SummerSlam 2017 Matches: Early Predictions For WWE's Biggest Remaining Card Of The Year

With WrestleMania 33 and the Superstar Shake-up in the books, WWE is building towards its next marquee event. While several pay-per-views are on the schedule for the remainder of 2017, SummerSlam is easily the biggest.

Set for Aug. 20 in Brooklyn, New York, SummerSlam will be held at Barclays Center for the third straight year. It isn’t easy to make predictions for the card, but some educated guesses can be made in terms of the top matches, considering the way certain superstars have been booked. Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Roman Reigns and AJ Styles will all have big matches, barring injuries, and they each only have a handful of logical opponents.

READ: WrestleMania 34 match predictions

Here are some predictions for the biggest matches on the SummerSlam 2017 card:

Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman

Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns will headline a PPV at some point over the next year, but WWE will likely wait until WrestleMania 34 to make that happen. At SummerSlam, it could be Strowman that challenges Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship in a main-event match. Strowman has already made it known he wants a shot at Lesnar, confronting the champ the night after WrestleMania 33. Strowman attacked Reigns in brutal fashion a week later, and by the time their feud is over, he’ll pose the biggest threat to Lesnar’s title run.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JXTOH9jhbOg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles

Styles became the No.1 contender to the United States Championship when the belt moved to “SmackDown Live” as part of WWE’s Superstar Shake-up, but it’s hard to believe he’ll be in the U.S. Title picture for long. Styles held the WWE Championship for 140 days before dropping it to Cena at the Royal Rumble, and as maybe the world’s best wrestler, he’ll be fighting for the top championship on “SmackDown Live” before too long. Orton should successfully defend the belt against Bray Wyatt at WWE Payback on April 30, and there’s a good chance his match against Styles would be the best on the card.

John Cena vs. Baron Corbin

Cena is essentially a part-time performer at this stage of his career, taking time off to film movies and pursue other projects. But he’ll still have matches at WWE’s biggest shows, and he won’t miss the No.1 event that’s remaining in the calendar year. There haven’t been many signs that Cena will feud with Corbin, but this match makes sense when looking at Corbin’s trajectory and Cena’s recent history. WWE is building Corbin to be one of the top heels on “SmackDown Live,” and Cena has largely worked with up-and-coming talents on big shows. Facing the likes of Bray Wyatt, Rusev and Seth Rollins at recent WrestleManias and SummerSlams, Corbin could very well be added to that list.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kevin Owens

Assuming Owens beats Chris Jericho at WWE Payback, he’ll be one of the top heels on “SmackDown Live.” After being called up from NXT, Nakamura will be one of the show’s biggest babyfaces. Why not have them face each other at the summer’s biggest PPV? As much as many fans probably want Nakamura sent straight into the WWE Championship picture, that probably won’t happen in his first few months on the main roster. Between Owens’ promos and Nakamura’s hard-hitting in-ring style, a United States Championship feud between the two superstars would be highly entertaining.

Roman Reigns vs. The Miz

Having headlined WrestleMania for three straight years, Reigns will undoubtedly be in a top match at SummerSlam. That means he’ll be facing one of the biggest heels on “Monday Night Raw,” leaving only a few potential opponents. Samoa Joe could make sense, but The Miz might have the best chance at working a summer program with Reigns. The Miz has earned a match with the top babyface of “Monday Night Raw,” having been one of WWE’s best performers over the past year. With The Miz’s ability on the mic and the portion of fans that hates Reigns, he could be as over as anyone at Barclays Center on Aug. 20.

Bayley vs. Sasha Banks

WWE has slowly been building towards a heel turn for Sasha, and it could culminate with a singles match against Bayley at SummerSlam. Banks, Alexa Bliss, Nia Jax and Mickie James all confronted Bayley Monday night, and they’ll get their shot at the champ. But it only makes sense for Bayley and Sasha to go one-on-one, two years after their memorable NXT Championship Match in Brooklyn. When Sasha is a heel she’s one of the best in WWE, and their feud could be one of 2017’s most memorable.