Following Extreme Rules 2018, WWE will be setting its sights on the next pay-per-view: SummerSlam 2018, scheduled for August 19, 2018 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be seeing the build to set up the matches which will make up the card for the show, and last night’s episode of Monday Night Raw kicked things off with the first indication of what we might get for that event.
What is the current state of the feuds on the red brand and what directions could these storylines end up for SummerSlam 2018? That’s up to us to speculate about, so feel free to join me in this extended projections breakdown for the Raw programs heading into SummerSlam 2018.
Let’s take a look at what we’re working with here with what we know, what we think we know, and what we’re just flat out going to guess at.
Universal Championship Match: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns or Bobby Lashley
Tonight on Raw, it was declared that Brock Lesnar will defend the Universal Championship against either Bobby Lashley or Roman Reigns, as the two won their matches to qualify for a No. 1 contender’s match.
Call me crazy, but I’m suspicious that we’ll get a true decision here.
I’m 100% thinking we’re getting a double count-out or disqualification or some kind of no-contest finish that allows this story to be stretched out another week and for Angle to declare that it will be a Triple Threat against Lesnar at SummerSlam.
If that isn’t the case, I guess Reigns is winning in order to offset his loss at Extreme Rules, and he’ll fight Lashley at Hell in a Cell in a rubber match.
We’ll see next week. In the meantime…
The Leftovers from the Two Triple Threat Matches
While Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley won their respective Triple Threat matches to move on to fight each other, four other people lost: Finn Balor, Elias, Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre.
More on Finn Balor and Drew McIntyre below, but as far as Seth Rollins and Elias, I don’t think we’re going to get any kind of feud between those two.
Instead, Elias strikes me as the type who will do a musical segment and not a match, while Rollins will either be back in the Intercontinental Championship situation, or start a feud with someone else.
To be honest, I have no idea who else Rollins could be paired with if Dean Ambrose isn’t ready to go, and I don’t buy into that right now, either, as I feel like that should have been hinted at with the Iron Man match if that were the case, but it wasn’t.
Intercontinental Championship Match: Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. ???
This week on Raw, Dolph Ziggler cut a promo on Seth Rollins, seemingly putting an end to that feud, as there was no response from The Architect to acknowledge the feud continuing.
Following that, Bobby Roode came out to issue a challenge for the Intercontinental Championship, but only receive a regular match for his efforts, which he ultimately lost.
Had he won the match, there would no doubt be talk of how that puts him in the running for a title opportunity. With a loss, though, it doesn’t seem to be the case, as it’s hard to argue he deserves a shot at the belt after losing.
Instead, I would expect to see someone else put in the title hunt, and my go-to reaction is Finn Balor. He was in the match against Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns, so there could be some continuation between McIntyre and Balor going forward that translates to Balor vs. Ziggler.
Next week will probably give us the true path ahead of Ziggler, with Roode only being a stepping stone for him to get a win over someone.
Raw Women’s Championship Match: Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Ronda Rousey
As expected, we’ve officially moved on from Nia Jax, with Ronda Rousey being the next opponent for Alexa Bliss. A match between the two has been made official, with the only caveat being that Rousey needs to not break her suspension for another week.
This felt like a guarantee after the events that transpired at Money in the Bank and Extreme Rules, so there aren’t any surprises.
Next week, Rousey will be off Raw, while we’ll likely see another promo from Bliss and Mickie James, possibly with a match against Natalya, as she’s Rousey’s friend.
Once the suspension has been lifted, I’d be shocked if we don’t get Rousey vs. James, as well as Rousey and Natalya vs. Bliss and James. Then, we’re pretty much good to go.
Raw Tag Team Championship Match: The B-Team (c) vs. The Authors of Pain
This week, The B-Team scored a win over The Ascension, which means absolutely nothing. Meanwhile, The Authors of Pain defeated Titus Worldwide, which also means nothing. We also were told that next week, The B-Team will have to defend the Raw Tag Team Championship against The Deleters of Worlds.
In my mind, this boils down to the following chain of events: The B-Team retain the titles, Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy are pushed aside, The Authors of Pain stake claim to the belts, AOP decimates The B-Team for a few weeks to illustrate their dominance, and eventually, at SummerSlam, wreck shop and take the belts from the comedic jobbers.
Sasha Banks / Bayley
This feud continues, as it has for nearly seven months, and the latest step forward is an acknowledgement from Kurt Angle that if Sasha Banks and Bayley can’t work it out, something has to be done.
His answer was to say that one of those two would be traded over to SmackDown.
We’re not sure when, for whom, or what will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, but the most reliable thing would be a match between the two at SummerSlam.
They had an odd count-out loss and a backstage “argument” where Sasha told Bayley how much she loves her. Strange to further exacerbate things by saying quite the opposite, but that’s the hook to get us interested in what happens next.
Mojo Rawley
For some reason, WWE seems to be wanting to push Mojo Rawley. I don’t see why, and I don’t think this is going to matter in terms of building the SummerSlam card, but it’s something to take into account.
Braun Strowman
Kevin Owens appears to have been written off television with the fall from Extreme Rules, while Strowman hasn’t moved on to anybody else. The next few weeks, we could see him start a program with someone else, or he could just remain a lingering threat in the Universal Championship match, or even declare that he wants to add himself into the match no matter who wins between Reigns and Lashley.
CARD PREDICTION SUMMARY
Universal Championship Match: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns or Bobby Lashley
Intercontinental Championship Match: Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Finn Balor?
Raw Women’s Championship Match: Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Ronda Rousey
Raw Tag Team Championship Match: The B-Team (c) vs. The Authors of Pain
Sasha Banks vs. Bayley
+ the SmackDown Live side of things
Those are my predictions, but what matches do YOU think will be on the card? Drop your guesses in the comments below!
