Tag: Summerslam 2024

Roman Reigns returns at WWE SummerSlam, helps Cody Rhodes retain

Posted on by Ethan Renner

The Original Tribal Chief made his return at SummerSlam in the Undisputed WWE Championship match main event.

Roman Reigns made his first WWE appearance since losing the Undisputed title to Rhodes at WrestleMania 40 at Saturday’s SummerSlam event in Cleveland, attacking Solo Sikoa and helping Cody Rhodes retain the WWE title.

Rhodes defeated Sikoa in a Bloodline Rules match in the show’s main event, a bout that included interference from Sikoa’s version of The Bloodline, Kevin Owens, and Randy Orton.

Jacob Fatu, Tama Tonga, and Tonga Loa all interfered on Sikoa’s behalf, including Fatu putting Rhodes through the announce desk with a top rope splash. Owens and Orton interfered on Rhodes’ behalf, but were neutralized by The Bloodline.

All of this led to the return of Reigns, who hit Sikoa with a superman punch and a spear, allowing Rhodes to finish off Sikoa to retain the Undisputed WWE Championship.

Reigns wore a shirt with “OTC” on the chest, a reference to his status as the Original Tribal Chief.

Our complete live play-by-play from SummerSlam is available here.

Drew McIntyre defeats CM Punk at WWE SummerSlam

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Drew McIntyre has defeated CM Punk.

McIntyre pinned Punk at WWE SummerSlam in Cleveland Saturday in a bout where Seth Rollins served as special guest referee.

The bout was built around the conflict between all three competitors, including multiple spots where Rollins could have given either competitor an advantage. Instead, Rollins called the bout down the middle.

The finish came after Rollins put on the friendship bracelet that McIntyre took from Punk in the course of their feud. Punk had McIntyre set up for a GTS, but abandoned the attempt when he saw Rollins with the bracelet.

McIntyre responded by shoving Punk into Rollins. With Rollins out of the ring, Punk hit McIntyre with the GTS, but Rollins was late counting. Punk then hit Rollins with a GTS.

With the referee down, McIntyre hit a low blow on Punk and connected with a Claymore Kick. Rollins was revived and counted the pin, and McIntyre posed with his foot on Punk’s chest.

The bout was filled with homages to the SummerSlam 1997 bout between Bret Hart and The Undertaker where Shawn Michaels was the guest referee, from Punk’s ring attire, to Rollins stopping McIntyre from using a chair on Punk.

Our ongoing live SummerSlam coverage is here.

WWE Women’s Championship changes hands at SummerSlam

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Nia Jax is the new WWE Women’s Champion after defeating Bayley for the title at SummerSlam on Saturday.

Jax pinned Bayley following two Annihilators and a distraction from Money in the Bank contract holder Tiffany Stratton to win the title on Saturday night in Cleveland at SummerSlam.

Bayley had kicked out of one Annihilator when Stratton’s music hit and the MITB holder ran to the ring with a referee. Bayley cut Stratton off before she could cash in, but the distraction allowed Jax an opportunity to get back into the match and hit her finisher twice and win the title.

WWE recognizes the current Women’s Championship as having the same lineage as the WWE Women’s title introduced in 2016, making this the second time Jax has held this particular title, and the first time since 2018 that Jax has held a singles championship.

Bayley’s title reign ends at 118 days, with the former champion having won the title from IYO SKY at WrestleMania 40 in April.

Our ongoing live SummerSlam coverage is available here.

Wingstop logo to be featured on WWE SummerSlam mat

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE has entered into a partnership with Wingstop that will see the restaurant chain’s logo featured on the SummerSlam mat.

On Thursday, WWE issued a press release announcing Wingstop as the presenting partner of SummerSlam 2024. The sponsorship deal includes two Wingstop logos being placed on the SummerSlam corner mat. That’s in addition to the Prime logo that’s featured in the middle of the ring at every WWE PLE.

SummerSlam is taking place from Cleveland Browns Stadium this Saturday (August 3). The Associated Press notes that there will be 12 totals sponsors for the event. WWE told the AP that sponsorship revenue is up more than 60 percent from last year’s SummerSlam, which generated $7 million in sponsorship revenue.

Wingstop will also sponsor WWE’s fan kickoff event in Cleveland this Friday. Plus, the deal includes a customized Wingstop video campaign with Rey Mysterio and Braun Strowman that will air across WWE programming this summer.

Bayley and Drew McIntyre will take part in a meet and greet at the Wingstop on 439 W. Bagley Road in Berea, Ohio from noon to 2 p.m. Eastern time this Friday.

The SummerSlam main card airs live on Peacock/WWE Network starting at 7 p.m. Eastern on Saturday. Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa for the Undisputed WWE Championship is among the matches slated for the show.

CM Punk ‘extremely pumped’ to make WWE in-ring return at SummerSlam

Posted on by Joseph Currier

After an injury put him on the shelf for six months, CM Punk is excited to finally be back in action.

Punk will make his return to the ring at SummerSlam this weekend, facing off against Drew McIntyre in a grudge match. It’s the first time Punk has wrestled since suffering a torn triceps in the Royal Rumble this January. He underwent surgery shortly after the injury and confirmed last week that he’s now been cleared to return.

SummerSlam is taking place from Cleveland Browns Stadium on Saturday. In advance of the PLE, Punk appeared on ESPN’s First Take and expressed how much he’s looking forward to competing again.

“I’m extremely pumped,” Punk said. “It’s been a long road to get back to WWE. We obviously have had our problems, I’ll say. And then to come back and then get injured in January was pretty crushing. But it gave me a lot to do with the rehab and being able to refocus and really kind of seize the opportunity that I’ve been given.”

SummerSlam will be Punk’s first televised one-on-one match for WWE since walking out of the company in 2014.

Seth Rollins, who in storyline has had issues with both Punk and McIntyre, will serve as the special guest referee for their match at SummerSlam. There was a segment on Raw last night where Rollins laid out his referee instructions for the match.

Punk’s full interview on First Take is available to watch below:

Wrestling Weekly: National Wrestling HOF notes, the roads to WWE SummerSlam & AEW All In

Posted on by Victor Sosa

On a new Wrestling Weekly, Les Thatcher has returned from his annual trip to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, so we discuss those ceremonies as well as all the happenings in WWE and AEW.
Thanks for listening and have a great weekend~!

Click Here to Listen (sub needed)

Special guest referee planned for WWE SummerSlam match

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE plans to add a special guest referee to one of the matches at SummerSlam.

In the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that — as of right now — “there is a guest referee spot scheduled” for one of the top SummerSlam bouts. He speculated that it will be Seth Rollins serving as the referee for the grudge match between CM Punk and Drew McIntyre.

WrestleVotes confirmed that Rollins is currently planned to be the referee for Punk vs. McIntyre.

SummerSlam is being held in Cleveland on Saturday, April 3. While Punk is scheduled to face McIntyre at the PLE, their match hasn’t been officially announced yet. Punk has been out of action since January due to a torn triceps and is still in the process of getting cleared to return.

“The belief is that Punk went to Orlando, FL, as part of the process to get cleared earlier this week,” Meltzer wrote.

A promo segment with Punk and Rollins took place on Raw last week. In storyline, McIntyre is currently suspended for putting his hands on officials after Money in the Bank. He shoved down two more referees on Raw this Monday. Rollins then ran out and fought McIntyre off.

Musical performance teased for WWE SummerSlam

Posted on by Joseph Currier

It looks like a musical performance will be part of the lineup for WWE SummerSlam 2024.

ā€œDead End Roadā€ and ā€œLiarā€ by Jelly Roll are both official theme songs for this year’s SummerSlam. In a tweet yesterday, Paul “Triple H” Levesque teased that Jelly Roll will also be performing live at the Saturday, August 3 event in Cleveland.

“Btw, @JellyRoll615let me know if youā€™re free on Aug. 3 to play a few songs for the @WWEUniverse,” Levesque wrote.

“Sounds like a good time to me, Bubba!,” Jelly Roll responded. “Iā€™ll have my people call your people!”

Jelly Roll blends country, rap, and hip hop in his music. He won Best New Artist in the 2023 Country Music Association Awards. When Raw took place in Nashville last November, Jelly Roll was featured on the show in an angle where he helped Randy Orton against The Judgment Day.

An inspirational figure, Jelly Roll spoke at a United States Senate hearing earlier this year about drug addiction and the dangers of fentanyl.

Liv Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley for the Women’s World Championship is the latest match that’s been set up for SummerSlam.

Sami Zayn comedy show added to WWE SummerSlam weekend

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE has confirmed another event that will be taking place in Cleveland during SummerSlam weekend.

The company announced today that Sami Zayn will host a comedy show at The Agora Cleveland on Friday, August 2, which is the day before SummerSlam. “Sami Zayn & Friends Do Cleveland” is the name of the show.

Zayn also performed at the Netflix is a Joke festival in Los Angeles this May and in Toronto during Money in the Bank week earlier this month.

“Sami Zayn & Friends Do ClevelandĀ is a comedy and variety show featuring guests from the worlds of comedy, television and WWE. The debut show in Toronto featured WWE Superstars Cody Rhodes and Bayley, Johnny Knoxville and others,” WWE wrote.

Tickets are going on sale to the general public this Wednesday (July 17) at 10 a.m. Eastern time. Before that, a pre-sale will begin at 10 a.m. on Tuesday.

WWE noted that a limited number of post-show meet-and-greet tickets with Zayn are being put on sale as well.

The Agora Cleveland will also be the venue for a one-man show that The Undertaker is performing on the afternoon of August 3 before SummerSlam.

Zayn, who currently holds the Intercontinental Championship, has a title defense against Ilja Dragunov on Raw tonight. It’s expected that Zayn will defend against Bron Breakker at SummerSlam either in a one-on-one match or in a triple threat with Dragunov added.

Cleveland Browns Stadium will be the venue for SummerSlam.

Update on matches planned for WWE SummerSlam

Posted on by Joseph Currier

In the new edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer gave a look at what the card for SummerSlam might look like.

Meltzer reports that, as of this week, Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa and United States Champion Logan Paul vs. LA Knight are both earmarked for SummerSlam instead of Money in the Bank. SummerSlam is being held in Paul’s hometown of Cleveland on Saturday, August 3.

WWE is also hoping that CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre will take place at SummerSlam, but Meltzer notes that it depends on whether Punk is ready to return from his torn triceps by then:

The hope is that Punk vs. McIntyre will take place at SummerSlam on 8/3 in Cleveland, but we were told that as of right now itā€™s up in the air whether Punk would be ready by that date. It was emphasized to me that he could be ready but itā€™s not a sure thing.

Punk is set to appear on tonight’s SmackDown from Chicago.

The SummerSlam card will also feature Gunther challenging for the World Heavyweight Championship and Nia Jax challenging for the WWE Women’s Championship. Gunther and Jax earned those title shots by winning WWE’s King and Queen of the Ring tournaments. As of now, it would be Damian Priest vs. Gunther and Bayley vs. Jax at SummerSlam.

Priest has a World Heavyweight Championship defense against Seth Rollins at Money in the Bank on July 6.

WWE SummerSlam 2024 announced for Cleveland

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE is bringing one of its biggest events to Cleveland this August.

It was announced today that SummerSlam 2024 will emanate from Cleveland Browns Stadium on Saturday, August 3. WWE had Logan Paul, who is originally from Cleveland, announce the news on his Impaulsive podcast.

“They wanted me to announce it, which I’m honored,” Paul said. “Because I’m just so excited for this summer. August 3 in Cleveland, Ohio. SummerSlam. WWE. At the Cleveland Browns Stadium. Unbelievable.”

Paul said he loves Cleveland and loves that he grew up there. Paul wants to make this one of the biggest events Cleveland has ever seen.

“Hopefully I get an opponent who I can bring the house down with,” Paul said.

Paul is currently the WWE United States Champion. He’s been feuding with Randy Orton and Kevin Owens in advance of WrestleMania 40.

This will be the first time Cleveland has hosted SummerSlam since 1996.

Paul also announced that, the night before SummerSlam, SmackDown will take place from Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Paul mentioned wanting other Cleveland celebrities like his brother Jake Paul, Machine Gun Kelly, and the NFL’s Kelce brothers (Jason & Travis Kelce) to be at SummerSlam. The event will air live on Peacock/WWE Network.