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2018 has been a strange year for WWE fans, and the reason for that is the odd but largely shocking decisions the WWE has made during this year. From Brock Lesnar still facing Roman Reigns for the Universal Title to Asuka's undefeated streak being ended in a such a surprising manner, those are just a two of the many times WWE decided to swerve their fanbase this year.
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And at Summerslam 2018, fans can be sure that the surprises will keep on coming, as the manner in which the match card has been set up leaves a lot of possibilities open for discussion. And theories like Paul Heyman being responsible for Brock Lesnar's demise and stars like Becky Lynch are going to turn heel at the event are shocking topics that were already discussed and debated about in detail.
But then there are decisions that WWE will likely consider that would probably range from astounding to just plain insane. Moreover, with rumours circulating that WWE doesn't feel that the Summerslam match card has much hype surrounding it, they could go all out at the event to ensure that fans leave astonished at what they have just seen. Therefore, that could mean any one of these following scenarios could take place.
#1 Alexa Bliss hands Ronda Rousey her first loss in WWE
Alexa Bliss vs Ronda Rousey is not a rivalry that most would expect to garner boatloads of excitement from the wrestling fanbase, but taking into consideration how intriguing Rousey is in the ring and what a fantastic heel Alexa Bliss is, these two might find the right balance between their contrasting styles and pull off an entertaining match.
But the question that has fans divided is, how will this match conclude? While the two most likely options are Rousey decimates Bliss and wins the Raw Women's Title, or Bliss wins via disqualification or one of her allies bail her out. But fans know that the least likely possibility is Bliss standing toe to toe with Rousey and beating her clean, and that is an option that could insanely enough play out.
Bliss's entire rivalry with Rousey is based on one core theme, the fact that Rousey is still a rookie in the world of professional wrestling, while on the other hand, Bliss has been around long enough to be considered a seasoned pro. And while you may have to suspend your disbelief to imagine a scenario where the cowardly Bliss outwrestles a former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion, it is something that is crazy enough to happen inside a wrestling ring.
As we have seen in the past, Bliss go toe to toe with Nia Jax and hold her own, we have seen her squash Bayley when "the huggable one" was still concerned as a legitimate champion, and we have seen Bliss survive the Elimination Chamber with the help of no one. Sure, WWE's booking allowed her to achieve all those feats, as it is pro wrestling people, but the point is that we have seen her do it in the past, and it could happen again.
Moreover, WWE seems as if they want to take a subtle way of taking Ronda to the top, as building her up as a prototypical superhuman like John Cena in the women's division could make the shaky WWE audience turn ion her in an instant. Therefore, if Rousey does lose clean to Bliss, it will give her more character development, as that what her WWE career needs at this moment-a space for her to grow as a character.
As learning the lesson of not underestimating her opponent could make her more retable in the long as WWE is set on making her the face the of women's wrestling. So insanely enough Rousey to Alexa Bliss doesn't sound that crazy at this point.
#2 Carmella bests the competition
Carmella's Smackdown Live Women's Title reign has been labelled by the WWE Universe as one of the worst Women's Title reigns of the women's revolution era. As her subpar performances in title matches, her predictable booking as an annoying heel that cant do nothing without her sidekick and her limited capabilities as an entertainer has all been criticized by the WWE Universe.
But the truth is Carmella is better than most give her credit, as it is WWE's booking that is to blame for her position as a weak champion on Smackdown Live.
And sure it is only a matter of time before WWE cuts her title reign short in favour of a new champion to run the division, but at Summerslam, it feels as if that won't be the case, as many reasons could indicate Carmella is going to retain her title and that to clean.
Over two weeks ago on Smackdown Live, Becky Lynch and Carmella gave promos talking about what their match at Summerslam meant each one of them, and while Lynch's promo was what you would expect, Carmella produced the best promo of her entire WWE career.
As she touched on people telling her she would never be more than a manager on NXT, her jealousy of seeing the four horsewomen of NXT always being one step ahead of her all the time and the fact that she has to deal with people telling her she is never good enough to be champion every single day.
And while it was revealed as a set up to assault Lynch, it did feel sincere, and it felt like the first sign of character depth WWE was adding to her persona, as the reason for her being a cocky, annoying heel was given an origin story.
Also, with Charlotte returning the same night and defeating Carmella which allowed her to be added to the Smackdown Live Women's Title match at Summerslam, it already sowed seeds of doubt in her friendship with Becky Lynch, as Lynch is tired of Charlotte stealing her thunder. And this week on Smackdown Live, the fans saw Lynch once again cast in the shadow of Charlotte, and this time Becky was visibly frustrated.
So fans would be thinking the set up is easy for Carmella to retain her title, Charlotte and Becky take each other out which allows Carmella to swoop in and take advantage, and yeah that could happen. But what if WWE wants to keep the title on Carmella and wants a strong champion heading into the first WWE women's pay-per-view? Well, the answer is simple, make Camella go over strong at Summerslam, as the reasoning for her shifting her character from snarky heel to defending champion is embedded in her promo, she is tired of being underrated and overlooked.
Moreover, if WWE wants to crown a new WWE Women's Champion at the historic women's pay-per-view, it would be safe to say they would want the women's champion to be in some shape or form have some credibility to give to that superstar. So Camella beating Lynch and Charlotte clean to bring her narrative full circle and going on to lose her title to an upcoming star at WWE Evolution is pausable, to say the least.
#3 Reigns squashes Lesnar
Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar is a storyline that people are tired of debating about, as the several matches, repetitive promos and pull apart brawls these two men have participated is enough at this point. Fans want to see something fresh in the Universal Title picture but WWE is intent on making this feud a regular until Reigns is cheered in victory, but as we have seen a many times in the past, Reigns can't fully get over with WWE's fanbase let alone have a solid match with Lesnar.
As the last time, the two put on a great match was the first time they met in singles action at Wrestlemania 31, but since then Reigns and Lesnar have been producing the same old match format that includes multiple spears, F5's and suplexes. Moreover, at Summerslam, it seems as if WWE is going for that same format, as these two men have been built up as unstoppable forces of nature on the road to the event, especially Lesnar.
But what if WWE does something different on the night, as the chances of fans not turning on this match range from slim to impossible, as the last time Roman Reigns was in Brooklyn for Summerslam, he was booed out of the building. So to avoid another train wreck of a main event, WWE should keep these match short, more specifically a minute to be exact, as it would be a move that no one would see coming-Reigns squashing Lesnar like a rag doll.
Sure it might be a heavy gamble for WWE to make considering the fact that fans might hate Reigns for going over so easy or they will adore him for one night only for finally vanishing "the beast" from the Universal Title picture. The real reason why this might be a more good idea is the fact that it will avoid a lengthy match between two men who have done everything possible to make their matches unique. As the uniqueness of this feud has faded away now and this might be WWE's only option to avoid another terrible main event.
#4 Kevin Owens wins the WWE Title
Kevin Owens vs Braun Strowman at Summerslam 2018 seems to still be for the Money in the Bank briefcase, as Strowman has not cashed it in for some reason, and even if he does, Owens would probably prevent the match from starting. So at Summerslam, many expect Strowman to defeat KO and go on top defeat Lesnar or Reign for the Universal Title. And there is a large number of fans that believe Owens will somehow win the contract from Strowmnan and go on to become Universal Champion.
But what if neither Strowman or Owens become Universal Champion at that the show, and instead we see KO become a World Champion, but not the World Champion of Raw but of Smackdown Live. Now the first thing to understand is, the Money in the Bank contract is neither a Raw or Smackdown Live exclusive contract, as the ladder match saw both superstars from both brands contest for it. So the contract allows the holder to cash it in for any title anytime, and KO winning the contract and cashing it in to become WWE Champion would make perfect sense.
As KO has been echoing for the last few weeks that he will win the contract from Strowman and go to win the Universal Title which he lost in such a disappointing manner to Goldberg at Fastlane 2017 seems a bit too good to happen. As to why would WWE spoil the ending of the second biggest show of their calendar year week after week on Raw? Moreover, considering the fact that Owens character has morphed into a coward looking for the easy way out, why would he try and attempt to cash in on Roman Reigns or Brock Lesnar?
So Owens taking out Samoa Joe and AJ Styles to become WWE Champion feels like a more insanely realistic idea. And while many would say that Smackdown Live's main event scene doesn't need more superstars, the fact that WWE's lucrative deal with Fox has seen them put more effort to make Smackdown Live a quality wrestling show, it wouldn't be surprising to see them amp up the main event scene by inserting Owens into the fray.
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