Weekend Wristlock: 5 Predictions for Summerslam 2018

Supposedly, this is the second biggest pay-per-view of the year, only behind Wrestlemania (I disagree, as I'm usually more excited for the Royal Rumble and Money in the Bank shows, but I digress), so WWE tries to stack the Summerslam card as much as they can.

Other than the more-than-likely main event being the Universal title match, I'm pretty interested in this card. I could stand to do without Finn vs Corbin yet again, but it's fine.

Anywho, I'm not going through the entire show card, but I will do as I always do, and five predictions for Summerslam.

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This first prediction isn't too farfetched. Randy Orton has been on a mission to destroy Jeff Hardy since his return. He's entered a rather creepy phase of assaulting and stalking Hardy every week. This is why the former United States champion lost his rematch to Shinsuke Nakamura on an episode of Smackdown.

I believe this will end in a similar fashion. Orton will either distract Hardy (or the referee) to allow Shinsuke to escape with his title. This could be followed up with another assault that will write Jeff Hardy off of television for the time being, while everyone else moves on to other programs.

This is one of the matches that have several potential ways to end. While I admit to being one of the fans who have grown tired of this feud, the return of Dean Ambrose sparks much interest in the ending of the match (to me, anyway).

I can see Drew McIntyre getting involved towards the end of the match, before Dean takes him out. After being distracted by what's going on outside of the ring, Dolph Ziggler turns around into a Superkick and Curbstomp for the Seth Rollins win. While celebrating, Rollins and Ambrose embrace, before the Lunatic hits the new champ with Dirty Deeds, turning him heel, and starting a fresh new IC title feud.

I know, I can hear the collective groan of everyone reading this. While it's true that Carmella isn't a very good wrestler, she's not terrible, and her character is pretty entertaining. The fact that she beat Charlotte Flair (TWICE!) and even Asuka (TWICE!) is never forgotten as she gloats about it literally any time she has the opportunity.

Becky Lynch and Charlotte are poised to either feud with one another, or become teammates should a new women's tag team championship debut soon. Either way, I can see Carmella sneaking out with the win and bragging on Smackdown about how she beat Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair in the same match. During her Mellabration, she encounters her next challenger... Naomi.

In my opinion, Braun Strowman has been a failure as "Mr. Money in the Bank". Looking at him, he screams "let me anywhere near Brock Lesnar and I'll beat him to a pulp and cash in on the spot", yet during the two episodes of Raw where the Universal champion was actually present, we never heard a peep from Strowman.

Kevin Owens, on the other hand has the perfect character to hold the briefcase. He's already a strategic (if a bit cowardly at times), arrogant heel who looks as if he will cash in when you least expect it.

Add these two points with the emphasis on "if Braun gets disqualified or counted out, Owens wins the briefcase", and it seems as though KO could defy the odds again, and win the briefcase. Whether or not the winner will cash in the same night is a different story however.

If you've been reading my "5 Takeaways" articles (which you absolutely should), then you'd know this is my favorite match on the card. If you read my Weekend Wristlock two weeks ago (which, again, you totally should), then you'd know that I feel this match should close Summerslam.

I've been excited to tune in to Smackdown because
1). It's usually a very good show, and
2). This rivalry has me hooked.

Like I said before, bringing someone's family into a story isn't a brand new idea, but the fact that it's Samoa Joe delivering these lines to AJ makes it all the more believable.

Anyway, Styles has had an awesome title run, but I think it's Joe's turn now. Having Samoa Joe as WWE champion (after a couple months more of this rivalry, pf course) would open doors for potential title feuds such as Joe vs Daniel Bryan, Joe vs Rusev, and if The Bar splits up, possibly Samoa Joe vs Cesaro (my personal favorite).

Thanks for reading! Did I miss any good points? Is there something you agree or disagree with? Sound off in the comments below, and be sure to check out my Raw, SmackdownLive, and Summerslam Takeaways this week!