This Sunday night, it's "The Biggest Event of the Summer" as the WWE presents SummerSlam live from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Since its inception in 1988, SummerSlam has been the backdrop for some of the most memorable moments, matches and title changes in the history of sports entertainment.
With 11 matches, six of which are for titles, this year's card looks to be stacked and could very well contend with the likes of the fan favorite 2002 edition by going down as one of the best of all-time. At least on paper, this one is shaping up to be a classic, it's just up to the WWE's booking team and the competitors themselves to live up to the hype.
Here are our match-by-match predictions and a preview for WWE SummerSlam 2016. To view this article in slideshow form, CLICK START at the top right of this page.
Pre-show Singles Match (Best-of-7 Match 1): Sheamus vs. Cesaro
The WWE never really seems to know what to do with these two, and it's completely vexing how Cesaro could be so over and so polished as a competitor, yet still get lost in the shuffle. At least the best-of-seven series should be fun since both guys can go in the ring. The "Swiss Superman" should fire the opening salvo.
The Pick: Cesaro
In 2012, Sheamus defeated Alberto Del Rio to retain the World Heavyweight Championship:
Tag Match: Carmella, Becky Lynch & Naomi vs. Natalya & Alexa Bliss
This was originally supposed to be a six-woman tag team match, but Eva Marie's wellness violation suspension has changed things around. The WWE has teased that it may be a handicap match or could become a six-person tag again if the heels find a partner. One popular theory could be Nikki Bella, who just got cleared to return. This will be a nice showcase for the newcomers and hopefully Lynch gets to pin someone.
The Pick: Carmella, Becky Lynch & Naomi.
In 2004, the WWE presented Diva Dodge ball at SummerSlam:
Tag Match: Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs. Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens
This would make the most logical choice as a hot opener to get the crowd going. The Canadian connection of JeriKO has been one of the best, most entertaining combos in a long time. Enzo and Cass will of course have the crowd in the palm of their hands and the pre-match back-and-forth between these two could very well overshadow the match itself. With Enzo (New Jersey) and Cass (Queens, N.Y.) being hometown heroes, they get the win.
The Pick: Enzo & Cass.
Jericho faced John Cena for the WWE Championship in the main event of SummerSlam 2005:
WWE Tag Team Championships: The New Day (c) vs. The Club
There is something poetic to the potential of Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods to drop the Tag Team Championships in the very same place they won them last year. The New Day will enter Sunday with a reign of 443 combined days as champions and have already surpassed Paul London and Brian Kendrick (331).
They have a ways to go to topple the record held by Demolition, who should be in the WWE Hall of Fame. Ax and Smash held the belts for a combined 698 days and one of their reigns lasted 478 days. The New Day's current reign will be one day shy of a year when they enter the curtain at Barclays Center.
The WWE likely wants to get Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson going, but their weak promo work really has left a lot to be desired. Their in-ring abilities have yet to be fully displayed in the WWE, too. It seems they need some time to develop and perhaps with a little help from a returning Big E, The New Day should live to continue their reign.
The Pick: The New Day
Demolition was involved in one of the best Tag Title matches in WWE history when they faced The Hart Foundation in a 2/3 falls clash at SummerSlam 1990:
WWE Intercontinental Championship: The Miz (c) w/ Maryse vs. Apollo Crews
This likely will not live up to the classic Intercontinental Championship matches of past years such as Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels in a Ladder Match (1995), Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect (1991), The Rock vs. Triple H in a Ladder Match (1998) and the epic main event clash between The British Bulldog and Bret Hart (1992), which we recently named the best Intercontinental Championship bout in SummerSlam history.
Still, this should be a nice showcase match for Crews and hopefully it will help him round out a fairly weak midcard for the "SmackDown Live" brand. The WWE seems to love The Miz and with he and Maryse slated for a lot of exposure on "Total Divas" this season, it's hard to bet against him -- even if SummerSlam is the place for stunning Intercontinental Championship title changes.
The Pick: The Miz.
Bret Hart and The Bulldog stole the show in 1992 for the IC Title:
WWE United States Championship: Rusev (c) w/ Lana vs. Roman Reigns
The WWE is finally doing what they should have done with Reigns from the beginning and while he may be too damaged to ever recover from the overbooking, this midcard role at least suits him. It also gives the WWE a solid midcard program between the leader of the Roman Empire and the "Bulgarian Brute."
An argument can be made for Reigns losing here since the WWE shouldn't exactly award a wellness violation offender so quickly upon their return, but the way they jobbed him out in the days after his return may have served as his punishment. Using the logic of the IC bout, the WWE could keep the belt on Rusev to keep him and Lana looking strong for their upcoming "Total Divas" exposure as well.
Vince McMahon seems to be infatuated with Reigns and even though Reigns let the entire locker room down with his failure, McMahon has forgiven his favorites for much less in the past. Either way, this feud will continue, keeping Reigns out of the main title picture -- which is a good thing.
Reigns going over on "RAW" in a match the WWE never should have given away for free could cause some pause, but it could also be a red herring.
The Pick: Roman Reigns
Last year, John Cena defended the U.S. Title against WWE Champion Seth Rollins in a title-for-title clash at SummerSlam:
WWE Women's Championship: Sasha Banks (c) vs. Charlotte
While the stakes are high throughout this show, perhaps the emphasis to put on a memorable match is the highest over in the women's division. It's good to see the WWE attempting to put more stock into women's storylines and matches, but thus far for the most part it's been window dressing without much delivery.
Banks, Charlotte and Becky Lynch stole the show at WrestleMania 32, but then everything went back to the way it was with the booking of the ladies. It's one thing to say there's a Women's Evolution. It's another to deliver it.
Banks put on a Match of the Year candidate last year in this very same building with Bayley, but that was part of NXT. Bayley will likely tear the house down with Asuka at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn, but it's up to "The Boss" and Charlotte to outshine them.
The WWE will hopefully provide plenty of time for the ladies to tell a proper story and while one match won't exactly change the obstacles the women face on the main WWE roster, it could go a long way.
As for the outcome, there's plenty of reason to believe Banks would be the right call for a winner here. She just won the title and the WWE has to recognize that she has remained over with the WWE Universe despite disappearing inexplicably after WrestleMania. Banks should go over and be the face of the division. More important than the winner and the loser, though, this match just has to deliver.
The Pick: Sasha Banks
In 2014, Paige captured the Divas Championship from AJ Lee:
Singles Match: John Cena vs. AJ Styles
This card is so stacked that this match has almost become an afterthought thanks to the two major title matches and inter-promotional main event. This bout, however, could surpass any of the others on the card to become the Match of the Night.
Cena can wrestle with anyone. Sure, his character has been the same for the better part of a decade and the Super Cena stuff gets old, but from bell to bell, the WWE doesn't have many better in-ring showmen.
Styles is an all-world athlete and it will be great to finally see him hit the SummerSlam stage after staying away from the WWE for so long. The only issue is, much like his WrestleMania debut, he may be due for a loss. This one is very much a coin toss as Cena won't be too active on "SmackDown Live" going forward due to his busy schedule, so what does a win do for him here?
"The Phenomenal One," meanwhile, could use the victory to catapult himself as the top heel on the Blue Brand and potentially to a feud with the WWE Champion, whoever that may be after Sunday.
Styles already has a win over Cena thanks to the help of The Club, but with both entities separated, this will be a true one-on-one bout.
Cena has suffered many high-profile losses at SummerSlam and actually owns a five-match losing streak coming into the show and is 3-8 there overall. Since he's due for a win at the event, is loyal to a fault and owes Styles one for his victory over him, it seems Cena will win this one.
The Pick: John Cena.
One of Cena's only SummerSlam wins came when Team WWE defeated Team Nexus in 2010:
WWE Championship: Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler
It was a little odd that most members of the WWE Universe have supported "The Showoff" and railed against his misuse in the company and then some of those same people were outraged he won the No. 1 contenders match to face Ambrose. Some people just can never be happy.
What people should take umbrage with, however, is how the creative team treated Ziggler like an afterthought who could barely get by Baron Corbin and then threw him into this role as a main eventer with very little build or storytelling. A potential answer to that could be: New Era brand extension, fresh slate.
Nitpicking aside, this should be one hell of a match. Both of these Superstars could go in the ring and while it may be outshined by the specter of Indy darlings Seth Rollins and Finn Balor going at it as well as the Orton-Lesnar match, one can't help believing something big could happen here.
Aside from AJ Styles and Bray Wyatt, "SmackDown Live's" crop of heels is pretty weak. If ever a turn were needed, this would be the match to do it and either Ziggler or Ambrose would make compelling villains. Things likely won't play out that way, but regardless, this should be an epic match.
The funny part is the WWE has been down on both of these guys in the past and it was even recently revealed "The Lunatic Fringe" gained some heat for his comments on Steve Austin's podcast, yet one has to win.
Either guy getting a chance to carry "SmackDown Live" would be good, but the WWE should keep the ball rolling with Ambrose until they inevitably decide to put the belt on Orton or Cena. Hopefully Ziggler looks strong even if he loses.
The Pick: Dean Ambrose.
The WWE Championship changed hands for the first time at SummerSlam when Bret Hart defeated The Undertaker in 1997:
WWE Universal Championship: Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins
This match will hopefully be in the Match of the Year conversation by the end of the year, otherwise it'll be a huge missed opportunity.
You can't say enough about Seth Rollins. "The Architect" is quite simply the man and is the present and future of the WWE. He puts on great matches with everyone he steps into the ring with and has emerged as the top heel not only on "RAW," but in all of wrestling. He's that damn good.
Though he has an impressive resume, Balor has a lot to prove here on the main roster as not everyone followed his career path up to the No. 1 promotion in the world. The WWE is showing a ton of confidence in him by giving him this big of a match on such a grand stage this early in his career, but there's little evidence to suggest he won't rise to the occasion.
The WWE made quite a few major missteps on "RAW" this week, one which includes giving away "The Demon King." It just makes no sense why they wouldn't save the reveal for SummerSlam, but I guess the WWE is more worried about increasing the ratings for the flagship show since people will of course tune into SummerSlam regardless.
As for a winner, it seems as though there are just several reasons why Rollins should walk away with the gold. Prior to his injury last November, he carried the company. The former Shield member busted his ass to get back to the ring and deserves to be rewarded. There was a serious void felt when Rollins was sidelined.
It's too early in Balor's tenure for him to carry the "RAW" brand. Him chasing Rollins could last for months and then a victory for the "Demon King" would be more satisfying. The WWE is desperate to do anything to increase ratings, so a Balor win wouldn't be too farfetched.
Still, Rollins is the deserved victor at SummerSlam.
The Pick: Seth Rollins
One of the best main events in SummerSlam history saw CM Punk battle Jeff Hardy in '09 for the WHC in a TLC match:
Inter-promotional Match: Brock Lesnar ('RAW') w/ Paul Heyman vs. Randy Orton ('SmackDown Live')
This may not go down as the best match on the card, but it will surely have that big-bout feel as most of Lesnar's matches do in the WWE. Orton is in many ways the perfect opponent for Lesnar.
It's been quite an interesting time for "The Beast" as he is a controversial figure in the UFC for his violation of a USDA anti-doping test, which certainly gave the WWE some bad publicity since he's never flunked one of their wellness tests. Dean Ambrose also called him out for being "lazy" during the lead up to their WrestleMania 32 clash.
These are part of the many reasons the WWE should consider giving "The Viper" the win. Lesnar is clearly only in it for himself and if he wins this match just to turn around and disappear, it does nothing for anyone. Orton is likely going to be the hand-picked face of "SmackDown Live," and the WWE could get the ball rolling by having him defeat Lesnar here.
This will be a great match and will likely close the show, but Orton has the offense to believably put Lesnar away. Sure, "The Beast" is getting paid millions and has barely lost since ending The Streak of The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXX, but Orton should stun him with an RKO out of nowhere and leave SummerSlam with his hand raised.
The Pick: Randy Orton.
The first main event in SummerSlam history saw the Mega Powers defeat the Mega Bucks in 1988:
Brock Lesnar captured his first WWE Championship in 2002:
Two years later, Orton defeated Chris Benoit to become the youngest Heavyweight Champion in WWE history:
With a staked card and the talent to pull off a great show, it appears SummerSlam will close out this sun soaked season with a bang.
