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WWE's annual SummerSlam event will take place this coming Sunday night, August 19, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The show, which will feature 13 matches in total, is expected to be around 6 hours long.
Of the 13 matches, the 4 that seem to have the most interest are the Universal Championship match between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, the Intercontinental Championship match between Dolph Ziggler (w/ Drew McIntyre) and Seth Rollins (w/ Dean Ambrose), the Raw Women's Championship match between Ronda Rousey and Alexa Bliss, and the Kevin Owens vs. Braun Strowman match, where Strowman will defend his MITB briefcase against the ex-Universal Champion.
For this article, I wanted to take a closer look at the aforementioned matches, and break down the potential surprises the matches could feature.
One of the most intriguing questions about this year's SummerSlam show is which match will go on last? Of course, most are expecting Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar to be the show's main event, but if that match goes on last, the fans in New York will likely make a joke out of it like they did at WrestleMania.
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So, with that in mind, let's get started with the match that could, and in my view, should end u closing the show if WWE wants to end this year's event with a bang.
#4 - Ronda Rousey vs. Alexa Bliss Goes On Last
As of this writing, Ronda Rousey could be the most over babyface WWE has, and at the very least she's the most popular female wrestler on the roster, which means that having her win the Raw Women's Championship for the first time will probably get a gigantic response from the live crowd in Brooklyn.
Of course, WWE shouldn't put this match on last if they're planning to have Rousey lose due to outside interference; They probably should put something like AJ vs. Joe on last if that's the case. However, I do think WWE will have Ronda win the title for the first time this coming Sunday night, then have her defend it at the upcoming Evolution pay-per-view.
Simply put, if WWE wants to end the show on a positive note, then ending the show with Rousey winning in its main event is certainly the way to go. One way or another though, I think we're going to see the ex-UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion win her first WWE Title on Sunday night.
#3 - Braun Strowman Loses MITB Briefcase
If WWE is planning to have Roman Reigns remain a babyface after he presumably defeats Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship, then I can definitely see a scenario where they have Strowman lose the Money in the Bank briefcase to Kevin Owens. Why? Well, it's pretty simple: they don't want to have a babyface more popular than Roman holding the MITB briefcase.
In case you don't already know, the stipulation for this match is that if Braun loses via count-out or disqualification, he loses the briefcase, and if he does lose this match, I do believe it'll be due to one of the two aforementioned reasons.
Also, if Kevin Owens wins the briefcase via DQ or count-out, then cashes in on Reigns at the end of the night after Lesnar has already done a significant amount of damage, then WWE will be able to come out of the pay-per-view with a new heel champion, and two brand new challengers with legitimate complaints in Strowman and Reigns.
#2 - Dean Ambrose Turns On Seth Rollins After IC Title Match
Just in case you missed it, Dean Ambrose returned to WWE on this past Monday's edition of Raw, where he reunited with his ex-Shield teammate Seth Rollins. But, does that mean that the two will be a long-term team?
Prior to his injury, you could make the argument that Dean Ambrose was one of the worst WWE Champions of this era, mainly because he was in desperate need of a heel turn. Sure, when The Shield got back together everything seemed like it was going to be fine for Ambrose, and his return might've given people that impression as well, but in time, the fans will go back to being indifferent towards him as a babyface, and WWE has to know this.
The idea for the heel turn is simple: have Seth Rollins decisively defeat Dolph Ziggler for the IC Title, then during the post-match celebration, Ambrose lays Rollins out with Dirty Deeds, which would obviously lead to an IC Title feud between the two.
Also as a side note, I'd have Ziggler blame McIntyre for the loss the next night on Raw, thus sparking a feud between the two that would take both men out of the IC Title picture for a period of time.
#1 - Brock Lesnar Retains Universal Championship
I honestly don't know what WWE fans would hate more, Roman Reigns winning the Universal Championship on Sunday night, or Brock Lesnar retaining it. Essentially, both guys are being put in a pretty bad spot by the company.
On Monday night, Brock Lesnar showed up on Raw looking significantly smaller than he has for his previous appearances, which pretty much confirms that he's heading back to the UFC. Of course, we all know that the UFC is planning on doing a Lesnar vs. Daniel Cormier fight for the promotion's Heavyweight Championship, but does that mean that Lesnar is actually going to leave WWE after Sunday?
Even if Lesnar is going to fight, the sooner he'll be eligible to do so is in early 2019, so it is possible that WWE will sign him to yet another short-term extension, and decide to have him retain the title.
Also, you can't rule out the idea of someone like Vince McMahon loving the fact that one of his company's champions could potentially be the UFC"s Heavyweight Champion simultaneously, which has never been done. So, I wouldn't at all be surprised if the title was kept on Lesnar until his fight with Daniel Cormier.
