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WWE SummerSlam 2026 wrapped up Night 1 from U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, with a star-making performance out of Oba Femi. Elsewhere, Randy Orton returned to throw a wrench in Cody Rhodes’ path back to the WWE title, Liv Morgan dispatched Iyo Sky, Solo Sikoa found his footing, and Paige suddenly has a need for new friends.
As we prepare for Night 2, here’s six takeaways from an action-packed night in Minnesota.
Twenty-four years after bursting onto the main-roster scene and brutalizing The Undertaker in Hell in a Cell, Brock Lesnar pulled out all the stops in the main event of SummerSlam Night 1 against Oba Femi. Lesnar and Femi had actual workrate, momentum trading, brutality with weapons and big spots in the ring. Lesnar ripped up the padding from the ring, tombstoned Femi in a callback to ‘Taker, yet still couldn’t put him away. It was Femi who eventually hit a Fall from Grace onto the exposed ring frame for the win. After the win, Lesnar got on the mic and put Femi over as the future of WWE.
The organization has navigated speed bumps along the way, but it’s official: WWE is Femi’s for the taking. “The Ruler” seems poised for a world title run, which should give him a signature WrestleMania moment next April. Until then, a sustained feud should help prepare Femi for the path forward from here.
As for Lesnar, there was no sendoff from the home crowd into retirement, just an appreciation of his body of work. There may be no immediate plans for “The Beast Incarnate,” and a period of hibernation wouldn’t be a surprise before returning for 2027’s first international WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia.
If Lesnar is set on hanging up his boots, a showdown against Gunther fits the bill as a can’t-miss-match that would also feed into Gunther’s “Career Killer” persona.
Fear him.
WWE via Getty Images
In a battle meant to identify who was better than whom, Cody Rhodes and CM Punk walked out of Night 1 absent of that clarity.
The duo have spent the past few weeks one-upping each other, and that continued through the first half of their championship tilt, before a returning Randy Orton played spoiler. An RKO from Orton opened the door for a GTS from Punk and the pinfall win. The interference finish also provided space for WWE to return to Punk vs. Rhodes down the road, with a clear and logical path forward for both men to go their separate ways for now.
The return of Orton likely pulls Rhodes out of the title chase and back into finishing their unsettled business from WrestleMania, when Orton punted Rhodes to close the night.
Punk, as the defending Undisputed WWE Champion, now looks prepped to battle the winner of Sunday’s Finn Bálor vs. Sami Zayn match, with two contenders looking for another taste of gold. That’s despite Punk answering to the crowd and calling Oba Femi out on the post-show, who almost certainly won’t be running straight for a world title from here.
“SmackDown” continues to reset its title picture, and without a clear story arc to build, I actually think it’s a pretty refreshing move.
Liv Morgan’s title reign finally got supercharged on Saturday night in the opener with a little help from her friends. The reigning Women’s World Champion needed outside interference from her Judgement Day team members just as Iyo Sky was starting to run away with the match. But it was Morgan on her own from that point — the champ took everything Sky could throw at her before hitting Oblivion for the finish.
The trend continues with the Judgement Day using the numbers game to its advantage at nearly every avenue, including Raquel Rodriguez recently winning the Women’s Intercontinental Championship. An inevitable WarGames match feels like it’s in the works here, building toward Morgan and Co. aligning with someone like Jade Cargill against the likes of Sky, Rhea Ripley, Charlotte Flair, Sol Ruca and others.
Years of tension between some of WWE’s top stars and “SmackDown” general manager Nick Aldis came to a head when the authority finally traded in his suit for ring tights. Aldis showed he still has every bit of the in-ring talent that made him a compelling addition to the WWE roster in a match that more than lived up to expectations. Aldis held his own in a showdown that felt like it could go either way, but he ultimately suffered the same fate as John Cena and tapped to Gunther’s rear-naked chokehold.
Gunther rode the momentum of ending Cena’s career in December, and parlayed it into ending AJ Styles’ career as well. Since then he’s hopped between rivalries without much substance, and yet again finds himself at a premium live event playing second fiddle to the main-event scene. The goal has to be to get him more deeply integrated alongside other top talent so this becomes less of a revolving door problem.
For Aldis, there’s no longer an excuse for him to play the mild mannered general manager. He’s shown he can mix it up with the best the company has to offer, and shouldn’t shy away from contact in the future. An RKO from Randy Orton or a Claymore from Drew McIntyre should be met with an equal shot from Aldis.
For a twosome of wrestlers like LA Knight and Solo Sikoa, who have been consistently set back in recent years, SummerSlam Night 1 was an enormous moment.
Knight has felt firmly in the rear-view since last year’s WrestleMania, Sikoa never quite felt like a natural leader of the Bloodline 2.0, yet both guys got back on the right track alongside Royce Keys. It was a match that flipped the script on Jey Uso and Jacob Fatu, who at one point seemed on top of the world, but failed to sustain enough offense to hold off the unlikely trio. Essentially everyone outside of Fatu had glimpses of momentum in the match, with Sikoa stealing the spotlight with his entertaining demeanor and Knight snatching the victory with a pinfall victory over Jey Uso.
Sikoa feels rejuvenated in a way that’s reminiscent of Rocky Maivia finding himself as The Rock. He has personality that shines through alongside workrate, and everything is coming together now that he’s standing on his own.
Solo Sikoa, LA Knight, and Royce Keys celebrate their win during SummerSlam at U.S. Bank Stadium on August 1, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
WWE via Getty Images
Knight getting the win feels important to his long-term positioning, and it was surprising to see that come at the expense of former world champion Jey Uso. Fatu felt pretty invisible in this one, and back alongside Reigns is unfortunately becoming a shell of the character who appeared poised to be next in line as WWE Champion.
This rivalry is far from over, with a natural escalation surely coming in the coming months. An obvious path would be toward WarGames. But with the Haku’s return to television, I’m fascinated to see how fast WWE pieces the different iterations of the Bloodline together. That includes Sikoa, who is doing arguably his best work since joining WWE.
A week after winning the tag-team titles, Fatal Influence has dissolved the partnership with the Bella Twins and Paige. The progression of the rivalry always seemed to signal an opportunity to elevate Fatal Influence, specifically Jacy Jayne, who needs to establish herself as a legit challenger in the women’s division.
It also provided the perfect space for the Bellas to get fed up with the nostalgia act and turn on Paige. With the Bellas’ now working heel, Paige likely needs a tag-team partner to even the odds, and who better to join her on “SmackDown” than someone like AJ Lee?
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As we prepare for Night 2, here’s six takeaways from an action-packed night in Minnesota.
1. One hell of a way to go out
Twenty-four years after bursting onto the main-roster scene and brutalizing The Undertaker in Hell in a Cell, Brock Lesnar pulled out all the stops in the main event of SummerSlam Night 1 against Oba Femi. Lesnar and Femi had actual workrate, momentum trading, brutality with weapons and big spots in the ring. Lesnar ripped up the padding from the ring, tombstoned Femi in a callback to ‘Taker, yet still couldn’t put him away. It was Femi who eventually hit a Fall from Grace onto the exposed ring frame for the win. After the win, Lesnar got on the mic and put Femi over as the future of WWE.
The organization has navigated speed bumps along the way, but it’s official: WWE is Femi’s for the taking. “The Ruler” seems poised for a world title run, which should give him a signature WrestleMania moment next April. Until then, a sustained feud should help prepare Femi for the path forward from here.
As for Lesnar, there was no sendoff from the home crowd into retirement, just an appreciation of his body of work. There may be no immediate plans for “The Beast Incarnate,” and a period of hibernation wouldn’t be a surprise before returning for 2027’s first international WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia.
If Lesnar is set on hanging up his boots, a showdown against Gunther fits the bill as a can’t-miss-match that would also feed into Gunther’s “Career Killer” persona.
You must be registered for see images attach
Fear him.
WWE via Getty Images
2. The best man for the job
In a battle meant to identify who was better than whom, Cody Rhodes and CM Punk walked out of Night 1 absent of that clarity.
The duo have spent the past few weeks one-upping each other, and that continued through the first half of their championship tilt, before a returning Randy Orton played spoiler. An RKO from Orton opened the door for a GTS from Punk and the pinfall win. The interference finish also provided space for WWE to return to Punk vs. Rhodes down the road, with a clear and logical path forward for both men to go their separate ways for now.
The return of Orton likely pulls Rhodes out of the title chase and back into finishing their unsettled business from WrestleMania, when Orton punted Rhodes to close the night.
Punk, as the defending Undisputed WWE Champion, now looks prepped to battle the winner of Sunday’s Finn Bálor vs. Sami Zayn match, with two contenders looking for another taste of gold. That’s despite Punk answering to the crowd and calling Oba Femi out on the post-show, who almost certainly won’t be running straight for a world title from here.
“SmackDown” continues to reset its title picture, and without a clear story arc to build, I actually think it’s a pretty refreshing move.
3. Her title reign Liv(s) on
Liv Morgan’s title reign finally got supercharged on Saturday night in the opener with a little help from her friends. The reigning Women’s World Champion needed outside interference from her Judgement Day team members just as Iyo Sky was starting to run away with the match. But it was Morgan on her own from that point — the champ took everything Sky could throw at her before hitting Oblivion for the finish.
The trend continues with the Judgement Day using the numbers game to its advantage at nearly every avenue, including Raquel Rodriguez recently winning the Women’s Intercontinental Championship. An inevitable WarGames match feels like it’s in the works here, building toward Morgan and Co. aligning with someone like Jade Cargill against the likes of Sky, Rhea Ripley, Charlotte Flair, Sol Ruca and others.
4. Not quite career-killing
Years of tension between some of WWE’s top stars and “SmackDown” general manager Nick Aldis came to a head when the authority finally traded in his suit for ring tights. Aldis showed he still has every bit of the in-ring talent that made him a compelling addition to the WWE roster in a match that more than lived up to expectations. Aldis held his own in a showdown that felt like it could go either way, but he ultimately suffered the same fate as John Cena and tapped to Gunther’s rear-naked chokehold.
Gunther rode the momentum of ending Cena’s career in December, and parlayed it into ending AJ Styles’ career as well. Since then he’s hopped between rivalries without much substance, and yet again finds himself at a premium live event playing second fiddle to the main-event scene. The goal has to be to get him more deeply integrated alongside other top talent so this becomes less of a revolving door problem.
For Aldis, there’s no longer an excuse for him to play the mild mannered general manager. He’s shown he can mix it up with the best the company has to offer, and shouldn’t shy away from contact in the future. An RKO from Randy Orton or a Claymore from Drew McIntyre should be met with an equal shot from Aldis.
5. Time to go Solo
For a twosome of wrestlers like LA Knight and Solo Sikoa, who have been consistently set back in recent years, SummerSlam Night 1 was an enormous moment.
Knight has felt firmly in the rear-view since last year’s WrestleMania, Sikoa never quite felt like a natural leader of the Bloodline 2.0, yet both guys got back on the right track alongside Royce Keys. It was a match that flipped the script on Jey Uso and Jacob Fatu, who at one point seemed on top of the world, but failed to sustain enough offense to hold off the unlikely trio. Essentially everyone outside of Fatu had glimpses of momentum in the match, with Sikoa stealing the spotlight with his entertaining demeanor and Knight snatching the victory with a pinfall victory over Jey Uso.
Sikoa feels rejuvenated in a way that’s reminiscent of Rocky Maivia finding himself as The Rock. He has personality that shines through alongside workrate, and everything is coming together now that he’s standing on his own.
You must be registered for see images attach
Solo Sikoa, LA Knight, and Royce Keys celebrate their win during SummerSlam at U.S. Bank Stadium on August 1, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
WWE via Getty Images
Knight getting the win feels important to his long-term positioning, and it was surprising to see that come at the expense of former world champion Jey Uso. Fatu felt pretty invisible in this one, and back alongside Reigns is unfortunately becoming a shell of the character who appeared poised to be next in line as WWE Champion.
This rivalry is far from over, with a natural escalation surely coming in the coming months. An obvious path would be toward WarGames. But with the Haku’s return to television, I’m fascinated to see how fast WWE pieces the different iterations of the Bloodline together. That includes Sikoa, who is doing arguably his best work since joining WWE.
6. Turning the Paige
A week after winning the tag-team titles, Fatal Influence has dissolved the partnership with the Bella Twins and Paige. The progression of the rivalry always seemed to signal an opportunity to elevate Fatal Influence, specifically Jacy Jayne, who needs to establish herself as a legit challenger in the women’s division.
It also provided the perfect space for the Bellas to get fed up with the nostalgia act and turn on Paige. With the Bellas’ now working heel, Paige likely needs a tag-team partner to even the odds, and who better to join her on “SmackDown” than someone like AJ Lee?
Continue reading...
