Welcome to SummerSlam, live from Los Angeles! The WWE’s second-biggest event of the year begins with United States champion Dean Ambrose facing off against kickbocking aficionado and singlet enthusiast Rob Van Dam. You might remember Rob Van Dam from ECW’s heyday in the late 90s. He hasn’t changed much since then.
SummerSlam results: Rob Van Dam wins via disqualification, but Dean Ambrose retains the United States Championship
A DQ finish in the night’s first match? WWE being WWE.
The WWE writers quickly conceived this feud. Ambrose and his two buddies, tag champs Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, have been telling old guard WWE superstars to get out of the way for the new guys. Rob Van Dam, who came back a month ago and immeditately fell into this match by winning a 20-man battle royal, is a perfect example. Van Dam has employed the hossfight duo Mark Henry and The Big Show to even the odds against The Shield./
The beauty of Ambrose is that he knows what his opponents do and counter effectively, and Ambrose did well right up until Van Dam hit a kick to the head. As Van Dam prepared for his signature five-star frog splash, Reigns and Rollins showed up to distract him. That drew an entrance by Van Dam’s new best friends, Henry and Show. Ambrose got some time to recover regardless, and the match essentially reset.
Having the two trios at ringside made for an odd dynamic where four guys who total about 1500 pounds are essentially cheerleaders, watching Rob Van Dam throw ridiculous kicks and a scissor leg takedown that got a two count. Ambrose took control of the match back through a brutal spinebuster, but missed on an elbow from the top rope. Van Dam hit his signature Rolling Thunder somersault, then the Five Star splash, but Reigns entered the ring to break up the pin with a Spear, drawing a disqualification. Van Dam wins, but Ambrose retains the title.
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