2024 WWE SummerSlam predictions, full match card: Cody Rhodes retains as Roman Reigns returns

SummerSlam has a chance to have it all.

We should see plenty of title changes, the solidifying of new stars and potentially more than one return — including Roman Reigns’ first appearance since his loss to Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania.

WWE has set itself up for a potentially landscape-changing event at Cleveland Browns Stadium on Saturday (7 p.m., Peacock) that comes with plenty of what-ifs beyond Reigns.

Will Tiffany Stratton cash in her Money in the Bank contract and shake up a women’s division that could look very different when SummerSlam is over?

How impartial will Seth Rollins be as the special guest referee for CM Punk and Drew McIntyre’s match?

Will Dominik Mysterio or another member of The Judgment Day side with Liv Morgan against Rhea Ripley?

The Post’s pro wrestling columnist Joseph Staszewski tries to predict how the full card at SummerSlam will turn out.

Paul has defended the United States championship just twice since winning it at Crown Jewel in November.

It’s time to move on so the belt can be featured regularly on TV again.

Also, WWE has waited a long time to finally put a main-roster championship on Knight, who has been hot with the audience for more than a year.

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So if not now, then when? Paul’s star power makes him an ideal opponent for Knight to gain momentum from beating, as the YouTube star has only been pinned by Reigns, Rollins and Rhodes in WWE.

WWE has been building up Breakker as an explosive, don’t-take-your-eyes-off-him wrecking ball even before he officially joined the main roster.

It’s why his loss to Zayn at Money in the Bank caught so many fans off guard.

You don’t run it back if you aren’t going to make the title switch this time. It will free Zayn for an eventual team-up with buddy Jey Uso and a return to The Bloodline story.

The Stratton factor makes this so hard to call because there are good reasons to have her either immediately cash in her Money in the Bank contract or to let her star grow some more before she does.

I think WWE goes with the latter because there is no better time to give Jax, who has done good work since returning, a title reign and give Stratton the possibility of being a babyface when it’s all over.

Stratton teasing a cash‐in will give Jax the opening she needs to beat Bayley — who could win if Charlotte Flair returns to save her.

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The fan theory floated online is this will end exactly like the SummerSlam ’97 main event where referee Shawn Michaels meant to hit rival Bret Hart with a chair but struck the Undertaker instead, costing him the match.

Something similar makes too much sense here because Rollins’ true hatred lies with Punk, which they made very clear on Raw. This is Punk’s first televised singles match since his return to WWE and first since tearing his triceps at the Royal Rumble.

It would also continue the theme of McIntyre getting screwed and give WWE a reason to either make this a three-way feud, add a different stipulation to the next Punk‐McIntyre clash or just move on to Punk-Rollins. Also, Punk needs to get his bracelet back from McIntyre, and a win is the only way.

Priest has had a really strong reign since his successful cash-in at WrestleMania and established he belongs working with the elite-level talent in the company.

But Gunther is a different animal and a second loss in a four‐plus-month span could take away some of the air of invincibility around the Ring General. A loss to the longest reigning Intercontinental champion won’t hurt Priest that much.

Gunther’s continued doubting and bashing of Priest’s worthiness feels like WWE might want to give the champion one more victory, but can they stretch this feud for another month? WWE could protect Priest if somehow Finn Balor costs him the match to ignite an internal Judgment Day feud.

If WWE does hold off on the title switch — likely by count-out or DQ — maybe Priest drops the belt to Gunther at Bash in Berlin in August.

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Ripley recently returned from injury and is back to reclaim the title she never lost. It is for that reason that it makes more sense for her to lose here, just likely not clean.

This love-triangle feud is hot, just starting and has better options to turn the temperature up than to end it here.

Morgan — who dove into the woman-scorned role — likely gets help from Mysterio in some shape or form so she can complete her revenge tour and legitimize her title reign.

Mysterio will either fully turn on Ripley or Balor will reveal himself as working with Morgan all along to keep this going for months to come and strike at the foundation of The Judgment Day.

The “how” is much more interesting than the “if” here. WWE has spent a lot of TV time building to this moment, making the Solo Sikoa‐led Bloodline look as unhinged and formidable as possible in preparation for Reigns’ eventual return.

There are a few ways this can go. No one returns and Randy Orton, Kevin Owens and maybe an extra random babyface is enough to thwart The Bloodline.

If it is not Reigns, maybe it’s a returning Jimmy Uso — whom Sikoa and Tama Tonga took out in April — that helps Rhodes.

The ultimate scenario is that Sikoa looks about ready to hit the Samoan Spike and pin Rhodes when Reigns’ music hits or he delivers a spear out of nowhere to deny his cousin, who has overstepped his bounds.

Maybe Jimmy Uso comes out first as a red herring.

Either way, expect a potentially overbooked finish in a match where anything goes — because it’s Bloodline Rules — that sees Reigns return and sets WWE on a path to WrestleMania 41.

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