This Sunday night, the WWE presents the 27th annual SummerSlam event live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles in what will be a stacked card for the biggest show of the summer and second greatest show on the WWE's calender for 2014.
The show is headlined by WWE World Heavyweight Champion John Cena defending his gold against Brock Lesnar and there are seven other matches on the card, including two more title bouts. Here are the latest rumors, possible spoilers and predictions for Sunday night's show in L.A. I will predict the results of each match by going in the order of the reported leaked format for Sunday.
WWE Intercontinental Championship-The Miz (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler:
This has great potential to be a hot opener, even if they are reportedly only getting 10 minutes to get things done. SummerSlam has a rich history of Intercontinental Championship matches, and this one should be a great addition to that history.
The Miz has had a character makeover which is pretty enjoyable while Ziggler remains as one of the most underutilized talents on the WWE roster unfortunately.
I think the WWE should use this match as a way to set up a title-for-title match between the winner and Sheamus at Night of Champions by putting the Intercontinental Championship on the line against the United States Championship to minimize the amount of titles and maximize the importance of each belt for once.
While I'm very high on Ziggler, The Miz probably should go over to continue his cocky heel push and he should keep the belt going into a unification match next month against Sheamus.
The Pick: The Miz.
One of the best IC Title matches in SummerSlam history saw the British Bulldog face Bret Hart in one of the greatest main events in the show's history in 1992:
Singles Match-Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt with Luke Harper and Erick Rowan banned from ringside:
This has been an enjoyable feud as Jericho can still go and can talk with the best of them while Wyatt has proven to be one of the better heels in the business right now.
The lack of Harper and Rowan at ringside interests me, and they will possibly be included in a tag match on the pre-show which would involve The Usos and possibly two other teams. The absence of Rowan and Harper has led to an intriguing idea that a new Wyatt Family member could debut and help Bray, but that remains to be seen.
As far as a winner goes, Jericho winning last month shocked me but it has set up the possibility for Wyatt to get his win back on a grander stage than Battleground was, likely setting up the rubber match between the two at Night of Champions before Jericho's next hiatus.
As for a winner, Wyatt should and likely will get the nod, but it remains to be seen if anyone helps him do it.
The Pick: Bray Wyatt.
Jericho battled Dolph Ziggler at SummerSlam 2012:
Bray Wyatt took on Kane in a Ring of Fire Match at last year's event:
Flag Match-Rusev w/ Lana vs. Jack Swagger w/ Zeb Colter
This has been a fun little midcard feud that has turned Swagger and Colter into unexpected faces and it's nice to see a midcard feud have substance that doesn't include being for a title.
This match was likely made so that Rusev could lose without being pinned and so that America can stand tall at the WWE's second biggest show of the year.
There has reportedly been some confusion over the rules to the match and it may not be a standard Flag Match as there have been talks of the winner having their national anthem played and JBL said it could be won by submission.
That is just speculation, and I'm going to operate as though it is a traditional Flag Match and believe that Swagger will win by grabbing the flag so that Rusev still doesn't have his shoulders pinned to the mat.
The Pick: Jack Swagger.
Swagger took on MVP at SummerSlam 2009:
WWE Divas Championship-AJ Lee (c) vs. Paige:
This has been an interesting feud as both ladies have switched roles from when Paige first took the title from Lee in April to now with Lee having won the belt back in June. This should be a solid Divas match as both ladies can wrestle and the two have chemistry.
Lee has yet to be punished for her husband CM Punk leaving WWE, so it's doubtful that she ever will be now while the reports of Vince McMahon being down on Paige a few months ago lend me to believe they won't be too quick to put the title back on her.
The Pick: AJ Lee.
In 2004, the WWE presented Diva Dodgeball at SummerSlam:
Lumberjack Match-Dean Ambrose vs. "Mr. Money in the Bank" Seth Rollins:
After a cop-out last month, these two former members of The Shield will finally go toe-to-toe at SummerSlam. It still makes little sense to me that Ambrose is more mad at Rollins than Roman Reigns is after he hit both of them with chairs, but I'll live with it.
Last month's false match was a disappointment, but I still think this month these two can definitely steal the show. The storyline with Ambrose being hell bent on stopping Rollins from cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase has been excellent and will likely continue.
The Lumberjack Match stipulation was disappointing after the WWE teased a big stipulation for the match, but it makes sense to give everyone else on the roster some face time on the second biggest show of the year.
As far as a winner, it could really go either way as Ambrose could use the win as a payoff where he gets revenge on Rollins for turning heel while Rollins could use momentum if the WWE wants to push him as a legitimate threat with the briefcase.
If Ambrose won, it would set up a pretty intriguing possible storyline for next month where Ambrose could hold the win over Rollins' head, leading to a match -- possibly a Ladder Match -- between the two with the briefcase on the line.
It's a really tough one to call, but with The Authority lurking and Rollins needing to accumulate wins if he's ever going to cash in the briefcase, I'll pick him to go over, but wouldn't be surprised if Ambrose won.
The Pick: Seth Rollins
Singles Match-Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns:
Much like the Rollins vs. Ambrose match, this contest has the potential to steal the show. Orton has grown stale over the years, but a win over him could continue to propel Reigns in his mega push to be the company's next top star.
Orton doesn't really need the win as he should pretty much just put over Reigns as he marches on to Night of Champions where he will likely take on Orton in a rematch or battle Triple H. Reigns has been pushed to the moon, but as I said above it's odd he doesn't seek revenge on Rollins like Ambrose has, though they have crossed paths a few times.
With Triple H and The Authority always lurking, it is possible that Triple H screws Reigns out of the match in order to set up a bout with him next month, but the WWE could always have Reigns plow through Orton in order to set up a match with Triple H next month where "The Game" decides the only way to stop Reigns is to knock him out himself.
This match has potential to be a show-stealer, and it makes most sense for the WWE to give Reigns the nod to continue his push by giving him a high-profile win on one of the biggest shows of the year.
The Pick: Roman Reigns
Orton earned his first World Heavyweight Championship a decade ago at SummerSlam 2004, defeating Chris Benoit:
Orton cashed in his MITB briefcase last year on Daniel Bryan, sparking The Authority storyline:
Singles Match-Stephanie McMahon vs. Brie Bella:
I'm not expecting a classic out of these two and the latest developments with McMahon bringing up Daniel Bryan's "affair" were an even worse turn for a lackluster storyline, but what can you do?
The match could have some potential despite the buildup not being so great. If Triple H is to make an appearance in any match on the show, this will definitely be the one while it will be interesting to see if Daniel Bryan shows up to second his wife.
There have been rumors that the WWE may have Nikki Bella turn heel in order to split up the Bella twins and that could very well happen during this match to give a memorable conclusion to this SummerSlam match.
It's another tossup as it is possible that Bella gets the win in order to have a feel-good moment and to get her revenge on McMahon. If Nikki Bella doesn't turn heel, it is likely that Brie will win as there's more storyline potential to that, but I believe the WWE may pull the trigger on a Nikki heel turn. If that does happen, I don't know how they'll explain her being with top babyface John Cena.
The Pick: Stephanie McMahon
Stephanie's future was on the line when her brother Shane McMahon battled Test at SummerSlam 1999
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WWE World Heavyweight Championship-John Cena (c) vs. Brock Lesnar w/ Paul Heyman:
Sunday night will boil down to a contest that definitely has a big-match feel to it as Cena is the top face in the company and Lesnar looks unstoppable coming into SummerSlam after ending The Streak of The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXX.
Almost everyone believes that Lesnar will win the match and then lose the title back to Cena or Roman Reigns at Night of Champions next month while there have been rumors that despite his limited appearances schedule Lesnar will hold the belt until WrestleMania 31 where he will lose to Reigns.
It's all speculation, and anything can happen come Sunday and between now and the biggest show of the year next March. There is always the possibility that the WWE tries to swerve the audience by giving Cena the nod and having him win against all odds to end SummerSlam with the face standing tall.
Triple H and The Authority may get involved, but the WWE should probably keep the outside interference at this event minimal and just let the main event stand on its own. These two had a classic at Extreme Rules 2012, and I believe this was the best main event the company could have chosen for the biggest show of the summer.
In my opinion, the WWE having Lesnar end The Streak means it needs to recognize the importance of that moment in wrestling history and put the belt on Lesnar here in order to keep 'Taker's legacy intact by having the man that beat him at the biggest show of the year become THE MAN at the second biggest show of the year.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how awesome Paul Heyman has been throughout this buildup. Even in Lesnar's absence, everything that Heyman has done leading up to and after WrestleMania and leading us into SummerSlam has been pure gold. Just imagine the promo on RAW if Lesnar puts Cena away Sunday.
There is the possibility that Rollins cashes in his briefcase, but after the WWE did that last year at SummerSlam I don't believe it will happen here.
The buildup for this match has been great as Lesnar has looked unstoppable and Cena has been mostly serious, taking Lesnar as a legitimate threat to sell the uncertainty of Cena's ability to retain the richest prize in the game.
This will be a back-and-forth match and a lot of false finishes are likely, but at the end of the night Brock Lesnar should and likely will leave the Staples Center with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
The Pick: Brock Lesnar.
Lesnar won the WWE Championship for the first time 12 years ago at SummerSlam 2002 against The Rock:
Cena has had many great battles at SummerSlam, including in 2011 when he faced CM Punk:
The first main event in SummerSlam history featured Hulk Hogan and "Macho Man" Randy Savage against Ted Dibiase and Andre The Giant:
The first WWE Championship match at SummerSlam was The Ultimate Warrior vs. Rick Rude in a Steel Cage Match in 1990:
SummerSlam 2014 takes place live this Sunday at 8 p.m. ET live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
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