Another milestone. Another PPV that could've been shown on broadcast television.

This year's SummerSlam joins fellow WWE PPVs Survivor Series and Royal Rumble in celebrating its platinum anniversary. And, much like those two events, it's pretty much business as usual. Well, to be fair, that's not entirely true. SummerSlam 2007 is significant for the return of two of the WWE's most popular wrestlers - one, because the public thinks so; the other, because the WWE tells us so.

This year's event took place at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey on August 26, 2007 and has a running time of two hours and forty minutes. Here's the card:

• Kane vs. Finlay - One of the taglines of this PPV was "the Biggest Party Of the Summer", and when one thinks of "parties", the first person to come to mind would naturally be Kane. So it only makes sense that he open the PPV. Right? Well, there isn't much to this match, but it didn't make me reach for the remote to skip to the next chapter.
  
  
• MVP Visits Mr. McMahon In His Office - I almost forgot that this PPV took place while we were in the midst of the third McMahon child storyline. Thankfully, this skit reminded me.
  
  
• Triple-Threat Match For the Intercontinental Championship [Umaga vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. Carlito] - I'm really getting tired of Umaga (especially since Armando Alejandro Estrada is now languishing on ECW). I constantly find myself wishing that Rosey would come back and the guys would re-form 3-Minute Warning. On the other hand, Carlito's been floundering for a while now - it seems like either Vince has no idea what to do with him or he's still paying for the comments made before this year's WrestleMania. And that leaves Mr. Kennedy. At this point in time, he was rumored to be the third McMahon heir, but due to a problem maintaining his "wellness", they went in another direction...straight down a yellow brick road.
  
  
• Rey Mysterio vs. Chavo Guerrero - After close to one long year, Rey finally returns to the ring after successful knee surgery. Since I don't watch SmackDown!, i'm not sure what the buildup for Rey's return was (other than the package aired before this match), but it was pretty anti-climatic for me. Rey's one of my favorites, but he was definitely exhibiting slight ring-rust and looking a bit on the lean side. I'm sure the weird silver bodypaint didn't help.
  
  
• Todd Grisham Interviews King Booker & Queen Sharmell
  
  
• WWE Diva Battle Royal - I guess i'll let it slide since Candice Michelle was possibly obstructing their view, but I found it funny that when one of the ECW divas was eliminated, JR and Lawler didn't even mention who it was. This was the usual WWE Diva (post-Trish & Victoria) match. Though, I did get a kick out of Torrie and Michelle's botched clothesline to Melina.
  
  
• MVP Challenges Matt Hardy To A Beer Drinking Contest - During their last non-wrestling confrontation, MVP had a proxy - Evander Holyfield - stand in for him. During this "contest", Hardy counters with a proxy of his own. Look at the contest and take a long...hard....guess who that proxy is.
  
  
• Cryme Time Interrupts Mr. McMahon In His Office - Enjoy this, the last appearance of Cryme Time on a WWE PPV.
  
  
• ECW Championship Match [John Morrison vs. CM Punk] - Being a fan of "the Doors", I have to say that
  
  
• Triple H vs. King Booker - With the way the promos were you'd think it was Jesus Christ coming back. I don't think he/the WWE realize the reason fans are so happy to see HHH return is because the "talent" that has been on display is so piss-poor. And, of course, he wastes no time burying Booker T. Imagine the shock and awe the crowd would feel if HHH lost? I mean, it would only make sense, since Trips would still have some slight ring rust (similar to Rey), while Bookah was taking on the likes of...Jerry Lawler. Genibus Nitito Canus, indeed.
  
  
• World Heavyweight Championship Match [Great Khali vs. Batista] - Yeah. Well, I was raised that if you had nothing nice to say, you shouldn't say anything at all. However, I will admit that Khali's in-ring prowess makes Andre the Giant look like one of the greatest technical wrestlers that ever stepped into a ring.
  
  
• Mae Young Comes To See Mr. McMahon In His Office
  
  
• WWE Championship Match [John Cena vs. Randy Orton] - See Khali v. Batista. I sometimes think it makes sense to skip watching Raw on a weekly basis and just check out the PPV. I mean, the WWE puts together some great recap packages which air before these matches, thereby saving you a TON of time on weekly matches that, on more than one occasion, drag and leave you with no enthusiasm for a "main event" on the PPV. Instead, I found myself spending most of my time looking at the signs in the audience. I particularly liked "If Cena Wins We Riot". If only...
  

In addition to all of those matches, we're also treated to these extras:

• Kane vs. Great Khali [SmackDown! 8/17/07] - What did Kane do to deserve this? Better yet, what did I do to deserve this? Matches like this is one of the reasons I don't watch SmackDown!
  
  
• Carlito's Cabana with Mr. McMahon & Triple H [Raw 8/27/07] - Slightly entertaining Cabana with Vince and HHH. Unfortunately, it was a hint of what to come and, as of this writing, HHH is now once again supreme ruler of everything Raw.

Video: SummerSlam 2007's picture was colorful and vibrant. Surprisingly, it looks fairly sharp on my Panny HDTV (with upconverting DVD player). It was far from reference quality, and there were the usual slight compression issues due to all the pyro and graphic elements, but it looks much, much better than the weekly episode of Raw on SDTV. As usual, it's presented in the WWE's standard full frame 1.33:1 ratio.

Audio: The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound was crystal clear and enveloped my living room while I was watching it. Viewers are also given the option of watching the disc in Spanish.

Conclusion: It's been a while since i've reviewed a WWE PPV. I still watch Raw on a weekly basis, but I think I might take my own advice and skip a couple of weeks to see if it makes these PPVs "fresher" because, by the time SummerSlam rolled around, I was all Orton/Cena'd out and could care less that they were the main event. I was excited to see Rey again, but was let down by his sluggish wrestling (though, I understand why) and, believe it or not, I was actually one of those happy to see HHH again. Don't worry...the WWE has snapped me out of those feelings. It should also be noted that SummerSlam features the last PPV appearances of Cryme Tyme and Booker T. All in all, SummerSlam 2007 didn't feel like the "biggest party of the summer" to me. It was merely felt like another episode of Raw with special appearances by some ECW and SmackDown! folk. Rent It.