Following last month's brand split, we have our first PPV of the year that will showcase talents from RAW and SmackDown as two separate brands. SummerSlam contains an extremely strong card, with WWE's biggest stars headlining the show. Here we will take a look at who this writer predicts will topple their opponents and walk away with a memorable win at one of wrestling's biggest annual events.
Carmella, Becky Lynch, and Naomi - Alexa Bliss and Natalya
Despite not having a title of their own yet, the women of SmackDown will compete in what was supposed to be a six-woman tag team match before the suspension of Eva Marie on Friday. Since coming onto the main roster, Alexa Bliss, and Carmella have won their singles matches against Becky Lynch and Natalya respectively while Naomi has recently returned sporting a brand new entrance and some brand new ring gear.
The suspension of Eva Marie affects the likely outcome of this match as it is hard to see Bliss and Natalya overcoming the numbers advantage unless WWE decides to add someone else to their team at the last minute. There are no more available women on SmackDown so the only viable options are calling up a female superstar from NXT or throwing a curveball and adding Nikki Bella following the announcement that she was cleared for an in-ring return on Friday.
This writer predicts that WWE will add someone else to the mix for the heel team and via some shenanigans will get the win, especially considering that the faces stood tall at the end of SmackDown this past week.
Prediction: Natalya, Alexa Bliss, and their mystery partner
Cesaro - Sheamus (Match 1 in the best of 7 series)
Cesaro and Sheamus have been going at it on RAW in recent weeks and Cesaro defeated Sheamus twice while also costing him his match with Sami Zayn this past Monday night on RAW by hopping up onto the ring apron. This led to RAW general manager Mick Foley placing the Celtic Warrior and the Swiss Superman in a best of 7 series against each other with the first match taking place this Sunday at SummerSlam.
Personally this writer believes that a best of 7 series is a bit too much and has a feeling that WWE are going to have Cesaro fall to Sheamus 2 or 3 times before he eventually turns it around and ends up winning the series - proving that he really is the Swiss Superman, For this reason, this writer predicts that the first win of the series needs to go to Sheamus in order to make him look like a real threat to Cesaro.
Prediction: Sheamus
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: The Miz(C) w. Maryse vs Apollo Crews
A couple of weeks ago on SmackDown Apollo Crews won a triple threat match which included Baron Corbin and Kalisto to determine the number 1 contender for the championship that The Miz has held since the night after WrestleMania when he controversially defeated Zack Ryder. Since coming onto the main roster Apollo Crews hasn't really got going, he had an average feud with Sheamus and the brand split was exactly what Apollo needed to show the WWE Universe what exactly he could do.
The build for this match has been short and average as Crews and The Miz hadn't really locked horns until this week on SmackDown when he interrupted the champ during a segment on Miz TV which was also during a commercial which could suggest WWE are not yet fully behind Crews which makes it seem unlikely that they would give him a title so soon.
This writer thinks it is too early for Apollo Crews to become a champion as he really needs to develop his character a bit more while The Miz has been a fantastic Intercontinental Champion and he is one of the few true heels right now. The right decision would be for The Miz to hold onto the belt until at least the next PPV as currently, Apollo isn't a credible winner. In terms of how The Miz will walk away with his title, it is likely there will be some sort of interference from Maryse or possibly The Miz straight up cheating himself but either way this writer just can't see the most must see superstar in WWE walking away from SummerSlam without the Intercontinental championship.
Prediction: The Miz retains
Enzo and Big Cass - Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens
In recent weeks the build-up to this match has been quite impressive, it began when Chris Jericho exchanged words with Enzo Amore before the mixed tag team match involving Sasha Banks and Charlotte. Since then Kevin Owens told Jericho that he had his back, and the two have been in one another's corner in singles matches against Enzo and Big Cass. As expected, the promo work has been fantastic as Jericho and Owens gel perfectly together as both superstars are humorous and entertaining.
Enzo and Cass have momentum on their side, following their most recent PPV victory over The Club where the teamed with John Cena, and if WWE play it right they can have Enzo and Cass defeating JeriKO without making the newly formed team look weak.
This writer can definitely see this match going to Enzo and Cass for the simple reason that it would make sense for them to then move on to challenging the Tag Team Champions in the near future. JeriKO however, do not really need the win in my opinion, especially as Jericho has no problem taking a pin and there is nothing to suggest that there will not be a rematch between these teams.
Prediction: Enzo and Big Cass
WWE Tag Team Championship Match: The New Day(C) - Gallows and Anderson
WWE have built up this match in an odd way with the Doctor Gallows and Doctor Anderson angle however the manner in which The New Day lost their muscle was perfect. Having Gallows and Anderson injure Big E and put him out of action leaves The New Day without the biggest threat in the group and in turn this makes them very vulnerable. Gallows and Anderson tried to take out each member of The New Day one by one and the tables were turned last Monday night when Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods tried to use Francesca II in order to weaken The Club.
This writer thinks there are many people that will agree with me when I say that The New Day's title run is seemingly coming to and end. They have shown when they weren't defending their belts that they do not need to be champions to be entertaining and to be honest Gallows and Anderson are in desperate need of the win as their run in WWE so far hasn't set the world alight.
The outcome of this match is one of the few obvious choices of the night as without Big E I think The New Day have no chance and Gallows and Anderson will rightfully claim the titles.
Prediction: Gallows and Anderson win the WWE Tag Team Championships
WWE Women's Championship Match: Sasha Banks(C) - Charlotte
This match has the potential to steal the show, much like their match on RAW when Sasha Banks won the Women's Championship. The recent build-up to this match has been average with the same shenanigans involving Dana Brooke occurring most weeks but the real draw to this feud is the quality of the match that Sasha and Charlotte will no doubt showcase. These two women have been feuding since their NXT days where Sasha defeated Charlotte, Bayley, and Becky Lynch to become the NXT Champion in a breathtaking match Banks will be hoping she can beat Charlotte once again.
The Legit Boss won the title on the July 25th edition of RAW when GM Mick Foley announced Charlotte would be defending her title. Not many expected Sasha to win with Dana Brooke at ringside but in honour of her hero Eddie Guerrero, Banks got Brooke ejected. Once Charlotte was on her own she couldn't defeat the Boss and this will be the case at SummerSlam as Dana Brooke is banned from ringside. This writer can definitely see Sasha retaining her title and going on to face Nia Jax in the future however don't completely rule out Charlotte winning back the title as she is more than capable.
Prediction: Sasha Banks retains
WWE United States Championship Match; Rusev(C) w. Lana - Roman Reigns
Having Roman Reigns - Rusev is a very smart move by WWE as they are two major players and this will really enhance the prestige of the belt as it was only a couple of months ago that Roman Reigns was the WWE Champion. There hasn't been too much in terms of a build for this match that has been in anyway interesting especially the awful wedding celebration.
This is another match that this writer feels is fairly predictable as WWE oddly gave this match away for free on RAW and it was Roman Reigns who was the victor as he speared Rusev and to me, this makes it far too obvious that Rusev will retain his title whether it is in a dubious way or not. Another factor that makes it hard to believe that Roman Reigns will win is his recent suspension as it would be surprising if WWE placed gold around his waist so soon after Reigns' own mistake. Due to this, there is no doubt in my mind that Rusev will retain his championship.
Prediction: Rusev retains
John Cena - AJ Styles
The 'Face that runs the place' faces the Phenomenal One, AJ Styles once again in which is likely to be their final encounter. These men have been feuding since Styles turned heel and attacked John Cena and they put on a phenomenal match (pardon the pun) in which Styles was the victor, albeit it wasn't a clean victory. At Battleground Cena teamed up with Enzo and Cass to defeat The Club which effectively made it 1-1 and their match at SummerSlam will be the decider.
In terms of who will come out the winner it all boils down to who needs it more, and that surely is AJ Styles. Having him defeat John Cena really does cement him as a major star and lays the platform for him to go and challenge the WWE Champion in the near future. John Cena however, doesn't need the win at all, no matter what he will be considered as a major star and it would do him no harm at all if he was to lose to AJ Styles again, but Styles win must be clean.
Prediction: AJ Styles
WWE Championship Match: Dean Ambrose(C) - Dolph Ziggler
The first of the main event championship matches will be for the WWE Championship, with Champion Dean Ambrose defending the title against number 1 contender Dolph Ziggler. The show off has been very impressive in recent weeks, most notably his outstanding promo on SmackDown this week. Dean Ambrose,however, has been playing Ziggler down as someone who isn't good enough to beat him and this makes for great story telling and we can expect many false finishes this Sunday.
Ziggler claimed that he will not let the opportunity slip through his hands again but this writer predicts that WWE is setting this match up for a Dean Ambrose win, considering it was Ziggler who stood tall on SmackDown. I personally can't see Dean Ambrose losing his title yet and I predict he will retain and go on to feud with AJ Styles.
Prediction: Dean Ambrose retains
WWE Universal Championship Match: Seth Rollins - Finn Balor
Here we have a dream match, two of WWE's most complete performers will go head to head to crown the first ever Universal Champion. Seth Rollins was automatically placed into this match after the brand split and there were two fatal four-way matches to determine who would face Seth Rollins. On his debut, Finn Balor won a fatal-four way match and then defeated Roman Reigns to go onto SummerSlam to take on The Architect, Seth Rollins.
The build for this feud has been enjoyable, from the in ring promos to the Demon King debuting and no matter who wins this match it will hopefully go down as a contender for match of the year. My prediction for this match is that Finn Balor will win in order to keep the ball rolling in the new era. My other reason behind this is this writer finds it hard to believe that WWE would allow The Demon to lose on his main roster debut as it would immediately make the gimmick pointless and therefore I think Finn Balor will be crowned the first ever Universal Champion.
Prediction: Finn Balor wins the Universal Championship
Brock Lesnar - Randy Orton
Brock Lesnar comes into what is expected to be the main event of the PPV in the exact same way that Randy Orton does - by beating up Heath Slater. Both men attacked one another once which means that neither one of these men has the edge going into SummerSlam. This is smart booking by WWE as it doesn't make it obvious who will win which really does give it that main event feel.
It remains to be seen whether or not Brock Lesnar will be punished for his failed UFC drugs test and it is possible that WWE could punish him by having him lose to Randy Orton, however, it is also possible that Lesnar will overcome Randy Orton to prove that he really is the Beast. This writer predicts that the main event of SummerSlam will go the way of Brock Lesnar in an exciting match that puts both men to their absolute limits.
Prediction: Brock Lesnar
Overall the card for SummerSlam looks absolutely fantastic and will no doubt feature some amazing matches and some title changes. What are your predictions for SummerSlam? Tell us on twitter @Vavel_Wrestling