While Vince McMahon still has a say, Triple H has gone with smaller cards for big WWE premium live events like WrestleMania and SummerSlam. Since The Biggest Party of the Summer is a one-day event, the card will likely have under ten matches.
Due to a slightly smaller event card, only big titles and big stars will likely have a match. Roman Reigns, Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and Seth Rollins will always be booked for the event regardless of Championship status.
Unfortunately, that means other stars and titleholders will be left out of the festivities. The United States title was rarely defended on PLEs in 2022. Will that again be the case at SummerSlam?
The following eight WWE stars may miss out or not be booked in matches at The Biggest Party of the Summer.
#8. Bobby Lashley could be excluded from SummerSlam
Due to an undisclosed illness to Bray Wyatt, Bobby Lashley missed out on a match at WrestleMania 39. His consolation prize was winning the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal on the March 31 episode of SmackDown.
The All Mighty has also been absent from TV for some time now until returning last week to interact with the Street Profits. We haven't seen anything concrete just yet, but he could be forming a new group.
Lashley has gone from being a former WWE Champion and top star to someone who the company has trouble fitting into the new roster. He's still in amazing shape, yet he could miss the second biggest event of the year.
#7. The Women's Tag Team titles just changed hands
While it is a Championship, the Women's Tag titles may not be booked for SummerSlam. Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville won the belts from Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez on the latest episode of RAW.
With the titles being defended only weeks before the actual event, they won't likely be booked on August 5. Creative would have to come up with another team, but Green and Deville defeated most of them in a gauntlet match.
The hope is for Green and Deville to have a reign that gives some prestige to the belts. A match at SummerSlam would help achieve that, but it seems like they won't be booked for action in Detroit.
Former rivals #6. AJ Styles and #5. Edge may miss out on SummerSlam
Despite being involved in an angle with Karrion Kross, it seems like the scenario will continue to play out on SmackDown. While it's a new feud for The Phenomenal One, it doesn't seem like a pairing that would be added to the SummerSlam card.
WWE often keeps some matches for the go-home editions of RAW and SmackDown, and it seems like the blow-off for this angle would fit that criterion.
As for Edge, he returned to SmackDown to have a match with Grayson Waller. Unless that's picked back up for the card, The Rated-R Superstar will miss out on a big spot at The Biggest Party of the Summer.
#4. Austin Theory is busy with the LWO
Austin Theory will likely be kept off the SummerSlam card for the same reason as Edge and AJ Styles. WWE will keep his defense against either Santos Escobar or Rey Mysterio for the go-home episode of SmackDown.
Before Triple H took over the creative control, both the US and Intercontinental titles were rarely booked on premium live events. The Intercontinental title even went a year without being booked on a major event.
Since joining the main roster, Gunther has proven himself to be one of the MVPs of WWE, so he'll defend his title at SummerSlam. Theory, however, has had a mediocre reign and will likely defend his belt the day before The Biggest Party of the Summer.
#3. LA Knight's momentum with the crowd isn't slowing down
For whatever reason, WWE bookers aren't striking while the iron is hot with LA Knight. Fans erupt whenever he appears on screen, yet he has only wrestled on two premium live events this year - the Royal Rumble and Money in the Bank. He lost at both shows.
It seemed like he would win the fatal four-way invitationals and challenge Austin Theory for the US title, but Rey Mysterio instead won the match, once again leaving Knight without a direction.
Management might view him as a heel and want their current angles to play out, but they have a megastar in their hands. Fans may reject his opponents and hijack his matches. That will only get worse if he is left off of the SummerSlam card.
#2. Kevin Owens and #1. Sami Zayn have regularly defended their titles
Over the last few weeks, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn have defended the Undisputed Tag Team titles against Pretty Deadly and the Judgment Day. There are a lot of tag teams in WWE. Due to the activity on RAW and SmackDown, the two real-life friends might do so again on RAW before The Biggest Party of the Summer.
SummerSlam is less than two weeks away, and a new opponent is yet to emerge. That could change before the actual event, but time is ticking away. Every title won't be defended, and Undisputed Tag titles seem to fall into the category.
If that's the case, a storyline could be built for the Payback event in September. Despite that possibility, Owens and Zayn have been unsung heroes of WWE this year and deserve a spot at SummerSlam.