WWE’s second-biggest pay-per-view of the year, SummerSlam, is tonight from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. A total of 13 matches, three on the pre-show and 10 on the main card, are set to go down in what is sure to be a pivotal night for the future of WWE.
The main event of tonight’s show will be Brock Lesnar defending the Universal Championship against Roman Reigns. A match that not many people want, Reigns will once again challenge “The Beast” for Raw’s top prize. This feud has been saved by the amazing work of Paul Heyman, who has done a masterful job of toying with everyone’s emotions. A match that seemed predictable three weeks ago now could go a variety of different ways, mostly thanks to the job Heyman has done.
While Raw has the main event of the night, the two matches the WWE fans are looking forward to most come from the SmackDown Live brand. First, the WWE Championship match between the champion, AJ Styles, and the challenger, Samoa Joe, is a WWE dream match. This also marks the first time we’ve had a true “TNA original” feud in a WWE ring. The build to this match has been extremely personal, with Joe calling Styles a “failure as a father.” This could easily steal the show in Brooklyn tonight.
The other SmackDown match, and the true main event in most people’s eyes, is the clash between Daniel Bryan and The Miz. A feud that’s been going on for eight years has reached its fever pitch, as the two go 1-on-1 for the first time in more than five years. This current incarnation of the feud began two years ago, when Miz called out the then-SmackDown Live GM on an episode of Talking Smack. There’s a thousand ways this match can go, but it’s the safest bet to be match of the night tonight.
The final “big-time” marquee matchup is Ronda Rousey challenging Alexa Bliss for the Raw Women’s Championship. It feels like this will be Rousey’s first title win in WWE, and with Bliss already announced to face Trish Stratus on the Evolution PPV in October, this seems like a perfect time for someone else to rule the Raw women’s division.
While the other matches on the show aren’t as big, there could be room for some interesting turns. Will a returning Dean Ambrose turn on his friend Seth Rollins? Could Drew McIntyre turn on Dolph Ziggler in that same match? Will we see the end of the Charlotte-Becky Lynch friendship in the SD Live women’s championship match? Will Braun Strowman murder Kevin Owens tonight?
As mentioned in the open, SummerSlam could be a pivotal night for the future of WWE. While there aren’t many matches that get the fans excited heading into tonight’s show, the amount of important storyline pieces that come out of tonight could set the tone for the rest of 2018.
SummerSlam starts at 7E/6C on the WWE Network. The pre-show begins at 5E/4C, also on the WWE Network.