Welcome to the 2013 SummerSlam Rasslin’ Roundtable where the cast of Inside Pulse come to collaborate and send in their thoughts on who will win at the PPV. Who did they think will win, and who did The People think would win? Well let’s find out…
Rasslin’ Roundtable
WWE SummerSlam 2013
Kick-Off Match: United States Championship
Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Rob Van Dam
Steven Gepp: This should be what they use RVD for – going against the new guys to give them something of a rub. He looks motivated and thus this could well be a mighty fine match. Even if they’re on the pre-show, it doesn’t matter. The past few pre-shows have offered some excellent matches, and if this goes on the pre-show it could well follow that tradition. It’s a good use of RVD.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
Mike Gojira: You know, this card is a tough one to predict. On the one hand, that makes it more enjoyable to watch; on the other, it could ruin my standing in the Roundtable Rankings. Ah well…such is life. Word is going around that the reason RVD hasn’t been given a major feud is because there’s an extended hiatus clause in his contract after 90 days on the road, so the company won’t take a chance if he decides to take a vacation. I suspect this will be a hell of a match, but due to the contract issue there’s no reason to put the belt on Van Dam.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
Rhett Davis: This should be another good Kick-Off match. Dean Ambrose is captivating in the ring, and all of his matches have been fun. (With the exception of the Kane match, but that was passable.) RVD seems quite a bit slower than he even was in TNA, but he can still have a watchable match. I’m torn on who should win, but I’ll go against the herd and say that Rob Van Dam will win to give Ambrose some purpose in the following weeks.
Winner (and NEW United States Champion): Rob Van Dam
Chris Sanders: I’m going to avoid talking about complaints about RVD not being on the main card and explain how dumb that point is. Instead, I believe this is going to be a really good match considering Dean’s ability and RVD’s newfound rejuvenation. As far as the end of the match goes, I have my pick but I believe there will be some sort of Shield shenanigans involved because I believe WWE wants RVD in the WHC picture soon and I’m still surprised they didn’t add him to the WHC match.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
CB: I love this pairing because Ambrose is just so unorthodox in the ring and RVD still has a lot left in the tank to make Ambrose shine. I think Ambrose keeps the U.S. title, but it’s not a foregone conclusion as they may have bigger plans for him sooner than later.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
Justin C: I know that RVD was going to be used as a special attraction type guy when he came back. But I at least thought he would get some kind of set feud at some point. That hasn’t happened yet. So that gives me no reason to believe RVD is winning here. Dean Ambrose shouldn’t lose the US Title until he is ready to move up the card. That isn’t happening yet. I think Ambrose wins here and The Shield moves on to a brief feud with CM Punk to get them back up the card.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
People Power: With 91% of the vote, Dean Ambrose receives the ‘People Power’ pick for this match.
The Tally: Dean Ambrose – 6
Rob Van Dam – 1
Total Divas Battle
Natalya vs. Brie Bella
Steven Gepp: I like Natalya. I’ve seen her actually wrestle, she looks like a wrestler, but she’s attractive and all that. And yet I have never seen a person so humiliated over the course of a career. What, did she sign a 10-year contract and they’re trying to make her quit because they can’t fire her or something? Sigh. Twin magic will get involved, and Natalya will pin the wrong one, only to get blindsided and pinned by the right one.
Winner: Camembert Bella
Mike Gojira: Does anyone else find it odd that the WWE hasn’t yet made a tit job reference to Nikki’s ridiculously huge bust while her sister looks like a twig? I don’t care about this match, and neither should you. The Bellas are the faces of Total Divas (the irony being that they are heels), so I suspect a win for Brie.
Winner: Brie Bella
Rhett Davis: Well the show has been on a rise since its beginning so it’s not a complete failure. I wasn’t too high on it when I watched, but it might interest some. However, the match doesn’t do much for me. I’m a fan of Natalya, and I think she’s attractive. Hell, they gave Beth Phoenix a big push, but they won’t give Natalya one? I don’t understand that. Natalya is even a second generation wrestler which they love. I see Natalya losing to Brie Bella possibly after Nikki gets involved. Hopefully Twin Magic isn’t the cause.
Winner: Unplastic Bella
Chris Sanders: I guess it could be worse, it could be the Funkadactyl from Tough Enough and the new red head. Natalya is on a PPV so can we really complain that much? Total promo match for Total Divas which is odd because the show will be going on simultaneously. That’s really all I have to say about this match.
Winner: Natalya
CB: At least the Total Divas portion of the match didn’t seep into the WWE Title match, right?
Winner: Natalya, with help from Maria Menounos and company
Justin C: The less I talk about this match, the better for my sanity.
Winner: Natalya
People Power: With a total of 70%, Brie Bella receives the ‘People Power’ pick for this match.
The Tally: Brie Bella – 4
Natalya – 3
Mixed Tag Team Match
Big E Langston and AJ Lee vs. Dolph Ziggler and Kaitlyn
Steven Gepp: Well. We *could* have had a women’s title match and a match to give bump-bunny Ziggler a chance to bump for another big (and surprisingly agile) guy on his way to getting further over with the crowd. Instead we get a mixed tag match. Goody.
Winner: BEL & AJL
Mike Gojira: Having AJ tap to Natalya’s Sharpshooter a mere week before her match against a different Diva seems kind of stupid in hindsight. I suspect we’ll see Ziggler defeat Langston as Kaitlyn runs interference.
Winners: Dolph and Kaitlyn
Rhett Davis: That mixed tag match on Raw went very strangely. First you had the false finish where time seemed to stand still. Then you had the awkward tap out. Then you had KHALI and NATALYA beating Big E Langston and AJ. Why GREAT KHALI needed that, I’ll never know. Anyways, since they lost and Big E needs the momentum, I’ll predict AJ and Big E to win as AJ rolls up Kaitlyn.
Winners: Big E Langston and AJ Lee
Chris Sanders: I truly don’t have much to say about this match other than how Big E and Kaitlyn are serving as match surrogates to interject for Dolph and AJ. Hoping that this doesn’t lead to an extended thing and Dolph moves back into the championship picture and Big E goes off on his own. I’m not completely convinced that people actually read these little write-ups we do. So to prove that you actually did read this, I require you all (you don’t count, Rhett) to post the following statement in the comments: “Sanders is the far superior columnist, BD could never dream of being as great as he. Sanders is also a better podcast host than that 3MB-loving hack Joel Leonard. We should all follow @CRAttire on twitter and subscribe to Classy Ring Attire on iTunes. Huzzah, Huzzah, and in all things, Huzzah.”
Winners: The Classy Ring Attire Team
CB: This will be a fun little match that I think is a great way to go for SummerSlam. AJ Lee has been spectacular the past few weeks with her character and Kaitlyn has really done well to keep pace and get the crowd to go along with her. Dolph needed a blow-off match with Big E on PPV and this will be fun to watch since Ziggler is great in the ring and Big E has a lot of agility for a big man.
Winners: Dolph Ziggler and Kaitlyn
Justin C: I really don’t get the WWE’s logic in having A.J. and Big E lose to the Great Khali and Natalya on RAW. It didn’t make any sense. If Dolph or Kaitlyn would have distracted them then okay. But no, just a clean loss. Dolph continues to slowly creep away from the Main Event scene. I don’t think he ends up on the winning side of things here either. A.J. and Big E pick up the win after a mis-communication between Dolph and Kaitlyn. A.J. gets the pinfall victory for her team.
Winners: Big E Langston and A.J.
People Power: With 71% of the vote, Dolph Ziggler and Kaitlyn receive the ‘People Power’ pick for this match.
The Tally: Dolph Ziggler & Kaitlyn – 3
Big E Langston & AJ – 3
The Classy Ring Attire Team – 1
Battle of the Rhodes Scholars
Damien Sandow vs. Cody Rhodes
Steven Gepp: I like Cody Rhodes and think he has a certain ‘something’. I think Damien Sandow has some nice skills. I have not been impressed with their feud thus far. They just don’t seem to gel. I have hopes they might pull it out, but I have a feeling that (a) they won’t be given any time and (b) they will be told to tone it back to not take away from the other matches on the card.
Winner: Sandow
Mike Gojira: Cody’s face turn reminds me of The Miz: forced and unwarranted. This whole feud is idiotic in the first place. All Sandow has to ask is whether or not Rhodes would have cost him the MitB contract if they had switched places at the PPV and this entire issue would be a moot point. If anything, Rhodes is playing the heel given the situation. Bah. As long as Sandow has the briefcase, nothing Cody does will be of consequence anyhow.
Winner: Cody Rhodes
Rhett Davis: I’m not expecting a whole lot from this match, but these guys know each other pretty well so they’ll undoubtedly want to make themselves look great. As for who wins, I’m torn here. Cody could use the win if they are going to go about pushing him, but Damien just won the MITB and could use a little momentum if he’s going to cash in anytime soon. Weighing the sides, I think Damien will win, but this feud won’t be over.
Winner: Damien Sandow
Chris Sanders: I really should be more excited about this match considering my past enthusiasm for both gentlemen, both in singles and in tag. However, this feud went from exciting in that MitB moment to your typical silly Smackdown feud between an over-sensitive heel and a mischievous face (or as I like to call it, The Sheamus Constant). One can assume that this match would be a build for Cody as a face to get back at the guy that screwed him over at MitB. This is a funny situation because one should be making the assumption that they would try to build the guy with the briefcase but apparently that would be absurd.
Winner: Rody Chodes
CB: What they should have done here to add more buzz to this feud is have Goldust and Dusty flank Cody following Sandow’s “you come from a family of clowns” comment. Without that, this is pretty mundane for a mid-card SummerSlam match with no title on the line, no special attraction and no stipulations.
Winner: Damien Sandow
Justin C: The WWE did this feud so half assed it is disappointing. If I was booking it, I would have had Cody and Sandow make up and team up again. Maybe even have them fight for the tag titles. But Sandow starts to treat Cody more as a lackey than a friend, making him carry around his briefcase and all that stuff. Then Sandow blames Cody for the loss at SummerSlam, and Cody snaps. But the WWE screwed this one up. I think the feud continues for another month because Sandow isn’t ready to cash in yet. I’m picking Cody here, then at Night of Champions Sandow is forced to put the MITB contract on the line.
Winner: Cody Rhodes
People Power: With 59% of the vote, Damien Sandow receives the ‘People Power’ pick for this match.
The Tally: Damien Sandow – 4
Cody Rhodes – 3
Ring of Fire Match
Kane vs. Bray Wyatt
Steven Gepp: I have no idea what to make of this match. None at all. So when the winner gets the haemorrhoid cream off the pole and puts Johnny Cash on the stereo, then what?
Winner: Bray Wyatt
Mike Gojira: I’m “following the buzzards” to a win for Wyatt, his first official match on TV in his new gimmick. I expect to see some voodoo hoodoo involved despite the promise of no interference.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
Rhett Davis: Well I don’t think there is a lot of doubt as to who will win this match. Kane wins, and The Wyatt Family’s momentum is shot. So obviously Bray Wyatt wins, and puts Kane away in a demonic way. Curious to see how they do it.
Winner: The Eater of Worlds
Chris Sanders: This is my dark horse for match of the night. Will it beat out a Daniel Bryan or CM Punk match? Probably not but then again, I never expected a Ziggler/Del Rio match beat out a Punk/Jericho match so anything is possible. I believe this will be huge in furthering Bray Wyatt as long as the match goes over. If it doesn’t, then Bray may have to be in a holding pattern for a little while but he’s young enough to recover. I entertain that thought because as much as I love Kane, not everyone can have great matches against him. I point specifically to the match between Ambrose and Kane a couple PPVs ago. It wasn’t bad but I was expecting so much more because I had seen Kane along with DB for so long and how highly I think of Ambrose. Some wrestlers just don’t mix well and that isn’t a knock on either wrestler, it just happens. I say all of that because I’m trying not to get my own hopes up too much because I’ve really liked what I’ve seen from Bray thus far and I’m hoping there’s a real purpose behind it all (I understand how insane that sounds). Recently it was announced that Kane signed on for See No Evil 2. I’m not sure when they begin shooting but this match could be a good way to write him off for a while. I recently read a fan’s post that suggested that Bray could possibly be revealed as the youngest brother of Kane and Taker and he’s brought it upon himself to bring both down. I don’t believe WWE will necessarily go down that route but that would be interesting to say the least.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
CB: I have a feeling Bray Wyatt will burn Kane here, sending him off to film See No Evil 2. I hope this comes off more creepy than campy.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
Justin C: If there was ever a “Lock of the Night” pick in these predictions, this would be my pick. Bray Wyatt is not losing this match. Kane was put in this feud to help get Bray and the Wyatt Family over. The only question is whether or not Kane gets set on fire at all. I say he somehow does. That will explain his absence from TV as he goes off to film See No Evil 2.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
People Power: With 94% of the vote, Bray Wyatt receives the ‘People Power’ pick for this match.
The Tally: Bray Wyatt – 7
Kane – 0
World Heavyweight Championship
Alberto del Rio (c) vs. Christian
Steven Gepp: I like both of these guys and what they can bring to the ring, I am just worried they’ll be forced to tone it down too much because of the two big matches on the card. But I have hopes they’ll be allowed to tell a good story in the ring and we’ll have a good match out of them
Winner: ADR
Mike Gojira: My interest in Smackdown has waned considerably over the past month, and as much as I am a fan of Christian, I’m disappointed that he’s in this match. There hasn’t been a lot of good build for this contest and it’s clearly a placeholder bout.
Winner: Alberto del Rio
Rhett Davis: WWE doesn’t care about this match. How much advertisement has there been? All I’ve heard about this match is that this is Christian’s ‘One More Match.’ Yawn. It’s not like the build to him obtaining it was thrilling or anything. He lost at MITB, and then won a triple threat. That’s not a build. Boring. ADR wins because Christian is done. I liked Christian, but he needs to do something to gain relevance before I can care about his ‘One More Match.’
Winner (and STILL World Heavyweight Champion): Alberto del Rio
Chris Sanders: I know I’m not the only one that got the feeling that Christian is about to wrap up his career after the video package on this week’s Raw. I’m not exactly sure if that will translate into Christian getting the title or not but I’m sure it’s a factor given the years he has on him and the number injuries he’s stacked up lately on-top of the risk of getting injured at any moment. Also, who knows what they’re planning on doing with Del Rio and Ricardo after the two seemingly went separate ways (unless Ricardo is Del Rio’s Sakamoto). So there’s hints of Del Rio’s attention to be pulled elsewhere in the near future much like Dolph and AJ.
Winner: Christian
CB: Alberto Del Rio and Christian have good chemistry together in the ring, and I think they will put on a solid wrestling clinic for whatever amount of time they are allotted at SummerSlam. I think Del Rio most likely retains, and Christian goes back to his still serviceable mid card veteran role.
Winner: Alberto Del Rio
Justin C: I consider myself a Christian fan. I would love to see him maybe get one more World Title run. But I just don’t see that happening here. Alberto del Rio finally has that heel like agressiveness to his character that I have been waiting to see for a long time. Christian at this point in his career is nothing more than a veteran guy who can have good matches and help put others over. A Christian World Title win just doesn’t make any sense to me here. I think Del Rio holds onto the Title until Dolph finds his way back up the card.
Winner: Alberto del Rio
People Power: With 74% of the vote, Alberto del Rio receives the ‘People Power’ pick for this match.
The Tally: Alberto del Rio – 6
Christian – 1
The Best vs. The Beast
CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar
Steven Gepp: This is the match I’m looking forward to most on the card. But I think it’s just the start of a long programme, probably involving a tag team match with Punk/Bryan v Lesnar/Axel at Survivor Series and the big blow-off (probably for a title) at Wrestlemania XXX (which, now that I type it, looks like the sort of Wrestlemania that Google’s parent filter will block). I expect this to involve run-ins, interference and a lot of incredibly stiff-looking shots. Should be fun.
Winner: Lesnar
Mike Gojira: The beauty of a match like this is that it’s not clear who will win and Punk is truly the underdog here; it doesn’t look like he has a snowball’s chance in hell if this were a regular one-on-one (which it is). Arguably the top match of the card.
Winner: CM Punk
Rhett Davis: This should be good. Punk is a much better opponent for Brock than Triple H was. Punk can take bumps and jump back up to take more punishment. That was a big problem for HHH/Brock is that Triple H is past his prime and can’t make Brock look good. As for this match, it’s tough to choose a winner. If they want this to continue, (which I’m sure they do) then Brock will win. If they want this to be a one-off, then Punk will win. Considering I see a rematch down the line, (probably at Survivor Series or the next PPV) I say Brock wins this after Paul costing Punk at one pivotal point in which Punk has Brock down.
Winner: The Beast
Chris Sanders: I’ve voiced my uncertainty about this match which was based entirely on Brock given his matches against HHH. However, CM Punk is always a different story especially when it comes to the pace of the match. I compare this match a little to Punk and Taker as in it was quick for a Taker match but had a lot of substance packed into it. I’m hoping for something similar in this case because the longer is goes on, the more Brock’s offense turns into a repetitive rotation of take downs and kimura locks. As for who will win, I know WWE wants Brock to keep his unstoppable perception especially if they still want Brock/Rock for WM30. However, as Joel pointed out on this week’s Classy Ring Attire (follow us on twitter @CRAttire), we JUST watched CM Punk lose his smile after mania plus he’s the one that’s going to be on the PPV cards the remainder of the year (unless the rest of 2013 will have Punk trying to rebound from another loss).
Winner: CM Punk
CB: The tension created by CM Punk and Paul Heyman has been off the charts awesome, and Brock Lesnar has delivered his end of the bargain too. I love that this will be a good fight, and I expect Punk and Lesnar to pull out all the stops to truly sell this whole encounter as a personal grudge match. I think the best way to go here is to have Punk be so damn relentless that he ends up on the wrong side of one too many hits from Brock, and rather than get pinned or tap out, Punk simply keeps trying and fighting and then passes out with Heyman being the last thing he sees before he fades to black. Brock therefore wins by TKO, and the feud continues a little longer before Punk gets his come-uppance on Heyman later on this year.
Winner: Brock Lesnar via TKO
Justin C: I’m really torn on this one. On one hand, CM Punk hasn’t had a big time marquee PPV win in quite some time. I don’t count the Jericho win. On the other hand, I think there will be another match between these two. So I’m playing out my scenario from the HTCPodcast: Lesnar wins and Punk wants a rematch. Heyman refuses and says Lesnar is done. But Lesnar comes back and wins the WWE Title at the Royal Rumble and Punk wins the Rumble. There’s your WWE Title match at Wrestlemania. Punk starts a feud with The Shield for the next couple months.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
People Power: With 74% of the vote, Brock Lesnar receives the ‘People Power’ pick for this match.
The Tally: Brock Lesnar – 5
CM Punk – 2
WWE Heavyweight Championship Special Guest Referee: Triple H
John Cena (c) vs. Daniel Bryan
Steven Gepp: Scenario 1: Cena comes to the ring and gets beaten down by the Shield before he even gets there, just because they want to. Orton comes out and cashes in, new champ! However, Orton and Vince try to say he doesn’t face Bryan because the match was Bryan/Cena. HHH says as he is the ref, the match is on, Bryan faces Orton and wins the match!
Scenario 2: Bryan fights a hard-fought match and gets a tap-out win. Cena raises his hand afterwards. Orton then comes out with Vince and Barrett to cash in. The bell rings, the match is on, but Cena interferes, either costing Orton the match or giving Orton the DQ win (and so not the title). Barrett then attacks Bryan and Orton knocks out Cena. We have a tag match set up, an Orton-Cena feud, a Bryan-Barrett feud and we’ll be carried over to at least Survivor Series.
Winner: Bryan
Mike Gojira: This should be as emotional and eventful as we’re all hoping from these two. I’m not concerned about Triple H’s officiating so much as I’m concerned about McMahon interference ruining the finish. If the WWE were smart, they’d book this one totally clean and we’d have a new WWE Champion.
Winner: Daniel Bryan
…….BUT! Randy Orton cashes in on a weakened Bryan and wins for the McMahons.
Rhett Davis: I’m looking forward to this match as well. Kudos to WWE for finally having a two-main event card that actually has two great matches! It’s usually cluttered with Rock vs Cena or HHH vs Brock. This match is intriguing because there is no way in Hell that Bryan walks out WWE Champion. The obvious choice seems to be that Bryan beats Cena (!!!) and then Orton immediately cashes in to get the heel turn. We know Vince doesn’t like Cena or Bryan, so what better horse to back than Randy Orton? I could see Vince helping out Orton in some way.
Winner (and NEW WWE CHAMP): Daniel Bryan (Followed by a cash in by Randy Orton)
Chris Sanders: I’m not sure what else to add about this match that hasn’t been said and repeated the past few days. We all know what we want to happen, we all know what we fear might happen and we all know what will probably happen. Sure, it makes sense to have DB win cleanly to capitalize on a seemingly unprecedented wave of momentum but this is Cena, we’re talking about and that changes things for Vince. What would be interesting would have Bryan somehow win (probably not completely clean, knowing WWE), Randy cashes in and all 3 men have a 3-way match at Night of Champions (that’s the next one, right?) in which Cena wins again and puts himself into another feud with Orton while DB gets shuffled in the deck. DB then has his redemption story that leads him on a climb back through the rest of the year, wins the Royal Rumble and gets the title back at WM30. Of course, we could just have DB chase Randy for a few PPVs and win it at Survivor Series but I don’t see that story as compelling. Either way, WWE has to capitalize on DB in a big bad way or they squander another great opportunity.
Winner: Daniel Bryan (with a Randy Orton cash-in)
CB: I’ve written about this several times over the past few weeks, and I’m going to stick with my original prediction here as well. I expect Daniel Bryan and John Cena to have one of John Cena’s best matches in his career, and this could possibly rival Cena’s matches with Shawn Michaels if done right. At the end of the day, Daniel Bryan MUST win the WWE Championship from John Cena … and then LOSE the WWE Championship to Randy Orton via cash-in. However, rather than having Orton cash in and win quickly, I think WWE should have Orton vs. Bryan end the night with a dramatic 15-minute match that Randy eventually wins, preferably in a way that cements Orton’s true heel turn. One other option I’ve been thinking about is who might help Orton — and by proxy, Vince — make sure Bryan doesn’t leave LA with the WWE title. Well, I have one idea people will love, with one caveat some folks will hate. I think that The Shield will ultimately help Orton secure the win, but in addition to that, Randy will need some extra muscle to keep Triple H and Cena out of the equation. Well, I think that muscle will be Ryback, and at the end of the night, Vince McMahon, Randy Orton, Ryback and The Shield will stand tall to close the show.
Winner: Daniel Bryan, then…
Winner via cash-in: Randy Orton
Justin C: There are so many big names in this match that I feel like it will be the main event. We know John Cena has a bad elbow and needs surgery. Cena deserves some time off anyway. I feel confident saying Daniel Bryan wins a 25 minute match with a roll up. As Bryan celebrates, Randy Orton comes out with Vince McMahon and cashes in. Orton wins with the punt kick to the head and HHH reluctantly counts three. Orton turns heel, and Bryan chases the WWE Title for the next month while Cena rests up. I would like an HHH heel turn, but if he didn’t turn against Punk when it made more sense, he won’t here.
Winner: Daniel Bryan
LEAVES WWE CHAMP: Randy Orton
People Power: With 87% of the vote, Daniel Bryan receives the ‘People Power’ pick for this match.
The Tally: Daniel Bryan – 7
John Cena – 0
Well that’s it! Make sure to keep it tuned in here for the latest SummerSlam news and be sure to check out our live coverage of SummerSlam tomorrow!
