WWE SummerSlam 2018: Preview and predictions
By Luke Norris
WWE United States Championship Match
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Jeff Hardy
The WWE United States Championship is on the line with the same two participants from Extreme Rules last month in Shinsuke Nakamura and Jeff Hardy, who had an all-out war that night in Pittsburgh. Of course, by “all-out war,” I mean a six-second affair that saw Nakamura, then the challenger, hit Hardy with a low blow before the bell and then hit the Kinshasa to officially finish things off and capture his first championship in WWE. Afterwards, Randy Orton hit the ring and went full heel by attacking Hardy, and he’s been around this program ever since.
Jeff Hardy had been dealing with a bad back, which is likely why the title changed hands like it did, but he seems to be on the mend and got his rematch on an episode of SmackDown Live, only for Orton to hit the ring again and cost him the match. He got another beatdown, and then got another one from both Shinsuke and The Viper recently and here we are.
In a one-on-one situation, this has always had the chance to be a very good match, even if it’s plain to see a little decline in Jeff Hardy. It’s not as much as one can see in Matt but it’s certainly there. However, if given some time here, I think he’ll rise to the occasion and put on a good show.
Prediction: We know Randy Orton is going to get involved in here somehow. It’s just how they choose to do it that matters. Do we get the thing where Orton attacks him backstage and takes his place in the match? With both Nakamura and Orton being super heels at the moment, that doesn’t seem likely, even if it would be great. Or does this somehow become a triple threat? It does seem strange that a healthy Randy Orton isn’t on the SummerSlam card, doesn’t it? It seems too easy and too lazy to think that Orton just comes down and costs Hardy the match again, so let’s hope that’s not what happens. But the official prediction is that this does become a triple threat and Orton and Hardy take each other out, allowing Shinsuke to retain. It’s not out of the question that Orton comes in and wins the belt, but with him not officially being in this match just yet (or at all), I can’t take it that far.