WWE Summerslam 2013: 10 Best Moments From The Biggest Party Of The Summer

10. Pre-Show

The pre-show has now become a fully-established staple of WWE PPV events, an hour-long build that is designed to hype up the main card for the casual fans and pump-out the crowd for the rest of the show. In order to do that this year, they offered for free on all forms of social media the United States Championship match between champion Dean Ambrose and challenger, the recent returnee Rob Van Dam. The potential for this match would certainly be explosive, with the consistency that RVD has shown since his return and the effective psychology of Ambrose, as well as the lurking of both the Shield, The Big Show and Mark Henry sure to have a factor in the outcome. In the end, the match was a competent and tidy affair, Van Dam hitting his usual array of signature moves whilst Ambrose was able to control and slow down the pace of the match at times for his own advantage. The match was certainly not a classic by any means, but it shows that the two do have the chemistry to continue a feud in the future, if WWE give them the correct build. Chiefly, the match was let down by the fact that the two had only been set-up against each other for a week, so there was a lack of personal animosity coupled with the fact that the mid-card championships don't hold much prestige in today's WWE. At least Ambrose was able to make it onto the pre-show, when Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel was nowhere to be found. At the conclusion of the match, RVD was able to connect with the Five-Star Frogsplash, and just as it looked like a new champion would be crowned, the Shield interfered to cause the disqualification and ensure that whilst Ambrose lost, he still held onto the title. Show and Henry helped clear the ring as the Shield escaped into the crowd, but this non-finish should mean a return match in the near future. Whether that will be at Night of Champions or on Raw the following night, this will get a definitive finish. Hopefully. It would rely on WWE devoting some time in the United States Championship, so one can only be hopeful at this point. It has the makings of a strong mid-card feud, and could be what re-lights this championship again.