WWE SummerSlam Predictions: Can Jey Uso Dethrone Roman Reigns?

WWE heads to Ford Field on Saturday for SummerSlam, and Roman Reigns and Jey Uso aim to make the premium live event a memorable one.

The feud has been years in the making, but the build to Saturday’s match began at Night of Champions in May when Jimmy Uso left The Bloodline and Reigns and Solo Sikoa failed to win the tag team titles. Jey Uso joined his brother in his defection to The Bloodline weeks later, which led to a “Bloodline Civil War” match at Money in the Bank last month.

Jey Uso pinned Reigns, and he eventually challenged his real-life cousin for the Universal championship and the right to be called “tribal chief,” a moniker Reigns gave himself after he beat Uso at Hell in a Cell on October 2020, which was the last time the two faced off.

We asked members of the NESN Digital staff for predictions for this year’s SummerSlam. Let’s get to what we expect from the main event.

Will Solo Sikoa have an effect on the finish?
Andy Bourne: I would hope WWE has learned from the finish at WrestleMania. Having Sikoa interfere last minute to give Reigns the win has happened way too often. I know they’ve been teasing the idea of Sikoa becoming the next tribal chief, but I’m not seeing that happen anytime soon.

Jason Ounpraseuth: Yes. Sikoa has played a part in every finish to every big Reigns match, and it’s hard to fathom this Saturday being an exception. There could be more development to build to a Sioka versus Reigns match just to add more spice to an interference finish.

Keagan Stiefel: I think the effect Sikoa has will be a tad more understated than the one he had at WrestleMania 39. I like the idea of Reigns stopping Sikoa, electing to take out Jey Uso by himself and sending one more message that he truly is the greatest champion of this generation heading into WrestleMania 40.

Mike Cole: I can’t see how he doesn’t. There’s no reason for me to believe Reigns won’t still be holding the belts at WrestleMania next spring, so I expect him to win. I might be lower on the idea of “Main Event” Jey than anyone, so I’d have no problem with him losing clean. But if this Bloodline thing is going to continue, I can see Solo interfering as an out to keep Jey looking strong.

Will Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens interfere?
AB: With Owens actually being injured and Zayn finally moving on to another faction, I think their time with The Bloodline story is over. Let’s keep this one within the family.

JO: Zayn has played small parts in Jey Uso’s story leading up to the build of this match, but it’s doubtful WWE goes back to that well again.

KS: I sure hope not! This no longer involves non-family members. I’d like to see Jey get his shine here, and that happens by leaving it one-on-one.

MC: No. Owens is hurt, so they might as well keep him on ice until he’s healed. There’s obviously history with Zayn and The Bloodline, but I think the Zayn of it all has cooled considerably since he’s been removed from the storyline. I suppose they could heat him back up by getting him involved, but my guess is Owens will be back sooner than later and they’ll have a post-SummerSlam tag title program.

Will Jimmy Uso return?
AB: Absolutely. The only reason Jimmy was written off TV was for him to pop back up at SummerSlam. I assume it will be a failed attempt to cost Reigns the match or to run interference on Sikoa.

JO: Yes. If Sikoa does interfere in the match, it will be Jimmy that helps even the odds. WWE loves big moments, and to see Jimmy help out his brother in the match of his life would be a big moment that would pop the Ford Field crowd.

KS: Again, as much as we view the Usos as a package deal, this is Jey’s arc in the story. It needs to remain an even matchup with Reigns, the man who gaslit him into becoming the babyface in the company.

MC: One million percent. It would be shocking if Jey’s other brother didn’t get involved, considering how much of a role him suffering an attack played in this build. Furthermore, it wouldn’t shock me if Jimmy turned on Jey to set up a program between the two. That could certainly main-event a show, especially if Roman gets some time off. It doesn’t hurt that the next premium live event following SummerSlam is titled “Payback,” either.

Who wins Roman Reigns or Jey Uso?
AB: I can’t see Jey dethroning Roman right now. Having Jey pin Roman in back-to-back PLE main events doesn’t seem to make sense after this three-year-long reign as the Universal champion. I assume many shenanigans will line us up for a rematch of sorts at “Payback.”

JO: Reigns and The Bloodline storyline has brought in huge ratings for FOX, including on FS1. With WWE negotiating its media rights deal for “SmackDown,” and the NFL regular season approaching, it’s likely WWE wants to keep the title on Reigns in fear of seeing those numbers drop without him. Fans want to see Jey get his moment, but WWE likely is more enticed by a possible bigger story in the future that involves Reigns as champion.

KS: This has to be Reigns. As much as I’d love to see Jey get his moment, the story is about Reigns and his path to losing everything before dropping that title. We’ll soon see Sikoa exit the Tribal Chief’s side, and possibly even Paul Heyman, before he walks into WrestleMania 40 alone and loses his title to Cody Rhodes. That’s how WWE is finishing this story.

MC: Roman wins because Roman almost always wins. Again, there’s no reason to believe they’re going to take the belts from him, and I think Jimmy costing Jey the match sets up a blood feud between those two coming out of this one.