WWE loves to push that their ‘Big 4’ PPV’s are much bigger than the rest. With a predicted 4-hour running time, SummerSlam 2017 should be no different, with reports that WWE is looking to make this as big as possible, with them potentially bringing some planned WrestleMania stories and matches forward, so it looks like it’s shaping up to be another must see show from WWE. That definitely sounds like a good thing, but it shows that WWE is still lacking the patience needed to tell long, logical and interesting stories that are paid off in a big way at the biggest show of the year, but that’s in April and this is now, and with only one show between us and SummerSlam, the card is taking shape right before our eyes.

But what should WWE do at this event, and what things should they look to avoid to make this as great a show as possible, well read on and find out.

15 15. Should – The Miz Finally Gets A Credible Challenger

Ever since the brand split, The Miz has been on fire, and with his promos on Talking Smack, he became one of the most talked about wrestlers in the entire company, but since his move to RAW, he has been embroiled in a seemingly never ending feud with Dean Ambrose, and while I like Ambrose, it’s time for this feud to end so The Miz can move on to a better challenger. Whether it’s Finn Balor, Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt or even someone like Bobby Roode from NXT, The Miz and Dean Ambrose can’t wrestle at SummerSlam, because they’ve done it way too much. If that ends up being the IC title bout for the show, it will likely be a decent but forgettable match, and with the way Miz helped build the IC title back up over the last 12 months, it would be an injustice for his defense at SummerSlam to just be ‘decent’. Either way, I hear that Kurt Angle has a son who is quite talented?

14 14. Should – Nia Jax Gets Her Shot At The Gold

Despite the fact that the WWE is in the midst of its Women’s Revolution, they still seem to struggle to give us a one-on-one match for the title on big PPV’s, with seemingly Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte being the only ones given the treatment on the most important shows, and it seems like the company is again building to a multi-woman bout between Jax, Banks, Bayley and Bliss, but this should be the time for Nia Jax vs. Alexa Bliss to take center stage. While it may be too early to turn Jax face, but that’s the way this bout will work, and with Bayley edging towards a heel turn, it could be the magic WWE need to set the women’s division on fire again. Nia may be quite green still, but she’s improved a lot in recent times, and she’s that dominant that it’s just time for her to take out Bliss and become the RAW Women’s Champion for the first time.

13 13. Shouldn’t – Jinder Mahal Keeping His WWE Title

Giving Jinder Mahal the WWE Championship was definitely an ambitious move from WWE, and while he has somewhat risen to the task, his reign still isn’t too believable, and come SummerSlam 2017, his reign should come to an end, whether it’s at the hands of Sami Zayn, AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Shinsuke Nakamura or anyone else. Like most people, I’ve been very critical about putting enhancement talent in the main event like they did with Mahal, but he has been strong enough in all aspects to prove he deserves a spot as a key member of Smackdown Live, but the United States title is currently the best on the Smackdown Live, and that needs to change. We will explore one more way this can happen later on in the article, but for now, Jinder Mahal just needs to be taken out of the WWE title picture, that is if he can last through the Punjabi Prison match at Battleground.

12 12. Should – The “Glorious One” Arrives

Over the past year, NXT has been undergoing somewhat of a revival, but with so much talent in the main event scene, it’s time for Bobby Roode to move on, and with a bout against Drew McIntyre (possibly Roddy Strong too) happening on the card, that will be a good way to take the title off him, and send him on his way to the main roster. With everything you want in a WWE performer, Roode will fit in anywhere he’s asked on the main roster, and with the savvy crowd in Brooklyn for SummerSlam, hearing that glorious theme song play to announce his arrival will be one of the biggest pops of the year. WWE might delay this a little while longer, but with Drew McIntyre, Aleister Black, Roderick Strong, Kassius Ohno, Hideo Itami and a rumored Adam Cole debut, he’s just not needed in NXT anymore, and he could provide some fantastic depth to either main roster program.

11 11. Should – The Revival Get Their First Shot

After being the best team in NXT history, the Revival made a thunderous debut on Monday Night RAW the night after WrestleMania, but unfortunately Dash Wilder suffered an injury, and with the Hardyz now out of the tag team title picture, it makes sense for them to slide in there immediately, especially considering they are the only other good, true tag team on RAW. It will certainly make for an odd dynamic as the match would be heel vs. heel, but with the talent involved with Wilder, Dawson, Sheamus and Cesaro, it would definitely make for one hell of a match. While it may be too early to push them to the titles, WWE have no other option, as Gallows and Anderson have been treated as a joke since their debut, and this will be a great way to prove to the wider WWE Universe that the Revival truly are the best tag team in the world.

10 10. Shouldn’t – Roman Reigns Winning The Universal Title

By now you probably know that Vince McMahon wants to make Roman Reigns his top baby face, but even after 3 years and 2 WrestleMania coronations, it just isn’t happening, and with Braun Strowman and Samoa Joe hopefully featured in the match, right now just isn’t the time for him to win his first Universal title. That’s not to say Roman isn’t worthy of the Universal title, as he definitely is, but with two other guys firing on all cylinders, it just isn’t his time, but who knows, the WWE love to push him more than anyone, so they might just forget about the hot performers and put the belt back on him. Eventually I think that Roman would make a great heel (a full blooded heel), but until that point, the fans just aren’t going to buy him as a top baby face, so giving him the title at SummerSlam isn’t going to help that process.

9 9. Should – The Fashion Police Finally Solve Their Mystery

For the past few months, The Fashion Police have easily been the most entertaining part of Smackdown, with their weekly segments being some of the funniest WWE have produced in quite some time, but their biggest mystery still remains unsolved, who attacked Tyler Breeze and destroyed their office? The Colons, The Ascension, The New Day, The Usos and even The Hype Bros have all been crossed off the list, and if it wasn’t for the segment on this weeks RAW revealing Jason Jordan as the son of Kurt Angle, the obvious answer would have been a heel American Alpha, but where do the WWE go from here, if they’re interesting in finishing this story at all? With all the clues that have been given (if the WWE want to be consistent), than the team of Nick Miller and Shane Thorne, a debuting TM61 perfectly fit the bill (skinny; Fashion Police haven’t seen their faces much before and several other clues), but whether it’s them, Harper and Rowan, Sanity or a completely new team, this has to be solved at SummerSlam, as they have a lot of time to fill.

8 8. Should – Baron Corbin Cashes In Money In The Bank

The Money in the Bank briefcase has become a great way for WWE to push fringe stars over the top over the last decade, and this year the honor was given to The Lone Wolf, Baron Corbin, but his run with that contract shouldn’t go too long, as I think he should cash in at SummerSlam, but not on Jinder Mahal. It may be odd to throw Sami Zayn into the fold at SummerSlam, but he and Mahal have good chemistry, and giving him a sympathetic moment after finally winning the WWE title would be akin to Daniel Bryan 4 years ago, and would make his eventual winning of the title that much sweeter. Either that or they could have Corbin cash in similar to Seth Rollins so that Zayn doesn’t taste the title at all, but either way, this should be the beginning of a Sami Zayn story that will one day culminate in the WWE title, and I guess it would be kind of a big moment for Corbin too.

7 7. Shouldn’t – Cena Challenging For The WWE Title

If you believe the rumors that are out there in the wrestling world today, one of them tells us that John Cena will be battling Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal title at WrestleMania 34, and while that’s completely reasonable, and will likely be a fantastic bout, he shouldn’t be in the title picture before that, as there are many more deserving candidates on the Smackdown Live roster currently. Our next entry will outline the best possible bout for Cena at the biggest party of the summer, but it shouldn’t be Jinder Mahal, as he should be losing the Championship, and Cena shouldn’t be the one to do it, as he has more pressing issues, especially with his ‘free agent’ status. I wouldn’t be surprised if the company pushed Cena vs. Mahal for the title, and while it would give legitimacy to the WWE Championship match, it just isn’t the ideal match for now.

6 6. Should – Cena vs. Nakamura

We’ve just mentioned what shouldn’t happen with John Cena at SummerSlam, and while the company may decide to go with him challenging Mahal for the WWE title, this is the much more appealing match, as it would give Shinsuke Nakamura a chance to finally have a phenomenal match on the main roster, to prove to all the WWE Universe that he is genuinely one of the best wrestlers and entertainers on the planet. After his classic with AJ Styles at this event last year, this would no doubt be another fantastic matchup, and a chance for WWE to test Nakamura against their top guy, and if he succeeds in this bout, it could be a telling sign that the Styles vs. Nakamura bout at WrestleMania could be on. Either way, this match would be absolutely electric, and with Styles vs. Owens possibly on the card too, this could be a chance for Smackdown to outshine RAW on this big stage.

5 5. Should – Reigns vs. Joe vs. Strowman vs. Lesnar

After Monday Night RAW this past week, it seems this is all but an inevitability, but heading into SummerSlam, there have been many rumors about what the main event would be, but with Strowman, Joe and Reigns all having legitimate claims to challenging Lesnar, it seems that all 3 should challenge him. We know why Reigns will be there, as WWE are still persisting with him as their top baby face, but after the recent performances from Joe and Strowman, this is the only option, and likely fans will try and ruin the main event if it ends up a singles bout. Let’s be honest, a Reigns v Lesnar rematch is very appealing, and will no doubt be a great bout, but for the time being, there’s just too much momentum for this not to happen as a fatal 4 way.

4 4. Shouldn’t – The Rumored Shield Reunion

Back in 2012 at Survivor Series, we saw the debuts of three rookies from NXT: Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose, collectively known as the Shield, and for almost 2 years that group ran through anyone on the WWE roster, until Rollins bought in to the Authority and turned his back on the brothers, but 3 years later, with all three men back on Monday Night RAW, all as baby faces, rumors are circulating that the group will reunite, but it shouldn’t happen… yet. Sure, we’ve seen WWE do this before, rush a storyline even though it’s illogical, but for now, there’s no reason for Reigns to join the two, as he will likely be competing for the Universal title, so this story should be a long process that doesn’t happen overnight, and shouldn’t happen in Brooklyn. We aren’t even certain that this will happen at all, as there has to be a logical story for it, but if the WWE do want to bring back The Hounds of Justice, it can’t be this early.

3 3. Should – The Broken Hardys Appear

Obviously this is something that hinges on a deal being made between Anthem Sports and The Hardyz, but rumors are that the two parties are closing in on a deal, and if that deal can be made, SummerSlam is the perfect time for the Broken Hardyz to appear, especially with this long losing streak they’ve been on lately. It’s hard to say who their opponents should be in the match where this grand reveal is made, but if WWE can go all out and give us the wackiness that made the gimmick so popular, it will be a license to print money. With their teases on RAW becoming more frequent, it seems this will be very likely, and with SummerSlam shaping up to be an incredible show, the appearance of Broken Matt and Brother Nero would just top it off.

2 2. Should – Joe Topples All 3 Monsters

We’ve spoken already in this article about what the main event of SummerSlam should be, but what about the result? While all 4 men can lay claim to being the top guy on RAW, there is only one logical answer, and that’s Samoa Joe, the guy who has been dominating and winning titles all over the world for the last 18 years. Strowman and Reigns will both get their chance at the Universal title in the near future, but for now, Samoa Joe is one of the hottest performers in the wrestling industry, with his no fear promos and attitude, as well as his hard hitting in ring skills, he has proven that he deserves this opportunity. This provides the perfect opportunity for WWE to protect all 4 men, while giving Joe a legitimate victory, and although it’s expected Regins and Cena will be battling for the title coming WrestleMania, Joe is the perfect Champion for the current moment.

1 1. Shouldn’t – AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

After their epic encounter at New Japan’s Wrestle Kingdom 10 where they both announced their intention to sign with WWE, it was only a matter of time until they met inside a WWE ring, and after their tease at Money in the Bank, it’s clear the fans want to see it, and we know that WWE like to rush things that need patience, but for once in your lives WWE, please have patience! While having this match at SummerSlam in theory wouldn’t hurt the importance of it, but this is a story that needs time to develop, and if it’s possible, the WWE Championship needs to hang in the balance, as it deserves this kind of match at WrestleMania, and none of that can happen if the story is rushed out within the next 2 months.