The greatest fight of all sports brings a pair of old rivals back together. Undisputed World Champion Roman Reigns puts his pair of titles on the line against Brock Lesnar in a Las Man Standing Match in the main event. Reigns unified the titles by defeating Lesnar in the main event at WrestleMania. The card also sees the return of the celebrity factor. Logan Paul returns as he takes on The Miz in singles action. The two teamed up to defeat The Mysterios at WrestleMania before Miz turned on his partner. Additionally, SmackDown commentator and former NFL player Pat McAfee returns to action when he takes on Happy Corbin. McAfee made his WrestleMania debut in style when he defeated Theory in singles action before losing to Vince McMahon. Let’s take a closer look at who our CBS Sports experts predict will come out on top at WWE SummerSlam, which begins Saturday at 8 p.m. ET from Nissan Stadium in Nashville and airs live on the Peacock after a kickoff show an hour earlier.
WWE SummerSlam 2022 Predictions
WWE Undisputed World Championship — Roman Reigns (c) vs. Brock Lesnar (Last Man Standing) By giving Reigns a run as champion that lasted nearly 700 days, WWE slowly backed itself into a corner. Reigns has dispatched basically every quality prospect, leading the promotion to return to the well of Reigns vs. Lesnar, despite it being a pairing that is very stale. It’s hard to see Lesnar getting the win here, as it only serves to set up another clash between the pair. With The Usos and Paul Heyman around, there are plenty of easy exits to help Reigns keep Lesnar down for the 10-count. As for Theory and his threat to cash in his Money in the Bank contract after the match, The Usos may have interference to allow Theory to hold onto the briefcase as a storytelling device a bit longer. Pick: Roman Reigns retains SmackDown Women’s Championship — Liv Morgan (c) vs. Ronda Rousey While there are plenty of chances for WWE to make big mistakes with winners on the card, Rousey ending Morgan’s reign and reclaiming the title might be the biggest. Rousey’s return to WWE was mostly a dud, while Morgan has a strong fan base that was excited to win her first championship. The reaction to a Rousey win here would be awful, and Morgan needs some time to really see how she can function as world champion. That’s not to say a Rousey win isn’t possible, just that it shouldn’t happen and hopefully WWE sees it. Pick: Liv Morgan retained Raw Women’s Championship — Bianca Belair (c) vs. Becky Lynch Another possible mistake would be for Lynch to beat Belair on the same stage as the infamous 27 second fight. Lynch returned last year at SummerSlam and beat Belair with such speed that it caused a major backlash. Belair beating Lynch at WrestleMania to become champion again was something of a boon to that mistake, but allowing her to stay at SummerSlam would help remove that stain from Belair’s resume. Selection: Maintained by Bianca Belair Pat McAfee vs. Happy Corbin Corbin hasn’t won a pay-per-view match since December 2019. That’s not likely to change when he takes on McAfee. WWE has done a good job of protecting McAfee as a special attraction who wrestles on rare occasions, but surprises with his skill and athleticism. Corbin has established himself as a heel who can go in for programs against anyone, lose the match, and then move right on to the next one without really gaining or losing momentum. This makes him a perfect opponent for McAfee to defeat. Pick: Pat McAfee wins WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championship — The Usos (c) vs. The Street Profits (special guest referee Jeff Jarrett) The Usos are so closely tied to Reigns that it makes it difficult to confront them before the “perfect moment” comes. Such a big part of Reigns’ presentation is The Bloodline’s dominance as they hold all the top men’s championships. Bringing in Jarrett as a referee could tilt things in favor of the Profits, but Jarrett could just as easily cheat in favor of The Usos. Either way, someone gets hit with a guitar. It’s very hard to see The Usos losing the belts before WWE is ready to start crumbling Reigns’ empire around him. However things go, the race should be great. Pick: The Usos retain United States Championship — Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Theory WWE has invested a lot of time in Theory, giving him tons of screen time, a run with the United States title, and winning Money in the Bank. They also did an interesting job of having him stumble often enough that the idea of his SummerSlam plan to regain his title before cashing in the Money in the Bank contract later in the night completely blew up in his face. Lashley is a big player who can elevate the minor belt in an era where the top champ is hardly ever on TV, and there seems to be a lot of value in that to strip him of the belt so quickly. Pick: Bobby Lashley retains Logan Paul vs. The Miz WWE loves nothing if it doesn’t put celebrities over standard talent. This is almost certainly the case with Paul vs. Miz. After Miz turned on Paul when the pair beat the Mysterios at WrestleMania, it was obvious that we would finally have a one-on-one match on a big stage. Once Paul signed a deal with WWE, he guaranteed it. WWE isn’t likely to make Paul lose his first match as a contracted talent, and The Miz is as bulletproof as Corbin in his ability to lose but keep his spot in the promotion. Pick: Logan Paul wins The Mysterios vs. The Judgment Day (Inclusive) Under normal circumstances, Judgment Day will be favored here. It’s a group that WWE is pushing as a big deal with Finn Balor, Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley all having strong roles. The lifting of the bans changes things, however, especially with vignettes shown last month hinting at the return of Edge. Balor, Priest, and Ripley all turned on Edge after he brought them into the fold, and his return helping the Mysterios win in a match where his participation is within the rules makes a lot of sense. Pick: The Mysterios win and Edge returns
