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 WrestleMania 40 - Night One

By Steve Ward

The 40th installment of the Showcase of the Immortals, WWE WrestleMania, emanated from the home of the Philadelphia Eagles, Lincoln Financial Field, in Philadelphia, PA. As has become the norm for the past few years, WWE again elected for a two night event in order to capitalize on their ability to produce to sellout gates with two mediocre cards padded with unnecessary vignettes and advertisements between every bout. This evening’s card featured seven matches with three titles contested and was headlined by Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins teaming up against The Rock and Roman Reigns to determine the stipulation for night two’s Universal Championship match.

Women’s World Championship

Becky Lynch vs. Rhea Ripley (c)

Winner: Rhea Ripley via pinfall

The opening bout of the weekend would have the potential to set the bar high as Becky Lynch, winner of the Women’s Elimination Chamber, earned her shot at the dominant Rhea Ripley’s RAW Women’s Championship. Becky Lynch gave a commendable effort but was clearly slowed as she battled strep throat. In the closing moments, Ripley was simply too much for The Man as she delivered a Riptide into the turnbuckle and immediately followed it up with yet another Riptide to successfully defend her title.

Six Pack Challenge for the Undisputed Tag Team Championship Ladder Match

DIY (Tommasso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano) vs. Awesome Truth (R-Truth & The Miz) vs. New Catch Republic (Tyler Bate & Pete Dunne) vs. A-Town Down Under (Austin Theory & Grayson Waller) vs. The New Day (Xavier Woods & Kofi Kingston) vs. The Judgement Day (Finn Balor & Damian Priest) (c)

Winners: Smackdown Tag Team Championship - Grayson Waller & Austin Theory; RAW Tag Team Championship - R-Truth & The Miz

Although this match was for the Undisputed Tag Team Championship, both the RAW and Smackdown Tag Team titles were suspended above the ring separately and the match would continue until both sets were retrieved. The first set of titles removed from their suspension above the ring were the Smackdown titles by Grayson Waller and Austin Theory. In the closing moments, R-Truth dumped Damian Priest out of the ring with an Attitude Adjustment and scaled the ladder to retrieve the RAW Tag Team Championship.

Rey Mysterio & Andrade vs. Dominik Mysterio & Santos Escobar

Winners: Rey Mysterio & Andrade via pinfall

The leader of the LWO, Rey Mysterio, recently returned from injury and dove right back into his bitter rivalry with former stablemate Santos Escobar (who has since reformed Legado del Fantasma). Dominik Mysterio then decided to insert himself back into Rey’s business making tonight’s affair a tag team match. Rey was set to team with Dragon Lee initially, however, he was taken out on Smackdown last night leaving the door open for Andrade to step in after he decided he didn’t agree with Escobar’s tactics. The match reached its conclusion shortly after Dominik Mysterio attempted to get a chair from ringside to use on his father. Before he was able to crack Rey’s skull with the steel chair, a pair of men donning luchador masks emerged from the crowd to thwart his efforts. This left Escobar vulnerable to the Tadpole Splash from Rey Mysterio which secured the pinfall.

Jimmy Uso vs. Jey Uso

Winner: Jey Uso via pinfall

Following his departure from The Bloodline, Jey Uso left Smackdown for RAW in search of a new start - his brother Jimmy, however, would not allow this as he has continued to insert himself in his brother’s business time and time again which brought us to, tonight. The conclusion of the match saw Jey Uso deliver a spear and subsequent splash from the top rope to solidify the victory.

Damage Ctrl (Kairi Sane, Asuka, & Dakota Kai) vs. Bianca Belair, Naomi, & Jade Cargill

Winners: Bianca Belair, Naomi, & Jade Cargill via pinfall

Interestingly enough, WWE decided to book the Women’s Tag Team Champions, The Kabuki Warriors, in a six-woman tag team match instead of a title bout. The Kabuki Warriors teamed with fellow Damage Ctrl member Dakota Kai as Bianca Belair recruited Naomi and Jade Cargill who returned/debuted at the Royal Rumble. In the closing moments of a rather brief bout, Jade Cargill was left alone with Dakota Kai who she dispatched with Jaded.

WWE Intercontinental Championship

Gunther (c) vs. Sami Zayn

Winner: Sami Zayn via pinfall

Gunther put his record-setting Intercontinental Championship reign on the line this evening against the resilient Sami Zayn. “The Ring General” Gunther dominated the entire match and seemed to have an impressive victory at hand after delivering a barrage of power bombs and splashes. After Zayn kicked out of a late pinfall attempt, Gunther scaled the turnbuckles only to be intercepted with a Helluva Kick. Zayn then delivered a brain buster in the corner and immediately followed with another Helluva Kick to shock the WWE Universe and end the record championship reign of Gunther.

The Rock & Roman Reigns w/ Paul Heyman vs. Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins

Winners: The Rock & Roman Reigns via pinfall

The main event of Night One had significant implications for the stipulation of Cody Rhodes match with Roman Reigns on Night Two with the Universal Championship hanging in the balance. If Rhodes and Rollins were victorious, the Bloodline would be banned from ringside, however, if The Rock and Roman Reigns prevailed, then the Universal Championship would be contested under Bloodline Rules. This carnage-filled encounter showed that The Rock didn’t lose a step in his near decade away from the ring. With broken tables and broken bodies galore, the final moments of the match saw Seth Rollins incapacitated by Roman Reigns after being speared through the ringside barricade. This left The Rock and Rhodes in the ring alone. The Brahma Bull executed The Rock Bottom and immediately proceeded to hit the most electrifying move in sports entertainment, The People’s Elbow, to put away The American Nightmare and set up Bloodline Rules for Night Two’s main event.

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.

WWE Summerslam 2023

By Steve Ward

WWE finally returned to the United States this evening following back-to-back Premium Live Events (aka pay per views) in Saudi Arabia and England as Summerslam emanated from a sold-out Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. Tonight’s card was scheduled for eight bouts with four titles contested. As the show opened, Michael Cole proclaimed that there would be FOUR main events…really? In my opinion, stating four matches are main events is not only contradictory, but also, diminishes the luster of the final bout of the night. Nonetheless, the final match of the evening pit Roman Reigns against his cousin Jey Uso in a familial civil war with the Undisputed Universal Championship on the line.

Logan Paul vs. Ricochet

Winner: Logan Paul via pinfall

The evening kicked off with the polarizing Logan Paul, who made his way to the ring welcomed by an overwhelming chorus of hatred, to take on the high-flying Ricochet. In the closing moments of the contest, Ricochet seemed poised to claim victory as he ascended to the top rope to attempt the 630. Paul rolled out of harm’s way and as the referee checked on him, a member of Paul’s entourage slipped him a pair of brass knuckles which he used to drop Ricochet to solidify the victory.

Brock Lesnar vs. Cody Rhodes 

Winner: Cody Rhodes via pinfall

Following Brock’s betrayal of Cody on RAW the night after Wrestlemania, the two have engaged in a bitter rivalry that has seen each man claim one victory a piece in each of their two previous meetings with the deciding match this evening. Brock Lesnar dominated the vast majority of this bout as he delivered everything in his arsenal only to have Rhodes continue to ask for more. Late in the match, Lesnar met the dreaded exposed turnbuckle with his head which opened the door for Cody to cinch in Brock’s own patented Kimura Lock on him. Brock managed to escape and attempt the F5 again only to have Cody slip out. Rhodes proceeded to deliver three consecutive Cross Rhodes to slay The Beast.

Summerslam Battle Royal

Winner: LA Knight

In an effort to pack more talent onto the card, an over-the-top battle royal was added to the card with nothing other than bragging rights at stake. The final four men in the bout were AJ Styles, Bronson Reed, LA Knight, and Sheamus. The first to go was Bronson Reed at the hands of LA Knight. Styles was eliminated next by Sheamus thanks to an assist by Karrion Kross. As Styles stood on the ring apron, likely setting himself up to deliver a Phenomenal Forearm, Kross grasped Styles’ leg allowing Sheamus to take advantage and kick him in the face. LA Knight then clotheslined Sheamus over the top rope to reign victorious.

MMA Rules Match

Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler

Winner: Shayna Baszler via submission

Following Baszler’s betrayal of Rousey during their tag team title bout at Money In The Bank, which cost them their titles, things have gotten ugly between the two former sparring partners. With a long-standing friendship dating back to their UFC days, the two have quickly become bitter rivals as Baszler has felt like she’s been trapped in Rousey’s shadow which has brought us to tonight’s match. Following a rather uneventful match, Baszler cinched in the Kirifuda Clutch to earn the submission victory.

WWE Intercontinental Title Match

Gunther (c) vs. Drew McIntyre

Winner: Gunther via pinfall

Since Gunther overcame McIntyre and Sheamus at Wrestlemania to retain his championship, he has continued his torrid streak as the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion of the 21st Century. Recently, McIntyre made his return to WWE television for the first time since Wrestlemania and immediately confronted The Ring General. That lead us to tonight’s hard-hitting encounter between the two as Gunther entered the night only 32 days from matching the Honky Tonk Man’s legendary reign as Intercontinental Champ. McIntyre gave Gunther a run for his money as he was perched on the top rope and appeared to be in dire straits as The Scottish Warrior seemed poised to deliver a superplex until he was propelled by Gunther onto the top rope in a quite precarious landing position. Gunther then capitalized and delivered the power bomb to solidify his title defense.

World Heavyweight Championship

Seth Rollins (c) vs. Finn Balor

Winner: Seth Rollins via pinfall

Their ongoing rivalry continued this evening as Balor received another title shot against Rollins after he was arguably cost a victory at Money In The Bank thanks to the distraction of his fellow Judgement Day stablemate, Damian Priest. Just as Rollins was building momentum late in the match, Priest made his way to ringside with Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley soon to follow. The distraction was enough to give Balor a temporary edge as he was able to land the Coup de Grace but could not capitalize. Priest then slid the Money In The Bank briefcase in the ring and proceeded to distract the referee. As Balor crawled over to retrieve it, Rollins stopped him with the stomp as he drove Balor’s face into the briefcase allowing him to secure the pinfall.

WWE Women’s Championship

Asuka (c) vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Bianca Belair

Winner: Bianca Belair via pinfall

Asuka looked to continue her title reign following her victory over Bianca Belair at Night of Champions as she engaged in a triple threat affair with Belair and Charlotte Flair who made her recent return. In the closing moments of the match, Flair had the Figure 8 cinched in on Belair. Asuka then sprayed the mist in the face of Flair and attempted to kick Belair in the head. Belair ducked and rolled up Asuka to become the new champion - for a few minutes.

WWE Women’s Championship

Bianca Belair (c) vs. Iyo Sky

Winner: Iyo Sky via pinfall

Just moments after Belair won the Women’s Championship, Miss Money In The Bank, Iyo Sky’s music echoed throughout Ford Field as she made her way to the ring with Bayley. Sky cashed in her briefcase and immediately hit a moonsault on Belair to become the new WWE Women’s Champion.

WWE Undisputed Universal Championship Tribal Combat Match

Roman Reigns w/ Paul Heyman vs. Jey Uso

Winner: Roman Reigns via pinfall

Following Jimmy and Jey Uso’s election to turn on Roman Reigns, they have become embroiled in a bitter Bloodline civil war which led us to tonight’s Tribal Combat. Essentially this no holds barred match was not only for the Undisputed Universal Championship, but also to determine who would sit at the head of the table as the tribal chief. As Jey Uso seemed poised to pull off the unthinkable late in the match, Solo Sikoa emerged to turn the tides. Jey was able to remove Sikoa from the equation with a splash through the announce table and again turned his attention to Roman. After delivering an Uso Splash to Roman, Jey was pulled from the ring by his brother Jimmy who emerged from the crowd. Roman then capitalized and drove Jimmy through another table propped up in a corner of the ring with a devastating spear to retain his title.