Backstage News On WWE SummerSlam Plans, Title Matches To Be Announced
The current plan is for WWE Women's Tag Team Champions The IIconics to defend their titles in a Fatal 4 Way at WWE SummerSlam, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The match will see Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross vs. Asuka and Kairi Sane vs. Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose vs. champions Peyton Royce and Billie Kay.
This will actually be the first pay-per-view title defense for The IIconics since they won the belts from Sasha Banks and Bayley at WrestleMania 35 in the Fatal 4 Way. Their only other TV title match came on the June 17 RAW, a win over Bliss and Cross.
Another title match for SummerSlam is set to be announced on Tuesday's WWE 205 Live episode as Drew Gulak is scheduled to defend the WWE Cruiserweight Title against Oney Lorcan.
In other news on matches for SummerSlam, the Observer also reported Drew McIntyre vs. Cedric Alexander and various WWE 24/7 Title activities on the show. There's no word yet on exactly what they have planned for the WWE 24/7 Title at SummerSlam, but the current champion is the pregnant Maria Kanellis.
Ali vs. WWE Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura is rumored for SummerSlam, but not confirmed. There's no word yet on what RAW Tag Team Champions Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson might be doing at SummerSlam, or SmackDown Tag Team Champions Big E and Xavier Woods. There was some fan speculation on a Champions vs. Champions non-title match but the Observer noted that the match is not listed on the latest internal version of the completed show.
As noted earlier today, Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan plus Dolph Ziggler vs. WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg are also planned to be announced for the SummerSlam card soon. WWE currently has Ziggler vs. The Miz announced, but that is a red herring as Goldberg's return should be announced this coming week.
We also noted earlier this week that WWE currently has the SummerSlam Kickoff pre-show to run from 6pm – 7pm ET, just one hour instead of two hours like they've done for a few years now. The main card is currently scheduled to run from 7pm – 11pm ET, but it's very likely that the event will run until midnight or after. The Observer speculated that three matches of a possible fifteen-match card could end up airing on the Kickoff, but there's on word yet on if they plan to change the Kickoff back to two hours.
The 2019 WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view takes place next Sunday, August 11 from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at the Scotiabank Arena.
Below is a look at what the final SummerSlam card could look like. It should be noted that this is not the current announced card, just a look at what could be the finalized line-up for the biggest show of the summer.
WWE Universal Title Match
Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar (c)
WWE Title Match
Randy Orton vs. Kofi Kingston (c)
RAW Women's Title Match
Natalya vs. Becky Lynch (c)
SmackDown Women's Title Match
Ember Moon vs. Bayley (c)
WWE United States Title Match
Ricochet vs. AJ Styles (c)
WWE Cruiserweight Title Match
Oney Lorcan vs. Drew Gulak (c) (not officially announced)
WWE Intercontinental Title Match
Ali vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (c) (not officially announced)
Fatal 4 Way for the WWE Women's Tag Team Titles
Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville vs. Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross vs. Asuka and Kairi Sane vs. Peyton Royce and Billie Kay (c) (not officially announced)
Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens
Owens will quit WWE if he loses.
Bray Wyatt as The Fiend vs. Finn Balor
Dolph Ziggler vs. Bill Goldberg (not officially announced)
Charlotte Flair vs. Trish Stratus
Sami Zayn vs. Aleister Black
Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan (not officially announced)
Cedric Alexander vs. Drew McIntyre (not officially announced)
Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter
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