WWE SummerSlam 2015 Predictions and Analysis
Talk about a tough act to follow. After a fantastic NXT event in Brooklyn, the main WWE roster needs to prove why it’s considered where the Big Boys play and NXT is just for developmental. That said, the WWE main roster does have some things working against it that NXT does not. Many of the top players in the WWE aren’t there because they are indie wrestling darlings but because they have proved they can draw money and audiences. It’s one thing to be the new kid in town, it’s another to be consistent. At the top of the card is two mythical beasts that the NXT stars aspire to be even half of. Their reputations alone are why they are the main event, and why after more than a year people are excited to see them clash. SummerSlam has many foes to fight, from its scrappy developmental brother having a fantastic Saturday night to trying to live up to being the number two event next to WrestleMania on the calendar year. SummerSlam needs to deliver.
Fatal 4-Way Match
WWE Tag Team Championship
Los Matadores vs. Lucha Dragons vs. The New Day vs. Prime Time Players (c)
Winners
Aaron, Contant: Prime Time Players
Berry, Shawn, Rich, Jeff: The New Day
Who is Pinned
Aaron, Shawn, Rich: Diego (Los Matadores)
Berry, Jeff: Kalisto (Lucha Dragons)
Contant: Sin Cara (Lucha Dragons)
Thoughts by Adam Contant: Although I am worried that WWE is starting to fall back into old habits with their “flavor of the month” booking instead of actually building story and drama around these characters, it isn’t quite at the level it was during the Ruthless Aggression Era. All four teams are very talented, and while a title change might prompt a big pop, the Prime Time Players have been incredible ambassadors for both the Tag Team division as well as WWE in general both in and out of the ring. They are young, talented, and popular, managing to create a connection with the crowd that doesn’t quite rival the Usos, but comes close. While the New Day gets more heat, the Lucha Dragons are more exciting to watch, and Los Matadores are great with kids, the Prime Time Players have the personal connection with the audience that WWE likes, so I don’t see those titles going anywhere.
Triple Threat Match
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The Miz vs. The Big Show vs. The Ryback (c)
Winner
Aaron, Contant: The Miz
Berry, Shawn, Rich, Jeff: The Ryback
Who is Pinned
Aaron, Contant: The Ryback
Berry, Shawn Jeff: The Miz
Rich: Both
Thoughts by Rich Laconi: This match has been nothing but an opportunity for Ryback the almighty to come off as a strong champion. Expect to see the same dynamic as the Edge/Cena/Show match from Wrestlemania 25. Hopefully this will single the end of those triple feud that has been taking place with Miz and Show. Ryback needs someone new to tango with this after this match to solidify himself as a strong champion. If all is settled tonight, Ryback could move into an interesting feud with King Barrett.
Randy Orton vs. “Money In The Bank” Sheamus
Winner
Aaron, Rich: Sheamus
Berry, Contant, Shawn, Jeff: Randy Orton
Thoughts by Adam Berry: It should be Sheamus. And I hope I am wrong. They have lost nearly half a year with Sheamus as the Money In The Bank winner and they need to start building him into a position where he can logically cash in and logically be accepted as a winner of the Heavyweight Championship – otherwise what was the point?
Dolph Ziggler (with Lana) vs. Rusev (with Summer Rae)
Winner
Aaron, Berry, Jeff: Rusev
Contant, Shawn, Rich: Dolph Ziggler
Will Lana Turn on Ziggler
Aaron: Yes
Berry, Contant, Shawn, Rich: No
Jeff: Maybe
Thoughts by Jeff DeHaan: I really dig Ziggler, and I have no ill will toward Rusev, but this feud has been dull. A big part of what I haven’t liked is this forced relationship between Lana and Dolph. This feud could have gone the exact same route without adding the romance, having Ziggler simply wanting to keep Lana safe in a platonic capacity. The forced love and lack of romantic chemistry between Ziggler and Lana has caused me to not care about the storyline. As for the match itself, Ziggler could use the win, since he often becomes a higher class jobber to bigger talent, but Rusev is still reeling from his losses to Cena a little. I think it was still the right move for Cena to go over, I just think there should have been something better for Rusev after other than this. A positive in this is Summer Rae. I like how she has become “the new Lana”, it is a good fit for her.
Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro
Winner
Aaron, Shawn: Kevin Owens
Berry, Contant, Rich, Jeff: Cesaro
Thoughts by Shawn Wilken: This match has the potential to steal the entire show. With both Owens and Cesaro on the outside looking in concerning the US title that they have both attempted to claim, they have turned their attention to each other in what has been an excellent grudge program to date. It’s tough to cheer for one to go over the other as this is a classic case of not wanting either to lose, but regardless of who wins this match, it has the potential to be a classic Summerslam bout that propels both superstars to much bigger and better things in the near future.
Three Team Elimination Match
Team Bella (Brie, Nikki, Alicia) vs. Team B.A.D. (Sasha, Naomi, Tamina) vs. Team PCB (Paige, Charlotte, Becky)
Winners
Aaron: Team B.A.D.
Berry, Rich, Jeff: Team PCB
Contant, Shawn: Team Bella
Will Anyone Turn on Their Team
Aaron: The Bellas on Alicia Fox
Berry, Contant, Shawn, Rich, Jeff: No
Thoughts by Rich Laconi: There’s no point to having the heels win this match. PCB comes out on top in a match that is simply a way to extend Nikki’s title reign. Charlotte should get the nod over Nikki to finally start a meaningful program. Hopefully this will lead WWE to drop the demeaning Divas tag and rename the strap after Charlotte eventually takes the belt off Nikki.
Stardust and King Barrett vs. Neville and Stephen “Arrow” Amell
Winners
Aaron: Stardust and King Barrett
Contant, Shawn, Rich, Jeff: Neville and Stephen Amell
Who Is Pinned
Aaron: Neville
Contant, Rich, Jeff: Stardust
Shawn: King Barrett
Will Amell wear Arrow costume
Aaron, Contant, Jeff: Yes
Shawn, Rich: Yes, sort of (League of Assassins costume)
Thoughts by Jeff DeHaan: I am a big comic book and superhero fan, and love the television show Arrow, so this match is right up there with the Cesaro/Owens match for me in terms of looking forward to it. Will it be as good of a match? Probably not. Any time there is a celebrity getting involved it isn’t often a technical masterpiece. That being said, Amell does many of his own stunts and has to deal with a lot of fight choreography for Arrow, so I think he may surprise some people with how well he acclimates to the squared circle. What won’t be a surprise, in my estimation, will be the outcome. Celebrities don’t often show up on WWE and lose, plus making this a tag match involving Barrett and Neville as opposed to Stardust vs. Stephen Amell one on one was probably smart. Amell may be able to do a decent job in the ring for a non-wrestler, but carrying a match alone might have been tricky, even against a great talent like Cody Rhodes. Neville and Amell will get the victory with Amell pinning Stardust.
The Wyatt Duo (Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper) vs. 2/3 Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns)
Winners
Aaron, Shawn, Jeff: The Wyatt Duo
Berry, Contant, Rich: 2/3 Shield
Who Is Pinned
Aaron, Jeff: Dean Ambrose
Berry, Rich: Luke Harper
Contant: Bray Wyatt
Shawn: Roman Reigns
Will Erick Rowan Return
Aaron, Berry, Shawn, Rich, Jeff: Yes
Contant: No
Will Sting Interfere
Aaron, Berry, Shawn: Yes
Contant, Rich, Jeff: No
Thoughts by Shawn Wilken: I expect some type of shenanigans to occur during this match, and for that reason I have Erick Rowan making his return and reuniting all three members of the Wyatt Family. It has been long over-due, as both Luke Harper and Erick Rowan fizzled out during their singles run, while Wyatt himself has hit a wall. While I don’t expect Sting’s surprise arrival to affect the outcome of the match, I do see him making his way out post-match to even the odds, setting the tone for a possible six-man tag later next month.
Winner Take All
WWE United States Championship
WWE World Heavyweight Championship
John Cena (c) vs. Seth Rollins (c)
Winner
Aaron, Berry, Jeff: Seth Rollins
Contant, Rich: No Contest
Shawn: John Cena
Will The Authority Interfere
Aaron Shawn, Rich: No
Berry, Contant, Jeff: Yes
Thoughts by Adam Berry: Could this be the end of the C-nation? He has dominated for so long and Seth is so good. But I just don’t feel comfortable at all that they are going to put two belts on one guy. It’s odd and it shortens the deck for an ever growing roster – maybe there will be some kind of DQ where no one gets any belt that’s not already theirs? It just seems like a strange decision.
SummerSlam Main Event
Revenge of the Taker
Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman) vs. The Undertaker
Winner
Aaron, Berry, Rich, Jeff: The Undertaker
Contant, Shawn: Brock Lesnar
Will Kane Interfere
Aaron, Shawn: Yes
Berry, Contant, Rich, Jeff: No
Thoughts by Adam Contant: Our newest contributor Rich had some questions for WWE regarding who we as fans should cheer for in this contest, and it happens to be a good question for other fans. Not for me however. In my mind this is as straight forward as it gets. Undertaker is the heel here. Again, at least in my mind. The entire revenge for the streak angle just doesn’t fly with me at all. I could let it slide had Brock cheated to win, but Lesnar beat the Undertaker clean at WrestleMania. No tricks, no interference from Paul Heyman, he just straight up beat him. If this were anyone else, the fans would unanimously be behind Brock, but because it’s the Undertaker, fans refuse to hate him, and you know what? That’s ok by me. Much the same way fans cheered the returning Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8 despite almost committing vehicular homicide against the Rock, the Undertaker has earned that free pass to do basically anything he wants, and the fans will still love him. He is a very unique case, which is why I don’t have as much of an issue with shades of grey booking. When done well, it forces fans to think and choose a side, and I like it when companies do that. Of course, that is when it is done well. Clearly it isn’t being done well here. The only reason WWE has succeeded in splitting the crowd is because of Undertaker’s universal admiration from fans worldwide. Believe it or not, the biggest obstacle this match has to overcome isn’t bad booking, but a bad match. Lesnar and the Undertaker have had some classic battles. Their last battle was anything but. In fact, had the shock of Lesnar ending the streak not been a part of that match, it would have undoubtedly gone down as one of the worst in the history of the Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, and WrestleMania’s marquee matches. That match hangs over this main event like a dark cloud, creating a storm of doubt in many fans that Lesnar and Undertaker can live up to the hype. To be fair, everyone is allowed to have a bad night, even if that night happens to be the biggest one of the year. Since then, we have seen that Lesnar is performing at the highest level of his entire career, and despite his age, Undertaker has proven that he can still have a very good to great match, judging from his performance against Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania this year. So, was the bad match at WrestleMania just a ruse to make us believe that Undertaker’s days were numbered? Or was he really not 100% ready for the match? Or was it just a bad night for both men? We may never know, but after Summer Slam we will know if these two are capable of giving us fans a match worthy of their hype. As for who wins, these are both part time performers, but Undertaker already “got his win back” at WrestleMania by beating Bray Wyatt, and Lesnar will continue to be a more regular part of WWE programming than the dead man, so I have to choose the Beast incarnate. Besides, he’s the good guy here. In my mind anyway.
