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WWE will present the 2018 Summerslam PPV this Sunday from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. Here is our take on what should go down on Sunday!
WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar with Paul Heyman vs Roman Reigns.
Dave: Lots can happen here. KO could beat Braun and then steal the Title at the end of the show. Braun could come out and challenge Brock, say after he beats up Roman before the match or does something heinous during it, to keep Brock from taking the belt back to UFC with him. But sadly, the story here has been that, eventually, Roman will slay the beast and win the Title. That is what I think will probably end up happening here. The crowd will be mixed for the finish, but Vince has shown with his booking of Roman that he doesn't care about that. From a story perspective, I can see him feeling that it must be paid off, so he will do it. If so, at least Brock will (hopefully) finally give a full time talent the rub. And at the end of the day, the Universal Title being held hostage will finally be over. That alone makes me excited.
Mike: Everyone has expected Roman to win the title the last two times these two faced off, yet Brock walked away with a new contract, then disappeared into the night. Will this time be any different? The original plan was certainly for Brock (and likely Paul Heyman) to finish out at the PPV – but does that mean Roman gets the belt? I think everyone expects that Braun might walk out this week with the title, but that doesn’t mean he has to beat Brock. Roman gets booked to lose.. a LOT. WWE would have never booked Austin or Hogan or even Cena that way. I think it’s time for Roman to win the big one. He needs to beat Brock.
Richard: Will Brock care? Will the fans care? Will Roman finally win the championship, and if he does, will the people who do not automatically boo for whatever he does care? If Roman wins, I think it will be like the moment when Joe won the TNA Championship . . . okay, but it should have happened a long time ago. The big question is whether either of the men in this match will walk out of SummerSlam as champion since we still have the briefcase. You can have Roman win and then give Brock his rematch on Monday but have him taken out by Braun who cashes in and becomes the new Universal Champion.
WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe.
Dave: As I said on the show with Stu, if it's me, I flip the belt here. Joe's work has been great and he deserves a win here. AJ just set the record, so now is a good time to give him a real challenge. An AJ vs. Joe program through the end of the year and into Rumble season? Yes please, I would love that.
Mike: This should be a great match. Styles has his milestone, but I don’t know what’s left to do with him going forward. Having him chase Samoa Joe would be a great way to give Styles something to chase and, if you consider how much his wife has been mentioned lately, to avenge. I think that history is going to be made Sunday and we’re going to see Samoa Joe become the first competitor to ever win the ROH, WWE and TNA “World” titles. WWE has no excuse for this not to be great.
Richard: This is the match that I am looking forward to the most on this marathon of Sports Entertainment. Samoa Joe's promos bring back memories of his promos from his "I am Wrestling" period in TNA and ROH. AJ has been great in the ring and on the mic. Bringing AJ's family into this might be close to crossing a line, but they have not gotten there. If I was booking this show, I would have this match on last with Joe winning the title. I hope they get 18 to 20 minutes (or more) tell a great story.
WWE Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss vs. Ronda Rousey.
Dave: The story here has been that Alexa says Ronda is "just a rookie" so the logical booking is that she would use a veteran's move against the excitable rookie. It's not like Ronda hasn't lost her cool a few times. With that said, I think the lure of having Ronda do interviews as the champion will be too much for Vince to ignore and the belt will flip here.
Mike: WWE loves to have big moments on their major PPVs and while this might be an extremely premature moment for Ronda, I expect her to win the title so WWE can try and squeeze out all the mainstream exposure that they can out of the moment. Rousey making her first title defense at Evolution would be a nice story to help build that event.
Richard: We have a champion who is trying to do everything possible to retain the title against an opponent that they appear to have no chance to win. The fact that Ronda got a title match because she violated a suspension makes no sense, but this is a Raw match. If you give Ronda the title, it can build to a possible elimination match at Survivor Series where Ronda and Shayna can brag about being champions while the 'four great women wrestlers' have no titles (assuming Carmella retains). WWE can get their SportsCenter moment.
WWE Smackdown Women's Champion Carmella vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair.
Dave: Carmella's reign has been OK, but not earth shattering. I don't blame here, she is just still very new to working. She is very athletic and I expect her to improve as she wrestles more. But to me, it's time to get the belt off of her. Charlotte is so much better as a heel than a face. Becky has the Tommy Dreamer-like tortured soul thing going for her. So to me, I have Becky just about to win when Charlotte turns on her friend and gets her Title back. Then, we have Becky vs. Charlotte for a while, with lots of great work.
Mike: If there’s any justice, it would be Becky Lynch winning here clean and becoming the new Champion, but I don’t know that’s going to be the case here. I expect Carmella to eek her way out with the title, because it makes more sense to have her drop the belt at Evolution to add to the buzz reel of big things set for that show. But, it should be Becky.
Richard: We have a champion who is trying to do everything possible to retain the title against an opponent that they appear to have no chance to win. This match should not be happening the way it is because Becky should never have let Charlotte win to make this a Triple Threat Match. They are teasing problems between Becky and Charlotte but I think that is a red herring. I still believe Carmella retains the title (to build on the storyline I suggested in the Raw Women's Title Match.) Does Carmella get help from someone else to retain the title or does she finally win a match on her own?
Kevin Owens vs. Braun Strowman for Strowman’s Money in the Bank Briefcase - Owens wins the briefcase if Strowman loses in any way, shape or form.
Dave: If WWE wants to take my idea above, they have KO steal the match. He can win in a cheap way. With that said, I think Braun needs to win the match since he has lost a few bouts by being a dope.
Mike: I expect this to bring a lot of levity to the show with some cat and mouse style silliness before Braun finally wiped out Kevin Owens. Owens does a great job, but I don’t see him getting the briefcase.
Richard: They are doing their best to make you not care about Strowman by turning him from a monster who does not care about anything into a catchphrase spewing, vandalizing joke. Why didn't Braun cash in the last two times Brock was on Raw? The idea that any loss, whether he be pinned or counted out, gives a little bit of intrigue. I hope they don't do something where Braun 'loses' and then they restart the match so Braun keeps the case. Just make it a double count out so it is a draw and Braun retains the case.
WWE Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler with Drew McIntyre vs. Seth Rollins with Dean Ambrose.
Dave: The numbers game has worked against Seth up until now. With the sides evened, he should go over here and win his belt back. I really hope they don't overbook this and do a turn here.
Mike: There is a hell of a lot more interest in this now that Dean Ambrose has returned. The entire story is that Seth Rollins hasn’t truly gotten a fair shot at the Intercontinental Championship, so will Dean make the difference? I say yes. I am calling a title change here.
Richard: This match shows that you can telegraph something and it can work out. I agree with Mike that there is more story beyond this match and I look forward to Drew facing Dean and Seth. If Seth wins, they can tease tension between Drew and Dolph because they aren't doing that in any other storylines. Dean neutralizes Drew outside the ring and finally Seth can get his win. DO NOT DO A DQ FINISH, you put them at ringside.
WWE United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Jeff Hardy.
Dave: Will Randy get involved? We shall see. Nakamura needs to win here and Jeff does not.
Mike: This is a weird match, since the hotter issue, to me, is Hardy vs. Randy Orton. One would expect Orton to make some sort of appearance here. I don’t see a title change, but I do believe we’ll see Hardy eating a RKO at some point during the show.
Richard: The big story about this match is someone who is not even in the match. What will Randy Orton do in this match? Will he screw over Hardy or will he end up helping Hardy win so Orton can take the title from Hardy? Let Orton's RKO become the equivalent of Nakamura's low blows during his feud with Styles. Let Nakamura retain, but who is next for him?
WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon Brothers vs. The New Day.
Dave: I think the Brothers need to carry the gold a while longer. The New Day is a made act. The champs retain.
Mike: There is absolutely no need for a title change here. New Day loses nothing by not getting the belts. I think this is probably one of the more underrated matches on the PPV and expect it will be a lot of fun, as long as it’s given time to develop.
Richard: While I don't think they need to put the titles on the New Day, they need to give us a competitive match. If not, you have a division that means nothing because there are no viable challengers at this time. The only reason I want to see the New Day win is to see if they put pancakes on the plates of the belt.
Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz.
Dave: This should be fun, it really should. I think Bryan will make the right choice and stay in WWE, so to me, I have him control the match most of the way but then Miz uses chicanery to score the pin, thus continuing the feud. This isn't a one and done type of program.
Mike: This is the match everyone has been wanting to see since the good old days of Talking Smack. This should be among the most heated bouts of the night given how excellent the video packages on Smackdown were this past week. While there are some who are waiting for Daniel Bryan to exit WWE, my gut is that he’s staying…and I think he’ll be beating Miz here, too.
Richard: The video package on this week's Smackdown showed that you can build a story over a long period of time. I hope they bring back some of the things that made season one of NXT so great, a point where someone has to stop for a moment to take a drink of a delicious beverage. This will not be the end of the feud, only the beginning (let's hope it continues until Mania when the WWE title is on the line). Miz has been portraying this feud as beneath him so that might be why to give Bryan the win so Miz obsesses over it.
Finn Balor vs. Baron Corbin.
Dave: I hope they just have Balor get the win and end this thing. This program has been a dud and Balor needs to move on to a better feud.
Mike: Let me guess…Baron Corbin is going to swerve everyone and say he can’t wrestle because Roman Reigns hurt him with that punch to the ribs, so he’s sending out someone of Balor’s own size to wrestle him – Hornswoggle. Probably not, but given how bad this story has been, it might as well happen. The entire idea of Balor being this small guy who can’t beat a big guy is passé and lame. Let’s hope the entire thing ends at Summerslam. If they want to push Corbin, he should effectively beat Balor. If not, let Balor come out as the Demon and quickly, mercifully end this.
Richard: I am not sure if this is the match I am regretting watching on this show the most or if that honor goes to another match. This feud has been as exciting as the multiple rest holds Corbin incorporates into his matches. Maybe if Corbin slingshots around the ring post fast enough, he can achieve time travel and save the humpback whales. Finn needs to win a short match just to hammer in the joke.
Elias to perform.
Dave: I guess he not play the set he didn't get to play at The Grammercy. Of course, Lashley appears.
Mike: Gee, let me guess…Bobby Lashley is going to show up?
Richard: At least this is a way to get Lashley on the show. Wasn't he rumored to be facing Brock? Is this an upgrade?
KICKOFF SHOW
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander vs. Drew Gulak.
Dave: The time has come, Drew's work has been really good and things need a bit of a shake up on 205. I crown a new champion here if it's my call.
Mike: I really, sincerely love Cedric Alexander, but if there’s one other person who has gotten the most out of his run in WWE since the Cruiserweight Classic, it’s Drew Gulak. I think it’s time to switch the title and see how 205 Live changes with a heel who can work, get heat and easily carry the series – plus, it would give Alexander something to chase.
Richard: This should be a good match, but if they get enough time, it can be a great match. Cedric has been great in the ring, but 205 Live suffers from a bit of a Groundhog Day situation where every week seems to be the same thing with the format. One of the biggest problem about Drew winning is that all of the top challengers are heels. Do you do heel versus heel matches because we know how the crowd reacts to those matches . . . but this would be 205 Live. It is time for a better 205 Live so give Drew the title.
WWE Raw Tag Team Champions The B Team vs. The Revival.
Dave: I have started to enjoy The B Team. I love the Revival and all, but they haven't been pushed too well thus far so a loss won't hurt them here. A win helps B Team. So, have The Revival look strong and the champs find a miracle way to retain, again.
Mike: PUT THE BELTS ON THE REVIVAL! We all know that WWE’s main roster doesn’t invest a lot of time and interest in the Tag division, but I really, sincerely would like to see them reboot that by using Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder as the anchor. The B Team have gotten themselves over and are great as a fun, silly undercard act but the Revival can be the old school working tag team that can help bring a great athletic dimension to WWE events. Go Revival!
Richard: It would make sense to give the Revival the tag titles and I would not mind it happening, but because so many people want to see new champions, that is probably why the B Team will retain. Raw's tag division is worse than Smackdown's because I don't see the strength of teams that you have on Smackdown. The Revival will shatter the dreams of the B Team with the Shatter Machine. On Sunday, the "B" in B Team will stand for Former Champions.
Zelina Vega & Andrade "Cien" Almas vs. Lana & Rusev - Mixed Tag Match.
Dave: Almas and Vega should go over here. Zelina can use Lana's inexperience against her and help her team secure the win.
Mike: I really wish this was on the main PPV, as I feel like fans are lot more invested in this than they are, for example, Finn Balor vs. Baron Corbin. The question is, who goes over? While I personally would prefer Almas and Vega, I say no one. To me, they can do a deal where the women get into it and it leads to chaos and the match gets thrown out. They can use this to build some more issues between the two.
Richard: Rusev and Almas are kindred spirits to some degree because even though they have talent, it was putting them with someone else that pushed them up the ladder (yes, we can ignore what Rusev did prior to his Mania match with Cena to allow this narrative to be true). Zelina Vega resurected Almas' career while Aiden English did the same for Rusev, but we need Lana to be in this match. Will this be the time that Aiden redems himself or is this going to be the final straw to kill off Rusev Day? Vega pins Lana.
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