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WHAT WILL HAPPEN TONIGHT: THE SUMMERSLAM TIP SHEET IS NOW ONLINE

WWE will present the Biggest Event of the Summer, Summerslam on tonight from Las Vegas, Nevada, live in the US on Peacock.  Here is our take on what will happen in the matches.

Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs John Cena

Dave: There is no sane world where it makes sense for Cena to be the one to end Roman's reign (see what I did there?).  Now, we all know that Vince's world isn't sane so anything can happen, but the right move is for Roman to win.  Cena is a part time actor now.  Having him win takes all of the shine off of Roman and makes everyone on the roster look second rate to him.  It would be really stupid booking.  And just as I did on Wednesday, I disagree with Mike Johnson.  There is no way in hell Big E should come down and pick the bones of Roman after he has worked a long match.  It makes Big E a heel.  A babyface should want to beat the champ cleanly and when he is fresh.  And speaking of heels, that is what Cena is as well.  He came in and signed a contract that didn't have his name on it.  A man of honor would have given it to its rightful owner, Finn Balor.  I

Mike: We know they are going to have a lot of time and Roman will talk a lot, since that's how his matches are layered at this point.  I commented a few weeks ago on what I would do, so I am repeating it here.  If John is up for a long match, I'd have them go a good 20-25 minutes and have Roman slip out of the AA, then rock Cena with a Superman Punch and pin him clean.  I'd have Roman cut a promo claiming that this proves once and for all who the Head of the Table is and you hear New Day's theme hit.  They come out and Big E cashes in right then and there and says Roman can prove himself "once and for all" right now.  The Usos hit the ring but Kofi and Xavier battle them to the back.  Cena stays at ringside.   The ref gets bumped after 5-10 minutes but Big E hits the Big Ending on Roman and Cena slips into the ring and counts the pinfall.  We go off the air just like that with everyone wondering whether Big E really "won" the title or not and now there's a cliffhanger leading into Smackdown.    This allows you to use Cena to give Big E the rub, leave Cena vs. Roman rematches and Roman vs. Big E as future bouts while pushing someone who has more than deserved being moved to the top echelon of the company - and leave the biggest show of the year with an ending that leaves people talking.

Richard:  I expect this to be the Roman Reigns playbook match and they are going to follow it step by step.  Roman will stand around while the crowd boos him.  They wrestle for a bit.  Roman talks to Cena (but Cena will talk back).  They will wrestle some more.  They will talk some more.  The Usos will come out to try to interfere but Roman will give them THAT LOOK since it wasn't time to do it.  They wrestle some more.  Cena hits his Moves of Doom.  Roman kicks out.  They both go for submissions.  Then the crystal ball gets a little foggy.  In a normal world, Roman wins the match and gets the decisive victory over 'THE Greatest of All Sports Entertainment', but with the recent status of the guy who has the same amount (for storyline purposes) of World Title Reigns, I can see Vince giving Cena #17 just to be able to say that Cena is better than Flair (but what does that do for Charlotte's future?).  Roman gets the win after 22 minutes (of a match that should go no more than 15).  Then we can move on to Roman's next opponent.

WWE Champion Bobby Lashley vs Bill Goldberg

Dave: I expect Cena to get a lot in and go a while with Roman.  I don't expect Goldberg to go long here, and he shouldn't.  Lashley should largely dominate this match against AARP member Goldberg.

Mike: This should be Goldberg gets distracted when  MVP goes after the kid and Lashley kills him to look like a BEAST.  Anything else and it's a wasted effort, no matter the size of the pops for the big spots.  This should be about making Lashley an even bigger star.

Richard:  If this match goes more than 5 minutes, it is a mistake.  I see Goldberg getting a quick advantage with an unexpected spear but Lashley either gets his foot on the rope or rolls to the floor to avoid the pin.  Then Lashley remembers that he is the best thing in the WWE right now and takes care of Goldberg and wins with a spear and the Hurt Lock.  I don't see Gage "Don't Call Me Hook 2" Goldberg getting involved.  Then we can build to Big E cashing in on Lashley in the future.

Raw Women's Champion Nikki A.S.H. vs Charlotte Flair vs Rhea Ripley

Dave: Speaking of faces that were total heels in how they cashed in, here's Nikki!  They could have told a great story of her overcoming odds to win.  Instead, she stole the belt.  So dumb.  They could try and start making up for it by having her win a tough match here.  Will they?  We shall see.  Whatever the case, the booking for this has been terrible.  I am totally not into it.

Mike: We all know Nikki is great and I personally love the superhero deal but it was too much too fast booked too oddly.  I think it's time for the experiment to end.  If I am WWE, I have Rhea take out Nikki but Charlotte hits Natural Selection and scores the pin on the stunned Nikki.  Then they can have Becky Lynch walk out to signify she's back for her title.

Richard: Is there a women's championship in WWE that is booked with more role confusion than this one?  Nikki Cross is a great talent, but this character is not connecting with me one bit.   When you mix Charlotte Flair's promos with Nikki's, you get a substance that is not good to ingest.  Rhea has been the ship in the harbor waiting to dock.   Why did we have Charlotte face Nikki two weeks in a row and then do the same for Rhea?  This title reign may make Swagger's cash in title run look epic in comparison.  The entertainment capital of the Western US might not be enough to lengthen this story.  Instead of a Deadpool type run for Nikki, we are getting Green Lantern.  Charlotte wins because it shouldn't happen. 

Smackdown Women's Champion Bianca Belair vs Sasha Banks (if it happens)

Dave: There is a lot of talk that this match won't take place (and we can all probably guess why).  If that is the case, ugh.  If it does happen, Bianca needs to win.  She needs to follow up on beating Sasha the first time.

Mike: If for some reason, this does actually take place, which isn't looking likely, Sasha doesn't need the win.  Bianca does, because it helps to establish her as one of the top stars of the entire company.  You can have Sasha come back looking for a win down the line but doing the 50/50 split is overdone, so WWE should not do it here.  Bianca should go over, clean.    If Sasha isn't there, WWE should break glass and bring Becky Lynch back early as a surprise.  Anyone else would feel like a step down, given how they have been presented, unfortunately.

Richard:  Is there a women's championship in WWE that is booked with more flip flopping than this one?  One week Bianca is a face, then she comes off as a heel.  Sasha comes back to help out Bianca, but we know she is turning on her, maybe not an hour later, but she was turning on the champ to set up this match.  Then you have the two people that Sasha helped Bianca stop on her side for a contract signing where neither of them saw what Cena (and Corbin) did to take the match from Balor but they just stand there and watch the contract get signed.  This should be a good match but the booking has made me lose interest in who wins.  I think you let Bianca get another victory over Sasha because you need to keep Bianca strong and eventually Sasha will win and Bianca will be the one to try to take the title from her (unless they remember where the other women on the roster are)

US Champion Sheamus vs Damian Priest

Dave: This should be really physical.  If it's me, I flip the belt here and give Priest a push.  There is a lot of talent there.

Mike:  These are two guys who like to lay it in on their opponent inside the ring and in the case of Priest, someone who loves when someone lays it on him.  This could be one of the better matches on the show.  My fear is it gets ejected to the Kickoff Show.  I am crossing my fingers that doesn't happen because this could be the back and forth stiff battle that it has every right to be.  WWE just needs to get out of the way and let them do their thing.

Richard:   This could be a sleeper match on the show.  Sheamus is very underrated compared to the other wrestlers on his level.   Priest has done a good job as the man chasing Sheamus, even if he had to deal with the I Can't Believe it isn't the Most Annoying (but is the Moist Annoying) segment on Raw most weeks.  Let them beat the hell out of each other for 10 to 12 minutes and then Sheamus is just too much and hits the Brogue Kick for the victory.  Priest will be champion soon, but not on Saturday.

Smackdown Tag Team Champions The Usos vs The Mysterios

Dave: I would flip the belts just because of the arrest, but I expect that the champs retain.

Mike: There's too much momentum for the Usos to drop the belts, but I can see Rey pulling out some fun highspots here.

Richard:  Which family will prevail in this match?  At least we are not seeing Commander Azeez wrestling every week on television.  I think the Large Adult Child experiment is close to ending and if we want Roman happy, his cousins should win this match.  Dominik will try to cheat since it has been the pattern for this feud, but it will backfire and then The Usos will get the win.  How about bringing the Street Profits or Alpha Academy back into the title picture?

Raw Tag Team Champions AJ Styles and Omos vs Riddle and Randy Orton

Dave: If RKO is staying together, they should win.  If they aren't, they should lose.

Mike: I don't care who wins and who loses, as long as Riddle eats another RKO.  I really don't see a title change though.

Richard:  Which team of misfits will prevail on Saturday night in the desert?   At least we are not seeing Commander Azeez (. . . Light) wrestling every week.  I see new champions crowned because they wouldn't have forced the Randy, please like Riddle stuff so much if they are going to lose.  Even though AJ is a heel, give me AJ and Lashley for the title.  After the victory, Randy has to RKO Riddle (and do so after every victory . . . and loss . . . and promo (even if it doesn't involve them).

Edge vs Seth Rollins

Dave: I think Rollins needs a win here.  Edge is an all timer but he's older and a part timer as well.  Rollins could be the next one to step up to his old partner.

Mike: We know this can be really DAMN good inside the ring and I suspect they'll be given the chance to have a strong match.  To me, this all depends on whether Cena is getting the title at the PPV.  I could see them doing a short run of John against Seth on top, so I will go with Seth here while Edge goes down fighting valiantly.

Richard:  I would really enjoy this match if we didn't have to see any of the promos leading into this match.  Seth's mission was to keep the title from Edge if Seth couldn't have it.  Memo to Seth:  EDGE ISN'T CHALLENGING FOR THE TITLE so you should be dealing with John Cena now.  You have two very good wrestlers who are stuck in a high school melodrama, but it is Saved by the Bell The New Class.  A loss doesn't hurt either man unless the next step is to challenge Roman (assuming Roman can get past Cena).  I hope this doesn't lead to a Wrestlemania mixed tag match with the wives brought into the story.

Drew McIntyre vs Jinder Mahal (Veer and Shanky Banned from Ringside)

Dave: I know this match will be fun for them because they are friends but at this point, Drew needs a win and to move back into the upper card.  He belongs there.  They can take some time and rebuild Jinder.

Mike: I like Drew and I think Jinder is really solid and works harder than anyone gives him credit for, but this program isn't doing anything for anyone.  It isn't helping Drew and it's not making Jinder a bigger name.  It's time to cut bait, sword and all, and give Drew the win with the Claymore Kick, 1-2-3.

Richard:  Based on what happened on Raw, it is better for a man to carry a giant sword to ringside than to have two men at ringside who would have likely interfered in the match but it would have backfired anyway.  Remember when Drew was on top of the world?  What a difference a year makes.  Drew should win this match and then maybe he gets sent to Smackdown so he can feud with Roman.

Alexa Bliss vs Eva Marie

Dave: Alexa has to go over here.  She is a focal point of the show and Eva isn't there yet.  I expect this to be, well, you know.

Mike: Based on the fact that Lilly has a cavernous section of merchandise in the Summerslam store, my guess is Alexa is going to win after all sorts of smoke and mirror special effects.

Richard:  This is going to be the most anticipated match of the weekend for one simple reason.  Will Eva Marie be able to outwrestle a doll?  If Lilly does not get involved in this match, why have it in the first place?  The segments on Raw are not doing anything to help anyone in this angle. 

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