Amid the hottest period in recent company history, WWE will head to Detroit’s Ford Field for SummerSlam on Saturday night.
This new boom period has largely been driven by Roman Reigns and the Bloodline story. The latest chapter in the saga will play out as Reigns defends his undisputed WWE universal championship against Jey Uso in Tribal Combat at SummerSlam. It’s an anything goes match where Reigns’s title of Tribal Chief is on the line.
Reigns retaining against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 39 was a controversial decision. But four months later, it’s looking like it might have actually been the correct one. The Bloodline civil war has helped carry WWE through this summer. Fed up with Reigns’s mistreatment, Jey and Jimmy Uso turned against their cousin and left The Bloodline. With the story refocusing on Reigns and Solo Sikoa battling The Usos, it’s once again the best thing in all of professional wrestling. That likely isn’t going to change anytime soon. No matter what happens Saturday, Reigns will be fighting his family members for the foreseeable future. Jey, Jimmy and Sikoa are all viable challengers to Reigns’s crown.
Reigns has been nearly invincible during his 1,000-plus days as champion, but he was dealt a blow when he was pinned by Jey Uso in a tag-team match at Money in the Bank last month. It was the first pinfall loss Reigns has taken since December 2019. Is there any chance Uso can shock the world by defeating Reigns again to become undisputed WWE universal champion? Uso realistically has no shot—but fans are so invested in the story that they’ll be able to talk themselves into thinking he does. If Reigns was to ever lose his title in shocking fashion, it would probably be to one of his cousins. After such a dominant run, it would be wild to see Reigns in the position of having to claw his way back to being the head of the table.
Featuring eight matches in total, SummerSlam is a well-built card that’s worthy of being WWE’s second-biggest event of the year. Among the other highlights is a grudge match between Rhodes and Brock Lesnar. Heading into the pay-per-view, Rhodes and Lesnar have a 1–1 record against each other. Rhodes started off their feud with a victory at Backlash. Lesnar then evened things up at Night of Champions. Rhodes will be looking to finally vanquish Lesnar and get back to his world title ambitions.
SummerSlam will stream live on Peacock starting at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday. Here’s a full rundown of the lineup, along with predictions for each match.
Tribal Combat match: Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso for the undisputed WWE universal championship
The Tribal Combat stipulation means that we’re in for a wild brawl with plenty of outside interference. We haven’t seen Jimmy Uso since he was stretchered out following an attack by Reigns and Sikoa on SmackDown four weeks ago. But with Reigns having help from Sikoa at SummerSlam, Jimmy will reemerge to even the odds for his twin brother.
Jey Uso should take Reigns to his absolute limit in this match. In the end, the result will be the same as it always is. Reigns will continue his run of dominance with yet another successful title defense.
Prediction: Roman Reigns retains
Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
This is a match that Rhodes needs to win. During the build to SummerSlam, Lesnar has repeatedly beaten Rhodes down and attempted to injure him. Their rivalry has to end with Rhodes getting his revenge by decisively beating Lesnar.
The biggest question for Rhodes is where he goes next. He’s said that he wants to defeat Lesnar and then refocus on his goal of becoming undisputed WWE universal champion. But a Reigns vs. Rhodes rematch isn’t happening until at least WrestleMania 40, which is still eight months away. WWE will need to get creative in finding things for Rhodes to do until then while sustaining his momentum.
Prediction: Cody Rhodes wins
Seth Rollins vs. Finn Bálor for the world heavyweight championship
Choosing a winner between Rollins and Bálor is really tough—and it’s entirely possible that neither of them leaves SummerSlam as champion. Damian Priest, who holds the Money in the Bank briefcase, will have his eyes on the match and could cash in.
This feels a little early for Rollins’s reign to end, but Bálor shouldn’t lose back-to-back PPV title challenges. Looking at WWE’s options going forward, Bálor winning is probably the right call. The Judgment Day has become the main focus of Raw. Bálor holding the world heavyweight championship until Priest finally decides to break out on his own and take it from him is a great story. It’s a better direction for the title than anything Rollins could be doing.
Prediction: Finn Bálor wins
Asuka vs. Bianca Belair vs. Charlotte Flair for the WWE women’s championship
The booking of the women’s division is the lone blemish on the SummerSlam card. Leading into the PPV, there were four women’s feuds being built up. Two of those matches (Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Rodriguez and Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus) were left off the card. Both of those matchups would have been more compelling than this triple threat. Asuka, Bianca Belair and Charlotte Flair are all big stars, and it makes sense to have them on SummerSlam, but the build to their match has been uninspired. The dynamic just hasn’t worked. Asuka has felt like an afterthought as Belair and Flair argued over who should be her next challenger.
The SmackDown women’s division is in need of a shakeup. The best thing that could happen Saturday is Iyo Sky cashing in her Money in the Bank briefcase to become WWE women’s champion. Sky can then feud with Asuka, while Belair and Flair focus on each other.
Prediction: Asuka retains, then Iyo Sky cashes in to win the title
MMA rules match: Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler
At Money in the Bank, Shayna Baszler betrayed Ronda Rousey during a women’s tag-team title defense. It was a legitimately shocking moment. There had been no hints that the turn was coming. Rousey and Baszler were just starting to thrive as women’s tag-team champions and seemed invested in elevating the division.
There are rumors that Rousey could be leaving WWE or taking time off after SummerSlam. That would explain why Baszler’s turn at Money in the Bank was so abrupt. This story line ideally would have slowly developed over several months. But even under these circumstances, it’s a pretty easy story to tell. Though they’re best friends, Rousey was a much bigger star in the UFC and later outpaced Baszler in pro wrestling. It’s understandable that Baszler would be jealous of that. It’s also understandable that Baszler would think that Rousey has taken her for granted and hasn’t appreciated all the help she’s gotten along the way.
Rousey putting Baszler over is the right decision here. If Rousey does take time off, they can resume their feud once she comes back.
Prediction: Shayna Baszler wins
Gunther vs. Drew McIntyre for the intercontinental title
This has the potential to be a match-of-the-year contender—but the timing of it makes the result pretty obvious. Gunther is just over a month away from passing the Honky Tonk Man for the longest intercontinental title reign in WWE history. There’s no way he loses the championship before that happens. Gunther has had an incredible reign that belongs in the history books. And given that McIntyre is in the last year of his WWE contract and has yet to agree to a new deal, he likely won’t be winning any titles until he re-signs.
Prediction: Gunther retains
SummerSlam battle royal sponsored by Slim Jim
Battle royals like this are usually just filler matches to get more wrestlers on the card. Here, WWE has a chance to deliver one of the best moments of the night. LA Knight is the only person who should even be in consideration to win this match. He’s developed such a great connection with the audience over the past few months. At every WWE show, people are chanting Knight’s catchphrases. It’s time that WWE gives him a real push. That needs to start with a victory at SummerSlam.
Prediction: LA Knight wins
Logan Paul vs. Ricochet
With Logan Paul trying to make it to his brother’s boxing match against Nate Diaz the same night, it’s expected that this will open the show at SummerSlam. Paul will be getting on a private jet immediately after the match ends and flying from Detroit to Dallas in hopes of being there when the bell rings for Jake Paul vs. Diaz.
Paul vs. Ricochet is such an exciting matchup. They’re two of the best athletes in all of WWE. It’s a match that both can benefit from. Paul shines every time he steps in the ring, but he hasn’t won a match in more than a year. For Ricochet, just being in a high-profile position at a major PPV is progress. Ricochet can lose while still putting on a stellar performance that elevates his place in WWE. There’s going to be at least one high-flying spot in the match that goes viral and leaves everyone talking about how amazing Ricochet is.
