SummerSlam, being one of the big four pay-per-views has a major share in determining how successful that the company have been over a particular year. 2014 is no different and the creative team has been plotting the card with a lot of care since they are going through a rough financial patch.
The build ups for the matches have been spot on so far but there are still big question marks lingering over the pay-per-view: Can WWE go all the way?
There is a lot of evidence out there which proves that the company has a tendency to screw up in such big situations and at this year’s SummerSlam, the chance of the fans causing a riot for a botched show is at an all-time high.
Potential lack of credible in ring action
On top of the SummerSlam card, we have John Cena and Brock Lesnar ready to fight it out for the WWE World Heavyweight championship. Cena is not someone who is known for his wrestling skills while Lesnar’s last two outings were nothing less than disastrous.
One cannot expect either Cena or Lesnar to carry his opponent all the way during the match making it a big risk to let these two main event the pay-per-view.
Also, the company is pushing the Stephanie McMahon – Brie Bella feud as one of the highlight angles. Just like the Cena- Lesnar situation, Brie and Stephanie are two women who would struggle to keep the fans excited during the course of whatever match that they would be having.
The expectations from the Bray Wyatt–Chris Jericho match are sky high but considering how their match was at Battleground, there shouldn’t be much hope in this category also.
Botched Stipulation
The match between Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins will be filled with some great in ring performances unlike the other big program matches that have been mentioned above. However, WWE took a big step backward in this excellent feud when they added Lumber jack stipulations.
Instead of letting these two settle the score in between the ropes, the company chose to involve the entire roster into the proceedings which is sure to take away the personal intensity from the match.
There are chances that the lumber jacks will get more attention than the in ring action at some point or the other which is not something that these two talented superstars deserve.
Along with this, WWE apparently banned Luke Harper and Erick Rowan from the Wyatt-Jericho match which does not stop them from appearing at some point.
A good street fight or a Hell in a Cell match could’ve been booked for the former Shield members instead of this ridiculous stipulation while a more strict approach could’ve been taken against the creepy guys interfering in the match.
Unresolved midcarders
It is practically impossible to let everyone in the roster have a share of the pay-per-view spotlight. With so many main event talents at their disposal, the writers were also faced with these problems as they ended up booking eight matches for SummerSlam.
All the matches made are good but the failure to find a place for the tag team division could cost them dearly. There are a lot of teams in the roster who deserve a go at this big stage and involving everyone should be the company’s priority if they want to rectify the mistake.
The United States championship is another unresolved problem in the midcard and there is no time whatsoever to have a good build-up to any match now. Cesaro hasn’t found a place in the card as well, thus rounding off a potentially horrible outing for the midcard.
Amidst all the rampant build up for the pay-per-view, the company should be aware about the big gaping holes that they are leaving behind as all of SummerSlam could come down crashing like a glass castle.