WWE SummerSlam 2019 is already shaping up to be a loaded card from top to bottom, as several key title matches have already been announced.
In the main event of Raw the night after Extreme Rules, Seth Rollins won a 10-Man Battle Royal to become Brock Lesnar’s Universal Championship opponent at WWE SummerSlam 2019, just one night after Lesnar’s cash-in ripped the title away from The Beastslayer. Earlier that night, Natalya won a Fatal Four-Way match to become Becky Lynch’s surprise SummerSlam opponent for the Raw Women’s Championship.
On SmackDown Live, Bayley teamed up with Ember Moon to defeat Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose, and then she told Moon that she would like to face her in a SmackDown Women’s Championship match at SummerSlam. An ecstatic Moon, of course, obliged. And though no WWE Championship match was made official, it’s become clear that Kofi Kingston’s opponent on Aug. 11 will be Randy Orton.
These four matches alone should be exciting, with Moon vs. Bayley looking like a particular highlight as a potential show-stealer. But those weren’t the only matches announced or teased in an eventful post-Extreme Rules week of WWE programming.
That means it’s time to take another look at predicting the SummerSlam card.
Team Reigns vs. Team Shane Elimination Tag Match
Team Reigns: Roman Reigns, Cedric Alexander, Kevin Owens, The Miz, Apollo Crews, Braun Strowman, and Rey Mysterio
Team Shane: Shane McMahon, Drew McIntyre, Dolph Ziggler, Elias, Bobby Lashley, Andrade, and Samoa Joe
If The Undertaker wrestles at WWE SummerSlam 2019, then fans can pretty much pencil in a match between him and Drew McIntyre, though Aleister Black would be another conceivable opponent for The Dead Man. Likewise, Roman Reigns vs. Shane McMahon could easily be a singles match of its own, as could Kevin Owens vs. Shane.
Survivor Series is still probably going to have the Raw vs. SmackDown theme despite the “Wild Card” rule complicating things, so a Team Reigns vs. Team Shane showdown might only make sense at SummerSlam. This match would have Team Cena vs. Team Nexus vibes, which means Reigns could very well win as the sole Survivor of this matchup.
I’d be more than OK with this match being an overbooked mess, because there’s fun in madness. Plus, the whole Shane storyline has been an overbooked mess before babyface KO came to save the day, so, again, it’s all good in my book. I wouldn’t mind this match somewhere mid-way in the card to break up the more serious title matches, since it would be a part of Eric Bischoff’s figurative “Wrestling Buffet”.
Nobody wants to see this Shane stuff drag out beyond SummerSlam, since we’ve had to deal with his ego trip for months already. Either Reigns or Owens should win the match here, though I do hope Braun, Cedric, and Apollo have their moments on the babyface side. For the heels, McIntyre, Lashley, and Andrade would be the wrestlers to watch the closest.
The IIconics (c) vs. Kairi Sane and Asuka for the Women’s Tag Team Championships
Peyton Royce and Billie Kay defended their Women’s Tag Team Titles in ingenious fashion on last week’s episode of SmackDown Live, thwarting the Kabuki Warriors in their tracks. But Kairi Sane and Asuka seem destined to win the Women’s Tag Team Championships at some point in the near future, and I can’t think of a better venue for their championship victory than SummerSlam.
Asuka has never competed at SummerSlam in her career, having been a notable snub from last year’s showcase. But she is familiar with shining during SummerSlam Weekend, as her NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III match against Ember Moon two years ago stands as one of the greatest NXT Women’s Title matches in history.
Meanwhile, Sane was in an NXT Women’s Championship match last SummerSlam, defeating Shayna Baszler in a title match for the only time in her WWE career thus far.
So neither Asuka nor Kairi are strangers to big wins over SummerSlam Weekend, and there’s a great chance they become the third Women’s Tag Team Champions on Aug. 11. The IIconics reign has been marred by strange booking from WWE, but they remain one of the best tag teams in the world on the strength of their character work. They are also criticized unfairly by some disgruntled fans, who fail to see the great in-ring heel work and over-the-top selling that Kay and Royce provide.
That said, it’ll be good for the tag division for Asuka and Kairi to grab a win and move on to feud with a rising team in Fire and Desire.
Aleister Black vs. Sami Zayn
Sami Zayn couldn’t pull off an upset victory in a 10-man battle royal on last week’s episode of Raw, as Seth Rollins earned the opportunity to square off against Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. But Zayn should still have a match at The Biggest Party of the Summer, because is it really a party without Zayn’s Goldfinger-inspired theme? Can we really celebrate without the “Critic of the Critics” holding us all accountable in the audience? Because without Zayn, SummerSlam could degenerate into a beach ball fest.
Aleister Black is another wrestler who needs to be at SummerSlam. He is riding a huge wave of momentum after defeating Cesaro at Extreme Rules and then on the episode of SmackDown Live following Extreme Rules. Black’s wins were impressive, specifically the way Cesaro sold the Black Mass during his television loss.
Right now, Black feels like a huge star and shouldn’t be far away from winning a championship, just as former tag team partner Ricochet did. Black needs some more momentum boosts, and defeating Zayn would give him a huge boost.
I think there’s huge potential in a rivalry between these two, especially if it ends in a brutal match at Hell in a Cell that would really put both guys over strong, win or lose.
Bray Wyatt vs. Finn Balor
“The Fiend” has made his mark on Monday Night Raw, emerging to attack Finn Balor after the latter’s shocking loss in seconds to Samoa Joe. Balor is reeling heavily after losing to Shinsuke Nakamura on the SmackDown before Extreme Rules, dropping the Intercontinental Championship to Nakamura on the Pay-Per-View’s pre-show, and then falling to Joe on Raw.
Bray Wyatt has pinpointed Balor as his victim of choice, though he could always turn his direction to someone else before WWE SummerSlam 2019. That said, it makes sense for Wyatt to target Balor, given how badly he lost to The Demon at SummerSlam 2017. This feud never saw its true conclusion at TLC due to Wyatt’s illness, which allowed fans to see Balor vs. AJ Styles instead of a weird Sister Abigail vs. Pumpkin Demon match.
But now, Wyatt is revitalized with a much creeper and more interesting character that the fans can actually take seriously. In order to take him seriously, though, he needs to win his first big match back in the ring, even if it is against Balor.
Since Balor, per Pro Wrestling Sheet, wants to take some time off, a loss that sends him spiraling in a new direction makes plenty of sense. The only question is, should Balor lose as The Demon? Hopefully WWE isn’t entertaining that question after failing to make the most of The Demon, but it is a possibility since The Demon vs. The Fiend sounds like a bigger deal.
Ideally, WWE would find a way to protect both men, perhaps by having The Fiend write The Demon off of television in a dastardly non-finish that has fans legitimately scared (albeit briefly!) for Balor’s future.
The New Day (c) vs. Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships
So when Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan don’t have the SmackDown Tag Team Championships, can we still call them The Planet’s Champions? I mean, they are still championing the planet with or without the titles, right? And I wonder what Bryan’s thoughts on this latest heat wave are…
Anyway, Bryan has hinted at a change in direction, perhaps even a return back to singles competition, after losing the tag titles to The New Day at Extreme Rules, but I’m not convinced that he’s giving up so easily on saving the tag division.
He and Rowan still have some work to do, even if it’s almost impossible to see them winning the titles back from The New Day at SummerSlam. (Or really any other point before Survivor Series, since The New Day vs. The Club should be “The Plan”.)
It’s awesome to see Kofi Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods holding all the gold in WWE right now, and we can only hope this continues for a few more months. But this match against Bryan and Rowan is about more than just the title; it’s about the health of tag team wrestling as a whole. These four men need to have a barnburner on Aug. 11 to show the world that tag team wrestling in WWE is no joke. And if that happens, Bryan can walk away from the tag team division – if he so chooses – feeling good about the impact he made.
The Revival (c) vs. The Usos vs. The Club vs. The Viking Raiders for the Raw Tag Team Championships
Ideally, we’d see a match between The Revival and The Usos at WWE SummerSlam 2019, since their match at Extreme Rules was purposefully underwhelming. Like, it wasn’t a bad match, but most fans were expecting a “Match of the Night” performance from arguably the world’s two best tag teams in the ring. Instead, the match was pretty average, as they were clearly leaving something in the tank for a future confrontation.
That future singles PPV match could happen at SummerSlam, but I think WWE holds off on it and waits until maybe Hell in a Cell, where The Usos can have a match with The Revival that is similar to their match with The New Day from a couple of years ago.
The Club are in the thick of the Raw Tag Team Championship picture and will surely win the titles within the next few months. Meanwhile, The Viking Raiders are great candidates to win multiple tag team championships over the course of their careers, though they are merely great athletes with strange characters at this point. Their first reign probably won’t come until after WrestleMania 36 in 2020.
No matter what the match is, I’m pretty sure The Revival will retain and move towards having their best feud as champions in the early fall.
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Ali for the Intercontinental Championship
Shinsuke Nakamura won the Intercontinental Championship off of Finn Balor at Extreme Rules, and it looks like he could have his first strong reign with a championship in WWE. That is, of course, unless Ali has something to say about it.
Ali seems like the perfect Intercontinental Champion on paper. He’s fantastic in the ring, he’s one of the company’s best babyfaces, he’s a great athlete, he can make you believe in him, he cuts awesome promos, and he is one of the hardest-working guys in the business. Everything about him screams “high-end IC Champ”, but those traits would also make him an excellent WWE Champion.
There’s a final story waiting to be told between Kofi Kingston and Ali as friends, but wouldn’t it also be great if Kofi and Ali were the male singles champions in WWE at the same time? That could happen at WWE SummerSlam 2019 if Ali prevails over Nakamura and Kingston is able to successfully retain the title against, presumably, old nemesis Randy Orton.
Ali vs. Nakamura is one of those matches that looks primed to steal the show, and there’s little doubt that this match will take place after last week’s backstage tease on SmackDown Live.
AJ Styles (c) vs. Ricochet for the United States Championship
Although AJ Styles defeated Ricochet at Extreme Rules to become the United States Champion for the third time in his career, it looks like we’ll be getting a second Pay Per View showdown for the US Title between The Phenomenal One and The One and Only.
And I am not going to complain in the least. Styles and Ricochet can fight 10 times in one calendar year for all I care, because they have great chemistry in the ring and are two of the best athletes in WWE. Their matches seem to get better and better every week, so if they do have a battle at SummerSlam, it’s safe to say it’ll be by far their best one yet. Styles has a tendency to show up in the big matches, as nobody will forget his SummerSlam 2016 classic against John Cena.
Ricochet probably isn’t going to win that title back, since Styles and The Club seem destined to hold all the gold on Raw before facing SmackDown Live’s top faction, The New Day, at Survivor Series. So Styles will win at SummerSlam with some more help from Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, but expect Ricochet to have the performance of a lifetime.
This is a hot take/bold prediction, but don’t be surprised if Ricochet wins his first World Championship before Styles wins his next world title. That man is already one of WWE’s most important superstars just months into his main roster career.
Bayley (c) vs. Ember Moon for the SmackDown Women’s Championship
It gave me so much joy seeing Bayley call out Ember Moon for a match on last week’s episode of SmackDown Live after the two top babyfaces on the Blue Brand teamed up to defeat Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose. This match could easily be the show-stealer at SummerSlam this year, as Moon and Bayley are two of the best pure wrestlers in the company.
Bayley’s SmackDown Women’s Championship reign could honestly last up until WrestleMania 36, because she has been fantastic. Dating back to NXT, Bayley has always been one of WWE’s best wrestlers, but she’s reached another level in 2019, especially when it comes to her promos and character work. The difference in her speaking ability is night and day, as she’s more than held her own on the mic with Alexa Bliss, who is widely viewed as one of the top 10 promos in WWE today.
Going forward, Bayley is on a mission to elevate as many wrestlers in the SmackDown Women’s Division after finishing up some history with Bliss. Ember is first on her radar, which makes sense since Moon seems the most likely to win a world championship in the next several months. She could even be the one to end Bayley’s reign.
That said, I don’t think Moon is going to win the championship at SummerSlam, since this will be more about her showing WWE fans what she can do in the ring in a big match against an elite competitor, in case they are unfamiliar with her matches against Shayna Baszler and Asuka in NXT.
Could Charlotte Flair be added to this match? I won’t discount anything involving The Queen and title matches, but I’m going to give a firm “no” for now. I think her feud with Bayley will come in a few months, though.
Becky Lynch (c) vs. Natalya for the Raw Women’s Championship
It was a shock to see Natalya win a Fatal Four-Way to become Becky Lynch’s challenger for the Raw Women’s Championship at WWE SummerSlam 2019, but surprises are a good thing in wrestling. And judging by the Philadelphia crowd’s reaction, I’d say most fans were happier to see Natalya winning than Alexa Bliss winning since Bliss was just in the SmackDown Women’s Championship picture.
Natalya is a great foil for Becky, especially if Lynch can bring out the best in Nattie promo-wise. Paul Heyman’s booking of the women’s division has always been worrisome from the talking points he chooses in promos, which hinge too much on weird sexual innuendos that are incredibly insulting and create an entirely unrealistic dialogue between competitive athletes, but hopefully those missteps won’t mar this rivalry between two veteran wrestlers.
Although Natalya has basically no chance of winning a second title at SummerSlam in her career, this match should be excellent. These are two strong, submission-based wrestlers who could even have a classic Submissions Match at SummerSlam, if WWE decide to add that sort of a stipulation to their title match next month.
Becky vs. Nattie will be all about the in-ring work, and I don’t think any fans will come out of the match dissatisfied. Though the fact that Natalya was chosen as Becky’s opponent over someone better like, say, Naomi, makes me fear that Ronda Rousey’s return could be on the horizon. But I’m paranoid, so don’t mind me.
Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship
Kofi Kingston is in the midst of one of the greatest WWE Championship reigns of the modern era, and hopefully every fan appreciates his impact on that title in a few years. Until then, we’ll have to just ignore the moronic arguments that Kofi is “boring” or a “bad champion”, which is just thinly-veiled racism at this point. All we can do is laugh at either their complete lack of knowledge of pro wrestling or block their bigotry into a proverbial black hole.
Rant aside, this match between Kofi and Randy Orton is going to be amazing. There’s 10 years of history going into this matchup, which means there’s so much for both performers to draw back on. They can use Kofi’s “Boom” drop from the rafters, the desecration of Orton’s car, or even “Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!” to add some more fuel to this rivalry.
While this WWE Championship match hasn’t been officially announced, it’s essentially a guarantee. And I know that Orton isn’t the most popular figure among wrestling fans, but he is the perfect opponent for Kingston at SummerSlam. A win over Orton further solidifies Kingston as THE top wrestler in WWE right now; nobody is getting the buzz or reactions quite like Kofi is.
Furthermore, Kingston and Orton have great chemistry in the ring, judging by their last Gauntlet performance before WrestleMania 35. A motivated Orton is one of the best wrestlers in the company, and surely he’ll be plenty motivated to turn it up to “11” for this title match.
Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship
I really can’t believe we’re doing this match again, but I’m kind of looking forward to seeing how Paul Heyman layers this title match differently from the first one. It’s almost inconceivable for Seth Rollins to beat Brock Lesnar twice in one calendar year and go 2-0 on major PPVs against WWE’s most strongly booked wrestler, but few things about this program have been predictable.
After Rollins lost the Universal Title to Lesnar via cash-in to close Extreme Rules, he won a 10-man battle royal the next night on Raw to earn a title opportunity against Lesnar at WWE SummerSlam 2019.
It seems like Roman Reigns should be the one to beat Lesnar twice and win the Universal Title back, but it may be foolish to discount Rollins’s chances of a main event triumph. Though his reign was, admittedly, a failure, Rollins had essentially zero chance of succeeding as champion with the way WWE were booking him. I mean, how could he be expected to salvage a program against Baron Corbin? (Then again, someone like Kofi Kingston would have no trouble making everything he touches must-see…)
As much as I hate to see Lesnar in this part-time champion gimmick, Rollins really shouldn’t win this match. Nobody likes repeat stories that have a hollow meaning, and that’s what this victory would be for Rollins.
He had his moment at WrestleMania 35 and didn’t really follow up on it as champion, because this is the cold truth with Rollins: If he isn’t having great matches, nobody cares about his work as a babyface. He’s a great wrestler, but he’s limited as a babyface champion to the quality of opponents WWE gives him. Unlike Reigns or Kingston, Rollins doesn’t elevate the opponent to his or the title’s status.