WWE Summerslam 2026 Night Two

By Steve Ward

WWE Summerslam would continue with night number two from US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Tonight’s card featured six matches with five titles contested and was headlined by Roman Reigns going toe to toe against Seth Rollins with the World Heavyweight Championship hanging in the balance. 

 

Undisputed WWE Championship #1 Contender’s Match

Finn Balor vs. Gunther vs. Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens

Winner: Kevin Owens via pinfall

 

This match was originally scheduled to be a one-on-one encounter between Balor and Zayn until newly reinstated Smackdown GM Nick Aldis made his way onto the stage. Aldis announced that he would be adding another competitor to the match as Gunther made his way out. Aldis then announced he never said he was only adding one competitor as everyone in US Bank Stadium was left in shock when Kevin Owens was introduced as the fourth competitor following a 17-month absence resulting from neck surgery. In the closing moments of this frenetically paced opening contest, Zayn appeared poised to capture victory as he hit the Blue Thunder Bomb on Owens and then had him squared up for the Helluva Kick. As Zayn attempted to kick Owens head off, KO countered with a superkick and then quickly followed up with a Stunner to claim the number one contender’s spot.

 

United States Championship 

Trick Williams (c) w/ Lil Yachty vs. Baron Corbin

Winner: Baron Corbin via pinfall

 

Following his shocking return recently on Smackdown, Corbin immediately set his sights on Trick Williams and the United States Championship. The repeated attacks on Williams by Corbin helped fuel tonight’s match coming to fruition. The closing moments of tonight’s encounter saw Corbin grab the title from ringside and start making his way back into the ring. As Corbin stood on the ring apron, he was confronted by Lil Yachty. Corbin and Yachty proceeded to fight over the belt as Trick ran into Corbin who subsequently bumped into Yachty knocking him from the apron and through a table that was set up at ringside earlier in the bout. With the referee distracted, Corbin proceeded to strike Trick in the head with the belt and followed up with the End of Days which allowed him to cover Williams for the pinfall. 

 

WWE Interim Women’s Championship Ladder Match

Jade Cargill vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Chelsea Green vs. Lash Legend vs. Charlotte Flair

Winner: Chelsea Green

 

With WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley out of action indefinitely due to a torn meniscus, the decision was made to crown an interim champion tonight in a five-way ladder match. The closing moments of this match saw three ladders set up in the middle of the ring. The center one with Green’s feet caught in between rungs as she was hanging upside down following an attack from B-Fab and Michin, another with Cargill and Flair jockeying for position, and the third with Stratton and Legend battling each other. First, Cargill climbed across the ladders to tip over the one with Stratton and Legend on it. Next, Jade and Charlotte took themselves out of the fight with their in-fighting. Finally, Green sat up with her feet still anchored on the ladder and ascended to the top where she retrieved the title.

 

Human Monies On A Pole Match

Danhausen vs. Dominik Mysterio 

Winner: Danhausen

 

Following weeks of Danhausen throwing curses at The Judgement Day after they attempted to collect money they believed he owed them, they finally decided to settle the core in a Human Monies On A Pole match.  As the match began to wind down, we saw JD McDonagh attempt to assist Dirty Dom until the Minihausens swarmed the ring. Once McDonagh dispatched them, Joe Hendry made his way down the ramp with a guitar in hand and proceeded to shatter it over his head. Dirty Dom then began to climb the the turnbuckles towards the bag of money when Danhausen cursed him and fireworks shot from the corner post knocking Mysterio off. This allowed Danhausen to climb up and retrieve the Human Monies.

 

WWE Intercontinental Championship 

Penta (c) vs. Chad Gable

Winner: Chad Gable via submission 

 

Chad Gable earned his opportunity at the Intercontinental Championship back on the July 13 episode of Monday Night Raw as he emerged victorious in a grueling gauntlet match and tonight would attempt to dethrone Penta who put his 153-day title reign on the line. In the final moments of the bout, Gable survived a brutal Mexican Destroyer on the ring apron to quickly recover in the middle of the squared circle. Gable then countered another Mexican Destroyer attempt in the ring with the ankle lock submission. Gable continued to battle to keep Penta away from the ropes and finally dropped to the canvas to cinch in the hold even deeper which immediately prompted a tap out by Penta.

 

WWE World Heavyweight Championship 

Roman Reigns (c) vs. Seth Rollins

Winner: Roman Reigns via pinfall

 

This match symbolized the end of a chapter for both competitors. Seth who had never lost to Roman would attempt to put the shadow of The Shield in his rearview while Roman would seek to finally earn a victory over Rollins exorcising his demons in the process. After both competitors pulled out every stop in an attempt to conquer one another, the referee took an inadvertent spear from Roman Reigns that left him incapacitated outside the ring. Rollins then introduced a chair into the match. Reigns managed to get a hold of the chair and instead of putting it to use, he tossed it from the ring wanting to put Seth away on his own. In the final minutes, Seth attempted a top rope stomp only to miss and be put down with a spear. Roman then connected on two more spears in a row as the referee came to just in time to count the 1-2-3 as The OTC retained his title.

WWE Hell In A Cell 2019

By Steve Ward

One of the most significant and eventful weeks that we’ve witnessed in several years in the world of professional wrestling culminated with WWE Hell In A Cell which emanated from Sacramento, CA this evening. First, the RAW season premiere saw the WWE’s flagship show debut a new commentary team and set with the return of a healthy dose of pyrotechnics. Next, Wednesday was the premier of AEW Dynamite on TNT which produced the highest rated show on the network in five years. Lastly, WWE Friday Night Smackdown! debuted on FOX with an electrifying opening featuring The People‘s Champ. Whether WWE wants to admit it or not, they’ve taken notice of AEW and were clearly pulling out all of the stops that their TV-PG rating would allow and Hell In A Cell could provide the perfect setting to continue to push the envelope. The card this evening featured eight bouts with four titles contested.

RAW Women’s Championship Hell In A Cell Match

Becky Lynch (c) vs. Sasha Banks

Winner: Becky Lynch via submission

No time was wasted introducing the brutality this evening as the main card immediately opened with a sadistic Hell In A Cell Match. In a very evenly contested match, Lynch was able to survive chair shots, being assaulted with a kendo stick, and having Sasha drive her through a table to overcome adversity and retain her title. The bout concluded with Lynch executing a top rope Beck-sploder suplex that landed Banks on a plethora of chairs. The Man then followed up with The Disarmer for the submission victory.

Tornado Tag Team Match

Daniel Bryan & Roman Reigns vs. Erick Rowan & Luke Harper

Winners: Daniel Bryan & Roman Reigns via pinfall

Harper and Rowan laid waste to Reigns and Bryan for the vast majority of this contest. Despite Rowan being driven through a table by Reigns late in the bout, Harper still seemed poised to solidify the victory for his team as he executed back to back Dragon Suplexes on Daniel Bryan. Harper could have easily gone for the pinfall but rather got greedy and attempted a third Dragon Suplex. Bryan was able to land on his feet and as Harper missed a follow-up clothesline, Reigns slipped back into the ring behind him and connected on a Superman Punch. This allowed Daniel Bryan to strike Harper with a running knee and Roman solidified the victory with the spear.

Randy Orton vs. Ali

Winner: Randy Orton via pinfall

This match came to fruition on the pre-show after a brief backstage confrontation and all I need to say is RKO Outta Nowhere - nice try Ali.

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship

Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross vs. The Kabuki Warriors (Kairi Sane & Asuka)

Winners: The Kabuki Warriors via pinfall

After being relatively forgotten for several months, Asuka and Kairi Sane ensured failure would not be an option. In the closing moments of the match, Asuka sprayed a cloud of green mist into the face of Nikki Cross as the referee was distracted. This allowed her to deliver a brutal kick to her head and score the pinfall victory crowning new champions.

Six-Man Tag Team Match

The OC (AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson) vs. The Viking Raiders and Braun Strowman

Winners: The Viking Raiders and Braun Strowman via DQ

After weeks of feuding between The OC and the Viking Raiders, the men collectively known as War Machine previously, enlisted the assistance of Braun Strowman for this six man encounter. In the closing moments of this bout, The OC took advantage of the numbers game with the Viking Raiders subdued at ringside and proceeded to beat down The Monster Among Men to the point the referee elected to disqualify them.

King Corbin vs. Chad Gable

Winner: Chad Gable

After losing to Corbin in the finals of the King of the Ring tournament just a few weeks ago, he had been subjected to verbal jabs from the newly crowned king ever since setting up this bout tonight. Gable more than held his own in this contest with one of his most impressive moves being a roll through German suplex of the much taller Corbin. In the end, frustration got the better of Corbin as he retrieved his scepter from ringside and attempted to strike Gable. The referee put a stop to this by grabbing the scepter and as they struggled, Gable rolled up King Corbin for the pinfall victory.

Smackdown Women’s Championship

Bayley (c) vs. Charlotte Flair

Winner: Charlotte Flair via submission

After Bayley drove Charlotte’s head into an exposed turnbuckle to defeat Charlotte at last month’s Clash of Champions, the two squared off again this evening once again with the title on the line. Unfortunately the crowd response in this bout was lacking until the closing moments when Charlotte Flair cinched in the Figure Eight for the submission victory marking the start of her record tenth title reign.

Universal Championship Hell In A Cell Match

Seth Rollins (c) vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt

Winner: No contest

After Rollins successfully retained his title at Clash of Champions, he was assaulted by Wyatt on the stage and choked out with a Mandible Claw. Since then, Rollins has found himself terrorized time and time again by The Fiend setting up the main event this evening. An interesting dynamic to this match, aside from being contested in the Hell In A Cell, was the ambience of the arena as it was draped in red lighting for the duration of the match. After a significant level of brutality throughout the bout, Rollins had Wyatt laid out in the center of the ring and covered him with a ladder and a steel chair after several failed pinfall attempts. Rollins then went back under the ring and procured a sledgehammer. Before Rollins used it, the referee implored him not to proceed. Rollins disregarded the referee’s plea and drove the sledgehammer into the ladder leading the referee to call for the bell - in a no DQ match. As the arena was showered with boos from an enraged WWE Universe, the cell was raised and EMTs were called to the ring to tend to Wyatt. As Wyatt was placed on a board, Rollins went to grab him by the shirt only to be welcomed with a Mandible Claw. Wyatt then continued his assault on Rollins which concluded with a Sister Abigail to the exposed arena floor followed by another Mandible Claw that left Rollins bleeding from the mouth. Despite continued boos and chants of  “restart the match,” The Fiend made his exit from the arena as an unsettling and dissatisfied air consumed the arena.

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WWE Royal Rumble 2019 Recap

By Steve Ward

The 32^nd installment of the beginning of the Road to Wrestlemania, the Royal Rumble, emanated this evening from Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The crowd in attendance, that exceeded 48,000, was more than I’ve ever seen for a D-Backs game and something I took great pleasure in hearing Corey Graves point out during the broadcast. It was an intriguing set-up for the event as the ring was positioned in the vicinity of where second base would be during a baseball game and the Superstars made their entrances through the visitor’s dugout. The main card featured five title bouts and two Royal Rumble matches as it clocked in at just under five hours long!

Pre-show:

Bobby Roode & Chad Gable vs. Rezar & Scott Dawson

Winners: Roode & Gable via pinfall

United States Championship

Rusev (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura via pinfall

Fatal 4-Way Cruiserweight Championship

Buddy Murphy (c) vs. Kalisto vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Hideo Itami

Winner: Buddy Murphy via pinfall

Main Card:

Smackdown Women’s Championship

Asuka (c) vs. “The Man” Becky Lynch

Winner: Asuka via submission

The ladies of Smackdown kicked off the main card as Becky Lynch sought to regain her title after losing it at December’s Tables, Ladders, and Chairs pay-per-view. Asuka retained her title as she first applied the Asuka Lock and rolled it into a bridge for a sensational submission victory.

Smackdown Tag Team Championship

The Bar-Sheamus & Cesaro vs. The Miz & Shane McMahon

Winners: The Miz & Shane McMahon

After The Miz was unable to compete in the finals of the “Best in the World” tournament at the Crown Jewel pay-per-view due to an injury, Shane McMahon stepped in and defeated Dolph Ziggler to earn the trophy. The Miz then encountered Shane-o-mac last month on Smackdown Live with a “heartfelt” plea for Shane to join him in a run for the tag team titles. Shane accepted the invitation and the two came prepared to bring the fight to the defending champs. Midway through the match, Shane McMahon appeared to have his prime opportunity for an Oh Sh*t moment as he attempted the Coast to Coast on both Cesaro and Sheamus only to have it thwarted as he landed himself in the Cesaro Swing. Shane McMahon soon redeemed himself after he was rescued from suffering a Brogue Kick and subsequently landed a perfectly executed Shooting Star Press on Cesaro to score the pinfall victory and crown new tag team champions!

RAW Women’s Championship

Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Sasha Banks

Winner: Ronda Rousey via pinfall

This contest ended in a vicious fury. Ronda appeared to be in dire straits as she was trapped in an armbar submission attempt by Banks. Ronda was able to roll out and execute a gutwrench powerbomb which she immediately followed up with the Piper’s Pit for the pinfall victory.

Women’s Royal Rumble Match

Winner: Becky Lynch

Entering this match, we only knew that number 30 would be filled by Carmella as a result of her Mixed Match Challenge victory with R-Truth. The first two entrants in the contest were NXT alumni Lacey Evans and Natalya. Natalya set a Women’s Royal Rumble match record as she lasted an amazing 55:58. A couple of other notable entries in the match were Nikki Cross who made her debut from NXT at number eight and Alexa Bliss who made her return to in-ring competition for the first time since September at number 26. The dubious distinction of the first woman to be eliminated belonged to entrant number four, Liv Morgan, as she was the recipient of a back body drop over the top rope by Natalya.

Lana entered the match at number 28 but unfortunately was unable to walk to the ring due to an injury she sustained after she was knocked off the ring apron during Rusev’s title loss earlier in the evening. After Carmella entered at number 30, Becky Lynch made her way out and pleaded with backstage official Fit Finlay to let her take Lana’s place which he obliged.

The final four in the match were Bailey, Flair, Nia Jax, and Becky Lynch. Bailey was quickly eliminated by Jax. Shortly thereafter, Jax found herself on the apron after she squashed Flair and Becky in the corner, Lynch rolled out of the ring to the floor. Moments later Jax found herself attempting to reenter the ring from the apron after an exchange with Flair as Becky emerged to pull Nia off the apron and eliminate her. Before Becky could get into the ring, Nia would not go quietly and attacked her at ringside leaving her with a knee injury. Becky was still able to overcome the odds and eliminated Charlotte to earn herself a title shot at WrestleMania.

WWE Championship

Daniel Bryan (c) vs. A.J. Styles

Winner: Daniel Bryan via pinfall

The long standing feud between these two combatants, that commenced just before Survivor Series when Bryan shocked the WWE Universe and took the WWE Championship from The Phenomenal One on an episode of Smackdown Live, began another chapter this evening. Late in the contest, Eric Rowan made his shocking return and headed to ringside and just stood and watched. Moments later, the referee was knocked out by a missed enziguri attempt by Daniel Bryan. Styles proceeded to hit the Styles Clash but Rowan quickly made his presence felt as he entered the ring and unceremoniously picked up Styles by his face and slammed him to the mat. This newly formed alliance allowed Bryan to score the pinfall and retain his title.

Universal Heavyweight Championship

Brock Lesnar (c) w/ Paul Heyman vs. Finn Balor

Winner: Brock Lesnar via submission

Mr. McMahon removed Braun Strowman from this match as punishment for destroying his limo. Mr. McMahon then held a Fatal 4-way match to determine Lesnar’s opponent with the combatants being Balor, John Cena, Drew McIntyre, and Baron Corbin. Balor landed the Coup de Grace on John Cena to earn his position in the match.

Balor certainly held his own against Lesnar throughout the match. It appeared as though Balor was going to win the title after he landed the Coup de Grace but as he went for the pin, Brock locked in a Kimura out of nowhere to earn the submission victory. Seemingly embarrassed by how susceptible he appeared at the hands of the much smaller Balor, Lesnar proceeded to lay waste to him as he delivered several suplexes that were capped off by an F5.

Men’s Royal Rumble Match

Winner: Seth Rollins

Like the Women’s Royal Rumble, the only slot designated beforehand was number 30. R-Truth earned this spot as a result of his Mixed Match Challenge victory with Carmella. It was also reported prior to the show that John Cena would not compete as a result of an injury sustained on RAW and would be replaced by “The Monster Among Men” Braun Strowman.

The first two participants in the match were Elias and an absolute shocker in “Double J” Jeff Jarrett! Just as the WWE Universe thought they were going to be treated to a rendition of Jarrett’s “With My Baby Tonight” recorded way back in 1995, Elias lived up to his reputation. Jarrett was the first elimination of the match after Elias smashed his guitar over his back and tossed him out of the ring. Some other notable entries in the contest included WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle at number four, the new NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano at number six, and former NXT Champion Aleister Black. Just as we thought all of the surprises of the evening were exhausted, enter R-Truth at number 30.

Truth was just a few words into his trademark entrance song as Nia Jax emerged from the dugout and ambushed him. Leaving R-Truth in a heaping pile of carnage, Nia Jax took his spot in the match! Jax eliminated Mustafa Ali and then was eliminated by Rey Mysterio after being victimized by an RKO outta nowhere.

The final four participants in the match were Andrade, Dolph Ziggler, Braun Strowman, and Seth Rollins. Braun made quick work of Andrade and Ziggler leaving himself in a showdown with Rollins. Braun and Rollins brought us an exciting conclusion to the match as they delivered some anxiety inducing moments fighting on the ring apron. Rollins finally dropped Braun to his knees and delivered a curb stomp that sent Braun to the floor and punched his ticket to WrestleMania!

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