WWE SummerSlam 2017: Match Card Projections After Backlash

Credit: WWE.com

WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
The Miz (c) vs. Roman Reigns

After defeating The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33, Roman Reigns should be the No. 1 Contender for the WWE Universal Championship, right? This is what happened with Brock Lesnar in 2014, only for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam. Even though Reigns may become the No. 1 Contender for Great Balls of Fire, it never looked like he’d become this in the immediate aftermath of WrestleMania.

The Big Dog got beaten up by Braun Strowman for weeks, never looking like he’s about to challenge Lesnar for the title. So it brings us to him doing something else.

The Miz has yet to win the Intercontinental Championship from Dean Ambrose. Their match is set for Extreme Rules, so we’ll go with the A-Lister claiming the gold there.

WWE tends to put Reigns against a rising heel at the biggest shows. They did this with Rusev at SummerSlam, Owens at Royal Rumble, Strowman after WrestleMania, and potentially, Miz at SummerSlam 2017. They could go back to this formula again, give the former Shield man a title win, and keep him out of the World title scene until WrestleMania 34 season.

We’re stretching out to the inevitable for Reigns, but WWE may be aiming for the inevitable “coronation” of Reigns in 2018, which would be his third consecutive main event win. If the past crowd reactions are any indication, it should be interesting.