Our 3 Cents - SummerSlam 2020

Welcome back to another edition of Our 3 Cents where myself, Jesse, and Lonnie give you our predictions on what's going to go down. It's time for the biggest party of the summer and the WWE is trying to branch outside of the Performance Center to the ThunderDome! Here are our current standings:

John: 22-8-1 (71%)

Jesse: 21-9-1 (67%)

Lonnie: 18-12-1 (58%)

CONGRATS TO JESSE FOR PICKING EVERY MATCH CORRECT FOR NXT TAKEOVER XXX.

Let's take a look at the card:

WWE Raw Tag Team Championship Match

Andrade & Angel Garza w/ Zelina Vega vs. The Street Profits (champs)

Jesse: We Want the Smoke.....but we also want Andrade to have a title. If they aren’t going to do a singles run with him, might as well put the tag titles on him with Garza. Street Profits have had a fun and entertaining run, but it’s time to mix it up.

W: Andrade & Angel Garza

Lonnie: Isn’t it amazing what WWE can do with a tag title match when it is made four weeks ahead of time. Instead of sloping together a match and having no build, we have seen these two teams go at it for a month. I really like the use of the single matches with each team getting some victories. I also like the use of the lovely Zelina “poisoning” Ford. Making this storyline personal and having Bianca involved makes me that much more excited to see this match. The Street Profits have been good champs, but I think it’s time for a change. Andrade and Garza have been an established team and deserve a run. And I can’t wait to hear Zelina talk incredible amounts of trash when they win. Even if it only lasts a week until Payback.

W: Andrade & Angel Garza

John: The tag team division on the Raw side of things is just terrible. Besides these two teams and the Viking Raiders, there's nothing. I would like to give the WWE credit for actually building a legit feud for the titles. The Street Profits have had a good run and all four of these guys can go so I'm looking forward to the match. I hope they don't get bumped to the kickoff show. I think it's time to make a switch as it seems like it's now or never for Andrade and Garza. If for some reason the challengers don't win, they should split immediately. I'm picking Andrade and Garza with help from Zelina. Bianca Belair will try to help the champs but the heels will prevail.

W: Andrade & Angel Garza

WWE United States Championship Match

The Hurt Business is banned from ringside

MVP vs. Apollo Crews (champ)

Jesse: Again, I ask why is MVP having a match? Especially over Shelton or Lashley. I guess this is a nice time filler in the feud between Crews and The Hurt Business, but I don’t see MVP taking home the gold in this one.

W: Apollo Crews

Lonnie: I kind of hate myself for saying this, but I have really enjoyed the Hurt Business this past month. They are the perfect example of a group being better than all of its parts individually. That is why I don’t like Benjamin and Lashley being banned from ringside. I feel like MVP will struggle to put on a good match without being able to use the heel tactics that them being at ringside would allow for. If they don’t interfere, I expect a clean Apollo win. If they somehow violate the ringside ban, then MVP might stand a chance. Regardless, everyone involved had done a good job making the US Championship feel like a true prize lately.

W: Apollo Crews

John: MVP has been gold since returning to the WWE. I'm surprising enjoying him as a full time talent. I feel like the wrong man from the Hurt Business is challenging here. I'm not a big Bobby Lashley fan but I feel that he should of been the one getting the shot here. With the Hurt Business banned from ringside, I think Crews gets the win and then he will probably face Lashley. Maybe as soon as next weekend at Payback.

W: Apollo Crews

No DQ, Loser Leaves WWE Match

Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville

Jesse: They change this from a hair match where I was fairly certain Mandy would win, to this less certain stipulation. I know most of you have read what has happened with these 2 women in the last week, so changing it makes sense. I think Mandy wins to give Sonya time to heal and take care of legal matters.

W: Mandy Rose

Lonnie: I have been pleasantly surprised by the performance of both women over the last few months. I am also happy that we have this feud to get the women more airtime since Bayley and Sasha have been tying up all of the championships. With the personal nature of their battle the last few weeks in particular I really like the no DQ rules. I hope they get more than 5-8 minutes so they can actually tell a story. I think that we will still see someone try to cut the others hair during the match even though the stipulation changed. As far as the winner… I think Mandy is going to pull it off. Sonya has had the upper hand for weeks and I think this will be the classic story of the babyface getting the ultimate revenge. (On a side note, I am glad both women are safe and doing well and think that some time off for Sonya would do her well with all she’s been through in real life the past week).

W: Mandy Rose

John: First, I'm sorry to hear about the real life situation involving Sonya Deville. I heard Mandy Rose was also at her house at the time of the incident. I'm glad they're both safe because that's what's most important at the end of the day. As for this match, when it was hair vs. hair, there's no way I could of said Mandy was losing. In light of recent real life events, I'm sticking with my pick of Mandy for the sake of giving Sonya some time off to handle these issues outside the ring. Their feud can resume later down the road because no one truly ever leaves WWE forever. Hell maybe they'll reunite when Sonya comes back. Time will tell but I'm picking Mandy.

W: Mandy Rose

Street Fight

Dominik Mysterio w/ Rey Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins w/ Murphy

Jesse: How crazy is it that Dominik’s first match is against Seth Rollins at freaking SummerSlam. This shows that not only does WWE believe in him but so does Seth. There will probably be a few brutal spots in this match, but I see Seth carrying it then Aleister Black coming back and costing Seth the match.

W: Dominik Mysterio

Lonnie: The Monday Night Messiah is the man!!! First, he took out the has been Rey Mysterio and now he gets the honor and privilege of taking out his worthless son. I can’t describe how much delight I took in watching Seth and Murphy wear Dominik out with kendo sticks two weeks ago. This being a street fight guarantees that Rey will try to bail his son out. However, that is the worst thing that could have happened for poor Dominik as Seth will be sure to make him the next sacrifice for the greater good!!!

W: Seth Rollins

John: Boy, oh boy! This is a big first stage with Dominik but he has the perfect opponent in the perfect kind of match to get him over while hiding his flaws. The street fight stipulation is a good choice as they can have a brawl instead of a technical match which Dominik probably isn't capable of. Most people don't lose their debuts. I expect lots of interference of Rey Mysterio and Murphy. However, I also think we could get some involvement from Samoa Joe and a returning Aleister Black that will Dominik to pick up the win. It won't be clean but I'm going with a Dominik win.

W: Dominik Mysterio

WWE Smackdown Women's Championship Match

Will take place before the WWE Raw Women's Championship Match

Asuka vs. Bayley (champ; also WWE Women's Tag Team champ)

Jesse: See WWE Raw Women's Championship match.

W: Asuka

Lonnie: For months we saw Bayley using Sasha to protect her championship and volunteering Sasha for matches. The whole time Sasha would just smile and glare at Bayley’s Championship. Lately the tables have started to turn, and Bayley has been getting the short straw so to speak. Bayley going first puts her in a vulnerable position and I believe she is going to lose. I think a fresh Asuka could legit beat Bayley to make Asuka look good, or I could see Sasha interfering and attacking Asuka to make sure she is nice and weak for her match against Sasha. So, while I’m not saying Asuka will win the championship (Because she would then have to move to Smackdown), I do think she will win the match.

W: Asuka

John: There were some cracks in the armor of the tag team champions shown on the go home Smackdown show. Bayley and Sasha Banks seemed on the same page last Monday but not so much on Friday. I think Banks is going to help Bayley win this one as she will be expecting Bayley's help in return for her match against Asuka. Either that, or Banks attacks Asuka getting Bayley DQed. I could see that happening but I'd rather the first result happen. Banks helps Bayley to ensure her best friend retains via some shenanigans.

W: Bayley

WWE Raw Women's Championship Match

Asuka vs. Sasha Banks (champ; also WWE Women's Tag Team champ)

Jesse: One of these woman’s titles is going to change hands I feel like, but I am not sure which one. Then this leads to them having to defend their tag titles next week at the Payback PPV. I think Bayley loses the first match, then Sasha wins her match leading to extreme jealousy from Bayley towards Sasha, which boils over during their tag title match.

W: Sasha Banks

Lonnie: This match will start with Sasha taking advantage of a weakened Asuka. If Asuka won the Smackdown Championship I could see Sasha retaining, but since I believe Bayley will retain, I think Asuka is going to pull off a win here and walk away as Raw Women’s Champion. I just don’t feel like there is much more to do with Bayley and Sasha having both championships. I feel Sasha needs to lose, and preferably from Bayley trying to “help” her and costing her the belt. This can lead to tension and the tension can then explode at Payback when they defend and lose the tag team championships (allowing more women to get back into the title picture).  This would then leave just the Smackdown championship between the two of them and set up the big title match between the two that we have been waiting on.

W: Asuka

John: After receiving help from Banks in order to retain her title, I think Bayley will try to return the favor. I just don't think it will go as smooth this time around. I'm thinking Bayley is going to accidentally cost Banks her championship and that will cause some turmoil for the women's tag team champs in the future. I have nothing but praise for everything Banks and Bayley have done during the COVID era, but Asuka has been equally great and deserves a proper run with the championships. Asuka wins the gold as moves on to either Shayna Baszler or Nia Jax again (I hope Baszler).

W: Asuka

Falls Count Anywhere Match for the WWE Universal Championship

"The Fiend" Bray Wyatt vs. Braun Strowman (champ)

Jesse: Braun is becoming stale, and after he dumped the poor Alexa Bliss last week on Smackdown it is time for him to lose. Just like Fiend waving bye to Braun before disappearing in front of Retribution, I am waving bye to Braun’s title run.

W: "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt

Lonnie: I have two thoughts about this match. 

1. Bray lost to Goldberg to set up Roman winning the championship. Roman went away and Braun has been given an opportunity and has made the most of it. That being said, Bray should have never lost to Goldberg in the first place as he was the best thing going in WWE early this year.

2. I really thought I was going to hate the build to this match. I was completely wrong. The introduction of Bliss at the Horror Show and the continued interactions involving her has introduced a deeper layer of emotion to each man’s character. I believe they are going to use this match to finally use The Fiend as a face and Braun as a heel. I think Bray will be able to pull off the Bray/Fiend split personality face well. While that switch is going to happen, I am not confident that The Fiend will win the match. Part of being a face is being a good, compassionate guy and that might cost him the championship. While I think he could lose, I still think a Fiend victory makes more sense. With the introduction of the ThunderDome and potentially having fans in the near future Bray is a much better character to be champion. Also, a pretty good heel in AJ Styles has been freed up recently to challenge a face champion. Just sayin…

W: "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt

John: I have actually loved the build to this feud. It's a shame that there can't be more feuds that last more than a month that also keep us entertained with twists and turns. Ever since The Horror Show at Extreme Rules, this feud has kicked into another gear. It remains true that whoever encounters the Fiend goes back to their old ways. Braun has seemingly gone back to his monster heel ways as he is no longer the fun champion with the Strowman Express who did a Caterpillar with Otis. This match could cement a double switch for these two as Braun goes full heel and the Fiend becomes a face. Double switches are hard to do but when done correctly can be amazing (see Bret Hart vs. Austin at WrestleMania 13). The adding of Alexa Bliss into the feud has been great and well done. Nikki Cross gave an interview Friday where she sensed something terrible was going to happen. I'm going to say Alexa aligns with the Fiend at SummerSlam and the Fiend reclaims the gold he never should of lost to begin with. That's a whole other story we won't get into now. LET HIM IN!

W: "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt

WWE Championship Match

Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre (champ)

Jesse: Poor Drew, he has had an awesome run, but the lack of fans is really starting to hurt him. On the other side, Orton has been putting on the best work on his career. I see this going down with Orton winni……not so fast my friends. Retribution interferes in the main event, causing a DQ and setting up a rematch next week at Payback.

W: Drew McIntyre

Lonnie: You can make the argument that these two men have been the best thing going in WWE the last few months....oh wait, it’s not an argument at all. They are for sure the best thing going. Drew has had a great first championship run considering the COVID circumstances. And I don’t know if it’s the lack of fans, not having to travel, or something else, but Randy has been on fire this summer. I love the return of the Legend Killer. Randy has made his character fresh and presents the biggest challenge to McIntyre yet. I still don’t like taking the championship off of Drew until he gets his moment with the fans, but we have no idea how long it will be until fans return. I’m not sure what the finish will be, but I expect McIntyre to retain in a way that sets up an immediate rematch at Payback.

W: Drew McIntyre

John: This is interesting to me. This is McIntyre's biggest challenge to date and Orton has been pure gold lately since he revived the Legend Killer gimmick. It's hard to say how McIntyre's reign as WWE champion has been because it's hard to compare it to any others because of this COVID era that we're in now. I personally believe McIntyre has been great but the ratings are going down lately. I don't think it's necessarily his fault. I could see the WWE trying to go another direction though to see if that spikes the ratings a little. I thought WWE would wait so McIntyre can have his crowning moment for the fans but there's no telling how long that will take. I'm not confident in it by any means, but I think Orton gets a run with the belt for at least a little bit. McIntyre could always win it back when we have fans in attendance to get his moment. I could see Ric Flair returning to help Orton. After all, we never saw Orton punt Flair. The lights went out and we assume he did. Maybe this is all part of a master plan. I'm going with Orton to win but a rematch happening next weekend.

W: Randy Orton

That does it for this edition of Our 3 Cents!! Check back to see how we did and be sure to join us again next weekend for Payback!

Thanks for taking the time to read this!! If you enjoy what you've read, don't hesitate to become a site member and get updates when new content is posted! Also, any comments or feedback is greatly appreciated!