The biggest party of the summer begins in earnest this Saturday, where beefs are settled, grudges are hashed out and potential returns are on the horizon. In order to get you geared up for this Saturday, let’s take a quick run-down the card.
Summerslam Battle Royale
It appears WrestleMania isn’t the only big PPV event that can have a match for people not actively engaged in any feuds and give them some exposure. WWE stands to make a profit from their partnership with Slim Jim, so might as well throw 20 or so stars in a ring. More or less, this is the equivalent of the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royale, just in the summer. In terms of potential candidates to win, you’d obviously have to first look at LA Knight, a man who has risen the ranks expeditiously as one of WWE’s popular acts organically. He has a simple catchphrase, a very succinct promo style, and an electric personality. WWE is reportedly waiting for the “right moment” to pull the trigger on a proper push for Knight. If he’s not in the Battle Royale and has a segment devoted to him instead, then you’re left with the likes of Sheamus, Tomasso Ciampa, Shinsuke Nakamura and Bronson Reed as immediate candidates to win that come to mind.
It is also worth pointing out that it hasn’t been announced what the winner gets for winning. No title opportunities, no trophies…..so it’s ultimately just something to pass the time.
Logan Paul vs. Ricochet
Ironically enough, stories involving outside celebrities often don’t revolve around the common trope of them “not belonging”. This has been Ricochet’s calling card ever since the Royal Rumble where all this began. One would think that a storyline encompassing one’s ability to go viral on the Internet wouldn’t pass for a marquee spot on a Summerslam card, but here we are.
Logan Paul has done more than enough in the ring to show that he’s WWE-caliber. He understands psychology, he understands nuances that take matches to another level, and because he naturally comes off as a narcissist, being a heel comes natural to him. Riccohet represents a polar opposite. A WWE mainstay baby face who’s a reliable spot monkey. What he may lack in personality and promo cutting, he often makes up for in feats of great athleticism.
Yet in still, that hasn’t resulted in those talents being featured on a regular basis. In fact, this will be Ricochet’s first singles match on a PPV since WrestleMania Backlash against Sheamus. And if you’re looking for the last time Ricochet had a singles PPV match in front of people, you’ll have to go a year further back to Super Showdown 2020, when he got squashed by Brock Lesnar in under 2 minutes.
And if you want the last time Ricochet had a singles match on PPV in front of people in the United Stated, you’ll have to go back even further to Extreme Rules 2019, when he lost the United States Championship to AJ Styles. And the last time he won a singles match on PPV was when he won the United States Championship from Samoa Joe at Stomping Grounds. You get the point.
Despite Ricochet becoming a champion in WWE, what he has done in WWE has mostly been superficial. Even the basis of this story. There’s no real deep storytelling other than figuring out what the next viral moment is going to be. And sure, after he collided with Logan in mid-air at the Rumble, that spot was replayed ad nauseum for weeks. But after a while, it loses its luster, and you can’t help but feel nothing will come out of this for Ricochet even if he wins.
Logan Paul has only been in WWE for just under two years, and he’s already had a singles match at Summerslam, a WrestleMania singles match against Seth Rollins, and a world title match against Roman Reigns. He will always have a marquee slot when WWE wants it because he has a following WWE looks to leverage. What becomes of Ricochet regardless of Saturday’s outcome is the real question.
Gunther vs. Drew McIntyre – Intercontinental Championship
Ask any objective fan who has intently watched WWE this calendar year, and they will tell that Gunther has become WWE’s pound-for-pound best in-ring performer on the main roster. If not first, no worse than top 3. It’s been a banner year for Gunther. From running the gauntlet at the Royal Rumble from the No. 1 slot to his high-octane championship defenses, Gunther has risen to become one of one in WWE. Being the “Ring General” isn’t simply his gimmick. You can tell that he embodies everything a champion in WWE should be, and should he emerge victorious against Drew, he will likely become the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time, surpassing the reign of The Honky Tonk Man’s reign of 1987. He has brought prestige back to this championship and has more or less become the Roman Reigns of the mid-card. A one man tour-de-force that has emerged to become one of WWE’s top big-stage performers. And this Saturday, he will share Summerslam’s stage with Drew McIntyre.
It’s been a bit of a weird year for Drew. He became involved in Sheamus and Gunther’s feud over the Intercontinental Championship and took the pinfall loss at WrestleMania in a physical, legendary triple threat bruhaha where all men left their mark. Not too shortly thereafter, rumors began to circulate in regards to Drew’s future in WWE, with sides rumored to be far apart on a new contract. Triple H seemingly quelled those concerns, and upon Drew’s return at Money In The Bank, he made his intentions clear that he’s coming after Gunther. This sets the stage for what should be an immense, physical battle between two international gladiators. One man aiming to become the longest reigning champion of all time, and the other attempting to be known as the man to put a halt to those plans and hold a championship for the first time in over two years.
Shayna Baszler vs. Ronda Rousey – MMA Rules Match
It’s rather refreshing to see Shayna Baszler have a storyline that isn’t “I’m going to dismember your limbs one by one”. From the moment Ronda first came aboard to WWE in 2018 and Shayna’s main-roster call-up in 2020, the two former MMA fighters have not had much interaction before they became the women’s tag team champions. Of course, that, as with all women’s tag team champions since the genesis of the belts, did not amount to much. And at Money In The Bank, Shayna turned on Ronda out of supposedly playing second fiddle to the former UFC Fighter.
When you look at this feud on the surface, it does make sense. Ronda seemingly had everything prepared for her well before she signed a contract with WWE. No NXT, no time in developmental. In fact, her debut simply entailed her coming out after the first ever women’s Royal Rumble match and pointing to the WrestleMania sign, a foreshadowing that the company already had big plans for her. Since then, she’s won both the RAW and SmackDown women’s championships, won the tag team championships, a Royal Rumble match and was one third of the first women’s WrestleMania main event.
Compare that with Shayna Baszler, who has meandered around in aimless feuds, not being featured for months at a time and only gaining relevance if she’s involved with whatever Ronda’s doing. With Ronda rumored to be out the door in WWE, you have to think Shayna will emerge from the first ever WWE’s “MMA Rules” match victorious. Although it must be said if the plan is to have Shayna go over, she must do so in a way that leaves little doubt about her abilities. Many have criticized her character for being one-dimensional, and that her character revolves around her wrestling style. If that’s the case, then she should make an example out of the Baddest Women on the Planet. If it proves to be a success, you have another viable contender for the women’s championship on SmackDown. If it is a flop, then it will be more of the same for Shayna.
Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
The Beast Incarnate and The American Nightmare are set to battle in their third and presumably final battle this Saturday. Confusingly enough, no stipulation for this match has been announced, even after rumors suggested that a stipulation that hadn’t been seen in a while was supposed to take place. Even after Brock F-5’ed Cody in front of his mother! Cody and Brock do not require a stipulation to have an engaging match, but one would think that with the level of physicality and personal elements that has been introduced over the last few months that there would be some kind of stipulation to heighten the violence a bit. Of course, with the stipulation introduced in the main event, there may have been a fear of overusing similar elements throughout the night.
Regardless, Brock Lesnar represents one of the many blockades Cody will face en route to getting back to where he was one second before delivering the final Cross Rhodes to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania. More or less, something to occupy his time and divert Roman’s attention back to the internal turmoil that has taken place within his family. Brock’s future is uncertain, but one thing we do know is that he hasn’t changed. His promo on RAW perfectly encapsulated what he does best. He’s paid to perform and kick ass, and few people do that better than an engaged Brock Lesnar. That’s why any time anyone is able to overcome that version of Brock, it’s usually treated as a big deal.
For all we know, Adam Pearce can come out right before the match begins and announce a 3 Stages of Hell match, but assuming a normal one-fall match is what we get, we should be in for another solid outing. The first match ended in a fluke victory for Cody, and the 2nd one ended with Cody passing out, but not tapping. So you’d have to think the winner of this match will win in a definitive manner that leaves no doubt who the better man is. And while I’m no Dr. Strange, I can’t see any outcome that isn’t Cody emerging victorious as he continues his journey back up the championship mountain.
Bianca Belair vs. Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair – WWE Women’s Championship
There’s really no story to this triple threat match other than Charlotte Flair cutting in line and Bianca not having any part of that. Asuka really hasn’t been engaged in anything outside of facing her two challengers in this match in singles bouts for the title. I think it would have made significantly more sense for Charlotte to try and get revenge on Rhea and go after her for a rematch at Summerslam. Instead, we have one woman who won the championship through cheating and not doing much with it since, another woman who came back after losing the other women’s championship at WrestleMania and deciding she’s going after this one, and the other one who wanted her rematch, got cut in line, got it, was screwed and is getting another rematch.
The only other external factor in this triple threat feud has been the involvement of Io Shirai and the multiple failed attempts she’s had at trying to cash in her Money In The Bank contract on Asuka. One would think that the trend would continue at Summerslam, so we’ll see how that develops.
Going off the strength of these competitors in this match, this should still be a whole bit of fun. With Charlotte, you just never know when she’s going to win once again, and Bianca just recently enjoyed a 400+ day, reign. I’d imagine Asuka retains for the immediate future, but for SmackDown’s women’s division, the focus should be on building up new challengers so that Asuka is not in limbo for months defending her championship against non-threats for weeks at a time. But as long as Charlotte Flair is on the roster, title opportunities for her will come a dime a dozen. The same goes for Bianca.
Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor
This grudge has been billed as a feud as a match 7 years in the making, and it all revolves around Finn Balor seeking revenge and retribution for his match against Seth Rollins 7 years ago in the inaugural Universal Championship match. The irony, of course, is that Finn is seeking revenge for a match he won. Finn won the match, but lost the opportunity to have a proper opportunity with the championship, as Seth Rollins tore Finn’s labrum on a barricade powerbomb gone awry. This was the third in a series of rather major incidents involving superstars getting hurt in matches with Seth, as in the previous year, Seth had broken John Cena’s nose off a ripcord knee to the face, and Sting suffering a then career-ending neck injury off a turnbuckle powerbomb that caused him to go numb.
All of these isolated freak accidents took a toll on Seth’s reputation, and it even went as far as pro wrestling legend Bret Hart calling Seth an unsafe worker, when in actuality, it was just a series of unfortunate outcomes that came off of standard moves. For Finn, this injury would put him on the shelf for about 7 months, only making his return until the RAW after WrestleMania the following year. Unfortunately, all the momentum he had built up leading to his Summerslam Universal Championship triumph was snuffed out. On his first night on RAW, he had won a Fatal Four Way match and then proceeded to defeat Roman Reigns clean, a feat less than a handful of stars can say they’ve done.
After winning the Universal Championship with his Demon persona, he seemed to be destined for a major push to the moon, but the injury took away all of his momentum. And unfortunately, his return from injury coincided with Brock Lesnar’s 500+ day reign with that same Universal Championship where he’d be away for months at a time. He did get one opportunity at the 2019 Royal Rumble but was defeated in short order. He’d enjoy brief, but unmemorable reigns with the Intercontinental and United States championships and would even go back to his stomping grounds in NXT to re-capture some of the initial magic that drew many to him. He’d become NXT Champion, and then make his return to RAW. It was more of the same until The Judgement Day rebelled against Edge, making him the new de facto leader. While he lost the feud against Edge, he has another opportunity to re-capture world championship gold against the bane of his existence.
As far as Seth Rollins goes, he’s been a serviceable World Championship. Although, the idea that his world championship is a consolation prize to Roman’s title grows stronger with each week. That idea would be enforced if Seth loses this Saturday after only one successful defense of the championship on PPV.
I appreciate the long-term storytelling in this feud, and you must think with each member of the Judgement Day holding a coveted prize, it would only be right if Finn completes the championship quartet. And if Finn does in fact get his retribution, the next natural question becomes where Damian Priest and his Money In The Bank contract factors into everything.
Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso – Undisputed WWE Universal Championship (Tribal Combat)
This match has been set up based off the events of the last few months, but this might as well be a match three years in the making. When Roman made his triumphant return at Summerslam three years ago, he had the long game in mind. Gather the members of his family and rule over the WWE with an assertive iron fist. The Usos were split apart at the time courtesy of an injury that Jey’s brother Jimmy had suffered, leaving Jey as a twin all alone with no direction. Roman sought him, but more importantly, he sought his acknowledgement. Jey was initially rebellious and after a couple of failed bids at Roman’s Universal Championship, one of which coming in the first ever “I Quit” Hell In a Cell match, Jey ultimately succumbed to the champion’s wishes. And there was benefit for him. Jey Uso morphed into “Main Event” Jey Uso. He won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royale. Became the longest reigning tag team champions of all time with his brother. Became a part of the first tag team main event in WrestleMania history. His stock is certainly higher with The Bloodline than it was before.
But after Sami Zayn’s meddling, which ultimately led to them losing the tag team championships, The Bloodline’s power in WWE started to diminish with the loss of the belts. Roman would become increasingly frustrated with The Usos’ failure, and it all came to a head when Roman, and the enforcer of The Bloodline, Solo, would fail to bring the Undisputed Tag titles back to The Bloodline. It is here where Jimmy would definitely kick Roman in the face, which ultimately led to his ex-communication from The Bloodline. This ultimately would lead Jey to take an introspective look within himself and determine where his loyalties lie. And after a series of kicks to the face with his brother in tow, we had our answer.
At Money In The Bank, all four members of the Bloodline would engage in a “Civil War” that ultimately saw The Usos prove why they are arguably the best tag team of this generation, and Jey would pin Roman Reigns, handing them the victory. But after Roman and Solo took out Jimmy, Jey stands in the same spot that he was in 3 years ago, as he faces Roman in “Tribal Combat” (WWE’s 7th different way of saying No Holds Barred) for the prize of Tribal Chiefhood, as well as Roman’s Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. And he has to do it on his own.
There’s a lot of symbolism in this matchup, and it is a representation of the long-term storytelling between these two. Yet in still, it doesn’t feel Roman’s championship is in much jeopardy. And Roman getting pinned by the same man two PPV’s in a row? Not likely
Returns?
If there is one thing Summerslam has been defined by in recent years, it is superstars returning from hiatuses or injuries. In 2020, the PPV ended with Roman spearing Braun Strowman and newly crowned Universal Champion, The Fiend, after skipping out on WrestleMania due to concerns about COVID-19. This was essentially the starting point of Roman’s historic reign. In 2021, Becky Lynch returned from her pregnancy after not being seen since weeks after WrestleMania the prior year. In addition, Roman’s old nemesis, Brock Lesnar, looked to confront Roman after the main event was over. Then, in 2022, we had Bayley return from a torn ACL in 2021, bringing along IYO SKY and thought to be released Dakota Kai in tow. We also saw Edge return in a fiery blaze to get revenge on the Judgement Day that exiled him from the group months prior.
So if this trend continues, the question is who might be in store for a return this Saturday. The most immediate thought that comes to most people’s minds is Randy Orton. Randy has not been seen since May of last year, when RK-Bro lost the tag team unification match to The Usos. He suffered a debilitating back injury for which he required fusion surgery, and the length of time he’s been out should give credence to the severity of what he had suffered. It doesn’t appear we have any concrete information on where his future stands. Some reports suggest that WWE has no immediate plans for him and that he was advised to never get in the ring again. Others suggest that he’s back in the gym working out and feels relatively good. Rev Theory releasing a new version of his theme song, “Voices”, did little to quell speculation that his return may be on the horizon. Regardless if a return is indeed in sight, there will be a large pop awaiting him.
