WWE SummerSlam 2025

WWE SummerSlam 2025

East Rutherford, NJ - August 2025

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, the WWE Universal Champion was John Cena, the World Heavyweight Champion was GUNTHER, the Women's World Champion was Naomi, the Women's Champion was Tiffany Stratton, Dominik Mysterio was the Intercontinental Champion, the United States Champion was Solo Sikoa, the Judgement Day's Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez were the reigning Women's Tag Team Champions, the SmackDown-brand's WWE Tag Team Champions were The Wyatt Sicks (Joe Gacy and Dexter Lumis), while RAW's World Tag Team Champions were also the Judgement Day (JD McDonaugh and Finn Balor). Oh, and the Women's United States Champion was Giulia and the Women's Intercontinental Champion was Becky Lynch. 

SummerSlam (Saturday) began with Breland singing "God Bless America." I had never heard of him before. We then got a video package hyping the show, narrated by another celebrity (?) I didn't recognize. We then got yet another celebrity appearance, this time being the arrival of Cardi B, who was way too excited to being doing nothing of any substance.

Cut to: Jey Uso coming through the enormous crowd at MetLife Stadium for his match, tagging with Roman Reigns, against Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker (who were accompanied by their manager, Paul Heyman). This match started around minute 22 of the show...so, yeah, the opening of the show was not super fun (and its laughable that Michael Cole made a comment semi-recently about how 6-hour shows can "fatigue" wrestling fans - a little dig at AEW - when it takes close to a half-hour to start the first match on your 3-hour show). The babyfaces controlled early before Breakker nailed Uso with a strong clothesline off the ropes (his rope-running really is incredible). Reed came in and continued to dominate Main Event Jey, leading to a "We Want Roman" chant. Jey continued to work as the face-in-peril as the heels took turns beating down on him for a lengthy stretch. Breakker applied a headlock and then starting singing to Roman, which was a fun bit, before hoisting Jey into the air and dropping him chest-first across his knees. Breakker went for a splash on the table, but Uso dodged it and Bron ended up landing on it in an awkward position. This led to a great tag cut-off spot as Jey dove for Roman, but Bron caught him in the air while Reed knocked Roman off the apron. Uso came back with a big tornado DDT on Reed and finally made the hot tag to a huge pop. Reigns hit his signature flying clothesline and then his clubbing ones in the corner. He sent Breakker over the top and then hit a massive dive on Breakker and Reed on the floor, overshooting it a bit but somehow landing well enough not to break his neck. Back in the ring, Breakker went for a spear but Reigns caught him with the Superman Punch. Reed came in and hit Reign with a splash in the corner and then put him in a fireman's carry, but Reigns made the tag and took over with a superkick. Reigns cut off a splash attempt and then hit a Death Valley Driver for 2. Reed then hit a crazy suicide dive of his own, taking out both of the babyfaces and, a bit like Reigns, nearly landing on his neck in the process. Breakker hit a flying clothesline on Reigns over the announce table while Reed rolled Jey into the ring. After some gloating, Breakker and Reed hit the Steiners-inspired bulldog from the top rope for 2. Uso rolled to the outside and Bron looked to spear them both through the ring but ate a Superman Punch from Reigns and then got speared through the barricade! Reed rolled Jey back into the ring, but wasted a whole bunch of time, telegraphing that Jey would not be getting Tsunami'd. When Reed went to the top, Reigns hit him with the Superman Punch and then they busted out a One-and-Done for 1....2....Breakker broke the count! Breakker yelled and screamed at the crowd for a bit before blasting Jey with some right hands. In a great bit, he lifted and lowered his straps and went for a spear into Uso, but Reigns shoved him away and took the bullet! Uso superkicked Breakker, speared Reed, and then hit him with the big splash from the top to end things. This was mostly good, with Bron Breakker and Roman Reigns being the clear MVPs for their teams. Bron Breakker is not someone I watch week-to-week, but this was maybe the best overall performance - in terms of execution and heel work - that I've seen from him. (3/5)

Alexa Bliss and Charlotte challenged The Judgment Day (Roxanna Perez and Raquel Rodriguez) for their Women's Tag Team Championships in the next match. This wasn't the "cleanest" of matches and certainly wasn't as good as the 4-way tag match from Evolution a few weeks back, but it was alright for what it was. The crowd was quiet than they were in Atlanta too, but that may have been because they were in an open air stadium for this show compared to a smaller, more intimate arena. Alexa Bliss once again shined here, bringing a ton of energy and great timing to the match. Since returning, Bliss has routinely been the "glue" of her matches and I'm becoming more and more confident in my assertion that she is one of the most underrated overall performers that the WWE has had in the past 10 years, not necessarily under-utilized or deserving of a more prominent spot, but certainly underappreciated for her actual in-ring skill. On the negative side, Charlotte being capable of reaching out and making a tag with such ease - seriously, she seems perfectly capable of reaching a third-of-the-way into the ring at any given time due to her wingspan - made the tag cut-offs a little ridiculous at times and I wish the heels would've "cut the ring in half" even more. I liked the finishing sequence and the teasing of tension between Charlotte and Alexa when Bliss inadvertently clubbed her with a forearm. Overall, not necessarily a great match or anything, but not terrible. (2.5/5)

A commercial for Canelo vs. Crawford, an upcoming Netflix boxing (?) fight, aired. This was followed by Sami Zayn taking on Karrion Kross. I'd say Kross is "nothing more than an entrance," but his entrance isn't unique. Kross looked like he was a little off with some of his footwork early but rebounded nicely. Zayn was his reliable self and I liked seeing him become "unhinged" as the match went on. Scarlett handed Kross a metal pipe, but he hit Kross with a Blue Thunder Bomb before he could utilize it and the pipe went flying. When Zayn took back control, Scarlett handed him the pipe and he picked it up but ultimately chucked it to the floor to a big pop. Zayn followed it up with a not-so-explosive Exploder and a Helluva Kick to wrap this up in well under 10 minutes. This was filler-at-best and did nothing for Kross, who I assume will be leaving the company shortly as this did not seem like the kind of booking a guy with much of a future would receive. (2/5)

This was followed by yet another video package highlighting the career of Hulk Hogan...have we not seen enough of this stuff? Nick Hogan was shown in the audience before they went to another commercial break.

Tiffany Stratton defended her Women's WWE Championship against Jade Cargill in the next bout. Cargill controlled early, dropping Stratton with a snap suplex on the outside. Cargill's overconfidence cost her, though, allowing Stratton to nail her with a big suicide dive through the middle ropes. Stratton followed it up with a beautiful swanton dive, but got caught when she attempted a backflip elbow. Cargill hit a nice superkick and then her Eye of the Storm (a fireman's carry into a powerbomb ala Will Ospreay). We got a cool sequence soon after with Cargill suplexing Stratton from outside the ring back into and attempting to roll through but Stratton countering with a Falcon Arrow. A strike exchange followed with Cargill attempting a chokeslam but Stratton countering with a headscissors into a back elbow. Stratton went for her finish, but Cargill got her feet up! Cargill hit her finish, but when she rolled Stratton up, Tiffany's foot got tied up in the bottom rope! Really good sequence there. Cargill went for her finish again, but Stratton countered it again into a pin attempt. Cargill delivered a chokeslam and seemed to be in full control, attempting to hit Jaded from the top rope, but Stratton countered it into a body scissors and then hit the BME to get the clean win. Like the match that preceded it, this didn't have a very long runtime but it was never boring and, overall, the execution was good. Cargill wasn't super-protected in the finish, though, which makes one wonder what is next for her, but it wasn't a bad showing. (2.5/5)

A commercial for The Rock's new movie, The Smashing Machine, where he'll play Mark Kerr, aired next. Looks cool.

Jelly Roll and Randy Orton took on Drew McIntyre and Logan Paul in the next match. This was not my cup of tea. The three pros - and, at this point, I think Logan Paul could be considered a pro even if not at nearly the same level as Orton and Drew - carried Jelly Roll through your typical celebrity match. Jelly Roll did some basic moves and, to his credit, took a top rope splash through a table at one point and ate a Drew McIntyre Claymore, but this just isn't pro-wrestling that is worth checking out unless you're a Jelly Roll superfan (I'm not) or dying to see Logan Paul do a handful of the same high spots he always does. Fine for what it was, I guess, but I'm not the audience for this stuff so I was bored with it within a few minutes. (2.5/5)

Main event time - CM Punk vs. GUNTHER for his World Heavyweight Championship. Now, this match was more my speed. Hard-hitting, tremendous selling by CM Punk, great building of suspense around GUNTHER finally landing his chest chops, and an ending that utilized blood as a key turning point of the match (GUNTHER clearly bladed under the table when CM Punk pulled his legs out from under him). AEW fans would likely crave more, but for the WWE, I don't mind blood being treated like the kind of thing that represents a substantial change in momentum. Here, GUNTHER bleeding turned the tide after he had dominated a considerable portion of the match. The post-match saw Seth Rollins and Paul Heyman make their entrance with Rollins discarding his crutches and a knee brace before hitting Punk with a series of elbows, bashes with the briefcase, and then a Curb Stomp to win the title. Booking-wise, I can't say that I was intrigued by the ending (and the promise of even more Rollins/Punk drama) nor was I surprised by the "swerve" at all (Rollins' injury seemed, from the video I saw, to very much be exaggerated and purposefully done to "work" the fans), but I try not to rate matches too harshly based on my personal preferences for who should win/lose. Punk/GUNTHER had a great match (though not the all-time classic some have called it) and Rollins' cash-in got the exact type of response that it was designed to do. (3.5/5)

Night Two began, after the requisite intro from Triple H, with Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY challenging Naomi for her WWE Women's World Championship. Naomi was played to the ring by her father, which was a cool moment. Naomi tried to avoid contact early, but SKY and Ripley ended up getting her between them and hitting her with a series of strikes before teaming up to beat her up in the corner. The match opened up when Ripley inadvertently booted SKY in the face and Naomi got some offense in. Highlights included Naomi planting IO with a hanging X-Factor, IYO's springboard missile dropkick, a nifty sequence resulting in Rhea hitting a face-first Electric Chair slam on IYO, and Ripley busting out a Razor's Edge-Powerbomb combo. I also liked the commentary team going into Naomi's story, a benefit from having a working relationship with TNA that I wish they'd extend to companies they aren't partners with. On the negative side, there were timing issues where Ripley or IYO needed to pause for Naomi to come off the ropes early on, but by the time they got to the second half, those issues faded and the cut-offs were all on-point. The MVP of the match was IYO, though Naomi and Rhea had great moments too. IYO is just about as good as anyone between the ropes, her bumping and selling, facial expressions, and offense all being top shelf. This wasn't quite at the same level as the match from WrestleMania, but it wasn't that far from it. A very good opener to Night 2. IYO and Rhea in the same ring is basically a "cheat code" for the WWE because you're guaranteed at least a very good, if not outright great, match. (3.5/5)

Next up - The Street Profits vs. #DIY vs. The Motor City Machine Guns vs. Fraxiom (Nathan Frazier and Axiom) vs. Andrade and Rey Fenix vs. The Wyatt Sicks in a TLC match for the WWE Tag Team Championships. This is the first Fraxiom match I've ever seen. Right off the bat, I feared that this match was too loaded with bodies. They wasted very little time getting to the dives and ladders. Highlights included the Profits double-back body dropping Gacy (but missing the ladder entirely, which seemed like it hurt even more) and then repeating it to make sure they did hit the ladder, Fenix nearly grabbing the belts by just jumping onto Andrade's shoulders, DIY trying to launch Ford through a table only for him to dive over the post onto Fraxiom, Sabin dropkicking Gacy into the seat of a chair, Johnny Gargano hitting a ridiculous tornado DDT that put Gacy through a table, Lumis following it up with a crazy senton through a table, Fenix putting Frazier through a table with a frog splash, and then Axiom hitting a Spanish Fly through a whole bunch of tables (!). At this point, Candice LeRae showed up to help her husband (who was recovering on the outside), but as she climbed the ladder, B-Fab showed up and slammed her off the ladder and into a stack of chairs. Nikki Cross (Abby the Witch) brought B-Fab down with a Russian Leg Sweep off the ladder, allowing LeRae to make another trip up the ladder. Unfortunately for her, Montez shoved Ciampa into the ladder and she came down hard, going through a ladder right in front of the announce table. Crazy. Erick Rowan came in to beat up on the Profits as a whole bunch of folks seemed to run to LeRae's aid on the outside. The Profits were able to take Rowan out by putting him through a table with a double shoulder block. Ciampa went for the titles but MCMG pulled the ladder out from under him. Frazier went to hit him with a dive, but Ciampa pulled himself up and was hanging upside down! Wow. Not sure I've seen that before. Ford sprinbgboarded to the top of the ladder, but Axiom met him up there as MCMG set up a ladder of their own. DIY climbed up too with everyone getting a hand on the titles at one point. Bo Dallas (Uncle Howdy) dumped the ladders, sending DIY through a whole bunch of tables. Howdy climbed up but ending up getting sunset flip powerbombed through a ladder by Andrade! Fenix climbed up but Gacy and Lumis brought him down with a chairshot and a suplex-powerbomb combo. This allowed the Wyatt Sicks to retain in what was, easily, one of the best and most crazy, action-packed TLC matches in several years. Everyone in this match went all-out to make this as memorable as possible and it was the first real "must see" match of the weekend because of it. (4/5)

At this point, they showed a clip of Triple H meeting with Donald Trump. I'm not sure if, when it aired live, you could hear the live crowd (I recall seeing on Reddit that there were audible boos when he appeared on the screen but the video may have come from someone in attendance), but the crowd was completely muted on the replay. 

Becky Lynch defended her WWE Women's Intercontinental Championship against Lyra Valkyria in a No CO/No DQ (Streetfight) in the next match. Lynch and Valkyria were given well over 20 minutes and, because of it, portions of the match dragged, especially after the unfortunate zip tie episode (in which Valkryia's zip-tied hands came loose after a slam and re-tied herself as the commentators tried to make sense of what they'd just seen). That small gaffe aside, I really liked Lynch's use of the steel chair towards the end of the match and wish they'd gotten to it sooner as, by that point, the match felt like it had "peaked." Bayley ended up saving Valkyria from getting struck with a crowbar - which, like Triple H's sledgehammer, struck me as a weapon that seemed a bit "too extreme" for the WWE - but then getting sent over the barricade by Lynch after they'd brawled around the ring. This led to an awesome table spot from Valkyria, but in the end, an errant Bayley forearm cost Valkyria the match (and per the stipulation, any future title shots against Lynch). Its hard to say to what degree my enjoyment of this match was limited by the fact that it came after a ridiculous spotfest, I've become a bit "cool" on Becky Lynch (and this being their fourth PPV match, if you count the Bayley triple threat), and it went so long, but I can't deny that these factors did play into my appreciation. (3/5)

Solo Sikoa vs. Jacob Fatu for Sikoa's United States Championship in a Steel Cage was next. I was very "cold" on this match coming in as I'm not a Solo fan and have been generally bored with the never-ending Bloodline story, which almost feels like if the nWo storyline had become focused entirely on Stevie Ray and Brian Adams. Fatu came out looking like The Beast Mortos. Nothing super-remarkable aside from Fatu bringing his usual energy, which was enough to re-ignite the crowd (which was a little dead after the Lynch/Valkyria marathon). Over on Cagematch, this match has been torn to shreds but I don't think it warrants that kind of visceral hate. It was unremarkable but inoffensive to me, the kind of match that exposes just how tired this storyline is and just how much Fatu is being wasted having to continuously carry a storyline built around a bunch of guys who, combined, have about a 10th of his charisma and presence. All the run-ins in the world couldn't save this and one has to wonder, after a match where a zip tie (and a chair) were used to essentially handcuff one of the competitors for minutes on end, if there was a lack of communication between agents/producers to allow this match to also feature handcuffs (in this instance, Fatu being cuffed to the cage but then breaking free in mere seconds). The post-match seemed to point to a continuation of this rivalry but here's hoping they won't run much of it on the PLE cards because it is completely unworthy. (2/5)

Dominik Mysterio defended his Intercontinental Championship against AJ Styles in the next bout. Styles was rocking Eddie-inspired gear, which was neat. Styles looked his age at time, not quite as quick on his feet as he once was, but that's also to be expected with how much more muscle he put on for this latest run. Both Dom and AJ have extensive offensive movesets and they dished out pretty much everything they had, including a bunch cribbed from Rey and Eddie. I didn't love the transition into AJ's Calf Crusher as Dom came off the top with a "flying nothing." The bit with the chair that followed, where both guys feigned being hit by it while the ref was distracted, was a high point, though. The finish saw AJ (struggle to) pull Dom's boot off while he applied the Calf Crusher and then got walloped with it behind the ref's back before getting hit with a frog splash. I liked that, during the replay, Cole and Barrett saw that Dom had loosened the boot in expectation for the Crusher, which really was clever. Its too bad that this show saw people kick out of all sorts of chair shots, table spots, getting hit with wrenches, and being choked with metal chains to make this sort of finish really "work." In a vacuum, though, this was a good-not-great match that didn't overstay its welcome or try to be more "epic" than it needed to be. Solid. (3/5) 

After Stephanie McMahon announced the night's attendance, it was Main Event Time - John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes in a Streetfight for Cena's WWE Championship. This was a psychological mess to me, though it was an improvement from Cena's previous title defenses. On the SmackDown before this show, Cena had cut a promo apologizing to the WWE audience and essentially ending his 6-month heel run in less-than-dramatic fashion. It was a tacit admission that Cena's heel run was a creative dead-end and that the WWE simply wanted us to act like it never happened. Which is exactly how John Cena and Cody Rhodes worked this match. They threw in a ton of "greatest hits," but maybe only one truly innovative one (Cena bringing Cody up in AA position on the stage lift being the best of the bunch). I liked the callback to the Cena/Umaga match with the use of the bottom rope turnbuckle, but was less amused by Cena hitting a Code Red on the floor and then grinning like a middle schooler, eschewing any sense that this was a major championship match that was supposed to be grueling, painful, and dangerous. With neither guy playing the role of villain - the 70/30 pro-Cena crowd made it seem like a double-turn could've worked - it was a finisher spam-fest devoid of any real "heat" between the opponents. Any sense of vitriol was taken out of the match within the first 10 seconds when Cena hugged Cody and Cody inexplicably accepted that "the old John Cena" was back. Yuck. When it came time for Cena to potentially use the WWE Championship belt to win the match, he tossed it aside, a gesture that would've worked had it not been for the fact that, minutes earlier, Cena had attempted to choke the life out of Cody with a ring rope and had put him through multiple tables. Make the match a straight-up singles match and Cena choosing *not* to utilize a weapon speaks volumes. Him not using it here felt a little silly in this specific context, especially after we'd seen wrestlers try to maim each other with chairs, crowbars, ladders, and a wrench throughout the show. As I noted earlier, overall, this was way funner than the other Cena defenses of this year. Cena doing his finisher-spamming schtick and overloading a match with table spots is an improvement from him purposefully working at half-speed to build heat and then going into a screwy finish after a dull 20 minutes. But this might've been too much of a recoil for me as Cena completely abandoned any of the character motivations he spent the last 6 months cultivating. (2.5/5)

Oh, and would-be accomplice to sex trafficking Brock Lesnar returned after the match to F5 John Cena to a huge pop. 

With an overall Kwang Score of 2.83-out-of-5, SummerSlam 2025 was a considerable step-down from last month's Evolution show and last year's one-night edition. The best match of either night was the TLC match with the Rhea/Naomi/IYO match not too far below it. No surprise there, really, as the wrestlers involved seemed the most motivated to give fans something new and exciting rather than relying on old hits. The return of Lesnar and Cena abandoning his heel persona a mere 48 hours before this show and instantly burying his months-long feud with Cody Rhodes by hugging it out in the first minute of their match left a really poor taste in my mouth and, based on the reception to the show in the days after it aired, I was not alone in this opinion. A show that was often just "okay" with a few slightly-above matches. 

FINAL RATING - Watch It...With Remote in Hand