WWE SummerSlam 2016: Questioning Why Several Top Stars Were Left Off the Show

With Raw and Smackdown having their go-home shows heading into SummerSlam this week, several of the WWE’s more popular stars appear to have not been invited to the biggest party of the summer.

One look at the four-hour long SummerSlam card and you’ll find ten matches, with none set for the kickoff. Sunday night is looking to be stacked as it was last year when SummerSlam first invaded Brooklyn. However, upon closer examination, the absence of Sami Zayn, Bray Wyatt, and Becky Lynch is a glaring omission.

Sami Zayn, Bray Wyatt, and Becky Lynch are easily three of WWE’s more popular superstars. Lynch has been the consummate professional and the workhorse of the women’s division. Zayn has routinely put on spectacular PPV matches since coming to the main roster. His match with Kevin Owens at Battleground could easily be MOTY. Bray was in the midst of a resurgence after being sidelined with an injury.

It was plain as day during the Draft that Raw gobbled up as much star-power as it could. What we did not foresee was that Sami Zayn would be left out of the equation heading into SummerSlam. In hindsight, perhaps Zayn should have been drafted to SmackDown. There, he could have possibly been put into a program with The Miz for the Intercontinental Title instead of Apollo Crews. Or, at least have given SmackDown another match to put on the card to help level things out, perhaps one with Bray Wyatt.

SmackDown has no women’s match to represent the brand

SmackDown has no women’s match to represent the brand at SummerSlam. Becky Lynch was touted as the first woman to be drafted to Team Blue. It will be a blown opportunity to not showcase the importance and value of Becky at SummerSlam. It is unclear what the payoff for Eva Marie avoiding Becky is, or when it will take place, but if they want to re-debut Eva Marie in an entertaining segment with the Lass-Kicker, there is no better place than SummerSlam.

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After being knocked out of title contention on SmackDown, Bray Wyatt once again is in limbo, with apparently no one in Creative sure what to do with him. Prior to getting injured in April, it appeared that Bray was on the verge of a babyface turn. However since coming back, he has remained heel, but ultimately won the feud against The New Day. Fast forward one month later, all the momentum Bray had built appears to have fizzled out, to no fault of his own.

It’s clear that Raw is obviously being favored over SmackDown for SummerSlam, with only the WWE Championship, Intercontinental Championship, and Cena/Styles grudge match being their offerings to the card. It’s to be assumed that SmackDown holding their own monthly PPVs will give Becky Lynch and Bray Wyatt and even Alberto Del Rio and Baron Corbin, both of whom were also left off of SummerSlam, a platform.

This will be a problem that WWE must fix as we move along in this brand extension. Survivor Series is the next inter-promotional PPV and one of the ‘Big Four’ events. Both creative teams for Raw and Smackdown will have to find a way to fit the likes of Sami Zayn, Neville, Bray Wyatt, Becky Lynch, Baron Corbin, Kaliso, and Alberto Del Rio. Otherwise, the whole point of the Draft and the brand split will be a bust in the end if it doesn’t give stars a chance to shine.