If WWE is willing to begin its preshow for SummerSlam two hours before the actual start of the event, it had better be well worth it.
The hype for this pay-per-view, which is widely considered the second most important show of the year behind WrestleMania 32, is a first of sorts.
The first pay-per-view after the brand split. The first event that will crown a new Universal Heavyweight Champion. The first time Finn Balor will wrestle on the main roster in his Demon King persona. The first time we have seen Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar lock horns in 14 years. There is plenty to be excited about – which is why I am slightly hesitant to throw all my emotion toward Sunday night. As you all know, Battleground was such a huge success, so it is hard to expect the company that has had issues in the past with putting together two straight money-making PPVs together.
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If it will help ease everyone’s mind, I am cautiously optimistic.
I am intrigued by storylines and how the company will move forward after the event. How will individual programming and pay-per-views sell? Can Smackdown Live continue its momentum of solid production in a shorter time frame? What happens to John Cena following his match with AJ Styles and when does Bayley finally make it to the main roster?
Those questions alone give me hope things will be just fine. On the flip side, there has to be momentum to carry over toward the final quarter of this year. WWE cannot drop the ball – there is too much to be excited about. These are five things that cannot happen Sunday night in Brooklyn.
Rusev cannot retain the United States Championship
The fans are cheering for Roman Reigns. Yes, you heard me correctly. If there is a monster heel in this company right now, it is the Russian brute and his lovely wife Lana. WWE took a page from themes from the past and made Reigns the man who has to defend Old Glory.
It is the perfect role for him as he begins to finally win the fans over. There is only one problem with that. He has to win on Sunday or he will lose their support. The company did the right thing in taking him out of the main event picture. Rusev offers him a chance to finally be built as a hero – something facing Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose did not allow him to accomplish. He has to win Sunday night or all is lost.
After the series with Rusev, if he is still champion, a program with Kevin Owens would be huge.
Dolph Ziggler cannot walk out as WWE World Champion
I know there are plenty of scenarios where this works. Ziggler gave one of the all-time great promos on Smackdown Live on Tuesday night while facing Dan Ambrose. Ambrose is the face of the show right now and fans love the fact he is their champion. Ziggler is one of the best workers in the company and finally gets his shot at redemption.
There is only one issue with this – as a champion, where does he go from here? The scenario of Ziggler winning the match has to be centered around a heel turn or an immediate date with John Cena – both of which make my stomach sick.
Ziggler is solid in the ring and sells better than anyone on the roster. But for a long-range commitment, he will not sell at the gate. It is one of the reasons he has not had long title runs in the past. Putting the belt on Ziggler is a step backward for Smackdown Live.
The New Day Cannot Remain Champions
As I said earlier in the week, all good things must come to an end. The New Day have held the title over 360 days, which is remarkable in today’s wrestling business. But now, there is the dawning of a new tag team – The Club – where Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows are as close to Hall and Nash of the New World Order as we have seen.
The fact AJ Styles is no longer on Raw and the two have gone their separate ways tells me they are about to dominate the tag team scene on the Monday Show. And with the news about Big E’s injury, there has to be an end to this run. Look for all three members of The New Day, including Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, to forge their own way – and make continue to strengthen the mid card.
I also suspect that is Anderson and Gallows win tag team gold, they will be in line to face Enzo and Cass in the near future.
Finn Balor cannot win the Universal Heavyweight Title
Yet. Balor is good and his Demon King theme is exciting to watch (I personally do not like the idea), but he just came up from NXT and Rollins is the bad guy everyone loves to hate. WWE must slow play this feud to maximize the use of both wrestlers. If the company uses its standard three-match approach, Rollins wins this weekend and Balor is company champion by the end of the year.
WWE has been great in promoting a rebuilt Rollins – who continues to be the best on the Raw roster (except Brock Lesnar). His knee injury is the best and worst thing that could have happened to him and will only make him a better heel.
Balor still has plenty of room to grow and who knows – he could realign himself with The Club at some point, which would delight the fans. Still, putting the company title on him right now is a bad idea in my opinion.
This Pay-Per-View cannot fail
Period. There has been too much work that has gone into the new brands, the shows, the idea of separate but equal. Fans are excited again. Wrestling matters again. Every match on the card has to sell. Every winner has to tell a story. There has to be a beginning, a middle and end that all make sense.
For the love of the McMahon Family – DO NOT SCREW THIS ONE UP! If everything falls into place, the best story of the year will be told in Brooklyn. There will be a few surprises and the Monday and Tuesday following the show will be epic. We all need to sit back and once again love this company like it was the Attitude Era all over again.
If this does not happen, then the company just took two major steps back.
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