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Shore's WWE SummerSlam preview and predictions: Who will leave as WWE Champion? Will CM Punk get his hands on Paul Heyman? Can Christian win "one more match?"

Posted in: Shore Editorials, MUST-READ LISTING
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Aug 18, 2013 - 05:02 PM

The following predictions are made with no prior knowledge of the planned finishes. I'm guessing based on what I see each week on WWE television and where I think (or sometimes hope) the storyline goes.

John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship with Triple H as special referee: I start these prediction articles with the disclaimer above for two reasons. One, so you know that even if I happen to be completely accurate about what happens, I didn't purposefully spoil the show. It was dumb luck. But I also put it there because sometimes I pick based on what I hope we see even when my head tells me something different because I'm a fan too. My heart goes with Jason Powell's prediction from Dot Net Weekly this week, but my head has to stick with mine.

There has to be a reason Triple H is involved in this match. It isn't to keep things even, it is to do…something. The most logical thing to me is that he helps Randy Orton cash in, and I think the biggest chunk of fans out there are thinking the same thing. So Randy Orton ultimately ends up with the belt, but who does he take it from? This is where disagreement begins amongst people.

On the one hand, John Cena needs some time off to heal his elbow. Having Orton put him out while taking the title gives you a readymade feud when Cena returns, and writes him off TV. On the other, beating Daniel Bryan just moments after he wins his first WWE Championship creates a gigantic moment, and ensures noting but straight heat on Orton and Triple H from then on out. You still have to do something to get rid of Cena, but a Bryan win with the No Lock could take care of that since Cena's elbow is already a known issue.

I don't want to see WWE waste Daniel Bryan's first title win on an 18 second reign, but I'm confident that is exactly what they will do. There's no question that finding a way to deny fans the moment will only lead to a bigger reaction when it finally happens, but I also think ultimately winning the title back from Orton would be close enough that 99 percent of the fans won't care or even notice. Daniel Bryans wins tonight, only to break your heart a few moments later.

Prediction: Daniel Bryan wins the WWE Championship on to lose it to Randy Orton right after.

CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman): There isn't near as much here to analyze as the title match, so this will be short. Brock Lesnar needs to win and should win. This feud is over tonight if Punk wins, and it's too hot to put down right now. Lesnar can won and go away and Punk can continue to nip at the heels of Heyman afterward, leading to a rematch where Punk can finally go over and get his hand of Heyman. More importantly, a Lesnar loss kills him completely. He won't be that menacing presence he's been anymore. He'll come back and attack someone and people will shrug because they know when we finally get to the PPV, Lesnar loses. That's just too much money in his payout to waste.

Prediction: Brock Lesnar wins.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Christian for the World Heavyweight Championship: Boy it's good to have Del Rio back as a heel. I'm not sure I would have any interest in this outside of the in-ring work if it wasn't for his renewed aggression. Christian is a place holder here as WWE realized the top two matches do enough to sell this card, and the World title match would be lost in the shuffle. I do expect a very good match, but I also expect Del Rio to leave with the title.

Prediction: Alberto Del Rio retains the World Heavyweight Championship.

Kane vs. Bray Wyatt in a Ring of Fire Match: Kane has to shoot a movie. Bray Wyatt is the new hot thing. Defeating Kane in a match were the ring is surrounded by fire is a great way to get a psycho character over. Is there any question how this match turns out? Fortunately no one has to catch on fire tonight. Sadly, I'm afraid at least one person will, and my guess is Kane, who ultimately comes back as an ally of the Wyatt Family.

Prediction: Bray Wyatt wins.

Dolph Ziggler and Kaitlyn vs. Big E Langston and AJ Lee: The rest of this card quickly falls into a little bit of "obvious" territory from here. There's no money in Ziggler going over clean on Big E in a mixed tag. Ziggler or Kaitlyn jobbing out makes either of them look even weaker than they have recently. That leaves AJ, and with all the heat in the world to spare, it's a no brainer why she takes the pin here. Kaitlyn finally gets some revenge and Ziggler gets to get away from AJ at least for a little while.

Prediction Dolph Ziggler and Kaitlyn win.

Cody Rhodes vs. Damien Sandow: Cody Rhodes has found some new life in his babyface character, but not enough to warrant upsetting the Money in the Bank holder. Plus, Sandow has been getting the big matches recently yet has been outsmarted by Cody over and over. He needs this win to move forward, and I think (and certainly hope) he does.

Prediction: Damien Sandow wins.

Natalya vs. Brie Bella: This one is a little bit of a toughie because what story is here isn't from the regular wrestling shows, even though it has played out slightly there, it's from Total Divas. Given that, I don't think there's much money in Natalya going over here, though I do think they can build to a moment where there would be some money. Look for Brie to go over here.

Prediction: Brie Bella wins.

Dean Ambrose vs. Rob Van Dam for the United States Championship: Speaking of no money, while I think this is an excellent spot for RVD on the card, moving the title to him is the opposite of money. I think there might be an actual sucking sound in the WWE if RVD were to win. LA would love it, but LA is going to love anything Van Dam does, so why give him a title win here. The only other question is whether or not they make a tag title match out of this. I'm going to guess they hold off one more month on that.

Dean Ambrose retains the US Championship.

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