WWE SummerSlam 2017 Matches: Best Finish for AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens and More
The second-most significant pay-per-view of the WWE schedule is upon us, as Raw and SmackDown Live present SummerSlam, live from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on Sunday.
The event is headlined by Brock Lesnar's Universal Championship defense, Shinsuke Nakamura's WWE title opportunity and John Cena's return to the SummerSlam stage.
More important for the immediate future is not the star power at the top of the card but, rather, the finishes to the matches.
A bad ending can sink a feud or ruin a star's reputation. A great one can create excitement and energy for a program it otherwise may not have had.
Unsatisfactory outcomes derail a pay-per-view's momentum, while strong ones lead to a successful show.
These finishes will help lead SummerSlam in the right direction and set up its top stars for success beyond Sunday's WWE Network broadcast.
Cruiserweight Championship Match: Akira Tozawa vs. Neville
1 of 13
Akira Tozawa capped off his run to the Cruiserweight Championship Monday night, defeating Neville clean in the center of the ring with his falling senton finisher.
Expect a similar result during Sunday's Kickoff as WWE builds a second star in its much-maligned cruiserweight division.
Tozawa pinning Neville clean not only hammers home the point he is the division's new face, but it also descends the former King of the Cruiserweights further into turmoil, creating an engaging character the likes of which that roster simply does not have.
Jason Jordan and The Hardy Boyz vs. The Miz and The Miztourage
2 of 13
Monday night on Raw, The Hardy Boyz and Jason Jordan functioned as a well-oiled machine, defeating intercontinental champion The Miz, Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel in a high-energy Six-Man Tag Team match.
Sunday's rematch, on the WWE Network Kickoff, should follow suit.
Booking the same finish would be unwise.
Miz and his Miztourage need to build credibility as a faction, especially after losing a Two-on-Three Handicap match to Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose recently. Beating The Hardys and Raw golden boy Jordan Sunday night would be a step in the right direction.
Having the champion score a controversial pinfall over Jordan would continue creating heat for their rivalry while simultaneously building momentum for the heel faction.
SmackDown Tag Team Championships Match: The New Day vs. The Usos
3 of 13
The New Day and The Usos tore the house down in Philadelphia at Battleground, delivering the best match of the night right out of the gate.
Sunday, they will look to replicate that performance during the Kickoff.
Just a month into their latest title reign, The New Day must go over and do so in a clean and decisive fashion.
The often underappreciated Big E scoring the pinfall victory for his team would be a nice touch that would allow him to bask in the spotlight and New Day to retain the SmackDown Tag Team Championships.
.jpg?w=256)
Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt
4 of 13
Finn Balor is not breaking out The Demon paint and entrance to roll into SummerSlam and lose.
It is a spectacle whenever Balor dons the getup, and such an occurrence will not go wasted on a defeat. Especially when Wyatt already scored a clean win over the Irishman Monday night on Raw.
Balor will make a grand entrance, captivate the fans and pin Wyatt following the Coup de Grace, hopefully bringing their underwhelming and thrown-together rivalry to an end.
If not, the win will spawn a series of rematches that hopefully capture the essences of the characters better than the underwhelming storytelling has to this point.
Big Show vs. Big Cass
5 of 13
If Big Cass does not beat Big Show on pay-per-view, with Enzo Amore suspended in a shark cage, his run as a high-profile heel is dead in the water.
Big Show is already the last Superstar the company should be leaning on to build heat for a young heel. Putting him over Cass would be a decision so monumentally stupid that WWE Creative's logic would be called into question even more than it already is.
This match is, and should be, an exercise in how to put over a monster new heel who will replace The World's Largest Athlete as WWE's resident big man.
Cass going over Big Show, beating him down mercilessly as Amore watches helplessly from the shark cage above, is the right way to go.
Randy Orton vs. Rusev
6 of 13
Welcome to the match that exists only to get both guys on the card.
After Randy Orton flattened Rusev with an RKO on Tuesday's episode of SmackDown Live, the writing was on the wall. The babyface was the last man standing ahead of the pay-per-view. According to WWE booking trends, that suggests the heel will go over in Brooklyn.
Orton is fairly bulletproof at this point in his Hall of Fame-worthy career, so losing cleanly to The Bulgarian Brute will not hurt him in any measurable way.
A series of superkicks that leave Orton defenseless and the Accolade should spell the downfall of The Viper Sunday night.
In reality, though, anything but an Orton victory would be adequate for a rivalry that has no real rhyme or reason for existing.
SmackDown Women's Championship Match: Naomi vs. Natalya
7 of 13
SmackDown Live may be touting a showdown between Naomi and Natalya for its Women's Championship but all eyes will be on Ms. Money in the Bank Carmella and a potential cash-in.
For what other reason would the brand present a match lacking star power?
Yes, Naomi has been fantastic in her role as champion, especially when she has been allowed to shine in lengthier matches. Natalya is, was and always will be one of the better in-ring technicians on the roster. Neither possesses the star power of a Charlotte or Becky Lynch, though.
Thus, it is logical to believe WWE Creative may have something up its sleeve in regard to Carmella's guaranteed title opportunity.
The best finish here is for Natalya to lose, become frustrated and attack Naomi after the match. Carmella seizes the opportunity, cashes in with the assistance of James Ellsworth and wins the title to become the lead female heel on Tuesday nights.
Raw Women's Championship Match: Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss
8 of 13
Alexa Bliss' Raw Women's Championship reign appears safe heading into Sunday's pay-per-view.
She and Sasha Banks have unfinished business, dating back to Great Balls of Fire on July 9, and The Boss is riding a wave of momentum coming off a strong victory over Nia Jax Monday night. But Bliss is a heel the entire division can be built around, and depending on the timetable for Bayley's return, she should hold on to the title until that match can occur.
Sunday night's match should be intense and physical given the dislike between the two that is evident every time they share the ring, making for an engrossing contest.
But Bliss overcoming Banks' challenge and scoring a win in the same clean fashion with which she managed to beat Bayley at Payback is the right call.
Raw Tag Team Titles Match: Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose vs. Sheamus and Cesaro
9 of 13
The past month of television has been devoted to steadily building to Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose's reunion.
Booking them to lose to Sheamus and Cesaro at SummerSlam would render that build an utter waste of time.
Do they have to win the titles? Not by any means.
A disqualification or count-out finish here would extend the rivalry and allow the champions to look stronger than they would if they were set up as transitional champions, which would be the case.
Sheamus or Cesaro's cowardly use of a low blow to slow the momentum of an opponent and sustain the feud is a better decision than having Ambrose and Rollins blow off the rivalry in one match.
United States Championship Match: AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens
10 of 13
AJ Styles and Kevin Owens have wrestled each other countless times since April, when The Prizefighter ended up on the SmackDown Live roster. To solve any potential for staleness, commissioner Shane McMahon was interjected in their conflict and has sparked life into an otherwise tired program.
In recent weeks, he has been kicked by both competitors, but that should not play into the outcome of the match. It would be far too predictable for McMahon to avenge his assault by costing either Styles or Owens the victory.
Instead, Styles should defeat Owens clean to retain the title.
Frustrated and irate over the loss, Owens takes his frustration out on the SmackDown chief, setting up a feud between the two that carries the promotion through the fall months and gives Owens a high-profile position on the card without relying on a title to keep him there.
John Cena vs. Baron Corbin
11 of 13
The moment John Cena cost Baron Corbin a successful Money in the Bank cash-in Tuesday, it became clear there was only one logical outcome possible for their SummerSlam showdown.
Corbin must defeat Cena Sunday night. He has to do it decisively and cleanly. The Lone Wolf must avenge what happened on SmackDown or have his potential to be a credible main event Superstar erased.
He should be furious and ferocious. He should tear into Cena and beat him in a way that leaves little doubt as to who the superior Superstar is at this point in their respective careers.
It should be end of days for Cena and the beginning of Corbin's ascension to the top of the blue brand.
Anything less, including a controversial or chicanery-fueled finish, would be detrimental to the NXT export.
WWE Championship Match: Jinder Mahal vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
12 of 13
Jinder Mahal has been a better WWE champion than he probably had any right to be. He is a menacing villain who has never ventured into the tired foreign villain territory. He is Indian and proud, but beyond that, he is a heel in that he cheats to win matches.
After a better-than-advertised rivalry with Randy Orton, he enters Sunday's SummerSlam for a showdown with No. 1 contender Shinsuke Nakamura.
As strong as Mahal has been, and as devoted as he has been to his craft, Nakamura has created magic in Brooklyn before. His captivating entrance and star power alone make him an ideal candidate to leave Barclays Center with the WWE Championship.
Considering the stagnant nature of SmackDown Live of late, having Nakamura explode through the glass ceiling and capture the title is the right move to provide a spark.
Even if it unfortunately comes at the expense of the hardworking Mahal.
Fatal 4-Way Match for the WWE Universal Championship
13 of 13
At Royal Rumble 2015, John Cena and Seth Rollins challenged Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship in a Triple Threat match. Over the course of the match, Lesnar was put through the announce table in a spot that freed up Cena and Rollins to bring the work rate.
The Beast Incarnate exploded back into the contest and laid waste to his challengers, retaining his title.
It was an effective formula that led to a Match of the Year candidate.
It would behoove the Raw brand agents to lay out a match Sunday night that reflects that story and puts the emphasis on Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman and Samoa Joe.
Not only do Raw's full-time competitors benefit from the spotlight, but Lesnar's aura is also preserved as he fights his way back into the match and retains his title.
Which he should.
It is still too early in his run to take the Universal Championship off of him with a potential showdown with Strowman on the horizon, a big-money rematch with Joe a possibility and the endgame of a championship clash with Reigns at WrestleMania still to come.
.jpg?w=480)
.jpg?w=600 "Offseason Moves for Every Team 👉")
.png?w=600 "New NBA Mock Draft 📝")
