WWE Summerslam 2026 Night One

By Steve Ward

WWE Summerslam Night One emanated this evening from US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Night one of this two-night extravaganza would feature six matches with two titles contested and would be headlined by a Hell In A Cell Match between Brock Lesnar and Oba Femi.

 

Women’s World Championship

Liv Morgan (c) vs. Iyo Sky

Winner: Liv Morgan via pinfall

 

Tonight marked Liv’s first defense of her title since she dethroned Stephanie Vaquer at WrestleMania. Her opponent would be the formidable Iyo Sky who defeated Liv in the Queen of the Ring tournament. Iyo was able to withstand outside interference from Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez, however, Liv escaped falling victim to the Over The Moonsault multiple times to answer with two Codebreakers (one from the second rope) and finally Oblivion to retain her title.

 

The Usos (Jimmy & Jey) & Jacob Fatu vs. Royce Keys, Solo Sikoa, & LA Knight

Winners: Royce Keys, Solo Sikoa, & LA Knight via pinfall

 

This six man tag team bout saw Solo pull together the forces of Knight and Keys in an attempt to conquer the Bloodline. They were able to do just that as the closing moments saw Solo stun Jey Uso with the Samoan Spike setting him up to be put down with LA Knight’s BFT.

 

Gunther vs. Nick Aldis

Winner: Gunther via submission

 

With Gunther’s growing frustrations over being unable to recapture the Undisputed WWE Championship, he made the mistake of getting physical with Smackdown GM Nick Aldis at Saturday Night’s Main Event which brought us to tonight’s encounter. For those unfamiliar with Nick Aldis’ resume, he is a former TNA World Champion (then known as Magnus) and held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship (also known as the Ten Pounds of Gold) to name a couple accomplishments so a three-year hiatus from in-ring competition may not be so daunting for him. Aldis did not demonstrate any ring rust and appeared to be in prime condition. In the closing moments of this hard-fought bout, Aldis seemed moments from a massive upset as he had Gunther trapped in the King’s Lynn Cloverleaf. Gunther was able to escape and followed up with a powerbomb before finally earning the submission victory via the sleeper hold.

 

The Bella Twins & Paige vs. Fatal Influence

Winners: Fatal Influence via pinfall

 

Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid defeated Brie Bella and Paige two weeks ago for the tag team titles at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Now with Nikki Bella back from injury, the three were out for revenge tonight in a six-woman tag team affair. The end of this match was rather anticlimactic as Jacey Jayne put Paige away with the Rolling Thunder. Following the match, The Bellas delivered a vicious beatdown on Paige as Nikki had taken exception to her stepping in with her sister Brie while she was out with an injury.

 

Undisputed WWE Championship

CM Punk (c) vs. Cody Rhodes

Winner: CM Punk via pinfall

 

Cody Rhodes found himself right back in an Undisputed WWE Championship once again after he confronted his friend CM Punk following his victory over Sami Zayn to reclaim the title. Punk told Cody to say when he wanted a title opportunity which brought us to tonight. Late in the match, Cody seemed fast on his way to winning the championship after Punk had missed an elbow drop from the top rope to Rhodes who was seemingly incapacitated on the announce table - until he rolled out of harm’s way just in time. Cody then attempted a Cody Cutter moments later, but Punk moved leaving referee Charles Robinson there to take it instead. With the referee now out of commission, Randy Orton emerged from the crowd and hit Rhodes with an RKO outta nowhere! Punk then hit Cody with a GTS just in time for Charles Robinson to come to and count the pinfall.

 

Hell In A Cell

Brock Lesnar w/ Paul Heyman vs. Oba Femi

Winner: Oba Femi via pinfall

 

The trilogy between these two unstoppable behemoths would come to a head tonight as the third battle in their trilogy, following encounters at WrestleMania and Clash In Italy, would commence in Hell In A Cell with the series tied at one apiece. These two gladiators wreaked absolute havoc in the cage as they left broken tables, chairs, and ring steps scattered around the ring. In the closing moments, Brock ripped up the ring canvas and padding as he exposed the wood planks. Brock then delivered a Tombstone Piledriver onto the wood. Oba kicked out of the subsequent pinfall attempt and moments later delivered the Fall From Grace to seal the victory.

 

Following the match, Brock returned to the ring, embraced Oba, and proclaimed him the future of WWE.

WWE WrestleMania 42 Night Two

By Steve Ward

WWE returned to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada for night number two of WrestleMania. Night One didn’t feel like it was firing on all cylinders with the four-minute commercial breaks between every match that consistently broke the momentum of the show and consumed more of the four hour block than the combined time of multiple matches, the clearly empty sections in the upper deck that were tarped over, and the matches that felt rushed and void of that special “WrestleMania Moment.” While night one did provide some highlights in the form of the Gunther and Seth Rollins bout that featured the return of Bron Breakker and Paige’s surprise return for the Women’s Tag Team Championship match, night two seems poised to be the more electrifying card of the weekend. Sunday’s card featured six matches with four titles contested and was headlined by CM Punk defending the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Roman Reigns.

Brock Lesnar w/ Paul Heyman vs. Oba Femi

Winner: Oba Femi via pinfall

Tonight’s show kicked off its first hour on ESPN with Brock Lesnar returning to the ring to square off with the up and coming Oba Femi who seems poised for a monster push. Brock Lesnar appeared overpowered for the first time in his illustrious career as Femi withstood Suplex City and an F5 to deliver the Fall From Grace powerbomb as he conquered The Beast. 

Following the match, Lesnar removed his gloves and boots in the center of the ring before embracing his longtime advocate, Paul Heyman,  in what appeared to be his retirement from professional wrestling.

WWE Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match 

Penta (c) vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Rusev vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Dragon Lee vs. JD McDonagh

Winner: Penta

Penta would defend the title on night two against a very interesting mix of challengers. We had Rey Mysterio who was conveniently cleared for action after Gunther was booked in another match, the veteran powerhouse Rusev who hasn’t been able to build momentum since his return, the “Young OG” Je’Von Evans who is out to prove himself as a top contender, and JD McDonagh who is out for revenge for Penta taking the title from his Judgement Day cohort Dominik Mysterio. In a match that saw plenty of broken ladders and broken bodies, the final moments saw Je’Von Evans seemingly poised to capture the Intercontinental Championship until Penta came out of nowhere to deliver a Mexican Destroyer off the ladder to put him down. This opened the door for Penta to scale the ladder and retrieve his title.

WWE United States Championship 

Trick Williams w/ Lil Yachty vs. Sami Zayn (c)

Winner: Trick Williams via pinfall 

Sami Zayn recently dethroned Carmelo Hayes as champion on Smackdown and was quickly thrown into a feud with another rising star, former TNA Heavyweight Champion Trick Williams. Many have viewed Zayn as a transitional champion with speculation that WWE wants to build a long program between Williams and Hayes - tonight would determine if that plays out. In the closing moments, Zayn hit the Exploder Suplex and was positioned to attempt The Helluva Kick. As Zayn charged Williams, he was stunned with The Trick Shot which allowed Trick to cover him for the pinfall.

Street Fight

Dominik Mysterio vs. “The Demon” Finn Balor

Winner: “The Demon” Finn Balor via pinfall

Following his unceremonious removal from The Judgement Day, Finn Balor has decided to invoke the return of his Demon persona, following a lengthy three year absence, for tonight’s grudge match. Balor withstood a barrage of chair shots, being put through a table, and a Frogsplash to achieve his measure of revenge on “Dirty” Dom. In the closing moments, Balor beat Dom down with a chair and then laid him out on a table to deliver the Coup de Grace for the win.

WWE Women’s Championship 

Jade Cargill (c) vs. Rhea Ripley

Winner: Rhea Ripley via pinfall 

Rhea Ripley earned her opportunity to ascend to the top of the Women’s Division once again with her victory in the Women’s Elimination Chamber against a champion who has never seemed to defend her title. Rhea appeared in dire straits as Cargill’s Baddies, Michin and B-Fab, made their presence felt late in the contest. Iyo Sky then made her way to the ring and dispatched of the two while also creating a distraction. This allowed Ripley to stun Jade with a headbutt followed by the Riptide for the victory.

Following the match, John Cena made his way to the ring to announce the attendance before he was interrupted by The Miz and Kit Wilson. As The Miz proclaimed he wanted his WrestleMania moment, Danhausen made his way to the ring with a group of mini Danhausens. After the mini Danhausens eliminated Kit Wilson, Danhausen delivered a Five Knuckle Shuffle to The Miz. Danhausen’s exit was seemingly botched as a plume of smoke went off and dissipated around him before he could make his exit.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship 

CM Punk (c) vs. Roman Reigns 

Winner: Roman Reigns via pinfall

WrestleMania 42 weekend closed out tonight with the 2026 Men’s Royal Rumble winner, Roman Reigns, challenging CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship. The buildup to this encounter did get ugly at times with the personal attacks that blurred the lines of kayfabe promising a fever pitch intensity level for the main event on “The Showcase of the Immortals.” Late in the match CM Punk seemed to be in prime position to put Roman away after he put him through the announce table with a devastating elbow drop. Punk then delivered the Go To Sleep, however, when he attempted a second consecutive GTS, his body gave out. This opened the door for Reigns to deliver two devastating, body-breaking spears after which Punk was unable to kick out before the referee’s three count.

WWE Elimination Chamber 2026

By Steve Ward

The final stop on the Road to WrestleMania rolled into the United Center in Chicago, Illinois this evening as WWE presented Elimination Chamber. Tonight’s card featured four bouts with two titles contested and two elimination chamber matches, each with a ticket to a championship match at WrestleMania on the line. 

Women’s Elimination Chamber Match

Asuka vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Kiana James vs. Tiffany Stratton 

Winner: Rhea Ripley 

The card kicked off tonight with the Women’s Elimination Chamber where the winner would earn the opportunity to square off with WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill at WrestleMania. The match kicked off with Stratton and James while the remaining competitors would enter in five minute intervals. Asuka was the first to be released from her pod and enter the fray and immediately went on the offensive crushing her opponent’s skulls into the plexiglass of the chamber pods. Bliss was the next to enter the match with no eliminations recorded yet. The fifth entry into the match was Rhea Ripley who quickly incapacitated the field before directing her attention to Bliss. The first elimination came moments later as Asuka sprayed the mist in Bliss’ eyes allowing James to pin her just seconds before Rodriguez finally entered. Rodriguez unleashed a path of destruction in her wake as she put James through a pod wall and then body slammed Asuka onto her in the middle of the ring before pinning both women simultaneously. The next elimination came after Tiffany Stratton hit the Prettiest Moonsault Ever on an incapacitated Raquel leaving her alone with Ripley. The final moments saw Rhea Ripley hit the Riptide on Stratton to earn the pinfall and punch her ticket to WrestleMania.

Women’s Intercontinental Championship 

Becky Lynch (c) vs. AJ Lee

Winner: AJ Lee via submission 

This evening’s bout would mark Lee’s first singles bout in over a decade with championship gold hanging in the balance. In the closing moments, Becky’s attempt at cheating backfired as she took a header into the turnbuckle she had earlier removed the cover from. This allowed Lee the opportunity to cinch in the Black Widow for the submission victory.

World Heavyweight Championship 

CM Punk (c) vs. Finn Balor

Winner: CM Punk via pinfall

Balor was given another opportunity at the World Heavyweight Championship tonight against CM Punk as Balor vowed to turn the WrestleMania main event on it’s head. Following a long and grueling battle, Punk was able to withstand a late Coup de Grace to put Finn away with the Go To Sleep.

Prior to the main event, Smackdown GM Nick Aldis and RAW GM Adam Pearce opened the mysterious large crate that has been sitting backstage the past few weeks with a note not to open it until February 28. The crate was pried open revealing a wood coffin. Both GMs shook their heads and walked away. The coffin slowly opened and revealed the debut of the newly signed Danhausen.

Men’s Elimination Chamber Match 

Trick Williams vs. LA Knight vs. Logan Paul vs. Randy Orton vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Cody Rhodes

Winner: Randy Orton

The main event of the evening was the Men’s Elimination Chamber Match with a shot against Undisputed WWE Champion Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania hanging in the balance. Evans and Rhodes would kick off the match with another combatant joining the chaos every five minutes. The first competitor to be released from the pods was Trick Williams. Following Williams was Logan Paul who was immediately assaulted by the other three men in the ring. The fifth to enter the match was LA Knight. Just moments after Logan Paul was launched off the top of a pod by Knight and Evans, Orton became the final entry into the match. Evans became the first elimination after he executed a frogsplash on Williams as Logan Paul capitalized on Evans hurting himself by nailing him with the Paulverizer. Paul then eliminated Knight after hitting him with a low blow. Next, Rhodes hit the Cross Rhodes on Williams only to be discarded by Paul who claimed the pinfall on Trick for himself. Moments later, a decoy masked man attempted to scale the chamber only to be removed by security. This created a diversion for another masked man to enter the chamber and deliver a stomp to Logan who was then pinned by Rhodes. The man then revealed himself as Seth Rollins before fleeing through the crowd. In the final moments, Drew McIntyre emerged and attacked Rhodes with his championship belt. After McIntyre failed to nail Rhodes with a Claymore Kick, Orton hit him with an RKO and then delivered another RKO to Cody to help him claim victory and punch his ticket to WrestleMania.

WWE Summerslam 2025 Night One

By Steve Ward

WWE returned to the great state of New Jersey this evening as Summerslam emanated from MetLife Stadium. This also marked the first time in WWE history that the event would be a two night spectacular. Tonight’s card featured six scheduled matches with three championships contested as Gunther battled CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship in the main event.

Roman Reigns & Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed w/ Paul Heyman
Winners: Roman Reigns & Jey Uso via pinfall

Roman Reigns and Jey Uso reunited tonight in Reigns’ first in ring action since “The Wiseman” (now “The Oracle”) Paul Heyman turned on him at WrestleMania and forged his alliance with Seth Rollins. Tonight, Reigns and Uso would square off with the two newest Paul Heyman Guys, Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed. In the closing moments of the opening bout, Breakker had Uso sized up for a spear. As Breakker charged forward, Reigns shoved Uso out of harm’s way and took the spear that nearly broke him in half. Uso then disposed of Breakker and delivered an Uso Splash to Reed to earn the victory.

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship
Roxanne Perez & Raquel Rodriguez (c) vs. Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair
Winners: Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair via pinfall

Following Liv Morgan’s shoulder injury, Roxanne Perez stepped in as the newest member of The Judgement Day and as the new tag team partner of Raquel Rodriguez. Tonight they were challenged by Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss, who recently became allies of convenience, for the Tag Team Championship. In the closing moments, Charlotte took out Raquel with a big boot allowing Bliss to hit the Sister Abigail on Perez to crown them as the new tag team champions.

Karrion Kross w/ Scarlet vs. Sami Zayn
Winner: Sami Zayn via pinfall

For weeks, Kross has been trying to convince Zayn that he must tap into his evil side to achieve his goal of becoming a world champion and tonight their rivalry would come to a head. As the match came to an end, Zayn resisted using a steel pipe offered to him by Scarlet and instead delivered a Helluva Kick to earn the win.

WWE Women’s Championship
Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Jade Cargill
Winner: Tiffany Stratton via pinfall

Jade Cargill punched her ticket to a title shot at Summerslam following her win in the Queen of the Ring tournament and tonight she sought to win her first singles championship against Tiffany Stratton. The closing minutes saw Stratton avoid her demise by reversing a top rope Jaded and following it up with the Prettiest Moonsault Ever to help her retain her title.

Randy Orton & Jelly Roll vs. Logan Paul & Drew McIntyre
Winners: Logan Paul & Drew McIntyre via pinfall

Jelly Roll was invited to perform on Smackdown several weeks ago only to be interrupted by Logan Paul. Orton then saved Jelly Roll only to be immediately ambushed by Drew McIntyre. This lead to the start of a bitter rivalry that culminated in a bitter grudge match tonight. The closing moments saw Jelly Roll somehow return to the ring after being put through the announce table but was first met with a Claymore from McIntyre and then the Paul From Grace to suffer defeat in his in-ring debut.

World Heavyweight Championship
Gunther (c) vs. CM Punk
Winner: CM Punk via pinfall

After Gunther retired the legendary Goldberg a few weeks ago on Saturday Night’s Main Event, CM Punk stepped up to the champ stating he needed to be World Heavyweight Champion and established himself as his new challenger. Late in the match, Gunther had his legs swept out from beneath him as he stood gloating on the Spanish announce table and took a header on the way down. As he recovered from the ground, he was covered in a crimson mask. Punk then went on to escape a subsequent sleeper hold by Gunther and finished him off with to Go To Sleeps.

As Punk celebrated, Seth Rollins’ music echoed through MetLife Stadium as he and Paul Heyman made their way out. Rollins stood there on crutches with a knee brace on as Heyman held the Money In The Bank briefcase. Rollins let Punk know he’d be cashing in on him soon and proceeded to start walking out only to abruptly stop, drop his crutches, remove his brace, and storm the ring with briefcase in tow.

World Heavyweight Championship Match #2
CM Punk (c) vs. Seth Rollins w/ Paul Heyman
Winner: Seth Rollins via pinfall

Seth Rollins proceeded to beat CM Punk down with the briefcase before handing it to the referee to cash it in. Rollins then hit the stomp on Punk and quickly covered him to claim the title.

WWE Bad Blood 2024

By Steve Ward

WWE resurrected it’s Bad Blood moniker following a several year hiatus for tonight’s Premium Live Event (that still doesn’t sound right) which emanated from the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. This evening’s show had a special start time of 6 pm ET to cater to those who wanted to also watch UFC 307 at 10 pm ET (a downside of WWE being under the same umbrella as UFC - TKO Holdings). Additionally, the card for tonight’s event was rather slim at five matches, as opposed to AEW’s regularly robust shows, and would be headlined by Roman Reigns teaming up with Cody Rhodes to face Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu.

Hell In A Cell Match

Drew McIntyre vs. CM Punk 

Winner: CM Punk via pinfall

The longstanding, bitter rivalry between these two combatants would come to a head tonight as they would do battle in Hell In A Cell to mark the third encounter of their trilogy - with each man holding a win over the other. This match was the bloodiest encounter I’ve seen in WWE for more than a decade as both men were busted open early in the match (a sign of WWE looking to potentially ditch the PG era) and took each other to the limit with the use of tables, ring steps, and wrenches to name a few weapons put to use. In the end, Punk wrapped his knee in a chain before delivering his fourth Go To Sleep to finally put away the Scottish Psychopath.

WWE Women’s Championship

Nia Jax (c) vs. Bayley

Winner: Nia Jax via pinfall

Bayley sought to regain the title she lost to Jax at Summerslam (with an assist from Tiffany Stratton) tonight. Tiffany Stratton again made her presence felt in the contest after the referee was inadvertently pancaked by Nia Jax. This allowed the champ to regain momentum as she executed a Samoan Drop from the turnbuckle and the followed it up with her version of the Bonzai Drop to retain her title.

Finn Balor vs. Damian Priest

Winner: Damian Priest via pinfall

Balor and Priest have been embroiled in a bitter feud since Finn betrayed his former Judgement Day brethren at Summerslam costing him the World Heavyweight Championship in the process and tonight the animosity would spill over. In the closing moments of the match, Carlito and JD McDonagh made their way to ringside in an attempt to give Balor the edge. Balor was able to execute his patented Coup de Grace three times but his fourth attempt would prove to be his downfall as Priest countered with the South of Heaven to solidify his victory.

WWE Women’s World Championship (with Dominik Mysterio in a shark cage)

Liv Morgan (c) vs. Rhea Ripley

Winner: Rhea Ripley via DQ

Mysterio viciously betrayed Rhea Ripley at Summerslam costing her the coveted Women’s Title and subsequently seeing her ousted from the Judgement Day. To help ensure “Dirty” Dom would not interfere in the bout, he was suspended in a shark cage above the entryway. Late in the match, Dom managed to get the cage open but fell out of the door and found himself hanging upside down. This prompted Rhea to take a kendo stick to Dom until she was jumped from behind by a returning Racquel Rodriguez. This led to a disqualification of Liv Morgan, however, a title cannot change hands by DQ so Liv escaped with her title.

Solo Sikoa & Jacob Fatu vs. Cody Rhodes & Roman Reigns

Winners: Cody Rhodes & Roman Reigns via pinfall

Cody recruited his former bitter rival and the man he took the Universal Championship from at WrestleMania, the “Original Tribal Chief” Roman Reigns, to battle the new tribal chief Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu. In the closing moments of the match, Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa made their presence known to turn the tide back in favor of Solo and Jacob. This didn’t last long as an individual concealing his face with a bandana emerged from the crowd to neutralize the Tongans with a pair of super kicks. The man then revealed himself as Jimmy Uso who had been out of action since April. This supplied just enough of a distraction for Roman Reigns to break Solo in half with a devastating spear to cap the victory for his team.

Following the match, the New Bloodline proceeded to beat down Cody Rhodes only for Jimmy Uso to convince Roman to return to the ring and save him. Once the dust settled The Rock’s music echoed throughout the arena as he stood in the entryway and stared down the Universal Champion, Cody Rhodes to close the show.

WWE Summerslam 2024

By Steve Ward

WWE Summerslam emanated from Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio this evening in front of a raucous sellout crowd. Tonight’s card featured seven matches, six of which were title bouts. The card was headlined by Cody Rhodes going toe to toe with Solo Sikoa for the WWE Undisputed Championship with the air of speculation as to whether Roman Reigns would make his long-awaited return.

Women’s World Championship 

Rhea Ripley w/ Dominik Mysterio vs. Liv Morgan (c)

Winner: Liv Morgan via pinfall

Rhea Ripley finally received her opportunity tonight for vindication and to regain the title she never lost. Ripley was previously forced to relinquish her title shortly after WrestleMania due to injury. In the weeks following, Liv Morgan became infatuated with Ripley’s man, Dominik Mysterio, who eventually helped her win the Women’s Title in Saudi Arabia. That brings us to tonight where Ripley, who had seemingly taken Dirty Dom back, attempted to win back her title. In the closing moments of the match, Ripley was unable to finish Morgan with the Riptide so she turned to a steel chair. Dom grabbed the chair warning Ripley that she would be disqualified only to, moments later, toss the chair into the ring so Morgan could drive Ripley’s head into it with the Oblivion.

WWE Intercontinental Championship 

Bron Breakker vs. Sami Zayn (c)

Winner: Bron Breakker via pinfall

Following his unsuccessful bid to win the Intercontinental Championship at Money In The Bank, Breakker has been on a warpath with Zayn in his crosshairs. While this was not the dominating effort one would anticipate, Breakker withstood a Blue Thunder Bomb from Zayn in the final minutes of the bout and countered the Heluva Kick with a spear. Breakker then put Zayn away with another body breaking spear to claim his first main roster title.

WWE United States Championship 

Logan Paul (c) vs. LA Knight

Winner: LA Knight via pinfall

Logan Paul put his 270-day title reign on the line this evening against another Superstar seeking his main roster singles title, LA Knight. In the closing moments, rapper MGK handed Paul brass knuckles which he managed to use to no avail as moments later Knight countered Paul’s attempt to put him away with the BFT to claim the US Title.

WWE Women’s Championship

Bayley (c) vs. Nia Jax

Winner: Nia Jax via pinfall

Nia Jax earned her shot at Bayley’s title tonight as a result of her victory in the Queen of the Ring tournament. Late in the match, Tiffany Stratton made her way to the ring to distract Bayley. This provided Jax the window of opportunity she needed to turn the tides in her favor as she hit two powerbombs and then not one, but two, Annihilators (an homage to Yokozuna’s Bonzai Drop) to win the title.

CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre

Special Guest Referee - Seth Rollins 

Winner: Drew McIntyre via pinfall

The bitter rivalry between Punk and Drew would come to a head this evening as Punk is finally cleared to wrestle following his torn triceps suffered at the Royal Rumble (despite making regular appearances since WrestleMania where he cost McIntyre his newly earned title to Mr. Money in the Bank Damian Priest five minutes after winning it from Seth Rollins). Seth Rollins would also be the special guest referee tonight after blaming Punk for costing him the World Heavyweight Championship at Money in the Bank last month. Late in the match, Punk got into a verbal altercation with Rollins and eventually boiled over with emotion and delivered the GTS. As Punk turned his attention back to McIntyre, he received a low blow followed by a brutal Claymore Kick. This allowed McIntyre to claim victory and a measure of revenge.

World Heavyweight Championship 

Damian Priest (c) vs. Gunther

Winner: Gunther via submission 

Tonight Damian Priest would be required to defend his title against Gunther who earned his shot by winning the King of the Ring Tournament. The final minutes of the match saw Priest’s Judgement Day running mate Finn Balor make his way to ringside seemingly in support of Damian. Priest proceeded to rally and hit the Razor’s Edge and South of Heaven and proceeded to attempt a pinfall. Balor then betrayed Priest and put Gunther’s leg on the ring rope to break the count. Gunther finally cinched in back-to-back sleeper holds with the second putting Priest to sleep and crowning Gunther with his first World Heavyweight Championship.

WWE Undisputed Championship 

Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Solo Sikoa 

Winner: Cody Rhodes via pinfall

Tonight’s match had been in the making seemingly ever since Solo took control of The Bloodline following Roman Reign’s loss at WrestleMania. Surprisingly, this bout, contested under Bloodline Rules, began with Solo coming to the ring alone. The match began as a typical back and forth affair until Tonga Loa and Tama Tonga intervened only to be quelled by Randy Orton and Kevin Owens. Just moments later, Jacob Fatu intervened to turn the tides in Solo’s favor again. Fatu then put Rhodes through a table but injured himself in the process. Next, the unspeakable happened as Roman Reigns made his long-awaited return and delivered a Superman Punch and spear to Solo which allowed Cody to hit the Cross Rhodes to retain his title.

WWE Royal Rumble 2024

By Steve Ward

The WWE kicked off the road to Wrestlemania this evening as the Royal Rumble emanated from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. This evening’s event featured a men’s and women’s Royal Rumble match, as well as, a Fatal Four Way Match for the Undisputed Universal Championship as Roman Reigns put his 1,245 day title reign on the line against AJ Styles, Randy Orton, and LA Knight.

Women’s Royal Rumble Match

Winner: Bayley

Order of entry:

Natalya

Naomi

Bayley

Candice LeRae

Jordynne Grace

Indi Hartwell

Asuka

Ivy Nile

Katana Chance

Bianca Belair

Kairi Sane

Tegan Nox

Kayden Carter

Chelsea Green

Piper Niven

Xia Li

Zelina Vega

Maxxine Dupri

Nia Jax

Shotzi

Becky Lynch

Alba Fyre

Shayna Baszler

Valhalla

Michin

Zoey Stark

Roxanne Perez

Jade Cargill

Tiffany Stratton

Liv Morgan

Final Three: Jade Cargill, Bayley, Liv Morgan (Tiffany Stratton and Bianca Belair were simultaneously eliminated off the apron by Bayley)

In the final moments, all three women battled on the ring apron. First, Morgan shockingly tossed Cargill off the apron. Next, Bayley, ever the opportunist, kicked Liv’s legs out from under her for the elimination and to punch her ticket to Lincoln Financial Field for Wrestlemania.

Undisputed Universal Championship Fatal Four Way Match

Roman Reigns (c) w/ Paul Heyman vs. AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton vs. LA Knight

Winner: Roman Reigns via pinfall

Several weeks ago on Smackdown, Styles, Knight, and Orton competed in a Triple Threat Match to determine Reigns’ opponent for tonight’s event, however, The Bloodline ensured that no winner was determined. As a result of their actions, Smackdown general manager Nick Aldis declared that all three men would compete against Reigns tonight. In the closing moments, Reigns appeared to be in dire straits after a barrage of chair shots from AJ Styles and a massive elbow drop from LA Knight. Knight then attempted the BFT but Reigns countered and propelled him into the ropes where Styles was preparing to deliver a Phenomenal Forearm. Styles was knocked off the ropes and Reigns took advantage by executing a body crumbling spear to secure the pinfall and retain his title.

WWE United States Championship 

Logan Paul (c) vs. Kevin Owens

Winner: Logan Paul via disqualification

In the closing moments of the contest, Grayson Waller and Austin Theory made their way to ringside. Theory proceeded to slip brass knuckles to Logan Paul, however, Kevin Owens ripped them off his hand before he could be struck and turned around to use them on Paul. As Owens went for the pinfall, the referee saw the brass knuckles on Owens’ hand and disqualified him.

Men’s Royal Rumble Match

Winner: Cody Rhodes

Order of entry:

Jey Uso

Jimmy Uso

Grayson Waller

Andrade

Carmelo Hayes

Shinsuke Nakamura

Santos Escobar

Karrion Kross

Dominik Mysterio

Carlito

Bobby Lashley

Ludwig Kaiser

Austin Theory

Finn Balor

Cody Rhodes

Bronson Reed

Kofi Kingston

Gunther

Ivar

Bron Breakker

Omos w/ MVP

Pat McAfee

JD McDonagh

R-Truth

The Miz

Damian Priest

CM Punk

Ricochet

Drew McIntyre

Sami Zayn

Final Four: Drew McIntyre, CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, and Gunther

In the closing moments of the match, Punk surprised McIntyre near the ropes and hoisted him up on his shoulders and dumped him out of the ring. Next, Rhodes dragged Gunther by his head and pulled him over the top rope leaving Punk and Rhodes. Punk then attempted the Go To Sleep, however, Rhodes escaped and tossed Punk out to win for the second year in a row.

Following the match, Rhodes directed his attention to the skybox, where Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman were seated, and pointed at The Tribal Chief setting up a rematch of their encounter from last year’s Showcase of the Immortals.