WWE

Predicting WWE SummerSlam 2019 Match Results That Will Anger Diehard Fans

Chris Roling

SummerSlam 2019 has the makings of a massive show for WWE

Perhaps too big, as WWE bumped the Aleister Black against Sami Zayn match to the go-home edition of SmackDown, lessening the workload and time investment of an already stacked card. 

But one can see the logic of a huge card that is supposedly second only to WrestleMania on the calendar: appeal to as many fans as possible while looping in as many Superstars as possible. 

And yet, some matches will simply annoy hardcore fans. Whether it is the in-ring work, the Superstars included or the long-term ramifications of the matches themselves, WWE has a few possible results that are bound to irritate diehards coming out of the event.

Charlotte Flair over Trish Stratus

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Fans surely have no problems with Trish Stratus making a return to the ring. She's a modern legend and looked great in her last appearance, so her being in a high-profile feud is mostly a great thing for the card as a whole. 

Until she loses, that is. 

WWE has had a Charlotte Flair problem for a while now because she's been booked so strongly. She's a seemingly unstoppable force and was even thrown into the WrestleMania 35 main event with a title belt at the last moment. Every step she takes feels like she's aggressively moving toward her father Ric's title record. 

In other words, it's hard to see anyone but Flair winning on this sort of stage, which is a shame. WWE has seemingly looped in too much talk about legacies and impact on the business for it to go any other way.

This little feud has helped Flair stay in a holding pattern of sorts and away from titles momentarily, but Stratus losing will have the feel of things getting back to the usual Flair happenings abruptly. 

Goldberg over Dolph Ziggler

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Dolph Ziggler going against Goldberg is one of the most random-feeling big matches at a big pay-per-view in recent history. 

Ziggler has been in and out of the WWE product and most recently came back with some underwhelming work with the same old promos while feuding with Kofi Kingston.

Given all the Goldberg name drops in interviews over a span of weeks, it wasn't much of a surprise when fans found out who Ziggler's SummerSlam opponent would be. 

And despite all this, Goldberg winning will cause some anger. 

This one is as obvious as it gets. Ziggler was cast as Goldberg's next opponent because he's the best seller in the business: His task is rehabbing Goldberg's image after the botch fest against the Undertaker in Saudi Arabia. Undertaker had his redemption moment recently while tagging with Roman Reigns—now Goldberg gets his. 

With this one, it wouldn't be surprising for entrances to take longer than the match itself. A part-timer and that sort of fight will cause some frustration, to say the least. 

Shane McMahon over Kevin Owens

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Quick—name the top heels in WWE. 

There aren't many, at least not comparable to Shane McMahon. He's been obnoxious, undoubtedly, while appearing on both programs and doing whatever he wants in high-profile feuds, even picking up wins over guys like Roman Reigns. 

Which is all the more reason why it is hard to see WWE pulling the trigger on Kevin Owens taking out Shane. And speaking of Owens, he's great in this anti-authority role right now. Arguably, he's the hottest thing in the company—a win takes him out of that. 

For the sake of keeping Owens' momentum and not removing Shane from television entirely, it is easy to envision Shane picking up a win through nefarious means.

That stinks in the short term for viewers who want to see the payoff that is the Stone Cold-esque Owens giving Shane a stunner and sending him on his way. 

But for long-term purposes, WWE might milk this for all it is worth, which could mean no payoff just yet.

Brock Lesnar Over Seth Rollins

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There is almost no reason Brock Lesnar shouldn't walk out of SummerSlam as Universal champ after another encounter with Seth Rollins. 

Fans will hate the idea, of course. Lesnar is a part-time champ, which robs Raw of its top title and nobody else has been realistically built up as a capable challenger. That's going to take some serious time to correct. 

But WWE has a Rollins problem on its hands, too. He's had a disastrous run since WrestleMania 35, getting stuck in a feud with Baron Corbin, then the weird couples storyline with Becky Lynch while dropping the title.

More recently, he's made odd funny-guy promos after losing his title, been "hospitalized" and last of all got destroyed by Lesnar on the go-home episode of Raw before delivering a monotone promo about how he guarantees he'll win anyway. 

That's a long way of saying Rollins isn't credible at this stage, either. Keep in mind he won the title at 'Mania in the opener on a low blow. 

This all equates to the usual Lesnar loop, which some might call purgatory. But nobody feels as big or threatening as Lesnar right now, which is a fault in the WWE design. His taking another win over Rollins won't be popular, but it almost feels necessary at this point, which makes it all the more frustrating. 

   

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