Cena, Y2J return to Toronto; Santino retires

With the help of The Usos, John Cena has once again plucked the vultures.

At the SummerSlam Heatwave Tour at the Ricoh Coliseum in downtown Toronto, Cena surprised the crowd in attendance by turning his no holds barred Street Fight bout against Bray Wyatt into a WWE World Heavyweight Title match. The bout was some seriously hardcore fun, well, as hardcore as the WWE gets these days. The show also featured the wrestling return of Chris Jericho, who temporarily left the WWE last year to tour with his band Fozzy, and Santino Marella announcing his retirement from in-ring action.

Santino Marella announces his retirement from in-ring action. Photos by Mike Mastrandrea

Of course, it didn’t take long before Harper and Rowan got involved in the championship match blindsiding Cena. As the unhinged hillbillies prepared to lay a beat down on the champ, The Usos joined the fray, clearing the ring of the worst dressed tag team in the WWE. The Usos battled Harper and Rowan back to the dressing room, evening the odds for Cena.

Without Harper and Rowan to back him up, Wyatt brought in his equalizer: a steel chair. Wyatt achieved a two-count by waffling Cena in the stomach and across the back. Brawling on the floor only opened Cena up to more punishment as he was thrown into a ringside fence and the stairs.

As Cena, Wyatt continued mauling each other along the entrance way, Cena laid out Wyatt with a snap suplex on the ramp. Using a guardrail as a battering ram, Cena then hammered Wyatt into the concrete floor. Back in the ring, Wyatt finally regained the upper hand, providing running commentary and counting his own pinfall attempts as he hit Cena in the head over and over again with the microphone. Clever that.

Bray Wyatt has to sit down during his match with John Cena.

Teasing an unlikely win, Wyatt unleashed a hardcore barrage on Cena avalanching him through a table in a corner, beating him with a chair and then executing Sister Abigail on the ringside fence which was left inside the ring. Wyatt attempted to put Cena through another table but found himself on the business end of an Attitude Adjustment for the three count in the finale of match that saw both men really give their all. Like or hate their personas, Cena and Wyatt continued the solid work rate which has become a trademark of their bitter feud, ending a simple local house show with a pay-per-view quality main event match.

Another pleasant surprise for the crowd was the return of Chris Jericho in his first match since coming back to the WWE. The partisan Canadian crowd welcomed their native son with the expected adoration as he faced off against The Miz, who has apparently become even more pompous since snagging the starring role in those crappy WWE Marine movies.

“How dare you ruin this crowd’s special moment. Did you think they came here to see you,” Miz questioned Y2J. After being warned repeatedly NOT to punch or kick Miz in his multi-million dollar face, Jericho popped him in the chops.

With the fans chanting “You still got it!” and Jericho replying that he never lost it, Y2J dragged a fleeing Miz and deposited him back in the ring but not before slapping him in the face with a fan’s sign.

The see-saw battle ended with The Miz’s figure four being no match for Jericho’s Lion Tamer.

In his street clothes, Santino Marella addressed the crowd apologizing for not being able to compete on Sunday. He is injured once again and announced he will be retiring from active wrestling. He will not be gone from WWE TV though, he will working in some capacity, maybe as a manager, maybe as a General Manager. He is not sure yet. He thanked the fans for his years of support.

WWE Live: SummerSlam Heatwave Tour (Ricoh Coliseum, Toronto) Results

Luke Harper, Erick Rowan (challengers) versus The Usos (champions): WWE World Tag Team Championship Match

When one of the Usos opened the match by punching that stupid sheep mask right off Erick Rowan’s face, you knew good times were ahead. Another lively encounter with the incredible Usos utilizing their speed, agility and tag-team know-how to offset Harper, Rowan’s brute force. The Usos continue to impress with each and every outing.
Winners: …and still WWE World Tag Team Champions…The Usos at 9 minutes and 9 seconds.
Match Rating: 7 / 10.

R-Truth versus Fandango
It should have been called the “So You Think You Can Dance” Match with Truth and Fandango taunting each other with their fancy footwork whenever they could.
Winner: R-Truth at 5 minutes and 5 seconds.
Match Rating: 4 / 10.
Comforted by Layla, a dazed Fandango says he “wasn’t ready” and R-Truth “cheated” before challenging anyone in the locker room to come out and face him, if they have the guts. Out comes The Great Khali. Fandango cries inside.

Fandango versus The Great Khali
”I don’t care how big and ugly you are. I am going to dance on your face,” scoffs Fandango right before Khali lays him out in seconds.
Winner: The Great Khali at 4 to 6 seconds.
Match Rating: 0 / 10.

Rusev versus Dolph Ziggler
Lana rips into Canada as being just like the United States, only weaker. She wins over no fans even if her hair is down. Ziggler, who is challenging Zach Ryder for the position of the WWE’s ultimate jobber, is tossed around the ring like ragdoll and pummeled into the canvass by Rusev without mounting much offense before tapping out in nano seconds to The Accolade. The Iron Sheik would be proud.
Winner: Rusev at 4 minutes and 13 seconds.
Match Rating: 4 / 10.

Paige Versus Natalya
In one of the best matches of the night, Paige and Natalya do the whole Roddy Piper, Bret Hart deal from WrestleMania 8. Both start out friendly, respectful but the match quickly dissolves into pushing, shoving and then outright nastiness, much to our delight. Full of brilliant chain reversals and hard-hitting action, the match clearly illustrates why Paige and Natalya deserve to be at the top of the divas division rather than the current overrated, overexposed champion whose gimmick is skipping around the ring very badly. Paige taps out to the Sharp Shooter but the two leave as best buds again. Awww.
Winner: Natalya at 8 minutes and 54 seconds.
Match Rating: 7.5 / 10.

Stardust, Goldust versus Rybaxel
Cody steals the spotlight as Stardust running around the stands, greeting fans and cartwheeling like a madman. Yeah, Cody has finally come into his own and his enthusiasm is really infectious.
Winners: Stardust, Goldust at 7 minutes and 42 seconds.
Match Rating: 7 / 10.

Randy Orton versus Roman Reigns
Another pay-per-view main event quality match with Orton and Reigns working well together. Orton counters Reigns’ size and strength by outsmarting and outmaneuvering him. It is a Spear not a Superman Punch that is Randy’s demise.
Winner: Roman Reigns at 15 minutes and 23 seconds.
Match Rating: 8 / 10.

Kofi Kingston versus Cesaro
Kofi has his ribs bandaged. Cesaro tears off the bandages almost immediately. Like the Ziggler-Rusev bout, Kofi only offers sporadic offence and is crushed.
Winner: Cesaro at 8 minutes and 38 seconds..
Match Rating: 4 / 10.

Chris Jericho takes it easy.

The Miz versus Chris Jericho

Winner: Chris Jericho at 8 minutes and 28 seconds.
Match Rating: 7.5 / 10.

Bray Wyatt (challenger) versus John Cena (champion) : WWE World Heavyweight Title – Street Fight Match
Winner: …and still WWE World Heavyweight Champion…John Cena at approximately 25 minutes.
Match Rating: 8 / 10.
Total Event Time: 3 and a half hours.
Overall Event Rating: 8 / 10.