WWE’s biggest show of the summer, SummerSlam, is finally upon us. The card is shaping up nicely with less than a week to go to the show and the WWE Universe is currently abuzz with rumours and whispers as to what could happen on Sunday. The first ever pay-per-view following the 2016 Brand Extension will give us a glimpse into the new era of split rosters and will give us an idea on how well this iteration of the brand split will work.
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There are a number of huge matches this year which should make this SummerSlam one of the best ever. Seth Rollins and Finn Balor facing each other to be the first ever WWE Universal Champions, which should be a match for the ages. Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton are also going to be taking on each other in what’s been deemed “the first match ever” between the two. Let’s not forget the WWE Championship match between Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler, that has been gaining steam on the blue brand.
If this really is the New Era, WWE has to show us that they’re actually determined to make changes. Will they? We’ll find out soon enough. Now, without further ado, let’s get into the rumours for this years’ SummerSlam.
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JeriKO to implode
Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens are unlikely allies in their quest to vanquish the Certified G’s. They formed their alliance last week when Owens came out to support Jericho because of their mutual dislike for Enzo and Cass. Their match at SummerSlam against the ‘Realest Guys in the Room’ should be electric but if rumours are to be believed, the Canadian alliance is going to be short-lived.
Jericho and Owens aren’t the type of personalities to co-exist in peace in the face of adversity. As soon as the tide turns against them on Sunday in Brooklyn, we can expect friction between the two. If they end up losing, expect them to take their frustrations out on each other, leading to a program between the two following SummerSlam and that feud would be amazing. Imagine the promo work between the two.
Could Rusev retain?
Roman Reigns has had a tough couple of months. Following his suspension for failing the WWE Wellness Policy, Roman has been pinned clean more times than he was on his entire main roster run before the suspension. WWE have now taken Roman down a rung for the time being and have put him in a US Title match against Rusev, a man who has completely rebuilt himself after a terrible end to 2015 and an equally disastrous beginning to 2016. Rusev is leaner and meaner than ever before and his US Title run has brought back a lot of the legitimacy that was lost during Kalisto and Alberto Del Rio’s respective runs with the belt.
Now that Roman Reigns is the new #1 contender, most fans expect that he will take the patriotically themed belt away from the Bulgarian Brute but if last minute rumours are to be believed, Rusev could very well retain the title on Sunday and prolong his program with Roman Reigns. However, Roman will definitely win the title eventually if the feud continues. It’s Roman and we know Vince can’t resist putting titles on him.
AJ Styles beats John Cena again
We were all a little shocked when AJ Styles beat John Cena during their first match at Money In The Bank, even though it was with the help of Anderson and Gallows. We weren’t surprised because Styles wasn’t good enough, but because it was John Cena. The John Cena who rarely loses losing to the former face of TNA.
With their rematch now booked for SummerSlam in a week, contrary to all expectation, AJ Styles is the favourite to win the match as of now. The rumour mills are telling us that Cena will leave the WWE for a mini-hiatus following the match with AJ Styles and AJ Styles will go on to become the next challenger for Dean Ambrose’s WWE Championship (Yeah, Dean’s most definitely retaining at SummerSlam).
Bray Wyatt to interfere in match between Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar
The match between Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar is one of the headliners of this year’s SummerSlam. WWE are branding this match as the first ever meeting between the two and it’s definitely a huge match. Rumours have flown around since the announcement about who’s going to win and they’ve gone back and forth with some pegging Lesnar as the winner and others stating that Orton would stand tall.
However, the latest whispers are even more interesting. Apparently ‘The New Face of Fear’ Bray Wyatt will interfere in the match to distract Randy Orton which will inadvertently help Lesnar steal the win. This will lead to a program between Orton and Wyatt heading into Backlash, SmackDown’s first brand-exclusive pay-per-view.
Seth Rollins vs Finn Balor: Double turn
The WWE Universal Championship match between Seth Rollins and Finn Balor is a great way to showcase the beginning of the New Era. The big question going in is obviously who will leave as the first ever Universal Champion. Seth Rollins goes into the program as the favourite to win, having skipped the qualifying matches. Finn Balor, on the other hand, earned his place in the title match by winning a fatal-4-way match and a match against Roman Reigns on the same night.
Going into the match, Seth Rollins is the favourite to win the title even though we can’t count The Demon out. However, could we see a massive swerve during the probable main event of SummerSlam? There’s a rumour going around that the main event will have a double turn with Rollins finally going babyface and a newly heel Balor leaving as the first WWE Universal Champion. The same rumour has it that this will finally be the when the Balor Club forms, with Anderson and Gallows coming out to take Rollins out to turn him face. With Anderson and Gallows the new Tag-Team Champions and Balor the new WWE Universal Champion, the Balor Club would begin their reign at the top of the WWE Raw card.
