LIVE SummerSlam thoughts - August 17, 2014

10:49 - Wow, what a dominant victory.  And bravo to John Cena.  Very rarely will you see THE top babyface take such a legitimately vicious beating and then lose in such convincing fashion.  He's a real good sport.

10:40 - Yeahhhhh, so that "Let's Go Cena!" kid has got to go, right?

I also like the story with the announcers here, with JBL adamantly pulling for Brock, Cole losing hope in Cena and Lawler doing his best to keep his faith in Cena.  It'll make all the impact if, eventually, Lawler succumbs and admits that Cena is done for.

10:32 - Also, slightly disappointed that Cena isn't rocking those snazzy red knee pads he was sporting on Raw.  Believe it or not, it was a subtle change that, even slightly, freshened up his appearance.

10:31 - So much for "no wrist bands" and all that jazz.

10:27 - Okay, I really DO want to see this match, so I hope the feed holds up.  Also, what are the chances that Cena doesn't come out in his usual gear?

10:23 - So SummerSlam is coming to NY/NJ next year?  Does that mean they'll be in New Jersey but New York will, for some reason, not only be on the logo, but will also get top billing?

10:18 - Cool spot with the Spear going into the RKO.  Glad they had enough sense to have Roman kick out, though.

10:07 - After refreshing the screen a few times, the stream is now back.  There was a long stretch that the stream was working fine, but this is without a doubt the most issues I've had with the Network since I subscribed.  I'd say it was absolutely 100% flawless for the first four months.  Last month I had some issues for the first half hour or so of the last PPV, but it was otherwise smooth sailing.  Tonight it's been pestering.

10:05 - Annnnnnnnnnnd the screen just went black.

10:03 - Looks like Reigns has some new gear as well -- rocking the blue trim.  He's previously done gray and army green.  Looks good, too.

10:00 - Two PPVs in a row that Orton ditches the black trunks for some colored ones.  I approve.  Well done, Randall.

9:56 - When Nikki came down but didn't do anything to stop Triple H's interference, her turn was expected.  Also worth noting -- after an hour or so of perfection, this match did feature a lot of choppiness and buffering issues.  Anybody else experiencing a blinking screen too?

9:53 - I do have to say, Steph gives a great Pedigree.  And Brie takes it mighty well.  There actually IS a good story behind Nikki turning on Brie, but I'm not sure I even want to see that feud.

9:48 - What's interesting is that when Stephanie wrestled 10 years ago, she was treated like she was completely out of the league of every other Diva.  Now, a decade later, she's completely dominating a current Diva.  I understand that she legitimately is a lot bigger and stronger than Brie, but I don't quite see what advantage there is to making one of your current Divas look second rate against the owner of the company.

9:41 - I guess Stephanie McMahon and Seth Rollins shop together?

9:37 - I know that this feud has gotten a fair amount of positive feedback, but I'm just not into it.  I can't stand the Bellas and Stephanie, in my view, is best in extremely small dosages.

9:35 - Expected -- and right -- winner there.  Let's hope this gets Wyatt back on track.

9:26 - Also, the referee shirts still have the old logos.

9:19 - Fun entrance for both guys.  Wyatt, with the fans just knowing to turn on their cell phone lights, is one of the most unique entrances of anybody in WWE.  Such an awesome visual.  Also love that he wore the leather apron (which I believe he wore in NXT) because there's something oddly disturbing about it.  Bringing back the countdown for Jericho's entrance gave it a certain epic feeling.  And that was a pretty bad ass jacket, too.

9:13 - While I expected Rollins to win and have no problem with it, I do hope that Ambrose wins the blowoff of this feud.  Rollins has walked away with enough big victories (including Money in the Bank) that he can suffer a clean loss against Ambrose without suffering.  The fans are into Ambrose and he's the one who got turned on, so he should win in the end.

9:10 - Really fun spots here in this lumberjack match.  Unique twist on the stipulation.  Really enjoying this match and the use of the Superstars who typically just stand around the ring.

9:00 - I like how they're playing up the fact that all of the lumberjacks have, at one time, been victimized by the Shield (showing that they're BOTH potential victims), but there's something....off....about the Wyatts being lumberjacks.

8:51 - The old "pass out because he won't tap out" finish was probably the safest finish to keep Rusev strong while also protecting Swagger.  Somebody brought up a good point, though:  Will Swagger retain this level of "overness" after he's moved on from feuding with an anti-American?

8:44 - Feed seems to be pretty consistent and good now.  I do have to say -- I like both of these guys' new gear.

8:35 - Since I missed the first half hour of the show anyway, I might just rewatch Paige vs. AJ in the replay.

Also, interesting that the WWE isn't utilizing their logo in easily used places.  Like, they've updated the ring apron, but not the turnbuckles.  It's being used for the SummerSlam logo, but not on the WWE logo at the bottom of the screen.  Very odd.

8:32 - Feed returned just in time for the finish.  Now frozen again.

8:29 - I finally turned on SummerSlam on the WWE Network ($9.99) for AJ Lee's introduction.  Imagine my excitement.  Except I'm ALREADY having some choppiness and buffering issues with my feed.  Same thing happened last month, but it was quickly resolved for the rest of the show.  I'm hoping that happens here again, however I was really looking forward to AJ vs. Paige, so this is a bit of a disappointment.