Predicting SummerSlam 2018 Matches

SummerSlam, WWE's 2nd biggest pay-per-view event after WrestleMania is set to take place on August 19th, 2018. It will take place for the fourth consecutive year at The Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. SummerSlam is known for its exciting matchups which never really seem to disappoint. Therefore, fans are already speculating on which matches they think will occur at the event this year. Will Brock Lesnar show up? Will a legend like the Undertaker appear? Lets get into my personal predictions on what will occur on the show.

This match may seem impossible as Dean Ambrose is currently sidelined with a triceps injury which would see him out for 9 months which would put his return date sometime after the SummerSlam event. However, as we know in wrestling sometimes, certain wrestlers can come back way earlier from injuries than expected. It was reported a little while back that Dean actually temporarily moved to Birmingham, Alabama , the place where he undergoes therapy for the injury in hopes to speed up his recovery time and he has also been reported to be at the Performance Center as well. So it is clear Ambrose wants to come back sooner rather than later. Now you may ask but why must they feud. Simply because of this. After years of tension between Dean and Seth they finally reunited and teamed and became RAW tag team champions. They went on to lose the titles and Dean got injured. After Dean was injured, Seth went on to replace Dean with Jason Jordan and won the RAW tag team titles while Dean was out injured. Seth has been on a roll since winning the Intercontinental Championship and being the workhouse of Monday Night RAW. Now imagine how Dean feels knowing he was not only replaced by Rollins but having to sit back and see Rollins get so much success while he couldn't do anything. A heel Ambrose is way overdue in WWE and it would make an amazing rivalry for the RAW brand which seems to have been lacking just that. This feud could resemble the Johnny Gargano - Tommasso Ciampa rivalry in NXT but it has the potential to be even bigger than that and SummerSlam is the perfect place for it to kick off.

At Extreme Rules, the B-Team (Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas) shocked the world becoming the RAW Tag Team Champions. It shocked me so much because I thought that Bray And Matt would retain 100% as the B-Team have been getting the better of them for the past few weeks on RAW. Now it is unclear if the Deleters of Worlds will invoke their rematch clause yet but I believe it should be done at SummerSlam. Now as to why I added the Revival to the equation is this. The Revival have been on a roll lately beating two top main eventers in Bobby Lashley and Roman Reigns and have been booked like "top guys". On RAW July 9th they were seen backstage watching the match with Bo Dallas Vs Matt Hardy which makes me believe they are going to be next in line for a tag team championship opportunity. The Revival are way overdue a tag team title run since coming to the Main Roster. In my opinion, I think they would have already been tag team champions before if they both hadn't suffered injuries which set them back for a long time. I think SummerSlam would be the perfect place for them to win the titles giving the B-Team some spotlight with the titles on a big stage and also getting Hardy and Wyatt on the show in some aspect.

The Bludgeon Brothers have absolutely destroyed everyone in their path as Smackdown Tag Team Champions including two top stars like Daniel Bryan And Kane. So many people are wondering who will the Bludgeon Brothers drop the tag team titles to as they have ran through every tag team on the Smackdown roster. Well, The Bludgeon Brothers have one tag team to face on Smackdown and that is Sanity. Sanity made their main roster debut on June 19th, 2018 beating down the Usos. They would go on to have battles with the Usos, Jeff Hardy and recently defeated The New Day in a Tables Match At Extreme Rules on the Kickoff show. So far Sanity on the Main Roster seems a bit off but one way to give them relevancy and put interest in them is to make them feud with The Bludgeon Brothers, who they have yet to face. I think they are believable in the ring with the Bludgeon Brothers especially with the 396lb Killian Dain who moves like a cruiserweight. The feud between the two darkness themed tag teams would be interesting and would be great for SummerSlam.4

AJ Styles has been a great WWE Champion so far having an awesome lengthy feud with Shinsuke Nakamura in which many including myself thought that Nakamura would and should have dethroned the Phenomenal One. However, Styles is still the champion which is not a bad thing at all. Styles recently defened his title in a match against Rusev at Extreme Rules which seems like Rusev is done chasing the title at least for now. So fans are wondering "Who's Next" (Not Goldberg) especially at a big stage like SummerSlam. Well that person should be a man who should have been champion a while ago, Samoa Joe. Joe is one of the absolute all-around best performers in WWE today. His in-ring work, mic skills, character presentation just puts him on another level compared to others. When he moved to Smackdown LIVE in April 2018 fans were buzzing about dream matches with Daniel Bryan, AJ Styles, Nakamura and more. Styles and Joe are no strangers to each other as the two have faced off before in TNA Impact Wrestling , ROH and the independent scene. A match between these two would be awesome and in my opinion, Joe should be the one to dethrone AJ and have a lengthy run with the championship.

Dolph Ziggler has been on a career resurgence ever since being drafted to RAW in April 2018 alongside the 6ft 5inch beast Drew McIntyre. Ziggler seems to have found his stride in WWE again after spending a couple of months in neutral. He seems like such a bigger star now as he went on to beat Seth Rollins for the Intercontinental Championship and also just recently main evented the Extreme Rules Pay-Per-View beating Seth Rollins in an iron man match (5-4) retaining his Intercontinental Championship. As great as it has been for Ziggler though I think everyone is more interested in where Drew McIntyre goes from here. Ever since he returned to WWE in NXT in 2017 with his new attitude, physique and ring style; many have said that Drew now has the tools to be a main eventer in WWE and it certainly seems like WWE agrees with that as he has been undefeated since returning to RAW in April 2018 and has been very dominant. The Ziggler- McIntyre rivalry is destined to happen as McIntyre must feel a bit of resentment seeing Ziggler with the championship and main-eventing the PPV. Many people compare their pairing to Shawn Michaels and Diesel, so imagine WWE recreating that with Ziggler and McIntyre. An intercontinental championship victory would propel McIntyre in the right direction to the top of WWE but may leave Ziggler back in neutral if he is without the title and McIntyre.

Sasha Banks and Bayley have been in a rivalry with each other for what seems like a lifetime (LOL) however, the two have yet to square off against each other on a big stage. The two recently have been going therapy sessions with Dr.Shelby and have been attacking and beating the crap out of each other for the past few months. Obviously this storyline needs a conclusion and this conclusion should take place at SummerSlam in Brooklyn, NY at the Barclays Center a place where the two have well documented history as in August 2015 at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn, the two squared off in an instant classic and in the best match of the show with Bayley dethroning Sasha Banks becoming the NXT Women's Champion. The two also had an awesome iron-man match for the NXT Championship at NXT Takeover: Respect with Bayley retaining her NXT Championship defeating Sasha once again. The two obviously are made for each other and can never have nothing short of an amazing match so imagine them facing off once again on a big stage such as SummerSlam finally capitalizing on their rivalry which has been going for a lifetime.

Ronda Rousey has been nothing short of amazing since making her in-ring debut in WWE as she has shocked the WWE Universe with her awesome ring skills after training for such as short time. She had her first singles match at the Money In The Bank PPV facing RAW Women's Champion, Nia Jax for the title in also her first championship opportunity. Rousey is very popular among the WWE fanbase and is the biggest Women's Superstar in the company. Alexa Bliss won the Women's Money In The Bank Ladder Match and went on to catch in the briefcase during Ronda's match with Jax and won the RAW Women's Championship essentially screwing Ronda out of her championship opportunity. Ronda would go on the next night on RAW to beat the crap out of Bliss and RAW GM, Kurt Angle and was suspended for 30 Days from RAW. Ronda appeared again at the Extreme Rules PPV at ringside in the crowd for the championship match between Nia and Alexa and interfered in the match getting her hands on Mickie James (Alexa's buddy) but was taken out after being double teamed by Alexa and Mickie and Alexa went on to retain her championship. It seems WWE is building to an encounter between the two and the best place for this to happen is definitely SummerSlam. Alexa is the perfect heel for Ronda as she gets under the fan's skin easily and a Ronda title win at SummerSlam would garner a huge reaction from the crowd.

Carmella has been champion for 96 days making her the third longest Smackdown Women's Champion in history. She has defeated Charlotte Flair twice and has also defeated Asuka twice however with Asuka she had help from James Ellsworth in both encounters. Therefore, you would believe Asuka would be owed another title opportunity without James at ringside at all. Another person who seems to be on her way to a championship opportunity is Becky Lynch. Lynch has been on fire (no pun intended) as she has been on a winning streak lately defeating every opponent put in her path by submission. Therfore it seems WWE is preparing the Irish Lass kicker for a championship opportunity and what a better place for that to happen than at SummerSlam. Now you may wonder how Charlotte fits into this. Well Charlotte is currently out of action with a ruptured breast implant but is slated to return in time for SummerSlam. Charlotte is no doubt the biggest women's star on Smackdown and adding her to a fatal 4 way match with Asuka, Becky and Carmella would make that match must see and possibly a show stealer.

Shinsuke Nakamura won the United States Championship from Jeff Hardy at Extreme Rules in quick fashion as he low blowed Jeff before the match started and immediately hit Jeff with the Kinshasa as soon as the bell rung and won the title in only 5 seconds. After the match as Shinsuke was celebrating Randy Orton made his return after being out due to injury since Backlash entering the ring, staring down Nakamura and then went on to in my opinion turn heel by kicking Jeff Hardy in the nuts. Clearly Orton must feel resentment after being beaten by Hardy at Backlash in a rather easy fashion and then having to be out on injury. Orton staring down Shinsuke makes it seem like he wants his title back. Hardy already invoked his rematch clause for Smackdown LIVE this week but it seems like these three will be the center of the United States Championship picture. A triple threat match between these three at SummerSlam for the title would be awesome and would bring major legitimacy to the title with three main-eventers fighting for it.

Now you may see this match and wonder why would this be a match at an event like SummerSlam. Well, for one reason and that is the Demon Finn Balor. Balor has been in a bit of a slump for the past couple of months not really doing anything major at all. He recently started a feud with Constable Baron Corbin on RAW and defeated Corbin at the Extreme Rules PPV but it was in a fashion that suggested that the feud will continue. Now what I expect to happen is that on the buildup to SummerSlam Baron will continue to get the upperhand on Balor until Finn brings back his good old friend the Demon. We have not seen the Demon since TLC 2017 where he defeated AJ Styles and fans have been wondering when next will the Demon finally show up. What a better place for it to return than at a big stage like SummerSlam. Finn could bring the Demon to get the extra edge against the towering Corbin and beat him to gain momentum and on a big stage.

Now on the 2nd biggest PPV in WWE, SummerSlam, one must expect the Beast Incarnate and current Universal Champion, Brock Lesnar to finally return to defend his title. Brock recently made his waves appearing at UFC 226 confronting UFC Heavyweight Champion, Daniel Cormier indicating he wants to be next in line to fight Cormier soon. Brock re-entered the USADA testing pool and will be eligible to fight in UFC in January 2019. There is the belief that Brock's current WWE contract ends shortly after SummerSlam and many expect him to leave WWE so he can focus on training for his UFC return. Therefore, many are specualting on who he will be actually fighting. Will it be Roman again? Will he fight Braun? Will he fight Seth? or Will he fight Bobby Lashley? Now after the result at Extreme Rules, after Bobby Lashley defeated Roman Reigns in a math which was not a number one contenders match but seemed like it, many think Lashley will go on to fight the Beast at SummerSlam in what has been a dream match for over a decade due to their backgrounds in MMA and just overall similarities. I can see that match happening however, I think Roman will be added to the match even though he lost to Lashley. Roman does have unfinished business with Brock and it is clear the company want him to dethrone Brock. These three in a triple threat match would be a sight to see but you must wonder if Mr. Monster In The Bank, Braun Strowman would be lurking in the background looking to potentially catch in his briefcase.

Well thats all for now folks, remember to comment below your thoughts on this prediciton list and suggest any other matches you would put in the list. Thanks for checking out my article and have a good day!