After weeks and weeks of anticipation, SummerSlam is officially here, and fans have takes on who they want to see appear and return on the Cleveland-based show.
A Roman Reigns return? Yes, book it and set things up for a Bloodline-Bloodline WarGames match in November. The Rock? Sure, bring him along, too. Joe Hendry? The Hardy Boyz? Alexa Bliss? All of these ideas have varying degrees of plausibility and would get over to varying degrees with the 50,000 or so fans expected at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
But hey, just because some returns could very well happen doesn't mean there couldn't be some main roster debuts, too, as there are a few wrestlers who could make a huge impact on the show if they charge the ring during one match or another, including a super-sized family member of two current champions and a pair of indie darlings who have been linked to WWE for weeks.
3 surprising debuts WWE needs at SummerSlam
1. Hikuleo
Of all the wrestlers who could debut for WWE at SummerSlam, the most obvious addition has to be Hikuleo, as he's already reportedly under contract with the promotion.
The youngest son of Haku, who joined the other Guerrillas of Destiny in New Japan Pro Wrestling before they all made their way to WWE in 2024, Hikuleo is a 6-foot-8, 264-pound giant who may lack in-ring experience, having just begun his in-ring career back in 2016, but makes up for it aesthetically as a true blue enforcer who would even stand out in the “Land of Giants.”
Originally joining GOD in 2022 after beginning his career in the family faction, Bullet Club, Hikuleo reportedly signed with WWE last month after being linked to the promotion pretty much since Tonga Loa came to town at the start of the summer and has widely been expected to join the rest of his family members in the new Bloodline.
Could that happen at SummerSlam? Yes, Cody Rhodes did make his match Bloodline Rules, and as a result, anything could happen, but that means the “American Nightmare” could have some backup in his corner too, including a very well respected tag team from the indies who has been linked to WWE for months now.
2. Motor City Machine Guns
If Rhodes decides he needs backup heading into his Bloodline Rules match with Solo Sikoa, be that against the current Bloodline or an even bigger version of the faction with Hikuleo added to the ranks, he could easily turn to the Motor City Machine Guns, Alex Shelley and Chris Cabin, for help in the presumed main event.
A pair of long-time stalwarts of Impact, Ring of Honor, New Japan, and darn near every indie around, Shelley actually worked some matches for NXT alongside Kushida as the Time Splitters back in 2020, of which he said he had a fantastic time in an interview with Fightful a year after their run.
“I loved it. I'd rather not discuss whether or not we were going to go forward with this because it just really doesn't matter in the long run, right? I really liked it. I loved it. They treated their athletes so well, right? They treat their wrestlers like pro athletes. I've never seen anything like it and I've been in wrestling almost twenty years, which is crazy to say,” Shelley told Fightful.
“The amount of care they put into this is just paramount. They really, really tried to take care of these people's health and that's something I had never been witness to and I hope it's a change going forward. I loved teaming with Kushida. I loved the Time Splitters with all my heart. I think things might have been different though, had the pandemic not happened.”
After telling fans at recent indie dates that they may not return in the foreseeable future, the prospects of MSMG heading to WWE appear more and more likely with each passing week they don't show up on AEW Dynamite, Rampage, or Collision. Even if serving as Rhodes' seconds may not be their preferred presentation two decades into their professional wrestling career, it sure beats going to NXT and could provide the big-time payout that has alluded the duo up to this point.
*Bonus* The Nightmare Family 2.0?
While not an individual debut, what if the three wrestlers mentioned above don't debut as foes but instead as friends, with Rhodes filling out his own four-man faction with Hikuleo as the Jacob Fatu-neutralizing heavy and the MSMG going to bat against GOD, who have to eventually become a tag team despite the “Samoan Wearwolf” currently holding one-half of the SmackDown Tag Team Championships?
On paper, the idea is sort of out of the box and throws water in the face of everyone's favorite fantasy booking choice, Roman Reigns, returning at SummerSlam with Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Paul Heyman, and maybe even Sami Zayn in his corner, but if that isn't in the cards just yet, which it very well might not be – what if Reigns wins the Royal Rumble and challenges future World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins instead of Rhodes? – giving Rhodes his own faction could produce interesting storyline implications, too, especially when one of the members has sided against his brothers before and could theoretically turn on the group and create something very interesting in the future, too.
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