WWE SummerSlam 2019: 4 Interesting yet unfortunate realities about the PPV

The old adage "the more things change, the more things stay the same" might be a cliche, but when talking about the WWE, it rings true more often than not.

The same people are usually pushed towards titles. That's why it was so refreshing to see Kofi Kingston get a chance and win.

Instead of always seeing AJ Styles, Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins, John Cena, Randy Orton and Roman Reigns either holding gold or getting title shots, switching things up every now and then helps more than it hurts.

WWE might feel safer with running particular match-ups over and over, but it doesn't provide the audience with anything new or different.

At one of the biggest shows of the year, you do want marquee matches, but also don't want to have the same feuds over and over again.

SummerSlam is treated as the second biggest PPV on the schedule, so it would stand to reason that things would be bigger, better and more creative for the more important shows.

Unfortunately for this year's PPV, here are four interesting realities that show that things aren't much different heading into SummerSlam.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article belong to the writer and doesn't nely represent Sportskeeda's stand.

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#4 Only one of the people mentioned during Kevin Owens' pipe-bomb might get onto the card

Will anything change for those mentioned after SummerSlam?

When Kevin Owens went off on Shane McMahon about a month ago, not only did he chastise the self-proclaimed 'Best In The World' but he also praised some forgotten stars of the blue brand.

Among the names he mentioned were Ali, Apollo Crews, Liv Morgan, Buddy Murphy, the Authors of Pain, Asuka and Kairi Sane.

On the SmackDown following his pipebomb, they all appeared on stage during the "Town Hall" segment in which McMahon let some people speak although he didn't really address anything.

Some were critical of Shane-O-Mac while others kissed up to him. But with SummerSlam set to go down very soon, how many of those names have appeared on the show since getting the shout-out from Owens?

The answer would be two people in Apollo Crews and Ali. Crews lost a good match to Shinsuke Nakamura while Ali pinned the Intercontinental Champion last week. He might be destined for a title match against The Artist at the PPV.

Morgan did face Charlotte Flair on the same night as the "Town Hall" but is off to getting repackaged. Murphy appeared to be walking away in the background after the Roman Reigns segment of this past week's show.

The Authors of Pain and both of the Kabuki Warriors have also been left off Tuesday nights. Will Asuka and Kairi Sane get a match at the show?

It was nice to hear some unheralded Superstars get some love from one of the top-tier athletes in the company, but if they disappear right after it, what was the point of mentioning them?

#3 Brock Lesnar has defended the Universal Championship at the last three SummerSlam

Not much has changed in the Universal Championship picture over the last four years.

The match for the Universal Championship at SummerSlam in 2017 saw Brock Lesnar defend against Reigns, Braun Strowman, and Samoa Joe. He retained.

Last year, we saw what we had hoped was the end of Lesnar's stranglehold on the title when Reigns won.

At this year's show, guess who's holding the title heading into the Biggest Party of the Summer once again? You guessed it, The Beast Incarnate.

I know that SmackDown was called "the Land of Opportunity" throughout the brand split but what does that make RAW then?

Lesnar might be a big get for the WWE, but his reigns as champion have hindered any growth for potential stars other than Reigns and Rollins.

What would have been the state of Superstars like Joe, Strowman or someone else been had they won the title?

The Beast's hold on the title is reminiscent of the stages of WrestleMania in the late 1980s and early 1990s when Hulk Hogan held or challenged for the title in five of the first seven 'Manias.

Understandably, certain Superstars need to be relied upon to carry the company and to sell tickets, but when he/she isn't a full-timer and holds one of your major belts, it minimizes the rest of the roster.

#2 Lack of variety in the current crop of champions

Moon is the only person in a title match at SummerSlam who hasn't already held gold on the main roster

WWE has its deepest roster ever. It's so deep and chock full of talent that it's hard for everyone to get onto either RAW or SmackDown.

But when you have five hours dedicated to your product, more people should be on either show than what is presented.

Since not everyone gets an equal share of the pie so to speak, that means that a rotation of about 10-15 people is always featured on both shows.

It does mean that a core group of performers help to carry the show, but once again, the roster is full of stars ready, willing and able (not Gable) to help carry the weight.

Of the four main title matches at the event, only one person is a new title challenger.

Becky Lynch and Bayley are already multi-time champions. Randy Orton is a legend in his own right.

We all know the title lineage of both Rollins and Lesnar, whereas Natalya and Kingston have one main title reign each. (Nattie was the Divas Champion once before it was retired).

My main point is that a part of the reason why some of the fans have been a turn off is the lack of variety among title holders.

Sure, a bunch of different stars get to challenge for the titles but very few are allowed to run with them.

Creating new stars to get behind isn't hard as evidenced by crowd reactions at various points for Elias, Strowman, Rusev, Daniel Bryan and many others. It's just been WWE's reluctance to pull the trigger on alternative wrestlers.

#1 The Universal Championship match has been the same at SummerSlam and WrestleMania over the last two years

Lesnar has worked with the same three or four people while defending the Universal Championship.

Not to beat a dead horse, but not much has changed regarding the Universal title picture. It was refreshing to see Finn Balor get a rematch for the title he never lost, but the outcome of that match was never in doubt.

And even though Lesnar's matches against both Bryan and Styles were good, the title wasn't on the line.

When it has been up for grabs at WrestleMania and SummerSlam over the last two years, there hasn't been any variety in the matches for the belt. At both WrestleMania 34 and SummerSlam 2018, the match was Roman Reigns challenging Lesnar.

This year, it's been Seth Rollins challenging Lesnar. Do you see the pattern here? A big selling point of PPVs is different matches featuring different stars. When the two biggest shows on the docket sport the same title match, it shows little creativity.

There might have been a lot more buzz about the match if Rollins still held the title and someone like the Fiend attacked him and challenged him. Or even Drew McIntyre would have been a new match-up for either Lesnar or Rollins.