World Wrestling Entertainment returns to the Barclays Center this Sunday night for the thirty-first SummerSlam event. This will be the fourth SummerSlam event held in the Barclays Center, the first having been in 2015 when Brock Lesnar took on The Undertaker. Overall, this is the eight SummerSlam event to take place in the state of New York. Rapping sensation Flo Rida provides this year’s theme song, titled “Sweet Sensation”, and this is the tenth time that a Flo Rida song has been the official soundtrack to a WWE pay-per-view event. Anywho, onto the card!
Writer’s reminder: all matches counted in this “By the Numbers” are from TV and PPVs only, this does not include any dark matches, nor any house shows. This does, however, include indie matches should they have happened between two competitors.
Raw Tag Team Champions The B-Team vs. The Revival (Kickoff Match)
This will be the fifth time The B-Team and The Revival find themselves on opposite sides of the ring. Three of the previous contests were multi-team matches, two of which were won by the team of Dallas and Axel. The only previous standard tag team match that took place between these two took place earlier this month when the match went to a no contest.
This will Curtis Axel’s and Bo Dallas’ second match on the SummerSlam Kickoff show, he, alongside The Miz and Curtis Axel, were victorious at last year’s event with a win over Jason Jordan and The Hardy Boyz. Neither have had a main show match at SummerSlam. This will be The Revival’s SummerSlam Kickoff debut.
Rusev & Lana vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas & Zelina Vega (Kickoff Match)
This will be the fourth match involving these Superstars. Andrade “Cien” Almas has previously beaten Rusev in a singles match. Zelina Vega was victorious on two different occasions against Lana. Overall, the duo of Almas and Vega is 3-0 over the pairing of Rusev and Lana.
This will mark Lana, Zelina Vega, and Andrade “Cien” Almas’ SummerSlam debuts. Rusev has previously competed at the event three different times, his debut having been a victory of Jack Swagger in a Flag Match at the 2014 event. Rusev is 1-1-1 at “The Biggest Party of the Summer”.
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander vs. Drew Gulak (Kickoff Match)
This will be the sixth singles match between Cedric Alexander and Drew Gulak. This will, however, be the first WWE Cruiserweight Championship match between the two and the first singles match between the two in 2018. Cedric leads the series against his challenger at 3-2, with Gulak’s last win being on 205 Live back in January of 2017.
This will be both competitors’ SummerSlam debut.
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon Brothers vs. The New Day
This will be the fourth time these two teams have been on opposite sides of the ring in tag team competition. The Bludgeon Brothers won the first match in March of 2018 via disqualification. The other two matches featured other teams, with the Bludgeon Brothers and The New Day sharing wins in those contests. The official score between the two teams in 2-1.
The two teams did team with one another in 2016. That match was a fourteen-on-one Handicap Match against “The Big Dog” Roman Reigns – it went to a No Contest.
This will be Harper’s second SummerSlam match in his career, his only other one being when he teamed with Bray Wyatt in a loss to Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose in 2015. This will be Rowan’s SummerSlam debut.
This will be Big E’s fourth SummerSlam match, having previously gone 1-2 (all of them being tag team matches). This will be Xavier Woods’ third SummerSlam, having lost his last two Slam matches – both being Tag Team Championship matches. Kofi Kingston, on the other hand, will be competing at his seventh SummerSlam event. He has gone 3-2-1 at the event.
Finn Bálor vs. Constable Baron Corbin
This will be the third singles match between Finn Balor and Baron Corbin, all three taking place in the span of the last two months. The two have traded wins back and forth and are 1-1, with Balor winning the first match at WWE Extreme Rules and Corbin getting his win back on the July 30th edition of Raw. When it comes to tag team matches, these two are no strangers to one another – with their tag record being 3-1, Balor’s only tag win over Corbin being the finals of the inaugural Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic in 2015.
This will be Finn Balor’s third SummerSlam match, previously going 2-0 with wins over Bray Wyatt and Seth Rollins. Balor was crowned the first-ever WWE Universal Champion two years ago in this very building with that win over Rollins. Corbin, however, will be competing in his second SummerSlam match. He lost to John Cena at last year’s event.
United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Jeff Hardy
This will be the fourth singles match between Shinsuke Nakamura and Jeff Hardy, all three previous contests took place in June and July of this year. Jeff Hardy leads the series 2-1 against Nakamura, his two wins coming via disqualification. Shinsuke won their only pay-per-view match at Extreme Rules to become the WWE United States Champion.
This will be Shinsuke Nakamura’s second SummerSlam event, his first being last year’s WWE Championship match defeat to Jinder Mahal. This will, however, be Jeff Hardy’s seventh SummerSlam match and his first for the WWE United States Championship. Hardy is 0-6 at the event, and 0-3 in singles matches.
Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz
This will be the sixth singles match between Daniel Bryan and The Miz, only the second to be on a pay-per-view event. This is the first singles match between the two since 2015, when Bryan defeated Miz on the February 19th edition of Thursday Night SmackDown. Bryan leads the series against his NXT pro at 3-1-1.
This will be Daniel Bryan’s sixth match at SummerSlam and his first since losing the WWE World Heavyweight Championship to Randy Orton at the 2013 event. Bryan is 3-2 at the event, with losses to Randy Orton and Wade Barrett. The Miz will be competing in his seventh SummerSlam match, going 3-3 in his appearances. His only singles loss at the “Biggest Event of the Summer” was to Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental Championship at the 2014 event.
SmackDown Women’s Champion Carmella vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch
This will be the first time that these three competitors compete in a Triple Threat match. When it comes to multi-man matches, Carmella leads the series over her two challengers at 2-1, with Carmella having won the Money in the Bank Ladder Match in 2017. Becky Lynch won a Fatal Five-Way also including Carmella and Charlotte back in October.
This will be Carmela’s second SummerSlam match, her first was in 2016 when she teamed with Becky and Naomi in a loss to Alexa Bliss, Natalya, and Nikki Bella. This will be Lynch’s third SummerSlam, going 1-1 in tag team matches. This will also be Charlotte’s third SummerSlam, going 2-0 with one of her wins marking her winning the WWE Women’s Championship from Sasha Banks.
This will be the first SummerSlam event for all three competitors since the 2016 event.
Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins
This will be the eighteenth singles match between Dolph Ziggler and Seth Rollins. Rollins leads the series at 12-4-1 over the current Intercontinental Champion. The two have competed in four Intercontinental Championship matches, with the first being in 2014 and the last three having taken place over the last three months. Ziggler is 2-1-1 over Rollins in Championship matches, with Seth’s only win coming by way of disqualification.
This will be Seth Rollins’ fifth SummerSlam match and has gone 2-1 in singles matches at the event. His last singles victory at SummerSlam came in 2015, when he defeated John Cena to defend the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and to win the WWE United States Championship.
This will be Ziggler’s eighth match at SummerSlam, going 2-3-2. He has competed in three Intercontinental Championship matches at “The Biggest Party of the Summer”, losing to Rey Mysterio in 2009, going to no contest with Kofi Kingston in 2010, and beating The Miz to win the championship in 2014. His last SummerSlam match was at the 2016 event, where he lost to Dean Ambrose in a WWE Championship match.
Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens
This will be the fifth singles match between Braun Strowman and Kevin Owens, and the fourth since May 2018. Strowman and Owens are tied in the series at 2-2, with two of the matches going to a cheap finish of either a disqualification or a count out. Owens won the only pay-per-view match between the two at Extreme Rules, where he came out victorious in a Steel Cage match.
This will be Braun Strowman’s second match at SummerSlam, his first was last year in a loss to Brock Lesnar in a Fatal Four-Way for the WWE Universal Championship. Owens, however, will be competing in his fourth SummerSlam match. He has gone 2-1 at the event.
Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss vs. Ronda Rousey
This will be a first-time ever match between Alexa Bliss and Ronda Rousey. This will be Rousey’s fourth WWE match and her second Raw Women’s Championship match. Rousey is undefeated. While this will be Rousey’s SummerSlam debut, this will be Bliss’ third match at the “Summer Extravaganza”. Bliss is 1-1 at SummerSlam, with her only loss being last year when she lost the Raw Women’s Championship to Sasha Banks.
WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe
This will be the twenty-second singles match between AJ Styles and Samoa Joe, but the first in the WWE. Joe leads the series at 15-5-1. Most of their matches took place for TNA Wrestling, where Joe went 7-2-2 over the current WWE Champion. Their last singles match took place in 2013 in the Bound For Glory Series, where they went to a time limit draw.
This will be AJ Styles’ third SummerSlam match and he has done well at the event, going 2-0 with wins over both John Cena and Kevin Owens. This will be Samoa Joe’s second SummerSlam event, with his only match being last year’s loss to Brock Lesnar in a Fatal Four Way for the WWE Universal Championship.
Universal Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns
This will be the fourth singles match between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, including the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania Play Button in 2015. Without counting that match since Seth Rollins won via Money in the Bank cash-in, Lesnar has won their two singles match – which took place this year for the WWE Universal Championship. Lesnar is 3-1 overall against Reigns, with Reigns’ only win over Lesnar being the WWE World Heavyweight Championship #1 Contendership Match at Fastlane 2016 that also included Dean Ambrose. Randy Orton, Triple H, and Seth Rollins have also won matches that included both Lesnar and Reigns, two of which being Royal Rumble Matches.
This will be Brock Lesnar’s ninth SummerSlam match and his seventh SummerSlam main event. His first was a win over Roman’s cousin The Rock at the 2002 event when Lesnar won the WWE Undisputed Championship. Lesnar is 6-2 at SummerSlam, with two his matches ending in a referee stoppage. When it comes to World Championship matches at “The Biggest Party of the Summer”, Lesnar is 3-1, with his only loss being to Kurt Angle at the 2003 event.
This will be Roman Reigns’ fourth SummerSlam match and his second SummerSlam main event. He is 2-1 at the event, his only loss being from 2017 when Brock Lesnar prevailed in a Fatal Four-Way for the WWE Universal Championship. Roman’s only other singles match at the pay-per-view extravaganza was a win over Randy Orton in 2014.
This could go either way.
