The John Report: WWE SummerSlam 2025 Review – Night 2 (Sunday)

The first two-night WWE SummerSlam ends with Sunday’s show featuring a Naomi-Rhea Ripley-Iyo Sky triple threat and John Cena facing Cody Rhodes in a Street Fight main event.

The last two WWE PLE’s have ended with a Money in the Bank cash-in to crown a new champion. Naomi cashed in the Women’s Money in the Bank to leave Evolution as the Women’s World Champion. At SummerSlam Saturday, CM Punk beat Gunther for the World Heavyweight Title in a grueling main event. That title reign lasted only about five minutes because Seth Rollins emerged with crutches, and then revealed he’s not really injured, to cash in Money in the Bank on Punk. Rollins hit The Stomp on Punk and pinned Punk to become the new World Heavyweight Champion.

We know this night two of SummerSlam can’t end with a Money in the Bank cash-in since both briefcases are unavailable to be used now, but there is a lot of anticipation going into John Cena’s final SummerSlam match against Cody Rhodes. It’s a six-match card tonight, and every match is a title match. There are some stipulations throughout the card, so I expect it to be a great night for matches and probably a stronger night than night one in terms of match quality.

There was a three-hour SummerSlam Countdown Show on WWE’s YouTube channel, but I don’t review those shows. I am watching on Netflix in Canada. Let’s get to the main show.

===

WWE SummerSlam – Night 2
From MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey
Sunday, August 3rd, 2025

The weather looks great at MetLife Stadium again for the second night in a row. They showed some superstar arrivals of Solo Sikoa with the MFTs, Jacob Fatu, Lyra Valkyria, Becky Lynch and Cody Rhodes exiting his fancy bus.

A video package aired showing SummerSlam Saturday highlights. It led to Druski talking over the cold open for the SummerSlam Sunday lineup. Good stuff as usual.

It’s 82 degrees Fahrenheit at MetLife Stadium with Michael Cole saying that over 56,000 fans are in attendance.

Let’s Hear From Triple H

The WWE Hall of Famer and WWE Chief Content Officer, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, made his entrance for a show-opening promo. I guess Cardi B was too busy. She barely did anything on night one anyway. Triple H said that this is the moment, this is your time, and all of you right now are part of the biggest SummerSlam in history. Hunter said if you thought last night was something, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Triple H ended it with one question: “Are you ready?” The fans cheered. Triple H welcomed us to the biggest SummerSlam in history. A pyro display went off by the entrance.

Analysis: Thanks, Triple H. That was a DX throwback with the “Are you ready?” question, so it’s something Triple H has been doing for nearly 30 years.

It’s Michael Cole and Wade Barrett on commentary again. The Spanish commentary team was also at ringside. Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer.

The ladies are up first because Rhea Ripley made her entrance first. The fans popped huge for Ripley as usual. The former Women’s World Champion Iyo Sky was up next and she was cheered as usual. Proceed with caution for the Women’s World Champion Naomi, who was up last and ready for one of the biggest matches of her career. Naomi got a special entrance with an electric guitar performance by Naomi’s father, Shawn McCray, on the stage, as Cole mentioned, her father is an accomplished guitarist. That’s cool.

Analysis: WrestleMania had the incredible Sky-Ripley-Belair triple threat match, and now it’s Sky-Ripley again, and this time they are joined by Naomi walking as the champion.

Women’s World Championship: Naomi vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Iyo Sky

It’s 6:17 p.m. ET as the bell rang for the first match. That’s a few minutes earlier than night one. There are no countouts and no disqualifications in a WWE triple threat match.

Naomi bailed to the floor to start the match. Ripley tried to kick Naomi, who avoided it and Ripley kicked Sky. Naomi got back into it by giving Sky a bulldog into Ripley. Naomi hit a cross body block onto both women. Naomi hit a running kick to Sky’s chest by the apron. Naomi bit Ripley’s hand to get out of a move and Naomi punched Ripley to the floor. Naomi hit an X-Factor face first slam into the mat for two. Naomi hit a springboard kick on Ripley, who DDT’d Sky at the same time. Naomi kicked Ripley into the mat. Naomi used her knees to spike Ripley into the mat like a DDT. Naomi jumped off the top and hit a Blockbuster on Ripley for two. Sky got back into it by going for a sunset flip, but Naomi kicked Sky out of the ring. Ripley was back up with a clothesline, a kick to the ribs and a face first slam into the mat. Sky hit a missile dropkick on Naomi. Sky hit a 619 kick to Naomi and Ripley hit a German Suplex on Naomi, who rolled out of the ring. Ripley put Sky on her shoulders and Ripley slammed Sky into the mat for two. Ripley went for Riptide, but Sky countered it with an inside cradle for two. Sky applied a Crossface submission, Ripley got out of it and Sky hit a Poison Rana on Ripley for two because Naomi broke up the pin. Naomi elbowed Sky, but Ripley was there to kick Naomi. Ripley gave Sky a Razor’s Edge across the ring, followed by a Powerbomb for two because Naomi pulled Ripley off the pin attempt. Ripley sent Naomi into the barricade and the steel steps. Sky hit a springboard Moonsault onto both opponents on the floor. Sky makes it look so easy and hits it perfectly every time.

They were back in the ring, where Sky hit a roundhouse kick to Naomi’s head. Sky countered Ripley and hit a double foot stomp to the body. Sky hit the running double knee attack on both opponents two times. Ripley shoved Sky on the top rope. Naomi got back into it and hit a split-legged Moonsault on Ripley. Sky hit a Moonsault on Ripley after Naomi moved off the pin attempt. Naomi hit a Full Nelson Bomb on Sky for a two count. All three women were down. Naomi and Sky exchanged strikes, then Sky hit an uppercut, but Naomi came back with a jumping knee. Ripley headbutted Naomi and hit Riptide for the one…two…and no because Sky broke up the pin! That was close. The fans were really getting into it. Sky hit some punches, Ripley kicked Sky down and Sky kicked Naomi off the apron. Ripley kicked Naomi off the apron too. Sky charged at Ripley, who hit a boot to knock Sky down. Ripley hit a cannonball on Naomi off the apron on the floor. Sky went for a Sunset Flip Powerbomb, and instead, Sky gave Ripley a Powerbomb on Naomi, who was on the floor. Sky went up top, but Ripley was back up. Sky punched Ripley while on the top rope. Sky jumped up to Ripley, who headbutted Sky. Ripley hit a Riptide on Sky off the middle rope for just two because Naomi got back into it and Naomi got the ROLLUP OF DEATH~! (while grabbing the tights) on Ripley for the pinfall win at 16:21.

Winner by pinfall: Naomi

Analysis: ****1/4 I thought it was an excellent match that continues the great run of PLE matches featuring Ripley and Sky together from WrestleMania, Evolution, and now SummerSlam. Naomi dominated the first five minutes, then the action really picked up as Iyo Sky and Rhea Ripley got into it more, and there were so many excellent nearfalls throughout the match. The timing of the nearfalls was so good and that’s not always easy when you are doing moonsaults to break up pin attempts, but these ladies made it work. I like how the finish was done with Ripley hitting the Riptide off the middle ropes on Sky, and it looked like that might end the match, but instead, Naomi was there to break it up and hit the dreaded ROLLUP OF DEATH~! for the win. The ROLLUP OF DEATH~! is deadly after all. One time I had a reader send me an email that they hated that I called it the ROLLUP OF DEATH~!, so I replied back saying, “So you’re mad about 3 words in a review that is 10,000 words long? It’s going to be okay.” And it is. Congrats Naomi. I expected her to win.

After the match, Naomi celebrated with the Women’s World Championship. Ripley was frustrated and complained about Naomi grabbing the tights, but Cole pointed out that there are no disqualifications. They showed some replays and Naomi continued to celebrate.

There were commercials for Drumstick ice cream and WWE Shop.

A commercial aired about SummerSlam 2026 in Minneapolis on August 1st and 2nd from US Bank Stadium. That was announced a long time ago, and it’s in a dome stadium that is home of the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings, who got destroyed by my Los Angeles in the playoffs last year. Just saying.

They showed the NBA’s Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers at ringside. He is dealing with a Torn Achilles, so good luck to him. They also showed Hulk Hogan’s son Nick Hogan and his wife. The WWE Hall of Famer Michelle McCool was shown watching at ringside with her daughter.

The official SummerSlam theme song is “Outside” by Cardi B.

It’s TLC time up next. They said in honor of the 25-year anniversary of the first TLC match at SummerSlam 2000, The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von) were at the ringside. Oh my brother, testify! The Hardy Boyz, who are the TNA Tag Team Champions, were also at ringside. At TNA Bound for Glory in October, The Hardys will face The Dudleys one more time. Huge pop for The Hardys as usual.

Analysis: It’s good to see The Dudleys and Hardys at ringside for this match. I think the Hardys are going to have another WWE run after their TNA run ends and then they’ll probably retire after that. I’m so glad that Jeff Hardy has become sober and is living his life the right way after a lot of issues throughout his life. The Hardys might be my favorite tag team of all time.

The Street Profits were up first, followed by #DIY, the Motor City Machine Guns, my choice for best team was next – Fraxiom, Andrade & Rey Fenix, and the WWE Tag Team Champions, The Wyatt Sicks’s Dexter Lumis & Joe Gacy, who were joined by Uncle Howdy/Bo Dallas, Erick Rowan and Nikki Cross.

Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match For The WWE Tag Team Titles: Wyatt Sicks – Joe Gacy & Dexter Lumis vs. Andrade & Rey Fenix vs. The Street Profits – Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins vs. Fraxiom – Nathan Frazer & Axiom vs. #DIY – Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa vs. Motor City Machine Guns – Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin

The first wrestler/team to climb a ladder and retrieve the WWE Tag Team Titles above the ring will win the match. There were tables, ladders, and chairs surrounding the ringside area. It will be tough to keep track of all the chaos, but I’ll do my best.

The five teams attacked the Wyatt Sicks by stomping on Gacy and Lumis early on and sending them out of the ring. The Guns dropkicked a ladder into the #DIY guys. There were suicide dives by Frazer, Axiom and Sabin. Frazer hit an impressive dive onto Fenix into the barricade. Fraxiom brought a big ladder into the ring, but the Guns were there to stop that. Fraxiom dropkicked a ladder into the Guns. Gacy punched Frazer and Gacy threw a chair at Axiom. Gacy gave Frazer a Death Valley Driver. The Profits went into the ring and hit a back body drop on Gacy, who didn’t hit a ladder that was nearby. Ford brought Gacy back into the ring and they gave Gacy the back body drop on the ladder. Nice job. Dawkins shouted at Ford to get the table while the Dudleys looked on from ringside. The Profits had four Slim Jim tables stacked on the floor. Ciampa threw Sabin into the ring post. Andrade and Ford hit dropkicks on the Profits. Fenix jumped on Andrade’s shoulders and nearly grabbed the titles. Andrade and Fenix each hit Three Amigos suplexes on the Profits. Andrade and Fenix went up top, but #DIY knocked them down. Ciampa and Gargano used chairs to hit a few wrestlers. Ford was sent into the turnbuckle, but Ford jumped over the top and hit a somersault dive on a few guys on the floor. That’s always impressive when he does that. Sabin and Shelley used steel chairs to hit the #DIY guys on the ladder. The Guns hit a dropkick/facebuster combo to send Gacy into a chair. Gargano threw a chair at Shelley’s head. Gargano jumped over the top and DDT’d Gacy through a table. Lumis jumped off the top and hit a leg drop on Ford through a table! Fenix went up top and hit a Frog Splash on Frazer through the table! That was awesome. Axiom went up top and gave Dawkins a Spanish Fly off the top through two tables! Holy shit! The fans chanted that and it’s justified. Ciampa moved out of the way to avoid that. The fans chanted, “This is awesome” for the crazy action. Candice LeRae went to ringside to check on #DIY, especially her husband Johnny Gargano. LeRae tried a climb, but B-Fab, who is a friend of The Street Profits, hit a uranage slam on LeRae. Nikki Cross went up top and hit a belly-to-back suplex on B-Fab off a ladder and into the mat. LeRae climbed up top, but she couldn’t reach. Ciampa and Gargano got knocked into the ladder, so LeRae bumped from the ladder through a ladder bridge on the floor!

Montez Ford knocked down Gargano with a kick and tried a climb, but Erick Rowan showed up to stop that. Rowan pulled Ford down and Rowan hit a spin kick on Dawkins. Rowan was attacked by The Street Profits, who used chairs to beat down Rowan with multiple chair shots to the back. Rowan was back up, so Dawkins tackled Rowan into a table that was against the turnbuckle. Wade mentioned that 12 people are in the match, but 16 people have been involved so far. Ciampa climbed up the ladder and reached up, but wasn’t able to pull the titles down. Frazer tried to attack, so Ciampa did a pull-up on the apparatus. Gargano superkicked Frazer to take him out. Ford jumped onto the ladder to stop Ciampa’s climb. Ford was up top, reaching for the titles, but Axiom was there to stop that. There were six guys near the top of the ladder and trying to reach for the titles, but they couldn’t do it. Bo Dallas/Uncle Howdy shoved a ladder that Ford and Axiom were on. Howdy shoved another ladder and #DIY bumped over the top through the four tables on the floor! Wow. That was nuts. Frazer climbed the ladder, but Howdy gave him a Mandible Claw to put him down. Fenix battled Howdy on the ladder. Andrade went after Howdy as well. Andrade gave Howdy a Sunset Flip Powerbomb into a ladder bridge! That was crazy. Fenix climbed up the ladder, but Lumis hit Fenix in the back with a chair. Gacy and Lumis hit a double team suplex on Fenix. Lumis sent Andrade out of the ring. Gacy climbed up the ladder and unhooked the titles. It went 15:54.

Winners by pinfall: The Wyatt Sicks – Joe Gacy & Dexter Lumis

Analysis: ****1/2 That was an incredible TLC Tag Team Match. I don’t think I’d rate it above the TLC Tag Team Match from the SmackDown after WrestleMania, but it was still a lot of fun and crazy to watch. I think my favorite spot was the Sunset Flip off the top through the table on the floor because it’s not easy to do, but Fenix and Dawkins pulled it off so well. The Wyatt Sicks basically cheated to win since Erick Rowan and Uncle Howdy got heavily involved in the match, yet The Wyatt Sicks are often treated like faces. I guess you could say they are tweeners. Anyway, this was an incredible match that is not easy to put together, especially with 12 guys and then 16 people involved. I’m sure it wasn’t easy to put together, yet they pulled it off well. I would have liked to see Fraxiom win because they are my favorite team, but I don’t mind seeing The Wyatt Sicks retain because their title reign is still in the early stages.

There was a commercial for WWE Unreal on Netflix, the Canelo-Crawford boxing fight on September 13th that TKO is promoting, so expect to hear WWE plug it a lot over the next month.

They showed Triple H hanging out with US President Donald Trump. Good job muting the crowd while showing this, which led to a lot of boos when they showed it on Saturday. I’m proud to be Canadian. Just saying.

They showed a replay of Seth Rollins cashing in Money in the Bank on CM Punk and leaving SummerSlam as the new World Heavyweight Champion. They included commentary from different languages calling the action.

It’s Becky Lynch against Lyra Valkyria up next. There was a video package to set this up since this has been going on for about three months.

Lyra Valkyria made her entrance as the challenger and former champion. Becky Lynch entered as the champion with a new theme song that said “The Man Has Come Around” at the start, and the band is called The Wonder Years. It’s weird not seeing Becky come out there to the same song she’s been using for over a decade, but sometimes people want to change, and that’s fine for her.

WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship (No Countouts & No Disqualifications): Becky Lynch vs. Lyra Valkyria

The No Countout/No DQ stipulation is similar to No Holds Barred or a Street Fight, but the main event is a Street Fight, so they likely wanted to use another name for this.

Lyra was aggressive early on with strikes and she sent Lynch into the turnbuckle. Lyra sent Lynch into the turnbuckle two times. Lyra hit an armdrag, so Lynch left the ring. Lyra went after Lynch, who sent Lyra’s face into the commentary table. Lynch grabbed a kendo stick while Lyra had a crowbar, Lyra hit the kendo stick out of Lynch’s hands. Lynch avoided a crowbar swing and Lynch sent Lyra into the steel steps. Lyra hit a cross body block to take out Lynch on the floor. Lyra worked over Lynch with forearms. Lyra sent Lynch into objects all around ringside. Lyra sent Lynch over the commentary table. Lyra dropkicked Lynch on the chair by the table. Lyra set up a Slim Jim (snap into it) table on the floor. Lynch grabbed a steel chain and put it around Lyra’s mouth. Lynch pulled on the chain against Lyra’s head by the ring post. Lynch sent Lyra hard into the steel steps. They went back into the ring where Lynch used the kendo stick to hit Lyra in the back a few times. Lynch got a two count. Lynch hit Lyra in the ribs with a kendo stick again. Lynch hit a reverse DDT for two. Lynch hit Lyra with a kendo stick again. Lynch brought a toolbox and two chairs into the ring. Lynch hit Lyra in the back with a steel chair two times in a row. Lynch gave Lyra drop toe hold face first into the chair. Lynch used the heavy toolbox to hit Lyra and that got a two count. Lynch grabbed a zip tie from the toolbox and tied Lyra’s hands together. Lynch used the dreaded wrench to hit Lyra in the ribs a few times. Lynch hit a running wrench smash to the head for two. Lynch trapped Lyra against the ring post and Lynch hit Lyra in the ribs with the kendo stick a few times. Lynch hit Lyra in the ribs with about five more kendo stick shots. Lynch went to the middle turnbuckle and Lynch hit a leg drop for two.

Lyra managed to put her hands around Lynch’s waist and tried a belly-to-belly suplex, but Lyra didn’t hit it smoothly, which is understandable when your hands are together in a zip tie. Lyra hit a spin kick to Lyra’s head. Lyra jumped off two chairs and hit a dropkick. Lyra went to the middle turnbuckle and hit a Moonsault for a two count. Lyra managed to bounce Lynch’s head into the chairs repeatedly, but it was really Lynch’s hands smacking the chair. Lyra took a turnbuckle pad off. Lynch tossed Lyra across the ring and sent her shoulder-first into the ring post. Lyra left the ring, Lynch went after her and Lyra sprayed some fire extinguisher spray into Lynch’s face. Lyra tried to cut her zip ties and she finally did it. Lynch attacked with a kendo stick, but Lyra blocked and attacked Lynch with the kendo stick with several shots to the body. Lyra hit Lynch with the kendo stick to the body and Lyra hit a Fisherman’s Suplex in the ring for a two count. Lyra dropkicked a chair into Lynch’s head on the floor. Lyra got a hold of Lynch on the steel steps and Lyra hit a Nightwing slam on Lynch on the floor. The pinfall has to take place in the ring. Lyra charged at Lynch in the ring, Lynch moved and Lyra hit the exposed turnbuckle. Lynch hit the Manhandle Slam onto two chairs for just a two count. Lynch used a chair to hit Lyra in the back. Lynch sent Lyra’s head into the chair and again it was Lyra using her hands to make the noise. Lynch put a chair around Lyra’s throat and sent Lyra into the barricade. Lyra tried to attack with the chair, but Lynch avoided it. Lynch trapped Lyra against the Spanish announce table and Lynch kicked the chair that was around Lyra’s neck. Lynch wanted to attack Lyra with a crowbar, but Bayley showed up to stop Lynch from using it. Lynch told Bayley to attack Lyra with the crowbar, but Bayley refused and threw the crowbar down.

Bayley attacked Lynch with punches. Bayley sent Lynch into the barricade. Bayley charged, Lynch moved and Bayley bumped over the barricade. Lynch went over to check on the table on the floor, so Lyra got back into it with a leg drop that put Lynch through the table on the floor. They each went for their finishing move. Bayley took a swing at Lynch with the chain on her hand, Lynch avoided it and Bayley punched Lyra. Lynch hit the Manhandle Slam on Lyra for the pinfall win at 25:04.

Winner by pinfall: Becky Lynch

The win by Becky Lynch means that Lyra Valkyria can’t challenge Lynch for the title again.

Analysis: ***1/2 It was a very good match, as usual, between Lynch and Lyra. It might be the end of this rivalry. They used weapons for most of the match and it wasn’t about the nearfalls that much, at least compared to some other matches. I will give them credit for being creative with a lot of the weapon usage because they did some crazy things in this match, but perhaps they relied on that too much when telling the story of this match. I would have gone over four stars, but then Bayley got involved, and it took the match off the rails a bit. It was also a very long match that maybe dragged on too much. In my preview of the match, I thought Bayley would turn heel to help Lynch. It didn’t happen that way, but Bayley did get involved and cost Lyra the match, even though it was an accident…or was it? I still think this could lead to Bayley going heel.

A clip aired of the movie The Smashing Machine starring The Rock as fighter Mark Kerr. Rock looks different in this film, so it will be cool to see that film.

A commercial aired for WWE Crown Jewel in Perth, Australia, on October 11th. They are also doing SmackDown and Raw in Perth as well.

They showed Jelly Roll at ringside, along with Metro Boomin and Tigirlily Gold, who are two women who performed America The Beautiful earlier tonight. Russell Wilson of the NFL’s New York Giants was shown at ringside with his kids.

It was time for the US Title Steel Cage Match between champion Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu, so there was a video package to set that up.

Solo Sikoa made his entrance as the United States Champion. Solo beat Jacob for the US Title at the end of June. Jacob Fatu got a pop from the crowd that loves him. It’s a battle of the cousins.

Steel Cage Match For The United States Championship: Solo Sikoa vs. Jacob Fatu

The only way to win is by pinfall, submission, or by escaping the cage by going through the door or going over the top to the floor. If it were up to me, I would either have pinfall or submission only, or over the top to the floor only.

Fatu was in control early on with strikes, headbutts, and a running elbow smash. Solo gave Fatu a back body drop into the cage. Solo splashed Fatu into the cage two times in a row. Solo hit a running senton splash on Fatu. Solo told Fatu that Solo gave him everything, but Fatu didn’t want to listen. Solo hit a running hip attack into the cage. Solo wanted to leave by going out the door, so Fatu grabbed the foot to stop that. Fatu ducked a Samoan Spike and hit a superkick, then Solo hit a superkick and Fatu hit a running lariat. Fatu worked over Solo with punches. Fatu sent Solo into the cage three times in a row. Solo sent Fatu into the cage, but Fatu bounced off and hit a clothesline. Fatu hit a senton splash. Fatu hit a running hip attack and a jumping DDT. Fatu went up top and hit the Mighty Moonsault two times in a row for just two because Solo got his left shoulder up. That was the cue leading to Tonga Loa, JC Mateo and Talla Tonga aka the MFTs (My Family Tree) to make their way down to ringside. Jimmy Uso showed up at ringside and hit superkicks on Loa and JC. Talla hit Jimmy with a boot to the head. Talla sent Jimmy into the cage and Talla sent Jimmy over the commentary table. Fatu shut the cage because he said it’s all gas and no God Damn brakes. Solo hit a Samoan Spike for just two. That means that each man has kicked out of the finishing moves. Solo went to the top of the cage, but Fatu pulled Solo back down. JC and Loa each climbed the cage, so Fatu tried to fight them off. Talla climbed into the cage and handcuffed Fatu’s left hand to the top of the cage. Loa was already in the ring too. Solo tried to crawl out of the cage, so JC opened the door. Fatu broke the handcuffs and grabbed Solo to stop Solo. Fatu kicked the door into JC’s head to knock JC down. Talla kicked the door, so the door hit Fatu in the head and knocked him back into the cage. Solo fell out of the cage door to the floor for the win. It went 12:38.

Winner by pinfall: Solo Sikoa

Analysis: *** It was a solid match, but never really got to that next gear where I’d call it a great match. I think most of us watching knew that Solo would win thanks to his buddies, and that’s what happened. That kind of finish has been done so many times where somebody is near the door and another person slams the door shut, which leads right into the finish. I understand why they booked a cage match to have Fatu lose without being pinned. I just think it was an ending that lacked creativity. No offense to Solo, but his matches aren’t that exciting to watch. I give credit for doing a good job as a character.

There was a replay of Fatu ripping the handcuff off his hand. They replayed the finishing spot where we could see Fatu’s head leaning over Solo’s head, so Talla kicked the door into Fatu’s head.

Solo Sikoa told JC Mateo to attack Fatu, but Jimmy Uso was back up and he superkicked JC. Jimmy sent JC into the cage. Fatu beat up JC and Loa in the cage by tossing them into the cage. Fatu went to the top of the steel cage where there was a small platform. Fatu jumped off the top of the cage with a Mighty Moonsault onto a standing Loa and JC. Ouch. That’s also an impressive leap by Fatu. They played Fatu’s music to end it.

Analysis: It was some revenge from Fatu after getting screwed out of the victory. That moonsault off the top looked great. It’s not easy to do, but Fatu is a special kind of athlete.

There was a commercial for WWE Clash in Paris on Sunday, August 31st. That should be one of the best crowds of the year. Raw is in Paris on September 1st as well.

They showed AAA’s Mr. Iguana and Psycho Clown at ringside.

It’s Intercontinental Title time as Dominik Mysterio defends the gold against the legendary AJ Styles. There was a video package to set it up.

Dominik Mysterio was up first as the Intercontinental Champion. It is Dom’s fourth title defense and he’s been champion for 105 days. The fans hated him as usual. AJ Styles was up next and he drove out to the entrance area in a lowrider with his son Avery. It was the 20th anniversary of the Rey Mysterio-Eddie Guerrero SummerSlam 2005 match (for the custody of Dominik), so that’s why there was a bit of an Eddie tribute. Styles had some Eddie Guerrero-style tights.

Analysis: Nice throwback by Styles paying tribute to Eddie Guerrero. The Eddie-Rey feud in 2005 was legendary, and sadly, Eddie died later that year.

WWE Intercontinental Championship: Dominik Mysterio vs. AJ Styles

It was mentioned by Michael Cole that the IC Title has changed hands 16 times at SummerSlam. That’s a lot. Styles is about 20 years older than Dom, who claims he’s a 20-year veteran. Heels lie, my friends.

Dom tried to run away, but Styles got a hold of him and hit a backbreaker. Styles sent Dom out of the ring, but Dom was ready and tripped up Styles. Dom hit a sliding dropkick to knock Styles down to the floor. Dom hit a cross body block onto Styles on the floor. Back in the ring, Dom stomped on Styles in the ring. Dom went for a hurricanrana off the top, but Styles blocked it and Styles jumped off the turnbuckle with a DDT. Styles hit a clothesline, followed by a sliding forearm. Styles hit a running clothesline and a slam onto the knee. Styles hit a Pele Kick to the head, along with a forearm. Dominik avoided a Phenomenal Forearm and Dominik hit a Michinoku Driver for two. Dominik hit two suplexes, but Styles stopped a third and hit a brainbuster. Styles went for a Frog Splash off the top, and Dom got the knees up to block. Dom dropkicked Styles into the ropes, followed by Dom hitting a 619 kick. Dom went up top, jumped off with a splash, Styles kicked the leg and Styles applied a Calf Crusher submission, but Dom was able to get to the ropes. Styles charged, Dom moved and Dom sent Styles face first into the turnbuckle. Dom took a turnbuckle pad off, so the referee tried to put it back on. Dom brought a steel chair into the ring, Dom smashed the chair into the mat and Styles put the chair around his neck. It was a classic Eddie Guerrero spot and the fans were chanting “Eddie” for it. Styles hit an enziguri kick to the head. Dom sent Styles groin first into the top rope. Styles got back up and kicked the middle rope, so that crotched Dom. Dom hit a thrust to the throat. Styles tripped up Dom and applied a Calf Crusher submission. Styles took Dom’s boot off the left foot. Styles nearly hit the referee, so the referee went up against the ropes. Dom used the boot to hit Styles in the head. Dominik hit a Frog Splash off the top for the pinfall win at 10:48.

A replay showed that Dominik unzipped his left boot earlier and that led to Styles taking the boot off. Barrett put over Dominik for being so smart.

Winner by pinfall: Dominik Mysterio

Analysis: ***1/4 A solid match to give Dominik Mysterio a creative win by using the boot as a weapon. It was cool to see the Eddie Guerrero references throughout the match, so kudos to both guys for coming up with some creative spots. The replay showed how smart Dominik was to take off his boot and then use it as a weapon. Well played. Eddie beat Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 20 without a boot on, so it was also in tribute to Eddie doing that. Styles is still very good, but he’s winding down his career and is likely retiring in the next year or two, so I hope he gets another push at some point.

There was a commercial for WWE Survivor Series in San Diego. They also showed a commercial for WWE LFG.

Cody Rhodes was featured in a commercial for Wheatley American Vodka.

Stephanie McMahon was in the ring to announce the attendance for tonight: 60,561 people. Stephanie said when you add the two nights together, you get 113,722 people, which makes this the biggest SummerSlam in history. The fans cheered, and some pyro went off in the stadium.

Analysis: It’s well known that WWE numbers are usually inflated a bit, but it’s still over 100,000 tickets sold over two nights, and that’s very impressive. It’s not like it’s 113,722 different people because a lot of them went to both nights, but as I said it’s still a big number and it shows that two-night SummerSlam is a good idea.

A video was shown, featuring TLC match highlights and how announcers in different languages reacted to them.

It was main event time, so a video package aired to set up John Cena defending the WWE Title against Cody Rhodes in a Street Fight. Great video package to set it up.

There was the voice of the late, great Dusty Rhodes speaking and saying he was proud of his son Cody. That was some AI usage. Cody Rhodes made his entrance wearing a golden helmet while the fans sang along with his “Kingdom” song. There was a loud “WHOA-OH” for that part of the song. This crowd is hot for Cody, that’s for sure.

John Cena made his entrance for his final SummerSlam match and he made the enthusiastic entrance that he has done for most of his career. This is different than what Cena has ben doing in the last five months. Cena ran down to the ring and slid into the ring like he’s done so many times before over the last 20 years. A graphic noted that it is Cena’s 16th career SummerSlam match. The fans were cheering for Cena heavily and it didn’t sound like much booing going on, but it was definitely a loud reaction. Ring announcer Alicia Taylor did the championship introductions. Some fans booed Cody during his entrance because they loved Cena and wanted Cena to win. Cena was still introduced as “The Last Real Champion” and the fans popped huge for Cena.

Street Fight For The Undisputed WWE Championship: John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes

A Street Fight means anything goes. The pinfall or submission must be in the ring.

Cena and Cody stood face to face, then Cena looked into the crowd and Cena hugged Cody, so Cody hugged him back. That led to a fight where both men exchanged punches. They left the ring and Cody sent Cena hard into the steel steps. Cena sent Cody into another set of steel steps. Cena grabbed a crutch from Tyrese Haliburton at ringside and Cena hit Cody in the back with the crutch. Cena brought the bottom half of the steel steps into the ring. Cena tried to use them, but Cody fought back and hit a body slam on the steps. Cody went up top, so Cena shoved him down to the floor. Cena picked up the steel steps and tossed them at Cody on the floor. Cody grabbed his right forearm after taking that shot, but he appeared to be okay. Back in the ring, Cody hit a Disaster Kick off the middle turnbuckle. Cody hit a side Russian legsweep for two. Cody knocked Cena down with a punch. Cody hit a snap powerslam for two. Cena gave Cody a back body drop over the top to the floor. Cena and Cody each found steel chairs under the ring. Cody and Cena smashed their chairs into eachother. Cody jabbed Cena in the ribs with a chair, followed by Cody hitting a chair to Cena’s back. Cody set up a chair against the turnbuckle, but Cena reversed Cody and sent him into the chair. Cena hit two shoulder tackles and the spinning slam. The fans went crazy for the classic Cena moves. Cena hit the Five Knuckle Shuffle fist drop. Cody fought back with two clotheslines and there were some fans booing. Cody hit an elbow smash and Cody hit a springboard Cody Cutter for two. Cody thought about what to do next, so Cena picked him up and Cena hit an Attitude Adjustment for two because Cody got his left shoulder up. There’s the first finisher kick out. Cody hit a twisting cross body block onto Cena for two. Cody hit another springboard Disaster Kick for two. Cody jumped off the top with another Cody Cutter for two. Cena picked up Cody and hit an Electric Chair Drop for two. Cody picked up Cena and hit him with a piledriver for two. The announcers put over how it’s dangerous and a banned move, but you can do anything you want in a Street Fight.

Analysis: A rare piledriver in WWE. We see the Canadian Destroyer, which is a flipping piledriver, sometimes in WWE, but rarely a devastating piledriver. Cody did it safely, and the crowd reacted to it in a big way.

Cody tried to pick up Cena, who was playing possum, and Cena got back up with an Attitude Adjustment. Cena was too hurt to make a cover. They exchanged strikes and Cody hit a sitout Powerbomb. Cena applied an STF, Cody crawled to the ropes, and there was no rope break in a Street Fight. Cody sent Cena’s throat into the ropes, so that broke the hold. They left the ring where Cody sent Cena over the barricade at ringside. Cena grabbed a microphone and hit Cody in the head with it. Cena jumped onto Cody’s back and hit a Code Red on the floor! Cena smiled as if he was amazed that he could do that. Cena cleaned off the Spanish commentary table. Cena picked up Cody and jumped off the English commentary table to give Cody an AA through the Spanish table. It wasn’t pretty, but it worked. Cena put Cody back into the ring and got a two count.

Cena fired himself up, he charged, Cody avoided it, and Cena went crashing into the turnbuckle. Cody hit the Cross Rhodes for a two count. That is Cena kicking out Cody’s finisher. Cody set up Cena on the top rope, but Cena blocked that and Cena shoved Cody down. Cena jumped off the top and Cena hit the leg drop to the back of the neck! Cena did that many times in his career. Cena hit the Attitude Adjustment again for one…two…no because Cody got his left shoulder up. Cena pulled out a Slim Jim table from under the ring, and brought it into the ring. Cena tried an AA through the table, but Cody flipped the table over and Cody hit a DDT for two. Cody set up the table against the turnbuckle. Cody left the ring, tripped up Cena and Cody tossed Cena into the crowd. Cody and Cena went fighting into the crowd. They went over near the entrance area. Cena used a guardrail to hit Cody two times. Cody suplexed Cena onto the steel guard rail. They went underneath the massive stage by the entrance area. They were on the elevator shaft that Cody uses for his entrance and Cena had Cody on his shoulders. Cena gave Cody an Attitude Adjustment onto the ramp. Cena put Cody on his shoulders and walked him down to the ring.

When they got back into the ring, Cody popped back up and threw Cena hard into the table that was against the turnbuckle. Cody hit Cross Rhodes on Cena again for just a two count. Cody charged, but Cena managed to leverage Cody out of the ring. Cody hit Cena with a chair shot, but Cena used his hands to block it. Cody unclipped the bottom turnbuckle and he used the steel bar to hit Cena in the head. The fans booed Cody for doing that. Cody looked conflicted about having to use a weapon to beat Cena. When Cena got back up, Cody used the steel bar to knock Cena down again. Cody did it safely, and Cena sold it well. Cena was back up and tripped up Cody into an STF. Cena choked Cody with the bottom rope. Cody grabbed a tight headlock and used the rope to choke Cena. Cena kicked Cody in the gut and wanted the AA, but Cody got out of it. Cody hit a Cross Rhodes, Cody held on, Cody hit another Cross Rhodes and Cody hit a third Cross Rhodes in a row. Cody covered for the one….two…and…no. Cena kicked out! Super Cena kicked out of a triple Cross Rhodes. The fans popped that Cena is still alive. Cody brought the WWE Championship in the ring. Cody charged, Cena was ready and Cena hit the Attitude Adjustment. Cena hit Cody with an Attitude Adjustment again. Cena tossed the WWE Title down. Cena put Cody on the top rope, Cena was on the middle rope and Cena hit an Avalanche Attitude Adjustment for one…two…and no! Super Cody kicked out! The fans booed that one because they want Cena to win. The fans chanted “This is awesome” for the great match. It was 35 minutes into the match.

Cena brought another table into the ring and set it up in the middle of the ring. Cena put Cody onto the top rope again. Cena went for the Attitude Adjustment off the turnbuckle again, but Cody fought back and Cody jumped off the top rope with a Cody Cutter through the table. Ouch. Cena collapsed so that his body was against the middle ropes. Cody did a final salute to the GOAT. Cody hit a final Cross Rhodes for the pinfall win at 37:45.

Winner by pinfall AND NEW Undisputed WWE Champion: Cody Rhodes

Analysis: ***** I loved the match. I’m giving it five stars. I don’t know if people will think I’m overrating it or what others might rate it, but I enjoyed it immensely. It was an excellent match that was easily Cena’s best singles match this year. Cena did have a good showing in the Elimination Chamber match, too, but this was a singles match, and this one really showed how Cena can still put on an impressive showing if he needs to. This was babyface Super Cena, who kicked out of everything that Cody hit him with, and Cody also kicked out of everything that Cena did. This was a classic Cena PLE main event match and to John’s credit, he put on an epic performance. It was the right call to make Cena a babyface again, as the fans were totally behind him, and you could see Cena was more comfortable working as a babyface. Cody winning was the right call because it was great to see Cena as a 17-time WWE World Champion, but I felt like he should lose the title before retiring and putting the title back on Cody makes a lot of sense. Did they kick out of too many finishers? Probably. I’m sure people are whining about that. Sometimes people take pro wrestling too seriously and forget its entertainment aspect. I’m not bothered by kicking out of finishers in a main event level match of a major show. The crowd certainly liked it too.

After the match, John Cena presented Cody Rhodes with the WWE Title and Cena hugged Cody. Cena spoke to Cody, and you could tell that Cody was getting emotional because of whatever Cena said. Cody shook Cena’s hand post match and you could see Cena say, “That’s the best I got.” Cody brought Cena to the center of the ring and raised his hand. Cena pointed at Cody as the winner.

Analysis: Congratulations again to Cody Rhodes as the WWE Champion. I don’t know if this reign will last more than a year like the last one, but I certainly don’t mind seeing him as champion again, and I’m happy to see Cody as the two-time WWE Champion.

John Cena stood in the ring while the fans chanted, “Thank you, Cena,” for him. Cena saluted the crowd.

Cena was about to leave the ring and then a familiar song hit…it’s Brock Lesnar! Cole: “Holy shit!”

Brock Lesnar walked down to the ring looking scary with a full beard and a cowboy hat as he walked down to the ring. Lesnar walked around the ring and stared at Cena, with whom he trained early in their careers 25 years ago, and they faced off many times over the years.

Lesnar went into the ring, Cena tried to attack him, and Lesnar dropped Cena with an F5. Lesnar left. That was the end of the show.

Analysis: I certainly didn’t predict that, and I doubt many people saw that coming. Lesnar and Cena have a long history, dating back 25 years to when they trained together at OVW, followed by many memorable matches. Lesnar hasn’t been in WWE for two years, but he’s still in great shape, and I guess WWE is willing to use him even though he’s referenced in the Vince McMahon lawsuit. The fact that Lesnar is being used again and is in the Vince lawsuit is going to make people angry.

Given Cena’s 25-year history with Lesnar, dating back to their OVW days, it’s understandable why Cena wants to wrestle Lesnar at least one more time. I assume WWE isn’t going to care about the backlash of using Lesnar, even though a lot of people don’t like him, since Vince McMahon texted him about Janel Grant while Vince was allegedly sex trafficking Grant. And yes, I think McMahon did that to that poor woman, but it’s also a civil lawsuit that she said against him rather than a criminal case. Anyway, I’m sure the use of Lesnar will be controversial. The US is also run by a President who is a convicted felon who has said terrible things about women, yet people voted for him to be President twice, so there are probably some people who don’t care about allegations. It’s up to you how you personally feel about it.

WWE SummerSlam Sunday had a runtime of 3 hours, and 46 minutes. SummerSlam Saturday was 3 hours, and 24 minutes. That’s 7 hours, 10 minutes in total.

===

Five Stars of the Show

1. John Cena
2. Cody Rhodes
3. Naomi, Rhea Ripley, Iyo Sky
4. All the guys in the TLC match
5. Dominik Mysterio, Becky Lynch

===

Final Thoughts on WWE SummerSlam

I’m going 8.5 out of 10 for this show. I went 7.5 out of 10 for Saturday’s show, so let’s call SummerSlam 8 out of 10 combined.

I expected SummerSlam Sunday to be better than Saturday, and it was. The lineup was strong up and down the card. I thought they nailed it in terms of the match order with the women’s triple threat starting the show (Naomi was great with the always awesome Sky/Ripley duo), followed by the incredible TLC match with some amazing bumps, but I wish the finish was more creative. The Lynch/Valkyria match was pretty good, too. The Solo/Fatu and Dominik/Styles matches were solid, but then it picked up with the Cody Rhodes-John Cena main event.

That was clearly Cena’s best singles match this year and reminiscent of some of the great main event matches that Cena had in his legendary career. Yes, they kicked out a lot of finishers, and that might upset some people, but this was one of Cena’s last matches, and I certainly don’t mind seeing the “GOAT” doing a little bit extra, considering how much he busted his ass to entertain ass for two decades. I’m certainly cool with Cody Rhodes as WWE Champion again. I’m not sure if this title reign will last a year like the last one, but he’s very good in the top babyface role.

Brock Lesnar’s return was kept quiet, and I didn’t expect it, so it was an interesting surprise, and also a memorable way to end the show by having Lesnar drop Cena with an F5. Would I have brought Lesnar back? Probably not, but it’s not up to me. I’m not going to “protest” because of it either. I really enjoyed SummerSlam night two.

Here are my rankings of WWE PLE’s in 2025:

Elimination Chamber (March 1) – 9 (out of 10)

Evolution (July 13) – 8.5

Royal Rumble (February 1) – 8.5

SummerSlam (August 2 & 3) – 8

WrestleMania 41 (April 19 & 20) – 7.5

Money in the Bank (June 7) – 7.5

Night of Champions (June 28) – 7.25

Backlash (May 10) – 7.25

===

As a reminder, I have a listing of every WWE PPV that I reviewed in order by year. Thank you for supporting us at TJRWrestling. We appreciate you.

Thanks for reading this review. My contact info is below.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter/X: @johnreport