Our 3 Cents - SummerSlam 2022
Welcome to SummerSlam! It's the biggest party of the Summer! I personally can't remember a time when SummerSlam was in July but here we are nonetheless. We got a pretty good card and WWE has been overdelivering on premium live events (should be still called pay-per-views) so here we go! Without further to do......
Lonnie: 19-6 (76%)
John: 18-7 (72%)
Jesse: 13-12 (52%)
Let's take a look at the card:
No DQ Tag Team Match
The Mysterios (champs) vs. Judgment Day w/ Rhea Ripley
Jesse: Judgement day deserves better than this. The Mysterios are just space fillers at this point and need to break up, which I think may happen here. Judgement Day wins when Dominik turns on his dad.
W: Judgment Day
Lonnie: This is a super easy one to pick. I’m never picking the Mysterios. That being said, I really do think Judgement Day needs a win here. They have been spinning their wheels since Edge left and they need some good wins to get back on track.
W: Judgment Day
John: Judgment Day desperately need a win here. When Edge went out and then Rhea got hurt, they lost all of their momentum. If they want to be taken seriously, they should win this match with ease. It's possible Dominik turns on Rey and joins them. I personally would rather him not be part of their group. Judgment Day wins as we wait on Edge's return.
W: Judgment Day
WWE United States Championship Match
Bobby Lashley (champ) vs. Theory
Jesse: How many damn storylines is Theory apart of at this point? This feels like when Seth cashed in his MITB and lost his match with Orton early in the night. It’s going to happen here as well, Lashley wins a decent match.
W: Bobby Lashley
Lonnie: With his recent MITB win and how much Theory has been showing up around Brock Leonard lately it is undeniable that WWE feels Theory is the future (with Vince gone does that change some?). I have always thought it is a bad idea for the MITB holder to have another championship. I just do not believe Theory could be the US and Undisputed Champion at the same time. Therefore, I expect Lashley to win here, but in a good close match that keeps Theory looking strong.
W: Bobby Lashley
John: Their match at Money in the Bank surprised me and was better than I thought it would be. Lashley is great and Theory has been playing his heel role well. I've never been a fan of the Money in the Bank winner holding a singles title at the same time. Theory just doesn't need it if he has his eyes on the richest prize. Lashley should win no problem in a match that makes Theory look good in a loss.
W: Bobby Lashley
Logan Paul vs. The Miz
Jesse: Paul really flashed at Mania, so hopefully he can keep it up during this match. Mix is the perfect opponent as well because he can sell his ass off and is a safe worker and with that Logan didn’t sign a contract to lose at a grand slam PPV.
W: Logan Paul
Lonnie: The Miz eats pins like it's his day job. Paul is a celebrity. Paul wins. Hopefully it's at least short.
W: Logan Paul
John: You never pick against a celebrity. It's just a fact of picking matches. It would be rare that you're wrong if you follow that formula. As much as I'd love Miz to win, Logan Paul didn't sign with WWE to lose his first singles match. I'm more interested in what Paul does after this even though I'm definitely not a fan. Paul wins in a hopefully short match.
W: Logan Paul
Pat McAfee vs. Happy Corbin
Jesse: With Riddle vs Seth off the card, this is tied with the tag title match as what I am most looking forward to. I like that both these guys were a member of the Colts back in the day, and you can tell they both are having fun right now. This will be a surprisingly good match, since like the Miz, Corbin is safe and McAfee is going to pull off some crazy moves. I think the momentum is on McAfee's side but I hope this feud continues.
W: Pat McAfee
Lonnie: This is a match up of arguably the most entertaining, twitter dominating, cross over celebrity WWE has and......Bum ASS Corbin!!! McAfee is the man and wins here. I just do not see any upside to a Corbin win here. Let’s just hope McAfee wins so easily that he is still able to commentate the rest of the event after his match.
W: Pat McAfee
John: I've loved the build to this and both men have been great. Corbin was one of the true great heels in wrestling right now and he doesn't care what you think about him. McAfee has shown multiple times that he can go on the big stage. I except a fun match with McAfee getting the win. I selfishly hope McAfee can return to commentary when the match is over.
W: Pat McAfee
Undisputed Tag Team Championship Match
Special Referee: "Double J" Jeff Jarrett
The Usos (champs) vs. The Street Profits
Jesse: Seeing this match live at MITB was the peak match of the night. It has to be one of the top 5 best matches I have seen live, it was that good and thrilling. I am really looking forward to what else they are going to pull out in this match. Not happy that they have a special ref in Double J since I feel his services could have been used elsewhere in the night, but it is what it is. Profits finally pull it off and beat the Uso’s in the match of the night.
W: The Street Profits
Lonnie: Did you see Smackdown last night? No one sells a super kick like Double J!!!… And I don’t pick people to win that super kick my boy. Tonight is the night I violate my rule of always picking the Bloodline. The Usos have been the champions forever and I believe it is time. The Profits are the second best team in WWE, they have been built up nice recently, they have actually built this feud, and WWE can use Double J as a way to get the championships off of them. Giving the Profits the rub at such a huge event would be great for them. Side note: I can’t wait for Double J - E - Double F J - A - Double R - E - Double T to once and for all end the career of Ric Flair this weekend!!!
W: The Street Profits
W: Jeff Jarrett easily over Ric Flair
John: These guys tore the house down at Money in the Bank and it was great to see live. I'm not sure Jarrett as much beyond a nice hometown pop but he's always fun to see. It's hard for me to pick against the Usos but the Profits need this one badly. I think it could go either way but I'm sticking with the champs until I see someone beat them.
W: The Usos
WWE Smackdown Women's Championship Match
Liv Morgan (champ) vs. Ronda Rousey
Jesse: It would be really stupid to take the title off Liv this soon, but WWE has done worse things. Hopefully Ronda loses and stays away from the title picture for a while to work on some things on the mic and in the ring.
W: Liv Morgan
Lonnie: It’s SummerSlam. The second biggest show of the year. Ronda is one of WWE’s Crown Jewels. She has to win right? Normally I would say Ronda wins easily here. However, I feel that Liv has been waiting to be champ for years and they finally pulled the trigger. With Charlotte, Bayley, and Sasha gone/out right now. WWE desperately needed a new championship level woman. For that reason, I expect Liv to retain. If she loses decisively here then she would fit in the category of a Nikki ASH who was only champ due to MITB and not worthy. Liv must win here to legitimize her title run.
W: Liv Morgan
John: LIV HAS TO WIN THIS! If she doesn't, the Money in the Bank win and cash in was all for nothing. The women's division needs bigger stars that aren't Rousey or the Horsewomen. I fear a loss for Liv sends her back to Nikki ASH territory which would not be good. Now if you're asking if Liv wins clean, I wish but I think not. I think Charlotte returns to screw Ronda.
W: Liv Morgan
WWE Raw Championship Match
Bianca Belair (champ) vs. Becky Lynch
Jesse: I get the storytelling of this match, but why does Becky keep getting title shots? Give it to someone else and turn Becky back to a babyface cause I feel like she has lost all what made her fun. Like what was that train speech from Raw? Just baffling on all fronts, and she won’t win this match.
W: Bianca Belair
Lonnie: After last year's SummerSlam, I think it's great Bianca is set up to get her redemption at the same event. I was really not a fan of how Bianca lost last year and didn’t think Becky deserved to win the championship that quickly in her first match back. I must admit though, it immediately reestablished Becky and then they allowed Bianca a long title run and another Mania win since. In the end, I believe Bianca wins here to “get her win back”. After this match I do hope these women are separated for a while as I do think this needs to be the end of them feuding for a while. Is Bayley next maybe?
W: Bianca Belair
John: This feud has come full circle and should be over after tonight. I expect a good to great match from these two per usual and Belair should go over. I can't see Belair winning in 26 seconds but feel she needs a convincing win to put this story to rest. I'm personally hoping for a Bayley return to setup Belair's next opponent. Lynch should take a break from the championship scene until Mania season.
W: Bianca Belair
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Last Man Standing Match
Roman Reigns (champ) vs. Brock Lesnar
Jesse: This whole card just feels like rematches that we have seen over and over again which is disappointing for a grand slam PPV. Is Brock going to win? No. Will Theory successfully cash in after the match? Hell no. They should just add Seth to add life to this match but I know they won’t. This will be a spamming of finishers with a weird ending like all their other matches.
W: Roman Reigns
Lonnie: My rule#1: Always pick Roman. I will regret this, but I am violating my #1 rule for a few reasons. First, we currently have unified championships and then Roman went part time. When Lesnar was part time, we always had the other champion to be on TV weekly. I really just feel we need the champion on TV more. Second, unless Roman is going to keep the title to fight The Rock at next year's Mania, I do not see the benefit from continuing this super long reign. Third, I think with how they have built up Theory and Rollins being free without a match, that this match will be altered by the end of the night. Lastly, with Triple H now in charge of creative, I think he can immediately make a mark by giving us a title change and freshen up the main event scene that has gotten stale. I’m not picking Roman because he’s part time and therefore I am not picking Lesnar either. I don’t know if it will be Theory or Seth, but neither Roman or Brock are winning here.
W: Neither Lesnar or Reigns
John: I know I'm one of the rare view that really likes this match up WWE needs to be true to the billing and this needs to be their last match. Sure, someone may get injured down the line and I could see this happening again sometime. However, it shouldn't be planned. With that said, it's hard for me to go against Reigns. I think we're getting closer to him losing the championships but it shouldn't be to Lesnar. Lesnar doesn't need the rub. Whoever beats Reigns needs to be a made man because of it. Reigns retains the gold here. I can see Theory attempting a cash in but it doesn't happen thanks to the Bloodline.
W: Roman Reigns
That does it for this edition of Our 3 Cents!! Check back for a full review of the event to see how we did!
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