WWE’s biggest event of the summer will take place on Saturday, serving as a bridge between the company’s past and an exciting new era that’s just beginning.
SummerSlam will be the first WWE pay-per-view since Vince McMahon retired from the company amid a sexual misconduct scandal. While McMahon may be gone, the direction for SummerSlam was put in place while he was still in charge. It’s up to new head of creative Paul “Triple H” Levesque to make SummerSlam a PPV that wraps up WWE’s existing storylines while also showing that a new direction is coming.
Calling McMahon’s retirement industry-changing feels like an understatement. It’s the most seismic event that’s happened in professional wrestling since WWE’s national expansion in the 1980s. For four decades, McMahon was the most powerful person in the wrestling world. Through Hulkamania, the Attitude Era, the Ruthless Aggression Era and up until his retirement, McMahon was singularly responsible for WWE and its creative direction. The abrupt departure of an ever-present figure like McMahon is inevitably going to lead to changes throughout WWE, both in the short and long term. The WWE that existed before McMahon’s retirement is a fundamentally different place than the WWE that will exist after it.
McMahon built WWE into the financial powerhouse that it is today. But even with all that monetary success, it was long past time for the 76-year-old McMahon to step away. The sexual misconduct allegations that led to his retirement, McMahon’s swearing at and berating announcers for perceived mistakes, and his constantly ripping up scripts at the last minute are all—in different ways—examples of how WWE was a toxic place to work under McMahon’s leadership. With Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan now serving as co-CEOs and Levesque in charge of creative, there’s an opportunity for WWE to become a better and healthier place than it was before.
Levesque has the responsibility of fixing WWE’s broken creative process. In the modern era, McMahon had lost touch with the audience and was no longer able to tell long-term stories or consistently make new stars. The wrestlers who were able to break through in recent years largely did so on their own ability, often having to overcome bad storylines to get there. Levesque taking control hopefully means that creative and talent can now work in unison to produce compelling television.
Levesque’s time running NXT provides hope that the main roster will improve with him overseeing creative. Raw and SmackDown are a big step up from a developmental brand, but Levesque showed that he’s in touch with the type of wrestling that today’s fans want to see. More than anything, Levesque proved in NXT that he knows how to book great PPV events. The NXT TakeOvers that Levesque produced regularly upstaged the main roster and were some of the best PPVs in WWE history. While WWE’s new era may not fully begin until after SummerSlam, Saturday’s PPV is a chance for Levesque to show he still has some of that magic. The goal should be for fans to leave SummerSlam excited for what’s to come on Raw this Monday.
SummerSlam is being held at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, the home of the Titans. It will air live on Peacock/WWE Network at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday. Here’s a full rundown of the card, along with predictions for each match:
Last Man Standing match: Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship
With McMahon out of the picture, SummerSlam being billed as the last time Reigns and Lesnar will ever face each other is at least somewhat believable. Their rivalry should have ended when Reigns defeated Lesnar at WrestleMania in April. Reigns won that match cleanly, leaving no reason for fans to be interested in yet another rematch between him and Lesnar.
The most intriguing thing about this match is whether Theory will cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase. Theory has promised to cash in after the Last Man Standing match, stealing the undisputed title from either Reigns or Lesnar. Making the 24-year-old Theory world champion would elevate a new star, but it would be one who has been hand-picked by McMahon. If Theory were to lose when he cashes in, it would indicate that new management isn’t as high on him as McMahon was.
Prediction: Roman Reigns retains, Theory doesn’t cash in
Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch for the Raw Women’s Championship
This WrestleMania rematch has had a much better build than Reigns vs. Lesnar. After Lynch lost the Raw Women’s Championship to Belair at WrestleMania, she started to unravel and has been desperate to get the title back. If Lynch isn’t able to win here, her downward spiral will only get worse. For Belair, this is a chance to retain the Raw Women’s Championship in her home state and get revenge for her 26-second loss to Lynch at last year’s SummerSlam. Belair and Lynch should steal the show on Saturday.
Prediction: Bianca Belair retains
Liv Morgan vs. Ronda Rousey for the SmackDown Women’s Championship
It was great to see Morgan finally become champion at Money in the Bank. Morgan has a special connection with the fans and has been ready for this spot for at least a year. She’s one of the best babyfaces in WWE.
Taking the title away from Morgan this quickly would be a mistake for WWE’s new management team. This is a time where WWE should be doing everything it can to create goodwill with the audience. But it’s hard to see Rousey outright losing this match after Morgan cashed in on her at Money in the Bank. Morgan decisively winning at SummerSlam would have to mean that Rousey is turning heel. It’s more likely that there’s interference (possibly by a returning Charlotte Flair) to keep Rousey strong in defeat.
Prediction: Liv Morgan retains
The Usos vs. The Street Profits for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship
The Usos and Street Profits had the match of the night at Money in the Bank. The Usos retained at that PPV, but the referee missed that Montez Ford had his shoulder up while being pinned. The mishap led to the announcement that (in his hometown of Nashville) WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett will serve as the special guest referee for The Usos vs. Street Profits at SummerSlam.
Ford and Angelo Dawkins appear to be heading toward a split. Both are so talented and are capable of thriving either as singles wrestlers or remaining part of a tag team. Ford has the potential to be a future world champion whenever the Street Profits’ breakup happens.
Prediction: The Usos retain
Pat McAfee vs. Happy Corbin
The feud between former football teammates McAfee and Corbin has been one of the most fun things on WWE television leading into SummerSlam. McAfee is such a perfect pro wrestler, excelling in any role that he’s given.
McAfee and Corbin were roommates for a period of time while both were with the Colts. That real-life friendship between the two should make this a better match than most are expecting, with McAfee and Corbin doing everything possible to make the other look good. This will be another successful in-ring outing for McAfee.
Prediction: Pat McAfee wins
Logan Paul vs. The Miz
Logan Paul is looking to follow in McAfee’s footsteps by graduating from “celebrity wrestler” to someone who’s an accepted member of the WWE roster. Paul has officially signed a contract with WWE that will see him wrestle at multiple events in both 2022 and 2023.
Paul was legitimately impressive in the ring when he made his debut at this year’s WrestleMania. He teamed with The Miz to defeat Rey and Dominik Mysterio, but Miz turned against Paul and attacked him after the match. Paul will get payback by defeating Miz on Saturday. But Paul shouldn’t be a babyface for long. He’s a natural heel and should embrace that role in WWE.
Prediction: Logan Paul wins
Bobby Lashley vs. Theory for the United States Championship
Lashley defeated Theory at Money in the Bank to win the United States title, but Theory rebounded later that night by winning the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match. This will be an easy victory for Lashley. It wouldn’t be surprising to see some kind of injury angle here that puts into question whether Theory will be able to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase later in the show.
Prediction: Bobby Lashley retains
No DQ match: Rey & Dominik Mysterio vs. The Judgment Day (Damian Priest & Finn Bálor)
The Judgment Day have unsuccessfully attempted to recruit Dominik Mysterio into their ranks heading into SummerSlam. The no disqualification stipulation for this match means that Rhea Ripley can freely interfere to help Priest and Bálor. That could be counteracted by the returning Edge aiding the Mysterios, but it would make sense for the Judgment Day to pick up a big win before feuding with their former leader. Edge’s return can instead happen either immediately after this match or on Monday’s episode of Raw.
