WWE's second biggest PPV - SummerSlam will take place Sunday night in New Jersey. The show has been sold out almost since it went on sale back in late December, so the crowd should be hot for the show and the atmosphere should be very strong. The card has been shifted a few times, and late Wednesday they announced the match with MVP and Matt Hardy is off for now due to the heart condition recently discovered in MVP. This match should be on for Unforgiven in December. We will have complete coverage of SummerSlam throughout the weekend, with a pre-match podcast show up on the site Saturday night, and a post-match podcast show after the event wraps up Sunday night. Here now though is our official preview for SummerSlam.

Divas Battle Royal - The winner of this will get a future shot at Candice Michelle, and based on Monday night, you'd have to think this one is going to go to Mickie James, who might be back on the verge of going heel. The others in the match don't really matter, and this should be quick and painless for the most part. The other option they could go with if they want to keep Mickie face for awhile is Beth Phoenix.

Umaga vs Carlito vs Mr.Kennedy for the IC Title - The face push of Umaga is slowly coming, and you could tell Monday night that by the time this match wraps up, it should be totally complete. Kennedy is the one to watch here, and the projected huge push from the McMahon paternity angle is coming, and we'll see if he lifts his game. Kennedy vs Carlito was the best wrestling match on RAW this past week, and Umaga is not bad in-ring as well, so this should be a solid three-way. Only question will be how long they give it. I expect Umaga to keep the strap with a pin of Carlito.

John Morrison vs CM Punk for the ECW Championship - The match we've now seen for three straight months is happening again, as Morrison takes on Punk. These two have had good matches so far, and they have good chemistry in the ring together, so this will be good to watch. Only thing is you know flat out that Punk won't win this here, and that will make this match a bit flat. The way things are actually setting up, you have to wonder if Steven Richards is set to be the next Morrison challenger once this feud here wraps up. Morrison by pin....again.

Kane vs Finley - this match will be announced tonight on SmackDown from what I am hearing. A filler match with two decent workers. No idea why here they waste a spot, but again, these guys both pay their dues week after week. This one won't be very long, and I think they give it to Kane just because.

Rey Mysterio vs Chavo Guerrero - I have liked how they have kept both Rey and Triple H off of TV, trying to pick up some extra buys for the event Sunday. These two have wrestled hundreds of times, so they have good chemistry in the ring as well, which should make this a good match on TV. I can see the angle of Chavo working the knee most of the match, and Rey finally making the comeback and getting the pin. No chance that either Rey or HHH lose in their first match back.

The Great Khali vs Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship - Cars will be overturned, fires will be set, and there will be riots in the street as the painful title reign of the Great Khali finally comes to an end. After basically throwing him the belt in a pinch, time to take it off the big man, and get it back to another big man - Batista, for a longer program between the two. At least Khali tries, but as usual, this will be hard to watch. I expect to see a 10 minute match with lots of stuff outside the ring, which will eventually lead to Batista in the ring getting a slam, spear, pin and a recapture of the title.

Triple H vs King Booker - To no one's surprise, this is being pushed as the semi-main event, with it listed as second on the official WWE site. Yes the return of HHH is big news, but maybe the bigger news is Booker's three-year new deal with the company, and the rumor he wants to be in more of a producer role so he doesn't get buried here. I would think that the way Booker works he'll give HHH a good match here, and I would not be shocked if we see HHH win, but only by DQ or count-out to keep the feud going. They may also do a double DQ or count-out to not sweep the King under the rug quite so quickly. For now, I'll say HHH by DQ.

Randy Orton vs John Cena for the WWE Title - The first thing that comes to mind for this main event is the crowd, which will just bury Cena all night long. Remember the reaction that The Rock got when he took on Brock Lesner back in 2001? Times that by 10 and you'll have what Cena will go through in this match. Sometimes I think that Cena would be better off feeding off the boos, and fighting a more aggressive, heel style, but that company does not appear to be anxious for him to do that. Here, he and Orton have worked a lot, so they should be able to pull off a strong 15-20 minute match. The word from day one was that this was going to be an Orton win, but I am not so sure, as with HHH and Booker keeping their feud going, and Batista beating Khali for the other strap, they may keep this on Cena for just a bit longer and have a rematch at Unforgiven and then take the belt onto Orton. I just keep going back to how bad the crowd is going to be so anti-Cena here. For now I'll stick with my thoughts that they are not going to rush this, and have Cena keep it with a shallow, yet pinfall win.

Posted by Matt Loede on Friday, August 24, 2007 at 6:12 AM | Permalink