WWE SummerSlam 2012 Results: Biggest Surprises from Top Stars

Well, it’s over. After weeks of anticipation and depletion of the bank account for the pay-per-view access, WWE SummerSlam 2012 is now a thing of the past.

While it perhaps wasn’t a classic, it was an impressive display that managed to throw up some surprises as the night went on.

Here are five of my biggest double-take moments from this year’s event.

Chris Jericho Def. Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler had the beating of Jericho going into this match, so I guess it wasn’t a huge surprise that Jericho turned the tables on him and finally won the big one.

I wasn’t as enamored with this match as a lot of other people seem to be. It was entertaining, don’t get me wrong, but I didn’t buy the premise that Jericho somehow summoned the strength to defeat Ziggler.

It’s not like Jericho was looking strong going into the fight, so why would he then turn up to SummerSlam and defeat Ziggler? The defeat of Jericho on Raw was almost like admitting that the WWE made a mistake and tried to hide admitting it by putting the rematch on Raw.

Obviously, this isn’t the case, but the poor handling of this storyline is what makes it one of the biggest surprises for me.

Daniel Bryan def. Kane

I wasn’t expecting this, but it turned out to be a pretty good match with some excellent technical skill on display. Bryan got the crowd involved, and that really elevated the match.

Kane seemed to respond to the crowd’s noise and managed to land the Chokeslam, but his greed got the better of him when he attempted the Tombstone Piledriver and Bryan rolled him up for the victory.

The fury and destruction seen from Kane was a great way to end the match, and it was actually a disappointment when it was over.

The Miz Def. Rey Mysterio

The Miz is clearly destined for huge things in the WWE, and this clean win over Mysterio will help to push his profile through the roof.

The history of these two Superstars set the stage for a great match, and the crowd wasn’t disappointed. The surprise was the result; if ever there was a match for Myseterio to win, it was this one.

Making his return to pay-per-view, it seemed like he couldn’t possibly lose this one.

However, every time it looked like Mysterio was getting something going, the Miz came back with solid counters until Mysterio’s face met the apron in the Skull-Crushing Finale.

Mysterio will no doubt make a high-profile comeback very soon, but I would be interested to see where they could take the Miz/Mysterio feud from this point.

Surely they won’t just leave it where it is?

The Big Show

If I’m being honest, I wasn’t looking forward to the Triple Threat Match, even though it was for the WWE Championship.

The Big Show seemed to be getting in the way of what could be a great match, but he actually turned out to be the star of it.

Watching him appear impervious to CM Punk and John Cena’s submission moves was really entertaining, and I was completely rooting for him by the end.

Obviously, the battle between Punk and Cena just got more interesting following Punk’s victory, but the Big Show proved to be more than capable of sharing the stage with them.

The fact that I’m now interested in the Big Show’s next move is something I just didn’t see coming.

Brock Lesnar’s Retirement

Just to clear things up, I’m not shocked that he retired. I’m shocked that people are shocked that he retired. Still with me?

Lesnar’s had commitment problems with the WWE in the past—and walked away from it previously—so it wasn’t a surprise that he announced his retirement.

His victory over Triple H confirmed his superiority once more, so there’s no point in him staying around until people are bored of him.

His “retirement” is no doubt related to his diverticulitis and subsequent surgery that ended his MMA career. If he is to retain his place in the spotlight, he needs to be a bit-part player.

He works best in this manner, anyway; re-introducing himself with high-profile victories and then leaving in a blaze of glory. He will be gone from the WWE for a while, then someone will call him out with a challenge and he will return.