WWE again has an amazing weekend of wrestling coming up as for the 2nd straight time, Takeover Brooklyn and SummerSlam will air on the same weekend. If last year's great shows are anything to go off of, we're in for an amazing two nights. I'll be covering both events in one post. Let's start with Takeover first.
Takeover Brooklyn from last year had the match of the year between Sasha Banks and Bayley so my expectations for the event are obviously pretty high. It's looking like overall, this event could surpass the 2015 event. Let's break down the matches.
Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa may have just put on an absolute war in the Crusierweight Classic but they will be teaming together to face Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson for the NXT Tag Team Titles. The Revival and American Alpha set the tag team match bar high at Takeover The End and I'm expecting another great tag match here. Currently, the tag division on consists of The Revival, Gargano/Ciampa, TM61 and the Authors of Pain. There's no a lot of depth right now. There's always the possibility of Roode and Aries teaming together, but let's no get ahead of ourselves. The Revival may be one of the best teams in the company right now and I don't think Gargano and Ciampa will be ending their reign JUST yet, even though Ciampa/Gargano VS TM61 just sounds like an amazing Takeover match. It will have to wait until The Revival are done with their reign. After a fast paced and hard hitting match, The Revivial will hit Shatter Machine on Gargano for the 3 count and retain the titles.
Bobby Freaking Roode will make his television in ring debut for NXT when he faces relative newcomer Andrade "Cien" Almas. NXT is so crowded with so much great talent that I completely forgot about Almas. It looks like most of the NXT crowd did as well as he hasn't really been featured on NXT TV. This will be a good match for Roode, to showcase what he can do in the ring and what he will bring to NXT. Roode could be the face of NXT, like he was the face of TNA during his reign as champion. Almas will make Roode look good but it won't be enough as Roode will walk out with his first victory on the big stage of Takeover Brooklyn.
I don't like how Austin Aries has been used in NXT since his debut. No real direction and in his first big match, although very impressive, he lost to Shinsuke Nakamura. Now, with nothing else to do, they decide to have him feud with No Way Jose and pair them together at Takeover Brooklyn. I'm definitely not downing the match quality as it could definitely surprise me and be a good match. Austin Aries is competing after all but I just want more from him in NXT. He should be in the main event picture, which I think will definitely be happening after this feud. No Way Jose's party will end when he taps out to Last Chancery. Austin Aries with the victory.
Ember Moon, known as Athena pre WWE, will make he anticipated debut on the show. With a crowd full of smarks, I'm sure she'll get a great reaction. She'll face Billie Kay, who is on a bit of a roll lately, picking up a few wins on NXT TV in the past couple of weeks, Ember Moon will be victorious in her debut as the dream match of Moon/Asuka draws near. Moon is the ONLY woman I think is worthy enough to give Asuka her first loss. It was originally Nia Jax but now, Ember Moon has to start building towards a match with Asuka. I'd love to see Moon and Bayley at the next Takeover special then the dream match at the following one, maybe in December. Don't know if they can keep the two far enough from each other before the Takeover special on Wrestlemania weekend though...Ember Moon wins.
The rematch 4 months in the making; Bayley will challenge Asuka for the NXT Women's Championship in the same arena where Bayley won the title last year. It's a very poetic moment for Bayley. Back in another women's title match, against the woman who beat her in Dallas and in the magical Barclays Center. It just writes itself. The Revival made history this year as becoming the only team that has held the NXT Tag Titles twice. Bayley looks to do the same but with the NXT Women's Title. It won't happen though, Lightning won't strike twice. Bayley is the last missing piece for the main roster women's division and after the great response she got at Battleground, it's time for Bayley to say goodbye to NXT and finally come to the main roster. The women's division in NXT will suffer as it will only really be Asuka, Ember Moon and the yet to debut Nikki Cross but come on, what else can Bayley do? She was women's champ, had the match of the year last year and main evented a Takeover. People who are on the main roster now never got a chance to do that. Bayley will put up a great fight but Asuka will prove too much for her. Asuka retains.
The main event will feature another dream match. The hottest star in NXT, maybe even WWE, Shinsuke Nakamura, will challenge the reigning and defending NXT Champion Samoa Joe in the FIRST EVER meeting between the two. That's right! No other company has ever put this match together. Nakamura VS any top star is basically a dream match. His matches with Balor, Aries and of course Sami Zayn have been some of the best matches this year. When these two hard hitting individuals get in the ring, I guarantee it won't be any different. This is going to be a violent, mat based affair. I fully expect Samoa Joe to kick out of the Kinshasa while Nakamura kicks out of the Muscle Buster. I hope this match goes 20 minutes plus. They deserve all the time in the world. With NXT being so crowded with stars, (Aries, Roode, Almas, Ciampa, Gargano, etc) I don't really see the need for Joe to be in NXT much longer. He's become champion and became a top heel. It's time for him to come to the main roster to cause some pain and havoc. That being said, I always believe the hottest star should be the top champion. Nakamura's reactions since Takeover Dallas have been legendary and it won't stop until he's champion and even then, they will get louder. Shinsuke Nakamura will walk out of Takeover Brooklyn as the NEW NXT Champion. A rematch with Joe will take place and Joe will be on his way to Raw or Smackdown in the fall. This should be a classic!
Takeover Brooklyn II should be amazing. Each title match has the potential to steal the show. Now, onto SummerSlam!
SummerSlam is once again 4 hours this year and has 11 matches on the show. With a 2 hour pre show, one can only assume that there will be some matches added to it. Surely they just can't talk for 2 straight hours. If they are to add anything, it should be the 6 woman tag and the first match between Cesaro and Sheamus, which is suppose to be a Best of 7 series. Both matches were added the week of SummerSlam and have the least amount of hype attached to it so it makes sense to put them first. I think Sheamus will take match one while the heel women will win their match. I'm going to receive hate for this but I see Eva Marie getting the pinfall victory for her team, maybe even pinning Becky Lynch. Sorry! (Eva was suspended since I typed this so obviously that won't happen now) Let's get to the 9 matches WWE will be putting on!
The New Day will come full circle on Sunday when they defend the WWE Tag Team Titles against Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows. New Day's reign began at SummerSlam 2015 and they've been on fire ever since. Lately though, it seems like the fire has been going out. They had a pointless feud with the Wyatts and the crowd reactions are definitely getting smaller. Is it finally time for this faction to break up? They've been around for almost two years now; maybe it's time for Big E to get pushed to the main event or even Kofi, he sure enough deserves it. I don't know what the future holds for the New Day but they will not leave SummerSlam as champions. Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows didn't come to WWE for nothing and they will walk out as the NEW WWE Tag Team Champions on Sunday. It's needed. I don't want The New Day to break up but I think it's time for them. The fun is over. Sorry....
Apollo Crews will get his first ever singles title shot against The Miz and his Intercontinental Championship. The Miz was off to a very good start when he first won the title, defending it against previous champion Zack Ryder, Cesaro and how could anyone forget the classic Fatal Four Way from Extreme Rules? He then left to film The Marine 5, which is cool and everything, but he took the title with him, which meant, no defense and all the praise people were giving WWE for trying to revitalize the title was for naught. WWE has another opportunity to start over here. The Miz is a great heel and say what you want, he deserves to be in the spotlight on Smackdown. He would play an awesome villain to Ambrose. Miz had his chance to make the title important again and he blew it. It's time for someone else to get that shot. I'm going with Apollo Crews to win and take the IC Title so he can feud with Miz, Baron Corbin, Kallisto and Ziggler. Oh God, a Crews/Ziggler feud would help the title so much. Crews wins his first WWE title 1 year after his debut at Takeover Brooklyn.
Enzo and Cass will be apart of their first SummerSlam come Sunday when they face the new team of Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens. I love this team. Jericho always gets some great partners. Christian, Edge, Big Show, etc. This is another great choice for him. I think they were only put together to push Enzo and Cass since the tag champs were busy. It's not a problem, it's just Jericho and Owens are going to take the loss. I'm interested to see how Owens and Jericho will work together as a team but it won't matter as Enzo and Cass will walk away as the winners. It should be an interesting match.
Sasha Banks and Charlotte will finally have the one on one match on PPV that I've been clamoring for since they came to the main roster. Sasha will defend her Women's Title against the former champion Charlotte in a huge women's match up. Every time these two lock up, it's something special. Ever since their NXT days, they don't disappoint. They will continue to do more of the same at SummerSlam. With the lights on bright and all eyes on them, they will attempt to steal the show on an already stacked card. It's anyone's match too. I know Sasha just won the title but this is still Ric Flair's daughter here. They could very easily do a quick change and then have Charlotte feud with Dana Brooke. They could also have Sasha retain and then have her feud with Nia Jax. It's all about waiting until Bayley comes around and starts to make her mark. Since I'm bias, I'm going with Sasha Banks to retain over Charlotte in what will probably be the best women's match in WWE this year.
Roman Reigns is taking a step down at SummerSlam as some new stars rise up on Raw but it's certainly not a bad idea or match up as he'll be facing Rusev for his United States Championship. Reigns/Rusev is a money feud, whether it's for the US Title or the WWE Title. They're two big and agile wrestlers and both are top stars on Raw. It's a good mid card title feud on Raw. This will be a physical and hard hitting match, especially if their match on Raw is anything to go off of. Reigns got the win there so I don't think there's anyway Reigns will win again. Rusev will get Reigns to pass out to the Accolade and Rusev will retain the title.
It's the dream match part 2! The face that runs the place John Cena will face The Phenomenal One AJ Styles in a blockbuster rematch from Money in the Bank. The first match was great but it left me wanting to see more from these two. I get my wish. This will be amazing. It's a bigger stage and I'm sure the crowd will act accordingly. You have to believe that whoever wins this match will be getting a WWE Title shot down the line. With John Cena taking on a lighter schedule and basically deeming himself a part time talent now, there's no money in Cena winning here. He needs to give AJ the win to continue to boost AJ's stock in WWE. After an absolute classic, AJ Styles will get the CLEAN pinfall victory over Cena and will move onto the WWE TItle picture afterwards.
In one of the strangest decisions this year, Dolph Ziggler will challenge Dean Ambrose for the WWE Title at SummerSlam. With all the options had, it's very strange they went this route, especially on one of their biggest PPVs of the year. It will be a good match as Ziggler will remind us all why he was a former World Champion in the first place. He will attempt to steal the show like he always does. Will he win though? Well, I would kill for a Ziggler/Styles feud and I love Dolph's new attitude but I just don't think it will be enough to stop Ambrose. After a flurry of offense from Ziggler, Ambroose will come through to retain the WWE Title. Ambrose/Styles will main event WWE Backlash in three weeks.
A match 15 years in the making; The Viper Randy Orton will face The Beast Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam in what will most likely be the show ender. It's a smart match. Neither man has faced each other since 2002 and neither man was the star then that they are now. It also makes sense because they're wrestling against one another at the PPV that they both won their first World Titles at, Lesnar at SS 2002 and Orton at SS 2004. All the star align for a perfect match up. In ring wise? I'm not sure yet. I'm very nervous that Randy Orton will get hurt taking one of the many suplexes he will take on Sunday. You know he's got glass shoulders. I'm looking forward to some type of awesome F5/RKO reversal and if it doesn't happen, this match is pointless. I don't see why Orton would be the one to give Lesnar his first pinfall loss in 3 years so I'm going with Brock Lesnar on this one.
The match I'm most invested in is the match for Raw's new World Title; The Universal Championship. Yes, the name I get it, but the competitors involved is nothing to joke about. Two former NXT Champions, perhaps two of the best, will face off for the right to be the first every Universal Champion. The Man Seth Rollins will battle The Demon King Finn Balor for the new championship. This is a dream match, one that I didn't think would happen so quickly but hey, I'm not complaining. WWE has a golden opportunity here to push a new star to the moon, one that the fans like. Last year, Balor was in the main event of the biggest Takeover of all time and this year, he's facing one of the top stars in the company for a new World Title. WWE just has to pull the trigger on Balor. I'm sorry, but you just don't introduce the Demon King on Raw only for him to LOSE at SummerSlam. Balor basically has to win and become champion here. There's no other choice. In what should be the best match of the night, Finn Balor will defeat Seth Rollins to become the first ever WWE Universal Champion.
The Bullet Club are having one hell of a week. Kenny Omega won the G1 Climax, Adam Cole could win the ROH World Title, Styles could beat Cena and Gallows/Anderson and Balor could all walk out as champions. Bullet Club!
This will be an awesome weekend of wrestling! What will steal the show?
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