Ahead of the WWE’s SummerSlam event on Sunday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, here is a look at the card, and who The National is predicting will be victorious in the matches.

Brock Lesnar to beat the Undertaker

The main event and a re-match from WrestleMania 30 when Lesnar famously ended the Dead Man’s streak at the WWE’s biggest show of the year.

This has been the source of the reason for this match as Undertaker looks for revenge, and on paper that would be the expected scenario, given why bring him back for this match only to lose.

But, on the otherhand, Lesnar is hugely over and on a great run in the WWE and losing to a part-timer, no matter how great his past achievements are, would be a huge step back and would hurt his momentum, even if the Undertaker cheats to win, or gets outside interference from a returning Kane, the Phenom’s onscreen brother, who has been off-screen since being injured by Lesnar.

This is a hope, rather than a prediction. A hope that the WWE gets its booking right, and gives Lesnar the win to set him up for his winter programme, and also sets up a beaten and frustrated Undertaker for what could be his final few months as an active performer.

Seth Rollins to retain the WWE World Heavyweight champion and John Cena to remain United States champion as match ends in disqualification

This is a hard one to call as there is a strong story for Cena to recover from his broken nose, suffered at the hands of Rollins, and win the title for a record-equalling 16th time.

I think that will happen, just not yet. Lesnar v Undertaker is dominating this event, and Cena matching Ric Flair on most wrestling world titles is a huge deal and should not be lost in the shuffle.

I expect Triple H, or someone else from the Authority, will interfere to ensure that no belts change hand in the encounter, and a re-match can happen next month at Night of Champions, where if the WWE are going to make Cena the champion, they will do it in a way that it is not overshadowed by Lesnar v Undertaker and they can find a way to get the US belt off him before then too.

Not the most satisfactory of endings, but it is not closing the show so it does not need to be on this night.

Ryback to retain the Intercontinental title against Big Show and Miz

This match was cancelled last month due to Ryback suffering from a staph infection, but the Big Guy is back and he should be triumphant.

Miz has been treated as an afterthought throughout this feud, so there is a scenario where he steals the title, but the WWE clearly have plans for Ryback. If they did not then they could have easily taken the belt off him while he was out of action, so I expect him to survive this triple threat encounter, probably pinning the Miz to set up a showdown with the Big Show at Night of Champions.

Sheamus to beat Randy Orton

Orton beat Sheamus, who holds the Money in the Bank briefcase, at Battleground, and this is a re-match, largely as there is nothing else for either man at present, with the title picture busy.

Orton is over regardless of the result and Sheamus really needs the win to maintain his status as a genuine threat so this reason I believe the Irishman will come out on top this time.

The New Day to win the WWE tag team titles in a Fatal 4-Way match with the Prime Time Players, Los Matadores and the Lucha Dragons

The New Day have been one of the highlights of the WWE in recent months with their over the top reactions and behaviour and they deserve a second title reign. The 4-Way format is a way of getting the belts off the Prime Time Players without them having to take the pinfall.

Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose to defeat Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper in a tag match

Wyatt beat Reigns in singles action last month thanks to interference from Harper. Reigns has now been joined by his former Shield stablemate Dean Ambrose, and I expect Reigns to get the pinfall here, probably on Harper. I think the seeds are being sown for Ambrose to turn on Reigns and for the pair to feud, but I think this is just the start of the story and Reigns taking the limelight on the night and putting Ambrose in the shade, inadvertently, will build to the inevitable dissension.

Neville and Stephen Amell to defeat Stardust and King Barrett in a tag match

The celebrity element of the show is highlighted by Amell, the lead actor from the TV show Arrow, getting in the ring for this tag match. Amell looked great when he clashed with Stardust on Raw earlier this month, and this should be a fun match, with Neville doing a lot of the leg work before the crowd are left happy as Amell pins Stardust.

Cesaro to beat Kevin Owens

This is a really tough one to call as both men need this victory badly.

Cesaro has yet to win a big match since branching out as a singles star, while Owens is recovering from losing his high profile feud with John Cena.

I think this feud will go on a while, so my instinct is Cesaro wins a technical masterclass, but Owens stands tall by attacking his opponent post-match to ensure the bad feeling runs on to Night of Champions.

Rusev to beat Dolph Ziggler

Like Cesaro and Owens, both men are in need of a big win and it comes down to whose need is greater.

Rusev has only just recovered from losing his unbeaten streak and feud to Cena earlier this year, while Ziggler has lost momentum since being the star of Survivor Series nine months ago.

I think WWE has high hopes still for Rusev, with the need for strong heels on the roster, and Ziggler has shown he can survive high profile losses, so Rusev will come out on top.

Team PCB to win a triple threat tag team elimination match against Team Bella and Team BAD

A big night for the Divas division with all nine of the main stars of the division in the ring.

Nikki Bella, the Divas champion, does not need to win this match, so I think it will be one of the new teams that comes out on top in the format when a team is eliminated when one member is pinned.

Given the team of Paige, Charlotte and Becky Lynch (PCB) has two of the new Divas and they are high on Charlotte, who is the daughter of Ric Flair. I expect her to win the match for her team, ideally by putting a submission finisher on Nikki.

WWE’s SummerSlam event will be televised on the WWE Network, which is available through OSN, on Monday morning in the UAE from 3am.

gcaygill@thenational.ae