This weekend marks the 31st year and the 32nd installment of the WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view series. Since 1988, SummerSlam has been billed as the second biggest PPV of the year, behind WrestleMania. This year, not only will the event feature today's top stars, but also legends from the past.
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SummerSlam 2019 will be held inside the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The "Biggest Party of the Summer" will also mark the in-ring returns of Goldberg and Canada's own Trish Stratus to bring more star power to the match card. Based on the current confirmed SummerSlam matches, here are the predictions, as well as possible storylines that could lead to last-minute announcements.
Universal Championship: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Seth Rollins
At WrestleMania 35, Seth Rollins capitalized on his Royal Rumble win to defeat Brock Lesnar in the opening match to win the Universal Championship. Lesnar became a surprise entrant in the Money in the Bank match, and successfully cashed it in at the Extreme Rules PPV to become Universal Championship for the third time. Over the course of the past few weeks, Lesnar has gone on a tirade and destroyed Rollins in the ring and backstage.
PREDICTION: Brock Lesnar defeats Seth Rollins to retain the Universal Championship. Rollins starts feuding with Baron Corbin and stays in the midcard scene for the foreseeable future.
WWE Championship: Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Randy Orton
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After winning the WWE Championship from Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania, the "KofiMania" craze has continued over the past four months, with Kingston gaining significant wins over names such as Kevin Owens, AJ Styles, Dolph Ziggler, and others. Randy Orton is the next person to challenge Kingston, and the story arc has been how Orton has held him back from reaching main event status since their rivalry 10 years ago.
PREDICTION: Randy Orton defeats Kofi Kingston to win the WWE Championship due to FOX executives wanting a more legendary name to be champion for the SmackDown Live launch. Wishfully thinking, Kingston wins the 2020 Royal Rumble and challenges Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 36.
United States Championship: AJ Styles (c) vs. Ricochet
AJ Styles reached a rejuvenation in his WWE career after turning heel and reuniting with stablemates Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. Styles turned heel on Ricochet by attacking him during a match on WWE Raw. At SummerSlam, Ricochet has a chance to regain the US Title from Styles, commencing his second reign as champion.
PREDICTION: AJ Styles retains the United States Championship, but it may not be by a clean win because I can see this feud continuing after the PPV. There will most likely be some kind of rematch between Styles and Ricochet after SummerSlam.
WWE Raw Women's Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Natalya (Submission Match)
On the July 15, 2019 episode of Monday Night Raw, Natalya defeated Alexa Bliss, Carmella, and Naomi to become the No. 1 contender for the Raw Women's Championship. Natalya will be cheered by her home country of Canada in an attempt to win the Raw Women's Championship for the first time. Over the past few weeks, the feud between Lynch and Natalya has deeply intensified, even causing Lynch to attack Natalya at the training center while she was preparing for her title match.
PREDICTION: "The Man" Becky Lynch defeats Natalya to retain the Raw Women's Championship. WWE has seemingly tried to make Lynch heel again, but it looks like this plan is backfiring yet again. WWE could also pull a radical shift for the rivalry by having someone like Shayna Baszler attack Lynch to commence a feud with her.
SmackDown Women's Championship: Bayley (c) vs. Ember Moon
Since her call-up from NXT, Ember Moon has not been rightfully showcased on the WWE main roster stage. She was undoubtedly one of the most popular names in NXT, but this has not translated to the Raw or SmackDown brands. Moon has gained an opportunity for a title match after being hand-picked by Bayley due to her recent performance.
PREDICTION: Ember Moon wins the SmackDown Live Women's Championship. This also could lead to a Bayley heel turn, which would extend the feud longer.
Cruiserweight Championship: Drew Gulak (c) vs. Oney Lorcan
Drew Gulak had been chasing the WWE Cruiserweight Championship for quite some time, and he finally captured it in a triple threat match with then-champion Tony Nese, and challenger Akira Tozawa. Gulak as the Cruiserweight Champion actually brought a boost to the EVOLVE 10th Anniversary special, as he was a instrumental part of the promotion's success with the Catch Point faction.
At SummerSlam, he defends the title against Oney Lorcan, who is transitioning into a successful competitor on the 205 Live brand after a notable stint in NXT. Lorcey became No. 1 contender after winning a six-pack challenge on the latest episode of 205 Live, defeating Akira Tozawa, Ariya Daivari, Jack Gallagher, Tony Nese, and Kalisto.
PREDICTION: Drew Gulak retains the Cruiserweight Championship by defeating Oney Lorcan. The team of Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch still have a lot of potential in NXT, and could become NXT Tag Team Champions in the near future.
Goldberg vs. Dolph Ziggler
This storyline developed during Ziggler's feud with The Miz, in which Ziggler would constantly take jabs at Goldberg after his less-than-impressive match against The Undertaker at Super ShowDown due to an early concussion in the match.
During the Ziggler and Miz contract signing on Raw, Miz stated that the contract did not say his name. Ziggler then looked at Shawn Michaels, and he denied that his name was on the contract either. Then, out comes Goldberg to a thunderous ovation, and he declared that Ziggler was "next."
PREDICTION: Goldberg defeats Ziggler to right the wrong of his match with The Undertaker, and this may be the last time we see him in the ring unless he competes against someone like Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 36 in Tampa, Florida.
Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon
During his transition to becoming one of the biggest villains in the WWE during his feud with The Miz, Shane McMahon has used his last name to usurp his power over many superstars in the company. Kevin Owens, noticing this, gave his some hard questions during an episode of the "Kevin Owens Show" on SmackDown Live, which has led to his feud with Shane rekindling. Owens is now a babyface, playing the role of a spokesperson for those wrestlers who have been overlooked and under-appreciated in the WWE.
PREDICTION: Kevin Owens defeats Shane McMahon, but this feud could continue with Shane's cohorts, Drew McIntyre and Elias.
Trish Stratus vs. Charlotte Flair
Unable to become the top contender for the Raw or SmackDown Live Women's Championship, Charlotte has her eyes on a WWE Hall of Fame legend to prove that she is the greatest women's wrestler of all time. When Jerry Lawler brought Trish Stratus to SmackDown Live to be a guest on the King's Court segment, Charlotte interrupted and challenged Trish to a match at SummerSlam. After initially rejecting the challenge, Charlotte drew the ire of Trish enough for her to come out of retirement and accept the challenge.
PREDICTION: Charlotte Flair defeats Trish Stratus. Despite not currently being in title contention, Charlotte Flair is still viewed by WWE as a top women's talent, and her win against Trish Stratus is a why to put her in a prominent position on the SummerSlam card.
Bray Wyatt vs. Finn Balor
After several weeks of his Firefly Funhouse video skits, Bray Wyatt debuted as The Fiend on the July 15, 2019 episode of Raw, attacking Finn Balor. This led to Balor wanting retaliation for this attack, and a match was set for SummerSlam.
PREDICTION: Bray Wyatt defeats Finn Balor handily at SummerSlam. Balor has reportedly requested to take time off from the ring, so this is a way to write him off television.
Other Possible SummerSlam Matches
Currently, the plan is for WWE SummerSlam 2019 to start the pre-show at 5pm E.T., and the main card start at 7pm E.T. There are only 10 scheduled matches for a seven-hour event, so there could be more to be added. Here are some developing storylines that could lead to matches.
Roman Reigns & Samoa Joe vs. Daniel Bryan & Rowan - It has been a mystery of who will be the opponent for Roman Reigns at SummerSlam, and a recent incident which involved Reigns nearly being crushed by scaffold equipment. Reigns blamed Joe for the incident, but another incident which involved an intentional car crash exonerated Joe. After a confrontation with Buddy Murphy, it was revealed that Rowan was the person behind the attack. This could lead to a tag team match at SummerSlam.
Drew McIntyre vs. Cedric Alexander - During Reigns' feud with Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre, Cedric Alexander revealed himself as Gary Garbutt, who was initially a janitor, told to wear a mask, and team with Reigns in the main event match of the show. Surprisingly, Alexander defeated McIntyre, which extended the feud. The two also competed against each other on the recent episode of Raw, but the match was interrupted by Bray Wyatt attacking the guest referee, Kurt Angle.
The Undertaker vs. ? - Based on his positively-received match at Extreme Rules, teaming with Roman Reigns to defeat Drew McIntyre and Shane McMahon, The Undertaker was able to redeem the negative mark from the match against Goldberg at Super ShowDown. While his Extreme Rules match is a sufficient sendoff for The Phenom, WWE could bring him back for SummerSlam to add more star power to the event.
