Reviews

The John Report: WWE SummerSlam 2025 Review – Night 1 (Saturday)

By John Canton • Published Aug 02, 2025 21:55 EDT
WWE SummerSlam 2025 Saturday Review tjrwrestling

The first two-night WWE SummerSlam kicks off on Saturday with Gunther defending the World Heavyweight Title against CM Punk.

This is the 38th edition of WWE SummerSlam, and it’s the first time it’s taking place over two nights.

It’s going to be a 12-match card with six matches on SummerSlam Saturday and six matches on SummerSlam Sunday. An interesting thing about the card is that every match on Sunday is a title match. The Saturday lineup has three title matches. There are supposed to be over 50,000 fans on each night of SummerSlam, so that’s very impressive to sell over 100,000 tickets across two nights. SummerSlam as a two-night event will be a long-term thing in WWE, for sure.

Roman Reigns has main evented dozens of WWE shows in his career, but at SummerSlam, Reigns will be in the opening match with Jey Uso against the team of Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed. The Gunther match against CM Punk is expected to be the main event of SummerSlam on Saturday.

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 1
From MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey
Saturday, August 2nd, 2025

It was a sunny day in New Jersey, and some planes flew overhead as the show began. The Superstar Arrivals were shown of Drew McIntyre looking at his phone, Logan Paul with his crew, Randy Orton, Jelly Roll, World Heavyweight Champion Gunther, and his opponent, CM Punk. The fans cheered loudly when Punk was shown.

A video package aired to set up the show, and they used Druski to talk about how big of an event it is.

There’s a big crowd with over 50,000 fans, and it was 77 degrees Fahrenheit, which means it’s a nice and sunny day there in New Jersey. I’m Canadian and don’t use Fahrenheit like 99% of the world, but of course, America uses it. I’m a Celsius guy.

Cardi B Welcomes Us To SummerSlam

The SummerSlam host, rapper Cardi B, made her entrance wearing a fancy dress with a very long gown. Cardi welcomed us to the show. Cardi spoke about how it was the first two-day SummerSlam. She was reading off some screens. Cardi mentioned some wrestlers and welcomed us to SummerSlam. A pyro display followed that.

Analysis: Thanks for that, Cardi. At least it was quick.

Jey Uso made his entrance surrounded by the fans, and it’s a stadium, so that meant it would take him a long time to get to the ring. The fans were Yeeting with Jey Uso, who is still very popular with the fans.

The commentary team was Michael Cole and Wade Barrett. The Spanish commentary team was at ringside too. Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer.

Roman Reigns was next, and he got a loud reaction from the fans, who chanted “OTC” for the Original Tribal Chief. This is Roman’s first match since WrestleMania 41 over three months ago, and he looks like he’s in great shape as usual. At least Roman’s long entrance, walking slowly on the ramp, will give Jey time to catch his breath. Cole noted that Reigns is 6-1 at SummerSlam. Two years ago at SummerSlam, Roman beat Jey in the main event.

Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed made their entrance with “The Oracle” Paul Heyman joining them. Reed had Roman Reigns’ white sneakers around his neck because Reed stole them on Raw.

Roman Reigns & Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed (w/Paul Heyman)

The bell rang 20 minutes into the show to start the first show. That’s not a complaint from me, but it did take a long time to start the first match, and it feels longer than usual.

Reigns and Jey were aggressive with punches as they cleared the ring. Jey did some Yeeting as his music played while Bron and Reed pulled Reigns out of the ring. Jey jumped off the top onto Bron, Reed, and Reigns on the floor. Reed sent Reigns into the steel steps. Jey battled Bron in the ring with punches. Bron ran the ropes and hit a clothesline. Reed tagged in and hit a clothesline on Jey against the turnbuckle. Bron ran around the ring and hit a shoulder tackle on Reigns on the floor. Bron was back in the ring, and he hit a front slam on Jey. Bron did some push-ups like Uncle Scott Steiner in the ring. Heyman had the Roman Reigns shoes around his neck. Reed hit Jey with a knee to the ribs. The fans were chanting “We Want Roman” so Reed taunted Reigns about that. Reed sent Jey hard into the turnbuckle. Bron went on Reed’s back, and they did a double splash on Jey. Bron held Jey in a chinlock and sang that Roman should have stayed away. Jey tried to break free, but Bron press slammed Jey onto the double knees for a two count. Bron was on the apron, Jey got up by the Spanish commentary table, and Bron jumped off with a clothesline, but Jey moved out of the way. Bron hit his knee on the table. Jey got back into the ring and sent a charging Red out of the ring. Bron tackled Jey while Reed pulled Reigns off the apron. No tag. Reed was back in as he put Jey on his shoulders, and Jey countered Bron and Jey hit a DDT.

Reigns got the hot tag to enter the match for the first time about 11 minutes into the match. Reigns unloaded on Bron with clotheslines and a leaping clothesline. Reigns worked over Bron with ten corner clotheslines by the turnbuckle. Bron hit a back elbow, but Reigns managed to clothesline Bron over the top to the floor. Reigns ran the ropes and hit a dive over the top onto both guys. Reigns went so far that he had to flip over onto his back on the floor. That is not something that Reigns does very often, but he did it perfectly. Back in the ring, Reigns hit a uranage slam on Bron. Reigns hit a Superman Punch on Reed on the apron. Bron rolled up Reigns for two. Bron hit a jumping knee on Reigns. Bron ran the ropes, Reigns hit him with a Superman Punch and Reed made a blind tag, so Reed was legal with a cannonball on Reigns. Reed hit a splash on Reigns, Jey made a blind tag, and hit a jumping kick to the head of Reed. Jey charged, but Reed hit a clothesline to knock him down. Reed hit a Death Valley Driver on Jey for two. The 330-pounder Reed hit a suicide dive on both opponents on the floor. That was impressive. Bron hit a jumping clothesline on Reigns over the Spanish commentary table. Reed put Jey on his shoulders, and Bron went up top, and Bron gave Jey a bulldog off the top. That was a Steiner Brothers move, so Bron was paying tribute to his dad, Rick Steiner, and uncle, Scott Steiner. Great move. Bron ran around the ring, but Reigns was ready with a Superman Punch on Bron. Reigns gave Bron a Spear through the barricade at ringside. That’s always a good spot that pops the crowd.

Reed rolled Jey into the ring. Reed called for a Tsunami, but when Reed went up top, Reigns went into the ring and hit a Superman Punch. That was some illegal offence since Reigns isn’t legal. Reigns and Jey hit the 1D on Reed that The Usos (and The Dudleys made famous) use and that got a two count because Bron made the save. All four guys were down about 20 minutes into this match. The fans chanted “Roman, Roman Reigns” for the OTC. Bron worked over Jey with punches. Bron put his straps up, just to put them down again so he could yell. Bron charged at Jey, Reigns shoved Jey out of the way and Bron hit a Spear on Reigns. Jey superkicked Bron out of the ring. Jey hit a Spear on Reed. Jey went up top and hit an Uso Splash on Reed for the pinfall win at 21:12.

Winners by pinfall: Roman Reigns & Jey Uso

Analysis: ***3/4 It was a very good tag team match that felt like a main event level match to start off the show. You don’t see many tags lasting over 20 minutes, but they made the most of the time to build up to Reigns getting the hot tag, and it picked up from there. I liked the story of Reigns saving Jey by taking the Spear himself, and that led to Jey finishing off Reed to get the win. I would have liked to see Bron and Reed get some more nearfalls to make it look like they had a shot to win, because I don’t think there was enough of that in the match. It was a very entertaining tag team match with the babyfaces finding a way to win.

A commercial aired promoting the WWE 2K25 video game. A commercial aired for the WWE Unreal docuseries on Netflix premiered this past week. I watched all five parts and liked it a lot. There was a commercial promoting upcoming WWE events for Raw and SmackDown tapings.

They showed celebrities at ringside like actor Druski, singer Breland, and rapper Fat Joe, who has lost a lot of weight, so good job by him.

The Women’s Tag Team Title match was up next, so there was a video package to set it up.

Women’s Tag Team Championships: The Judgment Day – Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez vs. Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss

Perez started with Bliss, who hit a headscissors on Perez. Flair tagged in, kicked Raquel and Flair sent Perez into the turnbuckle. Flair kicked Perez, but Raquel was there with a clothesline. Raquel battled Flair, who tried to fight out of the heel corner, but Raquel hit a Samoan Drop. Perez was back in with a knee drop to the head. Perez and Raquel made quick tags, leading to Raquel applying an armbar. Flair broke free and hit a boot to the head. Flair sent Raquel into the top turnbuckle. Flair jumped onto Raquel and hit a headscissors. Bliss tagged in and unloaded on Perez with punches. Bliss hit a knee smash, along with a dropkick. Bliss hit a flipping splash on Perez for two because Raquel broke it up. Bliss sent Raquel over the top to the floor and Perez got a rollup on Bliss for two. Perez did an eye gouge to block a Sister Abigail DDT. Perez tried a moonsault, but Bliss avoided it. Bliss kicked Raquel and hit a DDT on Perez. Raquel was legal as Bliss went for Twisted Bliss on Perez, who got her knees up. Raquel hit a clothesline to knock Bliss down. Raquel powered Bliss into the turnbuckle. Perez was back in and the champs did a legsweep/big boot combo for two. The fans were quiet for most of this match as Perez held Bliss in a chinlock and slammed her down. Bliss countered a Raquel move, but Raquel was back up with a shoulder tackle to knock Bliss down. Bliss hit a jawbreaker on Perez, who came back with a kick to the ribs. Bliss and Perez did a double hair pull takedown.

Flair got the hot tag against Raquel and Flair hit a top rope cross body block on the heels. The fans came alive as Flair unloaded with chops. Flair hit an impressive cartwheel clothesline. Flair hit a fallaway slam on Perez. Flair kicked Raquel to put her down. Flair went up top and hit a moonsault on both opponents. That looked good and it got a two count. Flair went for the Figure Eight on Raquel, but Perez hit a springboard moonsault on Flair. Bliss went into the ring and threw a punch that hit Flair because Raquel moved. Bliss felt bad about it. Perez sent Bliss out of the ring. Perez hit a Tejana Bomb and Perez tagged in and hit Pop Rox on Flair for two because Bliss hit a neckbreaker for the save. The crowd came alive after that. Bliss sent Raquel shoulder-first into the ring post. Bliss tagged in and Perez got a rollup for two. Bliss came back with a punch to knock Perez down. Bliss went for Sister Abigail, Flair got back up and kicked Raquel. Bliss hit Sister Abigail on Perez for the pinfall win at 13:31.

Winners by pinfall AND NEW Women’s Tag Team Champions: Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss

Analysis: ***1/4 This was pretty good with the crowd getting into it by the end. There were parts of the match where the crowd was dead quiet, but then they really got into it after some of the tags by the babyfaces. I expected a title change just because the story made sense for Flair and Bliss to become champions who didn’t get along in the past, but they have become friends. The spot where Bliss accidentally punched Flair was a way to tease that there may be issues. Instead, they managed to bounce back from it. Raquel and Roxanne worked well as a team and I like them as heels. It just felt like the right time for a title change.

Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss celebrated with the Women’s Tag Team Titles. Flair mentioned Bliss punched her in the jaw, but then Flair hugged Bliss. Flair and Bliss celebrated with the titles.

There were members of the roster shown watching the show in a locker room. It was The New Day, Grayson Waller, Akira Tozawa, Maxxine Dupri, Dragon Lee and Cruz Del Toro. It was a Papa John’s pizza ad. Nikki Bella walked in with more pizzas, so everybody was happy.

They plugged some things like the Canelo-Crawford boxing match in Las Vegas on September 13th, which TKO is promoting, so we’ll keep hearing about it on WWE shows.

The Karrion Kross/Sami Zayn match was next, so that led right into the Kross entrance with Scarlett. There was a pop for Kross, who has gotten over with the fans as an interesting character. No video package for this match. Sami Zayn was cheered heavily as usual.

Sami Zayn vs. Karrion Kross (w/Scarlett)

They have had two matches recently, with each guy getting one win, so this was a grudge match.

Zayn and Kross exchanged punches. Zayn clotheslined Kross out of the ring. Zayn went for a move off the apron, but Kross tripped him up. Kross hit Zayn with a forearm. Zayn jumped off the barricade and hit a moonsault onto a standing Kross. Back in the ring, Kross picked up Zayn, leading to a Death Valley Driver for a two count. The fans were chanting for both guys. Kross clotheslined Zayn and hit an elbow to the jaw. Kross hit an overhead suplex across the ring. Zayn hit Kross with an elbow, followed by a double axhandle two times in a row. Kross hit a suplex for a two count. Kross punched Zayn while telling him to “say it” repeatedly. Zayn worked over Kross with punches while they were by the turnbuckle. Zayn did a leapfrog off the ropes, leading to a clothesline. Kross blocked a slam and hit a Doomsday Saito Suplex for a two count. That was a rough landing on the neck for Zayn. Scarlett grabbed the steel pipe from under the ring. Scarlett distracted the referee, so Kross was back up with the steel pipe and Zayn avoided the pipe. Zayn hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for two, as usual for that move. Zayn attacked Kross with repeated kick stomping to the head. The referee made Zayn move back to calm him down. Scarlett put the steel pipe at Zayn’s feet while the referee checked on Kross. Zayn picked up the steel pipe, the fans were cheering, and Zayn tossed the steel pipe down. Kross was back up with a rollup for two. Zayn gave Kross an Exploder Suplex into the turnbuckle. Zayn hit the Helluva Kick for the pinfall win at 8:11. Cole said it proves that sometimes good guys can finish first.

Winner by pinfall: Sami Zayn

Analysis: *** That was a solid match that wasn’t given a lot of time just because it was a PLE match. It was more of a TV match to give Zayn the decisive win and likely put an end to this rivalry. The story was about if Zayn would be willing to use a steel pipe to hit Kross, but Zayn refused and remained a babyface by finishing off Kross with a Helluva Kick for the win. I think they could have done a bit more with Kross nearly getting the win after Zayn threw the steel pipe. It was just one rollup by Kross after that, and I would have liked to see more. Anyway, I expected Zayn to get the win. I certainly hope Kross stays in WWE long-term, but we don’t know if he will, given his contract is apparently up soon.

After the match, Sami Zayn signalled to Kross and said: “We’re done.” Kross nodded at him to say yes.

The announced attendance was 53,161 people in the crowd. They showed images of Hulk Hogan while Michael Cole talked about Hulk’s history at SummerSlam.

Hulk Hogan’s son Nick Hogan and his wife were shown in the crowd sitting near the front row. They played the “Real American” song for The Hulkster as well.

There were commercials for WWE Shop, WWE’s new deal with Maybelline, featuring some of the women’s division.

A commercial aired for WWE Survivor Series at Petco Park in San Diego on November 29th. Tickets are on sale now.

There was a plug for AAA TripleMania 33 on August 16th. It will be on WWE’s YouTube channel in English and Spanish.

They showed AAA stars Mr. Iguana and Psycho Clown at ringside. The fans cheered for them.

The WWE Women’s Title match was next, so they showed a video package to set up Tiffany Stratton defending against Jade Cargill. There isn’t much of a story other than Jade won Queen of the Ring to earn the title match.

Jade Cargill made her entrance first as the challenger. Jade was wearing the green and yellow colors of the Jamaican flag to honor her heritage, according to Cole. It’s a cool look. Jade is always stylish with her gear. It helps her stand out as a star.

It’s Tiffy Time as Tiffany Stratton named her entrance as the WWE Women’s Champion. Cole mentioned that Stratton only started to train as a wrestler four years ago. I have reviewed everything in her career since she started in NXT, and it’s been incredible to see how good Stratton has become.

WWE Women’s Championship: Tiffany Stratton vs. Jade Cargill

Stratton hit an armdrag, and then Jade hit a pump kick to knock Stratton down. Jade went after Stratton and sent Stratton into the barricade. Jade suplexed Stratton on the floor. Jade was posing on the apron, so Stratton knocked her down to the floor. Stratton hit a suicide dive cross body block on Jade on the floor. Stratton went up top and hit a Swanton Bomb for just a one count. Stratton went for a handstand back elbow, but Jade caught her and hit a backbreaker. Jade kicked Stratton, and Jade hit a spinning sitout Powerbomb called the Eye of the Storm for a two count. Jade hit a running back elbow. Stratton hit a rolling senton. Stratton went to the turnbuckle, but Jade knocked her to the apron. Jade suplexed Stratton, and Stratton came back with a Falcon Arrow slam. They exchanged chops, and then Stratton hit a headscissors. Stratton hit an elbow. Stratton hit an Alabama Slam. Stratton went for the Prettiest Moonsault Ever off the top, but Jade got her feet up to block. Jade hit the Jaded slam on Stratton, but when Jade covered, she over-rotated, and Stratton’s foot was on the ropes to stop the referee’s count. It was a fluky two-count. It’s not a botch by the women – it’s what they were supposed to do to give Stratton a kickout without powering out for two. Stratton got a rollup for two. Jade hit a Chokeslam. They went to the middle turnbuckle where Jade went for Jaded, but Stratton countered with a forward roll and flipped Jade over. Stratton went up top and hit the Prettiest Moonsault Ever for the pinfall win at 7:04.

Winner by pinfall: Tiffany Stratton

Analysis: **3/4 They kept it short and full of action in under ten minutes. I get that because Jade Cargill isn’t great in the longer matches, but I was hoping they would have gotten more time to tell more of a story. It was more about big moves in this match. Jade looked like she might win when she hit Jaded, but the cover was bad because Stratton’s legs were in the ropes, so it gave Stratton new life. That led to Stratton finding a way to win. I thought Jade would kick out of that PME at the end, but there was no kickout as Stratton’s reign continues.

A video aired promoting the Smashing Machine movie starring The Rock as Mark Kerr. It looks good. It’s in theatres in October.

They showed a chef named Tineke Younger at ringside. I have no idea who that is. Cardi B, the host, was watching from the ringside. They showed the legendary Stephanie McMahon at ringside as well. At least I know who she is. I know who Cardi B is, too.

The Randy Orton/Jelly Roll tag team match against Logan Paul/Drew McIntyre is next, so there was a video package to set it up.

There wasn’t a special entrance for Logan Paul. He just walked out to the ring and got booed as usual. There were fans on camera holding “Logan Paul is an Outsider” signs. Drew McIntyre was up next, looking ready to go as usual.

Jelly Roll did a promo, and he sang the start of Randy Orton’s theme song, so then the song played after that. Jelly Roll’s wife was at the ringside, and I believe that was Randy Orton’s wife, Kim, next to her, but they didn’t mention her. Anyway, the fans were singing Orton’s song because it’s such a damn good song.

Randy Orton & Jelly Roll vs. Drew McIntyre & Logan Paul

Paul hit Jelly with a cheap shot punch before the bell even rang. Jelly tagged himself in and told Orton that he’s got him. Jelly hit a body slam and a strut, leading to an elbow drop. Drew tagged in, so Orton wanted the tag and Orton hit Jelly in the back of the head. Jelly went face to chest with Drew, so Drew grabbed him by the throat. Jelly slapped Drew to get out of that. Jelly hit some punches, but Drew hit the headbutt with his hand to knock Jelly down. Drew worked over Jelly with chops to the chest and a punch to the face. Drew stomped on Jelly’s hand. Paul tagged in for a double team suplex on Jelly. The fans chanted, “F**k you, Logan” and the swear word was muted here on Netflix. Paul hit a leg drop on Jelly for two. Paul and Drew took turns taking chops on Jelly. Drew punched Orton off the apron to the floor. Drew charged at Jelly, who tossed Drew over the top to the floor. Great bump by Drew there. Orton got the hot tag and was on fire with clotheslines, followed by a powerslam. Orton hit Drew with the draping DDT. Paul pulled Drew out of the ring to save his partner. Orton went after Paul by sending him into the barricade. Orton picked up Drew and hit the belly-to-back slam on Drew on the Spanish announce table. Orton gave Ball the belly-to-back slam on Paul on the table as well. Drew was back up and hit a Claymore Kick on Orton. Paul hit Jelly with a double axhandle on the floor. Paul punched Jelly in the head to knock him down on the floor. Paul cleared off the English commentary table. Drew put Jelly on the table. Paul went to the top of the ring post where he had two Prime bottles and Paul hit a Frog Splash through Jelly Roll through the commentary table. The fans chanted “Holy Shit” for that and it’s justified. There were indie wrestlers wearing WWE Medical shirts who checked on Jelly.

Analysis: You could say that all of that action on the floor could lead to a countout, but obviously, they wanted to do the spot to take out Jelly, or at least make it seem like Jelly was taken out.

Drew worked over Orton in the ring with a boot to the throat. Paul tagged in and stomped on Orton a few times. The fans were cheering for something going on in the crowd. Jelly was being helped to the back by some extras while Jelly looked at his wife at ringside. Paul tagged in and hit a Blockbuster on Orton for a two count. Paul laughed at Jelly getting taken away from ringside. Drew went up top for nothing as Orton stopped him with punches. Orton hit a superplex from the middle turnbuckle. Jelly looked back to the ring, saw Orton reaching for the tag, and of course, Jelly went back to the apron. The fans cheered for that. Jelly was on the apron, so he got the tag and hit Paul with two clotheslines. Jelly gave Paul a Chokeslam that looked great. Jelly also hit a Black Hole Slam that Cole called the Black Roll Slam. The crowd was going crazy for Jelly. Paul went for a move off the turnbuckle, but Jelly countered with a powerslam for two because Drew broke it up. Drew hit a Claymore Kick on Jelly. Orton hit an RKO on Drew! Paul sent Orton into the turnbuckle. Paul hit the Paul From Grace (Frog Splash) off the top for the pinfall win at 17:11.

Winners by pinfall: Drew McIntyre & Logan Paul

Analysis: ***1/4 It’s tough to rate a match like that with a celebrity like Jelly Roll involved, but I thought they planned it well and Jelly had a solid showing. They had him sell for most of the first half of the match, and the big table spot took him out, but of course, Jelly came back to compete again. Orton and McIntyre did a nice job as the veteran wrestlers in the match, while Paul is such a great, cocky heel. I’m not sure if this is going to lead to Jelly Roll wrestling again, but if it is, then the match might be a singles match against Logan Paul. If not, then I applaud Jelly for putting in a good effort for his first match.

A commercial aired for Slim Jim featuring LA Knight and Jey Uso. They also had some NXT people in it.

The next WWE PLE is WWE Clash in Paris on Sunday, August 31st, with a 2 p.m. ET start time. I love the afternoon shows.

They showed Triple H at the White House with President Donald Trump for an advocate for helping make America fit again. Good luck.

There was a rundown of the SummerSlam Sunday lineup.

  • Women’s World Championship: Naomi (c) vs. Iyo Sky vs. Rhea Ripley
  • United States Championship Steel Cage Match: Solo Sikoa (c) vs. Jacob Fatu
  • Women’s Intercontinental Championship (No Countouts, No Disqualifications): Becky Lynch (c) vs. Lyra Valkyria
  • Intercontinental Championship: Dominik Mysterio (c) vs. AJ Styles
  • WWE Tag Team Championships TLC Match: The Wyatt Sicks – Joe Gacy & Dexter Lumis (c) vs. Motor City Machine Guns – Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin vs. The Street Profits – Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins vs. #DIY – Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa vs. Andrade & Rey Fenix vs. Fraxiom – Nathan Frazer & Axiom
  • WWE Championship Street Fight: John Cena (c) vs. Cody Rhodes

Analysis: I think SummerSlam Sunday has better matches than Saturday, and it should be a better show.

A video package aired about the World Heavyweight Title match between champion Gunther and challenger CM Punk. Punk earned the title match by winning a Gauntlet Match.

CM Punk made his entrance as the fans sang along with Living Color’s “Cult of Personality,” which Punk uses. The announcers talked about how the pressure was on for Punk as a guy in his late 40s and how it was a win now situation for him. Punk sat cross-legged in the ring and looked focused. There were a lot of “CM Punk” chants for him.

The World Heavyweight Champion Gunther made his entrance as the two-time World Champion. Gunther has main evented some PLEs in the last few years, but this is the biggest. Alicia Taylor did the in-ring championship introductions.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Gunther vs. CM Punk

This is their first televised singles match, but they have wrestled at live events. Gunther went for an armbar, so Punk backed into the ropes to break free. Punk wrenched on the left arm. Gunther went for a chop, but Punk got his fists up to block. Gunther stomped on Punk’s chest and hit an uppercut. Punk kicked Gunther in the chest a few times, along with a back kick to the gut. Gunther nailed Punk with a hard chop. Punk wrenched on Gunther’s left arm again, leading to Punk hitting a knee drop on the left arm. Gunther hit Punk with a forearm to the back. Punk came back with chops of his own. Punk went up top, so Gunther chopped him in the leg and Gunther chopped Punk in the back. Gunther chopped Punk in the leg again, followed by another chop to the chest. Gunther nailed Punk with another hard hop to the chest. Gunther gave Punk a body slam. Gunther applied an abdominal stretch, Punk got out of it and tried to put on a stretch on of his own. Punk tried a lift, Gunther got out of it and Punk covered for two. Gunther nailed Punk with a boot to the face. Gunther and Punk connected with chops, then Punk hit some punches and Gunther did a leapfrog, followed by Gunther hitting another big boot to the head. Gunther kicked Punk in the face while Punk was on the apron.

Punk hit some chops and kicks to the body. Gunther came back with a chop to the throat. Gunther grabbed Punk with a headlock and trash-talked Punk for calling Gunther “Kid” during their promo exchanges. Gunther told Punk he won’t be the best in the world again. Punk tried a lift, Gunther got out of it and Punk hit an atomic drop. Gunther knocked Punk backwards, and Gunther hit a body slam. Gunther applied a Sharpshooter while flexing in the hold. It’s a move that Bret Hart made famous and Punk loves Bret, and loves using the Sharpshooter. Punk reversed the hold and applied the Sharpshooter on the mat, so Punk managed to get back to his feet in the hold. Gunther grabbed the rope to break the hold.

Gunther was in control as he hit a German Suplex. Gunther taunted the fans by telling them to cheer for their hero Punk. Gunther kicked and chopped Punk, who tried to fight back with punches and chops of his own. They exchanged strikes, Punk hit a clothesline and Punk hit another clothesline. Gunther chopped Punk again. Punk hit a jumping heel kick, along with a swinging neckbreaker. Punk went for the running knee, but Gunther caught him and hit a Powerbomb for two. It wasn’t a smooth-looking Powerbomb, but it was enough for a two count. Punk trapped Gunther in a Triangle Choke submission on the left arm, but Gunther managed to power out of it. Gunther chopped Punk in the chest and in the back of the neck. Gunther went for a Sleeper, but Punk was ready with a side Russian legsweep. Punk hit the running knee and a running bulldog for a two count. Punk went up top, took way too long, and Gunther stopped that. Gunther slammed Punk off the top. Gunther went up top and hit a Frog Splash for a two count. The match was over 20 minutes at this point.

Gunther waited for Punk to slowly get up to his feet and Gunther nailed Punk with a clothesline. Gunther hit another big clothesline. Gunther charged, Punk caught him and went for GTS, but Gunther blocked it. Gunther hit a Powerbomb that looked better than the first one he did. Gunther hit the running dropkick to send Punk into the turnbuckle. Gunther hit another Powerbomb, leading to a stacked pin attempt for two. Punk was selling as if he was exhausted, so Gunther unloaded on Punk with two hard chops to the chest. Gunther put his boot on Punk’s throat by the apron. Gunther kicked Punk out of the ring. Gunther tossed Punk into the ring post and Punk’s head/neck hit the ropes as well. Gunther taunted the crowd while standing on the commentary table, so Punk tripped up Gunther on the table. The referee checked on Gunther instead of counting the wrestlers out. When Gunther emerged from under the table, he was bleeding heavily from the forehead. Gunther did a blade job under the table, or they used something else to do it. Gunther was freaking out about all the blood and Wade said Gunther bleeding like that is rare.

Punk brought the fight to Gunther and hit some punches, followed by Punk hitting a running knee and a clothesline. Punk went up top and hit an elbow drop off the top rope. Punk went for GTS, but Gunther turned it into the dreaded Sleeper hold, and he took Punk down to the mat. Punk got back to his feet. Punk picked up Gunther and hit the GTS, but Gunther didn’t fall to the mat. Gunther was staggered on his feet. Punk hit the GTS on Gunther for the pinfall and the one…two…and three! It went 30:22. CM Punk is the new World Heavyweight Champion!

Winner by pinfall AND NEW World Heavyweight Champion: CM Punk

Analysis: **** I liked the match quite a bit. I wouldn’t call it a Match of the Year or anything like that, but a four-star main event is nice to see. They got a lot of time, Gunther dominated as the heel champion and Punk fought back valiantly as the babyface who is easy to like. Once Gunther had a bloody face, he lost his mind and lost focus, so Punk capitalized to get the win. From a storytelling standpoint, I thought they did an excellent job. Maybe it went a bit too long, but it certainly didn’t bother me because this show needed a great match like that.

CM Punk was presented with the World Heavyweight Championship and he was very emotional as he held the championship in his hands. Cole said that CM Punk proved that he is the best in the world. CM Punk held the World Heavyweight Championship above his head.

Seth Rollins’ music hit, and the Money in the Bank holder Rollins walked out with crutches. Rollins looked like he was going to leave, but instead, Rollins tossed the crutches down and took the knee brace off his right knee. Rollins walked down to the ring with the Money in the Bank briefcase. Rollins got referee Jessika Carr to go into the ring with him.

Rollins went into the ring and elbowed Punk a few times. Rollins was moving around fine without any sort of knee injury. Rollins used the Money in the Bank briefcase to beat down Punk with it. Rollins cashed in Money in the Bank officially on CM Punk.

World Heavyweight Championship: CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins

The bell rang. Seth Rollins hit The Stomp and pinned CM Punk for the pinfall win. It went about 8 seconds.

Winner by pinfall AND NEW World Heavyweight Champion: Seth Rollins

Analysis: Match of the year. Not exactly. It is something that a lot of us expected, and I predicted it in the preview I wrote because we knew that Rollins wasn’t as hurt as some people thought. They played it perfectly, and it worked. It sucks for CM Punk since he only held the World Heavyweight Title for about five minutes, but that’s why Punk will get more fan support because of a story like this.

Seth Rollins celebrated as the new World Heavyweight Champion. Seth was joined in the ring by his group consisting of Paul Heyman, Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed.

Rollins sat down beside a fallen Punk while Heyman, Reed and Bron all taunted Punk, who was out on the mat.

Analysis: This long-term Seth Rollins feud with CM Punk is going to go on even longer. I think we’ll see it all the way until WrestleMania next year because they have Punk win the Royal Rumble, then he can beat Rollins at WrestleMania and get the World Heavyweight Title from his rival. Before, they have eight months to build it up. I get it long term although I do feel bad for CM Punk as well.

WWE SummerSlam Saturday had a runtime of 3 hours, and 24 minutes.

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Five Stars of the Show

  1. CM Punk
  2. Gunther
  3. Roman Reigns & Jey Uso
  4. Logan Paul & Drew McIntyre
  5. Seth Rollins

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Final Thoughts on WWE SummerSlam

I’m going 7.5 out of 10 for this show.

There were six matches (not counting the Rollins-Punk match), and everything on the show had a clean finish. There was no interference in any of the matches, which is rare for a Triple H-booked show. We see the cheap finishes more in the TV matches, but I was surprised by how clean everything was.

The CM Punk-Gunther match was definitely the best of the night. It wasn’t some all-time classic match, but still a very good match. I liked the opening tag as well, with Roman Reigns & Jey Uso getting the win. A lot of the other matches were solid and okay, but nothing else stood out that much.

The ending, where Seth Rollins cashed in the Money in the Bank briefcase on CM Punk, was a shocking conclusion that people will never forget. It also continues the Rollins-Punk story, setting them up for an even longer feud. I called the Rollins cash-in perfectly in my preview, so I’m glad that I got that right. We knew about the reports that Seth’s knee injury wasn’t that serious and that led to this cash-in moment that will be remembered forever. A strong ending to a solid show, but I wouldn’t call it a great show.

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