Bleacher Report's WWE Staff Predictions for SummerSlam 2022

Doc-Chris MuellerSep 1, 2022

The Biggest Party of the Summer is finally upon us as WWE descends on Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee for this year's SummerSlam.

While changes will be slow to come, this is technically the first major event under a new regime in the company. For the first time, Vince McMahon will not be leading the charge for what many consider to be the second biggest event on the WWE calendar.

The show taking place on Saturday will help the party atmosphere, and a few of the matches have the potential to be major show-stealers.

Before we get into what our staff writers think, let's take a look at the lineup of contributors and the card WWE has put together for the pay-per-view.

Contributors and Match Card

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Here's our lineup of contributors:

Chris Mueller (CM) (@BR_Doctor)
Erik Beaston (EB) (@ErikBeaston)
Jeff J (JJ) (@JeffJSays)
Donald Wood (DW)
Graham Matthews (GM) (@WrestleRant)
Kevin Berge (KB) (@KevinBerge)
Anthony Mango (AM) (@ToeKneeMango)

Riddle is off the SummerSlam card with an injury, so we still do not know whether Seth Rollins will have a spot on the show. Here is the updated lineup as of Thursday morning, according to WWE.com:

Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar (Undisputed WWE Universal Championship)
The Usos vs. The Street Profits (Undisputed Tag Team Championships)
Bobby Lashley vs. Theory (United States Championship)
Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch (Raw Women's Championship)
Liv Morgan vs. Ronda Rousey (SmackDown Women's Championship)
Pat McAfee vs. Baron Corbin
The Miz vs. Logan Paul
The Mysterios vs. The Judgment Day

Donald Wood

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Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar

Of the three possible options (Lesnar, Reigns and Theory), who do you think should leave with the title?

With WWE already announcing the winner of Friday’s match between Drew McIntyre and Sheamus match would fight the undisputed champion at Clash at the Castle, it’s in the best interest of WWE Creative to have Roman Reigns retain at SummerSlam.

Not only would a clean title defense definitively end the never-ending Lesnar-Reigns feud, but it would also set the stage for McIntyre to be the man who finally dethrones the long-time world champion.

Does Triple H being in charge of the creative team increase your interest in SummerSlam?

Triple H’s early run with the black-and-gold version of the NXT brand was arguably the best WWE-produced product since the Attitude Era.

While the hope is that he will bring that same storyline continuity and character development to the main roster, the current plans for SummerSlam should remain largely in place to ensure good faith with the Superstars involved.

Instead of making abrupt changes and possibly ruffling feathers, the new leader of the creative team should wait until after Saturday's event to really shake things up.

Graham Matthews

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Baron Corbin vs. Pat McAfee

If you were producing this match, how would you lay it out to get the most out of both performers?

This is arguably one of the most anticipated matches on the card with it being such a fun feud in recent weeks.

McAfee always delivers any time he's been in the ring and Corbin is the perfect foil for him, so I expect McAfee to take a majority of the match and have the crowd behind him the entire time only to fall to an End of Days from out of nowhere.

That way, Corbin rebounds from his recent losses and McAfee isn't hurt by the defeat at all.

Does Triple H being in charge of the creative team increase your interest in SummerSlam?

All of the news that's come out in the last week about WWE's creative direction moving forward has me optimistic and absolutely increases my interest in SummerSlam.

It was a solid card on paper anyway, but I have hope that Triple H realizes the show needs something significant to send the message that things are truly changing.

I can't imagine they'll want to set a poor precedent right out of the gate before this new era has a chance to get going.

Erik Beaston

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Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch

Do you think WWE would consider having Belair win in 26 seconds like Lynch did last year?

No. Lynch is too important of a commodity in the women's division, and since returning as a heel, she appears to have cooled down.

There's no way Triple H in particular would book that finish and risk further damaging a performer who was the hottest star in WWE just three years ago.

At least with Belair, there appears to have been a destination.

Does Triple H being in charge of the creative team increase your interest in SummerSlam?

Absolutely, if only because I'm more intrigued by what the creative is going to look like.

Does he have something fresh in store or will he stick to the playbook and start implementing his vision Monday? If he does, what can we expect?

Chris Mueller

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The Usos vs. The Street Profits

This feud needs to end. What team would be the best option as the next challengers for either outcome to this match?

If The Usos win, The New Day are likely on deck. WWE is lacking in the babyface department when it comes to tag teams, so Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods reigniting their feud with Jimmy and Jey would make sense.

If the Profits win, Alpha Academy seem like a great choice, but The Viking Raiders would also be interesting since they have history with Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins from their previous storyline.

Does Triple H being in charge of the creative team increase your interest in SummerSlam?

While it makes me hopeful for the future, I doubt he is going to change much of what was planned for this show.

That said, WWE usually makes its PPVs much better than the weekly programming, so I have confidence that this will be a fun event with a couple of memorable matches and moments.

Mr. Jeff J

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Liv Morgan vs. Ronda Rousey

Lay out a believable scenario that ends with Morgan retaining the title.

I see them booking Morgan as the underdog champion who pulls out a shocking victory. I think Rousey gets too overconfident and goes for a submission move that's reversed into some kind of roll-up pin.

This is when Rousey loses it and tries to destroy Morgan, spurring a heel/tweener type role. It'll either be that or some type of outside distraction from one of her foes (Shayna Baszler? Bayley?)

Does Triple H being in charge of the creative team increase your interest in SummerSlam?

It makes SummerSlam a little more intriguing knowing that Trips is the final decision-maker. I think they have their plans pretty much set, so we won't see the complete change until after this weekend.

Triple H taking over creative does inject new excitement into WWE. The news has captured fan interest, and the industry will now watch to see if this is truly a new era in sports entertainment. I'm locked in!

Kevin Berge

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Riddle vs. Seth Rollins

Who would be the best surprise opponent for Rollins?

While there are plenty of good matches with members of the current roster, Johnny Gargano is by far the most exciting option.

The Rebel Heart worked wonders with Triple H in NXT, and the two can tell a fresh story on the main roster, beginning with a showstopper at SummerSlam. This is assuming Gargano can be signed in time, but a dream is a dream.

Does Triple H being in charge of the creative team increase your interest for SummerSlam?

SummerSlam was always going to be a good show thanks to the talent involved, but Triple H's involvement does raise the excitement level for the event.

This will be his first PPV in control of creative, and he will want to make an impact. I trust his drive to succeed more than I would the previous regime. I just hope that trust is rewarded.

Anthony Mango

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Logan Paul vs. The Miz

What is your level of excitement for this match?

On a scale from 0-10, I'm at about a 6. This was more interesting when it was theoretical. After the promo segment with Maryse on Monday's Raw, that was such a rough segment to get through that it lowered my interest level.

Between bells, it should still be interesting to watch due to how Paul is so fresh to the scene, but the feud itself has been severely lacking.

Does Triple H being in charge of the creative team increase your interest in SummerSlam?

It does, but I'm not expecting anything drastic. Realistically, this event should have been mostly locked prior to the switch. Triple H can make some adjustments, but I doubt he'll hack the card to pieces and completely change everything. The biggest shift will be after SummerSlam, rather than at the eleventh hour for this particular card.

Still, the black-and-gold era of NXT was my favorite overall content in years, so with Triple H at the helm, I'm more confident I'll enjoy WWE going forward. And, by proxy, there's more of a chance SummerSlam won't be a disaster.