WWE SummerSlam 2017: Matches & Predictions

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Before the Fall season kicks off, there’s one more major Summer WWE PPV to get through. And the event I’m alluding to is wrestling’s self-proclaimed “Biggest Party of the Summer,” SummerSlam.

In 2016, Brooklyn’s Barclays Center played host to that mega event. That trend’s going to continue for the 2017 edition of this joint operation between both the Raw and SmackDown Live’s brands. Feuds that have been raging on since the warmer months of the year began will probably see their conclusion at SummerSlam. At the top of the card is the blockbuster Fatal 4-Way WWE Universal Championship match. Current title holder Brock Lesnar will go to war with this three biggest rivals – Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman. This match and the other planned matchups on for this year’s Summerslam are so big, the event’s getting an extra hour to feature them all.

This card’s pretty damn big. So let’s head straight into the madness that is SummerSlam 2017 and predict who’s going to walk away as the victors.

The Hardy Boyz (Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy) and Jason Jordan vs. The Miz and The Miztourage (Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas) (with Maryse) (6-Man Tag Team Match)

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Predictions & Winners: This one’s a bit tough to predict. On one hand, you have The Hardy Boyz and Jason Jordan. Matt and Jeff have cooled off a lot lately and Jason Jordan is damn near ice cold. They could use a big win just so they don’t get any closer to irrelevancy levels. Then there’s the stable of The Miz, Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas. Miz is the current IC Champion and he needs to stay a bit stronger these days (watching him get suplexed to death by Lesnar a few weeks back did him no favors). In order to add more legitimacy to Miz and his crew, they could use the win too. I’m putting too much thought into this, honestly. The good guys are going to get the win since these Kickoff Show time killers always seem to favor the babyfaces.

Neville vs. Akira Tozawa (c) (with Titus O’Neil) (WWE Cruiserweight Championship)

Update: thanks to Titus helping his client Tozawa get his title match early, the Japanese cruiserweight ended up besting Neville and becoming the new champion! It looks like Neville will be getting his rematch at SummerSlam in the position of challenger now. I’m sticking to my guns here – Tozawa’s walking in and walking out as the WWE Cruiserweight Champion.

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Predictions & Winner: The Titus Brand may have hit a snag back at Great Balls of Fire, but now it’s back in the winning seat with Akira Tozawa in tow. Tozawa fought his way back into becoming the #1 Contender for Raw’s Cruiserweight Championship. This signals a rematch between Neville and the Japanese stalwart that I for one can’t wait to see. Neville’s been seemingly unstoppable ever since he became the champ, but I think time is running out for the “King of the Cruiserweights.” Tozawa will be the one to finally dethrone him thanks to some outside assistance from his overly excited agent. Tozawa will celebrate with his newly won championship not knowing that he got it through some unseen assistance from Titus. The way this match ends will give Neville all the reason in the world to ask for a championship rematch sooner rather than later. Bet on it!

Big Cass vs. Big Show (Enzo Amore Will be Suspended Above the Ring in a Shark Cage)

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Predictions & Winner: After that atrocious main event display both these giants put on recently, I’m sure me and a lot of you fans out there could care less about this rematch. The breakup of Big Cass and Enzo has resulted in Enzo giving speeches, Cass big booting him every chance he gets and Big Show sticking his nose into their affairs. Expect some form of that occurring here – Enzo will give his patented “How you doin?” shtick on the mic, Show will nod in approval in the background, Cass will arrive with his horrible theme music in tow and somehow he’ll take down the threat of Mr. Paul Wight. Enzo’s presence in the shark cage will be an element in this match that will result in him verbally chastising Cass during the bout, but to little or no avail…

Naomi (c) vs. Natalya (WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship)

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Predictions & Winner: Naomi’s title run has been…non-eventful, to say the least. Her matches against Charlotte were decent enough, but her later bouts vs. Lana were pretty much glorified squash matches. I feel like Natalya’s a solid member of the roster who can always be called upon to provide a match worth watching. But it’s hard to deny how stale she’s become compared to her more interesting contemporaries. Sure, she became the #1 Contender at Battleground. But it didn’t really get me excited or more interested in SD Live’s Women’s Division.

This match will be far from horrendous. It should be much better than expected since both of these ladies know how to turn up a bit more on the big PPV stage. My gut’s telling me Naomi’s going to retain after a hard fought match that will leave her gasping for air and grabbing the ropes for support. This will signal the lioness who’s currently holding onto the Women’s MITB briefcase, Carmella. The cash-in and sudden title change will go down here. Naomi’s retaining, then Carmella’s taking the title home just a few minutes after. Watch!

Randy Orton vs. Rusev

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Predictions & Winner: Rusev’s FINALLY an active member of the SD Live roster…and he walked right into a cliched match against a very patriotic John Cena. Don’t get me wrong – that match ended up being a lot better than I figured it would be. But still, Rusev deserves better than “evil foreign heel who’s…EVIL!” I miss the short tenure of “Handsome” Rusev, but he’s back to being a very peeved off heel. So he asked for some worthy competition to go against at SummerSlam and the master of the RKO answered his call. So now it’s official – Rusev’s going to take on another major pillar of the SD Live roster. I’m going all in on a Rusev victory here. He just ate a big pinfall loss from Cena and it would just be too much of a kick to the nads for him to take an L from Orton. Rusev will and HAS to get the win here to salvage what little is left of his badassery.

John Cena vs. Baron Corbin

Update: HUH? Corbin cashed in and lost…TO A SIMPLE ASS SCHOOL BOY? Man…anyways, I can’t see Corbin taking another embarrassing L so shortly after what happened on SD Live. I say Corbin still walks away with the win.

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Predictions & Winner: This was…expected. Before last week’s #1 Contendership match between Cena and Nakamura, this SD Live SummerSlam bout seemed like something that wasn’t going to happen. Everyone and their mother predicted Cena taking on Mahal for the WWE Championship and Nakamura taking on someone new entirely instead of his Battleground opponent. But, here we are with the big sour loner holding the MITB briefcase vs. Mr. WWE himself. The circumstances surrounding this match are a bit similar to the ones concerning Orton vs. Rusev.

But here’s the thing – Corbin’s a talent that’s remained strong ever since he claimed the briefcase unlike Rusev, who came back just to play a tired role that he should be above by now. Rusev needs the win against Orton, while Corbin DESERVES the win against Cena. Get what I’m saying? So yeah, Corbin’s going over here in order to maintain his high standing on the Blue Brand. Cena’s been in a real giving mood lately, which is why I think he’s gifting Corbin with one of the biggest wins of his young career.

Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Sasha Banks (WWE Raw Women’s Championship)

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Predictions & Winner: Bayley’s been forced to take a sabbatical due to her shoulder injury (DAMN YOU, NIA!). So it’s been decided that her best buddy Miss Banks has become the new number one contender for the Raw Women’s Championship after defeating Miss Jax. So here’s how this match will unfold – Bliss and Banks will tear into each other. Bliss will pull out all the illegal stops in order to hold onto her title, but they’ll all fail her in the long run. Sasha Banks will wrestle the Raw Women’s Championship away from Miss Bliss, which will then lead into the returning Bayley requesting a title shot at a later date. Banks will FINALLY turn heel on Bayley by savagely attacking her, denying her title shot and becoming the evil version of her “Boss” moniker. This Summerslam match is just the first part in a story that will lead to Banks embracing her dark side and getting into a main roster war with a rejuvenated Bayley.