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The WWE's second biggest PPV of the year SummerSlam will emanate live on 19th August 2018 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. It will be the 31st event under the SummerSlam chronology, and the Barclays Center is playing host for the PPV for the fourth consecutive year starting from 2015.
WWE will look to make this year's event a memorable one for the fans, and the stacked match card proves that the WWE will settle for nothing but a phenomenal show this year.
Speaking about the match card, it has just started to take shape but looks very captivating even before its completion. The IC Championship match between Dolph Ziggler and Seth Rollins and the WWE Championship match between AJ Styles and Samoa Joe will steal the show without a doubt.
There will be a lot of emphases on the women's division matches on the wake of the announcement of the new women's exclusive PPV "Evolution" which will take place in October 2018. Both women's champions might drop their titles before Evolution and one of which could happen at SummerSlam.
There are lots of things at stake, and WWE cannot afford to mess up. With that said, here are the five bold decisions WWE must make for SummerSlam 2018 to be a success.
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#5 Becky Lynch should win the SmackDown Women's title
Carmella won the SmackDown Women's Championship after cashing in the MITB contract on Charlotte Flair on the post WrestleMania episode of SmackDown Live. Since then she defended the title against Charlotte at BackLash and twice against Asuka and emerged victorious on all occasions.
She will now put her title on the line against the first-ever SmackDown women's champion Becky Lynch at SummerSlam. Lynch defeated Carmella on this week's episode of SmackDown and earned the right to challenge for the championship at SummerSlam.
Carmell's title run has been lukewarm so far, and she could drop the title before the women's exclusive PPV Evolution. Becky Lynch could dethrone Carmella at SummerSlam and go on to Evolution as the SmackDown women's champion and defend it against a returning Charlotte Flair.
#4 Give Kevin Owens the MITB Contract
Braun Strowman has been targeting Kevin Owens for the past few months and made sure Owens is not able to walk on his own feet. From pushing him from a 20-foot ladder at MITB to throwing him off from the top of a steel cage at Extreme Rules, Strowman has made Owens' life miserable.
Owens tried to avoid Strowman's wrath on multiple occasions but always got those hands every time he tried to run away. But this time Owens himself asked for a match with Strowman at SummerSlam.
The former Universal Champion requested Raw commissioner Stephanie McMahon to put Strowman's MITB contract on the line and added that he would get the contract if he wins by any means, even if Strowman gets disqualified or counted out.
Vince McMahon put the MITB contract on Braun Strowman as a backup plan if the crowd reaction was not right when Roman Reigns wins the Universal Championship from Brock Lesnar. But that might not be the case right now.
WWE played it well with the Brock Lesnar's championship reign and made the fans tired of Brock not defending the title often and not showing up on the weekly programs. The fans will now accept Reigns as the Universal Champion as the only thing they want is to get the title away from Lesnar.
Big men like Strowman holding the MITB contract takes away the surprise factor. It's always better off if a heel superstar holds the MITB who would look to cash it in when the champion least expects it, through underhanded tactics.
Kevin Owens could play that role to perfection, and WWE should have Owens defeat Strowman at SummerSlam and walk away with the MITB contract.
#3 Alexa Bliss should retain the Championship
Alexa Bliss will defend the Raw Women's Championship against Ronda Rousey at SummerSlam. The feud started when Alexa Bliss cashed in the MITB contract during the women's title match between Rousey and Nia Jax.
Ronda Rousey got herself suspended for a month for going on a rampage for getting screwed out of the Raw women's title. Rousey interfered during the match between Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax at Extreme Rules resulting in the former retaining the title.
Ronda Rousey will now look to capture the title at SummerSlam and break Alexa's arm in the process. Rousey will be a big draw towards the women's exclusive PPV but putting the title on her so soon would draw unnecessary heat from the crowd. WWE needs some more development on this feud and it could culminate at Hell in a Cell in September.
So Alexa Bliss should retain the title through either DQ or count-out at SummerSlam. A potential rematch inside Hell in a Cell could be the right option to have Rousey win the title and walk into Evolution as the champion.
#2 Samoa Joe wins the WWE Championship
AJ Styles has been the WWE Champion for 261+ days as of this writing, and his reign has been downright phenomenal. Ever since winning the championship from Jinder Mahal in November 2017, Styles has defended the title actively in contrast to his Raw counterpart.
His feuds with Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Shinsuke Nakamura had everything a fan could ask for, and Styles did the role of a babyface champion to perfection.
AJ Styles will now defend his title at SummerSlam against Samoa Joe. This week's SmackDown Live saw the "Samoan Submission Machine" attacking Styles from behind and signed the contract to face Styles at SummerSlam.
Though Styles' title reign has been entertaining so far, it's time for another person to step up and carry the WWE Championship. Samoa Joe will be the right person to do it, and the history between these two superstars proves this match will steal the show at SummerSlam.
Rumors quote Styles, and Joe will face each other in a Hell in a Cell match on the titular PPV this September, and it will be great to see Joe strolling inside the devilish structure as the WWE Champion.
#1 Have Roman Reigns win the Universal Championship
Roman Reigns defeated Bobby Lashley on this week's episode of Raw and became the No 1 contender for Brock Lesnar's Universal Championship at SummerSlam. It will be the fourth time these two superstars will go one-on-one and Reigns will look to slay the Beast and win the Universal Championship.
Lesnar has held the title for 480+ days as of this writing and will hit the 500-day mark when he walks out at SummerSlam. Throughout his title reign, Lesnar has defended the title only 13 times and has made only sporadic appearances on WWE television.
The plan was to have Roman Reigns win the championship at WrestleMania 34, but Vince McMahon changed his mind after seeing the crowd reaction towards the match, but he didn't change his mind on crowning Reigns as the next Universal Champion.
There's a reason they call Vince McMahon the greatest booker in the pro-wrestling industry, and he has proved it yet again. He saw the crowd reaction towards Roman Reigns, and he figured out the only way to have the fans accept Reigns as the champion is to make them grow tired of Lesnar's title reign.
It's safe to say he has succeeded in his plans and the Brooklyn crowd will accept Roman Reigns as the new Universal Champion when the "Big Dog" slay the "Beast" at SummerSlam. It isn't much of a bold decision, and WWE should have Reigns walk out of SummerSlam with the title.
