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THE WWE SUMMERSLAM TIP SHEET

By Dave Scherer, Mike Johnson & Richard Trionfo on 2014-08-15 10:30:49

This Sunday, WWE presents SummerSlam. Here are our thoughts on the show.

John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE Title

Dave: I have said this on audio and I will repeat it here. If WWE wants the vocal adults that say they are going to cancel the Network to possibly stay on, Cena has to lose here. WWE needs to strike a deal with Lesnar for more dates and let him hold the Title until WrestleMania when someone (Roman Reigns if all goes well) can beat him and ascend. Again, I have no problem with Cena. I appreciate all he is done and what he means to WWE. He sells a lot of merch, for sure. But, he doesn't need to be the champ. He doesn't need to be at the top of every show. The kids love him will even if he isn't on top all the time. But the adults that the company wants to renew the Network, who hate Cena on top, will probably not change their mind of Cena becomes the guy who beat the guy that ended the streak. In most cases, kids don't buy the Network so WWE needs to hook the adults that do. I would book it so Lesnar controls most of it. Every time Cena makes a brief comeback, it's thwarted. That will make everything think that Cena is going to win, except he doesn't. He eats two F5's and we crown a new champion.

Mike: Really, the only result here that makes any sense is Brock Lesnar winning, because if he loses, what have you sacrificed the streak for? I expect this to be an entertaining bout considering how good their 2012 Extreme Rules match was and unlike a lot of bouts, if they can have some good momentum and near falls, the crowd should explode every time Cena gets 'thisclose' to pinning Lesnar. I expect this one to be really good.

Richard: I think the promos to build to this match have been very good. As Dave mentioned, the big question with this match is if John Cena wins, how will that affect the subscriptions to the WWE Network in the US (and those who have signed up internationally) who are coming up on the six month period. If Lesnar destroys Cena, but Cena somehow wins the match, haven’t they just redone the Extreme Rules 2012 match (that I thought Lesnar should have won, forcing them to put Brock into a ‘wrestling’ match where he would have to abide by rules and not be able to be ‘The Beast Incarnate’). Even though he is part time, is there anyone other than Lesnar who can be considered a legitimate top guy? I think Cena retains, but I would not be surprised if there is a title change.

Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton

Dave: They have pushed Orton as being back in Viper mode, which makes sense because it makes it look all the better when Reigns beats him. And he had better beat him.

Mike: I've lost more and more interest in this as they've gotten closer to the match, partially because Orton really, really needs a break off television. The right call here is to give Reigns the clean win as they are obviously priming him for greatness. To me, the story will be how they structure the bout as you don't want him to be exposed by booking his first ever PPV singles bout to go too long.

Richard: I think Reigns wins this match, but he needs to bring back some of the edge that he had while in the Shield. Since the split of the Shield, they have given Reigns a catchphrase and now he does the Rey Mysterio-esque ‘Juggernaut Drop Kick’ most matches. While it might not make much sense with this a pay per view where matches should be more important than what you see on Raw or Smackdown, if this match was simply Reigns catches Orton off guard with a Superman Punch and then spears Orton and pins him in seconds, it would show Roman as a monster.

Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins in a Lumberjack Match

Dave: The lumberjacks should keep Rollins from running, which is something he shouldn't have been doing to begin with. That means this should be a great match. I see Ambrose going over here because even with a loss, Rollins still has the contract. But I don't see this feud as being close to over so I could also see Rollins getting his heat back after the bout.

Mike: The Lumberjack stipulation, while not the most popular in terms of creating fan interest for a grudge match (since it's so overused) actually works here given the storyline of Rollins escaping so much. I expect a fun brawl here with Dean making Rollins pinball all over. That said, it's still the first match in the feud and I am going to predict the briefcase comes into play, perhaps with Kane's help, to assist Rollins in getting the win.

Richard: I agree that this feud is not over after this match. I don’t know how it will happen, but I think Rollins will be able to get away from Ambrose. We will have one of those ‘the lumberjacks brawl with each other to recreate the opening scene of Soap’ and Rollins will get an alley to get away from Dean. Then they can escalate it to a cage match, where Rollins can still escape. Then they can end things with Hell in a Cell. And then they can revisit it in December, if necessary with a Ladder Match for the briefcase (if Rollins has not cashed in yet). If they do something like this, I hope we get 10 to 15 minutes before things break down.

Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt

Dave: This is an odd match. Jericho wins last month, when Harper and Rowan were at ringside, so having them banned now matters why? Anyway, they have really, really killed Wyatt's momentum since he started feuding with John Cena. They need to start trying to get it back with a win over Jericho here, and a convincing one at that.

Mike: The only result that makes any sense here is Bray Wyatt getting the win. Jericho's current run is slated to end at Night of Champions so he can go promote his next autobiography. I think these two can have an excellent match but at the end, Wyatt needs to go over. Perhaps with all the other members of the family banned, we'll see someone new pop up to help.

Richard: Like Dave said, Jericho won with Harper and Rowan able to interfere so why should he lose this time? But this is wrestling where logic is a four letter word. In addition to finally getting John Cena to ‘go to the dark side’ like he wanted during their feud, Wyatt should get the win.

AJ Lee vs. Paige for The Divas Title

Dave: It is so weird that they booked Paige like a dope when she was the champion and once she lost it, she got an edge to her. I would flip the belt here and let these two go back and forth for a while.

Mike: As long as they have a good match, I don't think the result really matters, although for a good, long-term program, switching the belt back makes the most sense. It's been really refreshing to see Paige finally cutting loose as a personality. Now let's see her have the quality of matches we know she is capable of as well.

Richard: The Paige that we remembered from FCW/NXT is almost back and I have liked the change in attitude, but I never want to hear ‘Frenemies’ again. These are the top two women in the company and it will be nice to see them have the type of match we expect from Paige and AJ. Let Paige have the title for a few months.

Stephanie McMahon vs. Brie Bella

Dave: The one thing that that better now happen is a bait and switch. Steph needs to wrestle here since it's one of the selling points of the PPV. Brie should go over, possibly when Daniel Bryan stops HHH from interfering. Steph needs to get beaten.

Mike: This should be a fun spectacle and I was really looking forward to this until they jumped the shark with the Claire Lynch tribute. That said, I expect this to be one of the more heated matches on the show. Bella should go over but I can see them having a Stephanie win because they have a lot of new Steph merchandise to sell! I'm hoping we don't get a Nikki turn here because that would really make no sense.

Richard: My biggest fear is that we will have Nikki at ringside and there will be a point in the match where it looks like Nikki is going to help Brie, only to help Stephanie beat Brie because Nikki realizes that Stephanie was right that Brie quitting caused her to be put in all of those horrible matches. Then they can do a Brie versus Nikki feud for the rest of the year.

The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler for The Intercontinental Title

Dave: This should be really good. They are trying with Miz's new character. I don't know if it will resonate. But I do know the people want to see Ziggler get a chance so they should pull the trigger and flip the belt here. Yes I know I am calling for three Title changes but every now and then, that is a good thing.

Mike: If they give this time, this could be the sleeper match on the card as both have really worked hard leading up to this. I think the crowd is primed to see Ziggler get a big win but I don't know that WWE is going to pull that trigger. I can Miz getting the cheap win here.

Richard: Since this is a secondary title, they don’t have to wait until the usual Survivor Series through Wrestlemania period for Ziggler’s annual push. However, I can see them keeping the title on Miz until Marine 4 is released. The ‘money maker’ gimmick was the weakest part of Tyler Breeze’s character in NXT when he was in creative limbo. If Maryse is going to be ringside, maybe we can get Dolph to ‘pull a Rick Rude’ and do something with his gear.

Rusev vs. Jack Swagger in a Flag Match

Dave: This is probably the hardest match to call. Rusev is undefeated and I would have never thought of having him lose here except for the fact that Swagger and Zeb are getting over organically. Since it's only a flag match I say let Swagger win and keep this good feud going.

Mike: I have really loved this feud. To me, Rusev is still in the "build the monster" phase so he should win and he should put Zeb Colter in the Accolade to boot. Rusev shouldn't lose anything until he's opposite someone on a PPV main event.

Richard: I hope they do something different than the flag on the ring post set up that we normally see in these type of matches. Maybe they can incorporate the ‘stretcher match’ finish line concept where the flags are placed by the entrance and the winner has to incapacitate their opponent long enough that they can capture the flag. Rusev should win, but why not go with the patriotism angle and give Swagger the win.

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