WWE SummerSlam 2013: Feuds That Must Continue Past Massive PPV

Although it’s still more than three weeks away, WWE SummerSlam 2013 is already shaping up to be one hell of a pay-per-view. 

Daniel Bryan is finally gunning for the WWE Championship like many feel he deserves to. CM Punk is on fire and involved in arguably the WWE’s biggest rivalry. Mark Henry has turned babyface in an attempt to combat The Shield.

All of those ingredients are leading to a highly anticipated SummerSlam pay-per-view that figures to be one of the best PPVs of the year.

The WWE is doing an excellent job of building up its biggest rivalries as the must-see summer spectacle nears, and there’s no doubt that some of those feuds will continue on into the fall.

But which ones definitely should?

Let’s take a look at three SummerSlam rivalries that the WWE should keep going past the massive pay-per-view.

3. Cody Rhodes vs. Damien Sandow

It’d been a very long time since Cody Rhodes had a rivalry that he could really sink his teeth into, and to be honest, Damien Sandow has never had one—well, until now that is.

The WWE pulled the trigger on a Rhodes face turn by having Sandow turn on him to win the coveted briefcase at Money in the Bank, and we’re now in the midst of a very entertaining feud between two of the company’s top up-and-comers.

The story of one friend betraying another is a very simple one, but in the case of Sandow and Rhodes, it’s been done extremely well so far and should continue to succeed unless creative royally screws it up.

The fans are already reacting very favorably to Rhodes, which is just one benefit of a rivalry that is also turning Sandow into an even bigger heel. That’s really all you can ask for out of a midcard rivalry. 

Sandow vs. Rhodes should undoubtedly continue past SummerSlam because a feud this intense doesn’t deserve to end after just one PPV match. 

The WWE can get a lot of mileage out of this story and use SummerSlam as a beginning rather than a climax to a rivalry that should be long, intense and bitter.

If the creative team wants to ensure that Sandow remains relevant while holding the briefcase and that Rhodes’ face turn goes smoothly, there’s no better way to do that than to keep this feud going for as long as it makes sense to.

It’s been a very long time since Cody Rhodes had had a rivalry that he could really sink his teeth into, and to be honest, Damien Sandow has never had one—well, until now that is.

 

The WWE pulled the trigger on a Rhodes face turn by having Sandow turn on him to win the coveted briefcase at Money in the Bank, and we’re now in the midst of a very entertaining feud between two of the company’s top up-and-comers.

 

The story of one friend betraying another is a very simple one, but in the case of Sandow and Rhodes, it’s been done extremely well so far and should continue to succeed unless creative royally screws it up.

 

The fans are already reacting very favorable to Rhodes, which is just one benefit of a rivalry that is also turning Sandow into an even bigger heel. That’s really all you can ask for out of a midcard rivalry.

 

Sandow vs. Rhodes should undoubtedly continue past SummerSlam because a feud this intense doesn’t deserve to end after just one PPV match.

 

The WWE can get a lot of mileage out of this story and use SummerSlam as a beginning rather than a climax to a rivalry that should be long, intense and bitter.

 

If the creative team wants to ensure that Sandow remains relevant while holding the briefcase and that Rhodes’ face turn goes smoothly, there’s no better way to do that than to keep this feud going for as long as it makes sense to.

2. John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan

It’s not very often that the WWE gets the opportunity to give us a feud like John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan.

We see big rivalries all the time in the WWE, but does it get any bigger than this right now? No, it doesn’t. 

Cena is still the No. 1 star in the company, but Bryan is more popular right now than anybody on the roster. He’s unbelievably over and is riding an impressive wave of momentum that has no end in sight.

While it remains to be seen if the WWE has the guys to put Bryan over Cena in clean fashion on the grand stage of SummerSlam, this is a rivalry that should continue past the PPV anyway.

If Bryan wins, then Cena will surely get his rematch, likely at Night of Champions. But if Bryan loses or this match ends in controversial fashion, the WWE must find a way to keep it going.

Cena is still the measuring stick of the WWE, and for Bryan, it doesn’t get any bigger than feuding with the company’s biggest star for its most prestigious title. Anything less is a drop down the card for Bryan, which shouldn’t happen. 

Bryan undoubtedly deserves to remain at the top of the card, so his SummerSlam match against Cena shouldn’t be a one-off match like Henry’s was at Money in the Bank.

It should serve as the catalyst that keeps Bryan battling it out with Cena for the top championship in the WWE well into the fall.

 

It’s not very often that the WWE gets the opportunity to give us a feud like John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan.

 

We see big rivalries all the time in the WWE, but does it get any bigger than this right now? No, it doesn’t.

 

Cena is still the No. 1 star in the company, but Bryan is more popular right now than anybody on the roster. He’s unbelievably over and is riding an impressive wave of momentum that has no end in sight.

 

While it remains to be seen if the WWE has the guys to put Bryan over Cena in clean fashion on the grand stage of SummerSlam, this is a rivalry that should continue past the PPV anyway.

 

If Bryan wins, then Cena will surely get his rematch, likely at Night of Champions. But if Bryan loses or this match ends in controversial fashion, the WWE must find a way to keep it going.

 

Cena is still the measuring stick of the WWE, and for Bryan, it doesn’t get any bigger than feuding with the company’s biggest star for its most prestigious title. Anything less is a drop down the card for Bryan, which shouldn’t happen.

 

Bryan undoubtedly deserves to remain at the top of the card, so his SummerSlam match against Cena shouldn’t be a one-off match like Henry’s was at Money in the Bank.

 

It should serve as the catalyst that keeps Bryan battling it out with Cena for the top championship in the WWE well into the fall.

1. CM Punk vs. Paul Heyman

The biggest current rivalry in the WWE isn’t one that’s taking place between two superstars. It’s the ongoing beef between friends-turned-enemies Paul Heyman and CM Punk.

In what has up to this point been one of the most riveting rivalries we’ve seen in quite some time, Punk is engaged in a huge struggle with a man who just turned his back on him in Heyman.

At SummerSlam, we will witness Punk take on Brock Lesnar in one of the most anticipated matches in WWE history, but the real story behind this bout isn’t Punk vs. Lesnar. It’s Punk vs. Heyman.

Lesnar is a critical piece of this rivalry because Heyman can’t wrestle, but most of the animosity here stems from Heyman screwing Punk out of winning a coveted briefcase at Money in the Bank and turning his back on someone who was both his client and friend. 

Heyman and Punk are the two best talkers in the business right now, so even after Lesnar (likely) leaves after SummerSlam, there’s still room for this rivalry to grow and, more importantly, entertain.

Give both Punk and Heyman a mic—and perhaps shift Curtis Axel into Lesnar’s role of doing Heyman’s dirty work—and you’ve got yourself the makings of a lengthy rivalry that could last well beyond SummerSlam.

The WWE has a great thing going with Heyman vs. Punk. There’s no reason to end it before the company has gotten everything out of it that it possibly can.

Drake Oz is a WWE Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter!