A popular star moves up, faction disbands - 6 things that should happen between now and SummerSlam

SummerSlam, WWE's next Big Four event, is less than three months away. Only Night of Champions (May 27th) and Money in the Bank (July 1st) remain on the road to The Biggest Party of the Summer.

WWE could also work the King and Queen of the Ring Tournaments into episodes of RAW and SmackDown in June.

Certain long-reigning champions like Bianca Belair, Roman Reigns, and Gunther could see their runs end. Those ends could also take place at the SummerSlam event itself.

Whatever plays out, some things should happen before The Biggest Party of the Summer. Here are six things that need to happen in WWE before SummerSlam.

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#6. The Women's Tag Team title conundrum is fixed

This situation was briefly acknowledged during Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez's recent defense against Damage CTRL. Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn were shown backstage watching the match.

It could mean that the titles are unified at Night of Champions or they are somehow returned to NXT. The developmental brand is also rebooting its roster, but there are still many women who could form teams. Elektra Lopez has been shown with Lola Vice while Wendy Choo could team up with any new face.

Kiana James could form a new heel team with someone like Arianna Grace or a newer recruit. Whatever happens, there should be one set of titles on the main roster and one in NXT if they are to stay on the third brand. It needs to be worked out before SummerSlam.

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#5. LA Knight moves up the card

The fast talker is gaining steam on SmackDown.

This was happening organically between the build to WrestleMania 39 and the present. Due to his overwhelming charisma and promo skills, Knight was getting over greatly with live audiences. His elimination from the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal was met with a loud chorus of boos.

Every time his music hits, the fans cheer. Some heels are just too good to boo. His recent segment where he grabbed a nearby Rick Boogs to team with against the Street Profits will hopefully be a short-term angle.

Knight is a better version of the Miz and should move up the card on SmackDown before SummerSlam. Even with heels as champions in Austin Theory and Roman Reigns, the cheers for Knight will become too loud to ignore, similar to Daniel Bryan and the Yes! Movement.

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#4. Damage CTRL finally disbands before SummerSlam

Bayley's group might disband on the road to SummerSlam.

Once the group debuted last year at SummerSlam, it seemed like Bayley, Iyo Sky, and Dakota Kai were in for big things. While Sky and Kai won the tag titles, Bayley didn't have any meaningful success as she routinely fell to Becky Lynch and Bianca Belair.

Sky has proven to be the star of the faction, and anyone who knows her isn't surprised. She even pushed Belair to the limit at Backlash. Fans cheered for her over The EST of WWE.

More seeds of dissolution were planted on SmackDown after Bayley and Kai failed to win gold from Rodriguez and Morgan. Bayley passively blamed miscommunication with Sky for the loss. With the Draft over and the need for new top stars, the trio should disband with Sky becoming a singles champion sometime soon.

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#3. Charlotte Flair returns . . . but not to the title scene

The Queen needs to stay out of the title picture to help build the rest of the roster.

WWE has a cycle of having Charlotte Flair randomly win titles and then disappear immediately after losing a belt. This most recent situation wasn't exactly her decision, however, as Ronda Rousey wanted to work alongside Shayna Baszler in the tag team division. That facilitated a quick title change to Flair and another uneventful reign that ended at WrestleMania 39.

Things need to change with her as she has minimal character depth beyond "always in title pictures." Some will argue that she's just that good, but many other performers are just as good or arguably better and could be champion. Asuka, Lynch, Sky, and Bayley are the first names to come to mind.

When Flair returns from this hiatus, she needs to be kept far away from the singles title picture. She should instead help build the rest of the roster into believable threats. How much would a win over Flair do for someone like Shotzi, Tegan Nox, Mia Yim, or Zoey Stark (had she joined SmackDown)?

Flair could also give some credibility to the Women's Tag Team titles on the road to SummerSlam since they have changed hands several times lately.

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#2. Intriguing new stars are built up as viable main-eventers

With the WWE Draft comes new stars and new feuds. Intriguing stars like Grayson Waller, Isla Dawn, Pretty Deadly, and Zoey Stark all joined the main roster from NXT. Stark is already one of the best in-ring women on the roster while few teams have the charisma of Pretty Deadly.

All four acts have at least been on-screen or in a match following the Draft festivities. Along with new faces, names like AJ Styles, Bobby Lashley, and Iyo Sky switched from RAW to SmackDown. Styles will face Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship while Sky could earn another title shot in the coming months.

Imperium moved to RAW and could battle the Judgment Day for brand supremacy. Triple H has brilliantly pushed Gunther as a future world champion. That keen eye needs to be applied to create new main event stars before SummerSlam rather than more runs from Brock Lesnar, Reigns, Flair, and Becky Lynch.

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#1. Seeds are planted that Roman Reigns' historic run could end at SummerSlam

His character work has been great, but it's time for another star to be champion

Depending on your feelings about Reigns, you either love his long title run or are more than ready for it to end. Year-long runs are usually the ceiling for modern Champions in WWE. Belair and Gunther have both had impressive runs parallel to The Tribal Chief's.

When an entire brand has no real shot at advancing to a world championship, however, it only hurts the rest of the roster. WWE may want Reigns to have a journey of over 1,000 days as champion, but once that benchmark is passed, bookers really need to consider who will take the titles from his shoulders.

Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes both had great opportunities as well as the backing of the crowd. Both times were marred by interference from Solo Sikoa. Names have been running out left and right and WWE cannot think that having Reigns lose to the Rock is a good ending.

The Rock is 51 years old and no amount of training will make that fact disappear. Reigns needs to lose the title at SummerSlam so that the rest of SmackDown matters. If he's always on top, it will be hard to invest in his title programs if he's just headed for another family clash.