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Add FightsATW on GoogleWWE SummerSlam Night 1Â took place at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with Oba Femi and Brock Lesnar getting the nod to main-event the show, the announcement coming just hours before the 6 pm ET start time. At the start of fight week, WWE announced the night one and two match cards without the order, and fans immediately began speculating what would go on last.
It was a major storyline leading into SummerSlam, and fans reacted strongly to the announcement hours before the show. The narrative was so loud that, in the post-show, Punk was asked about him and Cody being passed over for the feature fight.
Brock Lesnar vs Oba Femi—Hell in a Cell
It was clear that Oba Femi had the ‘it’ factor from the moment he debuted in WWE, but tonight he appeared to hit the next gear in his ring entrance as his silhouette appeared to have brightened (and widened) since the last time he faced Brock. Lesnar, always taking the A-side advantage, made Oba wait as he took his time making his way to the ring.
The match started with a level of anticipation boiling over thanks to the slow lowering of the HIAC cage and the high-intensity of Paul Heyman’s pre-match intro. It was a very physical match from the jump, and Oba Femi controlled it early on in dominating fashion. Oba struck Lesnar with elbows and forearms that landed stiff and echoed throughout Lesnar’s hometown.
Not long into the match, the two monsters took things outside, where the tables were set up for later use. On the outside, Brock used his ‘undefeated in HIAC’ experience to take control before bringing the action back into the ring—booking Oba for a one-way ticket to ‘Suplex City.’ Suplex after suplex, Oba’s back crashed onto the mat, but only near-falls were gained.
After crashing through the ‘Slim Jim’ tables, Brock used the ‘Wing Stop’ steel chairs to pounce on Oba, and when that did not work, Brock resorted to ‘splitting the mat.’ Lesnar cut a slit in the mat and padding before exposing the bare boards. Brock paid homage to The Undertaker—the man ‘The Beast’ took ‘the streak’ from—before hitting Oba with a tombstone piledriver on the bare wooden boards.
Oba survived the near fall and finished the match with his sit-down bomb moments later for the clean pinfall win. The cage raised, and Oba celebrated before the camera cut to Lesnar and Paul Heyman, halfway down the aisle, walking back to the ring where he ‘did the job’ by putting over Oba in post.
Lesnar raised Oba Femi’s hand before grabbing the mic in a rare post-match promo where he called Oba ‘the future’ while referring to himself as ‘the past.’ It was a powerful moment, and one that Oba claimed to have been totally swerved by after the match.
CM Punk(c) vs Cody Rhodes
A long build did not hinder this feud, but it did have to contend with the hints and innuendo surrounding the ‘fantasy matchup’ that many fans believed it was. Still, by the time they got to their match, it was clear that this was a big showdown between two of the biggest superstars—so much so that they could get the chance to finish ‘clean.’
There was an extra layer of violence in this match as Cody’s fists and Punk’s knees seemed to connect twice as flush as they normally do, and that precision could stem from the animosity that has been building between these two opponents. It started at Saturday Night’s Main Event after the duo coexisted to win their tag team match, but afterward, Punk accidentally hit Cody with the strap of his belt as he was throwing it across his shoulder.
The ‘accidental’ narrative pushed its limits until finally Cody purposely shoved Punk’s head in a way that made it seem unintentional at their last house show this week—also the last time they were forced to tag together. We got some very close near falls, especially after two “Cody Cutters” where Cody raised the bar (and turnbuckle) each time.
For Punk’s part, it was a solid effort from a stiff (old) wrestler that still believes he has ‘it,’ or at least the ‘it’ that allows you to perform moonsaults. Punk attempted his own high-risk moonsault only to get his feet over his head barely. Later, Punk missed two elbow drops, one off the top turnbuckle and onto the commentator’s desk.
The finish came when Randy Orton appeared (outta nowhere) and hit Cody with the RKO before giving the camera a cheeky wink. Punk rolled into the ring to cover for the pinfall victory and first successful title defense.
Gunther vs Nic Aldis
The wrestling return of Nic Aldis was accompanied by an Oasis song for his entrance after 3 years away from the squared circle. Aldis was forced to relinquish his GM role for SD to secure this match. It was an emotional storyline where the entrenched heel Gunther clashed with the ‘one more match’ theme from Aldis.
Aldis looked incredible, both in physique and work rate, and he even hit the ‘Texas Cloverleaf’ in a submission attempt. He was also left with a chest that looked like hamburger meat. Gunther picked up the win with the chokehold, the same maneuver that he ended John Cena’s career with, in a match that Aldis lost the decision but won the moment.
In the aftermath, Aldis handed in his resignation to HHH later in the evening, but HHH refused it and appointed him SD GM once again. However, it feels like Aldis has enough juice for a legitimate run.
Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, Paige vs Fatal Influence—Six-Woman Tag Match
The win belonged to Fatal Influence, but the post-match booking was all The Bella Twins as they turned on their partner Paige. Paige returned at Mania originally to help out Brie after Nikki suffered an injury. In that match, Paige helped Brie to secure the tag team titles. The champions lost their titles to Fatal Influence at SNME, with Paige pinned.
Paige ended up taking the pinfall here, too, and the veterans were taking a bow in their losing effort when The Bellas looked at each other before taking out Paige. It was revealed later that evening that Paige had hurt her shoulder.
Liv Morgan(c) vs Iyo Sky—Women’s WWE World Championship (RAW)
This match made the least sense of the two night cards because Sky already beat the champ in the finals of the King of the Ring. Sky’s win against the champ earned her a chance to win the title—all she’d have to do is repeat the win.
Liv, for all her bad luck, seems to be on the upswing on SummerSlam week as they secured the chance to get back their $100,000 from Dan Hausen, Raquel Rodriguez won the IC title on WWE RAW, and she successfully defended tonight with the aid of The Judgment Day.
It was possibly the best match on night one, but the finish fell flat, given that it was just a repeat of Saudi. The rumor is Liv is headed for bigger things; hopefully it is more title defenses because that was her only one
Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, & Jacob Fatu vs LA Knight, Royce Keys, & Solo Sikoa—Six-Man Tag
It was one of the stranger bookings for this year’s SummerSlam on either card, a Frankensteined team versus the longest-running faction in WWE—The Bloodline. The interconnected plot came together over the last couple of weeks following Solo’s excellent face work.
The match had no stakes, nothing to fight for, and the narrative was largely moot since Solo refused to join Roman’s Bloodline. It seemed like The Bloodline were the favorites and this would just be a chance to further Solo versus Knight. Yet the faces pulled off the win, with some fast thinking from Solo, who worked a very fun style that counterbalanced his former ruthless side with his newer, more corky appeal.
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