Date: August 2, 2025
Location: MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ
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Show Recap —
COUNTDOWN SHOW —
The countdown show is three hours long. Follow here for periodic updates, followed by the live SummerSlam recap tonight and tomorrow.
Michael Cole confirmed that the men’s world title match between Gunther and CM Punk will main event night one of SummerSlam.
The opener will be Roman Reigns and Jey Uso against Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed.
Tiffany Stratton did a quick interview with Byron Saxton. She admitted to being nervous because nobody had Jade Cargill’s star power or potential (shouldn’t Stratton think that about herself?), but she still planned on walking out as champion tonight.
Sam Roberts interviewed Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez. They dismissed Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss as opponents, and confidently stated they would retain their tag titles tonight.
They killed time by interviewing fans outside the stadium. Two hours to go.
They aired part one of a Jelly Roll interview with Jackie Redmond. He was a huge fan and really wanted to be a part of this period of wrestling (given its current popularity). He wasn’t there to take someone else’s spot. They also focused heavily on his weight-loss journey. (So far, this Jelly Roll interview is the most anyone has been focused on.)
Another celebrity, comedian Druski, joined the panel. He spoke more about his own projects than he did about SummerSlam.
Saxton interviewed some fans dressed as wrestlers and had them do impressions. It was so embarrassing, I had to mute it.
They aired the clip of Triple H doing his water gimmick at the White House.
Joe Tessitore put over WWE: Unreal and claimed it was widely acclaimed (by whom?). Tessitore interviewed Triple H, whom he called the series’ central pillar.
Big E put over the series as well, while admitting the idea of it was polarizing among fans.
Cathy Kelley interviewed Sami Zayn. Zayn was angry. He saw posters around the building for all the big championship matches, which made him angry that he was instead fighting Karrion Kross to prove himself. He congratulated Kross on making him angry. Zayn would end this tonight, “one way or another.”
Big E and Redmond plugged Kross’ biography, coming out soon.
There was a long SummerSlam stats video, which somehow included the number of times Jelly Roll’s album has been streamed. One hour to go.
There was a video package on celebrities getting involved at WWE shows.
They aired part two of Redmond’s interview with Jelly Roll. It included footage of him training at the PC and being put over by Undertaker. He spoke about tonight’s match, and Redmond wished him luck.
If that wasn’t enough, they aired clips (for a second time) of Jelly Roll on Stephanie McMahon’s podcast. Stephanie joined the panel to talk about him more. His goal was to be under 300 lbs for tonight’s match, and she announced he weighed in earlier at 299.
They spoke more about other celebrities and how much they want to be part of WWE now.
There were clips from Unreal.
After a break, the panel spoke about Jelly Roll again.
The panel spoke about the rest of the card as the pre-show came to a close.
SUMMERSLAM 2025 NIGHT ONE —
The footage of wrestlers arriving now has a sponsor attached to it. Drew McIntyre, Logan Paul, Randy Orton, Jelly Roll, Gunther, and CM Punk were shown arriving.
The SummerSlam intro video was narrated by comedian Druski.
Several wide shots showed how packed MetLife Stadium is. It’s 77 degrees Fahrenheit and partly cloudy.
Cardi B, the host of SummerSlam, entered the ring and she hyped up the crowd (while seemingly reading off cue cards or a teleprompter at ringside).
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Jey Uso entered first at 6:09 pm. He entered through the crowd and stated, “Damn, I’m tired!” as he hit ringside. Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed entered to a new remixed version of their two themes.
The opening bell rang at 6:20 pm.
Roman Reigns & Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed (w/Paul Heyman)
Jey and Reign quickly sent the heels from the ring. Jey suggested they play his music again so the crowd could Yeet. Reigns was on board, so they did it. The heels took the opportunity to yank Reigns from the ring, so Jey wiped out every with a dive off the top.
Reed shoved Reigns into the steel steps while Jey hammered away at Breakker, but Breakker ran him over with a sprinting clothesline and the heels quickly took over. As Reigns was about to get back to his feet outside the ring, Breakker ran him over with a chaotic leaping tackle.
There was a funny bit where Breakker held Jey in a rest hold while mock-singing Reigns’ name and singing, “You should have stayed in bed!”
Breakker tried his leaping dive off the apron, but Jey dodged it, and Breakker collided with the announce table. Jey was about to make a hot tag, but Reed pulled Reigns off the apron while Breakker tackled Jey.
Jey gave Reed a DDT and made the hot tag to Reigns, who hit Breakker with clotheslines. With both heels outside the ring, Reigns did a big Undertaker dive to the outside. Reigns almost landed on his head, but he managed to rotate and avoid catastrophe.
Reigns hit Breakker with a Superman punch in the ring, but Reed had made a blind tag, and he ran over Reigns. Jey made his own blind tag and ran wild on Reed until Reed cut him off with a clothesline and DVD for two.
With both babyfaces outside the ring, Reed nailed them with a suicide dive. Reed also took a nasty-looking fall on this one, but he was fine. Breakker decked Jey over the announce table. The heels gave Jey a Steinerizer (with Breakker leaping off the top) for two.
Breakker began running around the ring, but Reigns cut him off with a Superman punch and speared him through the barricade. (It’s a tired spot, but it looked good.)
Reed set up Jey for a Tsunami, but Reigns knocked him down with a Superman punch. Reigns and Jey hit Reed with a 1-D, but Breakker broke up the cover.
Breakker taunted the crowd, put his straps back on before taking them right off. (The crowd popped for that.) Breakker went to spear Jey, but Reigns shoved Jey out of the way and ate the spear instead.
Jey superkicked Breakker and speared Reed. Jey then hit Reed with an Uso splash for the pinfall win. The crowd popped for the win.
(The announcers put over the fact that Reigns sacrificed himself for Jey, not something he would have done in the past.)
Match result: Jey Uso & Roman Reigns defeated Bronson Reed & Bron Breakker (21:05)
This was a perfectly good opener. Reigns’ matches have a certain pattern, and this was no different, but it was at least nice to see some new blood in there—namely, Bron Breakker. Perhaps Bron should have won, but he looked good in the match, and they’ll obviously go back to this soon.
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Druski, Breland, and Fat Joe (who got a nice reaction) were shown in the crowd.
A brand sponsor was also shown in the crowd, and Cole’s ad read was muted on my Netflix broadcast. (The ad reads are usually muted on my feed.)
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The show is almost an hour old, and there’s been just one 20-minute match. The second match began at 6:56 pm.
Charlotte entered first, but remained on the stage for Bliss so they could enter together (to Bliss’ music).
There were stats shown for Rodriguez and Perez, and even that graphic had a sponsor attached.
Women’s Tag Team Championships: Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez (c) vs. Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss
The heels had the heat on Charlotte almost right away. Bliss made a hot tag and went for Sister Abigail, but Perez raked her eyes. Perez missed a springboard moonsault, but Rodriguez tagged herself in.
Bliss dropped Perez with a DDT and went for Twisted Bliss, even though Perez was not the legal woman. Perez “got her knees up,” but Bliss missed anyway and landed on Perez’s feet instead. None of it mattered because Perez wasn’t legal, so Rodriguez decked her with a clothesline.
Charlotte made a hot tag and did her best to fire up the quiet crowd. She hit both opponents with a flying crossbody and followed with chops on Rodriguez. She placed Rodriguez and Perez next to each other and hit a moonsault on both women before covering Rodriguez for two. Charlotte tried to put Rodriguez in a Figure Eight, but Perez hit her with a springboard moonsault.
Bliss jumped in and tried to deck Rodriguez, but Rodriguez moved, and Bliss clobbered Charlotte by mistake. The heels got rid of Bliss before Rodriguez hit Charlotte with a Tejana Bomb. Perez followed with Pop Rox, but Bliss just barely broke up the cover.
Bliss set up Perez for Sister Abigail. Charlotte looked like she wanted to boot Bliss for revenge, but she booted Rodriguez instead so that she couldn’t interfere.
Bliss hit Perez with the Sister Abigail DDT for the pinfall win.
Charlotte embraced Bliss after the match, and they posed with their new title belts as fireworks went off.
Match result: Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair defeated Roxanne Perez & Raquel Rodriguez to win the Women’s Tag Team Championships (13:35)
This match was ok. The crowd didn’t care early on, but they got into it as it picked up toward the end and popped big for the title change.
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There was a backstage segment to plug their pizza sponsorship. New Day (and Grayson Waller), Alpha Academy, and LWO argued over who should get the last slice of pizza until Nikki Bella entered with three full boxes.
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This match did not get a video package (which is fine).
Sami Zayn vs. Karrion Kross (w/Scarlett)
About five minutes in, Zayn kicked out of a Saito suplex, so Kross turned to Scarlett for assistance. Scarlett handed Kross a lead pipe and distracted the referee, but Zayn ducked a pipe shot and hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall.
A frustrated Zayn repeatedly booted Kross in the ropes, and the referee had to force him off.
Scarlett offered the pipe to Zayn as the ref checked on Kross. Zayn grabbed the pipe and considered using it, but he tossed it out of the ring (which was actually booed).
Kross tried a sudden schoolboy, but Zayn kicked out and hit an exploder in the corner. Zayn followed with a Helluva Kick for the decisive win.
Zayn smiled as he made his way up the ramp.
Match result: Sami Zayn defeated Karrion Kross (8:11)
This was a basic match that was really just about the closing sequence. I think the crowd was expecting a more interesting result, but ultimately, Zayn did what he said he would do and beat Kross straight-up (which was the correct result).
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Cole announced an attendance of 53,161.
Cole honoured Hulk Hogan once more and spoke about his success at SummerSlam. Nick Hogan was shown in the crowd as Hulk’s music played.
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Psycho Clown and Mr. Iguana were shown in the crowd.
There was a clip of Jade Cargill meeting some fans backstage and giving them upgraded seats. This was also a sponsored segment.
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Cargill’s gear were the colours of the Jamaican flag. Both women were cheered during introductions, and they made sure to show Cardi B applauding Cargill.
WWE Women’s Championship: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Jade Cargill
Cargill had the early edge until Stratton bumped her off the paron and hit a suicide dive. Stratton followed with a great-looking senton bomb in the ring. (It looked like she would land on her head, but rotated just in time to hit the move.)
Cargill blocked Stratton’s handspring elbow and followed with a boot and spinning slam for two. They traded moves, which led to Stratton hitting a falcon arrow. Stratton hit a handspring elbow and an Alabama Slam. Stratton tried a moonsault, but Cargill got her boots up.
Cargill hit Jaded and seemed to have the title won, but when she rolled into the cover, Stratton’s foot happened to touch the rope for a rope break. Cargill hit a chokeslam and took Stratton to the corner.
Cargill set up for a Jaded off the middle rope, but Stratton countered into an avalanche hurricanrana of sorts. Stratton followed with the PME for the pinfall win. Stratton wins clean.
Match result: Tiffany Stratton defeated Jade Cargill to retain the WWE Women’s Championship (7:05)
A surprising result. There were some clunky spots, but this was better than expected, and the crowd was into it.
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There was a trailer for The Smashing Machine.
Tineke Younger, Cardi B, and Stephanie McMahon were in the crowd. (Cole referred to Stephanie as “legendary,” and I believe they called her that on the pre-show as well.)
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Bunnie XO, Jelly Roll’s wife, was in the crowd. Cole read some stats about her Spotify audience.
As mentioned on the pre-show, they said Jelly Roll weighed in at 299 lbs (his goal was to be under 300 lbs for this match).
Randy Orton & Jelly Roll vs. Drew McIntyre & Logan Paul
Paul took a cheap shot at Jelly Roll before the match. Orton was going to start the match, but as the bell rang, Jelly Roll tagged himself in to get revenge.
Paul tried and failed to suplex Jelly Roll, so Jelly gave him a scoop slam instead. Jelly followed with an elbow drop, so a surprised Paul tagged out.
McIntyre smacked Jelly in the back of the head. Instead of tagging out, Jelly was hyped up by Orton. Jelly got in McIntyre’s face. McIntyre told him that today was the day the music dies.
Jelly hit a few jabs until McIntyre dropped him with a headbutt. Paul tagged in and hammered away at Jelly Roll as the crowd chanted, “F—k you, Logan,” (which was censored).
The heels beat up Jelly as the crowd chanted, “We want Randy.” Jelly chucked McIntyre out of the ring and made the hot tag to Orton, who hit McIntyre with a powerslam and a draping DDT. Orton set up for an RKO, but Paul pulled McIntyre to safety.
Orton went outside and gave McIntyre a back suplex onto the announce table. Orton did it to Paul as well, but that distraction allowed McIntyre to hit Orton with a Claymore Kick. Paul attacked Jelly from behind and punched him (with his titanium-plated hand). Jelly didn’t exactly take it flush.
McIntyre placed Jelly Roll on the announce table as Paul went to the top rope. Paul raised cans of his energy drink before hitting Jelly Roll with a spectacular splash off the rope and through the announce table. The crowd chanted, “Holy sh-t,” as officials checked on Jelly Roll.
The heels worked over Orton in the ring as the crowd seemed distracted. Officials helped Jelly to his feet and helped him make his way toward the ramp. (The fans cheered when Jelly got to his feet, but they also seemed distracted by something else, to the point where McIntyre banged the top of the ring post to get them focused.)
With Orton down, Jelly Roll shunned the officials and made his way back to the apron. Jelly made a hot tag and gave Paul a chokeslam. He also gave McIntyre a Bossman slam. The fans—who were all on their feet since Paul’s splash—were definitely into it here, and they cheered as Jelly brought Paul off the top with a powerslam for two.
McIntyre hit Jelly with a Claymore Kick, and Orton gave McIntyre an RKO. However, Paul chucked Orton into the ring post and hit Jelly with a frog splash for the pinfall win.
Match result: Logan Paul & Drew McIntyre defeated Jelly Roll & Randy Orton (17:04)
I wouldn’t call this a good match, but it was laid out well, and they accomplished what they wanted.
On the pre-show, they really focused hard on Jelly Roll and celebrity appearances in general. Indeed, Orton and McIntyre felt like secondary players here. Paul is a regular now, so it did make sense for him to get the pin, and his splash through the table was incredible.
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They showed Triple H at the White House with Donald Trump.
They ran down tomorrow’s card, which has a cage match, TLC match, street fight and no-DQ match.
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Punk wore the colours of the Chicago flag.
World Heavyweight Championship: Gunther (c) vs. CM Punk
They wrestled back and forth for a few minutes until Gunther dropped Punk with a single chop. Punk got back on offence and targeted Gunther’s left arm.
Punk went to the top, but Gunther chopped the back of his leg. Punk was helpless upside down in the ropes as Gunther hit several more chops. Gunther followed with more chops, knees to the mid-section, and abdominal stretch. Punk countered out of the stretch and went for a GTS. A series of counters led to Gunther hitting a big boot.
Gunther beat down Punk for a while until he began fighting back, but Gunther cut him off. (Gunther had a bloody mark on his chest from Punk’s chops.)
There was a messy spot where Punk seemed to be going for an atomic drop, but Gunther landed as if it was a spinebuster. It didn’t matter because Gunther put Punk in a single-leg crab. Punk countered into an attempt at a Sharpshooter, but Gunther got a rope break.
(They stalled for a moment here as the ref checked on Punk, perhaps giving him time to recoup.)
Punk fought back and hit a clothesline, but Gunther didn’t budge. Punk knocked him down with a leg lariat instead. Punk, also bleeding from the chest, went for a running knee, but Gunther caught him and hit a powerbomb for two.
They traded submission attempts until Gunther hit consecutive chops, but Punk came back with a Russian leg sweep, running knee and bulldog for two. Punk went to the top, but Gunther slammed him off it and followed with a splash off the top for two.
Gunther clotheslined an exhausted Punk, waited for him to return to his feet, and hit another one. Punk suddenly got Gunther in position for GTS, but Gunther slipped out and hit a powerbomb. Gunther hit a running dropkick and powerbomb for a nearfall.
The match continued at a slow pace as Gunther continued his deliberate beatdown of Punk. Gunther posed atop the announce table until Punk tripped him from behind. Punk was too tired to follow up and sat against the ring to catch his breath.
The camera focused on Punk as a distraction, because Gunther reemerged from behind the announce desk and his face was covered in blood. (His face or nose supposedly smashed off the desk to cause this.)
Gunther begged off from Punk, who hit a clothesline and diving elbow drop. Punk went for GTS, but Gunther slipped out again and applied a sleeper.
Punk slipped out and hit a GTS. Gunther was dazed but remained on his feet. Punk grabbed him and hit the GTS again for the pinfall win.
CM Punk is the World Champion.
The referee handed the world title belt to an emotional Punk.
Match result: CM Punk defeated Gunther to win the World Heavyweight Championship (30:18)
— Punk looked around the crowd before finally holding the belt up high. Seth Rollins’ music hit, the crowd popped, and Punk’s expression changed.
Rollins walked out on crutches with Heyman by his side. Rollins issued a warning to Punk and acted like he was about to leave. However, Rollins ditched his crutches and removed his knee brace.
Rollins ran down with his briefcase and a referee. Punk attacked Rollins as soon as he entered the ring, but Rollins fought him off and hit him in the head repeatedly with the briefcase.
Rollins cashed in his contract.
World Heavyweight Championship: CM Punk (c) vs. Seth Rollins (w/Paul Heyman)
Rollins immediately stomped Punk for the pinfall win.
CM Punk is no longer the World Champion.
Rollins celebrated with Heyman, Breakker, and Reed as fireworks went off. Rollins sat cross-legged while holding the belt and snickering at Punk.
Match result: Seth Rollins defeated CM Punk to win the World Heavyweight Championship (0:12)
The main event was good, but not great. It was unnecessarily long, but they probably wanted Punk looking as exhausted as possible for the cash-in.
Night one was an average show at best (to be generous), the type of show you’d be able to skim through pretty quickly. There was about 90 minutes of wrestling on this three-and-a-half-hour show, and a third of that was the main event.
