WWE SummerSlam 2011: 6 Other Matches We'd Love to See Added to SummerSlam

There are plenty of things about wrestling that get on my nerves, and failing to announce pay-per-view matches far enough in advance is one of them

It’s a simple concept really, with one main rule: Don’t wait until the week of the PPV, or the actual show itself, to announce a match for the show.

Doing so hurts the build to the pay-per-view, and in turn, has a negative effect on its buy rate.

That’s why I can’t understand how or why there’s only been four matches announced for Sunday’s SummerSlam pay-per-view.

Shouldn’t the card be set by now? Well, it isn’t, but I think we all have a pretty good idea what matches will be added to it.

Here are six realistic matches—not dream scenarios—that we want to see at SummerSlam.

6. Intercontinental Championship: Cody Rhodes vs. Ezekiel Jackson

Ezekiel Jackson hasn’t been great at the Intercontinental Championship, losing far too many non-title matches, struggling in the ring and showing some serious inadequacies on the microphone.

The time is now to get the title off of him and to put it on Cody Rhodes.

Astonishingly, Rhodes has never held singles gold in the WWE despite the fact that he’s considered by many to be a big part of the company’s future.

He’s got the look, the charisma, the mic skills and, most importantly, the wrestling ability to bring back some prestige to the Intercontinental Championship, and that’s exactly what should happen.

The Smackdown creative team has clearly been building toward a pay-per-view match between Rhodes and Jackson, and though it might not be great wrestling-wise, it makes sense for storyline purposes.

Having Rhodes hold a title would help his character and add a new aspect to his very Miz/Riley-like relationship with Ted DiBiase.

5. United States Championship: Dolph Ziggler vs. Alex Riley

On last week’s Raw, Dolph Ziggler was in the middle of cutting a promo when he was interrupted by Alex Riley, seemingly igniting a rivalry between the two Raw mid-carders.

Though the feud is clearly a bit rushed, it makes sense because Riley and Ziggler play to each other’s weaknesses. Let me explain.

While Riley is pretty damn good on the mic, there’s been a lot of eye-rolling about his in-ring skills. He’s had some sloppy matches over the last month or so, and he definitely needs to improve in that area.

Ziggler, on the other hand, is essentially the anti-Riley—a great in-ring competitor, but a guy who is far from a great talker.

Put these two in a feud, and they’ll complement each other very well, with Ziggler elevating Riley in the ring and Riley doing the same for Ziggler on the mic.

Again, I’m not sure that this feud wasn’t thrown together too quickly, but I’m not complaining about two of Raw’s brightest stars wrestling on a grand stage like SummerSlam.

4. Kofi Kingston vs. Alberto Del Rio

Kofi Kingston and Alberto Del Rio found themselves in a short rivalry over on Smackdown earlier this year, but in typical WWE fashion, Kingston and Del Rio are feuding once again.

Kingston vs. Del Rio: Part Two essentially started when Kingston “upset” Del Rio in the first round of the WWE Championship Tournament, and it became clear that this was a full-blown feud when Kingston made the save for Evan Bourne on last Monday’s Raw.

There hasn’t been a whole lot of verbal interaction between these two, and the intensity from both guys seems to be lacking, which is why I’m not all that thrilled about this rivalry.

But Del Rio and Kingston know each other well in the ring, and when given time, they’ve always put on some solid matches against each other.

Therefore, the problem with this feud isn’t what’s going to happen in the ring. It’s what’s not happening outside of it.

That being said, I’ll sit there and watch two good wrestlers put on a show any day of the week.

3. John Morrison vs. R-Truth

The rivalry between John Morrison and R-Truth began what seems like forever ago, when R-Truth went from a boring fan favorite to a comedic, Little Jimmy-hating heel by attacking Morrison and putting him on the shelf.

The interaction between them was sparse during Morrison’s absence, but it was a no-brainer that the two would feud upon Morrison’s return to the ring. After all, the creative team didn’t do all that work for nothing.

Now, it appears that Morrison and Truth are destined for what could be a very good match at SummerSlam.

Despite playing a comedic heel, Truth’s still drawing a great deal of heat from the crowd, while Morrison is one of the most over faces on the WWE roster.

The only problem I’ve noticed with this feud is that Morrison is winless—0-3 in fact—since returning from injury. That’s pretty dumb if you ask me.

It makes Morrison look weak, and has taken away some of the excitement that this match initially had.

Still, Truth vs. Morrison is a battle of former tag team partners that could be the sleeper match on a card that should feature several good ones.

2. Money in the Bank Briefcase on the Line: Wade Barrett vs. Daniel Bryan

When Daniel Bryan returned at SummerSlam in 2010 as part of Team WWE for its battle against the Nexus, I instantly thought to myself, “When are they gonna do, Barrett vs. Bryan?”

Now, a year later, the two brightest stars from NXT Season 1 are destined for a huge clash at SummerSlam.

Though the history between Barrett and Bryan is obviously there, the basis of this feud is that Barrett thinks it’s a travesty that Bryan is the holder of the Money in the Bank briefcase.

Here’s an idea: If Barrett thinks that Bryan doesn’t deserve to hold that briefcase, then why doesn’t he take it from him?

Given that Bryan prides himself on being a hard worker who earns everything he gets, I could easily see him accepting Barrett’s challenge and putting his briefcase on the line at SummerSlam.

The match itself would be better than you might expect, and the storyline is enough to get the fans invested in it.

1. The Miz vs. Rey Mysterio

When the WWE Championship tournament took place on Raw a couple of weeks ago, I was disappointed that it was Rey Mysterio wrestling The Miz in the finals.

Not because I didn’t want to see the match, but because I felt like the WWE gave it away on free TV.

I’m all for seeing very good matches without having to pay for them, but I was hoping to see The Miz vs. Mysterio hold off on a singles match until SummerSlam.

They are two of the biggest stars in the company, and saving their match for one of the “Big Four” pay-per-views would have made it even bigger and better than the performance they had on Monday Night Raw.

Still, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to see these guys wrestle again, because they definitely had some great chemistry and there’s no doubt that they’ll put on another stellar match in a pay-per-view setting.

I’d love to see Miz/Mysterio open the SummerSlam pay-per-view and get the crowd amped for the rest of the show.