I’ll give WWE credit for one thing: The finishes of the three world title matches at last night’s SummerSlam pay-per-view definitely weren’t predictable. With that being said, I was a little disappointed with the show.

It’s not that the event was bad, but it didn’t feel as special as the past three SummerSlams. In my opinion, SummerSlam is WWE’s second-biggest event of the year, so as a fan, I expect more from it than I would from some of the lower-profile WWE pay-per-views. At a show like this, titles should change hands and major feuds should come to a clear conclusion. When people spend money for a marquee pay-per-view, that’s what they expect to see. I thought there was a strong possibility that all three world titles, and possibly the Intercontinental title, could change hands. None did.

The crowd was red hot for the main event between WWE champion John Cena and Randy Orton, and the two had a very good match, but it would have been much more memorable had Orton won. I had no problem with Cena having an 11-month reign as champion, but I thought that Orton was the right guy and this was the right time for a title switch. As I watched the match, I started to get the feeling that Cena would prevail, because Orton was in control far too much for him to be winning. Sure enough, Cena pulled it out with the FU and the clean pin.

The match that really had me groaning at the finish was the bout between world heavyweight champion The Great Khali and Batista. At SummerSlam, I want to see a conclusive finish in world title matches. What we got instead was Khali being disqualified for using a chair. That’s an ending fit for a house show or Smackdown, but not SummerSlam. Even JBL, who usually favors the heels, said that “the fans deserved better.” Batista has been trying unsuccessfully to regain the title since losing it to The Undertaker at WrestleMania. I agreed with him not taking it from Undertaker and Edge, but I don’t understand the decision to keep the belt on Khali. At this point, the fans should be losing confidence in Batista because he can’t win the big one.

The same goes for C.M. Punk. I like John Morrison as ECW champion, but Punk is more over and it seemed like his time to be champion. Wrong again. Punk was pinned by Morrison, who had his feet on the ropes. Morrison has now pinned Punk on three consecutive pay-per-views. I really don’t care to see Punk get another shot, because if the champion has defeated you three straight times, you shouldn’t get another chance. The problem is that ECW’s roster is thin and there is no babyface over enough to challenge Morrison, so I’m guessing the Punk-Morrison program will continue.

A few other observations on the pay-per-view:

The crowd was pumped to see Triple H, who looked to be in great shape. There was nothing wrong with his match against King Booker, although I thought it would go a little longer and have a more exciting finish. With Triple H hitting the Pedigree and winning clean in the middle of the ring, I hope Booker is going to lay out Triple H on Raw tonight to get his heat back and continue the feud. …

Rey Mysterio looked good in his win over Chavo Guerrero, but what was up with that silver paint? …

I was surprised that Umaga retained the Intercontinental title in the triple-threat match with Mr. Kennedy and Carlito, especially because there was an opportunity for him to drop the belt without getting pinned. I also didn’t expect Kennedy to do the job. …

Jim Ross had the line of the night when he said during the main event that Orton’s “soul is dripping with malice.” …

Having MVP and Matt Hardy on the show was a nice surprise. Steve Austin showing up was even nicer. When Hardy said he was going to bring out someone with expertise in beer-drinking, I was hoping it was Austin and not The Sandman. …

In another ending that I didn’t see coming, a series of skits with Vince McMahon climaxed with the chairman engaging in a liplock with Mae Young. It was about time Vince had to kiss the frisky octogenarian after all those years of scripting himself to make out with the likes of Sable, Trish Stratus, Candice Michelle and Torrie Wilson.