SummerSlam 2019: Match Card & Predictions

‘The Biggest Party of the Summer’ looms and we have yet another stacked card ready to slam our summers. A trend seems to be developing in WWE where the pay-per-views actually turn out to be pretty decent following months of mediocre build. Unfortunately, the SummerSlam pay-per-view has become increasingly meh over the years, failing to deliver on marquee feuds and generally becoming forgettable.

Last year we saw Roman Reigns finally defeat ‘The Beast’ Brock Lesnar, and Ronda Rousey capture her first Raw Women’s Championship. But honestly, outside of those two matches, what happened? Hopefully WWE pull things together for a more memorable show this coming Sunday.

Let’s run down the card and slam down our predictions for the big show in Toronto.

 

1. Brock Lesnar (c) vs Seth Rollins – WWE Universal Championship

The championship main event of the evening is a rematch from WrestleMania 35, pitting challenger Seth Rollins against ‘The Beast Incarnate’ Brock Lesnar. Lesnar successfully cashed-in his ‘Beast Box’ after the main event of Extreme Rules, bringing us back to the status quo of having Lesnar on top of the card and at the top of the food chain.

The build has attempted to make Rollins look like the underdog going into this match, despite him being the decisive victor at WrestleMania. Brock has done his usual routine of delivering a few F5’s and rag-dolling his challenger around ringside, so we should expect Rollins to come into this match ‘injured’.

With Seth’s reign failing to make him look like the megastar that he should be, it was disappointing and only went to sour the WWE Universe on Rollins’ character. Surprisingly, Brock holding onto the Universal title for a little while longer is the lesser of two evils. It’s time for someone else to step into the Universal title picture and attempt to salvage the prestige.

Winner: Brock Lesnar

 

2. Becky Lynch (c) vs Natalya – Submissions Match for the Raw Women’s Championship

I’m shocked at how exciting this feud has become over the past few months. Nattie was an odd choice to have thrown into the Raw Women’s title picture, but a really intriguing opponent for ‘The Man’. The two have escalated their feud into a real personal grudge-match, the seeds of which being planted years ago in their last series of matches.

This week on Raw we saw the two show-off some pretty impressive mat-wrestling exchanges, so making this a submissions match should allow the two to thrive under this style. I’m hoping this should turn out to be one of the better women’s matches of recent memory, but there’s only one real winner here and it’s of course the new face of WWE 2K20, Becky Lynch.

Winner: Becky Lynch

 

3. Kofi Kingston (c) vs Randy Orton – WWE Championship

The championship match a lot of fans have been hyping up since Kofi first breached the main event scene is finally taking place. Kofi Kingston and Randy Orton have had quite the storied history, over ten years in the making. The Viper’s hot-headed tendencies led to a rather personal rivalry between the two, one that supposedly cut Kingston’s singles run short. Now that Kofi is finally on top with the WWE title in hand, it’s time for some payback.

Both Kofi and Orton have been very open about the frustrations that led to this marquee match, making this one of the most exciting matches on the card heading into SummerSlam. I think this should be Kofi’s match, the one that fully establishes him as the face of a new generation. But I also have a strong feeling about Orton walking out with the WWE title for the 14th time. This feud could definitely be stretched out over another couple of pay-per-views, with that being said, I’m doubling down on ‘The Viper’ for this Sunday.

Winner: Randy Orton

 

4. Bayley (c) vs Ember Moon – SD Live Women’s Championship

The women’s division is really hitting the nail on the head with their SummerSlam matches. The SmackDown Live title match between Bayley and Ember Moon has come together as one of the more intriguing matches on the card, pitting the popular champion against a challenger that has yet to have had the chance to shine on the main roster. I think this could definitely be Ember Moon’s breakout performance, and Bayley’s official return to form.

This match has kind of fallen into the background with the Raw’s Women title match and the Charlotte/Trish content now both heating up. I sincerely hope this match delivers, it could certainly be a MOTN contender. In terms of a winner, I see this going to the champ. Ember is certainly worthy of the top spot at some point, but with rumours suggesting that Vince isn’t quite as hot on her as he should be, it’s probably going to be at least another year until we see her pick up the title.

Winner: Bayley

 

5. Kevin Owens vs Shane McMahon

With the added stipulation of if Kevin Owens loses, he must leave WWE, it’s hard to bet against ‘The Prizefighter’ heading into this very personal feud with ‘The Best in the World’. Owens is on the precipice of becoming one of the hottest stars on SmackDown Live, but quite frankly, this feud with Shane isn’t really going to help push him onto that next level. Perhaps if somehow Owens was to lose this match at SummerSlam and have his career in jeopardy, it could make that lust to see KO back on Tuesday nights even more palpable.

I think this match could be a new start for Owens, perhaps similar to the meteoric rise of CM Punk back in 2011. If Owens was to be temporarily forced off of television, then he’d quickly become one of the most over products in WWE.

With a handful of goons at Shane’s disposal, I see this somehow being a screw finish, leading to the beginning of Owens’ career performance as the new rebel.

Winner: Shane McMahon

 

6. Finn Balor vs ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt

One of the most talked about returns of 2019 was that of Bray Wyatt, or ‘The Fiend’. The Firefly Funhouse segments became one of the highest rated segments from each week’s episode of Raw, so naturally Wyatt’s first feud back was an easy pick for the SummerSlam card. One superstar I wasn’t expecting to see Wyatt spook out was Finn Balor. Wyatt initially feuded with Balor in late 2017, but that series of matches ended in an anti-climax when the ‘Sister Abigail’ match was called off due to an outbreak of the mumps.

Fortunately, the two are able to pick things up again two years on, riding a huge wave of momentum thanks to the success of Wyatt’s new gimmick. I think it’s a safe bet to say that ‘The Fiend’ is walking out with his first victory here, with Balor’s rumoured time-off set to start after SummerSlam and Wyatt’s massive resurgence as a potential big player in WWE. Finn can easily take the loss here and come back strong once he’s rested.

Winner: Bray Wyatt

 

7. AJ Styles (c) vs Ricochet – United States Championship

The United States title feud between The O.C and Ricochet has really piqued my interest. These two have the potential to put together an insanely fun match at SummerSlam, coming off of their incredible first PPV bout at Extreme Rules. Now with AJ turning into a fully-fledged heel, his aggressive nature could turn this match from an 8 into a 10.

This match should be a nice change of pace from the rest of the card, potentially becoming the best ‘pure wrestling’ match on the card. As far as winners go, I’d say AJ has a good chance of retaining here. As great as Ricochet has been on the main roster so far, now that Styles has turned heel and reformed a credible version of ‘The Club’, this is his time to shine once again.

Winner: AJ Styles

 

8. Charlotte Flair vs Trish Stratus

This clash of generations could easily find itself booked on a WrestleMania card, so putting this on SummerSlam has gone a long way in making this year’s event feel bigger than usual. Trish Stratus is bound to be one of the most over performers of the night in her hometown of Toronto, which is the perfect chance for her to finally pass the torch over to Charlotte Flair, not that she hasn’t achieved that already.

Trish has had some good showings in recent memory, not only in the opener of the all-female pay-per-view Evolution, but also during the first-ever women’s Royal Rumble match. Stratus can definitely still go, so it’ll be very interesting to see how she fares in a marathon contest with Charlotte Flair. Needless to say, she’s in good hands. In terms of a winner, I think this is another easy pick.

Winner: Charlotte Flair

 

9. Goldberg vs Dolph Ziggler

One of the latest additions to the main card is the inevitable squash match between Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg and Dolph Ziggler. What originally started as a revisit to the Miz/Ziggler feud has now evolved into a typical WWE legend’s cameo segment. We all know where this is going, Goldberg needs to redeem himself after the awful contest he had with The Undertaker in Saudi Arabia, so he’s going to obliterate Ziggler in record timing.

I’m still not entirely sure why this is happening, I’d much rather watch another Ziggler/Miz match. Although one positive to dwell on, Ziggler is going to sell that spear like no other.

Winner: Goldberg

 

10. Drew Gulak (c) vs Oney Lorcan – Cruiserweight Championship

What will most likely end up as pre-show fodder, the 205 Live addition to the night is looking pretty fun. Drew Gulak and Oney Lorcan share a very similar physical style of wrestling that will make for a really exciting Cruiserweight title match. Lorcan has been a low-key MVP of the 205 Live and NXT roster, it’s great to see him finally be given a singles title match in WWE.

I don’t think it’s Gulak’s time to lose the title though, but Oney can use this as a platform to build the rest of his career on 205 Live and continue to establish the roster as one of the hardest working teams in all of professional wrestling.

Winner: Drew Gulak

There’s a chance we could see a couple of extra matches added to the card over the next few days, namely a singles match between Drew McIntyre and Cedric Alexander and potentially a confrontation between Roman Reigns and his backstage attacker. 

Rumours suggested that we’d be seeing an IC title match between Shinsuke Nakamura and Ali, as well as a singles match between Aleister Black and Sami Zayn, but due to last minute re-writes, those matches have been pushed back for another time.

So what are your thoughts on the SummerSlam card? Make sure you let us know your own predictions in the comments section below.