WWE SummerSlam 2017: Preview and predictions
Check out our review and predictions for the 2017 WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view.
On Sunday night, the WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view will take place. For the third consecutive year, it will be at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and feature a full slate of matches from Raw and SmackDown Live.
The main event of SummerSlam will see Brock Lesnar defend the WWE Universal Championship against Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, and Samoa Joe. If Lesnar loses, he will leave the WWE.
Jinder Mahal will defend the WWE Championship against Shinsuke Nakamura. This is after Nakamura won a No. 1 Contenders match against John Cena on SmackDown Live.
Outside of these two matches, there will be 10 others at SummerSlam. How could they all finish? Who will walk out with titles? Let’s predict the entire show.
Randy Orton vs. Rusev
Randy Orton and Rusev haven’t had the best summers on SmackDown Live. They were in different positions on the match card but struggled to look competitive.
Orton rivaled Jinder Mahal for three months as they battled for the WWE Championship. Mahal won the title at May’s Backlash, which led to two more pay-per-view matches. The Viper lost both and seemed to be aimless.
Rusev was supposed to come back for Money in the Bank. Remember his demand for a title match at the June PPV? That never happened, and he didn’t return until the first week of July, at the same time as John Cena. One messy Flag Match later and the Bulgarian Brute looked lost.
So when WWE has two superstars doing nothing, what do they do? They throw them into a match at SummerSlam with little-to-no build and hope they put on a good match. It’s potentially a one-off before Orton and Rusev go in different directions, or the start of a program for the fall.
Given the Apex Predator’s losses throughout the summer, look for him to rebound with a big win. This doesn’t help Rusev, who will go grounded into SmackDown Live. When it comes down to these two stars, however, it will be the bigger name getting the win.