Tag: WWE SummerSlam 2024

Naomichi Marufuji to guest commentate on ABEMA WWE SummerSlam broadcast

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Naomichi Marufuji is heading to SummerSlam.

Pro Wrestling NOAH announced on Saturday that Marufuji will be a guest commentator on the WWE SummerSlam broadcast that will stream on ABEMA in Japan. The show takes place August 6 at the Cleveland Browns Stadium in Ohio. 

After initially posting he would be at the show, NOAH later clarified that he would be part of the ABEMA pay-per-view broadcast.

The news comes after Marufuji faced WWE’s AJ Styles at NOAH Destination last weekend. Styles ended up winning the dream match following a Styles Clash.

NOAH and WWE in recent weeks have begun exchanging talent. Along with Styles’ appearance last weekend, NXT’s Tavion Heights and Josh Briggs will be competing in the N1 Victory tournament that begins next month. In the past, WWE has also sent Hideo Itami (KENTA) and Shinsuke Nakamura for one-time appearances.

Along with NOAH, WWE has also been exchanging talent with GCW, who has a Bloodsport event sent for next weekend featuring WWE talent. NXT wrestlers are also set to appear at Saturday’s TNA Slammiversary event, with the No Quarter Catch Crew set to take on The Rascalz, the latter of whom made their debut as a trio on Tuesday’s NXT.

Logan Paul vs. LA Knight United States title match official for WWE SummerSlam

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The United States title match for SummerSlam is official.

On SmackDown, Logan Paul agreed to defend the title against LA Knight on August 3. This follows the contract signing that took place on Friday’s show.

Paul initially balked at the idea of defending the title against Knight. He called Knight by his given name Shaun, telling him that he isn’t “him” and accused Knight of copying The Rock. Knight shot back, saying that Paul’s brother Jake had the balls to face Mike Tyson but Logan didn’t have the balls to face Knight. That caused Paul to sign the contract, telling Knight that he’ll take everything away from him at SummerSlam, including the “yeah” catchphrase.

Knight has been trying to get the attention of Paul in recent weeks, including showing up to Paul’s home in Puerto Rico in an attempt to get a United States title match.

Here’s the current SummerSlam card with both official and expected matches based on recent TV:

  • WWE Undisputed Champion Cody Rhodes defends against Solo Sikoa
  • WWE World Heavyweight Champion Damien Priest defends against Gunther
  • WWE Women’s Champion Bayley defends against Nia Jax
  • WWE Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan defends against Rhea Ripley
  • WWE U.S. Champion Logan Paul defends against LA Knight
  • CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre

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.

“Dead End Road” and “Liar” 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 you’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. “I’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.

Liv Morgan accepts Rhea Ripley’s Women’s World title challenge for WWE SummerSlam

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Rhea Ripley has thrown out her challenge for SummerSlam.

As Dominik Mysterio attempted to reconcile with Ripley at the start of Monday’s Raw, Liv Morgan interrupted her and said at first she didn’t see what Ripley saw in Dominik, but then got to spend time with him and it all became real to her. Ripley said she waited three months for this and set up the challenge for SummerSlam on August 3. Morgan said she always knew the end game would be this, so she won’t run, but she isn’t the same Liv Morgan and accepted Ripley’s challenge, saying she hoped Dominik would be there too.

A show-long storyline had Dominik attempt to reconcile with Ripley, mostly to no avail until he got a match against Jey Uso, saying that Uso was talking about Ripley. Morgan interfered during the match and put Dom in another compromising position, going for a kiss when Ripley came out, causing Morgan to bail through the crowd. After Dominik won, Ripley told him backstage that she doesn’t belong to anyone, but Dominik belongs to her.

Ripley has been out of action for three months after suffering an injury during a backstage angle with Morgan, causing her to vacate the Women’s World title. She made her return on last week’s Raw, interrupting Dominik and Morgan as they were celebrating their mixed tag team win in the ring.

In the wake of Ripley’s absence, Morgan has been attempting to seduce Dominik as part of her “revenge tour” against Ripley, who had injured Morgan last year.

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 Cleveland 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.

Cody Rhodes to defend WWE title against Solo Sikoa at SummerSlam

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Cody Rhodes agreed to a title defense against Solo Sikoa at SummerSlam in a chaotic closing sequence on Friday’s SmackDown.

Jacob Fatu of Sikoa’s Bloodline faction attacked Tag Team Champions Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano following their title defense over A-Town Down Under in the SmackDown main event, setting the stage for a promo from Sikoa.

As Sikoa spoke surrounded by Fatu, Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa, Rhodes entered and announced that he wanted to defend the Undisputed WWE Championship against Sikoa at SummerSlam, pending official approval from GM Nick Aldis.

Rhodes then offered not to wait until SummerSlam, and squared up to The Bloodline. Rhodes quickly fell victim to a four-on-one attack. Randy Orton ran in for the save, but was put through the announce table by The Bloodline.

The Bloodline also tied Rhodes up in the ropes and forced him to watch as his ally Orton was put through the table. Video of the show-closing angle is embedded below.

LA Knight challenges Logan Paul for WWE SummerSlam

Posted on by Ethan Renner

LA Knight has issued a challenge to the United States Champion for a match at SummerSlam.

Knight laid out a challenge to United States Champion Logan Paul on Friday’s WWE SmackDown episode, presenting a signed contract from SmackDown GM Nick Aldis for a title match against Paul at SummerSlam set for Saturday, August 3.

Paul will appear on next week’s SmackDown on Friday, July 19 to respond to the challenge from Knight.

Knight scored a victory over Paul in a Money in the Bank qualifying match on the June 28 SmackDown episode, pinning Paul with a handful of tights to qualify for last week’s Money in the Bank ladder match eventually won by Drew McIntyre.

Video of Knight’s promo challenging Paul is embedded below.

Knight has been an antagonist for Paul in WWE storylines for months, including doing a home invasion of Paul’s Puerto Rico mansion on SmackDown last month.

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 it’s up in the air whether Punk would be ready by that date. It was emphasized to me that he could be ready but it’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.

Report: Cleveland a ‘front-runner’ to host WWE SummerSlam 2024

Posted on by Ian Carey

WWE SummerSlam 2024 could be headed to Cleveland, Ohio.  

Fightful is reporting the city is in the running to land the event, citing sources within the city of Cleveland, as well as the Cleveland Browns. One WWE source is said to have referred to Cleveland as the “likely” host city.

It’s not clear what venue would host the event, though Cleveland Browns Stadium seems possible. WWE typically runs Rocket Morgage Fieldhouse when in the city. They were last there for the June 19 WWE Raw and are scheduled to be back on December 11. The last WWE premium live event to take place in Cleveland was Fastlane 2019, which was also held in Rocket Mortage Fieldhouse. 

WWE has been looking to increase site fees paid by governments to bring PLEs to their cities. It was revealed recently The St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Florida tourism board spent $500,000 to bring the 2024 Royal Rumble to Tropicana Field. The company received nearly $3 million from the Welsh Government for Clash at the Castle last year and $1.8 million from the Puerto Rico government for Backlash in May.