WWE SummerSlam 2014: Stars Who Will Break out at PPV Event

As arguably the biggest professional wrestling event of the summer, WWE’s SummerSlam has the potential to launch lesser-known or less established superstars to the greatest of heights.

This year, there will be several men who will do their best to add fuel to the fire of an always sizzling-hot event.

In recent weeks, the trio of Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston and Big E have been making some waves, as these three formerly amiable superstars have seemingly become disillusioned with their current spots and are not shy about making that fact very obvious.

It is not exactly obvious what these three men have planned, nor how they plan to accomplish it.

Credit: wwe.com

However, each of these superstars has a great deal of upside. With multiple singles title runs between them, it seems as if Kingston and Big E will now become the hired guns for Woods, who seems to have taken on a new role as their mouthpiece.

But when you factor in Kingston’s three runs with some incarnation for the tag team titles, this experience makes this duo an automatic front-runner for a shot at the titles, currently held by The Usos.

That could take place as quickly as SummerSlam, as the champions seem to have vanquished the never-ending threat of the Wyatt Family and are in line for some new competition. Kingston and Big E have a newly found mean streak and under the tutelage of Woods could make a huge splash.

But they may not just be another in a line of transitional champions. They possess a rare mixture of talent, with Kingston being a quick and agile high-flyer and Langston one of the most physically dominant superstars on the roster.

And with a manager like Woods, one who isn’t afraid to get involved physically, it automatically becomes a Handicap match for any team that they compete against.

In the same way that this trio can create incredible mismatches, Rusev is another young talent that can make his opponents feel incredibly overmatched, and he does so completely on his own.

Yes, he does have the presence of his mouthpiece Lana, but she nearly never factors into the physical side of his matchups.

Credit: wwe.com

True, she does seem to control his every move, but Rusev’s physicality alone rivals the toughest men who have ever set foot in a wrestling ring. Add to his brutality his ability to move around the ring in the manner that he does, and Rusev could be a major player going forward.

Currently embroiled in a feud with Jack Swagger that hearkens back to the Cold War era, The Super-Athlete has the type of hype surrounding him that could lead him to great things in the very near future.

With a shortage of well-established faces currently on the roster, it might not be long before he comes face to face with men the likes of John Cena, Chris Jericho or United States champion Sheamus.

In fact, a program with Sheamus over a title bearing the name of the country that he and Lana denigrate on a nightly basis could be just the thing that causes Rusev to break through to the next level.

And no discussion of a next level would be complete without mentioning Roman Reigns.

Seemingly primed for a major breakout for some time now, Reigns finds himself as perhaps the most rapidly rising star in the WWE Universe. And while his former running buddies Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins have also moved on to other things, Reigns seems likely to be the first former member of The Shield who will taste championship gold.

Credit: wwe.com

Right now, Reigns is mired down in a feud with both Kane and Randy Orton, but once that is over and he has beaten essentially all of the noteworthy heels, it may be that the newly returned Brock Lesnar could be the next obstacle that stands between Reigns and the WWE World Heavyweight title.

With Lesnar set to square off with current titleholder John Cena at SummerSlam, that path to championship glory might be getting much shorter for Reigns in the very near future. 

In any event, there are sure to be some incredible performances from the entire WWE roster come August 17. And if the up-and-coming talent in WWE has anything to say about it, a new age might be set to begin very shortly.