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To say that SummerSlam 2019 feels underwhelming would be an understatement. Compared to last year and certainly the year before, 2019's edition of the "Biggest Party of the Summer" doesn't feel like a big deal. It feels more like a minor pay per view that should be taking place a month later.
I expect a match or two to be added at the last minute, but we're dealing with the card as it stands now.
Despite the underwhelming nature of what's currently available, WWE can make the most of the show if the company avoids its common mistakes and books it well.
A few match outcomes are certain. Becky Lynch isn't going to be losing her championship to Natalya. Goldberg is going to flatten Dolph Ziggler. Charlotte Flair won't be losing to a returning legend for a special attraction match.
WWE can make the most of the rest of the card with the following outcomes.
#1 Drew Gulak retains the Cruiserweight Championship
It's nice to see a hard worker like Oney Lorcan getting a spot on the SummerSlam card, even if it will only be for the kickoff show. Nevertheless, Drew Gulak needs to retain here. He's still the biggest name that 205 Live has available and Orcan has commitments to the NXT brands.
It's too bad that this match won't take place on NXT, because it would probably be a star better there, but this should be a good way to open the show and make Orcan's name better known.
Either way, Drew Gulak has to be the standard-bearer for 205 Live for a while longer, unless for some reason Buddy Murphy, Cedric Alexander, and Ali go back there (some of them probably want to).
#2 Finn Balor fights as the Demon
This is a rematch from two years ago, but it's a lot more exciting. Bray Wyatt has been the talk of the town in WWE in the aftermath of WrestleMania 35 when he came back with his bizarre and intriguing Firefly Funhouse segments. It was the best stuff he'd done in years, including his WWE Championship reign.
Now he's finally making his return to the ring against an old nemesis. It's one of the few highlight-worthy parts of this year's SummerSlam card.
But this should be more of a spectacle. Finn Balor should fight as the Demon.
WWE has not wanted the Demon to lose yet, but the protection of that character is strange. If the company has no bigger plans for Finn Balor than to be a midcard wheel spinner for life, going out of the way to protect the Demon at this point doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
On the other hand, this new Bray Wyatt character would be catapulted to a much higher level if he won a victory over the Demon.
It's the right thing to do.
#3 AJ Styles retains the United States Championship
AJ Styles and Ricochet are another combination that's actually worthy of the SummerSlam card. Normally it would be better if the younger Ricochet gets a victory over a made man like Styles, but the events of the past few weeks have rendered such an outcome a more difficult sell.
AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson have since become the dominant faction in Raw's midcard, and for the leader of the pack to lose his championship at this juncture would undercut the group's momentum.
Perhaps Ricochet will be cheated again and forced to find partners in the future, but it doesn't seem like he should be winning right now.
#4 Kevin Owens DESTROYS Shane McMahon
This is actually the most important match on the card, believe it or not. Shane McMahon's constant presence in 2019 has made both shows unwatchable all by its lonesome. The writing has been on the wall for at least the past two years - whenever Shane McMahon is a heavily featured character, the show gets worse. Whenever he's off TV for extended periods, like he was for SmackDown during most of 2018, the show is better.
Removing him is a must if WWE is going to get better when SmackDown moves to Fox imminently.
As phony as Kevin Owens' Stone Cold tribute act is, it's gotten him popular as a babyface, and he should be the one to end McMahon's terrorizing on Sunday night.
#5 Bayley retains the SmackDown Women's Championship
This has been an incredibly poorly built match. Bayley will in all likelihood retain the SmackDown Women's Championship, given that Ember Moon has been totally unable to impose herself as a formidable challenger. A title reign from her in such a state would be suboptimal, to say the least. There's no choice but to default to the titleholder.
Unfortunately, Bayley's reign has been just about as underwhelming as her challenger's build, and it really serves to highlight how big a drop the division has taken starting on the road to WrestleMania. It was precisely at SummerSlam that the division got red hot. It doesn't feel like that's about to happen with either women's title match this time.
#6 Kofi Kingston retains the WWE Championship
Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton is a match that goes a long way back. The two are going to settle old scores at SummerSlam stretching back a decade.
Unfortunately, neither outcome is particularly exciting.
Kofi Kingston's title reign has felt like it's run its course. Renewing the Randy Orton rivalry is a nice touch, but after that, it doesn't feel like there's anything left for him to do that won't fall into the heroic babyface pattern we've seen since winter. It was great at that time, but eventually, you have to move on.
On the other hand, Randy Orton winning the title would probably be as underwhelming as all his title reigns have been. If he was the same character as he was last year, things might be different, but he has lost most of that edge.
Ultimately, Kofi is the better choice than that. Hopefully, an exciting challenger emerges soon.
#7 Seth Rollins wins the Universal Championship
WWE sure does love its rematches, doesn't it? Despite the rematch clause being officially canned, we still get them way more often than we should.
This match is, unfortunately, taking place a year too late. If it happened at this time last year, it would be the hottest thing going. Now, it's a snooze. It was already past its sell-by date at WrestleMania, but at least it seemed like we finally moved on. Then WWE made the worst decision of the year and put the Money in the Bank contract on Brock Lesnar.
So we're back to square one and the same stakes apply. If Seth Rollins doesn't win on Sunday night, the main event picture on Raw is doomed to be in another holding pattern until WrestleMania 36 as the Universal Championship disappears into another black hole.
Hopefully, we can put this long-stale angle of "the beast Brock Lesnar" out of its misery this Sunday, but I doubt it, much to everyone's detriment.
