Seven Matches That Could Make WWE SummerSlam Bigger Than WrestleMania 37

WWE’s SummerSlam event will take place inside Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium on Aug. 21. Reports of what WWE has in store for the show have been floating around for weeks, but the latest one from @WrestleVotes made something abundantly clear — WWE wants this show to be bigger than the two-night WrestleMania 37 event from back in April. But in order for that to become a reality, the promotion will need to pull out all the stops. That means bringing back part-timers, lining up dream matches, loading up the undercard with solid matchups and providing a main event so huge that even the most casual of wrestling fans would be interested.

Here are seven matchups that, if WWE chose to book, would make SummerSlam the undisputed biggest WWE event of 2021. Are there any we missed? Let us know in the comments below!

WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. John Cena

It’s the one that is already being reported as the show’s headliner and is the second-biggest match WWE can possibly pull off right now behind Reigns vs. The Rock. It is a bit of a bummer that these two already had a “changing of the guard” singles match at No Mercy back in 2017, but Reigns’ complete transformation over the past year will make it easy to forget that first match. The promos alone between these two will be incredible.

WWE Championship: Bobby Lashley vs. Brock Lesnar

Lashley vs. Lesnar is a dream match fans have wanted to see ever since “The All Mighty” first arrived on WWE television back in the mid-2000s. With live crowds back, it makes all the sense in the world for WWE to bring Lesnar back into the fold. And with Reigns preoccupied and Lashley at his absolute best in his current role as world champion, this one is a no-brainer. 

Becky Lynch’s Return

We’ll leave this one open-ended since there’s still a chance Lynch could jump to either SmackDown or Raw. But it’s been well over a year now since “The Man” was last seen on television, and based on her Instagram she’s definitely back in wrestling shape. If she feels she’s ready to go, SummerSlam is the right time and place.

SmackDown Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair vs. Sasha Banks II

These two put on an instant classic during Night 1 of WrestleMania 37 and Banks hasn’t been seen since. Once Belair gets another victory against Bayley under her belt at Hell in a Cell, it will be the perfect time for “The Boss” to return and reignite their rivalry.

NXT UK Championship: Finn Balor vs. Walter

If WWE truly wants SummerSlam to be the biggest show of the year, it needs to take the kid gloves off and utilize all of its brands. Balor vs. Walter was a match fans were teased with just before the pandemic began, and now that NXT UK TakeOver: Dublin has officially been canceled this Match of the Year contender is suddenly without a home.

But putting it on SummerSlam accomplishes so many things for the company. It puts Balor back in the spotlight ahead of what seems to be his return to the main roster, it finally gives Walter the chance to shine (the less said about his Survivor Series appearance the better) and it gives both NXT and NXT UK a bit more value in the eyes of casual fans.

Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Championships: The Usos vs. R-K-Bro

It will take a few steps to get to this point, but with the way WWE treats its tag team divisions something as drastic as this is needed for it to earn a spot on this hypothetical supercard. For all their in-fighting, it feels like we’ll see The Usos and Reigns as one cohesive unit by August and that likely means they’ll take the titles off the Mysterios. But Reigns, preoccupied with showing his dominance over Cena, will demand the two go over to Raw and claim that brand’s tag team championships as well. During that same stretch of time Riddle and Randy Orton will become the tag champs (R-K-Bro is one of the very few highlights of Raw right now and it makes sense to play the hot hand), causing AJ Styles and Omos to split. The Usos will presumably win this one, unifying both the Raw and SmackDown tag titles — a move that has been sorely needed for a while. 

United States Championship: Sheamus vs. AJ Styles

Speaking of the very short list of things that are great about Raw, Sheamus as United States Champion. He’s been fantastic, and he’ll probably still be champ after this program with Ricochet and Humberto Carrillo wraps. Assuming Styles and Omos split (see the previous slide), let’s put “The Phenomenal One” back in a championship picture.

A show like this needs some legitimately great undercard matches and this one would deliver.