WWE’s second largest PPV of the year is Summerslam 2015! This year WWE has made it into a weekend-long spectacle, and the PPV proper will be four hours with 10 matches!
Here is the Pulse Wrestling crew’s picks for the event:
Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker
CB: Brock should win but I can also see Taker winning to set up a WrestleMania rematch and rubber match in Texas. Come to think of it…
Winner: The Undertaker
Jake Ziegler – It’s sad that Undertaker keeps coming back when he really has nothing meaningful to add now that The Streak is over. WWE is obsessed with three-match runs involving Brock Lesnar, so it unfortunately it looks like Undertaker is going over here to set up a third and final match.
Winner: Undertaker
Pat Metalhead : I have literally zero excitement for this match. Biggest event in Summerslam history ? Two part-timers fighting each-other for some obscure desire of vengeance over a streak that has lost all meaning once it was broken ? No thank you. This match might or might not be better than their WM outing, but that’s already irrelevant. Undertaker will win because they want to do the tie-breaker at next year’s Wrestlemania. Good for them, I’m not interested. Such « Main Events » have too much of a WCW air to them for my taste.
Winner : The Undertaker
Penny Sautereau – If they follow Vince’s Favoured Format of Feuds! (™ & ©), Taker wins the rematch and the get a rubber match at next year’s Mania.
Winner; Old Man Limping.
Sam P – I hope, beyond all hope, this is a screwy finish. I would love to see Lesnar pick up the win after interference from Sting, setting up a Texas showdown at Wrestlemania with the Deadman in a match that should have happened last year. The hope is slim, but I’m clinging to it.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
Michael “Big Daddy Buck” Buckley: I have a feeling I’ll be cringing through this one. It’s not (only) that I don’t think it will fall short from being a technical masterpiece—it’s that Taker is no longer young and Brock’s work looks stiff as hell. The most interesting aspect of the match will probably be following the live reaction of those in attendance. Luckily, they are in Brooklyn again and it should be a hot, vocal crowd—which is likely what will make this watchable.
The easy way to go with this is to put Taker over Brock to give Taker his win back and set up a rubber match next year at ‘Mania. However, I’d put Brock over Taker here as the more interesting story is that Taker’s Wrestlemania quest is to conquer the unbeatable monster that has his number. I’m going to give WWE the benefit of the doubt here and predict that they will choose the more compelling outcome.
WINNER: BROCK LESNAR
Widro – Beating Brock here would be a huge mistake, he is by far the most over person on the roster and his mystique has been managed so well. I think it will likely be a screwjob ending involving Kane.
Winner: Brock
WWE World Heavyweight Title & US Title, winner take all
Seth Rollins (c) vs. John Cena
CB: Spoiler Alert: Cena wins.
Winner: John Cena
Jake Ziegler – With Brock and ‘Taker going on last, I think that frees them up to do some kind of fart finish here and get out of the “winner takes all” stipulation. Plus the rematch at Night of Champions feels inevitable.
Winner: Some kind of no-contest or DQ
Pat Metalhead : Rollins might win using some kind of chicanery, but I don’t think so. On Sunday John Cena will take back « his » WWE title back. Sheamus might attempt a cash-in, but I don’t see them putting the belt on him right now, unless there is some sort of Authority shenanigans. But it might also be Sheamus simply fails and SuperCena once again stands tall, the only guy WWE creative really deems worthy of carrying the title. Cena wins. Wrestling fans lose.
Winner : John Cena
Penny Sautereau; There will be shenanigans to keep the belt on Rollins. They’re trying too hard to make it look like a Cena win is a foregone conclusion like it usually is. When it ACTUALLY is, they try to make it seem like his opponent has a real chance. When they want to “swerve” us, they have Cena bury his opponent so his loss is a “huge shock”. So I’m calling Rollins based on the historical patterns of Cena booking.
Winner: More of a Guerrero Than Chavo
Sam P – I need to see that Seth Rollins statue.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Michael “Big Daddy Buck” Buckley: The wrestling fan in me will be singing along with “Bup badda bup ba/ John Cena sucks,” but the adult in me understands why he is the top guy after all of these years. John Cena was awesome in TRAINWRECK. John Cena is charming as hell on THE TODAY SHOW. My mom knows who John Cena is. It’s a matter of time before John Cena becomes a 16-time World Champion. But is tonight the night that happens? I know the WWE has Rollins/ Cena booked on shows for the next few months, which leads me to believe that by hook or by crook Rollins retains. The fact that Taker/Brock has been positioned as the main event, gives them a bit of leeway to go with a schmozz finish. If they go with a screwy finish, I hope it’s at least done in a way that sets up a cool angle. (Like Flair interfering on Rollins’ behalf to cause a DQ and prevent Cena from tying his record.)
WINNER: CENA BY DQ/ ROLLINS RETAINS
Widro – It’s hard to imagine Cena losing, even though they did make a new 15X shirt.
Winner: Cena
Neville & Stephen Amell vs. Stardust & King Barrett
CB: The arrows take it.
Winners: Neville and Stephen Amell
Jake Ziegler – Why would a celebrity come in and lose a match? Who have Stardust and King Barrett beaten lately? The answers are – he wouldn’t, and no one. So that’s that.
Winners: Neville & Stephen Amell
Pat Metalhead : Heroes will fly, Villains will be slain and Kings will be buried.
Winner : The Arrows
Penny Sautereau; There’s no way the high profile guest star jobs. The question is whether or not the match will be any fun, and since Neville matches are always fun and Stardust, (despite some Pulse staffer’s inexplicable blind hatred of Cody Rhodes), is a damned fine reliable worker, that leaves Barrett and Amell. Barrett is a passable hand. Not excellent, not abysmal. And Amell is in incredible shape and does a great deal of his own stunts, plus is a legit Parkour athlete, meaning he should be easy to train for a good one-off performance. Should be fun.
Winners: The Hyperactive Caped British Monkey Boy & A Better Batman Than Bale.
Sam P – It should be pretty intriguing watching Stephen Amell in the ring. The guy is physically very adept so I think he could pull off a couple of bad ass spots. He’ll probably pin Barrett to officially compound the Englishman’s kingly reign as the worst in history.
Winner: The Arrows
Michael “Big Daddy Buck” Buckley: This is the kind of match that puts the entertainment in sports entertainment and, as such, I think it will serve its purpose. The wrestlers involved can all go and Amell looks like he could bust out a few highspots—moonsaults, planchas, etc. Obviously, the celebrity goes over here.
WINNERS: NEVILLE & STEPHEN AMELL
Widro – It’s cool to see Stephen Amell (and Jon Stewart) as mainstream celebs who aren’t a joke and take wrestling seriously. Should be a fun match.
Winner: Arrow/Neville
Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper
CB: I think the Wyatts take it … with help from new Wyatt Family member Dean Ambrose.
Winners: The Wyatt Family
Jake Ziegler – This one seems likely to continue, and maybe involve Rowan and Sting at some point. Plus Ambrose has been beaten by Wyatt about 100 times, what’s one more?
Winners: Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper
Pat Metalhead : I’m probably a little more interested in this one than I should be. Reigns/Wyatt sis nothing for me, but the addition of Ambrose and Harper guarantees a god match at least. If it was Ambrose and anyone else, I would go for the Wyatt’s. Since Reigns is in there, his team will win.
Winner : Shield 2/3
Penny Sautereau; As much as I love most of the guys involved? I honestly don’t care. There’s been NOTHING outside of Dean’s usual random insanity to pull me in.
Winner: My bladder for getting at least a 15 minute bathroom break.
Sam P – It’s 2014 minus 2 participants. If it’s 1/2 as positive as when the full 6 of squared off, my hypothesis is that this will invariably be 100% nonnegative. I read a math thesaurus.
Winner: The Wyatt Family
Michael “Big Daddy Buck” Buckley: Love the idea of this. Hate the way they have booked the bromance between Reigns and Ambrose leading up to this. Yes, you’re best friends and brothers, we get it. Stop talking about it. The Reigns/ Ambrose pairing is probably not long-term and The Wyatt Family will likely remain together well after SummerSlam so logic would dictate that Wyatt and Harper go over. However, this is a scenario in which I have no faith in the E making the logical call.
WINNERS: REIGNS & AMBROSE
Widro – It’s not hindsight to say that breaking up these two teams was a huge mistake. They were the most over teams and up and coming wrestlers in the promotion about 18 months ago, and now they are treading in place.
Winner: Roman/Dean
Randy Orton vs. Sheamus
CB: What a unique matchup!
Winner: Randy Orton
Jake Ziegler – The holder of the Money in the Bank briefcase must lose every big match ever.
Winner: Randy Orton
Pat Metalhead : Been there, done that why are we doing this again ? Even the result is stale in advance, no way Orton loses to the bearer of the Money in the Bank briefcase. Especially if Sheamus does intervene later on, he needs a good loss in order to have zero heat when he finally cashes in of course. Yeah, I know, but it’s WWE logic, don’t blame me…
Winner : Orton
Penny Sautereau; See above.
Michael “Big Daddy Buck” Buckley: Orton goes over to set up a challenger for Sheamus after he cashes in his Money in the Bank shot (which I don’t think will happen tonight.) I’ll be refreshing my beverage, stretching my legs and taking a pee break during this one.
WINNER: ORTON
Sam P – I’d entirely forgotten this match was even on the card. No real build here whatsoever, like a prefab house on a beach. Sheamus still has the briefcase so can take the loss.
Winner: Randy Orton
Michael “Big Daddy Buck” Buckley: Orton goes over to set up a challenger for Sheamus after he cashes in his Money in the Bank shot (which I don’t think will happen tonight.) I’ll be refreshing my beverage, stretching my legs and taking a pee break during this one.
WINNER: ORTON
Widro – WWE mentality seems to be to beat the guy who has the briefcase so that if/when he wins the title, there will be natural contenders. Like up and comer Randy Orton
Winner: Randy Orton
Elimination Match
Team B.A.D. (Tamina, Naomi & Sasha Banks) vs. Team Bella (Brie Bella, Nikki Bella & Alicia Fox) vs. Team PCB (Paige, Charlotte & Becky Lynch)
CB: I think Sasha Banks, Charlotte and Nikki Bella are the last three standing … and Charlotte takes it.
Winners: Team PCB
Jake Ziegler – Seems like they like Charlotte the most, and I heard Ric Flair is going to be in the house. So I’m calling Team PCB for the win and Ric will burst into tears.
Winner: Team PCB
Pat Metalhead : A triple threat match for the Diva Championship would have been better here, but I guess they had to push the teams that have no reason for being together for a while longer. While I am disappointed with the way the « Diva Revolution » was booked, at least this one should be fun. Probably. Hopefully. Hell I don’t even know what to expect. Banks and friend will win so they can do a champion vs champion match for real.
Winner: Team B.A.D.
Penny Sautereau; While I’m not thrilled with the lack of any real character development or storyline progression beyond “new women trying to beat up established women”, I AM happy with the time and focus these matches have been getting. Give the girls 20 minutes and I’m hoping they steal the show.
Winners: The fans if the women get enough time to show off.
Michael “Big Daddy Buck” Buckley: Last night, Sasha Banks went nearly 20 minutes in the Match of the Night against Bailey in front of a hot crowd in sold out venue in New York City. She, Becky and Charlotte were ¾ of the most memorable moment of the night. Tonight, they share the ring in an over-crowded match that will likely get 4-6 minutes. Since this match, despite the lip service of representing a “Divas Revolution,” doesn’t really mean anything, the face team will go over.
WINNERS: TEAM PCB
Sam P – No idea who will win this, and it doesn’t really matter. This is another progressive step in showcasing some of the excellent talents currently on the female roster. And Alicia Fox. Hopefully it will all lead to an actual title challenge from the victor.
Winner: Team PCB
Widro – Since Sasha jobbed the NXT title last night on Takeover, it makes sense for her team to win to get heat back, but it’s unclear what this match is even for. I’m MUCH MUCH less excited for this after the Banks/Bayley match from Takeover
Winner: Team B.A.D.
Dolph Ziggler w/Lana vs. Rusev w/Summer Rae
CB: Dolph wins his return match.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
Jake Ziegler – This is just the worst feud. Everyone in it has looked worse and more foolish than they did when it began. The whole thing just needs to end.
Winner: Rusev
Pat Metalhead : Oh dear. Well some people do like this feud so who am I to say it’s completely ridiculous to book such a storyline between two people who have so little chemistry. And yes, I am looking at you Dolph and Lana. Match should be OK at least. It’s one of those situation where there doesn’t seem to be any good way to book this. If Rusev loses, he is dead in the water again. If Ziggler loses, this whole story-line (plus his return) is meaningless. Whoever wins gains little but I guess that was not the point here to begin with.
Winner : Blond and Blonder
Penny Sautereau – I’d like to think in a world where booking was consistent, a monster like Rusev would crush Zigglypuff, but for once, I’m hoping the WWE’s wildly inconsistent booking means Zigler wins.
Winner: Ziiiiiggly Puff! Zigglyyyy-yyy-yyy Puff! *falls asleep*
Sam P – To be honest, as much as I enjoy Ziggler, I’d rather just watch Lana and Summer Rae slap the crap out of each other. Whatever the outcome, this won’t be the end of it.
Winner: Rusev
Michael “Big Daddy Buck” Buckley: Hoping there’s a Lana swerve and they put her and Rusev back together. Maybe Ziggler ends up with a spurned Summer and he can (once again) get Rusev’s sloppy seconds. I don’t think they (ever) have any big plans for Ziggler moving forward and this would be a great opportunity to regain some of the heat Rusev had during his Cena feud.
WINNER: RUSEV
Widro – I feel like this has killed both Rusev and Lana. My pick would be for Lana to turn on Dolph and reunite with Rusev
Winner: Rusev
Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro
CB: This one can go either way, but I think Owens wins here to set up him vs. Cena for the WWE title.
Winner: Kevin Owens
Jake Ziegler – Show stealer right here, duh. I don’t know why this couldn’t have been for the U.S. Title, as Rollins v Cena really doesn’t need it, but this should be great regardless. Seems this one will stretch out a bit, if for no other reason than they don’t seem to want to do much more with either guy than what they’re doing. So let’s say Owens wins this one.
Winner: Kevin Owens
Pat Metalhead : The only match I’m actually really interested in. I just hope that, with a 4-hour show, WWE won’t shortchange those two and will allow them to have the good, competitive match-up they deserve. If they do things right the match should elevate both. I’m going for KO here, because, if my prediction about Cena is correct, the US title will be vacant and Owens will lead the charge to gain that one, with Cesaro right behind him.
Winner : Kevin Owens
Penny Sautereau; Who cares? We’re getting this on PPV! What else matters?
Winner: EVERYONE.
Sam P – Since pinning Cena at Elimination Chamber, Owens has barely recorded a victory. KO will surely lose to Finn Balor at Takeover, so, in what will likely be the match of the night, I’m plumping for the tubby Canadian over the suave Swiss.
Winner: Kevin Owens
Michael “Big Daddy Buck” Buckley: Kevin Dunn and Vince hate fat people. I hope I’m wrong on my prediction here because, as much as I love Cesaro, Owens could use the win at this time a lot more.
WINNER: CESARO
Widro – It’s incredible to think that Owens pinned Cena just a few weeks ago. Since then he has jobbed in nearly every match, lost the NXT title, lost the rematch, lost every match against Cena. He needs a win here.
Winner: Owens
WWE Intercontinental Title
Ryback (c) vs. The Miz vs. The Big Show
CB: I can’t see Ryback losing.
Winner: Ryback
Jake Ziegler – I would have been fine if they had just kind of let this match not happen. Truthfully though, I think if Ryback can stay healthy he could have a pretty solid reign with the title. I do not see it coming to an end this soon.
Winner: Ryback
Pat Metalhead : Miz either wins or takes the pin. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wins because of his current visibility on other WWE programs. Otherwise I refuse to care about a match involving The Big Show.
Winner : The Miz
Penny Sautereau; PASS.
Sam P – I love the Miz, and I don’t care who knows it. He will entertain us effortlessly and be bullied from pillar to post, with Ryback retaining.
Winner: Ryback
Michael “Big Daddy Buck” Buckley: The Big Show really should retire. Ryback sucks. The Miz has gotten better and better on the mic. I feel like Vince is going to with The Big Guy. In fairness, that’s only the second worst option to go over.
WINNER: RYBACK
Widro – This is actually correct booking – a babyface champion in a 3 way match against 2 heels. So often it’s two faces which makes for a broken psychology. They would not have kept the title on Ryback this long if they were moving the title here.
Winner: Ryback
WWE Tag Team Titles
The New Day vs. The Lucha Dragons vs. Los Matadores vs. The Prime Time Players (c)
CB: It’s a NEW DAY people!!
Winners: New Day
Jake Ziegler – I like these teams but the division is so just spinning its wheels after losing The Usos and Kidd & Cesaro in succession. I don’t see either the Lucha Dragons or Los Matadores winning the belts, so I guess let’s put them back on the New Day.
Winner: New Day
Pat Metalhead : To be fair, the PTP have been fine as champions and at least an effort has been made to make the tag team scene more interesting in recent months. That being said, I’m not sure the endless repetition of the four-way formula is the way to go. Be that as it may, let’s hope all eight wrestlers can work a good, coherent match, since that hasn’t always been the case in recent weeks. New Day wins because I wanna see their victory celebration.
Winner : New Day
Penny Sautereau; See Above.
Sam P – With the Usos and Tyson Kidd out of action, these are effectively the only tag teams on the main roster. The Ascension don’t count as main roster. Or a tag team. I don’t think the titles will be put on the a pair of dragons or matadors, as credible threats they are not.
Winner: Prime Time Players
Michael “Big Daddy Buck” Buckley: I have a feeling this one won’t even make the main card. Wrestling on the “Pre” / “Show”/ “Sucks” It really doesn’t matter. New Day is the most over team in the match but they’ve already had a run.
WINNERS: PRIME TIME PLAYERS
Widro – The New Day got over as champs and had the belts immediately removed and put onto the PTP for whatever reason. The New Day needs the belts back but it might already be too late.
Winner: New Day
