SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
WWE SummerSlam will be a two night affair for the first time. It will be held at held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on August 2 and 3, 2025
NIGHT 1
Gunther (c) vs. C.M. Punk – World Heavyweight Championship match
C.M. Punk won a gauntlet match for the right to challenge Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship.
Prediction and Analysis: This Gunther reign has has had the smell of transitional champion ever since he defeated Jey for the title. It was a means to an end of having Goldberg’s last match be for the title. I expect Punk to win to set up Cody vs. Punk at Crown Jewel. That is, if Seth Rollins does not cash in the Money in the Bank contract.
Roman Reigns & Jey Uso vs. Bron Breaker & Bronson Reed
After Punk won the gauntlet match to become the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship, Bron Breaker and Bronson Reed attacked him and Jey Uso. Roman Reigns then returned from hiatus to make the save. Later, Reigns and Jey were attacked and Reed stole Reigns’s shoes. Reigns’s then proposed to settle things in a tag team match at SummerSlam. Jey and the two Brons agreed, making the match official.
Prediction and Analysis: The courageous booking decision would be Breaker getting the pin on Roman. If Seth is indeed going to miss significant time, Breaker needs to come out strong to make his group a true threat to the roster. If Seth does cash in, then all bets are off, and I have Reigns winning in that case.
Randy Orton & Jelly Roll vs. Drew McIntyre & Logan Paul
After he lost the King of the Ring tournament to Cody Rhodes when he hesitated to punt Cody in the head, Randy Orton came out to confront Cody. Before anything could happen though, Drew McIntyre came out to tease Randy about his hesitation and lack of killer instinct. Randy RKOed him, setting up a match between the two.
Meanwhile, Jelly Roll was set to do a concert when Logan Paul interrupted him, “hypocritically” claiming that celebrities have no place in a wrestling ring. Orton came out to defend Roll but was attacked by McIntyre. This led to both Roll and Logan being ringside for McIntyre and Orton’s match.
Randy Orton would win the match, but Logan attacked him in the post-match. Roll attacked Paul. Later Roll said he wanted a match against McIntyre and Logan, and Orton suggested they have the match at SummerSlam. They also got into it in a talk show.
Prediction and Analysis: The WWE goes for the pun and Jelly Roll wins with some sort of fluke roll-up.
Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Jade Cargill – WWE Women’s Championship match
Jade Cargill won the Queen of the Ring tournament to get a shot for the WWE Women’s Championship at SummerSlam. As the two are nominally faces, they have been forced to team up against Chelsea Green and her Secret Hervice who is being a nuisance.
Prediction and Analysis: Jade winning the title here makes a Jade vs. Naomi match at Crown Jewel likely.
Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez vs. Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss – WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship match
After a disastrous program against Tiffany Stratton, Charlotte Flair was approached by Alexa Bliss who pointed out that Charlotte needed to change things up. Charlotte rebuffed Bliss at first, claiming that she doesn’t need friends. Bliss convinced Charlotte to team up to go for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship as partners, not friends. Charlotte reluctantly agreed and they came up short at WWE Evolution. (My feeling is that this is the moment Bliss or Charlotte would’ve turned on the other, setting up a feud, but their on-screen chemistry bought their team a reprieve.) Instead, Charlotte went to management to request a title shot since their team wasn’t pinned at Evolution (as the match was a four-way).
Prediction and Analysis: Charlotte and Bliss make an entertaining duo so give them the titles.
Sami Zayn vs. Karrion Kross
For months now, Karrion Kross has been accusing Sami Zayn of pretending that Sami is a “good guy”. This has led to attacks that have taken Sami out of title contention. Fed up, Sami wants to take out Kross. The two agreed to a stipulation where the loser has to admit the winner was right.
Prediction and Analysis: Sami wins but in a way that proves that Kross was right.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
Check out the latest episode of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-show covering the latest episode of Smackdown: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “wade Keller” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
NIGHT 2
John Cena (c) vs. Cody Rhodes – Undisputed WWE Championship Street fight match
Cody Rhodes won the King of the Ring tournament to get a shot at the Undisputed WWE Championship, setting up a rematch against John Cena. During the contract signing, Cena tried to postpone the match, saying he was too exhausted to give it his all. Cody attacked him and “forced” Cena to sign. Cody then revealed that the match was to be a street fight. The following week, Cena came out and basically said he has been an a-hole and he’s a babyface again.
Prediction and Analysis: The go-home show Cena promo was weird. Either it was a blatant course correction or setting up yet another swerve. I still think Cody wins.
Naomi (c) vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Iyo Sky – Women’s World Championship Triple Threat match
At Evolution, Rhea Ripley challenged Iyo Sky for Iyo’s Women’s World Championship. Deep into the match, Naomi cashed in her Money in the Bank contract to make the match a triple threat she then won. Rhea and Iyo then wanted rematches, so a triple threat was set for SummerSlam.
Prediction and Analysis: Part of the story between Iyo and Ripley is that Ripley has never pinned Iyo. So Rhea will finish Iyo but Naomi will steal the pin to win.
Solo Sikoa (c) vs. Jacob Fatu, – WWE United States Championship Steel Cage match
After Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu’s falling out at Money in the Bank, Jacob Fatu put the WWE United States Championship on the line at Night of Champions. Solo won the match and capture the title with help from a returning Tanga Loa and debuting Talla Tonga. Later, in a tag team match, Fatu pinned Solo opening the door for a rematch. Solo tried getting Fatu falsely arrested but it backfired. Adam Pearce (filling in for Nick Aldis) had enough and set the rematch for SummerSlam in a steel cage in order to stop the constant interference from Solo’s crew.
Prediction and Analysis: Well, the Tongan’s will obviously still interfere as that is the modern nature of cage matches. Solo should win this so that Fatu can move on to something bigger.
Becky Lynch (c) vs. Lyra Valkyria – WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship No Disqualification, No Count out, Last Chance match
Becky Lynch successfully defended the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship match at Evolution, defeating Bayley and Lyra Valkyria. Later, Lyra defeated Bayley in a best-of-three-falls match to get a one on one shot against Becky. Lyra wanted the match to be no DQ no count out match to settle things once and for all with Becky. Becky agreed on the condition that were Lyra to lose, she can never challenge Becky for the Intercontinental Championship as long as she holds it, a call back to their earlier Money in the Bank match.
Prediction and Analysis: I’m of a mind the Lyra wins back the title, mainly since I don’t know what would be next for her otherwise.
Dominick Mysterio (c) vs. A.J. Styles, – WWE Intercontinental Championship match
Dominick Mysterio was scheduled to defend his WWE Intercontinental Championship against AJ Styles at Night of Champions, but an injury kept him off the card. In the following weeks, Dominick get avoiding going to medical to get clear, in a bid to avoid Styles, who was stalking him. Adam Pearce forced Dominick’s hand by threatening to strip him of the title if he didn’t get checked out. Later Dominick attacked Styles and revealed that he was cleared to compete.
Prediction and Analysis: Dominick should win this, but I can’t go against the greatest of all time (I will not be using the acronym).
Dexter Lumis & Joe Gacy vs. Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford vs. Andrade & Rey Fenix vs. Alex Shelly & Chris Sabin vs. Axiom & Nathan Frazer vs. Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa – WWE Tag Team Championship TLC match
The Smackdown tag team division has been a mess with no clear cut favorite to challenge for then WWE Tag Team Champions, Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford. Eventually, the Wyatt Sicks made their return and attacked the division. Eventually, Joe Gacy & Dexter Lumis of the Wyatt Sicks defeated Ford & Dawkins to capture the titles. The newly minted tag team of Andrade & Rey Fenix won the right to challenge Gacy & Lumis for the title, but the other tag teams interfered. Nick Aldis, fed up, ordered that the title would be defended in a Table, Ladders, and Chairs match at SummerSlam.
Prediction and Analysis: I’d like Shelly & Sabin to win but I have to go with the Sicks retaining.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.