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Add FightsATW on GoogleIn the four major events WWE produces each year, SummerSlam is second only to WrestleMania. Once dubbed “The Biggest Party of the Summer,” this event has deep roots in the lore of WWE fandom, from Luger slamming Yoko on the battleship to last year, when Cody defeated John Cena for the Undisputed WWE World Championship in a ‘Street Fight.’
Last year’s show took place at the historic MetLife Stadium, but this year hopes to make history with U.S. Bank Stadium’s first-ever WWE show—quite the show to christen the building.
The venue opened its doors in 2016, but the Target Center has played host to past major events in the Minneapolis area, including the 1999 SummerSlam that featured the current HOF, then-Governor Jesse “The Body” Ventura acting as the special guest referee in Mankind’s world title win over both “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Triple H.
NIGHT ONE will go heavy on the anticipation with both Punk-Rhodes and Oba Femi’s debut inside Hell in a Cell and playing co-star to Brock Lesnar in what could be “The Beast’s” swan song. There are no guarantees regarding match order at this point, given that WWE only recently confirmed the match cards for nights one and two.
MAIN EVENT: CM PUNK(c) vs. CODY RHODES (UNDISPUTED WWE WORLD TITLE)
Punk defined his last title reign by the quality of defenses against deserving talent like Finn Balor, but he will go into SummerSlam making the first title defense since securing the WWE World Title on a fateful night in Chicago on July 6th. On that night, Punk returned to the ring to take the injured Cody’s place in the night’s main event, surprising the hometown crowd to defeat Sami Zayn after holding his first WWE World Title for a mere nine days.
If Roman Reigns exists as the biggest active star in sports entertainment today, then this match between Punk-Rhodes exists as the ‘alternative’ to Seth’s perennial pursuit of the Tribal Chief’s top spot. Where Roman and Rollins have run the gauntlet on their Shield-shattering storyline, Punk and Rhodes have not had a singles match on TV since September of 2008.
PREDICTION: Punk Wins, Punk Turns
If you are looking for the winner of the match, look to CM Punk, but if you are looking for a potential headline following SummerSlam, try a ‘show-stealing’ swerve from the ‘Second City Saint’ as he embraces his ‘heel era.’ Punk has slowly, but increasingly more over time, become a version of that ‘part-timer’ hastily hoisted into the championship main event slot that he once rallied against.
Without disparaging the late Hulk Hogan, his reputation for ‘hotshot booking’ was deeply woven into his legacy, and Punk himself commented on it. Punk’s onscreen persona is still as hot in front of a live crowd as ever, but a wrestling creative like Phil could really shake up the landscape of WWE.
OBA FEMI vs. BROCK LESNAR—HELL IN A CELL
We nearly had our first glimpse at the two behemoths locked in the cage until the ceremonial weigh-in went awry, though you could argue they went off the rails trying to stage that segment in the first place. What began at this year’s WrestleMania and continued a month later at Clash in Italy will now culminate in Brock’s hometown. Lesnar is no stranger to cages as a former UFC champion, not to mention his two HIAC matches against The Undertaker so that Oba will be giving away every ‘home field’ advantage.
PREDICTION: Oba Wins
After going 1-1 in singles matches, Oba will settle it in their third and final meeting, though nothing will top their very first meeting at WM where Brock was shockingly squashed. This is likely to be Brock’s last match in wrestling as he passes the torch to the next monster.
LIV MORGAN(c) vs. IYO SKY (WWE RAW WORLD TITLE)
Ric Flair taught all wrestling fans the golden rule across combat sports: ‘if you want to be the man, you have to beat the man.’ It is a simple concept that wrestling often overcomplicates, as has been the case with Liv-Iyo. The pair fought in the King of the Ring finals at Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia. That match saw the challenger pin the champion, and now, if Sky is to be champion, she will have to ‘double dip’ Liv on the big stage.
Prediction: Sky wins title, Liv loses EVERYTHING
It feels like the time belongs to Sky, as her momentum has been steadily building since her last run at the title against Rhea Ripley, before their storyline ended in friendship. While Sky is more than capable of pinning Liv clean, look for a newfound confidence from Raquel Rodriguez — fresh off her IC title win over Sol Ruca on RAW — as she stands up to Liv.
MID/UNDERCARD: GUNTHER vs. NIC ALDIS
The roughly two-year build leading to Nic Aldis lacing up his boots features the main antagonist as Drew McIntyre. There were moments that the match felt imminent, but a return to the ring for Aldis was not yet meant to be. As for Gunther, his favorite GM to beef with had been Adam Pearce— the man currently occupying the GM duties for both the red and blue brands.
In fact, Gunther’s reason for moving to SD was partly due to the frustrations he was having on RAW. The beef between these two men might be misdirected frustration, but the opportunity directly in front of them makes retribution possible.
PREDICTION: Gunther Wins, McIntyre Returns
Aldis has been out of the ring since August of 2023, so Gunther should be favored by every metric. That said, Aldis handed in his suit and resigned as GM to make this return possible. He needs a great showing to prove this is not a one-off match and, instead, the start to a potentially epic run. One way to protect everyone involved (not to mention one heck of a pop) is to have McIntyre return to cost Aldis, setting up their long-running feud.
THE BLOODLINE (JEY USO, JIMMY USO, JACOB FATU) vs. LA KNIGHT, SOLO SIKOA, ROYCE KEYS
It is The Bloodline versus team ‘Frankenstein’ made up of faces and heels with only one thing in common—they got beef with fam. While Royce and Fatu have attempted to tell a deeper story that has not quite landed on screen, Solo is enjoying a character resurgence as he attempts the obnoxious face character. Solo has felt different from the rest of The Bloodline set pieces, and that success alone has given this program, which felt super rushed, life.
PREDICTION: The Bloodline Wins… and gets BIGGER
As great as the Solo stuff has been, The Bloodline is getting over in this one. The safe booking would have ‘team mash-up’ imploding from within, but if this story is mostly based on a failure to bring Solo back into The Bloodline, then it would make sense for Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga to align with the fam considering they were only ever in the Temu version of the faction ‘led’ by Solo.
FATAL INFLUENCE vs. THE BELLA TWINS & PAIGE
The tag team champs Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid hit a career-high when they defeated the then-champions Brie Bella and Paige on Saturday Night’s Main Event in MSG several weekends ago. Nikki returned to even the odds, and the match was an easy booking decision after that, but the story feels generic at this point even if the legends are put over the younger upstarts.
PREDICTION: Fatal Influence Wins
It is tough to imagine the legends getting over in this one, which is a shame because the rub that Paige and The Bellas could offer feels a bit unrealized. That said, should the former NXT standouts win in a way that causes dissent among the vets, then it could allow for a more interesting direction. Paige and AJ Lee have a storied history, and if The Bellas turn on Paige in defeat, it could pave the path for ‘Frienemies’ to reunite.
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