Brock Lesnar WWE UFC
Brock Lesnar, pictured before his fight with Mark Hunt at UFC 200 at T-Mobile Arena on July 9, 2016 in Las Vegas, will probably win the WWE Universal Championship Match at SummerSlam 2017. Getty Images

WWE’s second-biggest show of the year is set for Sunday night at Barclays Center with SummerSlam 2017. The build towards the pay-per-view has been a disappointing one, though there’s plenty of hype surrounding the main event.

Brock Lesnar will defend his WWE Universal Championship in what’s sure to be the night’s final match, and the Intercontinental Championship is the only belt that isn’t scheduled to be on the line in Brooklyn. Below are predictions for every match on the SummerSlam card, which features wrestlers from both “Monday Night Raw” and “SmackDown Live.”

WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe vs. Braun Strowman (Fatal 4-Way Match)

WrestleMania is WWE’s No.1 show each year, but this is undoubtedly the biggest match of 2017, thus far. It combines WWE’s top feud (Strowman vs. Reigns) with the best main-event match of the past eight months (Lesnar vs. Joe). Reigns will win a world title soon enough, but that might not come until WrestleMania 34 after he inevitably wins the Royal Rumble. WWE might not be ready to put the strap on Strowman just yet, though Joe has an outside chance of winning with the way he’s performed in recent weeks. Paul Heyman’s announcement that Lesnar will leave WWE with a loss probably means he’ll retain since the former UFC Champion is reportedly signed with the company for at least another seven and a half months.

Prediction: Brock Lesnar

WWE Champion Jinder Mahal vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Now that Baron Corbin's Money in the Bank briefcase is no longer in play, it’s clear that Jinder or Nakamura will walk away from SummerSlam with the WWE Championship. Despite beating Randy Orton in three championship matches, Jinder still hasn’t won clean on a PPV. WWE clearly believes in Nakamura, having kept him undefeated on the main roster. His clean win over Cena last week likely means that WWE is ready to put the belt on the Japanese superstar, possibly planning to keep it on him for a while.

Prediction: Shinsuke Nakamura

John Cena vs. Baron Corbin

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Corbin’s failed cash-in attempt means one of two things—WWE did it to enhance his character as a heel, or the company has given up on him becoming a top heel for the time being. His loss to Jinder Tuesday night probably gives him a better chance of beating Cena, but a loss at SummerSlam wouldn’t bode well for Corbin’s immediate future on “SmackDown Live.”

Prediction: Baron Corbin

SmackDown Women’s Champion Naomi vs. Natalya

WWE seems committed to keeping Naomi as the SmackDown Women’s Champion, and there are even rumors that she could hold the belt until 2018. She gets a strong reaction from the live crowd each week, and Carmella is a bigger threat to her title reign than Natalya because of her Money in the Bank briefcase.

Prediction: Naomi

United States Champion AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens (Shane McMahon as special guest referee)

Styles might be the biggest lock on the entire card. It’s clear that WWE is setting up a future match between Owens and Shane, and there won’t be much reason for them to fight if Shane is the ref that helps Owens regain his title. Shane won’t purposely screw Owens, but he’ll probably be involved in the result in some capacity, more so than just counting to three when Styles gets the pinfall.

Prediction: AJ Styles

Raw Tag Team Champions Sheamus & Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose

The reunion between Rollins and Ambrose is one of the few storylines that WWE has handled perfectly in recent months. The former Shield members drew the biggest pop of the night when they finally agreed to team up on “Monday Night Raw,” and they’re going to win the belts sooner or later. It’s possible that Sheamus and Cesaro will use heel tactics to win, drawing out Rollins and Ambrose’s title chase a little bit longer, but no one will complain if they win at Barclays Center.

Prediction: Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose

SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day vs. The Usos

The Usos’ win over Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston Tuesday night probably means that The New Day is coming out on top Sunday night. These two teams had the best match at Battleground, and they could steal the show again in their rematch.

Prediction: The New Day

Randy Orton vs. Rusev

A win for Orton wouldn’t make much sense. He’s clearly going to be out of the WWE Championship picture for a while, following his program with Jinder. Rusev has what it takes to be a main-event heel, but it can’t happen if he doesn’t start beating guys like Orton on PPV.

Prediction: Rusev

Big Show vs. Big Cass (with Enzo Amore suspended above the ring in a Shark Cage)

WWE seems to have big plans for Cass, and it starts with a win at SummerSlam. It's a situation similar to that of Orton vs. Rusev, and Big Show is at the point in his career where he doesn't need to win at big events.

Prediction: Big Cass

“The Demon” Finn Bálor vs. Bray Wyatt

The point of Wyatt beating Balor in a singles match on “Monday Night Raw” was so that the first WWE Universal Champion could come back and win as “The Demon” at SummerSlam. WWE has done their best to build up Wyatt with wins over Orton, Rollins and Balor in recent months, but history shows that the company has no problem with him losing at the year's biggest PPVs.

Prediction: Finn Bálor

Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks

This match could go either way since it was Bayley who was originally supposed to face Bliss at SummerSlam. Bayley was likely going to become the new champion, so does that mean the same will happen with her replacement? Considering the late change to the match and the fact that Bliss has been the best female performer on the WWE roster in 2017, she’s the safe bet to leave SummerSlam as the Raw Women’s Champion.

Prediction: Alexa Bliss

WWE Cruiserweight Champion Akira Tozawa vs. Neville

Most of WWE’s big PPV’s have at least one surprising result, and the Cruiserweight Championship Match might fall into that category. Tozawa’s title win Monday night popped the crowd, but Neville is easily the best part of the division. Look for him to take back his belt and end Tozawa’s title run after just six days, giving him even more heat as one of WWE’s best heels.

Prediction: Neville

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