Match Predictions and Heat Index Anticipation Levels
Temperature Scale = Scorching > Hot > Lukewarm > Temperate > Chilly > Cold > Freezing
Heat Index is my assessment of how interesting the segment is, including how excited I am for the match and how intriguing the feud has been. The hotter, the better. Scorching translates to not being able to wait to see it, while Freezing means I couldn’t possibly care less and think it will be awful.
WWE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Randy Orton
Heat Index = Scorching
Prediction: Drew McIntyre wins.
Thoughts: HOW GOOD HAS ORTON BEEN? Jeez. This guy is killing it this year and it’s hard for me to say he isn’t a clear, 100% guaranteed winner of this title. But that’s because McIntyre is looking surprisingly strong despite all the negatives that come with having no audience. Personally, I’m enjoying his run quite a bit. I hope I’m not alone in that assessment. It seems unfair to take the title off McIntyre when there aren’t any decent babyfaces other than Owens who could feud with Orton over the coming months. Then again, who would be next for McIntyre? And what if we got a draft? Does this mean Orton wins and holds it until Edge comes back and that’s for the title, or do they not need that belt in the mix? It’s a coin flip, to me. But if I had to pick, I’d say McIntyre retains and this could be a great match.
UNIVERSAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Braun Strowman (c) vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt
Heat Index = Lukewarm
Prediction: Bray Wyatt wins.
Thoughts: There are so many elements to this that I can’t imagine WWE doesn’t find a way to make it a total mess. This feels like it’s guaranteed to be overbooked and a problem in hindsight. As a Strowman fan who thinks Wyatt is overrated and doesn’t want to see the title back in The Fiend’s possession, I’m feeling pretty doomed about this. I fully expect Alexa Bliss to ally herself with Wyatt and screw Strowman out of the title to become the Harley Quinn to Wyatt’s Joker, and/or for there to be a double turn that sees Strowman end this as a full heel and Wyatt as a babyface. All of these things, I feel, would be a mistake. I guess I’ll find out, but I sadly think Strowman’s reign is coming to an end no matter what.
RAW WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Sasha Banks (c) vs. Asuka
Heat Index = Temperate
Prediction: Asuka wins.
Thoughts: I’ve seen the match enough times now that I just want to skip to the end. All in all, I think Asuka’s taking the title back and this will be one of the reasons why Banks and Bayley split. More on that below.
SMACKDOWN WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Bayley (c) vs. Asuka
Heat Index = Temperate
Prediction: Bayley wins.
Thoughts: The ultimate end goal of The Golden Role Models has to be Banks beating Bayley for the SmackDown title, right? Otherwise, what has been the point of all this? Banks tends to be the one looking like she’s doing Bayley’s dirty work more and that Bayley’s looking out for herself more than being a good friend. My guess is Asuka somehow gets screwed out of the Bayley match with Banks helping. Then, Bayley tries to help Banks, but inadvertently costs her the win. That will drive a wedge further between them.
NO DQ LOSER LEAVES WWE MATCH:
Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville
Heat Index = Hot
Prediction: Mandy Rose wins.
Thoughts: Look at that, WWE was actually following through with a storyline and giving us a gimmick that made sense, rather than a standard match. The Hair vs Hair thing was interesting and could have lead to Sonya Deville taking the next step toward her bad ass character. What?! Who’s writing this logic, good stuff and why can’t you be writing some of the other feuds to stop them from turning out like crap? Then, poof, its changed to a No Disqualification match with the stipulation being that the loser leaves WWE. If that was the plan all along, then I take back the positive compliments. However, I assume that’s not the case. My guess is the whole kidnapping situation played into this and they pivoted to try to make up for it. Maybe Sonya wants some time off, rather than to go straight into the shaved head angle. Perhaps she has court stuff she has to deal with, or just needs a break. For that matter, maybe its Mandy who wants a break and they didn’t want to shave her head. I’ll still assume Mandy wins, but its a shame this is just going to be one of those gimmicks that doesn’t have as much of an impact as if it would have been the logical hair thing.
RAW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
The Street Profits (c) vs. Andrade and Angel Garza
Heat Index = Chilly
Prediction: Andrade and Angel Garza win.
Thoughts: I’m a big fan of both of these teams. Normally, I would love to see this. But for God’s sake, this match has happened how many times this year? They’ve exhausted it. Hell, they even had a non-title match the other week! It has been going on in some format since prior to WrestleMania. It’s time for Andrade and Garza to win the belts and for everyone to move on. If they fail yet again, then they have to split up. It can’t just be back to the status quo and repeat all over again.
UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Apollo Crews (c) vs. MVP
Heat Index = Temperate
Prediction: Apollo Crews wins.
Thoughts: WWE has far too many rematches these days. This feud has run into the same boat. We just had a match between them the other day on Raw and now, they’re simply doing it again. There’s no gimmick to spice it up, even. It’s just the match that should’ve happened at Extreme Rules, but didn’t, and then happened on Raw, but again. Copy and paste. What’s so special about that? WWE could have at least made it a No DQ or something. It should have been Crews against Bobby Lashley instead. With Payback following the next Sunday, if that match doesn’t happen there, that’ll be insane. Crews keeps the belt and possibly drops it at Payback, I guess?
STREET FIGHT:
Dominik Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins
Heat Index = Temperate
Prediction: Dominik Mysterio wins.
Thoughts: Again, WWE is just dragging things out. I’ve been long over this feud for a few months, but it just keeps going on. At least this time, there’s some intrigue in seeing Dominik have his first true match. Is he going to suck? Maybe. Will he be okay or a pleasant surprise? I guess we’ll see, but since this is a street fight, we might not. Ultimately, I care more about seeing what Dominik has to offer than absolutely anything revolving around this storyline. I’d be just as interested (or not interested, if you view it that way) if it were a random Dominik vs. Riddick Moss match or something, even without the kendo sticks. Mysterio wins through some shenanigans with pops helping him.
OVERALL PPV:
How excited am I for the event as a whole?
Heat Index = Lukewarm
Thoughts: There are certainly some elements to this that I’m very, very excited about. Just the same, though, there are some parts that I couldn’t care less about. They balance out to a slightly more positive overall viewpoint, but not anything worthy of a Hot, as that would be a B+, essentially. This has a lot of potential, but isn’t necessarily something I feel will take advantage of that potential.
What do you think is going to happen at WWE SummerSlam? Which matches are you most excited to see? Keep the discussion going in the comments below!
