WWE SummerSlam 2023 is a month away and this is an early look at how things will go down on the blockbuster show.
WWE SummerSlam 2023 is one month away, and WWE has not yet announced any blockbuster feuds for this “premium live event.” However, MITB is finally behind us and it has already been rumored that certain matches will take place at this event. There have even been hints dropped on the Raw after MITB pertaining to the direction WWE could be going on their road to SummerSlam. If anyone truly has the clairvoyance to book this entire match card correctly from beginning to end one month in advance, it’s the almighty Mark Justice.
With that being said, the following will provide some rapid-fire match card predictions for what should be the biggest event of the summer: WWE SummerSlam 2023.
WWE SummerSlam 2023 is scheduled to take place on August 5, 2023, live on Peacock. Here are some very early match card predictions for WWE SummerSlam 2023.
Gunther & Imperium vs. Drew McIntyre & RKBro [6-Man Tag Match]
Drew McIntyre and RKBro, who teamed up against The Bloodline before, will defeat Gunther and Imperium in a huge babyface return victory. This is a bold prediction because there are already rumors spreading about Drew McIntyre battling Gunther for the IC Title at this event. However, Gunther still has to pass Honky Tonk Man’s record, and it would be unfair to end his title reign right before he breaks the record. To protect Gunther’s title reign and assure that both Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton get triumphant returns, this is the best route to take for all parties involved.
Prediction: Drew McIntyre & RKBro
Austin Theory (c) vs. Sheamus vs. Karrion Kross vs. AJ Styles vs. LA Knight vs. Santos Escobar [U.S. Title Match: 6-Pack Challenge]
Austin Theory will defend his title in a 6-Pack Challenge because he has no clear challenger other than Sheamus, whom he already defeated a few weeks ago on SmackDown. The mid-card is filled with feuds between Kross and Styles as well as between LA Knight and Santos Escobar. All of these men could really use the spotlight here at SummerSlam. LA Knight, in particular, not only needs the spotlight but also needs the title win here as a consolation prize for losing the MITB Ladder Match to Damian Priest even though the majority of the WWE Universe was behind him.
Prediction: LA Knight
Logan Paul vs. Ricochet [Falls Count Anywhere Match]
Logan Paul will defeat Ricochet in a Falls Count Anywhere Match because this is merely WWE’s way of giving one of their top celebrities a victory to offset his losses at Royal Rumble to Cody Rhodes, WrestleMania to Seth Rollins, and MITB to Damian Priest. This feud between Paul and Ricochet stemmed from their incredible spot at the Rumble and continued at MITB where Ricochet delivered a Spanish Fly to Paul through two tables outside the ring. These two have chemistry in the ring when it comes to daring spots, and Ricochet is here to make Paul look great.
Prediction: Logan Paul
Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler [Submission Match]
Shayna Baszler will defeat Ronda Rousey in a Submission Match because Baszler needs to solidify her babyface turn on Rousey with a victory that will help build herself back into the world title picture. There is clearly a lack of top babyfaces to challenge Rhea Ripley for the title outside Becky Lynch, so this is a good way to keep things fresh in the main event scene on Raw. Also, Rousey is rumored to be on her way out of the WWE and back to UFC, so there’s no valid reason for her to win here unless they want to stretch out this feud into a trilogy throughout the fall.
Prediction: Shayna Baszler
Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus (w/Zoey Stark) [Steel Cage Match]
Becky Lynch will defeat Trish Stratus in a Steel Cage Match because she has to get her win back from her Night of Champions loss to Trish Stratus. The only reason she lost that match was because of the surprise distraction from Zoey Stark. This steel cage match stipulation should somewhat hinder the distractions from Stark and provide a feasible means for Lynch to come out with the victory. This victory over a legend like Stratus will propel Lynch back into the title picture post-SummerSlam, especially after her recent teases for a future title match with Ripley.
Prediction: Becky Lynch
Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar [BullRope Match]
Brock Lesnar will defeat Cody Rhodes in their rumored BullRope match because Lesnar is rumored for a future title match with Seth Rollins in the fall. Randy Orton actually defeated Cody’s father, Dusty Rhodes, in a BullRope match back at The Great American Bash in 2009. This stipulation may have been chosen as a callback to his father’s bull rope match. Nonetheless, Lesnar can’t battle Roman for the title due to the last-chance stipulation so he will solidify his heel turn on Rhodes by winning here and moving on to Rollins to compete for the new title.
Rhodes and Lesnar were battling in front of Rollins on Raw this week, so WWE made it clear that whoever wins that feud will get Rollins next after SummerSlam. Since Rhodes is a babyface like Rollins and only wants to finish the story against Reigns, he won’t defeat Lesnar since a victory for him here won’t lead him to anything anytime soon due to the fact that he is on separate brands from Reigns. Rhodes will have to wait until WrestleMania 40 to even have a chance at a world title again because the Rumble would be his only ticket to Reigns on SmackDown.
Prediction: Brock Lesnar
Asuka (c) vs. Bianca Belair vs. Charlotte Flair [WWE Women’s Championship]
Charlotte Flair will win this match to stat pad her title reigns. Bianca Belair is not going to win the title back that quickly after already holding it for 400+ days. Asuka is booked as a transitional, placeholder champion as usual. This match is built for Charlotte to win. However, her title reign won’t be long because Iyo Sky will cash in her MITB contract in Charlotte to win the WWE Women’s Championship. Iyo will then become a big red target, as she will have fresh title feuds with Bayley, Asuka, Bianca Belair, and Charlotte Flair lined up for the rest of the calendar year.
Prediction: Iyo Sky
Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Liv Morgan vs. Raquel Rodriguez [WWE Women’s World Championship]
Rhea Ripley will retain her WWE Women’s World Championship against Women’s Tag Champions, Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez because Morgan and Rodriguez interrupted Ripley’s post-match attack on Natalya. Now, Ripley has to teach them a lesson and stack them at SummerSlam before moving on to new babyface challengers like Shayna Baszler and Becky Lynch for the rest of the calendar year. Ripley is the top monster heel in this division and she is not losing that title anytime soon, especially here since Morgan and Rodriguez are already tag champs heading into WWE SummerSlam 2023.
Prediction: Rhea Ripley
Roman Reigns (c) vs. Jey Uso [WWE Universal Championship]
Despite the fact that Jey Uso was the first superstar to pin The Tribal Chief clean in the past three and a half years, Roman Reigns will still retain the WWE Universal Championship. He is not gonna lose that title at SummerSlam in Detroit, Michigan, especially to one half of a tag team who is not nearly as marketable of a draw as Reigns. Due to this historic run, Reigns is only losing that title on the biggest stage of them all, WrestleMania, and he will lose that title to Cody Rhodes if the rumors remain true that they will battle in a rematch at WrestleMania 40.
Prediction: Roman Reigns
Seth Rollins (c) vs. Demon Finn Balor [World Heavyweight Championship]
Just like Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky could be clashing at Survivor Series as champions in what would be a historic matchup, Seth Rollins is on his journey to battling his former Shield brother, Roman Reigns at Survivor Series, where The Shield was born. Before winning this world title, Rollins planted the seeds for his future match against Reigns and Demon Balor will not be the one to stop Rollins from doing that. Rollins will rewrite history from SummerSlam 2016 and slay the demon once and for all at WWE SummerSlam 2023 whilst evading any attempted cash-ins from Damian Priest.
Prediction: Seth Rollins
If you would like more predictions like these from Mark Justice, stick with Daily DDT and subscribe to his new Youtube Channel by clicking on his name above.