10 Expectations Vs. Reality For WWE SummerSlam 2020
5. MVP Vs. Apollo Crews - United States Title Match
Expectation:
Expectations for any pro wrestling match are almost always informed by the build. If the promo battles are good enough, the prospective quality of a meh match is obscured, which is how we arrive at the notion that Randy Orton is an all-time great despite working at the ***1/2 level, on average, for 18 years.
MVP is a great talker. His is a commanding presence, and he intersects fury and wit quite beautifully. WWE's lamentable attempt at deft, dovetailing booking has ruined this build - putting over the Hurt Business as a serious threat by 50/50ing Shelton Benjamin with the 24/7 Champion was a terrible idea - but MVP's otherwise stellar mic work has created a mild sense of optimism around a match we have seen and know to be mid as f*ck.
Reality:
It's going to be mid as f*ck.
MVP is great in the role of Bobby Lashley's mouthpiece, but he isn't just a mouthpiece. He is a title challenger on a Big 4 pape. It's backwards. MVP works in slow motion nowadays, and even his best work has been improved upon considerably by the very talent he goes over on RAW. WWE has overexposed something that works, as they tend to do, and this will manifest as a winded struggle towards the gentleman's three.