The SummerSlam Kickoff pre-show match, which will be shown on the WWE's YouTube.com channel, will feature Rob Van Dam taking on United States Champion Dean Ambrose with the title on the line. While it seems that The Shield's "push" has lost some steam, expect the rest of The Shield member - Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns - to interfere in the match in some capacity to help Ambrose keep his title - via disqualification.
Natalya, who will be accompanied to the ring by Cameron and Naomi of The Funkadactyls, will take on Brie Bella - who will have her sister Nikki and Eva Marie along her side. The Bella Twins have caught fire since Total Divas has been a runaway hit for both E! and the WWE. Expect Brie to win match, as she and her sister ride the popularity of the show to victory.
Speaking of divas, current WWE Divas champion AJ Lee will team up with Big E. Langston, going up against Dolph Ziggler and Kaitlyn. I'm hoping they end Ziggler's feud with AJ and Big E Langston tonight, to get him back on track onto the title scene. Ending the feud tonight would also give AJ Lee an opportunity to defend the title against other divas besides Kaitlyn (possibly the winner of Natalya-Brie Bella match). Expect Ziggler and Kaitlyn to win, with Kaitlyn getting the pin and attaining some measure of revenge after months of being tormented by the Divas champion.
Money In The Bank (MITB) suitcase winner, Damien Sandow goes up against former Rhodes Scholar tag team partner, Cody Rhodes, who wants payback for what Rhodes perceives to be betrayal on the part of Sandow, after the "Intellectual Savior of the Masses" prevented Rhodes from winning the MITB suitcase. Rhodes has stolen Sandow's MITB briefcase, on one occasion, tossing it into the Gulf of Mexico, and later interfered when Sandow attempted to cash in his suitcase against Alberto Del Rio. With suitcase in hand, Sandow will win the match and an eventual title "push" will come his way, considering he is holding the MITB suitcase.
Kane will finally get his hands on Bray Wyatt, who along with Erick Rowan and Luke Harper, put the "Big Red Monster" out of commission for a few weeks - including missing out the MITB match at the pay-per-view - after smashing the metal ring steps across Kane's head. Kane challenged Wyatt to a Ring of Fire match, in which fire will surround the ring to prevent any interference from Harper and Rowan. Unlike an Inferno match, in which the winner would have to set his opponent on fire, the winner of the Ring of Fire match is determined via pin or submission. Expect Rowan and Harper to find a way to get involved in the match and Bray to defeat Kane, with The Wyatts being set up for bigger feuds in the coming the months.
World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio defends his title against Christian. This match received no "push" and minimal hype over the coming weeks. Considering the WWE has been showcasing Del Rio walking around with a bigger mean streak - including decimating his former amigo Ricardo Rodriguez, it leads me to believe that Del Rio will retain his title, hopefully with the WWE finding a way to "push" the champion again.
The potential match of the night is CM Punk versus Brock Lesnar. Both Punk and Paul Heyman have done a masterful match setting up this match - all starting at the Money In The Bank PPV when Heyman cost Punk a shot at holding the MITB suitcase for a third time. Since, the MITB PPV, Punk has been repeatedly assaulted by "The Beast", being left broken in the middle of the ring on several occasions. With Lesnar likely out of ring action until next Wrestlemania, expect Punk to pull off a miracle win of sorts against Lesnar (with a lot of MMA moves being weaved into the match as Lesnar is the former UFC heavyweight champion and Punk a student of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy), as a way to continue his feud with Paul Heyman.
In the main event, WWE champion John Cena will defend the title against Daniel Bryan - who has been white-hot with fans chanting "YES! YES! YES!" every where he goes. The wild-card in the build-up to the match has been the McMahon family feud that has been unnecessarily weaved into the main event, with Triple H acting as the special guest referee for the SummerSlam main event. Cena, who has been wrestling through an elbow injury for a few weeks now, will likely drop the title to Bryan, with everyone from Mr. McMahon to Brad Maddox to Triple H somehow getting involved in the match. I also believe that with the way MITB suitcase holder Randy Orton has been lurking in the shadows, the big "swerve" will be Bryan losing the title to Orton that same night - with "The Viper" may be even getting an assist from his former Evolution stablemate, Triple H.
You can catch Rob Van Dam-Dean Ambrose US Title match by clicking here.
You can catch SummerSlam PPV here by clicking here.
- Contribute to this Story:
- Send us a tip
- Send us a photo or video
- Suggest a correction
