2008 Summerslam Predictions

August 2008 brings us WWE's Summerslam Pay-Per-View, one of the big four along with Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania and Survivor Series. Last year's event saw the returns of Rey Mysterio and Triple H to the ring. This year sees Undertaker return from the dead, again, and sees the Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels make a major announcement regarding his future with wrestling. We've got 4 title bouts, the hyped up feud match between Batista and John Cena, and the always interesting Hell in a Cell. Funny enough the main events don't involve titles but likely will produce the next #1 contenders. I'm expecting 3 titles to shift here, so here's a look at the matches one by one...

Jeff Hardy vs. MVP

A feud match that's been going on for weeks on Smackdown. It made logical sense that MVP's next feud would be the other Hardy as he shifted to the roster. Jeff's been on the receiving end of MVP's attacks and cheapshots for several weeks now. Now it's time for Jeff to go to work and get the win to continue his rise in WWE.

Prediciton: Jeff Hardy wins cleanly over MVP.

Santino Marella & Beth Phoenix vs. Kofi Kingston & Mickie James
Intercontinental & Women's Title

The Glamarella couple of Santino and Beth has been the Raw showstealers for a few weeks now. The comedic performances of Santino continue to entertain fans. Meanwhile Beth's brute force wrestling style continues to smash opponents. In this match, the stipulation is if Beth & Santino win, they win both titles. Now the way it was worded by Adamle made it sound like whoever gets the pin gets both titles, which could be more humorous. In terms of the fight, Santino picked up a win over Mickie James on Raw, to prove he can pin a girl, with help from Beth. I wouldn't be surprised here if Beth takes a pin on Kofi and they take the titles, with Beth showing up her boyfriend.

Winners: Santino Marella & Beth Phoenix win via cheap pinfall over Kofi and Mickie James to win the Intercontinental title and Women's title.

Matt Hardy vs. Mark Henry
ECW Title

As soon as Hardy was drafted to ECW, my first thoughts were he'd be in line to soon be ECW champ. Once he dropped his US title to Shelton Benjamin, it became even more obvious. Matt Hardy's got ECW champ written all over him, as he's the epitome of extreme with Punk gone from the roster. Expect Hardy to take the title here, or soon after. He's primed and ready to headline ECW. The wild card is of course Tony Atlas who continues to be at ringside to distract opponents.

Prediction: Matt Hardy wins via the Twist of Fate and becomes ECW's new champion.

Triple H vs. Great Khali
WWE Title

Unfortunately for fans and Triple H, his likely opponent for at least a rematch will be Khali. Khali's got the size and Vice Grip finisher, but that's really about it. The Game has so much more in his arsenal, and he should be holding the title still when Smackdown resumes next week. The only other possibility here is Khali someone causes a DQ or Triple H grabs a Sledgehammer to set up the rematch.

Prediction: Triple H pedigrees Khali, or some sort of DQ goes down to extend this to another match.

JBL vs. CM Punk
World Heavyweight title

Punk needs wins to solidify his reign as more than just a transitional or "paper champion" as JBL calls him. The two have had some great exchanges on Raw in past weeks to build this one up, but it's not one of my favorite matches on the card. Expect Punk to get the Go To Sleep to retain his title here, and hopefully move on to a new opponent.

Prediction: CM Punk wins via pin to retain his title.

Batista vs. Cena

This will be the first of several matches between these two, so don't be surprised at a draw to extend it. Cena's on a losing streak after JBL defeated him in the Parking Lot Brawl, so him winning here with an FU makes some sense. But there's bound to be some sort of point of contention where it's not so much a "clean win" and the feud continues. We'll most likely have some sort of Last Man Standing match or other stipulation based fight next.

Winner: Cena wins it but not so cleanly, or we get a draw (double countout, DQ, double pin).

Undertaker vs. Edge
Hell in a Cell

These matches always have potential to completely steal the show. This won't be anything like the classic Mankind vs. Undertaker encounter, but it will still be a compelling match. Even though Edge is back in his original badass mode, he's still made a lot of enemies in the past few weeks on Smackdown. He picked apart La Familia, attacking Edge from behind, and dumping Vickie out a wheelchair. Not to mention he manhandled Mick Foley. I see possible LA Familia or Mankind interference with some of them getting involved for revenge. But it'd be crazy to pick Edge to upset a returning Undertaker here. Taker will be in line for a title shot against HHH soon after.

Prediction: Undertaker wins Hell in a Cell over Edge thanks to some help from La Familia or Mick Foley.

And don't forget Shawn Michaels who is schedule to make an announcement on Summerslam. Staying away from rumor and insider reports, I'm gonna venture a guess he's not done by a longshot. He may start to announce a retirement to bait Jericho and Cade, but I'd fully expect him to be around to take out those two in future matches.

Be sure to check out WWE Characters the Blog after 11PM EST Sunday night for match recaps and results! Enjoy the 2008 Summerslam PPV!

More Predictions:

Phillyburbs.com Summerslam Predictions

Professor Wrestling's Summerslam Picks

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