At Summerslam, 11 matches will take place. It’s also entirely possible that more will be added. Not all matches are equal, though. The way things are, some matches simply have more bearing than others. After all, which is match has bigger stakes, the Cruiserweight Championship match or the WWE Championship match? Such is life; it be like that sometimes.

As it stands right now, which matches can make the biggest impact?

roman reigns v. brock lesnar

Obviously, the WWE Championship is the bigger, better, and more prestigious title, but since the champion is always around, life will continue as usual regardless of who wins. It’s the benefit of a full time champion and a full time challenger. Alas, I digress.

The third straight rematch between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar is an important match, because of course it is. Regardless of your feelings towards either of these men, it’s not hard to see why.

At Summerslam, Reigns has the chance to return the Universal Championship to Raw. This would mean Raw would have a full-time top champion for the first time since March of 2017. A full-time champion would get rid of the logjam that exists at the top of Raw’s card, and it will freshen up the title scene. There could be more than five Universal Championship matches in one year! Imagine that.

Of course, if Lesnar wins, he just returns to the middle of nowhere, and then he could become the first person to be a champion in both UFC and WWE at the same time. That’s cool and all, but that means Raw will continue to not have a top champion, and the logjam still exists.

daniel bryan v. the miz

This is a match nearly two years in the making. It was initially hindered by the fact that Daniel Bryan was not allowed to wrestle, but that has all changed. These two men are about to lock horns in a proper, honest-to-goodness match.

This feud has been heated from the get-go, and whoever walks away victorious at Summerslam will have a lot of momentum. These two men are bona fide big deals.

If Miz wins, he will have cemented his spot on Smackdown as one of the top heels. Meanwhile, a win for Bryan will be his first meaningful victory since his return.

Aside from that, it would not be at all surprising for the winner to make their way into title contention as well. This match has much bearing on the landscape of Smackdown.

Braun strowman v. kevin owens

Obviously this match has much bearing on the landscape of Raw. At Summerslam, Braun Strowman defends his Money in the Bank briefcase against Kevin Owens, Obviously, whoever wins this match has an 85% chance of becoming the next champion. Needless to say, that’s a pretty big deal.

Regardless of who wins, they will make a big impact on Raw in the days to come. Braun Strowman as Universal Champion would be nigh unstoppable. Strowman is ridiculously strong and powerful, and it would probably take the entire Raw roster to defeat him and crown a new champion.

Meanwhile, Owens would become the first ever two-time Universal Champion, and without someone like Chris Jericho by his side, there are less distractions. Should Owens become champion again, we might see a more intense, more dedicated, and more focused version of the Prizefighter. And should that be the case, he’d be hard to beat.

ronda rousey v. alexa bliss

This match is a big deal, and that’s for two main reasons. First off, it has a direct bearing on WWE Evolution, which is just two months away. Of course, the Smackdown Women’s Championship match also affects Evolution, but there’s a reason that the Raw Women’s Championship match at Summerslam feels a bit more important. That reason is Ronda Rousey.

Rousey will be making her Summerslam debut, and it will be possibly the biggest match of her career so far (then again, she’s had like three matches). Rousey is a big deal, perhaps even more so than both Becky Lynch and Carmella. It’s not a matter of if Rousey wins; it’s when Rousey wins.

Either Rousey wins the title at Evolution, or she walks into Evolution as champion, and both those options are pretty huge. And once Rousey ascends the throne, it’s hard to say who will beat her.