering, and talk about the matches, the crazy Hell in a Cell Match, what they thought of the undercard, and what is up next for the latest WWE Programs. Click to check out this latest audio offering from the Let's Talk Wrestling crew.

Labels: 2008 summerslam, edge, john sefcik, matt loede, triple h, undertaker

Posted by Matt Loede at 2:09 PM | Permalink | Comments

From: WrestleScoop.com

Mick Foley was originally tapped to be involved in the Hell in the Cell match between Undertaker & Edge as the 10th anniversary to one of the most famous matches in the history of professional wrestling. However, he was told this past week that there was a change of plans and that his services weren't needed for SummerSlam.

Labels: 2008 summerslam, edge, mick foley, undertaker

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments

From: WrestleScoop.com

The booking for the Shawn Michaels/Chris Jericho segment at SummerSlam is said to have received less-than-stellar reviews from veteran wrestlers and WWE crew members. Some wrestlers were apparently shaking their heads at the fact Shawn Michaels didn’t attack Jericho after Jericho hit his wife, and thought he came off as a “wimp.“ One side of the argument backstage is that Michaels just admitted he was too unhealthy to fight anymore so there’s no way he would go after Jericho, while the other side of the argument is that some dude just punched his wife and he didn’t do anything about it.

Labels: 2008 summerslam, chris jericho, shawn michaels

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:33 AM | Permalink | Comments

So another SummerSlam is in the books, the show wrapping up Sunday evening from the Conseco Fieldhouse, home of the Indiana Pacers. The show from start to finish to me seemed a bit rushed, but I felt overall they got over what they wanted, which was a Hell in the Cell that from all indications could and really should be a match up for "Match of the Year." Other than that, the card will be rather forgettable, as there was not a heck of a lot to the show - unless you were naive enough to think that Shawn Michael's wife was NOT going to get laid out in some form by Chris Jericho.

Here are my post-SummerSlam thoughts:

Undertaker defeats Edge (Hell in a Cell) - This match made the card, without question. As expected, the job Edge did with the match is really what made it, and even though he lost he's the one that should get a lot of props for making the match what it was. Taker did a great job as well, and it's amazing he can be gone for two and a half months and come back and put on that type of show the first time out. I could have gone for not seeing the who Guerrero family and Bam and Hawkins and Ryder during the match, but whatever. As far as the visual at the end, interesting to say the least and more times than not that would be the end of the feud, but for whatever reason I can see this thing getting more play, despite the fact these two have already headlined now five PPV's in 2008.

Triple H defeats The Great Khali (WWE Championship) - This is about exactly as I expected, as no one ever felt that Khali had any sort of chance vs The Game to even sniff the title. The title was pushed to the back burner for this PPV with SmackDown's main being the Taker-Edge match, and that was the right thing to do. Hopefully with Edge off TV for a few weeks (at least two after the Hell in the Cell beating), they can refocus on the title and come up with a good program. One thing I am afraid of is rushing the Taker-HHH program, which if they are going to do should wait till Mania 25.

CM Punk defeats JBL (World Heavyweight Championship) - I thought Punk stepped his game up here, and he continues to show why he should get a sustained run with the belt. While JBL continues to get main event PPV matches for little to no reason, both men did a good job here, but Punk really shined. While Punk should continue to get a shot to keep the belt, they need to keep pushing his character and move him away from JBL and into another program.

Matt Hardy defeats Mark Henry via DQ (ECW Championship) - Total waste of time, and the only thought is they realized this was so rushed, they needed to keep this going and let's just throw this out there for 2 minutes and rush a DQ finish. What a waste to fly Matt Striker and Todd Grisham in to call a 1 minute match. As for the ending with Jeff Hardy coming out and "saving" Matt from a beatdown, that made little sense after Jeff lost in the opener. Bad booking here all the way around.

Batista defeats John Cena - For a match that we supposedly waited six years for, this clearly didn't live up to the hype, or should I say lack of hype. Batista was outspoken about rushing this match, and he was dead on. Then to have a clean finish, it didn't really make sense, other than to think we'll see this again down the road (Survivor Series?) and then Cena wins, setting up some meaga third and final match at Maina with a belt on the line. I just think in the end this could have been done better.

Santonio Marella and Beth Phoenix defeat Kofi Kingston and Mickie James (IC and Women's Championships) - You saw this coming with the romance angle with Marella and Phoenix, as now each of them having belts will put them on TV together more and more. The backstage interview with the popping out Maria and Marella and Phoenix was one of the funnier moments of the card, and it went over well on TV. Marella's unibrow was equally as funny. If you don't at least crack a smile at Marella's antics in and out of the ring, you have little to no sense of humor.

MVP defeats Jeff Hardy - The line they will use is that Hardy lost due to the "interference" by Shelton Benjamin, but what it really does is put these three - Benjamin, Hardy and MVP in the mix for a series of three-way bouts for the US Title, the first of which I think we'll see in three weeks at Unforgiven. Pretty good opener, and give Hardy some credit for taking some rather vicious shots, the best of which was the belly to belly suplex into the turnbuckle.

The other thing that has to be talked about is the "announcement" by Shawn Michaels that he's retiring - only to have it broken up by Chris Jericho. Now you knew the moment you saw her that HBK's wife Rebecca was going to get laid out in some form by Jericho, but man, give that lady some props for taking a shot that I don't think a lot of us would have taken for the sake of entertainment. I love Jericho's new character, and the punch to Mrs.HBK was a fantastic kickoff to what ought to now be a huge match at Unforgiven.

Labels: 2008 summerslam, 2008 unforgiven, batista, chris jericho, edge, john cena, shawn michaels, triple h, undertaker

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:12 AM | Permalink | Comments

The WWE presents its annual biggest PPV of the summer this weekend - SummerSlam. The show takes place Sunday 8pm est from the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. While this is usually a show with a lot of build and high profile matches, this years offering seems a bit lacking, despite the fact they have thrown some major superstars together in trying to draw a big buyrate. With that, here is the breakdown for the show.

Edge vs Undertaker (Hell in a Cell) - This will likley be the main event, and for what it's worth - it should be. It will be the first time we've seen Taker since he "retired" a few months back after a loss to Edge at One Night Stand. Now he's back thanks to Vickie Guerrero, and this should be a blood bath. Both these men work well together, and they are wise to put this on as the main. Both these guys are at the top of their game, and this one should be a very solid main event despite not much on the line.

World Heavyweight Champion C.M. Punk vs JBL - We've seen this one before, as Punk took on JBL the night he won the strap, so they must feel they can keep it fresh. Keeping JBL in the title picture is a bit of a head scratcher, but they must feel that he still has value and can give Punk a solid match. No way I can see JBL winning the belt here, as Punk walks out with a successful defense of the World Heavyweight Title.

WWE Champion Triple H vs The Great Khali - Let's hope they keep this one short. With not much else going on in the title scene, they threw this together in hopes of making it legit, but not many are buying Khali as a serious contender for the belt, and for good reason. The company gave HHH some time off to be with wife Steph McMahon for the birth of their second child, and because of that, we have to deal with this, which should be a short 7-8 minute squash with HHH winning clean.

ECW Champion Mark Henry vs Matt Hardy - Hardy dropped the US Title at last month's PPV offering to set up this feud that we knew was coming when Hardy was moved and Henry got the belt. The ECW brand has been a bit better with the infusion of young talent, and while Henry does not deserve to carry the torch of this title, look for a win here to simply continue this feud till Hardy finally does win his first major heavyweight title.

Batista vs John Cena - They are pushing this as the "first time ever" for these two, and many felt we wouldn't see this till Mania. I predict we still might, as I can easily see a no-decision here, allowing them to keep this fresh as the build for Mania 25 starts in full in the next two-three months. From here I see a slow build for Batista going back to heel to build towards a big grudge match with a title involved with Cena at Mania.

MVP vs Jeff Hardy - These two just had a match at a PPV a few months back, but this time they are actually going though with a program, so I wouldnt' doubt if they drag this out a little. On the other hand, this could be a "one and done" and then they could move Hardy into the title picture with Triple H after he takes care of Khali. Down the road Hardy will have a title shot, and I think it's going to be sooner than later, meaning he wins clean here.

Beth Phoenix and Santino Marella vs Kofi Kingston and Mickie James (IC and Women's Belt on the line) - Kind of a silly way to have two belts decided, but for whatever reason they decided to have these four in a match and put not one but two belts up. I can likely see one of the belts changing hands, and the way it should go down is Marella, finally admitting his crush on Phoenix, helps her win the womens belt and forgo's the IC belt. That's the most logical way of it playing out anyway.

Labels: 2008 summerslam, batista, c.m. punk, edge, jbl, the great khali, triple h, undertaker

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:40 PM | Permalink | Comments

Preview:
Over the edge
August 9, 2008

As Jeff Hardy gets ready to face Montel Vontavious Porter at SummerSlam, he goes up against United States Champion Shelton Benjamin in a title encounter on SmackDown. Can Hardy upset Benjamin and go into Sunday as the new United States Champion? Or, will the Gold Standard stop the Legend Thriller?

After Mick Foley awakened a sadistic cruelty in Edge, the Rated-R Superstar has unleashed hell on anyone standing in his way. Could this new-found rage give him the support he needs to survive Hell in a Cell against a returning Undertaker at SummerSlam? What will the Ultimate Opportunist do just days before perhaps the biggest match of his career?

Last week in their unprecedented Indian Broken Glass Arm Wrestling Contest, No. 1 contender to the WWE Championship, The Great Khali, applied his vicious Vise Grip to Triple H, sending a message that “The Game” is over. After finding that his patented Pedigree on Khali could be anatomically impossible, how will The Cerebral Assassin successfully defend his gold against the Punjabi Giant at SummerSlam? Will these titans clash again just days before the Biggest Blockbuster of the Summer?

The undefeated Vladimir Kozlov is demanding a better class of competition. After making short work of Jesse, could the Moscow Mauler find what he seeks in the corn-fed colossus, Festus?

And with advisor Ezekiel Jackson providing a hefty distraction at ringside, The Brian Kendrick picked up yet another victory over Super Crazy last week. With Jackson becoming such a decisive factor in The Kendrick’s matches, will anybody be able to stand in his way?

Find out the answers to these questions and more on Friday Night SmackDown on The CW Network at 8/7 CT. And don’t forget to catch SummerSlam, Sunday, Aug. 17, only on pay-per-view.

Labels: 2008 summerslam, jeff hardy, Vladimir Kozlov

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:13 AM | Permalink | Comments

Preview:Bagging the gold?
August 11, 2008

At SummerSlam, John Cena and Batista face off one-on-one for the first time ever. On Monday night though, the two Superstars had to join forces as they faced World Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase. In spite of some infighting, and neither of these dominant competitors wanting to give an inch, Cena & Batista defeated Rhodes & DiBiase to become the new World Tag Team Champions.

While preparing to face each other at the Biggest Blockbuster of the Summer, will Cena & Batista be able to retain their gold? Can these rivals possibly coexist? We'll find out this Monday, as the former champions exercise their rematch clause to face Cena & Batista once again, attempting to regain the World Tag Team Championship.

Since coming to Raw in the 2008 WWE Draft, Kane has been on a mission of devastation, affecting those in and outside the ring all while making cryptic references to “he” and whether he is alive or dead. The Big Red Monster has kept a burlap sack clutched to his side throughout, the contents of which remain shrouded in mystery.

On Raw, new General Manager Mike Adamle decided that the sack has remained enigmatic for long enough, and in an attempt to give the WWE Universe what they want, has promised to make Kane disclose the contents of the bag on next week’s Raw. Will Kane simply allow the GM to look in his fiercely guarded bag? And what could the Big Red Monster be hiding?

Ever since World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk won the title, JBL has decried the Straightedge Superstar as a “paper champion,” who won gold on a fluke. On Monday, the self-made millionaire pinned Punk in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match to face the World Heavyweight Champion at SummerSlam. Then, as first-seen on WWE Mobile on AT&T, JBL went on to challenge Punk to a contest he knows the Straightedge Superstar "CAN'T win." What is this mystery challenge, and will the World Heavyweight Champion be able to prevail? Full story...

On Raw, Shawn Michaels participated in his first interview since being severely injured at the hands of Chris Jericho during their match at The Great American Bash. HBK verified that he was suffering from a detached retina, and that his future as a WWE Superstar was in question. With one more medical evaluation to go, Michaels will be present at SummerSlam to share the results with the WWE Universe. What will Michaels’ doctors determine? Will we see HBK in action again?

For the answers to these questions and more, be sure to tune into Monday Night Raw at 9/8 CT only on USA Network.

Labels: 2008 summerslam, batista, john cena, kane, shawn michaels

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Comments

Source: ProWrestling.net

New reports indicate that Mick Foley’s current WWE run could conclude at SummerSlam. Foley’s contract is set to expire soon and it’s unknown whether he will move forward as the SmackDown color commentator.

There are some lingering hard feelings between Foley and Vince that stem from the WWE chairman coming down hard on him while producing him through the headsets. One incident in particular occurred a while back when Foley was still working with Michael Cole and got so bothered by what Vince said to him that he called him later that night. The word going around backstage is that Vince has toned things down while producing Foley since then, but Mick is still bothered by the way he and other announcers have been treated.

Vince is notoriously tough on his broadcasters and the feeling is that Foley was never exposed to that side of him during his wrestling days.

Right now the ball is in Foley’s court, as WWE definitely wants to keep him under contract. The feeling is that Foley will only re-sign if he’s having fun and won’t have to put up with Vince’s maniacal rants on the headsets, otherwise he just might walk away. It’s said that he is in a very financially secure position and sees no reason to continue working every week if he’s not having fun.

Foley is expected to appear at WWE’s SummerSlam PPV this year in some capacity, and if he decides to leave the company, it may just be his final WWE appearance.

Labels: 2008 summerslam, mick foley, vince mcmahon

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:33 AM | Permalink | Comments

Below is the updated card for WWE's SummerSlam pay-per-view coming out of tonight's RAW:

WWE Title Match
Triple H vs. The Great Khali

World Title Match
CM Punk vs. JBL

Hell in a Cell
The Undertaker vs. Edge

ECW Title Match
Mark Henry vs. Matt Hardy

Intercontinental and Women's Title Tag Match
Kofi Kingston and Mickie James vs. Beth Phoenix and Santino Marella

John Cena vs. Batista

Shawn Michaels will also be at SummerSlam with an announcement regarding his future

Labels: 2008 summerslam, jbl, mark henry, matt hardy, the great khali, triple h

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:32 AM | Permalink | Comments

The following is from WWE.com:

On Monday night, Shane McMahon appeared on Raw and announced the show's new General Manager: Mike Adamle. Our fans were shocked to learn that WWE’s flagship program would now be headed up by the absent-minded ECW commentator. Will Adamle be able to take control and command the respect of the Raw roster, or will the mayhem overwhelming the show continue to run unchecked?

On his very first night as Raw GM, Adamle made a number of matches. The biggest of these however, was Raw's first SummerSlam match: For the first-time ever, John Cena vs. Batista. Recent weeks have seen both Superstars displaying their hunger for championship gold, but their match at SummerSlam will be to determine who is truly the top contender on Raw. With two competitors as intense as Cena and The Animal, will they even make it to SummerSlam before a collision?

Though SummerSlam is right around the corner, there's plenty to look forward to on the next Raw as well. For the first time since having his right eye severely injured by Chris Jericho at The Great American Bash, Shawn Michaels will appear for an interview on Raw. Y2J has claimed that he ended the career of HBK, will Michaels corroborate this evidence? What will The Showstopper have to say to the man who injured him so severely?

Though he is still gloating about his win over Michaels, Jericho has begun to look forward as well. The man once known as the Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rolla hosted what he announced as the last edition of his talk-show, the Highlight Reel. Y2J shared several clips of a more fun, fan-friendly Chris Jericho, and then let the WWE Universe know that it was a thing of the past. Like a slew of other top Superstars, Jericho has his eyes on nothing short of the World Heavyweight Championship, and communicated as much. Will new GM Mike Adamle be receptive to Jericho’s desire for championship gold? Who will fall into Y2J's sights next?

For the answers to these questions and more, make sure to tune into Raw, Monday nights at 9/8 CT only on USA Network. And don’t miss Saturday Night’s Main Event this Saturday at 9/8 CT on NBC.

Labels: 2008 summerslam, chris jericho, mike adamle, shawn michaels

Posted by Matt Loede at 2:31 PM | Permalink | Comments

The countdown to SummerSlam starts in earnest tonight on RAW, and already there has been quite a bit of chatter about the SmackDown title match between Triple H and The Great Khali, and basically what the heck is the company thinking on this one? Our co-editor John Sefcik is so distraught about this match he's told me he'll boycott even watching it and will take in a restroom break or slurpee at the Conseco Fieldhouse when we're there for the event.

While I am not that upset about the booking, it's rather clear that the direction they are going in right now is to take the Hell in a Cell match between Edge and Undertaker and push that to the main event status for the card instead of the title match, which all in all is a good decision. There is also something that has not been talked about in these circles, and that is I would expect HHH to miss at least one TV taping as wife Stephanie is due to give birth any day now, and it's rather hard to have a heavy build to a program with the champ not at TV.

This (HHH-Khali) is clearly a program that should last a month until we put the Edge-Taker feud to rest, then get back on track with a heavier title program for Unforgiven in September in Cleveland. Not to start looking too far ahead, but there is already that underlying tone to a HHH-Taker match somewhere down the road, as described on the WWE's website a few days back.

For now, suffer through a quick Khali-HHH title match at SummerSlam, and then watch as the company puts that to bed and moves on to bigger and better soon thereafter.

Labels: 2008 summerslam, edge, the great khali, triple h, undertaker

Posted by Matt Loede at 5:55 AM | Permalink | Comments

From: Wrestlescoop.com

The new preview for this Friday Night's SmackDown from TV Guide says we will see a Battle Royal on this week's show to determine the #1 contender for Triple H's WWE Title for a match at WWE's SummerSlam pay-per-view this month.

Labels: 2008 summerslam, smackdown, triple h

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:16 PM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: 2008 summerslam

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:18 PM | Permalink | Comments

The promotional poster and preview for this year’s WWE SummerSlam (which the Let's Talk Wrestling crew will be at!) pay-per-view has been released by PPV provider inDEMAND. The following is the synopsis:

WWE: SummerSlam
Premieres Sunday, August 17, 2008

Get ready for the hardest-hitting, most explosive blockbuster of the summer, starring John Cena, Triple H, Batista, Rey Mysterio, and more! WWE SummerSlam detonates live on Pay-Per-View Sunday, August 17, 8pm ET / 5pm PT. A World Wrestling Entertainment Production. See wwe.com for details.

Running Time: 2:58
Rating: TV-14 (D,L,V)

Labels: 2008 summerslam, batista, john cena, rey mysterio, triple h

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:39 PM | Permalink | Comments

From: PWPIX.net

As previously posted, Jeff Hardy was originally scheduled to face Chris Jericho for the Intercontinental Championship at WWE's Night of Champions pay-per-view before being drafted to SmackDown. The original plan had Hardy winning the title from Jericho. Officials have wanted to take the belt off Jericho so he could further his program with Shawn Michaels without the Intercontinental Championship getting lost in the shuffle.

Labels: 2008 summerslam, chris jericho, jeff hardy

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

At the moment, Undertaker is slated to return in late July. The storyline will lead to a SummerSlam showdown with Edge.

Taker did indeed take some time off to heal some nagging injuries, but there was also a feeling that his program with Edge needed to be put on the shelf, at least for a little while. They want to continue it, but it was going to run out of steam without a major angle.

The creative team wasn't told about Undertaker's leave of absence until a week ahead of time.

Labels: 2008 summerslam, edge, undertaker

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:26 PM | Permalink | Comments

source: www.f4wonline.com

Batista is expected to take a few months off soon, likely after One Night Stand. He is expected to be out until SummerSlam. At the moment, we don't have any details on his hiatus except that it's not Wellness-related. In light of this news, there's a good chance he'll being put out of action in his stretcher match with Shawn Michaels tomorrow night at One Night Stand.

Labels: 2008 summerslam, batista

Posted by Matt Loede at 4:50 PM | Permalink | Comments