What will the match order be at SummerSlam?

With 13 matches and about six hours, SummerSlam is a card that will test the patience of even the most devoted fan. Putting the matches in the wrong order can cause exhaustion or even anger, as we saw at Backlash earlier this year. The backlash to Backlash demonstrated that match ordering is key, and while we shouldn't assume that the main event of tomorrow's show will learn from that show in May, we can hope that the company will be more careful with ordering on the SummerSlam card.

To ensure a successful show, matches need to be placed strategically to heat up and cool down the audience as needed. In other words, the bathroom break matches should be appropriately placed. What order can we expect the card to go in? Given the talent involved in each match, we can make a few predictions as to how the show will unfold.

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#1 Andrade "Cien" Almas and Zelina Vega vs. Rusev and Lana (pre-show)

A breakup to kick off?

Andrade "Cien" Almas and Rusev are talented ring workers, though their seconds will drag the match downward somewhat. This is the match that ticks the most boxes for the time when most of the audience will still be settling in. Rusev and Almas will heat the match up while their charges cool it down as needed. It helps that Rusev, though diminished, is still over enough to amp a crowd up to get them excited for the show to come.

Aiden English is bound to appear, though unfortunately, the minstrel won't introduce Rusev this time. That interference and its resulting aftermath will get the crowd buzzing enough to set up the next match on the card with sufficient electricity to do what it needs to do.

#2 Cruiserweight Championship: Cedric Alexander (c) vs. Dew Gulak (pre-show)

Kickoff purgatory.

Ordinarily, this would serve as an ideal curtain-jerker for the main show. However, it's 205 Live, and we know by now that the pre-show is its unfortunate ceiling. This will certainly be the best match of the trio on the kickoff, and Gulak and Alexander should be given time to get the crowd excited as it still settles into the Barclays Center.

The Cruiserweight Championship match will make the crowd happy enough to overlook the probable poor quality of the next match on the card.

#3 Raw Tag Team Championship: The B-Team (c) vs. The Revival

The end of the pre-show.

WWE's typical poor attempt at comedy is best suited to headline the kickoff, as the humor-centered B-Team defends their titles against The Revival. After the clinic of the cruiserweight match, this bout is ideally placed to calming the crowd down and getting them ready for the main show.

Perhaps there will even be a few laughs. Maybe.

#4 United States Championship: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Jeff Hardy

A strong style curtain-jerker.

When looking at the other matches on the card that would ideally be suited to start the major festivities, this one seems the likeliest, even if it won't be the best of them. There's just too much going on with the other matches to put them so early in the show.

Shinsuke Nakamura and Jeff Hardy, even when he's injured, are good enough workers to invest fans early on. With Randy Orton possibly lurking around, this match also has the potential to deliver shocking moments to get the crowd buzzing.

#5 Finn Balor vs. Baron Corbin

Who?

Forgettable match, forgettable contestants, forgettable layout. This is ideally suited to be a cool-down filler match after the curtain-jerker gets everyone invested in the show. If it doesn't go too long and lets people take a breather for a few minutes, it will have done the best job it can reasonably be expected to do.

#6 SmackDown Tag Team Championship: The Bludgeon Brothers (c) vs. The New Day

Build is lacking, match will be good.

The New Day always delivers if given the right amount of time for their match. The Bludgeon Brothers are ideally suited to act as their antagonists. As a result, this match will be best suited somewhere toward the middle of the card, to make sure people remain invested in the festivities.

If they're given the right time, fans can expect a hard-hitting war with several near-falls until a fitting conclusion is reached.

#7 Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens

Running from the bear.

One of the weaker matches on the card, this one is best suited as a cool-down after something like the New Day vs. Bludgeon Brothers. Most of it will probably consist of Kevin Owens running for his life from Braun Strowman.

Placing it exactly in the middle of the card also serves another purpose - it helps to throw the scent off of a potential Money in the Bank cash in later in the night.

#8 SmackDown Women's Championship: Carmella (c) vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch

Strange dynamic.

This is a weird contest, because while it could be very hot, Carmella's presence guarantees it will also have its cold stretches. It's an in-between match which ultimately would be best placed as a placeholder that separates a weaker match from a coming, stronger one.

With cool-down spots and a finish that's likely to be screwy, expect it somewhere on the middle of the card before things slowly build up to the main event.

#9 Intercontinental Championship: Dolph Ziggler (c) (/w Drew McIntyre) vs. Seth Rollins (/w Dean Ambrose)

Lunatics and psychopaths run wild!

No other match is better suited to amping the crowd up as SummerSlam begins to approach its home stretch. Dolph Ziggler and Seth Rollins should have a tremendous contest between them if it isn't an overbooked mess.

Drew McIntyre and especially a returned Dean Ambrose add to the excitement surrounding the match. The interference they pull will add to the suspense and get the crowd gasping. With Rollins one of the hottest babyfaces in the company, the crowd will be clamoring for his victory.

#10 WWE Championship: AJ Styles (c) vs. Samoa Joe

Not a phenomenal placement.

The WWE Championship has unfortunately been booked like a glorified midcard title for the past year or so. Thus, it probably won't go any later than this. AJ Styles and Samoa Joe also probably won't wrestle as good a match as the Intercontinental Championship match which preceded this and the match which will ultimately succeed it.

Therefore, a high-octane match, but of a lower variety than its main event counterparts, is probably something we can expect and would suit the 10th spot on the card.

#11 Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz

The fight of the night.

It might not be for the title, but this is SmackDown's actual main event. It's been booked as being more important than the championship, and will consequently succeed it on the card. It will probably be the best-worked match of the night, and it's the one ideally suited to amp the crowd up to its highest point before the climax of the show begins.

#12 Raw Women's Championship: Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Ronda Rousey

Brooklyn gets rowdy.

Ronda Rousey's match and probable first title win will come late on the card. Ordinarily, it could easily be the main event, but we know how Vince McMahon is with a certain other match. Therefore, I expect this match to be the penultimate one on the night - late enough to feel like it matters but hot enough to get the crowd excited.

A short, electric blitz is the best possible outcome here, as it will get the crowd happy before a souring inevitably occurs with the night's main event.

#13 Universal Championship: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns

The re-do no one wanted.

Nothing else would headline this show, and it's a risky proposition. After seeing what happened at WrestleMania, Backlash, and Money in the Bank, Vince McMahon certainly has gumption, to say the least.

The match will probably be an anticlimax with the crowd completely disinterested, but that won't stop it from headlining. The best Brooklyn can hope for is that a Money in the Bank cash-in will come to disrupt the proceedings and send everyone home happy, just as it did at WrestleMania 31.

Hopefully, though, it comes only after Roman Reigns beats Brock Lesnar cleanly so this rivalry can end once and for all.