Smark Out Moment

Welcome to another edition of Triple Threat from Smark Out Moment, where three of us get together to discuss three questions based on one big topic going down in the week of professional wrestling.

This week, Robert DeFelice, Jordan Chaffiotte, and Cayden Parkhurst will be giving their thoughts on what may happen at WWE SummerSlam 2018!

It’s the biggest event of the summer, SummerSlam. This year, There is a lot of anxiety amongst the performers and audience alike. AJ Styles defends against an old foe. Ronda Rousey looks to get crowned queen of Raw. Is the reign of Lesnar finally over? Let’s discuss…


CHAFIOTTE: It strikes me as kind of a shame how much on the back burner this match is. This might be the first time I've thought about it in a week. AJ Styles is running a long and impressive reign as WWE Champ, but he's always the B storyline. Summerslam is clearly all about Brock and Roman, while this falls to the side despite having a ton of potential. Because of all that, I don't think there's a lot of motivation to keep the belt on AJ. He's had his time, but I could barely name for you anything monumental that he's done with it. That's not a knock on Styles, the booking hasn't been there to support it. They don't seem enthusiastic about him as champion. It seems like the perfect conditions for Samoa Joe to come in and win the championship. Maybe having a heel at the top of the card will encourage them to do more with him.

PARKHURST: I think it’s Joe’s time to shine. AJ has done everything and then some with the belt up to this point, and it may be the time to have him be the babyface that chases the belt instead of the one that holds it. I think this sets up for Joe and Daniel Bryan either at Survivor Series or possibly WrestleMania after Bryan inevitably wins the Royal Rumble. Granted, if he can stay healthy. At the end of the day, Joe is the right choice. The only way he doesn’t win is if they decide they want to have a rematch, have him win there, and then a rubber match to really stretch this out. I think it’ll be an amazing match, and we have no reason to think otherwise with these two. At the end of the night, Samoa Joe stands tall.

DEFELICE: I’m so annoyed with how they have booked AJ styles as of late. He’s the WWE Champion and he hasn’t closed out a single episode of SmackDown since Money In The Bank. I do, however, love the intensity of this rivalry. I like how Samoa Joe is determined to make everything so personal and AJ is responding in kind. Given the obvious history between the two, This should definitely be the best of the main event choices. The New York crowd will love this one and I totally expect both men to work extra hard to prove that they should have been here a long time ago. I can’t wait. As far as results, I think it’s time. Samoa Joe is going to win by the skin of his teeth and walk out the new WWE Champion.


DeFELICE: I am so pleased with Ronda Rousey‘s jump into this industry. She seems like a genuine fan and somebody who is proud and honored to be a part of it. Top of that, she brings such I’ll legitimacy and sense of stardom to the women’s division and this will be her crowning moment. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of a champion she will be going forward seeing as she definitely has the makings of a Brock Lesnar type but has the love and passion of a Sasha Banks.

PARKHURST: I disagree that this should be the main event, but don’t get me wrong I have LOVED this. I just think Miz and Daniel Bryan have set things up to be the main event. But this feud is definitely a close second. I never thought Alexa Bliss would be the perfect opponent for Rousey. People want to see her get destroyed, and people want to see Rousey destroy. It is the perfect combo. To actually answer the question, Alexa doesn’t have a snowball's chance of retaining. Nor should she. Little Miss Bliss has been a bonafide superstar since her main roster debut, but making Rousey the champ at SummerSlam makes all the sense in the world. Big money match, big money event, and that usually means the victory will go to the big money superstar(and that isn’t a knock on Alexa Bliss). Not to mention winning her first title on this big of a stage is a great start. It’s time for another MMA champ to make the jump to being a champ in the pro-wrestling -oops, sports entertainment- business.

CHAFFIOTTE: Despite Rousey's impressive showing and my love for all things Alexa Bliss, I would not push to have this main event. Rousey's still green and she needs a strong ring general opposite her, Bliss just isn't it. I have no doubt that they will put on an entertaining match with some good storytelling. But honestly is anything going on after Brock and Reigns? Rousey has the main event of WrestleMania to think about anyway. It starts here, with her tapping out Bliss in a decisive victory. There's really just no evidence to the contrary, Bliss' usual tactics of using Alicia Fox or Mickie James will be thwarted by Natalya or Nia Jax. She's much smaller than Rousey and won't be able to outrun her. Bliss could use a reprieve anyway, with people claiming she's being overexposed. Personally, I'll take all the moments of Bliss I can get, but moving her down to a feud with one of the lesser used Superstars would be better for everyone. I think her and Natalya could have a good run, meanwhile opening up the space for Rousey and Jax to clash at the top of the card. I'm not convinced Rousey's ready, but I don't see that stopping them in the slightest.


PARKHURST: Ugh, I wish this could be the first match. Get it done and out of the way. However, we have the briefcase match first. Which I feel is the only thing that makes Reigns vs. Lesnar 75 interesting. I think I’m in the vocal majority of WWE fans when I say I hope Braun shows up and walks out with the Universal Championship. He’s the one that I, along with many others, have been clamoring for months to get a run. However, I have very little faith in that actually happening. My real prediction is Reigns either wins clean or Heyman helps him get a cheap W after what Brock did to him. This has been my least favorite feud in years, and that could’ve easily been different if it ended after the second match. They had so many options to go with here. I was one that begged for Lashley to get this spot, but he’s been a huge DUD since his WWE return. The only thing fans have to look forward to here is that this is probably the last time we ever see this. So, all in all, we all win.

CHAFFIOTTE: Paul Heyman gave us another spoiler this past month, so we know exactly how' this is going down. Or at least, how WWE wants it to go down. Brock will defend on Sunday, who knows what happens to Roman but they'll deal with that on Monday. Brock will wait out the rest of his suspension from the UFC. He will then face Daniel Cormier with the Universal Title in tow, a match that surely has been negotiated between UFC and WWE by now. WWE would like to book Brock to win, but UFC says our sport doesn't work like that. So maybe he wins maybe he doesn't, WWE is obviously banking on that he does and gets to bring the UFC Heavyweight Championship to Monday Night Raw. The Universal Championship isn't about wrestling anymore, the Universal Champion is nothing more than a figurehead. I fully believe this is their intention as we head into SummerSlam, it is so in line with their attitude towards Brock and that championship for the past two years. Maybe some of the anti-Roman crowd will feel bad for Roman as he's shoved to the side for this nonsense. I know I do.

DeFELICE: Full disclosure, I drafted these questions about three weeks ago and in that time I began to dread having to write about this matter. However, it is currently the match that intrigues me the most. There are so many seeds planted for intriguing outcomes. Braun has been teasing cashing in on Brock from minute one. Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns has been an advertised main event for the September pay-per-view for about a month and a half now. Then, of course, there is the most interesting seed of them all. Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar have currently been experiencing a rift in their relationship and in a WWE.com exclusive, Paul seemed to tease one potential possibility were Roman Reigns could be the winner of this match. Is Paul going to join the big dog? Will the Money In The Bank briefcase play a role? There so many possible phone outcomes. My prediction? Roman finally beats Brock and Kevin Owens cashes in. As far as Heyman, I expect him to play a role in the future but it may not be revealed here.