WWE SummerSlam 2012: Predictions for Each Title on the Line Sunday

Five titles will be on the line at Sunday's SummerSlam pay-per-view in what is sure to be a fun and unpredictable night for wrestling fans.

The marquee pay-per-view has historically had a penchant for shaking up the WWE landscape, and this year's version should be no different. With four title matches, we could see a very different title picture by the end of the night. 

Both the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships' will be on the line as well as the Intercontinental title, the United States Championship and the WWE Tag Team championship. 

Here's a preview of each of the five championship matches along with predictions for who will come out on top.

United States Championship

Santino Marella (c) vs. Antonio Cesaro

Santino took the United States Championship from Jack Swagger back in March and has had a largely underwhelming title reign ever since.

Santino's character is good for comedic relief and he gets a good reaction from the crowd, but it's hard to take him seriously as a champion, and his reign seems to have taken away any value that the U.S. Championship may have had. 

Cesaro is a promising up-and-comer who has been getting increased exposure on SmackDown but could use the big push of winning a title to get over with the fans. The fact that this matchup is on the Pre-Show and can be seen on YouTube tells us that the WWE doesn't take the title very seriously.

Prediction: Cesaro becomes Champion

Both Cesaro and the U.S. Championship are in line for a bigger push, so it makes sense for Santino to relinquish the belt and put Cesaro over so that the belt be regularly defended on SmackDown.

Perhaps Santino and Broadus Clay can go on to form an uber-goofy tag team that will entertain the masses.

Intercontinental Championship

The Miz (c) vs. Rey Mysterio

In a match that has little to no heat or build up behind it, The Miz will be defending his Intercontinental championship against Rey Mysterio.

Mysterio recently defeated The Miz on an episode of SmackDown, but other than that, this match seems to be a real last minute booking that could be setting up a more long-term feud between the two.

Prediction: The Miz Retains

These two should put on a good match as both are good workers. However, it's hard to think of a scenario where The Miz doesn't retain his belt.

The Miz seems to be in the midst of a real push since his return from filming The Marine 3. The Miz won the title just under a month ago, so it doesn't make much sense to have him give up the title already.

Expect The Miz to easily retain the belt in a fashion that either makes him look extremely strong or in a way that will set up a more in-depth feud between Mysterio.

WWE Tag Team Championship

R-Truth and Kofi Kingston (c) vs. The Prime Time Players

The tag team scene has been nearly non-existent recently, but tag team champions R-Truth and Kofi Kingston will put the tag team championship on the line against the up-and-coming Prime Time Players. 

This match has seen some build up—not enough to really excite fans, but it should offer plenty of good action as all performers involved are highly athletic and have good chemistry.

Prediction: The Prime Time Players Win the Championship

Kofi Kingston and R-Truth are both entertaining performers to watch, but their tag team has become stale. 

The tag team division really needs a shot in the arm and a new pair of champions may be just the trick to reinvigorate the division.

The Prime Time Players don't have quite the same allure without AW as their manager, but they still work well together and could use the push. Expect these tag team partners to get over. By contrast, it appears that Kofi and R-Truth may be better off going solo at this point, as they seem to be making more and more appearances as seperate entities and could benefit from breaking up their team.

World Heavyweight Championship

Sheamus (c) vs. Alberto Del Rio

The match was on. The match was off. Then the match was back on.

It's fairly safe to say at this point that the World Heavyweight Championship match between Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio will indeed take place at SummerSlam. 

SmackDown has spent a considerable amount of time building this title match up, and Del Rio has been getting a fairly consistent push as a legitimate contender and even took on Sheamus on the last pay-per-view card at Money in the Bank in July.

Prediction: Sheamus Retains

Sheamus has enjoyed a dominant title run since winning the title in April, and it just doesn't seem like Del Rio is the right guy to take the strap from the Celtic Warrior. 

Sneaky hijinks aside, it never feels like Del Rio is truly a threat to Sheamus, and it would feel forced if Del Rio were to pull off the upset and ruin Sheamus' title run. Expect Sheamus to win a solid match rather easily and retain the belt.

Money in the Bank winner Dolph Ziggler lurks in the shadows and could even cash in his case if the situation were right, but it's more likely that both Ziggler and Sheamus will win at SummerSlam and begin a feud with each other.

WWE Championship

CM Punk (c) vs. John Cena vs. Big Show

The company's most prestigious belt will be on the line at SummerSlam in a match that RAW has devoted a ton of time to promote.

The real story here is the constant divide between the polarizing faces of the company in CM Punk and John Cena—Big Show's presence is almost irrelevant as Punk and Cena are sure to steal the show. 

Prediction: John Cena Becomes Champion

Cena as WWE champion may be boring, but it's been a formula that has worked for the WWE and it's reasonable to expect that it'll happen again.

Cena draws a lot of ire from fans for being predictable and the way that he is booked can be downright frustrating for fans that want to see unpredictability, but the chances that we see "Super Cena" here are high. 

Both Big Show and Cena have hinted at the fact that champions don't fare well in Triple Threat matches, but with Punk's recent heel turn, it's easy to see a scenario in which Show and Punk team up to eliminate Cena and battle themselves for the title.

This scenario would be perfect for Cena to become "Super Cena", beat the odds and capture the title once again to continue his feud with Punk.