WWE SummerSlam 2018 Matches: Predicting the Most Likely Title Changes
SummerSlam 2018 is set for this Sunday and every championship on the main roster will be on the line, meaning the hierarchy in the company could look very different on Monday morning.
Every challenger fighting for a title will be giving it their all to climb the totem pole, while each champion will cling onto their belt with every ounce of strength possible.
At the end of the day, someone is going to lose and the winner will walk out with the strap in tow, but who are those men and women going to be, and which champions are most in danger of losing the gold?
Based on the trajectory of current storylines, the mettle of the contenders, and the need to shake things up every once in a while, here are the titles which are most likely to change hands at WWE SummerSlam 2018.
The Raw Women's Championship
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If there is one title match that stands out the most as being the easiest to predict, it is the Raw Women's Championship bout between Alexa Bliss and Ronda Rousey.
Bliss has had a supremely impressive run since coming up to the main roster, as this is her fifth time at the top of the food chain in only two short years.
However, she's up against The Baddest Woman on the Planet—someone WWE is pushing to the moon due to her popularity and legitimacy as a ridiculously tough fighter.
In a one-on-one encounter, Bliss stands almost no chance at toppling Rousey, as she's never been booked to be the most vicious brawler or a technician with submission holds nobody can escape from. She's more of the type to cheat to win and use outside interference to her advantage.
Mickie James could help in that regard, but Natalya should be ringside to help even the score for Rousey, making it more of a fair fight. At least, as far of a fight as it can get, knowing that Rousey is a monster.
While Bliss has more experience in the ring, that won't matter, as Rousey will take the championship here and hold it until at least WrestleMania 35, if not longer.
The WWE Championship
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Sooner or later, everyone has to lose their title, and AJ Styles may have run out of time come SummerSlam.
He's held the WWE Championship since last November, successfully defending it over the past nine months against any and all comers, but Samoa Joe is unlike any of his opponents.
Joe is one of the biggest monsters on the WWE roster today, able to match his size with an alarming speed that is often overlooked. He has just as much experience as Styles and knows the champion very well, having worked alongside him for much of their careers.
It's important that Joe wins the title here as he's accomplished virtually nothing since being moved to the main roster after his stint in NXT, falling victim to injuries that stopped him from getting a solid push and missing out on both WrestleManias.
A WWE Championship reign would restore the credibility he's lost and give him a massive boost of momentum that should help carry him into 2019, but a loss would be detrimental to his appeal.
Styles can afford to take the fall and it would be nice for a change of pace on SmackDown with a new champion at the head of the pack, so watch out for The Destroyer to start his domination here.
The SmackDown Women's Championship
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If you're a champion in WWE, you never want to have more than one opponent, as a Triple Threat match means you can lose your title even if you weren't pinned or submitted.
That is the situation Carmella finds herself in at SummerSlam against Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair—two best friends who have a much better track record in the ring than she has.
Both Lynch and Flair won the right to compete for the SmackDown Women's Championship by defeating Carmella on SmackDown, proving they have it in them to take down the champion when push comes to shove.
It would not be surprising at all for either of them to dethrone her, since Carmella has had a decent enough run with the belt already and doesn't have many more options for challengers after this point.
Most of the rest of the roster consists of heels, who would be better opponents for Flair or Lynch for the next series of pay-per-views after what would likely be Carmella's rematch at Hell in a Cell.
Without James Ellsworth by her side to interfere or cause a distraction, Carmella is out of her league against two of the Four Horsewomen and will most likely not be able to leave with the title.
However, this isn't a guarantee. There is still a chance Carmella is able to capitalize on Lynch and Flair getting in each other's ways, particularly if they overlook the champion as less of a threat and let her take them by surprise.
It isn't as much of a sure bet as the Raw Women's Championship changing hands, but the SmackDown women's title is certainly one of the belts that could go to a new Superstar.
The Intercontinental Championship
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The jury is still out as far as how Dean Ambrose will be a factor in the Intercontinental Championship match between Dolph Ziggler and Seth Rollins.
If he's purely there to help out his Shield brethren, there is a significant chance Rollins walks out with the title in his possession, as The Lunatic Fringe will be able to negate the presence of Drew McIntyre ringside.
This is probably the most likely scenario and what will go down on Sunday, so this title is certainly one to watch.
However, unlike some of the other belts on the line, there is a major possibility that the more obvious outcome doesn't happen and WWE has other plans in mind. Namely, there is a chance Ambrose turns on Rollins and purposely costs him his match.
If that happens at SummerSlam, it will be done to shock the audience, but it could just as easily go down much further along the line to set up a match against the two at WrestleMania, meaning it's a smarter bet to go with the title changing hands.
The Universal Championship
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Despite Brock Lesnar holding the Universal Championship since last year's WrestleMania and never budging much on losing it, it's hard not to throw it on this list, considering the circumstances.
Since it's SummerSlam, this is an event WWE would judge worthy enough of having the big switch to a new champion, rather than wasting it on something like Backlash or Extreme Rules.
Roman Reigns has his many detractors, but the company still obviously values him just as much as before and remains adamant in an almost admirably stubborn way that he is the top guy and at some point, the WWE Universe will stop complaining and accept it and do as they're told.
One way to illustrate that point is for Reigns to win the title, as it crowns him as the official big dog in the yard, which he can't truly claim to be when he's been unable to take down Lesnar in any of their previous fights.
Even if that's not the case, though, and Reigns isn't going to leave with the title, there is still the looming threat of the Money in the Bank contract.
Braun Strowman will put his briefcase on the line against Kevin Owens and the winner of that match could easily insert themselves into this title situation to snatch it away for themselves, either before or after a decision has been made between Lesnar and Reigns.
In fact, that could be WWE's plan to keep both of them looking strong by having a dastardly heel like Owens swoop in and score a cheap win just to give the crowd something of a distraction in order to avoid the event ending in a chorus of boos like it probably will if it's just Lesnar vs. Reigns with nothing else going on.
All of this depends on the contract situation between Lesnar and WWE. If he has signed a new deal to continue making appearances beyond August, he may still have the pull to keep the title even longer, but with three big Superstars chomping at the bit to take the belt, The Beast Incarnate may still be slain.
Predictions for Every Other Championship
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While those four titles are the most susceptible to a switch, what about the other championships being defended on this card?
Anything can happen, and these belts are also in some danger, but not nearly as much, for various reasons.
Jeff Hardy's bid to win back the United States Championship from Shinsuke Nakamura will be significantly harder with Randy Orton looming in the background, waiting to strike. The Viper assuredly won't let Hardy be victorious, so Nakamura will carry on.
Drew Gulak is one of 205 Live's most improved Superstars from the original inception of the show and would certainly be worthy of a title reign, but Cedric Alexander has been on a tear since winning that belt.
It wouldn't be impossible for Gulak to win and to drop it to someone like Mustafa Ali down the line, but with a star like Lio Rush making waves, he could be the next in line after Alexander even more than Gulak.
The New Day's attempt to become tag team champions for the fifth time will be met with the enormous roadblock of The Bludgeon Brothers, who have been unstoppable since defeating not just this team, but also The Usos at WrestleMania.
For the most part, if The New Day win the titles, it will be to transition them over to Sanity, but that may happen with a Sanity vs. Bludgeon Brothers program, instead. As such, the safer bet is to imagine Harper and Rowan being dominant again.
Lastly, The B-Team's been on a roll and even defeated The Revival on Raw, so there's no reason to think they'll drop the tag titles, particularly on the pre-show.
Tell us which champions you feel are the most in danger of losing their belts at SummerSlam by giving your predictions in the comments section below!
Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.
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