5 Ways WWE SummerSlam Can Shape WrestleMania 34
SummerSlam, Credit: WWE.com
How will WWE set up for WrestleMania 34 at SummerSlam? We look the top five we’re most hoping to see.
SummerSlam starts the road…to the road to WrestleMania. Although WWE has a tendency to forget about or get bored of certain storylines, sometimes they deliver on a long game. This year sets for WrestleMania 34, which given the influx of talent, should be a stacked card. There are more than a couple storylines that would benefit from starting out early.
Even if WWE can’t decide on what they want to do, it benefits them greatly to work under the assumption that what happens at SummerSlam directly impacts WrestleMania. The Show of Shows can be thought of as the season finale, with storylines coming to a close. After the summer slump, SummerSlam is a chance to interject new life into the show through exciting new feuds that will culminate at WrestleMania.
There is nothing but opportunity for SummerSlam to set up for WrestleMania, despite a slightly underwhelming card. Major stars can cross paths and start to hype up for massive matches come April. Across both shows and all divisions, feuds are boiling and waiting to come up to the surface. Hopefully, we’ll see a few set ups for WrestleMania 34, and these are our top five:
credit: wwe.com
5. Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles Walk Out Champions
The main event of WrestleMania 34 should be Shinsuke Nakamura vs. AJ Styles. Yes, it’s a copycat, but you can’t have these two guys in the same place at the same time and not do this. It will absolutely tear the house down and contend for Match of the Year. They could get here through the Royal Rumble if WWE wanted to make that moment for Styles, but it’s not even necessary. These two have so much background that some well-done video packages can get this match hyped very easily. There doesn’t need to be any sort of additional transgression to motivate this feud. The two have alluded to wanting what the other has throughout the past couple of months.
That’s the part of this story that’s really interesting. It’s never about the title itself, it’s about the title and the fact that their longtime (friendly) rival is the one to hold it. You can justify Nakamura saying he wanted to come after the US Championship even though WWE probably just hadn’t made up their mind yet. He wanted it because Styles was the US Champion.
If both of these guys walk out of SummerSlam with their respective titles, the stage is set to build them for WrestleMania. Styles can pass the torch by then while Nakamura gives some much-needed stability and credibility to the WWE Championship. By the time we get on the Road to WrestleMania, it will make perfect sense for Styles to be jonesing for another fight with Nakamura and another shot at the world title. It needs to start now with Styles making a point that just because Nakamura has the world title doesn’t mean he’s the better wrestler.