SummerSlam 2010 Previews and Predictions
Previews and Predictions for all the matches set to take place at SummerSlam 2010.
This week we’ve got a special Vs. Previews and Predictions article for you guys, pitting P&P new boy Frank Leal against veteran GRuz!
But before I let them go at it, allow me to direct you towards my official off-site previews, which you can find at the links below!
WWE SummerSlam 2010 Raw Previews and Predictions
This article takes a look at both Raw title matches:
- Alicia Fox (c) Vs. Melina for the Divas Championship
- Randy Orton Vs. Sheamus (c) for the WWE Championship
WWE SummerSlam 2010 Smackdown Previews and Predictions
This article takes a look at the two Smackdown matches currently set to take place on the card:
- The Big Show Vs. The Straight Edge Society in a 3 on 1 Handicap Match
- Kane (c) Vs. Rey Mysterio for the World Heavyweight Championship
Team WWE Vs. Team Nexus @ SummerSlam 2010 Preview and Predictions
A feature-length look at the 7 on 7 elimination match including speculation on who might take Team WWE’s vacant 7th spot.
Frank Leal Vs. GRuz SummerSlam 2010 Previews and Predictions
GRuz, being the veteran, gets the honour of having his predictions emblazoned in Red, while Frank as the relative newcomer has to make do with this rather murky Green.
For the second straight year, WWE’s Summerslam will be held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Known as one of the WWE’s “Big Four” PPVs, Summerslam debuted in 1988 and has seen some of the biggest matches in the WWE’s history. Will one of this year’s matches go down as one of the greatest ever? Only time will tell. Now let’s get started previewin’ and predictin’.
Divas Championship Match
Divas Match
Eve
Vs.
Alicia Fox (c)
Frank:
Alicia has become the most dominant diva on Raw ever since winning the Divas title a few months back at Fatal 4 Way.
Unfortunately for her, Melina made a triumphant return a couple of weeks ago after a long injury absence to attempt to reclaim her throne.
She attacked Alicia and defeated her in a non-title match, to earn a shot at the Platinum at SummerSlam.
Alicia is a bit sloppy in the ring and Melina is bound to be a bit rusty after the long lay-off, so I’m not expecting a great match here and expect it will be kept relatively short.
Prediction: I’m not a big fan of people being handed titles so soon after returning from injury so I’m going with Alicia to retain here, with Melina eventually winning the title some time down the road.
GRuz:
At the risk of sounding sexist (I seem to say that a lot, don’t I?), I’ll start with this one so we can get it out of the way.
As is often the case in the men’s division, the Divas Championship has been fought over by the same 4 or 5 women for the past several months, Fox and Melina being two of the constant contenders.
In December of last year, Melina was the titleholder, until forced to give up the belt after tearing her ACL at a house show. The Championship changed hands a few times until Fatal 4-Way in June, where Alicia Fox defeated Gail Kim, Maryse, and then-champion Eve to become Divas Champ.
She has retained the title for the past two months through various means (usually underhanded).
Less than two weeks ago, Melina made her surprise return and defeated Fox on the August 9th edition of Raw to earn a title shot at Summerslam. That’s right, folks – a title match with a buildup of less than a week.
That’s today’s WWE for ya.
Prediction: Alicia Fox defeats Melina and retains the Divas Championship.
Even for the WWE, building up a rivalry for all of six days is ridiculous. I’m reminded of whenever Edge or Triple H come back from injury and immediately get title shots, even though they’ve done nothing to earn them. At least Melina beat Fox in a non-title match to earn a chance at the title, but unless the WWE writers are sending the message of “we really don’t care about the Women’s Division and this pretty much proves it”, you have to make SOME effort to establish storylines.
They didn’t have enough time here, so the heel champ will win to give the writers more time to try to flesh out a better rivalry.
Grudge Match
3 on 1 Handicap Match
The Big Show
Vs.
The Straight Edge Society
GRuz:
Since we’re on the subject of weakly-established rivalries, lets move onto the S.E.S vs. a guy who had absolutely no problem with them up until a few weeks ago.
This is one reason that I’m annoyed by matches that contain stipulations regarding masked wrestlers. When someone gets into a rivalry with Rey Mysterio, invariably a match will come along where he has to unmask himself if he loses.
Sure, he usually ends up winning, but a couple of times he’s lost and we have to listen to how “humiliated” he is by having to take his mask off blah blah blah.
So this is where the S.E.S comes in.
Back in May, C.M Punk lost a match to Mysterio that would have forced Mysterio to join the SES if he lost. Instead, Punk had his head shaved for losing and has worn a mask ever since to combat his “humiliation”.
Last month, The Big Show forcibly removed the mask on an edition of Smackdown, showing Punk’s baldness to the world.
Evidently, Punk’s hair grows so slowly that even two months after having his head shaved, he’s still bald.
But let us try to ignore the idiocy of such a storyline and continue…
As it tends to happen in WWE storylines, the S.E.S cannot ignore Big Show’s breach of etiquette and have spent the past few weeks seeking revenge.
It didn’t start off too well. The SES’s “masked man” was destroyed in a one-on-one match-up with Show and unmasked as well, revealing him to be Joey Mercury, but a week later, all three Straight Edge members jumped Show successfully, repeatedly stomping on his Knockout Punch hand and leaving him a semi-conscious heap outside the ring.
I’ve gotta be truthful here and say that I just can’t figure this match out.
And by that I mean, I can’t figure out the POINT of this match. The Big Show isn’t particularly “anti-straight edge”; there are many other WWE superstars that it would have made more sense to pit against the S.E.S than the lumbering, goofy, mostly-nice-guy Big Show.
Now, what would really spice this match up would be a big swerve of some kind, but I just don’t see it.
The S.E.S started strong, had real potential to be a great stable of villains, but lately it’s just been treading water.
I’d love to see Mysterio run in to “help” the Show at some point but make a heel turn and join the S.E.S.
That’d be great. But I don’t give the writers enough credit to do that and rightfully so, because they won’t turn Mysterio heel, no matter how many real fans might love it.
I worry about this match.
Show and Punk are great wrestlers and savvy veterans, but their styles don’t mesh well together and, unless there IS some interesting swerve in the cards, this match could be quite dull.
Making it a handicap match is an effort on the writers’ part to spice it up, but will probably do little to create crowd interest. Anyway, on to my…
Prediction: The Big Show spends some time knocking everyone around before knocking somebody out and making the pin. Big Show wins. Meh.
Frank:
After some light-hearted verbal jibes, the situation here got serious when the Big Show unmasked the mystery man (Joey Mercury) as well as C.M. Punk himself, revealing his bald head to the world.
The SES responded with a brutal attack on the Big Show, damaging his hand with constant stamping on the Steel Steps.
Punk is coming off an injury and Big Show has never been the greatest worker so this match won’t be a classic.
I expect Big Show to come out like a house on fire and take it to the S.E.S early before the numbers game catches up to him.
I’d look for show to recover and hit his Knockout Punch on one of Punk’s followers.
Prediction:I’m taking Big Show to overcome the odds. While a 3 on 1 loss might temporarily make the SES look weak, I think they may attack the Big Show after the match, thus leading to a Punk vs. Show 1 on 1 match next month.
World Heavyweight Championship Match
Singles Match
Kane (c)
Vs.
Rey Mysterio
Frank:
After winning the Smackdown Money in the Bank Ladder match last month, Kane cashed in the very same night, taking advantage of Rey Mysterio who was worn down after his match with Jack Swagger.
In recent weeks, Kane and Mysterio have both accused one another of being responsible for the attack on The Undertaker.
So, unless Rey is turning heel, which is unlikely, it looks like the evil Kane is back and he was indeed the one who attacked his brother all along.
Rey is an exciting high-flyer and Kane has long been one of the most athletic “big men” in the WWE, so I expect this to be a fun match.
Prediction: It is clear that the WWE is building toward yet another Kane vs. Undertaker feud, so I expect a decisive victory for Kane here, cementing him as a credible champion.
GRuz:
One of the main reasons that Mysterio won’t pleasantly surprise me by turning heel in the Show vs. S.E.S match is that he’s too busy being embroiled in his own re-hashed, done to death rivalry these days.
The vitriol between Mysterio and the S.E.S is, for all intents and purposes, a thing of the past.
In its place is the fairly-strange World Championship rivalry with Kane.
The top of the Smackdown heap has been oddly interconnected as of late, with The Undertaker being “jumped” by a mystery assailant in May (a storyline that was concocted because of a legitimate injury suffered prior to Fatal 4 Way in a match against none other than Rey Mysterio), Kane going on a rampage and initially blaming C.M Punk, then blaming Jack Swagger, then blaming Mysterio after he claimed that The Undertaker told him that Mysterio was the attacker, only to be blamed in turn by Mysterio for having been the one behind it all (something we here at WWEBlog guessed at about 10 minutes into the storyline).
Of course, it’s probably no coincidence that Kane’s hunt for revenge against his brother’s attacker has resulted in his leap up the Smackdown ladder.
At Money in the Bank, Kane intervened after Mysterio defeated Swagger to retain the World Championship belt, ostensibly to help Mysterio after Swagger decided to wear the Ultimate Underdog down after the bell.
Of course, Kane ended up having ulterior motives, as he quickly returned to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase and Chokeslam his former friend Mysterio to become the champion.
Rey later defeated Swagger in a 2-out-of-3 match at a Smackdown show in July to earn the opportunity to face Kane at Summerslam and hopefully regain his title.
Will Rey be successful?
Prediction: Kane wins and retains the World Heavyweight Championship.
With the direction this rivalry and storyline has taken, I cannot foresee any possibility of Mysterio taking back the title here. I really can’t.
There is only one resolution to this storyline that would really make sense – Kane was the one who attacked the Undertaker and used his “revenge” excuse as a means to tear through the Smackdown roster and become champion.
I think it’s pretty clear that very soon, probably within the next few weeks (if not sooner), the truth will come to light and set the foundation for the final ‘brother vs. brother’ matchup.
Both Taker and Kane are at the end of their exceptional careers and they will both want to go out in a blaze of glory, as is their right.
Taker especially has been dealing with constant injury and he will be hanging it up very soon. I know that he would like to make it to 2011′s WrestleMania but I honestly don’t know if he’s going to be able to stick around that long.
A nice second choice at a retirement match might be at November’s Survivor Series, where he made his debut 20 years ago.
So I think the writers will want to move the story forward so that it culminates at an epic matchup in November, possibly the final match of both of these great wrestler’s careers. Mysterio is a great wrestler, too; I’ll give you that. But here he’s the odd man out.
Kane needs to retain the belt so that he can put it up against Taker in November. That way, the Deadman has a shot at retiring as the champ.
Would be nice to see that, so that’s how I’m seeing it.
WWE Championship Match
Singles Match
Randy Orton
Vs.
Sheamus (c)
GRuz:
A great potential match-up, made all the greater by the fact that there will be a WWE Championship match at a PPV without John Cena’s participation, thanks to his involvement in the Nexus match later in the evening.
Regular readers know that I’m no fan of Cena and won’t ever be, until his inevitable heel turn somewhere down the road.
So enough about Cena; let’s start breaking down the Championship match.
This match is a clever puzzle, in that it may indirectly give clues as to the identity of the Raw Mystery G.M and the identity of the supposed leader of the Nexus (if there actually is one).
The WWE Champion, Sheamus, won the title at Fatal 4-Way by beating Edge, Randy Orton, and then-champion John Cena after the Nexus stormed the ring.
In the chaos, Sheamus pinned Cena for the victory. At the next PPV, Money in the Bank, Sheamus faced Cena once again for the title.
Once again, the Nexus stormed the ring and once again, Sheamus used the distraction to escape the steel cage and retain the title. At a time when many fans are contemplating the prospect that Wade Barrett isn’t the “real” leader of the Nexus, but that there is another WWE superstar that is pulling strings behind the scenes, the fact that Sheamus has directly benefitted from the Nexus’ actions as of late is thought-provoking, to say the least.
So that makes a couple of the stipulations in SummerSlam’s title match VERY interesting.
One is that if anybody interferes in the match, they will be suspended indefinitely from the WWE.
This is, obviously, a clear message by the G.M to the Nexus, assuming that if Sheamus is their secret leader, then he will be unable to take advantage of their help.
The other, though, hurts Randy Orton, stipulating that if Orton loses, he will be placed at the end of the line when it comes to future title opportunities.
Generally, that would make perfect sense, but that’s not how it works in today’s WWE.
By specifically putting Orton at the end of the line, that stipulation is quite draconian. It sure appears that whoever is the Mystery G.M is no fan of Randy Orton.
I doubt that Sheamus is the “leader” of the Nexus, but the fact is inescapable that he’s benefited from their rampages as of late, so their absence will probably be explained as something that will “bother” Sheamus.
As for the stipulation regarding Orton, putting him at the bottom of the pack when it comes to the championship would ostensibly force him to battle low-to-mid card opponents to get back to the top of the heap.
As interesting as it would be to see Randy Orton have to fight a bunch of no-names and also-rans, that would be pretty insulting to an established wrestler. I generally like face turns by Orton, as they seem to be so few and far between, and in this case I think the groundswell of support towards Orton from the fans will cause the writers to pencil in a win for him here.
Prediction: Randy Orton defeats Sheamus and becomes the new WWE Champion.
Frank:
Randy Orton won a triple threat match against Edge and Chris Jericho to earn this title shot.
Orton has been on quite a roll of late and has become quite popular with the fans despite still acting somewhat “heelish” towards associates and opponents alike.
Sheamus, on the other hand seems to have been booked a bit weakly in his second run as champion, playing the cowardly heel role by making a truce with The Nexus and backing down from confrontation.
I expect Sheamus to control most of this match with big power moves as the match builds toward the inevetable Orton comeback, which the crowd are sure to pop big for.
Prediction: Raw’s anonymous G.M announced that if Orton loses, he goes to the back of the line. I expect this feud to continue so I am picking Orton to win here. Losing the title might be the best thing for Sheamus right now. That way he can have a stronger build into his next title reign which I expect to happen soon, setting up Sheamus vs. Triple H, when “The Game” is ready to return.
WWE Vs. The Nexus Match
7 on 7 Elimination Match
Team WWE
John Cena
John Morrison
Chris Jericho
Edge
R-Truth
Bret Hart
???
Vs.
Team Nexus
Wade Barrett
David Otunga
Skip Sheffield
Michael Tarver
Darren Young
Justin Gabriel
Heath Slater
Frank:
The “Nexus” angle has been one of the most intriguing storylines the WWE has seen in many years.
This group of rebel rookies has run roughshod over the WWE in recent months, attacking Superstars, Hall of Famers, and employees with blind malice.
John Cena became their first target and they would go on to cost him his gold at Fatal 4 Way, raising the ire of the former WWE Champion.
Eventually, Cena assembled a ‘WWE Dream Team’ to even up the odds and take down Barrett’s posse at SummerSlam.
Cena’s team had it’s of distension and in-fighting in the weeks leading up the big event.
Edge and Jericho even quit the team but are apparently back on board now, as Cena’s crew finally showed some solidarity this past week on Raw.
One setback is the fact that The Great Khali is out with an injury, but he will likely be replaced by the Miz.
It’s hard to know what to expect in this match, as the Nexus are largely unproven in the ring, while the WWE side is full of seasoned in-ring performers.
I’d look for a feeling out process early on, with the eliminations eventually coming fast and furious.
Prediction: If the Nexus loses here, they will be seen as a bunch of bullies who can’t get it done when the odds are even. It would kill their momentum. So, I have a feeling that they will pull a win out of the bag, most likely when one of the WWE members (Miz? Jericho? Edge?) turns on Team WWE.
GRuz:
After being screwed out the WWE title at Money in the Bank, John Cena put together “Team WWE” to take down the Nexus once and for all at SummerSlam.
So one thing we’ve learned about John Cena is that you should be glad that he’s not your boss at work, because he’s terrible at putting teams together.
Edge and Chris Jericho are great wrestlers, but are heels and no friends of Cena, so that’s puzzling in of itself.
R-Truth is terrible.
John Morrison is a fantastic wrestler but, unfortunately, a perpetual mid-carder.
Then there’sBret Hart, who is 15 years past his prime (and even that’s being generous).
The Great Khali was scheduled to be the 7th member of Team WWE, until the Nexus jumped him during last week’s RAW.
Enter The Miz, the current holder of the Money in the Bank briefcase, who has hinted that he may volunteer his services to replace Khali, but evidently won’t make a decision literally until the last second at the SummerSlam event.
Undoubtedly, that decision will have some bearing on the match’s storyline, but on the surface it’s a bit odd, as The Miz is surely more interested in finding a way to win the WWE title than to help Team WWE in their spat with the Nexus.
Both Edge and Jericho have already left the team, thanks to their dislike of Cena, just to rejoin in the days leading up to the PPV.
So although Team WWE would appear to have a large advantage in talent and experience, they’ve spent the past couple weeks doing little but fighting amongst themselves. Will they be able to keep it together to defeat the Nexus?
As monumental as the WWE is trying to make this match appear, there’s really no chance for resolution here, unless a major, and I mean MAJOR, swerve is in the works.
There is no “if the Nexus loses, they have to disband” stipulation or anything, so clearly this match is a setup for something larger in the future. I
fully expect either Edge, Jericho, or both to lose their temper at some point and attack Cena.
In fact, here’s a quick visit to the past – some of you may remember that Jericho was a participant in the Team WWE vs. Team Alliance match that determined control of the company at the 2001 Survivor Series.
In that match, there was a simmering rivalry between Jericho and another Team WWE member, the Rock.
They had issues leading up to the match, but appeared to have resolved them in time to take on The Alliance. The match was a very close, very hard fought contest and it got to the point where Jericho and the Rock were the only Team WWE members left, against the final Alliance member remaining – Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Eventually, Austin eliminated Jericho with a rollup to make it a one-on-one matchup.
Jericho was irate, refused to leave the ring, argued with the referee, and then suddenly attacked The Rock from behind, nearly leading to a Team Alliance victory.
Sound familiar???
So many things could come from this match, with the number of wrestlers involved, the supposed hidden “leader” of the Nexus, who may or may not exist, and the tensions within Team WWE which could lead to any number of swerves.
So what I’m saying is that this is a very difficult match to predict and all I can do is make my best guess….
Prediction: The Nexus wins, thanks to a WWE traitor.
There is one man in this match who is GENERALLY always at the top of the heap when it comes to title shots, but for some reason, his storylines have been fairly quiet as of late, and that puzzles me.
That man is Edge.
His last brush with a title shot was when he lost, along with Chris Jericho, to Randy Orton at a July match in Raw to determine Sheamus’ challenger at SummerSlam.
Since then, he’s just kinda been hanging out with Jericho, lassoed into this whole “Team WWE” stuff, when it should be clear to those who follow him that he couldn’t be less interested in fighting for a “cause”.
He’s interested in the title, and only the title.
I think Edge will betray Team WWE, and possibly even join the Nexus, as a means to use their muscle to take back his title.
Edge is clever enough to pull it off and devious enough to work behind the scenes to turn situations to his advantage.
Team WWE dominates early, but can’t overcome Edge’s betrayal in the end.
The End Bit
Well, a heated exchange I’m sure you’ll agree, but ultimately a stalemate situation by the looks of things.
I guess if either man is able to come out on top here it will be down to the little details to decide it.
To find out who made the right (or wrong) calls join us for LIVE SummerSlam coverage as soon as the show begins on Sunday 15th August!
Card as of 11/08/2010.
Please note card is subject to change.
JayD, Frank Leal & GRuz
