WWE SummerSlam 2015: Superstars Who Will Shine Under PPV Spotlight
SummerSlam is one of WWE's premiere events and, more importantly, provides Superstars and Divas with one of the biggest stages to perform on all year.
This year, the annual August spectacular emanates from the luxurious Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, and is sure to attract the hardcore, vocal audience that helps intensify both the prestige of the event as well as the pressure that comes along with it.
There are certain performers on today's incredibly talented roster that perform extremely well under the brightest lights imaginable, and on Sunday, August 23, that will be no different.
From franchise players to women revolutionizing their gender's role in the company, these stars are sure to leave a lasting impression on fans in this, the 28th incarnation of the summertime extravaganza.
As you prepare for the upcoming event, take a look at this handful of performers poised to ensure this year's SummerSlam ranks among the best ever.
John Cena
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Anyone surprised by John Cena's placement on this list probably has not made themselves familiar with his body of work here in 2015.
Simply put, the franchise star has shined brightest in his 10th year as World Wrestling Entertainment's premiere draw. His matches with Kevin Owens stole three consecutive pay-per-views, while his work with Rusev earlier in the year went overlooked thanks to questionable booking on the part of Creative.
His recent Raw match, in which he suffered a broken nose courtesy of his SummerSlam opponent, WWE world heavyweight champion Seth Rollins, was a beautiful, pay-per-view-quality bout. With or without the injury, which required surgery shortly thereafter, Cena is poised to be one of the stars who will shine under the brightest lights and on one of the biggest stages the industry has to offer.
That he will be working with someone so incredibly talented as Rollins while nursing said injury will only help the match's prospects.
Cena is a wrestler who should be showing his age at this point in his Hall of Fame career. Instead, he is performing like a competitor in his prime and overshadowing some of the most talented workers in the business.
Seth Rollins
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With a great deal of promotion and hype focused on Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker as the marquee match for this year's show, the current WWE world heavyweight champion will likely do everything in his power to steal the show out from underneath his peers.
Rollins, despite all of the criticisms surrounding his booking as the top titleholder, has done a fantastic job of playing the heel that the entire show has been built around. In that respect, he is certainly one of the MVPs of 2015.
His in-ring work has been incredibly strong as well, backing up those claims.
Working with John Cena has proved to bring out the best in numerous Superstars this year, and the Architect should be no different.
With a championship vs. championship match on the horizon, the stakes will be incredibly high, and the pressure will be on both Superstars to deliver a bout worthy of the attention.
They will, and Rollins' status as main event star will be further validated.
Cesaro
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The unfortunate neck injury suffered by Tyson Kidd earlier this summer opened up Cesaro to enjoy another serious singles push—this time as a babyface. Popular for his incredible ring work and his trademark Cesaro Swing, the Swiss Superstar is a consistent favorite to steal the show.
His feud with Kevin Owens has catapulted Cesaro back into the spotlight and has him riding a wave of momentum heading into the August 23 event.
But the former Ring of Honor standout has been in this position before. He was the recipient of a major push in April and even given manager Paul Heyman as a heater. But that push stalled, and he was sent crashing back down the card.
Do not expect that to be the case again.
Determined to ensure he proves his worth to management, Cesaro will go all out to shine under the PPV spotlight come SummerSlam.
Roman Reigns
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Like John Cena, Roman Reigns is another Superstar who routinely catches the wrath of hardcore wrestling fans, but thus far in 2015, he has done a fairly great job of shutting them up when it comes to delivering on a big stage. He has done it at every event he has competed at this year and will look to do so again when he teams with Dean Ambrose to face Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper on August 23.
Reigns and Wyatt wrestled a very good match back at Battleground and will look to improve on it with the introduction of two other Superstars.
With WWE still looking at Reigns as the face of the company's future, the second-generation star will again feel the pressure to deliver.
And just as he did when working Daniel Bryan in the main event of Fastlane, Brock Lesnar in the marquee match of WrestleMania and Big Show at Extreme Rules, he will stun the world with a performance that ranks among the night's best.
The story is certainly there—as is the quality of the workers.
But look for Reigns to go that one last step to really leave fans talking about his performance.
And, at the same time, silence what are sure to be harsh critics in Brooklyn.
The WWE Divas
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The Divas Revolution will continue at SummerSlam as the most talented women in WWE take to the second-biggest stage the company has to offer for their biggest opportunity yet to make an impact and announce to the world that women's wrestling is back and here to stay.
Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks have elevated the quality of the Divas division exponentially, and with the presence of the great Paige and vastly improved Divas champion Nikki Bella, they have the opportunity to deliver something truly special in front of what will be a very vocal Brooklyn crowd.
With no match formally announced, it remains to be seen exactly what the ladies are part of by the time the show kicks off.
Whatever it is, though, fans can rest assured knowing the determined Divas will go to any extent to prove that, yes, this is a revolution, and yes, they can perform at a level equal to their male counterparts.
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