4 Ups & 4 Downs Before WWE SummerSlam 2017
Well, so much for that MITB drama...
The build to SummerSlam 2017 could be described as a mixed bag. Some of the matches on August 20 look like heavy-hitters (AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens with Shane McMahon as the special guest referee, anyone?), but others just feel uninspiring. Seriously, is it really necessary to have this much filler?
SummerSlam is supposed to be one of WWE's biggest shows of the year, and yet the build hasn't reflected that status. It wasn't until this past Monday that the Universal Title Fatal-4-Way situation sprung to life, and we've already seen a bunch of the card's matches on free TV.
There are positives, though.
Raw provided a few massive moments that finally made it look like WWE are getting ready for one of the traditional 'Big 4'. SmackDown, not so much, although now there's a clear playing field for those involved into the WWE Title match. The challenger for that belt actually has the chance to prove himself as a WWE headliner - but is it a case of 'too little, too late'?
Downs...
4. The Female Feuds Are Afterthoughts
The shine has come off WWE's 'Women's Revolution' terribly since Charlotte Flair was moved to SmackDown and her feud with Sasha Banks ended. As much as it sucks to admit, that was the only feud keeping things together in the women's ranks across both brands. SummerSlam proves that.
Both Naomi vs. Natalya and Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks feel like afterthoughts before they've even happened, and that's not good. What happened to all that excitement surrounding the change from Divas to Superstars that WWE were touting just a year or so ago? Neither of SummerSlam's female matches feel like as important as other matches on the card.
Natalya is a placeholder for Naomi and a thinly-veiled excuse to prolong the babyface's reign. Meanwhile, Bliss hasn't recovered from a terrible feud with Bayley and Banks is unbalanced without Charlotte, the yin to her yang. These matches just feels thrown together because there's nothing else better to do, which isn't good enough for the Summer's biggest show.