John Cena (c) vs. Brock Lesnar Singles match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Bray Wyatt vs. Chris Jericho Singles match; Erick Rowan & Luke Harper are banned from ringside 3 Brie Bella vs. Stephanie McMahon Singles match[13] Jack Swagger vs. Rusev Flag match AJ Lee (c) vs. Paige Singles match for the WWE Divas Championship Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns Singles match The Miz (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler Singles match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins Lumberjack match SummerSlam will feature professional wrestling matches involving different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds, plots, and storylines that play out on WWE's primary television programs, Raw and SmackDown. Wrestlers will portray heroes or villains as they follow a series of events that build tension, and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches.[2][3] At Battleground, John Cena defeated Randy Orton, Kane, and Roman Reigns to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The following night on Raw, Brock Lesnar returned to the WWE and was chosen by WWE COO Triple H to face Cena at SummerSlam for the championship.[4] On the June 30 episode of Raw, Chris Jericho made his unexpected return to the WWE, only to be attacked by The Wyatt Family. This led to a match at Battleground, where Jericho defeated Bray Wyatt. On the July 21 episode of Raw, Jericho was to have Wyatt on his Highlight Reel show, but the Wyatt Family attacked Jericho in the locker room.[4] On the July 28 episode of Raw, Triple H made the official announcement of the Wyatt-Jericho rematch at SummerSlam.[5] On the August 1 edition of SmackDown, Jericho defeated Erick Rowan, banning Rowan from ringside during the match at SummerSlam as per match stipulation.[6] On the August 4 edition of Raw, Jericho defeated Luke Harper by disqualification due to interference by Wyatt, causing Harper to be banned from ringside.[7] At Payback, Brie Bella quit WWE after her husband Daniel Bryan was given an ultimatum by the principal owner of WWE Stephanie McMahon to either forfeit the WWE World Heavyweight Championship or have Brie fired. Brie decided to quit and slapped Stephanie in the face. Following that incident, McMahon would repeatedly put Brie's twin sister Nikki Bella in matches which invariably ended with Nikki being beaten down. On the July 21 episode of Raw, Brie returned to the WWE as a fan in the audience to support her sister, but was slapped in the face by McMahon, who came to ringside to confront her. Later in the same episode, Stephanie was arrested by the police for assault and battery, due to Brie not being part of the WWE roster.[4] On the July 28 episode of Raw, Brie confronted Stephanie and said that she would drop the charges as long as Stephanie rehired her and accepted her challenge to a match at SummerSlam, which Stephanie accepted.[5] On the August 11 episode of Raw, Stephanie brought in Megan Miller, Bryan's physical therapist, who confessed to having an affair with her client. An infuriated Brie stormed into the ring and slapped Megan before attacking Stephanie. Later on the show, Brie was arrested by the police after Stephanie revealed that Megan was pressing charges against her.[8][9] At Battleground, Rusev defeated Jack Swagger by countout. On the July 22 edition of Main Event, Swagger defeated Rusev by disqualification after Rusev hit Swagger with a Russian flag. On the August 1 edition of SmackDown, after Swagger defeated Cesaro, Lana came out along with Rusev and challenged Swagger to a Flag match at SummerSlam on Rusev's behalf, which Zeb Colter accepted on Swagger's behalf.[6] At Battleground, AJ Lee defeated Paige to retain the WWE Divas Championship. On the July 21 edition of Raw, Paige attacked AJ after they defeated Emma and Natalya.[4] On the July 28 edition of Raw, AJ confronted and attacked Paige.[5] On the August 1 edition of Smackdown, after AJ defeated Rosa Mendes, Paige attacked AJ and threw her off the stage ramp, resulting in AJ suffering a whiplash injury.[6] On August 4, it was announced on WWE.com that AJ would defend the title against Paige at SummerSlam. On the July 21 edition of Raw, Roman Reigns defeated Kane and Randy Orton in a handicap match and attacked Orton during Triple H's announcement on who would face John Cena at SummerSlam for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.[4] On the July 28 edition of Raw, Orton attacked Reigns before his scheduled match against Kane.[5] On the August 1 edition of Smackdown, Orton challenged Reigns to a match at SummerSlam.[6] On August 4, it was announced on WWE.com that Orton would face Reigns at SummerSlam.