WWE
Update: check out our review for WWE SummerSlam 2020 right here.
August 23, 2020, marks the return of WWE’s premier summer wrestling event, SummerSlam.
Due to the current situation plaguing our world, the 2020 installment of the event won’t be taking place from the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts as originally scheduled. Now one would presume that SummerSlam 2020 will be emanating from the WWE Performance Center like most of the 2020 PPV’s that came before it. But rumors are pointing towards WWE trying something a bit different with the main location this time around – we may just get to witness SummerSlam 2020 being held outdoors on a beach or even atop a boat. Either setting would make for a great visual treat for WWE’s biggest party of the summer.
Here’s hoping that the rumors come true. In the meantime, let’s take a look at the matches that will take place at SummerSlam 2020 and who we think will come out on top.
Apollo Crews (c) vs. MVP (WWE United States Championship; Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin are Banned from Ringside)
WWE
Predictions & Winner: So all is right in the world again. Appolo Crews recently returned from his brief hiatus from Raw to defeat the man who walked around with the newest edition of his championship prize. But MVP’s defeat at the hands of the current United States champion doesn’t signal the end of his quest for title glory. This rematch was made pretty quickly after MVP’s failed title opportunity on Raw and it’s happening on the much larger stage of SummerSlam.
So the previous title bout we were promised at Extreme Rules between both men (that never happened and was nothing more than a waste of a segment, by the way) is now happening here. I honestly can’t see MVP sniffing a championship run these days, so expect another win from the reigning and defending US champion. The Monday Night Raw scene is jam-packed with far better challengers to Apollo’s title, plus the match quality derived from those fresh matchups is far more interesting than the ones we’d see with MVP as champion. I think WWE realizes that, which is exactly why they’ll side with my choice in the winner here.
The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) (c) vs. Andrade and Angel Garza (with Zelina Vega) (WWE Raw Tag Team Championship)
WWE
Predictions & Winners: The Street Profits have been going strong ever since they defeated Murphy and Seth Rollins back in March. Since then, they’ve successfully defended their belts numerous times and even overcome much larger foes in the form of the Viking Raiders. The next team to step up to bat for the Raw Tag Team Championship is Zelina Vega’s super talented Latino duo, Andrade and Angel Garza. I enjoyed it when the Street Profits took on Angel Garza and Austin Theory back at WrestleMania 36, so I can imagine how much better this match will be now that Andrade is taking Austin’s place. And I’m sure both teams will get more than six minutes to work this match into something truly memorable.
Now there have been a few instances of dissension between Angel and Andrade here and there. But I get the feeling that Zelina will do everything in her power to get them back on the same page (via fiery promos in the ring and outside of it, of course). Now Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford ended up beating that same duo on Raw a month prior. That has me leaning towards Angel and Andrade getting the win here. The bond between both men is stronger than ever and it makes the most sense for them to claim the Raw tag team titles at this point in time. The Street Profits have been held the tag team straps since March, so I think they’ve held them long enough. It’s time for some new blood to hold the belts!
Bayley (c) (with Sasha Banks) vs. Asuka (WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship)
WWE
Predictions & Winner: So the first of Asuka’s two championship opportunities will be taking place against the Blue Brand’s reigning queen. And I’m guessing that this match will play into an ongoing storyline that will continue on into the Raw Women’s Championship match and the followup Women’s Tag Team Championship match at Payback. Asuka’s got revenge on her mind as Bayley and Sasha Banks have been a constant thorn in her side in recent weeks. But she ended up getting herself into a prime position to punish them both now that she’s getting two title shots in one evening.
So here’s how I see things playing out – Asuka and Bayley will do big damage to each other and find themselves incapacitated for several moments. This will give Sasha the perfect opportunity to help her buddy through some good old fashioned outside interference. By the time Asuka recovers, she’ll get in a few hits on the woman she’ll be facing later in the evening for the Raw Women’s Championship. Bayley will take advantage of Asuka’s overzealousness by cracking her with the title belt, which will lead to Bayley stealing yet another victory on PPV. Keep in mind that Sasha will now be walking into her upcoming matchup a little banged up and a bit salty since that helped Bayley win by becoming a punching bag for Asuka.
Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville (No Disqualification, Loser Leaves WWE Match)
WWE
Predictions & Winner: The war to settle the score between SmackDown’s resident blondie and brunette is set to explode at SummerSlam. It’s quite the shock when you realize that this feud has been brewing for a very long time. Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville were best buds at one point, then Otis’ affection for Mandy sickened Sonya to the point where she conspired with Dolph Ziggler to disrupt their happy union. Once Ziggler and Deville’s plot came to light, Mandy chose to be with Otis and ditch who she thought was her best friend. Deville has gone full vengeful, unhinged heel and is now looking to destroy her former Fire & Desire tag partner.
The stipulation tied to this grudge match is the ultimate feud ender, which is strange considering the fact that this is the first PPV outing between the two ladies. But due to recent circumstances, I can totally see why WWE is going this route and decided to change the Hair vs. Hair stipulation from before. Sonya Deville is going to be in court for a while as she’s in the middle of dealing with the man who unsuccessfully tried to kidnap her. That real-life case will take up a lot of her time, so it makes sense for her to be the one that takes the loss here and be off TV for a legitimate reason. Mandy’s going over in a match that has serious outside circumstances impacting its outcome, which is quite the downer when you think about it…
Sasha Banks (c) (with Bayley) vs. Asuka (WWE Raw Women’s Championship)
WWE
Predictions & Winner: I was pretty shocked to see Sasha Banks claim the Raw Women’s Championship from Asuka on a past episode of Raw. However, I was disappointed by the incredibly lame ending that led to Sasha getting the belt. It seems like both women have been cursed with trying to get creative’s terrible endings over. And while both ladies are super talented and capable of putting on great bouts, the booking outcomes for their recent bouts have done more harm than good. I didn’t think Asuka would be dropping the title so soon, plus I figured that title relinquishing moment would be used to christen Shayna Baszler as Raw’s new queen of the mountain. But as usual, plans are subject to change. And now we’re getting the third (and possibly final) match in Sasha and Asuka’s 2020 trilogy of heated bouts.
I know they’ll get enough time to produce their usual installment of in-ring excellence, but I get the feeling that they won’t be hampered by a horrible ending this time around. As a matter of fact, I predict that the finish of this rematch will be far more sensible and lead to something even bigger in the near future. Bayley’s interference worked out for Sasha at Extreme Rules, but I presume that it will backfire this time. Somehow someway, Bayley will accidentally lay out her BFF. And in a very cool moment, I predict a shocking appearance from NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai that will lead to Bayley getting eliminated from this match’s proceedings. All this sensible madness will lead to Asuka reclaiming her title and celebrating with her fellow Joshi ally. Sasha won’t be too pleased with Bayley’s mistake and I’m sure their strong friendship will begin to decay…
Dominik Mysterio (with Rey Mysterio) vs. Seth Rollins (with Murphy) (Street Fight)
WWE
Predictions & Winner: I remember watching SummerSlam 2005 and witnessing the complete madness of the ladder match that brought an intense Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio feud to an end. And what was that beef contested for? Parental custody over a young Dominik! How funny is it that the major WWE PPV that Dominik was at the center of during a ladder match now features him in his major in-ring debut? Due to the immense hatred Dominik harbors for the religious zealot that plucked out his father’s eye, Dominik has issued a challenge to him at this year’s SummerSlam. This match will truly determine if Rey Mysterio’s son has the ability to sustain a worthwhile in-ring career in WWE.
Now Seth Rollins is the type of rare talent that’s capable of putting on a good match with just about everyone (including a broomstick!). Even his past bouts with Baron Corbin weren’t as terrible as you’d expect them to be (they were still kinda iffy, though). Even though Dominik isn’t entirely terrible (he’s been training with his father all this time, so he has some semblance of skill), he isn’t all the way prepared to compete at a high level. I get the feeling that Seth will bump his ass off and do everything in his power to make Dominik look great during this bout. My gut’s telling me that Dominik will get over-enthusiastic with his offense and make a mistake at some point that costs him the match. Seth will walk away with another PPV win over a Mysterio.
Braun Strowman (c) vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt (Falls Count Anywhere Match for the WWE Universal Championship)
WWE
Predictions & Winner: Braun Strowman found a way to get through Bray Wyatt’s children’s show host alter-ego. But when he came up against the original cult leader version of Bray, he seemingly succumbed to the swamp waters and lost the ensuing battle. That cinematic clash led to the reappearance of “The Fiend,” who has made it clear that he’s next up to vie for Braun’s Universal title. We all knew that this match was going to happen sometime this year and now we’re at the point where it’s finally here. The most interesting part of this whole matchup is the inclusion of Alexa Bliss, who was played up as Braun’s main source of affection during the Wyatt Swamp Fight. “The Fiend” was hoping to use her as a way to goad Bruan into this match, but Bruan shockingly came off as if he doesn’t care about Alexa’s capture at the hands of his next challenger.
Due to that revelation, I get the feeling that Alexa will play a big part in this match’s outcome. Braun and “The Fiend” will tear into each other for a good while. And there will come a point during this match where it looks as if Braun will have his monstrous foe down for the count. I think this will be the exact moment where Alexa springs up out of nowhere and turns on the man she once tagged with during the Mixed Match Challenge. Due to her act of revenge, Braun will fall to “The Fiend” and finally relinquish his stronghold over the Universal Championship. “The Fiend” and Alexa will end up running together for a while in one of the strangest partnerships in WWE.
Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Randy Orton (WWE Championship)
WWE
Predictions & Winner: Randy Orton is in the midst of another career resurgence. After defeating Edge back at Backlash in a match billed as “The Greatest Match Ever,” Randy went on to fell the Big Show during a No Sanctioned match weeks later. At the same time, Drew McIntyre has been experiencing the best run of his WWE comeback as the top champion in the company. Drew has overcome several worthy challengers, such as Seth Rollins, Bobby Lashley, and Dolph Ziggler. Now the WWE Champion has to contend with a rejuvenated “Viper” in possibly the biggest challenge for him to date. The main event for SummerSlam 2020 is major and that’s exactly how it should be for the Monday Night Raw portion of the show.
I’m really torn on this one. Randy is hotter than ever and at the top of his game when it comes to character work. It’s so easy to care about him once again now that he’s gone back to being a heel who does anything and everything to win. As for Drew, he’s in the middle of running the Raw brand as a commendable WWE Champion. His promo work has become stronger, his win-loss record is respectable, and he’s remained untouchable for a lengthy amount of time. This match could honestly go either way as far as the winner is concerned. Even though Orton would make for a great WWE Champion during his current run, I think Drew’s going to notch another W in the win column by defeating a bonafide Hall of Famer in Orton. This will be Drew’s biggest win to date and push him further along to being the strongest WWE Champion in recent memory.