TJRWrestling WWE SummerSlam 2025 Preview

It’s WWE SummerSlam over two nights in a huge stadium with John Cena facing Cody Rhodes, Gunther battling CM Punk, and a whole lot more.

The first-ever two-night edition of SummerSlam will take place this Saturday, August 1st, and Sunday, August 2nd, with 100,000+ fans in attendance over two nights at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Prior to this event, WrestleMania was the only two-night PLE in WWE, but it makes sense that SummerSlam is expanded.

What I like most about SummerSlam going to two nights is that they have six matches on each night and nine title matches total. Saturday has more tag team matches while Sunday has only title matches, so that’s an interesting way to set up the show. By going two nights, it has a big time feeling that separates SummerSlam from the other PLEs because it’s arguably the second or third biggest PLE of the year along with WrestleMania and Royal Rumble. I like this card, and I don’t think it’s as predictable as some PLE shows. For this preview, I’ll go with the Saturday matches first, ending with the Gunther-CM Punk main event and then the Sunday matches, ending with the John Cena-Cody Rhodes main event match.

Note the early start time for SummerSlam at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. ET on Saturday and Sunday on Peacock for those of you in the US and Netflix for those of us internationally, like me, in Canada. I assume both nights are going to run for about four hours, so it’s going to be a lot of action. I’m excited about it and I fully support two nights over one night. Let’s get to it.

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Saturday, August 2nd WWE SummerSlam Matches

Sami Zayn vs. Karrion Kross

This has become a personal rivalry that has seen each guy pick up a win, so now it’s a third match that could put an end to the feud. There have been numerous reports about the contract status of Karrion Kross and Scarlett. I certainly hope they stay with WWE long term and if I had to guess, I would think they have already signed new deals. Everything doesn’t have to get reported. Plenty of people re-sign new deals without it ever getting reported. You can tell WWE is using Kross and Scarlett more, so I think they’re going to be major factors in WWE in the future. Just my hunch. I don’t know anything…unless I do?

As for this match, I’m going with Sami Zayn to win just because of the story being that Kross has done numerous cheap attacks with the steel pipe to the ribs. I think Zayn will do his usual great job of selling and find a way to make the comeback for the win. It could be argued that Kross “needs” to win more, and I get that, but I think as a story it makes more sense for Zayn to pick up the victory.

Winner: Sami Zayn

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WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships – Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez (c) vs. Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss

The Charlotte/Alexa team won one match to earn a Women’s Tag Team Title match at Evolution, which they lost (without being pinned), and then they were just given this title match without winning another match. I think that’s lazy booking on the part of the creative team. I want to see title shots earned, especially on a major show like SummerSlam. It’s laziness by the creative team and they should be better.

I am enjoying the Charlotte/Alexa team because they are veteran wrestlers who have accomplished a lot over the last decade, and the fans believe in them as a team. It has also turned Charlotte into a babyface without doing much other than being friends with Bliss, even though Flair claims she is not friends with Bliss. As for Raquel & Perez, they work well as a heel team and there’s a part of me that thinks they might hold the titles until Liv Morgan is back, but that might not be until next year, so I think I’m going with a title change here. I’ll go with Charlotte and Bliss for the win.

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

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

We know that Jelly Roll has been training a lot in the last couple of months, so hopefully he’s at a level where he can be competent in a match like this. The good thing for Jelly is he’s got a very popular veteran wrestler in Randy Orton as a tag team partner and Drew McIntyre is also very experienced and talented. Logan Paul has done a fine job in his career, too, so I think they’ll have a very entertaining match.

I know that some fans don’t like seeing celebrities in the ring like the big man Jelly Roll, but I don’t mind it as long as the celebrity takes it seriously and busts their ass. It sounds like Jelly is going to do that, so I can respect him for it. As for winners, I’ll go with and Randy and Jelly, who will get the win for his team by beating Paul.

Winners by pinfall: Randy Orton & Jelly Roll

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

Tiffany Stratton has held the WWE Women’s Championship since early January, so it feels like the right time for a title change. Stratton got plenty of big wins as champion by beating the likes of Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax, and Trish Stratus. I don’t see Stratton winning this match, though. It was obvious when WWE signed Jade Cargill two years ago that they’d push her to singles gold, and now is the time for Jade to win that title.

I wish there were more of a story here since it’s really just about Jade winning Queen of the Ring to earn the title. It would have been more interesting if it were face vs. heel instead of face vs. face. Anyway, I expect Jade to win with her Jaded slam, and maybe Stratton raises her hand after the match as a sign of respect.

Winner AND NEW WWE Women’s Champion: Jade Cargill

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Roman Reigns & Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed

This is Roman Reigns’ first match since WrestleMania over three months ago. I expect Reigns to be in shape and sharp because he has shown many times that he doesn’t miss a beat after a lengthy layoff. We know that Bron was part of the attack on Reigns on Raw after WrestleMania, so it will be interesting when those two lock up. On the final Raw before SummerSlam, Bron and Reed had the advantage, which tells me that they aren’t going to win here. I was always picking Roman and Jey in this match, regardless of how the final Raw was booked.

I expect that the heels will control most of the match, Reigns will get the hot tag and get the win for his team by beating Reed. I think that Bron won’t be pinned to protect him, so that he can feud with Reigns, but that also depends on how much Reigns is around in the weeks ahead.

Winners: Roman Reigns & Jey Uso

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

When Gunther won the World Heavyweight Title back from Jey Uso a few months ago, it was reported that it was done so that the Gunther-Goldberg match would be a title match. I think that may be partially true, but I also feel that the bigger reason is that WWE wanted Gunther to have the title for this SummerSlam match against Punk. Clearly, WWE likely had this Gunther-Punk match in mind a few months ago, and if you’re going to have Gunther lose the title at SummerSlam, then it needs to be against a top guy like Punk.

I think this will be one of the better matches of the weekend, it will probably go 20+ minutes and I think Gunther will dominate most of the match. However, Punk will make the comeback, hit the GTS and cover Gunther for the win and the championship.

Winner AND NEW World Heavyweight Champion: CM Punk

Will they go with the finish where CM Punk wins the World Heavyweight Title, he’s celebrating and Seth Rollins shows up to cash in Money in the Bank? I say yes. We know Rollins has been off for the past month with a knee injury, but there are different kinds of knee injuries and certainly possible that Seth’s injury is one of those injuries that lasts about a month, so if that’s the case then I think Rollins will show up here to cash in and take the World Heavyweight Title from Punk. That can lead to a lengthy program where Rollins holds onto the World Title until WrestleMania 42, Punk wins the Royal Rumble and they do the singles match at WrestleMania 42, which ends with Punk winning the World Title one more time.

Winner AND NEW World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins

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Sunday, August 3rd WWE SummerSlam Matches

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

This will be one of the best matches of the show, and a potential match of the year contender. We saw what was arguably the WWE Match of the Year on the SmackDown after WrestleMania when it was a triple threat TLC match for the Tag Team Titles with the Street Profits, #DIY and Motor City Machine Guns. That three-team TLC match is now a six-team TLC match, which means it may be even crazier and have even more action. I’m happy for the wrestlers because the SmackDown tag team division is usually ignored on the PLE shows, so seeing them in a match at a major PLE is good to see.

Picking a winner in this match is hard. The Wyatt Sicks haven’t held the titles for that long, but I think a title change is possible with a team like Andrade & Fenix as the potential winners. I also think another title run for the Motor City Machine Guns would be a good thing because they haven’t been pushed as much this year. I could make a case for all the teams really, but I’m going to reach a bit by picking Fraxiom’s Nathan Frazer & Axiom as the winners. I just think because of how good they are in the air, you could tell the story that a TLC match favors them more than the others, so I’m going to pick Fraxiom to win.

Winners AND NEW WWE Tag Team Champions: Fraxiom – Nathan Frazer & Axiom

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

This is a rivalry that has been going about as long as anything else on this show since they’ve had multiple PLE matches at this point. Since there are no countouts and no disqualifications in the match, I wonder if Bayley shows up, attacks Lyra and becomes a heel ally with Lynch. I’m not sure if that’s the direction or if Bayley is going to show up, but since Bayley has been jealous of Lyra, lost to Lyra and then looked so sad on Raw last week, it makes me believe that Bayley is going to be involved in some way.

I think the match quality should be great. They will likely brawl around the ringside area for most of the match and come up with some creative spots. Lynch is always creative in matches, while Lyra is a talented worker. I’ve talked myself into the Bayley story with her interference costing Lyra the match, so I’m going with Lynch getting the win. This should be a great match that might be the best women’s match of the weekend.

Winner: Becky Lynch

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Intercontinental Championship: Dominik Mysterio (c) vs. AJ Styles

There’s a big age gap here since Styles is about 20 years older than Dirty Dom, but AJ is still very good even though he said on Friday that this might be his last SummerSlam. Styles is the same age as John Cena (48 years old) and winding down as a wrestler, so this might be AJ’s last shot at a title. I don’t think Styles should win because Dominik is still fresh as a champion and could use some more high-profile matches during his reign. A win for Dominik because of The Judgment Day getting involved seems like a likely result to me. I hope it’s a good match. If they get time, it should be.

Winner: Dominik Mysterio

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United States Championship Steel Cage Match: Solo Sikoa (c) vs. Jacob Fatu

The idea behind a Steel Cage Match is to prevent other wrestlers from interfering in the match. That means Fatu should be able to get Solo one-on-one without Solo getting help from Talla Tonga, Tonga Loa, and JC Mateo, but we all know that it’s possible those guys could get involved, especially the big guy Talla Tonga. There could be a referee bump or something else to set up a spot that allows Talla to get in the ring and attack Fatu, which leads to Solo getting the win.

Since the crowd loves Jacob, they should be into it, but I don’t expect it to be an exciting match. Some Solo matches are very average, and this one seems like it will be that way.

Winner: Solo Sikoa

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

This could be one of the better matches on the show. We know how good Sky and Ripley are together since they had an incredible triple threat (with Bianca Belair) at WrestleMania 41 and then there was another Sky-Ripley classic at Evolution. That Evolution match ended with Naomi cashing in Money in the Bank and leaving as the Women’s World Champion. Naomi is doing a fantastic job as a heel performer. This might be the best match she has in the role because while she’s had some good ones, she hasn’t been in the ring wrestlers as talented as Sky and Ripley, both of whom are among the best in WWE – man or woman.

I expect Naomi to retain the title since she won it less than a month ago, and there is no reason to take it off her just so WWE can put it on Sky or Ripley, both of whom have been champions many times. It’s important for Naomi to have a meaningful heel run as champion that lasts until the end of the year, or even longer. I think Naomi will probably win by doing the “steal the pin” thing after Ripley hits Sky with Riptide, then Naomi shoves Ripley out of the ring and steals the pin to win.

Winner: Naomi

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Undisputed WWE Championship Street Fight: John Cena (c) vs. Cody Rhodes

I am writing this right after the final SmackDown before SummerSlam, which featured John Cena doing a babyface promo saying he didn’t really want to ruin wrestling because he loves wrestling. Cena talked about how the guys he thought would be by his side aren’t here (a reference to The Rock and Travis Scott helping Cena turn heel at Elimination Chamber), but what Cody two weeks ago when he attacked Cena has opened Cena’s eyes to become the “Real” John Cena again. I loved Cena’s promo and so did the SmackDown crowd because it felt genuine. Could it lead to Cena still being a heel and revealing that what he said was a lie? Of course. That’s because heels lie, which I have been pointing out for decades. Anyway, Cody toasted Cena with a beer as if to say he was happy to see the “Real” John Cena back again, but that’s also something Cody may regret in the future.

This match is a Street Fight, so they’re going to brawl all around ringside and maybe into the crowd. I think we’ll see a few broken tables, chairs being used, kendo sticks utilized as weapons, and plenty of other “toys” they find around ringside.

My lean for this match is to go with Cody Rhodes as the winner to regain the WWE Championship. Cena winning at WrestleMania 41 gave him that record 17th World Title reign, and now, it’s over three months later, and we’re at a point where I think it’s more than okay to take the title off Cena. They can do other stories with Cena as a babyface facing old rivals or maybe some new opponents who want to see what it’s like against Cena. I think a few months of Cena playing his greatest hits, so to speak, is a great way to call it a career.

As for Cody Rhodes, I think he should win by acting heelish without going all the way to becoming a heel. I think Cody should struggle to put Cena away, leading to actions like hitting Cena with a low blow, repeatedly chair-shooting the back, and ultimately beating Cena so badly that it appears Cody went too far. By doing that, it tells the story that Cody was obsessed with beating his “hero” Cena and had to do whatever it took to win. If some fans boo Cody for that, then so be it, play into that. I think Cody’s fans are going to be happy he’s the WWE Champion again.

Lastly, I fully expect this to be a very good match that is a lot better than their WrestleMania 41 match, which was partly ruined by Travis Scott getting involved —a dumb idea. I think Cena and Cody have a lot of pride and know how bad that match was, so they are going to want to put on a much better performance here. I think they’ll have that better match and it will end with Cody as the new WWE Champion.

Winner AND NEW WWE Champion: Cody Rhodes

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BONUS TOPICS FOR WWE SUMMERSLAM!

The Match I’m Looking Forward To The Most

I’m going with Gunther against CM Punk, but I think the TLC Tag Team Match may be the best match.

The Match I Care About The Least

I don’t have any choices here because I like the whole card. If I had to pick one, then maybe Solo Sikoa-Jacob Fatu, because I feel like making it a Steel Cage Match could hurt the match more than help it.

Longest Match

I’ll pick Gunther against CM Punk for about 25 minutes.

Shortest Match

Tiffany Stratton against Jade Cargill in about 10 minutes. I don’t think WWE wants to put Jade out there for 15+ minutes.

Excitement Level on a Scale of 1-10 (1 being low, 10 being high)

I’m at 8 out of 10 for this show. I like the lineup a lot, and getting 12 matches over two nights excites me. There’s going to be a lot of good in-ring action, and hopefully some memorable moments along the way. I have high expectations for SummerSlam this year.

I’ll be back with a review of SummerSlam on TJRWrestling.net on Saturday and Sunday, so check that out live or after the show. You can also tweet me on X/Twitter at @johnreport as well.

If you want to send an email, send it to me at [email protected]. Thanks for reading.