Choke's 2016 WWE Summerslam Predictions
Posted by: choke Aug 21, 2016 | 1717 views | 1 comments
Another fantasy season coming to a close. Here's hoping you had Dean Ambrose on your team. If not, there's a good chance you're not in first place. The lineup lookd good on paper.
Going to try to make this short, but usually I can't help myself:
Kickoff Show
Sheamus vs Cesaro in the first match of the best of 7 series
Cesaro feels like he's dominated Sheamus lately, and this feud should ultimately be used to build Cesaro up, so I think they start by having Sheamus with a win, and maybe even consecutive wins to put Cesaro in the underdog role for him to overcome. Predication: Sheamus wins
Sami Zayn & Neville vs the Dudley Boyz
Zayn & Neville seem the obvious choice. Prediction: Zayn and Neville win
American Alpha, Usos and Hype Bros vs Breezango, Ascension and Vaudevillains
Prediction: I will skip the kickoff show. Ultimate Alpha is the team to be pushed out of this group, but having them lose in a six team match won't really do anything to their momentum. I could see the Usos and Alpha having some friction and getting the heels a win. Either way those two teams will be the story here I think. Prediction: Heels win due to Alpha/Usos friction
Main Card
New Day vs Gallows/Anderson for the Tag Team Titles
The New Day have lost a lot of steam lately, which can happen when you have titles locked down with the same individual(s) for such a long period of time. Well there's no better way to breathe some new life into a division than by having a title change? So I'm going to go wishful thinking here, because as stale as I've been finding them lately I'm sure they're still selling a ton of merch Prediction: Gallows/Anderson win the tag titles
The Miz vs Apollo Crews for the IC Championship
I can't believe Miz still has this belt, but Crews doesn't really feel right for it either at the moment. I like Miz to retain for now. Prediction: Miz retains, new challengers come to light soon
Finn Balor vs Seth Rollins for the WWE Universal Championship
With such a top heavy main card, I think the WWE may decide to start the show off with a bang and give us the new title match early. This is a tough match to call and I don't think it's the last we see of these two against each other for the near future, and I can see it going both ways with either Rollins chasing the title on the new hotshot, or the build with Balor chasing the established mega-heel in Rollins. Add in some potential Gallows/Anderson interference (and to help whom?) and it should be an exciting match. I think this way makes for the better story: Prediction: Seth Rollins wins the Universal Championship with help from Gallows/Anderson to put a huge handicap for Balor's huge build/eventual win.
Naomi, Carmella and Becky Lynch vs Natalya, Alexa Bliss, and ???
Eva Marie was pulled due to her recent suspension, and she probably would've have wrestled anyway due to her gimmick. When the Nikki Bella news hit it seemed natural for people to think Nikki might take Eva's spot for her return. I don't think they will bring her back in such a lowly spot as a kickoff show. I think they'll save her for a bigger spot. I think the best move would be for them to have the heels do a backstage beatdown of Carmella or something to remove her from the match. In either case, I'll flip a coin and say the faces get the win. Prediction: Naomi, Carmella and Lynch win
Rusev vs Roman Reigns for the US Championship
It's funny how if this match happened at any point in the last say 4-5 months it'd seem a given Reigns would win, and now I'm sitting here considering that it's a strong possibility that he'll lose to Rusev at Summerslam. It'd be the right call. They've got to build him up slowly but surely, and at this point the fans still don't seem to be buying into him. Prediction: Rusev retains and the WWE continues to try to build Reigns as the american hero so he can get some cheers.
Enzo/Cass vs Jeri-KO
Enzo/Cass are so damned over it's going to be hard predicting them to lose anything in the coming months. Then again I love what they have with Jeri-KO and hope that continues. I think they go with what the crowd will want, and Enzo/Cass go over here. Prediction: Enzo/Cass win, lots of merch is sold
AJ Styles vs Cena
I think Styles needs this win so much more than Cena. Well, anyone needs a win more than Cena, but if the WWE is at all invested in building up Styles he has to pick up this win. As Samoa Joe just lost the NXT championship, I've seen some speculation he might help Styles get a win here. I like that idea quite a bit because I have a hard time seeing Styles go over clean here and have a hard time thinking of another individual who could make the same first impact as Joe. Ah hell, let's just keep making this the wishful thinking prediction special: Prediction: Styles beats Cena with the help of Samoa Joe
Lesnar vs Orton
A loss for Orton here just seems like it'd be a huge mistake for his first major match back. You can have him get destroyed by Lesnar in the months to come if you want, but he should take this first match, and find a way to do it to still protect Lesnar. Prediction: Orton beats Lesnar
Sasha Banks vs Charlotte for the Women's Title
Dean Ambrose vs Dolph Ziggler for the WWE Title
The build has been better for this match than the initial match sounded to me, though I still think they could have done a much more intriguing/exciting matchup. Given all the other run ins I'm predicting for the other major titles I think they might make this just a showcase of wrestling and hopefully we get a great match out of it. The only thing I could maybe see is a heel turn for Ziggler after the match, maybe during the handshake, or perhaps a confrontation by a new Challenger after the match is over (Styles? Cena? Orton?) Prediction: Dean Ambrose retains the WWE World Title. Is confronted by AJ Styles after