WWE Confirms Another Match For SummerSlam 2017's Kickoff Show

The Cruiserweights are up first on Sunday...

by Jamie Kennedy
Akira Tozawa
WWE.com

WWE has confirmed that Akira Tozawa's first Cruiserweight Title defence against ex-champ Neville will happen on the SummerSlam Kickoff show.

Tozawa only won the Cruiserweight Title this past Monday on Raw, but it's now set in stone that Neville's automatic rematch will take place before the main pay-per-view card begins in Brooklyn.

Last year at SummerSlam 2016, WWE held 3 matches on the Kickoff show. 2017 will likely be much the same, because 2 slots have already been filled by the Cruiserweights and the SmackDown Tag-Team Title match. There, The Usos meet The New Day in what WWE describe as a 'rubber match' in their ongoing feud.

Advertisement

Before Scott Dawson suffered a bicep injury during live events in Canada earlier this month, he and partner Dash Wilder were also pencilled in to face The Hardy Boyz at SummerSlam. Now, The Hardyz will skip the card completely. This means WWE had a massive 13 matches scheduled for the show, which seems a bit heavy.

Candidates to join both confirmed matches on the Kickoff show include Naomi vs. Natalya, Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks or Randy Orton vs. Rusev.

Advertisement
Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.