WWE SummerSlam is set to take place on Saturday, August 3rd starting at 7 p.m. ET. Seven matches are currently scheduled to take place and they are as follows:
Drew McIntyre vs. CM Punk
Sami Zayn vs. Bron Breakker (Intercontinental Championship)
Logan Paul vs. LA Knight (United States Championship)
Bayley vs. Nia Jax (WWE Women’s Championship)
Liv Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley (Women’s World Championship)
Damian Priest vs. Gunther (World Heavyweight Championship)
Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa (Undisputed WWE Championship)
So, how will SummerSlam shake out? I’ll give my predictions for Saturday’s card.
Drew McIntyre vs. CM Punk w/ Seth Rollins as special guest ref
This feud has been nothing short of amazing. It reminds me of an Attitude Era feud, where it takes months for us to see them clash in an actual matchup. They give me flashbacks of Undertaker vs. Kane, where Kane made his debut in October, but the first match didn’t take place until March of the following year at WrestleMania. The buildup is amazing and despite taking months to get the match, my interest never waned. Now, granted, Punk’s injury forced WWE to do this, but I hope this type of build continues.
This is a tricky match because it’s Punk’s first televised singles match in over a decade. You don’t exactly want to saddle him with a loss right out of the gate. But, he’s been the “smarter” one in this buildup and constantly getting one over on McIntyre. Should Punk get the victory, it would be a massive blow to McIntyre being legitimate threat to anyone moving forward. So, how can we give McIntyre the win without also damaging Punk in his return match? Enter Seth Rollins.
The money match for WWE with Punk returning isn’t with McIntyre (although it’s certainly turned out that way) but with Rollins. Had Punk never been injured, we very likely have been down a different path with Rollins and Punk already met at WrestleMania. This could easily be where the build toward Punk-Rollins begins again with some type of shenanigans from Rollins. It makes perfect sense to hand McIntyre the victory, protect Punk, and jumpstart the feud we’ve been waiting for.
Winner: Drew McIntyre
Logan Paul (c) vs. LA Knight (United States Championship)
I’ve become such a huge fan of Paul. He simply gets the business and has adapted so quickly. His massive reach brings in a lot of fresh eyes to the product that likely never would have given WWE a chance to begin with. However, his title run as United States Champion has been, well, forgettable. Paul has been champion for 271 days and has defended the title twice. In a day and age where I think WWE can utilize their mid-card champions effectively, this doesn’t exactly get the job done.
Regardless of whether Paul is a champion or not, he’ll still bring eyes to the product. That’s why I’m under the belief he’ll drop the title to Knight on Saturday. Fans (not me) have been clamoring for Knight to get his opportunity to shine. At some point, if Knight continues to fail in his big matches, fans aren’t going to care anymore. The time is now to crown Knight the United States Championship and bring that title back to TV each and every week.
Winner: LA Knight
Bayley (c) vs. Nia Jax (WWE Women’s Championship)
I can’t imagine many have enjoyed Bayley’s latest title reign. After defeating Iyo Sky at WrestleMania, Bayley feels like she’s treading water. Having her separate from Damage Control was needed to set this match up but it feels as if she hasn’t been able to recapture the fans. I always thought Bayley as a heel has been much more effective than her work as a babyface. I wonder if WWE recognizes that as well. Unless something shocking comes out of this match, which I don’t know what that would even be, I think Jax will come out victorious. The WWE Women’s Championship is stale right now and while I wouldn’t say Jax will change that, I don’t think Bayley is the answer either.
Winner: Nia Jax
Liv Morgan (c) vs. Rhea Ripley (Women’s World Championship)
This is the women’s match I have a lot of interest in. The storyline build has been great and sets up for a classic turn from Dom. The Judgement Day crumbling has been ongoing for weeks now and this is the perfect way to drive an even deeper wedge in the group. I’ve enjoyed the faction a lot but I think the time has come to separate them. Don’t forget, this group originally started with EDGE (!), who was quickly eliminated from the group a few weeks later.
While Ripley technically lost her title, after vacating it due to injury, I’m not under the belief she wins it back here at SummerSlam. If we’re going to further push this storyline between Dom, Rhea, and Liv, it makes sense for Liv to be the one with the championship and Rhea in pursuit of it. Morgan needs the title more than Rhea at this point, as she has still yet to have that lengthy title run. Dom is the one that would perfectly help her retain and give this storyline the swerve we need.
Winner: Liv Morgan
Sami Zayn (c) vs. Bron Breakker (Intercontinental Championship)
I was shocked when Zayn took down Gunther at WrestleMania to become the IC champion. I was even MORE shocked when Zayn defeated Breakker at Money in the Bank. If you haven’t noticed, WWE has strapped Breakker to a rocket ship after he received his call up from NXT. Sure, you can argue that he shouldn’t be winning the IC championship in his first shot. But let me tell you something, he won’t be losing on his second try.
WWE has done a great job of building up Zayn once again. After his incredible run with the Bloodline concluded, it’s fair to say that Zayn took a step back. It’s hard to retain that type of relevancy after exiting one of the biggest storylines in the past decade but this has done wonders for Zayn. Not only did he take down Gunther but he stopped what was the biggest threat to his title in Breakker. This time around, I’d expect a very brutal star for Brakker, while Zayn plays the feisty underdog who won’t quit early. In the end though, Breakker should be the winner of his first main roster title.
Winner: Bron Breakker
Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Solo Sikoa (Undisputed WWE Championship)
It feels like the match itself is being overlooked and people are instead wondering if we get the return of Roman Reigns or not. It would be the perfect opportunity to start the expected “Civil War” storyline, where Roman leads a group to go against Solo and the new Bloodline. One thing for sure though, is that this match will have WrestleMania-type chaos involved. A lot of interference and likely a wild final five or so minutes.
If Reigns doesn’t return, is it possible we DO see the return of The Rock? Let’s not forget, that storyline is far from over and this could be a unique situation to start that up again, especially where we’ll see an all-hands on deck war coming out of this match. Regardless of who comes out and who doesn’t this match should be a lot of drama.
This doesn’t feel like a situation where Rhodes drops the title already. If anything, the Undisputed WWE Championship feels like an afterthought. Despite the big push Sikoa has received, I don’t think the stage is set just yet for him to take this off of Rhodes. With the entire year buildup of him finishing his story, having his reign last just over four months would be extremely underwhelming. Expect Cody to walk out as champion, but at what cost?
Winner: Cody Rhodes
