SummerSlam 2014

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 182 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: October 27 2014

SummerSlam is often considered to be WWE's second-biggest PPV event of the year. Although Royal Rumble draws greater interest, it is closely linked with WrestleMania; SummerSlam, on the other hand, is its own entity, and is actually almost a summer version of Mania. But how does SummerSlam 2014 fare, and as a DVD experience to boot? Let's see ...

After a blink-and-you'll-miss-it opening promo by Hulk Hogan, the show starts with The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler, which benefits from a lively crowd. AJ Lee vs. Paige is surprisingly short and has a slightly shocking conclusion; the same cannot be said of the Flag match (of sorts) between Rusev and Jack Swagger which existed to promote the rise of the Bulgarian Brute, as expected.

An early highlight comes with the exciting Lumberjack match between Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, one of the best examples of a stipulation which, admittedly, doesn't have too many classics in its history. Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt is solid if unspectacular, and the much-hyped Stephanie McMahon vs. Brie Bella is decent given the participants (that includes Brie, by the way), which has another surprise en route to its finish.

Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns is a competent match, with a few stand-out spots, although the fact that Reigns received some fairly noticeable boos was not a good sign as WWE prepares to launch a full-on mega-push for Roman. Lastly, John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar was - well, you probably already know that Lesnar dominates Cena for 90% of the match, with 16 suplexes setting up the F5-triggered outcome of a new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. The result was expected, but the match layout was not; Cena was virtually squashed by the 1 in 21-1.

The bonus features consist of the Kick-Off match between Rob Van Dam and Cesaro, a closer look into Y2J vs. Wyatt, and a few additional backstage promos.

SummerSlam is one of the truly big WWE events, and with a mixture of exciting matches, title changes, surprises and a main event which most could not have envisioned beforehand, SummerSlam 2014 is one of the more memorable editions of this event in the modern era. It's not the best SummerSlam ever by any means, but the enjoyable content and memorable moments justify a purchase for this DVD (well, if you ignore the DVD box art, which both spoils two major match outcomes and promotes The Bellas over most of the remaining members of the roster).

Overall Rating: 7.5/10 - Good