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2014's SummerSlam is an important PPV for a couple of reasons. The first is that, historically speaking, SummerSlam is one of the biggest PPVs that the WWE puts on. It's one of the "big four" consisting of it, WrestleMania, Survivor Series, and Royal Rumble. Most of you probably know this, but I'm sure there are some who never gave it thought, or are new to WWE programming who wouldn't be aware of this. The second is that this is one of the last -- if not the last -- PPV before those who initially subscribed to the WWE Network have their subscription end. Night of Champions will likely be stacked this year, too, given this. If WWE puts on a good show, perhaps it will entice subscribers to renew for another six months.
We should be in for a good show.
Rob Van Dam vs. Cesaro
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Prediction: Cesaro continues his losing streak, gets frustrated, and beats up Van Dam after the match. Bold prediction? Sure. But we're really only counting the wins and losses, anyway. I could definitely see Cesaro doing that, though. I mean, he did it to Kofi Kingston a few times, and Van Dam is basically an older and less agile version of him.
Random Thoughts: This is a good kick-off show match.
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler
http://i39.servimg.com/u/f39/16/09/70/40/clipb227.jpg
Prediction: The Raw after Battleground, The Miz and Dolph Ziggler had a singles match in which Ziggler pinned Miz in what was the standout match of the night. The two worked well together -- even in spite of the "no hits to the face" gimmick of The Miz -- and turned in a great match, especially for free TV. Expect them to do the same given a longer time with no commercials and for the Championship. I don't see Ziggler winning, as it's still really early into Miz's run, but the fan pop would be tremendous if he did. Still, I'm picking Miz to win this bout.
Random Thoughts: Hey. Remember the United States Championship?
Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt
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Prediction: A reminder, first off. Both Erick Rowan and Luke Harper are banned from ringside for this match. Why did WWE do that? So that Bray Wyatt can overcome the odds -- he already lost clean to Jericho, too -- and pick up the win. The thought within WWE, I'm guessing, is that Wyatt isn't looking too strong, being unable to win without his goons helping him. Give him a win over Jericho here, without Rowan or Harper interfering, and you raise his stock. I don't know if that's going to work, but it looks to be the plan. Look for Wyatt to go over Jericho here, setting up the rubber match at Night of Champions.
Random Thoughts: Bray Wyatt is free falling right now. I don't know if putting him over Y2Jobber is going to do much to halt that. After the feud with John Cena, Wyatt hasn't done much of anything. This feud lacks passion or reason, except to give Wyatt a semi-main eventer to eat. The two should be cutting great promos on or with each other, but it's not happening. WWE needs to figure out what to do with Wyatt soon.
<color=red>Flag Match: Jack Swagger (with Zeb Colter) vs. Rusev (with Lana)http://i39.servimg.com/u/f39/16/09/70/40/clipb229.jpg
Prediction: The reason you make this a flag match -- the rules for which still haven't really been laid down by WWE very well, if at all -- is to allow Swagger to pick up the win, boost the morale of America, and not have Rusev take a pinfall or submission loss. Rusev, then, can still have the claim made about him that he's never been pinned or submitted, while also boosting Swagger's stock and making all y'all American peoples feel warm and fuzzy. Swagger is my prediction.
Random Thoughts: This feud was logical and well-received, but this needs to be the end of it. Let's see if Swagger stays as a babyface after winning against Rusev. Let's see with whom WWE pairs Rusev after coming out of his first real feud -- no, R-Truth/Xavier Woods doesn't count. I'm ready for both men to move on.
WWE Divas Championship Match: AJ Lee vs. Paigehttp://i39.servimg.com/u/f39/16/09/70/40/clipb230.jpg
Prediction: Let's just state that, for the record, Eva Marie has defeated AJ Lee on two consecutive occasions, while Paige has only had a single victory in her career over the current Divas champion. Just saying. Who really deserves the title shot?
Anyway, this match will serve as something of a do-over for the two competitors. Both are fantastic in the ring and should be able to wrestle a great match together. They tried at Battleground, and it ... didn't really work out all that well. There were some good spots but it was filled with botches and the two never really clicked like we all hoped they would. A month later, and they get a second chance. I hope it's a good one. This feud has been really good so far. AJ is likely to retain here. She's my pick. If only so we can maybe, perhaps, do AJ/Eva for the title. One can dream, right?
Random Thoughts: I kind of already spent about half of the "prediction" portion talking about how much I want to see Eva Marie vs. AJ Lee for the Divas Championship, so I'll just reiterate it here. I really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really want to see it.
<color=red>Lumberjack Match: Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollinshttp://i39.servimg.com/u/f39/16/09/70/40/clipb231.jpg
Prediction: Anyone could win this match. Or nobody could win it. We could be in for another no contest. The truth of the matter is that both men could benefit from the win, while the loss doesn't really hurt either of them. The match should be physical and has the potential to be the match of the night, assuming the lumberjacks don't get involved too much. I'll flip a coin on my prediction.
It was heads. Both men have a head. Ugh! I'll pick Rollins.
Random Thoughts: Can Dean Ambrose, maybe, perhaps, lose the shoulder bandage? He just doesn't need it, and it almost limits what opponents will do when facing him. They target it and go away from other moves in favor of (sometimes boring) moves that attack the shoulder.
Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton
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Prediction: This is perhaps the least interesting and least hyped match on the card. How? I don't know. Perhaps it's because Roman Reigns has still yet to have a good singles match. Maybe it's because Randy Orton is kind of boring right now. Or, it's possible WWE might have spent a bit too much time recapping the Brie Bella/Stephanie McMahon feud. Whatever the reason, it's either this or the Jericho/Wyatt match that I'm least looking forward to seeing. Roman Reigns is being pushed hard, while Orton isn't doing much of anything, so Reigns is probably going to win.
Random Thoughts: If you need a bathroom break match, this is probably going to be it. I wish I was kidding, but I'm not.
Brie Bella vs. Stephanie McMahon
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Prediction: SummerSlam marks the hotly anticipated return to the ring for both Brie Bella and Stephanie McMahon. What? Neither return is "hotly anticipated"? Could've fooled me. This match is being built like a main event, and it probably will not be as bad as many people think. Brie Bella is the "good" Bella twin, and after a short hiatus from in-ring competition, she should be ready to impress at one of WWE's biggest PPVs. Stephanie, on the other hand, hasn't wrestled in something like a decade. But she looks to be in great shape -- she did a workout DVD a while back, for instance, and you know that McMahons care about their company like no other. She wouldn't want to let down fans. This will likely be a well-rehearsed match that focuses more on storytelling than in-ring action, but it will probably be very entertaining. Hey, we might even get that long-rumored Nikki heel turn. Or maybe Daniel Bryan's physical therapist will get involved. She's a wrestler, too. Regardless, I'm seeing Stephanie win, probably through underhanded techniques.
Random Thoughts: Honestly, I was thinking we might get Brie vs. Megan (the therapist) at SummerSlam and then maybe Brie vs. Stephanie at Night of Champions, at least after this "cheating" angle was revealed this last week. But, alas, that didn't happen. Will it go the other way around? Or are we going to hand-wave away the whole "cheating" thing? We shall see.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match: John Cena vs. Brock Lesnarhttp://i39.servimg.com/u/f39/16/09/70/40/clipb234.jpg
Prediction: Brock Lesnar walks out of SummerSlam as the WWE World Heavyweight champion of the world.
Reality: Cena wins.
Prediction: Okay, okay. I really do think that Lesnar is going to win this match. You don't have him conquer the Undertaker's WrestleMania streak only to have him lose his next match. That's just not how this should work. Lesnar needs the victory. He can't "look strong" even though he loses. No. Cena needs to take a loss to Lesnar here. give the championship to the part-timer, I guess. Maybe pay Lesnar some more money so that he'll work the Raw before and after a PPV, and also every PPV. That would be enough, I think, to keep him as champion. That's enough dates, anyway, and it shouldn't cost WWE too much more.
<color=D6D9DA>_________________________________________________________________________________
You know, people keep talking about how the WWE's roster just isn't good enough without CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, and I guess now Alberto Del Rio, but look at this card and then look at the names who aren't on it. The Tag Team champions -- who had the match of the night at the last PPV -- are absent. The United States champion, Sheamus, isn't here. Big Show and Mark Henry -- now a tag team, apparently -- both of whom just returned, aren't featured. Goldust and Stardust are in their own galaxy. Kane is (maybe thankfully) not in a match. Triple H isn't even doing anything. Those are some big names that aren't competing. WWE will be just fine.
What do you think will happen at SummerSlam?
TL;DR Predictions
Rob Van Dam vs. Cesaro
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler
Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt
<color=Red>Flag Match: Jack Swagger vs. Rusev
WWE Divas Championship Match: AJ Lee vs. Paige
<color=Red>Lumberjack Match: Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins
Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton
Brie Bella vs. Stephanie McMahon
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match: John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar
<color=D6D9DA>_________________________________________________________________________________
If you wish to be notified whenever I post something new, please join this <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/2-50-Reviews>user group.
For an archive of all my previous WWE reviews, please go <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.846764-Marters-WWE-Reviews-Archive>here.
Talk to me on the Twitter, <url=https://twitter.com/martertweet>@martertweet.
2014's SummerSlam is an important PPV for a couple of reasons. The first is that, historically speaking, SummerSlam is one of the biggest PPVs that the WWE puts on. It's one of the "big four" consisting of it, WrestleMania, Survivor Series, and Royal Rumble. Most of you probably know this, but I'm sure there are some who never gave it thought, or are new to WWE programming who wouldn't be aware of this. The second is that this is one of the last -- if not the last -- PPV before those who initially subscribed to the WWE Network have their subscription end. Night of Champions will likely be stacked this year, too, given this. If WWE puts on a good show, perhaps it will entice subscribers to renew for another six months.
We should be in for a good show.
Rob Van Dam vs. Cesaro
http://i39.servimg.com/u/f39/16/09/70/40/clipb235.jpg
Prediction: Cesaro continues his losing streak, gets frustrated, and beats up Van Dam after the match. Bold prediction? Sure. But we're really only counting the wins and losses, anyway. I could definitely see Cesaro doing that, though. I mean, he did it to Kofi Kingston a few times, and Van Dam is basically an older and less agile version of him.
Random Thoughts: This is a good kick-off show match.
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler
http://i39.servimg.com/u/f39/16/09/70/40/clipb227.jpg
Prediction: The Raw after Battleground, The Miz and Dolph Ziggler had a singles match in which Ziggler pinned Miz in what was the standout match of the night. The two worked well together -- even in spite of the "no hits to the face" gimmick of The Miz -- and turned in a great match, especially for free TV. Expect them to do the same given a longer time with no commercials and for the Championship. I don't see Ziggler winning, as it's still really early into Miz's run, but the fan pop would be tremendous if he did. Still, I'm picking Miz to win this bout.
Random Thoughts: Hey. Remember the United States Championship?
Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt
http://i39.servimg.com/u/f39/16/09/70/40/clipb228.jpg
Prediction: A reminder, first off. Both Erick Rowan and Luke Harper are banned from ringside for this match. Why did WWE do that? So that Bray Wyatt can overcome the odds -- he already lost clean to Jericho, too -- and pick up the win. The thought within WWE, I'm guessing, is that Wyatt isn't looking too strong, being unable to win without his goons helping him. Give him a win over Jericho here, without Rowan or Harper interfering, and you raise his stock. I don't know if that's going to work, but it looks to be the plan. Look for Wyatt to go over Jericho here, setting up the rubber match at Night of Champions.
Random Thoughts: Bray Wyatt is free falling right now. I don't know if putting him over Y2Jobber is going to do much to halt that. After the feud with John Cena, Wyatt hasn't done much of anything. This feud lacks passion or reason, except to give Wyatt a semi-main eventer to eat. The two should be cutting great promos on or with each other, but it's not happening. WWE needs to figure out what to do with Wyatt soon.
<color=red>Flag Match: Jack Swagger (with Zeb Colter) vs. Rusev (with Lana)http://i39.servimg.com/u/f39/16/09/70/40/clipb229.jpg
Prediction: The reason you make this a flag match -- the rules for which still haven't really been laid down by WWE very well, if at all -- is to allow Swagger to pick up the win, boost the morale of America, and not have Rusev take a pinfall or submission loss. Rusev, then, can still have the claim made about him that he's never been pinned or submitted, while also boosting Swagger's stock and making all y'all American peoples feel warm and fuzzy. Swagger is my prediction.
Random Thoughts: This feud was logical and well-received, but this needs to be the end of it. Let's see if Swagger stays as a babyface after winning against Rusev. Let's see with whom WWE pairs Rusev after coming out of his first real feud -- no, R-Truth/Xavier Woods doesn't count. I'm ready for both men to move on.
WWE Divas Championship Match: AJ Lee vs. Paigehttp://i39.servimg.com/u/f39/16/09/70/40/clipb230.jpg
Prediction: Let's just state that, for the record, Eva Marie has defeated AJ Lee on two consecutive occasions, while Paige has only had a single victory in her career over the current Divas champion. Just saying. Who really deserves the title shot?
Anyway, this match will serve as something of a do-over for the two competitors. Both are fantastic in the ring and should be able to wrestle a great match together. They tried at Battleground, and it ... didn't really work out all that well. There were some good spots but it was filled with botches and the two never really clicked like we all hoped they would. A month later, and they get a second chance. I hope it's a good one. This feud has been really good so far. AJ is likely to retain here. She's my pick. If only so we can maybe, perhaps, do AJ/Eva for the title. One can dream, right?
Random Thoughts: I kind of already spent about half of the "prediction" portion talking about how much I want to see Eva Marie vs. AJ Lee for the Divas Championship, so I'll just reiterate it here. I really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really want to see it.
<color=red>Lumberjack Match: Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollinshttp://i39.servimg.com/u/f39/16/09/70/40/clipb231.jpg
Prediction: Anyone could win this match. Or nobody could win it. We could be in for another no contest. The truth of the matter is that both men could benefit from the win, while the loss doesn't really hurt either of them. The match should be physical and has the potential to be the match of the night, assuming the lumberjacks don't get involved too much. I'll flip a coin on my prediction.
It was heads. Both men have a head. Ugh! I'll pick Rollins.
Random Thoughts: Can Dean Ambrose, maybe, perhaps, lose the shoulder bandage? He just doesn't need it, and it almost limits what opponents will do when facing him. They target it and go away from other moves in favor of (sometimes boring) moves that attack the shoulder.
Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton
http://i39.servimg.com/u/f39/16/09/70/40/clipb232.jpg
Prediction: This is perhaps the least interesting and least hyped match on the card. How? I don't know. Perhaps it's because Roman Reigns has still yet to have a good singles match. Maybe it's because Randy Orton is kind of boring right now. Or, it's possible WWE might have spent a bit too much time recapping the Brie Bella/Stephanie McMahon feud. Whatever the reason, it's either this or the Jericho/Wyatt match that I'm least looking forward to seeing. Roman Reigns is being pushed hard, while Orton isn't doing much of anything, so Reigns is probably going to win.
Random Thoughts: If you need a bathroom break match, this is probably going to be it. I wish I was kidding, but I'm not.
Brie Bella vs. Stephanie McMahon
http://i39.servimg.com/u/f39/16/09/70/40/clipb233.jpg
Prediction: SummerSlam marks the hotly anticipated return to the ring for both Brie Bella and Stephanie McMahon. What? Neither return is "hotly anticipated"? Could've fooled me. This match is being built like a main event, and it probably will not be as bad as many people think. Brie Bella is the "good" Bella twin, and after a short hiatus from in-ring competition, she should be ready to impress at one of WWE's biggest PPVs. Stephanie, on the other hand, hasn't wrestled in something like a decade. But she looks to be in great shape -- she did a workout DVD a while back, for instance, and you know that McMahons care about their company like no other. She wouldn't want to let down fans. This will likely be a well-rehearsed match that focuses more on storytelling than in-ring action, but it will probably be very entertaining. Hey, we might even get that long-rumored Nikki heel turn. Or maybe Daniel Bryan's physical therapist will get involved. She's a wrestler, too. Regardless, I'm seeing Stephanie win, probably through underhanded techniques.
Random Thoughts: Honestly, I was thinking we might get Brie vs. Megan (the therapist) at SummerSlam and then maybe Brie vs. Stephanie at Night of Champions, at least after this "cheating" angle was revealed this last week. But, alas, that didn't happen. Will it go the other way around? Or are we going to hand-wave away the whole "cheating" thing? We shall see.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match: John Cena vs. Brock Lesnarhttp://i39.servimg.com/u/f39/16/09/70/40/clipb234.jpg
Prediction: Brock Lesnar walks out of SummerSlam as the WWE World Heavyweight champion of the world.
Reality: Cena wins.
Prediction: Okay, okay. I really do think that Lesnar is going to win this match. You don't have him conquer the Undertaker's WrestleMania streak only to have him lose his next match. That's just not how this should work. Lesnar needs the victory. He can't "look strong" even though he loses. No. Cena needs to take a loss to Lesnar here. give the championship to the part-timer, I guess. Maybe pay Lesnar some more money so that he'll work the Raw before and after a PPV, and also every PPV. That would be enough, I think, to keep him as champion. That's enough dates, anyway, and it shouldn't cost WWE too much more.
<color=D6D9DA>_________________________________________________________________________________
You know, people keep talking about how the WWE's roster just isn't good enough without CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, and I guess now Alberto Del Rio, but look at this card and then look at the names who aren't on it. The Tag Team champions -- who had the match of the night at the last PPV -- are absent. The United States champion, Sheamus, isn't here. Big Show and Mark Henry -- now a tag team, apparently -- both of whom just returned, aren't featured. Goldust and Stardust are in their own galaxy. Kane is (maybe thankfully) not in a match. Triple H isn't even doing anything. Those are some big names that aren't competing. WWE will be just fine.
What do you think will happen at SummerSlam?
TL;DR Predictions
Rob Van Dam vs. Cesaro
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler
Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt
<color=Red>Flag Match: Jack Swagger vs. Rusev
WWE Divas Championship Match: AJ Lee vs. Paige
<color=Red>Lumberjack Match: Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins
Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton
Brie Bella vs. Stephanie McMahon
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match: John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar
<color=D6D9DA>_________________________________________________________________________________
If you wish to be notified whenever I post something new, please join this <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/2-50-Reviews>user group.
For an archive of all my previous WWE reviews, please go <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.846764-Marters-WWE-Reviews-Archive>here.
Talk to me on the Twitter, <url=https://twitter.com/martertweet>@martertweet.
