WWE News: Vince McMahon Already Has Top Matches For ‘SummerSlam’ Planned
These days, WWE isn’t exactly known for planning things out well in advance, as they typically are booking on a week-to-week basis. However, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon has already decided what the top matches for this August’s SummerSlam will be.
To the surprise of nobody, SummerSlam’s top two matches will feature Roman Reigns and John Cena, but as of this writing, the opponents for both men haven’t been revealed. There are some who believe that Cena will end up facing Reigns at the event. While that’s entirely possible, it doesn’t seem likely, as both men will be on separate brands following the official start of the brand-split this coming July.
It’s been revealed that John Cena will be the face of the SmackDown brand, while Roman Reigns will be the face of Monday Night Raw. So, unless WWE wants to completely throw away the brand-extension just a couple of weeks after it begins, Reigns vs. Cena at SummerSlam won’t be happening.
As for what Cena will be doing at this August’s big event, there’s a chance that he could be in the hunt for WWE’s second World Heavyweight Championship, which will be introduced following the brand split, and there’s a ton of guys who he could end up in the ring with. As previously mentioned, Cena’s SummerSlam opponent hasn’t been leaked yet, but it may end up being AJ Styles, as WWE.com, Styles, and Cena have been teasing a match-up between the two since back in January.
Roman Reigns’ SummerSlam opponent may be a bit more difficult to predict as there aren’t really a ton of obvious WWE World Title challengers on the main roster right now. Someone like Brock Lesnar comes to mind as a possible opponent for Reigns, but according to the Observer, “The Beast” may end up being drafted to SmackDown.
There’s a strong possibility that NXT stars such as Shinsuke Nakamura, Finn Balor, and Samoa Joe will be called up to the main roster following the draft this July. One of those three men may end up in the ring with the current WWE World Heavyweight Champ this August.
It’s also been reported that WWE is planning on having Sasha Banks challenge Charlotte for the WWE Women’s Championship at SummerSlam. Of course, last year, Sasha ended up having the classic NXT Women’s Title match with Bayley in Brooklyn, which will, once again, be the site of this year’s SummerSlam. It’s extremely likely that “The Boss” will be one of the most popular performers on the card this August.
As for what other matches will be on the card, there’s a strong chance that Brock Lesnar will end up in the ring with Bray Wyatt. The original plan for Lesnar at SummerSlam was for him to take on the Wyatt Family’s Braun Strowman. However, those plans have been changed because Vince McMahon isn’t exactly enamored with Strowman at this point.
Of course, Lesnar and Wyatt were originally supposed to face off at this year’s WrestleMania 32. But, for unknown reasons, WWE decided to change Lesnar’s opponent to Dean Ambrose, which is why Lesnar vs. Wyatt is now on the table for SummerSlam.
Lesnar is expected to return to WWE television at some point in the next couple of weeks to build towards his match at SummerSlam, so we should find out exactly who he’ll be in the ring with at the event upon his return. For now, it looks like he’ll be in the ring with Bray Wyatt this coming August.
[Image via WWE]
