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WWE has done a commendable job in the last few weeks to really make SummerSlam weekend feel like a big deal. Coming into August, there was a feeling of uncertainty regarding the general excitement levels of SummerSlam, However, WWE has built up the biggest matches on the show in a good enough way to leave us excited and intrigued heading into the Biggest Party of the Summer. Also, we have the small matter of NXT Takeover: Brooklyn, a show which is more or less guaranteed to be good.
NXT is always top-notch with their weekly programming and really does make every Takeover match feel special. While there are some duds on the card, SummerSlam is also looking to be a promising show that should deliver in a positive way. One of the best things about this year's SummerSlam is that there are lots of feasible possibilities in most of the matches on the card. The level of interest and consequence is also pretty high as all nine main roster titles are on the line, along with the Men's Money in the Bank briefcase.
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The show is unpredictable in so many ways and along with the usual brilliance of Takeover, this could be one of the most memorable WWE weekends in a while. Add in the fact that this is Brooklyn's SummerSlam finale, and you've got to believe that this weekend will be a good one. There may be some inevitabilities, but the general core of both cards is unpredictable. Here are six things you should expect to see at Takeover Brooklyn IV and the 31st edition of SummerSlam.
#6 No title changes on the Takeover undercard
It may not be such a bold prediction, but there will likely be no title changes in the undercard of NXT Takeover: Brooklyn IV. There are certain possibilities that WWE may want to shock viewers, but there is honestly no reason for any of the current champions to lose their titles.
Roderick Strong and Kyle O'Reilly regained their NXT Tag Team Championships from Moustache Mountain on NXT TV are certainly going to retain the titles in the rematch, as the shocking title change at Royal Albert Hall was a one-time moment for the UK fans. The Undisputed Era is running NXT and it will continue, from O'Reilly and Strong keeping the tag titles to Adam Cole retaining his North American Championship.
The leader of the Era is set to defend his title against Ricochet in a match which is sure to be a minor classic, at the very least. These two could realistically produce magic together and should do so at Brooklyn on Saturday. However, it has to be Cole who comes out on top. Ever since he won the North American title at Takeover New Orleans, the title has not been given much importance. The Panama City Playboy has hardly defended it in televised matches and a win here, along with a few more title defenses, would make NXT's upper mid-card belt feel like the big deal it should.
Elsewhere, NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler will face Kairi Sane at Brooklyn in what will be a rematch of the final last year's Mae Young Classic. Sane won that match but her chances of repeating it here are not looking good. Baszler is a dominant, no-nonsense heel and her title reign is one of the best things on NXT at the moment. She should retain her title here and drop it later in a big moment that would be wildly celebrated, possibly at Evolution.
#5 Braun Strowman squashes Kevin Owens
Honestly, this an extremely unfortunate possibility. WWE has booked Kevin Owens to look like a coward for more than two months now and seem to have had a lot of fun with it. Owens has been manhandled by Braun Strowman numerous times over the course of this feud. It all culminated in Strowman sending Owens through the announce table from the top of a steel cage, gifting him the ironic victory at Extreme Rules.
Since then, a rematch has been booked for SummerSlam, with Strowman's Money in the Bank contract on the line. People think that Owens could win the briefcase and while he does make an excellent Mr.Money in the Bank, it is all just false hope. It will end with the Monster Among Men squashing Kevin Owens for the quick and easy victory.
At the past two SummerSlam events, there has been one match that was severely compromised due to timing issues. In 2016, Roman Reigns vs Rusev turned into a brawl around the ringside area. Last year, Rusev was a victim of an 8-second match against Randy Orton which was honestly more of an angle than a match. If any match is going to be cut short for time, it is this one.
A feud as one-sided as this is bound to end with Strowman winning and keeping his briefcase. Anything other than a Strowman squash would indeed be a pleasant surprise.
#4 Dean Ambrose turns heel
Dean Ambrose returned to WWE on this week's edition of Raw and is looking better than ever. He has bulked up a great deal during his absence from WWE programming and is ready to go. The Lunatic Fringe is going to be in Seth Rollins' corner during his Intercontinental Championship match with Dolph Ziggler, to counter the menacing presence of the Scottish psychopath Drew McIntyre. This return has suddenly sparked much-needed life into this feud.
While it has been the best part of Raw in the last month, Rollins vs Ziggler and McIntyre had gotten stale post their countdown-heavy Iron Man Match at Extreme Rules and another match at SummerSlam seemed unnecessary. But when Ambrose returned, it all made sense. This feud has now been given a new dimension with the emergence of the former Shield member.
His new-look is made for a natural heel and he is inevitably going to turn bad. It is just a question of when. The heel turn could very well happen at SummerSlam, either during the match or after it. There are so many possibilities for the turn now. The obvious route would be for Ambrose to cost Rollins the match, enabling Ziggler to weasel out of his beef with Rollins with the IC title and kickstarting the hottest program on Raw post-SummerSlam.
Or perhaps, he could help Rollins to win the Intercontinental title and attack him afterward. This would begin the next chapter in the renaissance of the Intercontinental Championship. A major feud like Seth Rollins vs Dean Ambrose would do wonders for the growing prestige of the IC title.
Whichever route WWE goes, Dean Ambrose's much-awaited heel turn is surely not going to disappoint.
#3 Only one Women's Championship changes hands
The Raw and Smackdown Women's Championships are currently being held by Alexa Bliss and Carmella. While both of them are heels who aren't exactly great wrestlers, they do hold their own on the mic. They are both similar characters and in terms of in-ring quality, would not be the ideal choices to hold the belts heading into the first-ever all women's pay-per-view.
Ronda Rousey is challenging Alexa Bliss for the Raw Women's Championship, while Carmella is defending her Smackdown Women's Championship against Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair in a triple threat match. Title changes in both these matches would represent possibly some of the WWE's best representatives for the ever-improving women's division, be it Ronda, Charlotte, or Becky.
However, both titles will not change hands. It is going to be one or the other. The likeliest scenario, in this case, would be Rousey capturing the Raw title from Bliss, with Carmella retaining following heavy shenanigans between Becky and Charlotte.
Ronda Rousey is the biggest star in WWE today and a title victory for her would spark mainstream attention for WWE, along with the face of the Evolution pay-per-view. Further developments between Charlotte, Becky and Carmella could take place on Smackdown, directly leading to a battle between the best friends for the title at Evolution.
#2 Ciampa-Gargano 3 ends in a draw
Again, this is an unfortunate one. But given the circumstances, we could forgive NXT if this indeed is the finish to Takeover Brooklyn. Aleister Black suffered a groin injury and was ruled out of Takeover, forcing WWE's hand to change the planned main event of the big event from a triple threat match to Ciampa-Gargano 3.
Johnny Gargano beat Tommaso Ciampa in an Unsanctioned Match at Takeover New Orleans before Ciampa shocked the world and won the rematch in a Chicago Street Fight. He looked to have moved on by challenging for the NXT Championship. Ciampa shockingly won the title when interference from Gargano cost Black the match. A third match between the pair is not ideal, as they were clearly saving it for a later Takeover.
Now that they have been forced to make this change, we aren't going to complain. However, we could get an inconclusive finish as a way to keep their ongoing story unresolved for the time being. The booking of this match seems way too rushed to be the end of the story between these two mortal enemies.
Last Man Standing was actually considered to be the stipulation for their second encounter, but WWE used it for AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura the night after Takeover Chicago at Money in the Bank. It will make perfect sense for both Gargano and Ciampa to beat each other up so badly that none of them could answer the referee's ten count. It honestly is a smart way of prolonging a feud they were forced to return to at an earlier date.
#1 SummerSlam ends with two Universal title changes
Tying into Braun Strowman retaining his briefcase earlier in the night, the Monster will be seen later on as well. After Roman Reigns finally conquers Brock Lesnar, unfortunately without Paul Heyman on his side after that matter was resolved on Raw, we will all realize that Braun is still not finished with Roman. And neither should he ever be. Reigns and Strowman had one of the best rivalries of the year as they both battered each other nearly over the edge, attempting murder on multiple occasions.
The story between Brock Lesnar needs a conclusion and we will get it, as the Samoan will finally win the Universal Championship from the Beast. But in a move quicker than Michael Cole can say "The Big Dog", the Monster Among Men will cash in on an exhausted Reigns and pick up the easy victory to win his first world title.
This will be the only way the Brooklyn crowd will leave SummerSlam happy, besides Heyman turning on Lesnar. It just makes perfect sense as a symbolic moment of Braun Strowman taking the torch from Roman Reigns, which was passed from John Cena. He still remains as popular as ever, presumably until people get sick of him mid-way during his Universal title reign. Therefore, WWE must strike while the iron is hot. And Braun Strowman is hot, at the moment. Really hot.
Knowing WWE, they will continue to cast Reigns as a sympathetic babyface. It is not going to happen. It is never going to happen. They should be knowing this by now. Strowman and Reigns should just go all-out and brawl all over the place. Along with Rollins vs Ambrose and Ronda Rousey as Women's Champ, Roman Reigns vs Braun Strowman would make Raw must-see once again. Plus, over 500 days after the last Universal title change, we will get to see two in one night. It truly is a Party!
