Mistakes WWE Must Avoid Making While Booking SummerSlam 2022

With Vince McMahon officially retired and Triple H now in charge of the creative direction for WWE, it’s imperative that booking decisions for the Raw and SmackDown brands build genuine excitement for the shows moving forward.

After years of lackluster storytelling and character development, it’s time to make the company great again.

The first act of business for the new administration will be ensuring SummerSlam goes off without a hitch and the stories coming out of Saturday's show properly utilize each Superstar and their talents and abilities.

Here are the mistakes the company must avoid when booking the pay-per-view.

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Don’t Let Reigns Lose Yet

One of the biggest possible mistakes WWE could make at SummerSlam would be ending Roman Reigns’ run as world champion. While it will be tempting to put the belt on a bona fide star like Brock Lesnar, he doesn’t need the title to be a top draw.

Instead, The Tribal Chief should retain via dirty tactics and eventually lose the championship to Drew McIntyre at Clash at the Castle on September 3.

The WWE Universe has seen the battle between the defending champion and The Beast Incarnate far too many times, but the Last Man Standing stipulation should give the performers the opportunity to put on a unique finale to their feud.

With the inevitable interference from The Usos and Paul Heyman, Reigns can steal a victory and move on as the titleholder, with the next challenger being McIntyre. After beating Lesnar himself at WrestleMania 36—but never receiving a proper coronation—the stage has been set for a title change overseas.

To ensure Clash at the Castle is a major success, the Scot needs to be the man who ends The Tribal Chief's impressive run with the title.

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Ronda Rousey Must Turn Heel

McMahon has made a lot of mistakes over the year, but one of the most egregious was turning Ronda Rousey face.

With the former MMA star able to cut scathing promos and physically dominate her challengers, she should be portrayed as a monster heel.

At SummerSlam, the 35-year-old should win back the SmackDown Women’s Championship and utterly dominate Liv Morgan in the match, proving once and for all she is better utilized as the bad guy in a marquee feud.

During her time away from WWE, Rousey cut some of the most vicious and candid promos about fans, making most people believe she would flourish as a leading heel. By ruining Morgan’s run with the title by stomping her out in merciless fashion, the WWE Universe would 100 percent turn on the former UFC champion.

In a women’s division desperate for a true monster heel, Rousey—possibly along with Sonya Deville and Shayna Baszler—could be the antagonist needed to make stars like Bianca Belair, Becky Lynch and (hopefully) Sasha Banks even better.

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Jeff Jarrett Shouldn’t Play a Role in Tag Team Outcome

For many fans, the best match on the Money in the Bank card was the tag team battle between The Usos and The Street Profits, and the stage is set for their SummerSlam rematch to be even better.

The only reason this bout could fail to live up to those expectations is if WWE Creative elects to let special guest referee Jeff Jarrett play a role in the outcome.

While it’s understandable to add a little Nashville personality since the July event will emanate from Nissan Stadium, the 55-year-old doesn’t have the mainstream cache to deserve this spot. If he did interfere on behalf of either team, it would be detrimental to the credibility of the match.

All signs point to The Street Profits earning the hard-earned victory, thus kicking off the slow decline of The Bloodline. With all eyes on the massive title change and storyline evolution, Jarrett should be an afterthought at most.

Double J needs to count the 1-2-3. That's it.

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