By Don Murphy, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@DonThePredictor)
WWE’s 38th annual SummerSlam continues on Sunday evening from East Rutherford, New Jersey, at MetLife Stadium. Like night one, the matches present a mixed bag in terms of build, but all in all, several have my attention, and it should give us a lot to talk about coming out of the show. Let’s run down the card!
John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes in a Street Fight for the WWE Championship. Where to begin on this one? I’d like to say that they couldn’t do worse than their WrestleMania match, and a Street Fight allows them the ability to rely on a walking brawl and not a straight-up wrestling match. This benefits Cena as his better days are behind him. That said, I haven’t been a fan of the build. Rhodes knocking out Cena and forging his signature on the contract was dumb. And while Cena’s promo on Smackdown creates a bit of intrigue, WWE needs to be careful how they play this. It could be a swerve by Cena, and if that’s the case, I’m not in favor of it for two reasons.
First, they teased this at Night of Champions when he seemingly aligned with CM Punk only to turn on him seconds later. Second, if not now, WWE will want to turn Cena babyface again. Faking the fans out multiple times runs the risk of them not buying in when they actually want it to happen. Another scenario involves Cody turning heel. I think that’s inevitable and fine down the road. I’m just not sure if now is the right time. We could also see The Rock play a role one way or the other, but reports indicate that he’s not planning to be there. All this aside, at the end of the day, I think Cena finds a way to win and I’m interested to see the path forward from here.
Don Predicts: John Cena retains the WWE Championship.
Naomi vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Iyo Sky in a Triple Threat for the Women’s World Championship. I’m not usually a fan of Triple Threat matches for titles, but if Ripley’s match with Sky at Evolution is any indication, this one should be great, even with the addition of Naomi, who has been doing some of the best work of her career. I also like the story they’re telling with Ripley in that she’s never defeated Sky and has made that a personal goal. The only downside to this match is that they just put the title on her, so in my mind, there should be no reason to make a change this quickly, which makes the outcome predictable. They could always surprise, but I’m also not a fan of playing “hot potato} with the title.
Don Predicts: Naomi retains the Women’s World Championship.
Dominik Mysterio vs. AJ Styles for the Intercontinental Championship. These two were fun during the build. It’ll be a fine match with a predictable outcome, but I applaud both for the chuckles they gave me during the leadup. I think we’ll see Roxanne Perez play a role here to further her alliance with Mysterio and the Judgment Day in Liv Morgan’s absence.
Don Predicts: Dominik Mysterio retains the Intercontinental Championship.
Becky Lynch vs. Lyra Valkyria in a no DQ, no count-out match for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship (Valkyria can’t challenge for the title again while Lynch is champion if she loses). Lynch and Valkyria had a good rivalry over the past several months, and Valkyria’s stock has risen as a result. Despite this, I’m ready to see them move on to other things. I’m expecting Bayley to cost Valkyria, which will further their feud. No one jumps off the page as the next logical challenger for Lynch, but the roster is deep enough that it should not be a problem
Don Predicts: Becky Lynch retains the Women’s Intercontinental Championship.
Solo Sikoa vs. Jacob Fatu in a cage match for the U.S. Championship. In theory, steel cages are meant to keep people out. But this is wrestling, and we all know the score. This will be a continuation of what we’ve seen on Smackdown – brawls between the MFTs, Sikoa, Fatu, and Jimmy Uso. Sikoa is also a new champion, so I’m not anticipating a title switch. I am wondering if we get the return on Tama Tonga here, and if so, what side he lands on. As an aside, they have a star in the making with Fatu, so I’m hoping he’s close to moving on from this program. And while Sikoa isn’t the top heel WWE hoped he would be, his promos have gotten better over the past few months, so I’d like to see him move on as well.
Don Predicts: Solo Sikoa retains the U.S. Championship.
Dexter Lumis and Joe Gacy vs. “Motor City Machine Guns” Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin vs. “The Street Profits” Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins vs. “DIY” Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa vs. Andrade and Rey Fenix vs. “Fraxiom” Axiom and Nathan Frazer in a TLC match for the WWE Tag Team Titles. The Smackdown tag team division is a lazy booking mess. Look at the teams in this match. Not finding a way to create a meaningful, relevant division is extremely puzzling. Put them all in a ring with tables, ladders, and chairs, and I’m sure it will be a spectacle.
Don Predicts: Dexter Lumis and Joe Gacy retain the WWE Tag Team Titles.
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