WWE Rumors: Buzz on Road to WWE SummerSlam 2017 for Week of July 31

SummerSlam is only a few weeks away, but that's no reason to believe plans are set in stone.

Scheduled matches and their outcomes are still subject to change; WWE Chairman Vince McMahon could change it all on the morning on the pay-per-view, if he sees fit to do so.

So much of the show is dependent also on factors outside of the Superstars' control. Maybe there's a key demographic the company wants to make happy or some political maneuvering backstage. Perhaps there's an injury that needs to be nursed.

This week's rumor round-up concerns much of that and more. 

Baron Corbin Got Cut

Credit: WWE.com

Shinsuke Nakamura won his match against John Cena on SmackDown to become the No. 1 contender for the WWE Championship. He won the match cleanly, by pinning the American in the center of the ring after nailing his Kinshasa finisher.

Perhaps, that wasn't the original plan, though. According to Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats, the original idea was to have Corbin interfere and cost Cena the match, leading to a match between the two at SummerSlam. Instead, Corbin only came out after SmackDown went off the air to spoil Nakamura's celebration.

If true, it's a good thing that WWE went with its second live option. This way, Nakamura is depicted as a strong contender headed into SummerSlam.

Cena's reputation can handle a clean loss. And there's still plenty of time left over for him to build a stakes-heavy feud with The Lone Wolf.

Yo Joe!

Credit: WWE.com

Brock Lesnar will defend the WWE Universal title against Samoa Joe, Roman Reigns, and Braun Strowman at SummerSlam.

Lesnar's recent threat to quit WWE if he loses the title foreshadows that one of his challengers will win. But who will it be?

If rumors are true, Samoa Joe has one hell of an advocate. Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated reported Paul Heyman is lobbying for The Destroyer to leave Brooklyn with the title.

This would be the best scenario, moving forward. Reigns won't have the Brooklyn crowd on his side at SummerSlam, while Strowman is still too inexperienced.

Joe, who's on the tail end of an illustrious career, would make an excellent champion. And if WWE wants to recognize his years of hard work, this might be the best opportunity to do so.

Becky Lynch Working Hurt?

Credit: WWE.com

Working through injuries is a grim reality of WWE's year-round, non-stop schedule; bodies break down. Case in point: Bayley injured her shoulder during her Raw match with Nia Jax on Monday. It will be another week until WWE knows how bad the damage is.

Bayley may not the only woman with bad luck, though.

Ortman reported Becky Lynch is also injured, though she is working through the pain. Hopefully, she can get the rest she needs, but if she is genuinely hurt, continued aggravation could make the injury worse.

It's unfortunate that WWE has no offseason, which would do a great deal toward keeping these athletes healthy and whole.

Why Did Enzo and Cass Close Raw?

Credit: WWE.com

And finally, this week's Raw ended with Big Cass versus Big Show, with Enzo Amore at ringside. It struck an odd note: Why was the triple threat between Reigns, Strowman, and Joe buried in the middle of the show, while this midcard feud was the main event? Shouldn't the scheduling have been reversed?

According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Jeff Whalen of Rajah.com), this was a deliberate, confident act on WWE's part, based on the strength of Enzo and Cass's prior quarter-hour ratings.

It's definitely a different way of booking events, but it seems the gamble has paid off for now. As Whalen noted, Raw experienced its best ratings since April, and the viewers in the show's third hour never dropped below three million.