Sunday will feature six championship matches for the biggest party of the summer. Thus far, eight bouts are set for the card. As always, these are just our predictions with no insider knowledge. Let’s get started with the first match:
WWE Championship match: Drew McIntyre (c) vs Randy Orton
This should be a great match. Randy Orton has been on fire since his latest heel turn and Drew McIntyre has proven to be a solid champion despite the lack of credible challengers. Unfortunately, this is where I think McIntyre’s journey ends as WWE Champion.
At first, I was down on the idea of Orton being the top world champion again. The guy doesn’t need it at this point and WWE desperate needs to start building new stars. However, Orton is arguably the hottest talent they have on the main roster right now. Also, giving Orton the championship can actually be beneficial if his reign is booked smartly.
Orton can be used to elevate his challengers in the coming months. I don’t expect him to drop the belt before Royal Rumble (should he win), but having a strong showing against the veteran can actually do wonders for the young talents that feud with Orton; however, if the company decides to have guys like The Big Show, Mark Henry, or long-time veterans step up and fight him for the coming months then Orton’s reign as champion will be pointless.
Guys like Aleister Black desperately need character development, and I feel that Orton has enough power in the company to control a good portion of his feuds. After all, his rivalry with Edge was mainly dictated by both men.
Orton’s title reign should be about elevating young talents, not having matches against men who are being called back because the company doesn’t have faith in their up-and-coming stars. I completely expect Edge vs. Randy Orton III. I’m fine with that. I’m also intrigued with Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton II.
In terms of McIntyre, it would surprise me if he didn’t win the WWE Championship again. In fact, I would be completely fine if Orton vs. McIntyre II happened at WrestleMania next year. Build up Orton strong and then have McIntyre get a clean win over the 40-year-old. I expect heel shenanigans to come into play, so McIntyre will be protected in his loss.
Of course, I could be wrong and McIntyre could retain his belt on Sunday; however, the problem is that there’s no credible heel challengers left for him to fight. They can always go back to Seth Rollins, which was teased this past week, but I feel it’s actually beneficial that Orton walks out of Summerslam as the new WWE Champion.
Winner: Randy Orton
WWE Universal Championship match: Braun Strowman (c) vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt
Strowman runs into the same problem McIntyre faces if he retains his belt on Sunday, as there’s no credible challengers on the Smackdown side either. AJ Styles comes the closest to being a threat to Strowman’s title reign; however, the “Phenomenal One” isn’t too far off from his two lengthy title reigns and giving Styles the belt again doesn’t create exciting fresh feuds for him unless guys like Adam Cole, Tommasso Ciampa, or Keith Lee get drafted to Smackdown.
The same can be said for Wyatt, but I see officials eventually going back to the Wyatt/Reigns feud that was originally scheduled for this year’s WrestleMania until plans changed last minute. Honestly, I don’t know where either man goes from here, but the chances of the “Monster Among Men” retaining his belt are slim.
Winner: “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt
WWE RAW Women’s Championship match: Sasha Banks (c) vs. Asuka
Asuka IS walking out of Summerslam as champion and I originally had Bayley dropping the belt to the “Empress of Tomorrow”. However, the issue is that Asuka is a Raw star. While they could easily switch Asuka to the blue brand like they did AJ Styles, the company has been building up Shayna Baszler as Asuka’s next challenger, so unfortunately, Banks is going to have another meaningless title reign.
I’ve been saying for months that everything is going to build up to Banks and Bayley finally feuding and I hope the company finally pulls the trigger on this pending rivalry. It’s obvious that the best friends will turn into enemies soon. There are several routes that the rivalry can go following Summerslam; however, I just hope they finally start moving forward with the match-up as there is only so much stalling that this company can do.
Winner: Asuka
Smackdown Women’s Championship: Bayley (c) vs. Asuka
Asuka two-belts sounds nice, but I just don’t see her walking out with both titles. Most likely, Banks will help Bayley keep her championship. I can see Bayley screwing up in the RAW Women’s title match and costing Banks her belt, or the slim possibility of Asuka beating Bayley and losing to Banks. Either way, Asuka will only have one belt coming out of the biggest party of the summer.
Winner: Bayley
WWE RAW Tag Team Championship match: The Street Profits (c) vs. Andrade and Angel Garza
Question: Why didn’t Vega just poison Ford on Sunday before their scheduled match? Ultimately, the build to the tag bout has been filled with plot and logic holes; however, Andrade and Garza have been buried throughout this feud as their comeuppance was handed to them on multiple weeks.
The build suggests that Garza and Andrade will walk out as the new champions due to reverse momentum, but I don’t buy that these three actually poisoned Ford. Unfortunately, this means that Garza and Andrade won’t be walking out victorious on Sunday burying them even further, with the real culprits being revealed following Summerslam.
It’s possible that the person who poisoned Ford could be aligned with the heel group, but again, why not poison Ford on Sunday before their scheduled match?
Winner: The Street Profits
United States Championship match: Apollo Crews (c) vs. MVP
The build to this feud has been…odd (this statement works for the tag title bout too). It seems like officials are building towards Lashley vs. Crews, but are obligated to give MVP another shot at the belt for reasons. I can see this match-up only existing due to Cedric Alexander finally turning heel and joining The Hurt Business.
However, I can’t shake the feeling that Crews will ultimately drop the belt to Lashley soon. I like MVP, but he should be kept in the manager role while the spotlight is on Lashley and his faction. I’ll go with Crews here, but Cedric costing him his championship wouldn’t be surprising at all.
Winner: Apollo Crews
Street Fight: Seth Rollins vs. Dominik Mysterio
I’ve been very impressed with Dominik throughout the build and I’m genuinely looking forward to see what he can do against a veteran like Seth Rollins. Ultimately, Rollins will get his comeuppance, but that will be at the hands of Rey Mysterio.
Winner: Seth Rollins
No Disqualification match (Loser Leaves The WWE): Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville
I’ve also been happy with Sonya Deville’s performance since her heel turn and I hope that she ends up with one of the main titles sooner than later. I’m actually surprised by the stipulation as I don’t expect Deville or Rose to be released from the company unless news eventually spills out about the circumstances surrounding the new stipulation.
I originally had Rose penciled in as the winner for their Hair vs. Hair match and I’m keeping my stance on my pick even though I’m not as confident in it. It’s possible that Deville (or even Mandy) is taking some personal time off after what just transpired. Hell, it’s possible that one of the competitors requested their release, which I hope isn’t the case. Like I said, I stand by Rose winning, though Deville losing isn’t a guarantee anymore.
Winner: Mandy Rose
That’s it! Thanks for reading and feel free to put your predictions in the comment section.