WWE SummerSlam is about set for kick off. Dubbed “the biggest event of the summer”, the event will take place in Las Vegas on Saturday inside Allegiant Stadium — the first time this event has taken place inside a football stadium. The match card is loaded up with tons of action to get fans out of their seats and excited.
The card is just about set — outside of any potential night of matches being made — with seven titles on the line in Sin City. Both women’s championships and both tag team championships on the line. Legendary veteran John Cena is back from a stint in Hollywood to battle universal champion Roman Reigns for his title as the champ nears a full year with the belt. Plus, another legend in the form of Bill Goldberg returns to take on WWE champ Bobby Lashley in the other world title tilt.
There’s tons more to get excited about for Saturday night. Let’s take a look at what we know — and what we expect — at WWE SummerSlam.
WWE SummerSlam matches
Universal Championship — Roman Reigns (c) vs. John Cena: Cena made his big return at Money in the Bank, confronting Reigns after Reigns successfully defended his title against Edge. The next night on Raw, Cena made the reasons for his return entirely clear. Reigns is, Cena said, an overexposed and overhyped gimmick that he intends to take the universal championship from. Reigns refused Cena’s challenge, instead agreeing to face Finn Balor. However, a contract singing for Reigns vs. Balor was interrupted by Baron Corbin, opening the door for Cena to run to the ring and sign his own name on the contract, which WWE said was enough to make the match official.
Raw Women’s Championship — Nikki A.S.H. (c) vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley: Ripley and Flair were the women with the issue when Nikki inserted herself at the end of an episode of Raw, cashing in the Money in the Bank contract to pin Flair and win the title. The following Monday, Flair demanded a match at SummerSlam with Ripley doing the same. Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville announced that it would instead be a triple threat match or the Raw women’s championship.
WWE Championship — Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Goldberg: Lashley ran through Kofi Kingston at Money in the Bank, re-establishing himself as a violent, dominant champion. After beating Keith Lee the next night on Raw, Goldberg’s music hit as he made his return to WWE before announcing to Lashley that “I’m next.” It took a few weeks before Lashley would finally accept the match, but did so after Goldberg speared MVP on Raw. Goldberg, 54, is on his last legs as a performer but still draws big reactions from the crowd. A win for Lashley would continue to build on the best period of his professional career.
SmackDown Women’s Championship — Bianca Belair (c) vs. Sasha Banks: Banks made her return on SmackDown to save Belair from an attack by Carmella and Zelina Vega. Banks and Belair teamed to beat Carmella and Vega in a tag match later in the night but followed up the victory by turning on Belair with a vicious attack. One week later, Belair made it official, saying if Banks wanted a chance to regain the titles, she could get it at SummerSlam.
Edge vs. Seth Rollins: Rollins has attacked Edge on multiple occasions, including costing Edge the universal title at Money in the Bank. After Rollins attacked again on SmackDown, Edge laid down the challenge, saying Rollins was trying to follow in his footsteps but couldn’t fill them. Rollins tried to delay accepting the challenge but finally agreed when Edge said that Rollins was just “Edge-lite.”
SmackDown Tag Team Championship — The Usos (c) vs. The Mysterios: A rematch from Money in the Bank, where The Usos won the tag titles. With a thin tag division, there weren’t a lot of other things to keep the champions busy, so they’ve engaged in weeks of singles matches with Rey and Dominik Mysterio, with both sides using outside interference to steal wins before the tag title rematch was set for SummerSlam.
United States Championship — Sheamus (c) vs. Damian Priest: Priest has taken issue with Sheamus’ underhanded tactics against men like Humberto Carrillo and Ricochet, going so far as to call Sheamus a bully. After weeks of teasing the match, Priest finally made the challenge on Raw, with Sheamus promising to put the challenger in his place.
Drew McIntyre vs. Jinder Mahal: Mahal and McIntyre are old friends but Mahal and goons Veer and Shanky began interfering in McIntyre’s business, culminating at Money in the Bank when the trio cost McIntyre a shot at the win before dragging him out of the match. McIntyre defeated Veer and Shanky in a handicap match on Raw with the stipulation that a McIntyre win meant the pair would be banned from ringside at SummerSlam.
Raw Tag Team Championship — AJ Styles & Omos (c) vs. Randy Orton & Riddle: Orton was off TV since late June, but WWE seemed fully committed to the chemistry he and Riddle had developed. Styles and Omos are becoming an interesting act that needs interesting challengers and RK-Bro fit the bill once Orton returned and made things good with Riddle after Riddle saved him from an attack from the tag champs.
Alexa Bliss vs. Eva Marie: Marie has had issues with Bliss for weeks, mostly trying to allow Doudrop, her muscle, to deal with the problem. Doudrop instead was confronted by Bliss’ doll, Lilly, on multiple occasions, leading to a planned match between Bliss and Marie that likely won’t result in much, if any, in-ring action.
