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It's the Biggest Party of the Summer and you're all invited! WWE will set its summer season off with a bang as this Saturday's WWE SummerSlam 2021 will emulate live on the NBC Peacock app from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Not only will this be the first SummerSlam to take place in an outdoor stadium in years, but it is also the first time the event will take place on a Saturday since 1992.
SummerSlam is one of WWE's most important PPVs of the year. With fall quickly approaching and the NFL season on the horizon, expect WWE to pull out all of the stops to make this a memorable show. As of this writing, there are ten matches scheduled for this Saturday's show.
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On the RAW side of things, we will see Nikki A.S.H. defend the RAW Women's Championship in a Triple Threat Match against Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley. Drew McIntyre will take on Jinder Mahal. Eva Marie will take on Alexa Bliss. Reunited RK-Bro will challenge AJ Styles and Omos for the RAW Tag Team Championships. Damian Priest will challenge Sheamus for the United States Championship. In the main event for the red brand, Bobby Lashley will defend the WWE Championship against the returning Goldberg.
On the WWE SmackDown side of the card, Edge will take on Seth Rollins in a match that is seven years in the making. The Usos will defend the SmackDown Tag Team Championships against The Mysterios. Bianca Belair will defend the SmackDown Women's Championship against Sasha Banks in a rematch from WrestleMania 37. In the main event for the blue brand, Roman reigns will defend the Universal Championship against John Cena in a rematch from their No Mercy 2017 encounter.
With that being said, here are five things that can happen at this Saturday's WWE SummerSlam PPV.
5. Bianca Belair will retain the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship
SummerSlam 2021 will see Bianca Belair defend the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship against Sasha Banks. The two previously squared off against one another at WrestleMania 37 where Banks lost the title to Belair. The match comes after Banks returned to SmackDown late last month and subsequently turned on Belair in their main event tag team match.
This is truly a match that could go either way as Belair hasn't exactly set the world on fire as champion. Her only feud for the title was with Bayley, and while they had two good matches, the feud was nothing to write home about. We all know WWE has the tendency to change titles when they feel like the champion isn't doing well.
Sasha was champion just a few months ago and putting the title back on her may not be ideal. She could have some interesting feuds with the likes of Liv Morgan, who WWE seem to have plans for down the line. She can also feud with recently debuted Toni Storm as well. Another Sasha reign may have more legs to it than keeping the belt on Belair.
With that being said, the outcome for this match will mostly see Belair retain the SmackDown Women's Championship. WWE has invested a lot of time into building up Bianca since late last year, up to her big win at WrestleMania. It is hard to see WWE pulling the plug on her reign, even if it has been underwhelming so far. With the WWE Draft on the horizon, SmackDown will have new faces in the Women's Division that Belair can feud with as we head into the fall and winter months.
4. Charlotte Flair will regain the WWE RAW Women's Championship
After winning the Money in the Bank briefcase last month, Nikki A.S.H. cashed in her contract the very next night on WWE RAW against Charlotte Flair to win the RAW Women's Championship. At SummerSlam, she will have to defend her title against Flair and Rhea Ripley in a Triple Threat Match.
Nikki's new superhero gimmick has gotten positive reviews from the WWE Universe so far. While it is certainly not for everyone, there is no denying that she is over, especially with the younger audience. That could be the one thing that prevents her from winning this match.
With many people anticipating the return of Becky Lynch, this match could act as the perfect setup for a future program between Flair and Lynch. Becky has been rumored to be returning for a while, and with the RAW Women's Division severely lacking in depth, there is a huge possibility that she will be returning to the red brand. It would be hard to see her first feud and match in over a year being against a comedy gimmick like Nikki has, even if it is over with fans.
Rhea Ripley just lost the championship last month to Charlotte. Before losing the title, she wasn't having a great reign as champion. It was unclear whether she was a babyface or a heel during her feud with Charlotte, and her character had little to no development during her reign. So, she is likely just in the match to take the loss.
The outcome of the match could be Charlotte Flair becoming WWE RAW Women's Champion once again. WWE seem deadset on having Charlotte tying her dad's record as a 16-time champion. With her NXT Women's Championship reign seemingly being erased, they have to make up for that. Most importantly though, if Becky Lynch is returning to WWE, it is likely she will be going after the title she never lost and she will want to have her first match after giving birth to be with someone she has chemistry and experience with. Whether fans like it or not, Charlotte Flair fits that description perfectly.
3. Seth Rollins will have an upset victory over Edge
At WWE SummerSlam, Edge will face off against Seth Rollins in a match that has been seven years in the making. The build-up to this match dates all the way back to late 2014 when Rollins threatened to curbstomp a then-retired Edge. Rollins cost Edge his WWE Universal Championship last month at Money in the Bank after Rollins felt Edge had jumped the line for a title shot.
Rollins and Edge have similar characters and Edge even acknowledged this in a promo, referring to Rollins as "Edge Lite". He isn't that far off either as they are both opportunists and are slimy (when they are heels). This could be a perfect opportunity for Edge to pass the torch.
This is a match that can go in either direction. It is unclear what Edge's schedule is. He disappeared after WrestleMania in April up until early July when he returned to confront Roman Reigns. He has been on almost every SmackDown since then.
On the other hand, Rollins does not have much momentum at the moment. His feud with Cesaro went on way too long and even though he won the feud, it didn't do much for him. While WWE has sown the seeds for a future Rollins-Reigns feud, it is more of a Royal Rumble/WrestleMania-worthy program. Rollins needs more momentum before he can be seen as a threat to Reigns and enter the Universal Championship picture.
The outcome for this match might see Rollins pull off an upset victory over Edge. As mentioned before, Edge's status after SummerSlam is unknown. There really is no clear opponent for him after Rollins, so it is likely that he will take some time off until WWE figures out what is next for him. Meanwhile, we know Rollins will be around after SummerSlam and if the plan is to build towards a Rollins-Reigns feud in the future, it's time to build Rollins up is now. And what better way to start that build than a victory over a Hall of Famer at a Big 4 WWE PPV?
Also watch: Seth Rollins reacts to John Cena's 'Dean Ambrose' comment.
2. Bobby Lashley will defeat Goldberg to retain the WWE Championship
In something that is becoming a trend, Goldberg has returned and is once again challenging for the WWE Championship. He lost the Universal Championship to Braun Strowman at last year's WrestleMania and a WWE Championship match to Drew McIntyre at this year's Royal Rumble. He will now challenge Bobby Lashley for the gold at SummerSlam.
Goldberg has become a controversial figure amongst WWE fans in recent years, none of which is really his fault. The main complaint is that he returns and is immediately placed into the title picture, even after losing title matches. His age and inability to have long matches are also critiques fans have. Lashley might be the perfect opponent for Goldberg as a quick and convincing victory is exactly what Lashley needs at the moment.
Meanwhile, Bobby Lashley's title reign has hit a bit of a lull. His feud with Drew McIntyre dragged on for way too long and while we saw the return of the serious, dominant Lashley last month against Kofi Kingston. It feels like WWE is bidding their time until the upcoming draft to create new feuds for Lashley and other champions for that matter.
While fans are concerned that Goldberg is going to win the title once again, the outcome for the match will mostly see Lashley retain the WWE Championship. When it comes to Goldberg, it is important to remember that his contract is for two matches per year. He has already had one match this year at the Royal Rumble with McIntyre. So, unless he signs on for more dates or WWE plans to keep the championship off of television for a couple of months. There is no reason to believe Lashley won't walk out of Las Vegas, still WWE Champion.
1. Roman Reigns will destroy John Cena in their WWE Universal Championship Match
"The Summer of Cena" is about to hit its climax as John Cena will challenge Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship. Cena made his thrilling return to WWE last month at Money in the Bank after Reigns defeated Edge. Cena laid down the challenge the next night at WWE RAW and the match was made, but not without a twist involved.
Reigns initially declined Cena's challenge and instead accepted Finn Balor's challenge, who challenged Reigns after the fact. Balor was set to sign the contract the next week on SmackDown but was attacked by Baron Corbin. This led to Cena coming out and signing the contract instead.
Cena and Reigns had a heated face-to-face confrontation on last week's SmackDown, but that is the only time they have come face to face. It seems as though WWE is building this match more on the names of Cena and Reigns instead of an actual feud and build. This is odd since Cena and Reigns have a history that dates back to 2017.
Back in 2017, Regns was the company's top babyface and WWE was adamant about making it work, even if a lot of fans were rejecting him. Cena, on the other hand, was essentially on his way to Hollywood and was being phased out of the main event scene. Fast forward four years and Reigns is the top heel in the company and arguably the hottest thing in wrestling. Meanwhile, Cena is essentially a part-timer and only returns for big events, such as SummerSlam.
As for the match itself, there is a high possibility that Reigns will retain and it would not be surprising if it is in dominating fashion, such as Cena vs. Brock Lesnar from SummerSlam 2014. Cena is likely going back to shooting movies after SummerSlam, so there is little to no shot of him winning. Having Reigns destroy Cena and deny him of his record-setting 17th world title reign would add more heat to his character as well. Reigns also seem to be heading towards a feud with Balor post-SummerSlam, so expect Reigns to emerge from SummerSlam as still Universal Champion.
What are your thoughts and predictions? Leave them in the comments section below and stay tuned to Sportskeeda for the latest breaking news and rumors as SummerSlam draws closer.
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