Rumored Match: Big Show and Mark Henry vs Tag Team Champions Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns
JT: If this goes down, I think the Shield could lose the gold. Big Show is in the best shape of his life and Mark Henry has done some of the best work of his career as of late, so why not give them the straps for a brief run and make for some compelling television? Henry and Show win the belts if the match goes down.
Pre-Show Match: United States Champion Dean Ambrose vs Rob Van Dam
JT: Show stealer before the show starts? It's certainly possible given what we saw at Money in the Bank with the other Shield members. Should be a great matchup no matter who wins, but RVD is only back to put guys over. Ambrose retains in a solid contest.
Natalya vs Brie Bella
JT: Can this be a great female wrestling match? Yes. Will it? No. The match will be too short and the majority of the audience will use the opportunity to get a snack or hit the restroom. Brie pulls off the win because WWE seemingly loves to screw Natalya.
Inter-gender Tag Team Match: Big E. Langston and AJ Lee vs Dolph Ziggler and Kaitlyn
JT: Ziggler is the perfect talent to help Langston improve in the ring, and I'm excited to watch them work together on another(they partnered at Mania against Team Hell No) big stage for WWE. Should be a great matchup when you add in the two divas involved. I'm going with Ziggler and Kaitlyn to get the happy ending victory.
Ring of Fire Match: Kane vs Bray Wyatt
JT: No way Kane wins this one, but it will be fun to see what sort of match he and Wyatt put together. I fully expect the family to help Wyatt hurt Kane once the match is over. Should be an exciting match to watch once the lights go dim!
Cody Rhodes vs Damien Sandow
JT: Two of my favorites going one on one on what is supposed to be WWE's second biggest stage? Hell yes! I'm speculating that it won't be a long enough match, but that Sandow will find a way to come out on top since he's been made to look like a fool so much over the course of the rivalry. Should be excellent!
World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio vs Christian
JT: Because it's happened before, I suspect this wasn't the last time Del Rio gives his manager some tough love only for him to bounce back and redeem himself. In this case, I suspect Ricardo will cost Christian the match on Sunday to get back in Del Rio's good graces. That aside, the technical wrestling and storytelling in this one should be excellent! Del Rio retains thanks to Rodriguez.
Brock Lesnar vs CM Punk
JT: As long as Heyman stays out of the match, this one could qualify as match of the year. Punk working with a guy like Lesnar should be a phenomenal matchup. I'm honestly not sure who they will book to win, but Lesnar going over this time around only for Punk to redeem himself in a rematch is so unoriginal that I wouldn't be surprised if WWE did it...again. If they're smart, Punk comes up big with a victory and his momentum since his Payback return continues. If they're as predictable as I think, Lesnar comes out victorious in what will only be "round one" in this war.
WWE Champion John Cena vs Daniel Bryan w/Triple H as Special Referee
JT: I hate hate hate the fact that Triple H is reffing this match. It's almost impossible to expect a clean finish with no outside involvement, and to me that hurts the quality of a wrestling match, but more importantly it hurts the quality of a Summerslam main event. I don't see Cena staying WWE Champion, but I don't see Daniel Bryan defeating Cena either with a clean finish. I'm going the odd route to predict that John Cena defeats Daniel Bryan at Summerslam, and Randy Orton will cash in the next night on Raw to win the WWE Title from Cena. I'm not saying I like the scenario, but to me it works for what WWE likes to do.
With the potential interference in ALL THREE major matches(Ricardo Rodriguez, Paul Heyman, Triple H/Vince McMahon/Brad Maddox), the show could potentially be ruined. However, I'm optimistic that the quality wrestling all night long will make the show something special!
Make sure to come join the ThunderStruck Wrestling Community on facebook! We have a full staff of writers that cover all WWE shows, Ring of Honor, TNA, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and some other indy promotions. Thanks for reading!
www.facebook.com/TSWrestlingComm
