WWE SummerSlam 2017: Match Card Projections After Backlash

credit: wwe.com

John Cena vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

The TV in-ring debut for Nakamura finally came at Backlash. He defeated Dolph Ziggler and will move onto something else at Money in the Bank. Whatever that is, remains to be seen, but either way, the King of Strong Style is rising quickly in WWE.

By SummerSlam, if WWE has already pushed Nakamura to just outside the main event scene, could they give him a big-name opponent for the second-biggest show of the year? Might it be someone as big as Cena?

With the way this match card has shaped up, it’s not leaving the Face That Runs the Place with much else. Putting him right back into the WWE Championship scene after a 14-day reign may be too soon, especially with the shortened schedule that’s probably going to take Cena away from WWE after SummerSlam.

There’s also Cena’s recent SummerSlam history. Since 2011, he has lost at every SummerSlam-branded show. In recent years, it’s been putting others over, like Daniel Bryan, Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins and AJ Styles. Will 2017 be the year of Nakamura?