A few ideas for both Raw and SmackDown that could liven-up the current state of WWE heading to SummerSlam.
It is no secret that fans have grown tired of the current WWE product and are becoming more and more impatient waiting for storylines to improve as we enter the road to the next of the big four pay-per-views: SummerSlam.
Now that fans may have a viable alternative for their wrestling fix, WWE must step their game up.
Before I tell you what I think should happen, here is what I think will happen:
WWE Universal Championship: Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar
Lesnar cashes-in his contract and loses to Rollins.
WWE Heavyweight Championship: Kofi Kingston vs. Big E
I think Big E’s heel turn is long overdue and I believe we’ll see it happen sometime before Extreme Rules. Big E could be tired of playing second fiddle to Kofi and it would inspire him to make a run at the title. Kofi retains in this match.
Intercontinental Championship: Finn Balor vs. Randy Orton
Orton planted the seeds for this on social media and I think WWE Creative will stretch this out over multiple months. Balor comes dressed as the Demon King and retains.
United States Championship: Samoa Joe vs. The Miz
In last night’s six-man tag match on Raw, Joe and The Miz were the only two not involved currently in a feud. Joe retains, merely because so many faces will be keeping their titles.
Raw Women’s Championship: Becky Lynch vs. Lacey Evans
This conflict doesn’t appear to be any closer to resolving itself. Lynch retains.
SmackDown Women’s Championship: Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Charlotte Flair
I don’t think we’ll see Charlotte being left out of a title match at one of the biggest shows of the year. Bliss pins Bayley for the belt.
That is what I believe will happen based on how the shows have played out recently.
Here are my suggestions to the creative team for how the SummerSlam card should shape-up – and how the matches should be decided – to get eyes back on WWE programming.
Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins – WWE Universal Championship
The specter of Brock Lesnar’s Money in the Bank contract will loom over both main titles as long as The Beast Incarnate holds the briefcase. We’ll get to his cash-in attempt a bit later.
Seth Rollins victory over Baron Corbin left the door open for Corbin to demand a rematch. This will, most likely, happen at Stomping Ground. We can only hope that finishes the feud off. The current version of Corbin just isn’t it. Let’s go back to The Lone Wolf, how ’bout it?
That will leave Rollins needing an opponent for Extreme Rules and the run-up to SummerSlam.
Enter the Demon King.
It is an easy story to sell to the WWE Universe. Finn Balor is one of the most popular Superstars on either roster. I have enjoyed his run as Intercontinental Champion, but I think the steam has run out of that train and he needs pushed in a different direction. With the Wild Card Rule, Balor can show up on Raw looking to reclaim what he believes is rightfully his.
Balor can try (and fail) to win the title at Extreme Rules. Having a great match there – but coming up short – could leave Balor needing to call upon the Demon King for a rematch at SummerSlam. This is a chance for Finn Balor to regain the title he never lost. It’s also a chance for things to come full-circle between Balor, Rollins and their history over the Universal Championship from SummerSlam 2016.
Kofi Kingston vs. Big E vs. Dolph Ziggler – WWE Championship
Kofi Kingston successfully defended his title at Super ShowDown against Dolph Ziggler.
The big story seems to have been in ZIggler’s post-match interview where he mentioned how Kofi needed help from his friend, Xavier Woods and that Ziggler may need find some help for himself. What terrific timing having Big E return to action on SmackDown for this to play out.
Kingston and Ziggler will continue their feud at Stomping Grounds inside a steel cage. There, Big E could finally make his long awaited heel turn and to beat Kingston down after the match.
While I think The New Day are entertaining and I have enjoyed their time together, I’m afraid Big E has become nothing more than a mascot for WWE. A once feared, mountainous, dominant force is now reduced to skipping, clapping, pancake-throwing and pelvic thrusts. If ever there was a time for him to reinvent himself, it’s now after his return from a brief absence. But to do so, he may have to look to the past to move forward.
Upon his departure from The New Day, Big E realigns himself with Ziggler like they did years ago dating back to 2013, but only for a short time. That is because Big E is tired of living in other stars’ shadows and wants his own shot at the title. This doesn’t sit well with Kingston or Ziggler and sets up a Triple Threat match for the belt at SummerSlam.
Randy Orton vs. Velveteen Dream – Intercontinental Championship
Currently, Finn Balor holds the title on SmackDown Live. I think he has to drop the belt before he enters the Universal title program with Seth Rollins. It would be smart to have this title change happening at the Stomping Grounds pay-per-view after Orton’s afformentioned social media challenge. Orton is currently riding the momentum of defeating Triple H in Saudi Arabia, so this would fit well for him to claim a title.
Where does that leave Orton? I’ll tell you where it should leave him … in a Dream.
Velveteen Dream has been looking for a main roster call-up for quite some time and this is the perfect opportunity to make bring him in. Orton is the type of veteran superstar that could show instant chemistry with Dream and tell a terrific story while bringing the new blood up-to-speed on the main roster.
Samoa Joe vs. Ricochet vs. Cesaro vs. The Miz vs. Braun Strowman vs. Bobby Lashley – United States Championship Ladder Match
With Samoa Joe being named U.S. Champion after Rey Mysterio was injured, Joe was left with no opponent set-up for a run through the summer shows. If his injuries are healed, I think Mysterio returns to face Joe to regain his championship. My guess is that his injuries will keep him out a bit longer, so that puts Joe in a six-man ladder match with Ricochet, Cesaro, The Miz, Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley.
All six men have crossed paths already and this makes sense for all of them. I believe the seeds were planted on Raw with the six-man tag match.
At Extreme Rules, we could see Ricochet vs. Cesaro, Strowman vs. Lashley and The Miz vs. Joe, then all men will meet for the title in August.
Raw & SmackDown Women’s Titles
Becky Lynch ends her feud with Lacey Evans at Stomping Grounds and sets her sights on Charlotte Flair. Becky still wants revenge for Flair costing her the SmackDown Women’s Title at Money in the Bank.
At Extreme Rules, Flair and Lynch could battle for the Raw strap, but the finish is interrupted by a returning Ronda Rousey. The distraction by Rousey allows Flair to pin Lynch and win the Raw Women’s Championship.
Lynch will have to return to SmackDown Live angry about the circumstances that have surrounded her while becoming “Becky No Belts.” She issues a challenge to Bayley for a title match that night. Bayley accepts and Lynch triumphs. The celebration is short-lived as Rousey delivers a post-match beating to Lynch. Rousey’s angle, obviously, stems from her controversially losing the title at WrestleMania and she wants her rematch and revenge.
This sets up Rousey vs. Lynch for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at SummerSlam, potentially in a No Disqualification match to add a little more spice and brutality to their rematch.
Lynch needs the injection of Rousey because it’s beginning to feel like Lynch’s momentum has stalled a bit since WrestleMania. At that time, she was the hottest thing going in professional wrestling. She still has a solid backing, but it feels like she is lacking that counterpart that pushes her the way Stone Cold Steve Austin pushed The Rock or how Shawn Michaels pushed Bret Hart.
Back on Raw, Charlotte has rid herself of Lynch and is in need of a challenger.
Out of all of the potential candidates, Nikki Cross is an interesting name to consider. With the new, lighter character she has been using, Cross has been flying a tad under-the-radar and is deserving of a push.
I think she needs to be given an opportunity to showcase herself and needs to be given a chance to prove she can hang with the established names in the division. Also, the rotation of Sasha Banks, Bayley, Alexa Bliss, and Lacey Evans needs to be broken by a newcomer to the title scene. Cross is that newcomer.
Cross emerges as the number one contender after battling with Bliss and Evans in the build-up to August’s show.
Raw Women’s Championship match: Charlotte Flair vs. Nikki Cross
SmackDown Women’s Championship match: Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey
Predictions
If this is the road WWE takes to SummerSlam, there could be some very interesting outcomes out of the Biggest Party of the Summer.
Raw Women’s Championship: Charlotte Flair retains the Raw Women’s Championship defeating Nikki Cross. Cross establishes herself as a major player in the Women’s division, while Flair is able to remain champion.
SmackDown Women’s Championship: Ronda Rousey defeats Becky Lynch for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. This will allow Rousey to be the champion once SmackDown moves to the FOX Network in October. This feud will be far from finished, as Lynch will look for her revenge.
United States Championship: Samoa Joe retains the U.S. title in the ladder match. Honestly, this happens only because I believe the Joe/Rey Mysterio story has a large arc that will involve Rey’s son, Dominic, getting involved and Joe needs the belt to get where they were intending to go prior to Rey’s injury.
Intercontinental Championship: Velveteen Dream earns his first main roster title by pinning Randy Orton. Orton is the exact person in this spot to put over a new talent, and make him look good in the process. I think Dream is a mega-star and this win will propel him forward as a hot name in all of WWE.
WWE Universal Championship: Finn Balor, as the Demon King, defeats Seth Rollins to regain the Universal Championship. Balor is allowed to take the ball and run, as was planned prior to his injury after his first Universal title match victory.
WWE Heavyweight Championship Triple Threat: Dolph Ziggler pins Big E to win the title. However, the night does not end with Ziggler standing tall…
MONEY IN THE BANK CASH-IN: Brock Lesnar hits the ring as Dolph Ziggler celebrates his hard-fought victory. Lesnar pounces as Ziggler is physically drained from the previous match. A few F5’s later, and Lesnar is your new WWE Heavyweight Champion.
This allows Kofi to not suffer a pin and puts the belt on Lesnar for SmackDown’s move to FOX, with Kingston chasing Lesnar for his title back.
I’ve given the writing team for both Raw and SmackDown plenty to think about here. Do you like my direction? What would you do differently? Sound off in the comments!