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The biggest party of The Summer is almost here and while this is supposed to be a joyous time for WWE, it is also a time rife with speculation of what will happen next. Unfortunately for The WWE Universe, there are a lot of different things to worry about when it comes to this year's Summerslam and it seems like that list is only growing.
With that being said and Summerslam only a short time away, here are all the last minute rumors that The WWE Universe needs to know about for the pay per view. In the end, hopefully, this gives fans an idea of what to expect for the second of the big four pay per views and might even help people decide if they want to watch the PPV or not.
#11 Jason Jordan update
Earlier rumors were reporting that Jason Jordan would be making his comeback the night after Summerslam, but that appears to not be the case now. In fact, one report is claiming that he is suffering from complications due to his neck injury and will be out of action for longer than expected.
With that being said, it's not a huge loss for WWE in the long run and just means that the rumored American Alpha reunion won't be happening anytime soon. In the end, though, its important that WWE moves on from Jordan and remove him from the main event spot he was in. Either that or try to make The Kurt Angle's son gimmick relevant again.
Maybe Jordan will do well in his role with American Alpha, but trying to continue the long-lost son storyline just seems pointless now. Not only does next to no one believe it, which only hurt the storyline worse, it also painted Jordan as a whiny little baby that needed to use his father in order to be successful
#10 Mixed tag team match
According to The No hold's barred podcast, the current plan is to have Rusev and Lana face off against Andrade Cien Almas and his manager, Zelina Vega in a mixed tag team match. The rumor comes after weeks of matches between the two teams, which seems to make a mixed tag team match a logical conclusion to this feud.
Furthermore, it looks like Aiden English, who accidentally cost Rusev and Lana matches in the past will cost his friends once again and lead to a feud between Rusev and English. Of course, this means that Almas and Vega will walk out of the match as the winners, which will be helpful in establishing them on the main roster.
In the end, it's not that a big a deal and one would think that WWE would have something better planned for someone like Rusev. That's not to say that Almas and Vega aren't great opponents, but when you consider the fact that WWE probably wants Rusev and Lana to lose, it becomes less interesting of an idea.
#9 Asuka gets another title shot
Why not make it a four-way battle?
According to Slicewrestling.com, that is the direction that WWE wants to go in, which means that Asuka could be added to the title match someway. The problem with this idea, however, is that Asuka desperately needs a victory right now and it doesn't seem like she's going to get it with all the other talent already in the match.
Interestingly enough, this match could give us a preview of Asuka versus Charlotte part two and even set the stage for the two to fight down the line. While that might seem like a popular outcome for the two, especially after their great match at WrestleMania 34, it comes at a time when Asuka needs a victory. A victory that WWE might not be willing to give her.
In the end, it will be pretty cool to see these four fight for the blue brand belt and hopefully take the women's division in another direction. Whether that other direction is Charlotte, Becky Lynch or Asuka remains to be seen, but anything has to be better than sitting through another Mella is money promo.
#8 Longest pay per view of the year
The WWE Universe has been treated to some pretty long pay per views in the past and while WWE doesn't always do this, it appears that Summerslam will be a four hour event. In fact, if you add in the two hour preshow WWE is wanting to do for the pay per view, it could turn out to be more like six or seven hours for fans.
While that might seem a little daunting to think about, WWE definitely has some blockbuster matches that could easily go long and eat away at all that extra time. Another positive of the time is that its going to give more stars a chance to flesh out their matches story in the ring, which allows them not to feel rushed. during the match.
In the end, its a good thing for WWE and good thing for its fans! It also helps reiterate that Summerslam is a special time of year for fans and should be respected as a super bowl like spectacle when it airs every year.
#7 Changes to IC title match
WWE has already had several matches between Seth Rollins and Dolph Ziggler for The Intercontinental title, and it looks like they don't want to do it again! Interestingly enough, it is being rumored by Wrestlevotes.com that there will be a change to The IC title match and another person or two will be added to the match.
Whether that other person turns out to be Drew McIntyre, who has already faced Rollins on multiple occasions, or Dean Ambrose remains to be seen. What is very evident here, however, is that WWE seems to want to use this match to create some kind of rift.
Think about it! If Ambrose returns, which has been rumored for weeks now, it could create a rift between him and Rollins if he wins The intercontinental title. Furthermore, WWE could also have McIntyre win the title, which would sew the seeds of conflict between the two superstars and allow for McIntyre to go out on his own.
Either way, it is going to be interesting and the match will definitely be worth a watch for shock value alone. Not only that, it will also be interesting to see if Ambrose turns on Rollins at the show, which could be a very controversial move on WWE's part!
#6 Smackdown/ Raw women's title changes
Dave Meltzer discussed the possibility of WWE taking the titles off of Alexa Bliss and Carmella and Summerslam and it seems that its all going to come down to how WWE wants the Evolution pay per view to go. Meltzer is even speculating that Bliss and Carmella will drop their respective titles at Summerslam to make Evolution more interesting of a pay per view.
According to Meltzer, the problem is that Bliss and Carmella just aren't capable of headlining an all women pay per view and WWE would be much better off going with new champions. Not only does that freshen up the title scene for the upcoming pay per view, it also allows bigger names then Bliss and Carmella to headline the big show.
In the end, fans kind of already knew that Bliss's title as champion was up and it's really no great loss if it is. In fact, Bliss has had such a successful run on the main roster so far that a loss to Rousey probably won't hurt her at all and might even elevate her standing in the company a bit moving forward.
As for Carmella, the writing is kind of on the wall about her future with The Smackdown Live women's title and it's no big loss either. Not only is that evident by the absolutely abysmal run Carmella has had as champion so far on the main roster, but also by just how much The WWE Universe seems to hate every single thing she does.
#5 The Rock's status for Summerslam
Will the Rock come back for one more performance?
That's the question many in The WWE Universe are asking themselves after Elias name-dropped The Rock during his live performance on Raw, which many believe to be a hint at a future encounter. Unfortunately for The WWE Universe, it appears that WWE has no plans to follow through on something like this.
According to Dave Meltzer from The Wrestling Observer, The Rock has no interest in returning to WWE to have an average match. With that being said, Meltzer claims that there aren't that many good Elias matches and the match would likely be sub-par due to a mixture of Rock not training much anymore and Elias being inexperienced.
Interestingly enough, there is also a rumor about Elias doing a special performance at Summerslam, which could be a way for him to set up an encounter with The Rock, but again, it seems unlikely after Meltzer's comments. As for the performance, it's not definite what will happen, but it will probably serve as a pre-match segment before Elias's fight with Lashley.
#4 Bruan Strowman heel turn
Bruan Stroman is currently in a very interesting position.
Not only is he one of the most highly pushed babyfaces in all of WWE right now, he also holds a briefcase that gives him a Universal title shot at a time and place of his choosing. Interestingly enough WWE is trying to cast doubt on Strowman becoming champion by putting his briefcase on the line against Kevin Owens, but it might just all be a ploy.
According to The Wrestling Observer," the current plan for Raw Live Events coming out of SummerSlam season is for Reigns to enter a feud with Strowman. Whilst it's completely feasible that WWE could decide to do a feud with two faces, it does make more sense for one of these stars to be turned heel"
As for how to turn Strowman heel, the easiest way to do that would be for him to ambush Reigns after a hard-fought match with Brock Lesnar and steal the title right from under him at the last minute. If WWE does this, it turns Reigns heel instantly, especially with all that Reigns has gone through and it sets the two up for a feud going forward.
In the end, it seems like a pretty logical choice and will help Reigns gain sympathy from the fans after being attacked, but what if it doesn't work? In fact, what if WWE's plan backfires and The WWE Universe cheers for the beat down of Roman Reigns? Wouldn't that ruin the progress WWE just made for weeks with Reigns?
#3 James Ellsworth update
Will James Ellsworth be at Summerslam?
Carmella's now part-time sidekick has popped up a few times in some very opportunistic places to help her come away with the title, but will he do so again at Summerslam? Furthermore, would his interference in The Smackdown Live Women's title match be a way to set up a feud between him and one of the other women on the roster?
Both ideas sound ridiculous and like WWE isn't even trying when it comes to booking The Women's division, but fans can rest assured that it likely won't happen. In fact, according to Dave Meltzer from The Wrestling Observer, Ellsworth isn't signed to a contract and will only be used as a comedic relief when the time calls for it.
With that being said and Summerslam being one of the big four pay per view of the entire year, it seems like WWE wouldn't want to pull a screwy finish for what is supposed to be one of the biggest pay per views of the year. Furthermore, one would think that WWE wouldn't want to further demean their women's division by introducing Ellsworth again.
In the end, it looks like Ellsworth won't be at Summerslam and that's probably the best news ever for The WWE Universe that wants to see this awesome match unfold between Smackdown Live's greatest women superstars.
#2 Universal title picture
According to Cagesideseats.com's Rumor Roundup, "The expectation right now is that Roman Reigns is winning the Universal title from Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam but there is apparently concern over how the match will be received in Brooklyn, considering recent crowds."
With this rumor in mind what if WWE pulls a total 180 and has Kevin Owens defeat Bruan Strowman to win the briefcase and then cash in on Reigns. Not only would the moment result in sympathy for Reigns after being pushed to the limit and beating Reigns, but also by being screwed over by Kevin Owens at the last possible second.
Think about it! If Owens was the one to foil Reigns victory in some way, it would be a huge setback for Reigns and would be the perfect way to set up matches between the two moving forward. This also allows for Strowman to get involved later after being screwed by Owens' which also creates some interesting possibilities as well.
In the end, WWE really needs to attack this problem head-on and put the right pieces at play at the right time. If they do, Strowman can turn heel, help Reigns gain sympathy from fans and set up future matches. If they don't however, they risk putting the title on a not completely ready Roman Reigns, which would be a disaster for WWE right now.
#1 Brock Lesnar deal
It has been reported by Cagesideseats.com that Brock Lesnar spoke to Vince McMahon earlier in the week about his future with The WWE. What was interesting about this conversation is that Lesnar pitched an idea for him to hold The UFC and Universal title at the same time, something that hasn't been done before.
The move would mean a lot of publicity for WWE going forward and could even bring in a lot of first time viewers to watch wrestling again. Unfortunately for The WWE Universe, not all that glitters is gold and having Lesnar hold both titles at the same time could just as easily be a disaster.
In fact, once The Universal title is compared by the mainstream media to that of The UFC belt, they will realize that The Universal title is just a joke belt. Of course, no one in their right mind would say that out loud but they could hint at during their coverage of Lesnar holding both belts.
With that being said, there is some worry that WWE might change the finish to The Universal title match and have Lesnar defeat Reigns once again. The reason for that worry is that Lesnar has used contract negotiations in the past to get his way booking wise and would probably have no problem doing it again for the right price.
In the end, it would suck to see Reigns come so far only to be defeated once again by the man that has had a stranglehold of the company for over a year now. If nothing else, Reigns needs this win for the future of his career, and Lesnar trying to schmooze up to Vince to get a new deal proves that Lesnar wants to win the match and continue being champion.
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