WWE SummerSlam 2015 Predictions
August 23, 2015
By: Mike Tedesco of Wrestleview.com
It’s finally here. Probably one of the more anticipated SummerSlam cards in here is finally going to take place tonight – and I’m going to be live at the Barclays Center to see it. Unfortunately I’m going to have a little trouble sitting correctly since I paid scalper prices for my seats and they really took me to the woodshed on that one. The funny thing is I went to the NXT show last night in Brooklyn and I’m wondering how the show I’m paying so much to attend tonight is going to beat out the one that didn’t cost me an arm and a leg to attend.
All kidding aside, WWE has done a really great job building up this event. They’ve booked ten matches for a four-hour show, almost all I am anxious to see. Heck, we’ve even got Jon Stewart hosting the show and ESPN covering it all day and night. It should be a spectacular night of wrestling. Oops, I didn’t mean to use the “w” word. I meant to say sports entertainment. Ok Wrestleview Universe™, lets get to the predictions.
Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper vs. Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose
We’ll get started right off the bat with one of the more interesting matches on the show. It’s not interesting in the way it’s been built. Originally, it was rumored that it was to be a six-man tag with Sting teaming with Reigns and Ambrose, but that got 86ed. That would have been supremely interesting. Instead, we’re stuck with this regular tag match, but there are a lot of rumblings of someone turning heel on the face side. Many people are suggesting it would be Dean Ambrose, but I don’t think that’s the right move. The guy is over with the crowd despite WWE positioning him away from the main event. Ambrose is over in a way that many guys on the roster only wish they could be over. On the other hand, Roman Reigns is floundering and fast. There are moments where things seem to click, but they’re few and far between. He’s still having trouble holding a crowd for an entire match (this past Monday’s RAW is a great example). I think the right move would be to turn him heel and let him figure things out with that. I think a good heel turn, whether it be short or long term, would do wonders for him. That way when he turns back, it may be because the crowd wants him to, thus getting him over bigger than ever. Whatever he’s doing now just isn’t cutting it whatsoever.
Prediction: Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper
Stephen Amell and Neville vs. Stardust and King Barrett
This one is a pretty easy call. They hardly ever bring in a celebrity in this day and age and have them lose. Isn’t it funny that they bring actors in who have no experience wrestling and put them over guys who do this night in and night out? I always get a kick out of that. To be fair, Stephen Amell seems to really enjoy the product and was fantastic in his run in two weeks back. I’m not expecting this one to take a long time. The addition of King Barrett to this match kind of clues me in as to who will be taking the pin.
Prediction: Stephen Amell and Neville
Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev
Let me preface this by saying I’m looking forward to seeing this match. I think both guys are excellent talents and this will wind up being a very good match (as long as it’s given some time). That being said the storyline to get to this match has been pretty brutal. Ziggler and Lana have as much chemistry as lamb and tuna fish (Big Daddy reference). The whole thing feels so forced, and I get the sneaking suspicion that everyone will wind up back to where they were before this thing started. It’s also kind of creepy and wrong to constantly book angles where one guy is kissing the other guy’s real life girlfriend. It’s almost like it’s malicious because they do it so often. Bottom line is the storyline itself isn’t working, but the match itself should be quite good. It’s tough to say who should win. Ziggler just came back from “having his throat crushed,” but this is also Rusev’s first big match back since he broke his ankle. Rusev spent the entire spring being beaten by John Cena. I think out of the two, he has the highest ceiling. Ziggler will never be further than where he is.
Prediction: Rusev
Elimination Match
Team Bella vs. Team B.A.D. vs. PCB
After attending NXT last night and watching Bayley and Sasha Banks tear down the house while competing for something called the NXT WOMEN’S Championship, this variation of the “Diva’s Revolution” on the main roster just feels like it’s coming up short. Thus far, they’ve failed to capture the electricity that exists down in NXT. Perhaps it’s because they’ve thrown together these “teams.” Maybe it’s the random match-ups they have every week that are thrown together just because. It could be that they tell the audience that they’re going to “tear the house down” only for them to fall short. I think all three of those reasons are great reasons. They really should have just let them come up and start their own revolution. Having Stephanie McMahon kick it off kind of watered it down in my opinion. I also hate the usage of the term “Diva” to refer to the women. If they want to change how they’re looked at, first tackle how they’re referred to. The most powerful team in this one is PCB. They’ve got Charlotte and Becky Lynch that are doing well. Charlotte has beaten The Bellas a few times and seems to be being positioned for the next shot at the Divas Championship, so I’d give them the win.
Prediction: PCB
Randy Orton vs. Sheamus
When I was on the WWE website to run through the matches booked, I saw this one and completely forgot that a.) this was booked and b.) that they’ve been feuding. Then it all came back to me. I will say that these two match up really well and can go in the ring if given some time. Their match at Battleground last month was quite good, though that had the advantage of taking place in Orton’s hometown. If memory serves, this is the exact match-up that the fans turned on the night after WrestleMania 29, which was in the area where SummerSlam is. Hopefully the NY/NJ crowd will treat them fine. Sheamus has been getting pinned way too often, so I think tonight would be the night to let him get his win back. It doesn’t have to be a clean victory – just a victory. The guy is holding a briefcase that puts him one match away from the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Let him save face a little bit. If and when he wins the title, he won’t completely limp into his reign.
Prediction: Sheamus
Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro
Watching Kevin Owens have an incredible ladder match against Finn Bálor last night knowing that he could potentially be putting his SummerSlam match in jeopardy with an injury made me respect him so much more. The guy is an absolute animal. This is one of the matches I’m very anxious to see. It just feels like it’s going to be an incredible match. Owens is a beast, but so is Cesaro. Cesaro has really picked up a ton of steam after having two great matches against John Cena and some great showings in some triple threat matches in recent weeks. Hopefully they don’t pull the rug out from under his feet in coming weeks. Actually that applies to both men. Given that Owens came in with a ton of steam only for him to lose to Cena clean on PPV twice (once by submission) and just lost to Bálor last night, I think he should pick up the win here with a lot of tomfoolery, of course. This has the potential to be the best worked match of the evening. Even if it doesn’t have the most heat, I think for people who love and appreciate good wrestling, this will be memorable.
Prediction: Kevin Owens
WWE Tag Team Championships – Fatal 4-Way Match
New Day vs. Los Matadores vs. The Lucha Dragons vs. The Prime Time Players (c’s)
Is there another act in the tag team division more entertaining than The New Day? The question is rhetorical. Of course they are. They’re one of the more entertaining acts in WWE at the moment. No other act gets more out of the five minutes they’re featured on RAW or Smackdown every week than this team does. It’s a no brainer. New Day has to win. New Day has to win. New Day has to win. I’ll say it again: New Day has to win.
Prediction: The New Day
WWE Intercontinental Championship – Triple Threat Match
Big Show vs. The Miz vs. Ryback (c)
I will admit that I am not particularly amped up to see this one. When they canceled it last month due to Ryback’s serious staph infection, it wasn’t like people were clamoring to see the match. I don’t think there was a big rush for refunds at Battleground when it didn’t take place. The Miz being squashed left and right makes him the favorite using WWE’s demented logic, but I think after fighting off a really bad staph infection, Ryback should keep his title.
Prediction: Ryback
Title For Title, Winner Take All
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins vs. U.S. Champion John Cena
This is a really intriguing match and one where I’m really not sure what direction they’re going to go. Do they make Cena a sixteen-time World Champion or do they give Rollins one of the bigger rubs of the last decade by having him go over Cena and be a double champion? There are a lot of ways they can go. The build for this was really accented by a fantastic promo from Cena to put this over big. These two have wrestled quite a bit in the last year and have great chemistry. This will be very good. The reactions to Cena in Brooklyn will be incredible I think. Even though he had his nose relocated to the other side of his head, I don’t think Cena needs this win. Cena could lose every match for the rest of his career and not lose his spot. It’s time to take Rollins to the next level. I’m just hoping it’s not one of those no finish matches. If Rollins does lose, they have the out because I don’t think he ever signed that contract. Still, I’d skip all that stuff and just have him win.
Prediction: Seth Rollins
The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar
Well this is the whole show right here. The whole show is built on this one match. All the other nine are great additions, but this is the one that will define the show. It’s definitely one of the more anticipated rematches ever. I was there to see the streak end last year. Now I get to see Undertaker’s revenge. It’ll be interesting to see what roles they play in this match. Lesnar is clearly the most over babyface in the company. They had Undertaker play heel at RAW. It’s going to be an interesting dynamic. I know that no matter what, I don’t have it in me to boo Undertaker. This is going to be a lot of fun. They could put Undertaker over here and have them have a rubber match at WrestleMania 32 in his swan song, but I’m thinking something else. Maybe Lesnar beats Undertaker again. Then Undertaker can challenge him to one more match at WrestleMania. Win or lose, that’s it for Undertaker. Then they can have him go out a winner. I love these predictions columns because I can do a healthy share of fantasy booking and get away with it. That’s what I’d like to see happen. Will it happen? Probably not, but who knows? In any event, I’m going with my gut and taking Brock Lesnar here.
Prediction: Brock Lesnar
I went 3-2 with my predictions for WWE Battleground, which is better than I initially thought. I thought the Lesnar/Rollins match was a No Contest, but they announced it was Lesnar who won by disqualification the next night on RAW, giving me that extra win.
Predictions Record for 2015: 31-23 (.574)
While my 2015 record is too close to .500 for my liking, my all-time predictions record is pretty darn good.
All-time Predictions Record: 70-37 (.654)
Well, those are my predictions for the show. Do you agree? Disagree? Let me know!
E-Mail – MikeyT817@gmail.com
Twitter – @MikeTedescoWV
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Thanks for reading and enjoy WWE SummerSlam 2015!