WWE SummerSlam 2018 is almost upon us and throughout the 30 years the show has taken place, we’ve had some truly memorable matches. However these bouts are only compounded by how great the lead-in to them is in the weeks and months prior. The build to pay-per-views, especially gigantic ones like SummerSlam, are absolutely vital in determining whether a show is a success or a flop. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the Best & Worst storylines heading into SummerSlam 2018.
Bear in mind, I don’t think any of these builds have been particularly great, but regardless, I’ll be picking the Best & Worst from this sorry bunch. Also, this is entirely my opinion, so feel free to tell me how wrong I am on Twitter.
BEST – Dolph Ziggler (c) (w/ Drew McIntyre) vs Seth Rollins (w/ Dean Ambrose) | Intercontinental Championship
At first glance, a rematch of Seth Rollins and Dolph Ziggler’s Extreme Rules match didn’t sound like an appealing prospect. Their previous bout was thrown out by the fans and didn’t quite carry the weight expected, especially given it was the main event. Having said that, they’ve done quite the job to turn that around. Even though this match has gone from an Ironman match at Extreme Rules to having no stipulation (something that absolutely should have changed), the return of Dean Ambrose this past Monday on Raw has most certainly injected some life into this feud.
Despite the fact that Ambrose will only be in Seth’s corner on Sunday, there’s plenty of intrigue surrounding that. Rollins has constantly been plagued by 2-on-1 matchups in the past, now he has an equalizer. Not only that, but could Ambrose be turning heel at ‘The Biggest Party of the Summer’? His new look is certainly much more aggressive, and I wouldn’t put it past ‘The Lunatic Fringe’ to turn on his friend to cost him the match.
WORST – AJ Styles (c) vs Samoa Joe | WWE Championship
I genuinely cannot believe a match between WWE Champion AJ Styles and challenger Samoa Joe has made the Worst list. I don’t understand how it’s possible to mess up AJ STYLES VS SAMOA JOE. But somehow, they’ve done it. Two of the best wrestlers in the world, fighting over (supposedly) the most prestigious title in the company, relegated to squabbling over letters written by AJ’s wife and AJ getting too “emotional”.
What even is that? AJ gets too emotional? GOOD. Let him be emotional. Let him let out his anger, this is a WRESTLING show. But what was AJ angry over? Was AJ emotional over Samoa Joe choking him out? Nope. AJ is too emotional over Joe saying some mean words and using basic schoolyard taunting. What. Is. Happening. They should be fighting for the title, you know, that thing that EVERYONE is fighting for? This should be about passion, wrestling acumen, who has the bigger heart, who’s willing to do more, who’s willing to decimate the opponent when they need to, but no, we’ve got Wendy bloody Styles writing a letter to Joe. Ugh.
BEST – Alexa Bliss (c) vs Ronda Rousey | Raw Women’s Championship
This match was always going to be a highly anticipated one as it features one of the biggest stars in the company right now, Ronda Rousey. Having said that, WWE have done a very solid job of keeping interest in Rousey high, making her look dominant, and instigating and nurturing Alexa Bliss’ heel heat so that fans want to see her get dominated by Rousey.
‘The Baddest Woman on the Planet’ will no doubt have a numbers disadvantage in the match as Bliss will most likely have Alicia Fox in her corner. However this could also lead to a Natalya return to chase off Fox, something that would no doubt receive a huge reaction from the crowd. If Rousey is to win the title here, it could be a genuinely organic, huge moment in not only her career, but in WWE history too.
WORST – Finn Bálor vs Baron Corbin
WWE had a real uphill battle ahead of them to try and make the Extreme Rules rematch (and Raw rematch…multiple times) of Finn Balor vs Baron Corbin interesting to viewers. They did not climb that hill.
Baron is tall. Finn is short. That’s it. That’s the whole feud. Finn smiles a lot, even when he shouldn’t be, robbing any sort of emotional investment there might have been, while Baron continues to wrestle in suits and make sure everyone knows that he is tall and Finn is short. Did you know? He is tall. Finn is small. Nice job guys. Top effort.
BEST – Carmella (c) vs Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair | SmackDown Women’s Championship
Okay, so pickings were slim for the best builds here, but this was…fine. So by default, it made the Best. I’m not a fan of how this match was put together, with Becky and Charlotte both defeating the champion to earn their opportunities, but taking that aside, the rest of the build has been pretty decent.
It was originally a 1-on-1 match between Becky and Carmella, and the following week, Charlotte was added too. Tensions between the two friends continued to be teased, with Charlotte picking up a win where Becky couldn’t, and Becky being victorious when going alone in a tag match alongside Flair. While it’s true the champion has been somewhat overshadowed with these tensions, it does influence the anticipation of the match greatly. Could we see Charlotte or Becky turn on the other? Will Carmella be able to capitalize on the tensions between the two and escape with the title once again? There’s many ways this match could go, and for that, it’s one of the Best.
WORST – Brock Lesnar (c) (w/ Paul Heyman) vs Roman Reigns | Universal Championship
Were it not for the events that took place this past Monday, this would have easily been making the Best list. But alas, it’s now one of the Worst. This build had something to it that pretty much every other Roman/Brock encounter didn’t: genuine intrigue and change. Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar had split up, that’s crazy! Paul had cut a tear-filled promo about his time with Lesnar and how Roman didn’t stand a chance, that’s crazy! Roman was sometimes getting cheered, that’s crazy!
But they ruined it all with this past Monday’s Raw. Heyman revealed it was all a ruse, he and Lesnar are on as great terms as ever, and now it’s the usual formula for every Roman/Brock match: Roman must overcome the odds, cement his legacy, fulfill his destiny, slay the Beast and blahblahblah. They had everything going for them, intrigue, speculation, heat, and it all went down the drain in one fell swoop.
BEST – Daniel Bryan vs The Miz
I was worried for a long time that this feud wouldn’t be what it should have been, but those fears were put to rest after this week’s episode of SmackDown Live. Originally the build to their match was…tepid to say the least. What with crying baby pictures, throwing babies and TV ratings, things were not looking great. But they managed to turn that around in one episode.
A series of three video packages were played highlighting the entirety of The Miz and Daniel Bryan’s careers and how their paths crossed at various points, all the way from Bryan’s beginnings in NXT to recently with his return to the ring. It perfectly captured how these two stars have incessantly been in each others’ hair, how they’ve compromised the others’ careers, and how the blood feud they’ve built has been built on reality. It was everything this feud needed it to be, and easily, EASILY, the Best storyline heading into SummerSlam 2018.
What match are you most looking forward to? Which builds did you like, and which did you hate? Let us know in the comments, on Twitter or on Discord today!
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