— Ahead of last month’s WWE Night of Champions pay-per-view, Dolph Ziggler was scheduled to defeat Rey Mysterio and become the Intercontinental Champion. In an instance of backstage politicking, the decision was made to keep the belt on Mysterio, reportedly because the IC Champ was assured a lengthy reign as champion when he made static about departing WWE earlier this summer.
The two are booked to wrestle again at Summerslam. Having the match on the card is interesting, given that it would do rising star Dolph Ziggler no favors to lose again, but a Dolph Ziggler victory–just a month after the Night of Champions situation–would prevent Mysterio from getting his lengthy title reign.
The word when WWE first decided to run this match at Summerslam was that Ziggler would win via interference from Maria, who WWE wants to develop into more of a character on SmackDown! (as opposed to the eye candy/bimbo figure she has played for years). But, as was witnessed with the last-minute finish change for Night of Champions, there is no guarantee that the original plan will hold up.
— Jeff Hardy is embarking on a hiatus from WWE in the imminent future. Because many believe he will work television next week, it is not a lock that he will lose the belt at Summerslam, although his World Championship reign is about to end regardless. There had been rumblings about John Morrison getting involved in the match, but a lot will come down to WWE’s plans for the Undertaker’s return. The Undertaker is slated to work with CM Punk upon returning, and depending on the imminence of that return, WWE might not want to hotshot the CM Punk vs. John Morrison program. Whether or not Jeff Hardy is booked to lose the title at Summerslam or on television will also play a part in determining what kind of outside involvement will be included.
— Kane vs. The Great Khali will likely be a short match.
— The Miz and Jim Ross both teased the possibility of surprise appearances from the non-booked talent on the show. Between the number of WWE wrestlers not on the card and the number of celebrities expected to be present at the event, there will be plenty of availabilities for non-wrestling segments–with eight matches already confirmed, however, there might not be that much time.
— There are legitimate backstage concerns about the potential buyrate for this year’s event. While the Summerslam name and Shawn Michaels’ return guarantee a certain level of appeal, WWE’s pay-per-views have been down across the board in recent weeks, and there is little “different” about this card that would suggest it does well for a Summerslam-caliber event.
— As of press time, WWE.com was still listing DX vs. Legacy as the top-billed match. It should be noted that while there have been talks of running the tag match as the main event, the WWE.com website card should not be used as proof–the card is arranged in terms of drawing power (virtually everyone within the industry would agree that if the show does better than expected, DX deserves much of the credit) and does not guarantee WWE will go against tradition by having a non-title match close the show.
