Let me go back to another Summerslam title change. In 2004, Randy Orton defeated Chris Benoit for his first World title. I was a big Orton fan back then. I watched that PPV and was glad he won. Thing is, looking back, the feud development was not that great. Most would also say that Orton's reign flopped. There are many reasons why it was not better, including Triple H still being the centerpiece back then. Point is, many might argue Orton was not ready to be Champion back then. Keep in mind, however, that he did have a good run with the Intercontinental Championship prior to his bigger push. He also had a memorable feud with Mick Foley that included a great match that some might say helped him to break out.
What does Shinsuke Nakamura have to say for himself? Let's ignore NXT. Too much attention is often put on the WWE's developmental brand, which the general audience does not even watch. What has Nakamura done since coming to the main roster? No title reigns. His PPV performances and booking have not been that spectacular. He just doesn't look like a big deal. You can say his match with Cena a few weeks ago was supposed to be where he broke out. Even ignoring the terrible botch in that match and whose fault it was, it just didn't feel like that match accomplished what it was supposed to do. And there is a chance this guy might actually win the title this Sunday? It would be an even worse decision than Randy Orton in 2004.
Speaking of bad decisions when it comes to title wins, the alternative to Nakamura winning the title is Jinder Mahal retaining the title. I have seen fans get upset with the WWE having Mahal lose cleanly recently, and I'm not even talking Indian fans or Canadians. Why shouldn't Jinder Mahal lose cleanly to faces that are above him? He's a heel. He's a non-monster heel. There is no excuse not to have him lose now and then, especially cleanly. If that hurts his appeal and WWE Network subscriptions with certain demographics, so be it. It would have to happen eventually. That makes these kind of pushes even more questionable. They won't be sustained. And what happens then? The WWE is going to hope that the Mahal fans might get interested in something else, but when the whole product is so terrible and stars are not built and featured right, the WWE is still underachieving. And while the WWE is so busy pleasing these demographics, they are making bad decisions that turn away other fans.
This match is pretty much about appealing to Japanese and Indian fans. Who will win? Jinder Mahal to sell tickets for an Indian tour? Or Shinsuke Nakamura to help his merchandise sales? That seems to be the WWE's driving mentality these days. It sure isn't proper feud development and building stars properly. Jinder Mahal should retain the title. It could be by DQ or something like that.
Four big men will go at it for the Universal Championship. There was a time when smarks hated big men getting pushed so much. I don't see too many complaints for this feud. These fans love Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman, especially when he's killing Roman Reigns. And this is just a ripe situation for Brock Lesnar to drop the title. There is a good chance he will leave. Multi-man match, which means he does not have to be pinned. Which of the three challengers should get it?
Let me start with Braun Strowman. Since Summerslam last year, five men have won their first top title in the WWE. Finn Balor and Kevin Owens won the Universal Championship. AJ Styles, Bray Wyatt, and Jinder Mahal won the WWE Championship. The WWE definitely needs to slow down. The only reason for Strowman to win the title would be to drop it to Reigns, which might make storyline sense. Reigns has gotten knocked around by Strowman for a while now. Not only can Reigns finally get a decisive win against him, but he might win the title in the process.
Samoa Joe is another guy that stands a chance to win his first top title in the WWE. I am not counting NXT. Once again, I will say the WWE needs to slow down. This guy just debuted a few months ago. I have heard the rumors that certain people in the WWE want Samoa Joe to get the title. Smarks would love it. It was one thing for AJ Styles to win the WWE Championship in his first year on the main roster, but not every smark favorite needs to do that. Samoa Joe could do it at Summerslam, as well as Nakamura. Bobby Roode might be rushed to a title reign when he debuts. It is all disgusting.
As I have pointed out before, Roman Reigns has not held a top title in over a year. All he has had is a midcard title run. Also take into account his PPV losing streak. Even before Wrestlemania, his year was not that great. He lost twice at the Royal Rumble, once to Kevin Owens and then losing the Royal Rumble. This guy does not look like a centerpiece at all. If you are going to hype him like he is the centerpiece, it would make sense to push him as the centerpiece. If not, move on to someone else. If this weak treatment is not working in shutting up his haters, many of whom seem ignorant to the fact that he hasn't been pushed that hard in the last few months and for most of the past year, then stop doing it.
I do feel like a title change will happen. I would say it should be Roman Reigns. I am not a fan of the guy. But if you are going to push him as the centerpiece, he needs to get back on track. They are just damaging him, even if it is unintentional. There are some fans, usually kids, who will buy into the hype, even if the booking does not match the hype. But there are a lot of other fans that will hear the WWE talk about how great Roman Reigns is, see Reigns put himself over, see other wrestlers put him over, and then see the guy just lose every big match he has had in the last few months and not hold a top title in over a year. What are they going to say? That this guy is overrated. I wouldn't be too surprised if the WWE gives the title to someone else in the match and Reigns wins it down the line, but the WWE should just stop the poor booking now and put the title back on him.
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