SummerSlam night two takes place tonight (Sun., Aug. 2) from U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The event gets rolling at 3 pm ET with the free Countdown show, which runs for three hours on WWE and ESPN’s online outlets, among other places. That leads right on into the premium live event at 6 pm ET, which in the United States will be on ESPN’s new streaming platform. Everywhere else (or if you take Stephanie McMahon’s advice), it’s on Netflix.
WWE accidentally exposed the truth about Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins
During Roman Reigns’ 1300+ day run as WWE Universal champion from 2020 to 2024, he beat every wrestler that WWE put in front of him in a singles PLE match, with one exception. The one guy who beat Roman was Seth Rollins, who won by disqualification at Royal Rumble 2022 when Roman snapped after he was once again haunted by Seth’s 2014 betrayal of The Shield.
Roman’s inability to get over Seth’s betrayal was also a major factor in why his extremely long title reign came to an end at WrestleMania 40.
Now we’re back to Reigns vs. Rollins again tonight in the main event of SummerSlam Sunday, with the Tribal Chief’s World heavyweight championship on the line. Seth is supremely confident because he never loses against Roman Reigns on PLE. He is clearly in the OTC’s head. The only way Roman will be able to make peace with all of their past history is if he finally beats Seth’s obnoxious ass in the ring for the three count tonight.
Seth also has a major chip on his shoulder that he can’t get over coming in to this main event title match. Ever since The Shield broke up, Seth has never been able to usurp Roman as the face of WWE. Seth is always right behind him as the number two guy. Roman is the one who gets to main event WrestleMania every year, while Rollins is plagued by injuries and has to resort to unconventional measures like cashing in Money in the Bank contracts to get his moments of glory on the biggest stages.
On paper, this story between Reigns and Rollins sounds like it could be quite compelling. However, as WWE was building to this SummerSlam main event over the last few weeks, they accidentally exposed a harsh truth: many WWE fans just don’t seem to give a shit about watching Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins.
Maybe it’s the lackluster promos. Maybe it’s because Seth Rollins is a terrible babyface. Maybe it’s because The Bloodline reunion angle isn’t working very well. Maybe it’s because these guys have been around for so long at the top of WWE that fans are rejecting it, much like the way John Cena vs. Randy Orton eventually reached that tipping point years ago.
Whatever the reason, this is not a hot match heading into night two of SummerSlam. Can Roman and Seth find a way to get people invested in their story and deliver a great match tonight? Tune in to SummerSlam Sunday to find out.
The rest of the card
Here are the remaining five matches that are currently advertised for SummerSlam Sunday.
Tiffany Stratton vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Chelsea Green vs. Jade Cargill vs. Lash Legend in a Ladder match for the Interim WWE Women’s championship
WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley suffered a torn meniscus on the European tour in early June, and is unable to defend her belt for a while. Instead of stripping her of the title, WWE chose to create an interim championship that will be awarded to the winner of this 5-way ladder match.
Flair and Cargill stand out as the kayfabe favorites to climb the ladder for the win, while Stratton is not far behind as the home state hero. A win for babyface Chelsea Green would likely get a huge pop. Lash Legend damn near squashed Giulia to qualify for this bout, and she could end up being the winner if WWE wants to set her up for a fresh title unification match down the line against Ripley. No matter who wins, the fact that this is a 5 woman ladder match creates the expectation of a car crash style spot fest, which are almost always entertaining.
Danhausen vs. Dominik Mysterio in a Human Monies on a Pole match
The Judgment Day was dumb enough to get scammed out of a bunch of money by Danhausen during his ‘uncursing the New York Knicks’ arc. JD McDonagh tried to make Danhausen pay for it at Saturday Night’s Main Event at Madison Square Garden, but it only led to more humiliation as Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns chokeslammed both JD and Dirty Dom. Now that little shithead Mysterio gets his chance to win back all the stolen money, but he has to do it in a Human Monies on a Pole match against Danhausen. With that kind of silly gimmick at the heart of the match, I don’t think things will end well for the AAA Mega Champion at SummerSlam.
Finn Balor vs. Sami Zayn
It felt like a miracle happened when Sami Zayn won the WWE championship from Cody Rhodes in Saudi Arabia. Sami’s miracle run as the top star in WWE only lasted nine days before he dropped the title to CM Punk on Raw in Chicago. Due to the strange circumstances that led to that unexpected title defense, Zayn is getting a chance to become the number one contender for the belt. All he has to do is win tonight at SummerSlam Sunday.
Meanwhile, GM Adam Pearce recently traded Finn Balor from Raw to SmackDown for apparently nothing in return. Finn has since defeated the likes of Tama and Talla Tonga, before pinning former Judgment Day stablemate Damian Priest in a 4-way match. Balor’s prize for winning that match was a date against The Last Real Good Guy at SummerSlam. Whoever wins this match will be next in line to challenge CM Punk for the title, assuming GUNTHER doesn’t storm the ring to attack both men and leave us without a winner.
Trick Williams (c) vs. Baron Corbin for the United States championship
Baron Corbin is back in WWE, and he immediately took out Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes with End of Days upon his return. I guess Corbin really likes things that are furry, because he’s coming straight for Trick’s new custom designed championship. At the end of the day, the new Baron Corbin doesn’t seem any different than the old Baron Corbin, so this title match just isn’t all that exciting on paper. Trick is very charismatic, and Baron is very tall. We’ll find out at SummerSlam which one of those traits is more important to being a mid-card champion in WWE.
Penta (c) vs. Chad Gable for the Intercontinental championship
Chad Gable has been seeking babyface redemption ever since he unmasked as the man behind the original El Grande Americano mask. He’s doing an awkward overhead clapping gimmick specifically for it to get over in his return home tonight in Minneapolis, where he is challenging for Penta’s belt. Unlike Baron Corbin, Gable didn’t earn this title shot by being very tall. He instead won a Gauntlet match on Raw against stars like Rusev and Ethan Page. It’s a little strange for Chad to make amends with luchadors and achieve redemption by beating beloved luchador Penta, but that’s the story that’s in front of us at SummerSlam.
SummerSlam Sunday doesn’t have the same level of hype behind it as the Saturday card, mostly because the main event match of Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins doesn’t compare favorably to either CM Punk vs. Cody Rhodes or Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar inside a giant steel cage. It doesn’t help matters that the undercard features an interim women’s championship instead of the real deal, Baron Corbin is not a very exciting championship challenger, Chad Gable wants you to awkwardly clap along with him, and Danhausen overload has led to the return of ‘Object on a pole’ matches, which often bomb.
What will you be looking for at night two of SummerSlam? Let me know your thoughts on the card in the comments below, Cagesiders.
